Song: Born To Be Wild
Artist: Steppenwolf
Location: youtube watch?v=G4wnrIJxlF8
Chapter 2 Born To Be Wild
The sun had risen less then an hour before at an undercover Mithral base just outside of Yuma, Arizona. On the tarmac was a cargo plane unloading its' payload in the early morning heat. It wasn't even 07:30 and the temperature had already hit the high 70's. The clear desert sky let the sun beat down onto this isolated base so hard that by now you could already see the heat shimmering off of the tarmac. The only saving grace was no humidity. Like ants, the people went about unloading the massive AN-124 cargo plane.
If you've never seen the Anotnov-124, then you really have no idea how big the cargo plane is. From a distance it looks like any other large four engined aircraft. But as you get closer, you begin to notice subtle difference. Like the 20 wheeled main landing gear. Or the fact that the things moving around the base of the aircraft are not people, but TRUCKS. And that the tail looming nearly 21 meters (69 ft) overhead tops seven stories. About that time you start to ask yourself, "Just how big is this goddamn thing." Apartment buildings are smaller by an order of magnitude. They were built by the Soviet Union in a fit of pique and pride to rival and surpass the American C-5 for sheer flying bulk.
Song: Born To Be Wild
Artist: Steppenwolf
Location: youtube watch?v=G4wnrIJxlF8
Start
This particular '124' was carrying no less then three CH-47 Chinook helicopters, a rather large aircraft in their own right, along with a multitude of other various cargo packed around the '47's' in the unused space. Like a whale giving birth, under the watchful eye of the Loadmaster/Crew Chief, the ground crew had just pulled the second of the three big helos down the rear cargo ramp. They maneuvered it to the left towards the hanger, where they would be given a new lease as Mithral Combat aircraft. The Chief was a no nonsense grizzled, leathery former U.S. Air Force Senior Master Chief. The man didn't take crap off nobody. A General might think he outranked the Chief, but outside of the cockpit, onboard the plane, he'd be wrong. By both custom and regulation, the Chief was the 'Boss'.
Just before takeoff from Merida Island, a bird Colonel tried to override some of the Chief's loading decisions. The Chief told him, "Sir, why don't you attempt aerial intercourse with a rotating pastry?"
The Colonel looked gob-smacked and must have needed a translation. "What did you just say, Chief?"
Get your motor runnin'
Head out on the highway
Lookin' for adventure
And whatever comes our way
Yeah drivin' gonna make it happen
Take the world in a love embrace
Fire all of your guns at once
And explode into space
The Chief gave the Officer a long, hard look. " I was trying to be nice for the lady present. But I guess you didn't understand me, so I'll use plain language. Why don't you go take a flying fuck at a rolling doughnut, SIR? This is my bird, the pilots just fly it, and all you can tell me is what the cargo is. I decide when, where and how it gets loaded. And if I've got a good enough reason, I don't even have to load it. Now, are you going to be a passenger? NO? Then how bout you get the fuck off my bird, before I call the SP's, 'SIR'"
The Colonel left after threatening the Chief a few more time and the Chief returned to his job muttering about 'Pouges'.
I like smoke and lightning
Heavy metal thunder
Racin' with the wind
And the feelin' that I'm under
Yeah drivin' gonna make it happen
Take the world in a love embrace
Fire all of your guns at once
And explode into space
Seeing the that the Chinook had cleared the ramp, the Chief looked over his shoulder, gave a piercing whistle and waved another part of his load forward. Down the ramp, from the shadows of the cavernous cargo bay and into the early morning desert sun, came what looked like a child's toy 'Hot Wheel's', when compared to its' transport to the desert. It was a long, low, mean looking car that seemed to be painted almost a flat black. It was 'clean' '69 GTO with almost no chrome anywhere except the front grill. Even the rims were matte. Old fashioned 'Mag' wheels that were burnished instead of chromed. The windows were tinted so dark you could barely see shadows in the car.
