Chapter 11
Glowrod
I got better over the course of a week thanks to some material my squad got in a raid while I was stuck in bed. But I still can't fly for another day because my leg muscles are sore from not being used for a couple of days.
Today I have to attend some function in the cafeteria, aside from eating that is. They wanted me to ride in a wheelchair but I wouldn't have it. I'm not some damn cripple who needs to have someone push me around. I'll walk on my own power. As I started walking my way down the hall I soon began to regret my decision. So I commandeered a wheelchair and started wheeling my way down to the assembly.
I could hear the noise from practically a mile away, it sounded like the whole base was down there. What the hell could be going on?
As I reached the cafeteria and nudged the door open with my foot I soon found out. I saw Thanton exit the table that had been converted into a stage of sorts, wearing a big grin. He must've been promoted or something.
A deafening wave of yelling and applause greeted me, which oddly enough was mostly all for me.
"Cid Highwind please report to the stage." Said a gruff voice over the microphone up front.
Not wanting to look weak I ditched the wheelchair and limped up. The voice I soon learned was my commander Nairne. And he was wearing his dress uniform; something odd was going on here.
"Flight Officer Highwind had six kills in the battle a few days ago. Made ace on his very first combat mission. For this we are awarding him the third ever Honorary Shinra Flight Bravery Medal." Said Nairne proudly as he handed me the medal.
Upon further inspection I realized it was a fake gold. Didn't surprise me though, I mean it's Shinra. The medal was nice but it didn't really do much for me. What would soon come though, definitely made my day.
"And on top of this, to once again honor you're achievements and superior flight skill you are being promoted to the rank of lieutenant. Congratulations Lieutenant Highwind." Said Nairne with what I thought was a slight grin of pride.
The entire room exploded with applause as Nairne finished the sentence. I couldn't help but smile as I walked off to my squad, which was clustered over in the back. I soon learned that Jay Thanton had been promoted as I'd suspected, to lieutenant like me. So the glory wasn't all just for me, but it was still a joyous day for all. The fighting had momentarily ceased in the air, and we were celebrating with our comrades.
What could be better?
****
General Sephiroth was not sharing the same optimistic outlook. His army had met the Wutaians in combat the day before and they'd suffered more casualties than he'd liked. And with the sudden Wutaian onslaught he'd had to hastily issue the order to begin Operation Diamond Edge, the eventual annihilation of the entire Wutaian army.
He radioed Colonel Hiram and ordered him to move the units into place.
When they struck it would be a glorious day, yes a glorious day.
****
The next day I woke up to find myself back in the regular squad bunkroom, not the infirmary, which was a welcome change. I found the smell of disinfectant made it hard to sleep. Of course the smell of dirty boots and smelly socks in the bunkroom wasn't much better but I'll take what I can get.
I quietly got out of the bunk so I didn't wake up the rest of the squad, who were al still sleeping after partying late last night. Although it wasn't much of a party without liquor, cause base rules said we couldn't have any. But we made do with what we had.
My attempt at stealth was soon shattered as I stepped on something next to my bunk and let out a curse, which woke most everyone up. I looked down to find that I'd stepped on a glowrod, the same one I'd borrowed from that tech the first night we got here. (Chapter 9)
After a storm of sleepy insults and threats from my squad mates the drifted back to sleep and I pulled on my flight suit. Maybe I could actually get a seat in the cafeteria today. On my way out I picked up the glowrod and studied it. There was a number, 14 etched on it. Maybe some kind of ID number, I might be able to track down the owner after all.
I pocketed it as I walked down the hall. My legs still hurt a little bit, but for the most part I was ok. And I'd talked with the doctor last night at the party and he said I could fly again. Better than any medals or promotions in my mind, although those were nice too.
As I'd hoped the line for the cafeteria was almost non-existent cause it was so early. I grabbed a tray and let them slap the same gray grits on it that we'd eaten every morning since we got here. They were tolerable, sine they didn't even taste like anything, but their appearance was enough to make you want to gag.
The base caf on the other hand was some of the strongest shit I'd ever had. One sip and it felt like someone had punched you in the stomach, but had gotten you fully awake at the same time. First time I had it I'd nearly choked, the effects were so strong. Now I sometimes drink three cups a day.
