Overview
The military arm of Sable is a volunteer force of very highly trained men, operating cross-Shadow in the war against the Reich. Within Sable City itself and the Commonwealth, most of its functions are defensive. Once outside the 'safe' Commonwealth area, however, the Sable Armed Forces are on active service.
The overall Sable military was originally set up by Field Marshal William O'Connor. He also established the Sable Military Academy at Sandhurst, the Riversend Naval Academy and the Sable College of Military Magic, all of which have been going from strength to strength. Since the forces have become established, O'Connor has taken more of a backseat role, and he now considers himself to be in well-earned semi-retirement. However, he is still the best military commander in Sable, remains on the Sable Staff Council, and will answer the call when needed.
Operational command of the Sable forces was handed over to Field Marshal Prince William, who was given the title of Lord Protector and the rank of Commander in Chief, some years ago, while Prince Francis, his deputy, is the commander of the Sable Army.
The Sable Forces are split into three operational divisions - Home Defence, Commonwealth and External - all under the overall control of the Sable Staff Council.
The Sable Staff Council
The Sable Staff Council is chaired by the Lord Protector, and comprises Field Marshal Lord William, Field Marshal Prince Francis, General Celia Wallis, General Lord Graham, General Alexandra Beaumont of the Royal Commonwealth Army, Generals Duke Heinemann, Marne and Fitzwilliam and General Duchess Shaw from the Commonwealth Defence Pact Shadows, First Sea Lord/Admiral of the Fleet Nicholas Bonner, Admiral Richard Greer of the Royal Commonwealth Navy, and Air Chief Marshal Prince Christopher.
Those members of the Royal Family who sit on the council have proven themselves over many years of fighting with the Reich, rather than being honorary appointees to the Staff Council.
Other officers who occasionally report to the Staff Council, or are consulted on specific issues, include Field Marshal Prince Andrew and his son Adam (Sable's Master at Arms), Colonels Lovell and Patterson (Chancellors of the Military Academy and SCMM), Rear-Admiral Baxter (for the Naval Academy) plus the operational commanders of the three Military Regions and the Commonwealth, and other field commanders from specific theatres of war.
The Home Defence Force
The Home Defence Force is specifically concerned with the security of the Kingdom of Sable and its surrounding lands. It comprises a number of military units and the Riversend Navy, and operates exclusively on Magica Superior and at Riversend.
The Armed Forces of the Kingdom of Sable
The AFKS is the branch of the Sable armed forces which specifically deals with defence of Sable's lands and interests on Magica Superior, both on land
and at sea. It has a number of bases around the Kingdom of Sable, including a large garrison at Riversend, and also has outposts in the other countries
of Magica Superior, including Espanero and the unoccupied regions of Schweiz and Franca. These act as something of a police force and deterrent to Reich
aggression on the home world. There have been occasional outbreaks of hostilities between the two forces on Magica Superior, but these have always
been limited to the allied countries outside of Sable itself.
As well as being the key defence force for Sable itself, it is also the umbrella organisation co-ordinating a number of smaller, Sable-specific specialist forces. There is also a small naval detachment assigned to Magica Superior - the Home Patrol Force - under Commodore Patrick Gunn, which reports to General Wallis.
General Celia Wallis, KG
Celia Wallis is a career soldier, having joined officer training school immediately after graduating from Sable Mage College. After completing officer training, she initially served with the Sable Army where her potential was noted by her superior officers, and she was encouraged to stretch herself and worked both with the AFKS and the Commonwealth Forces. After she studied for her Masters, this time at SCMM, she accepted the opportunity to serve an attachment with the Royal Marines, thus also giving her experience of a different kind of warfare. She took command of the AFKS about forty years ago when her predecessor, Admiral Walter Conran, retired from active service.
She is married and has twin sons, who were born while she was at SCMM, and her younger sister, Peggy, teaches at SMC. General Wallis reports directly to Lord Protector Prince William, as overall commander of the Sable Armed Forces.
Specialist Units
Under the rough umbrella of the KoS Army are a number of specialist units:
The Home Patrol Force: Commodore Patrick Gunn
The Home Patrol Force patrols the seas around Riversend and further out onto Magica Superior. It comprises fast patrol boats and a variety of larger craft up to destroyers and cruisers size. Its purpose is to keep an eye on the waters around Sable's allies, stopping drug trafficking, piracy, etc, and watching out for Reich naval movements on the home world. It has occasionally been in combat with the Reich forces, although most major naval battles take place off Magica Superior.
