Author's Note: Well damn, Part 3. Thanks again to Those Who Review: She'kspeare, Pierson and Ripley, without whom I probably wouldn't have made it even this far.
In spite of my literary achievements (or perhaps because of them), I don't own Final Fantasy 8. Well, I do own a second-hand copy – but you know what I mean.
WHIRLWIND
Chapter 3: Shadow Boxing
Their descent through the elevator shaft was decidedly smoother than the ascent, but it was marked by an uncomfortable silence that the earlier endeavour had lacked. Their paths diverged at the main deck, Xu continuing to descend while Quistis headed for the main concourse. Their farewells already made on the bridge, they did not speak at the moment of parting, communicating only with silent looks before turning to their own paths and destinies.
Quistis emerged from the elevator car in a rush, her eyes sweeping the broad expanse of the central concourse with her weapon following. Apart from a figure in SeeD uniform slumped at the bottom of the stairs from the elevator she saw nobody.
Keeping low she slipped down the stairs to crouch by the motionless figure, feeling for a pulse with faint hope. She was not surprised to find none. Gently she rolled the fallen SeeD over; it was a young woman, one of last year's graduates. She could not quite recall her name, which saddened her worst of all.
She shook the feeling off; her duty now was to the living, and there would be time for mourning later. There always was.
Nevertheless, her pace when she moved off was perhaps a little quicker, fueled by a renewed apprehension and determination.
The main gateway to the infirmary did not respond to her approach. Crouching below the level of the concourse barriers she drew out the toolkit she had taken from one of the commandos and went to work on the electronics, pausing occasionally to scan the concourse for movement.
*
Xu crouched uncomfortably in a narrow maintenance alcove ten metres above the floor of the elevator shaft, her narrowed eyes scanning the open doors below her. Evidently some of their intruders had come down this way, which made sense; environmental control, main power and the engine rooms could be accessed through here.
She felt the urgency of her mission pressing upon her but still she remained motionless, eyes fixed on the rectangle of light below her, her mind focused on what she could see and hear.
Which was nothing. Nothing moved, no sound reached her ears save the background thrum of the Garden itself, long since screened out by her conscious mind. There was nothing to suggest that there was anything untoward about the doorway.
And yet… and yet she could not bring herself to believe it. Perhaps it was instinct, or perhaps the simple logic that told her that if she were in her enemy's place, she would not have left such an obvious choke point unguarded. Perhaps it was both.
Whatever it was, she decided to trust it. Turning away from the bright opening she reached up to pull the hatch above her open, straightening to look into the dark crawlway it revealed. Sighing inwardly she pulled herself up into the crawlway, thankful for long hours spent learning the ins and outs of the maintenance network, not exactly required learning for a deputy commander - but she had always been thorough like that, meticulous about knowing what the people under her needed to know. She didn't always like it - this aspect of her study had been particularly tedious – but preparation had always served her well in the past and it was serving her now.
Pulling out a slim torch she quickly scanned the path ahead before beginning the long crawl towards Environmental.
*
"All quiet, sir," Saber Three reported as One approached his position. The young commando was crouched motionless in the corridor leading from the main elevator doors. A pool of light illuminated the doorway, the rest of the corridor all the darker by contrast; he would be effectively invisible from the entry until he fired. By then, of course, it would be too late.
Saber One acknowledged the report with a sharp nod, "I'm heading up to the bridge. When Two's done you two follow me up."
"Sir." Three's confirmation was quiet, but firm.
"And stay alert," One added over his shoulder, heading for the doors. He knew his people, knew that the reminder was unnecessary, but what was happening upstairs – whatever it was – had him uneasy.
He moved swiftly, warily into the elevator, his eyes scanning the darkness above through his infra-red visor. Seeing nothing he slung his weapon and began to climb.
The faint heat-traces which marked the maintenance alcove three stories up were all but gone by the time he reached their level. He did not notice them.
*
Quistis straightened as the gates hissed open, slipping her toolkit back into its pouch on her webbing belt. It had taken longer than she had hoped; Xu was better at this sort of thing.
Readying the gunblade she swung through the doorway. The wide corridor beyond was empty and silent by for her own movement, which seemed loud in her ears. Her vision blurred as her eyes began to water; even with the Remedy, she could feel the gas in the air.
Using the heavy supports that lined the corridor for cover she edged down its darkened length, all senses on edge. She could see that the infirmary doors were open, warm light spilling into the corridor, but could make out no movement within.
The only occupant was one of the night shift, a recent arrival from Trabia – Camus, or something like that. Shifting so that she could watch the corridor Quistis applied one of her Remedies and breathed a little easier as he coughed and stirred. She helped him to one of the chairs and sat him down.
"How do you feel?"
"Like crap," he said with feeling. "Uh… it's Instructor Trepe, isn't it? What-"
"I don't have a lot of time, Doctor," she interrupted his question, not bothering to correct him, "we're under attack." She tossed him the used Remedy, "You have any more of those?"
