The Last of an Elite

Chapter Nineteen: Proving You Don't Need Balls to be the Best

By InterfaceLeader

-~-~-~-

Joanna pulled the duvet straight and tucked the edge under the mattress. She then plumped the pillows, two on the left side, two on the right, and carefully placed them parallel to the headboard. She stood back and studied the double bed for a moment and then turned and surveyed the rest of the room.

The first thing people noticed about the bedroom was the way everything was in pairs. A double bed was in the centre, with matching reading lights on matching side tables. On a diagonal to the side tables were matching cane chairs, with matching throws draped over the top. Further along the wall to the chairs were matching chests of drawers, each with matching ornaments. Opposite to the double bed was a large symmetrical wardrobe with two swing doors, one for her and one for...

She shook her head and opened her wardrobe door, checking herself in the full length mirror inside. Her hair was beginning to show roots, she noticed. She would have to decide if she wanted to redo it or go back to being dark haired.

Shutting the door, she picked up the shoulder bag that sat in the middle of the floor. It was heavy, and she was forced to lean slightly to the right in order to compensate.

Crossing over to the door, she paused and surveyed the room again. Then she opened the door and stood in it. Reaching into her pocket she pulled out a little packet of matches, the kind which you snapped out. She broke one off with a sharp crack, then breathed deep and struck it.

"Good bye."

The lit match landed in the middle of the bed, which quickly caught alight. Flames spread greedily across it, leaping onto the side tables. It had reached the cane chairs by the time she had shut the door behind her.

-~-~-~-

"Tseng. You made it. Kya ha-ha-ha!" Scarlet put one hand on her hip, tilting her head back slightly as she laughed.

"Yes ma'am." Tseng waited patiently for her to tell him why she had summoned him back to Midgar.

"I have two things I needed to discuss with you. Both are top secret – not even Rufus should know about them. Understood?"

"Yes."

"Good." Scarlet paused and tapped one long red nail against her cheek thoughtfully. "The first is simply an advantage I'm passing over to the Turks to use as they wish."

Tseng waited, his face betraying none of the interest her words had created.

"Reeve" she said the name with a sneer and Tseng wondered what grudge she had developed against the inoffensive Urban Development Head. "Has created himself a toy. A robot cat to be precise, a silly thing that tells fortunes."

"Yes?"

"It's currently at Gold Saucer. I think it would be useful as a spy. Who would suspect a big toy of harbouring any secrets? Kya-ha-ha! I was going to use it to track down Avalanche but I can't be bothered with it now – I have bigger fish to fry." She sat on the edge of her desk, smiling, and crossed her ankles. "So... talk to Reeve if you have any idea's for it."

"Yes, thank you." Tseng had his doubts that any robot could be useful to the Turks but he kept them to himself.

"Secondly – Rufus. Our new president. Kya-ha-ha!"

"Yes?"

Scarlet studied her foot, biting her bottom lip. She was debating whether to share her recent thoughts with the Turk, but she did need someone's feedback and Heidegger seemed too anxious to get on Rufus right side to be trusted. True, a Turk couldn't be trusted either, but she felt fairly certain she could keep Tseng in line.

"The late President Shin-Ra" she said, glancing back up to Tseng "had one of the most powerful minds of any man. We all played our part in the building of Shinra and development of Midgar but he alone had the master plan. He oversaw the whole process, balanced out all the factions, oversaw the war with Wutai. He had the skill of managing people, which is both useful and rare."

"And now he's dead. Shinra is powerful, the most powerful force on this lousy planet. We're rich, strong, influential – but so were Wutai. And we still defeated them. Kya-ha-ha-ha! And do you know how we defeated them Tseng?"

"Superior military organisation, better weaponry and Sephiroth." Tseng answered without hesitation.

"People." Scarlet said flatly. "Heidegger came up with the tactics. I built and used the weapons. And Hojo created Sephiroth."

Tseng frowned, wondering where this was going.

Scarlet leaned forward, propping her head up with her hand. "So we're powerful now. But let's look at what we're up against. Kya-ha-ha!"

"Sephiroth is against us this time, not with us. Hojo's best creation in anyone's view. All he's managed to produce since are mutant animals and those stupid clones."

"Avalanche. A small terrorist group that should have been crushed the second they dared attack us. They've killed Odin knows how many of my troops and I'm not getting replacements fast enough."

"All of the ignorant rabble of Wutai, Fort Condor and North Corel who blame us for their stupidity. They'll be more than ready to kick us when we're down."

"And who do we have to lead us against these forces? President Shinra is dead, his unmatched skill and experience have been lost to us. And what do we get to replace him?"

"Rufus." Tseng supplied.

"Exactly. A brat of what, 19? 20?"

"I believe he turned 20 two months ago."

"Yes. Barely out of his teens. Too young to have seen anything of what made Shinra strong! A stupid arrogant boy who's had everyone obey his every whim since the day he was born! What does he know of diplomacy? What does he know of bluffing and lying? Nothing!" She spat the last word, her eyes glittering.

"........" Tseng found himself at a loss. To agree would have been tantamount to treason. To disagree would bring Scarlet's wrath down on him.

Scarlet jumped to her feet, and stalked across to the window that overlooked sector three. She placed both hands up against the glass, her breath steaming it up.

