Commander

The Commander of the Aspída Lodge is the singular highest rank of the protectorate and the person in control of all executive decisions for the protectorate. The Commander is both the head of all business/political ordeals as well as the head of all militant/combatant ordeals, making her specialized in both the responsibilities of the Lieutenant and the Lance Knight. The Commander makes decisions on which jobs to take, which political or military ordeals to get involved with, who to ally or affiliate the protectorate with or otherwise, who is given what assignment, strategizing the movement of troops, assets, and subordinates, ambassadorial representation to powerful world players, and much more. As she is in charge of managing and ordering officers, she has many responsibilities and a heavy workload she must approach with complete efficiency and consciousness. Rarely does she need to partake in combat directly, but her ability to do so is impeccable and more keen than anyone else's in the Lodge.
The Commander, Commander Hydra, is in control of all assets, including all members of the Lodge, what they do, who does what, and so on. As such, her top priority in these huge decisions is sticking closely to the Aspída Lodge's motto, code, and ideals, taking part in what fits those qualifications and best represents them in what the Lodge does, who they align themselves with, and what they fight for. The Commander keeps her organization in line by way of it's military-like structure and abundance of fundamental rules that act as safeguards, and the Commander herself keeps a strong hold on her authority by being not just adept in her abilities, but extremely intimidating, commanding, and overall honorable.
The Commander authorizes the recruitment of officers in the Lodge but doesn't particularly always recruit or promote the lower level officers, however she recruits, promotes, and authorizes all Lieutenants and Lance Knights, as they are closest to her and due to their jobs requiring the most skill, dedication, and trust.

Duties

Fulfilling and representing the ideals and code of the Aspída Lodge
Maintaining functionality and morale within the Lodge and it's members

Responsibilities

Representation of the Aspída Lodge in political or military ordeals
All executive decisions of the Aspída Lodge
Management and selection of assignments and jobs taken on by the Lodge and it's members
Promotion of Lance Knights and Lieutenants along with authorizing the promotion or recruitment of other officers
Supervision and decision-making regarding military strategy and proceedings
All major fiscal choices, payments, and withdrawals
All major choices regarding the Lodge's assets and affiliations
etc.

Benefits

The Commander has by far the most political power in the Lodge, and certainly the most militarily. In the Sovereign State of Kankou, Hydra is, arguably, the strongest military leader that exists, even more so than the leader of the Royal Kankoan Marines as the Aspída Lodge does more military and police work than the country's government does itself. The Aspída Lodge's power in Kankou also makes Commander Hydra one of the strongest political entities despite not technically being a politician or integrated within the nation's government directly– rather, she is such a strong player in the nation's ordeals nationally and internationally that it is nearly impossible to not take the Aspída Lodge and what it may do or how it may interfere into account when making political choices. Internationally, Commander Hydra is known to have an amount of political and military power as well, as her protectorate holds a strong presence in many places across the continent and is known for it's military interference and vast amount of assets. To ignore that in a political setting would be, for the most part, ignorant– so even in countries such as the Kingdom of Luquoia, where the Aspída Lodge's power is downplayed and considered very foreign and inapplicable to their national climate by the Luquoian government and military, the Commander still poses a significant threat if the Lodge shows signs of siding with one of the government's enemies or less favorable factions.
The Commander does not accumulate nearly as much wealth as her title and power would suggest. Rather, she doesn't have a proper, solid, consistent income or paycheck. Instead, the Commander takes out wealth and assets according to what she may need at a given time, typically not for herself but primarily for the Aspída Lodge's resources or for executive decisions regarding other factions or affiliates. In a sense, Hydra's income and the Lodge's income are one in the same with the exception of a small amount she uses for personal essentials. Her pay could be compared to that of a Lance Knight in that there is a small amount of gain, however most of the wealth goes back into what they do for a living, as it is their entire life. Despite the wealth of the Commander being hard to determine, she can easily be considered wealthy in the sense of being able to afford much, even if she is frugal, minimalistic, and business-oriented to the point of not indulging on much of anything at all.

The Commander holds a solid amount of benefits in the people she holds control over and in her affiliates. She has many agreements with businesses and organizations large and small with the Lodge where certain agreed-upon mutual benefits are in order, such as certain inns that allow the Lodge's officers to stay for free when on assignment in exchange for the Lodge either paying a portion of the income from whatever assignment to said inn, or a predisposed contract in which the Lodge buys something from them on the regular to warrant the exchange (example being the continuous purchase of bread for one of the headquarters' cafeterias, or even the Lodge's protection or favors given to a business in exchange for using their services). Commander Hydra, though independent, can use her officers and lower ranks to her best interest and the Aspída Lodge's as well. She has the benefit of constant access to interns, assistants, specialists, and so on to help organize and complete tasks in her heavy workload.

Accoutrements & Equipment

The Commander has access to any assets in the Lodge's control. Typically, she has between two and five weapons withdrawn from the arsenal at a time, typically half plate armor, and whatever gear she so chooses. She has multiple uniforms, but generally uses two; a multi-use military uniform and a formal uniform for more political and ambassadorial ordeals. As with a Lance Knight or Lieutenant, she has access to more than just these uniforms as well, as she can request a uniform to be either made or acquired for a certain climate or specific task (examples being for stealth rather than frontlines work, or a uniform adjusted to snowy weather for travel to a place with a colder climate).
The Commander's badge, as with a Lance Knight or Lieutenant's, is made of sleek platinum and can be either kept in tow as an insignia to show when necessary or worn as a badge. The Commander's insignia is titled the "Great Sea Crest" and in addition to the Lodge's insignia shows the design of an ocean wave and a crescent moon.

Type

Professional

Creation

Creation of the Aspída Lodge

Alternative Naming

Commander of the Aspída Lodge, Διοικητής (Dioikitís)

Equates to

Commander-in-Chief, CEO, U.S. Army General, U.S. Navy Fleet Commander.

First Holder

Hydra

Current Holders