Diem

High Admiral Nazara,

As you requested, I've written up a report on the prototype Hermetic Cyborg Battle Platform operated by Commander Diem. Unfortunately, all official documentation regarding the suit and its operator were lost in the Battle of Irk, and no Elders exist to share their information. The information I've collected comes from our own analysis of its systems, as well as firsthand accounts of its brief operational history from Resistance witnesses.

It should be noted that the battle platform seems heavily customized and tailored to the commander's specific case, so it is unknown just how much of the suit is considered standard and how much is specific to Diem alone. For reference, the details of Commander Diem's injuries according to him and other witnesses:

Diem was exposed to a thermonuclear blast, which vaporized his armor and nearly Diem himself. He was in such a position at the time of the blast that his front right leg was completely severed from his body, and his eyes were blinded from the sheer brightness of the explosion. His ears were also completely burnt off, as they were the only fully exposed part of his body at the time. He survived the explosion due to his proximity to a nearby canyon, which he fell into when the blast knocked him back initially, leaving only his armor completely disintegrated, but his skin still suffered major burns, frying his sensory nerves in his body and destroying his tactile perception. This saved him from being completely vaporized, but he fell the entirety of the canyon's 6,000 ft+ depth, landing on his pearl, which broke his fall. The drop, however, broke several vertebrae, among some other relatively inconsequential bones, leaving Diem paralyzed from the waist down. He claims to have never lost consciousness, and managed to climb all the way out of the canyon through what he recalls as "some mysterious, powerful force of will." Reportedly, the climb likely took 12-16 hours. The team sent to assess the situation arrived shortly before Diem reached the surface, and upon discovering him planned to summarily execute him for his failure in the mission. This decision was quickly belayed by the Elders once they learned that someone had survived the event in such a shape, and they immediately ordered that Diem be treated and brought back for rehabilitation.

That's all that's known of the event. What happened between then and the Battle of Irk is lost with the Elders themselves. The only known detail of the operation is that the paralyzed part of Diem's body was amputated and replaced with a synthetic endoskeleton, along with his missing right leg. It was also learned that Diem's [lungs] were very damaged from the inhalation of radioactive particles following the explosion, and he requires a respirator at all times to breathe. But of particular note, our doctors are mystified not just by how Diem managed to climb out of the canyon in his condition, but his survival afterwards. His initial exposure to the blast was brief enough to not immediately kill him, but he would still be victim to neurovascular radiation poisoning. By all accounts, he should have died shortly after he was recovered by the assessment team. Diem does claim to have suffered nausea, dizziness, vomiting, and at least one seizure following the blast (the seizure almost causing him to fall back down the canyon). No known living being can survive that level of radiation and live for more than a day or two. But somehow, we detect absolutely no radiation in the commander's body, as though his body completely metabolized the radiation, which is impossible. Our doctors theorize that the Elders may have augmented Diem on some more radical, biological level, but our tools cannot detect such specific information from underneath the suit, and since the suit is completely sealed and unable to be opened without risking the commander's health, any solid inquiry into Diem's survival and current medical condition is impossible for the time being.

On another note, if the radiation poisoning hadn't killed him, his other injuries would have. By the time he was recovered by the investigating deployment, he was found to have several broken ribs, a flail chest segment, several lung ruptures, pulmonary bruising, and minor ballistic trauma to the core organ. It is unknown whether these injuries were caused from the initial event or from Diem's climb back up the canyon, which would have likely caused problems of its own. These injuries still persist and are now inoperable conventionally. What we have observed, though, is that the inner layer of the suit has merged with these injured parts of the body and healed into the wounds, preventing the damage from worsening and killing Diem. This keeps him alive, but if the suit were to be removed or heavily damaged (both scenarios being very unlikely with the Elder's efforts at making the suit incredibly durable), he would suffer a slow and painful death.
Essentially, the suit appears to be inseparable from Diem, forming some kind of symbiosis, where one cannot survive without the other, doubly so as the suit's been programmed to purge itself when Diem dies, seemingly to prevent reverse-engineering or capture. For all intents and purposes, Diem is a dead man walking.

We were unable to conduct a thorough psychoanalysis of Commander Diem, however. Outwardly, he appears to be fine, but it is unknown if he has suffered any kind of deeper mental trauma. Given his training and record, though, it's unlikely that there are any issues in this regard. We did detect some slight abnormalities in his brainwave activity, though the doctors attributed this to the suit's interference and not as an accurate depiction of his brain's health.

