Tau Ceti Armed Forces

The insignia of the Tau Ceti Armed Forces.

The Tau Ceti Armed Forces (TCAF) was formed in 2465 with a mandate to protect the sovereignty of the fledgling Republic of Biesel and ensure it continues to shine as a beacon of liberty in the Orion Spur. It was preceded by the Tau Ceti Foreign Legion, militia-like in structure and armament, which was deemed unfit for service with the growing tensions of the Spur in the 2460s and the Republic’s growing pains in the Corporate Reconstruction Zone.

The TCAF is composed of two major branches: the Republic Astroforce, the space forces of the TCAF; the Home Defence Forces, the planetary forces of the TCAF. These branches both have full-time professional and part-time reservist forces, and each has a Foreign Legion which functions as a large net for foreign nationals seeking citizenship opportunities in the Republic of Biesel and makes up much of the TCAF’s reservist personnel. Both branches, and the TCAF as a whole, are only moderately-sized, smaller than the forces of the Solarian Alliance, Coalition of Colonies and Nralakk Federation — as such, much of the TCAF’s doctrine is based high-tech punch-up solutions, being evasive, and delaying the inevitable for as long as possible.

Salaries within the TCAF are generous, paying higher than many comparable space jobs in the Republic’s insecure job market. The lucrative pay and the economic crisis sees many in less affluent regions of the Republic of Biesel ensure recruitment rates remain high or those completing their time in the Foreign Legion stay. Servicemembers of the TCAF enjoy conditions comparable to that of the Republic’s middle class. However, outside of the TCAF in the Republic, views on the armed forces range widely: those affected most by the Phoron Scarcity can be resentful of the TCAF’s prioritised allocation of phoron — especially when put to use in first-strike, weapons-of-mass-destruction; others hold great pride in the TCAF, seeing how far it has come from its preceding militias.

The commander-in-chief of the Tau Ceti Armed Forces is the President of the Republic of Biesel, with the Secretary of Defence generally responsible for the TCAF’s day-to-day supervision. The Defence Forum is an advisory board composed of the Principal Legates and Primuses of each branch and arm of the Tau Ceti Armed Forces.

Contents

History

Tau Ceti System Defense Force and the Proto-TCFL (2200s—2458)

Prior to the Republic of Biesel’s independence, Tau Ceti was under the banner of the Alliance of Sovereign Solarian Nations. During this time, the system would be guarded by the Solarian Navy and its own Tau Ceti System Defense Force.

In the mid-2200s, Tau Ceti would become a critical system for the Solarian Navy, with military industry cropping up in the outer reaches — particularly over New Gibson. This, alongside being one of the first interstellar colonies, meant Tau Ceti was a rather comfortable posting and its System Defense Force was… reasonably equipped, for an SDF. However, dissent among Tau Ceti’s populace would be seeding during this time, starting on New Gibson, and the Alliance’s forces in Tau Ceti would only see use maintaining order and quelling protests. Come the Interstellar War in 2278, the system would be pushed to its limits, and riots and unrest would break out. By the time the war ended in 2287, the Solarian Navy had withdrawn in droves, leaving behind only the System Defense Force which would, over time, atrophy without funding or regular training. Tau Ceti would receive its status as a semiautonomous state.

In 2452, Tau Ceti would achieve its independence and form the Republic of Biesel. By then, its System Defense Force would be a mere 4 fleets of century old Solarian designs or second-hand equipment purchased off paramilitaries, bolstered by refitted civilian vessels. It was hardly a System Defense Force anymore, even the most neglected SDF of the Alliance-proper at the time was better equipped than the one the Republic of Biesel inherited; instead, a militia. Between 2452 and 2458, the fledgling Republic had a rather lackadaisical approach to the formation of its military, instead wholly reliant on the influence of their economy and the megacorporations to dissuade conflict with the Alliance.

In 2458, the Republic would be blockaded and the President would be kidnapped. With no effective fighting force, the Republic of Biesel could only sit back, and it would be bailed out by its allies. This was a sorely needed wake up call.

Tau Ceti Foreign Legion (2459—2463)

Founded in 2459 in the aftermath of the Solarian Blockade, the Tau Ceti Foreign Legion was the Republic of Biesel’s first foray into organising a standing armed forces. It was primarily composed of volunteer immigrants and other external parties seeking citizenship, with the Republic offering such for 1 year.

The TCFL was still militia-like in structure, equipment, and culture, with few enlisted personnel serving full-time and instead being called up as-needed. Much of the TCFL’s early equipment was inherited from the remnants of the Tau Ceti System Defense Force — refitted over time with NanoTrasen Corporation armaments. Militarised civilian vessels were also not an uncommon sight. Nonetheless, the citizenship opportunities provided by the Republic of Biesel saw the Tau Ceti Foreign Legion swell to great size, and the organisation was just-about functional for most purposes. Even despite the Blockade, both Tau Ceti’s government would hesitate to go further than this militia-like organisation, wary of the potential for a stronger military to exert influence on the young Republic, just as Luna’s Admiralty dominated the Solarian Alliance during these years.

Most purposes, besides another Solarian invasion. In 2462, the Second Invasion of Biesel saw the TCFL’s lasting humiliation when a single Solarian Navy battlegroup was able to carve its way through the Foreign Legion and seize much of outer Tau Ceti, including occupying Reade and its moons. It would only be with the intervention of the newly formed Stellar Corporate Conglomerate, the Serene Republic of Elyra, and Coalition of Colonies that the Republic of Biesel would survive the invasion.

Efforts to modernise the militia into a more organised force were now deemed necessary and quickly drafted in the succeeding years, and the Tau Ceti Armed Forces would be announced in 2465, expedited somewhat due to the ongoing Peacekeeper Mandate which had begun testing the TCFL a second time.

Formation of the TCAF and Late Peacekeeper Mandate (2465)

The Tau Ceti Armed Forces was formed with four branches: the Tau Ceti Minutemen, which inherited much of the TCFL’s equipment and senior personnel; the Republican Fleets, which was composed of mercenaries and other retained persons who flocked to the Republic in the aftermath of the Solarian Collapse; the Foreign Legion, a continuation of the TCFL; and the Corporate Auxiliaries, merely a commissioned branch of the TCAF composed of loaned megacorporate equipment and personnel.

The TCAF’s first major deployment was one of counter-insurgency on Mictlan, where both peaceful protestors and violent insurgents rejected the planet’s acceding to the Republic of Biesel. As such, when evidence of lax rules of engagement, violence against peaceful protestors, and ostensible war crimes were publicised, the TCAF’s image was tainted from the get go. For many, this hearkened straight back to the struggles the Republic had faced while still under the Solarian Alliance.

Torvald Administration and the Armed Forces Reforms (2466—2468)

Come the election of the military-first Cetian Congress of Conservatives, headed by President Ake Torvald, the Tau Ceti Armed Forces would receive a surge in spending and, with the Phoron Scarcity in full throes, several bills would see the stockpiling of phoron into a strategic reserve, with the TCAF receiving priority phoron allocation. The lucrative wages and stable job security saw recruitment rates hold, despite the tarnished reputation from yesteryears, particularly among those from less affluent areas of the Republic. Military industry, particularly on Reade, would also receive much investment, seeing the refitting of the Republican Fleets at the time and modernisation of the TCAF speed up. This has disgruntled the Republic’s populace somewhat, who are left deprived of phoron in their local infrastructure, while the TCAF gets more and more to waste in phoronic armaments.

In 2468, the Armed Forces Reform Bill entered the legislature, consolidating the TCAF’s spaceforces into a single branch — the Republic Astroforce — and founding its planetary branch — the Home Defence Forces. Doctrine and strategic objectives were also formally set, sculpted around the TCAF and the make up of the Republic of Biesel; the TCAF was to emphasise independent, small force strategies and fast, long-range tactics. The Peacekeeper Mandate was also recognised by the Torvald Administration for its short-comings, and though no actions were taken to truly remedy the issue, it was generally received well and as a sign of the Republic looking to avoid similar mistakes counter to ideals held by its peoples.

Today, the Tau Ceti Armed Forces is postured defensively as tensions and regional conflicts begin to bubble up. Though its forces have had some time to prepare — never enough time — it continues to pale in comparison to its expected enemy, the Solarian Alliance, who continue to eye the territories the Republic of Biesel annexed during the Collapse. Despite this defensive posturing, UFO sightings and spacer ghost stories within Solarian Alliance territory occasionally crop up, which independent military analysts privately suspect may be Astroforce stealth reconnaissance vessels intruding upon Solarian space. The Republic has resolved to never allow a third humiliation of a third successful invasion nor the seizure of its peoples’ liberties, and its forces are certain to fight tooth and nail to preserve both dignity and freedom; if the inevitable must be inevitable, every day it is prevented, stalled, or made less worth it is a small triumph.

Republic Astroforce

The Republic Astroforce (RAF) is the space arm of the Tau Ceti Armed Forces, superseding all of the Tau Ceti Minutemen, Republican Fleets, Foreign Legion, and Corporate Auxiliaries in 2468, and absorbing their personnel and equipment to create a single space force branch under a unified command. It is the most funded branch of the Tau Ceti Armed Forces, operating throughout the Republic of Biesel’s territories — primarily Tau Ceti and the Valley Hale.

The RAF remains a moderate-sized space force compared to those elsewhere, such as the Solarian Navy that continues to dwarf it. Having inherited a wide variety of personnel and equipment, it is also known for being a bit of a hodge-podge, fielding higher-tech vessels of local make next to refurbished Solarian vessels. Its smaller size is also a boon amid the Phoron Scarcity, with each vessel allotted a higher quantity of phoron, and thus all vessels — from flagvessels to smaller support craft — make full use of phoronic technologies.

