Part One
Sephiroth pulled his hair back from around his face and looked down on the canyon from his place on the cliff. The Wutai troops were backing up towards Wutai. Sephiroth turned to Heidegger. "Go down and lead B squadron around to come at the Wutai troops from behind." Heidegger glared at Sephiroth, flicked off a lazy salute, and turned his chocobo around. Sephiroth sighed as he watched Heidegger go down the slope, his chocobo bending under its load, and wondered again why the President had assigned the fat SOLDIER as his second in command. Sephiroth dismissed the thought. He had to be focused in this battle, if Wutai troops got out, it would establish a supply line that would be hard to close. Sephiroth lifted the binoculars up to his eyes again. After a few minutes, he saw Heidegger leading the chocobo cavalry into the back of the Wutai troops. The soldiers, taken by surprise, started to bunch into the middle.
Sephiroth turned to the small man at his side. Clad in the black robes of a ShinRa magic operator, the small man asked Sephiroth in a surprisingly deep voice "Flare and fire3?"
Sephiroth nodded. "Followed by ice3s. Now Nida" Sephiroth finished sternly.
The corners of Nida's mouth tightened slightly, and he signaled to the magic-ops on the opposite wall of the canyon. Down among the Wutai troops, a ball of fire appeared, and started expanding.
Those nearest the flare simply disintegrated in its wake. The others flung themselves out of its way, some throwing up hasty magic barriers and reflects. The magic-ops started throwing down huge fireballs then, followed by massive chunks of Ice. When the steam cleared there were only a third of the Wutai troops left standing.
Sephiroth looked down through the binoculars. They seemed to… he stopped. That shape wasn't human. Some of the soldiers had morphed themselves. He didn't even bother to think how when he swept his gaze across the battlefield and counted a total of forty dark dragons. He lifted the radio to his mouth. "Heidegger, Gainsborough, withdraw! We need to use wide range magic. I repeat, withdraw!"
"Acknowledged General." Richard Gainsborough's voice came over the radio, in his quick slum accent.
"Roger that General" Heidegger's voice had a note of reluctance in it. 'The man really is an idiot' Sephiroth thought. Turning quickly to Nida, he asked him "What's your strongest magic?" Nida thought a moment. Then he turned around and barked orders to the magic-ops.
"Alpha squadron ops, theta class magic, all linked. Beta squadron, delta class forbidden. Give me Comet2s and Ultimas. Gamma squadron ops, I need summons. The rest of you, kappa class E-skills. Right fucking now, ops!"
Sephiroth smiled. Nida was a good man, and a very good commander. 'May as well pitch in myself' he whispered the word that would activate the summon materia at his side, then released it when Nida gave the signal to the ops.
The battlefield below became a seething mass of green energy, grey meteorites, and blinding white motes of energy swirled around it all. Then monsters began to come. All kinds of creatures had been summoned, Four headed dragons, demons, knights, robots. A few had non-sentient summons like Sephiroth. He looked up in the sky and saw the familiar white curtain that signified Supernova coming. Sephiroth grinned - and then he saw that one of the dragons, the largest one of all, had started coming straight at him. Sephiroth smiled and whipped out the masamune. The dark dragon sent a ray of green energy at Sephiroth, but he ducked to the side, and rolled until he was level with the dragon. Leaping off the cliff edge onto the dragon's back, Sephiroth lifted the Masamune over his head, and the bought it down to strike the dragon's neck. The black monster howled in pain, but Sephiroth made a slash that cut its head clean off. Sephiroth jumped off it's back while the Dragon was in its death throes, until it finally stopped jerking and fell onto the ground below.
***
"But Sir, we need to strike now to finish them off. If we strike now, we'll crush the Wutai forces completely" Richard Gainsborough was gesturing to the map of Wutai's defences. The intelligence the Turks had identified two relatively unguarded routes into the heart of the city. "If we strike now we can win this in a matter of days."
Heidegger frowned "Look Gainsborough, ShinRa orders us to stay put and wait for a better opportunity to make them surrender. ShinRa wants them crippled, not crushed"
Gainsborough glared at the fat commander "Oh, what a humanitarian the president is." he spat.
