Chapter III: The Thin Red Line

The second day of our field trip, from morning to night, we were to be in our IS testing equipment and gathering data.

“Everyone’s finally here... Finally.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Surprisingly, it was Laura drawing Chifuyu’s ire. It seems like she’d overslept for once, and arrived five minutes late.

“Why don’t you give us an explanation of the IS core network?”

“Yes, ma’am. IS cores are equipped with mesh networking facilities to share information. These were developed for communication across long distances in outer space, but are now used as the open and private channels over which pilots can converse. Recent research has also isolated automatic ‘sharing’ between the cores, used to further evolve their capabilities. The developer, Professor Shinonono, viewed this as part of their natural evolution and allowed it to proceed unchecked, a process which is still incomplete and thus poorly understood.”

“You earn your marks, I see. I’ll forgive you for being late this time.”

Laura sighed in relief, and it looked like she was patting her own chest. I couldn’t blame her. I was sure she learned exactly what it meant to be on Chifuyu’s bad side in Germany.

“Anyway, let’s split into groups and begin equipment testing. If you have your own IS, focus on its custom parts. Hop to it.”

The class echoed with a single ‘yes, ma’am.’ Seeing every first year student lined up really drove home how many of us there were. Oh, by the way, the beach we were using was enclosed on all four sides by cliffs. It was like a secret beach—like a dome, or like the school arenas. To get out to the open ocean, we’d have to dip down into an underwater tunnel. It was the kind of place you’d shoot a movie. But the IS here, and their equipment, were what we’d come here to test. Of course, since we’d be piloting, everyone was in their IS suit. Being at the sea just made them seem even more like swimsuits.

“Shinonono. If you could come over here for a moment.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Houki, carrying gear for the Uchigane, walked over toward Chifuyu.

“Starting today, you’ve got your own pers—”

“Chiiiiiichaaaaan!”

As an engine roared, a human form swooped close through clouds of sand. Wow, she’s fast. It seemed like she was piloting an IS, but the real problem was who she was.

“Tabane...”

And so it was. Shinonono Tabane, the genius, had chosen to barge in uninvited on our class trip.

“Hey there! Long time no see, Chichan! Gimme a hug, Show me that you love me— WAH!”

Tabane’s leap was stopped with a single open palm directly across her face. Chifuyu dug her fingers in, too. She really was merciless.

“Quiet down, Tabane.”

“Mmph... Your iron claw is as sharp as ever.”

Tabane was no slouch either, given that she was able to slip out of it. Alighting on the ground, she turned toward Houki.

“Heyo!”

“Hello...”

“It’s been so long, hasn’t it? How many years? You’ve gotten so big, Houki! Especially your breasts!”

Bam!

“I’ll hit you.”

“You’re supposed to say that before you hit someone... Especially if you’re going to hit them with a sheath! Meanie! Houki, you’re a meanie!” Tabane rubbed her head as tears streamed down her cheeks. Everyone else, meanwhile, watched, astounded.

“Excuse me, but only IS-related personnel are allowed—” Ms. Yamada chimed in.

“Hm? That’s a strange thing to bring up. There aren’t many people more IS-related that I am.”

“Well, er, ah. I suppose that’s true.” Ms. Yamada was shot down with a single burst. There was no point talking to Tabane once she got rolling. You just had to let her finish.

“C’mon, Tabane. Introduce yourself. You’re making things awkward for my students,” said Chifuyu.

“Aww, do I have to? I’m Tabane the genius! Hi, hi! That’s all.”

Having said that, she spun around. The class’ jaws dropped even lower as they realized the person in front of them was Shinonono Tabane, genius inventor of the IS. The girls quickly began to chatter among themselves.

“Good grief. Can’t you even introduce yourself properly? Class, no slacking off! Ignore this person and get back to testing.”

“It’s mean to just call me ‘this person.’ Can’t you call me Lovely Tabane?”

“Just shut up already.”

Ms. Yamada nervously watched the banter between the two old acquaintances. “Er, ah, what should I do about this?”

“I told you. Just ignore this person. Focus on making sure each group is keeping up.”

“Understood.”

“You’re so kind to her... I’m jealous! You must have been bewitched by this huge-breasted devil!” Tabane flew off toward Ms. Yamada as she spoke. Her hands dug eagerly into her voluptuous breasts.

“Eek! Wh-What are you doing!”

“This is gonna be fun!”

It didn’t take Tabane long to change what she was after, did it? What happened to her jealousy? Really, though, Tabane’s own breasts were bigger than Chifuyu’s, and about even with Ms. Yamada’s. It was quite the sight to watch them go at it.

“Knock it off! Your breasts are plenty big enough, too.”

“You’ve got such a dirty mind, Chichan.”

“Go die in a fire.”

Chifuyu gave Tabane a full-force kick which sent her sprawling in the sand. I suppose it should be said again that this was the genius who’d developed both the theoretical underpinnings of IS, and the actual implementation.

“So, about the thing I asked you for...” Houki hesitantly asked.

When she heard this, Tabane’s eyes lit up, and she chuckled, “It’s all ready to go. Look up at the sky!”

Tabane pointed straight upward with a flourish. Following her finger, Houki, as well as everyone else, turned their eyes heavenward.

Whoosh!

“Wha—”

Suddenly, in the blink of an eye and the crash of a heavy impact, a block of metal plunged into the sand. In the next moment, its glimmering silver walls parted, revealing to us its contents. Inside was—

“Ta-dah! This is Houki’s personal IS—Akatsubaki! Handmade by yours truly, with every spec a cut above the state of the art!”

—A form clad in crimson armor pulled itself from the container, as if answering Tabane’s call. It glimmered in the sunlight, as if to emphasize its newness. Did Tabane just blurt out something really impressive? If it’s a cut above state of the art in every way... It must be one of the very newest and most powerful IS.

“All right! Time to get you set up and customized, Houki! I’ll help you out, so it should be over in a jiffy~♪”

“If you don’t mind...”

“Why so formal? We’re sisters, we should have nicknames for—”

“Just hurry it up.”

Houki was practically defining ‘standoffish,’ doing the bare minimum to follow along with Tabane without making conversation.

“Mmm. Good idea. Let’s get started.”

