Cerberus Battalion

Cerberus Battalion
“The bark of the hound precedes passage to hell, as Cerberus guards the gates loyally.” ~The Cerberus Battalion's motto

The Cerberus Battalion is a subfaction of Men-At-Arms combat units of the Starlit Court.

Cerberus Battalion is a specially-designed group within the ranks of the men-at-arms forces as a special operations type group. They use a combination of unbonded lenses and Fae in hellhound packs of three to operate in fields where sending in knightly orders would be far too overt, particularly with their mechs and power armor. They provide a unique service, acting within the overarching branch of the special operations department.

Origins
The concept for the Cerberus units began as a shared idea from three grandmasters after a late-night discussion about possible collaborative projects to encourage inter-order cooperation between knights and men-at-arms units. It started out as an experiment to see if lenses could combine a fae with their powers. After many tests and trials, the desired form finally came about as a combination of fae with a much more hunter-like attitude and the use of the bleed to wreath the fae in a plasma form. The plasma-based spectral-looking forms for fae were developed, foremost upon these the shape of dogs, which became well-known as the order’s standard. With this development, it was decided upon, with some deliberation and advocation of the men-at-arms, that the units made from this collaboration would remain within the men-at-arms’ purview of command.

Style of Deployment
Within the battalion, each fire team consists of only three members rather than the regular four or five member fire team. Each member carries a pendant containing their fae crystal, which is encased in a hardy polymer to ensure that the crystal can not be broken easily, even under combat circumstances. Within the group, they tend to refer to these teams as hellhounds to truly go with the theme. They like to advertise that their fae are truly dogs from hell, summoned to drag the vile souls back to where they belong.

Depending on the mission, a single hellhound team to a full platoon of men could be sent. Generally, the battalion likes to keep to that rule of three, whether it’s three men to a fire team to three squads sent onto a mission. It has become a sort of ingrained ritual of sorts that seems to bring them luck.

Normally they would be deployed via tactical insertions either behind enemy lines or as a special unit to pierce through the enemy lines and as a quick strike force against a stronghold.

Notable deployments
TBD

Equipment

 * DAK-14: This is the standard operating pistol/sidearm of the Cerberus battalion that provides excellent stopping power and great accuracy for the needs of the group. With the optional extended mag, the pistol can become a machine pistol capable of three-shot burst or fully automatic fire. A suppressor attachment is possible, as well as a holo sight.
 * BR96: The BR96 is a standard rifle for the military but is designated for the special forces given its high rate of fire and higher caliber build, designed to penetrate heavier armor. With a nicely sized magazine, it’s perfect for a unit designed to go behind enemy lines and hold out for a while.
 * XLM-Thundergun; The thundergun is a high-powered shotgun that is clip fed and can fire armor-piercing slug shells or buckshot meant to spread out and pepper the area. Due to the nature of its name and the nature of just how powerful the shells are, a suppressor on the gun is unfortunately something that cannot be used. Despite its thunderous noise, Cerberus still uses it due to how reliable it is when it comes to quickly and effectively clearing tight spaces.
 * AMP40; This is a very high-tech and recent model to the Sihi armory that the Cerberus battalion has taken a very large liking to. The AMP40 is nice and compact, as well as extremely light without ruining the accuracy nor making the kickback too powerful.
 * XS4520 Ebonshade: This is the shuttle craft that a lot of special forces tend to use as it provides great stealth capabilities both in space and on planet situations. It can provide a great support role as a strike craft, being able to carry up to twenty soldiers, including three pilots.  When loaded with crates or light vehicles, that number is reduced to ten soldiers. In the atmosphere of a planet, it can open its sides to allow for side gunners to provide either machine gun or sniper support.