The Theian military organisation known as the Guardian League is responsible for peacekeeping and military action by the Theian Technocracy. Drawn from recruits and veterens across Theian space and bolstered by legions of semi-autonamous combat drones, the Guardian League is the closest thing to an organised military force the Technocracy has available.
History[]
While the Gurdian League has been in existence since the Theian Dominion, the technocracy's successor, it acted as more of a shield than a sword. The bulk of military operations up until The Evacuation were condcted by the Dominion Navy for thousands of years. With the League acting as an umbrella orgnisation for various planetary militias and one of the key backers of the Institute for Adept Progression.
After the evacuation there was little left. What resources they had brought were mostly for defensive purposes. Since the League had served as the shield organisation, and with it being oneo f the last remaining aspects of Theian military might, the technocracy under Develani Thranga adopted the League as its official military force, with an emphasis kept on preserving the remaining theian population rather than as a means to waging war. Develani promoted general Gerden Kole to act as the organisation's new senior administrator and with his knowledge of combating the Fireweavers set about reorganising the new military.
Combat drones were given a new role, now making up the majorty of the League's military forces due to the reduced nmbers of Theians available compared to other observed Gigaquadrantic empires. over the first few months, the guardian league set up numerous defences to protect the assets they had and set out patrols between colonised ssytems to check for potential military threats. Gerden remained on Nova Thei to conduct the operations, sometimes heading out into the field to bosst the mroale of his men.
Organisation[]
Due to the technocracy's desire to stay away from the act of large-scale war, most organic soldiers are part-time personnel, often acting as drone commanders or military advisors.
Rankings are directly proportional to the number of units under the person's command with the lowest ranks being in control of only a small droid fireteam and higher eanks such as generals being in command of armies along with lower-ranking personnel.
Combat Doctrine[]
Most League teams work in small numbers alongside varying numbers of both autonamous and drone intelligences. Because of their low numbers, organic soldiers are kept to guerella operations or spec-ops as opposed ot frontline combat where dones excell. Combat teams keep in touch with peer-to-peer non-verbal communication implants. Allowing real-time data-sharing and speed-of-thought communication with squad members. Allowing for real-time on the fly tactics. This system also extends to drone units.
This technique has numerous advantages to relying on speech and makes use of the Thechnocracy's Society Network, making it invisible to traditional transmission detectors. Soldiers encountered in the field can pull off the illusion they know the enemy's strategies even if it is not a previously-encountered tactic on the battlefield based on telemetry from "sacrifice" units.
Guardians[]
Guardians make up the bulk of the league's numbers. Traditionally infantry equipped with conventional weaponry, many are in fact pilots and drone commanders due to the population's thinly-spread numbers. Thus, even a lower-ranking guardian is potentially a commander over a squad of combat drones.
Adepts[]
'Adept' is the catch-all term for military personnel who have developed noticeable psychic potential within the technocracy's Adept programme. While all theians posess some measure of psychic ability, adepts use a mix of gene therapy, cybernetic enhancement and rigorous training in focus and mental enhancement techniques.
Adepts rely primarily on their psychic abilities to fight against their enemies and are divided into two distinct groups:
- Proctors are advisors logistics specialists, using their enhanced sense of spatial awareness to coordinate military forces and bosst the morale of allied troops as well as mentally attack the morale of the enemy through psychological warfare. Proctors are not trained for frontline combat, instead keeping to the rear of the field coordinating ground or space forces.
- Vanguards are warriors who have mastered abilities such as telekinesis and mind-and-body enhancement. Vanguards' abilities are honed to cause as much damage as possible on the battlefield and although they are given weapons asuch as palm emitters as standard-issue, Vanguards often prefer causing damage via their psychic abilities. Due to the violent nature of their career, part of their training involves intense psychotherapy and meditation to balance their negative urges.
Although all Theians posess the potential to become one, Adepts make up roughly 1/4 of the Guardian League's organic personnel. This is because such training is rigorous and highly demanding. Adepts are not exclusively a military group either, with only a minority of all adepts in the Technocracy actually being members of the Guardian League.
Mechanised Units[]
The majority of the Guardian League's military prowess is in its legions of semi-autonomous biosynthetic mechs. These machines range from personnel-sized battle droids to gigantic walkers that are capable of striding alongside skyscrapers. Drones tpyically posess enough intelligence to react effectively to most combat situations and some degree of reactivity when not operating directly from high command. When not in use, drones go into 'standby mode' where they shut down and fold up for easy transit. 'Sentry mode' is used when a drone is on guard duty. It will for the most part remain under minimal operation with sensors still active, appearing as though it has been shut down but still standing.
