Ground troops are similarly divided, with each of the four Primary corporations required to maintain a garrison base on their designated world and make their troops available whenever they might be needed for actions on behalf of the Syndicracy. This happens very rarely, but Brakiri infantry soldiers also serve as the race’s police force and corporate enforcement. These secondary duties keep the military constantly busy and while a Brakiri heavy infantryman might never see a real war in his lifetime, he is seldom bored.
Brakiri Rank System
The Brakiri do not have a terribly complicated rank structure, as their ground and fleet forces act more like employees in a violent corporation than soldiers. There is a chain of command, however, and while it may not be very complex, it is extremely rigid. Discipline is an absolute must; Brakiri troops are some of the least experienced in the galaxy at open warfare but also some of the best trained and organised.
G General: There is only one grade of general and only five of them in both branches of the military. This equates to two in the ground division and two in fleet with a fifth oversight general not attached to either one. This fifth general is stationed permanently on the world of the Primary Corporation sponsoring his military, while the other four generals are usually to be found with their respective division. Another point of note for the fifth general is that he is an executive first and a
military officer second, he does not possess or wear a rank insignia.
o G r o u n d
General: These two have equal authority but split jurisdictions. One is the executive general, responsible for coordinating his infantry forces with the will of the Syndicracy and his corporate sponsor. He is the ‘higher’ of the two generals, though technically he is not superior in that regard. The other general is the liaison general and he is in charge of the day to day operations of the infantry during their normal duties as civil control and peace officers. o Fleet General: Similar in division to the
ground generals, these two officers act as organisational directors in different fields of expertise. The executive fleet general is responsible for coordinating efforts whenever the fleet is part of a multi-corporation effort (such as during the Shadow War) and does technically outrank the second general in this capacity. The planetary general is responsible for the fleet at all other times, keeping it efficient and in operation around the corporation’s domain world in its typical defensive role.
G Captain: There are a number of captains, as this rank is the default leadership role below the office of general. Captains are in charge of divisions, large contingents of soldiers or fleet personnel and can be found at all levels of the Brakiri military. Within their own rank, captains have a level structure of their own, basing their authority off commendations and time in service. Captains have a staff of aides called junior grade captains; these officers are captains in training and typically serve four to five years before being given a command of their own as part of a corporate-mandated ‘division split’.
G Lieutenant-Liaison: This rank differs from the usual duties implied by ‘lieutenant’ due to the inclusion of the ‘liaison’ part. Lieutenant-
Brakiri
liaisons are appointed directly by the corporation sponsoring a given military and may hold any effective position in the chain of command below a captain, as the executives of the corporation see fit. These officers are appointed as the nominal heads of specific battle forces and special units, answering both to the captain directly above him and also to the executives of the company.
o Special Note: 90% of all the problems that exist within the Brakiri military occur at this level of the chain of command. The lieutenant-liaison position is very awkward in all but the best of cases; they are usually an anomaly in the command ranks and when orders go awry or untried officers make judgement calls that end poorly, there is often a lieutenant-liaison directly to blame. As such, the rank has authority but very little respect attached to it and most ‘LL’s try to get promoted to captain as quickly as they can.
G Personnel-Ensign: A rank with four levels, these are the common soldiers of the ground forces and the fleet of each corporation. Brakiri entering the military have the option of coming in at any of the four levels, with the highest being a leadership role at squad level as noted below. This entry rank is usually reserved for those with family connections but merit and talent occasionally warrant a ‘full four’ enlistment.
o PE4: A PE4, short for Personnel-Ensign: Grade 4, is the rank of a squad leader or commanding officer over some small segment of the force. PE4s are given preferential treatment when LL or captain positions come open, but otherwise this rank is just a great deal of hard work with little commensurate reward.
o PE3: A technical specialist role, soldiers that do not enter the military with the needed skills to achieve this rank either get the education required to do so or skip it to become PE4s if their leadership or political skills are sufficient for the job.
o PE2: An internal promotion rank, all PE1s become PE2s within five years of joining the military if they have not already managed a better rank. PE2s receive better accommodations and assignments, as well as a pay raise and retirement benefits. They are also expected to maintain a higher standard of performance and can be demoted back to PE1 status if they do not meet this work ethic.
o PE1: The entry grade rank, PE1s are the disposable soldiers of the Brakiri military and are assigned to all the menial and mundane tasks a corporate enterprise as massive as a ground army or space fleet