Fennec Power Armour
Ankhar
Light-Medium ArmourAlthough considered light by international standards, Ankhar power armour provides reliable protection against military-grade small arms and some crew-served support weapons, in a package that’s not dramatically larger than conventional infantry and no less agile. The Ankhar armour was originally developed from field explosive ordonnance disposal gear, refitted into a powered and protected exoskeleton. Ongoing developments in starship-grade gravimetric lattice armour allowed the blending of heavy active armour and personal body armour into a protection scheme competitive with light military vehicles. The typical weapons system is a high-power, variable cycle rail rifle that can be re-optimised for additional striking power or fire rate on the fly. The intended combat role of an Ankhar company is as a strategic firefighter in prolonged surface engagement, a tough reserve that can be transferred to high-intensity battlefields and used to blunt assaults for the otherwise relatively skittish Rupeean infantry.
Used by a small, specialised force recruited from experienced frontline infantry. The typical Ankhar company prides itself as the dependable elite of the modern conventional military, able to carry a theatre through the fiercest of storms. For their rivals in the mainline infantry, however, they are often derided as clumsy and oblivious peacocks.
Betkhar
Heavy ArmourTypically, Betkhar power armour is rated for reliable protection against nearly anything man-portable. Developed from a military procurement arms race that led to progressively heavier Ankhar armour, it trades the finesse and portability of other power armour types for superior staying power. Enhanced, more protective layered gravimetric lattice armour, high efficiency motive components and compact fusion reactors result in a larger and tougher combat unit As the Betkhar classification developed, the power armour began to take on features from Sestian MECH units and so, indirectly, leaned into pop culture depictions of bipedal tanks or mecha. Weapons systems trade models and capabilities with AFVs due to the considerable carry weight and potent inbuilt power source. Normal loadout may include rail cannon, missile systems, laser batteries, advanced sapping or field engineering equipment and more. In very high intensity combat environments, a specialised Betkhar Pavisse module is available, a physical shield consisting of an additional large plate of starship-grade active armour with an inbuilt hardlight shielding system. Used properly, the Pavisse can resist even specialised anti-tank weapons. The typical combat role of the few Betkhar companies currently staffed is as an irresistible surgical strike tool, eliminating a well defended hardpoint and circumventing the need for a prolonged planetary engagement. In practice, however, they are often called upon as reserves for battles too intense even for Ankhar units.
Betkhar pilots are drawn from experienced Ankhar company soldiers, in an extensive selection process focusing on personal courage, weapon drill and situational awareness. It is sometimes said that a Betkhar pilot is a diva too insufferable for even the preening Ankhar. Certainly they are a nuisance for military police, and a company will spend their limited rest/refit time maintaining intense sporting rivalries with nearly every other unit in Rupeean service.
Genkhar
Scout ArmourCreated after an extended consultation with VDF Rangers who found other power armour types incompatible with their trainign and procedures, the Genkhar power armour is a heavily modified Anhkar chassis stripped of non-critical armour and granted extra motive power and slealth/observation equipment. While other armour types are developed for the fennec body type first and modification kits are provided later, the more open design of the Genkhar suit allows race-specific modification from the start. As a result, many humans and kitsunes (and most of the few harpies) who make it into Ankhar companies aim to graduate into the even more exclusive Genkhar companies. The typical armament is a long-ranged, armour-piercing battle rifle optmised for skirmishing, along with a short-ranged concussion weapon capable of knocking wild animals or even buttoned-down vehicle crews unconscious. However, the range of weapons and tools available to Genkhar units benefits from the VDF's role in prototyping and field testing infantry and power armour weapons. Experimental field energy weapons, lightweight Pavisse shields built around foreign deflector shield technology, new models of heavy rail rifles, novel missile payloads and more are all found among Genkhar companies if one looks hard enough. An even wider range of gadgets, armour modifications and other tools can also be found, some the earliest models of next-generation support systems. One very popular model is a short-burst grav-lift harness used to better navigate difficult terrain. The intended role of the Genkhar chassis is to be a highly mobile infantry unit that can travel like fast mechanised or airborne infantry, go to ground and collect intelligence like conventional scout infantry, and if discovered fight with an Ankhar squadron's tenacity. In reality they tend to range much wider and act as unleashed special forces detachments, taking advantage of holes in enemy security to cause strategic harm and avoiding any frontline engagement if they can. If a battlefield is large and sparse enough to allow the Genkhar to penetrate enemy lines, they might never be brought to heel and instead continue disrupting command, communications and logistics seemingly at random. While rightly feared by foreign strategists, the few Genkhar companies are considered flighty and ineffectual by other Fennec power armour operators, and as imprecise opportunistic bandits by allied special forces detachments. The average Fennec soldier might consider them just another self-important circus in walking coffins, and are often pleasantly surprised when the impact of the Genkhar raiders finally comes to light.
Item type
Weapon, Other
Manufacturer
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