- Role: Scout, assassin.
- Height: 1.4m
Primarily developed for scouting operations. R-51 units resemble Theian Kovivthli; a quadrapedal mammal similar to a canine. Lurkers are programmed with predator-like personalities but also dually function as guard dogs.
Lurkers are fitted with superenhanced audio, visual and nasa receptors along with a complex brain designed to process the sensory information and adapt to it. Making them highly adaptable creatures. The powerful synthetic nanotube polymer muscles in their legs allow them to sprint at speeds of upwards of 120mph. Combined with advanced gyroscopic systems, it is likely that Lurkers are perfectly capable of jumping up walls and scaling buildings using their raw strength and diamond-edged claws.
Lurkers are primarily progreammed to operate in squads and in conjunction with other infantry units including members of their own packs. Field observations have shown a high level of intelligence compared to most other biosynths.
- Role: All-purpose infantry.
- Height: 2.2m
The TV-10 is a mainstay unit and often the most numerous land unit the Technocracy fields. While the default package is armed with compact plasma cannons and grenade launchers, it can be reconfigured to include a variety of other weapons including missile launchers.
Like all drones they posess an animal-like intelligence when not under the command of a Guardian, but their formidability vastly increases when under such control. Their mudular construction and the ease of manufacture allow for millions to be deployed on a single field to overwhelm the enemy.
When in close-combat, their synthetic muscles allow them to battle off most forces in melee with formidable strength.
- Role: Multipurpose battle tank
- Height: 5m
The Sentinel is an armoured bipedal walker designed to fight in urban environemnts. Utilising powerful legs made of synthetic muscle, the Sentinel is capable of leaping and sprinting across smaller distances. The legs grant it a high degree of maneuverability in all terrains. Prehensile grappling hooks on the underside of its core body allow it to grab ledges, climb walls and grapple personnel that may be its target.
Built into its narrow but armoured frame are a variety of concealed weapons including pod-rocket launchers, plasma disk catapults and a grenade launcher. Advanced gyroscopic systems and an organic-synthetic brain give it supreme agility and allow it to adapt ot situations on the fly at faster rates than most sapients, leading to some opponents to consider it something of a predator. The flexibility of the gyroscopic systems and the synthetic legs allow it to continue operating at least moderately effectively even if one leg has been completely destroyed.
While they are equally effective in organised formations, it is in urban environemnts where they excel as a combat unit. Programmed with hunter-killer algorithms and combined with their narrow profile and highly flexible legs make them difficult opponents to escape, with few places to hide. The use of grappling hooks and the presence of claws and adhesive pads in the feet mean that a sentinel can easily scale up a building to pursue its target on a rooftop.
- Role: Heavy walker
- Height: 30m
The Ray Strider is a large, bipedal drone with cariants that can be controlleed by a single pilot. its primary purpose is in the use of millile launchers fitted into the two fin-like arms protruding from the sides of its body. The ends of the arms are tipped with a series of razor blades that can cut cleanly through rock while the mouth houses an in-built turbolaser emitter.
Plated in heavy polyfibre material, it is immune to most small-arms fire, its swaying tail and colossal size make it ideal as a shock-and-awe unit while the missile launchers allow it to be used as a sturdy long-range artillery platform. The scale of it is also an intimidation factor that was not wholly intentional by the designers.
Due to the size, the Ray Strider is mostly mineral in composition with a few organic components such as a hybrid bioelectric nervous system. Capable of caarrying dozens of missiles at a time, a single Ray Strider is capable of causing massive devastation in a short period of time.
Fleet[]
A unifying feature of al ltheisn ships is the single - organic pilot. From small 1-man shuttles to 1.5km battlecruisers, all base functions are performed by a single pilot capable of flying the ship solo by using an interface chair to expand their consciousness thoughout the ship. Passengers and crewmembers alike - aware of the sapient pilot - often treat the ship as one of their own family.
While only pilots experience the sensation felt from this, it is often described as though the pilot 'becomes' the ship, picturing themselves flying though space in the most raw way possible witthout a solid steel container surrounding them. Ship crews enlisted into the Guardian League are in fact some of the few Theian citizens aside from high-ranking officials who are considered full-time members of the League.
Strike craft, while still in use, are almost wholly controlled by an onboard AI. They carry out orders by their commanders all the same, and due to the lack of a need to cater for a living pilot, fighter drones can be built as compact as possible.
Equipment[]
Due to the realtively small numbers of sapient personnel, the Guardian League can afford to outfit its organic soldiers with a variety of high-tech equipment.
