Guardian Space Fleet

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The GSF is the largest and (arguably) most powerful national spacefleet in the Web of Worlds. The GSF has become the primary branch of Guardia's military over the course of the last several years, in large part because of the Kingdom's many space colonies across both the Core and the Fringe. The source of the GSF's power comes less from strength of arms and numbers, but rather from cooperation with local powers in each dimension and from the establishment of strong colonial bases everywhere the fleet operates. No interdimensional fleet could exist for very long without ties to terrestrial bases, and the GSF has some of the strongest and longest-lasting groundling ties in every Gate-colonized dimension.

Iconography

In every Guardian colony, two banners fly: above, the Guardian Coat of Arms. And directly beneath it, the flag of the GSF. The GSF's flag bears the Coat of Arms (a black silhouetted dragon against a two-toned red-and-orange shield) before a dark blue background, with a pair of crossed white bars behind it. To the left of the Coat of Arms are three gold stars, representing the Core Colonies (Sanctuary in Mana, Defiance in Crystal and Testament in Esper). To the right, are two stars representing the Fringe Dimensions of Alter and Merge. In addition to being displayed in Guardian colonies, the GSF flag is also emblazoned on the hulls of GSF vessels. It is also carried as an arm patch on the right shoulder of a GSF uniform (the left shoulder boasts an arm patch of the Guardian national flag).

Command

The Fleet is run by Grand Admiral Malvo Thames and his Council of Admirals. Thames himself is based with the Crownguard Fleet in Gatespace, but the Crownguard and her entourage may move to where ever they are needed as deemed by Grand Admiral Thames.

Hierarchy

Each dimension within the GSF has its own "Fleet," which is based out of the major colony in that dimension and commanded by one of the Admirals from the Council. Thus the chain of command within the fleet goes as follows:

• Grand Admiral (Crownguard Fleet)
  • Council of Admirals
    • Fleet Admiral
    • Vice Admiral (hold advisory positions on the Council)
    • Rear Admiral (do not hold positions on the Council)
  • Ship's Officers Corps
    • Ship's Captain
    • Executive Commander
    • Lieutenant Commander
  • Aerospace Fighter Corps
    • Wing Commander
    • Flight Lieutenant
    • Flight Corporal
    • Flight Cadet
  • Ship Specialists (all of equal rank)
    • Engineer
      • Chief Engineer
      • Specialist Lieutenant
      • Junior Specialist Lieutenant
      • Specialist
    • Comp Sys Tech
      • Chief CST
      • Specialist Lieutenant
      • Junior Specialist Lieutenant
      • Specialist
    • Communications and Sensors Technician
      • Ship's Communications Chief
      • Specialist Lieutenant
      • Junior Specialist Lieutenant
      • Specialist
    • Medical Personnel
      • Ship's Doctor
      • Specialist Lieutenant
      • Junior Specialist Lieutenant
      • Specialist
    • Chaplains
      • Ship's Chaplain
      • Specialist Lieutenant
      • Junior Specialist Lieutenant
      • Specialist
    • Science and Research Analysts
      • Chief Analyst
      • Specialist Lieutenant
      • Junior Specialist Lieutenant
      • Specialist
    • Weapon Systems Technician
      • Chief Weaponeer
      • Specialist Lieutenant
      • Junior Specialist Lieutenant
      • Specialist
    • Internal Systems Technician
      • Chief IST
      • Specialist Lieutenant
      • Junior Specialist Lieutenant
      • Specialist
    • Shipboard Security Personnel
      • Ship's Security Chief
      • Specialist Lieutenant
      • Junior Specialist Lieutenant
      • Specialist
    • Marines
      • Marine Major
      • Specialist Lieutenant
      • Junior Specialist Lieutenant
      • Specialist
  • Fleet Crewmen
    • Ensign
    • Midshipman

