CENTURIONS:
"HOW THE BETTER HALF WORKS"
WRITTEN BY ZARIUS
Crystal Kane was a light sleeper. Sometimes a little too light.
She would often wake up with the following day's scheduling in her head. What news reports to annalyze, what breakthroughs at Sealab to report on, which country would be sending an envoy over to the States, thus prompting the need for high security in case of kidnap or worse.
In addition to all that, she had her personal life to consider. She hadn't really given a thought to that side of herself for a long time, but lately that had been changing.
And earlier in the day, things certainly changed.
It had all began with a heat of the moment promise. A spontaneous request from a soldier of the skies and a startling agreement from his flamboyant, surprisingly flirtatious redheaded boss.
The exchange began just prior to the solider undertaking a dangerous mission where nobody could afford to second-guess. It was to contribute to the defeat of UniBorg, a dangerous hybrid of Doc Terror and Hacker's cybernetic counterparts Syntax and Lesion, who had outsted Terror and tried to threaten the planet with it's own unique brand of villainy. The solider and his teammates were involved in attempts to thawart Uniborg's forces from storming Skyvault's primary outposts, it had already conquered the Fire Castle facility, and it had turned it's attention to the one designated "Ice". Doc Terror offered his services to the Centurions and they reluctantly accepted his help. When the opportunity presented itself, Terror would break into his Dominion fortress, which Uniborg had control of, and try to shut it down himself.
Sound plan. But it had a catch
That one catch was that the solider of the skies, Ace McCloud, volunteered to be the decoy and keep Uniborg distracted until Terror could complete his mission.
Crystal didn't sit well with this, for a multitude of reasons.
On one end it was perfectly understandable that Crytal would react in this way. Conflicts with Uniborg had resulted in two casualties, with Jake Rockwell of land operations critically injured in the failed attempt to secure Fire Castle, and Max Ray of sea operations had been injured in a previous skirmish. It made sense to be concerned about Ace. No need to look further into it.
But there was another reason. One Crystal hadn't even attempted to keep private. It occurred every time Ace took it upon himself to be the go-to guy for what would prove to be risky business and she let it show in public anytime he came back looking particularly worst for wear. He once brushed off being nearly burnt to a crisp as a sign that he was "hot stuff".
Crystal would always let him have it over something like that. She couldn't believe he could be so breezy about dicing with near death, he'd take everything to the extreme, even the humour one could find in it.
It was this humorous side that she just couldn't resist on this occasion.
On his way to confront Uniborg's forces and play his part in Terror's gambit, Ace was confronted with protests from Crystal, acting increasingly unprofessional. She never stopped to consider what her peers must have thought, anyone else in her position would be calm and collected, understanding the urgency and supporting the participant in the mission as he risked all to safeguard everyone from the threat. Crystal couldn't quite manage that. It fell to Ace to keep her anchored
And he did it in style
"Don't go Ace" Crystal told him outright, "You won't come back"
No ifs or buts about it, she figured he was doomed. And that he should know it.
Ace took one look at her, produced a dashing, assured smile and replied with "I'll come back for a kiss"
Crystal melted at the proposal. "Come back and you'll get one" she said.
That was the trigger. From then on, everyone was about the mission, celebrations would come later…and what a celebration it would be. Crystal was through pretending around Ace. He had always had an eye for her, and her for him. She decided that, of all the instances and missions where they could have, the aftermath of this battle would be the ideal moment
That was the plan that took her through the next few precious minutes, as Ace flew into enemy territory and tussled with a fleet of Doom-Drone Strafers. Finally, it seemed that Terror was successful, Uniborg was defeated, and Ice Castle was safeguarded. Everyone was releived.
Now all that needed to happen was the moment
But, while the moment came, the specifics weren't to Crystal's liking.
Crystal got out of her bed, put on her nightgown and opened the sliding doors of her quarters, which led into a brightly lit passageway, with many other sealed quarters aligned along it.
Crystal walked down the passageway, occasionally meeting and greeting those who were still working the nightshifts on board the vast space station Skyvault. She made her way through the semi-active hub until she reached the observation lounge of the station. A nice recreational facility with a breathtaking view of the planet Earth outside.
Crystal immediately noticed and recognized someone already admiring the view in the lounge. Dressed in a blue night robe, nursing a cup of coffe that had, for him, gone cold a while ago. She took a few steps behind him and tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around. Sure enough, it was Ace.
"You couldn't sleep either huh flyboy?" Crystal joked.
Ace wasn't feeling talkative. Crystal couldn't blame him.
It was one thing to indulge the man, another to embarrass him.
"Ace…don't feel too bad, ok? Lucy was just having some fun with you" Crystal assured him, but Ace remained silent, he felt an itch at the back of his neck, he reached to scratch it, Crystal took up the offer.
"Here, let me" Crystal said. Ace let out a little, grumpy rasp and permitted her.
