Good Luck, Yukikaze

by Chohei Kambayashi

  “Will you grant our request for support, General Linneberg?” said Major Booker. “No strings attached, though.”

  “No,” said the general, shaking his head. “My orders are to maintain the independence of the Intelligence Forces without siding with any corps, unit, or individual. I think you people can appreciate how difficult it can be to do that. Whatever your intentions, I cannot let you do what you want with my computers. It seems you’ve already been doing that, so I must insist that you stop it at once.”

  “Actually, I’m relieved to hear you say that. We have no resources to spare to give you any support. General Linneberg, please just worry about yourself.”

  “I will. Well then, if you’ll excuse me.”

  “There’s no need for you to leave here.”

  “So, I am your hostage, General Cooley. You think you won’t be attacked as long as I’m here.”

  “Being human really means being aware of your value in a situation, doesn’t it?”

  “I’d love to hear how you value me.”

  “I have no thoughts at all of making you a hostage in order to use the Intelligence Forces,” Cooley said. “As I said before, I’m not making any deals here.”

  “Then what is your reason for detaining me, General Cooley?”

  “You can direct the Intelligence Forces from here and get information more accurately and precisely than if you used your own computers. I believe here to be a good environment to decide what’s best for the human race that you love, General Linneberg. However, if you wish to leave, then be my guest. You’re not being forcibly detained. I’ll send one of my men with you. We wouldn’t want you getting lost now, would we? Lieutenant Katsuragi?”

  “Yes, General Cooley.”

  “See the general out, would you? There’s no need for you to return here. You may not have been here long, but you’ve done well.”

  “Thank you very much. I feel the same about you all. I’d like to especially give my regards to Captain Fukai. And to Yukikaze,” Katsuragi said.

  “Not a bad speech,” said Major Booker. “I can hardly believe it. Seems the JAM really changed you. I hope we meet again, Lieutenant Katsuragi. Good luck.”

  General Linneberg, leaning forward in his seat as though to leave, slid back into it and spoke to General Cooley.

  “I suppose it’ll take some time to move the lieutenant here back under my jurisdiction. I can wait till then. By the way, General, how long will it take before we know for sure if the JAM are sending a present to us?”

  “I think the FAF will look very different by dawn. That would be in a little less than an hour.”

  “Not too long to wait then,” General Linneberg replied, making himself comfortable. “I’m used to it. By the way, the SAF has coffee service, doesn’t it? Self-service, maybe? I’d love an espresso, if you can get me a cup.”

  “I’ll make it for you,” replied Major Booker. “Extra strong.”

  7

  WATCHING GENERAL LINNEBERG tilt back the tiny demitasse cup in his large hand, Lydia Cooley made her decision.

  There was no need to wait any longer. The time was ripe. The best defense was a good offense. She’d show the JAM her determination. That would draw them out.

  “Major Booker, break time’s over. Get the command center staff back in here. Captain Foss, bring Captain Fukai back here. Have all personnel report for combat duty. We’re accepting the JAM’s declaration of war. I’m declaring war on them right back. Yukikaze is cleared to attack. Execute it immediately.”

  The command center suddenly grew tense. The clink of General Linneberg returning the cup to its saucer echoed loudly through the room.

  “Yes, Ma’am,” replied Major Booker. “Initiating combat against the JAM.”

  Captain Pivot recalled the command center staff on the comm system while Lieutenant Eco contacted Yukikaze in the repair bay.

  “Inform our alert fighters that the attack has begun,” said the general. “Maintain watch on all approaches. There’s no telling what’s going to happen, so stay sharp. Record all data. Initiate tactical combat reconnaissance.”

  “Roger.”

  General Cooley launched all fighters except for Yukikaze, dividing them into four groups of three planes each. Two were dispatched toward the JAM bases Rakugan and Kanworm, a third toward Banshee III, while the last flew a CAP in the skies over Faery base.

