Chapter Text
While most militaries in the galaxy have special operations units in service, not all of them are of the same mettle. The Systems Alliance uses a metric called tiers to roughly judge the caliber of a special unit. The best units are known as tier-one. Below is a collection of forces who are considered to be on par or beyond the assigned levels of tier-one.
Turian Blackwatch
The premier special operations unit of the Turian Hierarchy, Blackwatch is considered the collection of the greatest warriors amongst turians. It is widely regarded as the best special forces unit in the galaxy, surpassing the asari Commandos, STG and human N7s.
The turian Hierarchy does not have a SOF command like the salarians or the humans do. turian commando units come from a few specific streams - Biotic cabals, Alares and Armiger armored heavy infantry, Sagittari and Venator sniper-infiltrators, and Artificer Legion combat engineers. These units, labeled Level-3 Bluewatch and Level-2 Redwatch, are distributed piecemeal amongst the field armies, used as elite light infantry or force-multiplier units. Blackwatch Legion is the only exception - they are only called in for high-risk direct action or clandestine missions that threaten the safety of Palaven itself. The brightest and the most promising operators are invited to trial for Level-1 assessment. The assessment is grueling, with an attrition rate of nearly 90%. The ones who pass are invited to join the Blackwatch Legion. They are each handpicked through assessment, and then vetted by the Hierarchy Defense Intelligence. Further training is conducted on Menae, the moon of Palaven. After a long procedure, the trainees are allowed to go on combat missions.
Blackwatch is a Legion-sized unit in the Hierarchy Military, consisting of around 10,000 operators. The Legion is further divided into five Regiments, each having a specific sector similar to the human CAG squadrons. Regiments are divided into 500-soldier Cohorts, which focus on dedicated skillsets like direct action, deep reconnaissance, intel collection, etc. Each Blackwatch operator is a consummate professional, a complete devotee to the turian Cause, and frighteningly adept at whatever their combat vocation is. Blackwatch snipers and designated marksmen are the best in the galaxy; and their techwar specialists are skilled enough to be on par with STG battle-scientists. Blackwatch adepts, mostly drawn from the best cabal units, are extremely lethal and almost on par with their asari or krogan counterparts. Their armor is the strongest in the Hierarchy, they carry heavy weapons, and strike with utmost skill and lethality. Most Blackwatch operators are also heavily cybernetic, and many sport nearly transhuman correction procedures. Rumors are when they are deployed, they show such extraordinary skills and deadly precision - that even the most legendary asari Commandos or Krogan Battlemasters are afraid of going up against a Blackwatch element.
Blackwatch makes extensive use of power armor and combat drones, even more so than the Armiger Legions. Infiltrators and Engineers display heavy use of tactical cloaking, sabotage and hacking, and homing grenades. Assaulters wear Predator H armor reinforced with custom Armax parts, and will often carry three or four weapons at a time. Most assaulters and vanguards are heavily cybered; allowing them feats of great strength. Each operator is free to choose from a wide pool of weapons and equipment. They heavily modify Hierarchy standard issues for their purposes, and also utilize alien weapons whenever required. Regarding small arms, there is the Mexta heavy-duty battle rifle, and the M-903 Sunfire handgun. The Mexta is a modified Raptor with high-capacity sinks and automatic fire mode, performing a dual role as DMR and machine gun. The famous Sunfire plasma-compression handgun is considered the most powerful sidearm in the galaxy; it fires a superheated plasma blast contained inside a phasic envelope.
Nevertheless, a few weapons are signature issues of the Blackwatch; and their usage is a telltale indicator of a Blackwatch deployment. For example, the Black Talon battlesuit - this Blackwatch-exclusive power armor is used by Blackwatch's drop-assault units. Equipped with thick platings of Silaris under three layers of kinetic barriers, the arms have enough assist actuators to allow the soldier to carry Widow rifles, lance cannons, ion bombards, or cut-down rail guns. A shoulder mount either hosts a four-barrel missile launcher or the Vakial automatic mortar, loaded with plasma or thermobaric, guided and boosted rounds. The Black Talon is also equipped with an omni-shield, two gun drones, a self-sustaining flash forge, and jetpacks. Yet another trademark is a modified, cut-down version of the old Titania battlesuit. The Titania was the basis for all walker-style piloted warframes; Blackwatch stormtroopers use a slim-lined version of it. It allows the trooper to wield Triumverate cyclical cannons, Vakial full-size mortars, a licensed version of the salarian Kaurkai Hailstorm portable assault artillery, and other similar weapons - which are generally reserved for vehicles.
