User:NewOriginalSchwann/Sandbox

The ensign of the Solarian Navy, once flown from Earth to the Solarian Frontier.

Following the Collapse and the start of the Solarian Civil War, an effort was undertaken by reformists in the Solarian military, such as Minister of Defense Lucien Courtois, to reform the SAF and cut out much of the decay and rot which had taken root over the years. While their purges of the Navy’s ranks — and of many SAF staff — hampered a quicker response to the conflict, their efforts have been vindicated by the SAF’s success in bringing a decisive end to the Solarian Civil War in the summer of 2465. Today, the SAF has a new mission: defending the Reconstruction Mandates and protecting the borders of an ascendant Alliance.

Some, however, believe the SAF will soon be used for more sinister purposes, and many in Biesel and the Coalition look upon it with alarm as the Alliance begins to exert itself in the Spur once again.

Contents

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. Though it took almost a decade to hash out the terms of the Alliance, most parties (with the exception of Switzerland) on Earth agreed to join it by 2140. However, the idea of surrendering military autonomy to a supranational government was a point of concern for many members of the newly-formed supernational union, particular the two superpowers of the USA and USSR. Both were extremely hesitant to surrender their spacebound military capabilities to the Alliance, and, further compounding issues, both argued that they deserved to host the headquarters 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 of (and thus be able to exert significant influence in) what is 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 USA and USSR were not happy, they were both begrudgingly content to accept it, as while one wouldn’t be able to control it, their rivals couldn’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 truly dire consequences.

In the century between the Alliance’s formation and the Interstellar War, the SAF was plagued by 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. 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 steadfast 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. The plan, however, began to fall apart almost immediately due to one factor the coup’s mastermind, Admiral Terrence Hopper, had not accounted for: that the Army guard stationed at the Alliance’s then-capital in New York City would not go along with their conspiracy, leading to an active gunfight 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, however, 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.

The painful reforms spearheaded by SecD Courtois during the civil war have been dramatically vindicated by the SAF’s performance during its 2465 intervention in the civil war, where it rapidly outmaneuvered and outperformed the Solarian Restoration Front and Coalition-backed League in a rapid campaign. Both warlord statelets collapsed under the SAF’s relentless offensive and the Alliance’s flag once again flew from above capital cities across the Northern Reaches, with the pro-Solarian Middle Ring Shield Pact having been peacefully reintegrated, and both League and SRF authorities totally collapsing. In the Southern Reaches, both local governments — already de facto part of the Alliance — were brought back into the ASSN officially. The Solarian Civil War ended in mid-2465 with a decisive victory for the government, though one tainted by the loss of many systems to the Republic of Biesel.

With the end of organized resistance by major secessionist forces the SAF has found itself engaged in mop-up and counterinsurgency operations across the Northern Reaches. In the Southern Reaches it busies itself in piracy suppression and — unofficially — “rat transportation” runs of military equipment to anti-Biesel insurgents still fighting for the Alliance in the Hinterlands. The Alliance’s armed forces stand with their nose bloodied but unbroken, and remain a capable military force — especially with a newly reestablished and growing military relationship with the nearby Empire of Dominia providing them with an effective counterweight to Elyran and Coalition influence in its south.

Operational Strategy

“The size of the imperialist Alliance makes it clumsy and slow to react. We must strike where it is weak, and chip at its foundations. Only through attrition will our victory come,” - Cadre Leader Naveen Shankar speaking to the crew of his vessel before a patrol, mid-2460.

Managing the Solarian Armed Forces, the largest organized fighting force in the modern Spur, at the operational level is a titanic undertaking which has seen liter after liter of ink spilled on the pages of military manuals, academic projects, and Solarian government documents. The Alliance has been, in its history, the single largest nation in the Spur, and required a great deal of thought to manage its territory. Its losses in the Interstellar War and its aftermath, including the Elyran Revolution, have shown it does not always succeed in its operational strategy. Furthermore, prior to SecD Courtois’ reforms in 2462-63 the Alliance had long lacked a centralized command and control system, with various military high commands such as the Solarian Navy Admiralty on Luna instead reporting to the Secretary of Defense independently of the other branches. This led to naval over-representation, inefficiency, and virulent interservice rivalries.

In December 2462 SecD Courtois chose to address this problem by creating the Joint Military Command, or JMC. Consisting of eight members — one from each service plus a SDF representative, a chair and vice chair (both from different branches), and the military’s chief logistics officer — the JMC is designed to reduce inefficiency in the SAF by fostering cooperation. Its trial by fire, the Martian Campaign, was a success, with Army forces fighting using previously unseen levels of naval support from orbit. The Alliance’s rapid victory in the civil war seems to have further vindicated the JMC and Courtois, with its branches having worked together at levels unseen since the Interstellar War, and having won decisively.

The overall mission of the Alliance’s military is twofold. First, it must ensure the Alliance’s territorial integrity is maintained and protected against external aggression, such as Biesel’s annexations in 2462, and internal unrest, such as the Solarian Civil War of 2462-65. Second, and less publicly, is to ensure the Alliance’s lost territories can be recovered from those currently occupying it. Prior to 2462 this was centered around the Coalition of Colonies and Republic of Elyra. Since 2462 the Alliance’s strategic thinking has shifted to a potential reunification war against the Republic of Biesel, which is known in its media as the Republic of Tau Ceti. Politicians talk of war and generals plan military exercises, but none can seriously considering the prospect of causing another Interstellar War — right?

Solarian Military Commands

“Persistent Excellence, Persistent Readiness,” - Motto of Sol Alliance Northern Command.

The Solarian military operates in four combat commands — multi-branch organizations that answer to the JMC, though they predate it — responsible for operations in different parts of the Alliance: North, South, Central, and Sol System. Though all four commands have been historically dominated by the Navy, post-2462 reforms and an excellent performance in the civil war have seen the Army — and local SDFs, though to a lesser extent — exert more influence over the combat commands, particularly Northern Command. Due to being regional, the four commands all have slightly different responsibilities, though three of four have a point of overlap: Biesel, which has seen itself become a strategic priority for the Alliance since its rapid — and illegal, in Solarian eyes — annexation of great swaths of the Alliance.

Northern Command (NORCOM) is based on San Colette and has responsibility for the Northern Reaches, the Coalition border near Konyang, and the northern border of Biesel. It is commanded by General Patrick Edwards, a veteran Solarian Army officer who previously served in the Martian and Lycorii theaters. NORCOM’s daily responsibilities are mostly concerned with maintaining the ongoing low-intensity conflict against the remnants of both the Solarian Restoration Front and League of Independent Corporate-Free Systems in the Northern Reaches, with its Army troops stationed on Lycoris and involved in counterinsurgency operations, and many of its naval patrol squadrons policing warp lanes for League remnants. More importantly, it is expected to be the first to defend or attack in the event of a war against the Coalition, being home to the legendary 1st Battlegroup and its vaunted Fleet Admiral, Ingrid von Varnhagen und Landerberg. Also at Edwards’ disposal are the veteran SDFs of the Northern Reaches, sans Lycoris, that cut their teeth in the fighting of the civil war and have seen the quality of their equipment rise dramatically post-2465.

