Fiction:Draconid Imperium/Military

The Imperial Talon Navy - also known as the Talon Navy, Imperial Navy or the Talons - is the military arm of the Draconid Imperium and the imperial senate. Outside of local colonial defence forces they act as both a fleet and ground assault force. Soldiers are recognised with either the inverse-teardrop emblam of the empire or the three-toed claw shown right. =Organisation= The Talons are organised into several administrative divisions - the fleets, marine corps, mechanised units and the auxillaries - each of which work together. The supreme commander is referred to as the Lord-Admiral and is supported in his duties by one or more executive admirals.

Ranking
Since the reformation the ranks of both naval and ground units are considered the same and use the same names. The only exception to this rule is with NCOs where marines and low-ranking shipmen (shipmen who come under this would have had little to no academy training, which is rare among the draconis). The navy uses the following titles arranged in descending order alongside the dracid word:

--Comissioned Officers-- --Non-comissioned officers-- A lord-admiral does not have to be of noble blood to achieve the title. Promotion is based on field service and ability and promotion through long service is unheard of. While it is possible for someone to join the fleet without prior training, however it is rare to find one of the draconis with such a record due to a tradition of military service and academy training. As a result NCO positions on board ship are often reserved for auxillaries. Marines begin their career as privates regardless of training.
 * Lord-admiral - parla'elmiladrus
 * Exective-admiral - Alkath'elmiladrus
 * Commodore - polomarus
 * Admiral - elmiladrus
 * Captain - elmitharis
 * Commander - poltharmir
 * Subcommander - orlpolthamir
 * Lieutenant - entharis
 * Sergeant/warrrant officer - kaltharo/orlast'paris
 * Corporal - lotharo
 * Private/crewman - palthorid/elmisatir

Naval Forces
Below the Lord Admiral are the executive admirals, each of them acts as a supreme commander for an entire sector. In charge of each fleet is an admiral who can command anything from a few dozen to several hundred individual vessels. Each vessel has a contingent of marines used to protect against boarding parties, board other ships and engage in ground operations.

Marines
A standard Talon Marine is equipped with a fusion rifle, full-body ceramic armour, a shortblade, fusion pistol, five plasma grenades and combat software. Many marines augment themselves with stimulants, optics and non-invasive cybernetics. Marksmen exchange their fusion rifle for a rail rifle which provides much longer range at the expense of rate of fire. Most marines have trained extensively for at least two decades before being qualified. Over the course of the imperium's history the marines have become synonymous with the Imperial Navy as a whole depite the fact a single auxillary unit can often outnumber them.

During siege operations marines are the first to be deployed, engaging in hit-and-run tactics on frontier and outlying populations, forcing them into the cities and denying planetside food supplies. Marines will often be assigned as bodyguards for high-value personnel, however guarding the Paragon or their brood-relatives remains the domain of the Blood Dragons. Combat tactics of the marines focus on several well-equipped fireteams that conduct ambush and hit-and-run firefights. Emphasis is given on striking a target fast and hard, leaving little room for retaliation. On occasion marine detachments are given permission to call in air or artillery support, along with having reserved AO-8 dropships for every three fireteams.

Auxillaries
Reserved for individuals of protectorates wanting to serve in the navy. They are normally used as scouts, vehicle crews and low-proprity black ops. Due to their protectorate status they are considered lower-ranking than Draconis soldiers even if an individual holds an equal or senior equivilent rank to a Draconis soldier, they are never placed in command of any Draconis soldiers and cannot become high ranking officers and admin within the auxillaries is typically reserved for senior draconis officers.

Despite this lack of recognition, the draconis place duty-bound respect for the auxillaries because they have volenteered to serve on the frontlines despite knowing they are subordinate to the draconis in almost every way. Auxillaries in scouting - where they are most common - are often equipped with light ceramic armour, coilguns, powerpacks, plasma grenades and stimpacks. Sometimes auxillaries equip themselves with equipment issued from their protectorates if Talon officers deem that piece adequately superior to the standard-issue.

