ENTERPRISE-class Mjolnir

Generation-2 BUCCANEER [E], better known as ENTERPRISE, is a and iterative offshoot of a recovered MJOLNIR armor platform, , developed by Baal Defense Solutions (BDS) under contract awarded by the . The suit has been described internally as a type of "MJOLNIR Generation 2.1." Originally recovered by operatives in the field, Baal Defense Solutions was chosen in tandem with the ONI's to investigate and reverse-engineer the original BUCCANEER variant. During the research project, lead BDS engineer Richard Foster championed the development of an industry-ready variant, Project ENTERPRISE.
Foster's research team, referred internally as the "Skunkworks Group," eventually made an investigative breakthrough. By , the project was patented and internally distributed to Baal Defense Solutions' corporate supersoldier program, APOLLYON. Unlike the original variant, ENTERPRISE is not contracted out to the but several suits do deploy with ONI special mission units. In , remaining Baal Defense Solutions subcontractors with UNSC Frontier Command (UNSCFRONTCOM) began investigating a standalone third-generation Mjolnir version of ENTERPRISE and saw initial by the Spartan trainers at Avery J. Johnson Academy of Military Science.
__TOC__
==Deployment History==
===Dire Circumstances===
Data regarding the acquisition of the mysterious BUCCANEER powered armor remains wrapped up in security measures, secrecy codes, and claims concerning national security. Hidden from the public eye and even military personnel with security clearances, the BUCCANEER platform doesn't officially exist in any capacity, not unlike the properly sanctioned , an armor bluntly described as "a suit that doesn't exist, created for missions that never happened, by Spartans who never were."
Those that have seen it during rare deployments have often mistaken it for other MJOLNIR platform types, especially as variants of the or an iteration of the less-advanced favored by deep-insertion units. It is noted that SPI armor and BUCCANEER share some basic architecture leading to greater acceptance of the theory of SPI armor making it onto the black market, along with proof that SPI derivatives have appeared in circulation. Part of a greater concern regarding the proliferation of supersoldier programs and technologies inspired by the legendary Spartans, the Office of Naval Intelligence worries that recognizing the existence of BUCCANEER could be a precursor to officially recognizing the threat posed by rogue supersoldier programs not officially sanctioned by the or the .
The Office of Naval Intelligence, in the immediate period following the end, transitioned to a policy of falsely inflating public trust in the restored civilian government even as the post-War military-industrial complex continued to play a considerable role in day-to-day affairs. The UNSC military had actually extended the proliferation of supersoldier technologies by allowing the privatization of technologies and methods used by the and the second generation of their revered .
Oversights like these directly led to the rise of private and corporate supersoldier projects, led to increased awareness regarding rogue Spartans, and promoted quiet coups like that seen from the leadership of SPARTAN-III Delta Company, an organization that was supposed to be shut down and followed a fundamentally different military policy regarding the future of supersoldier projects. So, when a heavily damaged suit, designated BUCCANEER, was recovered by field operatives belonging to the Office of Naval Intelligence, free-flowing information regarding the suit was quickly suppressed to keep the news of Spartan armor being developed by an independent and unauthorized, unknown party from getting out.
Baal Defense Solutions, a well-regarded private security corporation with a respectable naval engineering division, was called in to assist the investigation. Being one of the frontrunners in supersoldier privatization with authorization from the Unified Earth Government, BDS had significant experience with powered armor and their own corporate supersoldiers, Project APOLLYON. Their presence allowed the to keep the at a distance in a time when rivalries between the Naval Special Warfare and Spartan communities were still very heated.
Due to their hiring of the mechanical engineer Richard Foster, formerly of , Baal Defense Solutions also brought familiar faces back to work on powered armor suits alongside ONI's own . During the Human-Covenant War, Foster's Imbrium-based team helped the Watershed Division test and develop a low-cost powered armor, the Series 01 MIMIC Powered Exoskeleton. Having acquired Foster and his team, Baal Defense Solutions offered a reliable and familiar research team to assist ONI in their ongoing investigation.
