The Senatorial Navy

The Qloathians are a race of eager explorers, with long and proud traditions of theatre and song. The Qloathi "Leb", or "Ride" is a particular form of theatre, somewhere between a safari and a play, performed live and on the move. It is a treasured format, if a little harder than usual to perform among the metropolises of Arqueniou. From the moment that they first managed flight, the Qloathi had a date with the stars, making the transition from first powered flight to first manned spaceflight in a timeframe that staggers the scientists of other worlds. The Qalla Leb Tigran is named for the prodigy scientist who spearheaded much of this transition through her life; Jertia Tigran.

The Senatorial Fleet owes its allegiance to the Senate and People of the Qloathi Republic, a formulation that has sparked alarm in historians of Sol III, but has not seemed to cause much harm to the Qloathi. Although not pacifists, and having their own rich martial history to draw upon should they feel so inclined (they usually don't), the Qloathi have the fortune of being among that population of spacefaring races, who reached global unity without a nigh-apocalyptic war reducing everything to ashes first. This was thanks to the work of a great statesman, Haquita Nin, or as he was later referred to, "Arqueniou" Nin. This happened as the Qloathi were stretching out into space, and as a result, the great Senate that was formed was also the one that developed the first starships.

Controlling the fleet is the Senate Office of Exploration, headed up by the Secretary of Exploration. This is one of the most powerful positions within the government, though still answerable to the Senate Ombudsman, the Speaker of the Senate, the Senatorial Vice-Consuls, and the Senatorial Consul. In terms of prestige, it sat behind only that of the Senatorial Consul, the effective Head of State. The Office contains an Operations branch, which oversaw the actions of the fleet itself, an Arsenal branch, which oversaw shipbuilding in conjunction with other Senatorial offices, and a War branch, which was responsible for ensuring that the Office of Exploration would be prepared for battle should the need arise. This last was a relatively anaemic branch, but it was quite motivated and talented, and conducted solid research.

Active Ship Classes

 * Arqueniou Leb Nin
 * Torqui Leb Lagan
 * Arquila Leb Hoiathi
 * Quital Leb Quitan

Obsolete Classes

 * Qalla Leb Tigran
 * Harqui Leb Adiquan

Personnel
The Senatorial Fleet adopted the system that, it turned out, would be adopted by almost all other fleets: enlisted, non-commissioned, and commissioned officers. They also have a separate category, however, for personnel attached directly by the Senate, known as Qeamtes, usually translated as Tribunes. These would serve the Senate in various functions, such as administration, exploration subject experts, monitors.

Ratings
Those who join the Office of Exploration as enlistees are sent through a one-year training programme and then sent into the fleet as ratings. Like with most starfaring forces, the availability of billets was very small, and the work extraordinarily demanding, so only a small fraction of enlistees ever serve on ships, with many more serving on the starbases or forward colony bases. These ratings move through ranks such as Apprentice Rating to Qualified and then First Rating. However, unlike with others, the move into Petty Officer status does not occur as a natural progression, and there is in fact a series of Master Ratings for long-service ratings, particularly those performing very technical services. These ranks are nominally inferior to all Petty Officers and Commissioned Officers, however, it is a very foolish officer who ignores a First Master Rating who says that following their order would be bad for the ship.

Petty Officers
Petty Officers are enlistees with a valuable mix of subject matter expertise and management affinity. They are a fairly small element of the total population of the Office of Exploration, as many of them are selected for Qloathi Exploration Officer's Academy. To reach these ranks, enlistees go to Talquenin Outpost to attend a service academy there. It is by all accounts an exhausting and harsh affair, but those that return are well on their way to further advancement.

Officers
There are two real paths to commissioning as an officer. You can either be selected from among the more promising Petty Officers, or if you have an existing tertiary degree, you can apply for the Qloathi Exploration Officer's Academy, a four-year course. The officers swear an oath directly to the Senate, and are the subject of careful monitoring. This monitoring is not, per se, regarding loyalty, but for upholding the values of exploration that the Qloathi people expect. To develop, not exploit. To befriend, not intimidate. To learn, not destroy.

Senatorial Qeamte/Tribunes
Many of the key scientists and researchers are attached on an as-needed basis by the Office, and are not in fact members of the Senatorial Fleet. These Qeamte are treated deferentially outside of emergency situations. Other Qeamte are also attached as monitors, to handle administrative tasks, and similar roles. The populations of Outposts and Starbases include a great many Qeamte.

Sarqel Treaty Organization
In 2320, the Senatorial Navy began the process of integrating itself with the fleets of the Seyek and Fiiral, forming a collective defense organization known as the Sarqel Treaty Organization.