Disclaimer:  I do not own any of the characters used in this story.  All of the characters used belong to their respective owners.  This piece of fan fiction is not for profit.  I created this story, so therefore it belongs to me.  Note that the views of the characters in no way depict or reflect that of the author or actual persons.  Any relationships to actual persons or entities is strictly coincidental.

Special thanks to Amy Holt for editing and reviewing, as well as having a site to post it on.
Special thanks also goes to Jill-chan “The Editor Formerly Known As 'The Eepster'” for editing and reviewing.
Special thanks also also goes to the owner of "Ranchan & Co. Crossing Bridges" for having an alternate site to post this on.

Comments, questions, and criticism can be made out to Slackerchan@aol.com


Tactical Espionage Action
Metal Gear Ranma

by Chris Davis

Chapter 2:  A New Purpose




Onboard the USS Discovery
1350 Hours

"How long has he been in there?"  Campbell asked the guard stationed at the door into the brig.

"Almost ten minutes sir.  He keeps demanding to see the Captain about his incarceration." the man with the sidearm in his holster responded.

It was true, as the moment the 'visitor' had set foot on the cold steel hull of the bridge of the sub then the two men that had caught him grabbed him by his arms and had been led below, following a long corridor to a unknown destination.  It turned out to be a small room, a sign on the door saying 'holding area', only big enough for seven or so people to stand in.  He was practically thrown into it, and before he had time to recover, the door had slammed shut behind him.  He had banged on the door and yelled for someone to respond, but none came.

Campbell turned to the people behind him, who stood waiting for his command.  "Are you ready?" he inquired.

The response came in the form of several nods and a thumbs up signal.

"All right.  I'll go in first, followed by the doctor, then Murphy and finally the tech.  Once the camera is set up, he leaves and no one enters until we are finished." he ordered as he turned to the man at the entrance.

"Yes sir." the man responded, as he put his hands to the wheel before him, preparing to turn it.

***

Ranma sat on one of the three chairs inside the confined space, wondering why in the hell some colonel wanted to talk to him so desperately.  Hell, with his luck, he was either here to be killed by this Campbell person or marry her, if indeed it was a her.

He was shaken out of his revelry by the high pitched squeaking of metal against metal.  He raised his head to look toward where he suspected the sound to be coming from, where the only door into the room began to open.  He would have stood up, but he wasn't about to give whoever it was the pleasure of having Ranma under his control.  The martial artist watched as the exit opened up fully and began to fill up with people, three of them men, and surprisingly for Ranma, a woman.  One of the men had several bits of electronic equipment in his hand and walked over to the wall opposite of Ranma, where he knelt down and began setting it up.  He couldn't see the face of the one farthest from him, which was obscured by shadows.  The woman stood to the side, also obscured by the low lighting of the room.  The last man stood in front of him, in his later years, as Ranma could easily tell, wore a blue uniform and reeked with authority.  On his chest, he saw the name tag, which read 'Campbell'.  So, Ranma thought, this is the infamous Colonel Campbell.

In the background of the silent stand off, the technician finished his work, which was announced by a beep and the sound of a quiet humming coming from the equipment, which turned out to be a video camera, pointed directly at Saotome, a small television, a VCR, and a notebook computer.  The man whispered something into the Colonel's ear, and, turning to the door, left the room, the hatch closing behind him, trapping Ranma inside.

The Colonel chose that moment to speak up.  "Good afternoon, Mr. Saotome.  My name in Roy Campbell, how are you?" he asked in a friendly tone, extending his hand to Ranma.

Ranma did not take it, as he wanted the little charade before him to end quickly.  "What the hell am I doing here, Colonel?"

Campbell relaxed his arm, realizing that any formalities with this kid were not going to work.  He would have to try another approach.  "I just invited you down here for a chat, that’s all."

Ranma was outraged by what this man had just stated.  "Invited?!  You call sending Marines armed to the teeth to drop me onto a submarine in the middle of the Pacific for 'a little chat' an invitation?!"

"Sorry if they were a little rough with you." Campbell mocked.

"Stow the crap Colonel, why am I here?"  Ranma demanded.

The Colonel sighed, knowing he was getting no where by trying to be friendly.  "We have a situation of national security, and we learned that you were the best man for the job." he firmly stated, hoping this would get his attention.

Ranma absorbed the information, wondering how they could have come to the conclusion that he was to be their guinea pig.  "Why should I help you out?  Your men practically kidnapped me, and if I'm not mistaken, that is a federal misdemeanor in this country."

"There has been an 'incident', and we need someone to take care of it, someone with your kind of expertise.  When our prime candidate disappeared, we got a recommendation from someone who told us about your 'exploits' at Fort Richardson."

