The Cerberus Fleet

The Cerberus Fleet is the pride and joy of the Terran's organisations. It's members - from the oldest and most experienced veterans, to the newest of recruits - is revered by the Terrans that call Osiron their home. The fleet was officially founded around a year after Terra Novus was. Of course, in reality the fleet was there long before Terra Novus was an official organisation recognised by the other species in Osiron. 

The first Terrans were either researchers or a part of the militaristic squadrons sent to protect the researchers. The natural development of this, once the dust had settled and the Terrans had decided where they would begin the expansion of their home in Osiron, was that those in the militaristic squadrons formed a fleet in order to protect all Terrans.

Though classed by the Terrans as a military sector of Terra Novus, it is an 'unofficial' claim. This is so that the higher ups can deny that anyone under their jurisdiction is calling the Cerberus Fleet a military sector and avoid conflict with the Osiryx Federation.

Intergalactic Terran Initiative

Hercules V Ship Logs - Private Life

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Earth Date [2770]
Universal Galactic Date [5309]

Digital Signature [MAJOR ASTRID ELISABETH ZIEGLER]
Digital ID [HERC-V MAJ-AZER-86612]

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[START TRANSMISSION]

Three years we've been here and the Osiryx Federation are still trying to force us to dismantle our fleet. I came through the first relay jump with the promise of exploring something new for mankind, not bowing to every whim of a foreign galactic police force. I refuse to stand by and watch as we sign away our rights to defend ourselves.

I know I'm not the only one who feels that way. I've spoken to the other captains. Majors Sinclair and O'Hara as well. They agree with me - we cannot give up the fleet. But maybe we can trick the Federation into thinking we have?

[END TRANSMISSION]
[FILE UNDER Private Life]

Founding Date

5318 UGY

Type

Military, Space navy

Training Level

Professional

Veterancy Level

Experienced

Demonym

The Hounds (generally a Terran term, but is adopted by other species)

Parent Organization

Terra Novus

Ranks of the Cerberus Fleet

Officer Cadet

Upon enlisting to the Cerberus Fleet, an individual is assigned the rank of Officer Cadet. This is the Cerberus Fleet’s training rank. The only exception is for individuals who either a) have a family heavily involved with the Cerberus Fleet or b) are very wealthy. In the case of the former, these individuals are offered the opportunity to skip directly to the rank of Private. For the latter, they can skip to Private, Sergeant, or even Staff Sergeant depending on how much credit they have to bribe official Cerberus Fleet officers with.

On average, Officer Cadets hold this rank for 1-2 years before they get promoted. Promotion requirements to the rank of Private are:

• 1 year (minimum) training as an Officer Cadet. This includes all basic training (weapons, engineering, medicine, piloting, tactics)
• a 3 month probationary period serving on a registered Cerberus Fleet ship under the supervision of a Sergeant or Staff Sergeant
• pass the Rank: Private – Examination (theory and practical)

Private

Being a Private’s the easiest thing in the world. You get up, make your bed, get changed, then fly around in a ship all day doing whatever the hell you want. The Sergeants? They don’t give a damn what you get up to, so long as you clean up nice and good when the someone like the Captain or Major comes calling.

Provided an Officer Cadet meets the requirements listed above, they will be promoted to the rank of Private. This is the ‘post training’ rank. Most of the individuals you see milling about the Cerberus Fleet will be Privates.

Most Privates never bother to try for a promotion – they are content with their duties as a Private and often feel as though they get the most hands on experience out of everyone in the Cerberus Fleet. Some Privates are unable to try for a promotion due to their circumstances – this is normally health related or a result of being enlisted to forgo a large prison sentence (for more information, see The Fleet and the Law section).

For Privates who do seek a promotion to the rank of Sergeant, the requirements are listed below:

• 3 years (minimum) training as a Private
• 1 year spent shadowing a Sergeant (usually their squad Sergeant, but transfers are not unheard of)
• 4 months’ probationary command under the supervision of a Sergeant
• a reasonable improvement to the following:
  • leadership skills
  • weapons training
  • tactics training
• pass a psychological analysis (designed to look at a Privates empathy, morals, resolve)

Sergeant

It takes a great deal of work to become a Sergeant. Privates tend to fall flat when it comes to their promotion when they spend too much time working on their practical skills rather than honing their mental skills. Just because you can fire a weapon faster and better than the officer next to you, doesn’t mean that you can lead an entire squad without a supervisor present.

That is what the psychological analysis is there for. The final hurdle. If a Private doesn’t pass the psychological analysis, they are put on a waiting list for 9 months before they are allowed to try again and they are only allowed 3 attempts. Failure of all 3 attempts shows a lack of mental capability in a Private and they become prohibited from further promotions.