A graduate of the Guardian Fleet Academy in enlisted and placed with an assignment as a Midshipman. Midshipmen perform general crew duties aboard a Fleet Vessel, as well as maintain colony-bound anchorages or stations in deep space. By far the better part of the GSF's enlisted membership holds this rank. Midshipmen are overseen by Ensigns, who serve as go-betweens from the Crewmen to the Officers Corps. An Ensign will typically be the highest-ranking member of an anchorage crew, as Officers in the fleet are reserved for ship service only. As an Ensign, a crewman of the Fleet has several options available to him. At next promotion, he can advance either into the ranks of the Specialists, the Fighter Corps or the Officers Corps. Specialists handle specialized tasks aboard a ship, from high-technology positions like Engineer and Comp Sys Tech to the more physically rigorous Security and Marine posts. Each brand of specialist requires extra Academy training, which can be completed in advance before the rank of Midshipman is realized or during a Ship's Captain approved Leave of Absence for the purposes of continued Academy Training (section 8-4G of the GSF Measure). Each branch of Ship's Specialist is overseen on each vessel by a Chief (or, in the case of the GSF Marines, a Major), who operates as a sub-officer of sorts; Specialists of all stripes operate at parallel rank to one another, and their Chiefs operate at parallel rank to an Aerospace Fighter Corps Wing Commander (just below Lieutenant Commander). It should also be noted that Crewman ranks are commuted for Chaplains, Medical personnel and Science and Research specialists. These Specialist ranks are admitted directly into Specialist rank by the GSF based upon their pursuing Specialist degrees at the Guardian Fleet Academy. Though their roles are primarily non-military in nature, their services are deemed as integral to the functioning of life aboard a Fleet Vessel. As such they are accorded respect per their rank, and expected to act in accordance with the expectations of their military rank, within the command hierarchy of the GSF. The Aerospace Fighter Corps (AFC) was originally classified as a brand of Specialist under the original Measure of the GSF, but this was changed after the Hivan War to recognize the vital contribution that the Fighter Corps makes as a versatile military component to the Fleet. Ranked members of the AFC are higher in rank than their equivalents among the Ship's Specialists, though Wing Commanders and Specialist Chiefs share parallel command rank. The AFC subdivides itself into tasks, for which members train both in computer simulation and in live-flying drills. Tasks include capital defense, interception, skirmishing, hit-and-fade, terrestrial strike, flanking attack, and others. Specialization in certain tasks is encouraged, though not required; in fact, it would be impossible (and impractical) to have every member of the AFC specialized in a given task. However, most Wing Commanders prefer to have several Flight Lieutenants who are specialized in assorted tasks, to better lead squadrons of less-specialized pilots in special maneuvers. It is these elite squadron leaders that have given the GSF such a respectable reputation in aerospace fighter engagements. The Ship's Officers Corps (SOC) forms the core of command aboard a Guardian Space Fleet Vessel. A given ship is generally commanded by a Captain, though a Fleet Admiral, Vice Admiral or Rear Admiral can serve in this capacity as well (a prominent example is the ship GSFV Crownguard, which does not have an officer of the rank of Ship's Captain, instead being commanded directly by Grand Admiral Thames himself). Executive and Lieutenant Commanders serve as immediate subordinates to the Ship's Captain/Admiral, and one of each is always set aside as the Ship's First Officer and Ship's Second Officer, respectively.

The Fleets of the GSF

• Crownguard Fleet -
  • C/O: Grand Admiral Malvo Thames
  • Flagship: GSFV Crownguard

The Crownguard Fleet revolves around the GSF Flagship, the GSFV Crownguard, a modified Phoenix class cruiser. By default the Crownguard and her entourage are considered part of the Gatespace fleet, but Admiral Thames can (and often does) take the Crownguard Fleet to other destinations across the Web.

• Gatespace Fleet -
  • C/O: Admiral Maximilian Gordon
  • Flagship: GSFV Vanguard
  • Anchorage(s): Atreus (Gate IV), Orbital I and Orbital II (moons of Gate IV), Lunalis I and Lunalis II (moons of Gate III)

Also called the Home Fleet, their primary duties involve the defense of Gatespace from external threats. Admiral Gordon is a contemporary and rival of Thames from the old Guardian Royal Navy, and won his commission as the Home Fleet Admiral as a show of the Grand Admiral's good will.

