"Welcome to Egypt, Lt. Maxwell, Pilot Trong. If you’ll follow me, I’ll take you to the camp."
Helen looked around the lush forest surrounding the Nile. The river was just ahead of them and the launch pad where they had landed just behind them. Saber was silent as he followed the big burly Egyptian man who had greeted them.
Rahn, as the man had called himself, was much taller than both teens; they came up to only his shoulder. His head was shaved and, as Helen had decided, he wore more black eyeliner than Jasmine. He looked like an Egyptian Pharaoh, only…more muscular. He was dressed in a Preventor field uniform, and was armed with various weapons and ammunition. The most noticeable of these weapons were two curved blades like those on the Sandrock Gundam.
Rahn led them through the bush to a large clear where dozens of large, camouflaged tents were set up.
"I’ll take you to meet our Commander first," Rahn suggested, "And then I’ll show you where you’ll be staying. Is that alright with you?" He looked directly at Helen.
"Yes, that’s fine." She answered, "When will we see this base we’re supposed to be investigating?"
Rahn shrugged, "The Commander is not very organised, but I imagine he wishes to show you later tonight, after you’ve seen the camp."
Helen nodded and Saber was still silent.
"Ah! Here we are, this is the Commander’s tent. It also serves as a war room for planning attacks." He pushed open the flap and showed them in.
"Commander!" He called. "I have the two Preventor from headquarters here!"
Instantly, a second flap inside the tent flew open and a man even bigger than Rahn stepped into the main room.
He had on a classic military uniform, and was carrying wand with a leather piece on the end in his hands. He looked the part of a boot camp sergeant.
I bet he got his style from Ramon Moses… Helen thought to herself.
"These are them?" The commander screamed. "They look a little young to me."
Helen took this time to introduce herself. "Commander, my name is Lt. Helen Maxwell of Preventor HQ. Pilot of the Gundam tyrant and previously station at the base in Zimbabwe. This is my partner Saber Trong. Pilot of a white Taurus and also stationed in Zimbabwe. Miss Noin assigned us to collect information on a suspected Matatara base and mobile suit plant here."
The Commander eyes her suspiciously, but Helen didn’t flinch under his gaze.
‘"You, little girl, are a Gundam Pilot? You’re the one Lt. Noin sent to us? You’re just a kid!" He screamed, still using his ‘army’ voice.
Helen was insulted; "You’d better watch your mouth, Commander. I outrank you, remember? Do you have any idea what the penalty is for speaking down to an officer?"
The commander leaned down to her eye level and wasn’t scared off for a minute. He studied Helen for a long time until finally his face broke out into a wide grin. "I like you kid!" He screamed it again, spraying her with saliva. "I can understand why people are always complimenting your abilities. You are dismissed! Private Rahn! Escort these two fine Preventors to their tents!"
"Sir yes sir!" Rahn cried as he slapped his hand to his forehead in a salute. He turned on his heel and marched back outside. Helen rolled her eyes to herself. This overly zealous commander may prove to be more of an annoyance than watching Saber.
~~~
Joel grumbled to himself as he dragged his duffel bag through the thick jungles of Vietnam. He had the map to the base, now all he needed to do was figure out how to read it.
He sat down on his bag for the fourth time and studied the map intently. He gingerly flicked a tarantula off the bag and glared at the insulting piece of paper. He’d been there only a few hours, and he already hated it.
~~~
"Look at all this snow…" Jason sighed. Anchorage was pretty small for a Capital city, and it was completely isolated. Not to mention covered in snow!"
"It’s really not that bad," Indigo said through chattering teeth and her heavy French accent. "I-I’m f-f-from Te-Tex-Texas!" Jason argued, rubbing his arms for extra warmth.
"We did pick a bad time to come to Alaska," Indigo agreed. They started to drag their feet through the snow, looking for their contact in Anchorage.
"Over there!" Indigo pointed to man in a dark green parka standing next too a dogsled. Both the sled and the coat sported the Preventor emblem.
Indigo raced for the sled, and Jason trailed after her.
"You’ve g-got to be kidding me!" He stammered. "A dogsled?"
"Lt. Yuy? Lt. Barton?" The man questioned.
"That’s us," Indigo smiled, she quickly showed them man her badge and Jason did the same.
The man eyed them for a moment. "I think you may need some warmer clothes before we continue." He raised his mitten-adorned hand up and pointed at a store across the street. "That a clothing store in there," he said. "Why don’t you two go get yourselves some better clothing. I’ll wait for you in the coffee shop over there." He pointed again at a little bar a little further down the street. "OK," Indy nodded, secretly jumping with glee at the opportunity to go shopping. She grabbed Jason’s arm and dragged him towards the store. Jason followed eagerly; the sooner he could warm up the better.
