Disclaimer: I make no claim to the series, ideas, or characters of Full Metal Panic.
Author's Notes: I want to thank all of you who took your time to read my story. I especially want to thank those of you who reviewed. The idea for this story came to me while I was browsing through my dictionary. I believe this will end up being a pretty good story once things get going. If you find my story worth your time, please leave a review letting me know what you think. I hope you enjoy.
Defining Normalcy
Chapter 2: Determined by Nature
By Adam Lakewood
Captain Testarossa finished filling out the required form that had been presented with the rest of the mildly large stack of paperwork. To her great frustration, firing a SCUD missile at a facility seemed to be a big deal that required a lot of paperwork. Firing a second because the first was insufficient required even more.
She perfectly squared the form on her desk, took it in her hands, gently rapped it against the desk to ensure the perfect straight-edge that was expected of a prestigious captain, and sealed them in place with two paperclips. She placed the document on top of the stack next to her, cleared her throat, and looked up at the man in front of her.
"Hello, Lieutenant Sagara. I guess you have heard about the bombing? It was a success, but barely. I guess I should have listened to you in the first place."
"Yes, Captain." he stated plainly, leaving in out in the open as to which of those statements he was replying to.
"Captain, it was not your fault." declared Mardukas who seemed to come out of nowhere.
"You only did what you thought was right. There were many... factors working against that decision." he said while intentionally turning an eye toward Sousuke.
"Not to mention you may have made the right decision if everyone was there to offer their opinions. Lieutenant Sagara's actions were inexcusable."
Captain Testarossa sighed as she stood up from her seat.
"I suppose you may be right, but that is behind us now. We have to..."
"I'm sorry. My memory has not been what it should have been for the past few days. But, I do think I recall being there today. I also believe I offered my opinion. It is only my duty to offer my opinion, it is left up to others of higher position to ignore them." he said leaving it hanging for a moment. "Or, accept them."
Mardukas immediately turned him the evil eye.
"Am I sensing an underlying meaning to your statements, Lieutenant Sagara?" he asked expectantly.
"To answer your question, I would invoke my previous statement."
Mardukas' glare was met with Sousuke's own. The tension in the room was so thick one could have choked on it.
Both men were snapped out of their Challenge of the Unblinking Eye by light laughter. Both men were somewhat confused as to what their Captain found to be so amusing. In some countries, this unstated challenge of the two men would have been followed by a honorable dual to the death.
Both men were from such countries.
Captain Testarossa covered her mouth to suppress her laughter.
"I'm sorry. I just look at you two and I see two goats ramming heads together." she said while demonstrating her point with exaggerated hand gestures.
"Lieutenant Sagara..." she said while averting her attention back to him. "I believe you came here to see me for something?"
Sousuke stiffened as he got ready to state his business. This would be the first time he had done anything like this, so he was kind of worried about what was going to be said between the three. Either way, he would be leaving the TDD-1. He would have just preferred for everyone to remain in good standing with each other.
Fate would have to deal her cards.
"Yes, Captain. I have come here to put in for an extended vacation."
"A vacation?" she seemed to have a hard time grasping the concept.
It wasn't everyday she heard that request, especially not from Sousuke. Sousuke never took vacation; not even the ones he was entitled to. Sousuke was like the kid in school that always had perfect attendance.
"Y... yes. A vacation sounds like something that we can work out. I would have recommended one to you if you had not requested one soon. So, how long do you wish for your extended vacation to be?"
"I'm really not sure, Captain. At this point, I cannot really tell."
"It is generally recommended that one know how long they are going to be absent before they request for a vacation." Mardukas added in.
"I am aware."
That should piss him off to no end. Of course, he won't state his displeasure to the response; he'll just brood about it for a while.
"Well, this is kind of strange, Lieutenant Sagara, but because of your excellent service, we should be able to work with you on this. So, when do you wish for your vacation to take affect?"
Sousuke brought up his arm and looked at his wristwatch. He returned it to his side as he once again turned his gaze back to his captain.
"In about five hours, Captain."
Tessa almost stumbled. Mardukas almost choked on his coffee. Sousuke almost smiled.
