"Keep moving..." Ming Chow ordered as he dragged Sandra Miller quietly towards her clinic. Every once in a while, she'd mutter something about him being a murderer again, but it was getting less and less by the minute. But also...

He was feeling red all over his face. Damn it! he thought. She's my enemy, he thought angrily to himself. Even she thinks that's true now. I shouldn't bother myself with such details. I should be putting a bullet in her if she wasn't a damn doctor... But her hand... It was warm... She wasn't a cold enemy like he'd always thought. She was a person. Somebody... like Mei-Li...

"How much farther do you think it is, Sir?" Anthony asked as he nervously peered around. Most of the Federal troops seem to have gone for the night at the moment, he thought, but the chance that there was still a patrol somewhere was still high. And with a strange lady now in their ranks thanks to that crazy Captain, he thought, their chances might be...

"Just around the next corner..." Ming assured. One more corner...
-----------------------------

"Just around the next corner..." Jake assured as he carried the moaning Picton on his back, with Yun keeping a close eye on both of them.

"Yeah..." Yun replied nervously as he aimed his rifle around. It was one thing Jake had noticed earlier. Unlike most of the crew, Yun almost seemed amateurish the way he handled himself and his weapon. Not something that would be likely in a guerilla outfit. Maybe later, he could...
-----------------------------

"S***!" Ming muttered as he saw several figures near the clinic. They'd been lucky so far, but now...

"Captain, what do we..." Anthony started.

"Let me handle this..." Ming started as he began to aim his pistol...

"Ming, no..." Sandra warned quietly yet firmly.

"Will you shut..." Ming started.

"Sir, I think they're friendlies..." Horton realized as he saw their uniforms, "I'll try to..."

"No!" Ming growled angrily, "It might just be a Federal trick. I won't let us..."

"Ming?!" a familiar voice suddenly called out, "Is that you?"

"Jake!" Horton shouted back, recognizing the voice even faster than Ming, "My God... I thought..."

"We were ****ing slaughtered?" Jake asked as he ran towards Ming's group, "Hell yes, we were," he reported grimly to the Zeon Captain.

"Jake I..." Ming started, not knowing whether to be pleased or disappointed.

"No time," Jake replied firmly, "Picton's dying, and we need some place to..."

"I'll handle it," Sandra offered quietly.

"Who's THIS?" Jake asked wide-eyed as he noticed the lady among Ming's party, and a rather pretty one at that, his brain added.

"Just some..." Ming started.

"A doctor who'll save your companion's life," Sandra interrupted coldly as she stared into Ming's eyes, "Unlike some murdering people around here..."

"Alright, that's it!" Ming shotback angrily at her final remark. Enough was enough, "Listen Sandra, you'd better shut the hell up before I regret my decision to..."

"Whatever," Sandra replied coldly before he could even finish, stopping Ming right in his tracks, "Get him in the clinic. I'll see what I can do..." and with that she quickly snapped her hand from Ming's grasp.

Ming just watched on quietly as she walked off and began to inspect the wounded Picton. He felt like pulling his gun out and shooting her right now. But it wasn't the best thing. Picton wouldn't make it if...

"Ming, I think you'd better cool off for a while..." Jake warned as he saw Ming's rather... demonic face.

"Jake, not now..." Ming warned.

"Ming, find yourself a mirror and take a long, deep look at yourself," Jake advised, "I wonder if you'll even realize who it is in the mirror..." he finished, before walking off to help Picton, leaving Ming alone with the thought.
-----------------------------

"Alright, pick out all the medical supplies you can find..." Sylvie Greisser ordered as her men began to rummage through the general store while she quickly wrote down a promissory note for the missing owner. She just hoped that the usually stingy military WOULD pay when the time came...

"Not a lot of supplies around here, Captain..." one of her men reported, "He might not have managed to restock yet..." "Just find what you can..." Sylvie ordered as she barely managed to suppress a yawn, "We'll get to the clinic afterwards. They probably have the supplies..."
-----------------------------

"Inject another syringe of morphine..." Sandra ordered as she carefully made a few cuts around Picton's wounds. The Sergeant let out a low moan.

