His left fang is broken, but for the most part, Arcade is lackluster in his visage. Pelt is texture is matted, while his eyes are brown. Usually sports a stylish strip of fur that runs down the top of his head and stops at the small of his back; could be likened to a Mohawk of sorts. Short for his age at 5'1 and lean, though I suppose this counts as a perk given the fact that Kitsune Peril was made with usability in mind rather than catering to persons of large size and stature.
During combat missions, Arcade typically comes off as a jokester, which some may find annoying---especially during the heat of battle where the only thing coming from his end is hysterical laughter and a seemingly never-ending sea of puns, one-liners and lighthearted threats thrown at the enemy. In truth, Arcade uses his sense of humor as a front to protect himself from the deliberating effects of war, for his years spent as a LDF solider have begun to take their toll on his mental health and stability. while his past questionable deeds and controversial actions have led to Arcade debating his own purity numerous times in the past. Honest and blunt, Ruthless is a duty-bound individual that takes prides in his work, and puts forth as much effort as he can afford to offer in everything he does.
UMP-46 'AMP': Modified UMP-45 variant, which is chambered for high-velocity .460 Rowland +P ammunition. Due to the recoil, the '46 is normally fired in bursts. Suitable for defeating higher forms of personnel body armor, but is out-performed by assault rifles and battle rifles both in range and, in many cases, stopping power. Comes with tactical flashlight and rail-mounted holographic sight.
KA-BAR: Standard combat knife. Blade is serrated to enhance cutting power.
GEAR Pilot's Attire: Self-cooling full body sleeve that affords moderate protection from ballistic threats, shrapnel and blast over-pressure. Helmet is equipped with bullet-resistant glass view-slit, radio transmitter/receiver and independent oxygen supply/air filtration system.
Beretta M9C: Modified Beretta M9 base model, which supports a tactical flashlight, laser sight and extended magazine, and to accept .460 Rowland and .460 Rowland +P ammunition.
Lacks in creature comforts, which is expressed by a cramped torso-cockpit that is hot, dry and relatively uncomfortable. Roughly half the size of normal GEARs, Kitsune Peril stands 2.8 meters tall and weighs ten tons (fully kitted). Because of its semi-stationary and defensive nature, the machine lacks jump-jets of any kind, and seems to mimic its archaic power-loader ancestry both in its heavy gait and internal workings. Torso and arms are both controlled using a teleoperation haptic interface (in the form of a wearable harness and a pair of force-feedback gauntlets), while footpedals paired with a series of pressure sensors allow for precise leg movement. At the rear and sides of each foot rest retractable bracing pads, which can be unfolded to stabilize Kitsune Peril when its Aeon-II rifle is set to higher settings.
Support, which constitutes a GEAR designed to lay down punishing suppressive fire from a fortified and/or concealed position, sowing confusion and terror within enemy ranks as rounds are put down range in either burst fire, single fire or in fully-automatic fire mode. Use of an Aeon weapon tends to draw dangerous attention to a Support Role GEAR (the weapon's report is incredibly loud and especially bright), which permits the pilot's squad or fire-team mates to maneuver effectively on the battlefield at the possible expense of the Support GEAR's longevity. Threat of flanking and return fire is mitigated by engaging targets from medium, long or very long ranges, while large ammunition stores ensures a contentious stream of devastating firepower to be brought to bear upon opposing forces.
Aeon-II
The Aeon series of squad support automatic rifles (or SSAR) utilize bulk-loaded liquid propellants and electrothermal-chemical technology, or ETC, to fire projectiles at hypervelocity speeds, dramatically improving the weapon's overall penetration probability, accuracy, range, and stopping power. A product of Southern technological prowess, their performance can be likened to that of an electromagnetic weapon's (like a railgun), though without the railgun's more restricting flaws--such as the intense rail erosion it undergoes when firing, its low efficiency and its unreasonable energy requirements. Recoil, however, is roughly comparable, which suffice to say is rather potent, but is counteracted by the inclusion of a muzzle break, the rifle's intrinsic weight, a deployable bipod, and a piston/cylinder recoil-compensation system.
