Sword and Shield

Chapter 8: The World without Mithril

Mithril 1. n. an imaginary silvery metal of great strength and value. 2. n. a paramilitary organization founded for the protection and research of whispered individuals and peacekeeping operations worldwide, now defunct.

25 March 2000, 19:59 hrs

Washington, District of Columbia, United States

Oval Office of the President

The camera's whirred in front of him, their blank lenses rotating as their brought him into sharp focus. Dozens of people stood behind them with placards, legal pads, and laptops. The White House Press Secretary leaned against the wall watching as the teleprompter finished a read through and cycled back to the beginning.

"Thirty seconds, mister president." The producer of the white house film crew announced. She glanced back at the display. "Start film."

The whirr of the electrical motors in the camera echoed in his mind as he took a deep breath and stared at the teleprompter. Creating the speech had been a gargantuan task for his speechwriter, with the National Security Advisor and DDI watching over her like hawks to ensure nothing that could compromise national security leaked into the text.

The producer held up five fingers and began a silent countdown. Taking one last deep breath he stared into the glass eye of the camera. It was show-time.

"My fellow Americans… At 02:40 hours Alaska time units of the twenty-fifth infantry division supported by the third air wing based at Elmendorf Air Base launched a coordinated strike at the mercenary organization known as Mithril. I am pleased to report that as of 06:00 hours local time all armed resistance by the organization has ceased."

"I took this action in order to secure future peace and stability for our nation. In the last three years the mercenary activities of Mithril have caused six international incidents, three major battles, and included the interception of nuclear weapons. Three weeks ago, NORAD detected a nuclear detonation in the South Pacific at a remote island belonging to the organization. It is in response to this event that preparations were made to move against the organization and last night's events were the culmination of nearly a month's worth of efforts by the Department of Defense, CIA, NSA, and FBI to find and remove members of the organization. All American held assets of their front corporation, Argyos Security are hereby frozen."

"De facto leader of Mithril, Admiral Jerome Borda is hereby revoked of his United States citizenship. We ask all our global allies to assist in bringing this wanted man to justice. To Admiral Borda we say this… you can run but you cannot hide. We will find you and bring you to justice."

26 March 2000, 11:08 hrs

Kings Cross, Sydney, Australia

Room 209, Springfield Lodge

"That lying son of a bitch!" Melissa Mao roared as she hurled the remote at the television screen.

The remote smashed into the television screen with a thump and bounced off before landing on the rich carpeted floor.

Kurz shook his head as he sat the bag of food he'd gotten down the street on the edge of the bed where Mao sat, her legs crossed under her and her arms wrapped around a pillow. The scowl she wore made him consider backing away for a half second.

"Never before have I been ashamed of being born in that damn country." Melissa muttered as she dropped her head and glared down at the bed. "To think I voted for that bastard."

"Come on nee-san, it's not like you knew he was a complete jerk." Kurz said as he spun a chair from one of the tables and sat down in it. "Come on, have a beer. I got fosters."

Mao laughed and glanced at him. "Damn Weber, you're nice to me all of a sudden?"

"I'm always nice to a lady." Kurz said with a smirk. "Now come on, Melissa, have a drink."

Melissa nodded and pulled a can from the bag and opened it. Kurz's eyes widened as she chugged the entire thing at once. Considering that a Foster's beer can was about twice the size of a normal beer it was rather impressive.

"Ahhh…" She said as she finished the beer and crumpled it in her hand before tossing it at Kurz's awestruck look. "Come on Weber, get your mind out of the gutter."

"But… but it's so much fun there." Kurz joked as he picked up the spent can and tossed it into the trash. "So, what's the plan?"

"We wait for Tessa or the Admiral to call." Melissa said.

"And if they don't?" Kurz asked quietly.

Mao scowled at him. "They will."

26 March 2000, 06:49 hrs

10 kilometers North-West of Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi, India

UN Flight 109, United Nations Special Mission to Afghanistan

The bright white Antonov An-2 Cub looked like something out of a comic strip. For one thing it was a biplane that could seat twelve people and had a pilot and co-pilot. For another thing it's white paint scheme and black UN markings made it stand out.

Farzen shook his head as he sat in the back of the aircraft that was mostly empty aside for the standard emergency survival kit. On the return trip the craft would be laden down with medical supplies and food stuffs. With a sigh he unzipped the duffel bag that sat between his feet and pulled out a second set of clothes and began to quickly change after making sure the door to the cockpit was locked.

He exchanged his afghan clothes for those of western make and swapped his pakul cap for a ball-cap. That done he stuffed the baggage with his afghan garments and sat back down. Glancing out the window he saw the vast airport as the plane made the final turn to begin its landing approach.

