“I see. It wouldn’t work,” said Lieutenant Katsuragi. “And I thought it was a good idea, too.”
Looking at the lieutenant as he sighed, Rei thought of Colonel Rombert.
“Jack, what about Colonel Rombert’s demand for me and Lieutenant Katsuragi to join that retraining unit?”
“Yeah, that is a problem,” said Major Booker. “General Cooley hasn’t given an official reply yet. Captain Pivot, has Colonel Rombert said anything since then?”
“No, not that I’ve heard. There hasn’t been a peep out of the Intelligence Forces.”
“Even Colonel Rombert probably didn’t seriously expect us to swallow it,” said Major Booker. “Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been using a dead man like Lieutenant Burgadish in plain sight. If Rei went there, the cat would be out of the bag pretty quick. Maybe he sent for Rei deliberately to blow the secret… But still, Lieutenant Burgadish? I can’t believe it. Is he really there? How can we be sure of this?”
“Why don’t I go?” said Lieutenant Katsuragi. “I don’t know what this Lieutenant Burgadish looks like, but—”
“No,” said the major. “You already know too much about the inner workings of the SAF. I can’t send you.”
“Want to try a video call?” said Rei.
“And what if he answers?” asked Captain Foss.
“If it’s actually Lieutenant Burgadish, then—” he began, when suddenly Lieutenant Eco, who’d been silently engrossed with his work, piped up. “Order a pizza.”
“What?” asked Captain Pivot. “Why a pizza?”
“Because I like them. You can say it’s a wrong number. Damn, I’m hungry. I wish I’d ordered food with the rest of you guys.”
“How are the repairs coming on Yukikaze?” asked Rei.
“Taking a little more time than I expected,” said Lieutenant Eco. “General Cooley’s going to be mad, but what can you do?”
“Forget the video call,” said Major Booker. “Any moves we make to confirm it’s him will be noticed by the JAM. We can’t give up this grace period until Yukikaze is back in action.”
“The JAM aren’t giving us a grace period,” said Captain Foss. “As soon as that retraining unit is ready, they’ll begin their attack, just as Yukikaze predicted. They’ll destroy us.”
“There are probably around fifty people in that unit,” Captain Pivot said. “They’d be neutralized quickly. They won’t achieve anything acting alone, so maybe they’ll move in concert with a JAM attack from the outside. Major Booker, let’s send out our fighters. Tactical combat reconnaissance. It’d be safer to have them in the air. And we’d be able to save face with General Laitume.”
“Of course, I thought of that too. The question is just how far can thirteen fighters go against the JAM?” Major Booker said, crossing his arms. “If the JAM launch an all-out attack after they take off, it’d be dangerous for them to return to Faery base. It could be destroyed from within. I can imagine it becoming the most dangerous battlefield of all. Our fighters can’t just do the usual thing of avoiding combat to return to base. Without a safe evacuation point, taking off in this situation would be tantamount to suicide. So where do we find such a point? Earth is out of the question. SAF fighters may be top of the line, but they can’t fly forever.”
They can’t fly forever… Hearing that, Rei recalled that the FAF did have a craft capable of flying forever. Almost instantly, a plan floated into his brain that he was convinced would be the only way that their planes would survive.
“Call all flight personnel and have them get ready for a mission briefing,” Rei said, standing up. “We should have the planes’ central computers and the combat intelligences here in HQ participate as well.”
“What are you talking about?” asked Captain Pivot.
“Where are you going, Rei?” said Captain Foss.
“To the toilet,” Rei replied. “I’m going to freshen up and grab a little rest.”
“And what’s this mission briefing going to be about?” asked Major Booker. “Where are we flying?”
“Tell everyone what the situation is,” Rei said. “Everyone will think up their own individual survival plan. Since they’re pilots, they’ll think of flying. But without a base to back it up, a fighter has no place to land. We can’t have that, can we? But if we capture a base somewhere for ourselves, that problem disappears.”
“You’re going to fight the FAF head on?” said Captain Pivot. “And what about the rest of us who stay behind here?”
