Gone But Not Forgotten (chapter 3) [FIC]

[dd]

The truck was caught up in traffic.

Seated in the back with a number of soldiers, Sousuke frowned. He was in an irritable mood.

‘I could have gotten there quicker if I walked,’ he thought. Of course, even though he had fought side by side with the Thai Royal Army, his actions had been covert. There was no way that security personnel would let him on the airport grounds.

“Hey, you tired of our company, Sergeant?” One of the troopers that he had trained in A.S. warfare offered Sousuke some chewing gum. He didn’t call the laconic young man by his fellow soldier’s favorite nickname, ‘Sgt. Samurai’.

“Negative,” Sousuke answered, not in much of a mood for conversation. That was no surprise, as he was not one for superfluous words. But, it was more than that. Things were coming to a crux. He could feel it. That left him anxious. Very anxious. For a number of reasons.

“Sounds like he’s in one of his ‘one word’ moods,” another soldier put in. That had his comrades nodding their heads. “If he was tired of us, he wouldn’t have answered. If he was angry at us, we would be learning Japanese swear words again.” Sousuke’s training had taken a page out of Mao’s book. The rugby squad at Jindai High School had it easy by comparison.

“Khaawp khoon, Sergeant.” The leader of the small squad handed Sousuke a small package wrapped in the brown wrapper taken off of a girlie magazine. “I speak for all of the men in saying my thanks. If it were not for you, most of us would be dead, and our country would still be suffering at the hands of the insurgents.”

The soldiers all added their own thanks. For a few moments, Sousuke felt like he was part of a team again. But, his jaw tightened. He couldn’t help but think of the Mithril SRT, and the people he had grown to think of as friends. All lost, or so he had always believed.

“Aren’t you going to open it,” one of the youngest soldiers asked, a devilish look in his eyes. He, like the others, was full of anticipation. They had gotten to know the young foreigner fairly well, even though he had been with them for less than two months. “We thought you might wish some remembrances from your stay in Thailand.”

Sousuke looked down at the gift. He already had memories of his stay. How could he ever forget Wat Phra Kaew, the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, and the adjoining Grand Palace. It consists of over one hundred brightly colored buildings, golden spires and glittering mosaics, and dates back to 1782, when Bangkok was founded. There was also Thonburi, or fang ton as it's often called, with the tours on longtail boats in numerous canals, and stops at a floating market is at Damnoen Saduak and the 80 meter high Temple of the Dawn, Wat Arun. He had also visited Wat Phra Chetuphon, with its impressive gold plated reclining Buddha, 46 meters long and 15 meters high, designed to illustrate the passing of the Buddha into nirvana.

There were other memories too, of course. Training. Fighting. The loss of new comrades. The search for information and leads. The pain felt when he watched groups of Thai high school students going about their daily lives. Looking at the men he was riding with, he wondered which of them might someday have their name engraved in a memorial, and which might find some life outside of the military.

“It is a small photo book,” Sousuke said. He wondered if the soldiers had taken pictures of him during training and combat. He did not remember posing with any of them, as he had with his long dead comrades in Afghanistan. “Uhh…” He had opened the book. That ‘Uhh’ in itself was nostalgic, but he was too shocked to notice.

“I bet you never knew you were such a stud, eh Sergeant?” One soldier gave Sousuke a smile and a victorious hand sign. He knew all too well, as they all did, that Sousuke was anything but a ladies’ man. “Naay.” The other men chuckled, hearing Sousuke called ‘Master.’

“I… this… how…” Sousuke was sweating, now. He hadn’t felt embarrassed in this manner since a few misunderstandings with Nami.

“It’s how we will all remember you,” the squad leader said, winking at another trooper. “I believe the women found you unforgettable as well.”

“But… I do not… none of this…” Sousuke recognized the background in the photographs. It was one of the barrack buildings just outside of Bangkok. The men had gotten him drunk, something he rarely allowed to happen to himself. There had been women hired to entertain the troops; but, he had only exchanged polite words with a few that he could not entirely avoid.

