Full Metal Panic Fan Fiction ❯ Blood From Metal ❯ Chapter 12

Blood From Metal

 

By: Alpha Zulu Mark II

 

Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters, I don't claim to own any of them, and this fic is meant only to explore an idea; so, bite me!

 

Chapter 12

 

“Gah!” gasped Tessa, jerking upright in her bed. Panting, she rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand, feeling the wetness against her hand. Swallowing with some difficulty, she sighed, forcing herself to relax. Beside her, she heard a sleep-muffled sound, and a moment later, the other occupant of her bed sat up.

 

“Tessa-chan?” came the muffled voice of the other girl. “Everything ok?” asked the other girl, hugging Tessa reassuringly.

 

“I…I'm ok, Kana,” managed Tessa. “I suspected that it would cost me, after all,” she murmured. Somewhat more awake now, Kaname hugged the smaller girl to her closer.

 

“Hey, Tessa,” she assured the girl, “it was the only choice he left you,” she reminded her fellow Whispered. Caressing the unbound platinum hair of the captain of the ship, Kaname patiently waited for the girl to relax.

 

“I'm not sorry he's dead,” whispered the smaller girl several minutes later, “but, he was still my brother, you know?” she asked. Kaname pressed her lips to Tessa's lips before tucking her head cheek-to-cheek with the other girl.

 

“I know,” she assured Tessa. “And if I could have, I would have done it for you,” she said firmly, “but I couldn't; and neither could Sousuke or Mao,” she added. “None of us see you any differently for what happened, Tessa-chan,” Kana murmured against Tessa's cheek.

 

“Thanks, Kana,” whispered Tessa, hugging Kaname back. “I can deal with this,” she promised the other girl. “It was my plan, after all,” she added firmly. Kaname smiled at the girl, though the cabin was too dark for Tessa to see the smile. Nevertheless, Kaname knew that Tessa could feel her smile.

 

“That's our Tessa-chan,” she approved the girl's resolve. Gradually, the two settled back into Tessa's bed on the De Danaan. Holding each other comfortably, the two drifted back to sleep, resonating as they did so. Together, they dreamed of better things than what had happened just two short days ago on an uninhabited island south of Indonesia.

 

-

 

“Operational template is straight-forward,” said the bright-haired girl less than five hours later. “Urzu five and seven go in at H-hour, followed by Angel, Peggy and three security operatives and our guest in a shallow-draft craft at H-hour plus ten. Urzu will secure the target, and set security for Angel and her group. I will be watching from just off shore to provide fire support, rescue or ELINT as necessary. By H-hour plus two hours, I plan to be submerged and the target rendered morbid. Questions?” asked Tessa of the small group in the briefing room.

 

“Sanctioning of secondary personnel allowed?” asked Yu Fan, her voice completely dispassionate.

 

“Any security personnel or mechanical units are fair game,” said Tessa. “However, the two primary personnel targets are not to be harmed except in extreme defense of Angel or her team,” added the Captain firmly, locking gazes with Yu Fan.

 

“Understood,” confirmed Yu Fan, as if her answer were no more weighty a matter than her not being allowed to have toast for breakfast. And to her, it probably isn't, thought the Captain absently.

 

“Expected resistance from Alastor units or Chodarl-series AS units?” asked Mao. To the right of the small podium where Tessa stood, Kana spoke up.

 

“No idea, Mao,” she said. “However, there wasn't any sign of meaningful numbers of either type while I was there,” she said. Tessa hid a smile as she listened to Kana contribute to the briefing. She's already talking like a pro, thought the girl proudly. “You will likely not encounter any stiffer resistance than the grounds guy and - maybe! - some Alastor units,” she explained.

 

“Let's hope so,” replied Mao.

 

“Whatever is there, we will deal with it,” said Sousuke flatly. Tessa nodded silently.

 

Tessa tapped a button on the basic podium, and the wall beside and behind her displayed the key targets of the mission. “These are satellite captures of the two primary personnel targets,” she explained. “The larger one is Kari, and the shorter one is Sari. They are both long-term conditioned agents of AMALGAM, and we plan to secure them,” said the captain. Maybe we can undo what Leonard did to them, she hoped. “The primary mission is this underground bunker in the center of the island. We do not have detailed information on what might be there, but we will find out,” she said.

 

“What do we do with what we find?” asked one of the security men who would be going on the landing craft.

 

“We take what we can, and destroy everything else,” said Tessa. “Scorched Earth policy on this mission,” she repeated herself. “Anything too large to go in the shallow-draft goes out by AS carrier or will be destroyed in place by heavy munitions after we take what we can,” she elaborated. “Final questions?” she asked after a moment or two. Hearing none, she nodded.

 

“Dismissed,” she said, exiting the briefing room, heading for the bridge. Kaname followed the rest to the hanger area. The De Danaan was currently sitting sixty meters deep ten miles from the target island where Kaname had spent much of her time while kidnapped. Sousuke and Mao were suited up in their AS gear, and silently began their checks on their respective machines. Mao was still getting comfortable with the M9 Mark II she was piloting, while Sousuke was more capable in the Arbalest every time he went out in it.

 

As the two powered up their AS units and the mechanics did final checks on the underwater pods on the two units, the three security personnel checked their guns and the SDB that would be launched once Sousuke and Mao reported it clear and the sub came to the surface. Peggy - the ship's doctor - made sure that her kit was squared away; just in case. Kaname was going in unarmed against both Sousuke's and Tessa's insistence. Kana had argued that if the two mission objectives saw a gun in her hand, they would not be able to talk them down, and would be forced into a fight.

 

Having lost the argument, Sousuke and Tessa had silently agreed to prioritize Kana's safety. Sousuke would maintain close proximity to her in Arbalest, while the three guards had been given sharp orders about the priority of protection of the party. Kaname would only come to harm after the others were dead. As the AS units moved into the lock-out chambers for their launch, one of the guards handed Yu Fan her kit. She had a carbine, five back-up mags, a pistol and two spare mags, knife, light, an EMP grenade, and a pair of thermal demolition charges.

 

When Mao and Sousuke reached the island, they split up, Mao moving along the edge of the island toward the center while Sousuke worked the immediate area around the house. After several passes with his sensors and a careful perimeter check, Sousuke signaled the sub, and minutes later, the SDB arrived in the cove. Sousuke had his ECS running, boxer cannon ready, as Kaname slipped out of the boat. Behind her, like a shadow, Yu Fan mimicked Kana's movements, while a few seconds after the two, Peggy emerged with the three security guards.

 

Sousuke saw Kana turn and look right at him, a brief smile crossing her face. How did she know where I am? he wondered briefly. Shaking that thought away, he concentrated on the mission. Kaname and Yu Fan entered the house, dead silent. Sousuke carefully guided his AS unit closer to the house. On his IR scanner, he followed Kaname and Yu as they moved unerringly to the room with the two girls.

 

Silently entering the room, Kana saw Sari and Kari resting peacefully in their bed. She was also aware that Yu Fan had slipped in behind her, carbine up and ready if the two didn't follow the game plan. Moving closer to the two, Kana knelt next to the bed before gently shaking the shoulders of the younger girls. Both girls woke quickly. “Sari, Kari,” said Kana softly, “It's Kana,” she said.

 

“Kana?” came the sleepy voice of Kari. Kaname felt the girls sit up. “It is you,” confirmed Kari a second later. “Leo did rescue you from those kidnappers,” she squealed, lunging over to hug Kaname.

 

“Uh, yeah,” said Kaname, hugging the smaller girl back. Her other hand found Sari, pulling her closer.

 

“Where are Leo and Gretchen?” asked the younger of the two.

 

“Sari,” sighed Kaname, “something happened, and I came here to get you,” she treaded the line. I hoped that Sari wouldn't be this sharp at this hour, she silently complained. The smaller girl was prone to questioning anything that was out of what passed for the normal in her small world.

 

“Why would…?” began Sari. Kaname palmed the two disposable injectors from where she had stashed them in the waistband of her black combat wear. Indexing them by feel, she pressed them to the necks of each girl and triggered them, the small injectors hissing briefly as they injected the serum into the two, who slumped unconscious almost instantly.

 

“Wow, this stuff is fast acting,” she murmured. Sousuke told me about his use of this stuff on that Whispered girl in Russia, but I didn't think it would work this fast, she thought to herself. “Targets secured,” she said into her radio. Behind her, Peggy and two of the guards quickly moved into the house and collected the two limp forms, Peggy checking the two briefly before wrapping them in transfer bags. The doctor escorted the two to the shallow draft boat.

 

“Commence entry,” came Sousuke's voice over the radio. Kaname heard a thump!, followed tremor, as Mao used an AS-sized det-cord device to blow an entrance into the bunker. “Kana, withdraw while Mao and I deal with the bunker,” directed the serious young man.

 

“Sousuke, I…” began Kana, only to feel Yu's hand land on her shoulder. Looking over her shoulder, she met the assassin's eyes. “Ok,” she sighed, moving after Peggy and the guards. Yu Fan slipped away, meeting Sousuke in front of the house. Picking her up in the hand of Arbalest, Sousuke jumped over the intervening trees to land next to the breach Mao had made.

