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Round 2 - laniña, "The Pallor of Her Brow" - Part 3 of 5, Fic (○)
Pseudonym: laniña
Title: The Pallor of Her Brow - Part 3 of well, maybe 5, let's just say
Characters/Pairings: Akari, Hikaru, Sai (kinda. technically the AI in this fic is not the original Sai) This chapter: Kaga, Kaneko, Yeongha, Tsutsui, Mitani (yeah, kinda in that order of importance)
Rating: G
Summary/Notes: Mecha anime AU. Part 1 can be found here. Part 2 is here.
“I did,” said Hikaru, struggling ineffectually against Kaga's grip, “what's it to you?”
Kaga released both of them. He let go of Akari's sleeve lightly, giving her time to retain her balance, but Hikaru he pushed backwards, so that the younger boy stumbled and had to grab the end of the bannister to keep from falling. “You're not Kaio, and you don't look like a military brat either. How do you even know about Touya Akira, in a backwater star system like this?”
Hikaru raised his hands. “Geez, stop making a big deal about it. I have friends in Kaio and they bragged about him, that's all.”
“Friends in Kaio? What are their names?” When moments stretched out without Hikaru providing a response, Kaga snorted. “Thought so. Nobody in Kaio has friends, as far as I could tell when I was on that wretched hellhole of a moon. And nobody in Kaio would brag about Touya Akira. You wanna come up with a better story, or shall we just skip to the part where I beat the crap out of you?”
Akari had spent the last few seconds extricating her mace spray from her backpack, and she now sprayed Kaga's face soundly, at close-range, causing the older boy to double up, a hand clasped across his eyes.
“No,” she said, “we skip to the part where we ask you questions. Hikaru, help me get him under the stairs, so that the people on the street don't spot us. There's some duct tape in my backpack for his hands, when you get a chance.”
They managed to get Kaga belly-down on the floor, hands taped behind his back and ankles taped together.
Akari bent down and and spoke in Kaga's ear. “Try to yell out for help, and I'll spray you in the eyes again. That first spray was because you kicked Hikaru in the shins when we were in the shop. Do anything else to hurt Hikaru and I'll make sure your eyes are stinging with pepper for a week.” She said this in a conversational tone, but softly, so that Hikaru, still intent upon winding duct tape around Kaga's calves, would not hear her.
Even while trussed up and teary from mace spray, Kaga still managed to make his smirks look confident. “All right, got the message. Does your boyfriend know you're this scary?”
“He's not my boyfriend.”
“Hell hath no fury like--” She waved the mace spray and he fell silent, then winced as Hikaru reinforced the duct tape around his hands.
“Try not to use up the entire roll,” Akari told Hikaru, “we might need some later.”
“Heh, guess you're right.” Hikaru returned the duct tape to her back pack. “It feels so satisfying, though. All right, let the interrogation begin!”
“There's no need to interrogate me,” Kaga said, “I can't help you find Touya. I'm not in Kaio anymore. And neither is he.”
“We're not looking for Touya Akira.” Akari knelt in front of Kaga, a safe distance away, in case he was capable of posing a threat even in his current state – which she felt fairly certain that he was. “We're looking for a way to get an unlicensed humanoid mecha off the planet, undetected by customs.”
Kaga looked from her to Hikaru and let out a groan. “Amateur kid smugglers,” he muttered. “We go planetside for three days, for the first time since March, and I get waylaid by amateur kid smugglers. It's like one of those spy novels Tsutsui likes to read. What were you two doing, playing treasure hunt in Lake Ayu?”
“Actually, it was in the Tai Valley. And we don't play,” Hikaru said. “We run a business. We're good at it.”
“Must be good or just ridiculously lucky, if you found an intact humanoid anywhere in this star system. You realise there's a whole separate set of Alliance laws that governs what happens to you if you don't declare your find? Universal Fleet personnel could whisk you away and the last thing your parents would hear is that your bodies had turned up dead, somewhere.”
“They'll take Hikaru away even if he declares his find.” Akari looked at Kaga. “Do you know of a way we can get into space without being spotted?”
“Seven or eight ways, just off the top of my head. Not that I'm inclined to help little kids who should be at home playing with holographic mecha.”
“Please,” Akari said. She'd known, the moment Hikaru explained his bond to Sai, that she was going to lose Hikaru. That he'd go to the military, most likely, or else be locked up in a detention centre somewhere. Or just fly off to travel the stars with Sai, and never come home again.
The only thing she could do to keep him close was to follow him, as far as she could. For as long as she could.
And when she could follow no longer, when they'd reached the end of everything they could do together, she would wait. Maybe she'd wait for the rest of her life, for a day that would never come. Hikaru was the sort of boy who went forward unceasingly, never looking back, no matter what he did. She'd become a memory for him, something he thought about absently and fondly, like the way he spoke about his mother and father.
She didn't want that to happen.
Kaga's eyes were too knowing, like he could read exactly what was going through her head. “Then again, it's hard to pass up a chance to piss off the Universal Fleet. Get all this duct tape off me and I'll see what I can do.””
“No way,” Hikaru said.
“Yes, way,” Kaga said. “If I were you, I'd start doing it before my backup arrives.”
“Your backup,” said a pleasant, tenor voice coming from the stairwell entrance, “happens to think that duct tape is an excellent idea for you, and one I wish we'd thought of sooner. Did you know that Tamako-sensei has been looking for you for hours? She sent the the PE teacher out to search for you, but apparently he got caught in an argument with an angry ramen shop owner. Something about this being the fifth time you've engaged in public destruction of property at that shop.”
Akari hadn't noticed the newcomer arrive at all. She and Hikaru turned to look at him. He was in his late teens, handsome in an understated manner, with an easy glide to his movements as he crossed the stairwell and bent to slice the duct tape off Kaga's jeans with a laser switchblade.
“Isumi. For once I'm glad to see you.” Kaga sighed in satisfaction as his legs were gradually freed.
“It's Isumi-sensei for the moment,” said the young man curtly. “Not that I have much to teach you, apart from common courtesy.”
“What's an honorific or two between former fleet cadets? Anyway you won't be my teacher for much longer.”
Isumi responded by ripping a long strip of duct tape off the bare skin of Kaga's forearms.
“Ouch, that's cruel. I've been on school business. Got a couple of prospective admissions here for you. Names of--” Kaga twisted his head up to look at Akari and Hikaru. “What were your names again?”
“Shindou Hikaru,” said Hikaru.
“Fujisaki Akari,” she said.
“Shindou Hikaru and Fujisaki Akari. Anyway, these two are deeply passionate about astronautics. Bored silly this summer – they were going to attend the Ko Yeongha concert tomorrow night, but couldn't afford tickets. Didn't you say enrolment in your summer school was below target?”
