Chapter 5: Go for Launch

ONE WEEK LATER

Alnus FOB, Alnus

Greta began her morning the way she had begun every morning since her childhood. After bathing and dressing, she made her way out of the barracks building to a green space where she faced into the wind, lowered herself to her knees, and placed her hands together in prayer. The words she had memorized long ago, and there was no requirement to repeat them aloud, but she found comfort in their familiarity:

Goddess of Study, La, the one that dwells

Between all words and speech and life that's shown.

Who grants the means to let us drive away

the shrouds which swathe the sum of what is known.

I thank thee for thy studying technique

And granting me that knowledge which I earn.

Open my mind to those who wish to teach,

And show me ways to grow from what I learn.

Before she could add a personal statement, her train of thought was interrupted by a loud roaring noise, and she looked up to see one of the helicopters hovering overhead.

During her days at the Alnus Settlement, Greta had observed the JSDF to operate many flying vehicles, but it wasn't until Carol had moved her onto the base that she learned of their names; the "Huey" with its boxy shape and open middle, the squat "Cobra" where two pilots sat one behind the other and which carried all manner of strange objects on its sides, the bulky "Chinook" with its twin rotor-wings, and the silver "Phantom" airplane that arced through the sky liked the rockets that Carol adored.

The vehicle above her was none of these; larger than a Huey, sleeker than a Cobra, and lacking the distinctive shape and second rotor of the Chinook, this was something else entirely. It was one of two "Hawk" helicopters that the Americans had brought through with them for the sake of recovering rocket parts after a successful launch.

Of course, the American airmen had been quick to assure her that it was a military aircraft, and it was fully capable of "fucking over" anything that tried to attack it.

As she stood and started on her way over to the airfield hangars, she found herself contemplating the relationship between the Americans and Japanese for what felt like the millionth time.

Her initial assumption had been that America was a vassal state of Japan, much like Elbe was a vassal state of the Empire, but the more people she asked, the less this seemed to be the case. Most of the USAF airmen and JSDF soldiers referred to each other simply as allies, but the first hint the of the truth started to appear as an irate Japanese private stated, "Vassal state? No, the opposite is true."

Apparently, the American military dwarfed its Japanese counterpart, and operated battalions and battle fleets all over the world beyond the Gate. They were experts at war technology, and airmen had described everything from movable islands that could launch airplanes to pilotless vessels that used Carol's rockets to spy on other armies from a high-up place they called Orbit. The Cobra, Huey, Chinook, and Phantom were all American inventions, purchased by Japan or licensed for manufacture. A long time ago, America and Japan had fought a war against each other. America had won while simultaneously fighting a separate enemy thousands of miles away.

She had once asked Technical Sergeant Schumer how long it would take the Americans to win the war in the Special Region. He had thought about it while drawing on a cigarette, then replied, "If we had been here at the start, three months. If Japan let us through now? Three days."

"Three days!?"

Foster had laughed. "To hear the Marines at Okinawa talk about it, you'd think it would be three minutes."

Japan had assigned the American vehicles to a hangar on the far side of the airfield. They never let her approach that place, and even Dr. Dawson was only allowed there under careful supervision. Today, however, was a special occasion. The Americans had driven one of their giant HML machines out onto the field by the end of the runway. This, to Greta, was one of the clearer examples of how advanced the American military must be-just one of these machines was larger than three or four of the Japanese tanks, and the USAF had brought three of them.

Carol, who was standing by the machine, waved her over and Greta carefully approached. Even out of the hangar, the HML was surrounded by airmen and their Humvee vehicles. These would be the 794th Security Forces Squadron, led by Lt. Garcia, who gave her a smirking grin and half-wave as she passed. Of the two Security Squadron leaders, she liked Garcia more-the man had an interesting accent and usually addressed her kindly, even when correcting her for getting too close to the hangers. In comparison, Captain Hines of the 94th was colder, businesslike, and didn't have the same command of Japanese that members from the 794th did when he addressed her.

