Glad to see there's still interest in this story even though Cagalli's left the old supporting cast behind and now is surrounded by a new supporting cast. Yeah, Asta is like a parallel of Flay, that was somewhat intentional on my part but it also fits in with Ezalia Joule's own radical beliefs and Yzak's attitude for much of SEED, and I took advantage of Ezalia and Yzak's attitudes to craft Asta's own feelings about Naturals and dial it up one more notch because of how Asta feels over Yzak's death. I also hope the explanations for Asta's existence when she did not exist in SEED are proving satisfactory for right now.
As for Kira/Flay . . . it's pretty much one-sided like it is in the canon, except Flay is chasing after Kira. XD Right now, Flay's just looking for something to fight for, something or someone to believe in, because she's realizing her previous attitudes are wrong. She's looking for something better. It's positive character development on her end of things.
Anyway, on with the chapter!
Chapter Fifty-Four: You Are A Tourist
I hadn't been in a PLANT since I was a young child, and that was only for a brief visit while my mother and father were debating what academies to send their Coordinator daughter to. They opted for an academy on the Moon in the end, because it would be easier for the three of us to see each other than to try to get through PLANT security. Even back then, in relatively peaceful times, PLANT security was infamous for shaking down Naturals.
There was just something annoyingly perfect about PLANT environments that was different, and somehowworse, than Heliopolis. PLANTs generally did a stupendous job of mimicking the Earth, and the weather was always as predicted, without the Earth's random violence like tornadoes and hurricanes and other lovely phenomena. It was just this sense of everything being scheduled, like this artificial little greenhouse disguised as an ethereal paradise, that drove me insane. I just wanted to break one of these PLANTs open like a tin can.
Nevertheless, I couldn't help but gawk at everything. The pristine nature of it all was simply amazing and I could barely take it all in.
"You weren't kidding when you said you never lived here," Dearka Elsman said, clearly amused. "You look like a Natural visiting us right now with your eyes so damn wide."
"Dearka, everyone who visits a PLANT always looks at everything like that," Nicol Amalfi replied. "It's nothing new."
"It's new if it's a Coordinator," Dearka said.
"Enough, Dearka," Athrun said. "We're not here to be tourists. We're almost at the building right now, and we're going to meet the Chairman . . . well, the new Chairman."
"Yeah, your father," Asta said.
"Just because Athrun's father is the Chairman now doesn't stop him from being Chairman," Dearka replied.
"Just find it interesting, that's all," Asta said coolly.
Athrun looked like he wanted to forget the whole conversation. "Just follow me, please."
As I was semi-expecting to hear when we landed at the PLANTs, Patrick Zala, Athrun's father, did indeed take the Chairmanship away from Siegel Clyne. Although Siegel Clyne remained on the Supreme Council, he and his coalition had significantly less influence, or so the media was saying, and Patrick Zala's strength had come from a promise to end the war quickly.
If Patrick Zala wanted to end the war as soon as possible, he needed to get results and get them now. That meant he needed victories. Maybe just one victory, a big one, would be enough to ensure the Earth Alliance's defeat.
Operation "Spitbreak" was probably the victory Patrick Zala was looking for to end the war. Our role in that is probably why we were assigned here. We're going to plow the road to make sure Spitbreak doesn't have much interference from Earth Alliance forces in space before the operation begins in full.
The PLANT governmental house was multi-faceted, but it was a purely functional facility. No one permanently lived here, not even the Chairman. Siegel Clyne, for example, lived in his own estate and commuted to this building when he was Chairman. It was considered a way to appear less isolated from the populace and to show solidarity if you didn't live in a governmental building and instead had to travel there like everyone else.
Still, it was beautiful. So many stories and surrounded by a gorgeous garden filled with the once-thought-impossible blue roses. The blue rose was a symbol of what Coordinators were capable of and it, along with other beautiful flowers similarly brought into existence, filled the garden. All were creations of Coordinators.
"Never saw blue roses up close before, have you?" Nicol asked.
"No, I haven't," I admitted. "They're beautiful."
"They are," Nicol said. "Not much of a scent with these modern roses though. That is one thing we have not been able to manage. We've managed to create the appearance of the blue rose but can't come up with an appropriate scent that will last in the species. Every scent we've tried just gradually fades away with each passing generation."
