In the age of satellite imaging and unmanned aerial vehicles, it seems as though risking human lives on the ground to get a view of the battlefield isn't worth it. What intelligence can a light or motorized recon unit provide that modern alternatives can't?
I'm curious because I've been thinking about the 1st Reconnaissance Battalion and their performance in the 2003 invasion of Iraq. It seems like they were often just used as a standard combat unit.
βCaptain, here is the status report on the new sapient species you requestedβ Said the young recruit. βThank you privateβ replied captain Trisk, while trying to look as composed as was expected of a captain of the Maβuse. Truth was, his tail was shivering in anticipation, this being his first assignment as a freshly minted captain of the xenosapients reconnaissance unit.
He opened the file. Species EXT-579, discovered twenty-five cycles ago. They appeared to be quadrupedal species, warm-blooded, and predominantly carnivorous. While they seemed to be mostly solitary, they had been found to associate in small groups, and would on occasion even cohabitate with other species. They were highly flexible and possessed an impressive jump. Additionally, they were able to see in low lighting conditions to a much greater extent than most other known species. Overall, while they were somewhat larger than most known species, they were of somewhat below average intelligence for a species that had come to dominate their home planet. Furthermore, unlike most apex species, they had evolved claws. They clearly evolved as ambush predators.
Something did stand out about these claws: while not unusual in the galaxy, most developed species had them on their secondary appendages, keeping their primary limbs free to manipulate objects, these creatures had them on all four legs, a trait usually seen in lesser species. Captain Trisk frowned, he would have to ask his science officer about how this species had managed to come to inhabit every crevice of their home planet, with some having even established bases on adjacent planets and moons, without a straightforward way to use tools. Of course he would have to sit through a boring meeting. Just the thought of the science officer droning on about habitats, diets, and slight genetic variations made his whiskers drop in boredom. Having risen through the ranks of the illustrious Maβuse military, Captain Trisk had little patience for the long-winded lectures of academics. Nevertheless, if they were to establish successfully conquer this planet and subjugate its population under the Maβuse sphere of influence, he would have to at least know the basics.
βSpecies EXT-579 calls itself the βMuββ the science officer began. Triskβs eyelids started to sag. After what seemed like an eternity of drudgery and unnecessary scholastic speculation, and information virtually unnecessary to achieve a successful conquest, the science officer finally
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