Read Star Force Perseverance (SF81) (Star Force Origin Series) Online
Authors: Aer-Ki Jyr
Po-1003886 came back from his workout fresh and lively
even though the newly minted ranger was dead tired. He’d leveled up to the
third tier of Archons four days ago and had been on a high ever since then,
proudly cleaning out his wardrobe of the acolyte silver stripes and replacing
his uniforms with the ones that bore the ranger green. He put on one of those
after a quick shower, then stopped by the cafeteria for all of two minutes to
grab a quick bite and a couple of sugar sticks to take with him as he headed
for the meeting he’d been anticipating.
His dead legs didn’t bother him, aching from a very
long run that he’d probably pushed a little too far. He had a habit of doing
that, but it was the only way he learned his current limits. He’d adjust now
that he had data to work with and find a way to approach higher level workouts
without tanking, as he always did. Right now though his future as an Archon was
about to be determined in a big way, and he wasn’t the only one. Several others
that had also just made ranger were gathering here as well, and when he walked
into the amphitheater he saw several dozen of them already sitting in the seats
while a few people were waiting up on the stage.
Po took a seat and chewed on his last sugar stick,
feeling his adrenaline spiking more than it did in combat. Ever since becoming
an Archon he’d been working out of this facility on Mars, as a base at least.
He’d had some field assignments, including one all the way down in Gamma
Region, but he’d always cycled back here same as the other adepts and acolytes
did, for this was Clan Null’s headquarters…with the name being a joke more than
anything, but the trailblazers seemed to like doing that sort of thing with
labeling.
All adepts and acolytes belonged to the Nulls, with
had their headquarters here on Mars and a super-sized sanctum to accommodate
them all. A good portion of those Archons were here in training and
participating in the internal trials…which were beyond intense, far more so
than anything he’d gone through in basic as a trainee. He knew the more
advanced Archon trials were mind boggling, but to date he hadn’t been able to
participate and get his butt kicked in any of them given the fact that he
wasn’t part of a Clan yet.
Today that would change, for him and the other new
rangers still coming into the chamber. While a Clan placement wasn’t permanent
most Archons never switched teams, unless there was a good reason to do so. Po
had heard that there was a fair amount of rangers moving from one Clan to
another, but with strikers and on up they were pretty much set. Each Clan had
taken a different development route, had different membership standards and
focuses, and was in itself unique…with the competition between them being
fierce.
“That looks like all of you,” Terry-201118 said as the
last person walked in. The Archon mage remotely closed the door and walked out
from behind the control pedestal, looking at all of the new rangers from the
edge of the stage. “You know why you’re here. Time to choose a Clan and
transition to the next stage. The kid gloves are coming off and your inclusion
in the Nulls is now over. If on the odd chance that someone does not wish to
join a Clan, or are unable to do so, the training facility on Earth for
neutrals will become your new home. This facility no longer is. This is your
second graduation, and now it’s time to step up and play with the big dogs.”
The mage gestured and another person on stage, a
handler of some sort, took up position behind the pedestal and began operating
the amphitheater’s controls. All 100 symbols of the various Clans appeared in
hologram behind Terry and moved out to both sides, eventually ringing the
circular chamber up near the ceiling and enlarging until they created a halo
that crowned the entire room.
“Membership requirements vary for each Clan, and on
the information before you, you will see those which are open to you joining
them at your current skill levels. Some look for overall marks, others want
specialists,” he said as an individual holographic panel lit up in front of Po,
as well as every other person in the chamber. It had his data on it, and he
wondered how they knew what seat he was sitting in…then again, there weren’t
that many of them here, so maybe the assistant just matched up faces.
“On occasion a Clan will make a specific bid for an
individual they feel is noteworthy. If they want you badly enough they’ll leave
a message, otherwise they’re looking for recruits that meet their entry
standards…and be aware, you have to maintain those standards to stay in the
Clan. Keep that in mind when you’re choosing, for you don’t want to join one
then wash out within the year. Your schedules are going to alter, so if you’re
locked into a specific training pattern you might be forced to change it, and
that could created a plateau or even a backslide until you adjust.”
“The Clans are a pressure cooker for all their
personnel, from Archons down to techs. You’ve got to keep up with whatever
training pace they want, and most of you will be in over your heads from day
one. Make sure the Clan is a good fit for you, because you don’t want to waste
months or years on a bad match. Those of you with options, study them
carefully, those of you with few…be glad there’s an opening,” he said with a
bit of sarcasm.
Po looked at his data even as he listened, finding
that out of the standards for all the Clans he didn’t qualify for most of them.
His ranger ranking wasn’t the issue. No Clan put a higher mark than Ranger 1 as
a requirement for entry, because this was the point when Archons were meant to
join Clans, but what they were looking at was subcategory scores, rates of
advancement, etc. Po was a bit slow with regards to leveling up, at least
compared to the average, and it looked like that disqualified him from some 13
Clans.
He adjusted the hologram again, touching the little
energy spheres that doubled as buttons below the main screen to sift through
the data. His commando scores were his lowest of the 5 divisions, meaning they
were currently at Ranger 1. That eliminated him from some 39 Clans.
The same came from swimming scores, aerial, naval, and
mechs. Clans that were looking for specialists didn’t want him, meaning he only
had generic options available to him. That left him with 23 options to choose
from, and he looked through them closely.
