Prologue
IDSC Garrison buses journeyed up a Japanese seaside highway along the edge of Tokyo Bay. Every single bus was full to bursting. Kobo and Zeta were stuffed into the back of one of those buses filled with their fellow cadets. Bumps on the immaculately maintained Japanese highways, compared to the rougher roads of Platform Jakarta-3 that Kobo was used to, were few and far in between. But Kobo felt every single one of them tenfold.
' Everyone here's a cadet... ' Kobo thought, eyeing the others in the bus, ' Livia-neesan wasn't kidding about competition. ' She pouted, ' I wonder how many of them are gunning to be I.D.O.L. Frame pilots... '
As Kobo was thinking this, the bus happened to run through one of those rare road bumps.
BRA-BAM!
"Ack!" Kobo croaked.
She clung onto the seat in front of her for dear life. Zeta followed suit, holding on quietly. The catty, gray-haired girl hardly said anything ever since their ID2 instructors ushered them into the buses earlier. She didn't even seem to protest that Kobo was going to be her seatmate - and that they wouldn't be able to keep their luggage between them like last time.
' She's probably using me as a wall against the other strangers... ' Kobo guessed.
Suddenly, their bus zipped into a tunnel. The entire cabin was plunged into darkness and howling engines echoed.
Zeta shuddered and held onto the seat tighter. Even when the bus cleared the tunnel and the light returned, the aristocrat still held on. Kobo saw this and tilted her head.
A small part of Kobo wanted to ask Zeta if she was alright. Another wanted to ask if she was going to hurl. However, Zeta saw Kobo looking her way and finally let go of the other seat. She folded her arms and hissed coolly, "What do you want, fountain girl?"
Kobo shook her head and folded her arms too. The two young ladies turned away from each other for the rest of the trip.
At least... until the IDSC Academy appeared in the distance.
It was a large, sprawling military complex at the mouth of Tokyo Bay. Vast wharves and drydocks serviced naval vessels of all shapes and sizes. Many more warships flying the flags of a myriad of nations that Kobo wasn't familiar with were sailing to and from the port. A myriad of warplanes sat at the many hangars of the base, too.
Then...
FWOOOSH!
FWOOOSH!
FWOOOSH!
Even from afar, Kobo and the other cadets could hear the daring roars of jet engines.
Then came the stately blare of warship foghorns.
HOOOOOOOONK! HOOOOOOOONK!
Gasps of awe filled the bus cabin. Smartphone cameras went off too, capturing the sight. Kobo, too, joined in on the craze and started snapping photos of the place. It looked like the military bases that she had seen in the movies, but she had never seen that many warships and warplanes concentrated.
But those warships and warplanes weren't what caught Kobo's eyes.
Instead, her eyes, and the eyes of most of the cadets were on a distinct vessel sticking out from the largest hangar in the entire complex. Its large gunmetal frame bore the triangular insignia of the Cover Corporation and the shield-shaped roundel of the IDSC. Then, on the side of its exposed hull, its name was stenciled for Kobo and the others to see.
' IDSC Harimau '
Whispers started to fill the bus.
"That's the new 'mothership' of the Galactic Fleet, isn't it?" One of the cadets guessed.
"You're right!" Another cadet cheered, "That's gonna be the new sistership of the Garuda!"
"Hoh, so the London Observer blog leaks were real." A third cadet hummed, "That tabloid's pretty damn knowledgeable, huh?"
' London Observer...? ' Kobo rubbed her chin, ' Wasn't that the tabloid that was on the news? '
Kobo was about to bring out her phone to search up the London Observer when Zeta's smartphone rang beside her. This time around, Zeta didn't budge and just kept looking listlessly out to the IDSC Academy complex.
"... you're not gonna answer that?" Kobo asked her seatmate.
"That's none of your business." Zeta shot her down. The aristocrat then turned her phone to silent mode and stayed quiet for the rest of the trip.
Kobo sank into her seat and followed suit.
...
Blue Horizon
Raison d'Etre
...
