Blackwatch Council
Blackwatch is led by what is essentially a Council of Nine individuals, with each person of the Council recruited to their position based upon their skill in a particular area. Blackwatch One holds his position as he is best able to deal with outsiders in a polite and diplomatic manner to the benefit of Blackwatch. Blackwatch Six is recruited for his ability in killing at the personal, tactical and strategic levels. The others all hold various positions for similar reasons. Anyone is capable of becoming a member on the Blackwatch Council, as long as they follow the rules of the Council; they may have no families/significant other of any kind, whether a whore, wife, or simple boyfriend/girlfriend, no children, birth or adopted, one must dedicate their entire life to their craft and their work in the Council alone. One must have no outside distractions taking up their time and focus. The current Blackwatch Six is a great example of rising up the ranks from a simple trooper of no special heritage or sponsorship to be one of the most powerful men in all of Blackwatch and the Federation as a whole. He is greatly loved by the men of the Blackwatch Military for his accomplishments and the no bullshit attitude he faces everything with.
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Blackwatch Justice System
Regarding Administration:
- A person's innocence is not to be disputed until suitable evidence and condemnation robs it. This however does not entitle one to freedom outside of a holding cell.
- Negligence is not a reason for criminal violations
- Citizen's arrest is valid within Blackwatch. All militia are granted the right to arrest with the power of an official.
Three Levels of Law
There are three different levels of law within Blackwatch, even if the majority of possible violations go under the vague term of treason. Each one increases in severity until the Ruling Council deem it necessary to condemn an offender to the Black Pit or execution.
Primary (Crimes Not Resulting in Physical Harm): Minor Theft, Deviance, Trespassing
Secondary (Crimes Resulting in Physical Harm): Arson, Assault, and Rape
Tertiary (Crime against the State): Treason, Assassination, and Conspiracy
Blackwatch does not hold extradition treaties with any polities outside of the Wraithguard, they have offered a extradition treaty to the Stellar Imperium in exchange for them providing the same.
At birth, all children are DNA tested to see if the Father is actually the Father. Lying and saying that the Man is a Father is viewed as Theft and Assault on said man. This applies to all children born in Blackwatch Territory, regardless of citizenship. Abortions are legal in Blackwatch, for both the Father and Mother, when a Father signs for an abortion, if they Mother wishes to keep the baby, she does so with the understanding that there is no Father to the child, and the Father does not have rights to enter the child's life for anything outside of being the first choice for adoption of the child after it is rescued from an Abusive Mother.
Men and Women are treated as pure equals under Blackwatch, if they are unqualified they do not get a pass if they are a woman, nor is physical, mental and emotional abuse of woman towards men looked at as any different than the same abuse towards men. Woman enjoy no special protections or stations than men do, and are punished to the same level and degree as men, are expected to work at the same level as men, and are treated the same as men in every way. Standards are not lowered for woman in the military, nor are they pandered to in the way of extra logistics or supplies. When they can not perform to the expected level they are reprimanded and given a chance to come to the level required before being dismissed, the same as men. Preferential treatment under the law is ensured to not exist by the removal of all mentions of sex from cases seen by judges, with nothing other than the facts of the case presented to them and heavy penalties, both financially and in terms of prison time for those that engage in preferential treatment of either sex. This is also enforced in schooling by the third party grading of bodies of work with no information on name, age, sex, or anything else other than the body of work. It is illegal to reference sex in a resumes or applications.
Those that spend time in Blackwatch prison are usually confused by their treatment, Blackwatch prison is more about rehabilitation and keeping people from re-offending by eliminating the reason they offended in the first place than it is about punishment. The design of the prisons are meant to simulate life outside the prison. Among other activities, sports, education and music are available to the prisoners, who interact with the unarmed staff in an attempt to create a sense of community. All staff speak both Rim-Swahili and Anglic. There are no conventional security devices, such as barbed wire, electric fences, towers, or snipers. However, there is safety glass, a 5.6 meter by 1.6 KM concrete and steel wall, and a system of underground tunnels which allow guards use to walk through the prison quickly to any location they need in a quick manner. Although there are surveillance cameras on the prison grounds, they are not present in the cells, the cell hallways, the common rooms, the classrooms, and most of the workshops, unless one is assigned to specialty holding due to violent or other bad behavior. Officers try to prevent violence. If two inmates have a dispute, they engage in a mediation session under staff supervision. If mediation fails, repeated misbehavior or rule violations are punished with cell confinement or prison transference to specialty holding where they lose much of their freedom and are held in a more conventional prison manner, though they may earn a return to the more free treatment by good behavior and progress with treatment.
Loans with variable interest rates are seen as unethical and amoral, and as such they are outlawed in Blackwatch. If you loan, you must loan with a fixed fee and no interest.
Blackwatch Life
Blackwatch put a high value on work life balance, requiring all that do business in their territories or with their peoples to follow a set schedule or equivalent. They must have four days on and then four days off, with working ten hour shifts, forty hours a cycle being the standard. Any time after that forty hours is required to be payed out at double the pay or at the discretion of the employee (employer has no say) paid time off, accrued at one and a half times the amount of time worked, in fifteen minute increments (if on were to work sixteen minutes over their forty hours, then they would be given forty-five minutes off or double pay for that time, if you were to work four minutes over, then it would count as fifteen, etc. Those that violate these rules are heavily fined, in the order of one hundred million credits per person involved in the violation as well as the Owners, including stockholders being responsible for the pay that the individuals were entitled to.