Central Command (CENTCOM) is based on Silversun and has responsibility for the Inner Ring and the central border with Biesel. It was, from 2462 to 2465, home to the orphaned northern and southern commands due to its location. While it shrunk significantly in 2462 — losing its Coalition border and much of its territory to Biesel — it has remained effective under the leadership of Admiral Bahri Özkan, commander of the 25th Fleet prior to assuming command of CENTCOM in 2464. Özkan’s forces face Biesel’s Zoleth Line — a multi-layered defensive formation — and are expected to pin down the Republic’s forces by threatening it with an offensive. At his disposal are veteran naval formations and Army troops, many of whom he has seen equipped with electronic warfare and incendiary weapons to counter Biesel’s synthetic and vaurca troops.

Sol System Command (SOLCOM) is based on Callisto and is a unique command that only supervises one system, the Sol System, rather than a region of the Alliance. Considered to be a strategic reserve for any future wars, it is under the command of Admiral Yaoting Kong. Known as “King Kong” by his subordinates due to his large build and love of the Monkey King franchise, Admiral Kong’s combat command is centered around logistics and training rather than combat. He is also responsible for the Sol System’s security, and is the first admiral to work with civilian fleet organizations such as the Callistean Port Authority in a new anti-smuggling campaign.

Southern Command (SOUCOM) is based on Visegrad and is responsible for the Southern Reaches, the southern border of Biesel and the Hinterlands, the southern border of the Alliance, and coordination with the nearby Empire of Dominia. Managing these operations is Admiral Monika von Schintling, a senior flag officer of the Solarian Navy with experience in the civil war and in the Southern Reaches. Underneath her is the veteran 6th Battlegroup, formed of loyal Middle Ring Battlefleets, and officers seasoned by years of anti-piracy experience. Alongside these duties von Schintling’s command is responsible for the “rat transportation” network of transporting supplies to pro-Solarian insurgents in the Hinterlands and coordinating with the Dominian Imperial Military, which had rebounded in prominence to SOUCOM following the civil war’s end. Once responsible for carrying out a theoretical war against Elyra, SOUCOM is now expected to work with CENTCOM in the event of a war against Biesel — punching through the south and striking at Tau Ceti while CENTCOM forces hold the Zoleth Line garrison in place and NORCOM strikes downwards.

Joint Military Command Personnel

The military officers chosen to be part of the Joint Military Command are experienced officers and expected to represent the best of their services — they are perhaps the most experienced military officers in the Spur — and report to the prime minister and Secretary of Defense. The below individuals are the first ever to hold positions in the JMC, with their terms having started in January 2463, and will last until December 2468: a five-year term designed to make them loyal to the government itself rather than whatever SecD appointed them.

The Chair of the Joint Military Command (CJMC) is Admiral Giorgio Palazzi, a fifty-year veteran of the Navy and former dean of the Alliance’s primary naval academy. Palazzi is a rare example of a veteran Lunarian officer with doctrinally conservative views who remained loyal to Courtois rather than retiring in 2462-63. He is a serious-faced, flint-eyed man who organized the evacuation of Solarian assets from Biesel during its secession and helped coordinate much of the Alliance’s victory in the Northern Reaches in 2465. Palazzi is seen by some as a compromise between the Navy’s conservative and reformist factions, with Courtois and the Chief of Naval Operations firmly reformist but Palazzi representing the best — and perhaps the last — of the Navy’s pre-2462, anti-Coalition operational strategy. As CJMC Palazzi holds no military command — leaving that to other members of the JMC — and serves as both an overall coordinator of its members and is a liaison between the JMC and the civilian government.

The Vice Chair of the JMC (VCJMC) is General Valerie Yang Liao, formerly commander of the Callistean Marines and a 35 year veteran of the Army. Commonly known as VYL (pronounced “Vile,” to the general’s amusement), Liao cut her teeth fighting against pirates on Konyang and Port Antilla as a young officer before leading the Callistean Marines during the anti-Frost coup. She is more aligned with Courtois and was given the role of VCJMC after demands by the Army to avoid Navy dominance of the JMC. In her day to day work Liao serves as a ground-based counterpart to Palazzi, and was vital in ensuring the Alliance’s victory on Mars and throughout the Northern Reaches.

General Richard B. Sloan, also known as “Mad Dog” to his marines, is the current Commandant of the Solarian Alliance Marine Corps (CSAMC), representing his marines on the JMC. He acquired his nickname when only a Lieutenant with the 1st Marine Division: after his visor was cracked during a boarding operation, he grabbed a nearby roll of tape in the ship, taped over it, and continued leading his unit. On the tape was, appropriately, a dog-themed pattern, and a nickname was born. After replacing the previous commandant — a Frost loyalist — Sloan embarked on a mission to reduce corruption in the ranks and mend fences with the Army and Army Air Force. Multiple units were nearly completely dissolved and reorganized, and he made the unpopular decision to take a funding cut and redirect it to the Army — an act that has done much to repair intraservice relations. Sloan fought hard for his reforms and was vindicated by his marines’ performance in the Northern Reaches, where they served with distinction and cooperated effectively with the Army.

General Chi Hoa Phan is the current Chief of Staff of the Solarian Army (CSSA). Former commander of the 4th Haiphongese Armored Division, she has been a tireless advocate for the Army’s funding and development in the face of its successes on Mars and in the civil war. Phan — like other members of the JMC — holds no combat command as CSAS but is known to frequently tour the Army’s major mission areas, and has been active in the development of new and better vehicles for the Army. She also abandoned several expensive Frost-era programs to equip the Army with energy rifles instead of their M469A2s, citing it as an unnecessary waste of taxpayer funds and, “corporate welfare,” for Zavodskoi Interstellar, which continues to hold onto chunks of the Solarian defense industry.

General Raymond Spaatz is the current Chief of Staff of the Solarian Army Air Force (CSAAF). Originally from Silversun, he has served the SAAF for fifty years — starting as a cadet — and is the oldest member of the JMC. He is expected to retire after his term ends. A bomber pilot by training, Spaatz is widely viewed as one of the preeminent scholars on SAAF operations during the Interstellar War and is a published author on the subject. Building on the successes and failures of the historical SAAF, Spaatz helped to establish a new doctrine for the military’s air component centered around attacking enemy infrastructure targets and providing close support to ground troops. He is additionally responsible for increasing coordination between the SAAF, SDF air forces, and the Navy through his formation of Air-Land-Space Operation Commands on planetary theaters of operation.

Admiral Franziska Sibylle von Varnhagen is the current Chief of Naval Operations (CNO). A member of one of the Alliance’s most prominent naval families, von Varnhagen is the aunt of the First Battlegroup’s commander, Fleet Admiral Ingrid von Varnhagen und Langenburg. She was one of the admirals who saw the anti-Frost coup attempt was successful by commanding naval forces around Earth to stand down during the crisis. Since 2462 she has worked with Courtois and Solarian law enforcement to ensure the remains of Frost’s loyalists are purged from the Navy’s ranks, and has promoted loyal junior officers to fill these vacancies. However, many of von Varnhagen’s new cadre remain Lunarians — both due to much of the Alliance being cut off until 2465 and due to her status as a member of the moon’s naval aristocracy. Since 2465 she has become a major driver behind the restoration of Unity Station-Moroz naval ties, viewing the Empire as a natural counterweight to Elyra in the south.

