Ensign Vultee went off to board a transport Dopp to the Hell Hawk while Ramos and I stayed on the Gidoru. While we floated in the observation deck, I watched the Midnighters return from the launch bay while Ramos stared at his hands.
"It should be easier from here," I said to Ramos.
"What will? Killing innocent people?" Ramos asked.
"No, I mean that this battle should be the last time we have to attack a civilian target, at least for a few months. After the Atlantic Treaty, the war should cool down a lot," I said.
"Is that another one of your hunches?" Ramos said.
"Something like that," I muttered. "And, well, being awarded the Zeon cross comes with a two rank promotion. That would make me a naval captain, and I'd have a lot more control over our deployment in the coming ground war on Earth."
"You won't order me to massacre civilians?" Ramos asked, and it sounded to me like a genuine question.
"No… probably not. My primary concern is getting all of us through this war alive," I said.
Ramos's fingers gently brushed against the bottom of his chin as he said, "What comes after? Do you think we can win this war? If not, how do we escape from the Feds?"
"Can we win?" I asked myself, pondering the question for a few seconds. "If we lose, then we were screwed from the beginning. We have every advantage possible at this juncture in the war, yet I'm still doubtful that victory is possible. Either way, I have an exit plan. There's a mining colony in the asteroid belt called Axis. We'll flee there with the other remnants of Zeon's forces when the walls start closing in."
Ramos paused for a moment. "Is Axis a nice place?"
"I don't know. It's a mining colony, so it probably sucks. Still, it's better than dying, right?" I asked.
"Yeah," Ramos muttered.
Nearly a minute of silence passed, broken only by the hissing sound of air filtering into the airlocks. All of Yoshida's mechanics were in the launch bay, arming the two gray Zakus contained within.
"Are you ready for the next fight?" I said, breaking the silence. "I'd say you can sit this one out, but you really can't. You'll be brought up on 'dereliction of duty' charges if you don't get back to your Zaku."
"I'm ready," Ramos said, and his voice was stable. "I just need to get through this fight, and then things will get better, right?"
"So says the oracle," I said, waving my hands in a vaguely mystical gesture.
The Midnighters left the airlocks and soon began to float by me and Ramos. We waved at them as they passed by, and they left the observation deck after a few seconds.
"Come on, let's go kill some valid military targets," I said as I began to pull my helmet over my head.
"Jackass," Ramos muttered, but I could see a faint smile on his face as he put on his own helmet.
When I fastened myself to the seat in my Zaku's cockpit, it was about 1120 hours. The fleet battle would begin in about ten minutes. Time was of the essence, so I began a call with Warrant Officer Yoshida as soon as my HUD turned on.
"Yoshida, how are the two Zakus looking?" I asked.
"All systems are green and all depleted resources have been replenished."
"Thanks. You're the best," I said, though I felt a slight twinge in my heart as I realized that those were almost exactly the same words I said to Donnelly right before the Nordhausen was destroyed.
I checked the propellant tanks for my vernier thrusters, my oxygen reserves, and the ammo count for my Vulcan Gun. They were all fully replenished. I had 1,200 rounds of 60mm ammo, enough oxygen to keep my Zaku's cycler going for months, and enough fuel to burn at full power for thirty minutes. Excellent.
I checked the ammo count in my bazooka. There were three nuclear warheads and six conventional rockets attached to my Zaku. Everything was exactly where it needed to be.
With a few button presses, I sent a call to Captain Singh. The moment his face appeared on my HUD, I said, "This is Lt. Commander Dogwood, requesting permission to launch with Oracle-1 and Oracle-3."
Captain Singh looked at me with a concerned look before saying, "Are you sure? I just flagged Ensign Diego Ramos for a conduct review after his expression of doubt in your previous mission. You have operational command over your own squad, but I recommend keeping him confined to quarters for the remainder of the battle."
A pit of fear opened in my heart as I said, "Please, sir, let Ensign Ramos show that he's still a loyal soldier in this fight."
Cpt. Singh sighed. "You might come to regret this deeply, Dogwood, but your request is granted. Launch immediately."
Quickly, I switched over to the squad channel. Ramos's helmeted face appeared on my HUD, and I said, "Ramos, they've already flagged your conduct for review. Let's go out there and show them that they're wrong."
"Yes, sir," Ramos said.
I flipped a switch, and two gray Zakus were catapulted into space at high speed. We put some distance between ourselves and the Gidoru, flying "up" relative to the fleet's movement. As we flew through space, the miniscule forms of other mobile suits and Dopps traveled between the much larger warships. I was struck by just how few battleships there were in the Zeon fleet. There were only three Gwazine-class battleships in the main fleet, and each of the two battleships that weren't the Gidoru must have held a Zabi. Somewhere out there in the void of space, a fourth Gwazine-class battleship was biding its time. The Great Degwin was somewhere nearby, watching us attack Wathort Colony. At that moment, it was probably holding Degwin and Garma Zabi.
I began beaming call requests on the squad's frequency down at the fleet in an attempt to find Vultee. It would have been easier to communicate over radio, but the vast number of mobile suits flying around made that impossible.
Eventually, my call connected, and an image of Vultee's helmeted form appeared on my HUD. He was in the cockpit of a mobile suit. Over the comms, he said, "Hey, Commander. This Zaku I is really slow, but I like the armaments."
"Oracle-2, meet us on the port side of the Gidoru. You still know where that is, right?" I asked.
"Of course. It's the only battleship on the left flank, after all," Vultee said.
Oracle Squad regrouped near the Gidoru, and I saw Vultee's new MS-05B Zaku I for the first time. It was armed with a rocket launcher like me and Ramos, but its shield was strange. Rather than sitting on the right shoulder, Vultee's shield was attached to his left fist, and three spikes protruded out of the shield.
We regrouped just in time. Before we could speak to each other over comms, a broad band laser message appeared on our HUDS. It only said five words.
[ENEMY DETECTED: TO BATTLE STATIONS]