I let the silence stretch a little longer, enjoying the experience and somewhat contemplating the answers I could give.

“Yes,” I said a last, feeling suddenly weary. “they are. Ships that looked so invincible before, hanging in the sky – debris falling every which way like the Apocalypse itself has come early. And the wounds, Banon. The things explosions and metal can do to a body, you’d have to see to believe.”

I fell back into silence again, until Banon prompted me.

“But you survived it, didn’t you?”
I sighed deeply, with an odd sense of relief. “Yeah, I did. The thing you learn, though… it’s not about surviving, not really.”

Banon grunted. “I was gonna join the Corps myself, you know. Was walking right up to the officer to sign up when Firus grabs me right out of nowhere, middle of the street, never met the man before. Says that I’m throwing my life away if I join, and that he’ll give me an adventure to beat anything the Corps could offer.”

I smiled. “Well, Firus got me in quite a different manner.”