Bonds of Time: The Love Hina Fanboy War Prequel

by Andrew Joshua Talon

After the Cataclysm of 2004, the world was reborn, helmed by the Hinata Goddesses... COMPLETE: 7604, NEW FEATURES ADDED: Blooper Reel, 101104, ADDITIONAL FEATURES ON THE WAY.

19. Riam's Interlude: Ever Black Ops

The Bonds of Time

Chapter 19

Andrew Joshua Talon, with many thanks to Kanako Urashima

DISCLAIMER: Love Hina is not mine. I'm not making any profit off this fanwork, and the authors used own themselves. "The Love Hina Fan Boy War!" is the property of Kanako Himekazi-Urashima, which she gave me permission a while ago back to write a prequel to.

Therefore...

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This is indeed, more filler, written by the esteemed DigitalAvatar! Enjoy!

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Shinobu And Suu Alliance (SASA) Headquarters, South America

Riam Kaikiaichi was roused slowly from the depths of peaceful slumber by a low and steady vibration. The distant humming of powerful electricity generators filled the small room in which he was resting, indicating that his patron Goddess was once again hard at work developing the advanced technology for which SASA was known.

The massive generators were located in underground chambers kilometres below his quarters, but the sheer amount of power they were able to provide created vibrations that could be felt from anywhere in the Headquarters Command Complex.

Opening his eyes, Riam leisurely glanced around the compact room, light strips in the ceiling illuminating the area with a dim red glow. Furnishings were sparse, the only items of note being the bed, a small bedside table, and one wall taken up entirely by two wardrobes and a dresser.

Only one of the wardrobes contained clothing, the other was stocked with equipment and weapons he preferred to keep close at hand.

Not one to laze around in bed all day, Riam swiftly swung himself to his feet. Reaching over to a light control mounted on the wall, he adjusted the dim red illumination to a bright white.

The Australian took a few moments to go through some basic stretching exercises, before he opened one of two doors leading out of the cabin and proceeded through it.

The door lead into a small bathroom area, and several minutes later the ex-vigilante emerged freshly shaved and showered. He pulled on his usual outfit of matched black combat pants, boots, and a sleeveless shirt, followed by a jacket. The jacket was that of a SASA officer, and although he wore it only on rare occasions he felt greatly privileged to be able to do so. The rank insignia on the jacket indicated that the wearer was a General, and the division markings were that of Special Operations.

Exiting the sleeping chamber through the other doorway took him into his small home office area. A computer sat on his desk, with optical data discs piled high next to the monitor panel reminding him of the immense amount of administration work he had to complete by the end of the week. He sighed, briefly wondering how so much work had been entrusted to him.

He picked up his laptop carry-case, slid several of the optical discs into it, and then headed out of his living quarters.

Exterior of SASA Command & Control Mountain Complex, five minutes later

Emerging into daylight several minutes later, Riam was struck by the bright early-morning sun shining down upon him. Turning, he glanced up at the towering mountain behind him. Created by Suu to resemble their original base in Colorado Springs, the mountain complex served as command and control headquarters for the Alliance's defence and security forces. Several exterior buildings were situated around the mountain, housing the other administrative and staff facilities. The largest of these was the Alliance Command Administration building, an impressive pyramid-shaped structure. The Australian entered the building through the large main doors, nodding to the security guards as he passed. Proceeding through a long hallway to one of the central elevator shafts, he pressed the control to take him to the top of the pyramid and the location of the Alliance leaders' office suites. Shinobu and Suu both had offices here, as did the Australian himself, but none of the three tended to use them very often.

Arriving at the requested floor Riam made his way to his destination, the Alliance Leader's briefing room, to deliver the week's situation report.

Entering the room, he saw the expansive briefing table directly in front of him, upon which his eyes spotted a selection of breakfast foods. Large plates in the centre of the table were piled with early-morning cuisine from both Japanese and Western cultures.

Riam's eyes gazed upon the banquet in amazement; even after all his years of service Shinobu's cooking continued to impress him. She insisted on cooking her own meals, and those for her friends much of the time, despite the highly qualified Alliance Headquarters chefs being on-call at any time

Shinobu was present at the table as usual, although Kaolla was nowhere in sight. The Australian thought it odd that Kaolla wasn't in her ordinary position, but he expected that she was still at work deep in the mountain. He was soon proven wrong however, when he was struck by a sudden flying kick slamming into the right side of his head. His laptop case dropped to the ground as his body impacted the wall with a painful thud. With his head still spinning from the blow, Riam pushed himself to his feet, turning to see a green-eyed, tan-skinned Kaolla Suu grinning back at him.

"Good morning!" she greeted him energetically. Some things, it seemed, would never change.

"Good morning, my lady," the SASA officer bowed his head slightly, "I trust you are well?"

"Yup!" she acknowledged, "Just wait 'till ya see the new invention I'm working on!"

"That's great!" Riam smiled, "Although I do hope it isn't another Mecha-Xenomorph… That thing scared the heck out of me."

A handful of other officers filtered into the room, the Goddesses' few closest and most trusted SASA officers and advisers. Tuxedo Jack was among them, a fellow Champion of the Alliance. Riam nodded a greeting to Jack, before being addressed by the gentle Goddess of Light.

"Good morning, Riam," Shinobu smiled, greeting him politely as always.

Riam bowed low, "Good morning, lady Shinobu."

The briefing table was shaped approximately like an elongated triangle, with the two Goddesses seated at the base end of the table and their officers on either side. The Australian officer took his accustomed seat at table, immediately at Suu's right hand, while Jack seated himself similarly close to Shinobu.

As was usual procedure for the morning briefing, everybody took advantage of Shinobu's endless generosity and amazing talents in the kitchen.

One egg, three sausages, six pancakes, several slices of bacon, two glasses of juice and a mug of coffee later, Riam sat back contentedly in his chair

Opening his laptop, he logged into the Alliance Command wireless network and browsed news and reports of events that had taken place since he had prepared his presentation the previous night. His own staff members had marked several items for attention, and he quickly reviewed the material.

His primary responsibility for the Alliance as the Commander-In-Chief of Intelligence and Special Operations (ISO), as well as having been roped into several positions in an advisory capacity.

Of the various flagged bulletins he was skimming through, one in particular caught his eye; an intelligence report from the Alliance/Union borderlands. His eyes opened wide as he examined a reconnaissance photograph, "It can't be…" he muttered to himself. The Australian was quickly summoned back to reality as he heard his name called by the SASA Chief of Staff.

The Chief of Staff was responsible for coordinating, organising, and running events such as the morning briefing.

"You may begin your report on current intelligence and Alliance security operations, General Kaikiaichi," the aging Staff Chief prompted.

Riam stood up from his chair and approached the front of the room. The title of General was not one the Australian tended to use himself, and in fact he also discouraged most of his acquaintances from using the term to address him. Standing next to a large briefing display set into the wall, Riam used a handheld PDA to call up graphical data to assist his presentation.

"Good morning everyone. My report for today, the results of the recently ordered status check of our defence forces has been concluded. I've compared the results to our intelligence data of the other worldwide military powers."

Pressing a control on the PDA, the ISO commander called up military statistics graphs to be rendered on the screen.

"Compared to an average of other armies, our defence forces are relatively small. To offset that, our soldiers are all trained to an extremely high degree, and are equipped with technology more advanced than most possible opponents. Our ground forces are our strong point, with our general and specialist infantry units outmatched by none. Our Mecha-Tama Tanks are more than capable of holding their own against other armoured units, and our various other ground divisions round out our forces nicely."

Riam clicked over to a new graph, this one showing air superiority comparisons.

"Our airforce is adequate for complimenting our ground units, but would be unlikely to be capable of holding their own against the more advanced airforces fielded by some of the other powers. Our standard Mecha-Tama Multi-Role Fighters are extremely versatile at many aerial operations, but excel in few. They're equally capable of air combat, reconnaissance, and ground assault missions, but not to a high degree of performance standards. Specialised air-superiority fighters such as those operated by the Otohime Union would hardly find them a challenge. Our newer specialised aircraft provide some extra air combat capability, but I must say that our best asset in the event of air warfare are our ground-based anti-aircraft units. Our aerospace intelligence gathering is also of high level, thanks mostly to the success of our UAV Mecha-Tama Scout. More importantly, our satellites in orbit far surpass the surveillance and communication capabilities of any other empire, giving us an added tactical advantage in that area."

"How about our Naval Forces," inquired a middle-aged adviser with dark curly hair, "how do they stack up against the other powers?"

Once again, Riam called up a new statistics graph. "Reasonably good," he began, "once again we have our Lady Suu to thank for providing our forces with MT5-X class multi-configuration individual assault units. Those units compose the main body of our ocean-based military. Our carrier ships and submarines, which act as mobile bases for the assault units, are more conventionally designed. Our navy would be best suited to a purely defensive role in protecting our territory. If the situation were to require it, however, we could quite effectively provide specialist assault support to the naval forces of an allied power."

"We don't want to be attacking anyone, Riam," Shinobu spoke up quietly, "we're a peaceful nation."

"I don't wish to see war any more than you do, my lady," the ISO director replied, "but we must remain prepared as a necessity. Tensions between some of the powers are extremely strained right now. Our intelligence indicates it could take only a relatively little incident to trigger open conflict."

The gentle Goddess smiled somewhat sadly, "we have appointed you to advise us and take charge in these matters Riam, and we trust you to do what is best for the Alliance."

The Australian knelt and bowed his head reverently before the Goddess, "of course, my lady Shinobu. My life belongs to my Goddesses and the Alliance."

Standing once again, Riam cleared the briefing screen of the statistics graph. "That ends my presentation for the morning, ladies and gentlemen. Next week I hope to have an in-depth report of the exact tensions between powers, as well as the most likely flashpoints we'll need to keep an eye on."

Riam nodded to the others attending the meeting, and returned to his seat to make way for the next adviser's briefing.

He half-paid attention through the rest of the meeting, occupied by the recon images still displayed on his laptop's monitor. It depicted a camp in the borderlands between SASA and the Naru Empire. The camp was set up in a mostly intact large town, and populated by a group of anarchistic renegades suspected of possessing at least one nuclear weapon. It was a standard procedure for ISO to remove all weapons of mass destruction from the hands of groups likely to use them in terrorist attacks. But more interesting than that fact was a photograph of a person handcuffed and being escorted to a secure building by several guards. It was a young blonde woman Riam knew very well indeed…

Peak of SASA Command & Control Mountain Complex, 19:00 that evening

Riam gazed out over a forested expanse from his position high atop the mountain peak. Light was fading gradually from the scene below him as the sun settled slowly behind the horizon. Still maintaining his youthful appearance even after all the years that had passed, he appeared deep in thought as he sat with his back leaning against a solid tree. He closed his eyes for a brief moment, before a sound from above him caused him to open them again.

Kaolla Suu swung down from a branch, facing her devoted champion upside-down.

"Watcha doin'?" she asked inquisitively, busily peeling a banana in her hands.

"Good evening, my lady," Riam greeted his Goddess, "I'll be leading an ISO tactical squad tonight, on a mission to remove some nuclear weapons from dangerous hands. Our intelligence tells us that there is a prisoner being held at the location we're striking, and I believe it's a person I knew a long time ago."

Kaolla consumed her banana in a single gulp, and promptly began peeling a second. "So are ya happy 'bout that?" she inquired with a smile.

Riam sighed slightly, "she and I parted on, ah, uncertain terms… I guess I'm a little uncomfortable at the prospect of meeting again."

The Australian's conflicting emotions were much more uncertain than he let on. He had long since fallen for the dark-skinned energetic Goddess in front of him, almost for the same length of time had been her Champion and Consort. And if the person shown in the recon photograph was the girl he thought it was, then he might have a difficult decision to face.

"Ah, it'll work out fine." Suu assured, "got a surprise for ya anyway."

"A surprise?" the ISO commander inquired somewhat cautiously.

Kaolla flipped herself up with to stand on the branch she was hanging from, using a graceful acrobatic manoeuvre that seemed to defy the laws of physics. "Behold, my latest Mecha-Tama!" she proclaimed proudly.

With those words, one of the numerous launch tunnels in the mountain slid open to reveal Suu's newest invention. It appeared to be a large sleekly designed turtle-shaped craft, midnight black in colour.

"It's my new Super-Special Secret Assault And Action Team Transport Tama!" the tanned girl informed her champion happily.

"Quite a long winded name, my Goddess, but it certainly looks impressive," Riam told her, genuinely awed by the vehicle's appearance. "May my team and I use this on our operation tonight?" he requested.

"Of course, silly!" Suu laughed, "it's ready to go right now."

"Then with your leave, Lady Suu, I'd like to gather my squad and prepare to depart," the Australian requested.

"Sure thing! See you when you get back!" with a giggle, the energetic genius jumped up higher into the trees and disappeared amongst the foliage above.

Riam wasted little time, leaping into the air and flying away from the mountainside. He used the pull of gravity to accelerate his downwards momentum, descending many times faster than he was able to run or fly under his own power.

His powers of flight, while very useful, also came with some strict limitations. Primarily, the benefits of his enhanced strength and stamina were almost completely nullified during active flight.

In under a minute, the ISO commander reached the ground outside the main entrance to the Alliance mountain complex. Stepping inside, he swiftly made his way to the ISO Operations Centre where his handpicked team for tonight's mission were awaiting their commander's arrival and final pre-mission briefing.

SASA Intelligence and Special Operations (ISO) Mission Ops Briefing Room, several minutes later

"Okay," Riam addressed the ISO Commando Elite (ICE) team assembled before him, "you've already checked over the mission outline plan for tonight, and we should be sticking to that for the most part. We've had the scheduled Intel update from the field recon team currently stationed in that location, so I'll bring you up to date with a slightly revised plan."

The ISO chief tapped a few buttons on the briefing console at the front of the room to show a computer-generated map of the target complex based on the recon data.

"This is obviously a stealth mission, not an all-out assault," he emphasised, "which means we go in silently, and exit quietly without stirring up the nest. The primary objective is closely guarded, so we will need a tactical action to secure it. That phase will be executed surgically, cold and precise. Overall we want a minimum of casualties, but the primary objective must be completed whatever the cost. We've confirmed that the hostiles are in possession of three nuclear warheads, and intelligence indicates a high probability they may be used in an attempt to gain control over one of the borderland cities. Worst case scenario, a nuclear detonation from parties inside SASA territories might inflame already tight political tensions amongst the empires. In any event, you all know of our standard practice of removing Weapons of Mass Destruction from irresponsible hands." Riam took a breath before returning to the mission plan, "we'll enter the complex via a side gate instead of going through the fence as the original plan dictated. We've determined that this side gate is loosely guarded, and the sentries posted there are lax in their duties. This gate is also located conveniently close to this large building," the Australian indicated one of the buildings on the map, "our records show it was a museum before the Cataclysm hit. We'll move in to that building and secure the structure. Four squad members, designated Bravo team, will remain posted there while the rest of us move on to the building we believe will gain us access to the underground bunker where the primary objective is located. Bravo team will cover the main group as we make our way to the bunker entry point. Once we've proceeded inside, Bravo team will keep the entrance covered and if necessary will clear the area of hostiles as we make our exit. After our exit from the bunker, we regroup with Bravo team at their location in the museum, then head out the way we came in. With luck, we should be able to slip out and board our extraction craft, which will be stationed nearby, before they bad guys realise they've lost their bombs. Questions?"

First to speak up was Sergeant Hanks, a tough veteran who had been with the ISO Commando Corps for over twenty years. "Bravo team will include snipers, Sir?" he inquired.

"Affirmative," came the reply, "Bravo team will be two snipers, one recon specialist, and a combat commando to watch their backs. I'll hand out team assignments while we're en route. "

The Sergeant nodded, and then the next commando took her turn. "Sir, do we have any intelligence on the layout of the bunker interior?" the relatively young Private Reed asked.

"Unfortunately not," the General frowned, "the recon team had to stick with passive observations this time. We strongly suspect that the hostiles operate monitoring equipment able to detect any of the active scans we might use to get an image of the underground location. We'll have to wing it once we're inside. We do know that the bunker contains at least four levels, probably five. We also expect that the weaponry we're after will be located on the lowest floor. Hopefully we can get to the objective and get back out without needing to secure the entire complex. We'll need to move fast."

As the answer was finished, another young private posed a final question. "Do we have any tactical data on enemy numbers and equipment, Commander?"

"Yes," the team leader affirmed, "we do have some Intel in that area. Primary soldier contingent in the complex numbers around a few hundred. They use a variety of small arms; most soldiers possess assault rifles of various types. All pre-cataclysm designed weapons, but they're in mint condition. There's a good chance the bad guys have a cache of weaponry stocked in an armoury in that bunker. If we stumble across that while were in there, we'll blow that up for good measure. About half of the soldiers are equipped with bulletproof gear. We anticipate most of the night shift should be without the armour. The recon team currently in the field will hook up with us at the insertion point to let us know the current situation, then they'll remain on board our transport until we're extracted. Any further questions?"

