Chase suddenly felt everyone’s eyes upon him. For a moment, he even felt like he was about to freeze. Now the question was, should he tell the captain how he felt about his question, or should he try to conform to what was expected of him as a Star Alliance pilot? For a moment Chase thought he would go with the latter, but then he remembered how he felt when Saroudis poured his heart out and told them how he lost his father. The man deserved Chase’s honest answer.
“I think rules and discipline are important, I just happen to think I fly better doing my own thing, no offense.”
Captain Saroudis sized up Chase for what felt like the longest time. Chase had no idea what the next words coming from his mouth would be. If Chase’s answer had generated an emotional impact on the captain, he wasn’t letting it show. Not one iota, in fact.
“That’s a better answer than I expected you to give, Cadet. And I appreciate that you didn’t just cow down and agree with me when your flying clearly displays that you are, indeed, doing your own thing. Now class, while the cadet seems to fly well with his instincts, let me tell you why you shouldn’t try to emulate him and why you’d rather have someone who flies by the book as your wingman.”
Chase flinched. There had been some tempered compliments behind the captain’s words, and he didn’t completely shut him down like he was used to with Admiral Tharowni. Still, not exactly an endorsement of his flight skills either.
We’ll see about that wingman comment when your life will, in fact, depend on my flight skills.
Chase’s attention drifted away after that, not even caring to listen to the arguments on the logic behind never abandoning one’s wingman. Chase didn’t care about logic; he cared and listened to his gut, and he intended to continue to do so.
Daniel swiveled in his chair and entered something on his wrist holo-device. Chase’s device vibrated, and Daniel’s message hovered an inch from his wrist.
“Chin up, bro. The way you killed those four bogeys was amazing.”
“Thanks, buddy,” Chase answered on his device.
At the end of class, as the cadets headed to their quarters, Captain Saroudis called to Chase.
“Cadet Athanatos. If I may have a moment with you.”
Chase shrugged almost dismissively. “Sure, why not. What can I do for you, Captain?”
“It’s more what I can do for you, Cadet.”
“And what would that be?”
“I know where you’re coming from, I— I’ve been bending the rules when push comes to shove, and more often than not, that saved many lives.”
Chase squinted his eyes. “Why are you telling me this?”
“Because I recognize a fire in you. I used to have the same fire in my eyes as well as the same attitude problem.”
Attitude problem, huh?
“I can tell from your reaction,” continued Saroudis, “that you don’t think you’re the problem.”
“I wouldn’t go that far.”
“You would if we were off the record. Which by the way, we are.”
There was silence.
“Look, Cadet,” Saroudis continued when it became clear that Chase wouldn’t talk. “I didn’t mean to give you a hard time in front of your classmates. And if I made you feel uncomfortable, well, I’m sorry. I just think you need to curb some of that pride that shines through your entire personality. You’re young, inexperienced, and if I may speak frankly—”
Chase nodded.
“You’re unprepared for what’s to come in the future. Blowing up digital ghost ships and actually taking lives are two different things.”
Chase swallowed hard and had to restrain himself from letting the anger show in his demeanor. Saroudis put his hand on his shoulder and looked at Chase squarely in the eyes.
“There was pure genius in your flying today, but I can’t acknowledge it. Not publicly. Pilots with your kind of instincts are needed, one day you’ll probably do something heroic and save people’s lives. But I can’t encourage this behavior toward other cadets that don’t have that instinct you seem to have been born with. Do you understand?”
To say that Chase had been unprepared for the captain’s words would be an understatement.
“I do. Thank you for saying so.”
“I also want you to know that, even though you clearly can put your money where your mouth is, you will see many roadblocks in your career in doing so. For instance, if you want to become a wing commander, or even a captain one day, you’ll have to curb some of that ‘fire’ you have.”
I just want to fly a starfighter.
“What’s on your mind, Cadet? And, please, don’t sugarcoat your answer.”
“With all due respect, Captain. I just want to fly a Manticore starfighter and kill as many Obsidian Empire bogeys as I can. That’s all that matters to me.”
Saroudis smiled. “I can say with confidence that I’m sure you’ll get that done. But don’t discard what else you could achieve in your lifetime.” Saroudis chuckled before continuing. “I see a lot of myself in you at your age. If there’s one thing I can impart to you, it is that you never know what the future holds. You may think you’re just the lone wolf pilot, misunderstood, shunned by others who are in fact jealous of your innate abilities. But sooner than you might expect, the universe might serve up another kind of destiny for you, one you can’t imagine right now.”
Chase took some time to digest the words. He liked Saroudis, he seemed like an empathic person.
“Thank you, Captain. I—”
“Yes, Cadet? Tell me.”
“I don’t believe in destiny, sir. I think we make our own.”
“And on some level, I’m sure you’re right. But give it time, one day you might wake up and realize that destiny is knocking on your door. I’ve taken enough of your time, I’m sure you want to go back to your quarters and enjoy your evening.”
“Thank you, Captain. I enjoyed this talk.”
Saroudis smiled. “So did I. You’re dismissed.”
