You're My Brother

Fighter Class

"Not bad, Keith." James said as the wannabe pilots looked at the scoreboards. The way he said 'Keith' was filled with so much disgust and hate, that it made Keith wanted to retaliate with the same tone.
"Thank you, James. Guess you're not too shabby after all." Keith smirked, knowing he was a whole two places higher than James.
There was a list of all of the Cadets in the flight program who had been ranked by scores earned in the simulator. Along with the their names, were the rankings they each had earned. Fighter or Cargo. Some had a small 'CO' next to them indicating that they would be a Co Pilot to a Fighter Class Cadet.
With a total of twenty three students in the program, the names read as follows;
1. Keith Kogane - - - Fighter Class
2. Ina Leifsdottir- - Fighter Class
3. James Griffin- - - Fighter Class
4. Ryan Kinkade- - -Fighter Class
5. Nadia Rizavi - - - Fighter Class
And so on, and so on.
"What?! Cargo Pilot?!" One of the Cadets shrieked. "But I'm so good! Why am I number twenty two?!"
"Because, genius," Keith started, "your stupid 'thread the needle' maneuvers are dangerous and will risk mission success. Stop being a show off and maybe you won't be a Cargo Pilot."
"Oh yeah?! Well I bet you placed poorly, didn't you, Mullet!" The other Cadet challenged.
"Actually, Tailer, I placed first!" Keith pointed to the board, proving he was superior in skill.
"My name is Lance! Not Taylor!" The boy argued.
"Yeah?! Well it's Keith, not Mullet!"
"Here we go again...." one of the Cadets standing back from the crowd commented. "Can't you two just shut up?! We're all a team! We need to work together, not fight one another!"
"Yeah, Rizavi is right!" Griffin chimed in. "If you two can't handle being on a team together, then leave. The Garrison has no place for your childish bickering."
For once, it seemed as though Keith and Lance agreed on the decision to shut up. Both however, were also furious with James and Rizavi for getting between their argument.
"Attention, Cadets!" Iverson's voice was harsh and demanding above the murmuring Cadets. "You will be split into teams of two based on your status! Co Pilots line up on the left, Fighter Class on the right. Cargo Pilots hang tight for just a moment."
There were eight cargo pilots in their year, Lance McClain was one of them.
   Ten were Co Pilots, and only five were Fighter Class.
The way it all worked out, was rather simple. The Fighter Pilots would run the same drill with different Co Pilots and Cargo Pilots.
If, however, you wanted to move up in rank, you would have to improve your scores inside and outside of the simulator.
Though most people hated being paired with Keith in any other situation, being his Co Pilot or Cargo Pilot insured that you would soon move up, if you passed, of course.