"Lieutenant Sagara, the hour is late." Mardukas added as-a-matter-of-factly.
"I am aware." was the reply.
Sousuke came almost a hair away from smirking.
"Lieutenant, I'm afraid that may be impossible. It is rather late, and it is such short notice." argued Tessa.
"I do not believe that would be impossible. With all due respect, I really need to get out of here quick, I have not been feeling like myself lately. Rest aboard this submarine is coming in lesser quantity to me each night, and I fear tonight the rest will not come."
Mardukas sneered as he slammed his hand on the desk. Tessa jumped in surprise at the sudden action.
"Sagara, do our accommodations not fit your needs?!" he demanded the answer.
"No, Sir!" the response was sarcastic, over exaggerated, and came with an unnecessary salute.
That didn't settle over to well with the captain either.
"Lieutenant Sagara! You are completely out of line! Your request for the vacation has been declined! You may now return to you quarters! You are not acting at all natural!"
Sousuke sneered. He had just looked up that word before.
"Natural means as determined by nature. I am NOT determined by nature."
He sneered once again to get his point across.
"I am not requesting." he simply stated as he narrowed his eyes.
Mardukas put on a smirk and let out a snobbish grunt as he walked over and stood beside Captain Testarossa.
"I believe Sagara wishes to go back to Tokyo. The place that polluted his mind into this new way of thinking in the first place. I believe he also wants to visit that girl who played an important role in this unwanted development. We never should have sent him there in the first place. Kalinin was a fool!"
The glare was stern, the threat was obvious, and the reply was curt.
"Fuck you."
"Sousuke Sagara!" shouted Captain Testarossa as she slammed her hand down on her desk.
"Your behavior will not be tolerated. If you do not get in line, I will not hesitate to..." she fussed before being abruptly interrupted.
"No you won't." Sousuke stated simply and with a smirk.
Gaping mouths were now the audience of his speech.
"I have realized long ago exactly how important I am to Mithril. I am not only your book example of a perfect soldier, but I am also the first person to ever be able to use the Lambda Driver, thus I have the best understanding of the piece of junk. I train others who are capable of using it, and I am still recognized as the most experienced. If you do wish to resign me on the spot, please do. It will make my parting that much easier. If you wish to refuse my request, please do. It will also make my parting that much easier. I don't know if you comprehend what I am saying or not, but either way, I will be leaving to Tokyo tonight. Now, here is my proposal:"
He looked around the room at the two members of his audience to make sure he still had their attention. He smirked again. It felt good to finally be in power.
"I will be permanently be stationed in Tokyo, but I will be on call for Mithril. Plus, I will be provided with all legal documentation I need and/or request to lead a normal life in Tokyo. I will be taking Jin Lain with me. Her advanced knowledge of the Lambda increases everyday. I will continue to train her in what I know until I can train her no further. She will then train other candidates as an even better instructor than me. But, she will never set foot on the battle field. She will also be stationed in Tokyo, and the same conditions apply to her as well. We will both be more of contacts for Mithril than anything else. That is my proposal. If my requirements are not met, you will lose the both of us. Do I make myself clear?"
A growl of frustration was his response. Oddly enough, that came from Tessa. She started to open her mouth in protest.
"Captain, I know this is absurd, but you know as well as I do that we cannot afford to lose such resources as the two of them. They may still only be partial resources, but they are essential resources. I think we had better..."
"Fine!" she shouted as she got up and left out the door, slamming it behind her.
Mardukas' gaze made its way over to Sousuke.
"Do you understand what you are doing, Lieutenant Sagara?"
"Yes."
"You do understand that neither you nor Jin will be setting foot back aboard the Tuatha De Danaan?"
"Yes."
"Then, you understand that in a short few hours, your military life will be mostly entirely over?"
"Yes."
"You realize you will pretty much be living the life of a civilian?"
"Yes."
An uncharacteristic smile made its way across the lips of Lieutenant Commander Mardukas. He slowly walked in front of Sousuke and extended his hand to him for a handshake.
"Then, I have repaid my debt to Kalinin."
TO BE CONTINUED