A stripped-down MkIII, born of the same sort of penny-pinching that produced the used of MkI drones as unaccompanied swarm combat units. Basically, it's most of a III- the same drives, modestly cut-down weapons and shield projectors, someplace between half and 3/4 the processing power, and a noticeably stripped-down frame. The IIIs look like statues of mages. The IIs look all spindly- like a III if you took off the armor- and have their weapon/shield systems mounted to their elbows, like the Officer's Pod in original Macross/Robotech, or the Warhammer line of Battlemechs.
They're sizably more effective than Is, and much easier to produce than IIIs. Cheaper, too. They still need a swarm to be fully intelligent, but they tend to be smarter when they get one- or, if you run them as a small squad, three drones get you two independently-maneuvering drones and one idiot. Much more useful that the Is, where three gets you one and two idiots.
Muse is nearly back at full capacity, though I had to catch up on what I lost earlier in the week. I've had a crappy week since the 'con, too- must be karma catching up with me.
**********
I shook my head, confused. Where's he going with this? "I don't get it. We've learned that the mind behind these drones is brilliant, and that the Syndicate doesn't fully trust him... but what good is that? They've probably got him locked down in the most secure base they can build, so getting him out would be-"
His grin shifted into a mildly surprised expression. "That's... not exactly what I had in mind, Imma- though I have to admit the idea has merit."
And here I thought I had it figured out. "Then what-"
Scaglietti held up a hand, the other one already busy pulling up windows. "Watch and learn, Imma. Watch, and learn." He whipped through three or four windows, occasionally checking details against the code, before finally opening some sort of line graph. "Do you see this signal?"
Ah, so that's a transmission. "Of course."
"The fools that altered the drones' code took their inspiration from existing protocols. This is their implementation of a standard network device status query. Broadcast this signal, and every single network within range will respond. Not merely respond, but broadcast their current position, identifier, and numbers!" He threw back his head, laughing hysterically for a couple of seconds. "With this, we can locate every drone they have!"
...locate *every* drone?! That's incredible! We'll be able to find all their bases, even if... wait. "Doc? Not to interrupt your good mood... but won't that only work on active drones?"
Scaglietti didn't even blink. "The Mark I M-Drone requires over five minutes to fully activate- but only thirty seconds to rouse from its standby mode. Our opponents are not idiots, if only just. They will have a rapid reaction force at every base... and since drones in standby still respond to network commands..."
I nodded. So THAT'S his angle. "We'll be able to find every base within range- using their very defenses. I like it."
He turned back to the drone. "As you should. It will take some time to prepare the locator, so if you would..." One hand came up, and waved me off towards the door.
"Of course."Got something to do, anyway.
My Unitarian Jihad Name is: Brother Atom Bomb of Courteous Debate. Get yours.
I've been writing a bit.
They're sizably more effective than Is, and much easier to produce than IIIs. Cheaper, too. They still need a swarm to be fully intelligent, but they tend to be smarter when they get one- or, if you run them as a small squad, three drones get you two independently-maneuvering drones and one idiot. Much more useful that the Is, where three gets you one and two idiots.
Muse is nearly back at full capacity, though I had to catch up on what I lost earlier in the week. I've had a crappy week since the 'con, too- must be karma catching up with me.
**********
I shook my head, confused. Where's he going with this? "I don't get it. We've learned that the mind behind these drones is brilliant, and that the Syndicate doesn't fully trust him... but what good is that? They've probably got him locked down in the most secure base they can build, so getting him out would be-"
His grin shifted into a mildly surprised expression. "That's... not exactly what I had in mind, Imma- though I have to admit the idea has merit."
And here I thought I had it figured out. "Then what-"
Scaglietti held up a hand, the other one already busy pulling up windows. "Watch and learn, Imma. Watch, and learn." He whipped through three or four windows, occasionally checking details against the code, before finally opening some sort of line graph. "Do you see this signal?"
Ah, so that's a transmission. "Of course."
"The fools that altered the drones' code took their inspiration from existing protocols. This is their implementation of a standard network device status query. Broadcast this signal, and every single network within range will respond. Not merely respond, but broadcast their current position, identifier, and numbers!" He threw back his head, laughing hysterically for a couple of seconds. "With this, we can locate every drone they have!"
...locate *every* drone?! That's incredible! We'll be able to find all their bases, even if... wait. "Doc? Not to interrupt your good mood... but won't that only work on active drones?"
Scaglietti didn't even blink. "The Mark I M-Drone requires over five minutes to fully activate- but only thirty seconds to rouse from its standby mode. Our opponents are not idiots, if only just. They will have a rapid reaction force at every base... and since drones in standby still respond to network commands..."
I nodded. So THAT'S his angle. "We'll be able to find every base within range- using their very defenses. I like it."
He turned back to the drone. "As you should. It will take some time to prepare the locator, so if you would..." One hand came up, and waved me off towards the door.
"Of course."Got something to do, anyway.
My Unitarian Jihad Name is: Brother Atom Bomb of Courteous Debate. Get yours.
I've been writing a bit.