“At ease, gentlemen,” Dreznor said, his gaze sweeping over the group of former pirates, now standing in disciplined attention like seasoned soldiers with years of experience.
In just one month of intense training, they had transformed. The first real-world week had been entirely theoretical, an immersive and assimilative crash course to fill the gaping holes in their knowledge. As former pirates, most of them had only received the bare minimum education necessary to survive in society. This time, they learned more than just literacy or basic navigation. They learned systems, ethics, tactics, the value of structure, and more.