By Northstar

Part One

As North went to hit the snooze button one more time she glanced at the clock and with a shock realized that she only had a half-hour before she was supposed to at the briefing for the upcoming mission. Quickly she jumped out of bed and into the shower. At least she didn't have to choose what to wear this morning as she finished belting her pants.

Walking into Section just under the wire she ran into Walter who was also on his way. "Pushing your luck aren't you Sugar?"

"Why? Whatever do you mean Walter?" she laughed as she beat him into one of the chairs. "I am right on time."

"Yeah, that may be," he whispered as he too took his seat, "but good thing Ops is running late himself or you can be sure he would have noticed you running in all breathless."

"Well it wouldn't be the first time he's seen me breathless." she quipped back with a sly wink. Walter just shook his head as he realized in what context she had been referring to.

Operations chose that moment to make his appearance, which put an end to any more bantering. "Glad to see everyone is here." He glanced around the table at the operatives. "We've intercepted Intel that a faction of Red Cell will be locating in a small town on the East Coast of Australia called Port Douglas. This man here, Roarke Sharma, will be heading up the new faction." An image came up showing a man in his late 40's, dark hair, mustache and beard. "From other sources we have learned that they have not arrived as yet but should be at that location in the next week. We will be in place before they arrive. North, Aly, Trace and Sharon will be sent ahead as vacationing office workers. The rest of the team including Michael and Birkoff will arrive the following day. A full briefing will be loaded onto your panels shortly. Make sure you check them often for any updates as we receive them. You will leave in one hour. That is all."

Aly was the first to speak, "Well, looks like we're going down under for a holiday girls."

"Yeah with any luck we may even get to have some fun." Trace commented as the girls headed over to Munitions to gather their equipment. Walter had gotten there minutes before and had already started to assemble what was needed.

North ever the practical one wondered what the mission profile would be. Checking her PDA panel she noticed that nothing had been uploaded yet. "Well nothing on the profile yet. Birkoff is slow today."

Trace laughed. "He's probably figuring out what clothes to bring along. Do you realize that this will be the first major mission he will be on outside of Section?"

"I wonder if he even owns a bathing suit?" Aly laughed. "He doesn't exactly have an extensive wardrobe you know. Maybe we should help him with some shopping when we get there."

Walter finished handing out the equipment to the girls. "Well girls, don't have too much fun without Uncle Walter around. You behave yourselves and don't do anything I wouldn't do."

The girls had a good laugh at that. "Yeah Walter, sure, whatever you say but you realize that doesn't leave anything out?" North quipped back.

Chuckling along with them he nodded vigorously. "That's right sweet pea. It leaves out absolutely nothing."

~~

Part Two

The girls were enroute before their panels were uploaded with the mission parameters. So far there were no new surprises in store for them, but that didn’t mean things couldn’t change. When they had arrived on board the plane they had settled themselves in and started to browse through the hard copy Intel that had been provided for them about their destination.

Aly, reading one of the brochures, saw some information that she shared with the others. "Hey girls did you know that we are going to see one of the Seven Wonders of the World?"

The others looked up from what they had been doing waiting to hear more. Aly was so absorbed in her reading it took her a few moments to realize that they were staring at her. "Well Aly, are you going to tell us or keep it to yourself?" Trace asked.

"Oh, yeah okay. Well according to this we will be right at The Great Barrier Reef and Port Douglas is the gateway to the "ultimate" reef experience. Hey we’ll get to practice our scuba diving here too. Listen to this; ‘Diving the reef would be ranked as one of the most powerful experiences of a lifetime - once underwater, your fear abates as your body settles into the bliss of weightlessness.’ At this Aly looked down at herself and over to the others in the group and gave a small chuckle, ‘and your eyes open to a world turned upside down.’ Well I would say our world is already upside down as it is."

North, who enjoyed diving, waited to hear more but none was forthcoming as Aly immersed herself once more into her reading. Checking her PDA again she found new information that had been uploaded. She was to make the initial contact with Roarke once he arrived and gather as much Intel as possible over the next few days on what his reasons were for being there. She sometimes wondered how Section gathered and received all the information. They must have people all over the globe that they were tapped in to. It truly was mind boggling that such a secret organization existed and that only a handful, other than the operatives, knew about it.