Finally, by the machine and Carol was Colonel Mullan himself. The man was cordial, polite, but was more likely to give complete answers to Carol than her. And it was always "Ms. Sareteian" never "Greta," as Carol or Takagi called her. As such his greeting was, "Hello Ms. Sareteian. Is the dress new?"

Indeed, Greta had finally been able to swap out her beat-up old one with a new light blue one, but she had waited to wear it for a special occasion, and today was a special occasion.

"It is! I wanted to look my best for the launch today!"

Carol was looking up the sky though and said, "Has the latest weather balloon data come in? I don't want ionization messing us up today."

"No need." Mullan rapped his knuckles on the side of the HML and said, "This isn't one of your Atlas launchers, Dr. Dawson. Midgetman's designed to launch in the middle of hurricanes and blizzards. True, the view wouldn't be as nice, but the rocket would still work."

That was interesting. Greta had noticed that the USAF and JSDF were less inclined to fly things during a thunderstorm, but if Mullan said it was possible, she wasn't about to doubt him. He had refused to allow her to see the rocket, but had assured her that it was a three-stage vehicle, similar to one that Carol had launched before an audience two days before. "If you say so," Carol said. "Have the modifications to the vehicle been tested? Do the cameras work? They're going to be really important in selling the next launch to the locals."

"They're fine, Dr. Dawson. Leave everything to me… and I believe that you have some set up plans on a hill by here?"

"Oh yes," she pointed beyond the airfield. "Over there. Greta and I picked it out yesterday."

"Good. My men and I still have a few more things to go through, so if you and Greta could get the stuff for the civilians set up, we can launch by 1830."

Thus dismissed they met up with Foster and Schumer and started back towards the buildings by the Japanese motor pool, where Takagi would be waiting. As they walked, Carol asked, "Well, Greta, are you ready for your first real rocket launch?"

"Certainly, but you said yesterday that Midgetman wasn't a 'real' space rocket."

Of course, like a proper academic, Dr. Dawson was particular about her subject of interest. For her, a proper space rocket had to travel to "Orbit" but, like the airmen, she had yet to explain where, precisely, Orbit was. "It's an advanced concept," she had said when asked. "I'd like to do a successful sub-orbital launch or two before trying to tell people about it."

As they walk, Carol's eyes drifted down to Greta's skirts. "Were you praying this morning? You've still got grass on you."

"Oh!" Greta exclaimed and went to brush it off. "Yes, I was, but as I was finishing up a Hawk flew over and I lost track of what I was doing."

"They do grab your attention, don't they? Did La have anything to say today?"

Greta shook her head. Just as she was still trying to fully grasp the fundamentals of rocketry, Carol was still struggling to grasp how the Gods of Falmart functioned. "She had nothing to say, but hopefully I will learn something of your world from today's launch."

Carol seemed to believe that the Gods of Falmart could talk directly to people through some kind of thought-speak, but this seemed to be based on how Gods of Earth worked… or how Carol seemed to think they worked. This was another place where the airmen had yet to provide her with a clear answer. She couldn't tell if Earth had many gods who all did the same thing, or one god who had many different names. Some claimed that Earth had no gods at all. With such confusion, it was somewhat more understandable that her mentor could be so easily mixed up about what Falmart's deities could and couldn't do.

"Greta?"

"Hmm?"

"I realized the other night, your middle name is La. Are the two related?"

This was a fine example. For all her knowledge on rocketry, Carol was ignorant of something that most local youngsters knew. "In Falmart, we affiliate ourselves with a patron god or goddess who is most closely tied to what we value," Greta explained. "As a way of displaying this to others, we include the shortened mark of that god or goddess within our names. I am a follower of La, but there is no way to shorten La, so La becomes the symbol in my name. Someone who follows La's twin, Elange, may include El instead. Other names follow a similar style, like Haa for Hardy, Ro for Emroy, and so on."

