Wearing Power Armor to a Magic School Art Reference: Captain Calico Li and the LREF Dress Uniform

Hey everyone! 

So it’s Christmas! :D And while I know I said that I’ll be back next year, I just felt like I wanted to give you guys something to show my appreciation and genuine gratitude for you guys being here.

I wasn’t planning on releasing this yet, butttt, we’re basically waiting for the logo commission to be wrapped up so we can integrate it into this piece so I thought to myself, why not just post the uniform first! :D It is the festive season after all, and I really wanted to give something back to the community!

Basically, I’ve been working and reworking the LREF dress uniform concept! While Emma is indeed LREF, the uniform I’ve depicted her wearing isn’t the full officer’s dress, but rather an LREF’s cadet uniform. 

There’s a whole thing to be said about that actually, and it hearkens to the topic/question regarding Emma’s whole ‘Cadet’ status as opposed to an expedited commission under exceptional circumstances as a result of her mission. However, the reasons behind this ties into three key critical points, two of them in-universe, and one being a stylistic choice on my part XD

The first two are rather synonymous with the GUN and its quirky operational and legal kerfuffles, as well as its genuine desire to put its best foot forward.

On the operational side of things, the LREF — and by extension the Unified Central Command — simply had their hands tied when it comes to the commissioning of officers in all of its branches. There’s stringent red tape to prevent unlawful or unqualified expediting of officer candidates or officers in training, all stemming from laws put in place both by the People’s Assembly and General Assembly, as well as the uniformed justice and operational codes outlined by the Unified Central Command and the LREF itself. As a result, the IAS and by extension the UN Science Advisory, would’ve had to have gone through very very convoluted paths to get Emma’s commission expedited; ones which would’ve required legislative review and a separate case to be made. Which funnily… would’ve taken way more time than the time they had to train her. It’s ironic in a weird way how the legal paths to doing so would’ve taken that long but I digress XD. In short, her Cadet rank was basically the product of the GUN’s adherence to maintaining legal protocol and precedent, as an extension of their whole society's commitment to ensuring that proper channels and legal mechanisms are maintained, and making it such that no one person or entity is above the law and by extension, above the will of the people.

On the ‘best foot forward’ side of things? Simply put, keeping her Cadet title was seen as a good faith offer on the side of the IAS. Seeing that the Nexus’ demands for a student in Emma’s age range strongly suggested someone still in training and education, they assumed that the title of Cadet would’ve been seen as an act of good faith on their part, as it would’ve shown that they were willing to play ball as it comes to the whole ‘Academy’ and ‘Education’ aspects of the Candidacy.

Finally, on the authorial stylistic choice side of things? I just thought ‘Cadet’ sounded right and flowed well. The other choice was of course Ensign (as that’s the first commissioned rank in the LREF’s rank structure). I could’ve also gone with Ensign First Class, or jumped her straight to Lieutenant, butttt all of those ranks just didn’t ‘sound right’ when it came to Emma, so I went with Cadet, as it also coincided with all of the aforementioned in-universe reasons. XD

Anyways AHHHH SORRY! I’m rambling now XD I just have so much passion for the story and what’s happening Earth-side, so I kinda go on and on when I’m on these topics. XD

Anyways, onto the uniform discussion! 

The LREF has — quite honestly — one of the best uniforms out of all of the GUN’s 7 branches. However, depending on who you ask, it may be second only to T-SEC’s uniform, but then again marine corps-equivalent aesthetics always go hard so it’s difficult to really challenge that notion. XD

Anyways yeah! The design you see here is being showed off by the Star of Terra Recipient: Captain Calico Li! Emma’s LREF mentor and instructor over at the IAS! So that’s one thing that he has in common with Aunty Ran, as you might notice that he has the aforementioned medal around his neck, similar to Ran! 

However, unlike Aunty Ran’s career, Captain Li didn’t earn his medal during the Jovian Insurrection — as that was a bit before his time. Instead, he earned it for his actions during the Charon Innovations incident, something that hasn’t yet been covered in the story itself, but has been touched on in a two-parter bonus story. 

Anyways! Moving on from that! We also see the titular cape Emma mentioned in the story, the one with the gold trim that defines LREF servicemembers and gives them that extra aesthetic flair! Although admittedly it’s more of a rose-gold/copper-gold color since outright gold might have been a bit too much considering other aspects of their uniform that I’ll get into next!

The cuffs! You may notice that the cuffs have this sort of strap/band integrated into them. That's a very deliberate design choice made by the designers of the uniform early on in the LREF’s establishment, one which was meant to represent the LREF’s ties to working class spacer culture. This is because aesthetically, it’s very reminiscent of spacer mechanics’ and technicians’ uniforms, during a time where the strap served a purely utilitarian role in ensuring proper fitting and environmental protection in many sorts of overalls and suits. 

This was done as a deliberate choice to distance the LREF away from what spacers at the time were worried about — a purely Earth/Planet/Moon-centric branch of the military operating in deep space. It’s a small element, but coupled with the asymmetrical jacket design — which was something synonymous with spacer fashion-sense in the civilian world at the time — it all helped to forge a very specific identity for the LREF. That being — humanity’s wanderlust made manifest.

The LREF, as I might have mentioned before, was established for the dual purpose of forging humanity’s exploratory and expeditionary arm following the discovery of FTL travel. Its role, distinct to that of the already-existing EAF (Exo-Atmospheric Forces/ aka the Space Navy), is that of expeditionary force projection and peaceful exploration. They were meant to deal with external FTL-capable threats outside of the solar system, should they exist. And in Emma’s day and age, they still maintain that doctrine. 

