CHAPTER 17:
MAKING PLANS
Scarlet was a woman of no small pride, ambition, and malice. It was qualities such as these that allowed her to rise to the top of Weapons R&D at Shinra. That, and her intelligence. Anyone who claimed that she slept her way to the top often ended up facing the brunt of her wrath. In fact, while she used her sexuality quite well, actually sleeping with her superiors was another matter. She wasn't stupid, and she had her pride.
Besides, she had standards, and who was there to sleep with amongst the executives? The late President Shinra, Palmer, and Heidegger were too gross in stature for her liking, and Palmer and Heidegger were idiots, anyway. Reeve was perhaps a better proposition, given his decent looks and intelligence, but he had too many scruples for her liking, and the man acted like a monk at times. Hojo was a creep, end of story. Rufus was another matter, but he had a coldness to him that made sure that Scarlet kept her distance. Besides, she didn't fail to notice the flashes of contempt in his eyes, the little upstart POS. Lazard might have been a contender, but that mess with Genesis scuppered that, as Lazard was now dead.
She used her sexuality more at one remove, teasing and baiting, stringing people along until she had no use for them, occasionally using kisses, but nothing further. But she also knew how to wield her temper like a weapon, how to manipulate others. And she was more than willing to do her own dirty work, though the survival of Barrett Wallace was a black mark on that record after the Corel massacre.
But now, she had finally reached the top. The rest of the board were easily manipulated. Heidegger, once he had learned of his error in allowing the transfer to go ahead, willingly went along, especially once Scarlet reminded him of Rufus' contempt for him. A contempt Scarlet herself shared, but Heidegger had his uses, and when Ultima Weapon attacked Junon, he proved to be in his element, organising the defences of Junon with a surprising competence. Palmer, of course, always went with the strongest side. Reeve, under duress, capitulated, but she knew Cait Sith was under his control, and Cait Sith was still on the Highwind.
Which was why she was now seeing the Turks in Junon's Presidential Office. Reno, Rude, and Elena were present. "So good of you to come here," Scarlet purred.
"Wow, you toppled the prez," Reno drawled. "Nice bit of manoeuvring. I'm guessing you want us to track him down?"
"No need. Thanks to Reeve, we know where he is: Mideel. I considered very carefully what to do next. Bomb Mideel? True, but we risk killing the two Cetra with them, and I'd prefer them alive. I want to execute Barrett Wallace in a public execution as well. Rufus will…'succumb to an unforeseen illness'. I thought about this, and I think I have a solution. We still have Marlene Wallace and Elmyra Gainsborough in our custody at Kalm, do we not?"
Reno looked at the others, before saying, "I think I get where you're coming from. We go to Kalm, bring them here, and tell AVALANCHE to come out of hiding, or they get killed?"
"An interesting idea. But no. I want you to kill them."
Elena frowned. "Why?"
"The threat of killing them will only control Barrett or Aerith for so long. Actually killing them will provoke them into coming out of hiding, acting impulsively. Barrett in particular will be so enraged, he will do something stupid. In any case, it is the price they pay for continually defying Shinra. These are your orders: kill Marlene Wallace and Elmyra Gainsborough."
Scarlet could see the hesitation in their faces. Eventually, she added, "Remember that the Turks have been on probation since that business with Veld. And they are rather short-staffed. Tseng is still in a bad way. The doctors say he may never wake up. Cross me, and I will assure he doesn't."
Reno and Rude nodded, apparently getting the hint, and guided the gawping Elena away.
Elena didn't get any answers to her questions until they were well-underway, their helicopter speeding away from Junon with Reno at the controls. "But how can we be expected to do something like that? We're killing a three-year old kid and a harmless woman."
"We're expected to do a lot of things," Reno said quietly. "You do know I activated the pillar self-destruct sequence over the Sector 7 slums?"
Elena nodded. She knew, even before Tifa had confronted her about it back at Icicle Inn. But it never sat well with her.
"We're the Turks," Rude said, speaking fairly eloquently for once. "We're Shinra's janitors and laundrymen, doing the dirty work. That is our job."
"So…what? We're going to do this? Look a toddler in the eyes and kill her, knowing her daddy is going to come after us like a Midgar Zolom?"
Silence reigned for a time, before Reno said, "In the aftermath of that whole mess with Veld, Rufus saved the Turks from complete dissolution, but on a single condition, one that we must always follow. Complete and utter loyalty to him, until the end. We had to wait until his old man died before we could actually fulfil that, but now, we are working for him. Not for Heidegger or Scarlet. And as Rufus seems to be with AVALANCHE, I guess we're going to have to join up."
