Forward "History admires the wise, but it elevates the brave" He could almost hear the little girl's soft voice as she cowered in the corner of the room. "Uncle Laguna…" But he wasn't there for her, wasn't there when she needed him the most. The one time in her life that he could make a difference, that he could truly help the girl, and he wasn't there. He was in the fields surrounding the quiet little town, fighting off Caterchipillar with Kiros. "As you can see, Mr President, the losses were substantial. Foxtrot Wing was almost completely destroyed, firstly by the engagements in the air, and then by the bombing runs on the ground." But the president was not really listening to anything that was said. Laguna missed his 'quiet time', when he could be alone with only nature. The doctor rushed in with a brown leather briefcase. He was a rather unkempt man, medium height with brown hair that fell about his head, rather than having any style, and a greying beard that wasn't really combed as often as it should have been. The clothes he wore were dull, but functional. Brown trousers and shoes, with what Laguna guessed as brown socks underneath started what a grey jacket finished. Not terribly fashion-conscious when he was twenty, the middle-aged man, who was puffing from his hundred-yard gallop, had not changed his style (or lack of) in his entire adult life. "Mr President, we would like your authorisation to move the fifth and ninth squadrons from their base at Leuchars* north to plug the gap left by Foxtrot Wing." Kiros tapped the president. Quistis Trepe started to unpack her things from the desk. What was it today? she thought. Then she remembered. Today she was supposed to talk about Limit Breaks with a group of twelve-year olds. One by one they filed into the room, taking their positions at their designated seats. So like robots already, the instructor thought. When they grow into SeeDs, she thought, mentally chuckling at the statement, will they act like Squall did, simply going through the motions. Squall was waiting for his girlfriend when she rounded the corner. This is something Irvine would do, thought Squall. "What's wrong?" Rinoa turned, startled by the sound of his voice. "I'm worried about Rinoa," said Squall, looking across the table at his companions. "I think something is wrong." "The people of Esthar will not take this kind of…humiliation lying down!" There was a murmur of assent amongst the assorted generals and admirals at the table. The president nodded, and gestured for the speaker to continue. "What we propose is a build-up of military personnel and materiel along the eastern coast. When the Galbadians strike, we shall be ready. We have already moved to plug the gap left by the removal of Foxtrot Wing, placing the fifth and ninth squadrons on constant alert status. Ground-based mobile Triple-A will be moved from their usual positions around the city to the coastline, and it will be backed up by SAM sites and satellite-based laser-guided missile silos. Fighter squadrons are on maximum alert, with two of our Omicron-class aircraft carriers, the Invincible and the Aquaterra moving into intercept positions. Constant airborne patrols from the carriers will reduce ETA's for incoming aircraft. Meanwhile, from our docks at Kielport the first amphibious assault transports are emerging in case a counter-attack is warranted. Rinoa looked in the mirror. Such a simple action, yet it showed so much. It showed a girl, trying to fill a woman's shoes, and failing desperately. It showed a girl, afraid of losing the man she loved. It showed a girl, afraid of being an outsider. When she was in Deling City, people treated her with respect, but that was purely because she was the daughter of General Caraway. She had changed her name to try and remove herself from this fame, to remove herself from the falseness that is politics. Author: Well, that was different. This is probably the first time I've actually looked at Laguna with anything other than the 'father of Squall' tunnel vision. I didn't expect to write the piece about the past, but it just kind of came out. I always thought of Laguna of being slightly above Selphie on the 'tuned in to life' scale, but after walking a mile in his shoes, I am gaining a better understanding of the man. *: Leuchars is a RAF base in Scotland. The ranks and structure of the Estharan Air Force is broadly based on that of the RAF.
Welcome to the next thrilling (sic) instalment of my story. The prologue has been updated, although the changes are only footnotes and aesthetics. I was going to insert a character with rather colourful language. However, I believe that his character would be more poignant if he did not swear. Once again, All characters (for the time being – my character is not long coming) are property of Squaresoft Chapter One
Edmund Morris
Laguna Loire shied away from all matters military. He had fought as a Galbadian soldier, yes, but that was only so that he could travel the world. Once his tour of duty was over, and it ended rather abruptly like the cliff off which he fell, he was going to become a journalist.
