Societe Militaire Privee

Intro

A mercenary is a professional soldier hired by a foreign army, as opposed to a soldier enlisted in the armed forces of the sovereign state of which he is a citizen. He takes part in armed conflict on many different scales, and is "motivated to take part in the hostilities essentially by the desire for private gain and, in fact, is promised, by or on behalf of a party to the conflict, material compensation substantially in excess of that promised or paid to combatants of similar ranks and functions in the armed forces of that Party".

The Société Militaire Privée (SMP) provides specialized expertise or services of a military nature, sometimes called or classified as mercenary ("soldiers for hire"). The services and expertise cover those typically found in governmental military or police forces, but most often on a smaller scale. While the SMP often provide services to train or supplement official armed forces in service of governments, they are also employed by unlawful groups.

They are licensed by the Gallic Council and contracted by foreign governments to train soldiers and to reorganize elite modern military forces. Having reached one billion credits in their bank account, the SMP has now decided to broaden their horizons.

Headquartered on Reunion base in Orkney, the SMP is now actively looking to obtain profitable contracts in Kusari, the Taus or Bretonia. However, since Council forces are more than adequate at handling the civil war in Gallia, the SMP has recalled most of their pilots and is ready to take any contracts on the Sirius market.

History

The soldiers of Société Militaire Privée have their roots in Gallia, especially on planet Marne. To understand the SMP soldiers, we first have to know something about the situation that was on Marne at the beginning of the colonization. It was a densely populated industrial world that was holding more than three quarters of all Gallic Border Worlds population. Discovered in 506 A.S. by a Gallic expedition sent from Burgundy, this planet has immediately attracted attention of authorities and corporations. Atmosphere was suitable for colonization, and planet's crust appeared to be rich in oil and metal ores. EFL Oil & Machinery, Gallic Metal Service, and a number of other companies from the Core Systems have all participated in building up the industrial infrastructure. But when millions of workers were transported to Marne in 615-650 A.S., they didn't find the perfect living conditions and beautiful cities that they were promised. Instead, vast cities consisted of similar blocks of flats and were located right next to plants and factories: there were few policemen to stop the crime, almost no social services, and even no fresh air because of massive and uncontrolled pollution. On some distance from the cities, small towns were built to house higher-class settlers. Those towns were heavily guarded by Police and Société Militaire Privée against the crime that was increasing steadily since the colonization had started.

When the rebelion started, in 794 A.S. the SMP knew that this would be the beginning of a civil war so they ended their contracts with the “royals”. in 801 A.S. In 801 A.S. after years of bloody fighting, the whole planet was under control of the Council. The SMP forces were a land combat force of the Council and played an important role in the liberation of Marne.

The SMP took part in all the ground battles in the war. Another one of these fights was the attack on Nimes Station. The Council attempted to use the same tactic that failed with Gap Station. This time, however, previous mistakes were taken into account. The Council made use of inside support from civilians loyal to its cause and called for SMP to breach the station. While Council fleets were stationed next to Remoulins' wreck and Nimes was preparing for an assault from space, a group of Council special operatives (including SMP soldiers) breached the station through a maintenance airlock that was left unguarded. Before local Police and Army guards could organize any resistance, the Council took over control of the station's life support, computer mainframes, internal and external defensive systems.

The Council offensive on Planet Quillan was the second planetary operation of the war. Capturing the planet was vital for the final success in breaching the mine field defenses. Breaching planetary defenses was a relatively easy task. However, after Council and SMP ground forces landed on the planet in the end of 815 A.S., they discovered that a Gallic army of 90,000 was stationed on the planet and prepared to defend its settlements and factories. Outnumbered, the Council forces had to fortify their positions and prepare for a lengthy fight for the planet's surface. More Council troops landed on Quillan, increasing the numbers of Council corps on the planet to 95,000. The Council soldiers were mostly unemployed Marne workers, badly armed and trained. They would be no match for Gallic Army in open combat. However, SMP soldiers infiltrated local settlements and convinced the workers to rebel against the Royal forces. The unrest was growing and soon, rebelions started simultaneously in many settlements. Overtaking settlements one by one, the Council slowly advanced, and in the beginning of 817 A.S. the remaining Gallic Army soldiers were scattered and forced to surrender.

