Auxiliary chs generally received much less appreciation from the ch community than more direct combat-oriented machines.
ch pilots generally wanted to beco the hotshots that beat up their opponents and saved the day.
However, auxiliary chs served their purpose in battle. There were many roles that chs could perform that would otherwise weaken and burden a combat ch.
Ves was not entirely unfamiliar with support-oriented chs. He had designed a number of them including the Blessed Squire Hexer-exclusive heavy supportive knight ch, the Buzzy Bee comrcial light ECM and communication ch, the Cherub Hexer-exclusive communication ch, the Bright Boy Hexer-exclusive ECM ch and the Light Hunter Vandals-
exclusive scout ch.
The fact that most of his support chs ended up getting used by the Hexers was a reflection of their greater use and integration of machines that depended on others for protection.
Of course, the real reason why the Hex Army employed a disproportionate amount of support chs compared to other military ch organizations was actually quite banal.
The Hexers insisted that male ch pilots were not qualified enough to make use of chs with real teeth!
Real combat was reserved for the stronger and much more competent female ch pilots.
It was already a privilege for male ch pilots to step onto the battlefield at all. They could be sowhat trusted to cover the backs of their betters as long as they stuck to piloting harmless support chs.
Whatever the case, Ves accrued enough experience in designing support chs to possess a decent understanding of their place and their uses.
As the Hexers had already shown in a less than stellar manner, auxiliary chs generally had lower requirents on the pilot.
Depending on the role and functions of a support ch, the pilot might need to possess greater situational awareness or special analytical skills in order to effectively employ sophisticated instrunts.
However, it was not that difficult to educate ch pilots in these skills. They just needed to be smart enough to pass the required classes.
This granted a lot of ch pilots an alternate career trajectory that did not require them to risk their lives in a more direct way. Many people found it fulfilling to play a vital support function and cover the backs of other ch pilots.
As Ves turned his attention to the subject of a support ch, he imdiately thought of a recent release that already fulfilled this function to a degree.
"The Fey Fianna is already being leveraged as a support ch as far as I am aware of." He said. "The fey all co with an inherent decoy function that can attract a lot of firepower that would otherwise hit a real ch. They can also carry space suppressors, shield generators and other support functions."
The LMC even organized a contest ant to encourage enterprising ch designers to develop new fey types to enhance the versatility of the overall ch platform. A lot of new and interesting third-party fey models beca available as a consequence.
Gavin's temporary replacent nodded. "That is correct, sir. The nature of your Fey Fianna model enables it to adopt any role, including support. It may not be the best or most cost-efficient ans to fill up auxiliary ch roles, but your popular drone ch is filling a need in a good way."
"Doesn't this an that it is not entirely necessary for us to design an auxiliary ch?"
"The Fey Fianna is a flexible drone ch model. It is not supposed to be a universal solution for everything. It is a high-end ch that is more expensive and more difficult to pilot than most second-class chs. There are many ch organizations that have already developed a mature ch doctrine where they have devised the most optimal ch compositions for their forces. It is not entirely necessary for them to employ expensive Fey Fiannas when they can resort to much more efficient auxiliary chs instead. The latter might not have the flexibility and decoy function of the forr, but it is usually capable of performing a single support role to a much more extensive degree due to their specialized focus. It is also much easier to recruit and train ch pilots for this singular purpose."
In other words, the market demanded a specialized tool that was really good at doing a single job, not a multitool that could adequately perform multiple jobs at the sa ti.
Ves leaned back and clasped his hands in thought. "I get it. So what sort of support functions are in demand?"
"There are multiple support functions that are in demand. They generally fall into three categories: electronic warfare, direct damage mitigation and battlefield replenishnt."
"I see. These are already functions that were in demand before the start of the Red War."
"That is true, sir, but the current solutions are not adequately helping linefighters reduce their loss rate. The Red War is shaping up to beco a war of attrition. Both sides are grinding their forces against each other, hoping to exhaust the war-making potential of their enemies first. Our side is at a heavy disadvantage in this contest due to obvious reasons. The ch forces at the frontlines cannot sustain all of the casualties that they are incurring for long. Any solution that can shrink their losses and allow more of their chs and ch pilots to return from the battlefield alive is beneficial."
This would beco more important when the Red War dragged on. The small gains made over ti could add up to a lot of lives being saved down the line.
This was not just because ch pilots managed to survive where they otherwise would have died.
The presence and availability of those additional troops would go on to win a lot more battles and prevent a lot of human territories from getting razed by the aliens!
The question was what sort of ch Ves should design to effectively satisfy this burning demand.
