Disclaimer: I make no claim to the series, ideas, or characters of Full Metal Panic.

Author's Notes: Many thanks to all of you who are still reading my story. I really appreciate all of the reviews I have been receiving for this story, and it makes me feel rather pround of my work that others are enjoying it. I want to take a moment to especially express my gratitude to MJP for putting so much work into betaing this chapter for me. If my grammar has seemed to have drastically gotten better since the last chapter, it is due mostly to this man. MJP, thank you for all of your hard work. As always, readers and reviewers are always greatly appreciated. Thank you, and I hope you enjoy.

Defining Normalcy

Chapter 15: To Free From Storms

By Adam Lakewood

Even Kalinin was surprised by the luxury of the hotel. Everyone couldn't help but completely marvel at the beautifully- lit marble interior of the main building. Their surprise and joy only escalated when they saw the three adjoining bedrooms that Kalinin had reserved for them. That incredible joy only soared even higher when they started exploring Aspen. They spent the entire evening looking around town, going to many of the almost seemingly unlimited number of unique shops, and sampling some Aspen food, which oddly had a completely different taste than most American food.

They finally called it a day when they ran into Shin well past dark… literally. It was laughable when Sousuke, who had been walking backwards while giving a detailed history of Aspen, backed over Shin in much the same manner as a reversing vehicle. Everyone laughed slightly when it happened, mostly because of the utter look of surprised horror on Sousuke's face as he went toppling backwards. But, they stopped laughing when Shin didn't get back up. They went into a panic when they realized that he wasn't responding to their calls or shakes… then they wanted to kill him when he started snickering after only pretending to be unconscious.

Everyone decided after the initial fear of having killed a man that they would have dinner and call it a day when they got back to the lounge. Presently, they, as well as most of the guests and staff in the lounge were listening in quietly for the punchline of Shin's newest joke on his long string.

"'That's a bear for crying out loud! There's no way you can outrun that thing!' The man didn't bother looking up from lacing his shoe. 'I know that.' 'Then why are you tying your shoes?!' The other man finally looks up at him with a sly smile. 'Because I'm pretty confident that all I have to do is outrun you!'"

That got a lot of laughter and chuckling from almost everyone in the room. Shin's constant genial attitude and humorous charm seemed to make him the life of their small and unintentionally growing party.

Shin sat back down in his seat, still laughing at his joke along with everyone else. The jokes weren't as much of what made everyone laugh as it was the way he told them.

"Come on!" Jin said. "Let's hear another!" she said, obviously enjoying Shin's humor.

Shin smiled and shook his head slightly.

"Nah. That's all right. I think I'll end there. Besides…" he said, motioning to the man over at one of couches.

The man was bent over, still giggling from Shin's last joke. His face was turning red from a lack of oxygen, obvious since he would have to gasp for breath every few seconds.

"… my humor seems to be potentially lethal for some members of the audience."

Whether he meant for it to or not, that comment also got a good round of laughter from quite a few people, including the man who was already about to pass out.

Kalinin, Jin, and Kaname were all surprised at what happened next.

Sousuke cleared his voice, braced himself on the arm of the couch and Kaname's leg as he got up with a grunt, laid down his newspaper, and chuckled slightly at what he was just thinking of. The surprise came in what he said next.

"Let's see if anyone's heard this one."

A good round of chuckles went around when Sousuke finished his 'blonde joke' that most Americans, he had gathered, seemed to love so much. Most of everyone laughed because they found it to be funny, Kalinin and Jin laughed mostly because of whom it was that told it, and Kaname laughed the most, actually feeling oddly proud of him for his seemingly miniscule accomplishment.

Sousuke went back over to his spot on the couch beside Kaname with a proud smile on his face when he heard the laughter he got. He moved his paper and sat back down. As soon as he did, he felt Kaname's arms wrap around him. He looked down at her with pride in his eyes, knowing that she felt the same pride he did.

Kaname stared back at him adoringly and with her face beaming fondly. She loved Sousuke with all her heart and knew how much it meant to him to become normal. She didn't care if he ever did or not; she would care for him all the same. But, she knew how much it meant to him, so she did her best to care. Just then, she realized how hard he had really been working and actually realized just how important it was to her also. Most of the time, despite how normal he tried to act, she was sure that most people found him to be just a little bit eccentric. However, for those mere couple of minutes it took for him to tell the joke, he was completely normal, and there was probably no one who would have thought otherwise. She knew that he was proud of his seemingly simple accomplishment, and so was she.

"I guess normal people engage in casual conversation in an enjoyable way no matter how pointless or without gain it may be, right?"

Kaname smiled as she felt him tighten his arm around her shoulder, pulling her closer to him.

"Yes, Sousuke. That's right," she simply replied.

"Good," he said, barely audible.

He gently pulled away from Kaname so he could get up. He rose from the couch with a slightly pained grunt. He limped a half-step away from the couch before turning around and placing the newspaper back on the coffee table in front of the couch along with all the other books and magazines.

"I'm going to go ahead and go up to our room. I'm feeling kind of tired, and I want to be in top condition tomorrow for our hike and skiing trip," he said with a smile and a little bit of promising excitement in his voice.

