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Thread: Mobile Suit Gundam - The Second Century (Part 2: The Second Century)

  1. #261
    Moderator Ken Cheng's Avatar
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    Episode 23 continued...

    Side 3, the birthplace of Contolism and of the Archduchy of Zeon, finds itself oddly tranquil during yet another period of fierce war between the Archduchy and the Earth Federation. Other than increased patrols of Federal Forces mobile suit squads, one could hardly tell by living at Side 3 that the Federation and Zeon were once again locked in a state of war.

    Except, that is, for the mass immigration of the one million inhabitants of Phobos Fortress, which for the past several months has been moored within Side 3’s orbit in proximity to the Zum City Colony.

    Phobos Zeon’s Civilian Relocation Initiative has given Side 3’s infrastructure and economy a significant boost. For the first time since Major (then Captain) Athena Ibaz’s plan to rehabilitate and restore Side 3 was thwarted by her superiors in the Earth Federation Forces the previous year, progress is evident at Side 3.

    The Phobos Zeon come in with far greater resources than Athena Ibaz was ever accorded by the Earth Federation Government during her attempt to bring stability and functional government back to Side 3 the previous year. But Prince Alexander Miguel’s plans for Side 3 run much deeper than merely restoring civil order and civilized life to Side 3; Miguel’s plan is nothing less than restoring Side 3 to its historic place as the capital of the Archduchy of Zeon.

    Hence, the return of a “ruling elite,” the population of Phobos Fortress, exiled from Side 3 two decades ago following Zeon’s defeat at the end of the One Year War, settle back into their homeland, reclaiming what they believe to be rightfully theirs.

    Opinion among the citizens of Side 3 left behind by the Archduchy, to be subject to the Earth Federation’s whim for the past twenty years, is decidedly ambivalent.

    Approximately a third of Side 3’s population enthusiastically greet the return of the Archduchy to Side 3. Believing the final heir of the Zabi Royal Family, Minerva, to be dead or at least, in deep seclusion, these diehard Zeon loyalists have accepted Alexander Miguel as their Prince (albeit self-proclaimed), and believe that the return of the Archduchy of Zeon to Side 3 is nothing less than the glorious restoration of their nation. The loyalists welcome the return of the Archduchy with fanfare. Zeon is reborn…Glory to the Archduchy!

    The remaining two-thirds of Side 3’s people, however, are not as sanguine about the Archduchy’s return. They distrust the Archduchy and, in particular, Alexander Miguel as much as they do the Earth Federation, and fear the implications of returning to the rule of a militaristic regime that has already thrice led them to ruin. Some of these dissenters take to loud and violent protests on the streets, while others conceal their dismay and outrage, fearful that the returning regime might make examples of them.

    Some, however, plot to undermine the regime before it can ever take root at Side 3 again…

    Along with a substantial influx of population into Side 3 also comes a large infusion of material resources. Private suppliers from Anaheim Enterprises, the Luo Company, the Kuromizu Corporation and government/military suppliers from the Earth Federation are vast quantities of all manners of resources to Side 3, in exchange for terms known only to Prince Alexander, the President and High Council of the Earth Federation Government, and the top executives of the involved corporations.

    And a few other enterprising individuals who make it their business to learn the details behind such machinations…

    ************************************************** ****************

    A cargo ship of the Earth Federation Forces quietly enters the Side 3 Zone. Having launched from the Federal Forces’ Green Noah Garrison at Side 7, the ship is on a heading, not towards Zum City, but towards a more obscure colony of Side 3…a onetime industrial colony known as Rhedis, heavily damaged during the One Year War and in subsequent conflicts, and now abandoned.

    The Federation cargo ship Moonshadow docks with Rhedis Colony’s recently restored spaceport.

    From behind the cover of a large piece of drifting detritus, a derelict solar power collection panel, three normalsuited figures observe quietly.

    “That’s it,” the leader says to his two subordinates, “All right. Let’s go.”

    The other two normalsuited figures nod and follow their leader towards Rhedis colony, propelled forward by vernier packs. As they approach the colony, the vernier packs are deactivated and the trio drifts towards their destination.

    “This way,” the leader indicates, leading his two subordinates through airlock doors and access passages until they are inside the colony spaceport facility.

    The three figures, finally reaching a pressurized, temperature-controlled, and oxygenated environment, open the visors on their normalsuits to reveal their identities: ISRLA intelligence operatives Dory Ischinda, Hathaway Noah, and the Director of Intelligence himself, Kai Shiden.

    “I’m almost afraid to look,” Kai says bitterly, “That this ship is here means that our worst fears are coming to pass.”

    “We’d better look anyway,” Hathaway says, “We didn’t make this trip just to claim more frequent flyer mileage points.”

    The Moonshadow is under heavy security, greeted by troops from the Phobos Zeon Forces and members the Phobos Zeon Intelligence Corps. Most people would not have much hope of penetrating through their guard.

    Kai Shiden, however, is a twenty-year veteran of covert ops, having briefly performed such operations for the Earth Federations in the early U.C. 0080s before putting those skills to use as an AEUG investigative journalist. Since helping Dr. Artasia Daikun and others to found the ISR movement in U.C. 0094, Kai has trained his own corps of ISR intelligence agents, two of the best being his two partners on the current mission, Hathaway Noah and Dory Ischinda.

    In terms of covert ops talents, Hathaway perhaps has more raw talent than the more experienced Kai. Indeed, Hathaway has been fairly notorious during the past two years as Mafty, a Contolist assassin/polemicist who has lobbed bombs both actual and metaphorical against the Earth Federation. On an operation such as this, Hathaway’s skills are essential.

    Completing the trio is Dory Ischinda, once the royal handmaiden of the Duchess Minerva Zabi herself, and now Director of the Cislunar Free Media. What is uncovered here today will be exposed to the world media.

    Kai triggers an explosive device that he had affixed to the other side of the colony, six kilometers away and five hours earlier, before the trio had made their entrance.

    “We’ve got to make sure we document everything we see,” Dory remarks, “or this operation is wasted. Minerva has already informed us what the Federation has hidden in its arsenal. It’s almost beyond belief that it’s giving it to Zeon…”

    “…to use against Spacenoids,” Hathaway finishes with disgust.

    “We’re not going to let that happen,” Kai says firmly to his two charges, “but this is strictly an intelligence-gathering operation. The three of us aren’t going to be able to do much here…even if we don’t mind sacrificing our lives. We just don’t have the resources.”

    Seeing that the bulk of the Phobos Zeon security has turned its attention towards the explosion on the far side of the colony, Kai, Hathaway, and Dory cautiously make their way aboard the Moonshadow, evading the Earth Federation Forces personnel aboard the ship through their well-trained, well-practiced stealth.

    Naturally, avoiding confrontation all the way through is not part of the plan. To gain access to the sealed cargo bay, they’ll need the cooperation of the ship’s captain.

    Kai indicates three Federal Forces MP officers in a corridor about twenty meters from the trio’s present position. Kai points towards the MPs, and Hathaway goes to work.

    Hathaway extracts a needle gun from a pouch in his normalsuit’s left boot. With cold precision, Hathaway drops the three officers with three silent, accurate shots that send drugged needles into the men’s bloodstreams, sending them to oblivion.

    “Sorry, gentlemen,” Hathaway says to the unconscious Federal Forces MPs, “We have use for your uniforms, and you weren’t likely to surrender them willingly.”

    Hathaway begins dragging the insensible MPs out of the corridor into a seldom-used storeroom. He motions Kai and Dory to join him.

    Ninety seconds later, the trio re-emerges dressed in the MP uniforms.

    Kai cannot help a smirk, “First time I’ve worn a Federal Forces uniform in almost twenty years. Still doesn’t feel right after all this time!”

    “Did your commanding officer give you grief over your uniform?” Hathaway asks.

    That commanding officer was Hathaway’s own father, Bright Noah, under whose command Kai had served aboard the White Base during the One Year War. Father and son became estranged during the Second Neo Zeon War over the deaths of two women, Quess Parayana and Chien Agi, in a complex and consequential sequence of events.

    “Your dad gave me grief over everything,” Kai mutters, but then adds, “Still, I learned to respect the guy. Never grew to like him, but respected him, yeah.”

    Hathaway begins to respond to that, but decides against it. This is no time for a discussion about the animosity between himself and his father. Besides, Kai already knows the sorry tale.

    Kai picks up the nearest intercom phone to the bridge, “This is Sgt. McClusky on Deck 9. Captain N’Gula. We’ve just subdued three suspicious individuals who boarded the ship shortly after the explosion. We’re holding them down here, sir.”

    Captain Ilongo N’Gula responds, “I’m on my way, Sergeant.”

    N’Gula leaves his first officer in charge on the bridge and rushes down with a small security detail to Deck 9.

    ************************************************** **************

    Minutes later, N’Gula confronts Kai on Deck 9, “Sergeant? Where are these saboteurs you captured?”

    “Over here,” says Dory Ischinda, pointing a needle gun directly at N’Gula’s head.

    The security detail attempts to draw a bead on Kai and Dory, but the team of six soldiers is swiftly and systematically dispatched by the precise, steady gunfire of Mafty, the ISRLA’s best marksman.

    “We want access to the cargo bay, N’Gula,” Kai says menacingly, “Now.”

    “You aren’t getting away with this,” N’Gula warns.

    “That isn’t your problem,” Hathaway says, cocking his sidearm, “staying alive is.”

    So saying, the trio walks the captain of the Moonshadow to the cargo bay access hatch.

    At gunpoint, N’Gula taps in the access code and submits to the retinal and fingerprint scans to secure access into the ship’s cargo hold.

    The massive doors trundle open, and the trio enters.

    Hathaway promptly drugs N’Gula with a needle. The commanding officer of the ship will sleep for hours.

    “Lights,” Kai orders, and Dory duly complies.

    The lights in the massive cargo hold switch on, filling the cavernous chamber with illumination.

    Although they came in with knowledge of what they would be confronting, the three ISRLA intelligence operatives and nonetheless stunned into silence by the reality that stands before them.

    In stacks that stand up to thirty meters tall, running back in aisle after aisle, are crates marked with the universal skull-and-crossbones symbol for toxic material…and other, sealed cylindrical metal casings with the unmistakable symbol for radiation hazard.

    G6 nerve gas and enriched and refined uranium for nuclear warheads.

    Instruments of genocide.

    Kai, Hathaway, and Dory gape wordlessly at the cargo of mass murder for a long, ominous moment. When they turn to each other, the three ISRLA agents are pale.

    Dory finds her voice first, but it trembles…beset by sheer terror, “I…I can’t believe what I’m looking at. Minerva….she warned me about this. Told me the Federation had these, but even now, looking right at them, I still can’t believe it…”

    Kai says, “Extermination. That’s what Miguel and the Federation have in mind…they’re going to exterminate anyone who opposes them!”

    Hathaway’s face is twisted with rage, “Those…animals! How could they…?”

    The trio’s thoughts are interrupted by sounds of approaching footsteps.

    “Quick!” Kai says hoarsely, “Get as much footage as you can!”

    Dory trains her video camera on the cargo crates, making sure to get multiple shots of the stacks of chemical and nuclear weapons that the Earth Federation is delivering to the Phobos Zeon Forces.

    Kai and Hathaway train their weapons upon the approaching group of Phobos Zeon and Federal Forces troops, exchanging fire with them.

    As the two men cover her, Dory continues to shoot footage of the deadly cargo, using her normalsuit’s vernier thrusters to take her into the air for a sweeping, panoramic shot.

    “I think we’ve got enough,” Dory calls to her two comrades, “We’d better go! It won’t be much good if we can’t take it back!”

    As if on cue, Kai is stricken on the arm by one of the Phobos Zeon troops’ bullets. Hathaway pulls Kai to safety and continues to lay down counterfire.

    Kai struggles, but manages to pull out a grenade from his belt pouch with his one good hand, “Use this.”

    Hathaway takes the incendiary from Kai and hurls it towards the mixed squad of Phobos Zeon and Federation soldiers. The field is clear for the ISRLA trio’s escape.

    Dory takes a moment to seal the rift in Kai’s normalsuit arm with a piece of repair tape, which will also stop the bleeding.

    The trio rapidly exits the Moonshadow, hitting their vernier thrusters.

    “They’ll launch mobile suits to pursue,” Dory says.

    “Then we’ll have to reach ours first,” Hathaway replies, “How are you holding up, Kai?”

    “I’ll be a lot better once we reach our Nemo 7s,” Kai replies, “Come on!”

    After an agonizing five minutes that feel more like five hours, the trio reaches their mobile suits: two standard Nemo-7s, and the third unit, a Nemo-7K Cannon Type, piloted by Kai.

    Kai activates the linear seat display and signals his two partners, “Hathaway! Dory! You two get out of here now! I’ll hold them off!”

    “We aren’t leaving you out here, Mr. Shiden!” Dory protests.

    “Kai, come on,” Hathaway urges from his Nemo 7, “We can get out of here together!”

    “That’s an order!” Kai barks, “I’m the Director of ISRLA Intelligence, and I’m telling you that if you fail to get that video back to headquarters, hundreds of millions of people will pay with their lives for it! GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!”

    Hathaway clenches his teeth, then finally bites back reluctantly, “Acknowledged. Let’s go, Dory!”

    The Nemo 7 units take off just as a flight of GM-IVs arrive from the Moonshadow.

    Kai brackets them in the targeting scope of his Nemo-7 Cannon. He opens fire with the artillery mobile suit’s heavy shoulder-mounted beam cannon, skeeting two GM-IVs down into exploding shrapnel.

    “Heh,” Kai grunts painfully, “Just like shooting at Zakus in my Guncannon back in the old days. Remember, Hayato…Ryu…Amuro?”

    It’s been a long fight for Kai Shiden…twenty years for a man that Artasia Daikun once described as a coward, and whom Bright Noah had characterized as a shirker. Kai admits that for a good part of his youth, that’s exactly what he was.

    Now, he ends his life as a martyr.

    Multiple beam strikes engulf the Nemo-7 in flames. Kai knows that the end has come at last for him, but the fight for Contolist freedom and justice will go on without him.

    Miharu, Kai thinks in his final moments in his mortal shell, I’ll see you again at last.


    An explosion of light…the dousing of another life.

    And the war continues…

    ************************************************** **************

    Twenty-four hours later, a downcast Hathaway Noah and Dory Ischinda report on the success of their intelligence gathering mission to Dr. Artasia Som Daikun…and the loss of the ISRLA’s Director of Intelligence, Kai Shiden.

    Artasia…Sayla Mass to Kai, cannot hold back her tears after receiving news of her longtime comrade’s heroic demise. Their relationship back in the days when they served together aboard the White Base could be described as strained. The first time that Artasia met Kai, she slapped him on the face and cursed him as a coward for refusing to help the civilians of Side 7 to escape a Zeon attack on the colony.

    As Kai grew into a competent and spirited soldier in the later days of the One Year War, Artasia grew to respect him, and over the years, they developed a strong camaraderie despite their drastically different attitudes and temperaments. When Artasia decided to found the ISR movement in U.C. 0094, Kai was among the first to answer the call…and his knowledge, skill, and experience as a former AEUG investigative reporter has been invaluable to Artasia. She will not be able to replace him.

    To Artasia, it’s one more loss to endure among so many over the years…Ryu, Sleggar, Katsu, Hayato, Amuro, her brother Cassoval…and now Kai.

    Artasia allows herself a moment to sob before composing herself, and apologizes to her colleagues, “I’m sorry. Kai…Director Shiden was a good friend, and I’m heartbroken at his loss. But now I need to know what you discovered during your mission.”

    Dory responds, “Ma’am, we’ve confirmed what Minerva told us more than a year ago. The Federation does indeed have stockpiles of chemical and nuclear weapons in violation of the Antarctic Treaty of U.C. 0079, and has now given possession of these weapons over to the Phobos Zeon Forces.”

    “Alexander Miguel wants to wipe out the ISR movement,” Hathaway adds hotly, “and when he’s done with us, he’ll turn against the Federation too!”

    Artasia nods, having regained her composure, and takes the videodisc from Dory, “He’s a madman, just like Giren Zabi and my brother, Cassoval were, and he might be more ruthless than either of them. We have to thwart him, but the time to show this to the world hasn’t come yet. It would just be dismissed as propaganda, and we’d likely be shut down before we could expose Miguel and the Federation’s treachery.”

    Dory asks, “Should I contact Minerva?”

    Artasia shakes her head, “Not yet. Minerva is deeply involved in the war out in the Outer System and it’s unlikely that you’d be able to make contact with her. We will likely need her help eventually, but for now, we have to make preparations to help the people of Side 3 resist the Phobos Zeon takeover.”

    Hathaway says, “We’ll need support for that. Where will it come from?”

    Artasia says, “I’ll get into contact with the heads of Anaheim and Luo, and we have…friends within the Federation.”

    Hathaway sighs, “My parents.”

    Artasia nods, “We have to get moving on this as soon as possible. Dory, you’ll temporarily take over Kai’s position as Director of Intelligence. I know it’s not your area of expertise, but I want you to assume those responsibilities for now.”

    “Yes, ma’am,” Dory replies dutifully.

    “We have so much work to do,” Artasia says, her beautiful visage beset by anxiety, “and little time to do it.”

    ************************************************** ************

    Two hours later, an exhausted Hathaway Noah drops onto his bed in his apartment in downtown Zum City. He admits he misses his more comfortable apartment down on Earth in Shanghai, China, where has not visited in more than a year.

    That’s not all he misses.

    Hathaway takes from his desk a framed photograph of Athena Ibaz taken by Jolie Minh and sent to him by way of his sister Chieming some time back. Hathaway strokes the image of the angelically beautiful Centurion Team Leader…and onetime Duchess of Zeon…and his heart aches.

    Minerva, Hathaway reflects, filled with longing for her embrace, please be safe, sweetheart. Don’t die on me out in the cosmos.

    Hathaway falls asleep with Athena’s photograph on his chest, and his unwavering love for her in his heart.

    ************************************************** ***************

    At the moment, four-hundred million kilometers away, Major Athena Ibaz is finding herself hard-pressed to fulfill Hathaway’s plaintive plea…

    The Cour de Leon is surrounded by a swarm of Zeon Confederation Forces mobile suits. Athena has already smited a dozen of them from the skies, but for every one she shoots down, three more appear in its place.

    Athena sees 2Lt. Jonah Michael’s Centurion Gundam and Chief Warrant Officer Chieming Noah’s Jet Jegan vectoring in to relieve her. Behind them is the rest of Centurion Team in its mobile suits. Their presence instantly takes a great amount of the pressure off of Athena, but the squad remains heavily outnumbered.

    The Centurions fight fiercely, giving better than they get, but still, the tide turns against them.

    Salvation finally comes on black wings.

    1Lt. Kyoko Yamaguchi of the Phobos Zeon Forces’ Black Raven Squadron swoops into the battle aboard her Elmeth Gamma. The deadly Phobos Zeon transformable mobile suit clears the screen of Zeon Confederation mobile suits with its deadly Psychom weapons systems. Behind her comes the Black Raven Squadron…Newtype pilots handpicked by General Miguel himself.

    In the absence of Jolie, we have to rely on Kyoko Yamaguchi, Athena acknowledges, but to what extent can we, really? She has all of Jolie’s abilities…but her loyalty is to Alexander Miguel alone.

    For the moment, that will have to be acceptable. Athena leads the Centurions into a counterattack alongside the Black Raven Squadron, as the war rages on.

    ************************************************** **************

    The skies over Antarctica on Earth are, and have been for eons, prosaically quiet.

    Two centuries after the beginning of the Space Age, humanity still knows less about its mother planet’s southern polar region than it does about the entirety of other celestial bodies in the Solar System. Although one of the most momentous accords in recent history was signed on its frozen grounds, Antarctica remains obscure to Homo sapiens.

    For that reason, none but two are aware on this otherwise uneventful morning over Antarctica as an angel of Gundarium makes a fiery fall from the sky.

    Inside the cockpit of the NCX-01, Jolie Minh strains against her seat as her experimental mecha makes a rapid descent from space through Earth’s atmosphere, grunting out, “Hey…Doc…you…sure…the…suit…can…han..dle…this…argh! ”

    Camille’s voice is also strained, “We’re…try...ing…to…find…that…out. The…Wave…dive…r…is…super…rior…to…Ze..ta…Cour…de…Le …on…Wave…ride...r…on…de…scent…mode!”

    “Al…ti…tude….six…ty…thou…sand…and…de…scen..ding!” Jolie reports through clenched teeth.

    “At…ten…thou…sand…hit…Mi-ni…M…Boo…ster!” Camille replies.

    The White Phoenix Gundam continues to fall through Earth’s atmosphere at multiple mach speeds. The cockpit of the White Phoenix Gundam has been reinforced to withstand incredible G-Forces, but nonetheless, Jolie and Camille are perilously close to losing consciousness.

    Jolie feels herself drifting away…she begins to see images of her deceased parents and elder brother, Athena, and Jonah as a sick feeling fills her stomach.

    Barely conscious, Jolie eyes the altitude indicator…twelve thousand meters, eleven thousand, ten thousand…

    “HIT…IT!” Camille shouts.

    With a scream of effort, Jolie hits the Mini M-Booster control.

    With a powerful lurch forward that almost threatens to tear Jolie and Camille’s arms out of their sockets through their seat restraints, the White Phoenix Gundam changes direction, rocketing back towards space, its armored shell lit aflame.

    “Out…side…temp…ra…ture…ri..sing!” Jolie reports, “We’re… burn…ing!”

    “It’ll…hold,” Camille replies.

    The White Phoenix Gundam continues to soar back out towards space. The fire around its Gundarium shell dies as it reaches an altitude beyond oxygen.

    The mecha reaches escape velocity, and soon vectors back into the cosmos. Jolie and Camille feel the exhilarating relief of returning weightlessness.

    “WOOO-HOOOO!!” Jolie exults, adrenalin practically seeping out of her ears.

    “Quite a thrill ride, wasn’t it?” Camille says, panting, “But now that we know we can do it, let’s not EVER do it again!”

    “Unless we have to, of course,” Jolie says with a grin.

    “Please,” Camille says, shaking his head.

    ************************************************** **************

    Late that evening, back in her apartment in New Anman City on the surface of the moon, Jolie is still too exhilarated from her hot ride in the White Phoenix Gundam to sleep. She figures she’ll probably be wired for days.

    Jolie considers getting a drink. There is that bottle of whiskey that Sang-Ah and Steve had bought her to congratulate her on getting the Anaheim job.

    She decides against it. Instead, Jolie folds her long, lovely legs, exposed beneath the hem of her sleep t-shirt, and begins to meditate.

    She sends her thoughts across the cosmos, four-hundred million kilometers (2.5 astronomical units) to the Asteroid Belt.

    ************************************************** ****************

    Aboard the Amuro Ray, simultaneously, 2Lt. Jonah Michaels disembarks from his Centurion Gundam after having survived another hellish battle, senses it.

    It comes indistinctly at first, but soon, Jonah recognizes that familiar, comforting aura.

    Jonah…

    Jonah sends the thought back, Jolie?

    Jonah…Jolie’s aura emanates…I still love you very much. Please be safe.

    Jonah does not quite understand the phenomenon, but somehow is able to intuitively grasp it well enough to return the thought across the cosmos, Jolie…have you forgiven me?


    No answer comes forth, but the warmth and comfort that Jonah feels does not fade.

    Some things in the universe know no distance.

    End of Episode 23

  2. #262
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    EPISODE 24: STURM AND DRANG

    March, U.C. 0100, rolls into April, and the Earth Federation/Phobos Zeon Alliance Forces continue to push forward towards the Jupiter Zone. Although the Zeon Confederation Forces started the war in February with a 6:4 numerical superiority ratio over the Alliance, heavy losses among the Deimos Fleet in the Asteroid Belt and subsequent defeats at the Midway Colonies between Mars and Jupiter have cost the Confederation Forces its advance guard, making the balance of forces between the opposing sides close to 1:1 two months into the war.

    The Alliance’s success is attributable to the nimble, flexible, and seemingly limitlessly reconfigurable strategies and tactics deployed by General Alexander Miguel of the Phobos Zeon Forces and Major Athena Ibaz of the Earth Federation Special Forces. The Alliance has liberated space colony after space colony in the Midway Zone, and under Major Ibaz’s direction, the Alliance has armed many of the colonies to help oppose the Confederation. Generally, the Spacenoids of the Midway Colonies and Outer System favor the Alliance, as Major Ibaz has persuaded the leaders of the Earth Federation Government to allow the colonies to maintain their autonomy (a plan to which General Miguel agreed and supported), casting the Alliance as liberators to the Confederation’s occupiers.

    The Alliance’s next objective is to retake the Federation’s Ceres Base, previously the stronghold of the Earth Federation Forces in the Midway and Jupiter Zones, but now occupied and converted into a key Confederation garrison.

    A fierce firefight is currently underway near the space colony Westlake, which is an important supply depot for the Confederation armada. The destruction (relatively easy) or capture (likely difficult) of this supply base would cripple the Confederation’s ability to operate outside the Jupiter Zone, trapping the Confederation forces within Jupiter orbit.

    Naturally, Westlake is heavily fortified by the Confederation’s best troops, including the Callisto Newtype Corps. Despite the presence of such Newtype aces as the Phobos Zeons’ “Black Raven,” 1Lt. Kyoko Yamaguchi, the Centurion Team’s 2Lt. Jonah Michaels, and Major Ibaz herself, the Callisto Newtype Corps has offered unyielding resistance, and after three days of continuous siege, the Alliance and Confederation forces are at a stalemate. As the Alliance is the attacking force in this instance, that stalemate is, in effect, a disadvantage.

    Athena dispatches a pair of Conferation Dreissen III mobile suits with well-placed missiles from her Waverider-configuration Cour de Leon. As she swings the Leon around for a second pass, she sees the mobile suits from both her own forces and the Phobos Zeon Forces beginning to flag from exhaustion. One Confederation MS had come perilously close to nailing Chief Warrant Officer Chieming Noah’s Jet Jegan before Jonah came to her rescue, blasting the enemy mecha away…and Sgt Geoff Sutcliffe had nearly sustained a fatal hit before being bowled out of harm’s way by an attentive MSgt. Karim Abdul Al-Said’s Guncannon 100.

    Athena recognizes that the Alliance Forces are at the brink of exhaustion, and will break if they attempt to sustain the battle any longer.

    The Centurion Team Leader and Deputy Director of the Earth Federation Special Forces opens communications channels, “This is Major Ibaz to all units: disengage and withdraw from combat zone immediately.”

    The Alliance troops maneuver to comply with Athena’s order, except 1Lt. Kyoko Yamaguchi, who continues to attack the Confederation MS forces with her Elmeth Gamma transformable mobile armor even as she appears on Athena’s cockpit viewscreen to protest the order.

    “Major Ibaz,” the Black Raven says with a keening lilt, “This is not the time to order a withdrawal! Our forces are very close to breaking through the enemy defenses. If we maintain the attack, we’ll…!”

    “…be annihilated to the last man and mecha,” Athena finishes, “Our soldiers are not expendable commodities, Lt. Yamaguchi. You’ll follow your orders.”

    Clenching her teeth with rage, Kyoko nonetheless complies, but not before firing a series of parting shots that flame a dozen enemy mobile suits.

    The Alliance Forces withdraw, allowing the Confederation a victory…for the moment.

    ************************************************** ***************

    The Earth Federation Forces Space Armada flagship, the General Abraham Reville, has arrived in the Midway Zone to serve as mobile command base for the Earth Federation Forces in the current operations theater. Aboard the flagship is General Manron Blackhead, who has replaced the retired General Bright Noah as Supreme Commander of the Earth Federation Forces.

    The Mars Zone being secured by the Alliance, and the Midway Zone now perhaps days away from Alliance control, General Blackhead feels it is safe at last for him to journey to the Outer System to oversee the remainder of the operation, which has thus far (on the Federation end) been under the trenchant command of Major Athena Ibaz.

    General Blackhead has invited General Miguel and his aides, Chief of Staff Col. Ross Davenport and Black Raven Squadron commanding officer 1Lt. Kyoko Yamaguchi, to a strategy conference with Major Ibaz and her second-in-command, 2Lt. Jonah Michaels.

    “What do you mean that we will not make a direct assault on the Westlake colony?!” the young, raven-haired leader of the Black Ravens demands, turning her furious black eyes to Athena, “Westlake is the Confederation’s key supply base in the Midway Zone! We must destroy it!”

    Athena responds with measured equanimity, “Westlake is the enemy’s most important supply base in this region. It’s also home to two-million, six-hundred eighty thousand, five-hundred and twenty-three civilians. Sacrificing their lives is a strategy that’s simply off the table, Lieutenant.”

    Kyoko smirks bitterly, “First, you withdraw our troops on the brink of victory because their lives are aren’t ‘expendable,’ and now you refuse to use the trump card we have at hand because those people at Westlake apparently aren’t ‘expendable’ either. This is war, Major! People die in wars.”

    Athena does not take her steady, penetrating gaze off the youthful, felinely beautiful Phobos Zeon MS ace, responding firmly, “Wars aren’t won by antagonizing helpless noncombatants, Lieutenant Yamaguchi. Mass murdering an entire space colony will only turn the civilian population of the Outer System against the Alliance, and that will tip this war irretrievably in the Confederation’s favor.”

    Kyoko bares her teeth at Athena, “You don’t…!”

    General Miguel puts a firm hand on his young charge’s shoulder, “Kyoko, please. Major Ibaz is right. We’re the custodians of the Spacenoids’ future, not butchers. We won’t sink to the level of our enemies. Moreover, I believe the Major has a better idea, am I correct, Athena?”

    “Yes, General Miguel,” Athena says, then turning to General Blackhead, “With your permission, sir.”

    The Supreme Commander of the Earth Federation Forces nods his assent, and Athena proceeds, activating a projection screen that displays the layout of local space within a 500 kilometer radius of the Westlake Colony, “The enemy’s rear guard armada and MS units are concentrated near the Westlake Colony. They’ve been entrenched there for months. They figure that their proximity to Westlake prevents us from mounting a substantial attack against them because we won’t risk Westlake in a frontal assault…”

    “…which is why we have to just forget about Westlake and wipe it off the map,” Kyoko finishes.

    “No,” Athena continues, “a surgical strike by a small advance force at Westlake will draw them out without unduly threatening the colony. We’ll pin them outside of Westlake with an irresistible target, and then ambush them with our main forces after we have them out in the open.”

    “And what’s this ‘irresistible target’ you’re proposing, Major?” Kyoko demands.

    Athena stares Kyoko down, the slightest hint of a grin on the former Zeon monarch’s lips.

    Kyoko’s eyes widen as she realizes the implications of Athena’s statement, “You want me to bait the Confederation forces out of Westlake?”

    Athena nods, “What objective could be more tempting for the Callisto Newtype Corps and their allies than the Black Raven? You’ve sent hundreds of them to fiery fates during the past few months. They want your blood, Lieutenant, so naturally, you’ll be the irresistible target.”

    The challenge excites Kyoko’s ego, “All right, Major Ibaz… I’ll do it your way.”

    At his seat, General Miguel quietly smiles. He knew Kyoko would not back down from the challenge. He also knows that she will successfully meet the challenge.

    The Prince of Phobos also cannot help admiring how Athena maneuvered Kyoko into going along with her strategy…it’s just the sort of mind game that Alexander himself would play.

    The surgical strike would commence at 03:33 the next morning…leaving approximately eighteen hours to prepare.

    Episode 24 to be continued...

  3. #263
    Moderator Ken Cheng's Avatar
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    Episode 24 continued...

    Far across space, at Anaheim Enterprises’ Skunkworks Division headquarters beneath the surface of the lunar city of Anman, Jolie Minh earnestly and rigorously twists a crescent wrench to secure a loosened control interface component on the White Phoenix Gundam. Her fresh, youthful face is smeared with grease, as is her Anaheim Enterprises work jumpsuit.

    Jolie peers out of the cockpit and glares at a crew of technicians struggling to repair the rear wing mount of the WPG, which was damaged during the previous day’s test exercises. The former Centurion Team ace winces as she sees the technician crew misconnect the mounting unit, causing the unit to collapse.

    “Come on, come on!” Jolie demands furiously, “There isn’t time to f*ck around! This mech needs to be finished and shipped to the front lines, pronto!”

    Dr. Camille Vidan enters the hangar area, his jaw dropping in mild disbelief as he spots Jolie.

    “She’s still at it,” the former pilot of Zeta Gundam mutters to himself.

    As far as Camille figures, Jolie has been working on the White Phoenix Gundam…testing, diagnosing, tinkering, retesting, tinkering some more, etc., for at least thirty-six straight hours without sleep or anything more than a five-minute working meal or quick lavatory pit stop. This comes after a four hour sleep session (inside the cockpit of the WPG) that itself punctuated forty consecutive hours of work on the WPG.

    The lack of sleep has made Jolie even more short-tempered and irate than usual, and she has been chasing around the technicians and engineers on Team Phoenix to speed up their work on the mecha, making impossible demands of them.

    As hard as she’s worked them, however, Jolie has worked herself the hardest…determined to bring the WPG to the end of its testing phase and the beginning of its operational phase as quickly as possible.

    She’s certainly driven, Camille acknowledges, completing the White Phoenix Gundam has become her obsession.

    Camille can understand. He recognizes that she’s driven by her love for her estranged fiancé, Jonah Miguel. She obviously still loves him deeply, and fears for his life in the war being waged between the Earth Federation/Phobos Zeon Alliance and the Zeon Confederation in the Outer System. Unable to protect him directly, she can only ensure that he goes into battle armed with the most powerful mobile suit yet to be built by humanity.

    “Get that f*cking wing mount installed, NOW!” Jolie screams, leaping over to personally, manually ensure that the job gets done, pushing flustered and exhausted technicians out of the way.

    Jolie pulls a welding torch from the hand of one technician and sets to work on the mount herself.

    Camille has seen enough. He knows that his young protégée cannot, despite her seemingly boundless energy, keep this up. Camille has come to think of Jolie as a younger sister, perhaps even a daughter, and he can’t stand idly by and watch her flame out.

    Camille puts a hand gently on the younger Newtype’s shoulder, “Hey, Jolie…”

    “Leave me alone!” Jolie snaps, continuing to work furiously.

    “Jolie,” Camille says more firmly, “I understand your urgency to finish this project. That won’t get accomplished any sooner if you burn yourself out. Take it easy.”

    “No!” Jolie retorts stubbornly, “We can’t lose any more time! Jonah’s out in that war zone and he needs this! His life’s in danger! He’s in danger because…I’m…not…there. Because…I…left…him.”

    That does it. Jolie collapses forward into Camille’s arms and begins to sob. The nervous breakdown that Camille worried would hit Jolie has indeed come to pass.

    “I…never…should…have…left…him,” Jolie cries bitterly, clutching Camille’s arms for support as she buries her face on his chest, “If he’s hurt…or killed, it’s because I wasn’t there!”