"Uh… you're kidding," he muttered, glancing up at her. What he saw in her eyes made him pale. "Um, over there, top shelves."
"Here?" She stepped over to the locker and pulled it open, sweeping the top shelf clean of Remedy sprays. Both hands full, she paused, before turning back to him with a faint blush. "You have something I can carry these in?"
The doctor was still too rattled to note her embarrassment, hurrying to procure a small pouch from one of the other cabinets. Quistis dumped the Remedies into it, filled the remaining space with Potions and slung it across her shoulder over her webbing, smiling wryly to herself. Who says I can't accessorize?
"Right," she said, turning back to the doctor, "You'd better stay here, keep your head down." Camus nodded; he seemed to have mastered his initial shock, she noted. "See you later."
She turned and strode out the door. A moment later he called out:
"Good luck!"
She looked back, her smile sincere. "Thanks."
*
Saber One knelt beside Rapier Two's body, his brow furrowed under his helmet. Well, that accounted for his missing people. Dagger Team dead in the elevator, the Rapiers up here. They had a SeeD on the loose – almost certainly more than one. He noted without much surprise that the bridge medical kit was open and empty.
He couldn't have missed them by much, he was certain of that. A quick check of his chronometer eased his mind a little; the cruisers would be here in less than five minutes. It was unlikely their rogue SeeDs would be able to achieve much before that happened. Still, his mind urged, no point taking chances.
"All teams, Saber One, Code Black. Repeat, Code Black." The signal would alert his teams that the alarm had been raised; perhaps an exaggeration, but it would keep them alert.
He looked over the scene on the bridge again, sorting through possibilities. Where might they go next? Environmental seemed a good bet, but he had just come from there...
"Two, report."
"Just about finished here, sir," his second replied, "Placing mag charges now. We'll be with you in a couple of minutes."
"Understood," he answered, continuing to think through the options. The armoury? He dismissed the thought. There couldn't be more than two or three of them; they'd be after reinforcements rather than weapons. That left one obvious choice.
"I'm headed for the living quarters," he barked as he started towards the elevator, "Catch up to me there."
*
"Understood, sir."
Xu heard only half the exchange, but it was enough. Mag charges would fry the environmental controls and make it impossible to undo the commandos' work. She could see the other woman behind the waist-high control consoles; she appeared to be alone for the moment, but Xu had no doubt there were others nearby.
A quick glance at the grill covering the entrance confirmed what she had already known; there was no chance of opening it unnoticed. Oh well, she thought, sometimes you just have to jump in boots and all. Literally, in this case; bracing herself against the walls of the shaft she smashed the hatch open with a booted foot and came out hard and fast.
The commando was quick, no question; before the grill hit the ground she was moving, ducking behind the console for cover even as Xu came to her feet and tossed a flashbang over it. She knew the commando, protected by her helmet's sensory screens, wouldn't be much affected by the weapon but it could give her a moment's distraction and that could be critical. Perhaps more importantly, a flashbang wouldn't seriously damage the control consoles.
The grenade blew with a blinding flare and a thunderous crack which rattled Xu's teeth even though she was shielded by the consoles. Barely a second later she vaulted over the control bank and was greeted by a solid impact in the ribs which rocked her sideways. The commando followed the punch with another, this one crashing into the side of the SeeD's jaw and snapping her head and whole body around.
Instinct and training turned setback into opportunity, using the twisting movement to whirl though a full circle and whip the barrel of her pistol across the commando's visored face with such force that it cracked the armoured plastic. The woman staggered back against the consoles as Xu oriented herself and brought the pistol back to bear, focusing on steadying herself. The commando surprised her by recovering first and knocking her pistol aside with a sweep of her arm, stepping in to deliver another punch to her midsection which Xu barely managed to twist aside from. Inside the commando's reach now Xu snapped an elbow up into her throat, twice. She felt the smartsuit's reflex cloth harden under the impact, turning a killing blow into a mere respite, and hooking her leg about the other woman's calf bore her backward to the ground.
Pinning the commando with one knee she brought the muzzle of her pistol down against the cracked faceplate and caught the flicker of movement reflected in its depths. The pistol snapped up and around, firing almost before she made out the figure of the second commando. She knew as she fired that she would not need a second shot.
Swinging the pistol down she saw the woman let something fall from her hand. She looked at the small black cylinder blankly for an instant before recognition widened her eyes.
Boom.
*
"Marauder Two reports in position and standing by."
"On station and holding."
Meridar didn't acknowledge the reports; they told him nothing his own boards did not. The icons representing Moray and Pike – for all their massive size, mere specks next to the Garden – were almost upon their huge target. Bretten was standing by the two pilots, conferring with them about the difficulties of the approach in the building storm.
"Marauder One, Hammer Leader. All units standing by."
The colonel glanced down at the grainy image which accompanied the transmission. Corley's helmeted visage looked positively diabolic in the reflected light from her instruments. He looked up at Bretten, who nodded affirmation, then back down at the Force Leader.
"You may proceed, Major."
"Yes, sir!"
