Author's Note: I should point out that as events in Afghanistan have played out quite a bit different then in our timeline that the culture is also slightly more lenient. Afghanistan under Soviet Occupation and Administration is a more liberal society then it is after the Taliban's rule. So some of the rules are not nearly as strictly enforced. As I have not been to Afghanistan and have to rely on research, I'm sure a large part of what I write will be wrong. For that I apologize, but I am trying my best...


Sword and Shield


Volume 2: A Family Visit
Chapter 1: Preparations and Invitations


Family 1. n. (countable) A father, mother and their sons and daughters; also called nuclear family. 2. n. (countable) A group of people related by blood, marriage, law, or custom. 3. n. (countable) A kin, tribe; also called extended family. 4. n. (countable, biology, taxonomy) A rank in the classification of organisms, below order and above genus; a taxon at that rank. 5. n. (countable) A group of people who live together, or one that is similar to one that is related by blood, marriage, law, or custom, or members of one's intimate social group. 6. n. (countable) Any group or aggregation of things classed together as kindred or related from possessing in common characteristics which distinguish them from other things of the same order. 7. n. (countable, music) A group of instrument having the same basic method of tone production. 8. n. (countable, linguistics) A group of languages believed to have descended from the same ancestral language. 9. a. Suitable for children and adults. 10. a. Conservative, traditional. 11. a. (slang) Homosexual.


3 April 2000, 06:59 hrs.
Chofu, Suburbs of Tokyo, Japan
Room 334, Kawasaki Green Plaza Hotel

Sagara Sousuke woke as the first rays of sunlight began to pierce through the curtains of the hotel. He groaned and glanced down at the head, which lay, atop his chest. He sighed before he ran a hand through the long mane of thick blue-black hair and gave one of his faint smiles as Kaname stirred and snuggled against him. Sousuke closed his eyes and tried to relax, letting the simple comfort of Kaname's presence calm the nervous soldier within him.

It had been five days since America had attempted to snatch her away and caused an international incident that sent the American Forces Stationed in Japan scrambling to move to other bases. Five days since Wraith had ended up in the hospital.

The Kawasaki Green Plaza Hotel had gone from a sleepy hotel beside the Tamagawa River to the defacto Headquarters of Sword and Shield over the last few days. Every member of Mithril that had been expatriated to Japan was crowded into the hotel, and packed the lobby at all hours of the day.

Sousuke smiled as he remembered seeing two Av-8b pilots singing drunken karaoke the night before, one with a thick British accent and the other with a sultry Russian one. It was an eccentric collection of soldiers, and Sousuke had smiled faintly when he'd seen Kurz Weber drunk under the table by one of the Alaskan arm slave pilots, with Mao and a few other women still going strong.

The strangest bit was that in this land of intense regulation on firearms, to the point that Sousuke's weapons had been mistaken for mere toys, the small arsenal that the group had brought with them. The United States had given back the group's weapons before expatriating them, perhaps hoping that the group would generate an incident with the local police in Japan.

M4 carbines, P90 personal defense weapons, M9 Beretta pistols, and a vast array of other arms were clearly visible whenever one looked in the lobby. The hotel manager had been pale the first few days before it became clear that despite the armed group that had occupied the hotel, they weren't there for battle or to trash the place.

The former Mithril personnel were waiting… waiting for orders, for missions, for a job. Sousuke knew that Narashino's mechanized troop would be quick to gobble up any former Mithril arm slave pilots to help train their force. He suspected that the other military members would soon find themselves taking up similar posts as advisors and instructors for the rest of the Self Defense Forces, all of them would be earning a decent income to help pay for the next step in forming Sword and Shield.

Except for a select few which held a different role in the organization of Sword and Shield. Melissa, Kurz, and he were certain to be assigned the same basic assignment that they had held before, protection detail for the whispered. According to rumors, Kurz and Melissa were already assigned to Tessa's personal detail. A woman Sousuke was not familiar with had been assigned to Mira Kudan, and he...

He had Kaname.

