Trope-a-Day: Mecha Mooks
Mecha Mooks: Oh, indeed. These are the actual AI fighting robots (“autonomous mechagrunts”) which occupy the spot in the military food chain between the Attack Drones and the actual people in the command chain. They also do the majority of the fighting, the eldrae with their long lives and slow population growth having a very good idea as to the place of their precious, irreplaceable, valuable selves in mass warfare: namely at the back, cheating.
In their case, however, neither fragile nor graduates of the Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy. They’ve learned how to cheat really well.