Kaname looked up at him once more. His smile showed pride in himself and his eyes still showed happiness in them. She had no idea why something about his look bothered her. It was almost as if something about his sudden accomplishment at normalcy… was a final attempt. He kept eye contact with her for an extended second before he turned away from her, almost as if he couldn't bear to look at her any longer.

Kaname watched as he walked over to and got on the elevator. Once again, she knew he had something troublesome on his mind like he did at the airport, she just didn't know what. She turned back around, only paying attention to Kalinin who was now telling a joke. She saw the newspaper he had been reading out of the corner of her eye. The pictures on the front showed random black and white photographs of what the text labeled as 'unknown nuclear attacks or tests.'

The text labeled it as 'unknown', but she feared that Sousuke may have known who this 'unknown' person or organization was. It had been on her mind all evening, but now it bothered her even more when she looked back over at Shin.

He was smiling and laughing after the punchline of Kalinin's joke came. She had noticed it about him before, but now she realized it more than ever.

What was bothering Shin was probably the same thing that was bothering Sousuke. Of course, Shin was just as good at masking his true feelings as Sousuke was, but she could still see through it. He would smile, laugh, and have a good time just as the rest of them were, but it was forced and entirely superficial.

He and Sousuke seemed to be feeling the same pain. The smiles were just masks.

"Sousuke," she whispered as she stared at the closing elevator.

"I see. So, they're that much of a threat?" Tessa whispered solemnly.

Captain Testarossa fidgeted with her long, platinum hair as she looked upon the large projection screen on the wall, which displayed scene after scene of utter horror. The flashes of death, destruction, and chaos caused by the Chinese nuclear testing loomed over the large oak table as well as the other near thirty Mithril branch representatives sitting at it like a dark storm cloud.

Mardukas slowly turned a gloomy look her way.

"I'm afraid so, madam Captain," he whispered in reply.

Lieutenant Brook of the seventeenth Mithril branch stood from his seat as he turned pressed the button on the remote, causing the projector to shut off and the lights in the room to come back on. He straightened the sleeve on his grey suit before speaking.

"As you can all see, Mithril has overlooked this growing threat for far too long, and the Old Republic of China has grown much quicker than anyone could have ever predicted," he said as he adjusted his eyeglasses. "Captain Davis, do you have a question?" he said as he motioned his hand toward the seat of the fourth branch representative's seat.

The older man started to speak but was overcome by a sickly coughing fit, causing worried looks from all but his advisor who was quite used to his depleting health to be turned his way. He cleared his cleared his throat hoarsely and habitually begged his pardon before attempting to speak again.

"Excuse me. My question was why they have grown so much so quickly as opposed to their rise nearly three years ago?" he said before sitting back down in his seat with his advisor's help.

Lieutenant Brook nodded his head contemplatively as he pressed the button on his remote again. Once again, the lights in the room dimmed as the projector came back on, revealing the face of a middle-aged Chinese man with several burn scars on his face.

"I was going to discuss that later, but since you have brought it up now, I will answer. From best we at the RDP branch can figure, it is because of this man," he said, stopping to clear his throat. "His name is Chan Do Huang. He was a soldier during the last rise of the Old Republic. As far as we know, he is the only survivor of that… incident three years ago. He survived merely by not being at the main base when Lieutenant Sagara of the twenty-second Mithril branch…" he stopped to adjust his eyeglasses and let out a sigh, remembering the briefing. "Well, I'm sure everyone knows enough about what happened. What I was saying is that this man was the only survivor. He was one of their leading captains and master interrogator. It is said that his squad was the best out of all of them because of his great leadership qualities. This time, the Old Republic has a charismatic leader unlike last time, and this man is that charismatic leader. I am not talking about a charismatic leader in the sense of being able to start a riot; I'm talking about a charismatic leader possibly on the same level as Adolf Hitler. He is really moving the people of China to join his cause. He is also one of their leading scientists in their weapons development. Yes, Lieutenant Mardukas?" he said, motioning toward Mardukas.

Sousuke flinched as he felt that familiar sting as he rubbed his hand over the scar on his shoulder. He sat up in bed quickly and grabbed his knee with a hiss of pain. His knee also throbbed with a pain much worse than it usually did. He really got a number dealt on him back then.

That bastard had really messed him up. But, the physical scars had not been as bad as the mental. Still, the physical had been dealt rather harshly too. It was because of him that he had suffered every one of those pains, and he could still remember how each and every one had felt.

Chan Do Huang. He had also been rightfully named 'the Tormenter' by the captives.

"Speak!" the Chinese torturer said in Russian in hopes that his captive would understand one of the languages if he really didn't know any he had spoken before.

Of course, that single word also came with a single, harsh drag of the rusted axe handle across his bare shoulder.

Sousuke screamed in pain before being grabbed by the hair of his head. He tried to fight against the restraints, but they had strengthened them due to what had happened last time when he broke loose of one of them. The burn scars on his tormentors face were evidence of what happened as well as a warning of what would happen if he ever managed to get entirely free.

The Chinese torturer raised Sousuke's head by his hair to look him in the face.

"My name is Chan Do Huang. What is yours?" he asked in German while motioning to himself.

Sousuke understood him perfectly, but he would be damned if he'd ever let him know that.

"Speak!" he demanded in a language unknown to Sousuke.