Lieutenant General Máximo Ruiz Navarro, Colettish Civil Guard, is the JMC’s current Chief Liaison for System Defense Forces (CSDF). Navarro is the most recent addition to the JMC, having joined it in December 2465, and represents the many SDFs of the Alliance, with his goal being to advocate for their interests and needs. Prior to assuming this position he was involved in the Solarian Civil War, fighting on Lhokgon, New Peoria, and D’Anzin during 2465. Cut off from central command on San Colette proper during the final days of the battle for its system, he led an ad-hoc formation of Civil Guard units, SDF forces, militia, and mercenaries to fight against invading Solarian Restoration Front units. This force — called the Navarro Brigade by some — held out until regular Solarian forces arrived, and made its commander a hero of D’Anzin.

General Mbwana Oyenusi, Quartermaster General of the Solarian Armed Forces (QMSAF), is a Solarian Army officer who previously served as its chief logistics officer, and now carries out the same duty for the entire SAF. An extremely talented, though doubtlessly overworked, man, Oyenusi has the unenviable task of ensuring the military logistics apparatus is ready to handle any and all situations thrown at it, ranging from military operations to training to disaster relief. While he does not have a combat command, Oyenusi is responsible for the operation of many supply routes run by military, merchant marine, and civilian-operated vessels. Already bald, Oyenusi jokes he would have lost all of his hair from stress if any remained. Prior to joining the SAF, Oyenusi worked as a logistics manager on Callisto, where he helped manage a family-owned logistics firm alongside his father.

Logistics and Standardization

“Equipping millions of soldiers, sailors, and marines – let alone our reserve units in our member-states – is stressful enough to make women gray and men bald, prime minister. They chose me because I was already bald,” - General Mbwana Oyenusi, Quartermaster General of the SAF, to PM Strom, 29 June 2467.

As the largest organized military in the modern Orion Spur, simply maintaining the SAF requires an extensive logistics network which must be ready to expand quickly — and dramatically — in the event of a war, disaster, or crisis. This logistics system is under the leadership of the Solarian Armed Forces Ordnance Corps and Quartermaster General Mbwana Oyenusi. Both the Navy and Army operate a large fleet of support craft ranging from humble cargo shuttles to the Navy’s massive Atlas-class mobile fleet repair vessels, and numerous civilian businesses and vessels operate in contracts to support the SAF by producing or moving supplies to wherever they are needed. While megacorporations such as Orion Express have expressed interest in acquiring transportation contracts from the SAF, the Solarian Corporate Authority (SCA) has consistently refused any megacorporation contracts with regard to matters of national security, citing the existence of the Stellar Corporate Conglomerate as a major security risk due to its close ties with Biesel.

Production of Solarian military equipment was, prior to 2462, the domain of Hephaestus Industries for shipbuilding and Zavodskoi Interstellar for almost everything else. With the advent of the SCA in 2463 this production has diversified into a dizzying array of small to medium-scale firms across the Alliance, though Hephaestus facilities on New Hai Phong and Zavodskoi ones on Luna remain producers, which have at times struggeld to meet the quotas previously reached by megacorporate logistics systems. Despite this diversification in supply sources the SAF has retained a key aspect of its logistical success: its policy of standardization in caliber and uniforms, which has greatly simplified the process of supplying the typical Solarian infantryman. They — with some exceptions — use 5.56 Solarian rounds and a standard set of camouflage-conforming fatigues whether they are a marine in orbit or a system defense force reservist in a muddy foxhole.

Also standardized is the Alliance’s rank system, which it inherited from the Earther governments which preceded it. Alliance military enlisted have ranks which correspond to the enlisted scale, ranging from OR-1 to OR-9, and officers having a similar scale, ranging from OF-1 to OF-10. Both have space for specialist ranks such as the senior enlisted advisors of Joint Military Command officers, and the scale system is used by every organized military and System Defense Force throughout the Alliance. With each branch — Army, Navy, and Marines — having different rank names and the Alliance’s dozens of SDFs having their own variations, this system is vital to preventing confusion during joint operations such as the Martian Campaign or the ending phase of the civil war.

While durable and able to supply the Alliance’s military forces with whatever they need — with units requiring everything from ration-filled crates to artillery shells to naval-grade fuels to toilet paper — the immense amount of investment required to provision the SAF has made it difficult to introduce new weapons and technologies at a large scale. While Biesel, Galatea, and Elyra have moved away from a ballistics-first military and seen their logistics need lessen due to ammunition being rechargeable — though in Elyra’s case, many of their energy-based weapons retain conventional ammunition systems — the Alliance has not due to the prohibitive cost of setting up production capacity to replace the millions of standard-issue M469 assault rifles already in service. Energy weapons remain experimental or limited-issue in Solarian service, and pre-2462 attempts to introduce them were stymied by inefficiency and corruption.

Unique among major powers, the Alliance provides a license to produce some military equipment to entities approved by the Solarian Senate. These include approved mercenary units such as the Eridanian Golden Fist, the Eridanian military, and the Dominian Imperial Military. The Empire of Dominia has purchased licenses for several Solarian weapon systems, including incendiary grenades, and produces them locally, while the Eridani Federation’s unique status in the Alliance allows it to both produce local equipment to outfit its private military contractors and to fill gaps with Solarian equipment where needed. Much of the heavy equipment used by Ringspire on Adhomai was made through this program, with license-produced Solarian Army vehicles performing well in the PMC’s butchery.

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.

Dominia and the Solarian Armed Forces

“By order of my Emperor, Boleslaw Keeser I, I address to you our Fleet and Empire’s highest felicitations and congratulations for your exemplary victory in the northern provinces. Long may Sol’s light shine across the Spur!” - Grand Admiral Huiling Zhao of the Imperial Fleet in an official letter to Secretary of Defense Courtois, July 2465.

The flag of the Empire of Dominia, an authoritarian state in the Southern Spur aligned with the Solarian Alliance.

The relationship between the Empire of Dominia and the Solarian military stretches back to before the Empire’s founding, beginning shortly after the Empire’s predecessor states unintentionally contacted the Alliance during the War of Moroz. Both the Solarian Army and Navy sent military observers to the Imperial Alliance’s forces who reported back to the Alliance about its successes, failures, and on the structure of the belligerent nations. Solarian military attachés were some of the first individuals from outside Dominia to write on the planet’s unique culture and history, and reported to Unity Station that the Empire had strategic potential for use as a counterbalance against Elyran influence in the southern region. The Republic, after all, had only seceded in 2302 — a recent memory for the officers on Moroz in the mid-2300s. Military liaisons wrote approvingly of a state which was, though still new, eager to learn and could become a large market for Solarian defense companies such as Zavodskoi Interstellar.

With the Empire’s formation in 2385 the Alliance ramped up its aid efforts. With only a scraped-together excuse for what they called the Imperial Fleet, the Empire sent its best naval cadets and officers — generally belonging to houses Zhao or Kaneko — to Luna to study the Alliance’s naval tactics, and they were enrolled in the Solarian Naval Academy in Hangzhou alongside dozens of Solarian officers — mostly Lunarians. These officers, including then-Cadet Jitsuko Kaneko, soon to be a major figure in the nascent Imperial Fleet, excelled at their duties, and several Morozian cadets have been seconded to every academy class, with the exception of the 2460-65 period. Most of the earliest true Imperial Fleet warships were either made in Solarian facilities before being shipped to Mira Sancta or Zhurong for final work, or purchased wholesale from the Alliance’s reserve vessels. This tradition continues symbolically, with one gun of the Moroz-class dreadnought HIMFS Moroz and one gun of the Diyu-class dreadnought SAMV Gunnhildur each having been completed in the other nation’s foundries.

