Kalran: Tales of the four nations/Banner

"Let the Reclaimer flag fly high"

The Banner are the special support infantry of the Reclaimers.

Tactical analysis

 * Wave your flag high: Formed from the most fanatic clones. The Banner from the Beast Cell are charged with leading the clones into battle. Acting as a focal point for the horde bonus, boosting any nearby clones rate of fire, damage, and morale
 * Die for this flag: Due to being responsible for holding the Reclaimers flag, and the training they suffered, Banners are resistant to morale damage while being able to heal and empower nearby clones morale resistance and regeneration. In turn these clones will gladly use themselves to block any shots coming towards the Banner
 * Cowardice will not be tolerated: Banners are also armed with a heavy magnum pistol. While it's rather effective against small squads, the pistol is better known for having killed more clones they deemed as “cowards” than enemies
 * Don't let it touch the ground: But as the leading soldier of the clones, bearing the Reclaimers flag, morale tends to drastically plummets in the event they die, or in rarer cases retreat. And with their pistol slow rate of fire the Banners must be shielded by clones and retreat if possible

History
Preferring mass infantry tactics and seldom supporting his troops with armored divisions, Bahlgram needed his clones obedience and will to die for the Reclaimers guaranteed as well as turning them into killing machines. Therefore, he established a new division of clones that consists of deploying field officers, named Banners, whose mission is to provide support to combatants through propaganda and an elevated sense of patriotism, so that soldiers keep fighting and pushing forward to victory (or death).

But the training these chosen clones are hellish, liken more to animal abuse then actual training, where any hesitation is met with the clone being painfully shocked or flogged. Where they must endure charging upon fields bombarded by live weaponry, where permanent hearing damage is uncommon and those who become crippled are thrown to the grinder to be reduced to materials, with their final test being to beat up clones the chosen considers as “defective”, meaning they disobeyed orders, within an inch of their life before having to disembowel, strangle or drown them afterwards. Refusing to do so is swiftly met with a public flogging or beating, to show other banners the consequences of disobeying th chosen, where dying uncommon, and in the event that happens the chosen are known to continue whipping or beating the corpse, until the body is reduced to a a pile of meat and organs, and send the remains to the grinder to show the remaining Banners what they do those they consider “defective”. And through all this the chosen gaslights them, saying their doing this because they love them or because they must prove themselves worthy and rewarding them whenever they followed orders, all with false smiles and hidden disgust. Until the end where the surviving clone, branded to show themselves as their standard bearer, becomes nothing more then a subservient dog towards their master, with many even falling in love with them. To their broken view their master give them purpose, and without them they are nothing. But the same can’t be said for the chosen, who sees them as nothing more than an obedient weapon, a weapon that can be easily replaced once broken.

The results proved fruitful for the most part, although numerous soldiers would be reported dead or injured, however those losses could be compensated with Reclaimers rapid cloning. It has also been attested that Banners had better chances of survival because of the soldiers' will to not let the flag fall.

Short story
"Shut your lies dog! You know nothing of my master! They fed me and care for me when I'm sick. And only punish when I'm too scare to fight against tyrant like you! They protect and feed me! Unlike you murderous tyrant. And I know full well they will come and save me!"

"Can you really say that! After witnessing your friends getting shredded apart by our weapons! Where were your so-called masters when you were out there fighting, bleeding, and dying for them! Do you-"

Raylia then saw the door blow open, a UCA soldier panting.

"Jenkins? Why are-"

"WE DETECTED INCOMING ARTILLERY!"

Those were the last words she heard. And both the woman and her interrogator running somewhere was the last thing she heard.

As what she heard next heard the sound of incoming shells. What happened next was the sound of deafening explosions. Then felt only pain as her vision slowly came to.

Her whole body hurt, her vision was blurry, and she could only move her right arm.

"S-someone. Pl-p-please help me."

Then a figure came into her view.

"M-master Naofumi..."

She was right. Her master came to save-

"Sir we found a survivor from your barrage. Subject RY711A, one of the Banner divisions we lost. And, judging by scans, she can be saved."

She recognized that voice. Her eyes shrunk in fear as the figure finally came into view.

Blood-red eyes and hair black as pitch. It was Shin, one of the Whips she had served under.

Then she heard another voice she recognized and hoped to hear.

"Don't bother SH100I. Saving what's left of it will be a waste of resources, not even Josef can turn it into a Longbow. Just harvest it and toss the rest into the grinder."

That was Naofumi's voice, but it was cold, uncaring, not like the voice she heard when she and her friends trained under him.

"Affirmative, master."

She shakingly raised her arm as Shin aimed his pistol.

"Please... Don-"

She then heard her masters voice again.

"No. Don't waste precious ammo. Just stomp on it, and make sure you don't aim for the head, we can still salvage it."

Raylia could only beg as Shin raised a foot.

Crunch.

Raylia gagged, blood flowing out of her mouth, his foot crushing her neck.

Crunch.

Raylia gasped. The second stomp broke her windpipe, and she tried to raise her hand again, tears streaming downwards.

"Master... Why-"

CRUNCH!

And by the third stomp Raylia became silent and her raised arm turned limp, her neck finally snapped. And SH100I pulled out his knife and began harvesting any salvageable organs.

The radio and visual feed shut off, and Naofumi smiled.

"that was a rather genius move Naofumi, using that clones tracking beacon to triangulate an artillery strike."

"Of course it was Edwards. Now we must mobilize the clones while their defense is blown open."

Both of them began to walk around their area, it will take about a minute before the clones are mustered.

"But still..." He heard Edwards trailed off.

"What?"

"It was rather cold, wasn't it? That thing basically worshipped the ground you walked on. And yet it died by your hands."

"So, it was nothing more than an obedient weapon. And besides."

Both of them then looked through a window. And from the window, right below them, are millions of vats, filled with a noxious liquid in which clone embryos are gestating."

"We can always make more."

Trivia

 * The Banner is based off the propaganda officer from C&C contra