Seven years later

Xaleyp whooped as the missile struck with a brief flash of light, and the enemy ship disappeared. Three more were following him. Sometimes they made it too easy.

He pulled his starfighter into a loop. His CAM communicated through the helmet his ship with just a thought.. The enemy fighters didn’t react as fast as he could and began following him upwards, but it was too late. He already finished the maneuver and fired off another salvo of missiles from behind. Three more strikes, three more red blips off his radar.

“That’s another four for me, Spirit squadron,” he said through the open channel on his comm as he brought the starfighter back into formation. “What does that make it? Fifteen to three to two?”

“Don’t get cocky now,”a voice answered, but he could hear the hint of a laugh in the voice. “We still have a long way to go.”

He chuckled to himself, feeling the adrenaline coursing through him. Xaleyp never felt more alive than when he was in the cockpit of the V-19 Starfighter. It was like an extension of himself, and not just because his CAM acted as the AI interface for the ship. He felt at home when he was in it, at ease, as if this was where he was born to be.

To his left was a brown gas giant they were fighting over. The mission was to remove the enemy defensive fleet, secure the orbital satellite, and take control of their extraction operations before the main Hyperion force arrived to take over. There being only the one frigate with a dozen squadrons of fighters on board, combined with the fact the nearest planet for their reinforcements was an entire day away, should have made it a simple assignment: get in, wreak havoc, capture the station, let the big boys come in and takeover the defenses. A piece of cake, especially the part where Xaleyp got to destroy as many of the enemy ships as he could.

He checked the grid on his CAM. There were two blue dots to show the friendly ships behind him and several scattered red dots for enemies throughout with a bigger one in the distance. One of the scattered ones was off to his right, and he made a detour to it. Another second later, and the ship vanished, nothing more than debris floating aimlessly through space.

Now for the frigate.

“Spirit Squad, I’m heading in,” he said. He felt the slight g-forces as his ship accelerated. “Venture, watch my six. As long as we stay in a tight spear formation, we’re golden.”

“Astral, there’s too many of them,” Celestial said. “We’ll never make it through.”

As he heard the words through his CAM, he looked at the grid in the corner of his vision. Dozens more dots appeared, hundreds even. Where the hell did they come from? The frigate wasn’t big enough to hold them all. He gritted his teeth and the starfighter reacted by slowing down as he took a deep breath. It would be difficult, but not impossible. He only had a hundred missiles left, so he’d have to choose his targets carefully.

“Command has ordered us to fall back,” Venture said, sounding panicked. Xaleyp could see that the other ship was still following behind him, providing cover. As long as they stayed in formation, they’d be fine, no matter what orders Command gave. “All the other squads have already returned to the carrier.”

“Weren’t they the ones that taught us to never retreat?” Xaleyp started marking targets. They were approaching faster than he expected. Invisible lasers arced from the frigate, streaking past him. The only reason he knew they were there was because his CAM lit them up, showing red bands narrowly missing him. “That the mission was more important than any one life?”

Warnings lit up his helmet’s interface with incoming missiles. Faster than he could react, the laser defense system on the ship activated and fired countermeasures to intercept them. Brief flashes lit up with each eruption. He sent the ship spinning in a tight roll, dodging some that were missed. The two dots behind him veered in odd directions to avoid the rockets. Missiles erupted from his own ship, impacting on the enemy fighters. Two more down and many flying past, heading for the allied cruiser behind him. Finally, he released the breath he didn’t know he was holding.

“I don’t care.” The messages started getting more frantic and shrill from Venture. Maybe he wasn’t ready for this. “They also said to follow orders, no matter what, and the new order is to fall back.”

“Astral, my shields are down to forty percent, we need to retreat,” Celestial said.”

“I can do it, Celestial.” He fired off another round of missiles, and they found their marks on three enemies. Each disappeared off his grid, leaving nothing but wreckage outside of his viewport. The frigate was so close now that it filled his vision. “I just need a little more time.”

Once he sent the message, a missile struck his left wing. He saw the warning on his CAM a second too late. A shudder went through the ship, and Xaleyp swore under his breath. His CAM automatically adjusted the piloting of the ship, slowing him down but keeping him in the fight. Just a little further, then he could unleash his attack on the frigate.

He shot another volley at a group of fighters, erasing them from the battlefield. More enemies were swarming him, clouding his grid with red dots. The two blue dots finally hung back, slowly getting further from him. Pushing his ship harder, he sped towards the enormous ship. Its underbelly was its weakest point. If he could break through its shields, just a little, he might be able to sneak a missile in and take it out, but he never got the chance.

With a jolt, the simulation ended, forcing him back into reality. On either side of him were the two cadets he was training with. To his left was a somewhat scrawny looking younger boy with light skin and dirty blond hair. On his right was a grown up Lina, still as freckly as ever, but the rigors of the space station erased the once unceasing smile from her face long ago.

The room itself was mostly white, except for the gray door and black lounge chairs they were sitting in. Their simulations were all run through the CAM, simply a training exercise to help prepare them for real world combat. It didn’t seem any less real than an actual firefight though, and Xaleyp could still feel the adrenaline coursing through him. He threw his legs over the edge of the chair to sit up and found they weren’t alone anymore.

