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The Shield Regiment is the special forces arm of the Albion Defence Force. Its role  combines both ground and space operations, to some extent mirroring the expertise and skills of both Infantry and Fleet. It’s headed by General Martens, a native of Dacia, who sits on the Intelligence Committee (IntCom) with Field Marshall Klára of the Infantry, and Commander Caeden, commander of Fleet’s First Flotilla.

Shield ships are scouts and spy ships. Shield ground operations are fast-in, fast out infiltration jobs, usually to destroy Maess bases behind the lines and gather intelligence. They’re too small for pitched battle against larger Maess ships, the battleships and heavy cruisers, relying instead on stealth and ‘sneaking’ to get in and out of Maess space in one piece.

Shield uses Mosquito fighters–small, fast, ultra-manoeuvrable space/atmosphere craft powered by a single 3.14-Thorn engine, with seven external wing stations, comprising two wingtip laser generating stations; two inboard wing stations and two nacelle fuselage stations for an assortment of space-to-space laser missiles, and a centre station for space-to-ground weapons. The Mozzie is capable of traditional fighter, attack, multi-sensor imagery reconnaissance and close space support roles.

On the ground, a Shield warrior has his or her Shield suit: close-fitting, black, heat reflecting material threaded through with wiring (masking circuitry) powered by a flat battery pack across the shoulders and upper back. It produces a form of interferomatic dispersion that modulates to scatter radar and infra red/ultra violet sensors – a  layer of energy distortion creating a refractive, reflective shield (in a play on the Regiment’s name).

In Taking Shield, the following ships and personnel play a part:

SHIELD SHIPS
Hyperion
Shield Scout Ship: Complement of 15 Mosquitos and 1 cutter, 36 crew
	Captain		Shield Captain Bennet (until Telnos, then Shield Captain Tarrant)
	First Officer		Lt. Rosamond.
	Ensign		Second Lt Chivers
	Sergeant		Tim
	Other crew named		Kerr, Paul, Lydia, Younis
Dhow
Shield Scout Ship : Complement of 15 Mosquitos and 1 cutter, 36 crew
	Captain		Van Trion
	First Officer		Lt Khaled
	Ensign
	Sergeant		Hadyn
	Other crew named		Corporal Danzer
Other Shield Ships mentioned
Good Hope
	Captain		Leanda
Xerxes
Scarab
Dhow, Scarab and Xerxes form a Shield battle group, commanded by a Shield Major.