Shit, Ranma thought, as he listened to what Campbell had to say.  It must have been one of the guys from the squad, he realized.  Whoever it was, I hope he didn't talk about my 'condition'.  "Well, what makes you think I will even help you out?"

"You have thirteen hours to think about that."

"What the fuck are you talking about?!  I didn't even say that I would lift a finger to help you out!"  Ranma had been lied to since he had gotten here, and the prospect of his huskies starving or freezing to death didn't sound too good.

"I'm sorry Mr. Saotome, but this ship is heading for the Bering Sea, and there is nothing you can do about it."

"What about my dogs?!  They'll freeze to death if they don't get taken care of!"

Campbell didn't want to lie to the kid, but he frankly had no choice.  "I'm sure they will be fine.  You need to concentrate on the mission at hand."

"But I didn't even agree to help you!  Why should I?"  Ranma asked.

"I hope you will understand once you see this."  The Colonel walked the few feet it was and turned the TV on.  He then took at video tape from the top of the VCR and put it in.  Pressing play, he took a step back so as to let everyone watch.

Ranma stared as the screen came on.  There was a group of people on screen, six of them he counted, a display at the bottom right hand corner of the screen showing the date and the time.  It was obviously filmed by a camcorder or something like that, as the image shook several times before stabilizing.  The screen zoomed in on the person in the middle, a man with long blond hair, who was also carrying a microphone.  Before Ranma could ask what the video was about, a voice came through the speakers of the television.

"This is a communiqué from FOX-HOUND leader Liquid Snake, destined for the hands of the President of the United States." it began.  "We have control of Nuclear Waste Site number one one zero, Shadow Moses Island.  My comrades and I, the Sons of Big Boss, have the following demands.  One, Release ten billion dollars in unmarked United States dollars into a bank account that will be revealed with the delivery of this message.  Two, relinquish all genetic samples and data of Big Boss to our control."  The camera zoomed out, again revealing the people who stood by this man, who had a distinctive British accent.  "Do not attempt to interfere with our plans.  We have control of nuclear warheads.  If you would like proof, than listen to this."  He pulled out a slip of paper from his pocket and began to read it off.  "Here are the serial code numbers for two of the weapons we are willing to use.  Unit number six six four a dash three five nine b, and unit number one seven eight g dash six two nine r.  Do not attempt a retaliatory strike or engage in negotiations.  We will have no remorse in executing the death of millions of bystanders, and if our demands are not met within the next thirty six hours, we will detonate one warhead on one major American city.  You will comply.  No response force, no negotiating."  The tape cut then and the screen filled with static.

Oh kami was all Ranma could think at the moment.  Those words summed up the situation pretty well, at least as far as he could guess.  That was probably why he had been brought in too, he realized, but what good would he do?

A heavy veil of silence could be felt in the room, the tension mounting with each breath taken from the souls that occupied the room.  Campbell broke the silence with a question.  "Now do you understand why we brought you here?  We need help, and you are the only one who can do it."

"Why me?"  Ranma responded.

"Because you are the only one who can.  Our primary candidate for the mission has gone missing and we have no clue where he is."  The Colonel's face turned a shade paler than before at the mention of his old comrade in arms.

"And just who gave you that bright idea?"

That was the cue for the man in the back to show himself.  Ranma stared at him, sizing him up.  He was in his mid twenties and quite handsome, having a large build and a face that would make a woman crawling all over him if left to their own privacy.  But his face struck him, as it looked familiar.  He began to search his memory to place him, drawing a blank until he thought about Fort Richardson.  In his mind, Ranma continued to search for the name that matched the face of the man before him, until one in particular came into view, the one of Brian Murphy.  He was the who part of the question, but that would mean he talked...

"How's it going Ranma?  Its been a while."  Murphy began.

Saotome wasn't sure whether to jump up and bite his friend's head off or to be happy to see him.  He brought out the soul of ice to calm himself, instantly feeling the tension drop off of him.  "Hello Murphy, you 'recommended' me for this little jaunt?"  Ranma asked, keeping his tone level.

Brian couldn't help but smile at his buddy having remembered him, yet, the look on Ranma's face was not one for friendliness.  "That's correct.  We are in dire need of help, and when I remembered you lived near Anchorage, I decided to let the Colonel here know about you." Murphy returned to the young man.

Ranma never returned the greeting on his face however, yet he was indeed glad to see 'Mad Dog' Murphy again.  "How the hell did you pull this duty?"

"I got picked up by the CIA a few months after you left.  I was assigned here to guard the Colonel." he said.

"That’s correct," Campbell interrupted, "however, we need to get you ready for the task ahead."

Ranma turned back to the older gentleman, letting off a sigh of defeat.  "I'm not getting out of this, am I?"

