Armor Corps

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Armor Corps was the first military suit faction, and really the first truly organized suit faction overall. Formed originally during the initial invasion under the same guise of "Anonymous", the formerly disorganized and poorly-developed fighting force came together as the rest of the protagonistic suits began emerging at the beginning of the fourth week, marking the end of the initial invasion as far as the faction was concerned. Armor Corps was primarily made up of veterans from "Anonymous", who, after witnessing the initial invasion and developing as the Tumblr suits developed, pulled whatever forces together they could and began using the advanced technology that had blossomed over three weeks to gain a foothold in the mostly intact country of New Zealand, where a temporary base of operations was located. Contacting suits en masse, the heads of Armor Corps helped to establish a somewhat functional military force.

Due to a lack of any real military presence within the ranks, a good amount of Armor Corps' structure was based off of generic military forces that those within AC had seen in movies and video games. While the lack of any true military expertise outside of scattered exceptions created a mostly imaginary hierarchy and chain of command, it could not be denied that surviving three weeks in the bloodiest battle on Earth had given the surviving suits a great insight into the function and purpose behind the many suits and suit types. As Armor Corps began constructing a main base in Northern New Zealand, they hired and recruited many non-suit soldiers and officers from surrounding countries, commonly by simply rescuing them from a forsaken city or military base. Here, officers worked in conjunction with the veteran suit pilots to develop a semblance of a military force. While in theory this was established to reconstruct and solidify the status of Armor Corps, it created unintended consequences. Officers with no suit knowledge were put in charge of giving commands to suits while on operations, leading to commonly misread, misunderstood, and sometimes even false information reaching the suits. This problem has persisted, but due to the organizational system within many suit factions, this has not changed.

## A Wavering Beacon

Established merely three weeks after the touchdown of Vannai technology, Armor Corps was originally formed as a more structured organization to take over in place of its predecessor, a malformed and largely dysfunctional Anonymous. Armor Corps was formed from the many suit users opposite to the violent, uncontrollable monsters formed from the merging of fallen technology and those it bonded to. Created from the those profiled via digital means, Armor Corps relied heavily on those it could rescue from the final bastions of civilization to give it training, legitimacy, and strategy. Without understanding their part in a larger scheme of destruction, the freshly created Armor Corps recruited thousands of eager, untrained pilots to their ranks in order to combat what appeared to be a simple battle between good and evil. However, as the upper divisions and command portions of Armor Corps discovered the Vannai's existence, their decision to hide it in order to preserve structure within the organization proved to be a misguided one. A  major operation in a destroyed Kent uncovered this information, and brought to light the hidden and fateful existence of the Vannai. The consequences of the cover up proved disastrous to the integrity and structure of the organization. Within mere days, Armor Corps splintered into numerous factions, each with a separate end game in mind for the preservation of mankind. Yet, despite the losses suffered from internal schisms, Armor Corps remained the largest and most widespread faction on the planet. Armor Corps has remained a dominant force in suit operations.

Times have changed, and with it, Armor Corps has adapted. Armor Corps boasts the highest amount of pilots, the largest amount of available resources. the heaviest guns, and the most influence that any faction could ask for. Yet, despite this, Armor Corps has taken a step back somewhat from its earlier glory days. Armor Corps supports a majority of suit operations worldwide, but a near entirety of these operations have devolved from assaults into supply drops and defensive duties. Armor Corps is notorious for the bureaucratic, complex system that it runs in order to keep tabs on both pilots and surviving allies. A symbol of both humanity and the mistakes humans make, Armor Corps is the oldest, largest faction that now carries out the mundane, day-to-day operations required to keep the world in order. Pilots within Armor Corps are many, and have a surprisingly large amount of benefits despite shortages worldwide. However, only the best of the best ever see missions beyond guard duty. Only the elite can serve as the mighty hammer of this armored corps.

### Organization

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The original organizational structure of the Armor Corps was an incredibly ad-hoc mishmash of civilian refugees, remnant military forces, and suit pilots who had no idea what to do with either group or themselves. Responsibility for general defense, martial law enforcement and mission advisory was given to the military, at least officially, but pilots could and often did overrule whatever insight was offered in favor of a more "glorious" approach to mission planning. Refugee civilians, mostly voluntarily, made of the bulk of a disorganized menial workforce. Pilots sat at the top of this two-foundation pyramid, and were generally free to do and act as they pleased so long as it was in the vague interest of winning the war and did not disrupt the general peace too much.