The military was a means to an end for the young Laguna, back when he had no commitments other than to the blue uniform of Galbadia. Then he met Raine. It was, of course, rather fortunate that he met Raine, because she saved his life. But it had stolen his dream. His relationship with the little girl, Ellone, blossomed until he found it harder and harder to leave each morning to fight the dreaded monsters that plagued Winhill.
After his rather unusual courtship of Raine, the three would have had a wonderful life, were it not for the Sorceress Adel. As the President of Esthar sat in his leather swivel chair listening to the reports of Galbadian incursions, he thought back to the last days in Winhill.
"You getting tired in your old age, Laguna?" asked his friend. The ex-soldier turned guard shook his head vigorously, whilst resting his palms against his knees. "It's all…in your…imagination," he managed to say in between the gulps of Winhill air his body was craving. His friend merely laughed and sat on a nearby rock.
"I'll wait for you to get your breath back, shall I?" The future president scowled at him, but secretly thanked his very good friend. Ever since they were in the same company together, Laguna Kiros and Ward had been the best of friends. They were together that day when the three of them all jumped off the cliff in Centra. Well, thought Laguna, I jumped off the cliff. Kiros and Ward didn't have much say in the matter.
"I didn't know I was so out of shape. I suppose six months lying down can atrophy the muscles." Kiros looked over at his companion in astonishment. Where did he get the word 'atrophy' from? "You know Kiros, I'm starting to like it here."
"It's a good thing, Laguna. I don't think that Mrs Loire would like it if you decided that you no longer wanted to be here." Laguna chuckled, but stopped when he thought about what Kiros had said. His dream, to write, to travel, to see the world. It was an immature dream, sure, but it was his dream. Was he willing to throw away his dream to stay here with the woman he loved?
"It's too late for that," he said aloud. Kiros looked up at him, a questioning look filling his face. "I was thinking. I wanted to be a journalist, but now I have a wife, and a young girl to worry about. Much as I want to leave, to travel, to see the world, I know that I cannot. Love…" he faltered for a moment. "Love is like an anchor on the soul. It pulls you, no matter how much you try to leave, you can never do so."
Kiros sighed, and then opened his mouth to speak. "I prefer to think of it as a magnet. It doesn't look out of the ordinary, to anyone who examines it, and to people on the outside it is sometimes a mystery. But the attraction that is love can never be understood with words, it has to be felt. And it cannot be broken, not by anything, even death."
Laguna nodded. "I think I prefer your definition as well. A part of me wants to explore, to stretch my boundaries, but I know that however long I stay here, there will be an overwhelming sense of contentment, that life is worth living."
"This is getting depressing. Here you are, finally getting your life together, and look at me. You and Ward are my comrades, and that is something that can never be broken. But I still yearn for love, regardless of how I like this place. I can see how you fell in love with Winhill, and how you fell in love with Raine.
"Despite the great wars and conflicts that occur throughout the world, that ravage it and destroy good men's lives, Winhill feels like a constant. It is something that will never change, it is almost eternal in its peace and tranquillity. Had I nowhere else to go, and I don't, I would like to stay here, even if it means sacrificing my chance of love."
"Hey, this is getting heavy. Let's go home and we can get something to eat." Kiros nodded, and together they walked the half a mile back to the pub. The cobbled stones hurt the soles of Kiros' feet as he walked, but he didn't mind. Somehow, and despite the fact that he was born somewhere else, this felt like home.
As the two men walked into the pub, nothing felt wholly wrong. "Raine?" called Laguna, suspicious that she had left the door open but was not downstairs. Silence. "Raine?" he said, a little louder this time. It could be that she's out, thought Laguna, but then as he turned to talk to Kiros he noticed the form of a woman behind the bar.
"RAINE!" he yelled as he ran to her. Laguna picked up his wife and cradled her in his arms, the blood that flowed freely from her head gushing onto his shirt as he wept.
"Put her down and let me take a look." Laguna complied with his friend's request, and Kiros knelt down. Ten seconds later he pulled back from the bloodied form, a look of relief on her face. "She's still breathing. Go and get the doctor." Laguna nodded and ran out of the door to the pub. Kiros leant over the woman, brushing the hair out of the gash that ran down her cheek.