Like a true nature's child
We were born, born to be wild
We can climb so high
I never wanna die
Born to be wild
Born to be wild
As it entered the sunlight, the color changed from the flat black to an almost bottomless indigo. Once the wheels touched the tarmac, where the Chinook had gone to the left, the car when right. The windows went down, letting out the smells of hydraulic fluid, jet fuel and the other sundry smells of any Military aircraft, while letting in the clean fresh desert air. The strains of Steppenwolf's 'Born To Be Wild' filled the area around the ramp. The windows hit the bottom of their track and the car laid rubber, until the traction control kicked in stopping the excessive wheel spin. White smoke followed the car as it left the bulk of the transport plane behind. Shaking his head, the Chief turned and headed back to the front of the plane to supervise both the movement of the last chopper and repairs to the front cargo door.
Get your motor runnin'
Head out on the highway
Lookin' for adventure
And whatever comes our way
Yeah drivin' gonna make it happen
Take the world in a love embrace
Fire all of your guns at once
And explode into space
The car continued on, through the gate guarding the base and out into the desert. Taking mostly two lane roads in a generally North East direction at high speed, through the few curves like it was glued to the road and approaching 150 MPH on the ridiculously long straights. Approaching an intersection in the middle of nowhere, the car came to a halt. Glancing to the right the driver queried his passenger. She spoke and pointed to the right. Grabbing first gear the car power slid its way around and was now heading almost due east into the rising sun.
Like a true nature's child
We were born, born to be wild
We can climb so high
I never wanna die
Born to be wild
Born to be wild
Sousuke Sagara and Kaname Chidori had arrived in America.
A short time prior, just as the car was rolling down the ramp, Kaname was berating Sousuke about the lack of air-conditioning in the car. Glancing over at the passenger, he remembered something Kurz had said to Mao once. He told her "But there is air-conditioning, Kaname." When asked how it worked, he promptly hit the switches and rolled down both of their windows. Once the windows hit bottom, he snatched second gear so hard they left smoke in the air. Reaching 60 MPH and up shifting to fourth, he looked her dead in the eye with an innocent expression and said. "See, 2/60 AC. Roll down two windows and drive 60 miles per hour.
A growl was her only response.
"Seriously, Kaname. I considered it, but it was contraindicated with the tradeoff of power loss and added weight, considering the primary purpose the car was intended for. Allowing you to escape an enemy."
Looking at him coolly "So you didn't have it installed for me."
"That is correct, Kaname."
She gave him a half grin and said "Alright Sousuke. Your off the hook this time. But, we need to get it fixed. OK?"
"Understood. As soon as we are settled, I will look for a reliable, discreet technician for the installation. In the mean time I suggest we stay hydrated to prevent heat injuries." Sousuke had prepared for this in two ways. For himself, he had a CamelBak hung on the back of his seat with the hose and bite-valve draped over his left shoulder. For her, he had installed a small powered cooler behind the seats and filled it with her favorite drinks as well as a large supply of bottled water. He had even thoughtfully vented the cooler to the exterior of the car.
She reached back, opened the cooler and pulled a bottle of water from inside. Opening the bottle she looked over at the young Soldier beside her, reminiscing on how and why they were in America.
They had boarded the transport at Merida Island, having been flown there aboard one of the Chinooks now being unloaded. Eleanor, the cars A.I. had let her displeasure at the travel arrangements be well known until Sousuke had told her to put any complaints in writing. When Eleanor had promptly used the tiny laser printer to list her grievances, Sousuke looked over the list. "Hmm, I see. It's not a problem." Wadding up the paper and throwing in a handy trash bag. "Your complaints have been duly noted. They've also been round filed. Deal with it."
The duo and their car had been the major reason for the show between the Chief and the Colonel. The officer wanted the pair and their car located near one of the doors for instant departure at the Yuma base. The Chief needed the load somewhere else. The Chief won. As the Colonel stalked away, the Chief muttering 'Pouges', turned to his to charges for the next 36-48 hours. Looking them and the car over he said. "Look, this is going to be a long assed hop and don't think there's any way for the two of you to be comfortable in that car for that long. You two gonna be alright?"