For those that manage to pass the psychological analysis and fulfil the other requirements (listed above), they receive a promotion to the rank of Sergeant. They must undertake a 6 month probationary period under ‘relaxed’ supervision of a Staff Sergeant before they are designated their own squad to command. This probationary period can be extended to 15 months, but failure to adequately perform during this time would result in their promotion being stripped.

Any time after the Sergeant has completed their probationary period, they may apply for a promotion to the rank of Staff Sergeant. The requirements for this promotion are as follows:

• a minimum of 5 years of service with the Cerberus Fleet
• successful completion of their probationary period within 1 year. Should a Sergeant fail to do this, they can:
  • apply for and complete a 4 month leadership course to a satisfactory standard, or
  • shadow a Staff Sergeant for 3 months, demonstrating improvements in areas that were flagged during their initial probationary period
• 1 year (minimum) training as a Sergeant
• pass the Rank: Staff Sergeant – Examination (practical only)

Rank: Private - Examination and Rank: Staff Sergeant - Examination

Most people don't realise when they enlist for the Cerberus Fleet that there are exams involved. They think that all they'll have to do is sign up, spend a couple of months in training, then be assigned to a ship and be free to travel throughout the galaxy without a care in the world.

Both of these exams are designed to weed out the unprepared and unreliable. Though there are more examinations down the line for promotions to higher ranks, these two are the most important. Unfortunately, that means for those who don't fulfill the Cerberus Fleet's criteria for a regular officer, they are forced to find another way around the examinations. This usually happens in the form of bribery and threats.

Staff Sergeant

Becoming a Staff Sergeant is a sign of possessing great leadership qualities and sets an officer above the rest. For most Staff Sergeants, provided they put the work in, progression further up the ranks is relatively easy.

After a recent promotion, a Staff Sergeant will typically be in charge of 3 or 4 Sergeants and their respective squads. They act as advisors to their Sergeants and will divvy up assignments out of a selection passed on by a Lieutenant or Second Lieutenant. They have a less hands on approach with the squads assigned to their Sergeants and only tend to step in when an officer is in need of disciplinary action.

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Lieutenants and Second Lieutenants

Further promotions will see an individual take on the roles and responsibilities of Second Lieutenants - who must have served for more than 8 years in the fleet, with 2 of those being at least in the Sergeant rank - and Lieutenants - who must have served for more than 10 years, with 2 of those years being in at least the Sergeant rank, and 1 of those being in the rank of Second Lieutenant. They are in charge of all squads on a ship and oversee ship wide training, often handing out missions to individual squads where they see fit.

Captain

The next rank is that of Captain. To be promoted to Captain, an individual must have served more than 12 years and must have held the rank of Second Lieutenant (or higher) for at least 3 years of their service. Captains are second in command of a Company - that is, an individual ship in the Cerberus Fleet. They answer only to their Commanding Officer, the Major of the Company.

It is not often that Captains will get much contact from any of the higher ups within the Cerberus Fleet. Normally, they hold a blind trust for those in command above them and will follow orders without question. Of course, this also makes them best suited to see when a Major is acting outside of the interests of the Cerberus Fleet, though it is up to the individual whether they raise a complaint or not. Raising a complaint against their Major, or having a complaint raised against themselves, is likely the only time a regular Captain will interact with individuals ranked higher than a Major.

Major

Majors are often the highest ranking officers found on Cerberus registered ship. To become a Major, an individual must have served in the fleet for more than 15 years, of which they must have spent at least 1 year as a Captain.

Lieutenant Colonel

Lieutenant Colonels (often abbreviated to Lt. Colonel) oversee multiple Cerberus registered ships. As a high ranking official, they spend most of their time at one of the Cerberus Fleet's headquarters, rather than on an actual ship. Promotion to this rank requires that an individual has served within the fleet for mor ethan 17 years.

Colonel

Promotion to this rank requires that an individual has served the fleet for at least 18 years.

Brigadier

The third highest rank within the Cerberus Fleet. To be promoted to a Brigadier, an individual must have served the fleet for more than 20 years, at least 2 of which should have been served as a Colonel.

Lieutenant Commander

The next rank in line is the Lieutenant Commander (often abbreviated to Lt. Commander). Most Lt. Commanders have served in the fleet for at least 22 years before they are considered for a promotion to this rank. They only answer to the relevant General or a member of the Terra Novus council.

General

Those who hold the rank of General have served for at least 25 years. There are no exceptions to this rule. No amount of in-field experience, legacy heritage, or bribery can help an individual climb this far in the ranks. There are enough by the book and / or compassionate Generals that already hold the position to prevent any of the easily corruptable ones from compromising their own position for the sake of another.