To make up for its size and to capitalise on its powerful technologies, the RAF employs an unconventional, often seen as out-of-date approach to space warfare, relying on maximising the utility of orbital mechanics, speed, and wits to out-finesse an enemy — hit-and-run, essentially. Ideally, no engagement against a proper military force is to take any longer than five minutes or occur in under 20 kilometers of distance — fly-bys only, instead of head-to-head, direct combat — per the Astroforce’s doctrine, and large vessels such as Solarian battleships and carriers are simply best avoided unless caught poorly defended, with the Astroforce instead targeting the support vessels that keep its larger vessels active. Of course, against pirates, Astroforce vessels are plenty capable of any brute-force strategy.

The RAF, alongside its main Astroforce Legions arm, has a number of major auxiliary corps:

• The Republic Espatiers — The infantry arm of the Astroforce, responsible for (counter-)boarding actions against other vessels or stations.
• The Foreign Legions — A supporting arm that recruits foreign nationals seeking citizenship in the Republic, responsible for menial work, logistical work, and filling in wherever needed across the Astroforce.
• The Electronic and Cyberwarfare Legion — A supporting arm of the Astroforce responsible for intelligence-gathering, electronic warfare, and the coordination of AI- or remote-guided equipment.
• The Orbital Legions — An arm of the Astroforce specifically trained in micro-scale, orbital operations and fielding Orbital Defence Craft with alternative vessel configurations to interstellar vessels. It’s also responsible for Reade’s in-atmosphere defences.

Principal Legate of the Republic Astroforces and Astroforce Legions — Martijn Vinke

The Republic Astroforce and its main Astroforce Legions arm is commanded by Principal Legate Martijn Vinke, appointed by President Torvald in 2467. Vinke was an unusual choice for appointment at first glance, with limited combat command experience in the Tau Ceti Armed Forces and its predecessors. Vinke became a reservist officer in the Tau Ceti Foreign Legion in 2459, a year after the Solarian Blockade, while working on his PhD project in Astrophysics at Honsung Park Engineering Institute, which would earn him his doctorate. After being called up and directly witnessing the military humiliation that was the Second Solarian Invasion, Vinke would remain in active service. His contributions to the Republic’s military academia, even prior to being a legate, and knowledge of astrophysics saw him selected as the Principal Legate of the Republic Astroforces, best suited to reinvent its military strategies. He is the most influential figure on the Defence Forum, with considerable sway over military policy.

Primus of the Astroforce Legions — Madeline Bounds

The Astroforce Legion’s enlisted are represented by Primus Madeline Bounds. Bounds began her (para)military service with NanoTrasen Corporation’s asset protection forces in 2433, transferring from the NSS Upsilon’s engineering team. Upon the creation of the Tau Ceti Foreign Legion in 2458 after the Solarian Blockade, Madeline would hop over to the Republic’s armed forces, serving as a Specialist Legionnaire (equivalent to a present day Legionnaire Immunis). She was posted on the BLV Fylgja over Reade during the Second Invasion, and although the vessel was critically damaged and routed, it was attributed to Bounds (and a number of other engineers and technicians) that the Fylgja was not totally destroyed and its crew lost; she became a media heroine for a short while. While Bounds did serve in the Peacekeeper Mandate, she pivots from the topic when it is brought up — rumours are she is under a gag order. Appointed Primus of the Astroforce Legion in 2468, Bounds has been instrumental in getting enlisted servicemembers acquainted with the new NanoTrasen equipment and lecturing officers about their technical specifications and optimal use cases.

Structure

The Republic Astroforce is composed of 82 organised fleets, each typically fielding only between 8 to 15 vessels and having around 800—1500 persons to a fleet. The equipment and size of these fleets typically depends on their role.

The 16 Praetorian Fleets are larger and generally more well-equipped, with state of the art Zavodskoi Interstellar vessel frames and NanoTrasen Corporation phoronic armaments. They are responsible for the security of the Tau Ceti and immediately surrounding space, often conducting anti-smuggling operations and other routine system policing actions during peace time. Being a more prestigious (and carefree) posting, many of the Republic Astroforce’s more skilled and experienced service people and officers land on these vessels. Each Praetorian Fleet fields the full 15 vessels, heavier on the 1st and 2nd Rate vessel rates.

The 40 Away Fleets are variable in size and can be a mixed bag in regards to their armament, with a mix of older TCAF designs and refitted Solarian designs clashing with the higher tech phoronic armaments haphazardly fitted onto them and their contemporary lead vessels. In peace time, they are generally seen patrolling the other inhabited systems of the Republic of Biesel, as well as the Valley Hale and along the Zoleth Line within the Corporate Reconstruction Zone. They often perform logistical and humanitarian operations where needed. Each Away Fleet consists of 8 to 12 vessels of smaller size, rated for faster, precise hit-and-run actions to harass and weaken an attacker while other fleets assemble.

The 18 Orbital Defence Fleets are composed of orbital defence craft specifically rated for shorter-range security operations within a body’s sphere of influence, and under the Orbital Legion arm. Two Orbital Defence Fleets are permanently posted to each of the Republic of Biesel’s major inhabited bodies, with Biesel and Reade shielded by 4 Orbital Defence Fleets. In peace time, their duties are limited to border and customs patrol of planets — not very prestigious, and seen as a dead-end, banishment posting for those who do not excel in other fleets. On the other hand, they are seen as a lucky posting within the Foreign Legion, being tethered to a planet and its extranet infrastructure, unlike the Away Fleets which disappear into the Valley Hale or to the Zoleth Line.

Finally, there are 8 Silo Fleets, composed of silo vessels (and their escorts) which can carry hundreds of phoronic first-strike missiles with bluespace capabilities each. Their postings are, of course, a military secret, and are refuelled, resupplied and have crew transferred by other Away Fleets without ever having to approach an inhabited system. The final resort.

Notable Fleets

• 1st Praetorian Fleet, The Show Horses — Nil Desperandum

Berthed at Valkyrie, the 1st Praetorian Fleet is the final protector, alongside the Orbital Defence Fleets, of the Republic. And yet, until the day comes, it is relegated to ceremonial and touristy duties. It is exempt from routine fleet work (patrols, boarding inspections, etc.), making it a most preferred posting for enlisted service members, and day-to-day it welcomes high-paying passengers for a walk around — after vetting and with more sensitive systems curtained off. A show horse fleet, filled with pretty officers and pretty equipment.

The fleet is commanded by Ducenarius Raymond Gauthier aboard the Astraeus-class RAFV Liberty. Legate Gauthier, prior to entering the Tau Ceti Foreign Legion in 2460, was a fashion designer with Idris Incorporated in Belle Côte, and whose greatest contribution to the Astroforce was designing its uniforms. Gauthier has a strong social media presence and has long set about trying to improve TCAF optics and driving up recruitment rates. What he never talks about is his time on the Second Invasion’s frontlines, and those of the 1st are left speculating as to his true combat abilities.

• 12th Praetorian Fleet — From Hypothesis to Impact

Berthed over Reade, the 12th is a platform for more experimental armaments and vessel designs still in R&D stages down in Reade’s military engineering labs. As such, it is quite the busy bee, frequently pushing its gadgets to the limit in Reade’s rings. One only hopes the fleet’s composition and array of armaments are reliable and effective should they ever have to be used.

The fleet is commanded by Ducenarius Nanoo Yilq’Giorii aboard the Thyella-class RAFV Erudition, boasting a Leviathan Mk.II instead of the standard Koncerz in its spinal mount. Hailing from Xoikko, New Gibson, Nanoo has resided in the Republic since the 2350s, originally migrating from Aliose as a twice-degreed Biophysicist to lead a team studying the moon’s unique ecosphere — they would opt to settle. Come the Second Invasion and bombardment of New Gibson however, Nanoo would choose war as their final degree choice, joining the TCAF in 2463 and now 5 years into their part-time skrell degree in Astrowarfare (another 25 years to go!) Their degree in Physics and Biophysics was already enough to see them fast-tracked to commanding a Praetorian Fleet, and the experimental nature of the 12th is just right for them.

• 28th Away Fleet, Zo’ra’s Chosen — To Another Great War

Often stationed on the Zoleth Line in the Corporate Reconstruction Zone, the 28th Away Fleet is one of the larger, more crowded fleets — a result of being staffed by disproportionately more vaurcae. It is staffed with thrice the crew and espatier complement across its vessels, with three vaurca to one vaurca-assigned berth. Non-vaurcae have a difficult time maintaining personal space, but are fortunately assigned their own berths… where possible. The 28th’s Espatiers also stands out, assigned three hundred espatiers instead of the one hundred, two-hundred of which almost entirely composed of Zoleth Brood warriors — a healthy dozen being warforms. Many of its espatiers were part of the since disbanded ‘Zo’ra’s Chosen’ Minutemen branch who served during the Peacekeeper Mandate as mobile infantry and gunship operators, since re-trained for astro-combat, and carrying their nickname over to the 28th Away Fleet.

The fleet is commanded by Ducenarius Ta’Akaix’Liv’zith’Kyrk Zo’ra aboard the 1st Rate Valkyrie-class RAFV Sedantian Flames. A Zo’ra of the Zoleth Brood, Liv has served since the hive began heavily investing in the Tau Ceti Foreign Legion, and is one of two Zo’rane Ta to be honoured with high, flag officer promotions (the other a legate in a more advisory, non-command position). If Solarian encroachment over the Zoleth Line occurs, there is no better trained and eager foe for them to encounter.

• 32nd Away Fleet — Our Will Be Done

The largest Away Fleet within the Valley Hale, often stationed around the NSS Orchard Moon, the 32nd Away Fleet is on stand-by as a quick reaction force to incidents of piracy affecting phoron supply lines in the area, assisting civilian and megacorporate transport, smaller Republic patrol fleets, and even the occasional Elyran patrol fleet. The 32nd often works and trains alongside Nexus Corporate Security who are also stationed around the Orchard Moon. Of all of the Republic’s fleets, the 32nd is perhaps the most combat experienced — even if only whetted against pirates and low-rate mercenaries — and has a reputation among the Astroforce as bearing the most hardened crew and espatiers.

