Squall entered the newly constructed auditorium, at the back of the sleeping quarters, where Cid had called the meeting of all SeeDs. He stepped up onto the stage, and took his seat to the right of Cid's. As he scanned the faces of the SeeDs most of them pointing straight at him, and some of them as young as 15 years old, he got one, distinct, impression.
They know, he thought. He didn't know how, maybe a rumour got out somehow, but he was absolutely sure that they knew. Balamb Garden may have been big, but it was also fairly crowded, so rumours tended to spread quickly. Keeping his "business" face on, he quickly located Irvine and Selphie in the crowd both dressed in SeeD uniforms, and predictably, sitting together. He gave them a quick nod, before standing, as Quistis arrived on the stage. He had to ask her what had been bugging him from the moment he entered the auditorium.
"They know, don't they?" He asked.
"Squall," she started, "you know how rumours spread here. Maybe it's for the best- this way, they won't be so surprised when they find out." Squall nodded- Quistis always seemed to have a way of rationalising things. Quistis took her seat, 2 chairs down from Squall, but they were not seated long, as Cid and Edea entered the auditorium. As one, the SeeDs all rose, as Cid took his place behind the rostrum.
"Please be seated," his stern yet friendly voice came over the speakers. "Yesterday evening, a tragedy befell Balamb Garden. Two acts of terrorism, the likes of which has not been seen in a long time. The blast site was immediately investigated, but this morning, we received a videotape in the post."
A slight murmur went round the crowd. Squall looked up at the ceiling.
Damn! He thought. How do these things get out? His thoughts were abruptly curtailed by Cid continuing his address.
"The package was addressed to our Commander, Squall Leonheart. On that tape, the perpetrator of these acts owned up to his crimes." Cid gulped. The next few words were not going to be easy to say. "I believe many of you know his identity, as he was a former student at this Garden." Again, the murmur went around the crowd, and again, Squall silently cursed to himself. "His name is Seifer Almasy, the same man who opposed us during the Ultimecia incident." This time, the murmur was a lot bigger, almost as if the SeeDs had forgotten that they were at a formal gathering, but were in the cafeteria. Fortunately, Cid managed to quiet them.
"Silence please," the same stern yet friendly voice managed to bring the crowd back to silent order. "Now, to give you all your orders for the duration of this threat, our Commander, Squall Leonheart."
Squall stood up and took Cid's place at the rostrum. At the same time, the SeeDs all stood again. Why do they do that? Squall silently thought. It was a short-lived thought, however, as he had orders to dispense.
"Please be seated," he began, and once again, the SeeDs were seated. If Cid had a hard task telling the SeeDs about Seifer, than Squall's was infinitely harder. However, as he had told Cid beforehand, he didn't want him to deliver all the bad news.
Squall continued his address.
"As you may or may not be aware, the bombings in the training facility were suicide bombings, carried out by two of Garden's own students who had been brainwashed by Seifer." If the news about Seifer being the ringleader had rattled them, then this sent them into outright hysteria.
"Garden students?" A voice in the crowd could clearly be heard asking.
"Who were they?" Another one enquired, seemingly to no one in particular.
"Quiet, please," Squall ordered over the microphone. It may have taken longer than when Cid ordered it, but eventually, Squall got his silence. "As a result of this, Balamb Garden is officially under quarantine. Nobody is to be allowed in or out, with the exception of the SeeDs selected for the mission to take Seifer down. All incoming and outgoing mail will be screened for explosives, and anybody acting suspiciously will be instantly confined in the brig. One more thing- if I find that anyone has spread the fact that Garden students were behind the bombing beyond these four walls, they will be instantly dismissed from Garden. The students are rattled enough as it is, I don't want this getting to them as well."
Squall stepped down from the rostrum, and let Cid re-take his place.
