Soldiers and civilians alike mingled in the open space of an outpost, carefully watching a big screen that been hurriedly set up. Drake was amongst them, although he stayed at the back. Unlike the crowd, he wasn't curious or excited, because he already knew what they were going to watch.

Having just finished his call with Higler, Drake was both relieved and exhilarated. The ranger had dispelled his doubts regarding whether or not he could still become a ranger after being unwillingly enlisted, and that cheered him up.

"I guess I will have to call the old man after this, right, Frainer? He will be worried sick after the announcement."

Like always, the ball of mist didn't answer, and floated around him in a creepily adorable motion. While other people might have been scared by the swirling red eyes, Drake couldn't think of them as anything other than cute. Smiling, he patted his companion.

"Yo, Drake! Come over here!"

Hearing a young man's voice call him, Drake raised his head and saw a soldier calling him. In those two days he had spent on the outpost, with nothing to do, he had made a few friends. Sergeant John Falkes was one of them. The officer was even younger than him, and, because of that, seemed to look up to Drake for managing to talk to Major Alcamond pretty much whenever he wanted.

He walked up to Falkes, and greeted the soldiers next to him. He recognized the faces of a few, but didn't know their names. They were off-duty now, meaning that they didn't need to be so strict with themselves and the others, and looked no different than a group of youths.

"How's your leg?"

"Doing all right. I wanted to go for a ride today, to stretch it, but there's... All that, so I had to stay."

As he said that, Drake gestured to the screen, and shrugged. There were a few nods from the others, agreeing with him. There were no cities around the outpost, so even when they were on the so-called day leave, the soldiers would stick around. They were used to staying in the same place for months or even years, but Drake clearly wasn't.

"Talking about that, what do you think this is all about? They say some big-shot is gonna talk today."

"Dunno. My boyfriend lives in Sapphire City, and said they got hundreds of those set everywhere in the city. Even TV and radio's gonna transmit it."

One of the female soldiers pointed that out, and the others crowded around her, asking questions. Only Drake seemed unmoved, and Falkes quickly caught that. Although he might not seem like it, the sergeant was pretty sharp.

"You already know what this is about, don't you, Drake?"

"I have an idea, yeah."

"Does it have to do with you getting all screwed up the other day?"

"Yep."

Even as the soldiers pestered him for more information, Drake kept quiet. He was unwilling to say anything more, in case not everything he discovered was available to the public. He had never been to war, but he doubted Menoraz's government and Ministry of War would outright say that there were at the very least one million Lapidum troops coming at them. They would surely downplay it, or might even not mention the number of enemies.

"It's starting!"

The screen lit up, and everyone's eyes focused on it. Noise died down as several symbols and crests from different government organizations appeared and then flashed away. Then, a live transmission started, showing a middle-aged woman standing on a podium, and surrounded by reporters. A line of soldiers separated her from them.

Drake instantly recognized the woman, and so did everyone else. After all, there wasn't a single inhabitant of Menoraz who didn't know who General Isabella Lilac was. Still, seeing her now, he couldn't help but feel that she looked a bit... Ordinary. About fifty years old, her short hair was a mix of grey and white, and her brown eyes were exceptionally clear. There was a small scar on her lower lip, but that was it. Nothing that set her apart from normal folk.

Her dark-blue uniform didn't carry the many medals and pins one would imagine she had. Instead, it only had the golden strips that set her position as a 5-star general or something - Drake wasn't too sure, all he knew was that she was one of the higher-ranked officers of the Menoraz Army.

"Good morning to all who are watching. My name is Isabella Lilac. Today, unfortunately, I am a messenger of bad news."

She was briefly interrupted by a few reporters, but their voices were cut out, so Drake had no idea what they asked. The general, however, ignored them, her back straight.

"As we speak, Lapidum Kingdom is moving their troops to attack us. Again. Effective immediately, all wartime preparations and directives are to be followed. Don't be scared, people of Menoraz. We faced countless invasions from these lowlife scums in the last centuries, and never once we faltered. This time won't be any different. We will fight and defeat them, like we always do."

She paused, and directed her piercing gaze at the cameras, making Drake feel like she was staring deep into his soul. No, she was anything but ordinary, he corrected himself. General Lilac's demeanor, even through a screen, was unlike anything he had ever seen. His body shook unconsciously.

Falkes and the young soldiers were rilled up by her words, but none of them were as affected as Drake was. He ran his gaze through the crowd, and noticed that only a few soldiers - those who looked like battle-hardened veterans - had the same reaction as him. They were staring at the screen unblinking, startled like he was.

"I won't say any more today, nor answer any questions. Just know that preparations have already been made, and countermeasures are already in place. Wish our valiant troops good luck."

With a cacophony of reporters asking questions, and camera flashes, the transmission ended, leaving everyone stunned. They had all thought it would be a lengthy speech, but General Lilac had stopped after barely a few sentences. Somehow, that made Drake like her more. Just from her behavior, one could see she was a soldier, not a politician.

Almost at the same time as the crowd around him exploded in noise, everyone talking at the same time, the soldiers with a grave expression on their faces, Drake's phone rang. Seeing that Sergeant Falkes and his friends were occupied with themselves, he stepped back, and pulled out his phone. Frowning, he saw that the caller was an unknown number.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Drake. Did you like my speech?"