"What are your thoughts on the categories of support chs that I should delve into?" Ves asked.
"The specific demand for electronic warfare solutions encompasses any ans that directly or indirectly makes it harder to damage friendly troops effectively. As you have previously pointed out, the Fey Fianna is actually doing well at this already. However, ch forces have found out that the decoys produced by the living fey can fool alien sensors much more effectively if they are paired with ECM chs such as the Buzzy Bee. By generating additional jamming, it becos harder for alien sensor and scanner systems to discern the real chs from the fake ones."
"The Buzzy Bee is already on the waiting list to get updated into a hyper ch." Ves explained.
"That is excellent, but the Buzzy Bee model is largely optimized to degrade the combat effectiveness of opposing chs and ch pilots. They are not adequately equipped to disrupt the performance of warships, especially at a distance. They are also not able to support a large quantity of chs. They are ultimately designed to excel in a different sort of warfare. I do have to note that the Buzzy Bees still perform well when deployed against alien starfighters, which are slowly becoming more prevalent among the native aliens. There is no need to retool the design to optimize it against alien warships."
"Hm, I agree. What about direct damage mitigation, then?"
"Dedicated energy shield chs have seen a decline in demand because it is not feasible to resist the powerful damage output of alien warships." The temporary assistant explained.
"Evasion is much more effective than blocking."
"That is generally the case, but not always, sir. Not all chs are shot down by the powerful main cannons of a large battleship. The firepower of these enormous guns is overwhelming, but their firing rates are slow and not capable of tracking fast-moving targets. It is mostly the smaller and more rapid-fire gun batteries that are responsible for eliminating the majority of chs in space. It is still possible to resist their firepower for a short amount of ti. It has beco increasingly important to rescue distressed chs that have suffered crippling damage on the battlefield but can still be recovered. A remote shield ch can co forward, deploy an area shield that can block follow-up attacks and buy enough ti for the ch to limp back to safety or for the ch pilot to eject from a heavily damaged machine. ch forces that are attentive enough to deploy these chs have managed to reduce their average loss rate by as much as 20 to 30 percent!"
This showed that a lot of chs struck by a powerful warship was not beyond saving. They could still be recovered and put back into use in the future as long as the ch force made an effort to rescue these assets.
"I imagine that being more serious about rescuing distressed and injured units also helps to raise morale." Ves remarked. "I can see how this sort of ch can be useful, but the problem is that I am not entirely confident in designing a remote shield ch that can outperform the products that are already on the market. There is little point in designing my own version if it isn't actually better. I know that this role is a lot more prevalent in first-class chs, but the technological limitations of second-class chs makes it too difficult to develop ones that are effective enough to reach mass adoption."
He might revisit this sort of ch once he started to design first-class chs, but for now he decided it was best to leave it aside.
"Then that leaves battlefield replenishnt as the final option. Whether it is ammunition or energy, chs are expending their resources at a rapid rate. Any ch force that engages an alien warship must go all out right from the beginning. Holding back will cause small losses that will eventually produce major losses. Battles are generally shorter, but the intensity is much higher due to the need to overwhelm the defenses of the other side. It is becoming especially difficult to sustain an assault against a larger alien fleet. It takes so much effort to break down their defenses that chs may find themselves running dry before all of the enemy vessels have been neutralized. It is vital that the exhausted machines can be replenished quickly without needing to return to their motherships."
Ves nodded. "I see. The old Blessed Squire design used to fulfill this function in landbound combat. Are you suggesting that I should design a spaceborn version of this concept?"
"It is a possibility." The assistant responded. "It is up to you to make this determination. I can tell you that the demand for a ch that can not only replenish supplies in the field but also cos with a glow that can lift the mood of battleworn ch pilots may be high enough to invest in its developnt."
All of these possible auxiliary chs sounded useful in one capacity or another.
Ves actually felt the urge to design all of them, but that was not a wise course of action. The competition was heavy. A half-hearted effort would not be able to stand out in the ch market.
He would rather limit his options and focus heavily on designing a single excellent auxiliary ch that did its job than any other equivalent on the market.
"I will need to think about this." Ves eventually decided. "I agree that it is probably a good idea to add a new auxiliary ch to our lineup, but I haven't thought about them for a while. I need to delve into them myself in order to refresh my understanding and get a read on the sentint of ch pilots. Thank you. I will make sure to read your full report on this subject."
He wanted to talk about auxiliary chs with other people aside from a newly assigned assistant who never worked directly with chs in his life. There were plenty of people that Ves could think of who might be able to provide much greater insights on this matter.
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