Disclaimer: I don't
own any of the characters in this story.
I'm just using them for my own purposes. If Square wants to sue me, then I hope they like pennies. Though I would be perfectly willing to work
off any debt by working for them!
Author's Note: This
is a long note… almost longer than this story!
Sorry! And it follows "Tormented
Soul," though TS isn't required reading.
I just wanted to comment that any vehicle and equipment names,
birthdates and cities of origin come courtesy of "The Making of Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within," which includes
wonderful details about many of the movie's toys and characters. It's here that the name "Douglas" was used
for General Hein, so it is his real name.
There are a number of other interesting little facts as well; for
instance, both Aki and Hein were born in San Francisco. And both of them have October
birthdays! Yay, October people
rule! Speaking of which, "Happy
birthday to me, happy birthday to me…"
Umm, anyway, I have also been using a timeline for the movie translated
from Japanese by fellow club member Yakukochan – you're the coolest! – which
says that Hein has only been a general since 2063. He's 35 years old and has been a general for two years at most. How did he get to be in charge?! As for Aki's condition, I read somewhere
that this originally was part of the movie, but test audiences didn't like it,
so they cut it out.
Oh, and special thanks goes out to Severus and Raine,
writers of the FIRST Aki/Hein romance.
I hope this story is different enough from yours. Also, thanks goes out to all the members of
the General Hein fan club on Yahoo. I
hope you like this story, it's going to be long, and I'm a busy person so it's
going to take time. And the second
chapter will be better! I promise!
SALVATION
Chapter One
"You ready to go, Dr. Ross?"
Aki ignored the voice.
She was sitting on a ridge overlooking her team's encampment. The small group of tents and military
vehicles clustered tightly in a group wasn't what had arrested her gaze
however, it was the field of plants that stretched for five square acres. It wasn't much when compared to what the
land had once been capable of supporting, but it was a start.
Aki smiled. This was
the fourth such place she and her mixed team of scientists and military
personnel had been able to terraform.
"Dr. Ross?" the voice insisted. "Please, we have to get going."
Aki heaved a sigh and looked up at the young soldier
standing over her. Private Nicholas
Williams offered his hand to her and she reluctantly accepted. She hated how she was starting to have to
rely so much on others now. Dr. Sid
refused to let her go off by herself, and it was he who insisted on her bi-weekly
visits to the hospital, which she had come to loathe.
She stumbled to her feet, thanking the soldier as he
steadied her. She began to carefully
pick her way down the ridge, with Nicholas following closely, ready to catch
her if she fell. She didn't really need
all this help, but Nicholas had been her bodyguard for six months and she was
used to his over-eager willingness to help.
That didn't mean she liked it.
"Really, Dr. Ross, you shouldn't be out like this," Nicholas
said disapprovingly. "Especially not
now-" Aki held a finger up to the
younger man's lips.
"We've only got one more month left out here," she told him,
"and if I waste that time sitting around and resting as you and everyone else
think I should, we'd never get anything done."
With a clumsy leap, Aki descended the final few feet and began to walk
towards the waiting jeep.
"Dr. Sid is capable of handling the project, with all due
respect, doctor," Nicholas protested when he caught up to her.
"Dr. Sid needs my assistance," Aki said coolly. "I won't let him down."
"But even Dr. Sid agrees-"
"Private Williams, I don't want to hear it. It's one more month. I can handle it!" She'd had this argument many times and with many people, and she
was very tired of it.
The Phantoms had been gone for a little over six
months. Once Aki and Dr. Sid had proved
it to the Council, they had received approval to travel the world to try to
restore life to certain sites that Dr. Sid had identified as still being
capable of supporting it. It had been
something he and Aki had been planning since they'd discovered the spirit waves
and faced the real possibility of defeating the Phantoms.
They had presented their plans to the Council, who had
granted them seven months to carry out their project, along with the resources
required. Aki and Dr. Sid had been
hoping for a year originally, but now Aki was grateful for the shorter time,
though she'd never admit it.
If she had known she was pregnant when she had spoken to the
Council, she might never have gone at all.
She didn't want anything to happen to Gray's child, which was why she
was playing it fairly safe.
But that didn't mean she wanted to be treated as if she were
made of glass, Aki thought sulkily as Nicholas helped her into the jeep's front
seat.
"Where's Dr. Sid?" Aki asked. Dr. Sid was the only person she had left; he was like family to
her. Having him around was comforting
to her. Especially after being
subjected to the horrors of a hospital check up.
And he was better company than a fresh-from-the-academy
soldier.