It is commanded by Principal Astrach Sulafa Fawakhrji aboard the 2nd Rate Respite-class RAFV First Cause. Hailing from New Marfa on Biesel, Fawakhrji followed in her father’s footsteps — a former Elyran navy officer, prior to migrating to Biesel — and joined the Tau Ceti Armed Forces in 2464. Fawakhrji would avoid the Peacekeeper Mandate, instead shuffled around various anti-piracy and border patrol fleets in the Valley Hale region, often butting heads with Elyran patrol fleets claiming the same regions of space, relying on diplomacy to settle things — and settle things she often did, avoiding escalating any tensions. In 2468, she would be promoted to Principal Astrarch and put in command of the new 32nd Fleet, wielding the most hardened vessels and crews with a steady, diplomatic hand.

• 1st Silo Fleet, The Sentry Fleet — Without Remorse

Posted in the very high, trans-Gibsonite orbit of Reade on overwatch of the Tau Ceti system, the 1st Silo Fleet is the only ‘visible’ silo fleet. It is the largest of the silo fleets, composed of 6 silo vessels, a screening support vessel, and its command and control vessel, with an estimated, combined 800 phoronuclear missiles capable of launching and targeting anywhere in the Tau Ceti system (and beyond). The fleet stands sentry in the event of a third incursion into the system, its many missiles capable of establishing superiority within its orbiting body’s sphere of influence and overwhelming an attacker.

The fleet is commanded by Ducenarius Angeleyes-003 aboard the RAFV Mastiff command-and-control vessel. A young Intelligence Bishop owned by the Tau Ceti Armed Forces, Angeleyes is perhaps the most powerful owned synthetic in the Spur with the arsenal at its hands. It is entrusted to utilise its arsenal in the best interests of the Republic to maximum effect, able to directly interface with its ship systems and those of its fleet. While it shows no lapse in faith, its posting has been burdensome on the young synthetic’s mind, and the hearsay from the 1st Silo Fleet is that the Bishop never leaves its command centre, unwilling to stand down from the system’s overwatch or the moment a first-strike order may be given.

Ranks

With small vessel companies and fleets, the hierarchy of the Republic Astroforces is quite slim — there are only so many duties and divisions of fleets that can be shuffled up or down the hierarchy. Ordinarily, this could pose issues, with limited promotion opportunities and longer time between promotion can lead to some leaving the forces. However, the lucrative wages and core ideals the Astroforce protects nicely offsets this. The slimmer array of ranks also promotes a greater sense of camaraderie and increased cooperation, with networks of same-ranked servicemembers being larger and less spread out.

Depending on the arm of the Astroforces, promotion fast-tracks and alternative starts are often offered to those with relevant degrees. For example, a commissioned officer in the main Astroforce Legion with a degree in Astrophysics will receive promotions in 2/3rds the time; a servicemember with a degree apprenticeship in a field of engineering or armouring will enter the Astroforces as a Prefect. This allows those with relevant experience to quickly progress to more senior ranks where they are best utilised, which is particularly useful for the TCAF’s reserve-heavy resources.

Responsibilities prescribed to commissioned officer ranks highly varies by posting. Those in the Away Fleets often find a greater burden of responsibility placed on them, given their distance and independence from the greater Astroforce command. Whereas in the Praetorian Fleets or aboard a military station within Tau Ceti, one could safely coast through the junior and middle commissioned officer ranks having been responsible for comparatively little.

Ranks are denoted by medallions — gold, platinum, or enamelled phoron — worn on the service member’s shoulder or chest.

Legates, Ducenarii and Primuses are not playable on the SCCV Horizon, due to their limited number or exclusive position, and commitment to the TCAF.

(Principle) Astrarchs and Principal Prefects on the SCCV Horizon are unlikely to be found outside of Command roles.

Ranks List

In descending order and shared by all arms of the Astroforces.

Commissioned

• Principal Legate (PLgt.) — A flag officer assigned to lead an arm or the entirety of the Republic Astroforce. Principal Legates wear three, enamelled phoron medallions.
• Legate (Lgt.) — A senior flag officer occupying senior leadership positions and shaping strategic planning and policy development. Only 40 legates have been promoted. Legates wear two, enamelled phoron medallions.
• Ducenarius (Duc.) — A flag officer often supervising naval commands, groups of fleets, or receiving the prestigious posting of commanding a Praetorian Fleet (or the sensitive posting of a Silo Fleet). Ducenarii wear one, enamelled phoron medallion, and are entitled to modify their flagship’s name, motto, paint, badge and flag. Only 100 ducenarii have been promoted. On a conventional career track, 8 years of active service is expected.
• Principal Astrarch (PArch.) — A senior commissioned officer who typically has command of a single fleet and its lead vessel. Principal Astrarchs wear three platinum medallions. On a conventional career track, 4 years of active service is expected.
• Astrarch (Arch.) — A commissioned officer who typically has command of a single, non-commanding vessel, or the staff officer under a Principal Navarch. Astrarchs wear two platinum medallions. On a conventional career track, 2 years of active service is expected.
• Decurion (Dec.) — A commissioned officer, managing personnel and resources under the instruction of senior officers. Decurions wear one platinum medallion on their shoulder.
• Aspirant (Asp.) — A junior officer undergoing initial training and their first posting. Aspirants wear one gold medallion. They are generally promoted after completion of first action.

Enlisted

• Primus (Prm.) — A non-commissioned officer assigned to liaise between the enlisted of an arm and its flag officers, shaping enlisted-level planning and policy development. Primuses wear a gold pauldron with one phoron medallion, and are saluted and addressed as a commissioned officer would be.
• Principal Prefect (LPfct.) — A senior non-commissioned officer with tenure and subject matter expertise, typically leading and mentoring subordinates within a department and advising commanding officers. Principal Prefects wear a blue pauldron with one platinum medallion. On a conventional career track, 5 years of active service is expected.
• Prefect (Pfct.) — A non-commissioned officer typically responsible for leading smaller teams, day-to-day department operations and routine training. Prefects wear a red pauldron with three gold medallions. Minimum 3 years of active service OR a relevant apprenticeship degree and previous leadership experience.
• Legionnaire Immunis (LgnI.) — A senior enlisted servicemember who has specialised with extra training. Their specialist training entitles them to be ‘immune(is)’ to menial, grunt taskings (outside of emergencies). Legionnaires wear two gold medallions — one on the shoulder, one on the chest. Minimum 1.5 years of active service.
• Legionnaire (Lgn.) — A trained spaceforces enlisted servicemember responsible for a variety of basic duties under the supervision of superiors. Legionnaires wear one gold medallion on their shoulder.
• Recruit (Rct.) — The rank at which one enters the Spacefleets. They are generally promoted on completion of training.

Republic Espatiers

The Republic Espatiers (RE) are the special-operations infantry arm of the Republic Astroforce, responsible for space infantry operations against vessels, stations, and in microgravity, as well as counter-boarding.

Each fleet and major station of the RAF hosts one century of Espatiers, composed of only 100 personnel, making the Republic Espatiers the smallest of service branches in the RAF. This is not without thought, as the RAF’s doctrine disincentivises close, prolonged ship combat where boarding actions are likely to occur, instead favouring long-range solutions. Where Espatier operations are expected, they tend to be in-and-out, surgical raids to destroy a ship system or target vessel leadership. Training for the Espatiers is rigorous as a result, both to ensure a high skill and to quickly get through the thousands of applicants applying for limited vacancies.

Outside of the rare space infantry operation, the Espatiers tend to assist with internal vessel logistics and other menial work or, during peace time, perform the frequent inspection boarding for flagged smugglers. As such, despite their elite training and status, the public image of the Espatiers rarely matches, viewing the arm as mere grunts.

If assigned to a fleet, an Espatier century takes the number of the fleet. In the 1st—16th range, this means centuries have multiple sister centuries, of which variable relationships ensue. For example, the 3rd Espatiers (Praetorians) and 3rd Espatiers (Away) are known to have a rather rocky relationship. If assigned to a station, the number is in the order they were assigned and the station’s name is included in the century’s title; EG. 1st Dumas Espatiers.

A few exceptions exist, being the elite centuries. These elite centuries take an extensive amount of experience, networking (multiple references from Principal Prefects and commissioned officers are required), and luck to pass the selection process — this is on top of the already rigorous requirements just to get into the Republic Espatiers.

Principal Legate of the Republic Espatiers — Symphony

The Republic Espatiers is commanded by Principal Legate Symphony. A Baseline synthetic who sought their freedom in the Republic of Biesel via the Tau Ceti Foreign Legion in 2459, Symphony would continue into the Tau Ceti Armed Forces as it is today. Symphony was a Decurion when the Second Invasion of Biesel occurred, and was responsible for leading the decisive, joint—TCFL-SCC boarding operation against a 35th Frigate that was obstructing the special forces operation to recapture a planetary battery that would later be used to strike Grand Admiral Raymond Ozdemir’s flagship. This action alone, amid an otherwise bland career on either side of the Second Invasion, saw them fly through the ranks and they continue to be regarded as a hero to this day. Despite their limited experience, it was no surprise when they were appointed as the Principal Legate of the Republic Espatiers — the alternative would have been a veteran officer of the Peacekeeper Mandate…

Primus of the Republic Espatiers — Oxi’gruk Yiliip

The Republic Espatiers’ enlisted are represented by Primus Oxi’gruk Yiliip. Oxi fled the Nralakk Federation during the 2463 exodus and was one of many to enlist in the Tau Ceti Foreign Legion to avoid deportation. Particularly skilled, for reasons undisclosed, they quickly soared up the ranks and were heavily involved in lectures and discussions with senior TCFL personnel on how best the Legion could utilise its sudden influx of psionic personnel. In 2468, they were selected as the first Primus of the Republic Espatiers.

