Apparently, Major Booker hadn’t entered details of the meeting into any of the SAF’s computers, which explained why even Yukikaze hadn’t known it was happening. However, she’d noticed that Llanfabon had been assigned the sortie code number B-7 in regards to its operational actions and had cross-referenced that with the flight schedule. That was when she’d probably noticed that there were no details pertaining to the mission anywhere and had begun to doggedly search for them.
Until Lieutenant Bruys had called him out about it, Rei had no idea she was doing it. A little earlier, all Yukikaze had done was display the readout B-7 mission unknown on the monitor. However, now that Llanfabon had actually begun to move, Yukikaze had requested the details of her mission from the tactical computer in SAF headquarters. In addition to that, she’d displayed Watch on B-7 to indicate that she was beginning her own observations of Llanfabon’s movements.
A new message scrolled up onto the display.
Request sortie… STC/get permission to sortie… Captain FUKAI.
Yukikaze was asking for permission to take off. He hadn’t been expecting that, but he understood what it meant. But what was with the “Captain Fukai” bit at the end? Yukikaze had never referred to him by his name before. Was Yukikaze personally asking him, her pilot, to get permission from headquarters to take off? Before he could think about it, a new message scrolled up.
STC: permit/set 20908107-sp-mission/ready.
That had come from the tactical computer in HQ. Permission granted for sortie, mission ID number assigned.
STC: trace and watch on B-7…B-1.
Order from the tactical computer: Pursue, trace, and keep watch on Llanfabon, Yukikaze.
Roger, Yukikaze acknowledged.
STC: enter 20908107-sp-mission.
Initiating special mission number 20908107.
Action…Captain FUKAI.
Let’s get this show on the road, Captain Fukai.
Rei knew exactly what Yukikaze was asking of him. He reflexively flipped the master arm switch on, bringing all available weaponry online. This was the first time he’d ever done it inside of the hangar bay. Naturally, Yukikaze wasn’t loaded with any cannon ammo or missiles, but all of her electronic warfare systems were now active. The tracking system activated automatically. There was a faint hum from the rear of her fuselage as Yukikaze’s auxiliary power unit started up. The cables on her underside linking her to headquarters disconnected automatically, and Yukikaze entered fully independent combat mode. All flight systems started up.
An alarm warning of a taxiing plane sounded. An automatically controlled spotting dolly approached Yukikaze and linked up to her front landing gear. The sortie sequence began automatically.
Rei instinctively grabbed the flight stick. It felt unnatural to him, likely because he was touching it with bare skin. In flight, he’d be wearing flight gloves. At the moment, he wasn’t wearing a flight suit, G-suit, or his escape chute. Without a helmet on, he couldn’t connect his oxygen hose. He had to tell Yukikaze that he wasn’t in any condition to fly. She must have already known that. But there was no way to stop the takeoff sequence at this point.
Yukikaze began moving toward the elevator. Rei could still climb down out of her, but he didn’t. There would be more opportunities to get off along the way—when they stopped to take on arms and ammunition and again when they reached the surface. If he got off, Yukikaze could sortie unmanned. He didn’t want to let her do that, but he couldn’t fly with her as he was now. She would have to wait until he was ready.
But would Yukikaze wait for him?
He had to be at that lunch meeting. Not showing up for it would be a serious act of insubordination. But Yukikaze had been cleared for sortie, so what exactly was going on here?
A voice suddenly sounded from the speakers in the headset he was wearing around his neck.
“Rei, what the hell are you doing?!” Major Booker demanded. “Are you taking Yukikaze to the picnic?”
Picnic?
“Rei, answer me. Captain Fukai, I know you’re aboard Yukikaze.”
Rei pulled the headset up to his ears. It was plugged into Yukikaze’s onboard communications port, making him look like he was probing Yukikaze with a stethoscope. The message he’d just received had been an external signal. The display showed that it was originating from the terminal in Major Booker’s office.
“This is B-1,” Rei responded. “Mission ID 20908107. Making preparations to sortie and execute special mission to observe Llanfabon. Sortie sequence engaged.”
“What are you babbling about?” Major Booker said. “I ordered you to attend a lunch meeting. I never said anything about observing Llanfabon.”
“This is the result of Yukikaze wanting to find out about the mission Llanfabon is flying out on. You gave her clearance to sortie, Major.”
“I did no such thing.”
“Then who did? The tactical computer authorized this on its own? I thought the machines couldn’t make operational actions without human consent.”
“Are you telling me you’re not just doing this on your own, Rei?”
“Jack, I don’t know what’s going on here either. What does it show on your end? Does it say that I requested sortie clearance?”
“Yeah. The tactical computer says Captain Fukai issued an urgent sortie request, and that they initiated an on-the-spot mission plan due to the high-level nature of the emergency.”
“Then who gave the final clearance?”
“SSC: the SAF strategic computer. The name on the orders is General Cooley, like it ought to be, but the general says she never issued them.”
“Which means that Yukikaze shouldn’t be able to take off. The thing is, she’s engaged in a sortie sequence right now. That’s reality. So who’s in charge of this mission?”
“You, Captain Fukai. Rei, this is all on you.”
Yukikaze had now been towed completely into the elevator. The fire door closed behind them and they began to ascend.
“Of course,” Rei whispered. “Now I get it.”
Yukikaze sending a request to sortie by herself wouldn’t have gotten clearance, which was why she’d been so insistent that he, her pilot, should request it. At the same time, she’d been telling the tactical computer that Captain Fukai was requesting permission to sortie. Now he understood what that Get permission to sortie…Captain FUKAI business had been about.
“What did you agree to do on your own? This is gross insubordination and completely unauthorized. Just how do you expect to take responsibility for this? Answer me, Captain Fukai!”
The reception was crystal clear, even inside of the elevator.
“Yukikaze can take responsibility. She made the sortie request in my name.”
“You’re telling me Yukikaze used your name to trick us?”
“Yukikaze knew that I’d agree with her flying out there.”
“You just told me you didn’t know what was going on!”
“I do now, and I need to sortie. Yukikaze doesn’t like not knowing what Llanfabon’s mission objective is. That’s all she wants to know. The tactical computer agrees with her, which is why it’s sending her out. My theory is that they’ve made it out that a human—me in this case—is making the demand so that they’re technically not ignoring us and doing this on their own. The tactical computer in HQ is probably doing this so that it can amend the mission related to this lunch meeting of yours and add in a mission outline at least. That’s probably what’s going on here.”
“Amend the mission? You’re saying the tactical computer would just arbitrarily amend the contents of a mission?”