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

by West, Edward

  “Punch it!”

  It wasn't even in the blink of an eye that he found himself laying safe and sound on the deck of the Hermes, which was mercifully still intact. He sat up and stared out of the viewpoint at the alien PDC. When he saw that it was still in one piece, looking like some great harbinger of death, his heart fell. He thought the self destruction of that fighter along with the fuel compound would be enough, but it seemed that he had failed. Just as he was about to lay down and plan what to do next, an explosion flared up on the underside of the alien PDC. This was followed by another, and yet another until the entire ship was blanketed in explosions.

  “Magical!” Swift cheered.

  He got to his feet and looked around. Now he needed to get to the Hermes' CIC to tell them how to take these alien dirt bags down. After some running he found himself at the door to the CIC. He took out his smartphone and LC accessed the door's security protocols for some good old fashioned breaking and entering. When she was done, Swift was able to open the door and walk into a dimly lit room full of surprised soldiers.

  “I need to speak to the Senior Chief.” he said and was immediately apprehended by two of the soldiers closest to the door.

  A high-backed chair swiveled around, and the gray bearded man in it asked him “Who are you?”

  “My name is Leoric Swift. I am a cadet at Arbalest Solar Academy.”

  The man stroked his beard and asked “What is a cadet doing in my CIC?”

  Swift took this to mean that this man was the Senior Chief and said “I have vital information about the alien ships.”

  The Senior Chief laughed, but did not seem amused “You have vital information that we do not? How?”

  The truth was a bit too much to explain even for the likes of Swift, so he decided to risk being enigmatic.

  “It's a long story, but we don't have time. Will you listen to me Senior Chief?”

  The Senior Chief folded his arms and said “Go ahead.”

  The soldiers let go of Swift, who stood at attention and said “The alien ships share data and energy resources in a way very similar to a hive mind. That large ship that just blew up was acting as a mother brain for the smaller ships. Without it the rest of the alien assault craft lack coordination, communication, and energy. If the fleet attacks now, with everything they have, they'll win with zero casualties. If they hesitate, then the aliens will establish a new mother brain and summon reinforcements. Most likely another PDC.”

  The Senior Chief gave him a look of doubt and asked “And do you have any evidence to back this up?”

  “I just took down that alien PDC with just one of your fighters and a blink generator Senior Chief.” Swift said, and couldn't help but sound a little arrogant “That should be proof enough.”

  The Senior Chief shook his head and said “Look, cadet, even if you did take out that behemoth yourself, I can't go off of your word alone. I need something to feed to the brass.”

  Swift went into his pocket and took out his smartphone. “Then we can give them this.”

  The Senior Chief gave him a perplexed look.

  “A smartphone? That's a very nice model son, but it won't convince the admiral to risk anymore casualties. We're looking at a surrender here.”

  “No Senior Chief, it's whats on it that matters. Can I access one of your info consoles?”

  The Senior Chief held out a hand and said “I'd say yes, but our equipment is very complicated. It's not like the consoles you may have at home or the academy. Let me put one of my men on it.”

  Swift shook his head and said “I'll be fine Senior Chief.” and moved to the nearest info console “LC, I need you to sort my notes and highlight the battlefield specifications of the alien assault craft. Then I need you to upload that data to The Hermes' database and display it for us.”

  The Senior Chief gave an impressed nod when the specs appeared on the holo-display in the middle of the room and said “You've got talent kid. The admiral will buy this.”

  Swift laughed and said “He better.”

  Now it was only a matter of clean up for the remaining imperial fleet. Some of the alien assault craft offered resistance, but without directive or additional energy, they were quickly out maneuvered and defeated. Word soon spread about the genius cadet who sneaked aboard an imperial ship to watch the launch of a new technology, and ended up saving the galaxy. Perhaps the most crucial question for Swift was how he had acquired any information about the alien assault craft in the first place. He explained that he had stolen the information while aboard the alien PDC. Swift didn't like lying to everyone, but the truth wasn't really an option at that point in time.

  PART SIX

  Towards The Future

  -51-

  It had been two weeks since he had destroyed the alien PDC and received an imperial escort back to the academy, where he was met with a hero's welcome. This time he managed to dodge punishment for breaching procedure by simply not violating the academy's rules during a mission or on academy property. Go figure. The fact that he had illegally boarded an imperial vessel was also overlooked due to the circumstances. A ceremony was held in his honor and he received the Galactic Defense Ribbon, which he put in a small oak chest along with his father's various ribbons and medals. During his speech at the ceremony he recounted his mischievous deed of sneaking aboard the Hermes to observe an experimental portal launch, and how he bravely commandeered a fighter craft to save the galaxy. Under any other circumstances he would have been thrilled, but instead sat in the darkness of his bedroom brooding over one thought. They were coming back.

  He leaned back in his chair and let out a big sigh as Jazz rubbed against his leg. The back on the chair was pretty high and the leather padding felt good. Stars cast by his ceiling projector inched by in a lazy circuit. He reached up and closed his hand as if to catch a particularly bright one that had been drifting by. It slipped out of his hand and he watched it continue on his way for a second before shutting his eyes. Sleep began to close in on him, blanketing him in rest and true comfort. Suddenly his doorbell went off. He nearly fell out of his seat getting up, but managed to make it to the door. He took a deep breath and opened it. In the hallway was Revy, wearing a magnificent green dress.

