Drallan Doctrine

The Drallan Doctrine was the list of military tactics used by the Federal Legion. Some of these techniques would go on to be used by later civilizations of the Vaikan such as the Karalian Empire. The Drallan Doctrine essentially laid the groundwork for how Vaikan would participate in interstellar wars.

Doctrine

Ground battles

A Drallan would wear flexible plated armor cloaked in a basic forcefield that reduces the impact of enemy fire. Drallans would also wear a hard helmet with a clear visor along with ear protection. Lighter units such as assassins would not wear armor, sacrificing defense for speed and attack power. Heavier units would wear heavier armor sacrificing their speed for defense. As a result, heavier units would often attack at greater distances than lighter units.

During battle, the basic approach was to ambush the enemy rather than straightforward charging. Drallans were most vulnerable at a distance, so typically, they would always try to close in on their enemies and finish them off with a melee weapon. While at their vulnerable distance, they would resort to the cover system and hiding in trenches using ranged weapons to defend themselves until they get close. If the Drallans were overwhelmed at any point, they would not hesitate to retreat from the battlefield. However, they would return shortly after to flank the enemy using the same approach as before.

Artillery weapons were almost never heavy as their only purpose was to keep the enemy occupied until they could get close. However, one would frequently see vehicles and mechs in a Vaikan army. Mechs were the expendable units sent first into the frontline to save on Drallan lives.

Space battles

Battles in space would involve a similar approach as on the ground. When an enemy force enters a solar system, they would usually have slowed down to at least the speed of light as using an FTL engine inside a system was dangerous with the risk of colliding with a large celestial object. The Drallans would have two major attack areas - the outer reaches of a solar system and within it - the outer ones would concentrate themselves at the enemy's predicted entering point while the inner ones would proceed to flanking.

When attacking a solar system, the Drallans would approach at odd angles to reach the desired battleground planet. Other forces would hide themselves within the inner parts of the solar system to flank the enemy should they decide to close in on the battleground planet taking cover within the planet's atmosphere.

However, they were unable to rely on the cover system as frequently. Stealth in space during the DFM's time was considered impossible, so ambushes had to be well-planned in advance. However, Drallan ships could still hide within the atmosphere of other planets particularly gas giants.

Vaikan preferred to fight their battles within solar systems as interstellar space was not suited for their style of combat. While this does give them a major disadvantage of not being able to intercept forces before their arrival in solar systems, the Drallans were able to compensate by being able to effectively ambush their enemies by taking cover near planets and asteroids, something incredibly difficult to manage while in space. The surprising maneuverability of a Drallan ship made up for this drawback.

To take down near-impenetrable ships such as dreadnoughts, the Drallans sent infiltrator units aboard to sabotage their shields, engines, weapons, and anything else they could to lower the enemy's defenses. To carry out such operations, spur of the moment planning, and improvisation was required, so only the most experienced units were ever sent aboard.

Fighting styles

These fighting methods were used more commonly by soldier and infiltrator class units. Some units were hybrids, but most Legion members specialized in one form of combat.

Close combat

One of the primary reasons melee weapons were used by the Drallans was that such weapons could bypass enemy barriers and shields which were primarily designed to repel projectiles. As a result, Drallan melee weapons were specifically designed to kill opponents in one strike. Engaging in sparring was risky as that leaves them more open to attack. However, sparring was necessary if the opponent was able to deflect the melee weapon with their own.

• Sternum jab- This technique relied on jabbing a sword through the opponent's sternum and into the neck with a sharp weapon. A Vaikan could survive a horizontal stab wound easily but jabbing upwards into the sternum was lethal to them and was therefore more effective even against other species. However, this tactic was rather ineffective against shorter species but was more useful against larger and taller opponents.
• Neck strike - A move that could be performed with either a blunt or sharp weapon. When struck with a sharp weapon, it would decapitate the opponent, and a blunt weapon was just as effective as it strikes a vital body area.
• Skull crush - A blunt weapon was used to perform this move. The user slammed their weapon onto the top of the opponent's skull to destroy the brain. Highly effective against shorter opponents, but ineffective against larger, taller opponents.
• Shock strike - Should a Vaikan ever be disarmed from both their melee and ranged weapons, they could use their natural electrical abilities to stun their opponent.
• Jugular stab - Daggers were primarily used to carry out this maneuver by light units such as an assassin. It was quite similar to the sternum thrust, except because a dagger was smaller, it was instead thrusted through the neck.
• Silent slice - Used by assassins. The user would sneak up behind the enemy to grasp the opponent covering their mouth to prevent them from making loud noises that could potentially alert nearby enemies to the user's position. After covering the mouth, the user would proceed to slit the opponent's throat, killing them silently. The silent slice was impractical on the battlefield, so this method was unique to infiltrators.

Long distance combat

• Cover system – Drallans relied on hiding behind crates, inside trenches and other obstacles on the battlefield to protect themselves from enemy fire. This was an effective tactic as they could go from cover to cover approaching their enemy. Being in cover allowed for their light weapons to cool down.
• Sniping - If a Vaikan could not get close due to a certain enemy, a sniper would be able to take out the enemy at a distance.

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