Good Luck, Yukikaze y-2

by Chohei Kambayashi

  “Roger,” Rei said, nodding. “It’ll be nice, but don’t you think you’re going a little overboard with all this? It doesn’t matter who they send to us. If he’s useless in combat, we throw him out, that’s all. You used to say that was all that matters.”

  “But it’s better to know the trouble spots beforehand, right?” said Captain Foss. “You can’t be too careful.”

  “That’s especially true for this new guy,” Major Booker added. “It may seem like I’m overdoing things here, but I don’t think it’s a waste of time, so it’s okay.”

  Major Booker rubbed the back of his head with his palm, taking some time to let the mood change before he continued.

  “I’ve been thinking about trying a direct exchange of information with the JAM. I want Yukikaze and Captain Fukai to carry it out.”

  “Will the enemy go along with it?” asked Captain Foss. “Make contact? With the JAM? We don’t know anything about them. It’s too dangerous!”

  “Which is why I’m working on the plan,” Major Booker said. “If we just do it all of a sudden, it won’t work. After thirty years of fighting them, we still know nothing of the JAM. I’ve decided that it’s time for the SAF to initiate its own strategy regarding them. The tactical reconnaissance we’ve been conducting up till now hasn’t been getting us anywhere, and coming up with tactical plans to forestall losing will never let us win. What we want is a strategy that will lead to victory. General Cooley agrees with me, so beginning with all of the data we’ve collected on the JAM thus far, I want to begin reconstructing a portrait of them. In other words, Captain Foss, I want you to do that profacting thing you mentioned. On the JAM. I want a psychobehavioral analysis of them.”

  “But the JAM aren’t human,” Rei protested.

  “I know that. I also know that only humans can do this job. The question we’re trying to answer in this case is this: what is the true nature of the JAM? I want to know what they’re after. I also want to know what their goal, their ultimate goal, is in all of this. Besides that, why are they sending these human duplicates to infiltrate us? I think it’s because they want to know more about us, but I want some theoretical backing to that supposition.”

  “The JAM’s ultimate goal?” asked Captain Foss. “That’s pretty obvious, isn’t it? They want to invade Earth and conquer it. Are you saying that’s not what they’re after?”

  “While it may be true that the JAM invaded Earth before and are still trying to gain a foothold, the idea that they’re trying to conquer the planet is just our subjective impression as humans. Or rather than our impression, it’s your impression. The SAF doesn’t see it that way. At the very least, General Cooley and I don’t think so.”

  “You’re right,” Rei added. “I don’t think the JAM’s objective is simply to conquer Earth. If they were just trying to invade, they could have pulled that off without us humans knowing it. They still could. They may already have.”

  “I agree. It’s as though the JAM never expected humanity to try and stop their invasion, and their actions toward us since then seem to support that. That still holds true, but their behavior is changing. They’re changing their strategy because they now seem to have realized that achieving their objective is going to require dealing with us humans first. If they’re adopting a new strategy, then we can’t afford to ignore it. We’re about to see a major turn in the course of the war, which means we can’t keep fighting it the way we’ve been. We’ve got to come up with a countermeasure, and fast! Is that clear, Foss?” Major Booker said, chiding the young doctor.

  “You have to understand that conquering Earth and conquering human society are two entirely different things. Homo sapiens isn’t the only species on Earth. To an outsider observing us, humanity may not appear to be its rulers. I’ve said over and over, that’s just human prejudice talking. You might even call it human conceit. Someone could just as easily say that plants rule the earth, or the oceans, or possibly that our computers do. The JAM certainly behave as though they see things that way. What I want from you in your role as a specialist is to analyze what the JAM have done so far and then figure out what they’re thinking and how they plan to seize Earth. Add Captain Fukai’s experience to the data and then go to it.”

  “I’m not a specialist in analyzing JAM behavior and psychology!” Captain Foss insisted.

  “Nobody’s a specialist in that,” Rei said. “No human at least. Yukikaze and the computers probably know more about that than we do.”