"You have your orders," Cid said, "now I expect you all to carry them out. An official statement regarding the quarantine order will be issued in two hours' time to all students." He stepped down, as all the SeeDs began to file out of the auditorium. Outside, Squall, Quistis and Xu (who had been sitting on the stage with them) called together Irvine, Selphie and Nida. All of them were noticeably shocked- Squall had to remind himself that they hadn't heard of the suicide aspect to the bombings. Selphie in particular was looking a little pale- Squall had to remind himself that this wasn't the first time Seifer had tried to destroy her home- Trabia Garden was another victim of his megalomania. Only Trabia hadn't got off so lightly. Xu spoke up.
"Cid's called a meeting, just the six of us in his office in one hour," Xu said in her professional way. Although Squall and her didn't know each other that well, they respected each other as SeeDs, and were always courteous whenever they passed each other in the corridors. Having received their instructions, the SeeDs all went their separate ways, changing and eating before the meeting. Squall had no such luxury, however. Cid had requested his presence beforehand to discuss tactics. Collecting a small briefcase from his locker, Squall immediately reported to Cid's office, where the headmaster was already seated and waiting.
"I'm sorry to keep you waiting, sir," Squall said.
"No, no," Cid responded, "that's fine, I just wanted to talk to you alone before the others arrived. Please, have a seat." His tone of voice had significantly altered from the auditorium- losing the stern yet friendly tone and adopting a more caring tone, sort of like that father Squall never had.
Or the father who never came for me, Squall mused, having thought the same thing.
"It's about the mission," Cid continued, "more specifically, your squad. I feel, and I'm sure you'll agree, that it would be in her best interests if Rinoa remained here at the Garden." Squall nodded, deep in thought. It had been a subject foremost in Squall's mind- on one hand, he didn't want to leave Rinoa, but on the other hand, he couldn't stand the thought of her being placed in danger. This confirmation of Rinoa's safety from Cid, however, had convinced him that she should stay.
"I agree," Squall confirmed.
"Do you want me to tell her?" Cid asked. Squall shook his head.
"I'd be best coming from me. I don't think she'll take it too well, so it had better be me who breaks the news." Cid nodded, in agreement. With that out of the way, Squall and Cid sat down and started studying the plans Squall had brought, before the clock in Cid's office chimed, and Xu, Quistis, Nida, Irvine and Selphie filed in, signalling the start of the meeting. Cid immediately called the meeting to order.
" I have called you six here," he began, "because we need to put an end to the Seifer threat quickly, and finally. If he can turn Garden students against each other he needs to be eliminated." The six of them nodded in agreement- no one wanted to kill Seifer, but he hadn't exactly left them with a lot of choice. Unfortunately, there was one small detail, which Irvine, typically, was the one to bring up.
"Umm," the longhaired sniper began, "how are we meant to take out Seifer if we don't even know where he is?" Cid nodded- it was a question he had been expecting.
"In his video," Cid replied, "Seifer mentioned that on his travels, he had stayed with some "so-called" friends."
"That would be Fujin and Raijin," Quistis correctly guessed, getting a nod of approval from Cid.
"Your mission," Cid began again, "is to take the Ragnarok to FH. Your team will consist of Squall as team leader, as well as Quistis, Irvine and Selphie. Nida will pilot the Ragnarok- you may be required to take off in an emergency. Xu, in their absence, you will be in command of the Garden. Don't be afraid to ask for help." Xu nodded- it may have been a big responsibility, but she felt she was up to it. Cid continued on with their orders. "Upon arrival, you are to make contact with Fujin and Raijin, and determine Seifer's location by any means possible. When you locate him, you are to immediately travel to his location and eliminate him by any means necessary. I will not sugarcoat this for you- this is a mission that you must not fail on. The security of Garden depends on it. You leave at 0700. Dismissed." They all got up to leave, but Cid had something else to say.
"Oh, one more thing-" he continued. "You may be forced to fight Garden students who have been brainwashed by Seifer. Should that occurrence arise, do not be afraid to use deadly force- they won't be afraid to." They all nodded- it was something none of them had wanted to consider, but they'd all accepted the consequences when they became SeeDs. As they all filed out, Squall reflected on what had been one of the worst days of his life to date- and it was only going to get worse.
