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

  1. #21
    Moderator Ken Cheng's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Suet Seung View Post
    Good for you Ken. To have that dedication and effort. I wish I could go back to writing my fanfics. But lately, I haven't felt inspired to write and it's been a while since I've posted up a chapter. I wonder if it would help stir my inspiration and creative juice, if I reread certain chapters to get myself back in that mode of writing fanfics?
    It might. This GUNDAM epic of mine had been literally sitting in a binder gathering dust in a drawer of my desk for over a decade before I decided to start posting it here at SPCNET in January. I had finished it back in 1996, but didn't know what to do with it. It's difficult to break into the publishing industry, ESPECIALLY if you're an American trying to break into the Japanese market for a copyrighted product. I wouldn't know where to even begin doing that.

    But, as we're not getting any younger, I decided that before I died, at least SOME people might get a chance to read and hopefully enjoy this.

    BTW, I just saw your picture. You're so tanned. I'm not sure if I should say you look your age or not because most men despite being in their thirties look like their still in their twenties. But yes, you look like a teacher.
    I come from a long line of dark-skinned Asian men.

  2. #22
    Moderator Ken Cheng's Avatar
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    Episode 1 conclusion!

    Captain Cummings peppers one of the defending GM-IIIs with cannon fire. The Federal Forces mobile suit explodes, its flaming shrapnel setting nearby building and trees afire.

    Lieutenant Orozco pulls out his GM-III’s beam saber and charges Cummings’ Zaku-III. Cummings raises the Zaku-III’s arm shield to block Orozco’s slash, then pulls out the Zaku-III’s own beam tomahawk, burying its blade into the cockpit of the Federation mecha, killing Orozco immediately.

    Nothing personal, man, Cummings thinks to his deceased opponent, Just war.

    Cummings’ moment of respite costs him dearly. A Phobos Geara Doga mobile suit kicks his already damaged Zaku-III down. The Deimos Zeon mobile suit tumbles down the street, crushing buildings, vehicles, and people in its wake.

    Fewer than sixty seconds have passed since the mobile suits of three different factions crashed violently into Crosshaven. Already, eighty people in Crosshaven are dead or critically injured.

    Cummings Zaku-III rises. The Monoeye of his mecha disabled, Cummings opens the cockpit hatch for visuals.

    He sees General Alexander Miguel’s black mobile suit Nightingale standing several hundred meters up the street, beam rifle pointed towards him.

    “No, please!” Cummings begs futilely.

    Miguel’s reply is a shot from his mobile suit’s beam rifle that penetrates the nuclear fusion engine of Cumming’s mobile suit. The horrific explosion that follows immolates several city blocks and kills hundreds, perhaps thousands.

    Just as Alexander planned. Enemies killed, Earth-loyal degenerates as bonuses.


    Jonah rises painfully. He doesn’t think any bones are broken, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt to move.

    Coughing up dust residue from the wrecked school building across the street, Jonah opens his eyes to a scene of terror. Many nearby structures are on fire. Quite a number have been crushed to rubble, and a fog of wrecked buildings fills the air.

    “Jocelyn?! Kirby?! Mrs. Han?! Mr. Han?!” Jonah calls out.

    The silence sends a chill up Jonah’s spine.

    But the next sound that Jonah hears is like a hammer on his heart.

    “Mommy…Daddy…” the weak voice of Jocelyn Han comes through the din of catastrophe. The little girl’s voice is full of pain and fear.

    Jonah runs over to where he heard the girl’s plaintive voice. He is horrified to find the little girl gravely wounded, a large piece of shrapnel embedded in her midsection, her lifeblood spilling out of her.

    Jonah cradles the little girl in his arms, providing what comfort he can to her in her final moments, “Jocelyn? Sweetie, just rest. Don’t try to move.”

    “J-Jonah?” the little girl asks, terror in her voice, “W-what happened? W-where are my Mommy and Daddy? Where’s Kirby?”

    Jonah looks around. He sees the horribly burned and maimed corpses of the other Hans lying nearby. Mr. Han’s arms and legs were blown clear off in the explosion, Mrs. Han’s attractive face is no longer recognizable, and Kirby looks like he might has been cut in half by the powerful and merciless forces unleashed in the residential colony.

    Jocelyn does not need to see any of this. Jonah holds the dying girl close to him, letting her sob into his chest.

    It was a stroke of dumb luck that spared Jonah any serious harm when the Hans were so gravely wounded. A large piece of sheet metal had landed on top of Jonah, shielding him from the worst of the explosion. Were it not for the fortuitous landing of that sheet of metal, Jonah would likely be lying dead now along with the Hans.

    “Jonah,” Jocelyn sobs, “A-are you going to still finish painting the school?”

    Jonah holds the girl tightly, “Of course I will, honey. With dragons and knights too.”

    Jocelyn says, “I-I want to go to that school soon. I-I….”

    The girl’s life slips away in that moment. Jonah closes the child’s eyes and lays the slain girl next to the corpses of her parents and sibling.

    Jonah turns furiously towards the still-fighting mecha that have moved further down the street. Angry tears fill Jonah’s eyes.

    “You murderers!” Jonah rages at the mobile suits “You’re all goddamned murderers! You’re the ones who deserve to be lying here dying, not these innocent people!”

    Through the smoke and debris created by the battle, Jonah spots one particular mobile suit that is all too familiar. It is a black-colored MSN-04S Nightingale mobile suit. Of all the mobile suits present, this one is the one doing the greatest amount of damage, seemingly taking pleasure in the carnage it creates.

    Jonah would know that mecha anywhere. He’s seen it in numerous photographs and portraits in his brother Alexander’s office back at Phobos Fortress.

    It is General Alexander Miguel’s personal mobile suit.

    Jonah’s brother, Alexander, is the one responsible for the horrific attack on Crosshaven Colony.

    “Alex!” Jonah snarls, “Alex, stop it!”

    But Alexander cannot hear his younger brother. He is too far away, and there is far too much noise for a human voice to be heard at any distance. Even if Alexander had heard Jonah, it’s doubtful that he would have stopped his frenzy of killing.

    Jonah sinks to his knees, tears streaming forth, “A-Alex. You murderer. You’re my brother, but you’re a killer. A heartless killer!”

    At that moment, Jonah resolves that he will do what he can to stop Alexander from taking more lives, from condemning himself with every blow he strikes. Whatever it takes, Jonah knows, he must stop Alexander from creating more horrors like the fate of the Han family and millions of others like them.

    Jonah is a pacifist. Violence disgusts him to the pit of his stomach, and presently, he feels very, very sick. Jonah begins to realize, however, that violence unchecked and unanswered will lead to greater violence.

    Jonah arrives at a decision: he will stop Alexander, even if he must fight his brother.

    END OF EPISODE 1

    Next in Episode 2: the return of familiar names and faces as Jonah's journey continues!

  3. #23
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    EPISODE 2: THE NEW CENTURIONS

    Two weeks have passed since the massacre at Crosshaven Colony. The final damage toll taken by Earth Federation Government and Frontier 8 officials is devastating: in all, over 250,000 lives were lost and damage to the colony is estimated to be in the billions. Were it not for the fact that Crosshaven was a newly developed colony and lightly populated, the casualty figures would likely have been much higher.

    The various Neo Zeon factions in the Outer Solar System have made incursions into Earth Federation Government controlled-space before, but never so brazenly. Therefore, in response, the Federal Forces dispatch General Bright Noah on the first of several visits he will to the Outer Solar System during the current year to assess the scope of the threat that the warring Neo Zeon factions pose to Earth.

    General Noah’s initial assessment is dire: he believes that of the various Neo Zeon factions, the Principality of Phobos is the one whose strength is growing most rapidly. It is General Noah’s opinion that as this faction grows stronger, it will likely step up its attacks on its rivals, with very little regard for collateral damage to the Federation. Moreover, General Noah is concerned that should Phobos defeat its rivals, the Federation itself might be its next target.

    For these reasons, General Noah recommends to the Earth Federation Security Council that the Federal Forces should establish a greater presence in the Outer Solar System – short of directly intervening in the Neo Zeon civil war (an act that would almost certainly drag the Federation into that war). The general’s recommendation is to fortify Frontier 8 and the assorted space stations the Earth Federation has installed in the Outer Solar System, and dispatch the Special Forces to patrol and defend the Frontier 8 Zone.

    Noah’s proposal runs into objection, however, by General Manron Blackhead and other members of the Federation Security Council. Blackhead argues that Noah has oversold the severity of the Neo Zeon threat in the Outer Solar System, and that instead of planning impractical and wasteful crusades in far-off frontiers, the Federal Forces should concentrate on fortifying its defenses on Earth and Cislunar Space, particularly in the Sides space colonies that are increasingly threatened by the Spacenoid separatist movement calling itself ISRLA (Independent Spacenoid Republic Liberation Army). The two generals’ visions leave the Federal Forces at an impasse, and as a result, the status quo, which favors General Blackhead’s position, prevails.

    And so, as the Federation bickers and stalls in its own bureaucratic morass, the power of the Principality of Phobos continues to grow unchecked.

    Such is the military and political situation in U.C. 0098 – a prelude to a much more explosive year to come.


