Military

Thank you to Medic and my long time friend who is serving in the military now for helping with this page.

Seeing as the military is one of the most important factors of Alternia in canon and in Aleph Null this needs to be addressed.

The Alternian Empire is already known for being a military powerhouse as stated before but the scope of it is terrifying. They really are a force to be reckon with when it comes to waging war on outsiders. They have the largest slice of the galaxy because of that war machine even though they have slowed down considerably with the reigning empress. Just to explain how large of a scale the military actually is around 10% of the entire population is part of the military. With Alternia having over 300 billion citizens in this universe around 30 billion of those citizens are in some part of the military. That may sound like a big number but it is only 10%. To be fair the military is very highly praised inside the empire and there are propaganda posters every way you turn. Alternia has a habit of almost fetishising their own military and making it seem like it’s the highest honor in the galaxy.

As an Alternian you can also join the military early at 7.5 sweeps or 16 years old and start your training early. Not only that but when it is time for newly recognized adults to be separated from the kids they again get the option to join the military again. It is also a much more stable option to go with, especially for lowbloods because you are guaranteed food and shelter as long as you serve. Blood color also doesn't matter to the same extent that it does outside of the military, it goes more by what your rank is. There are caste rules inside ranks but if you are a jade and you have a gold as a superior you are required to listen to them.

The military is broken up into 5 branches, each branch is known for the majority of one skill but all branches contain generally the same job positions. All branches regularly cross over and interact with each other, the difference is their training.

Army: The Army protects the security of the Alternian Empire(internal and external) and its resources. As the oldest and largest military branch it specialises in planet/ in atmosphere warfare rather than space.

Invaders (Marines): Invaders are what most people think of when they think Alternian Military. They are used as expeditionary forces that expand the empires boundaries and are the faction of the empire thats used to initiate attacks on other galactic entities.

Navy: The Navy defends travel and trade within the empire as well as protecting the boarders of the empire from outside forces. It specialises in galactic defense resulting in most Naval forces spending the majority of their time stationed on starships.
Sub-Space Force (Air Force): The Sub-Space Force protects Alternia's interests internally and abroad with a focus on atmospheric and deep space warfare.

Homefleet (Coast Guard):The Homefleet protects the public, and security interests in any outter ring regions, they are usually used to protect and keep order in newly established colonies and work closely with the Navy.

Cavalreapers - Primarily used by Homefleet, Army, and Invaders encompass the vast majority of armor in service. Including SPAA (Self-propelled anti-aircraft weapons), tanks, and IFVs (Infantry fighting vehicles). They do not include artillery at this point in time

Ruffiannihilator - All branches have use for them, referring to soldiers of a squad who are designated breacher. Typically armed with either a shotgun and/or a sub-machine gun. They also carry plastic explosives to make quick work of heavy doors.

Archeradicators - The Alternian term for Marksmen, including sniper teams, designated marksmen in squads, and even forward scouts. While all branches use them, the Sub-Space force employs them most commonly for ground-based operations such as forward reconnaissance.

Threshecutioner - Slang for any member of a Tier 1 Special Operations unit, not all threshecutioners are created equal and specialize in their own set of particular skills depending on their branch. Homefleet threshecutioners would be similar to the FBI HRT (Federal Bureau of Investigation's Hostage Rescue Team) or Homefleet MSRT (Maritime Security Response Team) whereas the Army threshecutioners would be similar to the US’ Delta Force or DEVGRU (SEAL Team Six).

Laughsassins are not legally a member of any standing military, rather employed by the Ministry of Surveillance and Observation similar to the US' CIA-SAD (The Central Intelligence Agency's Special Activities Center). Laughsassins are sent on operations which the Empire doesn't want their name on, but need done. Kidnapping, torture, 'False-Flag' terrorist attacks, etc…

Administructor: These trolls are a special faction that works mostly on bases to train those enlisted. They are essentially drill instructors, they are harsh and intimidating but have been trained to be restrained. Their job is to instruct customs and practices of military life, physical fitness, instruction in the proper execution of military drill, instilling discipline and willingness to immediately obey all lawful orders given by superiors, basic armed and unarmed combat training. Administructors share the same badge as the branch they are training but usually have an extra line underneath the badge.

Note: Active Camo/Optical Camo are the reaction to developing an all around camouflage for both individuals and machinery. This comes from the real life development of Quantum Stealth. It is a material that renders the target completely invisible by bending light waves around the target. The material removes not only your visual, infrared (night vision) and thermal signatures but also the target’s shadow. The one thing it doesn't hide is a person's heat signature.

Basic training usually takes about half a sweep (the equivalent of a year) the longest out of any other military. Half way though they are moved into their different factions based on the skills that each troll scores highest on. Alternians prides them selves on this claiming to have the best trained military in the galaxy. After that trolls rise in the ranks at their own paces up to warlord which may take hundreds to thousands of sweeps usually This means the higher ranks are really all made up of highbloods who have the life spans to live that long. These trolls tend to be in control of a large amounts of star ships from eclipse class carriers to battleships.

The only caste-restricted ranks are the three ‘Warlord’ ranks which are exclusivly held by seadwellers.

‘Supreme Warlords’ do not have any more authority than ‘Warlords’, it is a distinction rank which is heavily sought after. Warlords can earn this rank by proving themselves remarkable in the face of the empire. The promotion to Supreme Warlord is rare, and most often posthumously as it takes the empire quite some time to recognize just how important specific actions are/were.

Each branch has their own rank structure. While all identical, their authority does not stretch beyond branches unless specified by the Emissary Warlord, and even then only temporarily. Example, an Invader Private does not theoretically have to listen to a Navy Colonel’s orders, as they are in separate branches. However, it may be ill-advised to outright ignore or disobey this order regardless.

Emissary Warlord is only held by a single alternian. As of now it is held by the tyrian Blalip Shuath, the eldest tyrian troll in the empire. He is the head of the military and Her Unassailable Luminary's right hand man. If she was to be killed outside of lawful combat he would step up as the Emissary ruler in her stead until the youngest tyrian comes of age to take the crown.