FINE ART FRIDAYS

Behind the Scenes with the Legion Bucket

“It’s clear to me, Lieutenant Ford, that you don’t fully understand the role of psychology in warfare. Thankfully, the House of Reason does. And so do I. These MK-100 suits will be phased out in favor of a new type of reflective armor that costs a tenth as much to produce.”

Part armor, part mission control, a legionnaire’s bucket is the pinnacle of kit for Legion warfare.

Foremost, the bucket is there to protect the legionnaire from a variety of environmental hazards. Wearing a bucket fully integrated into the MK-100 protects the man inside from impacts, blaster bolts, and even atmospheric conditions that would dust a normal human in seconds. While protecting all the vital bits in the chest is essential, keeping the brain from being scrambled is just as, if not equally, important.

Every bucket is sized to fit the specific legionnaire. Once assigned, the bucket is equipped with a host of biometrics, allowing a specific leej to operate it independent of hand controls or wires. In early versions used during the battle of Kublar, the helmet’s onboard systems operated via a tongue toggle that kept the trooper’s hands free for the job of dusting koobs that tried anything funny. As the tech advanced and the Legion regained control of their own supply and acquisition chain, enhancements allowed the bucket to operate independently of the tongue switch.

In a galaxy of hyper advanced blasters, specialized camouflage, and bots, it only makes sense to have several vision modes built into the helmet so the legionnaire doesn’t have to fumble with clumsy optics. Low light, thermal, and range finding are all a standard in the buckets worn by Victory Company during their fight to survive after being attacked by local forces. More advanced optics were available in Galaxy’s Edge, Season 2, when the Legion wrested control of their R&D from the House of Reason.

With every piece of military kit comes inherent problems. Decades of fundamentalist dogma infiltrating the House of Reason mandated SOP programs be loaded into the bucket. These welfare and performance checks were triggered by the legionnaire’s performance falling short of implied standards. Oftentimes, this would occur as a pop-up window or side indicator flashing at the worst possible moment, when a leej needed to be focused on the task at hand. 

The most important part of a Legion bucket is that it takes away the differences that supposedly divide us as a people, and portrays the Legion as a uniform force to support and defend the Republic.

What systems or specialties would you put in your bucket as a legionnaire?