Chapter 31 | Ferros Space

"The Imperial Army has six ranks, and within those ranks, the members have different duties that determine who has seniority between those of similar rank," Nyra explained.

The two were inside Leon's private quarters in the cruiser. It was small and cramped, just enough to fit a bed and a small desk. The walls hummed faintly with the ship's energy systems and recycled air flowed through invisible vents. 

The space was utilitarian, but compared to his cramped apartment in the Lower Levels, it felt luxurious.

"So, depending on where or what the Blade Captain is assigned, he can order other Blade Captains around?" Leon scratched his head while sitting on the chair looking at the datapad issued to him. 

The interface glowed in the dim room lighting.

"Exactly," Nyra confirmed while sitting on Leon's bed. "There's a whole secondary hierarchy based on postings and specializations. Combat officers outrank administrative ones, frontier postings, and so on."

Nyra paused for a moment to think.

"We probably just need to remember the order. Blades, Blade Captain, Warcenturion, High-marshal, Domain Archon, and the ones in charge of a whole Sanctum; Imperator." 

"Imperator? I thought it's Warlord," Leon said, still staring at his datapad, trying to absorb the complex organizational charts while testing his CRI.

"That's the unofficial title everyone calls them by," Nyra let the words hang, her expression unreadable as she glanced away. "Can't get to that level without having to fight."

There was something in her tone that made Leon look up.

"You sound like you know more than what the lectures tell us."

Nyra shrugged.

"My family wasn't always declining. We had connections once," She left it there, closing the topic as quickly as she'd opened it.

"Uggggghhh," Leon moaned in frustration, returning to his datapad.

"Still slow at syncing?" Nyra raised one eyebrow at Leon.

"Yeah, it's getting better, but not as quick as I would like it to be.". 

"It gets easier over time; it has only been a few days since you got the CRI," Nyra replied. "Besides, we should be more worried about when they'll give us dinner."

"Probably after we exit warp and get on the planet," Leon stopped what he was doing to contemplate the dinner situation. His stomach growled on cue.

They had been on the ship for five days. Life on the ship was simple after the first day of being struck awed. The recruits were divided into their assigned groups, each numbering one hundred recruits.

In the mornings, they received lectures on general military knowledge to prep them for basic training. Simple protocols, formations, and military structure were taught. Then they would have lunch. After that came self-study to memorize the information.

Leon had discovered why the old recruiter was impressed by his networking certificate. Trying to learn without a CRI was like trying to paint a wall with a small toothbrush compared to having a paint sprayer.

Even as a newly augmented person, he could process things faster and remember things easier. Nyra mentioned that the more he became accustomed to the CRI and nanites, the more mana would improve his body.

"I'm going back to my room," Nyra said while getting up and walking towards the door. "I'll see you when we get out of warp."

"Mmmhhhm," Leon nodded, returning his focus to the datapad.

After she left, the small space felt suddenly emptier. He had become accustomed to her presence over the past five days—her blunt observations, practical advice, and occasional dry humor providing an anchor in this unfamiliar world.

He had been exploring the functions of his CRI with her help, learning the basic commands and diagnostic tools available to him.

Status, Leon thought.

What displayed at the corner of his vision was a silhouette of a body outlined in green.

Details, he added while focused on the silhouette.

A prompt displayed the details of his body and some basic info:

Leon Ezra

Condition: Normal

CRI: Normal

Nanites: Normal

Minor Deviation: Nutritional Imbalance

Absorption Sys: Normal

Mana Reservoir Lvl: Low

Absorption Rank: D

Saturation Rank: E

Still the same. But I guess that makes sense.

Since yesterday, he had been trying to find information on how to absorb mana properly. He even asked Nyra, but she told him it was best to wait until he got to basic training since their methods were better than the ones she was taught.

The CRI didn't hold any information outside of what was necessary for its function. He remembered the lead medical technician mentioning how it would integrate with his brain, but it seemed like she also meant that it would literally use his brain for processing and data storage.

The only way he could access external information was by syncing with another system that had it. He had been trying to search the datapad he was issued, but he wasn't authorized for information outside the materials related to the lectures.

He wondered if his ranking was normal for new augmentations. D for absorption and E for saturation seemed low, but there wasn't anything to compare it to. He remembered Nyra mentioning that her family had been Ordari for generations, which gave her a natural advantage in utilizing mana.

"Exiting warp in 30 minutes," an announcement echoed through the cruiser.

Leon set the datapad down on the desk and walked to the door, exiting his room to knock on Nyra's two doors down the corridor from his.

THUD THUD

The door slid open.

Thanks to his enhanced processing with the CRI, he noticed far more detail than before. It was like seeing the world in higher resolution: colors appeared sharper, movement flowed more smoothly, and patterns stood out where there had once been only a blur.