"Right here," the elderly man said, coming up behind them to
sit in the back seat. Aki hated making
him sit there, but he insisted she take the more comfortable passenger seat for
herself.
When they were settled, Nicholas drove off at an astonishing
thirty miles per hour. Aki scowled as
the countryside crept by.
"Can't we go any faster?" she growled irritably. "I want to get this over with."
"I don't want to bump you around, Dr. Ross."
Aki gritted her teeth in frustration. "I can take a lot more than a few
bumps. And call me Aki! AKI!
We've known each other for six months!"
"Yes Dr. Ross," Nicholas agreed. Aki threw up her hands in defeat, though she noticed the young
soldier did speed up to about forty-five miles per hour.
Behind her, Dr. Sid chuckled. "I don't think this is a battle you can win, Aki," he said. "You know the military mentality."
Aki heaved a frustrated sigh. Dr. Sid was right. Except
for a rare few individuals, like Gray and Deep Eyes, the military proved to be
frustratingly single-minded.
Take, for example, General Emmerson. The middle-aged man had balked at letting a
team actually leave the confines of a barrier city for such a lengthy period of
time. He'd protested every step of the way,
saying people were "safe" inside the barriers, and why should anyone want to
end that?
The only thing Aki and Dr. Sid had had in their favor was
the fact that Emmerson was an unoriginal thinker. He just couldn't come up with good arguments to keep them from
going. How he had made the rank of
general was beyond Aki's comprehension.
Then again, there seemed to be a high turnover rate for the
rank. The good, competent generals had
died in good causes. The lousy ones had
died making foolish mistakes.
Then there were the mad, obsessed generals… Aki shuddered and clutched her stomach
protectively. The mad ones killed
innocent people and didn't give a damn.
The city of Atlanta, Georgia steadily became visible ahead
of them. Even from their current
distance, Aki could make out the remains of the barrier that was being slowly
dismantled. They hadn't gotten much
more down then when she'd been here two weeks ago, she thought.
Nicholas drove through the city's main gate and deftly
maneuvered the vehicle down the busy streets to the hospital. He'd only driven there once before, but he
had an excellent memory for directions and got them there quickly.
Once there, Aki dismissed him. She knew the young soldier loved the city life, and let him go
off to enjoy himself. He gave her a
crisp salute and promised to be back in two hours, then Aki and Dr. Sid went
into the hospital.
* * *
"How'd it go?" Dr. Sid asked Aki as she walked out of the
examining room, rearranging her clothes around her awkward form.
"I'm fine, I'm doing well, and I'm grateful the doctor was
female this time," Aki said glumly.
"Ready to go? I
imagine Private Williams is waiting for us by now." Aki nodded and followed Dr. Sid down to the lobby. They had just reached the double doors when
a voice stopped them.
"Excuse me! Are you
with the military?" A doctor came to
them, blocking the exit. "You're
uniform says you're with the USMF," the doctor continued a little breathlessly
to Dr. Sid.
"Yes, we are part of the scientific division," Sid said,
exchanging puzzled glances with Aki.
"Could I perhaps discuss something with you if you have the
time?"
"What do you think, Aki?" Dr. Sid asked her. He knew she was eager to get home, but his
curiosity had obviously been piqued. So
had hers, for that matter.
"Let's hear what he has to say," Aki nodded at the doctor,
whose name tag read "Dr. E. Curtis."
Dr. Curtis led them down a hallway, explaining as he
went. "Several months ago, a group of
USMF soldiers left a patient with us."
A disgusted scowl crossed his lips, and Aki wondered what he meant by
"left." "This patient was seriously
wounded, with numerous first- second- and third-degree burns as well as
multiple fractures. The patient was in
a coma when we received him and has woken since."
Aki wondered where this was going. Dr. Curtis continued, "We have been unable to identify the
patient."
"Doctor," Sid said,
"I hope you're not asking us to identify the man. There are millions of people in the
military."
"No, of course not," the doctor said. Aki felt sorry for the unnamed patient. It was unlikely his records would ever be
found. With so many barrier cities
falling to the Phantoms, many records had been destroyed in the process. Aki's own personal records were lost in the
fall of San Francisco.
"What I'm hoping," Dr. Curtis said, bringing Aki back to the
present, "is that you can take him off our hands."
"What? Why?" Dr. Sid
asked.
Dr. Curtis looked embarrassed. "Our hospital doesn't have the resources to keep taking care of
him. The local military base won't
answer our requests to take him, and many of the other hospitals face the same
problems as we do. And we have a number
of refugees from New York who need constant care. If you could take him…"
Dr. Curtis shrugged helplessly.
