- Edited
The Varangian Guard's attacks have now doubled and we can only assume they aim to control of the galaxy. In their blitz campaign they shown more of their hand to us and we have gleam much more knowledge about them.
The Command Structure
It appears the Varangian flag ships serve an even higher purpose that just command and control. A flag ship contain what is known as a "Jarl" and a Jarl is much than just a military commander. A Jarl is assigned a star sector under which they rule and control everything. A Jarl's Flagship is literally their entire administration in a mobile battle ship. If a flagship is destroyed a sector could be driven into a chaotic race for power.
However Jarl's are seasoned warriors and rarely put their flag ships into a position where it could be destroyed. Should a Jarl's Flag ship be in grave danger the Jarl in danger or another Jarl can pull them out with a forced FTL jump or "tether" jump. With a tether jump it's final destination cannot be determined so following the attackers after a tether jump is impossible.
There are currently 9 Jarls and a High KIng who rules over all the Jarls. We know the names of the Jarl's and their flag ships as well as the High King's ship. they are as follows:
Jarl Belfjord of the Ratatoskr
Jarl Rorik of the Deathbolt
Jarl Beowulf of the Firereign
Jarl Singard of the Ragnarok
Jarl Ivar of the Maelstrom
Jarl Rolo of the Hafgufa
Jarl Bjorn of the Kraken
Jarl Hadvar of the Jormungandr
Jarl Ulfrik of the Lyngbakr
and
High King Lothbrook of the Hlidskjalf
There was a 10th Jarl, Jarl Whitefang of the Frozenhart, however his flag ship was caught out of position in the siege of Ivistann III and was unable to tether back. After his flag ship was destroyed all of the remaining attackers were forced to tether back.
The Military
The Varangian Guard military tactics are unusual as every Jarl uses different tactics and strategies. The most dangerous of the Jarl's is Jarl Beowulf of the Firereign who uses railgun weaponry and blitz style tactics.
The Guard has a uniformed military arsenal, however, every Jarl has a few ships (and sometimes weapons) that are exclusive to them. The most powerful ship in the Varangian's arsenal is controlled by their High KIng, which contains a massive railgun the scope and scale not seen before. This railgun is used to destroy a world through kinetic energy with a force greater than 100 of the old worlds Tsar Bombs.
This weapon seems exclusive the the High King's ship however and only used when a captured world refuses to swear fealty to the High King or the attacking Jarl. While the world will not be "Blown to pieces" the resulting impact and wave of fire will end all life on the planet rendering it a volcanic wasteland. It is unlikely that any ship has even a remote chance of surviving an impact from this weapon.
The Weaponry
As stated in our initial briefing the Guard in general LOVE big guns. However some Jarls prefer to stay at longer ranges to consolidate their ships. One example of this would be Jarl Bjorn of the Kraken. Who uses extremely long range Missiles, Lasers, and Railguns to destroy enemy ships long before they get into range.
The Varangians seem to posses the ability to have much better tech than they already do, with an example being, devices that jam FTL travel to sectors they are currently in. Even with the ability to have more advanced tech they stick to low tech cannons in most of their designs. The reason for this is unclear.
Closing Statements
While the Varangian Guard assault our worlds and burn the ones that don't comply. We still simply don't know where they came from. They are more of a threat now than they ever were. If we are to be victorious in the war with the Guard we must know where they originate and hit them where it hurts! By killing their High King and burning their worlds.
Side Notes,
Allies of the Guard :
The Grand Imperium of the Suns
GoCo (Possibly)
Voidborn
Technocratic Terran Empire (NAT)
Enemies of the Guard :
The Dementional Collective
Commander Peirce,
151st Assault Brigade
United Cyrulian Federation
(You can read the original post about the Varangian Guard here)
(You can read about the return of Jarl Whitefang here)