Records: the Sergeants-at-Arms

## **The Official Sergeants-at-Arms**

Prince Edward had personally assumed the role of Earl Marshal, an absolute necessity in the wake of corruption at the level of Richard Lyons (Warden of the Mint) and Lord Latimer. That the men had been impeached and imprisoned by Parliament was all the poitical capital Edward needed to formalized the role and recruitment of an overhauled **Sergeants-at-Arms (SA)**.

The visible role would be providing personal protection to the monarch and his family, as well as bailiffs for Parliament. There needed to be lines of executive authority and accountability, and this was a very visible way to remind *everybody* that the Crown could not be reduced to some dying man in the corner to be propped up and harvested.

Leaning on the SA precedent since Richard I of England (1189), Crown Prince Edward formalized and institutionalized the unit. They used the prestige of history to propel them into the future.

### **Organizational Triage**

Given the coming conflicts, the Crown needed not only a professional army (being planned by the Military Comittee), personnel protection... but a personal retinue that could also be trusted with more detailed, discreet work. To facilitate the difference, focusing light where the attention needed to be – and also to build shadows big enough for operations, there would be two divisions of the SA: the ***Honor Guard*** and the ***Vanguard***.

The Honor Guard would be extremely visible, actually physically huge, to impart the level of mental impact that a physically imposing presence could convey. The Honor Guard would be detailed to the residence of the monarch, their spouse and children. Additionally, the Honor Guard would rotate through as bailifs for Parliament.

The Vanguard would be the battlefield retinue – smaller targets, faster people – and those soldiers who could go unnoticed if they needed to...

### **The Presence**

The Westminster Platoon were their own animal…

Unlike the rest of the SA, the Westminster SA were designed to be *highly* visible. They were literal 7-foot giants, with the intent to deter as much as provide an overwhelming response in the protection of the monarch and the enforcement of the will of the Crown regarding parliament, nobility and basically everybody in London.

Where they got their armor, their weapons, where they were found – all questions that were asked but never answered. They were classified as *Affairs of the Crown* and not subject to Parliamentary Oversight.

The defense of the Royal Family might be described as “fanatical.”

### **The Quiet Professionals**

A body guard and special operations force, it would take a few concepts (with alt-timeline precedents) and roll them into one deadly warrior.

They would eventually expand to 173 for England alone, but the initial group – the Westminster Platoon – was 17 strong. They were trained by exceptional (SNS) means…

It was a short system of recruitment and processing, especially given the incredible product being turned out, but that was testament to what the travelers brought back with them.

Given the training, including the psiono-spiritual component, the indoctrination resulted in a group that had free will but *absolute loyalty*.

### **The Hierarchy**

The ***Secretary of the Royal Arms*** was the highest ranking military official short of the Sovereign. The ***Earl Marshal*** (EM) officially reported to the Secretary, but as spy master, the EM had direct lines of communication to the sovereign. In that intelligence and counterespionage role, the EM oversaw the Sergeants-at-Arms (SA). The chief of the SA was the **Sergeant Major of the Guard** (SMG).

Assisting the SMG would be an administrative platoon, starting with 3 managing Master Sergeants. Answering to each Master Sergeant was 5 Sergeants First Class.

The Sergeant Major, the overall enlisted leader of the SA, was elevated to full SNS HR-capacity. He was capable of reclaiming, conditioning, indoctrinating, training and educating anybody in the same fashion as Rick himself – and because of that, was *extensively* trained.

**The SA Structure**

The SA would eventually be a part of the Royal Arms, and the sergeants were an integrated military rank.

Squad (4)

* 3 sergeants
* 1 sergeant first class

Platoon (17)

* 4 squads
* 1 senior sergeant (Senior NCO)

The English Company: 10 platoons (173 strong).

* 2 master sergeants (Senior NCO)
* 1 sergeant major (Senior NCO)
* The initial Senior NCO staff were taken from disenfranchised English – it definitely fit the narrative.

## **Regional Teams**

The order was directly related to the distance from the capital, as defined by the Westminster Palace.

### 1st Platoon: Westminster

* **The Honor Guard:** Based in Westminster, with a modified table of requirements.

* *This was the only SA group designed to have a high profile*. In addition to their role as bailiffs (parliamentary security), they had a ceremonial presence, and ran security in the "primary royal residence."

### 2nd Platoon: London

* **Vanguard (heavy)**, deployed from Westminster. Royal security when traveling (anywhere beyond Westminster).
* This expanded vanguard platoon included the monarch, as well as their spouse and children.

### 3rd Platoon: London

* **Vanguard**, deployed from the Tower. Perma-focused on internal/external security threats around London, including regional barony.
* Given the traditional threat of France along the southern coast, their hands are full.

### 4th Platoon: Windsor

* **Vanguard**, deployed from Windsor. When local, will focus on internal/external security threats to west toward Cornwall/Wales.
* Given the traditional threat of France along the southern coast, their hands are full.

### 5th Platoon: East Anglia (Norfolk/Suffolk)

* **Vanguard**, deployed from Norwich. When local, will focus on internal/external security threats around East Anglia.
* Some initial flexibility on deployment, weighted toward reinforcing against France.

### 6th Platoon: Cheshire

* **Vanguard**, deployed from Chester. When local, will focus on internal/external security threats around central England.
* Some initial flexibility on deployment, weighted toward reinforcing against Ireland.

### 7th Platoon: Lancashire

* **Vanguard**, deployed from Lancaster. When local, will focus on internal/external security threats around northwest England.
* Given the low-grade war with Scotland, their hands are full.

### 8th Platoon: Yorkshire

* **Vanguard**, deployed from York. When local, will focus on internal/external security threats around northeast England.
* Given the low-grade war with Scotland, their hands are full.

### 9th Platoon: Cornwall

* **Vanguard**, deployed from Truro. When local, will focus on internal/external security threats around the western tip of England.
* With Ireland right across the water, their hands are full.

### 10th Platoon: Wales

* **Vanguard**, deployed from Cardiff. When local, will focus on internal/external security threats around the the principality of Wales.
* Given the state of partial rebellion with Welch houses, their hands are full.

## **SA Training**

The creation of the Sergeants-at-Arms were not, in and of itself, secret. People knew they would be the personal protective retinue of the Crown. The Honor Guard were high visibility, the Vanguard were... *not*.

Beyond their creation, nobody knew anything about them – except for one thing: *Richard of Bordeaux was involved*. He was known for his intellect and planning, but he was still involved at the gritty glimpsed-behind-the-scenes level (and probably let himself be seen on purpose).

Given that he wasn't known for extraordinary swordsmanship, it likely meant the SA would have exposure to magic. REO: training, equipping, nobody knew the ***Spoilers***...