A/N: I hope you all (that is, the two of you), reread that last chapter. A good friend of mine, who has her own distinguished stories up in the Harry Potter fandom, beta read for me. I was having real problems with that chapter because I put off writing it for so long…hehe. Anyway, big thanks to Aileron1! (Yes, it's Aileron1, I didn't forget to push the shift button that first time).
Disclaimer: This is just a space for me to lash out at lazy, lawyer-happy nuts.
*~*~*~
The lights dimmed as everyone searched out a seat. Kino and Hayami, being the last ones in, converged on the wall to the left of the front screen. The captain was adjusting a projector pointed at the screen with a laptop computer next to it. Kino slid down the wall and sat down, but Hayami reminded standing.
"Sit down," she whispered. She elbowed him in his knee.
"Can't, it hurts," he answered, just as quietly. That was entirely true, but Kino couldn't help thinking that he wanted keep familiarity to a minimum. Conversation was one thing, but choosing to be the only people on the floor was another. And people on a sub were especially good at operating a rumor machine. What else was there to do, after all, than start rumors? She didn't let it bother her; he was bad company anyway.
"All right people, let's settle down," Iga called. "This is to update our current situation, and answer some questions. Everything's been really tight-lipped this past week, but we've got some new information from the on-land HQ. All I need from you is quiet."
Eventually, even the quidnuncs stopped talking, but not before getting out one last bit of second-hand information. Kino had, of course, given her entire attention over to the captain and glaring at the people still chatting. She wasn't a teacher's pet so much as she was eager to prove herself against the older crewmembers, being one of the youngest people on board.
A pale square of light shone on the fourth wall. Someone plugged in the laptop, and the white light was replaced by a green desktop image.
Kino sighed. Anyone else would've set this up beforehand. No sense in making everyone wait, she thought, remembering the work still left on the Grampus.
Yuri, the sub-captain, flipped the light switch, leaving the glowing projector the only source of light. Captain Iga stepped in front of the light, one eye closed; though if it was from the glare or from habit was anyone's guess. The effect of the light made him looked washed-out, and wearier than usual.
"I expect the rest of you to relay this information to the rest of the crew once we're through here," he began.
Several people nodded, including Kino.
He acknowledged them by tilting his head slightly before continuing. "After the NOVO operation was discharged, Sub 0 was escorted by Blue 7 to the Timaru port in New Zealand. It arrived there without any problems several hours ago."
Sub 0, the nuclear-armed typhoon submarine, had been their last resort against Zorndyke, but was not used at the last minute. As its twenty SLBMs (Submarine Launched Ballistic Missile) were set for simultaneous ignition, they were glad to see it go. All the same, the thought of any rogue Musacas or Kumos attacking it on the way made them all distressed.
"Will they deactivate it?" called Cekeros from the back.
"The jury's still out on that," Iga responded.
There was murmuring amongst the group. "Does that mean they think they'll need it?" Kino asked Hayami.
"Knowing them, probably," he muttered contemptuously. A cigarette hung from his mouth, unlit.
That reminded her that his lighter was still in her pocket. She'd picked it up on the beach that day and forgotten to return it. Frankly, she was afraid to touch it, for fear of accidentally setting her pants on fire. Fine, she thought. Give his lungs a break.
"Let's focus, people," Yuri commanded loudly. The crowd's opinions on the nuclear torpedo fell silent at once.
"Anyway, that aside, our only problem left now is politics," Iga said.
"And what about the zealots who keep attacking us?" someone prompted.
"Do what we always do—kick ass," he replied, touching his hat. His eyes fell on Kino briefly.
Kino grimaced a little; with that quick glance he gave her. It was barely noticeable, but the message was clear: Don't let it happen again. Why was he still harping her about this? she fumed silently. One mistake and you're blacklisted.
Hayami caught the exchange, she noticed. He raised an eyebrow, but chewed on the cigarette instead of commenting.
