6867 HEF-Z16 Totori MAXXX
Ves always had a good awareness of the capabilities of Casella's Command Field.
He knew what she could do, but that did not necessarily an he had discovered the greater potential behind her set of abilities.
Even he had not imagined that Casella would be able to use the combination of her Command Field and Dragon Scales to amplify the performance of a first-class multipurpose ch like the Dracoloid to such an extent.
"It is rather coincidental that Dragon Scales synergizes so well with a dragon ch called the Dracoloid." Gloriana mirthfully comnted. "Are they related to each other?"
"That is unlikely." Jovy shook his head. "Dragon Scales is a resonating alloy that was originally designed to assist drone chs rather than command chs. Dracoloid is a much more recent product designed by Master Ziri Crenshaw of the ch Supremacist Faction, who you may better know as the Dragon Queen."
Several people's expressions changed at the ntion of this na.
The Dragon Queen was one of the more eccentric ch designers of the industry. She was famous for being nuts about dragons. She loved the mythical creatures so much that she had dedicated her entire life and career to designing dragon chs.
Although her obsession was rather extre, she knew how to design dragon chs better than anyone else.
"The Dragon Queen led the design project that resulted in the Dracoloid." Gloriana proudly ntioned as if she had a stake in it. "She is also responsible for developing the interesting flathrower and the chanism that enables the dragon ch to eat transphasic alloys to empower its fire breathing capabilities. I am already beginning to consider whether we should invite her to help us design the Prothea Mark II Project."
"I don't think that is a good idea." Ves quickly shared his own thoughts. "Saint Isobel Kotin is a rifleman ch specialist who has only made use of humanoid chs in her career. A dragon ch fights much differently from what she is accustod to. Much of her marksmanship skills do not translate well in a beast ch. Also, dragon ch configurations are best at close to mid-ranged combat. We are planning to position the Prothea Mark II as a mid-to-long-ranged asset, specially made to burn down enemy warships and phase leaders alike. Putting Isobel in a dragon ch that is similar in nature to the Dracoloid is like forcing a trained sniper to fight with her fists."
"Not all dragon chs are close combat specialists." Alexa comnted. "There are larger and heavier ch configurations that are designed as mobile artillery platforms. By sacrificing their ability to wield external equipnt like humanoid chs, they often boast superior mobility, armor and room for weapon modules."
Ves shook his head. "That is great, but the Prothea's ch concept has worked fine for Isobel. She wouldn't have been able to advance to the rank of ace pilot so quickly if that was not the case. I will not rashly try to upend her entire combat system and turn the Prothea into a dragon ch. End of discussion."
With that distraction out of the way, the discussion soon went back on track.
Saint Commander Casella Ingvar had voiced a clear preference for the Dracoloid as the interceptor of the Premier Fleet. Everyone could see why she favored this dragon ch.
They spent a bit of ti looking for alternatives. It was not a good idea to prematurely pin their hopes on the first ch model that caught their fancy.
Many of the ch designers found nurous first-class multipurpose ch designs that offered similar value to the Dracoloid.
However, these humanoid ch models lacked the recklessly powerful Rush Mode that could drastically amplify their mobility.
They also lacked a trump card as aweso as the devastating short-ranged transphasic flathrower weapon system.
While there were chs that did possess powerful armants that could pack a an punch, they were either too heavy, too demanding or too exotic.
That did not necessarily disqualify them for use. Many RA ch units eagerly adopted these models.
So of the better ones even maintained a ch ecosystem that worked well when fighting alongside other chs of the sa system.
However, Ves had no interest in getting locked in an exclusive ch ecosystem. It was easy to adopt one, but difficult to abandon it later on. The more powerful the ecosystem, the greater the price of quitting.
The Dracoloid was thankfully free of such sches.
It was for this reason and more that the gathering concluded that it was their best choice.
"Thank you for affirming my proposed ch model." Saint Commander said with a smile. "The Dracoloid is an excellent interceptor machine. It may be overly specialized for this role, but we are already accustod to this. The Dracoloid can still be used to fight against warships and fixed fortifications, though it will not be able to perform as well against these enemies. We need to select another multipurpose ch that primarily excels at outputting accurate firepower at longer ranges."
"Do you have any suggestions, Casella?" Ves asked.
Casella briefly smiled. "I have already browsed the catalog and bookmarked a dozen or so that have caught my interest. However, I do not think it would be conducive to this discussion for to voice all of my preferences. It may be better for you to browse the catalog yourself and think about which ones best align with our needs. I can tell you later if your choice is on my shortlist."
That sounded quite thoughtful of the ace commander. She probably did not want everyone else to do nothing else but nod their heads and say yes.
By withholding her opinions, she was forcing all of the gathered ch designers to use their brain power and judgnt.
Ves turned to one of the new Apprentices of the Design Departnt. "Tarsa."
"Uh, yes, sir?"
"You have taken the ti to browse the RA ch catalog. Give a recomndation. Which ch has earned your appreciation?"
The female ch designer looked nonplussed for a mont, but she quickly adjusted herself and transmitted her choice to the central projector.
