Disclaimer- You guys know the drill. I don't own the rights the characters or even the game. All I got is a cat and a dog I wish minded as well as Angelo...
Author's Notes- Once again I'm sorry for the delay. The day I had set aside to finish this chapter I ended up spending at the hospital while my father had a heart cath done. Thankfully everything turned out alright and I finally finished this chapter. Just keep in mind the differences between the spoken words "..." and thoughts '...'. Enjoy.
JadeAlmasy - The world's gonna end! Haha. Sorry that this was as soon as I could update.
Rune - As always, thanks. You have no idea how much I appreciate your review.
Sulou - Yeah there was a little miscommunication in that chapter. Cid's obviously oblivious to Nida's issues and Squall just didn't know what to do about them. But what can Squall do? Especially when Nida's present when he finds out? lol Thanks for the review.
Cheif and Commander
The infirmary had grown eerily quiet as Dr. Kadowaki looked at him expectantly. Squall loosely crossed his arms and looked down to the ground.
"Squall?" Dr. Kadowaki asked.
He gave her a quick glance out of the corner of his eye before finally looking up.
"I can't read your mind," She said.
'Its not really my business,' Squall thought to himself. '...unless it interferes with Garden...Why do I even have to worry about this?' "I have this friend," He finally spoke. 'Friend...now she'll probably think its some problem I'm having...' "He's going through a depression. At least I think he is. I don't know," Squall looked back to the floor.
"Squall what's bothering you?" Kadowaki asked. "Is there something that you need to sit down and talk about?"
He let his shoulders slump. 'I knew it,' He thought to himself. 'She thinks I'm the one with the problem.' "No...I'm fine."
Dr. Kadowaki nodded but eyed him suspiciously. "So this friend of yours, is an actual person aside from yourself."
"Yes," Squall answered. 'This is getting me nowhere...'
"I see," Kadowaki nodded. "So what's making this friend so depressed, as you put it."
Squall sighed in annoyance. "His guardian, I mean step-mother," He corrected himself.
"Its not uncommon for teenagers to have problems communicating with their parents," She suggested. "Especially if there is a lot of distance between the parent and child, or if they have just become acquainted with one another."
Squall shook his head. "This isn't about me," He protested. Above them, the intercom crackled to life.
"Would Commander Loire please come to his office please. Commander Loire come to your office."
"Sounds like the headmaster's looking for you," Kadowaki stated the obvious. Squall nodded and turned to leave. "Squall."
"What?" He stopped walking.
"If you need to talk some more you can come back."
Squall only nodded as he stepped out into the hallway. Once he'd reached his office on the third floor, he walked quietly inside. On the far wall, he found Cid fumbling with the controls of the copy machine.
"I hope I wasn't interrupting anything," Cid said as he smacked the top of the machine.
"Did you need something?" Squall asked as he sat on the corner of his desk.
"Yes," Cid answered as he waited impatiently for the copied papers. "I'm going to be visiting Galbadia Garden tomorrow." Squall looked up at his comment. "The council's decided to permanently revoke Martine's status which is further hindering Galbadia from becoming functional again." Cid walked out into the lounge, leaving Squall behind. "I want you to understand that it is with great hesitancy that I leave but I believe that you're more than capable of running this Garden."
Squall stood up and followed him to the lift. "How long will you be gone?"
"I'm not sure," Cid admitted.
Squall narrowed his eyes in confusion.
"I'm going to be Galbadia's temporary Headmaster," Cid admitted. "I'll be gone at least a month."
"This is unexpected," Squall stated. 'He's going to leave me here to run this place by myself?'
"Indeed it is," Cid shrugged. "I just got a call from the Galbadian Council."
"I thought you were planning on taking lighter duties up until you decided to retire."
"I was," Cid said. "But Edea and I have been talking and we're going to reopen the orphanage in Centra. We need a substantial amount of Gil to do that. You understand."
"The money factor," Squall stated.