Sephiroth interrupted "Look, we all know that ShinRa's only in this for the money, but they're still our commanders. We have to follow their orders."
Gainsborough turned his glare onto Sephiroth. "Fuck ShinRa. I missed my last leave, and I've got a daughter I haven't even seen yet. I want this war to be over as soon as possible. This," he gestured at the map "is a way to get it over with within the week, with the minimum loss of life. Or have you stopped caring about your soldiers lives Sephiroth? Because ShinRa stopped caring a long time ago."
Sephiroth looked at him with icy cool Mako eyes. "I'm a SOLDIER Gainsborough. I fight for ShinRa, and it doesn't matter what I think of their orders, as long as I follow them. I always have followed them, and I'm not going to stop today." Sephiroth looked back down at the map. "I've radioed ShinRa asking for further orders. I'll tell you when I receive word back from them. You are dismissed."
Heidegger did his usual sloppy salute and walked out. Gainsborough stayed.
"I always knew you were more than human Sephiroth. I never thought you might be less." He threw Sephiroth a sharp salute and walked out.
Part Two
Gainsborough walked out of Sephiroth's tent, but Heidegger was there waiting for him.
"Hey Gainsborough!"
Gainsborough spun to face Heidegger. There was something about the fat little man he didn't like "What is it Heidegger?" he said through gritted teeth.
"What you were saying in there…about the ShinRa." Heidegger had a glint in his eye Gainsborough didn't like "I'd watch your mouth if I was you."
Gainsborough moved close to him. "Oh? Why's that?"
"There's some people who would tell higher command. I heard they… ah… relieve you of duty. Permanently"
Gainsborough felt a chill run down his spine. The fat man was blackmailing him? "Well, I suppose I'd better watch my mouth then."
Heidegger drew himself up to his full height, about to Gainsborough's chin and said quietly "Maybe it'd be better if you just let me do the talking to the general. That way your mouth won't get you into trouble hmm?"
Gainsborough looked down at Heidegger. The man wanted more power? He turned and walked into the darkness.
***
Sephiroth sat alone in his tent, preparing his Masamune. Taking out the materia and examining it, he noticed a tiny flaw on the red materia of Supernova. 'Hmm, gone up a level' he mused, then heard a knock on the tentflap. He started replacing the materia, saying, "Come in".
The dark blue suit announced to Sephiroth who the visitor was before he showed his face "Hello Moore" he greeted the Turk "Take a seat."
"General." Moore said, taking a seat opposite Sephiroth "there's a problem."
Sephiroth finished inserting the materia into their slots on the sword, and took out his Escort Guard.
"What's that?"
"I believe we have a spy in the camp. The Wutai command know things they shouldn't"
Sephiroth stopped and stared blankly at the poison materia in his hand. "You're sure it's in camp? It's not one of your people playing at double agent?"
Moore shook his head. "They know stuff that none of my people know. They know stuff that no-one knows except the Commanding officers."
Sephiroth grimaced "Have you got anyone in the Turks who could uncover him? Or her, as it might turn out."
Moore sat for moment thinking and then said slowly "There is one person who might have a talent in that area. But none of my team have any experience doing that."
Sephiroth was still slowly turning the materia round in his hand. "Put him on it if you can trust him a hundred percent. But if you can't I want you to do it yourself." He put the poison materia down "Actually, I want you to do it yourself anyway. And any Turks you can spare. Digging up this mole is the priority."
"I'll get on it right away sir. Er, sir? Is there anyone in the command staff that you know has anti-ShinRa sentiment?"
Sephiroth sat for a moment gazing at the materia, then looked up at Moore with an unreadable expression. "No. No, there's no-one in the staff that isn't 100% loyal to ShinRa."
Moore sighed. "I'll start with the squad commanders then." He threw a salute "General."
Sephiroth waved Moore away "Dismissed". He sat gazing at the materia again. 'Have I done the right thing?'
