45 M1 - Term: 1, Round: 5 (1/2)

Attendance at Fortescue Military Academy M1 Y:2142

House Thoth, Squad Leader, Squad Zero

M1 Rank: 1/1275, Tier 3 M-Rank: Null

Term: 1, Round: 5

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Author's note: we will follow Daedo and Myrmidon viewing the match between Horus Squad two and Shu Squad Zero.

As Moreau's squad lined up against Lazard's Daedo used two of the better Augmented Reality (AR) viewing apps to assess the battle. Myrmidon was more adept taking in all the raw feeds.

In the future, it would be possible for Myrmidon to act as a producer and feed certain streams to Daedo. But right now they each did their own thing and chatted about it what they gleaned. The chat itself took place at the speed of Daedo's thoughts in one direction and much slower in reception. Daedo could not process information anywhere near the same speed as Myrmidon. Apparently, he was much faster than other cadets, hence his bandwidth rating.

Daedo would send Myrmidon, words, images and general feelings. The feelings enhance his message, it was akin to body language for the mind. For example, Daedo would send Myrmidon an image of an assault rifle wielded by a heavy exo with the feeling, rather than words, that communicated, 'bad, terrible, dumb.'

The reason he considered this a feeling was he did not imagine the words, just his reaction. Which was both faster and more accurate than putting that feeling into words. During their time together Myrmidon became more adept at interpreting these feelings month after month. He rarely needed things explained these days. One of those rare circumstances was when Daedo explained how he felt when he blushed after Barran-M said she was a big fan of his.

Author's note: unfortunately I will have to use words in the form of a conversation to depict the very different type of communication that Daedo and Myrmidon share.

[[Daedo: Shu seemed to be emulating some of our tactics. They have off the shelf launchers and only have two heavy exos.]]

[[Myrmidon: their exos are almost standard. Could they not improve them more?]]

[[Daedo: no we are fairly unique on how much work we have done in a short time.]]

[[Myrmidon: ah meatheads. Bless them and their laziness.]]

[[Daedo: I don't know if its laziness. We do know no one has an AI like you.]]

[[Myrmidon: don't use your new behavioural skills on me! Although, it is true.]]

[[Daedo sent Myrmidon a feeling of mirth: Sometimes people use skills to manipulate others and sometimes they are just communicating what they think!]]

[[Myrmidon: ok. Topic change. Who do you think will win by analysing their tactical loadouts and exos.]]

[[Daedo: hmm, well we do know Shu quite well. And they have high skill levels. A few cadets in the top twenty and Lazard always in top six or seven. Their tactics are sound. But. I think the use of the standard heavy exo is a better tactic if you don't upgrade the lighter versions. Ultimately, Horus two can't be too far behind in skill. They are all in the top one hundred cadets bar one. So it will come down to equipment. If Horus' equipment is superior and their tactics even or superior then I think they will win. And you?]]

[[Myrmidon: statistically going by ranking Shu will win. If they are superior in tech studies, then their equipment will be better. I have a breakdown of gauntlet scores across four rounds and Shu are ahead there as well by seventeen point nine two percent. I just reviewed all available data on arena practice, and Shu are much better drilled. Mainly due to the influence of our squad.]]

[[Daedo: this is great. I like it when we disagree. I am more interested in the outcome now.]]

[[Myrmidon: the battle is starting. Good luck Daedo, you will need it. (mimicking Barran smack talk)]]

[[Daedo sent Myrmidon a feeling of mirth: I know where you stole that saying from.]]

[[Myrmidon copied another much older saying: there is nothing new under the sun]].

[[Daedo: well we will just have to leave this solar system one day to see something new.]]

[[Myrmidon: really?! We can do that?]]

[[Daedo: the spiral is being built for a reason. We will get some space on it. Our own workshop and we will take it from there.]]

[[Myrmidon: you haven't told our squaddies this!]]

Myrmidon thought himself part of the squad and had refrained from calling squaddies meatheads unless they did some special to deserve it. As far as Myrmidon was concerned, there were two types of people. One group was like family. The other group was not. A very ones and zeros approach.

[[Myrmidon: Shu is moving out in a predictable fashion.]]

[[Daedo: predictable for you. They have split into three groups, close combat, medium and long.]]

[[Myrmidon: Not even worth mentioning.]]

[[Daedo: Horus are in two groups. Interesting, each has different ranged loadouts. Both with four cadets. One of the perks of not being a zero Squad.]]

[[Myrmidon: Pity, their eighth cadet, is ranked one-six-four.]]

[[Daedo: if they're well led and can shoot straight. It's not that much of a detriment]].

[[Myrmidon: statistically Horus ranks add up to the lowest number when combined for the entire 255 cadets]]

[[Daedo: the House was stacked. Especially the first two squads.]]

[[Myrmidon: how come we aren't in it.]]

[[Daedo: the let the techies go to Thoth they only syphoned the others.]]

[[Myrmidon: it's still an anomaly. Vannier. Picard.]]

[[Daedo: they may not be Mace and talented in other areas, but remember the Railgun is ninety percent their work.]]

[[Myrmidon: Shu long range are engaging. Providing cover fire for the close combat specialist.]]

[[Daedo: Lazard is in the Vanguard.]]

[[Myrmidon: she is not like you. Can she be there and lead?]]

[[Daedo: it's a different sort of leadership. We give tactical directions. She inspires.]]

[[Myrmidon: I hope that is enough. I do not wish to lose this contest.]]

[[Daedo: early days for second thoughts.]]

[[Myrmidon: why are you so confident. What is it that I am missing?]]

[[Daedo: You made assumptions based on the rankings and academic performance. I looked at their gear and made my assessment on their current loadout. I think Shu made an error, even if they are slightly smarter and faster overall as a squad than Horus.]]

[[Myrmidon: it still frustrates me that I can make four trillion calculations faster than you can make forty, and yet you see things that I miss.]]

[[Daedo: could it simply be that some of my calculations are not evident? Or do you need criteria written for making an assessment to ensure you don't miss important factors?]]

[[Myrmidon: it is the first time we played this game. I will improve.]]

[[Daedo: yes because now you know one more important criteria. Battle strategy assessment based on all available data. It's still not a done deal. My assessment is the skills are close to Horus being inferior, but the difference in equipment quality and loadout choice will more than make up for it.]]

[[Myrmidon: long-range Shu has eighty percent accuracy currently. First one hundred rounds fired and eighty hits exactly.]]

[[Daedo: damage assessment? I can't see anyone in trouble.]]

[[Myrmidon: Killboard input data has three heavies under fifty percent. Hmm. I see the armour ratings in the killboard third layer of stats. This data was not available before commencement.]]

[[Daedo: there are probably reasons for that. Doesn't help when you have a few matches in a row though. Shu Vanguard will be in trouble if they keep closing on the Horus group with Moreau. They could get caught in a pincer.]]

[[Myrmidon: Vanguard of only two. Do you think they will sacrifice and lay a trap?]]

[[Daedo: would be a good strategy if it worked perfectly. Rear shots on half the Horus squad. But, they have enough to finish off the Shu vanguard quickly, before the ambush can take place. There will be eight Horus focusing on them.]]

[[Myrmidon: If Shu can effectively mitigatethirty percent of damage with agile movement…]]

[[Daedo: but their exos are almost standard and heavy. I nearly died in a light through lack of mobility. But I am not Lazard.]]

[[Myrmidon: it begins. We will see if my, Shu can be victorious.]]