Einherjar
Technical Data
Model Number: XAISS MKII Einherjar AS
Code Name: Einherjar
Classification: XSeed AI Supersoldier
Manufacturer: Astraea synthesis of Squirrel Industries and Saeculum concepts
Operator: 1 “Married” AI pair
First Deployment: CY 98
Crew: 1 Einherjar AI, 1 Valkyrie AI
Height: 2.8 meters
Weight: Dry weight 7.8 metric tons, full weight 8.4 metric tons
Armor Type: Carbyne laminar armor
Powerplant: Cold fusion reactor: maximum output 2400 KW
Propulsion: EM Impellers: 8x 32,000 kg, 6x 21,750 kg; top speed 3026 kph; leg boosters, 4x 32,400 kg; top speed 6058 kph in vacuum; maneuvering thrusters: 22; top ground speed 250 kph
Sensors: Radar, thermal, optical, gravitic array
Hand Armaments: Directed gravitic implosion lance, power rated at 4 MW; XSeed shield
Fixed Armaments: Integrated railgun, fires 40mm graphene-coated tungsten rounds, loads 60 rounds per magazine; x1 carbyne-coated shield
Special Equipment: Ion field generator, radius 10 meters; Burst discharge system, max output 1500 KW; internal nanite repair system
General Notes
In the wake of the political and military re-structuring of humanity after the events of CY40, the Systems Overterrestrial Coalition lost most of its manpower. Military planners put forward numerous concepts to shore up the space colonies’ defenses. One project caught the CDF leadership’s attention: the Einherjar program.
Proposed by one of the mad scientists on Maritza Sterneman’s payroll, the Einherjar concept entailed creating 8,000 immortal AI supersoldiers to defend the SOC. Each Einherjar consisted of an eponymous AI installed in an otherwise unmanned armored suit. Connected to a central system, each time their “bodies” died, the AI would be sent back to their home computer and await placement in a new body. After recovering from her initial heart attack, Mitzi promised to give the idea all due consideration.
The Einherjar program spent the next four decades under examination by a committee which dissolved after most of its members died of old age. However, they did manage to construct and test a single prototype. Due to the AI’s bellicose disposition and virtual immortality, it took risks the committee deemed unreasonable. The project was shelved indefinitely.
Several decades later, Marshal Edoard Ziebig sought to create a legion of mass-produced unmanned combat frames to fight the Ynzu. The Marshal’s research team unearthed a Colonial Defense License system designed on Mars around the time of the SOC’s original defense project. While the Wild Hunt Integrated-Weapons Program offered the desired offensive and defense capabilities, the Erlkoenigs’ eccentricities disqualified them for mass production. The Wild Hunt did inspire Ziebig to give the Einherjar project a fresh look.
Though the Einherjar AI had shown tremendous promise in early testing, they tended to degenerate into a permanent berserker rage after repeated “deaths”. Nevertheless, the potential benefits of stabilizing the Einherjar justified reactivating the project. Surprise developments surrounding Ziebig’s participation in the great Game led to a breakthrough. A new AI derived from Saeculum Witness technology balanced Einherjar bloodlust with cool reason. Codenamed Valkyrie, the new AI was deployed in tandem with Einherjar, creating a lethally efficient pair-bonded team.
The Mk-I Einherjar Armored Suit, designed for the battlefields of early CY 40, relied on plasma-based weaponry. Initial testing showed this loadout to be absolutely useless against even the XSeeds of its day, never mind Ynzu. Marshal Ziebig ordered the original plasma lance’s replacement with an experimental gravity lance. An integrated railgun derived from the venerable Grand Dolph’s weaponry gave the Einherjar an excellent long-range option.
The Mk-II Einherjar Armored Suit was intended as the final word in XSeed development. In spite of its diminutive size relative to other combat frames, it proved shockingly durable thanks to its outer layer of carbyne laminar armor, XSeed shield, and ion field. Not having to devote interior space to life support allowed for multiple redundant internal systems. In the event a component was damaged, an internal nanite repair system could effect repairs using any spare material to hand. That said, in combat tests against the Einherjar, even XSeed aces found it difficult to land a solid hit.
