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Combat Frame Data: XCD-001-1

January 1, 201910 Comments
Combat Frame Data: XCD-001-1

 

XCD-001-1 Prometheus
  
Technical Data
Model number: XCD-001-1
Code name: XSeed
Nickname: Prometheus
Classification: energy weapon optimized Sentinel use combat frame
Manufacturer: Seed Corporation
Operator: [REDACTED]
First deployment: CY 1
Crew: 1 pilot in cockpit in chest
Height: 19 meters
Weight: dry weight 65 metric tons, full weight 75 metric tons
Armor type: “1D” carbyne laminar armor
Powerplant: cold fusion reactor, max output 2795 KW
Propulsion: rocket thrusters: 4x 41,790 kg, 4x 20,910 kg, 2x 12,000kg; top speed 3564 kph; maneuvering thrusters: 20, 180° turn time 0.80 seconds; legs: top ground speed 196 kph
Sensors: radar, thermal, optical array; main binocular cameras mounted in head
Fixed armaments: plasma rifle, power rated at 1.80 MW, magazine-fed, 12 shots per mag, can recharge from internal capacitor; 2x plasma sword, power rated at 0.50 MW, stored in recharge rack on back, hand-carried in use
Optional hand armaments: carbyne shield, mounts to either forearm
General Notes
When Sekaino Megami recruited lead Seed Corp engineer Tesla Browning for Project S, even the legendary “Father of the Combat Frame” lacked the expertise needed to realize Megami’s doomsday weapon . The Secretary-General enticed, cajoled, and threatened ZoDiaC operative Sieg Friedlander and ex-Seed Corp head programmer Maximus Darving to aid Browning.What the three luminaries produced–with the help of an unlimited budget–was nothing less than the quantum leap forward in combat frame design that Browning had long sought.The Project S team used data extracted from Zane Dellister’s XCF-08D-1 Dead Drop as a starting point. They improved on Dead Drop’s palladium glass composite armor with the first major breakthrough developed to Megami’s specs: superconducting carbyne layers composed of single atom-thick carbon filaments. This “1D” laminar armor absorbed nearly all EM, thermal, and nuclear radiation directed at it, making anything coated in it effectively invisible to radar. It could also channel one-third of a plasma bolt impacting the armor into an onboard capacitor, though one layer of armor would be destroyed at the point of impact.

Darving provided the crowning breakthrough required for the project’s success. To fulfill Megami’s specifications for an A.I. operating system capable of anticipating an enemy’s actions, Max created a new machine intelligence based on his HVRJ-2 Thor Prototype’s Marilyn OS. The new A.I., christened Prometheus by Max, surpassed the Chinese room limitations of prior thinking machines to become a truly self-aware intelligence.

Code named the XSeed–owing to its origins “from Seed” Corp and its potential to exceed all previous combat frame designs–the new CF fulfilled Megami’s expectations.

Browning outfitted the XSeed Prometheus with a weapons loadout inspired by the CF-015 Zwei Dolph. The XSeed retained the Zwei Dolph’s shield and added a carbyne coating to repel and absorb plasma bolts. It received a more powerful plasma sword, along with a spare stored beside the first in the unit’s backpack. But the greatest improvement to the CF’s arsenal was the revolutionary new plasma rifle designed specifically for the XSeed. Boasting more power than any CF plasma weapon to date, the XSeed’s rifle was powered by twelve-shot magazines or a capacitor charged via shots absorbed by the unit’s armor. Applied 100 layers thick, a force equivalent to a train pulling ten fully loaded boxcars at 150 kph applied to a single point was required to pierce all the way through the laminar armor.

Despite its overwhelming advantages, the XSeed did have its limitations. The onboard capacitor could only hold twelve plasma rifle shots’ worth of charges. When the capacitor was full, the unit became visible to radar and more vulnerable to energy weapons. The only way to make room for more charges was to drain the capacitor by firing the plasma rifle, which also risked giving away the XSeed’s position. Furthermore, a capacitor breach risked unfolding the internal graphene layers, releasing all of the stored energy at once and sparking an uncontrolled reaction in the XSeed’s powerful generator, resulting in a blast equivalent to a hydrogen bomb detonation. The Prometheus OS’s power of self-determination stood to be even more of a wild card.

A final chilling note appended to its technical specs indicated that the XSeed was merely one component of a far more devastating super weapon under development by Megami’s design.

Line art: shield and rifle

Prometheus_shield_&_rifle_lineart

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Last updated on May 20, 2022

10 Comments

  1. Anonymous
    January 2, 2019,

    Brian,

    Happy New year!
    Wow that's one scary bot!
    and there's an even a more awesome mecha?

    xavier

    • Brian Niemeier
      January 2, 2019,

      The answer to that will have to wait until CY 40.

      Happy New Year!

    • Anonymous
      January 2, 2019,

      Brian,

      Very cool!
      Look forward to learning about it 🙂

      xavier

  2. D.J. Schreffler
    January 2, 2019,

    Looking at this and re-reading the short story, all I can say is, "Wow."

    [Also, if you haven't already, be sure to sign up for the newsletter once you get the book so that you can get the story in the first place!]

    Wait….why does running out of power make it visible to radar?

    • Brian Niemeier
      January 2, 2019,

      "…why does running out of power make it visible to radar?"

      It doesn't. Fully charging the capacitor makes it visible to radar because it can't absorb any more energy, so the radio waves are reflected back. I'll edit the post to make it clearer, thanks.

      Also, I just added line art of the shield and rifle, so refresh the page if you haven't seen them yet.

    • Brian Niemeier
      January 2, 2019,

      Consider this: The XCD-002-1 was more powerful than the Prometheus, and the Kurfürst managed to significantly damage the former.

    • D.J. Schreffler
      January 2, 2019,

      "Consider this…"

      All right. Now I'm even more impressed. The Kurfürst is just that tough, [REDACTED] didn't really want to destroy it (only prevent it from hindering his purpose), or some combination thereof.

    • Brian Niemeier
      January 2, 2019,

      *nods*

Comments are closed