The previous few hours had been great fun for Crystal, all thanks to her faithful pet orang-utan Lucy, who had chose an inopportune time to sweep Ace off his feet seconds after he and Crystal finally kissed In full view of the other Centurions, which, for Crystal, was an ackward and insulting experience. Her emotions had been played with all to satisfy Ace's testorone-fuelled ego.
And yet, she didn't seem to be too upset about it. Any initial anger she felt was washed away when Lucy gave Ace her own brand of "affection", after which she laughed, along with Max and Jake, at the whole deal.
It was a successful day for all involved. The mission paid off, Uniborg was gone, she got her moment, and Ace…well…he got his.
Which is precisely what was bothering him now. He made it clear, as the remainder of the day progressed, that he was NOT ok with Lucy's little token of appreciation, that he wasn't ok with his peers laughing at him, and especially not ok with Crystal taking a pot shot at the effects he had on women.
And as long as it bothered Ace, it began to slowly bother Crystal, until it became the top priority of her usual restless nights.
"Has that monkey of yours ever had a tetnis shot?" Ace sharply spoke as Crystal nursed his itching neck, finally letting her know just how he felt.
Crystal got annoyed and ceased treating the Centurion, "Watch your tone Ace, with your attitude I'm surprised you havent had a shot to make you immune from your unbearable male chauvinism"
Ace took exception to this accusation
"Hey, I may be a winner with women, but that doesn't mean I think about me all the time around them. I just like to have some respect, I am a Centurion after all. We have the right to a few perks"
Crystal laughed, "Yeah, you're a Centurion alright" she said in a cynical tone "The kind of Centurion that roamed the Earth in roman times where women were nothing but trophies who lavished praise and fed them grapes. Don't expect the same treatment from us modern century ladies"
"When have I ever treated you like a trophy Crystal? You were the one who constantly dodged every effort on my part to breach into that blanket of froth you call a heart…at least until today, I figured "hey, pay dirt, Crystal's human after all, better present it to the whole world""
Crystal gave Ace a damning glare, and pointed the tip of her finger at his face, lifting herself up on her tiptoes to match him in size as she was a little smaller
"Why you obnoxious…do you even CONSIDER anyone's feelings when it comes to things like that? Do you even know what's going on in anyone's head but your own? I was worried you'd come back in a worse state that when you left, I was thinking about all the times I should have taken you off the team because you were so determined to prove you had the biggest pair in the whole outfit. As I saw you hold off that attack fleet by yourself I even considered beaming down there and making a stand myself just to bail you out"
Crystal's mouthful of quick-fire rambling was exhausting her, but it seemed Ace was starting to come around, his demeanour was becoming less stony, he flexed his neck a little to try and tame the itch he still had. He moved away from Crystal and stared back out at the stars.
"Look Ace" Crystal continued, "I… I wanted to kiss you, it's just…you had to do it didn't you? You had to play up to the guys and make a spectacle out of something so private. Why do you have to be like that?"
Ace took a while to respond, too occupied with how much joy there was in looking out at the peaceful sphere orbiting the sun. Finally, he gave Crystal a reason.
"You try flying at high altitudes all day in dog fights without the safety of an airplane" he began, "I see it all while I'm up there, be it in the sky or in space, I'm walking on the breeze and the vacaums, it's a breathtaking feeling Crystal, all aviators, people like us, are lucky to be able to climb the invisible ladder straight into the heavens, with no roof over our heads, no limits…but it can scare us a great deal too. One mistake, one little courtesy call from fate, and we could plunge back down to Earth and lose everything. Just like that. One instant destination: Death"
Crystal, transfixed by Ace's truthful monolouge, walked over to comfort him. The two continued to look out at the beautiful array of stars before them, brightly they beamed across the blackened void of space, lighting the way for Skyvault, and enlightening them with their stillness and spectacle.
"All those girls I fixate on? Girls like you? There the types that make me want to soar through those clouds and traverse across space. Knowing there's a wealth of beutey to come back to allows me to maintain a brave front whenever I put my faith in the apparatus that holds me high above and between the Earth. Despite the benefits they've given us over the years, Machines aren't the better half of us Centurions Crystal, machines arent the better half of humanity, that responsibility, that privilege, will always fall on to women"
"Oh Ace" Crystal responded "That is the corniest thing you've probably ever come up with to justify being what you are…but it's ok…I'm starting to come 'round to it"
Ace smiled, "So you like it whenever I tell you I'm just full of myself?"
"At least when I let you know you are, you realize that and come straight back down from whatever ninth cloud you're on up there" Crystal replied.
"I guess that's just how the better half works" Ace quipped.
Crystal delicately kissed Ace on the cheek, took the coffee mug from his joint hands, clapsed her own right hand into his, and tucked her head warmly into his chest. The two continued staring out at the stars, themselves the better half of the universe, and both prepared for a better tomorrow.
THE END