    It is already mid-April by the time that Jonah Miguel (now calling himself “Jonah Michaels”) arrives at Side 7 in Cislunar Space. Already, Jonah has sent a message to the administrators at École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts deferring his admission to the university for a future, unspecified time. Studying art at the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts is Jonah’s dream, but that dream must now be deferred to fulfill a much more pressing need.

    Jonah has always been a pacifist. He loathes fighting and violence, and left his home and his brother Alexander to avoid being forced to become a soldier in the Phobos Zeon Forces. Jonah can well appreciate the irony that now, he is about to commit himself to joining the Earth Federation Forces to fight against the Phobos Zeon, an idea he would have laughed off as utterly ridiculous and implausible as recently as three weeks ago.

    That was before Jonah witnessed his brother Alexander and the men under his command indiscriminately slaughtering thousands of civilians while pursuing their enemies, including the loving and kind-hearted Han family that Jonah had boarded with during his two-week stay at Crosshaven Colony.

    Jonah will never forget the horror of that day, when he watched as little Jocelyn and Kirby Han, a sweet little girl and little boy, brother and sister, and their parents were slain in a moment of barbaric violence. He will never forget the look of terror and pain in little Jocelyn’s eyes as her life flowed out of her, her parents and brother already beyond help.

    Jonah will never forget the callousness and utter malice with which Alexander and his men hunted down their enemies, oblivious to or perhaps simply not caring about the carnage they were causing to the civilians of Crosshaven.

    Alexander is almost as much Jonah’s father as he is his older brother. The Miguel Brothers’ father died when Jonah was very young. Jonah never knew Carloman Miguel; Jonah was practically raised by Alexander. As such, Jonah has always had great affection for his brother, despite their ideological differences.

    But after witnessing the atrocities committed by Alexander at Crosshaven, Jonah has come to loathe his brother, and vow to thwart his mad ambitions at any personal cost…including giving up his pacifistic beliefs and taking up arms against Alexander if necessary.

    Jonah enters an Earth Federation Forces’ recruiting office in Green Oasis City. Within an hour, he has completed the requisite application form. The Federal Forces recruiting officers take him to a Federal Forces’ clinic for a complete physical and psychological examination.

    Jonah’s journey into a new and completely unexpected life has begun.


    The next six months pass like a blur for Jonah.

    His days begin at 4:00 a.m. (or 04:00, as the drill instructors constantly drum into head), a good three hours earlier than Jonah is accustomed to awaking. The next sixteen hours of each day consist of constant physical, mental, and emotional drills designed to push him to the limit…to break him, or help him grow. Jonah is forced to undertake numerous challenges that he could not have imagined that his body, mind, and heart could endure, but as the days, weeks, and months go by, he perseveres, and to his own incredulity, succeeds. He must. The memory of the Hans and many others like them compel him.

    By October, Jonah has completed basic training. He is a soldier in the Earth Federation Forces…something unimaginable just months earlier.

    Cadet Jonah Michaels has shown his drill instructors an aptitude for operating mecha. This is a surprise even to Jonah himself, who had never had any interest in mobile suits or war machines of any kind during his young life. The drill instructors, however, have identified him as a natural…an uncommon talent the likes of which the Federal Forces have seen only twice before in their ranks.

    In early November, Master Sergeant Junichi Akatsuka, Jonah’s drill instructor at the academy, places a phone call to Colonel Peter Cairlay, Director of the Earth Federation Special Forces…

    Episode 2 to be continued...

  4. #24
    Moderator Ken Cheng's Avatar
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    Episode 2 continued...

    “What? Another one?” Colonel Cairlay says into the telephone receiver, “Unbelievable. This is an uncommon run of good fortune. First, we picked up that girl from Industria, and now you’re telling me you have another cadet with similar aptitudes? Excellent…”

    Master Sergeant Atsuka says, “Cadet Michaels doesn’t quite have the fighting prowess and instincts that the girl had. In fact, despite his talents, his temperaments don’t seem all that well-suited to combat. Nevertheless, he’s got amazing potential.”

    Cairlay replies, “That’s enough for us to want him under our control. General Noah is pushing for an expansion of the Special Forces after the turn of the New Year. That would be a good time to break him in.”

    Master Sergeant Atsuka says, “Sir, with all due respect: is it a good idea to put them together, especially considering who their commanding officer is?”

    Cairlay smiles fiendishly, “They’ll make for quite a terrific trio, so long as they remain under our command.”


    A week before Christmas, Cadet Jonah Michaels receives word from Msgt. Atsuka that he has been promoted to Chief Warrant Officer and designated for Special Forces training. His assignment is to the Centurion Special Forces Team, where he will continue his training as a mobile suit pilot. His tour of duty with the Centurion Team begins a week after the turn of the New Year.

    __________________________________________________ _____

    January 7, U.C. 0099

    Master Sergeant Junichi Atsuka leads Chief Warrant Officer Jonah Michaels to Garrison Noah, Headquarters of the Earth Federation Special Forces. Today is the day that Jonah is to be formally inducted into the Centurion Special Operations Team.

    “I’m taking you to meet the team’s executive officer,” Msgt. Atsuka tells Jonah as they walk towards the Special Forces MS docking and maintenance facility, “1Lt. Minh is expecting you.”

    Upon arrival, Jonah marvels at the immense military facility that is Garrison Noah’s MS dock. Dozens of Federal Forces mobile suits are being prepped and readied for combat deployment by teams of engineers and technicians. The facility is bursting with activity as humans and machines are readied for the business of war.

    Despite his pacifist leanings and lack of interest in combat and warfare, even Jonah must admit to being impressed by the efficiency of it all. A shame that such efficiency must be wasted on the conduct of war…

    “There’s 1Lt. Minh right now,” Sgt. Atsuka says, pointing forward towards a tiny, normalsuited figure emerging from the cockpit of a Federal Forces mobile suit…a Gundam, as even the militarily-disinterested Jonah can recognize.

    The normalsuited figure approaches.

    Rather short person, this 1Lt. Minh, Jonah observes, seeing that the top of the lieutenant’s helmeted head comes up just below Jonah’s shoulders. Jonah also notes that Minh is also rather slight of build for a soldier.

    1Lt. Jolie Minh removes her helmet.

    Jonah’s heart skips a beat…or two…or three….

    Whoa! Jonah’s dazed mind reels with delight, She’s really, really cute!

    Indeed. Standing before Jonah is the most beautiful girl he has ever seen: she is about his age, or perhaps a year younger, of Asian descent with fine, long, straight black hair, a silky-smooth complexion on a pleasantly oval-shaped face. Her wide eyes are like pools of dark liquid, illuminated by a fire of vivacious energy. The pretty smile gracing her tiny mouth completes the visage.

    As Jonah observed, Jolie is rather tiny and short, but she makes up for her relative lack of size with a curvaceous figure that would be the envy of any fashion model or movie actress. Jolie’s long, coltish legs curve along her hips in just the right way to send an electric fire up Jonah’s spine.

    $this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://img600.imageshack.us/img600/9773/joliecolorsketch.jpg')

    1Lt. Jolie Minh, Federal Forces mobile suit ace pilot and heartbreaker...


    Jolie speaks to Jonah for the first time; her voice is like aural honey, “Whatsamatter? Forgot how to talk?”

    Jonah stops gaping long enough to offer a salute, “1Lt. Minh, ma’am. Chief Warrant Officer Jonah Michaels reporting, ma’am!”

    Msgt. Atsuka turns to Jolie, “I’ll turn him over to you now, Lieutenant. Why don’t you break him in? Major Ibaz is busy in a conference, but you can introduce Chief Michaels to the major later.”

    “Right,” Jolie says, adding a mischievous “heh,” after Atsuka leaves that makes Jonah both anxious and eager at the same time.

    Jolie folds her hands behind her back and leans her face closer to Jonah’s, as if to inspect him more closely, “Very nice,” she says, with a satisfied grin.

    This 1Lt. Minh is certainly not shy, Jonah reflects.

    “Come with me!” Jolie says, grabbing Jonah by the arm and pulling him along.

    “Um, where to, Lieutenant?” asks Jonah.

    “To ‘break you in,’ as the Master Sergeant said,” replies Jolie, “and stop calling me ‘Lieutenant.’ I hate being called by rank. Unless there are other officers around, I want you to call me Jolie.”

    Jolie Minh, Jonah smiles. He really likes the name. He likes everything about the girl officer now dragging him along to…uh…

    Jonah wonders what kind of abuse getting “broken in” will entail. Despite Jolie’s sweet appearance and casual demeanor, Jonah is guessing that being “broken in” will prove as painful as it sounds.

    They stop in front of the door to the pilots’ locker.

    “Wait for me here,” Jolie says, disappearing into the female officers’ locker room.

    Jonah stands waiting in front of the locker room for about ten minutes. Girls, even military girls, always take forever and a day changing clothes. Jonah wonders if that’s the case even during a red alert.

    Jolie emerges from the locker room, having showered and exchanged her pilot’s normalsuit for her Earth Federation Forces’ officers uniform. For the second time in less than a half hour, Jonah’s breath is taken away. The cut of Jolie’s uniform skirt is rather high, barely covering the tops of her shapely thighs. Jonah feels a surging warmth that coalesces behind his face and threatens to erupt like a volcano from the top of his head.

    “You’re sweating,” Jolie observes, “Feeling hot?”

    “Um, yeah,” Jonah replies, feeling somewhat dizzy, “a little.”

