Pull The Latches

In the end, Joyeuse Squadron had completed the simulation... successfully. Technically speaking.

Not in any practical or rational capacity, of course, but they had completed it. And for what it was worth, they had also completed the mission in record time.

Two minutes and forty-nine seconds in total from the beginning to ending.

It was a brand new record that had positively crushed the previous first-place record by more than five and a half minutes. Everyone in the 1st Combat Test Squadron would've been proud of that record... had it not been founded on the mutiny and hijacking of one of their ships.

"...You do understand what you've done would've been considered treason against the Empire in a genuine battle, right?" said Yunfeer, exasperated. "This would have been grounds for the death penalty, if not life imprisonment and the annulment of your noble title!"

Yunfeer was at his wits' end. He, Leifon, and Larfuc had dragged the boy over to a containment cell to be grilled, but Aetna had not so much as batted an eyelid since they had begun scolding him.

He had never seen such a reckless, unpredictable fight like that in his entire professional career. The possibility had never even occurred to him that anyone would ever use such an uncivilized, barbaric tactic as turning their own ship into a damned bomb.

He had honestly believed that humanity as a collective had progressed beyond such savagery, but today he discovered that he had been wrong.

Humanity was supposed to be a culturally advanced, space-faring species. Hell, they had even managed to circumvent the light-speed barrier — allowing them to colonize the galaxy. Hence, Yunfeer thought it wasn't too much to ask that his species fight with a modicum of dignity and grace befitting their achievements...

Otherwise, they'd amount to little more than overgrown neanderthals in interstellar space.

Aetna shrugged his shoulders and said, "You always worry about the silliest things, Instructor Yunfeer. Didn't you watch the simulation? Had I done that stunt for real, I'd be a dead man."

How would the Empire punish a man who had been wholly vaporized into atoms? That was something Aetna would love to see them try to do.

An ominous chuckle escaped Aetna's lips, and he said, "It was just a joke, though. Well, more of a little lesson for that bastard, Narivan. My main goal was to destroy the dumbass's perfect military record as punishment."

It was the only punishment Aetna thought would hurt the mysterious asshole. He figured that super-geniuses like Narivan lived only to validate their inflated egos. That they thought of themselves as superior beings, who could never lose at anything or to anyone.

Leifon laughed and said, "It's a good thing to be given a reality check now and then. Oftentimes, people that rise too high, too fast lose sight of what matters. They start perceiving the world in a twisted way. So, in a roundabout way... you did my cadets a favor."

Aetna frowned, but he did not reply this time around.

He couldn't deny that disgusting interpretation, to his dismay. To a certain extent, he realized that he had probably helped Narivan develop a broader view of the nature of leadership.

Larfuc smiled wryly and said, "Why do you think we let you rampage like that without stopping you? We knew that there was an overwhelming possibility you'd ruin the simulation. If we wanted to, we could have aborted the simulation at any time, but..."

"You wanted me... to lash out and rebel against Narivan from the beginning," said Aetna softly as he put the pieces together. He had been used as a tool by them.

Leifon pulled up Narivan's military record and said, "But I'll do you a favor as a form of repayment for your assistance. What's fair is fair, after all."

He added a new line onto Narivan's military record — leadership experience lacking.

Aetna had not expected him to actually do it. He had been rendered speechless.

Leifon patted Aetna's shoulders and somberly said, "A little piece of advice — you can keep my cadets on their toes, but don't make enemies of them. Because one day, they'll be fighting and dying alongside you... And when the whole world comes crashing down on you... they're going to be the ones who will rescue you."

There was a tremendous feeling of sorrow in Leifon's voice that disturbed Aetna in a way he could not adequately describe. It almost felt as if the Lord Admiral had suddenly transformed into a ghastly specter.

Aetna did not reply and simply nodded his head in silent acquiescence. He did not dare learn how the Lord Admiral had come to obtain that morsel of fatal wisdom...

The following day — contrary to Aetna's expectations — he had been invited to a private meeting with Narivan.

