Striker Frame

Striker frames, or strikers, are 4-metre-tall bipedal humanoid machines developed as weapons of war.

## History

The concept of the striker frame can be traced to military writings of the late 21st century, particularly those of German general Argus Flocht. In a seminal paper published in 2098, *On The Future of Warfare,* Flocht wrote that in a world with increasing interconnectedness and information-gathering capabilities, there would be a need for units that would remain operational even when far behind enemy lines. He envisioned this as the *tauchentruppen* or dive trooper*,* a theoretical soldier who would "dive" deep into enemy formations, operating there with minimal oversight and orders. Whatever they needed would be either salvaged, brought with them or - in extenuating circumstances - supplied by air. Compared to long-range reconnaissance units, which had similar roles, the dive trooper would be better equipped and ready to fight, their main job being sabotage and destruction of key infrastructure rather than passive scouting. The presence of dive troopers would increase information-gathering capabilities of the allied side and decrease that of the enemy as communication lines were disrupted and resources diverted to exterminate it.

Flocht's writings found some rapport with the United Kingdom, which had a doctrine of outfitting its scout vehicles with the heaviest weaponry possible. However, it soon became clear that a fleet of mechanised infantry, even when well trained, could not act as dive troopers. They required too much support for the firepower they carried - fuel, food and ammunition. The concept was scrapped until the discovery of aerium.

2122 marked the beginning of WHISPER, a neurobiology research program led by Dr. Jovian Alastor of the University of Western Australia that sought to produce a machine-brain interface. While WHISPER was not successful in achieving all of its goals, the Australian government took note of its research on methylaeronic bromide as a possible material for the interface. A military think-tank refined this into the Resonance System: by implanting methylaeronic bromide crystals into the spines of humans, a construct for amplifying and sending nerve signals both ways could be created.

However, Resonance was far from a universal thought controller. Due to the location of the crystal and technological limitations, abstract thoughts like those arising in the frontal lobe were unreadable, and most of the information that could be reliably collected were motor signals. Thus, controlling vehicles and the like was nearly impossible since operators could not imagine the machine as part of their body.

Shortly after, the first striker frames were produced. Sidestepping the control issue, they assumed the shape of a human, allowing for near one-to-one mapping of motor impulses. This was useful as it allowed bipedal machines to employ dynamic stability for the first time: constant autocorrections, sourced from the brains of the pilots, were employed to use micromovements to correct its inherently unstable two-legged posture. Striker frames boasted humanlike movement and high reaction speeds, as well as the ability to run and jump, all controlled by one pilot. Arms were added, both as balance mechanisms and for fluid manipulation of diverse types of weaponry.

The first striker frame units were founded as infantry support, being classified under fire support vehicles. They could technically keep pace with infantry on most terrain and provided overwatch, information and protection. They served in actions like the annexation of Lower Indonesia, but found themselves outmatched by traditional vehicles, which had heavier armaments, thicker armour and higher stability. However, OC generals noted the similarity between a striker frame and dive trooper: if equipped with a proper power source, the machines could conduct long-range deep operation with a high personnel-to-firepower ratio: a single pilot meant that less food needed to be carried, and the humanlike frame ensured terrain adaptability. The low chance of open, large-scale warfare in this niche also meant that most of the striker's weaknesses were not an issue.

Over the course of the next two centuries, striker frames became ubiquitous as equipment operated by elite pilots, conducting special operations in hazardous or physically removed locations. Their proficiency at guerilla combat was highly valued. Operating in teams of four to six, strikers could set up ambushes, flank, scout, or even conduct direct-action assaults: this mutability of action was summed up by Admiral Beatrice Hilden as "tougher than a Jeep, stealthier than a tank, thornier than infantry." While they did not excel at one area, it was nearly impossible to find a weak link in a well-coordinated striker team - this issue was compounded by the fact that they often carried as much firepower as a company of foot soldiers.

This changed drastically when the mass-production (MP-type) striker frames were invented, which removed the need for Resonance. Striker frames became both accessible and cheap nearly overnight, which caused an uptick in the amount of strikers that a military could use and the resulting Krakow Treaty to limit their spread. MP-type strikers also became the weapon of choice for PMCs, who valued their efficiency and low manpower requirements, and flourished in the Age of Proliferation. During this time Resonance-capable (R-type) frames were still produced, and were considerably rarer and more powerful than typical MP-types.

During the war against the Fantazer swarm, striker frames were an instrumental component of the defense system in many nations. Together with armour and air support, they formed active defense units that were held in reserve and moved quickly to strike swarms with overwhelming power. This was made possible by their speed, armour and firepower, which were similar to that of an armoured fighting vehicle. It was around this period that the first Hollows were observed in the form of R-type frames whose pilots had been killed, but continued to function autonomously.

