To Fear Is To Live

There was a mounting dread in the Observatory as everyone waited for the arrival of the Lord Admiral of the 1st Fleet. The kind of terror that made even someone as tough as Instructor Yunfeer slightly nervous.

If someone as famous and reknown as Yunfeer was taken back by the Lord Admiral, then what would that say about lowly cadets like Aetna and his peers?

It was widely known that Yunfeer had a distinguished military record and had even been a personal tutor for several generations worth of royal children in the past. Even the current Emperor of the Solastora Empire had once been a pupil of Yunfeer in his youth.

Suffice to say; it was not a stretch to think of Yunfeer as a legend within the Imperial Forces. He was a man who purportedly had the remarkable ability to turn coal into a diamond, so to speak.

Yunfeer was touted as a miracle worker who had raised some of the most celebrated captains and admirals to date. No one could deny his influence and contributions to the Imperial Forces, and yet...

Here he was, working up a cold sweat akin to a child who was soon to be reprimanded by their parents. It had an incredibly sobering effect on everyone present seeing him like that.

What could he have to fear? He had presumably done nothing wrong. Well, at least nothing wrong that anyone knew about. What could have made him so anxious about this honored visitation, then?

It was the reason why the Lord Admiral had to visit him — for the cadets he was currently training.

The Lord Admiral had caught wind that an especially unique batch of cadets had been under his tutelage and had come with the brightest cadets of his own ship for a joint training exercise. To both examine the progress of both Yunfeer's cadets and his own, to put it simply.

And that was exactly why Yunfeer so anxious. He was in charge of a group of misfits that had routinely left him speechless since they had been transferred over to him.

Lynnette Gallenford — a 17-year old genius in three-dimensional combat who had beaten many of the instructors she had been placed under when she first joined the Imperial Forces. A habitual gambler and jokester who did not understand when it was improper to make light of certain people and situations.

Kejt Nauntia — an 18-year old slug in human form... and someone who had barely finished his officer exams when he first joined the Imperial Forces.

Kejt had drunk himself under the table the night before. He was also a genius who had written a novel paper on trans-domain fleet management during the Apocalypse Protocol (an emergency directive when a fleet's destruction was all but guaranteed) that had caught the attention of the Imperial Forces.

And let us not forget Aetna Erandeusi — a walking crisis in his own right, enough to have earned the nickname "The Mad Count" in the Imperial Forces. He was solely responsible for the "Ispex-Training Accident," which caused two flagships to collide with each other at low speeds.

The resulting impact cost the Solastora Empire over 280 million credits in repairs and an embarrassing blemish that would not be so easily forgotten. It was, in many ways, a slap on the face to many military veterans, officers, politicians, and nobles in the Empire.

And bear in mind, these were just three cadets under Yunfeer's leadership at the moment. He had an entire troop of 15 cadets that were all uniquely problematic in their own right and needed much more instruction and discipline before they were ready to be officers.

They were not ready for joint exercises, in Yunfeer's view. They were still an unruly, uncooperative bunch of animals. And they would not be ready until he broke them down and molded them into proper shape.

But that was not going to happen anytime soon, and now they were due to perform along with the Lord Admiral's finest. To Yunfeer, it was more or less his personal apocalypse...

On the other hand, Aetna was busy wondering who was responsible for his continued suffering in the Imperial Forces.

Aetna desired to know, if only for future reference, of course. He longed to punish whoever had decided to transfer him to the 1st Fleet where Yunfeer, Larfuc, and now the Lord Admiral would likely put him through hell...

Unbeknownst to him, he would be meeting that person soon. That is, the person who was responsible for his continued agony. In fact, the very person had just arrived.

When Yunfeer walked over to Aetna and his troop, he knew that the time had finally come.

"In roughly five minutes, Commander Telam will arrive with special company from our fleet's flagship, the Ark of Redemption. If you so much as breathe out of order, I will have you clean every inch of the ship's hull with a toothbrush," said Yunfeer in a tone as cold as ice.

The tension in the auditorium grew a hundred-fold in an instant. That was not a threat; that was a promise, and everyone knew it. He really would make them clean the hull of the ship with a toothbrush...

Someone ignorant in military affairs would have wondered why Yunfeer was so strict about this upcoming meeting, but the 1st Fleet was the crown gem of the Solastora Empire.

And the Ark of Redemption, the 1st Fleet's flagship, was not something that normal people could transfer to. As the flagship of the 1st Fleet, it represented the royal family's finest and, as such, was compromised of only the brightest officers in the Empire.

Every flagship was a cut above other ships in firepower and in the talent, skill, and experience of their crewmembers. They were icons of the Empire's strength, after all.

The 1st Fleet through 5th Fleet were embodiments of that belief. Although it was likely imperial propaganda, it was rumored that these ships had never once lost a battle since the Empire's founding.

And someone who was commanding one of those glorious flagships was coming to visit Aetna's frigate. Someone qualified enough to command a purportedly undefeatable ship.

"I have received confirmation that our special guests will be the 1st Fleet's Elite Cadet Squadron along with His Highness, Lord Admiral Leifon Savugh," said Yunfeer as he slowly the ranks of his unruly troop of cadets with a sinister glare.

"This is an unprecedented honor for all of you — to work alongside elite cadets trained by the Lord Admiral himself. Future admirals in the making! Consider this a golden opportunity to make acquaintances with future pillars of the Imperial Forces. Do. Not Mess. This. Up!"

Many cadets inhaled sharply. Unlike Aetna, many of them were actually interested in furthering their military careers, as doing so would open an immeasurable amount of doors for them later in life.

Hell, that was how Aetna's family earned its right to the governorship of the Kolinto sector and, by extension, its admission into the Aristocracy — outstanding military merits.

Each Elite Cadet was considered a priceless investment to the Empire, for they were thoroughbred masterpieces. They were all bonafide geniuses raised from birth to lead others and handle the titanic burden of managing a galactic empire.

While Aetna and his companions were gifted in their own right, above the likes of normal people, they could not hold a candle to the genetically engineered geniuses that made up the Elite Cadet Squadrons. They were a different breed of human altogether...

And as for the Lord Admiral, Leifon Savugh — the supreme commander of the 1st Fleet?

He was responsible for the twenty-five frigates, cruisers, destroyers, and support ships. A total of ten thousand lives were directly under his command at all times as the Lord Admiral of the 1st Fleet.

Such was the appointment that Leifon Savugh, who was second in line for the throne, had been entrusted with by the Emperor himself.

It wasn't that Aetna cared about the Elite Cadets since he couldn't give less of a shit about trying to climb the ladder. On any normal day, he'd lock them all up in an airlock if they annoyed him, but that wouldn't be the case with the Lord Admiral around today.

To the Empire and the Lord Admiral, the Elite Cadets were even more precious than the flagships they were aboard. Therefore, messing with them would not be the smartest thing to do.

Aetna shivered at the thought of the consequences of messing with them. After all, the last time Aetna truly misbehaved, they had promoted him to the 1st Fleet. If he misbehaved today, then what would happen to him this time?

Would he get transferred to the Lord Admiral's flagship, or possibly even something worse?

That was enough to deter Aetna from trying anything too excessive. He would have to bite the bullet today and play the good cadet.

Unfortunately, that was something easier said than done, especially in Aetna's case...