[@Krayzikk]

Of all the things on there, the drones are dead-last in importance. If I have to drop them, I'll do so in a heartbeat. camera-drones were just a less-dangerous way of peeking around corners or going for a bird's-eye-view.

planet-side drone pod [b]carries ten[/b], [b]fields five[/b] at a time.

space drone pod [b]carries six[/b] drones, [b]fields two[/b].

As for ground combat being easier on a pilot, I know. Most of the ongoing Walker use might be planet-side, but if everyone and their mother expects war with Arc Union, the harder of the two locales is going to be what the Federation will measure by, right? If you're prepping for war, why bother putting resources into training pilots if you won't be able to use 'em? Alex is a bottom-of-the-barrel pilot, but only because the barrel is small.

edit: plus, it's more fun to watch a character struggle to stay afloat than to cruise by like it's nothing, isn't it?

edit 2, electric boogaloo: if Alex needs a more significant weakness, I can dial up the "stress" bit and start making him panic when things go south/when surprised.