The Imperial Army likewise benefited from Solarian aid, both in training and in equipment. While they were experienced with planetary warfare the generals of the early Imperial Army were unfamiliar with warfare on an interstellar scale, and Solarian training during the late 24th and early 25th centuries likely helped turn the invasion of Sun Reach in 2422 into a lightning victory for the Empire. While Solarian Army surplus has long vanished into the scrapyards of Jinxiang and Zhurong — though some antiquated stock is used to equip the Home Guard, Sun Reach’s paramilitary scout force — some of the Imperial Army’s equipment remains closely related to — or licensed copies of — their Solarian counterparts. The Empire and Alliance operate several joint training facilities for ground troops, with Solarian troops sometimes learning IED disposal from Dominian pioneers and their Dominian counterparts learning exosuit operation from Solarian vehicle crews.

The Solarian Navy

The symbol of the modern 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 Alliance Navy (SAN). 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 and it has long been on the cutting edge of Solarian defense spending. Its role in defending planets and shipping from piracy has historically given it a positive image in the eyes of many Solarians, many of with some notable exceptions such as Callisto -- long at odds with the Navy over the policing of trade and commerce flowing in through the moon’s spaceports. This positive view dimmed during the late 2450s and early 2460s, when the Navy became closely intertwined in the fascistic ATLAS-led government of Prime Minister Michael Frost.

By 2462 the broad powers granted to the Navy to ensure the Alliance, then the largest human nation in the Orion Spur, remained safe and secure combined with limited oversight of the Navy to incubate a culture of graft, corruption, and rampant Caesarism in its ranks. As one traveled further from the Inner Ring these problems worsened: Solarian operational thinking prioritized more reliable officers for the defense of the Inner Ring while less reliable officers, and underperforming ones, were sent to the Outer Ring, wits its less strategic worlds. These admirals were given poor troops and little oversight by the Admiralty, allowing them to become their own masters and shape their assigned fleet to be loyal to their admiral over their Alliance.

Between 2462 and 2465, defections, reforms, and attrition associated with the Solarian Civil War have taken the Navy from 200 fleets to 100. In 2465 a SISA discovery many officers were funneling supplies to radical warlords such as the Solarian Restoration Front caused a large purge of its upper ranks spearheaded by Secretary of Defense Lucien Courtois, allowing him to further already-existant reforms the Navy began in 2462. The Navy’s rapid defeat of warlords in the Northern Reaches have vindicated Courtois and the reformists, and brought the Navy back much of the prestige it lost in the Solarian Collapse of 2462.

Now, in the late 2460s, the Solarian Navy has regained much of its earlier edge through a combination of reforms and ineffective units being disbanded. Most of its units have gained valuable combat experience in the final phase of the Solarian Civil War, which saw the largest interstellar engagements since the Interstellar War, and dated equipment has been replaced by domestically-produced or Einstein-manfactured upgrades able to compete with the Republic of Biesel's corporate equipment. In the Northern Reaches, it has reconstituted much of its defensive lines against the Coalition, while in the south old ties with the Dominian Imperial Fleet have been reestablished. Recent naval exercises such as OBSIDIAN CAGE 67 have shown the Solarian Navy at some of its highest readiness levels of the century, and it is likely Biesel's Republican Fleet watches the reinvigorated SAN with great nervousness: wondering when, not if, the old titan will strike it hard.

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.

A Lunarian officer of the Solarian Navy at her graduation ceremony.

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.

A Solarian Navy petty officer loading a Zavodskoi-produced "Longbow" naval gun. A common sight on smaller vessels which cannot easily fit larger coilguns.

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.

Solarian Alliance Merchant Marine

“Often forgotten by historians and naval officers alike, the merchant mariner of the Alliance has been critical to victory or defeat in space throughout the Alliance’s history,” - Excerpt from Lucien Courtois’ thesis, How David Defeated Goliath: The First Interstellar War.

Consisting of Solarian civilian and government-owned merchant vessels above a certain tonnage, the Solarian Alliance Merchant Marine (generally known as the Merchant Marine) is a civilian organization under the Department of the Interior. Its role is to establish a universal set of laws, regulations, and training for Solarian civilian ship crew, and its members are known as merchant mariners. During wartime or other times of crisis the Merchant Marine can be assigned to the Solarian Navy as an auxiliary logistics force, though its members remain subject to civilian maritime law and do not hold military ranks (though their ship captains can be commissioned as deemed necessary).

Most Solarian sailors have gone through either the Merchant Marine or one of its training programs, and its safety regulations — such as the presence of oxygen tanks and EVA equipment throughout a ship — have influenced interstellar shipping across the modern Spur. The civilian nature of the Merchant Marine has led to friction with the Navy during wartime, with naval officers coming into conflict with the often unionized crews of merchant ships over the amount of hours they intend their civilian counterparts to work.

Naval Landing Divisions

“War is too serious a matter to entrust to military men,” - Georges Clemenceau, Prime Minister of France.

A pre-2462 institution which has mostly been disbanded by the CNO and SecD, Naval Landing Divisions (NLDs) were an attempt by the Solarian Navy’s admiralty to address its lack of ground personnel beyond marines. NLDs were its attempt to address this problem, and – to some scholars of the Solarian military – represent the Navy’s most extreme attempt at achieving total operational independence from the rest of the military, and forming a separate military within the military itself. Generally smaller than a comparative Solarian Army division, they were made up of non-marine Navy personnel – though the Marine Corps often provided advisors and officers – and initially intended to serve as security personnel for planetside naval facilities where the EVA training of marines would not – in the views of Navy and Marine officers – be put to effective use. Mission creep led to these platoon- and company-sized units slowly expanding, acquiring heavier equipment (sometimes diverted from Army stocks and resupplies), and morphing into brigade-sized entities. Never officially approved by the Department of Defense, bureaucrat after bureaucrat opted to look the other way on these divisions until 2462. Many admirals skimped on training for their NLDs, instead viewing them as pet projects and a way to spite the Army. If such an underfunded, maligned branch could do ground warfare, surely the Navy could as well!

During the early phase of the Solarian Civil War these units were heavily utilized by many warlord and secessionist admirals, such as the forces of the Solarian Restoration Front, due to being more well-equipped than many System Defense Forces. Others, such as the 1st Battlegroup, had theirs disbanded out of security concerns. The SRF’s landing divisions – collectively known as the Hopper Group – performed worse than the fleet’s marines and the Lycorii National Armed Forces due to the Group’s poor training standards, and was assigned to rear-line duties where it became responsible for hunting insurgents and enemies of the Front’s “new Solarian state.” Its leader was among those tried and executed for war crimes following the civil war’s end. NLDs from the League of Independent Corporate-Free Systems – known as the Free Sailors’ Union – engaged in looting and show trials of those accused of corporate sympathies, with its leader tried and imprisoned for thirty years due to looting and mistreatment of Solarian civilians.

The use of NLDs by admirals to carve out their own statelets during the Solarian Civil War’s early phase – and the grotesque excesses committed by many – led to dogged attempts by the CNO and SecD to dissolve them and dramatically reduce their sizes, with much of their excess equipment going to the Army. Navy security detachments remain, though reduced to their pre-NLD sizes and often supplemented by marines. NLDs remain a symbol of the Navy’s Caesarism and the threat it once posed to the Solarian government it is meant to protect.

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.