“It is, but it's too late for further enrolments.” Isumi finished his work and Kaga gingerly clambered to his feet. “We're leaving in the morning.”
“What's happened?”
“Section 19, paragraph 9.”
Kaga's mouth fell open. “What did you say?”
“You heard me the first time. Can I trust you to make it back to Haze without disgracing the school further, or do I need to stay and escort you back?”
“I'll find my way back.” There was a seriousness in Kaga's face, quite unlike anything they had seen from him up till now. “There are a few things I need to do before we launch.”
“Very well. I trust that I won't have to come out again.” Isumi looked at Hikaru and Akira for the first time and gave them a polite nod. “The two of you should be going home. It's getting late.” He left as gracefully and unobtrusively as he'd arrived, after giving them one last quick, but well-mannered bow. Akari was still staring at the doorway through which Isumi had exited when Kaga began to speak.
“Section 19, huh?” His fan had appeared in his right hand again, seemingly from nowhere, and he unfolded it now to reveal the character for War. “The mecha you found in Tai – what class is it?
“Touya Akira said it was at least Category 4C,” said Hikaru.
Kaga whistled. “Ridiculously lucky – or ridiculously unlucky, considering the circumstances. Sure you can't just dump it somewhere? I gotta tell you, life has just taken a turn for the worse for mecha-owners, in our little corner of the galaxy.
“That's not an option,” Akari said, just as Hikaru said, at the same time, “I can't do that.”
“Why?” asked Kaga, and when they did not answer, shook his head. “Fine. We all have secrets we need to keep. If you're still sure you want to get into space, then I'll help you.”
“You will?” said Hikaru. “Why?”
Kaga unpeeled a final, stray piece of duct tape from his jeans (it came off with bits of squashed ramen stuck to it) and tossed it in the corner. “If we're under Section 19 then an unlicensed Category 4C in a previously neutral territory automatically comes under the jurisdiction of the Juudan Unit. And I wouldn't sic Rear Admiral Ogata on my worst enemy. Well, maybe on Touya Akira. If you kids are serious about this, then come with me.”
“We're serious,” Akari said, and Hikaru nodded.
“Kids these days.” Kaga folded his fan, used it to point the way up the stairs. “Follow me.”
_______________________
Kaga led them on a tangled route through the city: across rooftops, along abandoned monorail tracks and deserted shopping strips. Ayu had been a great urban centre once, before newer, faster space launches were built in Iwana and Kawahagi, before the Five-Star Alliance was formed and recycling ancient weaponry became a hobbyist pursuit rather than an important and necessary profession. Since the end of the last war both money and inhabitants had gradually trickled away to other cities, leaving behind entire suburbs of abandoned buildings and half-finished infrastructure.
They travelled about half an hour on foot, Kaga setting the pace, pausing impatiently at intervals as Hikaru and Akari struggled to keep up.
“Couldn't we take public transport?” Akari asked, panting, as they struggled uphill on a particularly steep street.
“Neither the buses nor the subway take cash, and I don't want to be traced tonight.” Kaga had been lolling against the side of a building for the last several minutes, waiting for them to catch up. “We only need to get as far as the docks; I've arranged for someone to pick us up there. By the way, where have you stashed your mecha? Is it far out of town?”
“It's in the lake,” said Hikaru.
“Coordinates?”
“I'll give them to you on a need-to-know basis.” Hikaru threw Kaga a baleful look. “Couldn't you have told us how much exercise this was going to be?”
“What would have been the fun in that?” Kaga picked up his pace again; fortunately, their path wound downhill from this point, and several minutes later they sighted the lakefront, with its long dark piers and the silhouettes of great warehouses.
They arrived at a concrete quay, the sensor lights flicking into brightness to herald their arrival, and Akari spotted, at a berth further down, the outline of a small boat. There appeared to be two people sitting in it.
“You sure took your time,” came a girl's voice from the boat. “Tsutsui's been SMSing us non-stop for the last hour. He thinks you got into trouble somewhere. I'm not sure why he thinks your getting into trouble is anything worth worrying about.”
“Kaneko. Good to see someone who know's what they're doing. Is your useless boyfriend here as well?”
“I'm not her--”
“Shaddup kid, I've been dealing with noise from clueless brats for the last hour. Don't need more.”
More spotlights lit up as they approached the boat; close up, Akari saw that the two waiting persons were a boy and girl, about the same age as herself and Hikaru. The boy was slim, with extensively dyed highlights in his curls; he had that thin, elongated look that teenagers develop mid-growth spurt. He was glaring at Kaga, who didn't seem to care one whit.
The girl was taller than Akari and rather plump. She sat at the back of the motorboat, near where the engine and rotor were, and emanated an air of confidence as she scrutinised Akari and Hikaru, then spoke to Kaga. “Are you taking these two with us to Haze? It's not exactly a good time to be making new friends here, or haven't you heard?”
“Isumi told me. Paragraph 9, right? Dunno which of the Five Stars messed up – probably Ouza. Chief Minister Zama's an idiot. Anyway we should get spaceside as soon as possible – after we weaponise Haze. Isumi wouldn't approve but that idiot will be the first person in a mecha the moment trouble starts.”
“We can't install military parts here,” said the other boy. “Not in Ayu; it's far too well-monitored.”
“We can't,” said Kaga, “but we can load our mecha into the hangar, and that will be a start. We don't want to obviously armament ourselves until we've decided whose side we're on. Or at least which sides exist.” He got into the boat and held up his hand to Akari. “Hop on; you're about to visit the only flying school in the solar system.”
She ignored his outstretched hand and jumped, the boat rocking as she landed. Hikaru followed right after.
“Round of introductions,” Kaga said, when the engine had started up and they were picking up speed, moving along the surface of the lake. “Kaneko Masako, Mitani Yuuki, Fujisaki Akari, Shindou Hikaru. All done now? Kaneko and Mitani are kouhai of mine at Haze Academy. Shindou and Fujisaki are mecha smugglers, just like Mitani used to be. Well, beginner mecha smugglers. I don't think they actually know what they're doing.”
“Haze was a battleship during the final Honinbou War, right?” said Hikaru. “The Meijin donated it to our solar system after the war ended, to be used as an astronautics school. But all the weapons systems were taken down.”
“And here I thought you were completely clueless. You're just mostly clueless. Time to give me the coordinates of your precious mecha; we're going to go pick it up.”
“Sai doesn't need to be picked up,” said Hikaru. “He's already there.”
“There we go again. Completely bonkers. Nothing that comes out of your mouth makes sense, kid.”
Hikaru stared steadily at Kaga. “Take us back to Haze. You'll see.”
