Epilogue 2: The Final Frontier

It had been bothering him for over an hour and no matter how he tried to adjust it, clean it, or nearly yank it off in frustration, Squall couldn't get rid of an annoyance in the collar of his SeeD uniform.

"Goodness, what's the matter?" Selphie asked with amused eyes as she watched his antics.

"Something's been jabbing me in the neck for the last hour," he huffed as he rubbed his index finger along the inside circumference of his collar for the umpteenth time.

"Here, let me take a look," she offered, looping her finger into his jacket to tug him down.

He sighed, and as he bent down to allow his fiancée to hopefully find the problem he looked around the bridge of the E.S.S Lionheart, where they had been waiting for the starship's captain to arrive. "When the hell is he going to get here?"

"Last I heard, he was supposed to be getting one last briefing from HM," Selphie remarked absently as she checked the part of his collar that would otherwise touch the newly-reddened section of skin. "Ah! There you are!" she exclaimed as she withdrew her hand.

"What is it?" he asked as he straightened his posture, followed by his uniform.

She held out a tiny stick of clear plastic barely perceptible to the naked eye. "No wonder you had a hard time finding it; it's one of those plastic thingies that hold tags on a new garment."

"So that's where it went," the young commodore grunted as he rubbed the tender spot on his neck.

"Hold on a sec." Selphie reached into one of her uniform jacket pockets and produced a small tube. "This'll help it go away quickly. You don't want the new captain to see you with that mark; he'll think I gave you a hickey or something."

Squall quickly withdrew his hand from his neck and leaned over again, this time so his beloved could apply the clear cream that she was in the process of squeezing into her hand. "Thanks; I have no idea how much I owe you for this."

"You're already gonna be giving me a married life," she replied with a twinkle in her eye as she gently applied the cream to his neck. "There you go. Good, it's clearing up already."

"And just in time," Squall remarked as a set of doors that led to an elevator opened, revealing the new captain of Esthar's first starship. "Captain on the bridge!"

With the exception of Squall and Selphie, everyone on the bridge snapped to attention as the newcomer strode confidently onto the bridge. Like the rest of the bridge crew, his uniform consisted of a top color-coded to his department, gray in this case, along with black slacks. A pin in the shape of the symbol for Esthar rested against his chest, on the left side. Unlike the rest of the crew, however, the captain wore a gray jacket over his uniform. "Captain Seifer Almasy, reporting for duty," he announced, coming to a stop before his superior.

"Seifer, you're supposed to salute him," Selphie whispered while glancing at the rest of the bridge crew; even though the former Sorceress' Knight had come a long way, he still had some issues with authority.

Captain Almasy sighed before snapping his right hand up to his right eyebrow, which Squall promptly returned. "Can we get this show on the road…sir?"

"HM keep you for a while?" Squall asked, dropping the salute while giving his former rival an understanding look.

Seifer allowed a brief chuckle as he dropped his arm as well. "Yeah. I know he, uh, cares about me, but listening to him go on and on can still be a pain in the ass sometimes."

"Well, you won't have to worry about that for a while," Squall replied with a chuckle of his own; then his expression grew serious and he extended his hand. "Good luck out there, Captain."

"'Good luck'…" Seifer scoffed while giving his bridge crew a sideways glance. "Save it for someone who needs it, Commodore."

"All right, then…." Squall replied; then his face took on an uncharacteristically impish grin. "Good luck out there, Captain."

The new starship captain's expression turned to one of shock before managing to give his typical grin as he took the other man's hand. "Fuck you, sir; fuck you very much."

The group in attendance gasped, but Squall maintained his expression; Seifer's behavior was not unexpected, after all. "Seriously, Seifer; for what it's worth, I think you'll do great things out there."

The grin faltered before resolving to a more sincere smile. "Yeah. Thanks, sir."

Squall glanced over toward the doors to the elevator. "We'll get off your ship after you run your pre-launch check. Otherwise…" Squall gestured toward the captain's seat as though presenting it before he and Selphie made their way to wait in front of the elevator doors.

Seifer watched the pair briefly before turning to his crew. "As you were," he announced as he took his seat, and they quickly manned their stations. "Bridge stations: report in."

As the various stations reported 'go' Squall couldn't help but feel a sense of loss, as all of them were SeeDs that he had watched rise through the ranks, but a few in particular stood out:

"We are 'go' on navigation," Nida reported as he tapped several buttons on the console behind which he sat.

"Science is 'go'," Sally Dincht announced from her station over the captain's right shoulder.

"Security teams standing by," Tisky reported.

Seifer grunted his approval, then briefly scanned the touchpad on his armrest before finding the button he was looking for. "All hands, this is Captain Almasy," he announced, and Squall couldn't help but be impressed by his old rival's professional demeanor. "All sections: report in."