In the end of 816 A.S., the Council finally gathered a large fleet to attack Montpellier Guard Station. This was the first space operation that SMP took part. Equiped with Council ships, the SMP were taking heavy looses and had to retreat but the more experienced Council pilots continued the fight. For several weeks, fighting next to Montpellier continued; at the same time, the Navy advanced from Dauphine and breached the Council's defenses near the Jump Gate. The SMP were sent to intercept them. Before the Navy fleet reached the main battle, it suffered some loses from SMP raids. But this wasn’t enough to make them to fall back. It was too late to retreat at this point, and despite very heavy casualties, the Council advanced to the mine field, destroying numerous weapon platforms, smaller supplementary mine fields, and hundreds of enemy ships. A large part of Montpellier Guard Station itself was destroyed in a suicide attack by a Council battleship packed with thermonuclear explosives, with most station defenders killed in the explosion or shortly afterwards. The path to the mines was now clear, and Council moved forward to destroy the mines and create a large corridor that would allow all ships, even the largest ones, to pass through without being at risk of mine explosions. After the path was ready, the Council started to build a new space station on the other side, bearing a symbolic name of Reunion. For helping the Council forces in the war, SMP obtained 2 docking bays on Reunion Base. Their main Headquarters remains on planet Quillan. The SMP started a training program for space combat because most of the soldiers were trained only for ground ops.

Now, the Société Militaire Privée is an elite group of land and space fighters that are looking for profit. While they are fighting for they contractors, they don’t forget their roots and help the Council in the fight against the Gallic Royal Navy.

Objectives

SMP’s primary objective is to get gain power and money while working for any party in Sirius;
Their secondary objective is to aid the Council in their fight against the Royal Navy;
The third objective is to expand their influence zone and explore unknown parts of Sirius. This is why they created the Private Military Explorers; a wing that is mostly used to search hiden bases of possible targets.

Members' opinions

“Hey, money rule in Sirius… I do this for them.” – Edmond Donatien

“So we get money for Sirians for killing Sirians? SURE, always a pleasure.” - Andre Odilon

“I was a bit tired of the Gallic civil war so I decided to try this.” – Marie Edmee

“If the colonel says jump, you jump. No question of that. He saved many of us so we can’t leave this until we do the same for him. Not that I want to leave” – Marcel Evrard

“Money, what else can I say!?” – Flore Ghislaine

“To be honest, I don’t like that we have to go in Sirius… I was happy killing royals” – Guy Isidore

“Killing royals, killing sirians, all the same for me” – Adeline Verne

“This is a stupid question, you know?! <<What do you think about the new policy?>> I don’t care about the policy. All I care is to hit my target” – Lucien Matthieu

"Give me a contract, any contract." - Didier Francois

Interview with Frank Zacharie

Zoe Armelle from Le Conseil Tribune managed to obtain an interview with the Colonel of SMP.

Zoe: Greetings, Colonel.

Colonel: Greetings!

Z: Thank you for accepting this interview

C: Well, madame Armelle…

Z: Please, call me Zoe.

C: Alright, Zoe, I was saying that I’m the one that should thank you because this, what we do here is free publicity and a good way to inform people about our presence here and about our goals.

Z: Right… so how would you describe this company?

C: Our motto says it all: “Combat, explore, trade. You name it, we do it.”

Z: What about the people?

C: Our pilots are trained professionists. Our military wing is trained in ground ops and space ops. They are complete soldiers.

Z: What about the civilians?

C: They are not really civilians. They don’t have combat experience in space battles but they are the pilots of our trade and exploration wing.

