Board Thread:Custom Lore Development/@comment-26444332-20170103042627

"We rely on our infantry, it's true. But when the ground burns for the artillery-fire, the stars are blotted out for the dust, and you can't see for the blood in your eyes, that's when you call the STRAIN in."

- Shirokishi STRAIN pilot, Sakura Shinozaki

STRAIN, or Strategic Armoured Infantry, form what amounts to the entire mechanized complement of the Consortium. A large exoskeleton of several different variants, the STRAIN is a modular suit capable of space- and -ground combat, functioning as a mech, a walker, an armoured infantry unit, and even a starfighter as the occasion demands.

A STRAIN has an appearance similar to this:

Now, not all STRAIN look like such. The model seen is a Shirokishi variant, a long-range atmospheric STRAIN oriented towards defensive shielding and sniping. Other variants, such as the Kurokishi, are bent towards close-quarters combat, with a more heavily armoured pilot, a sword, and a pulse rifle. The color of the unit is typically left to the pilot, though they usually choose to make their unit look the same as their armor.

STRAIN are incredibly adaptable to their enviroments: a simple matter of exchanging parts and weapons, and an entirely different STRAIN can be born from the old one. Since the bare chassis and general configuration always remain the same, it is possible to rapidly configure a STRAIN unit from desert conditions, to tundra temperatures, to the void of space.

STRAIN pilots are connected to their armor: a neurological link is formed from the moment they slip into it, and the bond strengthens throughout their lives together. This allows them to recieve direct mental communication about the battlefield, contact with other units, orders, and various other features. The bond also functions to enhance the pilot even further, sharpening their sight and reflexes for the fast-paced hectic confines of starships to the open battlefields of an atmosphere.

The bond is accomplished by a support organic AI called a "Mimic", designed to imitate the brainwave patterns of the pilot and sync them to the STRAIN. In reality, it is not the armor they are interfacing themselves with, but the Mimic- if the armor is destroyed, it can be replaced, but a Mimic is a highly personal and unique item.

STRAIN pilots are with their Mimics since an early age: allowing a complete sync with the AI, which itself has organic components taken from stem cells in the pilot's brain at birth. In a sense, a Mimic is like a twin, and as such, cannot be replaced: if the Mimic is destroyed, the pilot loses most of their ability to operate a STRAIN. Not to say that it is impossible to operate a STRAIN without the use of a Mimic, far from it: many times in Consortium history have non-STRAIN users donned the armor of a downed pilot and flown it to victory. But the supporting connection is not there.

STRAIN have access to a variety of weapons: due to their height (four meters) and strength (STRAIN are quite capable of lifting in excess of two thousand pounds with ease), all their weapons can only be used by them. The most common is the Shiro&Gin Arms Works-made EL-18 energy projector, a pulse rifle suited for the size of the unit. However, a standard-issue weapon is also the Kagemitsu-series, a line of lightsabers (color left to the preference of the pilot) scaled for STRAIN use.

STRAIN typically have a SERE ("Survive, Evade, Resist, Escape") kit equipped with an FN 5-7 pistol, Kōken-series saber, and hacking device inside of them, like Aetanii starfighters. 