This is sort of pre-Clessie. The tale of FFVII's beginning, from Jessie's pov.Which means it doesn't go very far. The narrative will end with the blackout
of a crushing weight of building parts on her and not hint at whether she
survived or not. That's for the 'what-if' stories to do. And keeps it 'cannon'
for those who insist on that sort of thing. Even though I'm going to be making
all of this shit up as no one really knows what went on inside her head during
all that.

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Chapter one - Jessie's Tale

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Jessie pushed back an errant lock of hair again, as she regarded her currentproject with pride.

Not bad for my first bomb. I didn't think it would be this easy!

A little more, and it would be done. Just in time, too. The smaller charges
were already done and waiting, but this big boy needed a more delicate touch
to make sure all the odd components worked properly.

I hope I got the calculations right on that distributor feed for the mako. The
instructions were a bit fuzzy on it... I know I checked myself five times...
but... I can't help but remember what mom said about never second guessing
yourself, since your first instinctive answer is usually right.

Three screws later, some tape - and it was done.
Whew. Finally. This baby is ready to rock! I'm so happy!

Finally Jessie felt she was doing her part in the group. She didn't count the
ID's. Those were childs play, anyone could do that. And the light hacking to
find schedules and maps... that wasn't hard either. Someone else could have
done that. But she knew that none of the others could have gone through the
complex instructions that had been left for them. Barret wasn't that good
with fine repairs, and both Biggs and Wedge were hopless at any calculations
higher than how to rip off merchants, or order a meal. Tifa had her bar to
run, and that left her.

Not that I gave them much choice... Practically pounced on those plans when
Barret brought them out.

Jessie laughed to herself at the memory. Barret had just about lost his good
hand when she'd snatched the papers up from the table. It had just looked so
challenging. And goodness knows, she could never resist a challenge.

Well, I got everything done on time, just like I said I would. Hours earlier than
Biggs bet me, too.
Jessie smiled in wry amusement. He was just going to have to buy her drinks
for the next week, and never mind his grumbling.

Not too long now, and the group would get together to hammer out the final
details. They were expecting that mystery freind of Tifa's any time now.
Hopefully he'd be of some use.

Hm, wonder if he's cute.

Jessie giggled to herself a little at the thought.

Wouldn't it just frost Tifa if her freind and me hit it off?

Her smile trailed off. Not that it mattered. No one would take a second look
at her anyway. No one worth talking to, anyway. Especially with someone as
vibrant as Tifa to compare her to.

Jessie firmly pushed those self defeating thoughts aside, and refocused on
the task at hand. No point in worrying about needless things. Plenty of good
things in life. Like successfully finishing a complicated project!

She fussed about her workspace a bit, putting all the little components back
in their spots. Checked the news to make sure there were no more rumors
about terrorist groups again, and turned back to her computer for a bit
before the meeting.
Jessie started tapping away at a string of code she was working on, and
mused about Barret's big mouth. Wedge was almost as bad... but few people
believed it when HE spoke about blowing things up.

Dammit, Barret. And this is why Tifa won't let you get drunk anymore. Last
time you got drunk, you went out and beat up a batch of poor ShinRa guards,
and yelled at them that AVALANCHE was gonna make them pay. I can't
believe it actually made the news. We couldn't meet for a month after that,
too risky. I hope they've forgotten about that by now...

Jessie looked up, as the pinball machine lowered down to her hidden
workroom. Well, to be honest it wasn't really HER workroom... it was the
group's meeting spot and she was allowed to keep all her delicate projects
here so it could be worked on in secret. Her little hole of an apartment,
shared with her buds Biggs and Wedge was hardly what you'd call 'private'.
Especially not with half the neighborhood in and out of there on a daily basis.

At least I've convinced most of them that I'm a harmless computer gamer.
Who'd guess that the 25th top player on ShinRa-Online's forums is also one
of ShinRa's main opponants. Yeah. I'd never buy that either.

Wedge stepped off the platform and waved morosely to Jessie, who waved
back cheerfully. Biggs slid down the open area to hop down nearby. He nodded
sedately and sauntered over to his spot in the room.

Looks like the meeting was about to begin. Good.
Let's get this started. I'm so itchy, I can't tell if I'm nervous or excited. Wow!
I'm going to have to spend some extra time practicing my kicks on the
dummy tonight to wind down!

She stifled another giggle and smiled brightly as the pinball machine made its
stately way back down again. Barret stepped off and yelled back up the
opening.

