Solarian Armed Forces

Even after the Solarian Collapse of late 2462 the Solarian Armed Forces (SAF) remain the single largest organized human fighting force in the Orion Spur, though some argue a fully-mobilized Coalition of Colonies would have more troops. The SAF dates to the founding of the Alliance and is divided into three distinct branches: the Solarian Army, the Solarian Navy, and the Solarian Marine Corps. Aside from these three branches the SAF can also call upon System Defense Forces (SDFs), the local militaries of many Solarian member states, in times of emergency. Despite its size the SAF has been hampered by a lack of cooperation between the Navy and Army, and an ineffective amount of civilian control over some aspects of the SAF has long been of concern to the Alliance.

But despite these concerns the SAF still occupies an important place in Solarian society and in the Alliance’s government, though the Navy is considerably more influential than the Army. Recent developments have made a dent in this Navy dominance but it remains to be seen if, or when, the political environment will change — or if it will change for the better.

History
''“The Solarian military is dedicated to destroying whatever it touches, and will not hesitate to destroy you if you show them weakness. Show them no mercy, for they showed your ancestors none!”'' - Excerpt from a Gadpathurian anti-Solarian booklet intended to be distributed to children age 8-10.

The Solarian Armed Forces have a history which stretches back to 17 July 2143, shortly after the founding of the Solarian Alliance. Its origin was not a happy one. While it took almost a decade to agree to the terms of the Alliance and most parties, Switzerland excepted, on Earth agreed to join it by 2140, the idea of surrendering military autonomy to a supranational government was a point of concern for many members of the newly-formed Alliance. In particular the two superpowers of Earth, the USA and USSR, were extremely hesitant to surrender their spacebound military capabilities to the Alliance. Further compounding issues, both argued that they deserved to be the location of the Alliance’s military command structure.

It took three grueling years of back-and-forth negotiations between the Alliance and its members to resolve the issue of the SAF. Ultimately a compromise was reached regarding the Alliance’s military command which settled the pressing issue of who would host the admiralty, and thus be able to influence, what was now known as the Solarian Navy. The compromise placed the admiralty on a place where no Earth nation could, in theory, influence it: Harmony City, Luna. While the US and USSR were not happy, they were both content to accept it. While they weren’t able to control it, their rivals weren’t either. The position of the admiralty on Luna and the relative independence offered to it due to this would, in the decades and centuries to come, have had dire consequences.

In the century between the Alliance’s formation and the Interstellar War the SAF experienced an interservice rivalry between the Solarian Army and Solarian Navy which, while never turning to violence, defined much of the SAF’s trajectory before 2275. The Navy claimed it was of more importance due to securing Sol’s interstellar lanes of commerce and policing piracy, while the Army claimed it was of more importance due to protecting the colonies themselves and ensuring the Alliance was internally stable. The Army-Navy conflict prior to the Interstellar War has been viewed by some Solarian scholars as a microcosm of the future civil war: the Navy tended to be dominated by Inner Ring citizens, particularly those from Luna, and the Army tended to draw its personnel locally, leading to a large proportion from the Outer Ring and further afield colonies.

This conflict, and the broader schism in the Alliance, would be brought to its bloody conclusion in 2275 with the start of the Interstellar War, the SAF’s largest and most costly conflict even two centuries later. It would tip the Army-Navy struggle decisively in the Navy’s favor as many Army units, recruited locally and unpaid for months due to the ongoing financial crisis, defected to the Coalition while few Navy units did the same, and those that did were often swept under the rug or otherwise disowned. While the Navy, and loyal units of the Army, fought fiercely — and in some cases, such as Gadpathur, committed horrific crimes in the name of Solarian unity — they were unable to defeat the Coalition due to its dogged defensive fighting and a peace treaty, the Treaty of Xansan, was ultimately signed in Geneva in 2287, bringing over a decade of warfare to a close and permanently shattering Solarian hegemony over humanity.

To the Navy, which believed it could have won the Interstellar War, the Treaty of Xansan was seen as a betrayal of the venerable Navy by spineless politicians — a slap to the collective faces of Navy officers who had put their lives on the line defending the Alliance by cowardly politicians obsessed with their careers who had never spent a day in uniform. It incensed them, and they began to plot against it in secret. Decisive action was needed to ensure Sol remained intact, and who better to take it than the Navy, its most venerable institution?

While it ultimately failed in its goal of revoking the Treaty of Xansan the Revolt of the Officers on 18 May 2289 forever ensured the Navy would have a voice in politics. The coup attempt’s goals were simple: overthrow the civilian government and declare the Treaty of Xansan null and void, then resume the Interstellar War and fight until the Alliance’s hegemony was once again established. It began to fall apart almost immediately due to one factor the Navy officer in charge of it, Admiral Terrence Hopper, had not accounted for: that the Army guard stationed at the Alliance’s then-capital in New York City did not go along with their conspiracy, and that an active gunfight began outside the capitol building between Army guards and Navy marines. Ultimately the Army, with support from local member state forces and ordinary civilians, repulsed the attack and the coup was seemingly aborted. But it was not as simple as it seemed as the admiralty, in the days after the coup, cut a backroom deal with the civilian government: the Revolt of the Officers would be swept under the metaphorical rug by being blamed on radical elements and the Navy would be given a political voice. In exchange the Navy would continue to protect the Alliance from interstellar threats. Hopper himself, the Butcher of Gadpathur, would avoid justice once again and remain active in politics until his death on Luna in the 24th century, and ultimately shaped Solarian fascist thought up until the present day.

Effectively, the Navy had used its position to extort the government. Emboldened by this, and how close they had come to controlling the government through violence, the Navy became more and more influential as the decades continued on. It also became more corrupt and less efficient as political connections became more important than ability and Caesarism infected its ranks. Ultimately the decision to place it on Luna, where it could not be controlled by a power on Earth, had made the Navy accountable primarily to itself rather than the civilian government based upon Earth and, post-2300, Unity Station. Its pet project, the Solarian Marine Corps, was hardly any better. For many Solarians the Navy has failed them time and time again as an institution, and nowhere is this more clear than in the Solarian Collapse of 2462. Rather than protecting the Alliance many Navy forces, more loyal to their Admirals than their nation, defected and have rampaged across the Middle and Outer Rings.

