The Carcharodons

Approximately 1000-1500 fully integrated and indoctrinated heavy assault troopers aka. "Brothers".   Approximately 5000 Conscript members, aka. "Scripts", that perform any and all necessary functions in the fleet from maintenance to cannon fodder.

Brothers are equipped with void-sealed power armour, which incorporates sophisticated communication and sensory equipment within the helmets.   Scripts are "encouraged" to scavenge for any equipment they can get their hands on.

Brothers typically favour the Godwyn Pattern Bolter as their go to weapon, though they will use whatever weapons are most appropriate for their current situation. However all Brothers have an intense love for close-quarters combat and will always carry a melee weapon on their person.   Scripts are equipped with inferior weapons though some may scrounge and steal enough to equip themselves with a laser weapon. Make shift explosives and Molotov cocktails are also used extensively.

The Carcharodons maintain a diverse collection of vehicles for heavy support when dealing with heavy resistance.   Some examples include the Predator Heavy Assault Tank, and the Razorback Infantry Fighting Vehicle.

Command structure among Brothers is straightforward and minimal to facilitate efficiency in the field.   The entire mercenary company is split into groups of 100 Brothers referred to as a Tribe. Each Tribe is further divided into 9 squads of 10 led by a Sergeant. Each squad can be broken into two fire teams of 5 Brothers with the squad Sergeant leading one team and the squad Corporal leading the other. The last remaining 10 Brothers are the Tribe Captain and his command squad.   Each Tribe maintains a self sufficient method of interstellar travel, the style of which is left to the Tribe Captain's preference. Some prefer to use a single larger ship to hold the entire company and it's accompanied Scripts while others prefer to keep a flotilla of smaller ships.   The Scripts are left to organize themselves, with the most experienced Scripts acting as Sergeants for squads of the other Scripts. Script squads can number between 10 and 50 induvidual Scripts depending on the leadership and charisma of the Sergeant.

Combat doctrine for the Carcharodons is relatively simple, strike hard and fast with overwhelming force before their opposition can ready a proper defense.   Being primarily a spaceborne force, the Carcharodons specialize in boarding actions. The most common tactic they employ is a two wave assault style where a flood of Scripts are delivered via boarding torpedoes to distract the enemy and gauge their defensive strength while a second wave of boarding torpedoes filled with Brothers is launched at a closer range to follow up on the gains (or to reverse the failure) of the initial Script attack.   If the enemy should prove extremely capable of defending themself, the Carcharodons with then resort to harassment tactics while shadowing the enemy untill they are weak enough to be engaged with their preferred method.

The Carcharodons take a "Survival of the Fittest" veiw of training, trusting that the most vicious and skilled of their press ganged Scripts will survive long enough to become a Brother. From that point he will train as he feels fit to do.

As with nearly all non-combat related tasks, it falls to the Scripts to provide logistical support for each Tribe's needs. Anything that requires professional work is contracted for when a Tribe docks for shore leave. Scripts are highly motivated to keep the ships' food stores fully stocked as Brothers have shown no qualms with killing and eating Scripts when rations have run low.

The upkeep of a Tribe is taken care of by either the money collected from contract work done, or the payout of what the Carcharodons have taken in a raid.

"Recruitment" into the Carcharodons can happen in a variety of ways, dictated by the circumstances a Tribe may find itself in. It should be noted that the Carcharodons only recruit male humans as they are the only ones that can survive the genetic surgery required to become a full Brother.   1. Voluntary Recruitment - By far the least common form of recruiting done by the Carcharodons, usually done while the need for new blood is middling to low. Any human man that thinks he has what it takes can join up at any port the Carcharodons are docked at. If he is allowed to join he is immediately inducted into the Script population and given dutys.   2. Survivor Contracting - Any man that survives a Carcharodon attack through skill-of-arms and is captured is offered a place within the ranks of the Scripts. If that man refuses he is killed on the spot. It should be noted that while the join or die contract is only given to male humans, those others such as female humans and non-humans are not outright killed unless the job contract the Carcharodons hold stipulates that condition. Such prisoners are forced into functional escape pods with working transmitters and jettisoned safely into space. This method is the most common form of recruiting though it usually has the lowest influx of recruits.   3. Convict Purchasing - If the Script population falls to dangerously low levels the Carcharodons will resort to purchasing the entire population of prison planets. They will then pit the prisoners to a free-for-all fight to the death for 2 hours at the end of which the survivors will be made Scripts, with the only rule being that in order to be considered a "pass" you must kill at least 2 other participants.

Not much is known of the history of the Carcharodons during the Age of Strife, but it is theorized that they are an offshoot faction of The Helldivers. This theory is supported by the piratical way that this group obtains resources and on the few times that a Carcharodon's assault on a planetary position has been witnessed. Observers have noted the use of ship-launched drop pods being used to drop directly into the enemy position, a tactic favoured by the helldivers of old.