 

Dropping into the bunker area, Sousuke triggered the spotlights built into the head cannons of his AS, lighting up the concrete room. Swiftly panning around, he found a mix of parts, mechanical systems to support the house, and two pallets of supplies. Next to his unit, Mao was doing the same thing with her AS unit. “Secondary room,” said Mao, illuminating a doorway to another area. “Looks like AS-scale, too,” said Mao.

 

“Understood,” said Sousuke, his unit kneeling so the spotlights could illuminate the room. In the next room, he saw two slide pallets, one empty, the other covered in a tarp. “Yu Fan,” he said over the radio, lowering the hand that held the assassin. Silently, the girl rolled out of his palm and onto the ground, gun up. Moving along the wall, she cleared the corners of the room.

 

“No sign of the gardener,” noted Mao over the radio. “He should have shown up by now,” she worried.

 

“He has,” came Yu Fan's voice. “There is a device on the generator,” she said dispassionately. “Disarming it now,” added the girl. Sousuke could see her on the thermal, but not on his cameras.

 

“Where did he go, though,” Mao insisted.

 

“Mao, withdraw and guard the SDB,” said Sousuke. “If it is an AS unit that is missing, it could be the unaccounted-for enemy combatant is piloting it in order to ambush our forces as we withdraw,” he suggested. Mao leapt her unit out of the bunker.

 

“Roger that,” said the sergeant major. Sousuke swept the area with his sensors again.

 

“Device disarmed,” intruded Yu Fan's voice.

 

“See if you can determine what is under that tarp,” he directed her. “I will cover you,” added the young man. Yu Fan moved to the slider and studied the securing bands.

 

“It is a Chodarl-series AS,” said Yu Fan a moment later. “Most likely identical to the one that Gretchen piloted,” she suggested, pulling her knife free and slicing off the retaining bands.

 

“Yu…” began Sousuke, only to have Al interrupt.

 

“Enemy AS unit detected. Alastor-class. Moving toward LZ at high rate of speed,” said the AI of his Arbalest unit. Sousuke growled, his Arbalest unit jerking upright and leaping out of the bunker even before he realized that he was moving.

 

“Mao! Incoming Alastor unit!” he yelled into the radio. Before his unit could land, he felt a jolt from the side. Turning, he spotted the smoke trail of an anti-AS missile coming from the far side of the bunker. “Enemy combatant located, November Whiskey target Bravo. Anti-AS missile fire from some location,” he noted. Just then, there was a flash from the cove, and Mao's M9 opened up with its chain gun.

 

“Contact with Alastor unit. Engaging on site,” said the woman, her larger, more powerful AS unit rushing the man-sized AS unit. Sousuke's attention was split between the radio and his AS unit. Al reported no functional damage from the anti-AS missile because of his instinctive deployment of his Lambda driver.

 

“Urzu Two, Urzu Seven, this is Command,” came Tessa's voice. “Grab what you can and withdraw. I am glazing the island in two minutes,” she said.

 

“Secondary force?” asked Sousuke, his Lambda Driver defeating another anti-AS missile before he raked the launch site with his auto cannons.

 

“Being retrieved even now,” came the reply. “Be advised, hi-yield munitions are loaded and SUBLARs are armed,” she added.

 

“Retrieving asset Shadow now,” stated Sousuke.

 

“Retrieval unnecessary,” came the voice of Yu Fan, even as his AI reported that a Chodarl M had powered up. “Prepared to withdraw,” she added, landing beside Sousuke's unit. For a second, Tessa was silent. Then, she responded.

 

“Understood,” she said. “Launching recovery units now.” Sousuke and Yu Fan moved toward the cove, even as Mao reported confirmed destruction of the Alastor unit.

 

“These aren't so tough,” she snorted derisively.

 

“Try fighting them without an AS,” said Sousuke dryly. Yu Fan suddenly spun, her AS unit firing twice even as another anti-AS missile looped in from above. The round detonated against the Lambda Driver's field.

 

“Enemy combatant destroyed,” came the girl's quiet voice. Above the three units, two AS carrier lined up, one descending over Mao and Sousuke, the other over Yu Fan.

 

“Shadow, you might have to manually secure your unit to the carrier,” came Tessa's voice.

 

“Understood,” replied Yu Fan. Sousuke and Mao locked into the AS carrier's bays. Beside them, Yu Fan secured her unit into the locking mechanism, then got a good grip on the lip of the bay; just in case. Swiftly, the two carriers rose and returned to the De Danaan's flight deck. The cover to the flight deck had barely sealed when the submarine dove, firing a salvo of missiles as it did that reduced the island and everything on it to smoldering rock.

 

-

 

“Catnip,” mused Tessa. She was reviewing still more of Leonard's work while sitting in the mess hall with Kana, Sousuke, Mao and Yu Fan. Kana blinked at the unexpected statement.

 

“Catnip?” she asked rhetorically. Tessa nodded.

 

“Yeah, kind of,” she said, eyes still on the screen. “You know about catnip, right?” she asked, looking at Kana.

 

“I guess,” said Kana. “It's like narcotics to cats, right?” she asked.

 

“Correct,” confirmed Tessa. “But, did you know that only about ten percent of felines react to catnip?” she wondered. Kana shook her head.

 

“No,” she said. “What's the connection?” wondered the girl.

 

“Those orchids on that island were bio-engineered by AMALGAM to stimulate the faculties of Whispereds, generating a similar sort of reaction in Whispered as catnip does in cats,” explained Tessa.

 

“What?” demanded Kana. “Those flowers were…drugs of some kind?” she asked, incensed. Tessa hummed.

 

“In a way,” she reviewed. “You see, like catnip, it only affected certain Whispereds, and was therefore considered a failure,” she said. Kana recalled the odd, fuzzy-headed feeling she had around the orchids.

 

“Um, I think I might be one of the ones that it affects,” she said uneasily. “Is there a counter-agent for it?” wondered the girl.

 

“Not at the moment,” said Tessa, frowning. “I'll ask Peggy to look into the notes and see if she can spot a way to make some, but at least our strike took out all the remaining samples of the orchid,” she offered as consolation.

 

“The samples,” came the quiet voice of Yu Fan, “but not the knowledge.”

 

“I know,” sighed Tessa. “And that worries me,” she confided to the group. “Silver may have been the core of AMALGAM, but from what I see in the intelligence we have gathered, he still reported to, or at least shared with, another group or person, all the data he collected,” she mused to herself. “Which leaves us playing catch-up.”

 

“Not like we haven't been doing this all along,” muttered Mao sourly. Yu Fan sipped some coffee, sitting opposite Sousuke. Whenever the two Whispered girls were close at hand, they inevitably settled at each side of the young man. When they weren't around, Yu Fan was typically found next to Sousuke.

 

“Yu Fan,” came Kana's voice, “did Gauron know who Leo reported to?” she asked the assassin. Yu Fan shook her head.

 

“Beyond a name, no,” she said. “Silver - Leonard - reported to Gold. Sensei reported to Silver, as did Gates and the rest of AMALGAM,” she explained. “Sensei tried to find out who Gold was, but was unable to find a means of penetrating the very top of the organization.”

 

“Oh? Isn't that convenient,” grunted Mao suspiciously. Yu Fan showed no reaction to the implied accusation.

 

“I believe Gauron did not learn the identity of the head of AMALGAM,” said Sousuke. “If he had of, he would have either targeted the person or overtaken the lead position,” he went on. “Gauron was ambitious, and if he could find a way to gain what he sought, he would take it.”

 

“Speaking of that,” chimed in Mao, “you have yet to tell us what Gauron told you and your sister to do as his last order,” she reminded the girl. Yu Fan glanced at Sousuke.

 

“I have already discussed this with Sousuke,” she said indifferently. “It is no concern of yours, however,” she subtly reprimanded the Chinese-American sergeant major.

 

“Is that right?” Mao shot back, leaning closer to Yu Fan.

 

“Mao,” said Tessa quietly. The senior NCO of Urzu blinked at Tessa.

 

“You haven't forgotten that she tried to kill us in Hong Kong, have you?” wondered Mao.

“You were not the target in Hong Kong,” said Yu Fan. “If you were, you would not be alive now. Had I been tasked with terminating you, I would have crushed you when you were lying on the street; long before you had your M9 to protect you,” she reminded Mao. Mao recalled all too clearly the Chodarl unit leaping at her and Sousuke, only to crouch over them for an instant before bounding away again.

 

“What were your orders, then?” wondered Kana.

 

“To draw out Gates and cause as much chaos as I could,” said the girl. “I had not expected to see Yu Lan's body in his possession, though,” she admitted. Kaname almost flinched at the mention of the younger twin's name. Yu Fan's sharp eyes caught the aborted reaction to her remark. “I told you I do not hold you responsible, Chidori,” she reminded Kaname.