The assembled soldiers remained silent, determined faces focused on the mission ahead.

"Okay, let's gear up and head out. We depart from launch bay six in fifteen minutes, so let's move!" Riam tapped the control to deactivate the briefing console and headed directly to the armoury to load up his weapons and equipment.

On board Special Ops Transport Mecha-Tama, several hours later (02:00). Approaching Mission Insertion Zone, ETA six minutes

The interior of the Mecha-Tama echoed the design of the sleek black exterior. Riam and his ICE team were seated inside the 'shell' area, on surprisingly comfortable benches that ran around the front and rear bulkheads of the elongated-circular chamber. The walls on either side were actually gullwing doors which would swing upwards to allow the team's exit from the craft. In the centre of the room was a circular depression in the floor, which was a platform that could be used to pick up cargo or as an alternate egress point. The area was lit by a dim red glow, which would help the squad's eyes adjust to the nighttime darkness when they exited the vehicle.

At the front of the craft, the 'head' contained a cockpit staffed by a pilot and a copilot, and further back on either side of the 'neck' were two consoles for coordinating ground team movements and communications/recon data.

From their position in the deployment chamber, the ISO Commandos heard a click as the pilot activated the intercom system.

"Estimated time to designated insertion point is six minutes," stated the male voice, "switching engines to silent running."

The already subdued humming of the transports full-powered flight engines quietened to a barely audible level, ensuring their approach wouldn't be heard by any of the opposing forces. The velocity output of the vehicle would also drop significantly on the lower power mode, but the forward momentum already provided by the engines running at full capacity would allow them to coast to the landing area with plenty of extra speed to spare.

This model of Mecha-Tama had been specifically designed for Special Ops missions, and possessed full stealth technology. The craft was absolutely invisible to radar, maintained almost zero heat signature, and was constructed to present a minimal visible profile to any aggressors.

Flying at low level, they passed like a shadow above the treetops, barely disturbing the animals below.

A few minutes later, a clearing opened up at the base of a mountain in front of them. Applying reverse thrust to abruptly slow the craft, the pilot expertly set down in the middle of the open space. The gullwing hatches on both sides smoothly opened upwards, and in practiced order each of the commandos sprang from their seats and jumped through the openings.

Riam was the first out of the transport, crouching slightly to absorb the shock of the short descent. Bringing his weapon, a modified P90 SMG firearm, to the ready position he quickly moved forwards to make way for the rest of the group to follow. Moonlight from a full moon filled the clearing, which wasn't an ideal condition for performing a stealth operation. The moonlight also had the effect of making visible the black ISO light tactical ops uniform worn by all members of the strike team, as well as showing a Chinese jian-style sword strapped onto the beck of the ISO General. The squad commander swiftly made his way to crouch under the nose of the Mecha-Tama, eyes scanning the forest ahead of him. A crackle sounded through his communications earpiece as the copilot opened a channel.

"Sensors indicate six stationary heat signatures six-hundred meters up the mountainside in front of us, consistent with the recon team" the copilot informed the ISO chief,

The Australian acknowledged the report, then immediately transmitted on a pre-arranged secure frequency. "This is ICE Alpha, recognition code Zulu-Romeo-Six-Two-Seven-Tango, requesting passcode response."

A short moment later came a reply; "This is ISO Field Recon Four, passcode Echo-Tango-Seven-Zero-Nine-Foxtrot. Good to see you Alpha, we're on our way."

A few minutes later, the three men and three women of the recon team joined the ICE Squad in the clearing to deliver their final Intel report.

"The enemy encampment is directly on the other side of the mountain," the field team leader, a woman with an Arabic appearance, informed the team gathered around the front of the transport. "They unexpectedly staffed a guard station on the mountain peak earlier this evening, in a watch facility that had been unmanned since our arrival. We're not sure of the reason for that, but we're certain they have no knowledge of tonight's raid. The guards on watch at the peak are monitoring their airspace intrusion detection equipment, but my team and I naturally tinkered with their surveillance devices, ensuring they won't even blip at anything short of a Devastator-class Tama Bomber landing on top of them."

The surveillance leader took a sip of water from her canteen before continuing, "the gate we've marked for entering the compound is easily approachable through a nearby patch of dense forest that provides good concealment and cover. The gate is currently manned by two sentries stationed in a guard shack just inside the gate, although on a warm night like tonight they won't be inside the hut. Expect them to be standing nearby, possibly even just outside the gate. There's also another sentry who'll be standing right next to an alarm trigger on the building wall about twenty-five metres inside the gate. Just above the third guard is a security camera, closely monitored from the central security station which we assume is inside the bunker."

"And," inquired Riam, "You're sure it's not intentionally left loosely guarded as some kind of trap?"

"Positive," the recon officer assured the ISO commander, "we're assuming it's only lightly protected because the museum building, and the smaller unoccupied structures around it, stand away from the rest of the complex. There's a large patch of open ground, watched by sentry towers, which you'll need to cross to reach your objective. The gate itself is also too small to allow any type of large assault force through quickly."

"Okay, we're go for this mission," the Australian confirmed. "Recon team, board the Spec Ops Tama and monitor our narrow-band encrypted telemetry. Also track us via the surveillance satellite currently overhead, keeping us up to speed on any enemy positions you spot."

The reconnaissance team acknowledged the command and moved inside the sleek black vehicle.

Gathering his ICE squad, Riam lead them into the forested area and moved up the mountain that concealed the enemy camp on the opposite side.

Northern Revolutionary Army (NRA) main base encampment, 02:45

Within the fenced and guarded compound, all was relatively quiet. The only sign of any unusual activity was a group of uniformed soldiers performing late-night parade drills in a large floodlit area at the compound's centre.

There were other sentries and guard patrols throughout the area going about their duties, but were doing so quietly with no sign they were on alert.

Lurking in the shadowy forest just outside a small side gate, the black-clad figures of the ICE force observed the three-man detail of soldiers guarding the entrance. As the Recon Leader had described, two of the guards were standing just outside the gate, both smoking, while the third was near an alarm button well pas the gate. After a moment of whispered discussion, the ISO Commando Elite squad decided their plan of attack.

Riam personally took charge of performing the first step, quickly and quietly ascending one of the tall trees nearby. From the top of the tree, he launched himself forwards and up into the air, using his flight ability to arc high over the heads of the guards and land crouched on the roof of the museum building behind them.

The rearmost NRA guard, who had been leaning against the building wall, turned around and glanced upwards. Riam was already prone and well out of sight, so the sentry turned back to observing the forest outside the gate. The rest of Riam's ICE team were still concealed amongst the trees, watching closely but also out of the enemy's sight.

Moving quietly, the black-clad Australian stealthily moved to the edge of the roof and peered down. Directly below him was a security camera focused on the gate, with the sentry standing immediately below that. The camera was relatively far down the wall, and out of arms reach, causing Riam to pause and consider the situation for a moment. He quietly stood upright, perched on the very edge of the roof, spread his arms to the sides, and leaned forwards. Using some creative acrobatics, his toes hooked on to the edge of the roof and swung the rest of his body down to leave him suspended vertically upside down right above the camera. Easily locating the black cord sending the images from the security device back to the monitoring room, the Australian swiftly clipped a small back device onto the wire.

The clever little contraption tapped into the line, intercepting signals from every security camera on the loop, but passing the streams straight through to the enemy security centre without interruption for now. Meanwhile, it was also transmitting the signals back to the team stationed in the transport Tama via a virtually undetectable encrypted signal. The Tama-based team recorded a few minutes of video footage from the cameras, and swiftly edited them to virtually faultless infinite looping sequences. Once that was done, they cut the live feed from the cameras and transmitted their own stream along the line to the security monitoring station within the opposition's base. Now that the enemy security centre was blind to the real activities at the gate and in the complex, the ICE team could act.

Still vertically suspended, Riam unhooked his toes and flipped down besides the sentry below him and struck out with his fist. The NRA soldier was rendered unconscious before the man knew what had hit him. At the same instant, two tranquilliser darts shot from the dark forest, each striking one of the other two guards in their necks. The incredibly fast-acting neurolytic tranquilliser contained in the darts dropped both targets to the ground instantly.

The ISO chief unhooked a keyring from one of the guards' belts, strode over to the gate and unlocked it to let the rest of the ICE team inside the compound.

Moving as a unit, they quickly proceeded around the corner to the front of the museum building. They ascended an impressive stairway to the main entrance, where an infiltration specialist got to work on the lock and alarm system.

'Sir," the female specialist addressed Riam with a whisper, "the alarm system of the building is already offline, looks like it was short-circuited at the main security control box inside. Shouldn't give us any problems with moving straight in."

"Okay," the team leader responded, "we'll head inside and bear left, moving directly up the staircase to the to the top floor."

As he finished speaking, the entry door swung open and the group passed through.

A minute later, everyone was gathered near a window on the top floor. The view from the window allowed them to look out over most of the compound, including the floodlit parade ground and the bunker entrance building.

"Okay, Bravo team," Riam addressed the group, "you'll be stationed here. Snipers watch our backs, Recon spot the targets and keep everyone up-to-date, and the assault commando will keep watch on the museum interior. Everyone else, we'll head back to the ground floor and exit via a side door. We'll then proceed towards the parade ground using the nearby building as cover." Glancing around at the serious faces of the squad, the Aussie ISO boss continued, "we'll have to snipe all of the sentries in the guard towers at the ground's perimeter before heading straight across the area to the bunker entry point."

After receiving a chorus of agreement from the troops, the order was given to proceed with the plan.

Several minutes later, Riam and his team moved rapidly through an area filled with unlit buildings. The deep shadows cast by the structures provided perfect cover to the group as they silently proceeded through the darkness towards the centre of the compound.

Riam had assigned one of the ICE recon scouts, Private Lloyd, to take point position for the squad. Lloyd, while young, was already one of the most capable soldiers in his field and his senses were finely tuned to detect even the slightest hint of any nearby opposition. It wasn't long before the Private proved this fact, raising his hand urgently to gesture the team into concealment just before an NRA patrol marched into view fifty hundred metres ahead.

The ICE operatives instantly dropped to a prone position and rolled to the right, pressing against a building wall to minimise their visibility.

One of the technological wonders SASA possessed was a "Chameleon Suit", that made the wearer practically invisible to the naked eye. It wasn't perfect of course; infra-red imaging would instantly nullify any benefits. But the real drawback to the Stealth Suits was the fact that virtually no external equipment could be carried while in use. This limited the deployment of the Suits to qualified recon specialists in very specific situations.

As the ICE team were loaded up with plenty of equipment, they were restricted to the more traditional methods of avoiding detection.

The enemy patrol glanced down the alleyway towards where the SASA forces lay cloaked in the shadows, eyes searching for anything unusual. The concealment methods used by the commandos were adequate enough however, and it wasn't long before the patrol moved onwards past the narrow street.

Immediately after the opposition soldiers were out of sight, the ISO covert ops team were back on their feet and moving forwards. They were close to the floodlit area now, a huge, brightly illuminated section of ground that they would need to cross.

Luckily, the soldiers who had been performing parade drills earlier had vacated the area. It seemed they had quit for the night.

Nine sentry towers were situated with views over the brightly-lit area, each tower placed about equal distances from one another. They were of crude design, merely platforms with waist-height walls on three sides, a thin roof, and a wooden ladder providing access to the unwalled side. Four of the structures were garrisoned by two soldiers each; the other five were staffed by only one sentry in each.

Riam's chosen ICE team contained four qualified snipers, each of them an expert sharpshooter with 98% accuracy on marksmanship tests. The General himself was significantly less competent with a sniper rifle, only averaging 65% on tests.

The ICE sharpshooters were equipped with long-range magnetically accelerated sniper rifles, silenced SASA special-issue. They were highly accurate and extremely lethal weapons. Unfortunately SASA forces had no reliable way of rendering enemies immediately unconscious from such a range, and an instant takedown was essential in most ICE operations.

The snipers would work in pairs to silently eliminate the NRA sentries, each pair targeting separate towers. As soon as the guards in each structure were confirmed down, the next in sequence would swiftly be targeted and dealt with. That was the plan.

Taking up position, the marksmen began their mission, aiming at the closest targets first. The first sniper pair aimed to the left, a tower stationed by two men. Each of the sharpshooters took careful aim at separate sentries and pulled their triggers in unison. The guards crumpled instantly, falling hidden behind the tower walls. The second pair of marksmen aimed to the right, with only one sentry standing duty inside the structure. One of the ICE snipers took the primary shot, his partner targeting the same NRA soldier and prepared to fire a backup shot if the primary missed. The precautionary measure was not needed however, the first shot dropping the mark before the poor man knew what had hit him.

With expert precision, both sharpshooter teams quickly proceeded to their next targets. The following four towers were nullified without a hitch until only three were left, all containing one NRA soldier each.

Team one took aim at their fourth tower, the primary shooter lining up the guard in his sights. He squeezed the trigger home, and as before the projectile sped from the muzzle of the weapon – But this time the shot missed. The guard was struck in the shoulder, and had time to emit a short cry of pain before the backup's shot struck on target, silencing the man.

The brief shout had been enough to alert the sentry stationed in the next tower along, who spun towards the noise. The first primary had already bracketed the soldier, and fired another shot. This one was bang on target and dropped the guard before an alert could be sounded.

Meanwhile, team two was aiming at the final tower. The primary marksman fired his shot, which struck the guard precisely on target and killed him instantly. The dead man began to crumple, but instead of heading straight to the floor he fell backwards towards the fourth side of the platform, the side with no wall. The body plummeted from the tower, landing with a thud at the base of the ladder.

"Kuso…" Riam swore under his breath. If that body was discovered before their objective was complete, the alarm might be raised prematurely and make the mission much more difficult.

At that instant, a door near the fallen body on the opposite side of the compound opened, and yet another NRA soldier stepped out. The man turned to close the door behind himself, then turned again and started to walk forwards. The corpse was right in front of him, but it took a second to register in the soldier's mind. When the guard realised what he was seeing, he opened his mouth to shout an alarm, but didn't get the chance. A sniper from Bravo team fired a long-range shot from the museum, perfectly aimed, to promptly drop the man where he stood. Now there were two bodies in plain sight, and those would have to be dealt with.

Sergeant Hanks was crouching next to his General, and whispered some advice to him. "Sir, those dead soldiers aren't awfully far away from the bunker entrance. Once we're there, we should be able to carry them into the bunker and out of sight."

"Thanks Sergeant," the ISO commander replied quickly, "we'll do that." He then addressed the whole squad, "okay everyone, get ready. Prepare to sprint across the field to the bunker entrance as soon as I give the word."

The team readied themselves, and as they did so Riam clicked on his communications headset.

"ICE Alpha to Field Recon Four," he began, "check satellite infra-red imaging for guard patrols. Are we clear for a dash over to the bunker entrance?"

The reply came in a second later, "Message received ICE Alpha, stand by." There was a short pause as the recon operatives back on the Mecha-Tama checked their data. "Alpha," the recon team finally continued, "you're clear to go."

Riam gave the command, and the entire ICE group sprang to their feet. The commandos sprinted across the dangerous open ground, not slowing until they were right at the bunker entry point's door.

The door was solid steel, set into a hardened cement structure. The door would slide open to the side, but only when the correct access code was entered into an electronic keypad located on the wall beside it.

The ICE team also included Private Reed though, the Infiltration Specialist who had gained them entry into the museum. She was an expert at bypassing electronic security, and very few systems could withstand her abilities. The relatively mediocre keypad stood no chance, and Reed's skills had the door opened in under a minute.

Reed stood aside as the door slid open, leaving the way open for Corporal Collins, who was one of the highest rated assault operatives available to ISO. Collins stepped up to the door and rapidly fired off two short bursts from his silenced MP5 SMG. After firing, the Commando walked straight inside, gesturing over his shoulder for the rest of the team to follow.

Riam was the fifth to enter the small cement building, noting two deceased guards had been moved to one side and propped against the wall.

In close-quarters combat, non-lethal takedowns were also usually impractical. It was vital that the opposition had no chance to trigger alarms, and tried-and-true firearms were still the best tools for the job.

Inside the cement building a heavy blast door was set angled into the ground. The solid steel slab was sealed securely, with an advanced electronic locking mechanism. It would take Private Reed several minutes to bypass this one.

While the Private started her work, Kaikiaichi had Hanks and Collins follow him back outside the bunker. The group of three sprinted over to the base of the closest sentry tower, near which lay the bodies of two NRA guards.

The General and the Sergeant each picked up one of the fallen men, hoisting the corpses over their shoulders to carry them back into the bunker entrance. The Corporal watched their backs, carefully surveying the area around them.

Riam was halfway to his destination when his sensitive hearing picked up the almost inaudible sound of Collins' silenced weapon firing a short burst. Turning, the Australian was just in time to see another NRA soldier falling to the ground. Wasting no time, Collins dashed over and picked up the body, then followed his superiors in the direction of the bunker.

A short moment later, the trio had all arrived safely back inside the bunker entrance structure.

