“Does that really—” There’s a flicker of surprise across the man’s face, Clarisse facing him with a thought which honestly hadn’t even occurred to him. They’d been lucky, back home. All of those heroic warriors had signed up for the battle and astonishingly few had died. He hasn't had to be faced with what happens to conscripts.

“Well, that’s an idea. Clearly I’ve got my next research project: reading up on Riftwatch casualty rates and how they’re distributed. Hopefully it doesn’t mean rifters are the local equivalent of redshirts since the universe can just throw more of us in.” Does Star Trek exist in her universe? Either way.

“I think we do have an obligation to do something useful here,” Strange muses, “but I don’t think that means you have to rush in before you're ready. Demi-god of war or not. I doubt a reluctant soldier makes for a very effective one.”