Cid looked at him in disbelief. "I need your support on this, if you don't mind. They're offering me a very generous amount of Gil to do this. There's nothing shady or underhanded going on here. Once this job is done, I'll come back here for a short spell and then I'm going to retire."
"Squall?"
"What about this Garden?"
"This Garden has a Commander," Cid smiled. "A very capable Commander at that. I have the utmost faith in you."
Squall looked toward the ground. 'So you're leaving me with this Fisherman's Horizon problem. I never even wanted this job!' His mind screamed.
"What?" Cid asked.
"...Nothing."
Cid paused and then smiled and slapped him on the shoulder. "You'll be fine," He assured him. "Besides, I've already taken care of our little engineering vacancy and in just a few minutes we'll be meeting with Seifer and Quistis to see if they took care of our little problem with Mayor Dobe."
"Our little engineering vacancy?" Squall asked as Cid pressed the button for the lift to start.
"Yes," Cid smiled. "I supported you when you were first promoted. Now all I ask is that you support Mr. Roe in his new position."
Squall looked over to Cid in surprise. 'He didn't...'
"That boy'll make a good engineer. Its time I stop harboring his shy tendencies and give him some responsibilities. You'll see, he's qualified for the job." The lift came to a stop on the bridge as Cid stopped talking. "Next week he begins training with our Estharian engineers." Squall watched him as he handed his handful of papers to Nida. "Give me the intercom," Cid said to Xu.
"Yes Sir," She replied as she flipped a few switches. Squall watched numbly as Cid leaned down towards the microphone.
"I'd like to have everyone's attention please," Cid spoke excitedly. "This is your headmaster speaking. I have two announcements to make." He waved Squall closer. Squall remained where he stood and only reluctantly moved foreword when Xu gave him a playful push. "First of all, I have chosen to name Nida Roe as Balamb Garden's new Chief Engineer. I'm sure that he will prove himself to be very capable and very worthy of this position."
'What happened to us deciding on that promotion together?' Squall wondered. 'Whatever.'
"Secondly, its my pleasure to announce that Commander Loire will become Balamb Garden's headmaster and chief authority for her on out. We already know that the Commander knows how to run and manage Balamb Garden, even in times of war. Now all I ask is that everyone shows him their support and confidence in my absence. I wouldn't have appointed him to this position if I felt he wasn't fit for the job," Cid switched off the intercom and turned to Squall and Nida. "You call me if for any reason something else comes up while you're getting these papers signed," He said to Nida. "And Squall, call me if you have any questions or problems," Cid smiled.
"I will Sir. Thank you Sir," Nida answered with a smile.
"..." Squall crossed his arms and looked away.
Cid chuckled as he slapped Squall on the shoulder again. "You'll do a fine job."
At the far end of the training center in the secret area, a congregation was gathering. Candidates and SeeDs alike came silently and almost unnoticed by the center's actual users. The crowd filled the secret area and overflowed into the center outside. Everyone was silent. Everyone save for a pair of disgruntled trainers.
"What's going on here?" The first SeeD asked.
"Where are we supposed to go to rest?" Her sister demanded. The crowd slowly turned their attention to her. She shrank back under their gazes.
"Go out into the hallway. There's a bench somewhere," A woman from the crowd spoke.
"What are all of you doing here?" The first SeeD spoke up again.
"What's it look like? We're having a meeting," Another member of the crowd said. "Are either of you treppies?" Both SeeDs shook their head. "Then leave us!" The first SeeD started to say something but her sister stopped her.
"Deanna no," She whispered. "The entire area's full of them. Let's just go."
"Psh," Deanna pulled her arm free of her sister's grasp. "Damn treppies, if there weren't so many of them I'd take them on."
"Let's just go."
"Krysta you're such a wuss," Deanna complained as she lead the way to the front of the training center.
With that small disturbance settled and done with, the gathering proceeded. Treppie 8 stood up on a bench and whistled. All eyes fell on him as he waited for complete silence. He took a deep breath. Every treppie in the vicinity seemed to manage to scoot just a little closer.