"It's all right," he whispered, "Laguna may not know a map from a Malboro but he's a good man. You'll be just fine." Kiros gazed at the woman his friend loved and thought, for just a second, that she smiled.
The man knelt beside Raine, and began a survey of her injuries. Blood was slowly seeping through her jacket and the doctor took it off to see where it was coming from. The blood was a great circle on her tee shirt, which the man pulled up to expose the wound. "She seems to only have mild wounds, the gash to her cheek and surface cut here on her side would not cause her to be unconscious. She probably hit her head on the bar as she fell," he said, noting a few specks of blood on the polished wood." He fished in his briefcase for some supplies and started to work. "I'll go for the head wound first. The others are little to worry about. Whoever did this, he did it deliberately." Laguna looked at Kiros, and he looked back. The terror spread to both faces at once, and they cried in unison, "Ellone!"
"What? Oh yes, OK. Very good." The Chief of the Air Staff narrowed his eyes slightly, but said nothing. Laguna smiled, something that he found very hard to do, having just been deep in thought about his old life. Kiros looked at the air chief marshal and nodded. The silent conversation was picked up by the ex-pilot, who wrapped up the meeting as quickly as possible. Gathering his things, he headed for the door.
"So," started Kiros, "what's on your mind? Don't you dare say 'nothing'. You were so far gone then you would have met yourself coming back." Laguna looked at the man he had been friends with for two-and-a-half decades. He would have laughed at what Kiros had said, were he not feeling so morose.
"I don't know why, but recently I've been…distracted. I keep thinking of Winhill, of the time that I spent with Raine. That year was the happiest of my life. The eighteen years that I have spent here have been good, but I haven't felt the same kind of happiness that I felt when I looked through the windows of that pub and saw Raine behind the bar, and little Ellone sitting there on the floor." Laguna turned away from his friend, afraid that he was going to cry.
"I feel so guilty about leaving Squall behind. I didn't even know she was pregnant. That's no excuse, I shouldn't have gone gallivanting off leaving her behind to fend for herself. But what could I do? Whichever direction I take, I lose. Do I stay with Raine, and lose Ellone, or do I go after Ellone, and leave Raine behind?"
"You had a really tough decision and I believe that you chose the right option in the end. You couldn't have known that Raine was going to die, but you knew that you were never going to see Ellone again if you didn't go after her. It was a double-edged sword, the decision you took. You regained Ellone, but lost Raine. The hard part is accepting that there was no way to save them both. You did what you thought was right, and I would agree that it was. Hell, I did agree at the time. I know that it's never easy to move on with your life. It still gnaws at your soul, that it is somehow your fault that she is gone. But you have to realise that it is not your fault, that even if you were there, Raine would still have died. She died in childbirth, Laguna. There was nothing you or anyone else could have done about it."
"I know what you're saying is right, and I think that she would not have wanted me to remember her like this, but it's hard. It's so hard." Laguna stopped talking. He had nothing left to say. Kiros waited for him to look back up before leaving. "You can go Kiros, I'm fine now." But he knew that he wasn't, not deep down. Deep down, the gnawing continued unabated.
"Today we are going to talk about Limit Breaks. Now, there are literally hundreds of Limit Breaks. However, the vast majority of these will not suit you. It will come naturally to you when you continue your training which Limit Break you are suited to, but it is still a conscious decision on your part. You will not have to worry about this for another twelve months or so, but you should start thinking about it. By now, all of you have chosen you specialist weapon, and this will remove certain Limit Breaks. You can't do Renzokuken with a machine gun, after all.
"Limit Breaks can only be performed when you are low on energy. There is a spell to artificially cause a person to access their Limit Break even when on full strength. However, the after-effects of this spell are rather like the after-effects of an adrenaline rush." She was interrupted by a young girl's hand being waved frantically in the air. "Yes?"
"Why can we only do Limit Breaks when we're low on energy?" The little girl's question was a reasonable one, and there were several nods from other students who had thought the same question.
"It has been proved why, and it's extremely complicated. Can we leave out the why for now. I don't understand the proof, it's that complicated. It was proved by a SeeD actually, his name was the Omega. You might have heard of him." From the blank looks that the students gave her, it was clear that they had not. "Well, I'll tell you about him then. This is a lesson in recent history, if anyone asks.
