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Getting settled back into civilian life was always rough the first couple of weeks, perhaps a little less so when taking into consideration that he was entangled in a war both at home and away overseas. Just because he had been deployed not long after his recovery from the mission at Witzend didn’t mean that the fight against Order would be put on a pause.

Things change, a fact of life that was often cruel or punishing.

When he had left on the mission with General Labyrinthite along with a moderately sized group of officers and corrupts, Dravite had left his girlfriend back in Destiny City. Had even asked his cousin, Hannah, to check in on her from time to time. But things were not as he had left them.

Vera was gone; no note, no nothing. A portion of her belongings gone too but not everything.

He had been severely injured from an explosion and although he was used to fending for himself, he was limited in the other household chores that needed to be taken care of. Fortunately family stepped in and helped until he was well enough to function more normally again.

It would have put his mind at ease if he’d been afforded some time to look for her, however, his military job had other plans in mind. Served with a notice for deployment, he was set to leave again in only a few short weeks. He’d remembered that Stibnite seemed to think that she might be her husband's missing cousin but attempts to reach out to them were in vain.

A dangerous situation to be in when given an objective while ones mind is preoccupied with worry about something on the other side of the world. A hard task to manage but he eventually shunted her out of his mind before he, or one of the men, in his unit got killed because he was distracted.

By the time he got back to the state side there was barely enough time to get settled in before he was summoned to the field with massive generators and some new race to be wary of; Velecians as he later learned they were called. With how large scale the ambush had been, Dravite expected to have seen at least Leucite there partaking in the battle with Stibnite, his recruiting general, not far from her husband’s side.

If not them; then surely Zinkenite would have been present. The two seemed to look up to the Sovereign and prefer being in his company over the other Kings and Queens. But none were there. Not even in the aftermath of the fight when they were all taken to the Dark Kingdom and received a medal for their participation.

Although he still didn’t quite trust the woman, Meridiana had offered him the suggestion of reaching out to one of the other Sovereigns and inquiring if they had any information that they could share with him. Much to his reluctant agreement, he put in a request for a meeting and after about a month’s delay on his part, with the Corrupt’s assistance he stood outside the office of one of their Kings and knocked on the door.

Dravite stepped into the office and after closing the door behind him he spared a brief moment to note how meticulously clean and orderly the space was. Each item, be it a book or a pen, had its place rather than strewed about across his desk in a chaotic fashion only Axinite could understand.

While his expression was stoic, Dravite appreciated the lack of distractions since he felt somewhat uncomfortable going over his General’s head to inquire about what had happened in his absence and where to go from here.

“Thank you, Sir.” He took a seat across from Axinite while still maintaining a more formal posture. “I have been… surviving.” Dravite replied after a moment's pause since ‘well’ implied that things were doing good or at least improving when in fact everything seemed more or less neutral or ordinary.

“One explosion after the next, but still alive and thankfully in one piece.” New scars upon old ones from the senshi blowing herself up in Witzend, to IEDs and mortar explosions overseas, only to return to Destiny City in time for generators to well… need he go on with that thought process. “I realize that I’ve been away for some time due to my military deployment. However, since my return to the States, I find that I am uncertain what I have missed and what I should be doing now that I am back.”

“Unfortunately my attempts at connecting with my recruiting General have been met with silence. It is my hope that you might be able to help fill me in or give me new orders.” Both Stibnite and Leucite, in his mind, were now missing in action and aside from the Gym they both owned, and the phone numbers he kept, there were no other avenues for him to try and reach out to at least make sure they were alive; much like Vera but this was not the time or place to bring that situation up.

Dravite understood that a casual conversation with a Sovereign was not warranted nor necessary when documents would prove a more efficient use of both their times. “Thank you, Sir.” Reviewing them would at least lend him the opportunity to formulate questions, assuming he had any.

“If I may be so bold in my request, I am looking for a General, or a team, where my skill set will be most useful. While I understand the importance of energy quotas; when General Stibnite was active she did not hesitate to bring me along on missions.” She didn’t really offer him the option of not showing, knowing that he’d be better for it with the experience he’d gain working alongside other officers.

“When I joined the military, I did what was necessary to earn my promotions quickly.” In some regards the Negaverse functions similarly but in others, there were vast differences especially when it came to what merits were deserving of more power or authority. If anything, the venture into the Rift only emphasized how inept some people were with giving orders. Arrogant enough to ignore logic and reason simply because he was a Lieutenant; a near grave mistake and they were lucky nobody was killed.

“Venturing out solo is not ideal.” Not as someone who could not teleport away if things got too difficult. “A reliable partner perhaps. Or the ability to participate, or volunteer, for group missions, as they arise.” If the ambush was anything to go by, then chances are he was not qualified enough for the latter. Seemed only a select few were let in on the plan.

