The symbols of the Order are a crossed sword and ruler
... and every Joanite carries the latter.
Don't bother looking for them: they don't have a
chapter on the corporeal plane. They are usually too
incredibly busy in Heaven to even be Saints. The
Joanites are a pretty eclectic Order: despite the
name, they are not exclusively Catholic (or even
Christian - there is a large Buddhist contingent).
However, they do have one thing in common (well, two):
they are all female, and they were all nuns on
Earth.
Raise as many eyebrows as you like about the concept
of being a "Bride of Christ", but it's a fact that
there are a lot of nuns in Heaven. The reasons for
this are obscure: Servitors of Destiny smilingly
decline to discuss the matter, and there's a faint
crackle of ineffability surrounding the situation.
Many of them ascend the Ladder, of course, but many do
not - and those that choose to stay inevitably get
drawn to the Halls of Worship. In fact, 'get drawn'
may not be the best phrase: 'swarm' is possibly
unkind, but arguably more accurate.
As a result, nuns have dominated Laurence's
organization from the very beginning. There are nuns everywhere, ranging from secretaries to
administrators to combat instructors (the last may
seem incongruous, but only to those that have never
attended an American Catholic school). Indeed, the
blessed souls that are not nuns are easy to pick
out, as they tend to stand out in the crowd.
It should be remembered, by the way, that apparent age
is pretty much a personal statement in Heaven: while
many Joanites find that an older appearance is useful
for their tasks, quite a few see no reason why they
should not appear to be, oh, seventeen. This can lead
to amusing tableaus when the Joanite is, say, an
armored cavalry instructor. It should also be
remembered that the formal debate over whether
religious vows made on Earth have any validity in
Heaven raged for five straight decades. The Archangel
of Judgement was finally forced to officially rule
that the decision be left to personal choice - until
the Almighty saw fit to make a decree on the matter,
of course.
The Order has a very loose structure: aside from
formal ceremonies, there isn't much of a need for an
organization. Joanites do have a Mother Superior:
Elena, a sixteenth-century Spanish nun who found
herself more or less eased into the position as a
result of being Laurence's personal secretary.
Luckily, the extra duties are not particularly
onerous: whole years can pass without requiring
Elena's serious attention to Joanite affairs.
Frankly, this suits her fine: she has over six
thousand administrators to oversee, and that's just in
Laurence's inner sanctum. She barely has time to work
on her sociological studies and paratroop training as
it is.
In general, the Joanites are well thought of by the
Archangel of the Sword: Laurence has always been
respectful of the clergy, and he deeply appreciates
the work that the Order does. Their devotion to the
cause of Heaven is clear, and Laurence formally honors
it whenever he can get away with it. Whether or not
he notices that in some cases the devotion is more -
shall we say, focussed? - towards him is dependent on
the campaign. The sillier the campaign, the younger
the Joanite (keep them nubile, though) - and the more
clueless the Archangel.
Joanites have no formal uniforms - most wear whatever
they wore on Earth, suitably modified for active work.
Of course, 'active work' can require drastic changes
to costume: a variation of a wimple is universal,
however. Sixteen-year old battle nuns in
skin-tight laminar armor with plasma rifles really
should be saved for the silliest campaigns, however
... or, hey, In Anime! They'll fit in just fine
there.
Keep the rulers, though.
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