Hi all! I'm sure it crossed some of your minds that I would be too busy or I'd be like all those other authors who lost interest in their story and let it die out without ever continuing. Hopefully this chapter changes your mind. I said November, didn't I? ;) As always, responses to questions, comments, and reviews will be at the end. Enjoy reading!

Mother Base, Seychelles Waters
Medical Platform

"Don't worry about it," Ocelot told her quietly, and she had to drag her attention away from the sight before her once again. Miller had engaged Big Boss in a discussion and from what she could see, it was not going well in her favor. With grand gestures, a raised voice, and an angry scowl, Miller was clearly agitated and she knew that didn't bode well for her.

Though he already made that point clear the last time I tried to hitch a ride with the Boss, Quiet mused, absentmindedly fixing the strap on her sniper rifle so it hung more comfortably over her shoulder. It's not a surprise. They had been discussing for the past few minutes, ever since she had been brought onto the landing pad to accompany the legendary soldier to see her first field action.

"The Boss will get you out there, don't worry." Ocelot seemed calm, but Quiet could see him hiding his anxiety with the way he brushed over the grip of his pistol unconsciously. She hummed a note of muted acceptance, knowing Big Boss would be her only shot at getting past Miller. Who knew there could be so much politics involved in a mercenary operation, she mused, making a slight noise of disgust. She could tell Ocelot felt the same way, though she also knew he needed to disguise it more as a person of leadership.

At last, Big Boss and Miller broke apart. From the way Miller was scowling, Quiet could tell who had been the victor of the argument, and she felt a small triumphant thrill. He had moved off to the side by himself, muttering under his breath while glaring at her. She paid him no attention, though, as Big Boss motioned for her to board the chopper.

Quiet made her way over to him quickly, climbing in and taking a seat on the portside of the chopper. Big Boss closed the door behind her as the chopper took off, settling into his usual seat in the back. He always seemed to sit there, she noticed. Smart, she thought. It puts me between the pilot and himself, so I would need to neutralize both of them in quick succession. It was a veteran kind of thinking and was exactly what she would have done herself. It put her at ease, knowing she was going into the field with someone who knew what he was doing. Not that I expected him to be stupid, she mused.

"You can put your rifle over there," Big Boss said gruffly as he pointed to an empty rack on the starboard side, across from her. She nodded slightly, getting up to store her weapon securely. A thought came to mind and she turned to give Big Boss a questioning look. Pistol too? She tapped the grip of her pistol. He shook his head and she gave a small nod again, sitting back in her seat and staring straight ahead. Big Boss was not a man of many words and it unnerved her slightly with the way he held himself.

They sat in a tense silence, with her occasionally sneaking glances in his direction. Big Boss didn't seem to notice, though, as he was busy staring into his holographic device and muttering various observations. I wonder if he'll clue me in on what exactly we're doing, she thought curiously, before shaking the idea off. My only job is to listen and wait for commands. It was a mindset that had been drilled into her in the XOF and it was natural to her to simply wait for instructions and follow orders.

"I want you to be able to think for yourself out in the field," Big Boss spoke up suddenly, and Quiet turned to look at him, trying desperately to hide the shock she felt. You WHAT? Her mind raced, going through all the possibilities of what the soldier was trying to accomplish by giving her freedom. You want a possibly-hostile sniper to think for herself? She refused to believe such a veteran soldier could have skimmed over the fact that she could put three bullets into his back and disappear, literally, into thin air. Though that still banks on me being hostile, she corrected herself, finding herself taken aback by her own thoughts. Just weeks ago, I would give anything to kill Big Boss. Now I'm hesitant about shooting him with his back turned to me, 100 meters away. Strange world.

"In the field, you'll have my back," the soldier continued, seemingly not noticing her surprise. "I'll have yours. I'll trust you to keep me alive and you'll trust me to keep you alive. That's the way this works." Quiet nodded, the idea slowly growing on her. At least he trusts me more than Miller does, she thought. Otherwise this would go nowhere.

