The East PacificBoard

Andy and Harry are fishing at the little port in the town again. It's always a picturesque view from there - whenever they came, the sun was always setting and the sky was a glorious mix of orange and deep purple.

Harry pulls another fish out of the waters and stares at it for a few moments, before letting it back into the water. "I don't get it, Andy. Why do you always release the fish after catching them? Isn't the whole point of fishing to catch them?"

Andy mounts his fishing rod between the boards and turns to Harry. "Because it's the right thing to do. A lot of the fish around here are ones we can't really eat, so why bother keeping them if we can't do anything with them? That's why I always try to catch mackerel and salmon, because at least we can eat those!" He chuckles to himself.

"Makes sense. How do you which ones you can eat?"

"Ah, I used to study food te..."

Andy sees a large ship in the distance. From the top of the flagpole flies a green, yellow and blue flag with an eight-point star on the dexter side.

It's the Westmore National Guard.

...

Half of the town is gathered around outside the town hall's window, trying to listen in on what Esther is proposing to their leader. Despite Esther being infinitely better than Hart, Westmore and her government was still reviled by the people of the commune and in any case, they hoped their leader would show her the door.

Inside, she is now getting exasperated by the stubborn attitude of the Town Elder, Jeffrey. "Mr. Verdun, I am giving you a chance to make your commune stronger, and you're here being a dumb prick and telling me that-"

"Because all you have to offer me is lies and deception, Esther. It was your government that kicked me out of my own house. It was your government that outcasted over 1,900 people on the grounds of their race, something they cannot change!"

"What will it take to get it through your thick skull that I'm nothing like Hart?! If I was like him, I wouldn't be standing here before you today with an offer to train your citizens to be able to fight for themselves! Hell, I was the one that put him and his government out of power! I was the one that got rid of that scumbag tyrant!"

"And what is telling me that you're not going to use this as an advantage to cripple the commune to be your lapdog again, huh?"

"Mr. Verdun, may I remind you how you even ended up here? To the world, this commune is a lapdog of New Westmore, so your point is moot. Just let my army train your people to be battle-ready and then both of us can be happy."

"What do you have to gain from training a 1000-strong civilian commune to be soldiers, Esther?"

"Everything, because it is in my best interests that this commune remains safe."

"Is that so? Atrocha and Ci Arovannea are doing far better at that than your pathetically weak excuse of a country! You called me a thickskull earlier, so I counter you with this: what will it take to get it through your thick skull that I and my people don't want the help of New Westmore in any way, shape or form at all!?"

Esther sighs and presses her fingers to the bridge of her nose. "Mr. Verdun, I insist that you let the National Guard train your people. It is painfully clear that the commune cannot defend itself without foreign aid, and that is no way to live at all. What if Atrocha leaves when all is said and done? To my knowledge, they're not even providing military aid. And how about Ci Arovannea? They can't possibly defend your commune forever."

Jeffrey reclines in his seat. "And again, what do you have to gain from this? I want you to be honest, Esther, because if we were of no value to your regime I don't even think that you would be approaching me today with this offer."

She leans forward and answers him. "I have nothing to gain from this. It is you who has everything to gain, though. I don't get anything from training your citizens, but you get to have a populace that is more than capable of protecting itself even when the benefactors you so heavily rely on leave."

"I will give you the finest equipment of the National Guard to provide Freeville a sturdy backbone. I will give you guns, ships, artillery. You are the one that is benefitting from this, not me."

"So please. Accept my offer."

Jeffrey thinks it over in his head. His skepticism is still sky-high. Esther has to be up to something.

He finally answers. "Fine. On one condition, though."

"What may that condition be, Mr. Verdun?"

"You only train the children and teenagers of the commune. No adults."

"That's a strange condition to ask for, Mr. Verdun. You do know that-"

"I am well aware child soldiers are an international crime. So why not train them under a cadets program instead?"

"Hm."

...

Andy watches from the shoreline as the battleship sails away into the distance, to join the darkness of the Demetric Ocean in the north. Somewhat behind him, he can hear Jeffrey trying to calm the concerned residents of Freeville, who were trying to pry from him what Esther had offered. All he would tell them was that it was "something that would greatly benefit the commune," whatever that may mean.

What did she want from Freeville?

Why them?

...

5. 5. 3. 4. 39. 34. 45. 40. 12. 12. 34. 2. 2. 1. 0. 9. 8. 4. 5. 67. 82.

Meet the Rangers of Tomorrow, the hardiest, toughest and strongest band of children you have ever met. Trained as if they were real soldiers under a strenuous cadet program, they are well and truly people you wouldn't ever want to mess with.

They defend their home with their lives. They will grow up to be fine warriors of their commune.

They are the Rangers. And they're here to stay.

3. 2. 45. 56. 65. 32. 1. 9. 4.