Once I got my "breakfast" squared away I went to sit down. There was only one table out though, because of the party last night. And someone already occupied that one. But I still sat down anyways; I mean the person can't be that bad can they? As I sat down I got a closer look. My breakfast companion was a woman, that I could tell right off the bat. She had wavy brown hair tied up in a bun and sparkling green eyes.
"Hello." I said cordially.
"Hi." She said shyly.
For an awkward moment we both just sat there, silent. Then I took some initiative.
"Lieutenant Cid Highwind." I said as I offered my hand.
"Shera Moss." She replied, shaking my hand.
I gingerly swallowed some more grits and continued.
"So what do you do here?"
"I'm a ground tech for Eclipse Squadron." She replied between mouthfuls of grits.
"Eclipse?" That's my squad." I said surprised.
"Hmm guess I haven't seen you around."
I found that rather hard to believe but let it go.
"Hey I just remembered something. The first night I got in I borrowed a glowrod from one of the Eclipse techs. Think you could track him down?" I asked as I fished around in my flight suit pocket for the glowrod.
"Really? Was there a number on it?" she asked, suddenly interested.
"Lemme check...14" I read off the little glowrod.
"14? Could I see that?" she asked with an outstretched hand.
Once I handed it to her she turned it over a couple of times, studying it.
"This is my glowrod." She said with a smile.
"Yours?" I asked, puzzled.
"Yep, now that I think about it I lent this to a pilot the first night Eclipse got in. Must've been you." She said with a giggle.
Suddenly the most infernal sound I'd ever heard in my life was blaring across the base, along with the pre-recorded mechanical voice I'd come to hate.
"All pilots to their ships. We are under attack. All pilots..."
And when I turned my head back to Shera she was gone.
Note- Ok, a few things may be a bit off in this, like the leg not quite working even though he had material. But I put that in there because I wanted there to be a reason he wasn't flying with them, and have him deal with being stuck in a wheelchair. Aside from that sorry this took me so long to update, it's been almost a month since the last chapter. And hopefully it won't be that long till the next. I'm going to being work on a new story with Reno and Rude as well as Chapter 12 of this, so keep checking in.
Adios!
Glowrod
I got better over the course of a week thanks to some material my squad got in a raid while I was stuck in bed. But I still can't fly for another day because my leg muscles are sore from not being used for a couple of days.
Today I have to attend some function in the cafeteria, aside from eating that is. They wanted me to ride in a wheelchair but I wouldn't have it. I'm not some damn cripple who needs to have someone push me around. I'll walk on my own power. As I started walking my way down the hall I soon began to regret my decision. So I commandeered a wheelchair and started wheeling my way down to the assembly.
I could hear the noise from practically a mile away, it sounded like the whole base was down there. What the hell could be going on?
As I reached the cafeteria and nudged the door open with my foot I soon found out. I saw Thanton exit the table that had been converted into a stage of sorts, wearing a big grin. He must've been promoted or something.
A deafening wave of yelling and applause greeted me, which oddly enough was mostly all for me.
"Cid Highwind please report to the stage." Said a gruff voice over the microphone up front.
Not wanting to look weak I ditched the wheelchair and limped up. The voice I soon learned was my commander Nairne. And he was wearing his dress uniform; something odd was going on here.
"Flight Officer Highwind had six kills in the battle a few days ago. Made ace on his very first combat mission. For this we are awarding him the third ever Honorary Shinra Flight Bravery Medal." Said Nairne proudly as he handed me the medal.
Upon further inspection I realized it was a fake gold. Didn't surprise me though, I mean it's Shinra. The medal was nice but it didn't really do much for me. What would soon come though, definitely made my day.
"And on top of this, to once again honor you're achievements and superior flight skill you are being promoted to the rank of lieutenant. Congratulations Lieutenant Highwind." Said Nairne with what I thought was a slight grin of pride.
The entire room exploded with applause as Nairne finished the sentence. I couldn't help but smile as I walked off to my squad, which was clustered over in the back. I soon learned that Jay Thanton had been promoted as I'd suspected, to lieutenant like me. So the glory wasn't all just for me, but it was still a joyous day for all. The fighting had momentarily ceased in the air, and we were celebrating with our comrades.
What could be better?
