Author: Despite my fervent belief to the contrary, it turns out that battle armor style exoskeletons were not a post clan invasion innovation, but have existed since the days of the Terran Alliance and have never gone extinct. (I originally assumed the exoskeletons of the succession wars were exclusively the more limited types once described in earlier books like TRO 3026 or the Lostech Equipment Guide).
Of course, once fully grasping my error, the only thing I could think to do about it was build succession wars era battlearmor. One caveat, and it's a bit of a big one: Actual armor protection is lostech. Even the most basic of armor types is star league technology that isn't (re?)discovered until after the clan invasion. But, compared to leg troopers, it's quick, can carry heavier weapons, and a squad of them isn't going to be completely wiped out by a single machine gun burst. Worth the investment? That's a matter of perspective...
Also, this suit should be standard tech level even during the succession wars. Unfortunately megameklab forces you to choose an armor type even if you don't put any armor on your suit.Matabushi Aggressor Infantry Combat Exoskeleton (ICE)A rare sight, Exoskeletons equipped for combat duty still see use from time to time in security roles and in the less respectable arenas of Solaris. Even rarer are those purpose built for combat. Among these, the Aggressor manufactured by Matabushi industries might be considered a "typical" model. Quicker, somewhat tougher and significantly better armed (often equipped with a portable machine gun to supplement the fixed grenade launcher) than a conventionally equipped infantryman, some regard the Matabushi Aggressor as the next stage in battlefield evolution.
The DCMS might not be among those people, however. Though they evaluated the Matabushi Aggressor as standardized infantry equipment, the Combine military ultimately rejected it primarily due to the expense. Outfitting a six man squad with Aggressor Armor and training them to properly operate it carries a price tag over four times that of a standard rifle squad, an expense considered too excessive for such a lowly element of the DCMS. The Combine has still procured a large number of the suits, both in the standard and jump configuration, however, for use by the ISF and DEST. Matabushi Incorporated itself likewise outfits its own "crisis response" security personnel with the Aggressor, as do the security services of their homeworld of Albiero.
Clan Invasion AddendumAlbiero fell to Clan Smoke Jaguar at the end of the third wave of the Clan Invasion, and with it the production facilities manufacturing the Aggressor. The Smoke Jaguars were reportedly amused by the "quaint" Aggressor suits fielded by security forces and would eventually retool the factory to produce Elemental armor. In the rest of the Combine, the Aggressor quickly fell out of use as soon as true battle armor became available to replace it.
Matabushi Aggressor Infantry Combat Exoskeleton
Base Tech Level: Standard (IS)
Level Era
-----------------------
Experimental 3025+
Advanced -
Standard 3058+
Extinct 3025-3050
Tech Rating: E/X-X-E-D
BV: 25
Cost: 646,200 C-bills
Movement: 3/3
Internal: 6
Armor: 0 BA Standard (Basic)
Internal Armor
------------------------------
Trooper 1 1 0
Trooper 2 1 0
Trooper 3 1 0
Trooper 4 1 0
Trooper 5 1 0
Trooper 6 1 0
Weapons Loc Heat
---------------------------------------------------
Grenade Launcher (Micro) (Right arm) Squad 0
Swarm Mek Squad 0
Attack Swarmed Mek Squad 0
Stop Swarm Attack Squad 0
Leg Attack Squad 0
Equipment Loc
-----------------------------------------------------
BA Manipulators [Armored Gloves] (Left arm) Squad
BA Manipulators [Armored Gloves] (Right arm) Squad
Mission Equipment Storage (Body) Squad
Matabushi Aggressor Infantry Combat Exoskeleton (Jump Trooper)
Base Tech Level: Standard (IS)
Level Era
-----------------------
Experimental 3025+
Advanced -
Standard 3058+
Extinct 3025-3050
Tech Rating: E/X-X-E-D
BV: 26
Cost: 1,541,700 C-bills
Movement: 3/3/3
Internal: 6
Armor: 0 BA Standard (Basic)
Internal Armor
------------------------------
Trooper 1 1 0
Trooper 2 1 0
Trooper 3 1 0
Trooper 4 1 0
Trooper 5 1 0
Trooper 6 1 0
Weapons Loc Heat
---------------------------------------------------
Grenade Launcher (Micro) (Right arm) Squad 0
Swarm Mek Squad 0
Attack Swarmed Mek Squad 0
Stop Swarm Attack Squad 0
Leg Attack Squad 0
Equipment Loc
-----------------------------------------------------
BA Manipulators [Armored Gloves] (Left arm) Squad
BA Manipulators [Armored Gloves] (Right arm) Squad