    Camille notices the crew of Project White Phoenix technicians and engineers having paused in their tasks to observe the drama happening on the hangar deck. Camille motions with a toss of his head to the crew to take advantage of this time to take a much-needed breather…away from the hangar.

    Camille cups Jolie’s silky smooth cheeks in his gentle hands, forcing her to look at him, “Jolie…JOLIE! Come on, get a grip. You can’t help Jonah if you collapse from exhaustion. I want to get some rest…at least eight hours of sleep, do you understand?”

    Jolie nods, wiping away her tears and forcing herself back into composure, “OK…OK. Can I at least stay here…at the hangar?”

    “Just promise me you’ll rest for eight hours,” Camille replies.

    “All right,” Jolie agrees, floating towards the White Phoenix Gundam.

    Camille looks worriedly at his charge as she disappears into the mighty experimental mobile suit’s cockpit. The veteran AEUG hero sighs. He really can’t blame her. If Fa’s life were similarly in danger, he’d probably do the same.

    As it is, Camille has come to believe that the White Phoenix Gundam might never make it to 2Lt. Jonah Michaels. News reports indicate that the war is approaching a critical turning point…one that will likely swing the balance of the conflict irrevocably in favor of one of the two warring sides. This will likely come down within weeks, if not days, and current technical problems ensure that the White Phoenix Gundam will not be ready for rollout for at least another two months.

    More importantly, although reports he has read from the Federation’s files that 2Lt. Jonah Michaels, while a powerful Newtype, is simply not an ace pilot the way Jolie is. In this, Camille recognizes a parallel between himself and Jonah, and between Amuro Ray and Jolie.

    In his days as pilot of the Gundam MK-II and the Zeta Gundam for AEUG, Camille was considered the AEUG’s best combatant…routinely dispatching the Titans’ and the Neo Zeon’s best. Camille knew then as he does now, however, that his victories were attributable more to his Newtype abilities than to his actual piloting skill. Camille understands that were it not for his Newtype abilities, he would not be at the level of Char Aznable or Amuro Ray, who in addition to being powerful Newtypes, were simply gifted pilots who would have excelled in combat even without the benefit of their Newtype abilities. They were classic hot doggers, aces in the old fashioned sense from the era of the 20th Century fighter pilot tradition.

    $this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://img.qj.net/uploads/articles_module/95476/KAMILLE_psd_jpgcopy_qjgenth.jpg')

    Dr. Camille Vidan back in his younger days, when he was an AEUG MS pilot in the late U.C. 0080s.


    Jolie fits this ace profile. She has the mentality and the physical talent for it. Jonah Michaels does not. Michaels would not, in Camille’s estimation, be able to exploit the White Phoenix Gundam’s full potential the way that Camille knows Jolie can.

    Camille can’t help smiling bitterly, reflecting, Well, it is called the White Phoenix Gundam. Maybe this mobile suit’s destiny is with Jolie, after all.


    Jolie has sequestered herself inside the cockpit of the idle White Phoenix Gundam, tilting her head back in the pilot seat, trying futilely to sleep. The viewscreen of the mighty mecha is on, receiving a live feed from UNN reporting on the progress of the war raging in the Outer System. At the moment, there is no immediate action, and the coverage has turned to military and political analysts discussing the impending end of the war and its aftermath, and speculating about the postwar future of the Outer System.

    Jolie follows the news intently for several minutes, but finally, her exhaustion takes over. The pretty teenager drifts into sleep…

    She dreams of Jonah, her beloved Jonah, facing danger across the cosmos…

    Episode 24 to be continued...

  4. #264
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    Episode 24 continued...

    Across the cosmos, he sees her drifting away…out of reach, but not out of his heart.

    “Jolie!” he calls out, “Come back!”

    She turns and smiles bitterly at him, shaking her head in farewell as she disappears into eternity.

    No!


    “No!”

    Jonah bolts awake in his quarters aboard the Amuro Ray. He checks the time. 22:11. One hour, eleven minutes after lights out. A little less than four hours before early reveille for a critical sortie.

    Realizing that he just won’t be getting any sleep, Jonah rises, dresses in his uniform, and leaves his quarters to stalk the corridors of the Amuro Ray.

    Jonah notices the door open and lights on at Major Athena Ibaz’s quarters.

    Jonah pokes his head in. Sure enough, Athena is up, working through a cigarette (the latest of at least six, Jonah sees, noting the stubbed out butts in the ashtray) as she intensely studies a map of the space colony Westlake.

    She works so hard, Jonah reflects, What drives her? She seems to have given over her entire life to this war. Why does she do it?


    “Please come in Jonah,” Athena says invitingly, although she has not looked up from the map on her desk. When she finally does, she offers Jonah that smile that he finds so irresistible.

    Athena’s so pretty, Jonah thinks to himself, admiring the allure of his comely commanding officer, Other than Jolie, Athena is probably the prettiest girl in the world. But what’s in her life other than this war? What would she be doing if she weren’t a soldier?


    Out of respect for Jonah, who doesn’t smoke, Athena butts out her cigarette. Knowing that he’s not a drinker, she offers him a glass of water.

    She also offers him an open ear, an open mind, and an open heart, “Tell me what’s on your mind, Jonah.”

    In the months since Jolie’s departure, Athena and Jonah have grown closer to one another. Their relationship, though increasingly affectionate, is not a romance; both of them are too loyal to Jolie to even consider such a development between them. Moreover, they relate more to each other like siblings…older sister and younger brother…two children of Zeon who have turned their backs on their nation’s violent heritage.

    In the past, Jolie had served the role of “younger sibling” for Athena, and Athena had taught Jolie as much as the younger girl would learn from her (and perhaps learned a few things from Jolie as well). Now that Jolie has left the Centurion Team, Athena finds herself transferring those feelings of fraternal affection to Jonah.

    Jonah, as both “younger brother” surrogate and second-in-command, is far more tractable than Jolie ever was. Whenever Athena issues Jonah an order, she can expect him to carry it out dutifully, without protest or deviation, which hadn’t always been the case with Jolie.

    By that same logic, however, Athena finds that Jonah lacks Jolie’s willingness to challenge her and provide her a counterpoint – something that Athena did not realize she would miss so much until after Jolie had left. Jolie served as Athena’s conscience…a voice of passionate protest that served to check Athena’s sometimes more callous tendencies, and although Jonah is more compassionate and humane than Jolie, he lacks the fiery assertiveness to be the same anchor of conscience that Jolie was.

    Jonah answers Athena’s question directly, “I couldn’t sleep. I’m anxious about the war…how it’s going to end…and what comes after.”

    “I’ve been thinking about the same things,” Athena admits, “Your brother Alexander is a very ambitious and cunning man, Jonah. To be honest with you, I still don’t trust him.”

    “Why are you helping him, then?” Jonah asks, “By helping him with this war, aren’t we just setting up more wars in the future?”

    Maybe he’s a better anchor of conscience than I credit him for, Athena ponders, before putting her hand on Jonah’s shoulder and replying, “Jonah…you’ll find that often in life, there are things you can’t help going through with…even when you know, deep down, it’s utterly wrong. Sometimes, life gives us only choices we know we’ll regret, but have to take anyway.”

    “I…don’t understand, ma’am,” Jonah says.

    “You’ll understand after you grow up some more,” Athena says, winsome smile appearing again, “And don’t call me ‘ma’am’ when we’re off duty. You make me feel like an old biddy.”

    Jonah returns the smile, “You’re far from an old biddy, Athena. You’re actually one of the prettiest girls I’ve ever known…”

    “…but Jolie is prettier, right?” Athena teases.

    Jonah turns red with embarrassment, “Uh…well, she…you…that is…”

    Athena is amused by Jonah’s discomfort, and decides to let him off the hook, “You don’t have to answer that, Jonah…I don’t want you end up in the infirmary just a few hours before we have to sortie.”

    The discussion comes around, as it so often does, to combat.

    Jonah asks, “Ma’a…um, Athena…do you think we can successfully carry out your plan?”

    Athena gives Jonah a stern look, and replies with a query of her own, “What sort of a question is that to ask now, Lieutenant?”

    Jonah gulps, “My apologies, ma’am. Of course, we’ll succeed.”

    Athena sighs, “Then again, there are no ‘of courses’ in warfare, no matter what we tell our superior officers. It’s always a gamble, Jonah…like so much of life is.”

    Athena turns to a photograph on her desk of a handsome young man who looks vaguely familiar to Jonah. He’s noticed the photo before, but has never inquired about it.

    “The guy in that photo,” Jonah remarks, “That’s Chieming’s older brother, isn’t it?”

    Athena nods, “Chieming’s brother…and General Noah’s son, obviously. His name is Hathaway Noah.”

    Jonah says tentatively, “You two are in love, is that right?”

    Athena gives Jonah a sidelong glare before flashing him another smile, “Jolie’s told you everything, hasn’t she?”

    Jonah grins sheepishly in return, “She mentioned that you had a boyfriend named Hathaway, who happened to be General Noah’s son, but didn’t tell me much else.”

    “It happened more than a year ago,” Athena says plainly, “the Centurion Team got caught up in providing security for General Noah during a high-level conference in Shanghai after his envoy was attacked by ISRLA assassins in orbit. I met Hathaway on Earth…”

    Jonah remarks, “I’m surprised you had the time to start up a relationship under the circumstances.”

    Athena gives a short, bitter laugh, “It’s not what you think: I discovered that Hathaway was an ISRLA agent, bent on murdering General Noah.”

    Jonah’s eyes widen and his jaw drops in disbelief, “But…they’re father and son. How could…why would…?”

    Athena gazes intently at Jonah, “You and General Miguel are brothers, too.”

    Jonah protests, “But that’s different. Alex and I have different beliefs, but we haven’t tried to kill each other!”

    “Yet,” Athena amends gravely, then continues, “In any case, my duty required me to fight against Hathaway…to the point of killing him if I had to…no matter how deeply I loved him.”

    “You…didn’t, did you?” Jonah asks, almost terrified of the answer.

    “No,” Athena says grimly.

    Jonah breathes a sigh of relief. Although he has come to love Athena very much as a sister-at-arms, he has always been somewhat intimidated by her. Beneath the glamorous, gorgeous image was a sharp edged human weapon, capable of shocking callousness at times (though, Jonah must admit, not purposelessly or gratuitously so). Jonah finds it reassuring that his “big sister” can listen to and follow her heart.

    Athena turns her gaze back on Jonah, “Hathaway and I can never be together, but love has a way of crossing any distance or any border. Bear that in mind, Jonah.”

    Jonah understands that Athena is referring to his own relationship with Jolie, “I will, ma’a…Athena.”

    “Come over here,” Athena says, “Since it doesn’t look like you’re going to sleep tonight, I want to review our strategy for the surgical strike on Westlake with you. You’re second-in-command of the Centurion Team now, Jonah, and there will come a day when you will be responsible not only for the lives of the soldiers in this unit, but also more lives than you could ever fathom. I want to know that you’ll be ready…when that day comes.”

    That sounds a bit morbid to Jonah…all the “wills” and “whens”…as if Athena has already determined to meet some unspecified, but inescapable doom.

    It’s always a gamble, Jonah…

    Episode 24 to be continued...

  5. #265
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    Episode 24 conclusion...

    “I do not like that woman, Major Athena Ibaz,” 1Lt. Kyoko Yamaguchi complains to her mentor and commanding officer, General Alexander Miguel, aboard Phobos Zeon flagship Cassius, “she is given to scruples that hinder our efforts. You have always taught me that scruples are for weaklings and fools, Lord Alexander.”

    Alexander remarks in response, “Major Ibaz is neither, Kyoko, and she might not be as scrupulous as you believe. For now, however, I want you to follow her directives. Whatever problems Athena Ibaz might present, she is good at winning wars. I plan to use her as long as I can.”

    “I believe she will become a threat to us eventually,” Kyoko adds, unwilling to concede a centimeter to that b*tch Ibaz.

    Kyoko seats herself in Alexander’s lap. Alexander reaches under the hem of Kyoko’s short uniform skirt to caress the warm, smooth skin of her thighs.

    Alexander locks Kyoko’s lips into a passionate kiss, and holds her head on his shoulder affectionately as he answers, “I understand. You are right, of course, Kyoko…and I’m very pleased by how perceptive you’ve become. In time, I will need you to eliminate Athena Ibaz for me. For now, I need you to be patient. Ibaz is right about one thing: wars are not won by antagonizing those whose support one needs. To win a war requires more than superior firepower, combat skill, and battle tactics, my dear. One also must be astute to the psychological effects one’s actions has on the populace. I want you to bear that in mind.”

    Kyoko says warmly, “I’ll do whatever you wish of me, my lord. I’m yours….”

    Alexander smiles as he embraces Kyoko more tightly, allowing the beautiful teenager to fall asleep in his arms.

    Kyoko is young, Alexander reflects, and although highly gifted, she remains naïve to how this degenerate world operates. She will learn. She must learn. When I claim my destiny as the Sovereign of Zeon, she will be my Queen. Together, we will spawn the new pure race of Spacenoids that will claim the stars as their domain.

    ************************************************** *************

    03:33

    Zero Hour has come.

    Across the Alliance armada, troops rush to duty stations in preparation for the surgical strike on Westlake Colony. Gunners take positions behind their cannon emplacements. Communications technicians check for clear channels. Mobile suit pilots strap themselves into the cockpits of their mecha.

    Major Athena Ibaz and 2Lt. Jonah Michaels take to their Cour de Leon and Centurion Gundam mobile suits, respectively. The commanding officer of the Centurion Team and her executive officer exchange a fist-bump wishing each other luck before disappearing into the cockpits of their mobile suits.

    Athena opens communications to all Alliance Forces mobile suits, “This is Major Athena Ibaz to all units. We’ll be entering the Westlake Colony through the access ports now displayed on your combat data screens. Our intelligence personnel have identified these access ports as relatively lightly guarded and thus, vulnerable to penetration, but use extreme caution. This could be an enemy entrapment ruse or, perhaps, the situation has changed since this data was last updated three hours ago. Good luck to all of you. Ibaz out.”

    ************************************************** ****************

    On the mobile suit launch deck of the Cassius, 1Lt. Kyoko Yamaguchi of the Phobos Zeon Forces straps herself into her Elmeth Gamma and runs a final systems check. The success of this operation depends greatly on her, so she can leave nothing to chance. She will not fail Zeon. She will not fail Lord Alexander.

    The mobile suits line up on the launch catapults of their respective mother craft, and are hurtled once again into the blackness of space.

    ************************************************** **************

    Aboard the Amuro Ray

    “Major Athena Ibaz, Cour de Leon, now launching.”

    “2Lt. Jonah Michaels, Centurion Gundam, now launching.”

    “Chief Warrant Officer Chieming Noah, Jet Jegan, now launching.”

    ************************************************** ********

    And aboard the Cassius…

    “1Lt. Kyoko Yamaguchi, Elmeth Gamma, now launching.”

    At 04:11, all is quiet in the space surrounding the Westlake Colony. The Alliance Forces’ disposition since breaking off the previous engagement has been characterized as a “withdrawal,” and the Confederation Forces have taken advantage of the lull to lick their wounds and prepare a counterstrike.

    Rear Admiral Glengarry McFarlane of the Callisto Armada has been given responsibility over the Westlake Colony by Fleet Admiral Lara Constantinas. McFarlane is a thirty-year veteran of the Zeon Forces, and commanded the Zeon destroyer Spoiler during the Battle of Solomon. He has a proven record of success in battle that stretches back decades across dozens of campaigns.

    McFarlane is on the bridge of his current command, the battleship Dessler, supervising the maintenance and repair work being conducted on his forces’ mobile suits and ships. Labor resources being insufficient among the enlisted personnel, the Confederation Forces have taken to conscripting the citizens of Westlake Colony, mostly unwillingly, to work as auxiliary personnel in the maintenance docks.

    Westlake has been occupied by the Zeon Confederation Forces now for nearly three months, and the once peaceful and prosperous (and strategically located) colony has endured privation and acts of outright thuggery by their occupiers ever since. Westlake’s security forces, supported by the Earth Federation, were overrun by the Confederation Forces in January. Those suspected of anti-Confederation activities were systematically rounded up and eliminated during the first weeks of the occupation, and as many as five-hundred thousand of the colony’s inhabitants have been killed or have otherwise disappeared. All civil liberties have been suspended indefinitely, and Confederation mobile suits and foot soldiers constantly patrol the streets of the colony, attacking those whose actions they consider “suspicious” without trial or inquiry.

    A few Westlake citizens have gathered in what was once a beautiful park near the middle of Westlake City, trying to eke out a poor meal of the meager rations provided by the Confederation Forces. Malnutrition and disease have begun to set in at the colony, and these factors will likely end up taking more lives at Westlake than will beam or missile blasts.

    Thirty-five year old Matthew Colvin takes a seat in the park with his lifelong friend, thirty-two year old Ganeesh Bhatangar, sharing cans of cold rations. The two friends are lucky to be alive. Many of their friends and relatives, however, have not been as fortunate. Matt lost both of his parents and a brother, while Ganesh is now a widower…and the parent of an infant son who will never grow to manhood.

    Matt scoops what remains of his rations into Ganesh’s can, “These f*cking Zeon bastards expect us the live off these rotten scraps. They’ve got to be f*cking sadists. If they had any human decency in ‘em, they would have just killed us and been done with it when the fighting started.”

    Ganesh, once a robust, bulky man, has since shriveled into a pathetic shell of his former self, lacking nourishment both from the shortage of edibles, and from the depression into which he has fallen since the loss of his wife and son, “I only wish they had taken me with my dear Gopi and little Sanjay. I had just seen them off on the shuttle leaving the colony, when one of their mobile suits…one of their mobile suits…”

    Ganesh breaks down into sobs, replaying the events in his mind…his horrified screams as he watched the Zeon Confederation Forces’ Dreissen-III mobile suit bring its beam tomahawk down on the space shuttle that would have borne his wife and son, and dozens of other helpless civilians, to safety.

    “They said none of us could be allowed to leave alive,” Ganesh continues, “That we were to remain here to serve whatever needs that the Confederation had. Then they…they…”

    A heavy vibration alerts Matt to the approach of a Callisto Zeon mobile suit, escorted by a squad of rifle-bearing Callisto Zeon soldiers.

    A stern faced Callisto Zeon sergeant approaches, demanding, “You two…what are you doing out here?!”

    Matt replies, “Just trying to eat our rations, sir. Nothing else.”

    The sergeant un-straps his rifle, firing rounds at the feet of the two men, forcing them to scurry away, “Go eat inside your homes. If I catch you out here again, I’ll be aiming for your heads rather than your feet next time.”

    Matt and Ganesh leave the park, fully aware of the guns trained on them.

    “Zeke bastards,” Matt mutters under his breath, “they’ll pay for this some day…”

    Ganesh, pushed over his limit by hunger, by fear, by a desire for vengeance, decides not to wait for this “some day” that might never come. His teeth bared in rage, his eyes wild, Ganesh turns around and charges towards his tormentors.

    “ZEON PIGS! YOU MURDERED MY WIFE AND SON! I’LL TAKE ALL OF YOU TO HELL WITH ME!” Ganesh screams.

    “Ganny, don’t, my man!” Matt pleads.

    It’s too late. The Zeon troops level their weapons towards the two friends.

    Ganesh falls to his knees, his chest a cavity of blood.

    “GANNY!” Matt screams.

    There follows an explosion at one of the terminals of the space colony. The Callisto Zeon troops and mobile suit escort rush towards the explosion, to investigate its cause.

    “Ganesh!” Matt cries, cradling the head of his dying friend.

    Matt hears the roar of mobile suit engines engaged at maximum power. He looks above into the skies of the colony to see Earth Federation Forces mobile suits…a Gundam, and several mobile suits of the GM type.

    “You see that, Ganny?” Matt says through sobs, “The Federation is here, my man! The Federation is gonna liberate us, teach these Zeke bastards a lesson, and make life good here good again…like it used to be…”

    Ganesh sees the Federation mobile suits in skies, smiles briefly, and dies with a sigh.

    ************************************************** ***************

    “Target all military objectives,” Major Athena Ibaz orders from the Cour de Leon, “Hit their ships, maintenance facilities, mobile suits, weapons stockpiles…but stay clear of the residential zones!”

    Centurion Team and all Earth Federation Forces mobile suit units obey Athena’s orders dutifully, well aware of the consequences they would face if they fail to respect the commands of the Deputy Director of the Earth Federation Special Forces. To fight with that precision is difficult, and adds to the risk, but Major Ibaz has been very specific that the surgical strike must minimize losses and damage to the civilian sectors of Westlake Colony.

    “Get their forces off the streets and out of the colony!” Athena orders, switching the Cour de Leon from Waverider to mobile suit configuration to contribute to precisely to that objective.

    Jonah uses the Centurion Gundam’s armored right leg in a flying kick to down a Callisto Zeon mobile suit looming menacingly over an apartment complex near the center of the city. Having stunned the enemy unit, the Centurion Gundam grabs its enemy’s armored body and engages thrusters, jetting towards a colony exit port.

    Everywhere around the colony, the scene is the same, with Alliance mobile suits using the safest methods possible to drive the enemy forces off the streets of Westlake City towards the spaceport and out into space.

    Athena surveys the scene around her…most of the chaos and mayhem is localized in the areas occupied by the Confederation Forces. Good…

    “All forces withdraw now,” Athena orders.

    As quickly as they came, the Alliance mobile suits exit the Westlake Colony.

    ************************************************** ***************

    Aboard the Dessler, Rear Admiral McFarlane issues an order, “This is McFarlane to all hunting dogs. The hunt is on. Bring them back bloody.”

    McFarlane turns to his helmsman, “Take the ship out of the colony. We’re going to pursue the enemy.”

    “Right away, sir,” the helmsman replies.

    The Alliance mobile suits burst out of Westlake Colony with the Confederation Forces in hot pursuit. The firefight continues, now with greater gusto that the Alliance Forces have the enemy out in the open, where they can fight without having to exercise caution to not endanger civilians.

    Athena opens communications once again, “Centurion Leader to Black Raven. Breakfast is served, Lieutenant.”

    The Elmeth Gamma bursts onto the scene, faster than the senses can track, letting loose with its multiple weapons systems, immolating Confederation mobile suits and warships en masse.

    A new flight of mobile suits arrives in the melee zone, much faster and more nimble than the units that the Alliance Forces had heretofore been fighting.

    The Callisto Newtype Corps has arrived.

    Captain Renaldo Desmond, commanding officer of the so-called “Family,” issues orders to his elite Newtype unit, “This is Daddy to his boys and girls. We’re going bird-hunting kiddies. Ever skewer a black raven before?”

    “No, sir, but we’d like to do it sir,” comes the chorus of eleven.

    “Ready the nets and the guns, then,” Desmond replies, “Daddy will show you how it’s done!”

    From the Cour de Leon, Athena surveys the situation and contacts the Amuro Ray, “Captain Beecher, please deploy the fleet. Pin the enemy down so they can’t get away from the Black Raven.”

    “Roger that, Major,” replies Captain Beecher.

    The Alliance Armada closes in, its weapons primed for bombardment.

    ************************************************** *************

    Aboard her Jet Jegan EWAC unit, Sgt. Helen notices fire breaking out back at the Westlake Colony, “Major Ibaz!”

    Athena spots it, “Centurion Team units to Westlake!”

    The Centurions follow their commanding officer back to the burning space colony.

    In the midst of her battle with the Callisto Newtype Corps, Kyoko makes contact with her squad, “Black Ravens…support the Centurion Team!”

    “Roger, ma’am,” comes the response from Chief Warrant Offer Charles Calley, Kyoko’s second in command.

    “Black Ravens to Westlake,” Chief Calley orders.

    Vice-Admiral McFarlane, having sensed that the odds are against his forces in this engagement, has ordered a “Scorched Earth” attack on Westlake. Perhaps his forces will not be successful in holding onto the colony, but better to destroy it than to allow the Alliance Forces to capture it.

    The Centurion Team bursts back into Westlake to find a scene of chaos…a limited number of Confederation mobile suit units not lured into the battle raging outside the colony are wreaking havoc upon the city.

    The Jet Jegans, Guncannon 100s, Centurion Gundam, and Cour de Leon take positions for urban combat, exchanging fire with the few remaining Dreissen-III and Gellond units in the colony.

    The Black Raven Squad storms into Westlake Colony, attacking with abandon, filled with rage upon seeing its internecine kinsmen/foemen.

    Mobile suits tumble over buildings, including apartment complexes, offices, shops, and public facilities. Westlake City explodes into conflagration.

    Aboard the Cour de Leon, Athena seethes as she witnesses the Black Ravens’ reckless attack, “Stop this attack now!”

    The Black Ravens continue to attack the Confederation mobile suits heedless of the terrified human souls in the streets beneath their armored feet.

    “Dammit!” Athena snarls, then orders her squad, “Separate them! I want all the hostile units: Confederation AND Allied, neutralized NOW!”

    “Yes, ma’am!” comes the reply.

    Setting the example, Athena takes the Cour de Leon to the air, dousing a Callisto Zeon Dreissen-III and the Black Raven Squad Nova Doga it is matched against with super adhesive that immobilizes the joints of both mecha.

    Following suit, Jonah uses the magnetic clamp cables of his Centurion Gundam to discreetly neutralize three more mobile suits, coiling the cables around the allied and enemy units and sending a disabling surge of energy through the cable.

    All around, it is the same, as the Centurions subdue both Confederation foes and battle-mad Alliance units alike.

    All units are subdued except Chief Warrant Officer Calley’s Nova Doga. The young Phobos Zeon officer has lapsed into a berserker rage, and is repeatedly shooting at and hurling an already disabled Dreissen-III mobile suit through the city blocks of Westlake.

    “Confederation scum!” Calley growls, as he directs his mecha to lift the fallen Confederation mobile suit into the air again, “All of you deserve to die for daring to resist us!”

    So saying, Calley extracts his mobile suit’s beam saber from its storage nacelle, activating its green blade and preparing to plunge it into wreckage of the Dreissen.

    The explosion would likely destroy Westlake City.

    The beam saber is raised, poised to strike.

    A single beam strikes through the back of the Nova Doga, felling the Phobos Zeon mobile suit.

    Athena lowers the Cour de Leon’s beam rifle.

    Outside the colony, 1Lt. Kyoko Yamaguchi’s Elmeth Gamma has all but disposed of the Callisto Newtype Armada.

    Captain Renaldo Desmond is now a “father” with no “children,” his charges having all fallen to the Black Raven.

    In his heavily damaged mobile suit, a gravely wounded Captain Desmond stares at the image of the black mobile suit facing him…the one who, in a matter of moments, has eradicated his proud unit as easily as they had vanquished so many other enemies in the past.

    Desmond is down to his mobile suit’s beam saber. He would use it, in one last valiant charge.

    “You’re not done, yet,” Desmond bites out, launching his MS towards the Elmeth Gamma.

    Kyoko dispatches him with a contemptuously effortless slash from the Elmeth Gamma’s beam saber.

    Captain Roland Desmond’s mobile suit explodes, and his Newtype essence joins those of his recently departed comrades in eternity.

    The Callisto Newtype Corps is no more.

    All hail the Black Raven.

    Kyoko turns the head unit of her Elmeth Gamma towards the Westlake Colony, from which can see the flags of the Earth Federation and the Phobos Zeon being raised. The Alliance Forces are victorious. Westlake is liberated!

    But Kyoko also sees a disturbing sight, the Centurion Team’s mobile suits escorting out enemy units…and her own Black Raven Squad units, forcibly disarmed by the Federal Forces and in postures of surrender.

    ************************************************** **************

    Two hours later, Major Athena Ibaz glares furiously at General Alexander Miguel aboard the Phobos Zeon flagship Cassius.

    “Your men flagrantly violated orders and jeopardized the mission,” Athena says angrily, “They must understand that as long as the Alliance stands, they must operate under Alliance regulations and directives! If they won’t comply with those conditions, then I refuse to continue to allow them to serve alongside my personnel!”

    General Miguel, fingers steepled gravely, looks at Athena earnestly, and then says in a reassuring tone, “Major Ibaz, I understand and share in your anger. You are absolutely right. Insubordination is intolerable within the military, especially during a critical combat situation. I am deeply embarrassed by the actions of my men. I assure you that I will discipline them.”

    Miguel calls for Col. Ross Davenport, “Ross, send Chief Warrant Officer Calley in here immediately.”

    “Yes, my lord,” Davenport replies, and leaves to retrieve Chief Calley from the detention cell.

    “General Miguel,” Athena says more gently, “I respect that these are your soldiers, and I’m not asking you to modify your military’s culture on my behalf, but there must be a mutual understanding of our forces’ shared objectives.”

    “Say no more, Athena,” the general says, “my man was out of line, and he will face the consequences.”

    Chief Calley, looking rather beaten up after being extracted from the wreckage of his mobile suit, is ushered into General Miguel’s office by Col. Davenport and two Phobos Zeon MPs.

    General Miguel glares at his officer severely for a moment, then says, “Take a seat, Chief Calley.”

    The terrified Phobos Zeon officer sits, a cold sweat forming on his skin, his body trembling.

    “Explain your actions, Chief,” General Miguel says quietly.

    “My lord, I…I was overcome with hatred for the enemy. Hatred that has always been encouraged to us since before our academy days…since we were schoolchildren. I…I was frustrated sir, and angry because the enemy refused to yield to us…so…so I…”

    “That will be enough, Chief Calley,” Miguel says, “You are guilty of insubordination and failure to observe Alliance directives towards the safety of civilians. Before I issue your penalties, I want you to apologize to Major Ibaz.”

    Chief Calley turns to Athena as if in supplication, saying tremulously, “Major Ibaz, I…apologize for my actions. I sincerely regret failing to observe Alliance directives and acting counter to your orders. I am unworthy of continuing to serve in the Alliance Forces.”

    Athena says nothing, turning her back to the Phobos Zeon officer.

    “Chief Calley,” General Miguel’s intones with eerie calm.

    Athena hears a gunshot ring out, and spins in alarm.

    Chief Calley lies dead on the floor of General Miguel’s office, a gunshot wound between his eyes oozing blood and smoke.

    General Miguel holsters his sidearm.

    “Col. Davenport,” Miguel says grimly.

    “My lord,” Davenport responds.

    Miguel issues the following order to the colonel, “Have Chief Calley’s remains shipped to Side 3 for a proper military burial, with full honors. See to it that the Chief’s surviving family members are well-cared for, and issue a special reward pension in his name to his survivors, collectable annually.”

    “Yes, my lord,” Davenport replies, summoning the MPs to assist him in collecting Calley’s remains.

    “Military discipline is strict and certain in the Phobos Zeon Forces,” Miguel tells Athena, “Chief Calley needed to pay with his life for his insubordination. However, I also recognize his devotion to Phobos Zeon and his valor in combat, and thus, I also reward him by ensuring that his family will be well cared for in perpetuity. The Chief himself would likely agree this is just.”

    In it’s own perverse way, perhaps, Athena thinks.

    “It wasn’t necessary to kill him,” Athena says darkly.

    “On the contrary,” General Miguel rejoins, “it was unequivocally necessary. Discipline would otherwise break down. If one of the men under your command were insubordinate in battle, Major, would you not do the same?”

    Athena chooses not to reply to that question, saying only, “General, with your permission, I must take leave now and return to my command.”

    “Very well, Major,” Miguel says, “Sorry to have detained you so long, and for all the trouble my personnel have caused you. I look forward to seeing you again at the next strategy conference.”

    ************************************************** **********

    Another hour later, Jonah lights a cigarette tucked between Athena’s lips as the two and Chief Warrant Officer Chieming Noah sit at a booth in the Officer’s Club aboard the Amuro Ray. The trio shares a round of drinks as an off-duty steward blows a mournful old jazz tune on a saxophone.

    Athena exhales a stream of smoke and downs a shot of whiskey, shaking her head. Jonah and Chieming watch their commanding officer’s smoldering frustration with mounting anxiety.

    Athena eyes the two of them pensively, “You two sure are quiet tonight.”

    Jonah replies with a slight grin, “You haven’t exactly been talkative tonight either.”

    Athena inhales from the cigarette again, creasing her eyes, “I had a discussion with your brother tonight over today’s incident at Westlake.”

    “How’d it go?” Jonah asks, pouring Athena a fresh shot of whiskey.

    “Chief Calley is dead,” Athena says plainly, “Alex shot him right there in the office.”

    Jonah gulps, Chieming’s expression is blank.

    “Sometimes,” Athena says through clenched teeth, knocking down another shot of whiskey, “I wonder why the hell I even bother.”

    Athena rises and leaves the Officer’s Club, donning her officer’s hat and overcoat before she leaves…undoubtedly to face another long, sleepless night of anxiety and remorse.

    And this is after a day of victory. Westlake is no longer under Confederation control; the Confederation has lost a crucial supply base, and its hold over the Midway Colonies is in grave jeopardy.

    Jonah takes a sip of his own shot of whiskey, hating its taste…How can Athena drink this stuff?

    “An officer,” Jonah observes, “and a lady…”

    “…and it isn’t easy to be either one,” Chieming adds, sipping from her own glass of whiskey.

    At that very moment, Phobos Fortress, now completely cleared of civilian residents and infrastructure, is on its way back to the Outer System to play its crucial role in the final phase of the war. Phobos is now truly a battle fortress, all of its facilities converted to combat configuration. Lurching through space on its nuclear pulse engines, the fortress is expected to enter the Midway Zone in three weeks…

    End of Episode 24

    to be continued in Episode 25

  6. #266
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    EPISODE 25: TROIA

    Late April, U.C. 0100.

    Zeon Confederation Dvorvak, Zimmfer, and Letzer Doga mobile suits hurl forth thunderous volumes of missile and beam fire, as vainly to avert their destruction as to create sound in the vacuum of space. Dozens of them vanish in heavy Earth Federation/Phobos Zeon Alliance bombardment.

    From every direction through multiple access ports, Alliance mobile suits – GM-IVs, Jegan-IIs, Jet Jegans, Geara Doga-IIs, Gellonds, and Gryphons, storm into Ceres Base…driving the Zeon Confederation Forces from the stronghold just as the Confederation had driven out the Federal Forces from the same facility mere months ago.

    Outside Ceres, Alliance warships of every active category and class open fire upon the fortifications of the asteroid base with beam cannon and missiles. Fire erupts within the fortress, and explosions burst forth from every weak point on the asteroid’s surface.

    Major General Brock Quinn, given command of Ceres Base by Generalissimo Ulysses Spector and Governess Lara Constantinas after its capture from the Federation, receives an emergency dispatch from the Confederation Forces’ Command Central: “Abandon Ceres Base and begin recovery/regrouping of surviving forces in Jupiter orbit.”

    Major General Quinn orders the retreat. The tatters of the Confederation Forces stationed at Ceres Base commence an emergency withdrawal, losing a large number of units and remaining strength as the Alliance Forces continue to pound heavily upon them during their retreat.

