After Eve Gundam Wing: A New Heero

Chapter Twenty-Two

Jin spoke to his friends the next day about his encounter with Colonel Vance at the cemetery, after he'd had the chance to rest. He slept almost all day the next day and woke up with a killer migraine. The group was quite perplexed by the whole thing.

"So Vance had a wife?" asked Stephen.

"Yes," said Jin, carefully stealing a glance at Rachel across the tale. She was sitting and looking down at her lap, remaining silent the whole time. "He had a wife, and she died on the same day of my parents, just a year earlier."

I can't imagine how Rachel and Kreed must feel about this, thought Jin as he sipped from a coffee mug. They have a terrible father, and a dead mother. I wonder what happened.

"And he would've let you kill him?" asked Anita. Jin nodded. "Then why the hell didn't you?!" Rachel winced.

"He spared my life, so I spared his," replied Jin. "He said I would've been justified in doing s, but I really wouldn't have been justified at all. He was unarmed and defenseless. Not my style."

"Whatever," said Anita.

"Well we need to find out about OZ's weapon," said Kreed in an attempt to change the topic. "We don't have a clue as to what it is, and it's already functional. I wonder why they haven't used it yet. What exactly are they gonna do with it?"

"Good question Kreed," said Howard. "Unfortunately, we can't do a thing. We know nothing more than we did a couple days ago."

"So when are we gonna make an attempt to find out what it is?!" shouted Kreed. "We can't just let them use it! It'll probably be too late by then. We need to know now. Not later, Now."

"The TAC has already been informed of OZ's actions," said Howard. "They're working on it as best as they can."

"Come on Howard," replied Kreed. "You know as well as anyone that the TAC can't do shit. They're too weak to do a thing. They probably wouldn't be able to defend themselves. They tried taking a stab at the weapon, and look what it got them. Rachel got shot down!"

"Kreed's right," said Jin. Everyone looked at him as he got up. "OZ can't be allowed to use this weapon. They have a huge advantage in the war over us, and their advantage continues to grow with every day that passes. We really cannot afford to wait any longer."

"I'm with Jin on this one," said Stephen. "The TAC is crap without Rachel, Jin and I. We've got to act this time."

"I'm in too," said Anita. "It's time we take matters into our own hands and get the show started." The four of them looked to Rachel, who looked up and smiled.

"It's a bit crazy, but that won't stop me," she said as she stood up. "Heavy Arms and I are ready to go."

"Excellent," said Jin. "Howard?"

After a long pause and a mental debate, Howard finally said, "Fine. You kids can make your own decisions, so you're free to go. Let's get you down to the hangar and suited up for your first mission."

End Chapter Twenty-Two

A shorty, I know. I hate short chapters, but it's necessary in this situation. I hope you're all okay with it, but it doesn't matter anyway, because I'm the author. Aren't I? The next chapter will be a good one, I promise you that. So don't miss the next chapter, which will be following this one pretty soon.