Originally Posted by
chirine ba kal
Rewinding back a little bit in the thread, Gronan was talking about our play style. Back in the day, we were facing extermination at Third Mar; Phil had us in a really - and I do mean really - bad tactical situation with us being absurdly out-numbered and over-matched. We set up the figures, and I asked Gronan what tactical formation he wanted. he picked one that was very risky for the situation that we were in, but that did offer some great possibilities. Phil saw that I was not happy with his choice, but then was astonished that I went out there and did my best to carry out my general's orders.
It really threw him; in the bast majority of wargames like this, the differences between the players on one side could be used by the other side to win the battle. We, however, functioned as a unit; Phil couldn't get anything off us.
And Gronan pulled off a miracle - again. It was one of the very few times we trounced Phil.
Here's how it played out:
3.1401 The Might Of The Flame, And The Sharp Edge Of The Sword;
Summer, 2361 A. S.; A Dusty Plain Near The Town Of Mar
The two men looked down from the low rise at the enemy formation. There was just enough wind to blow the dust away from them and off the empty plain in front of them. Empty of any buildings or large vegetation, that is; aside from the road north, the plain was full of an army of Yan Koryani and their allies.
Chirine shaded his eyes against the facing sun. �My, my,� he observed mildly, �somebody sure has a lot of spare troops that seem to need to have something to do.�
Korunme nodded.�and they�re across our line of march � and across the army�s supply road, too. I suppose it�s our duty to do something about that.�
�Mmmm. With one legion of medium infantry, and a bunch of mercenary Shen replacements for the Shen legions with Prince Mirusiya? Kind of a tall order, there, Glorious General.�
The Glorious General shrugged. �We have what we have. Stone soup, and all that. Any ideas?�
Chirine thought for a moment, turned, and looked at their little force. It didn�t look like much, in comparison to what was out there awaiting them on the open plain. They were is a very, very bad position; just coming up the road, and with far too few troops for the job at hand. It looked to become a very bad day for the Tsolyani.
�If you offer battle at all, �Inexorable Sea�.�
�Ah.� The formation known as �The Inexorable Sea� consisted of a strong central phalanx with two smaller phalanxes on either flank. �Solid and steady. You always did like to play a conservative game.� Korunme looked out again at the enemy. �I think we�ll use the �Bow of Hrugga�, this time.�
Chirine eyed him. �Well, you are the general.� Korunme gave him a long look. �I�d best get into my fighting armor, eh, Glorious General?�
�Yes. If you would, please.�
Chirine saluted, turned, and left for his tent. Korunme followed him with his eyes, and was interrupted by a polite cough from one of his officers.
�Sir,� the young officer started, �Sir, I know he�s your friend and all that, but� He�s a Vimuhla priest, and� Well, sir, I thought he was being insubordinate, there�� He trailed off into an uncomfortable silence, as his general turned his gaze on the young officer.
After a long moment, Korunme started talking � slowly, and in a very restrained tone of voice. �That priest is not my friend. He�s my staff officer. Later on, assuming that we both survive today and have time to go off duty, then he�ll be my friend. In the meantime, he�s being a good soldier � and a better staff officer, by giving me his best professional opinion on what course of action I should be taking. He thinks I�ve picked a bad formation to deploy into; he may very well be right, and I�ve made the mistake of my career � which may just get us all killed.� Korunme paused, and gave his officer a long, hard look.
�And because he�s a very good soldier, he�s taking my decision and carrying it out, no matter just how stupid he thinks it is, because I�m in command. That priest is going to go down onto that plain and hold our center, all by himself, and he�ll follow my orders and attack into the mass of our enemy all by himself � and kill just as many of them as he can before they can kill him, so that as many of us as possible will survive this battle. Because he�s a very good soldier, he�s going to die so that you and me and this legion will live to serve the Seal Imperium and fight another day.�
Korumne took a deep breath. �So. Think on that, young man, and deploy the legion. We have a battle to fight.�
- from "To Serve The Petal Throne", Book Three - "Advance Standards!"
I've used everything and anything as proxies over the years, including beer caps for Battletech ground vehicles, and a piece of glass I found in Lake Ontario for a Nshe. The current or waves had worn it down into a really neat and smooth shape and I liked the way it felt. I also have used a river stone for an Eye. It just happened to be the right shape and size, in my opinion, and fit perfectly in my hand. I wish I knew what happened to these two items. 
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