After their uncomfortable first meeting, Aetna and his newly-founded team disbanded for the day after they finished their daily training.
It was the first time since he had joined the Imperial Forces that Aetna actually desired to train, if only to get away from his disaster of a team. He greatly preferred to suffer listening to Yunfeer drone about combat theory and logistics than spend another second with them.
In any case, Aetna wasn't about to let himself get carried away with the flow, not by a long shot. As soon as he was free, Aetna rushed to Commander Telam's office and barged in furiously.
"LARFUC, YOU BASTA—" shouted Aetna as he stormed in but abruptly choked on his words when he saw that the Lord Admiral was in the room.
"Ah, Aetna! What can I help you with today?" said Larfuc, entirely unfazed. If anything, he seemed somewhat amused by Aetna's sudden backpedaling how Larfuc wished that he could make the boy behave like that.
A smirk formed on Leifon's lips, and he said, "He's exactly like you described him. I imagine he must be a real handful, eh? But then again, all children are like that. I would know, haha..."
He rose from his seat, extended a hand toward Aetna, and said, "It's a pleasure to finally meet you, young man. Larfuc's told me a great deal about your... dazzling exploits. I look forward to seeing your performance in the upcoming wargame simulations."
Aetna shook his hand and said, "Actually, sir, I— uh, came to talk about that very matter. I request to be discharged from the 1st Combat Test Squadron and be transferred to another fleet as soon as possible."
Leifon frowned a bit and said, "Oh, dear. That's quite a serious request. Why don't you have some tea with Larfuc and me while you explain to us your reasoning?"
That genuinely surprised him. Aetna was convinced that he would get shot down, but the Lord Admiral had gone as far as to give him a chance. That alone already put him on a higher pedestal than the likes of Yunfeer and Larfuc in his book.
So, Aetna did just that — he took a seat, joined their little tea party, and did his best to clearly and concisely explain his reasoning.
Aetna explained that he felt uncomfortable with his appointment in the 1st Combat Test Fleet. He voiced his deep concerns about the design and purpose of the prototype warships. He also voiced his concern about the composition of his assigned team and his distrust of the Elite Cadets, stemming from the nature of their concealed identities.
"Only a fool would go into battle under the command of a stranger. Especially an unproven commander with no known record to speak of. And these warships are obviously designed for unconventional warfare. They don't adhere to standard protocol at all. Cadets aren't meant to command these ships, sir. You're going to send them all to their deaths."
Larfuc was actually impressed for once. Aetna's argument was pretty solid overall, though a couple of his points were contestable; even then, it had still been a solid argument for his case. It just went to show how sharp Aetna could be when he actually applied himself.
He looked at Leifon with a small smile, conveying that he wouldn't be helping him out. Giving Aetna a chance to work his magic had been Leifon's first mistake. This would serve as a good lesson for the Lord Admiral — to never take the little bastard for granted ever again...
Leifon chuckled heartily and said, "You've got quite the tongue, young man. And I won't hesitate to admit that you've got me cornered, so I'll make a concession for you and tell you a bit about the nature of this prototype fleet. But only if I have your word that you'll keep everything I tell you a secret."
That wasn't what Aetna wanted to hear, but it was better than not getting anything at all. He nodded his head.
"These ships, as you've pointed out, aren't in line with design protocol because they won't be part of the Imperial fleets. They'll be operating under special jurisdiction granted by the Emperor himself," Leifon as he poured another cup of tea for Aetna.
"These ships are going to be part of a special initiative of extreme importance to Empire. As a result, they'll be operating off-grid. No supervision. An autonomous fleet, so to speak..."
Aetna couldn't deny that his interest had been aroused. He couldn't help but wonder if this secret fleet was in any way related to 'that' — the secret that Larfuc had told him about.
Chances were that it was probably related to the secret that Larfuc told him about, and he wouldn't be allowed to learn more until he completely committed himself to them.
"What is the mission directive of this secret fleet, sir?" asked Aetna. He couldn't help but try to dig out just a little more information, even if the chance of getting an answer was low.
Leifon shrugged his shoulders and replied, "You know better than that, son. My hands are tied. Hell, I've already told you too much. But I promise you this: if you stick around and complete your training, you're going to be properly brought into 'the Fold,' unlike the rest of your fellow peers. That's a secret right you exclusively possess as a member of the Aristocracy..."
Larfuc wanted to laugh, but he held his tongue out of respect for the Lord Admiral's abilities. The man had totally enthralled Aetna with his natural charm and the temptation of the unknown.
"So, what's going to be, lad?" said Larfuc as he touched a holo-panel and brought up Aetna's personal file. "It's just as I've told you myself — you're being offered a very, very special opportunity. Something only a handful of people in the entire Empire are given."
He lifted a single finger and put it over Aetna's file, and said, "No more games. You're a big boy, so I'm going to give you a choice. Two different futures. What you've sought since the beginning — a formal discharge from the Imperial Forces. I'll have to call some in big favors, but don't expect too much..."
"High Command will probably have you sent to a Research and Development lab to serve out your mandatory service, but at least you won't out on the battlefield. Or you can stay here in the 1st Fleet, and once you graduate, we'll show you things you can't even begin to imagine..."
Two shimmering, golden pairs of eyes stared at him as they waited for a response.
Aetna froze in shock, but he eventually mustered his courage and said, "I will..."
The following day, everyone in the 1st Combat Test Fleet gathered in the simulation room as instructed. It was a spacious room filled with neural-net chairs that allowed people to experience highly realistic simulations.