"That's . . . sad," I said. It made me think about the problems Coordinators had with live births with each generation. It was parallel to the blue rose in a lot of ways. The blue rose had an inherent flaw that prevented a strong scent, a rose's trademark, from remaining in the flower with each generation. Did that mean that Coordinators had an inherent flaw as well?
And what did that say about me, too? What were my flaws? If I was experimented on, what was going to happen to me when I got older?
I was starting to get scared again.
"Enough about these dumb flowers," Asta growled. "Can we just get inside and get our assignment? We may be getting a personal assignment from Chairman Zala himself, after all."
"Yeah," Athrun sighed. "Come on. The Chairman doesn't want to be kept waiting."
"You mean your dad," Dearka said with a knowing smile.
"He's both," Asta sighed. She coughed then, holding her chest and her hand.
"You all right?" Athrun asked.
"I'm fine. Probably best to not cough in front of your father," Asta said after clearing her throat. She reached into her pocket and downed a couple of pills dry.
"There, that'll help," Asta said.
"Good," Athrun sighed. "Follow me inside. Let's get this over with."
"What, the meeting or your obvious embarrassment?" Dearka asked, that stupid grin of his showing teeth.
Athrun just groaned wordlessly.
"Damn, looks like they're moving some things out," Dearka said as we walked past various machines and people holding various possessions ranging from desks to paintings past us.
"Siegel Clyne is no longer the Chairman," Nicol said. "If he had personal possessions inside the Chairman's office, they probably need to be removed unless he wants Chairman Zala to keep them."
"Sounds like he wants the Chairman to keep nothing," Dearka said.
"That's kinda weird, actually," Nicol said. "Aren't your father and Siegel Clyne friends?"
"Yes," Athrun said. "There's nothing to insinuate here. Most things leave when a Chairman leaves the office. It's normal."
There was something just a little defensive about Athrun's tone of voice that suggested that Siegel Clyne and Patrick Zala were not as friendly with each other as they once were. Not that I would know.
It was when we were coming up on the office when we heard the conversation.
"Patrick, I implore you to take a look at the Earth Alliance's peace offering," a middle-aged male voice said. "I know you shot this down in the Supreme Council meeting, but you no longer need to grandstand. We're in private. We may not get a better offer than this."
"Siegel, as I told you, I will look at the offering. I'll do whatever it takes to put an end to this war," said the voice that I recognized as Patrick Zala's. His voice had not changed much from when I was a child and Athrun's friend. "But the Earth Alliance has not been put in a position of absolute weakness. We need to have a clear advantage over them before any peace offering can be considered."
"That's not a peace offering, that's surrender," Siegel Clyne said.
"Which is the ideal peace offering from the enemy side, Siegel," Patrick Zala replied. "While you were Chairman our military was planning Operation 'Spitbreak'. We must allow this operation to be attempted before we can consider any peace offerings. Bomb them to the negotiating table, so to speak."
"I see," Siegel Clyne replied. "What if 'Spitbreak' were to fail, Chairman?"
"It won't, I'll see to that," Patrick Zala replied. "I have my own ideas about 'Spitbreak' that I will be relaying shortly."
"I understand," Siegel Clyne replied with a sigh.
"Siegel, I know you have the best intentions in mind, but we need to fight with more force against the Naturals," Patrick Zala said. "We need to show them there is no longer any point in continuing resistance against us. I think one look at our new Mobile Suits will have them thinking twice about continuing to resist. They think their casualties are bad now? Imagine when our new Mobile Suits are arrayed against them."
"New Mobile Suits?" Dearka asked dumbly.
"Out of everything in that conversation, that's what you're picking up on first?" Asta sighed. I was actually inclined to agree with her on that one.
"The Freedom and the Providence were both delayed in order to accommodate Ezalia and Asta Joule's wishes to have the Duel rebuilt in Yzak Joule's honor," Siegel Clyne replied. "You signed off on that as a member of the Council when Ezalia put the issue on the table. You know as well as I do the only new Mobile Suit ready to launch is the Justice."
"Siegel, you are flunking War 101," Patrick Zala said, his voice finally turning edgy. "The Freedom will be ready post-'Spitbreak' and the Providence soon thereafter, not to mention . . ."
Suddenly, Patrick sighed. "I am speaking too much. I have a meeting with Zala Team that was supposed to have begun five minutes ago and I am sure they are eavesdropping right behind that door. They are special forces but not that special. We will need to continue this some other time."
We weren't going to find out what the 'not to mention' part meant that day. Which was annoying. I was growing sick and tired of secrets.
