Chapter 4: Failure is Not an Option
As the commander, Squall had to pull himself up and out of bed earlier than anyone else and as his girlfriend, Rinoa did the same too. She said she could not bear to let Squall eat alone, report to Cid alone and on standby alone at the front gate. Early in the morning was chilling. Both of them changed into their SeeD uniform at six-thirty and headed for headmaster's office.
Squall often wondered how Cid managed look so fully-awake so early in the morning. Both Squall and Rinoa saluted smartly to Cid.
"Commander Leonhart and Cadet Rinoa Heartilly reporting, sir."
Cid smiled up at them and nodded for them to stand at ease.
"Very well, I see you've accepted my offer, Rinoa."
Rinoa smiled, "I think I'll like to serve mankind to world peace, putting my sorceress power into good use. I want people to change their views."
Cid nodded and beamed, "Sure you are. Then this mission will be your test. All the best and may the commander's team support you all the way."
"We will, sir." Squall smiled faintly.
"Good, I'll be down at the front gate at seven sharp. See all of you there then."
Cid moved towards Squall and pinned a golden badge with the carving of the Garden symbol onto his uniform.
"This is the badge that you've earned. The badge of the Commander of Garden. Your rank, you title. Wear it with pride, Leonhart. We're so proud of you." Cid gave Squall a firm handshake. "I'll see you then."
Quistis thought she was the first until she spotted Squall and Rinoa at one far end, nearly out, of the front gate. She had no choice but to move over to them.
"Morning, guys." She managed to sound cheery enough.
Rinoa waved and smiled. "How do you think I look?"
Quistis noticed that she was dressed in their SeeD uniform too. Rinoa looks fabulous. It outlines her curves well. She's not only adorable, she's charming.
"You look perfect. The uniform fits you great." Quistis smiled.
"Really? That's so great! Cos I always look at you guys in uniform and got so envious that all of you look so smart and gorgeous." Rinoa said.
Squall took a sip of his pack-away latte and checked his wrist watch.
Six-fifty. Must they be so on time...
He took a good look at Rinoa and had to admit that Quistis was right. She did look wonderful in uniform. So poised and beautifully smart. And that ever-carefree smile on her face... His thoughts were interrupted by a loud squeak.
"Are we late?" It was, out of doubt, Selphie running towards them. Irvine following up close behind.
"Hey-ya! Morning!" Rinoa greeted. "Not late yet, even the headmaster ain't here yet."
Selphie heaved a huge sigh of relieved and began adjusting her newly-ironed uniform.
Irvine had then been accepted as a SeeD cadet of Balamb Garden. He tilted his cowboy hat and bowed slightly as he joined Squall.
"Greetings, Squall."
"Same to you."
"A new mission once again. Seems like the situation is quite bad at Dollet." Irvine said, gazing at the far horizon.
Squall nodded, "I hope we can settle them once and for all."
"What's Rinoa gonna do? Her father is the man we're going to talk to. Can't believe he's the president of Galbadia."
Squall turned to face Irvine. "That's why I didn't put her on the peacemaking team. I just hope for the best. I just hope she understands and take care of herself during the fighting." Pause. "It's not gonna be easy." He shook his head, almost sadly.
He's so worried, Irvine thought. He's so worried for letting Rinoa do the major fighting while he had to go negotiating with her father. Yet he had no choice.
Irvine knew that Squall had done the best grouping for both teams possible. He had taken everything into consideration. Now I know why he is always the leader among leaders.
Zell arrived shortly, followed by Cid. Cid had two other SeeDs behind him. They were Gwen and Nida, the other SeeD that graduated together with Selphie, Squall and Zell.
"Morning, SeeDs. SeeD Gwen Lovett and Nida Strife will be joining the trip to Dollet on Ragnorak. Nida will be the pilot, sorry Selphie."
Unable to hide her disappointment, Selphie hung her head sadly.
Cid continued, "There will be exactly two hundred SeeDs and fifty graduating SeeDs going on this mission, that is excluding all of you here. They will be dispatched to Dollet via vessels. Good luck, SeeDs."
"Now listen up, Nida will be the pilot and the main in-charge of Ragnorak. He will be the headquarter and oversees everything. Gwen will be supporting him on this ship." Squall looked in Gwen's direction and she nodded.
"When we touch down on Dollet, there'll be one of Dollet army's ranking officers to update us on the situation. Quistis, as I've said, you'll be the combat leader. Do appoint various leaders in the teams you're going to organize the two-hundred and fifty SeeDs into to aid you. I'll be speaking to them the moment they arrive. After which, Selphie, Irvine and myself shall take the Ragnorak straight to Deling City. Everybody check that their com units are in working condition. Contact the Ragnorak if situation occurs. Understand?" Squall instructed sternly. It was not like he liked to command but he simply could not handle any more nonsense. The situation was serious and he needed his comrades to get it into their heads.
