Chapter 9: Takeoff

Imperial Palace, Sadera

Nearly eight years earlier, Sugawara Koji had triggered an interplanetary war.

The situation had been otherwise stable; Japan had negotiated a ceasefire with the Saderan Empire as the terms of reconciliation for the Ginza incident were figured out. Minor items like the return of Japanese prisoners had been dealt with ruthlessly, but ultimately without delaying or damaging the negotiation process. Similarly, a "temporary transfer of power" (read-as: coup d'état) to Zorzal El Caesar had not resulted in any unusual day-to-day changes at the Jade Palace.

Everything changed when Sherry Tyuelli, defended by elements of the Rose Guard, appeared on his doorstep. He could vividly recall the appeals from Pina's knights, the cold looks Vice Minister Shirayuri had given him over his initial denial, and Sherry's frightened cries as the Oprichina agent hauled her away. He did not recall the dash from his spot by the stained glass window to the front doors of the palace, but he vividly recalled what he said next.

"Get your filthy hands off her!"

In the next five minutes, he proceeded to back up every silly oath he'd sworn to Sherry, every young romantic idea she'd suggested, anything, anything to stop the cruelty of Zorzal's men.

Was it geopolitically moronic? Certainly.

Was it a ridiculous idea in general? Absolutely.

Was it the right thing to do? The news had claimed that thirty-seven children had perished in the Battle of Ginza, and Sugawara had decided that enough was enough. He wasn't going to let another child die, regardless of which side of the Gate they were from. Not if he had the capability to change things.

The hours after that were a blur—the clattering of steel on armor as the Rose Guard and Oprichina fought, the roar of Kawasaki C-1s as they rained paratroopers on Sadera, the explosions as dozens of Imperial soldiers were ripped apart by rifle grenades, and finally the rumbling as the Chinooks of the 4th Combat Unit touched down on the Jade Palace lawn. The whole time, Sherry never left his side, and clung tightly to his arm on the flight to Italica. The two had been inseparable until Emperor Molt's Abdication, at which point Sherry was finally settled enough to turn her studies back to courtliness and politics.

That was seven years ago.

The nineteen year old woman that sat on the couch across from him now looked as tired as he'd felt then. Sherry put down the latest report from General Grey Co Aldo and muttered, "Two weeks to reach Rondel?"

"For a force of forty thousand men, that's pretty impressive," Sugawara pointed out.

"Impressive, and utterly meaningless if Rondel has more planes than what the JASDF shot down over Italica."

"Japan's offer of logistics support is still open."

"Japan's initial invasion force at Alnus Hill was seven thousand men. Do you expect me to believe that you still operate five times that level of troop transportation during peacetime? You yourself said that many of the JSDF transport vehicles had either been returned to Japan or moved to your island in the south. Even if you got the Americans to help, you don't have enough helicopters to airlift forty thousand men, their supplies, and their siege equipment."

Sugawara thought about it and said, "We could help you with the Chinooks and Hueys we have available, and I don't think the Americans would begrudge you some of their Ospreys. Even if we can't move all of your forces, it's a start."

Sherry shook her head. "Chairman Delsus ought to be familiar with the chain-net tactics used at the Battle of Marias. I would be shocked if he hadn't planned for it in advance."

"Then how can I help?"

"I need fighter jets. As many as you can spare."

"The Diet agrees to extend the no-fly zone to Italica, but beyond that—"

Sherry looked to the two Imperial guards by the door and said, "Leave us, and go to the end of the hall."

The guards each gave her a confused look, but ultimately relented, leaving the room empty aside from himself and Sherry. As Sugawara watched them go, he wondered what Sherry had planned now that they were alone, but the only immediately apparent change was the way her face started to droop. When she finally spoke, her voice cracked. "We are going to lose."