_______________
There was little conversation as their speedboat cut its way through the water, leaving noise and foam in its wake. Kaneko was busy steering and Kaga seemed wholly preoccupied with his mobile phone; whether he was texting or playing games or doing something more useful, Akari couldn’t tell. Mitani sat in the backseat and stared out at the lake, pointedly ignoring everyone, a behaviour that Hikaru appeared to be emulating, except that Hikaru was simply staring vacantly into space.
Hikaru was an airhead, but he wasn’t this much of an airhead, so Akari took hold of his arm and asked, quietly, “What’s going on?”
He turned towards her, his expression still distracted. “It’s Sai. He keeps talking to me. He’s going to meet us when we get near the ship.”
“He’s talking to you?” She kept her voice low, watching the Haze students on the boat. Fortunately none of them were paying attention to them.
“Well, yeah?”
“In your head?”
“Why not? Sai’s from the Federation era. We don’t even have a tenth of the technology that they used to have then. I’ve got some sort of telepathic link with Sai; I don’t really know how to explain it.” Hikaru closed his eyes, then opened them again. “He wants to know what Section 19 is, by the way.”
Didn’t Hikaru ever pay attention in history class? Akari opened her mouth to whisper back, then saw Mitani staring straight at her. She elbowed Hikaru, who gave her an annoyed Yes, of course I’ve already noticed look, then spoke out loud: “It’s a reference to the Third Five-Star Treaty, which was signed about twenty years ago. Section 19 deals with circumstances under which the treaty becomes void.”
“In other words Section 19 means the Five-Star Alliance no longer exists.” Kaga had put away his mobile phone and was now displaying his fan again as it displayed a series of names: Meijin. Honinbou. Ouza. Gosei. Kisei. “Bad news for the territories in it that were neutral and don’t belong to one of the Five, especially since lots of them have been in progressive disarmament for the last five decades. Especially this solar system. Betcha fifty credits this planet gets annexed by Kisei before dinnertime tomorrow. Kaio won’t put up much of a defense – every cadet affiliated with a star is probably hopping on a shuttle to their home system as we speak.”
“Don’t be alarmed,” Kaneko spoke suddenly, and it took Akari a moment to realise the reassurance was directed at herself. “This planet will probably surrender without a fight, which is the best option for its civilians. You two have family here, don’t you? So do I. They’ll be okay, at least for now.”
She smiled at Akari, who smiled uncertainly back. The speedboat navigated its way past a series of houseboats and continued to make its way southeast, toward the Lake Ayu space elevator. It stood against the starlit sky, a monumental glittering tower that tapered into a thin endless spire, stretching up towards the heavens. As Akari watched, a small round starship began travelling up the elevator, secured by cables to a massive lifting-platform. It moved upwards much faster than she would have expected, flashing beam lights as it went.
“I checked the bookings,” said Kaneko. “The earliest spot we could get on the elevator was for 1 AM tonight They don't seem to have tightened their security procedures yet, but who knows when that will change.”
Kaga checked the time on his mobile phone. “That gives us just over three hours. Should be enough. I've asked Tsutsui to move my mecha on board, and his. Mitani, your starfighter's already on Haze, isn't it?”
“Doesn't have enough ammo, but yeah, it is.”
“None of us have enough ammo. Except possibly you two.” Kaga inclined his head pointedly at Hikaru.
It was another half an hour before they pulled up at a small wooden wharf – a good three kilometres south of the space elevator, and enshrouded in near-darkness. Mitani and Kaneko flicked torchlights on as they disembarked onto a small beach, rocky and scattered with lakeweed.
Kaga was making a phone call “Tsutsui? We're here. Switch the lights on so we can actually see you, will you? I'm all for subterfuge but this is ridiculous; I'm about to stub my toe on one of these seashells.”
He hung up, and a few seconds later, Akari saw Haze, lit up in a dim bluish-silver glow.
Haze was a thin, sleek spacecraft, especially considering her size – Akari estimated the ship was at least three hundred metres in length. She was elliptical in shape, with turrets and wings that had obviously borne artillery, once upon a time.
“Beautiful, isn't she?” Kaga smiled. “I don't know why anyone would prefer studying at Kaio over this.”
“People who actually attend class and pay attention to their teachers,” Kaneko said.
“Touché. Ah, there's Tsutsui.”
A doorway had opened up at about the midpoint of the ship. Emerging from it was a long staircase that was unfolding as it descended down to touch the sand, its progress illuminated by a white spotlight from the doorway.
Kaga leaped onto the stairway as soon as it touched ground. As he ran upwards quickly, dozens of metal bars emerged from either side of the steps and gradually snapped together to form diagonal bannisters on either side of the steps, immobilised in the air by what Akari presumed was magnetic force.
Mitani followed Kaga at once, then Kaneko, who nodded and indicated that Hikaru and Akari should follow. Their shoes made a series of dissonant clangs on the metal steps as they climbed up.
“Looks amazing, but terrible acoustics,” Hikaru muttered.
They filed into a wide, bare corridor. Waiting there was a boy about Kaga's age. He wore spectacles and carried an electronic clipboard clutched against his chest. He had a rather nice face, Akari thought.
“Hello Tsutsui,” said Kaneko.
“Hello Kaneko, Kaga, Mitani.” Tsutsui gave them all a nervous smile. “Hello – Shindou and Fujisaki, is it? Kaga told me you were coming.”
“How's the progress going?” Kaga asked, skipping
“I, uh, have bad news and good news. Good news is that everything's basically done, except for your, uh, additions.” Tsutsui nodded at Hikaru and Akari. “Bad news is, well, Isumi-sensei may, uh, have found the mechas.”
Kaga buried his forehead in his hands. “Isumi. He's been a thorn in my side since he showed up at Haze. I knew I should have knocked him unconscious when I had the chance.”
“As if you could,” Kaneko snorted. “You're pretty good, Kaga, even I'll admit that, but I've seen you spar with Isumi-sensei in zero-G. He's outta your league.”
“Uh,” said Tsutsui, “he's letting us keeping the mechas.”
“He's letting us do what?” Kaga whistled. “Well, that's a new one for him. It'd be the first fun thing he's letting us do since he arrived.”
“I don't think Isumi-sensei is as much of a stickler for rules as you seem to think he is, you know,” said Tsutsui. “I mean, compared with you, yes, but everyone's well-behaved next to you, Kaga.”
Kaga made a grumpy noise. “Whatever. All right. Kaneko, Mitani, you go off and do whatever you have to do before spacelaunch. We'll fly to the cosmodrome in approximately ninety minutes and await takeoff from there. I don't anticipate trouble with customs but Mitani, try not to bring too much that's illegal, okay. Tsutsui, you come with me and these two kids here. We've got a mecha to bring in.”