===Implementation===
Similar to the original acquisition of BUCCANEER, the development and implementation process that saw the birth of Richard Foster's Project ENTERPRISE was heavily classified from public and even military view. This time not due to circumstances regarding the concerns of supersoldier activities but rather the developments implemented into ENTERPRISE.
Under the guidance of ONI's Watershed Division, Baal Defense Solution's Skunkworks Group, led by Richard Foster, spent time dissecting the mystery armor over several years at the on , one of the UEG's intact . The home of a number of MJOLNIR testbed platforms and the development of many , BUCCANEER's dissection at the Damascus testing facility was a reasonable security decision and the project was given its own facility wing for testing and ultimately, reverse-engineering.
The Watershed Division was the leader in that project, discovering the ins and outs and the full extent of the suit's capabilities, however, it was the Skunkworks Group of BDS that headlined the new direction that became Project ENTERPRISE. Without a full designation and stamp, BUCCANEER's design and reliability were noted and sent off to the UNSC Spartan Branch, entering formal adoption shortly after. An official manufacturer was never listed and all subsequent platforms of the BUCCANEER line were developed in house by ONI Section III alongside the Watershed Division.
Richard Foster, due to prior commitments to BDS's naval engineering wing, Baal Naval Works, was making long trips between corporate colonies belonging to Baal Defense Solutions like Shinar and Oyster Point, and back to Chi Ceti IV to work on multiple projects. BUCCANEER's implementation for the Office of Naval Intelligence, several starship designs for Baal Naval Works. During these periods of transit, Foster was taking notes and opening up a dialogue between both organizations as the idea to expand on the BUCCANEER design developed more traction, both among both parties but within his own mind as well.
Thus, the BUCCANEER research venture continued in a new direction, a project designated BUCCANEER Variant-Echo. Project ENTERPRISE. Recreated structurally, ENTERPRISE was designed from the same physical framework as BUCCANEER and appearances are fundamentally the same except down to the smallest of details as some engineers of the project have noted that ENTERPRISE may have some more angular surfaces than its predecessor, known for being distinctly round in design. Below the armor plates, ENTERPRISE was an entirely different beast with a role completely separate from its originator but still keeping the fundamental ingredients that made up the suit: "a functional - if crude - MJOLNIR variant," constructed from "off-the-shelf components" and "compatibility with military VISR."
At Foster's recommendation, members of Project APOLLYON, Baal Defense Solutions' in-house supersoldier program, were brought in to assist in further development and testing rather than involve the UNSC Spartan Branch as, at the time, neither the Watershed Division program lead or Foster were certain that their prototype would see implementation or mass deployment. It was just a proof-of-concept and keeping it in-house without taking away from the much-needed deployable Spartans. Augmentees from APOLLYON were as good as their , they fulfilled the platform tester requirement adequately, not to mention that Baal Defense Solution was purchasing individual BUCCANEER suits directly from ONI for their operators, it was a logical step to involve BDS even further in the project.
In the , testing reached maturity regarding BUCCANEER Variant-Echo. Becoming BUCCANEER [E], designated ENTERPRISE, the new iteration of BUCCANEER proved favorable to scenario tests and fit the mission requirements set out by Baal Defense Solutions' own supersoldiers. Such a hit, Watershed and the Damascus Ordinance Commission went ahead with awarding official production and distribution rights to BDS for the new MJOLNIR armor variant. Richard Foster eventually moved on from the project, returning to starship development for Baal Naval Works. ENTERPRISE continued on to become a quiet hit among Baal Defense Solutions and by , ENTERPRISE had outright replaced BUCCANEER within APOLLYON's arsenal or existing BUCCANEER suits in service were being modified up to ENTERPRISE specifications.
Outside Baal Defense Solutions, the ENTERPRISE platform has not been offered sales to the UNSC Spartan Branch due to concerns of BDS's human rights record, questionable involvement with frontier colonies and Insurrectionist factions, and BDS's private security clientele. Unlike the Spartans, the Office of Naval Intelligence's own special mission units and departments have made limited adoptions and implementations of the ENTERPRISE platforms, these including ONI's and .