"General! Err... It was short, but straight to the point."

He had not expected that as soon as she finished the announcement, she would call him. In fact, he had not expected her to call him at all. He thought everything she said about him reporting only to her and so on were means to earn his loyalty.

"My assistants wrote a fifty-page manuscript for me. But that's not what I'm calling for. Now that we publicly announced Lapidum Kingdom is attacking us, we have basically declared war. That means that they will be paying more attention for any of our scouts and spies now."

"That's just lovely..."

General Lilac ignored Drake's sarcasm, and just kept speaking. She knew very well that he was unhappy with being forced into service, so he wouldn't show much respect.

"However, that also means that they will retract most of their advanced troops, at least the ones in big groups, since now even civilians will be paying attention. That includes the squad of Cleaners you faced. I bet you are itching for another go at them."

Drake chuckled. While it was true he wouldn't mind facing the Lapidum scout group again - the black spike was painful as f*ck, after all - he wasn't that simple-minded.

"Not as much as you would like to think, ma'am. What do you got?"

"Oh? Interesting... Well, yesterday a civilian found a decimated patrol, all killed by Andasite spikes. Fifty kilometers east of your position."

"They are going back to Lapidum, then. That's to be expected."

"Yes. Unfortunately, that's all we know for now. What I want you to do is go into that general direction, and gather intel about Lapidum's movements. And, if you can, exterminate the Cleaners. They are cruel and merciless animals, and I'm not saying that as a general or politician. I'm just stating facts. Cleaners have to be invisible, and sometimes being invisible means leaving no witnesses."

Cleaners didn't differentiate between soldiers and civilians. During the last two days, with his new status as a Menoraz soldier - although few knew about it, since he didn't use an uniform or badge - he had done his research on everything he could regarding Lapidum. He paid special attention to their advanced units, such as the Cleaners, and their Iferes.

"You are too young to have experienced war, Drake, but I've been to quite a few. Wars cause panic and disorder. The Cleaners and other spies are going to use that chaos to slip past our defense lines, be it to enter or leave Menoraz. Not only that, but robbers, thieves, outlaws, and murderers will be even more active, their targets being civilians who are fleeing and scared. The closer you get to the frontlines, the worse it is. You get what I'm saying, don't you?"

He didn't answer. General Lilac had entered a monologue, and he felt he shouldn't interrupt her, even if he already knew what she was going to say. So, all he did was grunt in agreement.

"As a scout under my command, you must remember that the mission is more important than anything. While it might be painful to watch civilians suffer, whatever information you bring back could spare thousands from the same fate, understood?"

"Yeah. I guess..."

"I know this is cruel, but it's reality. I'm not stopping you from helping those you can, but... Remember you are a soldier now."

"Yes, ma'am."

After a few more seconds of silence, General Lilac hang up, leaving Drake staring at the phone in his hand pensively. He understood what his new superior meant. He was to discover Lapidum's movements, but there was no time limit or restriction. He could advance at his own pace, poking his nose in every problem that he found. Only, if he ever had to choose between helping someone, or something related to the war... He had to have his priorities straight.

"Now comes the hard bit."

Dialing his grandfather's number, he shifted his weight between his two legs, anxious. When the old man picked up, his first words were to ask how Drake was, and if he was safe. That warmed his heart.

"You saw the news, right, gramps?"

"Sure did, kiddo. Make sure to stay away... What am I saying? You probably already are knee-deep in this mess, aren't you?"

He heard an exasperated sigh from the other side of the call, and a feminine voice giggling. His grandfather must be at the university at this time, and Celia and the others probably were around him. He laughed, embarrassed.

"Kinda. I'm...I'm not sure of what I am, to tell the truth. Some kind of glorified scout, I guess."

"Well, be careful then. Don't worry about us, Blue Coral is far from the frontlines. Just do your best to stay alive. Uh... Celia says that you have to remember to wear her good luck necklace."

"Err... Okay. It's on me right now."

He fiddled with the pendant, and couldn't help but wonder if it was more valuable than he thought, since Celia was always asking about it. But then again, if it was expensive, why would she give it to him?

"All right. Something else I wanted to tell you, gramps, is that I probably will be out in the wilderness for the next two or three weeks. I will be out of reach, so don't get too worried if you don't hear from me."

"Okay... What are you going to do?"

There was some hesitation in his grandfather's voice, and a slight trembling. Drake sighed. He didn't like to make his last kin worry, but there was nothing he could do. One couldn't always stay under a safety umbrella. At some moment, they had to go out, and for Drake, that moment was when he left Blue Coral City. Unfortunately, the fact that he was ready didn't mean Caleb was.

"I'm afraid that is classified. If I were to tell you... It would cause trouble for you. But I guarantee you that there isn't much danger, at least not when compared to what I have already done."

"Why doesn't that make me feel better?"

Laughing, Drake walked towards his Yscalent - this one belonged to the Menoraz Army, but wasn't marked. Without saying farewells to anyone, he rode out of the outpost.

"I'm going, gramps. You will hear from me soon. Take care."

"You too."

Hanging up, he patted Frainer, and snapped his fingers at Kniivar, who was running alongside him. The Ifere let out a happy cry, and quickened her pace. Drake grinned, and then looked at the road ahead. War... His smile faded. He would discover what it was like very, very soon.