Yay you get a couple more chapters today!

"The Skulkin have struck here, here, and here," General Brok-ston noted, pointing at places on the map of Ninjago with a tasseled stick, "I will take the main troops up to the Tung Chow Pass and stop Garmadon before he destroys this village."

"Exccellent strategy, sir! I do love surprisess," agreed his secretary, in a slightly nasally tone. His s's trailed off loosely, and Jay couldn't help but notice he sounded like a snake, ready to strike. He'd never really liked Skal-Les.

General Brok-ston inclined his head, apparently considering the two men in front of him. "You will stay and train the new recruits, Cole. Jay will stand as your second in command. When Skal-Les believes you're ready, you will join us… Captains.

Cole could only stare at his father in shock. A single word escaped Jay's mouth, more a squeak than a statement. "Captains?"

The general nodded sagely. His secretary, however, had a different reaction. With a mix of shock and disbelief painted on his face, he sputtered, "Thiss is an enormouss ressponsibility, General! Perhaps soldierss with more experiencce?"

The general only stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Top of their class, extensive knowledge of training techniques… an impressive military lineage… I believe these two will do an excellent job."

Cole seemed to recover his voice, and assured his father, "Oh I will! I won't let you down! This is... I mean... Yes sir."

"Thank you, sir," Jay added quickly, glancing at his colleague.

General Brok-ston nodded in approval and got to his feet. "Very good, then. We'll toast Ninjago's victory at the Imperial City. I'll expect a full report in three weeks."

He stepped out of the tent, and Skal-Les stood as well. "And believe me, I won't leave anything out," he hissed, before exiting as well.

Cole followed, concealing a small smile, but Jay hesitated. A grin spread itself across his face, and he put his hand on his sword. "Leader of China's finest troops," he fantasized, "No, the greatest troops of all time." A thrilled chuckle bubbled up inside of him, and he stepped outside as well.

Cole, Skal-Les, and the general were already outside, watching the scene unfold before them with impassive expressions. Cole resisted the urge to facepalm as Jay bounced outside, a grin on his face. The brawny man could see the question on his comrade's lips, So, when do we start? Thankfully, the humiliating tangle of soldiers and rice caught his eye before the words came out, and he skidded to a stop, smile disappearing. Mostly.

"Mosst impresssive," Skal-Les deadpanned, watching with a raised eyebrow as the troops pummeled each other.

General Brok-ston mounted his imperial stallion with a smooth, practiced grace, then called, "Good luck, Captains!" He rides off, followed by two disciplined lines of soldiers on albescent horses.

Cole took a step forward and murmured, "Good luck… Father."

Jay rolled his shoulders, ready to take on the world. Or at least these pugnacious soldiers. "Day one."

"Soldiers!" Cole snapped, voice commanding authority. The soldiers separated, revealing a young man cowering in a ball on the ground, and chorused, "HE started it!"

A troublemaker, Cole thought distastefully, Great. He leaned down to the soldier's eye level and growled, "I don't need anyone causing trouble in my camp."

Nya quickly got to her feet and brushed the dirt off of her armor. "Sorry…" She winced at how femininely the apology came out and corrected herself, "I mean, sorry you had to say that. But you know what it is when you get those manly urges… just gotta KILL something. Fix things… a… cook outdoors…" she trailed off. The burly captain was eyeing her with contempt. "What's your name?" he snapped.

Nya froze. A name! She needed a name! She attempted a reply, but only a few weak mumbles came out.

The secretary got in her face. "Your commanding officer just assked you a quesstion!"

Darreth… help… she thought desperately, then recovered herself as she sensed the tiny dragon by her ear, unbeknownst to the men around her. "I've got a name… and it's a boy's name, too." Well, that sounded completely idiotic.

"Ling! How 'bout Ling?" Darreth piped up. Nya scowled and nodded backwards, to the tall, skinny man. "HIS name is Ling."

Cole heard her. "I didn't ask for HIS name, I asked for yours!"

Darreth combed his mind for names. "Uh… Ah-chu!"

"Ah-chu!" Nya said desperately, realizing how ridiculous it was a split-second too late.

Cole raised an eyebrow. "AH-CHU?!"

Darreth snickered in her ear. "Gesundheit! Hee hee ... I kill myself."

"Darreth…" Nya muttered angrily.

"DARRETH?"

"No," she said truthfully. Cole was getting impatient. "Then WHAT is it?!"

Darreth's eyes lit up. "Ember! A hot and spicy name for a hot and spicy girl-er, man, eh?"

Finally! A real name. "It's Ember," Nya said, relieved.

"Ember." Cole didn't look convinced.

"'Course, with fire you could always get burned, so use appropriate safety prec-" Nya reached back and grabbed the little dragon, silencing him while making it look like she was scratching her neck.

She met his dark eyes. They're nice eyes, she noticed, feeling a twinge of something inside of her as she confirmed, "Yes. My name is Ember."

"Let me see your conscription notice," Cole ordered, holding his hand out. Nya fumbled with the scroll tied to her belt, then handed it to him. His eyes narrowed as he read it. "Flam-yi? THE Flam-yi?"

The secretary seemed surprised, too. "I didn't know Flam-yi had a son."

Hoping to save the situation before it nosedived, she lowered the pitch of her voice and explained, "Er, he ... doesn't talk about me much!" She attempted to spit on the ground nonchalantly, but failed miserably.

"I can ssee why," the secretary muttered to Jay, loud enough for everyone to hear, "The boy'ss an absolute lunatic!" Snickers filled the air as the young soldiers caught wind of his words.

Okay, Cole, exercise authority. Make them respect your position. "Okay, gentlemen, thanks to your new friend Ember, you'll spend tonight picking up every single grain of rice," he snapped, then added, "Tomorrow, the real work begins."

Grumbling filled the air as Darreth leaned closer to Nya's ear and muttered, "You know, we have to work on your people skills."