Chapter 8: Walkers on Wind



"Great! We're almost there," Marlene exclaimed as she pointed at a large expanse of buildings and pavement. "Nibel Air Command at Rocket Town."

"And their she is," Caden responded gleefully while pointing at a large aircraft with huge wings. "The Highwind. Cid says he likes her the way she is now better then when he designed it. Faster, lighter, and packs more bombs."

"Good old Cid. Knows what he wants in a war machine," Marlene sarcastically replied, but not in any spiteful way. "Do you remember how pissed he got that time you took the controls? The first time I ever heard someone complete sentences in swears."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. We all had a great time, but hey, she stayed up," Caden responded in his defense. As they continued their ride in, Caden patted Swift on the head. "Let get moving Swift!" Swift 'warked' in response and ran faster.

They soon came to the front gate of the massive air base compound where two armed guards greeted them at the vehicle check point. Their green uniforms were familiar to Caden as he had visited the base on a number of occasions. One of the two walked right up to Caden as he and Marlene dismounted Swift. "Name and purpose of visit," the guard said as if it were second nature to him.

"Caden Strife here for a meeting with Rear Admiral Highwind," Caden responded as he produced a photo ID.

The guard returned the ID to Caden and then turned to Marlene. "And you, Ma'am?"

Marlene also showed the guard an ID. "Marlene Wallace here for a meeting with Rear Admiral Highwind." The guard carefully examined her ID before returning it to her.

The guard returned to where his partner stood. After some conversing and a phone call from the guard station, the guard returned to Caden and Marlene with two base IDs. He handed the corresponding IDs to the both of them. "You're both clear to pass. The Admiral is ready to see you at anytime. Another of your party has also arrived as well as a man claiming to be a part of your party."

"What did you do with him?" Caden asked while guiding Swift. He began to worry that they had apprehended Sephiroth, but thankfully it did not seem like they recognized him.

The guard lowered the rifle he was carrying and pointed to a metal bunker about two hundred meters from the gate. "We're holding him in the interrogation building. He was armed with an unusually long katana."

Caden nodded to the guard. "Thank you. We'll take care of this" He then proceeded to guide Swift into the base while Marlene followed.

The three of them walked half way to the bunker in silence. However, it was bothering Marlene. Caden had such a serious look to his face and it seemed very unnatural to him. "Suppose it's Sephiroth?" she asked in an attempt to break his grim attitude.

Caden in surprise, stopped and turned to face Marlene. "Who else would walk around with an 'unusually long katana'?"

Marlene laughed as she thought about Caden's grand dream for his Gold Saucer earnings. "You with another thousand GP."

"Touché," Caden said as his mood lightened and they began to walk again across the pavement. After another minute or so, they stopped in front of the gate brig. "Alright, here we are." Without hesitation, Caden opened the door.

Caden and Marlene entered the building, leaving Swift outside. The first room was dimly lit by only a couple of caged wall lights, and it seemed to accent the fact that it was a prison. Just inside the door were two more guards, one behind a desk while the other was standing in front of him. The one standing stepped put his hand up as sign to halt. "Sir, I have to ask you to leave," he said carefully yet commanding.

Caden just flashed the guard his temporary base ID. "Don't worry. I'm authorized." The guard stood down. "What's the situation?"

The second of the two guards handed Caden a sheet of paper. "Two hours ago, a man claiming to be allied with you approached our guards and tried to enter the grounds. He was armed with an unusually long sword, and carried no identification. However, he didn't put up any resistance, and came with us voluntarily. He claims his name is Damien Capulet, but I believe it is just an alias."

Caden looked over the sheet before returning it to the guard at the desk. By the description on the report, the man claiming to be Damien Capulet was Sephiroth. "May I see the detainee?"

"Yes, but your conversation will be monitored at all times," the standing guard responded as he unlocked a door that led into the interrogation room.

"Thank you," Caden said politely as he entered the room with Marlene just behind him. The room was as dimly lit as the rest of the building. The same caged lights that illuminated the first room did so with the interrogation room. Inside there was simple metal table, and sitting at one end was Sephiroth.