While the EAF now commands the main ‘bulk’ of the GUN’s conventional ‘void’ assets, the LREF has since settled into the role it was meant to embody. That being, a force designed to project power beyond the GUN sphere, capable of maintaining protracted engagements outside of  traditional supply lines and zones of operation. 

But beyond that, they are first and very much foremost, humanity’s premier exploratory body. They represent not just the interests of the state, but the sheer and collective desire of humanity’s dream of exploration. Many people join them for this very reason, electing to sign up for the Scouting and Reconnaissance Element (SRE), instead of the Expeditionary Response Element (ERE) that’s designed to deal with threats as stated above. If anything, when someone mentions the LREF, or “Rangers” as they’re colloquially known, they’re more often than not referring to the first third of the branch, the SRE. 

Such is the sheer collective myth around the LREF, that many in 3047 see them in the same way we today regard astronauts and fighter pilots — cool and on the bleeding edge.

They are, in short, the most loved branch out of all. Though conversely, they are notoriously difficult to actually gain entrance into. 

I’ll get into this in its own post, as I still have the LREF logo commission on the way, but suffice it to say, LREF OCS takes 5 years to go through, and each of those years requires inter-branch and cross disciplinary training with the other 6 branches of the GUN’s military. Because when you join the LREF, you are basically joining a ‘mini military within a military’, a branch capable of projecting the GUN’s force at a moment’s notice; which requires training in order to effectively perform the roles of the other branches (to a far more limited capacity) in case the situation demands it.

But yeah, I’m getting ahead of myself here. Let’s get back to the art!

So onto the rest of the uniform! 

We can see a more traditional and contemporary design choice when it comes to the dress shirt and tie beneath the jacket, as well as the various accessories such as the cap, belt, and of course, the medals and aiguillettes; with Captain Li’s aiguillettes in particular representing the same thing as does Aunty Ran’s interestingly enough! That being their chosen path as instructors in their respective services. 

Another thing to properly note are his service stripes! As seen on the upper arms of both sides of his jacket, each of which represents 5 years of service, totalling his service to about 15 years! 

The two ‘clips’ on the seam-line of his jacket would normally represent the completion of a “Long Patrol”, what are essentially multi-year missions meant to chart uncharted stars, as well as to maintain ‘patrols’ just outside of the periphery of known space. This is different to ‘outbound flights’, which is a far more intense long long term exploration mission that can take decades upon decades. The former are compulsory for all members of the LREF, whilst the latter is committed to on a voluntary basis, with a majority of these missions being SRE ones.

Anyways! Yeah! The two clips here represent the completion of a Long Patrol. However in Captain Li’s case, one of these clips is an honorary one given to him following his actions at Charon Innovations. Though typically, most Rangers would have to go on at least one Long Patrol in their career.

So! In addition to all of this we have his service weapon pouch as well, though many would swap that out for a tool kit.

His rank indicator is found on the ‘collar’ aspect of the cloak/cape, though if the cape is taken off, you’d be able to see the rank bar on his shoulders as is typical.

And hmm, there’s only one more thing to take note of! That being his ‘shoulder stripes/colors’. As you can see, there’s a stripe of dark blue that transitions abruptly into white! That’s an indicator for his assigned Element — the SRE. And the white is an indicator for his specific assignment/operational task. With white being one of the more rarer indicators, hinting at a ‘special’ assignment that could either be completely mundane and esoteric, or completely hush hush and wildly classified! :D 

But yeah! That’s the full details and descriptions for Captain Li and his uniform! 

There’s a lot to cover with the lore I’ve built for the LREF, and I plan to get that out sometime later! Probably sometime alongside the posting of the LREF’s emblem/logo! 

I’ll probably also post an updated version of this piece after the logo is done and integrated into it haha.

Although, there’s just one more thing to take note of actually, in case you missed Captain Li’s character art! And that’d be his prosthetic arm! Yet another lasting impact on him following the Charon innovations incident. But yeah! Taking from that post, here’s what I had to say about the cybernetic arm:

“And just as a quick little primer, cybernetics are usually offered as a restorative and rehabilitative path in place of the cloned limbs offered in Restorative and Regenerative Medicine. Both approaches are available to individuals who have lost limb function, whether through injury, illness, or some other condition. In short, these interventions are considered when the original limb is lost, or is no longer capable of fulfilling its biological and biomechanical role, to the point where it hinders a person’s ability to perform Activities of Daily Living (ADLs). The superficial aesthetics for each prosthetic (such as color, decal, or even skin-like design) however, can vary from person to person! :D”

Captain Li definitely went down the path of customizing his arm to fit his aesthetic, hence the gold joints on dark gun-metal blue! :D 

That’s about it for this one then! 

I do sincerely hope you guys like it because I certainly do! It’s part of my attempt to really nail the vibe of the GUN, and their drip and aesthetics! I really wanted to make them look sci-fi but grounded, cool but not too flashy, and ultimately just unique in their aesthetics as a positive and optimistic interpretation of a sci-fi humanity! Especially one that matches with the GUN vibes! :D I hope it achieves that haha.

Once again, the artist, re11arts, has completely blown me away by the sheer dedication to detail and the artistic talent she put into this piece. The close up shots of Captain Li’s cybernetic hands were offered and added by her, and I really appreciate that so so so so very much!!

Artist Reference: re11arts on instagram

Merry Christmas and a Happy Holidays to all of you! :D I hope this was a fun gift because I certainly had a lot of fun writing the description for it! :D