“I already said, you don't have to bring Sai in,” Hikaru said, irritatedly. “He's already followed us here. He's on the beach. Open up your hangar bay and he'll come in.”
Kaga reached out and smacked Hikaru on the head. “Kid, you are either completely delusional or you've found the strangest humanoid mecha in the universe. Okay then, Tsutsui. To the hangar.”
______________
A little later Akari took out her mobile phone and recorded a quick video of Kaga's face, just because. She wasn't sure if she'd get the chance to see Kaga completely dumbstruck again.
After some argument and several curious looks from Tsutsui, Kaga had finally agreed to open the hangar doors
Sai had flown in, rapid and silent as ever, and landed on the floor of the bay with a controlled descent. The AI had transformed its body back into humanoid mode; lakewater trickled down its pearl-white armor as it stood facing the four of them, but otherwise it remained unnaturally clean and gleaming, just the way it had been when Hikaru and Akari found it in the valley.
It took Kaga a full minute to find his voice, and when he did, it was hushed. “Where did you find that?” he asked in awe.
“In Tai Valley. We already told you.”
“This thing isn't category 4C. It's more like...unclassifiable. You didn't need to smuggle this thing spaceside, you could probably hijack the entire Ayu elevator with this. Well, if you could pilot it properly, which I doubt you can.” Kaga stared up at Sai, and then at Hikaru with an expression that looked like respect. “Can I...test it?”
“Well, I suppose so. You are a bit of a jerk, though.'
“Can't help it, it just happens.”
Tsutsui approached Akari as the two boys drifted off into their own conversation, giving her a sheepish grin. “Knowing Kaga, we won't be able to talk to them for at least an hour. I think I'd better show you to your cabin, and then you can get ready for space launch. You probably have dozens of questions, but some of them will have to wait until we get off-planet.”
Being around Tsutsui's calm demeanour made Akari feel slightly better. “Thanks very much for letting us trouble you. I think we've had too many questions and answers for one night already, but I'm a little worried about neither Hikaru nor I having any clothes or toothbrushes. Things like that.”
“I think we have some spare toiletries in the bathrooms. As for the rest, we'll probably have about an hour to do some shopping in the cosmodrome, after we get through customs. It's not exactly a megamall, but it should have everything we need.”
He showed her to her cabin and to Hikaru's – the rooms were single rooms, it looked like, with a bunk bed, a desk with an input interface, and a holographic screen embedded in the wall above the desk. The first thing she did was collapse on her bunk, exhausted.
Tsutsui just smiled and said, “I'll let you have a break.” But he was back in ten minutes with his clipboard, apologetically explaining that he was going to have to create student profiles for her and Hikaru, in order to get them through passport control.
“Are you allowed to do this?” Akari asked, after they'd managed to fill in two fairly complete profiles (she didn't know Hikaru's passport number but apparently customs officers identified everyone by retinal scan these days anyway, according to Tsutsui). “Shouldn't it be the teachers who enrol new students?”
“Ah well, it's a bit of a long story, but basically, Kaga pretty much does whatever he likes at Haze. There's a fairly complex agreement between the school and his father. Mind you Admiral Kaga is loyal to Honinbou, so it's a little difficult to say what's going to happen now that the Alliance is under threat. I don't think Kaga believes in the military.”
“Does anyone know what happened to cause the war yet?” Akari asked.
“Well, I've been monitoring the news stations since Isumi-sensei told us about Section 19 – he's the one who found out first. He used to be a cadet and still has a lot of friends in the military. But it doesn't look like there's any official announcement yet. But every spaceport on this planet is suddenly bursting with activity.” Tsutsui reached over to a small remote attached to the cabinet by Akari's bunk and pressed a button on it, bringing the holographic screen on the television to life. “I might have a last look at the news, actually – won't get much of a chance once we're in the cosmodrome.”
A holographic news reporter appeared on the wall above Akari's desk. “...and an unauthorised spacelaunch by an unknown party has occurred at Kawahagi Spaceport half an hour ago. A humanoid mecha was discovered by space traffic controllers to be launching into space via the Kawahagi mass driver. It is still unclear how this pilot made it past customs or what his or her intentions are, but both local police and Alliance forces are launching investigations into the matter.”
There was a short video clip showing somewhat fuzzy footage of a mecha resembling Touya Akira's Lion, accelerating up the long tracks of the mass driver and then launching upwards, gaining speed rapidly as it rose up into the night.
“Security's about twice as stringent at Kawahagi as it is at Ayu Cosmodrome,” commented Tsutsui. “I don't know if this pilot's someone who had the same idea as us, and just wanted to be out of the line of fire, but he must be rather good if he managed spacelaunch.”
The newsreporter continued to read. “Much to the disappointment of millions of fans, teen sensation Ko Yeongha has cancelled his intergalactic tour, citing personal reasons that he did not wish to discuss. His appearance at the Kawahagi Superdome was cut short tonight when the teenage superstar walked offstage while halfway through performing one of his number 1 hit singles. He subsequently announced his cancellation of the tour in a brief press videoconference. Yeongha's announcement means that his planned concerts in Ayu and Iwana will no longer go ahead. His agency has guaranteed a full refund to all disappointed ticket-buyers.”
The news finished for a commercial break – incongruously, the next ad that flashed on was a Ko Yeongha-endorsed advertisement for beef instant ramen, an oddly creative mash-up of spacefighters, an ancient game called Go, and one of Yeongha's best ballads.
Come to think of it, that was Hikaru's favourite brand of instant noodles. Akari was beginning to think he was the die-hard Yeongha fan, rather than herself.
She would have continued to watch the holographic screen, but it paused suddenly, as an announcement began over the ship's intercom:
“We are preparing for atmospheric flight in five minutes.” Akari recognised the voice; it was that of Isumi, the attractive young man who'd come to rescue Kaga earlier. “It will take us approximately four minutes and twelve seconds from take-off to arrive at our intended destination: the Lake Ayu Cosmodrome. All students and staff, please adjourn to designated secure seating immediately.”
“The chair in front of your desk is secure; just put on the seatbelt immediately.” Tsutsui stood up. I'd better go to one of the take-off stations. See you in a bit, Fujisaki.”
Akari sat at her desk and belted herself in. The ship began to vibrate, gently, as its engines purred to life. Isumi continued count-down over the intercom. “Thirty seconds to take off.”
As she stared at the now-dead holographic screen, a thought occurred to her: If the Ko Yeongha concert had been cancelled, Hikaru's grandfather would no doubt be trying to contact them again.
Like say, right about now.
Her mobile phone began to play its usual ringtone - Ko Yeongha's 'Galactic' - as Haze rose into the air.