Iga tapped the laptop, and a slideshow with diagrams and photos from the Council began.
"In case you've forgotten, let me remind what the Blue organization was originally intended to be. Blue was created one the basis of researching and solving the world's major environmental problems: world hunger, desertification, and improving the environment. One aspect was the development of marine research, as in the Oceania Marine Development Center. Along with the Air Independent Propulsion Research and System Development Center and the International Naval Academy, the objective was worldwide peace.
"But the Zorndyke situation forced us to expand our military sect, and it was the first time that every nation on earth took part in generating a military unit. Of course the latest technology was used. Any single sub and her crew could only be matched by another Blue sub."
All were silent. Any one of his comments would have rendered an outburst or two, but he looked so weary that they could tell he was leading up to something crucial.
"And that bothers some of the smaller nations, since they think that a sub's country of origin automatically adds the sub to its arsenal. They want to know what's going to be done with the fleet now that its job is done.
"But I think our job is far from over," he added grimly.
Frieda leaned forward in her chair. "What do they suggest, exactly?"
"The council is still arguing amongst themselves, but the original plan is being kept for now: the submarines are to go back to their home ports and give the crew a few weeks off—"
He was temporarily interrupted by clapping.
"—Eventually. It's supposed to go in shifts," he finished, invoking grumbling from the disgruntled crewmembers. The laptop slideshow ended with photos from a very tense-looking Council meeting. "Any more questions?"
"What about the enemy? What's up with them?" asked a voice from the back.
"Negotiations and peace talks are the goal, but except for the ones on Antarctica, they've been rather hard to find. That's all we know now.
"Is that all? Right. We'll be pulling into Tokyo Bay in 52 hours; let's get this boat ready!"
The lights came back on, but nearly everyone had left by then.
"What was that all about?" Hayami asked.
"What d'you mean?" she said absent-mindedly. She was only half-listening, having completely forgotten they were docking so soon. Now she had to repair the Grampus wing in two days…it was possible, if she got started now….
And the people who could actually give her the parts were very possessive. She walked out of the room, and ducked down on her knees to retrieve her box under the table. She quickly yanked it out.
"Seemed like there was a lot left unsaid," he answered, following her out and peering under the table.
She straightened up and went down the main hallway. The Grampus' airlock and holding bay was in the belly of the sub, under the dorsal fin of the artificial killer whale.
"But I've been out for a week…." He trailed off. "Is that really all that's been going on? Bhutan thinks India'll sail up the Ganges and launch missiles at it?"
"Don't be stupid: it'd make much more sense to come up the Brahmaputra," she said, and turned to face him. "It connects directly to the ocean, you see."
They both grinned. They were at the entryway to the Grampus chamber. Kino opened the hatch and slid the box down the entrance tube. It hit the opposite hatch with a loud thunk. She didn't need to carry it all the way down to storage. "Well, essentially that's all," she went on. "But that's been an issue long before now. There's also—"
She stopped suddenly, and looked at her watch. "Walk and talk," she commanded. "I need parts to fix this thing."
They set off towards the rear of the sub at a brisk space, but not so fast that Kino couldn't explain things. "This thing about what to do with the fleet is new; before they were just discussing reconstruction plans and ways to ward off Zorndyke's creatures from the coasts."
"Oh?"
"Yeah. No nets, but electrical impulses and high-pitched sound waves. They've used it for sharks and manta rays. There's a small device that emits the pulses. It's standard for divers and all boats now."
"Boats, too?"
She looked at him as if he were an idiot. "You're awfully quick to patronize them, but the bigger ones are known to eat people."
She muttered something about a "bleeding heart," but he took the point she made and didn't bother to argue. That suited her just fine. He thought more highly of the mutant species than she did. She knew her opinion was biased because the creatures killed her family, and yet she didn't care to change it. Not yet, at least.
They went down a set of stairs to the lower deck. Kino had some request forms stuffed in her jumpsuit pocket, which she was hastily filling out on the way. When halting and scribbling on the walls became too tedious, she nicked a clipboard from the mess hall.