"I Should have figured you would have Cloud's timing," Sephiroth said without moving so much as an inch.

Caden raised one eyebrow while he stared at the hooded man across from him. "Yeah… Good to see you too… Damien. How long have you been here?"

Sephiroth looked up and out the window into the first room. It was unusual for an interrogation room not to have a half-silvered mirror, but this way the glass could be reinforced with steel mesh. "One, maybe two hours," Sephiroth said and then looked at Caden. "Bowden is here too, but he was not much for talking with me. He went to the base office instead." Sephiroth seemed to be a little upset that he had to utter that word. It was as if it were some kind of taboo to him. "Humph! A base, what a waste of perfectly good land. You know in my…"

"No military critiquing," Caden interrupted while raising his hand to silence Sephiroth. "Your 'day' was only five years ago and you had bases. Now, are you ready to go yet, Damien?"

Sephiroth looked at Caden, understanding what he was getting at. Even though he was the expert on the aging of Active Jenovans, Sephiroth would often forget that outwardly giving his age would be a warning sign to the guards that he was not normal. "Yes," Sephiroth coolly said as he stood up. The three walked out of the room silently.

The standing guard stepped in the way of their path just as Sephiroth left the interrogation room. "Hold it! Were do you think you are you going?"

Caden calmly put up his hand. "Don't worry, he is with me." He turned to the guard behind the desk. "Make sure he gets his weapons back."

"Yes sir," the guard said as he turned around. The guard turned around again after retrieving Sephiroth's items, but slowly. So slowly, that he appeared to be in pain. He carried the Masamune in his hand and a strange wooden box in his other. "One sword, and one oak box containing four magic type materia."

Sephiroth took the items, and the guard seemed to heal instantly from his infirmity.

Caden watched the scene intently. He knew that only Sephiroth could carry the Masamune because it was made from Jenova contaminated metal, but he never expected it to cause such a degree of suffering as it had. The guard could barely hold onto the ancient relic, but was relieved of his pain immediately after letting go. "Alright, let's go," he said as he reached for the door. They exited the building together and proceeded with Swift in tow towards the base office. "So, Sephiroth, why the alias?"

Sephiroth looked at Caden with a questioning eye. "Think. If I had said my real name."

Caden stopped and frantically waved his hands. "No, no, no. What I meant was, why did you use THAT name?"

"Damien was the name of a character in an old movie, and Capulet is my mother's surname," Sephiroth explained and then scoffed. "It is a better name then Hojo," he said under his breath.

Caden decided not prod further, as it would lead to more angst then necessary. While trying to find a way to break the awkward silence that was developing, Caden spied the box Sephiroth carried and curiosity filled him. "Where did you get that?"

Sephiroth lifted the box and revealed the its contents. "An old family heirloom."

Caden looked at the materia inside. They looked normal but something felt different about them. It did not seem to trigger anything in his mind at the time, as he was still more interested in its back story. "How long has it been in your family?"

"Not my family," Sephiroth responded as he handed Caden the box. "It was Ifalna's. She use to equip them to Masamune, but could never use them. Each of her ancestors wore them into battle with Masamune and the White Materia."

Caden picked up one of the materia and looked at it. Inside were the glyphs that designated it as a magic type fire materia. However, it seemed to have a soft green glow that was more then just the normal reflection of light. "Can't say I've ever seen materia glow this much. At least not before it was used."

"There is more to the story," Sephiroth said. "Those four materia are the Four Orbs of the Light Warriors."

"Their what!?!?" Caden and Marlene asked simultaneously, mouths slack jawed.

"That is the same thing I said when Ifalna first told me," Sephiroth responded calmly. His mood seemed a little lighter from Caden and Marlene's surprise. "They are the Four Orbs of the Light Warriors," he repeated.

Marlene stared at the orbs in Caden's hands. "But they're just a legend. A child's story Papa use to tell me before bed. Hell, Cloud doesn't even take it seriously."