Light from the corridor caught the reddish glint of Nyra’s chestnut hair, the loose waves shifting gently against her shoulders as she moved. She was a few inches shorter than him, but there was something grounded in the way she walked. Like every step had purpose without ever feeling heavy.

Her honey-brown eyes scanned the hallway, catching the light with a glimmer of gold that made them brighter, sharper, more alive. A half-smile tugged at her lips, as if she just thought of something mildly amusing but wasn't quite ready to share it. Her build was compact, athletic yet didn't seem too muscular.

It was hard for him to turn off the flood of details into his brain. He was used to having to focus to assess his surroundings, but now his brain was doing it automatically without effort. The CRI wasn't just enhancing his perception, it was changing how he experienced reality itself.

"Let's go to Hangar Two; it has a bigger viewport," Nyra suggested after she finished looking around the hallway.

She started walking past Leon toward their destination.

"That's what I was thinking," Leon followed, falling into step beside her. 

The ship was bigger than he had imagined. It had four enormous hangar bays and countless corridors that branched and intersected like a maze. There were so many people aboard that Leon would not be surprised if one ship could house an entire section of the Lower Levels.

As they walked, Leon noticed the subtle hierarchy in how people navigated the corridors. Higher-ranking officers moved with the expectation that others would step aside. Which they did, almost unconsciously. Crew members in work uniforms moved efficiently, eyes forward, and avoiding contact. Even among recruits, there was a pecking order forming, based on who stepped aside for whom.

"You're analyzing again," Nyra said without looking at him.

"That obvious?"

"Your eyes do this scanning thing when you're processing. Like you're reading invisible text." She demonstrated by darting her eyes back and forth rapidly.

"I don't do that," Leon protested.

"You absolutely do. But it's not bad. Just noticeable to someone who's watching. Look more natural."

When they reached Hangar 2, a small crowd had already formed along one of the far walls. It was a mixed group of recruits and personnel working on the ship. No ships occupied the bay; instead, the open floor was cluttered with stacked crates, tool carts, and rows of supply modules.

"Hey, watch it!"

"Ouch!"

"Sorry," Nyra apologized without turning.

She pushed her way into the crowd while Leon followed after her, mumbling additional apologies as they went.

Leon kept his eyes straight ahead, not looking at the people who were glaring at them after she squeezed past.

They made it to the wall just in time: 

"Exiting warp in 5…4…3…2…1…" the same voice announced throughout the cruiser.

He felt a slight shift in his gut when the countdown reached zero; a momentary sensation of being stretched thin and then snapping back into place. His nanites seemed to vibrate, adjusting to the transition.

"Exit complete. Welcome to Ferros space," the voice said as the hull covering the viewport in front of them started sliding away. The viewport was massive—300 feet long and 60 feet tall—spanning a third of the length of the hangar wall.

The viewport dimmed as the ship adjusted for glare, and then Ferros came into view.

It wasn't a pretty planet, but it was hard for Leon to look away. Red and brown landmasses stretched across its surface, broken by dark ridgelines and deep fractures that looked like the planet had been split and half-healed. Clouds drifted across the highlands, their shadows moving like bruises over the land.

Near the equator, waves of heat shimmered, distorting the air so much it looked like the planet was breathing. Farther north, thin trails of smoke rose from what might have been vents or old volcanoes, curling into the thin, copper-tinged sky.

There were no cities. No glowing grids. Just empty land, broken rock, and the occasional glint of metal that were small and scattered, swallowed by the landscape.

Above it all, two cruisers hung in orbit, distant and dark against the planet's glow. Leon hadn't noticed them at first, but now he couldn't unsee them, sentinels keeping watch over this desolate training ground.

"Not exactly a vacation destination," Leon murmured.

"I don't think it's supposed to be," Nyra replied, her voice low. "Look at the terrain, those ravines, the volcanic fields. It's a tactical nightmare. Perfect place to test how you think under pressure."

Leon studied the planet with new eyes, seeing past the initial barrenness to recognize the challenges it presented. Those weren't just natural formations; they were most likely obstacles, training grounds, and test zones selected to push recruits to their limits.

Ferros didn't look welcoming. It looked like it was designed to break them.

Around them, other recruits were having similar reactions. Some with excitement, others with obvious apprehension. Leon noticed Jake and his group further down the viewport, their expressions ones of confidence and determination. Whatever awaited them below, the competition had already begun.

"All Alpha Group recruits report to Hangar 4 for planetary descent," came the announcement. "Departure in thirty minutes. Bring only issued gear."

The crowd began to disperse, moving with renewed purpose. Leon took one last look at Ferros, his home for the foreseeable future, and steeled himself for what was to come.

"Ready?" Nyra asked, though it wasn't really a question.

Leon nodded, his nanites humming with nervous energy beneath his skin. Five days ago, he left Eden for the first time. Now he was about to set foot on an alien world. Seemingly a hostile one, designed to test his limits.

"As I'll ever be," he answered.