Blackwatch provides mandatory minimum level of Paternity and Maternity leave by law of six months for both parents, they are entitled to start the leave at any time with in the first year of their child's birth, but must request is two weeks in advance unless in the case of a premature birth. Employers have the option of offering longer paid leave, or continuous non-paid leave at their discretion.
When dealing with outsiders, Blackwatch personal and many citizens will done a mask. They do not share their faces with outsiders, and it is considered a grievous sin to do so if they are not a close personal friend or been inducted and brought in as a Blackwatch member.
It is not uncommon for Blackwatch members to settle disputes with personal combat, though it is well regulated and done in rings set aside for just these specific instances. Attacking others is highly frowned upon outside of the ring or an official challenge, and can lead to the death penalty depending on the severity of the attacks outcome.
The cult of the ace is an important thing in Blackwatch culture. Tank Aces, Pilot Aces, and individuals of exceptional skill in all walks of life are all highly regarded in the general population, making the news and being well liked through out Blackwatch Territories. There has been some controviersy with the introduction of Cybernetics, Genetic modifications and more strongly in the case of Ryllian conversions that has cropped up over the last several years.
"Did you know? There are three kinds of aces. Those who seek strength, those who live for Pride, and those who can read the tide of battle." Blackwatch chronicler.
Gays and Transsexuals are treated as if they have incurable life long genetic diseases that must be cared for, and excluded from reproduction. With recent advances in technology being as they are, they shall soon have a possible treatment path that will cure them of this genetic disease.
Blackwatch homes and business are designed with firefights in mind, meaning they have smaller openings for windows, with bullet proof glass, solid cover, and safe zones built into the design from the start. A minimum of three weeks food and water is required to be kept in houses for the family members encase of issues with supplies. There are also stockpiles set aside in cities of MRE's and similar items to be distributed encase of major disruptions.
There are a few thousand weapon, ammo, and armor caches in bunkers spread throughout Blackwatch land, including in the cities, where the facilities that house them are disguised as businesses run by Blackwatch, that way the citizens can continue to fight if need be during an invasion that knocks out the main Blackwatch forces, or if they surprise the Blackwatch (such as the tunneling operations that go on with the Seihai). The location of the caches would only be known to the leadership of the various citizen militia groups, so as to not have it be common knowledge. Knowledge of the location of these caches being shared is considered High Treason, and an executable offense, punished near immediately.
Blackwatch Education
Blackwatch schools are longer than other schools, with Secondary Education last nearly two years more than other polities on average. There are other differences, such as starting in the sixth grade, training in the use of arms and tactics, as well as distribution of said arms, to the children is begun. Eastmount provides instructors to the schools, specializing in teaching small arms usage as well as interaction with the younger generations. With the large amount of work with the rest of the Federations, outsiders are invited to assist in training, mainly from The Crag and Rusalka as guest instructors. The children are required to continue training with them through out their life times, keep them well maintained and in working order, and utilize them regularly with state provided ammunition and repairs. The time commitment as an adult is 10 hours a week, one hour a day for six days and on the seventh four hours, these are to be spent training and working alongside their assigned squads and platoons.
Blackwatch Quotes and Sayings
"He'll chop off you limbs, and rip off your skin, and sew your pieces on to him. Stay at home, don't go out alone or the Patchwork Man will crack your bones." - Patchwork Man
"In Darkness, I Shall Be Light
In Times Of Doubt, I Shall Keep Faith
In Throws Of Rage, I Shall Hone My Craft
In Vengeance, I Shall Have No Mercy
In The Midst Of Battle, I Shall Have No Fear
In The Face Of Death, I Shall Have No Remorse" - Battle Chant
"My peace has always depended on all the ashes in my wake." - Former Blackwatch Six
"Burn out every evolved violence-limitation instinct in the human psyche. And replace it with the conscious will to do harm." - Blackwatch Six to New recruit as he was currently undergoing intense training.
"Peace is an illusion. And now matter how tranquil the world seems... Peace doesn't last long. Peace is a struggle against our very nature. A skin we stretch over the bone, muscle, and sinew of our own innate savagery. The instinct of violence curls within us like a parasite, waiting for a chance to feed on our rage and multiple until it bursts out of us. War is the only thing we really understand." - Former Blackwatch One to incoming Blackwatch One
"The moments of peace we find sometimes, they aren't anything but warfare, thinly disguised. And sometimes, surrender... Can be as savage as any attack."
"I joined the army to fight when I was 15, and finally I returned home at my 80s.
Asking my neighbour in the past: Is there anyone still in my home?
The neighbour says: The tombs there, surrounded by pine trees and cypresses used to be your house.
When I take a closer look, I find that hares go in and out through holes left for dogs, and pheasants take off from the roof.
In my yard grew the wild millet, and on my well sprouted the wild mallow.
I cook some meal with the millet and mallow, a bowl of rice, and soup.
The meal is done, but there is nobody I can share it with!
I walk outdoors, and my tear drops on my clothes when I'm staring at the east." Blackwatch Veteran to his old Neighbor.
Blackwatch Drill Sergeant to recruit about firefights, "The idea is to increase the lead concentration in the air around your enemy such that it's no longer capable of supporting human life."
"To each of us falls a task. And all that Blackwatch requires of us Soldiers is that we stand in line, and we die fighting. It is what we do best : we die standing." - Last Stand of Marcus Tullis, Grade Six, During battle of Toldiat, -284 NS.