Here is a set of sketches of the decorations awarded by the Imperial Service for bravery and for distinguished service. Note long-service&good-conduct awards are not depicted, and neither are the service medals for serving in the different sectors. Nor, for that matter, are the insignia of the Order of Old Earth or the Order of the Blue Flag, though those are awarded to Imperial armed and civil servants respectively for long distinguished service.
The four decorations in the top left are awarded by the Imperial Council on recommendation through the chain-of-command, for bravery. They rank highest: indeed the Spartan Cross, if awarded to a living person, is worn ahead of the insignia of any knighthood. They are all rare: any of them might be considered equivalent to the Victoria Cross or George Cross.
- The Spartan Cross “For Valour” is basically awarded for laying down your life in spectacularly valiant fashion or to significantly advance the Imperial Mission. You don't get it for heroic prowess when attacked or trapped, or in other situations in which you had no safe choice: you have to accept the danger, not merely stand up well under it. You don't get for doing things that are just very dangerous, the danger has to amount to near-certain death. A citation that includes the words "with no regard for his own survival" is the starting point. Living recipients of the Spartan Cross are extremely rare and are treated with respect bordering on veneration.
- The Imperial Cross of Gallantry is awarded for conspicuous gallantry under fire in the service of the Imperial Mission, deserving of the attention of the Imperial Council. It's roughly equivalent to non-postumous awards of the VC for a single act. The Marines joke that it is a Spartan Cross for people who were too tought to die, the Navy that it is an SC for someone smart enough to make a plan he could survive; both jokes fade to silence in the presence of a living SC recipient.
- The Jamieson Medal “For Courage” is awarded for conspicuous bravery in the service of the Imperial Mission other than under fire. It's roughly equivalent to the George Cross for a single act.
- The Iron Star “For Fortitude” is awarded for conspicuous and heroic persistence in the face of danger and adversity, in the service of the Imperial Mission and deserving the attention of the Imperial Council. It isn't awarded for a single act of supreme courage and prowess, but for sustained or repeated acts of valour or bravery. Technically a lower award than other three, it is nevertheless equivalent to some VCs and to very near misses at the DSO/DCM/CGM level.
The three decorations in the lower left are awards for distinguished or meritorious service, not awards for gallantry. They aren't strictly military awards either. When they are awarded in the military it is often for minimising violence, for enabling an action of campaign to be concluded successfully without danger.
- The Distinguished Service Cross is awarded for distinguished service to the Empire in a commanding capacity, which is to say that it goes to the senior officer who commanded an entire campaign, or commanded a major formation (regiment, squadron) through a campaign, or to a flag or general officer on the staff through a campaign. It's not confined to naval and military campaigns either: a public health official who builds up a system of hospital and medical schools on some colony might get a DSC, or a diplomat who executes a successful peace process. The DSC is usual awarded at ranks O-5 to O-7. It is awarded for particular campaigns of circumscribed scope and duration: the award for distinguished career service at an unending task or sequence of tasks is usually a knighthood.
- The Distinguished Service Medal is awarded for distinguished service to the Empire in a leading role. It's not a strictly military award, but in military terms it goes to the commanders of subordinate units and to senior NCOs. It may be awarded for conspicuous personal contributions to a particular campaign, or for sustained contribution to leadership in a sustained task or sequence of tasks.
- The Imperial Service Medal is awarded either for outstanding contributions to the Imperial mission other than in a leading or commanding role. It may be awarded for any contribution other than leadership: a single conspicuous contribution or a sustained effort over perhaps decades. It is awarded to privates and to colonels on the staff, for brilliant solutions to technical and logistic problems and for decades in the lab or classroom.
The Naval and Civil cross, star, and medal were instituted on a parallel basis in 499. The Military equivalents were added to the system in 507 when the Imperial Marines were instituted: some proto-marines who serve with antecedent units before 507 may sport Naval or Civil decorations. The Commission for Justice decorations were added in 575, after it emerged that Imperial marshals and bailiffs were not technically eligible for the Civil awards. Awards at this level are made by commanders-in-chief (usually at the Sector HQ) without requiring the attention of the Imperial Council.
Within each set, there are three awards:
- The Naval, Civil, Military, or Justice Cross is for valour under fire exceeding the call of duty.
- The Naval, Civil, Military, or Justice Star is for bravery other than under fire exceeding the call of duty.
- The Naval, Civil, Military, or Justice Medal is for exemplary courage in the discharge of ones duty.
And then there are long-service-and-good-conduct medals for 15, 30, 45, 60, 75, and 90 years' service, which are not depicted.
Until the system of sectors was set up in 547 campaign medals were instituted on an ad hoc basis after major interventions. Since then there has been a distinctive service star for each sector, to which clasps are added for particular significant operations.