The World Without Authors – 12

I don’t have much to say about this chapter, except the usual: Aelit is working with me on the story, and Doctorlit is our irreplaceable beta reader.

12 – Not a game anymore

“Nikki? Are you sleeping?”

That was Ami’s voice, and she sounded concerned. Nikki opened her eyes and raised her head from the desk. 

“Don’t tell me, you stayed up late?”

Nikki did her best to focus her eyes. For a second, Ami’s uniform looked off, but once she was fully awake she couldn’t find anything wrong with it. White shirt, navy skirt and a navy tie. The uniform of Tomoeda’s high school.

“No, I just didn’t sleep well tonight. I kept having some weird nightmares… Maybe I ate too much last evening.”

For a second her tie looked blue and her skirt gray… I’m really a mess today.

Ami’s shoulders sank a little. “Then maybe we should go to the karaoke another day? If you’re not feeling well…”

Nikki shook her head. “I’m fine. I just needed a little nap.”

She turned around towards the desk behind her. Sergio was sitting at it, drawing some kind of car.

“Are you coming too?”

Sergio raised his head. “To karaoke? I don’t think that’s a good idea, you know I’m a terrible singer.”

Ami ran over to his desk, her fists pumped. “But karaoke is not about singing well, it’s about singing to your heart’s content!”

“Easy to say, for someone who just passed the first phase of the Iron Frills auditions. Congratulations on that, though.”

Ami’s cheeks flushed. “T-think nothing of it. There’s no way I’m getting through the second phase…”

“We’re supporting you all the way through, so give it your best!” Nikki said. “When you sang Fuwa Fuwa at the school festival, you sounded as good as Yui Makino herself!”

“No way I did!”

Sergio burst out laughing, and Nikki joined in. A peaceful life, worrying only about school exams… that was good.

Nikki froze in place. Wait… when did we not have one?

***

Ami walked towards Sand Island’s improvised shooting range. Gunshots were echoing in the air; despite the early hours there was already someone there.

She took a deep breath – she had a good guess at who he was.

As she got closer, she saw several holographic targets being brought down one after another by assault rifle bursts.

She looked at the shooter for a few seconds before setting the gun case on the crate marking the lane next to it. Sergio’s bursts were longer than necessary, and his aim was a bit shakier than usual. 

Ami retrieved a G36 from the case and loaded it just as Sergio finished his magazine.

“Hm?” he said. “I thought you had a Device now.”

Ami leaned on the crate for support and switched the selector from safe to semi-auto. “Yes, but I thought it wouldn’t hurt to get some practice with guns again. Now that I’m no longer in the TSAB, I don’t have the mass-based weapon ban to worry about.”

She took aim and fired a shot at one of the targets, hitting it straight in the center. She switched targets, and fired again. Another bullseye. Ami wasn’t so surprised though, while the G36 she had taken to the range didn’t have a scope she was shooting at much shorter ranges, and with a lighter caliber compared to what she used to with her old Mk14.

Sergio resumed firing at his own targets. “Well, I’m not sure we still have a TSAB outside Hayate and her crew, and besides with all the missiles and shells we’ve been tossing around you’d be already in trouble if she actually still cared about that. Nice shooting though, you definitely haven’t lost the touch.“

Ami lowered her gun. “Thanks. You, on the other hand…shouldn’t you take this day to rest?”

Sergio removed the empty magazine from his gun and checked the chamber before setting it down. “That shabby, huh?”

Ami bit her lip. “Well… you’re not shooting any better than you were when you just joined Strike Dove. Not shabby, but… I know you can do better than that.”

She fired the last round and removed the magazine. “It’s not like you forgot, it’s… just that you shouldn’t really be shooting now.”

[Detective Conan OST – Let’s Go Conan sorrow version]

Sergio didn’t say anything. Ami set her rifle down, and turned towards him. He was staring at his ARX-160, his expression blank.

“Hey, are you alright?”

“I’m not good enough.”

Ami glanced at the holographic screen recording his shots. While not his best, his groupings were still better than those of the average Strike Dove soldier. “You know you’re still pretty good right? Those groupings-”

“That’s not what I meant.” Sergio sat on the ground, his back against the crate marking his lane. “It was my fault.”

“Your fault?” Ami repeated. Was he talking about the day before?

“I underestimated Bernitz.” He mimicked two aircraft flying with his hands, one chasing after the other. “I thought I had him in my sights, like every time I played the missions Mayhem, Heartbreak One or The Unsung War, like that other time over those weird floating mountains.”

He angled the hand in front upwards, and moved it behind the other one. “Then he suddenly pulls a Pugachev’s Cobra out of nowhere, and I’m the one in someone else’s sights.”

“He pulled a Cobra?” Ami did her best to recall Bernitz’ flying in the games, but she couldn’t remember a single instance of him performing that specific post-stall maneuver. Or any post-stall maneuver at all. “I thought that was a staple of Yellow Squadron!”

“Who knows, maybe the Belkans took in some remnants of them and so someone taught him. But the real problem is another.”

Ami sat next to him. What was he getting at?

“I let myself get caught by surprise, and he got a damn good lock on me. The only reason I’m here to tell the tale? Nikki took the hit for me.”

Ami gulped. “So he wasn’t chasing her?”

Sergio shook his head. “No. She flew straight between me and him, with her Barrier Jacket on instead of her flight suit, and from what I’ve been told she also cast Protection Powered. She knew I wasn’t going to get away from him, and put herself in between hoping to take less damage than I would. Considering how messed up her plane was and how Shamal barely saved her, if she hadn’t taken the hit I would be dead now.”

He punched the ground. “She’s in intensive care because I made a mistake as soon as Gramps let me lead! I’m a failure both as a flight lead and as a boyfriend!”

“Hey, you’re not a failure! We were outnumbered, what, ten to one? Twenty to one? I’m sure you did the best that could be done!”

“Perhaps. Still, I swore I would protect her, and-”

“She swore she would protect you, as well, you know? We’re all doing our best to protect each other!”

Sergio turned his head away from her. “I don’t have a good track record on protecting my friends, and you know that. You were on the casualty list until a few weeks ago.”

Ami felt pained at his words. He was back in his spiral of self-hate, that was as clear as the sky.

Sergio’s shoulders started shaking, and tears rolled down his cheeks. “She was right. I’m too reckless – and she paid the price for it!”

I can’t stand this anymore!

Ami pulled him in a hug, holding him as tightly as she could.

“… Ami?”

“Stop it. She’d hate to see you like this. So, please… Can you stop hating yourself before she wakes up? She’s the only one who has any right to be angry at you, and I’m pretty sure she isn’t.”

She could hear his heartbeat going back down to a normal pace.

“… Maybe you’re right.”

Ami released him. “Of course I am. I actually know her better than you think.”

“Oh, right. She told me you actually gave her a hand while you were a ghost and she was wandering around the multiverse?”

Ami nodded. “Yes. I remember very well the first time I met her… she was a mess, but just kept going because of you.”