Campbell gave the young man a sad grin, one out of pity.  He felt sorry to send him, only having served his time during boot camp and with very little experience into the field of battle.  "I'm sorry, but no.  We need to get you briefed on the situation, and it would be better if we got it done now so you can get some sleep and be rested for the operation."

"Okay then," came the reply of the captive, "but before we go any further, I think there is something you should know..."  Ranma turned to Murphy.  "Did you ever know about this?"

"What are you talking about?"  Murphy responded, the subject Ranma was referring to escaping him. 

It was also beyond everyone present, the still quiet doctor eyeing him with curiosity.  Campbell watched Ranma with sudden worry, wondering what the youth before him had up his sleeve.  He knew of the disability Ranma had, having a severe allergy to water, and he expected that that was the subject now at hand.

Okay, Ranma thought, they must have read my file, so that means they know about my situation, but that also probably means they don't know everything there is to be said.  "Murphy, get me 2 glasses of water, one hot and the other cold."  he asked of him.

Brian's reaction was less than that of shock, as he knew of his friend's problem, but there was something in what he said that caught his attention.  "Why Ranma, your not going to commit suicide on me are you?"

"Mr. Saotome, what do you think your-" Campbell began.

"Don't worry Colonel, your not going to lose me, I can explain the allergy, but to do it, I need those cups of water." Ranma stated, making sure that taking his life was out of the question.

"Should I sir?" Murphy asked Campbell, who just nodded his head.  He walked over to the sink on the wall, one of the few distinguishing features aside from the head in the corner, and, reaching for two paper cups, turned the knob marked 'cold' to the left, releasing a miniature waterfall out of the faucet, from which he filled up one of the containers.  He set it aside, and, turning the knob back to the right, turned the opposing knob, marked 'hot', to the left.  The water, this time came out hot, steam escaping upwards toward the ceiling.  He put the cup under the water, taking less than that of a few seconds to fill, and doing likewise with the previous, setting it down before he would be burned by the almost scalding water.  He turned the knob to the right, shutting off the water, took a cup in each hand, and, both slowly and carefully, walked over to Ranma.

Ranma took each one of them gently, setting the hot one on the ground while holding the cold one.  "Before I do this, you have to promise me that you won't tell anybody about this, got it?"  The other figures silently nodded their heads in response.  Acknowledging this, the young man before them raised the cup and, with very little hesitation, poured the water over his head.

The first thing he felt was the tingling sensation flowing over him, one that he had experienced many times before.  As soon as it began, he could feel changes going all throughout his body.  His arms and legs shortened, losing their hair while becoming thinner and more refined, immaculate in every way.  The thing that he most often noticed, what he was also paying attention to now was the events occurring over his torso.  Out of his well built muscular chest taking on an entirely new shape, as it expanded outward, forming large, and quite distracting, if he were to describe it in that way, breasts, which also was now barren of hair, which poked into his wet shirt, leaving little more than nothing for the mind to imagine.  The most disconcerting features he had to endure, however, was what was happening below his now feminine chest.  He could feel it through his pants, his hips widening and his butt swelling up, providing a sort of padding for his rather hard metal chair.  And then, there was the matter of his manhood, to which the sensation of it transforming into something of a completely opposite nature was completely indescribable, almost like the numbness of a anesthesia filling him.  Other things were concluding too, his hair having turned from its almost jet black to a fiery red, his face becoming more refined and shaped than it had been before, and, most inconspicuously, whole internal body parts completely switching form.

It lasted a second, maybe a two at the most, for it to end, the former young man before the group of people now having become a young oriental woman, just past the boundaries of puberty.  However, it took more than a minute for anyone other than the now female Ranma to even stutter a response.

The first one to awaken out of the shocked look on his face was Murphy, who could only stammer out "But, but, how...?"

This brought both Colonel Campbell and the doctor out of their own illusions, both almost equally shock by what had just transpired.

"Don't tell me you never caught a glance of the redhead around the base did you?" Ranma asked Brian, his, now her, voice a distinct soprano.

Murphy searched his memory for the for what his feminine friend had described, back to the days of the base and the cold bunks, back to when he was just another one of the boys.  Yes, he did remember the young woman, often called the base's 'ghost girl', who appeared only for mere seconds before disappearing from sight completely.  He had once seen her just before lights out one night, seeing her for the first time without the distraction of the usual blur that accompanied a sighting.  It had lasted but a few seconds, just enough time, however, for their eyes to meet before she moved on.  And now, for the second time ever, he was able to look at her clearly.  God, he remembered, I wanted to take her to bed, but this is just sick, I'm not gay, but damn if she- no, he has a beautiful body.  "Your- your that girl, but how-" he began.

