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Thanks so much for your support! Like, seriously, you guys.

To view the full-size version... left-click, right-click, new tab. Or left click then use the scroll wheel to zoom in and click and drag the image. I just figured that one out myself.

FYI: People had been correctly pointing out that the "hyperdrive" branch of the skill tree needed an orb in the first spot, so I've added that now. Not retroactively yet, but at any rate, the OCD amongst you can unclench slightly. Also, the center ring wasn't notated correctly. The "pizza slices" in the absolute middle light up as points are spent in the surrounding ring, and I had forgotten that when she bought the points there when she was on the Alari homeworld. So panel 1 is a fully accurate shot of the skilltree at this point in the comic. Until Sydney spends her new point, anyway.

Maxima is ridiculously (unrealistically) easy going most of the time when it comes to saluting and... I don't know what it's called. Military... affectations? All the snapping to attention, needing to ask permission to speak candidly, all that stuff. I'm sure there's a term for it. She's so lax that I'm sure some people forget Archon is actually military most of the time, and I have to imagine some readers who were in the military just politely nod and think "Military. Sure." But I think we can all accept that Sydney, and actually a lot of the team simply wouldn't thrive in a proper military environment.

I've actually considered a scenario where Sydney gets seconded to a proper military unit, like some naval unit needs her for some deep-sea reconnaissance or something. I just don't think I know enough about military life to make that remotely satisfying to read, and also I don't think it'd be very funny, because Sydney would probably get in trouble almost immediately and be in tears by the end of the third page.

Presumably, Sydney is actually learning all that saluting, standing at attention, and marching up and down the square. Just, off camera. I'm not sure that stuff would make for the most entertaining pages.

ANYWAY. Every once in a while, Maxima feels the need to remind everyone she is their boss and not to interrupt her the moment she enters a room then burst into laughter.

Twenty laps for Sydney is not the same punishment as twenty laps for Dabbler. Even if Dabbler wasn't topped with tantric energy, she's a fit adventurer who has been in her share of running gun battles and "must reach the dark tower before the demon god awakens" situations, etc. Honestly, even 40 laps would barely tax her. Max would need to consider something absurdly boring to actually punish Dabbler.

(Dabbler has summoned a little magical fan to blow cool air on her in that last panel, in case you were wondering what that blue thing was.)

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Comments

Stan

Military Protocol is what I think you're looking for or Military Bearing...

FeyOne

Also, I knew several people in the military with ADHD at least as bad as Sydney has it. There are plenty of specialties in the military where she would thrive. That all said, the military also understands the concept of specialist units. The best examples of this are doctors, lawyers, and other such professionals. Sure, they have to learn all the basic military stuff, but their day to day experience of the military is radically different than that of someone in the infantry, or cavalry, etc... So, really, don't stress on it. Realistically, every single one of them is going to have some specialized skill/power acknowledging officer or officer equivalent rank, (an individual capable of destroying entire buildings themselves with no supporting equipment is not, and will never be, enlisted). So it isn't like Sydney is a private or anything.

Marc Vun Kannon

Nice to see Sydney and Dabbler having a fun bonding moment. Maybe Max just felt left out. Good to see that it takes 20 laps to tax Sydney now. It used to be 3. It's odd that Max would let the skill tree stay up so long, considering that Sydney is powerless until it's closed.

Justaguy

20 laps for Sydney. 20hrs celibate for Dabbler?

Aaron Mauthe

20 laps on a standard track is 5 miles, right?

Immortal_Knight

Nice reference to monty pythons the meaning of life! great fucking movie

Daniel Schinhofen

Thank you for the marching up and down the square.

Michael Obert

Max sure can suck the fun out of a room; just like Dabbler sure can suck the . . . uh, nevermind :)

Town Crier

Dabbler could do with some Bart Simpson/ Chalkboard time. Tedious and very time consuming.

Town Crier

Military discipline has been somewhat lax...

Town Crier

I think that the dot that connects the Life Support Orb to the Shield Orb would be the ideal pick. It tries something new, thus potentially learning more about the skill tree, plus a good chance that the orbs somehow combine powers in a manner that negates Sydney's need to swap orbs.

Isaac Nagel

Actually, you hit the "Oh yeah, I'm in such a lax military unit I forgot I was IN the military at the wrong moment." PERFECTLY. I was in Military Intelligence for all 20 years I served, and I had one or two (or twelve) moments that were pretty much exactly like this. Luckily they were mostly before the Army stopped allowing for physical-training-as-punishment and started doing up counseling statements for every little thing... Actually, I just thought of something. I know while I was in I had to do monthly counseling statements that acted as sort-of evaluations. I'd love to see one of Sydney's.

Isaac Nagel

Another thought: Sydney never really had any kind of Basic Training to instill any kind of military bearing or customs and courtesies reactions (I've been out 2 years and my hand still twitches when I walk past an officer, and sometimes I panic because I don't have my hat.) She's just a Recruit. I don't know what her rank will end up, because it may be based on powers and demonstrated skillset, but I don't see her rising to officer status. There's too much politicking and crap that goes with the shiny rank... That being said, I have worked with a couple of Warrant Officers that behaved very similarly to Sydney.

cittran genericlastname

Do you have a rough idea (measured in years, probably) of how long it's going to take Sydney to figure out how to speedrun getting more pips? She's a gamer, a geek, *and* a nerd, and she has ADHD -- and if there's one combination of things that basically guarantees attempts at speedrunning something mentally engaging, it's having the knowledge to test stuff and the lack of patience to try it. Not like I'm speaking directly from many cases of experience or anything. >_> No, not at all.

Ray

Decorum? Discipline? Protocol? Courtesy? Probably Courtesy.

Eric Loken

We had a teacher like that in high school. Pretty easy going and lax about teacher - student interaction... up until you pissed him off, then he'd remind you rather firmly of what the actual pecking order was.

William Elliott

from most of the veterans I have talked to that were in combat arms or direct support, their best commanders were like that. Relatively easy going till you did something dumb, especially when others above them in the chain of command or outside the chain of command were present.

Joe Koenen

The term used for "military affectations" during my brief tenure was "Soldierization" The first 2-3 weeks of basic is just soldierization and PT. Once they've thinned the herd a bit, then they let you blow stuff up.

Jordan Brennan

I have a theory about the orbs: Orbs respond to mental commands, even subconscious ones as we saw in the pool scene. The skill tree shows each of the orbs with it's own skill tree, plus being connected to each other in around the edge and the star pattern. You then have the 2 inner circles. So in conclusion: Once Sydney has connected ALL the orbs together, She will only need to be touching 1 to be able to use all the powers, possibly the one left we don't know what it's power is, to be able to use ALL the abilities.

Stan

Just noticed Dabbler's looking a little "snotty" today.