Auxillary tactics involve sending troops en masse against the enemy; relying on sheer firepower backed up by long range artillery and fast attack vehicles. Unlike the marines, auxillaries are typically deployed via larger landing craft and (with the exception of black-ops operations) little discretion is given during deployment. During a siege assault larger dropships would be used to deploy auxillaries on the outskirts.

Distribution
A singe sector normally supports over 100 fleets, with fleet command based in the sector capital. Each planet is garrisoned with either auxillary detatchments or a militia force (Who are either frontiersmen or trained militia, depending on the planet's level of development). Marines are typically stationed within fleets and deployed either to defend a besieged planet or as the vanguard assault force.

On at regular intervals fleet command can agree to swap fleets with another sector. This is done to both relieve war-weary fleets and provide fleets previously posted in secure sectors with a chance of action. In both cases this provides a morale boost to both sides along with the potential of breaking monotony. Navy protocol will have fleet A (posted in a secure sector) meet up with fleet B (posted in a more dangerous sector), giving the signal for fleet B to proceed to fleet A's previous post upon arrival. In the event of fleet A finding fleet B in battle, fleet A is required to support fleet B who will proceed to the nearest shipyard afterward for repairs before reposting.

This distribution method also applies to subsectors, especially if two subsectors contrast in the amount of danger. This distribution routine - known commonly as fleet cycling - has been in action ever since the creation of the Paragon's Royal Navy during the Prime Paragon Era.

Communication & Nomeclature
Within the field marines use shorthand expressions to both improve effectiveness, minimise distraction time and potentially confuse the enemy. These commands are normally a series of words that would make no sense to the casual outsider. Below are a list of the more common phrases with explainiations
 * Down = Partcular sqyad-mate is incapacitated
 * Grenplas = Plasma Grenade
 * Hold = Hold position/Hold the line
 * Close-quarter = Switch to melee
 * Fore = Move forward
 * Livarm = Units with living armour
 * Focus = Focus fire

Military equipment is usually identified with an acronym describing what kind of weapon it is along with a number referring to the version. For example; A mk21 rifle that uses coil technology to propel the shot is classified as an RC-21 (RifleCoil-[version]21). Lowercase letters denote a subfeature such as a variation (for example in energised swords, the letters l s and b denote the weapons as long, short and broad respectively). Below is a list the different letters used. naming genreally follows the formula of: Fuction, primary feature, subfeature, version.
 * H = handgun
 * R = Rifle/Rail
 * C = Coil
 * F = Fusion
 * P = plasma
 * E = Energy
 * S = Sword
 * G = Grenade

below is for protective gear =Mechanised Units= The navy deploys a wide range of vehicles for combat purposes, many vehicle models are in fact millenia old, kept useful by technological advances.
 * A = Armour
 * C = Ceramic
 * F = Fullface
 * K = Kevlar
 * P = Powered

Ground
HUNTER-KILLER PROBES were one of the first devices to use antigrav technology. Measuring 1.2m long and armed with powerful sensors, a miniature cannon and micro-rockets, the probe's primary task is to find and kill specific targets or a particular group. Along with acting as remote reconissance, Marine units are typically deployed for support. Although the coilgun cannot compare in sophistication to the fusion rifles, it's robust nature and low noise generation make it an ideal hunter (hence the name). Their drawback comes from their ligt armour making them fragile (a high risk in open combat). Their low cost and remote operation means the empire can quickly deplopy many thousands on a single campaign.

BATTLE DROIDS have been of common use since the Imperium's rivalry with the Confederation of Andromeda and are typically used to bolster the ranks within military operations, as such they are frequently seen alongside the Auxillary corps. Posessing advanced targeting, navigation, awareness and strategic algorithms droids function well as effective ground troops. While they are self-aware they are programmed to follow the orders of organics and are primarily controlled and coordinated by an orbiting Highcortex-class cruiser. Battle droids themselves are outfitted with phasic shielding, weapon technology adapted for use on a machine and resistant armour plating containing a zinc-tungsten weave and as a result even a single squad of battledroids can be a challenge to overcome.