  The general had decided against adopting Captain Fukai’s proposal to seize Banshee III. Putting that much of a strain on the SAF’s computers might have played into the JAM’s own strategy, so after finishing the strategy session she’d held with Major Booker and the others while Rei was asleep, the general had practically had a discussion with the strategic computer before arriving at the correct decision. The strategic computer claimed that the easiest action would be to defend Faery base to the bitter end. Put another way, the general thought, it’s afraid we’re going to leave it behind. Unlike Yukikaze, this computer wouldn’t be able to transfer itself into a new body from its old one. Banshee’s central computer lacked the capacity to transmit its entire database in toto.

  To defend SAF headquarters and Faery base to the end, the strategic computer insisted that they’d need support from ground forces. They also needed to know what Colonel Rombert was up to. The quickest way to do that would be to take control of the Intelligence Forces, or at the very least work out an agreement. However, I can’t do that, the computer had said to General Cooley. For that, I need your help.

  She’d agreed, knowing that the Intelligence Forces weren’t going to fall for any cheap tricks. No, she thought, rather than try and take them with a roundabout plan, I’ll attack them head on. That was her way of doing things, and so she’d do just that.

  Meanwhile, the more combat-oriented tactical computer contended that Captain Fukai’s proposal still bore some consideration.

  Like its strategic mate, transfer of the tactical computer’s central functions it performed for the SAF to either Banshee or any other front-line base was effectively impossible, so seizing one of the bases was a nonstarter. However, making it appear that the SAF were doing just that would be to their advantage, it had said. The general wondered if such a half-assed measure would work on the JAM, but Major Booker had agreed with the computer’s opinion. The computers understood the JAM better than the humans did, so the tactics they offered couldn’t be worthless. Besides, he went on, if Rei had thought of it, then it was likely the JAM had thought of it too. This would be a good way to outsmart them.

  Working from that, they’d quickly drawn up a mission plan. Then, with the exception of Captain Fukai, General Cooley gathered all SAF personnel, including the maintenance team repairing Yukikaze, in the command center. She brought them up to speed on what was happening, telling them that this could be the end of the SAF before laying out the plan. Each man and woman prepared for combat, and even off-duty personnel were issued weapons to carry. In the end, she had told them this:

  “This is a major operation, but fundamentally, the mission is just the same as it always is. The means each fighter uses is up to them, but get back here alive. That’s not a request. It’s an order. The same order I always give. That is all.”

  The JAM were coming. They might be standing at the doorway right now, like the Grim Reaper. Major Booker had been filled with dread as he rushed to throw together a sortie schedule for the twelve fighter planes faster than anyone had ever attempted, but hearing the general say that the mission was the same as it had ever been was like taking aspirin for a fever. He grew aware of how calming Cooley’s words were.

  The general, after considering that the prediction Captain Foss had been willing to bet her life on might be incorrect, had chosen the optimal strategy and then made her final decision. Maybe that was only natural, but Major Booker’s thoughts were so feverish from planning sorties that he hadn’t even considered the possibility that Foss was wrong. The general was even cooler-headed than he expected. Booker suddenly
realized that Cooley’s decision was informed by both possibilites; whether the JAM were launching their final attack against them or the prediction had been completely wrong, the SAF would not be left at a disadvantage. General Laitume couldn’t attack, and no deals had been struck with General Linneberg. Whatever the JAM did now, the SAF would be free to concentrate on them and them alone.

  Only General Cooley could have moved the SAF like this, he thought. Whether it was thanks to God-given talent or the results of her efforts, this woman, Lydia Cooley, was potentially the ultimate communicator with the JAM. General Linneberg must also see her value in that regard. There was no need to ask the Intelligence Forces for help. He would act by himself to protect Lydia and her Special Air Force. She didn’t have a thing to worry about…

  This is STC. Warning.

  A red warning display scrolled onto the big screen.

  I have detected a signal directed to the outside with instructions from Colonel Rombert.

  A coded order to “capture lost sheep” was dispatched to the six main FAF bases. That too scrolled onto the screen, seeming to trigger a flurry of activity on the display.

  Unauthorized use of BAX-4 units. Thirty-four in total. Four two-seater Fand-type fighters from the Systems Corps with weaponry loaded are preparing for an unauthorized sortie.