With a beep, Tabane pressed a button on a remote controller. In an instant, Akatsubaki’s armor folded back, and it was ready to accept a pilot. It even kneeled automatically for ease of mounting. That’s actually kind of awesome.

“I’ve already started to set it up with your data, so it should be just a quick update. Here we go! Beep, boop!” Tabane slid her fingers over the console. Six holographic displays opened in midair, displaying a tremendous amount of data. At the same time, six holographic keyboards appeared in midair under them. “It’s set up to be an all-purpose IS focusing on close combat, so you should find it easy to get used to. Your big sister also set up plenty of automatic help for you.”

“Thanks, I guess.” Houki still seemed rather cold. Honestly, they were sisters, so I wished they’d get along better. I didn’t know all the details, but it seemed that Houki still held a grudge from being forced to transfer schools when Tabane wouldn’t give up her research. That was years ago, though. Shouldn’t it be water under the bridge by now?

“Hmm-hmm-hmm~ Houki, you’ve gotten even better with a sword. I can tell it just by looking at your muscles. I want you to know I’m proud of you.”

“.........”

“Tee-hee, you’re ignoring me again. M’kay, setup’s complete. That was fast! Sometimes I amaze myself.”

While they made idle chatter, Tabane’s fingers never stopped flying over the keys. She moved as quickly, as fluidly, as a concert pianist, constantly scanning over each display every few seconds. No matter how much she played the fool, she was obviously something beyond even the average genius during moments like these. Oh, and as for Akatsubaki itself, maybe it was because she’d already entered some data, but it didn’t transform as drastically as Byakushiki. Mostly, it just seemed to adjust itself to Houki’s body.

Still, it definitely looked like it was set up for close combat. The only weaponry I could see was a katana-style blade on each hip. In a way, it reminded me of Byakushiki. On the other hand, Tabane had just said it had ‘automatic help’ and it was ‘an all-purpose IS specializing in close combat,’ so maybe it had something like Blue Tears.

“Shinonono’s getting something like that? Just because they’re sisters?”

“Seems like it. It doesn’t seem fair.”

Whispers arose from the crowd. The first person to respond, surprisingly, was Tabane herself.

“Haven’t you been paying attention in history class? The world has never, ever, ever been fair.”

Picked out from the crowd, the complainer grimaced and went back to work. Brushing her off, Tabane continued working. Even as she spoke, her fingers hadn’t stopped. She really was a genius. Soon she finished and started to close the displays.

“The rest of the personalization should be automatic. Oh, Icky, can you show me Byakushiki? I’ve been dying to see it again.”

“Uh... Okay.”

With her displays tidied up, Tabane turned to me. Her skirt, fluttering in the breeze, gave a ladylike impression that was the opposite of her girlish personality. Anyway, I brought my left hand over the gauntlet on my right and focused for a moment.

Come forth, Byakushiki!

As if responding to my will, it brought forth a burst of light. Glowing particles gathered in the air, forming into a ring. As the halo wrapped around me, it took form. The form of my personal IS, Byakushiki. Specialized for melee combat, it was armed solely with the blade Yukihira Nigata. Its beautiful curves had no need for any bolt-ons. Okay, maybe not quite those implications.

“C’mon, show me that data!” With a thunk, Tabane clamped a cable onto Byakushiki’s armor. As soon as she did, her displays reopened in midair. “Wow, this is an interesting fragment map. I wonder how it ended up like that? I don’t think I’ve ever seen this happen before. I wonder if it’s because you’re a boy?”

As far as I knew, a ‘fragment map’ was a record of the IS’ development based on personalization, about equivalent to a person’s DNA.

“By the way, Tabane. About that. I’m a guy, so why can I pilot an IS?”

“Mm? Hmm. I wonder. I’m not really sure, either. If I break the whole thing down into nano-particles I could probably find out. Are you up for it?”

As an aside, I was pretty sure when she said ‘the whole thing’ she meant with me still inside.

“I’ll pass.”

“Mwahaha, I thought you’d say so. Anyway, I don’t know, so I don’t know what else to tell you besides ‘I don’t know.’ I built the IS to evolve on their own, so I guess it doesn’t surprise me.” She giggled again. Well, I should’ve expected as much.

“Oh, any reason why can’t I add any other equipment?”

“Because I set it up not to accept any.”

“Wait, what, you built Byakushiki?”

“Well, yeah. Or rather, I poked at a failed experiment until it kinda worked. But anyway, that’s why it can use a one-off ability even in first shift! Isn’t that super-convenient? I think I did a great job. Plus, you know, that’s the kind of IS they are? Japanese ones, that is.”

“You moron! That’s enough classified info out of your mouth!”

Bam! A merciless blow smacked into Tabane’s head. It came, of course, from the demon teacher Chifuyu.

“Oww... Chichan, you’ve always been such a physical lover.”

“Why can’t you just shut up?”

As another smack struck Tabane, a girl called out to her, “Pardon me! I’ve heard so, so much about your talents, Professor Shinonono. Is there any chance I could prevail on you to take a look over my IS as well?”

Who was it but Cecilia? Her eyes were glittering. Maybe she was excited to meet someone as famous as Tabane, but...

“Huh? Who the heck are you? I don’t remember knowing any blondes. After years and years, I’m finally reuniting with Houki and with Chichan and with Icky. Think what kind of emotional scene that is. I don’t understand where you get the idea that you can just open your mouth and talk over it. Just who the heck you, anyway?”

Her words were as cold as her tone and her glare.

“Er, ah...”

“Jeez, you’re annoying. Go away or something.”

“Ugh...”

Having been shot down so thoroughly, even Cecilia had no choice but to dejectedly give up. The rejection before she’d even been able to process Tabane’s sudden change in attitude left her with tears in her eyes. But then again, Tabane’s always been like this. She said it herself, “I can’t really tell the difference between people. I can recognize Houki, Chichan, and Icky. And my parents, I guess. Anyone else? I’m not interested enough to care.” And true to her word, Tabane was like that to everyone but us, though she was getting a little bit better. The old her would’ve just straight ignored Cecilia. It seemed like Chifuyu had beaten at least a little sense into her. Or at the very least, enough sense to respond.

“Wow, that blonde girl was a weirdo. I hate how foreigners are so pushy. I’d really rather deal with Japanese people. Japanese people are the best. Not that I care about most of them, either. Just Houki, Chichan, and Icky.”