~~~
"Did we get the right country?" Brittney questioned. "It looks like we landed in the middle of Mardi Gras!"
Seth nodded in silent agreement. It was already dark in Brazil, but the people were dressed in brilliant costumes and dancing around like maniacs.
"Ah! Its Lt. Hamilton and uh…Lt. Norris, was it?" A short, tanned man came running forward to greet them.
Brittney nodded, but made a mental note to take a different name. He didn’t like being reminded of Armand.
"Yeah, that’s us," Seth said. He flashed his badge eagerly, proud of his status in the Preventors. "What’s going on here?"
"An Annual coffee festival." He shrugged, "I’m Nicholas," He introduced himself and shook hands with both of them. "I’m to take you both to the base. It isn’t far from here."
The two siblings agreed and followed him to a Preventor vehicle waiting just past the parade. As they piled in, Nicholas turned to the two teens and opened up a thermos, "Coffee?"
~~~
"Someone get me some coffee!" Jasmine demanded angrily.
"Caffeine is bad for the baby, Jasmine." Noin smirked. The Chinese girl glared at the older woman. "I. Don’t. Care." She said firmly. "I haven’t had coffee in two weeks! I need coffee!"
"Jasmine, maybe you should take Noin’s advice." David suggested tentatively.
"Don’t you turn on me too!"
"I’m not but…"
"And when was the last time Seth called? I want to talk to him!"
"I doubt he’s even at the base yet." Noin sighed, "Just give him some time."
Jasmine frowned and crossed her arms in front of her chest. She sank down lower into her chair and frowned deeply.
"You’re being abnormally moody lately Jasmine." Hilde pointed out.
"I can’t help it! My hormones are going crazy!"
"Hn, you don’t see me complaining about hormones!" Noin cried, "And I’m further along than you!" Noin paused until she had realised what she had just confessed, and then she cursed.
"Uh oh, the secret’s out Noin." Hilde giggled.
"Wha…? Wait a second! Noin?" Jasmine’s mouth fell open, and David was completely speechless.
"Oh no, now there are two of them!" David groaned, massaging his temples.
Hilde snorted and made a hasty retreat. Noin was already kicking herself.
"I’m getting out of here too, before things get ugly." David said; the blonde teen looked pale, even for him. He quickly disappeared out of the room.
"You too, hun Noin?" Jasmine grinned.
Noin nodded, "at least you’re young. I’m too old to have a kid!"
"Yeah…" Jasmine agreed, slumping down in her chair. "That’s something we have in common, we’re both idiots…"
"And we both got knocked up." Noin added.
Jasmine rolled on the floor with laughter.
~~~
"This is the base, located at 79 degrees west of the great pyramids." The Commander whispered urgently to the two younger Preventors. He peered through the trees with his binoculars at the Matatara mobile suit plant.
"We’ll proceed from in here in formation A-seven."
Helen rolled her eyes and crawled on her stomach through the bush. The Commander had insisted that they stay ‘well covered’ at all times. After all, you never know when the enemy may be watching. Helen though he was taking things just a little too far.
"A-seven?" Saber whispered in confusion. "There is no A-seven…"
"Shh," Helen hissed, "Just play along, it seems like he’s having fun."
Saber snorted but obeyed anyway. Helen studied the outer security of the perimeter. It was definitely a Matatara plant.
"We’ll have to gather more information about the security, inside and out, and about the mobile suits they’re producing. Then we’ll contact Noin for further orders." Helen told them.
"Roger that!" The Commander said in a screamed whisper. "We’ll go back to base camp and prepare from an inner security scan."
"Right…I mean ‘roger’." Helen grumbled. She followed the commander back to the camp; Saber lingered behind.
~~
After discussing possibilities for infiltrating the construction plant, the group decided to call it a night and go in at first light. Saber was the last out of the tent and headed towards his tent. Once he got close, he ducked inside for a moment and watched Helen disappear. Then he quickly snuck out of the tent and made his way deeper into the jungle, carrying with him a small laptop.
Saber climbed up a nearby hill, being careful not to disturb any dangerous wildlife on his way. He carefully picked his way over low shrubs and rocks until he got to the top.
He stayed in the cover of the forest and set up his laptop. It was time for him to contact his own superiors. After everything he’d witnessed over the last few months, he would have a lot to report.
