Damage Control
The helicopter was fifty foot up before the pilot finally started laughing.
"Okay, I lied...you're not going hunting. I'm a courier, commissioned to pick up survivors and take them home. You got anywhere to go in Midgar?"
"If you're lying, bear in mind that I am going to shoot you."
"I'm not...telling someone they're going home and taking them to a warzone'd just be cruel."
"So? You'd still do it if you were ordered to."
"Fair point. So...you got anywhere to go?"
"No...I'm stationed in Junon."
"Okay...Nap Room at HQ's now covered in broken glass, but enough Shinra soldiers are dead now that there'll be a vacancy for you at pretty much any barracks we head to. Any preference? I bet you're tired."
"Just don't put me in Sector 1."
"Deal. I'm just gonna do some more sweeps first. What happened to your hand?"
"Dunno...I think I was stepped on."
"You think?"
"Somebody hit me, got knocked cold, when I woke up nobody was around and had a broken wrist. Maybe I fell on it."
"Oh well...there's some curative stuff in the box on your left if you need it. Don't use it all, there's gonna be a lot more injured soldiers in here before too much longer."
"Thanks."
The helicopter swooped low over the streets. Evan fell into a fitful, not-restful-at-all-but keeping-me-alive doze.
- - -
"What? That's impossible!" A terrified looking tech had just informed Alex that not only was Hojo alive, he was attempting to destroy the city by firing Sister Ray again.
"In theory it was impossible for anyone to reach the President's office through all those monsters, but you managed it...sir."
At least I made an impression.
"Okay...what've we got? Military wise, I mean. Put me on to Heidegger or Scarlet. Even Reeve!"
"They're...not here. We don't have much. All soldiers are committed, injured, or gone to ground. The only machines active are committed, and the inactive ones had their power drained to funnel all available power to Sister Ray. There's anti aircraft Weapons on the cannon, so he can protect himself from the air. We really wanted nothing to be able to interfere with Sister Ray. He's in one of the safest places in Midgar."
Hojo...you sneaky bastard, I'm not finished with you yet.
"Where are they?"
"Heidegger and Scarlet imprisoned Reeve, he's in a cell. Then they went after AVALANCHE."
"AVALANCHE are here! Why didn't you tell me?"
"I didn't have time."
"...Okay, okay...I can handle this...hmm...what about the Turks?"
"Some of the junior members are injured, but the officers are okay and uncommitted."
"Okay...here's what you do. Send the Turks into the Winding Tunnel. If AVALANCHE are trying to get near the cannon they'll have to go in there sooner or later. I want them to flush them towards Hojo. Don't kill them, just keep them moving towards Hojo, maybe they'll kill him for us, and we can finish off the winner. Get a message to Heidegger and order – sorry, I mean strongly suggest- that he stay out of the way until after AVALANCHE attack Hojo. Got it?"
"Yes...sir. Do you have the authority to do that?"
"Let's find out, shall we? I'm taking full responsibility if this doesn't work."
"Thank you, sir. Good luck."
"You too."
-
Downstairs, Palmer looked up at the tech, near the President's chair at the other end of the conference room.
"Why didn't you put him on to me? He asked for 'the Execs.'
"Sorry, sir. Didn't think-
"-I cared about anything other than food?"
"No, sir."
"Thanks for the vote of confidence. So...what are Heidegger and Scarlet using to go after AVALANCHE?"
"Proud Clod."
"The anti Weapon artillery?"
"Yep."
"Then they're dead."
"What?"
"You heard me. They're dead. Proud Clod wasn't designed for human targets. Trust me, I know what I'm talking about. You'd better make that call fast."
-
With medics now attending Rufus, and a team of porters tossing immobilized research specimens out windows, Alex was beginning to think he'd be able to salvage the situation when the tech below opened the connection again.
"Yes?"
"Heidegger's refusing to back down."
"Why?"
"Something about a past grievance."
"I'm telling him to postpone his revenge, not refrain from it."
"I told him that. Sorry."
"Well, at least AVALANCHE'll go down., even if it means we're all dead."
