Gasp It's an update! I am scared to even make excuses for the amount of time I haven't updated this poor story. But I feel a little explanation is necessary. Basically, I've had a really hard semester and nearly lived at the library so considering I was writing papers for school every week and reading one 400 page book after another, I haven't had much time to do much of anything. I am hoping this coming semester isn't as intense. There are still a few chapters left to the story. Hehe, I am hoping most of you at least somewhat remember what happened in the last few chapters. This chapter is meant to bring everyone up-to-date on what all the characters are up to as well as set up for some action in the next. Enjoy! Let me know what you think!

Chapter 22

"Now dialing. Please enter your identification code." Anxiously looking at Zone and Watts, Rinoa dialed the five-digit password.

"Thank you. Now connecting. Please standby." C'mon, can't you connect any faster?

"You have reached Comm 702. Please state your name and destination," rang a monotonous computerized voice.

"Rinoa Heartilly. Comm 670."

"Rinoa Heartilly. Voice print confirmed. Now connecting. Authorization Code Brezner Alpha 2." Finally! Rinoa turned to the monitor as Colin Brezner's face slowly swam onto the screen. He appeared to be in his early to mid thirties, with serious brown eyes and thin lips that rarely curved into a shape of a smile.

"Ms. Heartilly. We don't have a lot of time. My agents can only keep this line secure for another five minutes at most. Please begin the transfer of tactical data as soon as possible."

"Colin, there's something we need to talk about. Don't…"

"Hold on…" Rinoa watched as a young woman with thin rimmed glasses slowly materialized on the screen. She anxiously spoke to Colin in a low undertone, waving around her slender arms. About thirty seconds later, Colin quickly turned back to the monitor.

"Rinoa, I have to go. Something just came up in the North Communications Tower. Begin the transfer immediately. I trust that all the tactical coordinates are listed in the report. We don't have any time to lose. My technicians will assist you if necessary. If I have any further questions, I will contact you again. "

"But…" It was pointless. Colin's picture disappeared off the screen and instead was replaced by a blue download bar. Colin, no! Rinoa looked at her friends in exasperation.

"Watts, try him again. He has to listen to me! We can't let him show up tomorrow."

Giving Rinoa an understanding look, Watts slid closer to the computer panel. For a moment the room was silent except for the low clicking sounds of the keyboard. Suddenly Watt's eyes widened in surprise.

"Rin, look here. There's something wrong with the download. It's stuck at 5%."

"What do you mean stuck?" Feeling an unpleasant ball forming at the back of her throat she approached the monitor. The blue download button was now flashing, the large white letters clearly reading 5 %.

"The signal must've faded. Let's call him back." Slightly shaking, she redialed the number.

"You have reached Comm 702. Please state your name and destination." Ugh, this again.

"Rinoa Heartilly. Comm 670."

"Voice print unknown. Access denied." What? Oh Hyne, this can't be! Feeling like she was going to be sick, she once again dialed the number.

"Voice print unknown. Access denied."

"Oh, Hyne. I can't get through to Colin. What now?"

"Try to relax." suggested Watts although his eyes looked dark.

" When Colin realizes the download never went through, he'll find away to call you back. He's probably just having a minor technical difficulty. The North Comm tower is probably down for a bit." Rinoa looked at him hopefully.

"How much of the tactical info did Colin receive before the download crashed?"

"None." Watt's face looked grim. "If I understand correctly," he continued, "the first 5 % of the data is composed of our authentication codes which assures the receiving party that the download originated from our base.

"Ok, I'll stay here a while longer and try to reach him. I don't think my father will notice I am gone if Seifer does his job. Take Zone with you and go make a copy of this." She took out a piece of white paper that had an ink imprint of a fairly large sized key. Watts raised his eyebrow, giving her a confused look.

"It opens the middle door in my father's prison. Courtesy of Mr. Almasy," she grinned.

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"Have you received Ms. Heartilly's report?" asked Colin Brezner taking his eyes off the computer screen for a minute.

"We have, sir. Caraway's men are staking out the Tomb of the Unknown King. In addition, a fully equipped Galbadian warship will be stationed on the other side of the Tomb to cut off our escape."

"Alternate landing spot?"

"Yes, sir. Ms. Heartilly is proposing that we land in a small cove 30 miles outside of Deling City. Although it's secluded, it is far from being safe. However, Ms. Heartilly assures us that the danger will be greatly reduced considering that all of Caraway's forces will be stationed miles away. Before they realize what's going on, we'll be long gone."

"Have you cleared it with our tactical officers?"

"I have, sir. It is the only feasible alternative."

"Very well, then. Let's get started."

"Right away, sir."

"I want everything ready to go no later than 6:00 hours tomorrow morning."

