Sorry about the break, folks. It's been a busier than usual month so I'm playing catch up. I can promise there will be at least one update a month, but I will try for two when I can and once I'm fully caught up, it'll be back to every two weeks. There will be more Vincent chapters soon as well. Thanks for the patience and enjoy!
Chapter Six – Alternative Sources
When Meteor felled Shinra, no one could have predicted that the last man standing when the ashes settled would be the Director of Urban Planning and Development, Reeve Tuesti. Had someone told the other executives that info before Meteorfall, they would have laughed them out of the boardroom. Scarlet and Heidegger had more false respect for Palmer than they did genuine respect for Reeve and took it upon themselves to ensure he stayed at the bottom of the pecking order.
It was their way of reminding him every time there was a meeting who was really in charge. Which was always frustrating, seeing as without Reeve and his department, there would be no Midgar. Scarlet and Heidegger refused to see it that way though. To them, he was the weakest executive on the board.
Which is almost ironic as I walk through a building that same 'weakest' executive now calls his office, seeing theirs are in ashes and both are dead. I'd take some pride in having a part in making that so, if it wasn't for the fact there is one executive yet to be accounted for—Palmer.
Usually, something like this would be shrugged off as a non-issue. Palmer is a coward with little spine to be any threat to anyone's agenda. I recall one time Tseng and I nearly gave the man a heart attack when he dared to mention how he made a cup of tea. All we did was look at him and we must've been scary enough because he ran like his ass was on fire out of that boardroom.
Like all things, if there is even a chance he is still alive, he's on the radar. His last known location was Rocket Town when Shinra No. 26 failed to destroy Meteor. We haven't seen him since. He poses no threat so long as we exist somewhere on this planet but like all good watchdogs, we don't like leaving frayed edges that could trip us later. He's not a priority target yet and mercifully hunting him down isn't something I'm stuck doing right now.
The hallway is surprisingly empty for mid-morning. Only a handful of WRO soldiers patrol. None bother to look in my direction as I walk past, stopping just long enough to show my badge to the 'security' guards, who step aside with a brief nod. We've come to some level of adequate respect over the past few months and have advanced toward a slim level of tolerance between departments. It's fragile, but it's better than nothing.
WRO basic public security falls under the Reconstructive Division as many of the current roster of soldiers consists of a mixture of former members of SOLDIER, Shinra public security, and volunteers picked up along the way. Kunsel is the one in charge of making sure they do their jobs and their view of our department is turbulent at best.
This building is one of the few places in Edge considered 'neutral' territory though. It didn't used to be and when it was first built, the guards stationed here made entering this building a frustrating gauntlet of patience. It got so bad that eventually Reeve stepped in so our department could do our job. From there, it was established that this is one of the most important buildings in the world. It's the only thing we can actually agree on anymore.
The WRO's actual headquarters is based in Junon, a far more secure establishment with access to resources Edge can only dream of having. Reeve adopted the field operation life early into this though and now prefers the roughshod setup we have going in Edge.
I make my way through the hallways until I reach the last door on the left. Knocking lightly, I listen to the shuffling of papers on the other side.
"Come in." Reeve sounds tired today, the sound of a folder hitting a desk accompanying it.
I ease the door open. "Sorry about the short notice, sir, but I have information you will want to see, courtesy of Vincent."
"Vincent?" Reeve freezes, papers still in his hand, staring across the desk at me. The start of dark rings under his eyes shows he's dead on his feet despite a cup of coffee at the corner of his desk. No doubt that damage report arrived on his desk by now.
I nod. "Yesterday afternoon we met at Aerith's church. He said you would be interested in this."
The folded envelope lands on his desk beside his open notebook. He sets aside his current papers and reaches for it. Unfolding the paper, his eyes rove over the brief report Vincent scrawled on there, eyebrow raised the more he reads. He sits at a scarred table, his water-stained notebook lying open while a pen scratches against the paper to write it all down.
"Modeoheim?" he asks, intrigued.
"Yes, Modeoheim." I confirm, watching a moth flutter around a dull lightbulb.
"I would usually dismiss something that far-fetched given how long that reactor has been out of commission." He stops writing for a moment and rereads what he's written. "But because it has been dormant for so long, there is a chance there could be resources there we can pull from. It's been sitting long enough that the reservoir of mako may not only still be intact, but crystalized."
"It would really crystalize that quickly?" I ask, genuinely curious. I don't know much about how mako actually functions aside from the basic knowledge I have to know. Usually it never sits long enough to stagnate let alone crystalize.
Reeve seems amused by the question. "Given the timeframe and conditions of the region, yes. The likelihood is slightly higher than in Midgar."
That wasn't what I was expecting.
"In my defense, sir, my job was to protect and monitor the region for threats, not actually maintain the reactor itself unless we absolutely had to. Reactors and their cores were largely SOLDIER territory, not Turks."
It was one of the few things Tseng and Verdot did push back a bit on when the higher-ups would issue assignments to our department over the reactors themselves. They're a bit more dangerous than we want to admit. And unlike members of SOLDIER who were willingly exposed to mako as part of the program for their enhancements, Turks weren't, which made reactors a bigger risk that we only took assignments for if we were forced. We knew about them and their functions but as for certain aspects about the mako itself, limited at best.
