The Mosi Republic Police Forces
The police forces of the Mosi Republic are a mix between formal, informal, and commissioned organizations that occasionally work together in the name of law and order on Mos. Their overlapping duties, lack of an overarching hierarchy, and informal participation creates a great deal of tension between the various organizations which protect the common people of New Harmony and the frontier.
The police forces of the Mosi republic are primarily made up of the New Harmony Police Department, the Volkov Detective Company, and the Union of Sheriffs, Rangers, and Lawmen. Each of these organizations have been provided with some degree of legal authority, allowing them the right to capture, detain, or potentially kill in the name of protecting the lives, person, and property of the citizens of Mos. Unfortunately, where the jurisdiction of these groups begin, end, or overlap are at best a matter of debate, and at worst non existent, leading to frequent conflict and occasional collaborations.
The New Harmony PD
The New Harmony Police Department is the primary law enforcement agency of the city of New Harmony, the Rail lines, and all of Mos’ orbital bodies. The NHPD technically predates the fall of the colonial government, dating back to the original settlement of New Harmony. After the fall of the colonial government the NHPD had its charter rewritten, granting the organization the right to raise and maintain a publicly funded police and militia force to defend the lives, persons, and property of the City of New Harmony, all roads and rail lines leading to and from the city, and all orbital installations. The NHPD is a well funded police force, with access to a small fleet of ground cars, as well as a handful of grav-cars, and mechs.
The NHPD, while technically allowed to raise an armed militia, is not a militarized police force, with the vast majority of its street officers only allowed to carry a mag-pistol, a personal force-field projector, and stun-baton. The NHPD have a small task force colloquially referred to as ‘the BlockBusters’ consisting of a few dozen officers trained in bleed enhanced tactics, wearing light power armor, hardened riot shields, and a mix of sub machine guns and shotguns. The current Chief of police is looking to expand the block busters arsenal, and has been making overtures for purchasing the unit a grav tank, and a combat-refitted mech, much to the chagrin of the mayor’s office.
The Volkov Detective Company
“Justice Never Sleeps” - Volkov Detective company motto
The Volkov Detective Company was once a private detective group operating out of New Harmony. The Volkovs, colloquially known as the hounds, had a stellar reputation for their dogged pursuit of justice and the law, having been known to chase a lead across the planet. Their reputation was so great in fact that when questions of jurisdiction and planetary policing came up, the Mosi republic purchased the services of the Volkov detective agency on retainer. The Volkov Detective company from that point onward was granted the full authority to act in the name of the Mosi republic in investigating criminal activity and bringing criminals to justice across all sovereign Mosi republic territories. This was meant to solve a number of issues between the frontier sheriffs, ranger, lawmen, and the NHPD, but only increased the standing issues by adding another competing police force to the mix. Because of jurisdictional conflicts, one of the many roles of this agency is “arbitrating” things underneath them but this can often add fuel to existing fires rather than putting them out.
The Volkov Detective company receive a regular stipend from the Mosi government to maintain their services, and a large bonus for when one of their agents solve a crime or bring a criminal to justice. As such, there is a general animosity and competitive feeling between the Hounds, the NHPD and the Sheriffs union, as a Hound often has their bonus riding on whether or not they bring an outlaw to justice first. The Volkov Detective company trains their agents in the use of firearms, hand to hand, self defense, comprehensive detective skills, ubiquitous motor vehicles, and parkour techniques so they can be effective at chasing and subduing criminals. The hounds have no standard uniform or equipment list, as the armor, weapons, or vehicles they use are sourced and up to the individual detective, but each Hound must at the very least own a pistol, some means of ground vehicle, and a respectable business suit.
Union of Sheriffs, Rangers, and Lawmen
The Union of Sheriffs, Rangers, and Lawmen is a formal union for the countless informal law enforcers of the Mosi frontier. The practice of towns and settlements appointing one of their number a sheriff to act as their local law enforcer is one that has gone back to the earliest days of Mosian settlement. It is often considered a vital function for the day to day survival of the people of the frontier. However, these informal lawmen often ran up against legal issues of their own when enacting justice in the name of their frontier towns, including lawsuits, arrests from the NHPD, and the Volkov Detective agency. In order to protect and legitimize the vital work of these brave volunteers and lawmen, the Union was created.
