Yangfan
Inactive Member
The airlocks opened. Dozens of Phodian soldiers streamed into the newly constructed space station, into the ring-shaped promenade.
The Phodians soldiers did not wear many articles of clothing. Navy colored shorts kept their modesty. But one common accessory identified each of them as Star Army personnel: a Star Army rank pin dangled from each necklace.
However, they wore other identifiers as well: bands red, blue and green, signifying the three major powers of Ohara.
Two of the powers, Lage and Haton, are blood enemies, sworn to destroy each other for decades. The third was an ancient nation and a newly rising power, thrust into influence and prominence by a race of alien visitors who reminded the Phodians of a gentler, more romantic age.
The Lagian and Hatonian soldiers, wearing red and blue bands respectively, have boarded the station via different ships, and have disembarked at opposite ends of the station. They each stared across the promenade at the other camp suspiciously. These were elite troops and non-commissioned officers. It was an uncomfortable situation, to say the least, being in the same room as an old enemy whom you must treat as a friend. Beyond the railings of the promenade ring, there was a short drop in elevation to the floor below, but it might as well have been deep as any chasm.
The Phodian soldiers who wore green bands were few and in between. However, they look meaner and even more muscular than their Lagian and Hatonian counterparts, if such a thing were possible. They were the paladins of Everspring, servants of the Goddess. The paladins wore a look concern, keenly aware of the acrimony that hanged in the room.
Taisa Bim Walik, who stood watching both camps from the side, whispered to his second-in-command, who wore a Chusa rank pin. Bim was a Lagian, and his second-in-command was Hatonian. They had been charged by their superiors to forge the divided Phodian soldiers into a single, united force. They also have no idea how to accomplish this.
But first, at the very least, a step in the right direction.
Bim, having climbed onto a slightly raised platform that was attached to the promenade, stepped forward to address the newly arrived soldiers. The Lagian soldiers immediately stood at attention. The Hatonians eyed him suspiciously, but said nothing.
"Men, I say without exaggeration, today marks the beginning of a new era for Oh-ara," proclaimed Bim. "We must leave old grudges behind, and wash our hearts of hatred and thoughts of revenge. After all, we are all children of the Great Revolution. We are all children of Ohara, and while we swear fealty to the Yamataian Empire, it is Ohara and her people that we ultimately protect and serve. And if we are to serve Ohara, there must be complete and total trust among the Phodian personnel. To borrow a human phrase, we must fight together, or die separately!"
The Phodian soldiers looked among themselves uncomfortably.
Bim continued. "In light of the renewed sense of cooperation among the nations of Oh-ara, in the spirit of unity, I hereby the ban the possession of national bands by Phodian personnel aboard this station, effective immediately!"
With those words, Bim and his second-in-command took off their colored bands, and threw them over the railing.
The Phodian troops rushed to the railings to see the two pieces of cloth, one red, one blue, drop to the floor below.
(OOC: Imagine a US Army colonel ripping the American flag off his uniform and dropping it onto the ground, and you have an idea of the shock value of what just happened.)
The paladins of Everspring complied without a second thought. Pieces of green cloth flew to the floor below.
Silence.
Slowly, deliberately, a Hatonian soldier took off his blue band, looked at it forlornly, and then tossed it over the railing.
A few pieces of red cloth dropped to the floor below. More pieces followed, blue and red. Eventually, dozens of blue and red bands flew over the promenade railing and fell like rain.
A group of Phodian soldiers stood on the promenade of Fort Ohara. They wore navy-colored shorts and Star Army rank pins, and for the first time in their lives, felt just a little bit naked.
Bim turned to his second-in-command. "Chusa Mozi, please have the Everspring troops gather up the national bands, and send the bands back to their respective HQs. Tell them... tell them that we don't need those anymore."
"Aye, sir."
* * *
A few hours later, a few Nekos boarded the station.
"Don't these Phodians wear funny-looking colored bands on their wings?" whispered one of them in Japanese, looking around at the pig-like aliens.