[Detective Conan OST – Ran no Ketsui]

Ami took cover behind a destroyed wall as she followed the soldier platoon with her eyes. They were headed east, towards the city center. She lowered her Mk14 – or, perhaps, the spectral apparition of it? – and turned back towards the girl she was sent to protect.

“Looks like they haven’t seen us, but we need to move. Regardless if they conquer the city or not, the winning side will likely do a sweep.”

The girl nodded, a small snub-nose revolver clutched in her hands. She looked terrible, her jeans were ripped and her hoodie had seen much better days as well. Not to mention the fact she was covered head to toes in dust. However, with her bright green eyes and soft face, she still managed to look pretty cute.

“My name’s Ami, by the way. What’s yours?”

The girl looked down for a couple seconds, as if she didn’t know the answer herself. “You can call me Nikki.”

Nikki? That wasn’t the name Ami knew. From what she had heard from Sergio, her name was Sakura. However, Madoka had warned her that something like that could’ve happened.

“Nice to meet you, Nikki. Although, forgive me for asking, what are you doing here? This city is a battlefield right now.”

Madoka herself didn’t know how she had ended up there – she knew a lot about the whole multiverse, but was fully omniscient only about the universes of her “continuum” – whatever that meant.

“I’m looking for a friend.” Nikki said. “I thought he could’ve been here, but…”

Nikki got up, and put her hand about twenty centimeters over her head. “About this tall, brown hair, he wears glasses and a red bandana. Have you seen him?”

If she was still alive, Ami’s heart would’ve skipped a beat. That was definitely Sergio.

Is she… actually looking for him?

“Can’t say I have.” Ami said, weighing her words. Madoka had warned her against revealing too much about her identity – something about time paradoxes.

“I see.”  Nikki looked down for a few seconds. When she raised up her head again, though, the scared girl was gone, and Ami was taken aback by the determined look in her eyes.

“But I’m not giving up. See, my friend is a very special person for me, and he’s surely somewhere alone and sad. I can’t have that, he needs me… and I need him.”

Ami nodded, at loss for words. She might’ve looked like a cute middle schooler, but that girl was going to move mountains if she had to.

“My mission was to give her a hand here and there… but I’m pretty sure she would’ve managed it anyways,” Ami said as they walked back towards the main base building. “She’s the most determined girl I’ve ever met, and I’m sure she’ll be on her feet in no time just to make sure you’re not moping!”

Sergio let out a short laugh. “Yeah, that’s definitely the Nikki I know… I guess she looked Death straight in the face and said ‘not now’ for the third time.“

He looked as if he was in somewhat higher spirits, and Ami felt like a weight had been lifted from her heart. As long as she managed to keep that up until Nikki was awake, things were going to be fine.

She gave a quick glance at the Wolfram – the ship had survived the attack with fairly minor damage, and she could see several people working on it from the outside.

“Captain Turbo! Lieutenant Tanegashima!”

Ami turned towards the source of the voice, clearly Nanoha’s. The young girl was running towards them, and Ami gulped as she realized her right sleeve was empty and knotted up. There wasn’t any bulge under the jacket either-  the arm was clearly missing.

“Haya- Commander Yagami is holding a meeting with Strike Dove officers, you need to go to her office.”

“Understood, we’ll be going there,” Sergio said. “But, your arm…?”

“Oh, don’t worry about that! Technology Officer Atenza said she’ll repair it!

“Repair…?” Ami repeated.

“Oh, right. I lost my arm some time ago, the one I damaged yesterday was my prosthetic one. It almost feels like a real one though!”

This must’ve happened in some other Lyrical Nanoha work I missed. I really have a lot to catch up to…

“I see. Still, take care. Don’t overwork yourself when you’re like this, OK?”

Nanoha averted her eyes. “I’ll… keep that in mind!”

She’s not going to follow our advice.

***

“Captain Turbo and Lieutenant Tanegashima reporting for duty, ma’am.”

Hayate smiled at them. “At ease.”

Johnson was standing next to her, and most of Strike Dove’s members were there as well.

“The first thing I need to announce to you is that Colonel Johnson and I have finished the paperwork for Tanegashima’s transfer. From now on, she’ll be under Strike Dove officially with the rank of Captain.

“Strike Dove and the Wolfram’s crew will keep working together in the future, so it isn’t a full goodbye, but I still want to say that I was happy to have you as one of my subordinates. Keep up the good work, Captain.”

“I will, ma’am!”

“Which brings us to our next point: unfortunately,” Johnson said. “Skystreaker Squadron is going through a rough patch. I tried to lead you for as long as I could, but my old bones cannot stand dogfighting anymore. As such, I will no longer take the lead of Skystreaker Squadron in battle.

“With Captain Turbo on temporary leave and First Lieutenant Cherryflower hospitalized, this makes Captain Tanegashima, First Lieutenant Corolla and First Lieutenant Minase the only Skystreakers fit for active duty. As such, for the time being Captain Tanegashima will be the flight leader of Skystreaker Squadron.”

Ami gulped. “Me, sir?”

Johnson gave her a reassuring smile. “You did well as the leader of the second element, so I believe you’ll be able to take care of the squadron until Captain Turbo is fit for active duty again. As a temporary measure to make up for Skystreaker Squadron’s reduced numbers, though, from now on you’ll sortie together with Haro Squadron.”

Hayate sighed. “This might be more than temporary, though. The JSDF requested a full report on the incident, and they didn’t like some of the things in it. For example, the TSAB’s employment of people that are considered minors by Japanese law. As such, I’m afraid they’ll request any and all people under the age of eighteen to be removed from active duty as soon as we get back to the Japanese mainland.”

“But… I had just started helping out!” Ai said.

“I understand how you feel, First Lieutenant,” Johnson said, “but there isn’t anything we can do about it. They’re willing to let you girls help with escorting the Wolfram to Japan and non-combat duties afterwards, but nothing more.”

Hayate nodded slowly. “In fact, that’s already almost too much – I admit I’m currently under flak from some JSDF officials for being a Japanese national working for a different military than Japan’s.” She brought out a smile. “Well, there were people at the TSAB who didn’t like me as well, so I’ll get through that.”

“As such, Skystreaker and Haro joining forces is the only viable option to have a proper combat-capable unit. As you’ve all worked well together so far, I’m confident this is the right choice.”

***

Keiko frowned. “So, looks like we’re not going to be using the Wave Gundam for long?”

Corolla raised her head from her workbench. “I’m afraid so. Not that it’s in great shape either though.”

Keiko looked at the Mobile suit, and nodded. Some of the ground crew was removing what was left of the right arm, and on the ground next to the robot there was the wreckage of a Flapper.

“We’re trying to salvage and adapt an arm from a Sv-51, but there’s no guarantee that’s gonna work at all. They’re mechas from completely different continua, after all.”

“Well, considering you won’t have pilots for it, maybe you should just use it as spares for Hiro’s one?”

Corolla slammed her palms on the table. “No way I’m letting my work be scrapped! Though… it is very likely that once we settle at Tomoeda Field we’ll take the Minotaur Drive out of it and install it on the Destiny Gundam. Its batteries have started degrading, and we can’t really put in an order for new ones.”