"Well girls, we still have a few hours before we arrive," North spoke, "and I think it might be wise if we rested up now as I don’t think we will have a chance once we get there." She noticed Trace had already drifted off as she said this. "Sharon and Aly, do a final panel check and then try and get some sleep." North was the senior operative on this trip until Michael arrived and until that time she wanted to keep on top of things.

The girls awoke a short while later just as the plane was descending into Brisbane. From there they would travel by car up the coast to Port Douglas. Gathering their belongings together it wasn’t long before they were standing on the tarmac waiting for the arrival of their vehicle. The driver introduced himself and the girls did the same. Even though he said he would be their ‘tour guide’ they knew that he too was an Operative. Once they were settled in and their luggage stowed in the trunk, they were on their way.

It was getting to be late afternoon as they got closer to the hotel and the girls had started to get restless. It had been a long trip but they were anxious to get started. Driving along Port Douglas Dr. they noticed the ocean on their right and the wondrous beaches. Feeling the car slow down they looked to see the reason and realized that they had arrived at their hotel. They had been given a three-bedroom apartment on the main floor, which suited their purposes. It gave them access to the outdoors without having to go through the actual hotel itself and they could come and go as they pleased.

After checking in getting settled the girls decided to do a little exploring to acclimate themselves to their surroundings. Evan, their driver, had told them of a little Bistro called Fiorelli’s where they could get a nice meal and the girls headed down the boardwalk to do just that. On their way back they would split up into partners and explore more thoroughly and then compare notes when they got back to their rooms.

Part Three

The next morning the girls got up early and got down to work. They would get everything done that needed to be done and then head out to the beach to relax. Michael and Birkoff would be arriving that evening and they wanted to have everything in place that could be in place. The morning went by quickly and after a light lunch served on the terrace the girls got changed into bathing suits and headed to the beach. They were soon ensconced in chairs soaking up the rays of the sun. It wasn’t often that they had the chance to enjoy the pleasures of sunbathing.

North had actually had the foresight to bring along some reading material. It seemed that lately she hadn’t had the time to enjoy the pleasure of reading anything other than mission profiles and debriefs. One of her favorite authors was Diana Gabaldon and it had been years since she had delved into the lives of Jamie and Claire. Now there was a wonderful love story set amongst the highlands of Scotland. That was one place North had never been but just reading the stories made her feel as though she had been.

Glancing over to the other girls, North noticed that Trace and Aly were getting a bit red. "Hey you two, don’t you think it is time to turn over? You’re starting to look like lobsters."

Sharon grinned as she noticed Trace and Aly. "I offered you girls my sunscreen."

Trace sat up and looked down at her legs. "Yeah but I hate feeling greasy all over. But… maybe I should change my mind."

Aly too looked at her body and grimaced. "Oops, I must have fallen asleep. I can’t get over how peaceful it is here. Too bad we don’t get vacations like ‘normal’ people do."

"All the more reason to enjoy today," Sharon piped up. "Who knows when we will next have a chance to soak up the rays and just vegetate on a beach." The other girls laughed at the comment and agreed wholeheartedly.

"Oh wouldn’t it be nice if for some reason the mission was canceled or delayed and we had a whole week here?" Trace said with a wistful look on her face.

Sharon looked over at Trace and shook her head. "In our dreams Trace. Unless Operations has changed since we left Section there isn’t a hope in Hades that he would consent to us lingering here if the mission got canceled."

"Yeah Sharon is right." Aly agreed. Glancing down at her watch she was shocked to see that the afternoon had slipped away. "Hey girls. I think we had better head back to the hotel. The others are going to be here in a few hours and we have to be ready when they do."

"Oh sure Aly, spoil the mood why don’t you?" they all groaned. But Aly was right, they had to be ready for when Michael arrived.

Gathering up their things and folding up the chairs the girls slowly made their way back to their room.

"I get first dibs on the shower," Sharon said, as she was the first one in the door and already heading in the direction of the bathroom.

"Okay, I’ll just check my panel and see if anything new has come up," North headed to her room.

"Well I don’t know about you Aly but I’m hungry." Trace said as her stomach grumbled. "Why don’t we get something from room service sent in and then we don’t have to worry about getting hungry while we wait for Michael."

