Chapter 19: Reentry
SEVEN HOURS LATER
Yokosuka Navy Base, Japan
Carol hadn't expected to return here, especially not with the present company.
She was sitting in a conference room at the end of a long table. Directly across from her, a projector screen was divided between Secretary of Defense Clayton, and Defense Minister Kano. Colonel Mullan sat to her left, flipping once more through the last few pages of the new report, and to his left sat Major Becker, who was finishing off a cup of coffee and a bagel.
The other side of the table was also slowly working their way through the new report. Closest to her was the acting commanding officer of the JSDF Special Task Force, Colonel Kengun, who scowled down at the report as he read it. With the revelation of Yanagida's false reports, Hazama's actions had been called into question and the officer had been immediately returned to Japan, pending a thorough review of the whole incident.
Next to him was Koji Sugawara, there to act as a diplomat and interpreter, and Itami Youji who had given up a few pages in to help the person sitting next to him.
The second to last member of the assembled group was a young woman in ornate armor with deep red hair. This, Carol had been told, was Princess Pina Co Lada, heir to the throne of Falmart's Empire. As Carol watched her, she could see that the princess was trying her best to keep her composure, but was clearly lost with some of the more complicated scientific descriptions in the report.
At the very end of the table, her copy of the report completely unopened, was Rory Mercury who swirled a straw around her own cup of coffee for a moment before stating, "I didn't think it possible. How could you Earth people invent a slower way of conducting a strategy meeting?"
"When two modern nations are engaged in military cooperation, it's important to get all the details right," Sugawara explained. "With the speed of our weapons and technology, we are lucky to catch a mistake before it happens, as we witnessed with the rocket last night."
"I don't quite understand," Pina said. "This… atomic bomb… how will it attack Hardy without being pointed at Bellnahgo?"
Though Hardy had not attempted a second wave, Japan was still desperate for some kind of retaliatory attack over the soldiers that had been killed at Alnus. Now that Bellnahgo was out of the question, Carol had stayed up late with members of DARPA and Rory, trying to determine if such an attack was still possible. The answer was the report in front of them.
"Think of it like this," Carol explained. "Humans, like you and me, are centralized intelligences. All of our thinking parts sit in our brains, which is in one location: inside our heads. With Hardy and the other Gods of Falmart, that thinking stuff is spread out all over Falmart. This means that, even though some of that stuff might be concentrated in places like Bellnahgo, Hardy is spread out all over your planet. If you think about it, it explains how she's able to listen in on conversations occurring miles and miles away, or influence events in places that are beyond the line of sight from her city. This means that we could, in theory, drop the atom bomb anywhere we wanted and still 'hit' Hardy."
She opened her report and pulled out a page so that Pina could see it. This was the legacy of JAXA's Sakura mapping satellite; a complete, detailed map of the continents, oceans, and seas of the Special Region. "Our plan is to launch the weapon as an air burst just above the ocean to the Southeast of Falmart. By doing it this way, we avoid injuring any civilians, we reduce the potential of future injuries from radioactive fallout, and we stick it to Hardy, all in the same move."
"It is also," Rory interrupted, "Incredibly boring. What's the value of a weapon if you can't spread a little fear with it?"
"We're still not firing it at Zorzal," Pina said, "If that's what you meant."
But a wicked smile appeared on Rory's face. "Zorzal is your project, Pina, I wouldn't take that from you. No… my target is far more inviting."
She reached into her dress and yanked out a letter, pressed with Falmart's Imperial seal.
"Is that the one you took off the courier east of Rondel?" Itami asked.
"Indeed it is!" The apostle passed the letter to Pina who read it aloud.
"To King Selecus at Reguezal Bay,
"The situation has developed to the point that we cannot hold against the otherworldly invaders. Per our initial agreement, upon successful repulsion of the invaders, I, Zorzal El Caesar, agree to cede all land south and west of the Dumas mountains to the—"
She stopped, and the blood drained from her face, "To the Carenth Kingdom."
