Chapter 31: Vacation

“Attention!”

It was once again in front of the familiar Zeon Military Academy building. The podium where Gihren had previously stood had been brought out once more, though this time it was Dozle who would be giving the address.

The Zeon forces’ performance in the exercise was ultimately judged a failure. They had lost nearly three-quarters of their combat forces and still failed to achieve their tactical objective.

The Federation forces, though victorious, had achieved only a costly victory. By the end, a single infantry company had been reduced to the strength of one platoon. Macarius’s tank unit, however, had suffered no casualties at all.

Dozle’s speech therefore contained slightly less of his usual arrogance. In its place were words of encouragement and affirmation for the cadets: despite all the setbacks, they had held firmly to a single objective and committed themselves to it without fear of hardship or storm, and so on.

Once the speech ended, it was time for the awards ceremony.

To raise morale, Dozle had prepared quite a number of awards. More than a dozen were distributed among the Zeon and Federation cadets. Each recipient received a medal and a saber. Yet, perhaps for the sake of rubbing salt in their wounds, both the medals and the sabers had been made from asteroid materials, symbolizing Zeon’s self-reliant industrial production under the Federation blockade.

After that came the awards prepared specifically for a select few. Nearly all of the commanders from both sides were included. Dozle presented the Zeon recipients first, followed by John, and finally Macarius.

“Macarius Crini, third-year cadet of the Federation Armored Academy. Through extraordinary courage and consummate tactical skill, you secured victory for your unit during the exercise and saved the lives of others. Allow me to express to you, on behalf of a fellow soldier, my respect—and on behalf of the academy’s principal, my gratitude!”

Dressed in a formal military uniform, wearing a peaked cap and a cadet’s collar insignia, Macarius accepted Dozle’s salute with complete composure. Dozle then pinned a medal of honor to his chest.

“In addition, this is a personal token of my gratitude!”

When Dozle handed him a pistol, Macarius did not decline it. After returning the military salute, he accepted the weapon.

“Thank you, General!”

“No need to thank me. I sincerely hope we never meet on the battlefield. You are a terrifying opponent!”

Thinking of Macarius’s record, Dozle could not help laughing.

“Then I’ll do my best to prevent that from happening.”

“By the way, you have no exercises scheduled over the next few days. When will you come by my office for a visit?”

“Whenever you say the word, sir!”

Since drills for other branches of the military were still to come, the review of the combat exercise did not last long. After the ceremony ended, Macarius vanished the moment he turned around, leaving Charma Zabi, who had intended to find him, completely bewildered.

He then planned to go to the Federation base to look for him. But when he dragged Char along, they learned that, with no exercises scheduled, the Red Dragon Team had already gone on leave and departed the base.

“Don’t be discouraged, Charma. There will be other opportunities!”

Macarius was not actually avoiding him. In truth, he was in a hurry to reach Zim City, where he intended to find someone he considered a great pity to have missed.

“Boss, is Zim City really that hostile toward the Federation?”

“Why else would I have told you to change into civilian clothes?”

On the commuter shuttle traveling from the Guardian District to Zim City, the members of the Red Dragon Team had already changed into civilian clothing and removed every item bearing a Federation insignia.

It was not strictly impossible to go without changing, but if you did not want people smacking you with bricks as you walked down the street or spitting into your food, you had better put on civilian clothes. In the eyes of the Zeon civilians living in Zim City, Federation soldiers were little more than walking piles of excrement.

Macarius had originally intended to go alone, but his teammates were worried that something might happen to him, so they all came along.

“So where exactly are you going? Don’t tell me you still have a childhood sweetheart in Zim City!”

Andrei, dressed like a delinquent, leaned back in his seat and tilted his head as he asked the question.

“I’m going to a bar to see some pretty older sisters.”

“What? No, wait, Boss. A bar? You’re going to a bar?”

The men under his command all froze. Then they turned aside and began whispering among themselves.

“Does the boss sound like he’s joking?”

“He probably means it. The important part is ‘older sister.’ I’m curious what kind of woman she is.”

“She must be an elegant older sister who grew up playing with the boss. That’s what they call a first love, right?”

“Boss, maybe you should buy some flowers or something on the way?”

Convinced that they had uncovered the truth, the others began offering advice in earnest. The driver of Vehicle Three even took out his communications terminal and used the nearby public network to search for restaurants in Zim City suitable for a date.

“That’s enough. You’ll know when we get there. Just remember to keep a low profile!”

Before long, the shuttle arrived at Zim City’s spaceport. To everyone’s surprise, despite the Federation blockade and sanctions, the port was extraordinarily busy. Freighters and merchants from other Sides and from Earth came and went without end.

Looking across the colony satellite from the spaceport, they could see towering buildings wherever they looked.

“Zim City is pretty prosperous!”

“Of course it is. It’s the capital—how could it not be prosperous? The other colonies may be another matter, though. And did you notice that?”

As they walked along the city streets, Macarius nodded toward a building.

“That building doesn’t look very old, but it’s already in such a decrepit state. Clearly, no one lives there.”

“That can’t be right. Shouldn’t the capital be packed with people?”

“Zeon’s population has fallen from two billion in UC 60 to only one hundred and fifty million today. What do you think?”

“That… really is something…”

Yudin shook his head, at a loss for words.

In truth, there were plenty of other strange things about the city’s prosperity. In broad daylight, the shopping centers were dazzling and filled with every imaginable good, yet there were few customers coming and going. By contrast, long lines stretched outside shops tucked away in the alleys. Young people on the streets—men in particular—were also noticeably scarce. The sight of eight men crowded together like Macarius and his companions even drew curious glances from passersby.

“It’s nothing but a false prosperity. With the Zabi family’s crushing taxes, if the secret police weren’t keeping people from leaving, do you think the population wouldn’t continue to decline?”

“What about the young men on the streets?”

“They’re all in the military, just like us!”

Macarius suddenly stopped. He pulled out a slip of paper and spent a long moment comparing the words written on it with the narrow alley to their right, gesturing toward its entrance.

“That’s right. This is the place—the bar with the pretty older sister!”