Created during the Interstellar War by the SAF as part of operation ULTRAMARINE TOMB, an effort to learn from its defeats during the war, the Korolgrad Solarian Naval Air Forces Interceptor Tactics Academy, otherwise known as TOPGUN (or by its earlier code name, “Lawn Darts”), is the Solarian Navy’s advanced fighter pilot training program. Despite attempts to establish it on Luna the SAF opted for Pluto, intending to use the nearby Oort Cloud as a proving ground. TOPGUN curriculum is kept at the highest quality through a rigorous internal review process, known as “party committee” by its staff, where mediocre ideas (and instructors) are chaffed out. The program was a major success during the Interstellar War and saw the SAN’s aviation wing end with a dramatic 14:1 kill ratio when the war ended. The Academy maintains a reputation for excellence in the 25th century. The lowest kill ratio of its graduates in Solarian service came during the Solarian Civil War, when classmates turned guns on one another in the Wildlands. TOPGUN saw its first foreign enrollment in 2466, when pilots from the Dominian Imperial Fleet’s air arm arrived for instruction. Its distinctive insignia is a Xanan vessel in stylized gun sights, with the most recent vessel being a Shrike-class corvette.

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 Xanan 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.

The First was the Alliance’s vanguard force during the Solarian Intervention in San Colette, with its flagship — the SAMV Gunnhildr — the first Navy vessel in the Nueva Patria System. After destroying the Solarian Restoration Front’s forces in the system and accepting San Colette back into the Alliance, the first went on to free much of the central Northern Reaches from Front occupation and was the first Navy battlegroup to reach the Coalition’s border. The First has since returned to its berth in the Sol System, but remains ready to deploy anywhere in the Alliance upon short notice using its advanced warp drives.

1st Middle Ring Battlegroup

Regarded as one of the highest-quality battlegroups prior to the Collapse, the 1MRB under Fleet Admiral Klaudia Szalai, despite never formally defecting from the Alliance, spent much of the Solarian Civil War cut off from the broader Alliance and struggling against difficult odds. The five fleets of the 1MRB were understrength prior to the Collapse and were worn down by fighting against pirates, defected 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 until 2464. The 1MRB was never defeated upon the field of battle and remained steadfast in its loyalty to Sol, though many of its personnel — almost all of which hail from Visegrad or its surrounding systems — became concerned at the Navy’s non-intervention in the Southern Reaches prior to 2465.

Following the Solarian reunification the 1MRB has been folded back into the Navy’s roster of active-duty fleets alongside Myo Yunso’s nearby 6MRB, based in Sankt Frederick. The return of Visegrad to the Alliance has seen the 1MRB rearmed and restored to full strength, now equipped with modern Navy vessels and warp drives. It is now one of the major Navy forces in the Southern Reaches, and remains based in Visegrad.

Assembled marines of the 15th Marine Regiment, now serving as part of the Solarian Restoration Front.

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, flocked to its banner.

In 2465 the Front began the War in the Northern Wildlands through an invasion of the nearby Middle Ring Shield Pact. Though it initially found success the 35th Fleet and its fellow Front fleets were defeated by the Solarian Navy during its intervention and have been officially struck from the Navy’s fleet roster. Many of its flag officers were tried by the Solarian Department of Justice for crimes against humanity following the civil war’s end, and were sentenced to either death or life imprisonment.

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.

The 25th Fleet was the first Solarian Navy force to engage the Solarian Restoration Front in 2465 and was present during the Navy’s intervention in the Nueva Patria System, where it served as the screening force for the dreadnought SAMV Gunnhildr. Perhaps no Solarian Navy force fought harder than the 25th did, and they were the first fleet to reach the Coalition’s border.

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 handful 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. During the Solarian Civil War 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 many commanded by officers of debatable ability or loyalty (and at times a lack of both) prior to 2462 it should come as no great surprise that this ship class often formed 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. During the Solarian Civil War many destroyers fleets of warlords, where they served 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 proved ill-equipped to fight off the forces of defected warlord fleets, and most were 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 and the 2465 intervention of the SAF. With much of the support structure these warlord fleets relied on gone or unavailable, corvettes were often the first vessels scrapped for spare parts. 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. Durring the Solarian Civil War many warlords and rogue admirals had very limited access to these support vessels, making them a target of raids and assaults as the struggle to fuel defected ships intensified.

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

The symbol of the Solarian Alliance 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).

In order to become a full marine, a Corps recruit must first pass one of the most rigorous EVA training programs in the Spur. Many do not.

Though de facto an independent branch of the SAF, with its own member of the JMC, the Solarian Alliance Marine Corps (SAMC) is de jure an extension of the Navy. They travel in Navy ships, fight the Navy’s battles alongside it, and conduct ground operations they cannot do, though with their assistance. Prior to SecD Courtois' reforms the SAMC had a reputation for avoiding planets, instead giving that duty to the chronically-underfunded Solarian Army or the SAN's many naval landing divisions. Since the reforms, it has taken a much more active role in taking and holding planetary ground. The SAMC's close ties to the Navy bring it funding, prestige, and eager recruits thanks to multiple lucrative deals with Cytherean media moguls that depict them in a positive light. 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. Many marines are recruited from economically disadvantaged backgrounds and are looked down upon by 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 has long viewed them a “toy army” subordinate to the Navy, though this has begun to change with their more active role in ground operations following SecD Courtois' reforms. Built-in classism present in the SAN has been harder to dispel, with the humble background of the typical Solarian marine still looked down upon by many officers.

Yet the morale of the Marines remains high. The marines wholeheartedly view themselves as elite infantry of the SAF who do what others cannot or will not, even if they die trying. The SAMC brags they make the impossible possible, and intend to make good on their boasting.

Notable Marine Formations

1st Marine Division, "The Old Breed"

The 1st MARDIV has long been the elite 1st Battlegroup of the Solarian Navy's assigned marine division. Well-trained and well-equipped, the it served with distinction during the Interstellar War and the Solarian Civil War. While originally an Earther formation most of its enlisted marines and officers are now recruited from the Lunan working class, which has led to tensions with the 1st BG's mostly upper-class- and middle-class-originating officers. Most enlisted sailors come from similar working-class Lunan backgrounds, ensuring there is a great amount of camaraderie between marines and enlisted Navy personnel. The Solarian Army has long had a rivalry with the 1st MARDIV, seeing them as overfunded and underused, but the Joint Military Command's creation and the 1st MARDIV's actions during the civil war have patched up this relationship to a remarkable extent. The end of Naval Landing Divisions (NLDs) has also seen 1st MARDIV and Army toopers interacting far more, leading to better joint coordination. 1st MARDIV's symbol is a blue diamond depicting the Southern Cross with a red one, upon which is written "Guadalcanal," connecting the division to its Earther roots.

2d Marine Division, "The Black Berets"

The 2nd Battlegroup’s assigned marine division, the 2d MARDIV is a more heavily mechanized formation than other SAMC divisions and has been regularly deployed in ground operations by the 2nd Battlegroup. The mostly Soviet-originating marines of the Black Berets – named for their distinctive head cover found in no other SAMC unit – have historically been looked down upon by the Navy for their political beliefs, with most being members of the Solarian Communist Party, but are known to be tough, determined fighters willing to take and hold ground even in the face of incredible resistance. The Black Berets initially rose to prominence during the Siege of Xanu, where they were engaged in heavy urban fighting among the ruins of Kshatragarh and the planet’s other cities. The division proved its urban combat prowess again in 2465, when it became the first SAMC unit to make landfall on Lycoris. The 2d MARDIV’s insignia is a golden anchor on a black, circular badge.

