Six bodyguards entered into the multi-purpose room, flanking an older man with a grayish spike goatee, and porcupine style gray hair. The six muscular men and woman looked mean, menacing, and rather watchful of the marines and freespacers around them. They all had relatively shaved heads, including the two females. Their beret's, instead of marked with a shielded fleet number, were marked with a shielded black helmet. These bodyguards were Blackguard.
The old man stepped up to a thin podium, his bodyguards spreading out, one of the females standing next to him. He sighed, as if feeling his old age, and then looked up at the crowd of Marines before him. His face didn't look old, it was just worn, as if it had seen more than it's share of life. A definite scar ran across his eyes, going from one edge of his face to the other. Though, the most noticable thing about this old man, was his red eyes, which gave an eerie red glow.
"Let me start this off, with saying I'm damn proud of every last one of you. You marines, you 'heroes', accomplished something today that will contribute to the expansion of our great Imperium for years to come." The old man said with a sly grin. "You didn't all do the same thing, but you all did something, and that something is what won us the battle today."
"For those of you who don't know, I am Master General Pyros Thrull Westwood. I am the supreme commander of all marine forces, but to simply put it, I'm as high up as it gets. Some of you may not know, what a 'Master General' is, well kiddies, this isn't just a debriefing, it's Military Reform 101 and I'm your college professor."
"While you all were preparing and managing for Kennewes, a great reform took place in our government. In that, we became the Democratic Imperium of Nepleslia. At that same time, our military was also reformed into several corps, and due to the nature of our military activities, new ranks have been put into place. These ranks have been split into two colors, red and black. Red for Marines, black for Navy. Most of you today, will be getting red bars, some with higher ranking than you have now. It is my job today to disperse of these ranks." The Master General nodded and then tapped on his PDA, every PDA room would get a small ding, signifying a new message. "And I'm done, moving on to the next subject."
"The Red Faction is ceasing to exist as we know it, we have broken their major military holds, and are moving in for the kill. Several officers in the Red Faction refused to give up after a large number of their men pulled out. Now, we are left with large militant groups, holding large cities, and defending themselves by hiding behind any citizens left. Of course, we could easily glass these cities, but we're not that barbaric. Instead, we will be conducting a series of ground operations."
"Our new friends, the Red Faction coup members, have joined up with us on a probationary status. The reason why none of them are doing hard time, is due to the fact that their participation helped us greatly. However, we are not sending them off so easily, and we plan to use them along with our Imperium marines to take Kennewes back."
"That means, some of you will be going back to the planet to partcipate in this operation. Though some of you, will not, sadly, there has been a call for marines to report to some 'Syrup Station' up in the galactic northwest. They say this will be one of the biggest reasearch gigs in the history of Nepleslia. Though for some reason, they're calling off able-bodied marines to guard this station. From what? Hell if I know, I'm just a pissed that I'll be losing fine soldiers to some madwoman."
"And this is where it winds down, the Kennewes Offensive is over, and you all have earned some well-deserved rest. So, for all of you, two weeks on shore-leave. Where? I don't give a damn, just go on shore-leave. In two weeks you all will be finding a new place to call home, so I suggest you make your goodbyes to the ship and it's naval crew before kicking your boots off and relaxing. Now, any questions?"