Notable Centuries

The Praetorian Guard — Liberty or Death

A continuation of the Praetorian branch of the Tau Ceti Armed Forces that was founded in 2466. The Praetorian Guard (not to be confused with the Praetorian Fleets or those assigned to it) are a unique and elite century, responsible for the close protection of the President of the Republic of Biesel, senior cabinet members, senior public figures, or guests-of-honour while in space or uninhabitable planetary conditions. Its espatiers are almost all selected from Biesellite veterans, and almost all are human, skrell or synthetic. They are thoroughly vetted for their loyalty to the Republic and its institutions, with some espatiers having been turned away simply for visiting the Solarian Alliance in the last decade or for having long, historical careers at a megacorporation. Come war time, the Praetorians are expected to do whatever it takes to see a continuation of the Republic make it through. The century’s patch and badges depict Tau Ceti over a purple shield, flanked by gold laurels; they wear the Tyrian purple berets of elite espatiers.

Praetorians must be from the planet Biesel and either human, skrell, or synthetic. They must also not have held a senior role (Prefect or Astrarch and above).

Republic Commandos — First In, Last Out

An elite special forces unit of the Republic Espatiers, the Commandos are trained in space counter-terrorism, hostage rescue, and clandestine operations in space. They are the surgical solution when the Republic has a tricky solution to solve. Training for the Commandos is incredibly rigorous, with many rejected in the early stages of training. Its espatiers are unique in that they are all committed transhumanists, with it being an unwritten requirement for one to get decked up to the gills in phoronic augmentations (typically cybernetic) prior to promotion to Legionnaire Immunis or Decurion. The century’s patch and badges depict a levitating, gold human silhouette contained within three purple SMES coils over a white background; they wear the Tyrian purple berets of elite espatiers.

Commandos must be from a Republic of Biesel origin and apparent transhumanists. They must also not have held a senior role (Prefect or Astrarch and above).

Espatiers Band Century — By Sword and Strings

The Band Century is an elite musical and ceremonial century, participating in national events, parades, festivals and other ceremonies. Its servicemembers are selected both for their combat ability and musical ability, and the Espatiers ensures that it has demographics representative of the Republic — humans and aliens, Biesellite and Mictlanian, natives and immigrants, etc. When no ceremonies are due, the Band Century often performs ambassadorial and educational duties for the Espatiers, appearing in schools or to partnered organisations. During war time, the Band Century is trained to and expected to handle medical, engineering and other support roles. The century’s patch and badges depict a white viola crossed by a shortsword over a purple background; they wear the Tyrian purple berets of elite espatiers.

Band Century espatiers must be from a Republic of Biesel origin and musicians. They must also not have held a senior role (Prefect or Astrarch and above).

16th Espatiers Century (Away), The Atomic Century — It’s A Long Way To Tau Ceti!

The 16th Century is composed of a majority of New Gibsonites and various dionae communities of the Republic. They are generally posted in the Corporate Reconstruction Zone, often along the Zoleth Line, patrolling for potential Solarian incursion or miscreants from the Pustkowie. The 16th received its nickname as a result of the uranium glass accessories its New Gibsonite espatiers are often seen with, which their dionaea compatriots have also taken an interest in. In the actions the Atomic Century have undertaken against pirates, they have built a reputation as particularly reckless, over-reliant on explosive charges and sheer dionae strength to tear entrances and tunnels through a vessel, instead of using its airlocks and corridors. The century’s patch and badges depict a red px atomic orbital on a white axis over a green circle.

3rd Espatiers Century (Praetorian), Silver Vǫrðir — Watch and Ward

The 3rd Century’s espatiers are recruited primarily from Valkyrie and the Odin. As such, many of its espatiers have prior experience in corporate paramilitaries or have interacted with Valkyrie’s blackmarkets, or are simply trying to break the mold and seek a career without the megacorporations or criminal groups. They are generally posted in the outer Tau Ceti system, patrolling Reade and beyond for smuggling vessels, and have the best track record for successful anti-blackmarket operations. They have a reputation for slow, meticulous vessel raids targeting power and lighting systems first, plunging vessels into darkness ahead of pacifying targets. They have a rocky relationship with the 3rd Espatiers (Away), handling similar duties in the Valley Hale, albeit with a less padded track record. The century’s patch and badges depict a silver spectre over a blue shield.

Electronic and Cyberwarfare Legion

The Electronic and Cyberwarfare Legion (ECL) is a supporting arm of the RAF responsible for intelligence-gathering, electronic warfare, and the coordination of AI- and remote-guided equipment.

The ECL are typically posted to command stations and support vessels in fleets, and are composed entirely of commissioned officers — often with previous experience in the main Astroforces arm. The ECL fields the most advanced sensor, e-warfare and guided equipment available to the RAF, responsible for jamming and hijacking enemy remote-guided munitions, decrypting radio transmissions, dredging through a rival commanding officer’s online history for intelligence, and remotely deploying and guiding swarms of drones and guided missiles. Out of sight and out of mind of the general populace, the ECL’s reputation and value to the RAF goes unrecognised, but it can singularly be responsible for the outcome of a conflict, considering how reliant the RAF is on intelligence to inform its offensive strategies. Internally, its officers are the most well-regarded.

The ECL often works alongside the Biesel Intelligence Service when it comes to intelligence gathering and building banks of useful information on the commanding officers of other space forces — even if only a psychological profile to inform on potential actions they may take under pressure.

Principal Legate of the Electronic and Cyberwarfare Legion — Chuki Oijambo

The Electronic and Cyberwarefare Cohort is commanded by Principal Legate Chuki Oijambo. Where, historically, most within the Tau Ceti Armed Forces would leave for greener pastures in corporate paramilitaries, Oijambo went the other way. Oijambo’s military career began in her home nation of Eridani in N4NL Incorporated after being Reinstated. While contracted by the Tau Ceti Armed Forces and residing in the Republic of Biesel, her application for citizenship and get away from Suit life would be accepted. Despite her short tenure in the TCAF itself (only 4 years), she was fast-tracked to the position of Legate and appointed to supervise the creation of and lead the Electronic and Cyberwarfare Legion. At first, this ruffled the feathers of more tenured legates, but the utility and effectiveness of the ECL seems to be apparent — time will tell if Oijambo will be vindicated.

Foreign Legions (RAF)

The Foreign Legions of the Republic Astroforce (RAF-FL) is a supporting arm of the RAF that recruits foreign nationals seeking citizenship in the Republic of Biesel, responsible for menial work and filling in wherever needed.

As a continuation of previous Foreign Legions, albeit unified under the Astroforce’s command structure, the RAF-FL is one of the most recognised symbols of the Republic of Biesel, and serves much the same functions it always has. In exchange for 1 year of active service, and the reference of an Astrarch, immigrants to the Republic can be granted citizenship. It serves to help assimilate immigrants into the Republic of Biesel, clashing the cultural values of the Republic against other alien cultures, weeding out dispreferred traits and absorbing preferred traits, contributing to the Republic’s multicultural society. The RAF-FL also acts as a large reservoir of reservists who can be called up in the event of conflict. A healthy amount who enter the RAF-FL also stay on, whether in the Foreign Legions or transferring to another arm of the Republic Astroforce, and so the RAF-FL provides a steady stream of recruits into the RAF.

Active service in the Foreign Legions is not glamorous, with postings only in the Away Fleets or Orbital Defence Fleets and mostly relegated to gruelling labour and filling in wherever necessary aboard vessels — logistics, custodial work, medical assistance, and inspection security. Foreign Legionnaires receive broad training to cover all bases and plenty of opportunities to receive specialist training, teaching skills that may be useful come their exit from the Legion into civilian life or another arm of the RAF.

With most funding going to the other arms of the RAF, the Foreign Legions continues to have a reputation for using hand-me-down, outdated equipment.

Principal Legate of the Foreign Legion — A Confluence of Unlikely Friends

The Foreign Legion is commanded by Principal Legate A Confluence of Unlikely Friends. A rotund, diona argus composed of three separate gestalts that served in the Tau Ceti Foreign Legion, unifying into their present-day argus form and amassing their shared experiences of the Legion (and what best to do with it). The gestalt was appointed recently in 2468 when the TCAF’s branches were consolidated under the Astroforces, and has been responsible for reshaping the Legion into the quasi-educational, supporting arm it is today, ensuring it best prepares and socialises those awarded with citizenship so they may more easily integrate into Republic society and find working-and-living opportunities.

Primus of the Republic Astroforces — Za’Akaix’Htiik Zo’ra

The Foreign Legions’ enlisted are represented by Primus Za’Akaix’Htiik Zo’ra. A resleeved, Zoleth warrior with tens-of-thousand of (VR) combat experience across all domains of war and real experience during the Zo’rane Renaissance. Htiik has served since 2460, spending much of their time as an instructor, teaching the earlier Tau Ceti Foreign Legion in operating Zo’rane equipment and how to work alongside warforms. They would be appointed as the first Primus of the Foreign Legion in 2468, where they now advocate to senior officers for the introduction of more alien equipment — vaurca or otherwise — into enlisted hands. They are also a convenient foil to Confluence — more nurturing and pacifistic; a diona — able to advise on strategies and tactics more Zolethian in nature (read: reckless to life).

Equipment

Under the current Torvald administration, the Republic Astroforce are incredibly well-funded, receive priority phoron allocations, have favourable contracts with the megacorporations, and have adopted many technologies inspired by alien nations. As such, despite the RAF’s small size compared to the space forces of other states, the Republic Astroforce is capable of using a variety of tools to punch up and — so long as they bring their A-game — go toe-to-toe with larger, conventional space forces… for a short time, at least.

