Arasaka "DaiOni"

The Arasaka "DaiOni" is a Power Armor Conversion in.

Overview
The lessons of the Brushfire Wars (February to October, 2018) were not lost on Kei Arasaka. The embarrassing destruction of an Arasaka installation off the coast of China opened his eyes to the possibilities of combat cyborg full-body replacements; all it took was one Dragoon to do a job that, according to Arasaka's best generals, was impossible with less than a battalion.

Kei began a program to experiment with and recruit combat cyborgs. The program produced some marked successes, including a number of full cyborg spies and assassins.

Try as they might, Kei's scientists couldn't better IECs success. It seemed that the Dragoon would remain the preeminent combat full cyborg until new advances in technology could improve upon it. Disappointed by this failure, Kei lowered his sights and ordered his researchers to just produce a better combat cyborg - maybe one that could haul heavier weapons and armor; forget being lighter and faster.

The result was the DaiOni, the first interlocked cyborg body/ACPA. This "Super Demon" is a 3.4 meter, 1.12 ton monster, a block of armor and servos devoted to relentless destruction. Not that its size was any more impressive than Russian Arms' massive Boris 1 suit, or its armament more destructive than many Militech Commando variants. No, the DaiOni's secret lay in its user. No mere human pilot wears the DaiOni. Its internal circuitry wouldn't allow it; indeed, there's no life support at all! No need for automedics. The user is an Alpha-class full cyborg body, modified for incredibly inhuman reflexes and speed and specialized to run the DaiOni ACPA suit. The actual brains of the operation is a biopod brain, normally kept out of the sanity-smashing environment of the DaiOni's control interface.

The Alpha body is directly wired into the DaiOni suit, converting its myriad sensor scans into direct neural input. The once human inhabiting the biopod "becomes" the suit when fitted with the Alpha body. It's a heady experience: pain editors, combat programming, and "super-ego" sensor preprocessors combine with the suit's awesome strength and incredible maneuverability to make the 'borg feel like a god, even among his own kind! It's not hard, considering that the DaiOni is as fast as many cars (MA 20), and is actually quicker than the Dragoon (the Alpha's REF 15 is boosted by the suit to a total of 17! And the suit's sensors and boosted power give it +6 to Initiative rolls). All at a mere 16D6+30 Humanity Cost.

To date, Kei's technicians have only produced a handful of these demons. They're a deep Arasaka secret, and their testing has been very hesitant indeed - all they need is for one of these to freak out, neh? So they're not really fully proven. Deploying one would either be an act of desperation or the critical field test Kei wants so desperately.


 * Special Equipment: Virtual reality interface, high reflex boost, communications suite (military radio, cell phone, scrambler, laser communicator), sensor suite (back-up visual sensors, W camera, and two "horn" sensor extensions on the head. These extensions act like 67cm-long "rabbit ear'' periscopes for all sensors), IR baffling, ECM and ECCM (in right and left legs, respectively,) 2 EMP capacitors (can absorb magnetic blasts, with only a 50% chance of shorting out), climber claws on each hand and foot (these allow the DaiOni to climb obstacles and buildings, as well as acting as weapons).

Stock Armament
Tsunami GL in the right arm (three extra clips), Oni autoshotgun in the left arm (one extra clip), a retractable mono-sword in each arm, 12.7mm machinegun mounted on the outside of the right arm (two extra belts), light ATGM mounted on the outside of the left arm (two extra shots), and hand-held EMG-83 railgun (two extra clips). Defenses include laser and radar detectors linked to four external ribbon and IR smoke canisters.

Light ATGM
Heavy, +2, 5D10HEAT, 1, 1, VR, 1,000m, 4m Burst Radius

EMG-83
Heavy, +2, 5D10+10AP, 10, 1, ST, 1,000m

Mono-Sword
Melee, +1, 8D10AP, will shatter 30% of the time when fumbled

Climber Claws
Melee, +1, 7D10 (8D10 kick)