The door to the cockpit opened with a click and the co-pilot glanced back at him. "Buckle up. We'll be landing in a few minutes."

"Right." He said quickly as he tightened his straps. "Here's hoping this soviet piece of junk keeps flying long enough for us to land."

The pilot laughed. "You see Teller even the Afghans know this thing is a piece of shit."

"Just shut up and get us down."

26 March 2000, 17:22 hrs

Mithril Base, State of Alaska, United States

Base Briefing Room, Hangar 12-B

"The President's speech wasn't that informative… but Jesus was he actually suggesting this group had nuclear weapons?"

Christian Amanpour shook her head slowly as she glanced down at the legal pad. "If they did wouldn't they have shown them to us?"

The producer furrowed his brow and shrugged. "Not sure how else to interpret 'intercepted nuclear weapons'."

"True." She glanced glanced down at the notes scribbled on her legal pad as the doors opened and a number of people were led inside. She blinked at the group, their dirtied and battered uniforms. There were five of them, a cross section of the troops that had opposed them the Major said. He said that among them were two fighter pilots, one arm slave pilot, and two front line soldiers. Slowly the group took their seats and glanced at Christian, their eyes widening somewhat in surprise as a few of them recognized her.

Educated, American trained maybe? Her mind asked as she glanced amongst the group. She was surprised that among them were three women.

"Before we begin… I take it you weren't told why you were brought here?"

"Nyet." One of the women said and Christian blinked. Another of the women answered in a voice that's accent jogged her memory.

"They didn't tell us anything."

Christian had heard the distinct accent many times before and instantly recognized it as Albanian. Arching an eyebrow she glanced at the two women that had spoken. "You are Russian and Albanian?"

The two nodded and she sighed. "Alright, maybe first I should ask you your name, rank, birthplace, and where you received your training."

They nodded slowly their understanding and Christian Amanpour glanced over her shoulder at the camera to make sure it had begun recording.

"So who are you?"

They began on the far left of the group with the woman that had spoken with the Albanian accent. She was clad in the black G-suit of an Arm Slave pilot fitted with Kevlar and other protective equipment.

"Sergeant Mara Lesche, Special Response Team - Alaska, Mithril. I was born in Albania and fought in the Yugoslavian Civil War alongside the Kosovo Liberation Front."

"Specialist Robert Daniels, Primary Response Team - Alaska, Mithril. Everybody calls me Daniel." He smiled slightly and glanced down at the floor. "I was trained in the United States Army, left after ninety-three and joined Mithril."

"Sergeant Major Jessica York, Primary Response Team – Alaska, Mithril. I was trained in the United States Marine Corps till ninety-seven and joined Mithril two years ago."

Nodding slowly Christian Amanpour scribbled down: Primary Response and Special Response Teams?

"Lieutenant Colonel Albus Doran, Valkyrie Squadron Commander, Mithril. Trained by the Royal Navy, joined in ninety-three."

The woman beside him nodded and smiled slightly. "Lieutenant Lydia Rasinov, Valkyrie Squadron, Mithril. Trained by the Military Maritime Fleet of the USSR, stole a fighter from my unit and landed in South Korea, joined Mithril immediately afterward."

Christian Amanpour nodded and glanced down at his pad, filled now with the names of each of them. "A rather diverse group, to be honest I didn't know what to expect from your organization."

"Da… well, we all can speak English so that's not that much of a problem." Lydia joked and leaned back in her chair.

"What exactly is Mithril?"

The assembled group glanced among themselves before the Lieutenant Colonel stirred. "Mithril was a military organization dedicated to the peacekeeping and military intervention against crisis and flashpoints before the situation escalated into full scale war. We were tasked by the United Nations and various world governments to assist in the removal of military threats to stability or the public safety. As you well know the United Nations has no real army but volunteered troops for such duties by member nations, as a result UN peacekeepers are unwilling to enter combat in most circumstances. When a peacekeeping mission required use of force and included heavy risks to the troops involved we were invariably called in."

"You say you worked for the United Nations?" Christian Amanpour asked glancing at the others.

"Sometimes, other times we were called in by local governments or acted independently. For the last year we've been engaged in active operations alongside the American military against terrorist organizations operating alongside the globe, including in Afghanistan and the South Pacific." The Lieutenant Colonel glared at the American soldiers that stood behind the camera crew. "The attack by America represented a betrayal."

"Damn straight, we bled and died to protect the world and they turned on us the moment the threat was over!" The Sergeant Major added. "It's a disgrace to those that carried out the orders! I thought you damn officers had a shred of decency!" She yelled at the Major who glanced nervously at the cameras.

Christian Amanpour jotted down more notes and glanced at the Major. "Could you give some examples of events that Mithril intervened in to save lives?"