===GEN3 Enterprise===
==Design and Role==
In recognition of the partnership that the Watershed Division and Baal Defense Solutions had while working on ENTERPRISE, the two organizations' logos are printed across the variant's chest plate. Staying true to the original BUCCANEER design, at least to the best of Baal Defense Solutions' ability given the poor state the suit was acquired in, the basic carry-over factors that defined BUCCANEER are again present in ENTERPRISE.
*"a functional - if crude - MJOLNIR variant": retain a fairly low-cost, simplistic overall design.
*"off-the-shelf components": the capacity for increased modularity and mission-oriented customization.
*"compatibility with military VISR": compatibility with products not technically allocated to BDS contractors."
ENTERPRISE integrates many of BUCCANEER's advantages. The outer plating and shell are exact recreations to the specifications used for constructing BUCCANEER and designed with fairly conservative techniques, creating a simplistic, low-cost frame that favors function over comfort. A new interior framework based on the was integrated to replace BUCCANEER's considerably outdated interior space. APOLLYON operators who have spent significant time with the ENTERPRISE and BUCCANEER platforms have noted feeling disappointed with the two armor systems compared to other tested GEN2 systems due to the lacking design principles in comparison. The most vocal complaint focus on the ENTERPRISE's seeming thinness, contractors noted feeling much more aware regarding injuries from gunfire and external injuries.
While meeting the minimum safety and protection standards set out by the Damascus Ordinance Commission, a notable decrease in protective layers in favor of weight reduction and equipment space has somewhat increased the risk of physical injuries sustained by operators using it. In response, BDS augmented contractors have begun using bolt-on armor and webbing armor inserts to compensate for the decrease in protective layering as a temporary solution that encourages further customization and personalization of the armor provided to the private contractors.
For all these modifications, the base cost for creating an ENTERPRISE variant is half that of the , universally recognized as the mainline platform used by the alongside the which is preferential for newly-minuted SPARTAN-IVs. Being half the cost of mainline MJOLNIR variants has made the ENTERPRISE variant cheaper to produce with a 'two-for-one' development philosophy but has also increased the number of replacement parts at the ready and in surplus. There are so many suits of ENTERPRISE available that have been stockpiled, there are several warehouses located on corporate colonies owned by Baal Defense Solutions that keep and maintain these pile-ups of cheap MJOLNIR equipment. For a few that wonder why, the most probable reason is that at some point of significant stock up, Baal Defense Solutions may attempt to flood the future supersoldier market with their own suit variants and quickly change the supersoldier-armor-market landscape almost overnight. So far, that possibility has not come to fruition.
===Iterative Design Changes===
Two major changes were introduced with the development of the ENTERPRISE-class MJOLNIR platform, both additions increasing the modularity and adaptability of the armor. Firstly, adaptive power coupling ports for siphoning energy from traditional power options, particularly the . And second major addition was Covenant-style integration of .
The ability to integrate and incorporate Covenant technology into existing human designs have been a major facet of business technology since the end of the Human-Covenant War, and due to Baal Defense Solutions' connections on the colonial frontier, access to Covenant technology and alien expertise regarding the alien equipment has become readily available for the right connections and price tag. While Baal Defense Solutions has taken some legality and ethical hits in business and ethics courts, it is due to these very connections, particularly with aliens and contacts, that the company has been able to work at the field forefront in alien technology integration.
The committees have come down hard against corporations like Baal Defense Solutions but behind closed doors, the Office of Naval Intelligence has supported and assisted Baal Defense Solutions in forming connections on the frontier in the interest of extending their own agendas. The mostly anti-alien sentiments held by the corporate internal community of Baal Defense Solutions has made them a particularly safe ally to the Office of Naval Intelligence. And while BDS is fundamentally alien, they have no qualms working with alien corporate entities in the advance of their own political and business interests.
