Gallant Class
Gallant Class Combat Escort
History
The Gallant class covers broad range of chassis that share a common processing core and reactor system. Unlike most dedicated military constructs, the Gallant class was built with exceptionally high processing power that allowed them to understand and emulate emotion. This was intended primarily for use with units acting as an escort or guardian that blends in well with their wards and surroundings. When the Great War began, production was increased. An unexpected side effect of the Gallant class empathic processors was that they acted like soldiers when around soldiers. Military personnel not only had a hard time telling their assigned androids apart from their organic counterparts, but they felt more tightly bonded to them. Damaged Gallant units were more likely to be retrieved from the battlefield to sustain morale, and Gallant series units were more likely to 'bend' orders to rescue fallen comrades.
After the great war, the high cost of maintaining a Gallant caused most of them to be used until they could no longer be sustained. OUt of roughly ten thousand units, only a few hundred remain at present day. Those that exist today belong to groups that have reprogrammed them such as construction, organized crime, and random utility jobs.
While some feared that the empathic systems of the Gallant class would lead it to towards choosing to defect under the right circumstances, there has never been an instance of a Gallant class defecting. Cases without any basis were filed, and eventually parts production for the Gallant class ceased which limited ownership to those who would salvage and manufacture parts on their own. The utility of the Gallant class still made them loved well enough to maintain.
Eventually, the Gallant class was replaced by heavy and light infantry units. Cheaper, faster, and sometimes tougher, these new units became the disposable grunt of the military, but they never garnered the devotion of the Gallant class from their crews even if they did their jobs well.
System Subtypes
Several variants in species and purpose were made for the Gallant class
- General Purpose
- GP's, typically feline and canine builds, the GP Gallant series was used much like a general issue soldier. Highly mobile, intelligent, and able to use all standard weapons, they were deployed side by side with organic units where they often took point and served as engineers, bomb sweepers, and close combat units
- Interceptor
- The armor of the interceptor was stripped down and the leg engines greatly enhanced. Typically gangly and slender like cheetahs, interceptors were used to stop small armored vehicles, other soldiers including androids, and for relaying messages when radio silence was necessary.
- Bunker Buster
- The bunker buster or BB unit was the second most heavily armored Gallant class unit deployed. They were typically mid to heavy frame ungulate species, and they were built to survive close combat conditions involving small to mid size weapons and hand to hand combat with soldiers and androids. BB units ranked first in physical strength, and they often would group together to tear armored doors apart to gain entry into a facility
- Heavy Armor / Artillery
- HA/A system were rare, slow, and deadly. Armed with heavy arms and back mounted artillery, HA/A, sometimes called Ha-ha, tended to have the last laugh in a fight. Because of their nickname, they were often referred to as Jokers or Funnymen, and it was not uncommon for one to has a distinct sense of humor.
- Escort Class
- The escort class was usually a GP, BB, or interceptor unit, were lightly armored systems with upgraded sensors. Armor was often lighter on the front and heavy on the back allowing them to endure weapon fire while acting as a shield for their ward.
Escort, BB, and interceptors are the primary Gallant units that survived after the war and their discontinuation in order of prevalence. Of the original ten thousand, only a few hundred are thought to be in service in the private and criminal sectors.