Ranma beat him to it however.  "I guess you two want to hear this too, or do you just like my breasts?" she asked.  She watched as the doctor and the officer lifted their gaze to her face, at which she continued.  "If you already read my file, then you know about my training trip that my father took me on when I could just speak.  Well, that’s only part of the story."  Ranma scanned the room before continuing on, making sure she had everyone's undivided attention. She had that of Campbell and Brian, but she still could not tell if she had the doctor's, whose face was still obscured by the shadows.  "It all started on the last leg of the trip, in a place called Jusenkyo.  Pop told me that there was a training ground on the brochure that he picked up in a local town.  It was in Chinese though, so all he had to run by were the pictures and from what he could gather from the people who spoke a bit of Japanese.

"Anyway, we get there and we were kind of disappointed by what we saw, just a bunch of springs with poles sticking out of them.  Don't get me wrong, the poles were the training exercise, but that was a piece of cake.  Pop and I ignored the guide, he spoke a bit of broken Japanese, and just leapt onto the poles.  We spared for a bit, but I eventually knocked him into one of the springs.  So, I land on a pole, waiting for him to come up.  Something came up all right, but it wasn't him, it was a panda!  The guide told me that he had fallen in a cursed spring and when you fall in, you become whatever drowned in there last, hence the panda.  I think you can guess the rest."  Ranma finished her speech in front of her audience, who were stunned by what she had said, but more by that it appeared to be true.

The doctor finally decided to step out of the darkness, at which Ranma learned that the person in the lab coat was indeed a female, and a beautiful one at that.  She appeared to have a mixture of different ancestries to her, seeming to have some Japanese and American blood in her, but that was just from guessing.  Her body was a whole other story.  While her open lab coat covered most of her, Ranma could easily tell that this woman was indeed well built, in all aspects and respects.  Yet, she didn't look much older from her, maybe five years older, but only at most.  She uttered her first words to him in a amazed tone of voice, "Ma- ma- may I, um, you know...?"  She asked of her.

Ranma replied only with a nod, knowing exactly what she wanted.  The woman reached toward her with her right hand and, gently, touched the now female Ranma's left breast.  She, realizing the objects before her were real, quickly withdrew her hand, still in near total shock at discovering that this was indeed a woman and not a man in disguise.  "Astonishing, you really are a woman...  But how do you change back?"

"Its the exact opposite of the cold water.  You just pour hot water on me and I'm back to normal."  She intended to demonstrate that too, as Ranma bent over toward the floor and picked up the cup of no longer steaming hot water, as which she raised over head and turned it over, spilling the liquid over herself in a repeat performance of just a few minutes prior.  She felt the all too familiar tingle was over her again, confirming that it was beginning.  She noticed that her vision was once again higher than it was before and could feel the hardness of the chair she stood in once again, along with another sensation within her pants, letting her know that her manhood had returned.  She felt a sucking sensation within her chest, as her two most profound features began to retract into her body.  Her face tingled also, becoming more rugged while becoming even larger.  The final sensation went through her once again, and Ranma was now, once again, a male.  He spoke, living true to the fact that his voice was also back to its normal low pitch, "And I would appreciate it if you would not check to confirm that I am a man."

Campbell was finally coming out of his daze from seeing a man change into a woman and back into a man in a matter of seconds, the sheer impossibility having put him into near cardiac arrest.  He had seen some incredible things in his lifetime, like a man single handedly saving hundreds of thousands of lives from imminent death, weapons that were beyond what the mind could comprehend, men who had died fighting for a lost cause and yet, this overcame all of them, and it only took minute amount of time for him to reconsider his beliefs.  From his lips came the words that he had feared to say, "This could be a problem..."

Murphy, who was also coming out of his own little world gave a grunt of agreement.  From what he had learned from the Colonel and what he had overheard, this was going to be an underwater approach, and if Ranma changed while in sub artic temperatures, there could be a serious hazard to his friend's life.

"By the way doctor, I didn't catch your name." Ranma stated, wanting to be disclosed on who she was.

"Oh, yes, my name is Doctor Hunter, Naomi Hunter, a pleasure to meet you, Ranma was it?" she answered.

"It was, but what are you a doctor of?"

"I'm a geneticist from ATGC, I was the medical chief for all the members of unit FOX-HOUND.  I was rushed over here several hours after the take over."

Ranma thought back to the ransom tape that the Colonel had shown him, the name having popped up in there as the name of the band of terrorists.  He switched his attention to the eldest member of the group.  "Yea Colonel, what exactly is FOX-HOUND?  I keep on hearing the name, but I have never heard of it outside this room."

Campbell's face turned from that of a smile of awe to a dark frown at the mention of the unit he had so long ago run.  He said nothing, but turned toward the television and reached for a file Ranma had not previously noticed when they entered.  He picked it up and walked over to the young man, handing him the file, which was rather loaded down with papers, no doubt all about this FOX-HOUND.  "Look inside there," the older gentleman said, "it has everything we have on file concerning how FOX-HOUND."

