Chapter 2: Taxiing

Rondel, Northern Falmart

When America and Japan jointly announced an end to science and technology sharing with the Special Region, the reason they had given was "long-term military-strategic dangers, arising through misuse as weapons technology." Despite this, the ban had two noteworthy exceptions:

First, the World Health Organization was permitted to continue operating in Falmart's major cities for the sake of educating the locals on basic sanitation, first aid, and disease prevention. This occurred only after extensive arguing within the United Nations (and two "strongly worded" letters of condemnation) and an agreement allowing Japan to quarantine returning doctors...in the interest of making sure that "no unintended creatures were brought back through the Gate."

Second, Astronomy Sciences was allowed to continue. The argument for why? "You cannot weaponize star charts!"

The man who had made that argument, Professor Hitoshi Shirai sighed, leaned away from his computer screen, and looked up to the giant scientific instrument on his left.

The 24" Modified Dall-Kirkham telescope had cost JAXA seven million Yen out of the box, and another three hundred million to transport it all the way to Rondel and install it. In comparison, the price of local labor to build the new brick and wood observatory, about two million yen, was a joke.

That said, the telescope had been worth every Yen that NAOJ had thrown at it. Data collected from observations had discovered three dozen nebulae, five hundred exoplanet candidates, two black hole-binary candidates, and an additional two planets within the Special Region's own solar system. This, of course, translated to a tremendous stream of academic papers and publications, all with Shriai's name on it. One particular paper, "Evolution of the Orion Arm of the Milky Way based on Extragalactic Observations," had supposedly caught the attention of a very important panel at the Royal Academy in Stockholm.

His assistant, Flat El Coda, noticed his change in posture and asked, "Is something the matter, Professor?"

"Ah, just this damned computer screen," Shirai said. "They're a pain on old eyes like mine."

"I hear that the Alchemy Academy has been working on an Elixir to reduce eye strain," Flat said. "Ever since they heard that such a thing doesn't exist on Earth, they've been pouring over mountains of old text in search of a manufacturable solution."

Shirai snorted. In the past seven years, every student, scientist, and magician in Falmart had been scrambling to find new niches in Earth markets. One of the earliest, Tiberias El Delsus, had been offered a six billion Yen contract when his family tea recipe "for treating headaches and congestion" also happened to be surprisingly effective at curing Melanoma. Now the man was the Chairman of the Rondel Council. "I'd prefer to take the proven treatment and go for a walk," Shirai said. "Care to—"

Before he could finish, the door to the observatory burst open and Arpeggio El Lalena charged through, clearly nervous and excited. "Flat!" She declared, rushing over to him, "Have you heard—"

Flat rushed to her side and Shirai turned to watch. Of all his projects, this was probably the one that he was the most proud of. When Flat had first taken him to Rondel six years earlier, Shirai had been excited to meet his apprentice's closest female friend and colleague. Instead, he'd been horrified to witness the pair's confused relationship caught in a seemly endless orbit of evasions, passive-aggression, and proto-romantic tension. Deciding to add a little delta-V to the equation, Shirai had carefully given his own encouragement to Flat ("You shall grow a spine and ask her out weekly, or I will bar you from using the 24" scope") but had required some help with Arpeggio ("Itami, you're an otaku, would you remind everyone again what happens to a tsundere that doesn't drop the act before she turns twenty-five?"). Eventually the two relented, married, and Alfie was presently a few weeks from expecting her first child.

"Alfie," Flat cautioned, "You shouldn't be running like that, it's bad for—"

But Arpeggio didn't seem to care. "News from Sadera! The Senator from Rondel tried to assassinate the Empress!"

Flat and Shirai exchanged a confused glance before Flat said, "Pina's father was nearly assassinated by Zorzal. Surely she would be more careful—"

"And they say that the assassin had a gun!"

That shook Shirai to the core. After seven years of exposure to Japanese and American assault rifles, most of his Earth colleagues knew that it was only a matter of time before someone in Falmart began producing their own firearms. Yet, he hadn't expected them to come so soon. "A gun, you say?"

"The Council has called an emergency meeting, and Director Tarinium stopped by the library on the way there. He told me to tell you to go and watch, since this could affect all of us!"

Flat gave a helpless look to the Professor, who shrugged and said, "You two get a head start. I'll shut everything down here and join you later."