Much of the Astroforce’s higher-quality combat equipment and systems are designed by Zavodskoi Interstellar and, where phoronic (such as quantum sensor arrays, power infrastructure, shields, and energy weapons), NanoTrasen Corporation. Vesselbuilding is divided between Zavodskoi Interstellar, producing more combat-centric vessels, Hephaestus Industries producing more logistical vessels and supplying reinforced materials used by both, and the Tau Ceti Armed Forces making up for equipment deficits with its own state production. Zeng-Hu Pharmaceuticals is contracted to supply high-grade medical supplies, combat augmentations, and stimulants. Einstein Engines has a small but notable role as a contractor, designing remote- and AI-guided systems, as well as military vessel AI used by the Astroforces.

Older equipment also remains in service, mostly seen in support roles in the Away Fleets or in the hands of the Foreign Legion, including Solarian Navy ship designs and equipment that have been refurbished by Zavodskoi Interstellar and re-armed by NanoTrasen Corporation, inherited from the now defunct Republican Fleets. The Zo’ra Hive continues to be a large investor in the Foreign Legion too, with Zo’rane equipment — from space-adapted warforms, cheap cybernetic upgrades and VR training cartridges — being a common sight.

Despite being a more moderately sized force, logistics nonetheless continues to be a headache. Much of the Astroforce’s logistics are handled by the RAF Foreign Legions or by automated transport drones, however larger resupplies or those with more generous amounts of phoron do rely on proper logistical fleets. Fortunately, only defending a limit number of systems, the Astroforce employs heavy use of stockpiles — particularly along the Zoleth Line — creating a network of small supply lines all feeding towards critical defence objectives.

Space Vessels

Republic Astroforce vessels can vary in design due, with more sleek Zavodskoi designs and boxier Hephaestus designs, the tuning-forked Solarian designs inherited from the Republican Fleets, and the occasional civilian hull inherited from the Foreign Legion.

The Astroforce’s current Zavodskoi Interstellar-designed combat vessels are long and slender, with angled noses. Due to the RAF’s preference for long-range, fly-by strikes, these slender designs allow combat vessels to point nose-forwards and minimise the amount of surface area presented to a hostile vessel, making them tricky to hit at their optimal engagement distances. However, vessels designed like such are vulnerable from the side, with armour concentrated at the front, and hostile vessels — if able to ambush an RAF vessel from the side or get lucky with a missile — can cleave these designs in two.

The primary power generators aboard Astroforce vessels are nuclear fusion reactors, often augmented with phoronic superconductive magnets to achieve efficient margins, which are continuously operational throughout a vessel’s operation. Power grid infrastructure on RAF vessels utilises phoronic superconductive conduits, often visible as purple accenting in corridors and maintenance tunnels, reducing the amount of energy lost to grid resistance. Where Astroforce vessels have additional reactors dedicated to high-draw combat systems (so, in 1st and 2nd Rate Line Vessels), these auxiliary combat reactors are smaller but incredibly powerful phoron fission reactors, splitting phoron atoms to yield immense energy — these reactors are intended for short-term, immediate power relief, and burn through phoron at an alarming pace.

Many of the larger vessel rates with their high energy systems and phoronic fission reactors are unable to rely on the sleek heat radiation equipment most vessels of the Spur use. As such, and contrasting with the Astroforce’s high-tech equipment, antiquated but effective heat radiators are often expanded during ship combat operations. These heat radiators pump fluidic phoron through them, providing effective cooling to high energy systems and radiating the heat into the void, and glow a bright yellow when active. These heat radiators are another weak spot for RAF vessels, and damaging them will reduce the effectiveness and eventually overheat the high energy ship system — or, if the vessel crew continues to operate these high energy systems with all radiators destroyed, overheating the entire vessel and boiling its crew inside; suicide.

All Astroforce vessels, except for Orbital Defence Vessels, are fitted with bluespace drives befitting their size.

The following standardised rates exist in the Astroforces:

• 1st Rate Line Vessel: A vessel with onboard power generation of 3 gigawatts (GW), of which 2 GWs are allotted to combat systems. Their badge heraldry is a gold diamond, with the nameplate bearing gold text on a purple field. Their classes are named after planets, moons or continents of Tau Ceti. Often comparable in size to a Solarian cruiser.
• 2nd Rate Line Vessel: A vessel with onboard power generation of 2 gigawatts (GW), of which 1 GWs are allotted to combat systems. Their badge heraldry is a gold circle, with the nameplate bearing gold text on a red field. Their classes are named after cities in the Republic of Biesel. Often comparable in size to a small Solarian cruiser or large destroyer.
• 3rd Rate Line Vessel: A vessel with onboard power generation of 1 gigawatt (GW) shared between all systems. Their badge heraldry is a gold shield, with the nameplate bearing gold text on a blue field. They have no set naming scheme. Often comparable in size to a large Solarian frigate or destroyer.
• Smaller or hyper-specialised vessels do not have standardised rates. Their badge heraldry is a silver shield, with the nameplate bearing silver text on a blue field.

Notable Vessels

• Astraeus-class 1st Rate Command and Control Line Vessel — The Astraeus-class is emblematic of a 1st Rate Line Vessel rate, packing three capital-class power generators to power a broad-range of high-draw systems, including a high-power bluespace drive, Fjolnir sensor array, a series of 4 Gungnir 500MW lasers, autonomous drone bays, and an EWAR suite. The Astraeus-class is often seen wielded by Ducenarii commanding the prestigious Praetorian Fleets, and the range of its Gungir lasers and autonomous drones allows it to sit out of range of most ballistic armaments. Despite being the largest vessel in the Republic Astroforces, it is comparable in size to a Solarian cruiser. Designed by Zavodskoi Interstellar.
• Thyella-class 2nd Rate Line Vessel — The Thyella-class is emblematic of a 2nd Rate Line Vessel rate, packing two capital-class power generators to power a single high-draw system, alternating between a high-power Koncerz spinal railgun, high-strength shields, or its high-power bluespace drive. The Thyella-class is the heavy puncher of most RAF fleets, sitting back with its railgun to provide additional fire power, and hosing vessels and missiles that get too close with an array of 12 22mm Lifelines. Designed by Zavodskoi Interstellar.
• Tsiolkovsky-class 3rd Rate Mothership and E-WAR Line Vessel — The Tsiolkovsky-class is the standard drone mothership of the Republic Astroforces and quite small in comparison to other Line Vessels. It has minimal armaments for direct combat, but instead has the capacity for 600 Wasp guided drones, each fitted with 22mm Lifeline cannons that – when paired with the high relative velocity of a drone intercept engagement – shred through lesser armoured vessels or soften up heavier armour ahead of engagement by stronger armaments. During direct engagements and if all drones have been expended, they remain distant and provide e-warfare support. Almost every RAF fleet has at least one Tsiolkovsky-class mothership for this purpose, and they are a common posting for Electronic and Cyberwarfare Legion officers. Designed by Zavodskoi Interstellar.
• Spore-class 3rd Rate Support Line Vessel — An unusual support vessel that generally functions as a mid-operation tender, but doubles as a mothership. However, instead of drones, the Spore-class has 10 pod bays each with 20 of diona nymphs which are fired at either a friendly or hostile vessel. Encountering a friendly vessel, the nymphs can handle external damage control, sealing hull breaches or bolstering armour. Encountering a hostile vessel, they begin parasitising their way to the vessel’s reactor, causing hull breaches or radiation leaks on the way. Not the most effective, but certainly a nuisance and a favourite of gestalt officers. Designed by Hephaestus Industries.
• Requital-class Silo Vessel — The largest silo vessel of the Republic Astroforces, designed by the Tau Ceti Armed Forces and produced on Reade. Each Requital-class is estimated to hold 250 Banshee II bluespace-capable phoronuclear missiles, single-handedly capable of establishing void superiority against other fleets in whichever celestial body’s sphere of influence it sits in or capable of first-strike phoronic attack. Once out of the dock, Requital-class vessels are rarely seen around planets again, operating covertly, and replenished, recrewed or maintained in-situ by another vessel.
• Antlion-class Patrol Vessel — A staple of the Away Fleets and the quintessential Patrol Vessel rate, the Antlion-class is a retrofitted variant of the Solarian Hainan-class corvette designed by Zavodskoi Interstellar. They are fitted with strong power configurations and Fjolsvin phoronic quantum sensor arrays, capable of surveying the full breadth of a system — a necessity with how much territory one Away Fleet must cover. Vessels of this class often spend months on single patrol routes, provisioned to last longer than other ships of its size. While capable of engaging other similarly sized vessels, the Antlion-class is not designed to withstand heavy fire power, and is intended for hit-and-run engagements. Designed by Zavodskoi Interstellar.
• Bulwark-class Orbital Defence Vessel — A bulky, heavily armoured vessel rated for operations within a single sphere of influence. As such, and like other Orbital Defence Vessels, it has no FTL drive, allowing more power and mass to be allocated to heavier armour and armaments. The Bulwark-class is designed with a large, angled titanium whipple shield dressed in multiple layers of a Caprician Weave supplied by the Zo’ra Hive, allowing it to withstand a few impacts that would otherwise decimate a vessel. Its primary armament is a Koncerz railgun, capable of engaging from afar. Designed by Hephaestus Industries.
• Muninn-class Stealth Reconnaissance Vessel — A small, highly impractical stealth vessel (or as stealthy as a vessel in space can get). The Muninn-class is fitted with a ridiculously expensive cooling system — liquid phoron cooling, which is ejected into bluespace — thus creating no hot thermal signature. It is propelled by magnetic sails, using a phoronic superconductive magnet, and relies on bluespace FTL communications, further restricting the vessel’s thermal signature when in operation. And this is still not enough to go undetected, with the Muninn’s internal crew compartments (with a slim capacity of only 12 persons) chilled to a negative fifteen degrees Celcius at all times, and the vessel having to remain on the very outskirts of an inhabited star system, monitoring at high-range with a telescope, for to use its radar or sensors would be to give away its position. A powerful e-warfare suite is installed, for use in hijacking ship sensors to scramble the position of a Muninn-class. They are armed with a single Banshee II Interstellar Phoronuclear Missile, to either cover its bluespace jump escape if engaged or for use in a first strike. The Republic of Biesel has not disclosed how many are in operation, and they are regarded as a hellish posting for all but tajara, vaurca, and industrial IPCs.