Once Sousuke had passed out, the soldiers and the courtesans worked together to pull a rather risqué prank on him. They removed his clothing, before the women themselves disrobed. A large number of photographs were taken. The actions that the pictures implied never took place. At that moment, a certain scar-faced soldier was unaware of that important fact.

Hand limp, Sousuke stared slack-jawed when one of the soldiers took the photo book and flipped through it for him. The soldiers all leaned over, laughing and carrying on, adding their comments to each dramatic shot.

“Hohng neuua mang gaawn…” Swan over dragon, the ‘woman on top’ position for intercourse. “Gwaang liaao lang…” Doggy style. “Gohn bpaawt gaam…” A sex-crazed pervert. “Gohn bpaawt yaawt khoon pha la…” A man with lean buttocks will excel in bed. “Sek muu.” Orgy. And so forth and so on.

“You have been our leader in so many ways, Sergeant.” The one soldier sounded so sincere. But, he couldn’t help but snort and begin laughing. Soon, the others joined in, telling Sousuke about the trick. “Here, let me put this in you bag for you.” Sousuke was still too stunned to resist.

“Alright, time to settle down. We’re going through the checkpoint.” The driver of the truck slowed down and came to a complete stop.

The soldiers threw their gear on top of Sousuke, making him look like nothing more than a stack of supplies and the like. When the security troops looked into the back of the transport, they did a cursory inspection, and then cleared the troops to proceed.

Once inside the grounds of Bangkok-Don Muang airport, the truck pulled over to one of the larger buildings on the West side. Before the upswing in terrorist activity, and the christening of the newer larger airport, the East side of Don Muang had belonged to the military. The West side had handled civilan traffic exclusively. Now, the entire airport was used by the various armed forces as a staging and storage facility, as well as an air field. International forces, the United State in particular, also made low key use of the area.

“Sa wat, Sergeant.” Captain Thongbai Chaiyakun greeted Sousuke as he jumped to the ground, moments before the truck carried the waving and shouting soldiers off to their current duties. “You have a short while before the mission will begin.” The elderly soldier pointed to a pair of venerable B.L. 8s visible across the tarmac. That was the designation given to the CH-130 Hercules aircraft being prepared for the flight to Malaysia.

“What is the cover, Sir?” Sousuke let his heavy bag fall to the grassy area the two men stood in, just off the tarmac. He was concerned about Amalgam having any reason to suspect a raid.

“It’s a good one, Sergeant. I will assure you of that.” Captain Chaiyakun replied. “The soldiers carried by one aircraft will strike at Amalgam facilities and headquarters, whose unknown function has many people concerned. The other will carry out a covert mission with Malaysian forces, targeted against terrorist bases. Are you aware of the fact that throughout Asia, millions of workers are leaving home to seek their fortune in neighboring countries, and much of the region's economic development is taking place with the help of migrant labor?”

“No, Sir.” Sousuke shook his head.

“The numbers involved are enormous,” Thongbai added. “The International Labour Organisation estimates that some seven million Asians are working abroad, with two million leaving their countries legally each year. The number of illegal departures is probably higher. There are sizeable numbers of Thai nationals working in Malaysia, the region's largest employer of migrant labor. To the migrant, it can offer an opportunity to earn money at wage levels unthinkable at home. To the government of the sending country, it offers an outlet for the jobless and underemployed and a source of foreign exchange earnings through remittances; to the receiving country, it offers an unending stream of cheap labor that can keep wages low and growth high.”

“I see,” Sousuke said, wondering where it was all headed.

“Migration has a dark side, particularly for unskilled migrant workers who end up as menial labor in the agricultural, service and construction sectors. Legal and illegal migrants can face physical abuse and withholding of wages on the part of their employers, as well as extortion and discrimination from officials in the receiving country. Worse, is the perception in receiving countries that migrants are responsible for a wide range of social ills. As such, they have been targeted lately by members of the very terrorist groups that were supporting the attacks in this country. We will appear to be going to the aid of Thai nationals, at the behest of the Malay government.”