Sousuke replied "We should be, Chief. We have a futon in the trunk."
Kaname looked horrified and started to turn a shade of crimson when the implications what he just said filtered in. The Chief just looked at Sousuke with wide eyes and a raised eyebrow. Then he guffawed "HEHEHe, a futon? 'A' futon? You really are fucken Japanese, aren't ya? I'm impressed!" Flipping through the manifest on his clipboard, "Tell ya what though. I think we can 'A' futon on the steel deck. We're changing flight crew outside of Hamburg, Germany. I think I can let ya have 'one' of the crew bunks." When he said 'one' he gave Kaname a wink, causing the blush deepen.
Sousuke, with no idea of the undertones of the conversation, replied. "That would be most excellent, Chief." Kaname was quickly beginning to look like a stop light. Sousuke just looked at her with his usual innocent, clueless look and told her. "This way you can take the bunk, Kaname. I will take the futon and remain nearby."
Kaname was caught between two conflicting desires. To either blush and pummel the Soldier or smile and hug him. The Chief had been around the block more then a few times. He even had a daughter in college. So caught everything Sousuke missed. "HEHEHEhehe, I think you missed the point boy! You got a lot to learn, don't ya."
Kaname piped up for her guy. "Leave him alone, Sir. He's doing just fine."
When the word 'Sir' left her mouth, Sousuke looked at her worriedly and a bit frightened.
The Chief just cocked an eyebrow at her and said, "First, I'm not a 'Sir'. I work for a living. An Officer I'm not. Secondly, hehehehe, I'm impressed again boy. You must be doing something right. Keep it up." When he said 'something', he winked at Kaname again. "And lastly I got at finish loading this beast. So you two climb back into your car and stay there until I come back and get ya. Hehehe." shaking his head he moved back to the rear of the plane, getting the crew to move faster through a mixture of berating, invective and cajoling.
Kaname smiled at the memory of crusty, gruff older man. "The Chief was an….interesting person." she hollered. By now Sousuke was really laying down the miles. With the music booming around them, the windows down and the engine winding out, it made for a noisy ride.
"The Chief is an excellent Loadmaster, and a good man. I liked him." Sousuke hollered back.
Up ahead was a 'T' intersection. Coming to a stop, Sousuke looked at Kaname and asked, "Which way?"
Looking at the monitor she indicated 'right'.
Sousuke allowed the 500 CID engine to overpower the rear wheels sliding them through the turn. Once they were lined up, he straightened the wheel and launched them to the east. They had a long way to go. From Yuma to New York, via Middleton, Colorado, then from New York back to Middleton. And classes started in less then three weeks. In that time they had to meet with Kaname's father, find living quarters, make arrangements with local authorities, and meet up with the subjects of the mission.
She remembered how she found out about their mission. Theirs! For the first time she was included in his world. Not as a subject or protectee. And not as a target. But as his partner. Just as she intended to make him her partner in life, Mithral had asked her to be his partner on the mission. Three weeks ago they had been called to a briefing to explain and expand on a set of orders Sousuke had received.
It was the morning after the first time they slept in each others arms. Sousuke as was his wont, had tried to get up at oh-five-hundred and head home to his apartment to prepare for the day. She grinned at the memory of how got him to stay until almost 5:30 without saying a word. She got him to stay after that with a playful threat until 6AM. At oh-six-hundred though, after telling her softly that he would call at 7:30, he went to his place and did all the things he does in the morning, exercise, checking his weapons and equipment, shaving and showering.
So when her phone rang at precisely 7:30, she knew it was him. Groaning she fumbled for the phone, hit the connect and mumbled "Morning, Sousuke."
"Good Morning Kaname."
"Sousuke, the only good thing about this morning left here about a hour and half ago."
"UHHHHHhhh."
She smiled at his response. "Relax Sousuke, you didn't do anything wrong. In fact you were just about perfect."
The "UHHHHHHhhhh." came again.
Shaking her head and sighing at how stiff he could be. "When's the meeting Sousuke."