Aeon-II is a weapon system that has an elevated level of flexibility due to its DU/D (dial up and down) function (when dialing up, more fuel is injected into the gun's pressurized holding chambers while more heat is applied as well to generate a denser and hotter plasma; dialing down, naturally, confers the exact opposite), which permits it to function as a light machinegun, heavy machinegun, battle rifle, heavy autocannon, anti-material rifle, or assault rifle when a combat situation require it.
The Aeon-II is chambered for a substandard intermediate .50 BMG cartridge, the .50 Special, which has been altered to include a denser and sturdier ballistic cap, shell and an inert filling. More exotic ammunition, such as self-guided or laser-designated 'smart' rounds, cannot be used, as the forces imparted onto their fragile electronic systems would disrupt the reliability of these unique ammunition types. Explosive ammunition, for similar reasons, also cannot be used, which hampers Aeon-II's anti-infantry capabilities when compared to more orthodox anti-infantry weapons.
Unfortunately, the use of 'hot plasma' cartridges and volatile fuel mixtures has forced the designers of Aeon-II to make the weapon from denser alloys and sophisticated composites that incorporate refractory metals into their base designs, while active cooling systems--such as heat sinks and radiators--have been built into Aeon-II to manage the dangerous temperatures that Arcade must contend with when waging war against the LDF's foes, resulting in a bulky and unwieldy weapon with a total weight figure that even larger GEARs may find detrimental to their reliance on speed and agility.
Kitsune Peril's main weapon is fed from a GEAR-sized assault pack, which has a maximum capacity of 30,000 rounds of .50 Special (and an additional 2,000 rounds in the feed shoot). Below it rests Aeon-II's supplementary fuel reservoir, which consists of two tanks that each hold one half of the fuel mixture Aeon-II needs to function properly. Alone, neither liquid is flammable, which somewhat helps to boost Kitsune Peril's chance of survival if a hit is endured on its rear person.
Aegis
An Aegis system is a defensive hardware loadout that is melded with the main torso armor, chest armor and faulds of Arcade's GEAR. It operates on the same principle as electromagnetic reactive armor (or ERA), where rounds that successfully penetrate the breastplate are instantly vaporized by a high current of electricity. Power constraints and technical complexity issues limit the system to the chest and torso areas. The system is recharged by Kitsune Peril's onboard generator and turbine suite, while additional power can be siphoned from the emergency power cell the GEAR comes with. Aegis is only able to endure several hits before it is fully-compromised and needs to be replaced.
Smoke discharger, chaff launchers and electronic-counter measures; NBC protection and EMP hardened. Sophisticated stealth technology, such as thermal cloaking, radar-defeating materials or sound-muffling features, are not used. Visual and tactical readouts are provided by thermal imaging cameras, UV imaging cameras and motion trackers.
CIWS (smaller, obviously, and mounted on Kitsune Peril’s right shoulder). Fires dart clusters to destroy incoming missiles, though extremely ineffective against incoming bullets and shells. Very important to Arcade's survival, as his GEAR and its weapon both have an annoying knack for drawing the attention of heat-sinking missiles.
Entrenching spade (used to dig fox holes and to perform menial engineering work if needed). Also makes for a suitable melee weapon in a pinch.
Three Aeon-II and Aeon-I replacement barrels (barrels are interchangeable between both models). Also can be used as a melee weapon, though this is not recommended for obvious reasons.
Kitsune Peril is one of the oldest GEARs still in active service with the LDF, and has been upgraded and retrofitted with various examples of advanced technical improvements to ensure that it is able to contend with current and future GEAR models.
Despite these proactive and preventive, Kitsune Peril is relatively slow and ungainly when compared to older or newer GEAR models, and has begun to show its growing obsolescence in the face of swifter and faster GEAR variants. Arcade playfully describes his proven war machine as a “Persistent throwback to an era where heavy armor and superior firepower put you a cut above the rest ”, though the seasoned pilot has slowly begun to realize that a newer GEAR model may be required sooner rather than later. On today's battlefields, sheer armor and firepower are no longer guarantees of a sweeping victory.
However, what separates Kitsune Peril from its counterparts is the sheer robustness and hardiness of its superstructure and the simplicity of its internal components. Kitsune Peril's range of motion and joint flexibility have both been greatly reduced to allow augmentative armoring of its joint areas and other bodily sectors where structural weak-points are present, while more daring feats of physical strength and increased amounts of muscle strand can be performed and installed without concern for body-wide system failure.
My favorite color is a toss up between red and black.