After the couple had gone, he turned back to his computer and typed out a quick email:

To: sugawarak

Subj: Gun Assassin?!

Hearing report of firearm assassination attempt against Empress. Why am I just now hearing about this? Is there a need to evacuate? Please advise.

Shirai Hitoshi

Hakase, NAOJ

He hit the send button and then placed the computer into standby mode. The message would remain there until the American satellite constellation passed above the horizon, usually once every hour or so. At that point, the email would get transferred to a message buffer on one of the orbiting machines, then beamed back down to the receiving dish at the Jade Palace in Sadera some time after that. According to the Americans, this was one of a handful of features on the three-satellite cluster, but it was the one that he used the most often.

Since there was no hope of an immediate response, he decided to power down the telescope, lock up the observatory, and follow Flat and Arpeggio back into the city.

In the seven years since the end of the war, Rondel had experienced booming expansion in all sectors as its citizens rushed to either mimic Earth technology with the resources at hand, or monetize on discoveries unique to Falmart's fauna, flora, and geology. The city had nearly doubled in size, the New City a tableau of parallel roads and avenues standing in defiance of the chaotic mess of Rondel's older streets. The once open and sparkling Row Stream was now clogged with water wheels for everything from mills to printing presses, and was tinged with sewage in places as the city struggled under the strain of nearly a quarter-million new citizens. In the distance, Shirai could see the looming smokestacks where aspiring mechanical engineers were supposedly struggling to build Falmart's first working steam engines.

It was frustrating, in its own way. If Shirai looked closely enough, he could still make out the white marble architecture and deep-hued spires of the old city, but the level of industrialization was so much and so fast that the city had started to remind him more of the outskirts of Beijing than some fantasy academic paradise. He shook his head as he passed a work crew taking down a detailed statue of Goddess La, likely for the sake of expanding a building or some other hectic construction project.

"Ah, Dr. Shirai!" a voice shouted in English.

Shirai knew the voice very well, and, deciding that he wasn't in the mood that morning, ignored it and pressed on, only to be interrupted as the speaker rushed before him and addressed him with polite enthusiasm, "I take it you heard the news too? Going to the City Hall?"

Shirai said nothing in return, his eyes fixed on the seal of the United Nations on the man's vest, along with the large block words WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION before traveling up to the man's face.

"What?" The man said, grinning.

"Dr. Nguyen, if you've heard the same news that I heard, you would be less excited."

Doctor Thi Van Nguyen gave him a confused look. "But Professor Shirai," he said. "Surely this is history in motion. The people of Rondel seem excited, shouldn't we be as well?"

"I see nothing positive to be drawn from attempted murder," Shirai said.

"Attempted?" His eyes widened. "Oh, so you didn't hear, then! The Empress was not hit, but that astronaut fellow—what was his name?"

Shirai stopped trying to push past and said, "Cicero? Cicero La Moltose is dead?"

"That's what it sounds like, yes. Apparently, he jumped in front of Pina just as the gun went off, and..."

Shirai brought a hand to his mouth and looked away, blocking out the rest of Nguyen's rant. He had been at Alnus with Flat and watched the Saderan Senator deliver his speech before and after flying on the New Shephard rocket with Greta and Kamkikoda. The flight had added a layer of compassion atop his initial gruffness, and though Cicero continued to press for more technology from Japan, he was ultimately a kind person whose decisions were driven by the well-being of his constituents, not personal gain.

"You knew him?"

The astronomer sighed and let his hand fall. "Somewhat," he said. "Let's go, we're already running late."

As they progressed deeper into the city, the changes became more and more apparent. Where once Rondel had been a place of books, it now seemed to be a place of manufacturing, with carts coming and going from every building, hauling both the expected raw materials like wood, stone, and metal, and unexpected regional materials like plants and, more recently, crystals. As much as he didn't wish to, he said, "May I ask a question, Dr. Nguyen?"

"Of course!"

"Have any of your patients mentioned the crystals? There seem to be a large demand for them."

"You mean Focus Crystals?" the doctor's face grew into an even bigger smile. "Indeed! They are a magic stabilizers. They are designed to help even novice magicians with channeling magic without getting exhausted. Since magic is the next cheapest available mechanical energy available to these people after water and air power, there's been an increased demand for mages and their skills. Those magic-driven airplanes, for example, must have one on board if they hope to fly for longer than a few minutes."