"One moment, please," Dr. Sid said, taking Aki aside. "What do you think?" he asked her.
"We're a research team!
We can't drag a patient around!"
"I know," Dr. Sid said calmly. "But we are about to pack up and leave for Colorado. We could stop by Houston on the way and drop
him off there - they'll have better facilities."
"Why not transfer him themselves?" Aki wondered.
"Perhaps they lack the necessary equipment. Did you know that Atlanta had a partial
collapse two years ago? The city was
almost lost to the Phantoms. It's a
wonder they're functioning at all."
Aki frowned. "The Black
Boa has an excellent med lab, so we could support him there for a few
days. But why are you interested in
doing this?"
"I'm curious," Dr. Sid admitted. "Did you hear the way Dr. Curtis talked about the military? Why would they just dump someone here?"
"All right, let's do it."
Aki smiled. "It's always good to
save a life."
They told Dr. Curtis their decision, and he gestured for
them to follow him. "He's in here," he
said, and directed them to a room occupied by a single bed.
Aki saw the left half of the man first. His face was scarred slightly from his
temple to his jaw, and looked vaguely… familiar. One eye was covered with a bandage. "We've reconstructed his face as best as we could, but the eye
was a total loss. He also lost a lot of
muscle and nerve tissue in his left arm.
We've been trying to work the muscle, but he may not be able to use the
hand if he wakes up."
Aki crept closer, noticing how the wavy black hair
contrasted sharply with the pillow. A
lock of hair on his left temple was snowy white, and she wondered if that was a
result of his wound. His bangs were
draped over the right side of the face, which, according to the doctor, was
completely intact. She ignored Dr. Sid
and Dr. Curtis's discussion of the therapy that had been done with the patient
to keep his muscles from wasting away, and stared at the man with
fascination. His face looked so
familiar, somehow.
Aki leaned over to brush the hair away. She had just uncovered his face when she
gasped in horror.
"What is it?" Dr. Sid was instantly alert. He looked at what Aki was pointing at, and
his jaw dropped.
The patient was General Hein.
* * *
"I can't believe we agreed to this," Aki spat. It was some time later, and she and Dr. Sid
were preparing a room for Hein in the Black Boa. The hospital had agreed to send an ambulance
to drop him off two days before Aki's team departed, giving them time to set up
the proper life support equipment.
"Now Aki," Dr. Sid said soothingly, "just remember, we're
taking him to Houston." He didn't think
being so agitated was good for Aki and was trying, rather unsuccessfully, to
calm her. It didn't help that he felt almost
as strongly as she did.
"Yeah, and in Houston he'll be able to meddle with our
affairs again and screw everything up!"
"That's assuming he ever awakens," Dr. Sid said
quietly. "He's been in a coma for
almost seven months. And even if he
does revive, the Council may never restore his rank. Show a little compassion."
"Compassion?" she raged.
"Murderers don't deserve compassion!"
She hugged her arms around herself protectively. "He killed Gray," she whispered, her voice
cracking. "What if he kills our child,
too?"
"Don't worry," Dr. Sid said comfortingly, placing a hand on
her shoulder. "With everything Hein's
done, I'm certain you'll never have to see him again after this."
"I hope you're right, Sid," she murmured. She closed her eyes and leaned into the
older man's comforting embrace. "I
don't know if I can stand the sight of him, knowing what he did to Gray."
"It will only be for a few days," Dr. Sid assured her. "Just a few days. I'm sure we can manage."
* * *
Aki roamed through the encampment, the ever-present Private
Williams at her side. She studied the
sturdily built facility at the edge of the plant field, noticing with
satisfaction that it was nearly done.
The small building would be occupied by a handful of scientists
dedicated to maintaining the fields. It
would be stocked with state-of-the-art equipment, and the occupants would have
access to Atlanta for supplies. Plus,
scientists from various other cities could come and learn how to create more
patches of viable land.
They'd left similar places near London, Tokyo, and Toronto,
but Aki still wasn't used to leaving behind friends. She'd grown quite close to Dr. Ellen Foster, a middle-aged matronly woman who was staying
behind. It was to her tent that Aki was
wandering.
"Dr. Foster?" Aki called through the tent flap. The woman
was supposed to meet her for their last lunch together. They
technically still had two days left, but the team would be too busy
packing up for socialization.
Aki gulped. Today
was the day Hein was being dropped off.