Serrice Guard
The most famous among asari Commando Units, the Serrice Guard of Commandos is the premier Commando unit for the Thessian city-state of Serrice. The average age of Serrice Guardswomen is 500; their average kill count is in the low thousands. It is no surprise that this unit strikes fear into the bravest of salarians and krogan. In biotic combat, there are no equals to them.
The asari military structure does not have any standing, professional army except the Republican Guard. This apparent shortcoming is more than compensated by the asari mindset of decentralized organizing. Each city-state is free to raise its own militia, ranging from ragtag guerilla units to fully equipped militaries. Serrice, being the richest inhabited region in the galaxy and one of the most influential republics of Thessia, has an army that easily rivals the UNSC Solforce, turian Field Armies and is more capable than some member nations' entire fighting forces.
At the very tip of that military is the Serrice Guard. The unit consists of almost 5,000 commandos - half the size of Blackwatch and roughly thrice the size of N7s. It is divided into five Echelons - the asari equivalent to a human battalion. Each Echelon is given the charge of a single Serrice-controlled continent or a colony. The Serrice Guard rarely ventures outside of asari space. Echelons are further divided into Storms, each containing two subunits called bands. One of the bands focuses on traditional asari commando warfare - heavy use of infowar, precise fire, powerful weapons, omni-shields, etc., along with moderate biotics. The other band focuses on what can be called the asari specialty combat roles - the blademistresses, the biotic powerhouse battle-matriarchs, biotic assassins, etc.
Asari are so biotically gifted that even the most juvenile huntress from a village militia is an Adept-level biotic in human ratings. Every Serrice commando, in comparison, is an absolute master of biotic combat. The greenest of their medics and snipers are tenfolds more skilled and lethal biotics than the N7 Furies; the older and more experienced of them can only be stopped by heavy weapons.
The asari adepts are powerful enough to carry heavy weapons without bothering about cooldown. They are given riflemen or grenadier duty, combining warp attacks with grenade launchers and heavy rifles in battle. Rifleman roles are generally given to the newer soldiers - when they gain a bit of experience, they go into the traditional commando role - the sentinel. Sentinels are highly cross-trained and are masters in gunfighting, field medicine, explosives, and infowar. They are given heavy armor and omni-shields, and are assigned to support and leadership roles of a band. A few combat engineers make up the band, with DMRs, sniper rifles, and Lunarch warp cannons. In the other band, full of asari biotics and traditional warriors, the vanguards dual-wield guns along with the feared asari slasher swords, using biotic charges to slip in and out of combat. The blademasters and battle-matriarchs forego weapons to focus on their swords and biotics. In the four thousand years of the group's existence, nobody has survived biotic combat with a Serrice commando.
Asari value the importance of personal skill in combat; therefore, the higher ranked the commando, the more deadly she is. The current CO of Serrice Guard, Battle-Matriarch Sarissa T'Rome, is considered one of the most powerful beings alive in the galaxy. Possessing biotics that can crush a gunship, throw frigates off orbit and turn a battle tank into a crumpled tin can; she is aptly called a "living siege engine".
The Serrice Guard uses various types of armor. Their combat specialists and sentinels go for human-made Kassa Fabrications HyperGuardian armor, whereas unit armorsmiths craft custom sets for vanguards and the powerful biotics. They do not have standard issues - each commando carries what she likes. Their signature issues include the Acolyte handgun, the Disciple shotgun, and most notably, the Lunarch Warp Cannon, a Gravitational Singularity Launcher akin to the Reaper Blackstar. Serrice commandos tend to carry a variety of rifles and carbines in their service, like the Adherent carbine, or the Black Ocean Scythe battle rifle - an Illium-produced version of the human Harrier.
The iconic warp swords - monomolecular blades infused with dust-form element zero to create a warp effect, able to effortlessly cut through even the strongest body armor - are the most popular weapons associated with the Guard. Common variants are similar to human sabers; other variants include daggers and cleavers, polearms, etc.
Warmakers, STG
The salarian military is primarily divided into three parts - the navy, the ground levies, and the STG. The Special Tasks Group is the salarian military intelligence unit, comprising about 40% of the Union's entire military. the STG is a truly apolitical, unbiased organization, devoted singly to the preservation of the salarian nation. Due to the nature of the salarian military, the STG is much more than an espionage organization - it has naval duties, supply chain operations, administration and finance operations, and political action.