"Umm... Sir?" Yun asked worriedly as he prepared the syringe, "Should I...?"

"Yes, do as she says..." Ming answered tiredly, though with a touch of resentment in his voice. Yun then quickly did as he was told, and the Sergeant's moaning quickly subsided.

"How bad, doc?" Jake asked quietly as he saw Sandra carefully dabbing some antiseptic on some of Picton's open wounds.

"Gimme a minute..." Sandra replied equally quietly as she made a few last stitches. The Sergeant gave out another low moan, but Sandra then quickly injected him with another shot of morphine, and he mercifully faded into darkness.

"Well?" Jake repeated.

"Very bad," Sandra explained as she made sure Picton was asleep, "He needs a proper hospital, or else he will die. You did a good job patching him up though. He'd most certainly be dead without the initial treatment that he got."

"Well, thanks doc..." Jake shrugged.

"There are some clothes in the basement," Sandra offered, "You might want to get out of your blood soaked uniforms now, before you start breeding all sort of virulent diseases on the drying blood..."

"Sir?" Jake asked his superior.

"Go do it all of you," Ming ordered, "I still have to do something up here..."

"Sir..." Jake started as he saw Ming's eyes again. Oh ****, he isn't thinking of...

"Just go Jake," Ming repeated, and Jake reluctantly did as he was told along with the rest of the group.

"What now Ming?" Sandra asked coldly as she turned her back on Ming.

"Can you do anything more for Picton?" he asked quietly.

"No," Sandra answered honestly, "Nothing more. You can kill me now if you want to."

Ming bit his lip and nodded. All she was really needed for was the off chance of treating some wounded Zeon soldier still out there, but their sweep of the town had revealed nothing but corpses. In fact, she was a liability now. She was an enemy. He had to, but...

He felt for his gun. It was so cold... not like her hand. Not like...

"What are you waiting for, Ming?" Sandra asked, "Just shoot me in the back of the head. At least you won't see my eyes. It's harder when you can see them, isn't it?"

Yes, it is... Ming thought quietly, not knowing how in the world Sandra knew that. Probably when she lost a patient, he thought. But it was just the same for everybody. The fear in the other person's eyes, and sometimes, seeing your own reflection...

Look at myself in the mirror? Ming remembered. Why did Jake...? Ming hesitantly began to turn his head towards a spot where he knew a mirror stood...

And then he saw it. And what he saw shocked him. It wasn't him in the mirror anymore. Instead, it was the very image of those he had hated. It was a soulless face, with cruel eyes. An image he had thought to have represented all those who had fought for the Federation. A face, he thought, that could never appear in himself...

No... Ming thought. It was for justice... I'm not a murderer... THEY were the ones who killed the ones I cared for, they were the ones...

"You know Ming, part of me does want you to pull the trigger," Sandra said sadly, "I've felt so alone these past three years. And... I wish... that somehow there is a heaven. And I can see them all again..."

Heaven? Ming thought. No, he didn't really believe such things. But why... why would such a person want to die? Didn't she say that she hadn't lost anybody? Didn't she say...

"You haven't really seen the real me yet. The one I've been trying to hide from you. The one in me who's still trying to deal with the pain and loss..." a voice in his mind echoed.

"Them?" Ming asked as he felt himself begin to tremble... "Who..."

There was a knock on the door before he could finish speaking.
-----------------------------

Reflex action, Sylvie reflected. The clinic was probably empty anyway, she didn't have to knock. But you simply got so used to everyday life that sometimes you forget...

Suddenly, the door creaked open to reveal a tired female face at the door. One that she remembered meeting earlier. Damn, Sylvie thought, maybe that WASN'T a reflex action after all. And this was really scaring her. Max, is this another gift from you?

"Hello..." Sandra said meekly as she looked at the tired Captain's face, "Can I help you?"

"Yes," Sylvie replied as she struggled to collect her thoughts together, "I'd like to ask what the hell are you STILL doing here? I told you to get out of here, didn't I? The town's under total lockdown."

"Sorry but..." Sandra started as she opened the door more and pointed to Ming, lying on the couch and trying to look uncomfortable, "You see, his leg got injured and..."

