NOMAD Stellar Alliance: Fleets of the Alliance

WARNING: This is a WORK IN PROGRESS. See the enclosing directory for more about NOMAD Stellar Alliance.

Part of the NOMAD: Stellar Alliance series.

Alliance Exploration Fleet

The Alliance Exploration Fleet explores new star systems, makes contact with new civilizations, and pushes the boundaries of Alliance Space.

Exploration Fleet Ship Classes

See Ships of Alliance Space.

Exploration Fleet Ranks and Uniforms

All crewmen aboard an Exploration Fleet starship belong to one of six services. Each wears a color-coded uniform during their time in that service, and each service has a slightly different rank structure.

• Command (violet) officers not only command a ship. They conduct diplomatic missions, first contacts, and negotiations between hostile parties. Command staff usually did tours through other services before they underwent grueling instruction in motivational psychology, ethnology, diplomacy, tactics, strategy, and political science.

• Medical (green) includes all the doctors, nurses, and medical technicians that treat not only the crew but residents of any world in need of medical care. Doctors especially learn not only humanoid biologies but those of any known sapient being. The Chief Medical Officer not only directs all their staff but consults on all medical issues.

• Operations (gold), the largest service, includes all those who maintain, monitor, and pilot the ship. It even includes those who man the weapons, although Security also shares that duty. Generally if something needs doing on the ship, Operations usually does it. The Chief Operations Officer has the unenviable task of making sure the ship and the crew are working at peak efficiency.

• Science (blue) includes all those with degrees in the sciences who conduct and interpret surveys of starts, planets, and civilizations. The Chief Science Officer has the primary responsibility to synthesize data from the experts into a form the Captain and command staff can understand.

• Security (red) includes not just those who guard secure areas of the ship and break up fights but all the information security experts who keep the ship’s computers safe from tampering. The Chief Security Officer is effectively the “top cop” of the ship.

• Technical (orange/tan), the second largest service on most ships, includes all those who fix the ship, install upgrades, and jerry-rig whatever the captain or senior staff decides the ship needs. The Chief Engineer oversees all this activity to ensure the ship functions at maximum capacity.

Crewmen, particularly commissioned officers, can and do switch services. Some already have expertise in that area and fill a gap in personnel; others learn as apprentices with a senior officer.

Enlisted

Warrant Officers act in an advisory or supplementary role on a ship to provide expertise that is otherwise lacking. While they can command enlisted ranks in a capacity related to their specialty, they otherwise report only to commissioned officers.

Commissioned

In order to attain ranks beyond O-05, members of the other services must transfer to the Command Service.

Alliance Ground Defense Forces

Occasionally members of other forces do a tour of duty aboard a starship. The Ground Defense Force sometimes deploys to planets in conflict, similar to marines or special ops in the 21st century. While aboard ship they supplement the Security Services … not always without incident.

Ground Defense Force Ship Classes

None. All personnel are carried aboard Peacekeeping Fleet vessels.

Ground Defense Force Ranks

Enlisted

Comissioned

Alliance Merchant Fleet

The Alliance Merchant Fleet consists of Alliance-built ships leased to interstellar corporations of any size, and crews hired by those corporations. Many ex-Alliance officers join the Merchant Fleet when they muster out.

The Alliance lends ships under stringent requirements:

• Only visit planets that are part of the Alliance or uninhabited.
• Keep the details of Alliance technology secret from all but full Alliance members.
• Maintain ships in excellent condition.
• Pay crews fair wages.
• Conduct business fairly and completely above board.

Many corporations chafe under these regulations, which is why the Alliance Fleet also employs inspectors.

Merchant Fleet Ship Classes

See “Ships of the Alliance Merchant Fleet”.

Merchant Fleet Ranks and Uniforms

The Merchant Fleet lacks a distinction between “commissioned” and “enlisted” ranks. All personnel are hired by a private company and assigned ranks based roughly on their pay and responsibilities.

Merchant Fleet personnel usually don’t wear uniforms, save for the insignia of the company for whom they work.

This is the most common rank structure. A company is free to add to, delete, or completely overhaul its rank structure, including replace pseudo-military ranks with business ranks.

0. Cadet
1. Crewman 3rd Class
2. Crewman 2nd Class
3. Crewman 1st Class
4. Second Lieutenant
5. First Lieutenant
6. Lieutenant Commander or one of
   • Chief Communications Officer
   • Chief Engineer
   • Chief Financial Officer
   • Chief Medical Officer
   • Chief Pilot
   • Chief Science Officer
   • Chief Weapons Officer
   • Quartermaster
7. Commander or Executive Officer
8. Corporate Liason
9. Captain

Alliance Peacekeeping Fleet

The newest fleet in the Alliance is the Peacekeeping Fleet. The Alliance Peacekeeping Fleet in theory relieves the Exploration Fleet of their duties to patrol the interior of Alliance Space and resolve any disputes. Their standard procedure is to separate the two (or more) warring factions and establish a demilitarized zone until diplomats can do their work.

In practice most planets that haven’t escalated to all-out war prefer a crew of diplomats and scientists to a crew of soldiers. Thus the role of the Peacekeeping Fleet is still “under review”.

Peacekeeping Fleet Ship Classes

See “Ships of the Alliance Peacekeeping Fleet”.

Peacekeeping Fleet Ranks and Uniforms

The Peacekeeping Fleet has the same structure as the Alliance Fleet, but with far fewer Science personnel and a greater number of Security personnel.

Peacekeeping Fleet uniforms are navy blue with color-coded piping indicating service.

Solar Defense Fleet

Solar Defense Fleet Ship Classes

See “System Ships of Alliance Space”.

Solar Defense Fleet Ranks and Uniforms

The Solar Defense Fleet operates mainly fighters and gunboats, so its structure is fairly flat.

Enlisted

Comissioned

In recent years the Solar Defense Fleet has acquired some craft from the Peacekeeper Fleet. Ranks aboard those ships resemble those aboard the Peacekeeper and Alliance Space Exploration Fleets.

Other Services in the Defense Force include Medical, Intelligence, and Space Marine. Most stay at base, although with the addition of Capital Ships some have taken postings aboard ship.

Higher ranks correspond to flag officers at a base or HQ.

System Ships

See “System Ships of Alliance Space”.