Though, judging by the looks on everyone else's faces, they were more embarrassed and worried about what Chairman Zala was going to do to them over the eavesdropping.
"I understand, Chairman," Siegel said, and we immediately heard his footsteps approach the door.
We immediately backed away from the door as one and stood to attention. I saw the way they were saluting and barely mimicked their postures in time for Siegel Clyne to emerge and walk on by.
He was a kindly-looking man but clearly weathered by the war and his responsibility. He looked at us, and managed a smile. "Good luck in there."
"Thank you, former Chairman," Athrun replied.
Siegel Clyne said nothing more before turning and walking down the hallway. There was a depressed look to his movements, like a man lost in melancholic thoughts.
"Zala Team?" Patrick Zala's voice barked. "You may enter."
"Yes, Chairman," Athrun said. He led the way inside, and the four of us followed him. They all made that strange salute motion and just like before I barely adjusted my posture in time to match theirs.
I was not going to get used to this odd salute. I could already tell.
The office was barren, but it wasn't going to stay that way. Unless Patrick Zala was a really odd individual, anyway. He looked at the five of us, seeming to sizing us up.
"At ease," he said, which was a relief because I couldn't keep the odd salute up for much longer. He paused for a while, looking between the five us.
Finally, he said "Our best weapons in this war are in the hands of children. The oldest among you is eighteen. If we had any choice we would have given adults your weapons a long time ago. Unfortunately, our casualties and numbers are such we've had no choice but to conscript teenagers since the very beginning."
I wondered what his point was, or if he had anything good to say to us. He was already criticizing us before we even had a chance to know what he was summoning us here for.
"That being said," Zala finally said, "Zala Team is one of the most elite units on our military and with the addition of your fifth member you are finally complete at long last."
Suddenly, he eyed me. "Step forward, 1st Lieutenant Yamato."
My heart almost skipped a beat and my back tensed up. "Uh, y-yes, Chairman!"
I took a step towards the Chairman, who was sitting behind his sparse metallic desk. Zala folded his hands and gave me a long stare.
"Is something wrong, Chairman?" I asked, doing my very best to keep my voice even and formal but not entirely succeeding.
"I don't know whether to be proud of you or to completely despise you," Zala said, his voice a low growl. "You killed one of our finest officers in our entire military out in the Sahara. You put Commander Le Creuset's forces on a wild goose chase throughout space and the Earth and heads would have rolled if the Earth Alliance's Ninth Fleet had not gotten destroyed in the process. You are personally responsible for the deaths of many of our pilots and you did it to protect Naturals which I still have trouble fathoming."
I didn't know whether to brace myself or to wait for him to reveal some kind of silver lining. Well, a silver lining from his perspective.
"At the same time . . . in order to pull all of this off, you have a lot of skill," Zala finally said. "Especially to kill General Waltfeld. I questioned my son's desire to recruit you instead of destroying you, but, much to my surprise, my son has succeeded. After all, you are standing here in this office right now."
"Yes . . . he did succeed," I said, not knowing what else to say without costing myself any of the goodwill he had just shown me now.
"Indeed. I look forward to seeing what you are capable of, 1st Lieutenant Yamato," Zala said, this time with the clear intent to end our little discussion.
"You won't be disappointed," was all I could think of to say.
Zala turned his attention to everyone else then. "Now we can finally get down to business. I know you can't be seated, so please remain standing. I will make this brief."
He got up from the desk and activated a hologram map of the world as well as its close orbit. It was heavily detailed, even including the Debris Belt that surrounded the planet.
"As you five no doubt heard, the planning for Operation Spitbreak is at full throttle," Zala said. "I recalled Zala Team up here because I have a specific role in mind for this team in the waning days, and the day of, the operation."
He used his hands to enlarge a section of the map, specifically a section of the Debris Belt. "We have had Earth Alliance activity in the Debris Belt, fairly close to the L1 Colonies. They are raiding our forces that are trying to assemble in the staging area for Spitbreak. Your team is going to eliminate them so there will be no further interference. I have instructed the Vesalius to be the flagship of the strike force, and Zala Team will be the team posted to the Vesalius."
"A question, Chairman," Asta said, raising her hand.
"Acknowledged," Zala replied.
"Why would we be necessary to eliminate the Earth Alliance's raiding force?" Asta asked. "The staging area is swelling with ZAFT ships, the map shows that. Can't the staging area simply break off some of its fleet to eliminate the raiders?"
