The army was divided into officers and enlisted, and both were integral to the functioning of the military. The ultimate difference between them was that the officers were put into decision making positions, while the enlisted took care of the actual operations of the army itself.
That did not mean, however, that the officers never saw action, or that the enlisted never had command. Corporals, for example, were enlisted who led small teams of soldiers for specific tasks. The outline of their task was clearly defined, and merely had to focus on completing their task, without concern for other matters. How best to complete that task was up to the Corporal to decide.
Having an officer oversee every single team of the army would result in micromanagement, and was actually counterproductive. Such distinctions had been thoroughly studied and researched during the history of Kolar, for military research and science was the one research department that received the most funding after Eldrim card research.
Of course, people who joined the army but didn't fight, such as cleaning staff, logistics workers, plumbers, repairmen, farmers, doctors, lawyers, artisans and such were also divided into enlisted and officers. Generally, if the occupation required a higher degree of study or training, such as doctor, engineer or artisan, they were officers, while construction and logistics workers were considered enlisted.
Nero, who was currently a private, was also considered an enlisted, and was basically at the bottom of the entire army hierarchy. When he would join KMA in six months, he could then be transferred to the rank of cadet, which was basically a student. Somehow, that was simultaneously worse and better than being a private.
The intricacies of the army ranking were something Nero would have to lament later, because Corporal Thomas, who Nero would be under as per Lieutenant Earl. That meant Nero would be taking orders from Thomas generally, but that did not make Thomas Nero's CO (commanding officer). His CO would probably be whoever was ordering Thomas as well.
Thomas looked quite young himself, probably in his mid or late twenties, but the way he carried himself spoke of experience. There was measured confidence in his gait, and his eyes were calm yet focused.
From across the room he had already identified Nero, as Nero identified him, and approached.
"Good morning Private Nero, you are earlier than expected," the man with a surprisingly deep voice said. "I am Corporal Thomas Pike, your team leader for the duration of your service in Fordham. Follow me while I introduce you to what you can expect. Corporal Lance, thank you for bringing the Private over."
Thomas and Lance had a very formal handover, after which Nero followed Thomas, the man with bright green hair, deeper into the facility. On every single door there was a scanner where Nero had to scan his ID to ensure he was only able to enter where he had the authority to go.
"We are basically incharge of the personal security of several high value researchers. Ordinarily, a Neophyte would not be allowed to take on such a job, but the commendations on your file are quite encouraging, and our situation is quite unique. While in the facility, you will stay with our team, which is one of four that is assigned on protection duty, but on excursions only you will be able to follow. Tell me Nero, do you have any experience in protecting a target?"
"I did a rescue mission once where I saved my targets from within cursed territory, but besides that, no."
"In that case, we will have drills at night to get you accustomed. It'll also help you familiarise yourself with the team. For now, just remember this, our job is to protect the researchers, even if it means putting ourselves in danger. If you have any concerns or questions during active duty, you can ask me, but be mindful to stay out of the way of the researchers. Their work is invaluable."
Nero nodded, and listened as Thomas continued to explain the finer details of what they were supposed to do.
The man was meticulous and helpful, a welcome surprise after meeting the Lieutenant.
They took the elevator up to the fourth floor and made their way into a large, open laboratory where Nero was surprised to see a few familiar faces.
He immediately identified Vanessa as soon as the doors opened - her smooth, caramel skin and dark hair stood out to him like a light in the dark. She turned upon hearing the sound of the door opening, but was not surprised when she saw Nero. Instad, she only gave him a soft, knowing smile.
Nero observed her, as he usually did, but her long white coat made it difficult to determine if she was hiding any weapons.
After giving her a nod, Nero turned to look towards the next person he recognised, but was not expecting to see here. Bael Thomas, the kid who had bullied Silas, and then ventured into the depths of the Eldrim library with - the very one Nero went to rescue when he got his hands on Virtuous Moonlight.
Bael also did not seem surprised to see Nero, although he gave Nero a defiant, challenging look that was quite interesting. Bael had seen how powerful Nero had become during the rescue, so what gave him the confidence to show such an expression to Nero?
The third person, Nero technically did not know in person. Her name was Clarissa Hunter, and the only reason Nero knew about her was because when Clear Path had come after him during his training in the forest, she was supposed to be the target after him.
Not only had Nero memorised the name, he even had Gabriel look into her. Her name was very on point, because she came from a family of hunters, and she was very highly regarded. If Nero considered himself the best in his school, then she was the best in hers.
Nero also noticed that unlike Vanessa and the other researchers in the room who were wearing white coats, Bael, Clarissa and a number of other Neophytes were there, standing guard.
Instantly he judged that the situation he was going to encounter was the same, if not similar, to what it was like in Lumina where only Neophytes could enter the fog in the basement. The question now was, what were they here for exactly?
Thomas led Nero to an old man who had gone bald from the middle of his head, and the remaining few hairs he had were all white. Despite his relatively robust build, the man's age was apparent. It was genuinely rare to encounter older people, and it was rarer still to meet older people who did not have their physique preserved through their realm.
Nero assumed that the man
must
be an Arcanist, based simply on how old he looked. But if he was an Arcanist, to look
so
obviously old, his age must be…
"Nero Grant," the old researcher said, clasping Nero's hands with excitement. "I have heard much about you. It's rare to find abilities that can directly counter curses. I can't even begin to imagine the implications if we mass produce your innate card. I mean, just the tests we can conduct…"
"Sir," said a young, blonde woman who stood behind the old man holding a clipboard. The exhausted tone in which she said it indicated that she was used to interrupting him like that.
"Oh, right, right, sorry Abbey. Nero, my boy, I hope you don't mind, I get distracted easily at my age. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Colonel James Carter, and I am a scientist, and your ability could prove to be very useful in my current topic of research. Do you mind if we verify the details of your ability?"
Nero was stunned, and suddenly saluted the old man and exclaimed, "No sir!"
A colonel was a higher rank, even a Lieutenant! In fact, Nero would not be surprised if the colonel was the highest rank of anyone in this entire base! Any higher would be Brigadier, and they oversee entire regions of the country, not individual bases!
This also entered an information blind spot for Nero. He wasn't sure if the base was being run by Lieutenant Earl or Colonel James. Technically, the Colonel had a higher rank, but he was just a scientist.
"Very good. You came highly recommended by junior officer Vanessa, so I look forward to seeing what you're capable of. If you'll follow me."
Nero nearly lost composure upon hearing that Vanessa was a junior officer already! How did that happen? She wasn't even a citizen of Kolar! No wait, was it possible that was her rank back on Nova? But that didn't make sense.
On top of everything, the extremely friendly attitude of such a high ranking officer was making Nero extremely alarmed. He did not buy, for even a second, that a Colonel as old as him did not understand hierarchy or proprietary between soldiers. If anything, Nero felt like the man was using his age to camouflage himself, which made him even more alert as he followed the old man.