“I see.”

Keiko switched her attention to what Corolla was working on. It was a blue star-shaped gem, thoroughly cracked and with some chunks missing. Vanguard, her mother’s Device. Corolla had set up various magic circles and holographic windows around it, presumably to try to repair it.

“Wow… it’s in really bad shape, isn’t it?”

“Yeah… I’d let Mariel- Technology Officer Atenza deal with it, but she’s busy with Nanoha’s cybernetic arm and the repairs on the Wolfram, and besides she admitted that half of Vanguard is made of parts she has never seen before.”

Corolla turned one of the holographic windows towards Keiko. “She’s actually surprised it used to work at all – the crystal matrix computer was adapted from the controller of the hard drive of a L-class ship’s backup navigational computer, which is pretty much like building a PC using parts from old cell phones. No wonder its AI was so limited.”

“But you can fix it, right?”

Corolla sighed. “I’ll try.”

Keiko froze. It wasn’t like her to be so dejected about something. “Auntie?”

“See, I don’t have its plans with me – Anne had them, as she made it and did its maintenance. Before you ask, yeah I’m hating myself for forgetting to ask her for a copy. I’m trying to reverse engineer what I can but… it’s hard, considering the condition it’s in, and even if I do manage that there’s no assurance I can repair or replace everything.”

Corolla started pointing at parts in a diagram. “The main problem is that Vanguard uses a Storage Device board, but has been extensively modified to use non-standard parts. On one point we lucked out – Atenza said that she has the spares for the mana regulator circuit and ballistic computer as they’re the same types used in Bardiche and Raising Heart respectively. The communication module is damaged as well, and while it comes from a MJOLNIR Mark III suit from Halo, we can simply remove the adapter and fit a proper one in.

“The feedback damper, on the other hand, is a problem: we don’t know where it comes from, and the board has been so thoroughly modified to accept it that none of those we have here will fit in its ports, and the original port for the feedback damper has been used to install the mode switch circuit instead as this type of board doesn’t have the ability of providing different combat forms natively. The main problem, though, is this:”

Corolla pointed at a part labeled “?” in the diagram. “We don’t know what that is, or what it does, and it melted up so thoroughly that reverse-engineering it is simply impossible. Considering it is placed where the BIOS and the power regulator once resided, though, it is likely it also acted as a replacement for them so it won’t even boot up without a new one.”

Keiko tried to wrap her head around what she said, but failed. Electronics were never her strong suit. “So it’s basically done for?”

“Kind of. Atenza said that we’d be better off starting from a new board, but unfortunately she has only standard Storage Device ones available so it would lose either Lancer or Saber form, and also a lot of the PPC-specific functionalities. I mean, not fitting the cross-continua antenna isn’t much of a loss as we no longer have any use for it, but I’d like to be able to connect at least the reality dysfunction indicator… which went through the Big Melted Mystery Box.”

“Can’t we just make a custom board for it?”

“Normally, yeah, but the machinery needed for that is currently busy with making spare parts for the Wolfram, which kinda has priority. I’ll try putting it back together as best as I can for now, so that your mother will have something to rely on, but it will still be a pale shadow of the original. By the way, any news about her?”

Keiko sat on a stool next to the workbench. “She’s still out, but at least she’s responding well to the therapy according to Shamal. She says her wounds are healing at a very good rate, but it will still take a while before she can wake up. I hope she’s having some good dreams at least.”

***

Nikki reached the end of the pool and touched its edge. She had given it all, she was sure it was going to be a good time.

“I can’t believe it…” one of the other girls in the swimming club said.

Nikki looked up from the pool. The girl who just spoke was standing next to Ai, looking in the latter’s stopwatch.

Ai gave her a thumbs up. “You really gave it all! That’s half a second under your best… and two tenths under mine!”

Nikki’s eyes widened. “Do you mean…”

“You’ve just set a new record for our club!”

Nikki felt elated. Her hard work was paying off – her times were now good enough to compete in the nationals.

“I heard it right? Kinomoto set a new record?”

“Yes! She did! Way to go!”

Nikki could feel the excitement growing around the pool.

“With her and Minase, this year’s regionals are ours!”

“That’s right!”

Nikki climbed out of the pool, only to be tackle-hugged by several of the girls.

“Come on, I’m pretty sure you’ll be as fast as me one day,” Nikki said, trying to pry a first year girl off her.

“No way! You swim as fast as a mermaid!”

“She’s right! That’s why Kinomoto and Minase are Tomoeda’s Mermaids!”

Nikki smiled at the nickname she and Ai had earned the previous year, when they reached the regionals’ finals.

However, once again she felt something off as the girls called her by her surname. But I am a Kinomoto. That’s my family’s surname… why does it feel weird today?

***

Sergio peeked in Johnson’s office. “May I come in?

“Of course you can. You know there’s a reason why my office’s door is always open.”

Sergio entered, and Johnson motioned him to sit.

“So, what’s the matter, Sergio?”

“I know it has been only a day, but… I want to resume working.”

Johnson shut down his computer’s holographic screen. “That’s hardly any rest, after what you’ve been through.”

“I know. I’m not asking you to reinstate me as a pilot. Just… give me something to do. Staying idle is making things worse. It gives me too much time to think about things I shouldn’t really be thinking about.”

“Like what?”

Sergio opened his mouth to answer, but his voice was drowned out by the roar of jet engines. He looked out of the window, and he barely managed to recognize the shape of Ami’s Eagle against the sunset sky. It was quite late for a test flight, but they needed to clear the repaired aircraft for combat duty as soon as possible.

Sergio took a deep breath. “I’m torn. Part of me thinks I should be up there with them as soon as possible, that staying down here will be leaving them to fend for themselves. But another part of me tells me that I would just end up leading them all to death. That’s what happened during the Organization War – and that’s also what happened with the original Skystreaker Team.”

He lowered his eyes. “It almost happened with Nikki yesterday.”

“And what do you intend to do about that?”

Sergio looked straight at his grandfather. “That’s why I’m here. I don’t know.”

Johnson crossed his arms. “Let’s get one thing straight: your performance, and that of Skystreaker Squadron as a whole, was stellar. Seventy-eight air-to-air kills, with only one loss. Your only fumble was with that Bernitz guy, and even then it is simply human to commit a mistake during such a long dogfight.”

“But-”

“Sergio, this is war. There is no such thing as a perfect win. No matter how well we fight, we cannot win every battle and we can lose our allies anytime.”

He looked out of the window. “In fact, that very battle is a very good example. We pulled off the impossible – we drove the enemy away while being outnumbered fifteen to one. But, at the same time, it was a pyrrhic victory at best, since we have to abandon the very place we were defending anyway.”

“So you’re telling me there’s nothing we could’ve done better?”

“The opposite, actually. There’s always something to learn… but that doesn’t discount the fact we were all doing our best, and that we never had a good enough hand for a better outcome.”