"There would be a lot more casualties this way than to have the Vesalius and Zala Team eliminate it," Zala replied. "After all, Zala Team is going to be assigned our newest Mobile Suit, the Justice. Apparently the Justice is capable of incredible feats. I want a demonstration of them."
"Isn't the Justice an ace in the hole?" Athrun asked. Clearly he had no problems questioning his own father. "Wouldn't it be better to save it for 'Spitbreak'?"
"Those raiders have been achieving multiple local victories," Zala replied. "I want them smashed in such a way as to demoralize the entire Earth Alliance . . . and make them fear us as well. After all, how can a small strike force eliminate a whole fleet? There has to be something secret, isn't there? Something the Earth Alliance has no hope of stopping."
"You're thinking that because it's difficult to communicate in the Debris Belt that they won't be able to report a new Mobile Suit," Athrun said all of a sudden. "They will just suddenly cease to exist. And even if they do report a new Mobile Suit, there won't be any time to put in countermeasures before Spitbreak begins. It'll just be another blow to morale."
"Exactly," Patrick Zala said.
"Who's gonna pilot the new Mobile Suit?" Dearka asked.
"Considering who has given us a really strong assessment of her abilities so far . . . 1st Lieutenant Yamato will be piloting the Justice," Zala said, confirming the suspicions that were in the back of my mind the whole time. "However, Athrun Zala will remain in command. You five are going to be the lead spear of Spitbreak . . . and 1st Lieutenant Yamato will be the very tip."
"I must protest," Asta said, which was also not surprising. "She was fighting us not three weeks ago. Why give her the newest, strongest machine in our forces? She has given us no reason to trust her."
"I have misgivings myself about this decision, but if I cannot trust your team leader, I can't trust anyone," Zala said, looking right at Athrun. The implications were quite clear. If Patrick Zala can't trust the judgment of his only family, his sole child, there is no one left to trust. "He has written some glowing reports about her abilities, and what 1st Lieutenant Yamato has pulled off while in servitude to the Naturals is quite impressive. Including, not to trudge up bad memories, 1st Lieutenant Joule, defeating your brother who was an elite pilot himself."
Asta literally shook upon hearing that but she stopped herself from lashing out. Instead she managed a "I understand, Chairman."
"Good. Now you are all dismissed. You will depart tomorrow onboard the Vesalius," Zala said. "Except for you, 1st Lieutenant Yamato. I'm going to introduce you to your new machine."
"Uh, yes, Chairman," I said. I knew immediately what this meant. Zala was going to try to size me up, to see if I really am suitable for the Justice. Not to mention trustworthy.
I was in for a grilling and if I did not pass Zala's likely test I was going to lose the Justice . . . and possibly get booted off of Athrun's team altogether. I was pretty sure of that.
Asta's warning from yesterday night was stark. What if there was no room left for people like me, who believed in tolerance? What if I was already going to get shunted out, before my service even began, because of what I believed?
What if I had come all this way for absolutely nothing?
I was scared as the others, including Athrun, were dismissed. Exceptionally scared. I tried not to let it show but I was not sure if I was successful. This guy was more terrifying than even Natarle Badgiruel at her worst. And he held a lot more authority.
"Well then," Patrick Zala said. "Let's show you your new machine."
"Yes, Chairman," I replied.
At that point, I just wanted to get it over with without screwing up.
Easier said than done.
I tried to say as little as possible to Patrick Zala on the way to the facility where the Justice was waiting. Patrick Zala, perhaps noticing that I was going to stay quiet and not say so much, didn't waste too much time trying to encourage me to small talk. After three failed attempts to get me to open up about my experiences so far in ZAFT, he got down to business.
"The Vesalius was not designed to carry the Justice," Zala said to me. "Because of that, the only Mobile Suit team the Vesalius will be carrying is the Zala Team. There is a ship specifically designed for carrying the Justice, but it is not complete yet. I intended to give it to General Waltfeld as a reward for his exemplary service in the Sahara, but as he is dead I must find another officer. I wonder what happened to that lover of his."
"Her name was Aisha," I said. "I believe she is still in Orb. I captured her personally. We treated her quite humanely, I promise you, Chairman."
"Of course they would, with you around to keep them honest," Zala scoffed.
"We had an honorable and humane captain in charge," I said. "Her name was Murrue Ramius. She became a close friend. She did sincerely care about me."