The Lieutenant Colonel sighed. "Now that Mithril is gone, I suppose it can't hurt. We don't know everything, information was highly compartmentalized even within the organization, but we can tell you what we know."

"Da, maybe we should start with the most public ones then?" The Russian woman stated as she folded her arms over her chest and leaned back in the chair.

"In the last two years Mithril acted to protect civilians twice in Tokyo. Once was during the A-21 incident where a Plan 1051 Behemoth Arm Slave was let loose in downtown Tokyo. One of Mithril's units succeeded in destroying the Arm Slave. The second one was the Jindai High School incident where terrorists of the Amalgam network attacked and held hostage members of the school." He glanced over at the SRT pilot. "The JAL flight that was hijacked and landed in North Korea two years ago was rescued by members of the Pacific SRT. Mithril also intervened in the Hong Kong incident and the previous terrorist attack to disrupt the cease-fire in China. For the last year Mithril has been actively engaging Amalgam, a terrorist organization that backed many of those attacks. The United States provided military assistance in the struggle with Amalgam."

"Mithril's military strength has been draining for the last year, since the attack on Sydney. Our headquarters was the target of that particular assault." The Lieutenant Colonel sighed. "Most of our operations prior to the last few years have been much quieter than those. We've struck drug labs, terrorist cells, and intercepted nuclear weapons shipments."

Amanpour flipped the page of her legal pad and nodded slowly, the man was literally a fountain of information. She'd been in Hong Kong during the crisis and had actually seen the struggle between the arm slaves. She'd tried to track down the identity of the organizations involved due to the unknown models she had witnessed, and now she was told both organizations names flat out.

"You said you intercepted nuclear weapon shipments?" Her producer asked.

"Da, but what we took was handed over to IAEA. We have no nuclear weapons of our own." Lydia stated. "Despite what your president suggested."

Christian Amanpour pursed her lips. She'd definitely need to contact her friends in New York and the UN. "What is Amalgam?"

"Terrorism as a business you might say. They were a co-op of weapons developers and terrorists that intentionally ignited flashpoints to… create markets for their equipment. We don't know much but they had some connection with the Russian government as well since most of their equipment seems to be derived at least in part from soviet systems. We managed to finally break their back about a month ago. Eliminated their leadership and so forth…"

Christian Amanpour frowned as she scribbled on her note pad. This was a completely unexpected direction for the interviews to take. They're not terrorists. At least they don't act like it. No political agenda really aside from peacekeeping.

"It sounds like you have quite a tale to tell."

A number of smiles appeared on the group. "You could say that."

26 March 2000, 11:40 hrs

Yokota Air Base, Western Tokyo, Japan

3rd Battalion, 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment

Lieutenant John Elliot yawned and stretched in the cockpit of his AH-6J Little Bird. Jet lag… You'd think I'd be used to it by now.

"Fuel's topped off and load-out is done." Warrant Officer Curt Saxton said from the co-pilot's seat a clipboard strapped to his knee. "We're ready to go."

"Swallow Flight to tower requesting permission for immediate departure." John said as he watched the Delta Force guys load up one of which had donned full civilian clothes.

"This is tower, Swallow flight is cleared for departure on bearing two-eight-zero."

"Thank you tower." He glanced back over his shoulder. "Boss, what's the mission?"

"Just delivering him." The Delta Force commander said gesturing to their member in civilian clothes. "CIA had some local assets that they've got watching the target. He's to rendezvous with them for surveillance of the opposition."

"Understood, you got the CIA's radio frequency so we know where to go?" He asked as he started pre-flight checks of the systems.

"Two-nine-three hertz is the frequency." Boss said. "Last report said they were on a train toward one of Tokyo's shopping districts."

"Right, we probably won't need ECS for this." Lieutenant Elliot said as he took hold of the cyclic and collective and started to throttle up. "Any sign that pretty chick has guards?"

"Well… she has a bit of a militant boyfriend."

Curt Saxton laughed. "Don't they all, my daughter hooked up with a nutty one."

26 March 2000, 12:10 hrs

Shibuya, Suburbs of Tokyo, Japan

Takeshita Street

It was a mistake to come here. Kaname thought as she stared at Sousuke following behind her carrying her shopping bags. She'd managed to pick out some clothes that he hadn't complained too much of, but they were just as plain as he was. Cargo pants, sweaters, button up shirts, and a few jeans.

He was worse than useless when it came to helping her get clothes for herself. Practicality has no place in woman's fashion, she had told him. Appearance is what matters, okay Sousuke?

The lame brained otaku had taken that to mean camouflage. Sighing she closed her eyes and let out a long breath. "Sousuke, why can't you try to fit in?"