Johnson got up from his chair. “Come with me. I was going to do this tomorrow, but Corolla should have it already prepared by now.”

***

Sergio sat down in the simulator’s cockpit. He reached for the stick, but stopped for a second. What now was a sawn-down fuselage was once Nikki’s first plane.

“I had Corolla prepare a few scenarios for you to try out. I think they’ll help you see things more clearly. Are you ready?”

Sergio put the helmet on. “Of course.”

Johnson nodded, and put on a headset. The canopy closed, and a clear sky was projected over it. Sergio gripped the throttle and the stick as he waited for the countdown to end.

The simulation started, and he found himself on the tail of a black and white Su-47. He began chasing it, but he kept a bit of distance – that was likely meant to be Bernitz.

He got a lock, and fired two missiles, but the Berkut managed to dodge by turning left. Sergio fired a second salvo as soon as he had another lock, but the aircraft dodged again.

This isn’t working. I’ll have to try guns.

He went closer, and as soon as he was close enough for guns the Berkut performed a Cobra. Sergio pulled the throttle and stick back to perform a Kulbit – there was no way he was falling for the same trick again.

As soon as his aircraft finished the somersault he found himself aiming straight at the Berkut. Sergio opened fire, getting some hits but not enough to disable it.The Berkut turned left again, but this time it followed the maveuver with a barrel roll right.

Sergio pulled a Cobra himself to avoid shooting past him. The hell…? He got coded in my same maneuver?

He pushed the nose down and opened fire again, destroying one of the Berkut’s engines. Over the HUD appeared “Scenario Completed”.

“That’s pretty good,” Johnson said. “I expected you to be caught by surprise again, but you seem to have already realized that you cannot go by a videogame’s patterns anymore. That is lesson one: read the enemy movements, don’t assume them. Next one.”

The sky reset, and this time the Berkut was angled differently, heading towards his four o’clock. In front of the Berkut there was another aircraft, a gray Raptor.

Don’t tell me… I’m in Nikki’s position now? Am I supposed to find out what she could’ve done better, so we can both improve?

The countdown finished, and Sergio turned towards the Berkut, firing two standard missiles as soon as he got a lock.

The missiles shot out from under his wings, but missed the target completely. The Raptor exploded instead, hit by the Berkut’s micro missiles,  and on the HUD “Scenario Failed” appeared.

Nikki must’ve realized right away that she didn’t have a good angle.

“That didn’t work, did it? Let’s try again.”

The scenario reset, and this time Sergio went towards the Berkut on full afterburner, firing the Eagle’s machine gun.The Berkut exploded just after launching a salvo of micro missiles.

“What?!” Sergio shouted as “Scenario Failed” appeared again.

The only other approach I can try is XMAAs, but those are going to fail as well. They have less homing ability than standard missiles.

“Do you want to give it another try?”

“… No. I think I know what you’re trying to tell me. She knew she couldn’t prevent Bernitz from firing on me?”

Sergio gulped. It took me two tries, and she realized it right away.

“Not quite. I think you’ll need the last scenario to get the full lesson.”

The sky reset again, with a Fishbed in front of him instead. Sergio raised an eyebrow – that was going to be an easy target.

The simulation started, and the Fishbed turned right. Sergio tried to do the same, but the stick was much harder than before, and the aircraft he was piloting turned much more slowly.

“The hell?”

“Oh, right. I forgot to tell you. You’re flying a Phantom now. That’s not going to turn as well as your Raptor, and I’m afraid most of your fancy maneuvers aren’t going to be possible in it.”

Sergio tried to get on the tail of the Fishbed, but it kept out-turning him. Before he even realized it, his missile warning started blaring.

He tried to dodge but to no avail. The canopy became all black, and “Scenario Failed” appeared again.

I got shot down by a freaking Fishbed.

The canopy opened, and Johnson took off his headset. “Before you say anything, I’ll tell you one thing: the scenario is winnable. It is based on one of the sorties I did during the Vietnam War.”

Sergio’s shoulders slumped. “So… You were a much better pilot than I am?”

Johnson leaned in, his arms crossed over the cockpit’s sidewall. “Not better. Smarter.”

Sergio raised an eyebrow. What did he mean with that?

“You’re a good pilot, but you’re relying on just instinct and your plane’s turning ability. However, the first time you faced Grabacr you didn’t need either of those. Why?”

“Because I knew how they would move. That was pretty much cheating.”

Johnson let out a laugh. “Pretty much. But, in a way, that’s what you need to keep doing. That way, your wingmen will never end up in the same situation as Nikki again.”

Again, Sergio couldn’t understand what he was getting to.

“With a Phantom, you’ll never be able to outturn a Fishbed, let alone anything more modern. If your Raptor was a Ferrari, the Phantom is a Peterbilt. That’s why you need to read your enemy. Look at how they fly, what they fly, and the environment you’re in. Think three steps ahead, lure them where you have the advantage, and take the kill. I know you have the tactical thinking to do that – you actually already did more than once. So why do you always end up in knife fights?”

Johnson started walking away. “You’re free to try that scenario as many times as you want. I took the liberty of leaving some of the manuals they had here in your room, if you want to get some inspiration.”

He stopped and looked back. “Take that Fishbed down, and you’ll have a pair of wings again.”

***

Keiko pushed the throttle pedal of her kart to accelerate out of the corner. She was in third position – in front of her, her best friend Himeko was battling with the boy in first position.

Keiko chased them down – it was the last race of the All Japan Junior Kart Championship, and she and Himeko were in a tie for the lead of the championship. The one of the two who finished in front of the other was going to be the champion.

Keiko braked for the following corner, now right on their tail. By battling each other, Himeko and the other boy were slowing each other down.

They all exited the corner, and went down the main straight full throttle. Keiko noticed her father holding the sign board from the pit lane. “LAST LAP – GO FOR IT”

She smiled – she was definitely going to find a way past.

The smile, however, was quickly cancelled by the time they reached the first corner. Himeko tried overtaking the other boy on the inside, but he tried to messily close the gap, the two karts collided, and Himeko’s hit the corner’s inside curb.

Keiko could only watch in horror as her friend’s kart went airborne.

“Himeko!”

Keiko found herself sitting in a bed. She looked around – not a karting track, not her bedroom.

On the other bed, Hajime got up and rubbed her eyes. “What’s the matter, Keiko?”

Right. I’m at Sand Island. That race was four years ago.

“Sorry, I just had a bad dream.”

“Ah, I see. Who’s Himeko, by the way?”

“My best friend. We used to race karts together, before the accident.”

“Accident? Is she alright?”

“As of now, I don’t have the faintest idea.”

Even with the darkness, she could see Hajime’s “oh right” expression.

“But she had it rough afterwards, I can tell you that.”

Himeko stumbled to a bench. She sat down, and massaged her legs for as much as the leg exoskeleton allowed her. She smiled sadly. “Quite an undignified show, wasn’t it?”

“Told you we should’ve taken a break earlier.”

