Four

"It stinks," Diur said as the two of them walked down the boarding ramp of the Shadow of Steel. Kon grunted, lost in the sights all around him. He had thought that the Dragon's Maw had been a massive ship, but the Authority of Man absolutely dwarfed his old ship. The Shadow of Steel, which he'd found out was something of a repurposed freighter turned into a yacht, could comfortably fit in one of her smaller landing bays.

Unlike the Dragon's Maw bay, which had been a series of pneumatic tunnels, each one with multiple seals, which could launch shuttles like they were projectiles, the Authority of Man had a more traditional system. A cavernous hangar that was sealed with some type of energy field that kept oxygen inside while allowing more physical craft to pass through. Mr. Hanna had been true to his world, allowing Kon to stand over his shoulder as he piloted the unwieldy craft with precision, settling it down in the designated bay without issue.

Now he was looking at the filled hangar with trepidation. The rest of the rescued Knights and Squires had been shuttled over in smaller ships and were busy disembarking, looking worse for wear. Bloodstained and dented armor was still apparent along with deep, haunted eyes as men and women looked around in a daze, slowly shuffling forward.

"I don't think they had quite as nice accommodations as the rest of us," Kon whispered to Diur. She nodded solemnly, a look of embarrassment crossing her face as she looked at her clean and luxurious clothes. They had all been a gift from Jason Thierry, resembling her own clothes from her homeworld. The noble had a seamstress on the ship who had been able to whip out several outfits in the current fashion of the Ulmna Confederacy. That more than anything had seemed to secure her approval of the nobleman.

"Survivors of Dragon's Maw!" A voice boomed across the bay, dwarfing the rumble of shuttle engines without hurting their hearing. Kon looked over to see a mountain of a man, unarmored and standing on a lift; with a rune over his back, shifting and dark green. Kon only got a partial glimpse of it as the man let it fade away, but he was certain it was the same rune that Knight Bosch had used to attract the attention of the pseudo C-grade.

His words had dragged everyone's attention to him. Kon could feel the energy in the room, fading away as the man's rune disappeared.

"Something to do with attention."

"I am glad to see my brother's in arms still alive even as we mourn for those who fell. I am sure you are all interested in finding some rest and respite. Clean clothes at least," the man said, his gaze darkening as he looked over at the gathered group. The bay was so large that the several hundred gathered cadets, squires, and Knights hardly took up a corner of the bay.

"Cadets, you will rally and report to Knight Jurgen," the man said, pointing toward a broad man with a neck so thick it could be mistaken for a thigh. He wasn't wearing armor, just a simple blue uniform with a closed iron fist pin on his lapel.

"Knight Jurgen words directly for the Order of the Dragon. You will obey every command of his like it is a command from the Master of our Chapter himself!" Kon started to shuffle along with the other surviving cadets toward the unnaturally muscular man.

"Squires will report to Knight Neo. Knights shall be assigned rooms and have personal interviews." Kon hardly heard the unnamed Knight's final commands as he stood before Knight Jurgen. The man's black eyes swept over them, his dark skin shining with perspiration, a dark stain beginning to form under his arms.

"I am Knight Draconis Jurgen. You will refer to me as Sir. Fall in," the man's voice was calm and steady, his presence commanding respect as all of the cadets fell into line. Knight Jurgen spun on his heel and began a quick paced double time march, all of them following along.

Kon's body advancements made the double timed pace seem trivial. Diur followed along, right behind him, at the end of the line. No one had said anything about her sword which she kept on her hip, but no one else had any arms aside from the Knights whose suits were all walking armories.

The inside of the Authority of Man was tightly compact, hardly room for two people to pass abreast, but the halls were empty as Knight Jurgen led them along without slowing. Minutes stretched out longer and longer, the only sound was the heavy breathing of everyone in the halls.

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"Wonder what we're doing?" Kon whispered, quiet as possible, to Diur. The Ulmna woman didn't respond as she kept up the light jog. Up ahead of them Knight Jurgen's head twitched slightly, but there was no other reaction for several minutes before the Knight barked out his next order.

"Triple time!" Jurgen commanded, instantly increasing his pace at the head of the line. Within a few minutes the cadets were struggling to control their breath, sweat staining their clothes, the rhythmic beat of the march quickly growing ragged.