 

“Speaking of responsible,” Tessa cut in cleanly, “we need to decide where to take the next step in combating AMALGAM.”

 

“The next target should be clear,” said Yu Fan, meeting Tessa's eyes. “We are going to Europe; in particular, we have business in Belgium.”

 

“What is in Belgium?” wondered Tessa. Yu Fan didn't smile when she answered.

 

“My next target.”

 

“Your next target?” wondered Mao.

 

“Gates has a small cadre of AMALGAM senior suppliers in Amsterdam,” she said. “I am going to kill them all.”

 

“Yu…” began Tessa, only to stop when she saw the look in Yu Fan's eyes.

 

“I am holding you to your word, MITHRIL,” she said coldly. Tessa considered that.

 

“Very well,” she said after a moment. “But you are taking one of mine with you; as insurance,” she stated.

 

“Sousuke will accompany me,” agreed Yu Fan. Mao gaped at the assassin.

 

“I think I better…” she began.

 

“No,” said Sousuke firmly. “It will be faster if Yu Fan and I do this alone,” he said. He felt two hands grab his forearms. One was Tessa's hand, the other Kana's hand. Both Whispered were worried about leaving him alone with the assassin, but he smiled at them reassuringly. “I will be fine,” he promised. “Besides, Yu Fan and I will be faster by ourselves,” he added, meeting the gaze of Yu Fan, who silently gave him a short nod.

 

“What are we supposed to do in the meantime?” asked Mao.

 

“Captain Testarossa has some things to do on her own,” said Sousuke. “And I will feel much better knowing that Kaname is safe aboard the De Danaan,” he added. Tessa sighed.

 

“I agree,” said the girl. “We need to work out our plan of attack and communication issues, as well as priority of targets to be addressed,” she thought out loud. Yu Fan drained her coffee.

 

“Sousuke and I will take the core personnel targets, and you can take the R&D facilities and costal installations,” said the assassin.

 

“And we still have to deal with MITHRIL,” muttered Tessa, planning, plotting and evaluating.

 

“And Sari and Kari,” agreed Kaname.

 

-

 

In the thick morning fog, a darkly-dressed figure paused to buy a newspaper from the sleepy little periodical stand near the train station. Swiftly perusing the front-page story, the slim figure dropped some local coinage and sauntered off into the morning fog. The figure entered a small breakfast joint, crowded with the morning patrons. In a booth toward the back, the figure laid the folded newspaper down before accepting the cup of coffee offered by the other occupant of the booth.

 

“A bad month,” said the new-comer, sipping the hot liquid.

 

“And it will only get worse,” came the soft voice of the other occupant of the booth.

 

“How long?” asked the first, glancing at his watch.

 

“Four and a half minutes now,” came the soft reply. “Tickets?”

 

“In my pocket,” said the new comer. “We're going to take the Chunnel to Paris, then change over to the Hamburg line. We're flying out of Berlin, ultimately,” he said. The second nodded.

 

“Three minutes, fifty seconds,” she said, standing. Together, the two moved out of the crowded eatery and were half a block away when a powerful blast destroyed a flat near the upper Knight's Bridge area. By the time that the metro police had the area cordoned off, the pair were entering the Chunnel.

 

While changing trains in Paris, the two caught the news of the unexpected accident that had claimed the life of one of the wealthiest power brokers in England. Apparently, there had been a leak in the gas line, and during the night, the flat had filled with the gas. When the butler started making breakfast, the gas had detonated, killing everyone inside the apartment. Listening to the BBC report as their train sped toward Hamburg, the two had aroused no interest from their fellow passengers.

 

Switching lines again in Hamburg, the two barely made their flight out of Berlin, bound for Spain, and then America. Over the Atlantic, a pair of young newly-weds shared a pair of seats in first class. Neither of them drew much notice from the attendants, being mostly engaged in whispered conversations and holding hands. The first-class flight attendants fawned over the cute couple, though the two didn't seem to notice the attention.

 

“He is so cute!” giggled one as she prepared a fresh pot of coffee in the employee-only galley. “What do you think, Pam? Indian? Pakistani?” she asked her fellow attendant.

 

“You are such a gossip, Kim,” sighed her fellow attendant. “I think he might be Turkish or Greek,” she offered her opinion. “Did you see that faded scar on his left jaw?” she asked. “I wonder, how did he get that?”

 

“Probably from fighting while his family escaped one of the middle-east war zones,” supplied Kim. “He's traveling on an American passport, but I bet you he is first-generation American!” the red-headed attendant gossiped.

 

“Ooh! Maybe he's one of those informants who collected a bounty on those terrorists? You know, turned one of them in for the reward, and is now on his way to live in America?” came the eager suggestion of Pam. Her fellow attendant rolled her eyes.

 

“You have such a wild imagination, Pam,” she scoffed. “I bet he's one of the new `technology millionaires' out of India or some place like that; you know, one of those new-money types?” she speculated.

 

“How boring,” came the droll reply from her fellow attendant. “Don't you have any sense of romance?” complained the attendant.

 

“I get all the romance I need from drunken playboys,” came the cynical retort from Pam. “Hey, you could always give him your number in New York,” Teased the younger of the two. Her older friend delicately sniffed in disdain.

 

“I'll have you know that not all of us are gold-diggers,” Said Kim primly. “Besides, he has that pretty little thing already,” she reminded her co-worker.

 

“Yeah,” shrugged the other attendant, “but that doesn't mean he isn't a player,” she pointed out. “Besides, I bet that their marriage was arranged,” she suggested. “She looks Asian, after all.”

 

“Well, her passport is American, as well,” pointed out Kim. “But she was reading some Japanese text earlier.”

 

“Are you sure it was Japanese?” asked Pam. “I thought it looked more like Chinese,” she disagreed.

 

“Chinese, Japanese, Korean…it's all Asian,” dismissed the other attendant. “She looks like she is still a teenager,” whispered the girl, glancing back through the curtain to make sure that neither of the two was within ear-shot of their gossip session.

 

“Feeling old?” came the catty remark of her co-worker.

 

“Bite your tongue,” admonished the older of the two. Seeing a light blink on the service panel, she sighed. “Besides, it looks like mister Talinus wants more Dom,” she said sourly. Plastering a fake smile on their faces, the two loaded up and moved back into first class to tend to their passengers. Seeing the two newly-weds sleeping comfortably, the pair of attendants reluctantly shifted their attention to the others in first class.

 

-

 

“Target locked and missiles ready, Captain,” said Tessa's chief weapons officer. In her chair, Tessa caressed her braid.

 

“Permission to fire,” she said firmly.

 

“Firing,” said her weapons officer. An instant later, the crew heard a muffled hiss. “Weapons away,” updated the man.

 

“Time to target?” asked Tessa.

 

“Ninety six seconds, ma'am,” replied her weapons officer. Tessa nodded to herself.

 

“Come about to one seven six degrees, dive to one hundred meters and bring us up to all ahead two thirds,” ordered Tessa.

 

“Aye, Captain,” said her helmswoman, “coming around to one seven six degrees, down to one hundred meters, all ahead two thirds.”

 

As the stealthy sub slipped away from the coast, Tessa considered the messages she had been ignoring for a while now. MITHRIL is screaming at us, and eventually, I will have to answer them, she thought. Hearing the bridge hatch hiss open, she didn't have to look to know it was Kana. “What's up, Kana?” she asked casually.

 

“Nothing special,” said Kaname, stopping beside Tessa's command chair. “Just got done with a session, and needed a break,” she murmured. Tessa knew Kana was frustrated about the lack of results in their attempts to de-program Sari and Kari. “Hear anything from Sousuke?” whispered Kana. Tessa shook her head.

 

“They reached New York, but nothing in the last five days,” she whispered back. “Once we clear the straights, I'm heading for the Atlantic coast; just in case,” she said. Kana nodded.

 

“Sounds good,” said the Whispered. Tessa glanced at the girl who had become closer to her than her own flesh and blood.

 

“Do…you want to stop off and see your father?” she asked Kana. Kaname's father was working in New York City at the UN, and it wouldn't be a problem to slip Kana into the city unnoticed. Kaname considered that.

 

“No,” sighed Kana a few moments later, “it…isn't a good time to do that,” she side-stepped the issue. “I don't know what he has heard about me after the incident at school, but with the situation being what it is, I think it safest to assume that MITHRIL has him under observation,” she said. Tessa nodded.

 

“That is a highly likely scenario,” agreed Tessa. Kana placed a hand on Tessa's shoulder, but said nothing.

 

“Speaking of them,” murmured the taller girl, “what are they saying about our…absence?” she wondered. Tessa silently offered her the sheaf of communications decodes she had been perusing. Kaname raised an eyebrow at the size of the stack before swiftly leafing through it.

 

“Um, are we going to be able to square this?” worried Kaname, seeing the ever-increasing hysteria bleeding through the communication logs. Tessa shrugged.

 

“Either way, once we go in, we have to have it all solved; we will be jammed up good once they can actually find us,” sighed the girl. “For now, we are free to do as we see fit,” she pronounced. Not to mention that once we go in, if Sousuke, Mao and Yu Fan are on board, they will have to be arrested, she left unsaid.