The mention of the upcoming briefing snapped him out of his fugue. "The briefing is scheduled for ten-thirty hours, Kaname. It is a thirty minute drive there. So we need to leave no later then oh-eight-thirty."
Pulling the phone from her ear to look at it like it was him. Putting it back she asked, "And you want to get there an hour and a half early, why?"
"It was my intention to take you to breakfast on the way. The restaurant I have chosen is just a few blocks away from the briefing. We have reservations for oh-nine-hundred."
She felt her heart go pitter-patter at his thoughtfulness. "I'll be ready at 8:30, Sousuke."
"Roger, Kaname. I will meet you downstairs."
Hanging up the phone, she laid back enjoying the feeling of warmth and the scent of him that lingered. Snapping herself up, she thought, 'If I don't get up now, I'll be asleep again.'
Pushing up from the couch, she headed to the bathroom. Yawning, she scratched under her breast where bra had chaffed in the night and she thought to herself, 'What kind of moron only gives a girl an hour to get ready for a date? The Sousuke kind, that's what. Sousuke, you Idiot.'
At exactly oh-eight-thirty hours Sousuke was waiting for Kaname at the entrance to her apartment building. Knowing her habits he had allowed a 15 minute buffer in case she was late. At oh-eight-thirty-eight she appeared through the doors looking a bit flustered.
"Good morning Kaname."
"Grrrr, Sousuke, don't you know you have to give a girl more then an hour to get ready. At least an hour and a half for a breakfast date."
He knew what her answer would be, but he had to ask anyway. "I understand, Kaname. Should we cancel breakfast and proceed directly to the meeting then?"
"Hell no! I just spent the last hour getting ready. Breakfast is the least you can do."
"Very well then, shall we go?"
The combination of Sousuke's buffer and using the onboard sensors and navigation system allowed them to make up a bit of lost time. They arrived just in time for the reservations. Seventy-five minutes after they arrived at the restaurant, they were walking to the building where the briefing was to be held.
It was a seven story commercial building, with several other businesses maintaining offices there, Entering the building Sousuke noted the listing of other businesses on the roster hanging by the elevators. He was searching for any that Mithral Intelligence had listed as fronts for terrorist organizations. About a second into his task he realized something. 'Stupid, Mithral has an office here. Of course Intelligence has checked out the other occupants. Vigilance is one thing, obsession is something else.'
The entire episode occurred so fast the even an experienced Sagara watcher like Kaname didn't catch it. She just saw him pause and look at the roster. Taking the elevator to the sixth floor, they exited and approached the receptionists desk. Sousuke took note of the subtle, but very effective security measures in place around the lobby and desk itself. From the bullet proof glass and armor surrounding desk that would allow the receptionist time to sound the alarm, to the cleverly hidden gun ports and security doors to the rest of the floor that would give the defenders time to either repel an attack or destroy anything sensitive.
After passing the appropriate sheet through the slot and identifying themselves, they were directed to a conference room. When they got inside Sousuke was surprised to see a large round table and twelve chairs. Each with the same kind of holographic projectors used for international conferences. The room itself gave evidence to the seriousness of the briefing. There were no windows for laser mics to pick up the vibrations of. The walls were thick and covered with sound absorbing material along with the ceiling and floor. No one would be listening to the briefing from outside
Having been to more then one briefing, albeit not at this high of level, he directed Kaname to a chair at the six o'clock position of the table. Kaname didn't know what it was but something was twigging her Otaku sense. Something was bugging Sousuke, she didn't know what, but something.
"Sousuke, what's wrong?"
If she hadn't known him so well she would have missed the slightly panicky eyes. The last time he had been in a room like this, he had told the head of Mithral Intelligence where to get off. And although it wasn't really frightening, it was definitely worrisome.
"It seems, Kaname, that we are to be part of a high level briefing. Very high." Glancing around the room, he added. "This equipment is very rarely used at my level"
The chairs did not allow them to sit together, so she reached out and took his hand. "I'm worried, Sousuke"
"As am I, Kaname."