    “Just wait ‘till we get there,” Jolie grins, “you’ll feel even hotter.”

    Jolie grabs Jonah by the hand again and this time, drags him out of Garrison Noah and into the streets of Green Oasis City.

    This isn’t what I expected from a military ‘breaking-in’ ritual, Jonah thinks.

    “Just where are we going, Jolie?” Jonah asks, being dragged along…not exactly against his will, as he’s quite happy to go and be anywhere with Jolie, but certainly a bit disoriented and mystified.

    “You’ll see,” Jolie says, that hint of playful mischief in her voice again.

    They finally stop at a nightclub in Green Oasis City, the Andromeda Club.

    “Let’s go inside,” Jolie says, not giving Jonah much of a choice, dragging him into the club.

    The club is alive with the sound of music. Dozens of couples are on the dance floor, dancing to high energy rock tunes. The theme of today’s dance is mid-20th Century rock, particularly the period known historically as the 1960s.

    “One, two, three four!” comes the ancient, but still-familiar voice of Paul McCartney, a great English rock musician of the 20th Century.

    The familiar guitar, drums, and bass licks of the Beatles’ song “I Saw Her Standing There” begin to play.

    Jolie breaks into a lively, 1960s gogo style dance…for which her lithe, shapely figure is perfectly suited. Jonah’s heart begins to pound.

    “Don’t just stand there, dance!” Jolie demands, gyrating her hips to the beat of the music.

    Jonah follows suit, So this is her idea of ‘breaking-in’ a new officer.

    Jolie and Jonah feel the hot blood pumping from their hearts through their young bodies. The ectasy of the moment is conveyed in the small space between them, and in the lyrics of the ancient rock song that fills the room…

    Oh, she was just seventeen!
    You know, what I mean!
    And the way she looked, was way beyond compare!

    So how could I dance with another?
    Since I saw her standing there.

    Well, she looked at me.
    And I…I could see
    That before too long,
    I’d fall in love with her.

    Oh, she couldn’t dance with another
    Since I saw her standing there.

    Well, my heart went boom
    When I crossed that room
    And I held her hand in mine.

    Oh, we danced through the night.
    And we held each other tight.
    And before too long,
    I fell in love with her.

    Now I’ll never dance with another,
    Since I saw her standing there!


    Almost out of breath as the song ends, Jonah begins to ask Jolie, “So, um, Jolie? What…”

    Jonah doesn’t have time to finish. Another Beatles song begins to play on the club’s speakers, and Jolie is moving again.

    It won’t be long, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah!
    It won’t be long, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah!
    It won’t be long, yeah, yeah…till I belong to you!

    Every night, when everybody has fun!
    Here I am sitting all on my own!


    Jonah moves to the music, resigning himself to the realization that Jolie isn’t going to let him talk to her until she’s gotten her ya-ya’s out.

    It’s going to be a long night, but Jonah doesn’t mind. This is not the kind of excitement he’d expected when he joined the Earth Federation Forces, but it is something that he lacked in his quiet, mostly solitary life back in Phobos City. Jonah has known Jolie for only about an hour, but this hour has changed everything for him: he knows that from now on, he wants to be wherever she is.

  5. #25
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    Episode 2 continued...

    Two hours later, their bodies covered in perspiration and their mouths panting for air, Jolie and Jonah sit at a table at the Andromeda Nightclub with some drinks.

    “Exercise is good for the body and mind,” Jolie pants, “And as a soldier, you need both to be sharp. That doesn’t mean training has to be BORING, though.”

    Jonah smiles, “I’m guessing this isn’t standard training procedure.”

    “’Course not,” Jolie grins in response, “but I hate doing things by the book. That’s more Athena’s way.”

    “Athena?” Jonah asks.

    “Major Athena Ibaz,” Jolie fills in, “my commanding officer and yours. She’s also my best friend and surrogate ‘big sister.’ You’ll meet her tomorrow morning. You’ll really like her. She’s very sweet and nice, but don’t piss her off. She can be a real b*tch if you piss her off.”

    “I’ll be on my best behavior,” Jonah replies, wondering what Athena is like.

    “And,” Jolie says almost admonishingly, “although Athena is drop-dead gorgeous, NO flirting with her! I’ll kill you if you do, Jonah.”

    Jonah is amused by the protective, almost proprietary way that Jolie says that.

    Jolie rests her lovely chin in her hands, staring intently at Jonah, “So tell me about yourself, Jonah. Where are you from? Why’d you join the Federal Forces?”

    Jonah considers his answers carefully before giving them. Although he feels that he can trust Jolie with anything, certain things are better left unsaid, “I’m from the Outer Solar System…most recently Frontier 8. My parents died when I was really young, but my older brother raised me. We had an argument, so I left home.”

    “What were you fighting about?” Jolie asks.

    Jonah hesitates, “Well, um…”

    “Too embarrassing to talk about?” Jolie asks, “Then don’t. Family stuff can get embarrassing sometimes, so you don’t have to tell me if you don’t wanna.”

    Jonah says, “I’m sorry. I don’t want you to think I don’t trust you or…”

    “Don’t be silly,” Jolie says, “You’ve only known me for…what? Three hours? You can tell me later. We’re gonna be spending a lot of time together from now on.”

    Jonah smiles at that idea, “Anyway, let me answer the rest of your question. I’m actually an artist. I was going to study art in Paris, France on Earth, but on the way, I witnessed a Zeon attack on Frontier 8. It was the most awful thing I’d ever seen. People dying. I decided I had to do something about it, so I joined the Federal Forces.”

    “Artist, huh?” Jolie responds, taking a sip from her drink with a straw, “what kind of stuff do you paint or draw or sculpt, whatever?”

    “I do paintings and drawings,” Jonah says, “all kinds of subjects, but especially people.”

    “I can’t draw a straight line,” Jolie responds, “I never did get beyond stick-figure level in art class back in grade school. I did some graffiti back in Industria, though.”

    “Industria?” Jonah asks, “That’s an old slum colony, isn’t it?”

    “It’s where I spent five years after my parents and brother were killed,” Jolie says.

    “I’m sorry,” Jonah says, saddened to hear about such sorrowful events in Jolie’s past, “It must have been hard.”

    “It was,” Jolie says, sweetness turning to bitterness for a moment, “My family was murdered by the Neo Zeon when I was ten years old. They attacked my home space colony of Quebec. I drifted to Industria and lived there for five years by shoplifting and petty theft, until Athena found me over a year and a half ago and brought me into the Federal Forces.”

    “I’ve seen the Neo Zeon do terrible things,” Jonah confesses, “I was staying with this nice family at Frontier 8 when the Neo Zeon attacked it a little over a half year ago.”

    “I remember hearing about that,” Jolie says, “Pissed me off, because that’s almost exactly what happened to my family. I’m glad we’re going to be shipping out to the Outer Solar System later this month. We’ll finally be able to get some payback on the Zeon for all the things they’ve done to us. Especially Alexander Miguel.”

    Jonah’s heart goes cold at the mention of his elder brother’s name, “I’m sorry…did you say ‘Alexander Miguel?’”

    Jolie says, “Yeah…you must have heard of him, right? The leader of the Principality of Phobos? That sonofab*tch led the attack that killed my family. I swore I’d make him pay for it someday, and I’m finally gonna get my chance. I’m going to make that evil bastard suffer for what he’s done.”

    Jonah’s heart begins pounding again…this time not from excitement or joy, but from sheer terror.

    His brother’s evil has found its way into his life again, this time on a more personal level.

    Noticing that Jonah has gone numb on her, Jolie waves her hand in front of his face, “Jonah? Hey, Jonah! Yo! Wake up, boyo!”

    Jonah shakes himself out of his trance, “Wh…?”

    “Are you OK?” Jolie asks, concerned.

    “Sure…fine,” Jonah says, struggling to compose himself.

    “You look a little pale. A little too much action maybe for one day, maybe?” Jolie ventures.

    “Maybe,” Jonah says absently, taking a gulp out of his drink and choking on it.

    “We ought to go back,” Jolie says.

    The pair pays for their evening at the bar, and heads back to Garrison Noah, with Jolie protectively holding Jonah’s arm. Jonah seems absent…lost in thought.


    Elsewhere at Side 7, General Bright Noah, General Manron Blackhead, Colonel Peter Cairlay, and other assorted other flag-rank Federal Forces officers are in a video conference with the Earth Federation Security Council based in Shanghai on Earth. They are discussing the Federation’s plans to expand its profile in the Outer Solar System.

    “The attack on Frontier 8 is a sign of things to come, ladies and gentlemen,” General Bright Noah says, “if we don’t give more attention to the resurgence of Zeon power in that part of space.”

    “You’re starting to sound like a warmonger, Bright,” General Manron Blackhead interjects, “It would be a waste of our resources and an unnecessary provocation of the Zeon to deploy our forces so close to their territory. Their civil war is their business, and frankly, it benefits us. Why fight them when we can let them fight each other?”

    “Because sooner or later,” Bright says, “someone out there will prove stronger than the others, and when Zeon power is once again consolidated under a single leader, Zeon will turn its sights on the Federation again.”

    “You’re chasing phantoms,” Blackhead responds, “As of right now, there is no war between the Federation and the Zeon. You want to provoke one? Let sleeping dogs lie, General Noah.”

