Colonel Harold Llurd stood straight and proudly before the New Council, unaffected by their scrutinizing eyes. He waited patiently for the ten members to finish their voting. It was quick. They all scribbled their answers in small pieces of paper which they promptly passed down to the presiding chairman who sat in the center. The chairman tallied the votes and read off the verdict.
"The New Council finds your evidence compelling and shall approve your request to take action. When are you ready to depart?"
"My men and I are ready at a moment's notice, Honorable Gents. However, I dare not take the opportunity away from our new and respected general, Lady Chere."
"And have you spoken with the general, Colonel Llurd?" the presiding chairman asked.
"Alas, Honorable Gents. She was nowhere to be found within the Bronze Compound when my spies reported to me this morning. Her task lately has been rather involving. I took the liberty to take the report to you directly. Whatever course of action is to take place next, I place it humbly at the general's feet," Llurd said slyly.
"Most noble of you, Colonel. Does anybody present here today know the whereabouts of the Lady Chere?" the presiding chairman asked the audience. None spoke.
The chamber door opened and a messenger walked in followed by two people. The messenger announced the presence.
"Honorable Gents, Lady Chere has arrived." He bowed and stepped aside for Celes to proceed.
Celes walked to the center in a dignified manner. Llurd bowed out and situated himself behind the general. Jasom stood with the messenger by the door and listened. It wasn't long till he saw another Lieutenant eyeing him intently. It was Lt. Barnes. Though Jasom didn't know his name, he knew that he was with the Colonel. Their eyes locked. They gave each other the kind of look that usually started fights in mess halls. And though Jasom was not the type to be baited by icy stares, he disliked the man from the start. He immediately marked him as an enemy. Just then, Jasom had a gut feeling that their paths would cross again and that their interaction would be a bit more physical. The two broke their stares when the general spoke.
"Greetings, Honorable Council members," Celes started. "I have heard of a certain development that concerns me. I came the soonest I could."
"We have received reports from our remote intel that Maranda is harboring spies for the rebels. Colonel Harold Llurd came to us with the report, and has just requested permission to take action. The Council voted in his favor," the presiding chairman briefed.
"I would like to see that report," Celes asked respectfully.
Guardian spoke to her in her tiny earpiece. "Look at it. Read all the pages carefully, and take your time. Do not let your face betray your emotions. You are being watched and judged."
A Council attendant walked up to the presiding chairman, took a folder and handed it to the general. Celes took the folder in her hands and opened it. She started reading the documents. The room gave her the silence she needed. All eyes were upon her. They waited for her to finish. Jasom could not imagine being in the middle of very important people. He'd probably be sweating just about now. But he observed that Celes was calm and not the least bit affected by the awkwardness of the atmosphere. She knew that she was in charge. She made them wait. The Council did not mind it at all. Harold Llurd found it annoyingly amusing.
Guardian's voice continued. "Nod vaguely. The document is convincing enough to declared legit. The report, however, is a lie. It's bait. Kefka is testing you, Celes. They want to see how you would respond. Do not contest the document. Stare into the chairman's eyes and do not blink. Close the document and hold it out for the attendant to retrieve."
Celes did as she was told. She knew that the presiding chairman was not the enemy. But the minute action and reaction that she was to make were all measured carefully by everybody. Poise was everything.
"Do not ask who will lead the reactionary force. Tell them that you will lead it."
"I will lead the troops to Maranda!" she said loud and clear for everybody in the chamber to hear.
"That decision has been waived due to your absence. Colonel Llurd presently holds that decision as dictated by the Council," the presiding chairman calmly said. "However, if you so wish, we could take a vote..."
"Face Llurd and give him the coldest look you can muster. The people must see," Guardian instructed.
Celes didn't need that last instruction. That was her first reaction, and she didn't have to pretend.
Colonel Llurd bowed down from the waste and held that position. "May I speak?" he said.
"You have the floor, Colonel Llurd," the chairman said, motioning to the center of the floor. It was Celes' turn to step aside.
"My intentions are not to wrest away this opportunity for the general to prove herself. I respectfully surrender my position in the matter to Lady Chere. I ask only that I accompany her in the mission. My men and I are at her disposal," Llurd finished, equally satisfied with his noble act. There were whispers and nods all around.
"Accept it, Celes, and be gracious. Accept the terms," Guardian said.
"I accept," she said simply. She was not too thrilled about the condition that Llurd should be with her.
"I am most grateful, Lady Chere," Llurd said again, bowing. "I give the floor to you."
Llurd stepped off the center and Celes took over.
