Good Luck, Yukikaze

by Chohei Kambayashi

  “How am I…?!”

  “Until Yukikaze’s back in the hangar bay, this is a combat mission,” Rei said. “Of course I wouldn’t joke around or have a drink. I want to finish this up as soon as we can. So get to work, Major Booker.”

  “You really are some kind of high-efficiency combat machine, aren’t you? And you’ve gotten tougher than I thought you were, although ‘tough’ can be another word for ‘idiot.’ ”

  “You’re right… I’m sorry. I’m afraid of Yukikaze, but I think it’s different from the threat you sense from her.”

  “Why don’t we have a drink later, then?”

  “Sounds good. Let’s do that.”

  The lunch meeting, seemingly calm on the surface, began.

  5

  GENERAL LAITUME, HOLDING, holding his glass in one hand, his cheeks stuffed with meat, looked at Llanfabon and Yukikaze in the distance. “The SAF certainly has some nice fighters. I’m jealous,” he said.

  “The SAF only has thirteen fighter planes at its disposal,” General Cooley replied. “I believe you have two hundred seventy-nine of them under your command.”

  “They’re yours, don’t worry, General Cooley. Besides, I don’t have two hundred seventy-nine planes in my air wing anymore. It’s two hundred seventy-seven now. We lost two of them yesterday. I thought the SAF had confirmed that.”

  “I beg your pardon, General.”

  Rei knew General Cooley wouldn’t make a mistake about the number of planes. She was testing General Laitume, and obviously he knew his job.

  “We hit them and hit them, but the JAM keep coming. It’s like they spring out of nowhere. I’ve really come to hate it.”

  “We can’t ignore the fact that war weariness is spreading, even through the FAF’s upper ranks,” added Colonel Rombert. “The brass have that luxury. The lower ranks are too busy fighting to complain about how much they hate doing this. They’re the ones who are keeping the FAF afloat.”

  “What do you mean by that, Colonel?”

  “If you resign your commission, a man of your position is guaranteed a life back on Earth. It’s not like that for the soldiers at the front lines. Many are convicts. That’s why they can’t say how much they hate this.”

  “And which are you?”

  “I’m a man who’s enjoying his work here. I’ll have many happy memories of this place after I retire. Even more so if we win the war with the JAM.”

  “Saying that war weariness is spreading through the upper ranks is inexcusable, Colonel,” General Cooley said. “If I were to say something like that, a commissioned officer in the Intelligence Forces like you would probably have me court-martialed.”

  “Hardly. I don’t have that sort of authority. I might want to, but I doubt you’d ever willingly abandon your position and status. I expressed myself poorly. My point was that the high command doesn’t have a way to break this stalemate we’re in. That’s related to the feelings of helplessness we have toward the JAM, because we still don’t even know what we’re fighting. The SAF exists because it possesses a system that can help us discover what the JAM are. Do you have any leads on that, Major Booker?”

  “If I had good news, I’d have thrown a huge gala party instead of this lunch meeting. Unfortunately, I don’t,” Major Booker said. “There’s something the people in charge of the Intelligence Forces and the regular forces want to hear from the SAF.”

  “And are you going to tell us?”

  The general, who’d been happily grazing at the buffet, sat down for the first time. The others followed suit, all save General Cooley, who began to speak.

  “The information I’m about to tell you is secret. SAF Unit 7 over there has been assigned the task of disrupting any attempt at spying on this meeting. Our unit can’t interfere with how you use this information after I give the report, but I hope that you will be extremely careful with what you choose to do with it.”

  “Hm. You’ll put this down in a memo, won’t you? I didn’t bring my private secretary because you told me not to, but—” General Laitume said.

  “There will be no memos made. The details are simple. I’ll have Major Booker give the report. Major?”

  Major Booker was about to stand up when General Laitume told him to stay seated and just get on with it.

