Hans kept his fingers beside the seal instead of opening the appointment Hajin shoved across the table.
Morning reached the registry table while Vella ground roots across the clinic, watching the last patrol trudge through the doorway. Hajin bounced on his heels beside the appointment as Hans finally unrolled it, finding his own name beneath the mandate.
The thumb beside the seal stopped moving the moment he read the title.
"Commander of the Frontier Volunteer Militia," he repeated, raising the scroll to squint at its signature, "you mean command over every watch, my lord, and not some fool on a platform yelling at recruits?"
"Drills, convoys, evacuation corridors, the whole damn lot," Hajin said, slapping the sector map down beside the scroll.
"You put those men where they belong, and you drag them back home when some bastard tries luring them away."
