War is not a clean endeavor, and rarely are battles fought without collateral damage. In a post-scarcity world, where massive mech frames can be assembled in multi-ton printers, and weapons of destruction outfitted to them just as quickly, a new kind of damage containment and cleanup is required.
When rocket-propelled defense systems falter and the line could not be held you need to call in the specialists.
You need to call in...
The M.A.I.D. Brigade
Militarized Antiseptic, Immunization, and Decontamination (M.A.I.D.) Units are frames that have been retrofitted and redesigned for a combat support role. Often seen in the aftermath or at the tail end of engagements these units excel at minimizing post-engagement hazards that remain on the battlefield, as well as beginning preliminary clean-up efforts.
Though the Brigade's original aim was to focus on bio-hazardous material that could affect ground troops following the reclamation of affected combat areas, the range of their capabilities gradually expanded over time. Because of this, while their equipment and weaponry have clearly defined designs, there are often secondary applications that pilots in M.A.I.D. units adopt as unofficial cleaning protocols.
Due to the less than glamorous prospect of acting as a clean-up crew to "real combatants" assignments to M.A.I.D. units have been treated as punishment by some for rebellious Lancer pilots more than a few times in the past. Though this is a belief held among many pilots from other units, few pilots under a M.A.I.D. unit have been known to tolerate such slander for long. Those looking to avoid having their frame filled with lemon-scented, industrial-grade disinfectant foam would do well to keep such comments to themselves.
Weapons and Systems
Due to the unpredictable nature of combat M.A.I.D. units nearly always have basic weaponry installed on their frames should they be needed for self-defense, or when engaging with straggler enemy units. In addition to this many of their weapons and systems have multi-use functionality built into them so that a M.A.I.D. is never truly unprepared for a battle.
Endothermic Foam Launcher: A versatile utility that can be used to contain stray reactor rods ejected onto the battlefield, cool down ally frames that are under extreme heat from external weaponry, or slow enemy frames and deployable systems.
Hydro-Pressure Cannon: Capable of outputting ~6,500 gallons per minute, this weapon applies a narrow cone of water pressure that can be used to douse flames or knock enemy mechs off balance at close range.
E-Duster: Modeled after typical feather dusters, this melee weapon takes the form of a thick, reinforced rod with thousands of brissels protruding from one end that can carry enough voltage to damage a frame's internal electrical framework.
Manufacturers
While M.A.I.D. unit frames are not linked to any one specific manufacturer, as they are often taken from older models and retrofitted as needed, there are a few methodologies that carry over from the manufacturer that originally designed the basis of the frame.
Smith-Shimano Corpro: The most common type of system utilized by M.A.I.D. units given how they favor mobility and speed over all else. Many such frames will often have additional flexible armor pieces affixed to protect the lower half, helping prevent mobility-disabling effects that target the frame's legs. Ablative additions can give an opportunity for a pilot to escape close-quarters combat if jumped by an enemy.
Horus: Characterized by a focus on cleaning up system viruses, these frames often deploy systems that attempt to counter-act hacking attempts or reverse non-Euclidean effects that have been weaponized against the internal hardware of an ally's frame.
Harrison Armory: Frames hailing from the HA lineage have been found to be particularly effective at using endothermic cleanup foams and exothermic reactants to leach heat from nearby allies and weaponize it to heat up their own systems to initiate weaponized heat syncs.
IPS-Northstar: Sometimes, when such situations arise, you need to clean something with the barrel of a gun as your primary tool. Could be organic infestations, berserk NHPs frames, or any number of things. When this need arises, M.A.I.D. units created from Northstar frames have invariably been the go-to option. Such frames are able to use their innate weapon systems to make sure that one mess is replaced with a much more manageable, less active mess.
Just a little idea that has come up a few times when talking to a friend. If you think this is just some excuse to slap the idea of maid-themed mechs on the table and give them ablative armor skirts that can let them do a pirouette and explode nearby enemies then you would be right. However, I expanded on the idea a bit and came up with some additional ideas.
If I ever added mechanics to this it would probably be either as a Support type NPC or as a Smith-Shimano Corpro frame that could dance around the battlefield and support allies and then debuff enemies, where you can be more effective at both the more you swap back and forth, instead of just sticking to purely support or purely offensive.
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