“What about mom and dad?”

“Mm? Oh, yeah, them too, I guess.”

Hm? That was kind of a funny answer.

“Anyway, whatever. More importantly, Icky, do you want me to upgrade Byakushiki?”

“Huh? Upgrade? Like, how?”

“Well. How about giving it a makeover to look like a butler? I’ve always thought you’d look great in a tailcoat. Or a maid’s dress, too.”

Gonna pretend I didn’t hear that.

“I think I’m fine.”

“You’re fine? You’re saying you’re fine with that? Okay, hold on just a sec!”

“Wh— You know I didn’t mean that! No! Nonono! Nothankyou!”

“Hi, Nothankyou! I’m Northernlights!”

Wait, uhh. That didn’t even have any relevance except the first syllable.

“Really, Icky, what about a girl’s outfit?”

“What gave you that idea?!”

“Hm? I’ve been reading a manga about that kind of thing.”

“Can you not try out random things from manga on me?”

“Aww. You’re not fun at all.”

“Er... Ahem.” Houki cleared her throat to interject. “Aren’t you still working on mine?”

“Yeah, just finishing up. Hmm, three minutes. What a waste, I could’ve made a cup of ramen with that kind of time.”

I don’t think it’s that big of a waste... Plus, a lot of ramen these days doesn’t even take that long.

“All right, now give it a shot. It should mirror your thoughts exactly.”

“Very well. I’ll try it out now.” The cables attached to Akatsubaki disconnected with an audible pop. Houki closed her eyes, focused for a moment, and it immediately leapt into the sky. “Wha—”

The shockwave from its acceleration was enough to stir up whirls of sand. Looking around for Houki, I finally picked her up on the Byakushiki’s hypersensor—gliding 200 meters above.

“So, whaddaya think? Even better than you expected, right?”

“I suppose.”

Tabane must also have had an IS, as I heard them converse over the open channel.

“Now try out your katanas! The right-hand one is Amazuki and the left-hand one is Karaware. Here, I’m sending over the data on their capabilities.” As Tabane spoke, her fingers danced in the air. Houki, receiving the data, drew both katanas at once. Her stance was immediately recognizable. “Let your dear old sister Tabane give you the rundown! Amazuki—Moonlit Rain—is built for one-on-one fights. At the same time as it makes a precise cut, blades of energy shoot out and turn your enemy into Swiss cheese! It’s got about the range of an assault rifle. You’ll still have trouble at sniper rifle range, but Akatsubaki’s speed should make up for it.”

I didn’t know if she was following along with Tabane’s explanation or not, but either way, Houki gave an experimental slash. She had been holding it crossed over from her right hand to her left shoulder, the Shinonono two-sword style’s ‘Shieldblade’ stance. It was a cautious posture, adaptable for offense or defense, which aimed to pivot the force of an attack through her shoulders and into a counter. At the same time as her wrists locked, a twisting ball of red laser beams formed from the air around it, then fired off one by one, burning holes in the cloud she faced.

“Next up is Karaware—Skyrender. This one’s better against groups. Just take a big slash, and it sends a wave of energy flying in its path. It’ll automatically expand, you don’t even have to think any more about it. See if you can cut these down!” Even as she spoke, Tabane was calling forth a 16-missile pod. No sooner did the particles of light coalesce that it let off every shot in one barrage.

“Houki!”

“I can do this— Now that I have Akatsubaki!” Houki drew forth Karaware from below her right arm in a spinning slash. Behind it trailed another red laser beam, which spread just as Tabane said it would and took down all 16 missiles.

“Holy crap...”

Houki and her crimson IS imposingly loomed forth from the smoke and flames. The crowd of students was at a loss for words—in amazement, and in envy—at its performance. Tabane watched the whole thing with a self-satisfied grin on her face.

“.........”

There was one person, however, whose eyes were burning a hole in Tabane. It was... Chifuyu? Why do you have that look on your face? You look like you want to kill her...

“Ms. Orimura! Big trouble!” Hearing Ms. Yamada suddenly speak up, Chifuyu’s expression cleared, and she turned to her. Ms. Yamada was always flustered about something, but this time was obviously different.

“Is something wrong?”

“Look at this!”

As she glanced over the mini-terminal Ms. Yamada handed her, Chifuyu’s expression clouded again.

“Emergency Condition A? Countermeasures initiated...”

“The, uh, the unit being tested over Hawaii—”

“Shh! That’s top secret! The students can hear you.”

“Sorry, ma’am...”

“Where are the ones with personal IS?”

“One’s missing, but the rest are here.”

Chifuyu and Ms. Yamada were discussing something in a hushed voice. Noticing that they’d drawn the attention of the class, they switched over to hand signals. Huh? Those aren’t normal hand signals... Is that some kind of military code language? I felt like I’d seen something like it a few times before, back when Chifuyu was a Japanese National Cadet.

“Anyway, I’ll contact the other teachers.”

“Understood— Attention, everyone!” As Ms. Yamada ran off, Chifuyu clapped her hands to focus the class. “All IS Academy instructors have received emergency orders. Today’s testing is canceled. All groups, return your IS to storage and return to the resort. Stay in your rooms until contacted. Dismissed!”

“Eh...?”

“Cancelled? But why? What do you mean, emergency orders?”

“I don’t get what’s going on...”

Confusion spread through the girls assembled on the beach. Through it, though, Chifuyu’s steely voice sounded, “Get to it! Anyone caught outside their room will be carried back by force! Understood?”

“Yes, ma’am!”

The girls quickly got to work, dismissing their test equipment and loading their IS back onto the carts. I’d never seen them quite this afraid before.

“If you have your own IS, come to me! Orimura, Alcott, Dunois, Bodewig, Huang! Shinonono, you too!”

“Yes, ma’am!”

Houki landed next to me, with a strange urgency in her voice. I had nearly forgotten that Houki had her own IS now, too. There’s something not right about all this... The unease sent my heart pounding.

◇

“Let me explain the situation.”

At the very back of the resort, in the Windswept Flower Hall, we gathered with the teachers. The lights were dimmed, drawing attention to a large holographic display.

“Two hours ago, the third-generation IS Silverio Gospel, a joint development between the US and Israel, lost control during testing over Hawaii. We’ve received word that it’s now left its test airspace.”