"Kaname, I am trying. I just do not understand what you meant by appearance…" The specialist glanced at her and closed his eyes. "If you meant by…"

"I did not mean concealment Sousuke." She said.

"I was not going to say…"

"What then? Blending in? Disguising weapons?" Kaname felt her eyebrow quiver for a moment as they stood.

"Not that either Kaname." Sousuke glanced at the bags for a moment and let out a long breath. "If you meant beauty or ascetics you know I am not the greatest judge but…" His voice dropped to nearly a whisper. "You look beautiful no matter what clothes you wear, at least to me."

Kaname blinked and nearly tripped on the sidewalk as she spun to face him seeing his blushing face glancing down at the concrete. "Sousuke?"

"Never mind, it's nothing." He stammered and straightened as if waiting for a dressing down by a senior officer.

"No it's not." She gasped. Maybe I heard wrong, I did not expect him to say something like that. Kaname tightened her grip on her purse and felt the leather ache. "Speak up and repeat yourself."

Sousuke swallowed down a lump in his throat. "I said… you look beautiful no matter what you wear Kaname."

He really did say what I thought he did! Her eyes widened and she smiled. "Sousuke… thank you." She felt the heat of a blush flood her cheeks and glanced down at the pavement. Damn it, sometimes he can be so sweet… even when he's not trying to. With most boys that'd just be a line... She glanced back at him and felt her face glow with delight. He means it.

"You're welcome Kaname." He relaxed at her reaction and sighed. Then he went rigid as she leaned over and kissed his cheek.

Kaname giggled at his reaction. "Come on, we need to find someplace to eat and a new cell phone for the both of us."

"Affirmative." Sousuke glanced both ways before they began to walk across an intersection with a side street side by side. As they reached the opposite side he glanced at her. "Kaname, we have not yet procured any foodstuffs for your apartment."

"Don't worry about it, we can get some stuff after we go home and drop this stuff off." She glanced at him before he nodded once in agreement. "Why so concerned anyway?"

"I… I have missed your cooking." Sousuke said as he blushed brightly once again.

Twice in ten minutes! She felt her heart pound in her chest as she desperately wished she had a cell-phone once again. This would be so Kyoko call worthy, I didn't think…

Lost in her own thoughts she didn't notice the man that stepped out of a fashion store before her wearing a brightly colored suit and gold chains around his neck. Without looking she ran into him and the man cursed.

"Watch where you're going bitch!"

Before Kaname could say a word she heard the all too familiar sound of a round being chambered in a Glock pistol. Expecting to see a fully loaded pistol pointed into the man's face she opened her eyes and instead found the gaping black bore of the weapon pointed at her head, in the man's hands.

Yakuza? Her mind asked as she registered the sound of two bags of clothes hitting the ground and the click of a safety being switched off.

"Lower your weapon and step away from Miss Chidori." Sousuke's voice barked and she could hear something in it that wasn't present any time before that a gun had been pointed in her direction. Is he angry at the man?

"Tough guy, what gang are you with huh? I'm with the…" The man started to brag and as he did she saw the gun's aim shift out of line with her. Scowling she drew her purse back and lashed out catching his gun arm and knocking the weapon from his hands. When the pistol hit the ground with a clatter of plastic and ceramic on concrete she smiled.

I don't think I ever could get Sousuke to drop a gun that easily… amateur, moron, and an idiot... just like every other Yakuza that I've ever met. Well… beside Ren's dad… She smirked as the man gaped and he looked down at the pistol then back up into the yellow plastic of Kaname's stun gun.

"Kaname?" Sousuke asked, his voice sounding surprised.

"I am sick and tired of people trying to threaten me… or kidnap me… It really pisses me off! So let me say this once. Apologize, pickup your pistol, and leave… or I'll have my boyfriend here fill you full of holes and toss you into Tokyo bay so you can swim with the fishes." She grinned at herself for the last bit. Thank you 'The Godfather', these fools could learn from a movie or two. I wonder if Tessa ever pulled the turning into the torpedoes trick from Red October.

"I… I apologize." The man said and grabbed the pistol before taking off and leaving the two of them by the storefront. With a sigh Kaname slipped the stun gun back into her purse.

"Kaname… that was… that was…"

Amazing? Please make it three for three, you've been on such a roll today Sousuke.

"Really stupid, if he was a professional…"

Damn it! Incensed she pulled her harisen from her bag and slapped him atop the head. "Sousuke!"

He winced and rubbed his head cowering from her with the harisen. "Kaname…"

"Did you notice he forgot to remove his gun's safety? I've seen you pull the same weapon enough times I know when it's ready to go off!" Kaname growled. "Damn otaku… jerk you're rubbing off on me…"

"I… I was paying attention to you, that's why I didn't react fast enough. I'm sorry."

