Dead Man Walking: Living By Day, Dead By Night

Chapter 198: Project Prometheus Part II

A young soldier stood within the Remnant Bunker Complex that was nearest to Gravestone. The bunker itself was located in southern Oregon, and was a few hours' drive away from where Zane and his people resided.

This young man was a marine prior to the outbreak of the undead virus six months ago. Whether he could consider himself lucky for surviving the bloody aftermath, and in the process being transferred to this secret government facility, or unlucky for being one of the few left alive, only he knew.

But right now, he and his company of Marines were being introduced to the latest equipment produced by the Remnant's many scientists and engineers. It was known as Project Prometheus and was supposed to give the average man the ability to take on those undead of a higher tier. As well as the Corrupted Humans who now plagued the wasteland.

Dressed in nothing but advanced jumpsuits, the man and his comrades stepped forward towards the vats which contained the new equipment. None of the soldiers present for this unveiling knew exactly what it was that they would be testing today. Or at least not prior to entering the containers where the equipment lied.

But from the moment they were withdrawn to this bunker, they knew it would only be a matter of time before they were sent back to the surface to reclaim the United States for its rightful owners. Without a bit of hesitation, the man stepped into the large tube, where he was shocked to find a rather bulky set of armor sitting in front of him.

This protective suit was unlike anything the man had seen before. At least not in real life. In regards to science fiction material such as video games and television, it was quite a common trope.

The young Marine gazed in awe at the large set of armor, examining its mighty and intimidating features in silence for some time. That is until a voice called out to him. The voice appeared to belong to one of the scientists working on the weapons classified project, who introduced himself in a tone that could only be described as horrifically excitable.

"What you are all looking at is the product of twenty years' worth of development by the Military Industrial Complex. It is truly a shame that we were unable to field such exceptional equipment prior to the outbreak of the virus.

Alas, had we been able to do so, then we could have very well changed the tides of war on many battlefields across the world. Hell, we probably could have stopped the Undead in their tracks altogether! It is a pity, but it was simply not meant to be!

Look at me, rambling about my failures! I apologize, let me get back to the point of this lecture. You see, this top secret weapons project, which we have renamed to Project Prometheus, was designed to give the average infantrymen combat capabilities on par with an Infantry Fighting Vehicle. In fact, this suit of armor is known as the Mk I Prometheus Power Armor.

It is exactly what it sounds like, a suit of armor that not only protects your entire person from small arms projectiles, blunt/bladed weapons, and small explosions, but is also capable of enhancing your physicals capabilities with a built in exoskeleton and targeting software.

You do not need to worry about how it is controlled. Thanks to the implants you have received prior to today's weapons test, you should be able to fully control the power armor with your mind, as if it is merely an extension of your body!

The Mk I Prometheus Power Armor is powered by a micro fusion core, and has enough energy to last several decades of constant use without the need to refuel. For the record, it also has built in first aid features, and stimulants to keep you in the fight should the enemy somehow get past your superior armor.

Don't be shy, try it out!"

The soldier did as he was told. He stepped towards the rear of the suit and opened it from behind, allowing him to climb into the armor, almost as if it were a second layer of skin. When it sealed behind him, the visor was black at first, that is, until the chip that had previously been surgically implanted in his brain connected with the armor.

Allowing him to see via the armor's built-in cameras, which were both night vision and thermal capable, as if he was using his own eyes. It was a miraculous feature, one which he tested by moving his hand forward, and just like that, the armor which clamped around his hand moved effortlessly.

It was not bulky or sluggish in the slightest. In fact, the armor was capable of being moved at not only the same speed and agility as his own naked body, but rather substantially more so. To an almost superhuman level.

The first crop of soldiers designed to test the new weapons system were ecstatic as they moved their bodies around with ease. And after playing around for a short period of time, they were stunned to see a hatch open before them, which revealed a rather large obstacle course. Far larger than one would expect being built beneath the surface of the Earth.

The scientist, who was now speaking to the men via the communications devices embedded in their helmets, gave his instructions to the Marines, who were more than eager to do what they were told.

"Feel free to go wild with this obstacle course. While this would be impossible to complete with your body alone, you should find that feats which were impossible in the past are now wholly capable of being performed, and as easily as if you were merely breathing!"

The soldiers did not hesitate to do as instructed, where they rushed off into the obstacle course. Jumping over small buildings and climbing simulated mountains with ease.

They were able to stop rolling boulders in their tracks and outright demolish them with their strength, as well as perform other exceptional physical feats that only an awakened survivor with his physical attributes in the twenties would be able to achieve.

After effortlessly clearing the obstacle course, the company of Marines were then led towards a firing range, where their newly issued weapon was lying on the table. In the past, it would be absurd for a man to use something like a .50 caliber machine gun as a handheld weapon.

But now, not only could these men use such powerful arms as if they were a mere sub-machine gun, they could even wield 30mm auto cannons as if they were assault rifles. The weapon in question was based on the US Army's M230LF 30mm chain gun, which had previously been mounted on a variety of combat vehicles.

But unlike the M230LF, this chain gun was given a stock, a pistol grip, a bipod, and had the capability of using optics. Which synced together with the helmet on the Prometheus Power Amor. Not only that, but the weapon appeared to have a large ammo box which could be swapped out after firing the belt within it.

When the Marines picked up their new primary service weapon, they found that the optic was integrated with their helmet, in sofar as the reticle was tracked via their eye movement. Not only this, but the target was ballistically calculated with the targeting computer embedded within the Power Armor.

Allowing them to precisely aim at a target's weak spot with no more than a second of calculation. Once the trigger had been pulled, the weapon would fire directly upon the spot that was designated by the targeting computer. This gave the marines 100% precision with every shot fired.

The targeting dummies that had been provided to the Marines were a variety of Undead ranging from Abominations to Stalkers, and even a few Juggernauts. Though the Abominations and Stalkers were killed with a single shot of the 30mm chain gun, the Juggernauts required a few more successive shots to be fully dealt their second death.

As previously explained by the scientist. The Mk I Prometheus Power Armor gave the average infantryman offensive and defensive capabilities on par with an Infantry Fighting Vehicle, while also granted them the mobility, speed, and agility of a superhuman infantry man.

The company of Marines would thoroughly test the Mk I Prometheus Power Armor over the coming weeks. Not only within the bunker complex, but out in the real world within a variety of environments.

Though some modifications were made, such as the adding of built-in anti-tank guided missiles within the shoulders of the armor. As well as a few calibrations to the Armor's targeting computer.

The end result was an extremely capable weapons platform. One that had but a single purpose: to reclaim the American wasteland from the Undead, and Corrupted alike. And it would most certainly be a powerful tool in this regard.