Special Forces

"We Can"

The elite ops arm of Fleet, very small and very precisely used. (Or so they'll tell you; humans will tell you they're mostly not used at all). But certainly the most highly trained members of Fleet, even before humanity got involved.

History

Original motto, when the Alliance developed them (later than other agencies in Fleet), was "To Act and Protect," but once humans came along one of them, tasked with training, said in response to 'we can't do that, sir' by saying 'the correct answer to that, mister, is 'we can, and we will.'" 'We Can' became the unofficial motto, until it became the official one. (When asked, any member of SF will tell you the 'we will' is implied, and a threat.)

Activities

Unlike FIA holds, SF teams are never assigned ships; they're ferried, using the closest Fleet asset. For several reasons:

• SF teams aren't diversified in training. There's no engineer or mechanic, no navigator, none of the roles that running a ship requires. They're cross-trained for field conditions.
• It's felt--by SF, not external actors--that having a 'home' ship would create complacency in the team. Also, hitching rides solidifies intra-team bonds, since it gives them frequent contexts where they are among outsiders.
• SF doesn't want to use any of its budget on ships. "Fleet has enough ships. What are we using them for already?"