Fiction:United Bidonite Empire/Imperial Legions

"I find that diplomacy goes much smoother when the other person is too crushed to resist your terms."

- Ambassador Betik Kyn Morat

The Imperial Legions are the pride of the United Bidonite Empire and its most defining characteristic. As an empire founded on its military prowess, the Bidonite Empire's armed forces have an appropriately large impact on its governance and general social structure.

The Imperial Legions, colloquially referred to as simply the Legions, are divided into four Fields: the Imperial Army, the Imperial Navy, the Imperial Aviation, and the Imperial Armada. These Fields deal with land, sea, sky, and space, respectively. Of these, the Imperial Army and the Imperial Armada are the most prestigious.

Every planet within the Empire fields its own infantry divisions, tank regiments, fleets, etc. A fraction of those forces are stationed permanently on the planet itself as law enforcement and planetary defense, but the majority are deployed wherever the Empire needs them most.

Imperial Army
Posterboys of the Empire's military, the Imperial Army is both the largest and the most famous of all the Fields. The Army is the tool with which the Empire defends itself, seizes worlds, and wins wars.

The primary advantage of the Army, discounting all arms and technology, lies in the extreme discipline of its troops. Its soldiers follow every order without hesitation. Barring drugs or focused psychic assault, Imperial soldiers are impossible to shock or demoralize, even across protracted campaigns. Disparate Army groups brought together will coordinate without any loss of cohesion, regardless of circumstances.

Of course, arms and technology help too. Your basic Imperial rifleman is equipped with: which can be added to or subtracted to based on current needs. In particular, marksmen frequently switch out their coilrifles with beam rifles for pinpoint accuracy, though beam rifles are harder to maintain.
 * 1x coilrifle (variable ammo type)
 * 1x coil pistol (variable ammo type)
 * 1x shock knife
 * 2x grenades
 * polymer-plate body armor and helmet (integrated radio, rebreather)
 * 4x energy bars
 * 1x canteen (auto-purifying)
 * 1x field ration carton

All worlds of the Empire must contribute to the Imperial Army, providing recruits and supplies as necessary.

In apparent contradiction of how eusocial insect aliens usually behave, wave tactics are considered highly wasteful and reflect badly on one's command. Just because you have the numbers doesn't mean you have the right to spend those numbers like water. Assault rifles function best when you fire them in short, controlled bursts -- soldiers are much the same.

Imperial combat doctrine varies as widely as combat itself. Army regiments are equipped for any situation in addition to whatever Imperial Logistics thinks will prove useful for wherever they're deployed. Each regiment has its own snipers, combat vehicles, engineers, etc. By remaining unspecialized, the Imperial Army can adapt to changing battlefield conditions rapidly, at the cost of not excelling at any particular task. On the whole, however, the Army emphasizes mobility: sudden attack, tactical cohesion, and platoon-level coordination with combined arms.

Every squad of Bidonite infantry is frequently accompanied by at least one Tactical Robot. These remote-controlled flying drones can provide supporting fire, electronic warfare capabilities, and battlefield reconnaissance. Keeping in line with the Empire's anti-AI sensibilities, each Tactical Robot has no internal power source, being completely dependent on power broadcast wirelessly from their designated 'handler'. Should the Robot fall under an enemy's control, it can easily be disabled by shutting off its power.

