Roger nodded. "They start young," he said. "We train all of our children pretty much the same before they're old enough to make decisions- make sure they've got a good solid foundation both in terms of education and in terms of combative fundamentals. Once we can see what they're going to excel at, the academic ones get Scribe training. The others get pegged for combat Initiates, assuming they make it through the physical regimen. Some of them don't. Can't be helped."
He shrugged; it was a fact of life. Basic was like that. Always had been, always would be.
"We start them with endurance and strength trials, real simple stuff. If they can't hack it they get sent to a knight-sergeant or a junior paladin for physical conditioning, which is normally around twenty-one days of nothing but running, weight training, and whatever other physical tasks the knight-sergeant thinks is the most difficult work available. They don't get to join the other Initiates again until they can clear a three mile run in the sand in light combat armor in less than twenty-eight minutes, no stopping. Then it's back to the ten-mile marches under medium armor, and the weapon training. They've got to demonstrate basic target proficiency with at least one single-handed and rifle-grip bullet weapon each, at least one single-handed and rifle-grip energy weapon each, and appropriately efficient use of grenades. Melee training is with sledges or Rippers, close quarters combat is against the most vicious son of a bitch we've got on staff. Heavy weapons like the miningun and Gatling laser are optional. Once we've got them to the point where they can put five shots rapid in a space smaller than my thumbnail at two hundred, three hundred, and five hundred meters each, that's about where we start taking them out of the bunker and into the desert to deal with live, moving targets. Testing for promotion to knight or paladin doesn't come until they've demonstrated themselves repeatedly in combat against the creatures in the desert, or against a sufficiently armed and dangerous group of local raiders."
no subject
He shrugged; it was a fact of life. Basic was like that. Always had been, always would be.
"We start them with endurance and strength trials, real simple stuff. If they can't hack it they get sent to a knight-sergeant or a junior paladin for physical conditioning, which is normally around twenty-one days of nothing but running, weight training, and whatever other physical tasks the knight-sergeant thinks is the most difficult work available. They don't get to join the other Initiates again until they can clear a three mile run in the sand in light combat armor in less than twenty-eight minutes, no stopping. Then it's back to the ten-mile marches under medium armor, and the weapon training. They've got to demonstrate basic target proficiency with at least one single-handed and rifle-grip bullet weapon each, at least one single-handed and rifle-grip energy weapon each, and appropriately efficient use of grenades. Melee training is with sledges or Rippers, close quarters combat is against the most vicious son of a bitch we've got on staff. Heavy weapons like the miningun and Gatling laser are optional. Once we've got them to the point where they can put five shots rapid in a space smaller than my thumbnail at two hundred, three hundred, and five hundred meters each, that's about where we start taking them out of the bunker and into the desert to deal with live, moving targets. Testing for promotion to knight or paladin doesn't come until they've demonstrated themselves repeatedly in combat against the creatures in the desert, or against a sufficiently armed and dangerous group of local raiders."