"Why don't you take him to the field hospital then?" Sylvie asked, annoyed, "I'm sure we can..."

"Well, you see..." Sandra replied as she took a quick peek at Sylvie's companions, all of them carrying heavy assault rifles, "I wanted to take care of him personally because..."

Sylvie sighed before she could finish and moaned, "I get it... I get it..." Couples nowadays, she thought with a moan. But deep down, she WAS feeling a jealous streak in her, though the guy looked like a real pain. But at least they had each other. All she had was shooting people with a gun, "But there are STILL rebels out there, and you might..."

"We'll be responsible for ourselves," Sandra assured, "And I can take care of myself," she finished confidently.

"Captain we shouldn't..." one of the men started before Sylvie held her hand up.

"Alright... alright..." Sylvie replied, feeling defeated, "I won't take you two away. But I do need some medical supplies for..."

"Wait a minute..." Sandra replied as she rushed off inside the house. She returned a few minutes later, carrying a large open box overflowing with supplies, "It's all I have."

"Thanks," Sylvie nodded in reply as she took the box, visibly shaking from the weight, "We'll get it paid for once..."

"Don't bother," Sandra replied with a smile, "Just use it to save others."

"Well... thanks..." Sylvie replied, close to speechless. She felt like searching the house a bit more, just to make sure that no rebels were lurking around to attack the couple. But the battle HAD ended hours ago, and she hadn't received any reports on enemy activity of all. Besides which, her body was on the brink of a total nervous shutdown, "I'll make sure it gets to the right hands."

The woman then quickly nodded, and quietly shut the door behind her. All eyes turned to Sylvie.

"Mam, forgive me for saying so," one of her men started, "But weren't we supposed to round people up and make sure they're..."

"Private, when you've finally found someone someday..." Sylvie interrupted with a sigh as she looked up to the solar panels and stars above, "You'll understand..."
-----------------------------

Ming let out a sigh of relief as he saw the Federal patrol move off, and equally relieved that they had not been found...

"Lucky most of us were already downstairs..." Jake observed as he emerged from the basement. It had taken a frightening few seconds to cram the wounded but still slumbering Picton down the basement, but they had made it just in time. And, at the very least, bought themselves a few more hours...

"Well Ming..." Sandra said as she turned around to face them again, "I've played ball, and now you have no use for me again. Just finish what you were planning to do."

"Sandra..." Ming started.

"Oh ****..." Jake said outloud as he saw the pistol that was still clenched in Ming's hand. Hidden from view earlier by a few blankets, "You weren't thinking of..."

"Go upstairs," Ming ordered, "Get into your new clothes and rest for a while, all of you. We'll plan our escape once I'm done here."

"Sir, I know she's a liability," Horton pleaded as the rest of the group seemed to show its reluctance to shoot her, especially after she hadn't given them away to the Federal forces when she could have... "But I don't think that it's right to..."

"Just go," Ming ordered quietly, "I still outrank all of you."

"Not if you shoot her," Jake replied coldly, "If that happens..."

"I won't," Ming promised, "Just get upstairs now."

Still suspicious, but still willing to give Ming a chance, Jake nodded and signaled the rest of them to follow, and they did so, though never taking their eyes off Ming while they clambered up the stairs.

Alone again with Sandra, Ming took a deep breath as he tried to collect his thoughts. Not knowing again what to do or say...

"Ming, just end it now," Sandra asked as she turned to face Ming again, "I thought that maybe I could show you something that would change your mind. That would keep you from being a murderer again. But I was..."

"Who do you mean by "them"?" Ming asked quietly as he looked away, trying to shake the mental image of his own reflection from his own mind.

Was he... actually opening up? Sandra thought to herself as she saw the sudden change in Ming's eyes. It was as though he had glimpsed at something he couldn't believe... Maybe he did have...

"You're rather speechless now..." Ming observed quietly.

Sandra bit her own lip as she nodded with a sigh. Maybe, this WAS the only way... The only way... to redeem him, she thought, and to redeem myself... Sandra then quickly turned away and unbuttoned the middle part of her coat. She reached inside and pulled out a photograph. Quickly buttoning her coat up again, she then handed the picture to Ming.