With readily cheap access and expertise regarding Covenant technology, several modified, highly experimental pinch fusion reactors have entered BDS's possession, the very same kind that was integrated into the rarely-allocated . While not earmarked for field deployment, reverse-engineering of work performed by employed by have led to new coupling methods that allow ENTERPRISE to use Covenant-style power sources in the field using conversion kits developed by Baal Defense Solutions' Skunkworks Group in-house.
Also taking after the former Covenant military, Baal Defense Solutions also integrated the into the ENTERPRISE platform, giving the suit a natural camouflage system, copying the success of Covenant special mission units like the and rates and by the .
The addition of active camouflage also means that ENTERPRISE-class MJOLNIR stands apart from other contemporary platforms, so much so that the armor's specifications have been considered a sizable leap forward and in a league of its own, leading to the designation of MJOLNIR Generation 2.1. However, due to beginnings of MJOLNIR Generation-3 entering a period of research and development at ONI research facilities, the advanced capabilities provided by ENTERPRISE may soon be outstripped by future iterations on MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor. Even contemporary Generation-2 MOLJNIR can easily compare or even beat the capabilities of ENTERPRISE and in combat, the success of ENTERPRISE-clad contractors rests on the skill of the user rather than the balancing act most Generation-2 provides to the ranks of the UNSC Spartan Branch.
Even with the future wide-open for success with ENTERPRISE and with Baal Defense Solutions, the costs of implementation for ENTERPRISE's greatest assets have caused deployment issues. The integration of Covenant technology and the widespread new technologies adopted into the suit's many ranks while developed cheaply and effectively are limited by the scarce availability of the parts needed to make ENTERPRISE such a success. Baal Defense Solutions, while capable of integrating the alien technology, lacks the trained know-how and facilities to build the Covenant technology in house and instead must purchase it on the open colonial market.
It is because of this limitation that suit prices skyrocket with the inclusion of their selling feature and instead, ENTERPRISE platforms in storage are left without the game-changing technologies and only the fielded platforms receive integration on an individual basis, especially whenever an APOLLYON soldier needs a new suits.
===Specifications (GEN2)===
The following information is in regards to a field-deployed specification of the BUCCANEER [E] "ENTERPRISE" platform. ENTERPRISE, as an MJOLNIR variant, has been found to be an excellent infiltration combat suit with remarkable customization options for a number of different mission profiles. The suit is easily recognizable by its lightweight profile, increased equipment space, capacity for adaptation, and an exceptionally low flyaway cost.
*Type-3 Active Camouflage Module: (Type-3 RMD/C-I) Acquired via government requisition or independent purchases on the colonial arms market, Type-3 Active Camouflage modules are integrated into the ENTERPRISE platform internally rather than equipped to a quick-change armor ability port. This internalized addition allows for wearers of ENTERPRISE to use and fine-tune their own active camouflage in the field that includes near-invisibility technology and motion tracker-baffling equipment. This also leaves the suite open to a secondary armor ability through the traditional quick-change port.
*Universal Power Uplink System: (UniPower Uplink) Designed by engineers of Baal Defense Solutions and the ONI Watershed Division, the Universal Power Uplink System is an exterior plug-conversion kit that is capable of accepting both human and Covenant power-charging options in the form of pluggable batteries and portable nuclear reactors. While not necessarily a replacement for a traditional MJOLNIR nuclear fusion plant, the conversion uplink kit allows for alternative means of power in the event of critical systems failure.
*Software-Protection Breaker: (SOFTBREAKER software suite) Programs recovered by the Office of Naval Intelligence upon the acquisition of the original BUCCANEER variant were further iterated upon by corporate Smart AI in use by Baal Defense Solutions. Designated SOFTBREAKER, this upgraded, suit AI-enabled intrusion digital package has since been integrated into ENTERPRISE's firmware as a preemptive-offensive option against adversary electronic warfare systems. Offensively, it freely works independent of operator involvement to breach enemy electronic equipment by remote targeting of exposed network nodes in enemy networks. Defensively, it catalogs and adopts software fed to it and integrates it into its framework, recklessly bypassing software protection programs and policies. In the field, defeated cybersecurity programs can be copied and integrated into SOTFBREAKER however this requires time for the system to analyze and recompile the program into its digital infrastructure. The system is limited against more complex and intelligent cybersecurity defenses if they succeed in deciphering SOFTBREAKER's methods and means of intrusion.