    The loss of Ceres Base is the latest domino to fall in a line of setbacks for the Confederation that began with the loss of a sizeable portion of the Deimos Armada in the Mars Zone nearly two months earlier. The subsequent loss of the Westlake supply base to Alliance Forces in early April further choked off the Confederation’s logistical reach, making Ceres Base vulnerable to a long struggle of attrition. The Alliance has also sustained losses, but has been able to resupply, rearm, and recuperate from newly established bases on Mars, at Westlake, and now, apparently, from Ceres Base again too.

    Moreover, the Confederation’s intelligence source have determined that Phobos Fortress, General Alexander Miguel’s erstwhile base of operations and domicile, has moved into the Midway Zone after having disembarked its civilian population at Side 3 in Cislunar Space. That means the Alliance will have three points from which to push the Confederation further into the Outer System, and that is without taking into account the resources that the Alliance has on Earth.

    ************************************************** *************

    The Earth Federation Special Forces and the Phobos Zeon Forces’ Black Raven Squadron fight their way into the heart of Ceres Base, neutralizing the last remaining dregs of resistance by the Confederation Forces.

    Major Athena Ibaz’s Cour de Leon, in mobile suit configuration, deftly rips a Zeon Confederation Forces’ flagpole from its mount, snapping the pole in half and dropping it on the rubble.

    Two GM-IVs from the Federation’s 85th raise the flag of the Earth Federation Government over Ceres Base, the first time the colors of the Federation have flown over Ceres in more than five months.

    Ceres Base belongs to the Earth Federation Forces once again!

    Angel Heights, Ceres, Cosmos Columbia, Duquesne, Houston Heights, Macrotown, New Plains, Providence, Queenstar, Rigel Crossing, Xavier…all colonies occupied by the Zeon Confederation Forces at the beginning of the war, have since been liberated by the Earth/Phobos Alliance Forces.

    All that now remains is the Jupiter Zone, where the remaining Confederation Forces have concentrated their strength.

    It will be a tough nut to crack…at least directly.

    ************************************************** ***************

    Some twelve hours after Ceres Base returned to Federation control, General Alexander Miguel of the Phobos Zeon Forces and General Manron Blackhead of the Earth Federation Forces jointly host a press conference from Ceres. The supreme commanders of the Alliance are prepared to discuss the progress of the war and the prospect of victory.

    Miguel and Blackhead are surrounded by a veritable forest of microphones and cameras, and the glare of multiple flashbulbs is near blinding. A cacophony of voices raises a litany of questions.

    “What’s your next objective?!”

    “Is the Confederation really on its last legs?!”

    “How long do you think it’ll be before you can declare victory?!”

    “What plans does the Alliance have after the war?!”

    “Do you believe the end of the war with the Confederation will open a new era of long-term peace between Earth and Zeon?!”

    General Miguel allows General Blackhead to field the first round of questions. Never one to be reticent when he has an audience (and in this case, he has a potential audience of nearly all of twenty billion members of humanity), Blackhead is all pomp and circumstance (or perhaps, more accurately, pompousness and conceit) as he takes to the speaker’s podium and eyes and ears, electronic and organic, turn to him.

    Blackhead clears his throat meaningfully, his Earth Federation Forces dress uniform (with all medals on full display) immaculate and fussily arranged (Blackhead spent the past three hours with his image handlers in anticipation of the press conference).

    Waiting grandiosely for the clamor to die down, Blackhead says richly, “Ladies and gentlemen. I’m General Manron Blackhead, Supreme Commander of the Earth Federation Forces and Head of the Earth Federation Space Armada. It is my pleasure to report that the Alliance of the Earth Federation Forces and the Principality of Phobos Zeon Forces has secured the Mars and Midway Zones, and that the Alliance will liberate the Jupiter Zone soon. Our victory is imminent, and will stand as a testament to the strength of the Earth Federation, which has withstood every assault by every nefarious enemy since…”

    …but how long can it withstand a pig such as yourself in command, General? Major Athena Ibaz thinks to herself.

    Athena stands at the back of the large hangar bay that has been converted into a makeshift reception area for the press. Before the media was allowed into the hangar, Athena had already sequestered herself in the shadows...not wanting to be hijacked into performing in Blackhead and Miguel’s dog and pony show (Blackhead had requested her presence, but as it had not been a direct order, Athena disregarded the request).

    Now, standing safely behind press row, officer’s hat pulled low on her head and command overcoat draped over her shoulders for greater anonymity, Athena watches Blackhead’s grandiloquent dramatics through narrowed eyes, cigarette hanging loosely from between her lips in an expression of disgust.

    The downside of victory…glorifying bastards like Blackhead, Athena reflects with some regret.

    One of the Cislunar Free Media’s reporters presses Blackhead for specifics, “General Blackhead: you said that the Alliance’s victory is “imminent.” Could you elaborate on that? What specific plans do you have in mind to make that happen?”

    Here comes the good part, Athena thinks to herself, her eyes still narrowed, but her scowl curving up into a bitterly amused smile

    Blackhead smiles uneasily, attempting to appear confident and capable, but clearly nettled by the CFM reporter’s pointed question, “I can’t comment on specifics, as it would jeopardize the safety of our mission, but perhaps General Miguel could offer some insights that you would find enlightening. General Miguel?”

    The Leader of the Phobos Zeon takes the podium as Blackhead takes a place behind him. Miguel’s confidence and poise is every bit as genuine as Blackhead’s were feigned.

    Miguel takes a glance back at Blackhead, the Federal Forces commander shifting uncomfortably in his place, and remarks dryly to the assembled media, “That’s Federation policy for you: when in doubt, pass it to the Zeon.”

    That comment brings a round of approving laughter from the press corps; scathing wit is something that the media has not come to expect from a Zeon leader.

    The journalists are amused, but behind Miguel, General Blackhead’s face darkens with embarrassment.

    Standing in the shadows, Athena finds herself enjoying the press conference after all; for once, she almost finds herself admiring Alexander Miguel.

    Her cigarette nearly smoked out, Athena extinguishes its smoldering remains beneath her boot on the deck plate, and inserts a fresh cigarette between her lips. The graceful artist’s hand of 2Lt. Jonah Michaels, bearing a lit match, ignites the cigarette for Athena. Athena thanks her subordinate and surrogate “younger brother” with a fond rub on the back of his head.

    The journalists’ laughter having subsided, Alexander also becomes serious, addressing the CFM reporter’s original question, “Preparations for combat operations in the Jupiter Zone are already underway. The restoration of this base here is an important step of that process. Moreover, the arrival of Phobos Fortress in the Midway Zone provides us with an important launch point for the invasion of the Jupiter Zone. Phobos has been completely militarized and reconfigured for total combat application. We plan to drive the spear that is Phobos into the heart of the Zeon Confederation Forces.”

    Jonah whispers to Athena, “Isn’t it dangerous for Alex to be discussing our strategy so openly like that? The enemy watches the news too.”

    Athena exhales a tongue of tobacco smoke and replies, “Your brother isn’t stupid, Jonah.”

    So saying, Athena departs the press conference, leaving the generals to the media (and vice-versa). She has more important business to attend to.

    Jonah follows his commanding officer and friend, “Aren’t you going to stay for the rest of the conference?”

    Athena shakes her head, replying, “I’m not much of a fan of soap operas, farcical comedies, or disaster movies. Go get some rest, Jonah. We’re going to be plenty busy soon, so if there’s anything you need to do: now would be the time.”

    “Yes, ma’am,” Jonah replies, very much having some unfinished personal business he wishes to attend to…

    Episode 25 to be continued...

  7. #267
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    Episode 25 continued...

    At Callisto Fortress, which is now the primary stronghold of the remaining Zeon Confederation Forces, the Warlords of the Zeon Confederation have gathered to discuss their plans for defending the Jupiter Zone from the advancing Alliance Forces.

    Field Marshal Konrad Von Bach of Deimos Zeon, the Governess Lara Constantinas of Callisto Zeon, Viceroy Ulysses Napoleon Spector of Jupitorius Zeon, and Generalissimo Hadrian Reglas are seated in a conference room sequestered deep in the reinforced recesses of Callisto Fortress, grimly watching the press conference being broadcast live from Ceres Base.

    After a long moment of grim silence, Generalissimo Reglas is the first to speak, “We’re down to a third of our original strength. The losses in Mars orbit, at Westlake, and at Ceres have proven costly. Quite frankly, we’re not in a good position to defend the Jupiter Zone from a full-on Alliance invasion at this point.”

    Viceroy Spector counters, “Then we shouldn’t think about defending. We should think about attacking.”

    The other warlords stare at Spector in disbelief.

    “You can’t be serious, Spector,” Field Marshal Von Bach erupts, “What makes you think that, in our current condition, we’re capable of mounting a successful attack against the Alliance?!”

    “Their forces are concentrated at Phobos,” Spector says, “If we succeed in making critical strike there, doing as much damage as possible while they are still preparing for their invasion, then we can reduce their strength significantly…putting us back on an even footing with them.”

    “What about the Jupitorius Citizens’ Defense Militia?” Governess Lara Constantinas queries, “If we move against Miguel and his Federation cohorts, we’ll be leaving our backs exposed…”

    Spector snorts contemptuously, “We don’t need to worry about those upstarts. They’re scarcely trained, inexperienced, toy soldiers…of no consequential threat to us. We need not waste time or resources on them. The focus of our efforts must be on the Alliance Forces alone.”

    Constantinas replies, “The Jupitorius Defense Militia’s forces are not insignificant, Generalissimo, and could provide the Alliance another front from which to attack us. We’ll be trapped between their forces if we don’t take the militia down first.”

    “That’s not likely to happen,” Von Bach interjects, “the Jupitorius Defense Militia is ISRLA-sympathetic. They aren’t going to support the Earth Federation.”

    Constantinas is not mollified, “I think the loss of your fleet has addled your mind, Von Bach. You cannot be ignorant of the fact that the Jupitorius Defense Militia uses weaponry supplied by the Earth Federation, and that its troops were trained by elements of the Federation’s Special Forces. They are effectively auxiliaries for the Earth Federation Forces, and we would be wise to treat them as such.”

    “We should put it to a vote then,” Reglas proposes, “All in favor of attacking Jupitorius before launching an attack on Phobos indicate their decision by drawing their sidearms and laying them upon this table.”

    Governess Constantinas slams her sidearm on the table with resolute finality.

    She is the only one.

    “It’s decided then,” Spector says, “We take the fight to Phobos.”

    Constantinas takes her sidearm, rises from her seat, and without excusing herself, begins to leave the conference room.

    “Governess,” Spector says challengingly.

    “You gentlemen will do as you must,” Constantinas says, “as will I. Consider the Callisto Zeon Forces as having withdrawn from the Zeon Confederation.”

    “You can’t do that,” Spector threatens. He and his fellow Zeon warlords rise from their places at the conference table to confront their wayward comrade.

    “Can’t I?” Constantinas responds saucily, pointing her sidearm at them, “You’re welcome to try and stop me, if you think you can afford to waste precious time and resources on it.”

    Knowing that they won’t, Constantinas turns her back on her erstwhile rivals and comrades and leaves.

    “We don’t need her,” Von Bach mutters, “after we finish off the Alliance, we can deal with the Callisto Zeon as well.”

    Reglas, however, sighs, “That’s another part of our strength gone, however. Our plan will be more difficult to implement than other.”

    “Perhaps not,” Spector says, “if the Jupitorius Defense Militia is indeed, as the Goveness insisted, a threat to our rear flank, then it would be to our benefit to have the Callisto Zeon hold them off for us.”

    “I thought you didn’t believe the Jupitorius militia would be a threat,” Von Bach says, with the hint of a smile.

    “I still don’t,” Spector responds, “let Constantinas busy herself with them. Our objective remains Phobos Fortress and the Alliance. We will eviscerate them at Phobos!”

    “To Phobos!” the Zeon warlords chorus in agreement.

    ************************************************** ***************

    Aboard the Amuro Ray, 2Lt. Jonah Michaels waits anxiously by his easel, which is covered by a tarp.

    The handsome young artist-turned-soldier is so preoccupied that he is startled when he sees his commanding officer, Major Athena Ibaz, leaning, arms-crossed, on the threshold to the door of his chambers.

    “You know,” Athena says with a mischievous edge, “it’s against protocol for a junior officer to summon, no, insist that a senior officer to come meet him in his private quarters during off-duty hours, so this had better be good, Jonah.”

    “If it isn’t,” Jonah teases back playfully, “Are you going to throw me into the brig?”

    “Only if I get to be locked up in there with you,” Athena replies.

    Jonah stares silently at Athena in surprise.

    “KIDDING,” Athena says, finally smiling that pretty smile that Jonah of which Jonah is so fond, “Don’t get me wrong: you are cute, Jonah, definitely cute…but you and I are both otherwise committed, you know?”

    Athena’s remark more or less defines the parameters of her relationship with Jonah. They flirt with each other, at least verbally, quite often, but any sort of serious romantic relationship between them is off the table. To both of them, it would feel oddly and unbearably incestuous.

    Jonah has an actual, biological sister…Nanai Miguel, who was once the final lover of Char Aznable and Director of the Neo Zeon Newtype Development Program. After Char’s demise, Nanai went into seclusion. Her older brother Alexander had wanted Nanai to head his own Newtype development programs, but she repeatedly declined, and in recent years, Alexander and Jonah have lost track of their sister.

    Jonah and Nanai had never been close. He had always been closer to Alexander. In Athena, Jonah sees a surrogate…the affectionate (though at times stern) older sister than Nanai never was to him.

    Jonah takes Athena by the hand and pulls her into his quarters urgently, “I want to show you this!”

    Jonah removes the tarp from the easel to reveal a portrait of Athena, beautifully rendered by Jonah’s hand over the course of the past several months. The portrait conveys Athena’s elegant, graceful beauty…and the rapier-sharp mind behind her fiery blue eyes, and the passionate soul within a warm heart that Athena too often hides behind a wall of titanium.

    Athena studies the portrait carefully for a long moment during which Jonah is afraid to even breathe. He finally exhales in relief when he hears Athena whisper, “It looks great. You did a wonderful job on it.”

    “It’s a gift for you,” Jonah says, “please accept it.”

    “Thank you,” Athena replies, recalling another occasion when she conversed about art with another handsome young man.

    Athena remarks, “It’s a wonderful portrait, and very flattering, but what am I going to do with it? It takes a certain kind of egoist to hang a portrait of oneself in one’s office or bedroom.”

    Jonah laughs, “Alex has one of himself in almost every room of the manor back in Phobos City. I should know; I painted most of them for him.”

    Athena looks around Jonah’s quarters at the various paintings he has displayed, a few more of Alexander, some of gorgeous natural landscapes that Jonah has never visited, a number of abstract and surreal images, but mostly…portraits of Jolie.

    No doubt who’s in the boy’s heart, and on his mind, Athena thinks with a grin.

    The Jolie portraits are telling, reflecting dreams and wishes as much as material reality. Some of the portraits depict Jolie in her familiar Earth Federation Forces’ uniform or mobile suit pilot’s normalsuit, others depict her in alluring civilian clothing that she has been known to wear, and yet others clearly reflect images in Jonah’s dreams or imagination…Jolie in a bridal gown, Jolie with child, even one of Jolie in the throes of childbirth.

    Also, tellingly, there are no self-portraits. Though as handsome as a youthful demigod of ancient myth, Jonah is so egoless of his own self-image that he likely has never even considered using himself as the subject of one of his paintings.

    Athena says, “How much would you sell one of these portraits of Jolie for…and this one here of an Alpine landscape?”

    Jonah looks surprised, “Sell? You mean…you’re interested in buying my portraits?”

    Athena replies, “If you feel it’s against your artistic integrity to sell, I’m not going to insist…”

    “No,” Jonah says, “it’s not that. I’ve sold a few of my paintings before during my high school days. It’s just that…I didn’t expect you to be one of my patrons.”

    “I can’t call myself a collector,” Athena responds, “but I do have an appreciative eye for well-rendered art. Your work is excellent, Jonah. After the war is over, I really hope you do continue to pursue your studies at L’École des Beaux-Arts like you had originally planned.”

    “Thank you,” Jonah replies, resisting the urge to append “ma’am” to the end of his response, “But before I do, I have to find Jolie again first.”

    Athena smiles, “You still love her as much as ever, hmm?”

    “Yes,” Jonah admits.

    Athena nods approvingly and lets out a sigh as she takes a seat on Jonah’s workbench, “Hathaway is a bit of a connoisseur of the fine arts himself.”

    “Oh?” Jonah raises an eyebrow curiously, taking a seat next to Athena, “You mean he’s a collector?”

    That brings a quiet laugh from Athena, “You could say that. Hathaway is the ISRLA’s top intelligence operative…meaning that his stealth and subterfuge skills are among the best in the world. He’s used that skill to acquire a number of authentic Cezanne, Van Gogh, Rembrandt, Picasso works…you name it, he has it. Many of these works went missing after the Zeon occupations of Europe and North America during the One Year War and the Axis War. Hathaway’s been collecting them, and selling them on the black market to wealthy investors as a way to help fund ISRLA activities.”

    “So your boyfriend is an art thief,” Jonah says with some amusement, “You sure know how to pick them, Athena.”

    “It takes the wrong sort of man to fit the wrong sort of woman,” Athena replies with her characteristic dark levity, “You’re like one of those blank canvases on that easel, Jonah…unblemished. Unspoiled. If you continue hanging out with me, though, that’s not going to last.”

    “Even if that’s true, and I’m not sure it is,” Jonah says resolutely, “I’m with you to the end.”

    The two youths embrace as siblings would, and Jonah says to his alluring sister-figure, “If you like those paintings, I could just give them to you. You don’t have to…”

    Athena cuts him off, “I’ll accept the portrait you did of me as a gift, but as for the rest, I’ll pay you fair market value. I…don’t like to owe anyone anything...least of all my friends.”

    Jonah understands as much; Athena is nothing if not proudly and stubbornly independent. She would sooner die than be indebted to anyone. Jonah ponders whether that personality trait isn’t more a liability than an asset.

    As they reflect upon the numerous portraits of Jolie, Jonah and Athena cannot help but wonder what has become of their beloved White Phoenix…who haunts them from across the cosmos even after all this time.

    Episode 25 to be continued...

  8. #268
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    Episode 25 continued...

    At Anaheim Skunkworks’ plant situated far beneath the Lunar surface, Jolie Minh gazes at the White Phoenix Gundam with a sullen, longing expression on her fresh young face as a maintenance crew lowers the powerful experimental mecha onto a launch platform.

    Dr. Camille Vidan recognizes the expression, and floats down to the platform deck to lay his hand on Jolie’s shoulder.

    “I know what you’re thinking, Jolie,” Camille says, “but I also hope that you know better.”

    Jolie turns a hangdog expression to Camille or a moment before laughing bitterly, “Like you’re one to say anything about that, Doc! Wasn’t there a little incident at the Green Noah colony back in ’87?”

    Camille’s expression darkens, not particularly liking to be reminded of those days, but he responds by saying simply, “I hope you’re in top condition and ready to handle some tough work today.”

    “This sounds serious,” Jolie remarks, folding her hands behind her head.

    “About as serious as it gets,” Camille affirms, “we’re running final tests today.”

    Jolie’s eyes widen like saucers and she unfolds her arms, “You’re KIDDING! Why didn’t you tell me before now?!

    Camille smiles, “It would have ruined the surprise; and there’ll be more surprises when you get out there.”

    Within ninety seconds, Jolie is strapped into the cockpit seat of the White Phoenix Gundam and is running a final, pre-launch, all-systems diagnostic of the mobile suit, which check out A-OK.

    No longer seated in the cockpit with Jolie at the engineering and monitoring station is Camille; the training phase of operating the White Phoenix Gundam ended weeks ago for Jolie, and she has been operating the mighty machine solo ever since – Camille monitoring both the White Phoenix Gundam and its pilot from a control booth at the plant.

    The White Phoenix Gundam is raised to the surface of the moon, emerging on the surface of Earth’s only natural satellite as sunlight touches the side of Luna facing the mother planet.

    “White Phoenix Gundam – energy now at 100, all systems go,” Jolie reports back to the control booth.

    “Roger that, White Phoenix,” Camille replies, “Maneuver at military speed to lunar coordinates 43.3° S, 11.2° W.”

    “Roger that, Control,” Jolie replies, “43.3° S, 11.2° W…hey, that’s the Tycho Crater!”

    “The location of today’s final test run,” Camille affirms, “large enough arena for the main event.”

    “Tracking systems online,” Jolie announces, as the White Phoenix Gundam approaches the Tycho Crater at a speed of 686 knots before Jolie eases up on the throttle and brings the experimental mobile suit to a near crawl as it approaches within twenty kilometers of Tycho’s southern rim.

    “Jolie,” Camille warns sternly, “Be careful: the target drones will be using live ammunition. If you feel, at any point of the test, that it’s getting too hairy out there, just say “abort mission.” That code will cause the target drones to stop firing.”

    “Yeah, right,” Jolie says, thinking, Abort mission?…yeah, right…as if!

    The White Phoenix Gundam’s combat computer begins to acquire targets distributed across the disc of the Tycho Crater; positive identifications begin to appear on Jolie’s systems monitor screen.

    MAN-08 Elmeth

    MSN-02 Ziong

    MRX-009 Psycho Gundam

    MRX-010 Psycho Gundam MK-II

    AMX-004 Quebeley

    PMX-003 The O

    MSN-04 Sazabi

    NZ-333 Alpha Azieru

    Jolie blinks at the monitor in disbelief, “You HAVE to be f*cking kidding me…!”

    Camille’s voice replies through Jolie’s helmet receiver, “We’ve been restoring these older mecha almost since the time we started the White Phoenix project…in preparation for this final test. Moreover, each of the AI programs on those test drones runs on a series of logarithms based on the brainwave patterns of the original pilots. You’re not just facing those mecha; you’re also facing Lalah Sun, Char Aznable at two points of his career, Four Murusame, Rosamia Baudam, Ple-Two, Haman Karn, Paptimus Scirocco, and Quess Parayana.”

    Jolie remarks dryly, “I must have really pissed you off bad the past few months, huh, Doc?”

    Camille chuckles, “You’ll be fine. You’re the White Phoenix, remember.”

    Jolie throttles the White Phoenix Gundam faster towards the rim of Tycho.

    “Weapons systems to combat mode,” Jolie reports, closing the visor of her helmet.

    Jolie goes after the Psycho Gundam, the original -009 black model once piloted by Four Murusame, first…if only because it provides a big, fat, slow-moving target for her to get out of the way first before dealing with the faster, more mobile targets.

    Jolie lines the Psycho Gundam in the White Phoenix Gundam’s gunsight and opens with a salvo from the WPG’s hyperbeam rifle. She scores a direct hit upon the center of the Psycho Gundam.

    But the powerful stream of concentrated energy merely glances off the ebony shell of the dark Gundam.

    Damn! Jolie berates herself, I forgot that thing has an I-Field defense system!

    Jolie arms the missile rack of the WPG and prepares to attack the Psycho Gundam a second time, but before she is able to get a bead on the Psycho Gundam, she is forced to dodge a heavy salvo of beams fired from the Elmeth, which swoops in from nowhere.

    Jolie converts the White Phoenix Gundam into Wavediver mode to counter the Elmeth’s speed and maneuverability. The One Year War-era mobile armor is on the WPG’s tail, blasting at Jolie’s Wavediver with its front mounted beam cannon.

    Jolie jukes and twists her aerodynamic mecha, dodging the shots with relative ease. The WPG’s combat computer soon has a doule-dose of bad news for her, however: the Elmeth has just deployed its Psychom Bits units, and Jolie’s forward escape path is being cut off by a rapidly approaching Quebeley.

    The Quebeley was Haman Karn’s mobile suit during the closing phases of the Grypps Conflict and the Battle of Core 3 during the Axis War. Both Titans and AEUG pilots grew to fear it.

    The Quebeley disperses its Psychom Funnels, which are descended from the Elmeth’s Psychom Funnels, and suddenly, Jolie finds herself hemmed in by not only the Quebeley and the Elmeth, but their Psychom-attack units as well.

    Jolie halts the Wavediver in mid-flight and reconfigures it to White Phoenix Gundam mobile suit configuration. Jolie holds the WPG absolutely still as the Psychom Bits and Funnels bear down upon her.

    The Psychom Funnels and Bits unleash a torrent of beam energy, creating an impenetrable web of destructive energy.

    The White Phoenix Gundam moves in that very instant, twisting, zigzagging, spinning around and between the trajectories of the deadly beams, negotiating through the tortuous, solitary path of escape.

    The Psychom Bits and Funnels destroy each other, their beams having missed their intended target.

    Jolie draws the White Phoenix Gundam’s beam saber and stabs it through the center of the Quebeley. Extracting the energy blade, Jolie twists the WPG around to unleash heavy explosive missiles at the advancing Elmeth.

    Two spherical explosions. Two targets down.

    Jolie barely has time to register her first two kills before the White Phoenix Gundam is nearly gored from behind by a charging The O, which just misses impaling the WPG in the back with its beam saber.

    “Be careful with this one, Jolie,” Camille warns grimly.

    That’s the one that got Doc at the end of the Gryps War, Jolie realizes, Paptimus Scirocco’s mech.

    As Jolie approaches, she senses a powerful and painful wave of PSI-energy reaching out for her like the coils of a giant snake, surrounding the cortex of her brain, attempting to squeeze the life out of her mind…to destroy the essence of who she is and plunge it into an everlasting miasma.

    Jolie’s eyes flash with white lightning as her own mind resists, shedding the coils that threaten to engulf her.

    “GET OFF OF ME!” Jolie screams.

    A burst of energy lances forth form the White Phoenix Gundam, instantly finding its way to The O and disintegrating it.

    The effort of defeating the Jupitorius mobile suit leaves Jolie shaking and panting…and totally unprepared for the dual attacks of both Psycho Gundams.

    PG-II lashes out at the WPG with its enormous Gundarium hand, slapping the WPG down into the lunar sand.

    Jolie feels the bone-shattering impact and grunts in pain. When she opens her eyes, she sees the PG-I’s armored foot about to stomp on the WPG.

    Jolie bears her teeth in unbridled rage, “No, you DON’T!’

    The WPG diverts the foot of the much taller, much more massive Psycho Gundam with the strength of its armored arms, sending the monstrous mobile suit toppling onto its back.

    Jolie engages the thrusters of the WPG, freeing mecha from the lunar surface, diving headlong into the Psycho Gundam MK-II, bowling it over.

    Jolie, berserk with rage, slams the fists of the White Phoenix Gundam against the shell of the Psycho Gundam MK-II again and again…severely damaging the larger mobile suit’s critical systems with nothing more than the WPG’s bare fists.

    “You think you can beat me just because you’re BIGGER?!” Jolie demands, “I’ll smash you into bits small enough to SWALLOW!”

    So preoccupied is Jolie with wrecking the already critically damaged and dying PGMK-II that she apparently fails to notice the first Psycho Gundam rising behind her, looming over the WPG ominously with its multiple beam cannon primed to blast the smaller mobile suit in the back.

    At that instant, the WPG grabs the PGMK-II’s massive super beam saber, which is mounted within the PGMK-II’s forearm, and twists it around, boring it into the heart of the first PG like a knight slaying an immense dragon.

    Jolie launches the White Phoenix Gundam in Wavediver mode away from Tycho Crater at maximum afterburner…not wanting to be caught in the wake of dual Psycho Gundam fusion engine explosions. Tycho Crater erupts into a hellish burst of light and lunar soil within seconds of the WPG’s departure.

    The concussion rocks the WPG, forcing Jolie to muscle the control stick to prevent her mecha from being sent hurtling into the void.

    The erratic momentum of the WPG is halted with slamming impact that nearly knocks Jolie out. The teenaged Newtype ace pilot looks up at the shaking monitor display to see that the detached armored hangs of the Zeong now hold the WPG in their titanium grip.

    “Thanks for the brake,” Jolie bites out, “but you still can’t touch me!”

    Jolie attempts to shake off the Zeong’s hands, but they are magnetized to the WPG’s hull. Rapidly approaching are the Zeong’s main body and the Sazabi.

    Jolie manipulates a few switches that invert the electrical charge on the WPG’s armored shell…a survival trick that Athena had taught her during Jolie’s early days with the Centurion Team.

    The Zeong hands are forced to release the Wavediver, allowing Jolie to maneuver her mecha freely and reconfigure it to mobile suit configuration.

    But the Zeong body, to which the repelled arms reattach, and the Sazabi are on the WPG, their weapons already blazing.

    Not even Jolie is able to completely avoid the incoming fusillade. Jolie’s lightning reflexes kick in, and the White Phoenix Gundam maneuvers to dodge the incoming fire, but inevitably, the WPG suffers hits from the Zeong and the Sazabi’s multiple weapon systems to its head, main body, and right arm.

    But the White Phoenix Gundam was built to withstand punishment, and does. Despite the seemingly devastating direct hits, the WPG remains intact, its systems cycling up for counterattack.

    And its pilot is just as game.

    Two Chars, Jolie braces herself against her two enemies, I’m up against the Red Comet times two!

    Every mobile suit pilot of Jolie’s generation (and the generation before her) knows of Char, the Red Comet…the infamous ace of the Archduchy of Zeon Forces who terrorized the Earth Federation Forces during the One Year War and nearly perpetuated a hellish nuclear winter on Earth in the year U.C. 0093 by attempting to drop the asteroid fortress Axis upon its surface. Even now, seven years after his death, Char’s name continues to haunt all who pilot mobile suits in combat.

    And Jolie faces two of his most formidable war machines, operating on AI programmed to simulate Char’s battle tactics.

    Jolie’s eyes flash, and she snarls, “Not even two Red Comets can beat the White Phoenix!”

    Jolie senses the Sazabi taking aim at her WPG with its beam rifle, and maneuvers the WPG away just instants before the Sazabi’s rifle fires. She dives the WPG underneath the Sazabi and counters with a beam rifle shot of her own, but the red mobile suit succeeds in eluding Jolie’s shot.

    Before Jolie can even consider a follow up shot, a PSI spark alerts her to the fact that the Zeong is attacking again, having separated into head and dual arm blaster units. Worse, the Sazabi has deployed its Fin Funnels ahead of its salvo of missiles and rapid beam rifle blasts.

    But even that’s not the worst of it; the WPG’s sensors have detected the approach of the Alpha Azieru.

    Two Chars and a Quess too, Jolie thinks wryly, maybe Fa thinks I’ve been cheating with her husband behind her back and is trying to off me…


    The words begin form on Jolie’s lips, “Abor…”

    No…no way!

    Jolie twists the WPG around as if to fire upon the Sazabi with its beam rifle, but then twists and spins away, allowing the Sazabi’s Fin Funnels to destroy the attacking Zeong units.

    Killing a Red Comet with a Red Comet, Jolie grins, pleased that her risky maneuver worked.

    But there are still two more mecha to deal with, and a swarm of Fin Funnels on her back.

    On her back…

    Jolie sees the Alpha Azieru approaching, blasting at her with its multiple beam cannon, and thinks back a few minutes to when the Zeong had her in its iron grip.

    Fending of the Sazabi and its Funnels for a brief moment with a torrent of missiles, Jolie blasts at the Alpha Azieru with the WPG’s beam rifle, goading the massive mobile armor closer.

    When the Azieru is in grappling range, Jolie activates the magnetic coating on the WPG, attaching the WPG to the back of the Azieru.

    The Sazabi’s Fin Funnels are suddenly confused…uncertain whether to fire upon its ally and unable to separate the WPG’s profile from the Azieru’s.

    Jolie takes advantage of the Sazabi’s confusion to fire a few beam rifle blasts at it.

    The Sazabi counters with all of its weapon systems, hitting the Azieru with enough force to cause critical damage.

    Jolie switches off the magnetic field, launching the WPG from the destructing Azieru’s back and scoring a direct hit on the Sazabi with the WPG’s beam rifle.

    The Sazabi is crippled, and its Fin Funnels go into disarray. Jolie dispatches them with the WPG’s own Psychom attack units, dubbed “Quills.”

    Even as he Quills systematically and ruthlessly destroy the Funnels, Jolie activates the WPG’s beam sabre and with one mighty and vicious cleave, cuts the Sazabi clear in half.

    Jolie is about to declare victory with a whoop when the WPG’s combat computer acquires and identifies three new targets!

    MSZ-006 Z Gundam

    MSZ-010 ZZ Gundam

    RX-93 Nu Gundam

    Jolie groans, “Ah, great…just what I need…YOU guys too!”

    Camille Vidan’s transformable mobile suit goes into a kamikaze dive at the WPG in Waverider configuration…the same maneuver that Camille had used to kill Paptimus Scirocco at the Gate of Zedan years ago.

    Jolie transforms the WPG into Wavediver mode and the chase is on….Waverider vs. Wavediver in a dogfight across the lunar skies.

    In front of Jolie are the ZZ and Nu Gundams, blasting at the Wavediver with their weapon systems.

    Jolie confronts the ZZ first, using her WPG’s maneuverability against the ZZ’s raw power, transforming the WPG back to MS configuration as it dives toward its ancestor.

    The WPG sustains two blasts from the ZZ’s double beam cannon with its arm mounted shield. The WPG’s shield is sacrificed, but allows Jolie a clear shot from the WPG’s beam rifle against the High Mega Cannon built into the ZZ’s head.

    The ZZ’s most powerful weapon is thus neutralized, and the feedback from Jolie’s beam rifle shot causes the ZZ’s internal fusion engine to overload and explode.

    The explosion of the ZZ creates enough concussion to tear the wings off the approaching Z Gundam Waverider, which Jolie dispatches with a torrent of Psychomm Quills.

    That leaves the Nu Gundam.

    Captain Amuro’s mobile suit.

    Since her childhood, Jolie has admired Captain Amuro Ray more than any other person. Captain Amuro saved her life during her darkest hour, and gave to Jolie her image of what a hero should be…

    Could she fire upon him…even if it’s not really him, but a facsimile of his final mobile suit, guided by an AI system designed to mimic his combat idiosyncrasies as closely as a computer could?

    Yes.

    Jolie disengages all of the WPG’s weapon systems…missiles, beam rifle, Vulcan cannon, Quills…all except the beam sabre.

    The WPG minimizes its movements, except to dodge the incoming torrent of firepower from the approaching Nu Gundam.

    The Nu draws closer, extracting and igniting its own beam sabre as it charges on.

    The White Phoenix awaits.

    A moment of silence, a flash of light.

    The Nu Gundam passes the White Phoenix Gundam, the crossing of beam sabre blades, the searing and melting of metal.

    The two Gundams drift past each other in space, a dance of death.

    The crest antennae of the White Phoenix Gundam bends and falls off, and a diagonal gash emerges on the front of the WPG’s body, from its left shoulder to near just left and slightly above the cockpit module. Spars spew from the gash and the WPG collapses on one knee upon the lunar soil.

    The Nu Gundam stands still for a moment, before exploding into thousands of pieces of shrapnel, much of which bounces off the hull of the WPG.