Twelfth Scene - Hit The Ground Running
A short drive later, the IDSC buses got off the highway and filed into the military complex. IDSC Garrison humvees and military police on motorbikes accompanied the new arrivals and escorted them to the Academy grounds. They took a turn and started to climb up a steep mountain road.
Kobo and the other cadets looked out the window and saw the military base, and the rest of Yokosuka gradually grew smaller and smaller.
They stopped at a large, mansion-like brick building nestled on top of the small mountain overlooking Tokyo Bay and the rest of the base. It was fenced off from the rest of the complex and its grounds were adorned with manicured lawns, tall trees, well-kept hiking trails and even bare-branched cherry blossoms that had yet to bloom. The flag of the Cover Corporation flew proudly from a flagpole at the front yard of the mansion, fluttering in the crisp, gusty winds of early Spring.
It stuck out like a sore thumb against the backdrop of a maximum capacity air and naval base. In Kobo's eyes, she felt like she was looking at a living relic from centuries ago.
If it weren't for the android staff tending to the vast gardens or the patrols of armed IDSC Garrison soldiers, the occasional rumble of fighter jet engines and the whir of helicopters, Kobo would have thought that she had gone back in time somehow.
None of that took away from the charm for Kobo, though.
' This place looks pretty nice. ' Kobo thought, ' I like it! '
The rest of the cadets, most of whom were residents of the orbital platforms too, shared Kobo's sentiment and regarded the campus grounds with awe. Zeta, though, didn't even bat an eye as usual.
Kobo snorted and wondered, 'She's probably rich enough that something like this is nothing for her. It's her loss.'
With that in mind, Kobo started imagining an idyll and luxurious life in that mountaintop mansion. However, when the IDSC Garrison soldiers and officers started approaching the buses, Kobo's fanciful thinking came to an abrupt end. The bus doors opened with a hydraulic hiss and a lady officer wearing a wide-brimmed hat adorned with the IDSC crest marched inside.
The officer screamed.
"ATTENTION!"
Everyone in the bus shot up from their seats and stood in attention immediately.
Everyone except for Kobo. She looked around her, wondering what the heck was going on and why everyone was standing.
"Hey." Zeta, who was already standing beside her, whispered and elbowed her, "Stand up, stupid fountain!"
"Huh...?" Kobo furrowed her brow.
Zeta sighed, "Don't say I didn't warn you."
Kobo turned back to the bus aisle. The officer waded through the sea of cadets and approached menacingly.
"WHAT'S YOUR NAME CADET!?" The officer barked at Kobo's face.
Kobo recoiled.
"What the hell!?" Kobo answered, startled, "Why are you shouting!?"
"' Whatthehell ', huh?" The officer smirked, "You know what, cadet? That's gonna be your name from hereon out! Cadet Whatthehell !" She glanced around the bus and commanded, "CADETS! Greet your colleague, Cadet Whatthehell, a good afternoon!"
"GOOD AFTERNOON, CADET WHATTEHELL!" The other cadets shouted, filling the bus cabin - and Kobo's ears.
Only then did Kobo's situation finally dawn upon her. Her face went pale.
"Now that's a warm welcome if I do say so myself." The officer put her hands on her hips and spoke loudly, "My name is Cecile Sparrowhawk, Master Sergeant of the IDSC. I will be this flight's drill sergeant." She paced around the bus and continued emphatically, "I answer to the IDSC I.D.O.L. Frame Commander, and you, cadets, answer to me!"
"YES, DRILL SERGEANT!" The other cadets shouted in rough unison.
Again, Kobo was left behind in the dust.
Sergeant Sparrowhawk loomed over Kobo and pounded her chest, "Cadet Whatthehell! What the hell was that!? Did you miss the Space Elevator back to the orbital platforms? Are you sure you want to be an I.D.O.L. Frame pilot!?"
"N-no... I mean, yes, drill sergeant...!" Kobo answered sheepishly.
"Not with that enthusiasm, you won't!" Sergeant Sparrowhawk hissed. She grinned devilishly at Kobo, "Cadet Whattehell!"
"W-wha... I mean, y-yes drill sergeant!" Kobo fumbled through.
