Phoenix LSA (Light Scout Armor)
StarDate 3/4 The second illustration shows a suit of the now infamous Phoenix LSA (Light Scout Armor). This armor, in this color scheme, was used when Kevins 2nd Assault Commando exterminated the population on Thompsons Haven. The illustration here was made from a set of security photographs that were taken when the troopers assaulted the hospital.
Phoenix designed this armor specifically for use by assault forces who have to have maximum mobility but still want the protection offered by body armor. The original design was taken from work forwarded by Sternhaven Mesky. As with other Mesky designs, this one seems to have been adopted by every outlaw group and rebel mercenary outfit in space. While not produced in great numbers (the armor has to be grown from a culture vat, hence the low production and high cost), the LSA suits are well liked by all who use them.
During a recent interview, Col. Galt of Galt's Grenadiers was asked why he had expended so much of his recent income on advanced body armor for his infantry troopers instead of replacement parts for his 'Mechs.
Galt's reply, “Mechs are only as good as their support. Would you want to be runnin' around in a fire fight with body armor that is second rate and hot ta boot? I want my men, all of em, to come out of battle like they went in, alive!"
This unique armor is a living organism, composed of vat grown ceramics and quartz crystal. Additionally, the armor has two unique abilities. The first is the ability to work out armor camouflage in the same manner as a chameleon. The second is the ability to diffuse and deflect laser fire.
The inherent cammo capabilities that are grown in allow troopers to move quickly through either urban or jungle terrain with almost perfect cover. The only areas where this armor is ineffective is in either all white (as seen in the drawing, this trooper is standing in a white hospital corridor) or all black, such as is found in deep space. When either of these conditions is found the suit appears as it does in the illustration.
The laser protection capability is not yet understood. What appears to happen is that the suit absorbs the beam and returns the coherent light as a massive diffused light flash. In essence, a soldier hit by a laser burst becomes a human flashbulb. For this reason, all soldiers working with or in close proximity with LSA equipped troops are required to wear blackout goggles, such as those the soldier illustrated is wearing.
In our illustration the soldier has removed his rangefinding/amplification set from his helmet and has stored his R/A set in a chest pouch. These clip-on R/A sets weigh .30 kilos.
His primary weapon is a Majik M11B1, commonly known as a Streetsweeper. This shrapnel firing weapon is found in units assigned to urban control and containment. The Model B1 is able to fire 40 flechette rounds per magazine, with each round carrying 50-70 hypervelocity flechettes. This weapon, like most solid projectile weapons, weighs only 3.1 kilos.
The sidearm the trooper is carrying is a Morgan Anns laser. This light sidearm is used mostly by scouts because of its ability to confuse the targeting systems on most 'Mechs. The Morgan laser weighs 4.21 kilos.
This suit of body armor, as illustrated, weighs 19.225 kilograms. This means that this trooper, who is wearing full armor, is carrying 26.83 kilograms of equipment.
