Board Thread:Custom Lore Development/@comment-26084195-20161226085504

Now, I have been showing you all examples of the Terran Alliance's infantry and Navy. But what about their armoured units? The powerful land-based war machines of the Alliance form the backbone of their army, for while the Legionnaires and Centurions are formidable indeed, nothing can pack a punch quite like a Terran tank.

For armoured support, Terrans rely on two different types of weapons. The first, and up until recently most widely used, is the tank, a large and heavily armoured vehicle on large treads with a big turret on top. They are lumbering and built with a low profile. the second, which is becoming more widely used every day, are the Terran mechs. These come in many different forms, and are almost always humanoid in design, with weapon systems usually built into the arms, on the shoulders, and in the chest.

The Alliance army uses both of these sorts of vehicles, currently. Throughout the War for Sol, every skirmish the Alliance fought throughout expansion, and a majority of the war with the Ravasect, the Terran Alliance used tanks. The Terran tanks developed quite the reputation during that time for their durability and destructive power. However, they were never quite as maneuverable as mechs and other walkers can be. Walkers can traverse much more diverse terrain than a tank is capable of, and can often go faster.

Never is this fact better exemplified than whenever Razorbird ground forces come up against Alliance ground forces. the elegant four-legged walkers of the Razorbirds are vastly more maneuverable and can pick apart a column of Terran tanks while running circles around them.

However, nearing the end of the war with the Ravasect, the Terrans began to develop their first full-production combat ready mech, and it was met with moderate success. However, these early full production combat mechs, called "exosuits", were early designs, and after the Ravasect war was over, more designs for main battle mechs started to spring up in much greater volume, and with more advanced and efficient designs.

See, the Alliance discovered several very valuable things about mechs. For starters, they can actually dodge things. They're more maneuverable and better at reacting. And, perhaps most importantly, it could bring to bear the same destructive power as a heavy battle tank with only one pilot.

A mech pilot is called a Mechwarrior, and they are rather popular among the civilian populous, and they are lauded as heroes. You ever see Pacific Rim? Kinda like that.

Even with mech augmentation, the Alliance Army is still outpaced at every turn by the Razorbird Empire. However, the Alliance continues to develop and improve their mechs. It is believed that mechs will continue to grow in popularity until the tank is almost completely removed from the Terran Army (either by being discontinued or by being blown up by Razorbirds), to the point where mechs will be the only source for armoured support that the Alliance has. The mechs will replace the tanks, as some say, it is inevitable.

 