Maeve and I float in the sky within a simulation. I recognise the Hive city and its sprawling defences as a copy of Thorfinn’s HiveSim server. There is a massive war going on, and I have no idea what is happening or why.

It’s been two weeks since my discussion with Odhran. His advice about adjusting to my body was spot on and I have felt much better since then. I’m still pissed at him though.

I watch the combat play out for an hour. The rest of Fleet Command join us in the sky as the minutes pass.

“Alright, Maeve. I give up,” I say “I have no idea what’s wrong here.”

“Anyone else?” says Maeve.

Eire says, “There are too many troops in power armour.”

Maeve smiles, “That’s one of the consequences, but not what is actually wrong.”

“How did they even afford it all?” says Brigid.

“They made it,” says Maeve.

Róisín taps a finger against her arm, “That’s impressive.”

“The PDF is unusually well equipped too,” says Lonceta. “They’re more like a proper Imperial Guard unit, only they’re all Kasrkins.”

“What exactly is the purpose of the simulation?” says Owen. “Maybe that will give us a clue. Please could you fill us in, Maeve?”

“Sure. There is a three way brawl occurring on this world. The Hive, the Invaders, and the Mercenaries. The Invaders and the Hive are fighting for control of the city. The Mercenaries seek to enrich themselves, fighting for whichever side will pay them. They are fragmented into small teams and operate out of a central hub. As such, the Mercenaries will even fight each other.

“The Fleet’s Heralds have been split into three sides, with the Mercenary group being the smallest. Like real life, there’s no respawn, so dying and being kicked from the exercise early is rather humiliating. As such, they’ve all been drawing on their knowledge to improve the chances of themselves and their side as much as possible.”

I nod, “So that’s why they all have power armour. The question then is how, and why is it a problem.” I clasp my hands behind my back, “Well, I suppose that would lie within the contrast of what they have outside the simulation, compared to within. What we have here is a legion of Tech Priests who know how to build, maintain, and use power armour, and other valuable wargear, but they are our main infantry force.”

Brigid glances at me, “Our troops are over qualified.”

“That’s it,” says Maeve, clapping her hands once. “No one has more incentive to learn high energy physics and armour systems than those who get shot at by plasma weapons every day. With no conflicts expected for twenty years, the Heralds have been less focused on training, and more on knowledge and skills.”

Owen frowns, “They’re too good to fight?”

“That’s the least of it,” says Eire. “There’s some serious political consequences if it became known that we could field a hundred thousand power armoured infantry. It would cause an even greater fuss if we actually invested the resources to do so. Here, both sides have access to far more resources and manufacturing space than our fleet does, so we can’t actually do this.”

Lonceta rapidly follows the logic of the problem and groans, “Which is problem number two. Discontent. No one wants to fight with shitty equipment, but it’s particularly egregious when one knows how to do better and is not assigned the resources to do so.”

“The Macro-Ferry will have the required output once it’s completed,” says Róisín, “not that such large projects are ever truly finished. We can’t let discontent fester that long though. Brigid, What could we actually afford?”

“Our budget is already maxed. We can move stuff about, but compromising our shipyard output is not a good trade off. Nor can we recklessly spend without resupply. All the oncoming asteroids and comets are accounted for.”

“I thought that would be the case,” says Maeve. “Let’s address the problems one at a time: over qualification, force perception, and morale. One solution might lead to another. I’ll take you through the options I’ve come up with. First up is Servitors. We could replace twelve out of every fifteen Heralds with Servitors on the battlefield and reassign our Heralds into production. Second is a Skitarii program. We create cyborgs using individuals grown within exo-wombs. Third is to continue as we are.

“Each of these have their own issues. Servitors do not make great troops. Our numbers would mean much less. That’s particularly bad when we don’t have many in the first place. Having so few members in each squad would drastically fragment intrasquad relationships; pulling so many people from a job that most have volunteered for would be shitting on their beliefs and conviction. Morale would drop across the Fleet for many years. On the positive side, we wouldn’t be throwing so many of our engineers into the fight.

“Option two: adopting a skitarii program, while practical in the short term, would create a caste system within the fleet. We’d have a bunch of people that are educated in such a manner that they would fight and die for us. Eventually, something would give, and we’d have a similar problem with discontent, or someone might subvert those mechanisms to create armed individuals that are less than loyal to the fleet.

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“Last, is leaving it like it is. We’d have to be really choosy about where and when we deploy our forces, if possible. Our forces would have a huge effect on any conflict they get into, but we’d be killing off a significant quantity of our theoretical industrial output. However, we don’t have somewhere else to assign them right now either. Thoughts? Yes, Eire?”

“Are those really our only options? How about a two tier force? Servitors for the meat grinder and a more elite force for special actions.”

Maeve’s expression freezes, then she laughs. “You see. This is why we have meetings. We could do that. Being assigned to herd the Servitors would be unpopular. A good task for conscripts doing their two years service.”