"I wouldn't be so sure of that."
"Palmer? What the-"
"-Listen to me. Proud Clod has some glaring weaknesses." He went on to outline them.
Alex sighed. "Much as I'd like to let em fry for being so stupid, Shinra'll need them before Meteor hits. What've we got?"
"Not much. A couple of rescue choppers picking up surviving soldiers."
"Okay. Tell them to keep sweeping, but if they find Proud Clod, circle until it either destroys or is destroyed by AVALANCHE, and be ready to pick up Heidegger and Scarlet if it's the latter. If there's nothing they can do, shadow AVALANCHE and try to make sure they reach Hojo. Understand?"
He turned away from the screen and looked at Rufus nearby, currently receiving a blood transfusion and painkillers, along with field surgery to keep him alive until he could be moved.
"Sir? I know you're seriously injured right now, but you're gonna have to teach me how to use the more complicated implant controls. Sir? Sir?"
With a visible effort, Rufus focused his eyes, effort required to think when you were full of morphine and in shock besides.
"O...kay. Watch...carefully."
-
Later, having had Rufus teach him how to work the implants, he'd activated the ones in Sector 8, ensuring AVALANCHE didn't get suspicious about the ease of their travels.
"Let's see...anyone get to Heidegger and Scarlet yet?"
"No. We know the President ordered Proud Clod stationed in Sector Eight, so they're probably still there. We have two rescue choppers ordered to direct their sweeping for survivors nearby, so they should find them soon."
"Passengers?"
"Four and nine respectively."
"Not many survivors then?"
"Well, we picked the two that were least busy. One of the guys actually made it back to the base of this building when he was picked up."
"Unlucky fucker. A couple of minutes and we'd have missed him. Anyone I know?"
"Is this relevant, sir? We have a crisis on our hands, after all."
"You're right, of course. Status?"
"Of the passengers? Most seriously injured but stable, one injured but functional, and two unhurt. Anyone critical was given priority to a medical station, naturally."
"So we have three ground troops if Clod's already destroyed, and they have to retrieve survivors. Are they in the same helicopter?"
"Two in one, one in the other. But if Clod's destroyed, they probably won't be needed."
"Recall the chopper with one functional, he's not much good to us alone. The one that has two functionals, is probably near AVALANCHE. Tell them to circle closer to the cannon. Why won't they be needed? No escape pods on Clod? That's not like Scarlet."
"No, you don't understand..."
"I don't need to, I won't be involved. Tell them what you told me. And –wait, someone else is trying to reach me."
It was Reno, sounding tired but satisfied. "We had contact, sir. With AVALANCHE. Engaged and withdrew, as ordered. From the direction they were heading, two possible destinations. The cannon...and Shinra Building."
"Well done. The building is locked down, and nobody's around anywhere except the 66th floor. Reeve knows that, so they aren't coming here. If they do, they can't do any harm. Casualties?"
"Nothing serious."
He closed the connection and returned his attention to Palmer. Who had his attention on the scouting helicopter. When he'd finished the speech, he refocused on Alex, slightly amused.
"At least we've quality men in that chopper."
"Yeah?"
"The two functionals are ex garrison rats from the Sector 1 Reactor garrison, named Shinra and Reynolds.
"Shinra? Evan Shinra?"
"That's him. You know him?"
"Sort of...and I'm wondering if I shouldn't recall that helicopter. The man's talented, I'll give him that, but he's not the type we need for a mission like this. He won't stick his neck out for Gya and Kya, and he'll let them die if he has to."
"Encouraging."
"Yep. But leave them there, they're all we have to spare-Oh God, I'm stupid. What's the status of Sister Ray, how soon'll it be operational? The city on the brink of destruction and I waste time with personality quirks!"
"...Climbing past 50"
"AVALANCHE aren't going to get there in time. I'd better handle it myself. If that bird I've just recalled is available, commandeer it for me. You handle anything else that comes up. I've work to do."