 

“Hey, Tessa,” whispered Kana, leaning down until her lips brushed the delicate ear of the shorter girl, “what happens to me when we go back to Merida? Last I heard, MITHRIL had decided to throw me to the wolves,” she recalled. Tessa reached up to pat Kana's cheek.

 

“Nothing will happen to you, Kana,” she assured the girl. “You are under my personal protection, Kana-chan.”

 

“Not to mention our protection, as well,” seconded Tessa's sensor woman. The crew of the De Danaan had really taken to the energetic Kaname; nearly as much as they had taken to Tessa. Kaname smiled at the bridge crew.

 

“Well, that makes me feel a lot better,” she thanked them. Now, if I could manage to stop worrying about Sousuke, she left unsaid. Tessa's soft hand on her hand reminded her that her private worries were shared by the bright-haired girl commanding the ship. “So, any idea how long we will be out?” she asked the captain.

 

“As long as it takes,” said Tessa. “Don't worry; we can sustain ourselves in a combat patrol configuration for more than a year, if necessary,” she said.

 

“A year?” echoed Kaname, surprised. “Wow! That's a long cruise,” she said. Tessa nodded.

 

“Our average cruise length is six months, but I designed in sufficient stores area to sustain us longer; though there wasn't any particular reason to do so,” she confessed.

 

“Stores are one thing,” noted Kaname, “but what about the sanity of the people on the ship?” she asked. Tessa blinked.

 

“What about it?” asked the shorter girl.

 

“An entire year inside this boat would drive anyone a little nuts, wouldn't it, Tessa-chan?” suggested Kana.

 

“Why would you think that?” wondered Tessa. “I mean, yeah, it is an enclosed space, but it isn't like we are packed in here like sardines; and we can surface and take in fresh air as long as no satellites are overhead.” She brightened. “And we can even tune in satellite TV programming and everything!”

 

“Well, yeah,” admitted Kaname, “but I mean, a whole year spent isolated from the rest of the world? I guess it is just me,” she said. Tessa considered that.

 

“Do you feel isolated from the world now, Kana?” asked Tessa. Kaname frowned.

 

“Actually, no; I don't,” she realized. Tessa smiled at her.

 

“You see?” she said smugly. Kana shook her head.

 

“I guess I do, Tessa,” she agreed ruefully. In her mind, she counted up the time since she had been snatched. “Hard to think that it has been three months already,” she said. Kyoko and the others have graduated and are entering college now, she recalled, feeling oddly nostalgic about the friends she had parted from. What surprised her most was that she hadn't even thought of them in the last several weeks; as if they were no longer part of her world. “Guess they aren't,” she murmured under her breath. Tessa gave her questioning look.

 

“Sorry,” Kana apologized. “I was just thinking that Kyoko and the others are entering college now, and that I hadn't even thought about them in weeks,” she filled in her fellow Whispered.

 

“Miss them?” wondered Tessa. Kaname silently shook her head.

 

“No, not really,” she said, sounding baffled. “It's like…they are going one way, and I am going another,” she tried to explain what she felt. Shrugging, she smiled at Tessa. “But it doesn't really matter,” she added. “You all are going the same way I am, after all,” she leered at Tessa.

 

-

 

As the elevator rose, the couple in the car was busily making out, the larger man pinning the girl into a corner, his arms around her swimsuit-clad form. One hand made its way down to the slim girl's strong, toned ass, squeezing the globe of flesh, while the other one pulled the strap of the one piece aside, baring the shapely - if modest - breast to the man's attentions. When the man fastened his lips to the girl's breast, she hissed, grabbing his hair as he orally mauled her.

 

Hearing the ding and the doors open as they reached his penthouse stop, the man got a secure grip on the girl and lifted her up, carrying her in to the penthouse. Playfully tossing her down on the huge waterbed, he leered at her. “Make yourself comfortable, darling,” he invited her warmly, swiftly pulling off his loud shirt and swim trunks before jumping onto the bed with her, his hands pulling the other strap off her shoulder and her suit down to her hips. Seeing what was under the suit, however, made him freeze. “Wha…what are you?! Frankenstein?” he sputtered, seeing the ugly, deep-purple scar on her stomach area. The girl smoothly jerked her upper body upright, her elbow catching the beefy man in the larynx, the power of her entire body behind the blow.

 

Even with the clean hit and good kinetic energy behind the blow, the man had a thick, strong neck, and even as he coughed and gagged and clawed his throat, the girl realized that it wasn't a lethal hit; not yet. Seizing her suit's shoulder band, she twisted it out and around the man's neck, flipping her lithe body over his back and crossing her wrists, locking the twisted material around his neck, her body weight hanging from her crossed wrists as her knee in the spine leveraged the balance in her favor. Calmly, she waited.

 

Six minutes later, well past the time that the man had stopped struggling - and a couple minutes since he had collapsed, face black, into the sheets - the slim girl released her improvised garrote, checked the man to make sure there was no pulse, then slipped off the bed. Ignoring the suit bunched at her hips, she moved over to the sliding door, then to the roof-top patio, and finally to the rail. Leaning over, she saw that the hotel lights were illuminating the ground around the hotel, and the hotel name, but left that side of the building in shadow at this time of night. Nodding to herself, she moved back into the penthouse.

 

Inside, she picked up the phone and dialed a number from memory. “Ready to go,” she said quietly when the other party picked up. Ending the call, she moved to the desk in the corner of the penthouse that served as the man's office and began to swiftly search it for any intelligence that might be there. Taking the laptop and some notes written in a spiral notebook, she was just in time to hear the elevator ping. Glancing past the frosted glass that formed the reception area, she saw her partner exit the elevator, a towel over his shoulders.

 

“Any problems?” asked the young man. She shook her head.

 

“None,” said the girl. Nodding, the man glanced at the form on the bed as he removed the towel, revealing coiled climbing rope and some clothes for the girl. Silently, the girl stripped off the ruined suit and stepped into the spandex bike shorts and exercise suit top before tying the running shoes on her small feet. “Primary route looks good,” she added, taking the rope and handing him the laptop and spiral notebook.

 

“Six minutes,” said the young man, turning back to the elevator. “Five floors down from primary. The room is unoccupied. I will take care of the security element. Link up in the garage in twelve minutes,” he instructed her. She nodded.

 

“Understood,” she said quietly. With that, the two parted, the young man riding the elevator down to the security post, where he killed the two private guards who provided security for the man upstairs before setting a thermal charge on the recording machines. Five thousand degrees would remove any hope of recovering the data on the drives, as well as clean up the bodies. Re-locking the door to the private security station, he moved out through the lobby, casually exited the hotel foyer into the garage, and slipped behind the wheel of a non-descript van in a dark corner of the parking structure. Inside the van, he swiftly secured the laptop and notebook, then cranked the engine, letting it idle as he verified that everything was in order.

 

As he did that, the girl efficiently doubled the rope, tied off a releasable knot, and nimbly climbed over the rail of the rooftop, balancing herself for a moment before rappelling down the outside of the hotel wall, sticking to the deep shadow along a decorative ridge. The rooftop suite was twenty two stories up, but she wasn't looking for ground floor. Instead, she braked as she reached the sixth deck below the penthouse, swinging in and landing without a sound. Jerking the second line, she released the knot and recovered the rope.

 

The sliding glass door was not locked, and the room - as she had been told - was empty. Moving silently through the room, she coiled the rope around her waist, then closed the jacket over it. Combing her hands through her hair, she tied it back into a ponytail with a scrap of cloth as she peeked out of the peephole, finding the dimly-lit hallway to be empty. Opening the door, she slipped out, moving down the hallway toward the elevator bank.

 

None of the employees or guests she passed paid her any mind; all they saw was a girl heading for the gym on ground floor for a late-night workout or for a jog on the beach-front boardwalk. She avoided eye contact when possible, and her silent steps took her past the attendant that was cleaning the gym without him even noticing her. Slipping out the back entrance, she jogged along the concrete sidewalk to the parking garage, then easily flipped over the low wall and round guardrail, entering the parking garage.

 

Reaching the van, she slipped into the passenger seat, fastening the seatbelt as the young man shifted the van into drive and turned on the headlights. In silence, the two drove out of the garage, swung onto the street, and headed for the interstate. It wasn't until they were several miles north of the city, hammer down on interstate, that they said anything.

 

“Where to next?” asked the young man. The girl considered that for a moment.

 

“We should head for California,” she said at last. “I know of three targets there that need to be dealt with,” she said. “Besides, it will make re-joining the sub easier, since it is on the Pacific coast.”

 

“Not a problem,” said the young man. “We will stop off and drop the new materials off for delivery to Tessa,” he said. “It will take us some time to cross the country,” he noted. The young girl turned to study him.

 

“Is that a problem?” she asked him. He shook his head.

 

“Not really,” he replied. “Any objections to avoiding contact as much as possible?” he asked her. She shook her head.