“I’m not so sure about that,” says Lonceta. “I look back on time in the Heralds with fondness. It’s the one thing that ties absolutely everyone in the fleet together. I made some of my best friends there. I know it isn’t a social club, but service is a key tradition that shapes the culture of the Stellar Fleet, especially its discipline and unity. Cheapening it in such a manner, while not fatal, would be unwise.”

The discussion derails a bit as everyone starts talking about their own experiences as a grunt. Something I have no personal reference for. Gradually, our conversation starts to dig into the practicals of how we would create a mixed force, but none of us are really happy about breaking up the companies and changing how we organise our military as everything is carefully set up to feed into all the other aspects of the Stellar Fleet, the most important being the transport capacity of the D-POTs.

“You know,” says Owen, “I can’t help but feel we’re looking at this the wrong way. We are the servants of the Machine God. We preach and practice transhumanism. Becoming a Skitarii should be a blessing, not a curse. Clothing ourselves in iron is a rite, not a question of resources. To punish others, forcefully changing their chosen path for seeking knowledge and bettering themselves, the core tenet of our faith, is anathema. A two tier system is a compromise, why should we settle for one?

“If there are resources for a Skitarii or Servitor program, I really do not see why we can’t push those into making our Heralds even more resilient. They are well paid. Could we not provide a means for them to spend their own resources to equip and enhance themselves? It might cause a little trouble with logistics, but we are not talking about millions of troops.”

“You have an idea,” says Maeve.

“The two tier idea does not address the issue of morale and risks a caste system forming within the military, rather than the fleet. Brigid has gone into further details of what resources we can actually move about, even though it would have consequences, so I believe my idea is possible.

“I wish to address the problem from the morale angle, rather than the loss of industrial output, for there is a balance to be had, I think. We could give out titles that come with privileges within the Heralds and are a mark of respect within the Stellar Fleet: Acolyte, War Smith, and Warforged.

“Right now, conscripts are provided with minor enhancements, do their two year service, and either move on, or stay. No matter what they do, they get to keep the upgrades. I want to extend that program in a non-conventional manner.

“Heralds that chose to stay on would receive a Machine Baptism, should they wish it, converting them to skitarii. In practice, they would be cyborgs, living inside the mechanical bodies that we use for Servitors. They would become Acolytes, a professional title that will cost them another eight years of service. Once they were done, however, they would have a body that most would take many years to afford and would be a mark of dedication to their faith. We already make a lot of Servitors, so reassigning some of those machine bodies would not be too great a burden.

“A War Smith would be a technical title for those who have learned to forge all the wargear used by the Heralds. Rather than the standard void armour, they would be given the privilege to build and maintain their own power armour, as well as use it whenever they like, even where it wouldn’t normally fit into our company loadouts. We could install a forge temple within the Herald section of the ship to facilitate this, and subsidise some of the cost of the armour. How does this sound, should I continue?”

“Carry on, Owen,” I say. “I already have a few thoughts, but finish your idea first.”

“Thank you, Magos.” Owen points at the ground, “There are a lot of people fighting below us who, because they are Tech-Priests, have already forged their own power armour as part of passing their qualification. Having a doctrine that doesn’t let them use it often must be infuriating; providing a path for them to do so is essential. It’s also a quick fix to show that Command is aware and working on the issue.

“Last would be the Warforged. This is a veteran’s title, one granted after surviving three different wars, for example, the Tau, Orks, and Necrons. They would be permitted to customise the cyborg body they were given during their Machine Blessing.

“There are two advantages to adopting this system. The first is that it provides a way for Heralds to advance outside of their rank, allowing for career progression, even when we aren’t taking losses.

“The second is that all this personal gear and these bodies require maintenance. Maintenance that the Stellar Fleet would subsidise so long Heralds remain at their posts, providing a subtle incentive to remain in a challenging role and be grateful for it. Even if they do leave, they get to keep the titles, armour, and body. No matter where they go, everyone will know what they have earned, and the depths of their dedication to the Machine God and the Stellar Fleet.

“Over time, this will create a core of veterans and reservists that are always visible, whether they spend all day trying to brew the perfect recaf, teach the next generation, or further their career elsewhere. Like a confidential weapon program. No point letting a decade or more of vetting go to waste. Titles will also make joining the Heralds more appealing, and their obvious presence will boost the perceived security of people’s homes.”

Owen crosses his arms and taps his chin, then continues, “This plan does not address the industrial capacity, perceived threat, or overqualified issues properly. I do have a partial solution though. Rather than having all our Heralds shoot the crap out of each other, could we not form a better rotation? We could assign Heralds elsewhere for three to six months of the year when we are not at war. They could perform industrial and civilian roles, boosting our production wherever there is capacity to do so. It would also help them keep in touch with the rest of the Fleet and their families.

“We would have to be wary of creating a semi-professional force. Rotation wouldn’t work for conscripts or Acolytes, nor would it serve much purpose, but for War Smiths and Warforged it would serve as an opportunity for them to break any monotony they might be feeling and return to the Heralds with a fresh perspective. What do you all think?”