"Ah."

"From the sound of it, they do not occur naturally, but they take natural crystals and attune them with magic. They seem to be using them everywhere now, and the demand for them in other cities is high enough that they're being mass-produced here. If you ask me, it's wonderful because it gives Rondel the kind of manufacturing options that allow even peasants with no education whatsoever to come to Rondel and make a living. It wouldn't surprise me if the city passes Sadera in the next decade or two!"

"I see."

"And what's more, they have all these fancy gimmicks...for instance, having two crystals within line of sight of each other boosts their capacity even further. Think of it like the missing jet engine for their planes; instead of three engines, you have three mages with Focus Crystals and get thrice the thrust! Many of my patients or their employers are using one in some way, and have been using them since before I came here, I gather."

By this point, they were approaching the City Hall, its red spires and white turrets surprisingly untouched by new construction. To Shirai's relief, Nguyen had the self-control to shut up once they passed the threshold.

Shirai didn't bear any ill will toward Dr. Nguyen himself. The man had only been rotated into the Special Region four months earlier, but since then the man had proven to be a self-obsessed motormouth. For an astronomer like Shirai, who enjoyed peace and quiet, the presence of the Vietnamese doctor was often grating on his nerves.

Key members of the Rondel Council were already present and discussing matters as Shirai and Nguyen took seats in one of the crowded balconies overlooking the chamber. "...because this whole thing is ridiculous!" Alron El Tarinium, the Astronomy director the Rondel Council was stating. "While the frustration about Saderan tax choices is reasonable, the decision to attack the Empress was not, and does not represent the feelings of this assembly. We must reply to the Senate and declare that the Senator acted unilaterally, and had been paid off by an extremist faction."

But instead of the cheers that Shirai had been hoping to hear, there was only muttering. "What of it?" the Director of Alchemy retorted. "Imperial Sovereignty has been a joke since the JSDF appeared on our world. I have read their Parliamentary Constitution end to end, and if we were to accept it, we would enjoy the same treatment that the Saderans and Italicans currently grace us with. This council has done fine for centuries, not just because it's a representative system, but because it is representative by sector, not by population."

Applause this time, and calls of "here, here!" Shirai looked to the front of the room, where Council Chairman Tiberias waited, hands folded on the table, for the Directors before him to make their statements. Despite this, Shirai swore that he could see the barest hint of a grin developing in the side of the man's mouth.

"But murder? Tarinium asked. "And of one of Falmart's best, no less—"

"He was a Saderan!"

More shouts. This time, Chairman Tiberias stood and said, "Gentlemen and Ladies of the Council, we must grant that our august Director of Astronomy is correct in moral terms. Our senator's actions were unexpected, and the death of Senator Cicero is regrettable. That said, the motion made by Pina Co Lada that directly preceded the attempt stands as a direct challenge to our city's self-determination. Why should two faraway cities decide our fate, even as our population stands in opposition? Therefore, while I back the idea of sending a written apology, I ask that this council also replies with a strongly worded rejection of the Secession Motion, with a threat to follow through if the option is not left open to us. Would all in favor raise a hand?"

As Shirai watched, most of the Councilmen raised a hand. Of the initial exceptions, about half folded to the pressuring stares of their peers and joined the majority.

"It is settled then," Tiberias said. "Empress Pina did not deem us worthy of Airplane Mail, so we shall reply with a Wyvern in kind… though, for her, I'm half-inclined to send our message along on a pack-horse!"

This brought about some laughter, but in the stands, Shirai stood and made his way towards the exit. As he did, all he could think was, Sugawara had better see that damn e-mail!

Far East Imperial Colonies, Falmart

Ellie knew that the trip was going to be physically demanding. After all, she didn't know how far to the West Falmart was supposed to be, just that it was somewhere beyond the Avion sea, and at least more than one day of constant flight, provided that the crew of the airplane had flown all day as they'd claimed. By late that afternoon, her wing joints ached from hours of gliding, and her other limbs had built up a soreness from the hundreds of minor orientation adjustments.

Therefore, it was with tears in her eyes when she finally descended towards a small port, flying a banner with the same colors that had been painted on the airplane. I made it! Was all she could think. I made it, thank heavens, I made it!

