Sorry for the late post. I slept in. The prompt for this week: Guardian

Woo-hoo! Caught up again! ***** "So I ended up here the same way you did," Red Impulse said, snapping Jun out of her thoughts. "He found you in an orphanage?" Jun asked with raised brows and an open smile. "Don't be cute," he said sternly, but a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. "No, he asked me a question and I said yes. Maybe we should both be a little more careful about your guardian and his questions." It was said lighthearted enough, but a whisper of unease curled through Jun, something that told her he was quite serious. And then there was that curious choice of his words, the hint of warning in them. Again, the question was ... why? "So he asked you to be on the Red Impulse team ... like Masaki and Oniishi?" Jun badgered, curious now that the subject had been opened. "No," Red Impulse said sharply. "I was not asked as they were. It was, more or less, a direct order." "So you just went from being a sp ... gatherer of intel to pilot, just like that, and you never agreed to it? Then why did you do it?" "Nothing is ever 'just like that'," he said, his mouth twisting into a bitter smile. "I started out like everyone else, with a vague idea of a career in mind, but once I learned how to fly, there was nothing else I wanted to do. There is nothing at all like the feeling of freedom up there, of being able to see so much of the Earth at one time." Jun nodded, knowing the exact feeling. There were moments that she still got nervous, and while she did not embrace flying as much as Ken or Ryu -- or even Joe or Jinpei -- she had to admit that there was something about the view from above that was inspiring. Just seeing it was enough to make her want to protect it from Galactor, from anything that threatened it, and really, when she thought about it, it was the only place the human race had to live, so without it, where would anyone be? "So if you loved it so much, why did you stop? Or is that when you joined Red Impulse?" Red Impulse opened his mouth to speak, then hesitated, falling silent for a moment. He contemplated what he could safely say, running the scenarios through his mind as he chose his words with extreme care and caution. He cleared his throat, buying himself a little more time.

Ken's mind was still soaring as he made his way to the shack at the airfield. He'd finished making deliveries -- Christmas presents, no doubt -- and the weather was perfect. His spirit crashed to earth as soon as he saw Joe in a lawn chair by the front door. There was something in the way Joe was sitting that said he'd been up to something, and Ken wasn't sure he really wanted to know. "Now, what's that look for?" Joe sounded incredulous. "What?" Ken fumbled a bit, "Oh, I was just...I had something on my mind." He blinked a couple of times. "So, what brings you out here?" "Got you a Christmas present." He pointed toward the corner of the shack. Ken directed his gaze over there and saw a sign that said, "This property protected by Guardian Security services." "Wow!" Ken gasped, "Thanks, Joe!....Um, don't you think that's a little much for such a small place? Surely you'll be paying more for the security system than what this shack's worth!" "Nah," Joe replied, "I just grabbed the sign from a yard I passed on the way here."

RI girl -- "He found you in an orphanage" -- nice quip!!! EW -- let's see if the ploy works Maybe in the next instalment of Bradbury's Jar, the shack is broken into?

//The headmaster looked up from his desk to see a harried man with black hair and glasses waiting by the door. "Are you Jason's father?" he asked, his face already in a frown. "I'm his guardian," said the man, walking up to the headmaster and offering his hand to shake. "Jack Anderson, Chief of Security at the Intergalactic Federation. What did he do now?" His interlocutor waited a second before offering his own hand to shake. "My predecessor may have had a more... flexible attitude with Jason, Mr. Anderson, but I'm not inclined to let the little horror disrupt classes all the time." "Chief," said Anderson, his lips in a thin line. "Excuse me?" "It's Chief Anderson, not Mister Anderson." The headmaster looked at the harried man again. "I can see where your... ward takes his mule-headedness from," he said slowly. "Headmaster, I am really busy," said Anderson tiredly. "You said you wanted to see me about Jason. So what is it?" "He stole my car," said the headmaster. To his surprise, Anderson threw his head back and laughed. "That's all? I thought you were going to tell me he blew up a science lab or something!" The headmaster's eyes looked as if they would pop out. "You think this is a joke, sir?" Without waiting to be asked, Anderson sat down on a chair in front of the desk. "I should have taken you into my confidence earlier on, like we had done with your predecessor. But my bosses were worried about security leaks. I can see now that they were wrong. So let me tell you a few things about Jason." Anderson explained how G-Force came to be, the secret project that brought together orphaned children with extraordinary qualities to become, in the future, the elite fighting force that would protect the Earth from Spectra. How their special talents were nurtured -- like Jason's driving and his easy way with focusing on the target when practicing his shooting. He also spoke about the frustration the young teenagers felt sometimes, being forced to live a life that was so different from that of their friends at school And how, sometimes, they vented this frustration by being disruptive, and moody. "So you see, Headmaster, Jason is not undisciplined. Quite the contrary, really. He's a valuable member of G-Force already. But he is, indeed, headstrong. By all means, punish him for stealing your car. Ground him in class. Make him do more homework. But please remember, he is already an elite fighter, while at the same time trying to be a teenager." The headmaster shook his head in wonder. Then he grabbed Anderson's hand. "Thank you for telling me, Chief. And for trusting me. I will take good care of your five fighters. You have me word."//

RIgirl: Ah he's fully committed but that doesn't mean he has no regrets. That's good. EW: LOLOLOL DT: The Chief's lucky he didn't get punched before explaining himself.

DT: "Chief" And that's Chief Anderson with the big picture! He doesn't mind Jason's behavior, but do not get his title wrong! On a more serious note, I can imagine that all five of them would be ... challenging ... in a school setting. Especially considering what their training outside of school hours would be.

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