Now, instead of just the three of them being in the room, three Hyperion officers also joined them. Colonel Ire was in front, his face red. Lieutenant General Anakin Syndicate, someone Xaleyp knew by sight but never formally met was next to Ire. He was young with thick brown hair that curled in some places. A thin beard covered the lower part of his face. Finally, High General Hades, the commander of all Hyperion forces, stood towards the back, overseeing the interaction. His hair was cut short, slightly longer on top, and almost pure white. Wrinkles covered the man’s face, showing his age and experience.

“You disobeyed orders, cadet.” Ire moved forward, putting his face in Xaleyp’s. He tried to take an involuntary step back, but the chair was in the way. “When we give an order, you follow it, no matter the consequences.”

“Sir, I could have completed the mission.” Xaleyp looked away from the Colonel, rubbing his arm timidly. “I just needed a little more time.”

“You would’ve been killed.” Spit hit Xaleyp’s cheek. The Colonel grabbed Xaleyp by the chin and forced him to look at him. “Just like that simulation would have ended up. A destroyed wing and surrounded by a dozen enemy fighters with the frigate less than a kilometer away? If you could’ve survived that, we would throw you into impossible missions right this second. There were absolutely no scenarios where you lived to tell that tale. You put your entire team at risk, just because you got cocky. When you’re the squadron leader, you have to do what’s best for your team, not best for yourself.”

“If I die, I die, sir.” Xaleyp stressed the last word and stared directly into Ire’s eyes. Though the Colonel was a good six inches taller than him, he still stood to try to appear bigger. “You’re the ones that taught us we’re expendable, that our replacements are just waiting to take our place.”

“It may be true that we achieve victory no matter the cost.” Ire shoved Xaleyp back into the chair, making him sit. “That doesn’t mean we take unnecessary risks and waste lives and resources. We don’t just throw numbers at a problem and hope it resolves itself. We are a strategic, elite force. What you did in that simulation was stupid and reckless. Ask either of the cadets at your side what they think. Ask them if they would’ve done what you did. I guarantee to you that both of them would say no, that they would’ve followed orders.”

“That’s because I’m better than them, sir.” Xaleyp grinned toothily. Confidence radiated from his body. “Neither of them have gotten close to the scores I’ve gotten in the simulations.”

“Neither of them have gotten blown up as many times as you either.”

“That’s… learning, sir.” He visibly deflated, taken down a peg. “I don’t mean for it to happen.”

“It’s damn irresponsible and has no place in our military.” Ire turned to face the other officers, rubbing his chin. “But back to the point: You follow orders no matter what, even if it hurts your pride. You follow orders or people die, whether that’s yourself or the comrades by your side.”

“What if those orders put my comrades in danger, sir? Do I follow them then? If you told me to kill Lina?” He gestured to the girl on his right, then the boy. Both tried to look away, not wanting to get involved. “Or Keith? Do I follow it then?”

“If I ordered you to kill a fellow cadet, or another soldier in the field,” Ire said, turning back to Xaleyp, “then you better believe I have a damn good reason for it. Do you remember what I told you the first day you came here?”

“Yes, sir.” Xaleyp fought to keep his composure. Now? He was bringing that up now?

“Good. I’d recommend you keep that in mind. I do not give orders to be disobeyed by insubordinate little brats like you.”

“But, sir, that doesn’t negate the fact that I’m the best cadet you have. I may break a few rules here and there, but I’m worth it. The process helps me learn and test my limits.”

“I’d rather have a hundred soldiers worse than you that follow orders.” Ire waved a dismissive hand.

Xaleyp couldn’t help but smile. “So, you agree that I’m that good, then?”

“What the Colonel is saying, cadet, is that you need to pay more attention to those that trust and put their faith in you.” It was General Hades that spoke now with a softer, gentler voice than Ire’s, but it carried every ounce of wisdom he gathered over the years and demanded respect. “As squad leader, it’s your responsibility to look out for your troops. The last thing we want is unnecessary casualties.”

“But, sir,” Xaleyp said, pleading his case, “I know I could’ve done it.”

“Your scores are impressive, cadet. No one doubts that. You remind me of myself when I was your age.” Hades nodded. He narrowed his eyes at Xaleyp and stepped closer. “In a different time and place, I’m sure you could’ve completed the mission, but how would you have felt if you got Cadet Guezal killed? Or Cadet Poward? Would it have been worth it?”

Xaleyp didn’t answer. Instead, he looked down, trying to keep his face from turning red. He hadn’t thought of that. He assumed he would’ve been able to keep them safe, or that they’d keep each other safe.

“That’s what I thought.” The general nodded again. He held his finger in front of Xaleyp’s face and spoke in a much deeper, sinister tone. “The next time you run a simulation, remember this: You function as part of a team. There are no lone soldiers in this military. Dismissed.”

The three officers left the room, the door hissing behind them, and left the cadets alone.