For the most part, Generals make the decisions in the Cerberus Fleet. Every action taken, every attack or territory defended, every Terran hired, dismissed, promoted or demoted, goes through the relevant General. Sometimes, a General will ask another for insight or their opinion on a matter, particularly if they are good friends or working together at that point in time to achieve a common goal. On rare occassions, Terra Novus' council will have input on a military matter.

As of 5650 UGY, there are 14 Generals in the Cerberus Fleet.

• General

  • Lieutenant Commander

    • Brigadier

      • Colonel

        • Lieutenant Colonel

          • Major

            • Quartermaster

              • Supply Officer

              • Chief Engineer

                • Engineer

            • Captain

              • Senior Pilot

                • Junior Pilot

              • Senior Medical Officer

                • Junior Medical Officer

                • Emergency Response Officer

              • Lieutenant

                • Second Lieutenant

                  • Staff Sergeant

                    • Sergeant

                      • Private

                        • Officer Cadet

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Other Ranks in the Cerberus Fleet

Quartermaster

A specialist rank that you will only see on space ships. Individuals must have served for at least 10 years before they are promoted to the rank of Quartermaster and must currently hold the rank of Staff Sergeant or higher.

They are similar to Lieutenants when it comes to respect and responsibility, though whilst they are on they designated vessel they technically outrank a Lieutenant. The opposite can be said when a Quartermaster takes leave of their designated vessel. Often, they are considered to be a Major's left hand, complimenting the Captain that is so often designated as the right hand man.

Quartermasters require special training that requires them to be knowledgable of all ship types, regardless of whether or not they will be assigned to one in the future. Transfers between vessels are uncommon for Quartermasters, but they need to be prepared in the event that a transfer does happen, which means they need to know every ship, inside and out.

Junior Medical Officer

Junior Medical Officers are Privates who have taken an interest, or have prior training in, medical treatment and health assessment. They must have served for at least 3 years as a Private or higher, and must have at least 3 years of experience in the medical field.

Senior Medical Officer

Like their junior officers, the Senior Medical Officer is someone who has prior training in medical treatment and health assessment, and has climbed the ranks / served long enough to be considered for a senior position. Typically, SMO's have served for at least 5 years and have at least 7 years experience in the medical field - this includes experienced gained from outside of the fleet, but must have been outside of a training environment.

Junior Pilot

Junior Pilots are often Privates who have taken an interest, or have a background in, flying spacecrafts. Typically, a Junior Pilot must have served for 3 years as a Private, with at least 1 year of field experience in flying. This is not always the case, however, as the fleet will contract outside pilots with more experience in flying. This is one of the only cases in which the fleet will contract others.

Senior Pilot

Typically, Senior Pilots are outsourced by the fleet. They are individuals with 5 plus years experience in flying outside of a training environment. If they are promoted through the usual fleet channels, then they must have at least 4 years of service alonside their 3 years of flying experience. This is to deter younger pilots from applying for the position.

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The Fleet and the Law

Being a part of Terra Novus' law enforcement, the fleet can and will offer convicts the chance to serve the fleet, rather than serve prison time. The two main reasons for this is to maintain high levels of membership to the Cerberus Fleet and to avoid overpopulating prisons - something that Terra Novus and the Terrans are lacking in whilst in Osiron. Conversion rates for prison sentences are as follows:

• < 2 years prison sentence = 1 year of service
• 2-5 years prison sentence = 2 years of service
• 5-10 years prison sentence = 4 years of service
• 10-15 years prison sentence = 7 years of service

You hear about Mayhall? He was on a 12 year prison sentence before Brigadier Ingram offered him a deal. Murder, I reckon. He's got that look in his eyes - the look of a killer.

Any more than 15 years, the fleet is unlikely to offer them a deal. There are some rare cases, but the individual in question must prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that they are a) stable, b) capable of following the orders of a superior, c) capable of working with other people and d) shows remorse for whatever they have done to end up in prison in the first place.

Of course, the fleet is not naive enough to be completely trusting with the prisoners serving their time as part of the fleet. There are many rules in place to keep an eye on the prisoners and to keep them in line. For example, prisoners who were supposed to serve a 5 year or less prison sentence can potentially rise to the rank of Staff Sergeant, but no further. On the other hand, prisoners who were supposed to serve a prison sentence for more than 5 years can only ever rise to the rank of Sergeant. They must also be shadowed by a superior officer at all times during active duty. This will happen for the duration of their 'prison' service and for up to 2 years after (the probationary period).

The Ravager Programme

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