Schumer surprised Greta by asking, "Why would someone pick Elange over La?"

Usually the airman left most of the talking to Foster, but it was a reasonable question. "La is the goddess of study and wisdom, and governs one's ability to learn new things. Elange is the god of knowledge, and governs one's ability to retain and recall what one already knows. It is more common to see a student as a follower of La, and a master or one who has studied for a long time as a follower of Elange. Why?"

The airman's reply was simple and direct. "Zorzal El Caesar."

In truth, with the JSDF mostly operating out of Italica and the strong security presence at Alnus, the war had felt very distant to Greta for some weeks now, very different from the day she had fled the mercenaries with her sister. Still, the JSDF Phantoms came and went, and the various helicopters and truck convoys came and went as they rushed supplies to the front lines. It was good to be reminded that Zorzal was still out there, and that he might try to sack everything at Alnus if the situation ever presented itself.

She thought back over her books before replying, "Elange can apply to any kind of knowledge, even military knowledge. Many leaders in the past have taken up Elange's symbol in hopes of being granted aid in governing. Zuftmuut, God of Light, and Duncan, God of Smithing, are also common, the first for the connection to order, the second in connection to building and forging. Pina Co Lada, for instance, is a follower of Duncan. It shows in her personality too; building the Rose Order Nights where there was no such group before, and forging a relationship to Itami and the JSDF, even as her brother wished to keep fighting them."

"Makes sense," Foster said, "Except for one thing. Zorzal's a doofus. If that guy's knowledgeable, then I must be a fucking brain surgeon."

Greta shrugged. "Just because a person has collected and recalls a great deal of knowledge, does not mean they know how to use that knowledge intelligently. I think that it's fair to say that the technology of the JSDF and USAF goes against all that the people of the Empire knew before."

Minutes later, Takagi pulled up to them in one of the JSDF Toyota HMVs and they proceeded with the day's plans...setup on the hill, a quick lunch, one last promotional event at the amphitheater, a fast dinner, and away they went for their big ceremony.

It appeared like much of the Alnus Settlement had emptied out onto the hill beyond the airfield. Greta estimated an audience of at least a hundred families, if not more. Some JSDF personnel had come as well, both to defend the civilians and to enjoy the show.

"Before we begin," Carol said, addressing her audience, "I would like to take a moment to award the winner of yesterday's rocket building contest. Is Lister here?"

A young werewolf near the back of the audience piped up with, "here," and approached the prefabricated stage, where he eagerly accepted the small bag of Denaris and a round of applause from most of the people present. As he made his way back to the spot, he glanced back at Greta, and gave her a wink.

This was another interesting story, for two reasons.

The first reason was the parameters of the contest itself-Carol had initially been about to set the age range for the contest at 14 and below, and Greta had excitedly declared, "So I can compete!?"

After some confused looks (and Foster nearly choking on an MRE), she had offered this explanation:

Each race in Falmart ages and matures at different rates. Some are long-lived, like the Elves and Draconians, who live for hundreds of years but are slow to mature. Others, like my people or the old Warrior Bunny tribes, mature quickly but live shorter lives. So I may be fourteen in seasonal years, but, if I remember my learnings correctly, that translates to twenty in human growth years, or two hundred in elf growth years. Why, is that a problem?

Carol had then amended the rules to apply correctly to each race, Foster had muttered about 'warning some of the guys', and Takagi, with a wry grin, remarked, "I will gladly inform Yanagida-san the next time I see him."

The second reason had to do with her need to prove herself anyway. Her sister, Teesa, would have scoffed at her pursuit of the prize, but upon finding Lister's family half-starving in a room that they shared with two other groups, Greta knew what she had to do. One afternoon, she had sneaked the young werewolf over to the airfield's edge to get a closer look at the Phantoms… or, more specifically, the Phantom's wings. Between Carol's model rockets and staring at the planes and helicopter rotors, she had theorized that the rounded leading edge and tapered trailing edge of the fins aided the American-built vehicles in flight. Lister concurred, and the wing design for his model rocket had propelled the vehicle an easy twenty feet beyond the next-best competitor.

