The briefing room saw the twelve candidates grouped around a long table, at the front of which sat a holographic array. Squall stood in place, near the display screen. Xu sat off to one side, watching the equipment lists scrolling by on a computer screen. Every so often, she would make an adjustment, and somewhere within Garden's storage facilities, people would scramble to comply. Against the back wall of the room stood the SeeD officers, pilots, and other mission personnel, waiting for Squall's orders. The group filled the room a little more than he would have liked. Even though he'd warmed up somewhat since becoming a SeeD, Squall still felt uncomfortable in large groups of people, especially in enclosed spaces. He took a deep breath before speaking.
"All right, everyone. Let's begin." The display flashed a map, showing Balamb Garden's location, and the Centra continent.
"The Centra continent is currently the home of a group of pirates, who have been raiding all sea traffic in the vicinity. 6 hours ago, they hijacked a ship travelling from the Undersea Research Facility to Esthar." The ship's path taking lit up, ending in a star at the point of abduction.
"President Loire of Esthar has informed me that this ship, code-named Indomitable was carrying potentially dangerous technology, which the Esthar government is most anxious to retrieve.
"Therefore, we will be responsible for the infiltration of the pirate base and retrieval of the stolen technology." The display zoomed in on the base, rendering it as a wire-frame in three dimensions.
"We will make an amphibious landing just north of the main base, and west of the pirate's primary docking facility. Squad C will be responsible for destroying the dock and any pirate vessels stored there. The Indomitable will not be present, since the terrorists left everything in tact. Likewise, there are no hostages. President Loire assures me that every member of the crew escaped safely. This will be a direct attack. Leave nothing standing.
"The only aboveground entrance to the base is located in the north, so that's where we'll have to make our move. Squads A and D will breech the main gate, while B secures the perimeter. D will destroy the communications uplink, cutting the pirates off from any ships not on site.
"This leaves A to secure the route to the base itself, neutralizing all hostiles in the area. Once I give the all clear, all candidates can evacuate, and the cleaning crew will move in. Any questions?" A hand went up.
"How many hostiles are expected?" Squall glanced over at Xu, who punched up reconnaissance pictures of the base, with hostile forces in thermal colors.
"Early intel indicates that the ratio of hostile forces to SeeD candidates should be roughly 2 or possibly 3 to 1. Given your training, it's nothing too difficult, I'd say."
Seifer stretched an arm into the air. "What's the procedure for escaping hostiles?"
"Captain Nida Nomura will provide air support from the Ragnarok, with Irvine Kinneas manning weapons. If everything goes according to plan, we won't need them at all." Squall gestured to the back of the room, where Irvine leaned against a wall, more than a little noticeable as the sole person not in uniform. As always, the self-styled cowboy wore his long duster and wide-brimmed hat, which hung down low over his eyes. Nida stood next to Irvine, poised and polished in his SeeD uniform. Nida also passed the field exam the year Selphie, Squall, and Zell joined SeeD. Nida counted all of them as friends, but spent most of his time with the small coterie of SeeD members and candidates who shared his passion for aviation. No one at Garden could out-fly him, and Squall never hesitated to call in Nida's services on a mission.
"Anything else?" Squall asked. No one voiced any further questions. "Excellent. Xu will coordinate the mission, I'll be on-site, and if any changes become necessary, we will relay the information to your squad leader as soon as it becomes available. We leave from the dock in Balamb Town in one hour. Good luck."