"Nice to meet you, Captain Walthers. To be honest, I'll be glad to take on a new post. While this command has been rewarding, I feel it'd be best to move on to a new job."

"I can certainly understand that sir."

"While you're here, come meet my staff. The sooner you get to know them the better. Here's Adjutant Smith, Lieutenant Smithers, and Sergeant Bulson."

"Forgive me for asking sir, but... the second one you pointed to appears to be a racoon."

"Yes... well, I recommend that if you deploy to a jungle, remain polite to the natives."

"How's that sir?"

"There was a small confrontation and the Lieutenant decided to be rather rude to a village elder."

"And?"

"The village elder was also a [witch doctor]."

"Ah..."

"Quite right. That being said, he still marvelously handles paperwork."

--Briefing between Two Officers, Lenorian Army. From: "Indigenous Classes: A Cautionary Guide." AC 1230.

"TO ADVENTURE!!!"

With that proclamation made for all to hear, I push open the door and enter the Recruiting Station. As I pass through the entrance, I examine the room. It’s a small building, and on the inside, it is sectioned into three separate offices. The one in front of me has a placard sign that reads, "Navy." The one on the left says, "Army," and the one on the right says, "Air Force."

There's no one I can immediately see, but I hear some rustling in the back as a voice says, "be with you in a minute!" Taking that for what it was, I continue my examination of the area. It was... not particularly exciting. The walls are painted in a beige color, and everything has the appearance of being old but well maintained. To my right is a sitting area immediately adjacent to the entrance. I see a strange metal stand by the seats and coast over to take a look.

The stand is fastened to the floor and rises above me into the water. It is divided into separate sections and there appears to be some sort of brightly colored pamphlets in each one. I'm not sure of the material it's made out of, but it feels light and flexible in my claw as I reach out to grab one.

On the cover, a dark blue female crab is lifting one claw high. She's wearing some kind of red fabric around her midsection with white spots on it. The background is a harsh solid yellow and in a bubble above her there is a caption that says in big bold letters, "We Can Do It!"

Interested, I open it up and I'm amazed at the sights within. Painted on the material are images of crabs in some kind of fiery location, hammers in claws. On the next panel, they appear to be pouring what looks to be lava from a giant bucket into a trough. I read the captions below,

"We want You! For the Navy! Female, male, swimming, walking, any size and all species are welcome in our fight against [corruption]! Join our stalwart fighters in defending your home! Can't swim well? No problem! Manufacturing and armament positions are always available!"

I turn the next page and see a panel that shows a pod of armored whales lined up in the water. Smaller figures are painted on top of the whales, manning structures that appear to be long metal cylinders. The caption reads, "Feel you're a top swimmer? Join our crack naval team! From whales to constructs, we have a diverse fleet of personnel primed and ready to fire upon the enemy. Join Today!"

I finish reading as a blue fish swims out of the Navy Office. I can tell he's middle aged, and a long scar traces down one side to a torn fin. I place the pamphlet back on the stand and face him as he speaks,

"Oho! Already looking to join the navy, are we? I may be biased myself, but really?" He leans forward and pretends to whisper, "We're the best branch here."

I keep my claw jerk reaction silent. Between the happy pamphlet, the fish's friendly demeanor, and the actual war I witnessed... I could sense a theme here. These guys might be a little shady. I keep a straight face and pretend to be excited saying, "Oh? The navy is the best?"

*BAM! *

"THEY'RE NOT!"

The front door kicks open and a grizzled dark green crab walks in. One of his legs is missing, replaced with a peg and he scuttles in and closes the door. He tilts his body and looks at the fish with a wary eye as he says, "Get back to yer office! You get first crack at the swimmers, and I get first crack at the walkers. Sweet baby Wisdom, I was just getting lunch! I was out for ten minutes!"

The fish ripples his body in a shrug and turns around, swimming away. Before his door closes, he calls out, "Well, when you want to join a REAL branch of service, come see me!"

The grizzled crab is holding a bag and he throws it at the fish's door. Muttering to hiimself, he scuttles forward to grab it and then turns to us. He begins loudly talking,

"Alright you two! I can see the hunger in yer eyes! You want tae grab [corruption] in your own appendages don't ya?" He walks closer and stares down at me from a taller height. He's about twice the size that I am, and I can see each one of his stalks looking at us separately. He asks us, in almost a whisper, "You know what makes the green kelp grow?"