*"Pinch" Fusion Reactor Adaptor: (HELOSKRILL PFR/A) A purely optional investment, Baal Defense Solutions has acquired several pinch fusion reactors capable of powering MJOLNIR variants based on the one provided to HELOSKRILL-class MJOLNIR, developed by Sangheili artisan-armorers employed by Kolaar Maufactorum. Acquired through less-than-legal means, these heavily-modified Pinch Fusion Reactors are externally mounted on ENTERPRISE platforms via the UniPower Uplink kit to increase the power output of ENTERPRISE on the rare occasion a suit might need it during a certain mission scenario, however, such a mission has yet to take place and the option has yet to be deployed in the field.
*BUCCANEER [E] Armor Frame: (ENTERPRISE armor frame) The slightly modified suit of armor design first discovered as BUCCANEER in the early 2550s has been left outwardly the same in appearance. The real changes were done within the armor instead, involving severe gutting of the internal suit framework, particularly with how the electrical network and thruster package are operated. Considered slightly outdated, a new framework based on the COPPERHEAD-class MJOLNIR platform was adopted instead after Baal Defense Solutions negotiated access with their Watershed Division counterparts.
===Specifications (GEN3)===
===Spartan Ops Requisition===
Unlock: Uncommon Card
*Helmet Description: "Taking advantage of SOFTBREAKER firmware, ENTERPRISE actively seeks to infiltrate, reverse-engineer, and adapt enemy cybersecurity tools."
*Body Description: "Iterated off the mysterious BUCCANEER, the ENTERPRISE suite enjoys a low-cost, modular design with alien tech compatibility favored by corporate operatives."
Available Skins: Sicario and Jefe
*Sicario Unlock: Rare REQ Card
::"Painted skull plastered over visor similar to , light spraypaint-style with dots for armor paint."
*Jefe Unlock: Ultra Rare REQ Card
::"Calavera-style skull plastered over the visor. Baal Defense Solutions logo plastered over the chest plate, white confetti-like spots."
==Known Users==
The list below contains known wearers of the ENTERPRISE-class MJOLNIR, this shortlist includes a number of Spartans and known APOLLYON contract-soldiers. Due to the ENTERPRISE's limited adoption outside Baal Defense Solutions, the number of known operatives employing ENTERPRISE is fairly low.
Image 	Association 	Armor Condition 	Living Status
Anya Beckham	Project APOLLYON 	Tailored new ENTERPRISE suit after testing and fielding BUCCANEER alongside other BDS corporate supersoldiers. 	Alive
Merlin-D032 	S-III Delta Company	Previous MJOLNIR suit heavily damaged during his arrival on the Oyster Point. Acquired an iteration of ENTERPRISE while scavenging through a BDS warehouse, modified by Smart AI Althea. Armor damaged and replaced during the Created crisis and pursuit of the Silent Garden.	Alive
===Merlin-D032's Enterprise GEN2===
==Trivia==
*Created for Halo Fanon's The Weekly competition of 23 June 2019. The challenge was to create a new iteration of MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor as part of the theme, Hammer of the Gods.
*First imagined by , the project was restarted from scratch by in accordance with challenge requirements as the original was an undeveloped stub article.
*Most variants of ENTERPRISE are indistinguishable from BUCCANEER, the image featured at the top of this article shows one variant modified to personal preferences of an undisclosed individual.
==See Also==
===Notable Links===
*Baal Defense Solutions
*Merlin-D032
*Project APOLLYON
*Series 01 MIMIC Powered Exoskeleton
*Richard Foster
===Literary Appearances===
*Halo: Lonely Frontier 
*Halo: Heaven and Earth/Book Two: New Earth 
*Halo: Heaven and Earth/Book Three: Heaven and Earth 
==References==
Category:Powered Armor