Exterminator : The Dark Beneath

“The contest between hard armoured Exoskeleton suits and softer bio-gel Smart-suits in the security and military sectors has gone back and forth for decades. Proponents of Exosuits had argued the benefits of the system, including increased strength, protection, and durability for the wearer, along with its use as a weapons’ platform. Smart suits have been hailed as cheaper, more user friendly and with excellent protective capability’s provided by alternating layers of nano-weave carbon fibre to protect against penetrative damage, whilst the newest range of high end non-Newtonian fluid underlay’s absorb and redirect impact trauma.

What shattered the stalemate between the two systems, however, was the fall from grace of the Direct Neural Interface Implant System, which allowed the powered suits to be controlled by joining with the wearers own neuromuscular system. Without it to aid suit mobility, Exosuits limit the wearers’ reactions and speed. The majority of military and private security forces now use Smart suits of some description, leaving Exo’s in the hands of backwater dictatorships and collectors“

-Personal armaments of the latter 21stCenturyby Professor Steven Range.

15,34, Exterminators Offices, Mid ARC

The beeping of his Com and nearby voices drew Jack’s attention from the compression unit in front of him. Raising his head up from the bench he groaned as his neck cricked. The suit was spread out on the bench in front of him. He’d removed the articulated plates from the front and had almost finished cleaning and swapping the actuators that provided power and movement. Yesterdays dunking in the filth hadn’t penetrated the seals to reach the internal workings, but the manufacturers recommended regular maintenance. Technically a specialized armour technician should be doing the work, but Jack had designed and built more complicated systems in the past. And besides, he didn’t trust someone else to work on his gear, he never knew when he might have to repair it in the field.

He looked over the suit, laid out in all its glory before him, and once again shook his head in disbelief at how a bunch of glorified pest controllers got to use what had once been the most advanced personal protection ever designed. If he was honest with himself, it almost made the job worth the long hours and shitty pay. The feeling of power and invincibility was a heady rush, and the suit itself was a marvel, a walking piece of history.

Fifty years ago, as humanity began using the Noland-Hawking FTL drive to expand into the universe, the big question everyone asked was, where were the aliens? For hundreds of years, people had wondered about life in the stars, imagining everything from friendly visitors to predatory nightmares, and as mankind nations, military and Megacorps began developing defences, weapons and armour in order to fight inhuman foes in hostile planets.

The RX5 Exosuit was designed and built by company called Orion Inc, a Mars based Armaments specialist who decided to incorporate the new advances in cybernetic direct neural interfaces, or DNI, to build a powered exoskeleton that could move with the wearer, augmenting their strength. Designed form the ground up to protect from a range of physical, chemical, and biological threats they enabled the soldier to carry more and fight harder. With the right support they would be able to fight in a range of hostile environments, from poisonous atmospheres or under water, to space itself. Other companies and nations developed different strategies, from drones to armoured vehicles and mechanized walkers, deploying their creations in the petty border wars that sprang up as humanity expanded, but always waiting for the pin to drop.

And so even as they expanded the human race waited for first contact. And waited. And waited. But hostile aliens never materialized. Neither did intelligent life. The largest extra-terrestrial organisms on record most closely resembled earth’s jellyfish, and were found on a oceanic planet near Alpha Centauri. The alien menace never presented itself, and mankind began to realize that the greatest intelligent threat to man was still himself. The more exotic weapons designed to potential were redesigned or scraped, and once again weaponry was geared to tackle human opponents.

The RX5 saw use in combat, but for all its strength and firepower, its creators began to feel that its expense and complexity were unnecessary. The heavy metal and ceramic armour had been tailored to defend against cutting and stabbing damage, as well an projectiles, but was just as effective against modern weaponry.

However Cheaper skin-suits could provide respectable levels of protection against gunfire using high tensile interweaves to prevent penetration and disperse force, and could insulate the wearer against many environments humans found themselves colonising, although again not to the same extent as Exosuit. The real decider was that repairing an Exosuit and maintaining its internal functions required trained technicians and extensive specialised equipment, where as skin-suits where fare simpler to repair, making them cheaper to run and less labour intensive.

Jack checked the compressor was working and began to reattach the plates to their actuators. The protective skin of the suit was made of a sandwich of hardened ceramics and alloys, around a carbon nanotube infused composite in the centre, designed to protect against projectiles that pieced the outer layer of ceramics. The actuators allowed the plates to shift and move, providing a greater range of motion for the wearer, and the capability to modify the suit’s shape and surface profile.