Go to opponent's entry: Round 3 - Kyoji Kagami, "Everybody Talks (Or, That Incident With The Shirt)" Part 2/4, Fic (●)
Go to vote: The White Suit Society vs. Five-Colored Cloud - Second Board Match
Title: The Pallor of Her Brow - Part 3 of well, maybe 5, let's just say
Characters/Pairings: Akari, Hikaru, Sai (kinda. technically the AI in this fic is not the original Sai) This chapter: Kaga, Kaneko, Yeongha, Tsutsui, Mitani (yeah, kinda in that order of importance)
Rating: G
Summary/Notes: Mecha anime AU. Part 1 can be found here. Part 2 is here.
“I did,” said Hikaru, struggling ineffectually against Kaga's grip, “what's it to you?”
Kaga released both of them. He let go of Akari's sleeve lightly, giving her time to retain her balance, but Hikaru he pushed backwards, so that the younger boy stumbled and had to grab the end of the bannister to keep from falling. “You're not Kaio, and you don't look like a military brat either. How do you even know about Touya Akira, in a backwater star system like this?”
Hikaru raised his hands. “Geez, stop making a big deal about it. I have friends in Kaio and they bragged about him, that's all.”
“Friends in Kaio? What are their names?” When moments stretched out without Hikaru providing a response, Kaga snorted. “Thought so. Nobody in Kaio has friends, as far as I could tell when I was on that wretched hellhole of a moon. And nobody in Kaio would brag about Touya Akira. You wanna come up with a better story, or shall we just skip to the part where I beat the crap out of you?”
Akari had spent the last few seconds extricating her mace spray from her backpack, and she now sprayed Kaga's face soundly, at close-range, causing the older boy to double up, a hand clasped across his eyes.
“No,” she said, “we skip to the part where we ask you questions. Hikaru, help me get him under the stairs, so that the people on the street don't spot us. There's some duct tape in my backpack for his hands, when you get a chance.”
They managed to get Kaga belly-down on the floor, hands taped behind his back and ankles taped together.
Akari bent down and and spoke in Kaga's ear. “Try to yell out for help, and I'll spray you in the eyes again. That first spray was because you kicked Hikaru in the shins when we were in the shop. Do anything else to hurt Hikaru and I'll make sure your eyes are stinging with pepper for a week.” She said this in a conversational tone, but softly, so that Hikaru, still intent upon winding duct tape around Kaga's calves, would not hear her.
Even while trussed up and teary from mace spray, Kaga still managed to make his smirks look confident. “All right, got the message. Does your boyfriend know you're this scary?”
“He's not my boyfriend.”
“Hell hath no fury like--” She waved the mace spray and he fell silent, then winced as Hikaru reinforced the duct tape around his hands.
“Try not to use up the entire roll,” Akari told Hikaru, “we might need some later.”
“Heh, guess you're right.” Hikaru returned the duct tape to her back pack. “It feels so satisfying, though. All right, let the interrogation begin!”
“There's no need to interrogate me,” Kaga said, “I can't help you find Touya. I'm not in Kaio anymore. And neither is he.”
“We're not looking for Touya Akira.” Akari knelt in front of Kaga, a safe distance away, in case he was capable of posing a threat even in his current state – which she felt fairly certain that he was. “We're looking for a way to get an unlicensed humanoid mecha off the planet, undetected by customs.”
Kaga looked from her to Hikaru and let out a groan. “Amateur kid smugglers,” he muttered. “We go planetside for three days, for the first time since March, and I get waylaid by amateur kid smugglers. It's like one of those spy novels Tsutsui likes to read. What were you two doing, playing treasure hunt in Lake Ayu?”
“Actually, it was in the Tai Valley. And we don't play,” Hikaru said. “We run a business. We're good at it.”
“Must be good or just ridiculously lucky, if you found an intact humanoid anywhere in this star system. You realise there's a whole separate set of Alliance laws that governs what happens to you if you don't declare your find? Universal Fleet personnel could whisk you away and the last thing your parents would hear is that your bodies had turned up dead, somewhere.”
“They'll take Hikaru away even if he declares his find.” Akari looked at Kaga. “Do you know of a way we can get into space without being spotted?”
“Seven or eight ways, just off the top of my head. Not that I'm inclined to help little kids who should be at home playing with holographic mecha.”
“Please,” Akari said. She'd known, the moment Hikaru explained his bond to Sai, that she was going to lose Hikaru. That he'd go to the military, most likely, or else be locked up in a detention centre somewhere. Or just fly off to travel the stars with Sai, and never come home again.
The only thing she could do to keep him close was to follow him, as far as she could. For as long as she could.
And when she could follow no longer, when they'd reached the end of everything they could do together, she would wait. Maybe she'd wait for the rest of her life, for a day that would never come. Hikaru was the sort of boy who went forward unceasingly, never looking back, no matter what he did. She'd become a memory for him, something he thought about absently and fondly, like the way he spoke about his mother and father.
She didn't want that to happen.
Kaga's eyes were too knowing, like he could read exactly what was going through her head. “Then again, it's hard to pass up a chance to piss off the Universal Fleet. Get all this duct tape off me and I'll see what I can do.””
“No way,” Hikaru said.
“Yes, way,” Kaga said. “If I were you, I'd start doing it before my backup arrives.”
“Your backup,” said a pleasant, tenor voice coming from the stairwell entrance, “happens to think that duct tape is an excellent idea for you, and one I wish we'd thought of sooner. Did you know that Tamako-sensei has been looking for you for hours? She sent the the PE teacher out to search for you, but apparently he got caught in an argument with an angry ramen shop owner. Something about this being the fifth time you've engaged in public destruction of property at that shop.”
Akari hadn't noticed the newcomer arrive at all. She and Hikaru turned to look at him. He was in his late teens, handsome in an understated manner, with an easy glide to his movements as he crossed the stairwell and bent to slice the duct tape off Kaga's jeans with a laser switchblade.
“Isumi. For once I'm glad to see you.” Kaga sighed in satisfaction as his legs were gradually freed.
“It's Isumi-sensei for the moment,” said the young man curtly. “Not that I have much to teach you, apart from common courtesy.”
“What's an honorific or two between former fleet cadets? Anyway you won't be my teacher for much longer.”
Isumi responded by ripping a long strip of duct tape off the bare skin of Kaga's forearms.
“Ouch, that's cruel. I've been on school business. Got a couple of prospective admissions here for you. Names of--” Kaga twisted his head up to look at Akari and Hikaru. “What were your names again?”
“Shindou Hikaru,” said Hikaru.
“Fujisaki Akari,” she said.
“Shindou Hikaru and Fujisaki Akari. Anyway, these two are deeply passionate about astronautics. Bored silly this summer – they were going to attend the Ko Yeongha concert tomorrow night, but couldn't afford tickets. Didn't you say enrolment in your summer school was below target?”
