Illuminate Star Navy

The Illuminate Star Navy is the principle military branch of the Illuminate. It is one of the largest military forces in the Outback, with a total size larger than a number of smaller nations combined by both numbers and tonnage With just over 22 million active and 4.4 million reserve personnel, the Illuminate Star Navy is by far the largest of the branches of the Illuminate military. Its total fleet size is 242 combat capable starships with another 185 non combatant support ships.

The Illuminate Star Navy was founded shortly after the Illuminate itself, with the Athanah pushing for a unified military service for (then) both parties to have equal partnership in to avoid an imbalance of power in the Illuminate. Both the Lossarans and Athanah combined their respective militaries into the Illuminate Star Navy, and that philosophy still holds to the present day.

The Illuminate Star Navy can be considered a true Black Sky military, being able to project power throughout the galaxy thanks to its advanced FTL and large support service that allow for long range deployments of large numbers of vessels, though the Star Navy rarely performs such deployments outside of wartime. The Star Navy answers directly to the Illuminate Princess, with its principle commander being appointed directly by the Princess.

# Organization

The Star Navy is divided into a number of largely independent fleets, each fleet is responsible for a certain aspect of the Star Navy, and is somewhat specialized into that role. The command structure above the fleets is largely administrative, with little actual authority over the fleets themselves. Each fleet is expected to operate as a complete force by itself, with the fleet commanders given significant leeway so long as each of their general duties are met to the satisfaction of the Princess.

## 2nd Orbital Knights Fleet

The 2nd Fleet is responsible of the defense of interstellar commerce and general duties outside of the Illuminate, including diplomatic visits, colonial development, deep space patrol, piracy suppression, military deterrence, and other duties as required by the Illuminate or the Fleet Commander.

The 2nd Fleet is commanded by Crusader Jartrin Cricejurrar, one of the few Athanah Crusaders and is widely considered to be the most successful fleet commander in Illuminate history, due to his actions during both the Iconian invasion, and the Scourge war, where the 2nd Fleet obtained the fewest losses of any of the Illuminate Star Navy, and is often cited as preventing the Scourge from doing even more damage to the Illuminate.

## 3rd Interdiction Fleet

The 3rd Fleet is kept primarily as a reserve fleet ready at all times for the outbreak of war, and when activated, represents the primary offensive arm of the Star Navy. The main goal of the 3rd Fleet is to force a hostile nation onto the defensive, and as a result holds the majority of the combat oriented vessels of the Star Navy.

Commanded by Crusader Rition Bout, an older and well respected Losarran, she is well matched to the aggressive doctrine of the 3rd Fleet, preferring to go on the attack in nearly all aspects of life itself. Experienced in a number of older conflicts that predate the 26th Fleet's arrival into the Outback, she is generally considered to be an extremely capable and dangerous foe to have, something the other fleet commanders can attest to after fleet exercises and wargames.

## 4th Orbital Knights Fleet

The 4th Fleet is primarily responsible for defense of Illuminate territory and internal patrols, border security, and general internal affairs. While technically the largest fleet by number of ships, most of those are light, short range frigates to ward of pirates and raiders.

Commanded by Crusader Lilorith Dulkistenash, another of the few Athanah to ever become a Crusader. She earned command of the 4th Fleet after the Iconian invasion, proving to be a capable combat commander and tactician, though rumors circulate that her ascension was driven by political interference, though no hard evidence has ever surfaced.

## 6th Expeditionary Fleet

The 6th Fleet is the logistical arm of the Star Navy, containing most of the Star Navy's support vessels. It primarily exists as an administrative group to organize the logistics force, and detach ships to other fleets where necessary. As a result, it is not a unified force in the same manner as other fleets, and rarely acts as a single unit.

Commanded by Crusader Eldes Ilrian, a venerable Losarran that has been in command of the 6th Fleet for nearly 200 years. She always seems to know where to send her ships almost before the commanders that ask for them know that they need them, and prides herself and her fleet for being ready for nearly any conceivable situation. The 6th Fleet was responsible for the vast majority of successful evacuations from worlds attacked by the Scourge.

