THE ARMED FORCES OF THE MARCHES

Imperial Forces

The Imperium claims its domain as all the space between the worlds, with the member worlds being self-governing. Many worlds maintain their own local forces and employ them to whatever end is deemed necessary subject to Imperial High Law. The Imperial armed forces are paid for by taxes levied upon all the member worlds. The personnel who make up the Imperial armed forces are recruited from the member worlds. The officers are Imperial citizens from the member worlds. These are the forces of the Imperium as a whole, and are not commanded by any one world. The Imperial armed forces exist to protect the interests of the Imperium and its citizens. More specifically, these forces are charged with executing the will of the Emperor and his appointed nobles, with upholding Imperial High Laws and with the maintenance of the Imperium. Most prestigious among the Imperial forces is the Navy, whose officers come from good, if not actually noble, families. The Navy is considered an excellent training ground for young nobility, and also an excellent route into the nobility. The Marines are the "fighting arm" of the Navy. They provide ships' troops to supplement the armed ratings that all ships can deploy. They conduct boarding and meteoric assaults from orbit. They guard starports and diplomats. The Marines are assault and prestige troops. Marines can also be found manning ship's weaponry and operating shuttles as well as their own assault landers. The Scout Service is not a fighting service, but fulfills the function of couriers, local experts and information gatherers. The scouts can and do fight for the Imperium, and maintain troops and even large fighting ships, but this is not their primary function. The Imperial Army fulfills the functions armies always have. It exists to take and hold ground. The term "Army" includes atmospheric aviation and maritime operations. The battalions of the Imperial Army are either specially raised or provided by member worlds for service in some distant subsector. All forces are equipped to Imperial standards with equipment in use throughout the Imperium. Imperial battalions can be redeployed by Imperial command, and are not attached to any one world, though many work alongside local forces that may or may not be using the same equipment.

The Imperial Navy

The Navy maintains a numbered fleet per subsector, plus a reserve fleet assigned to the same subsector. The reserve fleet contains obsolescent vessels and mainly conducts training. In war, the reserve fleet might be mobilized for second-line or line-of-communications duties, or stripped of the better ships and crews to bolster line squadrons. It might be placed on guard duty, or it might be flung into hopeless battle if the circumstances are desperate enough. The subsector reserve fleets technically also include the naval base staff, marines and the crews of fighters, system-defense boats (SDB) and monitors - non-jump-capable vessels assigned to defend the fleet's bases. The regular squadrons of the subsector fleet are dispersed, like their reserve counterparts, at naval bases around the subsector. In peacetime some vessels will be conducting training and/or maintenance, patrolling or showing the flag. In time of war the squadrons will be assigned their war duties - normally massed, but sometimes formed into task groups for a specific purpose. The numbered fleets of each subsector are organized at a higher level into a named sector fleet (e.g., the corridor fleet), though this is a command and administrative function. No entire sector fleet has been massed in one system since the days of the Emperors of the Flag, and it was rare even then.

Colonial Forces

Technically, any armed force owned and operated by a particular world government is known as a "colonial" force to distinguish it from Imperial forces (even though most of them are not colonies by any rational definition). The title generally falls on naval units, however. Any world is entitled to own and operate a star-faring navy, though its operations are subject to Imperial regulations once beyond the immediate vicinity of the controlling world. Several of these locally raised jump-capable colonial fleets or squadrons might (with the permission of the world governments) be grouped into a colonial fleet during war. Imperial forces might form the backbone of this sort of fleet. Such fleets are of non-homogenous composition and generally contain older, less capable craft. In sufficient numbers they can make a difference, or they can free regular units from "guard duty." A non-jump-capable squadron owned by a particular world for the purpose of local defense is known as a system squadron. System squadrons are far more common than jump-capable colonial fleets. These local defense forces include monitors, battleriders and SDBs, as well as minor units such as fighters and the armed-inspection cutters of the local customs service. The close orbit and aerospace control (COACC) forces of a world are part of its "army." COACC includes SDBs assigned to close-orbit defense, trans-orbital interceptors, missile batteries, high-altitude jet fighters with laser or missile armament, AA guns, SAM batteries, biplanes or balloons carrying parties of begoggled, shotgun-armed locals. Anything that can oppose a planetary landing or give ground support is COACC. A world's ground forces include elements of the COACC mission, plus nautical and ground troops. Security forces, police and militia are all ground forces. These may be backed by Imperial troops on important or vulnerable worlds.

Huscarles

The private household forces of the many nobles of the Imperium are known as huscarles. These can take any form the noble fancies, and generally range from a couple of bodyguards or the crew of an armed yacht to a battalion or more of battledress-equipped jump infantry backed by a grav tank platoon. Huscarle forces are chosen for personal loyalty and tend to be elite troops, maintained at the noble's own expense. They are tailored to the job at hand. A noble who does a considerable amount of traveling might have no combat troops except a small bodyguard, but maintain three escort vessels plus his own armed yacht. Another, perhaps on a vulnerable frontier world, might maintain an entire grav cavalry brigade and a couple of infantry divisions. Still another might have nothing more than an intelligence staff and a pistol-armed bodyguard.

Corporate Forces

The megacorporations are notorious for operating private armies, but even the smaller corps have a few security troops, often armed with high-tech equipment. Few corps could justify the expense of maintaining conventional armies, although one or two - e.g., Instellarms - do just that. The force is for hire most of the time, of course, but still Instellarms can muster more troops than many world governments. Corporate forces are cost-effective, and mission-tailored (e.g., the Vemene, "secret service" of the Tukera corporation, or Al Morai's "route protectors" - armed escort vessels). Most corporate forces are tailored to security, espionage and similar operations. Warfare is not cost-effective.

Mercenaries

Contrary to popular belief, most mercs are reputable professionals who will fight hard for their pay and are willing to take casualties. There are exceptions, and mercs will not fight fanatically to the death under most circumstances. Most units will consider their prospects for future employment before surrendering - nobody will pay soldiers who won't fight - but there's no prospects at all in being dead. Thus most mercs are reliable up to a point. Where that point is depends a lot on the unit. Imperial law allows the hiring and use of mercenary forces except under certain circumstances, and there is a healthy trade in fighting prowess or knowledge. Mercs are hired for a variety of purposes: to train local forces, to fight in the field, to undertake commando or strike operations, or to advise local governments. Campaigns have been won without a shot being fired simply because a particular unit or individual's reputation so overawed the opposition. Reputations like that don't come cheap, of course. Mercenaries come in many types: from bodyguards, pilots, security specialists, advisors and spies-for-hire through small units (a commando platoon, a grav tank squadron, a rifle company) right up to brigade-sized units with all- arms support and logistics troops. Mercs are not just infantry and armor, either. Logistics formations, engineer units, artillery, air defense, COACC interceptors, even starships with their crews -all can be hired, and all will be encountered fighting the wars of the Spinward Marches.