The camp knew they were acquiring a patient, but she and Dr. Sid had
kept his identity secret for the moment.
"Come in, Aki," the older woman said warmly. Aki firmly dismissed Nicholas, then went
into the tent. "Won't you have a seat?"
Dr. Foster offered cordially. Aki
gingerly lowered herself into the proffered chair, grimacing at how much harder
something as simple as sitting was becoming.
Dr. Foster laughed at the younger woman's discomfort, and
Aki smiled wryly. "Things are getting a
little tough, are they?" Dr. Foster asked as she set a tea kettle on the
table. Aki gratefully accepted the
drink as Dr. Foster served them a light lunch.
Well, Dr. Foster's lunch was light; Aki devoured everything
in front of her and still wanted more, much to her chagrin.
The two chatted for awhile, but Aki found herself only
half-listening. General Hein would be
arriving soon, and Aki had to gather the courage to face him. Even if he was in a coma, Aki still feared
him.
"Is something wrong, Aki?" Dr. Foster asked. Aki started, focusing her attention on the
older woman's face.
"It's nothing, Ellen," Aki said. "I just have a lot on my mind."
Great, Aki thought, he wasn't even here yet and already he was affecting
her life.
"I'll bet you do," Dr. Foster said warmly. "You promise me you'll take care of yourself,
okay? Don't let anything happen to
little Gray."
Aki blushed. "How
did you know…?"
"That you were going to name him after his father? I guessed the moment you told me you knew it
was a boy. It seems obvious to me, and
everyone else who knows you." Dr.
Foster grinned. "I want you to write me
when that kid is born, you hear? Don't
forget me after you leave me here."
"I won't," Aki said, awkwardly getting to her feet.
She was just giving the older woman a hug when she heard
Private Williams call tentatively through the tent flap.
"What is it?" Aki asked irritably. Would she never be rid of him?
"Dr. Sid said to tell you the patient is here. He wants you to help him in the Black Boa."
Aki reluctantly left her friend to weave her way through the
curious crowd to where the ambulance waited.
She tried to dismiss the crowd as best she could, with Nicholas's
enthusiastic assistance, and guided the orderlies with the stretcher into her
ship. Together with the orderlies, she
and Dr. Sid transferred Hein to the room ready for him and hooked up all the
necessary equipment.
Then Aki and Dr. Sid were left alone with their former
enemy. Aki listened to his shallow
breathing and watched the barely perceptible movements of his chest. It was almost sad, she thought as she
followed Dr. Sid through the doorway and away from Hein. She almost felt sorry to see him in such
pitiful condition.
Almost.
* * *
"Everything checks out," Aki murmured to herself. She was in the cockpit of the Black Boa,
and had just run a systems check. The
ship had been sitting unused for almost a month and she wanted to make sure
there weren't any problems.
She was almost eager to leave, she realized. Not just because she wanted to get rid of
their unwelcome cargo, but because she wanted to get away for awhile. The trip would take them a couple of days,
since Aki wasn't going to use the fuel-eating engines used for space flight,
and it would just be her and Dr. Sid.
Just like old times. There'd be
no military, no fawning scientists honored to work with the famous Dr. Ross,
and best of all, no one to ask her how she was doing and tell her to relax!
She needed the time to herself. That had been part of the reason she'd been so eager to go on
this scientific expedition, to get away from it all. She was tired of the politics that had made saving the planet so
difficult. Out her she could really be
at one with Gaia. And Gray, who had
lost his life to save Gaia.
Aki yawned and stretched, idly wondering if she had time for
a nap before helping organized the team's imminent departure. It could be rather chaotic when the military
and the scientists didn't see eye to eye.
Well, they'd done this four times before! She was tired and wanted to sleep.
She was wandering down the corridor, passing Hein's room,
when a soft sound reached her ears. She
stopped, trying to find the source. Had
she imagined it? She took a quick step
back and peered into Hein's room.
Everything looked okay.
She scanned the monitors and saw nothing amiss, though his heart rate
seemed a little fast. Then a groan
escaped from Hein's lips.
Uh-oh. Aki went to
the intercom and activated it, knowing Dr. Sid was onboard somewhere and would
hear her. "Dr. Sid? I think you should come to the med lab," she
announced, hearing her amplified voice echo through the ship. Her eyes didn't leave Hein's face as it
twitched and suddenly his good eye snapped open. "The patient is waking up," Aki concluded grimly, with a sick
feeling in the pit of her stomach.
To be continued…
Ouch… typing cramp… Note to self: Make next chapter shorter!
