VSDC 1st VEP-Infantry Squadron, 'Void-Witches'

"One of the other VIP passengers was a sleepy young woman dressed in a mixture of black and neon-green. My liason explains that she is a member of Vaduz's premier special mechanised-forces unit; a Void Witch. They were the first to use a mechanised chassis in combat, and with that pedigree comes a well-earned reputation as being analogous to our own Lancers. Void Witches are hand-picked, hand-trained and even hand-modified with custom cybernetics-suites with the simple intention of making them into the deadliest pilots at the collective's disposal. And as per prior agreements with the SSC, there's talk of them appearing in other systems, lending their talents as deniable assets to the corpro in ways that, for lack of better terms, run contrary to the attempts by Deference to improve the reputation of Vaduz in the eyes of Union space."

— Rosalina Toro - Reflections of Parime, Revised Edition.

"The thing about Void Witches is that just like any other part of the VSDC, they want to put the fear of space into anyone who crosses them. The only real difference is in methodology: Your typical hotshot VEP pilot accomplishes this through grandiose displays of brutality, flamethrowers and crushing infantry under their footpads, that sort of stuff. Void Witches on the other hand, prefer to simply accomplish their job with the sort of cold-blooded efficiency that comes from living in vacuum, until their deadly reputation precedes. Forget adhesive napalm-throwers, forget Monarchs bristling with kinetic-penetrators and noisemakers, when Vaduz decide that enough's enough, they call in these monsters, and the screams of their jets let the 'dirt-eaters' know that their lifespans are cut short."

— FCA Airman Casey Barnes, circa 5011u.

Composition

Manpower

1st Squadron currently maintains only 24 pilots in active rotation at any given time. Though expected to remain as self-reliant as possible, the squadron also rotates mech engineers from other hangers - up to 60 at a time - to expedite construction, repair and supply of mechs in designated hangars.

Equipment

Personal equipment intended for use by Void Witches draw from the best that Vaduz's supply-chains have to offer, placing heavy emphasis on increasing individual mobility and stealth-capabilities of individuals with higher allowances of mass-constraint than rank-and-file pilots. Cybernetics are built-to-order and customised by Vaduz Central's own

Weaponry

Personal and vehicular weaponry used by Void Witches consist primarily of accurate, long-ranged ballistic and lorentz weaponry to ensure first-strike capability on key targets. Each member of a wing is expected to choose weapons on a per-case basis, selecting the weapon that suits both the mission and team composition.

Vehicles

Each VEP is constructed and customised from the ground up to meet the needs and specifications of individual Void Witches, using the latest in mechanised chassis technology from both Vaduz and Smith-Shimano Corpro R&D facilities. Most Void Witch VEPs conform closest to SSC 'Operator'-class systems, but designs utilising hardware borrowed from SSC Metalmark and Swallowtail licenses are not unheard of.

Structure

The squadron is divided into three wings of three pilots, each led by the most veteran Void Witch pilot on rotation, while two other Void Witches remain on independent 'stand-by' positions to provide support, tactical overwatch or replace wounded/destroyed pilots.

Tactics

Void Witch combat-tactics eschew the shock-and-awe strategy of conventional VEP squadrons, instead employing infiltration/reconnaissance and ambush-tactics to stage short but devestating raids on high-value targets. In active combat, Void Witch wing-leaders focus on priority-targets while their wingmates interfere and distract with secondary targets and enemy supporting elements, establishing 'green zones' of minimal hostile activity for their leader to fight unimpeded.

Training

Void Witch training starts when a potential pilot reaches junior-recruit age and meets specific criteria on simulation-scores and behavioral-analysis to be extracted from general VEP training into 1st Squadron Instructionary-Courses. Training is both physically and mentally taxing with an extremely high rate of failure, focussing primarily on training and educating topics centered around combat-VEP useage, tactics, survival and intermediate physics. Students that fail to meet the high standards of the Void Witches are transferred back to general VEP-training (or discharged from military-education entirely), and those that sufficiently meet standards of competancy despite their transferral are are considered to have been 'denied with honors', which carries significant social-clout within the VSDC.

Type

Mech

Founding

4991

Overall training Level

Elite

Assumed Veterancy

Decorated/Honored

Parent Formation

VSDC VEP-Infantry Cohorts

Used by

• Vaduz Orbital Collective