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When the spacecraft exited the warp gate, a completely new scenery was presented before the trio of cadets. They had appeared in the outer atmosphere of a planet that seemed to be much larger than any planet Regis knew about.

The spacecraft did not land on the planet. Rather it made its way slowly towards a large structure floating around in the outer orbit of the planet. This was one of the multiple fortresses that formed a defensive perimeter along the human territory of the cosmic convergence zone.

The cosmic convergence zone was a region where the interaction between cosmic storms and planets had led to something other than destruction. The dusk zone was completely devasted by the cosmic storms. That was the general aftermath of cosmic storms, but a much rarer interaction resulted in the formation of the cosmic convergence zone.

Not just the resources of the planets, the very fabric of space that encompassed all the planets, stars and other celestial bodies itself had transformed into a very valuable resource. The region was dangerous no doubt, but it was so rich in valuable and rare resources that no one was willing to sit out just because of the dangers. The special Asceptus metal, Armitibium was also mined out of a star present in a different cosmic convergence zone.

Regis looked out of the spacecraft. The space which he had always remembered to be black was a light shade of purple with bluish spots mixed within. The other two cadets were also enchanted by the view. Knowing about it and seeing its pictures did not dampen the impact of viewing the scene in person. Everywhere their eyes could and could not reach was covered in the purple space.

After staring at the space for few minutes with their minds agape, the cadets snapped out when the space was slowly replaced by metallic interior of the barracks. The door of the spacecraft opened once it was completely inside the fortress. Cantlon walked out of the spacecraft after the cadets and left without looking back.

Regis, Alex and Avorey were dumbfounded for a moment. What were they supposed to do when they were completely new to the place? The person who had brought them here had already left and they could not access the maps of a military fortress without getting clearance from concerned authorities.

Fortunately, someone came to their rescue.

"Umm… you three must be the soldiers who will be joining today. I am Heley Grent, a tier 2 warrant officer from the Dispatch and relay department of Fortress Cessna. I didn't expect the manager to leave you people alone after bringing you here... Anyways, please follow me. I will take you to collect your uniforms and batches before taking you to the allotted residences." A woman in mid-twenties said while turning back and leading the cadets.

"As you may know, this fortress is a barrack, so you have to abide by all the rules and regulations. You can not wear personal spacial expansion devices when on duty and will only be allowed to wear gear and devices that are issued by the military while on your shift. The holowatch is an exception, but you will have to sign a NDC first and all information going outside the fortress will be monitored."

"The punishments for breaking the rules and code of conduct are very severe as it will be judged under the martial laws, so I advise you to not even try to do it. Many new recruits try to gauge how much leverage they can hold over the rules, but none of those attempts have a good ending, so don't even try it."

After getting his uniform and gaining partial access to the fortress map and other facilities, Regis finally reached his room. He tapped on his holowatch and the door opened.

The room was similar to his room back at Camp Cerberus. Except for the bed, the room was completely devoid of any furniture or lighting. All the edges of the room functioned as lights and lit up the room evenly.

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Next morning, Regis dressed up in the new uniform that was delivered to his room the previous day. The base colour of the uniform was black with golden seams at the cuffs and a digital badge on the shoulder loop. This badge could update the status of a soldier in real time and was also used to establish a chain of command in required situations. The pockets were a variation of small spacial expansion devices that could keep a record of anything stored in them. Similarly, there were military issued weapons as well as other combat gear that was attached on top of the uniform.

Regis looked at his reflection in the mirror and nodded. He had gotten used to with his new face over the last few months and could now appreciate his good looks. Apart from the standard rules that were taught to all cadets, fortress Cessna also had a set of exclusive rules. Regis went through all the rules in his head while he walked towards his new destination. On the way, he could see soldiers dressed in various different uniforms depending on their divisions.

Many of these soldiers also looked back at Regis with a mild shock. A specialist in the Armed patrol Militia wasn't someone very special, but it was a post with a very high requirement of combat strength. But Regis seemed to just have graduated from a camp.

Regis also knew the reason for the looks coming his way, so he just ignored them. He was preoccupied with something else.

'From what I discovered, Mythika's mark is a very rare and powerful skill, especially the third subskill: 'blade bite.' I had thought that the light sabre issued by the military will be a good weapon, but it was a let-down. I didn't consider that light sabres can not resonate with the mana, so a lot of power is lost while using the skill. I will have to try an artifact sword and see if it works. Luckily, I am in the cosmic convergence zone which is the largest supplier of artifacts, so it will be easier and cheaper to get an artifact sword.'

While still lost in his thought, Regis arrived at his destination. He knocked at the door. The door opened up and a small cubicle with a desk and several chairs placed around it was revealed.

Regis walked in confidently amidst the gazes of the people present in the room. He walked straight to what appeared to be the canter of the desk.

"Specialist first tier, Regis Kleeve reporting." Regis performed a military salute to a man sitting before him. This person was the one whose digital badge displayed the highest rank in the room.

"At ease specialist Kleeve." The man responded with a nod.

Command sergeant Leuin Olcust, was the leader and the highest ranked member of this patrol squad. He himself was a rather young officer who appeared to be in late twenties. He maintained a short well-trimmed beard and a plain haircut. He had a decent face and a well-maintained body. Regis could feel an aura of masculinity radiating from the person as his uniform did little to hide the ripping muscles of his hand and chest.

Regis turned once again and introduced himself to others present in the room collectively. Out of the twelve people in the room, his attention was specially drawn to a particular woman standing in the group. She was the best looker in the group, but that wasn't the reason why Regis focussed his attention on her.

A sudden pressure had engulfed Regis as soon as he laid his eyes on her before vanishing away. A sense of crisis crept up his back before disappearing and Regis could still feel the hair on his body standing up after a few seconds. Something told him that he should not keep his gaze towards the woman for too long.

Regis also followed his instinct and looked away, but the feeling of threat was vividly imprinted in his mind. The others in the room didn't seem to have noticed and acted in a normal manner.

"Since all of us are here, let me show you our assignment for the month." Command sergeant Olcust didn't waste any time after the introduction ended and began discussing the group's job.

"This month, we will be patrolling on resource planet CHTs-52. A 3D hologram displaying a green-colored planet was projected from the desk. The specific allotment for the first week is in planetary sector 22 and 23 and we will patrol the border that we share with Glycets in these two sectors. During the first week, we will be covering a total of twenty thousand miles on the surface during our patrol to check for signs of border breach. We will be bringing three technicians with us, whose primary job will be to check and repair any defective border beacons and related technology." The command sergeant then went on to describe more details of the mission while occasionally looking at Regis to see if he could keep up.

Regis listened to the mission description and the various 3D images attentively. This was his first time looking at the border that spanned an entire planet. Unlike the borders between countries at his time, the border had a well-defined geometrical shape and the only irregularities were due to the terrain. This border was also much more dangerous as it separated the territories of two alien races rather than between the same race.

"The spacecraft for the planet will leave the fortress at 12:30, which will be two hours from now. You can take this time to gather all the essentials that you require and also rent out any gear you would like to bring along, but no spacial expansion devices are allowed. Only the items issued by the fortress will be allowed and you should already know that it is next to impossible if you want to sneak in something, so do not try it."

"Also, first sergeant Ariana. Could you bring the new specialist around and help him select the gear and other necessities?" Command sergeant Olcust turned to the woman who had given Regis the dangerous feeling.

First Sergeant Ariana responded with a nod.