Part Three
The next morning, the command staff was called to the tent. Sephiroth had new orders from the ShinRa, even though he wasn't looking forward to telling them. As they came I he looked at them, trying too see if one of them could be a traitor. 'They can't be. Even Gainsborough is loyal to Midgar, if he isn't loyal to ShinRa. And there's no way he would put the lives of his troops in danger.' His gaze hardened a little when it passed over Heidegger. That was one man who would jump in the jaws of a behemoth if he were ordered to do it. When Moore, Nida and Flight Commander Harle came in Sephiroth told them of ShinRa's plan.
"ShinRa high command have determined that if we have a final push now the Wutai troops will be too weak to resist us. We are to launch a full frontal assault on Wutai with aerial support, Coming at them from these three points." Sephiroth gestured at the map. "Harle tells me we'll need some time to get our aerial forces ready, so we'll bombard the city until that time. Moore, we need the Turks to try to assassinate some of Wutai's command. We're not likely to be able to get Lord Godo, but we should be able to pick off some of the lower commanders. Any questions?"
All was silent for a moment. Then Gainsborough spoke.
"Yeah, who came up with this crocka shit? This might break through, but it'll kill thousands of our own men. The Turks identified TWO weakspots, and ShinRa ignored them both! This'll cripple Wutai, but it'll cripple us as well! You can't make the men do this, this isn't an assault, it's a bloody Kamikaze mission!"
Sephiroth stared at him. "If you've quite finished Richard? You're going to do it, or you can resign if you're afraid it's a suicide mission." Gainsborough stiffened. He didn't like his bravery questioned. Sephiroth turned to Heidegger "Do we have the resources for a frontal assault?"
Heidegger smirked at Gainsborough "Yes sir, I believe we do. We can be ready in a day or two."
Sephiroth turned to Nida "Are you ready for a bombardment?"
Nida nodded slightly, his movement restricted by the high collar of his blue dress uniform "Yes Sir. What with? Comet2s? Fire3s? Contain? Summons?"
"All of them. We have a good supply of Ethers and Elixirs. And Harle, how long before you're ready for an aerial assault?"
"Two, three days tops. The Meggido, the Gelnika and the Highwind are all repaired now. We only have about five more damaged to refit, and we'll be full strength."
"Good. You're dismissed. Ah, except Moore. I need to talk to you."
They all filed out, Gainsborough casting a pointed glance at Sephiroth, leaving Moore there to talk with the great general. "Have you progressed any in finding this mole?"
Moore shook his head "No sir. We only know…" he trailed off.
"What?"
"It's coming from Gainsborough's squadron sir."
Sephiroth stood there poleaxed. But only for a few seconds before he gave Moore his orders "Carry on looking, but narrow down your search. Have all other Turks except for you and - what did you say the name of that Turk good at sniffing out traitors was?"
"Tseng sir. He's new, but he's good at this. You want me to order the rest on assassination missions?"
"Yes. In three days it won't matter, one way or another. Dismissed."
***
As Moore was walking back to his own tent he bumped into Heidegger. The fat man stopped and looked at him then said "Are you loyal to ShinRa Moore?"
Moore was taken aback "Of course I am. All the Turks are."
Heidegger drew closer and whispered "Not everyone is"
Moore stared at the fat man as he waddled away. 'What does he know?'
Part Four
Moore wandered around the camp, trying to find Heidegger again when Tseng came up to him. The man had only just joined the Turks, and still looked as if he was wondering what he was doing in the blue suit. Unlike most of the Turks, Tseng had tried to enter SOLDIER, and had made it through the program until it was decided that his skills could be put to better use elsewhere. Moore didn't like him - there was a glow of ambition in his eyes, and for a Turk there was only one place ambition was aimed at. He intended to stay in that place for as long as possible. "Yes Tseng?" he asked when the young Turk caught up with him "what is it?"
Tseng handed him a sheet of paper with a smug look on his face. "A list of all the PHS contacts made to outside the base. And on these dates," Tseng jabbed a finger at five calls on the list " someone made contact with the number of the chief of intelligence for Wutai." Tseng flashed him a grin "What do you think?"