But, he had heard the word spoken in so many different languages he knew what it meant. He then took the single action he regretted more than many others. It was well worth it at the time, but he wouldn't have ever done it if he knew what it would cost him in the long run.

He had spat in his face.

The next he knew, a large railroad spike had been placed firmly against his knee. In the next instant, a miniature sledge had been brought down on the head of the foot-long nail.

Sousuke winced as he felt something similar to the same pain go through his knee when he remembered it. He shuttered in remembrance of that dreadful name which had ordered his son killed and had almost killed him. Huang was lucky he wasn't there on the day he managed to escape. He wouldn't have killed him instantly like the others. He would have made him suffer slowly as much pain as he had made him and everyone he had ever tortured combined…

Sousuke slammed his hand hard against the mattress.

… and then a thousand times more.

Mardukas rose from his seat and cleared his voice nervously. He feared and even expected the worst reply to his question. He was feeling a great deal of humility for ignoring Sagara when he came back from China after the… incident. But, the weapon Sagara spoke of didn't make any sense. …Neither did anything else he said during those first few days back. He excused it as another one of his insane ravings and ignored his warning about that weapon. He feared now that he should have listened to more of Sagara's post-traumatic stress induced rants.

"What sort of weapons are we talking about here?" he questioned, then sitting back down in his seat.

Lieutenant Brook smirked slightly as he smoothed out his mustache.

"Well, everyone certainly is on top of everything. Or, at least me. I was also going to speak of that later, but now that you've asked…" The lights dimmed once again.

The photograph of a male, probably in his thirties, was displayed on the projection screen. The picture showed a man with short, red hair and brown eyes kneeling down beside and petting a golden retriever while smiling for the camera.

"This is Dr. Van Cafferty. He was a medical doctor of great note in Scotland seven years ago before he retired and moved to France with his family," he said before changing slides.

The picture of a blond haired little girl not even in the double digits of age flashed up on the screen. She was smiling and waving at the person taking the picture and had a thoroughly genial and carefree expression on her face and showing in her deep-blue eyes.

"This is Stefanie Oberlin. She was taken from her home in Hamburg, Germany by the Chinese three weeks ago."

The lights in the room lit up again when Lieutenant Brook turned off the projector again. The relighting of the room revealed several solemn faces as well as a few angered and disgusted. Brook actually felt like smiling, seeing that he was succeeding at his objective.

"Dr. Cafferty and little Stefanie…" he said, making sure he said 'little' in order to pull forth more sympathy from everyone in the room. "…were taken from their homes; their families were killed, and they are now being forced to partake in experiments. Both Dr. Cafferty and Stefanie are Whispered. The Old Republic is using them to build high-tech weaponry and other devices. They are still desperately searching for more. They are currently a step above the world in technology and only a step below Mithril. Soon, they will be as advanced as us if they get their hands on more Whispered."

He unintentionally sighed and adjusted his glasses before motioning to the large, Russian man in the gold-embroidered suit which was better known than he was. The Russian man rose from his seat with an acknowledgeable grunt, making sure to brush existent or imaginary dust particles off of his ridiculous, shiny, elaborate, gold suit. He constantly wore the suit every time he was to be seen by anyone despite all recommendations not to by those who were audacious enough to inform him of how ludicrous he looked in what everyone had labeled his 'golden platemail.' Ribbons hung and swung from his suit, and he wore so much brass he seemed to shine even in the dimly lit room.

"Captain Zlotnikov has been keeping up with the degree of the matter almost as much as we have; if you'll take the floor, Captain?" he said as he took his seat and motioned toward the front of the room.

"Certainly, Lieutenant Brook," he said with a gruff Russian accent. "We, the twenty-first Mithril branch, strongly tied with Captain Mathas' SA Mithril branch, have been keeping only one eye on our current work and the other on the rising Old Republic. As of right now, their force has grown considerably as opposed to what it was when they were confronted last time. This time, their force currently exceeds twenty-nine thousand. Their number grows as word gets out about them. Over two-thirds of their number has joined with them in the past week. Yesterday afternoon, their numbers were only at about twenty-one thousand; that means that they gained more than eight thousand soldiers overnight. It seems that they receive twice as many new troops as they did the day before. This seems to be their formula. We have a man on the inside who reports that they will have over a million troops by the end of the week."

Captain Zlotnikov's information stirred the crowd of people in the room and low mumbling could be heard from everyone in the room and rightfully so, since something like that was absolutely unheard of. Captain Zlotnikov held up his hand to get everyone's attention once again.

"It is too early to start fretting about things now. Our inside source also tells us that they do not plan to commence any sort of operation for another two weeks. Lieutenant Commander Mardukas?" he invited, motioning toward Mardukas.

Mardukas stood from his seat again and cleared his throat. He was feeling nervous about asking his question again since he feared he may have been able to predict the answer to his own question. He just hoped he would be humbled instead of reinforced by the answer.

"What sort of operations can we expect from them? What exactly is their purpose that is so radically different from China's view before 1949?"

