Preliator Imperial Marines

Summary
The Imperial Marines are the soldiers of the Preliator Imperial Navy, as such they are equipped for close quarters boarding actions. Regarded as brutal and vicious opponents a 20 man Marine team (the size of the Marine complement on a Patrol Ship) can easily disable an enemy ship in minutes.

Ethos & Training
Like most military units of the Empire the Marines train extensively and know the ship they are stationed on inside out. In battle the Marines job is two-fold, protecting their own ship from boarders and leading boarding actions against enemy vessels. The Marines also engage in all forms of space borne operations, such as hostage situations and hijacking. When Marines strike at an enemy vessel they usually make for the atmospheric controls and evacuate the air into space, then to the engine room and bridge to take full control of the vessel. Where capture is not the goal Marine strike teams will simply place explosive charges at key points and ignite the ships fuel tanks or overload its reactor before retreating to their own ship. In all cases Marines strikes are fast and directed.

Equipment
As the Imperial Marines usually fight in the close quarters of ship boarding actions they are equipped accordingly. With a fully pressurised IA-VI combat powered armour suit a Marine is able to operate in the vacuum of space for over a day, and be well protected against weapons fire. The Marines favour short range and bloody weapons like combat shotguns, flame-throwers, plasma beam cutters and melee weaponry. All Marines carry powerful demolition charges for sabotaging enemy ships. The Marines usually board enemy vessels using the standard IB-V which was designed with boarding in mind.