Challenge #04954-M205: Intelligent Weapons

A human run academy for new military recruits. There are three paths. Diplomatic corps, edge defense, and the path that makes people disappear, and reappear in Alliance custody ready for their trials. -- BKF

One would think, with a name like Armed Forces right there on the metaphorical tin, that the purpose was obvious. Armed. Force. Clear and concise. One would be wrong by the time Humanity was fully integrated into the Galactic Alliance.

War... adapts.

Various clever weapons have largely rendered physical combat obsolete. Stunners can keep the populace alive and combat armour is basically a tank that walks around. When facing an enemy, it's all about who's got the better Systems Immobiliser. So, unless circumstances are truly special, there's very little actual combat going on. Peacekeeping missions are no longer euphemisms for military units to go around terrorising someone else's populace.

Peacekeeping missions do just that. They enter an area rife with strife and de-escalate, negotiate, and ameliorate the antagonistic circumstances.

It is, after all, a very big universe with plenty for everyone. There's very little to fight over. At least, when it comes to resources.

There's still the other traditional reasons for combat: land, important people, and what boils down to What They Said About Our Mam During Shareen's Wedding.

Thus, the Alliance's Armed Forces are there to form and maintain a cogniscent wall against the slings and arrows of Side A versus Side B. All whilst attempting to de-escalate combat and get people to flakking talk to each other. It's harder than it looks.

Which is why there's so much training. Not just in languages and culture, but also in hearing the things people don't say. Understanding the gulf between what words are said, and what the speaker means.

It's entirely understandable that some units are specialists in very specific areas. One person can't learn everything about everyone. But there are areas that are remarkably similar in philosophy[1].

If the enlistee desires combat, there's Pirate Patrol out on the Edge Territories. Safeguarding couriers, cargo ships, and cruises that have to traverse risky spaceways. There's plenty to fight and you get bonuses for bringing them in alive.

The third arm is more like a finger. Perhaps a finger and thumb. The whole arm is more for wide, sweeping action. For this low population of armed forces, the Alliance needs fine precision and control.

It was this last training regime that fascinated Inspector Ray. It was, after all, the one with the most safety measures for the teachers.

The three students looked harmless enough, but Ray knew Humans. Appearances were very deceptive. What drew the attention of anyone who knew their stuff was the fact that all three students were wearing Hazard Colours. Black, red, and yellow. They weren't just soldiers. They were operatives... for Pax Humanis.

People who had the option of bringing them in alive, if the situation required that delicate a touch. Depending on the operatives' disposition, the chosen offender may vanish entirely... or be found as a gruesome mess.

Pour encourager les autres.

The 'branding' was the most obvious thing. It took a sharp eye to spot the tracer anklets, and a sharper one to spot the adjudicator with the immobiliser switch. At this stage in the proceedings, all those learning were dangerous.

Smart enough to pass in society until they showed a taste for killing. Adventurous enough to risk their own lives by murdering others. Mentally maladjusted enough to want to do it for all of their lives. People who no amount of therapy could redeem.

People that the Alliance in general, and the Cogniscent Rights Committee in particular - could aim.

The Cogniscent Rights Committee did everything they could to make certain these outliers of society had a decent life. That's what the Sanctuaries were for. Entire planets where a Pax Humanis Operative could live in peace, and not threaten anyone.

Ray stopped staring at the students to read the current slide on the large screen.

Collateral damage and how to avoid it.

War did adapt, and sometimes it used the same squirmy language for different purposes.

[1] The Deregger Worlds are outstanding examples of this.

[Photo by T I M E L O R D on Unsplash]

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