The local inn wasn't hard to find, and after careful examination the innkeeper agreed to accept her money for room and board. Next, not wanting to waste her precious supplies, she made her way to a local eatery and put in an order for something simple. As she waited, she looked around at the other patrons. Their clothes were different from those she was used to seeing in the East; lots of robes and tunics. Surprisingly, what she did not see was any more strange contraptions like the airplane. Have I come to the right place? She wondered.

She had her answer minutes later, when she overheard one of the sailors say, "...but of course, the Men in Green don't sell these anymore. This one has lasted me for seven years though. I'd never part with it!"

Ellie looked over to see that the sailor was holding something that looked like a tube with a large reflecting mirror on the end. Scooching closer, she got the man's attention and asked him what it was. "This?" The sailor said. "It's a no-fire torch. Watch!"

The man flicked a switch on the side of the device, and pure bright white light appeared from the mirrored side. Ellie had never seen anything like it before; light from fire and lamps usually had an orangey tint, but this was like someone had broken off a piece of the sun and hidden it in the tube. "And when I say no-fire, I mean no-fire! Its brightness is steady, it makes no heat so it can't set things on fire by accident, and it works even if it gets wet!"

"Where does the light come from?" Ellie asked.

"Somewhere inside," the sailor said with a shrug. "Sometimes it goes dim and I need to turn this crank over here for a little while, but then it starts up again, no problem! If only the Men in Green would tell us how to make these, fires on ships would be a thing of the past!"

"If the Men in Green were willing, I'm sure many things would be a thing of the past," another sailor pointed out. "But they're not, and so we must endure Braccius showing off this toy to every woman or child that passes by."

"You know the Men in Green?" Ellie asked. "What are they like?"

Braccius thought about it for a moment. "Short."

"They're dwarves?"

"What? No. Usually just an inch or two—wait, what am I saying? You're a Monarch, aren't you? Surely you've heard about Odette Ze Negula and the Kitsashi?"

Ellie struggled to remember anyone by that name, and came up empty. "Is the Kitsashi the Green Men's ship?"

The other sailor shook his head. "The Kitsashi is as much a ship as Braccius' torch is a flint and steel. They say that it uses no sails, can cross the ocean without wind, and can do it on the sea...or beneath it!"

"I heard that the ship has no wheelhouse, and the Helmsman guides the boat by sound alone."

"You know who would know? Hector. Is he here? Hector!"

Ellie looked around for the man they were calling to, and her eyes were drawn to a man wrapped in a dark, hooded robe, bent low over a cup of tea.

"Hector!" Braccius called. "You're the one obsessed with the Men in Green and Tan, is what they say about the Kitsashi true?"

The man, Hector, straightened, and said, "With the men in Green? Usually. Tan? Always."

"So the Kitsashi really—"

"Slaughtered an Armored Whale?" He held up one hand, in a fist and opened it suddenly, and Ellie gasped. The hand was horribly mangled, seared as if it had been forced against a burning skillet. "Two shots," he said. "Two tremendous explosions, and the beast was blown to smithereens."

After Andromache's repeating stories about the Monarch that lost her wing to an Armored Whale, Ellie was shocked. No one had ever defeated an Armored Whale, and the Men in Green and their vessel had destroyed one in two shots? "So they are warriors too?" she asked.

"The most dangerous warriors of all," Braccius said. "I have a cousin in Italica… he spoke of steel dragons and iron elephants and sticks that spit fire and death...but that was long ago, during the war, before the Men in Tan and…"

The older sailor looked around, as if suddenly afraid to be overheard and whispered, "the Godwrecker."

The other sailors looked away, suddenly uncomfortable, and Ellie could feel a cold prickliness on her skin. These sailors had been talking with such enthusiasm, but on reaching the Men in Tan, it was as if some invisible line had been crossed, as if the conversation itself was now treading on forbidden ground. Glancing over her shoulder, Ellie noticed that she had unconsciously unfurled her wings slightly and had shaped them, shieldlke, behind her shoulders. "What—"

"It was seven years ago," one of the sailors said. "Don't you remember, girl, the screaming of the priests?"