23d Marine Regiment, 11th MARDIV (Middle Ring), "The Uhlans"

Having the distinction of being the oldest and most storied marine unit to originate from the rainy world of Visegrad, the 23d Marine Regiment has in recent times become known for its close association with the commander of the fleet to which it is assigned: Fleet Admiral Klaudia Szalai, to whom the 23d had served as the former warlord's go-to crack unit under her command, being the keystone basis of many of the Fleet Admiral's military operations.

Aside from having the reputation of being one of the most capable reconnaissance units in the Alliance's military, the 23d is known for sharing an intense rivalry with its Solarian Army counterpart - the 221st Infantry Division - over which unit is superior. This rivalry is characterized by ferocious competition with one another during multi-unit wargames, especially during operations taking place upon Visegrad.

15th Marine Regiment

This regiment, which defected to the Solarian Restoration Front in 2462, served as the Marine detachment for the 35th Fleet of the SAN. Even before their defection they plagued by rumors of corruption and Caesarism, and a documented history of abuse towards non-humans that saw their commanding officer reprimanded by the Admiralty in 2459. Further investigations into the 15th were stopped by ATLAS in 2460, then fully halted by PM Frost when he came to power. 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 or non-human Biesellites were a common sight on the Biesel extranet during and immediately following the incursion.

In the Solarian Civil War the 15th became infamous for its brutality against civilians and opposing forces. It was destroyed during the Battle of D’Anzin by the combined forces of the Colettish Civil Guard and 2nd Venusian Air Cavalry Division, where it fought fanatically even when faced with impossible odds. Few of its marines were taken prisoner by the SAF, but several officers of the 15th were tried and sentenced for crimes against humanity by the Solarian Department of Justice. Like the 33rd, it has been officially struck from the SAMC roster.

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 due to ATLAS interference in the investigation. The 33rd’s loyalty to Frost intrinsically tied their fate to his and saw their trustworthiness decline in the eyes of the broader SAF, then rise dramatically following his election as PM. Frost’s ascension to power saw him restore his loyal regiment to power and use them — at the protest of the Army — as his personal guards only served to temporarily stop the 33rd's fall from grace. After Frost’s death they were pounced upon by reformist actors in the Navy and promptly disbanded, with many of its former officers shipped off to undisclosed prisons for crimes against humanity. Even before Frost’s body was cold the 33rd was formally struck from the Corps’ register. It will never return.

Notable Marine Equipment

I dropped my crayons sarnt

The Type 4 Extra-Vehicular Armored Suit, known commonly as the “Gargoyle,” is the primary voidsuit of the SAMC. Produced by Zavodskoi Interstellar on behalf of the SAF prior to 2463, and now produced by government contractors, the Gargoyle is a reliable suit which protects its user well against bullets, shrapnel, explosions, and energy weapons and has served admirably since 2448. Abroad, the Gargoyle is a common symbol of Solarian imperialism due to its prominent role in both incursions into Biesel.

The Type 9 Heavy Extra-Vehicular Armored Suit, commonly known as the “Vampire,” is the primary hardsuit of the SAMC. Like the lighter Type 4 it was produced by Zavodskoi Interstellar prior to 2463, and is now produced by various government contractors. It features various mounting arrays for hardsuit modules, ensuring it always has mission flexibility, and is commonly used by specialists. Due to its high levels of protection its users are commonly the first marines through a breach during EVA operations.

The M49MC is a main battle tank used as the SAMC’s primary MBT alongside the M35A6MC. It is smaller than the earlier M35 in an effort to meet the weight requirements of a dropship, and sacrifices some of the larger tank’s survivability for maneuver capabilities. It saw action in both Solarian Incursions of Biesel and proved readily able to hold its own against TCAF armor and anti-tank weaponry when supported by marines. Despite its smaller size the M49MC mounts an advanced laser/missile defeat device (L/MDD) which employs two gimballed laser turrets controlled by a primitive AI. To shoot down or defect incoming attacks.

The M43 All-Terrain Gun Platform (M43 ATGP) is a Solarian Marine Corps armored fighting vehicle designed to replace the aging M15A4MC (Marine Corps) while being lighter and more well-armed than the comparable vehicles of the Solarian Army. Equipped with a heavy gun but fairly light armor, it is intended to carry marines into contact and support them on the ground with its cannon. It can be deployed directly from a dropship’s bay and does not require a dedicated heavy lift vehicle, granting it operational flexibility over the M35A6MC main battle tank used by the SAMC.

The Solarian Army

The symbol of the modern 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.

Solarian Army soldiers stationed as guards outside of a Solarian government building.

The second-largest SAF branch is the historically neglected Solarian Army. Chronically underfunded until 2462, the Army existed in the shadow of the Navy and made do with hand-me-down equipment passed over or otherwise discarded by the Marines for decades after the Interstellar War. 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, but has likewise impacted joint-branch cooperation even after the creation of the JMC. 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, is viewed by the civilian government as an ally. Army troopers serve as guards for 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, with only a few divisions recruiting form multiple worlds. These force typically serve as the local garrison of a Solarian member state alongside a System Defense Force until they are needed. Then, they are shipped 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: 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 division 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. It can additionally federalize SDFs in the event of a national emergency, such as the Solarian Civil War (2462-65) or Interstellar War, thus bringing the nominally independent commands of local forces under Army Central Command. The Army's draft has not been used since the Interstellar War, and it is unlikely a request to reinstate the draft would pass the Senate unless another Interstellar War-like event began.

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. Luna is viewed by most as providing some of the poorest-quality troops for the Army, with most of its best recruits going into the SAN or SAMC. Some Army officials have accused the Navy of deliberately sabotaging Army recruitment efforts on the moon, and recruiting patterns are unlikely to change in the near future. Pluto historically provided poor-quality troops to the Army as its ruling government reserved its best troops for its internal security forces. Reforms undertaken by SecD Courtois have reversed this trend, with many Plutonian recruits now joining Soviet-originating regiments such as the 1st Guards Proletariat. Pluto has seen a recruitment surge since 2462 as many of its younger residents have joined the Army in hopes of fighting against fascism in the Northern Reaches or capitalism in the Republic of Biesel, which many believe will be a target for the SAF very soon. Very few 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, Navy failures, the JMC, and SecD Courtois' efforts at reforms. 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 chronically underfunded force. The creation of the Joint Military Command further leveled the playing field, with both the Army and Army Air Force receiving a seat at the table.

The Solarian Army Air Force

“Gentlemen, I’ll be straight and level with you. We are going to pound these bastards until they give up, and we are going to save our Alliance,” - Lieutenant General Richard B. Dwyer, 4th Air Corps, to his assembled aircrews during the Siege of Xanu (2278 - 2284).

The non-Navy aviation component of the Solarian Army, the Solarian Army Air Force (SAAF) is a component branch of the Army focused on aerospace operations. It was established shortly before the Interstellar War in an effort to make the Solarian Army’s air and ground components unique, and to reduce the amount of responsibility held by the Army’s ground troop leaders by creating a parallel structure for aerial operations. While it answers to the Chief of Staff for the Army, it is highly independent and has its own seat on the Joint Military Command. The SAAF has no spaceborne capacity and instead only manages in-atmosphere aerial assets, ranging from supersonic aircraft which engage and destroy enemy forces to cumbersome heavy-lift cargo helicopters charged with airlifting the Army’s heavy vehicles. It lacks any ground forces of its own beyond security personnel and military police, and instead relies on the Army itself to secure and hold terrain. SAAF units often show up later in a campaign once the Army, with Navy support, has secured or built a facility for their aircraft to operate from.