The Army, meanwhile, did have civilian authorities to answer to due to being headquartered on Earth. Post-Interstellar War the Army was placed through multiple reforms which transformed it from a sluggish, inefficient institution which lost much of its strength to defections into a force capable of defending the Alliance’s planets and government from all enemies — whether they be foreign or domestic. Where the Navy failed the Army has succeeded, particularly upon Mars where it — in mere weeks — brought the red planet back into nominal Solarian control.

As the Alliance bleeds following the Collapse its military is, in many sectors, in desperate need of reforms.While the Navy, under the direction of a now-dominant reformist school of thought, has begun the slow and often-painful process of reforming itself, only time will tell if the SAF shall weather the storm. But most know that to restore some of the territories lost in the humiliation of 2462, some reforms must be undertaken, lest the SAF simply collapse under the weight of its own faults.

Non-Humans in the Solarian Armed Forces
''“As far as I’m concerned? The Ban didn’t go far enough! We should carpet bomb their whole [censored] planet, really give them a [censored] taste of what they did to us | here! Send the Navy in and have them clean it up! Get those [censored] lizards too!”'' — Anonymous New Hai Phonger speaking to the Solarian Alliance News Network in the aftermath of bombings carried out by the Tajara Revolutionary Army. Unaired due to foul language.

No branch of the Solarian Armed Forces aside from rare System Defense Forces has, at any time, recruited an alien species into its ranks. The reasons for this are rooted in both simple practicality and the entrenched xenophobia common in much of the Solarian Alliance, which contributes to a belief that aliens are simply not to be trusted. Practically speaking the three SAF branches are massive organizations which would only marginally benefit from alien recruits and would have to incur an expensive cost as different species demand wildly different equipment, such as fitted voidsuits and armor, and different accommodations.

On the less practical side the Solarian culture of alien distrust has been applied to each species and also argued. To the typical SAF official even the most trustworthy alien is less reliable than the worst human recruit. The SAF is not, and will never be, a force for alien tolerance in the Alliance. From an outright less xenophobic perspective, the Solarian Armed Forces' traditions place a great deal of ideological and cultural importance on the idea of the military as the protector of Solarian humanity. To allow aliens into its ranks has long been considered a betrayal of that ideal, and that compromising this deeply-held tenet would be an unacceptable transgression against the Alliance itself, its human citizens, and the fundamental values of the Alliance's military.

Positronics, on the contrary, are highly valued in the SAF. Having had a long history of using drones, the adoption of positronic intelligence was viewed as the next step in a long line of military robotics. For the longest time, however, IPC and other synthetics have been relegated to support and logistics roles due to mistrust and concerns over their ability to survive in combat scenarios. The collapse has led the SAF to begin looking at IPC in order to fill the gap in its manpower, with the Navy in particular eagerly adopting them in combat roles, placing the machines as both gunners and pilots, and employing traditional shipborne AI to assist and in some cases replace crewmembers. Although assuring the public that combat IPC are a temporary measure given the crisis, some observers note that funding towards further research of combat AI has increased since their adoption.

The Solarian Navy
''“Before the Interstellar War, the Solarian navy was the largest and most perfect fighting force in the galaxy. That is, on the surface level. The admiralty of those years made the greatest mistake of pursuing strength in infinite numbers – a decision that would culminate in the Solarian Civil War.” – Excerpt from Lucien Courtois’ graduation thesis, How David Defeated Goliath: The First Interstellar War''.

The largest single branch of the SAF is the Solarian Navy. With millions of uniformed personnel scattered across dozens — if not hundreds — of planets, garrisons, starbases, fleets, and other facilities it may very well be the largest organized fighting force in the galaxy, and has the influence to match. The Navy has long held significant sway over Solarian politics due to both its size and its vital role in securing safe interstellar commerce and travel in the Alliance. This sway has long ensured the Navy is well-funded, perhaps overfunded, and viewed positively by most citizens of the Alliance with some notable exceptions such as Callisto, which has long been at odds with the Navy over the policing of trade and commerce flowing in through the moon’s spaceports.

But despite this approval not all was well in the Navy prior to the Solarian Collapse in 2462. The broad powers granted to the Navy to ensure the vast Alliance remained safe and secure combined with limited oversight of the Navy allowed for a culture of graft, corruption, and rampant Caesarism to take hold in its ranks. These problems only worsened as one traveled further and further from the Inner Ring as more reliable officers were inevitably kept in the more strategically important (and influential) Inner Ring while less reliable officers, and underperforming ones, were sent to the Outer Ring to keep them out of public view. These admirals were given similarly poor troops and nearly no oversight from the admiralty, which effectively allowed them to become their own masters — and to shape their assigned fleet into a force loyal to them first and the Alliance second.

Recent events have shaken much of the Navy’s historical public approval. Defections and attrition associated with the Collapse have taken the Navy from 200 fleets to 100 and, multiple years later, it still finds itself ruling over the Alliance as an increasingly-unpopular junta. Beyond the Inner Ring and what remains of the Middle Ring the Navy, in the eyes of most Solarians, has done little to retake what the Alliance has lost. Recent scandals, such as a discovery many officers were funneling supplies to radical warlords, have further impacted the Navy’s reputation in the eyes of the public. Recent reforms by Navy command, particularly under recently-appointed Minister of Defense Lucien Courtois, have done much to solve the Navy’s ongoing issues. But concerns regarding the “Wildlands,” still remain, and only time will tell if Courtois’ reforms have turned the Navy into a force able to take back what has been lost.

