R-450 Wolf Spider

The R-450 (Reconnaissance Armor / Mk-450 /codename "Wolf Spider" ) is a specialist armor set of human origin. It was initially designed and produced for black ops and wet work missions, and thus only a few actually exist.

Very few operatives have been witnessed in full armor, the most well known case being the assassination attempt against Samentea, in which it was worn by Tabitha Nasir.

Wolf Spider armor is extremely valuable, largely because only twenty full sets exist to this day, most of which are carefully guarded. Sets can sell on the black market for as much as 13 million Earth credits.

History
The R-450 is the successor to the earlier R-360 Black Widow armor. It entered development in 2292, and was designed specifically operatives of the covert Thanatos Project. It entered production after just 5 months of testing, with its design being perfected by Thanatos R&D. Only thirty full sets were produced, and each one cost nearly one million Earth credits, making Wolf Spider one of the most expensive projects carried out by Thanatos.

Wolf Spider armor went straight from the factory to the operative, and did not go through field testing. With the design virtually perfected, testing was deemed both a waste of time and a potentially too attention-drawing.

The first successful use of the R-450 was in the Assassination of Warlord Balshr. Ever since, Thanatos operatives have made extensive use of the armor, using it in both reconnaissance and infiltration.

During the attempted assassination of Samentea, Tabitha Nasir, the assassin, failed her mission and was killed. Her armor was quickly picked up by HOA operatives and secretly taken to a safe location. When questioned by Omorra investigators, a replica was made and passed off as custom-built with out-dated technology.

Of the thirty suits developed, ten were disposed of for security purposes.

Use
The R-450 Wolf Spider armor has seen use in six wet work missions, and in all but one case the user has never been discovered:
 * The assassination of Warlord Balshr.  The cause of death was officially declared as "natural causes" - carried out in 2299
 * The disruption and dissolution of Operation Ashes.  Multiple civilian workers were approached in their homes and threatened with death, to this day none of them talk of the event - carried out in 2301
 * The destruction of a Valule transport ship that stopped a second Taik-Kexs war.  It was officially declared that an asteroid unexpectedly collided with the transport - carried out in 2310
 * The interrogation and assassination of Kammira Fologa Rundala, a Kexs who was working as an under cover Taik mole.  His cause of death was officially declared as "suicide" - carried out in 2317
 * The raiding of Compound 2280 and assassination of Karl Brand, a human terrorist.  This was the only time Wolf Spider armor was used against a human.  A powerful toxin was used, and his cause of death was officially labeled as "natural causes" - carried out in 2325
 * The failed assassination of Matualus Samentea.  A stolen armor set was used by Tabitha Nasir, a pro-human activist - carried out in 2338

Description
The R-450 Wolf Spider has a very streamlined appearance, and is reportedly very light. It has no unnecessary protrusions, and no unnecessary bulk. It is made entirely out of a light-weight and flexible material similar to rubber. The material dispurses when struck, spreading the force across the entire suit. This makes it practically bullet-proof, and further allows the wearer to survive heavy impacts (such as falling from great distances) with relatively little trauma.

The entire suit is painted a dark blue to blend it into dark environments. The inner-most layer (the layer that touches skin) features a regulation system that both stabalizes body temperature (allowing it to be used in extreme temperatures) and prevents ambient body heat from escaping, making it all but impossible to detect with standard thermal-based surveillance - In a sense, the armor is "cold-blooded".

Details
Arguably the most destinguishing feature of the R-450 is the use of Mutescen pads on the hands and feet. These pads contain a nano-based super-adhesive that can be turned on and off, allowing the wearer to climb any surface effortlessly. Trained operatives, such as those that took part in the assassination of Karl Brand (see above) supposedly never touched the ground during their mission - instead climbing along the walls and ceiling of the compound.

No firearms are required when wearing Wolf Spider armor, as all weapons are contained within the suit itself. These range from a gatling-style dart thrower for killing, to a flamethrower for disposal, to electrified nodes that make punches and kicks especially powerful. In the event that these are compromised or otherwise not subtle enough, a holster containing a karambit knife is concealed into the right shin.

The suit's helmet features and advanced Heads Up Display (HUD) that highlights targets via a built-in AI. The HUD can be changed for a variety of situations, such as thermal vision for low-light or poor visiblity, electro-magnetic detection for detecting robots and other electronics, infrared and ultra-violet detection, and even limited-ranged X-ray vision. In addition to these, the HUD also records video and audio, with a 60 minute limit to files.

For stealth, the entire suit can be concealed by an advanced cloak that bends light around the wearer. While it doesn't render the armor entirely invisible, it remains extremely effective, and is adequate for its intended roles.

In the event that the wearer is killed or compromised, the armor enters a "lock-down mode". While in this state, the armor cannot be removed from the wearer, and a suit-side electrical surge will deliver a fatal 150,000 volt shock to ayone who touches it. Should the armor somehow be removed while in lock down, it will detonate, destroying both the armor and the operative inside. The R-450 automatically tracks the wearer's vital signs, and a lock down is triggered if these vitals read "KIA".