Armor is one of my favourite books, right up there with (naturally) Starship Troopers.
It tells the story of Felix, a “loner” soldier in Earth’s war against a race of incredibly tenacious ant-like beings. We humans have figured out where they come from, and are intent on landing on their sandy little rock, braving the unbreatheable atmosphere, dragging them out of their burrows and exterminating them en masse.
The key to this tactic is the Armor. A soldier in his Armor can survive in any environment, march for days, and dish out a horrendous serving of punishment while surviving just about anything the enemy can throw back. One-on-one, he’s more than a match for any alien - too bad he never gets to enjoy such odds.
Felix is a scout. It’s his job to go ahead of his team, find the bugs, and lead the guys with the Big Gunz to where they’re hiding. Sadly, though, every time Felix’s unit is involved in combat with the aliens, he’s the only one who ever seems to make it back alive.
Eventually, Felix’s past catches up with him and he disappears. An intergalactic pirate and prison escapee named Jack Crow gets involved with an isolated research outpost, and the post’s scientists begin to unravel the mystery of Felix’s disaapearance.
In the end you find out that… well, that would spoil the plot now, wouldn’t it?
[spoiler]Due to a computer error, Felix is being sent back in to combat time and time again. Normally, scouts never survive the six or so sorties that comprise an individual’s typical tour of duty. It seems Felix is doomed to be sent into battle until he finally dies! Felix, though, is an exceptional individual.
In fact, it turns out that he’s royalty!
Felix originally joined the military to get away from the responsibility and the politics of his homeworld, where, although he is rightful heir, it seems he would make more of assasination target than ruler.
Jack Crow’s story gets thrown abruptly into the middle. He stows away on board a military ship after escaping from a prison mine. Trouble is, the ship has been hijacked by other pirates who are fully aware of whom they have on board and his abilities as a con man and thief.
In order to refuel their ship, they’ll need to find a military-capacity port with special equipment. Turns out, the only one they can even get close to without being shot to pieces is a tiny government research station on a distant, backwoodsy planet.
Since they would be recognized as fugitives, the pirates instead send Jack so he can befriend the scientists, let down their defenses, and then help the pirates take over the station. As part of his alibi, they stash an old suit of Armor on Jack’s ship and send him down with it. The scientists take an interest in the suit, and extract its “memories” from the suit’s onboard computer.
The suit is revealed as having belonged to Felix; Jack and the scientists learn much of what Felix experienced during his time in service, including how the humans adapted to the alien planet’s conditions and how a famous athlete helped Felix finally elude his pursuers.
Jack deactivates the defenses and the pirates come down to refuel, but there’s a trap waiting for them. Jack and the scientists draw the pirates into the research facility, hoping to finish them off with the weapons they have at their disposal.
Unfortunately, the pirates prove to be too powerful, as they have brought along their own civilian version of Armor which, although much less powerful than a military suit, is more than a match for the base’s defenses.
Enter the local constable, who rescues Jack and the scientists, then dons Felix’s Armor and puts flight to the pirates. Turns out the constable is Felix, and he’s been hiding out on this planet since he fled the military.[/spoiler]