Moore turned over the list in his hands. It looked genuine, but someone with Tseng's security clearance shouldn't have been able to get it. "Where did you find this Tseng?" he said finally.
Tseng's grin faded a little, and Moore saw a flash of anger and embarrassment that was quickly smoothed over. "I was given it by General Heidegger sir. Is that alright."
Moore kept turning the paper over in his hands. "Alright, find out who called from that set. It'll be someone in General Gainsborough's section remember."
Tseng flashed him another quick grin, but his eyes told something else. They looked at Moore coldly, calculating. Moore almost shivered when Tseng walked away. Something about Tseng made him uneasy, quite apart from the ambition in his eyes. Something told Moore that Tseng would do anything for his own advancement - and anything for ShinRa. Which, Moore reflected as he walked away, was the very best kind of Turk, but he didn't have to like them.
***
Heidegger walked through the camp feeling rather pleased with himself. He'd set Tseng down a path that would inevitably lead to Gainsborough being stripped of rank. But he had to give Gainsborough a chance. It was the honorable thing to do. He saw Gainsborough coming out of Sephiroth's tent and walked over to him. Gainsborough turned when he shouted, and looked at him with thinly veiled contempt, mixed with a touch of panic. Heidegger had to suppress a grin as he walked over to Gainsborough. "How are you Richard?" he said in a friendly tone.
Gainsborough looked at him warily. "I'm fair." He said eventually "Yourself?"
"Not too bad, not too bad. Look, have you given any thought to our conversation a couple of nights ago?"
The panic grew in Gainsborough's eyes. "Yes I have." The panic drained away replaced by resolve "I'm not going to give into you Heidegger. I value the lives of my troops to highly to put them in YOUR hands, fatman"
Heidegger threw back his head and laughed "Gwa ha ha ha. Ah well, Gainsborough, you'll finally be able to see your daughter. Enjoy your retirement." Heidegger let loose the grin he was holding back, and strode into the night, laughing softly.
Part Five
Tseng glanced around furtively. Since Heidegger had told him that General Gainsborough was the spy, he'd been thinking which would be the best way to deal with him. If he just told Moore, he wouldn't get any of the credit, but if he did nothing, everyone's lives would be at risk. In the end he decided there was only one thing he could do.
He dodged a passing patrol of MPs, ducking into the shadow created by a mess tent, and stood there immobile until they were a safe distance away. He let out the breath he had been holding and carried on to the officer's quarters.
After ducking a few more patrols, Tseng caught his breath and leaned against a nearby tent. He took out a small velvet lined box, and selected one of the daggers in it. He took a deep breath, and ducked inside the tent.
Gainsborough was at his desk, studying some maps, and he had his back to Tseng. Tseng hefted the knife cautiously, waiting for the right time to strike.
Gainsborough had been up most of the night, poring over maps of the Wutai area, trying to figure out a way into the heart of Wutai that wouldn't completely decimate his troops. He sat up and rubbed his eyes, deciding to go to bed. He put his hand down to his desk and picked up his service pistol. Nothing had come of Heidegger's threats so far, but Gainsborough knew that ShinRa retired traitors permanently, usually with a long knife in the dark. He turned around and saw Tseng, looming up out of the darkness with a dagger in one hand…
Tseng saw that he was about to raise the alarm, so he took his last chance, and drove the knife home. Gainsborough rolled out of the way just in time, so the dagger grazed his shoulder rather than piercing his heart. He bought the gun up and fired as Tseng struck again, and the sound of his shot was the last sound Richard Gainsborough ever heard.
Tseng swore and bent down to wipe his knife on Gainsborough's jacket. He glanced quickly down to his clothes to make sure none of Gainsborough's blood had smashed on his immaculate blue suit. Then he hurried out the door, leaving Gainsborough lying in a pool of his own blood.
Far to the West, in the slums of Midgar, the five-year-old Aeris Gainsborough woke up. Without knowing how, she knew her father had died. She could feel his soul move through the lifestream, becoming part of the planet. For the second time in her young life, Aeris cried over the murder of her father.