The door opened and Lieutenant Commander Kalinin entered leading an obviously fuming Tessa. Sousuke instinctively jumped to his feet shouting "ATTENTION ON DECK" Kaname had a bit of forewarning from the way he tensed his hand and was prepared. Kalinin evidently expecting it merely smirked. Tessa just as evidently didn't and jumped. Muttering an icy "As you were." moved to a seat at the three o'clock position.
Wanting to get some answers Sousuke started to ask "Madam Captain, do.." was as far as he got when Tessa answered in a glacial voice.
"You'll get all the answers you need in a little while 'Sergeant'"
In a quiet mollifying tone Kalinin spoke, "Madam Captain."
Sousuke could feel the hackles start to rise next to him as Kaname started to bristle. The last thing he needed was his new girlfriend and his commanding Officer butting heads. Two extremely strong willed females with him caught in the middle? No Thanks! Wanting to head off the incipient argument , he said, "Madam Captain, if I have done something to offend you, I apologize. However I would like to know what I have done."
Kaname had an idea of what he might have done. His starting a real relationship with her. And Tessa still carrying a torch for him. That was her idea of what was wrong. But she was mistaken. Oh, not about the torch part. Merely the cause of Tessa's anger.
Visibly regaining control of herself, she looked at Sousuke, her eyes softening a bit. "No Sergeant, I should apologize, this isn't your fault. But we do need to wait for everyone else before we can begin."
Glancing at his watch, he noted it was ten-thirty hours. "Do you know when they will arrive Madam Captain?" No sooner then the words left his mouth, the door opened again admitting the wizened, yet spry form of Sensei Toshimaru, carrying a narrow briefcase. Sousuke would have jumped again, but for the iron grip Kaname had on his forearm. The ancient man looked exactly the same as the last time she had seen him. Right down to the twinkle in his eyes. The man had something up his sleeve. And considering how voluminous they were, it could be anything.
He said, "Ah, good, everyone is here." Moving with such grace he seemed to float, he took a chair at the nine o'clock position, reached to the twelve o'clock and hit a sequence of controls there. Immediately the head of the table was occupied by the image of the 'feddy, feddy proper British gentleman' Lord Mallory. To his right was a very attractive older woman with short auburn hair. Her most striking feature though was the eye patch covering her right eye. Your could just see the scaring of the socket around the edges of the patch. She seemed to almost carry the scarring and patch with pride. Sousuke had seen the same from other Combat Veterans.
Looking around the table, noting everyone there, his gaze drifted to Sensei. In Japanese he said "Ishido-san, it's good to see you again old friend. How's the hip?"
"Hurts in the cold as always. But other then that, I'm doing quite well, Edwin."
"Even after all these years I still feel bad about that."
"Edwin, I have told you many times, the war in the Pacific was a long time ago. It was Combat and we were enemies. Karma, neh? Now we are allies and friends. Once again, Karma, neh?" Everyone in the room got the feeling they were seeing an old discussion.
Turning to his right Lord Mallory spoke English to the woman with the eye patch. "Forgive me Elizabeth, I forgot you don't speak Japanese. However if I don't banter with Ishido a bit, he's liable go all mystical on us, then we'll never understand what he says." Looking back at the rest of the group, he asked. "Would anyone object to English in deference to the good Doctor."
Seeing none he continued, "Excellent, shall we start with the introductions. To our front, the incomparable Sergeant Sousuke Sagara. One of Mithrals finest. On more then one occasion the Sergeant has pulled all of our fat out of the fire." Looking at the Doctor he added an aside. 'Once he even told General Amit, basically and in no uncertain terms to, what was that fascinating American term, oh yes, 'Get Bent'."
Snapping her head to the left at Lord Mallory, "WHAT!" then back to Sousuke with a hint of awe.
"You should have seen it, Elizabeth. He was simply smashing. I never saw the poor man more flustered. It was absolutely brilliant."
"Well, he's got guts, that's for sure." Looking at Sousuke, she said, "You've got some pretty big balls, kid. You'll need 'em."
Having no idea how to answer that Sousuke simply said "M'am."