“Understood,” Sousuke said. Their cover was indeed solid. No one from the outside would have reason for a high index of suspicion. But, that didn’t mean that Amalgam would necessarily turn a blind eye to everything that took place in its vicinity. And, there was no reason to suspect that the organization would leave its assets unguarded, in any case.

“Let’s go inside now,” the Thai Captain said. “There are some men that you should meet. As you might surmise, this entire mission has not been set up on your behalf. This mission has been in the planning stages for a while, as intelligence organizations have been carefully collecting information. The happy confluence of events should prove beneficial to all parties involved.” He led Sousuke towards a building that once house terminals for overseas flights. “Those of us who know of Amalgam’s existence, also have knowledge of the forces that were once arrayed against it. Mithril was not the only group struck by the enemy. And, their actions in the more distant past have influence the lives of many men and women across the globe.”

Sousuke clenched his teeth, thinking about Amalgam yet again. For a moment, he shivered, recalling the events that took place before, during, and after Leonard’s battle with him in Tokyo. The defeat at the hand of Tessa’s brother still left a bad taste in his mouth. He had failed Kaname. Even worse, Kurz, Melissa, and others had no doubt perished, and he had not been with them to fight by their side. In his misguided thoughts, he felt as if he had failed them too.

The interior of the one building was filled with partitions and makeshift offices and operations centers for the Thai Royal Air Force. Low ranking officers scurried about, carrying coffee cups, communiqués, and folders. Phones were ringing, and an overhead speaker called out messages every so often. Over in one cordoned off area, a group of harder looking individuals had congregated.

“Gentlemen,” the Thai soldier sought the attention of the group of international soldiers, most of whom had been contacted by the highest ranking Mithril members still alive. “We are joined by another team member. Sgt. Sousuke Sagara had helped my nation greatly, though under different aliases. Some of you may have heard of him.”

The other soldiers, a majority of who had served in special forces units within sovereign military organizations, nodded or made brief hand gestures. All were aware of the existence of Mithril. Each and every one of them would be considered a priority target for hire when the organization received enough funding to rebuild itself. A number had heard the name Sagara associated with rumors or reports regarding a special Arm Slave.

“Sergeant, I will introduce you to the men who will be on your flight. The gentleman stowing his weapons is Lt. Jaques Roux, one time member of the Groupe d'Intervention Gendarmerie Nationale.” The short and stocky man muttered a quick greeting and resumed checking over his assembled Beretta 92F, FAMAS, Barret .50 rifle, and Hecate 2 carbine. “Like all of your new companions, he suffered personal losses thanks to Amalgam.”

Sousuke took note of the man’s Model 82A1. He was glad to see the powerful sniper rifles given the good chance that anyone going up against Amalgam facilities would run into Arastols. Scanning the assembled group, he noticed a number of men armed with M107 and M109 rifles as well. Seeing a group of Thai soldiers wheeling a weapons cart towards the exit, he felt even better. The cart held man-portable anti-tank weapons, including Milan ATGMs and Raytheon Javelin models..

“This gentleman is Lance Corporal Michael Calvert, one time member of the British Special Air Service, 22 Regiment, G Squadron.” At Captain Chaiyakun’s introduction, a thin but experienced looking young soldier gave Sousuke a cheerful welcome. “Sgt. Paddy Howe is from the Australian SAS.” That man looked more like a librarian than a soldier, but Sousuke recognized a confidence in his posture and a look in his eyes that marked him as a well-seasoned soldier. “Captain Charles Gordon is on loan from the U.S. Army’s 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment Delta.”

“I had a brother who was an Arm Slave pilot,” Captain Gordon said, walking over to shake Souske’s hand. “He died at Beridaobu Island.” He looked Sousuke in the eyes. “I understand that you ended up killing the bastard who was responsible for the attack.”