Drawing its funds from public donation, the sale of seized property, and small dues paid by its members, the Union of Sheriffs, Rangers, and Lawmen protect their members from outside forces looking to harm or prevent them from doing their jobs. Primarily located in New Harmony, the Union consists of a number of retired frontier lawmen and several dozen lawyers who petition for the legal protections of those who have always put their lives on the line to bring and preserve justice on the frontier. In the case of big city police forces using their powers to try and interfere with their union members, the union provides legal defense and support through its lawyers, and have been known to tie up both the NHPD and the Volkov Detective agency with enough litigation and red tape to grind any investigation to a halt. The titular Sheriffs, Rangers, and Lawmen of the union are required to carry three things: a badge with union identification number, a mag-pistol grade side arm, and at least a single pair of handcuffs. All other uniforms, training, or equipment is entirely up to the discretion of its membership, as is their right to raise and command deputies in the pursuit of enforcing the law.
Underworld Influences
Larkspur Combine has infiltrated and exerted a varying amount of control over the disparate police forces of the Mosi republic. Depending on the time and leadership this has varied from directly controlling some agencies, to subtle influence and gentlemen's agreements. Currently, as the civil war rages between the Larkspur and the Albescu families, the Mosi police have taken a step back from the combine, sitting on the sidelines as spectators first and foremost, only interfering when the potential collateral damage of one side’s actions become too great to ignore.
Prior to the current escalation in conflict, the combine and the police enjoyed something of a quiet collaboration. The Current chief of the NHPD was put in place by the Five Families of the Combine, and was a happy collaborator with the Family. The NHPD would go about their business stopping whatever crimes they came across unless otherwise instructed to look the other way first. If a member of the Combine was caught in the act, arrangements would be made, paperwork would get lost, and they would be back on the streets typically by the next morning. Meanwhile, if a group stepped out of line, or acted against the family, they would be turned over to the NHPD on a silver platter. In worst case scenarios Combine enforcers may even act as back up or scouts for when the NHPD were forced to call in the BlockBusters.
Occasionally this arrangement didn’t work as well as it should. On occasion a Larkspur enforcer may have ressited their arrest or shown outright disrespect for their NHPD counterpart. Sometimes an NHPD officer may have gotten too many high and mighty ideas about justice and working with the other side. In cases like this, high ranking members of one side would bring up the problemed actor to the other, and the issue would be handled internally. Typically this meant a slap on the wrist and a stern talking to, but in cases where the conflict got serious it could mean the exile or even death of the offending individual.
Things were generally more straightforward with the Volkov Detective company. The Hounds are still a private organization held on retainer by the Mosi Republic, which means in theory and often in practice their investigations will only last as long as the promise of pay is good. With the Larkspur Combine’s ties to the Republic, and their own deep coffers, this means that nine times out of ten a problematic investigation can simply be made to go away by buying out the investigator’s bonus, and telling them ‘the case has been closed’. In cases where a Hound’s dogged pursuit of truth or justice is too great, then the issue gets escalated to their bosses. It’s rare that a threat from corporate doesn’t stop the issue, but when it fails the Family steps in directly. Confrontations between these overzealous Hounds tend to go one of three ways: the Hound gets a fat sack of coins and stops being a problem, their dedication, gumption, and gusto gets them adopted into the Family proper, or they get put down.
One would think the Union of Sheriffs, Rangers, and Lawmen would be a problem, but they tend to be fairly easy to work with. The Union itself receives regular generous donations from the Larkspur family and its partners, and will often advise their members to ease off on any investigation involving the Larkspur in exchange. When it comes to the Unions individual members it is typically just a matter of respect, if they have a presence in the town where the Combine is looking to operate, it can be as easy as a simple check in, an exchange of pleasantries and a small bribe to get the local sheriff on your side. The union will often help with these first meetings if asked by way of sending a letter of introduction along with the enforcer. Uncooperative lawmen will always exist, however, and no amount of pay offs, pleasantries, or pressure will be enough to break their stance. In cases like this, the problem tends to get solved the old fashioned way; by operating under their notice, or by making the offending lawman go away.