"To continue, to his right, the lovely Kaname Chidori, Whispered and his shall we say, his partner in crime."
Glancing between Lord Mallory and Kaname, the Doctor asked, "Chidori, the same Chidori as…"
"Yes my dear, she is the daughter of Shunya Chidori. One of the Japanese representatives to the United Nations, specifically on the Environmental Bureau.
"I see. Pleasure to meet you Miss Chidori."
Kaname followed Sousuke's lead with a simple "M'am."
"To our left Teletha "Tessa" Testarossa, Designer and Commander of the Tuatha de Danaan, Whispered, and forgive me my dear, sister to one of our most dangerous enemies."
The doctor nodded to Tessa, "Pleasure Captain."
"The pleasure is mine, Doctor."
"Next to the Captain is Lieutenant Commander Andrei Sergeivich Kalinin, the de Danaan's Operations Director and SRT Commander, former Spetsnaz, and quite possibly one of the most dangerous men in the world. The Lieutenant Commander and Sergeant Sagara where once sworn enemies. Strange how life turns out isn't it."
Using the approved shorting of his rank, the Doctor greeted him. "Commander."
"Doctor."
"To our right, Sensei Toshimaru Ishido. Headmaster of the Yamminochi School. A combat martial arts school. Formerly a part of the Mithral Counsel and former holder of my own position as Head of the Mithral Counsel. And a very old friend of mine."
"I've heard a great deal about you, Sir. It's an honor."
Giving the woman a slight bow, Sensei told her, "The honor is mine, Doctor. As yours is the more difficult task. You are in the public eye after all. Whereas we are able to operate behind the scenes."
Lord Mallory continued, "Last and most certainly not least, I give you Doctor Elizabeth Director. Overall Commander of the U.N.'s public law enforcement arm, Global Justice."
"It seems that Global Justice has a bit of an issue. After speaking to Ishido-san, so does the YamminochiSchool. Also Mithral has one or two to add to the mix. Beginning with the young Sergeant."
Looking at Sousuke, Lord Mallory went on. "Are you aware young man, of the controversy surrounding you. Here we have a very good Combat Soldier that is neither in the field, nor being fully utilized. On the one hand, Mithral is short, desperately short of experienced Combat personnel, especially A.S. pilots, and in particular, pilots capable of operating Lambda Driver equipped units. Truth be told, that with out resorting to the use of possibly psychosis inducing drugs, we have exactly one. You Sergeant. Yet on the other hand you have several glaring deficiencies in your education. Many of us in Command and on the Counsel, myself included, feel that without higher education, you will begin to stagnate."
"Next, Global Justice has a very good agent. She has excellent hand to hand skills. You will note that I did not say Combat. She has good technical know-how, can think her feet and make plans in the field. She has a problem though. A naiveté about what the acceptable level of force is. She considers the death of anyone, even an enemy, to be a failure on the part of both her and her team."
Thirdly, Ishido-san has a…student?" Cocking an eyebrow at Sensei, "protégé?" Receiving a nod, he continued, "Protégé then, who, according to him, has the potential to become the greatest Martial Arts Weapons Master the world has ever known. He is an experienced field agent in his own right, who has comported himself very well several solo missions. He seems to bring a 'Chaos Factor' to the table."
Hearing the term 'Chaos Factor', Kaname, Sensei and Tessa all looked at Sousuke and grinned while Kalinin just smirked. Sousuke raised his eyebrows and looked around at the people smiling at him and said "What?"
"He is one-third," Lord Mallory paused, "or one-quarter, depending on how you look at it, of the same team as Elizabeth's agent. In his last major confrontation, he was forced to take a life for the first time. Two actually. And it has caused no end of trouble to himself and strife with the other major part of his team. The major problem is he lacks both the training and support to put the incident in the proper perspective. He is also prone to a vast amount of self-doubt, attributing his successes to either dumb luck or his partners actions. Never his own efforts. He has a rather severe lack of self-esteem."