Keiko sat next to her. It took four years of therapy, but she was finally walking again. Sure, she needed the help of an exoskeleton as her muscles were too weak to hold her, but now it was just a matter of rebuilding the lost muscle mass.

“My life has been a long break until now,” Himeko said, her eyes closed. “I’ve lost my train – even if I didn’t lose four years, there’s no way my family is going to let me resume karting after the accident.”

Keiko bit her lip. That was the problem of coming from a wealthy, high society background – it was a miracle all in itself that they let her race in the first place.

“Kei, why did you do that to both of us?”

“Eh?” Keiko raised an eyebrow. What did she mean?

“There was no reason for you to stop as well. I would have supported you all the way to Formula 1, I could even get my father to sponsor you if needed.”

Keiko clenched her jeans. “I told you already. Remember our promise? We’d only settle who’s the best once we both reached Formula 1. Going on alone wouldn’t be fair to you.”

“I would accept your reasoning if you were involved in the accident. But you weren’t. ‘Motorsport is dangerous.’ It can’t be helped. Some deity decided I was not to keep racing. But you? You could’ve gone far.”

Keiko shrugged. “I can find something else to be good at, don’t worry.”

“That’s what ‘One Year Wonder’ Keiko says every time before joining a new club that she will leave at the end of the year.” 

“I’m sure basketball will work out!”

“You said the same about the swimming club and the karate club before going ‘not my thing after all.’” Himeko leaned in. “Racing was your thing, Kei. You’ve earned that trophy.”

Keiko gulped. After the accident, the race was ended with a red flag. With Himeko out, Keiko was crowned champion.

“You were going to finish in front. I’m sure.”

“And I say you would’ve overtaken me anyway.”

“I’m really sorry for your friend. But you… you must be as good at driving as Dad!”.

“Eh, I don’t know. I haven’t got my driving license yet, and I haven’t touched my kart since Himeko’s accident. Grandpa Fujitaka says its shed is actually in his garden now… that thing is there to mock me, I know it.”

***

Sergio flipped through the pages of the Phantom’s flight manual. It was already pretty late into the night, and the only sounds in the room were him flipping pages and the rhythmic beeping of Nikki’s ECG machine.

He rubbed his eyes – since the battle, he hadn’t gotten a good night’s sleep. Some of the nurses had tried to get him to go back to his room, but that would’ve accomplished nothing.

He felt more calm there, next to Nikki’s bed, than in his room wondering if she was alright.

He took a deep breath, and he proceeded to the chapter about spin recovery.

***

Hiro stopped in front of Johnson’s desk and saluted. “You wanted to see me, sir?”

“Yes, Captain Shirogane. Take a seat.”

Hiro sat down. “So… What is it, sir?”

“I just had a couple interrogatives about the engagement from two weeks ago that maybe you can help me sort out. The engagement against Sol Squadron.”

Hiro stiffened. That was when he met Miksa.

“From what we’ve intercepted of their radio chatter, one of Shilage’s wingmen is his grandson. However, you seem to know him, despite being ostensibly from different worlds.”

Hiro gulped. He noticed?

“Don’t worry, this isn’t an accusation, Captain. It’s just that, if you do have more knowledge about them, it could help us in case we were to face them again.”

Hiro took a deep breath. “I’m afraid I can’t help with Shilage himself – I don’t know him at all. About Miksa… I do know him. We met in various worlds.”

Johnson raised an eyebrow. “Various worlds?”

“I’m sorry if this sounds impossible, but we’re sliders. Every time we die, we incarnate again in a new world… sometimes as boys, sometimes as girls, sometimes a boy and a girl. Regardless, we always end up forced to fight each other, despite Miksa being…. Someone important to me.”

Johnson let out a short laugh. “Pardon me the French, but I’ve seen enough weird shit that what you’re telling me sounds not only plausible, but also completely logical. And… Well, to be sincere with you, I had imagined there was some kind of subtext between the two of you. So, what are you going to do about it?”

“Keep fighting, sir. Miksa seems to have given up on the possibility of us having a peaceful outcome from this fate. I want to prove him wrong. There isn’t another world in which to try again – it needs to be this one. That is why I will fight to end this war – for us, and for anyone else who is suffering due to it.”

“Well said, Captain. This war is meaningless – a pure act of aggression. It is our duty to put a stop to it.”

***

“Damn it!”

Sergio resisted the urge to punch something in the simulator’s cockpit. How many times had he tried out the scenario? Twenty? Thirty?

He had made some progress – he was at least consistently getting some hits in before succumbing. However, every time he thought he had gotten a grip on how the Fishbed behaved, it would surprise him with a new maneuver.

That AI pilot doesn’t seem to have reached the end of his bags of tricks yet.

***

“You should really go back to your rooms,” Shamal said.

Keiko raised her head from the table. What time is it?

She glanced at her wristwatch. Eight o’clock in the evening. She had dozed off without realizing it. Hardly a surprise, though. Since the battle her sleep had been ruined by one nightmare after another.

Her father barely lifted his eyes from the manual he was reading. “I’m staying. I won’t get any sleep anyways, I’ll stand guard if anything happens during the night.”

Shamal shook her head. “That’s supposed to be my job, you know?”

“I’m staying anyway.”

Shamal glanced at Keiko as if she wanted her help.

“No help from me Shamal – I’m staying too.”

Shamal sighed in defeat. “Fine. But don’t do anything that can disturb her – Nikki’s injuries have a long way to go before healing completely.”

“Don’t worry, we know,” Sergio said.

Keiko wondered why Shamal conceded so quickly – maybe those rumors that her father had held Ducato at gunpoint the first time they tried kicking him out had some truth to them.

***

Nikki opened her eyes. She was lying in a bed inside what looked like a hospital room, and from the darkness it was likely nighttime.

Why was she there? Oh, right. The battle. I crashed trying to land after I was hit.

She turned her head to get a better view of the room. Her neck was stiff, every single one of the muscles involved in the movement protesting against it.

There were two chairs next to her bed, both occupied, and a table between them. Nikki struggled getting her eyes to focus, but even with her eyes unfocused she recognized one of the two figures right away.

“Sergio…?”

The figure moved. “Nikki? You’re awake!”

Sergio kneeled down next to her. “How are you feeling?”

“Weak, and hurting pretty much everywhere. But glad to be alive.”

Sergio nodded slowly. “Trust me, you’re not the only one to be glad about that.”

Nikki took a deep breath, her entire rib cage aching as she did so. “Ouch. I really cut it close this time, didn’t I? I always complain about how much you get me worried, but this time I’m the guilty one. I’m sorry.”

“No, I should be the one apologizing. I let my guard down with Bernitz, and you took a whole swarm of missiles to protect me. What kind of boyfriend am I…?”

“One that makes mistakes, as everyone does. But, what about the battle…?”

“We drove them off. The rest of us in Strike Dove are fine, you’re the one who got it the worst.”

Nikki tried having a look at the other person, but winced in pain as soon as she tried raising her shoulders.

“Hey, don’t move. I’ll raise the bed a little.” Sergio fumbled with the bed’s control, and the part under her upper back slowly raised.