"This is the first we're hearing about them," Mullan said. "Were you keeping something from us?"
"It's a history item," Itami said. "Pina first told me about them the day after you launched your first rocket. A few hundred years ago, the Carenth Kingdom invaded the Falmart Empire from the Southwest. The people of Falmart drove them back at a high cost, and the campaign informs parts of their culture and war tactics to this day… including why they seem to rush into our guns at every battle."
"A war on two fronts would be irritating," Kengun mused, "but not insurmountable. If we sent the 7th Armor Division, they would probably make short work of them."
"Do you really want to do that, especially with the North Koreans acting up?" Clayton asked. "I imagine that General Nomura wouldn't agree, Colonel. If you let us send through elements of the 31st MEU, however—"
"Out of the question," Kano said. "The added Marines from the 5th CSG on top of the 94th Missile Wing is enough as it is. The Diet is willing to bend a little on such matters, but we are not willing to transform operations on the far side of the Gate into an American-led campaign."
"Or," Rory cut in, "You can solve two problems with one rocket."
The rest of the table turned to look at her. "If we kill the King of Carenth, it might produce a retaliatory attack, and continue the campaign," Sugawara pointed out.
Rory rolled her eyes, "Then set the weapon off near King Selecus—not close enough to kill him, but near enough to send him and his army fleeing in terror."
Pina nodded, satisfied, then asked the others, "Can it be done?"
"Can you show us where the bay is?" Mullan asked, and Pina did so.
Becker looked down on the map and said, "If you can give me coordinates, we can get the weapon on target with a 90-meter accuracy. Maps from Sakura suggest that any of the nasty stuff should get blown out to sea, but the important part is that we're definitely in range. Lower apogee and entry speed than the two test flights, but it's not like anyone in the Special Region is operating an ABM system."
"The President will need to approve," Clayton said, "And he will probably request an overflight of the target to confirm that this bay doesn't put the bomb down near a population center, but yes, I think this is doable."
Pina looked to the Japanese members of the group, and was shocked to see that they lacked the enthusiasm of the Americans. "Is… is there something wrong with the plan?" She asked.
Sugawara stood and said, "Officially, it is the policy of the Government of Japan to condemn all nuclear weapon tests or attacks and so, Secretary, Colonel, I cannot officially approve of this."
"I don't understand," Pina said. "For such a powerful weapon, why make such a silly policy—"
"Pina," Itami snapped. "A few weeks ago, I told you that Japan acted like your Empire. You asked me what changed. Do you recall that conversation?"
"Yes, of course I—" she looked around the table and slowly realized the implications of the statement. Eventually, she turned back to Itami and asked, "How many times?"
"Twice," Kengun said, "At a cost of two hundred thousand people." He shot her a cold look. "Including most of my grandmother's family."
"However," Kano stated from the projector, "The government of Japan does not officially recognize there as being any nuclear weapons in the Special Region at this time, and wishes Dr. Carol Dawson and the 94th Missile Wing the best of luck with their third scientific rocket launch."
Itami shot the Minister a glare. "So we're just going to ignore the fact that we're about to nuke someone?"
"That's how politics works, Itami. It makes me glad that both sides can see reason," Pina said, standing. "Now, unless there is anything else—"
"Yeah," Mullan said, "There most definitely is something else."
The Princess stopped, and the Colonel had the attention of the entire room.
"Since you and Rory seem so excited about this, I think we should give both of you the honor of turning the launch keys."
A look of fear flickered over Pina's face, but she hid it quickly with a smile. "Oh, that won't be necessary."
"I disagree," Itami said, catching on. "How can you have an appreciation for something that could end the lives of millions, without having that same power in your hands, at least once?"
"It's settled then," Clayton said. "I will update the President, and then we will partake in a scientific launch, midday, Alnus time. Thank you all for your time, and good luck."
TWO HOURS LATER
Alnus FOB
The rocket launched, and Hardy watched.