“Much as I’d like to say I don’t care, planes need ground support. And we can’t be obvious about this. There’s only one air base I can think of that we can seize in secret and drive out every single person on it.”
“You’re talking about Banshee,” groaned Major Booker. “I don’t want to have anything to do with it. Even its name is ominous. A fairy that cries out, warning of death.”
“Where is it?” asked Captain Foss.
“It’s a massive sky carrier used by the FAF defense air force,” said Captain Pivot. “A flying aircraft carrier. There used to be two ships, but there’s only one now: Banshee III.”
“It’s a miracle of modern technology made real,” said Lieutenant Eco. “Not state of the art anymore, but it’s amazing that they built that monster in the first place, let alone that it’s still flying. It was built in space and has never landed on the ground, even once. It doesn’t have any landing gear.”
“It’s fast, but tactically not very maneuverable,” said Captain Pivot. “It just flies around on a preset circular course.”
“There’s a risk of it crashing if you change course too wildly,” Lieutenant Eco said. “Like you’re flying by centrifugal force.”
“But it does have fighter plane fuel, weaponry, and plenty of food,” said Major Booker. “It really is a flying air base. Yukikaze once flew out to Banshee IV to investigate an anomaly. It was the JAM’s doing. Now that I think about it, they may have been trying to lure the SAF to them.”
“We’ll take control of Banshee III’s central computer,” Rei said. “Yukikaze would probably be happy to do it. By faking an overload in the nuclear reactor, we’ll get every crewman aboard to abandon ship, no questions asked. It’ll be no trouble at all.”
“Easy to say,” said Captain Pivot. “I don’t think we can do it.”
“It’s technically possible,” said Lieutenant Eco. “This isn’t like hijacking an enemy aircraft. The JAM actually pulled it off with Banshee IV. In theory, it should be possible to access Banshee’s central computer with our tactical or strategic computer.”
“Yukikaze’s already accessing it through the tactical computer,” said Captain Foss. “She told us that she’s counting every human on this planet. Well, it might have been her bragging, but still…”
“Anyway, we’ll know for sure once we look up Banshee’s tech specs,” said Lieutenant Eco. “Once you successfully connect, you can make anything there do what you want. Even the nuclear reactor. Well, without someone on the other end to give me guidance, it might take some time, but if you order me to do it, I’ll run a feasibility study.”
“As long as we have a secure footing, we can fly anytime,” Rei said. “All that’s left is to get ready to deal with the threat that’s right in front of us. Jack, you should too.”
“You’re right,” said Major Booker. “All we can do is prepare ourselves for the worst. Use the tactical computer to take control of the FAF’s central functions. Troops move on orders, and it doesn’t matter if they come through a machine. We’ll exploit the natural tendencies of military personnel.”
“I think the JAM are doing the same thing right now,” Captain Foss said. “They’re sure to be using the same methods to sabotage the FAF. This isn’t just a simple shooting war. In order to fight the JAM, the SAF can’t be the first ones to cross the mountain.”
Major Booker nodded to Captain Foss.
“A cyberwar,” he said, “waged in this planetbound fortress. One we can�
�t lose if our ground personnel are to survive. Captain Pivot, call General Cooley.”
“Roger, sir.”
Rei didn’t feel like participating in these discussions anymore. Asking to be awakened when Yukikaze’s repairs were complete, he left the command center.
He and Yukikaze would be flying together. They’d flown recon missions before, but this time would be different. If the JAM were coming for them, then he’d meet their fighters head on and shoot them down.
Because that, Rei knew, was what Yukikaze wanted as well.
5
“I’M NOT SURPRISED you didn’t know,” Lieutenant Mayle thought he heard Lieutenant Burgadish say. “The FAF is working with the JAM.”
“Am I really dead?” asked Lieutenant Mayle, rubbing his face. He felt nothing.
“While we were risking our lives fighting, the FAF brass successfully entered into an agreement with the JAM.”
Was that feeling of dying while help never arrived real? This body a duplicate?
“The FAF isn’t telling Earth about any of this. The reason, of course, is that they want to monopolize the economic value of planet Faery for themselves.”