"Yes, I see. You are right; they do have a different agenda than they once did before the People's Republic was developed. The current People's Republic of China is very accepting of a global view. They may not always support it, but they will accept. People tend to think of the Old Republic of China as what China was before 1949. That Old Republic was really not a republic in any sense at all, in my opinion. Still, they were somewhat accepting of a global opinion. This Old Republic is not. These views, beliefs, and philosophies haven't been seen in China since the early 800s during the Tang Dynasty era. During that time, China was at war, and it was a very fearsome period. There were rulers of certain regions, and anyone who didn't completely support those rulers were slain. The ruler who had the largest military, had the most power. Negotiation was never seen between regions; instead, each region tried to make the other do what it wanted. To refuse was to die. This is the belief of the current Old Republic of China. They want not just China, but the entire world to be dictated by Chan Do Huang. The people love this man so much they truly believe he should be the one who makes decisions for the world."

Mardukas pressed his questions. The answers he received seemed to be leading up to what he feared. He feared he knew much more about what was being said than most of the people in the room; he would ask orderly questions so everything would be explained to them also.

"What are Huang's beliefs that the people support so much?"

"Huang simply believes that the world is corrupt. He believes, and the people believe, that through his leadership and everyone doing exactly what he says, the world will rehabilitate itself. He sees the earth as something fully worth preserving; he does not view the human race in the same light. He will first attempt to make the world obey him through force and sheer intimidation. By the end of his two-week period; my source informs me that he plans to have an army of almost one-hundred and fifty million troops. This, coupled with the fact that they are more technically advanced than the rest of the world… they will crush several countries, and their army will continue to grow."

Once again, low mumbling filled the room again before Captain Davis once again slowly rose from his seat.

"That is absurd! It would be nearly impossible to lead that large of a military. No one, I repeat, no one has ever been able to gather that many people and command them in a military. Not to mention it would be absolutely impossible to have the funds to support that sort of military."

"Not exactly, Captain Davis. Actually, that would not be the case at all when he is not supporting his troops, but his troops are supporting him. As a matter of fact, I was wrong to speak as if it were a true military. Think of this more as a cult. When you join a cult, you belong to it, as well as everything that you may own. So, every 'soldier' of the Old Republic doesn't receive pay or anything from the Old Republic. In a way, they actually pay, or more like give up everything tothe Old Republic for rights to 'membership.' That is how much the people support him. Technically, it isn't costing the Old Republic a thing to feed, house, clothe, and arm the troops, nor is it costing them anything to mass produce all of these expensive, high-tech weapons since all of their money is coming from the people who join. They are not really a true military. There is no rank except for three: Huang, Huang's three advisors, and Huang's soldiers. All soldiers only take command from Huang or orders that are issued by Huang through his advisors. They support and believe in him so much, they will do absolutely anything he tells them. In this sort of case, it is actually better for Huang that he doesn't have a true military. This way, there is no doubt by the soldiers since all orders come directly from him. So, everyone in his military/cult waits by their radios with batted breath waiting for his orders. No, it is not absurd, Captain Davis; it is fact. In two weeks, Huang will command over a tenth of China's entire population. Just for the record, China does, in fact, have the world's largest population of nearly 1.5 billion people."

Captain Zlotnikov didn't hesitate to hold up his hand to silence everyone in the room once the loud commotion broke out once again.

"This is probably the least of our concerns. Our main concern is when the world fights back. Huang believes that it is the humans that are tainting the earth. If he cannot bring the world's population under his control, he will eliminate it. By eliminating the 'disease,' he feels that the world will fix itself, and the human race will start over again. He already has all of his people ready and willing to support this theory if it should come down to that."

Mardukas did not like what he was hearing. It seemed as if Sagara was actually somewhat sane those few days after he came back from China. He should have taken his time to listen to and acknowledge the silent whispering coming from the boy.

"So, how does Huang plan to 'cleanse' the world?"

At this, Captain Zlotnikov raised an eyebrow in curiosity. He smirked slightly at Mardukas before speaking.

"You know, don't you?" he questioned with a smile.

Everyone turned their heads to Lieutenant Commander Mardukas, including Captain Testarossa. He lowered his head slightly as to not meet anyone's eyes.

"Yes. I'm afraid I do… vaguely. But, could you give me the details on it?"

The projector flashed up an image of a laboratory of sorts. There seemed to be nothing spectacular about the small lab except for the large amount of people in it. Everyone did, however, notice that the scientists in the lab were all Chinese.

"This is the lab of the Old Republic's single laboratory during their first rise three years ago," Captain Zlotnikov stated.

The slide changed a few seconds later to a laboratory of seemingly unlimited size with much equipment in it that had only been seen before by Mithril. This caused a few whispered questions to be passed back and forth by some of the people present in the conference room.

"This is what it looks like today. With the help of the two Whispered that they have captured, they are now ahead of the rest of the world on a technological basis. We are the only organization in the world that has better technologies, but that gap is quickly diminishing. At the end of their two week wait, we believe they will have an army like none the world has never even dreamt of, and their technology and weaponry will be just as great as Mithril's. We have word that they are currently working on the 'Red Dragon.' It is the same as our prototype of the 'White Tiger.' It is, by far, the greatest Arm Slave we have created to date. Both the Red Dragon and the White Tiger are run entirely by the Lambda Driver. It takes someone of great talent to run either of these since the link system responds directly to the thoughts of the 'pilot.' It is truly a blessing for Mithril to have such a splendid piece of machinery. It is a nightmare that the enemy also has it. The worst part about them developing the Red Dragon is that they, unlike us, have unlimited resources in which to mass produce it when they have it completed."

