"It's almost time for us to leave," I said. According to my watch, it was 1730 hours, and I told Helen I would pick her up in thirty minutes.
"All right," Wei said as he started packing his papers into the large accordion folder. "We're almost done. Hopefully, we won't have to bother you for too long."
Wei and I boarded my car while Ramos and Stradivari got in the other one. After consulting my map for about a minute, I mentally plotted a course toward Munzo Technical College.
"We're looking for the Alpha Omega Epsilon sorority," I said, but I was mostly talking to myself.
"Uh huh," Wei muttered. "I had Renault run those names you gave me earlier: Alma Stirner, Annerose Rosenheim, and Daryl Lorenz. All three of them are teenage civilians, though Daryl's number came up in the first round of the draft. They're all citizens of Zeon, but I fail to see the connection between them."
"When I met them earlier, I could tell that those three had a lot of potential as pilots," I lied.
"Their aptitude tests do show high levels of mechanical and athletic skill, but Alma Stirner is hardly the 'military' type. Her file states that she has a chronic tardiness problem."
"All high schoolers are like that," I said. "I'm sure she can work through it in basic training."
I knew for a fact that Alma's tardiness problem would continue for the foreseeable future. In the original timeline, she was frequently late, but her skill as a mobile suit pilot made most people look past this minor flaw.
A few minutes later, we pulled up to a stone building on the outskirts of Munzo Technical College. The campus seemed new to me, and its buildings did not have the venerable age that I had come to expect from high-ranking colleges. Wei told me that MTC was one of the oldest and most prestigious universities in any of the colonies, but it had been founded in 0015 UC, a mere sixty-four years before.
The Alpha Omega Epsilon (ΑΩΕ) sorority house had a large stone parking lot that could probably hold twenty cars, but there were only four there before we arrived. We disembarked from three cars, and Renault stayed out in the parking lot to keep an eye on our vehicles. I wondered if the men in the caravan had picked up that particular habit from basic training or if it had just worked out that way.
As we walked up to the front door of the sorority house, Ramos brushed some dirt off his jeans and fixed the collar of his jacket. In a low voice, he said, "I just wish I had thought to wear my uniform today."
I moved to knock on the door, but I first saw two young women approach the front entrance of the sorority house from behind us. They were holding white feathers in a small bag, and they seemed to be members of Alpha Omega Epsilon.
"Hello, ladies," Ramos said, walking up to the two women. Somehow, it surprised me that all three of them were the same age. It was strange to me that, in another context, Ramos would be in college. "Are you two students here?"
Ramos blinked as one of the two girls handed him a white feather and continued walking toward the house without giving him a sideways glance. Wei and I were handed white feathers, and one of them turned to Stradivari and said, "Thank you for your service."
"W-What? Wait, hold on! We're in the goddamn military!" Ramos said after a moment of confusion, lightly jogging to catch up
It took me a moment to realize what had just happened. The two girls must have been handing white feathers out to every man on campus who wasn't wearing a military uniform. Oh, it was not a good sign when the college girls started getting belligerent.
"That's Captain Sebastian Dogwood and Lt. Commander Shao Wei, and I'm Sub-Lt. Diego Ramos. Here, look," Ramos said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a medal in the shape of a star. "This is the Zabi star. They gave this medal to me for sinking five warships in the Battle of Loum."
One of the girls' eyes widened when she saw the medal. "I'm sorry. We didn't know."
"The things I had to do…" Ramos muttered, and I could tell he was sitting on an emotional precipice. "All of my friends on the Nordhausen are dead, and Vultee's in a goddamn coma. When I get back home, this is what…"
"Ramos, chill out," I said gently, and Ramos forced himself to stop talking. "The white feather is a symbol of peace, right? In that case, it is a fitting gift for a soldier." I tucked the white feather behind my ear. "We fight for peace, don't we? Everything we sacrifice on the battlefield is to create a lasting peace for Zeon and for ourselves. I think it will be good for us to have a reminder of what we're fighting for when we deploy again. Thank you for the gift."
I really didn't want Ramos to flip out in front of Helen's sorority, so I put on my diplomatic mask and reframed the situation. If I could switch the significance of the feather in Ramos's mind from an insult to a gift, perhaps I could forestall the mental breakdown.
"Is that right?" Ramos said. He took a deep breath and forced his emotions back into the dark corners in which they had originally been hidden. "Sorry, ladies. The last few days have been stressful. I'm Diego. What are your names?"
I could tell that Ramos was doing okay, since he was back to hitting on women in such a short period of time. We all stepped into the sorority house as the two girls, Yue and Nora, apologized to us fervently.
Helen and a young woman who I assumed was Bianca were already sitting in the common room. As we entered, I saw Ramos lean in toward Nora and say, "You know, I'm technically a knight. They created a new level of nobility just for soldiers who displayed bravery in battle."
"Really?" Nora said, giggling quietly into her hand.