Chapter 7482  Woodsap Pilot Shortcomings

Ves and Alexa continued to discuss the performance of his Woodsap mechs.

Their initial deployment seemed rough, but most of that could be chalked up to the relative inexperience of their test pilots.

It couldn't be helped. Carmine mechs and Woodsap mechs especially were designed to accommodate norms, not potentates.

No one had ever thought to put norms through formal mech piloting training before the unveiling of Carmine mechs.

Using trained infantry soldiers as priority candidates for pairing with Woodsap mechs may be a convenient stopgap solution, but it ultimately could not bridge the gap between themselves and real mech pilots.

Ves noted several instances where the Woodsap mechs performed suboptimally.

This came in two different forms.

First, the faulty judgment of their pilots caused the Woodsap mechs to make poor decisions.

This ranged from firing their weapon systems at the wrong timing or seeking to pursue the wrong targets.

Second, the pilots occasionally made the best decisions, but still fell short because of their poor execution.

They lacked the training and experience to perform maneuvers tightly or aim their weapons correctly.

It did not help that these Woodsap mech pilots got overwhelmed by the much more complicated variables that they needed to take into account when piloting a biomechanical war machine in a dizzying space environment.

The Woodsap mech pilots would have been much better off if they started to fight on solid land. The simpler environment and greater familiarity with their former training would have allowed them to fight smoother and with less complications.

Unfortunately, the reality was that most battles between red humanity and its alien foes took place in deep space.

Perhaps that might change in the future, but for the time being, pretty much every battle was decided in space.

As long as one side gained orbital superiority over any planet, the remaining defenders that had entrenched themselves underground or underwater could not do much to resist the inevitable alien occupation and eradication efforts.

Guerilla warfare only worked up to a point. So long as the aliens brought in enough forces that specialized in digging out these pockets of resistance, there was no way for these isolated human fighters to endure.

This needed to be changed.

The Terran Alliance already announced the first step in doing so by aspiring to build the so-called Green Belt.

Woodsap mechs happened to play a key role in this radical new plan.

This was why Ves did not mind the apparent lack of skill exhibited by all of these relatively new Woodsap mech pilots.

Their lack of piloting ability may cause them to waste much of the potential of their relatively expensive and high-end biomachines in space, but the story would probably be different on land.

So long as these Woodsap mechs could fight the native aliens on more favorable terrain, their pilots would probably perform much closer to their professional counterparts.

Still, given the continued importance of controlling the orbit of important planets, battles in space would never diminish too much.

"Handing out the equivalent of first-class multipurpose mechs to fresh Woodsap mech pilots seems excessive." Ves remarked as he studied the footage and data longer. "Given their below average performance in utilizing their many weapon systems, it is much better to start with specialized mech archetypes first. I do not know why the Terrans insist on basing most if not all of their Woodsap mechs around multipurpose mechs. They are just making them a lot more expensive without getting their money's worth."

Alexa understood the Terran mindset a little better. "Woodsap mechs are already priced at a higher tier from the start. They exist in contrast to the much cheaper and more disposable Yellow Jackets. The Terran Alliance considers the Arboreal Project to be a prestige project. Since that is the case, the Woodsap mechs must be multipurpose by default. Simplifying them will diminish their apparent worth in the eyes of Terran citizens. People will not be as enthused about piloting them. If norms want to have it easy, they can apply to pilot a Yellow Jacket. Those that seek a true challenge and wish to become equals to the first-class multipurpose mech pilots that they have always looked up to can apply to become a Woodsap mech pilot."

In other words, it had become a matter of pride.

Typical of the Terrans.

Ves scoffed a bit. "When Terrans have to choose between pride and logic, they often favor the former, to the detriment of the latter. If they continue to push through this strategy, a lot of Woodsap mechs will end up getting wasted in the hands of norms who may be adequate soldiers, but unequipped to make the most of a highly advanced war platform. There are good reasons why the selection criteria for the best mech academies of first-rate states are so high. Possessing a genetic aptitude that scores B- or higher is practically mandatory due to the need to pay attention to dozens of different systems at the same time."

First-class multipurpose mech pilots truly deserved their place at the top in the hierarchy of standard mech pilots.

The gap between this group and more general first-class mech pilots was vast.

Not only did the former have to become adept multitaskers, they also had to develop proficiency in utilizing over a dozen different melee and ranged weapon systems.

On top of that, they had to possess considerable intellectual attainments as well. They not only had to know on a certain level how their machines and advanced weapon systems worked in terms of science and engineering, but also learn how to move in zero-g environments and in other strange environments.

Even with expensive augmentations, it took at least 12 to 16 years for a typical first-rate state to convert a 10-year old mech cadet into a fully qualified first-class multipurpose mech pilot.

Expecting Carmine mech pilots to match the performance of these exemplary standard mech pilots was folly from the start.

The Terrans had to know that. They were too smart not to. Yet they still insisted on their decisions.