Oh… Three out of four isn't so bad. Kaname felt herself blush then spun on him. "Well look alive, sergeant! In case he tries to get reinforcements!"

"Hai!" He answered immediately and straightened up as if he'd received an order from his superiors.

Maybe he did. A smirk slipped across her face as she glanced at the two bags beside him. "Now… pickup that stuff and let's find someplace to eat… preferably one that's yakuza-less."

"Did you see that?" Kazama asked as he lowered his camera from beside the pole on the other side of the crosswalk.

Beside him Kyoko grinned and pulled out her digital camera, her eyes smiling as she looked over the pair of black sunglasses she wore. "Are you kidding? I got it on camera, ten seconds of video!" She grinned as Shinji smirked and leaned against the pole.

"Can I see?" He asked lowering his camera and glancing at her in her 'secret agent' getup. Giggling she handed over her digital camera and replayed the short clip. "Awesome! Kaname acted before Sousuke even got a word in edgewise!" He grinned and handed it back. "Can I get some stills?"

"You bet!" Kyoko said. "I'm glad you called me when you saw them, Sousuke and Kaname clothes shopping in Shibuya? Golden opportunity!"

"It looks like they're going to get lunch… Kyoko, you think we should get something to eat?" Shinji asked as he glanced down at his camera. "I'm almost out of film… too."

"Okay, that sounds great." Kyoko brightened. "Maybe we should surprise those two, hmm?"

Shinji swallowed down a lump in his throat. I hope Sagara doesn't get twitchy enough to pull his gun again. Still the bright grin on Kyoko's face eased his mind. "That sounds like a great idea."

26 March 2000, 12:21 hrs

Shibuya, Suburbs of Tokyo, Japan

Roof, 305 Meiji Dori

On a rooftop several blocks away Wraith let out a sigh, she'd considered for half a second to drop the idiotic mafia 'soldier' when Sousuke had been a bit slow on the draw. Then again he had been carrying their shopping and it is hard to draw a pistol with two hands full of clothes.

"Nice one Kaname." Sighing again she shifted her aim a bit and smirked as she caught Kyoko and Shinji in the background shadowing the couple. Those two, they'd make a fine pair if they stopped to think about it. I wonder if Sousuke has noticed them yet. He does seem awfully distracted today.

Plus, killing a yakuza thug would cause trouble for her. The police would realize there was somebody around with a high power rifle and start looking for her. Especially if they thought she worked for a rival Yakuza gang or something. A rubber bullet wouldn't have the impact needed to drop him either, not at this range.

A whine of an ultra-quiet motor caught her attention and she glanced up as a pair of AH-6J Little Birds cruised overhead. Pursing her lips for a moment she watched the two American choppers turn over the district and one slowed to a stop at the top of an apartment complex. Uncertain she lifted the rifle to her shoulder and stared through the eyepiece watching as a Caucasian man dressed as a civilian stepped off the aircraft and walked away just as it lifted off again.

Swallowing she returned her focus to the couple as they walked up a set of stairs to the entrance of a Yoshinoya, one of the donburi chain restaurants common throughout Japan. She twitched the scope and swung it slowly scanning the area… Caucasian men… Caucasian men…

She froze as a Japanese looking man leaned against the stairs up to the restaurant and ran a hand through his long black hair. Something about him set off alarms in her mind. The way he stood and his overall height compared to those around him screamed foreigner but the face and hair cut yelled local.

He stands out like Sousuke does. She bit her lip and centered on the man watching carefully as Kyoko and Shinji stepped past him and into the restaurant.

26 March 2000, 12:23 hrs

Shibuya, Suburbs of Tokyo, Japan

Yoshinoya Gyūdon

Sousuke leaned over the counter and skimmed the menu his pulse racing quietly from the close call with the yakuza thug. Sighing he glanced over at Kaname chewing her lip for a moment as she turned the menu over in her hand.

I should ask her to carry one of the bags, if she hadn't had me carrying the bags my gun would have been out quicker. He shook his head once at that thought. It wasn't the bags that slowed me down.

The door behind them opened and he glanced over his shoulder and blinked as Kyoko and Shinji stepped inside. Shinji wore civilian clothes and he reflected on how the two of them looked different outside their school uniforms. The black clothes that Kyoko wore he was quite familiar with having seen her wear them on the stakeout where he acquired Bonta-kun.

"Miss Tokiwa, Shinji." He said and nodded to each as Kaname spun around in her seat and grinned at the two of them.

"Kyoko!" She said. "Fancy seeing you here!"

"Well, I was in the neighborhood. Kana-chan, nice job with that guy by the way." She smirked as Kaname's eyebrow rose.