Sugawara raced around to the other couch and placed his hands on her shoulders. "Sherry…"

"Koji, there's no way out of this one. Rondel will destroy us from the sky, just like your fighters destroyed all those dragons." By this point, she was starting to cry; Sugawara could see the tears starting to pool in the corners of her eyes. "The Senate's watching. If the army fails here, the chance of a Parliament will fail too, and the Empire will shatter. The contacts I've made, everything we've worked for, it's going to be meaningless."

"Don't say that!" Sugawara still had vivid memories of that teary-eyed girl from years ago and reached up to brush a lock of hair from her face. "The Empire's stronger than you give it credit for."

She shook her head again. "It's not enough!"

"I'm sorry—"

"What does Japan want?" she pleaded. "Tell me, and I'll make it happen."

"They don't—"

"They want oil, don't they? Rare minerals? Books on magic? Tell me and I'll give it to you! I'll give you anything!"

"They don't want anything!" Sugawara could feel his will being sapped as Sherry got more and more frantic "I can't—"

"I'll…." Sherry gulped. "I'll give you myself."

Sugawara was caught off guard. Sherry hadn't said anything about that in years, and here it was again, except now… now it was enough to stop him in his tracks. "I… what?"

"I'll give you myself," Sherry asserted. "We are… we promised to get married, didn't we? I wanted to wait until after the Parliament was made, but…"

She leaned in until their faces were inches apart. Falmart women were taller than your average Japanese women, so she and Sugawara were almost eye to eye, and close enough so that he could feel the heat from her breath on his lips. He tried to push through a thought, but it felt like his brain was dropping into a bank of fog. He felt, rather than observed her fingertips tracing through the fabric of his button-down shirt. "But…" he mumbled, "…you're just a girl—"

But even as the words left his mouth, he knew that it wasn't true anymore. She had been a girl seven years ago. Now she was nineteen...almost twenty if the twenty-days-longer Falmart years were translated into Earth ones. Sugawara had insisted back then that their relationship would remain "completely legal," but no developed country on Earth, outside of some Middle East states, would have had a problem with what Sherry was suggesting today. The open, imploring, tear-streaked face he was looking into was the face of an adult.

And Sherry knew that. She reached up, slid Sugawara's hands up her shoulders, then down over her collarbone and past it. As she noticed his breathing pick up, she added, "Do you really believe that?"

On impulse, he shook his head.

"Give me jets," she said, now close enough that her lips brushed against his, "And once I'm Prime Minister of the new Parliament, I'll give you everything you want."

As the head advisor of the Falmart Empire slowly pushed the Japanese Ambassador onto his back, they were too focused on each other to notice much of anything else. As a result, neither of them heard the sharp intake of breath from the other side of the closed hallway door. Pina Co Lada, eyes wide and hand clamped over her mouth, stepped away from where she'd been listening for the past two minutes.

From a legal standpoint, what Sherry was planning couldn't even be counted as a coup. If Sherry could actually get the votes—and Pina knew that she could—then the most powerful position in the future Falmart government would be rightfully hers. Furthermore, if she tried to accuse them of anything that she'd heard, then not only would the Senate turn against her in favor of Sherry, Japan would too. Both countries would be selling themselves out to each other to feed her advisor's ambitions, and neither would know the difference.

If she couldn't expect help from the Senate, and she couldn't expect help from Japan, then that left one nation in Falmart that she could still turn to.

She only hoped that Ambassador Clayton would be willing to listen.

Above Ichijima Island, off the Southern Coast of Falmart

The island of Ichijima had a very interesting history, most of which was composed of tales regarding a monster named The Carlax.

The Carlax was a powerful beast with long claws, thick muscles, and a tough hide. It was known for being undefeatable, and there were many stories in the Empire of tragic heroes that visited the island. Each story either ended with the hero dying in glorious combat with the monster, or retreating at the expense of most of their party.

For example, the tale of Kurin the Bold, who jumped off the boat, declared, "For my lord! For the Empire!" rushed forward with his sword, and then died.

Or Erral the Wild, who cried at the Carlax, "Illica shall be my bride, and none shall stand in my way!" charged with his axe, and then died.