Solarian Navy Structure
The Solarian admiralty has long devoted a significant amount of its time to the logistics and operation of the increasingly-massive Navy, which peaked at 200 fleets — each, in theory, consisting of 100 ships — shortly before the Solarian Collapse of 2462. These fleets were, prior to the Collapse and Courtois’ reforms which followed it, organized into battlegroups of five fleets for greater cohesion in the event of war, with each fleet led by an Admiral and each battlegroup led by a Fleet Admiral. However, many “battlegroups” in the Outer and Middle Rings were spread across vast distances or contained disloyal elements which prevented them from functioning properly, with only a few — such as the Visegrad-based 1st Middle Ring Battlegroup (1MRB, sometimes referred to as a “Battlefleet” locally) — able to maintain both cohesion and loyalty as the Alliance spiraled towards the Collapse. Reforms by Courtois have reduced the total number of battlegroups by increasing the number of fleets per formation to ten, which has greatly assisted in command due to reducing the number of often-bickering Fleet Admirals by half.

Navy fleets themselves are divided into three categories by the admiralty to represent their readiness in the event of an interstellar conflict. These categories are combat battlegroups, patrol battlegroups, and garrison battlegroups. Combat battlegroups are, as the name implies, fully-equipped and ready for combat at a moment’s notice. This classification generally only applied to Inner Ring battlegroups in the months before the Collapse. Standing slightly below combat battlegroups are patrol battlegroups: understrength, but otherwise combat-capable, formations fit for patrol duties but not for engaging full enemy formations. Below this swells the garrison battlegroup: an understrength formation so named as it is only trusted to hold a position and is not expected to perform complicated maneuvers. A fourth, though officially unrecognized, formation is the “ersatz” battlegroup. These formations are improvised and consist of whatever units were available at the time for the area’s Fleet Admiral. Last seen in the Interstellar War, ersatz battlegroups have returned in the Wildlands. Unlike the Army the personnel of the Navy are heavily divided by class and background thanks to the Luna-centric nature of its admiralty and officer class, and are even further divided based upon the Ring they are located in — an ironic echo of the Interstellar War. High-ranking officers are almost always Lunan by birth, and graduation photos from the Solarian Naval Academy are dominated by the tall, thin, and pale appearances of Lunans who have grown up in the moon’s characteristically lower gravity. These Lunan officers generally settle into command roles in the Inner, and sometimes Middle, Rings due to their perceived loyalty and familial connections — some families on Luna have served the Navy since its conception and hold significant influence over it. Officers of “lesser” importance, such as those in the Middle and Outer Rings, such as Fleet Admiral Klaudia Szalai, are often recruited and educated locally, and can be of wildly varying quality and loyalty. Much of the Navy’s enlisted personnel is recruited locally out of convenience and its enlisted ranks are overwhelmingly dominated by those of poorer economic backgrounds, particularly when compared to its Lunan officers, such as Martians, Jintarians, and residents of the Outer and Middle Rings. The men and women which make up the vast majority of the Navy’s fighting force are, like their officers, often of debatable quality due to corruption, graft, and the megalomaniac tendencies of many officers. Prior to the Collapse most of the best enlisted— regardless of their origins — were eventually transferred out of the Outer and Middle Rings and into the Inner Rings due to the Admiralty placing a greater emphasis upon the Inner Ring.

Fleet formation was, prior to the Collapse, marred by similar issues. Some fleets were recruited using the “Alliance-wide,” model where ships and personnel were recruited from across the Alliance and trained in the Sol System and its surroundings in order to ensure the best performance. These fleets were then deployed to strategic areas (generally in the Inner or Middle Rings) and placed under the command of a Solarian Naval Academy graduate to ensure the greatest possible quality. While expensive and often taking an extended period to train, these Alliance-wide fleets proved their mettle during the Collapse: no systems garrisoned by them were lost and none defected.

But most Solarian fleets were not recruited using this method and were instead mobilized through the “system-wide,” method wherein a fleet’s personnel and officers were recruited and trained in the same system, and generally stationed nearby this system. In theory this was not a horrible idea: logically, military forces would fight harder for their homes than for another system. However, it did not result in the expected outcome: system-wide fleets were often shuffled from system to system and their shared origin made them more loyal to their admirals than the broader Alliance. Though many stayed loyal to the Alliance, and some managed fighting retreats to the Inner Ring, all defected — or otherwise lost — fleets during the Collapse were of the system-wide recruitment model.

Notable Facilities
Located on Luna in Harmony City, the Solarian Admiralty serves as high command for the entire Solarian Navy. While it started its existence as a small building mostly responsible for managing armed platforms tasked with destroying asteroids and other potentially harmful celestial objects, the Admiralty has grown over the intervening decades into a massive complex which is a city District unto itself. Solarian Naval Central Command (SNCC) looks over the district at nearly a hundred stories tall and stands as one of, if not the, most important buildings in the modern Alliance. The Admiralty is rumored to have dozens, if not hundreds, of underground facilities scattered across the Admiralty containing everything from mundane paperwork to intelligence on the Stellar Corporate Conglomerate to blacksites for especially infamous prisoners. Though its reputation has been tarnished by the Collapse, the Admiralty remains an unshakable feature of Luna.

Located on Luna in Hangzhou, the Solarian Navy Academy is the premier — and to Lunarians, the only — institute of naval military education in the Alliance. Established in 2115 continuously functional ever since this point the Academy, as it is often simply known, has long had a reputation of producing only the finest naval officers in the Alliance. But this reputation for excellence has made the Academy an extremely difficult institution to gain entry into — particularly if one is not from the Inner Ring. Certain Lunarian families, such as the ancient Varnhagen und Langenburg family, have long held sway over the Academy’s curriculum and membership in such a family — either by blood or covenant — is a near-certain way to gain access to its halls. Academy officers, in addition to their renowned quality, are generally more loyal to the Alliance than their non-Academy counterparts. Few Academy graduates defected during the Collapse and those that have, such as the Solarian Restoration Front’s Florentina von Keyserling, have been stricken from its graduation rolls.