• Crystalspace Fleet -
  • C/O: Admiral Henry Krogstad
  • Flagship: GSFV Bulwark
  • Anchorage: Defiance (Crystal IV)

Among the first of the dimensional fleets to be incorporated during the Age of Colonization, the Crystalspace Fleet is the most senior of all the fleets presently operating within the Crystal Dimension. The Crystalspace Fleet has been protecting free space in Crystal ever since the Hivan War. The Crystalspace Fleet is based out of the Guardian colony of Defiance on Crystal IV. Admiral Krogstad is another of Thames' GRN Captains, who has been at the helm of the Crystalspace Fleet since the earliest days of the Hivan War.

• Esperspace Fleet -
  • C/O: Admiral Hal Drummond
  • Flagship: GSFV Sentinnel
  • Anchorage: Testament (Esper IV)

Also among the first and oldest of the GSF fleets, the Esperspace Fleet was founded during the Age of Colonization and is one of the four Core Fleets of the GSF. The Esperspace Fleet is itself an exhibit of the close relationship between the Kingdom of Guardia and the Esper Union: Admiral Drummond is a Narshean, the product of an officer-exchange program between Mic Hosluft's Sky Riders and the fledgling GSF years and years ago. Drummond only recently acquired full Guardian citizenship and ascended to the rank of Admiral.

• Manaspace Fleet -
  • C/O: Admiral Andru Laertes
  • Flagship: GSFV Majestic
  • Anchorage: Sanctuary (Mana IV)

One of the four Core Fleets of the GSF, the Manaspace Fleet has more of a diplomatic function these days than a military one. With the rise of the RAF, Admiral Laertes has been instructed to pare down his fleet's patrols of the Dimension in an effort to sustain good relations between the Kingdom and the Tasnica Republic. Laertes has recently been appointed (by Grand Admiral Thames) as an unofficial "go-between" with the RAF leadership (because Thames can't stand Mountbatten).

• Mergespace Fleet -
  • C/O: Admiral Ko Wakatsuki
  • Flagship: GSFV Steadfast
  • Anchorage: Conviction (Merge IV)

Though now one of several fleets operating in Mergespace, the GSF Mergespace Fleet was the second major space force to undertake operations in the Merge Dimension (the first having been the IJF). Admiral Wakatsuki is a former student of Thames, carried over (like so many officers) from the GRN into the GSF.

• Alterspace Fleet -
  • C/O: Admiral Tal Ross
  • Flagship: GSFV Uzu
  • Anchorage: Tartarus (Alter V)

The Uzu was the first vessel from the outside Web to discover the Alter Dimension, and so it was around that vessel that the Alterspace Fleet was formed. The Alterspace Fleet is the more distinguished of the two Fringe branches of the GSF, for it is in Alter that the problem of Piracy is greatest. It should also be noted that at least some of the prestige that comes with serving in the Alter fleet is derived from the knowledge that Alter was discovered by Guardians. Though the first Admiral of the Alterspace Fleet, Victor Velasco, has since gone on to become the head of SAGA, his former first officer aboard the Uzu, Tal Ross, has risen into the Admiralty to take his place.

• Rogue Squadron -
  • C/O: General Jarrod Rogue
  • Flagship: Monitor

A detachment of the Crystalspace Fleet, Rogue Squadron currently operates under the aegis of the GSF, but is staffed almost completely by Medinan expatriates. Created as a gesture on behalf of the Kingdom of Guardia to help Medina re-launch its space presence, Rogue Squadron's current assignment is to patrol between the Gatian Colonies of the Web and provide supplemental protection. General Rogue is a Medinan hero who served in the defense of Medina during the Hivan War, but has been in exile since the days of Tyurin Cage.