~
Helen saw Saber leave his tent, carrying a tiny portable laptop in his hands.
"I think I would classify this as suspicious behaviour." She whispered to herself. She quickly pulled her shoes back on and hurried after him. She watched him as he climbed up a small hill and set up his laptop. He probably had to get high up to get a proper signal.
After loading up the computer, a small screen popped up. Saber pulled on a set of headphones, and a person flashed on the screen. Helen cursed him for being so smart. She wouldn’t be able to hear what they were saying. He could be calling his family for all she knew. She settled down to watch anyway.
The person on the screen was shadowed, and it was impossible to tell what they looked like. She strained her ears as Saber began to speak. She could hear his deep voice, but could not make out most of the words. What she did hear however was just enough to arouse suspicion but not enough to catch him in the act of treason.
"On the Nile…" She made out, "Matatara base…assistance…camp…baby, in Zimbabwe…"
Was he after Jazz? She thought frantically? It couldn’t be…Helen strained her ears even more, but his voice was too muffled. Determined to put him away for life, she pulled out a mini tape recorder and tried to get closer so she could get a better sound.
As she took a step forward, a twig snapped and she cursed, just loudly enough for him to hear.
Saber spun around and pulled a gun from seemingly nowhere. Helen quickly ducked behind a tree and searched for her own weapon. She cursed herself yet again when she discovered she had forgotten her gun.
Saber cut off the person on the screen and dashed into the woods.
Helen decided that a retreat was in order, and she quickly ran for her tent, trying to make as little noise as possible. She broke through into the clearing and dove in the back way of her tent just as Saber came through.
He looked around but could not figure out who it was who had been following him. Soon he left back for the hill again, walking slowly. In a few minutes he was back with his laptop and he crawled back inside his tent.
"You’re not going to get away with this, you little bastard…" Helen seethed.
~~~
"I despise this country, I despise this mission, and I especially despise these damn spiders!" Joel stepped on another poisonous tarantula and continued to follow the dusty road to who-knows-where. "By the time I get there, I’ll have to just turn around and go back!" Joel prophesised. He couldn’t believe that he was wasting so much time looking for the damn base. He hoped they didn’t send a search party out for him. That would be embarrassing.
Finally, Joel thought he saw a reflection of light off something shiny in the distance. As he got closer, he discovered barbed wire and armed guards surrounding the perimeter of a large grey building. The guards were wearing the colours of the Preventors.
"Finally!" He sighed with relief. He picked up the pace and practically ran for the base.
~~~
Jasmine walked slowly through the base, carefully analysing each step she took. It was so boring without anyone around. She soon found herself standing at the exit of the base. Pondering the possibilities for a moment, she jumped into the elevator and punched the ‘up’ button. Soon she was standing at the surface of the colony.
"Yes!" She turned off her pager and started out towards the park. She breathed in the fresh air with unhidden relish. It felt so good to finally be out of that stuffy base! Even if it was practically in the middle of the desert, it was only a twenty-minute walk to the nearest town. She started on her way, hoping to find a nice place to shop while she was there.
~~~
"Sethwhatareyoudoing?" Brittney snorted as she took another long sip of her Brazilian coffee. Both the siblings had had way too much caffeine, and were really wired.
"I’mcallingmygirlfriendbaka!" Seth answered hastily, punching the last few numbers into the satellite communicator. Soon Noin’s face popped up "HeyNoin!" Seth grinned. "Where’sJasmine?" He asked.
Noin frowned at him. "What did you say?" She asked.
"Where’sJasmine?" He asked again.
Noin frowned at him, "Seth, I don’t have time for your jokes right now." She rubbed her temples.
"Ijustwanttoknowwheremygirlfriendis!" He cried defensively.
"I mean it Seth! Knock it off right now! We have a crisis on our hands! Jasmine is missing!"
"What!"
It was at that moment that the door behind Noin flew open and a rather large Asian man came in carrying a bloodied Jasmine in his arms.
"What the…what the hell happened?" Noin screamed as she hung up.
~~
(Three hours earlier)
~~
Jasmine had just arrived in the small town and was a little tired from her walk. She decided instead to go get something to eat in the little café before she started out on a strenuous shopping trip. She had a coffee and a sandwich and was on her way again.
She stepped outside and looked around the busy yet dusty little town. She rather liked it here, and there were so many interesting things to buy!
She soon found herself puled along through the crowd. She went with the flow for a while, until she discovered that she didn’t know where she was anymore. She struggled to break free of the crowd.