 

“It is the correct choice,” she said. That meant that they would drive the speed limit, avoid hotels and motels, sleep in the van or a tent, and work their way across the country. It would take how long it would take. Though they had driver licenses and passports that would stand up to all but the most strenuous examinations, it was wiser to avoid contact when engaged in activities such as they were; especially since they were operating with a price on their heads.

 

“How many targets remain?” asked Sousuke. Yu Fan mentally tallied the kills they had made in the last five months.

 

“Three in California, one in Chile, and a final job in Australia and we will have dealt with all the AMALGAM contacts and bosses that sensei was aware of,” she replied. Sousuke nodded.

 

“Excellent,” he replied. A few more weeks, and it will be time to rejoin the girls on the TDD, he thought to himself.

 

“You are eager to rejoin Chidori and the MITHRIL Captain,” stated Yu Fan. Sousuke nodded.

 

“I am,” he confirmed. Yu Fan turned in her seat to study him.

 

“Do you dislike my companionship?” she asked him directly. Sousuke was shaking his head before he thought about it.

 

“No, Yu Fan,” he said. “You and I make a very effective team, and I find myself comfortable with you,” he admitted truthfully.

 

“And yet, you are eager to return to the other two women,” said Yu Fan, no emotion coloring her words.

 

“Yes,” agreed Sousuke. “I am not sure how to explain it, but there is something different about Kana and Tessa,” he said. Glancing at her, he saw her watching him dispassionately. “You yourself said as much,” he reminded her. Yu Fan nodded. “So, why do I think you are unhappy that I wish to return to Kana and Tessa?” he asked her.

 

“Because it means that my job will get harder to do,” said Yu Fan quietly.

 

“Which job is that?” asked Sousuke. Yu Fan was silent for a moment, then responded.

 

“I will tell you now,” she said, as if she were speaking to herself. “I had intended to wait until they were all dead, but since we have time on our hands, I will tell you about sensei's last orders,” she said. Sousuke immediately focused on her.

 

“Sensei had been tasked with retrieving the Whispered target code-named `Angel' by order of Silver. As he researched her, he learned that a great deal of money could be made by selling her to various factions, so he began to shop around. It wasn't until you were sighted guarding her that he really became interested in her,” said the girl.

 

“He arranged for certain things to happen. One of them was the hijacking of the airliner, another was the A21 incident, and finally, the operation that gave him access to Toy Box - the De Danaan. Each time, you and she were able to undo all his plans; especially the capture of Toy Box. It was after we rescued him that he began to re-evaluate the situation.

 

“He had thought that Angel made you weak - kept you from being the professional he knew on the battlefield. With that initial assessment in place, he had no problems with kidnapping or killing Chidori. But, as the time passed, and more and more intelligence came in, he re-assessed the situation. It became clear to him that Angel wasn't what was making you weak; it was being attached to a bunch of hypocritical fools called MITHRIL that was preventing you from being who you truly are,” she explained.

 

“Sensei decided in the last few weeks of his life that the correct way to restore you to the man he knew you to be was to use Angel to remove you from MITHRIL supervision. His orders were to secure Angel, bring her to Hong Kong, and hold her until you came to save her. He was dead certain that you would, orders or no orders,” she added, pausing a moment to glance at him. “Once you were separated from MITHRIL, sensei intended for you to take over his place in the world; to be the successor to his position as well as a counterbalance to MITHRIL and AMALGAM,” she quietly. “Angel was to be yours upon acceptance of the offer; as were myself and my sister,” she added quietly.

 

“What?” asked Sousuke, not sure that he had heard correctly.

 

“Sensei was certain that when you were confronted with him and heard the truth about AMALGAM and MITHRIL, you would accept his offer, become his successor, and carry on his work. With Chidori as the reward and the truth as leverage, he was absolutely certain that you would accept his deal, while we would be a kind of `signing bonus' that both insured your safety and your adherence to the agreement.”

 

“If that is true, then why…?” began Sousuke.

 

“I do not know, Sousuke,” said Yu Fan. “Nor did Sensei,” she added. “He heard through his sources that Yu Lan had gone rogue and slain you, rather than capturing her as planned. Your appearance in Hong Kong was earlier than he expected, and he was caught unprepared. Even so, he tried to salvage what he could of his new plans. It was his hope that he could awaken the Kashim he knew by revealing the death of Chidori.”

 

“In a way,” she went on after a pause, “he was correct,” she noted. Sousuke was reviewing the last couple of years, considering it in light of this new information. It made a scary amount of sense, when looked at in that regard. “I can honestly say that the you that I saw in battle with Gates was the most impressive thing I have seen since Sensei,” she admitted.

 

“I am at a loss for words,” mumbled Sousuke. Yu Fan waited silently, patiently. Finally, Sousuke was prepared enough to speak again.

 

“Do you have any suspicions about why your sister exceeded her orders?” asked the young man. Yu Fan nodded.

 

“I have only my intuition, but I believe that Yu Lan felt threatened by the connection that Chidori has to you, and her instinctive reaction was to kill that threat.” said the girl. “Chidori and the MITHRIL Captain both have a powerful hold on you,” she noted. “I have no proof that that was what set off Yu Lan, but it is the most likely answer.” she repeated.

 

“You and your sister were to be mine, but you felt threatened enough to kill Kana?” wondered Sousuke.

 

“Sensei told us that we would be yours upon his death,” said Yu Fan. “We had spent years learning you inside and out, and neither of us had any objection to Sensei's wishes,” she replied. “Realizing that your bond to Chidori and the MITHRIL captain put us at a disadvantage is not something that either of us liked; I know that I feel threatened by your attachment to them,” she admitted.

 

“Enough to try and kill them?” asked Sousuke, his tone sharp and focused. Yu Fan slowly shook her head.

 

“No,” she murmured. “I can see that an attempt to do so would be counter-productive to Sensei's wishes, so there is no cause for me to sanction them.” she answered. “In addition, I have become curious about Chidori, and the MITHRIL captain has captured my interest as well; she is nothing like her brother.” stated the girl.

 

“No, she is not,” agreed Sousuke. “What do you plan to do once we finish the AMALGAM issue?” he asked her. She looked at him.

 

“That depends on you, Chidori, and the MITHRIL captain,” said the assassin.

 

“You have no preference?” wondered Sousuke. Yu Fan nodded.

 

“I do,” she said, “but what I prefer is of no concern to the situation,” she said. “Kill me, imprison me, discard me - it is all the same,” she said emotionlessly. “Without Yu Lan, I am alone in any event,” she whispered to herself. Sousuke considered that carefully. Of all the times I need Kana's advice about what to say or do, this is the most critical! he thought uneasily. I wonder, what would she suggest I do? Yu Lan did try to kill her on that rooftop, and Tessa isn't convinced that Yu Fan isn't just biding her time, waiting for a chance to finish her sister's work, so what would she say if they knew what Yu Fan has told me? He wrestled with the problem for a while. It wasn't until they were nearing a city several hours from the one where they had left a corpse that he hit upon a solution.

 

-

 

“Admiral,” came the voice of the chairman of MITHRIL, “do you know where Captain Testarossa is?”

 

For one crazy second, Admiral Testarossa felt like bursting out laughing. “No, sir, I do not,” he said. He had been back at work from his suspension for several months now, and the De Danaan was still out of radio contact, though MITHRIL did occasionally get garbled, interference-ridden coded burst-transmissions that were all coded critical or emergency. Technical was laboring day and night, trying to figure out what the message was supposed to be saying. Various tracking plans had been tried, but the De Danaan was teaching MITHRIL what the navies of the world already knew: it was impossible to track the ultra-tech sub once she dove.

 

“Admiral,” came the chairman's voice, jarring him from his thoughts, “it has been suggested to me that Captain Testarossa has gone rogue - taking her entire command with her,” he insinuated. Sitting in the conference room, the Admiral maintained his poker face.

 

“Let me guess,” he said sardonically, “Intelligence is making accusations again?” he said.

 

“The source of these accusations is not the issue here,” replied the chairman. Admiral Testarossa grunted.

 

“They very much are, Chairman,” he stated flatly. “Tactical has long held that the infiltration of our organization is facilitated by the laxness of our own Intelligence section, and the actions of the last year and half more than make our point, and yet,” he paused, locking holographic gazes with the Chairman, “MITHRIL continues to ignore the situation or, most recently, seeks to dismiss the concerns of other branches about the issue. Here we are, once more, wasting time on accusations that Intelligence cannot substantiate nor document. As the head of Tactical, I am officially saying `enough'!”

 

“You are the head of Tactical, yes,” agreed the Chairman, “but MITHRIL is administered by me, and I am therefore the one to decide when enough is enough,” he reprimanded the Admiral.

 

“Then I must wonder why it is that you so blindly follow the lead of Intelligence, who - so far! - has nothing to show for all the time and effort they had expended in trying to penetrate AMALGAM asides from groundless accusations against Tactical. Can it be that you have never heard the old adage `when seeking to hide your hands, throw rocks'?”

 

“How do you explain the situation with the De Danaan, then?” asked the Chairman.