SKIMMERS are often refitted skybikes; given extra armour, weapons and long-range sensors. During a campaign they act as a vanguard for more fortified targets, as FAVs and can hunt down smaller and faster targets. Armour is only basic and the craft is fitted with two missile pods and two twin-linked coilguns to preserve speed and agility. Skimmers are not as common in the main body due to a general fragility found in hovering vehicles - the danger of grav-panels failing is often more serious as when tracked vehicles' tyres fail. Due to theri nature as a vanguard and patrol force, skimmers are often sided with hunter-killer probes for any hard-to-reach targets. Currently the empire uses the PK-742-A skybike retrofit; refitted from the civillian Gravis-Syncher Clarity, a popular model in rural areas.

FAST ATTACK VEHICLES are designed for hit-and-run tactics. While most FAVs are essentially purpose-built variations of skimmers, the role does include the aformentioned vehicles. When purpose-built they often exhibit heavier armour, a more robust design and more powerful weapon systems. The most common vehicle at present is the FAVT-75; favoured for it's all-terrain capability and it's simliarity to a car. There is frequently a swivel-mounted chaingun on the roof. it is common for larger FAVs to be used by officers for transport across the field and in some cases (Such as the ReT-81) FAVs act as dedicated officer transports and patrol vehicles in more dangerous environments. The FAVT-75 is so popular that the automotive company Samis have developed a civillian line known as the Favous from it.

LIGHT TANKS are lighly armoured versions of the main battle tank and act as 'bodyguards' to heavier armour, it is possibe for them to pack as much punch as an MBT but this severely compromises flexibility. Three models currently in service include the LT-158, LT-159 and LT-160.

MAIN BATTLE TANKS such as the T-472 act as the backbone of a major campaign, plated in high-resistance ablative armour with reactive underlayers, there is little that can stop these icons of imperial force. Of the two designs in service, The T-472 Dragon is armed with a twin-linked fusion cannon while the T-359 Condalid is equipped with a heavy rail launcher. Both vehicles are equipped with missile pods and can withstand extreme heat and punishment. Out of all ground vehicles however MBTs have a habit of being the most expensive and energy-hungry.

LONG RANGE ARTILLERY such as the A-59 Farseer tend to stay far outside of hotzones, preferring to fire shells of plasma, rail charges or depleted uranium at fortified targets. Due to their nature as sternguard vehicles they tend to be poorly armoured, with much space dedicated to targeting and storing ammunition.

Fleet
A typical fleet will hold anything from 300 to 2,000 distinct vessels. Many ship designs are ancient and some - such as in the 78th fleet - have been in service since the Janos War. The reason for the fleet's success is the ease of upgrading. Although some ships can boast nearly 200,000 years of service, they are completely indistinguishable from their original commission aside from the chassis. Far from nostalgia, this is the result of the navy preferring the 'tried and tested'; If a ship design works well, why change it? Occassionaly a new design will come out but it will take time to replace.

Along with the neccessities for space travel, most warships are fitted with four protective layers:
 * The first line of defence is a non-phasic shield effective againstall types of traditional weapons along with phasic warheads. Since the Imperium's warships are not as dependant on energy weapons as other empires they can dedicate more energy to the shields.
 * If anything does get through the shields it impacts a layer of ablative armour, vessels compensate for the lack of regenerative nanobots with nano-forges placed at key locations under the hull which provide both stock material and allow millions of nanobots to be made in seconds. The ablative armour is angled and laced with nanotubes to spread the damage out and minimise the amount of penetration.
 * Underneath the ablative plates is a layer of reactive armour. Designed to absorb the shock and capture the projectile along with providing a cushion in case the round or missile is explosive.
 * The final layer is a nanotube-reinforced bulkhead designed to protect the crew. Bulkhead panels consist of graphene and carbon nanotubes laced within titanium-alloy panels to ensure all but the highest degrees of impact does not compromise the vessel.

Strike Craft
The navy fields two variations of craft, both are designed for atmospheric use as well as in the vacuum of space. Because of their nature they are not given proper identifying names - instead using the naming system found on vehicles and equipment - and are designed primarily to swarm targets from other fighters to capital ships. All strike craft are classed as VTOL and so do not require much space for storage or take-off, allowing carriers to field hundreds at a time. A single fleet can contain anything from 700-50,000 strike craft depending on how many carriers are available.