Z: And what are you planning to do?

C: Well, we will continue to help the Council against the Royals and we will search for jobs in the rest of Sirius. We are looking for long time contracts.

Z: Do you know about the major conflicts in Sirius?

C: Not all of them but that’s why we have an exploration wing. I know about the Bretonian-Kusari war, about the Colonial-Bretonian war, about the Colonial-Outcast fights, about the Corsair-Outcast war and about the Corsair-Molly war… that’s about it… and there are some more minor conflicts but I don’t have the time to talk about all of them here.

Z: What do you know about the IMG?

C: Not much. Just that they have some shipyards that can build big ships and but they use old technology.

Z: What are the plans for the future?

C: We are looking forward in expanding all over Sirius but this will come in time. For now we’re looking for a good contractor.

Z: Thank you, Colonel!

Code of the 7 rules

Never take jobs given by Sirians against ANY gallic people;
Never attack someone in the no fire zone of the freeports;
Never engage in a fight against one of your allies;
Never use SMP ship to gain personal glory;
Aid Le Conseil in any situation;
Respect your contract;
Honor your opponents, attack them with the same force as they have against you, and always win. Never die.

Ranks & Wings

Colonel is the leader of SMP. He deals with all the diplomatic issues and maintains a balance in the contracts SMP takes. He can command the two Gunboats, Ardenne and Cayenne.

Economic Wing

This wing is lead by a Capitain that responds directly to the Colonel. This wing was founded during the Gallic Civil War when the need to transport troops and materials in the hot zones became the main occupation of SMP. The Capitain of the Economic Wing can:

Command the Dordogne gunboat
Use any ship from the SMP line
Go anywhere in the ZoI and beyond
Organize events for the Economic Wing
Respond on any communication channel related to the Economic Wing after discussing with the Colonel
Order any lower ranked pilot from any wing in a fight if there isn't a higher ranked officer or the Capitain of the Military Wing.

Current Capitain of the Economic Wing is ...

Transporteur is the second rank in the Economic Wing. Pilot that achieved this rank is a well trained person that knows the routes of the SMP convoys and it's able to find new ones. The Transporteur can:

Use the Tarvos (only in Gallic space), Camara, Firefly.
Go anywhere in the ZoI and beyond it
Give orders to Traders

ooRP note: Players that reached the Lieutenant rank in the Military Wing are allowed to create a different character that will be their Transporteur or use the Trader if they had one.

Trader is the first rank in the Economic Wing. Pilot that achieved this rank is a rookie that is learning routes, economics and trading procedures. The Trader can:

Use the Tarvos (only in Gallic space), Camara.
Go anywhere in the primary ZoI and secondary ZoI only with the accord of a superior.

ooRP note: Players that reached the Caporal rank in the Military Wing are allowed to create a different character that will be their Trader.

Science & Exploration Wing

This wing is lead by a Capitain that responds directly to the Colonel. This wing was founded after the creation of Reunion Base in Orkney. Their main offices are on that base. The Capitain of the Science & Exploration Wing can:

Command the Loire gunboat
Use any ship from the SMP line
Go anywhere in the ZoI and beyond
Organize events for the Science and Exploration Wing
Respond on any communication channel related to the Science & Exploration Wing after discussing with the Colonel
Order any lower ranked pilot from any wing in a fight if there isn't a higher ranked officer or the Capitain of the Military Wing.

Current Capitain of the Science & Exploration Wing is Monsieur Raoul Remi.

Explorer is the second rank in the Science & Exploration Wing. Pilot that achieved this rank is a well trained scientist that knows the Gallic space. He will explore the Sirius sector and report to the SMP anything he discovers. The Colonel may decide to sell any discovery or use it for SMP. The Explorer can:

Use the Basalt, X-Shuttle, Spatial, Mafic, Touketsu, Dacite
Go anywhere in the ZoI and beyond it
Give orders to Junior Explorers

ooRP note: Players that reached the Lieutenant rank in the Military Wing are allowed to create a different character that will be their Explorer or use the Junior Explorer if they had one.

