A Brief History Of Mechas And The Development Thereof By Karen Iksenslet#889315

Mankind has always used labor saving devices as long as man has had a will to do so. Mechas, as we understand them, are merely an extension of that. Before the discovery of the Forerunners, before the discovery of the Gateways, before the science of niodes was understood, there were mechas.

Since the time that humanity went out exploring the solar system, and then the galaxy, there was conflict. Be it with other species, or with other humans. Standard human infantry was incapable of fighting and winning a battle with a race or group that far exceeded what the infantry could bring to bear. The great equalizer was the advent of the mecha.

Pre-niode and pre-ferrite techology, mechas were huge machines that required the use of the Voltronic module connection system. This modular design system enabled separate smaller mechas to join together to form a gestalt mecha. The downside was the sheer amount of smaller modules that were required for some of the larger mechas. Some of the largest gestalt mechas required upwards of 25 different mechas to form a single large battle mech.

Needless to say, that was not an efficient way to fight a battle. When Forerunner technology was discovered, and when humanity learned to exploit the Gateways, science and engineering was always at the forefront taking an active and obsessive interesting on how to utilize what was learned. New techniques in ferrite fabrication were discovered. Tests on niodes were done and mecha size could be scaled down, yet improved from a combat efficiency standpoint.

Soon, small solo pilot standalone mechas were built. Using what was learned from niode technology, and pushing ferrite manufacturing to the very limits of engineering, a mecha was built. This mecha would be the first mecha to be widely used as a main battle mech. It was called the Red Ant, standard light infantry mecha. The second mecha built, which was more specialized, was the War Horse, a heavy infantry mecha. And the third mecha was the Anzu, the fast light scout mech.

Ultimately, these three mechas were the first mechas that any pilot ever got to drive, and from them, came the development of all other mechas built by man. Any mecha pilot worth their salt will tell tales of how they cut their teeth piloting the Red Ant, the Anzu, and always their first mecha, the Warhorse. Eventually, new techniques were discovered, and previously un-thought of designs were brought to fruition. Every mecha built by man after the first three were spectacular displays of innovation and skill in mecha design engineering. And so it was, until the bio-mech mechas were discovered, but that’s a different story.

Submitted by Karen Iksenslet#889315