Kon and Diur kept going without slowing, the pace not a challenge at all. Kon just let his mind relax as they ran, several times backtracking, passing by hatches or passageways that Kon knew for sure they had passed.

After nearly two hours of following the Knight, their path changed and the Knight picked up his pace to the point it caused the majority of the cadets to break into a full sprint to keep up. The Knight hardly seemed bothered by his pace, just a fast walk for him. Kon grunted as he increased his own effort, but it was till far below his top capabilities.

Knight Jurgen stopped in front of a wide door, the incandescent lights of the hallway showcasing the man's sweat stained uniform. Kon wondered what it was that was making a Knight sweat that much as he wasn't breathing hard as he waved the cadets through. Jurgen didn't batt an eye as Diur passed by him and they entered a massive gym.

Weights were everywhere along with dozens of stationary cardio machines. Bikes, treadmills, rowing machines, and more all lined up along a wall. A dozen blue suited figures stood around with holopads, looking at them with clinical eyes as they passed into the gymnasium. They weren't Knights, they had no energy presence at all and lacked the normal muscular build of an active duty Knight.

"These are trainers on loan by the Order of the Dragon. They will be taking your physical measurements. We know that you have been placed under a strenuous ordeal and that your current standards have degraded due to field conditions. These measurements will not be used against you, but rather to give a baseline to see to your recovery by whomever secures your contracts," Knight Jurgen said, stalking by them, gently chiding them into a line.

Kon looked around at his fellow cadets, all of them gasping and sweat soaked and felt a shiver roll down his spine as Knight Jurgen stopped in front of him. The man's dark eyes were intense as he looked at Kon and Diur, hardly moving his head as he looked the two of them over.

"You will push yourself to the fullest of your ability. Afterward you will begin recovery activities, will shower, and be presented with fresh uniforms. This process can take several days. In the meantime you are under the protection and guidance of the Order of the Dragon. Anyone wearing this uniform has seniority over you and may order you to do anything within the Charter of Chivalry as long as that does not directly impede and order given to you by a more senior member of the Order. Am I clear?" Jurgen said, never having to raise his voice as over a hundred cadets stared at him with rapt attention.

"When your name is called you will stand in front of the technician who calls you. You will perform the activity prescribed to the fullest extent of your ability or so help me I shall correct your error in judgment," Jurgen continued after a moment.

He was staring into Kon's eyes the entire time he spoke. Kon felt bare underneath the man's dark eyes, the intensity of them stripping away his defenses as the man seemed to loom larger and larger until the Knight took up his entire view.

"Cadet Kon!" an instructor called out and Kon fell back and away from the looming Knight, the man's presence shrinking into something more normal. Kon walked away from the Knight, jogging the few steps to arrive before the bland looking technician.

The woman looked up at him, her eyes hidden by a visor. Her blue uniform was baggy, had a stain on one of her sleeves, while the holopad she carried was perfectly clean. She cleared her throat with a cough as she stared at him.

"No elevated heart rate. You did follow the warmups?" the woman asked confused as she touched the corner of her visor and then looked back down at her holopad.

"Yes ma'am," Kon answered quickly. He could still feel the presence of Knight Jurgen behind him.

"Faulty equipment?" the woman muttered to herself as she clicked on the holopad a few times before turning her head to point the visor at another cadet. Her brow wrinkled further as she looked at the holopad.

"Equipment functioning within parameters. Cadet Kon your first task is to reach a sustainable, high end running speed. You will hold said speed for ten minutes," the technician said as she turned to point at a plain looking machine that was just a wide conveyor style belt. Kon hurriedly leapt onto the machine just as the woman clicked a button.

Kon took a step and felt a bit of resistance and then the belt was moving, letting him run in place as long as he dug his feet in to cause the belt to move as he ran. It took only a few seconds to reach a speed he thought was manageable without showcasing his physical growth. The moment he fell into his rhythm, Knight Jurgen materialized in front of him, face only a half inch away.

"CADET! I ORDERED YOU TO FULL CAPABILITIES AND I SHALL HAVE IT!" Jurgen's sudden explosive voice boomed in his ear and Kon instinctually began to run faster, reaching his true full speed as Jurgen backed up a foot, his dark intense eyes not leaving Kon's as Kon ran.

"This is going to suck."

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