She hadn't paid much attention to the first two launches, but this one was different. There was no fanfare at the settlement, more soldiers, and they had almost launched it half a day before, when Giselle made her threat, but had failed to do so after the Americans called her bluff. The past launches had been pretty to look at, but this one… this one had resulted in people running around, shouting about a legendary weapon called an Atomic Bomb, Itami especially.
A city killer. A sky full of fire.
To Hardy, the rocket was a curious automaton. Since it wasn't made of metals from the Special Region, she couldn't influence it at all, but it replied to the tentative breezes she blew at it by adjusting the fire from its tail or letting loose a brief spurt of gas from its nose, rushing faster and faster until she could barely follow it. To her surprise, there was an explosion in the rocket's middle, and the vehicle split in two, the bottom part following away, and the top part growing and new tail of fire so that it could go faster and further.
She followed it up to the edge of the atmosphere, and beneath it as it kept going, faster, ever faster, prompting Hardy to wonder why the Americans would need to build something that went so fast. Perhaps it was like timed magic, and would activate and harm those who fired it if it wasn't far away enough. Perhaps it only worked if it was moving at a particular speed, like an arrow.
Or perhaps the world that the weapon came from had other weapons that could catch up to it, and strike it down before it could complete its strike. Out of curiosity, she reached out to the weapon again but, as it was too far beyond the atmosphere, she couldn't touch it.
But now the rocket split again, the front bursting open to reveal a smaller cone, and the back half dropping off again to produce an even smaller rocket. This time the rocket did not accelerate, but the gas jets on it began firing wildly to get it pointed at precisely the correct orientation before the rocket split one last time. Now that the weapon was reduced to a man-sized cone, Hardy assumed that the pyrotechnics were over, only to be disproven once again as flame jets on the flat end of the cone fired in opposite directions, forcing the vehicle to spin rapidly on its point, like a top.
By the time that the cone finally hit the atmosphere again, it was moving faster than any natural or unnatural object on Falmart. Not the Flame dragons, not arrows, not even the Japanese fighter jets or bullets had ever moved as fast as this. Seeing as it was coming back down, Hardy guessed at the weapon's path and followed it to a bay far to Alnus' south.
There, she was amused to find a battle fleet of hundreds of ships cruising across the waters, all sporting the banners of the Kingdom of Carenth. King Selecus himself was being waited upon in a pavilion on the shore, and was in the process of berating a messenger.
"But Zorzal insists that his courier was intercepted," the messenger stated. "Apparently, the Rondel Council had turned on the Empire just after the courier was dispatched, and the men from the other world killed him before he could deliver the message to us."
"It is inexcusable either way," the King said. "Order the ships back to the beach for one more night. We will depart for Falmart at dawn tomorrow. Once these so-called invaders are driven back, I have half a mind to keep marching and sack Sadera as well."
If they had been looking to the sky at that time, as Hardy and an increasing number of sailors and soldiers were, then they might have noticed the mid-day shooting star as the Mk21 reentry vehicle tore a trail of plasma through the sky during its final descent to the bay beyond.
"But sire," the messenger said. "The rumors from our scouts describe strange machines and weapons—ticks that spit fire, iron elephants, and just last night the men claim to have heard a giant metal beast roaring through the air above the fleet."
"I have no time for fantasy stories," Selecus stated. "They are men, and men alone can only be so powerful."
It was then that the bomb went off.
Within the W87-1 warhead, a spark triggered a series of conventional explosives which forced a core of isotope plutonium-239 in on itself. Decades ago, a similar implosion-triggered fission bomb had turned Nagasaki into a charred smear… but this was a thermonuclear weapon, so this old-style explosive served not as the weapon itself, but merely the primer. No… the primary fuel of destruction was the core of lithium deuteride which, when bombarded by subatomic particles by the exploding fission stage, itself transformed into tritium, a heavy isotope of hydrogen. It was this isotope that had earned this variant of the weapon the name "hydrogen bomb' in the first place.
The tritium fused together, mimicking for one brief, brilliant moment the violence known normally only by stars.
