8th Gernadder Heavy Infantry Battalion

Officially the "8th Demi-Human Special Unit", the 8th Gernadders are one of two demi-human brigades under Editi's Special Solutions Division, with the other being the 9th Nekommando Battalion. Following the Dokuritsu Insurrection and the Engineer's discontinued use of Gernadders, it has been reorganized into the Tsumiheishi Special Battalion as part of the Imperial Japanese Army.

While the Nekommandos served their purpose to protect the Engineers and Japan from internal threats, the Gernadders were created to meet the expected need of a powerful military force to face external threats. Although the Gernadders were capable of and did indeed operate in specialized teams on occasion, their primary role was that of a shock army, whereas the Nekommandos operated in a role more in line with traditional special forces, a comparison between the two being that of a hammer and a scalpel. Although Tommy Wilder was somehow largely ignorant to their existence, they were a clear and present sign of the Engineer's control of the country to the Japanese due to their use in riot control and insurrectionist cell eradication, gaining a reputation as man-eating terror troopers.

All demi-human members of the unit were male. Tommy and Editi were praised with adoration as their creators, and examples of downtime being spent creating simple effigies of the two are documented.

The battalion conducted its training largely though hypnosis and similar brainwashing techniques, with live exercises used for enforcement. Although possessing limited insight for casual conversation, Gernadders proved deceptively highly provident in combat and survival techniques, the latter of which being primarily motivated by constant hunger, and the former being a result of genuine enjoyment they derived from fulfilling their purpose as "war pigs". Due to their fearsome appearance when in their T8R Body Armor, they were also used in riot control and suppression.

All positions of decision-making were filled by humans, due to the Gernadder's simplistic mindset and aggressive tendencies. Thanks to the genetic geas, they were otherwise highly reliable and always followed their orders to the letter. This also allowed Gernadders to circumvent the Engineers' genetic geas that normally prevented the use of lethal force by having a commanding officer on hand with sufficient authority delegated to them by Editi to permit such actions on a case-by-case basis. The only other times this geas could be circumvented was in self defense, or directly in defense of TE personnel or property; both occasions which would require the Gernadders to be on the defensive rather than acting in their intended proactive role.

## Organization

Under the 8th Brigade, the 8th Heavy Infantry Battalion consisted of five companies of 200 Gernadders each, totaling to about 1000 Gernadders total. Each company was split into four platoons of 50, with five squads of 10 Gernadders. Senior positions of authority were held by humans, generally former members of the pre-war JGSDF Special Forces Group. The highest command that could be held by a Gernadder in the battalion was that of sergeant or squad leader, though Gernadders were fully capable of fulfilling all roles of their own command structure so long as the expected outcome was not more than to lock down the area and kill everyone in sight.

## Equipment

Gernadders were previously issued caseless 10mm carbines as their primary weapon, taking after the pre-war Hi-Point 1095TS in design. This was mostly due to Editi’s noticing Tommy’s fixation with caseless 10mm weaponry rather than any legitimate tactical worth to the weapon, as Gernadders reported the round to be laughably ineffective against body armor. While this was less an issue against the Gernadder’s most frequent targets - poorly equipped Japanese insurrectionist controlled opposition cells, the issue of the caseless ammunition causing the mostly polymer weapons to overheat and warp lead to many Gernadders being forced to either discard their primary weapons or use them as clubs. They are now typically issued with the proven Sumitomo Type 62 general purpose machine gun, a common 7.62x51mm GPMG standard to the pre-war JGSDF. The Gernadder’s huge bulk means they are able to handle these weapons as though they were assault rifles in the hands of a human. Heavier firepower is supplied with the Sumitomo M2 12.7mm HMG. A heavy .50 BMG machine gun effective against light vehicles and aircraft, the Gernadder's increased strength allows the weapon to be carried on foot and fired from a suitably braced position, allowing it to be used as a squad support weapon. For anti-Suit operations, the Gernadders utilize the Howa 84RR recoiless rifle - a Japanese-produced copy of the Carl Gustav 84 mm man-portable reusable anti-tank weapon. Unlike in human infantry units, each Gernadder is capable of and expected to carry their own launcher and ammunition, and the abhumans' increased toughness allows for them to weather the affects of repeated firing of the weapon with much less risk than a human. The Howa 84RRs used by Gernadders commonly use HEAT 655 CS ammunition, allowing for its used within confined spaces, such as urban environments. Gernadders also utilize an unusual Howa Type 89 assault rifle configuration modified for sustained fire from either an ammo box or, more commonly, backpack belt feed. Their size and strength allows them to wield a Type 89 in each hand when combined with a special bracing gauntlet known as "Nadare (Avalanche) Fists" swapped into T8R armor. While not very accurate, the sheer weight of fire from such a platform is extremely intimidating.

In terms of defense, Gernadders are outfitted with special T8R Body Armor, allowing them to operate in a variety of combat zones.