Star Rangers Corps

The Star Rangers Corp is the oldest of the four Corps that make up the defense forces of the Mechanicum Rationalis. They came to be as an evolution of the planetary defense force of Novae IV and make up the Rationalis' standard infantry forces. The Star Rangers are generally the first in and last out in any combat zone and represent the face of the Novaean armed forces before the greater Imperium. Invariably as heavily augmented as their Martian Skitarii counterparts, but far more discretely so, the Star Rangers are deceptively though and combine resilience, maneuvering speed, initiative and advanced technology to create a fighting force to be reckoned with.

## History

Nominally an outgrowth of the Novae IV planetary defense forces, the modern Star Rangers have little in common with their forebears in how they fight and are organized, but there is still an unbroken chain between those cruder times and the present. They were presumably founded in 733.M18, the initial settlement of Novae IV, but even the extensive Novaean data vaults have some difficulties with events this distant. These initial PDFs were during these early days totally indistinguishable from any other militia of the burgeoning interstellar domain of humanity, using ancient STC patterns of familiar pieces of gear such as the present day lasguns and carapace armor.

It was when Novaeans began to develop their own distinct cultural identity throughout the 19th millenium that its PDF began to change and to resemble what would become their modern day form. Novaeans were highly enthusiastic about cybernetic self-enhancement, to a much greater degree than the average human world, and were among the front-runners of experimenting with such technology. Therefore it is no surprise that this sort of augmentations became commonplace among their soldiery. The proto-Rangers often featured whole cybernetic limbs and sensory enhancements that helped them run without tiring and spot and line up targets even in poor battlefield conditions, while of course enhancing their strength and durability.

Over the course of the next few millenia, the technology used by these cybernetic warriors would be incrementally refined, becoming more sophisticated, more miniaturized, more discrete and more versatile. It became commonplace among the proto Star Rangers to be more machine than man, and some among the most enthusiastic had very few organic parts left, looking almost indistinguishable from the actual AI citizen - for unlike the STC Men of Iron, sentient machines had full citizen rights on Novae IV - that often fought alongside them. During this time, it was still common for cybernetic rangers to flaunt their mechanical augmentations, but this tendency would reverse itself entirely when the cataclysmic conflict known as the revolt of the Men of Iron, or the Cybernetic Revolt in Imperial records, shook the galaxy.

This event shook Novaeans utterly, and the world nearly descended into chaos and anarchy as the heavily augmented populace feared their own bodies could betray them. When the hysteria died down thanks to the effort of the Council of the Seven, several major reforms were enacted. There was very real fear that since the Men of Iron had access to all STC technology and codes, they could find and exploit weaknesses inherent in their design. As such, new systems of encryption and communications had to be developed post-haste, with new weapon systems to replace the old at the earliest opportunity. Ironically, Novaeans' augments and Automata chassis, which were highly customized and not based at all on the STC, would prove effectively invulnerable to mass subversion attempts.

The war against the Men of Iron was a crucible that transformed the Novaean PDFs from a somewhat undisciplined and inexperienced defense force into a juggernaut capable of highly complex, highly mobile offensive actions. Were they not as heavily augmented or masterfully lead by skilled generals seconded by keen super-cogitator AIs, they would doubtlessly have been crushed like so many others in that conflagrations, but their human component emerged as the first Star Rangers, while the then human-looking Automata that fought alongside them would upgrade to larger, more intimidating chassis built purely for warfare and lay the foundations of the Pacification Corp.

In the wake of the war against the Men of Iron, the Star Rangers had changed in three major ways. The first was that they began to hide their cybernetics behind a layer of flawless faux-skin and maintained a fully human appearance to avoid causing fear or hostility where they went, as the galaxy was at that point traumatized by machines. The second was that the emergence of the Rationalist thought encouraged them to emulate their AI allies in putting pragmatism and logic as their core values, to avoid the emotionally driven hysteria of those vulnerable days. Finally, las weapons and STC equipment had been replaced by Phase weapons, an indigenous type of light plasma platforms, smart missiles, and armored fabrics, which became the signature equipment of the Star Rangers for millenia to come.

As the galaxy briefly knew a tentative peace, the Human dominion began to fracture, and Novaean Star Rangers often ventured far and wide to act as a peace-keeping force and a neutral arbiter. Their Curators' unbiased and logical decisions were often begrudgingly appreciated as mediators and arbiters in all sorts of affairs on both the planetary and interstellar scale, the general distrust and hate against machines being mitigated by their human appearances and the signature of the Treaty of Sigma. This state of affair would not last however, as the Age of Strife plunged the galaxy into five further millenia of isolations and anarchy. The Star Rangers were easily able to fend off any raids targeting Novae IV, and they toiled to keep their skills from atrophying in the interim.