“For themselves…?”
Were they saying that this body of his was theirs as well?
“Yes. The FAF’s aircraft fuel is sent from Earth. The food as well,” Burgadish said. “But they predicted early on that there were petroleum reserves here on Faery, and mineral resources. If not for the war with the JAM, they could search for and exploit them in earnest. Earth wanted to send in a survey team, but the FAF rejected the idea, saying they couldn’t spare the manpower to protect them. Then they did it themselves, a long time ago. They’ve also been doing exploratory drilling. That’s what the front-line bases are for. They aren’t just being used simply as forward bases in the fight against the JAM. In reality, they’re drilling for oil.”
“I never knew that…” Mayle said.
“Of course you didn’t. It’s top secret. The Intelligence Forces keep the news under control. Very few people know. Colonel Rombert is in charge of it. Eventually, the plan is for the FAF to declare independence and then sell the resources back to Earth. If Earth tries to intervene, they’ll be up against the JAM. Even now, Earth is being drained by this war. They’re not getting anything out of it, thanks to the FAF. They’ve nearly done it. Just a little more, and they can declare independence.”
“We’re not going to let them get away with it, are we?”
To this, Lieutenant Burgadish smiled and nodded to Lieutenant Mayle.
“Of course we won’t let them.”
“How do you know that?”
“Because we’re not going to sit by quietly. We’re going to teach them a lesson for trying to keep all the shares for themselves.”
“We should join forces too.”
“As fellow corpses,” Burgadish said.
“I’m alive. But you… What are you?”
“A dead man. A dead man resurrected to take revenge upon the living. And so are you, Lieutenant Mayle.”
“I just can’t believe that. I don’t believe it.” Lieutenant Mayle looked around. He was in a vacant warehouse. The men of the retraining unit silently surrounded him. “You guys really believe this bullshit? Lieutenant Lancome, you… You’re…”
The man Mayle knew should be dead nodded sadly to him.
“No, this is wrong,” Lieutenant Mayle muttered. “Something somewhere just doesn’t add up. But that doesn’t matter.”
Lieutenant Mayle took a deep breath and continued.
“I don’t know about you guys, but I’m alive. I’m outta here. Back to my old unit. Now step aside!”
Lieutenant Mayle pushed past Lieutenant Burgadish and headed for the exit. “How unfortunate,” he heard Burgadish say behind him. He was turning to look back when he felt the shock of something slamming into his back. Then he heard the gunshot.
“You son of a bitch, you…!”
He couldn’t say another word. Lieutenant Burgadish spoke, the pistol in his hand still leveled at Mayle.
“It’s also unfortunate that you really aren’t a duplicate. I don’t think I’ll ever understand you living humans. Goodbye, Lieutenant Mayle. May you rest in peace.” And with that, he fired the killing shot, extinguishing Lieutenant Mayle’s consciousness once and for all.
“It was a mistake to have brought you here,” Lieutenant Burgadish said to the dead body. “Colonel Rombert’s mistake. Colonel…”
From a corner of the warehouse, Colonel Rombert stepped casually forward.
“What were you thinking in selecting this man? That wasn’t part of our plan.”
“Unlike you,” the colonel said, “I am not a JAM. I have motivations of my own. I’ve now seen what you’re capable of. Your methods are savage. Well, that’s war, I suppose. It’s inevitable that someone will have to die. Lieutenant Mayle, I’ll arrange for you to receive a medal and a two-rank advancement. I obtained valuable information thanks to your actions.”
“Colonel Rombert—”
“The FAF is drilling for oil, huh? You should have fished a little deeper for something Lieutenant Mayle actually cared about. JAM really don’t understand humans at all, do they?”
Lieutenant Lancome, clenching his fists and trembling, leapt at Lieutenant Burgadish. “You didn’t have to shoot Lieutenant Mayle, did you?” he shouted. “He was a good man! A good man!”
He knocked Lieutenant Burgadish to the floor. Everyone moved to grab Lieutenant Lancome. Another shot rang out. Everyone stopped.