"Ten years ago a SeeD graduated with a perfect score. He had a name, but when he studied it he found that it had a very bad past, so he stopped using it on his graduation night. Instead, he called himself the Omega. He was the best SeeD there ever was. He was a sword master, but he was a scientist as well. Tales abounded of his deeds when I was a student. He took one of my lessons as a temporary instructor. You could tell that he was an amazing soldier and he taught well. Three years ago, six months after I graduated, he disappeared on a mission. The circumstances surrounding his disappearance were a mystery, and if you look for his files on the computer, they are very classified."
She didn't tell them that when he left the room that day, the young Quistis had followed him into the training centre. Watching from a clump of trees, she saw the man approach two T-Rexaurs and in five seconds, he had decapitated both of them. His sword moved with such speed, and it was so sharp that the thick bones and muscles of the T-Rexaur's neck stood no chance. She thought briefly about her misguided infatuation with Squall, and decided that whilst with Squall it had been love – although a different love to her original idea – this had been idle curiosity.
"Nothing much more is known about the Omega. It seems that even his name was lost." The students all seemed rather contented by the story of the almost mythical Omega, and she resumed her teaching, forgetting all about the Omega and his exploits.
"Do you often do that, waited behind walls for people?" She sounded irritated, and Squall could not believe that this was the same Rinoa who he knew and eventually loved. "You know, it's not very nice sneaking up on people like that."
"I do it when I need to. What's wrong?" He asked the same question, with both eyebrows raised. "People drink for a variety of reasons. Some drink to remember, others drink to forget…" He stopped when he heard the almost imperceptible sound of her drawing breath. "Or maybe you were just at a party," he finished. She seemed a little relieved when he continued, the commander thought. Maybe there is something wrong.
"I, uh, have to go and do something. See you around, Squall." The dark-haired girl turned and strode down the corridor.
"And so the transformation is complete," laughed Irvine. Squall frowned slightly, but said nothing. I'll wait, he normally explains even slightly cryptic remarks "What I mean" – Bingo – "is that it started off that she was worried about you, and you brushed her off. Now you're oh so worried about her and…" It was almost a scowl, the look that Squall gave the sharpshooter. "Has she given you the brush off?"
"Whatever."
"I'll take that as a 'yes', Mr. Sensitive." Another look. So deep was Squall's anger at his friend that he almost didn't realise that he told the truth. "Do you want to talk about it?" The invisible daggers heading straight for Irvine made him back off a little. "I'll take that as a 'no'. At least there's still some of the old Squall left." A thin smile from Irvine, but no reaction from Squall. He was deep in thought.
Have I really changed that much, Squall thought. There was still enough of him to get lost in thought at will, he sarcastically thought, but could he recognise himself? His old nature only seemed to come out when he was angry at something. He had definitely changed, and in his position of responsibility – he once again thanked Cid for it – he could not afford to go back to his previous disposition. The simple fact was that he was needed here. It may be hard for him to accept but people rely on him. Why do they rely on me still? I didn't ask for any responsibility, I didn't ask for people to like me. I have a job, and I do it. All I ever wanted was to be allowed to get on with my life, but they thrust duties upon me. I am supposed to thank them for this?
The commander slowly lowered his head, and buried it in his hands. I don't rely on people to help me. Why do they need me? But I do need someone. The SeeD sighed. "I need Rinoa." The rest of the group stopped their conversation and turned towards him.
"Maybe we shouldn't really be hearing this, Squall." Selphie kicked Irvine, and he yelped, then blew a kiss her way. "Your leg must have slipped Sefie. I'm sorry I was in the way." The brunette smiled sweetly at the cowboy.
"You know Squall, Rinoa talks to you. Maybe you should try to talk to her again, maybe see if you can't find out what's bothering her. You never know, it might be nothing." I hope so, thought Squall, because I don't know if I could do what Rinoa did for me.
"Of course, we are hoping for a peaceful solution for this conflict, but if none can be gained then we should be able to launch our own initiative. We have analysed the data from our HK-11† spy satellites and we have picked these five targets for immediate neutralisation." The room lights dimmed, and a holographic image of the country of Galbadia appeared. Five red dots flashed along the western coast. "The first is a munitions dump near Dertion City. An estimated six-month supply of ammunition and spares for the Galbadian army are in this compound.