 

“I have already submitted a report about the conclusions to be drawn from the situation, Chairman,” said the Admiral. “It is my belief that the submarine that Captain Testarossa commands has come under attack from AMALGAM operatives and has suffered damage to key systems. With the known penetration of our organization by AMALGAM agents, she would be naturally cautious about bringing her ship into MITHRIL facilities until she knows that she won't be committing suicide by doing so,” he said. “If this is the case, then I can only wholly approve of her decision to remain at sea, where she can obviously avoid being tracked and attacked.”

 

“Then you plan to do nothing about the situation?” pressed the Chairman. The Admiral nodded.

 

“At this time, I do not see a need to take action. When she feels it is safe to bring her ship in, I am confident that she will do so; after all,” he explained confidently, “even her ship cannot operate indefinitely without supplies and repairs. She will come in, Chairman - there is no question of that,” he promised.

 

“I see,” murmured the Chairman. The Admiral waited. Minutes passed.

 

“I do not see an immediate resolution to this issue,” said the head of MITHRIL at last. “And that means that - for the time being - we will accept your interpretation of the situation.”

 

“Sir,” said the Admiral, still poker-faced.

 

“You can be sure that there will be many questions for Captain Testarossa and yourself, Admiral,” warned the Chairman.

 

“Will that be all?” asked the Admiral, killing the topic.

 

“There is one final thing, Admiral,” said the Chairman. “I have received word from Technical of the death of your nephew, Leonard Testarossa,” he said. “My condolences, Admiral,” he said, ending the link. Admiral Testarossa slumped in the chair.

 

“Leo is dead?” he breathed to himself. Tessa will be heart-broken, he thought absently. Shit! I better find her and tell her that…! He froze in place. Slowly, his face turned red. “Bastards,” he spat, standing and exiting the room. They want me to find Tessa! If I do, then I play right into Intelligence's hands! Outside the room, Captain Marshall waited.

 

“Sir?” he asked, seeing the color on the Admiral's face.

 

“Huh? Oh, Marshall,” the Admiral muttered. “It's nothing,” he waved off the man's concern. “I was just informed of the death of my nephew, Leonard,” he said.

 

“I'm sorry, sir,” managed Marshall. “Does Captain Testarossa know?” he asked the most obvious and important question right off the bat.

 

“No,” said the Admiral firmly. “I will tell her myself when she brings her ship in,” he said. “Until then, I am sure that she has more than enough on her plate. Understood?” he asked, catching Marshall's eye. The tall man nodded.

 

“Aye, sir,” he confirmed.

 

“Please review my schedule and reschedule any meetings that are not critical; I will be taking a couple of personal days,” he said.

 

“Understood, sir,” Marshall nodded. I believe that we can have the most important details seen to by this afternoon, and I do not anticipate any issues with re-scheduling the meetings that are of less pressing importance,” he related, working his PDA.

 

“Very good,” sighed the Admiral. The two marched down the halls of MITHRIL's main command center for Tactical ops.

 

“Sir,” asked Marshall a few moments later, “how are you going to tell Captain Testarossa about her brother?” he asked. Admiral Testarossa shook his head.

 

“I have no idea, Marshall; not one fucking clue,” he said grimly. “She always had bit of complex about him, you know,” he shared.

 

-

 

Sousuke guided the van off the interstate and into the truck stop. Swiftly fueling the vehicle, he surveyed the area before pulling the van to the far corner of the lot and positioning it out of sight behind some broken-down tractor trailer units, tight to the fence. Yu Fan moved out of the passenger seat and into the back. The van was a cargo version, with no rear windows. In the back, the two had their basic gear, some camping supplies and precious little else. One thing they did have was an inflatable mattress.

 

Unrolling it, she used the small DC pump to swiftly fill it with air while Sousuke did a perimeter check on the site, as well as laying out some basic defenses and anti-intrusion devices. When he returned to the van, he found that Yu Fan had things set up for their rest. After cracking the two front windows slightly, he locked the doors, put up the folding windshield screen and moved back into the rear. Quietly undressing, he joined Yu Fan on the mattress.

 

As she was wont to do, the assassin curled up to him under the field blanket, her head on his shoulder. Sousuke was in his boxers, while Yu Fan had removed all her clothes. Sousuke curled an arm around Yu Fan and held her comfortably; much like he had become used to with Kana. The girl settled comfortably against him, her head on his shoulder. As the minutes passed, she slowly ran her hand along his chest and abdomen.

 

“Sousuke,” she whispered as she traced a random scar, “would you have accepted us? My sister and I, I mean,” she clarified.

 

“Would I have accepted you?” wondered Sousuke. Yu Fan hummed.

 

“If Sensei's plan had been executed as intended, would you have accepted us?” she wondered. Sousuke considered that.

 

“I am not sure,” he answered her honestly. “I believe it would depend on a large degree on rather or not Kana played along,” he decided. Yu Fan was quiet for a few minutes.

 

“Do you think that Kana meant what she said on the boat?” she asked Sousuke.

 

“About being sorry about you losing Yu Lan? Absolutely,” he said. “Kaname is not the sort to lie about something so important,” he assured her. “And I am certain that she feels partially responsible for what happened that night,” he added darkly. “She…dislikes killing.”

 

“My sister liked killing,” noted Yu Fan. “Had things been reversed, Chidori would have died a painful death,” she shared.

 

“But it did not,” countered Sousuke, “and I believe that - had Leonard not interfered - Kana would have been able to reason with Yu Lan.”

 

“Why would she have even tried?” wondered Yu Fan, absently tracing the waistband of Sousuke's shorts. Sousuke didn't notice as his dick hardened, the images of Kana in his mind and the feeling of Yu Fan's bare skin soft against his chest and side.

 

“Kaname is just that way,” he tried to explain. “She doesn't see things the way that you and I do, Yu Fan,” he added. I know that until I met her, I was significantly less than I am now, he mused. Kana changed me; and for the better, too! In his mind, he saw the long-haired beauty smiling fondly at him time and again. “I believe she could have reached Yu Lan,” he murmured.

 

Yu Fan's slim, dexterous fingers slipped under his boxer's waistband, seeking out his hard length. Caressing it, she slowly closed her fingers around it, stroking it fondly. “Yu,” breathed Sousuke uncertainly. Yu Fan lifted her head and kissed him, never stopping her stroking of his shaft. Shifting, she moved on top of him, her tongue slipping into his mouth as her hand pushed his boxers off his hips.

 

Yu Fan kissed him passionately, her hand still stroking his hard length, as she shifted, bringing her hips over his. Sousuke slid his hands along Yu Fan's sides, up to her head, firmly pushing her back until the kiss broke. “Yu Fan,” he said, feeling her hot, wet slit glide over his own sensitive tip, “what…?” he began to ask.

 

“Ever since Sensei explained his plan to us, I have wondered what it would be like to be with you,” said Yu Fan. “I wondered if my sister and I would be worthy of you, considering that Chidori had such a hold on you.” Her hips lowered, his tip meeting her entrance. “It is not my intention to try to fight Chidori for you,” she said, shivering in arousal as she removed her hand from his shaft and lowered her hips, Sousuke penetrating her tight flower. “I just want to know if you could accept me,” she explained, her pubic bone meeting his a moment later.

 

Sousuke grunted as she fully encased his hard shaft. God, she feels good! he thought, surprised. Sliding his hands down to cup her breasts, he felt her begin to bounce on his shaft, panting as she did so. “Ugh!” he grunted, his hips beginning to jerk up into her as she descended on top of him. It isn't like Kana or Tessa, but she feels…special, he realized. Sousuke had had sex before being with Kana and Tessa, but until that first night with Kana, he had not understood what the older men said about a particular girl being `different' or `special'. Kana and Tessa were both different and special, and now, he had discovered that Yu Fan was as well.

 

Tugging on Yu Fan's nipples, Sousuke could feel how aroused the girl was; and hear it as well, the wet sounds coming from their joined hips sounding like music to his ears. “Mm,” Yu Fan's soft hum fueled the fire in his loins. Sousuke released her breasts and seized her hips, one of his thumbs snaking down to swipe over her clit as she reached the top of her stroke. “Ah!” she mewed, trembling.

 

Growling softly, Sousuke reached back with his other hand, grabbing the tight, toned ass of Yu Fan and using it to slam into her deeper and deeper. The van was rocking, and the girl was gasping in pleasure as he felt his balls begin to tighten. Vaguely, in the back of his mind, he recalled that he hadn't bothered with a condom. A half-heard voice that sounded a lot like Kaname told him not to cum inside the girl if he wasn't wearing a condom. Better pull out, he thought hazily.

 

Yu Fan apparently had other ideas, though, since when he tried to push her off him, she grabbed his arms and held herself down on him, using her legs and thighs to secure herself. The change in her grip and the side-to-side motion proved to be too much for Sousuke, and he blew his load into her, firing off five large spurts and two smaller ones before Yu Fan slowly lowered herself onto his chest, panting harshly. Sousuke wrapped his arms around her, and with no more reason to pull out, held himself in her, feeling his dick gradually deflate.