Sephiroth pulled his hair back from around his face and looked down on the canyon from his place on the cliff. The Wutai troops were backing up towards Wutai. Sephiroth turned to Heidegger. "Go down and lead B squadron around to come at the Wutai troops from behind." Heidegger glared at Sephiroth, flicked off a lazy salute, and turned his chocobo around. Sephiroth sighed as he watched Heidegger go down the slope, his chocobo bending under its load, and wondered again why the President had assigned the fat SOLDIER as his second in command. Sephiroth dismissed the thought. He had to be focused in this battle, if Wutai troops got out, it would establish a supply line that would be hard to close. Sephiroth lifted the binoculars up to his eyes again. After a few minutes, he saw Heidegger leading the chocobo cavalry into the back of the Wutai troops. The soldiers, taken by surprise, started to bunch into the middle.
Sephiroth turned to the small man at his side. Clad in the black robes of a ShinRa magic operator, the small man asked Sephiroth in a surprisingly deep voice "Flare and fire3?"
Sephiroth nodded. "Followed by ice3s. Now Nida" Sephiroth finished sternly.
The corners of Nida's mouth tightened slightly, and he signaled to the magic-ops on the opposite wall of the canyon. Down among the Wutai troops, a ball of fire appeared, and started expanding.
Those nearest the flare simply disintegrated in its wake. The others flung themselves out of its way, some throwing up hasty magic barriers and reflects. The magic-ops started throwing down huge fireballs then, followed by massive chunks of Ice. When the steam cleared there were only a third of the Wutai troops left standing.
Sephiroth looked down through the binoculars. They seemed to… he stopped. That shape wasn't human. Some of the soldiers had morphed themselves. He didn't even bother to think how when he swept his gaze across the battlefield and counted a total of forty dark dragons. He lifted the radio to his mouth. "Heidegger, Gainsborough, withdraw! We need to use wide range magic. I repeat, withdraw!"
"Acknowledged General." Richard Gainsborough's voice came over the radio, in his quick slum accent.
"Roger that General" Heidegger's voice had a note of reluctance in it. 'The man really is an idiot' Sephiroth thought. Turning quickly to Nida, he asked him "What's your strongest magic?" Nida thought a moment. Then he turned around and barked orders to the magic-ops.
"Alpha squadron ops, theta class magic, all linked. Beta squadron, delta class forbidden. Give me Comet2s and Ultimas. Gamma squadron ops, I need summons. The rest of you, kappa class E-skills. Right fucking now, ops!"
Sephiroth smiled. Nida was a good man, and a very good commander. 'May as well pitch in myself' he whispered the word that would activate the summon materia at his side, then released it when Nida gave the signal to the ops.
The battlefield below became a seething mass of green energy, grey meteorites, and blinding white motes of energy swirled around it all. Then monsters began to come. All kinds of creatures had been summoned, Four headed dragons, demons, knights, robots. A few had non-sentient summons like Sephiroth. He looked up in the sky and saw the familiar white curtain that signified Supernova coming. Sephiroth grinned - and then he saw that one of the dragons, the largest one of all, had started coming straight at him. Sephiroth smiled and whipped out the masamune. The dark dragon sent a ray of green energy at Sephiroth, but he ducked to the side, and rolled until he was level with the dragon. Leaping off the cliff edge onto the dragon's back, Sephiroth lifted the Masamune over his head, and the bought it down to strike the dragon's neck. The black monster howled in pain, but Sephiroth made a slash that cut its head clean off. Sephiroth jumped off it's back while the Dragon was in its death throes, until it finally stopped jerking and fell onto the ground below.
***
"But Sir, we need to strike now to finish them off. If we strike now, we'll crush the Wutai forces completely" Richard Gainsborough was gesturing to the map of Wutai's defences. The intelligence the Turks had identified two relatively unguarded routes into the heart of the city. "If we strike now we can win this in a matter of days."
Heidegger frowned "Look Gainsborough, ShinRa orders us to stay put and wait for a better opportunity to make them surrender. ShinRa wants them crippled, not crushed"
Gainsborough glared at the fat commander "Oh, what a humanitarian the president is." he spat.