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After overseeing that all preparations were made to his satisfaction, Seifer decided to go see Rinoa under the pretense that he was retiring for the night in order to be ready for the big mission in the morning. Nothing like a little rest before a big mission he thought to himself as he knocked lightly on Rinoa's door. She opened it immediately, her tired, bloodshot eyes looking at him with utmost distress.

"Oh Hyne, Seifer!" He quickly closed the door with his foot and embraced her tightly, sensing the tension that coursed through her entire body.

"What's wrong, angel?'

"Colin never got the new coordinates. Something is wrong with the communication signal, and I can't get through to him. He is gonna walk right into my father's trap and get killed and the whole resistance movement will be destroyed and..and it will all be my fault!" She started sobbing.

"Whoa, slow down. Colin won't risk landing at the original spot unless he has confirmation from you that it's safe."

"What other choice does he have? He never thought father would go through with this mission. And even if he thought that father would try to prevent the transfer, he has no idea about the magnitude of his forces. Even if he succeeds taking out the land forces in the Tomb of the Unknown King, he has no idea my father also has a fully loaded warship waiting just minutes away. He'll never get out of there without being captured or killed. Either way the resistance will never recover from such a blow." She sank down to the bed and buried her head in the pillow. Stop crying… just stop crying… Didn't she realize that a leader couldn't just break down and cry when something didn't go as planned? You don't show weakness even if it does seem like everything is falling part. You reassess, make the necessary adjustments and keep going. But you NEVER give up!

"Rin, stop crying. You have to keep your mind clear. Don't dwell on what you can't do, focus on what is still to be done." She looked up at him through her tears, meeting his confident gaze. "Think about this. Considering that Colin never got a direct confirmation from you that the original landing spot was safe, most likely he will reach the same solution that you have. The cove 30 miles southwest of Deling is the only other alternative. He'd be foolish not to take it. Assuming he reaches that conclusion, all will still go according to our plan. If he decides to stick to the original plan, there is nothing more we can do right now. We don't have enough men or equipment to come to Colin's aid should he be foolish enough to choose the latter course."

"That's it? Sit here and do nothing? That's your brilliant idea?" She looked at him indignantly, the anger drying her tears. Seifer cringed. That was a low blow. Didn't she realize how much he hated feeling helpless? Feeling like he wasn't in control… But what could he do? The wheels had already been set in motion. It wasn't in his nature to think ahead, to consider all the possible things that could go wrong. Seifer Almasy thought on his feet.

"If tomorrow, Colin does show up at the Tomb of the Unknown King, I will do everything in my power to make sure he gets out of there alive even if it means blowing my cover. Remember, Caraway did put his men under my control. "

"You'd risk your life for this?" For a moment Seifer remained silent, then looking into her eyes he said with a smug smile, "Have I ever let you down, angel?"

"You know, you're impossible!" She smiled.

"Yeh… what would you do without me?" It looked like he had won again.

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Finishing polishing the barrel of his semiautomatic gun, Kona carefully placed it in his gunbelt that was partially concealed by a tight-fitting black jacket. He looked menacing, clad completely in black, the blue claw earring giving off an eerie glow. Anxiously glancing at the clock, he pressed a small red button on the corner of the desk. A minute later there was a light knock on the door.

"Hey, Kona."

"Jed, it's 5 a.m. Make sure the assault boats are ready to go by 6."

"Kona.. I was thinking… Is this really necessary?

"What's wrong with you, Jed? You know as well as I do that this is the only way. "

"But what if it's not? Are you prepared to go against everything you believe in?"

"Go against everything I believe in?! I don't believe in anything anymore!

"But what about our cause, Kona?"

He laughed demonically. "But what about our cause, Kona?" he mocked, "You make me sick. Haven't enough people died for our cause yet? Vin is gone.. Nic is gone… Sirun…. How many more of our friends must be sacrificed before we start fighting back? I am not feeding Joshua and Laine to these dogs if it's the last thing I do! By the time Caraway sorts this mess out, he'll be dead and Joshua and Laine will be free.

"Do you honestly think that Joshua and Laine would want to be freed if they knew the price you paid for their freedom? You've changed, man. I know you are still upset about Sirun, but she is dead, Kona. We still need you in this world. Don't let revenge consume you. What about that girl you went out with the other night? Isn't she worth something to you?"

"Don't you dare compare Sirun to Fujin! You don't know anything about it!" Anger boiling over in him, he struck Jed across the face. Blood slowly trickled out of his nose.

"Look at what you've become, Kona. You're a monster… you're not any better than them now…"
"If you want out, I won't stop you." His voice was hollow and calm.

"The assault boats will be ready by 6. I won't abandon you, Kona. Not like this. I just hope you realize what you're doing before it's too late."

"Thank you," he whispered.

(TO BE CONTINUED) soon… I've already started the next chapter. I'll be going out of town for a few days in early January but hopefully I can release a couple of more chapters before school starts again. Thanks for your patience, everyone! Thank you for such a nice review, Almasy Angel. This chapter is dedicated to you!