C-Weapons (short for Coral Weapons) were a line of Coral-powered autonomous weapons created by the Rubicon Research Institute to protect Coral Convergences on Rubicon 3. A subset of C-Weapons designated the Ibis Series were explicitly designed to avert potential Coral-related disasters, such as Coral Collapse. Due to their self-replenishing Coral generators, C-Weapons could remain continuously active for decades.
One Ibis Series C-Weapon, IB-01: CEL 240, was directly responsible for causing the Fires of Ibis, having been deployed by Institute director Professor Nagai to prevent an impending Coral Collapse fifty years ago. After the Fires of Ibis, the Planetary Closure Administration rediscovered Institute City and seized a number of the C-Weapons to supplement their own forces. During the Coral War, it was observed that a C-Weapon's Coral fuel could override the machine's programming and control it to defend against perceived threats.
List of C-Weapons[]
- IA-C01: EPHEMERA: A mass-produced Armored Core model. Although this AC was designed to operate autonomously, a design quirk allowed a human pilot to fit inside the core box; however, the EPHEMERA's sensors and movement actuators were not designed for human limitations.
- IA-02: ICE WORM: A titanic, weaponized tunnel boring machine. It possessed a perpetual reactive shield that rendered it almost impervious to attacks and was armed with drones and various Coral energy weapons, but it could easily crush any attackers and demolish structures with nothing more than its bulk.
- IA-13: SEA SPIDER: A spider-like machine. It could alternate between a ground-based ambulatory mode and an aerial mode capable of hovering indefinitely, and was armed with Coral lasers and missiles.
- IA-05: WEEVIL: A fully autonomous Muscle Tracer model. While not as durable as an AC, it featured a comparable level of firepower and agility.
- IE-09: HELIANTHUS: A self-propelled mono-wheel machine that complemented its grinder wheel with a flamethrower and missiles.
Ibis Series[]
- IB-01: CEL 240: The first Ibis Series machine to be built. It instigated the Fires of Ibis fifty years ago on the orders of Professor Nagai. It survived the flames and went on to guard the Coral Convergence that formed beneath the ruins of Institute City.
- IB-C03: HAL 826: The last Ibis Series machine to be created, and the only piloted Ac among them. Unlike all other C-Weapons, it was specifically designed to be operated by a human pilot. The Institute conceived it as the ultimate contingency against Coral disasters, a countermeasure to be deployed only when all others had failed.
- IB-07: SOL 644: An Ibis Series machine discovered in Institute City late in the Coral War. It was mothballed by the Institute because it was feared to be so advanced that it was beyond human control.