The Do Not Disturb List
Colloquially called “The Untouchables,” There are many noteworthy officers, detectives, and lawmen in the various police forces of the Mosi republic; the following individuals stand out in that the Larkspur Combine consider them off limits due to their skill, integrity, or sheer destructive force. These individuals are not to be messed with, their investigations not hampered, and members of the combine are to stay out of their way.
- Sergeant Luka ‘Iron Coffin’ Orlov
Luka Orlov was one of the first members of the Blockbusters, and currently the oldest active officer of the NHPD. Famous for their custom suit of Hexiplate MK3 power armor, and their alleged immortality. Sergeant Orlov’s armor has several powerful enchantments that enhance their own magics, including a network of metamagical engravings on the interior of their armor that bolster the potency of their spellcraft several times over, a biomantic enchantment that causes their body to recover from wounds at an accelerated rate and survive wounds that would kill a normal man, and a technomatic interface which blurred the line of where Seargeant Orlov’s body ended and where his armor began. What truly earned Orlov his palace on this list however, was the incident that earned him the nickname “Iron Coffin”, in which for two hours Sergeant Orlov was legally dead when a hole was blown through his armor, destroying his heart and one lung. Through extreme willpower and use of magic Sergeant Orlov survived this ordeal, but as a consequence of his spell his body can no longer exist outside of his armor, as removing it would break the enchantment keeping him alive. Decades of bleed abuse have further blurred the line between man and machine, and there have been quite murmurings about the man needing to retire.
- Detective Agnessa Egorova
Detective Egorova is a famous detective and member of the Volkov Detective Company, well known for solving a number of high class capers, murders, and conspiracies in the upper crust of Mosi society. Detective Egorova is something of a celebrity with a penchant for the dramatic, and impeccable timing and mastery of deduction that have led some to believe she has developed divinatory powers. Detective Egorova has earned her place on this list not because she is incorruptible, however her pursuit of law, justice, and the truth above all other things do make her a problematic figure, but because of her popularity. Detective Egorova’s renown for exposing the crimes of the rich and powerful have made her very popular, that combined with her tendency to seek out the crimes of the rich and irresponsible largely have left the Combine out of her crosshairs. It has been decided that removing Detective Egorova is more trouble than it would be worth, and that it is better for all involved parties to simply avoid the woman.
- Sheriff Stefan Lettiere
Sheriff Lettiere is a ranger and member of the Union of Sheriffs, Rangers, and Lawmen operating on the fringes of Mosi settlement. He patrols a large range of small towns, villages, and homesteads, making a month-long cricket between each location that have empowered him as their chief defender. This would not be a problem normally, except he has proven he has no fear for the Combine, and no respect for its attempts at bribery and manipulation. Sheriff Lattiere has killed no less than twenty members of the Albescu family who sought to leverage the debt of one of his protected towns into forced labor and relocation. The Sheriff did not stop at routing the Albescu interlopers, but chased their fleeing men back to new harmony where he killed three more, kidnapped the Capo in charge of the scheme and threw them into a tiny jail house in the middle of nowhere. Sheriff Lettiere later survived four assassination attempts, thwarted the Capo’s escape, capturing the two men who aided in the escape, and transferring all three to a much larger county jail. Due to the remote territory Sheriff Lettiere patrols, and their surprising tenacity, skill with firearms, and traps; It has been decided to let the Sheriff live and let live.
- Captain Ma’kalal “Showstopper” Jihir’Ivok
Captain Makal, as he’s called, is a Tar’et Lense who decided to make Mos their home. They were greeted with hospitality by their first encounter with the Police after an unfortunate confrontation due to a cultural misunderstanding, and decided that the NHPD would have a dedicated member. His natural talent and earnest ethic in spite of the grim realities of police work eventually had him selected to join the blockbusters and he earned the nickname “Showstopper” for his sheer presence being able to lock down many situations.