    Bright sighs heavily, “I’m not proposing going into the Outer Solar System with a large invasion force bent on the destruction of Zeon, General Blackhead. Frankly, if we were going to do that, we should have done it years ago. As is, all I’m proposing is that we fortify our existing positions out there, to remind the Zeon that although we are uninterested in their internal conflicts, they must respect our sovereignty even in the Outer Solar System.”

    The President of the Federation Council strikes her gavel on its sound block for attention, “The Council has decided to follow General Noah’s recommendation to increase the Federal Forces’ profile, to a limited extent, in the Outer Solar System. General Noah, what is your proposed plan?”

    General Noah rises and salutes the President and the Council, “Madame President, Members of the Council, my proposal is to deploy five of our newly expanded Special Forces Teams to the Outer Solar System for patrol and reconnaissance purposes. They will be supported by five capital ships from the Federal Fleet.”

    “A waste of resources,” mutters General Blackhead under his breath.

    Not hearing or ignoring Blackhead’s remark, Bright tells the Council, “Colonel Cairlay and Major Ibaz have already developed a plan for our deployment, which is available now in your files for review. We are taking both strategic and political considerations into view…to establish greater security for our citizens in the Outer Solar System without unduly provoking the Zeon forces.”

    The Federation Security Council reviews the documents for a few minutes, and then the President says to the generals, “Very well. You have our authorization to proceed.”

    The Federal Forces officers rise and salute as one, “Ma’am.”

    Episode 2 to be continued...

  6. #26
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    Episode 2 continued...

    As an officer, albeit a junior one, Jonah has gained the privilege of having his own private quarters at the Centurion Team’s residential dormitory at Garrison Noah. Although by no means an antisocial hermit or loner, Jonah does like his privacy, especially as it gives him peace and solitude.

    The peace and solitude he needs to let his spirit flow forth from his heart into his hands, and from his hands to the tools that produce last images of beauty.

    Sketchbook and pencil at hand, Jonah’s fingers lovingly create an image on the paper, an image of the subject that has occupied his heart and mind all day: Jolie Minh.

    $this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://img183.imageshack.us/img183/8835/joliesketchew7.jpg')

    Jonah's first sketch of Jolie

    What is it about Jolie that fascinates Jonah? Certainly, Jolie is beautiful…the most beautiful girl that Jonah has ever encountered. But that alone would not have held Jonah’s interest for long. What Jonah finds compelling about Jolie is her boundless, vivacious enthusiasm for living – the joie de vivre that is a natural part of her character. Just being around Jolie makes Jonah feel more alive, more energetic somehow.

    Jolie has been on Jonah’s mind and in his heart since he met her earlier in the day. Only eight hours have passed since their first encounter, but Jonah somehow feels like he has always known Jolie…or that he’s bided his first seventeen years in this world just waiting for her to appear in his life this day. Although he is separated from her only by a few walls and a few meters of corridor, and the time he will see her again is merely hours away, he feels anxious that the regulations of the military schedule and basic propriety will not permit him to see her any sooner than that.

    In an hour’s time, the sketch is completed, a likeness of the beautiful young woman whose image fills Jonah’s imagination is rendered in graphite on paper.

    His work done, Jonah sleeps, and his mind dreams of Jolie…

    But dreams can turn to nightmares.

    Jolie’s adorable, smiling image morphs into the form of a fierce burning phoenix. The phoenix lances out at Jonah, burning him to a cinder.

    Jonah bolts awake, drenched in cold sweat, shaking in horror.



    Reveille comes at 04:00. It’s just as well. Jonah wasn’t getting much sleep accomplished anyway. Caught between both positive and negative anxieties, his mind could not rest. But the thought that he would be seeing Jolie again in mere minutes lifts his spirits.

    Jonah showers, grooms himself, and dresses in his Earth Federation Special Forces uniform in fewer than ten minutes (as much time as troops are allowed in the morning for their personal hygiene before morning inspection).

    Jonah leaves his quarters at 04:09, anxious to see Jolie.

    As it turns out, he doesn’t need to wait long.

    As soon as he steps forward from the door, Jolie appears at his side and latches onto his arm, “Come with me!” she says excitedly.

    Did she stand there all night? Jonah marvels.

    “Where are…?” Jonah begins.

    “I’m gonna take you to meet ‘Thena before morning inspections,” Jolie says, dragging Jonah along, “and remember what I told you yesterday: don’t flirt with ‘Thena. She’s already got a boyfriend, got it?”

    Jonah grins. Whomever Athena turns out to be, she must be someone quite extraordinary for Jolie to feel threatened by the potential competition.

    Fifteen minutes later, they are at the mobile suit dock of Garrison Noah, where Jonah had met Jolie the previous day. As always, teams of engineers and technicians are busy at work servicing the mobile suits of the Special Forces.

    Two new mobile suits have arrived at Garrison Noah, newly shipped off the assembly line at Anaheim Enterprises’ mobile suit factory in Anman City on the moon. One is a Cour de Leon, and the other is a Centurion Gundam.

    Standing at the gantry observing the arrival of the new mobile suits is an attractive young woman, around twenty years of age with slightly reddish blonde shoulder-length hair and delicate, refined European facial features. Her figure is similar to Jolie’s - lithe, shapely, and long-legged, but taller. There is something authoritative and sophisticated about her – an elegant bearing that Jonah recognizes from his own upbringing as unmistakably aristocratic. The manner in which she wears her uniform supports this image: her Federal Forces officer’s uniform, though cut similar to Jolie’s, is supplemented by a command overcoat she wears draped over her shoulders. An officer’s hat lends her an extra air of authority, and a gold pocketwatch on a chain in her uniform’s vest pocket attests to an uncommon sophistication for one so young. Whoever she is, this young woman must come from a privileged background.

    $this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://img364.imageshack.us/img364/5076/athenaface2xd8.jpg')

    Major Athena Ibaz, Centurion Team commanding officer and Deputy Director of Earth Federation Special Forces

    Most of all, however, Jonah notices the searing intelligence in the young woman’s beautiful brown eyes…seemingly capable of seeing into others' minds. Jonah finds him guarding his thoughts in her presence, averting her gaze out of fear that she might discover his most private thoughts.

    “Jonah,” Jolie says, “This is Major Athena Ibaz. She’s the commanding officer of the Centurion Team and Deputy Director of the Earth Federation Special Forces.”

    Athena smiles. Jonah finds her smile very pretty, and it softens the authoritative edge that Athena carries. Athena speaks, and it is the voice of a mature, confident young woman that he hears saying, “You must be Chief Warrant Officer Jonah Michaels, our new junior executive officer.”

    Jonah salutes smartly, “Yes, ma’am, Major Ibaz. Chief Warrant Officer Jonah Michaels reporting for duty, ma’am.”

    Athena nods with approval, “I’ve read your profile. You’ll definitely fit in very well with the Centurion Team. That Centurion Gundam out there has been assigned for your use. It’s the second of only two units of its kind in the entire Federal Forces’ arsenal. 1Lt. Minh here was assigned the first one, and this second one was custom made for you.”

    Jonah nods, “Yes, ma’am.”

    Other pilots would be ecstatic to hear that they’ve been assigned to pilot a Gundam-series mobile suit, but to Jonah, it’s just another bitter reminder that he is a soldier now.

    “1Lt. Minh,” Athena turns coolly to Jolie, “I trust that you’ve already briefed Chief Michaels on our daily operating procedures.”

    “I…uh…” Jolie begins, thinking of how she “broke” Jonah into life in the Special Forces the previous evening.

    Jonah stifles his laughter at the memory, but his amusement turns to concern when he wonders about the kind of discipline that Athena might deal Jolie.

    “1Lt. Minh…” Athena says, raising her voice authoritatively.

    Oh, boy… Jonah thinks helplessly, Jolie’s going to get it. Maybe I should say something…

    Before Jonah can say anything, Jolie raises her arms, blocking her face from the view of the glaring Athena, “I took him dancing at the Andromeda. Don’t kill me, Athena, please!”

    Athena can hold her serious expression no longer. The pretty smile returns, followed by a graceful laugh.

    Jolie, also laughing, puts her arms down and reaches out to Athena. The two embrace like familiar friends.

    “Jolie…” Athena says fondly, “…when are you ever going to learn?”

    “Not until I get you discharged from the Federal Forces on a mental health furlough,” Jolie says with a grin.

    Jonah smiles. Athena and Jolie are just like sisters. It’s clear that they are very fond of each other, and have great trust in one another.

    “Wasn’t I right, though, Jonah?” Jolie says, “She can be a real b*tch sometimes, can’t she?”

    “What lies have you been corrupting this boy with, Jolie?” Athena teases.

    Jolie says, “Oh, not much. Other than telling him what a b*tch you are, I also told him you’re a slave driver, a workaholic, and a flirt to boot.”

    Athena crosses her arms in mock disapproval, “If I could just seal your mouth shut with one of these welding tools here in the hangar, life would be perfect.”

    Jolie slips around Athena and wraps her arms around her friend affectionately, “But, she’s also the sweetest, smartest, and bravest commanding officer in the Federal Forces, and the best friend anybody could ever have.”

    Athena grins, “Flatterer…”

    Jolie tells Jonah, “Jonah, go ahead of us to the training area where the rest of the team is waiting. Athena and I need to have a little girl talk, but we’ll be there in a minute.”

