They Held The Line - Oorah! | HFY | SciFi Short Stories

They Held The Line - Oorah!
Story by firefighter_raven
They held the line- OORAH
OC
Tribune Jalian Marlaxia sat at the bar, nursing his drink, while the usual crowd of cadets and civilians drank and sang the war songs of the Grand Coalition. He’d been a soldier in the Grand Coalition armies for almost 70 Galactic years. He’d risen from the lowest rank to commanding a Kexarch of 100,000 troops. For his loyal service, he was promoted to Tribune and given the option to retire or his pick of assignments. The Service was all he knew so he took the offer to teach at the Academy.
He drank alone most of the time, most cadets were too intimidated to talk to him outside class. His rank, experiences, or sheer size kept most cadets from speaking to him when he was off-duty. Unlike most of the Academy instructors, he was one of those mythical beings. A combat veteran of many wars. Most instructors had combat experience but usually just one or two conflicts.
As part of his interview with the Academy Commandant, his service record was reviewed. He was surprised by some of the details in it. After 70 years of combat service, it all blurred together. He’d fought in 22 wars, 642 major engagements, numerous skirmishes, and more than a few barroom brawls. He shrugged at the last one, he came up through the ranks and became an officer by battlefield commission. He wasn’t an “Officer and an Aristocrat” like most of the cadets he taught.
He was almost 3 meters tall and massively muscled, like all soldiers from Trellaxia. Numerous scars crisscrossed his entire body. Especially his 4 arms and the curled horns on his head.
So he was surprised when a cadet from the newest class approached him, pushed by his friends, of course.
“Tri…Tribune Marlaxia” the young Kitarin stuttered.
“Yes, Cadet?” he replied while trying to remember its name.
“Ca…Ca..Cadet Scen, Sir.” The young cadet answered.
“Ah yes, What can I do for you, Cadet? “ Jalian inquired. He tried to keep from smiling at how scared the Kitarin looked. Ears flat, tail tucked between his legs, and barely able to look up at him.
“Sir, if it’s ok”, the cadet asked, trying to overcome his nervousness. “We were talking about who were the best soldiers in the Coalition Military.”
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