Author's notes: This tale, penned by me, Nachtsider, is based on the excellent anime/manga known as 'Gunslinger Girl', which is the brainchild of Yu Aida, and also utilizes the continuity of my previous yarn, 'A Day in the Life of a Gunslinger Girl'. The narrative attempts to explain the following: were the services of extra-normal junior operatives utilized during the recent Gulf War? Bearing in mind that all original concepts, characters, their distinctive likenesses and related elements featured in this publication are my property and may not be used without my express permission, enjoy the story, check out the related illustration at my Deviant Art account (nachtsider dot deviantart dot com) if you wish, and feel free to drop this author a line at the relevant electronic mail address (nachtsider at yahoo dot com)!

BATTLEZONE

PROLOGUE: MISSION OVERVIEW

Social Welfare Agency administrator Lorenzo Baiata sent the following message to the Italian Military Special Forces Command circa December 2002:

"The United States-led Coalition is mounting an invasion of Iraq. Their top brass are drawing up plans… Meanwhile, we have been asked to lend a hand, and shall abide by this request. Our fee: the latest in American battlefield technology.

"The teams are ready. Their orders are clear – conduct covert reconnaissance of opposition units, eliminate strategic targets with the aid of precision weaponry, assist in 'locate and retrieve' operations, hunt key enemy personnel and aid in the search for weapons of mass destruction."

END OF PROLOGUE