Hunting Dogs (part 1)

Pearl fanned her cards.

"So, how do you play this game?"

Swift, Davis, and Sparky cracked up.

She shrugged. "It was worth trying." It was easy to forget that all these teenagers were war vets, a career which involved lots of sitting around waiting for things to happen. Gambling was one of the first things soldiers learned to fill the gaps, right between complaining about the food and out strategizing high command. She laid her two cards face down on the table and folded her arms. Everyone tapped the table in sequence, holding off on the bidding for the time being. Davis unveiled the first three of the five face down cards on the table. King. Queen. Knight. Sparky coughed. Everyone else pushed their cards inwards.

Sparky growled. He had red hair and was prone to fire materia, hence the name. But she didn't know him well. He turned over his cards. Ace. Ten.

"I've been playing cards over ten years. This is the first time I got this hand. What do I get for it? Seven gil. Seven gil!"

"Revel in your victory, then." Swift, dealing a new hand.

"Oh, sure. Thanks. That hand, though, it's like using a Behemoth to stomp on mice."

"Mice? I've played some cards too, you know."

"Not as SOLDIER, though. Welcome aboard, by the way. So what's the plan from here?"

She blinked. "Plan?"

"Why'd you join SOLDIER?"

"Why do people keep asking me that?"

"The answer is usually interesting."

"Because most people lie." Davis. "So…why SOLDIER?"

"Honestly? I needed to get out of the army."

"Why'd you join the army?" Back to Sparky.

"I needed to get out of Banora."

"How come?"

"I don't much like apples." She glanced at Davis. "Not to be in the newsletter."

He raised empty hands towards her. "Your call. I don't contribute these days unless I clear it with you."

"Thanks."

"So… what happens when you run into trouble here? You can't get out of SOLDIER easy."

"Deal with that when it happens. Not planning to desert."

"No? Good. SOLDIERs don't get far."

"How come?"

"Swift?"

"'I'm a baker from Gongaga, honest! What? Glowing eyes? What do you mean, glowing eyes? I don't see anyone with glowing eyes…'" His accent and intonation was perfect.

"It's that recognisable?"

"Even if they don't know why, someone's going to wonder 'Hey, what's up with the freaky glowing eyes?' Worst case, you end up buried at a crossroads with a stake through your heart. If you don't have a plan for SOLDIER, you'd best make one, cause you're stuck here now."

"What do I need a plan for?"

"A fulfilling life? Look, you don't need one, exactly, but a reason to motivate yourself to do things… is useful. You want to be a first?"

"Not really. I was never the kid with a plan, the person that thought they'd win the war singlehanded or have thirteen kids by Sephiroth-" –all of them suddenly coughed into their drinks- "-before I hit twenty five. I don't have long term goals."

"Hmm… So what did you want to be when you were a kid?"

Pearl blinked, considered. "I think I wanted to be a lizard for a while."

Sparky grinned. "Lying on rocks all day? Well, this being Shinra, you shouldn't give up on your dreams. I'm sure the Science Department could- Hey!" He snatched the coffee mug Swift had thrown at him out of the air and set it down. "Okay, out of line, sorry. But seriously, think about what you want from SOLDIER."

"Why? What happens from here?" As she asked, Swift was still glaring at his fellow SOLDIER.

"Lots of missions, mostly. Most of them are pretty dull, but you can get some good gear sometimes. Solo missions are reserved for 2nds up, though, and you have to clear anything you go on with your supervisor. If you get asked for by name or get posted somewhere, you have to do it, but if you don't get assigned or choose many missions, your career from here will mostly consist of playing cards, sparring, and making snarky remarks. It's a hard life. Are you seriously telling me Den didn't mention any of this?"

She stretched out her arms. "He seems to be a big picture kinda guy."

"Huh. Regretting your career choice yet?"

"Not just yet. But we'll see. I'm sure we'll discover some great truth of the cosmos before long."

"Of course. Speaking of which, who d'you think would win in a fight, a dragon or a behemoth?"

"What colour dragon?"

An hour or so passed, before they arrived at the consensus of 'it depends'. She made some money from the hands of cards, before Swift finally stood up.

"Want to spar?"

Pearl looked up. "I thought the Training room was booked out."

"In teaching slots, not duelling slots. Lots of the vets are sick of fighting, seems like."

"And it's politically tenable for you now?"

"You're not completely raw now, but if I get in quick I don't get to have my ass kicked later on. You ever play video games?"

"Not really. Sage did… spoiled little shit that she was."

"Your family?"

Nod.

"Okay, I'll put this another way. Want to beat me up?"

"Fine, then." She stood. "Been wanting to take wind out of your sails anyway."

"Of me? Really? I just said I was stacking the deck against you." They started walking.

