“Are you all right, Lieutenant Mayle?”
He heard a voice. He turned his tear-blurred eyes to see who it was. It was no corpse. It was a live, healthy human being. But there was nothing normal about this, because the owner of the voice was the supposedly dead Lieutenant Lancome.
“Who…who are you?”
“Have you forgotten me, Lieutenant?”
“The Lieutenant Lancome I knew is dead. You can’t be him.”
“I am Jonathan Lancome, Lieutenant.”
“But you’re dead.”
“Yes, sir. I am.”
Mayle took a moment to process that.
“What?”
“I haven’t forgotten how good you were to me when I was alive, Lieutenant.”
“Do you realize what you’re saying?”
There must have been something wrong with his ability to understand speech now. What the hell did he mean by when he was alive?
“Look, I don’t care if you’re dead,” Lieutenant Mayle said, carrying on even though he knew it sounded ridiculous. “Stay dead for all I care. But I’m alive, so don’t kill me.”
At that, Lancome responded with a bright smile that sent shivers down Mayle’s spine.
“You haven’t changed a bit, Lieutenant. I feel relieved now.”
“What do you mean, I haven’t changed?”
“Right. No matter what happens, you keep your head. Please, Lieutenant. Give me orders. I’ll do anything for you, because I can’t die now.” Lieutenant Lancome then said that he knew what to do, then went back into the restroom for some cleaning supplies and began to mop the floor clean of Lieutenant Mayle’s vomit. Completely dumbfounded, all Mayle could do was stand aside and silently watch his formerly dead subordinate push a mop across the floor.
He’d always been like this, Lieutenant Mayle recalled. Good-natured, a man who hadn’t a bad thing to say about anyone else. It was like a peaceful scene out of their everyday life, as if nothing had changed at all. Times like these were so much nicer than the hours they spent in their planes, fighting the JAM.
There was the sound of a number of footsteps behind him. Lieutenant Mayle turned to look. His roommates were coming down the hallway toward them, with Lieutenant Burgadish in the lead. They all looked fine. Lieutenant Mayle didn’t know quite how to react to this.
“It isn’t wise to drink too much,” Lieutenant Burgadish said. “Your body isn’t just yours to do with as you want.”
“Heh,” laughed Lieutenant Mayle with self-derision. “You mean our bodies belong to the military, is that it?”
“What you just saw was real,” Lieutenant Burgadish replied.
“What are you talking about?” asked Lieutenant Mayle.
“What you saw was reality. You saw our bodies. We’re all dead, as are you, Lieutenant Mayle.”
“That’s crazy.”
“What we are,” Lieutenant Burgadish went on, his tone now friendlier, “are consumable weapons. We were all sent to Faery to die, so it’s the same as being executed. The FAF is just getting the most use they can out of us. We’ve figured out that they’re going to just keep bringing us back to life so that they can use us over and over. Well, we’ve had enough of being used. We’re going to smash the FAF. If we don’t, we’ll never rest in peace.”
“I’m no ghost,” Mayle said. He was so thirsty now.
“You’re not alive,” said Lieutenant Burgadish. “You may as well be a ghost. The original you died. Try to remember.”
God, he wanted water so badly.
“The consciousness we now possess isn’t real. We’ve been brought back, and the FAF plans to just keep right on bringing us back. This ‘retraining unit’ is nothing but a ghost unit. We’re immortal now because we’re already dead. They can send us on any mission, no matter how dangerous it might be. We have no hope because they can’t bring us back to life for real. In that case, better to just let us die for good. You must see that will be the best thing for us. Look at yourself. You’re nothing but a dried-out mummy now.”
He was suddenly aware of his body growing thinner. He could hear a sound like somebody walking on dead leaves. Lieutenant Mayle held both of his hands up in front of his eyes and stared at his palms. His skin was losing its color, turning the brown of dead leaves, crackling as it changed. His bones clung to the withered flesh as it dried and shrank.
Mayle could feel his hair standing on end, but couldn’t make a sound. He didn’t have the strength to stand anymore and slumped against the wall. He felt as though he’d collapse at any moment. His vision went yellow, then he couldn’t see anything at all, but he remained conscious. He wanted water. Just a drop of water, that’s all.
Please, he pleaded to the rescue party. Find me, soon. His survival rations and water were all gone now. He’d fallen into the dense forests of Faery and could neither climb out nor push his way through the thick branches and leaves. He couldn’t move anymore. He couldn’t see the sky anymore. How many days had it been? His survival beacon breaking down had been the deathblow. Dammit, he wanted to see the sky. Just one more time, just a glimpse.
And then his consciousness had grown distant…What were these memories he was seeing? Was this reality, and he’d just forgotten it? Then, what had he been since being rescued?
“We’re all duplicates now,” Lieutenant Burgadish said.
2
SOMETHING WAS HAPPENING in the Systems Corps. What had Yukikaze found?
Aboard Yukikaze, Rei checked the main display and saw that she had activated the T-FACPro II software. Before he could ask his question, Captain Foss, in the rear seat, spoke.
“This is Captain Foss. Yukikaze, what do you mean the JAM are in the Systems Corps? On what basis are you making that claim? Answer me. What have you found there?”
Yukikaze’s response scrolled onto the display.
I cannot answer Captain Foss’s question without clearance from Captain Fukai.
“Yukikaze, I’m granting you clearance,” Rei said. “This is a vital ongoing mission to predict the JAM’s future behavior. Captain Foss is participating in it as well. Yukikaze, answer Captain Foss’s question.”
Roger.
The response came up on the display in natural human language.
The names of people confirmed dead have shown up on the roster of the retraining unit that has been organized within the Systems Corps. Second Lieutenants Burgadish and Lancome.
“W-w-what?” Rei spit. “Lieutenant Burgadish? As in our Lieutenant Burgadish?”
Lieutenant Burgadish, former flight officer of SAF Unit 3. I identified Lieutenant Lancome as an enemy and destroyed him. Persons with corresponding names are currently extant within the Systems Corps. I predict other persons who would not be expected to be alive are also within this unit. These people are not human. I have therefore judged them to be JAM. I also predict that they will be taking destructive action against the FAF in the near future.
“The people in the retraining unit must be JAM duplicates,” said Captain Foss. But Rei, still unable to believe it, sat staring at the display.
“Captain Fukai, what’s wrong? Captain. Rei! You shouldn’t be surprised by this. We anticipated it.”
“Even if we did…” Rei muttered. “I ate Lieutenant Burgadish’s flesh. And this guy, Lieutenant Lancome…Yukikaze killed him. I ordered her to do it.”