The Human Reform League's Mobile Suit Technology

Author's Note: For You Anime Fans Out There You Will Probably Recognize Some of The Mobile Suits and Technology Being Introduced Here As Being From The Gundam Franchise and The Robotech, Macross, Code Geass, Neon Genesis Evangelion, and Eureka Seven Anime Series' But As With Everything In The Apex Universe They Will Be Profoundly Different From Their Counterparts.

Just Like The Daft Punk Song Says... Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger.

First Just What Is A Mobile Suit:

A Mobile Suit (MS for Short) is The Modern Descendant of The Formerly Widely Used RoboTechnology but with the loss of Protoculture Transforming Veritech Technology was no longer possible but New Machines that could transform were eventually created to fill the gap and while not as powerful as those possible through RoboTechnology they quickly became a mainstay of Militaries all over The World with The Major Powers of The Time having The Most Highly Developed MS Technology in The World.

By 2174, The Most Powerful and Widely used Weapon in Any Military Arsenal is The Mobile Suit and They have virtually replaced The More Conventional Vehicles such as Tanks, Planes, and Ships in The Theater of War. The Foundation for Large Humanoid-Shaped Mobile Weaponry was established During The Early-21st Century with The Building of The Colonies and The War Between Humans and The Marduk and their Allies, Particularly The Zentradi, Over Protoculture. Thus The Transformation-Capable Veritechs were created to fill this Role while in Space, Earth's Rapidly Multiplying Colonies were Developing Small Mobile Weapons called Mobile Workers that could be used for Combat, Transporting Materials or Other Daily Work. They were Cheaper, Easier to Build, and Much Smaller than The Mobile Suits that would become their Technological Descendants. Mobile Workers, While initially well suited to Heavy Labor and The Delicate Repair Work needed to Build and Maintain The Colonies their Performance as Weapons in General while Exemplary at The Time was Far Inferior to The Mobile Suits that would come later. Because Protoculture proved such a Powerful and Vital Resource in a Time of Violent Intergalactic War it's use became exclusive to The Militaries of Earth's Main Forces so Mobile Workers were Powered by Hydrogen Engines.

These Early Mobile Workers were Designed Primarily for Space Construction Work. However, With The Focus of Earth's Combined Military Forces on The Earth and it's Colony on The Moon, Earth's Other Colonies elsewhere in The Milky Way Galaxy needed to find ways to Augment their Small Garrisons. Once The First Colonies were Completed, Intensive Research began into The Potential Military Applications of what would come to be known as Mobile Suit Technology as a Cheaper Non-Protoculture Dependent Alternative to The Transformative RoboTechnology in Veritechs and With the eventual loss of Protoculture Mobile Suits would become The Dominant Weapon of War owing to their Incredible Success and Versatility as The Most Advanced Weapons available. Leading them to become The Weapon of Choice in All Future Conflicts and The Backbone of Modern Warfare. As A Result, Many Military Weapons were discarded in favor of The Far Superior Mobile Suit Due to its High Performance in Multiple Areas of Combat with The Exception of Aerial Reconnaissance and Naval Activities.

With The Growing Need for The Orbital Elevators and The Solar Power Wars (2132-2142) as a result, Mobile Suit Technology progressed at an Accelerated Pace because The Construction of The Elevators spanned Several Different Environments, There was a urgent need to Develop a Machine that could not only Work but Fight if needed in these Environments in order to Protect Humanity's last hope for Stability.

Overview:

Following The One Year War when Mobile Suits came into Widespread Military Use, Mobile Suits are Now as Common in The 22nd-Century as Airplanes were in The Early 21st Century. While Many of The Principals used in Mobile Suit Design were carried over from OverTechnology and Much of The Technology was salvaged from The Now Inoperative Veritechs because of The Lack of The Necessary Protoculture to Power such Complex and Powerful Systems, Mobile Suits were Greatly Simplified and New Technology was Developed specifically for them so while not as powerful as their predecessors they are nonetheless Formidable Weapons and not to be taken lightly.

The Name "Mobile Suit" is a combination of The Terms "Mobile Infantry" and "Powered Armor Suit," and is used as an Acronym for Mobile Space Utility Instrumental Tactical.

