Gaiaterra: Elysea's Conflict/Crisis Drone

The Crisis Drone is a type of support drone used by the Socialist Union of Voshkod.

History
"Don't Panic. Remain Calm."

-...

A particular argument against the Voshkod and sometimes communism, in general, is in how much their system affects the citizenry for the negative. Garlean's monstrous lack of concern for the lives of Voshkod civilians, and Regis's apathy in doing anything to improve civilian life has put truth to the argument, certainly.

First World propaganda is always quick to point out the atrocities and draconian laws the Voshkod governments put on the people under their rule, and no small amount of this propaganda is rooted in real incidents. However, with the advent of Lunafreya as Premier, the new Voshkod government appears to be trying - at least, somewhat - so far to be turning this public image around. Beyond examples such as the Vodyanoy Battlesuits, Grinder, or newer BTRs, there exists another product of Voshkod ingenuity that serves as a positive example for Voshkod civilian relations - the Crisis Drone.

The Crisis Drone itself is an entirely "pacifistic" design, an evident clue that the drone type itself is very new. Its origins lay in 1985 V.C. as inner strife among Voshkod citizens lead to revolts, rebellions, and demonstrations against the war that had taken so many comrades' lives and given the Voshkods little in return. Battles began to break out in the streets of Voshkod countries between those loyal to Cherdenko, and those who wanted an end to the war. And one particularly destructive fight near the end of the war took place in the (insert), where the Battle of (insert) took place.

Starting off as a premature shut-down of the student anti-war protesters marching down the main street of the city by the police, and ending in one of the largest riots in Voshkod history, the Battle of (insert Eorzean city) was, in the words of all involved, terrifying. Students were armed with whatever old weapons they could scrounge up; armored city buses, cars, and even a single locomotive, old T-62, ISU-152s, SU-100s and BMP-1s, and ZDS-10 Throwable Inflammatory Devices; the police responded with police Sickles, BTRs, Maulers, Scorchers, and even a few Kodiak Tanks.

The battle raged on for the better part of three days and only ended when the police, in a highly risky and ultimately futile move, detonated many of the buildings along the main street of the city in an attempt to end the battling protesters. In the aftermath of the battle, many innocents who hadn't participated one way or another in the fighting found themselves trapped inside the burning remains of the city's buildings. The efforts by the remainder of the police and students, no longer hostile but still wary of the other side, to get these comrades out were varied and heroic, sensationalized in many underground newspapers of Voshkod.

Among these efforts, one particular rescue method that caught the attention of those who read the newspapers was the use of modified Terror Drones that had belonged to an old Combat Engineer. Having had an entire "litter" of them gifted as a retirement present by his colleagues, the nameless former engineer had blunted the claws of the drones, taken out their stasis ray, replaced the insides with both messages to not give up hope, and modified the internal programming to instead beep, get to, and deliver the messages before coming back to the engineer as quickly as possible to lead him to the person. After this, the drones were sent out inside the rubble, and many survivors pulled out would recall seeing one of the modified drones and feel less terrified with the knowledge that rescuers were coming.

One of the people who regularly read such newspapers was General, and then soon Premier Lunafreya. In 1990 V.C., Voshkod faced with the numerous riots and destruction of anti-Voshkod "comrades", she recalled the Combat Engineer and his drones and ordered the man temporarily out of retirement to assist in designing a new variety of drones.

The end result of all of this is what is now known as the Crisis Drone. Far from the modified and partly stripped drones of the old engineer, the final product is almost completely different, changed, and modified extensively to fit a new, unique role. Dismantler Claws were discarded, replaced with more delicate and flexible Manipulator Claws capable of opening doors and dragging wounded people away without splitting their skin open; the electromagnetic ray was taken out entirely and the chassis itself enlarged for room to fit supplies; and, most uniquely, outfitted with both a metal smiley face on the front and a prerecorded voice-box.

The drone's job itself is to act as a support for emergency and medical forces - capable of crawling through rubble or other inaccessible areas that humans cannot get through easily, the Crisis Drone will seek out nearby living humans that may be trapped, or otherwise unable to escape. Once reaching any people still alive, it will broadcast soothing instructions in a female voice to remain calm and avoid panicking to those trapped, while using its "face" to calm the nerves of those who see it.

Then, it will unfold itself, destroying the machinery controlling it in the process, and reveal first-aid kits, food, water, medicine, children's toys, and survival pamphlets (which quickly became famous for the words "DON'T PANIC" printed out in prominent bold letters on their covers) - whatever is deemed potentially necessary for the people it is designed to find until other rescuers can get there.

This is not limited to civilian matters only - a solitary Kodiak Tank or a squad of Conscripts alone and wounded on the field of battle are just as in danger as civilians in a bombed building, and Crisis Drones can also be made to carry special medical supplies, vodka, and repair tools and material to fix military units up as well.

In normal times, this would be all it was designed to do - but in the days after 2004 V.C., times are definitely no longer normal. It is a sad but true fact that, in addition to normal emergencies, Crisis Drones may be called out to battlefields where rebels, insurrectionists, or other enemy forces will be found. In light of this fact, Crisis Drones are also instructed in other areas.

Without any weaponry to their names (as weapons tend to actually panic civilians unable to defend themselves because of the post-1977 V.C. turmoils), Crisis Drones are instead instructed in the arts of negation - their manipulator claws are able to defuse bombs laid by bourgeoisie terrorists, carefully take apart and refit mines laid in the ground so that they will turn on their original seeders, and even rewire downed vehicles so that police or soldiers may use them to transport wounded quickly back to the hospitals.

And though they must be carefully programmed to be dissuaded from climbing in Voshkod vehicles, their instructions have caused Crisis Drones to actively climb into other vehicles, and actively defuse or disassemble any weapon platforms that might be in or around it.

Crisis Drones are actually required in every commander's force nowadays - as it is likely that the Voshkod Army may be called to civilian-populated areas, where there is no way for them to fight terrorists or invaders without collateral damage, there exists the possibility that Crisis Drones will be needed on the field of battle to help search and rescue wounded or trapped civilians.

While commanders first grumbled about the fact that they were forced to spend rubles on these drones instead of being able to simply leave the civilians to the clean-up crews, both the positive image the Crisis Drones represent, as well as the ability to fix up their soldiers and vehicles in the field has turned the minds of most.

An official state-sponsored television show, "My Little Drone: Friendship is Communism" is already in progress.