“After weeks of deliberation, the Cintelli Theocracy has made a bold move, naming Archbishop Hugo Fritz of the Conservatives as Cardinal Veltrilli’s successor. As you may know, Cardinal Boris Veltrilli was tragically killed in last month’s devastating monster swarm. Which saw many members of the Church Progressives killed. What this could mean for the state of the Theocracy, only time will tell.”- Korriban World News

Chapter 9: RecruitiNg the [ANGEL]

Corporate Alliance Territory

Eden City// Cordell Industries Central Territory.

After filing a series of paperwork, getting his picture taken, and requesting his transcripts, Jack finally found himself sitting down in a cramped closet space, where all of his expectations about the Imperium were being wildly discarded.

An elderly recruiter tugged at the collar of his blue uniform as he eyed Jack's paperwork, before looking the teen up and down and sighing with a head shake.

"Welcome son, I'm Lieutenant Colonel Potter of the Imperium. Before we begin, let me ask you. Are you sure you want to join the Empire?" The elderly man asked, staring incredulously at Jack as if he were an extraterrestrial being.

Jack cleared his throat and shifted in his chair before replying, remembering what he had rehearsed.

"Uh. Yes sir. I heard that the Imperium takes care of their contracted and their families." Jack replied, trying his best not to look at the white-haired disheveled officer passed out underneath his chair.

"Well, son I can definitely say this is a first for me," The recruiter glanced over to his fellow officer sprawled on the ground. "And Captain Domino if he were awake."

"Is… is he ok?"

"Oh don't mind him son. It's just his way of protesting his involvement with the military. Anyway, let's get back to the main caboodle. Yes, the Empire does offer a myriad of benefits for contracted. Jackie was it?"

"Yes sir, but I prefer Jack." Jack answered, feeling a little nervous as the officer tapped on his terminal.

"Well Jack, we have you listed as male E-Zero grade Awakened, oh but you’re chantless,” The Colonel raised an eyebrow. “Hmmm but this still doesn't qualify you for a lot of benefits. In fact E-Zero is the lowest rank we can assign to an Awakened! How about you tell me more about what you're looking for and your situation. We might even be able to point you in a better direction."

Jack could feel his anxiety spike as he listened to the man's words. It almost sounded as if the officer were trying to dissuade him from enlisting.

“Well sir, my mother was an Imperial citizen but she died during the Elysium breach, leaving my injured younger sister and I alone. I heard that the Empire helps support the families for Awaken that enlist, plus, I’ve always wanted to see my motherland. ” Jack lied. While it was true his mother was a former Imperial citizen, he had never given any thought to the Empire. As far as he knew, it was just like the Alliance, except run by women who liked to wear red and blue a lot.

The Colonel narrowed his eyes at Jack as if sizing the boy up. After a few moments of this, the officer shook his head in resignation.

“Well son, while it’s true the Empire takes care of enlistee’s dependents, it's wholly based on your Awaken grade and number of dependenas. At E-Zero we can maybe squeeze you and your sister in, but I can’t guarantee the quality of care that she will receive or housing.Though I can see here that you named her your beneficiary in case you die. Can you tell me more about her condition?”

“Well, my sister suffers from Black Rot and-” At Jack's words he was nearly knocked to the ground as the man underneath his chair seemed to wake him up, scrambling to shake Jack’s hand.

“DID YOU SAY BLACK ROT?!” The Captain exclaimed with a maniacal look in his heterochromatic eyes that instantly made Jack uncomfortable. “Colonel, if you don’t sign him I will! I’ve always wanted to study the effects of Black Rot but those bitches never let me close to a lab! How about this?! I fudge some paperwork together and when we get to the Empire you hand your sister over to me to run some experiments? Free of charge! I’ll even pay you!”

Appalled at the man’s offer, Jack had a sudden urge to strangle him. And he wasn’t alone. Jack could see Sahaqiel standing angrily behind the man with her eyes brimming with holy fire. If looks could kill, the Captain would have been a charred pile of ashes.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“Captain! Excuse yourself! What you are offering is not only illegal, It is morally, and ethically wrong!” The Colonel slammed his fist into the table before pointing at the zealous man. “If you keep up with this nonsense behavior you’ll never be off probation!”

The man grinned.

“That’s the point Colonel! Every day I’m on probation is another day that I’m not on the front lines! How am I supposed to conduct experiments if I’m stuck in a MASH unit or being used to fight a pointless fight? Just because I can heal, doesn’t mean I want to! I want to explore! Discover! Pioneer new research! But just because I’m a multi-colored I can’t?! Hogwash Colonel! Hogwash!”