  “We can’t go on saying that!” Major Booker shot back. “First of all, there’s a problem in our not being able to take pride in being the ones who know the most about the JAM. There are probably lots of civilians outside of the FAF who also have an interest in this. Some among them may be doing analysis that’s even more pertinent than what the SAF is doing.”

  “Yeah,” said Rei. “Like Lynn Jackson.”

  “People like her who think outside the box are a dying breed. Yeah, I was also thinking of her while I was talking just now.”

  “Lynn Jackson? You mean the world-famous journalist?” asked Edith.

  “Right,” replied Major Booker. “She’s been covering the JAM and the FAF for a long time now. It’s her life’s work. We owe her a lot, especially Rei here.”

  “Really?” replied Captain Foss. “I read her book and found it fascinating. That’s what first gave me the idea of joining the FAF.”

  “I wonder what Lynn would say if she heard that,” Major Booker said. “Well, the younger generation is definitely growing up. You’ve put yourself a lot closer to living JAM than she has. It’s an undeveloped field, and you’ve got a chance to pioneer it. That’ll become a real feather in your cap, one that may even outdo what Lynn’s working on.”

  “Are you being sarcastic, sir? Because that’s how I’m hearing it. I came here to be a doctor for the SAF first and a researcher second, so —”

  “I was hoping to get you fired up for this, Captain Foss. If I rubbed you the wrong way, you’re just going to have to accept that your superior officer is that kind of guy and then move on. I may not mean to wound your pride, but I don’t have a lot of time to always be careful not to. In short, I really don’t give a damn. No matter what your motivations were in joining the SAF, right now, your talents are needed. Do your profacting thing on the JAM. That’s an order. You’re both to get to work on it at once and make it a top priority ongoing project. This is the first stage of our strategic reconnaissance mission against the JAM. That is all. Dismissed.”

  “Yes, Major.”

  Captain Foss saluted. Rei followed suit. They left the office.

  3

  AS THEY WALKED into the hallway, Captain Foss turned to Rei. “Let’s go,” she said. “We can use my office. This is a priority matter, so you have to do this too. We were ordered to work on this together, right?”

  “We were also told that our mission is ongoing,” Rei replied. “You keep dragging me to your office so much that it’s getting so that I can barely breathe in there.”

  “Well, you don’t have an office. Want to go to the mission briefing room instead?”

  “I do my work aboard Yukikaze.”

  “Fine with me,” Edith Foss replied with a smile. “That’d be an appropriate place to try profacting your new flight officer. Yukikaze might have an interest in it as well.”

  “The new flight officer is going to be trivial to her. But it’s possible she might show some sort of response to us analyzing the JAM. Anyway, let’s start by getting the trivial stuff out of the way first. I guess we can use your office for today.” With that, Rei began walking down the corridor, but Captain Foss’s voice stopped him a moment later.

  “Hold it, Captain Fukai. You had a good idea there.”

  “What?”

  “Your suggestion to do this aboard Yukikaze. I also think it’d be a good idea to tell her about Colonel Rombert and this new flight officer she’ll be dealing with. I think... I just think so.”

>   Rei tilted his head as he looked at the doctor, wondering why she’d think such a thing. He said nothing, waiting for her to go on. Sensing his curiosity, Captain Foss continued.

  “I think Yukikaze is also interested in the humans she comes into close contact with, not just the JAM. Major Booker told me about the incident with Lieutenant Yagashira. He said something about Yagashira sabotaging some of Yukikaze’s systems.”

  Rei nodded. “Right, the AICS. Sorry, the Air Intake Control System, I mean. It was a part that she didn’t have direct sensor input on. You could think of it as an autonomic system. Yukikaze didn’t realize it’d been tampered with, which was probably why Lieutenant Yagashira chose that system to target. There aren’t many combat-vital onboard systems you can do that to, but the AICS was one of the few exceptions.”

  “Was? You mean now it isn’t?”

  “It’s just jury-rigged for now, but we added in a chip that allows the central computer to monitor all onboard systems. It’s not perfect, but it plugs the security hole Yagashira found. Now you can’t pull a circuit card from the fuselage without the central computer knowing it.”