"You're first off this bus! Give me a hundred pushups!" Sparrowhawk commanded, "Get your first taste of the earth! DOUBLE TIME!"
Fretting, Kobo did as she was told. She scrambled out of the bus and started doing pushups on the parking pavement lot in full view of the rest of the cadets.
...
A stone's throw away, Olivia watched Kobo's punishment with grave concern.
"Oh goodness gracious..." Olivia rubbed her temple, "She just got here! No special treatment indeed."
She, along with Reine and Anya, had taken an IDSC humvee into the mountaintop academy campus. All three of them looked on as Sergeant Sparrowhawk berated Kobo while she did her pushups.
"Well, Strike Team ID3's off to a great start." Reine snickered, folding her arms. She glanced at Olivia and elbowed her, "Your child's gonna be popular here. For all the wrong reasons."
Anya smirked smugly and elbowed her too, "Reminds you of a certain someone from ID2, huh? A certain redhead we all know and love?"
Olivia pouted at her teammates, but she didn't deny the allegations.
"I've seen Kobo. Her heart's in the right place." Olivia insisted. She then pointed to her own head and added, "Now, she's got to tie it all in her noggin. If she wants to fly an I.D.O.L. Frame, she's gonna need it."
"Agreed." Reine nodded. She then joined her hands behind her back and smiled at Olivia, "That reminds me - I've got a little idea that I want to pass by M-chan for tonight."
"Another Pavolia special?" Anya raised her brow, "Let's hear it."
Reine smiled and brought Olivia and Anya along with her into the mansion, "Okay, so here's what I've got in mind..."
As the three I.D.O.L. Frame pilots carried on, the shouts of Sergeant Sparrowhawk and the labored grunts of Kobo Kanaeru doing her pushups filled the mountain.
...
Thirteenth Scene - Crash Course
One hundred pushups and an exceptionally long 'stern talking to' by Sergeant Sparrowhawk, Kobo's first day as an IDSC Cadet was off to an incredibly bad start. Everything seemed to happen around her faster than an I.D.O.L. Frame going at lightspeed. Registrations. Health examinations. Uniforms. Orientations. Kobo was dragged left and right and up and down, reducing herself to a machine that marched, breathed and shouted 'YES MA'AM!' at the drop of a hat.
By the time chow time, an early dinner, came, Kobo was exhausted - mind, body and soul. Despite the cool winds of early Spring, Kobo was already drenched in sweat. She dragged her aching self into the mess hall in the mountaintop mansion's grand dining room, but she couldn't even look up at the luxurious sights around her.
' There goes my relaxed mountain mansion dream... ' Kobo sighed, ' Did I really leave the Platforms for this? '
Kobo sighed again, only for her to be noticed by Sergeant Sparrowhawk from behind the cafeteria counter.
"Cadet Whatthehell! Stop slacking!" Sparrowhawk barked, "Do your duty or your entire Flight's gonna go through the rest of the evening hungry!"
"Y-yes, ma'am!" Kobo squeaked.
In her mind though, she was grumbling and cursing Sparrowhawk's name, ' When I become an I.D.O.L. Frame pilot, I'll show you - dumb old hag! '
Kobo approached the cafeteria counters of the grand hall and announced, "IDSC Strike Force ID3 Cadets, Flight 8, Dormitory Omega is prepared to enter the dining facility, ma'am!"
Sergeant Sparrowhawk paused, considering Kobo's announcement. Then, she nodded and ordered, "Bring them in and seat them, Cadet. Fifteen minutes!"
"Bring them in and seat them. Yes, ma'am!" Kobo answered loudly for her entire Flight to hear, "Thank you, ma'am!"
On that note, Kobo ushered the rest of the cadets from her bus into the grand hall. Zeta and Kobo, once again, found themselves seated beside each other.
Kobo braced herself for some sort of comment from Zeta, but that comment never came. The gray-haired aristocrat just ate her grub without saying a word.
' The cat's been quiet since we got to the surface... ' Kobo thought, but she didn't have time to ponder.
