Kalran: Tales of the four nations/Sword

"For our masters!"

Tactical analysis

 * Cut them down: Sword clones of the Reclaimers don't get much training, but the most important thing they are taught is to get as close to the enemy as possible. To do this, they are trained to sprint everywhere they go, until running full tilt is second nature to them. Of course, this means they don't tend to wear much in the way of armor.


 * Spray and Pray: Among the many lessons not taught to Swords is how to correctly aim their pistols. Rather than attempt any sort of accurate fire, they will burn through their ammunition, then continue to charge, bayonet first. Though their fire is unlikely to actually hit anything, it can easily suppress multiple targets. Unique for standard infantry, they are capable of firing on the move.


 * Turning back is cowardice: Before battle, the Swords are psyched up by their chosen masters, and go into battle accompanied by a huge wave of their fellows. As long as they are not alone, Swords are resistant suppressed, run faster, and attacks harder.


 * Completely useless: The Swords are close to useless by themselves, especially without their horde bonus. Due to their weapon range, abysmal damage, and barely existent armor and morale. Means when they're forced to fight against foes on equal numbers and/or without any support they will die. Especially against anti-infantry or demoralizing weaponry



History
"Shut your lies dog! You know nothing of my master! They fed me and care for me when I'm sick. And only punish when I'm too scare to fight against tyrant like you! They protect and feed me! Unlike you murderous tyrant. And I know full well they will come and save me!"

*Recording was interrupted by sounds of explosions followed followed by screams.*

"Sir we found a survivor, status dying. She seems to be one of the shield division we lost. And statistics shows she can be saved. But cost to do so is high"

"Then don't bother IW711. Wasting precious resources to save what's left of a tool that done its use is stupid. Just toss it into the grinder."

"Affirmative commander."

-Remains of the interrogation log of clone RA411, nicknamed "Ralia", a captured Reclaimer. Autopsy indicated she was the first casualty when Reclaimers from her cell bombarded her cell, due to a chip implanted in her neck, and had survived for roughly four hours in agony, with high chance of surviving with immediate medical attention.

When a reclaimer clone is decanted they have a mind of a child, which can be easily manipulated.

The most basic clones, labelled Swords, are trained in basic melee combat, utilizing wrist-mounted swords on each hands and are forced to charge at their foes in a mad frenzy. And those who refuse suffers a painful shock from their collars, with the chosen berating them for defying orders and saying they only hurt themselves by refusing, and if they still refused the chosen then the chosen throws those "defective tool" into the grinder, feet first, under the guise of allowing them to take up another job. And by the end those clones who follow orders become nothing more then the chosen obedient hounds, willing to do anything to make them happy and fight in the hopes of bringing glory. Charging upon their foes in a mad frenzy, slicing up anyone within attack range

But in truth the best they can hope for is being mentioned in a footnote. To the Reclaimers the Swords are nothing more then a tool, like their namesake. As they, along with their other clone brethren's, are always sent on what amounts to a suicide mission, from charging at a machinegun nest and artillery sites to going on long death marches to take territory they can't teleport to or act as targeting beacons for the chosen weaponry. and ordered to never retreat without orders, under penalty of death.

This often means that many of them are forced to watched as their fellow clones, friends that trained and fought together, are shred by bullets, or worse, often reducing them to the crying children they truly are. And if any of them tries to escape tends to suffer a bloody death at the hands of the Whips or the Aristocrats, and in the end any corpse or crippled clones, whether missing an arm or a finger, left are either sent to the grinder, where their body are reduced to raw materials to either make blood diamonds or new clones, or be forcibly remade into a Bow unit.

And for any swords who survived their first combat tend to be irrevocably changed, often beginning to refuse the chosen orders, too traumatized to fight properly, or realize that the chosen never loved them and defect. This mean the Reclaimers tend to want most of their shields to die in battle, since they don't want to waste resources helping the survivors. For the Reclaimers view the clones, despite being as human as the next person, as a resource, since they can make thousands of clones in a snap. And care for them as much as a soldier cares for his bullets.