ASf-class strike-craft are operated by a single pilot. Their arnament consists of two gauss cannons, two turbolaser cannons and one torpedo launcher. While their arnamant might not match up to larger vessels such as frigates they compensate by flying in squads of 20 along with using sophisticated manouvering thrusters to weave through fire.

ASb-class strike craft re primarily bombers and carry smaller variations of missiles found on larger vessels. Because of their small size they are limited to carrying 50 at a time and will lanch them in clusters. Squadrens of ASbs are normally escorted by surrounding ASf squadrens. The missiles themselves are designed to punch through more heavily-armoured targets than the torpedoes used by ASfs such as froigates and cruisers. ASbs are slightly larger than ASfs and can be operated by one or two pilots using a variety of warhead patterns.

Frigates
GLORYHUNTER-class frigates are some of the oldest and most commonly seen vessels in imperial space. They are designed for short-range patrols and due to their size, cost and ease of manufacture they make up the bulk of any fleet. At only twenty decks high they are one of the smaller ship classes. Gloryhunters are equipped with two missile bays at the fore and aft of the ship, eight turbolaser turrets and eight rail turrets. While gloryhunters lack the sheer firepower of other, larger classes they make up for it in flexibility and numbers; their weapon batteries operate on swivel-mounted turrets allowing them to focus fire at almost any angle and often operate in wolfpacks of 7-15 individual vessels. Their crew complimet tops out at 110 with accomodation for an extra 22, and each ship will have 18 officers, 52 regulars and 40 marines stationed on board.

FIRELANCE-class frigates fulfill one main role as small artillery frigates. Armed with ten LRM batteries (8 at the front, 2 at the back) and three turbolaser batteries the brightlance's primary task is to act as long-range support, firing remote-controlled missiles and staying far from view. At sixteen decks high the brighlance is only slightly smaller than a gloryhunter and holding even fewer crew in favour of storing as many missiles as possible. Each vessel can accomodate 70: 10 officers, 40 regulars and missile pilots and 20 marines assigned in case of any emergency.

FLAKCLUSTER-class frigates are outffitted with fast-tracking turbolaser turrets. While not as powerful as turbolasers on other vessels the flakcluster's task is to pick off strike craft, as a result the 12 swivel-mounted turbolaser batteries sacrifice firepower (against presumably-fragile strike craft) for accuracy. Flakclusters are eighteen decks high and are capapble of accomodating 105 crew members: 15 officers, 65 regulars and 25 marines. In certain cases these vessels can be assigned to target softpoints on larger vessels; this could be a certain hardpoint, exposed bridge or a hanger, but this is only done in the abscence of enemy strike craft.

Cruisers
STARFURY-class cruisers are the mainstay of the Talons. Measuring 60 decks tall and roughly 500m in length their presence has been a constant sign of security for over 200,000 years. Armed with an arsenal of four missile bays, 21 turbolaser arrays and 31 rail batteries and 15 coil batteries - all of which are aligned along the broadsides of the ship - allows the vessel to deal a withering volley as it passes. Crew compliment registers at 320 with 50 0fficers, 170 regulars and 100 marines with space for an extra 30 passengers. Typically operating in packs of 6, the starfury will head fleets in the abscence of capital ships.

HIGHCORTEX-class cruisers act as command vessels within fleets. These ships are 50 decks high with a crew compliment of 225: 60 officers, 90 regulars, 30 marines and 45 combat analysts. Along with officers and tacticians the cortex houses two A.I. banks programmed for reactive battle analysis. Due to the vessels' importance within a fleet they are heavily armoured but - not being combat vessles - are lightly armed with only five rail batteries. Should one come under attack a fleet must prioritise with their defence but can remain competent without them. There are normally at least 2 in any given fleet, three in lerger fleets.