I followed the explanation with a blank look on my face. The... what? Huh? A military IS? Losing control? What did that have to do with us? As I puzzled over this, I looked around at the others’ reactions.

“.........”

Each carried a guarded expression. They were proper national cadets, unlike Houki and I. Maybe they’d had training in what to do in situations like these. Laura’s expression, especially, was stone cold.

“Satellite tracking indicates that Silverio Gospel’s path will pass through local airspace at a point two kilometers from here in approximately fifty minutes. The Academy command has ordered us to respond.” Chifuyu continued matter-of-factly. The next words out of her mouth, though, were unimaginable. “Academy personnel will use the training IS to seal off both air and sea routes. Responsibility for the primary objective will be left to those with personal IS.”

Really? They wanted us to stop an out-of-control military IS?

“We’ll now take any questions about the mission. Raise your hand if you wish to speak.”

“Yes.” The first to raise her hand was Cecilia. “Requesting technical data on the target IS.”

“Approved. But remember, this is top secret material for both nations. None of it leaves this room. Any leaks and you’ll all be subject to an inquiry and at least two years of observation.”

“Understood.”

While I was still trying to get a grip on the situation, Cecilia and the other national cadets were already discussing the data.

“A nonconventional strategic bombardment IS... It must be equipped with all-range weaponry like my IS.”

“Powerful, and agile, too. That’s going to be hard to deal with. Its specs beat out my Shenlong as well, so it’ll have the advantage...”

“Its loadout seems like it’ll be trouble. I’ve just received a defensive loadout for my Revive, but I’m not sure about taking repeated hits.”

“The data has nothing on its melee capabilities, though. Its skills are a mystery. Can’t we conduct further reconnaissance?”

Cecilia, Rin, Charl, and Laura were all business as they discussed the operation. Meanwhile, I sank further into confusion. Honestly, I was pretty disgusted with myself.

“No. It’s already moving at supersonic speed. We’ve only got one shot at this.”

“Only one shot... Meaning... something that can take it down with one shot.” Hearing Ms. Yamada, the others turned to look at me.

“Eh...?”

“Ichika, you need to take it down with Reiraku Byakuya.”

“We have no other choice. The problem is, though...”

“How to get Ichika to it. He’ll need all his energy for the attack. How does he get close with it?”

“And it needs to be an IS that can match its speed. Likely one with a high-performance hypersensor, too.”

“Hold it! You expect me to go up there?!”

“Of course we do!” Their voices echoed as one.

“Orimura, this is not a drill. It’s real combat. If you’re not ready, don’t force yourself.”

“Right...” Hearing Chifuyu’s words, I kicked myself into action. “I’ll do it. At least, I’ll try my best.”

“All right. Then, let’s form a battle plan. Which of your IS is currently capable of reaching the highest speed?”

“That would be my Blue Tears. The high-mobility assault package ‘Strike Gunner’ has just arrived from England, and it also includes an ultra-high-performance hypersensor.”

All IS have these equipment sets referred to as ‘packages.’ They took many forms, often including not only weaponry, but also things like enhanced armor or additional thrusters. It also seemed that personal IS had specialized, unique packages called ‘Haute Couture,’ though I’d never seen one of those. Equipping a package could dramatically alter an IS’ capabilities and qualities, adapting it for an alternate tactical role. Oh, and me and the other first years with personal IS had a semi-customized default package. Well, except for Charl, who had a fully customized one. That was a little confusing.

“Alcott. How many supersonic flight hours do you have?”

“Twenty hours.”

“Hmm... This should work, th—”

Just as Chifuyu was about to finish, an impossibly-enthusiastic voice filled the room.

“Hold it, hold it! Put that idea on hold!” The voice was coming from the ceiling, of all places. As we all looked up, Tabane’s head popped out of the woodwork.

“Ms. Yamada... Remove her.”

“Huh? Ah, yes, ma’am! Professor Shinonono, if you could come down from there...”

“Geronimo!”

Tabane made a somersault before touching down. Her agility would be the envy of any circus clown. Just how many dumb tricks did she have up her sleeve?

“Chichan! Chichan! I’ve got an idea that’s so much better loading into my brain right now!”

“Get out of here... Now.”

Chifuyu held a palm to her forehead. Ms. Yamada stepped forward to forcibly drag Tabane out of the room, but Tabane managed to slip out of her grasp.

“Listen, listen! This is the moment for Akatsubaki to make its debut!”

“What?”

“Look at its specs! Even without a special package, it’s capable of supersonic speeds!” Tabane had opened up a wall of displays around Chifuyu, as if to trap her, before she even finished talking. “Just sweep a few armor panels, here and here and here and here. And, tadah! It’s more than fast enough!”

Sweeping armor? I’d never heard of something like that before, so I swung my head to look at the screens around Chifuyu. She’d even taken over the main display which had been showing Silverio Gospel’s specs and changed it over to Akatsubaki.

“Just let me explain! Variable-sweep armor is a special feature of the fourth-generation IS I’ve created!”

Fourth?!

“I’m such a nice person that I’ll even give you a simple, easy-to-follow explanation! Icky, you look like you need it. I bet you’re so grateful right now. The first generation of IS were focused entirely on developing the core unit. Next were attempts to fit various extended weaponry—this was the second generation. And the third generation implemented strategic weaponry, controlled by the pilot’s thoughts, through the ‘image interface.’ Things like area denial weapons, BT weapons, and the AIC. And lately, I’ve been keeping myself amused by thinking of a fourth generation that can be fully versatile without alternate packages. Do you understand now, Icky? I hope you do, I love quick learners!”

“Uhh... Well, uh, kinda?”

Give me a moment to process, here... The entire developed world was just starting to roll out their first third-generation prototypes. How’d we skip ahead an entire generation?

“Tch-tch! I’m not your run-of-the-mill genius! This is the kind of thing I can have done before afternoon tea!”

Calling it finished and going for snacks, uhh, really didn’t make it seem like she thought it through that well...

“Oh, and it’s in use on Byakushiki’s Yukihira Nigata, too. I snuck it in to see if it’d even work.”

“EHHH?” Even the others were astounded.

