TARAWA System
Telepathically-controlled Array of Rapid Action WeAponry (TARAWA)
Designed as a method of giving SDA psions more offensive potential both in in the wake of the growing tide of war facing the Terran Alliance, and the need for SDA-managed fire support against Spirit Beasts, the TARAWA System was conceived as a combination armament and mobility platform that could be mentally controlled by psionically-talented individuals. Developed in secret on Mars with the help of the Teuthidoids in late 2029 and early 2030, the TARAWA Initiative was an experiment aiming to combine Human drone platform tech, Soft AI, Teuthidoid biotech, and advances in Human weapons technology in order to give psionically-talented humans the ability to deal with a variety of different combat and threat environments.
Level 1
TARAWA System Standard Issue
At level 1, a user of the TARAWA System is issued a Base Harness, Standard Frame, and two of each of the following Wings: Flight, Heavy, Light, Medium, Rail, and their choice between either two Nano Missile Arrays, Riding Wings, or Swarm Missile Pods.
Controlled Wings
At level 1 a user of the TARAWA System is only able to to control two wings at once. This increases by two every four levels thereafter, maxing out at 10 wings at level 17.
Level 11
Defensive Wings
At level 11, a user of the TARAWA System learns to utilize their non-active, docked wings for defensive purposes. For every 2 docked wings you have, you receive a +2 bonus to your Reflex defense.
Level 15
Wing Burst
Starting at level 15, you have learned how to push your TARAWA system, and yourself, beyond your safety limits for a limited amount of time. As a swift action, you can control a full array of 12 Wings for a number of rounds equal to 1/2 your character level (round down), and gain a +4 bonus to attack and damage rolls with wings (but not when using the wings as handheld weapons). You take 12d8 nonlethal damage at the conclusion of this time.
Level 19
Wing Burst (Longer Duration)
Wing Burst now lasts a number of rounds equal to your character level.
Base Harness
The harness’s primary component is a non-intrusive trans-cranial interface mounted at the top of the harness, where it rests against the wearer’s brainstem. This device utilizes Teuthidoid biotech to provide passive feedback on the TARAWA system’s status by psionically transmitting it into the psion’s brainstem, leading to them simply ‘knowing’ the status of all components of the system as if it was just another part of their body. This interface also allows for the faster than normal response times needed to operate the system at its full potential by acting as a booster for the psion’s own power through the use of the secondary component of the harness. The harness’s secondary component is a signal repeater, which duplicates any mental signals that the interface detects and sends them to all deployed components of the TARAWA system. The signal repeater is advanced Teuthidoid biotech, and is poorly understood by the Human scientists on the project. This allows the user to control multiple Wings simultaneously. The tertiary component of the harness is a specially-adapted set of AR Gloves, which assist with the control of the system. These gloves can interface with a normal HUD device if needed. Beyond this, the harness is a sleeveless vest, containing enough long-duration power cells to operate the interface for a full 24 hours before a 1-hour recharge using a standard recharger is required. On the backside of the vest is hardware that allows the harness to interface with the other major component of the TARAWA system – the Frame. Initial synchronization with the harness and any Wings currently comprising the system’s Array takes 30 seconds (5 rounds) of full-round meditation.