Chapter 50: A New Goal

Volkov watched Marcus leave with a sympathetic expression. He knew it couldn't have been easy for him to walkway, not with how bad his temper was.

"What a wuss, he cries about the simplest of things like a damn baby." Sang-hee commented with a sigh, "Can't believe that ass wipe."

"Do you even hear yourself right now?" Volkov asked in genuine curiosity. "You're a walking hypocrite."

Sang-hee rolled her eyes. "At least I don't pretend to be someone I'm not." She quipped, "That dumb fuck thinks he's so much better than everyone else, him and that jackass Felix."

"And so you think the best way to change that is to antagonize him?" Volkov said with a sigh, massaging his temples in frustration, "I told you I'd help him, but I can't do that if you keep pushing his buttons."

"It's not like he was going to do anything." Sang-hee commented with a groan, "Nothing except cry to that little girl he's got with him."

She then chuckled.

Volkov could feel his frustration rising. "That so-called 'wuss' almost killed you." Volkov said in a cold voice as he turned to face dang-Hee, his eyes narrowed, "You can go around thinking he was bluffing, but I know for a fact what the eyes of a killer look like, and he had his on you, so I suggest you walk light before you're in the ground and that 'wuss' is arrested." 

Sang-hee's eyes flickered for a split second before she scoffed and shrugged her shoulders.

"If he does kill me, then at least I'll die knowing he's not all talk, but until then I couldn't care less, boss," Sang-hee said coldly, before turning to leave.

Volkov watched her go with a conflicted expression, his mind churning with thoughts. Both of these cadets had serious potential, but he knew if he didn't keep a lid on their attitudes, that potential would be a double-edged sword.

Suddenly he got a call, answering it by tapping his earpiece, and the voice of Corporal Shepard rang through. "Officer Volkov, I need you to report to the main building, we've gotten reports about missing cargo."

Volkov was confused by such a thing, how could cargo go missing, especially if it belonged to the organization? 

"On my way," Volkov answered.

— — —

Back at the dorms, Marcus sat in his bunk with a frustrated expression. Luna sat beside him, her eyes closed and expression blank.

Felix still hadn't come back yet, most likely continuing with his training.

Marcus sighed deeply. "She irritates me." He said softly, covering his eyes with his forearm. "Why does she have to be so stubborn? What did I ever do to her besides help?"

"Some people are just ignorant I suppose," Luna commented with a sigh. "You shouldn't think about her too much, you'll only anger yourself."

Marcus huffed a sigh. He knew Luna was right, yet he couldn't let it go, his frustration refusing to be subdued. "I wish I could, but she's all I can focus on right now." Marcus said with a disdained tone, "That mocking smirk, I wish I could just punch it off her face."

Luna shook her head before opening her eyes. "Then maybe you should focus on something else, like maybe a girl who does make you happy."

Marcus raised an eyebrow. "Who?" He asked curiously. "You?" He said with a grin. "If you insist," Marcus said with a chuckle.

Puckering his lips to kiss Luna's cheek.

"No, you idiot!" Luna exclaimed with a chuckle, struggling to fight Marcus off as she laughed. "I mean Kinsley, you should give her a call."

Marcus paused in his attempts to kiss Luna, his mind racing to put the pieces together. "Kinsley…." Marcus said thoughtfully, "Oh!" He exclaimed as he finally realized who Luna was talking about. "Right, everything has been so hectic lately, she almost slipped my mind.

Marcus reached for his phone and called Kinsley. It rang a few times before she eventually picked up the phone.

"Marcus?" Kinsley answered, her breath sounding ragged as she caught her breath. "What's with the evening call?" 

Marcus chuckled nervously, "Uhm, nothing much, I just wanted to speak with you for a bit, it's been a while."

Kinsley chuckled as she caught her breath. "Yeah, if you consider two days a long time." She then paused for a moment, sounding as if she was clearing her throat. "Uhm, do you consider two days a long time?" She asked nervously.

Marcus paused for a moment, thinking hard about his answer. Normally two days didn't feel like a long time unless he was doing something completely boring. 

However, now Marcus was in a predicament. He could tell Kinsley two days wasn't a long time, but that could potentially come off as distant, probably leading her to believe he could go a long time without her.

On the other hand, he could say it was, but that made him feel too clingy, especially when in reality he had almost forgotten about her.

Marcus slightly groaned. He went from one troubled ship to another.

After thinking a little more carefully, Marcus decided that the best move would be to dodge the question with a question.

"Time is a fickle thing." Marcus began, "Sometimes hours can pass by in what feels like seconds, other times seconds feel like hours. I wonder, how did time pass for YOU, these past two days."

Kinsley chucked, "well," she began with a thoughtful tone. "It was a drag, the practice has worn me down, and Kira has been barraging me with questions and advice." 

Kinsley then paused, as what sounded like a car door opened. There was a rustling sound, followed by the sound of the door closing. 

"Are you getting in a car?" Marcus asked curiously. 

"Yeah, Kinsley replied, I just got done running, I'm taking a cab back to the academy." She answered with a deep sigh. "Anyway, I spent a lot of time thinking over things, and I've come to the conclusion that long-distance kinda blows," Kinsley said with a chuckle. 

Marcus felt his heartbeat picking up as a bead of sweat dripped down his forehead. "Is that so?" He asked nervously, praying the Kinsley wasn't about to end things.

"Yeah, there's been a few times where I just wanted to see you, visit the lake, or play football again, you know?"

Marcus nodded, even though Kinsley couldn't see him. "Yeah…" he answered nervously.

"But, this is the path we've chosen, so I've been dealing with it, thinking about what I'd do when I see you again."