Big Boss leaned forward in his seat, bringing up a map on his holographic device and motioning for her to scoot closer. "You have good range on that rifle," he said, looking up to meet her eyes. "Good, steady hands too. I saw it in action myself." She held the gaze steadily. When I tried to blow your head off, she thought sheepishly. She wondered for a second if he still held a grudge against her. "I expect to see that demonstrated out there," he continued, and Quiet nodded. Of course.

He moved through the map, settling on Wakh Sind Barracks in Northern Kabul, Afghanistan as an example. "I'll need you to find vantage points where you can cover me as I move around," he said, scouring the area around the location and adding map markers to good sniping locations as examples. Quiet watched carefully, making sure each location was a feasible location. True to his status, each one worked perfectly as a sniping point. She noticed he was only picking the easiest ones and she held up a hand to stop him, reaching forward and adding in locations that she knew she could easily handle.

"Impressive," Big Boss commented gruffly. Quiet nodded, feeling a little tingle of satisfaction. Should make life easier for both of us. "Opens up more opportunities," he said, then leaned over to the side, reaching into an open duffel bag and pulling out another of the electronic device he used.

"This is called an iDroid," he said, offering it to her. She felt her excitement rise as she took it into her hands, activating it to see a holographic display menu. "It has all sorts of uses," Big Boss continued, pointing at various menu options. "The maps, markers, notes, mission objectives, pictures, a camera, and more. Hell, you can even put music on here." Quiet snapped back to look at him, eyes wide and body pumping with joy. Did someone say music?

If the soldier was amused, he didn't outwardly show it, though Quiet was much too occupied with thinking about how to transfer all of her music to the device than observing his reactions. She glanced back down quickly at the iDroid, navigating through the music portion of the device. I need "Maneater" on here first...and then that new one, "Take On Me"...

"Quiet." Quiet looked up sheepishly at the soldier, who was holding an earpiece out for her to take. Sorry. You know how I get around music. You were saying? She took the earpiece, examining it before putting it in one ear. Big Boss watched her for a few more seconds and she held his gaze, refusing to back down. Not going to be intimidated again, she told herself. "That earpiece connects with the iDroid," he said, pointing out how to link the two devices. "That will be our main method of communication." He gave her a thoughtful look. "You don't talk, so we'll need to find something else."

"Mmmm," she agreed, nodding thoughtfully. "That'll work," Big Boss said, and she looked back up at him in confusion. What?

"Your humming," he replied. "Just do that into the mic so I can hear you, and that can be our form of communication." Perfect. Quiet hummed again, this time in content, and the soldier gave a small nod. Establish communication? Check. She felt a little thrill of a connection to him, which caught her off guard. I haven't even been out in the field with him and I already feel more of a connection to him than I did with anyone in XOF...and I can't even talk to him verbally. He didn't seem to mind the lack of words, though, and she perceived it as contentment with her hummed responses.

"There are going to be times when I need you to cover me," Big Boss continued, sitting back and relaxing. "If someone sees me and is about to raise the alarm, give me a few seconds to react. If I'm not able to handle it myself, go ahead and stop them. I'll also need you to take out soldiers on command, if you have the shot." She nodded, soaking in the information, and watched as he glanced at her sniper rifle. "I usually run my operations quiety and without bloodshed," he said, a slight frown creasing his face. "I'd prefer that you not kill anyone." Quiet stared quizzically, slightly surprised. You mean the legendary Big Boss...doesn't like to kill?

Big Boss took notice of her questioning glance and continued. "I either put them to sleep or knock them unconscious," he explained. "Usually I use a fulton extraction device to send them back to base, where we train and employ them in our little army." Quiet listened thoughtfully. That's...interesting. You just take people? Isn't that kind of kidnapping…?

