TYOFT - Lifetimes 3.

Imperium.

The next day and subaltern Osaen Krom finds out exactly why the ISS trainee captain is here at the Legion Command Training Facility.
Midmornig, after the morning physical exercises. Which included a ten kilometer run. And a trio of obstacle courses.
The inductee who is from the planet Magnian, and until he came here to the capital planet, was part of the Fifth Legion.
Is summoned to the command center of the Legion Command Training Facility, or just The Facility as the legionnaires tend to call it.
A tech officer waves him into a waiting room, where he sees another inductee from one of the other groups, enter another room.
Subaltern Krom takes a seat, and with no access to any net, with his neural net deactivated.
Osaen picks up a touch interface that's on a side table, and scrolls through a number of news items.
Until he decides to check on something more personal.
The subaltern faintly smiles as he checks on his personal messages he's been unable to see since training began.
He knows he's not denied access to them. If so, he wouldn't be able to link to them, and read, and in some cases watch them.
He faintly smiles as he watches one, turning down the volume as he does so.
The subaltern shakes his head as he watches the young woman, who deep down he's thought about marrying.
Even though the two of them are in their early twenties, and are at the start of their careers.

Subaltern Krom looks up as the executive officer walks in. He puts down the TI, and goes to stand, but the senior officer waves for him to remain seated.
"You'll be seen next subaltern" says the executive officer, who points to the door that the other inductee went through, and says "Once the officer in training who's in there comes out, you may enter after a sixty count".
"Yes sir" says subaltern Osaen Krom to the XO.
"There's no right or wrong answers, just answer truthfully" says the senior officer.
The subaltern nods that he will, then the executive officer departs. While Osaen continues to wait.
He doesn't have to wait too much longer, as the other inductee walks out of the office a few minutes later.
And though there's a slightly confused look upon his face, he nods to acknowledge subaltern Krom who nods in reply.
Once again wishing his neural net was active, so he could communicate with his fellow inductee who has just undertaken the interview.
Osaen then silently counts to sixty, gets up, crosses to the closed door. Lightly knocks on it, before he opens it, and enters the office.
"Take a seat" says the person in the office, who gestures to the chair in the middle of the office.
Osaen Krom after saluting to the young woman at the window looking out at the base.
Sits down on the chair in the middle of the office. He doesn't know what's expected of him. Just that he's been told he will be interviewed, and to answer the questions truthfully.
The subaltern glances at the young woman in the dark, navy blue uniform.
Then he keeps his eyes forward, looking at the desk opposite him. Which eventually the young woman goes to, and sits behind, after she takes one last look out the window.
Osaen refrains from swallowing, as he's a little nervous as he sits there, as the young woman looks not just at him, but through him as well, is the impression he gets.

"Your name, Legion number, rank, and last designation please" says the ISS trainee captain.
"Krom, Osaen. 5195. Subaltern. Last designation 5th Legion, stet" replies Osaen Krom who refrains from frowning as he expected the ISS trainee captain would know this.
"It's just a baseline subaltern" says the young woman, who follows that with "I know everything about you".
She briefly pauses then adds "You are from Magnian i understand?".
"Yes" says the subaltern, who pauses before adding "Ah captain". As he doesn't know how to refer to her as.
Since the Legions don't have the rank of captain. As the officer line goes from senior subaltern, up to major.
Unlike many other militaries found on various planets throughout the Imperial Magistra.
They believe the only people who should hold the rank of captain. Are the Interstellar Starship captains, and no one else.
"Just trainee, or sir will do" says the young woman, who continues in a slightly wry tone with "I'm not a captain yet". She briefly pauses before adding "And i might not become one".
Osaen nods as he knows this to be true. For though being a legionnaire is exclusive. As there's just ten thousand in each Legion. And there's only twenty Legions in the entire Imperial Magistra. Whose population across many star systems number in the thousands of billions.
It's nothing compared to the ISS and their captains. As there's only fifty or so of them at any one time.
"You may answer the questions freely subaltern Krom, no one outside of this room will know what happens in here" says the trainee Interstellar Starship Captain.
The young officer in the Legions glances to the windows, as up here in the command center, it overlooks much of the base.
The young woman smiles reassuringly, and says to him "Trust me subaltern, no one will know".
"Yes sir" says the legionnaire, who physically dominates the room. Especially in comparison to the ISS trainee captain, who at just under six foot tall, is short for sometime in the Magistra military.
"How are you coping without your implants, and neural net?" asks the young woman, who has yet to introduce herself.
"I'm managing" says the subaltern, who though is becoming accustomed to not using his implants. He's finding it difficult not doing things with his neural net.
Osaen then slightly winces when the trainee captain says to him "Nice evasion" followed by "Now answer me truthfully".

After he clears his throat, subaltern Krom says "Not being able to use my implants, especially the hards ones is challenging, though I'm getting accustomed to it".
"And your neural net?" asks the young woman in the dark, navy blue uniform sitting behind the desk.
"Not having the use of that is difficult" is the honest answer from the legionnaire, who then truthfully adds "Really difficult".
"As it should be" says the ISS trainee captain, who continues with "I can sympathise" followed by "I go without it at times during training as well, and yes it's extremely difficult".
Osaen's eyebrows shoot up at that, as he thought that ISS pilots, which the trainee captain is. Have the most powerful neural nets in existence with the exception of a full captain in the ISS.
"Yes, even we go without our neural nets" says the young woman, who then explains "It teaches us to focus" followed by "Trust me, you learn to focus quickly when you're forced to manually compute thousands then millions of calculations, while blindfolded in a flight or launch simulation, sometimes in zero gee or gee+ conditions".
Osaen does wince at the thought of that. And he thought his classes in applied mathematics was difficult without the use of a neural net.
"So, has it taught you to focus?" asks the subaltern in the The Legions of the Imperial Magistra.
"I'm getting there" says the ISS trainee captain, with a genuine smile upon her face. Highlighting how young she is, as Osaen guesses she's probably only nineteen years old.