They arrived inside just in time to hear a hiss as the blast door unseal, followed by a rumble as it slid aside and revealed a flight of stairs leading downwards.

"Private Reed," Riam addressed the talented Infiltration Specialist, "before we go into the bunker, seal off outside access to this entrance building. Make it look like a simple equipment failure, and ensure we can easily open it from inside on our way back out."

"Yes Sir," she nodded, "give me a few seconds."

True to her word, Reed was able to completely disable the exterior access keypad in three seconds flat.

Then it was time for the ICE team to head down into the bunker.

Once they'd reached to bottom of the stairway, with Corporal Collins taking point, the ISO operatives found themselves looking into a circular chamber with three passages leading off from it.

They were about to proceed inside the room, but were stopped by a sudden communication from the team back on the Mecha-Tama.

"ICE Alpha," the transmission began, "hold your position. The bunker's internal security cameras are on a separate loop than the exterior. We can't access or spoof them, so you'll have to try and stay out of their field of view."

Kaikiaichi frowned, then activated his own transmitter. "Roger that, Recon Four. Thanks for the heads up."

Sergeant Hanks, who was standing just to the left of Riam, nudged his Commanding Officer. "General, look there," he said, gesturing upwards, "it's a camera."

The Australian glanced up, and saw that there was indeed a camera just above them. Luckily though, it was pointed into the junction chamber and couldn't see the stairwell passage in which the ICE team was standing. If the Recon operatives hadn't alerted the Commandos to the danger, it was likely that the team would have already had the entire bunker facility knowing of their presence.

Private Lloyd, the ICE Alpha Recon Specialist, stepped forward to make a suggestion. "Sir, if we rotate the camera just a little to the left, I don't think the guards at the security station would notice such a tiny change in the view. That would create a narrow blind spot, so if we all hug the wall we should just be able to slip into the right-hand corridor without being seen."

"Looks like our best option," Riam nodded to Lloyd, "let's do it."

Corporal Collins had to hoist the Private onto his shoulders, so that the expert scout could reach the camera. Lloyd gently grasped the surveillance device, and with the greatest of care nudged it to the left. The modified viewing angle of the camera should, with a little luck, let the ICE team slip into the right-hand passage by a narrow margin. Collins lowered his teammate back to the ground, and Lloyd took point.

Lead by the Recon Specialist, the members of the ICE team pressed their backs up against the wall and inched their way along sideways.

A short time later they'd all successfully passed out of the danger zone, and were gathered halfway down the corridor. The passage was mostly featureless, just dull grey paint and some exposed pipes overhead, and luckily there were no cameras in sight.

"Okay ladies and gentlemen," Riam turned to address the troops, "our first priority is to locate their security control centre, get in there without being detected on the way, and neutralise the site without the alarm being sounded." The ISO chief looked around at the faces of his team listening attentively, "now the first step is finding the damn thing. I think the best way to accomplish that is to get access to a networked computer terminal, which we can hopefully use to bring up a floor plan of this place. Once we get that, we'll have some idea of the best way to complete the next step. Questions?"

The ICE team had no queries, and the group moved onward down the corridor, keeping a close watch for more cameras.

At the end of the passage was a T-junction with similar-looking passages leading in both directions, and Riam peeked around the corner to take a look. The corridor on the team's left-hand side was almost triple the length of its twenty metre opposite to the team's right. The longer tunnel also featured a camera peering straight down the entire aisle towards them. The ISO commander quickly ducked his head back and described the situation to the ICE group.

Once again, Lloyd came up with a cunning plan. "General, unless that camera is specially focused, and I doubt it is, then we should be able to keep out of sight by going along the ceiling."

Kaikiaichi glanced upwards at the pipes above them. They looked to be quite stable enough to support the weight of a few commandos clinging to them.

"That's a brilliant idea Private, but I'm afraid the piping only extends three quarters of the way down the corridor, not far enough to reach the end" Riam told him.

"Actually Sir," Lloyd smiled, "I was thinking more of heading to the right." The sharp young recon officer gestured to a sign on the wall, "It looks like there's a maintenance access station there, which may give us access to some service ducts if we're lucky."

The sign Lloyd had pointed out was indeed marked "Maintenance", with an arrow pointing to the right.

"Great thinking, soldier!" Riam grinned, "remind me to give you an official commendation when we get back."

"Yes Sir," the Private smiled.

After securing their primary weapons on their backs, both Lloyd and Kaikiaichi jumped upwards, grabbed onto the pipes and singing their legs up to lock around the conduits. Hanging parallel to the floor like this should allow them to move to the maintenance area unseen

"We'll scout ahead," the Australian told the rest of the ICE team below him, "keep this corridor secure."

As the commandos acknowledged the order, Riam began pulling himself hand-over-hand, sliding along a dull red pipe of intermediate size. Rounding the corner, he spotted the maintenance door set into one side of the passageway. Still pulling himself along the pipe, the ISO General swiftly approached the entrance with Private Lloyd following right behind him.

Once Riam had drawn level with the door he unhooked his legs from the pipe, switched his grip to another conduit, and used his levitation abilities to rotate himself on the horizontal plane. This left him facing downwards, hovering parallel to the floor. His hands now closed around a smaller pipe in the centre of the corridor ceiling with his body directly in line with the doorway.

The ISO commander took a moment to ready himself, then abruptly ceased using his levitation to support his himself. Gravity took over, forcing his body downwards, but by maintaining his grip on the conduit he used the momentum to swing himself feet-first towards the door. His feet smashed through the door, the impact tearing the door from its hinges.

Riam immediately released his grip from the pipe and sailed straight through the new opening. Tucking himself up as he landed, he used the remainder of the kinetic energy to commando-roll into a kneeling position with his sidearm pistol held at the ready.

The room was clear of hostiles though, and the ICE team leader signalled to Lloyd that it was safe to enter. The Recon Specialist swung himself inside, the dangerous gaze of the camera catching only a millisecond of a blurred shape before the Private was safely inside.

Both ICE team members now had a chance to examine their surroundings. The maintenance room contained various metallic equipment and machinery, including an air circulation apparatus with a promising-looking access panel set into the side.

Managing to pry open the panel and slide it aside, they were able to peer into the guts of the machine. There was indeed a shaft leading downwards, but it was quite narrow. In addition to that, a heavy-looking air processing unit was perched over the duct, blocking any access.

"I think," Riam said thoughtfully, "that I could just about make it down there if I dropped all of my equipment."

Both Kaikiaichi and Lloyd had slim builds, but the Australian was the slimmer of the two by a narrow margin.

"Right Sir, but that machinery on top of the vent looks pretty securely placed," the Private blinked, "and I didn't bring any tools to have a go at the bolts."

"Well luckily," Riam smiled, "we're in a maintenance area. Try checking in that cupboard over there." The General pointed out a red cabinet mounted on the wall.

"Yes Sir!" the young specialist made his way over to the cabinet. It was locked, but the door buckled easily after a quick strike from the butt of Lloyd's SMG. Inside the cabinet was, most fortunately, all of the tools they would need to safely deactivate and remove the ventilation equipment.

Several minutes later, the duo had managed to dismount the obstruction from above the vent, and manhandled it onto the floor nearby.

"Okay," the General addressed Lloyd, "I'll scout out the situation down there to determine our best mode of attack, and to try and get the rest of the team down there without being detected. I'm afraid I'll have to leave you up here. It's safer if you don't rejoin the rest of the group, as the camera might easily spot you try to get back up onto the pipes."

As the Private nodded his acknowledgment, Riam removed his tactical vest and tool-belt, then placed his P90 and sword down besides them. He kept his pistol with him, for protection, attaching a silencer onto the weapon to maintain the stealth approach. He also kept his communications headset in place.

Thus prepared, the ICE commander lowered himself feet-first into the uncomfortably narrow ventilation shaft.

Descending at a moderate velocity, it took Riam a few minutes to hit the bottom of the vertical shaft. The shaft linked into a tubular duct running horizontally below it, and with a little contortion the ISO General managed to slide himself down into it.

Looking along the pipe ahead of him, the infiltrator noted light shining through small rectangular grilles spaced out evenly along the sides; those would be the vents that allowed the air out into the bunker complex.

The nearest ventilation opening was approximately five metres ahead of the ICE operative, and he wasted no more time in crawling towards it. Once he'd drawn level with the outlet he was able to peer out and examine the surrounding area. He found himself looking into a corridor running parallel to the air circulation conduit. Directly across from his position was a doorway in the opposite wall. The door was open, allowing him to see straight into the room beyond. Inside the room, Riam spotted two NRA soldiers conversing with each other. He could also hear another participant taking part, although the owner of the voice was out of sight. The discussion itself was quite uninteresting, seeming to be a debate over the superiority of different sporting teams, but the fact that they were talking about something so trivial was a good indication that the alarm had yet to be raised.

Moving on, the black-clad agent passed several more duct outlets uneventfully, until he came across a short passage branching off to the left. Poking his head into the offshoot revealed a grille set into the floor, large enough to serve as an exit point.

Deciding it was time to leave the air circulation system, Riam was able to locate the screws securing the hatch in place, and with few a quick twists the grille hinged open. The slim infiltrator slid himself through the opening, emerging in a headfirst dive straight towards the floor. As he fell, he extended his arms ahead of him to both absorb the impact of the landing, and then to handspring back to his feet.

The small alcove he was now standing in provided access to several maintenance facilities. An electrical switchboard was set into the wall in front of him, to his left were some pipe and conduit junctions, and to his right was a door leading into a small utility office.

The Australian quietly opened the door to the cramped maintenance office, which was conveniently unlocked, and slipped inside, closing the door behind him. Several sets of tools and janitorial supplies were stored against the walls on either side of him, and a metal desk was located against the far wall.

On top of the desk, a glowing blue screen signified that he'd found what was looking for – A terminal connected to the bunker's maintenance network. With a little luck, he should be able to call up floor plans and blueprints of the complex.

Stepping up to the terminal, Riam brought up the login screen and smiled. The Operating System on the bunker's network dated from before the Cataclysm, and it was one with which the ISO Commander was very familiar. He had been an Information Systems student before the Cataclysm, working towards his Bachelor's Degree, and had already earned a Diploma in Systems Administration. This experience was about to pay off, as he rebooted the terminal into a command prompt access. Quickly and expertly, he circumvented the security lockouts, and in a few minutes had created himself an account with Administrator access to the system.

He logged himself in with his new account and began calling up the maintenance diagrams, searching for a way to get the rest of the ICE Team down to the objective area without being detected.

Viewing the plans, he confirmed that the three nuclear weapons were all stored in a lab on the fifth floor of the bunker.

Locating the security setup information, Riam determined that his team would need to take out the Central Security Command Centre on Level Three as soon as possible to avoid detection as they descended to the Primary Objective area.

The security systems themselves were located on their own closed network, accessible only from the Command Centre. With his current equipment, it would be virtually impossible for the ICE commander to tap into the security data loop.

All of the elevator cars in the complex were monitored by cameras, as were the stairwells. There were also emergency exit ladders that traversed all floors of the bunker; these had no cameras but were wired with multiple alarms.

From the terminal Riam was currently working on he couldn't access the security systems, but had virtually unrestricted access to all of the maintenance systems in the bunker. Among other things, he had control over the elevator systems and lighting. An idea began to form in his head.

Activating his headset, he contacted his team. "Kaikiaichi to ICE Alpha," he began, "I think I have a way to get everyone down here. Lloyd, are you receiving?"

The Recon Specialist, still in the maintenance room with the air processing facilities, responded immediately. "Yes Sir, Lloyd receiving."

"Okay Private," the General addressed the Specialist, "on the south wall of the maintenance room you're in, you should see a long rectangular panel running just above the floor."

Lloyd took a second to confirm he'd located the correct panel before replying, "Affirmative Sir, I see it."

"Okay," Riam continued, "you can open that panel by undoing the butterfly screws in each corner. Inside the panel you'll find three red-coloured cubes, with wires connecting them to the rear of the chamber. Those are backup batteries for the emergency lighting."

It took several seconds for the Private to remove the panel and look into the compartment. "Got it Sir, I see the batteries," he transmitted.

"Great. Cut all of the wires connecting to the batteries, that will disable the backups for the emergency lighting. The primary power for the emergency lighting is a dedicated loop connecting to auxiliary generators in the bunker's central power facility and on each floor of the bunker. Running along the rear of the battery compartment you'll see a thick cable. That's the emergency lighting power conduit.

"I see it Sir," Lloyd affirmed, "and I've cut the battery power already."

"Good, now you'll need to bypass that auxiliary power line." The General glanced at the schematics on the monitor in front of him, and read out instructions for the Private to safely bypass the power.

Lloyd was done in a couple of minutes, and the Australian informed the other ICE Team members of the next step in his plan.

"Okay guys, I can cut the main lighting from here," Riam explained, "and with the emergency lights down the corridor will be pitch black. Their cameras will have low-light capability, but won't be able to pierce complete darkness. Team, prepare to go to night vision and activate your infra-red illuminators. Once the lights go out, head straight down the corridor. At the end of the passage is a set of elevator doors. I'll open them as soon as the lights go out. I can control the doors and the position of the elevator car itself, but there's a camera inside the car and the elevator's emergency lighting is self-contained, so you'll have to go down on the roof. It's a cargo elevator, so the roof is relatively spacious anyway. I'll then move the elevator down to Level Three, where the security centre is. Further instructions when you arrive there."

"Roger that General, standing by to proceed at your signal," Sergeant Hanks acknowledged for the rest of the ICE Team.

"Oh, and Lloyd," Riam added, "grab my gear I left up there and bring it down with you."

With a few more mouse clicks Riam summoned the control interfaces he'd need to carry out his plan. Before cutting the power, Kaikiaichi accessed the internal communications settings and redirected the Central Maintenance Facility hotline number to the telephone extension on the desk beside him. Security would no doubt contact maintenance as soon as the lights went down, and the ISO Director wanted to be ready.

Once that was taken care of, the ex-vigilante took a deep breath and deactivated the lighting in the cargo elevator access corridor.

Security Control Centre, NRA Command Bunker Level Three

The Security Control Centre was a well-lit rectangular room, with monitor stations running the entire length of both sides. There was also a long double-sided console in the centre of the room, containing more security-related computer equipment.

The usual compliment of staff for the early-AM shift were on duty; eight Security Officers, two Technicians, a Sergeant, and a Lieutenant to oversee them. There was also an additional group of four other Security Officers present. The extra Officers were actually rostered on as part of the roving patrol detail, but had stopped over in the Control Centre to enjoy coffee and a game of cards with their buddies. The Lieutenant on watch was engrossed in a pre-Cataclysm fictional novel.

Officer Simmons, a rookie on the team, was assigned to watch the monitor bank covering the Entry Section up on Level One. The young Officer had just taken the first sip of his fresh mug of coffee when he noticed the image on one of the monitors flicker into blackness. Simmons blinked and placed the steaming mug of hot coffee on the desk, then reached forward and tapped the dark screen a few times.

"Uh, Sergeant?" Simmons called over his shoulder, "I just lost Camera Three in Level One Entry. Image died on me."

The duty Sergeant was at the rookie's side in a second, looking over the Officer's shoulder. The Lieutenant looked up from the novel he was reading, and shot an irritated look towards the disturbance.

The Sergeant called over towards one of the Technicians, "Run a remote diagnostic on that camera, tell me what went wrong."

The tech expertly initiated the diagnostic sequence, receiving the result back in just a few seconds. "Camera looks fine Sergeant," he reported, "All diagnostics check out in the green."

The Sergeant turned back to the rookie Officer. "Okay Simmons, rewind the recording on the camera, let's take a closer look."

Simmons manipulated the controls in front of him, spinning back to moments before the image cut out. Then he began playback in slow motion.

On the screen in front of them, the Sergeant and the Officer watched closely, both clearly seeing the lights in the corridor flicker before they went out.

The Sergeant walked over to where the night watch commander was sitting and addressed the man, "Lieutenant, looks like the lighting went down in that corridor, and the emergencies failed. Should I dispatch a team to investigate?"

The Lieutenant glanced towards the Sergeant, "If the lights went out then it's not our problem," he said, "call maintenance."

The Sergeant nodded and reached for a telephone handset.

Utility Office #14, NRA Command Bunker Level Two

Riam had just received a communication from Sergeant Hanks informing him that the ICE Team had all made it safely onto the elevator, when the telephone beside him rang.

The Australian picked up the handset, and doing his best to imitate an American accent, spoke into it. "Maintenance Centre," he answered, "you frag it, we fix it!"

"Very funny," the Security Sergeant replied, "now get serious. The lights just went out on Level One, and Emergency Backups didn't kick in either. Fix it."
"Don't worry," Riam assured, "we're on it. Lights will be back up right about…" The General clicked a control on the terminal in front of him before finishing the sentence, "… Now."

True to his word, the lights in the Cargo Elevator hallway immediately flickered back to life. Before hanging up the handset, the crafty infiltrator said a few more words to the Security Sergeant. "We'll be fiddling with some of the primary circuit breakers in a moment to try and isolate what went wrong in the first place. If you see any lights flickering on and off rapidly, that's just us messing around."

