For a single moment—or perhaps it was an eternity—time stopped. My mind was reeling with shock as I feebly tried to grasp all the whirling thoughts and emotions inspired by a single name etched in marble.
Gabriel was a SeeD.
Suddenly the world was upside down. The sun was green and the sky was red, the earth changed direction and the rain fell up. Everything I thought I knew was in question. Everything I'd believed…challenged.
Gabriel was a SeeD.
The implications nearly knocked me over as I began to pull thoughts from the chaos. That meant Ana had hired him through Garden. That meant someone in Garden knew about what they were trying to do, and didn't care. Hyne, he told me he'd been hired to seduce me. Another SeeD operative. His mission required the disruption of mine.
I couldn't begin to fathom who could be behind all this. Was that why I was elected for the job in Starvale? Because someone somewhere knew I would be vulnerable to advances from a man well skilled in the careful maneuverings of seduction? So which had come first? Ana or Gefrey Vanderstyll?
Thank Hyne, no one had known of the dreams. They couldn't have. No one had counted on fate to bring two souls together again and disrupt all their precious little plans.
So what did it all mean?
Although many had questioned SeeD's motives in the past, I had always brushed them aside. Yes, we were mercenaries. Yes, we killed for money. But somehow I had always believed that a sense of purpose lay behind each job. Surely SeeD was good enough to pick and choose their missions, and if the cause was not just, could afford to turn down the job. After all, SeeD had been paid but a pittance to send three operatives to a little back water town called Timber and free it from Galbadian control. Yes, I'd believed that we'd retained our morals, our humanity.
One simple fact altered that belief forever.
Gabriel was a SeeD.
Quistis was pale as a ghost as she boarded the Ragnarok, silently gesturing for Selphie to take off. Selphie began to ask her what was wrong, but something churning in the depths of those blue eyes stopped her, sending a chill up her spine.
Now Selphie watched Quistis carefully from the corner of her eye as she maneuvered the Ragnarok around the Garden towards the docking bay. Quistis's face was a porcelain mask, emotionless, and her eyes betrayed little but turmoil.
I guess she must have been pretty close to that classmate, Selphie thought as she engaged the landing gear, waiting for the gentle jolt as the Ragnarok set down. They had barely touched the ground and Quistis was out of her seat, heading down the ramp and off the ship.
Zell was walking across the hanger towards the ship, wrench in hand. "Hey, Quistis," he smiled at her. She merely nodded slightly as she strode past him.
Zell frowned, and looked up at Selphie as she came down the ramp. "What's wrong with Quistis?"
Selphie shook her head. "I'm not sure. She didn't speak after she came out of the Memorial."
"She must be really bummed over
losing that classmate."
"Yeah," Selphie replied
thoughtfully. "I guess so."
As she heard the swoosh of the door closing behind her, Quistis breathed out in relief, her shoulders slumping. She walked to the couch and sat down, putting a hand to her forehead.
What
am I going to do?
Her eyes burned with
unshed tears, but she was too drained and confused for crying right now. She
just had to make some sense of things. She needed a plan of action.
She got up and walked over to the desk, picking up the black and white photograph. She sat down slowly in the chair, staring at the picture.
"Gabriel…" she said softly. Then something occurred to her, a question she had asked herself before but never believed the answer truly important.
Gefrey gave me this picture. Why did he have it? There was no doubt in her mind that it was Gabriel. Even as a small boy, that face was unmistakable. Sure, it was obvious that Gabriel had been to Starvale before. The people knew him. There is a lot more going on here.
And I'm going to find out what.
Knock knock.
Quistis tapped her foot nervously as she waited for one of the occupants to answer the door. It didn't really matter to her which one was home, or even both, because she was prepared to talk to either one, although she did have a preference.
Then the door swished open and she was relieved to see which one had answered.
"Hi, Rinoa," she smiled faintly.
"Oh! Hey, Quisty." Rinoa stepped back to allow room for Quistis's entry. "Please come in."
Quistis walked past Rinoa and stood in the middle of the living room. Squall had gotten better quarters for himself, mostly to accommodate his new roommate. Unlike Selphie's obscenely decorated place, however, Squall and Rinoa's place was comfortable, no bigger than the two of them needed.
"I'm sorry, but Squall's not here," Rinoa said as she walked towards the small kitchen.
"That's fine, Rin. I really wanted
to talk to you."
"Really?" Rinoa replied,
genuinely surprised. Her relationship with Quistis was civil and friendly, but
they had never gotten close. Rinoa looked up to Quistis like an older sister or
aunt, and that feeling had kept them from being overly friend like.
But here Quistis was, standing in her living room, wanting to talk to her. She pointed at the couch. "I'll get us something to drink. You want coffee?"
"Yes, please, black, if you would."
"Sure thing."
Quistis waited nervously while Rinoa moved around the kitchen, grabbing two mugs and pouring the coffee. She returned a few minutes later, sitting down opposite Quistis on the loveseat. While they both took a few sips of their drinks, Rinoa took a moment to study Quistis, and was startled by what she saw.
Dark shadows had formed beneath Quistis's eyes, and her face looked tired. Her shoulders sagged a little, and when she wasn't holding on to the coffee mug, she clasped her hands together tightly, as if to keep from wringing them.
And then Rinoa reached out with her senses, opening up to tune in to Quistis's state of spirit.