Frame technology and strikers faded into obscurity after the Mechanophage nearly destroyed humankind, but individual units did exist, both active and in storage, during this period. They were eventually rediscovered and provided the basis for hunter frames.

## Technology

Striker frames are a combination of many advanced forms of technology, which differentiate them from other fighting vehicles.

### Resonance

Resonance was the phenomenon that made the initial development of striker frames possible. At the basic level, a crystal made of methylaeronic bromide, implanted onto a pilot’s spine, could “hijack” the pilot’s own sense of balance and apply it to the machine. This form of active control allowed the striker frame itself to be designed with a measure of instability, relying on constant adjustments to maintain balance and facilitating dynamic, fast movements. Higher levels (“frequencies”) allowed more and more information to be exchanged between man and machine, and some strike pilots have shown the capability to operate their machines remotely.

### Frame System

The basic structure of a striker frame is an internal skeleton onto which equipment is mounted. This skeleton is made of joints connected by incredibly stiff and hollow carbon fibre rods. An aerium-based liquid crystal fills those hollows, which acts as a capacitor where charges are stored between each particle. This makes the entire skeleton deceptively light and extremely hardy, since puncturing of the shafts only leads to a temporary loss of energy storage, and the joints are localised and self-contained, only needing electricity from external sources to operate. The entire skeleton can also be divided into individual modules, which are mostly inter-compatible with each other: the head, torso, arms, sub-arms, and legs. Swapping a module for another to alter the combat profile of the machine often takes mere minutes.

### Power Source

Most early striker frames used a compact fission reactor as their power source, needing refueling roughly once every 10 years. By the 27th century, a striker's nuclear thermoelectric battery would typically outlast its pilot's lifespan, and often its chassis as well.

### Equipment

Most striker frame equipment was simply upsized versions of infantry weapons like guns, in order to make their use as intuitive as possible for the pilot. Mounting weapons directly to arms was considered in the early stages of development, but scrapped in favour of the adaptable chiromanipulators.

## Generations

At the time of the Long Death, striker frames had been classified under several generations by experts and historian, with each generation highlighting major changes or improvements in their design and implementation.

### 1st Generation and Prototypes

The first generation of strikers was nearly exclusively created by OC scientists, as their invention took place during a time when Resonance technology was nascent and heavily monopolised. These machines were often stiff and slow compared to later generations due to a lack of refinement concerning Resonance feedback interpretation. However, several prototypes among them were created with virtually no frequency restrictions or modulators and had vastly superior performance even compared to later-generation strikers. These prototype were often stored and upgraded over time, remaining active for hundreds of years. The design of 1st generation strikers emphasised armour and antipersonnel capabilities due to their envisaged use as a super-heavy infantry unit.

* SF-02 “Rhino”
* SF-03 “Bulwark”
* SF-05 “Contrarian”
* SF-P-013 “Crow Face"

### 2nd Generation

2nd-generation strikers design saw the revolutionary introduction of the Garrett standard, modularising striker components so that they were interchangeable between each other. Sub-arms on the shoulders that carried auxiliary equipment became standard. Armour was also exchanged for mobility as thrusters and wheels became common features, a result of the gradual shift in doctrine towards machine-on-machine combat. Veynmann armour began to be used during this period as a lighter alternative to steel.

* S22 Caprice
* VG-8 Bullock
* Scalize
* Pattern D
* Mahiru

### 3rd Generation

By this generation strikers began to be produced in individual parts as opposed to whole units - there are no true "3rd-generation strikers", only "3rd-generation striker modules". 3rd-generation strikers are characterised by superior networking capabilities that allowed improved communication in battle. Strikers with extended flight capability (an hour or more) were also mass-produced for the first time, allowing them to destroy low-flying aircraft. Some 3rd-generation strikers were painstakingly designed using the best parts available to produce one-of-a-kind custom machines that stayed relevant well into the future.

* Susanoo
* Molot-15
* Cranston HI
* *Silent Song*
* *Full Metal Bitch*
* *Easy Winner*
* *Blue Wolf*

### 4th Generation

The 4th generation of strikers was technically not an improvement over the previous one but a parallel path of development, as it represents the Mass-Production Type units. Benefitting from decades of neural mapping from pilots, these units did not require a Resonance link to operate, unlike the R-Type units that made up the first 3 generations. While suffering from reduced performance, MP-Type units were so widespread that more of them were made in the first 25 years of production than all previous generations combined.

* San-Go Shiki
* Palatine G2
* GGE-Z
* Aridia F91