To her relief, Nikki saw that her arms and legs were still there. Her arms had more bandages than visible skin, though, and while she couldn’t see the rest of her body under the sheets, she was sure it was the same there as well. Her eyes followed a line attached to her right arm, and found an IV drip stand.

“Say, how long was I out?”

“Four days. Shamal said she took fifty or so pieces of shrapnel out of your body. I won’t lie, she even had to restart your heart.”

Nikki closed her eyes. “That… I think I’ve been in a limbo, at some point. I remember hearing you say something like ‘bleed me dry.’”

“Eh? I … actually think I did. And, yes, it was around that time that you went into cardiac arrest. I was telling Shamal that she could use my blood, since you were pretty much bleeding out. I think at one point you had more blood from me and Keiko than your own.”

Sergio glanced at the other figure. Only then Nikki realized that she was Keiko, fast asleep with her head on the table, one arm as a pillow.

Nikki sighed. “She’s got your bad habits, doesn’t she?”

“I’m afraid so. I got told she guarded your downed plane with her Gundam like a fury. If you did die, and I decided to storm the afterlife to get you back, she would come with me without even thinking twice.”

“And you really would do that.” She felt tears running down her cheeks. “I… I’m sorry. When I was in limbo, I… considered giving up. I… I thought that it would mean you wouldn’t have to keep saving me anymore.”

Nikki gulped. “I didn’t think about how you all would feel. I feel so stupid.”

Sergio kissed her on the forehead. “You made the right choice in the end, so I don’t think you’re that stupid. Now, please get some sleep. You’ve been unconscious for four days, yeah, but you still need more rest.”

“You two should go to sleep, too. I’m gonna be really angry if tomorrow morning I find you both still here.”

***

Sergio kept climbing on full afterburner. That was one of the key advantages of the F-4E – the two J79 engines provided it with an impressive amount of thrust for its era.

The radar warning ceased. Good, I’m out of his range.

He kept climbing for a few seconds more, then rolled the aircraft upside down and pulled the stick until he was facing the Fishbed again.

If I shoot missiles, he will dodge again. I’ll go straight at him on full afterburner for a quick gun pass.

He quickly calculated the interception point and steered the Phantom towards it, opening fire with the machine gun as soon as he was close enough.

A few rounds hit the target, but Sergio didn’t try to follow it, climbing up again instead to build up the momentum for another attack.

That’s right, boom and zoom seems to be working better.

He executed another Split-S and this time he found himself in a good position for missiles. He double-tapped the ordinance release button, and the two missiles headed off towards the Fishbed.

The small plane twisted position slightly, but the two missiles still caught up with it. There were two consecutive explosions.

I got him!

The Fishbed flew out of the explosion, and turned back towards him.

What the hell?

The missile warning blared, and Sergio barrel rolled right to dodge. Before he could finish the maneuver, though, the canopy went black, and “Scenario Failed” appeared yet again.

How was that thing still flying? Both missiles connected, and I had already gotten in another missile and several gun rounds. Fishbeds aren’t that sturdy.

His mind went back to the twist the aircraft made just before being hit. He brought up the statistics, and according to those he had dealt about 68 percent damage to it.

Don’t tell me… instead of trying to dodge, it was trying to deflect damage away?

He pushed the button to restart the simulation. “Just who is this thing based off of…”

***

Nikki gulped down a spoonful of vegetable soup. “You know… this feels weird.”

Keiko tilted her head slightly, preparing another spoonful. “Why?”

“I’m getting spoon-fed by my daughter while having never spoon-fed her.”

Keiko laughed. “I’m pretty sure future you did, but… what can I say? I’ve always been a bit of a weirdness magnet.”

Nikki laughed as well. “I’m afraid it runs in the family.”

She felt a tug at her stomach. It was just a little over a year and a half, but the time between the Blank Sprite Incident and the Unravel had been a nice, peaceful, normal part of her life.

And the school life dreams she had while unconscious were something she would’ve liked to live for real, instead of fighting for most of her life.

And now, I’m here stuck in bed, needing to be spoon-fed, after having nearly died again.

“Mom? Are you alright?”

“Eh? Sorry, I got lost in my thoughts.”

She opened up her mouth to take another spoonful. As much as it was embarrassing, it was unfortunately a necessity: her muscles were weak, and most movements were painful.

“Hey, if you’re thinking about what happened… It’s fine. Our family is still all here.”

“Yes, but… I feel so useless now.”

Keiko set the bowl down on the bedside table and leaned in. “Mom, you need to give yourself time. I saw how messed up you were once they pulled you out of your plane. Most people would’ve kicked the bucket there and then, and not only you’re alive, but you woke up several days earlier than Shamal expected.” She pointed at herself. “Besides, who do you think I took my own toughness from? I’m sure you’ll be back on your feet in no time.”

Nikki nodded slowly. Keiko was right, she always recovered from everything, including being actually dead once. She would be back in fighting shape sooner or later.

The problem is… do I actually want to keep fighting?

***

Kathleen walked with Faith towards the room Nikki was in. After all, if she was now awake she could use some company. Being stuck in a room with nothing to do and no one to talk to, she would die of boredom otherwise.

They reached the room, and found Ami discussing with a nurse.

“Why? I’m in her same squadron, and we’ve known each other for years!”

“I’m sorry, relatives only. That’s the rule.”

Faith walked closer to them. “We can guarantee her, we’re actual relatives of Nikki. Sort of.”

The nurse turned towards her. “If that’s the case, the two of you can enter. But Tanegashima will have to stay out, I’m afraid – no visitors outside of relatives until Cherryflower is out of intensive care. I’m sorry, those are the rules.”

Kathleen couldn’t understand why the guy was making such a fuss over that. Why was being her sister-in-law enough, and being her friend wasn’t?

“Why? What’s that supposed to achieve?”

“It’s mostly a matter of making sure she doesn’t get swarmed. I think all of you know she’s been severely injured – getting too many visits will fatigue her and impair recovery.”

Faith clasped her hands. “It’s just the three of us!”

The nurse’s expression turned to a begging one. “Please, don’t make my job harder. I had to turn away the whole Razgriz Squadron earlier, and I owe my life to them as well as to Tanegashima and Cherryflower.”

Kathleen pouted. There was no use arguing with someone so stuck up with rules – it was almost like talking to her world’s version of Sergio.

“OK, OK.” Kathleen raised her hands. “We understand. Ami, can you accompany me to the bathroom?”

Ami gave her a confused look. “Uh, sure?”

“C’mon, follow me!”

Kathleen grabbed her hand and dragged her away, only stopping after she rounded a corner.

“And now we can go in with no hassles at all!”

“Eh? How? Ducato isn’t going to let us through, those restrictions come from Shamal herself so-“

Kathleen concentrated on where Nikki’s room was, and teleported herself and Ami there. It was a small but tidy room, with only one bed occupied by Nikki. Faith was already inside, as well.

Ami looked even more confused, though. “… what happened?”

