Move 5: Reinforcing the Back Rank

TEST EXERCISES HAVE BEEN CALLED OFF for the day but, nonetheless, the Asuka II’s deck was still abuzz with activity. Deck crews went about their work as if they were on full combat alert. Tractors rolled about, tugging items that were taking extra space on the topside, bringing them belowdecks for storage. Inside the bridge, the air officer kept an eye out on the portside, occasionally pulling up his binoculars to see further ahead.

Aikawa glanced at his wristwatch again before shaking his head. Bringing up his own binoculars to observe the portside, he muttered, “I know there’s such a thing as taking the scenic route, but this is just too much.”

“They are fifteen minutes late, Admiral,” Tsukishiro commented as she pocketed her own watch.

“Yes, thank you for reminding me, Commander,” Aikawa replied sarcastically. He yawned and stretched, seemingly bored by all this waiting. To be fair, there was nothing that could be done about it; the call came in straight from Naval Headquarters, and when they tell you to wait, you freaking WAIT. Still, there was something that bothered Aikawa about the whole situation. HQ did not give any specifics as to who was coming aboard, and that would imply that the visitor was either someone with three chrysanthemums on his shoulder, or someone with a shady personality and a blank sheet for a dossier.

Seeing her superior frowning, Tsukishiro inquired, “Is something the matter, Admiral?”

“Ahh, err, no, it’s nothing,” Aikawa replied absentmindedly. “I was just, err, thinking about those rumors going around. You know, the ones about the Chinese negotiating peace terms?”

“If I may remind you, Admiral Aikawa, listening to baseless rumors is one thing that a senior officer, much less someone of your rank, should never do. It does not reflect well on your character,” Tsukishiro exclaimed with thinly-veiled annoyance.

Aikawa shrugged. “With an attitude like that, it’s no wonder you still don’t have a boyfriend.”

“I don’t see how that seems relevant to the topic at hand, sir.”

“Oh come on! Can’t you take a joke for once Makoto?”

“Still not seeing how this is relevant, Admiral.”

“Man, you are one tough customer,” Aikawa replied, giving up. “Anyway, back to the topic, don’t you think it would be nice if all this fighting would be done and over with? I mean, at least we won’t have to worry about the kids getting hurt anymore, right?”

“Sir, you do realize that, just because the fighting would stop, it doesn’t mean we’ll be ordered to stand down, right?” the executive officer replied. “We are a test and experimental force, and as such, our skills will be needed in peacetime more than ever in order to keep our Navy’s fighting edge.”

“Geez, I ask Tsukishiro a straightforward question and she comes back at me with a lecture. Talk about strict,” Aikawa said softly, pouting.

Tsukishiro was not amused. “I heard that, sir. You can’t sway me by trying to act cute.” Before Aikawa could say a word in edgewise, the executive officer turned her attention to the bridge’s radio. “CIC, bridge here. Got anything on your scopes?”

“CIC here, nothing so far, bridge,” the CIC officer responded on the other line. “If they are coming like HQ said, they’re either very late, or doing a really good job of hiding themse—wait. Saki, can you bring that up again?” A couple of moments pass before the CIC officer came back on the radio. “Bridge, I think we got who you’re waiting for: portside 0-8-0, range 700, 140 knots. It looks like they’re trying to make a show by popping up on radar so close to us.”

Soon enough Aikawa and Tsukishiro were scrambling to the portside observation deck, ranging their binoculars in the direction stated by the CIC officer. In the distance, at least five Sea Hawks can be seen in tight formation. “If they managed to avoid radar detection until now when they intentionally showed themselves, they probably flew dangerously close to the sea surface,” Aikawa thought. “And I thought Nozomi was the only one who did that on a regular basis…”

The bridge radio came alive again, this time with a different voice on the line. “Snow Fox, Snow Fox, this is Tanuki 1-6, requesting permission to offload personnel and cargo. I say again…”

Aikawa fixed his command cap and dusted off his jacket. Turning to his executive officer, he said, “I guess that’s our cue. Shall we go, Makoto?”

Tsukishiro adjusted her glasses and fixed her hair bun. “Right behind you, Admiral.”


THE BESPECTACLED MAN SIGHED IN RELIEF as the Seahawk finally touched down on the carrier’s deck. He peeked out through the adjacent window as he rolled down the sleeves of his blue shirt, buttoning up his vest afterwards. After readjusting his bolo tie and putting on his grey coat, he turned to his companion. “So, how do I look? Do I appear respectable enough to be in the presence of an admiral now?”

His companion did not respond, instead pointing to his hair.

“Hmm, I guess I forgot to fix my hair, again,” The first man replied as he pulled out a comb, splitting his hair a little above the left eye. While he was working on his hair, the cabin door opened, and the crewman who opened it beckoned the two of them to get off.

