Maxwell's Militia, and ignoring 4th edition...

[Slar]

So, Maxwell's... Why are they so widespread, and how did they come about?

As always, -in my game-...

Maxwell Armed Response Services is owned, through a series of cutouts and shell companies, by the CoT. It's job is to recruit, vet, and train MARS teams. They seek out veterans, especially ex-Special Forces/SEAL/Marine Force Recon/Etc. They started in the late 1960s, and recruit heavily from US and Canadian soldiers who served in Vietnam.

Their advertised job is corporate security, VIP protection, rescue in countries where the US can't officially intervene, and even a little mercenary work, usually training local security forces. They also train armed guards for high value targets such as airports, oil refineries, nuclear generating stations, and defense contractor warehouses and factories.

Not all their recruits are former military. Many started as police officers, or had no previous training. No matter, Maxwell's training officers are hired from among the best of Uncle Sam's drill instructors/drill sergeants. Weeks of physical training, months of schooling, driver training, weapons training, observation training, deescalation training, pilot training, rescue training, first aid, airborne operations, waterborne operations, hand-to hand...

But then there are the weird assignments. For a security company, Maxwell's does an awful lot of humanitarian work. Building schools, vaccinating locals, rebuilding after natural disasters. Yeah, those efforts often need security, but the recruits are expected to learn how to do it themselves, too.

The program takes a year, and then, you're ready to be a probationary employee, working a low-risk site somewhere in the US, with plenty of experienced back up. After working your way up through the ranks, you might get a plum assignment like acting as a bodyguard for some Hollywood type, or doing counter-terrorism operations in hostile territory, or "recovering" felons from non-extradition countries.

Of course, you are constantly being vetted for the "special assignments" that everyone has heard rumors about, but no one knows anything about. Questionnaires, post-operation debriefings,, psychological testing, and lots of group exercises. Oh, and Maxwell's will put you through school, too. You know you're on the fast track when you get the scholarship. Maxwell's will pay for you to go to college and earn a degree. Rumor is, you just have to sign a minimum 6-year contract.

Now, we all know where those six-year men end up. Frozen in cryo, waiting for the end of the world. Which makes MARS, not some joke that would fold up against a group of determined Girl Scouts, but some of the hardest, leanest, meanest SoBs in the Private Military Company world. Former Green Berets, Marine Force Recon, SEALS, Air Force Special Operations guys, and former SWAT officers, all trained together for years, and honed to a razor's edge.

And then the War came. Major Elliot Maxwell, US Army Retired, knew it was coming. He'd been preparing personnel for the end of the world for over 20 years. The Project had been his life for more than 2 decades, and he was ready. The training cadre, and all the current recruits on site, bunkered down and waited for the all clear. Things got pretty lean in the months that followed. When the fallout stopped, and the rains came clear, Maxwell and his forces came out of the hole, and found Hell.

Communication with Prime was spotty at best. Maxwell found out that few, if any, regional assets were being awakened. Teams to secure nuclear fuel sites, some initial undercover recon. All that was how it was supposed to happen. He and his forces did what they could in their local area to support the authorities, feed and clothe survivors, and fend off those who wanted something for nothing. This went on for the first two years. Attrition, desertion, and yes, a few suicides, and Maxwell's unit was whittled down to only the hardest bastards he had. And then, disaster.

Prime Base went off line. Maxwell had no communication. The nuke teams had, by this time, gone back in the hole. The Project, as far s he could tell, was dead. Now what? The civilian government in Kalkaska had fallen. Some new guy, a former Marine, and once, sheriff, had staged a coup when he found that the County Board of Supervisors had been secretly hoarding supplies while those around them starved. They were hung, as were looters, rapists, thieves, and anyone else the new "Overlord of Kalkaska" decided needed to die. But the coup had been costly, and his forces were stretched thin. Forces were moving in to take what he had.

Seeing Kalkaska as an island of stability in a whirlpool of shit, Maxwell made the Overlord an offer. Feed his troops, and he would serve. He retained command, and his troops would not be part of the Overlord's army, but they would protect Kalkaska with their lives. And so, Maxwell's Militia was born.

It didn't escape the notice of the survivors at Grayling that their neighbors were suddenly very-well armed. Facing the same hordes of vicious raiders, the MPs cut a deal. They would trade tanks, and crews to train Maxwell's people in their use, for food, intel, and backup. They were never part of the Overlord's "kingdom," but, at least for those first years, they were strong allies. We all know how things went later.

In an attempt to break the alliance, a group purporting to be part of the Overlord's forces assassinated Maxwell on the roads of Kalkaska. While they succeeded in killing the leader of the Militia, they failed in their attempt to blame the Overlord. Instead of breaking the alliance, they cemented it. Maxwel'ls, still independent, under new leadership, swore fealty to the Overlord. As he expanded his territory, they came in behind his forces, and arranged security operations, collected taxes, organized fire brigades, set up schools, and became known throughout their area as harsh, but fair, representatives of the new order.

And then the Overlord himself was killed. And a new Overlord took over. Things continued, much as before. Laws became a little harsher, to avoid another assassination. People who spoke out too much were rounded up. Things were looking grim. And then that Overlord was killed. His replacement declared the previous Overlord a despot. Had his followers rounded up and killed. Punished his supporters. Demanded more tanks from Grayling, souring that relationship forever.

Eventually, the Militia had enough. Their fealty was to the Overlord, but as an office, not as a man. They deposed the current Overlord, and selected a new one from among the surviving followers of his predecessor. And made it known: The Overlord serves the people, and the Militia serves the Overlord. When the Overlord ceases serving the people, he ceases being Overlord.

That was nearly a hundred years ago. The Militia has evolved since then. None of them remember their origins. None of them would recognize the symbols of the Project, or the name "Morrow." But they know they are Maxwell's Militia, with a century of proud service to the Overlord of Kalkaska. And you'd better keep that in mind before you insult either.