Another one shrugged. "Could be a seasonal thing," she ventured.
The Phodians soldiers did not wear many articles of clothing. Navy colored shorts kept their modesty. But one common accessory identified each of them as Star Army personnel: a Star Army rank pin dangled from each necklace.
However, they wore other identifiers as well: bands red, blue and green, signifying the three major powers of Ohara.
Two of the powers, Lage and Haton, are blood enemies, sworn to destroy each other for decades. The third was an ancient nation and a newly rising power, thrust into influence and prominence by a race of alien visitors who reminded the Phodians of a gentler, more romantic age.
The Lagian and Hatonian soldiers, wearing red and blue bands respectively, have boarded the station via different ships, and have disembarked at opposite ends of the station. They each stared across the promenade at the other camp suspiciously. These were elite troops and non-commissioned officers. It was an uncomfortable situation, to say the least, being in the same room as an old enemy whom you must treat as a friend. Beyond the railings of the promenade ring, there was a short drop in elevation to the floor below, but it might as well have been deep as any chasm.
The Phodian soldiers who wore green bands were few and in between. However, they look meaner and even more muscular than their Lagian and Hatonian counterparts, if such a thing were possible. They were the paladins of Everspring, servants of the Goddess. The paladins wore a look concern, keenly aware of the acrimony that hanged in the room.
Taisa Bim Walik, who stood watching both camps from the side, whispered to his second-in-command, who wore a Chusa rank pin. Bim was a Lagian, and his second-in-command was Hatonian. They had been charged by their superiors to forge the divided Phodian soldiers into a single, united force. They also have no idea how to accomplish this.
But first, at the very least, a step in the right direction.
Bim, having climbed onto a slightly raised platform that was attached to the promenade, stepped forward to address the newly arrived soldiers. The Lagian soldiers immediately stood at attention. The Hatonians eyed him suspiciously, but said nothing.
"Men, I say without exaggeration, today marks the beginning of a new era for Oh-ara," proclaimed Bim. "We must leave old grudges behind, and wash our hearts of hatred and thoughts of revenge. After all, we are all children of the Great Revolution. We are all children of Ohara, and while we swear fealty to the Yamataian Empire, it is Ohara and her people that we ultimately protect and serve. And if we are to serve Ohara, there must be complete and total trust among the Phodian personnel. To borrow a human phrase, we must fight together, or die separately!"
The Phodian soldiers looked among themselves uncomfortably.
Bim continued. "In light of the renewed sense of cooperation among the nations of Oh-ara, in the spirit of unity, I hereby the ban the possession of national bands by Phodian personnel aboard this station, effective immediately!"
With those words, Bim and his second-in-command took off their colored bands, and threw them over the railing.
The Phodian troops rushed to the railings to see the two pieces of cloth, one red, one blue, drop to the floor below.
(OOC: Imagine a US Army colonel ripping the American flag off his uniform and dropping it onto the ground, and you have an idea of the shock value of what just happened.)
The paladins of Everspring complied without a second thought. Pieces of green cloth flew to the floor below.
Silence.
Slowly, deliberately, a Hatonian soldier took off his blue band, looked at it forlornly, and then tossed it over the railing.
A few pieces of red cloth dropped to the floor below. More pieces followed, blue and red. Eventually, dozens of blue and red bands flew over the promenade railing and fell like rain.
A group of Phodian soldiers stood on the promenade of Fort Ohara. They wore navy-colored shorts and Star Army rank pins, and for the first time in their lives, felt just a little bit naked.
Bim turned to his second-in-command. "Chusa Mozi, please have the Everspring troops gather up the national bands, and send the bands back to their respective HQs. Tell them... tell them that we don't need those anymore."
"Aye, sir."
* * *
A few hours later, a few Nekos boarded the station.
"Don't these Phodians wear funny-looking colored bands on their wings?" whispered one of them in Japanese, looking around at the pig-like aliens.
Another one shrugged. "Could be a seasonal thing," she ventured.