"Sounds good to me too Trace."

They had all had their turn in the shower and eaten and nothing new had been uploaded into their panels so the girls decided to go down to the bar to wait for Michael to arrive. North had left a message for Michael to meet them there. Settling into a booth at the back of the room the girls watched the comings and goings of the other patrons of the hotel. They took turns guessing what they thought the occupation of each was and having a good time as they argued about the choices.

North was the first to notice the two gentlemen as they walked through the entrance and over to the bar. Pulling out her PDA and setting it beside her on the seat, she brought up the file on Roarke. Glancing up and taking another look at the man at the bar she realized they were one and the same. "Girls it looks as though our 'guest' has arrived." She motioned over to the bar with her eyes and one by one the girls surreptitiously looked over. Sharon who had her back to the bar brought out her compact and looked in the mirror rather than turn around.

"Oh and perfect timing too it seems." Aly smiled. "Looks like Michael and company have arrived too."

"Well I think I will leave you girls to your own devices for a while," North smiled as she got up. "I'm going to check in with Operations and let him know that the target has arrived. Now try and behave yourselves until I get back."

Part Four

Joining the others a short while later with a big smile on her face, North gave them the news. "Well... it looks as though our wishes have come true ladies."

"Wish? What wish North?" Aly asked, forgetting what they had discussed at the beach.

"Well it looks as though the mission has been put off for a week. The latest intel now is that they will be moving their base of operations to an island off the coast called New Caledonia." North informed them. "We are to stay here and keep an eye on things and report any information to Section. They'll make a decision as to what our next step will be."

Sharon looked to Trace and Aly, "Hey girls, looks like this means we get a vacation after all. Or as good as anyway. I guess we have the next few days to explore and go swimming and diving and..."

"Have some fun!!" They all finished together.

"Yes we will be able to have some fun and some down time but we have to get together with the rest of the team and work out a few things before we get carried away." North interjected. "Michael is waiting in our suite now. He's hooking up a link with Section and we'll get our briefing and from there we can make our personal plans."

"Okay then, what are we waiting for? Let's get going so we can get the fun started." Aly stated as she got up from her seat. "Come on girls let's go!"

****

"...now that we have gone over the parameters of the mission in general you will each have your own assignments which will be uploaded onto your panels tomorrow." Operations informed the team. "North, you will still be the one to make the initial contact and if possible over the next few days it would be a good idea to meet up and mention that your next stop will be Noumea, the capital of New Caledonia."

"Understood Sir. Actually I am aware of Noumea as my cousin used to reside there before moving back to Canada."

"Excellent North. Keep Michael informed as to your progress. Section will keep in touch with him for reports."

"Yes Sir, understood. Is that all for now?" she asked knowing that the girls wanted to start on their mini vacation. Instead of answering Operations just broke the link with them. "Well girls I guess that means that for now our time is our own."

Sharon looked around at the others, "Well why don’t we go have dinner and make our plans then. Who knows maybe Roarke will be there and North will have a chance to strut her stuff."

North looked open mouthed at Sharon, "Strut my stuff?" she laughed. "Now what exactly do you mean by that my dear?"

"Well… um…" Sharon stuttered.

Michael with an all too rare smile on his face rescued Sharon, "Now North, we all know that you seem to attract the men without even trying. I am sure Sharon only meant that Roarke will fall to your charms as have others before him."

"Yeah, that’s right, what he said." Sharon found her voice again. "You don’t even seem to have to work at it North and it’s not fair." None of the other girls seemed to want to say anything at this and just busied themselves looking everywhere but at North.

"Okay guys, why don’t we get ready and go for dinner." Aly stood up. "I am famished."

Trace rolled her eyes, "Aly, you are always hungry for goodness sake. You can’t pass by food if your life depended on it."

"I can too!" Aly said as she swiped a banana on her way to the bedroom to change.

**

The group of them went for dinner in the hotel and made their plans for the next day. Roarke had not shown up but they did find out that he had made inquiries about scuba gear rental and a charter. North would do the same in the morning and hope to catch up with him then.

Part Five/End

The next morning just as North was ready to exit the hotel, Evan came up to her with the information about which charter Roarke had been booked on. He had taken the liberty of adding her name to the manifest. "I’ll take you there. I’m playing taxi man today. I just dropped him off as a matter of fact."

