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.
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 Murulle’s death, after that ill-fated lunch meeting, the major had gone back to his quarters with Rei to share some whiskey. Booker took Murulle’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.
“Now, you see,” the major said to her, “I’d like you to analyze the personality of this new man. If the file they sent isn’t enough, figure something out. I especially want you to find out if he’ll be able to work with the SAF in general and Rei in particular. Take Colonel Rombert’s expectations into account as well. Since he’s about to take up his post here, I’d like you to give this matter your continuous attention.”
“Yes, Major. In other words, you want me to try profacting this man,” she replied.
“I’m not that familiar with your field’s terminology, but I think so. I thought it was called profiling, though.”
“Profiling techniques were never widely accepted in the fields of psychology and psychiatry. Since the term was also broadly interpreted and used arbitrarily by the general public, it fell into disfavor in the scientific world. Profacting is a method used to analyze the load intensity of the mind and body in order to theoretically predict a subject’s behavior or psychology.”
“It’s your specialty. I want you to analyze him the same way you did Rei.”
“Understood, sir. I suppose we’ll need to analyze Colonel Rombert’s psychology as well.”
“Just be prudent and don’t be too obvious about it. I know you can do this.”
“I’ll try to live up to your expectations, Major.”
“Good to hear. Ask for Captain Fukai’s opinion in your analysis. He knows more about Colonel Rombert and the relationship between the SAF and the Intelligence Forces than you do.”
“You want me to help with this too?” Rei asked.
“Right,” the major said. “You’ll do this together. This is a question that concerns your continued existence, Rei. The results of his psych analysis will be helpful in that regard.”
“Roger,” Rei said, nodding. “It’ll be nice, but don’t you think you’re going a little overboard with all this? It doesn’t matter who they send to us. If he’s useless in combat, we throw him out, that’s all. You used to say that was all that matters.”
“But it’s better to know the trouble spots beforehand, right?” said Captain Foss. “You can’t be too careful.”
“That’s especially true for this new guy,” Major Booker added. “It may seem like I’m overdoing things here, but I don’t think it’s a waste of time, so it’s okay.”
Major Booker rubbed the back of his head with his palm, taking some time to let the mood change before he continued.
“I’ve been thinking about trying a direct exchange of information with the JAM. I want Yukikaze and Captain Fukai to carry it out.”
“Will the enemy go along with it?” asked Captain Foss. “Make contact? With the JAM? We don’t know anything about them. It’s too dangerous!”
“Which is why I’m working on the plan,” Major Booker said. “If we just do it all of a sudden, it won’t work. After thirty years of fighting them, we still know nothing of the JAM. I’ve decided that it’s time for the SAF to initiate its own strategy regarding them. The tactical reconnaissance we’ve been conducting up till now hasn’t been getting us anywhere, and coming up with tactical plans to forestall losing will never let us win. What we want is a strategy that will lead to victory. General Cooley agrees with me, so beginning with all of the data we’ve collected on the JAM thus far, I want to begin reconstructing a portrait of them. In other words, Captain Foss, I want you to do that profacting thing you mentioned. On the JAM. I want a psychobehavioral analysis of them.”
“But the JAM aren’t human,” Rei protested.
“I know that. I also know that only humans can do this job. The question we’re trying to answer in this case is this: what is the true nature of the JAM? I want to know what they’re after. I also want to know what their goal,