"You saw that?" She said. "Wait… you two aren't following us around or something are you?"

"Would I do that?" Kyoko asked with a bright grin on her face.

Sousuke nodded once. "Affirmative."

Kaname nodded vigorously. "Uh-huh… so you were snapping shots of the two of us huh?"

"Yes… it's for a project. I had the others done for graduation but I think with you two I've got a bit more time. I'll miss you when college starts." Kyoko giggled. "I don't have any photos of you for a whole year I got to make up for that!"

Shinji sat his camera on the counter beside Sousuke and sat down. "Sagara, I take it you heard the news about… well… your friends."

Kyoko stopped and looked perplexed as Kaname let out a sigh and shook her head. "Yeah, we heard."

Sousuke felt beads of sweat on his forehead and he stared straight ahead. "I have friends in Alaska, and have not received word of their fate as of yet. Admiral Borda is something of family for Tessa. I haven't heard from them either."

"Kurz and Melissa?" Kyoko asked slowly realizing what they were talking about.

"Negative, I know they are well and heard from them after word of the operation hit the news." Sousuke shook his head. "You have not met my friends in Alaska. If they escaped it'd be my pleasure to introduce you to them."

"Are they older than Melissa? She seemed pretty old." Kyoko asked. "I had no idea Tessa was caught up in this."

Kaname let out a sigh. "You remember the 'special relationship' Sousuke said he had with her."

"You completely misunderstood what I meant. Admittedly with the little information you had it was quite understandable." Sousuke stated.

Kyoko sighed. "I take it Tessa wasn't telling the truth about it."

Kaname's eyebrow twitched. "Tessa is a captain in Mithril, she was Sousuke's commanding officer."

"She… she was an officer?" Shinji gaped. "But… she's the same age as Kaname."

"Same birthday too." Kyoko said.

Kaname snickered. "I made the same mistake when I first met her."

"The captain seemed to enjoy playing you for a fool then." Sousuke stated flatly.

"Don't remind me…" Kaname said as she rolled her eyes. "As for who his friends are… I don't know them either."

"You have not met one of them, but you know the other." Sousuke stated quietly. "One of them is Kaname's age as well. The other… is significantly younger."

"Younger?" All three of his friends asked.

"He is three years old I believe, though I do not think that thinking of him as a three year old would help you. He is an AI." Sousuke stated. "You may have seen his previous body before…"

"Al?" Kaname asked.

Sousuke nodded. "Yes, his name is Al. He was the artificial intelligence loaded into the ARX-7 Arbalest. After the battle Wraith recovered him and took him to Alaska."

"And the other?" Kaname asked.

"Her name is Sarah Miller. I believe Shinji would be very excited to meet her." He paused at the confused look on his friend's face. "She is an Arm Slave designer."

"Really?" Shinji's eyes went wide. "That's so cool! All AS designers are hidden away, I mean the magazines never are able to interview or even contact them. No one even knows the name of the guy who designed the M6 Bushnell or M9 Gernsback!"

Kaname scowled and dropped her voice to a whisper before leaning beside him. "Is that true?"

Sagara nodded. "We know the names for the designers of the Soviet Arm Slaves but nothing more. We know even less about those that made their western competitors."

"Do you think they're whispered too?" Kaname asked. "I mean they would have been just seven or eight when the first Arm Slaves went into production."

"I don't know, but your supposition seems to bare merit. It would be inconvenient for governments to explain why a child is responsible for designing such war machines." Sousuke said.

"No kidding." Kaname ran a hand through her hair and leaned back. "Who made the Arbalest?"

"A whispered named Bani Morauta, he… died shortly after producing the unit." Sousuke shook his head. "I think that was why they had so much trouble and couldn't modify the unit so someone else could pilot it."

"What happen? Amalgam or somebody find him?" Kaname asked.

Sousuke shook his head. "He was a pacifist and couldn't take the guilt of creating weapons. He committed suicide."

Kaname scowled. "That's terrible. Did Mithril push him to make it or what?"

"I do not know." Sousuke stated. "But I have seen the way the high command functioned. It would not surprise me if that was the case." He sighed. "They were very resistant to me staying here as your guard after Hong Kong." His voice caught in his throat. "I believe they intended to… write you off. Wraith alone would have been worthless in an attack… though it turned out I was not much better."

Kyoko and Shinji watched as Kaname reached over and squeezed his hand. "Never say that, you did your best… If it hadn't been you…" She closed her eyes. "No one would have come after me, and we'd all be dead now."

Kyoko glanced at Shinji as their two friends shared a pained look. It was an image that she wished she could erase from her memory… Unlike those she strove to preserve with a camera flash.