He pointed his small remote at the projector to switch to a different slide. The new slide presented an up-close view of one of the test tubes in the lab. It was a small vial filled with a liquid that looked like nothing more than water.

"The greatest threat posed by the Old Republic of China lies in this. It is called the Burning Cold," Captain Zlotnikov said as he paused to take another look at he picture himself.

"This is the reason they are still looking for more Whispered," Captain Zlotnikov continued. They want to have the chemical weapon, Burning Cold, complete by the end of their two week wait. This is how they intend to cleanse the world. This weapon has the power to both heat and chill. The hotter something is, the colder it will make it. The colder something is, the hotter it will make it. We do not know the exact degree of this weapon, but we know enough to know what it is capable of. Let us say that we have a substance that is measured at ninety degrees in temperature. Once the burning cold is applied to it, it will drop the temperature by about ten degrees. However if that same substance is near one-thousand degrees; it will be dropped into the negatives. The reverse of this is what we fear most. What we fear is that a substance that is around thirty degrees in temperature will be turned into around forty degrees in temperature. The Burning Cold is a liquid that when mixed with other liquids does not become watered down. It remains at its same potency and spreads through the liquid, giving it the same amount of potency. They have recently tested a drop of this stuff on a fifty pound block of ice. It melted it completely in just under twenty seconds."

Everyone except for Lieutenant Commander Mardukas seemed to have confused and questioning looks on their faces. They did not seem to instantly grab the entire idea of what was being warned. Mardukas dropped his head even lower. He was a fool for thinking that Sagara was a fool. If he had listened to him at that time; this could have all possibly been avoided. He had warned him about the fearsome dangers of that weapon, but he had just passed it off as the babblings of a madman. Now, he knew he had been wrong. The Burning Cold was real.
Sousuke pulled the thick blanket tighter around him and shivered at the sudden chill that ran through his body. It was happening again.

The Burning Cold was taking effect again.

He pulled the blanket even tighter around him despite the fact that it would do him no good. It was just a little bit more comforting to know he had something warm around him.

He remembered that chemical well. It was running through his bloodstream after all. It was the reason why he stayed warm most of the time and would have sudden bursts of incredible chills.

The thought of the weapon bothered him. He thought about it at least once everyday, but now it bothered him much more than it usually did. Why? Was it because of meeting up with Shin? Was it because of those 'unknown' bombings?

Probably. But, it wasn't his problem anymore. He would provide information if it was requested, but someone else would deal with the Old Republic this time. Not him.

The Old Republic should have never risen again after the information he gave, or at least, tried to give.

He felt like killing, actually killing, Mardukas for not listening to him when he came back from China. He would have told someone else the information after recovering from his wounds and getting out of the psychiatric hospital a month later, but the threat was confirmed to have been completely eliminated, and he feared that having to think of and speak of those horrible things would send him back into the rambling wreck he was when he first got back.

Mardukas should have listened to him then. He would make sure to point this out to him if he were called in to give information to Mithril.

He cringed again at that thought.

He prayed he wouldn't get called in for help or information. He could refuse, but he wouldn't do that if they really needed him. Tonight, for the first time, he was perfectly normal, if only for a few seconds… and it felt incredible. He had worked harder than he had ever worked in his life to be able to accomplish what was accomplished in those two short minutes. He feared that all ground would be lost; especially if it was pulled out from under him and he just so happened to land back aboard that damned submarine.

That would not happen! He would not let them take away what he had worked so hard to achieve.

Never.

"What are the targets?" Mardukas questioned, fearing he already knew the answer.

Everyone in the room turned their gazes toward him, knowing that he knew more than he was letting on.

"They have three of these weapons they are developing, and they have three targets: Alaska, Greenland, and the entire continent of Antarctica as well as its ever-expanding icecap."

Suddenly, the room broke out into somewhat loud and panicked commotion. Everyone then realized the dangers of what was being developed by the Chinese.

"What do they plan to do? Flood the world?!" questioned one woman in the room, obviously concerned about the ludicrousness of it all.

"Precisely. And, with the new icecap they are targeting, they very well could."

The commotion in the room rose again as Captain Zlotnikov took his seat and Lieutenant Brook once again took the floor. He did not hesitate to silence the crowd so he could explain the precautions.

"Okay, enough everyone. We have come up with a rather feasible theory that we believe can stop them from ever using the Burning Cold. We believe that since they are limited to the three containers they plan to use, they will have to be incredibly accurate when using it. True, it will melt whatever ice it touches, but if it is not hit right on a certain point, it will simply melt through the ice, cut off a chunk, and disperse into the ocean. We are certain they have certain pin-targets stuck in the ice somewhere that the guided weapons will track in on for pinpoint accuracy. If we can find these beacons, we can destroy them, thus rendering their weapons useless."

Captain Testarossa was the one to rise from her seat to speak next. She acted a little bit more excited by the news than she should have.

"You mean, all we have to do is send in some people to find them?"

"Well, actually, it's only half that simple. We cannot send in a team just yet to find them. The Old Republic knows about us and has their eye on us. If they see that we are about to disrupt their plans, it could spur a premature attack. That is why we are using outside sources to find them and hopefully get us a hostage for further questioning."