The STG has every type of unit in its service, ranging from fleets to separate supply corps. The Action Division is the combat ops arm of the STG, and the premier ground combat force of the salarian Union. And invariably, since the levies and the naval infantry, the designated ground force components of the salarian Union, are often neglected and underequipped; and are at best second-rate forces compared to other star nations, it falls upon the Action Division to pick up their slack in ground operations. A 'Division' in salarian parlance is equivalent to a full corps in the Systems Alliance, and the Action Division is no different. It contains infantry units (lancer), artillery, armor, battlesuit, air support, and special forces units (dragoons). The dragoons, a catch-all colloquial for special forces units in the overall salarian union, are the elite of salarian ground operations. Only the navy and the STG have dragoon units - the naval special forces are called 'fusilier dragoons', and the STG ones are called 'dragoon agents'. The only exception is the Warmakers subdivision, whose members are not referred to as 'agents', but as 'warmakers'; signifying their specialty in waging war.
The reason for this is, that the Warmakers are the premier special operations unit in the Salarian Union, a nation filled with such units. They are ruthlessly efficient and absolute masters at their jobs, made up of the best and most belligerent operatives deemed up to the mark. Their actual size is classified, and the STG has never openly admitted its existence, but it is assumed to be similar to the size of Blackwatch. The Warmakers are divided up into small cells of eight to fifteen; about ten of them form a squadron and a hundred form a regiment; overseen by a senior agent and a master agent respectively. There are three common types of Warmaker units: the Storm Dragoons, assaulters cross-trained in explosive fire and flanking; the Shield Dragoons, sentinels trained to hold lines and protect adepts and engineers; and battle-scientists, high-level tech experts who are cross-trained in combat.
These three types of units are recruited from other STG units or the naval fusiliers, and three other types of units supplant the Warmakers. Firstly, the War Specialist units, bred in seclusion under STG supervision at Aegohr. The War Specialists are the best warriors the salarian species have ever produced, going through grueling training in combat and tactics since childhood; deprived of any social interactions or emotions. The only thing they know is war. If the Shield Dragoons are the only true defensive line infantry unit in the salarian Union, the war specialists are the only true heavy shock infantry. Functioning like the human Wyverns or the turian Havoc Armigers, they utilize powerful jet glider packs, heavy and bulky armors, and are cybernetically as well as genetically enhanced to be able to carry heavier weapons than the normal salarian can (like Widow rifles, or Revenant and Hachimi machine guns). Supporting them are the Shieldbreakers, a guild of cyborg battlesuit pilots who are free of bureaucracy and chains of command; only reporting to the STG Master and the ruling Dalatrass. The Shieldbreaker battlesuit is a marvel of engineering - complicated enough that a sentient being's mind would be overwhelmed if they tried to operate it without heavy VI assistance. Decked in the finest laser steel and brandishing extremely powerful weapons, they are a match for most enemies one could face. And finally, there are the Transcendental adepts, the most powerful of the rare salarian biotics. Salarian biotics are rare enough to be only involved in special operations and military intelligence, and they fall singly under the jurisdiction of the STG. The adepts, capable of stupendous biotic feats, are the prized biotic artillery assets of the Warmakers.
Unlike other forces, Warmaker cells are not balanced but dedicated to one specific task. The engineer cells focus on offensive tech and information warfare, storm cells focus on closing distance and turning the battle into a disorganized fray, shield cells boast defensive and sniping capabilities and war specialist cells are used to crack enemy defensive lines and take on the hardest fights. As with the rest of the salarian military, the Warmakers' combat relies on sniping and explosive weapons. Almost all salarian soldiers are highly trained snipers as well as tech experts. They do extremely well in precision fire due to their enhanced reflexes and quick thinking, being able to pick off enemies before they can react. Salarians also produce some of the best sniper rifles and explosive weapons due to this doctrine. Their doctrine also focuses on their innate skills in technology, and the unusually strong (albeit rare) biotics among their race. The battle-scientists are mostly doctorate-level scholars cross-trained in STG infiltration regimen, and are reasonably well-suited to the battlefield while being able to provide immense levels of technical expertise on the missions they are required. The likes of Mordin Solus and Maelon Heplorn were all battle-scientists, who deployed the genophage, uplifted the vorcha, and alleviated Kepral's syndrome in drell while on the battlefield.