It was a strange arrangement. One that Sousuke knew would have violated a small platoon's worth of regulations in Mithril. Kaname needed a bodyguard, as her own abilities as a whispered made her a valuable commodity. That they had a relationship as well complicated matters, and Sousuke supposed that he would be assigned some form of backup once the organization solidified.

Probably Wraith, if she fully recovered.

Sousuke felt Kaname's head turn slowly atop his chest. She glanced up at Sousuke and smiled. A moment later, she had laid her head down atop his chest and let out a contented sigh. Sousuke kissed her forehead and closed his eyes. The outside world could wait. He'd fought almost all his life for a bit of peace, he might as well enjoy it.


3 April 2000, 07:41 hrs.
Chofu, Suburbs of Tokyo, Japan
Hotel Lobby, Kawasaki Green Plaza Hotel

Teletha Testarossa sighed as she stretched out and stared down at the laptop balancing atop her knees. She closed her eyes and sighed as she fumbled for the thermos of coffee that she'd already snuck away from Sarah before the girl could lay claim to it.

She twirled her braided hair before taking a sip from the thermos and setting it back down atop the coffee table before turning back to the laptop. Her arms ached from typing and her brain was fogged from lack of sleep. The number of separate companies she had contacted filled the screen. Sarah Miller's skills were certainly in great demand, there were already eager responses to queries Tessa had sent to TMSUK, Sohgo Security Services, Sanyo, Sony Electronics, Honda, Sony, Fujitsu, Toyota, and Hitachi. All of them were interested in the further development of various robotics.

Tessa's own skills were also in high demand, as she found that Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Kawasaki Shipbuilding Corporation had already begun to bid on a number of the designs she had worked on for Mithril, including the Tuatha de Danaan-class amphibious assault submarine and Firblog-class attack submarine.

The sale of old Mithril designs and upgrade kits would leave the newly formed Sword and Shield Company flush with cash, which they could use to setup their own operating facilities. Already Tessa was in negotiations with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to sell them the design of the M6D Black Bushnell that had once been Mithril's primary weapon, the F-32B Ghost that had been used in the Battle in Alaska, and F-23A Black Widow, which Mithril had tested but elected not to procure.

The designs would likely be used as basis for a new F-32J light fighter, an F-23J air superiority fighter, and a new version of the Type 96 arm slave. Tessa knew that even with the designs, it would likely be a few years before the planes entered full scale production and saw front line service.

The door to the lobby banged open and Tessa jumped. By the rather meager breakfast table that had been set out there was a crash as Sarah Miller dropped a plate filled with cupcakes and fumbled for the pistol that was in her pocket.

"Wait!" A voice answered with a rather distinct accent that left no doubt as to the identity of the speaker.

Zalad Farzen held his hands out where they were visible and slowly stepped away from the door. "Do not shoot the messenger, okay?"

Tessa and Sarah slowly lowered their weapons as the other Mithril mercenaries scattered around the lobby did as well. Farzen adjusted his ball-cap before wandering over to the coffee table and pulling a rather large packet of papers out from his satchel and dropping them across from her.

He dropped into the seat and leaned back, pulling the brim of his cap down over his eyes. "I see you remain in the same place I left you, Ms. Testarossa."

Tessa rolled her eyes and returned to the laptop just as the door clanged open and a delivery man wheeled a massive set of boxes inside followed by two teenagers. Tessa's gaze flicked back to the pair of Japanese teens and a smile played across her lips for a moment. "Kazama, Kyoko!"

The pair stepped over to the coffee table just as the deliveryman set down the massive collection of packages and equipment beside the counter and passed the order form to the hotel manager. The man frowned before picking up the phone and dialing a number, muttering under his breath in Japanese.


3 April 2000, 08:09 hrs.
Chofu, Suburbs of Tokyo, Japan
Room 334, Kawasaki Green Plaza Hotel

Kaname woke to the room phone ringing and groaned as Sousuke answered it. Her head throbbed in its usual fashion from the combination of her low blood pressure and the whispers, drowning out Sousuke's quick conversation and she slid from her resting place atop Sousuke as he put the phone down. Kaname stumbled upright and headed for the shower, banging against the hotel walls as she staggered to the warmth of the cascade of hot water.