    “Girl talk, eh?” Jonah smiles.

    “Get going, Chief!” Jolie says, mimicking Athena’s no-nonsense military tone.

    “Yes, ma’am,” Jonah salutes, leaving with an amused grin.

    After Jonah is out of earshot, Athena asks Jolie, “So do you think you can handle him?”

    “Of course I can!” Jolie replies confidently, “Which brings me to my point: I saw him first, OK? You keep your hands off him, understand?”

    As she says this, Jolie waves a finger admonishingly at Athena’s face.

    Athena can barely suppress her amusement, “Oh, come on, Jolie. What do you take me for: some kind of hussy who steals other girls’ boyfriends?”

    “Well…yeah,” Jolie says, half-seriously.

    That gets Jolie a mockingly reproving glare from Athena, “So much for sisterly trust…”

    Jolie smiles, “So you promise…?”

    “All right, all right,” Athena says with an exasperated sigh, “I promise.”

    Jolie nods in satisfaction.

    Not willing to let Jolie off the hook so easily, however, Athena adds with a sly smile, “He is pretty cute, though…”

    “’Thena!” Jolie says, lightly punching her best friend on the arm.

    “Ow!” Athena replies, exaggerating the pain for humorous effect, “All right…just kidding.”

    After a moment of shared laughter, Athena turns more serious, “You’ve known him fewer than twenty-four hours. You’re sure he’s the one?”

    Jolie responds, “I think so…I mean, I know so…I mean…”

    “Maybe you ought to get to know each other better first,” Athena suggests tactfully.

    “Well, we will. I just…have this feeling,” Jolie says, “He just feels ‘right’, somehow.”

    Athena puts her hands affectionately on Jolie’s tiny shoulders, slipping into “Big Sister” mode, “Jolie, it’s like what I say to you before we go into battle: don’t rush things. Consider the situation from every angle. Consider the other side from every angle. Have an entry strategy and, just in case, an exit strategy.”

    Jolie rolls her eyes, “Is everything a strategy or tactic to you?”

    Athena smiles, “Things work out better when you have an organized plan, no matter what your endeavor is: penetrating an enemy fortress…or dating a boy.”

    Jolie raises two fists into the air confidently, “Well, I’ve never lost a fight before.”

    Athena concedes that, but adds, “You’ve never been in a situation like this either.”

    “So are you gonna guide me?” Jolie asks.

    Athena laughs, “Are you kidding? I’m still trying to figure it out myself.”

    Patting Jolie on the back, Athena says, “Anyway, let’s go. Contrary to what you think, it’s not just Jonah who’s joining the Centurion Team today. We’ve got other new recruits to welcome and they’re waiting for us. Come on.”

    The commanding and executive officers of the Centurion Team proceed to meet their new charges.

    Episode 2 to be continued...

  7. #27
    Senior Member sheraldine's Avatar
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    It's difficult to break into the publishing industry, ESPECIALLY if you're an American trying to break into the Japanese market for a copyrighted product. I wouldn't know where to even begin doing that.

    get an agent. u got that aplenty in the states. i know, a sincere and honest one is rare, but if you never try, you never know. whether succeed or otherwise, at least you tried ONCE. i have a friend who is good at comics, and once he came across a publishing house address, he send his artworks just for fun and luck. after a while, he received no news and he didnt moan about it but few months later, he received a letter from another publishing house saying they is looking for someone in the arts department..... to cut the story short, he found out he is not interested to take up the offer but the thing is, something did come out from his initial effort.

    But, as we're not getting any younger, I decided that before I died, at least SOME people might get a chance to read and hopefully enjoy this.

    poooh! life starts at 40 for men lah.

    I come from a long line of dark-skinned Asian men.

    hmmm? really??

    As Jonah observed, Jolie is rather tiny and short, but she makes up for her relative lack of size with a curvaceous figure that would be the envy of any fashion model or movie actress. Jolie’s long, coltish legs curve along her hips in just the right way to send an electric fire up Jonah’s spine.

    aahhh, this is where our similarities ends.

    one for ken for sheraldine last but not least, for ghost. miss our chats, dearie.

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  9. #29
    Senior Member sheraldine's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ken Cheng View Post
    And do you like how the story is currently progressing, sheraldine?
    well, it has been a while since my last yakking.... so seriously, you will do sheraldine a great favor if cutting down those sergeant-general talking and less battle-war scene but before you could protest, yeah, those scene(s) are necessary. hey, its the bit package and whole parcel for the story anyway. after all, Voltron have its fair share of talk and fight.... i never enjoyed the evil council drama, until a new female character came to marry the arrogant prince briefly. the scene quite brilliant with its i-scheme-you-do marriage with an equally hey-no-string-attached divorce.

    compare to hath-thena coupling i feel there is at least some balance in jonah-jolie. he the goody rebel while she the missy misfit

    Oh, boy… Jonah thinks helplessly, Jolie’s going to get it. Maybe I should say something…

    some might see this a weakness in a man, but i say that thoughtful. you see, god rarely gave us women this kinda men anymore. you know suddenly i rather the couple doesnt end up like hath-thena - but i also know you already have the next script(s) heading to a mature theme

  10. #30
    Moderator Ken Cheng's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by sheraldine View Post
    well, it has been a while since my last yakking.... so seriously, you will do sheraldine a great favor if cutting down those sergeant-general talking and less battle-war scene but before you could protest, yeah, those scene(s) are necessary. hey, its the bit package and whole parcel for the story anyway. after all, Voltron have its fair share of talk and fight.... i never enjoyed the evil council drama.
    I think it's something of a samurai tradition. I don't know if you've watched any Japanese samurai dramas before, but many of them involve heavy scenes of military leaders plotting against one another. Maybe that's influenced what I'm doing.

    It's a necessary evil.

    compare to hath-thena coupling i feel there is at least some balance in jonah-jolie. he the goody rebel while she the missy misfit
    The plan is to make Jonah and Jolie a more fun pair than Hathaway and Athena...at least at first when things are still innocent and the war hasn't *really* begun to intrude into their relationship. With Hathaway and Athena, things began to go wrong almost from the beginning. With Jonah and Jolie, things go right at first, but begin to go awry later.

    Oh, boy… Jonah thinks helplessly, Jolie’s going to get it. Maybe I should say something…

    some might see this a weakness in a man, but i say that thoughtful. you see, god rarely gave us women this kinda men anymore. you know suddenly i rather the couple doesnt end up like hath-thena - but i also know you already have the next script(s) heading to a mature theme
    Eventually, but not nearly as quickly as it did with Hathaway and Athena. There are two reasons for this. First, because Hathaway and Athena actually had very little screentime together in Part 1, things had to get serious between them fairly quickly. Jonah and Jolie don't have this problem because they have something like three or four dozen episodes of screentime together. LOTS of time for things to develop.

    Moreover, Hathaway and Athena represented a more "adult" couple. They were at the cusp of their twenties, and more mature (especially Athena) than most people their age to boot. Jonah and Jolie are younger (not a WHOLE lot younger...just two years or so, but at that age, a year or two can make a huge difference in outlooks and attitudes), and their relationship is depicted as being more adolescent as a consequence. It's a whole different vibe.

    As for Jonah, that's him in a nutshell: gallant. He has a chivalric knight's heart, if not the inclination towards fighting (he has talent for fighting, just no will to hurt people; he's too nice a guy for his own good sometimes).

    Episodes 1 and 2 are geared towards setting up the characters and the basics of their relationships to each other, and to provide the background for the upcoming war. In Episode 3, the war itself begins (well, the first phase of it anyway; this war will have multiple phases, with allegiances shifting at critical moments. You'll see.)

  11. #31
    Senior Member sheraldine's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ken Cheng View Post
    I think it's something of a samurai tradition. I don't know if you've watched any Japanese samurai dramas before, but many of them involve heavy scenes of military leaders plotting against one another. Maybe that's influenced what I'm doing.
    It's a necessary evil.
    yeah, we got loads of japanese dramas in malaysia - back in those early days 1980's, what his name... the actor who acted in Samurai ( yeah, i cannot remember his name but i am sure you know who) besides samurai dramas, we have ninja series as well. however, i never focused much about their plotting, its the hunks that i noticed

    Eventually, but not nearly as quickly as it did with Hathaway and Athena.

    good to hear that, wasnt much of a quickie fan...oppss!
    Last edited by sheraldine; 07-12-07 at 05:23 AM.

  12. #32
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    Quote Originally Posted by sheraldine View Post
    Eventually, but not nearly as quickly as it did with Hathaway and Athena.

    good to hear that, wasnt much of a quickie fan...oppss!
    Heh. It's a matter of approach. Hathaway and Athena weren't fully aware that they were in love with each other until *after* they had sex (they were too confused by the fact that they already knew they were political/military enemies and had to maneuver around that hurdle, and kind of makes a point about how people who are *too* smart sometimes end up confusing themselves because they overthink things...including things that the intellect can't really resolve). By the time Jonah and Jolie get around to it, they'll know for sure how they feel about each other.

  13. #33
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    Episode 2 continued...

    The Centurion Team, now twelve young soldiers in number (including their commanding officer, Major Athena Ibaz), lines up for inspection in the team’s commons area. They stand at rigid attention, their uniforms crisp and immaculate, their facial expressions attentive and serious.

