Red Tessen

The Red Tessen is a military award of the Star Army of Yamatai.

The Red Tessen was introduced in YE 30. Prior to its introduction alongside the Order Of The Blazing Sun, the Star Army lacked any awards for valor in combat. Although the Red Tessen is a lesser award to the Order of the Blazing Sun, which has far more stringent standards, its recipients are nonetheless highly notable for their heroic service to the Yamatai Star Empire and are counted as members of an exclusive fellowship of soldiers whose mettle has been proven in the toughest combat situations.

Each soldier granted the Red Tessen is presented with a red colored war fan as a memento of their courage.

It was first awarded¹⁾ to three crewmembers of the YSS Senbu — Inoue Rina,²⁾ Hirado Fusae, and Yamada Chiyoko — in YE 30 for their efforts in defending the ship's bridge from a Mishhuvurthyar incursion. Following the end of the First Mishhuvurthyar War and evacuation of Mishhuvurthyar forces from the Kikyo Sector and end of YE 30, it was not awarded again until the Second Mishhuvurthyar War.

That subsequent conflict brought with it more opportunities for soldiers to earn the Red Tessen, and it began to be more widely awarded during the Second Mishhuvurthyar War. After the Battle of Yamatai in YE 33, several crewmembers serving aboard the YSS Miharu received the award.³⁾ Among several others, Miharu Rin, Gunshin Kyoufuu, and Sanjuro Ashitaka received the Red Tessen. The Miharu's security chief, Kurohoshi Masako, was awarded with two citations of the accolade.

Red Tessens continued to be given to brave warriors through the interwar years. Notably, the YSS Kaiyō's Meissa Nashira obtained the Red Tessen for her actions against Mishhuvurthyar invaders who'd infiltrated the ship.⁴⁾

The Kuvexian War saw more Star Army soldiers being awarded the Red Tessen than had occurred in previous conflicts, with a high concentration of such awards occurring as a result of the Battle Of Glimmergold. Ketsurui Aiko and Wulf Soban of the YSS Kaiyō II were each given a Red Tessen for their conspicuous gallantry in battle. Additionally, Mikael Harris alongside Hiroki Shibuya from Giretsu Century of the 75th Legion also received the award. Aoba Akasa killed 19 enemy soldiers in power armor in combat, leading Taisho Ketsurui Yui to give her a Red Tessen. Earlier in the war, soldiers present at the Fall Of Himiko during the Kuvexian Invasion of YE 41 — including Shinomori Matsuvo and Mizumitsu Hiroshiko — participated in actions that merited a Red Tessen.

Another period of peace following the Kuvexian War caused a slowdown in the frequency at which the Red Tessen was awarded. However, Ohara Chiasa and Sanda Hoshi of the YSS Resurgence were each given a Red Tessen for their efforts that occurred in the course of humanitarian operations on Gashmere and heavy fighting sparked by rebel partisans in the Kodian Civil War.

The requirements to receive this awards are:

• Must be a member of the Star Army of Yamatai
• Must have been recommended by the soldier's captain or unit commander from the time in which the soldier distinguished themselves
• “This soldier is recognized for displaying courage beyond what their duty demands when engaged in honorable combat with an enemy of the Yamataian Star Empire. ”

In roleplay, the Red Tessen is given for heroic deeds performed by characters in combat. To draw real world comparisons, it is roughly equivalent to the American military Distinguised Service Cross⁵⁾ combined with the Silver Star. Unlike is the case with the Order Of The Blazing Sun, the odds against which the awarded soldier fights are not relevant, nor is the the scope of impact associated with their actions.

Previous citations of this award have included:

• Displays of insane courage against enemies of the Star Empire (i.e. writing a particularly inspiring action in combat)
• Being responsible for courageously saving one's own ship while it is engaged in combat
• Singlehandedly killing or incapacitating multiple enemy combatants during a single battle (extreme combat proficiency)
• Diverting an enemy force's attention to the benefit of allied operations

The award is issued by:

• Star Army Starship Captain or Unit commander
• Star Army Command

The medal ribbon is mostly dark red. It has a bright red stripe down the middle and triangular areas of bright red on each side with one side of the triangles touching the edges.

The tessen war fan they receive upon citation of the award is color matched to the ribbon. Its spokes are made from Durandium Alloy coated with darker crimson lacquer finish, while the fan's leaves are a brighter scarlet red. A stencil of the Star Army Hinomaru is emblazoned on the fan's leaves in the same crimson color as its spokes.

A ribbon is worn on the Type 35 Class A formal uniform. Bearers of the Red Tessen are additionally authorized to carry the war fan itself tucked into their uniform's belt on the right side, at an approximately 45 degree angle with its lower tip pointing toward their hip, three inches to the left of their belt buckle with both ends of the folded fan emerging equidistantly from the top and bottom edges of their belt.

• Aoba Akasa
• Asrid Naoto Thorsson
• Gunshin Kyoufuu (軍神 強風) "Kyou" (杏)
• Meissa Nashira
• Simo Anzu

This page was originally created on 2017/08/06 14:03 by Wes. The Red Tessen was created and submitted by raz on Sep 20, 2008⁶⁾ and approved by Wes the same day. Raz updated this article on 2023/08/10 19:49, and the update was approved by Andrew on 2023/08/20.

The ribbon's image was made by raz.