Ming felt a drop of sweat slide down his cheek as he took a peek at the photograph. It was, he realized, the picture of a family. A mother. A father. A pair of grandparents. Children... nearly half a dozen of them... all so young... and... Sandra...

"I lied..." Sandra explained as she felt tears begin forming in her eyes, "I wasn't an orphan. I had a big family. We... we were poor, but we were happy back then. Dad... he always used to..."

Then, the tears came rushing through. It was just too much, Sandra thought. Knowing how much she was loved... and knowing how much she loved them back, and then...

She then suddenly felt a pair of hands holding her in the shoulder. Holding her firm and giving her something to lean on, much like how...

"Sandra, stop..." Ming pleaded as he felt tears coming up his own eyes. To lose them all... Ming realized, how could she have been so bright and cheerful, even though...

"No Ming, you have to know..." Sandra replied firmly, "You see, I was the eldest child in the family. I always felt that it was my job to protect all my little brothers and sisters. I always felt that it was my job to help Mom and Dad to make ends meet. But even when I couldn't, they always understood... they'd just laugh it off and tell me I'll do better in the future... That's why I'm a doctor today. Because they never gave up hope in me..."

"Sandra..." Ming started, no longer having any words to say, but just wanting her to stop...

"But that's just the half of it..." Sandra continued as her sobs grew even worse, "Have you... have you ever met somebody, and felt as if you could never take another step without him? That you'd be happy, just as long as his arms were around you... and felt as if he'd never let you go...?"

Ming couldn't answer as he felt his own tears now trickling down his cheeks. He couldn't anymore. Because he knew where this was leading. He knew that...

Sandra then pointed to a faded corner of the picture. It was blurred, but Ming could still make it out. It was a face. A face of a young man...

"His name was Smith..." Sandra said as she lay her head on Ming's shoulder, no longer feeling that she could stand alone, "He lived just next door. We... we've known each other since before I could even remember... He... he always did everything he could to keep me from harm... He always took the blame even though it was my fault... And not once, did he ever ask for anything in return..."

"Stop..." Ming managed to plead weakly, now trying to keep himself from stroking her hair to comfort her. He couldn't... It wasn't right...

But Sandra paid no heed to his plea and continued to speak on, "And you know... I did love him. I've always loved him. even in my darkest days. I... I always thought that we'd grow old together... that just being together was enough... even though we never had the courage to speak out how we really felt... until..."

"Until a New Year's day. When our lips were pressed again each other for the first time... when we finally had the courage to say the one thing that really mattered. When we finally let it known to each other that all we would ever need was each other... and nothing more..."

"And that day, was January 1, UC 0079."

Ming didn't speak anymore. In fact, all he could feel was a searing pain. A pain in his heart. As if he had been stabbed by a flaming dagger. Because he was certain now of what happened. He now knew that...

"You know what happened two days later, don't you Ming?" Sandra asked as she pulled away slightly and looked into Ming's face.

"We gassed your colony..." Ming managed to utter out along with a sigh. He took a hesitant look at Sandra's eyes, and felt as if he needed to take another step away, knowing the pain that she had to go through, and to have been part of causing that pain...

And that just wasn't all... Three years ago, Ming suddenly realized, he wouldn't even have cared. Sandra was just part of all the nameless faces on the other side. They were all just puppets being manipulated by a group of greedy murderers who deserved either emancipation or death. But not now... as he felt the gentle life in his arms. Not anymore. Not after seeing what a kind, angelic soul like hers had to go through. And to be able to go through it, still able to...

...Able to go on... Ming thought on solemnly, without living only with hate and... revenge in her mind. Instead, she did the opposite. To save lives, even of those who brought her such pain and...

"Yes... But that's only half of the story..." Sandra replied quietly after she saw the menagerie of emotions playing out on Ming's face, feeling even more numb as all the painful memories came crashing back. Especially that kiss... But she had to do it. She just had to, or he would never...

"Half?"

Notice: This story and all related material is copyrighted by Thomas E. "Zinegata" Ting, no part of this story may be taken by any other person. If you wish to use any material, please contact me first. Gundam and all related trademarks are owned by their respective companies.