Chase was almost out the door when he stopped and turned around.
“How long will you be staying on Starbase Alpha Three, sir?”
“My battlegroup is scheduled to leave in a couple of days, Cadet.”
“Will you be teaching more classes until then?”
“You bet, I’ll see you tomorrow, Cadet.”
Chase smiled and nodded before leaving the classroom.
Admiral Tharowni descended from the back of the class and came next to the captain as Chase left the room.
“He’s a different fellow, this Chase,” said Tharowni. “Did you talk some sense into him?”
Saroudis smiled as he brushed his hand through his well-groomed beard. “In a manner of speaking.”
“Good. He sure needs to learn his place. Always late, fighting with other cadets, he’s got quite a temperament.”
“That I have no doubt believing, Admiral. But was I any different?”
The admiral chuckled. “I’d like to think so, yes.”
“He’s an excellent pilot, though.”
“Not a team player, but yes, some of the maneuvers he’s pulled, at least in the simulators, I’ve never seen anything like it. I just wish he had a slightly different attitude.”
“Well, he is who he is. At least it must make your days interesting, right?”
“Oh yeah, I’m running out of ways to formulate new blemishes on his record.”
Saroudis laughed.
4
This evening had started so well.
Daniel, Fillio, and Chase were drinking at the bar, exchanging jokes, taking friendly potshots at one another, until Cadet Luyet decided to be a smart-ass.
It wasn’t the first remark where he paraphrased Saroudis and focused only on the negative from today’s class. No, that one Chase had managed to let slide. Nor was it the cadet’s second remark about how he would never fly on Chase’s wing. Since Chase had no intention of ever inflicting himself with such an imposition, he had managed to
stay calm.
No, all hell broke loose when big mouth Luyet went to no man’s land.
“Listen up!” Luyet yelled to anyone within earshot. “It’s obvious why our boy here, Chase, doesn’t care about rules or anyone but himself. I mean, wouldn’t you be a rebel too if you didn’t know your heritage or being adopted at a mature age? I mean, come on, he doesn’t even remember his past or the fact that he doesn’t have real parents.”
This was when the shit hit the fan.
Five minutes later, a brawl of epic proportions ravaged the mess hall, and Chase had thrown the first, lip-splitting punch. One that Luyet was unlikely to forget until it healed.
In hindsight and looking at the brig’s force field, he regretted his actions. But Luyet had been out of line. Still, Chase feared that this last incident might just be the last straw that could cost him his place in the Star Alliance Academy. And today had generally been a good day, he had fun in both the simulator and listening to Captain Saroudis in class, only to cross that line that he was just starting to see in his mind. Having crossed it, he might regret it for the rest of his life.
Every minute spent in the brig felt like an eternity. Were the instructors deciding his fate right now? Would he get expelled? The thought scared the shit out of him. By the time Admiral Tharowni came to the brig, Chase felt like an entire month had passed.
He started to sweat, and he felt like he could hear his heart trying to pound its way out of his chest. He didn’t like the look in the admiral’s eyes.
Dammit, please, don’t let this happen.
Tharowni requested the security officer to lower the force field. Once it was down, he walked in the cell, sat next to Chase, and interlocked his fingers together without saying a word.
Should I apologize now? Or wait until he speaks? Chase wondered.
When the silence became too unbearable, and Chase thought his mind would explode, he blurted.
“I fucked up, didn’t I?”
Tharowni briefly glanced at Chase then returned his attention to his hands.
I did. That’s it. They’ll throw me out.
“I’m going to tell you a story. I’d like you to listen closely to it.”
What? Why won’t you tell me if I’m expelled?
“Okay,” said Chase.
“I lost my birth parents in the war. I was too young to remember or understand. Fortunately, a nice couple who couldn’t have children adopted me. They made me feel like their own. It was only when I reached puberty that they disclosed it to me.
“Even though I was too young to remember my real parents, I still felt betrayed. Why would they pretend to be my parents? But after a few weeks, I realized that it didn’t matter whether or not they were my birth parents. They took me in, they loved me just as much as they would have their own child, and they made me feel safe.
“In the time it took for me to reach that life-altering conclusion, I had complained to a few too many of my friends, and the word got out that I was adopted.”
Where is he going with this?
“I know the only thing on your mind right now must be your fate in this school. I don’t want to torture you by telling you my entire, not-so-interesting, life story. And until five minutes ago, when I looked at your record, I hadn’t realized something. While we share a similarity in that story, in the fact that we’re both adopted, there’s a divergence in our respective lives. My adoptive parents died of old age. And while I was filing the paperwork for your expulsion out of this academy, I felt compelled to check your records.”
Admiral Tharowni put his hand on Chase’s shoulder.
“I’m sorry you can’t say the same about yours.”
A single tear ran down Chase’s face.
“So, I trashed the order to have you expelled because I think your reaction to the bullying from Cadet Luyet was not only understandable under the circumstances, but warranted. If I had been in your shoes, I probably would have bashed his head in too.”
Chase turned toward the admiral, not knowing what to say.