Faith raised an eyebrow. “Did you forget about her powers?”

“I… actually don’t know much about them anyway?” She turned towards Nikki. “Oh, sorry for intruding!”

Nikki smiled. “It’s fine. I’m actually happy to see you all!”

Faith walked closer to the bed. “How are you feeling?”

Nikki said, “Not too bad, all considered. I’m bedridden for now, but considering what it could’ve been… I’ll take it.”

Kathleen walked over as well. Nikki hadn’t moved pretty much at all since they had entered the room, and the only reason she was in a somewhat upright position was because the mattress under her upper back had been lifted. And she was still pretty heavily bandaged, too.

Kathleen took her hand to get a feel of her injuries. She tried to not wince once the feedback hit her – she could feel every rip in her muscles, every crack in her bones. Nikki had been through the wringer, there was no doubt.

“I wouldn’t call that ‘not too bad,’ your ribs must hurt like hell.”

Kathleen closed her eyes. There was no way she could heal all of those at once, but she still had a trick up her sleeve.  She concentrated on Nikki’s body as a whole and boosted her natural healing. “Here, I sped up your cellular regeneration.”

“Wow, you can do that? Thank you. Though, to be fair, I’m not actually feeling much in the way of pain. They have some pretty effective painkillers.”

“Yes, you’re going to heal faster now. But not too much, we want Sergio to be able to spoil you for a little while.” Kathleen winked.

Nikki laughed. “Well, to be fair I’m surprised he’s not here 24/7. Though Shamal told me they kept trying to kick him out of here before I woke up.”

Ami looked up in thought. “I’m not sure about what he’s doing exactly, but the Colonel gave him some kind of assignment on the simulator. Apparently, he won’t get cleared to fly again until he passes that.”

“What? Why is that?”

Ami bit her lip. “Well…”

Kathleen realized right away Ami’s slip. If there was something that Nikki didn’t need to know yet, it was that her boyfriend had gone berserk over what happened to her. “Anyways, they tried to keep Ami out too.”

Nikki nodded, slowly and carefully. “Now I understand why you had to teleport in. They could’ve made an exception, Ami is pretty much family now.”

Faith shrugged. “Not enough, apparently.”

“It’s pretty funny they let us in. Technically you’re not my sister-in-law yet after all.”

“By the way,” Faith said, “did your daughter come to visit yet?”

Nikki nodded again. “Yes. In fact, she’s helping me eat.” She lifted her arm slightly, it was trembling. She let it down after a couple seconds. “It’s pretty embarrassing having to be spoon-fed.”

Ami looked shocked.. “That’s… that’s how much you can move?”

“They took fifty pieces of shrapnel out of me. Between that and the time I was out, I’m really weak now.”

Kathleen smiled. “It won’t be for long, though!”

***

Sergio had just reached the door of Nikki’s room when he heard a crashing sound from inside it. He ran in, finding Nikki on her knees holding onto the bedside table, and Shamal trying to help her up.

“It’s too early for you to walk, Nikki,” Shamal said. “Your injuries haven’t fully healed yet, and you’ve been in bed for six days. Your legs can’t hold your weight yet.”

Sergio walked over, and put Nikki’s left arm over his shoulders. “Where were you going? Just yesterday you could barely move your arms.”

“I know… I thought I was already feeling better today,” Nikki said. She turned towards him, and brought out a forced smile. “You know… I thought I could at least reach the bathroom.”

Sergio sighed. It was just like her to try a stunt like that – a bad habit she shared with Sakura herself. “What’s up with you Kinomotos not staying in bed when you need to rest?”

Nikki widened her eyes, then looked away. “Well…”

Shamal motioned to accompany her back to the bed, but Sergio shook his head.

“So… were you going to the bathroom?”

“Yes.”

Sergio pulled her back up standing. “Ok then. Since it looks like you aren’t very willing to pee in a bottle, I’ll give you a hand.”

He started walking towards the room’s small bathroom, slowly enough that Nikki could keep up while he kept most of her weight off her feet.

“Thank you.”

She faced insurmountable odds and won in the past, not being able to even walk must be horrible for her. If letting her take a few steps will help her feel better, I’m gonna do that, even if it earns me Shamal’s ire. “It’s the very least I can do.”

***

Sergio eased Nikki back in her bed. “Here. Do you need anything else, maybe something more to read to pass the time?”

She slowly shook her head no. “I’m good, thank you. Actually, Nagase just copied down that little book of hers for me.”

Sergio glanced at her bedside table. Alongside a few magazines, there was a small notebook with “A Blue Dove for the Princess” written with a marker on the cover.

“That was very nice of her.”

Sergio leaned in to have a better look, but inadvertently hit an empty paper cup with his elbow. It went tumbling down, but he caught it before it hit the ground.

Nikki laughed. “Nice catch, I thought you were going to miss it.”

He froze, thinking about the trajectory of the cup. Tumbling and spinning down… a miss…

“Sergio, is everything alright?”

He smiled. “Yes. I think this cup just gave me an idea.”

***

Johnson walked towards the simulator. It was in use, with Corolla at the computer next to it.

“How is he doing? It’s almost time to pack the simulator up.”

Corolla scratched her head. “Actually… I’m not sure what he is up to. I found him already inside, doing some free flight with the Phantom instead of running the scenario.”

She pointed at the screen. “And he keeps ending up in a spin for some reason. He’s recovering from them, but the way he flies-”

Johnson looked in. “He’s snapping the stick forward, rolling left and kicking the rudder left and right. He’s inducing them deliberately.”

Johnson looked at a window in which the simulated aircraft was followed by a chase cam. It suddenly began to tumble out, with Sergio recovering after a few seconds.

Johnson burst out laughing, earning a weirded out look from Corolla. “I can’t believe it… he came up with that on his own!”

He took a headset and put it on. “Fisherman to Lightning. Do you copy?”

“… Gramps? What’s that?”

“Oh, just my old TAC name from the Vietnam War days. Listen up: we need to pack up the simulator, but I’m willing to give you one last try at the scenario beforehand. You in?”

“You bet.” Sergio’s voice sounded confident for the first time in days.

***

Sergio put the Phantom in a climb again, having just nicked the Fishbed with a few more rounds.

“Lightning to Robogirl, I need a damage estimate on the enemy aircraft.”

“You’ve almost got him, it’s smoking badly!”

Sergio executed a Split-S to engage the Fishbed again. He fired a missile as soon as he got a lock, but the damaged Fishbed still managed to dodge. The momentum carried him past his enemy, which started getting a lock of his own.

Okay, it’s timet. It’s do or die!

He pushed the stick fully forward, then left while giving a few kicks to the pedals. Just as rehearsed, the plane went tumbling in the air out of control, bleeding out speed.

The Fishbed went past him, and Sergio wrestled with the controls to recover the aircraft.

The Phantom went for another full tumble before stabilizing right on the tail of the Fishbed.

You’re mine now!

Sergio opened fire with the machine guns, and fired two missiles as soon as he had a lock. Everything hit, and the Fishbed was ripped apart. “Scenario Completed” finally appeared on the HUD.