  “Okay, don’t panic,” said Major Booker. “Here it comes. The ghost unit’s making its move. STC, this is Major Booker. Initiate jamming of Faery base internal navigation systems.”

  STC, Roger. Executing.

  “After confirmation of the success of Yukikaze’s attack, initiate counterintelligence operations against all FAF computers.”

  Confirming complete destruction of Yukikaze’s attack target. Erroneous data within the Systems Corps has been deleted. Yukikaze also confirms. Captain Fukai is calling.

  “Where is he?”

  Standing by in his quarters.

  “Link the terminal there with Yukikaze. There’s no need to monitor what they talk about, just initiate counterintelligence operations at once.”

  ROGER. Initiating counterintelligence operation against all FAF computer systems.

  General Cooley answered General Linneberg’s request for an explanation.

  She’d been able to predict that the ghost unit would use the BAX-4 armor, but it was worn and operated by humans and thus couldn’t be shut down from there in the command center. The SAF could, however, disrupt the armor’s internal navigation system by jamming Faery base’s internal navigation system. The base was a huge, labyrinthine underground complex, and most of the men in the ghost unit wouldn’t be intimately familiar with its layout. Without the navigation system, they’d have to waste time looking for their targets, which would greatly restrict their mobility.

  Yukikaze’s attack had been a countermeasure against the JAM’s own data-attack against her. As the strategic computer had contended, the JAM had attempted to overload Yukikaze’s processing capabilities. Had Captain Fukai not instructed her to attack, it was possible that it might have destroyed Yukikaze’s central computer. It was the sort of situation for which the strategic computer knew humans were still necessary.

  The counterintelligence operations the SAF were undertaking against all the computer systems of the FAF were to prevent any of them from accessing local networks, in order to secure the SAF’s data. This wasn’t just through passive means like cutting the circuits, but also by actively manipulating the external computers to keep them from detecting the very existence of the SAF.

  “In short, General Linneberg, we’ve also made ourselves into a ghost unit.”

  “Can orders be issued to my forces?”

  “It’s possible.”

  “Have them mop up the JAM ghost unit. Do you know what their position is? I want it done before the targets split up.”

  “We’re tracking them,” said Major Booker. “We can see them, but they can’t see us.”

  “I’ve prepared a mop-up team for this situation,” Linneberg said. “Guide them to the target from here.” The Intelligence Forces unit knew the subterranean maze well and wouldn’t need to use the navigation system if they knew where their target was, he explained. They were guided by spoken command, and hand-to-hand combat in the subterranean maze had begun.

  Four Systems Corps aircraft have taken off — enemies.

  “Carmilla team, target the four aircraft and shoot them down.”

  Flying patrol in the skies over Faery were units B-2, B-3, and B-4: Carmilla, Chun-Yan, and Zouk. Major Booker ordered them to attack.

  “Ignore the IFF response,” said General Cooley. “They’re being piloted by JAM duplicates. The target aircraft are armed. They may be old planes, but they’re armed with state-of-the-art high-velocity missiles. Make visual confirmation of the targets, then shoot them down. Don’t worry about ID’ing them; the paint job on Systems Corps trainers is hard to miss.”

  Each plane acknowledged by voice response.

  The weather was clear over Faery base. A line of red—the Bloody Road, the jet of incandescent gas that swirled out from Faery’s twin suns—rose over the predawn horizon. Thick, red, and lurid. It’s a warning, thought Lieutenant Zubrowski, Carmilla’s pilot. This isn’t Earth. These are not Earth’s skies.

  “Targets are taking off in formation,” his flight officer reported. “We aren’t too late,” Zubrowski replied. “I wanted to take them out before they got in the air.”

  Lieutenant Zubrowski silently locked on to the targets. There was a warning alarm. The lieutenant responded immediately, jinking the plane higher while keeping it level. A shock struck the rear of the plane with a loud bang.

  “We’re hit,” said the flight officer.

