Of Hearts And Stars (Classic Editon) (The Cadet Starship Chronicles)

by West, Edward

  “What the hell?” Gin asked.

  “I know right? History is wack.” Swift deflected the question as he strolled leisurely with his hands in his jacket pockets.

  “No! I mean, is that really your console?”

  “Yes.”

  Gin threw his arms up and asked “You let them write that trash on there?”

  Swift raised a hand signaling him to stop.

  “I don't let them, but haters gonna hate. If I busted up every bad kid that took a shot at me, I'd never have time to just be.”

  “Be? Be what?” Gin asked.

  “Be me. Be wonderful. Be Smart. Be funny. Be. Happy.” Swift answered.

  “I don't see how you can be very happy with people pulling stunts like that.” Gin grumbled.

  “It's not as if anyone in there would own up to having written that junk.” Swift explained “Empty words carry no weight.”

  “They can still sting whether they have weight or not.” Gin argued.

  “On their own those words can sting you no more than a knife laying on a table. Unless it is in someone's hand you'd have to prick yourself on it.”

  “Well if words are knives, then in this case a hand does wield them. The hand is just invisible.” Gin persisted.

  “I haven't heard of a ghost stabbing anyone lately.” Swift said with a shrug and asked “Have you cooled down yet?”

  “Have I cooled down? I can't believe you're not fired up!” Gin cried and asked “Why are they so jacked up towards you?”

  “I'll explain another time, but for now just know that in most of my classes the students pretend that I do not exist. It goes way beyond ignoring me; I might as well be dead to them.”

  “Can't you tell me why? The short version?” Gin asked.

  “There are students who hate me for what I did to this gang of cadets who used to call themselves The Nine. They ran the student body a few years back until I put a stop to it. Those who still aren't happy about that bully the ones who don't play along with their revenge. So under the threat of humiliation, torment and violence most people just go with it. You see, they cannot confront me directly for whatever reasons they have, so they exploit the weak as part of some psychological game.” Swift explained.

  “Dang, that's messed.” Gin observed.

  “Word.” Swift agreed and said “Let's get back to class.”

  When they stepped back into the classroom, Gin looked around for his console and spotted it in the back, right next to Swift's.

  “Ah jeez.” Swift said, scratching his head “Sorry Gin.”

  “And then there were two.” Gin said with a smile and they both laughed.

  -32-

  After history came algebra followed by field combat training, an activity exclusive to ESC members. Each Elite Student Crew member has a weapon of their choice imprinted to them. The weapon can be summoned in almost any situation via the Dynamic Material Generation System, DMG for short, a form of replication that stimulates light particles into solid mass, allowing said particles to duplicate the micro-structure of a component. DMG is still an experimental system largely due to being an incomplete science. While DMG can be achieved through the use of devices that act as catalysts, certain humans have been documented to use this ability with what is argued to be their psyche. The rarity of such humans has thus slowed research.

  Gin arrived on the twenty-first floor courtyard, still very impressed by the incredible accuracy of the Academy's weather simulation system. The grass and soil perfectly replicated to resemble a beautiful day right down to the last molecular level. The appearance so natural, the blue sky with cumulus clouds, forsythia and lilac freshened the air as rays of sunlight touched his skin and blades of grass gracefully dance with the soft breeze, tempting Gin to walk barefoot around the grounds.

  Swift saw him and waved his hands “Yo Gin!” he called out.

  Gin looked around and saw Swift jogging over to meet him “Hey Swift.” he said.

  They bumped fists and Swift asked “Ready to throw down fool?”

  “You know it dude, but I've noticed something.” Gin said.

  “What's up?” Swift asked.

  “Well I know about DMG, and everyone's been practicing with their weapons at combat training, but not you. You're always just hitting the heavy bag or doing push ups.”

  “My fists” Swift flexed and threw a few punches “are my weapons.”

  “Hmm...” Gin sounded a bit disappointed “That's all?”

  Swift wore an expression of mock outrage “That's all?!” he asked “Hmph. I guess I can show you something cool then.” he said and took a deep breath before letting it out slowly.

