Musketeers are infantry soldiers armed with steam-powered muskets.
Overview[]
By the Guild regulations of naval warfare, all Claimh Solais class battleships and Reparation class battleships are required to carry squads of musketeers. At the opening of each battle, the two fleets fly slowly past each other while the musketeers fire at each other across open bays. Only after the musketeer squads are withdrawn back to the ships does cannon fire between the ships commence.
Anatoray musketeers wear uniforms modeled on colonial British army uniforms, while Disith musketeers wear uniforms modeled on the Soviet Red Army. All Anatoray musketeers seen are male, while the Disith musketeer squads are shown to contain both men and women. The British Empire, “the empire on which the sun never sets”, is the hot section of Prestor. There is a rigid social class including aristocratic titles and female soldiers are not seen. The Anatoray musketeers are shown as indiviudals and their faces are shown. The Soviet Union, famous for the winters that slowed invasions, is the cold section of Prestor. Gender and social equality was used as a political rallying cry and women were allowed into combat. The Soviet Union emphasized the philosophy “the individual is nothing, the party is everything.”
In Anatoray, a musketeer recieves a Survival Medal for each battle he survives. When he recieves enough medals, he is able to request posting to the ship of his choice. However, few musketeers actually survive long enough to claim this prize, as in any battle the musketeer survival rate is only 30%.
Aside from the ritual opening to naval battles, musketeers serve no practical purpose. However, the Alliance makes use of them by having them assault their ships' Claudia Units, seizing control from the Guild.
There were musketeers on the ground during the siege of Anatoray's capital, the Disith also obviously had a way to drop their musketeers onto the ground; Therefore, musketeers must see some sort of use aside from musket lines on ships seeing as they were posted to the imperial city. Considering Anatoray musketeers were posted to the ground, and the Disith musketeers moved with small unit tactics, it is more than likely they are used in capturing ground objectives.
Notable Musketeers[]
- Mullin Shetland of Anatoray
- Dunya Scheer of Disith