    Major Athena Ibaz (age 20, commanding officer and mobile suit pilot) gives the team an appraising glare. Five members of the team are veterans who have served under her for a year: 1Lt. Jolie Minh (age 17, senior executive officer and mobile suit pilot), Msgt. Karim Abdul Al-Said (age 22, artillery specialist and mobile suit pilot), SSgt. Tomo Higashi (age 22, artillery specialist and mobile suit pilot), Sgt. Geoffe Sutcliffe (age 19, mobile suit pilot), Sgt. Anna Horowitz (age 18 senior reconnaissance specialist and mobile suit pilot).

    The new six include:

    Chief Warrant Officer Jonah Michaels: Age 17. A young artist from the Outer Solar System. Said to be a Newtype, and assigned to pilot the second Centurion Gundam (after Jolie’s). Jonah is the team’s new junior executive officer, taking that position from Jolie, who is now the senior executive officer.

    1Lt. Wenwu “Doc Wooster” Zhou: Age 29. Medical Corps. Has medical doctor’s degree. Provides medical consultation and emergency medical services.

    1Lt. Maurice Tsombhe: Age 30. Science Corps. The Centurion Team’s scientific inquiries consultant.

    2Lt. Molly Duran: Age 24. Senior mobile suit engineer. Heads a team of MS engineers and technicians assigned to service the mecha and weaponry of the Centurion Team.

    Cpl. Nicholas “Nick” Van Dyck: Age 20. Demolitions and explosives expert. Pilots an RGC-100 Guncannon 100.

    Cpl. Phoebe Mendoza: Age 18. Reconnaissance specialist. Works under guidance of Sgt. Anna Horowitz (senior reconnaissance specialist). Pilots GM-IV AWAC.

    Athena grins slightly, nodding with approval at her New Centurions. The team, already among the elites of the Federal Forces, is now reinforced with experts in various disciplines and fields of professional knowledge, all of which will be needed for their upcoming extended mission into the Outer Solar System.

    Athena speaks, “For those of you who are new: welcome to the Centurion Team. I’m Major Athena Ibaz, your commanding officer and Deputy Director of the Special Forces. You have been inducted into the Special Forces and assigned to the Centurion Team because the Earth Federation Forces’ High Command and Security Council have determined that you are each among the best and brightest individuals to be found in your particular areas of expertise. Much will be asked of you and your abilities. You will be called upon to make great sacrifices for your comrades, but remember that your comrades will also make great sacrifices for you. Our objective is to maintain peace, security, and justice in all territories under the jurisdiction of the Earth Federation Government. Am I to understand that each of you is fully committed to this objective?”

    The Centurion Team salutes as one, replying “Yes, ma’am!” in unison.

    “Excellent,” Athena continues, inspecting at each of her subordinates carefully, “On the fifteenth of this month, the Centurion Team and five other Special Forces units will be deploying to the Outer Solar System…to monitor the Neo Zeon civil war being waged in that territory and protect the Federation’s interests there. Our efforts until that time will be concentrated on preparation. No detail is too intricate to overlook. No task is too monumental to be neglected. Your individual duty assignments are contained in your personal Datapads. After dismissal of inspection detail, you will proceed to begin duty assignments.”

    Athena nods at Jolie, who as senior executive officer, announces, “Centurion Team: dismissed to duty!”

    For the mobile suit pilots on the team, there is the morning training drill. The pilots rush to the MS docking area of Garrison Noah. For a few of them, it will be their first formal session as a pilot in the cockpit of a mobile suit.


    Chief Warrant Officer Jonah Michaels is being strapped into the cockpit of his RX-780 Centurion Gundam. During basic training, he had operated MS cockpit simulators and even a GM-III mobile suit, which had uncovered his latent talent for piloting mobile suits and resulted in his being recommended for Special Forces duty. Jonah finds it odd that he is now regarded as an MS piloting prodigy, as he had never had the slightest interest in mobile suits or war machines of any kind growing up. As a matter of fact, he detests such technology because of its application to violence and destruction. Inexplicably, however, Jonah has demonstrated a natural talent for its use and operation, which comes to him as easily as his preferred pursuit of the visual arts does.

    Jonah feels the powerful thrum of power beneath his cockpit seat…the revving of the Centurion Gundam’s powerful nuclear fusion engine. His display monitor lights up in a dozen flashes of color, displaying data that he has only recently learned to read and interpret.

    Adjacent to Jonah’s Centurion Gundam is Jolie’s identical mecha. The only difference between the two mobile suits is the coloring: Jonah’s, a light blue on silver and Jolie’s, a dark lavender on silver.

    “Jonah,” Jolie’s voice comes through the comlink built into his helmet, “When we get out there, follow me. Let me guide you, OK?”

    “Roger that, ma’am,” Jonah replies.

    Elsewhere, Major Athena Ibaz straps herself into the cockpit seat of her Cour de Leon mobile suit, a new unit recently shipped from Anman City to replace her previous Cour de Leon, lost in combat against the infamous “One Strike Killer,” Col. Braniff Oskar, a few weeks earlier. This new Cour de Leon, which is a refined model, features improved avionics and maneuvering capabilities over Athena’s destroyed first unit, which had been a prototype.

    Athena opens the comlink to all the Centurion Team’s mobile suits, “This is Centurion Leader to all units. We’re going to be running deep space combat, evasion, and escape drills this morning. If there are deficiencies in our skills as individuals and as a team, we want to find out about them now, before we are deployed in actual combat. I expect each of you to treat this as if it were a real combat situation. Is that understood?”

    “Yes, ma’am!” comes the collective reply.

    “All right then,” Athena says, “Prepare to deploy for drills.”


    During the past twenty years, the Earth Federation Forces, the Archduchy of Zeon Forces, the Anti-Earth Union Government, the Titans, and the various incarnations of the Neo Zeon have fielded thousands upon thousands of mobile suits in combat. The vast majority of these have ended up reduced to scrap, but quite a few obsolete models have survived and are now used as automated target drones for training maneuvers. Damaged units no longer suitable for actual combat have also been salvaged and refurbished for this purpose.

    The eight mobile suits of the Centurion Team are deployed in local space near Side 7’s Green Noah 1 Colony. Deployed in space around them: an assortment of twenty-one mobile suits of various makes and models, armed with live ammunition and programmed to fire upon the Centurion Team.

    Computer-simulated holographic training is part of each Federal Forces mobile suit pilot’s daily routine, but at least once every month, depending on the availability of resources, a mobile suit combat unit will be deployed in a live training exercise with their actual mobile suits against actual test targets. For the three new pilots on the Centurion Team (Michaels, Van Dyck, and Mendoza), this is their first combat action with live ammunition.

    Major Athena Ibaz opens communications to the mobile suit pilots of the Centurion Team via the tactical net, “This is Centurion Leader. All units report in.”

    One by one, Centurions Two through Eight report in.

    “Target identification and acquisition,” Athena continues after her unit has reported in.

    Centurion Four, a GM-IV AWAC piloted by Sgt. Anna Horowitz, the team’s senior reconnaissance specialist, reports in, “Bogeys in a wide dispersal in target sectors one, two, five, six, and seven. Twenty-one in number. Identifying: five GMs, four Balls, three Zakus, one Rick Dom, three GM-IIs, two Hizacks, one Marasai, two Nemos. Standard armaments.

    The same data is relayed into each Centurion Team mobile suit’s combat computer.

    “Targets acquired,” Anna reports.

    “Commence firing,” Athena orders.

    The Centurion Team’s mobile suits pour forth a torrent of fire from missile racks mounted on their arms and legs, or, from the Guncannon-100 units, shoulder-mounted shell cannon.

    A moment later, spherical, orange explosions from stricken targets become visible dozens of kilometers away.

    “Seventeen targets confirmed destroyed,” Anna reports. Remaining units still closing.

    “All units: switch to close quarters combat,” Athena orders.

    One of the surviving target units, the lone Marasai in the group, suddenly rushes up on Chief Warrant Officer Jonah Michael’s Centurion Gundam. Jonah had sensed its approach twenty seconds earlier, but even so, his shock at its sudden appearance is only slightly diminished.

    The Marasai, painted the red of freshly spilled blood, draws its beam saber and thrusts the fusion-powered weapon towards Jonah’s Centurion Gundam.

    Calling upon his training, Jonah draws the Centurion Gundam’s own beam saber to redirect the Marasai’s blow. The Centurion Gundam’s red energy blade meets the Marasai’s yellow energy blade with a brilliant flash.

    The Marasai, unoccupied by a human pilot, but moving according to a set of computer-generated algorithms, continues to attack Jonah’s Centurion Gundam relentlessly…exchanging its beam saber for its beam rifle, and bringing its head-mounted Vulcan cannon into play.

    Jonah brings up the Centurion Gundam’s arm-mounted shield to block the incoming gunfire. He is fully aware that the practice drone is unoccupied…that no one will die if he cuts loose against it. Nevertheless, Jonah is reluctant to do so. The thought that someday soon, he will face an enemy mobile suit that does contain a human pilot…possibly even his brother, causes him to hesitate.

    “Centurion Three, what’s wrong? Return fire!” Athena’s voice comes sternly over the tactical net.

