The Republic of Texas Marine Corps Fighter Attack Squadron 112, the Cowboys, expanded up to twenty, then fifty, and finally hundreds of pilots by War’s End. Many of these were completely new recruits, or transfers from other units or services, but many others belonged to the less-visible units in the Cowboy’s esoteric organizational structure. They flew off starships built by the Cybernetic Families specifically for their use. The Peloran Confederation built their starfighters. And the Tarrant County Sheriff deputized them into his posse, giving them authority to protect the common peace throughout the Western Alliance. They were far outside the norm of American fighter units, and this frightened some people. They sought to regularize the Cowboys. To bring them under more formal control. Neither the Cowboys nor the Tarrant County Sheriff cooperated.