"You still haven't answered me," Ranma antagonized, "what is FOX-HOUND?"

"They are one of America's best kept secrets, or at least they were.  I was their commander up until about five years ago.  It's a special ops unit made up of the strongest, toughest, and smartest the United States could provide.  After I left, I guess that the new people were too blind to them.  You know what happened at the site, so you can guess how good these guys are.  The original leader of the group, my superior, betrayed us nearly a ten years ago, but we eventually were able to, how should I say this, end his threat?"

That was information that proved very interesting to Ranma, but he still had his doubts as to why he had to know this.  "So, what does that mean to me?"

Campbell let out a sigh at this.  "The former leader's codename was Big Boss, probably the greatest soldier of our time."

That was when the name struck meaning to the youth, it was the name of the guy those terrorist's ransom, the remains of him.  he said nothing, allowing the Colonel to continue.  He was cut off, however, by Dr. Hunter.

"Yes, his genetic data is unmistakably priceless, that is why we absolutely cannot give them it.  It would be one of the greatest terrorist weapons anyone can imagine."  A thought passed through her mind just then, causing her to frown for a second, but no less than that.  She reached into her lab coat and pulled out a hypodermic needle, filled with a orange colored substance.  "Hold out your arm please, I need to give you this."

Ranma held out his arm for her, exposing the pit of his elbow for her, at which she took hold of his arm and, aiming, pushed the needle into a vein inside the vulnerable spot, injecting the contents into his bloodstream.  She emptied it and gently pulled out the needle, swabbing the spot with alcohol to prevent infection.  She then put a plastic cover over the needle, just to make sure that she wouldn't get stuck in the process, and stuck it back in her pocket.

Ranma never had a problem with shots, even though he had never had that many anyway, but he was curious as to what it was for, and to what would happen if he changed while it was in his system.  "What's the shot for?" he asked.

"It was a combination of several things, though the main components consisted of a combination of nanomachines and an anti-freezing peptide, which will keep your blood and internal organs from freezing even in these waters.  There was also a vitamin booster I put in there to keep you up."

"Nanomachines?" asked Ranma.  "What are those?"

It took a second for Naomi to collect her thoughts on it before answering, deciding to give him the most basic answer she could provide.  "They are microscopic robots that we inject into a person's bloodstream for different purposes, mostly out of medical necessities, but military just as well.  I gave you several different types, most for your communications systems and the rest for increasing your physical as well as mental prowess beyond it's current abilities, as well as providing nutrients for your cells, so you won't have to eat.  The vitamin part contained several different drugs, like benzedrine and nootropics.  The benzedrine will act as a stimulant, which will keep you on your toes while the nootropics will help you concentrate, allowing you to make more conscious decisions."

Ranma was satisfied with that answer and turned back to the Colonel.  "So, are you going to tell me about this mission or not?"

Campbell couldn't help but smile at that, though it was less visible in the dim lighting of the room.  This kid is cocky, he thought, he just might do.  He turned around to face the television once again and pressed a button on the laptop, causing the screen on both it's monitor and the television to flicker to life once again.  This time, instead of the ransom video's feed, a map came up on the monitor, displaying several islands, where Ranma could only guess were somewhere off Alaska's coast.

The Colonel began his speech.  "It all went down a couple of days ago, but we didn't get wind of it until the tape came in."  On the screen, a mouse cursor moved over the map and highlighted a dot on the screen above some place called 'Dutch Harbor'.  "Shadow Moses Island, off the coast of the Fox Archipelago, was captured by Next Generation Special Forces, being lead by members of unit FOX-HOUND.  You already know what their demands are, and you should know that we don't give in to terrorists."  On the screen, the map was replaced by a zoomed in view of this supposed secret island.  It was shaped as if it were a marshmallow tat was being squeezed in the middle between two fingers, Ranma noted.

The name of that group of people didn't strike the young man as familiar though.  "Who are these special forces guys?"

"Its also no surprise you've never really heard of them.  They are some of the best America trained, but their existence is outside the governments legal bounds." Campbell answered.

"I'll explain this part Colonel." Dr. Hunter said.  "The Next Generation Special Forces are basically mercenaries whose contracts were bought out by our government.  Since they are not legal American citizens, if they were to go public about themselves, the CIA could just as easily either run a smear campaign or get rid of them all together.  The real reason that they kept a secret is that they have been put through gene therapy, and if the public got word of it, then we would have a major social crisis on our hands."

"I thought that was outlawed by international law." Ranma stated.

"Those are just declarations, not official treaties, so there are ways around them."

"So then, how good are these guys?"

