Chapter 153: The Departure Facility

Chapter 153: The Departure Facility

The remaining two candidates joined the transport without delaying the journey for long. By the time the military vehicle left the city behind, four young planetary lords occupied the rear compartment under the supervision of the same officer who had collected Noah.

The young woman introduced herself first once conversation was finally permitted. She sat with her hands folded over her lap and studied the others before speaking.

"Claire Weston, Valeris Academy."

The final candidate wore the uniform of the Imperial Cadet Institute. He gave his name as Ethan Cole and spoke with the clipped confidence of someone already accustomed to military procedures.

Daniel Hart, the student who had been inside the vehicle when Noah boarded, leaned forward slightly. His attention moved between their uniforms as though comparing where everyone had come from.

"So that makes four different institutions."

"Three academies and one military institute," Claire corrected. "Unless Noah’s academy secretly became part of the army."

Noah looked toward her and allowed a faint smile to appear. "Nobody informed me."

Daniel laughed, while Ethan’s expression barely changed. Their conversation remained light for several minutes before Daniel eventually asked the question all of them seemed to be considering.

"What did the rest of you do to get invited?"

Claire raised an eyebrow at him. Her expression suggested she knew exactly what he was actually asking.

"That is a subtle way of asking everyone how strong they are."

"I said what did you do, not tell me every secret on your planet."

Ethan looked toward the passing scenery before answering. His tone remained matter-of-fact rather than competitive.

"Selection is probably based on several factors."

Daniel turned toward him. "That sounds like something someone says when he knows more than the rest of us."

"I know military selection rarely uses one measurement."

Noah listened while the two debated. Daniel believed academy performance had to be the largest factor because invitations needed some objective basis, while Ethan argued that scores meant little without considering how the student achieved them.

Claire eventually interrupted before the debate could continue in circles. She rested one shoulder against the side of her seat and looked between them.

"We can discover the answer when we get there instead of inventing one inside the vehicle."

Noah found himself appreciating how quickly Claire cut through conversation.

The journey continued until the buildings outside became dominated by Imperial facilities rather than civilian districts. Noah stopped paying attention tothe road and instead watched the increasing number of transports moving in the same general direction.

Several carried cargo, while others transported uniformed personnel. A few appeared almost identical to their own vehicle, and Noah caught brief glimpses of other young passengers through the windows.

The scale became clear when the transport finally entered the departure facility. Calling it a terminal would have been inaccurate because the compound looked closer to a military district built around movement between worlds.

Hangars, warehouses, barracks, and staging areas stretched across an enormous section of land. Military vehicles moved continuously between marked lanes while personnel directed cargo toward several fortified structures.

Their transport stopped beneath a covered receiving platform. The officer opened the door and motioned for everyone to disembark.

"Out."

The four candidates obeyed without argument. Noah stepped onto the platform and immediately noticed how many people around him were close to his own age.

Some wore academy uniforms, while others arrived in expensive civilian clothes or military attire. There were far more candidates than Noah had expected to see.

Daniel noticed the same thing and looked across the gathering crowd. "I thought this was supposed to be extremely selective."

Claire followed his gaze toward another transport unloading students. "It can be selective and still recruit across an Empire."

Ethan studied the movement of several different candidate groups. "This is probably only one intake group."

That possibility made Noah reconsider the size of the program. If this represented only a portion of the participants, then the training camp operated on a scale far beyond anything his academy had suggested.

A soldier directed them toward a registration building before any of them could continue looking around.

Their luggage disappeared toward another section, leaving the candidates with only the possessions they carried personally.

Inside, the first hall contained dozens of processing stations arranged in orderly rows. Candidates were moved from one station to another with enough efficiency that the large crowd never became chaotic.

Noah expected the usual identity verification, but the questions quickly became more interesting. The official seated across from him displayed a short planetary profile and began filling it in.

"Main species?"

"Goblins."

The official entered the answer without reacting. He moved directly to the next field.

"Primary civilization path?"

"Technological."

"Dominant energy system?"

Noah paused before answering because the classification was not completely simple. "Mana exists, but technological development is currently the main path."