Patrick Gunn is career navy, who cut his teeth on fast patrol boats in a variety of Shadows and technologies. He was given command of the small KoS patrol force about ten years ago.
The Sable Guard: Colonel Richard Seaton
The Sable Guard is the land-based equivalent of the Home Patrol Force. It primarily watches and patrols the approaches to the Kingdom, both in the Sable Mountains and out into the nearby Shadows, rather than operating in the Kingdom itself, although they also act as the internal air force on the rare occasions it is needed. In addition, members of the Guard are also occasionally attached to the forces outside the Kingdom for specific missions - especially members of the Corps of Spotters. The Guard operate both on the ground and in the air, and know their home territory backwards. When in the air they are dragon-mounted: the dragons are Western in style, rather than Eastern, and vary in length from about 30ft to 50ft in length. They are scaled and they do breath fire, although they don't have a taste for gold. Colours are usually dark: black, brown, and darker hues of blue, green and red. There are about 200 dragons in all, which are quartered in the caldera of a dormant volcano in the mountains to the east of the Kingdom of Sable.
There is a small squad of advance spotters attached to the Guard, many of whom are accompanied on their duties by some form of winged familiar to assist them. The spotters train together, but then one or two individuals will be assigned to any given theatre, and often end up liaising with Military Intelligence.
Prince Christopher, former Head of the Guard was appointed on the recommendation of his predecessor, Stephen Galbraith, when the latter had to be invalided out. However, the additional threat from the Reich Luftwaffe in open Shadow over the last twenty years has led to Christopher's appointment to the Sable Air Force. He has been replaced by the young but talented Richard Seaton, who is willing to accept advice from both his predecessors if he needs it.
The Guard is one of the more prestigious arms of the Sable forces, although it is not unknown for Guard members to be transferred out to the Royal Guard by way of promotion. The new Colonel looks to be around thirty-five years old, with dark hair and brown eyes, and has risen through the ranks quite quickly since his graduation from Sable College of Military Magic.
The Royal Guard: Colonel Jules Manet
The Royal Guard has responsibility for the majority Royal Family's security (ex the King and Queen) when they aren't in the palace, as well as for some aspects of security outside of the Palace. They also act as the Diplomatic Protection Service for Sable missions outside of the Kingdom. Often, members of the Royal Guard have served elsewhere in the forces before joining this force, and to be asked to join it is considered to be an honour. Manet is loved and respected by his men, and takes his duties very seriously. He looks to be in his mid-forties, is fairly well built and has light brown hair and green eyes. He speaks English with a slight French accent.
The Palace Guard: Colonel Sir Auguste de Lyon, KG
The Palace Guard is responsible for the security of the Royal Family within Sable Palace, and also act as the personal bodyguard to the King and Queen. They are highly trained troops, who seem to have been in the business for an awfully long time, and their loyalty to the King is unswerving and unquestioning. Auguste seems to be in his early-fifties. He is about 6'0" in height and quite lean, with pale blue eyes. His hair and beard are brown, but peppered with grey, and he looks as if he has spent quite a lot of his life in the sun.
Riversend
Rear-Admiral Jansen Caldwell, Brigadier General Marion Collins
The port of Riversend is guarded by both a land-based garrison, and its own small naval fleet, and fighting ships regularly sail in and out of the base, towards the sea. These two forces form a coordinated, semi-autonomous unit specially trained in the terrain issues (and generally weird geography) that characterise Riversend, as compared with the rest of either the Kingdom of Sable, or Magica Superior as a whole. Riversend Naval Base is also the home port of the Royal Commonwealth Navy, which otherwise operates exclusively in the Commonwealth, rather than on Magica Superior.
Jansen Caldwell, commander of Riversend Naval Base, is a highly experienced naval officer, who began his career in the Commonwealth, and later served extensively with the Sable External Forces. His first command was a minesweeper, with later vessels including destroyers and ultimately one of the Sable Navy's flagship battleships. He is also a qualified naval pilot (in those Shadows where helicopters and other aircraft are operational). He was given command of the RNB about ten years ago.
Marion Collins, commander of the Riversend Garrison, is the daughter of Aldous Collins, Duke of Farview. Little is known of her early career, except that when she finally went to the Sable College of Military Magic, she already held the rank of Major. She graduated top of her class from SCMM, and was posted to the External forces, where she quickly made a reputation for herself as a clever and daring officer, leading several raids against specific Reich targets in the war in Shadow. She spent several years working closely with Duke Calen of Cadel, and was then on the general staff of Field Marshal Prince Francis for many more, before finally being appointed commander of the Riversend Garrison in SY145.