"Thanks Evan, I appreciate it. My gear is over there." North pointed to the pile of scuba gear just outside the doors. "Make sure you let the others know and I’ll try and check in later but not to worry if I don’t. I may not be able to do it without being seen.""

"Sure thing North. I’ll see to it as soon as I get back."

**

The morning passed quickly and after making the initial contact, North had a good time with Roarke. It was hard to believe that he was the ‘enemy’ as he was charming and had a great sense of humor. The two of them walked arm in arm into the hotel just as the others were coming down the hallway. Pulling Roarke along with her she moved towards the group. "Hey guys, I want you to meet someone. I met him on the boat this morning."

Introductions were made all around. "Why don’t you ladies join me for dinner this evening. I understand your next stop is going to be New Caledonia as well." Roarke commented. "I’ll be leaving for there in the morning myself. I’ll look forward to meeting up with you once you all arrive on the island."

"Well Roarke, I am going to head for a shower but we’ll see you tonight. Thanks for showing me a good time today," North smiled at him.

Roarke smiled back, "Anytime and glad I could be of service. I’ll catch you later ladies."

**

Once back in their suite North called Michael and Birkoff into the room. "We’re in luck. He is flying out tomorrow morning on a small seaplane that he chartered at the local airport. He has his own pilot that will be flying the plane so we won’t be risking any innocent people."

Michael nodded, "Good work North. I’ll inform Section and work up a new profile. I think our work will be done here."

Moans and groans could be heard from the girls. Trace was the one to speak up. "Hey I was hoping that we could have had a few more days here." She complained. "This was shaping up to be a nice holiday and now it’s going to be cut short."

North could understand where they were coming from and tried to smooth things over, "Let’s wait and see what happens once we hear back from Section. They may still want us to go to the island if they can’t work out a profile that is workable."

"Yeah Trace," Sharon agreed, "let’s just wait and see. In the meantime, why don’t we go for a swim?"

"Okay," Trace said grudgingly, "we might as well. Hey Birkoff, you going to join us?"

"I don’t think so Trace. I didn’t bring a suit with me."

Laughing all the girls quickly ran to their rooms and each of them brought out a bathing suit for Birkoff. Trace had gotten one with Koala bears on them, Sharon had gotten one with kangaroos and Aly had bought one that had hearts on them. "No way am I going to wear that one Aly!" Birkoff protested as he laughed with the others. "I do kinda like the koala bear one though." Taking them from Trace’s hand he went to get changed.

**

Dinner was a success with Roarke. The others found him to be charming as well and were almost reluctant to bid him goodnight. It had been a long time since they had had the chance for any socializing outside of Section. Michael still hadn’t heard back from Section by the time that the girls had to leave for dinner. North noticed him lingering at the entrance to the restaurant and excused herself.

Walking over to Michael she asked, "Are the new parameters set?"

"Yes. He will be taken out tomorrow. His second in command is meeting him for the trip over so that should effectively eliminate the possibility of a new headquarters for them here."

North just nodded. "When do we leave then?"

Michael gave a quick smile, "At the end of the week."

"The end of the week? But if they are going to be eliminated tomorrow why the delay of 4 days before we go back?"

"Rather than maybe having to come back," Michael explained, "in case they have a secondary plan in place, Operations decided it would be wise for us to delay our return."

"Well I know the girls will be glad to hear that." Michael started to say something but North forestalled him. "Don’t worry Michael, I won’t say anything until we are safely in our rooms."

*

They were overjoyed when they were given the news later on. Hopefully nothing else would come up to interfere with their plans for the next few days. North too was happy, as she hadn’t had much of a chance to do what ‘she’ wanted to do. They sat up for a while longer making the plans for the next few days.

**

By noon the following day they had heard the news of a plane exploding 5 minutes out from the airport over the ocean. So far nothing else had come up and no new Intel had been sent their way other than the fact that sources close to Red Cell had found out that they were upset at having to deal with the latest crisis that the death of Roarke had created.

Michael, Birkoff and the girls finished out their week in Australia and returned back to Section well rested and tanned.

The End

This story ©copyright Northstar, 2000