Chapter IX: We Pay By The Hour
Operation Broken Wing
Day 1, 1800 Hours (March 13, 2 G.E.)
Location: Galbadian Missile Base, Deling District, Galbadia
The APC was still in decent condition when it was recovered at Timber. Driving it across the mountains and through the dense woods had roughed it up a bit though. Nida, Jenson and Zell hid in the back of the APC. Nida clung to a sword for dear life (or so it seemed), and Jenson was making adjustments to his silenced pistol.
Raurk and Dent, who were in the guise of being Galbadian soldiers (not being above using a good trick twice) sat up front next to Irvine who drove. Irvine had spent most of the drive giving them a crash course in Galbadian military protocol.
"So you three are going to infiltrate the base disguised as Galadian troops. Us three are going to dress up as maintenance workers and make our way to the silo control. How hard is it to blow up a base filled with missiles?" Zell asked.
"Listen, security is tight as hell around that place, even now with Galbadia convinced that they have complete control over the world. We're going to have to play this smart," Irvine said. "We'll wait until we're all assigned an identical shift and then set our plan into action."
"And remind me of the plan again?" Zell asked.
"Us soldiers are going to get into the main control room and locate the self-destruct mechanism. But that could be a while. You guys are going to the silo launch pad and are going to tamper with the targeting system so that their accuracy will be hindered should they launch missiles," Irvine explained.
"Foolproof," Dent sighed.
"Shouldn't Dent be on my team though?" Zell asked. "I mean you're good with computers right?"
"Zell, you said yourself there's nobody keener on machines than you, right?" Raurk chuckled.
"Yeah, but it's always good to have a second set of eyes," Zell shrugged.
"The self-destruct mechanism isn't a big glowing red button," Irvine said. "Dent's computer skills will be needed there."
"That makes sense," Zell nodded.
"Hey, here we are. Keep quiet," Irvine said.
The APC slowed to halt and soldiers began investigating the machine. They checked everybody in the front seat, asked Irvine a few routine questions, but this was done more out of formality considering it had been Irvine who had rented out this very APC.
The guards waved them through and they drove into the Missile Base.
"Didn't think I'd actually return this APC," Irvine chuckled.
"How do you do it, man?" Nida asked.
Irvine parked the APC. "What do you mean?"
"You know… hell I imagine you're probably friends with some of the people who we're going to kill today," Nida said empathetically.
"That's right," Irvine said simply. He unbuckled his seatbelt and opened the door. The others got out right behind them. Nida did not press the issue.
A large man wearing an officers uniform walked up to Irvine. "Hey, are these those contractors you mentioned?"
Irvine nodded. "Yes sir. They're civilians, but they've worked with 323rd before."
"I don't like the idea of civilian contractors working with my missiles," The officer grunted. "What possessed you to do this Sergant?"
"As part of my commission I am allowed to recruit civilian contractors if I deem it necessary. They'll only be working with the SRBMs, I just want to see if they can bring anything new to the table," Irvine explained.
Zell was impressed. Irvine had always played the cool guy, but in the mission two years ago he had shown that acting under pressure was not his strong suit. And yet here he was spinning a lie and making it sound so casual and easy.
"Okay then. They don't work on the floor and I don't want them whiffing around my LRBMs you got that?" The officer demanded.
"Yes sir. They'll be gone by the end of the week too, this is just a trial run," Irvine nodded.
The officer nodded, seemingly satisfied with Irvine's words. He walked back towards the base proper. A younger looking soldier handed them all identification cards.
"You need these to get in the base," the soldier said before returning to his duties.
"Okay," Irvine said and Zell could tell that from this point forward the show had begun. "You guys have worked with the 323rd Maintenance Division, so you know the protocols. Head to the terminal room and start running your tests on the Short Range Ballistic Missiles only! I expect some results too, I'm putting my career on the line here."
"Not a problem," Zell nodded. Jenson and Nida followed behind him as they wandered towards the base. Two soldiers escorted them inside the massive base.
The interior looked more like a power plant than a military base. A large generator was whirring in the background and the occasional zap of electricity surged through it, making the lights flare for a moment.
The two soldiers dropped them off at a large room filled with computers and a view of the power generator.
"If you need anything let one of us know, but you're not allowed to go any further than this," a young private explained.
They shut the door and Jenson, Nida and Zell were finally alone.
"Well we can't get anywhere near where we need to be to do our job," Zell whispered, and he cursed under his breath. "Let's just see if these terminals do the trick."
Operation Fallen Angel
Day 1, 1830 Hours (March 13, 2 G.E.)
Location: Deling City Sewers, Deling District, Galbadia
Less than one hundred miles from Irvine and the others, Squall, Quistis, Zone and Watts were ankle-deep in sewage. They had been dispatched from a similar vessel to the one that Xu was now piloting in Trabia. They set it ashore near a sewage outlet and were amazed to find this crucial weakpoint of the city completely unguarded.
"Maybe they didn't think anybody would want to walk through this crap," Zone cursed, holding his nose.
"Quistis," Squall said turning to her. "It's your show from here. Does anything look familiar?"
Quistis pointed at a small water wheel. "That looks like the one that was underneath the Gateway. Which means…"
She looked around at the series of concrete tunnels and metal gates. She pointed down a seemingly random tunnel.
"It's that way," Quistis nodded.
"You are sure?" Squall asked.
Quistis nodded and took the lead.
The trickling of water almost masked their footsteps as they crept through the labyrinthine sewer system Quistis raised her hand at one intersection. She looked around the corner and saw two teenage boys sitting in against the wall. One of them was perusing a Girl Next Door and the other was casually smoking a cigarette.
"Heh," Quistis chuckled. She turned back to Squall. She put her finger over her lips then pointed to the ground and then off to the opposite tunnel of where the boys now chatted loudly.
The three men behind her crouched down and slowly moved around the corner, away from the boys. When they reached the next intersection, Quistis leaned against the wall and tried to get her bearings.
"Do we get derailed by enemy soldiers or monsters? No, we get derailed by horny teenagers," Quistis sighed. "I'm guessing we'll have to take a roundabout method."
"That tunnel was the one, wasn't it?" Squall asked.
"Yes." Quistis sighed. "I'm sure of it. That would have put us right in Caraway's living room. But we can't risk being seen."
"We could always take them out," Squall suggested.
"Kill two teenagers?" Quistis asked, appalled.
"No, but we can knock them out until the job is done," Squall said.
"You guys are overthinking this," Zone sighed. He ran back towards the kids and put his hands around his mouth. Before Squall or Quistis could do anything to stop him he shouted. "Hey boss! I see two kids right here! Hey punks get your asses over here!"
The kids scurried down the passage Quistis and Squall had come from, one shouting obscenities at the other for having brought him down here.
"Because that won't compromise our mission at all," Squall hissed sarcastically.
"Please, who are the kids gonna tell? They think they're in trouble," Zone replied calmly. This mock bravado did not impress Squall who saw him ever so slightly reach for his stomach. Stomachaches were his tell-all for nerves.
"Let's just do this. Remember we're not here to have a pleasant chat with General Caraway or Rinoa. We're here to take down any opposition, capture Rinoa and return to our transport. Anybody else in that mansion is expendable except the General. Stick to non-lethal takedowns," Squall ordered, raising his gunblade.
"We're kidnapping the person we're trying to save?" Watts asked, scratching his head.
"Think of it that way, I don't want us to get derailed again," Squall said.
They moved towards the stairwell that lead up into General Caraway's house. Quistis took a deep breath and turned the door handle.