The Messenger was intended as a light, fast, but powerful urban combat suit, well suited to the needs of the Protectorate Millitia divisions it was to be assigned to. Unusual for a Protectorate Militia design, the Messenger was built around cutting edge technology, particularly the mechanical jump booster that was a key element of its mobility. This system was so cutting edge in fact, that it proved a major stumbling block. Using the jump booster caused significant wear on the leg joints of both the suit and its operator, to the point that at least one of the Messenger's test pilots was permanently crippled as a result. These problems, as well as shifting priorities that were putting more focus on the spaceborn Maginot Line, led to significant cuts to the troubled program, meaning no real solution to the booster problem was forthcoming by the time the Coalition closed in to striking distance of Terra.
The Messenger was not completely scrapped, however. While the mechanical jump booster was not ready for service, the rest of the design proved serviciable enough that a stripped down version (tagged the EMPP, for Emergency Materials Procurment Protocol) was put into production in 3078. This stripped out the troublesome jump booster, as well as downgrading the armor to a cheaper, more available grade. Hundreds of these suits were being cranked out before the liberation of Terra, and were assigned, often right out of the factory, to Terrasec and Word of Blake militia troops attempting to repel the Coalition. These suits saw action on every continent, particularly in urban environments where their plasma rifles made them deadly at hunting other battle armor and practicing scorched earth tactics. The original prototypes were likewise pressed into service, in this case by the Manei Domini, whose augmented pilots were able to use the suit to its full capabilities.
The coaltion captured the production center for the Messenger relatively intact, which then passed to Republic control. For their part, the Republic developed their own, refined version of the rushed EMPP variant, finding space for both a TAG unit and an anti-personnel mount. However, they only produced a single production run of Messenger suits, due to public pressure against utilizing Blakist "terror weapons" (the Messenger was best known in public consciousness for the many cities and towns it helped burn down with its plasma rifle). These suits would be fully removed from service and scrapped before the dawn of the 32nd century.
It is known that copies of the Messenger's plans were successfully removed from Terra by retreating Blakist forces, and the Messenger is a popular topic among conspiracy theorists. One such theory, popular among the rimward territories of the Federated Suns, suggests that blakist refugees who took refuge in the Taurian Concordat passed the design on to their Taurian "allies", leading to the development of the Spectre battlesuit. There are numerous problems with this theory, not the least of which being that the lineage of the (actually Calderon Protectorate built) Spectre has already been well established. The theory persists, however, partly due to a chauvinistic belief among the fringes of the population that a mere periphery state would be incapable of developing a sophisticated suit of battle armor on their own.
Messenger Battle Armor
Base Tech Level: Experimental (IS)
Level Era
-----------------------
Experimental 3075
Advanced 3075-3089
Standard 3090+
Tech Rating: E/X-X-F-E
BV: 363
Cost: 1,578,000 C-bills
Movement: 4/4/1
Internal: 6
Armor: 36 BA Advanced
Internal Armor
------------------------------
Trooper 1 1 6
Trooper 2 1 6
Trooper 3 1 6
Trooper 4 1 6
Trooper 5 1 6
Trooper 6 1 6
Weapons Loc Heat
------------------------------------------------------
Plasma Rifle (Man-Portable) (Right arm) Squad 0
Equipment Loc
----------------------------------------------------------
Mechanical Jump Booster (Body) Squad
BA Manipulators [Manipulator (Basic)] (Left arm) Squad
BA Manipulators [Manipulator (Basic)] (Right arm) Squad
Messenger Battle Armor (EMPP)
Base Tech Level: Standard (IS)
Level Era
-------------------
Experimental -
Advanced -
Standard 3078+
Tech Rating: E/X-X-E-D
BV: 312
Cost: 1,128,000 C-bills
Movement: 3/3
Internal: 6
Armor: 30 BA Standard (Basic)
Internal Armor
------------------------------
Trooper 1 1 5
Trooper 2 1 5
Trooper 3 1 5
Trooper 4 1 5
Trooper 5 1 5
Trooper 6 1 5
Weapons Loc Heat
------------------------------------------------------
Plasma Rifle (Man-Portable) (Right arm) Squad 0
Equipment Loc
----------------------------------------------------------
BA Manipulators [Manipulator (Basic)] (Left arm) Squad
BA Manipulators [Manipulator (Basic)] (Right arm) Squad
Messenger Battle Armor (Republic)
Base Tech Level: Standard (IS)
Level Era
-------------------
Experimental -
Advanced -
Standard 3085+
Tech Rating: E/X-X-F-E
BV: 312
Cost: 1,368,000 C-bills
Movement: 3/3
Internal: 6
Armor: 20 BA Standard (Basic)
Internal Armor
------------------------------
Trooper 1 1 5
Trooper 2 1 5
Trooper 3 1 5
Trooper 4 1 5
Weapons Loc Heat
------------------------------------------------------
Plasma Rifle (Man-Portable) (Right arm) Squad 0
TAG (Light) (Left arm) Squad 0
Equipment Loc
----------------------------------------------------------
BA Manipulators [Manipulator (Basic)] (Left arm) Squad
BA Manipulators [Manipulator (Basic)] (Right arm) Squad
Anti Personnel Weapon Mount (Left arm) Squad