So that’s what happens when Reiraku Byakuya is activated? Then that made Byakushiki itself a fourth-generation IS.

“It worked pretty well, so I built the variable-sweep feature into Akatsubaki’s armor plating. Use it when you’re already operating at the limits, and you can basically double up!”

“Hey, uh, wait a minute. The whole thing? The whole thing works like Yukihira Nigata? That’s...”

“Yep. Absurdly powerful. The strongest, really.”

Everyone, myself included, just sat there with blank stares. Chifuyu was the only one who wasn’t left completely speechless by Shinonono Tabane being herself.

“Oh, and Akatsubaki’s swept armor is an advanced type including separate profiles for attack, defense, and general mobility. It completely fulfills the design goals of what I like to call a ‘Realtime Multirole Actress.’ And I did it first. Yay me!”

Silence followed. Absolute, wordless, silence.

“Huuuuuh? Why’s everyone sitting around like they’re at a funeral? Did someone die? It’s weird.”

There was absolutely nothing weird about it. Vast sums from national treasuries. Years of painstaking research by the brightest minds, just to be the first to field a third-generation IS. And all of it was completely worthless. This... This was just absurd.

“I told you, Tabane. You go too far.”

“Really? But I’m only just warming up!”

It was only after Chifuyu scolded her that Tabane understood why we were so quiet.

“Oh, but don’t make that face, Icky! Akatsubaki isn’t finished yet. You just seemed so gloomy that I wanted to play a trick on you.”

As if her little wink there would excuse this...

“Anyway, though. If Akatsubaki works as planned... Well, you’ll be home in time for dinner!”

In time for dinner... Ugh, enough about that already.

“Now that I think of it, though. Something getting loose over the sea reminds me of the White Knight Incident a decade ago.”

Tabane grinned. Beside her, Chifuyu gave the look of someone who knew things were about to go off the rails.

The White Knight Incident... I think everyone in the world probably knew about it at this point. Ten years ago, Tabane revealed the IS, but at first no one respected her accomplishment. Even as she insisted they’d make all existing weapons obsolete, no one believed her. No one had any reason to believe her.

“I never expected the whole world would think I was a fool. They could find it in themselves to believe in gods, but not in my talent that was right there in front of them? That’s just idolatry.”

A month after IS were announced, the incident occurred. Well, ‘incident’ was a strange term for something as serious as that. 2,341 missiles, from every country within range of Japan, were all hacked in one fell swoop—and fired uncontrollably. In the midst of the chaos and despair, a single woman wrapped in a platinum-white IS appeared. Her face was covered by an early visor-type hypersensor. Still, it was like something out of a superhero comic. Everyone who saw her stared up at the sky in awe. That hero, looking for all the world like a knight of yore.

“Cut them down. Half of the missiles, one thousand twenty-two of them, in a single slash. It was incredible.”

In her hand was something which could only be called a sword. Someone unmistakably human, darting and weaving at supersonic speed, cutting down modern weaponry like missiles... It was unbelievable. And then, to shoot down those outside of her reach, she summoned a gigantic particle cannon—the sort of thing that was still in the labs at that point—as if by magic.

Melee combat at supersonic speeds, the ability to materialize large objects from particles, and practical beam weaponry. No modern weapons system could have stood up to any one of those capabilities, never mind all three. But while the world was stunned, it wasn’t silenced. The countries bordering Japan immediately scrambled reconnaissance sorties, in violation of international law. Their orders: “Analyze the target. If possible, capture it. If not—then destroy it.” Dozens of what were, at the time, the latest generation of aircraft were thrown at her. But they didn’t stand a chance.

“You’re not even scratching an IS with a Vulcan cannon or missiles. Not with its energy shield.”

Even more importantly, fighter jets couldn’t make fast enough turns because their pilots couldn’t handle the G-forces involved, but IS were different. Their life-support systems kept the pilot from blacking out or having trouble breathing, no matter what maneuvers they made. And the data supplied by the hypersensor could be analyzed and acted upon faster than any computer system.

The white knight shot down the entire air armada without taking a single life. That, more than anything, drove home the true hopelessness of their situation. Not only that she could outfight them, but outclassed them enough to avoid even drawing blood... Incensed, they scrambled another wave of fighters, but it was too late. The white knight had disappeared, along with the setting sun. Completely vanished, as if a recording of her sudden arrival had simply played backwards. The white knight was gone as if she were never there.

She didn’t show up on radar. She couldn’t even be seen. It was absolutely perfect cloaking. The entire world tried their hardest to find her—and they failed. That one IS destroyed or disabled 2,341 missiles, 207 fighter aircraft, 7 cruisers, 5 aircraft carriers, and 8 spy satellites. It was truly the ultimate weapon, and everyone in the world knew about it by the next morning.

With that, it was proven that a single IS could stand up to an entire army, and the world quickly drafted treaties restricting their use while kicking development into high gear. The great powers had engaged in a battle of wits with Shinonono Tabane, and having lost, they accepted her standpoint that only an IS could defeat another IS. They had no choice but to accept it.

“And that’s how my lovely IS caught on so quickly! As for putting women on top, meh, I don’t really care. But the constant kidnapping and assassination attempts were certainly entertaining!” Tabane giggled. She seemed so enthusiastic, like a mother talking about her child’s big moment in the spotlight. “And, you know what? Guess who that white knight was? Who can tell me? I bet you can, Chichan!”

“No clue.”

“Well. Judging from her bust size of 88 centimeters—”

Bam! Chifuyu’s clipboard attack—well, screen attack. Jeez, those had metal edges.

“You’re so mean, Chichan! That split my brain in half!”

“That’s good. You can take turns thinking with your left brain and your right brain.”

“Ooh! That makes sense! You’re so smart, Chichan!”

I should point out once again that the person playfully needling Chifuyu was none other than Shinonono Tabane, genius among geniuses and the inventor of the IS. Though the validity of that statement has become iffier and iffier with each passing moment. Wait a sec. Shouldn’t Tabane know exactly who the mysterious white knight was? After all, she gave Houki her IS...

“That was incredible, Chichan!”

“I suppose. The white knight was definitely incredible.”