I back up half a step, a bit wary of this strange guy getting in my personal space. Luna responds, yet her confusion is evident as she quietly asks, "Umm... Sunlight?"

The Army Crab throws his claws up high and yells, "BLOOD! Corrupted Blood makes the green kelp grow!"

I nod slowly, eyeing the entrance and backing up a step further. My wary step towards the door seems to rein in the emotional crab and he lowers his claws to limp towards his office. As he opens the door, he waves a claw and says, "Come on in. We'll see about you joining the best branch this city can offer."

I whisper to Luna, "You think it's okay to be in the same room with this guy?"

Luna responds, "I mean... he does seem to be a little overenthusiastic. Let's see what he has to say but keep our options open."

I nod in agreement and follow the crab into his office.

A long flat stone bench is situated in front of his desk, and I climb on top as he begins speaking. "So, what kind of work are y'all thinking? Infantry, Armor, Artillery, Signal?"

Err... nothing he's saying has made sense so far, so I just cautiously ask, "Sorry, what kinds of jobs are those?"

As he speaks, the army crab is leaning forward over his desk, slowly inching closer. My question rocks him back onto his own seat. He pauses for a second, and then asks, "Y'all are first gen aren't ya?"

I nod.

He then continues, "Well, that makes things easy. Yer can't join to be an adjutant, intelligence, signal, artillery, ordinance or engineer. Same goes for the navy."

Luna pipes up, "Why's that?"

He bluntly says, "Well, those jobs are too technical. You'd require not only training but you're missing a lifetime of context. If I said to ya, "You need tae prime the mana flux chamber," you have no idea what I'm talking about right?"

Luna nods an arm.

"City born, well, they'd know from schooling and context and the like at least what I'm referin' to. Might not know how to do it, but they'd know what I was talkin' about. There are hundreds o' little things that aren't a big deal on the face o' it. But take 'em together? Well, we don't want the first gen misunderstandin' somethin' and causin' a huge explosion. It's happened before. And know that it ain't my rules. Them's the regulations and we have to abide."

I slump a bit, a little let down. I've been getting inklings of information this whole time through the akasha. Nothing to give me a clear understanding of the choices, but just enough to know that some of those options were probably really awesome. Luna seems to catch my mood and ask, "Hey, you okay?"

The Army crab seems to notice my demeanor as well. His exuberant tone goes down a notch and he says, "Don't get down crab. Yer options may be limited, but I don't know if you's noticed something important. The military actually really wants to recruit y'all. More than any other creature in this city, right now, y'all are the most important recruitment category."

I consider the crab's words; thinking back to what the shrimp on the wall said. He said, "Always good to have first gen's show up." And then earlier the whale had said, "Hope to see you out there." I decide that the crab might not be pulling my claw on this one and ask him simply, "Why?"

At my question, the crab looks out the window beside me. I follow his gaze and see ocean creatures floating, swimming, walking by. He quietly says, "Because we know what it means to actually fight. Some people say that livin' like they have... livin' in this city has made them weak somehow. Those of us who fought out of a dungeon? Found sapience for ourselves? Well, we weren't born into peace."

He waves a claw at the window, the people moving by. He continues, "First gen know what a blessin' this entire city is. Because while many o' them will never go to the front lines, we remember what it means to claw fer your very life."

His words catch my attention and I turn my eyes from the window. He's first gen as well, same as Luna and I. We stare at each other as he quietly says, "Aye crab. I remember the dark days, alone and afraid. Not understandin' the world around me. Not understandin' nothin' about this city. They may fight for their home. But us? I'd like ta think we're fighting for the hope this city represents. A hope for a brighter future."

I look at Luna and can see that the crab's words have affected her. They've touched me as well, to a degree. I remember how alone I felt on those early floors, missing my leg, just wanting to get home. The ache is still there, but it's dulled somewhat with time and distance. Truth or not, the Army crab at least seems to understand where we're coming from. And caught in a strange city, surrounded by things I don't understand, with a fellow crab in front of me... I decide to follow Todd's advice. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt. I say,

"What would you recommend?"