Star Force Perseverance (SF81) (Star Force Origin Series) (8 page)

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