They know, he thought. He didn't know how, maybe a rumour got out somehow, but he was absolutely sure that they knew. Balamb Garden may have been big, but it was also fairly crowded, so rumours tended to spread quickly. Keeping his "business" face on, he quickly located Irvine and Selphie in the crowd both dressed in SeeD uniforms, and predictably, sitting together. He gave them a quick nod, before standing, as Quistis arrived on the stage. He had to ask her what had been bugging him from the moment he entered the auditorium.
"They know, don't they?" He asked.
"Squall," she started, "you know how rumours spread here. Maybe it's for the best- this way, they won't be so surprised when they find out." Squall nodded- Quistis always seemed to have a way of rationalising things. Quistis took her seat, 2 chairs down from Squall, but they were not seated long, as Cid and Edea entered the auditorium. As one, the SeeDs all rose, as Cid took his place behind the rostrum.
"Please be seated," his stern yet friendly voice came over the speakers. "Yesterday evening, a tragedy befell Balamb Garden. Two acts of terrorism, the likes of which has not been seen in a long time. The blast site was immediately investigated, but this morning, we received a videotape in the post."
A slight murmur went round the crowd. Squall looked up at the ceiling.
Damn! He thought. How do these things get out? His thoughts were abruptly curtailed by Cid continuing his address.
"The package was addressed to our Commander, Squall Leonheart. On that tape, the perpetrator of these acts owned up to his crimes." Cid gulped. The next few words were not going to be easy to say. "I believe many of you know his identity, as he was a former student at this Garden." Again, the murmur went around the crowd, and again, Squall silently cursed to himself. "His name is Seifer Almasy, the same man who opposed us during the Ultimecia incident." This time, the murmur was a lot bigger, almost as if the SeeDs had forgotten that they were at a formal gathering, but were in the cafeteria. Fortunately, Cid managed to quiet them.
"Silence please," the same stern yet friendly voice managed to bring the crowd back to silent order. "Now, to give you all your orders for the duration of this threat, our Commander, Squall Leonheart."
Squall stood up and took Cid's place at the rostrum. At the same time, the SeeDs all stood again. Why do they do that? Squall silently thought. It was a short-lived thought, however, as he had orders to dispense.
"Please be seated," he began, and once again, the SeeDs were seated. If Cid had a hard task telling the SeeDs about Seifer, than Squall's was infinitely harder. However, as he had told Cid beforehand, he didn't want him to deliver all the bad news.
Squall continued his address.
"As you may or may not be aware, the bombings in the training facility were suicide bombings, carried out by two of Garden's own students who had been brainwashed by Seifer." If the news about Seifer being the ringleader had rattled them, then this sent them into outright hysteria.
"Garden students?" A voice in the crowd could clearly be heard asking.
"Who were they?" Another one enquired, seemingly to no one in particular.
"Quiet, please," Squall ordered over the microphone. It may have taken longer than when Cid ordered it, but eventually, Squall got his silence. "As a result of this, Balamb Garden is officially under quarantine. Nobody is to be allowed in or out, with the exception of the SeeDs selected for the mission to take Seifer down. All incoming and outgoing mail will be screened for explosives, and anybody acting suspiciously will be instantly confined in the brig. One more thing- if I find that anyone has spread the fact that Garden students were behind the bombing beyond these four walls, they will be instantly dismissed from Garden. The students are rattled enough as it is, I don't want this getting to them as well."
Squall stepped down from the rostrum, and let Cid re-take his place.
