1. Of course it's military grade equipment this is after all a war story.<br/><br/>2. It's all built on the princible that nikolai tesla's crazy electricity theories actually worked and is an entirely different field of engineering to your clockwork man  . It's also only three inventions, they might be isolated works of nikolai's tesla's genius.<br/><br/>3. It is not required to join the human faction, i think this is turning into an alliance of humanoid races fighting against the naga and whatever other creatures they have on their side. So catgirls even mercenary or aircraft piloting ones are perfectly okay. well maybe not the aircraft, still waiting for saiai to call on that.<br/><br/>4. This is a war with wildly different creatures on the same side so mercenaries are likely.<br/><br/>Oh and character history wise the kingdom of Bast wasn't involved in the war till very recently.