Junior Explorer is the first rank in the Science & Exploration Wing. Pilot that achieved this rank is a student that learns about space exploration. The Junior Explorer can:

Use the X-Shuttle, Basalt, Dacite
Go anywhere in the primary ZoI

ooRP note: Players that reached the Sergent rank in the Military Wing are allowed to create a different character that will be their Junior Explorer.

Military Wing

This wing is lead by a Commander that responds directly to the Colonel. This wing was founded at the beginning of the Gallic Civil War. The Commander of the Military Wing can:

Command the Normandie gunboat
Use any ship from the SMP line
Go anywhere in the ZoI and beyond
Organize events for the Military Wing
Respond on any communication channel related to SMP security
Order any lower ranked pilot from any wing in a fight.

Current Commander of the Military Wing is monsieur Xavier du Champ.

The Capitain of the Military Wing responds to the Commander. The Capitain can:

Command the Aveyron gunboat
Use any ship from the SMP line
Go anywhere in the ZoI and beyond
Organize events for the Science and Exploration Wing
Respond on any communication channel related to the Science & Exploration Wing after discussing with the Commander
Order any lower ranked pilot from any wing in a fight if there isn't a higher ranked officer.

Current Capitain of the Military Wing is monsieur Raoul Remi.

The Lieutenant is the best fighters and bombers pilot in SMP. He is ready to start his training on commanding capital ships. The Lieutenant can:

Use Moonbeam, Gecko, Sunbeam, Agama, Basilisk for Gallic space
Use Civilian fighters and bombers
Go anywhere in the ZoI
Order any lower ranked pilot from any wing in a fight if there isn't a higher ranked officer.

Sergent is a good fighter pilot that can begin his training on bombers. The Sergent can:

Use Moonbeam, Gecko, Sunbeam, Agama, Basilisk for Gallic space
Use Civilian Fighters
Go anywhere in the ZoI
Order any lower ranked pilot in a fight if there isn't a higher ranked officer.

Caporal is a pilot that is used to Gallic space and Gallic technology. He can start his training on other Sirian technology. The Caporal can:

Use Moonbeam, Gecko, Sunbeam, Agama, Basilisk for Gallic space
Use Civilian Light Fighters and Heavy Fighters
Go anywhere in the primary ZoI
Order any lower ranked pilot in a fight if there isn't a higher ranked officer.

Recrute is the first rank in the Military Wing. This is a rookie that starts his training for space combat after he finished Ground Ops training. The Recruit can:

Only fly in Gallic ZoI and Orkney
Use Moonbeam, Gecko, Sunbeam, Agama in Gallic ZoI
Civilian light fighters for Orkney

Diplomacy

Faction

Relationship

The Council

Allied

Colonial Remnant

Allied

Independent Communist Miners' Guild

Allied

Temporary Autonomous Zoners

Friendly

Omicron Supply Industries

Friendly

Independent Miners Guild

Friendly

Zoners

Friendly

Everyone else

Neutral

Ables Aces Professional Mercenaries

Neutral

Mandalorian Mercenaries

Neutral

Bounty Hunters Guild

Neutral

Children of Conviction

Neutral

EFL Oil & Machinery

Unfriendly

Gallic Metal Service

Unfriendly

Ile-de-France Shipping

Unfriendly

Outcasts

Hostile

Slavers

Hostile

Smugglers

Hostile

Hostile

Hostile

At War

At War

Ships

The main ships used by SMP are old council models that have been replaced in their fleet. Some members of SMP opted for ships from the gallic civilian line. Due to lack of oil in the other houses in Sirius, the SMP was forced to adopt Sirius civilian ships. The pilots were trained by the colonials in a flash training program and now, are flying multiple models.