“It is, but it's too late for further enrolments.” Isumi finished his work and Kaga gingerly clambered to his feet. “We're leaving in the morning.”
“What's happened?”
“Section 19, paragraph 9.”
Kaga's mouth fell open. “What did you say?”
“You heard me the first time. Can I trust you to make it back to Haze without disgracing the school further, or do I need to stay and escort you back?”
“I'll find my way back.” There was a seriousness in Kaga's face, quite unlike anything they had seen from him up till now. “There are a few things I need to do before we launch.”
“Very well. I trust that I won't have to come out again.” Isumi looked at Hikaru and Akira for the first time and gave them a polite nod. “The two of you should be going home. It's getting late.” He left as gracefully and unobtrusively as he'd arrived, after giving them one last quick, but well-mannered bow. Akari was still staring at the doorway through which Isumi had exited when Kaga began to speak.
“Section 19, huh?” His fan had appeared in his right hand again, seemingly from nowhere, and he unfolded it now to reveal the character for War. “The mecha you found in Tai – what class is it?
“Touya Akira said it was at least Category 4C,” said Hikaru.
Kaga whistled. “Ridiculously lucky – or ridiculously unlucky, considering the circumstances. Sure you can't just dump it somewhere? I gotta tell you, life has just taken a turn for the worse for mecha-owners, in our little corner of the galaxy.
“That's not an option,” Akari said, just as Hikaru said, at the same time, “I can't do that.”
“Why?” asked Kaga, and when they did not answer, shook his head. “Fine. We all have secrets we need to keep. If you're still sure you want to get into space, then I'll help you.”
“You will?” said Hikaru. “Why?”
Kaga unpeeled a final, stray piece of duct tape from his jeans (it came off with bits of squashed ramen stuck to it) and tossed it in the corner. “If we're under Section 19 then an unlicensed Category 4C in a previously neutral territory automatically comes under the jurisdiction of the Juudan Unit. And I wouldn't sic Rear Admiral Ogata on my worst enemy. Well, maybe on Touya Akira. If you kids are serious about this, then come with me.”
“We're serious,” Akari said, and Hikaru nodded.
“Kids these days.” Kaga folded his fan, used it to point the way up the stairs. “Follow me.”
Kaga led them on a tangled route through the city: across rooftops, along abandoned monorail tracks and deserted shopping strips. Ayu had been a great urban centre once, before newer, faster space launches were built in Iwana and Kawahagi, before the Five-Star Alliance was formed and recycling ancient weaponry became a hobbyist pursuit rather than an important and necessary profession. Since the end of the last war both money and inhabitants had gradually trickled away to other cities, leaving behind entire suburbs of abandoned buildings and half-finished infrastructure.
They travelled about half an hour on foot, Kaga setting the pace, pausing impatiently at intervals as Hikaru and Akari struggled to keep up.
“Couldn't we take public transport?” Akari asked, panting, as they struggled uphill on a particularly steep street.
“Neither the buses nor the subway take cash, and I don't want to be traced tonight.” Kaga had been lolling against the side of a building for the last several minutes, waiting for them to catch up. “We only need to get as far as the docks; I've arranged for someone to pick us up there. By the way, where have you stashed your mecha? Is it far out of town?”
“It's in the lake,” said Hikaru.
“Coordinates?”
“I'll give them to you on a need-to-know basis.” Hikaru threw Kaga a baleful look. “Couldn't you have told us how much exercise this was going to be?”
“What would have been the fun in that?” Kaga picked up his pace again; fortunately, their path wound downhill from this point, and several minutes later they sighted the lakefront, with its long dark piers and the silhouettes of great warehouses.
They arrived at a concrete quay, the sensor lights flicking into brightness to herald their arrival, and Akari spotted, at a berth further down, the outline of a small boat. There appeared to be two people sitting in it.
“You sure took your time,” came a girl's voice from the boat. “Tsutsui's been SMSing us non-stop for the last hour. He thinks you got into trouble somewhere. I'm not sure why he thinks your getting into trouble is anything worth worrying about.”
“Kaneko. Good to see someone who know's what they're doing. Is your useless boyfriend here as well?”
“I'm not her--”
“Shaddup kid, I've been dealing with noise from clueless brats for the last hour. Don't need more.”
More spotlights lit up as they approached the boat; close up, Akari saw that the two waiting persons were a boy and girl, about the same age as herself and Hikaru. The boy was slim, with extensively dyed highlights in his curls; he had that thin, elongated look that teenagers develop mid-growth spurt. He was glaring at Kaga, who didn't seem to care one whit.
The girl was taller than Akari and rather plump. She sat at the back of the motorboat, near where the engine and rotor were, and emanated an air of confidence as she scrutinised Akari and Hikaru, then spoke to Kaga. “Are you taking these two with us to Haze? It's not exactly a good time to be making new friends here, or haven't you heard?”
“Isumi told me. Paragraph 9, right? Dunno which of the Five Stars messed up – probably Ouza. Chief Minister Zama's an idiot. Anyway we should get spaceside as soon as possible – after we weaponise Haze. Isumi wouldn't approve but that idiot will be the first person in a mecha the moment trouble starts.”
“We can't install military parts here,” said the other boy. “Not in Ayu; it's far too well-monitored.”
“We can't,” said Kaga, “but we can load our mecha into the hangar, and that will be a start. We don't want to obviously armament ourselves until we've decided whose side we're on. Or at least which sides exist.” He got into the boat and held up his hand to Akari. “Hop on; you're about to visit the only flying school in the solar system.”
She ignored his outstretched hand and jumped, the boat rocking as she landed. Hikaru followed right after.
“Round of introductions,” Kaga said, when the engine had started up and they were picking up speed, moving along the surface of the lake. “Kaneko Masako, Mitani Yuuki, Fujisaki Akari, Shindou Hikaru. All done now? Kaneko and Mitani are kouhai of mine at Haze Academy. Shindou and Fujisaki are mecha smugglers, just like Mitani used to be. Well, beginner mecha smugglers. I don't think they actually know what they're doing.”
“Haze was a battleship during the final Honinbou War, right?” said Hikaru. “The Meijin donated it to our solar system after the war ended, to be used as an astronautics school. But all the weapons systems were taken down.”
“And here I thought you were completely clueless. You're just mostly clueless. Time to give me the coordinates of your precious mecha; we're going to go pick it up.”
“Sai doesn't need to be picked up,” said Hikaru. “He's already there.”
“There we go again. Completely bonkers. Nothing that comes out of your mouth makes sense, kid.”
Hikaru stared steadily at Kaga. “Take us back to Haze. You'll see.”