Sephiroth laughed silently. "They are most certainly not a legend. They are sitting right in front of you." Sephiroth's mood changed slightly again, but it was more that of impatience. "Now, are we just going to stand here, or are we going to a meeting."

Caden lowered the lid on the box and put it in a pocket on the inside of his coat. "Uh… yeah. Let get going." They all began to walk again, and stopped in front of a tall office building. "Cid's office is on the fourth flour. It's a nice corner office overlooking the rocket launch pads and the Highwind's mooring field." Caden reached for the door and opened it. "After you."



The clock ticked on the wall of the small waiting room outside Cid's office. Caden, Marlene, and Sephiroth met up with Bowden about ten minutes before hand, but they had not heard from Cid yet. None of the four seemed all too concerned with speaking, so they kept the silence. Everyone had found a seat to wait in, but Caden stood in front of a wall of glass that looked out on the airfield. Sprawled across the tarmac were Windwalkers and their crews. Caden watched one in particular as it vertically rose from the pavement, carrying its payload of missiles and bombs. When it had cleared area it once occupied, a new aircraft filled its position. Just like clock work, this dance of metallic birds continued across the field. The coming mission was going to be the largest such mission in more the thirty years, and many of the pilots were still novice. However, their part was small. Once Caden brought his aircraft into Midgar, they would be recalled to Junon to refuel and return here. Caden continued to watch, worrying. A lot of the pilots were not much older then him, but they may not return home. It was humbling and frightening all at once, but he continued to watch.

"Hey, Caden, you alright?" Marlene asked while tapping Caden's shoulder. She stood there with the same stoic look. It was kind of hard to not to have such a serious mind set. This was their first military operation since graduating, and they would be the ones to set high water mark. It was different for Sephiroth, but not by much. In his case, it was just something he had not done in thirty years. "You're starting to freak me out here."

Bowden sat up in his seat and put down a magazine. "Me too. Caden, you haven't said more then five words since getting here."

Caden turned around to face his friends. "Yeah, sorry about that. I'm kind of out of it right now." He wore his concern on his face but was reluctant to admit to it. "I was just thinking."

"Now is not the time to reconsider following through on this mission," Sephiroth said in his usual cold way, but he did not move from his spot.

Caden shook his head. "No, no, I'm still going through with this. I just haven't been able to focus on the mission all that much today." Caden walked over to an empty seat and sat down. Thoughts of fear filled him, but not for his safety. In less then a day, he would be commanding an invasion force. He was afraid of failing to the point where one of his comrades would not return home. It was a terrible responsibility, and it was on his shoulders no more then a month and a half after graduating. He looked over at the door to Cid's office when his thoughts returned to the real world. "Hey, what's taking Cid so long?"

"Eh, you know these military types," Bowden replied, even though he knew the question was rhetorical. "They like to make you wait so they make you feel they're in control."

Marlene walked back to her seat. She knew that was not the reason for the wait. "No, that's just Cid. Last I heard, he was stuck in a meeting with his counter parts in the other nations planing this thing. He's probably still in that right now."

"Yeah, he was grumbling about that last week when I called," Caden said rather relaxed. It was a relief to Marlene and Bowden that he was less tense now. Neither of them had seen him so uptight before. "So, how are you guys feeling about this?" Caden asked, trying to shift the attention from his own obvious fears and doubts.

"I'm feeling good about it," Marlene responded with a youthful exuberance. "We'll go in, skewer the bastard, and be home in time for supper."

"Yeah, plus I'll be the last one to see the inside of the great Mako Reactors of Midgar," Bowden responded as well.

"Just a little confident, aren't we, Bow?" Caden asked with a discerning eye.

Bowden just laughed. "After the explosion I have planned for them, you bet. I'm packing Semtek and C4 just for detonators. The big boom will be from a fuel-air explosive made on site from the petroleum based oils and equipment already kept in the reactors."