There had to be more to this wasteful decision than pride. Ves refused to accept that the Terran Alliance would play games when its very own survival was at stake.

"What is really going on?" He asked suspiciously. "There has to be a greater story behind this. What is making the Terrans invest so much more in their Woodsap mechs than is warranted? Why go for the most complicated mech configurations when a simpler rifleman mech configuration could do the job just as well?"

A few seconds passed before Alexa let out a tired sigh. "There are two more considerations in play. One of them is political in nature. The other is based on long-term aspirations."

"Explain them to me, please."

The younger female mech designer leaned against the worktable. "You have already been apprised of the rising conflict between the Green Coalition and the Steel Coalition. The matter that you have brought up is an extension of this rivalry. The Steel Coalition relies heavily on the strength and superiority of orthodox first-class multipurpose mech pilots to maintain its standing. If the Green Coalition wants to gain the upper hand in the Terran political sphere, then it must prove that its own Woodsap mech pilots can rise to the occasion. That is why many of the supporters of the Arboreal Project fixate on multipurpose mech configurations. Woodsap mech pilots are told to adapt or die. Simple as that. Many of them may end up falling due to this very reason, but those that manage to survive this gauntlet are much more likely to possess the qualifications to fight for supremacy."

Politics. Ves did not expect for the Green Coalition to scheme so deeply when it came to developing the individual incarnations of the Arboreal Project.

It sounded stupid to him, but then again he did not have a strong stake in this fight.

The Green Coalition essentially wanted to use Woodsap mech pilots as their pawns in a political chess game.

How many soldiers would get overwhelmed by the complexity of their biomachines and die prematurely because of this strategic direction?

How many Woodsap mech pilots would continue to perform well below their potential simply because they failed to get matched with a more suitable mech configuration?

How much valuable phasewater and other expensive materials would end up going to waste as Woodsap mech after Woodsap mech got blown apart due to questionable judgment and lack of skill?

Ves scratched his head. As a mech designer, he could not stand all of the waste!

"Do you think it will work out for the Green Coalition?"

"Possibly." Alexa said and proceeded to summon a data table from her report. "If you look at the performance metrics of the individual Woodsap mech pilots, you will see that almost all of the 30 elven Woodsap mech pilots have outperformed their human counterparts. Their greater synergies with their battle partners can only partially explain this apparent superiority. Their comprehensive augmentations makes them smarter and allows them to adapt to mech combat at this level considerably faster. I have personally observed their growth during the fighting and ascertained that their proficiency gains are truly considerable."

That should not be a big surprise.

The elves were not dainty figures whose only job was to look pretty.

The Terrans and Gaia partially engineered this new race to excel at piloting Woodsap mechs. It made sense that they became a lot better adapted to complex mech combat.

Perhaps the ceiling of all of these augmentations remained unclear, but their floor had definitely been raised to a much more impressive height!

As long as the data from the elven Woodsap mech pilots continued to maintain the current gap with more normal human Woodsap mech pilots, then the Green Coalition would definitely achieve its political goal!

"I admit that this does look impressive. You talked about two reasons behind the insistence on fielding multipurpose variants of Woodsap mechs. What is the second one, then?"

"Hero creation." Alexa readily answered. "The Terran Alliance as a whole has a high demand for new heroes. Ever since the start of the Red War, many new expert pilots and ace pilots have emerged from its mech armies. Yet due to fighting against so many enemy phase lords, especially ones equipped with Saint Piercers, these heroes have suffered from a considerable amount of attrition. Due to many different reasons, the current balance is slightly negative, which is not a good development. The problem sounds worse when you consider that a significant proportion of casualties consist of older, stronger and more experienced expert pilots and ace pilots. In contrast, all recent breakthroughs produce weak and inexperienced champions."

That indeed sounded like an unfavorable status quo.

It was difficult to limit casualties for these powerful heroes because it was in their nature to go above and beyond normal restrictions.

They owed their strength due to taking risks. Boldness was in their nature. If any of them had any aspirations of becoming a god pilot one day, then they could never afford to show weakness on this front.

This attitude might have been acceptable during humanity's heyday, but now that red humanity had become the underdogs in a war of extinction, all of this excessive risk-taking may end up draining the high-end talent pool in the long term!

"I get it." Ves said. "It is sink or swim again. Woodsap mech pilots are expected to excel under the harshest conditions. Real combat will filter out the losers and the mediocre performers. Those that manage to excel in piloting Woodsap mechs despite their complexity will definitely receive special treatment. Their chances of breaking through and becoming the first in a new wave of non-potentate expert pilots are much higher."

Alexa nodded and smiled. "That is what the Terrans are hoping for. They are developing multiple means to accelerate the growth and progression of the future generations of expert candidates and expert pilots, but what they cannot do is trigger the most crucial breakthroughs in the first place. The Woodsap mech pilots can only rely on themselves for that. Woodsap mechs should therefore be regarded as their crucibles. Does this make sense to you, sir?"

"It does, actually."

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