prologue (2/2)

7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2……

“All systems go.”

At that instant, Tsukuda opened his eyes.

“Main engine start. Igniting SRB……Lift off!”

Just as the announcer’s voice–monotone up until now–suddenly became animated, flames burst out of the first stage rocket engine with a terrible roar.

Siren, we’re counting on you!

Tsukuda said a silent prayer. Fly baby, fly!

Siren emitted bright orange flames as white smoke billowed around the launch pad and the 30-ton rocket was propelled upwards.

“Go! Go!” Mikami balled his fist and let out a yell.

As Tsukuda watched, the rocket distanced itself from the launch pad and quickly became a ma.s.s of flame as the camera tracked it upwards. From there, the rocket continued on its scheduled path into the southeastern sky above Tanegas.h.i.+ma, gradually shrinking to a tiny point.

“Siren’s initial flight angle is 99 degrees, 15 kilometers southeast above the Pacific Ocean, alt.i.tude 17 kilometers.”

Tsukuda quickly gave up following the rocket with his naked eyes and s.h.i.+fted his gaze to the flight path trajectory shown on the radar screen.

“Thats right, atta girl!” Mikami screamed with excitement. He and Tsukuda intently stared at the rocket’s trajectory as they prayed for a good flight.

The monitor now displayed the number of seconds since launch. 170, 171, 172……

That was when Tsukuda realized something was wrong. The printout spewing out of the main plotter indicated the rocket had begun to deviate from the planned trajectory.

“s.h.i.+t!”

Mikami’s face turned pale and he scrambled to check the data on another plotter. In the midst of the control tower’s growing uproar, Tsukuda stared speechless at Siren’s abnormal trajectory coming out of the plotter.

“Abnormal flight path detected!”

The researchers rushed to their respective stations.

“Second stage engine igniting!”

Amidst the commotion, the voice coming from the speakers continued with the scheduled flight plan.

Tsukuda’s mind went blank and before he knew it, his hand was gripping the intercom control tightly. Oba was on the other end, several kilometers away in the central command tower.

“Sir, we have a flight abnormality!” Tsukuda screamed into the microphone.

“Predicted peak alt.i.tude is approximately 17 kilometers. We have a serious problem. Ignition of the third stage may be impossible.”

Oba would have already been watching the rocket’s abnormal trajectory on a monitor in the central command tower even before Tsukuda had reported the problem to him.

The post-launch counter displayed in the top right of the nearby monitor continued to rise.

187, 188, 189…… By now the rocket, having lost control due to insufficient alt.i.tude, was flying nearly horizontally above the Pacific Ocean at close to the speed of sound.

A thick silence hung in the room only for a brief moment before it was broken by Oba’s calm voice.

“Order emergency sequence stop. Invoking security command…”

There was no time to consider the implications of his announcement, let alone get absorbed in feelings. This was a self-destruct order.

Oba’s announcement was broadcast simultaneously on the intercom and the speaker system, and the final command sent only an instant later via the safety management team’s communications system.

The countdown on the monitor’s screen stopped, engulfing the control tower in a dead silence.

212 seconds after launch, Siren returned home–to the sea.

<script>