"Of SOLDIER. That combat style with all the stupid flips and things."

"The one you see on the advertisements? There's a reason for that. SOLDIER… is closely linked to the PR Department, so our style gets to be a bit… theatrical. The high tier people in the public eye can seem like performing monkeys, but face them in combat and you learn what they can do fast."

"Why doesn't anyone ever tell me any of this stuff!?"

"It's not often talked about. Plus you were in the war, haven't you ever seen SOLDIERs fight?"

"It was a big war, my unit didn't have any of you attached. Saw Sephiroth once from a distance, he borrowed a pencil from us once. Evan didn't shut up about it for six months."

"Pearl!" They looked up, to find Den.

She blinked at him. "Do you wait outside the sparring room whenever you want to talk to me?"

"Yes. The fact that it's beside the elevator is mere coincidence. Anyway, there's a mission for you from military intelligence. Interested?"

"They want me by name?"

"More or less. It's a mopping up kind of deal, I think they want to take your measure. Politics. Interested?"

"What do you think?"

"Your call. I'll be coming too, whatever it is. How about you, Swift?"

"Well, I've got nothing better to do today. Know what the mission is?"

"Search and destroy. All I know."

Swift shrugged, looked at Pearl. "Your call."

"Can I turn it down?"

"Theoretically, no, but you can be 'occupied with training' if you want."

She paused a moment, then shrugged. "Fuck it, let's go for it. If they want me, it can't be that hard."

"Okay. I'll let you know when we get briefed. Ask for Lieutenant Angeline Sykes down on the fifteenth floor."

000000

Lieutenant Sykes' office was a fairly standard affair, a computer, desk, chairs, and files. She had a window, and enough space for all of them to stand comfortably, but no carpet or cushions. A military shotgun hung on the wall behind her desk, and her left eye was missing, but the files she handed out were the crisp, neat, standard Shinra personnel file. Yawning, Sykes sat down before they could open them.

"You'll have plenty of time en route, but there's always one guy who gets travel sick, so here's the basics. Your target is known as Svetlana the Dragon, no family name these days. Some people call her the Terrier, on account of her never, ever giving up, but it's not widely used. Third degree Wutai nobility, not royal line or close, but enough that she knows names and they know hers. Disinherited for embezzling in the early days of the war, she turned merc with some of her more loyal retainers. Stayed loyal to her nation despite what they did, and her company earned a rep for taking contracts in hotspots. Her people got whittled down over time, and finally a specific task force got sent to take her crew down. They got out alive, but were mauled badly in the process, Sveta herself lost an arm to a SOLDIER. Her company disbanded and she went into arms dealing using the contacts she made as a merc, supplying AVALANCHE, Wutai, gangs, anybody that didn't like Shinra much. Had a rough time of it at first, but learned fast and her survival instincts are pretty good. The Masacci tried to spring a double cross on a deal once, but she left them with thirteen dead gunners and a destroyed complex. Lost a second arm at some point, but must've got to know a good black market surgeon by then, cause she has two gun arms now."

"How does she reload?" Swift, stroking his jaw.

"Ammunition pack on her back, works automatic."

Pearl blinked. Carrying enough for two heavy guns on your person took serious endurance. Even if she couldn't fire them well, that was damned impressive.

"What do we-" Swift.

"Questions at the end, people! I'll probably get to yours soon enough. Anyway, Svetlana's been popping up here and there causing minor trouble, but hasn't really featured on Shinra's radar since her company dissolved. She doesn't have enough crew these days to do big projects. But… she still knows people."

Angeline stood up suddenly. "One of the things about Shinra's enemies is that they don't tend to like each other much. Wutai doesn't trust most anti Shinra groups, and most anti Shinra groups don't trust Wutai, so they never allied. Svetlana knows Wutai nobility from when she was one, and she knows people in Midgar from her merc and arms dealer days. Nobody likes her much, but they respect her and they trust her. With the end of the war, lots of Wutai commanders have lots of weapons and monsters that they don't have a use for, while people like AVALANCHE have lots of cash and enthusiasm but are not well armed. We need to sever that link, take Svetlana out of the picture before her crew bulks up with all the money and gear she's going to come into very soon. And that's why you're here. Some of my people tell me she's based in an old amphitheatre in a forest somewhere near Fort Condor, not very active right now, but that will change, so we need to get in there soon. I'll commission a truck to get you within three days walk of her hideout, but the rest will be up to you. Questions?"

"Can we expect Turk interference?" Den.

"I have no influence there, but it's not likely, they're busy with AVALANCHE's existing threats right now, and whoever this new player is that attacked Banora."

"What do we know about them?" Pearl, quickly.

