Milo's team arrives back at the fountain and he settles on a bench.

Sunflash takes a drink from the fountain before sighing. "Well, that was fun.
So, what's next on the agenda boss?" Leans against a nearby wall, casting the
odd glance around.

Aile relaxes a little. 'So, Spider's in my unit now. There's a switch...'

Spider is still looking faintly disconcerted, although his old smirk has
returned. "Don't expect me to call you Commander."

A soldier comes in from the northern gate and informs that there was an attack
in Truce. Apparantly, an odd fortune teller and a guy who can shapeshift into
dinosaurs were assaulted by a reploid of a description written on a piece of
paper he hands to Milo.

Aile says 'No worries there. I still have a mental image of 'Commander', and it
ain't anyone here.'

Milo reads the description. (It matches Nocturne.) "I'll keep it in mind."

Sunflash hrms. "Sounds like a fun pair."

Just as the soldier is about to leave, Milo catches up to him. "I'll accompany
you back. I have an announcement to make."

Sunflash glances at Aile, then shrugs and follows Milo. Rawr.

Aile follows suit as well.

Spider trails after.

Milo visits each division in turn, informing them of the changes to Spider and
Axl's statusses. He keeps the southern unit for last, and once there, intended
to ask Signas to attend a meeting (promising conspiracies will not be
involved)... except he's nowhere to be found. Milo sighs and returns to
fountain. "Well, Signas, or not, this needs to be dealt with."

Sunflash says '...'this' being what, exactly?'

Milo says 'These rank changes have reminded me of something that should have
been done long ago.'

Aile says 'Hoo boy.'

Milo says 'A way to identify our members and their position.'

Milo says 'Now, with the racial diversity of the Cleft, a full uniform seems
impractical.'

Spider says '...I don't have to wear a stupid hat, right?'

Milo says 'So I was thinking an insignia that can be pinned/sewn/drawn/glued
etc. on whatever clothing the person happens to already own.'

You hear Sunflash hrm.

Sunflash says 'Go on.'

Spider taps his armor. "Not sure how well it'd work with the metal..."

Milo at Spider: "...Attach it with a magnet?"

Aile says 'An emblem, then?'

Milo at Aile: "Thank you, Mr. Walking Thesaurus."

Sunflash says 'I'm sure someone around here has a blowtorch, Spider. *cue evil
grin*'

Aile says 'I have a taser. We can make do.'

Sunflash says 'ANyway.'

Spider says '..Two of those sound painful. And I doubt magnets would help my CPU
any.'

Milo says 'Well, we'll worry about this afterwards.'

Milo says 'First up is designing the insignia.'

Aile says 'I vote that Spider and I not have a hand in the design.'

Sunflash says 'Uh-huh.'

Aile says 'Unless, of course, you want -booze- on there somewhere.'

Milo says 'Well, I have some ideas.'

Sunflash raises his eyebrow. "Such as?"

Milo says 'For basic shape, you can't go wrong with a shield. Cliche, but it's
appropiate to our goals.'

Sunflash nods.

Sunflash says 'Uh-huh.'

Milo says 'Next up... background. We don't really have a flag yet, but we could
always reuse the one I made up for my fantasy land as a child.'

Sunflash says '...Hey, it's better than nothing.'

Milo says 'It's just four horizontal lines, from top to bottom in yellow, light
blue, orange, dark blue. I still like the colors.'

Milo says 'And totally not because it's my shell color!'

Milo looks innocently about himself.

You say (OOC) 'Note, the flag story is real.'

Spider says 'Seems a bit too contrast-y... Maybe just blues? An a hint of
red~...'

Sunflash rolls his eyes. "Yes indeed."

Aile sighs.

Milo shrugs. "See, this is why it hasn't been done yet."

Milo says 'It sorta depends on what we put in the foreground. Maybe we should
settle that first.'

Benamas says (OOC) 'milo that's actually a viable coat of arms i think XD'


Aile rolls his eyes. 'I'm wearing ORANGE ARMOR. I wash my hands of design
issues.'

Milo says 'Well, I have orange skin!'

Spider says 'You also have poor taste in vehicle design...'

Milo says 'AHEM.'

Sunflash says '...And I'm quickly gaining the urge to beat random people. BACK
ON TOPIC.'

Milo says 'So, we need to display rank and base and unit affiliation.'

Milo says 'Problem is, I just think numbers of stars or chevrons seems so
bland.'

Sunflash nods in agreement with you.

Milo hesitates, as though he has an idea but is a bit embarrassed to suggest it.

Aile says 'Go for it. Can't be worse than purple and cards.'

Sunflash prods Milo. "Come on, out with it boss."

