"A two rank promotion?" I asked, buying myself a few seconds to think. "So they've already awarded me the Zeon cross?"
I wasn't sure how I felt about that. A higher rank would give me more tactical leeway and more independence from the idiocy of my commanding officers, but it also further incentivized the Federation to have me assassinated. Either way, getting the Zeon cross was my plan, so I was going to roll with it.
"That's right," Singh said. "The process was fast-tracked by the Supreme Commander himself. It's not just you, though. Heinrich Vultee has also been granted the Zeon cross. He's now a lieutenant."
Vultee just had to sacrifice his body for that promotion. Based on what I had seen, I wouldn't be surprised if he was never able to pilot a Zaku again.
"From petty officer to lieutenant in a week, huh?" Ramos said, and a sardonic chuckle hissed through his clenched teeth.
"Yep," Singh said, clearing his throat and moving onto the next topic. "Ultimately, your mission was an unqualified success. Excellent work, gentlemen. Cowen Fleet was completely destroyed, and you only lost three pilots."
"Speaking of which, what happened to Ortega?" I asked.
Singh let out a displeased grunt before saying, "Officially, Warrant Officer Ortega is missing in action. He was aboard the Great Degwin when its fusion reactor detonated. The only reason his status hasn't been moved to KIA is due to pressure from the propaganda department."
"The Great Degwin was destroyed? That's unfortunate," I muttered. The death of Sovereign Degwin himself was a greater loss, of course, but Zeon didn't have a sufficient industrial base that it could afford to lose battleships.
"Yes," Singh answered offhandedly. "We'll get to a review of the battle as a whole in a moment. Regarding your part in the mission, Captain Dogwood, you breached the rules of engagement twice. As we discussed earlier, your use of the Jormungand ran counter to certain operational objectives. High command is prepared to look the other way, but you and Ensign Ramos have officially been ordered to never speak to anyone of the Jormungand's role in the battle. Understood?"
"Yes, sir," I said, and Ramos copied me a moment later.
"You don't have to call me sir anymore, Cpt. Dogwood," Singh said. "We're technically the same rank now."
"Right."
"The other breach occurred when you targeted a damaged Saberfish, but did not fire upon it. I'm obligated to ask why you didn't fire," Singh said.
"I wanted to conserve ammo," I said, keeping my lie simple.
"That's an acceptable answer," Singh said as he jotted something down on the paper. "By the way, internal affairs officially dropped your conduct review when Gihren gave the command for you to receive the Zeon cross. The conduct review for Ensign Ramos is still ongoing, however."
"Great," Ramos muttered sarcastically.
Cpt. Singh continued, saying, "As the wing commander for Oracle Squad, I have recommended that Ramos receive the Zeon cross for heroism and that all three of you receive the Zabi star for conspicuous bravery."
"The Zabi star?" I asked. "What's that?"
"It's the only other medal available in the Zeon military at present," Singh said. "All the others are artifacts of when we were a part of the Earth Federation. Those awarded the Zabi star are declared honorary knights of the Zabi family and technically become nobility. Between you and me, nobody really knows what this means, since Zeon has only been an aristocracy for a few years, but it's a good medal to have."
"I like the sound of that," Ramos said as he scratched his chin. "The ladies love a knight in shining armor."
"More like a knight in shining Zaku," I said.
"Exactly," Ramos said.
"What you do in your free time is none of my business," Cpt. Singh said with a shrug. "One last thing regarding your actions during the mission. My superiors have decided to credit you, Captain Dogwood, with 10 ship kills and 7 fighter kills for this mission and you, Ensign Ramos, with 3 ship kills and 9 fighter kills. That brings Dogwood up to 14 career ship kills and Ramos up to 9 career ship kills. You're at the top of the leaderboard, Dogwood, and Ramos is #3."
Wow, fourteen ship kills. I briefly wondered how many people had died aboard those warships. How many fusion reactors had I detonated with my bazooka? It had to be somewhere between five and ten. That must have put my direct kill count in the tens of thousands.
"Let me guess, #2 is Char Aznable?" I asked.
"That's right," Singh said. "The brass has credited him with 11 ship kills. We should move on to a review of the battle as a whole."
"All right. I'm interested in hearing what happened to Hawkins Fleet. What happened after we left to attack Cowen Fleet?" I asked.
"Before his death, Admiral John Cowen ordered Hawkins Fleet to turn and attack the 1st Combined Fleet of Zeon. About half of the ships followed his command, and they were all destroyed. Overall, 80% of Hawkins Fleet was destroyed, and all of Cowen Fleet was destroyed. On the other hand, the 1st Combined Fleet of Zeon suffered an approximate 30% loss of personnel and materiel, and the rest can be repaired in less than a month. We also lost our flagship. Despite this, the Battle of Loum can be considered a complete victory. Side 5 is being destroyed as we speak, and the remnants of Hawkins Fleet have fled to Luna II. The orbitals have been completely abandoned by the Federation, and the route to Earth is completely undefended."
Ramos grimaced at the mention of Side 5's destruction. I heard someone mention earlier that Side 5 was one of the most heavily populated sides in the Earth Sphere. Its destruction would result in billions of deaths.
Singh seemed incredibly optimistic about the battle, but I couldn't help but compare it to the Battle of Loum in the original timeline. I could have sworn that Zeon only lost a handful of ships. That 30% casualty rate bothered me. I might have forgotten some pieces of canon, but I didn't think we were supposed to lose that many ships.
"That's great!" I said. "How many mobile suits did we lose?"
Singh paused for a moment as if trying to remember something. "Six, I think."
That was better news. Out of several thousand, we only lost half a dozen Zakus. They would be indispensable during the latter half of the war.
"That's all I have for now," Singh said as he turned to look at an approaching nurse. "The Supreme Commander will probably want to talk to you later, Dogwood. You saved two of his brothers, after all."
"I'm looking forward to it," I said, lying.