"Well, then!" the presiding chairman began, looking pleased. "Protocol dictates that you neutralize the threat, Lady Chere. I leave the execution of the plan to your capable hands. When can you begin?"
Guardian told Celes the time.
"Tomorrow at sundown," Celes echoed.
The Council members all nodded to each other. The presiding chairman stood up and announced, "Full authorization is given to Lady Celes Chere, with the verbal terms of agreement given by Colonel Llurd duly recognized by this Council. This meeting is ended!"
"Since when did the Council get to make Military decisions like that?" Jasom whispered to me as we exited the council chamber.
"Since it got reformed by General Cristophe," I answered, glancing around us for eavesdroppers.
"Well, it's about time," Jasom muttered with a twisted smile.
"Time has nothing to do with it. Recall that it was because of the Council that I'm a general today."
"Please don't tell me that the Council is another player," he whispered back with a slight groan.
"You better believe it."
The afternoon sun bore down on everybody in the open training grounds. Drill sergeants and new recruits alike saluted to us as we passed. My mind was racing. Preparations needed to be done for many things. I hoped that Guardian had a plan.
"You do believe it, don't you?" I asked suddenly when I noticed that he was silent after that.
"After all the things I've seen or heard, I'm very convinced that you're not just being paranoid," Jasom replied. It took it as a compliment and smiled. "Although, I still could not believe that Professor Marquez is working against you," he added.
"I guess I made it sound too negative. He's not exactly an enemy. He did create a second Slave Crown, but only because Kefka threatened him. I did see Cid try to destroy the crown to protect me, though."
"So, he's still a friend, right?"
I paused to think long and hard. Or perhaps I was hesitant to answer the question. "He keeps many secrets about my past. He's hiding them from me, and until I figure out what they are or why he does it... I simply cannot trust him."
Jasom thought in silence again. He stared at the pavement as he did so. "Maybe he's just trying to protect you. Kinda like what Guardian told us about 'safety in ignorance.'"
"Maybe," I said. The thought had occurred to me.
I tapped the earpiece twice with my finger to reactivate it. Guardian's voice was as clear as it was inside the building. She must've been broadcasting from a very powerful source. I hoped that I would one day come up with a way to pinpoint her exact location in Vector.
"Where are you headed?"
"We're headed your way," I answered back, adjusting my microphone.
"Don't bother. I've nothing new to add," she responded.
"What do you mean, you've nothing to add?" I asked, suddenly stopping in my tracks. Jasom halted his steps, too, and looked at me in distress. "I followed your lead, and it put me in a situation with Maranda!"
"Maranda is a red herring. It could've been any other nation. The location was only a matter of convenience. You're not even leading a force to the main city--just a small farming community."
"Population?"
"Latest record indicates a population of 112."
Jasom cleared his throat, vaguely motioning to the incoming group of new recruits marching our way. We looked conspicuous standing in the middle of the training grounds. Taking his hint, I started to walk again, towards the H.Q. Jasom followed behind, listening.
"It's still an act of war, Guardian," I argued.
"I'm sure they wouldn't retaliate."
"That's not the point!" I yelled. A few soldiers looked our way but continued on. "That's not the point," I repeated in a lower voice.
"I agree. It's not," Guardian said. "The point is that you were being judged, and you will be judged again on how you handle this situation."
"What situation? I thought you said that the reports were bogus!"
"They are. There is no rebel activity in that location, or at least, none that our spies can legitimately detect. Like I said, it's a lure, and you just bit."
"Only because you told me to," I said vehemently through gritted teeth. Jasom flinched at the sight of me in ire.
"You had no choice. You had to take the lead. It's what generals do. Had you passed the opportunity down to Llurd, the military would be passing rumors about your weakness this instant."
"That's just great! I just agreed to lead a snipe hunt! And if we don't find a snipe, the Military will be passing judgment about me later. Either way, I'll look bad. There's no way out of this and Llurd knows it!"
"You don't need a snipe to look good," Guardian said optimistically. I waited for her to tell me of her plan.
"Go on."
"When you get there, round the people up and threaten them. Tell them to give the rebels up to you or else you'll start killing people. It's the show that counts, Celes."
"Obviously, none of them will admit to it. What happens then."
As if the answer was obvious, Guardian said casually, "Start killing people."
I waited for more. But that was it. That was her plan. She was suggesting that I kill innocent people to look convincing. To be regarded by the Military with respect. To prove to the Military that I am not hesitant to get my hands dirty in battles. After all, 'it was all for show.' I felt sick to my stomach.
