The state machine is clumsy. And once you’ve been caught in its gears, like that dog you can’t just bark at and run—wait, maybe they’ll sort out who’s right and who’s wrong later, reward the uninvolved and punish the guilty. But for now you don’t really have much choice.
So Semyon “Chobot” Kalinin didn’t suspect that he, too, could get dragged into the gears of the fall draft. And nothing seemed to foreshadow trouble: the rank of Master had been obtained, a new order was on his chest, even the company’s drone manufacturing facility had been secured. But if the military enlistment office decided you must serve—well, then you’re the evil Pinocchio to yourself. And it’s awkward before your grandfather too: there was a whole military dynasty, and Semyon hadn’t served.
So hello, sky in the clouds!