[center][b]THE MICTLAN UNIT[/b]
Heavy Response Special Operations Unit
[i]Welcome to my dark kingdom, behind the Sun.[/i][/center]

[img]http://fc07.deviantart.net/fs23/i/2008/009/3/d/Mictlantecuhtli_by_mawrykal.jpg[/img]
[sub]Seal of the Mictlan Unit[/sub][/center]

The Mictlan is a special infantry unit of the Hegemony armed forces: like other units of its kind, it was created to act as a boarding and landing force to deliver quick and devastating assaults on enemy positions and ships. It is further divided into two one-hundred men platoons, acting jointly on the field of battle: the Cuauhmeh (Eagle Warriors) and the Ocelomeh (Jaguar Warriors). The Tlacochcalcatl (High Commander) of the Mictlan, Achcautli, commands the unit with the help of the two Tlacateccah (Field Commanders), each commanding one of the two platoons; the Tlacochalcatl is also the captain of the Mictlantecuhtli. Classical Nahuatl is used as the language for all the internal communications among Mictlan officiers (referred to as Cuacicqueh) and soldiers.

[center][img]http://i.imgur.com/y53br8f.jpg[/img]
[sub]The Cuauhmeh after killing a Ladon space worm, Claea asteroid, Oreades belt[/sub][/center]

The two platoons have different mansions during battle, and are organized to complement each other: the Cuauhmeh are a swift moving recon force, trained in bite-and-run, guerrilla, and infiltration tactics, while the Ocelomeh are much more heavily armed and armored, relying on brute-force and employing fast boarding actions and all out assaults to take and fortify enemy-held positions. The equipment also differs between the two platoons, with combat knives and short-range laser weaponry used by the Cuauhmeh, and assault guns and power armors by the Ocelomeh. Apart from the platoon-specific insigna, skull motifs are used by the whole unit.

[center][img]http://i.imgur.com/fH43BRc.jpg[/img]
[sub]The Ocelomeh before a boarding action, orbit of Ashtart, Elohim system[/sub][/center]

The unit has gained a reputation for its brutal and unforgiving ways, and facts are often mixed with rumors. It is certain that the Mictlan soldiers often adorn their armors and weapons with items such as feathers and teeth, and often paint their armors with bright colors, giving them a strange and frigthening appearance on the battlefield. Also, initiation rites of sorts are also common in the Mictlan unit, involving often acts such as ritual self mutilation, usually of fingers. As said before, there are also unconfirmed stories and tales about the Mictlan: one says that the bones and teeth decorating their armors and guns are in fact human, taken from fallen foes, and that no prisoner of war appears in the unit's records because all hostages were "ritually sacrificed". Mere idiocies, of course.