In the orbit of Uranus lies the mundanely-named Solarian Naval Maintenance, Regeneration, and Repair Facility which is, thanks to its awful abbreviation of “SNMRRF” (occasionally phoneticized as “Smurf”), commonly referred to as “the Boneyard.” The Boneyard is a massive facility filled with outdated and mothballed hulls ranging in size from fighter aircraft to battleships which remain on the official Navy registry but are, in reality, either too outdated or too damaged to effectively operate alongside their counterparts. Boneyard vessels are, particularly since the Collapse, often cannibalized for parts or — in rare cases — “refloated” and pressed back into service. The pirate raid which brought Frost into power as Prime Minister targeted the Boneyard and stole multiple warships the former Admiral later returned with, eventually catapulting himself into popularity. Many have long theorized this “raid” and Frost’s success after was an inside job planned by Navy officers to place one of their own in power and have pointed to a multitude of “coincidences” as evidence. The fact that the raiders were never caught but were “engaged and destroyed,” the sensors monitoring Boneyard and its defenses being off at the same time, the raiders only hitting the Boneyard rather than any civilian targets or the nearby Navy sensor stations, the fact that the raiders were able to spoof a brand-new Solarian Navy ID code, and the fact that the leaker — a reformer — was one of the only deaths in the raid.

Notable Navy Forces
1st Battlegroup, “The First”

The most venerable and oldest of the Alliance’s battlegroups, the First has fought in every major interstellar conflict the Alliance has officially participated in. It is responsible for decisively destroying the Coalition’s naval forces in the Battle of Xanu and has long preserved the Xanusii naval battle standard captured during the battle in the Admiralty. The first five fleets of the First are overwhelmingly Lunan. The next five, which were integrated into it following Courtois’ reforms, are five of the highest-quality Alliance-wide fleets in the Alliance. Officers of the First can easily be identified by their distinctive oak leaves, which are typically placed in the side of their caps. The First is currently commanded by Fleet Admiral Ingrid von Varnhagen und Langenburg, a Lunan graduate of the Solarian Naval Academy firmly in Courtois’ reformist faction. The Fleet Admiral of the First is issued a saber as their badge of office and is expected to wear it at all times while commanding, regardless of practicality. The sword itself, while unnamed, is a priceless heirloom which has been passed down from Fleet Admiral to Fleet Admiral since the founding of the First, and to lose it is simply inconceivable.

1st Middle Ring Battlegroup

Regarded as one of the highest-quality battlegroups prior to the Collapse, the 1MRB under Fleet Admiral Klaudia Szalai has, despite never formally defecting from the Alliance, spent much of the past two years since the Collapse cut off from the broader Alliance and struggling against difficult odds. The five fleets of the 1MRB were understrength prior to the Collapse and have been worn down by fighting against pirates, traitorous Solarian Navy personnel, and — at times — the Tau Ceti Foreign Legion, which it has engaged during cross-border raids by the 1MRB and border disputes with the CRZ. The 1MRB has never been defeated upon the field of battle and remains steadfast in its loyalty to Sol, though many of its personnel — almost all of which hail from Visegrad or its surrounding systems — are increasingly concerned at the Navy’s seeming lack of interest with the Wildlands.

35th Fleet

One of the most infamous Solarian fleets in the Navy’s history, the 35th was formed after the Interstellar War and stationed near Tau Ceti in order to keep the strategic system safe. Tau Ceti’s defection — which many 35th officers hailed from — was viewed by the Fleet as a betrayal, and its rapid embrace of aliens after the defection was viewed as a further compromise of Solarian values. This hatred has, over the years between Tau Ceti’s defection and the Collapse, twisted the 35th into what it was prior to its invasion of Tau Ceti: one of the most xenophobic, fanatical, and nationalistic Solarian fleets. The losses it suffered during the invasion and its seeming betrayal by the broader Alliance further radicalized the 35th, which returned to its berth in Lycoris and declared the Solarian Restoration Front in 2462, and rapidly set about purging aliens — who they blamed for the Collapse — from the area they controlled. Though the Navy has officially disavowed the 35th and declared its officers traitors to the Alliance many, particularly those formerly loyal to Frost, have flocked to its banner. The 35th and its Front are a significant concern for the Solarian Navy, and for those Solarians caught in the Northern Wildlands under threat by it.

25th Fleet

When the 25th, primarily consisting of Silversunners, was ordered into Biesel to stop rogue Admiral Michael Frost it could have never anticipated the consequences its orders would have for the Spur. Despite the apprehension its officers and enlisted felt when they were ordered into what was, at least officially, a rebellious Solarian system ruled by an illegitimate government, the 25th followed its orders. The 25th was badly mauled by the 33rd in one of the first engagements between Solarian Navy vessels since the Interstellar War, but it pushed the 33rd out of the system and returned Biesel to a modicum of normality. The population of Biesel was understandably cold towards them, but the Admiralty promised rewards for the deed. But no rewards appeared as, nearly as soon as he had been imprisoned, Frost was swept back into power and became Prime Minister. The new PM punished the 25th severely, and sent them to an ignominious duty: to serve as an auxiliary for one of the worst battlegroups in the Navy, the 10th Middle Ring Battlegroup. But the 25th was not broken by this and, thanks to its superior equipment and training, they fought their way back to their original berth of Silversun, arriving battered and bruised — yet unbowed — in summer 2463 to a hero’s welcome. Now the 25th has a new home: the prestigious 1st Battlegroup.

Solarian Ship Classes
Carrier

The carrier occupies a critical role in Solarian operational doctrine along with the battleships it supports. Carriers are often the largest and most important ships in a Solarian fleet and typically serve as flagships. The largest of this class are hundreds of meters long and are often regarded as floating cities due to the size of their crews. Carrier classes are generally named after geographic features.

Supercarrier

With only a few ever built the supercarriers of the Solarian Navy are very rarely seen outside of the Jewel Worlds. These gargantuan vessels are nearly a kilometer long and stand as some of the largest vessels ever constructed in the Orion Spur. A supercarrier is always the flagship of its fleet and none have ever been lost in combat. Supercarriers have a near-mythical reputation in the Alliance due to their rarity and Navy-funded media, which often promotes them as the peak of Solarian military might. Some in the Navy grumble at this deification, instead viewing the tried-and-true dreadnoughts as the peak of the Navy. Ships of the only active supercarrier class used by the Navy, the Thule-class, derive their names from mythological geographical features.