    In the cockpit of the White Phoenix Gundam, Jolie pants heavily, her body bathed in perspiration.

    Camille’s voice comes gently through the communications receiver, “Jolie…are you all right?”

    Jolie takes a moment to gather herself before replying, “Yeah…yeah, just terrific. Thanks for nearly getting me killed, Doc!”

    Camille’s voice is full of relief and mirth, “Don’t forget: you came looking for this job.”

    “Yeah, if I’d known…,” Jolie begins.

    Camille becomes serious, “We have all the data we need for now, Jolie, and the WPG did take quite a bit of punishment, so bring it in.”

    “Roger,” Jolie says, limping the WPG back towards the Skunkworks facility.

    ************************************************** ****************

    Thirty minutes later, Jolie is disembarking from the cockpit of the White Phoenix Gundam.

    Camille greets her with a grin and a tube of Megajolt Cola, which is infamously advertised with the slogan, “MORE PARTS CAFFEINE THAN CARBONATED WATER,” which is only a slight exaggeration.

    Camille hands Jolie the super-caffeinated stuff with a pat on the shoulder, “That was an unbelievable performance you put on, Jolie.”

    “Yeah, I know I’m great,” Jolie says with her characteristically dismissive impatience, taking a long gulp from the tube of cola, “What about the White Phoenix Gundam, though? Did it pass?”

    “We’ll need to evaluate all of the data before we can make an accurate assessment of that,” Camille replies, “but based on what I saw you do today, I’d say it’s combat ready. Jolie: you took down eleven of the most powerful mobile weapons platforms ever devised!”

    “I was pretty awesome, wasn’t I?” Jolie smiles, eyes getting larger, buzzed on both adrenalin and the megadose of caffeine that has begun to circulate through her system.

    “WPG took some hits during the simulation, which isn’t surprising,” Camille remarks, “We’ll get the damage fixed within days, but it doesn’t look like this war is going to go on much longer. Your Jonah might not get this mecha in time to use in battle, Jolie.”

    Jolie, her mind now floating high above the lunar surface, nonetheless pulls it together enough to ask her mentor, “Doyoureallythinkthewarisgonnajustendlikethatdoc?! ”

    Camille chuckles, managing to somehow make out that ramble, and replies, “It’ll bring this phase to a close, at least. If history is any measure, though, it’s just another respite before the next bloodletting.”

    Jolie nods in agreement (moving her head up and down a little more earnestly than her neck agrees with), feeling a measure of relief that the immediate war is almost over, but also feeling an unshakable dread that peace, even temporary peace, will not come without a climactic, nightmarish final battle.

    God, Jolie prays silently, please protect Jonah…please! Keep him safe for me. I’ll do anything as long as Jonah is safe!


    Across the cosmos, aboard the Amuro Ray, 2Lt. Jonah Michaels looks up from his newest portrait of Jolie, as if sensing his beloved’s thoughts of him…

    Episode 25 to be continued...

  9. #269
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    Episode 25 continued...

    Within General Alexander Miguel’s private bedchamber aboard the flagship Cassius, on the General’s spacious bed, two unclothed bodies, slick with warm perspiration, embrace each other passionately, engulfed in the midst of passionate lovemaking.

    Kyoko Yamaguchi’s long, slender, luscious legs are wrapped around Lord Alexander’s chiseled, sculpted torso. She moans slowly, softly as the Prince of Phobos Zeon fills her with a thrill physical, emotional, and spiritual.

    Their lips lock in a lustful kiss as their hands explore each other’s physiologies. Their skin, covered in sweat, gleams by the faint lighting of the bedchamber.

    “You’re amazing, my dear,” General Miguel says quietly, his hands gently caressing the smooth warmth of Kyoko’s buttocks, “I truly believe that you are capable of anything.”

    “Of anything you wish me to be capable of, my lord,” Kyoko whispers breathily, “I’ve committed all of myself to you. All I want in return…is that you cherish what I give to you.”

    “You are the jewel of my empire,” Alexander says, “one day, you will rule it beside me as my empress, if you are willing.”

    The two kiss again, settling down into the comfort of the mattress.

    An hour later, with Kyoko sleeping peacefully in his embrace, General Miguel hears the gentle buzz of his private phone.

    Only Colonel Davenport has access to that extension, and he would only interrupt the General’s sleep (or other activities) for matters of utmost, urgent importance.

    Alexander picks up the phone receiver, “Go ahead, Colonel.”

    “My lord,” Colonel Ross Davenport’s voice comes through the line, “Forgive me for interrupting your rest. The fortress has arrived in local space, my lord.”

    Miguel is excited by the news, rising from bed and preparing to don one of his uniforms, “Excellent news, Colonel. Please summon Major Ibaz and have her meet me at Phobos.”

    “She’s already on the way, my lord,” Davenport reports.

    Miguel laughs, “That woman…always two steps ahead. I’ll be there in thirty minutes, Colonel.”

    Kyoko sits up in the bed, having awoken. She looks particularly alluring with the covers strategically draped around her unclothed form.



    $this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://img145.imageshack.us/img145/7876/kyokoyamaguchijf7.jpg')

    Kyoko Yamaguchi, the "Black Raven" of the Phobos Zeon Forces, and General Alexander Miguel's most devoted follower

    “Phobos Fortress has just arrived in local space, Kyoko,” Miguel informs his most valued subordinate and lover, “That means the final offensive will soon be underway. I’m going to there to make a final run through to see that all is ready.”

    “I should go with you,” Kyoko says, preparing to don her uniform.

    “No,” Alexander replies, settling Kyoko back into the bed, kissing her on the forehead, “I want you to stay here and rest. You’ll need all your energy for the battle ahead. I will see to this myself.”

    “That Ibaz woman will be there too, I gather,” Kyoko says, an edge in her voice.

    Alexander smiles, “Kyoko…do I detect a hint of jealousy?”

    Kyoko does not reply, looking away, obviously not pleased that the General is leaving her side to rendezvous, albeit for official matters, with that Earth Federation woman.

    Alexander kisses Kyoko again, holding her close, “Don’t be silly, my precious. She is only a weapon to be used in war…”

    “…just like I am,” Kyoko concludes, tears in her voice and in her eyes.

    “No,” Alexander says gently, “she is nothing like you at all. She sees me as an adversary, as I see her, in time. You are what I look forward to most when war is over, and Zeon’s light shines across the cosmos.”

    That is enough, more than enough to satisfy Kyoko. She embraces Alexander one final time before blessing his departure to Phobos Fortress.

    ************************************************** *************

    General Miguel arrives at Phobos Fortress within thirty minutes, as promised. The Phobos Zeon leader finds Major Athena Ibaz awaiting, accompanied by Alexander’s own brother, Jonah, now calling himself “2Lt. Jonah Michaels” of the Earth Federation Forces.

    When this is over, Alexander thinks to himself, I must bring Jonah back to Zeon with me. He has finally found his duty to serve in the military, but is doing so under the wrong flag, in the wrong uniform, for the wrong people.

    For now, Miguel greets his two Federation liaisons, “Major Ibaz…2Lt. Michaels.”

    Jonah is, as always, notably uncomfortable in his brother’s presence.

    Athena says, “The armaments are all set. We’ll be ready to move out as soon as you give the word, General.”

    “Excellent, Major,” Alexander nods with approval, “Assemble your forces. We begin at 21:00.”

    “Yes, sir,” Athena replies, signaling for Jonah to follow her.

    Alexander takes a long look around Phobos Fortress. The asteroid fortress has been his home since his childhood. The city and palace where he came to manhood are no more, having been razed for purely military applications.

    Miguel sighs. He is not a sentimental man. Sentimentality is a weakness of fools, and is a fatal flaw for a warrior. Nonetheless, a part of Alexander feels a pinge of regret that his home will soon be no more.

    But for the Glory of Zeon, no sacrifice is too great to be given. If Phobos must be lost to that cause, then so be it…

    Twelve hours later, the battle has begun…a titanic, climatic final struggle between the Earth Federation/Phobos Zeon Alliance Forces and the Zeon Confederation Forces. There is no doubt in anyone’s mind, combatant in the midst of the battle, or observer from distant corners of the Solar System, that this will be the decisive sortie of the conflict.

    The Zeon Confederation Forces initiated the attack at Zero Hour, catching the Alliance Forces, as Confederation expected, unprepared and unawares at Phobos Fortress. The Confederation has consolidated its strength for a devastating strike at Phobos, and thus far, their stratagem is meeting with success, as the Alliance Forces sustain heavy losses at Phobos.

    The Warlord of Zeon regret that they do not have the additional strength of the Governess Lara Constantinas’ Callisto Zeon Forces at their side. Constantinas withdrew her forces to pursue an attack against the Jupitorius Defense Militia, which she perceived a threat to the Confederation’s rear flank. The warlords will deal with Jupitorius and Constantinas later, after they defeat the Alliance Forces…a goal whose completion now seems imminent.

    Among the thousands of mobile suit pilots caught in the epic struggle, none fights more brilliantly than the Black Raven of the Phobos Zeon Forces. 1Lt. Kyoko Yamaguchi’s ebony Elmeth Gamma stalks the cosmos like an angel of death…leaving a field of destroyed Zeon Confederation Forces mecha and ships in her wake, fighting with an effortless grace that renders war-making into an art form.

    The casualty figures being reported are staggering…tens of thousands of deaths on both sides of the conflict in this single battle, a mere half dozen hours old.

    Major Athena Ibaz blasts two more Confederation mobile suits to oblivion with missiles from the Cour de Leon and surveys the situation. The enemy forces are concentrated in the battle zone. The time has come…

    “This is the Director to Alliance Productions’ cast and crew,” Athena says through the tactical net, “time to wrap up the movie, folks. Let’s give them a final act that’ll leave them applauding in a thousand years!”

    The Alliance Forces withdraw into Phobos Fortress, heavily damaged and spewing sparks.

    Viceroy Ulysses Napoleon Spector, who has assumed command of the overall Confederation Forces, issues an order: “All forces pursue! Rout them at Phobos! No prisoners!”

    The Zeon Confederation Forces penetrate Phobos Fortress, the asteroid stronghold’s artillery units unable to mount a meaningful resistance. Alliance mobile suit and capital ship escorts fall back into the fortress.

    The Confederation Forces launch a massive assault within Phobos Fortress, destroying all within sight with vicious glee and reckless impunity. Phobos is broken, and Earth will be next…

    Viceroy Spector frowns…This is too easy.

    From the safety of the space behind Phobos Fortress, at the head of a massive Alliance armada, Athena gives the order: “ACTION!”

    Within Phobos Fortress, embedded within the ore of the asteroid’s bowels, tens of thousands of heavy incendiaries are detonated simultaneously, creating perhaps the most powerful explosion of destructive force every unleashed by human technology.

    Hundreds of Confederation mobile suits, and dozens of warships, are lost in the explosion…the bulk of the Confederation Forces are incinerated within the rapidly collapsing and burning wreck of Phobos Fortress.

    “A Trojan Horse!” Viceroy Spector rages, “Phobos was a Trojan Horse! All surviving units: withdraw NOW!”

    The fortunate Confederation troops not caught in Phobos Fortress’ dying paroxysm, attempt to flee from the battle zone, but their escape routes are blocked by Alliance Forces that appear from behind the smoldering remains of Phobos Fortress, and from the Salamis-III warships and Nemo-7 mobile suits of the Jupitorius Defense Militia, now vectoring in from the Jupiter Zone.

    The Governess Lara Constantinas and her Callisto Zeon Forces have already been routed by the Jupitorius Militia. The Governess had planned to launch a preemptive strike against Jupitorius, only to have the Jupitorius Militia attack (on a prompt from Major Athena Ibaz of the Earth Federation Forces) her unprepared forces first. The Governess fell in battle against the Shangrila Battalion, led by Judau Ashta and his allies Lu Luka, Eno Abbov and Mondo Agake, and what survived of her forces after they were routed by the Jupitorius Defense Militia has surrendered to the Jupitorius Colony authorities.

    Governor Olivia King of the independent space republic of Jupitorius then dispatched the Jupitorius Defense Militia to relieve the Alliance Forces at Phobos Fortress, trapping the Confederation Forces in a closing pincer between the Alliance and the Jupitorius Militia. Months ago, Major Athena Ibaz had championed the decision by the Earth Federation Government to arm and train the Jupitorius Defense Militia, securing a gentleman’s agreement with Governor King that the JDM would aid the Alliance if necessary against the Zeon Forces. Governor King and the JDM were more than willing to honor that agreement, ridding Jupitorius of the threat of the Zeon Confederation Forces.

    From the Cour de Leon, Athena issues a new order, “ATTACK!”

    The Alliance Forces charge the confused and badly mauled remains of the Confederation Forces, now pinned between the advancing Alliance and Jupitorius Militia.

    “All ships,” Athena commands authoritatively, “prepare to open fire with Hyper Particle Beam Cannon. Target: remaining Zeon Confederation Forces.”

    Dozens of Alliance capital ships direct their most powerful primary weapons systems at the remains of the Confederation Forces, now penned into an area of space between Phobos and the Jupiter Zone boundary. Many, many tongues of star flame spew forth from enormous cannon maws.

    Once again, the cosmos glows angrily in the color of blood, when it ends, there is only a sudden, all-engulfing still silence, as there has been for billions of years.

    The wreckage of men. The wreckage of mobile suits…as far as the eye can see. Space is a field of death, of destruction, of devastation.

    From the bridge of the Cassius, General Alexander Miguel smiles, And so Athena…the warrior goddess…unleashes her Trojan Horse and brings to an end the Warlords of Zeon…all except one…the true God of War.

    Well played…exquisitely well played, Athena Ibaz…Duchess Minerva Zabi. Now, the battle that remains will be between you and me.


    The Great Zeon Civil War is over. The Archduchy of Zeon is reunified under the leadership of Archduke Alexander Miguel.

    Cheers erupt among the surviving Alliance troops, through the colonies of Jupiter, Midway, and Mars, in the Cislunar Colonies, on the lunar surface, and on Earth itself. The war has ended, and a new day dawns.

    At Anman City, Jolie Minh breathes a sigh of relief…she senses Jonah still with her, still in this cosmic plane, celebrating the Alliance’s triumph, but like Jolie, apprehensive about the future.

    At the Jupitorius Colonies, there is celebration, as the citizens of the space republic welcomes its heroes home.

    At Side 3, there is apprehension in the office of Dr. Artasia Daikun. The woman once known as Sayla Mass wonders, as do her comrades Dory Ischinda and Hathaway Noah, what the Alliance’s victory will mean for the people of Side 3…including the newly arrived Phobos transplants, who have begun to reestablish the old Zeon aristocratic order at Side 3, much to the chagrin of the colony’s population.

    In the council chambers of the Earth Federation Government in Shanghai, there is self-congratulations in the Federal Assembly and in the office of President Gloria Brenner. Victory for the Alliance means reelection for the incumbent officials. They would never vote out winners of war. Never.

    At the Noah residence on the outskirts of Shanghai, retired Federal Forces general Bright Noah and his wife, Senator Mirai Yashima-Noah, watch the developments grimly. A Federation victory should be cause for celebration, but neither Bright nor Mirai feel like celebrating. They’ve both seen enough “victories” to know better…

    In the hangar bay of the Amuro Ray, 2Lt. Jonah Michaels, Chief Warrant Officer Chieming Noah, and the rest of the Centurion Team embrace one another…brothers and sisters of war…glad that they have all survived the conflict.

    Major Athena Ibaz sits on the shoulder of her Cour de Leon, still in her normalsuit, helmet removed, watching them with a bitter smile.

    Athena removes a handkerchief from one of the normalsuit’s pockets, using it to tersely wipe her fingers.

    Re-pocketing her handerchief, Athena reflects as she watches her squad mates...

    Let them enjoy this victory. The real war begins next.


    End of Episode 25

    To be continued in Episode 26!

  10. #270
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    EPISODE 26: DAY OF RECKONING

    June, U.C. 0100, forty days after the end of combat operations between the Earth Federation/Phobos Zeon Alliance and the Zeon Confederation…

    The Governess Lara Constantinas, formerly the leader of the Callisto Zeon, stands before the Earth Federation/Phobos Zeon Alliance Military Tribunal, consisting of Archduke Alexander Miguel of the Archduchy of Zeon, Supreme Commander Manron Blackhead of the Earth Federation Forces, and a half dozen other Federation and Phobos Zeon flag-ranking officers.

    The trial had been short: Constantinas has faced scarcely a half day of perfunctory questions about her role in the Zeon Confederation insurgency. Clearly, the tribunal has already decided her fate, and has only gone forth with this monkey show of a hearing to satisfy the foolish masses.

    A military court clerk declares, “Lara Constantinas, this tribunal finds you guilty of all charges, including conspiracy, treason, and insurrection. The tribunal has sentenced you to termination, with extreme prejudice.”

    Constantinas looks defiantly at her killers, particularly Archduke Miguel, to whom she spits, “You consider yourself worthy of the throne of Zeon, Miguel? You will meet the same end as the rest of us. They will drag your corpse through the streets of Side 3!”

    Alexander says nothing response, using a casual gesture of his hand to have Constantinas moved to the site of execution.

    As two military bailiffs pull Constantinas to her final fate, the former Zeon warlord screams back towards the Federation officials, “He’ll betray you, you fools! Mark my words: he will betray you!”

    Constantinas is taken outside of the tribunal chamber. A moment later, a single gunshot is heard.

    “This concludes our business here,” Archduke Miguel says with a sigh, rising from his place at the tribunal desk. He shakes hands with General Blackhead.

    “Now, we turn our attention towards eliminating the ISRLA,” General Blackhead says with a cold, cruel smile.

    “Indeed,” Archduke Miguel replies with a nod, “They are misplaced idealists. Anachronistic bomb-throwers from a primitive time. Compared to the Zeon Confederation that we have already defeated, however, the ISRLA is a mere nuisance. We will deal with them quickly and effectively, and then begin the work of establish a new, prosperous age of peaceful coexistence between Zeon and Earth.”

    So saying, Miguel and Blackhead, along with their entourage of sycophants, depart: their destination is Side 3, where the restoration of the Archduchy of Zeon is already underway.

    ************************************************** ***************

    One would think that the primary benefit of peace would be…peace.

    But peace between the Earth Federation Government and Archduke Alexander Miguel’s new regime of the Archduchy of Zeon has brought no personal peace to Lt. Col. Athena Ibaz. With victory came another promotion, but with that promotion came additional responsibilities. Indeed, Athena finds herself more swamped by work than ever. Combat operations have wound down from their apogee a month ago when the Zeon Civil War lurched towards its momentous close, but the Special Forces are still deployed throughout Cislunar Sphere and the Outer Solar System eliminating the remnants of the dissident Zeon forces.

    Those details, however, have been left to the individual commanders of the Special Forces teams. The Deputy Director of the Special Forces has been assigned more important duties, which have generally kept her out of the mobile suit cockpit and in the thick of diplomatic meetings with members of Archduke Miguel’s cabinet of ministers.

    Before the Centurion Team had deployed to the Outer Solar System to survey and contain the Zeon Civil War six long months ago, Athena had wondered if she would ever return from that mission to work in her spacious office at Reville Hall in Side 7. Having spent the better part of the past month working average seventeen (and occasionally, twenty-four to seventy-two) hour shifts in that office, Athena finds herself wondering if she would ever return to the Cour de Leon’s cockpit again.

    The office is unchanged from the way she’d left it six months earlier. The housekeeping staff had done an excellent job at maintaining the elegant French rococo décor of the office. Even the ancient timepiece on the mantel over the fireplace had continued to meticulously mark time, despite Athena’s not being present to wind it for so many months.

    There was a time, not long ago, when Athena rather enjoyed the sound of the old clock’s ticking. It helped her to maintain an orderly rhythm to her day as she completed assignment after assignment. Now, however, the gentle sound grates on her nerves…like the sound of a time bomb ticking down to disaster. Despite the unexpected advent of a peace that had been unconceivable a mere six months earlier, Athena feels a disquieting sense of impending doom.

    For certain, the source of Athena’s anxieties is one of the demands put forth by Archduke Miguel as a key tenet of the Treaty of Phobos: Miguel wants Side 3.

    The demand was predictable, and not altogether unreasonable. After all, Side 3 is the birthplace and source point of Zeon civilization – the home of Contolism and the historic capital of the Archduchy of Zeon. For nearly twenty years, the Archduchy has been banished from Side 3, and the Zeon homeland had become a Federal Forces-occupied war zone. Archduke Miguel’s objective is to restore the Zeon homeland to its former glory, reestablishing the Zeon civilization at its source. So far has Miguel won the Federation’s trust that it was willing to concede this demand to him, a small price to pay, the Federation’s leaders reckoned, for lasting peace between Earth and Zeon.

    The Federation High Council might have come around to trusting the charismatic and apparently benign Archduke Miguel, but Athena has not. What Athena knows, but has declined to futilely discuss with her superiors, is the likelihood that the Federation would soon be at war with Zeon once again…this time more ruinously for both sides than ever before.

    Side 3 has been occupied by the Earth Federation Forces for the past twenty years…from the day the One Year War ended and, except for a six month period when the cosmic city-state had been recaptured by Lady Haman Khan’s Axis Neo Zeon Empire, almost continuously thereafter. Side 3 still remains the hotbed of the ISRLA Contolist movement led by Dr. Artasia Daikun, even though the ISRLA leadership itself was scattered across Cislunar Space and Earth by the Earth Federation Special Forces nearly a year ago. If the Archduchy of Zeon is indeed to reoccupy Side 3 as planned, it must first eliminate all dissident elements, especially the ISRLA. For its part, the Earth Federation Government has pledged its support to the Archduchy, lending whatever it can to the effort of stabilizing and securing Side 3.

    Spacenoid vs. Spacenoid, to the death over derelict space colonies twenty years in need of repair. How bitterly the soul of Zeon Daikun would weep.

    The telephone on Athena’s desk rings. Athena answers it, “This is Lt. Col. Athena Ibaz.”

    “Lt. Col. Ibaz,” the authoritative voice of General Manron Blackhead, commanding officer of the Federal Forces’ Cislunar Forces, comes through the receiver, “Would you please join us in my office immediately? There are some important matters we must discuss regarding the, shall we say, restoration of Side 3.”

    “Right away, sir,” Athena replies, her voice betraying no hint of the anxiety wrenching her guts.

    ************************************************** **************

    Athena arrives at General Blackhead’s Olympian-scaled office within Reveille Hall. The office formerly belonged to General Bright Noah, Supreme Commander of the Earth Federation Forces, now retired. General Blackhead had been the next officer in the chain of command under General Noah, so he was the obvious choice to fill Noah’s vacated position.

    With Blackhead are Colonel Peter Cairlay, Director of the Special Forces and Athena’s immediate superior, and a Zeon officer whom Athena recognizes as Colonel Ross Davenport, Archduke Miguel’s adjutant. Miguel himself, however, is not present.

    Athena salutes, “General Blackhead, Colonel Cairlay: Lt. Col. Athena Ibaz reporting, sirs. Colonel Davenport, it’s a pleasure to see you again.”

    Blackhead and Cairlay return the salute, and Blackhead motions to the pair of facing couches where Cairlay and Davenport are seated, “At ease, Lt. Col. Ibaz. Please have a seat.”

    “Sir,” Athena bows, and takes a seat next to Cairlay.

    Blackhead sits opposite the two Special Forces officers, beside Davenport.

    “I’ll come right to the point,” Blackhead says, “Archduke Miguel and the Federation High Council will soon be signing the Second Century Peace Accords, guaranteeing enduring peace between the Earth Federation Government and the Archduchy of Zeon. Before that can happen, however, the Federation needs to make good on its promise to help the Archduke secure Side 3 and restore the traditional Zeon homeland. As everyone here knows, the Treaty of Phobos stipulated that in exchange for Phobos Zeon’s support in eliminating the Zeon dissidents, the Federation would lend its support to the restoration of the Archduchy of Zeon at Side 3.”

    Blackhead pauses briefly to light a cigar, perhaps a gesture of triumph now that his, not Bright Noah’s policies guide the future of Earth/Zeon relations, before saying, “Athena?”

    “Sir,” Athena responds, butterflies churning in her stomach as she anticipates momentous orders.

    “Athena, I’m assigning you to head this operation. From this moment forward, I want you to focus the Special Forces’ total resources to one goal: the complete eradication of the ISRLA and its sympathizers.”

    “Yes, sir,” Athena replies calmly, evenly, betraying no trace of the horror and revulsion within her.

    “Archduke Miguel regrets not being able to attend our meeting today,” Colonel Ross Davenport says with a Cheshire cat’s grin, “occupied as he is in a conference with the leaders of your Federation’s government. But he instructed me to inform you, Lt. Col. Ibaz, that our forces will be available to support the Earth Federation Special Forces in this effort. It is, after all, only fair that the Archduchy of Zeon do its part in looking after Side 3’s affairs.”

    Athena says to Davenport, “Please convey the Federal Forces’ gratitude to the Archduke, Colonel Davenport. Hopefully, the Federal Forces can meet its end of the terms of the Treaty of Phobos without inconveniencing the Archduchy of Zeon Forces.”

    “Helping the Earth Federation helps our cause,” Davenport says diplomatically, “something that our previous leaders, unfortunately, never learned. Things will be different after the Phobos regime assumes control over Side 3, Lt. Col. Ibaz; you can rest assured of that.”

    “Athena,” Col. Cairlay adds, “you’ve been assigned to head the operation because we need the absolute best officer to conduct this extremely vital and delicate situation. You are aware, I’m sure, that the outcome of this operation will affect the future of tens of billions of people. Only the best will do. The Federation High Council has great faith in your abilities, Lieutenant Colonel; don’t let us down.”

    “I won’t, sir,” Athena replies with an inscrutable tranquility that mystifies and unnerves her superior officers.

    Episode 26 to be continued...

  11. #271
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    Episode 26 continued...

    One hour later, Athena is back in her private office a floor below the High Command staff’s. With Athena is her executive officer, 1Lt. Jonah Michaels.

    “Eliminate the ISRLA at Side 3?” Jonah whispers in horrified disbelief.

    “That’s our assignment,” Athena says evenly, looking Jonah straight in the eye, “there’s no doubt that the Federation High Command and your brother are prepared for and expect nothing less than a bloodbath, courtesy of the Special Forces.”

    Jonah’s expression becomes angry, “Alex…he’s gone too far this time.”

    “It wouldn’t be the first time really, would it, Jonah?” Athena asks archly.

    The remark brings a look of discomfort and hurt from Jonah; Alexander Miguel is, after all, Jonah’s brother.

    Realizing how insensitive that crack must sound to Jonah’s ears, Athena says contritely, “I’m sorry, Jonah. That was out of line. This situation can’t be easy for you: whatever he might have done…or will do, Alexander is still your brother.”

    “My brother practically raised me,” Jonah confesses, “I grew up admiring and loving him, but that hasn’t blinded me to the fact that he’s done reprehensible things. He killed Jolie’s family. He’s killed so many for his selfish ambitions. I joined the Earth Federation Forces to stop him, Athena. I haven’t forgotten that.”

    “You and your brother are two very different kinds of men,” Athena says, “and I haven’t forgotten that.”

    Jonah grins at the vote of confidence from his commanding officer.

    Sensing perhaps that this is the right time, Athena decides to share with Jonah thoughts that she has been harboring since Jolie left the Centurion Team, “Jonah, as officers in the Special Forces, each of our days is shadowed by peril. None of us can know which day might be our last day. If…if there comes a time when I’m not here anymore, you need to be prepared to take over responsibility for commanding this team.”

    “Ma’am?” Jonah queries, suddenly concerned.

    Athena offers a reassuring smile, “I want you to be prepared…just in case. You’ve grown up a lot in the last few months, Jonah. You’ve become an excellent officer, and I’m very proud of you. I’ve taught you as much as I can about being a leader, and you’ve learned well. When the day comes that you’re put in command, you will be ready. Above all: always remember your duty.”

    “You’re creeping me out, Athena,” Jonah says, “Why does it sound like you’re saying ‘goodbye?’”

    Athena rises, heading towards the door of her office, “Because I’m leaving,”

    “What?” Jonah says, gaping in alarm.

    “For a walk,” Athena says with a mischievous grin, “I need some fresh air after being cooped up in this building for so long. Maybe it’ll help me think of some idea on how we can fulfill our duties at Side 3 without slaughtering innocent people.”

    Jonah exhales, “Want me to come with you?”

    Athena puts on her overcoat and officer’s hat, “No. I need to be alone. If anything comes up, contact me on the comlink. You have command of the squad until I come back. Shouldn’t be gone more than an hour.”

    ************************************************** ***************

    Green Oasis Park, a 220-acre expanse of lush greenery and wildlife, is the largest urban park in the space colonies governed by the Earth Federation. Only Zum Park in the capital of Zeon at Side 3, at 660 acres, is larger. The park is the true “green oasis” amidst the bustle of Green Oasis City, Side 7, with its flourishing civilian metropolis of three million and its active military base serviced by over one-hundred thousand Earth Federation Forces soldiers. It’s a scarce quiet place where Spacenoids can come for solitude…to reflect and think.

    Athena walks casually to a spot from which an observer can gain an especially scenic view of Green Oasis City. Athena has visited the park numerous times since she first came to Side 7 as a young Federal Forces green recruit at the age of fifteen. Whenever she needed a sanctuary of tranquility, she came here.

    Athena feels that she has few tranquil moments left…few moments of any kind left.

    $this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://img230.imageshack.us/img230/5342/athenagrimvz8.jpg')

    Lt. Col. Athena Ibaz ponders the crossroad that she has reached in her life's path.


    The leader of the Centurion Team and Deputy Director of the Special Forces inserts a cigarette between her lips and lights it.

    Inhaling and exhaling from the cigarette once, Athena says, seemingly to no one, “I knew you would come.”

    Dory Ischinda emerges from the shadows of an immense oak tree, “Your Newtype perception abilities have grown stronger, Minerva.”

    “Not so much my Newtype abilities as my gut sense,” Athena replies, inhaling again from her cigarette.

    “We need your help,” Dory says, getting directly to the point.

    “I need yours as well,” Athena replies, “If I’m not mistaken, we have similar objectives.”

    Dory smiles, “If we do, then I can say that I’m glad to see that you’ve finally accepted the reality of who you really are.”

    “That’s where you’re wrong,” Athena says, “I still plan on fulfilling my duties as a Federal Forces officer…but I’ll fulfill them without sacrificing the lives of those who don’t deserve to die.”

    Dory replies with a resigned sigh, “As long as you’re willing to do that much, it’ll be good enough for me. You are your own woman. You have your own path to follow.”

    “What is it specifically that you want me to do?” Athena asks, turning to face her old friend for the first time.

    Dory hands a tiny package, most likely containing an Infochip, to Athena, “This will tell you everything you need to know.”

    “I gather that you’ll need information,” Athena says, pocketing the Infochip.

    Dory says, “One of our intelligence operatives was able to obtain surveillance data on a suspicious transport convoy that passed from Earth to a warehouse at Side 7 eleven days ago. But he was unable to get close enough to identify its cargo.”

    “Hathaway,” Athena says knowingly.

    “Yes,” Dory confirms, “How did you…?”

    “It’s his kind of job,” Athena replies with a bitter smile, “The same kind I’ve done for the Federal Forces in the past. This suspicious transport convoy…you think its cargo is weaponry?”

    “To be used against Side 3,” Dory confirms, “Minerva…Athena, please…you have to help us stop them. There are hundreds of millions of innocent people at Side 3. They’re still your people, even if you’ve abandoned the idea of guiding them.”

    Athena says, “Nobody will die at Side 3. Don’t lay the guilt on me, Dory. I’ve turned my back on the Zabi legacy; I haven’t turned my back on the Zeon people.”

    Dory’s expression softens, “I haven’t lost faith in you, Minerva. Come back to us. Come home, where you belong.”

    Athena shakes her head, and replies with a question, “What’s the disposition of your resources?”

    Dory says, “Thirty top condition Nemo-IIIs…with pilots who have been clandestinely trained at our base on the dark side of the moon.”

    Athena grins wryly, “Taken during the Doppler incident in U.C. 0096, during my second year at the Academy. The Federal Forces never did find out what happened to that convoy and its cargo.”

    Dory sits on a nearby bench and says somewhat wistfully, “That was Hathaway’s first mission as an ISRLA mobile suit pilot…long before he became known as Mafty.”

    “Oh?” Athena says, her curiosity piqued, “Well, that comes as a surprise. To think that Hathaway has been doing this kind of work while I was still training at the Academy. And I thought I was the more experienced one between us.”

    The two old friends look at each other and laugh, cutting through the tension momentarily.

    The conversation turns serious again as Athena, taking a seat next to Dory on the bench says, “Those thirty Nemo-III units won’t be enough. I’ll make arrangements to even the odds. For now, you need to do everything you can to fortify Side 3. I’ll take care of the rest.”

    “Minerva…” Dory begins.

    “I can’t go back,” Athena says, anticipating what Dory was about to say, “It’s not my home anymore. Moreover, as long as I’m in the Federal Forces, I can keep it in check.”

    “You can’t seriously believe that,” Dory challenges.

    “I wouldn’t be able to help you know if it were otherwise. Consider that.” Athena answers fairly.

    Athena rises, heading back to her office at Reville Hall, leaving Dory with her thoughts.

    Episode 26 to be continued...

  12. #272
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    Episode 26 continued...

    Aboard the flagship Cassius, Archduke Alexander Miguel receives his chief of staff, Colonel Ross Davenport, and General Manron Blackhead and Colonel Peter Cairlay of the Earth Federation Forces.

    Miguel pours glasses of blood red wine for all four of them, and says, “And so preparations are set for the, shall we say, ‘purification’ of Side 3?”

    “Yes, your highness,” replies General Blackhead, “with this operation, we exorcise at last the ghost of the Zabi family, and enter a new, more productive phase of Earth-Zeon relations.”

    “To our success,” Miguel raises his wine glass, drinking its crimson contents with vampiric relish, then asks, “Tell me, General Blackhead: which of your officers will be heading the operation?”

    General Blackhead drinks greedily of his glass, then remarks, “The liaison officer we’re assigning to this operation will be Lt. Col. Athena Ibaz, your highness.”

    Miguel smiles, “Ah, yes. Lt. Col. Ibaz. Amazing asset to your Federal Forces, General. I must confess: we might not have won the war against my former colleagues had it not been for Lt. Col. Ibaz’s leadership and tactical brilliance. She has an astounding mind, that young woman.”

    “Thank you, your highness, that’s very gracious of you,” Blackhead says, having never been particularly fond of that smart-aleck girl of an officer, but even he must concede her usefulness to the Federation and even some pride that he has her under his command.

    Miguel laughs, “It’s unfortunate for me that she’s already on the fast-track to being one of your flag-ranking officers in a few years; otherwise, I’d surely covet her for my own command staff.”

    General Blackhead replies with a hearty laugh of his own, “I’m sorry, your highness. Athena is ours. Her services will be available to you, however, for the duration of the Side 3 Reclamation Operation.”

