“better dead than slaves”. motto of the irmandinho boarding and rapid disembarkation group.
the members of the brotherhood of volunteers of waterborne surveillance, or irmandinhos, work as shock troops capable of dispersing small units of heavy or advanced light infantry.
over the years they have evolved into the permanent naval exploration corps, comprising the boarding and rapid disembarkation group. the irmandinhos do not receive regular military training, but train together with the veterans of the irmandade (brotherhood) so they are considered to be irregulars. the irmandade are suspected of being involved in the smuggling and black-marketeering of all kinds of products throughout the different ariadna communities and the new colonial settlements, moving the goods thanks to their fast aquatic vehicles. they are also believed to be in contact with the intelligence services of all the powers of the sphere present on the planet dawn, and possibly to be part of some secret strategy of the cossack high command. the irmandinhos are in any case smugglers who deal in anything and everything. if it is broken, they’ll mend it; if they can’t mend it they’ll use it to hit you. harsh and noisy, the irmandinhos remain locked in the bilges of the ariadna vessels to keep them out of the way until things get complicated… and it’s then that they are allowed out to harass the enemy.