She stood beneath the nearly scalding hot spray letting the heat of the water wake her slowly from the fog that beset her mind every morning. As she finished washing her long hair, her mind finally engaged remembering the events of the last week. It had started bad enough with the American attack on her apartment, but since then... it had been much better than she expected.

Of course, there were bad bits, with Wraith in the hospital and Sousuke healing from a graze by a rifle round, but overall things had taken a turn for the better. She'd been able to speak with her father without covering up things she knew, and even managed to get the old man to accept her relationship with Sousuke.

Her cheeks flushed as that chain of thought brought her back to Sousuke, the military otaku. Their relationship had bloomed since Mithril's collapse and her rescue. She still couldn't believe that it had progressed as quickly as it had, but then they had circled each other for over a year before finally admitting they liked let alone... loved each other. Perhaps they were simply making up for lost time.

If Kaname had been raised exclusively in Japan, she was certain she would die from embarrassment as to what had happened. The very idea of sharing an apartment with a boy was something worthy of shame in Japan, let alone a bed, and that was exactly what they had done. Her experience living in New York countered her upbringing in Japan, and she was thankful.

It wasn't about sex... as that hadn't happened until just a few days earlier, and Kaname was certain that most of her old class had some experience in that sort of intimacy already. After all, there was a reason that love hotels existed. No, Kaname's reasons for clinging to Sousuke at night were born more out of a desperate need to feel safe and secure. He was her personal Bonta-kun, a guardian and protector.

Kaname felt a faint smile play across her face as she thought of Sousuke. She wasn't the only one plagued by nightmares, as she had learned the first night they slept in the same bed. It was little surprise considering how he had lived until his arrival in Japan.

"Kaname... I do require the shower as well." Sousuke's voice came through the bathroom door and Kaname let out a sigh. She turned off the water and stepped out. She grabbed a towel and wrapped it around herself. A moment later she opened the door and found Sousuke standing there in his pajama pants waiting for her. With a smile she leaned over and kissed him on the cheek before stepping past.

Sousuke froze for a moment and slowly blushed, a response that made Kaname's heart sing. He was still a scared little boy in so many ways, and it was moments like this that Kaname cherished the most. She hummed as she walked over to one of the duffle bags in the room and started to pull out a set of clothes.

Kaname changed into a set of kahki pants that clung to her slim 'idol' like figure and pulled on a simple white T-shirt that was three sizes too large and clearly Sousuke's. An impish smile slipped across her lips as Sousuke came out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel. He arched an eyebrow at her choice of a shirt before starting to grab his own clothes.

"A number of items I ordered arrived this morning." Sousuke informed her as he pulled on a set of cargo pants and a white button up shirt that he wore over a T-shirt. "That was why the lobby called."

"Understood, has your friend finished the arrangements?" Kaname asked as she pocketed her room key and slipped the small Glock 26 pistol she'd begun carrying into a pocket. The stun gun she owned went into her purse as well.

"Zalad should be nearly finished..." Sousuke said as he slipped his Glock 17 into the waist band of his pants. "Kazama landed an interview for Buki and Sento Magazines, but they said they usually pay freelancers for photographs. I did contact Janes and GlobalSecurity but they said the same thing. I checked news magazines as well, and while many have photographers on retainer, most photos they use are from freelancers."

"Is there any way we could help him?" Kaname asked. "He is your friend."

"He will need photographs to sell to start, and in order for that to happen, he'll need to travel." Sousuke stated. "Kyoko attempted to interview for Friday, but they said much the same..."

"I know..." Kaname sighed as she slipped on her shoes and glanced at Sousuke. "Perhaps you can sponsor their first trip to get some photos to sell?"