"Yes, sir!" Came a sharp reply in unison.
"Good. Everybody on standby, we're reaching soon." Squall said, noticing the lengthening coastline of Dollet.
Rinoa sat quietly at a corner, staring at nothing in particular. Her expression grimly set. Squall's expression softened as he approached her.
"Rinoa dear?" He tried softly.
Rinoa moved her lips ever so slightly. "Yes?"
"Look at me."
Rinoa obeyed. She saw the roaring flame behind those strong blue eyes.
"We're going to make it. Trust me." Squall held her hand to his heart.
She felt the steady beat of his heart. Heart of a lion. She believed him. She had to hang on, she had to stay alive, for Squall. For him who for once made her feel like settling down. She could not wait to spend the rest of her life with Squall. She must be strong, for her Squall Leonhart.
"We're here, Commander." Nida reported.
Rinoa checked her blaster edge and pulled Squall to his feet.
"Time to kick some ass."
The vessels arrived one after another simultaneously. Within the next fifteen minutes, all the SeeDs from all vessels had disembarked and assembled at the coast of Dollet. Squall stood in front of the huge army of SeeDs. His SeeDs, he reminded himself, I'm the Commander that means I'm responsible for every single one of them.
"SeeDs, this is a mission to aid Dollet soldiers to recapture their lost lands and to defeat the Galbadian soldiers, push them as far out of Dollet as possible. Failure is not an option. Understand?" Squall's voice boomed with power and authority.
He is made of leader material. That's what Cid saw in him. This part of him that even Squall himself did not know exist, Irvine thought in realization.
"Yes, sir!"
Squall nodded, his expression stern, giving nothing away.
"Quistis Trepe will be the combat squad leader. All of you will be under the charge of Instructor Trepe and mine for this mission. I shall be leaving for Deling City soon so Instructor Trepe shall be your commander for the time being. Obey her orders or appropriate actions will be taken. Understand?"
"Yes, sir!"
Quistis nodded to Squall and stepped in front of the SeeDs. She had never command such huge masses of people before. She envied how Squall had managed to handle them so calmly. His display of power was swift and impressive. And every single one of them respected him...
Quistis let her thoughts trailed away as she composed herself in front of the army. Squall didn't put you as the combat leader for nothing. He's giving you a second chance to prove yourself. He knows that you are up to it.
"All right, SeeDs. Split yourselves in ten squads of twenty-five now. Check your weapons and make sure your GFs are junctioned properly. Got that?"
"Yes, ma'am!"
"Zell and Rinoa?" Quistis turned to face them.
Zell and Rinoa nodded and ran across the coastline to the two extreme ends of the army.
"Zell, Rinoa and myself will appoint leaders for each squad now..."
Squall took one last look at Rinoa and disappeared into the Ragnorak.
"Selphie, Irvine, to the cockpit." Squall instructed quietly. Selphie and Irvine obeyed, joining him on the platform.
"Nida." Squall said.
"Yes, sir?"
"To Deling City now."
"Right away, sir."
Irvine patted Squall lightly on the arm.
"They are going to be fine in Quistis' hands. She was your instructor, right?"
Squall nodded, his eyes never wavered from the window.
"Yes, she once was. Until she got her instructor licenses taken away by those corrupted Garden faculties. But anyway, we were then sent on our first mission to aid the Forest Owls resistance group at Timber."
Selphie nodded violently. Squall turned from the window to face them and continued, "Then she came looking for us, she said she couldn't believe that Cid had sent the three of us on this mission without any other external help. We just graduated the day before, you see. And then the rest you know, right, Irvine? You became our sharpshooter for the assassination of the sorceress."
"I think Quistis is not that bad." Selphie added.
Irvine pulled down his hat and said, "I think she will be able to handle them because of you, Squall. Everybody will fight well because they have found a good leader to look up to and you'll fight because of all of us. Taking you to victory is our mission."
Selphie smiled, "That's right, Squall! You have us and our support all the way!"
Leadership material... me? Are they serious?
"Thanks." Squall smiled faintly.
He was going to face President Caraway in a few minutes' time. Negotiating with a president, Rinoa's father. He bit his lips. What could get worst then that?
Gwen spoke into the radio. "Commander, this is Gwen."
Squall pressed onto the earpiece radio. "This is Leonhart. Go on."
"Ragnorak shall be touching down in Deling City, right in front of the president residence, in five minutes. Roger?"
"Roger that."
Squall stood and drew out his gunblade, Lion Heart. Selphie checked her nuchaku, Strange Vision, while Irvine held on to his shotgun, Exeter.