There was little conversation as their speedboat cut its way through the water, leaving noise and foam in its wake. Kaneko was busy steering and Kaga seemed wholly preoccupied with his mobile phone; whether he was texting or playing games or doing something more useful, Akari couldn’t tell. Mitani sat in the backseat and stared out at the lake, pointedly ignoring everyone, a behaviour that Hikaru appeared to be emulating, except that Hikaru was simply staring vacantly into space.
Hikaru was an airhead, but he wasn’t this much of an airhead, so Akari took hold of his arm and asked, quietly, “What’s going on?”
He turned towards her, his expression still distracted. “It’s Sai. He keeps talking to me. He’s going to meet us when we get near the ship.”
“He’s talking to you?” She kept her voice low, watching the Haze students on the boat. Fortunately none of them were paying attention to them.
“Well, yeah?”
“In your head?”
“Why not? Sai’s from the Federation era. We don’t even have a tenth of the technology that they used to have then. I’ve got some sort of telepathic link with Sai; I don’t really know how to explain it.” Hikaru closed his eyes, then opened them again. “He wants to know what Section 19 is, by the way.”
Didn’t Hikaru ever pay attention in history class? Akari opened her mouth to whisper back, then saw Mitani staring straight at her. She elbowed Hikaru, who gave her an annoyed Yes, of course I’ve already noticed look, then spoke out loud: “It’s a reference to the Third Five-Star Treaty, which was signed about twenty years ago. Section 19 deals with circumstances under which the treaty becomes void.”
“In other words Section 19 means the Five-Star Alliance no longer exists.” Kaga had put away his mobile phone and was now displaying his fan again as it displayed a series of names: Meijin. Honinbou. Ouza. Gosei. Kisei. “Bad news for the territories in it that were neutral and don’t belong to one of the Five, especially since lots of them have been in progressive disarmament for the last five decades. Especially this solar system. Betcha fifty credits this planet gets annexed by Kisei before dinnertime tomorrow. Kaio won’t put up much of a defense – every cadet affiliated with a star is probably hopping on a shuttle to their home system as we speak.”
“Don’t be alarmed,” Kaneko spoke suddenly, and it took Akari a moment to realise the reassurance was directed at herself. “This planet will probably surrender without a fight, which is the best option for its civilians. You two have family here, don’t you? So do I. They’ll be okay, at least for now.”
She smiled at Akari, who smiled uncertainly back. The speedboat navigated its way past a series of houseboats and continued to make its way southeast, toward the Lake Ayu space elevator. It stood against the starlit sky, a monumental glittering tower that tapered into a thin endless spire, stretching up towards the heavens. As Akari watched, a small round starship began travelling up the elevator, secured by cables to a massive lifting-platform. It moved upwards much faster than she would have expected, flashing beam lights as it went.
“I checked the bookings,” said Kaneko. “The earliest spot we could get on the elevator was for 1 AM tonight They don't seem to have tightened their security procedures yet, but who knows when that will change.”
Kaga checked the time on his mobile phone. “That gives us just over three hours. Should be enough. I've asked Tsutsui to move my mecha on board, and his. Mitani, your starfighter's already on Haze, isn't it?”
“Doesn't have enough ammo, but yeah, it is.”
“None of us have enough ammo. Except possibly you two.” Kaga inclined his head pointedly at Hikaru.
It was another half an hour before they pulled up at a small wooden wharf – a good three kilometres south of the space elevator, and enshrouded in near-darkness. Mitani and Kaneko flicked torchlights on as they disembarked onto a small beach, rocky and scattered with lakeweed.
Kaga was making a phone call “Tsutsui? We're here. Switch the lights on so we can actually see you, will you? I'm all for subterfuge but this is ridiculous; I'm about to stub my toe on one of these seashells.”
He hung up, and a few seconds later, Akari saw Haze, lit up in a dim bluish-silver glow.
Haze was a thin, sleek spacecraft, especially considering her size – Akari estimated the ship was at least three hundred metres in length. She was elliptical in shape, with turrets and wings that had obviously borne artillery, once upon a time.
“Beautiful, isn't she?” Kaga smiled. “I don't know why anyone would prefer studying at Kaio over this.”
“People who actually attend class and pay attention to their teachers,” Kaneko said.
“Touché. Ah, there's Tsutsui.”
A doorway had opened up at about the midpoint of the ship. Emerging from it was a long staircase that was unfolding as it descended down to touch the sand, its progress illuminated by a white spotlight from the doorway.
Kaga leaped onto the stairway as soon as it touched ground. As he ran upwards quickly, dozens of metal bars emerged from either side of the steps and gradually snapped together to form diagonal bannisters on either side of the steps, immobilised in the air by what Akari presumed was magnetic force.
Mitani followed Kaga at once, then Kaneko, who nodded and indicated that Hikaru and Akari should follow. Their shoes made a series of dissonant clangs on the metal steps as they climbed up.
“Looks amazing, but terrible acoustics,” Hikaru muttered.
They filed into a wide, bare corridor. Waiting there was a boy about Kaga's age. He wore spectacles and carried an electronic clipboard clutched against his chest. He had a rather nice face, Akari thought.
“Hello Tsutsui,” said Kaneko.
“Hello Kaneko, Kaga, Mitani.” Tsutsui gave them all a nervous smile. “Hello – Shindou and Fujisaki, is it? Kaga told me you were coming.”
“How's the progress going?” Kaga asked, skipping
“I, uh, have bad news and good news. Good news is that everything's basically done, except for your, uh, additions.” Tsutsui nodded at Hikaru and Akari. “Bad news is, well, Isumi-sensei may, uh, have found the mechas.”
Kaga buried his forehead in his hands. “Isumi. He's been a thorn in my side since he showed up at Haze. I knew I should have knocked him unconscious when I had the chance.”
“As if you could,” Kaneko snorted. “You're pretty good, Kaga, even I'll admit that, but I've seen you spar with Isumi-sensei in zero-G. He's outta your league.”
“Uh,” said Tsutsui, “he's letting us keeping the mechas.”
“He's letting us do what?” Kaga whistled. “Well, that's a new one for him. It'd be the first fun thing he's letting us do since he arrived.”
“I don't think Isumi-sensei is as much of a stickler for rules as you seem to think he is, you know,” said Tsutsui. “I mean, compared with you, yes, but everyone's well-behaved next to you, Kaga.”
Kaga made a grumpy noise. “Whatever. All right. Kaneko, Mitani, you go off and do whatever you have to do before spacelaunch. We'll fly to the cosmodrome in approximately ninety minutes and await takeoff from there. I don't anticipate trouble with customs but Mitani, try not to bring too much that's illegal, okay. Tsutsui, you come with me and these two kids here. We've got a mecha to bring in.”
