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Federation troopers appeared frequently, and quite a few ended up dead on the
floor. They were seen in The Way Back, Time Squad,
Seek-Locate-Destroy, Project Avalon, Bounty,
Shadow, Weapon, Horizon, Trial, Killer,
Countdown, Voice from the Past, Star One,
Aftermath, Powerplay, Volcano, The Harvest of
Kairos, Children of Auron, Rumours of Death, Moloch,
Traitor, Games, Warlord and Blake.
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The helmet was black with a hinged visor. A green band ran around the upper rim in most cases, but this was missing from the troopers in Volcano and Children of Auron and some of those in Rumours of Death. This may indicate a particular kind of unit (such as marines) but there is no evidence for or against this.
Normal weaponry was a standard issue carbine, referred to by Avon in Volcano simply as a "handgun". Fan lore sometimes refers to this weapon as a 'paragun', a term not used in any episode. A pistol version was also seen on various occasions, wielders including Del Tarrant in Powerplay and Sula in Rumours of Death. The stock of the handgun was extendable, as demonstrated by Avon in Cygnus Alpha, and also removable, effectively making the weapon a heavy pistol - this was seen in Games. Various marks of each weapon may have existed, as a number of different sound signatures were heard at various times. Troopers were seen carrying different weapons in Moloch, Traitor, Warlord and Blake.
Ranks mentioned included Trooper, Squad Leader, Sergeant, Sergeant-Major, Section Leader, Captain, Major, Space Major, Subcommander, Space Commander, Colonel and General. Others, such as Base Commander, Brigade Commander, Deputy Commander, Guard Commander, Intelligence Commander and Security Commander may have been ranks in their own right, but were more likely positions of responsibility held by officers of varying rank. Tarrant trained as a Space Captain, but this might be a space fleet rather than an army rank. Trooper as a rank is probably equivalent to Private, Par being addressed as "Trooper Par" by Thania.
Troopers were frequently seen in groups of six: six troopers rode on each of the electric cars seen in The Way Back, patrols of six were seen around Sarkoff's residence in Bounty, and at Residence-1 on Earth in Rumours of Death. This might indicate the size of a squad. The only other bodies mentioned were the section, with no indication of its strength, and the brigade, again with no details.
Several units were referred to. The Interrogation Division took charge of Cally in Seek-Locate-Destroy. Maryatt was a Space Surgeon in the Medical Corps. Both of these may have been blanket terms for a number of more discrete units. The President's personal security force may have been a Space Command unit, as may Governor LeGrand's forces, but this seems unlikely, particularly in the case of the latter. The Space Assault Force were described as "crack troops". Klegg and his troopers belonged to the Federation Death Squad. Survivors of the Fifth Legion were encountered on Sardos, which rather implies at least four other legions - their equipment included a T-16 troop transporter, suggesting that legions were a combined arms force. The President was, amongst other things, Lord General of the Six Armies, but such a title may not have meant much as far as practical military organisation was concerned.
In Project Avalon Blake said that Federation troopers were very highly trained, but little indication of their combat expertise was evident.
See also DEATH SQUAD, FIFTH LEGION, RANK, WEAPONS.
A Sarran, called to by Chel whilst looking for War survivors.
Occasionally encountered in space: Artix broadcast a turbulence alert to the crew of the London when spectrum shock waves began hitting the ship. Zen pointed out that flying through the fluid cloud encountered en route to Terminal could result in turbulence, and Cally made a reference to having passed through it before. Cally had previously mentioned turbulence in Breakdown. Turbulence was encountered by Scorpio on returning from Pharos: Dayna suggested a freak magnetic storm as the cause, but Muller's android had more than a passing hand in it.
Quoted by Avon and Tarrant as Avon returned to the Liberator after nearly being killed by Servalan (Avon: "The rumours of my death..."; Tarrant: "...have been much exaggerated").
Mark Twain (Samuel Langhorne Clemens, 1835-1910) is often attributed with having said this. His actual words were, in a cable from Europe to the Associated Press, "The report of my death was an exaggeration".
The Space Princess, en route from Zerok to Earth, passed the ferocious star (?) of Pyrrus, which Keiller described as "the twelfth wonder of...". Perhaps a reference to "twelve wonders of the galaxy", but no real elaboration given.
| Assistant to and later revealed to be daughter of President Sarkoff on UP-Bounty, where she was seen to drive Sarkoff's automobile. Tyce initially held Blake at gunpoint with a pair of flintlock pistols whilst she disarmed him, but was later persuaded to leave with Blake and Cally whether her father agreed to come with them or not. On the Liberator she was held prisoner by Tarvin, tried to kill him with a concealed weapon, and was nearly killed herself until Sarkoff shot Tarvin. She left Liberator with Sarkoff, presumably to Lindor. |  |
| Commander Technician on the Q-base on Fosforon, Tynus trained with Avon and later worked with him on a fraud. Avon was arrested but kept quiet about Tynus" involvement. On Fosforon Avon used this to blackmail him into acquiring a TP crystal from the A-line converter. Tynus delayed things as long as possible, sending a message to Servalan informing her of Avon's presence. Vila discovered the message. Tynus was eventually thrown into the A-line converter during a struggle with Avon, and died from the 250,000 volt current flowing through it (and him). He kept locusts, which he was seen sketching, and Dr Bellfriar suspected he might be "space happy". |  |
Th remains of a Type 6 Survey ship were found on the surface of Crandor. Tarrant noted that Federation survey ships had a habit of not returning from the 12th sector, so the Type 6 was may well have been a Federation craft. If so, it was possibly built on Xaranor.