"May I inquire as to who this outside source would be? If you do not have one, I have a couple in mind that would probably prove useful," she said, remembering Sousuke and Kalinin.

"Yes. Captain Zlotnikov has already contacted ex-Mithril lieutenant Andrey Kalinin."

"Oh, I see," Tessa said, slightly surprised as she took her seat.

"We have been in contact with him, informing him of the situation. We have also found out that Lieutenant Sagara, the one who brought down the first rise of the Old Republic, and fellow ace-pilot and Whispered Private Lain of the twenty-second Mithril branch, are with him. As well as Kaname Chidori, another Whispered. Each has his or her own purpose in this current mission, whether they know it or not."

That caused Tessa to rise once again quicker than she should have. She tried in vain to keep the disapproving tone out of her tone.

"Does Lieutenant Sagara know about this? I haven't received any word from him about it," she said as Mardukas gently pulled her back down into her seat.

"No, he does not. Also, more than likely, he won't have to. If Lieutenant Sagara knew the purpose of Private Lain and Ms. Chidori, I'm certain he wouldn't allow this mission to happen."

"And, what purpose is that exactly?" she questioned again.

"To put it bluntly: they're bait."

"Bait?!"

"Yes. I can tell you do not approve of this, Captain. But, I'm afraid you have no say over what my branch does."

Tessa immediately stood again and slammed the palms of her hands against the large oak table. She glared at Lieutenant Brook with a look that seemed to utter a thousand curses. It was no longer a mystery to anyone in the room that Captain Testarossa was to the point of wishing the lieutenant of the seventeenth Mithril branch to the grave.

Captain Testarossa was known to be very mature, calm, and collected for her age and odd position. She took great pride in being known for that type of great image. But, even she could not stay calm when people under her command were unnecessarily put at risk. Nor could she keep up that front when her good friend, Kaname Chidori, a civilian, was put into unknowing danger.

She would not have it.

"Lieutenant Brook, has it slipped your mind that Lieutenant Sagara and Private Lain are my…" she said before being interrupted, no longer bothering to impress anyone in the room with her stature as she raised her voice.

"They are on vacation, Captain Testarossa. You know our rules and standards. Now that they are on this so-called 'vacation', you have just as much command over them as we do, and that is absolutely none. So, we are not giving them commands; we are using them. Captain Mathas has spoken with Andrey Kalinin about this matter, and they both seem to agree on what has to be done."

Tessa slammed her hand against the table, causing her glass of ice water to rattle from the vibration.

"Then, Captain Mathas is a fool! How could he…" she nearly shouted.

"Shut up!"

Tessa went silent along with the rest of the room

That time, Lieutenant Brook did shout as he slammed his fist harshly against the table, causing the entire table to shake. He thrust his finger out at her, no longer trying to keep up any calm façade himself.

"Since I am of Mithril's SA branch, we do not have to respect, agree with, or even like one another," he said as he calmed down again, lowering his finger and hanging his head.

A single drop of sweat fell from Lieutenant Brook's face as he began breathing heavily. His fist connected with the table again, making Tessa and everyone at the table flinch in surprise as he brought his head back up to look at her. His face was covered with sweat and was completely red with anger. He hit the table again, causing everyone to flinch again as he once again snapped his finger out at Tessa again.

"But, I will not, under any circumstances, have you insulting my captain in my presence. Never!" he shouted again.

Everyone stared between the two with surprise apparent on their faces. Lieutenant Brook took in a few deep breaths before sitting back down in his seat. It was known that Brook supported Captain Mathas in everything he did. Rightfully so since everyone else in Mithril did also; Captain David Mathas was a brilliant man, probably one of the best Mithril had. It was also known that Lieutenant Brook, though a great man himself, had anger problems. It was rumored that he was in an anger management program at Captain Mathas' recommendation. It seemed as if the rumors were actually true since Brook did not leap across the table and assault Captain Testarossa for insulting Captain Mathas. Everyone in the room was rather relieved, since Lieutenant Brook had assailed Captain J of the sixth Mithril branch for that same reason no more than three weeks ago.

Captain Testarossa took her seat as well and let out a sigh. Lieutenant Brook took in a few more deep breaths in order to settle his nerves before trying to speak to Captain Testarossa again.

"Captain Testarossa, you know that Captain Mathas always makes the best decisions. He would never put anyone at risk if it was not absolutely necessary. Neither he nor I like this idea anymore than you do, but it seems to be the safest course of action to take," he said, once again perfectly calm.

"I know. I'm truly sorry, Lieutenant Brook; I had no right to way that. I'm just concerned for my men. I acknowledge Captain Mathas' brilliance, and I would never doubt him on any of his decisions. But, could you at least explain to me what exactly is going to happen and what dangers my men will unknowingly be in?" she conceded in an apologetic tone.

"Yes. I apologize too, Captain Testarossa. Of course, I'll be more than happy to explain. Since Andrey Kalinin was in your branch, I'm sure you know that he had insisted on a private communications building being built in Colorado in the United States, correct?" he began.

"Yes, I'm the one that gave the go ahead to build it," she replied.

"Then you are also aware that he had a lot of SL equipment put in there?"