With a combination of all these, Warmaker combat is an awesome sight. The storm dragoons fire explosive rounds and homing grenades from open angles while under tactical cloaks, moving from cover to cover even before enemies can get a bead on them. The shield dragoons carry immensely powerful omni-shields, barricades, and tech armor alongside sniper rifles; protecting the ranks. Combat engineers deploy drones and missiles, grenades and explosives, and conjure up omni-fortifications in a matter of minutes. The Shieldbreakers are thrown at the heaviest enemy defenses, and the warspecs loiter around the battlefield, engaging wherever they are needed. The ranks of shield dragoons protect the battle-scientists and the Transcendental adepts. The Transcendentals sneak in insanely powerful flares and warps before slipping back behind, and the battle-scientists advise the entire force on the objective. If given time to set the ground, a Warmaker cell will give Blackwatch and asari commandos the fight of their lives.
Warmakers' weapons are either made by Aegohr Munitions or issued by STG. Following the salarian tendency of using a lot of micro-grenades, their inventory includes the Scorpion pistol and Venom shotgun, preferred by the storm dragoons, adepts, and engineers/scientists. The shield dragoons prefer the Serration sniper-assaulter rifle, and the Manur Observer sniper rifle, considered the best low-caliber rifle in circulation. The Warspecs carry the salarian assault machine gun, the Hachimi. Their armor is custom-made by Aegohr Munitions, each set fitting the operator it is designed for, and containing facilities said operator requires. They heavily use Wasp-class ground combat drones, tactical missiles, rocket drones, and microdrones. Shieldbreaker battlesuits utilize the salarian portable rail gun.
Combat Applications Group
The N7s are the best warfighters in the entire human species. They come from all branches of service – the marines, the navy, and sometimes, the SolForce. These specialists are masters in their vocations and always qualify for the highest grade in their class. Although a few N7s operate with other units, most of them are part of the Combat Applications Group, also known as "The Unit" or "Lucky Sevens". CAG is considered to be an omni-role, “go anywhere, fight anything” unit - its N7s are often deployed as parts of joint taskforces, where highly trained N7 officers lead assault or recon elements from SOC. Rarely, an AIS/CAG taskforce is created to conduct highly sensitive black ops; almost as rare as joint task forces with asari Huntresses and the Blackwatch.
The N7s do not have a specific strong point - they are neither as nimble as the STG, powerful biotics as the Serrice Guards, heavily augmented as Blackwatch or melee experts like the SIU. Their combat philosophy has developed specifically from their shortcomings. Prioritizing preparation and deterrence, they have developed a counterfire protocol unlike anyone else. CAG has an answer to any and every enemy they face - if they already don't, they improvise. Counter-biotics weapons against asari, sonic and flash-based weapons against salarians, close quarters against turians, and long-range attacks against batarians - the N7s are immaculate experts at forcing enemies to fight at a disadvantage. Their counterfire doctrine needs them to have several types of specialists in their roster, which in turn, enables them to engage in multiple types of missions.
CAG is open to all servicepersons in the Alliance; provided a person has basic infantry training and can pass the ICT, he or she can be an N7 even without prior service in the other special ops units. Many N7s have come from colonial militias, law-enforcement agencies, and Earth's special operation groups. After witnessing the effectiveness of TF Hercules mixed-species units and Cdr. Shepard's multispecies team, CAG has recruited a few alien nationals who are Alliance citizens. Like the Strategic Warfare Group, CAG is highly focused on cross-training and possesses advanced knowledge of a myriad of disciplines. The advent of cross-training has given birth to several operator subclasses like the Ghost, Centurion, and Taskmaster.
CAG equipment mostly comes from top-rated human corporations, and the Naval Special Warfare Development Group - the R&D arm of Alliance Spec Ops. Their main weapons include Alliance rifles like the Valkyrie, Typhoon, and Valiant, civilian Mattock variants like the Harrier, alien counterparts such as the Serration, Raptor, or Adherent rifles, different human and alien handgun variants, Crusader and Vanquisher shotguns, etc. But more than firearms what is dangerous is the mission-specific tools of the trade for CAG; which include counter-biotic grenades, flashbang stacks, cryo and thermite munitions to damage turian plates, anti-krogan incendiary and radiation ammo, hi-ex sniper ammunition for batarians, and even water cannons to use against drell.