    The new Archduke of Zeon rises to shake the hand of the new de facto Supreme Commander of the Earth Federation Forces, “For that and so much else, General Blackhead, I am grateful.”

    “Lt. Col. Ibaz will be in contact with you tomorrow, your highness, regarding the details of the operation,” Colonel Cairlay adds.

    “Looking forward to it,” Miguel says, “Lt. Col. Ibaz is a delightfully lovely and charming young woman as well as a brilliant officer.”

    “Oh?” Blackhead says, raising an eyebrow in amusement, “Is the Archduke of Zeon looking for an Archduchess?”

    Miguel laughs, “It’s been said behind every great man is a greater woman. Your Lt. Col. Ibaz, however, might be too great…even for me.”

    Final pleasantries exchanged, the Federal Forces officers are escorted back to Side 7 by Zeon space fighter craft and mobile suits.

    Alone with his most trusted subordinate, Archduke Alexander Miguel is free to speak his innermost thoughts, “Lt. Col. Athena Ibaz…Duchess Minerva Zabi…a most fascinating and dangerous young woman indeed.”

    “I don’t understand, your highness,” Col. Ross Davenport says, “If this Athena Ibaz really is the former duchess, her very existence threatens your claim to the Zeon throne. We could eliminate her easily, without involving any of our people, if we out her to the Federation.”

    “Perhaps,” Miguel says, “They shouldn’t want to deal with the Zabis in any other way but to exterminate them, but I don’t trust this foolish Federation to make sensible choices. Moreover, we lack concrete proof: an odd coincidence of naming is not evidence that the Federal Forces’ brightest young Special Forces officer is the former Duchess of Zeon, although we know it to be true. For the moment, Ross, we still need the Federation’s resources; we don’t want to risk offending them. Not yet.”

    “With all due respect, your Excellency, leaving the former Duchess free is dangerous for us,” Davenport says worriedly.

    “Relax, Ross,” Miguel says, blowing a ring of smoke inhaled from his cigar, a gift from General Blackhead, “I believe our former Duchess has no particular desire to have her true identity revealed to her commanding officers in the Earth Federation. As such, she’s no threat to us in that aspect. To allow her to continue operating in the Federal Forces, however, will be a threat to us…in the future if not immediately. When the right opportunity arises…”

    Miguel doesn’t finish. Instead, he stubs out the remains of his half-smoked cigar with horrible finality, leaving his office in complete darkness.

    ************************************************** **************

    The next day, Lt. Col. Athena Ibaz and her second-in-command, 1Lt. Jonah Michaels, escort Archduke Alexander Miguel, Col. Ross Davenport, Captain Kyoko Yamaguchi, the Zeon Newtype ace pilot and leader of the Black Raven Squadron, and a retinue of Zeon generals through an inspection tour of Garrison Noah. The tour, highly publicized and well-covered by the press, is designed as much to showcase the new level of trust and openness between the Earth Federation and the Archduchy of Phobos Zeon as it is to fulfill any practical value, ostensibly to give Archduke Miguel and his command staff an opportunity to see what resources are available to them from their allies in assisting them regain control of Side 3.

    Jonah and Alexander do their part to not publicly acknowledge their brotherhood in any way, although some have unlikely detected their familial resemblance. Jonah has already gained himself some measure of unwanted notoriety for having saved Alexander from an assassin months ago during the armistice conference that was the first step towards the current peace. That act of heroism won Jonah the accolade of the world…and cost him his beloved Jolie.

    Not a moment goes by, it seems, that Jonah is not wracked with grief over Jolie’s departure. Burnt into his memories are those bitter words with which she left him, words of recrimination and regret – a betrayal too deep and painful to overlook or forgive.

    On that day, the link between them, once seemingly so strong and enduring, was shattered. Their love had been based on mutual trust, but the revelation of Jonah’s kinship with the man who murdered Jolie’s family left that trust in ruins.

    The two brothers have met and spoken a few times secretly, privately, since the day of the armistice. Jonah had expected his brother to throw him into prison, if not execute him, for having abandoned his familial duty to serve in the Zeon military only to join the then-enemy Earth Federation Forces. Alexander, however, shocked Jonah by being unexpectedly accepting of the idea, even going so far as to ask Jonah to be his unofficial liaison within the Federal Forces, a request that Jonah denied, unwilling to betray his comrades…even for his brother. Especially not after the loss of Jolie.

    Jonah sneaks a glance to the beautiful young woman at his brother’s side, Captain Kyoko Yamaguchi. She is the Zeon Forces’ greatest ace pilot and deadliest warrior, and also acts as Alexander’s personal bodyguard. Jonah suspects that Kyoko’s relationship to Alexander does not stop there, however. He senses a deep intimacy between them that is no less intense than that between himself and Jolie.

    What Jonah finds unsettling is how much Kyoko resembles Jolie, not only in terms of their gifts for combat, but also in physical appearance. Though unlikely to be genetically related, they could pass for identical twins.

    The morning inspection tour event is to be capped by a joint speech by Archduke Miguel and the Federal Forces’ highest ranking active officer, General Manron Blackhead, on the front steps of Reville Hall…the first time a Zeon leader has ever set foot in the headquarters of the Federation’s High Command in Cislunar Space.

    “Lt. Col. Ibaz,” Archduke Miguel addresses Athena elegantly, “Operation: Homecoming will be commencing within forty-two hours. I must confess that I was greatly relieved when General Blackhead told me you would be supervising all the details. Nothing can be left to chance, Lt. Col.”

    Athena smiles, “Rest assured, your highness, that all will be executed according to plan.”

    Athena cannot help but be amused by the irony of her addressing Alexander Miguel as “your highness” and “archduke.” Although she has abdicated her own claim as the true Duchess of Zeon, Athena nonetheless finds the idea that leadership of Zeon has now fallen into Miguel’s hands repulsive. Upon further reflection, however, Athena must admit that in one important way, Alexander Miguel is much more of the spiritual and ideological heir to the Zabi legacy than she could ever be, notwithstanding the fact that she is descended by blood from the Zabis and he is not. Miguel’s philosophy is closer to that of Athena’s eldest uncle, Prince Giren Zabi, although his tactic of using the Federation is more greatly resembles Col. Char Aznable.

    Naturally, the eternally corrupt Federation has allowed itself to be deceived by a charismatic Zeon leader once again. It would only be a matter of time, Athena knew, before Miguel turned on the Federation. General Noah, prior to his leave of absence, had listened to Athena’s admonitions of such, but was powerless to act upon them. Athena has not bothered to consult General Blackhead on this matter, knowing that he would refuse to listen to her anyway.

    Archduke Miguel turns to the attractive leader of the Centurion Team and gives a subtle, malicious grin, “Lt. Col. Ibaz…I hope you won’t be offended by my being forthright, but I must say that you have always reminded me of someone.”

    Athena replies evenly, “It’s beneath an Archduke to use a pick-up line, your highness.”

    Behind his commanding officer and his brother, Jonah suppresses a grin. Jonah has always known his elder brother Alexander to be a slick and invariably successful womanizer; he finds it amusing how effortlessly Athena rejected his amorous overtures. Jonah also notices Captain Yamaguchi turning a brief, but venomous glance towards Athena.

    The wickedly handsome Archduke of Zeon, however, merely smiles, “Lt. Col., I meant to say that you remind me of the Duchess Minerva Zabi, our late former monarch.”

    If Miguel’s sudden allusion to her true identity nettles Athena, she doesn’t let it show. She maintains her shell of composure even as her heart begins to pump like the particle generator of a mobile suit’s nuclear fusion engine.

    Athena says, “The Federal Forces never were able to locate Duchess Minerva in the aftermath of the First Neo Zeon War. How certain are you that the Duchess is dead, Archduke Miguel?”

    Alexander, impressed by Athena’s extraordinary self-control and wit as she turns his insinuations back against him, replies, “If her highness still lives today, she would be around the same age as you, Lt. Col. Like you, she was beautiful. My father served and protected her during those years when she ruled Zeon, and I have since taken on his duty to find her highness and restore her to her rightful place upon the Zeon imperial throne.”

    “I’m sure you’ve put your best effort into locating the Duchess,” Athena says with latent irony, even has she fights down an urge to laugh at Miguel’s brazenness, “Most likely, I regret to say, the Duchess perished in her childhood years, another victim of war.”

    “I’m afraid you might be correct,” Miguel says with false lament, “Death is no more sympathetic to rulers of great nations than it is to paupers.”

    And speaking of death…Athena suddenly senses it. Its cold, clammy grip - creeping up her spine. She has often had this sensation in combat.

    Athena spares a quick backwards glance at Jonah. An even more sensitive Newtype than Athena is, he feels it too.

    Captain Kyoko Yamaguchi evidently senses it too, her sidearm drawn and pointed towards a target in the distance.

    The two Centurion Team officers explode into abrupt action.

    Much as he did during the first attempt on his brother’s life, Jonah tackles Alexander to the ground…just as the sound of gunshots in the distance rings out.

    Screams ring out amidst the crowd of reporters and civilian onlookers. Pandemonium, predictably, breaks out in an instant.

    A bullet misses the Archduke of Zeon by centimeters, ripping a hole in his ceremonial cape.

    Athena rolls away from the potential trajectory of further incoming bullets, putting herself between the gunman and his target. Jonah and the Archduke’s staff of bodyguards and generals surround Alexander Miguel, forming a human shield around the Zeon leader.

    Athena sees a slight glint in the distance. The Earth Federation Forces’ finest markswoman takes aim at the target with her Walther handpistol.

    The sense of death recedes…replaced a familiar sensation that paradoxically fills Athena with both hope and dread.

    Hathaway?! Athena wonders, unable to believe what her Newtype senses are telling her.

    Athena’s finger tightens around the trigger, but is unable to actually pull it back.

    Captain Kyoko Yamaguchi has pinpointed the target. The Black Raven pulls back the trigger of her sidearm.

    Athena’s arm swings, firing not upon the would-be assassin, but upon the pistol held in Kyoko’s delicate, outstretched hand. The shot shatters the Zeon officer’s weapon, but leaves Kyoko unharmed and surreally unperturbed.

    The shadowy figure that fired the distant shots is gone, having apparently fled using the rocket pods of a normalsuit. Jonah has already contacted Federal Forces MPs and alerted them to the assassination attempt. Members of the media scramble to take photographs and otherwise record the rapidly unfolding events at a scene of panic.

    Archduke Miguel, unhurt and hardly even shaken, glares furiously at Athena, as do Captain Yamaguchi and Col. Ross Davenport. Even Jonah finds himself staring at his friend and commanding officer in bewilderment.

    Athena reholsters her sidearm, knowing that she is in for a long evening.

    Episode 26 to be continued...

  13. #273
    Moderator Ken Cheng's Avatar
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    Episode 26 continued...

    Three hours later, Athena is in the office of General Manron Blackhead. Blackhead hangs up the telephone, on which he has apologized to Archduke Alexander Miguel for the umpteenth time, and pledged to him that the Earth Federation Forces are completely behind the Archduke of Zeon, and will guarantee the Archduke’s safety during his time on Federation territory.

    Blackhead regards Athena with a severe scowl, grumbling, “That was an uncharacteristic lapse of judgment on your part, Lt. Col. Ibaz. You’re smarter than that.”

    “My apologies, sir,” Athena says, dutifully but without any strong sign of contrition, “I made an error in judgment. I accept full responsibility.”

    “Fortunately for all concerned, Archduke Miguel is being gracious,” Blackhead says, not taking his glare off Athena, “Despite today’s incident, he still has great faith in your abilities and wants you to continue directing the upcoming Side 3 reclamation operation. So do we. Nonetheless, I want an explanation for your actions, Lt. Col.”

    Athena replies evenly, “Sir, the enemy agent is unlikely to have worked alone. Capturing him alive for interrogation purposes would be vital to obtaining intelligence on precisely what the source of these attacks is.”

    “Unfortunately,” Blackhead says critically, “the enemy agent remains at large, and nobody knows whom he is or where to find him. I don’t think it’s unfair to say that’s a failure on your part, Lt. Col. Ibaz.”

    “Yes, sir,” Athena says.

    Colonel Peter Cairlay, Athena’s direct superior, who has been standing quietly beside his deputy officer adds, “Your excellent record has accorded you a measure of grace, Athena. Were it any other officer, we’d be talking about court martial. In light of all you have accomplished so loyally for the Earth Federation Forces, however, we’ll overlook this incident. We fully expect, however, that there will be no more of these lapses.”

    “Understood, sir,” Athena says, maddeningly inscrutable as ever. Reading her mind is impossible.

    Blackhead shows Athena a grin that is more predatory than friendly, but he says, “Perhaps we’ve been pushing our star officer too hard. Excessive stress can lead to errors of judgment even for the toughest of people. We’ve pushed you through one difficult assignment after another for the past eighteen months, Lt. Col. Ibaz, and seen you successfully complete each of them. You must be…tired.”

    “I won’t use that as an excuse for my lapse today, sir,” Athena says with that same inscrutable evenness that is almost mechanical.

    “That’s not what I meant,” Blackhead says, “Perhaps you’ve been pushing yourself too hard. Tonight, many of our troops will be celebrating the new peace accord with the Zeon forces. We have authorized Archduke Miguel to permit soldiers under his command to participate in shore leave activities here at Side 7. It’s a rare, festive occasion. Why not take this opportunity to unwind? It’ll help clear your mind so that you can continue to perform at the top of your game.”

    “I’ll keep that in mind, sir,” Athena replies.

    “Col. Cairlay and I have said all we need to say about this matter,” Blackhead says, “And we’re sure you’ll be mindful of what we have said. Dismissed, Lt. Col. Ibaz.”

    “Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.” Athena salutes the two senior officers and leaves.

    Shortly after Athena has left, Blackhead leans back in his chair, brooding silently for a moment before rumbling, “Cairlay?”

    “Sir,” Col. Cairlay replies.

    “Cairlay,” Blackhead says, “Just how much do you trust your Deputy Director…the lovely and mysterious Lt. Col. Athena Ibaz?”

    Cairlay decides to speak frankly, “From the time she was in the Academy, I knew she’d be an incredible asset…and also an incredible pain in the ***. Needless to say, she’s smart…DAMN smart, which is both her greatest value and her biggest liability. We can count on Athena to get things done for us…but what we don’t know is who she’s really doing for, or why. She tends follow her own initiative in carrying out objectives, which would normally be considered a strength for a Special Forces officer, but which Athena is known for taking too far.”

    “Are you saying we can’t trust her?” Blackhead asks darkly.

    “We can’t trust anyone, sir,” Cairlay amends, “Athena Ibaz is dangerous if her loyalty to the Federation isn’t firm. The threat she’d pose if she were to sell her loyalties to the Zeon or the ISRLA would be disastrous.”

    “There’s nothing I loathe more than an ambitious woman,” Blackhead says, “Athena Ibaz will serve us loyally, or she will be eliminated.”

    Cairlay says nothing, but the gleam in his eye suggests his agreeableness to that idea.

    “Colonel,” Blackhead says, “Lt. Col. Ibaz will continue to head Operation: Homecoming as planned…but I want you to personally supervise her activities.”

    “Yes, sir,” Cairlay responds, concealing this eagerness.

    “We’ve already removed Bright Noah from the equation,” Blackhead says, “we’ll also remove Athena Ibaz and anyone else in our ranks foolish enough to forget that humankind’s place is on Earth, and the needs of Earth’s people must come first. This is Ibaz’s opportunity to prove her loyalty to the Federation: she will fulfill her oath of loyalty to Earth, or she will pay the price of disloyalty.”

    Unknowingly, Blackhead mirrors Archduke Miguel’s earlier gesture of stubbing out his cigar in an ashtray.

    Athena’s destiny, it would appear, is set.

    ************************************************** ****************

    The bars, nightclubs, restaurants, and casinos of Green Noah City’s glittering entertainment district play host tonight to a boisterously festive and surreal scene. Celebrating the imminent rapprochement of the Earth Federation and the Archduchy of Zeon, Federal Forces and Zeon Forces soldiers are seen drinking, dancing, gambling, and otherwise celebrating together…a sight not seen since Armistice Day in U.C. 0080. This time, everyone hopes, the newfound peace between the Federation and Zeon will stick…that history will, for once, not repeat itself. It is a gamble upon which the future of humanity is staked.

    And speaking of gamble, Lt. Col. Athena Ibaz is losing badly at roulette at the Lady Luck Casino.

    Athena has never been an enthusiast at games of chance. She prefers games over which she can exercise control through her intellect…or the strategic application of force. She is loath to leave her destiny to forces over which she cannot exercise control.

    Athena had spent the early part of the evening reluctantly hobnobbing with the top brass of the Federation and Zeon forces, including General Blackhead, Colonel Cairlay, and Archduke Alexander Miguel…company from which she was glad to part after less than thirty minutes. From there, Athena was mobbed by hundreds of junior officers and non-commissioned troops of both sides, who insisted that she accept her accolades as heroine of the Zeon Civil War, however much she attempted to deflect their admiration. As far as they were concerned, her brilliance had won the war, and thus, saved all of their lives…and those of their loved ones.

    Athena has never felt comfortable about receiving such praise; she knows that without the courage and capability of the young men and young women who serve beside her, none of her strategies would have been of any value. She cannot, in good conscience, accept the idea of herself as a “hero” when, for every five soldiers present tonight, one perished in battle…sacrificed in the name of a peace that even now, has not yet been secured.

    Me, a hero? Athena considers the idea laughably absurd, and even more ludicrous is the thought that she is being held up as a paragon for her fellow officers to emulate.

    If only they knew about the things I’ve done in the name of “victory.”

    Soon, however, it would all be over…forever.

    Athena has been at the roulette table ever since she managed to extract herself from the throng of admirers. Her status as war hero and military genius avails her little here; luck is not favoring here tonight. However victorious she might have been on the battlefield, Athena has known only defeat and loss here.

    Athena realizes that she likely needs to grow accustomed to it.

    In little over ninety minutes, the Deputy Director of the Special Forces has already blown eighty percent of her monthly salary.

    1Lt. Jonah Michaels, who’d also been avoiding the bustle of the festivities, sees Athena’s predicament. He approaches her with a grin.

    “Maybe you’d better quit while you still have a few credits left,” Jonah teases, “It’d be terrible for morale if the hero of the Zeon Civil War ends up having to beg for change on the street.”

    Athena acknowledges Jonah’s quip with just the hint of a smile, cigarette perched between her lips.

    She places the remainder of her monthly pay on the gaming table…on Black Thirteen.

    “You really like tempting fate, don’t you?” Jonah says.

    As the wheel spins, Athena extinguishes her cigarette and turns to leave.

    “Hey, wait!” Jonah calls out, “Aren’t you going to stick around to see if you won?”

    “It doesn’t matter much at this point,” Athena says enigmatically, “win or lose, all games come to an end. Sometimes, life forces you to play your hand even when you know for certain it’s a losing one.”

    Jonah says earnestly, “I heard that you got chewed out by General Blackhead about the shooting incident today.”

    “Yes,” Athena confirms, “I was thoroughly reamed by the High Command. Not unexpected…and it doesn’t really matter. Not at this point.”

    Jonah knows that Athena never did anything for the accolades; she was no glory hound. The casual manner in which she is brushing off this unprecedented blemish on her otherwise stellar military career, however, is odd.

    2Lt. Chieming Noah, who had been politely, but not particularly enthusiastically entertaining old colleagues and friends of her father’s, answering their questions about his health and future plans as best she could, approaches her friends and superior officers, “You two look like you’re having fun.”

    Jonah says, “Athena’s had a great time. She just lost her entire paycheck on roulette.”

    Chieming’s eyes widen, “Seriously? That isn’t like you, Athena.”

    “There are many things that ‘aren’t like me’ you’ll probably need to get used to soon, Chieming.” Athena says.

    “What do you mean, Athena?” Chieming asks.

    “Yeah,” Jonah adds, “you’re starting to freak us out.”

    “Sorry,” Athena says with a tired smile, “Maybe I’m just getting morbid in my old age.”

    Chieming giggles, “Old age…right, Athena. Twenty-one is positively ancient.”

    Athena asks a steward to get her officer’s hat and overcoat, and asks her two charges, “You guys ready to go back to quarters? I’ll drive you back.”

    “Thought you’d never ask,” Jonah says, relieved by the opportunity to leave the clamorous and increasingly debauched party behind. Chieming nods in agreement.

    The steward brings Athena’s hat and overcoat, and after she has donned these, the trio heads for Athena’s military issue jeep parked on the street outside the casino.

    At that moment, the roulette wheel has finally come to a momentous halt, landing on Black Thirteen.

    ************************************************** *********************

    Athena guns the engine of the jeep, and then turns her head upward as she notices a faint rumble…a transport ship, its guide lights mysteriously switched off, glides into the military spaceport towards the warehouse area. It’s awfully late at night for a cargo ship to be coming into port.

    Athena kills the jeep’s engine, contemplating for a moment.

    “What’s wrong?” Jonah asks from the shotgun seat.

    “Are you feeling sick?” Chieming asks, “Would you rather Jonah or I drive?”

    “I’m fine,” Athena says, “Are either of you two in a hurry to return to quarters?”

    Jonah and Chieming look at each other and shake their heads, Jonah saying, “We’ve got an extended curfew tonight. We won’t be AWOL unless we come in after 01:00, and it’s only a little past 22:00 now.”

    “Right,” Athena says, “I’d like to go to the spaceport to check something out. Mind coming along for the ride?”

    Jonah and Chieming voice no objections.

    Athena guns the engine of the jeep again, speeding towards the spaceport.

    The jeep arrives at the spaceport twenty minutes later, just as the cargo ship is moored into the airlock.

    Athena disembarks from the jeep, telling her two subordinates, “You guys wait here. I’ll be back soon.”

    Athena disappears into the mist gathering around the massive warehouse building located on the grounds of the space dock.

    When Athena is out of hearing range, Chieming whispers to Jonah, “Do you think Athena’s been acting kind of weird lately?”

    Jonah smiles, “She’s always been like that. As long as I’ve known her, Athena has been moody.”

    “You don’t get women, do you?” Chieming teases.

    “What are you saying?” Jonah asks.

    “Maybe Athena is acting strange because she has love problems,” Chieming says, “she and my brother have been in love for over a year, but because of their work obligations, they haven’t been able to see each other at all. I know he still carries the torch for her because he’s always asking about her when he calls or messages me. Athena never talks about him, but I know she feels the same.”

    “It always comes back to love,” Jonah smiles bitterly.

    “You still miss Jolie, don’t you?” Chieming whispers.

    “I won’t ever stop missing her,” Jonah says, his eyes growing moist, “If the war is really over, I have to find her.”

    “I’ll go with you,” Chieming offers, “You and Jolie are both my friends. I’ll do anything to help.”

    “Thank you, Chieming,” Jonah smiles, taking her hand, “That’s very kind.”

    Chieming says, “You and Jolie…my brother and Athena. War is so cruel. It keeps lovers from each other.”

    Just one of war’s many cruelties, Jonah reflects.

    ************************************************** ***********

    Twice a week, during the late evening/early morning hours, many space colonies inject moisture into their internal atmosphere for the comfort and health of their residents. These injections of moist oxygen are scheduled for the evening hours because the condensation process typically results in the creation of fog, much as it does on Earth.

    Athena seals the collar of her overcoat in the chilly, damp air, pulling her officer’s hat down low.

    At the gate to the warehouse, Athena is confronted by two armed, burly MP officers,

    “Who goes there?! Identify yourself!”

    Athena replies, “Lt. Col. Athena Ibaz, Centurion Team, Deputy Director of the Special Forces.”

    Recognizing her, the two MPs salute, “Ma’am! My apologies, ma’am!”

    “I’ve come to inspect the inventory, sergeant.” Athena says.

    “Yes, ma’am,” the MP replies.

    Standard procedure would dictate that the MPs ask a visiting officer for authorization, but General Blackhead and Colonel Cairlay have instructed the MPs that senior Special Forces officers have carte blanche access under the special circumstances of the moment.

    The MPs have no idea what cargo has been stored inside the massive warehouse complex behind them…only that it is so vital that it needs to be guarded by mobile suits (ten of them; heavily armed GM-IVs) and that the Special Forces would be transporting the cargo away to a different site within forty-eight hours.

    Athena is admitted through the gate. She approaches the warehouse, dwarfed by its immense bulk.

    Athena keys in the access code that gains her entry into the enormous complex.

    The interior of the cavernous facility is as dark as the void until Athena lights a portable lantern she had taken from the MPs’ booth. The lantern, though easily capable of illuminating any average-sized room, seems hopelessly feeble in the great expanse of the warehouse.

    But it is enough to show Athena more than she wanted to see…enough to fill her with a terror that chills her blood, stops her breath, and causes her to tremble.

    Large crates, stacked by the hundreds, occupy half the space of the warehouse. Each crate is marked with one of three colored symbols: a black-and-white “Toxic” symbol, a green “Biohazard” symbol, and a yellow “Radiation Hazard” symbol.

    Athena’s mind races back over eighteen months, during the Moonshadow incident that was Jolie’s first official sortie. She remembered her shock at discovering that the Earth Federation Forces had been stockpiling nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons.

    Now, at last, she knows precisely when, and against whom, they will be deploying these weapons.

    Athena leans against one of the heavy crates to steady herself, her knees growing weak. She can’t seem to will herself to stop trembling.

    In her mind, Athena sees millions of dead people…killed by toxins that insidiously invaded and destroyed their peripheral nervous systems, or felled by viruses that caused their flesh to emaciate from within. Space colonies, homes to countless men, women, and children, burn in the flame of nuclear radiation.

    And the screams…the horrified, anguished screams of millions.

    After several, long minutes, Athena regains her composure. Steeling herself, she steps back out into the mist-enshrouded night.

    ************************************************** ***************

    A half hour has passed since Athena disappeared into the spaceport warehouse facility. Chieming and Jonah have since attempted to gain entry to the facility to look for their missing commanding officer, but the two junior officers are not granted admission to the facility by the MPs. Thus, they are resigned to waiting aboard the jeep.

    Athena returns at last. She looks pale and shaken, her eyes blank and unfocused.

    “Athena? Lt. Col. Ibaz, are you all right, ma’am?” Jonah asks, concerned.

    “You might be coming down with something,” Chieming suggests, “Let’s get you back to the base and get Doc Wooster to have look at you.”

    “I’m all right,” Athena says, climbing into the driver’s seat of the jeep.

    Athena hits the ignition. The ride back to the Special Forces’ dormitory facility is silent and somber.

    As soon as Athena returns to her quarters, she extracts her personal Datapad and sends a text message to Dory, “See me at Green Oasis Park, 00:30. I’ll be there until you arrive. This is of greatest urgency.”

    Episode 26 to be continued...

  14. #274
    Moderator Ken Cheng's Avatar
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    Episode 26 continued...

    Thirty minutes later, Athena is at Green Oasis Park, at the same spot where she had met with Dory the previous day. Athena has already smoked her way through three cigarettes and is working through a fourth when Dory arrives.

    “Have you discovered something important?” Dory asks, dispensing with pleasantries.

    Athena glances around circumspectly before replying softly, “The Federation has nukes, G3 toxin, and Ebola-X86 canisters stockpiled at the spaceport. One guess where they’re headed and what they plan to do with that cargo.”

    Dory turns pale, “My God…no…”

    “We have to act fast,” Athena says, “Assemble your forces for a raid immediately. When you get the signal from me, move in.”

    “Minerva,” Dory says, “Thank you.”

    Athena smirks, “Maybe I haven’t completely lost my soul after all.”

    “No,” Dory says warmly, “I wasn’t wrong about you: the Zeon people still matter to you.”

    “People in general matter to me,” Athena says.

    “How about this one person in particular?” the voice of a young man cuts in.

    Hathaway Noah, son of General Bright Noah, writer for the Cislunar Free Press, Mafty, top assassin/espionage agent of the ISRLA…and the man whom Athena loves, emerges from the shadows.

    Youthful, handsome, and dashing, he appears, physically, little changed from how Athena remembers him from their first encounter in Shanghai, China on Earth two months shy of a year ago. His demeanor, however, is more straightforward than it was then…less attempting to hide behind a veil of secrecy.

    “I knew you’d show up,” Athena says, masking the palpitations within her chest behind a wall of apparent indifference.

    “It would have been all over by now if you and your new second-in-command didn’t interfere today,” Hathaway says, more than a hint of genuine anger in his voice, “Alexander Miguel is a threat to all of humanity. I could have ended his threat then and there with just one bullet.”

    “Was that your only motive?” Athena challenges.

    Hathaway surrenders his scowl, and unleashes his charming smile, “Hardly. I saw him trying to put the moves on you; I would have killed him for that alone.”

    That crumbles the wall. Athena and Hathaway had always admired each other’s wit; it was, above all, probably what most greatly attracted them to each other to begin with.

    Somewhat sheepish smiles replace somber scowls, and Hathaway extends a further gesture of goodwill (and more) with his hand.

    Athena responds by leaning her head against Hathaway’s chest; her Earth Federation Forces officer’s cap falls upon the ground, landing on its crown.

    Dory, on the sidelines, smiles and tactfully steps away from the couple, allowing them a few moments of privacy.

    Hathaway gently strokes Athena’s fine, feathery, honey-blonde hair…the touch bringing him great comfort after the long months of their separation.

    Athena takes equal comfort in the warmth of Hathaway’s embrace, the tension that has been mounting within her for months finally finding release and relief.

    They open their hearts…and their minds to each other, in a way only Newtypes can.

    “It’s been so hard,” Hathaway says softly, “so hard all this time not being able to be with you. I’ve missed you so much, Minerva.”

    Athena lifts her head off of Hathaway’s chest and looks into his eyes, “…You know?”

    Of course he knows. Dory wouldn’t keep it from him, and of course, Hathaway is an espionage agent – he has probably been aware of Athena’s true identity as long as she has been aware that he is Mafty.

    Hathaway nods, once again stroking Athena’s hair, “But it’s of no importance to me. Minerva Zabi…Athena Ibaz…the Archduchy of Zeon…the Earth Federation. What do these names…these allegiances matter? None of that changes how much I love you.”

    In her heart, Athena is thrilled by Hathaway’s declaration of devotion to her, but suspicious by conditioning, Athena is compelled to put Hathaway through one more test.

    She says to him, “When we last met, I told you to disappear into my blind spot. Why didn’t you listen to me? Why did you come back?”

    “I haven’t forgotten what I promised you,” Hathaway says, “and I haven’t forgotten what you did for me. Under other circumstances, I wouldn’t have gone back on any promise I made to you. But Alexander Miguel is about to murder hundreds of millions of people, Minerva. I can’t stand by and let that happen…even if it means breaking a promise to you.”

    “I know,” Athena says, affirming for herself at last her faith in Hathaway’s character, “I wouldn’t have expected any less of you. In your own way, you’ve always been more…principled than I am, Hathaway.”

    “That’s not true,” Hathaway says, taking Athena into his embrace again, “or are you not the woman who put her life and military career on the line to prevent me from committing patricide?”

    Athena asks, “Do you still hate your father, Hathaway?”

    “For the longest time, I wasn’t sure,” Hathaway confesses, “For so long, I was angry…angry about what had happened to Quess. But I’ve come to realize that my anger was misplaced. It wasn’t my father who killed Quess…or Lt. Agi…or even the Earth Federation. It was war. War that Alexander Miguel now perpetuates and thrives on.”

    Athena nods, disengaging from Hathaway’s embrace and stooping to pick up her Earth Federation Forces officer’s hat, which she does not place back on her head, “We’ll stop him…together.”

    Their lips lock in a long, deep passionate kiss. Even after all this time, the exhilaration is the same as it was that first night. Their passion still burns as brightly and unwaveringly as the sun.

    “I’m glad that we’ll be on the same side this time,” Hathaway says, “it was agonizing to be at cross-purposes.”

    Athena leans her head on Hathaway’s chest once again, and he feels the warmth moist of her tears through his shirt, “When I had you at gunpoint…I…I felt so much like turning that gun on myself instead.”

    “I’m sorry,” Hathaway says, “I’m sorry for putting you through that.”

    Athena lifts her head from Hathaway’s chest, wiping away her tears and treating him to her smile, “There won’t be any more secrets between us. Never again.”

    “Never again,” Hathaway agrees, kissing Athena tenderly on the cheek.

    Dory returns into the couple’s presence, and turns the conversation away from Hathaway and Athena’s personal matters to more pressing affairs, “Sorry to interrupt, but we need to move forward with our plans. We’ll be ready to move in as soon as you give the word.”

    Athena nods, finally donning her Federal Forces officer’s cap again, “The success of the mission depends on the Federation High Command’s trust in me, which I regret to say has been compromised by my rescuing Hathaway today.”

    Hathaway smiles, “Are you saying you wish you’d shot me?’

    Athena replies with a smile of her own, “Actually, maybe I should have shot Miguel myself…would have saved you the trouble.”

    Becoming serious, Athena says to Dory and Hathaway, “Make sure you keep a lid on my identity. Don’t let it slip that I’m helping you, even during the operation. I’m of greater value to you inside the Federation than as one more ISRLA operative.”

    Dory and Hathaway nod, agreeing that Athena is correct in that assessment.

    Athena knows the consequences that this decision holds for her.

    In life, as in roulette, one sometimes cannot help but make a losing bet.

    ************************************************** ****************

    Athena makes a stop at the mobile suit deck at Garrison Noah, where 1Lt. Molly Duran and her crew are working hard even at the unconscionable hour of 01:00 in maintaining the Centurion Team’s mecha.

    “Molly!” Athena calls out.

    “Lt. Col. Ibaz,” Molly says, floating down from where she’s servicing 1Lt. Jonah Michaels’ Centurion Gundam, “what brings you here at this hour, ma’am?”

    “Molly,” Athena says quietly, “I want a Hyperbazooka Particle Beam Cannon installed on the Cour de Leon immediately.”

    “You’ve got it, ma’am,” Molly replies good-naturedly, “Um…just curious: why do you need it?”

    “Don’t question it; just carry out my order,” Athena says sternly.

    “Yes, ma’am,” Molly says, knowing better than to test Athena’s patience. She orders her crew to acquire a HPBC from the arsenal and begin installing it onto the Cour de Leon.

    After Athena leaves, Molly finds herself muttering to herself even as she rushes to comply with the Centurion Team Leader’s orders, “Pushy b*tch…coming down with an order like that at one in the morning. When does that she sleep? She’s going to be up for reveille in just three hours from now.”

    In truth, 1Lt. Molly Duran admires and likes Lt. Col. Athena Ibaz…like herself, a tough, no-nonsense woman and soldier who doesn’t take “no” for an answer from anyone. Athena is, however, extremely demanding of her subordinates, including the engineering and tech crew…often coming down with outrageous orders in the early morning hours.

