Summary: A single event can change the course of the future. If a single revelation have been given to Sephiroth before Nibelheim, what would have happened? AU of my own mostly-canon timeline. OCs, rated for lemons, mpreg. Ties in with past fics and oneshots.
Disclaimer: Akalara is mine, Kandi is Amazon's, Lily is Mystic's, canon characters are SE's... You get the basic idea.
Queen's Quornor: Maniac's chapter, with further expansion on the goings-on back in Midgar. I like how he writes the Shinra executives!
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A/N: This one is a personal idea of mine, to try and shake off the cobwebs of year-long writers block. Also, the role of Heidegger will be played tonight by BRIAN BLESSED! (All caps was necessary to type BRIAN BLESSED)
Shinra Files: The Business
Executive meetings were a fact of life in the higher levels of the backstabbing hierarchy that was Shinra management. It was at first a way of checking to see if someone had hired an assassin to kill the others, then a method of allowing the cleaners to get into the laboratories when Professor Gast or Hojo steadfastly refused to leave for anything that didn't potentially involve all of his work being thrown in the nearest compacter, incinerated, exorcised and/or purged with fire and/or salt. All of which would be vital to the survival of the entire existence, but as is the curse of the narrator: unable to point out that maybe the crazy guy should be kicked in the head so hard that it detached from his body, flew over the ocean, and was gobbled up by a sea monster.
As I was saying, the meetings had become akin to vultures fighting over a recently dead husk. The main executives of the departments of Biological Sience, Weapon Development, National Security, Urban Development, and Space Exploration had gathered around the conference table armed with their latest proposals in an attempt to expand what each felt was a budget that could not support them.
"We'd be making a lot more progress if we upped the budget a little. The rocket is complete, but there are still a lot of safety checks that we have to go through. In particular we noticed that the oxygen tanks used are of an astonishingly low quality compared to the rest of the ship," Palmer said, giving his weekly progress report on the type 49 rocket, based west of Corel.
"So what possibilities do open up for us if everything goes according to plan?" President Shinra asked, his voice failing to veil his sense of infinite boredom. He'd called this meeting for one main reason, who had yet to show his face.
"Well if we know manned space travel is possible, we can look into possible colonization of other planets, find any alien life forms which I'm sure the science department would be interested in, not to mention possible colonization!" Palmer said, enthusiasm abounding despite the looks from the remainder of the board minus one, waiting for any questions with a smug look of satisfaction before Reeve, chief of Urban Development, interrupted his grand speech on "Space, the final frontier."
"Unfortunately, we have things more closely related to home to deal with. For example, the recent string of reactor attacks has brought to light some flaws with the older models. Reactor 0001 on Mount Nibel, the first reactor to be built, has been fluctuating wildly and attracting monsters," the blue-suited man said in a monotone, passing out a few sheets. Heidegger of National Security scowled at one, turning it upside down to see if the diagram made any more sense that way up. "No Shinra personnel were sent there in the end and should the situation not be fixed, we could be looking at a meltdown. It does not have the safety features installed in the new ones, so there is the potential for a worst case scenario. However, this is only theoretical as a mako reactor has never gone critical before and we do not know what the results would be. As such it is in our best interests to stay on the safe side and solve whatever problem was caused there before we find out the consequences of inaction."
"Why didn't anyone got sent there again?" Palmer asked to a chorus of groans.
"Because the two First Class SOLDIER members, Zackary Fair and Sephiroth, both took leave and now have gone AWOL," Reeve explained.
"We have already sent out searches to hopefully bring them back in one piece and SOLDIER command is currently distributed amongst the First Class officers, who fall directly under our combined jurisdiction; this was covered ten minutes ago and I should not have to remind you, Palmer. The current SOLDIER hierarchy may not be as efficient as one commander, but it is the best we can do as no real leader has emerged, and no one wishes to accept the role as director to add to their current workload."
"Out of the way, fools! Do you not recognize who I am?" a nasally voice shouted outside the conference room doors. They swung open to allow Professor Hojo access to the rest of the board meeting, and possibly guaranteeing a nameless guard a pay cut. "Imbeciles! Ignoramuses! I apologize for my lateness but my work requires my full attention, especially since certain circumstances arose," he said, brushing off any dust on his shoulders with gloved hands before taking his seat at the near end of the table.
"Hojo, and here I thought you weren't going to make it on time," Scarlet said, mocking concern with a false smile.
"Ah my dear Scarlet, it would be perilous for me not to attend these and although most of the decisions can be reached without my input, there is one matter I'd like to personally bring to the table. A matter of gravest importance, as it concerns our two runaways and their immediate retrieval."
"We have done all that we are prepared to do."
Hojo blinked, expecting to have been allowed to make his requests for more forces known. "Excuse me?" he spluttered out, trying to get over the shock of being denied something.
"I read your proposal and addressed it at the start of the meeting, and we have decided to decline on sending such a large force to retrieve them," President Shinra declared as Hojo struggled to regain composure.
"What about the Jenova project? Due to certain circumstances surrounding the two we have nearly reached a breakthrough in our engineered elite; surely you do not wish to endanger this. Need I remind you that one of them is still Sephiroth, the most powerful SOLDIER ever created? For any chance of capture I need everything in the military at my disposal!"
