Before the Drone, there was the soldier. Before the Policeman, there was the guard. The Hive was no different; with its multimillion population the role of the defence force and the civilian police became one and the same. Serving as both a defensive military and specialised police force, the hive security force; Hive-Sec to its populace, formed the protective shield around the hive. Before the fall and the resulting Mutant wars Hive-sec operated from several district positions, fortified positions reminiscent of forts or castles from the ancient past, alongside several key outposts spread out amongst the hive. The outposts served as bases for the brigade sized forces of the Hive security army, whilst the three forts served as the forces home for their families, armouries and training bases by which they regulated their men and women and defended the hive, their bastions wired directly into the defence network of automated defences and industrial grade particle shields spread out amongst the hive. Then the fall hit and the mutants came and the defence force found itself facing an enemy it had never imagined facing, the members of Hive-sec that served in the mine patrols went dark, and the mutants pilled out from the mines in an echo of screams and pleas for salvation from the miners as they were overrun. The nearest outposts attempted to seal the mines off and soon found themselves overrun and ripped apart, their barricades and particle shields no defence against the unending wave of mutation and death. This is when the commander decided it was their only chance to save the hive they had sworn to defend at all costs, setting up temporary blockades to buy time with the blood of their men and women, the Hive-Sec leaders began to take in as many civilians and people as they could pack into the air tight defence domes built into their bases with as many supplies as they could get their hands on before the final thin Blue and white line failed and the mutants met their walls. As they sealed the population they could save into the domes of their bastions, the leaders broadcast one last message before heading out through the hordes of mutants to their final solution, thought of during the final hours. One last play to save the Hive at all costs. Activating the security override and sealing the people in, the Commanders vented the entire hive, it took days to finish and they died being ripped apart by the tide of mutants, costing tens of thousands of people their lives, but this single action saved thousands more from a fate worse than death.
Once the Hive had re-pressurised, what forces remained were organised into defensive postures, re-securing the Outposts and forts that remained viable and digging in to whether the storm of the still remaining mutants coming from the mines and who had gone to ground inside the colonies structure itself. Utilising the Civilians they had managed to save they ensured their systems they had would remain viable for years to come and set about securing one of the minor reserve agri-domes in order to feed their population for the foreseeable future. Over the next few years it became more and more obvious that it would be more and more impossible to man all the forts and outposts, eventually condensing down to the primary Fortress that had served as the pre-fall training headquarters and the two primary Column defence outposts. This still left the diminishing force with a problem, even five years after the fall they were down to their last few active platoons of originally trained Hive-Sec troopers backed by a growing Civilian population as they came across bands of scattered survivors. The few remaining leaders and officers, Deemed “The circle”, decided on a solution to their growing population issue and dwindling forces, Conscripting recruits from the population they began to rebuild the Force along the lines of chapters in lines with the remaining bases they occupied and could support. Today these chapters form the Militarised Civilisation simply known by the name of their predecessors, Hive-Sec. Operating from “The Bastion”, Hass East and West, they actively hunt any threat they perceive to the Dead Hive, engaging in hunts for mutants and anything they see as a threat to the burgeoning nations of the descendants that now live in the remains of the Hive.
The Circle and The Creed
Serving as the Command body of Hive-sec, The Circle as it is known, consists of the 7 heads of Hive-Sec’s various divisions and deals with its day to day operations and concerns. Two of the most widely known are that of the Lord Enforcer and the Hunts master; the heads of the Enforcers and Rangers respectively. The other five are those of the Captain of the armoury, Logos Captain, Shadow Captain, Apothecary and Captain of the Guard. The first dealing with the state of Hive-secs armaments and the state of the defences of Bastion and the Hasses, whilst the second serves as the leader of Research & Development for Hive-sec, maintaining their scientific knowledge and furthering information from samples collected by Roving rangers to ensure they are always one step ahead of the mutants. The third, the shadow Captain, serves as commander to the hand-picked teams of specialists within Hive-Sec, chosen for their particular abilities, to hunt down and eliminate special targets as decreed by the Circle. The Apothecary serves as the lead Healer of Hive-Sec’s forces, usually gathering the medics and those with a skill in the art of healing under their banner to create a medical corp that can administer to the Health of Hive-sec as a whole. The final member of the circle, the Captain of the guard, serves as the head trainer for future Enforcers and rangers, raised from amongst the Civilian Levy that lives within Bastion, Organising training regimes and administering tests to those that reach the required age before transferring from the White Shield Recruit units of youths, to full Enforcer and possible Ranger training. Together, these 7 individuals guide Hive-sec in its operations and missions, acting as the leading body that guides the enforcers, rangers and civilian levy forwards in their duties. The final member, both a member of the circle and above them, is the Lord Commander, the very head of Hive-Sec, this position is rarely held due to the need for unanimous agreement amongst all members of the circle in order of one individual to be chosen to bare the title and be Hive-secs Definitive Leader. At the moment this Rank is held by no one….
