Battlefleet Calixis - Commissioned Officers: Commissioned officers are the highest ranks of Navy officers and usually can only be created by the Battlefleet's Administratum. In the Calixis Sector, a certain number of officers are generated by the "commissions" issued to Planetary Governors and Schola Progenium worlds each year to fulfil. Each commission is for a single child of "good character" to attend Port Wrath, there to become a Midshipman in the Holy Imperial Navy. Once they arrive, they may serve aboard Port Wrath for years waiting for a ship, or leave mere days after they set foot on the station.Commissions issued to Planetary Governors are commonly sold to noble families or bestowed in a politically expedient fashion to reward a trusted Imperial noble or remove a troublesome sibling. A career in the Imperial Navy is viewed as a glorious, honourable and very probably fatal enterprise by noble houses, a sacrifice that enhances the family's prestige immeasurably. The Schola Progenium, on the other hand, sends their best charges to serve, especially those with a naval heritage. The rivalry between the arrogant offspring of nobility and the earnest young orphans of the Scholas is legendary.A good portion of Midshipmen join the Imperial Navy through a more informal system of patronage. It is not uncommon for a Naval captain to take on a noble's son or daughter as a Midshipman at their family's request. This may be a favour to an old friend, or a means to repay an ancestral debt. However, even in this case, most noble children find the Navy a harsh and uncompromising environment, where most must excel on their merits, or likely perish.Lord High-Admiral - Also called the Battlefleet Commander, Lord High-Admiral is the highest rank of the Imperial Navy. Only five of these august individuals exist, one for each of the Segmentae Majoris. Each is responsible for the Imperial Navy's fighting forces across the thousands of sectors in their allotted quadrant of the galaxy.Lord-Admiral - A Lord-Admiral, or Sector Commander, is responsible for all naval operations in a given sector and has direct command of units of the Segmentum warfleet allocated to that sector. Nominally a Lord-Admiral is based at the Segmentum Fortress with other sector-level Administratum officials, but most choose to base themselves at the foremost naval facility of the sector under their charge. The Sector Commander for the Calixis Sector is based at the orbital voidstation of Port Wrath.Solar Admiral - In the regions of space in and around the Calixis Sector, an Admiral with an illustrious career and a spotless record may eventually be sent to present themselves before the Battlefleet commander at the Segmentum fortress at Cypra Mundi - a journey that may take years. Should the Lord High-Admiral approve of the individual when he finally gets around to seeing them (often after several more years) he may send them on to Holy Terra for consideration to become a Solar Admiral, a process that can take the rest of their life. Solar Admirals are often prospective Sector Commanders waiting for assignment to a sector. As such opportunities are rare it's far more common for Solar Admirals to be dispatched to war zones in command of a reinforcing fleet or kept busy on "special duties" with their own independent flotilla.Admiral - An Admiral is allocated command of a portion of a sector's Battlefleet and responsibility for the security of a handful of star systems and the vast tracts of Wilderness Space that lie in between.Vice-Admiral - By long tradition a Vice-Admiral commands the leading division of a given fleet, the part that would equate to the vanguard of a terrestrial force. In later times this has come to mean commanding a force of Light Cruisers and Destroyers charged with scouting for the enemy, charting navigational hazards and long-range patrolling.Rear-Admiral - In ancient times when an entire Battlefleet might be massed together, the thousands of warships present would be divided in to three commands, each under their own admiral. The Rear-Admiral was the youngest and least experienced and so would be given charge of the rearmost division as the one least likely to see combat. Over time this rank has evolved into a largely administrative post charged with co-ordinating repair facilities, refuelling warships, forming convoys and other rear echelon activities.Commodore - Also sometimes called a Group Commander, the rank of Commodore was originally only a temporary one given to a senior Captain placed in charge of a squadron of warships. Over time the rank of Commodore has found its way into permanent usage as what were once temporary squadrons stabilised into regular patrol routes and areas of responsibility.Lord-Captain - Sometimes also referred to as a Flag-Captain, Lord-Captain is an honourific rank normally applied to Captains in command of vessels on detached duty. When a Lord-Captain speaks he is backed by the full authority of the Battlefleet.Captain - Imperial Navy Captains are aloof, uncompromising figures unbowed by the awesome responsibility entrusted to them. They may be a tyrant, martinet, swashbuckler, strategist or saint but a Captain will always be an exceptional individual to hold full command of an Imperial Navy warship.Commander - Individual Escort-class vessels normally come under the charge of a Commander, with a Captain or Commodore holding overall command of an Escort squadron. However, a Commander might also be found as the leader for a squadron of intra-system vessels, Wing Commander of the Attack Craft onboard a carrier ship, or placed in charge of an orbital voidstation.Lieutenant - Many officers in the Navy rise no higher than the rank of Lieutenant. System-defence ships and Monitors occasionally fall under the direct command of a Lieutenant. It is more common for them to be found acting as second-in-command aboard Escort-class warships, as part of the vast bridge crew found on a capital vessel, or in an Attack Craft squadron acting as Flight Leader.Midshipman - Midshipmen are the lowest ranking "officers" in the Imperial Navy, and are actually better described as students with an officer's rank. Technically afforded an officer’s respect, they are nevertheless in demanding training to become true officers, and many of their duties are "hands on" opportunities to learn.