Mobile Suits are Large Combat-Oriented Humanoid-Shaped Mobile Weapon Frames, in which The Various Parts and Systems are installed on top of it. Typically Employing two Arms to Deploy Weapons, Two Legs for Propulsion, and A Head that acts as a Main Camera and sometimes houses a Secondary Weapon that acts as a Rotating Turret (with The Head itself providing The Rotation). The Frames are made out of a Rare Type of Metal that is Incredibly Strong and also used to Construct Mobile Suit-Class Melee Weapons.

Typically Speaking, A Mobile Suit is Usually Designed in The Range of 15 to 20 Meters (49.2 - 65.6 Feet) in Height because this is The Best Height Range for Optimal Movement around The Orbital Elevators, with a Cockpit located in The Unit's Torso. However, Exceptions are not uncommon; Units that are much larger or slightly smaller are not unheard of, and occasionally The Cockpit is located in The Head as well. Another reason for The Effectiveness of Mobile Suits is their Ability to use Thick Armor easily Due to their Size, Which allows them to withstand The Considerable Weight of The Armor. To Destroy such Armor requires very Destructive Weapons and This resulted in the upsizing of Weapons. The resulting Weapons can only be used by Mobile Suits, Thus The Unwritten Rule that "Only Mobile Suits Can Defeat Mobile Suits" was born.

Though The Exact Development Process behind The Creation of Mobile Suits varies, They are generally used for their Versatility, with Many Models being usable in a Wide Variety of Environments; From Inside Space Colonies to Open Space, Across All Parts of The Earth, and Even Occasionally Underwater or in Mid-Air.

The Two Main Technological Advancements that led to The Creation of The Mobile Suit and its Feasibility as a Weapon were AMBAC (Active Mass Balance Auto Control) Technology, and The Minovsky Particle. The Original AMBAC Prototype only had Two Large Limbs (Instead of The Four that Later Suits would have), But moving those Limbs allowed it Near-Thrusterless Maneuverability in Space by changing its Center of Mass. The Second Advancement was a Series of Revolutionary Breakthroughs involving The Development of a New Type of Ultra-Compact Nuclear Fusion Reactor Designed and Built by Dr. T.Y. Minovsky. Not only was Minovsky's Design 83% Smaller in Size but it was 1000 Times more Powerful by Conservative Estimates than any Reactor that had come before or since. It also produced a Unique Form of Subatomic Particle called The Minovsky Particle. These Particles were found to Possess The Ability to Block Certain Types of Radiation, including Radar and Radio Signals. This would hamper Space Combat over Large Distances and **** Modern Combat back down to The Visual Level leading to Innovations in MS Technology and a Revolution in Space Warfare Tactics.

Mobile Suits are Typically Deployed in a Fashion similar to The Formerly Widely used Tanks or Aircraft. Working in Groups, They are often Organized into Teams Consisting of Three to Five Units, Though Larger Formations in Major Battles are not Uncommon. Typically Teams are Homogeneous, Consisting of a Single Unit Type, But may sometimes be Composed of Complimenting Unit Types (e.g. a Close-Combat Unit Type and a Fire Support Unit Type). The Latter is Most Common in Teams with High-Performance Units and Experienced Pilots.

After Decades of Development, The First Fully Functional Combat Mech to officially bare The Name "Mobile Suit" was The OZ-00MS Tallgeese, a High-Powered Prototype Unit built by The United States and The British Empire in 2048 but Mobile Suits wouldn't become The Widespread Ubiquitous Military Technology it is today until The Early 22nd Century. The Prototype Unit, However, Was considered Too Powerful for Mass Production (and for Most Pilots to handle), and was later shelved in favor of More Easily Piloted, More Mass-Producible Models. The Prototype, However, Went missing soon after being shelved and there has been no word of it's whereabouts in Decades.

They are Among The Most Powerful and Surgically Precise Weapons available to Mankind. However, They are also Expensive Due to their High Construction and Maintenance Costs. Because of This, They are Rarely Seen or Used in The Current Era Except by The Larger Military Factions and Even for Them, Having or Building Them in Great Numbers is Prohibitively Expensive.

The Development of MS Technology also lead to the signing of The Antarctic Treaty which States That:

• The Number of Mobile Suits Fielded by any Capable Nation will Not Exceed That of Its Neighbors.
• The Use of N², Nuclear, Biological or Chemical Weapons is Prohibited.
• Dropping Space Colonies or Large Asteroids onto Earth is Prohibited.
• All Prisoners of War must be Treated Humanely (Although **** Labor may be Legal).
• All Neutral Territories must be Respected and Combat Operations in these Regions are Prohibited. The Neutrality at Side 6 was Recognized and Respected.