"Infirmary here," a response came, and Squall felt a slight lump in his throat at the sound of Rinoa's voice. "We're ready to go."

"Engineering here, caps," a very familiar voice reported in. "Main engines are 'go'. Compression engines are 'go'. We can launch whenever you're ready."

Squall smiled at the seriousness of the typically-exuberant martial artist; he'd come a long way from his time as a new SeeD, having interned with Esthar's scientists as they worked on the new magical propulsion technology. To Zell's surprise – as well as everyone else's – he picked up on the technology very quickly, to the point where he was nearly leading the development team toward the end. When the time came, Zell had eagerly accepted the position of Chief Engineer rather than Head of Security.

The rest of the sections reported in, and Seifer looked over his shoulder at his old rival. "We're good to go, sir; now kindly get off my ship."

"Gladly," Squall retorted with a grin as Selphie pressed the button for the elevator. "See you in six months."

"Squall."

The pair stopped halfway onto the elevator and turned to find Seifer standing next to his command chair. "What is it, captain?" Squall asked.

Seifer set his jaw before straightening completely to properly salute his former rival. "Thanks. For everything."

Squall studied him for a moment as he thought back to Seifer's journey from the hell of being Ultimecia's knight; from his months of counseling to deal with the trauma due to the crimes he had committed on her behalf and while under her control, to months of retraining and reintegration into society – in short, to learn how to be human again – to being chosen by Headmaster Cid and Commodore Squall to captain the Lionheart… Seifer had come a long way and dealt with a lot of emotions, and Squall felt something akin to pride in the other man as he returned the salute. "That was all you, captain; I'm just glad I could help." He then dropped the salute and turned to finish entering the elevator, followed closely by Selphie.

As the doors closed, Seifer dropped his salute and stared at the doors as a flood of memories washed over him; all the trouble he'd caused, people he'd hurt…

"Captain…?"

Seifer blinked out of his reverie at Sally's expression of concern. "Mr. Nida: Prepare to take us out."

"Yes, sir."

"Miss Krayton: Please inform me when Commodore Leonhart and Chief Tilmitt have debarked."

"Aye, sir." A minute later, she pressed her finger to her ear, then looked to her commanding officer. "Docking reports that the commodore and the intelligence chief have debarked."

Seifer tapped the comm. button on his armrest. "Mr. Chick-er, Mr. Dincht; is your Compression Drive ready for a test run?"

"Totally, but I think we should put some distance between us and everyone else for our first run. Ya wanna see how fast this baby can fly?"

"That was my thought, yes," Seifer replied evenly. "Let me know when we're safe to jump."

"You got it, dude-I mean, sir."

Captain Almasy snorted as he turned his gaze on the view screen at the front of the room. "At your discretion, Mr. Nida."

"Yes, sir; engaging standard propulsion."

As he felt the ship start to move under him, Seifer lifted a hand to scratch an itch that had suddenly manifested on his cheek. As he did, the sleeve of his trademark gray coat caught his eye. He studied it briefly; then, as everyone else busied themselves with their duties, he stood up long enough to remove his coat and fold it neatly, setting it on a nearby chair as he reclaimed his seat.

From a special raised platform just outside Balamb Garden, Squall studied the giant starship. Unlike the Ragnarok, the silver-colored Lionheart was divided into two main sections: the front section was shaped like two plates set horizontally with their tops stuck together; it reminded Squall of the UFO that he had encountered during his journey, though this 'flying saucer' in front of him was much larger, as it contained the crew quarters plus amenities. The section directly behind it was cylindrical and contained the Engineering section of the ship, as well as storage for all the previously-drawn spells that would be needed for the trek. Extending at an upward angle from the sides of the Engineering section were two fin-like mounts that looked much like wings, attached to which were two more cylindrical structures, much smaller in diameter than their host; these would be used to channel the magic energy needed for Compression travel. Mounted at various points on the hull were specialized portals, where spells could be cast in defense of the vessel if necessary. It was an oddly beautiful ship.

Squall blinked out of his studies, and he and Selphie watched as the huge starship slowly lifted off from the 'dry-dock' where it had been built; around them crowded nearly the entire staff, faculty, and student population. Everyone cheered as the Lionheart cleared the top of the dock and continued to ascend. Even though many of those present had been on the Ragnarok more than once, to see a vessel built for space exploration was exciting.

"Good-bye!" Selphie cried, jumping repeatedly as she waved at the departing ship, tears freely flowing. "Good-byyyyyeeeeee!" She then grabbed onto her fiancé, partly for comfort and partly due to nearly losing her balance. "God, I'm gonna miss them…"

For his part, Squall couldn't reply, as he was busy trying to swallow the lump in his throat; even though he knew he could contact the ship and talk with the crew, not having his friends with him was going to be…difficult.