"I won't let him lose what I worked so hard to build" she whispered, staring down at the city. "I sweated blood to give birth to this company and I'll sweat blood again to keep it safe. Even if I have to take over and do it myself."

"Scarlet – ma'am. Give him a chance to prove himself first. Even if he loses the first battle you can step in and win the war." Tseng spoke quickly, desperate to keep Scarlet from doing anything reckless. He knew what mutiny could do to a group.

"Hmm...." Scarlet turned from the window and fixed her icy stare on Tseng. "Fine. One chance. And if he screws up..." she smiled again. "Just make sure you stay out of my way bodyguard."

-~-~-~-

Elena gave a shriek when she saw Junon. It was so much bigger than it had looked in postcards and travel guides! The gun in particular was awe inspiring, it's great shining length projecting out over the sea, slightly raised as though in salute. Her mouth open and her eyes wide and sparkling she forgot she was a Turk and became a tourist.

"Rude! Rude! Look at the streets! They go all the way up! And the buildings are inside! And look at all the machinery at the foot of the gun! Ooh, there's flags up for Rufus! Is he coming here? And wow, look at all the shops!"

"......"

"Ooh! They have a Chic! I have to go in there, they have some beautiful shoes and they're suprisingly cheap!"

"....Elena...."

"And they have – oh!" Elena turned pink. "I-I'm sorry. We're here for Sephiroth right? So what do we do?"

"You go to Chic. We go hit the bar." Reno said from behind them. Elena spun round.

"Reno! You got out of hospital?"

Reno raised an eyebrow. "No, he's still in hospital. This guy in front of you is actually his long lost evil twin."

Elena frowned. "Reno has a twin?"

"Elena! Jeez you're dense!" Reno rolled his eyes. "Come on Rude, let's leave the love struck bimbo to her shoe shopping. I've got some serious drinking to catch up on."

"Wait!" Elena looked from Reno to Rude, confused. "What about Sephiroth?"

"What about him?" Reno gave Elena his best blank look.

"Are- Aren't we supposed to..."

Reno patted her gently. "There there. Don't worry your empty little head about it. Me and Rude'll handle the complicated stuff, you just concentrate on buying some nice shoes to impress Tseng with."

"What!?-" But to Elena's annoyance Reno and Rude were already disappearing down the street. She glared after them, willing the ground to open and swallow them, or maybe a seagull to fly past and let rip with a big sloppy poop.

Sadly neither came to pass and the two entered the bar, Reno apparently cracking a joke to Rude as they entered. Elena thought she caught the word rookie and her anger intensified.

"I am not standing for this dammit!" She shouted after them. "I am not a bimbo or a rookie! And I'm going to do my job even if you're not!"

"That's the spirit." A guard who was leaning against the rail said mildly. Elena turned and glared. The guard raised their arms in mock surrender. "No need to turn on me. You have to cope with those two. I have to cope with the two thousand guards stationed here at Junon. Or used to have to cope anyway."

"You're a woman?" Elena's acrimony vanished, glad to have an ally.

"Last time I checked anyway." The woman laughed. "These uniforms are great for sucking the individuality out of ya huh? Well I guess you wouldn't know." The guard eyed Elena's Turk uniform thoughtfully. "So what're you? Undercover detective or something?"

"You don't know?" Elena asked suprised. The guard shook her head.

"It's been awhile since Midgar bothered sending any new troops over here. Of course now that Rufus is coming on a state visit-"

"Rufus is coming here?" Elena interrupted.

"Yup. Didn't you see the flags? There's been a whole regiment of Midgar guards turn up with instructions for the parade. March like this, hold your gun like this... all very pretty but not so useful for real combat. Means I have to put another bunch of guys in their place though." The guard flexed her arm, grinning. "Just proving you don't need balls to be the best!"

Elena smiled. "I wish it was so easy to teach Reno. What's your name anyway?"

"Sandra. But call me Sandy. So do you want a tour or something? You seemed pretty impressed when you first walked in."

"That would be great! Thanks!" Elena grinned at Sandy, all thoughts of Sephiroth gone.

-~-~-~-

Joanna stepped off the helicopter and surveyed Junon, the place she had decided to rebuild her life, far from Rude and all memories of the past. The yellowish metal sheets the main part was built from seemed to catch the light and sparkle in a way that reflected her hopes. Her heart beating wildly with excitement and fear she strolled down the street, noticing the guards running about checking flags and bunting, rehearsing their drill, and here and there pausing for a quick chat. Most of the normal citizens were moving off the street and into the shops and buildings that existed in the main structure. On her other side the sea stretched away to the horizon, breaking the sunlight up into a thousand glittering shards.

Deciding to get a drink before booking herself into a hotel or inn she crossed the street, dodging a group of guards being berated by an irate commander in red, and entered the relative darkness of a bar.

It took a moment or two before her eyes adjusted to the light, and when they did she found herself looking at the man she had crossed a continent to avoid.

-~-~-~-

A/N: Hmm, another original character. Neither Joanna or Sandy are going to steal too much limelight from the Turks, but I don't see the games characters existing in a vacuum, other people are bound to have had an impact on their lives. So here are those people.

Next up: Bar Brawl.