An antimatter burst emanating from a mount on the phantom's Catamaran Kusari bomber streaked across space and slammed into the hull of the Aomori's Fury. In a seemingly instantaneous chain reaction, it was engulfed in smoke and flames. Kasugai cursed the Phantoms and their relentless killing! He began lashing out with his debilitators and his antimatter cannon, but his fury engulfed only himself. In his rage he let down his maneuvering and soon lost his shields. One of the phantoms took the opportunity and unleashed a flurry of missile salvos that rendered Kasugai's thrusters completely useless. A fighter slammed into the head of his Taiiden Bomber sending it into a lethal spin. Protective restraints activated and pulled Kasugai tight to his seat. With the blood rushing to his head, his neural net system automatically activated the gyroscope in his ship, which stopped the spinning and his engines. Kasugai tried to bring himself into consciousness. As he looked through the heads-up-display, the Catamaran slowly came into focus, and it was heading straight for him. Kasugai heard the familiar sound of the Antimatter cannon being fired. This one would not miss its target. A blinding flash of light. A deafening explosion.
Kasugai opened his eyes and threw aside his covers. His heart was pounding faster and louder than ever before. It was a dream. But the Phantom bomber was real... Kasugai had encountered the fiend multiple times. Each time, he was lucky to escape with his life. He sat up in his bed, which was soaked in his own sweat. His hands were shaking fiercely and his muscles were tense.
What was that? Was it a premonition?
Then he remembered his father. When he'd have nightmares, his father would rush in and calm him down. He'd say comforting things; sometimes about the irrelevance of dreams, other times about his mother, and even stories about himself. He'd softly rub Kasugai's back and put him back to sleep.
Kasugai activated his neural-net to check for any transmissions. To his surprise, he received summons from Security Supervisor Taro Katsuo. Kasugai regularly trained with Katsuo, who was an exceptional pilot. He was ten years older than Kasugai, and a high ranking officer; but they had become good friends. About seven hours ago, they had a competition to see who could deactivate the other's shield quickest. The loser had to buy the winner a drink in the bar. Kasugai lost, but it was for the best, as he had to go back on duty.
Out of exhaustion, the grasp on his PDA lightened, and it fell to the floor. The crash brought Kasugai to a state of semi-alertness. He heard his bunkmate, Sum Yungai, stirring in his bed. The poor officer worked a later shift than Kasugai himself. He'd probably just came in within the hour. Kasugai picked up his PDA to check the time, and realized he was to make his appearance in just over an hour. He slipped out of bed, quietly threw on some shorts and headed down the hall towards the washroom to make himself presentable.
Kasugai walked into the Security Divison lobby, where he found Taro Katsuo sitting comfortably.
"Konnichiwa, Taro-sama." Katsuo turned his head and they made eye contact. Kasugai noticed a familiar grin on his friend's face, which he immediately surpressed. Katsuo rose to his feet steadily as Kasugai put his hands together and pulled them towards his chest. As they bowed to each other, a few moments of silence allowed Kasugai to gather his thoughts and choose his words.
"You summoned me?"
"O-hayou gozaimasu*, Kasugai-san,"said Katsuo. "You have shown great progress in the past weeks. I'm even hearing about successes you are having while I am not around. Even last night, Mai-chan said you defeated a pair of Outcasts before she could reach the battle."
"I had help from a Bounty hunter..." Kasugai was rather humble about the victory. He remembered the Outcast Falcatta, which basically flew into his Supernova burst. It was the Scimitar that gave him trouble. Eventually, the Outcast met his demise when he bounty hunter fired a disruptor module that prematurely detonated his mines.
"So desu ka?** Well I didn't summon you here to talk. Let's go."
Puzzled, Kasugai followed Katsuo into the next room, where a few men and women in GMG uniform were seated on one side of a long rectangular table. In the middle was Guild Master Raikoke, a young and insightful woman of both Rheinland and Kusari descent. To her left was the seasoned Guild Master Griff Vahl, who reviewed and approved Kasugai's application to the Security Division. To the right of Raikoke was an empty seat, which bore the name of Katsuo Okazaki, whom Kasugai had not seen since the battle with the Phantoms at Aomori. Guild Master Marieka Kyieto was in the room as well, but standing at the end of the table with a communicator. Those who were seated rose to their feet, and they exchanged bows.
"Konnichiwa, Kasugai-san," said Raikoke. "I don't think there is a need for introductions. Since time is of the essence, this meeting will be short." Raikoke gestured for everyone to be seated. When silence was restored, she spoke again. "We've evaluated your credentials, and I have to say, they do not particularly stand out. But we have seen what we wish for in every GMG officer: determination and diligence. With Taro-san's approval, we have decided to make you a Santou Kaisa**** in the Paramilitary." Kasugai was stunned. They completely skipped the Lieutenant rank and made him a direct subordinate of Katsuo.
"I have faith that you will polish your piloting, " added Marieka Kyieto, "as we have seen much improvement in the past few weeks."
Raikoke gestured and everyone stood up. Once again, they exchanged bows.
"Well done, Kasugai," said Vahl as he extended his hand across the table. The handshake was a familiar gesture to Kasugai. He confidently grasped the Rheinlander's tough hand, and was not at all surprised to find that his grip was as strong as his appearance.
"Arigato gozaimasou.*** This is a great honor, " said Kasugai, "I will not disappoint." With that, Katsuo and Kasugai bowed once again and left the room.
"Is it too early for a drink in celebration?" asked Katsuo.
"Hai. But it's never too early for coffee!"
"Very well. This one's on me."
// Japanese used here:
* Good morning
** Is that so?
*** Thank you very much.
****Lt.Cmd
Kasugai proved himself capable of not only leading GMG forces to victory, but taking on the seemingly impossible. He flew alongside Guild Master Marieka Kyieto, who commended him for his performance in battle against capital ships.
Together, the ace Taro Katsuo and Kasugai Hatsumi were an unstoppable pair.
But Kasugai let himself become too reckless. Whilst alone on patrol in Sigma-13 in his bomber, he found a pair of Black Dragon heavy fighters. Any bomber pilot in his right mind would summon a fighter wing to wipe out even a single Hogosha heavy fighter. Instead, Kasugai challenged Hakatoa Yamota to a duel. The Black Dragon proved himself to be an Ace, tearing Kasugai's bomber to shreds with a Minirazor.
Frustrated by defeat, Kasugai returned to his quarters on Gas Miner Naha and spent the night sitting with his back to his bed in deep thought...
-----------------
Kasugai woke up on the floor of his quarters. As he got up, he felt a stabbing pain in his lower back, which was surprising because the station only had partial gravity. Hell of a night that was... A traditional Kusarian would seppuku with that kind of shame. But Kasugai was not a Kusarian, he was a Guildsman.
The next day, Kasugai resigned from his position as Lieutenant Commander and returned to Corporal status.
![[Image: GMG_banner.png]](http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e68/thenoseyshadow/GMG_banner.png)