"You sick, heartless bitch!" I shouted, yanking out the earpiece, microphone and the small wires out. I clutched at the apparatus, held it in front of me, letting the microphone dangle freely. "That's supposed to make me look good?! And to think that I did all those secret favors for you those nights! You think it's easy being sleepless for days just thinking whether it's worth letting you ride me like a barn animal! You've always put me in difficult, risky positions. And when I finally do trust you, you tell me to put up a big show in front of everybody to satisfy their primal expectations?" I shouted into the microphone.
To Jasom, it had seemed like I shouted too loudly. He was right in front of me with open mouth and wide eyes. He was pale. He knew that the things I had said weren't intended for him but... the other people within earshot didn't.
It was my turn to freeze in shock of the realization of what I had just done. My eyes looked around for those who had heard my outburst. There were quite a few who looked towards our direction. Most of them were new recruits, gawking at us as though the two of us were a couple in a rather shameless marital argument.
And how could they not have thought of that? I repeated the words I had said in my head and winced at each sentence. Just then, the both of us wished that a huge explosion would break the horrendously long awkward moment. It didn't matter if we were at the epicenter of it. Gods! Just let it end! And poor Jasom! He had nothing to do with it, yet he was forced to endure the embarrassment with me.
I had no doubt in my mind that the both of us tried to think of something to say to salvage the situation. Unfortunately, it soon dawned on us that it was futile.
Jasom reached for the dangling microphone that I still held in front of me. All that time, I dared not move. Nobody else knew what it really was. The recruits' minds were somewhere else.
"You're right, General," Jasom said loudly. "That's what I should tell my girlfriend. Thank you for the advice."
I knew that nobody would buy it. Nevertheless, it was a valiant effort on his part. I turned on my heels and started to walk again, avoiding the stares of some recruits around us.
"What are you all looking at?!" he yelled at the gawkers. They dispersed within seconds, and Jasom caught up with me.
For a long moment, we said nothing. We didn't even look at each other. When we were finally and surely out of hearing range of other people, Jasom decided to break the silence between us.
"Impeccable choice of words, General," he said with a grin.
I couldn't help but smile. "Let us never speak of this again, Jasom."
Jasom didn't give up. He was intent on cheering me up. "Aw, it wasn't that bad, General. Now... did you say 'risky' or 'risque?'"
I chuckled and he heard it. It only encouraged him more.
"I said 'risky.' Definitely. Now, shut up."
"I suppose it's a consolation that my girlfriend wasn't there to hear that."
I laughed openly now. Jasom, too.
"The last thing I need is another person out to get me," I replied.
I should've remembered the first time Guardian led the way for me. On my way to break into the Devil's Lab, she suggested that I reprogram a Magitek Drone to kill the guards. And in Tina Branford's diary, it was clear that Guardian would do anything to keep a promise, even if it meant murdering the innocent people to keep the secret intact--like the first reactor explosion was meant to eliminate the witnesses. She was frighteningly unconscientious.
But the scarier certainty was that she spoke the truth. She was smart; her lead was undoubtedly the right thing to do. Soldiers expected generals to lead and to contest their rightful claims. And since the mission was a red herring, the primary concern of those unwittingly involved was I.
The Military will expect me to get results. If the villagers don't turn in a rebel--and they won't--then, I will have to do something drastic. Letting them off with a warning will certainly be taken as a sign of weakness. I will have to be convincing in front of everybody. Sadly, the only thing convincing enough for the Military is the sight and smell of real blood.
I gave Guardian the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps, she was simply being amoral about it. In any case, I was faced with an inescapable dilemma. I have till tomorrow's sunset to come up with a plan. How do you fake the murder of many?
"That's Guardian's plan?" Jasom asked in disbelief.
"Yes," I answered, sounding guilty. It seemed as if it was partly my idea.
Jasom waited for me to say more. When he noticed that I had nothing more to add, he asked again, "Well, you're not going to do it, are you?"
"Of course, not!" I snapped back, wounded. "At least, not the last part of her plan."
That seemed to have assured Jasom a bit, though, I knew that he was also lost in thought of how I could avoid that last part. He frowned. "So what do we do now?"
The train stopped right in front of us, and the door opened with a hiss. We stepped in. We were alone in the compartment. Jasom and I sat on opposite seats, facing each other. I waited for the door to close again before I said something.
"I'm not sure, Jasom. But we're gonna need
help more help. What has H.Q. found about our lost perpetrator?"
"Nothing, General. All hospitals reported, but nobody matched your description,"
Jasom said, flipping the pages on his clipboard.
"What of the crossbow?"
"Figaroan. That's North."
"Where the rebels are," I said thoughtfully. "We're going back to the Marigolds. It's our best lead."