Marcus breathed a sigh of relief before chuckling nervously. "Oh." Marcus said softly, "Yeah, but I gotta admit, I thought you were going to abandon me for a minute."

Kinsley gasped playfully. "Maybe I should." She said teasingly. "How are we supposed to be friends when you can't even send good morning messages?" 

Marcus chuckled as he rubbed the back of his neck. "D-do you want that?" He asked nervously. He hadn't texted Kinsley much since he's been back at the complex, he didn't even consider it.

"I'd appreciate it." Kinsley said softly, "O-only if you want to though." She stammered, "I know your work has been stressful."

"I'll do it." Marcus answered, "If it's something you what, I'll do it." He affirmed.

Kinsley paused for a moment, heavy breathing could be heard from the other side. "Don't say it like that!" Kinsley finally responded, her tone flushed with emotion.

"S-sorry." Marcus apologized softly. "But I am serious."

Suddenly there was a knock on the door, Marcus glanced at it, before looking down at Luna. "It's probably Felix." Marcus explained, "Could you open it?"

Luna nodded, quickly descending from Marcus's bunk, and making her way towards the door.

As Luna opened the door, Marcus continued his conversation with Kinsley. "You there?" He asked.

"Yes, I'm just thinking about what you said. Are you sure it's not too much trouble, I'd hate to be a bother."

Marcus glanced over at the opening door, standing in its Frame was a battered and bruised Felix, smiling ear to ear. "So much pain bro, but so worth it." He whispered as he closed the door behind himself. 

"Yeah," Marcus answered, gesturing to his phone for Felix to see. "I mean. It's the least I could do."

Kinsley chuckled. "Ok then, I'll hold you to it, Marcus." 

"Good." He replied. "But now I gotta go, see you later?" 

"Yeah." Kinsley answered, "I'll see ya later." She said before ending the call.

Marcus then put his phone down, before turning his attention to Felix who was helping Luna back to the top bunk with Marcus.

"It looks like the lieutenant used you as a personal punching bag." Marcus joked as Luna nestled beside him.

"Yeah, bro!" Felix exclaimed with a grin, "But check this out!" Felix took a step back from the bunk beds and clasped his hands together. "I call upon you, blade of electricity!" 

Almost like magic, Felix began to pull his hands apart, and an arc of purple electricity began jolting a crackling between his hands until he finally formed what looked to be an electric sword.

Marcus's eyes widened as his mouth dropped in amazement. "Dude!" Marcus said in disbelief, "That's awesome Felix, how does that even work?"

"It's like an extension of myself bro," Felix exclaimed as he began waving his sword around, "Lieutenant Revia said to think of it like another finger, just one that flows with ether instead of blood."

Marcus nodded as Felix's explanation made sense.

The flow of ether allows you to extend your form, that's why you can do things like shoot ether blasts and do something like partial transformation. Also given that any extension of ethereal energy requires a constant flow, it would explain why someone of a higher rank could power something like a blade of ether, while someone of a lower rank, couldn't.

"Felix, I want you to check something too," Marcus said with a grin as he activated his partial transformation, turning his entire hand into a long, sharp, silver blade. "It might now be a cool energy sword, but I could still poke your eye out."

Felix chuckled as he pointed his sword at Marcus. "En garde." He said playfully, waving his sword at Marcus.

Marcus laughed. "Dude the only thing you should dual is that bed, you gotta heal up man."

Felix sighed deeply as he lowered his sword. "I don't think I can sleep." He admitted. "I want to train more, to get stronger, stronger than anyone at this facility, it's all I can think about," Felix said with a chuckle. 

Marcus was impressed with Felix's ambition, and even though technically Felix was stronger than him in almost every regard, he still couldn't help but challenge him. "I got a challenge for us." Marcus proposed, "Both you and I train as hard as we can, and at the end, we spar, the loser has to do whatever the winner wants."

Felix smirked. "Alright, but when I win don't cry." 

"Wouldn't dream of it."

With their challenge in place, the boys settled in for the night, a sense of brotherhood forming between them. They may have had their differences, but they had each other's backs, and that wasn't something to scoff at.

The next day, Marcus found Officer Volkov in the eatery. He was drinking tea, and scrolling through a tablet, reading what looked to be a map and some reports.

Beside him was Sang-hee, her expression blank with boredom. That was until she spotted Marcus. 

"There's the man of the hour, the boss himself showing up like he owns the place." 

Marcus glared at her but remained silent.

"Sang-hee," Volkov said coldly.

She scoffed before rolling her eyes, "Tch, whatever."

Marcus sat across from Volkov, Luna comfortably sitting in his lap. "So." Marcus began. "What on today's agenda?"

Volkov smiled as he placed down his tablet. "Actually I've been assigned a mission by this complex, a set of barrier generators has been stolen, they are of the weaker variety, but if used correctly they could be deadly."

Marcus signed deeply through his nostrils. "So what, do I have to find another teacher?" Marcus asked.

Volkov shook his head. "No, I've secured permission to take you and Sang-hee with me, think of it as a class on the road." He said with a grin.

Sang-hee's eyes lit up with excitement, before quickly dimming. "So what, we gotta play detective now boss?" She asked skeptically, "I joined you to get trained, not venture around the city."

Volkov took a sip of his tea. "I plan on doing both, besides, I actually believe Marcus can help you get started."

"Me?!?" Marcus exclaimed in shock and disbelief.

Sang-hee glanced over at Marcus with a disgusted look. "You're joking."

"No, you two are comrades, and whether you like it or not you'll have to work together," Volkov said with a deep sigh. "Now, meet me at the main gate in ten minutes, understand?"

"Yeah," Marcus said with a defeated groan.

"Whatever, as long as he doesn't do anything stupid." Sang-hee answered with a sigh.