Ellie would have only been nine years old at the time, but she could vaguely recall one day in particular, all the adults looked terrified, all glancing up at the sky, as if the heavens themselves were about to fall and smash the world below. She vaguely recalled asking her mother if they should pray to the Gods to help with whatever was wrong, and was met with a sickening silence. She had mostly forgotten the incident, but the comment brought some of the memories back.

Surprisingly, it was Hector who spoke. "You can tell her," he said, approaching the table. "You can tell her that the Gods have no power anymore."

By now, Ellie had noticed that no one in the room was speaking. All eyes were on Hector. In the shadow beneath his hood, Ellie could see a faint, grim scowl. "I know," he said. "I was there. I saw it when it happened."

He removed his hood, and Ellie backpedaled in fear. Like his hands, the man's face was horribly burnt, so much so that the skin of the right side of his face seemed to have melted and pulled down the side of his eye and mouth into a perpetual grimace. "I used to lead a team of mages beneath King Selecus of Carenth," he said. "We were marching West, towards Falmart, egged on through a challenge by Zorzal the Usurper. We had a massive army and fleet at our behest, and were sure… we were so sure that no man, Green, Tan, whatever could hope to drive us back.

"But then… the Men in Tan used the Godwrecker. In an instant, the fleet was pulverized, thousands of men were boiled to death or sliced to ribbons by splinters the size of steak knives. It was… like they had set the sky itself on fire. Everything, everything burned. The tents, the men, the Gods themselves. Some nights, when I close my eyes, I can still see some of my men, their own skin running down their hands like candlewax, mouths wide in a scream that I could not hear.

"Those of us that remained… that did not die in the night or on the voyage home, were around to witness Selecus write his capitulation to Empress Pina Co Lada, begging to know what we had done to deserve such a fate. But she couldn't even bother to reply. Instead, we received a letter penned by her aide, Sherry Tyueli, which told us of the Men in Tan and the Godwrecker that had been fired… both at us and at the Gods. The terms for peace were simple: never approach Falmart again.

"But that wasn't enough for me. It will never be enough until I meet the Man in Tan responsible for such a weapon and show him my face. I owe my men that."

Ellie didn't know what to say. How could a group that built something as wonderful as the Night Triangle build something so awful? "I'm sorry," she said. "Have you had a chance to see the Men in Tan yet?"

Hector suddenly looked uncomfortable. "No."

"Why not?"

"No one knows where to find them. They say that a few are living at the Jade Palace in Sadera, but requesting an audience is impossible."

"That's… not entirely true," Braccius argued.

The others turned to the table to look at him. "The last time I was in Italica, my cousin said that he had been given a pass to visit New Alnus. He said that the Men in Tan fly airships out of the Men in Green's fortress. If you want to find the Men in Tan, you must first speak to the Men in Green."

"Then that's what I'll do!" Ellife said. "Thank you, you have all been very—"

"Stop," Hector said, holding out a mottled hand. "After all that I said, you want to find these people anyway? Are you insane?"

"It must be only their warriors that are dangerous," Ellie insisted. "And even their warriors must have great restraint. If they can summon a Godwrecker, why only do it once? Why even leave Falmart standing? If the pirates where I come from had more than one, then surely they would be using them all the time to scare people."

"What's to say that they need a Godwrecker to cause destruction? They might have other weapons even more dangerous! How do you know that the Night Triangle isn't a weapon too?"

She hadn't considered that, but, at the moment, she wasn't willing to believe it. "I'd rather ask them myself."

"Listen, girl—"

"Ellie."

"Whatever. I've seen thousands of men blindly march to their deaths before an enemy that they didn't understand. What you're doing is wrong."

Ellie tilted her head and narrowed her eyes. "Didn't you say a moment ago that you owed it to your men to find the Men in Tan who used the Godwrecker? It's been seven years, and you still haven't made up your mind to go? Are you that afr—"

Hector slammed a hand down on the table, "YOU WEREN'T THERE!"

The sailors at the table shrank away from the enraged man. Ellie did too, but almost as a trained reaction, she could hear Andromache in her head. Fly first, worry later. Burying her moment of panic, she looked Hector dead in the eyes and said, "I'm going."

Not waiting for an answer, she scooped up the remains of her meal and left. Never again, she thought, no one else is going to shove their fears down my throat. Not Hector, not Andromache, no one.