"It is possible..." Sousuke allowed as he finished getting dressed and pulled on his military style boots before opening the door and heading out into the hall. They walked to the elevator and took it down to the first floor, emerging in the middle of the lobby.

Kaname followed Sousuke, and they were directed to the stack of boxes that were beside the coffee table that Tessa had claimed as her workstation. As they approached, Kaname smiled on seeing Kyoko and Shinji talking in a seat across from Tessa. The pair of them glanced up and smiled at their approach. Beside them, the tan figure of Farzen Zalad suddenly seemed to wake up and adjusted his baseball cap as they approached.

Sousuke picked up the receipt for the packages and nodded to himself. "Yes... I believe these will be ideal."

"What is it?" Shinji asked. "What'd you order Sousuke?"

Sousuke frowned for a second before shrugging his shoulders. "I will show you..." He pulled open the first box and removed a plastic gun case from inside. With a smirk, he popped open the case.

Kaname gasped, and Shinji looked as if he was about to faint. Inside was an Kalashnikov assault rifle, but unlike most every example that she had ever seen, this one did not look like it had come from some stamped industrial press and lathe. The metal was engraved with images of a tiger and lion, roaring, and the wood was covered with various swirl patterns that reminded Kaname of dervishes. The engraved images of the tiger and lion were plated with gold, and Kaname's eyes were wide as Sousuke worked the action once and smiled.

"Sousuke..."

"It is a gift, for my father." Sousuke said with a faint smile as he set the weapon back down on the case. "I am glad the engraver was told that it should remain fully functional, it would not do to disable the weapon in the name of art..."

Kaname shook her head as Sousuke closed the case. It was so typically him, that she couldn't help but smile.

"Your father... you mean, Massoud?" Shinji said excitedly. "Is he coming here?"

Farzen snorted. "No, we are going to him."

Shinji glanced between Sousuke and Farzen before his eyes widened. "Sousuke..."

"Yes?"

"Wouldn't photos from Afghanistan be really valuable?"

Sousuke froze and Kaname's eyes went wide, as Kyoko suddenly looked nervous. Farzen slowly sat up and glanced at Shinji. "Why do you ask?"

"I... I need to prove I can be a battlefield photographer, and I need help getting started. So... could I go with you?" Shinji asked and Kaname swallowed.

"You want to come with me, to meet my father?" Sousuke said nervously. "Kazama..."

"You're talking Kaname aren't you?" Shinji snapped. "If she can go, why not me?"

"Massoud requested Kaname's presence... I would not agree until I had a means to assure her safety." Sousuke rubbed his head and groaned. "However... he has a point. If you truly wish to be a battlefield or military photographer, then this is certainly an opportunity."

"Sousuke?" Kaname murmured. "Are you sure?"

"Yes... I did procure a few items for Shinji, while I was at it." Sousuke said before pulling a black bullet proof vest and helmet from another box which had 'PRESS' painted on it in bright white letters.

"Cool..." Shinji murmured before Sousuke tossed it at him, nearly burying Shinji under the armor.

Kyoko swallowed. "Sousuke... I..."

"Don't tell me you wish to go too?" Kaname said with a groan. She slumped when Kyoko nodded. "Why?"

"We... talked, and Shinji suggested we work as a team... He would do the military things and I could do the more... human side of any conflict. After being at school with Sousuke for a year, I guess I've gotten used to the danger." Kyoko smiled timidly. "Plus, I could keep an eye on him this way."

Sousuke sighed. "I have an extra bulletproof vest amongst this lot." He glanced at Kaname for a moment before looking to Farzen. "Can you accommodate two more passengers?"

"Easily."

Sousuke sighed. "Well, I guess we're bringing them along then."

"Sousuke?" Kaname shifted nervously. "Are you sure?"

"Shinji has a point, getting pictures from Afghanistan would definitely help get him started in the field he's chosen." Sousuke said. "I am sure Kyoko can find a market for snapshots of life in Afghanistan as well, perhaps a magazine such as National Geographic will purchase them."

