SAF Uniform

The military uniforms of the Sparnell Armed Forces are known for their sharp features and simplicity of design, in support of their reputation for military efficiency and brutality. The same family of uniforms are worn by all branches of service, officers and enlisted alike. Variations include the dress uniform, for formal occasions, and the service uniform, for everyday wear within the fleet.

Dress Uniform

by Astron

The SAF dress uniform was designed with an eye for intimidation and authority. As a result it is the only SAF uniform to include starched white in its colorations, the others centered on the shades of brown said to represent the planetary members of the Confederation.
The left breast of the white jacket is adorned with the wearer's full collection of service ribbons and medals, with the right breast bearing only the gilded nameplate. Admirals wear their personal insignia above the nameplate, while their Oathbound display the insignia of their sponsor as lapel pins on the stiff high collar. The jacket also displays the occupant's rank prominently on both the sleeve cuffs and shoulder bars. The threads of the jacket are specially treated with Chromamancy to ensure it maintains its brilliant white coloration.
The trousers are dark brown and unadorned, with the possible exception of golden Void Stripe piping worn by Void Mages down the outer sides of the legs. A matching brown belt is worn around the waist, over the jacket, sometimes said to signify the Sparnell Confederation planets' support of their military. A stiff white hat with a dark brown brim and gold (for officers) or silver (for enlisted) trim completes the ensemble, the wearer's service emblem displayed prominently on the front.
Gloves, while officially included in the dress uniform, are rarely worn by members of the SAF outside of the most formal of occasions. The thick white fabric tends to tangle in claws despite the Threadmancy applied during weaving and various efforts to include fingertip reinforcements or claw holes. As a result the garments are only willingly worn by humans and dracolings.

Item type

Clothing / Accessory

Owning Organization

Sparnell Armed Forces

Service Uniform

Commodore Renkash Alenahs (working uniform) by Astron

The SAF service uniform was designed for safety, looks, and comfort during everyday operations within the fleet. The brown fabric is said to represent the planets of the Sparnell Confederation, while the lighter brown of the shirt is meant to assist in spotting crewmembers against the Void should one be inadvertently left behind during a Hyperjump. Adornment is limited to name patches and rank insignia, with Void Mages also displaying their Void Stripe piping on the outside of their trousers. Admirals wear their personal insignia on their right breast above their service patch, while Oathbound don lapel pins to denote their sponsoring Admiral.
The cloth is Threadmancy-reinforced to protect against basic attacks and resist chemical spills, flames, and everyday wear. A hidden placket extends down the front of the shirt in the form of an extra flap of fabric which snaps into place to hide the airtight zipper, allowing objects to graze across the surface without catching. The fabric also contains a loose Tyrellium weave, sufficient to reduce the effectiveness of spells directed against its occupant but not enough to unduly stress the Void Necromancer during Hyperjumps.
The weave itself reacts to air pressure, manifesting as a loose but thick fabric to allow comfortable circulation at standard pressures while pulling itself taut and thin to retain air if exposed to the vacuum of space. The sewn-in breather at the back of the neck will automatically deploy in low pressure situations to encapsulate the head and neck of its occupant, securing their air supply and triggering the short-term shielding spells sewn into the shirt's wrist cuffs (and pant tail opening, if applicable). Standard Hyperjump protocol requires these breathers to be manually deployed until the jump is complete in case a crewmember is left behind, while the gilded belt loops can be used to activate a homing beacon for retrieval, as well as a limited warmth spell set to channel through the tyrellium.

Hoffigar Harbia in Uniform by Astron

Unlike the dress uniform, the standard service uniform does not typically include a hat, with a few exceptions. Certain skillsets and roles, such as medics, are assigned hats with symbols on the front denoting those roles to allow for ease of identification in case of emergency. Due to the interference of clothing on their magical capabilities and mobility, fae crewmembers are also assigned a hat as their sole piece of uniformed clothing, complete with the standard Hyperjump safety features. Their carapace and naturally enhanced magical attunements are more than sufficient to provide any additionally required defenses, making the improvements provided by their non-fae coworkers' specialized uniforms unnecessary, although the hats do use the same fabric as the standard uniform shirts.
Prior iterations of the service uniform also included dark brown gloves but these were found to interfere with everyday physical tasks. Additionally the katanoj and canid starmen would often intentionally lose or destroy their gloves in an effort to keep their claws unencumbered, and so the requirement was dropped.
Due to the magical protections and enchantments sewn into the fabric, service uniforms are inspected weekly for spell maintenance and repair. Experienced starmen perform their own inspections, while a dedicated tailormage assists as needed and performs all necessary maintenance and repairs.

Ground Forces Uniform

Razick Kane by Astron

The SAF ground forces uniform is built for utility, protection, and comfort. The thickest of all SAF uniforms at an impressive ten layers of fabric, the weave is not only threadmancy-reinforced but also impregnated with a shear-thickening fluid which instantly hardens when hit with great force, dissipating the brunt of the impact across the fabric before softening to become flexible again. A thicker tyrellium weave is also included throughout the inner five layers of the uniform, to dissipate most direct magical attacks, while an assortment of pockets are scattered across the outer surfaces of both shirt and trousers. Additional protections are provided by reinforced leather epaulets with an upturned collar worn over the outer jacket.
The fabric is also treated with Chromamancy, allowing its pattern to alter depending upon the surroundings of its occupant. Each uniform comes with a handful of preset options optimized for snow, sand, a handful of planetary plant growth coloration, and dark conditions. If unusual coloration and patterns are required in preparation for a mission they can be programmed in separately.
The uniform also includes a heavy helmet reinforced with advanced metalmancy, thick black boots, and leathermancy-treated gloves most commonly seen on human and dracoling members of the force. A heavy backpack completes the standard ground uniform, its contents determined by the mission and the skills and needs of the individual.
Ground force uniforms carry simple insignia, with a name patch worn over the left breast pocket and rank and Sparnell SAF patches on both shoulders. The back of the protective helmet also bears the individual's name and ranking insignia, with the emblem of the Sparnell Armed Forces on the front.

Uniform and Insignia

The insignia of the Sparnell Armed Forces has been carefully designed and positioned to provide the maximum impact and utility. As a result the markings on the dress uniform are meant to provide a certain measure of intimidation, while the markings on the service and ground uniforms focus on utility and clarity during everyday wear and particularly the heat of combat.

SAF Uniforms

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Dress and Service Uniforms for the SAF

The Confederation troops arranged themselves along the pathways around the Capital building, their stiff white and brown uniforms a sharp contrast to the rubble and still raging fires caused by their bombardment. Their leader, an Admiral I think, presided over the ceremony of surrender with a cool disdain that will haunt me for the rest of my days.
I have never seen a larger, more depressing spectacle, than the day we lost our independence to the Confederation.

— citizen, recently conquered planet