Agares Tretiak

...I used to dance...

I was being sly or snarky? :(

Oh look at me smile. See, I'm smiling. Arch, you make me laugh. Haha. Hahahaha. When I finally get a good connection, I'm going to start beating you, Arch. And I don't know when I'll stop.

There are actually, two different rule-sets. Yes. The Guard's are far, far more strict than the ones most Ordo have to deal with. Minor infractions can result in a number of fairly severe punishments, including being banned from participating in raids, extended probationary periods, severe reprimands, and repeated offenses result in either a summary demotion or expulsion from the Guard. Not to mention, minor insubordination is in turn greeted with a summary execution and a dressing down after combat. If a Guardsman cannot adequately provide reason for taking a particular action, similarly severe recourses are taken, first to adjust the problem, and if that doesn't work, removal from the Guard. The Guard do have several unique powers, in relations to their particular placement in the structure, but it comes at a rather high cost of very rarely making mistakes. Arbitrary use of the more specific powers, such as stripping any member (especially officers) of their rank and authority, results in a full blown AiR/Curia joint investigation, on the charges of Treason. Under my auspices as Praefectus, that or similar such actions would result in demotion, stripping of merits, and removal from the Guard, if found guilty. I'm not sure how much anyone other than those who wish to join the Guard would want to be under the threat of severe punishments for even minor infractions. Mr. Akros, I cannot assume to know when or where you witness the Guard using its ability, nor what the circumstances are that it is used. I can recommend that if you have concerns, you can present them to the OIC of a defense, after combat has been finished, or to the Praetorian in question to support their use of that particular authority. What may seem an arbitrary reason to you, may be a tactical or security concern you're simply not been made aware of. That is not to say there might be occasions where the Guard has not abused it, but in my experience, those are fairly rare and far between. If you feel there was an honest abuse of power, we have a reporting structure for such incidents, and you may approach either the Curia, an Evocati of the Guard (Ron, Keller, Kristian), or myself to try to address any behavior you find questionable. Providing full details on the circumstances, being able to quote the particular regulation that may have been broken, and making sure the issue is not simply an arbitrary one all help your case be heard. Likewise, if you try to issue a formal complaint over possible abuse of power without these things, it will generally be discarded and you'll likely be chided for wasting our time. Along the same lines, I might recommend learning more about how the Guard should operate, so you can assist us in identifying where problems are happening, so we can appropriately fix said issue. I will not claim the Guard is perfect: It's composed of people just like anywhere else. It is entirely possible areas of improvement that can and should be made, but without professional, objective feedback, it is rather difficult to sort out the butthurt and petty from the legitimate. To wrap up this already long post, our tactics are not meant to make you feel warm and fuzzy inside. As I said, we will hit hard and use techniques and tactics that are difficult to counter or adjust to, specifically because that's exactly what we're supposed to do. God knows how many of our enemies use legitimately cheap tactics, ones the guard wouldn't use. To expect we'd pull our punches is a bit ludicrous, from just a tactical standpoint. That in mind, the Ordo possesses, without a doubt, the absolute best rank and file on the grid. You guys form a very strong, very reliable backbone, and are capable as a team to overcome any opposition on the field of combat, when provided with strong leadership to help focus that might. It's always been my honor to serve this group, and I think I can speak for the Guard in saying they feel much the same. TL;DR 1. Guard have incredibly strict rules. 2. I don't like failures in my Guard. 3. Increase your awareness of how the Guard operates (it's all in the Carta) 4. Report concerns using evidence and objective arguments to support your position using our reporting structure. 5. The Praetorian Guard will not be nice to you in a fight. Do not expect tea, until after the battle is done. 6. You guys (who aren't in the Guard) are still incredibly awesome people and soldiers. 7. <3

Scarlet, you're the cat. I'm the bowl of water.

I'd change it so the M203 on the bottom is a pump action, but otherwise...Kinda cool.