GANGPLANK-class cruisers have one goal: Capture. Although they accommodate a pitiful crew of 120 (20 officers, 70 regulars and 30 marines), they contain crew pods that can accomodate up to 800 marines. The gangplank will head for outlying ships in an enemy fleet, disable the engines of any stragglers before launching boarding pods at the disabled ship. For defence the gangplank is equipped with four turbolaser batteries,four rail bateries, two missile bays and heavy albative armour. The number of these can vary greatly from fleet-to-fleet; some have none while others can have 1/3 of the fleet containing pathos-class cruisers

BIOCOSMIC-class cruisers are support vessels. Originally based on commercial freighters this military version is equipped with remote service pods, fuel bays and storage units these vessels supply and maintain the fleet and will remain behind in the event of a firefight. They boast larger medbays for emergency situations. Each vessel is typically crewed by 280: 40 officers, 200 regulars (includes extra medical and engineering staff) and 40 marines. Biocosmics also act as frontier exploration vessels. A fleet wil contain between 3 and 20 of these vessels.

Capital Ships
DRAGONFIRE-class vessels are equipped with five fusion batteries bult into the bottom of the ship. Along with the clear presence of blanet-bombing guns the dragonfire's main focus is in beam weapons. These vessels boast 100 turbolaser batteries, 20 fusion launchers and 12 missile bays. 120 decks high and holding 940 personnel; 110 officers, 650 regulars and 270 marines this vessel is actually small and new for a capital ship. Unlike other vessels this class is only 80 millenia old and built to replace the ageing serpentflame-class. Alongside the clustermaster-class carriers the dragofire is one of the most common command vessels used by admirals.

CLUSTERMASTER-class vessels function as carriers. Most are 60 decks high and reserving the 8 central decks as hanger bays. Crewed by 1500 personnel - 50 officers, 230 regulars, 80 marines and 1100 pilots (both primary and reserve) the average vessel accomodates around 700 strike craft. Normally a fleet will contain 3-5 of these and often one is chosen as a flagship. Despite having only 70 fast-tracking turbolasers for defence the vessel relies on the sheer numbers of strike craft to achieve victory.

BATTLEMASTER-class vessels are behemoths of battle and each one is considered the pride of the navy. 135 decks high and over a kilometre in length, these vessels are built for the sole purpose of maximum firepower. Armed with 160 turbolaser arrays, 20 missile bays, 102 coil batteris and 115 rail batteries this the aptly-named battlemaster is always imposing both in orbit and on patrol. Crew consists of 1210 perssonel: 150 officers, 610 regulars and 450 marines. The reason admirals refrain from using this as a flagship is tue to a lack of mobility along with being designed as frontline warships, however the latter may be a reason for admirals to designate the vessel along with the aforementioned firepower

=Equipment= Despite the widespread coverage of the navy, the presence of several draconis-populated colonies in each sector mean that the navy can maintain a level of standardisation even if access to other sectors is cut off. Many established colonies are provided blueprints to create equipment to supply and maintain a Talon garrison.

Fusion weapons
Marines are equipped with an RF-31 assault rifle, a 120-year-old design. The fusion canisters can hold up to 400 shots while the rifle itself is capable of firing 2 shots per second. The charges themselves reach speeds of mach-0.95. The refinement of the design makes the weapons highly accurate and have a default setting of controlled bursts. The size and density of the fusion bolt can be manually changed to optimise for the situation however the default setting is still effective.

The HF-54 handgun is a smaller variant carried by officers and off-duty personnel. While not as powerful as the rifle variants it can still cause considerable damage to unarmoured targets. Unlike the assault rifle the HF-54 does not come with a scope, this does not however stop soldiers fitting their own however.

The RFc-32 carbine is a smaller variant of the RF-31. The difference being that it has a faster rate of fire at the cost of accuracy and velocity. These weapons are often used in boarding operations when soldiers might have trouble wielding larger varients, accuracy and range is also less important than on the open field.

Rail weapons
The SR-21 is a sniper rifle. The rail feature is designed to maximise the weapon's and penetrating power range however extensive use of silencers is required to keep subtle. The SR-21 is capable of fiting through lighter vehicles since the rounds are capable of a much faster velocity of mach-9. When fitted with AP rounds and the righ sights the rifle is capable of killing the crew of light tanks with little external damage.