Dreadnought

The most well-armed and heavily-armored of the Solarian Navy’s battleship classes are designated as dreadnoughts by the Admiralty. To many the dreadnoughts are the unbeatable pride of the Navy which helped it win victory after victory in the Interstellar War before cowardly politicians snatched it from them. To others they are a reminder of how backwards-facing the Navy can be at times, and how obsessed many of its officers have become with its former glories. Recently reformers have chipped away at much of the dreadnought’s mythical image, and the classification may very well be on its last legs due to recent naval reforms. Fitting their near-mythic reputation, ships of these classes are generally named after mythological figures.

Battleship

Solarian battleships are heavily-armed and heavily-armored testaments to the unchallenged naval supremacy of the Alliance. Battleships were commonly seen in all three Rings of the Alliance prior to the Collapse and now often serve as flagships of defected or rogue fleets. These ships-of-the-line are often in disrepair due to having been run ragged by their warlord masters and are, generally speaking, outdated compared to contemporary examples still loyal to the Alliance. Both battleships and fast battleships are typically named after cities.

Fast Battleship

A post-Interstellar War innovation, the fast battleship classes of the Solarian Navy are intended to fill gaps in patrol fleets where a full battleship is unnecessary but a cruiser is insufficient. Fast battleships trade armor and firepower for speed and operational range, making them ideal for patrols in the former Alliance Neutral Zone. Following the Collapse many ships of this class ended up in the hands of warlords due to the class primarily serving in the Middle and Outer Rings. Here they have excelled at a role they were never meant for: raiding and terrorizing the civilian populations they were built to protect.

Cruiser

Cruisers have long served as the backbone of the Solarian Navy. These vessels are typically divided into two classes: light and heavy. Like their larger counterparts, both categories of destroyers are generally named after cities with light cruisers favoring the cities of the Middle and Outer Rings. Many heavy cruisers are instead named after prominent Solarian figures, perhaps due to their captains wishing to imitate the larger and grander battleships of the Navy.

Heavy Cruiser

Heavy cruisers such as the Taipei-class represent the peak of Solarian cruiser design. These heavily-armed and heavily-armored vessels closely resemble the battleships they escort but are significantly less expensive due to their smaller size. Many prospective future admirals seek to command a heavy cruiser for both this reason and for the prestige commanding one brings.

Light Cruiser

While less prestigious than their heavier counterparts, light cruisers fill a valuable niche in the Solarian Navy. Light cruisers are fast vessels which can operate for long distances without resupplying, which easily allows them to serve as the lead vessels of patrols when fast battleships are not available. However, most officers who one day aspire to command a fleet avoid light cruisers for this very reason: while it may mean command of a squadron, it is a command which affords very little prestige and is often assigned to those who lack the money or connections to play the Navy’s influence game. With most commanded by officers of debatable ability or loyalty (and at times a lack of both) it should come as no great surprise that this ship class often forms the backbone of warlord fleets in the Wildlands.

Destroyer

Destroyers are well-armed but small vessels designed to assist the Alliance’s battlegroups and to protect the ships that truly matter: cruisers, battleships, and carriers. Prior to the Collapse destroyers were a common sight in the Middle and Outer Ring’s anti-piracy patrols, where they often commanded groups of smaller vessels. Now they are commonly seen in the fleets of warlords, where they serve much the same purpose. Destroyer and destroyer escort class ships derive their names from stellar objects, though exceptions exist due to the sheer number of destroyers in the Solarian Navy.

Escort Destroyer

Only barely larger than a frigate, escort destroyers are intended to provide a modicum of protection to civilian and military convoys across the Alliance. Faster and fitted with better warp drives than many larger ships, a surprising amount of escort destroyers stationed in the Middle and Outer Ring opted to evacuate to the Inner Ring rather than remaining to assist warlords. Some naval scholars believe this is due to most destroyer escort captains and crews having been local recruits in their systems, and there are many stories from shortly after the Collapse of ships of this class limping into systems such as Sol filled with terrified refugees and exhausted sailors.

Frigate

Smaller than both destroyer classes and yet larger than a corvette, Solarian Navy frigates were a common sight in all three Rings prior to the Collapse. Though originally intended to serve exclusively as escort vessels for larger ships, frigates have, particularly in recent years, been pressed into a variety of roles they were never meant for such as pirate-hunting operations. Up-gunned variations of common frigate designs were often the best ships available in the Outer Ring for anti-piracy patrols and system defense. These ships have proven ill-equipped to fight off the forces of defected warlord fleets, and most have been destroyed or themselves defected. A sad fate for the ships of a class of little importance to the Lunan-dominated Admiralty. Due to their sheer number, frigates follow no clear naming scheme.

Corvette

The smallest rated combat vessels in the Solarian Navy, corvettes are often commanded by new officers or officers deemed failures by their superiors. Few officers wish to command a corvette for long, rightfully viewing them as career-killers in a Navy obsessed with larger ship classes. The Wildlands is covered in wrecks of this ship class as a result of constant squabbles between petty warlords over territory. With much of the support structure these warlord fleets rely on gone, corvettes are often the first vessels scrapped for spare parts — and some desperate scavengers plunder these plundered wrecks, hoping to find even tiny scraps of useful materials. Like frigates, corvettes follow no consistent naming scheme.

Support Craft

The unsung and unappreciated wheels which ensure the Solarian Navy continues to turn, support craft and their crews are typically looked down upon by “real” warships and their crews. The classes found under this category are stunningly diverse and include everything from massive Hephaestus-produced fuel tankers to small courier vessels designed to carry the small-scale cargo required to keep a fleet fed and happy. Many smaller warlords have very limited access to these support vessels, which has made them a target of raids and assaults as the struggle to fuel defected ships continues.

Carrier-Launched Aircraft

Covering everything from multi-crew bombers to unmanned drones, carrier-based vessels are a cornerstone of the Navy which has long fought battleships for influence. Most of the time battleships have won this battle of influence, but some believe — particularly with recent reforms — that carriers and their craft will have their day in the limelight soon enough.

