Marines

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The Frontiersmen, otherwise referred to as Marines, are rigorously trained and highly disciplined soldiers established for and tasked with the crucial challenge of confronting and engaging the hostile Alien species known as the Kharaa. Equipped with the most state of the art technology and weaponry, frontiersmen operate largely in small squads ranging from 5 to 16 to maximize efficiency and to dispatch both the most highly trained and rapid response squads to combat the Kharaa.

Marines

The Marines are versatile soldiers that serve many functions, such as aid in building construction with the Use key, become commander at an unoccupied Command Station; purchase weapons from any Armory or Advanced Armory via the buy menu, repair damaged or destroyed Power Nodes and open locked doors temporarily. They can be given waypoints by the Commander to coordinate squad movement and actions.

The Marines are armed with the standard Assault Rifle, Pistol and Switch-Ax. When killed in action, Marines respawn at an Infantry Portal after 10 seconds.

Resources

The Extractor will frequently produce Team Resources and Personal Resources.

Team Resource is used by the Marine Commander for building structures, producing mechanical units, and researching upgrades.

Personal Resource is used by both Marines and the Commander to purchase weapons from a standard or Advanced Armory or provide support Medpacks and Ammopacks.

Commander

The Command Station can be entered by a marine who takes the role of a Commander to gain a Real Time Strategy birds eye view of the action and to direct the marines in the bigger picture side of the game. The commander is able to place structures and order either autonomous robots or Marines to build the structures which aid the Marine team in their quest.

Power Grid

Most Marine structures require power to operate, therefore the Marine Commander must reroute power from a Power Socket by installing a Power Node. Power Sockets are located in most rooms and corridors on a map, and either Marine or Mobile Automated Constructor must manually assemble the unbuilt Power Node to activate the Power Grid.

The Power Node cannot be removed once installed; however, take caution as the Kharaa can severely damage a Power Node, which causes power outage and unpowering most Marine structures within the area. An inactive Power Node can be fully repaired by Marine or MAC to reboot the Power Grid.

Background

The Marines as depicted in the game are the force mounted by the TSA agency. The Trans-System Authority (TSA) is an independent body funded by 37 trans-gov powers (governments or super-corporations that own and operate phase gates between solar systems), and given jurisdiction over trans-system affairs: as defined by a document called The Charter. The Charter is a comprehensive document, covering disarmament, fair trade agreements (most importantly, sharing phase gates), and certain basic civil rights that had become blurred (or tossed aside) during the dark times of the Expansion.

To enforce The Charter, the Trans-Govs chose Admiral Rathine Studaber, former head of the revived British Secret Service, and gave her a budget for a small military force – which proved hard pressed to stop those same greedy and quarrelsome powers from violating almost every agreement they had made: often concerning their own citizens (termed "population abuse"). It was not very long before the TSA had to resort to military police actions. Its surprising success against the vastly more powerful and far better equipped Trans-Govs earned it the secret hatred of the same powers that created it. They have long been angling to curtail the TSA's powers, slash its funding, or even dissolve it entirely and replace it with something they can control. So far, their distrust of each other, and intense media scrutiny, has kept the TSA alive. The TSA sees itself as the only sane player in trans-system politics, and has become an unappreciated (and often vilified) champion of human rights. [1]

With the failure of corporate and government forces to contain the spread of the Kharaa, the opinion (among those in power) was humanity should just quarantine the entire Ariadne Arm (the string of solar systems where the Kharaa were encountered). The TSA found this intolerable, both for the people trapped in the Arm, and for the future of human expansion (the economic blow of losing all those ships and bases could threaten the tenuous peace of the Charter). The TSA volunteered to mount a response to the Kharaa – effectively creating a new army, with a new mandate. The resolution passed, and the new force was called the Frontiersmen: "standing on the edge of the unknown, between all of humanity and whatever would threaten it." The Frontiersmen have clearance to travel anywhere, and board any craft. They have rapid-response outposts scattered throughout the Ariadne Arm, with teams of marines ready to deploy. The Frontiersmen initiative is a huge opportunity for the TSA. It's also a risk: if the Frontiersmen fail, on such a public and historic stage, the Ariadne Arm will be signed off as a loss and the trans-govs may have the excuse they've been looking for to "re-organize" TSA leadership – replacing the Admiral and her staff with corporate lackeys. If that happens, dark days are sure to follow. [2]

Frontiersmen must pass rigorous physical and psychological exams before they can even enter training. The training process, though in many respects similar to militaries all over the galaxies and all throughout history, is unique in its emphasis on small squads, tactical flexibility, and the unprecedented nature of the enemy Frontiersmen train to confront. Frontiersmen are trained to enter a new environment in squads of 5 to 15 individuals, with very little equipment or support, and achieve definitive victory against a virulent and hostile xenoform foe. [3]

Weapons

	Assault Rifle
	Grenade Launcher Attachment
	Pistol
	2.Sec Switch-Ax
	Mine
	Shotgun
	Flamethrower
	Minigun

(Forum Post)

Wearable Equipment

	Jetpack
	Heavy Armor / Exoskeleton

Support

	Ammo Pack
	Med Pack

Robots

	ARC (Siege Cannon)
	Mobile Automated Constructor

Structures

	Command Station
	Extractor
	Infantry Portal
	Armory
	Robotics Factory
	Arms Lab
	Sentry Turret
	Observatory
	Phase Gate
	Prototype Laboratory

Removed Content

Power Pack

Changes

In NS1 but without information on inclusion/exclusion in NS2:
- Light Armor
- Turret Factory
Dropped:
- Taser
Not brought over from NS1:
- Light Machine Gun - Replaced in role of default primary weapon by Assault Rifle
- Heavy Machine Gun
- Grenade Launcher - Although similar functionality with Grenade Launcher Attachment
- Grenade - Although similar functionality with Grenade Launcher Attachment
- Phase Gate - Not initially planned for NS2, but was implemented in patch 178
- Knife - Replaced in role of melee weapon by Switch-Ax