CAG armor is mainly from the NSWDG line. CAG has a penchant for aftermarket parts and civilian-modified equipment - their armors are mostly modified with aftermarket parts, while civilian-spec customized weapons can be seen with N7 operators.
Rannoch Commandos
As the emerging superpower in the upper-right quadrant of the galactic disk, the Rannoch conclave has faced the need of creating a competent special operations force to combat Terminus threats and other problematic forces. Under the command of General Garrus Vakarian, the Tier-1 unit of Rannoch Commandos arose to answer this call.
Comprised of geth snipers, hunters, primes, juggernauts, and quarian specialists; the commandos provide a unique perspective in special operations. Their unique weapons make them useful in combating mech-heavy enemies, which is most of the Terminus coalition forces. The group possesses exceptional technical prowess, deploying drones all around to perform flank guard, suppressing fire, spotting and occasional resupplying. They also excel at hacking and sabotaging, even putting STG to competition. Geth hunters perform vanguard and infiltration work, while juggernauts and primes work as heavy support infantry. The quarian specialists take up other roles, such as sniping, medic and repairing support, rifleman duties, etc. Quarian drone operators are attached to every commando unit, utilizing a wide array of drones, ranging from geth recon drones and micro-drone swarms to advanced assault drones armed with rocket launchers and heavy machine guns.
The geth commandos tend to use regular issues like pulse rifles, plasma shotguns and SMGs, Spitfire miniguns and Javelin sniper rifles. Quarian specialists tend to use the Adas, Reegar Carbine, and human-made, quarian-specification Mattock rifles. Drones are equipped with rockets and a miniature version of the spitfire. Though the geth do not use any special armor, their shielding is very high, similar to their quarian counterparts. Primes use hex energy shields, whereas quarian specialists are covered with some of the best tech armor known in the galaxy.
Special Intervention Unit
The batarian hegemony is in ruins, and little more than thuggish enforcers nowadays, but their pride in the Special Intervention Unit has not waned. The premier batarian special force ever since the hegemony was established, the SIU has a history almost as long as the Serrice Guard.
The SIU is less special operations and more high-level hitmen for the hegemons and the Emperor. They are used to police the dissident colonies, quash revolts and occasionally strike at alien enemies. After cooperation with STG, the SIU operators (known as enforcers all over) are taking up more and more strike missions. They are made up of Righteous-class marksmen and Glorious-class vanguards, employing a mixture of long-range and close-range combat. However, it is in melee range that the SIU enforcers are most dangerous; very few combatants other than asari commandos and salarian storm dragoons can match them in hand-to-hand. It will take at least two Blackwatch operators or three to four N7s to take down a single Glorious. Engaging them alone is certain suicide.
The SIU uses the Kishock Harpoon Gun for long-range work, AC-22 Ripper carbines are their mainstay mid-to-close range weapons; and their signature close-range weapon is the AT-12 Raider. They have a colorful array of melee weapons, ranging from poleaxes and tridents to spiked maces and sawtooth serrated blades. However, due to the extreme lack of funding, battlesuits are not something they can afford.
Aralakh Company
Named after the fierce Tuchanka sun, commanded by great warriors, and with a track record better than any other krogan unit in history, Aralakh Company is the premier krogan commando unit.
There have been two iterations of this unit - one existed during the Rachni Wars and the subsequent Krogan Rebellions, and was disbanded after the battle of Kelphic Valley. The current one was created in 2235, right before the Reaper War. The company performed with distinction in the battles of Utukku and Earth; current Spectre Urdnot Grunt commanded the unit during this period.
Aralakh is not specialized in one duty; it is an amalgam of the best krogan warriors from many clans. They do what krogan do best - kill and raise mayhem. The recruits are former Blood Pack warriors, bodyguards and hitmen, shock troopers for mercenary bands, and even a few warriors old enough to have fought in the Rebellions. As a result, the ranks are filled with powerful Shaman adepts, former Warlords and mercenary captains performing sentinel duties, the best of the krogan engineers and medics (already few in number), the very best shock troopers, and quite a number of battlemasters.
Aralakh has, surprisingly, standardized their weapons; they use Claymore shotguns, Striker and Cyclone rifles, and ritual warhammers.