With the setting sun before them and the base lights starting to turn on behind them, Greta looked towards the spot by the airfield where the USAF had finished deploying the HML. The angular front part had completely detached itself from the trailer, which was in the process of doing something remarkable. A long boxy section was rising up from the rear section, rotating to vertical as if it was on some giant hinge. Within a few seconds, it was pointing directly up at the blackening orange sky.

Carol checked her watch and said, "Okay, we are one minute away from launch. Right now the airmen on the ground are finishing their pre-flight checks. When they're ready, they will close an electric circuit, sort of like the one that we used for the model rockets, and the rocket will start. If all goes well, we'll be recovering the nose cone of the rocket tonight and have some wonderful pictures from space by tomorrow evening."

The scientist looked up at Schumer for confirmation and, after listening to his radio for a moment, he first held up one fingers, then all five, and finished by pointing down at the ground. Now.

"Okay everyone, count down with me! Ten, nine, eight…"

Greta was no longer giving attention to the scene, completely absorbed by the launcher on the field below. "Three, two, one-"

The boxy canister burst open at the end and a black and orange rocket flew a few feet into the air where it seemed to hang for a fraction of a second. In that moment, Greta thought, this never happened with the model rockets! Did it fail, or—

And then the first stage ignited with a jet of flame to put even dragons to shame, followed by the noise.

Greta had never heard anything like it, not from the Earthquake that had struck Falmart over a month ago, not from the Phantoms while flying low with their engines alight, not from the strongest spell caster or biggest army she had ever seen. The noise of the rocket rising on its pillar of fire was an endless thunder that seemed to force its way through her ears and bones and teeth.

Even as she grasped her ears to protect them, she followed the trajectory of the rocket as it continued up, ever and ever higher, far past the furthest of the model rockets or the fighter jets. While Carol had spoken of it fondly, this was the first evidence of a new truth; a rocket like this could easily make it to a space beyond the sky. Even as the tower of smoke began to dissipate and the rocket dwindled to just another star in the early evening sky, Greta knew that she hadn't just witnessed a rocket launch, but a whole world opening up.

What secrets would it find there? What if their world was about to change?

No, it was too late, their world had already changed.

Not knowing what else to do, she dropped to her knees, faced into the wind, and prayed.

Open my mind to those who wish to teach

And show me ways to grow from what I learn.

She would not be the only one that night. At the noise, hundreds of people in the Alnus settlement poked their heads out of their windows and doors, pointed up into the sky from the streets and balconies and squares, and desperately scrambled to make sense of the new phenomenon.

Formal Manor, Italica

Tuka Luna Marceau pointed a slender finger at the horizon and said, "Right there." The elf-girl had been waiting on the mansion's southern balcony for the first stars to appear and was the first to notice the oddity crawling up into the sky from the Southeast.

Next to her, Lelei La Lalena raised a pair of pilfered binoculars to her big aquamarine eyes, then adjusted the focus until the strange object came into view "I see it," she said.

"It's not a shooting star, is it?"

The young magician lowered the binoculars. "No."

"Then what is it?"

"A machine."

"A machine?" Tuka's eyes widened. "Can you see it with the binoculars?"

Lelei shook her head.

"Then how can you tell?"

She pointed with her magic staff. "Alnus is in that direction. The way the fire and smoke comes out of it makes it seem made, instead of natural."

Tuka turned to the shadows behind her. "What do you think, Rory?"

Rory Mercury, Apostle of Emory and slayer of hundreds was leaning against the mansion's outer wall. "Hmmmm?" She said. "If it truly is from Alnus, then you know who you should be asking."