"You have your orders," Cid said, "now I expect you all to carry them out. An official statement regarding the quarantine order will be issued in two hours' time to all students." He stepped down, as all the SeeDs began to file out of the auditorium. Outside, Squall, Quistis and Xu (who had been sitting on the stage with them) called together Irvine, Selphie and Nida. All of them were noticeably shocked- Squall had to remind himself that they hadn't heard of the suicide aspect to the bombings. Selphie in particular was looking a little pale- Squall had to remind himself that this wasn't the first time Seifer had tried to destroy her home- Trabia Garden was another victim of his megalomania. Only Trabia hadn't got off so lightly. Xu spoke up.
"Cid's called a meeting, just the six of us in his office in one hour," Xu said in her professional way. Although Squall and her didn't know each other that well, they respected each other as SeeDs, and were always courteous whenever they passed each other in the corridors. Having received their instructions, the SeeDs all went their separate ways, changing and eating before the meeting. Squall had no such luxury, however. Cid had requested his presence beforehand to discuss tactics. Collecting a small briefcase from his locker, Squall immediately reported to Cid's office, where the headmaster was already seated and waiting.
"I'm sorry to keep you waiting, sir," Squall said.
"No, no," Cid responded, "that's fine, I just wanted to talk to you alone before the others arrived. Please, have a seat." His tone of voice had significantly altered from the auditorium- losing the stern yet friendly tone and adopting a more caring tone, sort of like that father Squall never had.
Or the father who never came for me, Squall mused, having thought the same thing.
"It's about the mission," Cid continued, "more specifically, your squad. I feel, and I'm sure you'll agree, that it would be in her best interests if Rinoa remained here at the Garden." Squall nodded, deep in thought. It had been a subject foremost in Squall's mind- on one hand, he didn't want to leave Rinoa, but on the other hand, he couldn't stand the thought of her being placed in danger. This confirmation of Rinoa's safety from Cid, however, had convinced him that she should stay.
"I agree," Squall confirmed.
"Do you want me to tell her?" Cid asked. Squall shook his head.
"I'd be best coming from me. I don't think she'll take it too well, so it had better be me who breaks the news." Cid nodded, in agreement. With that out of the way, Squall and Cid sat down and started studying the plans Squall had brought, before the clock in Cid's office chimed, and Xu, Quistis, Nida, Irvine and Selphie filed in, signalling the start of the meeting. Cid immediately called the meeting to order.
" I have called you six here," he began, "because we need to put an end to the Seifer threat quickly, and finally. If he can turn Garden students against each other he needs to be eliminated." The six of them nodded in agreement- no one wanted to kill Seifer, but he hadn't exactly left them with a lot of choice. Unfortunately, there was one small detail, which Irvine, typically, was the one to bring up.
"Umm," the longhaired sniper began, "how are we meant to take out Seifer if we don't even know where he is?" Cid nodded- it was a question he had been expecting.
"In his video," Cid replied, "Seifer mentioned that on his travels, he had stayed with some "so-called" friends."
"That would be Fujin and Raijin," Quistis correctly guessed, getting a nod of approval from Cid.
"Your mission," Cid began again, "is to take the Ragnarok to FH. Your team will consist of Squall as team leader, as well as Quistis, Irvine and Selphie. Nida will pilot the Ragnarok- you may be required to take off in an emergency. Xu, in their absence, you will be in command of the Garden. Don't be afraid to ask for help." Xu nodded- it may have been a big responsibility, but she felt she was up to it. Cid continued on with their orders. "Upon arrival, you are to make contact with Fujin and Raijin, and determine Seifer's location by any means possible. When you locate him, you are to immediately travel to his location and eliminate him by any means necessary. I will not sugarcoat this for you- this is a mission that you must not fail on. The security of Garden depends on it. You leave at 0700. Dismissed." They all got up to leave, but Cid had something else to say.
"Oh, one more thing-" he continued. "You may be forced to fight Garden students who have been brainwashed by Seifer. Should that occurrence arise, do not be afraid to use deadly force- they won't be afraid to." They all nodded- it was something none of them had wanted to consider, but they'd all accepted the consequences when they became SeeDs. As they all filed out, Squall reflected on what had been one of the worst days of his life to date- and it was only going to get worse.