TOG Legionnaires (photo from a Renegade Legion LARP event).
TOG line infantry Legionnaire.
Renegade Legionnaire.
Renegade insurgent in light armour.
TOG Praetorian Legionnaire in full ceremonial dress armour on guard at the Capitol. Note the Roman-style gladius (short sword).
Etymology[]
"Legionnaire" was the Terran Republic's term for the soldiers of its ground and marine forces. It originated with Alexander Trajan's "legions" of gladiators who enacted historical wargames during the alien occupation of Terran space, and were later instrumental in the uprising against the aliens. As such, the term carries great honour and pride and still evokes the spirit of a sworn brotherhood of warriors. Both Renegade and Imperial propaganda (and recruitment) makes extensive use of this image. The TOG tends to play up the connotations of unyielding discipline and heroism, while the Renegades focus on comradeship-in-arms.
Both the Fifth Imperium (TOG) and the Renegade Legion still use this
appellation for their soldiers. Within TOG, "Legionnaire" is used to differentiate the soldiers of the Imperial Legions from those comprising the private armies of Senators and wealthy Citizens, which are called "milites" (singular miles). The Commonwealth Legions have adopted the term inofficially, with combatants of the ground and marine forces alternately called "Legionnaires" and "soldiers". For the Renegades, everyone joining or assisting the fight against the fascist TOG is a honorary Legionnaire; this includes ad-hoc planetary militia, resistance fighters, civil rights activists and underground operatives.
Legion Honours[]
Merits, honours, heraldry and traditions are usually kept at the Legion level of organisation. As a rule, the individual Legionnaire (with the possible exception of TOG penal legions) identifies first and foremost with their own Legion. Loyalty to the Legion and its values often supersedes loyalty to the Caesar or the government. Every Legion has its own heraldic device and motto.
Equipment[]
Infantry[]
Infantry Legionnaires, including Marine forces, are uniformly equipped with a partial or full suit of body armour of varying thickness and composition, from a light jumpsuit of ballistic cloth to the heavy ceramic / plastic lorica plate of the Praetorian Legions. Special forces may wear sensor-baffling Ranger stealth suits instead. The helmet usually sports various sensor and targetting systems to assist in combat. The basic infantry weapon is usually a laser or spike rifle. Both the helmet systems and the weapons are dependent on the armour's power supply; this is why most infantry is deployed from vehicles and operates as motorised or mechanised infantry so the Legionnaires can recharge their suits' power cells from the vehicle's fusion reactor. Common MICVs include the light Nah'Tikal / Viper (Renegade Legions / Commonwealth) and Lupis (TOG), or the heavier Spartius (RL / CW) and Romulus (TOG). Infantry carriers are designed to protect dismounting infantry as much as possible; while Commonwealth MICVs provide an outer hull for the infantry to deploy under, TOG uses cell-like compartments and separate doors for each infantryman to minimise casualties. All MICVs also carry explosive digging charges to provide dismounted infantry with instant foxholes.
Most regular infantry are equipped with, and trained in the use of, bounce packs: counter-gravity devices that lower the planetary gravity around the soldier and enable them to cover dangerous ground in a series of long strides or jumps. (Bounce packs vastly increase a Legionnaire squad's mobility but shorten the interval in which the suit's power supply must be recharged.) "Leg" infantry without bounce packs is rare and restricted to planetary militia and garrison legions. Their lack of speed and inability to cross difficult terrain make them a liability in modern high-mobility warfare.
Armoured Forces[]
Tank crews carry lighter equipment, and their armour is often restricted to the upper body. A bracket in the tank's turret usually holds short spike carbines for use in self-defense if the crew needs to leave the vehicle. Tankers are rarely equipped with bulky bounce packs; if dismounted, they fight on foot as leg infantry.
Centurion Marcus Lee of the 13379th (XMMMCCCLXXIX) Praetorian Legion ("Harbingers of Death")
Gallery[]
Renegade Legionnaires.
TOG Legionnaires (left: officer)
TOG Legionnaires.
Renegade militiaman.
Renegade Legionnaires in the wreckage of their APC.