The Solarian Marine Corps
''“Look like you know the joke right like you have to know it come ooooon. The whole joke of like ‘you don’t have to worry about asking if somebody’s a marine since they’ll tell you!‘”'' - Unknown Callistean bartender speaking to an Sol Alliance News Network reporter regarding the Navy’s presence on Callisto (2458). Though technically an independent branch of the SAF the Solarian Marine Corps (SMC) is regarded by most as simply an extension of the Navy. They travel in Navy ships, fight the Navy’s battles alongside it, and generally do whatever they are told to do by the Navy. Marines rarely do any operations without the assistance of the Navy and rarely set foot on planets, instead reserving such duties for the underfunded Solarian Army. The SMC’s unofficial status as a vassal state of the Navy has brought boons to it such as funding, prestige, and eager recruits thanks to multiple lucrative deals with Cytherean media moguls. Many Solarian children and teenagers see marines as heroes who are capable of doing anything they are asked to do as long as it benefits the Alliance.

But the reality is often different from the glitzy, Cytherean image projected by popular culture. Marines are often recruited from economically disadvantaged backgrounds and are looked down upon by many Navy officers for this reason, and Marine officers are expected to defer to the judgement of their Naval counterparts even if they are of the same rank. The Army looks down upon Marines for a different reason: it views them a “toy army” subordinate to the Navy due to marines rarely seeing extended periods of ground combat like the Army has. The Army’s bitterness has been further compounded by the Marines consistently receiving more funding, and thus better equipment, due to Navy influence.

But despite this the morale of the Marines remains high. Most wholeheartedly view themselves as elite infantry of the SAF which do what others will not, and view the Army as an organization of complainers and losers who simply lack the gung-ho attitude needed to fight a modern spacefaring conflict. Their extensive funding has ensured most negative press, such as the amount of marines currently fighting for various warlords and the Army’s opinion of them, has remained out of the public view. Connections, and greased palms, in the Cytherean entertainment industry have served to make the reality of the situation something only the dedicated are aware of.

Notable Marine Formations
1st Marine Division

The 1st has, for countless years, been the Marine division assigned to guard the ships of the elite 1st Battlegroup of the Solarian Navy. Well-trained and well-equipped, the 1st served with distinction during the Interstellar War but has not fought in a major conflict since. Its marines are primarily recruited from the Lunan working class and are generally looked down upon by the upper and middle class Lunans which serve as the 1st Battlegroup’s officers. However, as most enlisted sailors come from similar working-class Lunan backgrounds, there is a great amount of camaraderie between marines and enlisted Navy personnel. The Army often holds the 1st Division as an example of how the Marines receive immense funding but do nothing at all as the Division was stationed near Mars but not a single member participated in the Mars Campaign.

15th Marine Regiment

This marine regiment, which has since defected to the Solarian Restoration Front, served as the Marine detachment for the 35th Fleet of the Solarian Navy. Even before their defection the 15th was plagued by rumors of corruption and Caesarism in addition to a documented history of abuse towards non-humans. The 35th Fleet spent a great amount on ensuring these rumors were quashed while it was still loyal to Sol. However during the 35th’s incursion into Tau Ceti the 15th’s behavior became so open it could no longer be hidden, and flickery videos of its marines executing Legionnaires became a common sight on the Biesel extranet during and immediately following the incursion. Now, fully defected from Sol and fully dedicated to the SRF, one can only speculate as to what actions they have committed.

33rd Marine Regiment

Prior to his ascension as Prime Minister the 33rd served under the command of then-Admiral Michael Frost. They participated in his invasion of Biesel and, despite an internal inquiry by the Solarian Armed Forces, escaped all charges levied against them. The 33rd’s loyalty to Frost intrinsically tied their fate to his, even after his imprisonment, and saw their trustworthiness decline in the eyes of the broader SAF. Even Frost’s ascension to power, which saw him restore his loyal regiment to power and use them — at the protest of the Army — as personal guards, only served to temporarily stop the regiment’s fall from grace. After Frost’s death the regiment was pounced upon by reformist actors in the Navy and promptly disbanded, with many of its former officers shipped off to undisclosed prisons for poorly-defined crimes. Even before Frost’s body was cold the 33rd was formally struck from the Corps’ register, and will likely never return to it again.

The Solarian Army
''“I don’t give a rat’s ass what your Admiral says marine! Unless you can get the PM down here and order me to stand aside, I’m not gonna be letting you into the building! You’re gonna stand down, now! I said now goddammit!”'' - 1st Lieutenant Anthony “Andy” Bonaccio moments before the Revolt of the Officers devolved into a gunfight. Bonaccio would later go on to become the Alliance’s Secretary of the Army. The second-largest SAF branch is the often-neglected Solarian Army. Chronically underfunded, the Army has existed in the shadow of the Navy since the Interstellar War and must often make do with hand-me-down equipment passed over or otherwise discarded by the Marines. A culture of bitterness towards the Navy and the Marines, which the Army views as a subordinate branch of the Navy, has engendered a desire in the Army to do better than the Navy despite the challenges. As an institution it is significantly less corrupt and prone to Caesarism than the Navy is and, thanks to reforms undertaken after the Interstellar War, has long been viewed by the civilian government as an ally instead of an enemy. Army troops have long been used as guards by Solarian government institutions aside from Navy facilities, which utilize Marine guards, due to their loyalty to the government.

Unlike the Navy the Solarian Army generally recruits entire divisions from individual planets and trains them in local facilities. These units typically serve as the local garrison of a Solarian member state until they are needed elsewhere, at which point they are mobilized and shipped — much to the ire of Army command — by the Navy to wherever they are needed. Army Central Command itself has long been headquartered on Unity Station and is located within walking distance of the Prime Minister’s office. Interestingly, Central Command has no fixed unit to guard it: instead, in order to avoid favoritism, the division tasked with protecting it is rotated on a two-year basis. At the time of the Collapse the chosen unit was the 37th Martian Mechanized Division, more popularly known as the “Red Devils.” Due to the mysterious nature of Prime Minister Frost’s death and his seeming lack of care for Mars, rumors that the 37th killed him have swirled since before his body was cold. The 37th has since rotated back to Mars, where it served with distinction during the reunification campaign. While currently a volunteer-only force the Solarian Army is, in theory, able to petition the government to institute a draft in times of emergency. This draft has not been used since the Interstellar War, and few imagine it would ever pass unless a second were to begin.