"Yes, of course. But, I never really questioned him as to why."

"I don't know why neither, but we're glad he did regardless. We have requested that he take himself, Lieutenant Sagara, Private Lain, and Kaname Chidori there with him. The SL equipment in that building is of very high quality and can scan accurately out to five-thousand miles. We want to find out if our theory about the pinpoint locators for the Burning Cold missiles is correct. From Colorado, he will be able to find the locater in Alaska if there really is one. He has agreed to help us on this one. We have given him three objectives. His first mission is to find the locater if there is one. If there isn't, his mission will end, and he, Sagara, Lain, or Chidori will be of no further use to us. If there is one, he will then move on to his second objective. His second objective is to go to Alaska and render the locater inoperative. That will stop the Old Republic's plan to melt away Alaska," he said before clearing his throat.

Tessa was obviously a little bit anxious to hear the entirety of the plan. She started to rise from her seat to speak once again, but to her surprise, Mardukas was up and questioning before she could even stand.

"So, what is the third objective, and what part exactly do Lieutenant Sagara, Private Lain, and Ms. Chidori play in this? So far, it seems to be nothing that Kalinin cannot handle. Is he to take them with him? If so, what would be the point in taking Lain and Chidori? Wouldn't they both just get in the way?"

Lieutenant Brook raised his hand again to silence the rapid of questions flowing from Lieutenant Commander Mardukas.

"I was getting to that. Now, if you'll let me continue?" he questioned with a slight tinge of annoyance in his voice.

Mardukas actually turned slightly red as he took his seat.

"No, no one will be going with him. A one-person party will be harder to notice than four people. The third objective falls onto Lieutenant Sagara if Kalinin has to leave for Alaska. He, Private Lain, and Chidori will remain in Colorado. This is the part where the 'bait' will come in. The Old Republic is actively seeking out Whispered, and they have a means which we do not know of in which they can do this. Since Lain and Chidori are both Whispered, it will strike them as convenient that two Whispered are in the same place. This will be incredibly convenient for them since we have made sure that all Whispered we know of are guarded by Mithril operatives. So, now there just happen to be two unguarded Whispered out in the open. Sagara will, of course, be with them, but they do not know that he is a Mithril operative. They believe him to just be a normal college professor and nothing more. They will definitely jump at this great opportunity, but they will want to be as discreet as possible. In doing so, they will probably only sent one, maybe two, operatives. This is nothing that Lieutenant Sagara will not be able to handle, even if he is not expecting it. He, like us, will want to know the reasons for this person or persons wanting to kidnap Lain and Kaname, so he will take a hostage, and the third objective of capturing a hostage for questioning will be complete. He will undoubtedly contact us after he has found out a little bit from the hostage. Not to mention this is certain to take less attention off of Alaska, thus making it easier for Kalinin to get in and out undetected. You see, Captain, Lieutenant, this has to be done, but the actual risks will be minimal. Captain Mathas has planned out everything. I recommend you talking with him about it; the way he explains it makes the plan flawless, as is expected of Captain Mathas," he concluded with pride in his final statement.

Tessa and Mardukas both nodded their heads in understanding. Tessa was the first to speak.

"I see. I want it made obvious that I do not like this plan, but I have the utmost faith in Captain Mathas. Please tell him that," she said before taking her seat again.

"I most certainly will. Thank you for your faith in my colonel; you have no idea how much it means to me," he said as he turned to address everyone else in the room. "If there are no further questions, we will continue this meeting at 0900 hours tomorrow morning when we have more data."

Captain Testarossa hesitantly rose from her seat, hesitant to ask her question, unsure if she really wanted to know the answer.

"I do have one more question. I will fully support Captain Mathas on this matter, but I would like a truthful answer first."

Lieutenant Brook turned around to face her, slightly surprised. From the sorrowful tone in her voice, he was pretty sure as to the question she was going to ask. There was really no need to fake that he didn't. He let out a sigh, not because he was aggravated with her constant questioning but because he would truthfully answer the question now that she had given her word to completely support Captain Mathas.

"Yes. I can do that," he simply agreed.

"What…" Her voice choked on her, hesitant to finish speaking the rest of the question.

"What… are the risks of something happening to Private Lain or Ms. Chidori?" she finally managed to choke out through excessive willpower.

Lieutenant Brook took in a long breath and exhaled slowly before replying.

"The risks are very slim that nothing potentially dangerous will happen to either of them. But…" he said, pausing momentarily. "…in all honesty, the chances of them actually being taken are much higher. The chances of them being taken and never being seen again are just as high. Mithril never takes unnecessary risks, but in this case it can't be helped."

Tessa squinted her eyes closed and lowered her head. Mardukas even winced at the reply and placed a comforting hand on his captain's shoulder. Lieutenant Brook sighed sorrowfully as he continued.

"Please, I beg you; please tell me that you can understand our decision. I'm truly sorry this is happening. Unfortunately, we will take this risk if it means that we even have a slim chance of stopping the Old Republic. If we don't stop them in the next two weeks, the entire world could be at risk," he concluded.

