You'd be surprised. The Summoned have enough of a community here that most people haven't felt pressured to officially join the military.

[ There was Sephiroth, but he's left now, and then Garrus and Shepard, but they all did so voluntarily, if only because it was what counted as the norm for them. As far as Steve's concerned, it's not a bad idea to have a few people on the inside, but he hadn't been willing to go that route, having found himself burned too many times in the past.

Still, with the way Cid talks, he's no stranger to any of this. Despite his relaxed nature, Steve wonders if he has any sort of military experience, even if it was when he was younger.

As for how it was so easy to pick Cid out, Steve only shrugs. With the arcana-emblazoned uniform and the unfamiliar face, both among the Summoned and the soldiers stationed here, he'd stood out. Instead of explaining all that, though, he answers the question, one that most people who are new tend to ask. ]

It's been... well, in about three months, it'll have been two years.

[ Which is enough to make him pause as it sinks in. ]