As King Selecus growled down at the messenger, he was interrupted by a blinding flash that caused the entire court to wince away from the ocean-facing side of the pavilion, and the poor few who had been following the warhead's descent to collapse to the ground, clawing at their flash-fried eyes.
In a lucky moment, the King recovered enough to look out over the ocean where, five miles out, a giant white sphere of clouds had bloomed on the horizon. He had no time to ask anyone what it was as he was assaulted by a roar louder than the mightiest thunderclap—a sound which he didn't so much hear as felt ripping through his chest and bones as it knocked him to his knees.
He tried to call for help, to his men, but he couldn't hear himself, much less anyone else, and as such barely had time to register the next horror, a wall of steam and which rushed in from the site of the eruption. He had a fraction of a section to see the furthest out of his ships get torn to splinters by the approaching wall when, in a moment of inspiration, he threw himself to the ground. The resultant gale couldn't have been from any natural storm, for it hit him less like the wind and more like an out-of-control chariot, nearly whipping him end over end as it tore through… and, as if that wasn't enough, the steam as it touched any exposed skin seared him as if the water itself was on fire. The air forced its way into his ears like a pair of nails and he was met with a mind-splitting pain as his eardrums shattered.
What felt like an eternity to Selecus barely lasted a few seconds, before the same wave of pressure and burning smoke was sucked back out to sea.
Like the army leader he tried to be, the King still stumbled to his feet, tried with burning hands to wipe the sand from his eyes, and looked out at the destruction. His fleet had been obliterated, some ships torn entirely to their container beams, others capsized and ripped into larger chunks, still others cast clear upon the beach. Behind him, the pavilion was gone, the trees around it, perhaps originally blown away from the blast, now bowed towards the sea, and the dark god that dominated the horizon beyond.
It was like nothing Selecus had ever seen before, a shadowy tower of ash and fire that reached through the clouds before fanning out in all directions, as if wrecking the land was not enough, as if it was out to consume the sky and everything above it too. No monster from his continent, from folklore, from his deepest childhood nightmare could compare to the demon towering over the bay.
He found himself wanting to plead up at it, willing to offer his lands, his riches, his kingdom, anything to make it retreat back from whatever hellish depths it had escaped from.
It wasn't natural, it didn't even match the Gods' sense of humor, warped as it was. Even the dragons and minotaurs had a certain natural elegance to them, but this!
Zorzal in his messages had talked of invaders that brought terrifying machines that rained lightning and flames from the sky. Could the men from the other world truly command such horrifying and enormous power?
As if in answer to his question, the wind whipped around again, and that's when Selecus saw it; the second wave.
In a nuclear detonation, the explosion burns so hotly and powerfully that not only does it annihilate everything within the initial fireball, it eliminates the air within it too. As a result, even as the first flash of radiation and shockwave leave ground zero, the center of the destruction becomes a giant near-vacuum pocket of plasma which, as nature demands, must be filled. So, the fireball and ashes are sucked inward and vent upwards, towards the stratosphere and form the recognizable "mushroom cloud." Relieved of its one shackle to nature, the blast resumes its natural tendency to flow outwards, and the destruction continues.
As such, the head of the mighty kingdom of Carenth was reduced to a wailing child as he screamed up at the sky, Please, stop! It's enough! STOP! STOP!
Considering as his eardrums were blown out, he couldn't hear a single one of his own words, nor even truly tell that he was shouting them except for the burning in his lungs. Ultimately, he threw himself back to the ground, cowering in the sand and dirt as hell descended once more.
Outside of Alnus
He wasn't the only one, of course. In the initial flash of the bomb, six decades of American nuclear science spewed off-number isotopes and high-energy particles and gamma rays in all directions in a radioactive fountain that carried across the oceans and skies for miles and miles and miles.
Hardy had settled her perspective only twenty miles from Ground Zero, and, for the first time in thousands of years, Hardy felt pain.
All that radiation dug into the distributed particles of her being like some fast-acting worm, burying into her and razoring into some fundamental layer that she had long forgotten from a time before her ascension. So, she did what was only natural; she screamed.