  “All right, regarding the first point,” the major began. “I’d like to amend the official record on the shooting down of the former SAF Unit 13, piloted by Second Lieutenant Yagashira. While it was reported that his plane was shot down by the JAM, in truth he was downed by Captain Fukai here, a first lieutenant at the time, piloting Yukikaze. I was also aboard Yukikaze when it happened. It was not a mistake. The shooting was intentional.”

  “Was Yagashira attempting to desert under fire?” asked Colonel Rombert. “If he was, then shooting him down would have been the normal thing to do. There was no reason to cover it up.”

  “We determined that Lieutenant Yagashira was a JAM,” Major Booker replied. “He was a human duplicate created by the JAM. Captain Fukai gave us a report of encountering these JAM duplicates. We suspected that these humanoid weapons had already infiltrated the FAF, and I’m here today to report that they have.”

  “Hm…” said General Laitume. “That makes things even more complicated for us.”

  “Can you give us some proof this isn’t some excuse from the SAF?” asked Colonel Rombert. “As in, some proof that this isn’t your attempt to cover up a deadly friendly fire incident against an SAF plane and place the blame on the JAM? Aren’t you just trying to protect Lieutenant—pardon me, Captain Fukai there? I don’t know how else to put this, but his mental state at the time probably wasn’t that stable.”

  “I was the one who ordered Yagashira’s plane to be shot down,” Major Booker said. “I’ve had Captain Foss here prepare a certificate confirming the mental state of both myself and Captain Fukai. You may also question Captain Foss about it directly. Captain Foss has her suspicions that the enemy we fight isn’t real but an imaginary one created by the SAF, which is why she transferred into our unit. In other words, she’s a neutral party here.”

  “I never seriously claimed that the JAM were something that the SAF was making up,” Captain Foss protested. “All I said was that I thought it was a possibility. But that was just my own way of analyzing the SAF’s culture of secrecy. That being the case, I’d judge the probability of the report Major Booker just gave being some sort of propaganda to be very low. This notion that Lieutenant Yagashira was a JAM is news to me, but I find it hard to believe that the SAF would invent a threat that would endanger its own internal organization. If Major Booker is lying now, then I can only speculate that the SAF is operating in a way that I cannot understand.”

  “The SAF is already on record as having committed serious offenses,” General Laitume interjected, a look of disdain on his face. “There was the indiscriminate firing upon a front-line base. And I believe the personal name of the plane taking that action was Yukikaze. Since the attack occurred while the plane was flying unmanned, we just put it down as a programming error. Do you know how much trouble I went through to take care of that?”

  “That incident and the Lieutenant Yagashira incident are not unrelated,” Major Booker said. “Yukikaze knew that human duplicates like Yagashira had already infiltrated that front-line base, TAB-15. That’s why she initiated the attack. But this isn’t a problem we can leave to our combat machines. You understand, don’t you? Every human is now under suspicion. If our combat machines, combat intelligences, and computers decide that they just don’t want to deal with humans anymore, they’re capable of cleaning up the battlefield by just clearing us out. That’s the reason this meeting is being held in such secrecy.”

  “May I assume that when you intentionally had Lieutenant Yagashira sortie and destroyed a very expensive fighter plane along with him, it was because you couldn’t confirm beforehand whether or not he was a JAM?” asked Colonel Rombert. “You determined he was a JAM for the
first time when he took hostile action against you during the sortie.”

  “That’s correct, Colonel,” said Major Booker.

  “If these human duplicates are indistinguishable from us,” the colonel continued, “then there is a definite possibility that our battle computers would conclude that all humans would have to be excluded from the battlefield. It’s a logical decision.”

  “Why are you saying it so calmly?” General Laitume shot back. “Are you telling me you think that’d be for the best?”

  “No, I’m just doing my job. The JAM aren’t the only enemies the FAF has had to worry about. We used to face subversive elements causing trouble here. Infiltrators from Earth. In other words, humans. There were lots of people, both civilians and government agents, who came here to gather intel, then leak information in order to damage the FAF. There was no way we could spot them from their external appearances because they were all real humans. If the JAM are doing that now, then there’s no difference between them and those spies we used to get. Exposing them will be our job. The battle computers certainly can’t do this. Major Booker, about how many JAM do you think have infiltrated us so far?”