“Colonel Rombert…”
Colonel Rombert had shot Lieutenant Burgadish in his dominant arm. He held an automatic pistol. It was his personal property, not FAF standard-issue, although it could chamber a standard FAF 9mm round.
“Why did you do that, Colonel? Are you betraying us? Or were you not working with us from the start?”
“The ones I wish to work with are the JAM, Lieutenant Burgadish. All you are is their messenger boy. Even so, I’ve learned quite a number of the JAM’s strategies from you. Still, I’m afraid I can’t let you get away with this, Lieutenant Burgadish. Or rather, Burgaduplicate.”
“But…you could control the FAF. Why would you throw all that away?”
“Because my goal in life isn’t to become an oil baron. Good God, you JAM really have no appreciation for the complexities of humans. Or the complexities of our organizations or how flexible we can be. Declare independence and then sell resources to Earth? Don’t make me laugh. If we were going to do that, we’d be doing it already.”
“Then what do you want, Colonel?”
“Nothing extravagant. To go home, throw a log on the fire, and read a good mystery, maybe.”
“What do you mean?” Burgadish said.
“Literally that. I don’t have a fireplace in my home back on Earth.”
“If you kill me, you’ll be losing a lot.”
“I don’t think you’ll be helping me anymore, and I have no intention of helping you. I never regret the things I lose.”
“You’re a fool.”
“You’re right. I never expected you to shoot Lieutenant Mayle,” Rombert said. “I honestly thought you were smarter than that. That was a mistake. Now, take the anguish he felt when you murdered him and go to hell.”
Colonel Rombert emptied the automatic into him, spent cartridges flying as he fired again and again. The duplicate of Lieutenant Burgadish fell silent.
“Now then, gentlemen,” Colonel Rombert said as he holstered the gun. “I believe you came here with your hearts burning with anger and a lust for vengence against the living. I’m not here to extinguish those flames. You may each carry out your mission from the JAM.”
“What are you talking about?” one of the duplicates said. “You do this and expect us to let you walk out of here alive?”
“This man was taking vengeance on Lieutenant Mayle’s behalf,” Lieutenant Lancome said. “We could make an exception for him.”
“You people can’t live very long,” said Colonel Rombert. “You’re not alive. I can’t do anything to save you from that.”
“What, so you’re saying we should resent the JAM for our condition?” said another man. “We don’t need your sympathy.”
“And you won’t get it,” said the colonel. “I think there’s little difference between you and all the humans here on Faery.”
“What do you mean?” asked Lieutenant Lancome.
“They say that everyone has a right to enjoy their misery. You should enjoy all the misery you’re experiencing to your hearts’ content. I just enjoyed correcting my own mistake, which was overestimating Lieutenant Burgadish. Well, it’d be dull if things always proceeded according to plan, wouldn’t it?”
“You’re not sane. You’re mad.”
“I am conscious of the fact that I am not like most people. It gives me pleasure to live that way. But do not doubt my sanity. If you’d like to have a bit more fun with this situation, I can show you how.”
“What do you mean?” asked Lieutenant Lancome.
“Honestly apply yourselves to the retraining unit’s curriculum. It’s fun. Who knows? Maybe the Systems Corps will really find a way to bring people back to life,” Rombert said.
“I’m afraid we can’t do that,” said the man who’d spoken first. He now seemed to be a leader. “I’m afraid the cuisine here isn’t to our taste.”
“Hmm,” said the colonel. “You don’t have time, huh? Your bodies are made from optical isomers, aren’t they? That means you can’t digest human food.”
“Precisely.”
The proteins comprising the bodies of these JAM humanoids weren’t proteins, strictly speaking. They were composed of polypeptides, the optical isomers of proteins—three-dimensional mirror images of the proteins that made up normal human beings. Colonel Rombert could imagine how different their sense of taste must be from humans, and he sympathized with how awful the food must have seemed to them.
“Take action immediately or grow so hungry you can’t move.” They must have been purposely made that way. “I see. Nicely done. Then you’d better act at once, hadn’t you?”
Good Luck, Yukikaze Page 44
