Lenn
“Cadets, attention!”
The noisy mess hall went quiet, and all cadets rose to their feet, chins up, chests out, shoulders back.
“Captain!” They shouted in unison.
“At ease!” Captain Yuki boomed.
The cadets relaxed and sat back down in their spots as Captain Yuki led Lenn and his team up onto a little raised platform at one end of the hall.
“I present you our newest graduates, who have proven themselves earlier today through conducting a dangerous solo infiltration mission deep into enemy territory. Not only did they complete all mission objectives, they even managed to down a hostile fighter. Throughout Team One’s training, they have proven themselves time and time again to be capable individuals and an even more capable team. For that, they are our cadet course’s newest graduates, who will be heading off tomorrow morning to join a proper Heavy Fighter Squadron.” Captain Yuki announced.
A corporal brought up a small steel box, from which Captain Yuki retrieved four silver eagles. He turned to Lenn and his team, then, one by one, pinned a silver eagle onto the lapel of each of their uniforms.
It isn’t so common for cadets to graduate by themselves before the rest of the course like this, and usually, only the best of the best get such treatment.
When he was done, he turned to the class once more. “Use them as examples of what we expect of all of you. It will soon be your turn, so don’t back down, don’t take it easy. You are the future of our city.”
The cadets applauded and cheered, throwing up their fists as a sign of respect and determination.
“Team One! Team One! Team One!” A chant began, and everyone in the hall joined in, chanting the temporary name given to Lenn’s team as part of their training in the cadet program.
Lenn spotted some of his close friends among the crowd, all smiling and cheering for him.
“Lenn, Kang, Ying, Rei, it’s pilots like you who mark their names in the history books,” said Captain Yuki. “Now go and have some fun with your peers. After all, today is your last night here.”
“Yes, sir!”
So they laughed and sang through the night, setting the mess hall ablaze with their youth and energy. Some of Lenn’s friends managed to sneak in some alcohol, which they shared with everyone. Of course, Captain Yuki noticed, but he decided to cut them some slack.
That night, they briefly forgot about the war happening around them, forgot about the pain and suffering, and let joy take over. Even in dark times like these, there was happiness to be found in the world.
“You have to stay safe out there, okay?” A younger girl shouted at Lenn, her face slightly blushed from the alcohol. “We’ll join you soon once we graduate!”
“Ella's going at Lenn again!” One of the younger boys shouted. “Come on, Ella! He has other things to worry about.”
“I… I’m not!” Ella shouted back. “Plus, it’s not like he has anyone… r… right?”
“Kang, you go out there, come back, and tell me what it’s like, okay?” A boy their age told Kang, handing him a drink. “They say be ready to offer up your heart for your city, but I think that sacrifice should be reserved for something else.”
“Such as?” asked Kang, taking a swig from his glass.
“That’s up to you to decide. Oh, and, maybe by that time, you’d have grown a little taller,” the boy laughed, and so did Kang.
“A fifth of the way to an ace already?” An older boy said, giving Rei a pat on the shoulder. “I’ll be waiting to see you on the news.”
“The glory list or the KIA list?” Rei asked jokingly.
“Hey now, that’s a bad omen,” the boy smiled, smacking Rei gently on the back of the head. “Of course, it’ll be the glory list.”
Ying was in the crowd too, surrounded by a circle of younger cadets. During her time in the training camp, she had become a role model for many with her serious attitude, apparently cold demeanor, and almost flawless gunnery.
“Guys, guys, guys! Oh, and girls too! Gather round with your drinks. Let us give one more toast to Team One!” Kang shouted.
“Team One!”
The chant rang long in the dark night, barely lit by the emerging new moon. As the last of the alcohol was downed, Lenn and his teammates’ time as cadets came to an end. Tomorrow, they would be real pilots, ready to take on the world, riding their bird of steel, soaring the skies with their mechanical wings.
*****
They stood in tight rows and columns, their new uniforms neat, their chests puffed, and their heads raised high. They had been selected into the cadet training program, a course for the most outstanding military school graduates, a chance for them to join the most elite squadrons of their city.
“Welcome, students!” Captain Yuki, their new leader for the next few years of their lives, boomed. “There are eighty-six of you in this class, but statistically speaking, there will be less than thirty who graduate.”
Captain Yuki paced back and forth before the students, his tall stature looming over the young cadets. The distinguishing shoulder mark on his uniform polished to a golden shine under the bright overhead lights.