CSEC Special Response
In 1134 CE, in order to counter high-risk outlaws, hostage scenarios, and terrorist attacks, the Citadel Security Services created an Emergency Response Unit. The ERU was highly effective in combatting these threats, but during the Facinus uprisings of 1567 CE, the first batarian exile of 1623 CE, and the quarian banishment of 1767 CE, the intensity and frequency of terrorism and sabotage increased manifold. It was understood that an ad-hoc police unit like the ERU was simply not enough to deal with crazed batarian brawlers, or quarian tech-terrorists, or former turian special forces. To address these advanced problems, C-SEC opened an entirely new wing, the Special Response. Since then, SR has been the ideal model of all galactic counter-terrorist rapid intervention forces.
SR has around 2,000 officers in its ranks; most of them ranking Senior Corporals and Sergeants, with some Detectives and Adjutants in unit leader positions. They are not deployed precinct-wise, instead, each ward on the Citadel has a separate SR with 400 officers. The Presidium is protected by the Embassy SR, consisting of the best officers in the service. Centrally, Special Response is organized by corps, such as the biotic corps, the CQB corps, sniper corps, engineer corps, etc.
Most SR officers come from turians - former Armigers, Cabalists, Venators, and even some ex-Blackwatch. The second highest is jointly asari and humans - former commandos and N-rated operators, even a couple of ex- N7s. A few salarians, elcor, and krogan are also in service. Recently two geth Juggernauts were included.
SR uses very heavy armor - KF Colossus for humans, Armax Predator-H for turians, KF HyperGuardian for asari, and Legionnaire Armor for Elcor. Their weapons are state-of-the-art, including asari Disciple shotguns, human Crusader shotguns, Spectre R&D Argus rifles (select-fire variant), and Black Widow sniper rifles. They also have a large pool of issue handguns including the Phalanx, Eagle, Executioner, Acolyte, and ST&R Paladin.
PMC Elite Units
The business of private military contracting, otherwise known as mercenary work, is one of the most popular in galactic space. No species has enough security and enforcement personnel for all their colonies and outposts and stations and livelihoods - not even the turians. It is very inefficient to deploy a regular army for these tasks, and difficult to raise a police force in small colonies. Thus, most races employ contractors for their security tasks. Also, in independent worlds like Illium, Noveria, and Omega, there are no legal representatives of Citadel forces, making PMCs the only LE personnel. This is why there is never a shortage in merc work, and every week there are new corporations springing up. However, due to the immense costs of running a mercenary organization, and the intense competition in galactic market; a select few have a monopoly in the market. The largest of them, commonly referred to as the 'Big Five', consist of Blue Suns, Eclipse, Blood Pack, Ura-Clan, and Elanus Risk Control Services.
The Big Five, along with other large PMCs like Gemini, Katarian Talons, Nalinox, Tiburon Rojo, and Draken InterStellar; have a presence everywhere, take up a variety of jobs, and contain huge resources. They frequently deploy special operations units to handle unique or difficult tasks.
The Blue Suns have their Apex unit, a highly skilled light infantry/commando unit focused on tactical planning, coordinated gunfire and liberal usage of heavy weapons. Suns Legionnaires and Centurions are the standard troops of Apex, while Suns Commanders serve as unit leaders. Whatever their role was in the corporation - from logistician to executive - every trooper is equal in Apex. They are highly skilled in using rifles and machine guns, precision fire, and have their own artillery and air support. Apex is generally given the tasks of direct-action raids, search-and-destroy missions, and breaking tough enemy lines. Apex troopers use Elanus RCS Vindicators as their standard issue, heavily modified to make the venerable weapon even deadlier. They also carry Ariake Scimitar shotguns (and its Alliance variant, the L-27 Martyr), Rosenkov Vipers, and more. Apex is leaps and bounds ahead of the regular Suns units, more comparable to human N5s or turian Armigers.
Eclipse special ops unit is the 'Sisters of Sederis', named after the founder and former leader, Jona Sederis. The sisters focus on biotic and tech supremacy, filling their ranks with mechs to make up for riflemen. Asari commandos and salarian Infiltrators are the main powerhouses of the sisters; the best vanguards, adepts, infiltrators, and engineers are selected from other Eclipse units to serve in the Sisters. The Sisters are mainly tasked witht the most difficult of espionage, search-and-retreaval, sabotage and assassination operations. Sisters operatives mainly rely on light weapons - shotguns like the Scimitar and Lieberschaft 2180 Eviscerator, and PDWs and carbines like the M-9 Tempest or the N/M-26 Hurricane. Their main strength is the heavy biotic powers and extensive use of infowar and tech abilities.