    Still, this latest order is more than just a little unusual: the Hyperbazooka Particle Beam Cannon, or HBPC, is without a doubt the most powerful weapon (other than a nuclear warhead, obviously, which would be in violation of the Antarctic Treaty) that can be mounted on a mobile suit. Capable of immolating a fleet of ships or a squadron of mobile suits in a literal flash, the HBPC can only be deployed with the authorization of a command staff officer ranking (O-4 and higher). Molly would not have been surprised if Athena had put in an order for the HBPC’s use a few months ago when the war was raging at full throttle, but all major fighting had ended more than a month ago. The Centurion Team is in its own home territory and has no major combat operations scheduled.

    Molly, good and loyal soldier that she is, does not question her commanding officer’s orders, however. She carries them out efficiently and effectively, as expected of her.

    ************************************************** *************

    08:00, the following day, General Blackhead’s office at Reville Hall.

    Once again, General Blackhead has summoned Athena into his office, this time not to reprimand her, but to advise her on the final details of that evening’s critical classified mission.

    “You and your personnel, who will include the Centurion and three other Special Forces teams, will provide security escort detail for Archduke Miguel’s personnel as they transfer the materials we’re providing them from our central supply depot to their convoy of transport ships,” Blackhead explains, “it’s critical that this convoy and its cargo reach Side 3 safely.”

    “Yes, sir,” Athena replies.

    “I see that you have requested and authorized an HBPC unit for use,” Blackhead remarks, studying Athena’s mission file, “Are you anticipating problems that would require such heavy firepower, Lt. Col. Ibaz?”

    “Not specifically, sir,” Athena says, “but as you said: the success of this mission is critical. All precautions should be taken to ensure such success.”

    “Indeed,” Blackhead says, “We’re all counting on you, Athena.”

    “Understood, sir,” Athena salutes, “I won’t fail.”

    Before Athena leaves, Blackhead asks probingly, “Lt. Col…are you aware of what the nature of the cargo is?”

    “No, sir,” Athena lies.

    “Would you like to know?” Blackhead continues.

    “Sir,” Athena says, “surely, if you wanted me to know, you would have told me. The fact that you haven’t means that I don’t need to know.”

    Blackhead smiles, “There’s no harm in telling you: Archduke Miguel has an ambitious rebuilding program in mind for Side 3 – to make the colony fit to serve as the capital of the Archduchy of Zeon again. The Archduke is a bit short on supplies as he is far from his industrial base of Mars, so we’ve loaned the necessary provisions to him.”

    “Yes, sir,” Athena says, “I’ll ensure that the convoy arrives at Side 3 without any trouble.”

    “Thank you, Lt. Col. The operation begins promptly at zero hour. You may be dismissed,” Blackhead says.

    After Athena has left, Blackhead mutters to Col. Cairlay, who had also been present, observing Athena, “Clever as ever, that smart-aleck. I don’t believe she doesn’t know what’s really in those cargo crates, Cairlay. Watch her carefully tonight.”

    “Yes, sir,” Cairlay replies, “and if Ibaz deviates from her orders, am I authorized to terminate with extreme prejudice?”

    “Absolutely,” General Blackhead says coldly.

    Cairlay smiles…at last, he has found the opportunity to rid himself of the great asset that has since become a great nuisance. His position as Director of the Special Forces will be secure for as long as he pleases.

    Episode 26 to be continued...

  15. #275
    Moderator Ken Cheng's Avatar
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    Episode 26 continued...

    23:00, Lt. Col. Athena Ibaz’s quarters, Special Forces HQ, Side 7.

    Athena has already donned her silver and black normalsuit, its detached helmet sitting nearby on the table of the den area. Athena stares pensively at a photograph she had taken with her team, the Centurions, during a social outing some nine months ago. Jolie was still on the team then, and Jonah had just come aboard. Chieming had not been assigned to the team yet.

    Athena sighs wistfully as she reflects upon the past two years. She has led the Centurion Team through numerous perilous adventures during these two years, and their exploits have already become the stuff of legend. They have achieved momentous victories that have turned the tide in favor of the Earth Federation and saved millions of lives during this time…accomplishments for which any soldier could be proud. But what Athena has taken the greatest satisfaction in is that during her time as Centurion Leader, not a single soldier under her command has lost his or her life.

    Athena has trained and led her troops well, and she is proud of all of them. Their loyalty to her has touched her heart, and she has come to think of her troops as her family…her brothers and sisters.

    She will miss them all dearly. Above all, she regrets Jolie’s departure from the team. Athena wonders where her friend and “little sister” has gone in these several months since she left the Centurion Team, and if she would ever see the talented, pretty Newtype girl…or any of her friends and teammates again.

    A buzz comes at Athena’s door. Chief Warrant Officer Jonah Michaels and 2Lt. Chieming Noah report for duty, as Athena ordered.

    Athena looks upon her two charges fondly, “I trust that both of you have read and thoroughly familiarized yourself with the mission report.”

    “Yes, ma’am,” the two teenaged officers reply.

    Athena approaches the pair, taking both of them in her arms, “I wanted to talk to both of you about something else…especially you, Jonah. Remember: there will come a time when you will be required to be a leader. When that time comes, lead not only with your mind, but also with your heart. Let your conscience be your guide.”

    “Ma’am?” Jonah says quizzically, unaccustomed to his commanding officer being so…personal.

    Athena smiles at Jonah, stroking his hair fondly as an older sister would to a younger brother, “You’ll be an excellent leader. I see great potential in you.”

    “Thank you, ma’am,” Jonah says, “but why are you…?”

    “Pardon me,” strikes in the voice of Colonel Peter Cairlay, Director of the Special Forces, “Sorry to interrupt. Lt. Col. Ibaz, are you and your personnel ready to move out?”

    “Yes, sir,” Athena replies, noting that Cairlay is wearing a normalsuit and helmet…the first time she’s seen him thus attired in the five years that she has been acquainted with him. Although Cairlay has been tied to the administrative side of military work for the past fifteen years, he was, in his youth during the era of the One Year War, known as a formidable mobile suit pilot. A decade and a half having passed since Cairlay’s last combat sortie, it is impossible to gauge where his skills as a mobile suit pilot stand now.

    But that does not concern Athena; what concerns her is the very fact that Cairlay is suited up for combat at all…an unprecedented occurrence during her military career.

    “Colonel, sir,” Athena replies, “All Special Forces personnel are combat prepped and ready to deploy immediately upon receiving orders. Will you be directing the operation personally, sir?”

    “No,” Cairlay smiles, “I wouldn’t dream of undercutting your authority like that, Lt. Col. Ibaz. You are the mission commander for this operation. I’m here to serve…in a supervisory role…more for diplomatic purposes than anything.”

    “I see, sir,” Athena replies, not letting the nervousness encroaching into her show.

    The four Federal Forces officers depart for the MS deck.

    ************************************************** **************

    Athena straps herself aboard her idling Cour de Leon, bringing its myriad systems online and triple-checking their condition. More so than usual, Athena has been painstaking about ensuring that her mobile suit is in top working order. Today, more than any other day, she must be certain that the technology at her disposal does not fail her.

    Aboard his Jegan II mobile suit, Chief Warrant Officer Geoff Sutcliffe gazes at the enormous Hyperbazooka Particle Beam Cannon and whistles over the tactical net, “Hey, Lt. Col. That’s some huge gun you’ve got there. I thought this was just a cargo escort mission. What’s with the heavy artillery, babe?”

    “Geoff,” Athena says darkly, “Do me a favor and just shut up.”

    “All right, all right! Some people just haven’t got any tact,” Geoff mutters, accustomed to Athena’s occasional moody outbursts, but nevertheless taken aback by his commanding officer’s prickliness.

    Athena regrets her abruptness towards her teammate, but she cannot help being on edge. There are too many variables…too many things that could result in disaster, and she has precious little control over any of them. Just the kind of situation Athena hated most.

    The deck traffic control indicators cycle from red to green. The time has come.

    Lt. Col. Athena Ibaz of the Earth Federation Special Forces’ Centurion Team launches on what she knows will be her final mission.

    Twenty-five Special Forces mobile suits from five Special Forces teams are deployed from Garrison Noah. A twenty-sixth mobile suit is the mecha of Col. Peter Cairlay…a transformable Cour de Leon mobile suit like the one piloted by Lt. Col. Athena Ibaz, but painted a dark hue of black and grey instead of Athena’s silver and blue.

    This mission is officially off the record. Only the Earth Federation High Command and the Special Forces (and even then, only the units directly deployed for the mission) are aware of it. The regular military chain of command and of course, the civilian masses have no inkling of its occurrence.

    The convoy consists of five large Galileo-class transports, each 500 meters long and capable of carrying several hundred thousand tons of cargo. Within their massive cargo holds is enough weaponry to create a catastrophe unprecedented in human history.

    “Centurion Leader to all units,” Athena directs, “Cease forward motion now.”

    The ships of the convoy and the escort mobile suit cut their main thrusters and engage retro thrusters, halting at an isolated point 50 kilometers outside the Side 7 Zone in the relative direction of Earth.

    Athena sends a coded signal.

    From the distance, a contingent of the Archduchy of Zeon Forces approaches…three Gwazine-class battleships and two Musai-class cruisers escorted by a force of twenty-five mobile suits, including ten Gellonds, ten Geara Doga IIs, four Gryphons, Captain Kyoko Yamaguchi’s Elmeth Gamma, and leading them, Archduke Alexander Miguel’s signature personal mecha…a black Nightingale transformable mobile suit.

    The Zeon convoy comes to a halt. The Earth Federation and Archduchy of Zeon contingents face each other at an intervening distance of a half kilometer.

    “Lt. Col. Ibaz, Col. Cairlay,” the lubricious voice of Archduke Miguel comes over the tactical net, “you’re most prompt.”

    “The cargo convoy contains the materials that we agreed upon,” Cairlay tells the archduke, “as soon as your personnel are ready, you may inspect the cargo and escort it to the Side 3 Zone.”

    One cue, two Gryphon mobile suits break formation and surge forward to inspect the cargo ships.

    “My people and I will never forget the assistance that the Earth Federation has provided us,” Miguel says, “Let us hope that in the future, the Archduchy of Zeon and the Earth Federation will always cooperate for the betterment of humanity.”

    Athena says nothing, smirking at the irony of Miguel’s statement, even as Cairlay exchanges empty pleasantries with the Archduke of Zeon.

    2Lt. Mitch Curtis, reconnaissance officer in the 303rd Squadron, reports, “Your highness, sir. Thirty-two unidentified objects approaching fast from nine o’clock.”

    It’s begun, Athena knows.

    Thirty of the incoming thirty objects are Nemo-III mobile suits deployed by the ISRLA. The remaining two units leading the attack force are a Rick Dias III and a Hyakushiki Kai mobile suit, piloted by Dory Ischinda and Hathaway Noah, respectively.

    Dory says through the tactical net, “This is Rick Dias One. All units, attack! Destroy as many enemy mobile suits as necessary, but use extreme caution, repeat: extreme caution to not hit the cargo ships. Their cargo includes nuclear weapons!”

    The ISRLA Revolutionary Guard pilots are heedful of Dory’s admonition, although if one were an opposing Federation or Zeon mobile suit pilot, one would never know it.

    The Nemo-IIIs, Dory’s Rick Dias III, and Hathaway’s Hyakushiki Kai strike the combined Federation/Zeon forces with a devastating blitzkrieg attack. Two of the five large Zeon warships are stricken and heavily damaged, and a number of Zeon and Federation Special Forces mobile suits are hit as well.

    “All units,” Athena instructs the Special Forces, “we’re under attack. Secure the convoy; defensive formations.”

    Responding to Athena’s orders, the mobile suits of the Special Forces form a defensive ring around the five massive convoy ships even as Archduke Miguel orders his Zeon mobile suits to attack the incoming enemy.

    “Targets locked,” Miguel snarls through the tactical net, “commence firing! We’ll teach those degenerates a lesson they’ll never forget for daring to interfere with the resurrection of Zeon!”

    Three forces…ISRLA, Zeon, and Earth Federation clash…a major engagement involving nearly one hundred mobile suits. A scene of chaos and confusion furiously erupts!

    The battle swirls like a tornado of angry hornets bent on mutual destruction. Here, an ISRLA Nemo-III slashes a Zeon Geara Doga II in half with its beam saber. There, a Federal Forces GM-III riddles an ISRLA Nemo-III with beam cannon fire. Nearby, a Zeon Gellond immolates another Nemo-III with its shoulder-mounted rocket cannon. Scenes of violent death and destruction by beam cannon, missile, beam saber, and Vulcan cannon are repeated dozens upon dozens of times over an area of dozens of cubic kilometers of space near Side 7.

    Captain Kyoko Yamaguchi’s Elmeth Gamma joins the fray. Within an instant, she has reduced the attacking ISRLA forces by twenty percent.

    In one small corner of the greater battle, Athena is fending off three Nemo-IIIs using her Cour de Leon’s beam saber. Her mobile suit’s movement is greatly restricted by the massive HPBC mounted on its back, but her superior skill in using the mobile suit’s beam saber enables her to fend off her three attackers. Adding to this already difficult challenge is the fact that Athena is doing her best to pull her punches: the pilots of these Nemo-IIIs, after all, are her allies, although to preserve her cover, she must put up a reasonable charade of fighting them.

    The ISRLA Nemo-III pilots, however, seem to have no such qualm as they assault Athena’s Cour de Leon. Undoubtedly singling out her mobile suit as a commander’s mecha, the Nemo-IIIs assault Athena aggressively in numbers. A glance at her monitors indicates to Athena that not far away, Col. Cairlay is experiencing similar difficulties. The old man is holding his own; fifteen years away from a mobile suit cockpit have not entirely eroded away his deadly skills.

    Mac Cuevas, a seventeen-year old ISRLA pilot from Side 3 whose family was slaughtered by soldiers of the Earth Federation Forces during a security raid seven years earlier, takes aim at Athena’s Cour de Leon with his Nemo-III’s beam rifle. For the memory of his parents, his grandparents, and his younger sister, he would kill a Federal Forces officer today.

    “Die, Federation swine!” Mac growls as his finger tightens around the trigger.

    Hathaway Noah’s Hyakushiki Kai shoves Mac’s Nemo-III off course instants before the shot is fired. The beam misses Athena’s Cour de Leon by fewer than five meters.

    Mac, believing the collision from his ally to be accidental, reorients himself and takes aim at Athena’s Cour de Leon again. Before he can fire, however, he finds his Nemo-III being bodily restrained by Dory Ischinda’s Rick Dias-III.

    “Mac, don’t shoot!” Dory yells, “She’s one of us…oh, my God!”

    “Dory!” Hathaway cries out in helpless anger, “You just…!”

    At this close range, the tactical communications network of all mobile suits in the local area, ISRLA, Federation, and Zeon, have blended into the same frequency (a limitation imposed by the heavy use of Minovsky Particles). Thus, radio communications among all the mobile suit pilots in the area are audible to each and every one of them.

    Dory bites her lip and mentally kicks herself. In the heat of battle, her judgment slipped. In attempting to save Athena from being shot down by one of their ISRLA allies, Dory has just unwittingly implicated Athena as a traitor to the Federal Forces.

    In the cockpits of their respective mobile suits, Col. Cairlay, Jonah, and Chieming gasp. None of them can believe what they have just heard.

    She's one of us!

    That proclamation came from the pilot of the ISRLA Rick Dias; she was referring to Athena.

    There is little time to contemplate the staggering implications, however, because the battle continues, growing fiercer and more intense by the second. Dory notes that the convoy is continuing to move forward, under combined Federation and Zeon MS escort.

    “They’re getting away!” Dory shouts, “After them, now!”

    The Nemo-IIIs break off combat with the Federation and Zeon mobile suits to pursue the departing convoy. The Federation/Zeon Alliance mobile suits follow and continue their attack.

    Hathaway’s Hyakushiki Kai and Dory’s Rick Dias-III lead the remaining Nemo-III units in a forward charge towards the convoy. Hard as they fight, however, the Zeon defense units of Gellonds are just too maneuverable and tough for their dated Nemo-IIIs to handle.

    “We won’t be able to catch them!” Dory groans with despair.

    Perhaps not.

    A flash of brilliant light suddenly seems to illuminate the entire universe. A beam of highly destructive charged particle energy a half kilometer wide lances forth like a tongue of star flame, causing the screen of Zeon mobile suits, dozens of them, to disappear in its wake. The beam stretches on seemingly into infinity, completely atomizing not only the mobile suits in its path, but also the three remaining Zeon warships escorting the cargo convoy.

    The devastating display of power brings the battle to a momentary halt. For an instant, there is stillness and silence as the surviving combat units gather their senses and attempt to assess what has just happened.

    Dory smiles as she spots Athena’s Cour de Leon, the still glowing barrel of the HBPC extended in its outstretched arm.

    “What are you waiting for?!” Athena demands, “Stop that convoy!”

    Dory, Hathaway, and the rest of the ISRLA attack force, their path cleared by the powerful blast of the HBPC, move in to secure the convoy.

    Athena discards the HBPC. The nature of this powerful weapon is that it drains power not only from its built-in nuclear fusion battery, but also from the nuclear fusion engine of its host mobile suit. Therefore, the HBPC is good for only one firing before it must be recovered and recharged at a fully serviced base. As far as Athena is concerned, the mighty weapon is now nothing more than dead weight.

    The Cour de Leon’s systems are running at only half power as a result of the use of the HPBC. For the next forty to sixty minutes, navigation, speed, and firepower on Athena’s mobile suit will be extremely hampered.

    But she has no choice but to continue the battle.

    Transforming the Cour de Leon to Waverider configuration, Athena prepares to join her new ISRLA allies to eliminate the remaining Zeon guard mobile suits.

    Col. Peter Cairlay’s teeth clench in outrage, “Athena Ibaz, you traitor! You’ll pay with your life for daring to betray the Earth Federation!”

    So saying, Cairlay transforms his own black and grey Cour de Leon into Waverider mode and disappears in the direction where the convoy ships and the ISRLA mobile suits (and Athena’s Cour de Leon) had gone moments earlier.

    Jonah attempts to give chase. His Centurion Gundam is more powerful than a Cour de Leon, but is not nearly as fast as the Leon’s Waverider thrusters.

    “Col. Cairlay, no!” Jonah pleads with the Director of the Special Forces, “There has to be some kind of mistake! Athena would never…!”

    Jonah finds himself cut off, verbally and physically, by a screen of ISRLA mobile suits that seem to come from nowhere to block his path. He is momentarily overwhelmed by surprise and numbers until Chieming and the rest of the Centurion Team arrives on the scene to back him up.

    The Centurions fight fiercely. Each of them is anxious to locate Athena and find out what is going on. Above all, they hope to find her before Col. Cairlay or the Zeon do. Athena has been implicated as a traitor…meaning that she’s a marked woman.

    Each of the Centurions wonder with a heavy weight in their hearts: will they be able to shoot down their beloved commanding officer, who had led them through so much?

    Some loyalties run deeper than loyalties to a flag or ideology.

    ************************************************** **************

    Nearby, Archduke Alexander Miguel angrily immolates two Nemo-IIIs with his Nightingale’s beam cannon as he sees Col. Cairlay’s Waverider streak by. Transforming his mobile suit into mobile armor configuration, Miguel joins Cairlay.

    “Your top officer has turned out to be a traitor, Col. Cairlay,” Miguel says in a darkly sardonic tone, “I trust you will carry out your responsibilities as her commanding officer.”

    “Archduke Miguel,” Cairlay says, struggling to contain his anger, “I swear to you that I will personally send that traitor to hell!”

    “Do it,” Miguel says, “and if you somehow fail, I will finish her. Athena Ibaz will pay for this outrage!”

    The mobile suits of the ISRLA mount a furious and bitter assault on the remaining Zeon Gellond and Geara II mobile suits defending the convoy. Athena’s HPBC blast had cleared away over half of their numbers, but the remaining half continues to put up relentless resistance. More mobile suits fall on both sides, a number of the pilots able to eject in their cockpit modules to relative safety, but just as many dying horribly in the extreme heat and shock of beam weapon strikes and missile impacts.

    Athena’s Cour de Leon streaks upon the scene in Waverider configuration, its celebrated speed halved by the drain of the HPBC, but even so still much faster than the allied and enemy mobile suits all around her. The difference between Athena’s Special Forces training (and her individual talent as an MS ace pilot second in the Federal Forces only to the departed Jolie Minh) and the half-trained skills of volunteer militia of the ISRLA troops soon becomes apparent, as she deftly maneuvers around the Zeon mobile suits and eliminates them efficiently, one at a time.

    Clearly, the best mobile suit pilot among the ISRLA freedom fighters is Hathaway Noah, who had proven to have an aptitude for mobile suit operation even when he was a boy of thirteen. His black-armored Hyakushiki Kai and Athena’s Cour de Leon are soon back-to-back, covering each other and forming a circle of defense that the Zeon mobile suits are unable to penetrate. For both of them, there is the exhilaration of fighting side-by-side for the first time. The couple becomes an armored cyclone of destruction, annihilating any enemy mobile suit that dares come too near.

    Hathaway spares a moment to remark, “Last time, we were trying to kill each other. What a difference a few months makes, eh?”

    Athena replies archly, “This is almost as good as that one night in your apartment in Shanghai…you know, the second one.”

    Hathaway grins at the memory of that sultry evening…the complete sensual appeal of Athena’s body, “Nothing can ever top that.”

    There is a smile in Athena’s voice as she replies, “If we both survive this battle, maybe we can put that to the test one of these nights.”

    Having taken their momentary breather, and reaffirmed a future worth living for, Hathaway and Athena dive into the battle with renewed vigor.

    An incoming object is picked up by the sensors of Athena’s mobile suit…something moving extremely fast…a speed that could only be achieved by a Waverider.


    Colonel Cairlay.


    Cairlay transforms his Cour de Leon from Waverider back to mobile suit configuration, firing a salvo of shots from the mobile suit’s beam rifle.

    Athena spins her mobile suit in a corkscrew maneuver, avoiding the blast. Cairlay’s mecha, having not powered an HPBC, has twice the energy of Athena’s mobile suit, but her recent combat experience gives her an edge over Cairlay’s fifteen year sabbatical from piloting a mobile suit.

    “I’ll deal with you later, traitor!” Cairlay snarls, as he heads for the cargo convoy.

    Athena transforms her Cour de Leon to Waverider configuration and gives pursuit.

    “Minerva!” Hathaway calls out, attempting to follow in his relatively slower Hyakushiki Kai. Before he can, however, he and the rest of the ISRLA squad are occupied by a new wave of Zeon mobile suits led by Archduke Alexander Miguel himself.

    “Destroy them,” Miguel orders his troops, “no prisoners! They must not be allowed to sabotage the convoy!”

    Hathaway fights fiercely, in a state of desperation. He must clear these enemies out quickly and help Athena!

    ************************************************** **************

    At the same time, the Centurion Team has fought its way through the squad of ISRLA mobile suits. Under Jonah’s direction, using the training drilled into them by Athena, the Centurion Team was able to easily subdue the inexperienced ISRLA mobile suit squadron without killing them. Instinctively, Jonah knows that’s what Athena would have wanted them to do.

    Athena. A traitor. It is still unfathomable.

    Jonah opens communications to the team, “Centurion Two to all Centurion units: disengage from current combat. We have to go after Lt. Col. Ibaz!”

    The ambiguity of the phrase “go after” shakes the Centurions. Does Jonah mean “go after” in the sense that they are to rescue their leader, or capture and destroy her?

    The Centurions are family. They know their executive officer…steadfast, loyal, and compassionate. He must mean that they are to aid Athena, even at the risk of being branded traitors themselves.

    The Centurion Team and other Special Forces units blast towards the area that the convoy and Athena had disappeared into.

    Amid the ships of the cargo convoy, Athena and Cairlay engage in a spectacular and violent shootout. Between Athena’s youth and more recent experience and the greater power of Cairlay’s mobile suit, their battle is a near stalemate.

    “Treacherous b*tch!” Cairlay says through clenched teeth, “After all the Federation has invested in training you, how dare you turn against us like this?!”

    Athena responds, “You and your Federation have murdered millions of innocent Spacenoids. People whose only crime was wanting freedom from the Federation’s oppression and tyranny. This is your day of reckoning, Peter Cairlay. You’ll pay for the lives you’ve taken!”

    The two Cour de Leons exchange and dodge a dozen beam rifle shots, then fire salvoes of missiles at each other. The long-range weapons expended, the two Federation transformable mobile suits draw their beam sabers for a climactic duel.

    Cairlay slashes the beam saber of his Cour de Leon towards the throat of Athena’s mobile suit. Athena turns the slash aside with a twirling motion, nearly spinning the beam saber out of the armored hand of Cairlay’s mecha. Cairlay responds with a rapid and unexpected kick that Athena barely manages to block with her own Cour de Leon’s hand. She then raises her Leon’s beam rifle for a vicious downward slash that Cairlay almost fails to block.

    The duel continues for a long minute. Slash…parry…slash.

    The flaming wreck of a Nemo-III crosses the battle zone. Mistaking it for an intruder, Col. Cairlay blasts at it. The subsequent explosion momentarily throws his mecha and Athena’s apart.

    The sudden appearance of the wrecked mobile suit strikes Athena with an instant of inspiration.

    Athena disappears behind one of the larger convoy ships…one which she knows contains, among other weaponry, new mobile suits.

    Using the beam saber, Athena cuts a hole in the hull of the transport vessel Mammoth. Within its cargo hold are dozens of GM-III and Jegan-II mobile suits, designated for use by the Archduchy of Zeon Forces for their “homecoming” operation. Among these general combat mobile suits, however, is another Cour de Leon, which had been assigned for use by Archduke Miguel’s chief subordinate, Col. Davenport

    Athena pulls the unmanned Cour de Leon, nearly identical to her own, from its docking station, and leaves the interior hold of the Mammoth from the same breach through which she entered. The beam rifle of her mobile suit is recharging itself from its host mecha’s nuclear fusion engine, and will have enough power for a single shot in ninety seconds.

    ************************************************** ***************

    Jonah and the Centurions have arrived on the scene where Hathaway and the remaining ISRLA units are battling Archduke Miguel’s Zeon forces. The tide has begun to turn against the ISRLA.

    Jonah orders the squad, “Get between them! Stop the battle!”

    The Special Forces units intervene between the Zeon and ISRLA squads, attacking both sides in an effort to halt the combat.

    “Ale…Archduke,” Jonah pleads with his elder brother, “Stop, please!”

    Responding to Jonah’s plea, and indeed unwilling to endanger his younger brother’s life by continuing the battle, Alexander issues the order, “All units: cease firing.”

    The Zeon mobile suits end their assault.

    Jonah’s Centurion Gundam motions to Hathaway’s Hyakushiki and Dory’s Rick Dias-III to leave. They do, in the direction of the disappeared convoy.

    “Archduke Miguel,” Jonah says through the tactical net to his brother, “Lt. Col. Ibaz and the convoy are gone. We have to return to Garrison Noah and report this to General Blackhead and the Federation High Command.”

    “You do that, 1Lt. Michaels,” Alexander snaps, wishing he could end this charade and bring his brother home to Side 3 where he belongs, “I intend to make your Lt. Col. Ibaz face the consequences of her actions, and recapture the convoy that she and her ISRLA allies have hijacked!”

    So saying, Alexander leads the Zeon mobile suits in pursuit of the ISRLA.

    “Archduke!” Jonah cries out to no avail. He then orders the team, “Let’s go! We have to save Athena!”

    Jonah leads the Centurions forward…something that he will be doing regularly in the days to come.

    ************************************************** ******************

    Col. Cairlay has lost track of Athena. In the chaotic swirl of combat, that traitor disappeared on him.

    No matter. She cannot run forever.

    Cairlay sighs…almost with regret. When a then fifteen-year old Cadet Athena Ibaz first enrolled at the Officers’ Academy five years ago, Cairlay had high hopes for her, and she had surpassed all of those hopes. Athena had been the Federal Forces’ brightest star, and Cairlay saw to it that her career path led her to his newly organized Special Forces.

    She was to have been the ace in his pocket…the instrument he would use to fast track himself to flag ranking status.

    But the girl, despite being more brilliant that he had dared to hope for, had a critical flaw: she was too independent and too willful…getting the results, but always doing things her own way…not the Federation’s way…not Cairlay’s way. She would always put on a good show of being an obedient, model soldier, only to follow her own directives when it came time to act.

    Athena’s independence made her a liability to Cairlay, but her abilities were simply indispensable.

    But now…now the foolish girl has gone and turned traitor on the Federation, and in the process, ruined Cairlay’s plans for personal advancement.

    Or perhaps not.

    Athena Ibaz is now a traitor; eliminating her personally would undoubtedly win Cairlay the Federation High Command’s gratitude.

    The unmistakably aerodynamic silhouette of a Cour de Leon emerges from around the stern of the cargo carrier Mammoth.

    Cairlay grins cruelly, “Farewell, Athena. You were an excellent officer…the best I’ve ever served with. It’s a pity, really.”

    Cairlay aims his beam rifle at the Cour de Leon, presses the trigger, and fires. The Cour de Leon is stricken through the cockpit and collapses into a smoldering ruin.

    “Col. Cairlay,” the voice of Athena Ibaz fills his helmet receivers.

    That’s impossible! Cairlay’s inner voice cries, How could she…?!

    Cairlay never completes his thought. An energy beam fired from a beam rifle penetrates the back of his Cour de Leon, passing clear through the cockpit. Col. Peter Cairlay of the Earth Federation Forces, forty-nine years old, the blood of tens of millions of Spacenoids on his proverbial hands, is disintegrated in an instant…a more merciful end than he deserved.

    One-hundred meters behind Cairlay’s disabled mobile suit stands Lt. Col. Athena Ibaz’s Cour de Leon, its beam rifle barrel still glowing from the recently fired fatal shot.

    “May you continue to burn in hell, colonel, sir,” Athena says quietly, her voice full of contempt. At last, the ghosts of Cairlay’s many, many victims, including several hundred Cislunar Free Media journalists, will find some peace. One small part of Athena’s own gnawing feelings of guilt is buried.

    The ISRLA contingent, led by Hathaway Noah and Dory Ischinda, arrives upon the scene, noting that the cargo convoy is now theirs, no longer guarded by Zeon or Federation mobile suits.

    “I’ve finally killed him,” Athena says quietly, as much to herself as to her allies.

    “Peter Cairlay was a mass murderer,” Dory says, “As of today, you’re the revolution’s greatest hero, Minerva.”

    “And the Federation’s most wanted traitor,” Athena reminds Dory bitterly.

    “Minerva, I’m sorry,” Dory says contritely, “In the heat of battle, I was so worried for your safety that I forgot…”

    “Forget it,” Athena replies, “No point worrying about it now. Our priority now has to be getting this convoy to Side 3 safely. You need to…AGGGGHHH!!”

    The shots strike suddenly, catching everyone off guard. Archduke Miguel and his forces have arrived, reinforced by fresh mobile suits and ships from his vast armada.

    The Elmeth Gamma of Captain Kyoko Yamaguchi, the Black Raven, is leveled at Athena’s heavily damaged Cour de Leon.

    That first shot has taken off the left arm of Athena’s Cour de Leon, rendering it impossible for her to transform the mobile suit to Waverider configuration. The Leon, already seriously mauled from its battle against Col. Cairlay and the earlier fight against the first wave of Zeon mobile suits, is in no condition for much further combat.

    “Minerva!” Hathaway calls out, panicked, as he sees Athena’s mobile suit go down.

    Turning to Captain Yamaguchi’s ebony-shelled mobile suit, Hathaway screams a throat tearing, “God damn you!”

    Hathaway assaults the Elmeth Gammawith his Hyakushiki Kai’s beam rifle, and the battle is renewed. Once again, the ISRLA and Zeon forces clash, but while the Zeon forces have been reinforced and renewed, the ISRLA contingent is spent and close to collapse.

    Minerva Zabi must die, Alexander resolves, As long as she lives, my claim to the Zeon throne will be challenged.

    Throwing Hathaway’s mobile suit aside with a powerful stroke of its hyper beam saber, Kyoko’s Elmeth Gamma takes a second shot at Athena’s Cour de Leon, hitting the Federation mobile suit right through its nuclear fusion engine.

    Hathaway, Dory…and Jonah, Chieming, and the Centurions, newly arrived on the scene, gasp in unified terror. All share the same thought, ATHENA/MINERVA!

    Aboard the cockpit of her rapidly destructing Cour de Leon, Athena fights through her pain and shock to press the “Eject” button on her control console. Within seconds, the spherical, reinforced cockpit module of her mobile suit is ejected from the body of the mecha, even as it explodes in a blaze of hellfire.

    The cockpit module tumbles out of control, its trajectory taking it in the general direction of Side 7.

    “MINERVA!!” Hathaway screams, ramming the thruster control of his Hyakushiki Kai to full throttle in pursuit.

    He is cut off by the Elmeth Gamma, which assaults Hathaway’s mobile suit again, blocking access to Athena.

    “ZEON B*TCH!” Hathaway snarls viciously at Miguel, “If Minerva’s been harmed, I swear I’ll kill you!”

    Dory, sharing similar sentiments, opens fire on the Elmeth Gamma with her Rick Dias III’s rocket launcher.

    “Anna!” Jonah calls out to the Centurion Team’s reconnaissance specialist, Chief Warrant Officer Anna Horowitz, “can you track the trajectory of Athena’s escape module?!”

    “I’m working on it, Lieutenant!” Anna says, “”Can’t get an accurate trajectory, but it’s in the general direction of Side 7!”

    That brings a mixture of relief and worry to Jonah. On the one hand, at least Athena won’t be drifting helplessly into deep space. On the other hand, she’s headed for the heaviest concentration of Federal Forces troops in Cislunar Space…troops that undoubtedly will soon receive orders to capture or kill her.


    ************************************************** ****************

    A phone call rouses General Blackhead from his sleep. The time is 01:30. Ninety minutes have passed since the convoy exchange was to have taken place.

    “General Blackhead, sir,” comes the voice of Major Thomas Remard, the general’s personal aide, “Sorry to disturb your rest, sir. The classified Side 3 convoy operation has gone awry, sir.”

    “What the devil are you saying?” Blackhead demands, his head still muddled from being suddenly aroused from his sleep, “What went wrong? Where are Col. Cairlay and Lt. Col. Ibaz?”

    Remard replies, “Sir, Col. Cairlay is dead. He was killed by Lt. Col. Ibaz. The lieutenant colonel is a traitor, sir. She helped the ISRLA to mount a sabotage raid against the convoy.”

    Blackhead rises to his feet, his face the portrait of volcanic rage, the phone receiver nearly buckles in the grip of his powerful hand, “Remard: sound general quarters. Put the base on alert. Tell all of our units that they have orders to bring that traitorous b*tch back to Side 7, alive…or dead!”

    Athena's fate to be revealed in Episode 27!

  16. #276
    Moderator Ken Cheng's Avatar
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    EPISODE 27: FUGITIVE!

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    Lt. Col. Athena Ibaz, former heroine of the Earth Federation Forces, is now on the run from her former comrades-at-arms...wanted dead or alive, for TREASON.

