Insignia of Deep Operations by @fragmented_imagination (B Sanders)

Vīda kxai fia firiasūbh ā tevubāzdhūn ken tax 'am tagāsūn. Kxai tū avsh baisūn 'enz kui dhuven síJunkū a'īdh.
"I once confronted a woman who was staring at my boyfriend in a bar. I learned the hard way that she was a Deep Ops soldier." ~Madam Raite Jeeha, The Book of Roads

Unless they're wearing a uniform, there really is no telling who may be a Deep Ops soldier. As I said before, the knife and elements play a large part in Deep Ops' insignia. The bronze and black insignia are chest pins identifying a soldier as assigned to Deep Ops while the unit badges are worn on the outside of the sleeves. The four units depicted here are the first four Deep Ops units assembled. Teams One and Two were enemy infiltration and sabotage units while Teams Three and Four were shore recon that would be landed in enemy territory in order to aid in securing a route for the main forces. These units have since become distant from these original purposes, but their badges still reflect it.

Every branch division of the Ekimian military has a coin. Five are given to each soldier (although Deep Ops soldiers and other special operations groups are only supposed to carry three) to be used in an emergency, particularly in enemy territory. The coins are solid gold, and a soldier, if they have to survive on their own for a bit, is expected to use their equipment to melt down the coin so that its weight in gold can be exchanged for local currency. In recent years, Deep Ops soldiers have actually used these coins in their intact form to psychologically play with their targets, giving them away or exchanging them while claiming they simply found the coin. They have discovered that these coins will eventually end up in the hands of the enemy military, causing them to panic and go on full alert which would expose them to nearby ground troops or armor. Seeing a coin from any Ekimian military branch is generally cause to worry; seeing a Deeps Ops coin is a good reason to panic.

Enemies dread dealing with Deep Ops because of their efficiency and stealth; some units have even stumbled over themselves surrendering to the nearest Ekimian troop (combat-capable or not) out of fear that the Deep Ops soldier will dispatch them before they can even see them. Of course, Deep Ops works to disrupt military installations and avoids direct combat unless aiding another Ekimian unit. They only target high-priority individuals; the average soldier will only be targeted if they threaten to expose a Deep Ops soldier.

© 2023 B Sanders