Or Kozmoth of Beza, who, on seeing the beast, spat, "In the name of all the honored dead, the tyranny of The Carlax ends today!" loosed about five arrows, and then died.

But praise ultimately belongs to the victor, which in this case was USMC Pvt. DeRosa who shouted, "Oh shit!" and then used his M203 grenade launcher.

The Carlax fell to the ground, dead as a doornail, half of its torso gone and with no idea what the hell just hit it.

The Japanese and Americans had jointly selected the island for a base because the Saderan government had claimed that it was uninhabited due to the monster. Figuring that defeating one monster was probably easier than relocating argumentative civilians, the US Marine Corps dealt with the monster, and the JMSDF and US Navy Seabees did most of the work developing the island. Ultimately, Ichijima (or "Island One" on American charts) became a supply hub for JMSDF naval operations in the Special Region, including ongoing actions in the Avion Sea. It also became a means for the United States and Japan to push research on magical technology, without fearing that these discoveries would be leaked to the governments of the Special Region, or spied upon by competing nations back on Earth.

So, with seven years of development, it was surprisingly built up by the time that the V-22 Osprey carrying Ellie and Hector arrived. Indeed, the first thing Ellie noticed was the variety and architecture of the buildings below. There was no stone, little apparent wood, and the buildings themselves all looked similar to each other. Just like the chain-link fence back at Alnus, it was like each barracks and Warehouse and hangar had been pumped out of a giant machine.

For Ellie herself, the flight had been terrifying. Already overcome by the trauma of her last flight, Hector had almost needed to drag her onto the helicraft, and she screamed aloud when the 'wings' of the Osprey twisted around in mid-flight to bring their giant turbines forward. Ultimately Hector had to restrain her as Commander McKann laughed and shouted, "It's fine, it's fine," over the roar of the engines. She didn't want to be fine, she wanted to be safe under the guarantee of her own wings, not another mechanical contraption.

She didn't feel much better until the Osprey had touched down on the island and the sound from the engines had died to a diminishing whine. "Well—" McKann started, but Ellie didn't stay long enough to hear the end of it. The moment the Marine copilot had the side door of the aircraft open, she rushed off the aircraft and didn't stop until she was a good thirty feet away.

Unlike at Alnus, the island airstrip was made of leveled, compacted dirt. She could see a variety of hangars around them, some large, others small, and the ones that were open displaying a combination of more American tilt-rotor aircraft, and at least one machine that looked like a Japanese F-2, but was more angular and had two rear rudders instead of one. It mattered little to her, all that Ellie cared about was that she was no longer aboard one of those flying machines.

By the Osprey, she could see Hector and McKann talking to each other. The Navy commander had his arms folded and was shaking his head, while Hector shrugged and made some additional point. Eventually, the two approached her, and McKann asked, "Are you feeling alright? I feel kind of strange saying this, but do Monarchs get airsick?"

"No, it's just—-" Ellie found that the words caught in her mouth, so she took a deep breath and said. 'It's okay. I'm fine now. What did you want to show us?"

Back on track, McKann gave a partial smile and said, "I've been asked to show you around some of the various projects before taking you to yours. We are a community out here, so if you see any projects that might help you accomplish yours, sharing is encouraged."

Eventually, a Marine Humvee arrived and they were finally on their way.

The Commander pointed out various facilities as they drove by. "Water storage, fuel depot, pier's down that way, in case you want to see any of the JMSDF or USN ships when they're around. Armory's there—no, you're not allowed inside—and that's our local ATC and comms center, over there."

Ellie looked up at the large metal structures that stretched up into the heavens, but none of these really meant anything to her.

"What exactly do you mean by Projects?" Hector asked.

