Everything was happening so fast. Whisper packed what she could into her camping backpack and packed for her animals as well. Bonita and Macy were coming, of course, as well as her horses. They would be needing transportation and horseback was one of the quickest and quietest ways to move through the outback. Besides, it beat paying for gas.

Once everything was packed, Whisper hurried down to where her horses were kept, which was an open area close to the loading dock. Her black mare, Nighlock, was the first to greet her with a nicker, trotting up to the edge of the handmade wire fencing. Whisper smiled and stroked her muzzle, giving a low whistle to get the other horses over to her. Blizzard and Phoenix trotted over, nickering as well. Marble came over on her own sweet time. Whisper chuckled and started to get them prepped for the flight ahead.

Two hours later, the animals were on board and ready for the flight. Whisper blew a stray piece of hair out of her face with a slight chuckle. She turned when she heard footsteps behind her. She grinned widely. "Hey Snake. Hey Shaba. You guys ready to go?" she asked them.

Snake Eyes nodded. About as ready as we'll ever be.

Whisper smiled. "Great! We're just waiting for the others. They said that they would be along shortly," she told him.

That's good. Are you ready?

"As I'll ever be," Whisper said. "The horses are all loaded up, Bonita and Macy are loaded up..."

That's not what I meant, Snake signed, interrupting.

Whisper played with a stand of her hair, bitting slightly on her lower lip. "I don't know," she said truthfully. "I guess that I'll have to do what I must to help my team and to keep them safe."

Snake touched her shoulder. You will make the right choice.

Whisper smiled softly. "Thanks Snake," she said. "I don't know what I would do without you." She smiled once more before she hurried off towards the plane.

Nor I you, Snake signed privately before walking after her, the almost fully grown lion walking alongside him.

The plane took off without difficulty and after almost ten hours on the plane, it landed in the middle of the Outback. Whisper stretched, not enjoying being in cramped places for very long. She had spent most of her time meditating like Snake Eyes had shown her to. Thankfully, though, the flight was over and Whisper went to the cargo area and helped a few of the other Joes unload the horses, especially Nightlock, who was still young and unpredictable at times.

Once that was over with, Whisper tacked up the horses and mounted Nightlock. Ripcord and Scarlett doubled up on Blizzard, since he was the largest of the four horses, Duke took Marble, and Snake Eyes took Phoenix. Whisper smiled and gave a low whistle to Bonita and Macy. Both animals stood next to Nightlock.

"Scout ahead, but stay quiet and stay low. I'll call when you need to return" she told them before watching them lumber off. She knew that they knew what she had said. She had trained them after all.

Shaba would be staying with them, since he was probably the only once that would be able to keep up with the horses easily. Since they didn't know what to expect, they wouldn't be staying at a hotel or anything. Instead, they would be staying out in the open, hidden by the thick underbrush. As soon as they found what they were looking for, they would signal to General Hawk back at the Pit and the rest would be played out by ear.

Whisper made sure that everyone was settled before nudging Nightlock forward into a slow canter through the thick, long grass of Australia.

The Alpha Team rode for about four hours before the sun started to set. Knowing of the dangers of the Outback as she did, Whisper had everyone dismount and set up camp. She gave a strange whistle, like a gurgle. It was the call of a red-necked stint. If she was going to whistle, she was at least going to make it confusing to anyone listening in.

After a few moments, Bonita and Macy appeared by the campsite. Whisper smiled and gave them both food and water before going back to the other and helping them set up tents, get a small fire going, and settling down to eat a small dinner of dried meat and fruit. So far, everything was going well and Whisper hoped that it stayed that way. She offered to take first watch, wanting to have some time alone with her thoughts. Everyone, except Snake Eyes, was more than happy to comply, tired and sore after a day in the saddle. Whisper gave them a sympathetic smile before taking one of the canteens they had and sitting on a flat rock that was mostly hidden in the ground, settling down for her watch.

As Whisper had predicted, the sun had set quickly and had gotten cold just as fast. She pulled on the jacket that she had brought, breathing in the scent of cotton and laundry detergent. She smiled, her mind going back to a time with her father...

A thirteen, almost fourteen, year old Whisper lay on her stomach, watching the black, lowland copperhead slithering in front of her. "Are you sure, Dad?" she asked quietly, turning to face her father, who was laying next to her. He nodded.

"Positive," he assured her.

"Alright," she said, though still a little unsure. She slid her feet up under her, balancing on the balls of her feet. Once the copperhead had passed them slightly, she lunged, moving as fast as she could. The copperhead hissed in surprise, raising up, ready to strike, but young Whisper was faster. She turned and grabbed the poisonous snake behind the neck and picked it up. She smiled triumphantly.

"I did it!" she said, twisting the lower half of the snake around her other hand to keep it from wriggling around.

Her father smiled back at her. "Very nicely done, Viper. You are truly one with the snakes now," he said proudly.

She smiled again and released the snake, tossing it back into the bushes before it could bite her. She hugged her father. "Did I make you proud, Dad?" she asked

Her father nodded, a small smile on his lips. "That you have, Viper, that you have..."

Whisper brushed a tear from her eye, not realizing that she had been crying until now. She gave a soft sigh and went back to her watch. Little did she know, that she wasn't the only one on watch. She was also the one being watched.

I know, I know. You guys probably hate me for leaving this as a cliffhanger, but now at least I know that you guys will come back for more! Hehe! Anyway, I would also like to give tribute to the people who died on this day, on 9/11. I pray that they rest in peace and that no one will ever forget their deaths or what happened the day of 9/11. Amen.