Then, with all due respect, I ask what you are personally going to do to rectify these issues, as an officer. And I mean that in general. I could point out various flaws in the defense and how it is usually run, but unless we do something about it, trying to blame it on the Guard is... kinda missing the whole point. This training is an opportunity to fix our communications problems against a difficult foe, without the problems of fighting an actual enemy. It's -training-. It's a chance to work out kinks in our system. It will be bumpy at first, because it's going to force leadership, of the defense in particular, to actually organize and operate in a constantly changing tactical situation. I'm somewhat surprised anyone would see it as anything other than a great opportunity to show their stuff as a leader. Tell you guys what. Next training, I'll personally lead the defense of Titan against the Guard or otherwise appoint an Evocati to do so. We'll see if it's as bad as you claim, Mr. Ames. If so, I'll eat crow (so to say) and personally put an end to this type of training for the Guard.

The furniture is mostly for show. Why, you ask? Because you should be WORKING. >:(

These training sessions do not only benefit the Guard, but can be a potential benefit to the Ordo. Be under no illusions, the Guard will play hard. It's trained and designed to hit the enemy harder and faster, and use hard to counter tactics. But that doesn't mean the Guard is seeking to humiliate or "crush" the defenders in the rank and file. Our role is to toughen and improve the shield of defense while sharpening the sword of our attacks. The Guard benefits by fighting the absolutely best fighting force in SL, by which it can work out any problems. Those problems that occur, however unfortunate, -should- occur during a training session, so that on raids, they can be avoided. Likewise, the defense has an opportunity to improve it's coordination, test the mettle of the defending commander, allow for a scenario in which the Ordo might potentially "lose" without the ignominious cloud of an actual defeat from our foes. SL combat is not perfect: it has numerous flaws and issues that can only be mitigated via lots of training and practice, as well as a certain degree of understanding that no combat situation is ever going to go exactly how you'd want it. Lag will happen, bullets will penetrate walls, explosives detonate clusters of soldiers, and yes, sadly, TPs will be late sometimes. In the aftermath, I noticed an interesting difference in the views of the two parties involved in this particular training: The Guard were genuinely strained to keep up a difficult offense, and were overall pleased and glad to have such skilled soldiers as they faced as their comrades. However, the feeling was not entirely reciprocated. I do what I can to assist the Guard to improve its skills and reputation, but this can only be done in an environment of mutual respect and understanding. I know precisely how capable the Ordo is. Terra, Astra, both are remarkable groups with great soldiers and consummate professionals. The Guard is no different, despite it's "otherness": We all serve the Imperator and the Ordo with equal dedication to it's rules, it members, and its leadership. I am hoping that any after combat concerns are documented fully and presented in a clear and professional manner. The Guard will likewise do its best to provide adequate feedback for the defense as well, so that we both continue to improve.

Sadly, Zrazor lacks all of the above.

In all likelihood, it probably wasn't. It's a good conspiracy theory, though!

Actually, a treason is a central part of the story I'm writing...

Err. Probably not Ordo genetic experiments. We wish to avoid mary-sues: Even the Guard are going to be clearly vulnerable, if extremely difficult in some cases to kill or overwhelm. This means if you want it to be Official Ordo Canon, try to avoid being a ten thousand year old dragon, demon, angel, etc. Avoid characters who were created solely as warriors (Not even Agares fits this concept), of peerless match. Please consider your own rank and position, though a bit of pushing the envelope is fine. If you feel too attached to your particular namesake character, you may wish to create one solely for the purpose of the story line. While clearly non-human characters are fine, massive giants outstripping the Guard in height, for instance, are a no go. Etc. Try to be reasonable, basically. As we flesh out more basic information about the "Ordo Universe", some of the limitations and boundaries you'll face will be clearer, and the expectations will help govern any hopefuls for the official canon. I think we should proooobably draw up an FAQ for this, and possibly make sub forum for "Official" Ordo related literature. THIS SHOULD NOT DISSUADE YOU FROM BEING CREATIVE OR WRITING COOL STORIES ABOUT YOURSELVES OR CHARACTERS YOU CREATE. Simply consider it a few things to consider, if you want it to fit into a more formal, official capacity of the Ordo.

To be perfectly honest, the only Ordo related dreams I have seem to line up with the Sentinels story I'm writing.

Imperator's Star, here I come. :3 (I'm kidding of course). It's funny, because I was going to draw up a list of commendations and recommendations for merits...