"So, something you need to understand is that we don't have magic back on Earth," McKann said. "When we were told that magic existed here, our scientists—I guess you'd call them natural philosophers—were really excited to find the limits of what we could do with it all. Rather than play guessing games, we gathered Falmart's most exotic magicians and craftsmen into one place, and throw money and a little tech at them to see what they do with it. The coolest one recently was a project where we uploaded a thousand hours of magical mind reading taken here to a neural network back in the states. I heard there's a group at Harvard that says they fed all the data into a machine learning algorithm and can now scan images out of a person's memories using that database and an fMRI machine. Blurry black-and-white images, mind you, but still…"

Hector nodded as if he understood all of that, but it was clear to Ellie that McKann had lost him somewhere between "uploaded" and "neural network."

"How did all these buildings get here?" Hector asked. "I imagine that this must have been a difficult project."

"The logistics were a pain, sure, but everything you see here was constructed by Japan and the US over the course of about two years," McKann explained. "The earliest elements were hauled over by helicopter, but most of it came over by transport ship. The biggest bottleneck has been Gating everything over here from Earth."

"I thought the Gate was at Alnus. How do you move the ships over land?"

"You're right, which is why we don't use the Gate at Alnus. Years and years ago, Hardy invited Itami Youji and his crew to Belnahgo for a conversation about Gates. It was a big deal at the time, and if it weren't for that conversation, the US wouldn't be in the Special Region today. One part of the discussion that we didn't learn about until later was that the Goddess Hardy had provided Japan with a way to manipulate Gates. Specifically, she had assigned the power to a single person. You've heard of Lelei La Leleina, right?"

To Ellie, not a Flamart native, the name meant nothing, but to Hector, who had spent years living in an Imperial colony, the name Lelei was instantly familiar. "Of course!" He said. "The one who slew the Flame Dragon, and who forced back the Magma Colossus at the Second Battle of Alnus? She's here?"

"Indeed she is! Once every three months she opens up a temporary Gate to Tokyo bay, and that's when we get our fuel, supplies, the occasional combat ship… all the fun stuff. Former President Dirrel wanted to see if we could jam an aircraft carrier through one, but it's apparently really hard for Lelei to make large Gates, so we've been restricted to supply ships, subs, and the occasional destroyer or LCS. She spends the rest of her time trying to reconcile baseline arcane studies with our understanding of quantum mechanics. We're hoping that it will give us a better idea of how to control magic ourselves."

They were whisked into one of the prefabricated buildings, and Ellie suddenly found herself awash in a sea of books. Hundreds and hundreds of them...more than she had ever seen in once place and at one time. Half were ones bound in familiar leather, and looked like they had been purchased at a normal bookseller. The other half had a glossy sheen and were printed with the same mechanical precision that came out of anything from Earth. The latter had confusing titles, mostly because their names were directly translated from the original Earth phonetics. Out of curiosity, Ellie picked up a quaint-sounding tome titled The First Three Minutes by Steven Weinberg, and, on opening to a point halfway through, was assaulted by a pile of math equations and terminology that made her nauseous just to look at. The book was returned to the shelf immediately.

Lelei herself was seated in front of what, at first glance looked to Ellie much like the keyboard device that she'd seen at the station in Italica. This contrasted greatly with her traditional robes and mage staff that leaned against the side of the table. She looked up as they approached, her blue hair and aquamarine eyes making her feel at once cold and severe. "Yes?" She said, anticipating the interruption.

Commander McKann introduced them, and were met with a simple, "Oh," before the mage turned back to her machine.

"What are you working on?" Hector asked, in an attempt at politeness.

Lelei turned the machine around to face them, and they were faced with a moving picture of an Earth man giving an extended lecture in English. Unsure what was going on, Hector asked, "Is it interesting?"

"Feynman-hakase is an interesting lecturer," Lelei acknowledged, "But he is whimsical. It is hard to pinpoint the natural philosophy sometimes. Hawking-hakase was much more direct, even if his voice was strange."

She stopped there, and it clearly hadn't occurred to Hector that the woman would be so hard to talk with, as he clearly was wracking his brain for something to do talk about. Ellie, far less interested, looked around and noticed a second woman at one of the other tables. This one, a cat-demihuman with short, black hair had looked up from a book and was watching the conversation. Eventually her eyes fixed on Ellie, or, more precisely, her wings. Ellie, noticing what was going on, smiled and extended her left wing slightly so the demi could get a better look.

