Squadron and Wingmen

Related: Adaptive Progression · Relationships · Core Gameplay · MINOZIS Encounter Design

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1. Commands

Command	Effect
Attack	Wingmen engage the player's selected target or their own priorities
Cover	Wingmen take defensive positions around the player or a protected asset
Disperse	Wingmen break formation and spread out; used against area effects such as the EMP
Special	Wingmen fire their special weapons on the player's target
Double or Nothing	(Marsh as POV, or available to the leader after M02) Commits the whole flight to an all-in attack for 20 seconds; cannot be recalled
Translate	(Eirhei as POV, or as a wingman call) Restores a wingman's response time and lowers their Load

2. Wingman Personalities

These are each pilot's baseline behaviors at the start of the campaign. They change as the pilots learn from scenes, sorties and drills; see Adaptive Progression.

Wingman	Behavior
Thorne	Executes orders exactly; slow to improvise; best at holding formation in EMCON; waits to confirm a wingman's call on his own display (until M01)
Marsh	Aggressive, close range, gun-heavy; occasionally calls breaks the HUD has not shown (and is usually right)
Asano	Anticipates the leader's next maneuver and takes cover position before being ordered; calls anomalies
Eirhei	Balanced; calls Translate automatically when a wingman's Load crosses a threshold, at a cost to her own Load

3. Operator Pressure and Load

MINOZIS engages operators. The system that represents this is Load: a per-pilot meter that rises when the enemy applies the stimulus that pilot cannot absorb.

What raises Load

Pilot	Stimulus
Thorne	A valid order that would cause friendly or civilian harm; being forced to choose alone
Marsh	A voice asking for help he cannot give in time
Asano	Sustained pressure with no release; isolation from the flight
Eirhei	Voices asking to be let go; every Translate she issues
All	Ghost transmissions; HUD integrity attacks; the scream at close range

What Load does

Load	AI wingman	Player-controlled pilot
Low	Normal	Normal
Elevated	Response to orders delayed by up to 1 s	Slight input lag; signature mechanic degrades (Read dims, Edge narrows, Command Picture slows)
Critical	Ignores one order in three; radio calls lose information	Pronounced input lag; screen-edge effects; signature mechanic unavailable

Load never causes a pilot to disobey in a way that changes the plot, and never causes a named character's death.

What lowers Load

Relief	Source
Translate	Eirhei
Private channel	Marsh ↔ Asano (through jokes until M06; through presence afterward)
Clear orders during calm phases	Thorne
Cruising without contact (long transits)	Asano singing (Asano sheds Load fastest)
The circle	Between missions, depending on cohesion

Eirhei's Load has no in-mission relief. It falls only in the circle, and only if someone asks her how she is (the POV pilot's choice, when available).

4. Cohesion and the Circle

After each squadron mission the POV pilot attends the circle and chooses what to name from two or three options written in that pilot's voice. Choices raise or lower cohesion between specific pairs.

Cohesion effect	Gameplay
High Marsh–Asano cohesion	Private channel relief is stronger
High Thorne–Eirhei cohesion	Translate on Thorne works faster
Anyone asks Eirhei how she is	Eirhei begins the next mission with lower Load

High cohesion with the right partner also lowers the cost of a scar by one tier (see Adaptive Progression).

Cohesion changes dialogue in later circles and the tone of the epilogue circle. It does not change the plot.

5. The Threat Surface in Play

The squadron's wounds are mapped to the missions where the enemy presses them (see Relationships: The Threat Surface). Each of those missions puts the affected pilot in the POV seat, so the player experiences the Load from inside.