Combat Frame Data: Claviceps

  

Model number: N/A

Code name: Claviceps

Nickname: Clav, glass crab

Classification: ground assault combat frame

Manufacturer: Ynzu

Operator: Ynzu

First deployment: Unknown

Crew: 1 pilot in full-immersion cockpit

Height: 18 meters

Weight: 70 metric tons

Armor type: Fractal diamond isomer armor

Powerplant: cold fusion reactor, max output 3646 KW

Propulsion: EM impellers: 5x 17,800 kg, 4x 35,000kg; top speed 2890 kph; maneuvering impellers: 26, 180° turn time 0.73 seconds; legs: top ground speed 200 kph

Sensors: gravitic, radar, thermal, radiation, optical array; main compound
cameras surrounding central “eye”

Fixed armaments: x2 gravity claw, mounted on arms; x2 graviton cannon, power rated at 1.2 MW, one mounted between each claw; x2 anti-vehicle cannon, power rated at 0.75 MW, one mounted on each side of central eye

Special equipment: full-immersion cockpit, ion field projector, TC/D drive

Named for the grain pestilence that caused hysteria among pre-Collapse agrarian populations, the Claviceps formed the core of the Ynzu ground forces.

A Clav resembled a cross between a giant humanoid and a crustacean with a jade-green carapace. Its entire structure was composed of adaptive diamond isomers capable of absorbing EM and thermal energy even more efficiently than an XSeed’s carbyne laminar armor. The Claviceps’ ranged weaponry exploited only partially understood graviton-manipulating effects to weaken targets’ molecular bonds. As a result, Clav plasma bolts could penetrate any known armor despite their rather conventional power outputs. Even XSeeds could only withstand one or two direct hits from Ynzu energy weapons.

In close combat, Clavs employed their powerful claws to crush and rend enemies. Whereas their energy weapons manipulated gravity to soften targets, their pincers inverted this effect to harden their blades, granting them irresistible strength and incredible durability.

The Claviceps boasted defenses at least as formidable as its armaments. Not only could its fractal diamond armor absorb and repel energy attacks better than “1D” carbyne armor, the addition of an ion field granted extra protection against plasma weapons. Clav armor’s only known drawback was its relative brittleness compared to carbyne laminate. The Defender XSeed exploited this weakness by specializing in kinetic attacks, but the Clav’s adaptive isomers enabled it to quickly regenerate damage.

Though its main mission function was ground assault, the Claviceps was an able space combatant. Its EM impellers granted superior acceleration and response time compared to old-style chemical rockets. Thanks to these advanced drives, its fractal diamond armor, and its ion field, a Clav could survive unaided atmospheric entry. Its TC/D enabled a Clav to follow the Ynzu swarm on its planet-hopping swath of destruction. Standard Zue procedure was to send an advance force of Nidulans to sweep away a target world’s orbital defenses before dispatching Clavs to clear the surface.

Individuals familiar with HALO Conflict history noted parallels between the Claviceps, Togi’s Harvester, and Kaeri’s Jigoku. The Martian Empress remained evasive on the matter, but CF engineers and UC Military strategists alike speculated that the Clavs were mass-produced versions of one or both Secta units. A further disturbing similarity known only to the top brass and ISBC researchers involved the Clavs’ full-immersion cockpits. Whereas Jigoku’s cockpit contained nanites capable of breaking down its pilot and storing her memory engrams for later reconstitution, a Clav’s similar apparatus served only to dissolve the Ynzu inside. This effect seemed to be triggered automatically in the event that a Clav became inoperative. As a result, no Claviceps pilot was ever known to have been recovered.

See the Claviceps in action in Combat Frame XSeed: S! Read it now!