"Anyone's name on it?" Hayami asked as she snuck out of the empty hall.
She turned it over. "No," she answered, and clipped her form to it.
"That's the great thing about the navy: half soldier, half desk job."
She frowned at the piece of paper she was writing on. "What about mechanic?" she supplied, not at all pleased with his degradation of her (proposed) life's work.
Maybe he was irked, or perhaps that was his bemused look. She could never really tell.
Just then, who should walk out from the stairwell but the Captain.
Hayami looked at her. "He's come for the clipboard," he stated, with the same questionable look on his face.
She sighed, exasperated. He was probably right, the way her standing was with the Captain right now. Even though the very notion was silly, she hung the clipboard down by her side all the same, and kept walking. Hopefully they would just pass in the hallway.
But that didn't happened. Iga noticed them and stopped. "Hayami," he said. "I need to speak to you in my office sometime before we dock."
He eyed Kino briefly. "You'd better come too." When he saw the look of absolute disbelief and vexation on her face he added, "It's not about that. Carry on."
"Aye, sir," she said, though not as forcefully as usual. She was relieved that he was off her case about the accident, but now Hayami would want to know what that was.
Hayami said nothing to Iga like always, but did ask what she had expected him to. If she was a more vulgar person, she might have told him to go away in a rather crude manner. As it was, she was not, so she just stared him down and refused to answer him.
All-in-all, it did not help improve the image of her maturity in his eyes, but she would fix that later.
* * *
After one more corner, the storage space opened up before them. Yet 'opened' was hardly the right word, as it was tightly packed with boxes and had a low ceiling. It was quite the contrast of on-land warehouses, not only because everything here was strapped to the floor. Blue 6 was known for its unusual maneuvers that often involved angle changes of more than ninety degrees.
The Supply Officer was no where in sight when they came in. "Hello?" Kino called. There was no answer.
"If you don't come out I'll just take the stuff and leave," she threatened.
Immediately a brown-haired man poked his head out from behind a box marked, "Food, etc."
"Oh, it's you again," he sneered.
She just rolled her eyes and thrust the clipboard in his direction. "Here. Is this sufficient?"
He came out from his hiding place and snatched the papers from her. She wondered if seclusion made people so openly hostile, or it that was something you were born with.
He studied them for a minute, then said, "What is it you need?"
She stared at him. "It says so on the paper."
"Do you think I read the whole thing?"
"If only to prevent exchanges like this," she said logically. But she saw he wasn't going to budge. "A welding iron, mask, and a replacement cover for the starboard Grampus wing."
He nodded. "What about you?" he said, directing his question at Hayami.
Kino wasn't entirely sure why he was still here, either. Hayami was hanging back with his hands in his pockets. "I'm making sure she puts it back together right," he said.
"No, you are not," Kino huffed. She crossed her arms. "He's here to carry things," she said to the Officer.
"Whatever. Which part?" he inquired, walking back a few rows. She followed him, with Hayami trailing behind her, apparently because he had nothing else to do.
The brunet was taking apart a crate. "The piece by the front cockpit. Like this," she said, forming a trapezoid shape with her fingers.
He began digging around in the box. Then, Kino noticed Hayami grinding the same cigarette with his teeth. She pulled the lighter out of her pocket and shoved it at him. He looked surprised to see it.
"I thought you could spare your lungs for a few hours, but now you're chewing tobacco and that's even worse," she said.
The lighter was on a piece of cord, and he put it around his neck. "Thanks."
She sighed, as if she couldn't believe he was thanking her for helping his addiction. Which was true, she realized as he lit the damp cigarette.
"Okay," the officer said. He pulled out a large steel part and handed it to her. "That's it right?"
"Yep,"
"Bring the old piece back here," he told her, and walked off to the left to the tools section.
"Pieces," she muttered. The blast had skimmed the top, but the force was enough to gouge and split the steel into two pieces.