"What happened?" Zala asked.
"She's dead," I said. "I was captured and taken to a secret base in the Indian Ocean. It was operated by Blue Cosmos and . . . Murrue decided to try and save me. She did . . . but it was at the cost of her own life."
Damn it. I didn't want to admit any of this to him. What right did he have to know? Even now, thinking of Murrue was still bringing me to the brink of tears.
"My son was part of ZAFT's investigation into that base. We had no idea what the facility was, all we knew was that there was a lot of random combat and explosions at first," Zala said. "When we investigated, all we found were ruins and bodies. Well, that and signs that Blue Cosmos made a rushed attempt to clear the base out of anything still valuable."
"Did you find Murrue Ramius' body?" I asked.
"I wouldn't know," Zala replied.
It seemed he was telling the truth but I wasn't happy with that response. All that meant was that I couldn't get any closure over what Murrue did, and sacrificed, for my sake.
"How can you . . . feel so much compassion for the Naturals?" Zala asked.
"I have lived in Orb my whole life," I said. "All of my friends were Naturals. There was . . . some intolerance at first, but when everyone realized I was their best hope for survival, they stopped protesting. And eventually they all began supporting me because they realized I was a human being just like them."
I didn't want to say much more, in case I was coming off as a bleeding heart who may have to be removed from her post. "I sound like Siegel Clyne, don't I?"
"Your language is remarkably close to his," Zala said enigmatically.
Great. "I'm not going to lie to you. I did not enjoy killing Coordinators . . . or killing anybody for that matter. But at the same time I can't ignore that we are human beings fighting human beings. This war is a tragedy, sir."
He remained silent, just staring at me.
"I will kill Naturals in service of ZAFT and PLANT," I said. "I would not have allowed your son to extradite me if I was not willing to serve. I am here because Athrun is my best friend. He needs me and this is what friends do."
"I see," Zala said. The car suddenly stopped.
"I guess we must be here," I said.
"We are. Follow me," Zala said.
He exited the car, followed by his bodyguards, and I walked beside him into what seemed to be a ZAFT airbase. The place seemed to be a maze but Patrick Zala knew exactly where he was going. I wondered how many times he had visited this place in order to make a beeline right for the Justice.
Finally, some doors slid open and we walked onto a metal hallway extended high from the ground . . . right in front of what had to be the chest plate of the Justice.
It looked just like the GUNDAM machines. I could not keep my surprise out of my voice. "Is that . . . is that a GUNDAM?"
"'GUNDAM'?" Zala asked curiously.
"The abbreviation for the type of Mobile Suits taken from Heliopolis," I said. "It came out as 'GUNDAM'."
"Huh." Zala looked up at the Mobile Suit. "Well, the official designation is the ZGMF-X09A Justice. And it will be the weapon that will win us this war, 1st Lieutenant."
I looked up at the massive robotic beast. That was pretty much the best way to describe it. It looked like an absolute monster of a machine in comparison to the Aegis and Strike and all of the others. It screamed 'power' even without its Phase Shift up and running.
"It has a built-in N-Jammer Canceler," Zala said. "New technology manufactured by ZAFT. It uses nuclear power and so will never run out of power. It is equipped with a support unit, the FATHOM-00, that can operate independently of the Justice or serve as the Justice's long-range weaponry, however you wish. The FATHOM-00 is equipped with the Fortis Beam Cannon, which is perhaps the most versatile weapon we have ever designed for a Mobile Suit, along with a variety of other, more traditional, weaponry."
"How expensive was this to make?" I asked.
"Extremely expensive," Zala said. "Specialized machines like this can't be made in quantity. Quality will have to do."
"And you're giving this to me," I said, still somewhat in disbelief.
"Assigning it to you," Zala corrected. "I did not want to say this in front of the others, but my son loves you, 1st Lieutenant."
"I know," I said. "I think he always has."
Zala scoffed. "He kissed you right in front of my face almost four years ago now, and even though he's tried to hide it from me he's missed you ever since. Even that pop star, Lacus Clyne, isn't enough to take his mind off of you. I wanted to know what the hell he sees in you, 1st Lieutenant. Why some girl who reminds me honestly of a boy more than a woman is the one my son cares for the most. And why he would place so much trust in you even though you fought him for two months in the service of Naturals."
"And what do you think, Chairman?" I asked.