The official selected a mixed classification and continued. His questions became increasingly focused on how Noah’s civilization currently functioned.

"Do you have Interplanetary operational experience?"

"Yes"

The official looked up for the first time. His expression remained neutral as he asked the next question.

"Independent campaign?"

"Yes."

"How many?"

Noah thought about Caldris before giving the simplest accurate answer. "One major campaign."

The official entered the response but did not ask for details. That surprised Noah because he had expected questions about victories, population numbers, military size, or internal institutions.

Instead, the form appeared designed to determine what kind of experience each planetary lord already possessed.

The next questions concerned environmental dangers, divine intervention limits, portal familiarity, and whether Noah had managed his civilization while operating on another world.

When the form ended, the official rotated the screen toward him. Noah reviewed the information carefully before confirming that everything required had been entered accurately.

"Confirm accuracy."

Noah signed without mentioning One Percent Genius. Nothing on the form requested hidden planetary characteristics or inherited advantages.

The official handed him a temporary identification card. Noah took it and read the fields printed across its surface.

NAME: NOAH

STATUS: TRAINING CANDIDATE

UNIT: UNASSIGNED

ASSESSMENT GROUP: 17

That final field had not been mentioned before. Noah tapped the card lightly with one finger before looking back at the official.

"What is Assessment Group Seventeen?"

"Your initial evaluation grouping."

"How many people are there?"

"You will find out."

Noah almost smiled at the answer. Apparently vague responses were an Imperial tradition rather than a habit limited to the officer who had escorted him.

He moved to the next station. A military technician placed a thin metal band around Noah’s wrist and instructed him to establish the weakest possible connection to his planet.

Noah complied, and the device warmed slightly against his skin. Several measurements appeared across the technician’s screen, though Noah could not interpret most of them.

"What are you measuring?"

"Connection stability."

"Why?"

The technician looked toward him with an expression that suggested the answer should have been obvious. "Because if we send you through portals and your planetary connection begins destabilizing, we would rather know before you collapse."

Noah decided that was a good reason and did not argue. The technician adjusted something on the band before instructing him to repeat the process.

"Again."

Noah established the connection a second time. This time he felt the device responding directly to the faint movement of Faith through the link.

The technician watched several values stabilize on the screen and nodded. He removed the band once the final reading settled.

"Stable."

The next station took less than a minute and issued Noah a plain gray armband marked with the number seventeen. He attached it visibly to his sleeve before moving toward the waiting area.

When Noah arrived, Daniel was already there wearing the same number. He lifted his arm slightly when he saw Noah.

"So we’re together."

"For now."

Claire arrived a few minutes later, and her armband also displayed seventeen. Ethan appeared last with the same number attached to his own sleeve.

Daniel looked around at the four matching armbands. "Either they kept our transport group together or this is extremely convenient."

Ethan shook his head before answering. "They wouldn’t organize assessments around vehicle seating."

Claire examined the number again and looked between them. "Then we have something in common they care about."

Noah considered asking what each of them had submitted during registration, but a series of tones sounded throughout the hall before he could.

Large displays activated above the exits and listed groups being transferred to different halls. Assessment Groups Eleven through Twenty were directed toward Transfer Hall C.

Candidates began moving immediately, and Noah followed the others through a wide corridor connecting the processing building to another structure. The deeper vibration beneath the floor became noticeable before the portal itself came into view.

Transfer Hall C had been built around an enormous portal frame surrounded by layered machinery. The active surface inside the structure rippled continuously while military cargo carriers disappeared through it in organized groups.

Noah slowed slightly as he studied the structure. He had seen portals before, but this one operated on a level he had never encountered personally.

The frame was tall enough for large armored vehicles to pass through without slowing. Dozens of technicians monitored the portal from elevated stations while thick conduits disappeared into reinforced sections of the floor.

A military supervisor directed the candidates toward numbered holding areas. Group Seventeen gathered near the center, where Noah finally had enough time to count the people wearing the same gray armband.

There were twenty-four of them.

