The gathering adopted the FFEE1100 Oga Thresher as their primary ans of defeating enemy starships at a distance.
Its addition to the Premier Fleet's ch roster ant that the Larkinsons would heavily be slanted towards the use of energy weapons in the future.
This introduced both advantages and disadvantages.
If the enemy made enough preparations, they could specifically field units that were considerably more resistant against energy weapons than normal.
However, the Oga Threshers should still possess an overwhelming advantage against most general enemies.
The fact that the Oga Thresher was especially designed with the exploitation of energy link technology in mind made this ch model all the more attractive to the Larkinson Fleet.
Ves had mixed feelings about this decision. He felt he should have made a stronger case for the Totori MAXXX.
Although he felt a little embarrassed about its naming sche, he also fell in love with the colorful character of the multipurpose ch. Its designer had no sha when it designed a ranged superiority platform that could strike at distant enemies like a hamr.
Alas, the consensus around the Oga Thresher had beco too strong for Ves to invalidate this choice.
Even if he was the patriarch of the Larkinson Clan, it was not wise for him to openly contradict public opinion.
"The Dracoloid model synergizes well with the Oga Thresher model." Gloriana mused as she studied the initial simulations where both chs worked alongside each other to complete more and more simulations. "One excels at close-ranged brawling. The other excels at mid-to-long range fire support. They can produce fantastic results as long as they are fighting under their ideal circumstances. The two ch models will perform much worse if this is not the case."
That was a big weakness with choosing this particular combination.
More general first-class multipurpose chs did not possess such a strong bias and could fight decently well at all ranges.
The Dracoloid and the Oga Thresher traded away a bit of versatility in order to gain significantly more power under specific circumstances.
Ves and many other ch designers considered it to be a fair tradeoff.
Saint Commander Casella Ingvar finally moved on to the "Now that we have chosen our two main sources of damage for our first-class ch force, we should round out our basic selection by selecting a support ch. First-class ch combat more heavily involves support chs as a core elent. The first-raters almond us already taken this for granted, but it is still a relatively new concept for those of us who were previously second-raters."
"Support chs sound useful enough." Gloriana ntioned. "In third-class or second-class battles, there are frequent argunts about whether it is useful to take away one combat ch and replace it with a support ch that is not dedicated to causing harm. Such discussions occur much less among first-raters because your support chs possess serious functionality that more than justifies their place on the battlefield."
"More practically, a ch force that makes good use of its support chs tend to be able to preserve its chs much better than those that are not able to do so." Ves spoke.
It was a good idea to add a support ch to the ch. They were powerful force multipliers that could easily exert their full value when used under the leadership of the Saint Commander.
Klaus Robar-Fulton raised his hand. "There are many kinds of support chs available. Which subclassification does the Larkinson Clan need the most?"
There were support chs that excelled in performing field repairs, resupply, ECM, ECCM, sensors, communications, crowd control, cargo transport, construction, mine laying, breaching and much more.
Most support chs tended to be flexible enough to fulfill multiple functions at the sa ti.
So support chs possessed basic combat capabilities while many of them got rid of weapons entirely.
"My Command Field makes multiple functions redundant." Casella stated. "For the most basic selection of chs, there is no need to consider combat scenarios where my leadership is absent. That is a matter to consider for the future. For now, there is no need to select support chs that are excellent at scouting and communications. My Command Field encompasses hundreds of kiloters and can detect nearly everything that has entered my domain. It is also easy to communicate with everyone within this broad range… provided that they are friendly."
That was all true. There was little value to adding support chs to the ch roster that covered such functions. They would only be useful if they deployed far enough away from the Minerva Mark II, but the Premier Fleet should not be launching such operations in the short term.
Alexa voiced her own opinion. "I believe the support ch should be designed to serve as strong nodes for support link technology. This is powerful tech, but there is a large difference between chs that are linked to starships. Since we are thinking about keeping our own starships out of harm's way as much as possible, it may not be possible to maintain active links across large distances. It is a good decision to field support chs that can partially take over the role of starships and serve as strong nodes in any support link network."
"I agree with Alexa." Ves said. "The support ch should have large energy reserves in order to support the additional consumption of other chs, particularly the Oga Threshers. The ch model may even forgo all other functions so long as it can fulfill this responsibility well."
These comnts all guided the Larkinsons towards selecting the right support ch for their needs.
Ves inwardly sighed in regret. The current selection criteria almost certainly ruled out any consideration to select chs designed by Master Vayro Goldstein.
The Survivalist cadre was one of the foremost authorities on support chs in the Red Ocean, but he preferred to design machines that were able to provide support at greater distances.
That sounded great for most ch forces, but it sounded rather tasteless for the Premier Fleet that already enjoyed a supercharged version of it in the form of Casella's Command FIeld.