  To Gin it seemed that Swift just stood there doing nothing. This was probably another joke, and Swift would bring out some outrageously sick looking weapon. Then he noticed something so subtle that he nearly missed it. A flicker of bluish light had passed over Swift's eyes. Then it happened again and again, rapidly picking up speed until Swift's eyes were two blazing orbs of cerulean fire. Gin saw the blue light form an aura around Swift's hands, and the light shifted and shimmered with his movements.

  “Oh snap dude! What is that?” Gin asked in astonishment.

  “I call this weapon Wrath of God. It's experimental technology called AKE, short for Amplified Kinetic Energy.”

  “I see.”

  “You're just saying that because you don't know what to say Gin.”

  “Okay, you're right, but just show me what it can do.”

  “Check this out.”

  Swift approached one of the boulders stationed for cover in the training field. He squared his feet, and threw a sharp jab into it. A loud thwoom marked the impact of Swift's fist on the boulder, and Gin found himself amazed that he did not break his hand. They walked around to the back of the bolder, and at first glance it seemed that the it was largely unaffected by Swift's punch. However, closer inspection proved otherwise.

  “No way...” Gin said, and when Swift took a handful of the bolder and let it blow away in the wind, he asked “You... granulated it?”

  “What?” Swift asked.

  “You turned it to dust?” Gin clarified his question.

  “Ah, yes.” Swift said and struck the bolder once more where it remained solid; the punch shattering what was left like an explosive charge.

  “Holy god dude, how are you doing that?” Gin asked.

  “You know how they have ki in martial arts anime? Well I'm not saying that exists, but the body does have a natural energy that can be projected. On it's own it's barely noticeable, but can be detected with the right equipment. As of now it belongs to a fringe science at best, and is actually unnamed; even in my notes I simply refer to it as kinetic energy.” Swift began to manipulate the dust around them, swirling it up into a dirt devil “Wrath amplifies this energy, and then projects it according to my will.”

  “That's amazing.” Gin said “Amazing and confusing.”

  “Wrath is an amazing weapon indeed, but...” Swift said and put his hands on his knees “it does take a bit out of you the more you use it.”

  Gin could see that Swift had began to breath heavier. He wondered just how many of those amplified punches Swift could dish out, but then decided that one would be enough for anybody.

  “So when do I get my weapon?”

  “Well Gin, that's where it gets tricky.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “While you're authorized to make use of DMG to summon a weapon the minute you become an ESC member, you are not assigned a weapon. You must choose one.”

  “Wow. How did you find Wrath?”

  “I designed it. Revy handled the construction and calibration, and Felix helped with the testing as well as some of the research.”

  “That's incredible! Do cadets ever develop anything for the military?” Gin asked.

  “No. We're only students,” Swift said “and most of what we engineer is either highly experimental, unorthodox, illegal, or just ridicul
ous. As a result we try to fly under the radar, and we do not share research.”

  “That sucks. I bet you guys could make a lot of money.” Gin said as they began jogging along the track “I still haven't figured out what kind of weapon I want to wield, but I hope it's cool like all of the others.”

  “Doesn't have to be cool, just has to work. Take your time and choose what fits. For now I'll teach you some basic hand to hand and Revy can show you some gun stuff.” Swift said.

  “Dope.” Gin replied.

  Once they had done a few laps, they began hand to hand combat training. Swift started out with stance, movement and proper foot placement, while encouraging Gin to attack him. He would then nimbly dodge these strikes with ease, much to the frustration of Gin, who was trying his hardest to land a blow. Firearm training with Revy went considerably better. Gin has good eye sight and is a quick learner, so he was able get the basics down pat and even shoot the targets with decent accuracy. After they wrapped up training Gin finished his classes for the day and went back to his dorm. Classes had ended early today, but there was a crew meeting in the afternoon. He wasn't sure what to do until then, so he went down to the lounge.