She had no lungs or lips to scream with. It didn't matter, she screamed anyway. Those most closely connected to her at her shrine in Bellnahgo collapsed, arms wrapped about their heads in agony. From her place beneath a Japanese Type 74 tank, an Apostle gave voice to the shriek in her head, unable to hold back tears as her mistress' agony flowed from her throat.
Across from her, an Air Force Colonel watched, unflinching.
It took a full ten minutes before Giselle was able to get enough of her bearings to cry up to Mullan, "What have you done!? What have you done to my mistress!?"
Mullan squatted down next to her. Giselle had remained pinned beneath the tank all evening long, still covered in grime and gore and revisited by hourly agony as the metal beast above her repositioned to prevent her from regenerating. The effects of the bomb had only been the capstone on a long night of suffering. More importantly, it confirmed that the United States Air Force had Hardy right where they wanted her.
"Up until today," Mullan explained, "the destruction loosed upon the Special Region by ourselves and our allies has been a kind of combat which we at home call 'conventional warfare.' At its base, it follows the traditional rules of war; armies, navies, men and artillery and logistics. These are things that even Falmart's Empire can understand.
"When Hardy attacked… when you attacked, you made the fatal mistake of offering total war against America and Japan. As signatories to the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security, America ties its fate to the Japanese people. An attack on them is an attack on us, and in our world, there is one simple, unspoken rule that has safeguarded world peace for over half a century: DO NOT DECLARE TOTAL WAR AGAINST A NUCLEAR-ARMED STATE.
"Today, Ms. Giselle, you and Hardy got a taste of a second kind of combat, which we call 'strategic nuclear warfare.' In a strategic nuclear war, there is little in the way of men and logistics. The artillery is fired for but a moment, and then there is only death.
"So, on behalf of the United States Government, let me paraphrase our warning from the last time we were made to use these weapons. If Hardy or any other god wants a war against us, there will be no glorious or honorable combat, there will be no stories or songs or statues. You have witnessed just one atomic bomb; we have many more. If any god attempts to intervene in the affairs of humanity again, we will burn them out of the fucking heavens."
Giselle cowered under the glare of the Air Force Officer. Half a day ago, the same man had pleaded with General Hazama not to fire their weapon, and now she understood why. The atomic bomb was a weapon of such fury that if it had been loosed against Bellnahgo, it would have surely butchered the entire city and everyone around it.
She also understood the calm professionalism of the American and JSDF troops, particularly in the face of Imperial Soldiers and dragons. What were they, after all, to a world that possessed such destructive power? If the claim that they had more weapons like this were true… if they had many atom bomb rockets, then one nation could conceivably blast another off the face of the planet before a single sword was drawn or shot was fired. A flame dragon was nothing compared to utter destruction falling from the sky.
Her mistress, a goddess, was powerless before such might. Giselle let go, wishing that the shadow of the tank would consume her, that she could wish her immortality away and die there before the Apocryph destroyed everything. "This world is doomed," she sobbed. "You've—you've killed us all."
"That's up to you."
The Apostle looked up at Mullan. Silhouetted against, the bright midday sky, he looked almost like a god himself. "But you just said—"
"The nuclear age brought Earth two wonderful things that would have been unheard of in any earlier time," the Colonel explained. "First, it made us deeply and seriously interested in particle and relativistic physics. This same understanding saved Bellnahgo from destruction last night, because it gave us the knowledge to let us hit Hardy without killing anyone who wasn't asking for it. It might teach us enough about the Gate to let us control its size and effect on surrounding matter.
"Second, the nuclear age taught us the patience to sit down and talk where past empires would have gone directly to war. That is what the governments of Japan and America would like to offer Hardy and the rest of Falmart's gods. Stay out of our affairs and tell us everything you know about Gates. In exchange, we will stabilize the Gate for you, though we will be doing it on our own terms, with our own people and our own technology. That's what I'm offering you now, the opportunity for Hardy to save her planet… by being willing to sit down and talk."