## 8th Expeditionary Fleet

The 8th Fleet is the exploration, outreach, and scientific arm of the Star Navy. With losses from the Scourge conflict, the formerly separate scientific and diplomatic fleets of the Star Navy were merged into the 8th Fleet, to free up a Crusader for other duties. The smallest and often most widely spread of the fleets, it is primarily an administrative force to oversee and organize scientific and diplomatic missions taken by the Illuminate, with its vessels spending most of their deployment as solitary ships in far flung assignments.

Commanded by Crusader Rylene Min, the young (relatively) Losarran spends nearly all of her time out in the field with one of the vessels of the 8th Fleet, exploring some far away nebula or interacting with a new culture. Decades can go by without her being seen, and a recent joke in the 8th Fleet is that the Crusader is merely a myth to keep the ship captains in line.

## Illuminate Naval Infantry

The Naval Infantry is the primary ground force of the Star Navy, responsible for ship security, ship-to-ship actions, and ship-to-surface operations. Each fleet has its own force of Naval Infantry, which handles shipboard security and the occasional ship to ship boarding action. If it ever becomes necessary to invade a hostile world, the Naval Infantry organizes its own force to avoid burdening any of the fleets with taking charge of potentially millions of soldiers. Naval Infantry forces are highly trained and well equipped, relying on overwhelming firepower and rapid assault to overcome defending forces. The Naval Infantry does not have the manpower to sustain prolonged conflicts or occupations of hostile worlds, and will hand off such duties to the Territorial Defense Force at the first opportunity.

## Star Navy Special Warfare

The Special Warfare branch is the Star Navy's main special operations force, similar in structure and mission to Starfleet MACO. Operating in small teams with the best training and equipment available to the Illuminate, Special Warfare forces perform missions that would be too risky for other forces to take, in any environment, and at any time.

# Personnel

The Star Navy totals over 26,700,000 personnel, about 12 million are Naval Infantry or support personnel, with the rest being divided between the various fleets, reserve personnel, civilians in service, or Initiates undergoing training at one of the several Star Navy academies.

The Uniform of the Star Navy has been mostly unchanged since it's founding, with the predominant colors being white and green, with blue and purple accents in some uniforms. The uniforms were taken from the traditions of the Athanah military, with Losarran influence added to signify the joint nature of the new Star Navy.

Ranks in the Star Navy are somewhat different from a traditional ranking system, coming from the Losarran military when the Star Navy was founded. All recruits are Initiates until they complete their training.

After an Initiate graduates from an academy, they become a Knight. All full members of the Star Navy are Knights, with titles being added to reflect a Knights training or position. Examples include Knight-Healer for a medical officer, or Knight-Commander for a high level Naval Infantry commander.

Knight-Paladin is given to commanders of starships in recognition of the achievement, and is the only military title that may be used in lieu of the full title in official occasions and communications. The title is only allowed for as long as an officer commands a starship, and it will be removed once an officer is no longer in command, with the only exception being while waiting to transfer to command of another vessel.

Crusaders are unique within the Star Navy, as many of them often fall outside of the Star Navy's command structure. The only way to become a Crusader is to gain the personal recognition of the sitting Princess and be appointed the title. Once a Crusader gains the title, they have it for life, and it can only be removed by the Princess under exceptional circumstances. Most crusaders acquire the title by performing some great deed, and a number of them have been given the title posthumously. While there is technically no limit to the number of Crusaders, historically the number has rarely exceeded two dozen living Crusaders.

# Equipment

## Ships

The Illuminate Star Navy operates a total of 427 ships across the entire fleet, including non combat support ships crewed by non-military personnel. The prefix for all Star Navy vessels is ISN, standing for 'Illuminate Star Navy', the prefix and names for ships is always translated when such translations are available. In addition, each vessel is given an alphanumeric hull classification and hull number in Losarran text, though this is generally not used outside of computer systems and data tracking.