Sephiroth interrupted "Look, we all know that ShinRa's only in this for the money, but they're still our commanders. We have to follow their orders."
Gainsborough turned his glare onto Sephiroth. "Fuck ShinRa. I missed my last leave, and I've got a daughter I haven't even seen yet. I want this war to be over as soon as possible. This," he gestured at the map "is a way to get it over with within the week, with the minimum loss of life. Or have you stopped caring about your soldiers lives Sephiroth? Because ShinRa stopped caring a long time ago."
Sephiroth looked at him with icy cool Mako eyes. "I'm a SOLDIER Gainsborough. I fight for ShinRa, and it doesn't matter what I think of their orders, as long as I follow them. I always have followed them, and I'm not going to stop today." Sephiroth looked back down at the map. "I've radioed ShinRa asking for further orders. I'll tell you when I receive word back from them. You are dismissed."
Heidegger did his usual sloppy salute and walked out. Gainsborough stayed.
"I always knew you were more than human Sephiroth. I never thought you might be less." He threw Sephiroth a sharp salute and walked out.
Part Two
Gainsborough walked out of Sephiroth's tent, but Heidegger was there waiting for him.
"Hey Gainsborough!"
Gainsborough spun to face Heidegger. There was something about the fat little man he didn't like "What is it Heidegger?" he said through gritted teeth.
"What you were saying in there…about the ShinRa." Heidegger had a glint in his eye Gainsborough didn't like "I'd watch your mouth if I was you."
Gainsborough moved close to him. "Oh? Why's that?"
"There's some people who would tell higher command. I heard they… ah… relieve you of duty. Permanently"
Gainsborough felt a chill run down his spine. The fat man was blackmailing him? "Well, I suppose I'd better watch my mouth then."
Heidegger drew himself up to his full height, about to Gainsborough's chin and said quietly "Maybe it'd be better if you just let me do the talking to the general. That way your mouth won't get you into trouble hmm?"
Gainsborough looked down at Heidegger. The man wanted more power? He turned and walked into the darkness.
***
Sephiroth sat alone in his tent, preparing his Masamune. Taking out the materia and examining it, he noticed a tiny flaw on the red materia of Supernova. 'Hmm, gone up a level' he mused, then heard a knock on the tentflap. He started replacing the materia, saying, "Come in".
The dark blue suit announced to Sephiroth who the visitor was before he showed his face "Hello Moore" he greeted the Turk "Take a seat."
"General." Moore said, taking a seat opposite Sephiroth "there's a problem."
Sephiroth finished inserting the materia into their slots on the sword, and took out his Escort Guard.
"What's that?"
"I believe we have a spy in the camp. The Wutai command know things they shouldn't"
Sephiroth stopped and stared blankly at the poison materia in his hand. "You're sure it's in camp? It's not one of your people playing at double agent?"
Moore shook his head. "They know stuff that none of my people know. They know stuff that no-one knows except the Commanding officers."
Sephiroth grimaced "Have you got anyone in the Turks who could uncover him? Or her, as it might turn out."
Moore sat for moment thinking and then said slowly "There is one person who might have a talent in that area. But none of my team have any experience doing that."
Sephiroth was still slowly turning the materia round in his hand. "Put him on it if you can trust him a hundred percent. But if you can't I want you to do it yourself." He put the poison materia down "Actually, I want you to do it yourself anyway. And any Turks you can spare. Digging up this mole is the priority."
"I'll get on it right away sir. Er, sir? Is there anyone in the command staff that you know has anti-ShinRa sentiment?"
Sephiroth sat for a moment gazing at the materia, then looked up at Moore with an unreadable expression. "No. No, there's no-one in the staff that isn't 100% loyal to ShinRa."
Moore sighed. "I'll start with the squad commanders then." He threw a salute "General."
Sephiroth waved Moore away "Dismissed". He sat gazing at the materia again. 'Have I done the right thing?'
