And all the Federales say
They coulda had him any day
They only let 'im slip away
Out of kindness, I suppose
- Townes van Zant, "Pancho and Lefty"
It's said, although none of them are around anymore to tell it straight, that of the people on Frontier who were left behind when the Federal Government disappeared, the most surprised and dismayed were the Federales themselves. They'd been used to positions of power and prestige among the colonists, and the Federal seal could be seen throughout Dodge City, and widely in the satellite cities. When the ships stopped coming and the people of Frontier realized that the Federal employees didn't have the might of the Government to back them up anymore, the Federal institutions gave way to independent stores and utilities, and thousands of Federales were displaced. At the end of the first decade, the only Federal institution still in operation was the police force.
The Federal police took in the unemployed Federal employees and retrained them, in the process building a training facility that is still unmatched on Frontier. When they ran out of former Federales, they began recruiting from the colonists, and they've been doing so ever since. With their Federal equipment and training, the Federales - although the term originally meant anyone employed by the Federal Government, these days it refers strictly to the Federal Police Force - are widely considered to be the second-highest authority on the planet, answering only to the new people's government of Frontier. (As a rule, the places which do not consider them the penultimate authority are the lawless fringes, and even there a wary respect for the Federales lives in the public consciousness.)
The Federales make their home in District Zero, in the heart of Dodge City, near the administrative buildings that house the government. Dodge has five Districts, including Zero; each is a fifth of the city, with Zero in the center, One in the north, Two in the east, Three in the south, and Four in the west. Outside Dodge, the districts get somewhat larger in scale, although they are generally even as far as population is concerned, and never too large for a Federale to ride across on horseback in a single day. Federales are equipped with the latest advancements in armor and weapons (which, incidentally, makes the "on horseback" clauses somewhat obsolete, since these days the Federales use frame buggies, which are much faster and sturdier than horses, for long-distance travel), and have a well-funded research laboratory in District Zero whose employees are dedicated to making Frontier life safer and more secure through better policing (and superior firepower).
It is commonly understood that the Federales will not accept an applicant after his or her - the Federales do employ men and women without discrimination to either - 24th birthday, but this is not, strictly speaking, true; a promising candidate will be taken regardless of age, as long as the applicant passes the physical and mental examinations. Candidates spend two years attending Richards Training Center in District Zero, and graduate to the lowest Federal rank (Officer). Ranks are awarded based on merit and performance, although time spent is a mitigating factor - someone barely a month out of the Center will not be awarded the rank of Inspector absent some truly amazing performance, and a chronic underachiever might never pass Officer even after forty years in the Federales (and may be asked to leave, if the Federale in question is not performing the assigned duties). The highest rank among the Federales is High Marshal; below that are the Marshals, Vice Marshals, Chiefs, Inspectors, Troubleshooters, Agents, and Officers.
There are, of course, other police forces, usually local, with a Sheriff at the head of the chain of command; local police almost always defer to Federales when they are present, but by the same token, the Federales prefer to let the local law handle local matters when possible. The only places in which the Federales are the only law enforcement are Dodge itself and in new towns, when the people have not had the chance to set up local law enforcement.
The Federales also fill the role of Frontier's military force, although they have never been called upon to act in that role. The government has a standing agreement with the Federal Police Force to this effect; the government will not form a standing military, and the Federales will defend the people of Frontier against outside attackers or insurgencies. This is cause for alarm among some of the people of Frontier who are distrustful of the Federales' motives; they also wonder how the Federales will react if the Federal Government returns and the former colonists resist Federal rule.