Apparently Ben didn't tell her quite what he was working on and of course she's upset. He tells Rachel a government contract isn't the worst thing, but she asks him if he doesn't see the potential uses of Ben's invention for warfare (aha! I was hoping this show would turn into Outbreak! When does Dustin Hoffman show up and fix everything?). He, um, does recognize those uses. But he really wants that sweet, sweet government pork.

Present. Miles points out how many wagon treads are on the road, all going the same direction. Aaron asks Nora what's going on with Miles, because normally Miles is standoffish and self-preservationist, but now he wants to rescue a stranger. Nora points out that those kids' parents were killed when Miles was the HBIC of the Monroe Militia. Ah, so he has a conscience and it's guilty.

Miles stops and draws his sword, then head into the trees and drags Michael out, because Michael, like every other kid on this damn show, is shit at taking directions. Miles observes dryly, "It's irritating when a dumb kid tells you what to do, isn't it?" Charlie does not appear pleased by the irony. She tells Michael to stick nearby, and he whistles again, calling up three of his buddies, two little and one Jerry O'Connell-in-Stand by Me-sized, which Aaron thinks is just great: "Like a pack of hairless Ewoks." Don't be so quick to call other people rotund and essentially useless there, Beardo.

The wagon carrying Peter and a girl pull up to the shore of what looks like a sizable lake. Other kids are getting militia uniforms, so this must be the militia intake depot. There's a large ship out in the middle of the lake. I wonder what the Monroe Militia advertisements have replaced "Be All That You Can Be" with -- "See the Country by Raping and Pillaging"?

Nora offers the little girl some water and while Aaron is distracted, Vern grabs the pendant from his bag on the ground. Aaron demands it back and Vern tries to evade him, but trips over his own fat, clumsy feet. So you'd think that Aaron would feel some solidarity with the poor hormone-addled fool. Miles notices the skirmish and asks what the pendant is. Aaron says it's just his necklace and Miles observes that he seems nervous, because he's sweating. Aaron is kind of always nervous and sweating, though. He's like Jerry that way. Nora distracts Miles from sweaty Aaron by calling him over to look at something.