Reina's Armor (2015)

Back in 2014, I had submitted a sketch of an earlier iteration of this armor.  I titled it "Things to Come" with the expectation that I'd be posting a fully developed version shortly after.  It took quite a bit longer than expected, but it looks like I can finally deliver on the promise implicit in that title.

After going rogue from Karic's KAIROS Project, Reina has devoted considerable effort to crafting a set of equipment to her personal specifications.  Her armor emphasizes speed and mobility, offering unrestricted movement at the cost of its damage-soaking potential.

-The bodysuit is directly adapted from the KAIROS armor she possessed when she went rogue.  It was too valuable to abandon, as it is tailored specifically to integrate with her nervous system.  Like most military-grade bodysuits, it is semi-powered, or power-assisted.  This function is not intended to increase the wearer's strength so much as to negate the weight of the armor itself, allowing for easy movement.  Reina's armor is so light-weight, however, that the semi-powered function overcompensates for the weight and gives a slight boost to her already super-human agility.

-The "helmet" is not so much a true helmet, but rather is a soft head-covering with armored attachments.  The body of the covering is constructed from largely the same flexible materials as the bodysuit.  The faceplate contains a suite of optical sensors which offer a field of view easily matching that of natural eyesight, with a greater degree of clarity in the peripheral range.  The "fins" on the sides of the faceplate contain sophisticated auditory sensors, giving Reina access to acute omni-directional hearing.  Like the bodysuit, these functions are linked directly to Reina's nervous system while the armor is active.

-The rib-padding incorporates built-in friction sleeves, capable of holding spare magazines for most small arms.

-The shoulder blade plates on the upper back can be magnetized, allowing weapons and equipment to be stowed in an easy-to-reach manner.

-Several hard-points on the back and hips are left open to allow for additional equipment to be mounted to the armor.

-The boxy black module on the inward-facing side of each forearm contains a retractable link cable, allowing Reina to physically link with digital systems through the armor.

-The thigh plating incorporates roomy cargo pouches for stowing miscellaneous gear.  The bulky modules on the fronts of the thighs contain supplementary battery  packs to extend the armor's operational life, as well as canisters of medical agents that the armor can access to mitigate injuries.

For more information about the character inside the armor, see here: tekka-croe.deviantart.com/art/…

Novus Imperium, characters, artwork ©

EDIT Dec. 20, 2016:  I'm reclassifying this from the 2016 version to the 2015 version.  While this design was posted in 2016, the vast majority of work on it was done in 2015.  I'll be posting a more up-to-date illustration in the next couple of days, which will be classified as the 2016 version.