UPDF (United Planets Defense Force)

The only multi-planetary government is in fact a a military body. It is split up into two main groups, its ground forces refered to as Marines, and its space-forces being refered to as its Fleet. The UPDF is feared by most, respected by some who see its usefulness in keeping humanity relatively controlled, and hated by more who can't see it as anything but another obstacle that keeps them from reaching their goals. Established on Earth within just months of FTL travel being discovered and becoming fiercly independant from all other government sources of the time, the UPDF has always managed to get things done its own way from the very beginning. Current reports put the number of ships and personnel under UPDF control at being a solid twenty percent of 'military forces' for humanity. And while this might not sound like much, it makes up almost ninety-seven percent of 'technologically advanced military forces' that humanity has. This means that the UPDF military is much more able to carry out objectives quickly and efficiently than any other military force that humanity could muster.

At the same time, their comparative lack of numbers and expense of their equipment mean that any loss can be extraordinarily expensive. The average cost of outfitting a soldier on the ground is approximately ten to forty-thousand credits. Average costs for a ship (the 'average' ship would be considered a heavy frigate) fall in the range of two million credits.