****
General Sephiroth was not sharing the same optimistic outlook. His army had met the Wutaians in combat the day before and they'd suffered more casualties than he'd liked. And with the sudden Wutaian onslaught he'd had to hastily issue the order to begin Operation Diamond Edge, the eventual annihilation of the entire Wutaian army.
He radioed Colonel Hiram and ordered him to move the units into place.
When they struck it would be a glorious day, yes a glorious day.
****
The next day I woke up to find myself back in the regular squad bunkroom, not the infirmary, which was a welcome change. I found the smell of disinfectant made it hard to sleep. Of course the smell of dirty boots and smelly socks in the bunkroom wasn't much better but I'll take what I can get.
I quietly got out of the bunk so I didn't wake up the rest of the squad, who were al still sleeping after partying late last night. Although it wasn't much of a party without liquor, cause base rules said we couldn't have any. But we made do with what we had.
My attempt at stealth was soon shattered as I stepped on something next to my bunk and let out a curse, which woke most everyone up. I looked down to find that I'd stepped on a glowrod, the same one I'd borrowed from that tech the first night we got here. (Chapter 9)
After a storm of sleepy insults and threats from my squad mates the drifted back to sleep and I pulled on my flight suit. Maybe I could actually get a seat in the cafeteria today. On my way out I picked up the glowrod and studied it. There was a number, 14 etched on it. Maybe some kind of ID number, I might be able to track down the owner after all.
I pocketed it as I walked down the hall. My legs still hurt a little bit, but for the most part I was ok. And I'd talked with the doctor last night at the party and he said I could fly again. Better than any medals or promotions in my mind, although those were nice too.
As I'd hoped the line for the cafeteria was almost non-existent cause it was so early. I grabbed a tray and let them slap the same gray grits on it that we'd eaten every morning since we got here. They were tolerable, sine they didn't even taste like anything, but their appearance was enough to make you want to gag.
The base caf on the other hand was some of the strongest shit I'd ever had. One sip and it felt like someone had punched you in the stomach, but had gotten you fully awake at the same time. First time I had it I'd nearly choked, the effects were so strong. Now I sometimes drink three cups a day.
Once I got my "breakfast" squared away I went to sit down. There was only one table out though, because of the party last night. And someone already occupied that one. But I still sat down anyways; I mean the person can't be that bad can they? As I sat down I got a closer look. My breakfast companion was a woman, that I could tell right off the bat. She had wavy brown hair tied up in a bun and sparkling green eyes.
"Hello." I said cordially.
"Hi." She said shyly.
For an awkward moment we both just sat there, silent. Then I took some initiative.
"Lieutenant Cid Highwind." I said as I offered my hand.
"Shera Moss." She replied, shaking my hand.
I gingerly swallowed some more grits and continued.
"So what do you do here?"
"I'm a ground tech for Eclipse Squadron." She replied between mouthfuls of grits.
"Eclipse?" That's my squad." I said surprised.
"Hmm guess I haven't seen you around."
I found that rather hard to believe but let it go.
"Hey I just remembered something. The first night I got in I borrowed a glowrod from one of the Eclipse techs. Think you could track him down?" I asked as I fished around in my flight suit pocket for the glowrod.
"Really? Was there a number on it?" she asked, suddenly interested.
"Lemme check...14" I read off the little glowrod.
"14? Could I see that?" she asked with an outstretched hand.
Once I handed it to her she turned it over a couple of times, studying it.
"This is my glowrod." She said with a smile.
"Yours?" I asked, puzzled.
"Yep, now that I think about it I lent this to a pilot the first night Eclipse got in. Must've been you." She said with a giggle.
Suddenly the most infernal sound I'd ever heard in my life was blaring across the base, along with the pre-recorded mechanical voice I'd come to hate.
"All pilots to their ships. We are under attack. All pilots..."
And when I turned my head back to Shera she was gone.
Note- Ok, a few things may be a bit off in this, like the leg not quite working even though he had material. But I put that in there because I wanted there to be a reason he wasn't flying with them, and have him deal with being stuck in a wheelchair. Aside from that sorry this took me so long to update, it's been almost a month since the last chapter. And hopefully it won't be that long till the next. I'm going to being work on a new story with Reno and Rude as well as Chapter 12 of this, so keep checking in.
Adios!