She definitely made it seem like it was Chifuyu, I think. But the IS Chifuyu used now was completely different from the white knight’s. I wonder where that IS went, anyway? It was the first IS to ever see combat, so surely it was in a lab somewhere still being mined for data day and night. After all, after the last of the 467 IS currently in existence were completed, not a single new one has appeared. To be precise, IS required a core, of which only 467 were made. In other words, no one would let a core just fall through the cracks.

Now that I thought about it, when Tabane disappeared three years ago, she left behind a letter reading ‘This is the final core. It’s not a bun. Don’t eat it. Lucky you! Free IS!’ How did I know? It was broadcast worldwide. She set up a TV special, ‘Shinonono Tabane’s Worldwide Live Interview.’ But when the media descended on her lab at the appointed time, it was completely empty. That didn’t stop them from broadcasting footage of the core and the letter, though.

Really, though... The older people around me, Chifuyu and Tabane both, had a habit of disappearing. It was honestly pretty annoying.

Anyway, that wasn’t important right now. By the way, of the 467 IS in the world, 322 were deployed for military purposes. The remaining 145 were reserved for various development labs around the world, with a number of testbeds for use at IS Academy drawn from that pool.

Between teachers’ IS, trainer IS, and personal IS, there were a total of 30 at the Academy. Which made having more than five just among the first years extremely unusual, apparently. It seemed that, normally, there were at most three per year. The reason for so many personal IS this year was probably... me. I was pretty sure there were already a few planned for testing third-generation IS, so when the world’s only male IS pilot appeared and countries reacted to that as well... Well, yeah. Anyway, that was all a bit over my head.

“Back to the point. Tabane, how long will it take to get Akatsubaki ready?”

“Ms. Orimura?!” The cry of shock came from Cecilia. She must have been sure that she’d be selected to participate, as the one of us with a high-mobility package. “I’m certain that my Blue Tears can pull it off!”

“Is that package already installed?”

“Well... Not quite yet...”

That must have been a sore point for her, as her confidence quickly turned into a low murmur. As a contrast, Tabane broke out into a broad smile as she spoke up, “Give me seven minutes, and I’ll have Akatsubaki ready to go.”

“Very well. Orimura and Shinonono will intercept and shoot down the target. The operation begins in T-minus thirty minutes. All personnel, begin preparation immediately.” Chifuyu clapped her hands. The teachers immediately began to prepare the ‘materiel’ needed to provide support. “If you’ve got nothing to do, help them move equipment. Orimura, Shinonono, prepare your IS. Get to it!”

Ugh, she got real serious real fast. As I looked around, I noticed that everyone else had already found something to do.

“Er, what should I...”

“Get Byakushiki set up and ready to go. Oh, and make sure it has full energy.”

“Understood.”

As soon as I answered her, I opened up Byakushiki’s console. Energy level... Check. Everything was working as designed. I was good to go anytime. Ah, but what about Houki?

“All right, let’s kick the tires on Akatsubaki!” Tabane cheered.

“.........”

“C’mon. Smile more. You got picked for first string! Isn’t that great?”

“I was born with this expression.”

“I guess. It was cuter when you were a baby, though. You cried sometimes, too.”

“D-Didn’t everyone when they were a baby?!”

Tabane threw out a “Maybe, I guess” as she ran her fingers over Akatsubaki, which Houki had materialized.

“Hm, hmm. Set the back, leg, and arm variable-sweep armor for maximum thrust. Otherwise, leave it in support fire mode. There you go. All right, time to get started.”

As Tabane spoke, she was enveloped in a haze of glowing particles. Two parts formed around each of her forearms, for a total of four. They were around the size of IS armor, and had its general appearance, as well.

“Is this your IS, Tabane?”

“Huh? Nah, Icky. This is my mobile lab. I am a cat. As yet I have no name,” she intoned.

She waved her index finger in the air, and the two handlike parts on her right arm mimicked the motion. What the heck is this?

“Okay, here goes!”

Tabane picked up, between her fingers, dozens of screwdrivers and drills and knives and things I couldn’t even recognize.

“Mm-hm. If it starts to hurt, raise your right hand.”

It was the perfect phrase for what I was watching take place. She slid something which looked like a scalpel underneath an invisible panel and flipped it open, then quickly clamped it to hold it. From inside, she pulled a mechanism and began tweaking. The crazy part was that she was doing it in four other places at the same time. It seemed like she was working on the toughest part herself, while letting those floating arms handle the rest. Each finger of the arms seemed to have a range of tools built in, as they’d already begun cutting and welding with lasers while maxing adjustments with precise manipulators.

The most amazing part, though, was that Tabane herself wasn’t using any outside assistance—not hypersensor, no AR goggles, nothing. How could she handle dealing with that kind of intricate machinery?! Tabane was happily humming, seemingly without a care in the world. But she was working incredibly fast.

“And along came the jaw!”

A jaw? From where? I never could understand what Tabane was thinking. As I pondered that, I made eye contact with Houki. She seemed really nervous.

“W-What? What is it?”

“Hm? Oh, nothing.”

“Oh, good.”

“.........”

“.........”

I just continued looking at her.

“No, really, what do you want?”

Crap, looks like I made her mad.

“No, really, it’s nothi— Oww!”

As I aimlessly chatted with Houki, a fist caught me from behind. With as much force behind it as it had, it must have been Chifuyu.

“If you don’t have anything to do, Alcott can fill you in on high-speed combat.”

“Understood.”

Clang, clank. Grind, whiiirrrr. As the sounds of hard work settled into a sort of background music, I tried to get Cecilia’s attention. Somehow, it was really calming.

“Sigh... First I angered Professor Shinonono, then I was removed from the mission team... It’s simply too much...”

“Hey, Cecilia. Hey. Heeeeeey.”

“Yes— Eek!” Cecilia, suddenly noticing that I was staring at her, jumped in shock. At the same time, the small-ish monitor she was carrying slipped from her grasp, but I smoothly caught it.

“Whoa. This may be small, but it’s pretty heavy.”

“W-W-What is it? Did you need me for something?”

“Oh, uh, Chifu—er, Ms. Orimura told me to ask you for a rundown of high-speed combat.”

“R-Really?!”

Her smile suddenly beamed. That was nice to see. I’d been a bit worried about how dejected she was. It was way better to be a sunny person than a gloomy person.

“A-Ahem. I’ll be giving you some pointers on high-speed combat. First, Ichika, do you have an ultra-high-performance hypersensor?”