Failure is not an option, Squall reminded himself.
As the commander, Squall had to pull himself up and out of bed earlier than anyone else and as his girlfriend, Rinoa did the same too. She said she could not bear to let Squall eat alone, report to Cid alone and on standby alone at the front gate. Early in the morning was chilling. Both of them changed into their SeeD uniform at six-thirty and headed for headmaster's office.
Squall often wondered how Cid managed look so fully-awake so early in the morning. Both Squall and Rinoa saluted smartly to Cid.
"Commander Leonhart and Cadet Rinoa Heartilly reporting, sir."
Cid smiled up at them and nodded for them to stand at ease.
"Very well, I see you've accepted my offer, Rinoa."
Rinoa smiled, "I think I'll like to serve mankind to world peace, putting my sorceress power into good use. I want people to change their views."
Cid nodded and beamed, "Sure you are. Then this mission will be your test. All the best and may the commander's team support you all the way."
"We will, sir." Squall smiled faintly.
"Good, I'll be down at the front gate at seven sharp. See all of you there then."
Cid moved towards Squall and pinned a golden badge with the carving of the Garden symbol onto his uniform.
"This is the badge that you've earned. The badge of the Commander of Garden. Your rank, you title. Wear it with pride, Leonhart. We're so proud of you." Cid gave Squall a firm handshake. "I'll see you then."
Quistis thought she was the first until she spotted Squall and Rinoa at one far end, nearly out, of the front gate. She had no choice but to move over to them.
"Morning, guys." She managed to sound cheery enough.
Rinoa waved and smiled. "How do you think I look?"
Quistis noticed that she was dressed in their SeeD uniform too. Rinoa looks fabulous. It outlines her curves well. She's not only adorable, she's charming.
"You look perfect. The uniform fits you great." Quistis smiled.
"Really? That's so great! Cos I always look at you guys in uniform and got so envious that all of you look so smart and gorgeous." Rinoa said.
Squall took a sip of his pack-away latte and checked his wrist watch.
Six-fifty. Must they be so on time...
He took a good look at Rinoa and had to admit that Quistis was right. She did look wonderful in uniform. So poised and beautifully smart. And that ever-carefree smile on her face... His thoughts were interrupted by a loud squeak.
"Are we late?" It was, out of doubt, Selphie running towards them. Irvine following up close behind.
"Hey-ya! Morning!" Rinoa greeted. "Not late yet, even the headmaster ain't here yet."
Selphie heaved a huge sigh of relieved and began adjusting her newly-ironed uniform.
Irvine had then been accepted as a SeeD cadet of Balamb Garden. He tilted his cowboy hat and bowed slightly as he joined Squall.
"Greetings, Squall."
"Same to you."
"A new mission once again. Seems like the situation is quite bad at Dollet." Irvine said, gazing at the far horizon.
Squall nodded, "I hope we can settle them once and for all."
"What's Rinoa gonna do? Her father is the man we're going to talk to. Can't believe he's the president of Galbadia."
Squall turned to face Irvine. "That's why I didn't put her on the peacemaking team. I just hope for the best. I just hope she understands and take care of herself during the fighting." Pause. "It's not gonna be easy." He shook his head, almost sadly.
He's so worried, Irvine thought. He's so worried for letting Rinoa do the major fighting while he had to go negotiating with her father. Yet he had no choice.
Irvine knew that Squall had done the best grouping for both teams possible. He had taken everything into consideration. Now I know why he is always the leader among leaders.
Zell arrived shortly, followed by Cid. Cid had two other SeeDs behind him. They were Gwen and Nida, the other SeeD that graduated together with Selphie, Squall and Zell.
"Morning, SeeDs. SeeD Gwen Lovett and Nida Strife will be joining the trip to Dollet on Ragnorak. Nida will be the pilot, sorry Selphie."
Unable to hide her disappointment, Selphie hung her head sadly.
Cid continued, "There will be exactly two hundred SeeDs and fifty graduating SeeDs going on this mission, that is excluding all of you here. They will be dispatched to Dollet via vessels. Good luck, SeeDs."
"Now listen up, Nida will be the pilot and the main in-charge of Ragnorak. He will be the headquarter and oversees everything. Gwen will be supporting him on this ship." Squall looked in Gwen's direction and she nodded.
"When we touch down on Dollet, there'll be one of Dollet army's ranking officers to update us on the situation. Quistis, as I've said, you'll be the combat leader. Do appoint various leaders in the teams you're going to organize the two-hundred and fifty SeeDs into to aid you. I'll be speaking to them the moment they arrive. After which, Selphie, Irvine and myself shall take the Ragnorak straight to Deling City. Everybody check that their com units are in working condition. Contact the Ragnorak if situation occurs. Understand?" Squall instructed sternly. It was not like he liked to command but he simply could not handle any more nonsense. The situation was serious and he needed his comrades to get it into their heads.