"Well, their basic senses have been heightened by the therapy, so they can hear clearer and see farther than any normal human being.  The men even are geniuses, almost all of them having iqs of over a hundred and eighty.  They do, however, have a single common discrepancy among most of them." she said with a near proud tone of voice.

"And that would be?" Ranma asked.

"They have no combat experience whatsoever.  Most of them went through the Force XXI field training trials, which is a virtual simulation of actual combat.  Since it is virtual reality and not real life, their training was just that, not focused on the world beyond the pixels.  A computer can only do so much, and that is what they experienced.  It is true, however, that there is a sense of reality and urgency, along with the feeling of pain, but it still lacks the required realism to make the subject not have the handicap of knowing that it is not real."

'Simulated soldiers', Ranma thought.  So, several units just go off the depend and go back to their original jobs, that's a little far fetched though.  "That makes sense.  But, then again, how can several platoon of soldiers subvert into a group of terrorists?"

"They're calling it a revolution." the doctor said.

"Yes, since they all went through the same treatment, they feel as if they all are brothers." Campbell continued for her.  "There were really no signs that this was going to happen, and we still can't place a motive other than money or mind control."

"Mind control?  How is it possible for so many people to be controlled like dolls?" Ranma asked, wondering how that was even possible.  It was true that he had encountered people who had been possessed by spirits, but he had never even thought of something like this on so large of a scale.

"The reason for that possibility comes from the dossiers of one of the FOX-HOUND operatives.  Turn to page fourteen, it has a overview about the man we suspect as the puppeteer." the Colonel said.

The young man proceeded to do so, opening the file that he had been handed and flipping through the pages until he arrived at his destination.  The first thing he saw on the page was of a man whose face was horribly scared, so much to the point that he could almost have worn a mask and it would be hard to tell the difference between the two.  Next to the picture was a miniature biography on this man, however, several things had been marked out, including his real name and his age, though his codename, 'Psycho Mantis', was clearly shown.  There was no known, living or otherwise, family for this man, who was Russian by birth, but it did give a simple description of him.  He was around six feet tall, was male, quite obvious just from looking, and it displayed his current technical abilities, which said the words telekinesis, pyrokinesis, and even some words he could not even begin to pronounce.  They all had to do with ESP, which Ranma knew was the scientific explanation for people who could control ki or their chi, so he wasn't going to go into that with the people at present.  He looked it over again, after having read the short two paragraph bio on him, telling about the tragedy that he had endured in his home country and the jobs he had taken to mostly work with the KGB, then serving with the FBI for a while before joining FOX-HOUND.  Ranma looked up from the document and asked, "A psychic soldier?  The military actually has those kind of people?"

"Yes, the army branches of most of the superpowers have these kind of programs for soldiers who have extra sensory perception, though they will never admit it.  This one, however, is probably the most powerful one that we know of." Campbell answered.  "There are six members of FOX-HOUND currently participating in this terrorist activity.  There is Psycho Mantis, with his powerful psychic abilities.  Next comes Sniper Wolf, a beautiful and deadly sharpshooter.  There is Decoy Octopus, master of disguise.  Vulcan Raven, a giant shaman with near superhuman strength.  Last in the group is Revolver Ocelot, a former Spetsnaz officer and a very formidable gunfighter.  And finally, in charge of them, FOX-HOUND's squad battle leader, Liquid Snake."

Ranma listened to all that the older man had to say on these people.  "Those are some weird codenames, but, then again, I have heard of worse real names."  He sighed and turned back to the folder, looking through each of the biographies on the said persons, to which he learned the Colonel had been right on the dot on every one of them.  The next one after Mantis was the one for Sniper Wolf, whom he discovered was, indeed, exuberant with beauty, but seemed to lack one simple concept, that of compassion for her fellow man.  After that came Decoy Octopus, whose picture revealed a face that reminded him of a doll he had once seen a little girl in town carry around, devoid of expression and having a very worn appearance.  Turning the page, he found the next person to be a tall, very muscular man with a dark skin tone and tattoos covering much of his upper body, including a black one of a bird on his forehead, this one most likely being this Raven character.  He turned the page yet again and came to Revolver Ocelot, who was, for what he was not expecting, an older man, probably around the same age as the Colonel, with long silver locks of hair.  Ranma turned the page to the next and last person on the list, Liquid Snake.  This guy was British by his guess, as he learned to be right after looking the biography over quickly, who had long blond hair and a face of a man long hardened by battle.  "Okay then," Ranma said, "how are we going to get there?"

The Colonel turned back to the notebook and pressed another button, which began another short presentation.  On it, a map was shown with a red line leading to the island and two different circles, whose lines were green and orange.  "We will approach the island by sub.  We can only get about ten miles though before the installation’s sonar would pick us up.  The green circle shows the sonar's range."