"Oh, right… you. Strictly speaking I'm not supposed to say anything, but there's not much to tell. Normally you can see these things coming, but not these guys. We don't know where they're getting their money or their gear, or where they're based. They don't seem to deal with anyone, which normally means a single powerful financier, but there's nowhere that money can come from. About all we know is that they're powerful enough to pose a threat to SOLDIERs in combat, and they must really hate dumbapples."

Swift glanced at her with the beginnings of a smile, but turned away once he saw her lowered head, and looked back to Sykes with a new question.

"What kind of crew will we be dealing with?"

"Probably less than five or six. Her people will mostly be away securing deals, but don't take anything for granted. She was trained as a ninja, and works as an arms dealer, so that will mean lots of traps and alarms. Three squads once tried to flush her out, and had to contend with a Guard Scorpion. Used to like to mark her territory with a flag, probably grew out of that habit by now."

"Are you coming with us?" Den, again.

"Me? Fuck no! I spent ten years earning this desk, and I plan to keep it, thank you very much."

"Fair enough. Pleasure talking with you."

"Bullshit. But I appreciate the sentiment nonetheless. Anything else?"

Pearl looked up. "Why me?"

"Honestly? I don't have enough pull to order high class soldiers, and you're the only third right now to come with an entourage."

Silence. Pearl affected her best piercing stare.

"Hey, settle down. If you come back alive, I'll join your goddamned fan club."

Pearl left the room.

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Having collected all her gear, Pearl was at Shinra HQ garage early. They were due to head down the freight elevator at the central pillar before striking for the Junon mountains. Their driver was already there at bay 9, surrounded by a small cluster of infantrymen. He wasn't in a good mood, and she hung back as one soldier hooked her arm around him and whispered something in his ear that caused a flush for both of them, but didn't lift his gloomy mood. There seemed to be far too many hugs and shoulder squeezes for a simple transport run, but she hadn't been on something like this before. As she approached, the chatter from the moral support group died away, but the driver was still facing away from her.

"…and I worked damned hard for my HGV license, and now I gotta cart around these animals!"

"Animals can have sharp ears, you know."

The driver spun, froze for a moment, then shrugged. "Ah fuck it, what else can you do to me? How long were you there?"

"Not long," said the girl of the whisper. "Fuck's sake, Rodrigo, learn when to shut up!"

"Sorry, Elle. Too late now. If I get back, we'll talk about it." One last hug, and then they left. Truck driver tried to turn away, but she knew how to hold a stare even through a mask.

"You hate me for a reason? Because I'm pretty sure I don't know you."

"I don't need to know you. Those eyes are enough."

"Should you tell me that before the journey?"

"Don't think it matters. You can't kill me, you'll need a driver!"

Kill you? For being annoying?

"So what are you driving? A six tonner?"

The masked driver jerked slightly. "You drive?"

"Once upon a time, mostly light pickups and cherry pickers, nothing like this'n. Must be hard to park."

"Depends, for Shinra's runs, we tend to get a dedicated space -and don't try to be friendly!"

"Sorry. So why do you hate us? Come on, what do you lose by telling me?"

"My odds of dying horribly go up thirty percent just by being within a hundred yards of you. So try and be friends all you like, I still won't be pleased to see you."

"That can't be right… can it?"

"Look it up. Infantry tend to die in numbers on missions with SOLDIER, especially the transport staff… and don't get me started on the bluecoats, anyone who even thinks about a helicopter trip with them will die in a crash."

"Yes, because we get sent on the most dangerous missions!"

"So? Seeing you people is still bad news, for me at least. Don't expect to be liked."

"Okay, so how would you lower the death rate, if you were made President tomorrow?"

"You want the full list?"

"Well, we've a journey ahead of us. Just let me stow my stuff, and we can talk on the road."

"Hold on… you think I want to talk to you for eight hours?"

"Why not? Got something else to do?"

"Making friends?" Den, behind them.

"Oh, you know me, manipulative like that. Been a while since I was in a truck like this, are there any regs against sitting in front?"

"You want to take the grown-up seats? Be my guest."

"This looks interesting." Swift, also approaching undetected. "You want some quiet time with the driver?"

"Oh, grow up," Pearl, said, additionally indicating her feelings by gesture.

"I already told you, no. Safe journey."

Immediately on getting in, she knew she'd made the right decision. The cab was much more comfortable than the back, she sank into the chair like a mattress. The driver pulled out of the space with millimetre precision and joined the queue for the elevator. Once they were on the road, he looked across at her.

"You have a favourite radio station?"

She shrugged. "It's your cab. Just don't pick something teeth grinding."

"You're the boss," the driver said happily, and flicked on Shinra Radio 9, famously nicknamed 'Advertising Jingles Live.'

Clearly, this was going to be a fun trip.

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