“Nope.”

“I see. Then, let me warn you. When using an ultra-high-performance hypersensor adapted for high-speed combat—”

Cecilia put a hand on her hip, struck a pose, and began to explain, but was interrupted by a second voice, “It’s like the world is moving in slow-motion. At least for your first time.”

“Ling?! I was already in the process explaining to him. How many hours of high-speed combat have you even logged?”

“Twelve. Not quite as many as you, but still.”

Cecilia shrunk back at the unexpected response. Clearing her throat to regain control, she resumed her lecture, “And the reason that this slow-motion effect occurs is that—”

“The hypersensor sharpens the senses of the pilot in order to transfer more detailed data. So it ends up seeming like the world is moving slower. But that’s just the first time. You get used to it pretty quick.”

“Charlotte?! I was already explaining—”

“The important thing to focus on is your boost gauge. Ichika, you have a habit of relying on Ignition Boost. At high speeds, your boost gauge will drop nearly twice as fast.”

“L-Laura?! I—”

“Oh, and because your relative velocity is so much higher, you’ll take significantly more damage from ranged weapons. If you get hit in the wrong place, it could pierce your armor in one shot.”

“Even Ms. Yamada?! I give up! Why must everyone keep interrupting me?!”

Cecilia was pretty mad. It seems like the interruptions had finally made her boil over.

“Er, Cecilia?”

“What is it?!”

“Thanks for teaching me so much. Is there anything else I should keep in mind?”

She was already so angry that she was nearly about to bite my head off, but as she heard what I was saying she gave me a blank look. Two blinks later, the anger faded from her face.

“Oh, why, it was nothing! A British National Cadet is always glad to answer questions!” Her smug grin returned as her hand moved back to her hip. Yep, she was definitely herself again.

“Well, there’s one thing. Your Reiraku Byakuya is the key to this mission, so you should avoid using Ignition Boost at all. It burns too much energy.” Rin, having finished moving her equipment, spoke up.

“Oh, and you should think about how to defend yourself. Normally, you’d want a riot shield for these tactics, but your weapon’s a two-hander.” Charl was also done moving, and wandered over to rejoin the conversation. After that, even Laura and Ms. Yamada joined in the planning, as well. Even though it was planning for the upcoming mission, it still felt good to have people gather around me.

No matter what, I must succeed. Inside my heart, I renewed my determination.

◇

The time was 11:30. The July skies were clear and blue, as if nothing were out of the ordinary today, and the sun beat down relentlessly. Houki and I stood a short distance apart on the sand. Our gazes met, and we each gave a quick nod.

“Come forth, Byakushiki.”

“Let’s go, Akatsubaki!”

We were enveloped in light, and IS armor began to form around us. At the same time, I felt the lightness brought by the PIC and effortless motion from the power assist.

“All right, Houki. I’m counting on you.”

“My pride would normally never accept a man riding on top of me, but just this once, I’ll make an exception.”

The mission plan called for Houki to handle all the maneuvering, meaning I’d have to ride on her back. When it was first brought up, she was extremely displeased about it, but it almost seemed like she was warming up to the idea now. I hope this works out... Houki has had her personal IS for less than a day. Even with Tabane’s help customizing it and setting it up, Houki herself would be the weak link. If anything goes wrong, I’m gonna have to cover for her. The realization focused my mind.

“Still, I’m glad it’s the two of us sometimes. When you and I work together, there’s nothing we can’t overcome. Right?”

“Yeah. But remember what the teachers said, Houki. This isn’t a drill. You never know what’s going to happen in combat. Always be prepared—”

“I know already. Why, are you scared?”

“No way. But seriously, Houki—”

“Hahaha, don’t worry. I’ll get you up there. Just leave it to me.”

“.........”

She’d been like this for a while now. I knew she must have been excited to finally have her own IS, but this was taking it a bit too far. The anxiety refused to leave me as I climbed onto the back of Houki’s Akatsubaki.

“Orimura, Shinonono, radio check.” Chifuyu’s voice came over the IS open channel. Houki and I both nodded in response. “The mission plan calls for a shoot down on a single approach. Be ready for a quick fight.”

“Roger.”

“I should provide support for Orimura, correct?”

“Yeah. But don’t push yourself too hard. You just got that IS, and you’ve got no combat experience with it. There’s no guarantee problems won’t pop up.”

“Understood. I’ll do what I can.”

Houki may have seemed calm and composed, but her tone of voice seemed positively overjoyed. Hopefully, all my worries were merely superficial.

“Orimura—”

“Yes?”

This time, Chifuyu spoke not over the open channel, but over a private channel. Shocked, I switched over to reply.

“Shinonono seems a bit too fired up. She might push herself too far. If she does, I want you to support her.”

“Got it. I’ll keep that in mind.”

“I leave it to you.”

With that, Chifuyu switched back to the open channel, and gave the order.

“COMMENCE MISSION!”

And so the operation began. As I clung to Houki’s back, we quickly rose to 300 meters. How was she this fast?! It was as quick as my Ignition Boost, no, even faster! Akatsubaki continued its rapid ascent to the planned altitude of 500 meters, unhindered by me on its back.

“Temporary satellite link established. Synchronization complete. Target position confirmed— Let’s do this, Ichika!”

“Yeah!”

As Houki shouted, she accelerated Akatsubaki. The variable-sweep armor on its legs and back, true to its name, opened, and a powerful energy streamed forth from within. This was like the variable-sweep armor of the Yukihira Nigata... No, like an improvement on it. According to Tabane, Akatsubaki could adapt itself for offense, defense, or mobility at a moment’s notice. But was all its armor variable-sweep? Just what would happen at full output? Where was it getting all the energy for this, anyway?

“I’ve spotted her, Ichika!”

“......!”

The feed from the hypersensor floated in my vision as if I were seeing it with my own eyes. The enemy IS, worthy of the name Silverio Gospel, gleamed silver from head to toe. But the most notable thing about it was the gigantic cluster of wings which sprouted from its head. While it glittered the same silver as the body, the intelligence we’d seen indicated that it combined a large thruster and a wide-area suppression fire weapons system. The data said it could fire in multiple directions at once. But what kind of attack? That didn’t matter. I didn’t have time to think about it. As we soared in pursuit, I gripped Yukihira Nigata.