It'd be a coronet, actually. You should look up the latin name for military honors: The highest one was the Crown of Grass, which was a laurel wreath made from the local flora and fauna.

The three I listed will be described in the course of the story "Sentinels" but others are welcome to utilize them as they will. Currently, they represent a very tangible threat in the Contested Areas, especially in the "northern" portion that borders on the Paladian Expanse.

You missed 90% of the rest of the conversation, which was even funnier in context. >:(

Updated my map. The red and purpose areas are blank, for a number of reasons. The Ordo's enemies there are generally unknown, and bizarrely alien. The Ordo's primary objective is conquest and expansion of resources rather than absolute annihilation of it's enemies, though it has and will destroy anything hat is deemed too great a threat or is unwilling to bow to the Senate and Imperator. Numerous planets have been left unnamed precisely so other writers can fill in details as they write, and indicate where they might be in relation to other areas. For instance, Far Reach is fairly peaceful, and has numerous well established worlds, but the vast majority of the area is still not settled or thoroughly mapped and explored, leaving it a sort of mysterious and unexpected frontier, though it's well within Ordo space. The Paladian Expanse is the most densely populated and extensively explored area of Ordo space, with a dense collection of productive, thriving worlds that serve under the banner of the Senate. The Colonial expanse, in the south, is an area the Ordo recently drove out a large, but disorganized enemy species, and has began to colonize planets and integrate tyro states or smaller collectives of planets or systems into the fold of the Imperium. IT's wild, unpredictable, and dangerous, with only a moderate Ordo presence. The Contested Areas are the frontier of the Ordo's massive military expansion, where the Ordo engages various enemy factions and races. Many of the worlds there may have once been unified in the past, but currently hold no allegiance to the Ordo. Others are settled by aliens like the Exonari, Gaunts, and Teristi, and are part of their own "empire". Etc, etc.

I do too, but I can't find anyone to play it with. So, instead, I go through the maps, exploring them.

What? Oh, no. Nothing like that. We use the Ordo as a basis for a more complex and diverse universe, but it'd still be recognizable as the Ordo. We won't change the Ordo itself, to fit the backstory, mainly because we're being pretty careful about how we put out the backstory, carefully avoiding mention of -any- enemy factions, or for that case, allied ones (The current exception being Badnarik because I thought it was funny to put it on my map).

I don't play DnD. I play Dark Heresy, bitches. This about the point my team goes "FOUL CHAOS APPROACHES" and start fucking shit up with lazers (lasers with a 'z' are cooler) and preparing to call in the Exterimantus request to their Inquistor who waits in the mighty fleet that lurks above the corrupted world. No mother fucking scarecrow is going to survive an orbital bombardment when the shells are nearly 200 meters in diameter. Fuckin' scarecrows. HA.

More like Issac Asimov and Frank Herbert putting their heads together after having a go at studying Roman history. Essentially, that is exactly what Tiri and I are trying to set the stage for: A consistent, extended Ordo Imperialis universe. As to taking it too far, I'm curious what that means, Kastrenzo? Sentinels and Tiri's history are currently the two "official" background works as they actually will tie in together and help set the stage for technology, terminology, cultural concepts, historical context, Ordo's wider organization and scope of influence, and so and so forth down the line. We urge anyone who's writing material related to the Ordo to begin to refer to those two works to help them make a consistent presentation to the Ordo Universe. We may need to write an FAQ, too. Also adding an updated map soon here, with some markers and and planetary names, as well as some regions of space with clear names.

Yeah, but. I'm Agares. Merciless brutality is all I know. ;_; Caring about people in the group and doing whatever you can for them as members is not the same as kindness.

I have a WIP map that's a bit more detailed and expansive. I'm working out details with Tiri Blue indicates Ordo Imperialis holdings. Orange indicates the zones of contention where constant open conflict exists. Yellow is the Galactic Core which is composed of dead planets and extremely high levels of radiation and other stellar hazards. Red indicates Generally known enemy held space. This includes all enemies, including some we might not even be aware of. Purple indicates parts of the galaxy completely unexplored and unknown to Imperial cartographers at the time of this map being made. (Click on it to get a larger version) I'm still working things in, but VG and most other groups will not be included on the map.