Chapter 5.51 - Exosuits

Part 1

Courtney helped David sit up in his hospital bed.

"Are you feel better?" Courtney asked.

"A bit. The doctor said that I should be able to get out of the hospital in a day or two," David replied, "Luckily, it was your exosuit that took most of the damage."

"I'm glad to hear that it is doing well in the field," Courtney said.

"It was... I'm sorry that I got it wrecked."

"No, don't be," Courtney said, "That's what it was built for, to protect its operator."

"Besides," Courtney continued, flashing an excited grin, "I get to work on upgrading your exosuit now."

David smiled at seeing Courtney get excited about her work. Seeing her workaholic nature reminded him of the first time he met her.



Part 2

It was only a few months ago when David had met Dr. Courtney Onodera.

It was during David's first day with the Justice Knight Unit, and the Captain was showing him around the headquarters. When they had reached the lab, the Captain said, "And this is the lab where Dr. Onodera is building your exosuit."

Approaching the woman who was busy working on her computer, the Captain got her attention and introduced David, "Courtney, this is the agent that we've selected to wear the first exosuit."

Without looking up from her computer, the scientist said, "Hello."

"Er..." David hesitated a little, "Hello, Dr. Onodera, I'm-"

"David," Courtney interrupted David's introduction, still staring intently at her computer, "I know, I read your profile. I was part of the selection process as well. You may call me Courtney."

"O-Okay, Courtney," David said, a little put-off by the doctor's coldness.

"Alright," The Captain's voice prevented the awkwardness from continuing, "Let's move on with the tour."

"Right, it was nice meeting you, Courtney," David said.

Courtney held up her hand and waved goodbye without looking away from her monitor.

David and the Captain headed towards the door.

Suddenly, Courtney shouted, "Wait! David, I need you to take off your clothes."

Blushing, David stuttered, "W-What?"



Part 3

David buttoned up his shirt. His face was still a little red.

"I have all the measurements that I need," Courtney said, looking at her clipboard, "Next, I will need you to say these phrases into this mic." David did so.

"That's all that I need for now," Courtney said, "The exosuit should be ready in two days."

"Good," The Captain said, "The sooner David can test out the suit, the faster we can get him onto the field."

True to her word, Courtney finished the exosuit in the next two days. With David and the Captain in her lab, she laid down a belt like device on the table in the middle of the room. A rectangular device with a red orb in the middle made up the buckle part of the belt.

"This is the Knight-Former," Courtney said, "This is the device that you will use to put on your exosuit in the field."

Courtney reached for the Knight-Former. Pressing a button on it, she issued a command, "Maintenance."

Courtney stepped back as tiny, blue, metallic squares shot out of the red orb and formed the exosuit on the table.

"This," Courtney introduced proudly, "is the Justice Knight exosuit."

David stared at it, wide-eyed, "H-How did that just happen?"

Courtney raised an eyebrow, "Well, I pressed this button on the Knight-Former and then I sai-"

"Not that!" David exclaimed, "I mean, how did the exosuit come out of the belt? How did it even fit in there to begin with?"

"Oh, that," Courtney replied, "When stored inside the Knight-Former, the exosuit is made up of a variety of different compacted particles. When activated, the Knight-Former releases those particles and they form bonds with each other to create the exosuit. There's a bit more that goes on, but that's as layman as I can make it."

David stared at the exosuit. After a brief moment, he muttered, "Wow."

Courtney smiled slightly, "I'm glad to see that you're impressed."

Courtney pressed a hidden button on the Knight-Former. The exosuit scattered into tiny squares again and flew back into the red orb. She picked up the belt and handed it over to David, "Here, put it on."

David did so.

"You have three main buttons on the Knight-Former, two to the side, and one is hidden on the back," Courtney pointed out, "The top side one is your 'Suit Up' button. Press it and say 'Suit Up', the exosuit will then form around you. The bottom side button is your 'Maintenance' button. Press it and say 'Maintenance', the exosuit will then be able to form without an operator, for maintenance purposes. Those two buttons can only be activated by certain voices. You can use both, while the Captain and I can only use Maintenance."

David nodded.

Courtney continued, "The last button, the one hidden on the back of the Knight-Former, will deactivate the exosuit and store it back into the Knight-Former. This one is not voice-protected."

"Why not?" David asked.

"In case we need to get you out of the exosuit," Courtney explained, "We don't know what might happen in the field, and you might get incapacitated. We need to be able to get the exosuit off you quickly if you need medical attention or in case of some other emergency."

"Right," David said.

"Now, let's run some tests," Courtney said, "Suit up, David."

"O-Okay," David said, nervous about putting on the exosuit for the first time. He pressed the top side button and said, "Suit up."

The Justice Knight exosuit formed around him.

David looked through the visor, which lit up with a HUD. He stared down at his now gloved hands. Then he stretched his limbs and body to feel out the exosuit.

"How does it feel?" Courtney asked.

"Quite comfortable," David responded. He threw a mock punch through the air, aimed away from the Captain and Courtney.

"Even though I took your measurements while you were in your underwear, the exosuit has been calibrated so that it will be able to expand depending on what clothes you're wearing."

"Wow, you thought of everything, Courtney," David said, impressed.

Courtney smiled a little again before continuing on, "However, the exosuit will not be able to form if your clothing is too thick; for example, if you're wearing a snow jacket. So please keep that in mind."

David nodded.

"Now," Courtney held up a clipboard, "Let's move on to the other tests."



Part 4

The suit scattered into tiny squares and flew back into the red orb. David stood, sweaty and exhausted from the strength and speed tests.

Sasha handed David a towel.

"Thanks," David said to Sasha with a smile.

Sasha smiled back and looked away, blushing.

"So, how'd I do?" David asked Dr. Onodera.

"Not bad," the doctor said, "It will take a few more tries for you to get used to the exosuit, but these tests do show that your speed and strength have both been enhanced by the exosuit. Needless to say, the tests before have already proven that the exosuit provides better protection than what other armour can provide. So with these new tests, it would seem that this exosuit is now ready for combat with the Iron Legion's cyborgs. However, we won't know for certain how effective the Justice Knight exosuit will be until an actual fight."

David nodded.

"Before that, we will have to run more tests to get this exosuit calibrated so that the both of you can bring out your maximum combat potential," Courtney said, looking down at her clipboard, "Are you ready for more?"

David nodded and followed Courtney to the next testing area.



Part 5

"What are you thinking about?" Courtney asked, snapping David out of his flashback.

"What?" David said, startled, as he came back to reality, "Sorry, I was just thinking about the first time with the exosuit."

"I see," Courtney said, grinning, "Then tell me, now that you've had some time with the exosuit, what sort of changes would you like to make? This is an excellent chance to better calibrate it to your needs from the very foundation."

David grinned as well. After a few moments of pondering, he began, "Well, first, I would like to make the exosuit sleeker and faster. Then, I would also like a new weapon..."