Notable Vessel Equipment

Armaments

• Banshee II Interstellar Phoronuclear Missiles — Perhaps the single most lethal armament fielded by the Republic Astroforce. The Banshee II is a multi-stage missile with a bluespace delivery first stage, efficient long-range second stage allowing remote guidance, with a final high-speed stage activated on target heat signature acquisition that engages heat-seeking behaviour before detonation is triggered by a proximity fuse. The phoronic nuclear warhead is of moderate size, fissioning a small grain of phoron and yet capable of decimating even the most armoured battleships and anything in its immediate vicinity. A single Banshee II can be used to take out an inbound salvo of missiles or drones with its large explosion. A salvo of these missiles all but guarantees the loss of one vessel, forcing a fleet commander to decide who to sacrifice to save the others. One Silofleet has enough to affect a disaster of comparable size to the Violet Dawn Disaster of 2462. Designed by NanoTrasen Corporation.
• Gungnir 500MW Turretted Ultraviolet Pulsed Laser — The most powerful laser armament, often seen on Astraeus-class command vessels. The Gungnir consists of a 500MW reinforced arclamp that excites krypton and fluorine gas on millisecond pulses, channelling the resulting photons through a phoron lasing crystal. The result is an intense ultraviolet laser with an effective range up to 500km, pulsed in millisecond intervals to have a ‘drilling’ effect, capable of surgically targeting specific vessel systems — best effective on external weapons, sensors, and thrusters, instead of attempting to pierce the hull. Designed by NanoTrasen Corporation.
• Koncerz 1GW Osmium 0.5g Slug Spinal Railgun — A spinal railgun, the largest ballistic armament fielded by the Republic Astroforce, capable of punching through most targets. The Koncerz consists of two phoronic, superconductive rails flanked by a series of phoronic supermagnetic energy storage capacitors. When fully charged and activated, a small 0.5 gram osmium slug is propelled at a velocity of 150km/s with an effective range up to 800km — and for such a small projectile, an almost unstoppable force awaits. The railgun is slow to recharge and difficult to aim at the range it is employed, requiring a stationary target, close proximity (not preferred by the Astroforce), or one’s prayers to come true. The railgun is colloquially referred to as a ‘sandblaster’, due to the projectile’s size. Designed by Zavodskoi Interstellar alongside NanoTrasen Corporation.
• Lifeline 22mm Turetted Cannon — A point-defence armament seen across the Republic Astroforce on vessels small to large. The Lifeline fires a consistent, almost unlimited, hose of small uranium alloy slugs (manufactured on New Gibson) that put on a red light show with their tracers. Low accuracy, but high effectiveness should they hit true. Lifeline turrets are the last line of defence against inbound missiles or encroaching smallcraft, but are cheap enough to employ in large numbers. Designed by Zavodskoi Interstellar.
• Marksman 1MW Turreted Violet Long-Range Point Defence Laser — A ruby laser point-defence armament seen across the Republic Astroforce on vessels small to large. High accuracy, but delayed effect, the laser will gradually overheat an incoming missile or smallcraft until it is disabled. They are more often employed on dedicated screening vessels, amplifying a fleet’s long-range point defence capabilities. Designed by NanoTrasen Corporation.
• Kessler Guided Micro-missile Launcher — A slim missile launcher platform containing 1000 short-range, guided 20mm micro-missiles, firing in salvos of 250, designed to create a cloud of small missiles deadly to attempt to pass through. They are best effective against capital ship shields or wearing down heavy armour, the small projectiles bypassing point defence, or to deter incoming small craft. To fire a salvo in orbit in a planet would be a recipe for Kessler Syndrome, thus its namesake. Designed by Zavodskoi Interstellar.
• Wasp Guided Multi-stage Drone — The staple drone armament of the Astroforce. The Wasp is a multi-stage drone with a long-range, sustainer first stage capable of deploying from across a celestial body’s sphere of influence and relying on remote-guidance by an Electronic and Cyberwarfare Legion operator. When on intercept course with a target and within 50km, the drone stages into an autonomous heat-seeking stage where, as it fly-bys its target, its 22mm Lifeline Cannon hose down the largest heat signature — usually a capital ship… or its flares. Wasps are small and fragile, but are often deployed in staggered swarms of 50, ensuring at least a few are able to land shots on-target and soften up a capital ship’s heavy armour or deprive it of lesser-armoured escorts.

Other Equipment

• Fjolnir and Fjolsvin Quantum Sensor Arrays — The Republic Astrofleets variants of the Stellar Corporate Conglomerate’s Venator Quantum Sensor Arrays. The Fjolnir is the largest, seeing use on Line Vessels, and of similar capability to the Venator sensors; the Fjolsvin is a downsized variant, reliant on phoron to miniaturise the capabilities of the Fjolnir, seen on Patrol Vessels. Both are the same in function and host a variety of scanning means (direct imaging, thermal, etc.), with the primary scanning means being quantum radar, which fires photons quantum-entangled to their twin pairs that remain ship-side, allowing for the detection of objects regardless of their geometry, thermal signature, or optical qualities. Expensive to operate, yet invaluable for the RAF’s intelligence-reliant strategies.
• Maelstrom Warp Interdiction Anchor — A warp interdiction device produced by Einstein Engines. On proximity detection of nearby gravitic disturbances (such as those caused by an active warp drive), the Maelstrom creates a counter-gravitic disturbance that dissolves a vessel or fleets’ warp bubble and begins pulling the target towards the interdictor, often temporarily overloading the warp drive and causing erratic, emergency burns to avoid the crushing gravity of the interdictor. These interdiction anchors can be placed to slow a fleets’ advance, dropping them out of faster-than-light transit, or can be paired with an ambush.
• Caprician Weave Lightweight Armour — A proprietary Zo’rane weave manufactured on Caprice, composed of layers of Caprician basalt fibres and vaurcaesian silk fibres. The result is a thin, dense fabric-like layer of armour with a 6GPa tensile strength. When installed alongside or between conventional titanium armour or hull, it provides significant reinforcement, or can make up for reducing titanium mass with the assurance of the lightweight Caprician Weave making up for the deficit.
• Magneto-inertial Fusion Reactor 2466 (EE-MIFR-2466), Miffy Reactor — A tall, capital-class fusion reactor that combines magnetic and inertial confinement to achieve fusion. It uses phoronic superconductive magnets for more efficient operation, and a powerful laser that pre-heats the D-3He fuel, transitioning towards 3He-3He once heated for totally aneutronic fusion (limiting radiation output and reactor wear). Capable of serving a net 1 gigawatt. Designed by Einstein Engines.
• CRUCIBLE Phoron Fission Reactor — A small, auxiliary reactor capable of outputting power far exceeding its size. The CRUCIBLE is a Hephaestus Industries-designed fission reactor augmented with fluidic phoron cooling and with a number of heat radiators that must be extended into the void to radiate its mid-operation heat. The reactor fissions elemental phoron, burning through a ship’s phoron reserves in exchange for immense amounts of energy. It is not the most efficient, and therefore only operated during strenuous combat operations and when a vessel’s primary reactor is unable to supply required ship systems. It is incredibly radioactive during operation, requiring shielded compartments, and reactor operators can only supervise a CRUCIBLE for ten minutes before radiation doses become harmful to health. Capable of serving a net 1.5 gigawatts.

Major Installations

Dumas Base

Located on the outside of the Dust Belt which marks the boundary of the inner system within Tau Ceti, Dumas is an extremely small, rocky asteroid devoid of life.

Since 2464, it has been hollowed out to house one of the Republic’s largest military installations — Dumas Base. The base serves as a large anchorage and depot for the Republic Astroforce, stockpiling supplies and fuel for Praetorian Fleets operating beyond the Dust Belt. It also boasts an expansive mission control, monitoring, and e-warfare suite utilised by the Electronic and Cyberwarfare Legion, providing assistance to all fleets in the system. A military-grade space telescope is also visible protruding from Dumas Base, expanding the base’s capabilities beyond the Tau Ceti system and allowing it to detect fleet movements throughout the Corporate Reconstruction Zone (albeit with delay).

Stored deep within Dumas Base is the Astroforce’s phoronic warheads stockpile, and is one of the most secure places in the Republic of Biesel with the greatest number of Espatier centuries (and yet only 3), overwatched by the 1st through to 3rd Dumas Espatiers centuries.

Reade

Located inside and in orbit of Reade are countless Tau Ceti Armed Forces and Zavodskoi Interstellar-contracted military shipyards which, altogether, sit among the largest of the Spur’s shipyards. The vast majority of space vessels and armaments fielded by the Republic Astroforce are researched and manufactured in Reade’s many military R&D labs or shipbuilding docks. Due to its strategic importance and the humiliation of Reade’s capture during the Second Invasion, the gas giant is — alongside Biesel — one of the most defended planets in Tau Ceti, with twice the number of Orbital Defence Fleets assigned to shield it.

Zoleth Line

The Zoleth Line is a series of defensive lines, each with a collection of anchorages, stockpiles, space cannons, stay-behind vessels, warp interdictors, and other military installations, spanning from the Western Corporate Reconstruction Zone to Tau Ceti, and created with the goal of deterring or stalling a third Solarian invasion of the Republic of Biesel. Should the Alliance invade again, there will be no direct faster-than-light route into Tau Ceti, being interdicted regularly along the way and forced to fight in remote, infrastructureless systems of the CRZ where the Republic would have defender advantage. While the Solarian Navy’s sheer numbers and might may eventually punch through, it would have allowed time for the Republic to amass its forces and prepare contingencies, or mount their own counter-offensive against the Alliance’s space, as well as pick and choose which engagements they send their CRZ assets into. Victory may be likely for the Alliance given time and numbers, but the Republic will make damn sure it’s hard won and isn’t worth it.