 

After nearly ten minutes, he spoke. “Yu Fan, what was this about?” he wondered. Yu Fan hugged him a little closer.

 

“I do not want to be alone, Sousuke,” she whispered in his ear. “I will not seek to take you from Chidori - or even the MITHRIL captain, but please do not abandon me,” she begged him. “I…have been alone too long already,” she confessed. Sousuke felt uncomfortable hearing that from the girl in his arms.

 

“I…” he fell silent. What do I tell her? he asked himself. I cannot honestly say that I would chose her over Kana or Tessa, he knew, but I do not like the thought of her being alone after what happened with her sister. I do not, after all, hate her or her sister for what happened; it was Leonard's fault, and he has been settled already, he thought viciously. But, how can I even ask Kana and Tessa to consider this?

 

The fact that Kana and Tessa could share him was - in his mind - different because they were Whispered and shared a unique bond because of their resonance. It was a situation unlike any other. As he saw it, Kana and Tessa were more of a pair than two women sharing him. Yu Fan, he knew, was a different argument. And that is to say nothing of the history between her and the other two, he worried. His understanding of women was still far from being developed, and he felt justified in his worry about this new development.

 

It would have served him better to remember that neither Kana nor Tessa were normal women.

 

-

 

“Kana?” asked Tessa, seeing the other woman finish reading the note that Sousuke had managed to pass to them through their multi-relay communication set-up. The two were in Tessa's cabin, while the De Danaan was on its way to Australia, where the two had finished their run the day before. It would be another day and a half before the two would finally be reunited with Sousuke; something that both were very eager for.

 

During the last month, the two had found themselves all but unable to keep their hands off themselves and each other during the night. Kana had not been on board the sub for a full month before she and Tessa had taken the next step in their odd relationship. Now, almost half a year from then, they routinely comforted each other, though it was getting harder and harder to control themselves with Sousuke's return getting closer and closer.

 

The dark-haired girl set aside the note, laying back as she did so, her arms capturing Tessa's body as she did so. “I don't know, Tessa,” she said. “I mean, I can understand how she must feel, and I don't want her to think that we are discarding her, but…” she sighed. “I guess I don't really have any logical argument against it,” she admitted.

 

“But do you trust her?” asked Tessa. “I'm not sure I do,” she added.

 

“And yet, you let her and Sousuke run their end of the op without support or monitoring,” countered Kana. “She seems to have lived up to all the expectations you had of her; even going beyond a time or two,” she added.

 

“True,” admitted Tessa, absently nuzzling Kana's breasts with her cheek. She could feel the other girl's nipples harden as she rubbed them with her cheek. “Kana? Do you think…?” she didn't finish the thought.

 

“You mean…?” Kana inhaled at the suggestion. In her mind, she could feel the resonance growing stronger between her and the smaller girl. United, the two grappled with the question. Minutes passed in silence.

 

“She will have to be attached to my ship anyway,” murmured Tessa at last.

 

“And there is no other place I will feel safe but with you and Sousuke,” added Kana.

 

“If you want to be with me, it would make sense to train you to captain a TDD-class ship,” breathed Tessa, gently kissing Kana's throat.

 

“And Sousuke has already promised to stay with us,” Kana replied, kissing Tessa's up-turned face.

 

We are agreed, then, the two thought, deeply resonating with each other as their lips met. As they kissed, the two kept finding themselves leering at each other in anticipation.

 

-

 

“We exfiltrate tonight,” murmured Sousuke, looking at the barren stretch of coast in northern Australia. The two had a small campsite set up, having driven up there to meet the sub once they settled their last score in Sydney. It had been a minor adventure crossing the desolate waste that was Australia, but it was safer than remaining in Sydney for a pickup after having put down the richest man in the country who was also a parliament member. That he was in AMALGAM's employ was what got him killed, though the pair suspected that many in the government viewed his untimely `accident' as a god-send.

 

“Yes,” confirmed Yu Fan. She was sitting in front of the tent, her loose cargo shorts her only item of clothing. Sousuke had mines and grenade traps set up around the campsite, the only approach from the sea. In the sand, there was a hand-made holder for the IR light sticks that he had. When the time arrived, if all was clear, he would call for the pickup by activating the special light sticks.

 

Sitting down beside her, he watched the sun slowly sink to their left. He and Yu Fan were silent by nature, rarely feeling the need to speak for he sake of speaking. It was a habit that both found comfort in. “You are eager to see them again,” said the girl quietly.

 

“I am,” he agreed. Glancing at her, he found that he could read her to some degree now. “You are nervous about returning, aren't you, Yu Fan?” he surmised. She nodded slightly.

 

“I am concerned that our returning will mark the end of my usefulness,” she noted. Sousuke considered that. He couldn't honestly tell her that she had nothing to worry about; even if Tessa and Kana accepted her, they still had to sell her to MITHRIL.

 

“I cannot promise you anything,” he said slowly, draping an arm around her shoulders, “but I do not believe that the Captain would have done as she has if it were her intent to discard you.”

 

“Even if she does not, I could still end up alone,” noted Yu Fan. Sousuke felt very uncomfortable at that observation. What will Kana and Tessa decide about that? he wondered.

 

“I will ask that you not be put in solitary confinement again,” he said before he had thought about it. “It would be a waste of your talents, if nothing else,” he added hastily. Yu Fan looked at him.

 

“Then, you have accepted me?” she asked intently. Sousuke sighed.

 

“Affirmative,” he said. She really does suit me, he thought resignedly. I love Kana and Tessa, but they aren't like Yu Fan, he admitted. He would not feel comfortable operating with Kana or Tessa in an AS next to him, but if it were Yu Fan in the AS next to his, he felt he could realistically take down a large army with just her as a partner.

 

“That will be enough for me, if we can have nothing else,” murmured Yu Fan, turning into his embrace and kissing him. Sousuke felt his conscience twinge, but kissed her back. Silently, the two crawled into the tent as the beach went dark. Neither got any sleep before signaling for the pickup.

 

-

 

“Merida Island, dead ahead,” reported her helmswoman.

 

“No surface contacts, no submerged contacts,” chimed in her sensor man.

 

“All hands,” said Tessa crisply, “prepare to surface; we're coming home,” she said over the ship-wide squawk box. She could hear the faint cheering of her crew as the ship broke the surface. Her cruise had ended up being seven months long.

 

Beside her, Kana was in a MITHRIL uniform - made by tailoring some donated uniform parts from the other women on board; Tessa was just too small for her uniforms to work - and had been her acting First Officer for the past month and a half. Since Sousuke and Yu Fan had been plucked off the beach six weeks ago, there had been a lot of decisions made and a lot of answers given.

 

“Hangar deck, stand by - just in case,” said Kana.

 

“Roger that,” came back Sousuke's voice. Not that they felt that they would be openly attacked, but it paid to be a little paranoid when handing a homecoming like this one. “Yu and I are both prepared,” he confirmed.

 

“Be sure to wait for orders, you two,” said Kana firmly.

 

“Understood,” came back Yu Fan's quiet voice. In the hangar, Sousuke was in Arbalest, while next to it, Yu Fan was in the captured Chodarl M they had found on Leo's island. It was Lambda-equipped, had the new gen of ECS and was at least as capable as the Arbalest. Standing on the deck of the hanger was Mao, absently tapping her toe.

 

When Tessa had decided that she would be attaching Yu Fan to the Urzu team and assigning her to the captured Chodarl, Mao had, maybe with some justification, been worried. Sousuke had expressed his support of her as his assigned partner, which meant that operationally, Mao would be paired with Kurz when the Urzu operated by platoon. Mao had given in, deciding that it would be easier to watch Yu Fan as Kurz's partner than as Yu Fan's partner. And she certainly could understand Tessa's insistence that they use the captured AS unit to the fullest.

 

Also weighing on the sergeant majors mind was the fallout of this latest operation. Tessa hadn't said anything about it, but Mao was experienced enough to know that there would be a price for what they had done. The bounty on her, Sousuke and Yu Fan stood, after all, until it was paid. And even after that was determined, there was MITHRIL to deal with.

 

Still, when Tessa had announced that they were heading home the week before, she had felt relieved. At least it will all be decided, one way or the other, she told herself. Now, though, it was a different story. She had opted to stay as the senior-most of the condemned and face the music. Sousuke and Yu Fan would gauge the welcome before deciding if they needed to secure the AS units or not. When the boat slipped into the covered dock area and the mooring lines were secured, Mao shook out a cigarette and lit up - Tessa's `no smoking' rule be damned.

 

The first sight to meet her gaze as the hangar deck opened was a blonde annoyance she had almost forgotten about. “Kurz, what are you doing here?!” she yelled at him irritably. He was wearing an Aloha shirt that was so loud it drowned out the conversation around him. Combined with his North Shore surfing shorts and sandals, it gave him the appearance of a wanna-be surfer like you find in land-locked cities.

