My mission clock activated. It was -250 seconds until mission start. Yoshida and her team had about four minutes left to make Oracle Squad as ready for combat as possible.
I flicked the briefing open. Hopefully, there would be some data on how many warships we would have to kill. After flipping through a few pages of digital information, I found what I was looking for.
Enemy Unit Composition: According to all compiled reports, Cowen Fleet is composed of 28 warships in total. 2 Magellan-class battleships, 14 Salamis-class cruisers, 8 Columbus-class supply ships, and 6 other ships. Based on our predictions, the remnants of Hawkins Fleet has (approx.) 95 surviving warships in total. 8 Magellan-class battleships, 46 Salamis-class cruisers, 31 Columbus-class supply ships, and 10 other ships.
Enemy Combat Posture: Cowen Fleet is moving now to attack the eight (8) closed O'Neill cylinders of Side 3 (Zum City, Colony 9, Colony 38 Mahal, Quintzem, Tigerbaum, Core 3, Amaterasu, and Achilles). If two (2) or more warships are able to reach the colonies, Side 3 may suffer one or more colony breaches. If even one (1) colony is breached, fatalities will be in the tens of millions. Hawkins Fleet is currently in full retreat, but Admiral John Cowen is presently sending the uncommanded fleet orders to turn around and counter-attack.
Mission Objectives: (1) Prevent the destruction of the Zeon homeland. Priority: Absolute. (2) Prevent the destruction of the Great Degwin. Priority: Alpha. (3) If the destruction of the Great Degwin cannot be prevented, escort Degwin and Garma Zabi back to safety. Priority: Alpha.
Mission Timeline: Cowen Fleet will reach the Great Degwin thirty minutes after mission start, and it is predicted that they will reach Side 3 in six hours without our intervention.
Leaning back in my chair, I checked my watch. It was 1417 hours. I had returned from my last sortie less than an hour ago, and the exhaustion from the past few hours was starting to catch up to me. I was supposed to be asleep at the time, since Oracle Squad was on the second shift. Instead of sleep, I received the rare privilege of being simultaneously responsible for saving two Zabis and preventing Zeon from being completely destroyed.
I made sure to mute myself on the call before I shouted several expletives into the minute atmosphere surrounding my vulnerable body. After a moment, I turned my eyes toward my Zaku's loadout on the HUD. Nine nuclear warheads had been loaded on my Zaku, and my propellant was refilled.
A thought occurred to me. How was I supposed to load new magazines with one arm? I was able to make do when my arm was merely crippled, but reloading would be next to impossible with my arm removed at the shoulder. Either I had to work the problem out with Yoshida, or I would need to limit myself to three out of nine shots.
Flipping my audio connection to Vanguard Squadron back on, I thought about what to say. In truth, I didn't feel qualified to command a squad with Char Aznable and the Black Tri-Stars, but an apologetic and uncertain tone was not the right move. Thus, in the authoritative voice I used whenever I gave commands to Oracle Squad, I said, "As you've seen, I have operational command of this mission. First, I'm designating Char Aznable as my second in command. If I go down, he'll take operational command. Understood?"
"The confidence you have in me is much appreciated, Commander Dogwood," Char said in his usual unflappable tone.
There was a murmur of acceptance through the rest of Vanguard Squadron, though I could tell that the Black Tri-Stars weren't happy with the state of things. Though Char and Gaia were the same rank, Gaia was a few years older. It would have been expected for me to make Gaia my second in command, but I still had discretion over such matters.
"I need somebody to figure out what kind of defenses Side 3 still has available. Sub-Lt. Gaia, can you do it?"
"Yeah, sure," Gaia said casually. "Somebody in my squad'll do it."
"This mission is of the utmost importance," I said in an attempt to get Gaia to take it seriously. "Millions of lives might be at stake."
Before Gaia responded, I muted the call and opened up another call with Warrant Officer Yoshida. I looked over at the mission clock and saw that we had to launch in less than 100 seconds. As I looked out at the launch bays, I saw Vultee's miniscule form climb into his Zaku.
"Yoshida," I said into comms without looking. "I can't reload and Vultee can't aim or navigate. Do you have any solutions?"
"Uh, uh, sorry sir," a male voice said on my commlink.
"Hmm?" I looked over, expecting to see Yoshida. Instead, I saw a mechanic who couldn't be older than eighteen years old. "Who are you? Where's Warrant Officer Yoshida?"
"She went out to the launch bays, sir. Uh, I'm Crewman David Carmichael. Yoshida left me in charge of the observation deck," Carmichael said nervously.
"I see," I said, sighing. "Do you know what's being done about the aiming and reloading problem?"
"Oh! Yes, sir! We linked the camera of Vultee's bazooka directly to his cockpit so that he can aim somewhat. As for your problem, uh, sir, Yoshida is out there right now to fix it."
A moment later, I felt something magnetically adhere to the area where my arm used to be. I looked around, but I wasn't able to see what it was. Within a few seconds, I received a call from the direction of my arm.
I answered the call, and the image of Warrant Officer Yoshida sitting in a cockpit appeared on my HUD. She said, "Preparations are complete, Lt. Commander."
"Care to explain what just attached to my Zaku, Warrant Officer?" I asked.
"I just adhered a three-meter mobile worker to your Zaku's arm. This is our solution to the reloading problem," Yoshida said.
"Hold on. Are you in the mobile worker?" I asked.
"Yes, sir."
"You're planning to use the mobile worker to reload my bazooka? Are you sure? There's a high chance you will die," I said.
"Desperate times call for desperate measures," Yoshida said.
"Okay," I said with a sigh, "but prepare yourself. We're gonna be pulling a lot of Gs."
"I'm ready," Yoshida said as I attached her audio to Vanguard Squadron's call. I altered her name on the call and placed her indicator between myself and Vultee.
Vanguard-1 WSO (Weapon Support Officer): Warrant Officer Aiko Yoshida.
The mission clock hit zero as the option to launch unlocked on my HUD. I took a deep breath before unmuting the call.
"Vanguard Squadron! Launch!"