"We also take equipment and supplies too," Big Boss carried on, then seemed to get a little embarrassed. "And...we take animals sometimes too." Quiet had to fight to keep from letting a laugh escape her. Animals? So you grab a sheep, attach a balloon, and then up-up-and-away? Ha! That's a classic! She imagined the grizzled veteran tenderly cuddling a fluffy sheep and the image threatened to break her reserved demeanor as she fought to keep from uncharacteristically giggling out loud.

"We have a deal with an environmental NGO to rescue animals from the war zones," he explained a little hastily, as if trying to keep her from judging his animal comment. Too late, she thought, chuckling to herself as she nodded in agreement for him to continue on with his expectations of her field behavior. He gave a small glare but she ignored it, still amused. Big Boss has animal-cuddling tendencies, she joked to herself

"With your ability to cloak and move fast, you might actually be useful for scouting as well," Big Boss said thoughtfully. Quiet nodded in agreement. That's certainly easy for me now. She lifted up the iDroid again, tapping it. I can mark them on here for you. "Good thinking," he replied, nodding. Quiet gave a small smile, nodding back. This might actually work, she thought as she watched him settle back into his seat. It seemed the conversation was over just as abruptly as it started, though she didn't mind. She almost expected the soldier to avoid continued conversation. More of a thinker and see-er than a talker, she commented to herself.

Quiet leaned back into her own seat, glancing down at her utility belt. It was already filled with her various equipment, including grenades, ammunition, her pistol, and her knife, and she sighed mentally as she realized she would need to make room for her new iDroid. Typical. If it were anything unimportant, she wouldn't bother with the hassle. Do it for the music, she told herself. Unsurprisingly, she found space for it in minutes.

"Quiet."

Quiet opened her eyes at the sound of her codename. The outside of the chopper window was dark - it had been almost noon when they left Mother Base, and it was clear that this would be a stealthy night had been resting, mentally preparing herself for her first time back in the field in weeks. It still never failed to make her a little anxious, and she wanted to make sure she could focus in the moment. She glanced over at Big Boss, raising an eyebrow slightly. Yes?

"We're here," he said, grabbing his assault rifle from the rack. "We're being dropped near Da Shago Kallai. We received word of a VIP prisoner being held there and we need to get her out before she is executed." He slung the assault rifle over one shoulder, reaching over and grabbing his own sniper rifle. Pulling the bolt back, he loaded a fresh bullet into the chamber before flicking the safety on and slinging it onto his back.

Quiet stood up and grabbed her own rifle from the wall rack. She could feel the chopper descending and it filled her with adrenaline. She checked the scope, making sure it wasn't jostled out of place. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Big Boss watching her and she gave him a small nod. Ready when you are, Boss.

"Arriving at drop point!" the pilot, Pequod, shouted from the cockpit as he lowered the chopper down to hover a few feet above the ground. "Be careful down there, Boss!" Quiet let Big Boss go out first, watching him drop out and landing heavily on the sandy dune. She followed suit quickly, jumping out of the side of the chopper and landing in a crouch behind the soldier. From behind them, Pequod quickly lifted off, speeding off into the distance to avoid detection from hostiles.

"The VIP we're rescuing is a male in his mid-30's," Big Boss said, standing up and pointing over to a bridge in the distance. He pulled out his iDroid, zooming in on an area just past the bridge. "There's an elevated position here that should work for you," he said as he tapped the respective position on the map. "I'll make my way down through the field. Be in position." She nodded and he gave her one final serious look before he closed up the iDroid, pulling out a pistol and heading off towards the bridge.

Quiet unslung her rifle, bringing it up to bear and peering through the scope at Big Boss as he approached the bridge. She peeked further down, where a small shelter sat. There were two guards there and she pulled out her iDroid to mark them for the soldier. To her surprise, he already had, and she hummed a short note into the mic. No wonder nobody's taken him out all this time.