Elena, quietly, digested this. Eventually, she asked, "What of Tseng?"
"He'd understand. Besides, who said he was still in hospital?" He turned to Elena and grinned. "He's currently on his way to Nibelheim. We have a few people there to look after him. I thought Scarlet might pull this crap after this morning. But if Scarlet does kill him, then he'd understand if we were in the same position. I know you like him, Elena. But we've got a job to do, and we've got to do it well." He grinned. "We've got to give them all hell!(1)"
Rufus looked at the members of AVALANCHE, who had been, up until now, his enemies. Well, to tell the truth, they still technically were. But greater threats had forced them together.
He remembered what he had said, with a sardonic lilt, when he met them for the first time, and they had introduced themselves. "What a crew," he had muttered. Then, of course, it had only been Cloud, Tifa, Barrett, Aerith, and Nanaki. A traitorous SOLDIER who turned out to be an issue-ridden failure, two members of a terrorist organisation, a flower girl from the slums who was also the last Ancient, and a sentient mountain lion who had ended up as one of Hojo's specimens.
And their little party had grown since then. There was the kunoichi brat daughter of Lord Godo of Wutai, a robot cat operated by Reeve Tuesti, a former Turk who had witnessed the beginning of Sephiroth, and an insolent and ill-tempered pilot. Oh, and there was the Cetra boy from another world, Sephiroth's 'mother', and now a man who could transform into a dog. What a crew.
They had commandeered the inn at Mideel, and Rufus was seated at the head of the table in the room they were using, much to Barrett's annoyance and Rufus' amusement. But now was not the time to revel in it. Their time was short. Aerith and Harry had wanted to stay by Cloud and Tifa's side, but Rufus persuaded them to come. He needed information, particularly about Holy.
"Let us take stock," Rufus said quietly. "The situation is, to put it mildly, pretty bad. Sephiroth has summoned Meteor, and Holy, which may be able to stop it, is possibly being blocked by him."
Aerith pulled the glowing Materia from her hair. She tapped it, indicating the sickly black swirls within. "No mistake. He is blocking Holy."
"Very well. What else? Scarlet has decided to turn on me, and she'll probably be making plans to flush us out. If we're lucky, she'll send the Turks."
"How is that lucky?" Cid asked, inhaling from his cigarette.
"I made them swear strict personal loyalty to me. I trust Reno and Rude with my life, even if I know you don't. Elena…follows their lead. But there's another issue. Cait Sith, if you don't mind?"
By now, it was an open secret that Cait Sith was controlled by Reeve Tuesti, but for the sake of appearances, they addressed the semi-autonomous robot cat as Cait Sith. "Very well, Rufus." He leapt from his moogle steed onto the table. "Now, old Kya-Ha-Ha and Gya-Ha-Ha(2) have come up with a plan that they think will destroy Meteor: firing Experimental Rocket No. 26 at it."
Cid snorted. "Wouldn't so much as make a dent unless you've got a pretty big bomb in it."
"Oh, they do. They're using two bombs, actually. The first is an old hydrogen bomb, as a back-up. But the main event is going to be a Materia bomb."
"A Materia bomb?" Cid frowned.
"It was something Heidegger and Scarlet told me about, not long after I assumed control of Shinra," Rufus said. "They have been using the Mako Reactors for more than just electricity, or Hojo's experiments. They have been trying to create Huge Materia, in much the same way as some nuclear reactors can be used to 'breed' weapons-grade plutonium.(3)"
"And these Huge Materia can be used as weapons?" Aerith asked, horrified.
Rufus nodded. "There are four reactors that have Huge Materia being 'grown', and potentially ready: Corel, Fort Condor, Nibelheim, and the underwater reactor at Junon. Now, while I would be loathe to interfere with any plan to stop Meteor, the truth is, there is no guarantee it will work, and it may be that the Huge Materia should be put to better use by stopping Sephiroth, rather than being shot into space. My proposal is this: we intercept Shinra at the reactors and, if necessary, at Rocket Town, and take the Huge Materia for ourselves. I had considered holding it hostage to force Scarlet to resign, but it isn't in her nature to surrender. Instead, we will use the Huge Materia to stop Sephiroth. It's possible that we can use the Huge Materia to destroy the barrier that I was told was erected around the Crater." Rufus stood, and looked at them all. "Given intelligence by Cait Sith, our first targets should be the Corel and Fort Condor reactors. Shinra is moving to get those first."
"I'll go to Corel!" Barrett bellowed. "I've gotta stop Shinra from screwing Corel over again!"