For the first time, Noah saw the individuals he would likely be evaluated alongside rather than simply transported beside. Some appeared younger than him, while others looked several years older.

Several wore clothing bearing recognizable noble designs, and two more came from military institutions. Nobody seemed particularly interested in announcing their background or trying to establish authority over the group.

A new group of cargo vehicles crossed the portal while they waited. Once the last carrier disappeared, the military supervisor stepped in front of the candidates and began issuing transfer instructions.

"You are being transferred to an Imperial training world. Your planetary connections may experience temporary distortion during transit, but the effect should disappear immediately after arrival."

One candidate raised a hand and asked the question most of them were already thinking about. "Which world?"

"You will be told what you need to know after arrival."

Nobody seemed surprised by the answer anymore. The supervisor continued with instructions to remain with their assessment groups and stay inside the receiving area until directed elsewhere.

The portal was cleared for personnel shortly afterward. Group Eleven entered first, followed by Twelve, and Noah watched each group disappear through the rippling surface.

When Group Seventeen was finally called, the twenty-four candidates moved into two lines. Noah found Daniel beside him, while Claire stood several positions ahead and Ethan remained closer to the rear.

The line advanced quickly. As Noah approached the portal, he became more aware of the power moving through the structure and the stability holding it in place.

It did not feel temporary or improvised. The portal seemed anchored into the facility itself, as though continuous operation had been built into the entire surrounding structure.

Noah wondered what kind of infrastructure existed on the other side to support something this stable. Before he could think further, his turn arrived and the soldier beside the portal waved him forward.

Noah stepped through with the rest of the group. Pressure struck first, followed by a brief distortion in his vision and a strange stretching sensation along his planetary connection.

The disorientation lasted only a fraction of a second. Gravity settled again as Noah emerged onto a wide platform beneath another massive portal frame.

He kept walking until he cleared the receiving area. Only then did he allow himself to look properly at the world around him.

The first thing Noah noticed was the sky, where several formations of aircraft crossed at different altitudes. Some were small and fast, while others were large enough to cast moving shadows over sections of the facility below.

The second thing he noticed was the distance. The military complex extended far beyond the portal station and occupied an area large enough to resemble a city built entirely for training and deployment.

Barracks stood in organized blocks while vehicle parks covered entire fields. Fortified structures were scattered between training zones, and broad roads connected regions separated by kilometers of open ground.

Farther away, Noah saw something resembling a partially destroyed city. Smoke rose from several buildings while military vehicles moved through the streets in organized formations.

"That is a training zone," Ethan said from behind him. He had emerged through the portal several places later and was now looking toward the same distant ruins.

Noah turned toward him as Ethan pointed toward another region where defensive works stretched across a series of low hills. "They built different battlefield environments."

Claire joined them and studied the distant city. "That place looks large enough to have an actual population."

"It might," Daniel said after arriving nearby. His tone made it impossible to tell whether he was joking.

A low roar passed overhead and drew everyone’s attention upward. Three aircraft crossed directly above the arrival facility before banking toward a distant airfield.

Noah followed them until they disappeared beyond one of the larger structures. The Empire had devoted an entire world to military preparation on a scale his academy could never reproduce.

A sharp whistle cut through the surrounding noise before anyone could continue observing. An instructor stood beside several marked formation areas and was already directing incoming groups.

"Incoming candidates, move!"

Group numbers had been painted directly onto the ground. Noah followed the markings toward Seventeen while the rest of the twenty-four candidates assembled around him.

The formation was uneven at first because not everyone came from military institutions. Ethan automatically stood straight, and several academy students nearby copied his posture.

Noah simply faced forward and watched the instructor approaching. The man was older than the officer who had collected him, with a scar crossing one eyebrow and the posture of someone who had spent most of his life around soldiers.

He stopped in the center of the group and allowed his gaze to move across every candidate. Nobody spoke while he inspected them.

"My name is Major Rowan."

The silence continued, and Rowan seemed satisfied with that. His voice carried easily across the formation without needing to become a shout.

"I am responsible for Assessment Groups Fifteen through Eighteen."