Dravite’s stoic expression did little to give away the surprise he felt by the sudden offer. Not wanting to seem like an overly eager Private Third Class who had finally served their time and was being nominated for their first promotion, he gave Axinite’s words some thoughtful consideration before responding.

The mention of a recommendation gave him some hope that General Stibnite, or her husband Leucite, had left the mentions before their sudden disappearance. Fortunately, Dravite neither needed nor wanted the confirmation and chose to believe this was their doing as a parting farewell since he hadn’t been around for a proper goodbye.

“Aside from my participation in the Witzend mission or the venture into the rift to assist the corrupts in their ascension, I did not have many other opportunities to converse with other Generals as I served under and reported to General Stibnite for orders and to turned my quota’s into her.” He could have taken more initiative but circumstances made time limited. Had he not been taking care of Vera then perhaps Isaac would have spent more time powered; but with her memory loss, she did not feel comfortable alone at home especially after someone had broken into it.

“If you believe that my being a Captain, despite the long hiatus while I was serving overseas, would benefit General Lopezite then I humbly accept your offer. However, if there is something you’d require of me to compensate for my time away, please tell me now so I may remove any doubts that my loyalty has been swayed.” Destiny City was his own and while he did not have a close-knit family here as he did in the military, his goals remained the same.

“Thank you, Sir.” Dravite accepted the offered hand and rose from his seat to stand at attention in front of the General King. Previously he would have considered Zinkenite his Sovereign as he had been the one that Stibnite appeared to have close connections with and he served under her. Now he wasn’t sure what branch he’d serve under if things with General Lopezite went well as Axinite seemed confident it would.

Although it had been some time since he accepted the offer to join the Negaverse, he was not unfamiliar with the process of a promotion. He steeled himself against the known discomforts that were associated with the hand that would reach into his chest to grab hold of his own starseed and the pains of chaos being forced into it. A necessity of greater power and strength.

Previously it had been a General that had done him the honor of bringing him into the Negaverse after assessing his performance within the military. But this time it was by the careful consideration of a Sovereign that had reviewed his past and recent achievements who deemed him worthy of a promotion. While it didn’t show, Dravite felt a swell of pride even though at the end of it there would be nobody with whom he could share this moment with. For himself, though, he was glad for it.

“I’m ready,” he stated with a curt nod and focused gaze.

The negative effects would not be long-lasting but the benefits he’d gain would be immeasurable as new doors were about to open and opportunities to progress further would be readily available so long as he had the drive to push himself towards becoming a General.

Beneath the uniform, his body was a myriad of scars, a roadmap to the kinds of abuse he’d put his own body through over the last almost two decades.

The military was unkind to soldiers with the types of drills they were put through in basic training and during mandatory PTs. However, those were tame by comparison to the terrorists they fought against overseas.

Scars from bullet wounds and a knife fight. Mortar rounds, flying rocks, and shrapnel were among other hazards along with IEDs planted along dirt-covered roads powerful enough to lift tanks and flip humvees. It’s a wonder he was still alive let alone with all limbs especially after having a building collapse on him and his team or the Senshi at Witzsend who had. There were minimal burn marks, which was surprising, but likely because magic was involved with the latter.

This, however, had nothing to compare it by.

Despite the newfound strength granted by the promotion, he felt incredibly fatigued… dizzy even. One would think he just ran ten miles without stopping for a drink of water. The ache in his chest lingered and it took a fair amount of effort to not slump back into the chair behind him. For some reason, he didn’t remember the first time being quite like this.

Dravite’s breathing was labored but after taking a moment to compose himself he summoned his new weapon to hand. No longer was it a simple feathered charm on a thin chain. But rather a dagger with a similar motif but on something far more substantial. “Thank you, Sir.” He said, sounding rather breathless at the moment mostly from the tightness that lingered in his chest but also because he had no other words.

“I appreciate the offer,” unfortunately this office space was new enough to him that Dravite didn’t feel like he could relax let alone rest for any measure of time. Especially under the watchful gaze of a Sovereign.

It wasn’t that he felt any mistrust towards Axinite or thought that he’d do anything to abuse his power as a General King. But in the wake of his promotion, the magnanimous signature was making his head swim. A little bit of sensory overload in a moment where he needed a dimly lit room and a pillow to rest his head on.

“If it isn’t too much trouble…” Dravite paused to dismiss the dagger when it felt like the room was beginning to tilt to one side. It’d been quite a while since vertigo hit him this hard and so to circumvent the likelihood of his knees buckling beneath him, the newly promoted Captian sat back down in the chair. “May I rest for a moment? Meridiana had brought me here originally and offered to take me back once our meeting was done.” He had no idea where she’d wandered off to since he didn’t’ sense anyone out in the hallway waiting.