He found the welding iron faster. Kino gave the cover to Hayami so she could accept the cutting torch and mask.
"You'll want this," he said, handing her a stained apron. But he was hardly friendly. She decided that maybe he was jealous of people whose jobs did not involve being the lord and master of a bunch of crates. In return, she gave him the most fake smile she could muster, and was off.
* * *
"Need any help with that?"
"You know, if you really wanted to help, you would have asked me that when we first left," Kino said irritably. "Just take that thing down."
She stood away from the hatch so he could open it and go down. When she heard the slight echo of his footsteps in the air lock, she pushed the welding torch in front of her and slid down the narrow tube. She hoped she wouldn't trip over anything with the cumbersome tool, like the tubes, as she was liable to do. What she couldn't decide if it was because she was afraid of breaking her legs or looking like an idiot in front of Hayami. He was so cool and collected all the time. She'd love to have a demeanor like that. How could a person who had no apparent direction in his life be so sure about every physical action he did?
Then again, if that's what came with being an indifferent jerk, he could keep it.
Her feet touched down without much difficulty. Before stepping completely out, she plunked the torch and its tank by her feet.
Hayami was crouched on the wing, inspecting the damage to the Grampus with awe. "God," he muttered. "Why didn't it hit you?"
"What's that supposed to mean?" she snapped. She could leave the tank where it was, as the tubes were four feet long. She got up and stood next to him, torch in hand.
"It missed you by six inches," he said bluntly, standing up.
"It just grazed the top," she grumbled. The Kumo had caught her off guard, during a brief second in which she had completely forgotten where she was and her mind was occupied with…other things. What those things, and the person she had lost her head over, were she would not admit to anyone. She could barely admit it to herself, because she was disgusted that she had allowed herself to be overwhelmed by things that were unimportant in the middle of a battle. Of course, the flash of light and the explosion of the torpedo from its tube had jolted her back to the situation, and she turned and ducked the mini-sub enough that the hit hadn't done as much injury.
"Well," he said. "What're you going to do about it?"
"Why don't you sit back and watch?" she retorted. But he didn't move, and neither did she. "I don't have time for this."
The torpedo had been hot and going fast enough to have torn open and melted the metal. It was a clear rip down the center of the metal plate, exposing wiring underneath, all of which led to the gun barrels on one side and the controls in the cockpit on the other. The heat had fused the pieces to the rest of the wing. She had to cut it free and burn off the access to replace the cover properly, and repair the wire damage underneath. All the rewiring she would save for later, as that would take time. This she hoped to have done in three hours.
Kino put on the work apron and slipped the mask over her head. Hayami stepped back a foot or so. "There's a pair of goggles in the box," she told him, her voice muffled by the mask. He did as she suggested, and watched her start to sever the offending piece from the Grampus.
Why was he still here? Once again, she had posed a question too difficult to answer under present circumstances. Welding was a great time to ponder the inner depths of this man's personality. To cut the piece in a straight line and in the correct place required concentration. What she did know was that he could probably care less about what she did to the Grampus.
Yellow and orange sparks flew off in very direction, and already it was hot behind the smothering mask.
Yet having him breathing down her neck incited her to give one-hundred-and-fifty-percent. Maybe she couldn't pilot the thing as well as he could, but she could prove that she knew exactly how to make it run beautifully. Even so, which was better: a good driver or a good mechanic?
*~*~*~
A/N: Huh, suddenly things get philosophical (if barely so) at the end. BUT THIS IS IMPORTANT! Even though I just came up with this two seconds ago, it would be a good allegory-type thing in the relationship: the 'pilot' and the 'mechanic.' I mean, they're literally two ends of a magnet, so why would the relationship between the two of them work out as opposed to with someone else? So what does a pilot do and what does a mechanic do? Blah. This is more of a reminder for myself than to insight you folks. Ha.
Also note: By the time I finished writing this, Aileron1 went and changed her penname to Ashwater. Oy.