Chapter 1 - Part III

“Are freaking serious?” Eiji yelled at the engineering Instructor.

“Seiun, calm down,” the large man advised. “I know how you feel but don’t forget yourself.”

Eiji raised his hand, and almost threw the expensive tuning wrench to the ground. He was stopped by Ayato Kirihama who grabbed Eiji’s arm at the last moment.

Ayato held onto the arm tightly. “Damn it, Eiji, this isn’t helping.”

Eiji relaxed the arm and shrugged off Ayato’s grip, all while keeping his attention on the woman standing beside the instructor. She was a striking brunette, possibly in her late twenties. Eiji couldn’t be sure and it honestly didn’t matter. What mattered was that she represented the Academy’s Battle Committee, and their decision was the source Eiji’s intense consternation.

“You realize what you’ve done?” he demanded.

The woman narrowed her eyes at him slightly. “Mister Seiun one more outburst like that, and I will have you removed from the engineering team. Is that clear?”

“I asked you question,” he said flatly, keeping most of his anger in check. “Do you know what you’ve done?”

“I am fully aware of the details of the decision.”

“Then you understand that your decision has undone months of work, and undermined all the testing and upgrades we’ve put into these machines.”

“Your concern is noted.”

“It’s not a concern. It’s a fact. There is a difference.” He crossed his arms and his anger fueled his hard glare. “Not only have you undone our work, but you’ve set the girls that pilot these Faeries back to the early training days. Every girl piloting their machine today has trained for months at levels that approximate military output. They’re not amateurs. They put in as much work as the Faery Knights accepted into the Self Defense Force ranks. You want to see skill? You want to see talent? Well, you’re not going to see the full extent of it today, tomorrow, or the day after. You’ve handicapped them and turned this tournament into a joke.”

The instructor stepped forward. “Seiun, that’s enough.”

“You’re right,” he retorted. “This is a waste of time. Congratulations. I’m sure the manufacturers, designers, and engineers sitting in the arenas today will be overjoyed watching their creations play around like children in a sandbox.”

The woman nodded dismissively. “Their opinions were noted, but they have test pilots dedicated to the development programs. That is not the Academy’s responsibility. Neither is performing illegal modifications that are not approved by the designers and manufacturer.”

Eiji jerked a thumb at the closest Battle Faery standing within its maintenance alcove. “All the changes done to these Faeries has been in accordance with design recommendations. All we’ve done is it take their recommendations and put them into practice. And they work, and the girls have learnt how to pilot them. We haven’t cut corners. We’ve tested the systems over and over since the Winter Tournament six months ago. And each Faery has been closely tuned to its pilot. We may be students, but we’re also engineering students, and we engineers cover our bases.”

For a brief moment, her lips pressed into a thin line. “An opinion not shared by the Committee. These changes have been reviewed and found to exceed the design guidelines.”

“These machines are operating at their peak performance but dialed down to what their individual pilots can manage.”

“Safety will not be compromised,” she stated flatly.

Eiji inhaled deeply, took a long step closer to the woman, and locked eyes with her.

“Do you think I’d send the girl I love out there in an unsafe machine?”

He didn’t blink. He just kept looking at her while her face betrayed her surprised reaction.

I don’t need the Ether to read this woman.

Eiji pressed on. “Do you think any of these guys would send out the girls they care about in machines that would risk their lives?” He pointed down the wide corridor connecting Crimson Force’s Faery Pit with the pits allocated to the other teams. “Do you think it’s any different for the guys working for the other teams?”

Eiji lowered his hand, but not his gaze, which he kept locked tight on the woman’s eyes like gun cues tracking a bogey.

The Battle Committee representative folded her arms. “You will set the Faeries back down to training level, Category Three. That is the highest approved setting. And you will ensure that all safety systems are in working order. Each machine will be inspected before the commencement of the tournament. Failure to comply with the performance restrictions will result in disqualification for the pilot, and academic demerit for the student engineer responsible for the Faery.” She stepped closer to him such that their noses were mere inches apart. “Is that clear, Mister Seiun?”

Eiji kept his anger confined, knowing the woman could feel it in the Ether flowing through his body. “I’ll take the demerit, but don’t send the girls out there in hamstrung machines. You’re taking their hard work and belittling it.”

“On the contrary. We are doing this because we have their safety in mind. I don’t understand your reluctance to accept that fact.”

“And I told you that each machine is safe. They’re not even operating at military spec, and we all know these Faeries are capable of easily exceeding those specs.”

“The decision is final. Feel free to lodge a complaint through the appropriate channels.”

“What would be the point?” Eiji retorted.

“Precisely,” she replied. “Now. I have other matters to attend to. You’d best get to work, Mister Seiun, or the girl you love won’t be competing today.”

She turned on her high heels, and strode away with her back proud and straight.

Eiji clenched the wrench tightly, willing his right arm to remain still, but it took a monumental effort not to pitch the tool at the woman’s retreating back.

Abruptly he was slapped hard on the back.

Turning hastily, he saw Ayato and his fellow student mechanics wearing evil grins on their faces as they stared hard at Eiji.

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“What?” Eiji muttered.

