Compass Guard

• This is the fluff description of the Compass Guard. For information on how the CG applies to specific player characters, please visit [[../RG Rules|THIS]] page.

The Compass Guard is the moniker for Cardinal's modernized, power-enabled military. They were once nameless and largely consistent of mortal soldiers and ineffective mortal-grade equipment except for their singular power wielder division (the Ranger Guard). The Directional Council voted to drastically increase their military budget, permitting for much more powerful equipment as well as a more intelligent and extensive assignment of power wielders.

Branches

The establishment of the Compass Guard is split into three major branches. Each branch specializes in a particular modus operandi, but each also have many sub-branches that protrude into the conventional territory of the other branches, so as to be more self-sufficient. Ultimately, all of the branches coordinate and work together on a large scale, but mostly operate within their own ranks in individual affairs. Unlike the former state of the military, all branches employ both power wielders and mortals, in various proportions.

The Legion

The Legion are the branch of the Compass Guard that represent Cardinal's direct fighting force, and so it has the highest ratio of power wielders to mortals. They are often the first ones to engage in large battles, and in small battles, they are usually all that is needed. In their considerable numbers, they manage both the careful maneuvers and the heavy-hitting strikes.

Though much of the legion consists of raw manpower, they are also in command of impressive, usually ground-based machinery such as tanks, mobile suits, and artillery. They are responsible for defending all permanent planetary establishments, which often comes with an array of mounted weaponry and supportive technology.

Degrees and Radians

Degrees are mortals who have no natural powered talent, but have elected to undergo radical cybernetic implantation and genetic therapy to enable them to fight at powered levels. This level of technology has been seen in individuals for some time now, but only recently has it become sufficiently cheap to implement on a broad scale. There are tens of thousands of Degrees either undergoing initiation or already in active duty. They are highly capable soldiers, who act as powered backup to their more numerous mortal allies. They hold the front lines in war, man battle equipment, and perform other tasks that require super-powered capacities to accomplish.

Most Degrees are only implanted and treated once, rendering them able to fight at a somewhat low but still respectable fighting capacity, but they are generally unable to grow beyond that state until technology advances further. A special few, however, have shown remarkable compatibility with the developing technology, and have been selected for both more advanced training and are generally subject to multiple upgrades in their treatments and implants. These special warriors are grouped into their own task force called the Radians, where they act more independently than their squad-based brethren, and can often act on par with their more naturally endowed power wielder comrades.

Radians are used in special situations where only a small force can be deployed but a large amount of power is required. They parachute behind enemy lines, they operate the Legion's more cutting-edge personnel equipment, and they do the dirty work that nobody else can or will do. They often specialize in a focused role, such as handling heavy weaponry, subverting hostile computer systems, infiltration, and others.

The Hands

Many power wielders who have earned their powers themselves or were born with them enlist as Hands of the Compass. Mostly equivalent to the Ranger Guard division of the past, their primary focus is on defending Cardinal from domestic and foreign threats, and are usually among the first on the scene when trouble erupts in a public area. Unlike the Ranger Guard, however, the Hands are also deployed in foreign theatres during times of war, and are used to directly assault high-profile threats, since they are often the strongest fighters on a battlefield.

The Radiant Fist

Picked from the most elite of the Radians and the Hands, the Radiant Fist is the pinnacle of the Legion's power, though perhaps not their most creatively named group. When the rest of the world looks to measure Cardinal's military power, they often gauge themselves by the strength of the Fist. Though only extraordinary fighting ability is required to be a part of the Fist, only those who are capable of taking on the greatest fighters in the entire world are accepted into their ranks. Every member has earned distinction from the upper echelons of the Compass. When the final showdowns dawn between Cardinal and its enemies, the Fist will be there to ensure victory. When the impossible needs doing, the brass turn to the Fist to get it done.

The Armada

The Armada embody Cardinal's armored and mechanized corps. Everything from its budding but powerful space fleet to the advanced squadrons of corvettes patrolling Cardinal's skies and bombing its foes, to all the things that float, swim, fight, and protect in its waters belongs to the Armada. Though the great buildings and outposts in Cardinal and on Earth belong to the Legion, the orbital station ARCHIE belongs to Cardinal, as well its other floating military establishments in space, air, and water.

Of course, these machines and vessels don't simply operate themselves (well, mostly they don't), and so the Armada is staffed with the people who take care of every aspect of creating, commanding, and maintaining the broad assortment of mobile assets at Cardinal's disposal. Its personnel are more mortal-heavy than the other branches, because in many instances, powered perceptions and abilities are unneeded. Nonetheless, power wielders are still a healthy portion of the Armada's complement, manning battle stations during inter-vessel skirmishes, piloting power-wielder-powered fighters, and defending assets from invasion. Many power wielders in the Armada are talented engineers and mechanics who shine at creating and perfecting powered-level machines.

The Breakers

Entirely formed of power wielders, the Breakers are the Armada's heavily armored and spiked fist. Made of the grittiest and most fearless warriors, they specialize in weathering the brunt of the enemy's attack while crushing them back to repel boarders, to establish a beachhead, or to conquer a strategic location. Though part of the Armada, they are not confined to being a complement of a vessel, and may be called upon by other branches to contest heavily fortified positions, or to reinforce a battered front line. They excel at defensive formations, and are often backed up by mechanized infantry with the heaviest infantry ordinance at their disposal, for taking out stubborn and tough targets.

The Network

Ugh, I'm too tired to type this all up right now. They are the support. They are the spies, the researchers, and the military investigators.

Though mocked because they're not a marching force, they mesh heavily with the other two branches and provide crucial support in nearly every aspect of military operation, from providing intelligence to magical support to policing the military itself. Knowledge and communication are their specialty, but they are not above getting their hands dirty.

Power wielder population is somewhere between Armada and Legion.

PsiCorps

Psionic folks who specialize in detection, interrogation, and rooting out spies.

Section Mu

Elite spies, snipers, assassins, secret weapons, and other cloaky sneaky folks.

Mysterium

Pretty much every mage. Arcane research. Heavy-duty, broad-sweeping rituals. Handling of dangerous artifacts. Magical combat support.