### Super-Capitals

The largest ships operated by the Star Navy, Super-Capitals are truly massive warships above traditional capital ships such as battleships and fleet carriers. Super-Capitals operate as fleet flagships, their massive firepower and protection guarding the fleet commander and their staff. While technically capable of operating independently, these ships are far too expensive for such a risk, and are always accompanied by a swarm of smaller escorts and support ships. Ship classes under the Super-Capital designation are the Paragon and Ythisatha class ships.

### Capital Ships

Capital ships form the core offensive and defensive power of the Illuminate fleet. These are the largest vessels that will engage in direct combat, and will typically lead the larger sub-formations within a fleet. These ships are almost entirely dedicated to ship-to-ship combat, and suffer greatly outside that role. Their immense firepower and protection come at the cost of flexibility, if the role is not destroying ships, it is best served to pick another ship. Ship classes considered Capital Ships are the Avalanche class, Isenoria Class, and the White Mountain class.

### Cruisers

Cruisers form the backbone of the Star Navy, the most versatile and capable ships that can operate independently. Most often seen operating on far out assignments, these ships are the ones that are most commonly seen by foreign powers. In fleet formations, cruisers are either escorting larger ships, or are the center of smaller flotillas of destroyers and frigates. Exploration, diplomacy, research, disaster relief, surface support, and humanitarian missions are part of the missions that cruisers can perform well. Classes of Cruisers are the Infinity, Torrent, and Mirage class ships.

### Destroyers

Destroyers are small, hunter-killer ships dedicated to combat. Designed around wolfpack tactics to hunt down and destroy other ships, Illuminate destroyers have significantly stronger weapons and engines than other ships their size, making them dangerous but single minded, as there is almost no room for anything else, even the crew. Destroyers never work alone, and a properly coordinated group can easily overwhelm much larger ships. Classes of Destroyers include the Vesper and Specter classes.

### Frigates

The smallest but most numerous type of ship, Frigates serve as the Star Navy's small, general purpose ships. Frigates are designed to be highly modular, while this makes an individual frigate highly specialized, overall they are capable of performing any necessary task. Every fleet contains a veritable swarm of frigates to support the larger ships, and take on tasks that large ships are poorly suited for. Transport, screening, scouting, minesweeping/laying, medical support, surveying, communications, electronic warfare, etc. are all tasks generally carried out by frigates, among many more. Classes of Frigates include the Beacon, Spirit, and Flare classes.

### Combat Spacecraft

Unlike many spacefaring powers, the Star Navy has invested significant resources to developing and fielding combat capable small craft. Fighter and bomber wings are a core part of Star Navy doctrine, and have consistently proven to be successful. All of the largest ships carry varying numbers of these craft, some significantly more than others. In addition to fleet combat, these craft also play a crucial role for patrols inside and around star systems. Many small spacecraft are capable of faster than light travel, fast enough to catch most civilian ships, but the small power plants limit their top and cruise speed compared to military vessels. Spacecraft in this category include the Swift Wind, Solace, Chariot, Aluminar, and Restorer.

## Weapons

Weapons in the Star Navy can be categorized into three types: energy weapons, missile weapons, and ballistic weapons. The most common energy weapon is the Oblivion cannon, a high power cannon that fires plasma bolts infused with tetryon energy. Electron beams, rotary plasma guns, and lighter plasma guns are also used by the Star Navy. Missile based weapons are primarily used for long range attack, or destroying targets with reduced shields. The most common missile weapon is the Serpentine cruise missile, a small and cheap missile that can be fired in huge numbers. A recent addition to the Star Navy is the Harmonic torpedo, to augment close range combat capabilities. Ballistic weapons appear to be anachronistic in the modern era, but they still find use in the Star Navy. Due to needing long barrels for acceleration, only larger ships have ballistic weapons, where they generally find use for attacking stationary targets from beyond defensive range.