"I was considering that, Mr Wallace. I suggest you, Cid, and Mr Valentine go to Corel. Cait Sith, you'll take Nanaki and Yuffie and help defend Fort Condor. I'll give you my secret bank card to help pay for the mercenaries there. Scarlet hasn't been able to freeze its funds, I daresay."
"And what? You'll stay here with Aerith and Harry?" Barrett asked, suspicious.
"If Scarlet has sent the Turks after me, then I will need to stay in the one spot. And if the Turks are after me, then it means they aren't after you. In any case, would you trust me with any of you?"
"Don't worry," Jenova purred. "I'll deal with him if he gets uppity."
"And who watches the watchers?" Nanaki remarked.
"Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?" Sirius muttered(4).
"I'll be fine," Aerith said. "Anyway, someone needs to stay behind and look after Cloud and Tifa. And if Rufus is right, the Turks shouldn't be an issue."
"You're too trusting, you know that?" Cid groused.
"True. But then I wouldn't have met you guys, would I?" Aerith asked, smiling winningly. "Besides, thanks to Cait Sith, we have our weapons and Materia back." Her expression became solemn. "But we have to face facts. This is going to be a hard battle. We have Sephiroth and Shinra against us. If we can get Cloud and Tifa out of their stupor, great. If we can get the Turks on our side, great. But the odds are against us. We have no guarantee of winning. We are not going to give in, however. To give in is the same as basically killing yourself. Because that is what is at stake here: life. The lives of every living being on this Planet will be destroyed if Sephiroth has his own way: worse, they will be forced to become part of him, if his insane plan succeeds. No matter who you are or what your creed, we can agree on the simple fact that we don't want that to happen, and we will work together to stop him. Am I right?"
Sirius stared at Aerith in shock. For a moment, it seemed like Lily Potter had come back from the dead. It wasn't just the green eyes and gentle, if mischievous, demeanour that they had in common. It was also that fiery will within. And as much as he sensed that Rufus and Barrett wanted to be in charge of matters, it was clear who was the real centre of the group at the moment. He looked at the way Harry was looking at the young woman. And he smiled. He knew he wasn't yet trusted in the group, but he knew that Harry was in good hands with Aerith.
He just hoped that he could make sure that he could make up for the time he had languished in Azkaban. Sirius was Harry's godfather. He would protect Harry, even if it meant his life…
CHAPTER 17 ANNOTATIONS:
Oooh, Scarlet is a bitch. In the game, she's something of a sadist and a haughty bitch. I wanted to expand on that. I also wondered whether she slept her way to her position, but decided that she didn't. Doesn't stop her from having issues with anyone accusing her of that. Then again, there aren't that many options within Shinra's executives anyway, as I pointed out.
I initially thought I would have her threaten to kill Marlene and Elmyra, until I thought it would be more of her style to kill them anyway, as a measure to flush Barrett out. As much of a bastard Rufus is, he's a more reasonable person, less likely to waste resources if he can help it. As for the Turks, their loyalties haven't actually changed, just been clarified. Reeve is going to be dancing a fine line, but his loyalties, in case you're wondering, are firmly with AVALANCHE. He'll be joining AVALANCHE in person during the raid on the Junon reactor. Or will he? Will something else happen? You'll have to wait and see.
I thought Aerith taking charge, effectively, of AVALANCHE, was a nice touch. She'll be staying at Mideel, looking after Harry, Cloud, and Tifa, but she's effectively taken command.
The next chapter will have the Turks' attempt at rescuing Marlene and Elmyra.
1. A little reference to the song Live and Let Die.
2. I love these nicknames Cait Sith/Reeve gives to his colleagues in the game. I couldn't resist adding them here.
3. I mentioned nuclear weapons because I would be surprised if this technologically advanced world didn't have them. I also thought, if the Rocket hit Meteor and managed to damage it with an explosion, how come? Especially if you managed to remove the Huge Materia on board? My solution was this: a hydrogen bomb on board as a sort of back-up. This sort of overkill does seem to suit Scarlet and Heidegger's mentality. I mean, look at the size of the Sister Ray. It can't be for shooting at Weapons all the time. Personally, as mentioned before, I think Heidegger was compensating for something.
4. Sirius is speaking, in Latin, more or less the same thing as Nanaki. It's a phrase from Roman writer Juvenal, mentioned in many works. One of the translations, 'Who watches the watchmen?', is, of course, one of the motifs in Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' famous work Watchmen.
CHAPTER 17 SOUNDTRACK:
Scarlet, Triumphant: Shinra, Inc. (FTG).
Divided Loyalties: Turks' Theme (FTG). What else would you have with the Turks discussing their betrayal of Scarlet?