In which we go to new places, meet new people and spend even more money.

Right after the battle we find ourselves in an ambush.Ms. Ellet is a reporter for GBS Radio, and she really, REALLY wants to ask us some questions. Several questions. A whole load of questions.How Welkin is doing in command of Squad 7, if he’s really the son of General Gunther, his age (as he looks “awfully young”), whether this is his first war, what was his hardest/happiest/funniest experience so far, hobbies, favourite food, EVERYTHING.
She actually climbed the Edelweiss before starting with her questionnaire, driving Welkin towards the rear end of the tank. Just before he actually steps of, the interrogation is interrupted by Alicia, asking who she is, what she’s doing here and why she entered a combat zone as a civilian. The answer is, of course, a journalist seeing a good story.
Largo and Rosie don’t like this whole interview-thing, with Welkin being idolized already after one small victory. They probably fear that this newfound fame will go straight to his head, and guess who’d be suffering as a result.
I for one would drag every sentinel of Squad 7 to the town square and give them at least a lecture. Why did no one stop this woman from climbing the tank of their commander? Why could she come so close without an escort? One might call me paranoid, but a pack of explosives would fit perfectly into one of her satchels…

With Castlefront Street and the War Cemetary we now have access to two more locations via the headquarter tab.The cemetery is the final resting place for those fallen during the First European War, and Gallia is probably digging the graves for those fallen in this new war already.
Welkin is approached by an aged gentleman, asking if he’s here to pay his respects – immediately realizing that this probably wasn’t the best possible conversation starter on a graveyard. But Welkin is here for another reason:  The old man doesn’t seem to impressed by this answer.
He further inquires about Welkin’s position in the Milita……why is he saluting a civilian, and why does this bug me? Should anyone with a military background ever read this: is it appropriate to salute random civilian? Or is the fact that this man probably is a veteran enough to justify it? Does it even have to be justified? [Okay, okay, and Gallia may have a different set of regulation, you win.]
Anyway: Welkin proves to be very down-to-earth about his position. After all, he is responsible for all of his soldiers, and a wrong order could send all of them here. And because he knows his responsibility, the old man offers to teach him an order. Because that’s how it works. As a leftover from the first war, he has some knowledge which could be very useful – but requires “some” experience.
Long story short, we’re offered Sniper Support – calling in a bullet with a name on it on a single enemy target – for the bargain price of 6500 XP. We currently have “none”, so we respectfully decline and come back later…

The next thing on our list is a visit at Castlefront Street, where we meet Ms. Ellet again. She’s very happy to tell us that she ventured into print: as “regular” newspapers face government censorship, she decided to publish The Writing on the Wall, a small-scale newspaper with all the truth in it. The population has a right to be informed about what is really going on. I honestly have no idea why anyone would tell this to a member of the armed forces, other than said member of the armed forces is the intended audience. Rather meta. I’m already getting a headache.

The first two articles regard a possible Gallian counterattack and news from southern Europa.
The first article expresses doubt about the abilities of the army, which was mostly retreating since the war begun, to mount such a counterattack. Furthermore, there seem to be plans to use the Militia in an attempt to save Randgriz from a siege, as the army wants to preserve its manpower for fights inside the city – which will happen, if the siege cannot be avoided or broken.
The second article relates to news from Tares, an outlet run by the Empire, that imperial forces took the coastal city of Valua, thus controlling a mayor supply line towards southern Europa and enabling full-scale war in the southern territories.

More news will become available over time, especially after Squad 7 returns from action. And there’s another thing Ms. Ellet wants to ask. She really wants to write a book, but…We all know where this is going. Yes, she’s asking for money. Yes, the sales pitch is “Squad 7 could feature in my book”.
Yes, Ms. Ellet, aka Irene Ellet, will be Irene Koller after her future marriage, THE Irene Koller who will have written “On the Gallian Front”, our most beloved source of exposition.
We can finance several “reports” to activate additional story-chapters, the first of which will be this Sunday’s bonus content.