I Choose the Skills Everyone Else Rejects

Medical kept Nate for twelve minutes.

The scan beneath his shoulder looked almost identical to the previous one.

Irritated pathways.

No new tearing.

No worsening around the return route.

The medic enlarged the damaged section.

"No field circulation today."

"I know."

She looked at him.

Nate waited.

"That usually means you’re about to explain why today is different."

"I’m not."

"Good."

She removed the scanner.

"You can leave."

Nate collected his jacket.

Western Access was still closed to him.

The Third Circuit survey team had entered Sector Three almost an hour earlier. Field Command had stopped sending public updates soon after.

There was nothing Nate could do there anyway.

He disliked that almost as much as being injured.

He left medical and crossed toward Talent Services.

The main concourse was louder than usual.

Then people started moving aside.

Nate slowed.

A group had entered through the eastern checkpoint.

Most wore Imperial identification.

Administrative staff.

Military personnel.

Two people from Talent Directorate.

The woman at the front looked younger than Nate expected.

Maybe twenty-five.

Maybe a little older.

Dark coat.

Silver Directorate pin.

No ceremonial uniform.

Her Circuit was much easier to judge.

Second.

Developed enough that Nate could feel the pressure from the upper walkway.

She was speaking to an older Directorate official when her attention shifted toward Talent Services.

Seris had just stepped into the concourse.

The woman stopped.

Seris did too.

Neither looked surprised for very long.

The woman approached.

"I wasn’t expecting you downstairs."

Seris glanced toward the delegation.

"I work here."

"I heard."

"Then you were expecting me."

The woman accepted that.

Her attention moved briefly toward Nate.

Not his face.

Graveshare.

Then back to Seris.

"Still taking post-selection work?"

"Among other things."

The older official approached behind her.

"Renn."

She checked the time.

"I know."

"We have intake."

"I know that too."

His attention followed hers toward Graveshare.

Then Nate.

"Calder?"

Nate looked at him.

"Yes."

The man opened something on his terminal.

"Your file was added this morning."

Nate frowned.

"Added to what?"

"Foreign talent review."

"I’m not part of Talent Exchange."

"No."

His eyes returned to Graveshare.

"Your armament is Imperial."

That explained more than Nate would have liked.

The man closed the file.

"Report downstairs at eleven."

He continued toward the assessment wing.

The woman remained.

Nate looked at her.

"Do I get a choice?"

"About attending?"

"Yes."

"No."

"Good system."

Her mouth moved slightly.

Not quite a smile.

"Renn," Seris said.

The woman looked at her.

Seris’s tone had changed just enough for Nate to notice.

"He’s under Field Command restriction."

"I read that."

"Then don’t put him through combat evaluation."

"I’m not planning to."

Seris held her gaze for another second.

Renn left without saying anything else.

Nate waited until she was far enough away.

"You know her."

Seris started walking.

"Yes."

"Well?"

"Enough."

"That’s vague."

"It’s accurate."

Nate followed her.

"She knew you worked here."

"Apparently."

"And you don’t like that she’s here."

Seris stopped near the Talent Services entrance.

"I didn’t say that."

"You didn’t have to."

She looked at him.

Nate waited.

Seris exhaled through her nose.

"She recruited in my province four years ago."

Nate hadn’t expected that.

"For the Empire?"

"That’s what Imperial Talent Directorate does."

"Did she recruit you?"

Seris’s expression became harder to read.

"She tried."

"And you said no."

"Yes."

"Why?"

Seris opened the door.

"You’re due downstairs at eleven."

Nate looked at the clock.

"That isn’t an answer."

"No."

She went inside.

Nate almost followed.

Then changed direction.

The assessment hall occupied most of the lower floor.

By the time Nate arrived, the foreign candidates were already gathering.

Ethan stood near one of the training stations.

Mara was beside him.

Both noticed Nate at almost the same time.

Ethan looked at Graveshare, then at the Directorate personnel behind him.

"What happened?"

"Apparently I’m foreign talent now."

Mara looked doubtful.

"Since when?"

"This morning."

"Why?"

Nate raised his right arm slightly.

Mara understood.

"Imperial equipment."

"That’s the explanation."

Ethan looked toward the observation booth.

"Are they trying to recruit you?"

"I haven’t even worked that out yet."

The doors closed.

Renn entered with the older official.

No introduction followed.

Everyone in the room already knew who Talent Directorate represented.

Renn stood in front of the first candidate.

"Name."

"Jalen Orr."

"Class."

"Variant Stone Runner."

"Current Circuit."

"First."

"Why are you here?"

The candidate hesitated.

"To improve."

Renn waited.

He realized she wanted more.

"My country doesn’t have an instructor for my specialization above Second Circuit."

"All right."

She moved on.

That was it.

No speech.

No judgment.

The next candidate wanted access to Imperial medicine.

Another wanted a military commission.

One admitted the payment was better.

Renn asked him how much better.

He answered.

She wrote it down.

Nate watched more carefully after that.