“I’m speeding up! Contact in ten seconds. Focus, Ichika!”

“Got it!”

The thrusters and the swept armor roared even louder. Their awesome speed quickly closed the distance with the IS. Five, six, seven, eight, nine... Ten!

“AAAARGH!”

I activated Reiraku Byakuya. At the same time, I used Ignition Boost to try to close the remaining gap. I’ve got you! Then, at the very instant when my blade was about to make contact with Silverio Gospel—

“What?!”

—The IS made a sudden turn and dodged backward, ready for battle. Another go-around—no, we have to take it down now! We were already in range. It was too late to back off. We needed to finish it off before a counterattack. But...

[Target acquired. Initiating intercept mode. Silver Bell activated.]

“......?!”

A flat, mechanical voice came over the open channel. Its obvious malevolence startled me. I had a bad feeling about this. And a few seconds later, I was proven right.

With a bang it spun in the air, passing within millimeters of Reiraku Byakuya’s blade. Even for an IS equipped with a passive inertial canceller by default, that was a tricky maneuver.

“Ugh! Is that wing why it can accelerate so fast?”

It had plenty of other high-output multithrusters, as well, but I’d never seen an IS accelerate so precisely. I began to realize just why it was considered ‘top secret.’

“Houki! Cover me!”

“Got it!”

The longer this took, the worse of a position we’d be in. Letting Houki protect my back, I readied another slash at the target.

“Tch! Damn you!”

Again, though, it spun around, evading me by a hair’s breadth. It moved as if dancing, or as if swimming in the sky. It had played me like a fiddle, and panicked at how little time Reiraku Byakuya had left, I took one more wide swing. And now, it seized upon an opening.

“......!”

The silver wing... the thrusters’ armor folded wide, as if it were the wings of an angel. Dammit! It’s the gun barrels— A thicket of gun barrels pointed from within the wings as they wrapped around me. In the next instant, a hail of bullets of light erupted forth.

“Argh!”

The bullets were highly compressed energy in the shape of feathers. I thought they’d pierced my IS armor and carried on, but a second later, they exploded. Exploding energy bullets, that was Silverio Gospel’s primary weapon. Even worse, they fired incredibly fast. Their speed—the rate of fire—was unbelievable. While they weren’t very precisely aimed, it didn’t matter. They were explosive. Even a glancing blow would set them off.

“Houki! Let’s attack from the sides simultaneously! You take the left!”

“Got it!”

Houki and I traced complex paths toward the IS for a coordinated attack, as it continued firing. But our attack didn’t even scratch it. It made a quick evasive maneuver while turning to the counterattack. Its wing thruster may have looked unusual, but it certainly was extremely effective.

“Ichika! I’ll pin it down!”

“Okay!”

Houki closed in, both katanas drawn, for a series of slashes. Her arm armor opened up and blades of energy automatically extended, slashing at the IS as she attacked. Akatsubaki’s no pushover either! Using the mobility of Akatsubaki and the attitude control provided by its variable-sweep armor, Houki darted closer and closer. Her fierce assault forced even it to resort to parrying and blocks.

“HAAAH!”

We’ve got it! Reinvigorated, I clutched my sword, but at the same moment Silverio Gospel began a wide-angle counterattack.

[La-la-la...] Came a high-pitched synthetic voice. At the same moment, all of the gun emplacements on its wing thrusters opened. A total of 36. And each erupted in indiscriminate fire.

“Not bad... But I’ll cut you down to size!” Houki weaved through the rain of bullets for a counterattack. She’d found her chance.

“Ngh...!”

But suddenly, I reversed course, and dove down toward the surface of the sea at full speed.

“Ichika?!”

“RAAAARGH!” With Ignition Boost and Reiraku Byakuya at full output, I chased down the last bullet.

“What are you doing?! We finally had an opening!”

“There’s something down there! I thought the teachers were supposed to clear this sector— Dammit, it’s a poacher boat!”

Still, I couldn’t just let them die.

Fshhirrr. The light of the Yukihira Nigata in my hand began to fade, and its armor folded closed. I... was out of energy. I’d wasted our best—our only—chance. I’d blown the mission.

“You idiot! You did that just to save a few criminals?! It doesn’t matter what happens to them!”

“Houki!”

“Wha—”

“Houki... Houki, that’s too harsh. Don’t say things like that. Just because you’re powerful now, you’re forgetting what it’s like to be weak? That’s not like you, Houki. That’s not like you at all.”

“I-I...” Houki raised her hands to her face, as if to cover her wavering expression. At the same time, seeing the katana which fell from her hands dissolve into light, my heart sunk in my throat.

That was limit down... This is bad. Limit down, meaning, running out of energy. And this wasn’t in an arena at IS Academy. This was actual combat.

“HOUKI!”

I threw down my sword and launched myself toward her, using the last of my energy for an Ignition Boost. Come on, Byakushiki! Make it in time! Ahead of me, I could see Silverio Gospel returning to volley-fire mode. This time, its sights were centered on Houki.

IS armor was extremely brittle when starved of energy. Even a fourth-generation IS would probably be the same. A little bit of energy was reserved for emergency defense, but one hit from that curtain of bullets and there wouldn’t even be enough left of her to leave a stain. Please! Please, Byakushiki! Please! The world played in slow-motion as I saw the bullets leave their barrels an instant before I slid between the IS and Houki.

“AAAAAGHH!” As I wrapped my arms around her, the explosions rolled across my back like rain. Dozens of shocks, each strong enough that my energy shield couldn’t absorb it, and I heard my bones creak. My muscles cried out in agony, and my skin, the armor torn from it, burned as if on fire. Amidst the pain which seemed to last an eternity, just once, I looked up at Houki’s face.

She’s safe... That’s good. Haha, she looks like she’s about to cry. That’s not like her. Oh, her ribbon was burnt off... She... looks good... with her hair down...

“Ichika? Ichika! ICHIKAAAAAAA!”

“I... Ah......”

The world spun upside down. No, that wasn’t right. I was the one who was upside down. Falling down, down toward the sea. I used the last of my strength to wrap my arms around Houki’s head to protect her. The shock tore through my body as we landed with a massive splash. Looking up at Silverio Gospel, I passed out.