Chapter 266: Chapter 266: The Eve of the Mission
After all the military academy teachers had left, only the young faces, brimming with vitality and strength, remained.
The officer who had just dismissed Director Quinn now stood with his hands clasped behind his back, his hawk-like gaze sweeping over everyone.
"Cadets, I know every one of you is a top prospect from the academies, always at the top of your class."
He wasn’t wrong. Anyone who enlisted early was a top student.
However, Zoe Pierce and the others knew there was more to come.
"I know you’re all proud, but I’m here to tell you something. You may have been top students, but here, you’re just new recruits."
"A group of students just like you enlists every year!"
"I don’t care how outstanding you were at the academy. Here, you follow your superiors’ orders."
The burly Alpha continued, "My surname is Joyce. For the time being, I am your instructor."
He scanned the crowd. This batch of students was much more reserved than the usual ones.
As he spoke, his gaze was unconsciously drawn to Zoe Pierce and the others.
Perhaps it was because of the presence of Zoe Pierce and her group.
Previous enlistment classes never had someone who could single-handedly carry the team.
A person like that needs to be powerful enough to command the respect of others.
They also need a big enough reputation.
In many previous early-enlistment classes, the cadets only began to gauge each other’s abilities after they joined up.
This time, however, the lines were drawn from the very beginning.
With two S-Class squads, it should have been a duel between two champions.
But because of the joint exams, a stark gap had been driven between them.
He took a pointed look at Zoe Pierce, the only Omega in the group.
The Military’s official position on her was still classified.
She participated in all the standard training exercises, but anything involving her spiritual power was handled in separate sessions.
He only knew about Zoe Pierce’s spiritual power because he was their instructor for this deployment.
"Due to the recent reforms regarding Omegas, you’ll be joined by Omegas from the regular forces during actual missions."
This change was a direct result of Zoe Pierce joining their ranks.
The Omegas in the service had already undergone more than half a year of practical training and were completely different from when they had first started.
Understanding flashed in everyone’s eyes; they knew the reason for this change.
Their gazes instinctively turned to Zoe Pierce.
Instructor Joyce was pleased to see Zoe Pierce’s completely focused and untroubled expression.
"You’ve all been through countless exercises at the academy. But once you become soldiers, you won’t be facing exercises anymore. You’ll be facing real combat."
"Every mission during this period will be a genuine Xenobeast Tide taking place somewhere in Interstellar Space."
"You will be deployed to different planets within the same system to carry out your missions."
Though there seemed to be a lot of people in the square, they only amounted to a little over a dozen squads.
"I will oversee your basic training here on the Capital Star. At the beginning of next month, we will deploy for our first mission."
Since this was an early enlistment, everything happened quickly.
The training involved briefings on the characteristics of different planets, their topographical features, and the local Xenobeast populations.
And, of course, it was also about taming the egos of these young prodigies.
Zoe Pierce mentally summarized Instructor Joyce’s point: ’We still have a lot to learn.’
The only difference was that their previous education had been broad and general.
This time, the training was specialized.
For the first training session, everyone participated in the same exercises.
Zoe Pierce noticed many small machines positioned around them, with one assigned to nearly every person.
Miles Sherman had told her before that even though it was ostensibly the same training for everyone, that wasn’t actually the case.
Wherever there was training, there would be rankings.
The Military might recognize their academy records, but once they actually recruited someone, they would always test them again.
The goal was to establish a baseline.
The training was then tailored to each individual.
This kind of training was a bit like the special regimen previously designed for Zoe Pierce and her teammates.
After a solid week of testing, everyone’s data had been recorded and compiled.
Looking at the data from the two S-Class squads, which was clearly a cut above the rest, Instructor Joyce couldn’t help but remark to the person beside him, "The stats for these two teams... they’re on par with veterans who’ve been at it for years."
The person next to him leaned over to look at the roster and data, unsurprised. "Well, it’s not like they were ever being trained to be ordinary soldiers."
The military is arguably the most straightforward of places. There, the strong are respected.
It’s not like politics, which is all about connections and manipulation.
That’s all about scheming against your own people.
In The Military, people use their wits against Xenobeasts and hostile powers. Internally, only strength matters.
If you’re stronger than the person next to you, you can move up.
Right now, the data for the two S-Class squads showed a staggering lead over everyone else. Chase Shaw’s team, in particular, had even surpassed the other one.
"I feel like it won’t even take them a year to climb the ranks," Instructor Joyce tutted.
He sounded a little jealous. It had taken him the better part of three years to do the same, and that was even with him being considered one of the talented ones.
Once the missions began next month, everything from rescues and major discoveries to survey results would be tallied up as points.
"You’re forgetting how many pairs of eyes are watching them," the person beside him added.
To wear the crown, one must bear its weight.
Nathan Lockwood and his friends were already members of the Alpha council; the higher-ups were just waiting for them to climb the ladder.
Without a doubt, as long as they accumulated enough points, their path upward would be virtually unobstructed, allowing for a meteoric rise.
-
After a week of training, they were given a rare day off.
They were still confined to the military district, but at least they had a moment to rest.
The group was strolling across the training grounds, chatting idly.
"Xenobeast Tides have erupted in the Draken System many times. If nothing unexpected comes up, we’ll be sent there for our mission."
Zoe Pierce looked at Nathan Lockwood, who had spoken. ’But they haven’t even started the briefings on the star systems yet,’ she thought. ’How do they already know?’
He was obviously saying it for her benefit.
"Someone was looking to curry favor," Aaron Xavier explained, noticing Zoe Pierce’s confusion.
"It’s not a secret or anything; they would have told us this eventually." Letting them know ahead of time was just to give them a chance to prepare mentally.
Zoe Pierce nodded.
She wasn’t like Chase Shaw and the others. The Omegas in the regular forces were all veterans with years of service who usually weren’t on the Capital Star, but out on various missions.
With no other Omegas in this cohort, her access to information was limited.
Nathan Lockwood continued, "We’ll still be operating as squads. That won’t change."
Normally, Alphas of the same rank would be shuffled and reassigned to new teams.
But because of the need to keep Zoe Pierce’s abilities confidential, the two S-Class teams were allowed to maintain their original rosters.
Zoe Pierce thought that was for the best.
It felt a little selfish, but she really didn’t want to be on any other team.
Not unless it just meant adding new members to her current team with Nathan Lockwood.
Chase Shaw’s gaze remained fixed on the back of Zoe Pierce’s neck.
The azure suppression patch was applied perfectly, not allowing even a hint of her scent to escape.