"You haven't divulged the full explanation of what this new wing of the project is yet. You can't expect us all to drop everything because you say so. While I will concede that a rogue First Class is a matter of grave concern, there are other issues to consider here," Scarlet informed him, taking a sadistic delight in how the scientist's face twisted with rage.
"She's right. We got bigger fish to fry here and we can do it without worrying about your poster boys. It seems Verdot left a job half-finished, and I have to pick up the pieces and squash the cockroaches before they start multiplying," Heidegger explained with a typical lack of formality.
"This is outrageous! Never before have my requests for subject acquisition been refused!"
"Your request to bring the two back has not been refused, Hojo. We are still searching for General Sephiroth and Colonel Zackary Fair. However, after the disaster of Kalm, which was undertaken without any of our express permission..."
"What about the Turk trainee that escaped with them?"
"What about her? Apart from your mako level bullshit, I mean. Only a few of the Turks are using that stuff and none of the trainees have had any further injections, unless you've been doping them behind my back."
"I'll have you know that I haven't touched any of your precious Turks, and as for 'what about her', she needs to be brought to the laboratories as well."
"Why? Need an insurance policy to make sure your Boy Wonder stays put?"
"ENOUGH!" President Shinra shouted. Heidegger and Hojo dropped their argument quickly. "The search for Sephiroth and his group will continue as scheduled. No more than 5% of any grade of SOLDIER may be assigned to this task and only one Turk shall be given responsibility to organize the group and probe for further information concerning this matter. The member of the Turks assigned to this shall be decided by Heidegger. Additionally, due to your personal failures Hojo, I shall be reallocating a considerable proportion of your budget to Scarlet."
"I simply cannot believe this…" Hojo mumbled.
"If you have any complaints there is still the suggestion box on the 59th floor. That will be all gentlemen."
For all my good work to be… tossed to the wayside for some rats… "Out of my way!" the scientist shouted to the conference room guards, pacing back towards the labs. My projects… I have a limited time window for this; the point of conception could not have been so recent as to draw attention to her pregnancy but that still can take up multiple weeks and with the possibility of a premature birth…
"I think he's slightly upset," Reeve noted, exiting the room with Scarlet.
"You make it sound as though you care about him, Reeve."
"Please. I'm a genuinely nice person with the good of the people in mind. Of course I don't care about Hojo."
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Time had not been kind to the Head of Security over the past month. The monsters at the reactors kicked off what became a game of throwing him and his department into locations between large rocks and spiky rocks. First the freak of nature that was Genesis and his clone army, then the shipping sabotage, and now this. It required skilled leadership to steer people through troubled times, and that meant delegating the job to someone who didn't need a bottle of whiskey hidden in the drawer of his desk to get through the day.
"Tseng, where are you?" Heidegger asked through the intercom.
"Here, sir," replied Tseng as soon as the department head let go of the intercom button. Heidegger did a double-take, as the Turk in question was standing the opposite side of the desk
"How the hell do you do that?" he asked, perplexed as Tseng shrugged it off.
"Practice."
"Obviously. Trying to do that probably takes time to master all the different routes to my office, and then sneak in without me noticing anything is very impressive and all…" Heidegger mumbled, trying to make some sense of what had happened.
"Was there something you needed?" Tseng asked politely.
Heidegger snapped back to reality. "Yes, there was. You've been with the new lot long enough to know who's important, who's good and who's bad at being a Turk, and who needs to be taken around the back of the building and have two bullets in the back of the head."
"In all fairness, all the sub-standard Turks have been killed on missions."
"Obviously. You'd hardly be a Turk if you couldn't come away from a simple mission unscathed. But I need you to find someone who doesn't work as well as the rest, because I'll be damned before I give anyone important to Hojo… Lousy freak, thinks he owns the place and throw his weight around. First the Ancient surveillance, and now this," he grumbled, no love lost between the departments there.
"What sort of mission, may I ask?"
"Retrieval, two SOLDIER runaways. You probably know the two; they're the talk of nearly every other part of Shinra. The Science Department wants them in the labs yesterday and the quicker he shuts up, the faster I can -"
"Zackary Fair and Sephiroth for capture, understood," Tseng interrupted, trying to process the new information, his muscles tense and his posture stiff.
"Oh, almost forgot: one of the trainees supposedly did a runner and is off with them. He wants her back in the labs, too."
"Any particular reason why?" Tseng asked, trying to prevent his voice from showing any emotion other than slight intrigue.
"Tseng," Heidegger's tone dropped as he stared the Turk in the eye, "I am not a man who is scared easily. But, what goes on in that bastard's head scares the crap out of me."
"I see. Perhaps an unorthodox approach is necessary here, considering the two SOLDIERs involved."
"Thinking outside of the box… could work. Do we have anyone particular for that?" Tseng allowed himself a small smile at that question; who got sent was his decision. There was a way out of this predicament, but it required a particular type of mentality. One used to surviving in harsh conditions where both success and failure could be dire for different people. One used to the world under the shiny surface. A slum rat.
"Two-gun, a former bodyguard to the Corneo enterprise. I've talked about his behaviour before, but I feel that an open retrieval mission outside of Midgar would suit him better. Also, his cooperation is not necessary to any other on-going operation." Smart enough not to get himself killed, but doubtful that he'd be any use in capturing the two.
"Right, tell him to report to my office at once."
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So I may have somewhat humanized the executives, but look at the positives. We now have a potential plot point to develop, and a potential villain who won't just stay in the labs 24/7. Yay for forced plot motion.