The ticking of the clock reminded her of her precious few minutes to eat. Kobo wolfed down her passable melange of Meal-Ready-To-Eat peas, beef hash and mashed potatoes. Then, she washed it all down with a tall, cool glass of diluted blueberry beverage base powder.
The beleaguered girl winced.
' I wish I could get a chili dog with Livia-neesan again... '
To Kobo's surprise, though, the aristocrat Zeta didn't complain about the food.
Too much.
Zeta's face soured as she sipped on her beverage.
"I asked for orange. They gave me lemon lime..." Zeta hissed beneath her breath.
' Too bad for you, princess... ' Kobo snorted.
Zeta noticed Kobo's gaze and pouted at her.
"What?" Zeta asked flatly.
Kobo shrugged and continued eating her meal until she licked her tray clean. And just in time too! Sergeant Sparrowhawk rang a bell and cried out, "ID3, Flight 8! Chowtime's over! Assemble at the lecture hall in five!"
Kobo gulped down her blueberry concentrate and, like the other cadets, put away her tray. Just as she was about to head out of the dining hall, though, another voice interrupted Sergeant Sparrowhawk.
"Belay that order, Sergeant. I'd like a little bit of the Cadets' time." A familiar voice suddenly echoed in the dining hall.
The cadets all stopped what they were doing immediately. Even Sergeant Sparrowhawk paused, before she cleared her throat and announced, "ID3, Flight 8! ATTENTION! Your instructors are here!"
At her command, the cadets stood in attention. Reine Pavolia then marched into the room. Sergeant Sparrowhawk saluted her, and Reine returned the gesture. Then, the tall peafowl lady smiled confidently at the cadets.
"Attention, please! I'm Reine Pavolia, callsign ' Illusion Night ' of Strike Team ID2." Reine introduced herself, "After your classroom session tonight, there will be a short exam to test your knowledge about the IDSC."
Muted grumbles erupted in the dining hall, but the fiery gaze of Sergeant Sparrowhawk silenced the dissent immediately. Reine paced around the dining hall and looked at the cadets gathered around her.
"Every single one of you in ID3, Flight 8, are signed up for the I.D.O.L. Frame pilot program, so we want to know how much of the Theory you folks know. It's the same exam that ID2 and ID1 took before we were minted starfighters. It'll be open notes though!" Reine explained. Then, her eyes fell upon Kobo and Zeta, "And for those who make the top twelve in the exam out of all the ID3 Flights in the Academy, my colleagues and I have prepared a little bit of a surprise. A little bit of practical knowledge."
' A surprise...? ' Kobo thought.
The other cadets buzzed with excitement. Except for Zeta. The aristocrat remained stone faced.
Reine cleared her throat and revealed, "The top-rankers from this exam will go down the mountain with me for a crash course lesson. We're gonna use the old US Navy flight simulators! It's not exactly flying an I.D.O.L. Frame, but it'll be enough to get your feet wet." She stood up and saluted the cadets, "I look forward to flying with you fine ladies tonight! Do your best!"
"Ma'am, yes ma'am!" Kobo and the cadets saluted.
In the corner of her eye, Kobo saw Zeta follow suit. The aristocrat's salute, however, was unusually sharp. The glimmer in Zeta's blue eyes was also quite fierce.
It was the first flash of genuine emotion in Zeta that Kobo had since they arrived on the Earth.
' The cat wants to fly. ' Kobo guessed. A determined smirk formed on her lips, ' And so do I! '
With that, Reine left the dining hall and returned the reins back to Sergeant Sparrowhawk.
"ID3, Flight 8! Classroom session!" Sparrowhawk barked.
"Ma'am, yes ma'am!" Kobo and the others answered, eager to take on Reine's exam.
...
Fourteenth Scene - Round Midnight
Night was falling when Kobo, Zeta and the cadets of Flight 8 entered the posh lecture hall of the Academy mansion. The cadets of the other seven Flights were already seated and glared at the newcomers.
' Seems like Reine promised them the flight sim run too... ' Kobo guessed as she crossed the aisles of the hall, searching for her seat. She flared her nose, ' It's almost like they're sizing us up. '
Zeta passed by Kobo and said, "You'd better be on that flight sim, stupid fountain."