"Okay," the Sergeant acknowledged, "make sure it doesn't happen again."

The Security Sergeant hung op the phone, closing the connection.

Riam smiled, then called up his ICE Team on the radio. While conversing with the Security Sergeant, he'd already moved the cargo elevator car down with the roof level to the third floor exit doors.

"Kaikiaichi to team," he addressed them over the radio, "I'll open the elevator doors momentarily. They're out of sight of the camera above them, so you'll have time to check out the area in front of you." Riam took another look at the building plans displayed on the terminal monitor before continuing. "You'll be looking out into a large corridor which stretches about two hundred meters along to your left, and three hundred metres to your right. Directly ahead of you will be a door, but don't go through it. It leads right into a security checkpoint. Approximately fifteen meters to the right of the checkpoint door is another door. This one leads into an office supply room, and shouldn't be locked."

The ICE Team leader activated one of the options on the terminal display to open the cargo elevator doors on the third floor.

Down below, the ICE squad peered out from the elevator shaft to examine the corridor, easily avoiding the view of a security camera above the doors. The camera was, however, covering the rest of the hall and prevented the team from leaving the shaft.

"What I'm going to do," Riam continued explaining his plan, "is strobe the lights in the hallway on and off. I've timed the strobing sequence precisely so that the camera will white out trying to switch back and forth between normal and low light modes. Wait for a couple of seconds after you see the strobing begin, then double-time to the storage room, get inside, and shut the door behind you. As soon as it's closed, report in via radio. If I keep it strobing too long, Security might start getting edgy."

"Roger and affirmative, General," replied Hanks, "standing by."

Kaikiaichi manipulated the terminal controls, and waited as the strobing sequence began.

Cargo Elevator Area, NRA Command Bunker Level Three

Sergeant Hanks and Corporal Collins stood side by side, preparing themselves for a fifteen-meter sprint towards the grey metal of the supply room door.

They didn't need to wait long for the corridor lights to start strobing, and after pausing for two seconds as ordered, began their dash.

In a flash, both men were at the door with the other members of the ICE Team following close behind them.

Hanks reached for the handle on the door, grasped it, and attempted to turn it. It was locked.

Collins and Hanks glanced at each other, each thinking the same thought. When finesse failed, brute force would work.

Hanks took a step backwards, then launched a kick at the door. The Sergeant's powerful frame smashed the door open violently, denting and warping the metal.

Collins stepped up to the newly opened portal, sweeping the room with his eyes and taking a second to check that the area was secure. Once he was satisfied the supply room was clear, the Corporal ran inside, followed immediately by Hanks and then the remaining ICE Alpha members.

Once everyone was inside, Collins moved to shut the door. The Sergeant's aggressive method of opening the door had buckled the frame though, and the door refused to swing completely closed. Using the same theory of force over finesse, the Corporal applied his own boot to the door. A single swift kick was all it took to slam the door home. The repeated blows to the door had had a side-affect though, and the door was now securely jammed in the closed position.

"Hmm," remarked Collins as he looked at the now sealed portal, "I hope the CO wasn't planning on us returning that way."
"Or more importantly," Hanks added, "I hope he wasn't planning on coming through there to rejoin us."

The Sergeant then activated his transmitter to report that the team was safely inside the supply room. "Hanks to Kaikiaichi, ICE Team Alpha have arrived at designated location and entry door is secured."

"Roger ICE Alpha," sounded Riam's return signal, "stand by at that location. I'll be in your vicinity in ten minutes."

Utility Office #14, NRA Command Bunker Level Two

Back at the terminal in the Utility Office, Riam had ceased the strobing of the corridor lights the instant Hanks had confirmed the supply room door closed. There were no further calls in from Security, so it seemed that the infiltration remained undetected so far.

After taking a short moment to quickly set the best time record on the system's Minesweeper game, the pre-Cataclysm qualified System Administrator logged off the terminal and cautiously exited the room.

Riam was now clad in an orange jumpsuit, standard issue for NRE maintenance personnel, that he had been pleasantly surprised to find hanging in the Utility Office.

He was sure that the people watching the cameras at Central Security would expect to see maintenance technicians wandering around the facility. Security Checkpoints and patrolling guards were another matter though.

To minimise the chance of unwanted encounters, the ICE agent had used the floor plans accessed on the maintenance terminal to plot a route that avoided the main corridors. It was longer than the most direct route to his destination, but had the benefit of avoiding three Security Checkpoints and several probable patrol routes.

Riam had chosen a small out-of-the-way staircase to descend to Level Three, and was only halfway there when he encountered his first two NRA soldiers. They weren't assigned to security detail however, and didn't bother to challenge the man in the maintenance uniform.

The disguised SASA officer strode confidently past the pair of soldiers, acting like he had every right to be there. Once the two bad guys were out of sight however, Riam stopped for a moment and breathed a sigh of relief. Even before the Cataclysm he had had experience infiltrating live installations, being an active Urban Explorer, but knew that danger was ever present when bluffing his way past building staff. Although he was able to hide it perfectly, his mind still tensed up every time he was challenged, even after all the years that he had been doing it.

Breathing break over, he continued on his way towards his chosen stairs.

A few minutes later the ISO chief was standing at the door to the stairwell, about to enter and descend, when he heard a voice call from the passage to his right.

"Hey, you in the orange suit, hold it!" demanded the leader of a three-man security patrol.

"I'm kind of busy right now," Riam feigned annoyance, "make it quick."

The patrol leader chose to ignore the annoyed tone of the man in the maintenance uniform. "What's your business at this hour?"

"I was called out to work on the lighting systems, we've had reports of some problems tonight," responded the Australian, remembering to mask his accent. He'd learned that few of his countrymen had made the trek from their home continent, and the Australian inflection of voice was most often out of place.

"The problems have, I assume," inquired the NRA Officer, "been logged with the Security Centre?"

"As far as I know they have," was Riam's answer, "my boss would have done that. As I said, I was called out after the problem was reported."

"Okay," the patrol leader, "let me check." The man raised a handheld radio to his face and pressed the transmit button, "Delta-Echo Patrol to Security Control."

"Control receiving," sounded the reply, "go ahead Delta-Echo."

"Have you logged any maintenance call out reports tonight," asked the Security Officer, "specifically relating the lighting systems?"

"That's affirmative Delta-Echo," was the immediate response, "we reported that one ourselves."

"Roger Control," the patrol leader acknowledged, "I might have another information request, please stand by."

Lowering the radio, the NRA guard queried the supposed maintenance man again. "Where's your ID badge?"

Glancing down at the front of his orange suit, Riam noted there was no identification card attached. Of course, he already knew there wasn't, as he'd checked around for one before leaving the Utility Office.

"Oops," he smiled sheepishly, "Must have left it in my locker."

The patrol leader sighed. "Idiot. Okay, name and rank?"

Luckily the maintenance uniform was provided with a nametag and patches indicating the wearer's rank. The practiced infiltrator had made sure to memorise the information.

"Alan Jones," he replied without hesitation, "Technician First Class."

The security guard raised his radio again and relayed the information to the Control Centre for a security checkup.

The operator at the other end was quick to call up the personnel file and relay the information. "Identity verified, but Technician Jones is not rostered on for this shift."

"Right," demanded the patrol leader, "explain yourself."

"I was called up out of bed by my boss to deal with this," the disguised technician explained himself. He didn't say why he called me, and I didn't ask. My boss doesn't like explaining things to me, and he doesn't like it when I don't get my assignment done fast. He's going to chew me out if I don't go and get my section of the lighting system fixed up pronto."

The Security Officer nodded. "Okay," he said, "go and do your work. But consider yourself on report, and don't get caught without your ID again."

Riam acknowledged the directive, then entered the stairwell and proceeded down to Level Three.

The Security Complex, of which the Control Centre was a part, was located right in the middle of the rectangular Level Three. The Security Complex housed various facilities such as the Control Centre, briefing rooms, holding cells, armoury, and even barracks for rapid response guards. The majority of Level Three was, according to the information in the maintenance database, dedicated to offices and administrative tasks. Why a primarily military organisation like the NRA would need such extensive administrative facilities, Riam had no idea.

The exit of the stairwell from Level Two had deposited him on the north side of the floor. This was the opposite of where the rest of his ICE Team was, on the south side.

To rejoin the squad, he would avoid the corridors as much as possible, cutting through the open-plan offices instead. At this hour he would be surprised if any of the offices were in use. In fact, his plan for assaulting the Security Complex depended on an element of the ICE Team in full tactical gear moving through the offices. Internal security was thankfully light, with cameras being mainly focused on the hallways, elevators, and stairs. The electronic security on Level Three was especially lax, perhaps because of the Security Complex's presence, although guard patrols were more likely to be encountered. Security on Level Four and Level Five was especially tight, hance the need to eliminate the Security Control Centre before descending deeper into the bunker.

Quickly crossing the hallway he was standing in, Riam opened a door and stepped into a reception area for one of the offices. It wasn't a Security Checkpoint and was, quite naturally considering the time, unstaffed. There was a camera mounted on the wall, but two of the three doors in the room were outside it's field of view, including the one Kaikiaichi had entered through, He closed the door behind him, walked underneath the camera to avoid detection, and exited through the opposite door. He was now in a large office space, with tidy cubicles arranged in neat rows. As he had anticipated, he was the only occupant of the room. He was also pleased to note that the chamber was free of cameras, and there were no motion sensors that he could see.

Confident that the area was safe, Kaikiaichi walked rapidly past the workstations towards a door on the far side of the room. This was the first of three administration sections that he would pass through, each separated by a corridor that he would need to cross when moving between them. Beyond the third office area was a mess hall for the workers, followed by a kitchen, and finally a suite of executive offices. Then he would be at a secondary entrance into the supply room where the other members of ICE Alpha were awaiting his arrival.

Riam reached the exit door several seconds later, and opened it slowly. He peeked around both corners, checking for cameras and security guards, but the corridor was thankfully devoid of either. The stealthy infiltrator stepped across the passage and through a door on the opposite side.

The open plan office he now found himself in was identical to the one he had just left. He didn't hesitate to look around this time, striding rapidly to the opposite side. Once more, he was cautious in crossing the passageway, but made it across without incident.

A quick glance revealed to the SASA General that this office was slightly different to the two he had already passed. This room was somewhat wider than the previous ones, and additionally possessed short hallways between the entrance doors and the main area. The purpose of these was to provide space for four enclosed offices, one in each corner of the chamber.

Riam was three-quarters of the way across the room when he heard the sound of a door opening. An NRA worker emerged from one of the corner offices, stepping out into the short hall in front of the disguised ISO commander.

Looking up, the worker saw the orange-suited man and walked towards him.

"You shouldn't be in here without an escort," the worker challenged, "this is a level six classified area. Are you lost?"

Seeing that the NRA uniformed man was alone, the covert infiltrator decided it would be simpler to neutralise the inconvenience rather than bluff his way past. His martial arts skills served him in good stead, the worker crumpling to the ground with no more noise than a sharp gasp.

Riam's excellent hearing detected a second gasp from the short hallway, and the ICE operative looked up to see a second NRA worker dashing for an alarm button on the wall.

With lightning fast reflexes, the experienced ICE officer pulled his silenced pistol out of concealment within the maintenance suit and rapidly discharged two rounds aimed at the running figure.

Both rounds struck on target, thudding into the unfortunate worker's chest. While Riam's accuracy with a sniper rifle was a mere 65%, he was rated much higher when handling firearms in close-quarters battle.

Tucking the pistol back inside the orange uniform, the Australian stopped to pull the bodies into concealment inside one of the cubicles before continuing on his way.

He passed through both the empty mess hall and kitchen without incident, arriving at the executive office suites with no further enemy encounters.

The trip down from the Utility Office had taken eleven minutes to complete, one minute past the ISO commander's previous estimation of his arrival time. He activated his radio transmitter.

"Kaikiaichi to squad," the team leader hailed the ICE Team, "I'm right outside. I'll be entering through the north door, so hold fire."

The north door was on the opposite side from the damaged door that the rest of ICE Alpha had made their entry through.

Opening an unmarked wooden door gained Riam access to the supply closet, where the Commandos welcomed him.

Closing the door behind himself, the Australian took a few minutes to re-equip himself with his tactical ops gear, sword, and P90. He also took a few moments to reload his pistol and remove the silencer, so that the sound suppressor wouldn't slow the draw from the holster. He'd use the pistol only in an emergency, and in such a situation every millisecond might count.

Once he was satisfied with his equipment, the ISO Commander sat down on a stack of boxes containing office paper supplies and prepared to brief the team on the next stage of his plan.

Just as he was about to begin bringing the squad up to speed, his eye caught sight of the battered and warped door that the main group had entered through.

"Sergeant," Kaikiaichi turned towards Hanks, "what exactly happened to that door?"

"Sorry Sir," the Sergeant apologised, "we had little choice. The door was locked, and as our time was limited, I decided not to attempt to pick it."

"General," added Collins, "I'm afraid some of the damage was caused by me also. I had a bit of trouble getting the door to close after the Sarge got us in, and needed to apply a little pressure."

"I see," the commander nodded, "good work gentlemen."

His question answered, Riam got back to the briefing.

"Okay," he began, "we'll need to neutralise the Security Control Centre to successfully reach Level Five without detection. Security below this floor is extremely tight. The problem, of course, is that the staff manning the Control Centre will probably be able to scramble the every soldier in the base to maximum alert with the press of a button. We need to eliminate all personnel in the Security Centre before they know what's happening. We can't give them even a single chance to sound the alarm."

The Commandos nodded, understanding the importance of not allowing the alarm to be raised.

"The control room," the General continued, "has two entry points, one at either end of the room. We'll launch our assault from both points simultaneously. I'll be leading Gold Team through the western entrance, while Red Team will take the eastern side. Sergeant Hanks will naturally be in command of Red Team. Once the room has been breached, both teams will be facing each other, so we'll have to watch our line of fire. The NRA will all be wearing their tan-coloured uniforms, and of course we're in black, so there should be little difficulty in determining hostile targets. Eliminate all opposition."

"Sir," Lloyd spoke up, "Any info on the number of hostiles?"

"Yes indeed," Kaikiaichi affirmed, "I was able to access the duty roster information. There should be twelve men stationed there at this hour."

"Shouldn't be too hard to deal with," commented Collins.

"General," one of the demolitions specialists asked, "I assume we won't be using breaching charges for shock entry?"

"That's correct," responded the ISO chief, "they would jeopardise our covert approach. It's almost certain that the entire Security Complex would hear the detonation. In addition, the control centre has sliding doors instead of hinged, and they're constructed solidly enough to provide total soundproofing."

Riam paused a moment to allow for any further questions. When none were forthcoming, he continued.

"Now we've got the assault phase detailed," he said, "we'll have to sort out our plans to get ourselves into position for the strike. Once we leave this supply room, Red and Gold Teams will seperate immediately. Gold Team will make a direct beeline towards Security Control, with only one detour to bypass a security checkpoint. Red Team will be required to take a longer route, moving back through the way I came to get here."

"Excuse me General," one of the Gold Team soldiers interjected, "with the difference in transit times, will we be leaving this area after Red Team has departed, or will we be standing by in a location close to the assault zone?"

"Both teams will be departing simultaneously," Riam answered, "directly after this briefing. Gold Team will arrive well before Red Team are in position, and will conceal ourselves a short distance from the objective area. Travel time from the staging area to the assault point will be under thirty seconds. Once Red has signalled they are in position, we immediately move to our station. Once we acknowledge Red Team's signal, there will be no further radio communication unless Sergeant Hanks or myself consider an emergency abort necessary. Both teams will breach their entry points and execute assault operations exactly forty seconds after we confirm the receipt. Clear?"

The assembled Commandos all affirmed their understanding in a subdued chorus of lowered voices.

"Now," Kaikiaichi turned to Hanks and the Red Team soldiers seated near him, "I've sketched out a rough map of the locations along the route you'll be taking. Unfortunately the maintenance terminal that I accessed the schematics from was not equipped with a printer, so this is the best I could do."

Passing a roughly drawn diagram across to the Sergeant, the ISO General continued. "I've marked the optimal path for you to take, although you may make any detours as you see fit. In the event you deviate from my recommended route, be sure to avoid the corridors marked in red – they are monitored by security cameras. You should only have to cross one major passage along the way, but be cautious when you do; it's likely to be regularly patrolled."

"Yes Sir," Hanks nodded, "I assume you're not anticipating any of the areas along the route to be occupied?"

"That's correct," the ISO chief stated, "all should be clear. I did encounter two unexpected individuals on my way here, but both have been neutralised and are concealed in an office cubicle along the way."

An inquisitive Private posed a question to the General, "Deceased, Sir?"

"One deceased, one unconscious," was Kaikiaichi's prompt reply, "I was able to avoid terminating my first opponent. The second was not so lucky in avoiding harm. Now, if everyone's ready, let's move."

No objections were raised by the group, and after splitting into their separate teams they all headed out.

