Mjolnir Powered Assault Armor/Mark IV

MJOLNIR Mark IV
The MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armour Mark IV was an armour outfitted to the Spartan -II-s. The suite greatly increased the strength of the wielder, reduced the reaction time by a factor of 5, and greatly increasing the speed of the wielder, with an metal liquid crystal layer. "You're the only ones who can use them, Petty Officer. Who else could we give them to?"

- Dr.Halsey

Overview
Although the earlier attempts at developing high-powered armor produced designs that were impractical for battlefield deployment, Dr. Halsey's MJOLNIR Project would soon change that. The Mark IV was a radical redesign of the suit, taking advantage of many technological innovations. Developed and tested at the Damascus Testing Facility on Chi Ceti IV, this battle suit was the first to feature full integration with the user's body. The suit plugged directly into the user's neural network through a standard issue Neural Interface. The suit's many functions utilized the user's thoughts for commands, reducing reaction times by a factor of five, greatly speeding up the user's movements and reflexes. Its normal color is olive green, but it can be equipped with photo-reactive panels, offering camoflauge to the wearer. &lt;ref&gt;The Fall of Reach, page 182&lt;/ref&gt;

This was also the first design to successfully utilize the reactive metal liquid crystal layer as a means of enhancing locomotion. It enhanced the speed and power of the wearer, a sharp contrast to previous versions, which required powered motors to allow the user's mobility. Because of this advancement, the design more closely resembled an actual suit of armor, as opposed to a powered exoskeleton; the user moved the suit, and in return the suit moved the user. This allowed for an incredibly compact design when compared to the previous incarnations. The success of this version was also dependent upon the parallel development of the Spartan-II program, which produced troops with the physical capabilities required to drive the system. Previous attempts to equip marines with the armour had resulted in catasrophe, as the test subjects were either killed, or permanently disabled for life.

The Mark IV armor contained an integrated computer system which continuously monitors weapons, biological functions, and motion through intelligent motion-sensing radar. The suit was airtight, hardened against vacuum, and featured air-filtration systems as well as a built-in oxygen re-breather system that could last for up to 90 minutes. The suit's helmet also featured a standard UNSC mounted flashlight with its own separate power supply. Concealed side compartments in the upper thigh plates allowed the user to holster a sidearm.

In combat situations with the Covenant the Mark IV could only take a few shots from Covenant Plasma Weapons before failing, even with a refractive coat to help disperse energy attacks. The Mark IV still could not overcome the major problem of keeping its user safe.

The suit also had a number of other features, including recoil-compensating actuators, hydrostatic gel to regulate and monitor temperature and dampen impact force, binoculars, infrared vision, UV-vision, night vision and biofoam injectors. However, the biofoam injectors and medical care systems of the Mark IV had to be provided with a direct supply of biofoam, medicines, and stimulants from a standard Marine first aid kit when the user was injured, as the suit would not hold or generate a supply of medicines and biofoam, unlike the Mark VI. Another feature introduced, and applied to later versions, was magnetic soles on the suit's boots that allowed the wearer to stand on a high moving metal object, such as a ship's hull. The suit however did not accommodate magnetic plating to hold weapons and equipment.&lt;ref&gt;Halo: The Fall of Reach Chapter 14 Page 121&lt;/ref&gt; Also, the suit was able to automatically pressurize to compensate for the addition of or lack of gravity as a life-saving mechanism. It was this function that Rebels took advantage of via the use of anti gravity plates.

The Mark IV Assault armor was fielded from November 27th, 2525&lt;ref&gt;Halo: The Fall of Reach, Page 113&lt;/ref&gt; to August 29th, 2552, when it was replaced by MJOLNIR Mark V armor.

Gallery
&lt;gallery&gt; Image:Halowarsboxart2.jpg|Official Halo Wars box art displaying the Mark IV armor. Image:Halocole.png|Halo: The Cole Protocol official book cover, showing Gray Team's Mark IV armor. Image:Pre Halo Suit.jpg|The CMT mod team modeled and skinned a Pre-H1 MC, based on Halo: Combat Evolved's concept art designs. Image:News2_0.jpg|The final version of Hal's armor in the collector's edition of Fable 2. Note that the character has Hal's sword on his/her back. Image:1226682598 SpartanmarkIVarmor2.JPG|Mark IV Armor from '360 Magazine' (Issue 41, Page 5). Image:Spartan.JPG|The character model for the SPARTANs in the Halo Wars announcement trailer. Image:Masterchief_sheik.png|Shi Kai Wang's preliminary sketch of Master Chief in early design of MJOLNIR armor. Image:Gallery_6889_853_280617.jpg|A redux of the MJOLNIR Mark V as seen in the Art of Halo 3. The design was later modified for the MJOLNIR Mark IV seen in Halo: The Cole Protocol.&lt;/gallery&gt;