    An abandoned mobile suit cockpit module, recently jettisoned from a Cour de Leon mobile suit, sits in a derelict docking airlock unoccupied since the Gryps Conflict. Moments earlier, the sole occupant of that cockpit module had floated free of its confines, abandoning her normalsuit as soon as the airlock sealed.

    Lt. Col. Athena Ibaz of the Earth Federation Forces, if indeed that name and title still have any meaning, is now a fugitive from the very Federal Forces of which, until an hour ago, she had been a highly valued Special Forces officer. Now, her former colleagues have orders to hunt her down – to arrest her if possible, to kill her if necessary.

    And Athena knows that her hunters are formidable adversaries; after all, she had personally trained a number of them. That, perhaps, could work to her advantage…

    Athena had considered retaining her normalsuit…in case survival meant a quick escape into the void of space. She finally decided against it, however, reasoning that she would likely need to make her way through Green Oasis City to find transportation out of Federation-controlled Side 7 to independent Side 6…or anywhere else she would be relatively safe from pursuing Earth Federation and Zeon authorities. Wearing a normalsuit on the city streets, even in a military town, would be fatally conspicuous.

    Realist that she is, Athena knows that her chances of escaping could be generously described as nil, but she is accustomed to betting her life on such odds.

    Athena wraps her command overcoat around herself and pulls her officer’s cap down low. Garrison Noah is home to tens of thousands of Federal Forces officers, including several thousand female soldiers who wear uniforms similar to hers. If she is cautious, she can use the uniform to blend into the mass anonymity of the Federation war machine. Perhaps, however, she should wait until morning…when Federal Forces soldiers will fill the streets of Green Oasis City. Only civilians, and mostly only unsavory nocturnal types, would be on the streets at this hour, and Athena’s presence would surely attract attention…the last thing Athena needs. Besides, there are likely no spacecraft leaving the port at this hour, and Federal Forces MPs will doubtless be all over the spaceport looking for her.

    Athena needs sleep, although she knows it will be difficult for her to get any. Even in the best of times, sleep did not come to her easily.

    But alertness of mind will be necessary if she is to survive.

    Athena hugs her long, shapely legs close to her body and places her smooth, pretty face between her knees. At the preprogrammed colony morning’s first light, she will make her move.

    ************************************************** **************

    “I’ve always had my reservations about Ibaz,” growls General Manron Blackhead, having rushed back to his office at the indecent hour of 02:30 to address the current emergency, “but even so, this act of treason is shocking. She even killed Cairlay!”

    Archduke Alexander Miguel, whom Blackhead had invited to meet with him upon hearing of Athena Ibaz’s treachery, smiles wanly and hands a Datadisc to the commanding officer of the Earth Federation Space Forces, “Perhaps it won’t be so much of a shock, General, after you’ve had a look at this. Something my intelligence personnel discovered.”

    General Blackhead takes the Datadisc and loads it into his personal Datapad. The general turns pale, then reddens as he studies the information contained on the Datadisc.

    After several long minutes, Blackhead finds his voice again, and he rumbles angrily, “So…Ibaz was Minerva Zabi, the former Duchess of Zeon.”

    “My father and I had searched for her royal highness, the Duchess Minerva, for years,” Miguel says, “we would never have thought that she had become an officer of the Earth Federation Forces.”

    Blackhead reddens again, not from outrage this time, but from embarrassment at allowing Ibaz…no, Zabi’s deception slip by him, “It explains much…Ibaz’s ISRLA sympathies, for starters. We were idiots! Allowing the last of the Zabis into our central command structure like that! Fools such as Bright Noah and their permissive attitude towards these Spacenoids…no disrespect intended, Archduke.”

    Miguel nods graciously, “What do you plan to do, General?”

    Blackhead says, “The Zabi Royal Family is responsible for mass atrocities unprecedented in human history. It is the duty of the Earth Federation Forces to exterminate them…but Minerva Zabi is the sovereign of your nation, Archduke Miguel.”

    “Was,” Miguel says, “but it’s a new day for the Archduchy of Zeon, General. When I signed the armistice, I committed my nation to a new direction…one that rejected the genocidal ambitions of the Zabis and embraced a new era of cooperation with your Federation. For this reason, you need not have any reservations about fulfilling your duty as an Earth Federation Forces officer on the Archduchy of Zeon’s account. In fact, we will gladly lend you our support in hunting down the last of that murderous clan that brought war and ruin to our illustrious nation. The people of Zeon have turned their backs on the Zabis and their genocidal legacy, and will join with the Earth Federation to eliminate their threat forever.”

    General Blackhead extends a hand of friendship to Archduke Miguel, “We’re grateful for your assistance, Archduke.”

    Alexander Miguel shakes the Federation officer’s hand, smiling a devious smile. With Minerva Zabi dead, the Zabi Royal Family will be extinct. No one will be left to challenge him for supremacy over the Zeon Empire.

    And next, the foolish Earth Federation would fall.

    ************************************************** *************

    “I don’t believe that Athena turned traitor on us,” 2Lt. Chieming Noah says, “I just can’t believe it.”

    “She was our sister-at-arms,” Msgt. Karim Abdul Al-Said agrees, “we loved and trusted her. This…this is unthinkable.”

    “I feel like my heart’s been ripped out of my chest,” Ssgt. Tomo Higashi adds, “First, Jolie leaves us…now, Athena turns against us. All due respect to the rest of you guys…this doesn’t feel like the Centurion Team anymore. How can there be a Centurion Team without Athena and Jolie? It’s like a lion with no teeth or claws.”

    1Lt. Jonah Michaels, who has been silent until now, observes, “There’s more to Athena’s apparent ‘betrayal’ than meets the eye. We know this woman: we’ve all been the beneficiaries of her loyalty to us. For her to turn against the Federation…she must have had her reasons.”

    “I don’t think I’ll ever understand those ‘reasons,’” Sgt. Anna Horowitz adds, “we trusted Athena with our lives…”

    “…and she never let us down to the end,” Chieming reminds Anna, “All of us have always come back from our missions alive because of Athena’s leadership. But…we won’t have that leadership anymore.”

    A dark pall seems to fall over the Centurion Team. The heart and mind of their team has been ripped out, and the young Centurion Team soldiers know that their future is in doubt as a result.

    The team’s somber reflections are interrupted by the arrival of General Manron Blackhead of the Earth Federation Space Forces and Archduke Alexander Miguel of the Archduchy of Zeon. Even under the current unusual circumstances, the Centurions are caught off-guard by the sudden appearance of such high-ranking officers at their quarters.

    “Attention!” an escort MP announces.

    The Centurions rise as one and salute General Blackhead.

    Blackhead looks at them severely, “At ease. As you are undoubtedly well aware, Lt. Col. Athena Ibaz, commanding officer of the Centurion Team and Deputy Director of the Special Forces, is now regarded as a traitor to the Earth Federation Forces. For reasons yet to be ascertained, Lt. Col. Ibaz assisted ISRLA insurgents in sabotaging a shipment of vital supplies that was to have been delivered to the Archduchy of Zeon authorities. Consequently, both our forces and Archduke Miguel’s are now under orders to locate and neutralize Lt. Col. Ibaz.”

    “Neutralize?” Jonah blurts out, “but sir, Lt. Col. Ibaz deserves a fair…”

    “AS YOU WERE, SOLDIER!” General Blackhead cuts Jonah off wrathfully. After he has controlled his outrage, the general continues, “Archduke Miguel has revealed to us your former commanding officer was none other than Duchess Minerva Zabi of the old Archduchy of Zeon!”

    A collective gasp of shock emanates from the Centurion Team members, “WHAT?!”

    “Athena…is…Minerva…Zabi?” Chieming whispers tonelessly, her mind spinning.

    In a rare moment of lapsed decorum, Karim sits down without asking permission of the ranking officer in his presence. Tomo shakes his head angrily in denial. Anna’s hands fly to her mouth in shock.

    “Archduke Miguel has presented us with extensive and incontrovertible evidence that Athena Ibaz was nothing more than a false identity concocted by Minerva Zabi to infiltrate and undermine our Earth Federation Forces,” General Blackhead continues, “she is extremely dangerous and must be exterminated.”

    The Centurions, against their training, begin to voice their protests, to which Blackhead replies with a thunderous “SILENCE!”

    Having gained the team’s momentary quiescence, the general continues, “In the course of her betrayal, Zabi also murdered Col. Cairlay, Director of Special Forces. I will assume direct command over the Special Forces during the interim until a new, permanent director is appointed. As for the Centurion Team…1Lt. Michaels?”

    “Yes, sir,” Jonah answers dutifully, but sullenly, retaining no respect for the highest ranking officer in the Earth Federation Space Forces

    “You are hereby promoted to the rank of Captain, and will assume the position of Centurion Leader,” Blackhead says without any pleasure, “Archduke Miguel recommended you for the position, which is also appropriate in terms of chain in command.”

    Jonah steals a glance past General Blackhead to his elder brother. Alexander smiles and winks at him; Jonah responds with a distrustful and angry scowl.

    “Thank you, sir,” Jonah says with difficulty, suddenly unable to breathe, feeling a crushing weight suddenly upon his shoulders. Is this how Athena felt when she led the team?

    Blackhead says to the team, “You all have understandably strong emotional ties to Minerva Zabi. The Federation does not believe that you can suspend your feelings and act objectively. Your colleagues in the Special Forces and the Military Police have been dispatched to locate Zabi, but the Centurion Team is collectively suspended from duty until further notice. Be warned that any attempt to aid Minerva Zabi in any way will be construed as an act of abetting treason and will be punished severely. Dismissed.”

    Blackhead and his entourage leave. Alexander stops in front of Jonah before leaving the Centurion Team’s barracks, extending a hand to his younger brother, “Congratulations, Captain Michaels. The future of your military career shows great promise.”

    “…Thank you, your highness…,” Jonah replies tentatively, suspecting that Alexander has ulterior motives for supporting his promotion to Centurion Leader.

    Jonah pauses to consider the irony of his situation: he has been doing the same thing that Athena…that Duchess Minerva has been doing all along. Like the Duchess, Jonah is Zeon royalty (now that Alexander has proclaimed himself Archduke), serving in the Earth Federation Special Forces under a false identity. Jonah wonders when he, like Duchess Minerva, will be exposed as a traitor.

    It dawns on Jonah that he could actually be exposed easily by his own brother. Jonah finds it strange that Alexander has not done so, especially as it would force Jonah to leave the Federal Forces and return home to Zeon, as Alexander undoubtedly wishes.

    A moment’s further reflection reveals the truth to Jonah: Alexander considers him much more valuable as an insider with the Earth Federation Forces than just another junior officer in the Archduchy of Zeon Forces. With Jonah in the position of Centurion Leader, Alexander can use him for strategic, intelligence, and political objectives.

    Jonah resolves that he will not allow himself to be used as his brother’s pawn. Jonah understands Alexander all too well, and vows to thwart his brother’s mad ambitions.

    To accomplish that end, however, Jonah will need to play cooperative soldier and good brother…for now.

    After General Blackhead and Alexander leave, the Centurion Team members turn to their new commanding officer.

    “Jonah…Captain Michaels, what do we do now?” asks 2Lt. Chieming Noah.

    “Officially, we do nothing,” Jonah replies, “We’ve basically been put on enforced leave. We’re not confined to quarters, so we’re free to move about in the city as we please until new orders come down.”

    “Captain Michaels,” MSgt. Karim Abdul Al-Said queries, “do you mean…?”

    “We have to find Athena before they do,” Jonah says grimly, “We’re the only ones who can save her.”

    “But we don’t even know where to begin looking,” Sgt. Anna Horowitz points out, “she could be anywhere. She might even be dead. What makes you think she’s here at Green Oasis?”

    “First,” Jonah says, “Athena needs transportation if she’s going to escape to neutral space, and no hub of transportation is closer to the location from which she disappeared than Side 7. Second, it’s the only colony in range of her Cour de Leon cockpit module’s emergency thrusters. Third…I sense her presence here at Side 7.”

    “You do?” the Centurions press. They are aware of Jonah’s Newtype abilities, and hopeful he can use it to locate Athena.

    “Do you know where she is, Jonah?” Chieming ventures hopefully.

    “No,” Jonah replies glumly, “Unfortunately, I can’t pinpoint an exact location, but I know she’s here…nearby.”

    “Then let’s go!” Chieming says, “Before the military police or the Zeon troops get her!”

    “Right,” Jonah says, “we’ll split into pairs. Chieming, you’re with me. The rest of you, pair up and search the city on foot. Dress civilian so that you’ll be inconspicuous.”

    The Centurions salute their new commanding officer and rush to their quarters to change out of their uniforms and into civilian clothing for the task at hand. They vow to find their previous commanding officer…and save her life. It’s the least they can do for a friend who has saved their lives so many times before. That loyalty runs deeper than their loyalty to the Federation.

    to be continued...

  17. #277
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    Episode 27 continued...

    Hathaway Noah’s Hyakushiki Kai, painted a stark black color for stealth rather than the garish gold of Captain Quattro Bagina’s (i.e. Char Aznable) infamous Hyakushiki prototype during the Gryps Conflict, is able to enter the Side 7 Zone undetected thanks to the density of Minovsky Particles in the region. The Hyakushiki Kai’s sensor suite is attuned to distress signals that might be transmitted from the ejected cockpit of Minerva’s Cour de Leon, but Hathaway knows that he is unlikely to locate Minerva through these devices. Minerva is smart enough to have disabled all the automatic communications and tracking systems in the ejection module so that her pursuers would be unable to track her.

    A part of Hathaway is confident that Minerva would outwit and outmaneuver the Federation and Zeon troops pursuing her…just as she had outwitted and outmaneuvered Hathaway himself when he had attempted to assassinate his own father, General Bright Noah. Few could outfox Minerva Zabi.

    But can even Minerva hope to maneuver two entire armies presently focused on finding and exterminating her? Hathaway feels his stomach churning in fear for his beloved.

    Got to find Minerva, no matter what, Hathaway resolves, I can’t let the Feddies and the Zeon get her. If she’s killed, I…I wouldn’t want to live on anymore.

    Hathaway reaches out with his mind. He is a Newtype and so is Minerva. Where machines fail, his mind…his soul, will find its mate somewhere in the vast cosmos.

    The Hyakushiki Kai enters an abandoned Side 7 spacedock, narrowly eluding a bypassing patrol squadron of GM-III Federal Forces mobile suits.

    The Hyakushiki Kai’s landing in this particular spacedock, of which Side 7 has several dozen, is no accident. A familiar sensation drew Hathaway here…to this dark, abandoned airlock through which no vehicle or person must have passed in years.

    Save one, a few hours ago.

    Hathaway fills the dark, cavernous space of the airlock with the floodlights mounted behind the shoulders of the Hyakushiki Kai. The space is cluttered with many articles of mechanical junk, but amid the myriad refuse, Hathaway recognizes the spherical structure of a current model Federal Forces’ mobile suit’s ejected cockpit module.

    It’s the escape module of the Cour de Leon, Hathaway realizes.

    Hathaway disembarks from his mobile suit to investigate further; he floats downward towards the abandoned module.

    The hatch is open, and no one is aboard. All that is left behind is a blue and silver female Federal Forces’ officer’s normalsuit. Hathaway inspects the interior of the escape module more carefully, and feels somewhat relieved that he finds no blood.

    Hopefully, that means she hasn’t been hurt, Hathaway muses, she must have gone to the spaceport…or is trying to get there, to get transportation out of the Federation- and Zeon-controlled space. Could she be headed to Side 6?

    Rather than sit and speculate, Hathaway presses forth his search for the woman he loves…the woman who has put her own life in peril to save millions of innocents from horrific death.

    Stripping off his normalsuit to reveal his civilian attire, a dark suit worn with a white shirt and no tie, Hathaway checks his sidearm. Anyone who seeks to harm Minerva will need to face his weapon first.

    Minerva, sweetie…I’m coming. Hang on. Please don’t die. Please…

    ************************************************** *************

    05:00, Green Oasis City, Side 7. The celestial metropolis comes to life, as the giant mirrors affixed outside the colony adjust their angles according to programs run by sophisticated computers, bringing the effect of dawn’s first light to the artificial environment.

    For millions, the morning routine begins. Alarm clocks ring. Fresh coffee is brewed. Breakfast cooks on hundreds of thousands of stoves. Multitudes dress and groom themselves for work and school, enduring the traffic jams that are an unavoidable part of their morning routine. At the military base Garrison Noah, reveille had sounded more than an hour ago.

    The morning news is read off of millions of personal Datapads. Prominent among the headlines this morning is news that Lt. Col. Athena Ibaz, Federal Forces heroine of the Zeon Civil War, has been revealed as a traitor and war criminal…exposed as the Duchess Minerva Zabi of the old Archduchy of Zeon. Citizens are alerted to be on the lookout for the traitor, but to not confront her as she is dangerous. Federal Forces troops are already combing the streets of Side 7 and patrolling local space in mobile suits seeking her out.

    Among the civilian community, the news is received with myriad reactions. Young men do not fail to note that the traitor was a real hottie. Those who admire fame, power, status, and wealth are fascinated that the traitor had once been the Duchess of Zeon, who had once ruled an empire that included the half of humankind that lived in space. The feminist community smells a plot by the patriarchal power structure of the Earth Federation Government and Archduchy of Zeon go squelch the rise of a capable, independent, and intelligent woman before she could pose a threat to their power base. Those who hate the Earth Federation and chafe under its rule quietly applaud the courageous young woman’s act of defiance. Diehard Zabi Family loyalists weep at the imminent loss of the last heir of the Zabi legacy. More generally, however, there is simple astonishment that the Duchess of Zeon iss still alive…and was an important officer in the Earth Federation Forces…ten years after she had disappeared after the end of the First Neo Zeon War. Most had assumed that Minerva Zabi had perished long ago, or had been driven into an exile from which she would never emerge.

    Among the military, particularly the Special Forces, the revelation of Athena Ibaz as Minerva Zabi…as a traitor…is proving demoralizing. The soldiers of the Special Forces, accustomed to conducting themselves with honor and pride, find themselves hanging their heads in shame as they come to terms with the reality that the best and brightest among them, Lt. Col. Athena Ibaz, is a traitor. If Lt. Col. Ibaz could not be trusted, then just what is loyalty to the Earth Federation worth?

    More pragmatically, with both Col. Cairlay and Lt. Col Ibaz gone, the brain trust of the Special Forces is dead. The Special Forces’ illustrious record of victory during the two years of combat since their formation has been largely dependent on Lt. Col. Ibaz’s tactical genius and astute leadership. Who will plot strategy and conduct combat operations now?

    It is with great reluctance, therefore, that the Special Forces comply with their orders to hunt down Lt. Col. Ibaz…Minerva Zabi. The lieutenant colonel’s own team, the Centurions, have been put on special leave…forced to sit this one out.

    And there is friendship to consider. Beyond being an excellent leader, Athena has always been a good friend. Many of her colleagues in the Special Forces have been the beneficiaries of her generosity, both professionally and personally. Some owe the success of their careers in the Special Forces to her. Many owe their wide body of extraordinary skills to her tutelage. All of them owe her their lives. Athena has always demanded a great deal from them, but she repaid them all with her kindness: many of the Special Forces officers have a fond memory of Athena coming through with special leave time for Special Forces troops who needed to tend to a sick child or parent, who needed some extra credits to make ends meet at home, or who needed encouragement through the difficult life of sacrifices chosen by those who joint the Special Forces.

    Could such a person really be a traitor? Even if she is, could the soldiers of the Special Forces turn on their beloved former leader…even though they are duty-bound to do so?

    Squads of Special Forces troops, specialists at espionage and tracking down fugitives, join the platoons of military police and regular forces troops already deployed throughout the Side 7 Zone searching for Minerva Zabi. The troops of the Special Forces check their weapons, and pray that they will not need to use them….

    ************************************************** ***************

    Athena squats down in a dark alley in one of Green Oasis City’s seedier, less densely populated districts. The distance between the airlock where she had landed the cockpit escape module and Green Oasis Spaceport is six kilometers…the entire length of the Green Oasis space colony. Normally, this walk would take around two hours, but having had to elude Federal Forces troops and suspicious civilians, Athena has barely made two kilometers’ progress in four hours.

    Athena takes stock of her surroundings. She is in the industrial district…an area of warehouses and factories. She is unlikely to be discovered here, but to reach the spaceport, she would need to cross the busy civic center area of Green Oasis City, around a kilometer ahead of her present position. By midmorning, there would be thousands of people on the street, which could mean more people to identify and implicate her…or larger crowds into which she could blend in.

    And of course, even if she reaches the spaceport safely, she would need to sneak aboard a transport to Side 6…the only place that she would be out of the Federation and the Zeon’s reach.

    Athena rests a moment more, and looks at her surroundings…the dark, forlorn alleyway in which she finds herself reminds her of where she first met Jolie at Industria Colony…two years that now seem a lifetime ago. Back then, her career as a Federal Forces officer was just beginning; now, it’s all over.

    Athena smiles wryly as she thinks to herself, I started my life as the Duchess of Zeon. I lived in a palace the size of a small city, sat on a jeweled throne of gold, and walked on floors of marble, and all who came into my presence bowed in obeisance. Then, I led young men and women into combat against the remnants of the very empire I once ruled…in the hopes that I could begin building a new world without empires. Now, however, I find myself here…a fugitive, no better than a street vagrant. I’ll probably die on these streets.

    Athena allows herself a moment for a wave of pain to wash over heart. She has no fear of death, but there are a few individuals in her short, but eventful life that she has come to love and will dearly miss:

    The Masses: Don Teabolo Mass and his wife Amelia, old Earth aristocrats, Col. Char’s foster parents, had been very much like Athena’s own grandparents during her adolescent years. After the fall of the Haman Karn Axis Zeon regime and Duchess Minerva’s ouster from power, it was the Masses who had taken Minerva into their peaceful home in the Swiss Alps, and had helped her to establish the new identity of Athena Ibaz. The Masses treated young Athena with a kindness and generosity that befitted real grandparents, and she has never forgotten their benevolence to her. Doubtless, they are already aware or would soon be aware of the events of the past few hours, and their hearts would break. The Masses had been reluctant to allow Minerva to join the Federal Forces when she turned fifteen, fearing that she would go down Char’s path. For them, Athena feels a deep sense of affection…and regret that she had not adequately expressed to them how much she loved them.

    Jolie Minh: Athena’s protégée and sister at arms. They came from very different backgrounds, and yet, they also shared so much. Both orphaned by war, they were united in their desire to pursue justice in a universe that saw too precious little of it. Athena had taught Jolie so much, and had learned so much from Jolie in return. They had fought side-by-side against the worst that the world had to offer and through Athena’s savvy intelligence and Jolie’s phenomenal fighting prowess, they had always emerged victorious together. Ultimately, however, their dream of peace had not come true. They parted on awkward terms after Jolie first discovered Athena’s true identity and then Jonah’s, causing Jolie to lose faith in her closest friends and making her unable to continue fighting alongside them. So much between them remains unresolved.

    Jonah Miguel, Chieming Noah, and the rest of the Centurion Team: Athena has always treated her teammates on the Centurion Team as her brothers and sisters…the only family she truly ever had. As their commanding officer, Athena’s first priority, above even accomplishing a mission, was to keep her teammates alive. Athena has always prided herself on the fact that since she took command of the Centurion Team, not a single one of her subordinates has been captured (except for Jonah, briefly, but he was rescued within hours by Athena, Jolie, and the rest of the Centurions) or killed in combat. She will miss their camaraderie, but feels assured that through all their experiences together, they have each grown into tough, savvy soldiers who can survive on their own. Athena’s greatest concern is for Jonah, who now is likely saddled with the burden of replacing her as Centurion Leader, and who carries his own false identity to conceal. Athena can only pray that Jonah will not share her fate.

    Dory Ischinda: Athena’s oldest friend, who had cared for her for as long as Athena can remember. As Duchess Minerva Zabi, Athena had few true friends: her regent, Lady Haman Khan, merely exploited Minerva’s name and royal heritage for her own ascension to power. Col. Char was a sincere friend, but he was absent from much of Athena’s life. Early on, it was a staff of royal nannies, servants, and tutors who were Duchess Minerva’s company, and mostly out of national loyalty and duty rather than deep personal affection. Only Dory, the Duchess’ royal secretary, was truly her confidante and friend. They were separated at the end of the First Neo Zeon War, and reunited almost a decade later…their friendship torn asunder by ideological and political differences. Dory remained a Spacenoid loyalist to the end, joining the ISR movement and becoming one of its propaganda chiefs. Athena chose to subvert the Earth Federation from within by becoming one of them, hoping that she could gradually take power within the Federation and make it more compassionate towards Spacenoids. In the end, they found common ground again…to save their Spacenoid brethren from the Federation’s callousness and Alexander Miguel’s mad ambition. In a moment of panic, Dory had inadvertently given away Athena’s role in thwarting the Federation and the Zeon’s plans to eradicate the current population of Side 3 (part of Alexander Miguel’s plan to “purify” the Zeon “race” by “euthanizing” those who had been “contaminated” by Earthnoids for twenty years, preparing for the glorious rebirth of Zeon civilization at its ancestral home of Side 3). Athena has no regrets, and she does not blame Dory. Athena is grateful for the lifetime of friendship that Dory has shown her, and grateful for Dory’s help in rediscovering her true self.

    Hathaway Noah: Hathaway…Athena’s relationship with him has been as confused and conflicted as it has been deep and passionate. They had been enemies…engaged in deadly combat against one another in mobile suits…he to murder his own father, the highest-ranking officer in the Earth Federation Forces…she to thwart him from carrying out that murder, her duty as an officer in that same Federation military. But the most unexpected, most absurd thing happened even as they schemed to kill each other: they fell in love. They had found in each other the kindred spirit that they each had unconsciously long sought: both knew the experience of hating their family legacies, of feeling a crushing sense of guilt for the sins of their fathers, of leading a secret double life in betrayal of their conscience. She had enabled him to feel love again after that feeling had been vanquished by tragedy early in his youth; he had compelled her to feel love for the first time. One cold, snowy night in Shanghai, China, they shared a night of passion that they would both fondly remember for all their lives. Athena remembers: it was the happiest she had ever felt during her entire life. A brief several hours of complete contentment in a lifetime of strife. If Athena has any regret, it’s that she and Hathaway will likely never share such a time together again. Another life, another fate, they could have spent their lives together happily…peacefully, bearing and raising children together in a world without war. In this world - just an empty dream. Athena prays that in the end, Hathaway understands how much, how deeply she loves him.

    Athena inserts a cigarette – the last one on her person – into her delicate mouth and lights it. It will likely be the last cigarette she will ever smoke in her lifetime – apropos - for one facing condemnation.

    Looks like I was right about not living long enough for this vice to kill me
    , Athena thinks to herself with a wry smile, Dammit. I’ve never wished more to be wrong.

    After a few minutes, Athena stubs out the last of her final cigarette. She rises to a standing position, closes the collar of her command overcoat, and pulls her officer’s hat low upon her head.

    She steels herself to face her fate, Time to move on.

    Athena ventures into the streets of Green Oasis City, five kilometers through its streets separating her from the hope of salvation.

    Episode 27 to be continued...

  18. #278
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    Episode 27 continued...

    Elsewhere in the orbital metropolis of Green Noah City, two Federal Forces MPs lounge about their military issue jeep, listening to military frequency radio reports of several false Minerva Zabi sightings throughout Side 7.

    Pfc. Jordan Angeleno says to his partner, Pfc. Spencer Briggs, “Hey, Briggs…you find this whole thing hard to swallow? I mean, that Lt. Col. Ibaz is really the Zeon queen or duchess or whatever?”

    “It’s a weird world out there these days, Jordy,” Briggs replies, lighting his friend’s cigarette, then pouring out a cup of coffee for himself from a thermos, “how else would you figure the Federation joining forces with the Zeon? The idea would have been crazy just a few months ago, now here we are.”

    Angeleno puffs from his cigarette before adding, “Ibaz was supposed to be a pretty bright chick…Deputy Director of the Special Forces at just twenty years old. A real ‘supergirl.’”

    “She couldn’t have been all that bright,” Briggs remarks, “Turning against the Federation is just about the stupidest thing you can do.”

    “She’s definitely purdy, though,” Angeleno grins, looking at Athena’s image on his Datapad, “Woowee…what a babe! It’s too bad they’re gonna shoot her, huh?”

    “Yeah, too bad,” Briggs says, “I bet she woulda been great in the sack.”

    “Say,” Angeleno says, “former Duchess of Zeon…a royal f*ck.”

    Briggs laughs, spitting out his coffee, “Yeah, that’s right!”

    The two Federal Forces MPs laugh. Unbeknownst to them, standing twenty meters away, Hathaway Noah quietly eavesdrops on their conversation using a special listening device issued to him by the ISR Intelligence Bureau. Hathaway’s blood boils, and he is tempted to shoot both MPs dead on the spot with his sidearm for speaking of his beloved Minerva in such a callous, filthy manner.

    In the past, perhaps, that is precisely what Hathaway might have done, but among the many things Hathaway has learned from Minerva is the virtue of patience. Shooting these sons of *****es would be satisfying, but would do nothing to help Minerva.

    Yes, Hathaway realizes, Minerva’s influence has greatly helped him in controlling his reckless impulses. Had he met her earlier in life, perhaps, things might have been different…might have been so much better.

    Hathaway presses on, leaving Angeleno and Briggs behind, Got to find Minerva before they do…

    ************************************************** ************

    Around a kilometer away, in the Uptown district of Green Oasis City, Hathaway’s younger sister, 2Lt. Chieming Noah and her commanding officer, Captain Jonah Michaels, rendezvous after a fruitless hour of searching separately for Athena/Minerva. The only good news is that thus far, there has been no concrete news of Athena having been encountered by Federal Forces personnel. If she’s present at the colony at all, Athena has been successful in maintaining her stealth…but for how much longer?

    “Find anything?” Jonah asks Chieming with waning hope.

    “Nothing,” Chieming replies, despair evident in her voice, “Jonah, do you…do you think that Athena might already be dead?”

    “We can’t let ourselves think that!” Jonah snaps, then calms down and says more evenly, “Sorry. What I mean is we can’t give up on Athena. We owe it to find her if she’s alive…and even if she’s dead.”

    “You’re right,” Chieming says, “we’ve got to hang on to the hope that Athena is still all right…and that she needs our help. I’m just scared, Jonah. I want to help Athena, but I don’t know what to do.”

    “That makes two of us,” Jonah nods in agreement, “the only thing we have going for us right now is that Athena probably hasn’t been caught yet. But we’re racing thousands of troops to find her first; if we don’t, Athena will likely be...”

    Jonah can’t finish the sentence or the grim thought behind it. Both he and Chieming are thinking the same thing: they wish Jolie were here. They know that if Jolie were around, she could find and save Athena.

    ************************************************** **************

    At the test pilots’ commissary at Anaheim Industries’ Mobile Suit Research and Development Center at Anman City on the moon, Jolie Minh watches the report on the television news with mounting anxiety. Like hundreds of millions of others, Jolie had woken up that morning to the news that Lt. Col. Athena Ibaz of the Earth Federation Special Forces, honored heroine of the Phobos War, has been uncovered in the middle of a treasonous plot in cooperation with the ISRLA…and that Ibaz was, in fact, the former Duchess Minerva Zabi of the Archduchy of Zeon. Federation and Zeon authorities have been deployed in force to capture Zabi, alive or dead.

    Jolie chafes her small, gloved hands together anxiously. She has been moody and irritable at work all day, worried sick for her dearest friend…a friend she regards as all but a sister. Several times today, Jolie has been tempted to steal the White Phoenix Gundam from the R&D compound, pilot it back to Side 7, and find and rescue Athena. That plan is impracticable, however, even for Jolie. It’s a long way to Side 7 from the moon, and even if she makes it there, Jolie doesn’t know where to begin looking for Athena.

    Dr. Camille Vidan notices the worried look on his young protégée’s face and takes a seat at the commissary table across from her, putting down a steaming cup of coffee, “You’re worried about your friend, I gather.”

    “Oh, hi, Doc,” Jolie replies, coming out of her cocoon of anxiety for a moment, “yeah…you’ve heard the news too, huh? I guess everybody has by now. I can’t believe ‘Thena got herself into a mess like this. She’s too smart for that.”

    Camille says, “I met Minerva Zabi back during the Gryps Conflict, when she was only eight years old. Even then, I knew that she was quite a gifted child…although completely in the control of Haman Karn at the time.”

    “You met ‘Thena back then?” Jolie asks, then realizes that she shouldn’t be surprised, “I didn’t know that.”

    “It was when the Axis Zeon invaded Cislunar Space in the middle of AEUG’s war against the Titans,” Camille explains, “Captain Quattro, Captain Bright and I were part of an AEUG envoy to secure an alliance with the Axis forces against the Titans. I liked the young Duchess; I could sense that she was a benign person, despite her Zabi Family heritage, but Haman Karn was pulling her strings.”

    That surprises Jolie. For as long as Jolie has known Athena, she has known her friend to be in complete control of any situation she saw fit. Jolie has only known Athena to be able to manipulate others; she can scarcely imagine the idea that anybody could manipulate Athena.

    “Warfare is a series of feints and deceptions,” Camille muses, “Undoubtedly, Char’s and Haman’s influence left its mark on the young duchess.”

    Camille notices that Jolie is no longer listening, transfixed again by the news report of her friend’s having become the most wanted refugee in the world, “You want to help her, don’t you? You want to take the White Phoenix Gundam and charge off to the rescue.”

    Jolie looks hopefully at her mentor.

    Camille smiles sadly and shakes his head, “As much as I would love to, I can’t consent to that, Jolie. First, the White Phoenix Gundam isn’t fully repaired yet and until it is, I’m not going to risk you or it in combat. Second, your friend is in enough trouble as it is. Adding ‘conspiracy to steal the Federation’s most dangerous new weapon’ won’t help her. Third, Side 7 is a long way from here. By the time you get there, it’d probably be too late to help.”

    “You’re right,” Jolie concedes sadly, then angrily, “but it’s driving me nuts to just sit here and watch while those bastards are out to kill ‘Thena!”

    “Jolie,” Camille says soothingly, “you have to trust in your other friends back at Side 7. If everything you’ve told me about this Athena Ibaz…Minerva Zabi is true, she has many friends back there who won’t let her get killed. You have to leave it up to them.”

    Jolie’s mind turns to her former Centurion Team comrades…Anna, Geoff, Tomo, Karim…and Jonah. Their loyalty to and love for Athena are no less than hers; they would do everything in their power to save Athena.

    But Jolie can’t help wishing that she could help them. She regrets having left them…no matter whom Jonah’s brother is.

    Jolie offers a silent prayer that all of her friends will survive this ordeal, and that she will gain the opportunity to somehow help them.