Big Boss was still approaching the bridge, so she slung her rifle back over her shoulder, gathering herself and making a big leap off the sand dune, landing into a run as she cloaked herself. With another few leaps and dashes, she ascended the tall rock formation behind the two soldiers in the shelter. She brought her rifle back to bear, centering the head of one of them in her scope. Her laser sight was on so that Big Boss knew who she was aiming at. She could hear muffled whispers of their conversation from her perch and although she understood Russian, they were too far away for her to understand.

She stayed crouched on the rock, making sure to keep her finger off the trigger to avoid accidentally blowing the head off of the soldier she sighted and humming her usual song to keep her aim steady. Big Boss was approaching from the side, across the road. He laid down and she watched as he brought his pistol to bear at the farther one from him, firing once, and then followed through with the closer one as he turned and watched his friend crumple to the ground, only for him to do the same a second later. Impressive work, she thought, nodding slightly. She hadn't seen any splatters of blood and she guessed it was the same tranquilizer pistol she had been taken down with. That's some strong stuff in there.

Big Boss stood back up into a crouch, drawing near to the soldiers and kicking one of them awake. "Where is the prisoner?" she heard him say on the comm channel. To her surprise, the soldier responded helpfully, giving precise details about where the VIP was being held. Perks of being respected worldwide, I suppose. With a swift kick to the head, the Russian was knocked out again, and Big Boss attached fulton balloons to both of the incapacitated soldiers. Again, the thought of him doing the same for sheep crossed her mind and she chuckled slightly to herself. The balloons accelerated upwards, carrying panicked and squirmy cargo off into the night sky. Wheeeeee!

"That was the simple part," Big Boss said through the comms, reloading his pistol as he looked off at the main buildings. "The main forces are in there." Quiet acknowledged with a small hum. She had already been checking out the area to figure out the guard schedule. She pulled out the iDroid, tapping to place a marker at one of the side entrances. I'd say the best bet is to enter through here. Big Boss nodded. "Good thinking," he said briefly as he started towards the main building, crouching to avoid being seen. "Keep me covered."

Quiet hummed an affirmative, turning her sights to the main buildings and marking guards as she saw them. A sense of calm confidence had seeped back into her system and for the first time since the night at the hospital, she felt like a part of something bigger. It was a small feeling, but she still felt it glowing within her. She allowed herself a small smile, settling in a little more comfortably on her perch. Maybe this will work out after all.

I hope this was a great comeback chapter. Thanks for the patience as I slowly work through and write these chapters. There have also been a lot of reviews and follows in the past month!

PanchoVilla1224: "Hey I gotta say this is an interesting take of the mgs5 story in regards to Quiet. To be honest Quiet is in my favorite top 3 characters. Trust that list is hard to built with such a great cast of characters to began with. I love how grow from a top notch assassin to end up with working the legendary big boss. Becoming a well developed character at the end of the story. And you give us justice in telling a story from a character that practically doesn't speak at all. By giving us ideas of what she thinks and view during her time with the Diamond Dogs. So thanks for this story."

- Thanks! I've always felt that her story was under-developed and there were plenty of fics that focused more on Big Boss' side of things, so I certainly wanted to try to expand a little more on her story. It has certainly been a bit of a challenge to characterize a character who doesn't actually speak, but hopefully most readers find my characterization to be relatively close.

Guest: "I remember being let down that first time Quiet tried to get on the chopper and Miller wouldn't let her :( but as always good story telling and I hope you continue with this story so far I'm having a blast reading"

- Miller only delayed the inevitable. :) Thanks for your support!

MakkuroX: "Amazing story, 100 out of 10. I can't wait for November to come, I really love your story."

- November has arrived! Thanks for reading! Hope this chapter has satisfied, at least for the next month. ;)

SPIDER-OOF: "10 out of 10 cant wait till the next chapter"

- Thanks! Hope you enjoyed reading!

Mystic Fox: "Beautifully written, and please go on!"

- Thank you! And yes, I intend to for a while.

As always, thank you for all of your support. I can't exactly pinpoint when I'll have another chapter up, but the safest bet would be about a month from now at most. See you all next chapter!