"We are all here for the same reason," He started. "We all recognize the prodigy that is Instructor Quistis Trepe. We all see the strength and beauty, the brilliance she's commanded both in the classroom and on the battle field. We are her followers and she is our Queen. This is how it has always been...until now. The attention we've so long sought from her has been snatched from us by an outsider. He has no right to interfere. He has no right by our Queen's side. He's no where near as smart as she is, he hasn't her charisma or worth."
"What should we do?" Treppie 45 called out from the middle of the crowd.
"We should do nothing!" Treppie 36 shouted.
"You can't be serious," 8 stared at 36 in disbelief as she too climbed up on a bench and addressed the gathering.
"I've never been more serious," She answered him.
"You haven't got a problem with this SeeD she's seeing?" He asked. The crowd called out in agreement with him.
Treppie 36 rolled her eyes. "Listen to yourselves! Have you no mind of your own? He tells you this guy, this outsider is stealing our Queen's attention. He says he's not worthy. I say he's jealous!" She pointed an accusing finger in Treppie 8's direction. "Let's face it, all of us would love for her to devote just a few minutes of her time to talk to us or praise us or anything. But she has chosen this SeeD! She is romantically involved with him!" The entire congregation gasped in unison.
"Did you hear that? Romantically involved!" 8 shouted. "What happens when in six months they decide to marry and she leaves Garden? What happens then!" He turned his attention back to 36.
"We go on with life," Treppie 36 spat. "She is our Queen. And I am just as loyal as all of you. But take a step back and think about this. Quistis is a fairy tale. She's brilliant, beautiful, strong, charismatic, she's perfect. She's the most amazing force any of us have ever encountered and so we follow her willingly. We idolize her so much that we can't see that she's human just like the rest of us. Take a step back and see the reality of our Queen that has attended almost every dance in the past four years dateless. The Queen that fights off the overbearing jerks that come calling on her. The Queen that is always alone. He hasn't even provided any evidence that would justify ruining her relationship with Mr. Roe."
"Mr. Roe?" A voice from the side asked.
She nodded.
"Nida Roe?"
"Are you going somewhere with this?"
"She chose Nida Roe over us?" He questioned.
She sighed. "Its becoming apparent that the male population of this group is just jealous. All of you! Did you not hear the announcement this morning?" 36 demanded as she looked over the crowd. "Not only is he artistically and creatively gifted, but apparently he is also mechanically," She sent a stern gaze over to treppie 8. "He's not eighteen and he's Balamb Garden's Chief Engineer! He may not be a genius by Kyle's standards, but he's obviously pretty smart."
"He's pretty cute too," Treppie 22 added. "Have you guys seen him?"
The crowd began debating the topic amongst themselves. Both 8 and 36 remained silent as they listened.
"What's there to discuss?" Treppie 14 stood up on the same bench with 36 and shouted. Everyone quieted after a moment. "I've been keeping an eye on him for a while now. He's good to her," He grinned. "His whole world revolves around her. He may not have officially joined our organization, but he is most definitely a treppie just like the rest of us. It is our duty to help and support him in any way that we can! Our Queen's happiness depends on it."
"I say we vote on it!" Treppie 8 shouted.
"Fine!" 14 agreed. "No Queen should be without a king!" He forced his fist up in the air. Treppie 8 watched numbly as the crowd shouted and cheered. "All those in favor of helping create the royal family say aye!" The response was a deafening cry of concur that could be heard faintly in the main hall outside.
Treppie 36 shot 8 a grin. "Better luck next time Kyle." He ignored her comment and crossed his arms.
In the main conference room, Seifer and Quistis reported their mission's details. Squall and Xu listened from their seats across the table.
"So how'd it go?" Xu asked.
Quistis frowned. "Not much better than last time. Shouldn't we be waiting for Cid?"