Sergio released the controls and relaxed against the seat’s backrest. I did it.

The canopy opened, and he took his helmet off.

“Nice work, Captain.”

Sergio climbed out of the cockpit. “Thanks. But you really put me against some pretty skilled AI. I would’ve had to work for it even if I had my Raptor.”

“I know,” Johnson said. “First Lieutenant, can you put the proper livery on the Fishbed?”

“Consider it done, sir!”

Sergio leaned in on the computer screen, where a replay of his dogfight was being played. However, the Fishbed was no longer light gray, but dark gray with a white intake cone and orange wingtips.

Wait a minute.

“Before you ask, yes. The AI pilot you just managed to defeat was patterned after my memories of Mihály Szilágyi, the incarnation of Mihaly Shilage from our world.”

Sergio remained speechless. Did he really…

“I can’t assure you his flying is 100% the same as Shilage’s, but I dare say you have a chance against him now… and that you also know how to fly the Phantom to the fullest of its abilities.”

He shook his head. “I can’t believe you even managed to master the Tumble. I’m impressed.”

“The ‘Tumble?’ So that maneuver has a name?”

“Yes, that’s how it was nicknamed after a guy going by the callsign Mugs did it the first time. Three years later, it saved my ass against Szilágyi.”

Sergio stared at the screen in disbelief. That was one hell of a curveball. “So… You weren’t just trying to improve how I fly. You were training me how to deal with the Belkans’ top ace?”

“Sort of. I admit I didn’t do much in the way of training – I gave you some pointers, and left you with a problem to solve.”

Sergio smiled, having finally realized what his grandfather was going for. “You made me find my own answer.”

“Exactly. And, considering how hard the challenge I gave you was, I’m confident you’ll be able to find the right tactic for any situation now. Congratulations, Captain. You’ve just earned back your wings.”

***

Nikki gripped her crutches and made a step forward. Her leg muscles were still stiff, but at least they weren’t hurting anymore. She made another step, and caught her breath – it was being much more tiring than she imagined.

“One step at a time,” Shamal cautioned her. “It’s not a race, and frankly the fact that you’re standing already is a miracle all in itself.”

“I can do it. Don’t underestimate me.”

The boost she had received from Kathleen had been doing wonders – Shamal had been dumbfounded at the rate she was recovering since then.

Nikki did another step, and felt sweat forming on her forehead. Even then, she wasn’t going to be up and running anytime soon.

She gulped – whether she liked it or not, her friends were going to make do without her for a while.

Nikki gritted her teeth. If I’m ever going to be able to fight again, that is.

***

“Good morning, everyone.” Johnson said, standing next to one of Corolla’s holographic windows in the surviving hangar.. “The TSAB is nearly finished packing up everything on the Wolfram and our E-767, so we’ll be departing soon. As such, I thought it was time to finalize our escort strategy.

“Our route passes through areas mostly controlled by the NATO coalition, so a confrontation with Belkan forces is unlikely. However, we cannot rule out the possibility completely, some areas are contested so we might meet enemy forces in those areas that could switch their attention to us. Keep your eyes open. 

“The Wolfram and Long Caster’s E-767 will be in the middle. Razgriz Squadron and Haro Squadron will flank them, providing the bulk of their defence. As for Skystreaker Squadron, the current composition requires a different approach. The first element, composed by Captain Tanegashima and First Lieutenant Corolla, will be equipped with long range SAAM type missiles to act as a scouting unit flying in front.

“The second element, composed by Captain Turbo and First Lieutenant Minase, will act as the rear guard. They will be equipped with High Capacity Air to Air type missiles to intercept anything that gets through the other squadrons.”

“As I already mentioned in the debriefing after the attack on Sand Island, our forces will split once we reach the Japanese mainland, with the Wolfram and Razgriz proceeding towards Osaka’s Space Port while Long Caster, Skystreaker and Haro will land at Tomoeda Field, which will become Strike Dove’s official headquarters in this world.”

“That is all. I’ll leave you to prepare for your sortie, if there are no questions. Dismissed.”

***

Sergio glanced at the spot where the Raptor had been parked until a few hours earlier. If it wasn’t there, it meant that it had been packed up. Was it even repairable? He was so focused on passing his grandfather’s little test that he forgot to ask Corolla for updates on it.

“If you’re looking for your beloved personal plane… well, I’m afraid I have to tell you you have to find another beloved personal plane,” Corolla said from behind him.

Sergio took a deep breath. “Let me guess, I trashed it so badly you couldn’t fix it in time?”

Corolla shook her head slowly, and opened up a holographic window. It showed a 3D model of his plane, completely highlighted in orange and red. “I’m afraid it can’t be fixed. You managed to twist and bend the fuselage itself – not enough to be visible to the naked eye, but enough to mess up its aerodynamics. There’s hairline cracks pretty much everywhere, too, and most of its internal systems are shot. In some cases literally.”

Sergio’s shoulders slumped. He had grown attached to that plane. “So, let me guess… it’s only good for turning it into Tomoeda Field’s gate guardian?”

“That, or a museum exhibit, I’m afraid. I’m sorry, Sergio, I’m really, really sorry.”

Sergio ruffled her hair. “Don’t worry about it, it’s my fault really. And, if you could do more, you would’ve already.”

Corolla tried to comb her hair back in shape. “Don’t worry, though. You still have a bird for today, and… uhm, the Colonel wanted to keep it a surprise, but there’s something waiting for you in Tomoeda Field’s hangars.”

Sergio beamed. Had they managed to buy more aircraft? “Really? What is it?”

“I won’t tell you more now… especially since the Colonel is actually waiting for us.”

Corolla transformed into Unison Device form, and flew out of the hangar. Sergio chased her to the apron, where his grandfather was waiting next to his Phantom.

Corolla reached him and saluted. “I brought him here, sir!”

“Good work, First Lieutenant.”

Sergio did his best to catch his breath. “So… Corolla said my plane’s busted. But I don’t really recall us having any spare plane left?”

Johnson nodded slowly. “That’s right, we don’t. However, you forgot one thing. I will no longer be doing combat sorties.”

He patted the nose of the Phantom. “Which means one aircraft is currently free.”

Sergio couldn’t believe his ears. “No way… You’re giving me your personal aircraft?”

Johnson laughed. “No, I’m just lending her to you for today. Treat her with gloves, though, she’s an old lady.”

“I see.” Sergio nodded slowly, finally understanding his grandfather’s plan in full. “Not only did you want me to improve as a pilot and get past my own failure, you were also trying to make sure I could handle the Phantom during the transfer. You really are three steps ahead.”

Since we’re in the middle of summer again and the last two chapter were pretty heavy, I thought that a nice happy (and somewhat fanservicey, too) illustration could be welcome. So, my main cast, now complete, at a beach resort!

Feel free to try to identify the background characters – some I’ve already introduced, some are just filler, but there’s also a little early cameo from people who will get involved in a future arc. I did such a cameo in last year’s illustration as well – can you catch it?