Caden smiled at the prospects of the fire works he would see. "I knew I got the right person for the job." It was at about that time that the door opened and a woman walked out of the room. Like most everyone else on the base, she was dressed in a Nibel Air Command uniform and her hair was tied back. She walked half way into the waiting room before Caden said anything. "Is the Admiral ready to see us?"

"Yes, and he sends his apologies," the woman said. "He was in a video conference all morning. Please follow me." The four stood up and followed the woman into the office. It was an ornately decorated military office. Huge panels of glass separated the far wall of the room from the open air over the launch fields, and directly in front of it was an oak desk topped with papers and charts. A chair sat behind the desk, but was turned to face the window and smoke was billowing from it. No one seemed to be concerned with the smoke though, but it would be a different story if they did not see it. "Admiral, Sir. Task Force Wind is here for their briefing."

"Thank you, Lieutenant," a scratchy voice responded. "You're dismissed." The Lieutenant saluted and left the office. "'Bout time you got here. I had to deal with eight other god damn generals and admirals," the voice said as the chair swivelled around, revealing Cid in his dress uniform and a cigar. He rarely smoked cigarettes anymore, as the cigars do lasts longer. "The general from Shinobi no Kami was the worst to deal with. The fucking asshole already has four operatives in the slum sections of Midgar."

"Yeah, good to see you too, Cid," Caden said as he grabbed Cid's hand. "Other then the last few hours on the phone, how have you been."

"Hell," Cid simply said as he let go of Caden's hand. "You try and reconstruct a fucking maneuver that only one person did thirty years ago, and then teach someone else to do it. It ain't easy."

Caden sat in one of the seats in on the other side of the desk and the others did the same. "From what everyone was telling us, I thought it was an old Shinra maneuver," Caden said, trying to get the whole story.

Cid flicked some ash from his cigar into a glass dish that sat in front of him, then returned it to his mouth and bit down on it. "You ever wonder why they put me in charge of this mission instead of leaving it directly under Carrol's command? It's because I'm the only one who ever pulled this off. Had to land four SOLDIER First Class into a Wutai weapons facility and pull them out after a bomb was set. ...Well, three FCs and a general." Everyone's eyes trained on Sephiroth.

"What?" Sephiroth asked as he sensed everyone's eyes on him. "I did not think it was important to mention. Besides, I was not the one who piloted the vector and could not give any valuable insight."

Caden relaxed, satisfied enough with Sephiroth's excuse. "He has a point. So how did it work out?"

"Like shit," Cid said with a bit of a laugh. "First the triple A that we were going to use as the cover was blow to hell. Then the shot I used as the trigger to fire the smoke generator was off by ten meters. No one seemed to notice though. Not to mention I had to hold a fucking death spin until we were about twenty meter above the ground. Exiting the theater wasn't as bad. All the triple As were taken out, but we had to gun it. The blast damn near took us down."

Caden was starting to worry about his piloting skills. Cid was a legend in the Windwalker pilots realm and he had difficulty pulling this stunt off. Caden would be required to pull of a duel feat of rolling out of a death spin and landing, all the while making it look like he was shot down. All the skills and test he had already endured might not have been enough. However, it was to late to second guess himself. "You know, I'm not too encouraged by your story."

Cid just laughed. "Don't worry. Midgar is large enough that you don't have to roll out at the last minute." Cid pulled down a diagram of Midgar and picked up a laser pointer from his desk. He proceeded to shine the light on one of the pie shaped sectors. "There's a fifty meter difference between the sector five and seven ruins from the top of sector six. You're going into sector five, then pulling up to sector six and landing between the reactors. From there, Bowden will take out the reactors starting with Mako Reactor V, making his way around clockwise. It's an eight kilometer circuit, so you have to move your ass. I hope you're packing light."

Bowden lightly and proudly patted his pack. "Two kilograms of C4 and Semtek."

