By Fred Manzo
“….As is well known, the 124th received its unofficial nickname, “The Old Reprobates,” during the suppression of the Catalianian Conspiracy. According to legend, Her Imperial Highness, Empress Ashley IV, was in the midst of reviewing the unit on the frontier planet Hydrangea II when she remarked to her Chief-of-Staff that they smelled of alcohol, calling them “nothing more than old reprobates.” Fortunately for the 124th, before the startled Chief-of-Staff could react the conspirators, with the help of 10,000 Nastyian “tribesmen,” took that moment to launch their decapitation coup against the Royal Family. Just as fortunately for the Empress the 124th was outnumbered only 20 to 1 and surrounded, thus allowing the unit’s commander to trigger their “Rules of Engagement Alpha,” which are generally interpreted to mean “Keep firing until either they are all dead or you are all dead.” While the 124th did sustain a 35% casualty rate in the ensuing firefight the conspirator’s troops suffered at the somewhat higher rate of 100% and are therefore generally considered to have lost.
Though their commander always maintained the Empress was reacting to his troops choice of after-shave lotion the 124th was forever afterwards known as ‘The Old Reprobates.'”
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