While Army equipment and training, unlike their SDF counterparts, is standardized across the board certain member states have gained a reputation of supplying the Army with higher-quality units than others. Despite its poor reputation with many figures in the broader Alliance the Army generally views Mars as providing the best units due to many seeing it as one of their only ways to get off-world. Silversun, with the Originals forming a similar group, is similarly prized as are units recruited from Venusian Jintarians. On the contrary Luna is viewed by most as providing some of the poorest-quality troops for the Army. Many have speculated as to why this is, and some Army officials have gone as far to accuse the Navy of deliberately sabotaging Army recruitment efforts on the moon. Pluto provides similarly poor-quality troops as its ruling government zealously guards its best troops for its internal security forces and only provides the Army with wash-outs and other poor troops. Very few Plutonian or Lunarian units are trusted with anything other than garrison duty.

Recently the Army-Navy struggle seems to be shifting towards a more even playing field due to Army successes and Navy failures. During a period where the Navy was at its lowest before recent reforms the Army proved itself effective in a decisive campaign where it regained control over much of Mars. Army Central Command has viewed this as a massive victory and it has secured a great amount of positive press for the long-beleaguered and underfunded Army. Whether or not this wave of success will continue with the Navy’s recent reforms, and a promise of return to civilian government, remains to be seen.

Notable Army Divisions
1st Earther Infantry Division, “Big Red One”

One of the oldest continuously-serving divisions in the Alliance, the 1st Infantry Division has fought in every major war the SAF has become involved in. In addition to service in the Interstellar War and the recent Mars Campaign the 1st was the Army division which thwarted the Revolt of the Officers and, as a result, has long been one of the first divisions the civilian government pulls guards from. This division is recruited from Earth and primarily draws its recruits from the United States, though it contains Earthers from across the globe in its ranks.

2nd Venusian Air Cavalry Division, “Jintaria’s Claws”

Formed slightly after the Interstellar War from primarily-Jintarian units recruited on Venus during the Interstellar War, the 2nd Venusian is an elite Army division intended to be deployed from dropships into extremely tough situations. The 2nd is primarily made up of Jintarians, though some Cytherean crashouts are present. Traditionally, Jintarian 2nd Venusian recruits will give themselves a cheek scar to symbolically note their separation from appearance-obsessed Cythereans. The 2nd was not deployed to Mars due to concerns phoron in the air would choke the engines of its dropships and gunships, which has left the elite division bitter and eager for action. The 2nd Venusian is, aside from their scars, well-known for their distinctive “cavalry” hats.

37th Martian Mechanized Division, “Red Devils”

The oldest continuously-serving Martian division, the “Red Devils” were originally formed from an amalgamation of pro-Sol SDF units during the Martian World War. The 37th served with distinction during the Martian World War and earned its nickname from the large amount of dust its units would kick up on the open plains of Mars. Following the War it was formally integrated into the Solarian Army as a division and has served with distinction since. It was one of the most-engaged divisions during the Mars Campaign of 2464. Few members of the division perished in the Violet Dawn catastrophe thanks to its garrison being located in Kunlun, far in the Martian north. Despite this performance rumors that the 37th assassinated Prime Minister Frost have continued to swirl, and may haunt the division for decades to come. The traditional 37th sleeve patch is a red devil on a blue background, and is intended to show Martian unity with the Alliance.

3rd Callistean Infantry Division, “Commonwealth Marines”

Recruited primarily from the Port Authority of Callisto, the Commonwealth Marines are the Army’s only unit which specializes into zero-gravity combat in spaceborne objects such as stations, ships, and EVA environments. The Commonwealth Marines and the Solarian Marines have an infamously poor relationship due to the 3rd Callistean’s use of the term Marines in their name, and those of the division are known to get into off-duty brawls with Navy Marines in the Ringpole District. Callistean military police and CMPD officers generally let the Commonwealth Marines, who are quite popular on Callisto, go with barely a slap on the wrist. The division is easily recognized by their black berets with gold-and-red badges — a color choice deliberately designed to resemble the Callistean flag.

4th Haiphongese Armored Division, “Habs on Wheels”

Many Haiphongese divisions become hopelessly stuck in the quagmire of corruption which defines so much of life on the planet. Not the 4th, which has proven to be stunningly resistant to corruption since its founding in the mid-2300s. 4th tankers are primarily recruited from the crime-riddled Ton Gwai Pei, which many young Haiphongers are eager to escape. They are then trained in armored drills in the harsh deserts outside the megalopolises of New Hai Phong in the operation of the Army’s standard M35A6 tank modified for the environment of New Hai Phong. Typically of shorter builds to fit comfortably into their modified tanks, their gas masks — which they almost always wear while in their vehicles — are typically customized in the traditional Haiphongese style. Some are intended to call back to the hab the tanker came from, while others use the colors of gangs the tankers were previously affiliated with. The 4th was a major participant in the Mars Campaign, where its harsh-environment training and NHP-adapted tanks proved an unbeatable force on the Martian plains.

12th Silversunner Coastal Infantry Division, “Mistral”

A relative oddity in the 2400s, the 12th is a unit specialized into waterborne operations due to its origins on Silversun. In addition to waterborne operations the 12th is trained to fight in harsh environments such as the jungles and rainforests of Silversun, and is often used by the local governor to track down and apprehend criminal elements — such as poachers — who believe the dense undergrowth can hide them from Solarian authorities. This duty has caused them to sometimes be referred to sarcastically as “the Army’s Park Rangers,” by other units, and this is a surefire way to become involved in a brawl if said to most 12th soldiers. Though most commonly known for the green camouflage “Silversunner” boonie caps they often wear on patrol, 12th officers prize their distinctive blue-and-silver kepis they are issued when commissioned, though few wear them in the jungle due to fears of spoiling the cap’s fabric.

