The Cis-Lunar Military

In keeping with the agoric system used in other areas of life, military forces are also provided as a commercial service. Corporate bodies maintain their own security divisions, although these have been kept to modest levels following the War of Martian Independence. There are also several subscription militaries and many smaller mercenary forces, mostly used in small-scale conflicts against nations or the Orbitals.

The decentralisation of almost all the important polities has made large-scale military operations on the planet infrequent. There have only been three engagements that would be recognised as wars since the Disgovernance, all of which involved nation-states. On the other hand, low intensity conflicts, terrorism, gang warfare and assassination are widespread and often sanctioned by corporations or phylai.

The Ecclesia can issue a range of licences permitting military or paramilitary activities for a stated period of time, in a limited theatre and using a restricted range of weapons. These most commonly range from a simple arrest warrant through to a Limited Action License, which authorises a small war. Although organizations are not required to seek out such Ecclesial support, the Praesidium usually intervenes if such a license is not granted.

The future of Ad Astra