513 The List

“Understood, Drillmaster!” The students called out in one voice. No one else rushed to say they’d join.

Lan Jue nodded. “That is all.” He turned his back on them and walked away. The students remained where they were, looking at each other speechlessly. The expected return of their Drillmaster was at hand, and they suddenly realized fully what that meant.

Lan Jue had pulled no punches in telling them about the danger, but he also promised to protect them as much as he could. The students felt it, felt inspired by it.

“I want to be a soldier, and nobody’s gunna talk me out of it. If it wasn’t for the Drillmaster I’d have signed up already. My family always said I was good for nothing, well I’ll show them. I’ll protect them, and the whole Alliance! Without a country how could we have a home? What makes us different from those aliens then? I’ll kill every one of them!” Jin Tao’s spirited voice carried on the air.