Plasma
Most military units use the standard GP-5 charges. When thrown the grenades lock to a stationary surface before exploding. The explosive delay can be manually set and can range from 2 to 30 seconds after the grenade hits the ground or a wall. Plasma greandes are used for a wide variety of purposes and can tackle vehicles just as effectively as infantry.

More uncommon are the GPa-7 adhesive variants. These stick to any target before exploding after a timed delay. Once impacting the surface they are virtually impossible to remove doe to the release of an industrial-strength adhesive gel.

Protection
Military forces are often equipped with ceramic armour in the form of various reinforced plates. Although the use of full-body armour of this variety is restricted to the marines (who require full-body protection in hazardous environments), several protectorates had developed their own varieties prior to assimilation. Marine-issue gear is outfitted to function as basic powered armour; The reinforced ceramic plates absorb impact energy which is then transferred to batteries for storage, this energy can then be used to boost user or weapon performance. Ceramic armour of this type can be expensive. Forces such as the auxillaries and militia - even if they have access to large stocks ceramic armour - are restricted to protection of more vital body parts. Forces using other forms of armour including kevlar and nanofibre weave can afford more coverage due to the lower cost.

Vehicle protection ranges from several forms of reactive armour for light-to-medium vehicles and angled albative armour for heavier vehicles and starships. Most combat vehicles use angled plates to negate impact damage or possibly deflect the shot. The angle of armour is most extreme with layered albative armour found on main battle tanks. When an impact hits, a layer of armour (Normally 10-45 micrometres thick) dissolves off. The angle spreads the impact as much as possible. Many combatants refer to attacking layered ablative armour as 'fruit peeling' (normally an analogue of the onion, depending on species). The prevalence of beam and missile weapons in space make ablative armour a common sight on starships of all sizes.

Cybernetics
Cybernetics are rare. Most will have non-invasive systems such as combat optics. In the event of injury or dismemberment a soldier is usually cared for with stem-cell therapy to regrow the injured area.

In rare cases when a soldier does accept full cybernetics the designs are streamlined to appease both the wearer and make them less intimidating among relatives.

=Invasion protocol= During a war the Talon Navy would deploy one or more fleets to blockade the planet. Once orbital superiority is achieved, small teams of reconnisance units (often auxillaries) are then deployed in wilderness areas who will deploy recon probes to examine a planet's condition. This recon period usually lasts three imperial months - which includes analysing the data and developing a strategy. Siege operation protocol is as follows:


 * 1) Marine squads deployed to place pressure in rural areas through hit-and-run, ambush and sabotage.
 * 2) EMP charges deployed from orbital vessels or as bombs to disable planetside electronics.
 * 3) Sattelites hijacked via hacking software and manual operation.
 * 4) Rural towns and military bases bombarded, forcing refugees to seek shelter in cities and weakening resistance.
 * 5) Wait for effects of supply and power shortage to strain the populace, ask for unconditional surrender.

Should a population refuse to surrender after 3 years, the blockade prepares for a true invasion:


 * 1) Now-abandoned towns used for staging areas for auxillary and mechanised deployment.
 * 2) Forces place pressure on city outskirts, securing strategic infrastructure.
 * 3) Dropships deployed on rooftops, marines proceed to flush out each building.
 * 4) Secure settlements by hemming in population.

During the siege the planet's leadership is given every oppertunity to surrender. After phase 9 the navy has secured all cities and trapped the population. Regardless of outcome the populace is expected to unconditionally accept imperial control. Once the planet is secured the population is detained in internment camps until the arrival of slave transports. During this time automated drones, otherworld slaves and drafted citizens work on restoring basic infrastructure and officers catalogue the population. Upon the arrival of transports the survivors are loaded up and then moved to other parts of the empire with little regard for family ties. Colony recruitment campaigns select draconis ciizens eager for a new life in the now-conquered world. Detainees who help rebuild are offered a chance to stay planetside (Or get moved to a nearby system) offering this as an incentive to encourage a more cooperative populace, if not a faster way to restore the planet ready for the new colonists.