"I think that the HEF-Z16 Totori MAXXX is a viable choice for a ranged superiority platform. As you can see, it is a larger and more massive multipurpose ch than the Dracoloid. What stands out to is that it features a more even balance between firepower, defenses, and mobility."
Several people's expressions turned weird when they read the description of this humanoid multipurpose ch.
"Interesting na." Ves comnted.
"That is an understatent." Gloriana muttered. "I can already tell that a boy was in charge of this design project."
Tarsa rovik ignored the discussion on the naming of the ch. "The Totori MAXXX is defined by its weapons systems. At close range, it wields a flexible plasma whip and is mounted with 3 integrated Arc-Pulse CIWS that excels at intercepting ordnance… or nearby strike craft. At mid-range, much of its ch fra is dedicated to housing the formidable integrated MAXXX Plasma Stream Cannons that can fire devastating streams of hot plasma. At long range, it wields a single ULTRAMAXXX High-Velocity Mass Driver that is designed to function like a handheld siege weapon. Its hit rate against small dcraft is not high, but it is much easier to land shot at larger and less maneuverable targets. Oh, the ch also boasts a pair of shoulder-mounted missile launchers."
"..."
For a mont, nobody said anything. They were all taken aback by the… eccentric concept and branding of the multipurpose ch.
"I concur with Gloriana." Alexa broke the silence. "The lead designer of the Totori MAXXX is most definitely male."
"Does he really need to use 3 X's for the MAXes?" Ves asked while scratching his head. "A single X already does the job."
"Perhaps he thinks that it is not extre enough for his liking."
After the ch designers got over the odd naming sche, they began to analyze the design for its strengths and weaknesses.
Gloriana most definitely had a lot of opinions about the design. "This ch is too loud. It has an abundance of power, but distressingly little finesse. Look at how the bulky MAXXX Plasma Stream Cannons and its support systems take up so much capacity. The firepower of these weapon systems are admittedly high, but their resource consumption is also high. The Plasma whip is a rather interesting weapon, but it is too unconventional and requires dedicated training to master. The most excessive weapon of all is the ULTRAMAXXX High-Velocity Mass Driver. It is long, massive and unwieldy. It is excellent at damaging large targets at longer ranges, but it is deadweight when used against anything smaller, lighter and faster."
"I think that is an acceptable tradeoff." Ves opined. "The Totori MAXXX is clearly designed to fight like a mobile artillery ch. The mass driver is a pure siege weapon and should only be reserved against big enemies. The other weapon systems are much more effective against alien phasefighters and comparable enemy units. In fact, the MAXXX Plasma Stream Cannons are probably its best all-round armants. They can inflict high damage against enemy warships, but can also be used to lt apart enemy phasefighters with reasonable accuracy at mid range."
Alexa began to frown. She clearly did not like the configuration of this multipurpose ch model.
"The Totori MAXXX is weakest at close range. It will suffer when it is overtaken by enemies that have rushed forward. The plasma whip is an interesting weapon system. Its enhanced reach makes it easier to strike enemy phasefighters, but it is lacking in efficiency and penetration power. I think it is better to replace it with a more generic plasma sword."
"Good suggestion. Any other comnts?"
"This is clearly a multipurpose ch that is good at long-ranged bombardnt, but probably needs the protection of other friendly units to fend off enemies at close range. We do not necessarily have to address its flaws as long as it can stably work together with other units."
Ves rubbed his hairless chin in thought. "Hmm… I am inclined to ignore all of the multipurpose stuff and purely treat it as a ranged gun platform. It is not as if the native aliens are fielding chs of their own. Their phasefighters hate fighting at point-blank range."
"Do not forget about the cosmopolitans, sir." The Saint Commander warned the patriarch. "Saint Stark has already fought against cosmopolitan chs. The traitors understand that their erstwhile alien allies are not good at lee ch combat, so they gladly offer their services to the alien fleets."
Multiple Larkinsons scowled when they got reminded of the treachery by humans.
Most cosmopolitans still hadn't woken up and tried to make sense of their situation.
"We do have to guard against cosmopolitan lee chs, but… not too much." Saint Commander Casella shared her own opinion. "There are not that many cosmopolitan ch pilots in existence. The enemy will struggle to field enough cosmopolitan chs to defeat my empowered chs. The previous testing sessions have clearly shown that our enemies must field far greater quantities of strike craft before they have any hope of defeating my troops."
She raised a good point. It was not just the ridiculous amplification that could make the Totori MAXXX a lot harder to defeat at close range. The Command Field also granted Casella the option to control a Commandeered or Enfeoffed ch directly, thereby allowing it to fight with the skills and judgent of a high-ranking ch pilot!
This ant that all of her empowered chs would be able to fight back much harder than usual!
The weaknesses of this extre ch design wouldn't be as severe as before.
At the sa ti, its pronounced strengths would beco even more exaggerated after getting empowered by Casella's Command Field!
"When the Totori MAXXX fights under the auspices of the Minerva Mark II, it will practically turn into a heavy artillery ch… that happens to maneuver particularly well in space." Ves concluded.
Was the Totori MAXXX the right fit for the Premier Fleet?
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