"Yo! Tifa! Hurry it up, will ya? Them bums can just wait! C'mon!"
Downright polite tonight. He must be in a good mood.

She couldn't help it. Jessie laughed outright as Tifa stuck her head over the
opening.
"You can just wait a moment too, mister. I've got a few things left to do up
here and I'll be right down. Businesses don't just run themselves, you know."
Tifa quirked a smile as she playfully shook her finger at Barret. She
disappeared a few moments before the platform finished settling back in it's
place upstairs.

Barret grumbled to himself as he wandered around, kicking things. Biggs just
shook his head and leaned back against the wall. Wedge seemed lost in
thought. Not much bothered him.

A few moments later, the platform creaked down one last time. Tifa and
little Marlene stepped off. Marlene skipped over to Barret and threw her
arms up in the universal child language for UP!
Barret obliged with a grin, and swung the little girl up on his broad shoulder.
Then he took one step up to the big table and banged his gun arm down on it,
making Marlene bounce and giggle in the process.

"Listen up! We got a big job ahead. Our most important job so far! Don't be
messin' up! Tifa says her freind is rollin' into town tomorrow. We'll be waitin'
for him, and go straight to work. No time to lose! The planet is dyin' more
each minute!
Now, here's our plans," he tapped the mapped out route from the train
station to the reactor forcefully, like they hadn't all memorized it by now,
"Y'all know where you're goin' and what you're doin', or at least - you'd better
by now! Don' want any fuckups this time, ya hear me?"

The group nodded. Wedge grimaced in embarrassment.

"Right, now le's go over the checklist we got. Says here checklists are
important in a big operation."
Barret hunched over the paper with the instructions on it, and read off
everybody's roles. As he went down the list, each person involved nodded and
affirmed they had it down.

"Tha's the list then. 'Bout time to get this show on the road. Ain't no
stopping us now!" Barret raised his gun arm in the air and waved it around to
accentuate his point. Marlene laughed and hung on tight.
"Huh. Well, I'll meet up with you slackers at the train tomorrow. Better not be
late, or else!"
He stepped back from the table, meeting concluded in his own abrupt way.

"What about me, Papa?" The sweet piping voice made everyone smile, even
Biggs.

"Aw, baby. You got the biggest job. You get to help Tifa make sure no one
sneaks into our secret base and runs off with anything. You c'n do that,
right?" Barret smiled at his little cherub, and carried her over to the
platform as she nodded enthusiastically.

"Yup! I'm a good helper!" Marlene giggled, and kicked her feet against Barret's
chest. Everyone smiled indulgently at the girl. And each hoped that they'd be
back to see her again after the job.

"Well, that's it then." Tifa took charge, and tried to wrap things up. "I'll see
you guys after it's done. Please be careful."

Barret scowled back at Tifa as he stepped onto the platform.
"Much as we can. Dammit, it'll be worth it if we can just get those damned
Reactors shut down."
The platform rose, relieving the rest of the group of Barret's unending
speeches about the fate of the planet. Not that they didn't care. They did, a
lot! Just... it got a little old, hearing him harp on it constantly.

Jessie shut down her computer carefully, and ran up to Tifa for a quick hug
before hopping on the platform with Biggs.
Wow. Tomorrow. It all starts at the train. I'm ready! I know I am. I can fight
as good as anyone around here, and we'll finally be doing something to help
the planet! - Oh! I've got to calm down. Need to get my sleep tonight.

Wedge caught up with Jessie and Biggs as they walked slowly towards the
weapons shop. It was a short walk home, but they'd still have to watch out
for trouble.

"Hey guys, you ever think we'd get this far? I mean, we're actually going to do
something! Who would have thunk it. The rest of our mates would be proud,
huh?" Wedge stared off into the distance, as they all took a moment to
remember their only family. The recent war had left a good few orphans in
the slums. A bunch of them had grouped together in their own little gang and
taken care of each other. Most of them were dead now, or moved away when
they could. Only the three of them were left.

Jessie nodded slowly. "Yeah, Wedge. They'd be proud to see us taking ShinRa
down a peg. You know it. Now let's get home and rest up for tomorrow. And
don't forget to set your alarm this time, Biggs! I can't be waking you up every
time!" Jessie laughed, and poked Biggs in the arm as she skipped on past.
Home was in sight. The ragtag trio entered the falling down shack with the
red bandana tied to the doorknob. No place like home, even if it was trash by
other people's standards.