 The first man stretched as soon as he got off the Seahawk, while his companion took care of unloading their bags. “Ah, this brings back memories! It’s been so long since I set off to sea like this.” He smiled contently as he surveyed his surroundings, getting a better view of the carrier’s top deck now that he was not limited by the small window. “Man, she’s really a majestic ship. I didn’t think she’d look cooler up close…”

“I’m glad you appreciate her, then. Most of the non-Navy people I’ve met said they find her design too foreign,” someone said from behind him. Turning in the direction of the voice, he saw a man in a faded navy working uniform and command cap, flanked by a younger woman with a newer-looking uniform.

“Admiral, I do believe introductions are in order,” the female officer remarked. Turning to address the visitor directly, she added, “If I may interject, mister visitor, it is unwise to not wear a life preserver while travelling over water, whether travelling by sea or air. Reckless endangerment is not something that the Navy condones.”

The man raised an eyebrow at the remark but he let it slide. “I’ll take note of that for my next trip, miss. For now, please let me proceed to the introductions. Doctor Yuuya Nanbara, at your service,” he exclaimed while bowing low. “And this is my assistant, Ensign Seijin Kurenai from the Research Bureau. Seijin, go ahead and say hello.” Kurenai gave a general bow to both officers, not speaking the whole time and maintaining a serious expression.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you Doctor Nanbara, Ensign Kurenai. I’m Comma—Rear Admiral Kazuhiko Aikawa, commanding officer of the Asuka II and her test support flotilla. This is my executive officer and flotilla chief-of-staff, Commander Makoto Tsukishiro.” Tsukishiro gave a low bow to both guests as the admiral continued. “Sorry about earlier. Makoto is a stickler for rules and such, so just try not to antagonize her. Don’t tell her I told you that.”

“I can hear you perfectly well, Admiral,” Tsukishiro interjected sardonically, causing Nanbara to chuckle.

“Thanks for that piece of advice, Admiral. In return, let me warn you about calling Seijin old, just because he’s always scowling and has pure white hair. It’s just his work stressing him out, see?” Nanbara exclaimed, leaning closer to Aikawa while making a whispering motion.

Kurenai cleared his throat loudly, apparently unimpressed by his superior’s antics. He immediately handed over a brown envelope to Nanbara, who exclaimed while pouting, “Can’t even take a joke for once. You’re such a killjoy, Seijin!”

Kurenai gave Nanbara an unamused look before responding. “We have business to attend to, sir. We’d best focus on that.”

Nanbara shrugged before turning back to the admiral, handing over the envelope to Aikawa as he did so. “Sorry about that Admiral, I guess we should get back to the matter at hand. Most of the information you need to get an understanding of the current arrangement is in the envelope, but we wouldn’t mind briefing you if you still need some clarification. Don’t worry, most of this stuff’s not top secret. You can rest assured that you won’t get killed if you share the information.”

Aikawa chuckled lightly at the last statement. After browsing some of the contents of the envelope he turned to Tsukishiro. “Commander, have the boys carry the doctor’s stuff over to the auxiliary utility room. You’ll be coming with us to the briefing room so we can sort this whole thing up.” Tsukishiro nodded in response, before turning to a nearby group of blueshirts who were watching as the Seahawk crews unloaded their payload.

With that done, the admiral exclaimed, “Well then, I guess we should be going, yes? I’ll have the briefing room set up for us. Right this way, doctor.”

As they made their way to a nearby hatch, Nanbara felt the distinct feeling that someone was watching him. He looked behind him to check, but there was no one there. “Must be my imagination,” he whispered to himself as he continued on his way.


“CATALYST-TYPE MAGIC AMPLIFICATION FOCUS? What the hell is that?”

Aikawa prided himself in having rudimentary knowledge in the workings of striker units, thanks to being friends with a former witch. He could recite parts of the process that strikers undertake to convert magical energy into thrust, albeit with some difficulty. He can troubleshoot some striker problems even without a manual. Somehow back in his piloting days, he even convinced a rival squadron leader that, if he had magic, he could fly strikers for at least 12 seconds.

And yet here he was, having trouble wrapping his head around one of the experiments Nanbara plans to implement during the course of his stay. “Whoever’s in charge of the Research and Development Bureau is a raging lunatic with a fetish for overcompensation,” Aikawa exclaimed as he slammed the envelope onto the table. “THIS KIND OF HARDWARE IS JUST STRAIGHT-UP IMPOSSIBLE TO DEVELOP, DAMMIT!!!”

His raging and frothing at the mouth was interrupted, however, by a sudden knock at the hatch. As soon as he opened it, he saw Sanada leaning against the frame, her arms crossed and a smirk across her face.

