I sat there for more than ten minutes, thinking about my next move, as the TV continued playing in front of me. The talking heads on Side 3 News (S3N) started discussing who was a better pilot between Char and me. I knew the answer was obviously Char, but the discussion on the TV was leaning heavily in my favor. When they talked about my "hyper-aggressive fighting style" for the fifth time, I hit the mute button.
Looking at the to-do list in front of me, I quickly realized that all of those objectives would be hard to complete. In fact, starting the UMP was probably the easiest to complete. I just had to put that earworm in a few high-ranking individuals, and it would deal with itself. The UMP would certainly take a few months to complete, but it would be worth it if it was done before the Gundam was finished.
The longer I looked at the list, the more I realized that there was one thing I had to do that took priority over everything else. I dared not write it down or speak it out loud, but the thought dominated my thoughts. Gihren Zabi had to die.
He was no longer just a bad leader that I could work around. Every day that Gihren stayed alive, Zeon was pushed a step closer to civil war. My mind automatically started plotting ways to increase the likelihood of the Supreme Commander's death. Just walking up and shooting him in the head would never work. Several attempts were made on Gihren's life in the original timeline, and most failed. Keeping the plan entirely in my own mind, I formed a plot to kill Gihren Zabi that I figured had a high chance of succeeding and put me in as little danger as possible.
A few minutes after I muted the TV, I began to hear footsteps from one of the townhouse's upper floors. The TV flicked off and my hand went to the grip of my revolver as I stood up from the couch. I approached the bottom of the stairs and waited there with half of my body hidden behind cover.
Just as the footsteps reached the top of the stairs, I called out into the stairwell. "Helen?"
"Sebastian?" a tired woman's voice called out from the darkness of the house. "I didn't think you would be back until tomorrow."
The stairwell's lights turned on, and Helen Whitesmith walked down the stairs. She had dark blonde hair and blue eyes, which only served to highlight the difference in our ages. She couldn't be older than twenty-five, and it seemed to me that she was a college student.
Any doubts I had concerning our relationship was answered by Helen's outfit. She wore nothing more than an oversized T-shirt and shorts that were barely visible from beneath the bottom of the shirt. Almost immediately, I could tell that she was wearing my shirt.
"Welcome home," Helen said with a tired smile. When she reached the bottom of the stairs, she suddenly wrapped her arms around me in a hug. My body froze in discomfort as her bare skin pressed against mine. Her relationship with Dogwood had nothing to do with me.
"I'm back," I said, awkwardly squeezing Helen's shoulders before breaking the hug and taking a step backward. Her face was getting a bit too close for my liking.
"They're calling you a 'hero' now, Captain Dogwood," Helen said with a giggle. "Now, how did a guy like you pull that off?"
As she spoke, she walked over to the couch with the ease of familiarity. The apartment was too dark for me to navigate easily, but Helen walked over to the couch with no hesitation in her step.
What kind of relationship did I have with this young woman? Helen had been living in my apartment by herself for at least half a month, so the original Dogwood clearly trusted her. In fact, the apartment felt like it was as much her's as it was mine. Based on Helen's tone, the relationship was no longer in its honeymoon phase. She spoke with the familiarity of friendly cohabitation.
"I'm sure I have no idea what you mean," I said, hiding my confusion behind a wall of sarcasm.
Helen laughed quietly before saying, "You know what I mean, Sebastian. You've always been so passive in your career. How did you go from a normal squad leader to a 'hero' who was promoted three times in one month?"
"Right time, right place, I guess," I muttered as I sat on the couch far away from Helen. "I should tell you that I took a hit to the head on Island Iffish. My memory's been a bit fuzzy since then. If I say anything weird, that's probably the reason."
"Are you okay?" Helen asked with concern in her eyes.
"I'm okay enough to earn the Zeon cross," I said with a shrug.
Helen moved over to me and leaned her body against my arm. "So, how long am I gonna have you here before you have to ship out again?"
Through clenched teeth, I said, "A little while. Who knows?"
In a sultry voice, Helen said, "It sounds like I have you all to my…"
From the kitchen, a phone began to ring. With perhaps a bit too much haste, I got to my feet and began walking toward the phone. "Sorry, Helen. It's probably work."
As I walked, I thought about my present situation. Helen wasn't unattractive, and I had always had a particular weakness to blondes, but there were some extenuating circumstances. Her relationship was with a man who no longer existed in this world, and my relationship with Garahau was still squarely in uncertain territory. I wasn't a puritan, certainly, but I wasn't the type to just go with the flow in such a situation.
I picked up the phone and said, "This is Dogwood."
"Please wait one second," an unknown voice said. After a few seconds, Lt. Shao Wei's voice came through the receiver.
"Hey, I've got good news and bad news. The good news is that the Federation has agreed to a month-long armistice," Wei said.
"Good," I said. An armistice was the first step toward an end to hostilities or at least a treaty setting out the war's rules of engagement. "Are there any plans for a peace negotiation?"
Wei chuckled sardonically before saying, "Yeah, there's been an agreement to meet in Antarctica. That brings me to the bad news. I'm afraid your shore leave has to be cut short, Captain. You've been selected to attend the peace talks. Your ship, the Valkyrie, is set to leave on the 20th at 1200 hours."
"Thanks for telling me, Wei," I said with a sigh.
"There's a bit more. The Supreme Commander wants to meet you in Deikun Hall on the 18th at 1400 hours, and Degwin's funeral is set for the 19th at 1000 hours at the same place. Naturally, your attendance at both is mandatory."
"Of course," I said.
Lt. Wei repeated the information a few more times, and he was only satisfied when I told him that I had written all of that information down.
Meeting with Gihren: 1/18 at 1400 hours.
Degwin's funeral: 1/19 at 1000 hours.
Valkyrie's departure: 1/20 at 1200 hours.
With that, my vacation was reduced from a month to three days.