“Eight teams of heavy fighter cadets, twelve pairs of multi-role fighter cadets, and fifteen pairs of light-fighter cadets. Over the next two years, you will go through the hardest, most demanding training of your entire life. You will learn each other’s strengths, each other’s weaknesses, how to defeat each other, and more importantly, how to survive together. Out there, your only hope besides yourself is your comrades, the only thing you can fall back on if things go south. So look around and get to know each other, know each other well, because soon your life might just depend on them.”
Lenn checked the little slip of paper tucked into his chest pocket.
[Cadet Program Class A]
Team 1
Lenn
Heavy fighter commander
Teammates:
Mission specialist - Kang
Flight engineer - Rei
Gunner - Ying
He looked around at the small crowd of cadets around him, many of whom were younger than him.
They have been purposefully placed in random order, so they would have to search for their teammates, and in the process, get to know some of the other cadets.
Just as he looked around for someone to strike up a conversation with, a voice called out to him from behind.
“Noah, multi-role fighter pilot, Team Fifteen,” the boy announced, placing his hand on the side of his forehead in a well-practiced salute.
“Lenn, heavy fighter commander,” Lenn said back, returning the salute.
“Well, you ain’t who I’m looking for, but nice to meet ya,” said Noah with a smile, before turning to talk to someone else.
Lenn began looking around again, hoping to catch the passing glance of another person.
It must have been the dozenth person he talked to before someone finally uttered the words “Team One” to him.
“Rei, heavy fighter flight engineer, Team One,” the tall and bulky boy with curly brown hair announced to him.
“Lenn, heavy fighter commander, Team One,” Lenn said the same thing he had spoken too many times in the past five minutes, barely suppressing the excitement of finally finding one of his teammates.
“Oh my!” Rei chuckled. “Finally found someone, and it’s my commander no less. Great to meet you.”
“My pleasure.”
“Did someone say Team One over here?” Another voice shouted.
Lenn turned in the direction of the voice and saw a short Asian boy pushing through the crowd.
“You two Team One?” He asked, pointing his finger at Lenn and Rei in alternation.
“Well, yeah.”
“Oh yeah!” The boy cheered. “Kang, heavy fighter mission specialist, Team One.” He said quickly, bounding over to stand beside Lenn and Rei, not even bothering with a salute. “You are?” He asked, pointing at Rei.
“Rei, flight engineer.”
“And you are…?”
“Lenn, commander.”
“Nice to meet both of you!”
“The pleasure was mine,” Lenn replied, smiling at Kang’s energy.
“Why did they assign us a child?” Rei asked jokingly, making sure that Kang could hear.
“I’m not a child! I’m the same age as you!” Kang shouted back.
“Even children know to salute,” snapped Rei.
Kang gasped, quickly saluting and darting Lenn, his commander, a glance. “I’m sorry!”
“Alright, alright,” Lenn said, patting the other two on their shoulders. “Let’s all get along now, children or not.”
“I said! I’m not a…”
“Now, where on Earth is this gunner of ours?”
They did not find that gunner of theirs until almost everyone had already found their respective teams.
Left there was a girl with jet-black hair, standing alone, looking around awkwardly.
“Lenn, heavy fighter commander, Team One,” he introduced himself with a salute.
The girl’s pitch-black eyes lit up a little, but her face still remained somewhat emotionless, a little reminiscent of the soldiers of Europa in the movies. She didn’t speak, instead just lifted her little slip of paper.
“Oh, um…” Lenn blurted, a little surprised. “Ying, heavy fighter gunner, Team One…”
“Nice to meet you,” whispered Ying.
“Ah, the pleasure is mine.”
He led her back to the rest of their team, introducing her to the others.
“Rei, flight engineer.”
“Kang, mission specialist.”
They introduced themselves one by one.
At last, everyone had found their teams, and all stood chatting while waiting for Captain Yuki to give them further instructions.
“So I see you have all found your spot, your family for the rest of your flying careers. Get to know each other well, get along well, and build some trust,” Captain Yuki spoke at last. “Vow to each other now, right hand on your chest. In my name and my honor, or whatever you worship, I take you to be my partners, in battle or harmony, in hellfire or rain, in injury or health, till death do us part.”
“In my name and my honor,” the cadets spoke to each other in unison. “I take you to be my partners, in battle or harmony, in hellfire or rain, in injury or health, till death do us part.”
It was a cheesy vow that all fighter teams had to take upon their formation, a vow they were expected to keep until the very end. A vow that most did, indeed, keep until the very end.
It was the first time they had met, the first time they stood as a team. But no matter what hardships lay before them, they would be together, until they either owned the skies or perished trying.
