The Midnighters went through the airlocks first, leaving us and the Red Wolf Squadron standing in the observation deck. I checked my watch once more. It was 0925 hours.
"Lt. Commander," a woman's voice called out from behind me. I turned and saw Lt. Solari facing me.
"Yes, Lieutenant?" I asked.
"Have we met somewhere before?" Solari asked.
"Uh," I muttered. I legitimately had no idea. If we had met more than eleven days ago, I would not remember her. "Probably not. I have a terrible memory for faces. If we have, then I've forgotten."
"You're right, we've probably never met before," Solari said, and I could tell something was bothering her.
Scanning my memories, I remembered that Lt. Solari was the main character of a Netflix show that was released in 2023. I knew, broadly, that she was involved in the Battle of Loum and that she had a dead husband.
Hold on. In the original timeline, Iria Solari's husband was killed in a Federation airstrike. The Federation hadn't launched any meaningful counter-attacks ever since the war began. Her husband was still alive. I would have to warn her after the battle.
I entered the cockpit of my Zaku and turned it on with a few quick movements.
We sat there for more than an hour, talking about the coming battle. Eventually, a recording of Admiral Kellerne began to play. He said, "If you are receiving this mission, your first task is to assault the Wathort's exterior. Destroy any of the colony's outer-facing guns and engage any Saberfish jets that the Feds deploy!"
The recording cut out, and Yoshida appeared a moment later. She said, "What armaments should I load onto the Zakus?"
I could see that Vultee and Ramos were also part of the call. We would need weapons that could deal with both the colony's main guns and any small fighter jets they sent our way.
"Load Oracle-1 with a bazooka armed with conventional warheads. Oracle-2: standard rifle. Oracle-3: recoilless rifle."
A giant crane brought an H&L-SB25K bazooka within arm's reach of my Zaku, and I steadied it on Oracle-1's shoulder. I removed the magazine armed with nuclear warheads and carefully passed the magazine over to a floating mobile worker piloted by one of Yoshida's mechanics. As I loaded a magazine of conventional rockets into my bazooka, another mobile worker attached a fresh rocket magazine to the shield on Oracle-1's right arm.
"Is everyone ready?" I asked over the squad radio frequency.
"Yes, sir!" Vultee said.
"Yep," Ramos said.
Tightly, I gripped the joysticks in front of me before saying, "Launch!"
Something flipped a moment later, and I was suddenly catapulted forward at great force. Within moments, the Gidoru was far behind me, and the rest of Oracle Squad was flying with me through space.
Our target, Wathort Colony, dominated most of my vision. I could see flashes of light as the colony's particle cannons fired at the Zeon fleet. At that moment, I realized something. I could have ordered the Jormungand to fire on the Wathort. It would have been so easy. A single shot through a weak point in the hull, and the battle would be over. I wouldn't have to charge headlong into the particle cannons, risking my own life.
I flipped a few switches, changing to laser communication and making contact with the Jotunheim. Immediately, Ensign Hemme was attached to our call. He was wearing a spacesuit and standing in the cockpit of the Jormungand.
"Are you ready to fire?" I asked.
"Yes, sir," Ensign Hemme said, "but I don't see any warships in your feed yet."
"That's right, but…" I paused as my voice got caught in my throat.
God damn it! I just had to say the words, and I wouldn't have to risk my life. If I just commanded Hemme to put a hole in Wathort's hull, the first half of the battle would be over.
Why did I care!? Everyone in Wathort was going to wind up dead, anyway! Some other mobile suit team was probably releasing G3 Gas at that very moment! I was just an animal, wasn't I? Why would I give a damn if it was me pulling the trigger or somebody else!? It was the logical move. It would be completely rational.
"Be ready to fire when the Federation fleet shows up," I said.
"Yes, sir," Ensign Hemme said with a salute.
That was the second time I couldn't take that final step. Why? The blood of millions already stained my hands. Why did it matter if my mass murder was committed on my own initiative or someone else's?
As Ensign Hemme's feed cut, Vultee said, "Hey, do you think the Jormungand could put a hole in Wathort Colony's hull?"
"Jesus Christ, dude!" Ramos shouted.
"What?" Vultee asked. "This is war, isn't it? You can't tell me they wouldn't do the exact same thing in our position."
"That doesn't mean-!"
Cutting off this bubbling argument, I said, "It wouldn't work. The hull's too strong."
"Whatever," Vultee said, clearly annoyed.
"Oracle Squad, follow me!" I shouted as my Zaku shot toward Wathort Colony at an oblique angle. I tried to make sure that my squad was never located between the colony and Dozle's fleet.
My body was pushed hard against my seat as my custom Zaku's thrusters burned at their recently-raised limits. I must have been pulling four or five Gs, though the acceleration felt comforting to my anxious mind. If I was accelerating like a fighter jet, the enemy would have a harder time hitting me.
I had hit the recommended limit, but I could have disabled the limiter if I wanted. A large part of me wanted to remove the limiter and make myself as fast a target as possible, but I still had to consider my squad.
"Oracle Squad! You keepin' up!?" I shouted, though the force made it hard for me to move my face.
"Y-Yeah," Vultee said with great pain in his voice.
Ramos swore loudly before saying, "Barely."
I laughed like a madman as we careened toward Wathort Colony. It was like I was riding a rollercoaster. I could feel the adrenaline surging into my veins as we got within the range of Wathort's main guns.