She did not seem interested in impressive answers.

She wanted specific ones.

At the fourth station, something went wrong.

A candidate activated a movement Skill during the physical evaluation.

He accelerated correctly.

The machine did not.

A weighted arm released half a second too early.

It swung toward the technician beside the platform.

The technician froze.

Renn moved.

Nate felt her Circuit close.

One short pulse.

Her hand caught the side of the weighted arm.

She did not stop it.

The force passed through her shoulder, down across her body, then changed direction.

The metal arm struck the floor beside the platform.

Hard.

Renn took one step backward.

That was all.

The room went quiet.

She looked toward the technician.

"Reset the timing."

The technician swallowed.

"Yes."

Renn returned to the candidate.

"Again."

No explanation.

No demonstration.

Nate kept watching her.

Second Circuit.

Probably more than one Skill.

And enough experience to use one without turning an accident into a spectacle.

Mara’s interview came twenty minutes later.

Renn looked at her record.

"Last Standard."

"Yes."

"Three Imperial sponsors requested priority interviews."

Mara blinked.

"Nobody told me."

"They will tomorrow."

"Why tell me now?"

"Because now I can ask you something."

Mara waited.

"If you received an offer good enough to stay permanently, would you?"

Mara did not answer immediately.

"I don’t know."

Renn nodded and entered something into her file.

Then Ethan.

"First Banner."

"Yes."

"Same question."

"No."

"Why?"

"My family is home."

"They can relocate."

"My country is home."

"That can’t."

Ethan’s answer came without hesitation.

Renn watched him for a few seconds.

Then moved on.

No attempt to argue.

Nate noticed that.

He had expected recruitment to mean persuasion.

Apparently evaluation came first.

His turn arrived near the end.

Renn looked at his file longer than she had looked at the others.

"Nate Calder."

"Yes."

"Registered Class: Variant Kinetic Recall."

"Yes."

"First Circuit."

"Yes."

"Last Contact assignment."

"Yes."

Her finger moved down the record.

"Your file is unpleasant."

Nate looked at her.

"Thanks."

"I’m not criticizing it."

"That’s worse."

A few people nearby heard him.

Renn did not react.

"Train attack."

Nate stayed quiet.

"Academy defence-grid incident."

His jaw tightened.

"Investigation."

"Yes."

"Last Contact."

"Yes."

"C-19."

"Yes."

"Malvern."

Her eyes went to Graveshare.

"Then this."

Nate folded his arms.

"Is there a question?"

"There is."

She closed the file.

"Why did you join Last Contact?"

Nate hadn’t expected that one.

"It was available."

"So were other assignments."

"Not the same ones."

"What did Last Contact offer?"

"Field access."

"Anything else?"

"Merit."

"Anything else?"

Nate thought about it.

People died there often enough that useful things became available quickly.

Positions.

Equipment.

Resources.

Opportunities.

He did not say that.

"Experience."

Renn watched him.

"You took a dangerous assignment because it developed you faster."

Nate’s expression changed.

"I didn’t say that."

"No."

She opened his file again.

"But your choices did."

He almost disagreed.

Almost.

Renn continued.

"If Talent Directorate could move you out of Last Contact, would you take the transfer?"

Nate looked toward Ethan without meaning to.

Ethan was speaking quietly with Mara.

First Banner.

Selected before leaving the awakening hall.

Crown Program.

Imperial exchange.

People had been trying to give Ethan better paths since the moment his Class appeared.

Nate had spent most of that same time finding doors nobody intended to open for him.

Now someone was asking whether he wanted one opened.

"What kind of transfer?"

Renn looked up.

"Training sponsorship. Imperial placement if you qualify."

"What would I owe?"

"That depends on the sponsorship."

"Then I can’t answer."

"You could say yes."

"Without knowing the conditions?"

"Most people do."

Nate looked at her.

"Then ask them."

Something changed in Renn’s expression.

Very small.

She entered something into his record.

Nate tried to see.

She turned the terminal away.

"Tomorrow."

"What?"

"Second interview."

"Why?"

"Because your answer wasn’t useless."

She moved toward the next candidate.

Nate remained there.

That was it.

No offer.

No promise.

He should have felt almost nothing.

Instead, something uncomfortable settled beneath his ribs.

He had spent the entire morning watching people assess Ethan and Mara as obvious investments.

They had Classes institutions recognized.

Histories people wanted attached to their programs.

Nate had a false Class registration, a penal field assignment and several dead people scattered through his recent record.

Renn had read all of it.

Then scheduled another interview.

His terminal vibrated.

A message from Seris.

How bad?

Nate typed back.

Second interview tomorrow.

The reply came quickly.

For what?

He looked across the hall.

Renn was already speaking to somebody else.

Nate typed:

Don’t know yet.

Three dots appeared.

Then disappeared.

A final message arrived.

Ask what the offer costs before you ask what it gives you.

Nate read it twice.

Then put the terminal away.

He had already done that.

And Renn had noticed.

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!