Disclaimer-I own everything. Yep. And I own the universe.. I own the United States of America. I own everything and everyone. I own you. (If you believe that, stop reading this story now. You don't deserve to.)

The bright lights of the top plate of Midgar shone palely through the polluted mists surrounding the city, their dull luminescence put to shame by the natural light of the half moon glistening above, surrounded by the tiny starlit torches. Between the foggy haze of electricity and the ancient glow of the moon, a small speck coasted in the median of the two. The Shinra airship was exponentially dwarfed by both moon and city, and the man lying quietly inside, puffing his cigarette and dropping his ashes in the vents, was next to nothing in comparison. The man looked up to the heavens with a small smile on his face and a light in his eyes, from neither above or below, but within his own self.

Early that morning, Cid Highwind had left his home in Rocket Town to pursue his dreams of space flight, and even as he took one last glimpse at the night sky the airship slowly began to descend down into the smog of Midgar. One small star seemed to wink to Cid, before the window was obscured by the manufactured clouds of dust and waste. Nothing could be seen out of the window, except for a long gray haze of nothingness stretching into forever and beyond. Still Cid gazed outward until two sharp knocks at the door brought him out of his mindless stupor. As he turned around, the door was already opened and a Shinra guard stood, silhouetted against a brighter florescent light from the hallway. "We are within a few minutes time of landing at Shinra Headquarters. Please collect all of your belongings, and I will escort you to the nearest exit where you will wait until we have safely landed." he said, and put his arms behind his back. Cid noticed that the Shinra guard was armed with a standard issue rifle, but still decided to ask for something he had been thinking about.

"Can't I at least stand up on the deck, and see us land? This whole trip has been boring as hell. If you hadn't got me this window, I think I would have gone crazy." he ventured, staring the airman in the eyes.

"I'm sorry sir, but I am to follow my orders exactly, which means you are going to follow orders exactly, correct?" The airman replied with a slightly threatening tone, and Cid saw his hands ever so subtly move up and rest upon the rifle mounted on his back.

"Woah woah woah there buddy, I was only askin'. No need to get your panties all in a twist. Well hurry up and let's go then! I wanna get of f this bucket, and see the real Shinra splendor I've heard so much about." Cid said quickly and untruthfully. Despite the excitement waiting for him off the ship, it was hardly a "bucket" to his mind. Aside from an actual space ship, this was as good as it could possibly get for any pilot, let alone one that had been obsessed with flying from the time he could walk. Many happy hours and days he could have spent alone on this airship, if he ever had the chance. But be damned if he was about to let some low level Airman know about that, though.

Without another word, the Shinra member stood to the side and gestured to the pilot to move out of the room. Taking a long drag off his last cigarette, Cid flicked it into the small vent on the floor. The Shinra Airman looked disapprovingly under the brim of his hat, but didn't say anything. Cid picked up the crate holding his precious cargo, and walked carefully out of the doorway. As soon as he was in the hallway, he immediately met another guard standing in his path. Behind him, the door to his cabin closed and locked, his suitcase still inside. The first guard came up behind Cid, and the second went ahead. Cid almost felt like a prisoner, walking in line with armed men both in front and behind him. While they walked down what seemed like an endless maze of hallways and passages, the ship creaked and groaned as it slowly docked on top of the Shinra Building. With a loud thud that sent a shiver through the entire ship, it grounded on the roof and Cid saw a small opening of light at the end of the tunnel. For all his time spent in confined spaces and within machines, Cid suddenly felt anxious. His guards seemed to feel the same way, and they started to hurry onward. The light steadily grew closer as the lights in the airship shut off, and electricity was cut until the next voyage. A small set of backup lights lined the floor, but when Cid finally reached the doorway and stepped out, the light was violent to his eyes which had become accustomed to the dark in so short a time. No sooner had he adjusted to the new scene, when his guards left him and stood off to the side of the large landing pad. If there hadn't been such a haze, and if it hadn't have been night, the view from the top would have been magnificent to say the least. As it currently was however, all was quiet and dim.

Before Cid stood a man of little height, but considerable width. A warm brown suit covered most of his body, and a few reminiscent hairs strayed across his balding head. Immediately the man struck a good chord with Cid. His rounded face seemed capable of endless smiling, and even as he walked forward to meet him, the hint of a smile seemed to play on his face.

"Greetings Captain Highwind!" The man said, this time with a full smile splayed across his face, "Welcome to Midgar, and more importantly, welcome to Shinra! We have been waiting a long time for you, and what you can bring to our cooperation. I can say myself that I have quite been awaiting your arrival. Aeronautics have always fascinated me, although never more than as a past time or hobby I'm afraid. But still here I am, meeting the greatest pilot we know of! It is a great honor to meet you." and with that he extended a genuine hand of welcome.

"H-hey, good to be here." was all Cid could say. His mind was still reeling from all the confidence and compliments that the man had showered upon him, and being called 'Captain' was far from the least important. All his life he had dreamed of being a captain, of an airship of course, and here was a man who had called him a name with such dignity and respect, without so much as hearing a word from his mouth. After a few moments it registered with him that the other mans hand was still outstretched, and his eyes were watching Cid eagerly. Shifting the crate to one side and balancing it with his leg, he quickly shook the extended hand, "Sorry, but what's your name?" Cid said, remembering to ask after the handshake.

"Everyone just calls me Palmer." the man said, and after clearing his throat, "but for the official record it's 'Assistant director of Shinra explorations and Energy Research Lieutenant Palmer', but what's in a name, anyway?" Palmer finished, with another smile crossing his face.

"Well Palmer, like I said, good to be here. Now I don't want to be blunt, but when does everything start?"

"Everything? Well everything has already started, yes sir yes sir! But as for your part in it... you and your special baggage..." Palmer patted the crate gently, "Those are scheduled for tomorrow, at exactly 10:00 hours, MST. But don't worry, after you are situated in your room, which I sincerely hope will be to your liking, there are plenty of things to do in our illustrious headquarters. I would like to say that I myself would enjoy your company, however poor it may be when I am in the presence of such a wonderful pilot such as yourself, but as I said before... aeronautics is my past time, and I would dearly love a discussion with a peer about them." His grin somehow seemed to double, and his whole face seemed to be a giant flash of glee just at the thought.

"With an invite like that, how the hell can I possibly say no? Lead the way." Cid said, with smile of his own. Not even he could resist the seemingly never ending praise, especially coming from someone who knew about the things he did, and was impressed all the more because of it. So with an arm on Cid's shoulder, and the crate in his Cid's hands, Palmer walked into the Shinra buildings top floor, the automatic door swished shut behind them and the night was dark.

-----------------------------That's it for Chapter 8 -----------------------------

Alright, now listen. Or read. Whichever. This is not review scavenging, but I have a few things to say about anyone who reviews my story... I love you. If it weren't for reviews, I wouldn't have any reason to try and better myself, that is if I continued along at all. Just an especially huge thank you to anyone who has reviewed any of my stories, even if it was a flame. Anything is great. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

-The Amazing Me