Spider is idly playing with a card.

Milo says 'Eh. Well, since I was the one petting Mets...'

Milo says 'Back on track.'

Sunflash coughs loudly.

Milo says 'I was considering an animal mascot for each rank, displayed in the
center of the shield.'

Aile says '.....'

Aile says 'At least one rank had better be a liquor fish.'

Sunflash raises an eyebrow. "You said someting about can't be worse?"

Milo says 'Too childish?'

Sunflash shrugs helplessly.

Aile says 'Could be worse.'

Sunflash says 'I dunno, I'm weird, so my vote doesn't count really...I'd think
it'd depend on the anaimals really'

Aile says 'We could kjeep track with cards or perhaps booze types. Vodka for
captain and Everclear for commander... Paint Thinner for Overlord...'

Spider says 'I like cards, personally.'

Milo says 'Well, ones good at fighting, of course. No rabbits.'

Aile says 'That was intended as a dig, Spider.'

Spider says 'I ignored that.'

Aile says 'Don't make me withhold booze.'

Milo says 'Except maybe for the Recruits. But even then... no.'

Sunflash says 'Hardy-har har. Ignoring dumb and dumber, what ideas ya got?'

Milo is obviously uncomfortable. He knew it was a stupid idea and the reactions
didn't boost his confidence any.

Aile says 'Did you have any particular animals in mind that you -did- want on
there?'

Sunflash says 'Come on. You've been around longer than I have, so you know more
than I do.'

Sunflash coughs loudly.

Milo says 'Well, the main chain of command - Colonel and downwards - would
consist of decreasingly powerful creatures, preferable in an obvious ladder.'

Aile thinks, 'Hmmmm.'

Aile says 'Sounds good so far.'

Milo says 'Most powerful nonmagical animal animals I know of are elephants, and
they're cool.'

Spider says '...Types of dogs?'

Sunflash thawps Spider across the back of the head. "I'll ASK for a stupid
comment when I want one."

Milo says 'Next down... tiger or something. And then I'm stuck.'

Sunflash says 'So you want non-magical only?'

Milo says 'Well, I want creatures that exist in every or at least a vast
majority of worlds our people come from.'

Spider winces. "Hey! It could be, like, wolf, coyote, mutt..."

Sunflash says '...Actually, Wolf would work somewhere.'

Sunflash says 'I wouldn't use the other two.'

Aile says 'Maybe goat for newbies... they butt heads a lot.'

Milo says 'I was planning to use foxes, myself. Their sneakiness and cunning
suits Specialists well.'

Sunflash says 'Hardy har har. Nemisis Owl beats Goat.'

Milo says '...Is that approval or objection?'

Aile says 'Approval.'

Milo says 'And while we're at it, General is a turtle. I mean, we only have
one, and he IS.'

Spider is just listening quietly, taking a few moments to actually associate the
animals to any mental picture.

Milo says 'So... we need something for Privates and Recruits.'

Sunflash says 'Hrm. That's tough.'

Milo says 'Something obviously capable in a fight, but less so than the king of
predators.'

Spider says 'Well, I'd personally like a spider for Private, but I'm mildly
biased.'

Milo says 'Don't make me get a flyswatter.'

Aile says 'Shock troops...?'

Aile says 'I still say goats. A small step above sheep. Fighting sheep.'

Sunflash says '...Fighting sheep. Okay, I'm liking Goat more and more.'

Sunflash chuckles politely.

Sunflash says 'But anyway. What all ranks do we need, and what do we have?'

Spider says 'Can we please not use goats?'

Milo says 'Recap:'

Milo says 'General = turtle.'

Milo says 'Specialist = fox.'

Aile says 'We can emphasize the horns, Spider.'

Milo says 'Colonel = elephant.'

Milo says 'Captain = tiger.'

Milo says 'Private, Recruit = open.'

Sunflash says 'Recruit = Goomba?'

Sunflash says 'I mean, everyone's seena goomba when the come into Truce!'

Sunflash points to the south!

Milo says 'Goombas are a sentient race.'

Sunflash says 'Oh, they are? Nevermind then.'

Milo glares icily at Sunflash.

Sunflash says 'I honestly didn't know! Never found one willing to talk to me.'

Sunflash says 'Hrm. Recruit...Battum, maybe?'

Sunflash says 'Just throwing out ideas.'

Aile thinks, 'Hmmmm.'

Milo says 'If we can, I'd like to stick to non-flying, non-swimming creatures.
If we ever expand our forces to include a navy or air force, we could simply
invent a new set of mascots instead of making a separate division marker.'

Aile zones out thinking about various animals.

Sunflash says 'Hrm.'