"Good," Cid said as he nervously shied his cigar away from Bowden. Focusing back on the briefing, Cid began to point out a new path. "Caden, your main group will move through the ruins of sector six. Current intel says that it is practically deserted, because of it's isolation and lack of usable materials. Don't count it out though, there are still sentries sent in there. Avoid all fights you can, and don't get careless." Cid then pointed to the center of the diagram. An odd shaped building was in the picture, but it seemed familiar to Caden. "This is your target. The former headquarters of Shinra Inc. We think the terrorist have been carrying out their strategic operations from the restored floors. Your objective is to find out if Jenova is still alive and destroy it if it is. Targets of opportunity are the terrorist leader, former SOLDIER General Lenox, and any remaining Jenovan induced creatures. When you complete your objectives, return to the Windwalker and get the fuck out of there."

Caden was satisfied with the ground orders, but was not too sure about his air commands. "So what about the vector?"

"The vector? There will be two waves of air strikes, but you've already heard about that," Cid said. "You will be in the second wave as a part of Wind squadron. Your designation will be Kaze and you will be one of four wingmen assigned to Wind Leader Monsoon. After the first wave completes their run, the air defenses will be up on high alert. Ground based artillery will try to take out as many of the Triple As as possible while Shinobi no Kami infiltrates sectors two, three and eight. That should pull enough of those bastards out of your path to make the ground work easier while delaying reinforcements." Cid pulled down a new diagram, but this one was a graphic depicting the outskirts of and city of Midgar. On the diagram were images representing the different units that would surround the besieged city. "When it's time for the second wave, you will be given a radio signal saying 'crane and snake on hunt'. That is the signal to Wind and Water Squadrons to set up for their attack runs. Water will take point while Wind 'cleans up'. At that time get your eyes on a Triple A that has a really high rate of erratic fire. You will need to predict its line of fire for this to work though, so be careful. When the stream gets close, hit the smoke screen. It's actually a directed materia attack on your right wing feed by fuel from your reserves. It will make a smoky fire above the wing, but won't affect the performance of the vehicle itself. When you trigger that. You need to throw the Windwalker into a death spin towards sector five. After you pull out of the roll but before you pull up, drop your reserve tanks. The explosion should convince the enemy that you crashed in sector five, leaving you free to land at the LZ." Cid snapped down on the diagrams again and let them return to their original position. "Any questions?"

Caden did have a question. "What about reinforcements?"

"You're solo on this one," Cid responded. "Once you go down, the transmission 'lame aquila' will be broadcast; the signal for a downed Windwalker and the name of this stunt."

Sephiroth was beginning to become a little suspicious with the amount of planning that had been put into this mission. Caden has not known about his blood line or the prophecy for more then a matter of weeks, but the invasion tactics being used were from a mission that took months to plan. It seemed odd that this was planned all within the month. "I find it difficult that you could devise such a complex plan in a matter of five weeks," Sephiroth said deliberately and cooly while staring accusingly at Cid.

Cid drew in a deep breath and turned his seat around. He could not face Caden when he told him the truth. "We've had this plan in the works for almost two years now. Since Dr. Strife found the tablets describing the Cetrae Angelus anomaly, and after we eliminated the possibility of it being Aeris. We've suspected that long that Caden had something to do with it. We just needed confirmation. Don't ask me why the fuck we're listening to some jargon from a dead man, but the I.U. has been fixated on the Cetra prophecies since Caden was discovered on Mount Nibel." Cid turned around again to face the group again. "Sorry kid, but your every move in life has been watched by the International Union. They were afraid..."

"That I'd bring about the apocalypse ," Caden interrupted, little more then upset by Cid's candid answer to Sephiroth's question.

"We never thought you were, but some of the higher ups are paranoid that it could come back through you. Cloud fought like hell for you, and that's the only reason you have had a normal life. Yes the I.U. was watching you, but from one hell of a distance. It was the best we could do."

"You call my life normal?" Caden asked half joking, but only as a mask to hide his displeasure with what he heard.