Part Three
The next morning, the command staff was called to the tent. Sephiroth had new orders from the ShinRa, even though he wasn't looking forward to telling them. As they came I he looked at them, trying too see if one of them could be a traitor. 'They can't be. Even Gainsborough is loyal to Midgar, if he isn't loyal to ShinRa. And there's no way he would put the lives of his troops in danger.' His gaze hardened a little when it passed over Heidegger. That was one man who would jump in the jaws of a behemoth if he were ordered to do it. When Moore, Nida and Flight Commander Harle came in Sephiroth told them of ShinRa's plan.
"ShinRa high command have determined that if we have a final push now the Wutai troops will be too weak to resist us. We are to launch a full frontal assault on Wutai with aerial support, Coming at them from these three points." Sephiroth gestured at the map. "Harle tells me we'll need some time to get our aerial forces ready, so we'll bombard the city until that time. Moore, we need the Turks to try to assassinate some of Wutai's command. We're not likely to be able to get Lord Godo, but we should be able to pick off some of the lower commanders. Any questions?"
All was silent for a moment. Then Gainsborough spoke.
"Yeah, who came up with this crocka shit? This might break through, but it'll kill thousands of our own men. The Turks identified TWO weakspots, and ShinRa ignored them both! This'll cripple Wutai, but it'll cripple us as well! You can't make the men do this, this isn't an assault, it's a bloody Kamikaze mission!"
Sephiroth stared at him. "If you've quite finished Richard? You're going to do it, or you can resign if you're afraid it's a suicide mission." Gainsborough stiffened. He didn't like his bravery questioned. Sephiroth turned to Heidegger "Do we have the resources for a frontal assault?"
Heidegger smirked at Gainsborough "Yes sir, I believe we do. We can be ready in a day or two."
Sephiroth turned to Nida "Are you ready for a bombardment?"
Nida nodded slightly, his movement restricted by the high collar of his blue dress uniform "Yes Sir. What with? Comet2s? Fire3s? Contain? Summons?"
"All of them. We have a good supply of Ethers and Elixirs. And Harle, how long before you're ready for an aerial assault?"
"Two, three days tops. The Meggido, the Gelnika and the Highwind are all repaired now. We only have about five more damaged to refit, and we'll be full strength."
"Good. You're dismissed. Ah, except Moore. I need to talk to you."
They all filed out, Gainsborough casting a pointed glance at Sephiroth, leaving Moore there to talk with the great general. "Have you progressed any in finding this mole?"
Moore shook his head "No sir. We only know…" he trailed off.
"What?"
"It's coming from Gainsborough's squadron sir."
Sephiroth stood there poleaxed. But only for a few seconds before he gave Moore his orders "Carry on looking, but narrow down your search. Have all other Turks except for you and - what did you say the name of that Turk good at sniffing out traitors was?"
"Tseng sir. He's new, but he's good at this. You want me to order the rest on assassination missions?"
"Yes. In three days it won't matter, one way or another. Dismissed."
***
As Moore was walking back to his own tent he bumped into Heidegger. The fat man stopped and looked at him then said "Are you loyal to ShinRa Moore?"
Moore was taken aback "Of course I am. All the Turks are."
Heidegger drew closer and whispered "Not everyone is"
Moore stared at the fat man as he waddled away. 'What does he know?'
Part Four
Moore wandered around the camp, trying to find Heidegger again when Tseng came up to him. The man had only just joined the Turks, and still looked as if he was wondering what he was doing in the blue suit. Unlike most of the Turks, Tseng had tried to enter SOLDIER, and had made it through the program until it was decided that his skills could be put to better use elsewhere. Moore didn't like him - there was a glow of ambition in his eyes, and for a Turk there was only one place ambition was aimed at. He intended to stay in that place for as long as possible. "Yes Tseng?" he asked when the young Turk caught up with him "what is it?"
Tseng handed him a sheet of paper with a smug look on his face. "A list of all the PHS contacts made to outside the base. And on these dates," Tseng jabbed a finger at five calls on the list " someone made contact with the number of the chief of intelligence for Wutai." Tseng flashed him a grin "What do you think?"