"Vincent may be on to something though about the reactor there. I'm assuming you wouldn't have brought this here if you didn't think it had some merit as well."
"That is exactly why I brought it here, Reeve. The WRO needs information and resources, and this is the best lead I have at the moment. I trust Vincent's judgment and if he thinks there may be something we can at least look into out there, then damned if I'm not going to go hunt it down."
"I assume you want to go to Modeoheim then?" Reeve smiles briefly. That knowing look lingers in his eyes.
"Is it really that obvious? I spent a lot of time out in that territory during the Shinra days and can cover the area efficiently. Whether the area is still like I remember it remains to be seen but sending me along with Vincent will prevent a need to pull WRO forces that are needed here more than ever."
He nods in agreement. "How soon do you think you can head out there?"
I was expecting it to be approved—Vincent won't accept any other answer and it's doubtful Reeve wants him standing here where I am right now to convince him otherwise—but I wasn't expecting it to be approved that quickly.
My lip curls in a smirk. "How soon can you grant a flight authorization for Reno to take me and Vincent out there?"
"As early as this afternoon, early evening at the latest," Reeve muses knowing we're going with or without his authorization.
"You know what I like to hear." Truth be told, leaving Edge feels strange. I haven't done much traveling since Meteorfall and the idea wears on my confidence. Modeoheim should be familiar ground, like going home in a way. I haven't set foot in the region since being called back to Midgar before Zack's death. Modeoheim now may not be the Modeoheim from then. And given the proximity to the crater, it may not even exist anymore.
All of this is a gamble and we're banking on the terrain being how we remember it.
"How long do you think it'll be before you have any basic information to report?" Reeve is concerned about the same problem I am with the region. I can see it in his furrowed brow and the way he keeps worrying the pen between his fingertips.
"I think I can be honest here, but we both know that's going to depend on if Modeoheim is still there. You know I want to say not long, but…" I shake my head, trying to stay optimistic. "Even if it is still how I remember it, even saying a few weeks is being almost too ambitious."
My shoulders slump at the thought of being away even that long. "It's been a while since I've been out there and none of the transponders are still transmitting. Meteor knocked them all offline."
Reeve resumes jotting something down in his notebook. "I figured as such."
"But," I think for a moment. "If the area is even remotely still intact, once I get to the reactor itself, it should be easy enough to give a definitive yes or no answer. I'm confident I can get the information you need in a reasonable timeframe, especially if Vincent is helping. Reno has flown that area too which will speed this up."
"Then we can only hope it will be good news." He rubs his forehead and reaches for his coffee. "Because I haven't seen damage reports this chaotic in a while."
"I take it you had time to read them."
"Tseng dropped it on my desk last night. The sooner we resolve this, the better. If one outpost was destroyed," he looks at the single word Vincent has written in addition to Modeoheim—Geostigma. "I have little doubt others will follow if we can't get this under control fast enough."
"If it's any consolation, sir, the people at least respect you enough to not want to drag you through the streets and string you up like they do everyone else from Shinra. And if we get a say in it, it'll stay that way."
Fortunately, Reeve really hasn't drawn the full ire the rest of us have, yet. With the people chasing us, they won't bother Reeve too much which leaves less chance of someone else sneaking in to take over his role.
"I can never tell if that is supposed to be a good or bad thing." He flips the page to a blank one, writing a list I recognize as reactor items to check. "It's really hard to tell with Turks and honestly, I don't want to know how deep that pit is or isn't. At least you're allied to my side."
The uncertainty adds an edge of concern and doubt to his tone.
I eye him with sympathy. If we wanted him dead, he would be dead. And if it wasn't for the fact Vincent is around, there's no doubt Verdot would have made an attempt already to 'interfere' with how Reeve is handling things.
"You're doing it again," I conceal my amusement well. "Thinking out loud. You also keep forgetting that not all of us still work for Shinra, even if the people believe otherwise. I can't speak for certain, shakier alliances, but I can for Tseng's side of the pack. Reno, Rude, Tseng, Elena, myself, we're here on our own free will. We can leave anytime we want, but we are choosing to stay, and we'd like to keep it that way."
There is a sense of relief in Reeve's eyes as his shoulders relax slightly. "I am more relieved to hear that than I want to admit. Thank you."
I smile. That's one of the better things about working for Reeve and the WRO. No one is forcing us to stay, and we are free to leave anytime we want… without being forced to 'retire' by Shinra's standards. Moral chains are a bit of a bitch though and despite shaking free the Shinra collar, those still hold us here.
"Good. I'll look forward to receiving my orders today at some point, along with a list of what I'm looking for out there." I pause in the doorway for a moment to look back at him. "Also, for what it's worth, Reeve, working for you is much better than Shinra. We'll all do what we can to help make sure you get the information you need to rebuild from what Shinra destroyed."
Reeve does smile at the way I say it.
I step into the hall to head back to work. With some luck, it'll be good news.