Ranma had the distinct feeling that he wasn't going to like what he was about to hear.  "And then what?"

"We will launch a one man swimmer delivery vehicle.  After the SDV gets as close as it can, dispose of it.  From there on, you will have to swim."

The hot water man had expected this answer.  He had, on two occasions, swam the waters of the warm China Sea, but he was now in the Bering Sea, where the average temperature was colder than what the Titanic had gone down in.  "You want me to swim through water that is practically iceberg cold?"  He thought of something just then, and turned to the doctor.  "That is what the peptide was for huh?"

Naomi smiled at this, glad that the kid wasn't just all muscle.  "Now you are catching on."

"But still," Ranma continued, "even that shot won't protect me from getting turned into an ice cube."

The doctor didn't reply.  She instead turned to Murphy, who was standing in the back listening in what was being conversed.  Their eyes met and, as the doctor gave a nod, watched as Murphy pulled something out from behind his back and handed it to the woman.  Dr. Hunter then turned back around and tossed the item at Ranma, who caught it in mid air.  Ranma looked it over, finding it to be some kind of rubber clothing vacuum sealed in a plastic bag.  He spoke to her once again.  "This supposed to be some kind of scuba suit or something?"

"Almost right.  Its actually called a 'BDU-283a', but its most commonly referred to as a 'sneaking suit'.  It's designed to contort to the wearer's body and provide optimal protection from heat, cold, even bullets.  It'll act as a amphibious suit so you can swim faster than normal, as it comes with a pair of flippers and a Its pretty much one size fits all, so you don't have to worry about it being to small or large.  It should feel like a second set of skin."

The young man had a more pressing question than that of the threat of freezing to death or being shot up.  "That’s good and all, but what would happen to it if I, you know, changed?"

Naomi had been pondering this herself, but she really couldn't think of a probable outcome.  "Well, I think it would simply contort to that form too."

"What about the nanomachines?"

Up until several minutes ago, she would have never considered the affects of magic on technology, and even now, no logical solution came to her.  "...I don't know what would happen, but what I can tell you is that should some of the nanomachines leave your bloodstream, they are programmed to send out signals to cause the production of anti bodies, which would destroy the unit itself.  Each one has its own unique signature, so only the ones that get misplaced would be destroyed."

That sounded okay to him, but he still wasn't sure.  He decided to change the topic before he was in over his head.  He looked back at the Colonel, who was watching him carefully.  "What will happen once I'm on site?"

"You will have two mission objectives.  Your first one is to rescue a couple of hostages.  There is the head of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Donald Anderson.  The other one is the president of ArmsTech Industries, Kenneth Baker.  We have reason to believe they have other hostages besides them, so, if you can, get the others out as well.  In that portfolio there is a overview of each of the hostages."

Ranma nodded.  He was glad to know that he would not be killing everyone on the island like a mass murderer.  "And the second one is?"

"You are to investigate whether or not the terrorists have the ability to launch a nuclear strike, and stop them if they do.  You will have about eighteen hours to do this when we predict that you will first land on the island." Campbell answered.

"How am I supposed to disarm a nuclear bomb?  Don't you have some expert on this?"

"As a matter of fact, yes.  Her name is Natasha Romanenko, she is a member of the Nuclear Emergency Search Team who will be uplinked with you so that you can converse with each other if necessary.  She is also a weapons analyst, so she can help you with any gun that you come across.  Her biography is in there also."

"Is there anything else that I won't find in this file of yours?" Ranma asked as he held up the item in reference.

This was something that Campbell had been hoping he would not have to explain, but he knew he had to.  "There is another reason that we chose you instead of some other person beside the incredibly feats that you have done and your proximity to us."

Ranma caught this and drew his full attention on the aged man.  "What is it?"

"According to records that we got from the our database, a young woman was sent on the island on the day of the rebellion.  When we cross referenced your file with hers, we found some distinct correlations."

The Colonel was holding back on him, that much Ranma could easily tell.  "What is her name?" he asked.

"Well, we are unsure of whether or not it is an assumed one, we are still checking that out, but I-" the Colonel said before being cut off.

Ranma repeated the question, pressing the issue.  "What is her name?"

Campbell sighed in defeat, knowing that he wasn't getting around this one.  "She is going by the name Tendo, though we know that her face name is assumed."

The room fell silent, excepting the quiet hum of the machinery all around them.  Ranma's face was drained of its blood, the details of that last statement having completely drawn his attention beyond the Colonel to that of the single word 'Tendo'.  He could not speak a word, realizing that his past had truly come back to haunt him again.  Who could it be, he thought.  Kasumi, Nabiki, Akane?  He thought of the youngest daughter who he had once loved, remembering her beautiful face, her dark brown eyes piercing his soul and her voice filling every ounce of his mind.  Yet, through the voices was not the one of compassion that he rarely ever heard, but one of anger, of hate and infuriation.  Why would any of them come here, he thought.  To kill me?  Why would they want to do that to an already dead man?