"Well, thank you for your time," Hector said, and followed the Commander towards the exit. Ellie gave the woman a casual wave and followed.

As they got back in the Humvee, Hector commented, "I never expected her to be so...dry?"

McKann laughed. "That's Lelei for you. The Japanese say she's always like that, but I think it's because we don't let her go running around with Itami anymore… anyway, if you want someone interesting to talk to, we have plenty of others."

"There were several rumors about the Apostles… are they here, by any chance?"

The Commander seemed to think about it for a moment. "The majority of the Gods ordered their Apostles into hiding, but we have two on the island. Rory Mercury is under Japanese observation but normally comes and goes as she pleases. Giselle is being held due to a neutralization order following her role in the Second Battle of Alnus Hill."

Hector gave him an odd look. "You plan to kill Giselle? Surely you know that this is impossible, since an Apostle can recover all bodily damage—"

"I said neutralized, not killed… come to think of it, it would probably be better just to show you."

As their Humvee started to pull away, Ellie glanced back out the side window and noticed the door to the library open and the woman who had been staring at her before emerge. Before Ellie could see what would happen next, the library was lost from sight.

Their drive took them to another building, this time under heavy guard. McKann took them through a number of doors with strange locks that beeped and buzzed, before they finally stood in a lavish room. Laying on a particularly comfortably-looking couch was Giselle herself, her bright blue skin contrasting with her skimpy white robe. To Ellie, who had never met an Apostle before, the initial experience was terrifying. Was there a proper procedure to follow? She had never prayed at a shrine to Hardy, and worried if there would be some punishment for not taking the time to learn the customs.

"Hey, Giselle!" McKann called out.

The Apostle grunted, but otherwise didn't move. It was at that point that Ellie noticed her staring at a box on the other side of the room. Much like the display board in Alnus, this one had moving pictures on the side facing them, and voices in Earth languages called from small boxes mounted nearby.

"Giselle!"

"Quiet, human. I must know if Subaru succeeds in saving Rem this time."

Ellie looked back to the box and up to the Navy Commander. "Who?"

The Commander shrugged. "Giselle, we have some guests who wish to talk."

"They may wait until I have finished my program."

"Last time you said that, was with… what the hell was that show called?"

"Legend of the Galactic Heroes."

"Yeah, we were waiting for days."

But Giselle ignored the comment, clearly fully immersed in the program, and it was clear that they would be unlikely to gain her attention again.

After being guided out of the room, Hector finally said, "I don't understand. What exactly did you do to her?"

"We needed a way to neutralize Giselle without killing her," McKann explained. "She's still a useful source of information, but she's lived a life of combat, and we needed a way to keep her docile. The most effective method proved surprisingly cheap. We purchased her accounts for Netflix and Crunchyroll, got reserved shows buffered based on her selections, and slowly made her more interested in watching shows than doing much of anything else. She did the rest on her own."

The Navy Commander shook his head and added, "There's a saying in our world, 'TV rots your brain.' After having seen the effects of seven years' worth of TV-binging, I can confirm that the old saying is true."

"Perhaps I would be better off talking to Rory. We have some things to discuss."

As they exited the building and were about to reenter the Humvee, Ellie was stopped by a loud, "Psst!"

Glancing over her shoulder, she was surprised to see that the woman from the library was waiting for them. She pointed her finger at Ellie, and curled it in a signal to come closer. Before Ellie could protest, McKann seemed to notice their visitor, sent her a grin and a nod, then drew Hector away, explaining, "I'll introduce you later."

Once the men were gone, the woman approached and said, "So you're the Monarch everyone's been talking about! The one who did the rolling-dive maneuver in the MagThree over Italica?"

Ellie nodded. "That was about the only thing I did right during that battle, and—"

"How did you know it would work?"