Giselle received Hardy's answer just seconds later. "She accepts."
The Airstrip
"Step twenty-four, remove crypto-keys and power down launch system," Peters read out as he last instructions in the launch checklist. With a flick of a switch, the lights, buttons, and CRT screens in the HML cabin dimmed and died, their purpose fulfilled.
"I concur," Becker said, "Now can you help get this...VIP off me?"
Rory had collapsed on top of him. The Apostle had demanded to sit on his lap as they worked their way through the launch procedures and sent the missile on its way. As Becker had a daughter back in the States that looked around Rory's age, her suggestive advances were painfully unwelcome, as was Lieutenant Itami's warning that she apparently experienced physical pleasure over combat destruction.
It was therefore deeply disturbing but not unexpected when, at the planned moment of nuclear detonation, Rory had shrieked in ecstasy, and then fainted on top of the control board.
On Peter's side, Princess Pina had been far more accommodating, but seemed sick and pale. "You should get some air, ma'am," the young airman suggested.
Pina still didn't understand English, but she understood his gestures well enough to rush out of the vehicle and into the arms of the waiting JSDF Lieutenant. Becker watched as the girl wobbled in Itami's arms, tried to offer him a confident smile, then doubled over and vomited.
If nothing else, Becker was thankful that the event had impressed upon Pina the kinds of forces they were working with here. Ideally, Pina would never come to them asking to use one herself.
Reguezal Bay, about 2000 Kilometers South of Alnus
King Selecus had set out from his Empire with two hundred ships and ten thousand men.
That afternoon, he addressed the survivors of the bomb and, in words he himself could not hear, told them that he planned to retreat. Those that could still hear him nodded. Those that could still see looked at the destruction around them and sighed. All of them nursed horrific burns, save those who, by some incredible shred of luck, had been standing behind a tree or post or ship bulkhead when the weapon activated. The recovered rug of the pavilion that they sat on still sported the long shadows of Selecus' court, burned into the places they stood at the moment of the flash.
They had buried as many bodies as they could safely recover. Most of those who had been aboard ships in the bay had died. Most drowned after their vessels disintegrated around them, and they were thrown to the boiling water, burnt, blind, or deafened.
In the minds of the survivors, they hadn't failed. They hadn't even had the chance to try, and that was all the better. Any race of men or monsters who owned a weapon like the one that hit them was better off left alone.
When Selecus departed the bay to return to his kingdom, he left with seventeen ships and twelve hundred men. A quarter of them died of radiation sickness before they reached a friendly port.
Alnus Settlement, Alnus
"...and while the data from today's launch won't teach us anything we didn't know already, it serves to help the Americans and Japanese make certain of the things they've learned from their past launches," Greta concluded. "Who knows, perhaps the next launch will be even more spectacular!"
The audience applauded and began to filter out of the amphitheater. Greta slowly made her way over to Carol, who was leaning against the side of the stage, lost in thought. "I can understand why you were so upset in Washington," she told the scientist. "Treating it like just another rocket launch feels… wrong."
Carol nodded.
"And the weapon was truly used? And it destroyed everything underneath it?"
"We won't know with certainty until we hear back from the next flyover," Carol said. The JSDF had sent a Kawasaki C-1 to survey the damage, as none of the other aircraft at Alnus had the range needed to travel to and from the target zone. Even then, she had heard that it was a five-hour round trip.
The Midgetman rocket and reentry vehicle had, of course, covered the distance in less than twenty minutes, but that was the nature of rockets and space travel...faster and faster.
"It's amazing that Earth hasn't destroyed itself with access to weapons like that."
"We came very close," Carol said with a shrug. "There was a time where America and the Soviet Union nearly ended the world."
"What happened?"
"We raced them to the moon instead. Now the United States and Russia operate a giant space station together. Japan and lots of other countries helped too. It reminds us that, even in the hard days, we can find good things to work on together."