Most aircraft operated by the SAAF are designed to operate in support of Army ground forces , and are built to be rugged in their designs due to the potential for operating out of poor air facilities in a conventional war or counterinsurgency campaign. These craft, due to lacking the equipment needed to fly through space, may be partially broken down in transit and reassembled on-site by SAAF personnel, requiring their designs be as simple as they are reliable. Like the regular Army, SAAF personnel are drawn from across the Alliance and are often clustered into units with a shared planetary origin, then attached to a matching ground unit from the same planet as their air component.

The SAAF’s most iconic plane is the FB-25P “Foxfire” (officially the Fighter-Bomber Mk. 25, Planetary). With a pilot and weapons officer, it is commonly used to provide overwatch to Army units on maneuvers. Designed to fight peer rivals – such as the Coalition – but typically used to bomb insurgencies, the Colettish Civil Guard used their wings of FB-25Ps to great effect during the Solarian Civil War, where the plane was first used in the pitched battles it was originally designed for. The Foxfire, despite its use as a CAS aircraft, can fight reasonably well in a dogfight if prepared for the role. Like all SAAF aircraft it can only operate in-atmosphere and must be moved from planet to planet in a larger transport, typically while broken down into several parts for storage.

Notable Army Divisions

Soldiers of the 37th Martian Mechanized Division during the Martian Campaign of 2464.

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 and its troopers brag the Bloody First has fought for the Alliance on almost every planet worth visiting in the human Spur. The Bloody First is the Army division which thwarted the Revolt of the Officers and the civilian government has not forgotten its loyalty. It has long been one of the first divisions the civilian government pulls guards from, and its troopers have guarded Solarian diplomats in every nation of the Spur. It is recruited from Earth and primarily draws its recruits from the United States, though it contains Earthers from across the globe in its ranks. The First is prominently involved in peacekeeping operations on Lycoris, with most of its strength deployed to the former capital of the SRF. The First's traditional patch is a large, red numerical one on a green shield.

1st Guards Proletariat Mechanized Division, "Red Guards"

The Soviet counterpart of the 1st Infantry, the Guards Proletariat have likewise fought in every major Solarian conflict including the civil war (2462-65) and peacekeeping operations on Lycoris. It has a long history stretching back to the 20th century, where it was involved in the Second World War, Sino-Soviet War, and multiple late Cold War proxy conflicts. It is one of only a few divisions which recruits from multiple worlds, and draws from both Earth and Pluto. The Guards Proletariat are known for their impressive regimental flag which shows the locations of many of its most famous battles including (but not limited to) Königsberg, Shenyang, Kshatragarh, and Nueva Isabela. It is a common joke in the SAF the Guards Proletariat represent the largest voting bloc for the Solarian Communist Party on any planet they are deployed to due to their close ties to Pluto and the USSR. The Guards Proletariat's traditional patch is a red banner with "GUARDS" written on it, imposed over a golden laurel with a numerical one at the bottom, and a red star in the middle.

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

Formed slightly after the Interstellar War from primarily-Jintarian units recruited on Venus, the 2nd Venusian is an elite division intended to be deployed from dropships into the toughest battles. Centuries later it is still primarily made up of Jintarians, though some Cytherean crashouts are present, and values its connection to Venus. Traditionally Jintarian 2nd Venusian recruits, including Cythereans, 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 left the elite division bitter and eager for action. It received this action in 2465, when it was deployed to D’Anzin and assisted Colettish Civil Guard forces in the defeat of the Solarian Restoration Front’s invasion. The 2nd Venusian is, aside from their scars, well-known for their distinctive “cavalry” hats. Its traditional patch is a screaming hawk perched on an aerostat.

37th Martian Mechanized Division, “Red Devils”

The oldest continuously-serving Martian division, the “Red Devils” were originally formed from an amalgamation of pro-Sol "Blue" SDF units during the Martian World War. It 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 -- one of only a few SDF units in history to make the leap -- and has served with distinction since. It was the most-engaged division during the Mars Campaign of 2464, where the Red Devils drove hard across the Martian plains once again. 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 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. The Marines' traditional patch is a lion's head looking right with "BY DEEDS ALONE" written on a banner under it.

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 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. Generally 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. The Fourth's traditional path is a triangle divided into yellow, blue, and red sections with a tank track and cannons superimposed over the center and a "4" on top, and "HABS ON WHEELS" on the bottom.

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 -- a locally-permitted uniform modification -- though few wear them in the jungle due to fears of spoiling the cap’s fabric. The 12th's sleeve patch is a dawnflower on a blue shield.

78th Infantry Division, (Colettish) "The Bloody 78th"

Prior to 2462, the 78th was the only regular Solarian Army division formed and active on San Colette. A typical example of a Solarian infantry division, it was unproven and untested when the civil war began. In the initial phases of the conflict it remained loyal to San Colette and secured government facilities against Navy incursion. It was frequently engaged alongside the Civil Guard, SDFs, militia units, and police departments during the War in the Northern Wildlands, ultimately being split into two units: one on San Colette (1st Brigade), the other on D’Anzin (2nd Brigade). While victorious, the 78th was badly mauled by the conflict and is still in the process of regeneration and replacement, but has been given the nickname of “The Bloody 78th” for its tenacious defenses and its red-and-white unit patch.

221st Infantry Division, "The Jäger Division"

Known as the Jäger Division on Visegrad, the 221st is a Visegradi infantry unit of the Army specialized in unconventional warfare. Established by the Department of Defense to combat any future unrest on Visegrad, the 221st is an airmobile unit with very limited armored assets — only having light vehicles and the occasional exosuit — composed of native Visegradi familiar with the planet’s countryside. Equipped with native-produced equipment — including a domestic rifle design intended to punch more easily through trees and underbrush — the Jäger Division is intended to operate without external support for long periods of time. Secessionist forces believed they had withdrawn in 2462, but were quickly surprised when the 221st began to mount attacks from the near-impenetrable Visegradi countryside. The Jägers were vital both in securing a foothold for Fleet Admiral Szalai’s counterattack and in retaking secessionist territory. The 221's patch is a szazlabu swinging between trees while holding a M469 rifle.

Notable Army Equipment

The Model 469 (M469) assault rifle is the standard-issue rifle of the Solarian Armed Forces, used by the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, and many System Defense Forces. The Army's variant is known as the M469A2. A durable, modular, cheap, and highly reliable weapon system, it has dozens of variants across the SAF and millions have been produced. It was originally designed for the Army before being adopted by other branches, and was produced exclusively by Zavodskoi Interstellar prior to the advent of the Solarian Corporate Authority in 2463 — now, it is produced by hundreds of different Solarian companies, and the SAF Ordnance Corps has acquired the gargantuan task of ensuring these hundreds of companies -- rather than just one -- meet SAF production standards. Despite post-2465 efforts to replace earlier rifles in use by SDFs with M469s, many SDFs and regular SAF reserve units still use the earlier M376 assault rifle.

One of the most powerful tools available in Solarian Army operations is the M35A6 main battle tank. Though a 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. The A6 variant includes an improved targeting matrix and Energy/Laser Reactive Armor (ELRA) on critical surfaces, though it continues to consume a frightening amount of fuel while in operation. The relatively simple construction of the M35A6 has allowed a multitude of variants to be produced, including engineering minesweeping, Marine Corps (the M35A6MC), and bridge-laying variants. One of the most notable variants is the M35A6/NHP (New Hai Phong) used by the 4th Haiphongese Armored Division, a slightly smaller variation of the typical M35A6 which 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 and on D'Anzin.