  -33-

  Dante dashed back and forth before unleashing a devastating combination of ice, fire, and lightning attacks. Just as he was about to deliver the death blow with his sword, a loud and rapid clacking of buttons heralded a flurry of kicks, punches, and energy attacks from Ryu. So sudden was the barrage that Dante was wiped out completely.

  “What the hell!?” Swift raged at the video game screen.

  “Hm?” Revy asked.

  “You- you button mashed me! That's so cheap! There's like zero skill in that win!”

  “Uhhh...I'm just playing the way you taught me!” Revy smiled. In fact it was almost an insincere smile. There had to be something else there. Then she added “Looks like you taught me how to win. Easily. Without effort.”

  There it is! She was gloating! That was the smile of a bragger!

  “What!? Are you saying that was easy? Of course it's easy when you button mash!”

  Revy couldn't help but giggle. She had indeed remembered all of the combinations and strikes he'd shown her, when to use them, and so forth. However she also remembered that Swift was incredibly cute when frustrated, and that button mashing pissed him off to no end.

  “Let's play Rock City Ransom. They've got a new song list!”

  Swift folded his arms and shook his head “Naaah.” he said “I wanna play Time Crisis 13. I got to stage four alone the other day, so I'm sure we can beat it together.”

  Swift was the better musician out of the two, and Revy the better marksman. So if one looked at it for what it was, their game choices were rather funny.

  “Okay! I've got an idea. Let's play Marble vs Capcom 3-”

  “Marvel vs Capcom 3.” Swift corrected.

  “Sure. Let's play it one more time, and whoever wins picks the next game.”

  “You're on. You can't keep that button mashing up forever. Your hands must be tired by now.”

  Her hands were not tired in fact, not even a little. Despite playing a total of ten matches back to back, Revy still kept up the same blazing alacrity that had previously secured her victory. Their first face off, Dead Pool vs Amaterasu, saw Swift down a character. Through perfectly timed blocks he was able to finish off Dead Pool with a combination of attacks from Akuma and Dante, but both characters had taken damage from the exchange. After some more fighting Revy was down to Ryu with full health. Swift on the other hand had Akuma and Dante left, but with about an eighth health each.

  “Say Revy...” Swift said.

  “Shh, death approaches to claim your mortal soul.” she whispered to him.

  “I just wanted to say that you look absolutely beautiful in that dress today.”

  The kicking and punching of Ryu came to an immediate stop, and Revy turned towards Swift. Her face was bright red.

  “I- I-” she stammered.

  The stoic look on Swift's face immediately changed into a horrifically smug grin. Revy was still looking at him with dreamy eyes when she began to realize what was happening. However by the time she put her hands back to the controls, it was too late. Dante launched Ryu into a devastating air juggle followed by the switch, the special attack, and the victory.

  Revy began punching him in the arm and shouted “YOU JERK!”

  “Whaaaaaa? I was just playing the way you taught me how to play. Looks like you taught me how to win.”he said “What up.”

  Revy puffed out her cheeks, but instead of shouting some more she asked “So what are we going to play? Time Crisis 13?”

  “Nah.” he said “I wanna play Rock City Ransom. I heard they've got a new song list.”

  After they had finished gaming Revy and Swift went over to the food court to eat. They both sat down with salads, Swift loaded his with every topping he could find. Revy smiled when she saw this, because she thought of it as a wild sandwich in the jungle among the leaves.

  “You know, they'd have given you buns for that if you had asked.” she joked.

  “Eh? I wanted a salad. A man salad.” he replied.

  “That sounds gross.”

  “What? Why...aww man that's messed up. Don't say stuff like that while I'm eating.”

  “Me say stuff? You're the one going on about man salads and all that macho junk.” she said.

  “Whatev. Today was pretty awesome. I wish dating was a lot more like this.”

  Revy nearly spat her drink at him.

  “Huh!? Where's this coming from?”

  “Oh. The guys are having another of those 'Awkward City' meetings down in the boy's lounge. It's where they get together and talk about dating fails.”

  “Wow.” she said “Well me too. I could definitely picture a date going like this.”

