ARMATA PROYEKT-4 KOSMOSOLDATS
Space knows how to kill you, and it can do it in many different ways, and that is something it has in common with the Kosmosoldats. In the Human Sphere, the words “Ariadnan astronaut” always caused much hilarity, since they brought to mind awkward people in old-fashioned suits, that is, until these troops were first brought into action and they shut everyone’s mouth. Actually, there were several indicators suggesting that the Ariadnans would make good astronauts, or as they say, cosmonauts.
Ariadna’s space program is developed in Mat’, and therefore it has a strong Kazakh influence, hence the use of Russian cosmonautics terms. This is one of the facts that the ignorant citizens of the Sphere should have taken into account before they started laughing. Traditionally, Russian cosmonauts have been considered and respected as true national heroes, much more so than astronauts in the West. Only the finest could become cosmonauts, true heroes who would do their duty despite the odds against them, which included not only the most hostile of environments, but also a political class and a bureaucracy that often became their worst enemies.
But they all knew that the stars can only be reached through hardship, and that challenges are the way for humanity to better itself. The Kosmosoldats draw from this stoic and spartan tradition—a philosophy that is burnt into them not only at the Leonov Center for Cosmonautical Instruction, but also at school and through the mass media since childhood—and they are its worthy successors.
1ER RÉGIMENT DE PARA-COMMANDOS
The 1st Para-Commandos is the Merovingian airborne infantry regiment that acts as a rapid response and interdiction unit both for the Force de Réponse Rapide Mérovingienne and Kosmoflot. The Para-Commandos are the first on the scene, often deployed before the battle even begins. Basically, the job of the 1st Para-Commandos is to carry out the riskiest duties of light infantry: airborne insertions, rapid advances, surprise attacks and hurried withdrawals to their exfiltration point before the enemy can react.
The 1st is part of the Lanciers Parachutistes corps, the parachutist lancers infantry of the Merovingian forces, and has been elected as Kosmoflot’s forward element due its capability for special- operations. These men and women specialize in HALO (high-altitude, low opening) jumps to avoid radar detection, but have also been trained to operate in Zero-G thanks to the exchange programs signed by the Stavka with the Sword of Allah and the Nomad Military Force. As a result of the sky-high risk level and casualty rate of their missions, the members of the 1st receive the familiar name of Jacques Demi- messe, “Jacques Half-a-Mass”, as a quip on their short life expectancy.
But they don’t seem to mind. The Para-Commandos are the kind of guys who have a very hazardous job and they love it. Braggarts? If they weren’t quite so good no one would overlook their legendary smugness...
VOLKOLAK ASSAULT TROOPS
There is one quote that racing drivers as well as special- operations commandos totally agree on: “Power is nothing without control.” This statement resounded in the Stavka’s meeting rooms when a reconfiguration and upgrade of its units was being considered for the new corps that was to become Kosmoflot. It was in these meetings that the idea originated to build on the achievements of Project Polaris, the program that created the tactical bearpodes, to develop an equivalent specifically designed for dogfaces. In this way, they would become more efficient and versatile operatives, even if this meant sacrificing part of their power, which in many cases was almost counter productive. With this objective in mind, Project Vervol’f (Вервол́ ьф Проект) was developed and would soon bear fruit, although its costs made it impossible to implement on a larger scale.
The result of Project Vervol’f was the assault unit named Volkolak (Волколак), an ancient Russian word for werewolves, which is composed of veteran dogfaces with good records, and a few younger ones with a not-so-good records, but excellent skills. It is quite easy to tell Volkolaks from any other dogface by the way they move, without haste, stress, or rage, but equally resolute and determined. Thanks to the Vervol’f treatment, the Stavka has produced troops with superhuman physical qualities, similar to those provided by servopowered armor, and they only need a few strong and light Teseum armor plates to become unstoppable in battle.
Trained to become part of Kosmoflot and to carry out special operations jointly with other units, the Volkolaks stay calm and cool in combat, perfectly in control and moving in synchronicity with their team members. As effective as they are deadly, they are Kosmoflot’s clenched fist, still a little too intense, but very good at ending a fight. The perfect combination of power and control, the dream of any racing driver or spec-ops commando.