Home Defence Forces

The Home Defence Forces (HDF) is the planetary arm of the Tau Ceti Armed Forces, superseding all planetary elements of the Tau Ceti Minutemen, original Mictlan Defense Force, and Corporate Auxiliaries in 2468. It is the largest branch of the Tau Ceti Armed Forces when it comes to sheer numbers, though the Astroforce is considerably more well-funded, prestigious, and of the most utility to the Republic.

Each major inhabited body of the Republic of Biesel has its own Home Defence Forces, and they can vary somewhat. While the Republic is responsible for most of the HDF’s equipment and training, each body’s local government is expected to contribute to their HDF — nonetheless, the HDFs tend to be quite well-equipped, thanks to the Republic’s heavy investment into the TCAF in the late-2460s. This goes the same for personnel, with each body’s Defence Force being 60-40 pan-Republic—local, however this is only a temporary measure while former Minutemen veterans of the Peacekeeper Mandate train locally-recruited forces, at which point the HDFs are planned to be recruited entirely from local populations by 2478.

Each body’s Home Defence Force is composed of a variable number of legions, each with 12 cohorts containing 6 centuries of 100 soldiers. Naturally, Biesel has the largest number of legions at 33, with Mictlan following at 23 (of which the first 13 are composed of the superseded Mictlan Defence Force elements), and Port Antillia both following at 16. Valkyrie and New Gibson have 10 legions. Reade does not have a Home Defence Force, considering its gas giant nature, and instead has double the Orbital Fleets allotment.

The Defence Forces train for the worst. If a planet has been invaded, particularly one in Tau Ceti, then it means the Astroforce has failed to keep an invader at bay and it's already too late — any large, organised army can be orbitally bombarded; the planet’s government is likely to surrender under extended pressure and blockades; the most likely foe, the Alliance, dwarfs the Republic’s forces. As such, the Home Defence Force, alongside teaching conventional planetary warfare, extensively trains its service members in guerilla and insurgency-based warfare — albeit an insurgency with incredibly high-tech capabilities, from drones to submarines to bioaugmentation — and is expected to make the establishment of an occupational government as costly as possible.

With planetary combat incredibly rare across the Republic of Biesel, the HDF’s only experience comes from those who served during the Peacekeeper Mandate. As such, the vast majority of its NCOs and senior officers are alien, unlike the Astroforce which is more evenly split. The HDF’s responsibilities are generally quite slim and much of the time is spent training and drilling, only occasionally being called up to handle disaster relief efforts where they present.

The HDF is generally easier to enter, due to less physical requirements to enter a planetary armed force than a space armed force. This, alongside it seeing a lot less action than the Republic Astroforce, has seen the Defence Forces surge in numbers, particularly in its Foreign Legions arm, as it is quite a risk-free posting with high-reward. Transfers from the HDF's enlisted to the Astroforces' enlisted are possible with re-training and increased physical requirements; commissioned officers do not transfer, do the stark differences in training and form of warfare.

The HDF, alongside its main Home Legions arm, has a number of major auxiliary corps:

• The Rapid Reaction Legion — A single legion on stand-by in Biesel, on permanent, high-readiness for deployment to an attacked inhabited body at a moment’s notice, bolstering its local Home Legions.
• The Nuclear & Phoron Security Legion — A single legion on each body, responsible for the protection of state nuclear power generation and phoron stockpile sites, as well as the transport of.
• The Air Legions — The airforce and drone arm of the Home Defence Forces, not guaranteed to exist on all bodies due to variable conditions.
• The Marine Legions — The naval and submarine arm of the Home Defence Force, not guaranteed to exist on all bodies due to variable conditions.
• The Foreign Legions — A supporting arm that recruits foreign nationals seeking citizenship in the Republic, responsible for menial work, logistical work, and filling in wherever needed across the Defence Forces.

Principal Legate of the Home Defence Forces — Luisa Mújica

The Home Defence Forces are commanded by Principal Legate Luisa Mújica. An experienced naval commander from the Antillean Provincial Navy Fleets, Mújica transferred over to the Tau Ceti Armed Forces in 2463 after Port Antillia acceded into the Republic of Biesel where she instructed the fledgling military on planetary combat. She would be fast-tracked for promotion over the years and, in 2468, was selected to be the first Principal Legate of the Home Defence Forces, shaping the Republic’s strategy in the event of a planetary invasion on any of its planets.

Notable Cohorts

• 1st Biesel Legion, 4th Infantry Cohort, The Bloody Cohort

Either famous or infamous depending on one’s news sources, the Bloody Cohort (formerly only the Bloody Century) was for a time, the most talked about unit of the newly formed Tau Ceti Armed Forces in 2465. An overstrength infantry century, it is composed exclusively of Unathi and Tajara veterans of the wars of Moghes, Adhomai, and Gakal’zaal, and considered the most experienced and effective century of Biesel’s Home Defence Force.

The cohort rose to prominence on Mictlan, where rumors about their efficacy and ruthlessness spread. It carved a swathe of destruction through Samaritan occupied territories as a raiding party, ruthlessly razing any towns suspected of helping the Samaritan cause, and later was one of the first units on the beachhead during the failed Operation Jakali. After footage displaying the unit’s atrocities leaked and spread all over the extranet, Mictlani civilians and insurgents alike began to fear the scarlet red hand used as the century’s icon. Several calls to dismantle the unit have been made in the halls of Tau Ceti’s parliament, each time rejected.

Since the conclusion of the Peacekeeper Mandate on Mictlan, the Bloody Cohort has been recalled to Biesel, where it has been responsible for training alongside less experienced centuries of the 1st Biesel Legion. The cohort’s patch and badges depict a red drop of blood over a white circle.

• 3rd Valkyrie Legion, 1st Infantry Cohort, The Redsnouts

The Redsnouts are an infamous cohort of predominantly unathi shock troops who made a name for themselves during the Peacekeeper Mandate, capable of striding through a firestorm of incoming ordnance with their Breacher-esque Type-100B ‘Berserker’ hardsuits and borrowing many principles of Hegemony vanguard combat. Those within the Century can easily be identified through their snouts, painted in crimson-red in near-ritualistic fashion once they find themselves integrated within the ranks of the Redsnouts.

The Redsnouts earned themselves an infamous reputation across Mictlan, where during the quelling of the planet's more insurgent regions during the Peacekeeper Mandate, with their overwhelming use of force becoming the centre of criticism across the planet. Claims and rumours of significant destruction in the wake of their marches, with which the Redsnouts blame insurgents for spreading. There even exist rumours that the crimson-red colours across the snouts of the Century aren't merely just paint, but the blood of their victims. They maintain they have never once broken the rules of engagement — and unlike other units — no video evidence has yet surfaced.

They have since been relocated to Valkyrie, where they have been responsible for training alongside less experienced centuries of the 3rd Valkyrie Legion. The cohort’s patch and badges depict a bloody, grey unathi’s snout over a blue circle.

• 20th Biesel Legion, 10th Reconnaissance Cohort, The Frogmen

A skrell-dominated light infantry, reconnaissance cohort within Biesel’s Home Defence Force. Its centuries are responsible for reconnaissance operations and covert special operations, often working alongside with Biesel’s security services. The cohort makes heavy use of psionics during their operations, be it for non-interceptable communications, detection of foes, field interrogations, or to offensive combat utility. Non-skrell in the 10th Cohort are all (unofficially) expected to get psionic receivers to interact with the psionic environment of the 10th Cohort.

In recent times, it has been stationed on Biesel, but its centuries are often loaned to the Biesel’s security services for counter-terrorist and other clandestine operations where the fire power is needed. The cohort’s patch and badges depict a white, Biesellite lakesurfer bird over a blue shield.

• 5th New Gibson Legion, 9th Mechanised Infantry Cohort, The Xtykt’lotec Warriors

The Xtykt’lotec Warriors, formerly the Tau Ceti Powered Support Detachment prior to the 2468 restructuring, are a vaurcaesian-dominant mechanised cohort reliant on warforms and heavily augmented vaurcae to mobilise a more flexible mechanised unit. Its infantry and mechanised soldiers are all Zo’rane vaurca, with those in non-combat positions being from a variety of species. The cohort is often a test bed for many prototype technologies provided to the TCAF by the Zo’ra Hive, and it has a close relationship with the Scay Brood that resides deep in the shuttered mining tunnels of Virklund, New Gibson.

Its service members — vaurcae or otherwise — are often heavily bio- and cybernetically augmented, and its vaurcae are equipped with the Zo’ra-designed ‘Yer’kay’ (roughly translated to ‘Bastion’) hardsuits, mounted with multiple layers of titanium, a suite of enhanced targeting systems, and a shoulder-mounted armament hardpoint, often fitted with missile salvos, electromagnetic cannons, or miniguns. This makes for a very mobile and versatile mechanised cohort, capable of providing quick and effective support to its legion.

Currently stationed on New Gibson, the 9th Mechanised are often put to use blasting their way through particularly large greimorians hives, alongside the local Specialist Greimorians Unit of the New Gibson Police Service. The cohort’s patch and badges depict a red Yer’kay hardsuit helmet over a yellow shield.

• 16th Mictlan Legion, 6th Mechanised Infantry Cohort, The Goliaths

A successor of the Hazardous Environment Gestalt Unit (HEGU), the Goliaths are a diona-dominant ‘mechanised’ cohort. However, unlike other mechanised cohorts, each century of the cohort has one argus-sized gestalt capable of either splitting into 20 cyclops infantry soldiers or amalgamating into one or two, mech-like beings with thick armour plates and cannons mounted on its form. Given their diona nature, they are also capable of working in hazardous environments — as its HEGU predecessor specialised in — be it a natural disaster zone, CBRN hazards, or phoronic or bluespace hazards.

