- Experience Protocol
"Gus, a word if you will."
Gus excused himself from his squad, and followed Jet to a more secluded area. Once there, he felt the need to question why he was there, and what Jet had wanted that needed privacy.
"Do you happen to be aware of the experience protocol, by any chance?" Jet asked him.
"The experience protocol?" Gus thought aloud. "No, I don't believe that I have heard about it. What is it?"
"The experience protocol is something that the academy uses to prepare our students before we send them out into the galaxy. Typically, it starts after a few weeks of classes, and involves missions to retrieve things from Earth that might come through here. They might also take you to Mars or Venus, but those are fairly uncommon. They tend to be fairly safe, but might take you into a little bit of trouble, depending on what the specific mission is."
"Okay. But, what does this have to do with me?" Gus asked, confused at why he was being told this.
"As I said, it typically starts after a few weeks. While unorthodox, there's nothing stopping you from doing one right away. Think it over, and let me know when you come to my class in a few hours."
"But, why me? Why my squad? Why not ask one of the years above? Or one of the other squads, for that matter?"
"Because, what's the harm in doing someone a favour?" Jet asked with a smile. "Like I said, think it over and get back to me. No offense taken if you say no," he said, adding a small chuckle at the end. "Tell you what," he said, fiddling with a communication device on his wrist, "why wait? As soon as you make your decision, let me know," he said, before giving Gus his communication details.
***
'The experience protocol. Are they ready for that kind of thing? Am I?' Gus thought, looking at his squad.
Despite the fact that they had already participated in one of the games, they were now having their first combat lesson featuring weapons. It came not one second too late for Gus, who could use the lesson to assess whether or not he thought his squad was ready for the mission.
Kyle, as he had expected, was pinpoint accurate with a weapon. Remembering both the entrance exam and the game, he was beginning to create a bit of a reputation for himself of someone who was good with ranged weapons.
As for the others, they were all at least serviceable with the Repeater. While some, like Joel and Teala were likely experienced in marksmanship to some level, others like Claire and Krista seemed fairly fresh to the skill. It did not matter though, as all of them seemed at least competent with the weapon.
'Come to think of it,' Gus thought. 'Was there even anyone who failed the exam? Given that they feel competent enough as it is, was there anyone who was not competent enough and failed their mission? Was it even able to be failed? Or was it just something to test our skills?'
With his worries about his squad mostly alleviated, the issue turned to if he was ready. Mentally, he felt he could do it. But, was he ready physically? If he compared himself to other people, then sure. But he was an Evolved now, with a power that scaled with his experience. Shouldn't he wait until he had levelled it up before going out into the world and doing missions?
Conversely, doing missions would surely give him more experience, giving him that strength quicker than he would if he was to go to the Pit and fight over and over to farm up the experience points he needed. Remembering the squad name, motto and insignia missions he obtained from the system, it would make sense that this would give him a mission that would result in him getting a windfall of experience.
'Let's see the system,' he thought. 'It's been a while, and I want to know where I stand in relation to my next level up and my overall stats.
*Level [2] {655 / 1500 EXP}*
*Strength [1]*
*Speed [1]*
*Stamina [1]*
*Leadership [2]*
*Combat [2]*
*Durability [1]*
*Ranged [1]*
*Proficiency [1]*
Skills:
History's Greatest Commander x 1
Points:
System [0]
Leadership [12]
'Only twelve leadership points, and no others? Relying on level ups isn't going to cut it. I need a way to gain more of the unique points, so that I can advance up the skill tree. I guess I can build up a bank of the leadership points by training with my squad. I received five this morning for sparring with Joel, so if I add more people into that then I could possibly be earning a level of the skill I bought per session.'
With all things considered, Gus opted to take up Jet's offer of completing the mission. Activating his communication device, he quickly fired off a message to Jet letting him know about his decision.
After letting Jet know, he called his squad over to one side to let them know of the mission. While some people were apprehensive about the idea, others were excited by the prospect of starting missions so early into their military career.
***
While teaching about the MT Sidekick, Jet received a ping on his communication device. As he opened it, a smile spread across his lips as he read the contents of the message. Gus Braye accepted his proposal! And, if he had phrased the proposal correctly, then he would have made it sound like he was doing Gus a favour. Meaning Gus would owe him, and not the other way around.
'There has to be more to him than there seems. Him owing me a favour bodes well for us, especially if my gut is right about him,'
He excused himself from the class for a moment, before sending a message back telling Gus to bring his squad to the equipment class between classes.