> Why does Dyson have this effect on me? he wondered. It was
>years ago that all that happened. I spent years putting it behind
>me... and now the sight - hell, just hearing him... sets me off again.

>It was the idea of Dyson with a woman, even one like Kaoru,
>that filled Guld with rage. It brought everything back, all the
>things he had struggled so hard to bury, to forget.

Hm. Is this a "you know, the thing that happened in the source material" or a "something happened, THE DETAILS ARE UNIMPORTANT"? For someone unfamiliar with the source, the two can be easily confused.

> It all made sense now. The technique Wills had used to
>sabotage Kozue's Viper suggested a clear cause for her psychological
>condition. Cally was certain of it - but being certain and being able
>to prove it were two different things. She needed -evidence-, and
>with N2907C a pile of charred slag, there was only one place on Muroc
>III where she stood any chance of finding it.

It's like one of those "aha! I know who the criminal is... but how do I prove it?" moments in detective fiction. I've kind of stopped caring about the flying competition at this point, I want to know what the solution is!

> "Sergeant Becker!" Cally snapped.
> "Ma'am," said the MP on her right.
> "This man is obstructing my investigation."
> Instantly Becker drew his Gallant-H90 sidearm, leveling it at
>Markham's chest while his colleague moved up from Cally's left to
>provide support.

This is awesome. Cally's awesome.

I really want to know what the thing was she figured out-

> Kozue chuckled. "I see you've got him figured out."
> "Compared to the laminar flow dynamics of a Veritech airfoil?
>He was easy," Lucy replied impishly.

-but sure, I can take the time for some banter.

> Dyson snorted. "Yeah, that figures. She's a real ballbuster.
>They don't call her Terror for nothing." He blinked, looking at the
>stare Lucy was giving him and the barely-contained laughter on Kozue's
>face, then sagged. "She's standing right behind me, isn't she."

As one other long-running crossover fanfic writer is fond of saying, you can't beat the classics.

> She'd be going up against two of the
>galaxy's most advanced aerospacecraft, meticulously prepared by the
>best technicians their manufacturers had, flown by a pair of top-drawer
>test pilots, in a single frenzied three-way mock combat for all the
>marbles.

Okay, but can we get back to Cally? I want to know what she found out.

> "Oh ho, so that's the way it is, eh, boys?" she remarked on
>the tactical net. "Gang up on the girl? Well, that's fine, Guld. If
>you wanna share the glory with your old buddy Dyson, I totally
>understand."
> Neither of them acknowledged her transmission - but an instant
>later, the YF-21 suddenly broke off its attack run, lit its
>afterburners, and went after the YF-19.

Oh Kozue.

>Since Cally checked her office first, it took a few minutes to find her,
>and the Colonial tech was slightly out of breath as she barged into the
>room and said without preamble,
> "You have to stop the test."

Ah, of course. She couldn't be quite certain until the fight was already on.

> "The control system the YF-21 uses is multitronic," Cally told
>her.
> Zukowsky's eyes widened. "Are you sure?"

Oh, is this going to be another one of those "you know, that thing"s? that's slightly disappointing...

> "You think test exposure caused Wills's breakdown?" asked
>Terror.
> Cally nodded. "Her behavior fits Daystrom's pattern. Paranoia,
>dissociation... eventually, homicidal disregard for people she views as
>her enemies."

> "If that's true, then the way Guld's pushing the system to the
>limit right now... "
> "... Means the system is pushing his -mind- to the limit in
>return," Cally replied, nodding.

Ah, we do get some exposition, nicely worked into the dialogue. Enough to tell me this is probably a Bad Thing.

> "Attention. Attention. Zukowsky ATC is under attack. This is
>not a drill. Repeat, this is -not- a drill. All pilots designated for
>base defense report to your aircraft. Test aircraft return to the field
>immediately."

Wow, it's never just one thing, is it?

> That must be Miria, Kozue thought absently, feeling momentarily
>detached from the frantic reality all around her. Damn, she's gorgeous.
>No wonder he's not shopping.

Poor Kozue. :( Another guy she's fallen for who's happily taken.

> So it was that, as she streaked at full burner toward a
>stratospheric intercept, Kozue saw all manner of strange and unfamiliar
>icons blink onto her tactical display.

...hm, vaguely Tolkienesque turn of phrase there. Like something from the Battle of the Pelennor Fields.

> Hugely
>outnumbered, she applied a trick she had learned from Jackie Chan, her
>pal in the Experts of Justice,

> Never be quite
>where they expect you. Always keep a little something in reserve. Stay
>on target but don't get tunnel vision. And always, always keep moving.
> And then...
> ... the sky was empty.

This is a nice little callback. Jackie's style seems to suit Kozue quite well, accounting for the different setting.

> A moment later, General Zukowsky's own voice came over the air:
>"Priority landing clearance to the YF-21. Major Bowman, I want that
>prototype on the ground NOW. Acknowledge."
> Silence.
> Kozue's palms itched.

Whooo boy. I was half-hoping they'd all get back to the ground safely, but that wasn't where this whole arc was heading, was it?

> "This is important," Cally's voice came back, clipped and cool
>as she almost never was when speaking in person. "The YF-21's
>cybernetic control system is multitronic. Repeat, MULTITRONIC.
>Acknowledge."
> Kozue's eyes widened behind her tinted visor, and her
>acknowledgement took the somewhat non-standard form of a blurted, "Oh,
>sprock."
> Multitronic! What maniac thought -that- was a good idea?!

Ah, there's the infodump, in the form of Kozue remembering all the relevant details. Okay, yeah, that's bad.

> The question was, what to do about it? She had absolutely zero
>problem at all with the idea of blowing Guld away if he was seriously
>trying to kill her; but if he'd been driven to it by a defect in his
>neural control system, that was a different story.

This is a nice paragraph, and one that perfectly encapsulates what makes Good Guys.

> "I mean, sure, if that's how you wanna go down in history," she
>said, "more power to you, I guess. But it's -cheap.- And anybody in
>our world, anybody who matters? They're gonna -know- that."

Nice tying back to the earlier use of "psy-ops". Kozue is something of a natural at those, as well.

> "Omega 1," Guld said, sounding weary and strained. "Request
>return vec - "
> "Error," an electronic voice interrupted him. "Operator signal
>lost. Mission incomplete. Switching to automatic."
> " - What? Override!" Guld snapped. "Operator authAAAARGH - "
>His cry of pain was cut off by a burst of static before the channel went
>dead.

Oh, balls.

> What have you got
>that this thing hasn't? It's faster than you. It's got more ammo. It
>probably knows every maneuver every pilot has ever bothered to program
>into a simulator or holotape. It doesn't feel pain or fear, and it's
>never going to quit...
> ... hmm.
> Let's test that, shall we?

I wasn't really into the previous flight combat scenes, but (especially with the mystery solved and "multitronic" explained) this one was incredibly tense.

> Much nearer, Kozue Kaoru walked toward them, her helmet under
>her arm, a panel of bright-orange parachute synsilk arranged on her head
>in a sort of improvised keffiyeh. Alongside her, his arm over her
>shoulders for support and the metal struts of an improvised lower-leg
>splint glinting in the sun, limped Guld Bowman.

Yay! Everyone's okay! ...and Isamu, I suppose.

> "Whatever else happened today, Kaoru," he said gravely, "I'm
>aware that you probably saved my ass... and maybe even my career. I
>won't forget that."

And then everything was okay and they all had an awesome party. Great ending, well worth the wait.