“I already said, you don't have to bring Sai in,” Hikaru said, irritatedly. “He's already followed us here. He's on the beach. Open up your hangar bay and he'll come in.”
Kaga reached out and smacked Hikaru on the head. “Kid, you are either completely delusional or you've found the strangest humanoid mecha in the universe. Okay then, Tsutsui. To the hangar.”
A little later Akari took out her mobile phone and recorded a quick video of Kaga's face, just because. She wasn't sure if she'd get the chance to see Kaga completely dumbstruck again.
After some argument and several curious looks from Tsutsui, Kaga had finally agreed to open the hangar doors
Sai had flown in, rapid and silent as ever, and landed on the floor of the bay with a controlled descent. The AI had transformed its body back into humanoid mode; lakewater trickled down its pearl-white armor as it stood facing the four of them, but otherwise it remained unnaturally clean and gleaming, just the way it had been when Hikaru and Akari found it in the valley.
It took Kaga a full minute to find his voice, and when he did, it was hushed. “Where did you find that?” he asked in awe.
“In Tai Valley. We already told you.”
“This thing isn't category 4C. It's more like...unclassifiable. You didn't need to smuggle this thing spaceside, you could probably hijack the entire Ayu elevator with this. Well, if you could pilot it properly, which I doubt you can.” Kaga stared up at Sai, and then at Hikaru with an expression that looked like respect. “Can I...test it?”
“Well, I suppose so. You are a bit of a jerk, though.'
“Can't help it, it just happens.”
Tsutsui approached Akari as the two boys drifted off into their own conversation, giving her a sheepish grin. “Knowing Kaga, we won't be able to talk to them for at least an hour. I think I'd better show you to your cabin, and then you can get ready for space launch. You probably have dozens of questions, but some of them will have to wait until we get off-planet.”
Being around Tsutsui's calm demeanour made Akari feel slightly better. “Thanks very much for letting us trouble you. I think we've had too many questions and answers for one night already, but I'm a little worried about neither Hikaru nor I having any clothes or toothbrushes. Things like that.”
“I think we have some spare toiletries in the bathrooms. As for the rest, we'll probably have about an hour to do some shopping in the cosmodrome, after we get through customs. It's not exactly a megamall, but it should have everything we need.”
He showed her to her cabin and to Hikaru's – the rooms were single rooms, it looked like, with a bunk bed, a desk with an input interface, and a holographic screen embedded in the wall above the desk. The first thing she did was collapse on her bunk, exhausted.
Tsutsui just smiled and said, “I'll let you have a break.” But he was back in ten minutes with his clipboard, apologetically explaining that he was going to have to create student profiles for her and Hikaru, in order to get them through passport control.
“Are you allowed to do this?” Akari asked, after they'd managed to fill in two fairly complete profiles (she didn't know Hikaru's passport number but apparently customs officers identified everyone by retinal scan these days anyway, according to Tsutsui). “Shouldn't it be the teachers who enrol new students?”
“Ah well, it's a bit of a long story, but basically, Kaga pretty much does whatever he likes at Haze. There's a fairly complex agreement between the school and his father. Mind you Admiral Kaga is loyal to Honinbou, so it's a little difficult to say what's going to happen now that the Alliance is under threat. I don't think Kaga believes in the military.”
“Does anyone know what happened to cause the war yet?” Akari asked.
“Well, I've been monitoring the news stations since Isumi-sensei told us about Section 19 – he's the one who found out first. He used to be a cadet and still has a lot of friends in the military. But it doesn't look like there's any official announcement yet. But every spaceport on this planet is suddenly bursting with activity.” Tsutsui reached over to a small remote attached to the cabinet by Akari's bunk and pressed a button on it, bringing the holographic screen on the television to life. “I might have a last look at the news, actually – won't get much of a chance once we're in the cosmodrome.”
A holographic news reporter appeared on the wall above Akari's desk. “...and an unauthorised spacelaunch by an unknown party has occurred at Kawahagi Spaceport half an hour ago. A humanoid mecha was discovered by space traffic controllers to be launching into space via the Kawahagi mass driver. It is still unclear how this pilot made it past customs or what his or her intentions are, but both local police and Alliance forces are launching investigations into the matter.”
There was a short video clip showing somewhat fuzzy footage of a mecha resembling Touya Akira's Lion, accelerating up the long tracks of the mass driver and then launching upwards, gaining speed rapidly as it rose up into the night.
“Security's about twice as stringent at Kawahagi as it is at Ayu Cosmodrome,” commented Tsutsui. “I don't know if this pilot's someone who had the same idea as us, and just wanted to be out of the line of fire, but he must be rather good if he managed spacelaunch.”
The newsreporter continued to read. “Much to the disappointment of millions of fans, teen sensation Ko Yeongha has cancelled his intergalactic tour, citing personal reasons that he did not wish to discuss. His appearance at the Kawahagi Superdome was cut short tonight when the teenage superstar walked offstage while halfway through performing one of his number 1 hit singles. He subsequently announced his cancellation of the tour in a brief press videoconference. Yeongha's announcement means that his planned concerts in Ayu and Iwana will no longer go ahead. His agency has guaranteed a full refund to all disappointed ticket-buyers.”
The news finished for a commercial break – incongruously, the next ad that flashed on was a Ko Yeongha-endorsed advertisement for beef instant ramen, an oddly creative mash-up of spacefighters, an ancient game called Go, and one of Yeongha's best ballads.
Come to think of it, that was Hikaru's favourite brand of instant noodles. Akari was beginning to think he was the die-hard Yeongha fan, rather than herself.
She would have continued to watch the holographic screen, but it paused suddenly, as an announcement began over the ship's intercom:
“We are preparing for atmospheric flight in five minutes.” Akari recognised the voice; it was that of Isumi, the attractive young man who'd come to rescue Kaga earlier. “It will take us approximately four minutes and twelve seconds from take-off to arrive at our intended destination: the Lake Ayu Cosmodrome. All students and staff, please adjourn to designated secure seating immediately.”
“The chair in front of your desk is secure; just put on the seatbelt immediately.” Tsutsui stood up. I'd better go to one of the take-off stations. See you in a bit, Fujisaki.”
Akari sat at her desk and belted herself in. The ship began to vibrate, gently, as its engines purred to life. Isumi continued count-down over the intercom. “Thirty seconds to take off.”
As she stared at the now-dead holographic screen, a thought occurred to her: If the Ko Yeongha concert had been cancelled, Hikaru's grandfather would no doubt be trying to contact them again.
Like say, right about now.
Her mobile phone began to play its usual ringtone - Ko Yeongha's 'Galactic' - as Haze rose into the air.
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