officer…”
“Who else would do it? It’s the least she could do. It’s her responsibility, after all.”
They heard voices now.
“You’re doing a fine job,” said the commandant to one of the dolls.
“Yes, Your Excellency. It’s an honor, sir,” replied the soldier.
“So, where are you from?”
“Yes, Your Excellency. It’s an honor, sir.”
White text was crawling along the bottom of the screen now.
This is a message from Faery Air Force TV service, with an explanation from Boomerang Squadron. These dolls can only say “Yes, Your Excellency. It’s an honor, sir.” This is a message from the Faery Air Force TV service…
“Who the hell did that?!” yelled Major Booker, leaning forward. But he soon relaxed. “Oh, well. Not my problem.”
They cut to a close-up of the commandant’s grave face.
“Truly remarkable!” he said. “Not a quiver from them!”
This prompted a laugh from the major.
“Present arms!” General Cooley called out.
The robot soldiers raised their rifles and presented them. At which point there was a motion in the rear. The view switched to a wide shot. Both arms, still tightly holding a rifle, had fallen off of a doll.
It looks like one of them was imperfectly adjusted. Fortunately, it wasn’t in the front row. This is the FAF TV service…
“Damn right it’s lucky,” said Rei.
Major Booker snorted a laugh.
“What’s that, General?” asked the visitor.
“Sir? Oh, that’s one of our Sylphids, which we’re quite proud of,” said General Cooley nonchalantly as she led the commandant away from the dolls. There was the sound of aircraft overhead. Rei looked up at the sky to see five drones flying by in a 5-Card formation.
Please enjoy this high-quality flight by our target training drones. They feature a turbo-prop power source with variable-pitch propellers. Naturally, they are all radio-controlled. This is the FAF TV service…
With a completely straight face, General Cooley began to describe the various abilities of the real Sylphid to their guest.
“Hm, mm, mm!” he said. “I’d like a few of those planes for my air force, too!”
The formation executed a perfect 5-Card loop.
Major Booker burst out laughing.
“Why…Why aren’t you laughing, Rei? Look, even the general’s smiling!”
“It’s not funny.”
“You need more calcium in your diet.”
“Would you just stop?!”
Rei suddenly snatched the boomerang from the major’s hands and stood up. Booker reflexively scrambled into a crouch, his knife out at the ready. But after a split second he shook his head, looking embarrassed. He lowered the knife and straightened up, stretching out his back.
The boomerang shook in Rei’s hand. He was enraged.
“A boomerang is a weapon! It doesn’t need to come back!”
He threw it at the monitor. It bounced off without breaking the screen. He sat down hard, arms clasping his knees as his whole body trembled.
“Rei…”
“I feel like I’m as blind as that commandant. I mean, what the hell are the JAM? We hit them and hit them and they still keep coming… Why don’t they just finish us off ? What are we even doing here? Why are we…”
“You’ll have plenty of time to think about that,” Major Booker said as he picked up the boomerang and lovingly brushed it off. “As long as you stay alive.”
“I’ve been on leave too long,” said Rei. “Way too long…”
REI RETURNED TO regular duty early the next morning. He entered the squadron briefing room wearing his flight suit. Prior to getting the details of the mission operation, he skimmed the general outline. Mission number, conditions for returning to base, Yukikaze’s duties, comm frequency and channel, call sign, nav support, weather and visibility, onboard armaments…
Once the meeting was over, it was time to complete the preflight preparations on Yukikaze. Wearing his G-suit and accompanied by his new EWO, he inspected Yukikaze’s fuselage. They boarded and checked
“Who else would do it? It’s the least she could do. It’s her responsibility, after all.”
They heard voices now.
“You’re doing a fine job,” said the commandant to one of the dolls.
“Yes, Your Excellency. It’s an honor, sir,” replied the soldier.
“So, where are you from?”
“Yes, Your Excellency. It’s an honor, sir.”
White text was crawling along the bottom of the screen now.
This is a message from Faery Air Force TV service, with an explanation from Boomerang Squadron. These dolls can only say “Yes, Your Excellency. It’s an honor, sir.” This is a message from the Faery Air Force TV service…
“Who the hell did that?!” yelled Major Booker, leaning forward. But he soon relaxed. “Oh, well. Not my problem.”
They cut to a close-up of the commandant’s grave face.
“Truly remarkable!” he said. “Not a quiver from them!”
This prompted a laugh from the major.
“Present arms!” General Cooley called out.
The robot soldiers raised their rifles and presented them. At which point there was a motion in the rear. The view switched to a wide shot. Both arms, still tightly holding a rifle, had fallen off of a doll.
It looks like one of them was imperfectly adjusted. Fortunately, it wasn’t in the front row. This is the FAF TV service…
“Damn right it’s lucky,” said Rei.
Major Booker snorted a laugh.
“What’s that, General?” asked the visitor.
“Sir? Oh, that’s one of our Sylphids, which we’re quite proud of,” said General Cooley nonchalantly as she led the commandant away from the dolls. There was the sound of aircraft overhead. Rei looked up at the sky to see five drones flying by in a 5-Card formation.
Please enjoy this high-quality flight by our target training drones. They feature a turbo-prop power source with variable-pitch propellers. Naturally, they are all radio-controlled. This is the FAF TV service…
With a completely straight face, General Cooley began to describe the various abilities of the real Sylphid to their guest.
“Hm, mm, mm!” he said. “I’d like a few of those planes for my air force, too!”
The formation executed a perfect 5-Card loop.
Major Booker burst out laughing.
“Why…Why aren’t you laughing, Rei? Look, even the general’s smiling!”
“It’s not funny.”
“You need more calcium in your diet.”
“Would you just stop?!”
Rei suddenly snatched the boomerang from the major’s hands and stood up. Booker reflexively scrambled into a crouch, his knife out at the ready. But after a split second he shook his head, looking embarrassed. He lowered the knife and straightened up, stretching out his back.
The boomerang shook in Rei’s hand. He was enraged.
“A boomerang is a weapon! It doesn’t need to come back!”
He threw it at the monitor. It bounced off without breaking the screen. He sat down hard, arms clasping his knees as his whole body trembled.
“Rei…”
“I feel like I’m as blind as that commandant. I mean, what the hell are the JAM? We hit them and hit them and they still keep coming… Why don’t they just finish us off ? What are we even doing here? Why are we…”
“You’ll have plenty of time to think about that,” Major Booker said as he picked up the boomerang and lovingly brushed it off. “As long as you stay alive.”
“I’ve been on leave too long,” said Rei. “Way too long…”
REI RETURNED TO regular duty early the next morning. He entered the squadron briefing room wearing his flight suit. Prior to getting the details of the mission operation, he skimmed the general outline. Mission number, conditions for returning to base, Yukikaze’s duties, comm frequency and channel, call sign, nav support, weather and visibility, onboard armaments…
Once the meeting was over, it was time to complete the preflight preparations on Yukikaze. Wearing his G-suit and accompanied by his new EWO, he inspected Yukikaze’s fuselage. They boarded and checked
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