Mr.Tucker wrote:This question is tied to the one on the Loroi Q&A thread. If Umiak combat cyborgs are expensive to produce and maintain, why are they used at all? Ground combat matters less in this setting. Even then, I'm under the impression that a hardtrooper is no match for a Teidar. If powered armor is not useful, why are cyborgs practical? Just use UGV's and regular grunts.
The critical weakness of powered armor is the living body inside; it's difficult to build an exoskeleton that can ambulate without crushing the limbs and joints of the occupant. However, if you were willing to amputate all the problematic body parts, then a combat cyborg could be made practical. The problem is that many societies, including our own, would blanch at the concept of this sort of self-mutilation. The Umiak are not so squeamish, and moreover, their bodies are already exoskeletal, and so they are a natural fit for this sort of augmentation.
The Umiak use a wide variety of different troop types. As dragoongfa mentioned, most "regular" Umiak are unsuited to ground combat due to their G-intolerance. Some Umiak troops are "soft troops", that is, genetically enhanced Umiak with better G-tolerance and increased strength, but who are strictly light infantry, without major cybernetic alterations or much protection beyond their natural (though artificially strengthened) carapaces which would weigh them down too much.
There are two basic types of hardtroops: the first is a genetically enhanced "soft trooper" with its carapace replaced by a semi-powered armored exoskeleton. The second is a full-on cyborg, retaining the Umiak's organs and nervous system, but with the rest of the body almost entirely replaced with machinery. The first type looks like an armored Umiak, but the second type can look very different.
The Umiak also use some unmanned robotic units, though there is less need for them compared to the Loroi since type-2 hardtroops can carry their own heavy weapons.
Why do the Umiak use hardtroops? Because they're well-armed, well-armored heavy infantry that are pretty dangerous against most opponents. It's true that a hardtrooper is inferior to a Loroi Teidar, but most Loroi troops are not Teidar. Hardtroops are used as security aboard ships as well as on the ground, and they do see action (hint hint).
Final note: these Umiak cyborgs are not "brains in a can." At this tech level, the most effective and economical way to keep a brain alive is to allow it to keep as much as possible of its original body support as possible, and that means most of its organs, including nervous, endocrine, cardiovascular and digestive systems. The technology required to keep a brain alive by itself, synthesizing all the complex chemicals required, and/or being able to repair itself the way a living body would, requires TL14 "nano-buddies" tech that's not yet available to the major combatants.