Notable Army Equipment
The M-469 assault rifle is the standard assault rifle of the Solarian Armed Forces and is used by both the Army and the Marines. The rifle is rare for being designed for the Army first and then adopted by the Marines, who became fond of the design. The M-469 was originally produced by Zavodskoi Interstellar but, since the founding of the Solarian Corporate Authority, has started to be mostly produced by nationalized Solarian factories. It has a vast number of variants and is used by every Solarian Army and Marine unit, and has found use in many of the Alliance’s better-equipped System Defense Forces. Those SDFs which cannot afford it often make do with local designs or surplus weaponry, which can range from relatively recent to decades old.

One of the most powerful tools available in Solarian Army operations is the M35A6 main battle tank. Though a nearly thirty year old design at this point, the M35A6 has gone through six updates which have kept it on the level of other, competing tanks such as the Dominian Imperial Army’s JA-57/2 breakthrough tank. It is, however, fairly dated compared to Marine equipment, particularly in its targeting matrix, and consumes a frightening amount of fuel. However, the relatively simple construction of the M35A6 has allowed a multitude of variants to be produced. One of the most notable is the M35A6/NHP (New Hai Phong) used by the 4th Haiphongese Armored Division, a slightly smaller variation of the typical M35A6 which notably features a large atmospherics filtering system on its rear. The M35A6/NHP’s filters, originally designed to survive the environment of New Hai Phong, allowed it to excel on the Martian surface.

Primarily associated with the 2nd Venusian, the AH-52 “Tarantula Wasp” multi-role helicopter is one of the Solarian Army Air Force’s most beloved designs. First used in 2452, the AH-52 is a relatively modern design and was rapidly produced for the 2nd Venusian to replace its aging helicopter fleet. It is capable of carrying up to a squad of troops and supporting them with a vigorous array of weaponry while easier enduring hits thanks to judicious armor and an on-board shield generator, but has seen little practical use so far due to the environment of Mars — the Army’s most recent major engagement — preventing most airborne operations. This has left the AH-52’s crews eager for action, and wondering when the design will finally have a chance to prove itself in combat.

The Basilisk Armored Exosuit is one of the most common Solarian Army “vehicles” in operation. Though dated in its design, as the Basilisk’s original frame dates to the late 2420s, it is capable of being surprisingly mobile thanks to its four-legged design and can be equipped with a vast array of weaponry and equipment, effectively allowing it to serve in any environment. Basilisks are also used by the Solarian Marine Corps and the Navy, and these variants are almost always more modern designs than their Army equivalents. Thanks to its flexibility and armament the Basilisk is easily capable of handling most ground-based threats short of heavy tanks on the battlefield and readily outclasses the improvised exosuits of the Tau Ceti Foreign Legion, which it demonstrated itself as easily capable of destroying during the 35th Fleet’s incision.

System Defense Forces
''“Nowhere is the state of our armed forces more obvious than in the miserable condition of many local forces. They are, seemingly as a rule, under-equipped, under-funded, and under-motivated. What I would give for every one of them to resemble San Colette!”'' - Fleet Admiral Ingrid von Varnhagen und Langenburg, commanding officer of the First Battlegroup, in an interview with the SANN recorded on 16 August 2462. An institution that predates the Interstellar War, System Defense Forces (SDFs) are intended to serve as local military forces when the Navy is either unavailable or in need of additional forces to support its operations. Many SDFs defected during the Interstellar War, which greatly reduced their prestige in the eyes of the Navy and their importance in the eyes of the admiralty. Loyalist and Coalition SDFs sustained some of the highest rates of losses during the Interstellar War due to their poorer training and equipment, and many on both sides simply dissolved at the war’s end due to these losses.

Modern Solarian SDFs suffer from much of the same problems their Interstellar War counterparts did: due to being funded primarily by the system they are stationed in, many have outdated equipment and poor training which causes a lack of respect from the Navy. While there are some exceptions to this rule, such as the well-funded and, as a result, well-trained and well-equipped Colettish Civil Guard, most existing SDFs prior to the Collapse were barely able to patrol and secure their immediate surroundings without Navy assistance, let alone fight off serious threats. Compounding these issues is a regulation which impacts all SDF vessels: due to the mass defections of many during the Interstellar War no SDF vessels are equipped with warp drives capable of warping without a warp gate’s assistance. Though originally intended as a safeguard against further SDF defections, this regulation has greatly limited the capabilities of SDFs, and has rendered them only able to patrol areas with ready access to warp lanes.

During the Solarian Collapse these faults were laid bare for the entire Spur to see. Most SDFs stood no chance against emboldened pirates or rogue Navy forces as, for many of them, the largest ships they had access to were outdated and often poorly-maintained frigates, one of the smallest classes of combat-capable ships in the Solarian Navy. While some SDFs possessed larger vessels such as cruisers only a handful possessed anything capable of challenging capital ships. Faced with destruction or defection, many SDFs opted to join local warlords or occupying forces, such as Biesel, for protection and, much like their Interstellar War counterparts, steady pay. Some, motivated by patriotism or a desire to ensure the safety of those they protected, fought to the bitter end or managed to retreat to the Inner Ring.

Those SDFs that survived the Collapse relatively intact, such as the Civil Guard and other forces of the Middle Ring Shield Pact or the Visegradi NDF, or successfully retreated to the Inner Ring now stand as some of the most battle-hardened naval forces of the Alliance, and many vessels which retreated to the Inner Ring have been retrofitted and integrated into the Navy itself. But few believe the SDFs which remain will be able to stabilize the Wildlands themselves and many in the Alliance are reconsidering the practicality of SDFs as a whole following their failings during the Collapse. Only time will tell if the beleaguered SDFs will snatch a modicum of redemption for themselves in the months to come or if they will wallow in their situation before withering under the weight of the Alliance’s failings.