“That being said,” Tharowni continued, “you need to understand something, Chase. You have been a negative influence on the class, your constant tardiness, your general attitude, I can no longer tolerate it. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
Chase wiped the tear off of his cheek and nodded. “I do.”
“I’m going to need more than this from you.”
Chase stood and saluted. “If you give me another chance, I’ll prove to you that I can be an asset to the Star Alliance. I give you my word.”
Tharowni stood from the bench and took a long breath.
“I’ve done everything I can do for you, and by all rights tonight should have been your last day on this station. Please don’t make me regret this.”
“I won’t.”
“You’re months away from graduation, but if you keep your nose clean, you’ll pass all the tests with flying colors. Of that, I have no doubt. It is highly unlikely you’ll ever be given a command, but you’re one hell of a pilot, Cadet Athanatos. Don’t squander your future, okay?”
“Thank you, Admiral. Believe me, starting now you won’t hear a peep out of me in class, and I’ll never arrive late again.”
“I’ll hold you to your word, Cadet. Now go have your face checked out in med-bay and try to get some rest.”
When Chase didn’t answer his doorbell, he heard the person resort to incessant knocking. While he wasn’t in the mood to see anybody, he still opened his quarter’s doors. There stood Fillio, smiling at him.
“Mind if I come in?” she asked.
“I’m not sure I’ll be good company tonight.”
“That’s okay. At least you’ll have some. Where’s your roommate?”
“I don’t know where Daniel is.”
“So, what happened?”
“They didn’t get rid of me, that’s what happened.”
“Well, thank the Gods of Olympus for that.”
“Yeah,” said Chase absently.
They talked for a few minutes, during which Chase told Fillio the reason why he still had a chance at graduation.
“You’re one lucky ba—” but Fillio caught herself. “You know...” she added.
“I know.”
Before he could say another word, her lips were on his, and soon they were intertwined on his bunk bed. Chase lost track of time as they made out for what felt like an eternity. When Fillio’s hand traveled south and brushed in between his legs, he caught her hand. They both opened their eyes.
“What’s wrong? I thought you’d like us to go a little further tonight, you know, blow off some steam.”
Part of Chase wanted nothing more than to do just that. But he knew very well that breaking one more rule was no longer an option. In fact, he shouldn’t have made out with Fillio at all.
“I— I’m sorry, but no,” he said, trying not to sound too harsh.
“What’s wrong?”
“I can’t do this.”
“That’s okay,” she said, pulling her hand and going to caress his face instead. “We can just make out tonight.”
But when she was about to kiss him, he pulled back.
“I don’t think you understand what I’m trying to say. I can’t do any of this, not anymore.”
Her expression changed. “What are you saying?”
Chase sat on the edge of the bunk bed. “This is against regulations, we shouldn’t be involved in this way.”
“You’ve got to be shitting me. Did you get hit hard in the head during the brawl? Because Chase Athanatos citing regulations is kind of ironic. Is that a not so subtle way of telling me you don’t like me anymore?”
Chase always enjoyed hanging out with Fillio, but never really felt like his heart belonged to her. If it had, he wouldn’t be telling her this.
“No, of course not. My entire life I did anything that I wanted, the more against the flow, the better. I guess it’s part of my DNA, but I came within an inch o
f losing the opportunity of flying tonight. I— I can’t continue on this path, or I’ll never get my wings.”
And I want my wings; I need to fly a starfighter. That much is certain.
Fillio got up and went straight for the door.
“Fillio, don’t take it personally,” Chase tried to tell her. But she was already gone.
5
Saroudis gazed at the class for what felt like the longest time.
“Today we’ll do live exercises, similar to what we did yesterday, except I want you to fight each other this time, not AI craft. In pairs, so choose your wingmen.”
Chase looked at Daniel, who nodded in agreement.
Soon they had attached the neuronal interface to their temples and were each flying a Manticore starfighter. The HUD overlaid the call signs of the pilots atop their ships, so each pilot knew who they would fight.
“Holy crap,” said Daniel.
“What?” asked Chase.
“Look who we’re fighting.”
Chase looked at the incoming fighters, the names atop the fighters weren’t the call signs, but the last names. Saroudis and Tharowni. Chase grinned.
“Daniel, whatever happens, we have to win this one.”
“I was sure you were gonna say that. How do you want to proceed? They’re not exactly rookies, you know.”
“I’ll take Saroudis. You take the admiral.”
“Ok, so no plan whatsoever. Not that I think it would make the slightest bit of difference, either could probably both kick our asses in their sleep.”
Not if I have anything to say about it.
“Try and think positively, will ya? You’re ruining my buzz.”
“Of course I am.”
Chase locked onto Saroudis and opened fire. The captain evaded, allowing Chase to get on his six pretty quickly. Chase got a good lock tone and fired up his first missile. Saroudis cut forward thrusters, rotated his ship, kept its current momentum, and took the missile out with laser fire. Some of the shots impacted with Chase’s shields, briefly basking the virtual cockpit in bluish light.
Universe in Flames – Ultimate 10 Book Box Set: An Epic Space Opera Adventure Page 3