A heavy silence set inside the room as all eyes went back and forth from Lieutenant Brook to Captain Testarossa. The plan was completely logical, so it shouldn't have mattered what a single captain thought about the plan. However, everyone seemed to be able to sympathize with her while at the same time fully supporting Lieutenant Brook. They could tell by Brook's words and tone that he felt desperate about not wanting to cause any hard feelings, so Captain Testarossa's reply was emotionally crucial to him. All official ends were dropped as he waited for her unnecessary response.

The silence held itself for at least a minute longer.

Lieutenant Brook took his seat in held his hand up to his forehead as he leaned against the table.

"Say something, Captain," he pleaded more than commanded.

Tessa flinched when she heard his voice break through the thick air of silence. She immediately forced a semi-smile on her face with great effort and only minimal success as she looked back up. She nodded her head approvingly at Lieutenant Brook as she rose from her seat and took up her file.

"Yes. Of course, Lieutenant. I completely understand the situation, and you and Captain Mathas have my full support. It's just that I… I…" she stuttered.

She tried in vain to stop the tears from blurring her vision.

"I.. just… I just…"

Tessa quickly covered her mouth when she let out an unexpected sob. Mardukas was going to place his hand on her shoulder, but withdrew his hand when she suddenly rose from her seat and walked at a hastened pace out of the room.

Kaname opened the door of her and Sousuke's room just minutes after he had left the lounge area. The room was dark and incredibly hot. The light beamed in from the hallway to reveal Sousuke hunkered up on the bed, covered completely from head to toe in a thick blanket.

Kaname couldn't see his face, but she knew he was still awake. Seeing the real pain behind Shin's façade made her worry about Sousuke even more. She had no idea why he was troubled, but she knew that he had his reasons. She realized that it may not exactly have been so much worry as it was a sudden realization to him. Perhaps that minute of being normal actually revealed to him how completely strange, bizarre, scary, and altogether lonely his world was before. That probably scared him. The thought of the possibility of ever having to go back to that world scared him more than anything ever had before. That had to be it. He wasn't worried; he was scared.

She closed the door behind her and removed her shoes. She made her way over to the bed and crawled in next to Sousuke. She moved one of her arms under his shoulder, locked her arms around him, and hugged him tightly. As soon as she did, she felt his hand grab hold of hers and squeezed them tightly. They lay there for a long moment before Kaname finally spoke up.

"Is something on your mind, Sousuke?"

He sighed as he moved in closer to her and held onto her tighter.

"Yeah, I think so," he simply replied.

"Well, do you want to talk about it?

"No," he replied a bit quicker than he meant to.

"Then, is there something you want to tell me?" she questioned, deciding to try a different approach.

"Yeah."

The long silence that followed afterward bothered her greatly. It had been a while since Sousuke last felt reluctant to talk to her, so it must have been something he felt really uncomfortable talking about, or he was just having trouble saying it. Either that or he was confused.

It took a few minutes of uncomfortable silence before Sousuke finally spoke. He had so much to tell her about what was on his mind, but that would have taken all night. He decided he would say only what absolutely had to be said.

"I want you to know, Kaname…" he paused as he took in a deep breath as if he were about to give out an explanation about the meaning of life.

"I want you to know that I love you dearly."

Kaname's eyes widened and her stomach sunk at those words. She had heard similar words many times before, all meaning the exact same as the statement he had just made. But, never had he said it like that. Since he came back to her in Tokyo, she had always been able to read him like a book. Now, the book was completely open and told a huge epic of a story. His words caused her to hug him even tighter.

"And, I will never… never leave you. I will always be with you, no matter what."

There was another book opened.

Kaname simply smiled and placed her forehead against his back.

"Well, that's good to hear, Sousuke. Thank you."

He let out a grunt of satisfaction a few minutes later.

"It is not a problem."

That caused the both of them to chuckle slightly before drifting back off into a deep silence. Kaname finally gathered her nerve to elaborate on what she meant to a few minutes ago.

"Yes, I'm really glad that you'll never be leaving, and I have a reason why. I was going to wait and tell you in the morning when we all got settled in for our vacation and wound down a little bit, but I think I need to tell you now that I found out this morning that I can't go skiing tomorrow."

Sousuke let out an amused chuckle after that.

"Oh… dear lord," he replied, voice dripping with sarcasm. "I see why you're glad I'm not leaving. You don't want to have to stay here by yourself while we go skiing. Well, too bad, I'm going skiing tomorrow, so there," he continued along in a teasing manner.

Kaname gave him a shove that almost sent him tumbling out in the floor. She laughed at him when he flailed around wildly to find a firm grip on the bed to grab on to so he wouldn't end up in the floor.

"No, Sousuke. That is not the reason," she said in an irritated voice.

That only caused Sousuke to laugh even more as he turned over onto his back so as not to be taken by surprise if she should so choose to attempt to dislodge him from the bed onto the floor again.

"Then, if that's not the reason, then obviously you're too scared that you'll fall and hurt yourself," he said as he stiffened up, sure he would be met firmly with a deadly pillow.

To his surprise, Kaname only huffed impatiently as she sat up in the bed and loomed over him to where their faces were almost touching.

"No, Sousuke…" she said tenderly, almost whispering.

She glanced down toward her stomach and placed her hand on it. She returned her gaze back to meet his as she smiled nervously and raised her eyebrows.

"It's… not me I'm worried about hurting."

TO BE CONTINUED