The Creed: “Peace though Unity, Unity through Dominance”
Faction structure:
Order of Enforcement, Order of Rangers
The Line Orders –> The Vanguard -> The Circle
Hive-Sec Attitudes to Other Factions
As a predominatly Military based order, Hive-Sec has had regular contact with all other factions due to their positions around the ruins of the colony. Some of these have been mutally benefical, whilst others have been out right hostile, resulting in some cases in open war. As such these attitudes have been listed on the below link to provide an upto date list of relations between Hive-Sec and the other factions.
Hive-Sec Elections
Amongst the field personnel of Hive-Sec exists two positions of authority which date back to shortly after the fall. Both of these were created at a time when Hive-Sec as a whole found itself with its command and control structure severely compromised, due to a spiralling list of MIA and KIA personnel leaving huge gaps within the forces as a whole. As such field command of any large force of Hive-sec personnel and the corresponding Logistical support fell to men or women chosen in field to command, leading to the rise of two authorities that existed outside of the normal chain of command, That of the Chapter Commander and the Watch master. These have been listed below as to their exact roles within Hive-sec as a whole.
Chapter Commander - Elected once a year, chosen from amongst Active Unit Leaders. Has field command of the first Hive-Sec army (Any further armies constructed will require a further Chapter commander to be elected)
Watch master - Elected once a year, chosen from amongst non-command personnel. Has field Control over Logistical supplies assigned to field forces and supply lines.
Hive-Sec Army
Smaller than the armies raised by the other factions, the 1st chapter as the force is known amongst Hive-sec, is by no means any less capable than its brethren from the other kingdoms. In fact the exact opposite is the exact truth, as the 1st Chapter contains a higher proportion of veteran enforcers and experienced rangers supported by companies of civilian levy militia. Adding to this the hive-sec life style of constantly training, prepping weapons and studying the arts of war lends the 1st chapter a lethal edge where the training of its members, professionalism of its troops and dedication of its leaders provides a cohesive disciplined force that is more effective out of proportion to its numbers.
Subclasses: Enforcers & Rangers
Faction Bonus: Bonus to Offensive Military downtime actions
Enforcers
Forming the backbone of Hive-Sec orders, the enforcers act as the arms-men and front line troopers of any Hive-sec force. They work as dedicated squads that have trained together since they were children, acting as either fast moving assault teams equipped with heavy weaponry to engage their foes with overwhelming firepower and force when all else fails. Trained to adapt to any situation and to use their own initiative on the move Enforcers excel at Heavy engagements whether with Firearm or blade.
Rangers
Acting as the eyes and ears of the Orders, Rangers function as the operatives of Hive-Sec, more secretive and sly than their Enforcer brethren; they function as the dagger to the enforcer’s mace. Often solving situations with the application of a single assassination, compared to their brethren’s massed firepower and slaughter. Rangers are picked during recruitment by the Taskmasters and assigned to the Hunts master for special training before returning to their normal enforcer squads for assignment and deployment. Often working in small teams they elect their leaders via skill compared to the enforcers ranks, and attach themselves to enforcer squads they deem competent or unorthodox enough.
Sub class Advantages: "Enforcers" First point in Heavy rigs or Light rigs is doubled and First point in one handed ranged is doubled & "Rangers" receive Plus one point in medic (e.g even with no investment in medic, rangers begin with rank one) and Two handed ranged is Doubled
Sub class Disadvantages: "Enforcers" Suffer a penalty to cyber-tech and bio-tech advancement e.g. Requires TWO exp points rather than One for progression & "Rangers" Suffer penalties to War-leader skill advancement e.g. requires ONE more point than normal to advance
Cultural Inspirations:
Spartan society/values, Roman Military, Paramilitary/Halo ODST’s, American SWAT, British ARU, NATO
What the Faction is Not:
Dedicated Military, or Antagonistic, They are more Knightly order based, Peace through superior firepower when needed