--- LSMcGill <lsmcgill@hotmail.com> wrote:

Every time I go to the bookstore, I find
dreck and wonder where
all the GOOD writers have gone... and then, where do
I find them?

---

"Hiding in your Aestivalis again, Ms. Amano?"

Hikaru jumped slightly, only barely missing banging
her head on the cockpit's roof.  It took her a couple
seconds to find the source of the question, standing
by her mecha's foot.  "Ack!  Ah, sorry, I didn't see
you down there, Mr. Prospector.  I was just running
some simulations."

Light glinted off the wiry man's glasses.  "Then why
are you writing in your personal notebook?  The one
you reserve for fan activities."

"Aheh, umm...I'm busted, aren't I?"

"Relax.  Nergal doesn't have any regulations against
trying to get some privacy when you're off-duty, so
long as it does not interfere with the performance of
others.  But it is unusual for you not to be there
when Ms. Howmei prepares your favorite meal for
dinner.  Ryoko asked me to find you."

Hikaru sighed, closed her notebook, and began climbing
down to the hangar floor.

"So, what were you writing about this time?"

Despite herself, Hikaru smiled.  She enjoyed talking
about her work with any willing audience.  "A love
story from Gekigangar.  It's about how Gai really
loves Joe, but he can't admit it because he knows Joe
loves Ms. Nanako and he doesn't want to get in the
way."

"So, he winds up thinking of ways to help Nanako
express her feelings for Joe, whose happiness is all
the reward Gai ever wanted in the first place?"

"That's right."  Hikaru leapt the rest of the way
down, making a graceful three-point landing next to
the executive, then followed his lead towards the mess
hall.  "How'd you know?"

"I've seen some of the works you've posted online.
They're quite good, although you do tend to follow
certain formulas."

She blushed.  "Thanks.  I've got some more, unfinished
stories if you want."

"I rarely have that much leisure time, but thank you
for offering."  He stared off down the corridor, as if
looking into the infinitely deep maw of a Chulip.
"But I do wonder.  Why did a writer of your caliber
choose to become a pilot?  You're a good pilot, but I
know some anime producers who say they would write
blank checks for scripts half as good as what you
write for free."

"That is what they say, but you are a businessman.
You know that is not what they mean."  Hikaru sighed,
staring into the same infinite depth.  "I've studied
the lives of my favorite authors.  It takes a lot more
than just writing to make good money as a writer.
Some of it's luck, some of it's business skill.  But
it's not me.  I'm a pilot first, anime fan second.  My
duty and my professional pride are in the cockpit of
an Aestivalis.  I write to fulfill my spirit, not to
keep it joined to my body.  Which means I take it easy
when I write, even if that means taking shortcuts."

"I see."

"I suppose I'll never be the next Kia Asamiya.  But
I'd rather fight to save the Earth - including whoever
down there *is* the next Kia Asamiya.  It's awful hard
to write when you're dead, and even if you could,
who'd be left to appreciate it?"

"Good point."

"Besides, this way I get to spend time with Akito, in
a way no one will be jealous of."

Prospector nearly missed a step.  "I was...unaware
you were contending for him."

"Who's contending?  I proposed, he accepted."

"..."  Potential damage figures, and secondary figures
from loss of morale, raced through his head.  "You
know that several of the senior staff, especially
Yurika, will be most displeased to hear this."

"Did they want him to co-author their stories too?
Sorry, but I asked first.  They'll just have to wait."

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