26 March 2000, 08:07 hrs

Fayzabad, Badakhshan Province, Afghanistan

Home of General Majhid

Sabine moaned as she stirred from her slumber. Her head throbbed from a headache and she felt the familiar floating sensation from waking after a whispered trance for a moment as her mind slowly wrapped itself around the red-brown ceilings and walls. The damn whispers are back, and I can sense her again… damn Chidori. She rubbed her head and let out a long sigh before glancing down at the sling which held her arm.

"Ah, you are awake." A woman's voice said from the opposite side of the room. Blinking for a moment Sabine glanced at her and arched an eyebrow. She was clad in the typical clothes for an Afghan woman that had forgone the burqa and had a headscarf wrapped around her head. She smiled faintly. "My husband said you should rest, considering what he had to do to stop you."

Husband? Sabine let out a slow breath. "You are Massoud's wife?"

"Correct." She shook her head and grinned. "My name is Sediqa…" She stood and glanced out the window of the house. The door burst open and an eleven year old boy ran inside, lugging a jug of water. "Ahmad! Walk!"

The boy slowed and glanced up at her speaking quickly in Farsi. Sighing, the woman glanced at Sabine. "We have a guest, use English."

"Uh… yes, I am sorry." The boy bowed his head to Sabine then hurried deeper into the home's interior.

Sabine blinked in surprise as the boy disappeared behind a doorway. "He speaks English?"

"Their father has been quite insistent in teaching them so much…" She shrugged her shoulders and sat down. "I am glad you didn't succeed in taking him from them."

"You are awfully friendly for being the wife of the man I tried to kill." Sabine stated quietly.

She nodded. "Yes, well… after Kashim we realized not all those that tried to do him harm were bad people. Most are just broken."

Broken? Sabine made a face and shook her head swiftly. "I am not broken."

"Maybe." Sediqa said. "But somehow I doubt it... Ahmad said you are an Arm Slave pilot and that you could teach his soldiers in their use. I hope you don't betray the trust he is showing in you."

Sabine scowled. "I'm not sure you people understand the word trust."

26 March 2000, 12:43 hrs

Kadena Air Base, Nakagami District, Okinawa

733rd Air Mobility Squadron

"Alright, load her up… careful now!" The crew chief of the C-17 Globemaster III called out as the enormous cargo pallet rolled forward. Strapped to it like a man on a gurney, lay the ARX-8 Laevantein. Its cockpit was marred by a deep gash from a monomolecular cutter and dirt and mud was caked to the boats of the mech.

Two men wearing the dull green of NBC suits walked alongside it with radiation detectors in hand. The crew chief swallowed involuntarily as he heard the crackle of their instruments. Damn radioactive cargo huh? Shit.

"Come on, I want this thing secured so we can start rolling. Command wants it at the Mithril Base in Alaska for study." He called out as the bulky pallet locked into place. "Uh… is it safe?"

"Yeah, radiation levels are just a tad higher than background from these instruments. It's like sitting next to a microwave." One of the NBC equipped soldiers said.

So I get to sit next to a giant microwave for ten or twelve hours while we get this monstrosity to Alaska. Great…

26 March 2000, 14:31 hrs

Mithril Headquarters, Sydney, Australia

Reception Area

Tessa swallowed down a lump in her throat as she picked her way across the rubble strewn floor, stumbling as she stepped across a fallen wire. Over a year had passed since Amalgam had struck and yet here the shattered remains of Mithril Headquarters remained, un-cleared, and just as desolate as they had been left. Outside on the airstrip an MV-22 Osprey sat with its ground crew, the only staff that remained at the smashed base. Some buildings looked unharmed but this one, the main building where the high command had kept their offices was smashed by fire and bombs.

"Uncle Jerry?" Tessa asked quietly as she stepped across the ruined remains of a computer. "Why are we here?"

"I left some files here that could be of use, plus we need to procure equipment for Mao and Weber's mission along with false identities for them to use." He pushed aside a smashed desk drawer with his cane and stepped gingerly through the remains of a pair of shattered glass doors. "Moreover there may be equipment in the research section that you may find of use, and the Osprey crew did say the communications room was still functional. It'd be a good place to contact Weber and Mao from."

Tessa nodded noting that he had dropped their ranks when speaking of them, perhaps with so few of us left they are a bit unnecessary. That or he is thinking of those plans he mentioned earlier. A piece of the hanging ceiling fell to the floor with a crash and she jumped aside as a rat scurried through the wreckage that littered the hall.

She yelped… "Rat!"

"I'm not surprised." Admiral Borda stated as he kicked a piece of rubble with his cane and stepped to one of the office doors. Scowling at the jammed piece of wood he forced the cane in through the jam and levered it before the door groaned and opened. Shaking his head he stepped inside into the room that had once been his office. A large piece of rubble lay where it had fallen smashing the desk and long dried blood lay beneath it where his leg had been mangled. Splinters of metal perforated the floor and walls where the bomb had thrown them. One of them had removed his eye.

