Blue Horizon: Sequel of Eleven

Spread Your Wings

Prologue

Kobo's clammy hands held onto the flight stick of her simulator pod as she kept the flight of her Strato-Hornet steady. Sweat dripped down her brow - harder than it did when she descended the staircase of the Hundred Thousand Miracles. The starstruck, rookie cadet did her best to keep her eyes on the simulated skies ahead of her. She attempted to watch the radar display of her dashboard, but her eyes wandered to the video feeds of the other pilots flying alongside her.

In particular, her eyes sought the faces of Olivia Kureiji and Moona Hoshinova.

Kobo stole glances at them and watched as they spoke rapid-fire with Reine to reorganize their squadron for the battle ahead. Olivia, Moona and Reine spoke in code and jargon that seemed incomprehensible to the untrained eye, mind and soul, but the three ladies were able to come quickly to a unanimous agreement.

Decisions made on-the-fly seemed to come as naturally to I.D.O.L. Frame pilots as breathing. It was a common language and mindset that they practically shared.

Something that Kobo, one day, desperately wished to learn.

Right now, she was a rookie outsider with an incredibly spotty record looking on as professionals discussed how to herd cats and cross a river, so to speak, on the spot.

Or rather, the professionals discussed how to get twelve wet-in-the-ears rookies to win a battle they were originally designed to lose.

How to change fate.

Watching this was surreal for Kobo.

When the Ancient Ones attacked near the Jakarta platforms, Kobo had heard Moona's voice through Olivia's TACCOM. She had seen the High Tide appear as a moving blip on a 3D radar. But now, Kobo had a face to the voice and she could see the High Tide itself in action - albeit as a simulated SF/A-18 EDX Strato-Hornet flying alongside Kobo's own.

In Kobo's eyes, it was an opportunity of a lifetime - just like the opportunity for an idol's superfan to dance as an extra together with her on the same stage!

That evening, Kobo was that extra standing behind Moona before the curtains fell. Kobo wasn't a very good backup dancer or chorus singer or understudy actress, or pilot for that matter. She was practically a dancer with two left feet!

And yet, she wasn't being substituted or benched for more capable hands. Anya Melfissa was just there outside Kobo's pod. Her skills on the battlefield as a bona fide I.D.O.L. Frame pilot would have been greatly useful in the battle ahead of them.

Instead, Kobo remained in her plane. She was going to dance on the same simulated stage as her idol. Her literal savior!

Kobo couldn't be happier - or more tense!

The snappy conversation between the three veterans ended and Olivia turned her attention to Kobo and smiled at her.

"Getting stage fright, Zero-Eight?" Olivia asked through her TACCOM.

"N-no..." Kobo tried to deny it, but Olivia snickered knowingly.

"In that case - chin up and eyes forward, girl." Olivia grinned, "We've got a hard battle ahead of us, so we'll need every missile and every shot burst to count."

"I know." Kobo acknowledged. She then shuddered and deflated in her seat, "But then... I'm not very good at flying. Surely Reine-simpai and Anya-simpai showed you my record. I could be a liability - I might hold the squadron back!"

"Is that what you really think?" Olivia asked.

Kobo fidgeted.

"It's what my record says." Kobo argued somberly.