"Good," I said quietly. "If something's going to happen soon, it will happen on the day of Degwin's funeral. Make sure you have easy access to a Zaku on that day."
"Yes, sir," Ramos said. "I'll talk to Wei about that. By the way, where are you staying?"
"A motel in District Seven," I said quickly.
"That's pretty far away from the spaceport," Ramos said with a frown. "Aren't you concerned you might end up alone without a mobile suit if things turn sideways?"
"Not really," I said. "District Seven is right next to Zeonic HQ. If I really have to, I'll just commandeer one of their prototype Zakus."
"Hmm," Ramos muttered, crossing his arms. "That's actually a pretty good idea. Zeonic HQ is only a kilometer or two away from Deikun Hall, right? I think it would be a good idea to have Captain Singh transfer our mobile suits there. Our Zakus are experimental, so we'll have some plausible deniability."
"I like the sound of that. Go do it now. We'll need to move now if we want our mobile suits to be in position in time. I'll tell Aiko that you're off on some urgent business," I said.
"Yes, sir," Ramos said. A mischievous smile appeared on his face, and he said, "Don't you find it a bit strange that you call Yoshida by her first name, but you still refer to the woman you're sleeping with by her last name?"
"Shut up," I muttered. "My relationships are complicated enough without you making new problems for me."
"Relationships?" Ramos said with one raised eyebrow.
With an exaggerated gesture, I motioned for Ramos to go away, and he disappeared from view with a wide, boyish grin on his face. I might have been interested in talking to him about women, but I didn't want to linger on the messy, complicated situation I presently occupied.
I returned to the medical wing holding Aiko and Vultee. Once I spotted Aiko in her bed, I said, "Sorry, Aiko. Ramos had to go out."
"That's fine," Aiko said, gesturing over to a TV sitting against the wall. "You guys are on the news so often that it's like you're here all the time."
I looked over at the television. A picture of Vultee dominated most of the screen, and various facts about his life appeared next to him. The story mentioned how his father was murdered by the Federation in big capital letters.
"I see," I said, taking a seat next to Aiko's bed. My eyes lingered on the bandages bound around the remaining flesh of her arm. "You know, I'm really sorry about everything. I got us into all of this, but it was you and Vultee who suffered for it."
"Getting 'into it' is kind of the whole point of being in the military, don't you think?" Aiko said with a pained smile.
"Yeah, I guess. What do you think you'll do next, Aiko?" I asked.
"What do you mean?" Aiko said.
"I mean in terms of your military career. The war probably won't end any time soon, and I'm pretty sure everyone under my command will end up deploying to Earth. We might not come back, but you have the opportunity to be honorably discharged or transferred to a support posting. If I were you, I'd choose retirement."
"Do you want me to retire, Captain?" Aiko said with a look of profound sadness on her face. "I understand if you don't need me anymore, but…"
"No," I said, blinking in confusion. "I'm saying that you can get out, and you should. We could all die on Earth!"
"Captain," Aiko said, pausing for a moment, "we saved millions of lives yesterday. I don't know about you, but I don't hate military service. This is my calling. I would rather be out with you and the rest of Oracle Squad than waiting in Zum City for the Federation to come and kill us all."
"Good point," I said, scratching my chin. "We can work something out."
"Thank you," Aiko said, smiling.
January 17th, 0079
The next day, I returned to the hospital in jeans, a flannel jacket, and a plain black T-shirt. I liked the jacket because it had a pocket where I could store my service revolver in a secure and easily reachable position. From the hospital's parking lot, I could see a giant industrial elevator travel from the spaceport several kilometers above me to my own position. Sitting on the elevator were two large containers that were conspicuously Zaku-sized. A team of soldiers and engineering personnel put up dozens of traffic cones in order to evacuate the area where the containers would be placed.
I began walking toward the hospital, but I was intercepted before I could make it all the way. A young man in a Zeon military uniform approached me while I was still in the parking lot. His blond hair was so light that it was almost white, and he wore a smile on his face that didn't reach his eyes.
With a practiced salute, the young man said, "Hello, Captain Sebastian Dogwood. My name is Petty Officer Erik Stradivari. I've been assigned to be the new third pilot of Oracle Squad. You have my condolences for Lieutenant Heinrich Vultee."
There was something off about Stradivari. I could tell that he had practiced that introduction many times, and there was something in his eyes that reminded me of the men in Kycilia's black-bag team.
I returned the salute, saying, "Welcome to the team. You any good at piloting a Zaku?"
With no hesitation, Stradivari said, "I have held the number one spot on the simulations for the past four years."
I paused for a moment. Something didn't add up. "If you're such a good pilot, then why weren't you at the Battle of Loum?"
"That's because I was diagnosed with clinical psychopathy five years ago," Stradivari said without blinking.
Caught off-guard by the sudden admission, I started laughing loudly. Stradivari did not see what was so funny. After a few seconds, I said, "I think you'll fit in just fine!"