Imperial Armor
The Imperial Army fields a multitude of vehicles, each with its own place in the Imperial war machine. Knowing that battlefield conditions are highly variable and can change wildly from how they were during first deployment, Bidonite armor is designed to be easily modified: some might mount dozer blades to dig up minefields, some might have their autocannons switched out for something more explosive, wheel assemblies can be replaced with treads, and so on. The black-and-lavender color schemes shown here are ceremonial, and in the field they will be repainted for camouflage. Mace= A dedicated armored personnel carrier, the Mace is fast, sturdy, and reliable. Each Mace can transport a full squad of Imperial troops, and their massive wheels carry them quickly over rough terrain. Mattock= When armored support is needed but a proper tank would be excessive or unwieldy, the Mattock is your weapon of choice. The Mattock is an infantry fighting vehicle designed to transport and support Imperial soldiers in the field, whether in times of relative peace or all-out war. Maul= The Maul is the Army's ubiquitous and versatile main battle tank. Time-tested and refined by deployment in six wars, Mauls have a stellar track record for both reliability and lethality. A high degree of customizability ensures that the Maul is always suited for whatever environment it finds itself in. Sledge= Sometimes you just need a little more gun. The Sledge is the newest addition to the Imperial arsenal, having passed the battery of qualifying field tests with flying colors. Where the Maul is built for versatility, the Sledge was designed with one purpose in mind: breaking through enemy positions with extreme prejudice. Its unique rotary cannon launches shells at more than twice the rate of the Maul's default primary armament. Anvil= Sometimes you need a lot more gun. Sometimes you need a gun the size of a medium office complex. Sometimes you need a gun to send your enemy fleeing, screaming and weeping as you reduce their strongholds to dust and ruin with fire from the heavens, casting a great cloud of darkness over the sun and blotting out the light like their hopes and dreams.
 * Weaponry: Remote weapon HMG (Kybut-11), BKT mortar launcher
 * Armor: Namat-pattern titanium composite/reactive
 * Crew: 2 (+8 passengers)
 * Weaponry: AM12 autocannon, coaxial Kybut-6 machine gun, BKT mortar launcher
 * Armor: Aasabar-pattern reactive
 * Crew: 2 (+8 passengers)
 * Default Weaponry: K15A tank cannon, 2x Mashun-124 MRLs, coaxial Kybut-11 machine gun, coaxial Kybut-6 machine gun
 * Armor: Aasabar-pattern reactive
 * Crew: 3
 * Default Weaponry: S24 rotary tank cannon, 2x K12A tank cannons (coaxial Kybut-11 machine guns), 2x M144 rocket launchers
 * Armor: Orator-pattern reactive
 * Crew: 4

The Anvil is that gun. A monstrous heavy artillery vehicle, the Anvil is rarely seen on the battlefield, either because it isn't deployed or because it's too far from the front lines for the naked eye to spot. Its magnetic acceleration firing system lobs explosive shells so far and so high that its computer-aided targeting systems must take planetary rotation into account when selecting a victim. In a pinch, the Anvil can even be used to fire on spacecraft in low orbit.
 * Weaponry: Anvil-class artillery cannon (variable ammunition)
 * Armor: Aasabar-pattern reactive
 * Crew: 9

Body Armor
Imperial polymer body armor is the most advanced non-powered armor available to Bidonite infantry. It consists of its namesake polymer plates fitted over a layer of non-newtonian impact gel, and is lightweight enough to allow for flight.

The gel layer takes the form of a tight-fitting, thick rubberized bodysuit. The fluid gel prevents the suit from impeding the wearer's movement while at the same time forming a solid barrier in response to physical impact. However, a measured and relatively slow strike-- such as a stab with a knife-- is capable of penetrating the gel layer.

The polymer plating exists to negate that disadvantage. Rigid, durable, and lightweight, the polymer plate is sturdy enough to withstand multiple coilgun shots before breaking and can easily turn aside melee weapons.

Other body armors are available. Scout armor forgoes most of the polymer in favor of photo-reactive plates that imitate the wearer's surroundings. Powered armor is incredibly tough, featuring sealed full-body polymer armor as well as strength enhancement and powerful jumpjets in place of wings. However, powered armor is only available to the Empire's elite special forces, thanks to prohibitive costs of production.