Male WC Facility, Security Section, NRA Command Bunker Level Three

"Feels kind of uncomfortable being here, Sir," commented Reed as she looked around the location, "seems weird to be in the men's bathroom."

"I'm afraid I had little choice of locations to choose from Private," the Australian smiled somewhat, "don't worry too much though. We'll be proceeding through the adjoining janitor's closet that connects from here to the women's side. Studying the gender difference ratio of NRA Security Officers, that section of the facility is statistically less likely to be used while we're waiting. We males will feel strange being there also."

"I'll bet," Reed spoke in a joking manner, "pervs."

Riam raised an eyebrow, a gesture he had worked hard to perfect. "Just lockpick the door if you could, Private," he said with the hint of a smile.

The Private grinned and moved up to the janitor's closet with lockpicking kit in hand. She had the simple lock defeated and open in only a few seconds. The infiltration specialist proceeded to step inside the darkened space and open the door on the opposite side.

Sweeping her hand with a flourish to indicate the room beyond the newly opened door, Reed spoke with a smile again. "Gentlemen, prepare to go boldly where no man has gone before."

"Funny Reed," Collins remarked with a sarcastic tone, "real funny."

Still, the rest of the ICE Team could tell that the Corporal was at least slightly amused by the quip.

Collins took point into the female section of the WC facility, and ensured that the room was indeed clear of hostiles.

The other members of Gold Team passed through the janitor's closet, sealing the door to the male section behind them as they left.

It was several minutes later that the signal from Red Team came through.

"Thank the Deities," muttered Collins, looking around the women's WC, "It's downright uncomfortable being in here."

All members of Gold Team were already standing, prepared to move for great justice.

The SASA General clicked on his transmitter and sent to Red Team, "Signal received and confirmed. T-Minus Forty Seconds, countdown begins… Now!"

Collins and Kaikiaichi in the lead, Gold Team burst out of their hideaway and moved rapidly but cautiously towards their destination.

Hurrying past a corridor on the right, a three-man patrol practically walked straight into the two lead ICE Gold Team members. Riam being within half a metre of two soldiers struck like lightning, driving his right elbow up into the jaw of the first and throwing a left-handed knockout punch at the second. At the same moment the Australian was rendering his opponents unconscious, Collins spat deadly fire from his MP5 and silenced the third NRA soldier.

Leaving the bodies where they fell, the team hurried to their assault position. The entire time it had taken them to reach their staging point was twenty-eight seconds.

The ISO commander focused on his watch as it finally counted down to the last few seconds. Three… Two… One… "GO!" Riam commanded his team as he slapped the control to open the sliding door in front of them.

On the opposite side of the Security Control Room, Hanks had given the exact same order, perfectly synchronised by their training and SASA-issued wrist chronometers.

The NRA Security Officers were taken completely by surprise, although the ICE Team had a surprise of their own. Instead of the expected twelve staff members, there were twenty NRA Officers in the room. It appeared two four-man security patrols were taking their rest break in the control room.

The new fact didn't break the professional stride of the ICE Team though, storming through the doors and sending hails of silenced gunfire into their chosen hostile targets.

Highly trained in proper techniques for such a situation, the ISO Commandos targeted the console-seated enemies first to prevent them setting off alarms in easy reach.

The NRA soldiers who weren't manning consoles had a second to react, some reaching for their weapons and several scrambling for alarm buttons.

The odds against the ten-man ICE squad were two to one, but they were trained to handle much higher odds than that. All signs of resistance were quashed within five seconds of the assault beginning.

While Collins and Hanks checked the fallen NRA soldiers for survivors, and moved the bodies to the side of the room, Kaikiaichi and Reed sat down at what appeared to be the primary security operations station.

While Kaikiaichi was qualified in computer networking, Reed had specialised knowledge and experience of security systems. Quickly and professionally manipulating controls on the console, the Private called up the information she was looking for.

"I'm deactivating all camera recording on all levels of the bunker complex," she spoke to the General over her shoulder, "and it looks like I can get access to completely disable the entire security alarm grid. It will take me some time to work out how to achieve that though."

Riam nodded, and glanced over at the Corporal and Sergeant going about their work. He was about to walk over to them when Reed caught his attention again.

"Uh, Sir," she called to the ICE leader, "I think we have a problem."

Kaikiaichi looked of Reed's shoulder again. "What's up, Private?"

"All main access points to Level Four have been sealed," she explained, "to provide extra security for the nukes. I can't find any way to override them from here, the blast doors seem to be sealed and controlled from below. The emergency exits that connect to that level should be open, but contain internal alarms on a separate grid that I can't bypass without some specialised equipment. I'm afraid I didn't pack what's needed, Sir."

The Australian frowned, "There has to be a way down, there are very limited facilities suitable for accommodation down there. The scientists have assigned quarters on Level Two."

"There is a way, General," Reed confirmed, "but there's a slight problem. The only way to get down there is on the other side of the security barracks, and there's no way to get to it without heading through the barracks itself."

"Hmm," the General pondered, "that's not entirely good news. That course would take us past the security armoury though, correct?"

"Yes Sir," the infiltration specialist nodded, "that's correct."

"It's a secondary objective to eliminate that if we can then," Kaikiaichi stated.

"Aye Sir," Reed agreed, "however I recommend timed explosives to detonate after we're clear. A detonation would activate the fire alarms, which are also on a separate grid beyond my control."

Riam nodded. "The holding cells are also along the route, are they not?"

"Holding cells?" Reed questioned. "Yes they are, but do we have an objective there?"

"We may do," the Australian informed her, "call up the current prisoner manifest if you could."
"Certainly General," Reed performed the task with a few quick presses on the keyboard in front of her.

Only one name was listed as being held, and Riam sighed as he read it.

MacDougal, Sarah

"Ah, bugger," he muttered, "it is her."

"Someone you know, Sir?" Reed inquired from her seat at the console.

"Yes Private," Kaikiaichi acknowledged, "someone I know. Looks like we'll be doing a little prison break while we're here. Access to the cells is keycard-controlled?"

"Aye General," the infiltration specialist nodded, "as are all secure doors, and everything on Levels Four and Five as well. I'm isolating the controls for the keycard printing system so I can get you an access all areas master keycard."

As the Private finished speaking, a chime sounded from the console and a newly printed keycard dropped into a slot.

The Australian picked up the new keycard and read the name listed on it. "Ali Baba?" He looked at Reed.

"Open Sesame, Sir." The Private grinned.

Riam chuckled, then slid the keycard into his pocket and addressed the group. "Okay guys," he called, "time for the next stage. Reed is going to remain here to bypass the security systems and disable the internal alarms. Lloyd will stay with her as backup. Lloyd will also keep watch on the monitors and intercept anyone heading here, or into the number three security barracks. The reason barracks three will be watched is that the rest of us will be clearing the barracks and eliminating all hostiles."

The Commandos were visibly surprised at that, they hadn't been expecting to take on an entire barracks full of opposing forces.

"General," Hanks stepped forward, "we're not planning to slaughter them in their sleep, are we?"

"Negative, Sergeant," the ISO director assured him, "you know that's not part of my code of conduct. The reason I've singled out barracks three, apart from it being the closest, is that the shift there is scheduled on drills right now. They are the group who were doing parade drill on the parade ground when we were on our way in. They should be preparing to depart for weapons practice in five minutes if they're sticking to the normal itinerary, so they'll be armed and prepped."

Hanks nodded and stepped back, and relief seemed visible on the faces of the rest of the team.

"The barracks are soundproofed," the Australian continued, "so once the entry door is closed we need not worry about noise level. The alarm buttons there are still active though. Preventing them from being reached is your first priority."

Kaikiaichi glanced at the ICE Team to make sure they were paying close attention, then continued. "Once the barracks are secured, we will have access to Level Four, and from there it should be an easy run to Level Five with the security systems down. Prior to proceeding there however, we will plant a demolition charge in the security armoury, and liberate a prisoner from the holding cells."

Hanks stepped forwards once again, asking a question on behalf of the entire team. "Excuse me Sir… A prisoner?"

"Yes," Kaikiaichi replied, "an archaeologist working to preserve important and historical works from being destroyed in this post-Cataclysmic age."

"I couldn't help but notice that this wasn't in the briefing, Sir." Hanks noted.

"Very observant," the General smiled, "indeed it wasn't. Until we gained access to the prisoner manifest in Security Control, I wasn't entirely certain she was held here."

"Friend of yours, Sir?" Hanks inquired.

"An acquaintance." Riam stated simply. "Something more maybe, something less perhaps. Right now it doesn't really matter. She's coming with us."

"Understood General," Hanks nodded, "we're ready to move out at your command."

"Weapons checked and reloaded while I was occupied with Reed, I assume?" Riam looked to the squad Sergeant for the answer.

"Aye Sir," Hanks affirmed, "all equipment checks out fine, all weapons carrying full clips."

"Consider the command given then," the ICE leader smiled, "let's move it people."

Outside the door leading into number three barracks, Riam and his ICE Team assumed positions for entry and assault into the barracks. They were a fearsome sight, clad in their black tactical uniforms and armed with Sub-Machine Guns as their primary weapons. Each ICE Commando was welcome to select their own preferred weapons from the SASA armouries. Collins, for example, used the classic MP5 SMG for covert CQB ops such as their current mission.

Hanks stood by the activation button that would open the door, P90 at the ready. Collins was positioned directly in front of the door with his MP5, taking point as usual. Kaikiaichi had stationed himself right behind Collins, and would be the second ICE member to enter the barracks. Hanks would follow him, and then the other five members of the team would make their entrance.

Hanks held up his open hand, using his fingers as a silent countdown in classic special ops style. As his last finger curled in, Hanks slapped the door control with he other hand. Collins burst through the instant there was enough clearance for his solid frame to do so, with Riam easily slipping through the gap behind the Corporal as the door continued to open.

The NRA soldiers inside the room were indeed preparing for firearms practice, each of them holding their assault rifles.

They glanced up at the new arrivals, startled by their garb. A second later roughly organised chaos ensued.

Collins and Kaikiaichi broke away from the door, the Corporal to the right and the General to the left, clearing the way for the Commandos behind them. Both aimed their weapons as they moved, pulling the triggers to release short controlled bursts of fire into the opposition.

Meanwhile, the enemy was beginning to return fire and coordinate a defence, overturning tables to create barricades.

A quick glance back towards the door assured the ICE commander that the entire team had made it inside already, and the soundproofed door had slid closed behind them. The sounds of gunfire that had sprung up from the hostile forces in the number three barracks would go unheeded, unless one of the opposition managed to activate an alarm.

Several of the NRA soldiers hadn't taken cover with the rest of their unit, and were ducking and weaving their way towards the alarm buttons. The ICE Team were concentrating on laying down a suppressing fire on the concentrated groups of hostiles, occasionally swinging their weapons onto another target when they noticed one of the opposition heading towards an alarm button.

Riam was taken by surprise when an extra-stealthy NRA soldier suddenly sprang up in front of him. In a flash, the ICE leader aimed his SMG and pulled the trigger. His opponent flinched, but all the gun emitted was a clicking sound – The magazine was empty.

The NRA man immediately leapt forward past Kaikiaichi, aiming for the alarm button on the wall behind the ISO officer.

Dropping the P90 as soon as he realised it was out of ammunition, Riam kicked out with his left leg, contacting the hostile soldier in mid-jump and propelling his opponent into the wall two metres away. At the same moment his left leg was being raised for the kick, Kaikiaichi's right hand reached down to his tactical thigh holster and drew his pistol. The ICE operative was already beginning to aim at a separate target, even as he heard the thud of his previous opponent slamming into the wall.

Rapidly squeezing off three rounds from the semi-automatic weapon, Riam dropped a soldier running for an alarm switch at the opposite end of the room.

Meanwhile, Hanks and his Red Team were maintaining the suppressing fire against the barricaded NRA soldiers, while Collins had taken the other Gold Team Commandos and was moving along one side of the room to outflank the opposition.

Keeping behind the cover, and with the hostiles focused on the hail of fire above them, Gold Team managed to get in position and commenced their flanking assault against the hostile forces.

The undivided attention of the enemy was now focussed on the new threat, allowing Hanks and team to break from their cover and dash forwards to flank the NRA soldiers from the other side.

Careful to avoid crossfire between teams, and with the enemy trapped in the middle, the engagement was short but lethal.

The NRA forces had been completely neutralised. Most were dead, although several were unconscious due to wounds or wall-related impact concussion.

The ICE Team had sustained a single injury; one of the privates had been bruised and temporarily winded when the light armour of his tactical vest had caught a bullet.

Riam picked up his P90 from the ground where he had dropped it, and quickly exchanged the empty magazine for a full fifty-round clip. The other ICE members were doing the same, reloading their weapons in preparation for the next engagement. The General also needed to reload his pistol, a step that wasn't required by the other Commandos, as they hadn't needed to resort to their own sidearms.

Once prepared, the ICE Team formed up and exited the barracks.

Their first stop was the armoury.

"Okay," Riam directed, "we take a left from this corridor, then the next right from there. That should place us right at the armoury door."

Wasting no time, Collins took the point position and followed the directions given.

Several seconds later, the Commandos were indeed standing outside a door marked "ARMORY" in bold upper-case lettering.

As before, Hanks took charge of the operating the control to open the door, while Collins and Kaikiaichi prepared to storm inside.

The Corporal was first in through the door as it slid aside, with the General right behind.

As they burst in, they caught sight of an armoury duty officer seated behind an armoured glass window. The Commandos weapons would probably have trouble punching through the glass, but luckily the NRA officer was leaning backwards in his chair having a snooze.

Moving quietly, Riam slid the "Ali Baba" keycard out of his pocket and moved to a door positioned next to the glass window. He swiped the card through a slot near the door handle, and smiled when a green light blinked on, granting him entry. The ICE commander silently opened the door and moved stealthily towards the sleeping guard. A rapid strike from the ex-vigilante sent the security officer from a restful slumber into forced unconsciousness.

Behind the guards station was the access to the armoury itself, a solidly constructed blast door with a keycard access slot next to it. A quick swipe of the master keycard was all it took to open the thick slab of metal, the heavy door sliding upwards to provide access.

The armoury was stocked with a variety of light arms, chiefly pistols, sub-machine guns, and shotguns. The heavier weapons would be stored in the Level Two military armoury, which the Commandos would destroy on their way out of the facility.

Hanson, one of two demolition specialists with the ICE Team for the mission, moved into the armoury to plant her special demolition charges. Riam didn't know the specifics of how they worked, but the detonation of the charges triggered a blast of insanely high temperatures. The effect would turn anything flammable to ash, and melt anything metal to unrecognisable slag. It wouldn't burn through the blast door, but would likely fuse the interior of the door to its frame, rendering the portal inoperable.

Her charges set, Hanson returned to Kaikiaichi who was standing outside the armoury door.

"I've set the timers, Sir," she informed him, "the settings should allow us to be well clear of here by the time they blow."

"Good work," the General approved, "absolutely no chance of a radio-controlled detonation I assume?"

"Zero chance," Hanson confirmed, "no way the signal would get through once those doors are closed."

"Thanks, Private." The Australian pressed the control to close the armoury door, then turned to the rest of the ICE Team. "Time for that prison break," he told them, "Expect one duty guard there."

Taking the lead, Kaikiaichi exited the armoury area and stepped back out into the corridor. The team followed their commander as he headed for their destination. The group turned left, then to the right as they entered the main passageway which would lead to the holding cells. About halfway along the main corridor, a transmission came through from Reed back in the Security Control Centre.

"Reed to ICE Alpha Prime," she hailed the team, "reporting security alert system is now offline."

"Great work, Private," the Australian signalled back to her, then turned to the other Commandos. "Squad," he addressed the group, "we are now cleared to use tactics to minimise casualties. Let's try and take the prison officer alive so we can interrogate him about the person they're holding."

Riam turned back down the corridor and continued towards the holding cells.

Arriving at the cell block entrance a short time later, the leader of the ICE infiltrators once again swiped "Ali Baba" through a keycard slot to gain access. Walking inside, the ISO General saw only an unoccupied desk, with no indication of a guard in sight. Cautiously proceeding further into the room also failed to reveal any sign of a security officer. Suddenly hearing the subdued clicking sound of Collins' silenced MP5 firing, Kaikiaichi spun around to see the figure of the previously unseen prison guard crumpling to the ground with a pistol falling from his hand.

"Sorry Sir," Collins apologised, "I know you wanted him alive, but he was about to shoot you."

"Well," the General boasted, "I have been known to dodge bullets before."

"I know you've done so sometimes, Sir," Collins remarked, "reflexively only, and you'd need to actually see when it was being fired. Bullets travel faster than the speed of sound. With all due respect, you'd have no chance from behind. Besides that, you can't always manage to do it. I remember a few months back when you took a hit in the leg, and before that when you caught that bullet in your poste…"

"Yes, yes," Riam interrupted, "I think everyone in SASA knows about that one."

The other Commandos watching the conversation all snickered.

