The Guardians of Sol (35 page)

On The Confederacy

The Confederacy of Sol is an alliance of independent nations designed to maximize the freedom and prosperity of all of its citizens. To join, a nation is required to adhere to certain requirements designed to stifle those things which have traditionally brought about the downfall of great civilizations. Some of these requirements include capping social programs at a certain (small) percentage of GDP, guaranteeing certain rights for citizens as influenced by the United States of America’s Bill of Rights, and supplying their share to the common defense through manpower, resources, or currency.

Member-states are free to pursue any form of government that their citizens prefer, provided that they still observe membership requirements. The Confederate government proper holds more power than most historical confederacies, in that, within reason, it can coerce member-states to certain courses, but maintains much less power than a full and actual federal republic would. The Confederacy does maintain a three branch checks-and-balances style of government with the Civilian Assembly filling the legislative role, the Sentinel filling the executive role, and a small court system filling the judicial role. The court system and Civilian assembly mainly concern themselves with settling disputes between member-states.

Member-states are not taxed so much as they are expected to provide an equitable and proportionate donation for the functioning of the Confederacy. The Confederacy makes extensive use of artificial intelligences and computerization of keep operating and administrative costs down to the absolute minimum. As such, these costs maintained to around three percent or less of budget. Member-state contributions are locked at eight percent of GDP and cannot be raised or lowered without a unanimous amendment to the Confederate constitution.

As the head of both the civilian and military divisions of government, the Sentinel is able to wield immense power. His directives, however, can be countermanded by a majority vote in the Civilian Assembly, or a similar vote by his military council. A Sentinel may serve up to three consecutive terms of ten years. A new Sentinel must be approved by both the Civilian Assembly and the military council. Among other things, a Sentinel must have served in at least two branches of the Guardian Corps.

Representatives in the Civilian Assembly are elected or appointed by their respective nations, and serve for no more than four terms of five years. Representatives are completely accountable to their nations and must vote in accordance with the wishes of their people.

The judges in the court system serve various terms and are appointed by the Sentinel and confirmed by the Assembly. Judges on the Supreme Court may serve one term of fifteen years in that court.

Representatives and Judges are paid the same as a corporal in the Guardian Corps. Neither governmental branch has the power to increase their own salary. The Sentinel receives a salary commensurate to his Corps rank before being appointed to his position.

On The Guardian Corps

The Guardian Corps is a meritocracy that shares many attributes with militaries of the past, but divides its responsibilities and Corps of personnel differently. There are four main divisions: The Venators, the Vindicators, the Castigars, and the Engineering Corps.

The Venators are the intelligence wing for both the Confederacy and the Guardian Corps. They spy and carry out clandestine missions that the other Corps are not capable of. Venators are trained to work in groups sizing from a full squad all the way down to single officers. Several agents are usually under the direct supervision of the Sentinel working as his Hounds. Venators make use of the lightest rated power armor equipped with active camouflage.

The Vindicators are the most numerous of the Corps and operate as both the army and the navy within the Guardian Corps structure. Vindicators are organized by squad, then company, division, and finally legion. While often deployed by the larger units, it is not uncommon for squads from many different legions and divisions to end up working together without the rest of their group. The navy uses army ranks for the sake of simplicity, but does retain ranks such as admiral and commodore to denote naval experience as well as the number of ships under that officer’s command. Vindicators make use of medium rated power armor. Naval pilots make use of the lightest rated armor equipped with various support systems.

The Castigars are essentially heavy infantry and heavy cavalry rolled into one. These walking tanks form the backbone of any Guardian force in battle. Castigars are organized in the same way as Vindicators, and are usually deployed as individual squads. The Castigars have three main branches of Special Forces within their Corps.

-The Ring Jumpers are trained and equipped to operate in deep space operations, and are around Saturn and Jupiter.

-The Spartans are Greece’s contribution to the common defense. Trained in Greek Agoges instead of either of the main Guardian academies, these Castigars are organized in squads of twenty and companies of three hundred, but are otherwise similar to the main force of Castigars. Due to tradition, a full company of Spartans acts as the Sentinel’s bodyguard, although the men are usually cycled through by squad. Their armor is specially designed and provided by Alkaios Industries.

-The Specials Division is the pet project of Sentinel McCulloch and his predecessor. The Specials are designed to find and include the best of the best from the main force of Castigars and provide them with customized cutting edge equipment. The Specials are under the direct command of the Sentinel, but are expected to work within the traditional command structure as much as possible.

All Castigars make use of the heaviest rated power armors available.

The Engineering corps is the true backbone of the Guardian warhorse. These men and women build, design, and maintain almost all Guardian Corps equipment. Engineers make use of whatever rate of armor is required, but usually wear the lightest rated power armor.

The Sentinel is the supreme commander of all Guardian forces, but often acts through and is advised by the military council. The council is comprised of the senior most members of each Corps. There are five members on the council with the Vindicator Corps doubly represented. The Venator councilmember receives the rank of Inquisitor. The Vindicator representatives are a Field Marshal and Grand Admiral. The Castigar councilman also receives the rank of Field Marshal. The fifth member is the Master Builder representing the Engineering Corps. The military council may countermand any directive that affects the Guardian Corps by a three-fifths majority vote. That option is, however, very rarely used.

On The
Swordmaster Program

The Swordmaster program was instituted for two reasons. The first was to produce better soldiers and better people, in general. The second was to provide an easy reference for the general skill levels of personnel. The latter reason being useful to commanders who might know nothing else about the men they’ve been assigned.

The Swordmaster program includes general knowledge courses for all Guardian personnel and extensive technical programs for Engineers. The program places extra importance upon three areas. Combat proficiency and expertise; Strategic, tactical, and leadership skills, and philosophical thought. To move from one level of the program to another a Guardian must meet certain minimum standards in all three areas.

The Swordmaster program is divided into ten tiers, with a higher number denoting less ability than a higher number. Only those individuals who have reached the first tier of ability are allowed to be called and to call themselves Swordmasters. There is one final tier in the program that, while not a secret, is generally only known to true Swordmasters. This 0-tier or hidden tier consists of the seven greatest Swordsmasters in the Corps. A small tournament is held every few years to determine who these Swordmasters are, and the winners are awarded with the monomolecular-edged blades created by one of the Sentinel’s armorers.

While the teachings of the combat oriented areas in the program are quite similar to those of other nations, it is the philosophical emphasis that truly sets the Swordmaster program apart. The philosophical courses serve a dual purpose in shaping the minds and souls of Swordmasters. The first purpose is to create a frame of mind that can deal with civilian life and military life almost interchangeably to reduce post-combat mental traumas that have been common throughout history. Counseling programs are still available when needed. The second purpose is to channel the mental processes in such a way that the practitioner may attain the ability to enter the hyperaware meditative state that makes true Swordmasters absolutely deadly in combat.