by Max Barry

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Region: the Pacific

A deafening roar erupts throughout the streets of Dushina, it was the start of the military parade. Tens of thousands of men, women, and children have congregated along the whole route of the massive event the likes of which has never been seen. The Tsar of the Dushinan Empire, Tsar Fluff I, can be seen arriving at his speaking podium from his Soviet era SAM-M1-9 adorned with his royal standard. He slowly walks up the staircase eventually joining several high ranking members of the Dushinan military. The General of the RDAF Victoria H. and his son Tsarevich David Fluff can be seen standing to the left and right of him respectively. Fluff picks up his speech, looks at the crowd, and begins to speak.

“Ladies and gentlemen, our military in the past 105 years since our independence in 1919 has grown significantly. Statistically, there are roughly 100x less horses per soldier in our army. Science and change has proliferated the military over the past century. What jobs may have taken tens of thousands of men years to achieve in the past may take a dozen or less today and could be achievable in a matter of hours. From a force that we scrounged from German scraps and stuff we captured from their arms depot to the largest professional force in the world.
This parade is to celebrate change. Change is not always good but it may always lead to brighter days.

Without further ado, I shall draw your attention to the Dushinan Army Band. Since 1914 they have served valiantly in support of this empire, through all this change they have remained a constant.”

The National Anthem of the Dushinan Empire, “God Save the Tsar” begins.

During the pauses in the national anthem the Royal Army of Dushina fires a volley of artillery shells from said artillery.

All noise of the military parade after the song finishes is extinguished. Silence blankets the streets and embraces all. It is time for Coleman, Chief President of the Second Empire to speak.

Fluff moves to his left and takes a seat, and Coleman ascends to the podium.

“It is certainly a momentous occasion today as Floof- cough Mittens has built up the army over these numerous decades.I’m quite sure that this is just the beginning, this is not the zenith of our influence. It is my belief that the Coleman-Allen administration has played a notable role in this event. Throughout my presidency we have made great strides in our partnerships with the military and continue building it up into a formidable force. We’ve managed to avoid having this expense falling on the taxpayer with some generous deals with private arms contractors. This period of civility and democracy, under my watch, shall continue.”

“On behalf of the Tsar, I have been bequeathed the opportunity of deciding on a monument to truly signify this occasion. We have not come to a decision, but I promise that it is our top priority at this moment.”

“I believe it is time for the parade to truly start, isn’t it?” He looks at Mittens for confirmation, and he nods affirmatively. Coleman takes a seat and the parade begins.

Twelve men holding regimental flags begin marching down the street, leading the parade in antiquated uniforms. These were the soldiers of the 1910s, the soldiers that gained independence from the German Empire. A few dozen men in distinct uniforms from the same era march alongside them. Ill fitting British, Russian, and French uniforms adorn some of the volunteers. Many of them were under equipped or, if they even had arms they were homemade. This was likely to be a deliberate choice by Tsar Fluff himself, representing the state of the army at that time.

Soon several hundred men in tan uniforms can be seen marching down the street in similar fashion to the men ahead of them. Their homemade arms were replaced by WWI era equipment of various nations and one lonely early British tank. The army looked far more professional but there were still men with hand sewn uniforms. As the tank puttered down the street two planes, an ARM-1917 and a Baker’s Scout flew above. The former being the first Kitten Aircraft ever produced.

After a brief break the music began again. The soldiers of the 1930s marched in unison to the music. Every soldier was now adorning green camo uniforms with the former Dushinan flag clearly displayed on said uniform. More tanks are able to be seen interspersed between the soldiers because, despite the look of success and progress, the Dushian military was in a sorry state at the time. Tens of thousands were discharged because of the depression and the Empire was hemorrhaging money. Many pieces of artillery and other arms had to be sold off to pay said debts.

This time, thousands of men were adorned in impeccably clean uniforms much like their friends from the decade prior. A massive recruitment drive was introduced in the early 1940s inspiring men in their thousands to join. By the 1940s after the great depression ended King Fluff IV decided to use the money gained from the oil boom to invest in the industries of Dushina which would pay off in the following decades. Tanks would not be needed to attempt to bump up the perceived number of enlisted men, but still tanks could be easily seen alongside their friends in the army. Artillery rang out throughout the streets to signify the change from an ill equipped army of random recruits to a highly trained force.

The 1950s arrive and the representatives are those of the Republic of Aegyptus. Instead of any jungle camo they are wearing desert camo to better match the environment of their homeland. The tanks continued to evolve along with every piece of equipment, most being relegated to storage because of their obsolescence. Fluff instructs the citizens to look up and the parade stops dead in its tracks. A small black dot can be seen racing across the sky. He explains that that is the AHSB-1959, one of the fastest planes in history and the fastest at the time. The parade, after Fluff’s interjection continues as normal with several others flying above.

1,039 Words -- just languishing in my Google Docs.

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