gathered from yet another corps. In any case, I’m sure that you can see that the more routes from which we gather our reconnaissance data, the higher the degree of accuracy we’ll achieve. All the SAF is doing is putting that concept into practice using your own forces, General Laitume. We can’t simply take the SRC at its word.”
“Our battle with the JAM has reached a turning point, General,” Major Booker said. “While we expect the SRC is going to complain that we’re invading their turf, as we’ve just explained to you, it’s necessary for us to conduct our own strategic recon operations.”
“It’s a commander’s job to encourage the fighting spirit of their subordinates and keep them motivated,” General Cooley added. “I’m not going to tell Major Booker not to do this.”
“Our corps’ headquarters is frustrated by their inability to receive intel from the SAF in real time.”
“That goes with how we carry out our duties. It can’t be helped —”
Laitume continued, cutting Cooley off.
“I’m not talking about getting combat intel from your planes. We’re getting worried that the SAF isn’t sending all the information it gathers up the chain of command, that you cherry pick and hide things from us. Don’t say that you aren’t aware of that, General.”
“That’s a problem that goes with the very nature of the SAF’s duties,” Cooley said. “Our mission is to carry out combat intelligence gathering. It isn’t all meant for public consumption or to be seen by large numbers of people. It’s easier to control intelligence within the confines of the SAF than it is in a larger organization. If, by some chance, any classified information were to leak out, it’s easier to track down the source in a small organization like ours. That’s why the squadron was set up the way it was. Corps HQ is a bit wrong to blame us for that, since as the corps commanding officer, all the intelligence we gather is sent to you. Letting that information go public is your decision, Lieutenant General. The SAF doesn’t interfere in any decisions you make. However, I will give you a word of warning — those who are complaining about us may be JAM, and you need to take their criticism with a grain of salt.”
“If we start doubting each other, there’ll be no end to it. Blast it all, there’s no easy solution for this problem, is there?” Laitume said.
“Have you told the other divisions that the FAF has been infiltrated by JAM duplicates, and that there may be more of them even now?” Major Booker asked. “I was wondering if you could tell us.”
“I informed the high command. I treated it as a highest level secret, but there’s no point in concealing that you people were the source of the information. The FAF has gathered the suspected JAM duplicates into that retraining unit you proposed. The Intelligence Forces are operating in the background to decide who gets transferred to it.”
“And you’ve determined that you have complete control over that unit, haven’t you? That’s a group of suspected JAM duplicates, you know. I’m not saying they’re all going to be JAM, but still —”
“The unit is operating autonomously of my corps. That’s because those we suspect aren’t just in my corps alone. It’s already out of my hands. To be honest, losing pilots to that unit is really hurting me,” Laitume said. “I’ve had to stop running recon missions with my own forces. But there’s nothing else we can do at this point. The high command’s made its decision. There was some dissent over it, but Colonel Rombert got his way.”
“The unit’s been set up under the Intelligence Forces, then?” Cooley asked.
“It’s been organized as part of the Systems Corps. I’m sure they were operating under the theory that improving people falls under their purview, but in part it was a result of the power relationships between the differents corps. Colonel Rombert is definitely still pulling the strings in the background, though. That man has gained the most from all this.”
“Putting suspected JAM duplicates in the Systems Corps is a foolish decision,” General Cooley said. “Weapons development and enhancement goes on there. That’s exactly the sort of information the JAM would want.”
“I was against it as well. For the Systems Corps’ part, they have more of an interest in determining the reason why these people were shot down by the JAM than in determining whether or not they’re duplicates. They’re doing a complete investigation to see if the losses were due to pilot error, mechanical fault, psychological causes, or tactical error. Basically, they’re guinea pigs. The scrutiny may also determine what Colonel Rombert wants to know, which is what makes them different from real humans. It would probably be something like that.”
“Neither the Systems Corps nor the high command have any clue how important this is,” said Major Booker with a sigh. “They’re planning to send ground forces into Cookie base, right? Those rumors of them forming a ground unit are true, aren’t they?”
“We began forming a ground force a while ago. As an autonomous ground army, not as part of the FAF. For its part, the FAF wants its own ground force, like the navy has a marine corps. Air marines, if you will. It seems likely that we’ll have one in the near future. You have to say well done to that,” General Laitume said. “It won’t be ready to help with the initial attack on Cookie base, but we can throw them into any operation from now on. The Systems Corps already have several types of ground-based weaponry under development. I don’t know the details, but it’s stuff like armored combat suits with their own onboard power supplies, with small arms munitions designed to destroy the computers in the electromechanical bodies we’ve theorized that the JAM have, and closed-loop communications systems. We wanted them to build tanks as well, but they’re still in the prototype stage and nowhere near completion. The Systems Corps is calling the combat suits ‘powered armor,’ and they’ve already mass produced a number of units. What they’ve produced so far is expected to be formed into an official combat unit. They’ll probably be thrown at Cookie first.”
“An experimental ground battle,” General Cooley said, as though to herself. “That’ll be worth seeing.”
“Are you implying you want them to fail, General Cooley?”
“I’m interested in the JAM. And in what sort of aliens these ground forces will encounter. And if the FAF weren’t wasting its time with internal and external political power struggles, we’d learn about them a lot faster. Introducing these ground forces will get us nowhere. So no, I don’t think they’ll achieve much.”
“Just what are you implying? According to what I’ve seen —”
“The JAM tend to match any move that we make,” Major Booker explained. “The JAM build their aircraft to match our level of development. They don’t fly by some unknown means, and their weapons systems are hardly beyond our comprehension. If we introduce tanks, then the JAM will respond with their own. We’ll just be expanding the battlefield to the ground, and I can say this beyond a shadow of a doubt. Whatever the reason the FAF had for not introducing ground forces up till now, it was a wise one. At the moment, all we should do is maintain watch on the skies. That’s how the SAF sees it.”
Laitume ignored Major Booker for the moment. “You’re saying we’re dealing with the JAM well enough as we are now, General Cooley?”
“The JAM are desperate. They were the ones who launched a preemptive strike. ‘Well enough’ doesn’t imply that we’re just playing around with them. We don’t know what their objective is, and the SAF is searching for that. Of course, that’s what the entire FAF is trying to find out. I’m not saying that our judgments are absolutely correct. But General Laitume, the SAF is the only unit that’s made direct contact with the JAM. You can’t just ignore that. What’s your decision, General?”
“Decision about what?”
“We’d like you to consider the file Major Booker has just presented to you and make an official recognition of the reconnaissance operations the SAF is now conducting. If we have it, we’d like to carry it out without any needless interference from other units.”
“Are you aware of what you’re asking me, General Cooley? You’re asking me to give you complete carte blanche in how you use your forces while I get to take responsibility for it.”
“If you formally recognize this, then I can deal with any criticism from the other units directly,” Cooley responded. “You won’t have to be bothered by it. This isn’t the first time I’ve made this request, General. I floated the idea for this recon operation to you at that lunch meeting.”
“And I believe I told you I wouldn’t allow you to act arbitrarily.”
“You didn’t say what sort of actions wouldn’t be allowed, and so I didn’t take that as a definite answer. The SAF has come to get that answer, sir. In any case, this is a state of emergency. As Major Booker’s data indicate, the situation has changed radically. If we let this opportunity pass, we can turn victory into defeat. Do you want to be remembered as the general who let a chance for victory slip away from right in front of him?”
“This is unpleasant.”
“If there’s a person who finds war pleasant, I’d like to meet them. This is war.”
“Sir,” Major Booker quickly interjected. “General Cooley hasn’t gotten much rest during this operation, so
