Cytherean Imperial Militia
The Cythereans have a semi-formal military, though a fairly professional one, in that education and experience are required for high rank, even within the Imperial Family. Military ranks that are the same as titles of nobility have 'Militant' appended to them. In many cases, though, a Countess Militant or higher will also have a similar rank as a civilian, or be closely related to one who holds it, as the militia is sponsored by the Noble Families, as well as the Imperial Family and the Government. A woman who reaches Field rank without being a noble by birth will often be adopted by a Noble Family, or invited to marry in.
In Peacetime, the Imperatrix is Head of State and Commander-in-Chief of the Militia, but leaves the position of Chief of Staff to a Princess or Archduchess, and most of the work of the Head of Government is done by the Chancellix of the Chamber of Nobles (elected by the nobility) and the Presiding Senetrix (elected by the Senate, who are elected by the commoners). In Wartime, however, she becomes de facto Head of Government, and Chief of Staff of the Imperial Militia.
Ranks
The ranks given below are approximate translations from Cytherean. The Mistress ranks and above are closer to positional job titles than substantive ranks, and there may be several other such titles not listed. Officer ranks are shown by the fanciness of the coronet being worn, or in a field uniform, by drawings of that coronet on the upper sleeves.
Men holding positions from Company command through Brigade command replace 'Mistress' with 'Master' in their titles.
Held exclusively by women:
OF-10 Imperatrix (as a rank, Wartime Only)
OF-9 Princess/Archduchess
OF-8 Duchess Militant
OF-7 Marchioness Militant
OF-6 Countess Militant
Held almost exclusively by women:
OF-6 Brigade Mistress
OF-5 Regimental Mistress
OF-4 Regimental Deputy Mistress or Senior Battalion Mistress
OF-3 Battalion Mistress or Senior Company/Squadron/Battery Mistress
OF-2 Company Mistress/Squadron Mistress/Battery Mistress
OF-1 Senior Subaltern
OF-1 Subaltern
OF(D) Acting Subaltern
Held by both men and women:
WO-3 Chief Warrant Officer (three concentric rings)
WO-2 Senior Warrant Officer (two concentric rings)
WO-1 Warrant Officer (single ring)
Held almost exclusively by men:
OR-6 Senior Staffman (crossed staves)
OR-5 Staffman (staff)
OR-4 Section Leader (filled square)
OR-3 Square Leader (hollow square)
Held exclusively by machines:
OR-1/OR-2 Robot (no insignia)
A Warrant Officer always outranks an Acting Subaltern, regardless of the sexes involved. A Senior Warrant Officer is either equal or superior to a Subaltern, and a Chief Warrant Officer is nearly always superior to a Subaltern and equal to a Senior Subaltern, again regardless of the sexes involved. WOs are experts in their fields, sometimes having jobs that require them to ignore a young officer who doesn't know what she's talking about.
An officer not of high birth who retires at a rank of Regimental Mistress or especially Brigade Mistress, or the equivalent, will generally be appointed a Baroness or Viscountess (or a Baron or Viscount) for life, with a large pension. If she (or he) does well enough in business to earn the money to equal other Baronies/Viscountcies, this status will become hereditary.
The rank of Princess is held by female members of the Imperial Family who have satisfied the requirements to hold rank OF-9 (women of the Imperial Family who have not yet done so hold the non-military title of 'Grand Duchess'; all Grand Duchesses are behind all Princesses in the Imperial Line of Succession, regardless of birth-order or family tree). An Archduchess is an officer from outside the Imperial Family promoted to rank OF-9 (there are no civilian Archduchesses in Cytherean culture), and for military purposes, is considered equal to a Princess (though most Archduchesses are smart enough to show more respect to a Princess than they would to another Archduchess).
Uniforms
Enlisted & NCO field uniforms bear an odd resemblance to exercise clothing from Inp-Earth, with the lower garments appearing to be red yoga pants with silver ankle boots, and the upper a pink sleeveless vest, or for female enlisted/NCOs, an exercise bra, likewise pink. Over this, a purple belt and harness is worn, to carry needed items - on the march, this would include a heavy backpack, as well as combat armour; both backpack and armour would be in appropriate camouflage, as would the belt-harness. Survival knives are also considered part of the uniform.
Warrant officers add a purple sash to the Enlisted/NCO uniform (not visible in armour), below the belt.
Subaltern uniforms add a silver sash, and a short-sleeved, midriff-baring jacket (purple for female officers, pink for male), that does not close in the front. At this level and above, officers are expected, or even encouraged, to add personal accessories and modifications (at their own expense, of course). If two officers, especially in the cavalry, come to dinner wearing identical uniforms, it is customary for the more junior to go and change.
Mistress (or Master) ranked officers switch the silver sash for gold, and the cut-down jacket for a full, but generally quite form-fitting, version. A thin baton or swagger-stick is considered an appropriate accessory.
Countesses Militant and above wear a sari-like uniform in pink, purple, and red, generally with especially-fancy accessories, and sandals, rather than boots.
Medals are generally worn on the sash, or for Enlisted & NCOs, on the harness.
Parade dress uniforms add a number of items: Enlisted, NCOs, and Warrant Officers wear helmets resembling
Roman Imperial helmets of the Gallic or Italic styles, generally with unit-specific decorations, such as feathered crests, while officers have larger, fancier coronets; a light cape in unit-specific colour or pattern, waist-length for enlisted & NCOs, knee-length for Warrant Officers, and a bit above ankle-length for commissioned officers; aiguillettes and, for Subalterns and above, epaulettes; shiny buttons, broaches, and unit-specific decorations are also common. In addition, ceremonial weapons are issued: spears for the enlisted, halberds or other polearms for NCOs, maces for Warrants, and swords for officers. The design of the sword is specific to the academy and class the officer was part of, and will often have personal modifications (much like a class ring on Stp-, Dsp-, and Inp-Earth); non-military colleges might give graduates a class knife, class mace, class axe, or class riding crop, but only military colleges may give a class sword - though some 'class knives' are pretty long, like the
Messer in use in the Clp-Germanies. In general, parade dress uniforms and accessories are made to look good from a distance, as part of a group, while mess and court dress uniforms are made to look good from up close, as an individual.
Mess dress uniforms are similar to parade dress, but dispense with the helmets, reduce the coronets to more reasonable size (though still fancier than duty coronets), and replace the polearms given to Other Ranks with what looks to Earth weapons historians like a
Shepherd's axe, having a steel head and butt-spike for the enlisted, and alubronze head and spike for the NCOs. The capes are also made of heavier material.
Court dress uniforms, like mess dress, are similar to parade dress. The capes and coronets are those from the mess dress uniform. One significant departure from other uniforms is that the yoga pants, bra or vest, harness, and jacket are not of cloth, but of leather, made from the hide of a snikt'u (a chiropteran lifeform brought to Venus by the Cythereans from their homeworld, and resembling a mammalian
wyvern the size of a large dog); Countesses Militant and above add strips of this leather to their saris.
With thanks to Furiko and Jamie Roberts on SB.com for their perspectives on the uniforms.
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