Federation Marine

Federation Marines are members of the Galactic Federation Marine Corps, A.K.A The GFMC, who wear advanced suits of powered armor. These suits allow them to use potent weapons and resist heavy damage in battle, causing few who can match them in combat. One of the most common sights on Federation worlds, the marines are the rank-and-file soldiers of the Galactic Federation.

Although they are mentioned frequently throughout the series in the instruction booklets, they are first introduced in Metroid Prime 2: Echoes(though a similarly armored corpse is seen in Super Metroid), when a Space Pirate Frigate crashed on Aether and they met the Ing. Echoes tells the story of GFMC Task Force Herakles's fight against the Ing Horde, revealing much background information about the federation police. They travel around the Federation in patrol ships. These are the backbone of the Federation Armed Forces. The marines mostly fight against the pesky Space Pirates that attack planets, space stations, and other things located in the Federation.

The Metroid Fusion introduction movie contains armored characters that look very similar, but it is possible that they are merely environment suited scientists.

History
The marines were created to be the backbone of the Federation Armed Forces, their purpose was (and still is) to protect the Federation from any and all danger.

Operations
The marines have undertaken a large number of missions on a galactic scale ranging from the smallest recon missions and keeping the peace to fighting massive full scale wars. Their operations include:

The Assault on Zebes
After the Space pirates stole metroid specimens and retuned to Zebes the federation ordered an assault, the resulting battle was costly, many marines where lost in the maze like underground passageways and never found again (yet the body of one was found when Samus retuned to Zebes in super Metroid). Others where killed by native wildlife, some by the treacherous terrain, and those that remained ether where killed by the space pirates or where pulled out when the Federation decided on a different plan. The marines left and let Samus “work her magic”.

The Aether Incident
While on patrol in the Dasha Region GFMC Task Force Herakless (on board the GFS Tyr) engaged a Space Pirate frigate near Aether, when the pirates retreated to the planet the GFS Tyr followed in pursuit, but was hit by lightning during approach. They where forced to land in the Temple Grounds, and set up their base camp there. They split into 2 teams, team 1 tried to repair the Tyr, and team 2 searched for the space pirates. Both teams where doing fine until they stumbled upon the Splinters, team 2 started trying to wipe out the splinters but was slowly worn down. Eventually a large swarm of Dark Splinters wiped out all of team 1, soon the only remaning member of team 2 was killed by wildlife.

Metroid prime 2 Echoes and before
Federation marines wear protective armor suits which greatly increase the damage they can take and their durability. Their armor was a metallic gray color and had large shoulder and knee pads, this lead to greatly restricted movement. They had a very sleek, functional look. They also had orange highlights on their shoulders.

They were armed with medium rapid fire assault rifles that rely on solid ammunition, firing energized projectiles. Although their guns appear to be powerful, their exact strength is unknown. One shot takes away one unit of energy from Samus's shields which is the same that a power beam shot does in multiplayer, although multiplayer may have made some changes to weapon strength. It is also unknown if the shots fired from the rifles were enhanced by the ing, or if they were only weak to make it easier for beginners.

Metroid Prime 3: Corruption and after
The marines’ armour had changed by the time of corruption, it was now much less bulky and formfitting, and they looked much more mechanical than the older version. The restricted movement that the armour caused was now greatly reduced, as a result of smaller shoulder and knee pads, as well as more flexible body armour. They now had blue highlights on their arms.

They retained the rapid fire assault rifles, yet this time they where much more powerful, and seem to be purely energy weapons, instead of the energised projectiles the older models had. The rifles are now much more suited to one handed use, yet looked more like a gripping claw than a gun.

"PED" Marines
Federation "PED" Marines are Federation Marines of the Galactic Federation with a Phazon Enhancement Device attached to their suit. With the attachment of the PED, PED Marines can utilize Phazon to increase the power of their armour. While active, the "PED" enhances the attack and defence systems of their armorsuits, making them much stronger than normal marines. Unlike users of the Space Pirate PED, none of the Federation PED marines showed signs of Phazon sickness.

Surprisingly enough, deceased PED Marines can be found prior to the Aurora Chamber on the wrecked vessel, the G.F.S. Valhalla. According to scans on the two deceased marines, their suits were presumably overloaded by a Phazon grenade thrown by a Space Pirate, as they are surrounded by Phazon that is apparently "eating away at their dead bodies." While the suits on the dead marines are no different from any other PED Marine, their suits appear to be equipped with a sort of jet pack device for increased mobility.

PED marines were not seen before Metroid Prime 3: Corruption as the technology used by them is a fairly recent discovery.

Demolition Troopers
Demolition Troopers are members of the Galactic Federation who are outfitted with explosive weaponry for special missions. While capable of destroying the strongest of barriers, they have weaker armour than most marines and often rely on others to cover them while in battle, E.G they are not as capable in combat as traditional marines. They look almost identical to standard marines but with black/gray armour and orange highlights all over it. Their visors are orange slits, like Sylux's but in a “T” shape, similar to a Mandalorian's (Star Wars species). They carry explosive packs on their backs, and are armed with a much weaker version of the standard assault rifles (again, with orange highlights).

When the only way to the objective is straight through everything, Demolition Troopers are called upon to make it happen.

Missile Troopers
Missile Troopers are a variation of standard trooper, but use a Missile Launcher as a weapon. The possessed missile trooper from Team 2 is a boss battle. The reward is, unfortunately only a missile tank.

Dark Troopers
Dark Troopers are Galactic Federation Marines that have been possessed by the Ing Horde. When Samus Aran, (who was looking for the missing GFMC Task Force Heracles on Aether), finds them they are not fully possessed and have slow, zombie like reaction times, however their weapon systems are fully functional. Since they are already dead they are slightly stronger, however single charged shots can easily kill them.

The Ing are also known to have possessed a Missile Trooper.

Trivia
The Federation Research Team members from Metroid Fusion look suspiciously similar to the troopers found in Metroid Prime 2: Echoes; however, the research team members have never officially been related to the troopers.