The rest of the trial went smoothly and was completed by noon. They were told to take the rest of the day, and that tomorrow they would post the results and the final ranking, along with the new organizational structure.
○○○
That evening, Taylor was in a meeting with the rest of the leadership, deciding the final ranking and who would be the leadership
"Ok, so what of Private Miller?" One of them asked.
"I don't think anyone will object to him becoming one of us, but what about his ranking?"
"Well, he did beat a close combat specialist at her best. And what of her? She was able to challenge and hold her own against an oracle. That has to count for something."
"I thought we agreed we wouldn't be taking that match into account. It would be unfair to the others who didn't even get a second match."
"Yes but it was truly astonishing what the two of them accomplished. I've never seen a fight like that before."
Suddenly Taylor sat forward and spoke. "What did you thing First Sergeant? You're the most skilled at close combat so maybe you saw differently, but to me it seemed that rather than holding him off, Private Ashvale was dancing to the tune Private Miller was calling."
The room went silent as every head turned towards the man sitting at the head of the table. A large man, even by demigod standards, he was muscular and well defined, and his body was covered in scars. His hair was a bright red and his eyes a piercing emerald green. He is First Sergeant Séan McLaughlin, the most formidable combatant serving the Republic of the Americas.
He was silent for a moment before speaking. "Sergeant Miller is correct. Once he used his abilities, he controlled the pace of the fight. However it is also true that Private Ashvale was able to turn the fight from a loss to a draw solely due to her skill and experience.
The main metric will of course be the results from the three trials. Go ahead and crate the rankings based on that, I will personally adjust Privates Miller and Ashvale's rankings based on the second fight. Sergeant Miller, after the rankings are posted, please inform them both I'd like to speak with them."
"As ordered, first sergeant. If I may ask, why do you want me to be the point of contact for Private Ashvale? She's not even in my platoon, let alone my subordinate."
"Her direct leadership were all killed in action. During the restructuring, I have placed her into your squad. Any other questions?"
They all shook their heads, and went back to finalizing the rankings.
○○○
The next day they all crowded around the board to see what the results were.
"Here are the results of the Trials, the Leadership is included with this list, if the word leadership is written beside your name, report to the drill hall at 0900 for a briefing on the new organizational structure.
001 - Séan McLaughlin (Leadership)
002 - Edward Von Ekster (Leadership)
003 - Travis Miller (Leadership)
...
006 - Vanessa Ashvale
007 - Taylor Miller (Leadership)
...
016 - Kiara Campbell
017 - Victor Gonzales
...
022 - Rebecca O'Neil
023 - Oscar Stanton
...
040 - William Hillyard (Leadership)
...
052 - Lance O'Neil (Leadership)
053 - Victoria Ashvale
054 - Justin Turner
..."
"Holy Shit. You did it!" Justin said, grabbing Travis in a hug and lifting him off the ground.
"Not only did they give you a higher ranking than me, but they also gave you a leadership position? We are so screwed." Kiara said
"You're just bitter because you aren't even in the top ten." Travis shot back.
"Dude, I love watching you two verbally spar, but it's 0830 right now. You need to get your ass changed and to the drill hall."
Travis thanked Justin for the reminder then sprinted to his room, where he threw on his uniform, brushed his teeth, and made sure his hair wasn't a mess, before running back downstairs and into the drill hall.
He stopped before the door and caught his breath, then opened the door and walked into his first leadership meeting. There were a couple tables set up in a "U" shape with chairs around the outside, the opening faced towards a large whiteboard with everyone's names written on it.
Looking around, he found Taylor, Lance, and William sitting together. He joined them, taking the seat to Taylor's left.
"Hey Trav, glad to see you weren't late, I would've kicked your ass if you were." Taylor said.
"Yeah but I wasn't." Then he turned towards William. "Congrats on the promotion man."
"You too, have you thought about who you want in your team?"
"No, I was a bit busy making sure I didn't show up looking like smashed ass. You?"
"A bit, but I'm number 40, you're number 3 so you'd better figure it out quick because you're up first."
"Hey, since you haven't picked anyone yet, would you take Rebecca?" Lance asked, looking at Travid hopefully.
"She's your wife, I thought you'd want her. Why do you want her to go with me?"
"I do want her, but you can see the future. I'd feel better if she was with you. And it means there's a better chance at least one of us will survive should the worst come to pass."
"Well, if you're sure. Then I'll do it."
"Thanks man, i really appreciate it."
Right then the commander and first sergeant walked in, and addressed the room. "To the new people joining us, welcome. After this meeting go see supply and get your new ranks before meeting up with your new subordinates. Now, lets begin the sorting process. First up, Corporal Miller. You are rank 3, so you go first, you'll be under Sergeant Miller as you were. She can help you choose your five soldiers. However be aware one of them has already been chosen for you. You will have Private Ashvale under you, so who will you choose as your remaining four?"
"My first choice is Private O'Neil. Then I'd like Private Campbell, Private Turner, and Private Gonzales."
They crossed out the names on the whiteboard. "Alright. Thank you Corporal. Next Sergeant Miller."
"I would like Corporal O'Neil as my other team leader."
They continued until all the soldier's names were crossed out. In the end Lance had Victoria, and while he wanted to make other choices, he was told the rest of his team would be filled by the 2nd generation when they arrived, and that those soldiers had already been chosen.