“The girl that I love?” Ayato asked him. “What a way to make a confession! But it’s a pity the girl that you love isn’t here right now.”

Eiji abruptly realized what he’d said to the woman in the heat of the moment. He blushed hotly. “Wait—it’s not what it sounds like!”

“Hell yes!” Ayato countered. “It’s exactly what it sounds like.”

Another mechanic, Hiroshi, quipped, “So the otaku does like three dimensional girls.”

“I thought he was strictly a two-dee man,” another student opined disappointedly.

A fourth mechanic clapped sharply. “I have an idea, let’s make Mirai merchandise!”

“Swimsuit posters!”

“Full sized pillows!”

“Sixth scale figurines—!”

The excitement died in an instant as all faces turned to face one mechanic in question. The first year high-school student looked at his compatriots uneasily. “What? Can’t we have figurines?”

Sean, a tall boy with blonde hair stroked his chin in thought. “We’ll need accurate three dimensional scans of Suenaga. And a quality printer. And it’ll need to be touched up by skilled sculptor.”

A shorter student with girlish features and dark hair palmed a fist. “Quality scans—leave that to me! I know just who to talk to.”

“Who?”

“The Cosplay Club.”

“Why them?”

The student, Yoichi, pulled out his palm-slate from a pocket and started thumbing through its menus. “It’s a secret, but I got a message from my sister and she says we’re in for a surprise. My guess, it’s about Suenaga.”

Sean looked briefly puzzled. “Your sister? You mean Sayaka-senpai?”

“Yep. She lost a bet with the Cosplay Club president and was supposed to cosplay for them during the tournament. But it looks like she found a way out of the deal.”

Eiji frowned at Yoichi.

Mirai and the Cosplay Club? What is he talking about?

The boy met Eiji’s eyes, and he jumped in fright before slapping a hand over his mouth. “Gah—it was supposed to be a secret.”

Eiji stared at him.

Note to self – don’t ever trust Yoichi with a secret.

His eyes widened.

Wait—doesn’t that mean Mirai will hear about my confession?

Eiji started to feel faint and palmed his forehead.

Dear gods in high heaven, what have I done?

Another engineering student stepped forward. “We’ll need to enter into a contract agreement with Suenaga. She’ll need to authorize the use of her likeness or we won’t be able to make any money out of this.”

“Why stop at Suenaga?” a burly third-year questioned. “Personally, my preference is for Kizuna Yumeno.”

“Then what are you doing in this team?”

“Right—you should be working for the Lunar Force Team then.”

The burly boy stood arms akimbo. “My ideal woman is Kanata-sama, so why would I work for another team?”

The boys looked at each other. “There’s a thought.”

“Do you think Hoshikawa would agree to model for us?”

“We really need to work on that contract. I’ll talk to the Legal Studies Club.”

“What? We have a Legal Studies Club?”

“But think of the possibilities? I mean why stop with Suenaga and Hoshikawa? We could do all the Crimson Force girls.”

“And then move onto the other teams.”

The nine engineering students, minus Eiji, huddled into a circle.

“Right—not a word of this to anyone else.”

“This is our idea. Our venture.”

“If we can’t have them in our arms, we can at least have them on our shelves.”

“Here, here.”

“Now somebody tape up Yoichi’s mouth.”

“We need to keep an eye on him.”

“No, wait guys—stop. Stop. Let me go—!”

Watching Yoichi manhandled by his fellow engineers, Eiji opened his mouth to protest, then decided it was futile, and slumped his shoulders in resignation.

I have to warn Mirai, he reasoned.

The back pocket of his engineering overalls vibrated. Reaching back, he retrieved his palm-slate, and thumbed open the message that had arrived into his Academy issued email account. He opened it, read it, and stared at it in puzzlement. The Guidance Counselor wanted to see him urgently, and she wasn’t taking ‘no’ for an answer.

Eiji looked up when the team’s assigned Engineering Instructor stepped up to him.

The man planted his large hands on his hips, and shot a look behind Eiji at the Battle Faery upright in its maintenance alcove.

“Seiun, the requirements are to detune to the Faeries. That doesn’t mean you have to make any part changes.”

“Detuning them will affect their entire bodies. If it’s not a balanced drop in performance, they’ll be unwieldy and difficult to control.” Eiji clenched his hand around his palm-slate as he pocketed the device. “The girls are going to feel like they’ve got training wheels on.”

“I agree, but the situation became sensitive after those girls up north were injured during their Summer Tournament.”

“This is a knee jerk reaction,” Eiji groused.

“Nonetheless, you’re going to need to get to work. The tournament starts at midday. That gives you around four and half hours, so you’d best get started. Oh, I forgot to mention you and the boys are excused from homeroom.”

Thinking of the message he’d received, Eiji shook his head. “I can’t start yet. I need to deal with an urgent summons, and it sounds pretty bad.”

The man raised an eyebrow at him. “Oh?”

Eiji nodded weakly. “The Guidance Counselor wants to see me.”

The Instructor folded his arms. “Then you’d best get going.”

Eiji frowned, wondering if the man knew why he was being summoned to the Counselor’s office. However he chose not to delay, and with a quick bow, he trotted off to the exit leading out of the Faery Pit.