"The fact that I am still assigning you to the Justice in spite of everything should give you enough of an answer, 1st Lieutenant," Zala said.
I guessed that meant I passed. But by the cold, hard look in Zala's eyes, just barely.
"You want me to make the deaths of everyone I've killed worth it," I said. "Starting with Waltfeld."
"Not just 'worth it'. I want you to inflict more pain on the Naturals than you inflicted on us. Much more pain," Zala said. "I want the Naturals cowering in fear of you and this machine, 1st Lieutenant. That's what I want from you. I want you to end this war with the Naturals surrendering to us. Can you do this for me? For ZAFT and PLANT?"
I knew immediately how I had to answer. "Yes, Chairman. I will."
Finally, for the first time, Zala smiled. Only just. It was barely there, for maybe a second, and it was not a smile full of good humor either. He reminded me more of a man trying to seek vengeance than anything else in that moment.
"Excellent. Maybe now I finally see what it is my son sees in you. You were born to be a soldier," Zala said.
His words just brought Commandant Garcia back to my mind. He had said almost exactly the same thing.
"Thank you, sir," I said, not sure of what else I should say.
"You are dismissed, 1st Lieutenant," Zala said. "You will be escorted here tomorrow morning to take the Justice and fly it to the Vesalius. Until then . . . do as you wish. But when you fly this Mobile Suit, I am going to want results. Prove to me that you are worth all of this pain, death, and struggle it took to bring you here."
"I will, Chairman," I said.
Zala nodded, and then turned to his bodyguards. "You two, escort the 1st Lieutenant out of the airbase. I wish to remain here a while longer."
"Yes, Mr. Chairman," one of the guards said and two of them walked up to me.
"Farewell," I said.
Zala did not respond, He was staring up at the Justice, lost in his own thoughts.
There was nothing left to say. I let them escort me out, and I emerged in a bath of a fake sunset, with the artificial sky orange and violet.
I found myself wanting to launch the Justice right this second. This just didn't feel right. The perfection was just getting to me.
I just did not belong here. I was a stranger, a foreigner, a tourist, what have you. I just couldn't stand it. I wanted Heliopolis and all of its clear, obvious flaws, or the Earth and its random, natural occurrences. Not here. Anywhere but here.
I told Patrick Zala I would fight for PLANT, but it was damn clear I did not believe in what I was fighting for. This was not my country. This was not where I belonged.
I felt like a traitor who was discovering that betrayal was the wrong decision to make.
But there was no turning back now. I had made my choice. If I had wanted to I could have resisted Athrun's attempt to take me here. I did not. And so I was stuck. And if I were to betray Athrun's trust, and by extension the Chairman's trust . . . all I'd do was make the war even worse.
I was being handed a weapon of mass destruction. That's what the Justice was.
It was an oxymoron to attach a lofty name like 'Justice' to a machine designed only for mass murder.
So what was I going to do?
A car suddenly pulled up then, and the window was rolled down. That's when I saw her.
"H-Hilda?" I asked.
There was clear scarring on her face, but she had both eyes now and there was no mistaking her red-golden hair either. Hilda Harken had just pulled up in front of the airbase.
The two men who has escorted me out stepped forward. "What business do you have here?"
"I am here on behalf of Siegel Clyne," Hilda said. "He would like to speak to 1st Lieutenant Yamato. That is, if the 1st Lieutenant would permit it."
So, Siegel Clyne wanted to see me too. What was I, a pawn everyone wanted to get their hands on?
At the same time, though, I had heard the things Siegel Clyne said. He was clearly far more moderate than Patrick Zala. He had a different idea of how to conduct the war. He also seemed far less bloodthirsty and far more sane than Patrick Zala. Plus he was Lacus' father . . . maybe I would see Lacus again if I came.
"I do permit it," I said. "I'll ride with you, um . . ."
"Lieutenant-Commander Harken," Hilda said.
"Right. Lieutenant-Commander Harken," I said.
The men looked at each other, and then they shrugged. "Fine. But 1st Lieutenant Yamato better be back here tomorrow to launch the Justice."
"I will," I promised.
I walked around the car and got inside, sitting next to Hilda. "What's going on here, um, ma'am?"
"I'll let you know once we get on the road," Hilda said as she rolled up the window.
"You're really gonna play that game with me?" I asked.
"Yes," Hilda said, with just a hint of wry humor. "Yes, I am."
She put the car in gear then and we began driving down the road.