Equipment
Bidonite coilguns work on the principle of magnetic acceleration, using coil-shaped electromagnets wrapped around the rifle's barrel to accelerate projectiles (built with matching coils) to extremely high speeds. Coilguns are standard issue to the Imperial Army. Though they are usually loaded with normal, solid rounds, other types of ammunition are readily available, from hollow point, incendiary, armor piercing and more. Some are even designed to release a small payload of chemical agents upon impact, the minuscule concentration balanced out by sheer toxicity and the fact that it's released directly into the bloodstream.

Bidonite shock knives are combat knives designed to deliver a potent electric shock when stabbed into an enemy. While they can't deliver a voltage high enough to outright kill an enemy, the sudden jolt of electricity stuns and briefly paralyzes the victim, leaving them open for a decisive blow. Shock knives can be toggled on and off for occasions when you need a knife that doesn't send several thousand volts of electricity into any metal surface it touches, and if the battery runs out then you still have a perfectly serviceable combat knife.

Discovering that most other races can't see into the ultraviolet spectrum, Imperial tactical flashlights cast exactly that range of light, giving their infantry a distinct advantage in extremely dark environments: they can move around without their lights giving them away, because those lights are invisible to non-Bidonites. Some Imperial installations can toggle between visible light and ultraviolet light in case of enemy intrusion, leaving intruders fumbling in the dark while guards move to intercept in perfect clarity.

Food
It is a universal constant that military rations can only be called food in the technical sense of the word, but as the Bidonite sense of taste is somewhat weak it doesn't bother them quite as much.

To save weight and space while still providing enough nutrients to keep the Imperial Army's soldiers fighting-fit, the majority of army rations consists of a sort of solid food concentrate. While manufactured and stored as a single, rock-hard block, it softens and becomes pliable when boiled. It can be served in a variety of ways -- as cubes, thin wafers, noodles, and more. It's bland and tasteless on its own, but flavor can be added by adding packets of seasoning to the water as it's boiling. The water can subsequently be used as broth. Food concentrate is stored pre-cooked and pre-flavored in Imperial ration cartons and typically forms the bulk of the meal.

Ration cartons perform an identical function to the MREs of the American military: providing a full meal in a lightweight, resilient, and long-lasting container. They take the form of sand-colored, collapsible plastic cartons. Food is heated by exothermic chemical reaction: just pour water into the heating tray, wait a few minutes, and suddenly you have a hot meal ready to eat.

Chemical and Biological Weapons
The Imperial Army still makes extensive use of chemical weapons-- believing codes of warfare to be hypocritical, the Empire is willing to use all manner of horrifying weaponry against its enemies. It stocks several varieties of poison gas, which is useful if used both intelligently and against an enemy unprepared for it. Some have remained unchanged since pre-unification, while others are appallingly lethal and capable of seeping through most respirators. Each has its own niche in war.

Biological weapons, however, are rare. Due to the specifications of alien biology and the trouble of acquiring a sample of a suitably lethal biocompatible pathogen and then unlocking its genetic code for modification, the Empire has only used biological warfare against enemies it has been fighting for decades.

Imperial Armada
Though somewhat less prestigious than the Imperial Army, the Imperial Armada is possibly the most important of all the Legions. This is because the Empire spans several thousand worlds and its forces must be able to reach all of those worlds in a reasonable amount of time, as well as any other worlds that fall under the Empire's scrutiny. While the Empire's fleet does not openly display its affiliation (doing so would be in contravention of a number of statutes regarding how the Imperial insignia is displayed), its ships are nonetheless instantly recognizable-- blocky and utilitarian vessels plated in dark gray and purple reactive armor. The Empire is not known for its gracefulness. Its technology is comparatively primitive, unsurprising for such a young empire, but the sheer industrial relentlessness inherent to the Imperial Legions has been sufficient to see off the higher-tech Necrox meritocracy and other intermittent threats to Imperial stability.

All transport between the worlds of the Empire is done through the Armada. This includes all colonization: the very first Bidonite outposts are invariably military, just in case something nasty crops up.

Imperial Ship Classes
The ships of the Imperial Armada come in a variety of shapes and sizes. The following is a list of the most common.