"Gonna be lonely without me?" Kobo teased.
Zeta didn't say anything. She just carried on to her assigned seat.
Kobo decided to do the same.
An IDSC lecturer came to the hall shortly after and began the night class, talking about a constellation of things: from the Cover Corporation to the IDSC to the Nights of a Hundred Thousand Miracles. Many of the things he covered were already in the New Student manual that Olivia gave to Kobo and Zeta, but the lecturer put them all into context.
Kobo produced a holographic keyboard from her WristComm device and started typing down her notes.
' Mr. Motoaki Tanigoo... Galactic Fleet... Iofinium-115... the Wordless ' Kobo typed away frantically, squeezing in every extra bit of information that she could onto her document, ' I.D.O.L. Frames... Known Worlds... Ancient Ones... Operation AlterMyth... '
An hour and a half later, through the lull of boredom and the aches of fatigue catching up to her, Kobo sat steadfast in her seat and typed out the last of her notes. Then, the lecturer bowed out and let the ladies of ID2 into the hall.
"Okay, everyone!" Olivia Kureiji announced, "We're gonna administer the exam now. Bring out your WristComms and scan the QR on the screen."
Anya raised up her WristComm and projected a QR code onto the blackboard. The cadets started scanning it. Dings of acknowledgement filled the lecture hall left and right.
Kobo scanned the code and her WristComm too.
DING!
A new formless screen appeared. It was the exam locked behind a ticking digital clock counting down.
"Alright, ladies!" Olivia spoke again, eyeing the dozens of cadets gathered in the hall, "You will have thirty minutes to finish the exam. We're going to go open notes, but the questions are endless. So don't get complacent - the clock is ticking!"
"And remember, the top twelve will go on the flight simulator with me tonight!" Reine reminded, standing proudly, "We'll announce the results as soon as time's up. Oh, and if you have any questions, just call me, Olivia or Anya. We'll answer them if we can!"
"Best of luck, everyone." Anya finally spoke, "Your exam starts... now! ID3, sortie!"
The WristComms of every cadet in the hall then buzzed. The timers locking their screens disappeared and the exam began.
Kobo took a deep breath and started answering the questions. She kept one screen on the exam, another screen displaying her notes and a third one opening the New Student manual. Seeing the dashboard of screens gathered around her, Kobo couldn't help but imagine herself in the cockpit of an I.D.O.L. Frame.
Her athletic jacket became her spaceflight suit. The other students in the hall became pilots. Their desks became I.D.O.L. Frames too. In Kobo's eyes, a grand interstellar battle was taking place right in that very lecture hall!
Those images stirred Kobo's heart and pushed her onwards.
' Alright! Let's do this! '
Kobo forgot her boredom, her fears and her fatigue. She answered her exam questions confidently, seeing them as the grimy fragments of Ancient Ones that she had to shoot down - and shoot them down she did.
Question after question fell to Kobo's imaginary I.D.O.L. Frame in a symphony of destruction. She pushed forward with every ounce of strength she had, answering as many of them as she could.
Then, Kobo's WristComm buzzed again.
DING!
Her imaginary I.D.O.L. Frame cockpit faded away into the eye of her mind, returning Kobo to her seat in the Academy lecture hall. The exam screen disappeared with a fizzle of static and Kobo was tempted to slump into her chair.
However, Olivia, Reine and Anya gathered together at the front of the lecture hall with their own WristComms out, discussing something between themselves.
After a while, the three instructors broke off and Reine addressed the cadets, "We have our winners! When your name and score are announced, please step forward."
Kobo gulped.
' Here we go... '
Reine started reading off names from a list on her WristComm. Cadets from the eight Flights started coming forward one by one as they were called. Kobo held her breath.
Then...
"Eighty-eight correct answers. Two mistakes. Total score: 86. One unanswered. Kobo Kanaeru - Flight 8. Step forward!"
"Oh my God!' Kobo squealed, leaping up from her seat with excitement.