  “Wow!” he exclaimed.

  Revy blushed and said “I'll take that as a compliment. Would you like to come to the ball with me?”

  Swift took his smartphone from the inner pocket of his tuxedo coat and said “I don't know...let me check my schedule.”

  “Come on you big dummy!” Revy said and grabbed his sleeve to pull him into the hallway.

  Swift put his smartphone back into his pocket and locked his door. Revy held out her arm, Swift hooked his around it, and they walked down the hallway chatting and laughing. After Swift had spoken with Revy in the conference room, Felix was pummeled ruthlessly by Allie, who then teamed up with Gin to “fix this”. Such a duo proved highly effective, and after a couple of heart to heart talks, Revy and Swift weren't back to normal. They were better than ever. Revy had thought long and hard about the things Swift had said to her, and she had to admit to herself that they hurt. Not just her, but Swift was hurting too, which hurt her even more. It was a hurt feedback loop. If what he said about her holding him up and saving him was true, then she couldn't give up on him no matter how many stupid songs he paraphrases when he gets depressed.

  They arrived at the one hundredth floor auditorium, which had been cleared out and decorated for The Lunar Ball. Felix saw them, waved, and came over to say hi.

  “Well well well! If it ain't my two favorite lovebirds!” he said.

  Swift turned to Revy and asked “Pardon?”

  Revy nodded and let go of his arm. He walked over to Felix, reached out, and twisted his nipple through his tux.

  “Ow! What the- OW! Okay! I'll never meddle in your love lives again!” Felix wailed.

  Swift stopped and switched nipples.

  “AGH! Why!? Jeez- OKAY! You guys don't have
love lives!” Felix quickly corrected himself, and Swift ceased his assault on Felix's chest “Ow...now I know true misery.” Felix grumbled.

  Miley approached Felix from behind and tapped him on the shoulder “You gonna dance with me or what?” she asked him.

  Felix grinned at Revy and Swift and said “You guys might not have a love life, but I do!”

  Revy stuck out her tongue and rolled her eyes while Swift held up his hands and made a face that seemed to say “whatever”. Felix then took Miley's hand and they hit the dance floor. Revy and Swift took this as their cue to follow suit. Despite the latter's claim of not liking dances, they both enjoyed themselves.

  Revy and Swift danced a few more times before going to the upper balconies. The view from the balcony was amazing. O-fields had been put in place so cadets could see the surrounding stars and astronomy without obstruction. Revy moved closer to Swift.

  “It's beautiful.” she said.

  Swift leaned on the rail of the balcony and said “It is. Some cultures believe that their loved ones have passed away and become stars in the night sky.” he put his hand up and continued “If you put your hand like this, it almost looks like your fingers are touching them. They seem so close.” He then closed his fist, brought it down, and reopened it to reveal his empty palm “But this is just an illusion. Even if our loved ones are somewhere out there, the stars are still far away.”

  Revy moved even closer to Swift and put her head on his shoulder “Luckily, living people aren't stars Swift.” she said “They're something much greater.” Revy felt Swift put his arm around her, followed by a hug. She went a brilliant red as butterflies seemed to go mad in her stomach “N-no matter how far the distance if separated, those who really care about each other will always drift back together. Hearts have a certain gravity about them that stars do not.”

  Swift turned suddenly and put his hands on her shoulders to turn her towards him. Her heart began racing. His dark brown eyes were staring down into hers, and she felt like she could get lost in them. He was definitely going to kiss her now. She just knew it! After all, it's what boys think about sometimes. She recalled the Awkward City meetings Swift had mentioned. He'd been to at least one right?

  “L-Leoric...”

  “Shh...”

  Ahhh! It is! He is! A kiss! Was she ready? Yes...no! Well...if it was Swift...then yes. She was. As he drew closer, Revy felt that her face might burst into flames. And then he hugged her.

  What the-

  “I'm glad we met.” he whispered into her ear.

  She sighed, returned the embrace, and said “Me too.”

  They held each other under the stars for some time before letting go. Swift looked down at Revy and tilted his head.

  “Your face is really red...you okay?” he asked.

  Revy pulled back and put her hands to her face “I- uhm- it's just...”

  “What's up?”

  She put her hands down and said “I don't get it.”

  “Don't get what?”

  “For the last two years you've only stayed for one dance and then left. We usually go to the arcade after we get changed. This year you've stayed for nearly the entire thing. Why?”

  Swift scratched his head and shifted his eyes to the side “I'm having a lot of fun this year, so I figured I'd...”

  Revy folded her arms and raised her eyebrows. This meant that his bull wasn't cutting it.

  He gave in and said “Okay. After the ball get changed and meet me down in our hangar bay. I'll explain everything. Don't tell anyone, promise?”

  She nodded and said “Promise.”

  -52-

  Revy changed out of the dress she had worn to the ball, and into a more practical dress that was better suited for school and work. Within minutes after parting ways with Swift outside of the auditorium, she walked into Hangar Bay One to find him moving crates from LaCroix to another ship.