 

“And here I thought you would be glad to see me!” he yelled back, grinning. Mao could tell that he had been working on his tan while recovering from his injuries.

 

“You cleared for AS duty?” she yelled suspiciously. Kurz grinned.

 

“I was cleared by medical last week, baby!” he yelled back cockily. Mao's hands clenched into fists.

 

“I'm gonna pound that smile down to your ass, Kurz!” she screamed back at him.

 

The squabbling of the two was interrupted by the PA system. “Welcome home, Captain Testarossa,” came a familiar voice. “Your presence is required in the conference room immediately.”

 

“Yes, Admiral,” said Tessa, emerging from the hatchway, Kaname a step behind her. Sousuke and Yu Fan, their units running ECS camouflage, tensed. Tessa flicked her hand slightly, warning them to hold fast for the time being. The crew of the De Danaan watched as Tessa and Kana reached the dock, where a group of security people waited.

 

As the two were hustled off toward the conference room, Kurz moved onto the boat. Jogging to Mao, he stopped beside his sergeant major. “What is going on, Mao?” he hissed. “I got rousted by some Intelligence types about two months ago, and Captain Grouseaux was forcibly recalled from the training facility when your ship was listed as in-bound. He's in an AS unit outside the perimeter even now, under Admiral Testarossa's direct command, and there have been several Intelligence operatives crawling around like flies on shit for the last week,” he said. Pausing, he went on. “And was that Kaname in a MITHRIL uniform behind Tessa?” he whispered.

 

“Shut your mouth, Kurz,” said Mao truculently. “You have no fucking idea what has been going on lately,” she said. Spotting two men moving toward her, she grimaced. “Keep your mouth shut until Tessa orders you otherwise, Kurz,” she said flatly, stepping past him to block the men's advance. “Looking for someone, pissheads?” she said aggressively, cracking her knuckles.

 

“Are you Mao?” asked one of the men.

 

“You already know damn well that I am,” she sneered. “What are you going to do about it?” she challenged them.

 

“You are coming with us,” said one of them coldly, reaching under his jacket.

 

“Not going to happen,” said Mao, squatting. The man suddenly flew backward as something smashed into him, generating a spray of blood. The second man just as suddenly levitated before flying over the rail of the ship and into the salt water between the stern of the boat and the bay. Kurz suddenly understood.

 

“So, you are here, buddy,” he said, seeing Mao straighten. “Who was that?” he asked, tossing his head toward the two in the bay.

 

“The enemy,” said Mao without explaining anything. Seeing Kurz's confused look, Mao shook her head.

 

“You've been out of the loop, Kurz; leave it at that,” she warned him. “Oh, and try to control your bladder,” she said. From outside the dock, Kurz heard the sound of AS weapon fire, and an instant later, an M9 tore through the wall of the dock area, pointing its cannon at the open flight deck of the boat. Mao just smiled coldly.

 

“Your too late,” she murmured, seeing the AS unit fire. Kurz dove for cover, even though he knew it was too late. Instead of being blow to pieces, he saw the shell from the AS unit slam into a Lambda Driver shield.

 

“Sousuke!” he sighed in relief. His relief was short lived as he saw two AS units de-cloak. One was clearly the Arbalest, but the other was unmistakably a Chodarl M unit. The Chodarl unit sprang off the deck, a short-barreled gun in hand, and dispatched the M9 with a cold detachment that made him shiver. Just like Hong Kong, he thought, wondering why Sousuke was just standing there. As the M9 crumpled, the Chodarl unit slipped out the opening the MITHRIL unit had made, flicking as it re-cloaked.

 

“You gonna lay there all day or what?” barked Mao. Kurz slowly stood. Seeing the Arbalest looking at him, he managed a weak grin.

 

“Must be some story behind that,” he offered weakly. Arbalest shimmered as it, too, re-cloaked.

 

-

 

Hours later, the group was in the base bar, along with Tessa, Kana and Admiral Testarossa. Officially, they were on administrative leave, by order of the Chairman and the council. Unofficially, they were suspended pending review of the materials that Tessa had turned over to the council and the chairman. Captain Grouseaux had been tasked with rounding up several groups of men, and was just now emerging from his M9 Mark II AS unit.

 

“Mao,” he said, seeing the sergeant major draining a pitcher of beer, “I had not expected to see you again,” he said. “Where is Sagara?” he wondered. Mao gave the man a thin smile.

 

“He's busy somewhere,” she said. “But I'm sure he would be delighted to have that little rematch with you whenever you feel frisky,” she smiled lazily. The dark-skinned Captain frowned.

 

“After what I saw in Hong Kong and afterward, I'm in no rush to go one-on-one with him,” he admitted.

 

“Then perhaps you would care to try your hand against Urzu eight?” came the voice of Sagara. The group turned to see Sousuke and Yu Fan entering the bar. Yu Fan was in fatigues and a tee shirt, much like Mao, but that was the extent of the similarities between the two.

 

“Urzu eight?” echoed Grouseaux. “You've added another AS pilot to the roster?” he wondered. Sousuke nodded, taking a seat by Kana, while Yu Fan slipped into a seat next to Tessa.

 

“Correct,” said Tessa. “With the changes in our mission parameters, all of MITHRIL's Tactical divisions will be undergoing radical changes,” she said, glancing at her uncle. Grouseaux looked as lost as Kurz.

 

“Yes,” agreed Admiral Testarossa. “It will take time to clean this up,” he muttered. Draining the last of his drink, he stood. “And on that note, I will have to bid you all good evening,” he said, gently squeezing Tessa's shoulder. “I'm proud of you, Tessa,” he murmured to her before straightening. Tessa saluted her uncle.

 

“I only did what I had to do, Admiral,” she said.

 

“Are you going to be coming to the funeral?” asked her uncle. Tessa frowned.

 

“No, uncle, I am not,” she said firmly.

 

-

 

The chairman of MITHRIL logged onto a private network and activated the holographic interface for the clandestine meeting. One by one, the others logged in. Without preamble, the meeting came to order. “The issue has been resolved,” said the chairman.

 

“Indeed,” agreed another of the council. “But our plans have been compromised,” said another of the council.

 

“Damn that Testarossa!” snarled another.

 

“Which Testarossa are you referring to?” wondered the chairman.

 

“All of them!” spat back the man. “Leonard for going rogue, Richard for not obeying orders, and most of all, that bitch Teletha!”

 

“I told you that entrusting the project to that long-haired freak was a mistake!” complained another of the council.

 

“He was, however, the only one with a chance of making it work,” reminded the chairman. “What is done is done,” he sighed. “What we need to do now is to decide on the next move.”

 

“With the AMALGAM option no longer viable, we should proceed with caution,” suggested a woman. “At least the little girl surrendered the results of her brother's research to us,” she thought out loud.

 

“I don't think she did,” disagreed another of the council. “She gave us the AMALGAM parts, but the reports are incomplete. I am certain that she had a significant amount of data in her possession, and that makes her dangerous.”

 

“But can she make any use of the materials?” challenged another of the council. “It is not your standard research, after all, and not even Leonard had all the information,” he reminded them.

 

“Like him, though,” countered the woman, “she is a Whispered; and on top of that, she had allied herself with one of the most unstable elements in the agenda: Whispered Asset Code-Named `Angel'.”

 

“What of it? They are, in the end, just Whispered,” scoffed the first man.

 

“Just Whispered?” echoed the woman. “Did you say just Whispered? Are you that stupid?!”

 

“Arguing is pointless,” cut in the chairman. “AMALGAM option is dead. What we must decided is the next step in our meeting our agenda,” he reminded them.

 

“Whatever we do,” said another of the council, “we need to keep a close, close watch on those involved in this incident.” Seconds passed before the others spoke up.

 

“Agreed,” they said as one.

 

END

 

Author's Note: This is where the initial story plotting ended. There has been some basic framing work done on a sequel, but nothing is ready to be put in the queue yet. I am satisfied that if you have been paying attention, you will see the basic outline of what happened, and if you pay attention to this chapter, you can determine the fate of the General that lead Intelligence. Kaname has thrown in with Tessa, leaving behind her old life, and Yu Fan has found a new job, though what that will mean has not yet been addressed.

 

Hence, the partial framing for a sequel.

 

There was another lemon, but I think it would fit better in the sequel, rather than here.

 

And finally, an Omake - just to fuck with your minds:

 

**

 

“Arguing is pointless,” cut in the chairman. “AMALGAM option is dead. What we must decided is the next step in our meeting our agenda,” he reminded them.

 

“Whatever we do,” said another of the council, “we need to keep a close, close watch on those involved in this incident.” Seconds passed before the others spoke up.

 

“Agreed,” they said as one.

 

“I have a suggestion,” came a voice from the newest member of the council. “I have recently read a paper by a scientist with a fascinating theory. I suggest exploring this avenue through a front. It will take time, but it has potential,” he said.

 

“Oh? Please elaborate,” said the chairman.

 

“Very well,” said the man. “Have any of you heard of a brilliant Japanese scientist named Yui Ikari, or of her `Instrumentality' theorem?”