Aetna had initially planned on rejecting the invitation, but he understood that it would probably be best to attend it. Leifon's warning still rang clear in his head, despite his best efforts to ignore it.

So, he trudged his toward Narivan's private quarters after he finished his daily cadet duties. When he entered Narivan's quarters, he found that the fellow had already begun boiling a kettle of tea.

'What is it with these people and drinking tea? I get that it's easy to store and make in a spaceship since it's just tea leaves and hot water, but all these people seem to love drinking it all the damn time.'

As a proud coffee lover, Aetna considered tea something he would only drink if there weren't any coffee beans on the ship. He was a young man of elevated tastes, to say the least, not unlike the boorish tea enthusiasts he had to deal with...

"Ah, there you are! Please, come in and make yourself at home. I made us a pot of Earl Gray with leaves from my homeworld, so you're for something quite special today," said Narivan, delighted.

"I-I see. That's a very kind gesture. Thank you," said Aetna awkwardly. Narivan's sparkling positivity had utterly caught him off guard. It made no sense to him, but he wasn't about to decline an unexpected blessing.

A stifling period of numbing silence followed after they both sat down and settled into the seats, one that they both felt agonizing to the extreme.

It was the same as the day that they had first met. In other words — their relationship had not progressed at all.

Even though they were both the most senior officers of their ship, they were, by far, the worst pair out of all the Elite Cadets and their respective Vice-Commanders. Unlike Aetna and Narivan, the other officer pairs had already developed the beginning of something that could be described as "friendship," or at least a hint of camaraderie.

Needless to say, it was more than slightly concerning. If these two youths did not make amends and reach some understanding soon, they would surely end up leading everyone under them to their deaths one day...

"You see, I feel as if—"

"I think that we shou—"

Aetna and Narivan simultaneously choked up at the sound of each other's voices, but they quickly recovered.

"Oh, sorry about that. I didn't mean to—" said Aetna in an odd display of kindness.

"No, please, go ahead," said Narivan cheerily, "Let me pour you a cup of tea in the meantime."

Aetna let out a small sigh and said, "Look, I'm sorry. I think we got off on the wrong foot, especially after what happened a couple of days ago. I just... want you to know that I don't hate you or anything. What happened wasn't personal, is what I mean. Not really."

Narivan shrugged and said, "No hard feelings from this side either. It was merely a simulation, after all. If I held a grudge over something as small as that, I'd never be worthy of my childhood dream — uniting the galaxy."

And that was when Aetna realized that this would not be a normal conversation.

A part of Aetna initially thought it had been nothing more than an absurd joke, but then again, not once had he ever heard Narivan crack a joke, let alone talk informally.

"...I take it you're not joking, right?"

Narivan passed over a cup of tea and nonchalantly said, "No, not at all. I meant what I said."

Aetna suddenly felt his stomach churn in dread. He had unfortunately stumbled onto an insane person. Worse still, it was the captain of his ship. So, in essence, the worst possible combination of concepts — a delusional person and a leadership position.

"I must sound utterly mad to you, don't I?" said Narivan calmly, "But it's the truth. I also feel that we got off on the wrong foot, so I would like us to make amends and... get to know each other better. And to do that, I'm going to need a little bit of help from you."

"...Help?" said Aetna with a dumbfounded expression on his face, "I mean, what do you need help with?"

Narivan stood up, turned around, and said, "Do you see the two little red latches on the back of my armor? Can I get you to pull them? I can't reach them myself without help."

"Uhh... okay, sure," said Aetna as he stood up and inched his way toward Narivan's large and imposing back.

"On the count of three, pull the latches, okay? Also, don't mind the flash," said Narivan.

'Flash...?'

"Okay, let's do this. One... Two... Three! Pull the latches now!"

Aetna pulled the red latches as hard as he could manage. They fought back in protest, but he succeeded and opened them with a loud click in the end. Narivan's armor began to start humming at an increasing volume until...

A flash of white light blinded Aetna as he screamed in complete terror.

Narivan's armor had... exploded.