Coalition Wardens

A **Warden** is an operative within the Galactic Police of the Coalition of Intelligent Organisms that acts as a mid-level commander of GP forces on individual locations. They rank above individual squad captains, but below Coalition Megawardens, making them the third-in-command of the GP. Though their name implies they oversee the security of prisons, Coalition Wardens serve a variety of functions within the Galactic Police, mostly as commanding officers in militarized operations against criminal elements.

Wardens are promoted by their presiding Megawardens on a per-sector basis, with each Megawarden deciding who they should promote to Warden. Unlike Megawardens, who must have previously served as Wardens, Wardens can be enlisted from any lower branch of the Coalition GP, not just squad captains. A basic, low-level GP officer has the chance to become a Warden if their presiding Megawarden decides to promote them. Wardens themselves preside over individual colonies or Dyson Sphere sections, managing all GP activity within this limited sector of influence. The number of Wardens under the oversight of a single Megawarden varies throughout Coalition territory, though their largest concentrations are usually on Coalition Dyson Spheres, where they can number in the thousands. Individual colonies and satellites usually only have two or three Wardens managing GP operations on them, depending on their size.

Being more localized than Megawardens, the duties of most Wardens are much more focused on direct involvement with the troops under their command. Whenever disorder is reported in their zone of influence by one of their squad captains, a Warden will organize their troops and give combat orders, often leading raid forces themselves. During larger incursions, Wardens will often assist each other and lead combined assaults on criminal forces, sometimes being coordinated under the guidance of their presiding Megawarden. Unlike Megawardens, who rarely involve themselves in conflict outside of their sector, Wardens frequently aid law enforcement efforts outside of their monitoring zones if they aren’t doing anything important. Being equipped with heavy GI-16 power armor suits, Wardens are tough combatants, and can easily dispatch poorly-trained criminal forces on their own with their military-grade equipment and professional training.

However, being a Warden is not an easy occupation to hold, as it demands significant emotional and mental sacrifice from a person. Being mid-rank officers, Wardens are often involved more directly in their law-enforcement operations than Megawardens, meaning they witness all the travesties of the Coalition criminal underground more frequently. To harden their mind against these revolting experiences, most Wardens repress their emotions through a combination of medical procedures and mental conditioning, much like operatives in the Coalition Invasion Corps. Those that let these horrors get to them, however, often become paranoid, aggressive and sadistic. These traits are so common among the ranks of the GP that they comprise a mental affliction known as Warden’s Madness, which, owing to its name, originally manifested in Wardens. The high death rate among GP squad captains and Wardens is attributed not to the actions of criminal elements, but to the mental trauma these officers experience on a regular basis that often drives them to suicide, or reckless battlefield behavior that brings them a quick death.