“Are you being sarcastic, sir? Because that’s how I’m hearing it. I came here to be a doctor for the SAF first and a researcher second, so—”
“I was hoping to get you fired up for this, Captain Foss. If I rubbed you the wrong way, you’re just going to have to accept that your superior officer is that kind of guy and then move on. I may not mean to wound your pride, but I don’t have a lot of time to always be careful not to. In short, I really don’t give a damn. No matter what your motivations were in joining the SAF, right now, your talents are needed. Do your profacting thing on the JAM. That’s an order. You’re both to get to work on it at once and make it a top priority ongoing project. This is the first stage of our strategic reconnaissance mission against the JAM. That is all. Dismissed.”
“Yes, Major.”
Captain Foss saluted. Rei followed suit. They left the office.
3
AS THEY WALKED into the hallway, Captain Foss turned to Rei. “Let’s go,” she said. “We can use my office. This is a priority matter, so you have to do this too. We were ordered to work on this together, right?”
“We were also told that our mission is ongoing,” Rei replied. “You keep dragging me to your office so much that it’s getting so that I can barely breathe in there.”
“Well, you don’t have an office. Want to go to the mission briefing room instead?”
“I do my work aboard Yukikaze.”
“Fine with me,” Edith Foss replied with a smile. “That’d be an appropriate place to try profacting your new flight officer. Yukikaze might have an interest in it as well.”
“The new flight officer is going to be trivial to her. But it’s possible she might show some sort of response to us analyzing the JAM. Anyway, let’s start by getting the trivial stuff out of the way first. I guess we can use your office for today.” With that, Rei began walking down the corridor, but Captain Foss’s voice stopped him a moment later.
“Hold it, Captain Fukai. You had a good idea there.”
“What?”
“Your suggestion to do this aboard Yukikaze. I also think it’d be a good idea to tell her about Colonel Rombert and this new flight officer she’ll be dealing with. I think…I just think so.”
Rei tilted his head as he looked at the doctor, wondering why she’d think such a thing. He said nothing, waiting for her to go on. Sensing his curiosity, Captain Foss continued.
“I think Yukikaze is also interested in the humans she comes into close contact with, not just the JAM. Major Booker told me about the incident with Lieutenant Yagashira. He said something about Yagashira sabotaging some of Yukikaze’s systems.”
Rei nodded. “Right, the AICS. Sorry, the Air Intake Control System, I mean. It was a part that she didn’t have direct sensor input on. You could think of it as an autonomic system. Yukikaze didn’t realize it’d been tampered with, which was probably why Lieutenant Yagashira chose that system to target. There aren’t many combat-vital onboard systems you can do that to, but the AICS was one of the few exceptions.”
“Was? You mean now it isn’t?”
“It’s just jury-rigged for now, but we added in a chip that allows the central computer to monitor all onboard systems. It’s not perfect, but it plugs the security hole Yagashira found. Now you can’t pull a circuit card from the fuselage without the central computer knowing it.”
“Did Yukikaze demand that you do that?” Foss asked.
“No, it was Major Booker’s idea. The tactical computer in headquarters also said we had to do it, but it was Major Booker who made the final decision. Except … You know, now that I think of it, Yukikaze was probably aware that she was in danger from Lieutenant Yagashira’s sabotage. From the way she queries the HQ computers about her status in combat when she returns to base, to make sure that her own analysis is accurate, I’d say that she still senses that danger.”
“Then you understand what I’m thinking about this, right?”
“Just what do you expect will come from us doing our work aboard Yukikaze while she’s on standby? Do you think we’ll just talk about stuff at her and she’ll just say ‘Right, I understand’?” Rei said.
“Don’t you think that, Captain Fukai? I’m only suggesting it because I heard that you told Major Booker that Yukikaze seems to be able to understand natural spoken language on some level.”
“You’re nearly as good at collecting information as Colonel Rombert. The thing is, I kind of doubt that you really believe that she has that ability. Nobody’s as close to Yukikaze as I am, so I have to wonder how someone in your position can believe that of her so easily. It’s not the sort of thing that an outsider would say, so I wish you’d stop pretending that you believe it.”
“Are you sure you just don’t like that an outsider like me could so easily realize something that took you so long to figure out?” Foss said.
“And there you go again,” Rei said, the exasperation showing clearly on his face. “Analyzing my mind and saying ‘Right, that being the case, this must be like this.’ You can say what you want, but—”
“Think about it yourself, Rei. You can’t bear having the way another person talks, like me, affect how you feel. You claim that it’s not your problem so that you can avoid dealing with it. But your mind is yours and yours alone, and when you declare that something isn’t your problem, you’re giving that up. Maintaining such a weak sense of self won’t get you very far, even with Yukikaze, and I think you know that too. You’re changing. If you just keep that in mind, you’ll be able to calmly value yourself in relation to any human group you interact with. That’s what’s known as getting stronger.
“Furthermore, it’s fine for you to say that other people don’t concern you, but you’re still in a fragile state. I think you need to continue your rehabilitation. As your doctor, I recommend that you continue with your training. By doing that, you’ll be able to overcome your fear of Yukikaze. I believe your fear to be connected not only to your worries over her, but also to your desire to defeat the JAM. My job as a doctor in the SAF is to help you do just that. Now, I’ll admit, I’m ignorant when it comes to Yukikaze, especially on the hardware side, but I’m trying my best to understand it. If I’m completely wrong about her, then please, set me straight. But calmly. Do you really think I’m just pretending to understand her?”
Rei took a deep breath. This doctor had done her profacting number on him, and it was clear to see that he couldn’t dispute what she had said.
“Do you…” he began. “Do you still have clearance to enter the SAF hangar bay?” The hangar where Yukikaze waited wasn’t open to just anyone. Edith had been given clearance once before, when she’d boarded Yukikaze for a mission, but Rei wasn’t sure if it was still valid.
“I don’t know,” she said. “We can find out by asking Major Booker—”
“We can also find out by just going down there,” Rei said. “I’m inviting you to my workplace. If you can’t get in, it’ll also be a good chance for me to see if Yukikaze knows that I need you. If I tell her that I do, she’ll accept you herself and probably make a request to Major Booker to grant you access.”
“Did you just say that you need me?”
“Yeah.” Rei nodded. “You’re still my doctor, and as much as I may not like what you just said, I can’t disagree with it either. It bugs the hell out of me, but I won’t argue. If you were one of our maintenance engineers, I’m pretty sure you’d keep our planes in perfect shape. Anyway, let’s go.”
Rei headed off toward the hangar bay, but Captain Foss stood where she was for a moment. “I’m grateful for the recognition, Captain Fukai.”