    ************************************************** ***************

    Athena is precisely three kilometers from the Side 7 Spaceport, in the downtown area of Green Oasis. It is just before noon. The streets are extremely crowded with both pedestrian and vehicular traffic. As befitting a military town, about a third of the people seen on the streets are uniformed Earth Federation Forces soldiers.

    Athena walks up the sidewalk of Green Oasis City’s main longitudinal thoroughfare, busy Green Oasis Boulevard. Traffic is jammed in both direction for kilometers, and foot traffic is little better (except that it ironically moves faster). Clad in her Earth Federation Forces’ uniform, covered by her command overcoat, officer’s hat pulled low to obscure her face, Athena hardly looks out of place. She is hidden in plain sight; camouflage of the most obvious (and hence, most easily missed) kind. Her gait is natural…almost relaxed, deliberately so, to avoid the arousal of suspicion.

    Athena feels momentarily lightheaded, and becomes conscious of the fact that she has not eaten anything during the past twenty-four hours. Her blood sugar level is getting low, which can be dangerous considering she has three kilometers left to walk, needing to keep her wits about her every step of the way to avoid detection by the Federation military authorities.

    Athena spots a convenience store nearby and heads for it. Most likely, her military debit card has been suspended, and even it hasn’t, Athena isn’t foolish enough to give her pursuers a thread by which to track her, but it will not be difficult for her to shoplift a candy bar.

    The Royal Duchess of Zeon…and a former deputy director of the Earth Federation Special Forces…reduced to shoplifting for survival. Athena does not think twice about it. She will do whatever she needs to survive, the indignity of it not even worth consideration.

    It happens just before Athena can enter the store.

    “Over there! It’s Minerva Zabi!” a military police officer calls out.

    “Get her!” a second MP snarls.

    Rifles are taken from where they are slung off shoulders and leveled for firing.

    Acting on instinct and training, Athena bursts into immediate action, catching the MPs off guard. Her Special Forces’ training and experience far surpass their basic MP combat skills, and Athena knows she will need to capitalize on that advantage to survive.

    In one swift motion, Athena draws off her command overcoat, lancing it forth like a whip so that it ensnares the first MP’s rifle. With a single motion, Athena pulls the soldier’s weapon out of his hands, catching it her own as she knees him painfully in the groin. Before his partner can react, Athena shoots him dead with a single shot placed right between his eyes.

    A larger group of MPs, six in number, approach from further down the street, leaping out of their military issue vehicle, and drawing their weapons as they run towards Athena.

    “Don’t move, Minerva Zabi!”

    Noting that there are scores of innocent civilian bystanders separating the approaching MPs from her, Athena decides against firing on the approaching MPs. She turns and runs, her commandeered weapon in hand…a thick human shield behind her.

    “After her!” an MP sergeant bellows, then says into his comlink, “This is Patrol 327…Sgt. Marimbo reporting. Minerva Zabi sighted on Green Oasis Boulevard, northbound, just past the Kobayashi Avenue intersection in the downtown district! Dispatch additional units for backup!”

    Athena stays on the boulevard, running as fast as her long, thin legs can propel her, pushing pedestrians out of her path. Screams are heard and people move aside as they see Athena and the MPs pursuing her all brandishing automatic weapons.

    A patrol vehicle loaded with another half dozen MPs approaches from in front of Athena. A third vehicle bearing five MPs stops at the intersection of Green Oasis and Kobayashi, also congregating at the same position. Athena runs into an alley that she knows leads off the main thoroughfare onto a side street. No innocent bystanders in there.

    “Stop!” the voice of an MP calls out.

    Athena turns around and opens fire with her commandeered assault rifle.

    The Earth Federation Special Forces’ finest markswoman drops a half dozen men dead with a single sweep of her weapon. The return fire from the panicked MPs whizzes by Athena menacingly, but harmlessly.

    More MPs enter the alleyway, steadying themselves before opening fire with a salvo of hundreds of bullets. Athena rolls away from the incoming gunfire, knowing very well the marksmanship training of Federal Forces MPs and their favored angles of fire, including how to elude them. She comes up on one knee, returning fire with her own weapon, rapidly gunning down four more MPs.

    Athena, much to her regret, is piling up quite a body count, but she knows that the odds are against her. She could effortlessly outshoot every single man in the Earth Federation Forces Military Police, but not all of them en masse. Sooner or later, something would give.

    Sure enough, Athena’s assault rifle runs out of ammunition.

    Desperate, Athena adopts a tactic that her pursuers least expect. She charges them, brandishing her expended assault rifle like a club, getting into close range where they cannot risk firing upon her without hitting each other.

    With a throat-tearing battle cry, Athena pummels the lead MP in the stomach hard with the butt of the rifle, causing the soldier to double over and fall to the ground in pain. Before that first soldier even hits the pavement, Athena has swung the depleted rifle in another direction to break the jaw of a second MP. At the same time, Athena kicks down a third approaching MP, shattering his kneecap. Another vicious swing of the rifle fells a fourth soldier, concussing him to oblivion.

    Four seconds, four movements, four men down. The deadly efficiency of the former Centurion Team Leader gives her pursuers cause for pause. By appearances, she is but one, small-framed woman, but that one woman has already wounded or killed more than a dozen men in just a few minutes. Special Forces officers are not to be tarried with…especially not this one.

    Athena sees more troops coming and knows she has to run. Despite her prowess, Athena knows she cannot hope to take on the entire military police of Side 7 by herself. Maybe Jolie Minh could, but she’s no Jolie Minh.

    Athena’s appropriated assault rifle is out of ammunition, but her Walther P380 handpistol sidearm has a full sixteen rounds in it.

    Athena fires a series of shots, dropping an MP with each report of her pistol. She shoots on the run…leaping over and shimmying around obstacles

    One by one, the MPs fall, proverbial fish in a barrel to the Earth Federation Forces’ best markswoman.

    Then, Athena senses it…that frighteningly familiar feeling of cold, sharp death.

    Athena turns, and sees a young girl with long, raven black hair framing her silky smooth complexion…wide, expressive eyes burning with passion. The girl’s Archduchy of Zeon Forces uniform skirt reaches barely below the tops of her thighs.

    Captain Kyoko Yamaguchi, the Black Raven of the Archduchy of Zeon Forces.

    Kyoko levels a high-caliber magnum rifle…armor piercing…and completely devastating to human flesh.

    Athena turns her Walther handpistol towards Kyoko.

    Both fire simultaneously.

    Athena’s bullet whizzes by Kyoko’s ear, so closely that the Black Raven can feel its heat scorch her earlobe, and loses a few hairs on the side of her head.

    An explosive round from Kyoko’s high-caliber rifle strikes Athena on the left arm, between the shoulder and the elbow. The bullet is no ordinary bullet, designed to shred and tear metal upon impact with secondary and tertiary explosions. Athena’s entire upper left arm is shattered, bone and flesh torn and disintegrated, hanging on to her body through torn ligaments, tendons, and muscle.

    Athena winces in pain as blood explodes forth from her wound. Never has she felt such excruciating agony in her life. She races away as quickly as her legs can carry her, leaving a trail of blood behind.

    Kyoko, recovering from the shock of Athena’s bullet so narrowly missing her, gives pursuit.

    She is cut off from the pursuit by a hail of automatic weapons fire raining down near her from the roof of a nearby building.

    Hathaway Noah continues firing his weapon at Kyoko. He then extracts a grenade from his belt pouch, removes the safety pin, and throws the grenade in Kyoko’s direction.

    Kyoko sees it coming, and leaps clear to the shelter behind a large, metal garbage container that protects her from the explosion of deadly shrapnel that follows.

    Kyoko rises, preparing her rifle for another shot, but her quarry is gone.

    There is a trail of blood, however, easily followed enough…

    Episode 27 to be continued...!

  19. #279
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    Episode 27 continued...

    Athena feels her head going light. Her legs have turned to jelly; she can no longer run. Shock and blood loss have caught up with her.

    I’m going to die here, on this street… Athena realizes.

    Born a Duchess, trained a Special Forces officer…now to die like a dog in a lonely alleyway.

    Athena collapses to the ground, blood running from the mangled remains of left arm onto the pavement of the alleyway. She is beyond fear…resigned to death.

    Through the haze of her fading consciousness, Athena hears…more gunshots? Why would her pursuers bother shooting at her anymore? Surely, they see that she is helpless.

    Athena next feels herself being lifted from the ground by strong, comforting arms. Through her blurring vision, she sees a familiar face…

    “H-Hathaway?” Athena whispers weakly.

    “Shhh,” Hathaway says gently, “Come on, I’ve got to get you out of here.”

    Setting Athena down for a moment, Hathaway tears off a length of cloth from the undershirt of one of the Federal Forces MPs he has just slain. He wraps this as tightly as possible around Athena’s shattered left arm, making a tourniquet to stem further blood loss.

    Athena cries out in pain. Hathaway holds her close, “Easy. It’s OK, baby. I’ve got you.”

    Hathaway lifts Athena’s negligible weight in his arms again as she mercifully loses consciousness from the severe pain and blood loss.

    I’ve got to get her some help! Hathaway thinks desperately, Minerva’s going to die if I don’t! But how? I can’t take her to any clinic or hospital. They’ll turn her over to the Feddies.

    Hathaway carries Minerva in his arms as he slips between the shadows of alleyways, eluding pursuing Federal Forces MPs. The ISRLA intelligence operative/assassin known to the Federal Forces as “Mafty” is nothing if not a master of stealth. Even in a crowded city inundated with thousands of Federal Forces soldiers seeking the wounded young woman in his arms, Hathaway Noah has little trouble making himself invisible to them all.

    Hathaway gathers himself and studies his surroundings, looking for any place that he might get at lest some rudimentary help for Athena without unduly risking her to capture. Down the alley where they are currently situated is a small church…Saint Monica of the Merciful Heart.

    Realizing that it is the slim, but only chance that Athena has, Hathaway carries the unconscious Athena stealthily through the alleyway and across the street, reaching the church’s door.

    Hathaway knocks frantically on the door, “Open up, please!” he whispers harshly, “This is an emergency!”

    A short, slightly built nun opens the door. Her gentle voice asks, “Who is it?” Upon spotting the gravely wounded and profusely bleeding Athena in Hathaway’s arms, the nun’s eyes widen in alarm, “Oh, my merciful Savior! What happened to this poor young lady?!”

    “Sister,” Hathaway pleads, “Sister, please…my friend here is badly hurt, and there are soldiers out to capture her…to kill her. You have to help her!”

    “Please bring her inside,” the nun says, opening the church door to admit Hathaway and Athena, before closing it quickly. The nun indicates a corridor beyond the vestibule, “There’s a medical examination room in the back. The church doctor is not on duty, but I have paramedic training.”

    Hathaway carries the unconscious Athena into the medical examination room indicated by the nun. The nun switches on the light in the small, but well equipped medical facility and she and Hathaway share a flash of recognition.

    “Aunt…Frau?!” Hathaway says in disbelief.

    “Hathaway…Hathaway Noah!” Sister Frau Bow exclaims in surprise.

    During the One Year War, fifteen year old Frau Bow was forced to evacuate from her home in Side 7 during a Zeon attack on the space colony the day that the Federal Forces space battlecarrier White Base entered the port. Although she lost her mother and grandfather to the attack, Frau’s life was saved thanks to the efforts of her then boyfriend Amuro Ray, who piloted the RX-78 Gundam in combat against the attacking Zeon Zaku mobile suits. Frau then volunteered to become a crewperson aboard the White Base, serving first as a medical assistant and then as communications officer. Frau became an integral part of a crew that included Amuro Ray, Bright Noah, Mirai Yashima, Sayla Mass, Kai Shiden, Hayato Kobayashi (who had been Frau’s neighbor and high school classmate at Side 7 and who would marry Frau after the One Year War), and three irrepressible war orphans named Kats Hawin, Letz Cofan, and Kikka Kitamoto, whom she cared for following their parents’ deaths in the war and whom she adopted as her own children (with Hayato) after the end of the war. Although the least combat-oriented among the White Base crew, Frau’s courage and compassion won her the affection of her crewmates, who could always count on Frau to provide sensible, practical help when needed. Frau’s good sense and kind heart was as vital to the White Base’s survival as Bright Noah’s leadership and Amuro Ray’s combat prowess.

    Upon the war’s end, Frau married Hayato Kobayashi, adopted Kats, Letz, and Kikka, and settled down to a peaceful life…for seven years. After the Titans began their oppression of Spacenoids, however, her husband Hayato and her former teenage-period boyfriend Amuro volunteered for the Karaba…an anti-Titans paramilitary unit based on Earth and allied with the AEUG. Frau was pregnant with Hayato’s child when he returned to combat after a seven-year hiatus. The tragedies began to mount for Frau then: her adopted son Kats became an AEUG mobile suit pilot serving aboard the space battlecarrier Ahrgama under the command of Bright Noah, only to lose his life in combat against the Titans in the waning days of the Gryps Conflict in late U.C. 0087. Just several months later, Frau’s husband Hayato sacrificed himself in a noble, but vain attempt to prevent the Axis Neo Zeon from dropping a space colony on the city of Dublin, Ireland. The grief of losing her adopted son and husband in war caused Frau to miscarry Hayato’s child, and her grief was compounded five years later when Amuro Ray met his end in combat thwarting Char Aznable’s plot to create nuclear winter on Earth.

    Frau had endured loss aplenty in war – her mother, her grandfather, her adopted son, her husband, her onetime boyfriend…and countless other friends and acquaintances along the way. Her remaining children grown to adulthood and having started happy, prosperous lives of their own, Frau became a woman of the cloth in U.C. 0094, and is now known as Sister Frau Bow of the Church of Saint Monica of the Merciful Heart.

    During her years with the church, Sister Frau has expanded her medical knowledge beyond her military paramedic training, and now possesses rudimentary emergency surgical skills. Over the years, she has provided free medical service to the sick and injured, shelter to the homeless, food to the hungry, warmth to the cold, and compassion to the lonely and neglected. She has no enemy but war and violence themselves. Of her wartime experiences as a soldier, she does not speak, lest painful memories return to haunt her.

    Old friendships, however, are never forgotten, and above all, Frau Bow has always been a good friend…especially to the Noah family.

    “Hathaway,” Sister Frau says fondly, smiling, “I haven’t seen you since you were a boy.”

    “Aunt Frau…or I guess, Sister Frau,” Hathaway says, recalling pleasant childhood memories of a friendly and pretty young woman who came with her husband and three older children to visit Hathaway’s own family years ago, “It’s been…so long.”

    “We’ll catch up later,” Frau says, gathering together medicines, bandage, and surgical tools, “let’s help your friend first.”

    “Right,” Hathaway says, helping Sister Frau to prepare the room to treat Athena’s wounds.

    Sister Frau gently tears away the blood-soaked remains of Athena’s ripped and shredded left uniform jacket sleeve. The trauma to Athena’s arm is devastating…large portions of bone, cartilage, and flesh torn away…destroyed. Sadly, Frau can already tell that the arm probably cannot be saved.

    Frau does not tell Hathaway such just yet, saying simply, “First thing we need to do is to stop the bleeding, prevent infection, and try to bring her out of shock. She’s going to need a blood transfusion too. What’s your blood type, Hathaway?”

    “I’m Type B,” Hathaway says.

    Sister Frau finds Athena’s Federal Forces’ ID card and studies it gravely. After a few tense seconds, she determines, “Your friend here is Type AB. You can donate blood to her.”

    Hathaway strips off his jacket and shirt, offering Sister Frau his arm.

    “You have to lie down first, Hathaway,” Sister Frau indicates the gurney next to examination table where Athena lies, barely breathing.

    Hathaway complies, his voice pleading, near tears, “Sister Frau…please. You have to help me save Minerva!”

    Sister Frau understands. She knows all too well the anguish of losing a loved one.

    Sister Frau works through the afternoon and deep into the night, bringing all the medical knowledge she has gained through twenty years as a field paramedic in a desperate struggle to save the life of the severely wounded young woman Hathaway brought into her church.

    ************************************************** **************

    Captain Jonah Michaels, 2Lt. Chieming Noah, and the rest of the Centurion Team sit dejectedly at Green Oasis Park. Earlier in the day, they had heard the comlink reports that Athena had been sighted in the downtown area…and they had heard gunshots coming from that area. By the time the team arrived, however, Athena had disappeared again. The latest report indicates that Athena had wounded or killed around a dozen Federal Forces MPs, but had herself been shot and seriously wounded. That final piece of information sent the Centurions into desperation, and they have searched vainly throughout the city for their friend and former commanding officer.

    “Where could she be?” Jonah says, tucking his face between his knees as he sits on the grass of the park, “If she’s wounded, she couldn’t have gotten far.”

    “No sign of her at local hospitals or medical clinics,” Anna Horowitz adds, “Athena’s too smart for that.”

    “The alternative is that she’s bled to death,” Karim Abdul Al-Said adds grimly.

    The Centurions fall silent, unwilling to entertain that possibility, but at the same time, unable to deny it.

    “We can’t just give up on Athena,” Jonah says, rising to his feet, “she’s meant too much to us…been to good us. She deserves better than that from us!”

    On that, there is absolutely no disagreement. The Centurions rise, their determination to find their friend and former leader renewed.

    But they haven’t got a clue where to get started.

    Jonah contemplates for a moment, “Athena was last sighted in the downtown area…we know she couldn’t have gone far because she was injured. That means we ought to concentrate our search in the downtown area.”

    “It’ll be crowded and busy there until about 01:00,” Chieming says, “that could work for or against us.”

    “I hope that Athena is off the streets, wherever she is,” Jonah says, “she’s extremely vulnerable if she’s out in the open.”

    “What are we doing f*cking around here, boss man?” Geoff Sutcliffe demands, “We got to find Athena before she gets toasted! Sure, she used to chew me out a lot and beat the living crap out of me when I got out of line, but I’m going to really miss her if the MPs turn my favorite piece of cheesecake into Swiss cheese!”

    Geoff’s demeanor lightens the mood among the team momentarily, and then Jonah commands them, “Geoff’s right. Every second we waste increases the danger to Athena. Let’s get out there, now!”

    The Centurions disperse back into the city, resolved to finding Athena…alive.

    ************************************************** **************

    Sister Frau Bow strips off her surgical gown and mask, gazing pityingly at the pale, but beautiful sleeping young woman lying still on the surgical table, an IV drip attached to her still-good right arm, an oxygen mask covering her mouth and nose.

    Hathaway Noah, somewhat lightheaded and unsteady on his feet after having donated as much of his blood as he safely could to Athena, grabs the nun by the shoulders and asks, with a wild, desperate expression on his handsome young face, “Sister Frau…how is she?”

    “I’ve stopped the bleeding,” Sister Frau says calmly, “but…her left arm couldn’t be saved. There was just too much tissue damage. I…I had to amputate...”

    Hathaway sinks to the ground, his face colorless.

    “Hathaway, I’m so sorry,” Sister Frau says gently, compassionately, “I wish I could have done more for poor Miss Minerva.”

    Hathaway takes the nun’s hands gratefully into his own as tears run down his cheeks, “You’ve done everything you could, Sister. Thank you. I won’t forget this. May I…may I see her?”

    “She’s still unconscious,” Sister Frau says, “and very weak at the moment. She’ll need a great amount of rest…and time, to recover. But she’s a very strong young woman. She’ll survive. She’ll make it.”

    Giving Sister Frau a thankful and affectionate pat on the shoulder, Hathaway steps forward to see his beloved Minerva. It breaks his heart to see her lying there, so still…so pale, a gauze-wrapped stump where her left arm once was.

    “Minerva, sweetheart,” Hathaway whispers into Athena’s ear, “I’m so sorry. It’s my fault that you’re here like this. If only I had come sooner, this would never have happened to you.”

    Hathaway kisses Athena lovingly on the cheek, his tears falling upon Athena’s face. He takes Athena’s one good hand into his own, grateful that it is still warm.

    Sister Frau steps forward tentatively, and says, “She needs more extensive medical care than I can provide here. You’ll need to get her out of Side 7.”

    Hathaway nods, wiping away his tears, “I’m thinking of taking her to Anman City. I have…friends there that can help her.”

    “Dr. Sayla Mass?” Sister Frau ventures.

    “Yes…how did you…?” Hathaway wonders.

    “You told me that you were working with the ISRLA,” the nun says plainly, “Sayla is the leader of that movement. She was a good friend during our time together as crewpersons on the White Base. I’ve always admired her strength and courage and…she’s a much better physician than I am.”

    Hathaway nods, “But I won’t forget that you’re the one who saved Minerva’s life, Sister.”

    Sister Frau smiles, “It was the Lord, Hathaway, not me. The Lord decided that it is not yet time for Minerva to leave you yet. I am sure the Lord has many blessings in store for the two of you in the future.”

    Hathaway smiles, “Thank you, Sister.”

    Sister Frau then says, “But how are you going to get Minerva safely away from Side 7? You told me that she’s the Duchess of Zeon, and is regarded by the Federation as a traitor. Getting her out of Side 7 will be very difficult.”

    “I know, Sister,” Hathaway replies gloomily. Then it dawns on him, “…sister?”

    “Yes?” Sister Frau replies.

    But Hathaway is not addressing or referring to Sister Frau Bow. He has suddenly thought of his younger biological sister, Chieming Noah, currently a Second Lieutenant on the Centurion Team…previously under Athena’s command. Chieming and Athena are good friends, and Hathaway knows that he can trust his little sister.

    “My little sister, Chieming,” Hathaway tells Sister Frau, “She’s a member of the Centurion Team, Minerva’s unit. She and her teammates can probably arrange transportation for us out of Side 7.”

    “If you can trust her colleagues,” Sister Frau, “then you need to get in touch with Chieming right away.”

    “Right,” Hathaway says, pulling out his personal Datapad and sending an urgent text message to his younger sister.

    Episode 27 to be continued...

  20. #280
    Moderator Ken Cheng's Avatar
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    Episode 27 conclusion

    In the downtown area, Jonah and Chieming are growing increasingly desperate as they have found no trace of Athena’s whereabouts.

    Chieming’s Datapad beeps. She is tempted to ignore it, as she has more pressing priorities at the moment (like saving the life of a good friend), but something inside her tells her that this is one message she cannot ignore.

    Chieming checks her Datapad. Her face pales as she reads the text message.

    “Jonah, come here, quick!” Chieming says.

    Jonah joins Chieming, looking over her shoulder at the Datapad text message.

    “It’s from my brother Hathaway,” Chieming explains, “Somehow, he’s found Athena and they’re hiding at a church on Tomino Street.”

    “That’s just four blocks east of here,” Jonah says, “Let’s get over there, fast!”

    ************************************************** **************

    Ten minutes later, a frantic knocking is heard at the door of the Church of Saint Monica of the Merciful Heart.

    “Hathaway?” Chieming’s sweet, girlish voice is heard softly through the door, “Hathaway, are you in there? It’s me, your little sister Chieming!”

    Hathaway Noah opens the door, admitting Chieming and Jonah. He takes his younger sister in a warm embrace.

    “It’s good to see you again,” Hathaway tells his sister.

    “Yes,” Chieming agrees, “but I didn’t expect to see you here, like this. What’s going on, Hathaway? Is Athena here? How did you find her?”

    Hathaway eyes Jonah warily. He has seen Jonah before, from a distance, “You must be Jonah Michaels.”

    “Yes,” Jonah says, eyeing the other young man with equal uncertainty, “You’re Chieming’s brother? General Noah’s son?”

    “I am,” Hathaway replies somewhat coldly.

    Sensing a need to thaw a chill, Chieming steps between the two handsome young men and says, “Hathaway, Jonah’s a friend. I wouldn’t have brought him unless I knew he could be trusted. Besides, he’s Jolie’s boyfriend!”

    That last piece of information brings a smile to Hathaway’s lips, remembering Minerva’s beautiful, raven-haired former executive officer, “All right. I’m sorry for being suspicious, Jonah, but I can’t risk endangering Minerva. But if you’re close to Jolie, then I know I can trust you.”

    “Hathaway,” Chieming says, “Where is Athena?”

    “She’s been badly hurt,” Hathaway says sadly, “she…she’s lost her left arm.”

    The color drains from Jonah and Chieming’s faces upon receipt of this news. Chieming cannot help bursting into sobs.

    Hathaway takes his sister comfortingly into his arms, “Would you like to see her?”

    “Lead the way,” Jonah whispers tonelessly.

    Chieming and Jonah see Athena, lying helpless and unconscious on the sickbed in the church clinic, her left arm gone. It is crushingly demoralizing for the two young Centurion Team officers to see their once proud and strong commanding officer thus.

    “Athena, hey girl…” Chieming whispers, taking her friend’s hand, “Jonah and I are here. We’re going to get you out of here safely.”

    Hathaway takes his sister aside and reintroduces her to a familiar family friend, “Chieming, you remember Auntie Frau, right?”

    Chieming’s eyes widen, “Auntie Frau…? Oh, my gosh! I didn’t know you’d…”

    “I became a member of the Church after my son, my husband, and my dear friend Amuro all died in the war,” Sister Frau explains, “it’s so good to see you again, Chieming. The last time I saw you, you were barely in Kindergarten. You’ve grown into a beautiful and strong young woman, just like your mother.”

    “Thank you,” Chieming says gracefully, “Auntie Frau…you’ve been taking care of Athena?”

    “If you mean Duchess Minerva,” Frau says, “yes. Hathaway brought her here this morning. She was badly wounded. I had to amputate her left arm to save her life.”

    “Poor Athena,” Jonah whispers.

    Hathaway brings the topic around to the matter of greatest urgency, “Can you guys arrange for transportation out of Side 7?”

    “The brass just put me in charge of the Centurion Team,” Jonah says, “And I know that the Centurions are scheduled to escort a Federation diplomatic and economic envoy to Anman City via Side 7 tomorrow.”

    “I don’t think that will do us any good,” Hathaway says bitterly, “it’s not as if Minerva can just hop aboard an envoy ship.”

    “No,” Sister Frau points out, “but if I remember correctly, don’t diplomatic envoy ships sometimes also carry the remains of soldiers killed in combat to be buried in their home communities?”

    “That’s right,” Chieming Noah says, a daughter of a career soldier who knows well the military protocols, “I think see where you’re headed with this, Sister Frau.”

    “I’ve received enough corpses of my own loved ones from the military to know,” the nun replies with uncharacteristic bitterness, but then she says, “If you can arrange for a military coffin to be brought here to the church…”

    “To get something like that, we’re going to need our father’s help…” Chieming says, “…Hathaway?”

    Hathaway looks away.

    Chieming’s expression becomes angry, “I know you and Daddy are at odds…but we’re talking about Athena’s life, here! You love Athena, Hathaway! Are you going to let her suffer just because you can’t face up to Daddy?!”

    “No,” Hathaway resolves, “For Minerva, I’d make a pact with the Devil himself if I had to. But…it’s best if you contact him, Sis.”

    That much, Chieming has to concede to Hathaway. They aren’t likely to get their father’s support for what they are about to do if Hathaway contacts him out of the blue after years of estrangement. As it is, it’s going to take some explaining to get what they need…if, indeed, they can get it.

    ************************************************** *****************

    Chieming sends a civilian band message to her father at his home in Shanghai on Earth…a signal unlikely to be traced by Federal Forces authorities uninterested in the daily conversations of billions of civilians. She explains the complicated situation to her father as best she can. Doubtless, the now virtually retired former head of the Earth Federation Forces has already heard the news of Athena’s “betrayal” and the revelation of her new identity as Duchess Minerva Zabi. To increase the chances of success, Chieming neglects to mention Hathaway’s involvement in the entire affair.

    The message is sent. All they can do now is wait.

    Twenty excruciating moments later, a reply returns on Chieming’s Datapad.

    Chieming,

    I’ve already issued the order for what you need. Although I could care less about the current High Command personnel, I still have friends in many sectors of the Federal Forces upon whom I can rely.

    When Athena served under my command, I’d felt that there was more to her than she let on. Nevertheless, today’s revelations are shocking. That the former Duchess of Zeon could have served for several years as one of our key Special Forces officers, privy to highly confidential security information, speaks to the ineffectualness of the Federal Forces. Necessarily, I implicate myself in that judgment as well.

    Even so, I believe that Athena’s…that Duchess Minerva’s intentions are benign. I have heard rumors through unofficial channels that the convoy that she helped the ISRLA to sabotage included biological, chemical, and nuclear weapons that the Federation and Zeon forces intended for use against Side 3. If so, the Duchess’ act of “betrayal” was an act of humanity. I am not so blinded by my military obligations as to not recognize that.

    For this reason, I have decided to support your effort to save the Duchess’ life. But tread carefully. You must be aware that what we do now is abetting a traitor. It is not a risk that I subject my daughter, her colleagues and friends, and myself lightly, but there are loyalties that run deeper than loyalty to a flag.

    Eliminate all memory of this message as soon as you have read it.

    Your Father


    “He’s going to help us!” Chieming exults.

    “Maybe…” Hathaway muses, “Maybe I’ve been wrong about him all these years. Maybe I’ve misjudged him.”

    “We should make preparations on our end,” Jonah chimes in, “We’ll need to get some normalsuits.”

    “A couple of extra clips of ammunition for our sidearms would be good too,” Hathaway suggests.

    “Consider it done,” Jonah replies, “Chieming, let’s head back to HQ and get ready.”

    “Right,” Chieming says, “Hathaway, you take good care of…my future sister-in-law.”

    “Your…?” Hathaway begins, then smiles, “Right…if she agrees to marry me.”

    “You have any reason to think she won’t?” Chieming teases.

    None, Hathaway realizes, his spirits brightening for the first time in a long while, none at all.

    ************************************************** ****************

    Within the hour, an Earth Federation Forces official military coffin is delivered to the Church of Saint Monica of the Merciful Heart. The appearance of a military coffin at the church’s rear gate is not at all unusual; many military funerals have been conducted at the church.

    Jonah and Chieming arrive back at the church after having returned to Garrison Noah. They return with sealed valises that contain two Federal Forces normalsuits, one cut for a male, the other cut for a female.

    “We’ve got one of Athena’s spare normalsuits, and Hathaway, you ought to fit into one of Jonah’s spares just fine, since you guys are about the same size,” Chieming explains, unsealing the valises and removing their contents.

    “The plan calls for Athena and Hathaway to occupy a coffin together, posing as a coffin for an ‘Unknown Soldier,’ Jonah explains, “Your normalsuits have been equipped with auxiliary oxygen tanks that should last you up to seventy-two hours. The convoy should reach Anman City within that timeframe.”

    Sister Frau approaches Chieming, “Chieming, I’ll help you dress Minerva in the normalsuit.”

    “Let me help,” Hathaway offers.

    Sister Frau holds Hathaway back, “This is a church, young man. You should show some respect for the Lord’s sensibilities.”

    That remarks evokes a short giggle from Chieming, and a sheepish grin from Hathaway.

    “Besides,” Sister Frau says with a mischievous grin reminiscent of her more youthful years, “we’re talking about royalty here. A bit of proper decorum is in order, I think.”

    ************************************************** ***********

    Fifteen minutes later, Hathaway and the still conscious Athena are outfitted in normalsuits and space helmets.

    Hathaway is anxious because Athena has not regained consciousness in the many hours that have passed since she was wounded, “Sister Frau…when do you expect Athena to wake up?”

    “Her vital signs have stabilized,” Sister Frau tells Hathaway, “She’s not in a coma. But she’s completely spent after having lost so much blood and endured surgery. She’ll probably be unconscious for at least another day or two. During transport, it’ll be up to you to keep her warm and comfortable, Hathaway.”

    “Uh…” Hathaway begins, confused. Wasn’t this the same pious woman who had admonished him a few minutes earlier.

    “With your body heat,” Sister Frau explains, “it’s cold in space, especially in the cargo hold of a ship. In her weakened condition, Minerva shouldn’t be exposed to temperature extremes.”

    “Right,” Hathaway says.

    “She’s ready,” Chieming says, “Big brother, you want to lift Athena into the…um, coffin?”

    “I’ll take care of it,” Hathaway says.

    Hathaway gently lifts Athena’s feathery weight off the medical room bed and into the coffin, lined with nothing more than a vinyl cot. He secures Athena’s helmet, on her head, leaving the visor open. Hathaway knows he will need to conserve their oxygen supply until they are underway to Anman City.

    Hathaway climbs into the coffin next to Athena, instructing his comrades, “Seal us in.”

    Together, Jonah, Chieming, and Sister Frau seal the lid of the shiny, silver-toned chrome coffin. Per military protocol and tradition, the flag of the Earth Federation Forces is draped over the coffin, befitting a military funeral.

    “The death of Athena Ibaz,” Jonah notes sadly.

    “What?” Chieming asks.

    “It’s kind of fitting,” Jonah says, “Athena Ibaz…that identity is as good as dead. Athena…the Athena we knew as our commanding officer…is gone.”

    Chieming nods, “Maybe that’s not an altogether bad thing. At least Athena…I’m sorry, Minerva will be free to be her true self again.”

    “One of Athena’s favorite Shakespeare lines was, ‘To thine own self be true,’” Jonah tells Chieming, “I think she liked it because it was something she felt she couldn’t live up to.”

    “No matter what,” Chieming says, tears forming, as she leans her head on Jonah’s shoulder, “I’m going to miss her. Goodbye, Athena. Oh, God, Jonah…it’s silly, but it really does feel like Athena’s dead and we’re burying her.”

    “I know,” Jonah says, stroking Chieming’s back comfortingly, “I feel the same, but she’s not dead. We’ll see her again…maybe even fight alongside her again someday.”

    A transport truck arrives at the Church of Saint Monica of the Merciful Heart, upon which Jonah, Chieming, and the truck’s driver and his assistant lift the coffin. Hathaway and Athena are on their way.

    “God bless those two children,” Sister Frau says in prayer.

    Jonah and Chieming join Sister Frau in prayer. They wish safe passage for Athena and Hathaway, and pray that salvation awaits them in Anman City.

    ************************************************** ************

    An hour later, a diplomatic/economic envoy departs from the Side 7 Spaceport en rout to Anman City. Escorting the envoy’s ships is the Centurion Team in their mobile suits, newly reinstated to active duty and assigned a relatively routine task…away, as far as the High Command knows, from the pursuit of Minerva Zabi.

    Within the cargo hold of one of the envoy ships are a half dozen coffins draped with the flag of the Earth Federation Forces. Five of these contain the corpses of Federal Forces soldiers native to Anman City who were killed in the line of duty. The sixth, unbeknownst to anyone in the envoy, carries two living persons…a young man and a young woman, escaping from the jaws of death.

    Hathaway holds Athena tightly in his arms, using his body heat to keep her warm, as Sister Frau instructed. Feeling her soft warmth against his own body brings him a reciprocal comfort as well.

    “We’ll make it, Minerva,” Hathaway whispers to the sleeping Athena, “we’re going to live, and we’ll come back to the fight…and we’ll win.”

    A vow…and a new resolution. Athena Ibaz is truly dead and gone, but Minerva Zabi lives again, and her dream of changing the world lives on with her.

    To be continued in Episode 28...

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