Military and Warfare in the Empire of Lethe

## Military Units

Militaries and Armadas are typically composed of numerous quads – four soldiers trained to work together – which form the basis of each unit:

Each level is overseen by a quad, wherein each member of that quad has direct command of two ‘units’ at that level. Quads which oversee the Imperial Armada and Military both answer to the Ministry of Defense.

Members of a quad are incredibly close and lean on one another to rise or fall through the ranks together. This closeness is a double-edged sword: their implicit trust in one another allows them to accomplish at a greater rate than other structures; however, the death of a member will typically result in the loss of the remaining members due to their relentless desire to pursue vengeance.

## Rank

Rank within the Imperial military follows a regimented and graded system with equivalencies between the Army and Fleet while maintaining their historic traditions. It is further divided between *commissioned officers* and *enlisted ranks*.

Many house and territorial militaries have different ranks and rank names, though they often share commonalities and equivalencies with the Imperial system.

## Warfare

There are four main types of Warfare: Theatrical, Personal, Blood Feuds, Imperial.

### Theatrical Warfare

Theatrical Warfare is for entertainment purposes only and is broadcast throughout the galaxy. Theatrical Wars cover a wide variety of genres, including historical reenactments and war games of various kinds. Although dangerous, participants are unlikely to sustain fatal damage and all “killed” players are instead retired for the season. Additionally, weapons involved in theatrical warfare are modified to be non-lethal and arenas are specifically engineered for the purpose of being captured on camera.

There are two ways to consume Theatrical Warfare: live feeds and recaps.

Live feeds run 24 hours per day for viewers to watch at any time, and there are numerous “channels” dedicated to specific types of games and warfare. Battles are filmed by drone cameras flying around the arena to capture as much as possible and may even take advantage of a player’s downtime by “interviewing” a player as they read from a list of submitted questions.

Recaps run in the morning and evening and will summarize a given day’s major events. These recaps will detail major plays, “injuries,” and “deaths,” and will likewise feature commentary from “experts” to discuss strategies and speculate what may happen next.

As with any major source of entertainment, major players (such as generals or admirals) are viewed as celebrities. Taliesin the Radiant is one of the galaxy’s most renown celebrities, vaunted for his skill on the battlefield and affable personality off of it.

### Personal Warfare

Personal Warfare typically occurs when a Noble House or wealthy family feels slighted and wishes to exact vengeance using mercenaries or personal soldiers. Such battles are smaller scale, involving less than a million soldiers, and are considered a great way for people to move up the ranks in the military.

### Blood Feuds

Blood Feuds arise when Personal Warfare between families goes too far and are wars in all but name: they are fought between millions of soldiers and star systems, involve elite teams of countless fleets of warships and ground troops, and are led by military strategists.

Although Blood Feuds are major wars fought between millions of soldiers and star systems, they are not labeled wars so as to prevent intervention from the Empress.

### Imperial Warfare

As the Empire’s resources vastly exceed any other House may hope to produce, Imperial Warfare is not common and hasn’t been seen since Bracas Bessier attempted to seize the throne in 13902.

## Espionage

Spies and their networks have myriad uses, ranging from monitoring, intercepting, spoofing, and posing as loyal members of a given House or organization. Though not openly discussed, it is assumed that correspondence is always being monitored.

## Arms and Weaponry

Although technology has advanced such that lasers do have a place in warfare, ballistics are still the standard for personal combat and small-scale battles due to the cost needed to manufacture bullets. As the scale of combat increases, lasers become more cost-effective.

Similarly, lasers are not used in personal combat due to the apparatus needed to fire them; typically, vehicles larger than a 4-door sedan will have lasers equipped to it, along with shielding to prevent laser attacks from disrupting the vessel's own electrical systems.