"Yes, sir!" Came a sharp reply in unison.
"Good. Everybody on standby, we're reaching soon." Squall said, noticing the lengthening coastline of Dollet.
Rinoa sat quietly at a corner, staring at nothing in particular. Her expression grimly set. Squall's expression softened as he approached her.
"Rinoa dear?" He tried softly.
Rinoa moved her lips ever so slightly. "Yes?"
"Look at me."
Rinoa obeyed. She saw the roaring flame behind those strong blue eyes.
"We're going to make it. Trust me." Squall held her hand to his heart.
She felt the steady beat of his heart. Heart of a lion. She believed him. She had to hang on, she had to stay alive, for Squall. For him who for once made her feel like settling down. She could not wait to spend the rest of her life with Squall. She must be strong, for her Squall Leonhart.
"We're here, Commander." Nida reported.
Rinoa checked her blaster edge and pulled Squall to his feet.
"Time to kick some ass."
The vessels arrived one after another simultaneously. Within the next fifteen minutes, all the SeeDs from all vessels had disembarked and assembled at the coast of Dollet. Squall stood in front of the huge army of SeeDs. His SeeDs, he reminded himself, I'm the Commander that means I'm responsible for every single one of them.
"SeeDs, this is a mission to aid Dollet soldiers to recapture their lost lands and to defeat the Galbadian soldiers, push them as far out of Dollet as possible. Failure is not an option. Understand?" Squall's voice boomed with power and authority.
He is made of leader material. That's what Cid saw in him. This part of him that even Squall himself did not know exist, Irvine thought in realization.
"Yes, sir!"
Squall nodded, his expression stern, giving nothing away.
"Quistis Trepe will be the combat squad leader. All of you will be under the charge of Instructor Trepe and mine for this mission. I shall be leaving for Deling City soon so Instructor Trepe shall be your commander for the time being. Obey her orders or appropriate actions will be taken. Understand?"
"Yes, sir!"
Quistis nodded to Squall and stepped in front of the SeeDs. She had never command such huge masses of people before. She envied how Squall had managed to handle them so calmly. His display of power was swift and impressive. And every single one of them respected him...
Quistis let her thoughts trailed away as she composed herself in front of the army. Squall didn't put you as the combat leader for nothing. He's giving you a second chance to prove yourself. He knows that you are up to it.
"All right, SeeDs. Split yourselves in ten squads of twenty-five now. Check your weapons and make sure your GFs are junctioned properly. Got that?"
"Yes, ma'am!"
"Zell and Rinoa?" Quistis turned to face them.
Zell and Rinoa nodded and ran across the coastline to the two extreme ends of the army.
"Zell, Rinoa and myself will appoint leaders for each squad now..."
Squall took one last look at Rinoa and disappeared into the Ragnorak.
"Selphie, Irvine, to the cockpit." Squall instructed quietly. Selphie and Irvine obeyed, joining him on the platform.
"Nida." Squall said.
"Yes, sir?"
"To Deling City now."
"Right away, sir."
Irvine patted Squall lightly on the arm.
"They are going to be fine in Quistis' hands. She was your instructor, right?"
Squall nodded, his eyes never wavered from the window.
"Yes, she once was. Until she got her instructor licenses taken away by those corrupted Garden faculties. But anyway, we were then sent on our first mission to aid the Forest Owls resistance group at Timber."
Selphie nodded violently. Squall turned from the window to face them and continued, "Then she came looking for us, she said she couldn't believe that Cid had sent the three of us on this mission without any other external help. We just graduated the day before, you see. And then the rest you know, right, Irvine? You became our sharpshooter for the assassination of the sorceress."
"I think Quistis is not that bad." Selphie added.
Irvine pulled down his hat and said, "I think she will be able to handle them because of you, Squall. Everybody will fight well because they have found a good leader to look up to and you'll fight because of all of us. Taking you to victory is our mission."
Selphie smiled, "That's right, Squall! You have us and our support all the way!"
Leadership material... me? Are they serious?
"Thanks." Squall smiled faintly.
He was going to face President Caraway in a few minutes' time. Negotiating with a president, Rinoa's father. He bit his lips. What could get worst then that?
Gwen spoke into the radio. "Commander, this is Gwen."
Squall pressed onto the earpiece radio. "This is Leonhart. Go on."
"Ragnorak shall be touching down in Deling City, right in front of the president residence, in five minutes. Roger?"
"Roger that."
Squall stood and drew out his gunblade, Lion Heart. Selphie checked her nuchaku, Strange Vision, while Irvine held on to his shotgun, Exeter.
Failure is not an option, Squall reminded himself.