“We need to get Captain Fukai and Yukikaze to work on this new strategy against the JAM,” General Cooley said conversationally as she sipped her tea. “I’ll be expecting you to do your best with it.”
“I’ve broached the subject with him, but I’d like for this Lieutenant Katsuragi character to get used to Yukikaze first. We can get to the other thing later. No need to rush. The JAM aren’t going anywhere. We can take our time looking for them.”
“The SAF was originally formed to carry out tactical reconnaissance, but now we seem to be moving into the realm of strategic reconnaissance,” Cooley said.
“It’d be better if we didn’t keep pursuing autonomy for our unit. The nail that sticks up is the one that gets hammered down, you know.”
“I never set out to start playing internal FAF power games,” the general replied. “But I can’t help but think that having a bit more influence would help us to avoid problems like the ones we’re facing now.”
“The thing is, you’re still the big gun here. You run things from the shadows,” the major replied. “It’d be better if you didn’t move into the foreground. From the very start, the SAF was never simply a tactical recon unit. Right now, we’re operating as a joint tactical-strategic intelligence unit. There’s a lot of know-how we need from Colonel Rombert. The way we need to think about this information exchange is not as a strategic recon force, but as another intelligence force. Now, of course, Colonel Rombert will probably be on guard for this. And then there are the internal power games we need to play. All these family squabbles within the FAF may be just what the JAM wanted.”
“Humans really are bizarre life-forms, aren’t we?”
“Completely. In the face of an enemy threat, we still waste our time with these internal power struggles. There are those who think we have better things to do, but they usually turn out to be the losers. I used to think it was basic instinct for every life-form to seek hegemony over its environment, but now I’m not so sure. There are special groups within humanity where that idea doesn’t hold sway. The SAF is one of them. We really do occupy a special position within the mass of humanity. I can only guess at the troubles it causes you,” the major said.
“Your sympathy doesn’t help much, but I think it makes me feel a bit better.”
“As does yours for me.”
Draining the last of his cocoa, Major Booker rose from the sofa.
“Please tell me as soon as you get a hard date for Lieutenant Katsuragi’s arrival. I’ll be placing Captain Fukai in charge of bringing him up to speed on Yukikaze, so I need to make plans.”
“Understood.”
General Cooley, cup still in hand, nodded her head. Saluting the general as she sipped her tea, Major Booker exited her office.
He didn’t know what kind of guy Katsuragi was going to be, but now Yukikaze’s rear seat was filled. That was one major problem solved. The next thing to prepare for was the strategic reconnaissance mission to be carried out by Rei and Yukikaze, which could lead to a major turning point in the war with the JAM. They were going to have to carry out that mission with their new flight officer.
2
THE PERSONNEL FILE he’d requested on Lieutenant Akira Katsuragi reached Major Booker’s desk that same day. He noticed that the characters spelling his name in Japanese were the ones for redbud, fortress, and clear. After skimming through it, he summoned Captain Fukai and Captain Foss to his office.
Rei, still on standby and eager for his next mission, came quickly.
The night of Chef Murullé’s death, after that ill-fated lunch meeting, the major had gone back to his quarters with Rei to share some whiskey. Booker took Murullé’s death harder than usual. As he got increasingly drunk, Major Booker started complaining about the SAF’s manpower shortage. Rei comforted him by saying that he would fly Yukikaze even without a flight officer. He had his reasons for not wanting one. Major Booker had broached the idea of Rei and Yukikaze flying a mission to proactively make contact with the JAM. There was no way of knowing what might happen on a mission like that, and Rei didn’t want a repeat of his experience of having the JAM feed him the flesh of his last flight officer. When he told the major that, Booker replied that he understood how Rei felt, but that there was no way he could let him fly out there on his own. Two would be better than one, and while he was sorry about what had happened to Lieutenant Burgadish, the major pointed out that Rei might not have made it back alive had he flown solo last time. The old scar on his face was flushed as he talked. The major had gone on, saying that he didn’t want to lose any more of his people either, but that just wasn’t a realistic option, and so he had resigned himself to it. And he had to deal with that on his own. Rei had remained silent and simply refilled his old friend’s empty glass.
It had been two days since that meeting, and Rei hadn’t been sent out with Yukikaze. Rei entered the office and immediately asked, “Have you worked out the details for my and Yukikaze’s new mission?” The major replied that no, he hadn’t yet. Still, the major’s attitude now made his drunken bellyaching from a couple of nights back seem like it never happened.
“You get some good news for a change, Jack? You look like you just inherited a fortune.”
“You can tell? Nothing to do with money, I’m afraid, but I’ve got you a new flight officer. That’s enough to make me happy. His transfer isn’t official yet, but as long as there’s no complaint from our end, it’s a done deal. Now we won’t be down a plane anymore. I’m still putting together your special strategic recon mission against the JAM, but I’d like you to fly some regular tactical recon missions in the meantime. The new guy can get used to Yukikaze while you do.”
“Shouldn’t we leave him out of the special mission?”
“That’s part of why I want to see how good he is,” the major said. “Anyway, I want to see if he’ll be of any use to us under fire. Check over his file to see what kind of person he is before he gets here.”
“What, are you telling me to play nice with the new kid? This isn’t kindergarten. What the hell’s the matter with you?”
“I’m not asking you to get along with him. Of course I wouldn’t expect you to do that. Actually, kindergarten is a good way of putting it, since he is kind of like a transfer student. Think of him as a student from the Colonel Rombert School. He’s the kind of guy you’d throw into an intelligence war or something like that.”
Rei seemed a bit taken aback. “I didn’t realize we were that short of qualified people,” he said. “You’re really going to have me fly with a spy in the back seat?”
“I know how you feel. That’s why I’m giving you the background info on him.”
“I suppose there’s no point in my saying no to this.”
“Not before you fly with him under fire. If you judge there to be a real problem after we get him up to speed, and not one just based on your emotions, then report that to me. If it means anything, I don’t like having to pair you up with a guy like this either.”
“Hmm…” Rei replied. As he skimmed the personnel file of his new flight officer that he’d been handed, Captain Foss arrived.
“Sorry I’m late,” she said.
“You’re actually earlier than I expected. Looks like you’re getting into the flow of things here.”
“Yes, thankfully.”
“Well,” said Rei. “If you don’t need me now, then—”
“Hold it. I’m not done with you yet, Captain Fukai.”
Rei stopped at the door. Major Booker brought Captain Foss up to speed on the new flight officer’s planned arrival, including the detail that he was one of Colonel Rombert’s men.