  “What's all this then?” she asked.

  Swift set down the crate he was carrying and wiped his forehead “Top secret mission.”

  “Oh yeah?”

  “Yup. Remember that portal The Empire opened?”

  “How could I forget? It was two weeks ago.”

  “Well The Empire couldn't close it. The best they could do was to temporarily disable it.”

  “And let me guess. You think you're the only one that can shut it down?”

  Swift rolled his eyes and said “I was contacted this morning by Mr. Method. He told me that a device capable of closing the portal had been engineered. The catch is that it can only be activated, manually, from inside of the portal itself. The Alien Dimension. They're not willing to sacrifice a crew for this and no one has volunteered. The only readily available AI that is sophisticated enough to activate the device is LC.”

  Revy narrowed her eyes and said “That's absurd! They expect you to just sacrifice the ship your father left you? On top of that, LC is our friend! Can't they just program another AI?”

  “Apparently not soon enough. With that portal active, we risk an invasion that mankind can't fight off. Least not as long as this war is still going on.”

  “So what will you do?” she asked.

  Swift looked away and did not answer, so she rephrased her question as “Swift, what are you doing with all of these crates?”

  “I'm going to fly this student ship into the portal myself and close it. I've already moved the device over, and these are crates of water and rations. About half a year's worth.”

  “How long will it take for The Empire to bring you back?”

  “I don't know.”

  “You don't know!?”

  “Well they don't know. The technology to bring me back without opening another portal of that size doesn't exist yet. Plus they don't know that I'm actually going.”

  Revy considered these words for a moment and said “Take me with you.”

  “No way. It's too dangerous.”

  Revy strode right up to him and stood on her toes until their noses touched.

  “Take. Me. With. You.”

  Swift saw from the flare of defiance in her eyes that she would not accept anything other than yes as for an answer.

  “Help me finish moving the rations and water. Then we'll go.”

  “Okay!”

  They moved the crates one by one until ship number forty seven was fully stocked. When Revy had set down the last crate, Swift dusted his jacket and turned to her.

  “One more thing and we're set. I need you to put this crate just inside of the hallway. I want Gin to find it after we're gone. I'm going to go initialize the engines.” he said.

  She nodded and said “Sure.”

  Revy took the crate down to the hallway entrance and set it down. Just as she went to stand back up, she felt something drop onto her shoulders. She looked and saw a very familiar sight: Swift's leather jacket. The one that had belonged to his father, and was his prized possession.

  “Hey-”

  Swift took a step back and said “Engage security protocol alpha.”

  Revy spun around and rushed forward, only to be stopped by a force-field.

  “You tricked me!” she cried.

  Swift put his hands into his pockets and said “I'm sorry.”

  “Leoric Swift, you take down this force-field right now.”

  Swift shook his head and said “No can do Reveille James.”

  “Fine. Then you leave me no other choice.” she said, then summoned Ninebreaker and leveled it with the center of the force-field.

  “Revy wait-”

  His voice was cut off from by the thunderclap issued from Ninebreaker's muzzle. The round hit the force-field and ricocheted into and off of one wall before lodging itself in another. Upon seeing her shot barely cause a ripple in the force-field Revy threw Ninebreaker to the deck and stretched her arm out in front of her.

  “Now that it's come to this...” she said as electricity arced at her fingers and a shimmering light began to take form i
n her hand.

  “Revy, this force-field was developed from the same technology as Wrath. It's been modified to scale and run off of the academy's power source, making it impenetrable. You're going to hurt or kill yourself if you fire Blazing Angel at it.”

  No sooner than her next weapon had formed, she released it and fell to her knees. Regardless of what had happened already, she knew that he wasn't lying about this.

  “Then why don't you take it down?” she asked in a small, sad voice.

  “I can't.” Swift said, grief apparent in his voice as well.

  “Why?”

  “I've been trying to be strong for many years now, but the hits just keep coming. It suffocates me until I feel as if I can't breathe. I want to believe that it'll all be okay, someday, but I can't, and the truth is that I am afraid. I'm always fighting against the current, barely keeping my head above water at times, and then there's you. A hand, always there, to reach in and pull me up. But at what cost to you?” he asked.

  “It costs me nothing!” she cried.

  “Oh, but it does. I know how much you worry. The nights you sit up and cry after I manage to nearly get myself killed. I know that you deserve better than me. You deserve happiness. And even though it's something I truly know because of you; I cannot give it back, because I cannot change.”

  Tears began to stream down Revy's face as she said “I don't want you to change! I'm happy just the way you are!”

  She pressed her hand against the force-field, light rippling out from her palm. Swift put his hand up to the force-field as well and said “That's what I am afraid of. It'll just get worse and worse for you because I can't change. Even now you're willing to follow me into an unknown and dangerous dimension with no definite way back. I can't let you throw your life away.”

  “I don't want to live without you! Don't you remember when we met?” she asked, and he did. He considered taking the force-field down at this, but realized that he couldn't. He still had to be strong.

  “Since that's the way it is, then you have to stay. If anyone can build a transdimensional teleporter, it's you.