Milo says 'What creatures were popular in heraldry?'

Milo says 'Lions I know, but tigers are cooler.'

Milo says 'In my opinion, anyway.'

You say 'In any case, we have no room for both.'

Sunflash says 'Hrm. How about...'

Sunflash says 'Recruit = Snake?'

Sunflash says 'Horse?'

Milo says 'Ideas noted, but what about Privates?'

Sunflash says 'Mayhaps frog. I don't know!'

Sunflash says '...Mad duck.'

Milo says '...'

Sunflash says 'Privates can be Mad Ducks.'

Spider says 'Can we please try not to humliate me?'

Milo says 'I wanted something a little more impressive than... ducks.'

Sunflash says 'Man.'

Milo says 'Also, ducks could both fly and swim, last I checked.'

Sunflash says '...you haven't been to Saturn Valley, have you.'

Sunflash says '...Crows, maybe?'

Sunflash says 'I can't really think of anything good Milo.'

Milo says 'Some sort of smaller predator for Privates, probably.'

Spider says 'Spiders are small and predators.'

You say 'Not THAT small. Smaller than tigers.'

Sunflash says '...Badger?'

Milo says 'Hmm... maybe.'

Spider says 'What?!'

Milo says 'They're known for defending their homes ferociously, no?'

Sunflash says 'Indeed.'

Spider says 'But... Badgers?'

Aile says 'We could always make you a big ol' beaver, Spider.'

Milo says 'Sounds good. Umm... someone know what they look like?'

Aile says 'Beavers? They're fuzzballs with big flat tails and giant front
teeth.'

Milo says 'No, badgers.'

Aile says 'Oh.'

Aile says 'Uhhh.'

Aile pulls a few small disks out of his chair and puts them in a separate slot.
'Got 'em.'

Aile describes the physical attributes of badgers in fine and boring detail.

Sunflash says 'Sounds like fun Milo. Only problem is this: Who's going to make
this? I like it...'

Milo says 'Ah, good point. An artist.'

Aile says 'I'm sure we can find some artiste. We can even starve them if need
be.'

Milo says 'We still need to settle on something for Recruits.'

Milo says 'Something pretty useless in a fight.'

Sunflash says 'Weasel.'

Sunflash says 'Ferret.'

Sunflash says '...same thing.'

Aile says 'Ferrets are smelly. I approve.'

Sunflash chuckles politely.

Sunflash says '...Of course, there's always the last resort of RAT.'

Sunflash says '....and since it wouldn't be on my badge, I have no complaints. '

Sunflash grins evilly.

Spider says 'Whatever.'

Aile shrugs helplessly.

Aile says 'Mice sound good to me. You know, whatever.'

Milo says 'Mice are cuter than rats.'

Aile shrugs helplessly.

Spider looks around for a moment. "I'm getting a bit tired... Can I be
dismissed?"

Milo says 'The recruits may not like it, but that'll give them incentive to
finish their training.'

Aile says 'I'll walk you to the bar where we can pass out in peace, whenever
we're done here.'

Milo says 'And it'll stop commanders from using that old "Are you men or mice?"
line.'

Milo says 'Next up... base and unit affiliations.'

Aile rolls his eyes.

Sunflash says 'Indeed.'

Aile says 'Or you can find it yourself. Go pass out.'

Milo says 'Every soldier of rank Colonel or lower has an icon indicating the
base he is affiliated with.'

Spider says '...Just little arrows for direction would do, probably.'

Aile says 'Sounds good.'

Sunflash says 'What about us Specilists? Since I don't think we're tied to a
base?'

Aile says 'I thought Specialists were off to the side rather than below other
ranks?'

Spider says 'Will you stop hitting me?'

Milo says 'Right now we have only one base, Truce. Which will be represented
by... yonder fountain?'

Milo points.

Aile nods.

Spider nods.

Sunflash nods.

Milo says 'Captains and lower report to the Colonel with the same base icon as
them.'

Milo says 'Not that we have one now...'

Milo says 'As for unit icons, present on the insignias of Captains and lower...
arrows work.'

Milo says 'Base icon goes in top left corner of shield, unit icon in top right
corner.'

Milo says 'Sound good?'

Sunflash nods in agreement with you.

Aile nods.

Spider nods.

Milo says 'Very well. I'll look into hiring someone to draw them up for us.'

Milo says 'Unless someone wants to add something...'

Milo says 'Meeting is adjourned.'

Sunflash shrugs helplessly.

Aile shakes his head.

Aile says 'Let's go get smashed, Spider.'

Spider nods and heads off, grinning broadly.

Aile skitters off after Spider, holding his wallet and grinning.