"That's enough of that," the ISO General told them, "I'll share some embarrassing stories of Corporal Collins when we get back. For now, let's concentrate on the mission."

Turning away from the rest of the group, the Australian walked over to the guard's desk and took a look at a logbook conveniently placed there.

It was easy to see that only cell number three was in use, so the ICE commander and his team approached the cell in question.

The cell doors were solid, not barred like in stereotypical prison movies. There were small viewing hatches set into each of the doors, but the General didn't bother opening any of them.

He proceeded directly to cell number three and swiped the keycard through the access slot. Somewhat anxiously, he grasped the handle and opened the door.

The cell was empty.

Riam blinked a few times, wondering if she'd been transferred out already, when a pair of booted feet came swinging down from above the doorframe, where the cell occupant had been concealing herself.

The boots slammed into the Australian's chest, pushing him back half a metre, but not knocking him off his feet.

A blonde-haired figure dropped down from inside the cell and threw a punch with her right fist, aimed at her opponent's head.

The ICE leader swiftly raised his own hand, managing to intercept the attack and capture the incoming fist with his open left hand.

The girl's deceptively young appearance belied her true age, but made it simple for the Australian ex-vigilante to instantly recognise her.

"Hey there Sarah," he smiled, "good to see you too. It's been a while."

The blonde American stared at her old travelling companion in surprise for a few seconds.

Kaikiaichi released the gentle grasp he had used to catch MacDougal's attack, allowing her hand to fall back down to her side.

Instead of letting the fist fall back into its natural position however, Sarah pulled back her arm and punched Riam square on the jaw.

"You know what that's for, you bastard." She unclenched her fist and returned her arm to her side.

"Yeah, I know," the Australian acknowledged sheepishly, "and I deserved that. I deserve a lot more than that."

"Believe me, Riam," the blonde woman scowled, "you'll be getting a lot more when we get out of here. On that note," her expression changed to a smile, "thanks for rescuing me. You always had a knack for those heroic things."

"Not heroic," the ex-vigilante assured her, "just the right place at the right time. Or the wrong place and wrong time, depending on the situation at hand."

"Well," she told him, "in my opinion you sure showed up at the right place this time. Are we getting out of here now?"

"Not quite yet," the ISO General explained, "we still have a primary objective to accomplish."

"You have a primary objective? You mean rescuing me is just an afterthought?" MacDougal began to scowl again.

"Heck no," Kaikiaichi smiled, "you're the bonus objective. You're worth a lot more points to me as well."

"Whatever," she shrugged, "if you're trying to smooth-talk your way out of things it's not going to work. Anyway, tell me about this primary objective, and someone give me a weapon."

"Short version of the mission," Riam explained, "is we're here to eliminate some nuclear weapons."

"Right," she nodded, "good enough. And who are these goons with you?" the attractive archaeologist cast a critical eye over the ISO Special Forces team.

"They're members of my ICE squad," Riam told her.

Sarah snickered, "ICE, huh? I bet that's an acronym you came up with just to sound cool."

The ISO General winced, "is it that obvious?"

"You've always been that transparent to me," MacDougal told him, "now give me a weapon and lets go."

Riam drew his pistol from the holster and handed it to Sarah.

After checking the gun was loaded and ready for action, MacDougal nodded to Kaikiaichi and the group moved out.

It wasn't long before they all arrived at the inter-level access point; a large three-story open chamber that traversed levels three, four, and five. A gently sloping metal cargo ramp connected the three levels, descending downwards in a spiral-like pattern. On its journey downward, the ramp crossed each of the four walls twice before reaching the bottom. The middle of the chamber was nothing more then a large open space, the purpose of which may have been to transfer large cargo using crane equipment on the roof above.

From down below, somewhere out of sight, the ICE Team could hear voices drifting up from below, indicating the likely presence of more security guards. From the sound of things, it seemed there were only two participants taking part in the conversation.

"I'll take care of this," the ICE commander stated quietly as he handed his P90 to the blonde archaeologist, "hold on to this for me, and follow me down in five seconds."

With those words, Riam took a few steps forward and jumped forwards, performing a mid-air flip before diving down through the centre of the chamber.

"Show off…" Sarah muttered, shaking her head.

At the bottom of the large open room, two uniformed NRA guards were sitting on packing crates playing poker with each other.

As Kaikiaichi rushed downwards, he was able to see the hands both of the soldiers held; one had a Royal Flush, the other was holding four Aces.

"Almost a shame to break this one up," Riam thought to himself.

The poker-playing guards never had a clue what hit them, both unconscious before they even realised somebody else was in the chamber.

Following after their leader, the other members of the ICE Team descended to the Level Five via the more sensible route of the ramp. MacDougal was with them of course, and tossed the SMG to Kaikiaichi as she neared the Australian.

"I'm sure that was a challenging fight," Riam's old travelling companion remarked sarcastically, as she glanced at the two unconscious men slumped over their improvised poker table.

"About as challenging as that time you used a LAW to take out one guy armed with a knife," the Australian responded.

"Oh come on, are you still teasing me about that?" Sarah playfully punched the ISO officer in the arm, "That was only weapon I had with me. And remember that I was actually saving your life at the time."

"Yeah, I remember," Riam chuckled, "and after that I had to save both of us when your LAW blast started the temple collapsing around us."
"What?" MacDougal snorted in indignation, "you did not save me, I was…"
"Ahem," Sergeant Hanks cleared his throat to get the attention of the two old companions. "General, as exciting as your previous adventures sound, shouldn't we take care of the mission first?"

"Of course Sergeant," Kaikiaichi nodded, "you're absolutely right."
"General, huh?" the blonde woman snickered.

"Oh, you be quiet," the Australian smiled, "let's go."

The squad moved out, walking along a large cargo corridor that was the only obvious exit leading out of the room.

In a few minutes they had reached the end of the cargo tunnel, with a large door blocking further progress. A smaller well-lit passage lead off to the side though, and the team approached it to cautiously investigate.

Peering down the new corridor revealed a two-door "security lock" station. Similar to an airlock, it was designed so that the security officers manning the station would let a person through one door, verify their identity, then open the opposite door and let them continue on their way.

Two guards were visible manning he security lock, stationed securely behind a think pane of armoured glass.

The trained infiltration operatives, as well as the observant MacDougal, immediately noticed an easy way into the secured guardroom – An air vent set directly above the heads of the two guards inside.

The team tucked back around the corner, out of sight of the guards, to discuss the plan.

"Okay," the team leader began, "we'll send somebody through the ventilation system. We should able to gain access through the vent up on that wall." Kaikiaichi indicated a duct outlet situated high on the wall of the cargo corridor. "I'll ditch my equipment again, go into the duct, and then…"

"Hey, hold up," Sarah demanded, "I'll do it. I don't have to waste time getting rid of any equipment. Besides, why should you get to have all the fun?"

Riam looked over at his companion and took only a second to make up his mind. "Good idea, Sarah, thanks for volunteering."

Wasting no time, the ICE commander hoisted the archaeologist up so she could open the vent and crawl into the duct. After she was inside, the blonde woman peered out and looked down at Kaikiaichi.

"You know," she called to Riam, "this reminds me of when we…" noticing Hanks shooting her an almost threatening look, MacDougal decided against continuing. "Uh, we'll reminisce later."

Ducking back into the duct, Sarah crawled her way rapidly and stealthily to the location that would give her access to the guard station.

Looking down through the grilled vent opening, she was easily able to see the guards relaxing below. Both were engaged in reading novels, one reading "The Count of Monte Cristo" and the other engrossed in "Revenge of the Surfboarding Killer Bikini Vampire Girls".

Studying the screws that fastened the vent covering to the duct, the intrepid archaeologist determined that she wouldn't be able to open it from the inside.

"Good," she thought to herself, "I was hoping for a more dramatic entry anyway."

Bracing herself against the duct wall, the blonde woman kicked at the grille, tearing the screws from their housings and sending the vent cover clattering to the ground between the two guards. Startled, both threw down their books and looked upwards, just in time to see the figure of Sarah MacDougal dropping through the opening. Two swift moves from the Jeet Kun Do master had the two NRA soldiers out for the count.

Quickly determining the correct method of opening the security lock doors, she made the necessary adjustments to allow the ICE Team to pass unhindered.

The guard station had no door opening back into the corridor, only a single exit located in the back wall. As the group of SASA Special Forces approached the armoured window, the blonde archaeologist signalled to them that she would leave via the exit door of the guard station, and make her own way to the nuclear weapons lab to meet them there.

As the Commandos proceeded on their way, MacDougal opened the guard station door and peered out.

A long empty corridor stretched away to the right, while a shorter corridor vanished around a corner to the left. The right-hand tunnel led deeper into the level and towards the primary objective area, so she naturally began walking in that direction. Arriving at a corner, she quickly peeked around to see two armed guards standing outside a heavy-looking door.

Sarah had extensive experience infiltrating guarded facilities both covertly and with all-out assaults. Like Riam and the rest of the SASA forces though, she tried to avoid indiscriminately taking lives. Directly above her, the adventurous archaeologist noticed open cabling running along the roof providing power the lights in the corridor. Jumping upwards, she managed to grab hold of the cables and yank them down without creating too much noise. Instead of easily breaking apart as she had hoped though, the cable had enough slack for her to pull it all the way down to the floor. Pondering the next step, her observant eye spotted a fire axe with a rubber-coated handle on the wall. Grabbing the axe with a smile, she hefted the tool up, then swung it downwards at the cable now lying on the floor. With a snap, the lights in the corridor were extinguished completely. Some daft designer seemed to have put power for the emergency lights in the same cable with the primary power connection, which meant the backup lighting failed to kick in.

The door guards, understandably confused, reacted with exclamations of surprise, scrambling to find the flashlights on their belts.

Sarah wasn't able to see well enough in the pitch darkness to launch a successful attack, but she had another plan.

As the first of the guards found his torch and switched the device on, he swept the beam of light around the corridor. Seeing nothing, he slowly walked forwards, sweeping the beam back and forth as he did so.

Behind him, the other guard managed to activate his own flashlight, also sweeping it around the corridor.

Neither of them noticed the figure in the shadows above them. Sarah had swiftly and silently moved herself along the corridor ceiling, grasping convenient pipes attached to it. Directly above the rearmost Security Officer, and with the other guard's back turned, she dropped down on her target, driving him to the ground with a light thud. As the guard fell to the floor unconscious, MacDougal smoothly scooped the flashlight from her opponent's hand and walked towards the lead NRA soldier.

The soldier had heard the sound of his companion hitting the floor, and turned to look. "Harrison," he called out, "are you alright?"

Of course there was no reply, but Sarah walked rapidly up to the worried security guard, shining the bright light directly into his eyes.

"Cut it out Harrison," the man demanded, "do you want me to put you on report?"

By this time, the blonde woman had reached her target. Lowering the torch beam away from the soldier's eyes, MacDougal gave him just enough time to realise she was not his partner before rendering him unconscious.

The adventurous archaeologist turned around and returned to the sealed door, stepping over the first unconscious guard on her way there.

The door was locked, with a keycard access slot by the side, but a quick search of the sleeping soldiers quickly yielded a solution to the problem. Both guards had "blue level" access cards, whatever that meant, but the important thing was that they worked.

Swiping her newly acquired security pass through the keycard slot, MacDougal waited for the door to open, then stepped through it.

Sarah now found herself in a brightly-lit room, with windows looking out into a large work area beyond. The room was supplied with comfortable furniture, tables, and several vending machines, which indicated to her that it was some type of break room. It was currently unoccupied. Moving over to the windows and looking out, she saw that she had found the nuclear weapons lab below her. Three battered –looking missile warheads were visible altogether, spaced evenly along the lab floor. NRA scientists were actively working on all three nuclear devices, although the archaeologist had no clue what they were doing with them.

Catching some movement from the opposite side of the laboratory chamber, the blonde woman looked across to see another set of windows, with what appeared to be an office area behind them. Standing in the office was a group of eight figures, clad in black, and armed with CQB assault weapons. Riam and his ICE Team had also arrived at the weapons lab.

The ISO General stood in the laboratory's meeting room, his Commandos close by.

He had been in the middle of studying the lab layout below when he noticed the blonde archaeologist appearing in the break room. The Australian was happy to see her, and waved to attract her attention. Once Sarah had caught sight of them and waved back, he returned to the task of planning the assault.

"Okay," he began, "there are four primary entrances to the work floor, one at each corner of the area. Two are accessible from here; the other two provide access only on MacDougal's side. We split up into two teams, four men each, designated Red Team and Gold Team as usual. Hanks leads Red, I lead Gold, usual drill. Each team will take a separate access point, with simultaneous entry times."

The ICE Team all checked their wrist-chronometers to ensure they were synchronised down to the millisecon. They were all perfectly synched, of course.

"The lab," Kaikiaichi continued, "is guarded by twenty-two guards that I have been able to confirm. There may be more. There are three-man units stationed at all four corners of the area, near the access points. There is another three-man unit near the centre of the chamber. There is one three-man unit moving along a patrol path. There are four other soldiers stationed at various points around the room. There may be more, so don't assume the area is secure after we've taken them all out, wait for a security sweep to be completed. Kill none of scientists, unless they pick up a weapon and begin shooting you first. Fire on guards only if necessary. Try to subdue opponents instead of eliminating them. Clear?"

"Yes Sir," Hanks and the other team members nodded, "clear."

"Okay," Riam hefted his SMG, "let's do it!"

Eighty-five seconds later, the Commandos bust from doors at both ends of the room, making like they were a SWAT Team. Orders demanding the NRA soldiers to drop their weapons and get down on the ground were called out loudly and repeatedly.

Naturally, many of the hostiles failed to comply, and loud weapons fire rang out in the lab. The ICE Team had removed silencers from their weapons, now that the alarms were disabled and stealth was no longer an issue, for extra shock effect.

Sarah MacDougal emerged from her own door near one of the corners a few seconds later, the blonde super-archaeologist firing lethally precise shots from her pistol. Dodging and leaping between cover, several NRA soldiers dropped to her deadly fire before they noticed she was even there.

With the ample cover in lab, this was going to be a longer drawn-out firefight.

Both working their way towards the centre of the chamber, it was long before Riam and Sarah met up behind a barricade. Hails of suppressing fire from the entrenched enemy had them pinned down.

"This really is just like old times," the blonde grinned as the dark-haired Australian passed her a new ammo clip for the pistol.

"Sure is," Kaikiaichi smiled back, "remember what we did when we were in a situation like this before?"

MacDougal laughed, "we've been in lots of situations like this!"

"True enough," the ICE Commander conceded, "I'm referring to the third temple we and Seta visited on our second Aztec tour."

"Ah right," Sarah's eyes lit up as she remembered, "but we don't have any extra weapons with us this time."

"I'll handle that," Riam winked.

Hanks was also pinned behind a nearby desk, taking the time to reload his own P90 SMG.

Kaikiaichi signalled to the Sergeant, gaining his attention. Once Hanks had turned his attention towards him, Riam gestured that he wanted the Sergeant to throw both his SMG and pistol to where Sarah and he were crouched.

Without hesitation, Hanks obeyed the order, smoothly tossing the weapons to the ISO General.

Riam caught the P90 in his left hand, and Sarah grabbed the pistol in her own off-hand. During their previous adventures, both Kaikiaichi and MacDougal had trained to be completely ambidextrous with weapons. They could both dual-wield their guns perfectly.

The General gestured to Hanks once again, this time signalling the Sergeant to toss an object over the top of the barricade to where the main concentration of enemy forces were firing from. All they needed was to distract the enemy for a second.

Hanks lobbed a glass beaker straight into the midst of the enemy, the object momentarily catching the NRA soldiers' attention.

As soon as they heard the gunfire above their heads ease even a tiny bit, Riam and Sarah sprung up, vaulted over the top of their barricade, and stormed the enemy position. Each of their weapons spat individual trails of death, mowing down the enemy soldiers where they stood.

In a few seconds they vaulted inside the enemy's barricade and ensured that it was clear of danger. The firing outside slowly died down, as the ICE Team mopped up those who wouldn't surrender, and secured those who would.

There had been more than the twenty-two estimated guards, but an exact body count would have been a waste of time.

Kaikiaichi and MacDougal walked over to Hanks and returned the borrowed firearms.

"Thanks for the loan, Sergeant," the General told him, "we appreciate it."

"It was worth it Sir," Hanks smiled as he took back and reloaded his weapons, "it was a privilege to see that assault. You two make a great team."

With that statement, Hanks turned and walked off. He didn't see Riam and Sarah glance at each other slightly uncomfortably after the comment.

"He's right you know," MacDougal said, sitting down on an overturned piece of furniture, "we were a great team."

"Yeah," Kaikiaichi agreed smiling sadly, "we were, but I sure buggered that up."

The blonde archaeologist was about to reply when Collins called for the General's attention.

Riam walked over to where Collins and five other ICE Team members had rounded up the scientists. Hanks and two more Commandos were performing a final security sweep of the area.

"General," Collins addressed Kaikiaichi, "did you want to interrogate any of these science guys?"

