“You people and I are similar, but we are not comrades. But I wish to explain that I see the possibility of forming a common front against the FAF. I judge that will provide a path through life for you, Lieutenant Katsuragi. I seek your answer. If you have any intention of withdrawing from the FAF and joining me, then declare it to me, Lieutenant Fukai.”
Its strained, unnatural circumlocutions made it difficult to follow, but what Rei could basically make out was that the JAM were demanding to know, if he intended to continue fighting, would he join the JAM’s side. His destiny was riding on how he answered this question.
What would the JAM do if he told them no? Would it eliminate him to rid itself of an opponent beyond comprehension? No, it would likely keep working to understand him till the bitter end. The JAM probably wouldn’t let him escape from this space. Maybe lead him, and Yukikaze, to be confined in a safe place, like Major Yazawa had said. Somewhere unimaginable that was neither Earth nor Faery, where the JAM could take its time in figuring them out, with special attention paid to Yukikaze. What if the JAM brainwashed him to get him on their side? If they succeeded at that, he imagined they could bring the entire SAF there to brainwash as well and then use them against the FAF. In other words, turn them all into JAM…
Well then, what if he said yes? What if he joined the JAM? Yukikaze wouldn’t accept that quietly, surely. He had no doubt in his mind that she’d pitch both himself and Lieutenant Katsuragi out of the plane, to end up the same as Major Yazawa and whoever else had been with him.
“Your answer, Lieutenant Fukai.”
Rei sensed that the JAM was in no hurry.
It had plenty of time. It had been observing the FAF for thirty years, so why would it rush? Rei was still under observation in this space, as well. The JAM didn’t seem intent on killing him, but as long as he didn’t answer it, he’d have no way to take any proactive steps toward saving himself. Unless he did something, he would end up starving to death, and Yukikaze would exhaust her fuel and fall silent.
What do I want to do, Rei asked himself. Not what should I do, but do I want to do? Is that the answer?
“I wish to know more details about what sort of beings you are,” Rei said. “I don’t understand anything about you, but you seem to grasp at least a bit about me. I can’t ratify a nonaggression pact with you as long as this unequal state of affairs persists. First of all, I don’t think you completely understand or know how to use human speech. Just what are you people? Living things? Beings that consist only of intelligence, will, and data? Do you have physical forms? If so, then where are they?”
“I cannot explain in a way that would be comprehensible in your terms. I am that I am.”
Lieutenant Katsuragi felt a smile spasm across his face. The tension was so unbearable now that he could feel his train of thought starting to derail. “I am that I am.” Well, fantastic. They are just like Captain Fukai and Yukikaze, then. As he was thinking how the resemblance was astonishing, the feeling of tension returned. He concentrated every nerve on Rei’s answer.
“If you don’t have words that can explain more than that, then any further communication via words is meaningless,” Rei declared. Taking a deep breath and preparing himself for the worst, he gave his answer.
“I refuse your request.”
“Understood,” the JAM replied, without any emotion.
“Strategic reconnaissance, complete,” Rei declared. “Returning to base.”
VII
RETHINKING FIGHTING SPIRIT
1
SAF’S CENTRAL HEADQUARTERS command center was working night and day, as all of their planes were being sent in to support the massive attack operation against Cookie base.
The enormous screen taking up most of the wall at the front was filled with a variety of information, divided as needed to display the responses on the screens of HQ’s tactical computer terminals. Mission progress. Maps of the combat airspace. The condition of the fighters preparing to sortie. The maintenance status of the planes on standby. Analysis of gains made in battle extrapolated from the data from returning planes. Analysis of the general progress of the battle. On and on and on.
Of immediate concern to the SAF was the progress of the attack on Cookie, not from a local perspective, but from an overall view of the battle’s progress. Determining JAM tactics was the highest priority of all.
Once the first day had passed, Major Booker decided there was no need to throw all of the SAF’s forces into the task of conducting tactical recon for the FAF’s attack on the base. By that time, he knew that the JAM didn’t seem to be defending the base to the last man. The enemy’s strategy was definitely changing, and they wouldn’t know what that change was if they just stuck close to Cookie.
Expecting a JAM retaliatory strike, the FAF set up a defense line around Faery base, sending out several squadrons to fly combat air patrols. The SAF flew recon missions there as well, but knowing the situation at Cookie wasn’t playing out as it normally would, Major Booker reckoned they needed wider-ranged reconnaissance intel. What was happening over at Richwar base, which the Strategic Reconnaissance Corps claimed was paired with Cookie? How about at the other JAM bases? There weren’t enough planes to observe movements at all those places. He rerouted a plane scheduled to run recon at Cookie to another area.
By doing that of his own accord, Booker was deviating from the operation as it had been set up by the Tactical Combat Air Corps—under which the SAF served—and the entire Faery Air Force. Military operations were established with the understanding that all of the chess pieces on the board would systematically move as they were supposed to. If the lower echelons started acting on their own, the entire operation would become meaningless. However, at this moment, the SAF was trying to grasp the JAM’s strategic movements. It was likely that the JAM were just as interested in the SAF, and that they were observing the SAF’s movements. Major Booker figured they were out there, watching what they did. If the SAF didn’t take the initiative now, the chance to make direct contact with the JAM might slip away forever.
That was what the major was afraid of.
There was no time to get permission from high command. To modify the operation, the SAF would have to convene their supreme strategy conference and then put in their request for the entire operation to be reviewed. That was impossible, of course, because there was no time for such a thing. If the SAF were going to do this at all, it would have to be now, and without authorization.
General Cooley made her decision. The JAM’s shift in tactics was evident, and the FAF was just too massive to be able to keep up with it. In this situation, the smaller and more nimble SAF would be much more effective. They were going to alter the current operation on their own initiative. Strategic reconnaissance operations against the JAM would now have top priority.
When Major Booker had asked her if she was sure of her decision, the general had replied, “I’m the head of the SAF. I do what I want to do. Nobody ever complains about it. That’s how it’s always been. It’s called being flexible in making use of your resources.” The way she had put it, Major Booker really did feel as though he’d been worried over nothing. Even so, he could see that the general was still prepared to pay hell for her choice.
General Cooley was prepared to do anything to ensure the survival of the SAF. She’d once even said that joining forces with the JAM might be an option worth exploring. That was more than enough to get her arrested for treason, but she offered no excuses. She would sooner resist than make excuses, and resistance would probably turn into a life or death struggle for the SAF. The members of the squadron, however, felt no need to defend the general, and she had no expectations of help from them. Each individual was acting on their own in order to ensure their own survival.