The rest of the cadets in the hall laughed, reminding Kobo of where she was. Kobo promptly apologized and joined the ten other cadets at the front of the class.
"Congratulations." Olivia shook her hand, "Have fun tonight, kid!"
"I will, Livia-neesan~!" Kobo beamed, nodding eagerly before she lined up with the other cadets.
Finally, Reine called up the last cadet.
"One hundred and three correct answers. No mistakes. Three unanswered. Total score: 103. Zeta Vestia - Flight 8. Step forward!"
The entire lecture hall gasped. Whispers started to pop up amongst the cadets.
"That's an Academy record, isn't it?" One cadet gasped.
"No one's broken one hundred since Miss Hoshinova did!" Another cadet's jaw dropped, "It was open notes, but still...!"
"Shit, we have a genius in our cohort..." A third lamented.
Zeta, however, closed her eyes and approached the front quietly - stone faced as ever.
Regardless, Zeta stood beside Kobo. To her surprise, Zeta nodded to Kobo in acknowledgement. So, Kobo returned the gesture.
"And these ladies are our Majestic 12!" Reine hailed proudly, "The twelve of you are to report in the backyard at 2000 hours. We're taking the long way down."
"Long way down...?" Kobo thought out loud.
"We're taking the stairs down the mountain." Reine answered knowingly, "The steps honoring the Hundred Thousand Miracles." She stretched her arms a bit and added, "We're going in full combat gear. Maximum loadouts."
Kobo shuddered. The fatigue that she had willed away during the exam threatened to come back with a vengeance.
"Hope you're not gonna back out, stupid fountain." Zeta muttered.
"And lose to you ?" Kobo raised her brow, "You wish, stupid cat!"
"I'm not a cat!" Zeta hissed and folded her arms, "But, fine. Challenge accepted."
Olivia watched the exchange of her two wards and smiled. She cleared her throat and put her IDSC instructor hat back on.
On that note, Olivia, Reine and Anya dismissed the cadets. Meanwhile, Kobo, Zeta and the Majestic 12 prepared for their night trek down the mountain, en route to the flight simulators.
Despite her anxiety and the wails of her aching body and her tired mind, Kobo's blue eyes were sparkling.
Her hopes of spaceflight were one step closer to coming true.
...
Epilogue
Later that night, under the silver sheen of moonlight, a large, rumbling motorbike drove up the mountain road up to the IDSC Academy mansion. A lone, female rider, clad in a leather jacket and a helmet with goggles drove the bike up the road, leaving a plume of diesel smoke behind her.
IDSC soldiers saluted the rider as she drove by. The rider returned the gesture and carried on up.
At the top of the mountain, the rider eased her bike into the Academy's parking lot and she disembarked. She put away her helmet and replaced it with a pair of aviator sunglasses that reflected the moon. Her long, starry purple hair flowed down behind her, caressing her leather jacket.
As the rider disembarked, Olivia Kureiji, who had been taking an evening jog, happened by.
"Moona- simpai...? " Olivia recognized the rider immediately.
"Good evening, Livia." Moona Hoshinova answered with a smile, "How goes orientation day?"
Olivia dried her sweaty face with a towel and approached Moona and her motorbike, "You know how it is, simpai . Shenanigans and all."
"Hah! It's not an orientation day without shenanigans." Moona chuckled, "How is ID2 holding up? It was a rush order straight from A-chan after all."
"We're managing." Olivia answered, "Though we've had to play a lot of things by ear..." She paused and glanced at Moona, "But what about you, simpai ? That news conference this morning..."
"I'd rather not talk about it." Moona interrupted, "Problems are piling up... and Peko's tour of service in KW8 got extended... and..." She paused and caught herself, "Sorry, Livia. I'm here because I wanted to clear my head - do a bit of a reset."
Olivia nodded, "I understand. Feel free to stay as long as you like."
"I will, until A-chan or M-chan inevitably call me back to base." Moona snickered.
"Come to think about it, I might have a way for you to clear your head, simpai ." Olivia proposed with a grin.
Moona adjusted her glasses and smiled, "Lay it on me. I'm all ears."
To Be Continued