"I don't think so," the Australian shook his head, "just secure them somewhere so they can't raise the alarm until we're out of here."

"Wait," MacDougal stepped forward, "I have a question."
"Ask away," Riam told her, "be my guest."

Sarah turned to the assembled scientists and asked her question. "Where is the Ophidian Eye of the Moon data disc?"

A balding grey-haired scientist spoke up. "What," he asked, "so you can steal it again?"

"Steal it?" Sarah snorted. "Hardly. That data was collected by my father, and stolen from him before his research was completed. It rightfully belongs to me now, I'm continuing the work that he started."

"Bah," the scientist retorted, "and once you've done that I suppose you'll leave it somewhere to moulder away unused."

"Look," MacDougal frowned, "I'm preserving that information for posterity and future research into the ancient culture of the Ophidians. Almost everything about them is unknown. I don't know what you think you can do with it, but performing any of the rituals detailed on the disc might destroy the artefact."

Kaikiaichi blinked. "I don't recall this culture as being part of our travels," he remarked to the archaeologist.

"You weren't with us when we were researching them," was MacDougal's reply.

"The information on that disc," the scientist stated haughtily, "is invaluable. When we can locate that artefact and decrypt the process of the third ritual, it will have the potential to radically change and expand a nuclear detonation."

"Figures you'd want to use that data for more darn indiscriminately destructive weapons," Sarah snorted in disgust.

"We're expanding human technology…" the scientist began speaking, but was interrupted by Collins.

"Gosh Darnit," Collins exclaimed, stepping toward the scientist, "would you two stop arguing already? It doesn't matter. This is non-negotiable." The Corporal prodded the scientist with the business end of his MP5. "Give the lady whatever the heck it is that she wants."

"It's in a case," the grey-haired scientist gulped, "at the north end of the lab. The case is locked with both a numerical keypad and dual keycard access, and the door to the room is locked with keycard access, numerical code, and a physical lock."

Collins prodded the scared scientist a little harder. "What are the codes, where is the key, and where are the access cards?"

"The key is in my pocket," the balding man quivered, "one of the access keycards is as well. The other keycard needed is a Gold Level security pass, which I don't have. The code to the door is one-three-nine-two-one-six, the code for the case is three-two-seven-four-four-three."

Riam held up Ali Baba's keycard. "This is an all-access master keycard, will it work?"

The scientist nodded, "It should do."

"Give me the key and the other keycard then," Sarah demanded, approaching the scientist, "and it better be the right disc."

The scientist handed over the goods, and MacDougal set off, followed by Kaikiaichi.

They soon located the correct door and used the scientist's key and keycard, as well as the code number, to gain access.

Inside, the two explorers discovered an elaborately illuminated pedestal, with a transparent armoured glass cover over it. On top of the pedestal sat an optical disc in a protective case. A low column in front of the pedestal contained two keycard slots on either side of a keypad.

Riam and Sarah both inserted their cards, then Sarah punched in the code.

With a hiss, the glass slid downwards into the floor, allowing access to the disc. MacDougal picked it up, examined it, and then slipped it into a pocket.

"Hmm," the Australian asked, "wouldn't they have made a copy of the disc?"

"Nope," replied Sarah while shaking her head, "you saw how they protected this copy. The data is too sensitive for them to risk it."

"Okay," Riam nodded, "let's get back to the team then.

By the time the two explorers had returned from acquiring the disc, Hanks and his men had completed their security patrol and were standing by with the rest of the ICE Team.

"Okay," the ISO General addressed his men, "now we'd better take care of the Primary Objective before I forget. Let's neutralise those nukes."

"What?!" the grey-haired scientist, who appeared to be the lead scientist, jumped up from where he was sitting, "you're going to destroy our entire advanced weapons program?!"

"Wow," Riam commented, "what awesome deductive capabilities you possess. No wonder you're a scientist. Corporal, lock 'em up in that supply room over there."

"Aye Sir," Collins smiled, "with pleasure."

As the Corporal and most of the Commandos herded the scientists into the supply room, Kaikiaichi approached the closest nuke with Hanks and MacDougal following him.

"Are you going to blow them up with explosives?" Sarah glanced over to the ICE leader.

"Nope," responded the Australian, "my Goddess has provided us with a nanomolecular solution for completely neutralising whatever makes these things tick. I don't have a clue what any of the scientific junk means, but it works."

"Goddess?" MacDougal questioned, "How do you mean?"

"You don't know of the Goddesses?" Riam looked surprised. "The rulers of the Empires? The major world powers?"

"Uh," Sarah scratched her head sheepishly, "I have no clue about world politics. I've been way too busy trying to prevent important historical knowledge from being lost forever."

"Ah," Kaikiaichi nodded, "you're as much into your work as your father was. I'll fill you in later."

The ICE commander removed a small sealed tube from a pocket on his tactical vest, aimed it at the nuclear warhead, and depressed a button on the device. A fine green mist sprayed from the object to completely cover the nuke.

As they watched, the green substance seemed to be absorbed right through the metal exterior of the dangerous weapon, making its way inside to do its job.

Riam replaced the empty tube back in his vest pocket, drew forth an identical device, and proceeded to the next nuclear warhead.

Repeating the procedure with both remaining warheads, Kaikiaichi then removed a computerised scanning device of some sort from his vest and passed it over each of the nukes. The device reported they had all been completely neutralised.

"Okay," the General called out to the rest of the ICE squad, "Primary Objective completed successfully. Secondary objective is destruction of the military armoury on Level Two. That floor is packed with barracks and training facilities, so we're going back to sound-suppressed weapons. We don't want half of the NRA coming down on us."

The Commandos nodded, immediately returning their weapons to stealth mode.

"We'll stop on Level Three to pick Lloyd and Reed," Riam continued, "then take an elevator up to Level Two. There's a cargo elevator in a relatively quiet area of Level Three that will drop us off conveniently close to the Armoury. Once there, Hanson will set them up the bomb. After that, we make directly for a nearby stairway that will take us to Level One, then head to the exit. We wait for the all clear from satellite recon, double-time it back to Bravo Team at the museum, and hook up with them. Then it's straight back to the extraction zone and back home in time for breakfast. Questions?"

There were no questions from the assembled team.

"Okay," Riam ordered, "let's head on up."

The ICE Team had an entirely uneventful trek back upstairs to Level Three, where the Infiltration and Recon Specialists were happy to rejoin the squad. Their trip to the cargo elevator was also unremarkable, and they headed up to Level Two with no further enemy encounters.

The elevator dropped them off directly opposite the main doors to the military armoury. The close proximity of the cargo elevator was most likely intended to easily move weapons in or out in mass quantities. The military armoury was an entire complex in itself, and the ICE Commandos didn't carry enough explosives to destroy it. Luckily, the armoury stocked a large quantity of explosives, which Hanson would use when setting them up the bomb.

As the elevator doors slid aside, Collins and Hanks took care of two sentries posted outside the armoury, as well as a two-man security patrol who were unlucky enough to be walking past at the wrong time.

The military armoury was certain to be more closely protected than the security armoury, but since Reed had disabled the alarm systems it would be less of a worry.

Taking up standard aggressive entry positions outside the door, Collins, Hanks, and Kaikiaichi prepared for their normal opening of the door and storming inside.

Like clockwork, Hanks hit the button to open the doors, and Collins was inside as soon as he could squeeze through the widening gap. Kaikiaichi was right behind the Corporal, noting two soldiers sitting behind an armoured glass security window, and three armed soldiers outside.

The ISO General took care of one soldier, and Collins handled the other two as Riam dashed over to a door which provided access into the armour-glassed area. The door unlocked with a single swipe of Ali Baba's magic keycard through the slot provided, and the ex-vigilante dashed inside. He performed a commando-roll on the ground as he entered, avoiding a flurry of weapons fire from the two soldiers inside the glassed area. Completing the roll, Kaikiaichi came up firing, expertly precise shots dropping the hostile targets instantly. By then, the rest of the Commandos had also moved inside the armoury lobby. They'd carried the bodies of the soldiers killed in the hallway in with them, to minimise signs of the ICE Team's invasive presence.

Hanson swiftly made her way to the armoury entrance, where Riam obligingly opened the heavy blast doors for her.

Looking inside the large interior for a few seconds, Hanson turned to the ICE commander.

"Sir," the Demolitions Specialist addressed him, "rough estimate, it might take as long as ten minutes to wire this place up for total annihilation."

"Do what you have to do, Private," the General told her, "whatever it takes to remove the threat."

"Yes Sir," Hanson nodded, "I could also use a couple of people to help me shift the explosives around."

"Right," Kaikiaichi nodded, turning to the other ICE Team members, "Collins, Hanks, you're the lucky pair. Get in there and give Hanson a hand."

Both of the Elite Commandos nodded and complied immediately, moving into the armoury.

The other black-clad infiltrators sat down, leaning against walls in the lobby.

Riam sat down near Sarah, but the blonde woman was leaning back with her eyes closed, and he didn't disturb her.

Eight minutes, fifty-two seconds later

"Sir," called Hanson as she emerged from the armoury with Collins and Hanks in tow, "we're done. She's set to blow in fifteen minutes"

"Outstanding work," Riam was on his feet in a second, "let's seal up that blast door. Reed, mind doing the honours?"

The infiltration specialist smiled as she got to her feet. "Always a pleasure, General."

Reed headed over to the armoury blast door and stepped inside for a moment. After fiddling with an electronics panel on the interior doorframe, she stepped out and pressed the button to close the door.

"General," the specialist addressed Kaikiaichi, "it's secured tight as a drum. Nobody is getting in there without some serious time, equipment, and vault-cracking knowledge."

"Good work Private," the Australian smiled, then called to the rest of the ICE Team, "let's go ladies and gentlemen, we have a plane to catch."

As soon as the Commandos had exited the armoury facility, a four-man NRA patrol walked around a corner ahead of them. The enemy soldiers hardly had time to glimpse the intruders before being cut down by silenced weapons fire.

Moving quickly, Riam led the team forwards, then around a corner to the left. A quick right-turn after that put them right at the entrance to a stairwell leading to Level One.

Hurrying inside, and moving rapidly up the stairs, the squad emerged into a corridor leading directly to the exit ramp.

The camera the ICE operatives had needed to avoid when first entering the bunker was peering straight down the passage at them, but they were now secure in the knowledge that the device posed no danger.

Arriving at the ramp in what had to be a record time, the Commandos dashed upwards and out of the bunker.

Only a second after the last of the ICE Team members had stepped out of the cargo ramp access, an alarm siren rang out over the enemy camp.

They SASA intruders would never know who or what had set off the alert, but the whole enemy base was now aware that there was something wrong.

"Reed!" Riam shouted, reacting quickly, "seal that access ramp behind us! We don't want any of the soldiers inside the bunker breathing down our necks. Lloyd, stand by the door, we may need you to provide visual recon momentarily. Hanks, make sure everyone is prepped for full-on combat."

As his orders were quickly acknowledged and carried out, Kaikiaichi activated his transmitter, opening comms to the Special Ops Mecha-Tama and Bravo Team stationed in the museum.

"ICE Alpha to Recon Four," the General hailed, "we need satellite intel. What's the situation out there?"

The response was quick in coming. "Looks like you've stirred up the nest," reported the Recon commander, "IR shows multiple contacts emerging everywhere. Doesn't look like everyone in the NRA forces knows what's going on yet, I don't see a convergence on your position."

"Roger that, Recon Four." Kaikiaichi contacted his other source of intel outside the bunker entrance. "Bravo Team, what do you see?"

"This is Bravo," responded the group leader, "we confirm Recon Four's report. Hostiles everywhere, I don't think you're going to be able to sneak out now. Looks like you'll need to make a run for it." Suddenly, Bravo Leader continued with a tone of urgency, "Hostiles closing on your position, I think they're onto you."

"Keep us covered Bravo," the ISO General ordered, "we might need to make a dash soon. Hold fire until I signal though, we don't want to tip our hand prematurely. Alpha to Tama pilot, receiving?"

"Affirmative Sir," the pilot of the Special Ops Mecha-Tama replied, "receiving loud and clear."

"Take the Tama to full ready status," Kaikiaichi commanded, "prep for liftoff. Standby at your location until further signal."

"Copy that Sir," the pilot, "Tama out."

Riam mentally noted he'd need a real name and designation for the new Mecha-Tama when he returned to SASA Command.

"Lloyd," he called to the recon specialist, "pop the door open, but don't stick your head out too far."

"Aye Sir," the Private replied as he obeyed the order.

A bullet clanged into the doorframe almost as soon as the door had slid aside.

"I'd say they're definitely onto us there, General." Hanks noted dryly.

"Certainly seems that way," the Australian agreed, "we'd better get out of here ASAP before the whole base is on top of us."

At that moment, the entire team gathered in the bunker heard a thump from underneath the thick metal door above the bunker access ramp.

"Explosive charges," commented Sarah, "not only do we need to worry about the whole base being on top of us, we need to worry about them being under us as well."

"Okay Hanks," the General addressed the squad Sergeant, "I have a plan."

As Riam was talking, a spherical grenade sailed in through the still-open door. Not batting an eyelid at it, the SASA Champion raised his forearm and swatted the back outside where it had come from. He kept talking without missing a beat, even as the team heard the sound of the grenade exploding outside.

"If we tried a straight out dash," Kaikiaichi continued, "we'd be cut down. We need to tip the balance of our odds a bit. Have everyone prepare for Night Vision."

Riam passed the Night Vision equipment supplied with his own ICE loadout to Sarah –The Australian's natural eyesight, enhanced since the Cataclysm, made NV completely unnecessary for him. He activated his transmitter to contact the other teams again.

"Recon Four," he signalled, "can you isolate their primary power generator plant on the surface?"

"Affirmative on that, Alpha," replied the Recon team, "it's lit up like a Christmas Tree on our IR imaging"

"Okay," the General dictated the next phase of his plan, "Lock the Tama's guided rockets onto that building and stand by for launch."

"Roger that," the Tama-based team transmitted back.

"Team Bravo," Kaikiaichi signalled the team covering them, "do you copy that we're turning their lights out?"

"That's a big affirmative, Alpha," the Bravo Leader told him, "Snipers already on NV scopes, all Bravo members have NV equipment active."

"Received, Bravo." Riam took a breath, and looked at the Commandos with him in the bunker entrance building to make sure they were ready for the run. He activated his transmitter and sent an order. "Tama Team, you are weapons free. I repeat, you are weapons free. Frag that power station."

Cutting the communication, the ICE commander prepared himself for the sprint.

Back at the Mecha-Tama, two panels on the shell section raised upwards. Contained under the panels was the limited armament of the craft; a total of eight guided rockets.

With a hiss, two of the guided rockets (also equipped with stealth technology) sped out of their launch bays, trailing white smoke behind them. The weapons panels on the Tama slid back down into their closed position, returning the sleek craft to its full stealth profile.

Nobody in the NRA encampment even noticed the two rockets as they streaked overhead, but everyone noticed the effects of the missiles hitting their target.

The power plant erupted in a massive fireball, instantly cutting electricity flow to almost every light in the complex and plunging it into darkness.

"Bravo team," Kaikiaichi transmitted, "cover us."

Calling to the Commandos with him, Riam led the charge out of the building. "Alpha, GO!"

Almost none of the NRA soldiers had any kind of Night Vision equipment, and their eyes had no way of immediately adjusting to the sudden switch to darkness.

Bravo Team's snipers were already targeting and terminating NRA soldiers posing the closest threats to the ICE group falling back from the bunker. Alpha's Commandos were dealing their own share of damage to the enemy forces as they ran, knowing that every able-bodied soldier in the camp would be hot on their heels as soon as their vision adjusted or the lights came back up.

All too quickly, the ICE commander's SMG clip was empty and he switched to his final ammo clip, also tossing his last pistol magazine to Sarah as she ran beside him. The other Commandos were equally low on ammo; they wouldn't last long in any kind of serious firefight.

The ICE Team members felt a little relief when they left the open Parade Ground area and entered the more protective environment of the alleyways between the small buildings near the museum.

A few small patrols challenged the group as they ran though the alleys towards the museum building, but were no match for the Night Vision-equipped Commandos.

Passing the museum entrance, Riam dashed around the corner of the building to secure the exit gate for Bravo Team's withdrawal. As soon as he turned the corner, he came face-to-face with a large squad of NRA troops, all armed and prepared to defend the gate.

Kaikiaichi caught a bullet in the vest before he could get back around the corner. The extremely light and flexible tactical vest was made of a tough material that would stop rounds fired from the majority of standard battlefield firearms. The protection would stop penetration and absorb a lot of the impact, but the bullet could still bruise and wind anyone hit by it.

The Australian needed to pause to take a deep breath before continuing, dashing up the front stairs of the museum and inside the door.

"Barricade the door!" The ISO General ordered his ICE Team, "Use anything you can find!"

As they hurried to carry out his orders, Kaikiaichi called up to Bravo Team, still in their sniping position upstairs.