“Yes,” Sousuke said, thinking of how he had defeated Gauron aboard the TDD-1 with Kaame’s help, and how he had killed a sick and crippled foe in Hong Kong. “Though, it was not an admirable deed.” He broke eye contact. “I was unable to kill him on the island when we fought.” He still carried feelings of shame and regret, remembering what happened to the comrades he lost when Gauron and the traitors took over Da Danaan. He remembered how he felt when he saw that Melissa was injured.

“Don’t let your initial failures drag you down,” the American said, slapping Sousuke on the shoulder. “And don’t let other people get you to doubt yourself. A president from my country once said something to the effect that it’s not the critic who counts, and not the people who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where a doer of deeds could have done better. He said that the credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, not those cold and timid souls who know neither victory or defeat. He had his own failures, but that didn’t keep him from going on to be a famous and successful soldier.”

Sousuke nodded. He had failed at protecting Kaname. He had been soundly defeated by Leonard. Standing in front of Ono D and his other classmates, he had felt ashamed at his failure, and at the response from his peers. But, he was his own worst critic.

Captain Chaiyakun continued with the introductions, walking Sousuke over to meet with soldiers from the German Kommando Spezial Kraefte; Polish Grupa Reagowania Operacyjno-Manewrowego Operational Mobile Reaction Group; and other noteworthy forces. They were all men. It was a woman he came upon that had him clenching his fists and holding his breath. Her name meant nothing when spoken: Moon Hyon Hui. Her appearance did nothing to set him off. It was the voice. It was familiar. He had heard it without distortion and amplification once.

“I guess I shouldn’t be surprised to see you here,” the North Korean woman said, eying Sousuke with a slight degree of distaste. “No doubt, you are very surprised to see me.”

“You…” Sousuke was indeed caught off guard. He never would have expected to see the woman who had carried the call name ‘Wraith’ in a place like this. She had been Intel, not Ops. Once a spy for North Korea, she had gone on betray her own country when they were preparing to sell nuclear weapons to Middle Eastern terrorists. With nowhere else to go, she had been accepted into Mithril due to her talent in disguise, and the ability to fit into any situation like a ghost. “Why are you here?”

“For the same reason that you are, in effect. I too failed to protect Kaname Chidori. I didn’t expect that failure to haunt me, however.” Moon shrugged, wondering for the hundredth time why she had been compelled to make up for her past mistakes. Mithril no longer existed, even though members of that organization still survived. “I believe that my talents will prove rather useful. I hope that your tendency to react in a personal rather than professional manner has improved.” She still harbored resentment for the way that Sousuke had called out Mithril secrets to lure her out of hiding, and had little respect for the foolishness that she had witnessed while the boy had thought himself the sole protector of the Whispered girl.

“That…” Sousuke bit his tongue. There was no sense in arguing with Wraith, especially since she made a valid point. Seeing that he was not going to take her bait, the woman turned and went to use the rest room.

Time seemed to drag along after that. Sousuke kept going over his last day with Kaname, seeing and hearing everything that had taken place. When he caught sight of Captain Chaiyakun, he walked over to ask what was holding things up. He had overheard a number of pilots saying that the aircraft had been prepped successfully, and that they were waiting for some stragglers.

“There are a couple of late arrivals,” the Thai soldier told Sousuke. “It certainly won’t hurt to have more people along who have experience fighting with Amalgam forces.” There was a knowing look in the man’s eye.

“Do we need to wait for them?” Sousuke asked, feeling very antsy. “This seems to be a very formidable group for its size.”

“What? Not one for teary-eyed reunions, Sousuke old buddy?” That voice came from behind Sousuke. He froze for a moment. It wasn’t his mind playing tricks on him.