Ranma remained still, almost comatose to the world, his eyes not meeting any of the people, instead staring down at the floor.  The other people who occupied the room looked on for several minutes, waiting for a reaction from the unflinching man,  each passing moment growing more with anxiety.  When Ranma finally spoke, it came in a low whisper, though it startled everyone within the confines of the room.  "...Okay Colonel, I'll do it, but I have three conditions."

"Name them." came the response.

"First, I want full disclosure at all times, no secrets between us.  Second, I will only take orders from you Colonel, so don't cut me off."

That was two, Campbell thought, and he most likely didn't need to second guess the third one.  "And the last one?"

"I-I want you to find out everything you can on this girl, whoever she is." Ranma stuttered.

"...You don't believe she is who she says she is?" Dr. Hunter asked.

"All I know of is that she is claiming to be someone from a long time ago in my past, but other than that, I know nothing else.  I don't even know if she is one of the bad guys or not, so I need to find that out.  If she really is who I think she is..."  Ranma did not finish his sentence, but it's meaning was clear.  Ranma was going head on with his past, and this time, if this wasn't a charade, then he truly didn't know what to do when the time comes.

"I agree to your terms Saotome, I'll see what I can do." Campbell said, hoping to put the young man's mind at ease, a futile effort, he knew, but not pointless.  He looked down at his watch, which he interpreted to be nearly half an hour since they had begun the briefing, and Ranma was already looking like he was asleep on his feet.  He decided to close this session and pick it back up after the boy had gotten a few hours of sleep.  "I think we should leave you alone for now, so you can rest up and get ready for the mission.  I also want you to go over that file so you don't go into the field without any prior knowledge."

Murphy, who still stood in the back watching, knew that this was his cue to leave.  He turned and walked to the door and, turning back to Ranma, said "G'night, see you in a few hours."  Ranma did not respond, so Brian took it upon himself to exit.  He opened the door and, looking back one more time with a slight smile, left the sight of the trio.

Dr. Hunter too walked over to the door and, looking back on the young man, said "Good night Mr. Saotome."  She too left from Ranma's vision, leaving him with Campbell and the empty space of the compact room.

Campbell said nothing, walking over to the set of equipment and, pressing several buttons on each of the machines, shut off the power to each of them.  The quiet hum from each of the devices stopped and all that filled their ears was of the engine that drove the submersible.  Campbell looked back at Ranma one last time, hoping the kid would shake it off and speak to him.  There came nothing, so he spoke instead.  "A guard will come in here in a few minutes to take you to one of the quarters so you can relax."

Ranma still said nothing, not even so much as twitching a finger in response.  Campbell gave up and, turning around, walked toward the opening.  However, just as he got to the door, he heard the whisper of the man behind him.  "Colonel, one thing."

Campbell turned at the sound and looked at Ranma, who was in the same position as he had been mere seconds ago.  "Yes?"

"Don't call me Saotome, that name is dead to me now, at least to those who I once knew.  Call me Ranma instead." came the voice of the youth.

He smiled, knowing that the kid would get through this.  "I'll do that, Ranma." he said, emphasizing on the last word.  "Pleasant dreams."

Nothing else came of the young one.  The Colonel turned back to the door and walked through it, leaving Ranma's vision.  The door closed, and Ranma Saotome, who was soon to enter a potential nightmare of which he could only hope to survive, was left alone once again.


End Chapter 2


Next Chapter




****
Author's Note:  Geez, it took me nearly a month and a half to do less work than what I did for the first 2 parts!  I finished both the prologue and chapter 1 within 3 to 4 weeks of each other.  *sigh*  Well, school has been REALLY dragging me down on writing, so I have to apologize to all of you out there, especially "Crossing Bridges", for delaying this.


Author's 2nd Note:  I have encountered and befriended 2 other fanfic authors that are also writing Ranma 1/2/Metal Gear crossovers.  If you would like to know who they are (I don't want to be rude to them by giving out their names without permission), e-mail me at Slackerchan@aol.com


Author's 3rd Note:  I am currently working out several other crossover ideas, some that could be one shots while others that could be potential multiverse expandable fics.  Here is a list of some of what I have thought of:

Sailor Moon/End Of Evangelion crossover
Ranma 1/2/Parasite Eve crossover
Resident Evil/Neon Genesis Evangelion crossover (both a spam and a multi part)
Sailor Moon/Devil May Cry/Neon Genesis Evangelion crossover
Sailor Moon/Resident Evil crossover

If you are interested in what could be or are interested in doing one of these yourself, e-mail me at Slackerchan@aol.com