Moore turned over the list in his hands. It looked genuine, but someone with Tseng's security clearance shouldn't have been able to get it. "Where did you find this Tseng?" he said finally.
Tseng's grin faded a little, and Moore saw a flash of anger and embarrassment that was quickly smoothed over. "I was given it by General Heidegger sir. Is that alright."
Moore kept turning the paper over in his hands. "Alright, find out who called from that set. It'll be someone in General Gainsborough's section remember."
Tseng flashed him another quick grin, but his eyes told something else. They looked at Moore coldly, calculating. Moore almost shivered when Tseng walked away. Something about Tseng made him uneasy, quite apart from the ambition in his eyes. Something told Moore that Tseng would do anything for his own advancement - and anything for ShinRa. Which, Moore reflected as he walked away, was the very best kind of Turk, but he didn't have to like them.
***
Heidegger walked through the camp feeling rather pleased with himself. He'd set Tseng down a path that would inevitably lead to Gainsborough being stripped of rank. But he had to give Gainsborough a chance. It was the honorable thing to do. He saw Gainsborough coming out of Sephiroth's tent and walked over to him. Gainsborough turned when he shouted, and looked at him with thinly veiled contempt, mixed with a touch of panic. Heidegger had to suppress a grin as he walked over to Gainsborough. "How are you Richard?" he said in a friendly tone.
Gainsborough looked at him warily. "I'm fair." He said eventually "Yourself?"
"Not too bad, not too bad. Look, have you given any thought to our conversation a couple of nights ago?"
The panic grew in Gainsborough's eyes. "Yes I have." The panic drained away replaced by resolve "I'm not going to give into you Heidegger. I value the lives of my troops to highly to put them in YOUR hands, fatman"
Heidegger threw back his head and laughed "Gwa ha ha ha. Ah well, Gainsborough, you'll finally be able to see your daughter. Enjoy your retirement." Heidegger let loose the grin he was holding back, and strode into the night, laughing softly.
Part Five
Tseng glanced around furtively. Since Heidegger had told him that General Gainsborough was the spy, he'd been thinking which would be the best way to deal with him. If he just told Moore, he wouldn't get any of the credit, but if he did nothing, everyone's lives would be at risk. In the end he decided there was only one thing he could do.
He dodged a passing patrol of MPs, ducking into the shadow created by a mess tent, and stood there immobile until they were a safe distance away. He let out the breath he had been holding and carried on to the officer's quarters.
After ducking a few more patrols, Tseng caught his breath and leaned against a nearby tent. He took out a small velvet lined box, and selected one of the daggers in it. He took a deep breath, and ducked inside the tent.
Gainsborough was at his desk, studying some maps, and he had his back to Tseng. Tseng hefted the knife cautiously, waiting for the right time to strike.
Gainsborough had been up most of the night, poring over maps of the Wutai area, trying to figure out a way into the heart of Wutai that wouldn't completely decimate his troops. He sat up and rubbed his eyes, deciding to go to bed. He put his hand down to his desk and picked up his service pistol. Nothing had come of Heidegger's threats so far, but Gainsborough knew that ShinRa retired traitors permanently, usually with a long knife in the dark. He turned around and saw Tseng, looming up out of the darkness with a dagger in one hand…
Tseng saw that he was about to raise the alarm, so he took his last chance, and drove the knife home. Gainsborough rolled out of the way just in time, so the dagger grazed his shoulder rather than piercing his heart. He bought the gun up and fired as Tseng struck again, and the sound of his shot was the last sound Richard Gainsborough ever heard.
Tseng swore and bent down to wipe his knife on Gainsborough's jacket. He glanced quickly down to his clothes to make sure none of Gainsborough's blood had smashed on his immaculate blue suit. Then he hurried out the door, leaving Gainsborough lying in a pool of his own blood.
Far to the West, in the slums of Midgar, the five-year-old Aeris Gainsborough woke up. Without knowing how, she knew her father had died. She could feel his soul move through the lifestream, becoming part of the planet. For the second time in her young life, Aeris cried over the murder of her father.