Winter II Advanced Assembly Information

While not important for pilots, the following information is useful to ground and deck crews, explaining the intricacies of the Winter II. Modification should be considered akin to performing surgery on a large cybernetic animal, given the unit has a nervous-system and is able to heal and grow.

The construction of the Winter II can be broken down neatly into a few simple components:

• The Torque Busdrive system which provides joints, endoskeleton space-frame, outer armor, structol farm, fuel storage and major joints

• The structol substrate, which acts as flesh over the top: organs, muscle, arteries and meat on the bones.

• And the beam drive system which acts as a sort of internal puppetry, driving joints with tendons of light and holding the major structures together as additional support as a form of rebar.

In addition to this, the frame's outer design features a modular exoskeleton over the top that could be thought of as akin to body armor and finally the last layer, the structol laminate, a final coating which acts as a first layer of defense and features dust-sized parts which can be assembled into useful machines by the substrate itself.

The torque-bus is the space-frame or endoskeleton of the frame. It is the primary structure used for securing and supporting all of the frame's components. It is composed of flexible armoured regenerating spine-like structures similar to bone and a number of spherical doll-like Universal joints.

Resembling the skeleton of a living creature and making up the bulk of the torque-bus, the endoskeleton has a honey-comb construction similar to that found in natural bone: smaller bubbles toward the surface for stiffness and then larger bubbles toward the middle; this means while the exterior can withstand knocks or hard strikes, the interior is spongy and can absorb intense shocks. With the application of the quasicrystalline construction technique the force of any one hit is not distributed over any one bone or even one element but through the entire torque-bus, in an effort to never let force build up over a single point to fracture it.

As a result, even when a frame has been battered, damaged, or destroyed their interior skeleton torque-bus is usually almost completely intact.

While the Winter II is very light in its dry-weight configuration, these bubbles and hollow areas are intended to serve as a way of storing water or gasses as fuel for the main powerplant – or on longer missions highly dense liquid substances.

A form of seed structol, it allows for more structol and therefor substrate to be created if power and raw materials are available. As a result, the frame with the right resources available can appear to heal over a period of hours with a total repair of a nearly destroyed structol substrate taking several days in ideal conditions.

These ball-joints are inspired by talk about Kage Yaichiro's opinions on frictionless joints overheard by Miles Gunn and inherit a number of features: Relying not on just electromagnets threads of structol and hard-light which act like threads or a three dimensional loom: distributing force inside and even intentionally snapping and reforming as needed by design to ensure maximum mobility.

Usually placed in pairs, these joints can be ejected using stembolts from one another and then re-attached an infinite number of times, like magnetic joints on toys - with obvious tactical uses.

Structol Substrate Musculature & Transmission System

Making up the bulk of the frame's volume is a combination of synthetic nervous system, filtration organs, circulatory system, fat and musculature which replaces fragile components like wiring, ceramic drive motors, sub-computers, filters, pumps and sensor devices ordinarily found in weapons systems. This material referred to as structol substrate serves as the “meat” of the frame connecting its chassis to its many components and fittings.

The substrate is in short: a microcolony of intelligent nano-scale components sourced from recovered Sourcian technology working in complex programmable concert together to reroute, repair and re-optimize for peak performance.

• See substrate

To the touch, the material resembles a solid tarry clay with an oil-slick like glistening appearance with holographic effect which moves like flesh or muscle. Looking closely, one can see geometric streaks and grooves in shapes resembling a mix of circuitry and living nerves. The circuitry in some ways resembles stretchmarks in human skin. In higher echelons of performance, these 'stretchmarks' may glow red or even white hot through the substrate.–

Using a single Lazarus IRI Beam Drive Unit, tendons of hard-light can be created which thread throughout the frame supporting physical motion and providing the option of slow progressive strength similar to a pressure actuator through the use of the beam wire tendons - ideal for crushing objects.

In addtion the physical integrity of the hull components including the skeleton and outer armour are also supported by beam rebar which as its name suggests, threads through the physical structure in order to provide additional physical support.

Similar in function to the principle of an electric motor, the cyclic force of gravitic centrifuges throughout the body can express gyroscopic action as angular momentum and torque. This is ideal for stabilising highly precise shots and making extremely specific and sharp motion corrections, such as those used in close combat, running and leaping.

Fitted over the endoskeleton and structol substrate on shock-absorbent ligaments, the modular exoskeleton consists of a series of composite coverings knitted together with structol. These provide the second layer of physical protection for the frame and in stock designs it is similar in layout and form to the endoskeleton beneath.

The armour is constructed in composite ceramic layers designed to provide electromagnetic, thermal, chemical, and kinetic protection for the frame. In addition each plate is designed to crack and break in highly controlled ways to mitigate damage to the systems beneath. When damaged the plates are held together like glue by structol allowing even damaged armour to be positioned for maximum coverage in the field and ensuring that they can be later repaired using a molecular applicator to re-seal and rejoin the damaged layers together.

Like the endoskeleton, the exoskeleton is often held together with help from the beam-drive system increasing its ability to maintain cohesion after sustaining damage.

Functioning as a skin over the exo-skeleton, structol laminate is typically spongy and soft but is able to change its consistency when anticipating a strike in such a way that is specific to the type of damage it expects to be dealt either by vibrating, cushioning, hardening, ablating, even vaporizing into hot clouds of plasma on demand to redirect and mitigate the incoming threat which would damage the exoskeletal plating beneath. As a secondary function the laminate seals over many hard moving parts aiding in making the frame aerodynamic.

While somewhat difficult to see at a glance being scarcely an inch thick the laminate appears much like a glossy, wetlook, clearcoat paint job that is much like skin to the touch, though far smoother being reminiscent of polished latex while retaining a fleshy life-like texture. Curiously deepening its relation to skin it is often pleasantly warm to the touch, however it is not unusual for it to be chilly, or cold depending on its present state and function.

While normally the shiny laminate is quite eye catching, the visible exterior can be adjusted to appear matte and the pigment and colouring shifted. This can be applied for many purposes such as to create images, patterns, insignia, text, or colour schemes or basic camouflage or dazzle-paintjobs in its surface as needed.

In the event that the laminate is damaged and depleted stores of structol from inside the body of the frame can be pooled to replace the laminate given time, however this comes with the caveat of using up the frame's available structol which may be in low supply following heavy engagements.

Suspended in the laminate are quasicrystals: Small dust-sized construction blocks which twinkle like glitter. The structol laminate can assemble these elements into complex microscopic machines, such as photosensors, or optical prisms (similar to those in modern thermoptic stealth systems) – able to replicate the lighting behind the machine (making it far more difficult to see) or even absorbing all light striking it making it incredibly dark – almost looking “like a hole in space” making it extremely difficult to detect in low light conditions.

The applications of these functions all depend heavily on the stores of toledorium on-board which over the course of combat may become depleted reducing the options available to the frame.