When Novaean scientists developed the first Tsiolkovsky Drives, the Star Rangers were at the forefront of the many exploration fleets that ventured out to brave the warp storms and re-establish contact with the galaxy at large, starting by the nearby Corusco Cluster. This would soon put them into conflict with the nascent Imperium of Man when the Emperor's war fleets, heavily reinforced by Mars' own, began their subjugation of the Cluster. The sudden and devastating conflict quickly took a more somber quality as Mars waged Holy War against Novaea Cantis for its use of Automata with a fervor rarely seen before or since, and in defiance of the ancient treaties.

When an armistice was signed, the Star Rangers would go on to work alongside their former enemies in reuniting the disparate human realms and vanquishing the thousands of hostile xenos star kingdoms and petty human empires enslaved by darker things still. Owing yet again to their human exterior and their numbers, the Star Rangers were the first and most numerous forces loaned to assist the Compliance, seeing action in several of the most infamous theaters of war, such as the Rangdan Xenocides, the Ullanor campaign, and of course the Inter-Legionary wars.

## Becoming a Ranger

To join the Star Rangers Corp is an ordeal that drastically alters the human body in so thorough a manner that is second in complexity only the Emperor's space marines. For Novaean Natives, it is less so because they are generally already heavily augmented before joining the Corp, but as the Mecanicum Rationalis expanded to more worlds and claimed more vassal Mechanized Worlds, baseline, non-augmented humans began to apply for membership within the Corp. For these, the process is invasive in the utmost, and one that can never be undone. Because of this, physical aptitudes are not much of a requirement for becoming a Star Ranger. Quickness of wits, adaptive thinking and courage in the face of danger are what is instead tested for, and mercilessly so through immersive simulation centers. Applicants are plunged into virtual reality scenarios where their every action and reaction are strictly monitored, and where the pain is replicated with an almost cruel, lifelike precision.

The first step towards becoming a Star Ranger after passing the evaluations is for the recruit's blood to be exsanguinated and replaced by a synthetic replacement which not only carries oxygen and nutrients more efficiently, but is also laced with nanomachines that can slowly repair mechanical components as if they were biological. This substance gives the Star Rangers' blood a pale blue hue and it the procedures leaves the recruit in a brief state of near-death arrest, prompting some veterans to say that in order to become a Star Ranger, one has to die first. The nanomachines also play a crucial role in building and maintaining subsequent augments. Most well known among them is the process by which they use a complex set of powdered elements including titanium and HMPE to alter the composition of the human bones and turn them into a form of highly elastic and lightweight bio-metal generally referred to as 'reossein'. micron-thick HMPE fibers are also weaved into and through natural muscles in a similar fashion to significantly increase their toughness and potential capacity, though the user still needs to undergo intense training to achieve that potential.

After these three processes have run their course, the Star Ranger has reached an unnatural level of strength and resilience and is nominally ready for combat. This generally takes two years as the recruit's body is given time to steadily adapt and adjust to its new capabilities. During those two years, the prospective Ranger goes through a daily mix of extreme physical training, virtual-space simulations of live-fire exercises, and a variety of academic classes to learn how to use and maintain diverse pieces of equipment, but also their own newly augmented bodies. The Star Rangers' simulations are infamous as they retain the same replication of pain as above, and often pit the trainees against stacked odds and in all sorts of alien environments. The purpose of this ruthless training is to prepare the Star Rangers for the realities of galactic warfare. They must learn to assess the situation in a flash, understand when it is time to stand and fight or withdraw to a more advantageous position, and to always, always keep moving to keep the enemy on its toes. They also learn the price of failure, so that they may fight even more ferociously to avoid suffering those pains, or protect their comrades from it.

Once the preliminary training complete, a trainee undergoes a new serie of augmentations. This includes cybernetic eyes capable of being used both as a scope and night vision device, a communication suite that allows them to instantly transmit Hexacant communications or use laser-based Opti-link when operating under radio jamming or intercept, and cognitive enhancements that greatly improves their capability for memorization to a degree similar to eidetic memory. This allows them to briefly scan a battlefield, record the most minute of details, and transmit them nearly instantly over the Rangers' tactical networks, at all times, and regardless of local environmental conditions or hostile electronic warfare. One final year of intense training follows to allow them to become acquainted with these new additions before the newly-trained Star Ranger is ready for deployment, but many Star Rangers choose to undergo even further augmentations, most common among which is the replacement of the lungs by bionic versions which allow them to breathe in contaminated environments and to hold their breath for extended periods of time.