"I... I have been doing some research." Kyoko admitted. "If we could get a decent sized portfolio, we could join Magnum Photos. They're a photography agency and cooperative."

Sousuke nodded. "Before that, I believe I should... brief you on what you will encounter in Afghanistan. Perhaps you can explain how we're arriving?"

Farzen sighed. "Transit to India and then to Pakistan is pretty conventional. We'll be taking normal airlines there, since I think Sousuke can afford it. Once we get to Pakistan, we'll be taking a United Nations An-2 Cub across the border into Afghanistan. The airfield there is just across the Khyber Pass and held by the Mallagori tribe."

"Pashtuns..." Sousuke sighed. "At least they are not aligned with Omar and his 'students'."

"What does that mean?" Kaname asked.

Farzen sat up. "Pashtuns are one of the largest ethnic groups of Afghanistan. They speak Pashto, and tend to be slightly more conservative then Tajiks. Mullah Omar is the leader of a movement called the Taliban, which means 'students' they believe in a rather extreme interpretation of Islam. Fortunately, despite getting assistance from Pakistan, Omar's philosophy has been largely checked by the Soviet government."

"Farzen is a Pashtun..." Sousuke said. "Though I believe his mother was—"

"A Tajik, which is also the second most common group in Afghanistan," Farzen said. "They speak a version of Farsi called Dari, oh, and Ahmad Shah Massoud is a Tajik. Then there are Hazara, Uzbek, Aimaq, Turkmen,and Baloch. Since almost everyone you will meet are either Tajik or Pashtun, you don't really need to worry about them."

Sousuke nodded. "I know Farsi and Pashto, along with Russian and a smattering of Arabic. It should be sufficient to allow me to translate for us, as I am certain Farzen will be along for most of the ride as well."

"What happens after we get inside the country? Isn't it under Soviet occupation?" Shinji asked.

"Well, I've arranged for a flight to the Northern Alliance Territories." Farzen smirked faintly. "Ahmad finally got enough trained pilots to cobble together a squadron of 'Krokodil'. One will pick us up."

"We will go by helicopter from that point on then... and yes Shinji, Afghanistan is under Soviet occupation." Sousuke said. "Mohammad Najibullah Ahmadzai was the Soviet installed president and he served until 1992, when he was replaced by his deputy, Abdul Rahim Hatef. The Soviet Union considers Afghanistan a member of it's Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and calls the nation the People's Republic of Afghanistan. Unlike most Soviet Republics, it retains its own military, made up mostly of out-dated soviet equipment. In addition, the Russians have deployed a number of their own assets to hold onto the country."

"It is a strange war at times." Farzen said. "You must understand, Afghanistan is predominately a muslim nation, and Soviet communism at times acts to suppress religion. So many of our traditions based upon that heritage and are continually assaulted by the Soviets. Unfortunately..."

"We must be cautious not to upset the sensibilities of our hosts." Sousuke said, glancing at Kaname and Kyoko. "There are codes of behavior we should attempt to follow to avoid insult. Kaname and Kyoko will have to bend the most to these rules." He furrowed his brow. "Though I will have to make some adjustments as well..."

Kaname glanced up at him in surprise. "Sousuke?"

"We cannot share a bed while in Afghanistan... We are not married, and men and women have separate living areas in an Afghan home." Sousuke said quietly. "I... I will have to tolerate the nightmares as I once did."

Kaname shivered and glanced at the table top. "I understand..."

"Among the local traditions is the belief that one covers their head, and I must insist that we each choose to cover our head when we are not wearing a helmet. I will buy a pakol for myself and Shinji... as for Kaname and Kyoko."

"I will not wear a Burqa!" Kaname hissed.

Farzen grinned and Sousuke sighed. "I would not ask that of you... The traditional rules of hijab give you other options, and I believe we will be able to relax some of those rules in Massoud's presence, as he is not the strictest one with such rules."

"If you gave her a tactical style vest, no one would question her lack of hijab and assume she was just a mercenary. Many have grown a bit used to Soviet women clad in military uniforms," Farzen said. "For you two, simply a head-scarf should be sufficient so long as you choose to wear clothing that is not... glamorous or revealing."