"Cid's not going to be here," Squall answered.
"Why?"
"He's transferring to Galbadia Garden for a few months. Squall's in charge now," Xu explained as she leaned on the table before her.
"Great," Seifer mumbled under his breath. Quistis elbowed him in the ribs.
Quistis looked up at Squall. "Really?"
Squall disregarded Seifer's comment and nodded to Quistis. "Can you continue you're report?"
"He didn't take it too well," Seifer laughed as he fell back in one of the chairs and kicked his feet up on the table.
Squall leaned forward on the table and raised an eyebrow. "Care to elaborate?"
Seifer rolled his eyes. "He got all ticked. His face turned redder than the raggedy outfit he was wearing."
"He didn't believe us at first," Quistis added. "He thought we were joking."
Xu leaned back in her chair. "He got ticked, as Seifer put it, when he realized you were serious?"
"Let's just say he isn't as peace-like and friendly as he likes to pretend to be," Seifer responded.
"He assured us that all of his engineers would be gone within the hour and then he dismissed us," Quistis crossed her arms.
"Dismissed you?" Xu asked as she looked over to where Squall sat beside her.
"Yeah, he said something along the lines of leave now," Seifer answered.
"That's not very diplomatic," Xu watched as Squall stood up and leaned against the conference table.
"Did he do anything to promote that kind of response?" Squall asked.
"Hey!" Seifer quickly rose from his seat in defense.
"Don't!" Quistis held up her hand to silence him. He narrowed his eyes at her and she returned the glare. Squall cleared his throat. Xu watched the situation with interest. "For once, Seifer actually did everything he was ordered and actually held up Balamb Garden's dignity during the brief talks. If either of us provoked him it was me." Seifer and Squall both looked at Quistis in surprise.
"So what did you say?" Xu asked as she chewed on the end of her pen.
"I merely defended the curriculum that I teach everyday and he took it personal, I guess," Quistis shrugged.
"And Seifer said nothing the entire time?" Squall asked.
"You got a real problem with me don't you," Seifer snapped.
"Quiet!" Quistis hissed through her teeth.
"I'm not going to just take this from him!"
"Given your record he's in the right to be suspicious of your behavior," Quistis argued. "Oh don't worry Squall, he spoke. He complained about Mayor Dobe the entire way there." She grinned. "We both did. The conditions there are even worse than the last time any of us set foot there. Its detestable. But once we were with the Mayor, Seifer attempted to make a mild joke about his bad knee being why he couldn't sit on the floor."
"You don't have a bad knee," Xu looked at Seifer.
"True," He agreed. "But Dobe didn't know that."
Squall shook his head.
"What?" Seifer asked.
"Cid said something about Nida leaving for Dollet in two days. I'm getting ready to give the order to move Garden to Timber. Is there any other place that needs our presence?" He looked from Quistis to Xu.
"Not unless Cid has some rendezvous with someone he hasn't told us about," Quistis answered.
"The only rendezvous Cid has is with the Galbadian Garden tomorrow morning at eight a.m."
"When did he decide to do this?" Seifer asked.
"Apparently this morning," Squall answered. "Seifer, Quistis, thanks for upholding Garden's integrity today. You're dismissed." He watched as they both quickly saluted and then returned the salute himself. Quistis walked past him but Seifer paused.
"So you're Headmaster Loire now?" He grimaced.
Squall shuddered involuntarily. "I hate that title."
"Which is why the commanding position of Balamb Garden has appropriately become Commander," Xu added and then followed Quistis out of the conference room.
In the third floor lobby...
"Squall got his promotion but what about Nida?" Quistis asked as she pressed the button for the elevator. .
"You know the risks Squall had to weigh. It was his job," Xu whispered.
"I know," Quistis answered as stepped inside the elevator.
"And did you hear the news?"
"What news?"
"Balamb Garden got its head engineer."
Quistis looked up quickly. "Did he?"
Xu grinned broadly. "He made chief!"