[Concentrating the faint breeze he could feel coming through a crevice in the wall, he answers without thinking.]

No, we were tracing down the trench until-

[The familiar phrase (I'm a general, not some--) throws him right back into the present. Catching himself, he stutters off. Of course, she wouldn't know you couldn't walk to Mobliz from the Veldt anymore. Well, she'd find out sooner or later. He keeps his back to her and his eyes firmly on his work.]

Believe me, you're not going to have to worry about your duties anymore, General.

[And as much as it might come off as one, it isn't a threat.]