"The conditions on the ground would encourage you to wear utilitarian clothes, it should be comfortable and loose, not form fitting or fashionable," Sousuke said.

Kyoko nodded and Kaname sighed, "I think we can find something sufficient, concealing."

"Now... cultural taboos," Sousuke said and let out a long sigh knowing this would turn into quite a lengthy discussion.


3 April 2000, 04:37 hrs.
Fayzabad, Badakhshan Province, Afghanistan
1st Dast-Banda Squadron, Babr Base, United Front

Sabine Refiola groaned as the distant rumble of a low flying plane made the mud walls of the small house she'd been assigned shudder. Through the small windows, she could see a fire in the distance and the crisscross of green tracers trying to strike the nighttime flyer.

She ran a hand along the bandages that were wrapped around her middle and scowled before she sunk back onto the low mattress that served as her bed. A week earlier, she'd been moved to the small house that was beside an old Soviet AS base, given a set of local clothes, an AKM, and a job.

The various groups that made up the alliance, which Massoud led, managed to capture equipment from the Soviet Afghans and Russian Forces with amazing regularity, but little of it was of use without properly trained mechanics, pilots, drivers, and other soldiers. The Arm Slaves were amongst the most demanding weapons to train a soldier to use. It was only matched by the complexity of a helicopter, or a fixed wing airplane. She had overheard Massoud bemoan the situation to his lieutenants, talking about how they had barely a dozen crews for the helicopters they'd captured, and roughly the same number capable of using Arm Slaves.

When Sabine had made her way to the simple 'classroom' that her hosts had organized for the first time, she'd been stunned by the array of weapons the group had managed to procure. She had expected to find a dozen battle-worn Rk-92 Savages, or perhaps the older version with a diesel engine.

Instead, she found two Zy-99M Shadows, which appeared to have been maintained by cannibalizing parts from other mechs they'd recovered. The fact that the Northern Alliance had already managed to get a hold of such weapons came as a surprise, as she had heard the type had barely entered frontline service with Russian Guards Divisions a few months earlier.

Of course, they had Savages as well, as the old Rk-92 and Rk-91s were nearly as common these days as the original BMP. There were problems, of course, as the Rk-92s used gas turbine engines as their power source, which guzzled fuel. As fuel was in short supply, the Rk-91 diesel powered Savages were being relied upon to train the pilots, as there simply wasn't enough gas to warrant using the Rk-92s except for combat sorties.

Then there were the two Zy-99M Shadows. Each used a Palladium reactor, which was capable of up to week of continuous use with a single tank of hydrogen-3. The problem being that as rare as gasoline and diesel were, they were nowhere near as rare as nuclear fuel, especially the fusion variety that the two Arm Slaves used.

So, despite having modern Arm Slaves, she found herself teaching the Northern Alliance pilots with the aging Rk-91 Savages. Only the best of the lot were allowed to use the more valuable Rk-92s and Zy-99Ms, but even these pilots had trouble as they weren't used to the power and speed, which the newest models were capable of.

A bomb exploded in the distance and Sabine's scowl deepened. A glance at her watched showed it was nearly dawn, and the harassment attacks would end with the rising sun. She sighed and slipped out of the bed, pulling on her clothes. The dirty grey tunic and local style trousers itched, and it had taken here several days to figure out exactly how to pull them on without help from Sadiqa, Massoud's wife.

She had elected to cut her hair short with a knife a few days earlier and donned a pakul cap. In many ways, her choice of clothing and position as an instructor was something of an insult to some of the more fundamentalist elements of the Northern Alliance. The Pashtuns especially seemed mortified at the thought of being taught by a foreign woman clad as a man, but it also quickly became clear that those same fundamentalist fighters proved to be incapable of really adjusting and working a modern weapon system.

