King and Queen of Hearts - A Space: Above and Beyond Story
(Partially inspired by the anime's Mobile Fighter G Gundam, The Super Dimensional Fortress Macross, and Outlaw Star)
Genres: Action, Adventure, Drama, Comedy, Romance, Hurt, Angst, Comfort (i.e. a bit of everything for the most part)
Chapter 1: "Taking Charge of the Post"
It was 0800 hours aboard the spacecraft battle carrier USS Saratoga. The ready room for the carrier's air wing was partially full as 5 pilots in the "Wildcards" squadron sat on the cushioned, mounted chairs. Out of these pilots, only two were seasoned veterans – Nathan West, the "King of Hearts," who recently got promoted to Captain and is now Mission Commander on every sortie, and Cooper Hawkes, otherwise known as "Coop," who is still a First Lieutenant yet is now West's adjutant. Rather than staying as the "Jack of Spades," though, Hawkes was re-designated as "Queen of Spades."
Three weeks after the mission in which Captain Shane Vansen and Lieutenant Vanessa Damphousse went M.I.A. and Lieutenant Paul Wang died, things took a drastic turn. Apart from West and Hawkes taking over as operation commanders, the "Wildcards" were to get 3 new pilots aboard: 1st Lieutenant Kazuo "Kaz" Tsurugi, an Okinawa-born Marine aviator who was later raised in Los Angeles, California, by his aunt and uncle and initially served as an F/A-18 Hornet mechanic back on Earth; 1st Lieutenant Kelsey "Kels" Wheeler, a native of Lockport, Illinois, who is the only child of a US Air Force brigadier general and started her career in the Corps as an air traffic controller; 2nd Lieutenant Beniamin "Benny" Kowalski, a junior Marine from Newport, Rhode Island, who at first thought about following the footsteps of his older brother as well as his father who both served in the Army – the former currently a Captain in the "Green Berets," the latter who was a retired Chief Warrant Officer 5 and helicopter pilot.
Nathan and Cooper sat in the front row while Kaz, Kels, and Benny were right behind them. All of a sudden, Nathan quickly stood up, snapped to attention, and yelled out, "ATTENTION ON DECK!" Commodore Glen Ross, the commanding officer of the Saratoga, entered the room followed by a familiar figure - Lieutenant Colonel Tyrus McQueen, the de facto commander of the "Wildcards" and former leader of the long-defunct "Angry Angels" fast-attack squadron. Following the assassination attempt by the Chigs at the grand peace treaty weeks ago, McQueen lost his right leg in the ensuing explosion and was transported out of the carrier back on Earth. In order for him to be given the option to stay on active duty service in the Marines – the only family he has ever had, he had to go through an extremely painful surgery procedure, which would grant him an artificial, prosthetic leg. It may not bring his real one back, but by Heavens, it would help him get up and walk again!
"AT EASE!" The commodore mandated. The "Wildcards" sat down, West and Hawkes looking like they just saw a ghost. He and McQueen took their positions in front of the squadron beside the podium.
"GOOD AFTERNOON, WILDCARDS!" Colonel McQueen bellowed.
"Good Afternoon, Sir!" The squadron softly answered.
"Holy shit, people! Did I just step into a funeral parlor? I SAID, 'GOOD AFTERNOON, WILDCARDS!'" McQueen shouted again.
"GOOD AFTERNOON, SIR!" The squadron responded with a united, deafening roar.
"Oh, I just felt T.C., Junior, move!" The colonel enthusiastically responded. The squadron burst out laughing. McQueen then turned to Ross and said, "Sir?" The Commodore nodded and proceeded to take the stage. McQueen then stepped back at stood at parade rest position.
"Alright, ladies and gentlemen. Listen up! Today is a no-fly day. That does not mean it is time to be sitting behind your desks, slacking off, and lollygagging. All of us have administrative duties to take care of. Spacecraft have to be maintained in top, fighting shape, and necessary supplies and personnel have to be transported on and off the carrier. As of today, we are so close to complete victory, but if we let up, we can never grasp that for another indefinite measure of time!"
The commodore then motioned his hand to the 3 new "nuggets" in the squadron. "We also have new faces in the wing. They are eager to get their first taste of combat and take the fight to the Chigs, sending them where they belong! But, first things first: They must get situated in the carrier, and someone has to show them around and take them to where they need to stay as integral members of the Saratoga team. Captain West?"
"Sir!" Nathan responded.
"You and Lieutenant Hawkes are to show Mister Tsurugi, Miss Wheeler, and Mister Kowalski the essential places in this ship and brief them on squadron and carrier life. Now, you boys have been there, setting foot first in this steel-plated structure you now call home, confused and don't know where to go firsthand. I am sure you know this place at the back of your hands by now. See to it that the nuggets are squared away and ready to kick some ass by tomorrow. Is that understood?"
"We're on it, Sir!" West shouted.
"That is all. Oh, and one more thing: Welcome back, Colonel McQueen!" Ross pointed to the InVitro squadron commander. The "Wildcards" clapped in sitting ovation, then stopped in a slow, fading crescendo.
"Dismissed!"
"ATTENTION ON DECK!" Nathan commanded as the squadron stood at attention.
"Carry on!" Commodore Ross ordered as he left the room.
"Aye, aye, Sir!" The squadron responded.
Colonel McQueen stayed in order to get acquainted with the new pilots and reestablish his presence to his 2 veterans in the unit. As he approached Hawkes and West, the first words that came out of his mouth were "Well, 'Cards. Here we be, and here we will stay. West?"
"Sir," Nathan responded.
"How does it feel to be Operational Commander now that I have been taken out of action and won't fly for the rest of my time in the Corps?"
"Feels pretty good, Colonel. It makes me feel alive or, rather, should I say, refined. Not that I feel like I'm the boss or anything like that. It just seems rewarding that I am to impart my knowledge and experience to those newbies."
"That's because it is, indeed, rewarding to now be kemo sabe. Anyway, glad to hear that from you. Lieutenant Hawkes?"
"Sir!" Cooper responded.
"You keeping this guy in line as his adjutant?"
"Yes, Sir!" Cooper replied with a smile.
"Very well. You keep that up. I can't afford to, in turn, lose both of my prized squadron veterans due to any emotional disturbance from the loss of Wang, Vansen, and Damphousse."
Nathan and Cooper started to twitch their faces from looks of enthusiasm to expression of concern and fragments of melancholy.
Cooper asked, "Speaking of which, Sir. Have you heard anything about them?"
"Negative, Hawkes. We could only hope for the best."
"Aye, Sir."
"Now, get going and tend to the current needs of the new three."
"Sir!" Nathan and Cooper responded as they walked out of the ready room.
McQueen shook his head. "Yep. We could only hope for the best," he thought.