-
When Evan woke up, there were three other people in the back of the helicopter with him. He was disgusted at his lack of alertness –how could anyone with as many people trying to kill him as he had expect to live long if he fell asleep at times like this? At present the price on his head wasn't enough at a healthy twenty grand to persuade Shinra soldiers to jeopardize their jobs by killing him, but it was the principle! He'd only woken up because he'd been kicked, thanks to a thoughtful soldier who decided to wake him up for a briefing via Palmer.
"Hello. I've some news for you. Heidegger and Scarlet are in all probability going to be dead before you can rescue them." Sounding slightly amused, he continued "I'll leave it to you as to whether that's good news or bad news."
You know full well that that's every Shinra soldier's dream...
"How come?"
"A design flaw in Proud Clod. Who're you?"
"Name's Shinra. No relation. What flaw?"
"Not a flaw as such...an oversight. Clod's designed for Weapon, not human targets. So..."
"They're too small for its weapons to target?"
"Exactly. Also, as it was thought Weapon would concentrate its attacks further up, so the thickest armour is there. And...the fuel cells are in the feet. So it's feasible for them to penetrate the armour at the feet, and if they do, and puncture the fuel cell...the whole thing will melt. Even if it has an escape pod of some kind, the door will probably fuse closed."
"And you told them this?"
"Well...since Rufus, who brought me out of obscurity, is now dead, if they survive, so am I, as a perceived threat. So I felt little need to trouble them with such trivial details. Can I get the names of everyone on board, please?"
They were given to him, along with their statuses (functional or not) and he signed off.
After another few minutes of circling, they found their mark. A gigantic robot with all guns blazing is difficult to miss. One of the soldiers had the presence of mind to cast a silence spell on the engine as they neared. The dialogue was over, and the only thing on the participant's minds was to kill.
-
In the control room of Proud Clod, Heidegger and Scarlet screamed in triumph as the primary Weapon succeeded in knocking all three Avalanche members down, but they rolled upright and after a flurry of frantic healing spells, a battery of limit breaks forced them to rise out of range. A single warning light on the control panel flared amber. The Executives regarded it with interest, beginning to wonder if they were in danger, but the impulse was quashed. One warning light, among hundreds, surely was not a cause for worry. They responded with lesser weapons, the only ones they had designed for infantry assault, which AVALANCHE took in their stride. Wallace countered with a volley of bullets that caused a second amber light on the panel. Scarlet's counter caused a light burn that did little damage. Heidegger's counter did slightly more damage, forcing Cloud to heal himself instead of attack in the next round.
This pattern continued for some time, with AVALANCHE showing no signs of fatigue. The only thing that differed over time was the growing number of amber lights on the control panel, as well as a handful turning red. Shortly afterwards, the experimental Jamar Armour disintegrated, which caused Heidegger some concern.
"Scarlet, I am beginning to doubt the efficiency of your machine."
"The Jamar armour is completely separate from the main body, it doesn't mean we are weak. It was an experiment." Privately, however, she ran an analysis of AVALANCHE's attack. Mean while they continued fighting, while the warning lights appeared to stop multiplying. Then the results came back. Although Heidegger wasn't as technologically literate as Scarlet, her gasp was easy to read.
"Something wrong?"
"No...nothing. I'm just going to go check on the armour resilience; I'll be right back..."
He caught her wrist. "Why? We've cameras right here especially for that."
"They've been damaged by AVALANCHE."
"Oh? How can you tell? The warning light's not lit."
She sighed. " I've been analyzing AVALANCHE's attack, and there is a danger. Nothing to worry us yet...look here." He looked where she pointed. She drew her gun. He glanced back at the wrong moment, and his response was fast enough to knock the gun from her hand, but not fast enough to snap her neck, as was his intention. Meanwhile, AVALANCHE kept attacking, and the Proud Clod's autopilot countered, oblivious to what was happening inside it. And the gashes in the feet grew steadily deeper. The struggling Execs were equally oblivious to the growing number of warning lights on the control panel.
-
Circling their helicopter around the conflict, they heard both Execs scream as Clod's body began glowing, and melted, amazingly quickly, but a single speck emerged before it melted to scrap metal and skidded along the street behind the machine. AVALANCHE, not noticing this, continued on, but the helicopter grounded nearby. As a functional, if injured, soldier, Evan was one of the two who approached it. Heidegger's charred corpse was nearby but Scarlet was still alive.
