Special Detachment 'Yāoguài'

Red Guard Special Detachment 202 ‘Yāoguài’ is an elite branch of the Yuan Red Guard that specializes in the elimination of high value targets on the battlefield, and behind enemy lines. They are an elite fighting force with access to the most advanced and specialized equipment in the Yuan arsenal, including the QBU-202 ‘Yāoguài’, a signature weapon utilized almost exclusively by the Special Detachment 202, a powerful man portable semiautomatic cannon, and the ‘Yāoguīzhīdāo’ a specialized flying sword that can autonomously kill soft targets stealthily and at a fairly significant distance, or swarm massed infantry formations. Special Detachment 202 was instrumental in destabilizing the coreward front during the Yuan-Pariah War and was considered by many a major cause for the conflict’s brevity and decisiveness.

Organization

Special Detachment Yāoguài is an unusually large black operations organization, with membership in the thousands. This necessitates a robust chain of command and supporting organizational structure. Special Detachment 202 is structured like a small division of the Yuan Red Guard, and is commanded by a Shao Jiang (the current commander is Wēi Wénwǔ). Underneath the detachment´s overall command are three brigades of three battalions. Underneath the battalions are 80 person companies organized into 2, 40 strong platoons, which finally arrive at the level of 10 operator kill teams, and individual special forces operatives. In each brigade, each of the three battalions are specialized in certain aspects of SD202's mission profile, though it should be noted that an operator in the detachment is expected to be capable of all forms combat within the remit of the Yāoguài.

Jìjìng Battalions

The first battalions of the Yāoguài's three brigades the Jìjìng or "silent wing" are planetary assault specialists with a focus on serving as the vanguard of Yuan planetary invasions. Jìjìng companies are expected to use meteoric assault capsules to get the drop on enemy forces before overwhelming them with whatever firepower the battalion can muster at a single point, disabling key anti-space defenses ahead of a larger planetary assault. Jìjìng operatives are expected to be strong team players, with excellent strength, and capable handling of the heaviest man portable ordinance available in the Yuan Arsenal.

Kāi Guànqì Battalions

After the first battalions the second or "Kāi Guànqì (can opener)" battalions are composed primarily of those who excelled with the handling of the QBU-202 'Yāoguài' Anti-Materiel Rifle in its use as an anti-Battledress armament. Operatives within these battalions are typically tasked with enaging heavily armored, high value targets, and are therefore expected to be expert level marksmen, alongside strong training in the other aspects of fieldcraft and combat expected of snipers.

Shārén Lìrèn Battalions

The final battalions in each of the detachment's brigades, the "Shārén Lìrèn", or Murderous Blade battalions, are made up from candidates who were extremely capable assassins. The third battalions are very often broken into small teams, or individuals and sent out as assassins and saboteurs, they must operate independently for extended periods gathering intelligence about their targets before coming down against them in a single, silent strike, hopefully extracting before authorities can figure them out. For this they tend to be heavy users of the ‘Yāoguīzhīdāo’ sword. Therefore these operatives are highly trained in the arts of subterfuge, intelligence, remote operations, stealth, and close ranger killing.

Assets

Special Detachment 202 maintains a comparatively large and well stocked arsenal for its size, with a broad array of weapons, armor, vehicles, and specialized equipment at its disposal. This includes a number of items built specifically for the detachment by YUSA, such as the QBU-202, the GBZ-102, the Yāoguīzhīdāo, ‘JP-03’ model of Battledress (essentially a variant of Scout Battledress with built-in modifications). This broad array of equipment allows operatives in Special Detachment 202 to efficiently operate in a number of roles from elite shock infantry, to spies and assassins as their mission dictates. However, some of the signature tactics employed by the unit the ‘jiàn qún’ requires the use of the Yāoguīzhīdāo in large numbers as a swarm of autonomous swords both as target saturation, and as a means of engaging many more targets than what most Yāoguài teams would otherwise be capable of themselves.

Personnel

Special Detachment 202 is, though not the most elite of Yuanjing´s armed professionals, a highly elite formation. Drawing from veteran troops in the Yuan Red Guard, prospective operatives must pass through a difficult trial, undergoing intense training in spycraft, fieldcraft, meteoric assault, and special weapons, and subjected to rigorous testing to prove themselves as they complete the process. The final trial involves candidates programming a 'jiàn qún' maneuver, and executing it against several other candidates, and a few veteran Yāoguài instructors. Graduation rates are relatively low, usually 4%, though any Red Guard operative under the age of 40 may attempt the trials as many times as they wish. This ensures a steady supply of veteran troops into the organization, and rewards those who are persistent and disciplined, with most being entered into the unit on their third attempt.