Using a hard-wired neural connection near the base of the skull and the spine, humanity had created a high-bandwidth bridge between man and machine — a cybernetic marriage between the raw speed of a machine and the adaptability of the human brain.
As Yunfeer inspected his flock and noted that Aetna was not present, as per usual. He sighed softly as he prepared to give Aetna a threatening call but was astonished when...
The door opened behind him, and Aetna entered without so much as a word of complaint. He saluted Yunfeer and silently walked over to his team's designated section in the simulation room. It had all happened so quickly Yunfeer felt as if he'd seen a hallucination.
'What in the goddamn...?'
Even Aetna's fellow cadets stopped talking when they saw the scene unfold before their eyes. To them, it was the equivalent of seeing a pig actually fly. The impossible had occurred today...
When Aetna sat down in his neural-net chair, Narivan leaned over and whispered, "Why are they looking at you like that, Aetna? Did you do... something wrong?"
Aetna muttered, "I sold my soul, Narivan. That's why they're looking at me like that..."
After everyone was seated, Yunfeer sat in his own neural-net chair and pulled everyone down into the frigate's Netsphere — the digital network of the warship — where they would be conducted the wargame simulations.
A hazy static film covered Aetna's vision as his senses were quickly overwritten by the vast flux of new information provided by his neural-link connection. The simulation that he had originally been inside of warped like molten glass as it took on a brand new form.
Reinforced titanium walls, floating holo-panels, and other digital screens rushed out of the ground and formed a sort of information cocoon around him. After that, his team members materialized out of thin air, and the room finally stopped twisting and warping.
It was a command bridge of the prototype warship, perfectly recreated within the confines of the Netsphere.
Aetna glanced around and studied the layout of the command bridge. To his surprise, it had actually been larger than he anticipated.
He turned toward his left and saw Savar and Lynnette in the seats for the Communications and Gunnery Officers. And on his right, Saoe and Gafon were sitting in the seats reserved for the Helmsman and Engineering Officers.
Narivan sat in the chair reserved for the Commander in the center of the command bridge, while Aetna himself sat in a similar chair beside Narivan as the ship's Vice-Commander.
Aetna reclined in his chair and said, "Well, let's complete this stupid simulation as fast as we can. I wanna go back to sleep as quickly as possible..."
His crewmates coldly glared at him, something that Aetna found odd. Why were they angry at him? It wasn't as if he said anything bad about them...
But to them, this was the true start of their military careers. Their performance here and onward would determine their assignments once they graduated and became actual officers, so it wasn't too surprising that everyone took the simulation seriously.
For fear of having the mood in the bridge deteriorate any further, Narivan said, "Aetna, please. As Vice-Commander, you're obligated to act the part and conduct yourself in a manner appropriate for the weight of your position. It reflects badly on both of us if—"
"Would you relax, you goddamned tin can? It's a damn simulation, not the end of the bloody world! If this is enough to get all of you riled up like babies, then I'm terrified of how you'll react if we ever get into real combat," said Aetna, disappointed.
"Instead of whining about something as trivial as my behavior, why don't you guys focus on not having a damn panic attack and choking during this simulation?"
A sour mood pervaded across the bridge, but Aetna didn't care. As far as he was concerned, he had no intention of letting their cowardice infect him...
Eventually, after everyone settled down and got accustomed to their surroundings, Yunfeer began to speak and said, "Today's wargame will be relatively simple. We will be testing your fundamentals by having you face off against a single Interceptor-class warship as a combined fleet. The setting of the simulation will be near a gas giant. The duration of this particular simulation will be unlimited."
'It's going to be a straightforward battle, then. A very textbook situation, all things considered,' thought Aetna as he muddled over the battle conditions in his mind.
But there was one question in his mind. If this was to be a battle with all five teams working together in unison, who was going to be commanding the fleet? Which ship or rather, which commander was going to chosen to lead them into battle?
Whoever was chosen would be making all the hard decisions, to put it bluntly. They'd have to decide on the formation they'd take and their general battle plan. They would also be responsible for giving additional orders mid-fight depending on the battle progressed.
So it was a job that required a strong grasp of battle theory and a flexible enough mindset to switch strategies and adapt to new, developing situations. It also meant being responsible for the lives of every single ship and, by extension, every single soldier of the fleet, too.
Considering the fleet's battle prowess, the logistics of the fleet, the damage incurred, the enemy's formation and size, their fleet composition, and then changing strategies based on another dozen additional factors was the job of someone in commanding a fleet.
That was the literal stuff of nightmares to Aetna.
It was several orders more annoying and complex than just commanding a single warship in a fight. It took a lot of effort, imagination, talent, and knowledge to do properly. Worse still was the fact that as Vice-Commander, he'd also be partially responsible for a good portion of that workload if Narivan was chosen to lead the fleet.
Aetna turned toward Narivan and said, "Who's going to be leading the fleet, Tincan? I'm sure that you and your buddies must have hashed that out already, right? PLEASE tell me it's not you. It had better not be you or else..."
But before Narivan could even respond, Yunfeer continued speaking and said, "Your fleet callsign will be 'Joyeuse,' starting from Joyeuse-01 to Joyeuse-05."
Above Aetna's head — on the ceiling of the bridge — bright lettering formed the bold inscription:
Joyeuse-01.
"As per the arrangement of your ship commanders, Joyeuse-01 will be leading your fleet. The simulation will begin in thirty seconds. Good luck and good hunting, cadets."
Aetna felt his blood pressure skyrocket as he furiously glared at Narivan and said, "Now you've done it, Tincan. I hope you're ready to face my wrath... because I'm not going to hold back."
He slowly whispered, "You are beyond fucked."