  “We expect that any flight crews who were recently shot down and were missing temporarily before their rescue have been copied by the enemy and turned into these ‘JAM people.’ ”

  “JAM people, huh,” murmured Colonel Rombert. “Call them Jammies. Too bad they don’t have some distinguishing feature on them, like a reversed-spin tail or something.”

  “They have no distinguishing features. Lots of these Jammies have probably infiltrated our front-line bases. There are at least a dozen questionable people here at Faery Base.”

  “If you’ve got the suspects marked, it makes my job simple,” the colonel said. “I’ll have them detained. This is a great chance to get some information about the JAM.”

  “That won’t work,” Major Booker replied. “They won’t know why you’re holding them because they aren’t aware that they’re JAM.”

  “I’ll check that out on my own. That’s our duty, after all. Leave it to me.”

  “I don’t care if you investigate them, Colonel,” said General Cooley, “but under no circumstances are you to let on that they’re JAM. Not even to the people you’re holding. That’s the second point that the SAF wishes to convey.”

  “What do you mean, General? I don’t understand.”

  “If this becomes common knowledge, we’re going to see the morale of the entire Faery Air Force drop right before our eyes. The only outcome will be the FAF collapsing from within,” Cooley said. “Besides, I can imagine that those we’ve marked as possible JAM have either been tortured or hypnotized into not even knowing that they are JAM. If that’s true, then there’s nothing to be gained by letting this go public.”

  “Their objective is to gather information about human beings. They have to return to their side once they have it,” said Major Booker, picking up where General Cooley had left off. “When these Jammies leave on a sortie, they take their information with them and then separate from their units, possibly by allowing themselves to be shot down. The SAF’s fighters can go after them. We’d like you to permit us to do this. That’s point three, and we’d like your opinion on it, sir.”

  “My God,” murmured Captain Foss. “It’s too risky.”

  “This isn’t anything that I have the authority to approve,” General Laitume said, an edge in his voice. “This entertainment you’ve arranged isn’t nearly good enough to move me to do something like that. No, this is a joke. If the SAF engages in these activities, I will not give my approval! Captain Foss was right, this is dangerous. If you do that without some public announcement of why, it’ll not only destroy your reputations, but my own as well! Besides, if I let you do that, there’s also the danger that no one would be able to stop your rampage. The FAF and the SAF would end up at war with each other.”

  “If people acknowledge that there are JAM within the FAF now, our combat intelligences will use it as an excuse to lock us out of this fight,” Major Booker pleaded. “Even now, the machines are starting to feel that we’re in their way. If we accept that, then all of us will have to abandon this war. The number of unmanned planes will increase and we humans will be sent back to Earth in short order. If that happens, it’s possible that JAM duplicates will mix in with us, and they’ll have succeeded in expanding the battlefield back to Earth. Once that happens, humanity will have no place left to run to.”

  “Even if that happens,” added Rei, who’d been silently listening the whole time, “the people on Earth will have no real sense that anything strange has occurred. It’ll be like it always is, with wars breaking out here and there. The people involved will only be concerned with defending their own territory. All the JAM will have to do is sit back and watch humanity wipe itself out.”

  “You’re the man who brought this trouble back to us, aren’t you?” asked General Laitume, eyeing Rei coldly. “You’re the one who seems like a JAM.”

  “There are truths in this world that we’d be happier not knowing,” Rei replied. “I was shot by a JAM duplicate. Now that I know they exist, it’s only natural that I do something about it. Ignoring the truth doesn’t make it go away. It’s possible the JAM have already infiltrated Earth. We don’t have anyplace left to run, which means our only option is to fight.”

  “You said that Yukikaze knew these beings were at that front-line base while she was flying unmanned,” said Colonel Rombert. “That means the SAF’s computers already know the truth. Have they begun seeing humans as a hindrance to them?”