    Responding to Athena’s order, Jonah directs the Centurion Gundam to turn its shield aside and raise its beam rifle. He targets the Marasai in the reticle.

    Jonah squeezes the trigger. A beam of red energy erupts forth from the Centurion Gundam’s beam rifle, striking the Marasai dead center, eviscerating it.

    The flash of the explosion fills Jonah’s cockpit. Panting, sweating in his normalsuit, Jonah feels a wave of relief coming over him.

    Relief turns to panic, however, when cannon fire from another surviving target unit, a Nemo, rakes the back of his Centurion Gundam.

    The Nemo levels its beam rifle at the Centurion Gundam.

    Jonah attempts to twist his mecha around, but the starboard maneuvering thrusters are damaged, slowing him.

    The Nemo is a nanosecond from unleashing the beam energy stored in the weapon held in its armored hand.

    A second Centurion Gundam, assigned to 1Lt. Jolie Minh, appears out of the dark heavens like an avenging angel, lancing forth with its beam saber, slicing the Nemo in half.

    Even as the Nemo explodes, Jolie redirects her Centurion Gundam to fire its beam rifle at another incoming target approaching from behind Jonah’s mobile suit, destroying that target as well.

    Jonah senses a final enemy unit, a Rick Dom, approaching from behind Jolie’s Centurion Gundam, a rocket erupting forth from its handheld giant bazooka.

    Jolie deftly dodges the incoming missile and once again draws the Centurion Gundam’s beam saber. Jonah does likewise with his own Centurion Gundam.

    The two Centurion Gundams thrust their beam sabers simultaneously into the Rick Dom’s central body cavity. Seconds later, the twin Gundams withdraw their weapons and vector backwards. The Rick Dom, energy and fluid leaking from its wounded armor, explodes like a tiny supernova.

    Jonah hears Jolie’s concerned voice coming through the tactical net, “Jonah! Jonah, are you all right?!”

    “Yeah…,” Jonah breathes, “I’m OK. Thanks.”

    “Confirming: all targets destroyed,” Sgt. Anna Horowitz reports.

    Athena issues the withdrawal order, “All units, return to Garrison Noah.”

    The mobile suits of the Centurion Team withdraw to their base at the Garrison Noah MS dock. 2Lt. Molly Duran and her crack team of engineers and technicians prepare to begin conducting maintenance and repair work on the team’s mecha

    Episode 2 to be continued...

  14. #34
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    Episode 2 continued...

    There is a post-training debriefing session in the Centurion Team’s conference room immediately after the training session ends. Major Athena Ibaz points out to each of her members the flaws in their combat techniques, and advises them on how they must rectify those flaws. Although she is soft-spoken in her criticisms, Athena nevertheless pulls no punches…letting each of her subordinates know what he or she did wrong during the training session and what the consequences are.

    “You can’t ever let yourself hesitate in battle,” Athena tells Jonah sternly, “not even for the briefest instant. That instant invariably decides who lives and who dies, and the one who dies is always the one who hesitates.”

    “Yes, ma’am,” Jonah says contritely.

    “Remember,” Athena continues, “you’re a soldier and this is war. You have two choices: kill or be killed. I doubt that you signed up in the Special Forces to be killed. There are faster, easier ways to commit suicide that don’t cost the Federation the time, effort, and funding necessary for your training.”

    “Yes, ma’am,” Jonah says meekly.

    “And don’t forget,” Athena finishes, “it’s not just you out there. If you slip up, you endanger your comrades as well, because they’ll have to pick up your slack and try to save you. Today, 1Lt. Minh bailed you out. What if she had been hurt or killed coming to your rescue, and you could have prevented it by not endangering yourself through undue hesitation? Would you have wanted that on your conscience, Chief Michaels?”

    “No, ma’am,” Jonah says quietly.

    “I can’t hear you, soldier!” Athena says, raising her voice.

    “No, ma’am!” Jonah replies, his voice shaking.

    Athena orders Jonah, “I want you to prepare a full report on the errors you committed during training today, then report to the simulator at 13:00 for additional training. You’d think that after six months of basic training, the academy would have already instilled the killer instinct into you long ago. We’re going to have to rectify that.”

    “Yes, ma’am,” Jonah replies, his face red and hot with shame and embarrassment.

    “Dismissed,” Athena tells him, and moves on to eviscerate the next pilot.

    Jolie approaches Jonah, a slight grin on her face as she observes his discomfort, “What did I tell you? Total b*tch, huh?”

    “Don’t say that,” Jonah says gently, “Major Ibaz is just doing her job. She wants us all to stay alive, so she needs to be very strict with us about making sure we’re effective in battle. It was my fault: I screwed up and put you all in danger.”

    Jolie giggles slightly, “Spoken like a good soldier. I guess you must have been the teacher’s pet back in school, huh?”

    Jonah replies, “Just trying to be fair…”

    Jolie attaches herself to Jonah’s arm, leaning her chin against his shoulder, “Well, yeah, you’re right. Athena does care about us, and that’s why she’s strict. She’s the same way with me a lot of the time, but I don’t put up with her sh*t like you do.”

    “You seem to really dislike authority,” Jonah remarks, “if that’s the case, why did you join the military?”

    “It’s a really long story,” Jolie replies, “I’ll tell you after we’re off-duty tonight. To make a long story short, though, Athena basically found me off the street and dropped me into a mobile suit cockpit.”

    “I see…” Jonah says, concluding that that vague summary would get a more precise retelling later in the day.

    “What about you?” Jolie asks, “You’re not exactly a born soldier yourself, as ‘Thena was hinting at.”

    “I’m definitely not,” Jonah confesses, “Just a few months ago, I was a pacifist and would have rather been beaten to death than point a weapon at another human being. But…I saw some terrible things, and I decided I just had to do something to prevent such things from happening. Maybe I did it on impulse, I don’t know, really. But I felt that I had to help in some way. I still don’t know whether it’s the right way.”

    Jolie replies, “Yeah, well, Athena is right about one thing: you can’t stop in the middle of the battle to have these little philosophical debates with yourself, or you’re gonna end up fried. I hope that every time you’re in danger, I’ll be there to save you like I was today. But what if one day, I’m not…”

    Jonah nods, “Yes, you’ve both made your point. I won’t let it happen again, I promise. I don’t want to endanger any of you.”

    Jolie looks deeply into Jonah’s eyes, dark as her own, and says earnestly, “I don’t ever want to see you die, Jonah. I…I don’t think I could bear it.”

    Jonah regards Jolie’s eyes, black, beautiful windows into her soul. In those eyes, Jonah can see the shadows of past losses, and a fear that such loss could be incurred again.

    Jolie gives Jonah a light kiss on the cheek, sending a fire running up his spine into the bottom of his brain.

    With an irresistible smile, Jolie leaves Jonah to his thoughts in the now empty conference room, heading to see to her own responsibilities as executive officer and second-in-command of the Centurion Team.

    Jonah finds his face red and hot once more, not from embarrassment this time, but from the sheer thrill of Jolie’s demure first kiss.

    Even at this early juncture, Jonah senses that there is a bond growing between himself and Jolie that runs much deeper than that which exists between a superior officer and a subordinate.

    Episode 2 to be continued...

  15. #35
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ken Cheng View Post
    Jolie gives Jonah a light kiss on the cheek, sending a fire running up his spine into the bottom of his brain.
    wah, so fast meh? but of course, this is US style - so no waiting game

  16. #36
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    Quote Originally Posted by sheraldine View Post
    wah, so fast meh? but of course, this is US style - so no waiting game
    They're fast in the puppy love aspects of it, but don't expect Jonah and Jolie to climb into bed together until WAY later.

    Despite her rebellious ways, Jolie is actually a pretty ethical person when it comes to relationships. Remember how in Part 1 she chewed out Athena for having sex with Hathaway before she was even sure that she was in love with him? That's how Jolie's sexual morality works: no screwing until you're sure.

    That doesn't mean, however, that she's shy about expressing her affection. Not at all.

    Jonah is also a very ethical and conservative person on these matters. While I never really get into the characters' religious beliefs in this story, you can take it that Jonah and Jolie were raised with Christian ethics in their backgrounds.

    Athena, on the other hand, is likely an atheist or at least agnostic.

    But I don't deal explicitly with religion in the story. Don't need that baggage.

  17. #37
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ken Cheng View Post
    Remember how in Part 1 she chewed out Athena for having sex with Hathaway before she was even sure that she was in love with him?
    how can i forget that

    Quote Originally Posted by Ken Cheng View Post
    That's how Jolie's sexual morality works: no screwing until you're sure.

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    Quote Originally Posted by sheraldine View Post
    For all her "bad girl" ways, Jolie is surprisingly old-fashioned about this. It's one of her interesting character quirks.

    Cursing? Yep.

    Bad Attitude? Yep.

    Drinking? Yep.

    Smoking? Yep.

    Stealing things (when necessary)? Yep.

    Fighting and violence? Oh, hell yeah.

    Killing people? Yep (but only those she considers evil, never innocents).

    Lying? No. Jolie is very honest and she hates it when people lie to her. She's not a hypocrite about this, so she tends to be brutally honest.

    Promiscuity? Jolie dresses sexy and likes to flirt a bit, but her sexual mores are surprisingly conservative. Maybe it's how she was taught at home. Maybe it's because she's a fan of ROCH. For reasons that aren't fully known, however, that's Jolie's outlook on this aspect of life.