As one of the few non-controversial, veteran cohorts of the Peacekeeper Mandate, the Goliaths have been stationed on Mictlan, where they train less experienced centuries of the 1st Mictlan Legion. The cohort’s patch and badges depict a green, cybernetic diona nymph bearing fangs over a grey diamond.

• 3rd Port Antillia Legion, 5th Airborne Infantry Cohort, The Positronic Cohort

The Positronic Cohort (formerly the Positronic Century, prior to 2468 and being upsized), is primarily composed of IPC service members, of which a great many are fitted inside shell frames. These synthetics are all selected for their ability to infiltrate hostile environments behind enemy lines — posing as working synthetics or human citizens — which they would be paradropped into prior to a coordinated advance, and are expected to operate independently of supply lines for extended periods of time. Rumour has it that a number of them may be rogue shells or former Synthetic Liberation Front members who enlisted in the TCAF to avoid harsh judicial sentences, however this has not been commented on by the Tau Ceti Armed Forces. Non-synthetics in the cohort struggle, occasionally citing anti-organic harassment within the cohort, but are nonetheless posted there in support roles, such as robotics.

The Positronic Cohort is currently stationed on Port Antillia. Tid-bits on the cohorts training (both of itself and the training it provides to other Port Antillian legions) has had military observers suggest that, in the event of a Solarian occupation of the CRZ, the Positronic Cohort would be vital to an extensive guerilla warfare campaign on the planet. They occasionally work with the Biesel Security Services Bureau and Ceres’ Lance to root out remnant SLF cells or large groups of presumed dangerous runaway synthetics, gaining experience converse to what they are training for and to think as their enemy would think. The cohort’s patch and badges depict a blue positronic brain outline over a grey diamond background.

Ranks

Legates, Tribunes, and Primuses are not playable on the SCCV Horizon, due to their limited number or exclusive position, and commitment to the TCAF.

Planarchs and Principal Prefects on the SCCV Horizon are unlikely to be found outside of Command roles.

Ranks are denoted by medallions — gold, platinum, or enamelled phoron — worn on the service member’s shoulder or chest.

Ranks List

In descending order and shared by all arms of the Astroforces.

Commissioned

• Principal Legate (P/Lgt.) — A general officer assigned to lead an arm or the entirety of the Home Defence Forces. Principal Legates wear three, enamelled phoron medallions.
• Legate (Lgt.) — A senior general officers, occupying senior leadership positions and shaping strategic planning and policy development.
• Tribune (Trb.) — A general officer, often supervising army commands or entire legions. Minimum of 10 years of service.
• Principal Planarch (PArch.) — A senior commissioned officer who typically supervises multiple cohorts or is the staff officer under a Tribune. Minimum of 8 years of active service.
• Planarch (Arch.) — A senior commissioned officer who typically has command of a cohort or is the staff officer under a Principal Planarch. Minimum of 4 years of active service.
• Centurion (Cnt.) — A commissioned officer managing personnel and resources of a century under the instruction of a Planarch. Minimum 2 years of active service.
• Decurion (Dec.) — A commissioned officer, managing personnel and resources of a smaller division under the instruction of a Centurion.
• Aspirant (Asp.) — A junior officer undergoing initial training and their first posting. They are generally promoted after completion of first action.

Enlisted

• Primus (Prm.) — A non-commissioned officer assigned to liaise between the enlisted of an arm and its general officers, shaping enlisted-level planning and policy development. Primuses wear a gold pauldron with one phoron medallion, and are saluted and addressed as a commissioned officer would be.
• Principal Prefect (PPfct.) — A senior non-commissioned officer with tenure and subject matter expertise, typically leading and mentoring subordinates within a department and advising commanding officers. Minimum 8 years of active service.
• Senior Prefect (SPfct.) — A non-commissioned officer typically responsible for leading departments and mentoring subordinates. Minimum 5 years of active service.
• Prefect (Pfct.) — A non-commissioned officer typically responsible for leading smaller teams, day-to-day department operations and routine training. Minimum 3 years of active service.
• Legionnaire Immunis (LgnI.) — A senior enlisted servicemember who has specialised with extra training. Their specialist training entitles them to be ‘immune(is)’ to menial, grunt taskings (outside of emergencies). Minimum 1.5 years of active service.
• Legionnaire (Lgn.) — A trained enlisted servicemember responsible for a variety of basic duties under the supervision of superiors.
• Recruit (Rct.) — The rank at which one enters the Home Defence Forces. They are generally promoted on completion of training.

Notable Equipment

Weapons

• NT-X Blaster Range: A series of phoronic blaster weapons, standard-issue throughout the TCAF. Designed by NanoTrasen Corporation.
  • NT-67 Guardian Blaster Rifle — An improvement of earlier blaster models, the Guardian is a powerful, burst-fire rifle that discharges ionised bolts of phoron. It is standard-issue for infantry.
  • NT-62M Bolt Slinger — An older but reliable marksman variant of the NT-62 Blaster Rifle.
  • NT-62C Blaster Carbine — A short-barelled blaster carbine, preferred for its manoeuvrability inside smaller spaces.
  • NT-62P Blaster Pistol — A blaster pistol with a revolver-like appearance, issued as the go-to sidearm.
• NGS-X Gauss Range: A series of phoronic gauss weapons, punching a harder hit than the blasters. Designed by NanoTrasen Corporation.
  • NGS-01 Gauss Thumper: — An outdated model designed in 2398 and the former standard-issue long arm of the Tau Ceti Foreign Legion. It continues to see some use in the Foreign Legion arms of both the HDF and RAF.
  • NGS-02-EXO Gauss Cannon — A heavy gauss cannon often seen mounted on exosuits or mechanised vehicles, capable of firing explosive, high-velocity projectiles.

Armour

• Type-37 ‘Aegis’ Voidsuit: The primary voidsuit in the colours of and used by the Republic Astroforce, designed by Zavodskoi Interstellar. It has been the go-to since 2465.
• Type-60A ‘Jötnar’ Tactical Hardsuit:'= An armoured combat hardsuit, produced in 2468 and upgraded from previous iterations. It is brimming with modules and armour plates, the inside lined with brown ballistic padding and a tightly woven Caprician Weave liner to keep out hazardous environments. Designed by Zavodskoi Interstellar, with modules supplied by NanoTrasen Corporation, Zavodskoi Interstellar, and Zeng-Hu Pharmaceuticals.
• Type-100B ‘Berserker’ Heavy Combat Hardsuits: A Breacher-like combat hardsuit produced in 2465. It is most commonly seen used by the Redsnouts and other unathi shocktroops and mounted with electromagnetic weaponry and melee energy weapons, turning its users into walking tanks. Designed by Zavodskoi Interstellar, with modules supplied by NanoTrasen Corporation, Zavodskoi Interstellar, and Zeng-Hu Pharmaceuticals.
• Z-02 ‘‘Yer’kay’ Heavy Combat Hardsuits: A vaurca combat hardsuit produced in 2465. It is most commonly seen used by the Xtykt’lotec Warriors and other vaurcae mechanised units, with mounted electromagnetic weaponry and missile launchers, turning its users into mobile artillery pieces. Designed by the Zo’ra Hive, with modules supplied by NanoTrasen Corporation and Zavodskoi Interstellar.
• NT Tactical Segmented Body Armour 3 ‘Carapace’ Body Armor (NT-TSBA3): The standard, segmented, carapace-like body armour used across the Tau Ceti Armed Forces that combines effective armour with high manoeuvrability. The plate inserts are designed with a Caprician Weave kevlar-like synthetic fibre, with incredible tensile strength. Designed by NanoTrasen Corporation in 2465 alongside the Zo’ra Hive.

Augmentations

The Tau Ceti Armed Forces provides a lot of opportunities for both bio- and cybernetic augmentations for its service members however, due to the wide variety of opinions of body modification among its various personnel, they are not required en-masse and no benefits are afforded to those who do augment themselves. Instead, service members receive discounts on purchasing augmentations through the Tau Ceti Armed Forces. Both Zeng-Hu Pharmaceuticals and NanoTrasen Corporation are contracted for military augmentations, as well as the Zo’ra Hive for cheaper prosthetics and augmentations.

In the Astroforce, cybernetics that allow the remote interfacing with vessel systems are the most common augmentation, with many Electronic and Cyberwarfare Legion officers able to remotely connect and guide their missiles or drone swarms towards a target. Among the well-funded Espatiers, phoronic cybernetics — including radical cybernetics such as phoronic neural wiring to augment the peripheral nervous system and enable super-human reflexes — are most common, albeit somewhat more expensive. The Home Defence Forces more often encourages bioaugmentations for endurance, subtlety, and reduced maintenance — more useful should they have to wage guerilla war against the Solarian occupier.

Notable Augmentations:

• ShipSense Neural Implant — A brain-computer interface (BCI) with remote capabilities to connect to the helm one is stationed on or guided drone software. A micro-AI housed in the BCI is able to interpret electrocortical activity, translating it into remote signals that affect a desired action to make with the vessel or a drone. A favourite among Electronic and Cyberwarfare Legion officers. Designed by NanoTrasen Corporation and Jeonshi Biotech Incorporated.
• PhoronBoost Neural Wiring (Military-grade) — A series of ultra-thin, insulated phoronic superconductive wires interspersed through key neural pathways of the brain and the peripheral nervous system. The augment allows almost super-human reflexes and cognition for a short period, used across the Tau Ceti Armed Forces but a particular favourite of the Republic Espatiers during dicey boarding actions. Designed by NanoTrasen Corporation and Jeonshi Biotech Incorporated.
• Organophoronic Fangs Bioaugment — A pair of biomodified, elongated teeth with Zeng-Hu Pharmaceuticals branding etched into them. A small sac above secretes organophoronic compounds through a channel in the teeth, but must be refilled with a special (expensive) single-use applicator when emptied. In soldiers, particularly those in reconnaissance cohorts or amid a post-Invasion guerilla war, they are a concealable but lethal close-quarters weapon.