Palm emitters[]
A standard-issue item within the league which serves as a sidearm for all personnel. The Palm Emitter resembles a 10mm thick circular focusing lens that can fit within a theian's palm. Extending from this is a nanotube filament harness that morpshs to fit snugly around the user's fingers. The device draws power for a 200Mw laser from the user's blood-sugar and into a nonvisible laser light. This effectively requires the use of nanomachines (naturally found in Theian bodies) in order to power the device but effectively minimisies the amount of bulk for power cells.
Regular users of palm emitters typically consume more calories to power their sidearm, with the daily amount of energy required directly proprtional to the frequency the weapon has fired in a single day. Excessive use of palm emitters can tire inexperienced users more than veterens.
Combat Skin[]
Ad eviation on the civillian utility skins, 'Combat skin' is the general term for the polyfibre armour worn by soldiers of the Guradian League. Prized for its very high flexibility and durability, combat skins are often deceptively tough due to an active nanite colony that moulds the suit to fit the wearer and repairs it in the event of damage.
Containing and onboard early warning microframe, the suit reacts to incoming impacts by solidifying the predicted point of impact microseconds before the blow be it from a gun, a punch or other melee impact. The nanite colonies reinforce the suit from acid erosion and the user inside typically resides in an airtight environemnt.
Active diffusion membranes located thoughout the body regulate internal heat, allowing the wearer to remain comfortable in even the tensest of situation and provide a constant supply of breathable air when in an atmosphere. The sensor arrays and microcameras mean the wearer is constantly aware of their surroundings.
The combat skin's malleable and regenerative properties is used on the armours and casings of numerous Technocracy vehicles.
Plasma disks[]
Depending on the size, a plasma disk is either a grenade with a built-in plasma generator or a razor-sharp disk of ionised plasma contained inside tiny phasic shield generators that disengage upon impact with the target. Smaller plasma disks serve as standard ammunition for plasma disk captapults which fire their projectiles though magnetic induction fields.
Larger plasma disks are used as grenades by both mechanised and organic forces either thrown manually or used in grenade launchers. Most launchers (both for ammunition and grenade variants) feature microforges that create the shots from bulk material slotted somewhere inside the launcher, although the location for this supply varies between models.
Quotes[]
“I wonder whether I could get some of that combat skin stuff. Looks fun.”
- - Agent Nu
“And we thought the biomechanical shenanigans that we were up to were disturbing, this brings it to a whole new level!”
“Such encouragement to place organic material and machinery together...It is quite disturbing.”
- - Tyraz
“The Technocracy is advanced and their army seems just as powerful. Yes, they would be a useful ally.”
- - Crispy
“Ngh...I dunno whether to be disturbed or running away.”
- - Hachiman
“Quite interesting...”
- - Jerkon
“An army that we have not encountered and have only heard reports of. What little we know from our spies in the Bunsen Galaxy indicates that the Theian Technocracy has quite an unconventional military. Most of their army seems to be composed of biosynthetic mechs tailor made for each situation. The advanced technology and sophisticated research of the Theians probably implies the ability to quickly prototype these mechs in order to meet a new threat. We have seen that these mechs are quite effective on two levels in combat. First off all, in terms of pure combat power, they are quite powerful, being able to defeat most comparable militaries in battles with equivalent numbers of equivalent units. However, they also have an advantage in the fact that they are psychologically unsettling, allowing for them to press an attack on the enemy more effectively than if they did not have the psychological advantage. Shipwise, their designs are dictated by efficiency so as to be a multipurpose good at everything craft as opposed to overspecializing in some areas to the expense of others. Assuming we get the Tannhauser Hypergate in Bunsen to work again, which with out current resources strain seems impossible for the time being, it would be good to launch an attack against them for a war of conquest. Nothing less than our Warmachines as opposed to ifantry are to be used against them in land combat and we should land in numbers that outnumber them so as to facilitate quick achievement of our objectives. For space, we should utilize our more powerful ships so as to destroy their navy in a pitched battle giving us orbital supremacy in all their worlds. However, assuming we are forced in certain situations to deploy overseers in order to defeat them, such as in cramped areas where our war machines cannot fit, we must be wary of the possible psychological effect that their biosynethic creations have, due to the fact that even some of the Overseers have expressed some discomfort at these freakish creations.”
- - Drakodominatus Tyranny Military Assessment
Trivia[]
- Combat drones draw heavy inspiration from the eponymous mechs of the Metal Gear Solid series.
- When first unveiled, several users were unsettled by the techno-organic nature of the combat drones.