She tried to shrug, but winced at the pain in her still-recovering shoulder. "It works with me and my real wings, so I didn't see why it wouldn't work with a set of fake wooden wings."

The woman smiled. "That sounds about right. I wonder… cold you open up your wings for me? Odette wouldn't let me take a close look when CPO Tokushima brought her around last time."

It seemed like everyone was obsessed with her wings these days, so Ellie sighed and slowly extended them. The woman, in turn, approached Ellie's left wing, pointed, and traced a finger all the way down to her primary feathers. It was a curious experience—normally when people asked to look at her wings, they would marvel at their size and shape and then she would put them away, but this woman… it was as if she was actively looking for something.

"Question," she said. "How do you adjust your pitch midflight?"

"With my legs?"

"I don't think your legs are thick enough to change the airflow. Normal birds have wide tails that act as both an elevator and horizontal stabilizer… but Monarchs don't, so there must be another trick to it."

Ellie thought over it and said, "There hasn't been a lot of study into it. The last theory I heard was that Monarchs passively control a magic ward by their legs during flight… they say that some dragons work the same way."

The woman smacked her head. "Duh! Of course! I'm so used to thinking on Earth terms that I keep forgetting about magic as a control surface."

Curiosity piqued, Ellie finally asked, "Who are you? Are you part of an Earth project?"

"I'm—" she began, but then a mischievous smile appeared on her face. "Let me show you."

The woman took Ellie by the hand and led her back in the direction of the helipads and towards a large building. She invited Ellie inside, and for a moment, they were enveloped by the darkness of the cavernous space. She heard a faint click, and for a moment Ellie was left blinded by the bright overhead lights.

When her vision cleared, Ellie found herself looking at what she thought was, at first, a pair of Japanese F-2s, but on closer inspection, nothing could be further than the truth. The pair of aircraft before her lacked the perfect aerodynamic bends and curves of Earth aircraft, and the metal paneling was far from seamless. The wings were not wide like a MagThree, but thin and backswept. Where Earth planes were fairly uniform in color, these vehicles had glittering bellies of alternating red and blue. Most importantly of all, the aircraft lacked the distinctive marks of other nations; the Japanese red circle was absent, as was the American white star on a navy-blue circle, and the Rondel white and turquoise bars. Rather, it was the red dragon behind the gold cross, the symbol of the Saderan Empire, and the printed words Imperial Aviation Group.

The woman circled around Ellie. "Imagine flying faster than thunder, further than a dragon, and so high that the horizon starts to curve away beneath you. That's my project, to push the absolute bounds of what is possible with Falmart's magic and technology, and demonstrate that the people of our world are every bit as capable as the scientists from Earth.

"I am Greta La Sareteian, and these," she swept a hand out towards the vehicles, "these are my spaceships."

Author's note

There are three reasons that I made Sky Full of Thunder take place seven years in the future. The first was to give Greta enough time to complete her prototypes. The second was to give Rondel and Sadera enough time to recover from the last war to field significant armies. The third was so that I could make the Sugawara-Sherry power play while minimizing how creepy the circumstances are.

In the LN, Yannai paints Sherry as a bit of a schemer, but the number of diplomacy victories she was accomplishing at age 12 or 13 were often listed as a product of shocking Japanese diplomats into underestimating her because of her age. That kind of trick only works once, which meant that she needed to be capable of all the tricks in Falmart's diplomatic culture if she wanted to accomplish the goals I set out for her in this story. As we saw with Bozes in Italica, and with Tyuule throughout the original series, seduction is a valid political tool in the Special Region. Of course, she would need to be older to use that as a weapon, so the seven year timeskip was necessary. I don't care what Japan thinks, intimacy in my writing, when it occurs, will occur between consenting adults. Yannai seems to agree, and he includes his own time skips at the end of Gate and the start of Weigh Anchor which specifically mention an older Sherry in hopes of dispelling the awkward situation between Sugawara and her.

And if the scene made you uncomfortable anyway, don't worry. There aren't any others like it in this story.