Fixing the ceramics back in place, he picked up the helmet and put it on, wincing slightly as the data jack plugged into the back of his skull. He quickly ran a diagnostic, reading through the scroll of data that ran down the Plexiglas, and was satisfied with the readings. In theory he could have viewed the data using his DNI, but it tended to give him a slight headache.

The final blow to the RX5 was the turning of public opinion against DNI’s. Already questioned as overly invasive, incidents involving faulty implants and biofeedback lead to soft electrodes coming back into fashion. Using electrodes placed on the surface of the skull, they allowed the sending and receiving of neurological data in real time and, whilst not as reactive or efficient as the direct interface, they didn’t require surgery or expose the wearer to the possible long term side effects of the DNI, such as cyber-dementia and Alzheimer’s. So most Exosuits were phased out of military use, leaving them languishing in storage: too expensive to scrap, too complex to recycle, and too powerful to sell to civilians.

Then some ambitious Corp executive had the idea of giving them to the Exterminators. Pest problems in the colonies was proving a real drain on resources, the areas the pests tended to occupied being hazardous to humans, and normal skin suits proved too vulnerable to sharp surfaces or the creatures. Some companies had experimented with drones as pest controllers, but they encountered issues with the lack of intelligence and adaptability, plus the fact that arming drones with potential weaponry and releasing them without a controller was recognised as being as potentially hazardous to colonists as to the parasites.

The argument was that the RX5 was the perfect tool for the job. A protective exoskeleton with a full environmental seal and weaponry, it could travel anywhere a human could, and defend the wearer against any threat. Recruiting workers for the job was a issue since the hazardous and unpleasant conditions, coupled with their requirement of a DNI and relatively low pay hardly made it a attractive prospect. It was decided to offer the jobs to ex-cons and minor criminals. They got a paying job a and freedom, in exchange for a five year unbreakable contract and strict monitoring. The company got its exterminators, and the cons got their freedom, or at least a taste of it.

The system worked well, at least from the managerial standpoint. Costs fell, the pests were controlled, and they got the good press of offering jobs to the less fortunate. What they didn’t have to deal with was how the Exterminators where treated. Their recruitment policies filled the ranks with former criminals and undesirables, and although the Exterminators had to behave to maintain their freedom, they were mistrusted and looked down on by the public. And that was how Jack found himself working with such a pleasant bunch. On the other hand, seeing how the lax hiring standards were how he got the job, perhaps he shouldn’t complain. Glasshouses and all that….

A locker slammed around the corner and the voices continued their conversation.

“That fuckin’ prick, giving me the eye. Stupid Corp rent’a cop thinks he’s a hard man, I ate guys like him in prison!”

“Don ’no man, maybe we were being too loud.” replied a higher whiny voice.

“Shut up Twitch! Your just scared of them seeing’ the tracks up your arms.”

“Speak of the devil!“ Jack sighed as he recognized Andrew’s voice. The loud, aggressive, snarl suited the former soldier perfectly. The man himself stalked into the room, 188cm of bulky muscle and aggression. The big man kept his dark hair shaved which, combined with his heavy brows, wide jaw, and a neck that was almost non-existent due to muscle, gave him an intimidating appearance. However, it was the dark eyes that always gave Jack pause, always assessing, always looking for weakness to exploit. He wore the Exterminators gear like Jack, but had cut off the arms to show off his muscled arms, proudly displaying a UNSC Marine electoo with a black bar across its face, signifying a dishonourable discharge.

Behind him skulked Adams, or Twitch to use his apt nickname, the man’s 175 cm. frame looking particularly wasted next to Andrews’ bulk. His coffee coloured skin was pallid, and his brown eyes bloodshot with dark bags under them. He had short, straggly, black hair. Apparently Twitch had found another Neocain dealer, an impressive feat considering how closely the medical wing monitored its supplies. Jack figured he’s probably found a lab tech willing to cook him up some in the labs, it wasn’t difficult with the right equipment, hell, just looking around the workshop Jack was confident he could cook up the morphine derivative from some of the cleaning agents.

The two men paused their conversation as the noticed his prescience, Adams lowering his eyes whilst Andrews glared at Jack for a moment, before snorting dismissively and moving over to his suit pod and resuming their conversation. Adams jumped and hurried after him, and they both began stepped into the pods to let the automated arms help them don the suits.

Stevens poked his head round the door and spotted the newcomers, and Jack saw their boss steel himself.

“Andrews, Adams. You’re both down in the Under-works today, some workers let Rats into the Geoplant so it’s been put in lockdown. I need you to gear up for a few days’ work and to clear them out.”