Carol looked up at the nearly empty amphitheater, and was shocked to see two men that the recognized sitting near the back. Greta saw them too. "Carol," she said, "Aren't those people from your world?"
Indeed, they were! She hadn't expected to see either of them, and yet, here they were. She waved them down and began by introducing Greta to the older of the two men. "Greta," Carol said, "This is my boss, NASA Administrator Dr. Andrew Kosinski. Sir, I don't—what are you doing here? When did you even get in?"
"Harris and I flew into Narita yesterday," Kosinski explained. "We wanted to see you sooner, but it sounded like there was a lot of commotion going on around the Gate, and we were told to wait. And you must be Greta! Carol's told me all about you, but it's great to finally meet you in person!"
Greta took the Administrator's outstretched hand as Carol translated for him. "It's a pleasure!" she said.
"And this is Mr. Evan Harris," Carol said, introducing the other man. "He's an astronaut."
Harris laughed at Greta's wide-eyed reaction and waved her off. "No, it's technically former astronaut. I left NASA about three years ago, after the Shuttle program ended. I work on a different set of rockets now."
The last few words struck Carol immediately. She turned back to the NASA Administrator and said, "Kosinski, why exactly are you here?"
"Well, remember how I told you that Dirrel was meeting with some people?" he said. "Word of your work with Shirai and the NAOJ, along with the news of the rocket flights have made the rounds back home, and some of the senators weren't all that happy at seeing Japan one-up us by launching Sakura into orbit over here. So, I attended a meeting with some industry leaders, and the President signed an executive order for a single manned suborbital flight."
B, M, and B. "Who won the contract?" Carol asked.
"Virgin Galactic's White Knight II carrier requires a longer runway than what we can make at Alnus," Kosinski explained. "And while Elon desperately wanted to get the contract, SpaceX's Falcon 9, even if we just used the first stage, is too much thrust and requires too much infrastructure to launch it. Ultimately we went with New Shepherd and Blue Origin, since we can launch it from the JAXA Epsilon pad with minimal modifications, and it's designed with manned suborbital flights in mind."
"Who will be flying on it with you?" Greta asked.
"That's the wonderful thing about New Shepherd," Harris explained. "The entire flight is automatic, so technically anyone can ride. We talked it over with the Japanese, and I'll be joined by a JASDF pilot named Kamikoda."
"You should've seen this guy," Kosinski smirked. "The question wasn't even halfway out of the translator's mouth and he was practically halfway into space already."
Greta giggled. It sounded about right to her.
"We're also looking to add two Falmart natives to the flight," Harris explained. "We were recommended a senator named Cicero La Moltose? It should let their Aristocracy feel happy without taking anyone too important to their war effort. We'll be flying out to Italica to see him after this. We came here to the settlement to ask the other person."
Carol thought back to the senator from the day of the second rocket launch. At the time, Cicero had seemed more interested in the potential of buying guns from America and sealing the military treaty with Rondel than any of the science discussed at the event. It was a pity, but if it helped the politics, then it wasn't her place to complain. Besides, NASA had sent one of its own Congressmen into space in 1985, so there was precedence for the choice. "You should take us with you to the next person," Carol said. "We've been talking to these people for over a month now, and it would probably help to have things explained by a familiar face."
"No need," Kosinski said, then, turning to Greta asked, "Well?"
Greta looked back at him with some confusion, then looked to Carol for an explanation. "I'm—I'm sorry, I don't understand—"
"He's offering to send you up on a rocket," Carol said, grinning.
The girl stood there for a moment, stunned, then, matching Carol's grin yelled, "Yes! Yes, I'll do it!"
Author's Note:
If you've been following the chapter titles, then it's probably occurred to you that this flight's almost over. Chapter 20 will be the last chapter of A Sky Full of Fire, which agrees with the outline I set for myself back in February. If you have any remaining questions about the characters, plot, or writing of the piece, please PM me and I'll make sure that it's covered either in the prose of the chapter itself, in another author's note at the end, or in a direct PM reply as the case permits.