The ethnic Tajiks were a different matter, as most viewed women in a better light culturally then their Pashtun neighbors, and while female fighters were a rarity, they did exist, even among the Pashtuns. That Ahmad Shah Massoud was a Tajik himself helped to explain the difference. Tajik women were more likely to be seen only wearing a headscarf, or only making a nod or two toward traditional hijab practices. The Pashtun women were more likely to be hidden away beneath a burqa, though even that was rare except for a small section in the south where a Pakistan backed militia was trying to carve its own place in Afghanistan.

The youngest of Tajik recruits thought of her as a curiosity, and she had heard rumors that some of them were hoping to 'steal the foreign girl's heart'. Of course, Sabine ignored or rebuffed all such approaches. Her heart was dead, it had died with Leonard at Merida Island.

Pulling the pakol cap down over her head, she picked up the AKM and swung it over her shoulder before heading out the door and into the night. Her wounds ached as she walked the hundred or so meters to the base as the first hints of the coming dawn lit up the sky.

The Tajik soldier that stood guard at the base entrance nodded to her as she approached. Like the personal guard, which Massoud had assembled, this man wore a Russian ballistic vest and carried a new AN.94 Akaban assault rifle. He wore a pakol cap, and the simple local garb beneath the vest. Instead of local shoes, the man had a set of rather worn trainers on.

He also spoke English, and at times Sabine wondered if he was truly a local or some CIA operative working against the soviets in their ongoing proxy war.

"You are early," He said before smirking. "Did the buzzing Graches wake you?"

"I believe they woke everyone, and that was their intention." Sabine said as she stepped through the guard post. "Has anythi—"

She froze as she saw a pair of trucks sitting idle in the middle of the base, loaded with two arm slaves covered in a tarp. Sabine stumbled forward toward the two mechs, her old wounds aching as she approached them.

"They arrived last night, some men ambushed a convoy and made off with these two," the guard said.

Sabine nodded her understanding as she tore off the tan tarp and looked at the two Arm Slaves. Her gaze caught the typical sandy desert camouflage that was almost standard for Afghan operations before it took in the mech's form. She glanced over at the guard before clambering up onto the truck-bed and tapping the cockpit access hatch. With a hiss the compartment popped open revealing a familiar cockpit filled with instruments labeled in Cyrillic.

Sabine reached down and smiled when she found the operating manual hidden underneath the seat. Flipping it open, she skimmed the first instructions and froze, recognizing most of it.

Project 1059 - Testarossa-Zostoya 100(m)

She swallowed. It was an Amalgam design... Painted in soviet colors, with instruments in cryllic and... A smile slowly spread across her lips as she glanced back at the cockpit and whispered to herself, "A Lambda Driver."


2 April 2000, 19:53 hrs.
Atlanta, State of Georgia, United States
Office of Christian Amanpour, CNN Center

Christian Amanpour sat back in her Atlanta office, a place she was lucky to sit in once a week and glanced over the vast array of materials that had been brought before her over the last few days. There were faxes of intelligence reports that the pentagon correspondent had acquired, articles from Jane's Defense Weekly, and Global Security, and even a few other sources that had been slipped to various reporters that were part of the CNN network or its affiliates.

She was sure that handed some of the information over would most certainly have landed the source in prison if it was compromised. Some of the things that were detailed on the reports were clearly national, or in some cases, international secrets.

At the top of the pile was a statement that had been sent to her office from Admiral Jay L. Johnson, the one member of the Joint Chiefs that had resigned in protest over the attack on Mithril. He had also sent a letter of protest that CNN had dutifully aired the day after the attack in Tokyo against Kaname Chidori.

The statement however puzzled her.

I know that you are intent upon the mystery that is Mithril, as your reporting has made quite clear over the last few days. I would caution you however, that you will find a vast mystery lying beneath the group called Mithril. You have chanced upon Pandora's Box, use every caution when deciding how much to reveal to the world.

Jay L. Johnson

Admiral, US Navy (Ret.)

Pursing her lips she set the statement down and glanced back at the pile of bits of information before her. A moment later she started to read, diving into the vast array of classified material that had been set before her.