  He banked sharply, falling, then rising. Faery base’s automatic air defense Phalanx guns were shooting at them. There were three turrets. With Chun-Yan and Zouk backing him up, they eliminated the guns without a moment’s hesitation.

  “Short-range missiles, four, closing fast.”

  Lieutenant Zubrowski accelerated at maximum thrust, climbing toward Skymark I, an AWACS plane flown by Faery base’s defense forces. Nothing felt abnormal in the plane. The missiles launched from the target aircraft were closing in fast from the rear.

  Carmilla tore toward the surveillance plane, not even trying to shake them off. He flew on a collision course, but the lieutenant hadn’t made a piloting error. In a moment, he’d swept past it. The swarm of missiles were locked onto Carmilla, but now the huge AWACS plane was in the way. There was no time to change course, and the missiles slammed into engine exhaust ports. The AWACS plane exploded.

  “Picking up a second wave.”

  “They’re not headed this way,” said the flight officer. “All targets have been downed by Chun-Yan.”

  True to its Chinese name, Chun-Yan had soared like a hungry spring swallow, greedily taking all the targets for herself, devouring them in a twinkling.

  “Shit,” swore Lieutenant Zubrowski. “I wasn’t expecting the defense system to react to us.”

  “Nothing we could do about it. We were ordered to attack first. Well, we managed to evade it. Damage is minimal. We just took a round in the starboard vertical stabilizer.”

  The moment they attacked, he’d expected the FAF computers to treat them like unidentified aircraft. What Lieutenant Zubrowski hadn’t figured on was their shooting first without even trying to confirm who they were. The automated base defense system was either being controlled by the JAM, or else its AI now simply categorized all unidentified craft as JAM. The AWACS plane had also been coordinating the attack. That was unprecedented. Looks like the danger General Cooley sensed was for real, the lieutenant thought as he and the other two planes reformed their combat formation and returned to their patrol course. It really felt like the JAM were going all-out on this offensive.

  As the voice report that all target aircraft had been shot down echoed through the command center, General Linneberg voiced his hope that this would sett
le things.

  “Much as I’d like to get drunk and sleep in this morning,” Major Booker replied, “it doesn’t look like that’ll be happening. We’ve lost track of Colonel Rombert.”

  While it had been tracking him on the internal base surveillance monitors, the colonel was now gone and couldn’t be located anywhere, the tactical computer reported on the screen.

  In addition, they had received an emergency call from the Rafe team headed to Banshee III. Text scrolled across the screen as the voice echoed through the command center.

  “There are indications that Banshee III might self-destruct. Dangerous to approach. Withdrawing. Sending the unmanned Rafe in closer to gather intel.”

  “Have the Rafe transmit real-time video,” General Cooley ordered.

  “Self-destruct?” said Major Booker.

  “I’m not sure why, but Banshee’s core temperature is unusually high,” said Captain Sashlin, the pilot of Unit B-12, Onyx. “I think the nuclear reactor’s overloading. All hands seem to be abandoning ship. They’ve already launched dozens of fighters, but…”

  “They’re painting us with their targeting radar,” said Second Lieutenant Bausch, pilot of Unit B-11, Gattare. “They’re coming to fight.”

  “Bogeys, approaching from D zone. JAM. A lot of them. Closing in. Banshee should be picking them up as well, but they’re not responding. They’re probably recognizing them as friendly aircraft. It looks like they see us as JAM.”

  “Withdraw. Set the Rafe to automaneuver mode. B-11, B-12, RTB,” General Cooley ordered. “You’re authorized to attack without warning to protect yourselves, even FAF planes.”

  “Roger,” they replied. The real-time video came in from the Rafe. It was unusual for the SAF to do this, but General Cooley wanted real-time data.

  The area around Banshee glowed in the dawn’s light as it met the bright red rising sun. The Rafe caught sight of the huge black flying carrier. The central part glowed faintly red, as though bathed in colors of the sunrise. The redness rapidly increased, until a bright line of light, like molten iron pouring from a blast furnace, began to fall from the center. An instant later, the enormous flying aircraft carrier known as Banshee III exploded. The video abruptly ended.