"Hey! Stop pushing," She growled as she knocked over an elderly man. She people were closing in around her. She finally managed to escape into a deserted alley. Breathing a heavy sigh of relief, she travelled deeper into the bowels of the city, getting more lost by the second.
"Oh great," Jasmine grumbled, "Now really don’t know where I am." She swung her arms thoughtfully as she took a few more steps into the maze of alleyways.
She thought she heard a footstep echo behind her and she spun around quickly.
"Hello? Is anybody back there?" She called. There was no response. Another footstep, this time to her left. She spun to face it again; "Can you help me out? I’m a little lost." She confessed.
She heard yet another footstep, coming from yet another alley. She was starting to get a little scared, and she wondered if she had brought her gun. Naturally, since she had left on an impulse, it was still tucked safely under her mattress.
She heard someone step in a puddle, and she kept spinning around, trying to figure out where this ‘person’ was coming from. The echoes made it impossible to tell.
Soon, she saw someone emerge from the shadows, and then, another someone from the other direction. She didn’t like the smirks on their faces.
She moved to run down another alley, but it too was blocked by a large man, smirking evilly. As a last resort, she turned down the final alley, but again someone stood in her way.
Looks like I’m going to have to fight. She thought to herself.
The four guys closed in on her as she settled down into a fighting stance. She concentrated, trying to recall the special techniques taught to her by her father.
The one behind attacked first, and she countered with a high kick. She hit him squarely in the head and he veered away, but was not deterred. Another attack came from the side, and as she dodged that one, the man in front of her took a swing at her with a bat. Jasmine took it right in its attended target: her stomach.
She wheeled over in pan, and the man she had kicked came back at her and kneed him in her abdomen.
My baby She thought desperately, I have to protect him! She doubled over and tried to protect her unborn child from any further attacks.
But soon the four big men overpowered her and had her on the ground. Jasmine curled up into a ball, trying to hide her stomach, but she knew she was fighting a losing battle. Her strength was already deteriorating. The four men went after her stomach, kicking her viciously in the ribs. She was sure she could hear something snap.
She was losing her grip on consciousness, but she struggled to stay away and protect her son. She saw her own blood running from her body, she could feel the bruises building. The pain was excruciating, and she screamed.
She opened her swollen eyes and looked at her attackers. They were dressed like common people, blending in perfectly. There were no clues as to who they were, but she knew "Matatara…"
Suddenly another man came from the shadows, and Jasmine wanted to cry. Couldn’t they see that she was in enough pain already? She didn’t need anymore torture. But the newcomer raised a weapon, a short dagger, above his head and stabbed one of the attackers in the back. He gagged and fell over, adding his blood to Jasmine’s.
The others soon turned their attention to him. Jasmine could only find enough strength to drag herself against a wall.
The three remaining men were no match for this new guy. He knocked them all down quickly and ran to check on Jasmine.
"Are you OK?" He asked. Jasmine could not respond. He touched her arm lightly and she shivered. Looking her over more closely, the Asian man saw her Preventor badge and nodded. "Don’t worry, I’ll get you back to where you belong."
"My baby…" Jasmine managed to croak. But it was too late; she felt the life inside of her fade away. The Asian man quickly took off through the streets and headed for the Preventor base. He didn’t know where to go, but soon found himself in the communications room where Noin was trying to converse with Seth.
"Wha…what the hell happened!" Noin screamed. She hung up on Seth and ran to Jasmine. She turned to another Preventor in the room. "Get Dr. Major Sally Chang over here right now she ordered. We need a stretcher here STAT!"
The younger Preventor nodded and dashed off.
The tall Asian was at a loss. He wasn’t sure what to do.
"What happened?" Noin demanded of him, apparently unconcerned that he was not one of them.
"She was attacked in an alleyway," He said. "She mentioned something about a baby…was she…"
"Oh shit! Where is that stretcher? She’s pregnant for Christ’s sake!"
The man said nothing; he just stood there with Jasmine in his arms, stunned.
It wasn’t long before an angry Wufei and concerned David found their way in.
"Jasmine!" Wufei gasped. He quickly snatched the girl from the still confused man and cradled her in his arms. Sally came in next with the much-needed stretcher. When she saw the condition of her daughter, she was all business and loaded her up and rushed her to the infirmary.
He Asian man started to leave when Noin snapped at him. "Stay here!" She ordered. "I want to know exactly what happened!"
David watched the confusion in horror. When the reality finally hit him, he sank down into a chair and ran his hand across his sweaty brow. "Oh my God, Seth is going to kill me!"