Noverian Defense Forces are the paramilitary mercenary forces of the Noveria Development Council. Made up of the highest level of specialists money can buy; they pose a grave threat when deployed to defend their world or protect Noverian corporate interests in the galaxy.
NDF primarily consists of former mercenaries from Elanus Risk Control Services, and privateer sailors from the Nalinox Security Flotilla. They are commanded by turian ex-special forces soldiers, asari justicars, salarian dragoons and human ex-marines; brought over with exorbitant salaries. Their combat style is a cross between turian formation warfare in offense and salarian/human guerilla-style combat in defense. NDF troops are trained in biotics by the asari, in engineering by the quarians, and in close-quarters by the drell and batarians. Their weapons are top-of-the-line and often get upgraded; currently NDF troops are carrying a mix of Phaestons and Valkyries, along with turian sniper rifles and salarian microexplosive weapons.
The Omega-based Talons is a small but efficient mercenary organization, primarily composed of turians. They are a highly organized unit, brought up to military standards by the legendary cabalist Nyreen Kandros. Initially a ex-special forces extortion racket established by disavowed Armigers, they later expanded into assault/capture missions that slipped by Suns' fingers. Later, they became a fearsome group in the Terminus worlds, providing elite enforcer and bodyguard services. After Kandros' death during the Omega insurgency, Talon units started to sell their services in Citadel space. Most of the unit is ex-turian military, with a high number being special forces, so they can project a lot of elite units despite their size. The Grenadiers are their most elite unit, using exotic omni-tool weapons and tech mines to disrupt enemy movements. A squad of Talon engineers wielding omni-bows can be deadly to even the hardest veterans.
The Irunian Ura-Clan Combine and Earth-based Draken Interstellar are very specialized forces; it can be said that almost all of their forces are elite units. Ura-Clan employs VDF support specialists and VDF air force bombers, along with 'civilized' vorcha shock troops in their services. Draken, which recruits exclusively from former Alliance and EDF special operations; focus on providing elite units for counterinsurgency operations. They also join up with Tiburon Rojo for air support missions.
Gemini is a recent big name in the private military world. Rising out of Noveria as a small security and enforcement outfit, Gemini rose to prominence after the corporate war on Garvug. As corporate forces took over Dhazil and killed Hailot Wrund, the control over Garvug was established. The need for a large armed force was quickly gone; veteran soldiers and officers of the Sonax-Kore Chemicals, Guanghui Solutions and Binary Helix were let go in droves, most of them with a paltry severance package. A Sonax-Kore special warfare officer, Major Iason Riggs, came to Noveria after the affair, where he got entangled in the Noverian defection to Cerberus. Leading a resistance against Cerberus occupiers and NDC, he was applauded by both corporations and the commoners. He gathered a large band of Garvug veterans and founded Gemini. Gemini went on to expand in the post-war galaxy, picking up ex-CAT6 mercs and newly retired turian and human commandos; merging smaller but skilled outfits like Spear Specialized Services, Sphinx-Jatayu Milcorp, and Grim Angels; and even hiring ex-Cerberus defectors, including high-ranking Centurions, Phantoms, snipers, engineers and a few intelligence officers.
By 2245, Gemini became a behemoth in the world of PMCs, boasting highly-trained and experienced mercenaries and an impressive arsenal of support equipment (bought dirt cheap at auctions). They are able to deploy their elite units, which include assault infantry, skilled infiltrators and vanguards, combat engineers, power armor and heavy mech support, gunship support, and even a squadron of F-61 fighters for direct engagement. They are in the process of buying a scrapped Alliance Carrier to be used as their mobile base of operations. They have deployed across much of the inhabited galaxy, only giving berth to big shots in their home ground - they don't bother Talons on Omega, Eclipse on Illium and the Suns in the Skyllian Verge. Instead, they take up contracts in the more civilized areas of space - mainly near Citadel space or salarian space, to pick up contracts no one else can bid on because of the salarians' insanely high standards.
Gemini elites are deployed in cells or teams, consisting up to 10 members. They are dependent on weapons and infowar mostly - similar to the turian and human commando doctrines. They deploy with Phaeston and Harrier automatic rifles, Hurricane PDWs, M-5 Phalanx pistols, Raptor DMRs, and Krysae sniper rifles. They also make extensive use of close-in support drones, missile drones, and stealth drones to accomplish their objectives. They have rarely been seen to deploy heavy weapons or large vehicles.