Now, for the analysis of the suit itself (organized from top to bottom ((horn to foot)):

While Diem's ears were completely burned off in the explosion, the roots appear to have been left mostly intact, and they were then connected to new, artificial ears that are built into the helmet of the suit. These are inflexible and as solid as the rest of the armor. They serve much the same purpose as normal ears, but have been upgraded to also serve as variable-frequency radio transceivers, capable of communicating with another from miles away.

The helmet's primary feature is its visor. Beneath the visor are four sets of panoramic cameras that are connected to Diem's ocular nerves (his original, blinded eyes having been removed and replaced with these). The panoramic setup provides double the field of view than average. Each individual pair provides its own kind of vision. The first is standard, which views the normal visible light spectrum, but with much increased quality compared to normal eyes. The second is night vision, which greatly enhances visibility in low-light conditions. The third is infrared, capable of detecting thermal signatures. The fourth is an experimental x-ray vision, which, when activated, allows the user to see through various materials, though the effect is not perfect. These cameras are all connected to a small data management system within the helmet that can serve various functions, such as highlighting enemy combatants or displaying important information. Beneath the visor, on both sides of the helmet in the front, are two respirators that connect to tubes that lead to Diem's mouth, serving as a heavy filter to prevent further irritation or damage to Diem's [lungs], and doubling as rebreathers for dangerous underwater activity. The material composition of the helmet overall is incredibly durable and well-armored, and seemingly indestructible. The neck is equally protected with a layered armor plating design that inhibits mobility some. Much of the suit is operated from the helmet, as the cranium is laced with neuroprosthetics that allow the user to operate the suit without any physical interface.

The upper torso of the suit is of a prism design, with a large triangle forming the shoulders, chest, and upper back of the body. This section of the body is heavily armored and nearly indestructible. Beneath the front side is a large, high-powered microfusion nuclear battery capable of powering the suit and Diem's prosthetic limbs for around 7,000 years. The back houses a computer regulates a number of the suit's tertiary systems, such as its internal temperature and the various medical functions of the suit.

The lower torso is composed of heavily armored interlinking plates that provide some mobility while not compromising the suit's defensive capabilities. The hips are covered in a dense fiber that provides less protection than the rest of the armor, but only by a small margin, while increasing mobility exponentially.

The suit's gauntlets are possibly the most complicated structures in the suit, and both are different from one another:

The right has three mechanisms. Inside the gauntlet is a set of small retractable claws, with edges composed of a metal alloy that, when charged with electricity, heats to near-boiling temperatures, making it able to cut through almost any surface with little resistance. The outer side of the gauntlet houses a retractable napalm thrower, capable of shooting an ignited stream of napalm up to about 90 feet. The fuel tank and compressed gas for this weapon are contained within the arm itself, as it is mostly hollow, save for Diem's thin synthetic arm. On the underside of the gauntlet, a retractable projectile launcher, armed with a max capacity of three small rockets, loaded into the arm. All three of these mechanisms lock the hand in a straight position to prevent damage.

The left also has two mechanisms, but of different functionality. The top is a dock for an individual data/net terminal, which serves various functions both in and out of combat, and can also act as a more direct controller for the suit should the neuroprosthetics malfunction. The outer side has a retractable laser, which is small and not powerful enough to damage most solid materials, but is capable of damaging flesh and fabric. These mechanisms do not lock the hand into any position.

The hands are made of a flexible metal alloy that is not as tough as the rest of the suit, but is still quite solid. The fingers are pointed like a normal claw, but much tougher, and able to puncture stone or metal.

The legs are the least complicated part of the suit. The outer thighs have an underlying electromagnetic material, which are automatically powered on when a weapon is brought close to them, for easy carrying. Similarly, the boots of the armor also possess much stronger electromagnets, meant for extravehicular activity whenever it might be needed. The kneecaps house retractable concussive energy blasters, which can only cause moderate burns, but will knock back a foe.

The suit stands at [five feet] tall, slightly increasing Diem's original height. Its weight, however, is much more impressive, weighing over [300 pounds], not counting the weight of the fuel for the napalm launcher.

This is the sum of our current knowledge on the suit. It is very unlikely that there is something our analysis overlooked. We'll be sure to notify you of any new developments.