***

After a day's worth of simulations and drills, the Cadets were free to spend the next three hours however they pleased.
Most, including Keith, went to the cafeteria for dinner.
The top five Cadets all ate together. All of them except for Keith. So really, it was just four of the top five. That didn't bother Keith, though. He wasn't on good terms with his other classmates. 
Luckily for him, he had established a rather nice and surprisingly natural bond with both Shiro and Adam. Matt was a little harder to get along with since his personality was the exact opposite of Keith's. Despite this, the four often ate dinner together since it was the only time all three were off on a break.
Keith, being a student was free for the rest of the day. Adam, likewise, being a teacher was also free for the remainder of the evening. Shiro often had drills and simulations to look through with Iverson after their meal, but was free for at least half an hour before needing to report back to Iverson. And Matt, well he chose to spend all of his time outside of the laboratory programming and sending codes to his little sister.
"Shiro says you're top of your class." Adam remarked, proud of the Cadet.
"Yeah, Fighter Class too." Keith confirmed Adam's statement with slight pride.
"Fighter Class already...?" Matt asked with obvious shock showing in his expression. "It's only been a few months. That's impressive."
"Actually," Shiro spoke up, "Adam and I were top of our class within a few weeks too. It really isn't hard. If, of course, you have the skill and put in the effort to improve." He clarified, motioning to Keith as a current example of his statement.
Keith shrugged, looking down at the tray in front of him. "It's not that special. I'm a good pilot. So what? All of the teachers still hate me."
"I don't hate you." Shiro quickly said. "And they don't hate you either. They don't know how to handle your talent. No one has been as good as you are at your age. Not even me."
"Well... Maybe they could make that clear instead of bossing me around all of the time and treating me like sh--" Keith stopped himself, biting down hard on his tongue before he carefully continued. "...like dirt."
Matt let out a small snicker, but it quickly grew to a loud laugh. "No need to sensor your language around us, Keith. We don't mind!"
Shiro stared him down from across the table. "Don't encourage bad behavior, Matt. We're trying not to get him expelled, remember?"
Adam sighed deeply, shaking his head in disapproval. "Takashi... Why do you always act as though Keith is your son or your brother...?"
Keith looked to Shiro with the most embarrassed look in his eyes. "Is that true??"
"What? No! That's not even close to the truth!" Shiro began. He would have continued except another person spoke first.
"Do all Fighter Class Cadets get to sit with the higher ranking officers?!"
Keith turned his head to see Lance standing directly behind him. He huffed in annoyance and turned back around.
"Oh, Lance." Shiro said cheerfully and stood up in order to properly address his student. "Is there something you needed?"
Lance's gaze slowly turned from Keith to Shiro. "No, sir... I was only wondering why he was sitting with Officers of such high rank as you and not with the other Cadets."
"It's a privilege the Fighter Class pilots have that the Cargo Pilots don't." Keith teased, not looking at the Cadet behind him.
"What is that supposed to mean?!" Lance snapped back. "I'm just as good as you! If anything I'm better than you, Mr. Fancy Pants!"
Keith stood up, looking Lance directly in the eyes. "Oh yeah?! Why don't you ask Shiro since you're already here?!"
"Cadets!" Adam yelled, tired of their stupid argument. "I'm sure you're both very skilled pilots and would both love to stay here, would you not?!"
Both Lance and Keith gave slight nods. The two were now standing up straight, hearing the serious and angered tone in Adam's words.
"Then you'll be quiet and stop this childish bickering at once. Unless you'd both like a referral to the principal's office...?"
   "No, sir!" Lace saluted Adam quickly with a shaking hand. "I'm sorry, sir." He looked to Shiro and then down to the floor. "Officer Shirogane, sir... Am I a good Pilot...?"
   "What you're actually asking him?" Keith scoffed in disbelief. "You're not a bad pilot, you're just bottom of the class."
   "That's enough, Keith!" Shiro shot a glance at the dark haired boy before looking to the nervous Cadet in front of him. "Lance, trust me, you're a wonderful pilot. Scrap your show-off moves in the simulator and Iverson will have you marked as a Fighter Class Pilot in no time."
   Lance barely nodded. "Thank you, sir." He forced a smile before heading back to a table in the corner where their other classmate, Hunk was waiting for him.
   "Keith... How many times do I have to tell you, stop acting so high and mighty around the other Cadets." Shiro's quiet tone suggested he was disappointed in the boy.
   "You shouldn't encourage him when he doesn't have what it takes either."
   "If I may," Matt butted in, "I would like to say that just because you're highly skilled at one thing and someone else isn't as good as you, it doesn't mean they aren't talented. It just means that they aren't as talented as you. Lance is probably still an excellent pilot, just not top of the class."
   Though staying silent, Adam concurred with Matt's statement with a simple nod.
   "Look, Keith..." Shiro kept his quiet and calm, yet still displeased tone, "Being top of your year doesn't give you the right to bully and push around the other students. You're all on the same team and you're going to need their support one day."
   Keith understood what he was saying, but it didn't add up.
   If he was on the same level as everyone else and didn't have any sort of advantage, then his skills would be going to waste.
   Being a Fighter Class Pilot is much different than being a Cargo Pilot.
   If the Officers all had different ranks and statuses, then why didn't the Cadets work the same way?
   It just didn't seem fit that he was on the same level as someone without talent. Someone like Lance.