Field Duties

During basic training, you will learn the fundamentals of modern warfare against the Bane. However, your instructors cannot accompany you into combat and guide you through the early stages of your career. With resources stretched as they are, you must consider your first engagements with the Bane as an extension of your survival training.

That is why each recruit is issued a copy of this manual. Whether you have yet to see combat or are a seasoned veteran, applying the principles contained in this chapter will enhance effectiveness as a soldier. Review this material often, and practice the tactics provided herein until they become second nature.

Health

The most critical survival tactics are to take care of your body and maintain situational awareness. Frequently check your HUD’s health indicator. Your armour’s health systems, coupled with natural adrenaline production, often suppress pain during combat. This enhances your ability to neutralise threats in the face of injury. However, it can lead zealous combatants to keep fighting at their own peril. Thus, your HUD is an essential tool for knowing how badly you’re hurt and deciding when to seek shelter.

As your health display bar decreases, so too does your physical wellbeing, gradually approaching a point of collapse. Back away from combat if your health reaches a critical point. This gives you a chance to heal without suffering further injury, and it allows your armour to start repairing itself, as your armour does not regenerate in combat once it’s fully depleted. The sooner your armour returns to full strength, the greater your chances of survival.

• Modern armour is enhanced with health-monitoring capability. Sensors positioned throughout your armour monitor your vital signs. The red bar displayed at the lower left of your HUD provides a graphical representation of your physical condition.
• No armour can provide complete protection against every attack. Assaults that penetrate, damage, or bypass your armour, as well as falls from significant heights, can result in injury or death.
• All AFS armour utilises micromech to heal the wearer and self-regenerate. During combat, however, the self-regeneration systems are reduced while more power is used for damage mitigation. If the armour is ever completely damaged, it will be unable to self-regenerate armour until there is no combat for some period of time.
• Restorative Logos, Specialists with Healing Discs, and Med Packs can accelerate your recovery.

Power

The latest generation of recruits has displayed an astounding level of prowess using Logos. Though this form of energy is not fully understood, AFS Intel has compiled enough data to explain some aspects of Logos and its use in this manual.

First, the newest generation of integrated armour systems uses a neural scanning technique to display Logos power. The dark blue bar below your health display indicates the amount of Logos power you currently possess. Using Logos abilities consumes this power, and the gauge in your HUD decreases accordingly. When the bar is nearly depleted, you cannot use Logos until the power is replenished. Aside from an inability to utilise these special abilities, there are no known adverse reactions or side effects associated with exhausting Logos power.

Logos power continually feeds into soldiers who are Logos receptive. Whether fighting, moving, or at rest, Logos power rises up to a maximum value if unused.

Some Logos abilities aid a person or nearby allies in recovering Logos power. Specialists, specifically those who master their training in Exobiology or Medic work, are most capable of using these.

If you suspect that you or someone you know is receptive to Logos and will benefit from Logos training, please contact AFS Intel, care of Inloc.

• Power is displayed as a deep blue bar on your HUD.
• Power is depleted when a Logos-receptive troop uses his or her Logos abilities.
• Power is restored over time, during and outside of combat.
• Power is restored very quickly with specific (and rare) Logos abilities, often mastered by certain Specialists.

Armour

In the field, including zones safely under AFS control, all troops should wear full combat armour. Many zones are subject to Bane attack at any time. Recruits train with Motor Assist gear, but completion of boot camp and specialty training leads to other advanced armours.

Using your integrated computer, type P at any time to access the status of your armour and other systems. The light blue bar displayed on your HUD represents the total protection that your armour provides. Notice the improvement to total protection each time you add a piece of armour, or the decrease when a piece is removed or damaged. Armour is frequently damaged in combat. Check with a local vendor for repair.

• Armour is displayed on your HUD via the lighter blue bar above your health indicator.
• Armour repairs itself rapidly outside of combat, but does not regenerate while you are under fire.
• Some energy and impacts bleed through armour and harm the wearer, even when the armour remains intact.
• Some enemy armour has weaknesses, which can be exploited with specific attack types.