She covered her mouth to smother a little cry as she touched Quistis's aura, the torment so strong in the blonde SeeD's soul that it made Rinoa's own heart ache.
"Oh, Quisty," she breathed, setting down her mug. "What's wrong?"
Quistis had sensed the touch, felt the tingle of magic run across the surface of her skin, and knew what Rinoa had done. She hadn't minded the contact. Indeed, she longed to share her pain with someone, in some hopes it would lighten the burden.
"The last mission we were on? You remember?"
"How could I forget?" Rinoa said sadly. Despite having been cured of the magical illness that would have eventually consumed his spirit and turned him into a BloodRider, a slave to a being of another plane of existence, Squall had still been in very bad shape when they'd returned to Garden. He'd spent weeks in the infirmary, and had only recently received a clean bill of health from the doctor.
Quistis was silent for many long moments as she tried to organize her thoughts, figure out where to begin. Rinoa shifted in her seat, waiting patiently.
Finally, when Quistis spoke again,
her voice trembled, her eyes clouded. "I fell in love, Rin. I met a man there
and I fell in love. I…" Quistis's throat felt thick and her eyes began to burn.
"He was the one who gave me the cure to Squall's illness. He had it because he
was working for the people who'd caused it. He turned against them at the very
last moment, broke his contract and fought against them. And then he sacrificed
himself to close the gate they'd opened." Tears began to stream quietly down
her face, but she ignored them. Rinoa got up and sat down beside her, putting a
small hand on her shoulder.
"I got a letter in my room
last night. It said there was something of interest at the Almasy Memorial. So
I had Selphie fly me out there this morning. Rin…his name was on the pillar!"
With this, Quistis's voice cracked. "He was a SeeD!"
Rinoa stroked Quistis's hair as she leaned forward, her head in her hands. Her shoulders shook with silent sobs she couldn't contain anymore. After a few moments, however, Quistis brought herself under control and looked up at the young Sorceress with haunted eyes.
"I need answers," she whispered. "I need to know which Garden he was from. I need to know who authorized his mission. I need to see his file."
"And you need Squall's terminal to see that file," Rinoa nodded, completing the thought.
"Yes. Can you help me? Will you?"
Rinoa took a deep breath, looking at Quistis's eyes. She knew it wasn't exactly proper protocol, and Squall would be furious with her if he found out.
She should have submitted a request to Cid. She could almost hear his voice, flat and official. Rinoa's voice answered him.
Fuck protocol.
She stood up and took Quistis's hand, leading her out of the living room and into the small office. There sat Squall's humming terminal.
Still logged in.
"Sit," she instructed, pulling out the chair. "He never logs off. Just find what you need."
"Thanks, Rin," Quistis breathed. She knew the risk Rinoa was taking. She knew the risk she was taking. But she had to know.
She pulled up the search engine, and tapped in Gabriel's name with trembling hands. The terminal beeped, the searching message displaying as it searched through the list of operatives.
The screen went black, and then the information she'd requested was displayed.
Operative Number: SR29-010158
Andovar, Gabriel
Sex: M Age: 25 Height: 6'2"
Hair: Black Eye: Purple
Base: Galbadia Garden
Skill Key Words: magic (high end)
magic (unique)
broadsword
infiltration
stealth
interrogation
persuasion
Status: Deceased (F4 for more information)
Civilian Contact: Gefrey Vanderstyll (maternal uncle)
Current Mission Log Number: 837-E32 (F8 for more information)
Current Mission Status: Pending Reassignment
Update: Y/N?
Quistis drew a shaky breath. There it was.
Wait.
Gefrey Vanderstyll is his uncle?
That explained a little bit. It explained why Gefrey had possession of a photograph of Gabriel as a child. It explained why everyone in Starvale knew him.
Pending Reassignment?
Quistis felt anger flush her face as she reread the file. Pending reassignment? They were going to assign someone else to his mission?
"Are they clueless?" she snapped at the innocent computer screen. The ferocity in her voice caused Rinoa to take a step backwards. "Reassign! They're trying to destroy civilization as we know it and you want to reassign!"
"Quisty?"
Quistis took a deep breath
before hitting the print button. "I'm sorry, Rinoa. I just…I don't know what's
going on here." She pressed a key, and a new window appeared.
Mission Log Number 837-E32.
Contractor: Nathaniel Krollis
Contact Location: Starvale, Independent State
Status: Pending Reassignment.
Mission believed to have been compromised by Mission Log Number 507-A94, Operative SRA-036174. Awaiting further instruction from contractor before mission reassignment.
Update: Y/N?
A name. Not Ana's name…but a man's name. Quistis felt a satisfied smile spread across her face. So I compromised the mission, huh? You guys ain't seen nothing yet.
She turned to look at Rinoa, the angry glint in her eyes enough to give the Sorceress chills.
"I don't know what's going on here," she reiterated. "But I'm going to find out."
The first thing Quistis noticed when she returned to her dorm room was the flashing message on her computer terminal. Her eyebrow raised, she walked over to the screen. She felt a mixture of relief and trepidation as she read the message.
Trepe, Q. O#: SRA-036174
YOUR PRESENCE IS REQUESTED IN THE HEADMASTER'S OFFICE AT 16:00 HOURS FOR NEW MISSION ASSIGNMENT.
"Hmm," Quistis murmured, a bitter smile on her face. "Don't worry, Headmaster Cid. I'll be there.
"And I just might tell you where to put that mission."