The support chs designed by Master Goldstein were also often used to save units from their own mistakes and poor judgnt.
The more competent the leadership and direction of a ch unit, the less it needed to rely on a support ch as a loss mitigation tool.
"The most direct support ch model that fulfills our criteria is the 800-RTR E-MULE." Gloriana said as the central projector displayed the ch in question. "Despite its plain-sounding na and utilitarian aesthetics, the E-MULE is a ch that completely specializes in carrying a large energy reserve and acting as a powerful relay of shield links, energy links and also data links."
As everyone studied the details of the E-MULE model, they easily gained a thorough understanding of its features and positioning.
"The E-MULE lacks the remote shielding capabilities of similar support chs." Alexa spoke in a disappointed tone. "That is a function that it can perform well with its extensive energy reserves. While it can rely on its shield link array to offer a asure of protection, it becos useless if the shield link transceiver of a target ch is damaged. Remote shielding can also offer protection outside of our own chs."
Ves smiled. "That is okay. We can consider the acquisition of chs that can provide remote shielding or ergency field repairs at a later date when we expand the Premier Fleet to a large-scale fighting organization. For now, we can only work with 1000 chs and ch pilots that lack experience fighting alongside each other. We will need to forge them into a strong nucleus first before we can think about expanding their capabilities."
The Saint Commander nodded in agreent. "I agree with the patriarch. We are mostly making decisions based on theory and not on reality. We need to start off with a strong but flexible foundation. Over the course of multiple battles, we can learn what our chs have done well and what they have missed. We can augnt our capabilities by strategically expanding our ch rosters with ch models that address specific demands. This is better than introducing a dozen powerful ch models all at once before expecting our ch pilots to sort out their places in a short amount of ti."
"So are we locking in the E-MULE or are we considering other alternatives?"
The E-MULE faced little opposition. This was because it fulfilled its few functions better than any other ch designed by the RA.
Even though its capabilities sounded boring, Ves and the others did not underestimate it due to its large ch fra that was largely filled with energy cells and other forms of storage.
chs that provided remote shielding capabilities had to accommodate multiple powerful modules and supportive elents that possessed much lower energy reserves.
There were larger and heavier products that stored a lot more energy, but they were too slow to keep up with most maneuvers involving the Oga Thresher.
The E-MULE's plain and unassuming ch shape actually made it good for keeping up with faster and more vigorous units.
It could beat every other first-class ch in the Premier Fleet based on endurance.
"The E-MULE is not as… flashy and glamorous as the Dracoloid or the Oga Thresher, but it is a sound support ch." The Saint Commander concluded the selection of a support ch model. "Its importance will still be just as great. While we cannot field the E-MULE in large numbers, every honest-looking machine will help."
With this decision, the Premier Fleet's ch roster had taken on its initial shape. The Dracoloid, the Oga Thresher and the E-MULE would serve as the initial blueprint of the Larkinson Clan's high-end fighting force.
The ch roster would definitely expand over ti. Newer chs might get added to et demands that the current selection could not adequately address.
The Design Departnt may also design first-class living chs that effectively replaced the third-party products that the Larkinsons initially used as stopgap solutions.
However, that was a consideration for the future. Ves and the others cared a lot more about getting real first-class multipurpose chs in their grasp.
"I have a pretty good idea of the overall strengths of our ch roster." Ves spoke up. "However, what are its weaknesses, exactly? What sort of enemies is it weak against? It is better to figure this out sooner rather than later."
Everyone paused for a mont before Kalister Devos attempted to answer the question.
"The multipurpose chs that you have chosen are rather… simple. The Dracoloid is good at attacking enemies at closer ranges while the Oga Thresher prefers to attack at a distance. Their scouting capabilities are weak, and their pushing abilities are also not that good. Their shield link tech functions as a crutch."
"Fair enough." Casella said.
Ves raised his own complaint. "There is no direct equivalent to a heavy artillery ch. The Oga Thresher can serve as a discount version of one, but it is really not optimized for this kind of job. The Totori MAXXX could have fulfilled this function far better, but oh well. With chs this good and with the Saint Commander's extraordinary capabilities, we can make do without the firepower of heavy artillery chs for a ti."
He still preferred to have them at his disposal sooner rather than later. They could serve as excellent bunker chs and may be the final line of protection of many first-class starships.
Perhaps he should go ahead and design a first-class version of the Transcendent Punisher first.
As Ves thought about taking this step, the eting gradually wrapped up. Everyone had a much better idea of what was in store for them all. The stopgap chs may be temporary, but their strong features and distinctive design characteristics would no doubt influence the growth and evolution of the Larkinson Clan.
Ves even thought about whether it was possible to design a tiger ch that could occupy a similar niche to the Dracoloid!
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