  “Yes, there’ve been signs of that,” Major Booker said. “However, the SAF’s combat intelligences operate independently of the other ones in the FAF. They don’t share their data. That’s obvious by the fact that this information wasn’t transmitted to you. They can’t deny a human access to it, so if it gets transmitted, they won’t be able to hide something as big as this. For now, though, they can.”

  “Yukikaze isn’t hiding anything,” Rei said. “She seeks my cooperation in order to survive. Whether or not I can guess what she’s thinking is going to determine how long the rest of my life is going to be.”

  “What you’ve said seems to have struck a chord in my heart,” Colonel Rombert said. “Since you’ve identified these potential Jammies, I’ll have them investigated in absolute secrecy, just as we’d normally do. Until we spot some distinguishing feature we can use to distinguish them from humans, I won’t even tell my subordinates what they’re observing them for. That way, if this does turn out to be some trick being carried out by the SAF, I’ll be the only one who looks like an idiot. However, I’d like to offer one proposal in this matter.”

  “Tell us, please,” said General Laitume. “I’d like your insight into this.”

  “There’s an easy way to keep all of these suspects under surveillance. Form a new unit made up of only them. Since they’ve all been shot down by the JAM, we can call it a retraining unit. A thorough check of the physical and psychological states of its members for analysis wouldn’t be at all unnatural for something like that. It’s a good way for us to check and see if they’re Jammies or not. Even if the SAF’s intelligence turns out to be false, retraining people who have been defeated before still wouldn’t be a waste of our time.”

  “Excellent! There’s a proposal I’ll be able to present. If I put some effort into it, I should be able to sell my corps on setting up a new unit like that,” General Laitume said with a nod.

  “Then we just have to sit back and see what happens. If they’re JAM, then they’ll make a move of some sort. If they try to desert under fire, we won’t need to send the SAF out after them. My people will take care of them right there and then. If we can bring them back alive, we can either put the screws to them in interrogation or just execute them without the need for a court martial.”

  “You should try to bring your information back without resorting to such savage means,”
Rei said. “The JAM don’t understand humans. That’s why you can’t argue with them. We should teach them what humans are. From there, we can start fighting them.”

  “We didn’t ask your opinion,” replied General Cooley, cutting Rei off. “I still don’t understand why Major Booker asked you to attend—”

  “To ask the captain his opinion,” Major Booker interjected. “Captain Fukai, what would you do if I ordered you to make contact with the JAM again? Right now, we’re seriously considering it.”

  “Major Booker, what are you talking about?” asked General Cooley. “You never told me about any such operation.”

  “If you order me to, I’ll do it,” Rei replied. “I think the JAM want to as well. Three days ago, on a recon mission out to Richwar, I was approached by two JAM fighters. Looking back at it now, I think they were trying to make contact with me. It was as if they recognized Yukikaze. They didn’t launch a preemptive strike against me, though they had the opportunity.

  “I think this operation is worthy of consideration,” he continued. “General Cooley, this is the real third point. I’d also like to ask General Laitume his opinion. If we carry this out without hearing from him, he’ll just think that Yukikaze and I are JAM.”

  “Have Captain Fukai make contact with the JAM again, you say?” asked Colonel Rombert. “In other words, appoint him our ambassador plenipotentiary.”

  “I will not grant this man plenipotentiary powers,” General Laitume protested.

  “Then you can contact the JAM,” Rei said. “You can ride in Yukikaze.”

  “Watch your mouth!”

  “No matter who goes, I don’t think the JAM will accept them,” Colonel Rombert interjected. “The SAF has become disconnected from reality, letting its delusions run away with them—”

  An alarm sounded nearby, cutting him off.

  “Air raid,” Rei said. “JAM approaching.”

  “It’s not unusual,” General Laitume said. “My corps will—”

  “General, this is no time to be boasting about how good your forces are,” Major Booker said sharply. “Get to shelter. We can ask your final opinion on this matter later. General Cooley, please, take our guests and get them to shelter fast.”