YRC Mustang, quadrupedal transport

The most striking design that caught everyone's eye during the first announcements of the Phase Binder was Project Ichabod--and nobody could quite believe their eyes when they first saw the sci-fi centaur first stroll on stage at the first tech conference!

Project Ichabod was the codename of the initial quadruped design of the machine, which had been intended to carry heavy loads over long distances. The name was a play on the story of the headless horseman, although in Yabusa's version of the robot, the result was more a headless horse. Ichabod's 'head' was a simple camera unit, with connectors for other accessories in the future like arm attachments, but none had ever been developed.

The project's programming was rudimentary at best. Ichabod had difficulty navigating uneven terrain, despite the promise that this was one of the advantages of legs over wheels for transporting heavy cargo. Object avoidance and path generation required significant improvements as well, but even after outsourcing the programming to a professional machine learning outfit, the project never saw substantial use.

One of the last remaining Project Ichabod models captured the imagination of the public after seeing the quadruped altered with a human torso on top. According to Mr. Grisham's account of the story, he invited his daughter Lucy to test out the Phase Binder that he'd been working on in secret for months. He'd said she always loved horses and centaurs in fantasy novels, so the chance to become like one for real was a magical opportunity. She became the face, and body, of the Phase Binder campaign along with her friends Jamie and Ivy, but people seemed to really resonate most with the cute half-horse girl that would happily prance around on stage and put on a good show of her capabilities.

And then... she was gone. Her friends also seemed to disappear, but all the publicity of the disappearance focused around Lucy, the darling of the Phase Binder project. Mysteries, conspiracies, and theories abounded, as Mr. Grisham quit his position at Yabusa to search for his daughter full time. As a new team came on board to make new designs for the Phase Binder project, Ichabod was reimagined into the YRC Mustang.

Styled even more like a horse rather than Project Ichabod's basic frame to truly complete the illusion, including even a synthetic horsehair tail for good effect, the most effective part of the Mustang frame is the seamless transition from mechanical body to organic form. Unlike the Angel and Meteor frames where the phase binding is fairly complex throughout much of the body, the Mustang's connection is quite simple--there's only one interface at the coupling site, some neural nodes for control and tactile sensation within the robotic body, and then a module out of phase with the rest of the machine contains the biological legs to manage the remainder of bodily processes, allowing a phasebound user of the Mustang frame to remain connected to the frame long-term, which is key for long travels and treks for possible military deployments.

The Mustang frame isn't even the most powerful cargo carrier of all of Yabusa's Phase Binder project machines, but it was still incredibly strong and durable, able to carry multiple people, significant packed cargo, and high-powered weaponry. Tow cables and small construction attachments allow a Mustang user to have incredible flexibility in tasks, making them an invaluable part of any team. Other Mustang frames are configured as literal powerhouses, able to provide energy to other devices--and with solar charging capabilities, the Mustang can run for quite a while. One of the other interesting hidden features is the manual controllers kept in a panel in the back, that allows for another person to move the Mustang body as well as the organic part of the form, interestingly. Not even most Mustang users are aware of that capability.

With the vast possibilities as a phasebound person using the Mustang frame, who are you and what are you using it for? Are you putting in the work, or are you more interested in the sleek aesthetics for fun?