All measurements and ship classes are approximate.

Dedicated Warships=

Support=

Armor
The Imperial Armada's ships are primarily blunt instruments with little finesse. Accordingly, they are heavily armored. While superficially similar to the plating on their vehicles, Bidonite spacecraft armor is both thicker and tougher, with several distinct layers.

The first layer is the ablative armor. Space travel is hazardous to the unprotected, and Bidonite ships are sheathed in ablative armor to minimize the effects of micrometeor impacts, stellar radiation, and extreme heat, whether from atmospheric entry or energy weapons. The layers of ablative armor, in long parallel strips, gives Bidonite spacecraft their characteristic striped appearance.

Beneath the ablative armor is a layer of electric reactive armor suited for dealing with serious physical impact such as kinetic weapons or missiles. The reactive armor layer is thinner than the ablative armor layer, but is substantially better at deflecting enemy weaponry.

The third and innermost layer is simply a thick plate of titanium alloy and carbon fiber. Extremely durable and reasonably lightweight, the titanium-carbon armor forms the bones of the ship and helps to maintain structural integrity in the event of a breach.

Weapons
Ship armaments are essentially extremely large versions of the Imperial Legions' ground arsenal: massive coilguns, missile banks, and pulse lasers. In addition, particle beams and plasma weapons are undergoing field tests and show promising results, though mass production of such weaponry is yet to be authorized.

These guns are not immediately visible when seeing a Bidonite ship. To minimize particulate damage and for ease of maintenance, the Armada's armaments are retracted into bulkheads when not in use, only popping out when the ship has an enemy in its sights.

Primary coilguns=

Light coilguns=

Missile pods=

Lasers=

Kotov Drive
No two empires are exactly alike, and fields of science that are far advanced in one society may still be in their theoretical stages in another. This is especially true for the Bidonite Empire, which possesses uncannily advanced faster-than-light capability usually seen in high Tier 3 civilizations, despite being overall a Tier 4 empire.

The reason for this is the Kotov Drive, named for Ardikat Bytek Kotov, the scientist who revolutionized FTL technology with her famous paper, On Interstellar Particle Transmission. While the Empire had been able to tap into hyperspace for travel before, Kotov's equations made it much easier to take advantage of the extra degrees of freedom offered by it -- but first, the Empire's warp engines needed to be overhauled. Taking Kotov's findings into account, the new engines were at once more energy-efficient and more powerful, and thanks to Kotov's contribution to the Empire, were ultimately named after her.

Imperial Aviation
Bidonites take to the air like a duck to water -- it would be unusual for a naturally winged race not to. With the advent of repulsor technology, the Imperial Aviation has seen something of a renaissance: Bidonite aircraft no longer need wings.

Swift= Orbital/atmospheric interceptor and air superiority fighter designed to wrest control of hostile airspace into Imperial hands. Sunray= Bread-and-butter multirole fighter for suppression of enemy aircraft, while also serving adequately for ground attacks. Thunderhead= Heavy duty attack aircraft built for precision strikes on ground targets. Performs admirably as a gunship in an infantry support role. Stormlight= Fast bomber capable of carrying the largest payloads in the Aviation. When wholesale destruction is preferred over precision. Eclipse= Advanced stealth strike aircraft designed to slip past air sensors and destroy valuable targets behind enemy lines. Wisp= High altitude/orbital unmanned surveillance craft. Cheaper and more maneuverable than spy satellites. Buttress= Light sub-orbital transport dropship for intraplanetary troop movement and supply runs. Bastion= Large cargo/mass transport orbital dropship, built for spacecraft-to-surface transit. Atmospheric re-entry capable.

Imperial Navy
Bidonites do not take so easily to the sea. Fear of large bodies of water is one of the most common Bidonite fears, ranking just below monophobia in frequency. Nevertheless, the demands of war often force the Imperial Legions into the water, where the Empire is determined to excel.