"Get out of here...before the city blows...Save yourselves..." The two soldiers exchanged glances.
"Okay." They walked back to the helicopter.
Five...Four...Thr-
"Come back here, you dumb fucks!" They returned to her side, but she was already dead. This seemed odd, as her injuries seemed serious but not critical. Later, forensic teams determined that the COD was a bullet wound in her skull. They also found that Scarlet had strapped a bomb to Heidegger's ejector seat before they'd entered Proud Clod. He'd noticed, and later grabbed the outside of hers as she activated it, after retrieving her fallen gun and firing through the window at her. The extra weight had caused the pod to veer and crash into a building, killing him before they landed, but he'd gotten in one good shot, before then. What would have happened if both'd been less treacherous nobody knew. As their corpses were laid out in the helicopter, another helicopter was seen landing nearby.
-
Alex crept up the stairs just in time to hear the Valentine's raw rage in the word "You..." Valentine, apathy incarnate, rising towards incoherent rage? He had just missed the 'Seph's dad' revelation and so was suitably impressed.
"I was wrong..." Valentine said softly, "the one who should've slept was you, Hojo!
For the first time Professor Hojo sounded uncertain as he recognized his former research specimen.
"I...was defeated, by my desire to become a scientist." Valentine drew and focused directly between Hojo's eyes, fighting to hold back even an instant. The man was, for the first time, visibly nervous, but didn't falter. "I lost the last time as well. I injected Jenova's cells into my own body..."
So that's why you didn't die!
"-and these...are the results!" Bereft of his gun, Hojo's only weapons were his capsules with the concentrated monsters inside. Valentine ignored them, riddling professor Hojo, while Strife and Wallace ignored Hojo and focused on the monsters. Eventually, Hojo morphed into a monster, as you do, but this didn't make that much difference except that he now had the concentrated attacks of three people to deal with. Sense Materia meant that the finishing blow was still Valentines. After Hojo had been defeated, Alex stepped out behind them and spoke for the first time. He'd seen the Exit Materia flare, but he could hunt down Hojo later. It was more important to get him off the cannon.
"Hello, gentlemen."
Strife whirled, angry at not being able to finish Hojo himself, but Valentine had gotten there first. Alex kept his hands in view as two gun barrels and a blade pointed at him.
"Who're you?"
"Sephiroth's successor as head of SOLDIER."
"What do you want?"
"To talk. I'm willing to give you safe passage from Midgar if you promise never to come back and leave Shinra to rebuild."
"On whose authority?" Valentine asked, looking up.
"On the authority of you having killed everyone who can give me orders. And the authority of the fifty 1st class SOLDIERs getting ready to storm this cannon."
Strife blinked. "Okay. But you're our hostage."
"Of course. I wouldn't have it any other way. Valentine?"
"Yes?"
"You've done Shinra a great service. Don't suppose you'd think about rejoining now you've killed the man you've been obsessing over for thirty years?"
Valentine laughed, which made his companions glance at him in surprise. "Sorry, but I think I'd better be absolutely certain. I think he might've used some Exit materia there at the end."
You've got sharp eyes. I barely saw that.
"We'll find him, don't worry. He won't be able to get back here, and if he does, well, the cannon's now disabled. You guys can worry about Sephiroth. Shinra will keep out of the way if I have to kill all the senior officials in the company."
"Appreciated."
"Thanks."
-
After being commandeered to escort AVALANCHE to the edge of the city, a task that took almost an hour, Evan finally got to sign off. The helicopter was needed elsewhere, so he had to walk to his pickup point back to Junon. Having put in a full day of duty in Junon before Alex had arrived, he was now after working thirty two hours straight of frantic heavy duty, and collapsed from exhaustion halfway there. If he'd been alone, he'd have had his throat cut before he'd woken up, but there was some slightly less tired soldiers with him who got him the rest of the way, whereupon he collapsed onto the nearest bunk and got in some much needed recuperative sleep.
