Good Luck, Yukikaze

This is STC. Warning.

A red warning display scrolled onto the big screen.

I have detected a signal directed to the outside with instructions from Colonel Rombert.

A coded order to “capture lost sheep” was dispatched to the six main FAF bases. That too scrolled onto the screen, seeming to trigger a flurry of activity on the display.

Unauthorized use of BAX-4 units. Thirty-four in total. Four two-seater Fand-type fighters from the Systems Corps with weaponry loaded are preparing for an unauthorized sortie.

“Okay, don’t panic,” said Major Booker. “Here it comes. The ghost unit’s making its move. STC, this is Major Booker. Initiate jamming of Faery base internal navigation systems.”

STC, Roger. Executing.

“After confirmation of the success of Yukikaze’s attack, initiate counterintelligence operations against all FAF computers.”

Confirming complete destruction of Yukikaze’s attack target. Erroneous data within the Systems Corps has been deleted. Yukikaze also confirms. Captain Fukai is calling.

“Where is he?”

Standing by in his quarters.

“Link the terminal there with Yukikaze. There’s no need to monitor what they talk about, just initiate counterintelligence operations at once.”

ROGER. Initiating counterintelligence operation against all FAF computer systems.

General Cooley answered General Linneberg’s request for an explanation.

She’d been able to predict that the ghost unit would use the BAX-4 armor, but it was worn and operated by humans and thus couldn’t be shut down from there in the command center. The SAF could, however, disrupt the armor’s internal navigation system by jamming Faery base’s internal navigation system. The base was a huge, labyrinthine underground complex, and most of the men in the ghost unit wouldn’t be intimately familiar with its layout. Without the navigation system, they’d have to waste time looking for their targets, which would greatly restrict their mobility.

Yukikaze’s attack had been a countermeasure against the JAM’s own data-attack against her. As the strategic computer had contended, the JAM had attempted to overload Yukikaze’s processing capabilities. Had Captain Fukai not instructed her to attack, it was possible that it might have destroyed Yukikaze’s central computer. It was the sort of situation for which the strategic computer knew humans were still necessary.

The counterintelligence operations the SAF were undertaking against all the computer systems of the FAF were to prevent any of them from accessing local networks, in order to secure the SAF’s data. This wasn’t just through passive means like cutting the circuits, but also by actively manipulating the external computers to keep them from detecting the very existence of the SAF.

“In short, General Linneberg, we’ve also made ourselves into a ghost unit.”

“Can orders be issued to my forces?”

“It’s possible.”

“Have them mop up the JAM ghost unit. Do you know what their position is? I want it done before the targets split up.”

“We’re tracking them,” said Major Booker. “We can see them, but they can’t see us.”

“I’ve prepared a mop-up team for this situation,” Linneberg said. “Guide them to the target from here.” The Intelligence Forces unit knew the subterranean maze well and wouldn’t need to use the navigation system if they knew where their target was, he explained. They were guided by spoken command, and hand-to-hand combat in the subterranean maze had begun.

Four Systems Corps aircraft have taken off — enemies.

“Carmilla team, target the four aircraft and shoot them down.”

Flying patrol in the skies over Faery were units B-2, B-3, and B-4: Carmilla, Chun-Yan, and Zouk. Major Booker ordered them to attack.

“Ignore the IFF response,” said General Cooley. “They’re being piloted by JAM duplicates. The target aircraft are armed. They may be old planes, but they’re armed with state-of-the-art high-velocity missiles. Make visual confirmation of the targets, then shoot them down. Don’t worry about ID’ing them; the paint job on Systems Corps trainers is hard to miss.”

Each plane acknowledged by voice response.

The weather was clear over Faery base. A line of red — the Bloody Road, the jet of incandescent gas that swirled out from Faery’s twin suns — rose over the predawn horizon. Thick, red, and lurid. It’s a warning, thought Lieutenant Zubrowski, Carmilla’s pilot. This isn’t Earth. These are not Earth’s skies.

“Targets are taking off in formation,” his flight officer reported. “We aren’t too late,” Zubrowski replied. “I wanted to take them out before they got in the air.”

Lieutenant Zubrowski silently locked on to the targets. There was a warning alarm. The lieutenant responded immediately, jinking the plane higher while keeping it level. A shock struck the rear of the plane with a loud bang.

“We’re hit,” said the flight officer.

He banked sharply, falling, then rising. Faery base’s automatic air defense Phalanx guns were shooting at them. There were three turrets. With Chun-Yan and Zouk backing him up, they eliminated the guns without a moment’s hesitation.

“Short-range missiles, four, closing fast.”

Lieutenant Zubrowski accelerated at maximum thrust, climbing toward Skymark I, an AWACS plane flown by Faery base’s defense forces. Nothing felt abnormal in the plane. The missiles launched from the target aircraft were closing in fast from the rear.

Carmilla tore toward the surveillance plane, not even trying to shake them off. He flew on a collision course, but the lieutenant hadn’t made a piloting error. In a moment, he’d swept past it. The swarm of missiles were locked onto Carmilla, but now the huge AWACS plane was in the way. There was no time to change course, and the missiles slammed into engine exhaust ports. The AWACS plane exploded.

“Picking up a second wave.”

“They’re not headed this way,” said the flight officer. “All targets have been downed by Chun-Yan.”

True to its Chinese name, Chun-Yan had soared like a hungry spring swallow, greedily taking all the targets for herself, devouring them in a twinkling.

“Shit,” swore Lieutenant Zubrowski. “I wasn’t expecting the defense system to react to us.”

“Nothing we could do about it. We were ordered to attack first. Well, we managed to evade it. Damage is minimal. We just took a round in the starboard vertical stabilizer.”

The moment they attacked, he’d expected the FAF computers to treat them like unidentified aircraft. What Lieutenant Zubrowski hadn’t figured on was their shooting first without even trying to confirm who they were. The automated base defense system was either being controlled by the JAM, or else its AI now simply categorized all unidentified craft as JAM. The AWACS plane had also been coordinating the attack. That was unprecedented. Looks like the danger General Cooley sensed was for real, the lieutenant thought as he and the other two planes reformed their combat formation and returned to their patrol course. It really felt like the JAM were going all-out on this offensive.

As the voice report that all target aircraft had been shot down echoed through the command center, General Linneberg voiced his hope that this would settle things.

“Much as I’d like to get drunk and sleep in this morning,” Major Booker replied, “it doesn’t look like that’ll be happening. We’ve lost track of Colonel Rombert.”

While it had been tracking him on the internal base surveillance monitors, the colonel was now gone and couldn’t be located anywhere, the tactical computer reported on the screen.

In addition, they had received an emergency call from the Rafe team headed to Banshee III. Text scrolled across the screen as the voice echoed through the command center.

“There are indications that Banshee III might self-destruct. Dangerous to approach. Withdrawing. Sending the unmanned Rafe in closer to gather intel.”