The reason for the combatants' stunned silence was rooted in the impossible message they had just received, an encrypted priority alert sent directly from the Federation's military headquarters, marked with the signature seal of the Silver Marshal herself.
The message read:
"Effective immediately, Cadet Leon Kael has been promoted to the rank of Combatant. He is to take command of the unassigned cadets Adrian Peer, Eleanor Clarke, and Eden Feran as his personal squad under Unit 01. All combatants are to stand down and acknowledge his rank and authority. His orders come with direct approval from Vanguard Rebecca and are not to be questioned. This is a standing military directive."
Combatant Michael Vance's mouth slowly dropped open as his gaze returned to Leon, who stood there completely unaware of the chaos his name had just stirred.
"This… this can't be real," Michael muttered under his breath.
"Promotion… to Combatant… on the day of deployment?"
