>>56699675Yeah, body armor would be common and use similar manufacturing chains as Daemon armor plating, meaning it is grown by using modified crustacean genomes. Cheaper models would take the form of mineralized plates of lobstered (literally) armor, usually made of some ceramic-metal matrix connected by sections of flexible material composesd of a mesh of bulletproof fibers. These would be created by having brainless lifeforms undergo an accelerated lifecycle in a controlled environment (growth vats) until they reach a specified size, at which point they are removed from the vat and euthanized. Some plating would include reflective layers to better sustain laser damage while incorporating shock-dissipation microstructures. A bit like those ceramic armors from Disco Elysium.
Slightly more advanced body armor would be more fit to be called "power armor", and be designed to be worn while the lifeform is still "alive". In these, the plates include in-line muscles and power storage to vastly increase the effective strength of the user and allow the use of much heavier armor, and the osteoblasts of the surface of the armor may have reactive clusters able to detect and react to incoming projectiles and blow them up before impact.
Living armor of this type would also have self-repair capability, including regeneration of the reactive cells, and the ability to provide emergency care to the user, including hemorrhage stemming, bone-straightening, blood transfusion, disinfection, and immune system support. These armors will usually be powered using synfuel.
Standard police forces could expect to be equipped with a low-profile version of the "dead" type of exoskeletal armor. Police forces in particularly dangerous areas, or the equivalent to SWAT or federal agents would likely wear more full-featured living armor.