"The next is the largest fighter base on the western coast. Poorly defended by manually targeted AAA and by rudimentary SAM sites, our cloaked fighters could take the entire base down with maybe two dozen LGB's." The LGB, or laser-guided bomb, was a very useful tool in the Estharan arsenal. (Author's Note: Their version could work through clouds.)
"The third site is an unconventional weapons factory and research facility. They specialise in the gas centrifuge separation of military-grade uranium and plutonium manufacture for non-standard weaponry." Although it was a part of his vocabulary, the general could not say the phrase 'nuclear weapons'. They were always 'unconventional' or 'non-standard'. In bad cases he simply referred to them as 'NBC weaponry' – a nice and tidy acronym for Nuclear, Biological and Chemical.
"The fourth and fifth sites are interconnected. The northern site is a Galbadian listening post with a range that extends a considerable distance into Esthar. The fifth is the regional headquarters of the Galbadian Intelligence Agency." The general motioned and the lights came back up to normal brightness.
The president blinked a few times to let the irises contract, and then turned to where the general sat. "Is it wholly necessary to kill our fellow human beings? Why can we not resolve these differences peacefully?"
"The grim fact is that we prepare for war like precocious giants, and for peace like retarded pygmies."‡ The president sighed once, a soft sound after the booming voice of the general.
"Very well. I leave this matter in your very capable hands." Some of the generals raised their eyes in surprise, others smiled mischievously. Kiros whispered something in the president's ear. "I think I didn't make myself clear. Every time they attack us, bomb one of their facilities. That will be all." Some of the generals looked downcast as the president and his assistant walked out of the room. "You probably saved me there, Kiros." Ward looked at him. He hadn't heard what Kiros had said. "Sorry Ward, Kiros said 'don't do that, they'll fucking nuke Dulche City'."
No-one ever listened to me. They had always looked at her as an accessory of her father, as a distraction at the parties her father held. She ran from Galbadia to escape from politics, and sought refuge in Timber. Here were people who listened to her, not to her name. The reborn Rinoa Heartilly had found people who treated her as an equal. They called her 'princess', but it was a term of endearment, not the singling out she had received in Deling City.
And then she had met the SeeD party of five. She loved Squall, she knew that she did. But the feeling of being an outsider, of being different scared her. She wanted to run, to be somewhere where she could be one of them. She knew it was silly, that they treated her as one of them. But occasionally, just every now and again, they would say something to her like, 'Rinoa, it might be too dangerous'. And she felt like the outsider again.
A quiet knock on her door. She knew who it was before the door opened. "Hi Squall." He looked at her and smiled slightly, even a bit, she thought, sympathetically? He stood there looking at her, at how the raven locks shone in the moonlight that streamed through the window, at how the shadows played across her face. He waited for about a minute, until he felt that enough time had passed.
"Are you ready to talk?" It was a simple question, but to Rinoa it was the realisation that Squall had dropped his mask to try and help her. He risked being caught, like a deer in headlights, with no masculine bravado or cold-heartedness to shelter him.
"I don't know. Maybe."
I read through some of my earlier writings and realise that what is above is probably a first. In my previous novels, I was very willing to discuss Heckler and Koch suppressed weaponry or cavitation noise in submarines, but the first was that I looked at a character. Maybe the maturity that comes with age is distilling through to my writing style. Tell me what you think. After all, encouragement costs nothing yet is priceless. As for the next part, I'm having a little trouble with my real work, so unless someone can help me with linear funcitonals and dual spaces it may take a while. Time, tide, and evidently mathematics, wait for no man.
†: This is a slight change to the American KH-11 spy satellite currently in use by the NSA.
‡: This line is attributable to Lester Bowles Pearson.
Double-Edged
By: Cairn Rennin
Esthar and Galbadia are at war. SeeD is trying to stay neutral. (FF8)
Rated: Fiction T - English - Adventure - Chapters: 10 - Words: 42,035 - Reviews: 34 - Published: 9/6/2000 - id: 69868
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Full 3/4 1/2 Expand Tighten
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