- - - - - - - - - -
As soon as he woke up, he was flown to the meeting room in Shinra Building (the sixty sixth floor was now the only one being used), where he was awarded the Shinra Military's highest honour, the 'Coward' Award for Outstanding Resourcefulness in the Face of Annihilation. Shinra didn't reward people for getting themselves killed unless the company clearly got advantage by their death. They wanted soldiers that could survive as apposed to die honourably to no purpose. The presentation had caught him completely by surprise and as a result his acceptance speech was a little ragged, but he thought he got through it without making any more mortal enemies. The ceremony wasn't televised, thankfully, in deference to the fact that he didn't want assassins to know what he looked like, and he thought it could even drive the price on his head up that little bit more, because they knew he was getting a medal as when he'd burst into the HBI all that time ago, Corneo had seen his serial number with Shinra. Contrary to his previous belief, according to the event organizers, Shinra had protected his name and face, so he was known to assasins only by his serial number. In spite of the dangers, changing that number would ensure he lost all contact with people he knew, so he was reluctant to do so.
After the presentation, the unnecessary onlookers left, leaving him facing the senior officials of Shinra-or what was left of them. Rufus had been flown to Junon medical facility, and as yet hadn't been replaced. Tseng, still too injured for active duty, had been temporarily promoted to Heidegger's position. A senior tech named Burke was the Acting-Executive of Weapons Development. Palmer, of course, filled his own position. Alex was present representing both his own position and Hojo's, although mostly what he was doing was repairing holding cells with funds from both departments and re allocating monster's cells. He'd pushed for exterminating all the monsters, but the other Execs had convinced him to not to bother, as in cells they'd all be killed when Meteor hit anyway. Reeve, released on probation, still held his own position but was no longer given absolute trust, and had to seek authorization to paint a road sign. He was working closely with Alex. And Evan was standing in front of all of them, beginning to become nervous as he wondered what was going on.
"Your name is Shinra?" Burke opened the...interrogation? Interview?
"Yes sir."
"Are you any relation of the more famous branch?" Faces round the table flickered briefly. Too direct, the flickers said.
"No, sir."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, sir." If I was any threat to Rufus' inheritance, I'd be dead long ago and you all know it! But of course actually saying that aloud would get him killed.
"How do you know? You knew your parents?"
"Yes, sir. They were called Shinra too. If I was found in a basket on the doorstep, that'd be a quite a coincidence."
"Were? They're dead?"
"Yes, sir." He wasn't going to give them any unnecessary details.
"How?"
"Struck by lightning."
"Both of them the same day? That must've been tough."
"Separately, sir. Dad was struck fishing in Junon. There was another storm a few days later."
"Ouch. She liked fishing too?"
"No, sir. Isn't all this information on my file with Shinra, sir?"
"The system's gone down. We'll get it back online in a few days, but in the meantime, we don't know much. What happened to her?"
"She was hit hard when he died, so the next time there was a storm, she climbed to a hilltop screaming insults at Ramuh. And...he heard her."
"What?"
Please don't make me repeat that...
"You heard me, sir." That was flirting with insubordination but the escape of the specimens had devastated the Shinra Army and they needed every single soldier, so he was probably safe.
"Any other family?"
"Brother working in Cosmo Canyon. Haven't seen him in years. Is there a reason you want to know all this, sir?"
"We always do a background check on anyone getting a distinction, and with the system down, this's the best we can do."
Yeah, right. As if you couldn't have me questioned by any low level official. He pretended to relax, while in fact becoming even more tense. As best as he could tell, what this interrogation amounted to was 'Will anyone miss you if you disappear?' This was less than encouraging.
"And you're sure you're not related to the Shinras?"
"Well, we were actually questioned by Turks about that, and they did tests to verify that we weren't. I think it was mainly just trying to stop us from using the name for extortion."
"I see. Where are you based?"
"Stationed in Junon, sir. Formerly sector one, but was transferred."
"Why?"
"My house was burned down."
"Was it insured?"