Andrews nodded and stepped into the exp boots, letting the pod tighten the boots as he scratched his armpit.

“Alright boss, we’ll do a sweep and see what we can kill and be back in time for tea.”

Stevens swallowed slightly. “I’m afraid maintenance is pretty insistent on this one, guys, Jack’s looked out your MUTT’s load-out and reorganised its systems for it for a few days down stairs. I need you to stay down there and sweep the whole Geoplant and its surrounds.”

Andrews swore and punched the pod wall beside him.

“For fuck sake Stevens, that’ll take bleeding days! Why the fuck do we have to do it?”

“Because Martinez is in medical for another day and Jack just got back from a run yesterday.”

“Plus I’m the only one who can sort the new parts we’re getting in and fix suit Five,” Jack added, earning a glare from Andrews, “and that’s after running checks on both your suits.”

Andrews sneered at him. “So golden boy gets a pass, what makes him so special?”

“An I.Q over 50 “ Jack muttered, earning a warning glare from Stevens.

“The fuck you say shit-stain!” Andrews bellowed, pulling himself free of the pod with just his boots and lower suit legs attached and stomping across the room to get up in Jack’s face. “You need to watch yourself golden boy, or one day you might talk yourself into trouble you can’t brown nose you way out off”

Jack stared up at him and let his face go blank.

“You’re a hard man Andrews, and I’ll admit you could probably beat the shit out of me.” Jack said softly. “But don’t forget, if I could survive Hades, I can survive you!”

Andrew’s heavy brows crossed for a moment at the mention of the sectors most infamous prison, as Stevens awkwardly cleared his throat.

“Ok that’s enough you two. Andrews, get your shit together, Jack, finish up your maintenance and get to the space port, the pickup should be in soon.”

They remained locked a staring match for a moment before the ex-Marine snorted dismissively and turned, walking back to his pod to continue equipping his armour as Stevens and Adams relaxed. Jack kept his face blank and movements calm as the tension drained, finally returning his attention to the suit. He frowned slightly, seeing that that his smart-glass was monitoring an energy reading from his suit.

“SAM” he said quietly, his voice covered by the other men’s conversation and the sound of gearing up “Did you activate my lance?”

“Not fully Jack“, the AI replied calmly, “but I did begin a core warm up in case you needed protection!”

Jack glanced over at Stevens as the big man talked to the other exterminators, somehow looking submissive even as he gave their directives.

“You need to be more careful SAM, you know that if Stevens realizes I’ve been modifying you and the suit he’ll have you decommissioned.”

“While that is possible, my analysis indicated that outcome is unlikely, due both to the directors lack of technical knowledge and his reluctance to call attention to himself from the overseer’s office”

Jack grinned slightly “Are you calling him lazy?”

“Yes, my analysis supports that conclusion.”

Jack snorted but quickly turned it into a cough to avoid attracting attention. His last unofficial modifications to SAM’s programming had been to add some more personality coding. The suit’s Base AI was advanced but highly restricted from learning or adapting, so a lot of the changes he made had involved freeing up her programming. The Core directives remained untouched however, hardwired into the base code with directives such as preserving the suit wearer’s life and maintaining suit systems.

Andrews and Twitch finished donning their suits and powered them up, causing the articulated armoured plates covering their limbs and torsos to shift and cycle into optimal position, based on their wearers dimensions and specifications. Andrews’ already impressive bulk was made even larger, standing around 2 metres 13 tall and 1 metre wide. The yellow and black surfaces stood out strongly in the lab, as both men clomped over to the cargo lift, triggering their Mutts to deploy from their Drone Racks to join them.

Stevens walked to the lift controls and keyed in their destinations.

“Remember, although the Com’s might be patchy down there, try and keep me informed of any developments, and for heaven’s sake, don’t antagonize the other workers!”

“Yes dad” Andrews replied sarcastically, causing Adams to giggle slightly. Stevens shook his head and keyed the lift, making it descend slowly into the Arc.

“I’ll see you later golden boy,“ Andrews said darkly, his voice rendered deeper and more menacing by the suit’s speakers. Jack gave him the finger as he disappeared from sight. He sighed and began carefully reassembling the suit, once again shaking his head at his co-worker. None of them treated the suits with the care and respect they deserved, leaving Jack with the job of keeping them going.

Finally finished he carefully moved his suit back into its pod before taking a quick shower. Once dry he shouted to Stevens that he was heading out and left for his appointment at the cybernetics clinic.