John stared at his new Paragon Body Armour with his mouth agape, and walked quickly across the Engineering Bay to get a closer look. Dana had set up another armour equipping frame next to the two that were already built against the far wall, but this new one was larger, designed to hold armour sized for a brawny six-foot-two man. The full set of body armour was standing in the frame, with the robotic arms holding the front plates in place to showcase the dramatic new design.
The Paragon Armour was about the same size as the previous Phalanx suit, but much sleeker, the aesthetics more elegant and refined. Like the suit that Jade was modelling for them, there was a slight bulge in the vambraces and armoured boots, which obviously housed the same anti-grav generators for use in flight-mode. The suit was glossy white, coated with the same sparkling flecks of silver Etherite, which made the suit seem to radiate a soft aura of light.
The really major difference, which had caused John's shocked reaction, were the resplendent golden pauldrons shaped into the visage of a regal lion. The head of the proud looking beast topped each shoulder, staring out with wise eyes that seemed to hold a hidden strength. The craftsmanship of each pauldron was exquisite, and the representation of the stylised lion was breathtaking to behold. The breastplate was embossed with a similar image, while the boots, helmet, and gauntlets were etched with golden scrollwork, gleaming brightly against the glistening white Crystal Alyssium plating.
"What do you think?" Alyssa asked, then held her breath as she waited for his reaction.
John shook his head in amazement, and exclaimed, "I can't believe you designed this yourself. It looks incredible!" He paused, and grinned at her as he continued, "I love it, but aren't we overdoing the 'Lion of the Federation' symbolism?"
She shook her head, as she replied firmly, "Symbolism is important. Like it or not, we have a certain reputation to maintain now, and it's important we look the part."
Glancing at the gleaming armour, John frowned, and asked, "Are you sure it doesn't come in black? I have a feeling it's going to be a little bit difficult to sneak about in it."
Alyssa waved away his concerns with a dismissive hand, and replied, "Don't you remember when we got shot at by those Terran troops when we were rescuing Rachel? Think how shitty it would've been if we'd had to shoot those guys in self-defence. Besides, how often do we sneak about anyway? We don't tend to be particularly subtle, and just mow down everything that crosses us. If we really need to do some covert ops, I'm sure Dana could make us some stealth variants. Right, Sparks?"
The redhead nodded enthusiastically, and said, "That won't be a problem. We've got loads of Crystal Alyssium, and it's not like we can't afford any other materials I might need."
John rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he stared at the new Paragon Armour, and said, "I guess you make a good point. Specialised suits is probably the way to go, rather than trying to cram everything into a jack-of-all-trades Body Armour." Studying the armour carefully, he turned to Dana, and asked, "How come it's still the same size as the Phalanx suit? Shouldn't it be much smaller, like the one Jade's wearing."
The redhead looked a bit shifty, and Alyssa quickly interjected, "Figure-hugging isn't a good look for a man. You'll look much more imposing like this, trust me."
Giving them a suspicious glance, John asked, "Come on, out with it. What are you two hiding?"
Alyssa let out a resigned sigh, then nodded to Dana, who immediately confessed, "We wanted to keep you extra safe, so your armour is tripled-plated, rather than double-layered. You'll be tougher than a tank in this suit!"
He frowned disapprovingly, and snorted, "That's ridiculous! Why didn't you armour up the female variants the same way? Please don't tell me it's because you wanted to look good."
Rolling her eyes, Dana replied indignantly, "Give us a little credit! The female variants are ridiculously tough as it is, and slimming them down makes us a smaller target. There's a fine balancing point where avoiding hits entirely is as useful as extra layers of protection."
"We discussed it extensively," Rachel said in agreement. "With your penchant for melee, you're far more exposed than the rest of us. While you're charging at enemies, we're more likely to be behind cover, fighting at long range with Punisher rifles."
"Besides," Alyssa said soberly, "If something serious happens to you, and then one of us gets critically injured, we won't be able to just top the girl up. Like it or not, keeping you fighting-fit makes us all safer."
John conceded they were right, and said, "You've obviously put a lot of thought into this, and I'm sorry I underestimated you. Will you forgive me?"
When he gazed around at the women gathered there, he could tell they already had, and he opened his arms for them with relief. Alyssa and Dana stepped into his embrace, while the others snuggled in around them in a loving group hug.
"Did we do a good job?" Dana asked him tentatively.
He gazed into her lovely sky-blue eyes, and said, "You did a phenomenal job, just as I've come to expect from the most gifted armourer in the galaxy." He turned to look at Alyssa next, and added, "I knew you had quite the creative talent after seeing the clothes you designed, but the craftsmanship on those lions is truly astounding. I'll be proud to wear that suit into battle."
The girls grinned at him happily, with Alyssa and Dana soaking up his praise like a sponge. "Why don't you try it on?" Jade asked him with enthusiasm.
John laughed, but they could all see he was just as excited to try on the Paragon suit as they were to see him in it. They broke up the group hug, and Dana skipped over to the equipping frame so that she could press a button on the side. The robotic arms swung up into the ready position, and the suit was now open for him to get in. He stepped into the armoured boots, then slotted his hands into the gloves, pressing the thumb button on his right to swing the armour plating into position, and then touching his thumb to the centre of his left palm to seal it up tightly with a rapid series of clicks.
He stepped out of the equipping frame, then twisted his torso in the armour to get a feel for it, before jogging down to the other end of the Engineering Bay and back. He was grinning when he rejoined them, and he turned in a circle so they could have a good look at the armour, before taking off his helmet. He rotated it in his hands, studying the golden embossing on the gauntlets and helmet, and asked, "Is this a new helmet as well? I thought you'd already built us new ones?"
Dana nodded, replying, "It didn't take long to make a new one, and I tweaked the design a bit for triple plating."
"Thanks for going to all this effort," he said appreciatively.
The redhead grinned at him, and said, "Thank Jade, not me. She built the entire thing, and I just supervised." Casting an affectionate glance the Nymph's way, she continued, "I love my new assistant; she's super smart, and really hard working."
Looking over at Jade in surprise, he asked, "You really built this whole suit yourself?"