Sousuke spun, almost elbowing a soldier from Israel’s Sayeret Golani and stepping on the foot of a disagreeable-looking ex-member of Grenzschutzgruppe 9, now able to work outside of his own country after becoming a mercenary. Walking towards him, long blonde-hair swinging back and forth, was a familiar figure, one he was much happier to see than Wraith. “Kurz!”

“The one and only,” Kurz said. He was walking with a slight limp. “It’s good to see you’re OK.” Not usually one for public shows of affection, unless it was a way to show off or get noticed, the lanky sniper embraced his former teammate.

“I thought you were all…” Sousuke looked around, searching for other familiar faces.

“So did I,” Kurz said. “So did I.”

“Melissa… Lt. Mao… did she…” Sousuke found himself holding his breath again.

“No,” Kurz said sadly, shaking his head. He put his hand to his forehead. “I’m sorry, Sousuke.” He made as if he were wiping a tear away. “I’m truly very sorry. She hasn’t changed one bit. In fact… shit!”

A boot bounced off of Kurz’ head and fell to the floor near Sousuke’s weapons bag. “Shut up, Weber.” Melissa Mao walked up and stood a few feet from Sousuke. Then, before the young soldier knew what happened, she threw herself on him and gave him an embrace that had all of the men in the room feeling jealous. “I shouldn’t have let that asshole walk up alone.”

“Lieutenant?” Sousuke felt his throat tighten up. It was wonderful, seeing his friends alive.

“I recognized someone. ‘Wraith,’ as you knew her. She was the one who found out where we were stationed and sent word of this little shindig. It’s been in the works for a bit.” Mao frowned. “You know, she has a habit of bad mouthing you.” She had first met the Korean woman when things had settled down enough for her and Kurz to sneak into Tokyo looking for word of Sousuke.

“That’s right!” Kurz put in. “That’s our job!” he smirked, pausing a moment for effect. “And when Lt. Babe here gets her bad mouth on you, you’ll be one happy guy!” Kurz jumped quickly, avoiding Melissa’s blow. “Just like me!” He dodged Melissa’s kick. Her foot struck Sousuke’s bag, dislodging something that one of the Thai soldiers had placed in the bags external pouch. “What’s that?”

“Huh?” Sousuke suddenly froze. He felt his face growing warm. All of the questions he had for his friends stuck in his throat. The photo album he had been given had flipped open to one of the more ‘colorful’ pictures.

“What’s what?” Melissa saw the expression on Kurz’ face. It looked as if he had found the Holy Grail or something. “Give it to me.”

“Whoooo hooo hooooo. All in good time, Sis.” Kurz’ smile was too large for his head. “Sousuke, you dog you. I guess I taught you more than I thought.” He held the book up for Melissa to see, keeping it just beyond her reach. “I hope we do manage to save Angel. I’d give anything to see her face when she gets a load of this!”

“Uhhh…” Sousuke felt as if the entire country of Thailand was listening in on the conversation. “I… uhhh… that’s not…”

Melissa gave Sousuke a sympathetic look. She watched as Kurz danced around like a maniac, showing the book to anyone that let him come within ten feet of them. “That idiot,” she said scowling, watching as one young woman from the base secretarial staff dropped a large stack of papers that she was carrying. “The more things change, the more they stay the same.”

“Affirmative.” Sousuke hung his head.

[darkbane]

Yeay. Lovely. Loved the photo album. Wraith is being a bitch, as always. Unfortunately you left all those nagging reunion questions unasnwered, on purpose I presume, lol. Damn, I really wanna know what happened to Kurz and Mao, and whether Tessa kicked the bucket or not ^_^.