“Take your time and think this through, but you do
have to choose now if you want to head out immediately. When you leave this
room you either leave for your new Clan indoctrination center or you head to
Earth and figure things out in the neutrals sanctum. I’d recommend you don’t go
that route unless you have a good reason to. If you’re worrying about your
decision and think you need a lot more time to consider it…well, you don’t.
This isn’t overly complicated, it just needs some serious thought, and an hour
or so here is more than enough. Look through your options and make your choice.
If you have any questions or concerns, that’s what I’m here for…in addition to
bidding you farewell.”
When the leader of Clan Null stopped speaking Po took
that as a sign to put his full attention on his choices. None of the Clans had
sent him a person message, which was understandable. None of his scores stood
out above the rest. He was a ‘grinder,’ which meant an Archon that often had to
try something multiple times before they accomplished it. He’d get knocked down
then get back up again, working his way through challenges and training through
an undeniable will rather than an aptitude for certain skills.
Of the 23 Clans that he could choose to join, only 4
of them were focused on balance. The others all had specialties, some more than
one, but allowed bottom of the barrel types like him to join and try to carve
out a niche for themselves in their primary training programs or to fill out
their secondaries. The part of Po that craved challenges wanted him to dive
head first into one of those ultra intense training programs and fight his way
into a position of prominence…which for a ranger meant just keeping his head
above water and being one of the guys.
Clan Sephiroth, headed by trailblazer Logan-036, was a
Clan that prided itself on its Commando training, especially its swords
subcategory. But unlike Clan Saber, which Po did not qualify for, all he needed
to join their program was the base Ranger 1 prerequisite, nothing more. He knew
the training would be insane, but the Sephiroths were ‘grinder friendly’
whereas the Sabers were not…at least not in their Commando division.
All Archons trained in all 5 areas, but each Clan
apparently had training programs specifically designed to press certain skills.
He assumed the other skills would be maintained and advanced in his spare time,
how much he would get he didn’t know. For Clan Sephiroth it was stated that for
their Commando specialty training there would be a 12 year focus on that
discipline at the outset, meaning that Po’s skills, if he managed to keep up,
would not progress in the other 4 disciplines much at all, but would shoot up his
Commando ranking, in theory.
He didn’t like that. Grinder as he was, he wanted to
keep leveling up all areas simultaneously and not get any weak spots that would
hold his overall Archon ranking back. Out of the 23 Clans there were only 13
that allowed for balanced slots, but 11 of them required more than just Ranger
1 average. His 5 division scores were M3, C1, A2, S1, N3…with the ‘S’ referring
to aquatics rather than using another ‘A’ that would make it confusing.
He’d been looking at these base numbers all of his
Archon life, and these stats indicated that he was a balanced Archon. Some of
the rangers around him in the room he recognized, some he didn’t, but one in
particular sitting two rows down and one bank to the right he knew had an A18
rating. He was a damn good pilot, but one of his other scores had to be level 1
since Archon rankings were determined by your weakest division rather than your
strongest or average.
But the Clans were looking at your average with
regards to balanced training programs. His was an even 2.0 and most of them
wanted at least a 3.5 for entry. A couple were at 2.5, with only two that
allowed the bottom of the barrel entries. Those were Clan Westley and Clan
Noisy Cricket. Clan Westley was notorious for taking any Archons, no matter
what their skill levels, and training them up into higher ranks. Their upper
tier wasn’t as good, but their lower tier was the top rated within all the
Clans and it was rumored that once their ‘special projects’ put in enough
centuries of training that they’d have one of the deepest Clans skill wise, for
it didn’t matter how long it took you to attain the skills, and a Mage 1 was a
Mage 1 no matter if they were 500 years old or 1000.
Clan Noisy Cricket had a naval focus, but had allowed
for bottom of the barrel entry as well. Four Clans that focused on balanced
approaches wouldn’t take Po in that regard, but they would take him in either a
naval or mech training program. It seemed that while they wanted balance, it
didn’t require it in all their individuals, but rather the Clan overall.
Po’s face scrunched up with debate. He could enter one
of the balanced Clans and focus on his Mech or Naval skills and then hope to
branch out into a fully balanced training program later when his skills met
their minimum requirements. He wasn’t sure how long their base training was…so
he pulled it up and frowned. The shortest of them was 8 years.
He didn’t like that. Ever since he’d entered basic
training he’d been wanting to keep all his skills close to one another, and
while he could veer away from that philosophy, even temporarily, he didn’t feel
like doing it. That meant he had two options…unless he wanted to go neutral.
“A question,” he said aloud when someone else had
finished asking theirs. “If we go neutral, are these the same requirements for
entry at a later date or specifically for those of us coming out of the Nulls?”
“There are three Clans that operate with Null-only
requirements. All the rest don’t care where you are in your progression.”
“So if my scores aren’t high enough for a Clan I want
to go into, I can go neutral and train until I raise them up enough?”
“Correct…but your training would be mostly on your
own. There are advisors in the neutral sanctum to help you, but there is no
regimented programs like you’re accustomed to. Definitely nothing like what the
Clans have.”
Po nodded and returned his gaze to his options.
Whatever Clan he went with he was going to stick to. He didn’t like the idea of
switching around. If there was a reason for it, sure, but otherwise he was
going to stay loyal to whomever took him in and he didn’t want to be hasty
about this. Maybe going neutral was the best option for a grinder like him?
But then there was Clan Westley who specialized in