"Bravo Team," he shouted up to them, "fall back down here, there's nothing more you can do from there."

Bravo Team acknowledged and headed back down the stairs to the main group.

Switching on his transmitter, the ICE commander hailed the Tama crew.

"ICE Alpha to Tama pilot, requesting immediate emergency evac from the museum. Extraction zone is hostile, so exercise caution. Come in fast, and go out faster."

"Roger that, Alpha," the Tama pilot replied, "lifting off immediately, we're inbound!"

"Our extraction point is via a large glass skylight in the museum roof," the ISO General continued, "you'll need to take it out with low-yield rockets then drop down the descent ropes We'll be breaking the rules and using it for ascent instead,"

The skylight in question was a large ornate glass dome in the middle of the ceiling. It was a work of art in itself, and it was a real shame it needed to be destroyed to get the team out in one piece.

Kaikiaichi cut the transmission to the Mecha-Tama, and called out a command to his ICE Team.

"Everyone," the General ordered, "clear away from the centre of the room! That skylight, like many things in this museum, is going to be history!"

The Tama should arrive in under a minute, but the team had a short moment to catch a breather.

Sarah had noticed when Riam had been struck by the bullet, and now took the time to approach her old companion.

"Hey," the blonde woman asked with concern, "how's that bullet hit?"

"It's fine," the Kaikiaichi assured her, "the vest took care of it."

"I didn't think the vest was that thick," MacDougal commented, "must be some darn good workmanship in it."

"Aye," Riam agreed, "the very best."

There was no time for further conversation, as a guided rocket set for a low-yield blast annihilated the skylight, sending glass and metal crashing to the floor. The dark shadow of the Mecha-Tame swooped down and hovered directly above the newly created egress point. The round portal on the underside of the craft irised open, and a winch dropped down a rope intended for rapid insertions rather than extractions.

"Commandos!" Riam shouted as the barricades at the door began to give way, "We are leaving!"

Hanks and Collins were the first two up the rope, not because they were afraid of sticking around in the museum, but because they were the strongest of the regular Commandos. They would be able to help the others up into the craft as they arrived.

Riam always insisted on being the last inside, as his natural flight ability could help him out in a pinch.

Just as Kaikiaichi was about to order MacDougal up into the Tama, the archaeologist grabbed his arm.

"Riam," she called excitedly, "over there! Those two books are one of the reasons I was here to begin with! They are absolutely unique and irreplaceable, we need to get them out of here!"

Glancing in the direction indicated, the Australian saw two huge dusty tomes on a display case. It would be impossible for anybody to scale the rope while holding one.

"We can't," he told Sarah. "There's no way we could carry them up!"

"Sure there is," the blonde woman assured him, "I stashed two large backpacks in here before those NRA Neanderthals caught me. They'll each fit one of the books, so gimme a hand with it."

Proving her statement, MacDougal pulled two massive backpacks from under some generic display case.

Gritting his teeth, and knowing that arguing with Sarah was futile, he clicked open a communications channel to the Mecha-Tama. By this time, all of the other Commandos were inside.

"Stand by, Tama," the General ordered, "hold position. We'll need a second longer."

Riam walked over to where the stubborn archaeologist was packing one of the tomes into a backpack. The ICE commander started to cram the other book into the second backpack when a reply came through from the Tama pilot.

"Make it snappy Sir," the voice sounded stressed, "we're taking some arms fire, and some anti-tank gear is on its way. They'll be in range of us soon."

Both Riam and Sarah had the books in the backpacks now, and the backpacks were over their shoulders. Wasting no more time, Riam dashed to the rope and leapt onto it, scrambling upwards as Sarah grabbed on behind him.

Time was of the essence, and as soon as he was sure Sarah was holding tightly enough, the ICE commander signalled the pilot again.

"We're on the rope!" he shouted, "take us up and get us out of here now!"

The pilot didn't bother to reply, blasting the craft straight up into the sky enough for the rope to clear the museum skylight, then punched the engines as fast as he dared with the two people still holding tightly to the rope.

One of the other limitations of Riam's flying abilities was weight – He couldn't fly carrying or wearing anything overly heavy. With the massive book on his back, he couldn't use his power to aid himself climbing the rope, as he often did. If he happened to fall with the book still strapped to his back he might be able to guide his descent and cushion the impact a little, but that would be the limit.

Behind the escaping Mecha-Tama, an NRA soldier launched an RPG in their direction.

The effort was futile now, they were well out of range, but another second of hovering over the museum might have spelled the end of the advanced stealth craft. The ISO General wasn't sure how much armour Suu had supplied the vehicle with, but he seriously did not want to field test the amount of damage it could take.

The pilot of the Mecha-Tama slowed the craft substantially, allowing Kaikiaichi and MacDougal to continue the climb upwards. As soon as Riam was inside, he turned and reached down to help Sarah up through the portal.

Hanks was standing by the winch and portal controls, retracting the final short section of rope, and closing the circular opening.

In the cockpit, the pilot was keeping his eye on an orange light indicating that the portal was open. As soon as the light blinked off, the experienced ISO flight officer took the Mecha-Tama to full speed.

The blonde archaeologist dumped her backpack carefully on the floor, then assisted her Australian companion with removing the backpack he was wearing.

The large backpacks containing the heavy tomes attracted curious looks from the ICE Team, but they were all too busy winding down from the mission to bother with questions.

Riam and Sarah moved to an unoccupied pair of seats and practically fell down into them. Both closed their eyes and leant back, breathing heavily and calming their nerves as they came down from the adrenaline rush.

Both of them loved the thrill of the adventure and the narrows escape. They'd found themselves in the same situations hundreds of times before, so regularly that it was almost second nature to them.

It had been too dark for Sarah to see the outline of the aircraft she had climbed up into, and she'd been too busy to really bother thinking about it.

If she had of known it was a turtle-shaped vehicle in which she now rested, then she may have had some suspicions about the creator of the craft…

SASA Headquarters, 07:03

The pilot set the Mecha-Tama down on one of the exterior landing pads, instead of the internal mountain landing bays. As the engines powered down, the gullwing doors on either side of the shell swung open, letting the bright early morning sunshine into the previously darkened cabin

Riam yawned and stretched, blinking tiredly. Yawning again, he addressed the Commandos seated in the craft.

"Alright," he began with another yawn, "I know it's lazy of me… But bugger the debriefing, I'm ready to drop. We'll handle the debrief tomorrow or somesuch. Dismissed."

The ISO General yawned again as the equally tired ICE Team wandered out.

Glancing over at Sarah in the seat next to him, Riam nudged her a little. The normally active woman mustn't have gotten much sleep in the NRA holding cell, as the blonde archaeologist had dozed off on the flight home

It didn't take much to wake her though, the single nudge had her eyes open in seconds. She climbed somewhat unsteadily to her feet, still partially asleep. Riam himself wasn't rock-steady either.

Walking next to each other, the two tired companions were about halfway to the mountain entrance when a flying blur slammed into Riam's chest and bowled him over onto his back.

Kaolla Suu had appeared to come from literally thin air, and was now sitting on her Champion's chest grinning down at him. "Gooood mornin'!" the energetic Goddess greeted the prone Australian in her usual style.

"Good morning, Lady Suu," Kaikiaichi smiled back warmly, "I am pleased to report that the mission was a success."

"Yay!" Kaolla exclaimed, jumping off Riam's chest and backflipping to her feet. "Let's have bananas to celebrate!"

The dedicated SASA General had a suspicion that his Goddess would also celebrate with bananas in the event of a total failure. He had never tested that theory to date.

Behind where Suu stood, Sarah had been rubbing her eyes to make sure she was awake. When she finally determined that she was, in fact, awake, she gasped.

Hearing the gasp Kaolla turned to face the new arrival. When she did so, her green eyes opened wide.

"Kaolla?" MacDougal asked slowly, hardly believing it was true, "is that really you?"

"Sarah!" Suu squealed in delight, "Long time no see!"

Meanwhile, Kaikiaichi had stood up and dusted himself off. Taking note of Kaolla and Sarah's meeting, he blinked.

"Uh," the Australian asked rather redundantly, "you two know each other?"

Sarah looked at Riam, then back to Kaolla. "Wait," the archaeologist asked, "you mean you two know each other?!"
"Wow," giggled the tan-skinned genius, "I guess you two have met as well then!"

The three spent a moment just looking back and forth between themselves. Then MacDougal looked directly at Kaikiaichi.

"Alright buster," she told him, "you have some explaining to do."

"Well," Riam began, "it must have been the day after I, uh… left you and your father."

The Australian winced, and Sarah scowled at the memory of her companion's departure.

"I was travelling towards Colorado Springs," he continued, "having heard rumours of two powerful Goddesses there. There were also tales of robotic armies and miracle cures from the city…"

Flashback: Outer ruins of Colorado Springs, 07:17

Riam strode amongst the ruins, breathing slightly heavier than normal. He'd travelled all nightto arrive at this point, and was still another hour or so away from where he expected to encounter the main camp of these people.

In his hand he carried a sheathed weapon, a straight-bladed Chinese sword known as a Jian. The sword was a legendary blade that had been gifted to Riam by Seta. The Japanese archaeologist had discovered the sword in China just after the Cataclysm had struck, where the weapon had lain hidden for hundreds of years. Myths surrounding the blade referred to it as the Green Destiny.

Since leaving his two companions, the Australian hadn't encountered another living person, the land around him silent save for the omnipresent background sounds of normal insect, bird, and animal activity. The early morning sunshine shone from low in a blue sky, warming the ground below as the last few tendrils of the night's mist faded from sight.

The suburban ruins he was walking through were composed of old rotting wood and torn rusting metal, as well as fallen brick constructions littering the area with rubble. Isolated sections of old walls, varying in size, remained standing and began to obscure his vision. Riam's hearing, somehow enhanced since the Cataclysm, began to detect the unmistakable noises of human activity somewhere ahead of him. The standing walls not only blocked his sight, but also confused the direction and distance of the sounds he was hearing.

Kaikiaichi couldn't tell if the people were hundreds of metres away or right next to him. Nor could he determine whether they were in front of him or behind him. The only thing he was certain of was that they were out there, somewhere.

Riam discovered the location of some of the sounds a few seconds later, as two brawny-looking individuals dashed from behind a tall pile of rubble and slammed into him, sending him crashing down to the ground. Both of the newcomers were clad in camouflaged uniforms, and from their arrival they looked as if they had been running from something.

One with close-cropped red hair was standing quite close to the downed Australian, a homemade sword gripped in his hands.

The second had medium length-light brown hair and was just a little further away, holding a double-barrelled shotgun.

Whoever or whatever the two had been running from appeared to have been forgotten as they turned to Riam. The man armed with the sword lifted the blade above his head and began to swing it towards Kaikiaichi in a downward arc.

Riam desperately raised his own weapon to block the incoming strike, managing to deflect the attack using the side of his blade.

The darkhaired Australian, while still on the ground, wasted no time to counterattack and swept his Jian towards his opponent's lower torso.

The soldier sidestepped and moved his homemade weapon to intercept the vigilante's swing. The two swords struck each other head-on, sparks flying as the Green Destiny sliced right through the aggressor's steel blade.

Fear and surprise registered on the redhead's face, before a legsweep from Kaikiaichi sent him crashing to the ground.

Riam flipped to his feet and spun towards the man armed with the shotgun… only to find the barrel of the aforementioned weapon staring him point-blank in the face.

"Drop the sword!" the brown-haired man shouted demandingly.

The Australian slowly lowered the sword, his hand reluctant to release its grip on the legendary weapon.

"Drop it!" the shotgun-toting individual demanded again.

Riam's fingers slowly opened, releasing the hilt of the Jian. The Green Destiny fell to the ground, a small cloud of dust rising up about it as it landed.

"Good, now kick it away," called the soldier, his features changing to a victorious smirk.

Kaikiaichi did as he was requested, using the side of his right foot to propel the blade two metres away. "Okay," began the still-smirking captor, "lie face down on the…"

The soldier was interrupted as a small silver shape flashed out from behind a nearby ruined wall and spat a fireball towards him. The camouflaged man leapt behind cover as the fireball detonated besides him.

Riam himself dived to the right, executed a commando-roll and came to his feet with the Green Destiny once again in his hands. The Australian spun towards the fireball-shooting silver shape with his sword in attack position. As he caught sight of the object though, his jaw dropped.

A metal turtle hovered in the air, continuing to fire blasts at the soldiers. Both of Riam's previous opponents had recovered, and were retreating behind what cover they could find.

Apparently, the turtle seemed satisfied that it had succeeded in discouraging the men from further intrusions and it turned towards Kaikiaichi.

The vigilante tensed, but instead of attacking him with fireballs the mechanical creature hovered slowly towards him, moving in a non-threatening manner. Riam stood his ground, barely moving as the turtle moved closer and closer to him, before finally settling down on his head.

The Australian began to reach up to touch the turtle, but before he could do so a tan-skinned blur hurtled towards him out of nowhere. Before he could react, Kaikiaichi found it perched on his shoulders with a pair of legs locked around his neck.

Riam slowly tilted his head backwards, finding an energetically grinning face and sparkling green eyes looking down towards him.

"You found my Mecha-Tama!" Kaolla Suu exclaimed happily.

Acrobatically flipping herself off and away from Kaikiaichi's shoulders, the foreign girl landed lightly in front of her newfound 'friend'.

The new arrival appeared to be in her mid-teens with platinum blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail. Quite oddly, she was clothed in a Japanese schoolgirl's uniform that seemed very out-of-place in the ruined city.

"Hi there," she introduced herself with a smile, "I'm Suu, who're you?"

"My name is Riam Kaikiaichi," the Australian replied, "I'm a member of an archaeological…" the dark-haired man paused a moment, then continued. "Wait, no I'm not. I'm a wandering vigilante."

"Vigilante?" the girl asked, beginning to drool, "is that food? Is it yummy? Can I have some?"

"Ah, not quite…" Kaikiaichi scratched his head. "I am a self-proclaimed agent of justice. I have made it my duty and my mission to protect the innocent and defeat evil in all forms, wherever I find it."

"Aw," Suu pouted, "well do ya have any food?"

"I have a little," Riam apologised, "but it's rather rough fare. You are welcome to share some if you wish."

"Sure," exclaimed the energetic girl, "rough fare sound like fancy food!"

"Not quite," the Australian pulled a package of rations from a pouch around his waist, "mostly dried fruit and salted meat, I'm afraid."

Opening the wrappings around the food, he offered the selection to Kaolla.

Not seeming to mind the crudity of the meal, she gobbled it up heartily. After polishing off most of Kaikiaichi's supplies, Suu decided she'd had enough.

"So," the platinum blonde asked as she perched herself on a pile of rubble, "what're you doin' here?"

"I cam seeking rumoured mechanical creatures," the vigilante stated wryly, glancing at the Mecha-Tama which was no hovering itself around Kaolla's head. "It seems I have located one of them. You said this was yours?"

"Yep," the inventive teen nodded enthusiastically, "this is the prototype for my latest series of Mecha-Tamas!"

"You must be quite skilled," Riam commented, "it seems to be highly advanced technology."

"That's right, I'm a genius!" Suu boasted rather immodestly.

"I'm curious," the Australian questioned, "who were those men being chased by the Tama?"

"Oh," Kaolla shrugged, "they're just spoilsports who work for some guy called Magneto. He's trying to invade us apparently."

"Magneto, eh?" Kaikiaichi raised an eyebrow. "Sounds like someone's an X-Men fan. Have they been having much luck with this invasion?"

"Not at all," the tan-skinned girl grinned, "but they keep trying. A lot of them came today, so they're helping me test my new Mecha-Tama!"

"Convenient guinea pigs," the Australian smiled, "are there many of these guys left?"

"Most of them ran off when my Mecha-Tama started playing with them," Suu explained, "but there's one more group still around. Wanna go play with 'em?"

"Sounds like fun," Riam climbed to his feet, returning the Green Destiny to its scabbard, "lead the way!"

Several minutes later, Suu had led the vigilante to a more open area of the ruins.

There was indeed a sizeable team of uniformed soldiers there, cautiously moving forward towards the Colorado Springs city centre.

Kaolla and Riam were standing somewhat behind the Magneto troops, and the squad had yet to catch sight of the pair.

The Mecha-Tama was perched on the shoulder of its inventor, the head moving to track a target as it locked on to the enemy.

"Tell me," the curious Australian asked the teen, "how does the Tama determine hostile targets from allies?"

"I have programmed it with advanced AIIFF routines," she replied proudly.

Riam took a guess at the meaning of the acronym. "Artificially Intelligent Identification of Friend or Foe?"

"That's right," Kaolla congratulated him, "good work!" Turning her head slightly to address the Mecha-Tama on her shoulder, Suu gave a command. "Tama attack mode! Acquire hostile target and go get 'em!"

Upon receiving the directive, the turtle-shaped machine flew off the girl's shoulder and sped towards the group of soldiers.

''

The saga rolls on...

NEXT TIME: JACCCKKKKK!!! ARRGHHHH!!!