Dragoons Unusual Operations Command

***Aeldrum Dragoons***"*If you see a Dragoons Unusual Operative, you are already either:**a) Dead

or

b) Caught unavoidably in an ambush

In either case, the best course of action is to lie down and pray to your preferred god for salvation.*" —  The Intrepid Guide to the Cosmos, Excerpted

The **Dragoons Unusual Operations Command** was a branch of the Aeldrum Dragoons. The Duos were Aeldrum's elite special operations squads, operating on the most sensitive matters of state for the Dutchy of Aeldrum. They usually operated in teams of six, paired into squads of 13 (with one added officer/coordinator) — a number that most Duos felt was an appropriate portent for the kinds of work they were engaged in.

## History

It is unclear when the DUOC was first created. Its origins may stretch back all the way to the Restoration of the Seventh Spire and the special mercenary forces which were recruited to effect the restoration. Evidence suggests that the government which became the Dutchy of Aeldrum was aided by shadowy and unconfirmed means, suggesting that such a black operations organization might have existed at the time.

In any case, by the height of Aeldrum's empire, the DUOC was firmly established as the tool to apply covert force in the most critical locations. Its members were committed to advancing operational art through a mix of cultural exchange and practical development. Early DUOC tactics were heavily influenced by Irish and Orcish thought, likely due to the origins of the division's founders. Later operators expanded their repertoire and by the time of the Fialta-Shantine War, the command had in its employ instructors of almost all races and cultures across the cosmos - even a few from the Nippon States and Celestial Space. The men and women of the DUOS were therefore some of the most broadly educated and skilled specialists in the cosmos - matched only by the "Masters" students of Saldan's School of Combat Arts and the "Dakugoro" trained by the Veiled Masters in the strange arts of their elder gods.

However, as the empire began a period of decline following the war, the Duos were often sent out in smaller units across the empire to provide a critical base for the largely incompetent Aeldrum Trade Company. This often left them without critical support if the situation turned against them, as was the case during the Irish War of Independence (where Ducal arrogance led to the belief that they would not be necessary — the small team that was sent was eliminated by the duplicitous Governor Rothclaw before they could report on her occult experiments in the Irish wastes) and on the planet Singe during the Singe Rebellion (where they were killed attempting to capture an abandoned Mage Imperium vessel).

## Organization

As the Dragoons are the elite core of Aeldrum's armies, the Duos are the elite core of the Dragoons. Deployed in force, they are a foe to be reckoned with, employing the most advanced techniques and equipment in missions of infiltration, assassination, ambush, and guerrilla warfare. They are excellent trainers, recruiters, and force builders - often working to increase the quality of local recruits, resulting in the odd situation on certain worlds that the best formations on planet outside the dragoons are the handpicked local troops raised by the DUOS. Excellent at carrying out critical missions, operators are still mortals and do not have the staying power to be constantly carrying out dangerous tasks.

Currently the Duos suffer intensely from force dispersion — the next person in control of the Duos who realizes this may have a chance to re-concentrate, redeploy, and train further operatives to gain a serious advantage in key fights.

## Notes

1. ↑ DUOC, with its operatives often called DUOS [Dragoons Unusual Operations Squads], and known colloquially by a few different names, **"Crows"** or **"Buzzards"** being the most common.