"You had Cloud raising you," Cid replied. "I wouldn't call that a normal life either." Caden's mood did not lighten with Cid's joke. "Hey, don't worry. You turned out good, kid. And once you kick the shit out of that fucking freak of nature, The I.U. won't have any reason to hound you... You should probably get some rest. The mission starts at eight-hundred hours."

Caden shook his head. It had been a while since he had any flight time, and it would be crucial for him to be at the top of his game. "What I need is some flight time. I need to know if I can pull of the dive."

"Alright, I'll get a Windwalker A and a chaser ready," Cid agreed. "Follow all commands and your flight path. From now on, you're all temporarily Nibel military personnel."

"Yes, Sir," Caden said as he stood up, saluted and left.



"Wind four reporting in," Caden spoke into his face mask radio. "Waypoint one reached, running for waypoint two at a heading of two forty and negative five. Speed is three hundred meters per second. Elevation is six thousand meters. E.T.A. for waypoint two, four minutes."

"How you holding up out there?" Cid asked over the intercom.

"Air's a little choppy, but nothing I can't handle," Caden calmly responded. "It feels sluggish though."

"Sorry, but we had it outfitted to have the same feel as your Windwalker," Cid's voice once again rolled out. "Alright, what are your stats?"

Caden checked the dials and displays on his control panel and HUD. "Five thousand kilograms of fuel, five kilograms of ether, six-hundred rounds, four snake-nest clusters, and two drop tanks. Flaps are down, aerials are closed, and stabilizers are operating within acceptable boundaries. Everything looks good up here."

"Good," Cid responded calmly. "What's your acceleration like?"

"Slower then I like, but not bad," Caden responded as brought the Windwalker level. "Bow, you getting this?"

"Yeah," Bowden responded over the intercom. "Don't worry, I'll be ready when it comes down to crunch time."

"Does it sound like I'm worried?" Caden asked, unsure as to weather that was what he sounded like. "I'm really not, you know."

"I know, but you sound like you are," Bowden responded. "Just relax and you'll be able to pull it off."

"Listen to him, Caden," Cid's voice once again took over the intercom. "The kid knows what he's talking about."

Caden continued to guide the plane forward as he absorbed what was said. "I know, but it's still good to have him around to kick me in the ass. The only way I'll ever remember." Caden began to bank the plane to the right while gently pulling back. "Waypoint two reached, running for waypoint three at a heading of one sixty and fifteen. Speed is three hundred ten meters per second. Elevation is five-thousand six hundred seventy two meters."

"Ok, good. You may begin the exercise at any moment," Cid said without delay. "Bowden, don't lose him."

"Roger that," Bowden said. "He's four-hundred meters off my one."

"Oh, so that's where you are," Caden said. "I thought I lost you four kilometers back."

"Nope, been on your tail the entire time," Bowden said again. "Now stop stalling and start stalling!"

"Right," Caden said as he adjusted some of his instruments. "Lame Aquila maneuver test, trial one." Immediately, Caden yawled the Windwalker far to the left and cut the power to the engines. His plane began to free fall through the air. The HUD and several of the internal displays began to flash red warnings as alarms blared throughout the cockpit.

"Caden, pull out!" Cid ordered after the Windwalker dropped several hundred meters.

"I'm having some trouble here," Caden said as he struggled with the control stick. "The controls are freezing on me."

"Bowden, follow him!" Cid yelled out frantically on the intercom. Had Caden seen him at that moment, he would be ghost white dripping with a cold sweat.

"I'm on him," Bowden responded.

"Caden, hard left, now!" Cid once again commanded. "Get yourself the fuck out of that!"

By this time, Caden had already dropped a kilometer, but he was still having trouble with the controls, but he did not let that affect his emotions. After much difficulty, Caden was able to force the stick to the left, and began to level out the Windwalker. "Ok, I have it now. Everything's fine now. None of the systems seem to be affected at all."

Caden could hear the sigh of relief that Cid gave and could almost feel the color returning to the old pilot's face. "Ok, good. Don't do that to me again. Do you really want me to have a fucking heart attack?" Caden knew that Cid was joking, so did not feel like he needed to respond to it. "Alright, Caden, Bowden, bring it in. We need you in good shape for tomorrow."