## Standard Wargear

Though the equipment carried by the members of the Star Rangers Corp vary depending on their rank and any specialist training they may have undertaken, the following are the signature equipment most likely to be encountered:

* **Novaean Fatigues** - Much like their own bodies, the battle dress of the Star Rangers disguises armor as mere clothing. The fabric used in the Rangers' combat fatigues is made of a compressed weave of synthetic fibers with a tensile strength far in excess of plasteel, with ceramics braided into the material in a composite matrix. Though much more complex and somewhat more expensive to make than regular carapace armor, it offers similar protection while maintaining perfect freedom of motion and comfort. These armored fabrics are worn over a bodyglove that serves to insulate the wearer from both extreme temperatures and hostile environments such as radiation and chemical weapons. Some types of Novaean Fatigues are purposefully designed to resemble civilian clothes to allow Star Rangers to operate covertly among local populations.
* **Phased-Plasma Weapons** - The standard service weapon among the Star Rangers is the Lorentz k6 pattern phased-plasma carbine, though variants exist such as the larger h4 phased-plasma disruptor. These phased plasma weapons are closer in function and power output to the pulse weapons that would later be developed by the Tau than their contemporary imperial counterparts. The k6 carbine is a very compact weapon, especially compared to Imperial plasma weapons, and fires small charges of magnetically confined plasmas accelerated to extreme speeds by a coil induction. This allows plasma flasks to last for a much greater number of individually weaker shots, allowing Star Rangers to fire rapidly and liberally as needed.
* **Star Ranger Void Kit** - When operating aboard voidships or in other excessively hostile environments, Star Rangers supplement their fatigues' bodyglove with a hood and mask that confer a vacuum seal and breathing apparatus. The mask itself has a single, band-like optic for vision and auxiliary sensors. The kit also includes a backpack which contains not compressed oxygen, but plain liquid water and a miniature, highly efficient electrolysis device. This device allows the water to be fractured into both oxygen for breathing and hydrogen to passively refill empty hydrogen flasks, for which the device has 3 charging slots. As long as the Ranger has access to water, ice, or even reclaimed water (moisture lost from breathing and sweating is reclaimed by the suit), they can recharge their service carbine without the need for a complex logistical chain.
* **Combat Maces** - Rather than the more common swords and axes, the Star Rangers prefer to use flanged maces as their melee sidearm of choice. They are less reliant on keeping a sharp edge to deal damage and can be used liberally to avoid wasting ammunition. It is not uncommon for Ranger maces to be equipped with an acid chamber inside the mace's head, which coat the flanges and further increase the lethality of its strikes against both organic and mechanical targets.

## Types of Rangers

* **Regulars** - Making up the bulk of the Star Rangers Corp are the Regulars. They are trained in rapid maneuver warfare and often act as the hammer to the anvil of their more heavily armed and armored comrades in the Pacification Corp. Their Lorentz k6 phased-plasma carbine can be used either in rapid-fire mode or briefly charged up for a single more powerful and longer ranged shot. They are generally used in planetside action rather than naval combat and are using Void Kits, they can operate in irregular warfare almost indefinitely on planets that feature liquid water or ice.
* **Voidguards** - The Voidguards are the naval counterpart of the Regulars. They specialize in defending voidships of the Mechanicum Rationalis against boarding parties and occasionally organize some of their own. Because Novaean ships only feature life support in a small central section of the ships and the larger majority is cold vacuum, the Voidsguard must use respirators most of the time. They universally feature advanced artificial lungs that increase their oxygen efficiency and sometimes increased backpack capacity to allow them to spend up to a few days in hard vacuum without recharge.
* **Hunter Seekers** - These specialized Star Rangers are the Corp's experts in reconnaissance, sabotage and assassination. Though they appear no different than Regulars at first glance and carry the same weapons, they are expert marksmen easily capable of singling out high value targets. More importantly, their fatigues and even their faux-skin itself are treated with a variant of the common imperial Cameleoline, which allows them to infiltrate deep behind enemy lines. They are equipped with disruptive baffler grenades that allow them to disengage and disappear back into the shadows if ever exposed early, and often enough include meltaguns among their numbers for anti-armor punch.
* **Pilots** - Novaean ground and naval vehicles are generally operated by members of the Star Rangers Corp who specialized either in starfighter combat or land navigation and gunnery. In both cases, they are augmented with devices similar to the Martian Mind Impulse Units that allow them to have a subconscious connection with their machines, being instinctively aware of the state of their weapons and engines at all time, including remaining ammunition, fuel, and any battle damage or wear on the overall chassis. Considerable additional training is required to handle the immense flux of information, and starfighter pilots are also augmented for G-forces tolerance, allowing them to perform maneuvers that would incapacitate their mortal counterparts outright, especially in atmosphere.
* **Curators** - The officer cadre that oversee the combined arms forces of the Mechanicum Rationalis are most of the time drawn from within the Star Rangers' hardened veterans. Known as Curators, they have accumulated more enhancements over time, both physical and cognitive ones, which make them even more durable than their junior counterparts and allow them to keep battlefield awareness that non augmented mortals could only dream of. Curators rarely micro-manage their troops like their Skitarii counterparts, because the Star Rangers' strength lies in their independent initiative. Instead, they ensure that every component of their force is aware of all relevant factors and working in synergy with one another at any given time and give them broad directives to accomplish. Curators Militant tent to lead from the front and inspire their troops with their presence, while Curator Strategios prefer to hang back and focus on intense predictive calculations to divine and counter the enemy's next moves before they can take it.