  “Did Yukikaze demand that you do that?” Foss asked.

  “No, it was Major Booker’s idea. The tactical computer in headquarters also said we had to do it, but it was Major Booker who made the final decision. Except ... You know, now that I think of it, Yukikaze was probably aware that she was in danger from Lieutenant Yagashira’s sabotage. From the way she queries the HQ computers about her status in combat when she returns to base, to make sure that her own analysis is accurate, I’d say that she still senses that danger.”

  “Then you understand what I’m thinking about this, right?”

  “Just what do you expect will come from us doing our work aboard Yukikaze while she’s on standby? Do you think we’ll just talk about stuff at her and she’ll just say ‘Right, I understand’?” Rei said.

  “Don’t you think that, Captain Fukai? I’m only suggesting it because I heard that you told Major Booker that Yukikaze seems to be able to understand natural spoken language on some level.”

  “You’re nearly as good at collecting information as Colonel Rombert. The thing is, I kind of doubt that you really believe that she has that ability. Nobody’s as close to Yukikaze as I am, so I have to wonder how someone in your position can believe that of her so easily. It’s not the sort of thing that an outsider would say, so I wish you’d stop pretending that you believe it.”

  “Are you sure you just don’t like that an outsider like me could so easily realize something that took you so long to figure out?” Foss said.

  “And there you go again,” Rei said, the exasperation showing clearly on his face. “Analyzing my mind and saying ‘Right, that being the case, this must be like this.’ You can say what you want, but —”

  “Think about it yourself, Rei. You can’t bear having the way another person talks, like me, affect how you feel. You claim that it’s not your problem so that you can avoid dealing with it. But your mind is yours and yours alone, and when you declare that something isn’t your problem, you’re giving that up. Maintaining such a weak sense of self won’t get you very far, even with Yukikaze, and I think you know that too. You’re changing. If you just keep that in mind, you’ll be able to calmly value yourself in relation to any human group you interact with. That’s what’s known as getting stronger.

  “Furthermore, it’s fine for you to say that other people don’t concern you, but you’re still in a fragile state. I think you need to continue your rehabilitation. As your doctor, I recommend that you continue with your training. By doing that, you’ll be able to overcome your fear of Yukikaze. I believe your fear to be connected not only to your worries over her, but also to your desire to defeat the JAM. My job as a doctor in the SAF is to help you do just that. Now, I’ll admit, I’m ignorant when it comes to Yukikaze, especially on the hardware side, but I’m trying my best to understand it. If I’m completely wrong about her, then please, set me straight. But calmly. Do you really think I’m just pretending to understand her?”

  Rei took a deep breath. This doctor had done her profacting number on him, and it was clear to see that he couldn’t dispute what she had said.

  “Do you...” he began. “Do you still have clearance to enter the SAF hangar bay?” The hangar where Yukikaze waited wasn’t open to just anyone. Edith had been given clearance once before, when she’d boarded Yukikaze for a mission, but Rei wasn’t sure if it was still valid.

  “I don’t know,” she said. “We can find out by asking Major Booker —”

  “We can also find out by just going down there,” Rei said. “I’m inviting you to my workplace. If you can’t get in, it’ll also be a good chance for me to see if Yukikaze knows that I need you. If I tell her that I do, she’ll accept you herself and probably make a request to Major Booker to grant you access.”

  “Did you just say that you need me?”

  “Yeah.” Rei nodded. “You’re still my doctor, and as much as I may not like what you just said, I can’t disagree with it either. It bugs the hell out of me, but I won’t argue. If you were one of our maintenance engineers, I’m pretty sure you’d keep our planes in perfect shape. Anyway, let’s go.”

  Rei headed off toward the hangar bay, but Captain Foss stood where she was for a moment. “I’m grateful for the recognition, Captain Fukai.”

  “You should be more thankful to Major Booker than to me,” he said. “He has a lot of faith in you.”