"Against arson and accidental fires, yes, but I never applied for Assassin Insurance. Didn't think I was important enough for anyone to bother assassinating me. I was wrong."
"Oh...you're that guy. Could you excuse us for a moment?"
Evan left. The Executives exchanged glances.
"What do you think?"
"He's perfect."
"I dunno...he's lived this long, he has to be smarter than he looks."
"He makes enemies...we don't need that."
"He makes personal enemies. They'll hate him, not the company."
"Is this really a good move?"
"Shut up. You've lost all your credibility when you sold out to AVALANCHE."
"That, gentlemen, is the only reason we're still alive."
"Maybe so...but it's still treachery."
"Oh? Then-"
"Stop it. Stick to the matter at hand. Anyone anything to add?"
Silence.
"Call him back."
When Evan re-entered the room, the Execs were on their feet, facing him. Burke was the one in front, and again, he was the one who spoke.
"Evan Shinra, I nominate you as my candidate for the presidency until Rufus Shinra recovers. Thoughts, gentlemen?"
"Second." Palmer.
"Abstain." Reeve.
"Oppose." Alex.
"Oppose." Tseng.
"So we're deadlocked. Reeve, you abstained, so you're allowed to change your vote once. Think about it.
While Reeve considered, thoughts exploded around Evan's mind like fireworks, as he tried to come to grips with this information.
-I'm being nominated for the presidency! What the fuck is going on?
-Think about this. Why would they want me? I have no experience in politics and am most famous for pissing off people. Right now, they need public support desperately.
-I'm gonna be a figurehead, somebody to throw to the wolves when the mob arrives. This's damage control.
-Yeah, that sounds right. So what happens if I refuse?
- You die before you leave the building, and I imagine you get thrown off the side. Tragic, but it's so treacherous up there with no glass, don't you think?
-And if I'm not elected?
-You die before you leave the building, and I imagine you get thrown off the side.
-And if I am elected and fuck up?
-You die before-
-I leave the building and get thrown off the side, right?
-Yup. Sucks to be me.
-So what happens if I accept and do things right?
-You make a bunch of new enemies, but if you play things perfectly, you get away and live in a cave somewhere for the rest of your life, which, thanks to Meteor, is nine days.
-So I should accept if I get elected?
-Doesn't make a difference. You're dead anyway. Even best case scenario is only a temporary measure.
-So what? Ever since that one bad decision about Corneo, my life's just been a series of temporary measures until the next assassin. Nothing new about imminent death, cept this time I'll have company.
As he came out of his trance, Reeve, who had been watching him closely the entire time, suddenly grinned and said "I think this man may be exactly what this company needs."
Well, that's settled. Now all I have to do is hold together a collapsing conglomerate, regain currently non-existent public favour, find a way to stop Meteor, prevent myself from being lynched by angry mobs, keep AVALANCHE out of the way, and avoid making any more enemies. I can't wait.
"Do you accept your nomination?"
The hesitation they were watching for, when it came, was so slight it wasn't noticed. "Yes, sir."
Delight was palpable around the table. Ordinarily, the faces of high ranking officials in Shinra were unreadable, but they were under pressure and cracks were beginning to show in the legendary Shinra blankness. Acting overawed by his new office, Evan left as quickly as he could and headed for the shooting range. He had a strong desire to kill something.
- - - - - - - - -
Somewhere in the city, three figures were talking.
"What the fuck are they doing? Are they trying to bring down the company? With all due respect to the guy, he has no idea what he's doing. I saw his eyes. He's terrified."
"Relax, he's not there to do anything. And apparently he's very good at snooker."
"Oh, good! Go dig out The Complete Guide to Politics with Steve Davis!"
"Huh?"
"Never mind. We're going to have to do something about him."
"If we act directly, we'll be traced."
"I know that!
"So what've we got left?"
"...I'll think of something."
-
I've stolen some lines from the film Snatch and the TV show, Black Books. They seemed to fit. So...we finally learn something about Evan's background. Not much, but something. Enjoy. I'm trying to update as regularly as I can, but unfortunately I don't have much time at a computer, so sorry that this's taking so long to write.