"Lastly, there is a young Whispered. Brilliant boy, who has already finished college and is working on his second Doctorate. Both GJ and Mithral, for differing reasons, wish to put an additional layer of security around the young man. Especially in view of the fact that a good portion of his security measures have broken down."
"Something I heard many years ago seems to apply here. 'Sometimes, when you each have a problem, you have each others solutions.', and the way I see it, Mithral, GJ and Yamminochi can help solve each others problems. You, Sergeant, if you curb your more impulsive and incendiary tendencies by listening to the young lady are an excellent security operative, and you Miss Chidori, if you resist the temptation to dismiss the Sergeants misgivings out of hand, have the civilian knowledge to backstop the Sergeant brilliantly. Combined the two of you have the makings of an excellent undercover security team. Particularly in view of the relationship you are beginning to share."
Hearing that statement, Sousuke immediately got wide-eyed, where Kaname first blushed, then turned red with anger and started glaring at Sousuke. Tessa looked stricken.
"Please my dear, don't blame him. You both knew that Miss Chidori was under observation by the operative, Wraith. And I spoke with Wraith earlier today. Wraith passed me a report that the Sergeant spent the night at your residence. You are both over the age of consent and your choices are your own. Now, as I was saying, your personal relationship would make for an excellent cover."
Nodding to Sensei, the ancient man took a trio of folders and a pair of manila envelopes out of his case. He passed the envelopes with their names on them to the couple, as Lord Mallory asked with a smirk "How would the two of you like to attend college together?"
Stunned, the pair opened the envelopes. Inside were all the necessary documents for them to go to college in the United States.
Sensei then passed the three folders to Sousuke and Kaname, they looked at the names on the top of them. When they had just enough time to read the names, Lord Mallory added, "While your there you will have a mission. The vast majority of this mission will fall on your shoulders, Sergeant. However you will have a large part to play as well Miss Chidori."
"Sergeant, you will be attached to the local GJ directorate, under the personal command of Dr. Director. You will answer to no one else. That includes Mithral and the command staff of the Tuatha de Danaan. She will be responsible for your progress in your studies. She will see to it that you do not have a recurrence of the incident where your combat duties interfered with your schooling. The ARX7 is going to be detached from the Western Pacific Command and placed in a local GJ hanger. In an emergency, this will allow you to deploy."
"Also, she will have you assist on independent missions on an as needed basis. As well as working as a training officer for Global Justice A.S. operations. According to the tentative schedule, you will attend classes three days a week, two days a week you will be at Headquarters as a trainer. The remainder will be yours. You will have a heavy load to bear, however, you will have assistance. If necessary, she will provide you with tutors. All of your duties though are secondary to your primary mission."
For the first time during the meeting, the affable, easygoing Englishman disappeared, leaving a hardened Combat Leader. "Protecting the young Whispered boy and assisting both the GJ and Yamanouchi agents. Understand Sergeant, this is not a request, these are orders. Failure to follow them will result in your court martial."
"Miss Chidori, Mithral has no authority over you. However we are requesting your assistance. In return…" he pointed to the envelope in her hands. "Your duties will include assisting the Sergeant with his lessons in those classes where you overlap. Also, continue to train the way you have with your driving skills, firearms training, hand to hand. There is even a good chance that you will be able to assist the Sergeant with his primary mission. You also will be under the personal authority of Elizabeth Director."
"If either of you need assistance, ask her. She has agreed to support you in any way possible."
"Now I suggest we break for lunch and give Miss Chidori time to consider. Sergeant, you are allowed to take the files with you to look over them, but please keep them secure. You and Miss Chidori are the only ones allowed outside of this room to see them. Miss Chidori, I apologize, but we require your answer today. You may back out later if you wish. But if you decline, then the offer shall be pulled. Shall we reconvene two hours." Seeing agreement all round, the image of both him and Dr. Director vanished.
Looking down at the files she noted the names there.
Dr. Wade Load, Ronald Dean Stoppable and Kimberly Ann Possible
Through the rising heat of the desert, a '69' GTO thundered to the east heading to the interstate that would take them to Middleton, Colorado and their meeting with Team Possible.