"Uncle Jerry?" Tessa asked quietly as she leaned around the doorway and stared inside at the shattered room and stifled a cry at the long dried blood. "This is…"

"Where I was injured? Yes." He hobbled past the ruined desk to an old fashioned filing cabinet beside the smashed window and pulled it open. "It is a good thing I always made certain to have paper media backups, since that computer is certainly far from functional. Oh, could you check the desk? There should be a bottle of whiskey and a Kimber .45 caliber pistol along with some spare ammunition.

Tessa nodded and stepped to the desk and opened one drawer after another tugging with all her might to pull them open. After a few minutes she found the pistol and whiskey bottle and set them atop the desk while the Admiral put a pen light in his mouth and skimmed through the documents grumbling through his clenched jaw.

A rat ran along the edge of the desk and she stared at it as it sat on the ledge sniffing the air for a moment and staring at her. Is this what we've been reduced to? Rats rummaging through the wreckage and debris? She let out a long sigh and picked up the pistol in her hands and sighed. "Uncle Jerry?"

"Hmm?" He muttered as he turned to see her with the pistol clasped in her hands. Seeing her there he pulled the pen light from his mouth and arched an eyebrow.

"There's still hope right?" Tessa whimpered. "I… I don't want to be on the run for the rest of my life…" She sobbed tightening her grip on the pistol.

"Of course there's still hope. We have friends Tessa, governments that owe us a great deal for what we did to help them. It's not over." He swallowed as he spoke and set down the folder he had found before hobbling to her side and laying a hand on the gun in her hands. "Trust me, there's still hope." Slowly he pulled it from her hand and slipped it into his waist band.

Tessa wiped away the tears that had run down her cheeks. "Who will take us in? Who can risk the wrath of the United States?"

"I can think of a few nations that would leap at such a chance, but most are not the most hospitable." He stepped back to the filing cabinet. "Don't forget that the Japanese government owes us a great debt for stopping the attack by A-21 and assisting in the defense of Tokyo against Amalgam. They likely are our best chance." He let out a sigh as he found the pair of files he'd been looking for and pulled them out. "This possibility was not unanticipated, but I think we have what we'll need for this to work." He skimmed through the two folders for a minute and nodded. "Yes, all we'll need for this to work." He hobbled toward the door. "Come on Tessa, we need to contact Wraith and see what she intends to do."

"What? Why?" Tessa asked.

"General Amit's intelligence department has no place in this contingency plan. I was thinking we'd ask her if she'd like to join in what we'll be doing."

26 March 2000, 13:40 hrs

Chofu, Suburbs of Tokyo, Japan

Room 404, Mansion K Apartments

Kaname let out a contented sigh as she tapped the buttons of her new phone entering Sousuke's, Kyoko's, Mizuki's, and Maya's numbers. Behind her Sousuke set the shopping bags on the table in the living area.

They had been in the room for maybe a minute when the door burst open and an Asian looking woman stomped inside, an SVD Dragunov slung around her back. She pushed past Sousuke as he gaped at her and walked over to the window peering out through the curtains, an unreadable expression on her face.

"Wraith!" Sousuke yelled. "What the hell is…"

"You really are worthless as a bodyguard." She muttered and glared at Kaname for a moment. "You both were followed today, I'm not sure but from how they operated in tandem while tailing you I'd say they were CIA or some other American affiliated group." She stepped back from the curtain and glared at Sousuke who stood there stunned for a second before rushing to the window.

"Which ones?" He asked glancing out the window and looking around.

"The tall long-haired Japanese man with sunglasses at three o'clock and the Caucasian man at eleven o'clock." Wraith stated flatly as Kaname felt her lip quiver.

I haven't even been back a full week! Can't I ever get a damn break?

Sousuke nodded and stepped back from the window. "Do you have anything else to report?"

"The Caucasian man was dropped off by an AH-6 and I saw a second one orbiting nearby."

"AH-6?" Kaname asked.

"AH-6J 'Little Bird' it is a small chopper utilized by American Special Forces, most specifically Delta Force." Sousuke said as he glanced back out the window and looked up into the sky for a moment.

Kaname felt her throat tighten. Damn it, they're following us… how long till they try and snatch me in the middle of the night. She swallowed. "Sousuke?"

"It's not a problem." He said as he squeezed her shoulder and glanced at Wraith. "Thank you for bringing this to my attention."

"It's my job." Wraith stated as her phone rang. Scowling she pulled it out and opened it. "Wraith here."

What'll happen now? We still need to get groceries.