know if we’re in a virtual world or the real one?”
“We couldn’t tell with our five human senses — there’d only be one way to know. We’d have to ask Yukikaze. I’d expect that she has the means to sense whatever methods the JAM use. She has a means of electronically communicating with the JAM beyond what our senses can detect. If Yukikaze tells us to attack something, then we attack that target. We’ll have to trust that it’s an enemy. That’s all we can do.” Even as he said it, Rei realized that was how it had always been for him.
“Lieutenant, you have nothing to worry about. Up till now, you’ve never been able to shake the feeling that what you see around you isn’t actually real. This isn’t going to change anything in your life. Even if you’re killed by the JAM, you probably wouldn’t notice it if you can’t really feel it in the first place.”
“Spare me the pretentious lectures, please. Why are you just doing nothing? You don’t mind us getting caught by the JAM as long as you leave it all to Yukikaze?”
“And what else would you have me do here? Maybe shoot my flight officer because he’s had a nervous breakdown?”
“Oh, just try it! If you keep doing nothing, I may want to do that to you —”
“Watch your mouth, pal,” Rei said. “Everything we say is being recorded. Think about what’ll happen if we make it back alive, Lieutenant Katsuragi. Now cool off.”
“Can we at least ask Yukikaze if there’s anything we can do to get out of this?” Katsuragi said after a long pause.
“I don’t want to place any unnecessary burdens on her. Just let Yukikaze handle this. Don’t interfere. We’ll find out if she succeeds or fails later. All we can do for now is think about what we’ll have to do if she does fail. If the JAM succeed in capturing us and sneak duplicates into the SAF, how do we let them know that those aren’t actually us?”
“That’s impossible.”
“You don’t have to think about it. Just maintain your watch on our surroundings. That’s an order, Lieutenant. I won’t allow any dereliction of duty.”
As he spoke, Rei prepared himself for the worst. He didn’t think that even Yukikaze could get them out of this one. Even so, he didn’t regret leaving it to her to handle. If she couldn’t do it, he thought, there was no way that he could.
“Captain Fukai.”
“What?”
“A wall has formed behind us. It’s spherical and appears to extend infinitely to our sides, but I believe it encloses a limited airspace.”
“It seems that way. It’s like we’re trapped inside of a ball, meaning that gap in front of us isn’t a straight belt but the edge of an enormous sphere. And now it’s closing.”
“Which means we’ll be able to accurately measure the distance to the way out just before it closes completely.”
“So?”
“I propose that we launch a medium-range missile,” Lieutenant Katsuragi said.
“Aimed at what?”
“The way out. Even if Yukikaze can’t make it in time, the missile might. If we time it right, the speed of a high-velocity missile combined with Yukikaze’s current speed may allow it to escape.”
“Hmm.”
“Yukikaze could program the missile with data about us, can’t she? There’s memory space in it for guidance data. Can’t we use that?”
“Yukikaze might be able to use it for that. I’ve never tried anything like that before, but...” Rei trailed off.
“I’m not as optimistic as you. If we don’t make it out of here, we’re finished. I don’t want to die without letting people know what happened to me. I don’t think you do either. Even Yukikaze must want to get the data she’s gathered here to the outside, right?”
“Even if the missile makes it out of here, the odds of that data being recovered by the SAF or the FAF is pretty remote.”
“That’s all, sir. End of proposal.”
It would be impossible to record all the data of what had happened here into a missile. However, they might be able to input data proving that it had been fired by Yukikaze. It was worth a try, Rei decided. If the missile made it out of here, there was a chance that it would be found. There was no way of telling where it would come out or where it’d be headed, though.
“Calculate the optimal firing timing for a medium-range missile, based on its speed and range, then give it to me.”
“Roger.”
Lieutenant Katsuragi placed his hands onto the electronic warfare panel. As if replying to him, Yukikaze readied two medium-range missiles for firing.
Realizing that she understood what her crew wanted to do, Lieutenant Katsuragi began to trust Yukikaze. But Rei didn’t feel as he did. This was their last option if Yukikaze couldn’t escape. In other words, their last will and testament. Doing this would mean admitting that Yukikaze had no chance of escaping, and he just couldn’t bring himself to do that.
The lock-on tone began to sound in his helmet speaker. Another tone overlaid it, indicating that guidance data was being loaded into the missiles. Once it was completed, Yukikaze declared her intention to release them, leaving Rei to nervously wonder what the hell she was playing at.
This wasn’t Lieutenant Katsuragi’s proposed plan. Yukikaze wasn’t using the missiles to transmit their last words. This was an attack.
As soon as Rei had realized this, Yukikaze fired the two missiles without any hesitation, not waiting for Rei’s permission. Lieutenant Katsuragi reacted with astonishment. The fire control radar was displaying target data. The ghost plane flying level with them immediately initiated electronic jamming. Yukikaze canceled active guidance on the missile and left the target seeking to the missiles’ onboard systems.
“This can’t be happening!” Lieutenant Katsuragi shouted.
Rei couldn’t believe his eyes. The missiles were targeted at two planes. One was very clearly shown on the display to be the ghost plane. But Yukikaze was showing one other target as well.
Yukikaze had targeted herself.
“She’s self-destructing,” the lieutenant continued. “Yukikaze wants to blow herself up!”
Rei was dumfounded.
He followed the missiles’ contrails with his eyes. The one targeting the ghost plane made a sudden flat turn while the one targeting Yukikaze flew on and then began quickly climbing far ahead of them. It was thrusting itself onto a course describing an enormous loop.
The ghost plane began to jink and dodge. Banking sharply, it was far away from them in the blink of an eye. The missile began to correct its course to continue its pursuit. They could detect intense jamming waves coming from the ghost plane, but Yukikaze had left herself a way to guide the missiles even if their guidance systems were being interfered with, and began adjusting her course and speed. In other words, Yukikaze was flying herself to the missile’s impact point.
It was an odd way to carry out self-destruction. Yukikaze’s own self-destruction package wouldn’t activate unless the crew’s ejection seats had been fired. This was the only way she could do it with crew aboard.
There was no way for Lieutenant Katsuragi to eject. Ejecting from the plane in this situation would mean annihilation. He’d wind up like those human duplicates from the ghost plane. Their only chance for survival was for Captain Fukai to evade the missile.
“Take evasive action!” Lieutenant Katsuragi yelled, his voice cracking slightly. He was already regretting his proposal. If he hadn’t mentioned the missiles, Yukikaze might not have thought to do this. “Yukikaze’s admitting that she’s lost!”
Rei reflexively started to flip the dogfight switch on, then stopped when he heard the lieutenant say that. “No. Yukikaze isn’t saying she’s lost.”
“It’ll hit us any second!” said Lieutenant Katsuragi, looking up. Rei checked the main display.
