Obake short

The events of the last hundred years have shaped the world in some very interesting ways. Take the formerly sleepy town of Alameda, California. After spending quite some time as a small and quiet town, an air base was established there giving the town a slight military bent to it. Later, Japanese-American families were held there in internment camps. Desperate to prove their worth as American citizens, many enlisted in various positions.

Today, Alameda is a military town, with about 50,000 people living on its soil. Streets are named after veterans. A fifth of the populace works for the Navy. It also has a large Japanese population, due to its history as an internment camp. In one of the quickly growing sushi restaurants, two bored Navy pilots talk about something they shouldn't be talking about.

"So... why'd they push to build this... ghost thing? Spirit? O-whatever. This /thing/... sure is a pretty one and fights like one of Satan's generals, but what's so important about it?"

Lt. Graham is the type to silently question his orders, trying to decipher the meaning behind them. Those that know this keep him around because he's good enough to keep around despite his constant insubordination. His immediate superior and friend, Lt. Cdr. Dravis is also a curious man.

"Makes sense to me - concentrate as much firepower in a disposable package to soften them up for the real pilots."

"Yeah, but the only thing happening in the world are those small anti-commie skirmishes down in South America. All these suits coming into town get me wonderin', too."

Graham leans forward, resting his arm on the table.

"Somethin' big's gonna happen."

"Got any ideas what?"

"Hadn't thought that far."