  19. #39
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    Episode 2 continued...

    Jolie approaches Athena at the mobile suit dock. Athena is supervising and directing the repair work on the mobile suits being performed by 2Lt. Molly Duran and her staff of engineers and technicians.

    “Give priority to Centurion Gundam Unit 2,” Athena tells Molly through her handheld comlink, “No, I don’t want the thruster unit patched up, Lieutenant. I want it replaced. Tell the CO at Central Supply that it was my order. Centurion Leader, out.”

    Jolie leans against the guard rail, watching 2Lt. Duran and her team maneuvering a crane over to Jonah’s Centurion Gundam.

    “You were kinda harsh on him, weren’t you?” Jolie asks.

    Athena grins, “No more than I am with any of the rest of you.”

    “But he’s a rookie,” Jolie says.

    “That’s no excuse,” Athena returns, “I wasn’t any easier on you when you were a rookie.”

    “No,” Jolie admits, “If anything, you were a lot harder on me. At least you haven’t slapped or punched the poor boy yet.”

    That brings forth a laugh from both Athena and Jolie, as the two lovely young officers recall times past.

    “I know you’re doing it for his own good,” Jolie continues, “but don’t be too hard on him, huh? He’s…kind of fragile, y’know?”

    Athena grins, “Do I sense a hint of selective protectiveness on your part, Lieutenant Minh?”

    “Well, oh gee,” Jolie replies mockingly, “Am I being that obvious?”

    “I can tell you like him a lot,” Athena says.

    “I do,” Jolie admits, with a sheepish smile.

    “That doesn’t change anything, though,” Athena says, “He’s a soldier, and he’s expected to carry out his duty like all the other soldiers. If you want to keep him alive and well, Jolie, you need to remember that.”

    “I don’t need a lecture on that,” Jolie says, “I’ve been an officer long enough to understand that, ‘Thena.”

    “Just reminding you, Lieutenant,” Athena says seriously, “War isn’t easy on anyone…especially not on lovers.”

    “I don’t know if we’re lovers yet,” Jolie confesses, “but, I don’t know…I just have this feeling that he and I were just meant to meet.”

    Athena recalls having that feeling once herself, “Well, like I told Jonah: don’t hesitate. If that’s what your heart tells you, Jolie, you have to make sure you communicate how you feel. You know what our lives are like: there might not be a tomorrow to say the things you don’t say today.”

    "Funny you should say that," Jolie says wryly, "Weren't you the one who told me the other day not to rush things? Nice advice, talking out of both sides of your mouth, 'Thena."

    Athena grins, ready for that, "I told you to not rush in without a plan, but I didn't tell you to dither indecisively. Being able to strike the balance between caution and promptness is the the art of victors. Remember that, Jolie."

    With that, Athena leaves, off to see to yet another of her dozens of responsibilities as commanding officer of the Centurion Team and Deputy Director of the Special Forces.


    Later that evening, the three Centurion Team officers, Major Athena Ibaz, 1Lt. Jolie Minh, and Chief Warrant Officer Jonah Michaels, gather in the privacy of the team conference room.

    At the end of each day, it is customary in the Earth Federation Forces for the commanding officer of a unit to meet with his or her executive officer(s) to discuss the day’s work and pending matters that will affect future duty assignments. Athena and Jolie have been having these conferences daily for over a year now, but this is Jonah’s first such conference.

    “We do this every night,” Athena explains to Jonah, as Jolie readies the audio-visual equipment, “it’s part of our duty routine.”

    “I see,” says Jonah, a little lost in the flurry of activity, but doing his best to follow along.

    “Are we ready?” Athena asks Jolie.

    “Almost,” Jolie replies, “Just two more things.”

    “Right,” Athena says.

    To Jonah’s amazement, he watches as Athena places a bottle of whiskey and three tumblers with ice on the conference table.

    To Jonah’s disbelief, he watches as Jolie tosses three unopened packs of cigarettes on the conference table.

    To Jonah’s incredulity, he watches as Athena pours out three tumblers of the strong whiskey and hands one to him.

    To Jonah’s shock, he watches as Athena lights a cigarette in Jolie’s mouth, offers Jonah one (which he declines), and lights a cigarette of her own.

    To Jonah’s horror, he watches as Athena and Jolie empty their glasses of whiskey and inhale deeply from their cigarettes as they settle in for the long conference ahead.

    “All right, let’s get started,” Athena says, producing her Datapad and hooking it up to the video projector.

    Athena tells her two subordinates “First, we’re going to talk about the limitations in our training simulations. It occurs to me that…”

    Athena goes on to discuss a highly technical assessment of the weaknesses in the Federal Forces’ training simulation programs, but Jonah is no longer listening.

    These girls sure have quite a list of bad habits, Jonah reflects, as he watches Athena and Jolie puff away on cigarettes and down the whiskey as if it were water while they discuss military matters, They’re abusing their health like they figure they’re not going to make it to old age.

    Jonah sadly reflects that that’s probably the case…for Jolie and Athena, and now for him perhaps as well. Only a few hours ago, during a training exercise (not even real combat), he had almost lost his life. The work of a soldier is necessarily dangerous, and no one can be certain if today will be his or her last.

    Jonah takes a sip of the whiskey, immediately choking on it.

    Jolie and Athena look at Jonah in surprise at the moment, then smile in amusement as the handsome young man blinks and coughs.

    “Are you all right?” Jolie asks, patting Jonah on the back to help him cough out some of the alcohol.

    “Yeah,” Jonah says, coughing, “T-that stuff…gasp…that stuff was stronger than I thought.”

    “You really are an innocent kid fresh out of school,” Athena smiles, “Unfortunately for you, you’ve gotten stuck with bad girls like us.”

    “Want a glass of milk?” Jolie asks, sincere, but also teasing at the same time.

    “I’m all right,” Jonah says, “I’m not as wimpy as you might think,” he adds boldly.

    Jonah begins coughing again.

    Athena and Jolie can’t help but laugh, and soon, after he catches his breath, Jonah joins them.

    Jolie says with a smile, “So, ‘tough guy,’ think you’re man enough to hang with bad girls like me and ‘Thena?”

    Jonah looks at the two beautiful young women dreamily, “I’d hang with you two anywhere.”

    Jonah has often heard his brother Alexander and the Zeon officers who served him speak of how bad morale was among the soldiers of the Earth Federation Forces. Jonah wonders how bad the morale among Federal Forces troops could possibly be with officers such as Jolie and Athena around. Tough orders and harsh reprimands are much more palatable when they come from pretty girls…

    Jonah shakes himself. What is he thinking? He guesses that the whiskey, as little as he swallowed, must be affecting his inhibitions.

    “Well, I hate to interrupt this merry moment,” Athena says archly, “but we do have some serious matters to discuss. Shall we continue?”

    Jolie shrugs as Jonah replies, “Yes, ma’am.”

    The discussion continues for the next two hours.


    Episode 2 continued...

  20. #40
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    Episode 2 continued...

    At the end of two hours, after Athena and Jolie (and to a lesser extent, Jonah) have discussed, dissected, debated, and bickered over the details of new battle plans, the officer’s conference ends. Between then, Jolie and Athena have emptied two packs of cigarettes and drained most of the bottle of whiskey. To Jonah’s surprise, the two young women are as fresh and sober as they were when they entered the room two hours ago, despite having imbibed at least four tumblers of whiskey each.

    After Athena has left to review reconnaissance reports with Sgt. Anna Horowitz, Jonah asks Jolie, “Do you and Major Ibaz always drink and smoke like that at your meetings?”

    “No,” Jolie says, “Normally, we actually drink and smoke twice as much. We held back out of respect for you, since you barely drink and don’t smoke.”

    Jonah gapes at Jolie.

    Jolie laughs, “Kidding! Yeah, we do tend to smoke and drink A LOT, but what you saw tonight is as bad as it usually gets.”

    “That’s rather unhealthy, isn’t it?” Jonah asks mildly.

    Jolie shrugs, “Yeah, but you know what? We’re probably not gonna live long enough to worry about it. Athena once told me that our odds of living to thirty are like one-in-five. Now I don’t know if it’s all that bad, but since we’re gonna be deployed for combat soon…”

    There is a moment of awkward silence, then Jolie’s eyes light up and she says, “All right! That’s enough depressing talk. Let’s talk about something fun!”

    “Such as…?” Jonah ventures.

    Jolie pulls on the lapels of Jonah’s uniform jacket, “I want you to help me with something.”

    “Um, like what?” Jonah asks, not sure if he should be excited or terrified. Jolie is unpredictable that way.

    “I can’t tell you now,” Jolie says with a mischievous grin, “but when I’m ready, I want you to support me a hundred percent. Are you gonna do it?”

    “I’d do anything for you, Jolie,” Jonah says.

    “Great!” Jolie enthuses, her smile widening, “Come with me!”

    She begins to tug Jonah along by the arm, pulling him to goodness knows where…something that Jonah is getting used to, and quite fond of.

    And so their first day together ends for the Centurion Team. In the violent, turbulent months ahead, those among them who remain will look back upon this peaceful, carefree day with nostalgia and regret.

    For the moment, however, fleeting as it is, there is peace and harmony.

    End of Episode 2

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