Marik Militia

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The Marik Militia had been the bedrock of the federal armed forces within the Free Worlds League since the inception of the League in the twenty-third century and was dedicated to serving and protecting the people of the League.

History

Formation

The Marik Militia was founded alongside the Free Worlds League itself and was the basis of the League's offensive and defensive military might. Although other federal forces have existed during the lifetime of the League, the Marik Militia was unique for being dedicated to serving and defending the people of the League, rather than serving the Captain-General, a distinction that seperated the Militia from formations such as the Atrean Dragoons and Free Worlds Guards.^[1]

Reunification War

During the Reunification War the units of the Militia served with distinction in the campaign against the Magistracy of Canopus, capturing enemy material to create new Militia regiments.^[2]

Star League Era

When the Star League issued the Council Edict of 2650, which limited the size of the military of each of the member-states, the Marik Militia numbered nineteen regiments in total. A number of these regiments were involved in the Marik Civil War^[1] between Captain-General Elise Marik and her brother, Oliver, and took far more of a battering than the various provincial forces involved in the conflict.^[2] When the Council Edict of 2650 was repealed the Marik Militia expanded rapidly, and between 2755 and 2765 the brigade grew to twenty-eight regiments in total; although by 2765 it had been thirty years since the end of the Civil War and the signing of the Treaty of Verona some of the Marik Militia regiments were still nursing grudges, although most of the units had managed to rebuild.^[1]

The Marik Militia remained a popular unit with both the commoners within the League and the peerage because of their public dedication to the people of the League, and the various regiments of the Militia often acted as training grounds for troops across the League. A significant number of the personnel serving in other more prestigious federal units and various provincial forces within the League had actually begun their careers in one of the Marik Militia regiments. Despite the relatively low performance ratings of the Militia because of the number of new enlistees and recently-graduated academy cadets within the various regiments the Marik Militia was considered to be one of the most stable and reliable formations within the Free Worlds League Military.^[1]

Succession Wars

Forming such a large part of the FWLM, the Militia played a significant role in the League's military actions in the unceasing conflict of the Succession Wars, but even with the addition of two new Militia units in 2980, attrition had reduced their number down to fifteen regiments by 3025. After the rise of Thomas Marik to the Captain-Generalacy, the Marik Militia benefited from new resources to rebuild and expand their numbers. Unfortunately Militia also began to serve as unofficial cadre units for the modernized FWLM, with most graduates of the League's military academies undertaking their first tour of duty in a Militia unit before the best officers and troops were poached by more prestigious brigades. While a few regiments had success in convincing the LCCC to retain and build on their expertise, the Militia as a whole had the highest concentration of green troops in Thomas's FWLM. ^[3] ^[4]

The Jihad

Still the bulwark of the League's military, the Marik Militia bore the brunt of FLWM's fighting in the Jihad. Despite seeing near-continuous action and in some cases suffering extremely heavy combat damage, just as the nation which it defended shattered and fragmented, the bulk of the Milita's losses were due to the divided loyalties of its regiments to provinces, other League units, various leaders and power brokers. ^[5]

Units of the Marik Militia

Notes:

3rd Marik Militia - Dishonorably disbanded after supporting Anton's Revolt
8th Marik Militia - Destroyed on Wisconsin in 2838^{[citation needed]}
20th Marik Militia (Gifted to Republic of the Sphere)^[6]
33rd Marik Militia - featured in The Race Is Not To The Swift

Colors and Unit Insignia

The Marik Militia's parade colors are purple, with highlights in red on the right side, and in blue on the left. Individual units may vary from this color scheme.