Overarching authority of all segments of the Armor Corps organization came from "High Command", a mysterious council of pilots who would later be determined to not have humanity's best interests at heart. Their purposefully hamfisted planning led to needless casualties and waste of limited resources in the hopes of prolonging the war with the Vannai for as long as possible.

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The brief civil war that flashed off as a result of "High Command"'s revelation as an obstacle to the security of humanity's future led to a drastic reorganization of the Armor Corps command structure in August of 2015, with pilots as a group being removed from positions of decision-making almost entirely and their professionally-trained military advisors now taking the reins directly. Overall, the Armor Corps organization became more militarized and drastically more efficient, though previously existing pilot cliques that once enjoyed the favor of their friends in positions of authority within the Coalition would invariably distance themselves from the faction as a result. A handful of pilots that were determined to not actually be incompetent were allowed to retain their positions of authority, quickly becoming popular "warrior-leader" figureheads, though now on the understanding that they operated as part of a military organization rather than a tribe with the biggest ass-kickers on top. Pilots no longer hold command authority over anyone else unless they have been entrusted with a commissioned rank by AC Command, in which case they are considered equivalent in rank to their non-pilot Officer counterparts entrusted with command over the rest of the Armor Corps' military assets.

The modern day Armor Corps command structure has been in place since the reorganization in 2015 and the official end of the Human-Vannai War in 2017.

## Base of Operations

Being by far the most commonly featured location between missions, a few noteworthy locations around the base have been described:

### Command Council Room

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The first part of the base ever actually shown, the Council Room is where AC Command deliberates and decides. Described as a round room with a raised, semicircular table where members of the council were seated, it was shown following Unlikely Heroes, when participants of the mission were brought to meet with Command face to face for the first time to answer for their actions. At the time of the meeting, the room had been wired to detonate a nuclear bomb should the pilots prove uncooperative, a fact not revealed until after afterwards. Whether or not this is still the case today is a favorite topic of discussion at the cafeteria.

### Command Centers

The base has several command centers from which authorized members of AC can oversee and direct operations in the field.

### Recreation Lounge

Although referred to singularly, there are likely several lounges around the base for the pilot's use. A place to relax between sorties and spend downtime, the contents of these rooms are always changing according to the whims of AC interior decorators.

### Minimall

Originally a small market created for base personnel to trade. As time passed, the place grew into an actual mall. An arcade, restaurant and bookstore are known attractions there.

### Museum

Technically more of an archive, the AC Museum is where events around the world following the Vannai invasion are recorded for future reference.

### Dorms

The soldier and civilian rooming is interconnected and is fairly basic. Pilot rooming and pilot facilities are separate from the soldier and civilian quadrant, and take up a vast majority of the base despite the lower number of pilots to other base workers. These facilities are fairly standard, but have increased space and increased defense. Pilots and personnel are given their own living quarters within the base, with the assumption of permanent residence (at least until the war is over). Presumably, the higher your standing within AC (or the more you can pay), the better lodging you get. The arrangements have never been described, but are implied to be two to a flat, as well as there being apartments for pilots with families.

### Labs

Due to the inconvenient distance between the AC and TE HQs, a large laboratory staffed by TE and AC personnel was built to facilitate shared research between the two factions and conversion of TE findings into practical weaponry.

## Specialties

### Elite

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Few have made it past grueling months of work to achieve much of any significance in Armor Corps, but it does happen, and when it happens the results are extraordinary. Those who show exceptional skill, valor, coordination, and leadership are given missions that Armor Corps only selects its best to perform. Elites are a considerable and understandably fearsome force, and while the bulk of the force consists of old legends and reigning champions, new pilots commonly enter among the old, ensuring an open space for any pilot skilled enough to take it.

### Grunt

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Faceless, nameless, and generic, the standard pilot of Armor Corps is nothing special. Commonly tasked with guarding supply transports, guarding outposts maintaining peace in cities, or acting as "discretionary force" for whatever purposes that Armor Corps decides, these pilots act as the bulk and body of the pilots worldwide. Grunts rarely participate in major operations, and are nowhere near as renowned as their highly ranked counterparts. Sometimes though, very rarely, a standard pilot will get put in a major operational force - usually via clerical error.

### Specialist

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Neither a standing elite nor the grunts below them, the Armor Corps Specialists are a unique group within the highly organized ranks that surround them. A living, breathing version of adaptable equipment, Specialists fill the roles that other factions are usually tasked with while remaining firmly planted within the Armor Corps. Specialists are a somewhat rare breed, but despite their lack of upward movement through the ranks they tend to be the go-to consultants for those much higher on the totem pole.

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