The M38A2 WAGS (Walking Assault Gun System) is an unusual Solarian Army vehicle intended for use in harsh terrain environments. Packing the same armament as the M35 MBT, the WAGS is instead a large, exosuit-like system that travels on six legs originating from a central body featuring the turret and small crew compartment. Its limbs allow it a greater degree of mobility than a conventional ground vehicle at the cost of greater vulnerability to a mobility kill if its legs are disabled. While deemed ill-suited for the urban and suburban warfare that characterized much of the Army’s operations in the Northern Reaches, WAGS-equipped units saw action in the Martian Campaign and are commonly used as patrol vehicles in the Northern Reaches due to their greater mobility.

The M15A4 infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) is an aging vehicle of the Solarian Army slowly being phased out of service, though budget issues have seen it remain in service in many divisions and rear-echelon formations. The M15A4 is stubby and box-like, with a remotely controlled autocannon. It can hold a squad of troops and deploy them in relative safety, then remain to support with its gun. Earlier M15 models known as the A3 can be seen in the hands of anti-riot police units across the Alliance and in Biesel, where the new nation had access to mothballed vehicles. Biesel models are referred to by the Army as the M15(B) and proved to be woefully inadequate at surviving IEDs on Mictlan, leading to the creation of the A4 retrofit as a stopgap measure until the vehicles can be replaced. It is a common sight on Lycoris and Mars, where it is used to carry squads of peacekeepers from place to place. Mechanized infantry are known to ride “boots out” on top of their A4, allowing for more visual observation of the vehicle’s surroundings and quicker dismounting — a potentially leg-shattering fall from atop an A4 is often better than being inside it if it hits a mine.

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 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. While not deployed during the Mars Campaign the AH-52 proved its worth during the Solarian Intervention in the Northern Reaches, where it was used to devastating effect by the 2nd Venusian. The AH-52 is currently being upgraded into the AH-52IP (standing for Improvement Package), which enhances its electronic countermeasures (ECM) and energistics ablative countermeasure system (EACS),

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.

Many local military forces, such as those on Visegrad found themselves sorely tested by the Collapse. Many collapsed, unable to endure the pressure.

An institution that predates the Interstellar War, System Defense Forces (SDFs) are intended to serve as local military forces when the SAF's regulars are 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 SAF and their importance in the eyes of Unity Station. 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.

Solarian SDFs historically suffered 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. This caused a lack of respect from the SAF's regular forces, which viewed them as underfunded, undertained, undermotivated, under-everything units likely to run at the first sign of combat. 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 2462 were barely able to patrol and secure their immediate surroundings without SAF assistance, let alone fight off serious threats. Compounding these issues was a pre-2465 regulation which impacted all SDF vessels: due to the mass defections of many during the Interstellar War no SDF vessels were 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 greatly limited their capabilities, 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 in dramatic fashion. 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 SAN. 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.

The 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 are some of the most battle-hardened forces of the Alliance, and many vessels which retreated to the Inner Ring were retrofitted and integrated into the Navy itself. Though they could not stabilize the Wildlands on their own the SDFs of the Northern and Southern Reaches performed more effectively than almost anyone imagined, and have vindicated themselves in the eyes of the Solarian military. Those which have survived — and remained loyal to Sol — are rapidly being rearmed and modernized. For the first time in modern history, SDFs are being equipped with independent warp drives which will — in theory — give them a greater degree of autonomy and free up Navy assets from patrols.

In the late 2460s the Alliance's remaining SDFs bear little resemblance to the paltry local forces of the pre-civil war Alliance. Though many still rely on hand-me-down equipment, more and more of their regular troops are equipped as well as their counterparts in the regular SAF. Their training and funding have likewise improved, and the SDFs now sit on the JMC alongside the Alliance's other branches. For the first time in their history, they have the respect they deserve, and the funding they have always desired. When the next war comes, and it may come soon, the Alliance's local forces will stand tall, proud, and ready for whatever comes at them.

Notable System Defense Forces

The Peorian State Guard, often known as the State Guard, is the standing military of the Solarian Republic of New Peoria. Taking inspiration from its colonial origins — the United States — the State Guard is composed largely of reservists who hold full-time civilian jobs and is built around a small cadre of full-time officers and administrators. Its use of reservists makes the State Guard one of the Alliance’s largest per capita SDFs, but it is notably smaller than the nearby Colettish Civil Guard. It additionally suffered from equipment issues, with much of the area’s heavy weaponry prior to 2462 instead being routed to Konyang or San Colette. It was bloodied during the Solarian Civil War and could not stop the Solarian Restoration Front from temporarily seizing control over the planet in 2465. Several regiments of the State Guard escaped into the planet’s countryside and continued to fight against the SRF until their defeat by the Solarian Navy later that year. The 3rd Peorian Infantry Regiment, "All-Peorian Regiment," escaped to San Colette and fought valiantly during the battle for the planet’s major cities, where it faced against the SRF-aligned Lycorii National Defense Force in the Battle of Nueva Isabel. Now, in a post-civil war world, it is being re-equipped with heavy weaponry by the Alliance, and is set to become a tough nut to crack for any future invader.

Also in the Northern Reaches is the now-disbanded Lycorii National Armed Forces, or LNAF. Prior to 2462 the LNAF was one of the best-equipped SDFs in the Alliance and was well-known for the distinctive red lycoris flower its members would wear in their helmet webbing or hat bands. With the start of the Solarian Civil War in 2462 the LNAF, already a right-learning organization due to Lycoris’ politics, was absorbed into the Solarian Restoration Front and became an instrument of both genocide at home and destructive warfare in the support of fascism abroad, with multiple officers of the LNAF convicted of crimes against humanity in the postwar era. Much of its offensive strength was spent in the Battle of San Colette, and many remnants surrendered to the Solarian Army in 2465 with the fall of the SRF. The hardened core of the LNAF – the worst of its worst – fled into the countryside or hid in the cities of Lycoris and now fight against the Alliance as insurgents, striking terror into the very people they swore to protect. Post-civil war Lycoris has no SDF, instead relying on the Solarian military – primarily the Army – for protection, and Army patrols snaking their way through the forested countryside of the former industrial capital of the Northern Reaches have become a common sight.

The Igman Defense Service (IDS) another Northern Reaches SDF. Responsible for protecting Novo Igman, the IDS is a relatively small force built around a core of long-service professionals and is heavily mechanized. IDS troops had better equipment than most other SDFs prior to 2462, and resisted attacks during the civil war for longer than other forces. When the Solarian Restoration Front declared victory over it, the IDS went into the countryside and the cities, where it waged a successful guerrilla war against the SRF that ejected them from the planet. Some units were evacuated prior to the collapse of organized resistance and went on to fight in the Battle of San Colette, where the 22nd Armored Regiment, known as “Raróg Force,” fought alongside Colettish tanks, and the Battle of D’Anzin, where the 65th Infantry Regiment (Mechanized) fought alongside a motley collection of mercenaries, Colettish forces, and other SDF troops to hold the line. In the postwar era the IDS, thanks to the secure nature of Novo Igman, has seen some of its units deployed to Lycoris to support regular Army troops, where the Igmani have proved themselves capable fighters against the Front’s insurgent forces.