Free Star Force Perseverance (SF81) (Star Force Origin Series) by Aer-ki Jyr

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