Tuka brightened immediately. "You're right, we should ask Itami!" she said, and rushed back inside the manor. Lelei gave Rory a curt nod and followed after the elf.

Yet, the Apostle did not follow them. Instead, she hopped onto the railing that Tuka had been leaning against moments before and continued to follow the curious object on its ascent.

Falmart Astronomy Academy, Rondel

"It has to be," Flat El Coda said to his colleagues. "Alnus Hill is in that direction, and no meteor in our recorded history has lasted this long. Even now, it's still climbing!"

"A machine? Impossible," Nariv El Delsus spat, though his eye was still pressed to the lens of his own scope as he followed the object into the sky.

They were part of a small group of Astronomers who had been assembled on the academy roof that evening to perform their regular inventory of the skies, which had been mercifully clear thus far. Flat had been sweeping the Southeast sky for new phenomena when the fiery spark had appeared above the pains and started to climb. He had immediately called attention to it, and the debate started soon after.

The Astronomy Director of the Rondel Council, a grizzled old man named Alron El Tarinium shook his head. "The Men in Green are capable of forging and forming large metal panels into carts that pull themselves. It is not impossible for them to have created such a device, Nariv, though we will not know with any certainty unless we go to observe ourselves."

The man straightened and added, "I think that it is time that the Council visits Alnus."

"Excellent, most excellent!" Flat crowed, nearly knocking his telescope off the roof. "My sister-in-law knows an officer amongst the Men in Green. I'll have Alfie send a messenger-bird immediately-"

"Hold on," Delsus stated. "The Council has already discussed at length the fact that Rondel must not appear to take sides in the Civil War, lest our libraries and schools become a target for sacking by either force."

Flat countered with "Ridiculous! Even if Zorzal had a legitimate claim to the throne-and the ceremony at Italica suggests that he does not-he wouldn't stand a chance against the JSDF."

"Our neutrality keeps us safe," Delsus insisted. "It is an act of desecration of Elange to willingly permit amassed knowledge to become lost. You would dare, Flat, to risk the studies of so many others over a presumption that the JSDF would be more respectful of us than Zorzal?"

"But Itami-"

"You cannot assume the morals of a nation from one man!"

Tarinium cleared his throat, regaining the attention of the two researchers. "The Council shall go to Alnus as a party of neutral observers. Our focus will be on technology and the Men in Green's advances in natural philosophy, but we will not change our position regarding the war."

"They will try to convince us otherwise," Delsus pointed out.

"And so we shall refuse them. Flat, there is no need to send for your fiancée. We will deliver a letter by wyvern-rider immediately."

Formal Manor, Italica

"You aren't coming back in?" Tuka asked the Apostle.

Rory hadn't moved from her perch. She glanced back at the elf and said, "You go on. Tell Itami that I expect him to save space for me."

Tuka huffed, and departed, but Rory still didn't follow. Instead, she continued her watch. The spark from Alnus had disappeared into the night sky nearly half an hour before, but she continued to watch anyway.

Below her, the first lights in Italica were starting to vanish for the evening as the city's people went to bed. It was unlikely that they knew that Rory the Reaper was watching over them, nor was it likely that they had noticed the moving star from Alnus. And yet, Rory had known. Rory had felt something from that direction as the strange object rose into the sky. It was the same feeling she felt as horsemen charged, or a trebuchet swung into motion, or the shell left the mouth of a JSDF mortar-weapon. Even though she could no longer see the source, the feeling persisted in her gut. She simply needed to see one more thing to confirm her suspicions.

As if in answer to her call, a shooting star appeared above her… yet, unlike a normal shooting star, this one did not have a tail and it seemed to glow brighter, ever brighter as it dropped through the air. She followed it on its path back down until it faded and disappeared beyond the treetops of a forest to the southwest.

Rory smiled, straightened her dress, and slipped back into the manor, "Oh," she whispered to herself, "now this will be interesting…"