[HELLFIRE]

...knowing dd, trashing Tessa's something he can do in his sleep

Pieces falling into place, looking to see where you go as always dd














Regards

[Shewolf of Ga]

dd, somehow we have been chanelling a lot of the same storyline. Love your piece, but now I have to totally rewrite mine or people will think I stole your stuff. No hard feelings, though! I love FMP any way I can get it. - slinks off to completely rewrite her fic -

[dd]

somehow we have been chanelling a lot of the same storyline. Love your piece, but now I have to totally rewrite mine or people will think I stole your stuff. No hard feelings, though! I love FMP any way I can get it. - slinks off to completely rewrite her fic

Hey, go with your gut feelings and ideas. Don't worry if it's similiar. I mean, there are a lot of questions left unanswered and only so many ways to do it. Besides, everyone who writes FMP starts with a lot of identical back material unless they want to change things for their story.

[Shewolf of Ga]

Hey, go with your gut feelings and ideas. Don't worry if it's similiar. I mean, there are a lot of questions left unanswered and only so many ways to do it. Besides, everyone who writes FMP starts with a lot of identical back material unless they want to change things for their story.

Wow. Talented and polite. Thanks! I didn't want to be accused of plagiarism. BTW, is that Wraith's rela name or did you use artistic license?

[Weltall Elite]

"If you meet the Buddha on the road, kill him."

No need to rewrite your story, Shewolf. Just do your thing. And if DD happens to get too close to your idea, there's only one reasonable course of action. Assassinate him!

...On second thought, maybe you shouldn't listen to my advice.

[darkbane]

"If you meet the Buddha on the road, kill him."

No need to rewrite your story, Shewolf. Just do your thing. And if DD happens to get too close to your idea, there's only one reasonable course of action. Assassinate him!

...On second thought, maybe you shouldn't listen to my advice.

Ya can't kill off DD, he's our own pet god of KxS FMP fanfics!!!

Having said that, I don't think there's any problem there either. We wouldn't want you to stop writing or make a 180 on the storyline just because it's simmilar to DD's. Although you might want to hold off on reading the rest of his story while you write yours, due to the tricky way the human subconsciousness works.

[dd]

BTW, is that Wraith's real name or did you use artistic license?

Made it up. I don't know if they ever gave her (I'm operating under hints I heard that's it's a her) a name. Anyone who read BOMF or all of COMO might be able to find discrepencies in this story.

eg, SPOILER:

In upcoming chapters, I will comment on Kalinin being a possible traitor, and bring back Bunny Morita on Amalgam's side. There are the faintest of hints on things like that, but the suppositions I read could be other folks' misinterpretation of things in COMO and BOMF.

[dd]

he's our own pet god of KxS FMP fanfics!!!

No. If people start saying things like that, I'll switch over to Tessa x Sousuke. Or, Kyouko x Sousuke.

[darkbane]

BTW, is that Wraith's real name or did you use artistic license?

Made it up. I don't know if they ever gave her (I'm operating under hints I heard that's it's a her) a name. Anyone who read BOMF or all of COMO might be able to find discrepencies in this story.

eg, SPOILER:

In upcoming chapters, I will comment on Kalinin being a possible traitor, and bring back Bunny Morita on Amalgam's side. There are the faintest of hints on things like that, but the suppositions I read could be other folks' misinterpretation of things in COMO and BOMF.

The Kalinin thing was also way back in DVMC, ([ecs]well, I think the stuff you're referring to is Sousuke being unable to contact Kalinin after COMO[/ecs])but I never could make any sense of it. I've been thinking being a traitor would be very un-Kalinin-like, based on his previous behavior pattern. Just meeting up to hand over a present for Tessa's birthday isn't likely tho. Well, this is gonna be fun ^_^.

Edit: Re KxS: It's a joke, a joke. I do want to see the Kurz x Mao finding a stach of alc behind enemy lines story you aluded to tho, that looked promising *grin*. Unless you already wrote it and I missed it?

[Shewolf of Ga]

**must refrain form reading the rest of dd's story***

[HELLFIRE]

[I didn't want to be accused of plagiarism.

Generally, if you don't say anything, dd doesn't say anything
And given dd's undiminished propensity to pump out a chapter every
18-24 hours is like a race between an Indy500 special and a Model T...

Keep it up both of you!

















Regards