Jack didn’t know what the man was ranting about, but he did know one thing. He was insane.

Colonel Potter sighed before shooting a glare at the man. "You know damn well why you aren't allowed to run tests, now get out of my office before I have you cleaning latrines for the rest of your damn miserable life in the army!"

After kicking the ranting officer out and apologizing, the Colonel sat back down and began listening to Jack regale him about his sister’s condition and living situation.

“Well ok. I’ll make a couple of calls and see what I can uncover. If there’s an opening I’ll try and find an MOS for you and see about a waiver or two.”

“MOS?”

“Military Occupational Specialty, son. It’s what the military calls a job. You can wait out in the lobby while I review your paperwork and get approval from my boss.”

At that, Jack was dismissed. Exiting the closet the teen found a seat in a lobby with no souls in sight and filled with nothing but rows upon rows of empty chairs that was separate from the other areas of the facility. It was completely barren. With no windows, machine, or even posters to look at. Just chairs.

“Oh man.” Jack sighed. He really hoped everything went through. If he didn’t manage to enlist into the Empire then he really didn’t know what to do. He could try living in the underground but he had no contacts and no friends. Even if he somehow managed to escape the Corpo search parties he’d be screwed living a life of a vagrant.

“Not to mention you wouldn’t be honoring our covenant.” Sahaqiel said, materializing in the chair across from Jack with her legs crossed.

"Yea. I just need to make sure Jill is safe, then I'll work on getting stronger and helping you. I promise."

Sahaqiel smiled. "You shouldn't talk out loud so much Jack. Its a bad habit."

Jack blinked. Yea. Sorry.

"Look, I don't doubt you. I can feel how much you care for your sister and your conviction. I know you'll try your best. By the way, maniac approaching from behind." Sahaqiel said, suddenly vanishing.

"What?"

"HEY FRIENDO!" A voice called out before Jack suddenly found an arm slung over his shoulder. "Did you give any thoughts to my offer?"

Annoyed, Jack quickly stood up but bit his tongue to stop himself from yelling at the man who could very well end up being his superior officer.

"Well?"

Jack took a deep breath, remembering Mike's words about not trusting anyone. "Thanks, but no thanks. I'll pass on your offer."

"Aw c'mon… Please?"

"No. Final answer." At Jack's reply the Captain was about to say something but seemed to change his mind mid word.

"Well, suit yourself friend." Oddly, the man shrugged and gave up, leaving the lobby.

"Well, that was easy," Sahaqiel said, massaging Jack's shoulders.

"A little too easy." he narrowed his eyes. He hadn't known the man for very long but he had a feeling he was the type to never give up unless he got his way. "I have a bad feeling about this."

After sitting around for what felt like an eternity Jack was finally called back into the closet space by the gentile officer.

"Alright son, after reviewing your paperwork and talking to General Minerva we've managed to pull some jobs for you that can take care of your sister. Apparently, someone over at I-GRO has a soft on for your plight so we're prepared to offer a contract.

"Really?" Jack let out the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. "Well, what are they?!"

"Well hold on now son. Don't get your hopes up too high, these aren't exactly the best of jobs," Turning his monitor around, the Colonel let Jack see his screen.

"Sixty-One-W? Eleven-B? Nineteen-D?" Jack read aloud. He had no idea what any of that meant.

"Sixty-One Whiskey, Combat Medic. Eleven Bravo, Infantry. And Nineteen Delta Cav Scout. All front-line jobs. Since you aren't ranked high enough in Awakened power, plus you're a drop-out, these are the only jobs we can give you that will allow your dependents to join you. Included with these contracts, a caretaker is being provided but you’ll receive reduced pay," The Colonel turned the monitor back around. “Are you sure you don't want to reconsider? Maybe take a year or two to upgrade your ranking to E-One? At this point, you'll basically be with the regular Army until you rank up and can attend an institute."

[As long as we train and integrate more, you should be able to grow substantially. Take it, if ranking up is the requirement to get in we can deal with that later. At least this gets your foot into the door.] Sahaqiel advised, standing behind the Colonel and reading his screen over his shoulder. [Fascinating contraption these computers are.]

"I'm sure," Jack replied firmly, making the old man adopt a frown that only lasted for a fraction of a second.

"Well then son… what job do you want?"