It was early in the evening and Caden was out watching a rocket as it prepared to lift off. Other then the company of Swift, he was alone. The Windwalker B was prepped for the next day's flight, but Caden was still a little apprehensive. A lot had happened since that day almost two month ago, and now he was prepared to make history in the morning. "You know, pal, I'm kinda worried about tomorrow. We've been in some tough scrapes, but this... This is bigger then anything I've even studied."

Swift 'warked,' but it had a tone of concern to it. Even though he was sometimes a jerk of a chocobo, Swift did care deeply for Caden. It may seem odd to hear, but that was how it was.

"Thanks, Swift," Caden said as he scratched the back of his chocobo's head. "You've always been a good friend. When I get back, how bout we just find some uncharted plain, and see what's out there?"

Swift 'warked' in agreement.

"So what do you think the satellite on that rocket is for?" Caden asked, knowing full well that Swift would not be able to respond to the question in a meaningful way. "I know. You probably don't care, but for some odd reason, I do. Dunno, might just be Father's influence on me."

Swift 'warked' again as he let Caden rant.

"Nah, maybe it's just in me,"Caden said as he lay back. The stars were beginning to come out one by one, but the light from the base drowned out most of them. He stayed like that for a few minutes and just let thoughts pass through his mind.

"You know, there are beds here," Marlene said after sneaking up on Caden.

Caden did not move, but rather relaxed even more. "Yeah, but those cots give me a strained neck."

Marlene could see right through Caden's sudden mask of humor. "You're worried about the mission too?"

Caden sat up. "Yeah, and I'm trying not to think about it." Caden offered the seat next to him to Marlene, and she accepted. "Do you know what they're launching?" Caden asked as he pointed at the rocket that was preparing to fly.

"I think someone said something about a spy satellite being launched," Marlene responded as she watched the still motionless space vehicle. "You think that thing's going to help us?"

"Maybe, but it's really comes down to us, doesn't it," Caden said, but Marlene laughed. Caden could not figure out what he said that was so funny. "What?"

Marlene was still laughing, but managed to respond to Caden's last question. "We have to stop answering each other with another question."

Caden laughed as well, knowing that was what just happened and has happened for a number of years. "I guess we question everything. Don't we?"

"You know it's not funny anymore," Marlene said while still laughing.

"So why are you still laughing?" Caden said, but was not laughing anymore.

Marlene stopped laughing. "You know, you just killed the whole thing."

"I know," Caden said still smiling.

Marlene became somber though. "You had us worried today when you went into the death spin. We thought you were gonna crash."

"I didn't though, and I don't ever plan to, Mar," Caden said, trying to reassure Marlene. "We'll make our mark in Midgar."

Marlene was not convinced. She watched in horror as Caden attempted to pull off the stunt and almost fail. It would not be something that she would forget so easily, even if it was only a few seconds out of a life time. "Still... you could have." Marlene wore her fears and concerns on her face as plain as day. Caden could see her pain, and gently put his arm around her shoulder, if for nothing more then just support. Marlene moved closer to Caden, taking up his offer of support. The stars were now out in force, staring down at the planet. It was beautiful yet innocent scene with both Caden and Marlene caught deep in the middle of it. Almost like clock work, their eyes slowly met and became caught in each other's gaze. Even the soft green glow of Caden's eyes was like the gentle light of the stars. Time seemed to slow as their lips moved closer together, but it was not to be. The roar of the rocket's engine broke to once peaceful silence, as well as Caden and Marlene's trance like gaze. They both felt awkward as they sat there. "Umm... It's getting late," Marlene said, trying to break the tension.

"Yeah... We have an early day tomorrow," Caden said, also trying to avoid the obvious.

Marlene got up and began to move towards the barracks. "Well, good night, Commander."

Caden stayed where he was and watched as Marlene walked away. "Yeah... night."