A/N: AU time!  Read the full story in my bio: Like a Tank, Like a Soldier!

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She'd had big plans for a wonderful Saturday with her husband and three children (7 was the eldest, and with 4 year old twins), but seeing her former teammate at the door for the first time in 11 years decidedly ruined her mood.  It hurt the most where her left lower leg used to be.  

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Myoui Mina's eyes widened and she inhaled sharply at the sight of the most precious child she'd ever seen.  

"She's yours?" she queried of Special Operations subunit commander and tactician Park Jihyo, though she obviously knew the answer.  Jihyo's round eyes shone as she smiled at the younger girl. 

"13 months tomorrow," she replied to the demolitions officer.  Her mind flashed back to the beautiful June day that Hwang Ji-Young was born to Hwang Shi-Hyuk and Park Jihyo; it obviously hadn't been fantastic in the moment, but she reflected with nothing but fondness now.  Ji-Young was a beautiful baby; she had her mother's iridescent eyes that seemed to almost absorb even the light of the sun when viewed from the right angle.  Even at 13 months, and even in a slightly blurry photo, one could see the beginnings of a distinct and firm jawline that baby Ji-Young derived from her father, himself a former military man.  Mina startled Jihyo from her reverie.  

"13 months?"  The girl was aghast.  "They have you back so soon?  And you recovered so quickly!"  It was true that Jihyo was back in action much earlier than she'd expected to be, and much earlier than she would've liked.  It was only on executive order by the President, Park Jin Young, that she'd returned so promptly.  

"I'm 27, at the height of my physical prime," Jihyo replied to Mina's latter statement.  "But I'm getting over that hump.  Pretty soon, I'll be a liability on field missions, and I guess the brass wants to make the most of me while I'm an asset."  Mina nodded in comprehension.  She understood that Jihyo was perhaps the finest Spec Ops soldier in the history of the force, male or female.  Her strategic prowess under duress and her skill with a sniper rifle were nigh unmatched in the ranks of the army.  Mina also understood that recapturing the pivotal military base at Tainan, Taiwan was imperative in spurring the recovery of the island of Taiwan and in stemming the tide of military losses as a whole.  

Just as nearly no mission to date was quite as important, precious few were quite as risky.  The biggest strategic possession of the Graves Cult, a fascist movement that had exploded onto the scene a decade prior and thrown the Earth into its third World War, was heavily fortified against any sort of invasion.  Anti-aircraft weapons and deep-sea submarines prevented against aerial and amphibious assault.  The only option was the dispatch of two units of the finest covert force in the world, nine boys and nine girls to flank and infiltrate the base from either side.  Enter the South Korean Special Operations Contingent.  This wartime coalition featured the finest soldiers in the Korean army, and its two top units were tasked with the job of a lifetime.  

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"A blaze of glory," grinned Kim Dahyun.  "It's the dream, isn't it?"  The weapons sergeant tossed a wink towards her best friend and fellow Special Operations officer.  

"Are you crazy?"  Medical sergeant Son Chaeyoung shot back, smacking Dahyun's shoulder with the book she had on hand.  Something pretty compelling about the first Korean NBA player, but she was too tense to really get into it at the moment.  She'd have to finish it some other time.  "The dream is to be a hero and to live while you're at it.  You ever seen a war movie where the main character and hero dies at the end?"  

"Are you crazy?  You ever see a war movie where the main character and hero doesn't die at the end?"  Dahyun began to count on her fingers.  "Braveheart.  Whoever Tom Hanks plays in Saving Private Ryan- John Miller.  Lee Jin Tae in Taegukgi.  Kang Mi-"

"Okay, okay, I get it," Chaeyoung retorted.  "I just don't really know a lot of war movies."  She lapsed into silence and glanced at Dahyun.  "What?  Why are you looking at me like that?"<