  Swift squinted and gave her a side long look. He opened his mouth slightly as if to say something. Revy widened her eyes and tilted her head forward. Just then both of their smartphones went off.

  “Ah, the ESC meeting is in ten minutes. We'd better get going.” said Swift after checking his messages.

  “Eh. Yeah...” said Revy. She was annoyed that their phones had interrupted what she considered to be a very important moment. She'd just have to wait until next time.

  -34-

  Gin arrived at Ready Room One and took a seat between Felix and a dozing Jay.

  “You're just in time for Jay's specialty. Guy has turned snoozin' into a science!” Felix said as he jabbed a thumb in Jay's direction.

  Just then a rough hand swept past the back of Gin's head and collided with the back of Felix's, knocking his glasses askew.

  “I ain't your guy, buddy.” Jay said, who had in fact woken up when Gin took his seat.

  “I ain't yer buddy, pal!” Felix kicked Jay in the side of his leg.

  “I ain't your pal, partner.” Jay bounced a pen cap off of Felix's forehead.

  “I ain't-”

  “Ohh-kay you two, I'm sure we all know where this is going.” Gin interrupted the pronoun showdown.

  “Yeah. I shouldn't be arguing with this heathen.” Jay said with a big yawn.

  “Ha! I'm a heathen?” Felix asked while crossing his arms.

  Jay nodded his head and said “Yes. Yes indeed.”

  “Oh do tell me why. This'll be good.”

  “Well you see Felix, behind those soulless black eyes lies the unwashed, but genius mind of a madman.”

  “Soulless black eyes? They're not black; they're brown, and I do have a soul thank you.”

  “Nope. Nun-uh.” Jay said.

  “What about Swift?” Felix asked and added “He has brown eyes too!”

  “The Captain? Well he does fly like a demon...”

  Just then a fist fell upon Jay's head with the fury of five fingers, leaving him smote in his chair.

  “Swift” said Revy as she withdrew her fist from the sizzling lump forming on top of Jay's head “Does
have a soul. He may be a reckless pilot at times, but he is bold and courageous.”

  She then straightened her dress and said down next to Jay.

  “Sorry Revy...” Jay gently rubbed his freshly lumped skull.

  “Don't apologize to me.” Revy held up a hand and closed her fist, the sound of her knuckles cracking made Gin's spine tingle “Apologize to this lady.”

  “Sorry Revy's fist.” Jay apologized to Revy's fist.

  “All is forgiven.” Revy said and gave Jay a small hug.

  After each crew member arrived and settled in Allie handed folders out to everyone.

  “Mission briefing?” Gin read the front of the folder aloud.

  “Aw jeez dude, Swift didn't tell ya about this?” Felix asked as he opened his own mission briefing.

  Just then Swift walked in and the ready room fell silent. Felix raised his hand and Swift pointed to him.

  “Dude, why you got Gin up in here lookin' like a stupid noobie?” Felix asked.

  Swift waived a hand as if to dismiss the idea “I do not have Gin looking like a stupid noobie anywhere Felix.” he said.

  Jay raised his hand next and Swift acknowledged him “But you didn't tell him about missions. That's kinda a big deal.” said Jay.

  Swift waved his hands in the air as if it weren't a big deal “I was saving that for the briefing.” he explained.

  Revy raised her hand.

  “Yes Revy?” Swift asked.

  “He is savagely unprepared for this briefing though.” Revy stated.

  Swift folded his arms and asked “Savagely is a bit rough don't you think?” and then shot Felix a look before adding ”And that makes him an ignorant newbie, not a stupid noobie.”

  Zhao raised his hand.

  “Sup Zhao?”

  “Aren't they the same thing?” Zhao asked.

  “No.” Swift answered.

  “Oh. Okay, because I thought they were.”

  “Nope. Not even.”

  “Right, my bad.”

  “Nah, you're good.”

  Swift looked around the ready room, and once he was sure that there were no more questions he proceeded.

  “Alright, I'm gonna start by giving a brief rundown on missions...”