  “Not complete faith, though,” she said as she fell into step at Rei’s side. “The major gave me this job of profacting the JAM because he thinks I can become a true member of the SAF. It’s like a test. He doesn’t really expect me to come up with a new understanding of the JAM or make some unforeseen discovery that he and the rest of you SAF people haven’t. I mean, the SAF has been working on the JAM on its own for so long, but —”

  “You don’t think you can pass the test?”

  “The key to passing it lies in whether or not I’m flattered by you and Major Booker, as well as my acceptance of the SAF’s current understanding of the JAM. I understand that. Neither he nor General Cooley will have much faith in someone who doesn’t accept common sense.”

  “Unfortunately, that sort of thinking doesn’t apply in the SAF or the FAF.”

  “How do you mean?”

  “That attitude you have of passing a test, like you’re here studying abroad to get a degree. Really, it’s what you’d expect from an honors student. You think that your efforts will be recognized no matter what the outcome of your work. The problem is that the SAF is a combat unit. All we care about here are results. Major Booker has already decided that you’re useful to us, so you can’t treat this like some test you can take your time on. In other words, this is combat duty. He expects results we can use, no matter what expectations you may have. He really does expect you to make a new discovery that will shatter our existing view of the JAM. There’s no way I can describe just how naive your view is that this is some sort of test. And even though he knew that you’d see it that way, the major still gave you this mission. Even flattered you by saying you’d outdo Lynn Jackson. It was hard for him too. I could see that from the start. So don’t go running away from reality, Edith.”

  She paused a moment as his words sank in.

  “Yeah,” she finally said, and then it was her turn to let out a sigh. “I guess I’m just not confident that I can profact the JAM. It’s that simple. Maybe his expectations just aren’t justified. Maybe I don’t have the ability, and I just don’t want to admit it to myself.”

  “The honors student who never had to deal with a setback. It’s a common story.”

  “Can you knock it off with that talk?” Foss said.

  “Sorry.”

  “Still, you’re not one to get up on a soapbox like that. Great, now I hate myself.”

  “Better to have someone tell you to stop acting like a spoiled brat than
just say, ‘I hate you.’ You won’t survive here without reminders, and if you don’t have real ability, you’ll just be killed by the JAM. Besides, you’re a doctor. Doctors are supposed to act as though they’re superior to their patients. If they don’t, it just confuses us. An overconfident partner can be hard to deal with, but so can one who’s overly timid. I don’t want you ending up like that.”

  “There are times, when I’m off the clock, that I like to complain about things too,” Foss said.

  “Well, we’re on duty right now.”

  “Yeah... Still, you can’t live your life at work. Do you ever take time to just relax?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Like, when you and Major Booker have a drink?”

  “I suppose.”

  “You have a good friend in James Booker,” Foss said. “I’m jealous. I don’t have any girlfriends here to commiserate with or even just talk to about women’s stuff.”

  “Girlfriends, huh? You never forget that you’re a woman, do you?”

  “Of course not. Unlike certain people I might name, I don’t forget that I’m human either, and gender comes with that. I’m a woman. I don’t consider myself some sort of asexual life-form. That goes for any normal human being, on the battlefield or anywhere else. That goes for General Laitume as much as it does for Colonel Rombert. You, however, are a slight exception.”

  “Yeah, I guess I am,” Rei replied, turning his gaze away from Edith. “My awareness of my own humanity is annoying, but there’s nothing I can do about it.”

  “I know,” she said. “I’ve learned that very clearly from my work with you. One wrong step and you totally depersonalize. That’s why you still need rehabilitation. You need to fight the JAM from a human perspective. That’s far more threatening to them. Humans have gender. I don’t think the JAM understand that. Neither does Yukikaze, for that matter.”

  Rei just grunted in response. That, he thought, is most probably the case.

  “I’m a woman, you’re a man, and the both of us are human,” Edith said, not looking at Rei. “Whether we’re at work or in our private lives, that never changes. Not when we get angry at each other or when we’re complaining to each other. I can complain about little things right here, right now, only because you are human. If I thought of you as a machine, I wouldn’t be talking to you like this. Doctors don’t share their private complaints with their patients.”