Meridar felt the Moray shudder slightly as the Huscarl gunship dropped from its ventral bay, watching on his readouts as the heavily armed troop carrier angled towards the Garden below. A second Husky separated from Pike, closing in on its target as the two cruisers began to follow them in.
"Advise Saber One," he instructed Moray's communications officer, smiling grimly, "Armour is on the way."
*
Quistis crouched in the shadows and stared at the open door, concentrating to ignore the fears that clamored in her mind, whispering terrible possibilities. Am I too late?
Only one way to find out, Trepe, she admonished herself. Checking the corridor was clear she dashed across the open ground and flattened herself against the wall by the doorway. Pausing a moment to listen she swung into the darkened room beyond.
She found herself almost face to face with a commando; perhaps he had heard her approach and come to investigate. For an instant they stared at each other.
Quistis was faster, or less surprised, or both. Launching herself to the side she fired, her burst stitching a line high across his torso; at such close range his smart armour could not defeat the high-velocity rounds. His own burst ripped through the space in her wake.
Hitting the ground she tucked into a roll, coming up into a crouch just short of the wall and swinging the gunblade towards his position in time to see him topple heavily backwards. She covered him for a few seconds more, eyes alert for other movement in the room, before releasing the breath she had been holding and lowering the weapon.
As she did so she became aware of a dull numbness in her left side. Her hand, tracing the sensation, found the sticky warmth of blood seeping through her uniform jacket. She climbed to her feet, gritting her teeth against the bright flash of pain the movement provoked, and glared at the dead commando accusingly before realizing what she was doing and turning her attention to his handiwork.
Her fingers gingerly traced the wound. It didn't feel bad – and she had plenty of experience with injury to use as a frame of reference – but she knew better than to make assumptions. She drew a Potion from her pouch and applied it to the injury.
The medspray worked its usual wonders, banishing the pain with a surge of pleasant warmth. The rush would probably be addictive if it weren't for the need for injury to experience it. With a faint smile she recalled a similar discussion she had once had with Xu on the subject of Phoenix Down.
Thinking of Xu brought her attention back to her mission, which in turn brought her heart into her throat. There was nobody in this room but her and the commando; gunblade at the ready, she moved towards the door to the bedroom.
A quick glance both quietened and renewed her fears. Quietened, because the room's occupant was still alive; renewed, because her unconscious form was draped in unfamiliar technology - a gleaming silver helmet on her head, snaking conduits connecting it to both an armband of the same material and a small box which sat next to her head, lights winking in a meaningless pattern on its top. Quistis stepped swiftly to the bedside and sat carefully next to her friend, clasping a cool hand in her own.
"Rinoa?" she leaned close to the unconscious woman and whispered urgently, "Rinoa?"
She fumbled for a Remedy, applying it delicately. Seconds passed without any visible change save, perhaps, a slight shift in the young woman's breathing. Quistis turned her gaze to the helmet, a bizarre-looking device now she looked closely at it. Something ran through her as she examined its polished exterior, a shiver of disturbing recognition.
Its purpose she could only guess at, though it seemed fairly clear that it was keeping her friend unconscious. Clasping it carefully with both hands she eased it off, breathing a sigh of relief as it came free without mishap.
Unfastening the armband she shook Rinoa by the shoulders and this time she was rewarded by a groan and a slight twitch of the eyelids. She lifted Rinoa into a sitting position and administered a Potion, daring to smile as her eyes flickered open.
"… Quishty?" Rinoa mumbled sleepily, "'Shup?"
"We've got to get moving, Rinny," Quistis explained, "We're under attack. I… don't know if we can stop them." She bustled around the room, grabbing Cardinal from the dresser before stumbling over something lying on the floor. "Wh – oh, Angelo," she knelt by the dozing dog and ruffled his fur. "Come on, let's get you up."
Readying the Remedy she glanced across at Rinoa with a smile which vanished as soon as she took in what she was seeing; the young Galbadian had slumped forward like a rag doll, snoring softly. Quistis sprang to her side, pulling her back upright, "Rinoa!"
Rinoa's eyes opened blearily, "Hey… Quisty… whash…" her eyes slid shut and her head lolled forward again. No! Quistis wanted to cry in frustration. What did they do to you?
"Great," she muttered, slinging one of Rinoa's arms across her shoulders and rising from the bed. We're going even if I have to carry you.
They moved unsteadily towards the door, Rinoa seeming to fade in and out of consciousness. Reaching the front door Quistis took a quick glance to check the way was clear, then adjusted her grip on her friend and edged out.
Outside the door she stopped in her tracks. A jet-black figure strode into view at the far end of the corridor and stopped dead, staring at her.
He made no move as she slowly lowered Rinoa to the ground, her eyes fixed on his silent form. As she released her friend, her eyes flickering over her surroundings and her mind weighing her options, he spoke.
"You're up early, Instructor."
Her head snapped up, eyes wide. She knew that voice… her surprise faded, a weary melancholy descending upon her as she rose to her feet.
Seifer.
*************************