“Are you frustrated?” the chopper pilot inquired in a bemused tone.

“Well, I… uh… Wait.” The admiral paused, trying to think of a good comeback, while Sanada just looked at him expectantly. A few seconds later, he exclaimed, “Well-played with the Kircheis line there, Nozomi. Well-fucking-played.”

“I aim to please, my dear Admiral. I know you absolutely ABHOR that guy,” Sanada replied while doing a mock curtsey. She then went inside Aikawa’s room without a by-your-leave, heading straight for the admiral’s desk. “Ooh, what do we have here~?”

Aikawa managed to grab Sanada’s hand before she got a hold of the envelope. “Sorry, you’ll need a higher clearance level to see what’s inside that envelope ahead of the rest of your fellow pilots. I still haven't determined which of that thing's contents are top-secret and… whoa!” was all Aikawa could say before Sanada’s tugging to get away from his grip put both of them off-balance, sending them crashing to the floor.


“Well, well, this is quite the compromising position we're in, eh, Kazu~?” Sanada exclaimed as she was straddled on top of Aikawa, one hand still being held by the admiral, her face very, very close to his. “It would be mighty embarrassing if someone walked in on us now…”

Aikawa regarded the situation he was in, before it all clicked together. Looking his friend in the eye, he stated sarcastically, “Oh great, you got something interesting on your mind again. I can see that, so can you please stop acting like a girl and get off me now?”

“Oh man, and just when things were starting to get interesting,” Sanada exclaimed with mock disappointment. She stood up and brushed herself off, before offering a hand to Aikawa to help him get up. “I keep telling you, you should drop that kind of attitude when around women. You’ll never get married that way.”

“Gee, thanks for the sound advice, oh wise and noble teacher,” the admiral smirked. “Why don’t you try to apply your own lessons on yourself for once huh?”

Sanada snapped her fingers at Aikawa in response. “Focus, Kazu, focus! We’re not going anywhere with this conversation.” Walking over to the coffee maker and pouring herself a cup, she continued. “I’ll be honest with you Kazu, I really can’t shake the nagging feeling I get when I’m around those two girls. I saw them in the hangar earlier while they were checking out their strikers under Suribachi’s supervision and… I don’t know… the innocence that they’re showing just doesn’t feel right.”

Aikawa snatched the cup away from his friend before Sanada could finish drinking, downing it in one go even as the helicopter pilot desperately tried to grab the cup back. “You know, it’s actually pretty funny, seeing you act all paranoid and whatnot. It doesn’t fit you at all,” the admiral exclaimed. “Anyway, like I told you before, you shouldn’t think too much about it. You’re just… I don’t know, taken aback by how much potential those kids have within them. It’s the overbearing power levels, I guess. Or the old guard being in awe of the new breed… yeah, I think that’s it.”

Sanada leered at her friend. “You are honestly not helping here.”

Aikawa sighed. As he put the cup back near the coffee maker, he stated, “Look, the only thing that’s not going to help us here is worrying okay? To be honest…” He looked at the envelope on his desk thoughtfully before continuing. “To be honest, I’m worried about a lot of things myself.”

“Oh,” was Sanada’s only reply.

The admiral chuckled softly. “Yeah, I’m worried too. I’m worried about how the next few months will be for us. You’ve heard of the rumors about the Chinese, yes? Well, I’m not entirely convinced. Things are just looking… too easy. I have this nagging feeling that the worst is yet to come, and that we’d eventually be thrown into the meat grinder, witches and all.” He turned back to his desk, tapping the envelope. “Doctor Nanbara claims that what he has in this envelope will help our pilots and witches survive on the front. I know he means well and that he is extremely confident that his experiments here will succeed, but…”

“Okay, okay, you got me, so enough with the guilt-tripping. I’m feeling bad as it is,” Sanada conceded, raising her hands up in mock surrender.

“Good to know you’ve seen things my way,” the admiral responded.

“Heh, it’s more like I’m just feeling sorry for a schmuck like you,” Sanada retorted. “To think that a self-centered geezer like you actually thinks about the greater good of his crew, psh.”

“Hey now, that’s—” Aikawa’s witty reply was interrupted by a ring on his office phone. Annoyed, he let the phone ring three times before picking it up. “Aikawa speaking. This better be im—”

“Sir, the Russians just nuked their own border,” Tsukishiro exclaimed with calm urgency.

For a moment, only the hum of frantic activity on Tsukishiro’s side of the line can be heard, as Aikawa tried to process what his executive officer had said.

“Sir? Admiral, are you still there?”

Aikawa tried to open his mouth to speak, but in an instant, everything faded to black.