Archaean power armor

Archaean Power Armor
Type	Power suit
Place of origin	Archaean Empire
Service history
In service	ca. 3bn‒2bn years ago
Used by	Archaeans, Bowie, Gruekiller
Production history
No. built	One surviving model

The Archaean power armor is an adaptive combat suit and the only known surviving relic of the Archaean Empire. Originally wielded by Bowie, it was stolen by Gruekiller during his flight from Transatlasia prior to the story proper. Bowie recovered it following a duel near the end of DRAW Your Own Story 11; in At Plot's End, Gruekiller reveals it is a corrupting influence, vowing to reclaim it to prevent Bowie from conquering the universe.

Overview

You've seen the destruction just one suit can do ‒ a platoon, a fleet... nothing can stand up to one.

—Gruekiller

Created by the Archaean Empire, the armor was mass-produced and a staple of its armed forces. Following the Archaeans' sudden collapse and extinction roughly two billion years ago, their technology was lost and/or purposely destroyed; according to Gruekiller, the armor is their only surviving material artifact. Its original design is unknown; it is able to self-repair and adapt to its environment, assuming the guise of a dō-maru when it arrived in feudal Japan in the 14th Century.

The armor's exact schematics and control mechanism are unclear: the main interface is a full-faced helmet, with the rest of the suit materializing from it. Gruekiller is seen suited with the helmet removed, while it deactivates after Bowie claims the helm. It is strong enough to repel up to "low grade artillery fire" and immensely increases the user's physical strength. It features propulsion rockets and self-contained life support systems allowing operation in space. In addition to the suit itself, the armor apparently comes equipped with mêlée and ranged weapons. It also features built-in point-defence measures, but these were disabled by Gruekiller.

The armor is inferred to be semi-sentient, with a malignant effect on the user's psyche somewhat similar to the Gem.

Recent history

From China, to India, to Egypt, it appeared again and again, leaving a trail of chaos in its wake. Wherever it went, it wrought a legacy of pain.

—Gruekiller

Gruekiller in full kit attacking the interceptor during the flight to Ethiopia.

The armor arrived on Earth in the 14th Century. Found by a Japanese peasant, it enabled his rise as a tyrannical daimyō until he was slain by jealous rivals. Over the centuries it travelled west, empowering similar warlords, disappearing in northern Africa until its discovery by Bowie, with which he is implied to have founded Transatlasia. Fearful of its influence, Gruekiller betrayed Bowie and stole the armor, seeking to defeat him before destroying it once and for all.

The suit was first seen wielded by Gruekiller when he fought off a Nazi interceptor. His initial encounter with Bowie revealed the dictator coveted it, but its true importance remained obscure. The Avalonians believed he was the prophesied "Sacred Warrior" who would free them from the Crinoor, showing him a mural with an uncanny resemblance to the armor.

Following his rout of the Crinoor blockade, Gruekiller reflected on the suit's corrupting influence over himself, blaming it for his initial duplicity with the Avalonians. In his subsequent confrontation with Bowie, the dictator hinted his own ambitions had been twisted by the armor. Even with the suit, Grue was unable to best Bowie, whose sword pierced through both sides of the torso; Bowie reclaimed the helmet, deactivating the suit and leaving Gruekiller to die.