The two of them continue to chat about a number of subjects. Mostly do with subaltern Krom's training here at The Facility. As well as the deployments he's gone on so far in his time in the Legions.
Occasionally they'll talk about things that are more personal. Like Osaen's family life before he joined The Legions.
But for the most part, they discuss what it's like to serve in the military of the Imperial Magistra.
After briefly speaking about FTL flight, which subaltern Krom has done a fair bit of, as he's already gone on three deployments with The Legions in the less than three years he's had since coming out of basic training that all legionnaires must undertake.
The ISS trainee captain, asks the subaltern who is originally from Magnian, did his training on Newost, and now finds himself at the Legion Command Training Facility, here on the capital planet, Imperium.
"Do you ever wonder subaltern, why say a few Legions are sent to a conflict zone" says the young woman sitting behind the desk, who then adds "Instead of sending a ISS captain and a battlecruiser to deal with the situation?".
"I would assume the cost" says Osaen Krom truthfully.
"Correct" says the ISS trainee captain, who continues with "For though training you and the upkeep of you is rather phenomenal" followed by "So much so, than one entire Legion costs the equivalent of a regular army of say about a million or more soldiers to run".
Osaen's eyebrows shoot up in surprise when he hears that. For he knew it was expensive to train and maintain a Legion of ten thousand legionnaires. He didn't realise how expensive it was.
"Even with that, it's far cheaper than sending a single ISS captain from their post to a conflict zone to deal with things" says the ISS trainee captain, who follows on from that with "The difference in cost is phenomenal, we're talking the wealth and running budget of an entire planet to send a captain to a hot zone".
The legionnaire is at a loss for words as he didn't realise how expensive things were.
"This is why the Imperial Magistra will try to have the local authorities deal with whatever a conflict is" says the young woman sitting behind the desk, who then adds "And if that doesn't work out, the regular Magistra military is sent".
She pauses before continuing with "Then if that fails or is deemed unfeasible, a Legion is finally sent into combat" followed by "And on very rare occasions an ISS captain is sent".
The trainee Interstellar Spaceship captain then tells the subaltern "Remember there's tens of thousands of inhabited worlds in the Imperial Magistra, and conflict between some of them, or on them, does happen" followed by "You as a legionnaire will only be sent to one, if it's deemed to difficult to solve in any other way".
Osaen Krom nods, as he knows that every conflict he's sent into, is a losing position for the Imperial Magistra, that he and the other legionnaires have to find some way to gain victory, or at least aattain manageable situation.
The ISS trainee captain is silent for a few moments, then she asks "Do you understand if you gain a position of higher command in the Legions what that will truly entail subaltern?".
Instead of letting him answer, she says "I'll tell you want it is, and which your superiors will never tell you".
The trainee captain in the ISS then says "It's if the cost of a Legion and the possibility of losing it, is actually worth it" followed by "If you ever attain the rank of commander or senior commander, it'll be you who decides what a Legion should do once it's in a hot zone".
She continues with "No one else, not the politicians who made the decision to send you, or the military planning team who decided to send your particular Legion, no one" she briefly pauses, before adding "Unless an ISS captain is sent of course".
Hell, Osaen Krom thinks to himself as he didn't realise that is what it entails to be a Legion commander.
"Yes, hell indeed" quietly says the trainee captain.

Subaltern Krom stares at the young woman sitting behind the desk, wondering if she can still read his mind, even with his neural net off. As he's stunned to realise she knew what he just thought.
"I can" quietly says the trainee captain, who follows that with "Your body still has an electrical current even though your neural net is off" followed by "Your thoughts are still projected as subvocalizations as if your neural net was on".
Osaen Krom is silent for a few moments, then after getting over the shock of learning that, he asks "Anyone else able to do that, or do they have to be as powerful as you to do it?".
"Only your base commander here has the ability, even then with his rated neural net, it's difficult for him to do so" explains the ISS trainee captain, who then tells him "I'd advise you to keep your thoughts to yourself whenever you're around him".
Osaen slowly nods, then he says "Why tell me that?".
"Because one day, you may attain the rank of commander or senior commander" says the young woman, referring to the highest ranks in the Legions, followed by "It will be useful for you to learn how to do it".
"And how do you do it?" asks  subaltern Krom, the trainee captain smiles, then tells him "That's something you have to try and figure out by yourself legionnaire".
The interview lasts just a few minutes longer, until the ISS officer thanks him for his time, and dismisses him.

The next day, after she's completed her interviews. The ISS trainee captain is walking back to the airstrip in the company of the base commander, his adjunctant, and the executive officer.
The young woman in the dark, navy blue uniform is communicating with the trio of legionnaires via their neural nets. As everyone on base is lined up on either side of the parade ground as they walk to the airstrip where a small transporter is waiting for her.
"There's just the one" says the ISS trainee captain, who then adds "Subaltern Osaen Krom".
"He excels at the physical, but he's only middling to average in some of the theoretical courses" says the base commander after quickly going over the data of the subaltern in question.
"I know" says the ISS trainee captain, who continues on with "So train him up in those areas he lacks efficiency". "Yes sir" says the base commander as they walk through the parade ground.
The ISS captain spots subaltern Krom and nods to him as he stands at attention, saluting.
He's the only legionnaire at the moment here at The Facility, both inductees or otherwise who she has deemed able to attain the highest rank of senior commander in the Legions of the Imperial Magistra . . . . . .