C.A.D.S.

Tech Annihilator

By: David Alexander

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

C.A.D.S. -- The Computerized Attack-Defense System combat armor suit. A metal alloy/supraplastic spacesuit-like outfit designed for the post-nuke war environment. The seven-foot high, two hundred pound C.A.D.S. suit is an armored, air-conditioned, computerized marvel that gives the man inside it the power of a Greek god of old. The servo-mechanism driven C.A.D.S. suit can even hover on its powerful gyro-stabilized boot jets and perform feats of incredible strength with servo-assisted muscle power.
A Tech Commando resembles a one-eyed Martian in his sensor-bristling C.A.D.S. rig. The mirrored "eye" is actually his visor screen, a computer-activated Head-up Display or HUD with many functions or "Modes" that are capable of projecting a variety of sensor-enhanced depictions of the combat zone. The visor HUD also shows the status of weapons systems within the suit. It can be made clear for normal viewing or turned reflectively opaque the instant a voice command is given by the trooper within.
The suit has more than a dozen ordnance systems, weapons ranging from computer-targeted explosive darts to liquid-plastic fire (LPF) and "E-balls" -- deadly electro-charged high-explosive shells. Its Variable Shell-Fire (VSF) system allows a soldier to use the enemy's own captured ammo in his firing system -- no matter what the caliber. One man outfitted with a multimillion dollar C.A.D.S. suit has the firepower of an entire battalion of World War Two.
Originally black in color, the old and battle-damaged C.A.D.S. hardsuits were recently replaced with new models that were bright silver in hue. But these "Silversuits" were soon themselves overhauled by the technicians of Hardbase Alpha who gave the new "Mark-3" suits back their original nonreflective black finish.
Both new generations of hardsuits retained all the powerful features of the old suits, as well as a few besides, such as an artificial intelligence (AI) feature that allowed a soldier to actually "talk" to the computer system inside the suit and a better Head-up Display (HUD) in the suit's helmet visor that shows enhanced tactical information about the nuke-age battlefield and the status of the suit's weapon systems.
The onboard computer of the new Mark-3 blacksuits is so smart that commands can be delivered in plain English, bypassing the need to shift from one Mode to the other and greatly cutting down on vital reaction time. The new suits also can fire E-balls with almost twice the wallop of the old kind and have advanced nuclear grenades as part of their standard field kit.
First and foremost among the elite C.A.D.S. force is Colonel Dean Sturgis, a.k.a. "the Tech Commando." Standing over six feet tall, he has sandy blond hair and brown eyes. Originally one of the C.A.D.S. suit program's "test drivers," Sturgis holds vast knowledge of the suits and their deadly capabilities.
Sturgis was once an astronaut trainee, but was canned for insubordination when he questioned safety problems on the Shuttle mission. His nature is rebellious and his disrespect for bureaucrats is matched only by his pride in the elite troops under his command.
Fenton MacLeish, the British C.A.D.S. trooper, was a former S.A.S. commando and member of the Queen's elite Black Guard. He was sent to the U.S. in 1996 for training in the use of the C.A.D.S. suit. He stayed when World War Three broke out, becoming an integral member of the C.A.D.S. unit.
Billy (the Kid) Dixon, standing five feet, ten inches tall, with platinum-blond hair and shoulders like a table, has proven himself indispensable on all of the C.A.D.S. team's many missions. A crazed Audie Murphy type of bravery characterizes his fighting style. The Southerner is usually first to draw Soviet blood in any battle.
Mickey Rossiter is the technical expert and ace mechanic of the unit. Post-nuke stresses made him lean, mean and cunning.