Civilian Militia
| Type | Seperatists |
| Status | Active |
| Homeworld | None |
| Home system | Unknown |
| Established | Unknown |
| First Encounter | 2260 |
Dedicated to the violent overthrow of the Federation and the establishment of what it calls a new, egalitarian state, the Civilian Militia has quickly found its way to the top of SICON’s list of human enemies, supplanting the Black Cross, which held the spot for nearly 30 years. If SICON despises the Black Cross, it absolutely loathes the Civilian Militia. Much as with the Black Cross, SICON and the Federation deny the existence of the Civilian Militia, a stance that has become more difficult recently.
What is Known About the Civilian Militia?
Extremely little is known about the Civilian Militia, as the organisation is designed to maintain a cloud of secrecy. It operates on two levels, both within the Federation and without.
Outside the Federation, the Civilian Militia acts as a military force, acting to protect unofficial colonies much as the Black Cross seems to and deriving payment for those services in much the same manner. It is thought however that the Civilian Militia is much weaker than the Black Cross, with fewer ships, fewer weapons and inferior skills. Within the Federation, the Civilian Militia operates through a series of cells. None of these cells have any knowledge of any others, nor do they know anything regarding the Civilian Militia beyond their own specific orders.
Through investigation and use of psychics, SICON has identified and arrested the members of several such cells, but the cell members were unable to give them any indication of the scope and capabilities of the Civilian Militia. All indications are that there are very few such cells, though SICON is assiduously following up any leads they can find, mostly on Earth and the stellar colonies of Cassandra and Faraway.
Further efforts of psychics, combined with what little is known about the Civilian Militia, indicate it was formed in the outer reaches of humanity in the galaxy among some of the unofficial colonies. What might have precipitated the formation of such an organisation is a mystery but Military Intelligence believe there are several potent psychics within the upper echelons of the Civilian Militia, bending their will toward keeping the members of the organisation hidden.
The Civilian Militia seems determined to prove its unnamed member’s point. Though the Civilian Militia has yet to clash with actual SICON forces, there have been several unexplained incidents that SICON lays at the feet of the organisation such as an explosion six months ago at SICON’s Simon Redridge military base on Zegama Beach that cost the lives of three Mobile Infantry troopers and 13 civilian contractors.
History
The history of the Civilian Militia is almost completely unknown. It is believed that SICON became aware of it shortly after it was formed. For the next five years, all its operations were confined to the area beyond SICON’s borders and it was thought to be simply another group that had splintered from the Federation and now pushed a seditious message.
However, when the first Skinny raids began to intensify on the outlying colonies, the Civilian Militia revealed it was much stronger than originally thought, helping to protect outlying worlds against minor raids by the Skinnies. This revelation of military power caused SICON to take a much closer look at the group.
In these worlds beyond the reach of FedNet, the existence of the Civilian Militia is well known. SICON spies dispatched to learn what they could outside of Federation space came back with a variety of obvious fabrications, among which were hidden a few nuggets of possible truth. According to the rumours among the unofficial colonies, the Civilian Militia was formed by two men, average colonists whose home planet seems to change depending on who is telling the story. Dissatisfied with the Federation and unwilling to take part in the process in order to try to change it, they opted instead for violence.
The actual size of the Civilian Militia is in some dispute at SICON but it is known that the Militia is actively seeking to recruit members.
There has been little activity on the part of the Civilian Militia since the beginning of the war with the Arachnids, offering SICON some hope that perhaps the members of the organisation are not so blinded by irrational hatred of the government that they cannot see the threat the bugs pose to the entire human race and have elected to cease their seditious activities in the face of potential extermination.
Goals
The goal of the Civilian Militia is nothing less than the overthrow of the Federation itself and, presumably, the installation of itself as the new government. To that end, it is apparently willing to go to great lengths, even murder of citizens and civilians alike if it believes this will further its aims.
Organization
There are other human enemies to SICON both inside and outside of Federation space, but none of them are considered the kind of threat the Civilian Militia is, as no other group advocates the violent overthrow of the Federation itself. While the Black Cross is thought to be militarily stronger, they confine themselves to operations outside the borders of the Federation and seem primarily concerned with minding their own business and steering clear of SICON. The Zegama Cartel is likewise a large organisation, but concerns itself with the illegal drug trade rather than open revolt.
The Civilian Militia believes the Federation is rotten to the core, a fascist and autocratic state masquerading as a bastion of freedom. In the Civilian Militia philosophy, the Federation exists only to expand and maintain its own power, at the expense of the people.
To an outside observer, the Civilian Militia appears to be split in half. One part of the organisation remains outside Federation space, functioning for all intents and purposes as a mercenary unit much like the Black Cross, fighting and dying to protect unofficial colonies from Skinny raids and bug attacks. They charge somewhat less than the Black Cross, however, preferring to use these battles as opportunity to recruit new members and foment opposition to the Federation. This has led SICON to theorise the organisation is being supported by someone from the outside, a person, group or corporation with pockets deep enough to bankroll the organisation. Thus far, the Black Cross and the Civilian Militia have not come into contact, though some in SICON hope they do soon and kill each other off.
The other part of the Civilian Militia has no involvement in the military arm of the organisation. Instead, these members work within cells inside the Federation itself. Cells are composed of small groups (no more than half a dozen) and only one member of a cell will have any knowledge of how to contact another cell. These Militiamen often spend years undercover, taking part in Federation society and waiting for orders to come to strike.
In truth, the two separate ‘careers’ in the Civilian Militia are not quite so separate, and there are only a very few of the kind of ‘deep cover’ members who spend years within the Federation. Most civilian militiamen spend their time at the edges of Federation space, alternating between fi ghting alien invaders and infiltrating stellar colonies to foment dissent against the Federation itself.
