Auron stood on the deck of the headquarters barge as the sun was rising and cleared his mind, standing relaxed with his eyes closed, arms loose at his sides, dressed only in a pair of soft pants and short boots, his sword belted on his back. The rising sun glinted off his muscles and revealed a number of scars crisscrossing his back and arms, most gained during the three years he was in the Crusaders. Watching him from the top of the building were four young Al Bed, boys barely into their teens, who whispered to each other in wonder, thinking themselves concealed from the Bevelle man.
Without opening his eyes, he began a series of unarmed fighting moves, slowly increasing the speed with each series of kicks, blocks and punches, until it was nearly impossible to distinguish separate moves. Eventually, Auron extended one high block into a reach behind his head, drawing his sword in one continuous motion, bringing it straight down in front of him to a point microscopically missing the deck.
The boys, unused to the type of fighting in which Auron was adept, gasped at its sudden appearance in Auron's hands. They crouched with eyes wide and mouths hanging open as Auron, his eyes still closed, continued his kata by just as quickly whipping it to the left and upwards in a move guaranteed to gut any one facing him, ending the cut by turning his wrist to put the blade in a blocking position. Stepping smoothly forward, he swept his blade out with a lightning fast stab, then pulled his hands back and to the left, dropping the tip of the blade down to block a foe's strike and drive the blade out of line, following through with an upward slice designed to take off an arm, or claw.
Auron continued the slash and block combinations for several minutes, adding vicious kicks and punches, some using his fist or elbow, some using the hilt of his sword. He worked his way across the deck, then turning, moved back until finally he stepped forward into a rapid set of slashes, advancing with each sequence of left and right cuts, until he again raised his blade in a two handed grip and brought it down with blinding speed towards Braska, as his friend stepped out through the conference room door onto the deck.
Braska raised his eyebrows and smiled as the sword halted a hairs breath from his forehead; he was used to Auron's skill, and warped sense of humor.
Sudden gasps and muffled cries of alarm came from the group of teens, but Auron just swept the blade back up, and suddenly, the sword was sheathed. He remained standing for a moment as he had begun, eyes still shut, as they had been through the entire kata. The boys whispered together for a moment, but then one moved quickly away from the edge and disappeared towards the ladder on the far side of the building.
"You must be feeling well this morning, my friend," Braska chuckled. "It's already getting warm, and if I have to sit inside all day again I need some exercise first." He walked past Auron, who had taken his sword and belt off and was wiping the smooth leather dry before laying it on the deck, and patted Auron's shoulder before stripping his own shirt off before beginning an unarmed kata to warm muscles stiffened by several days without workouts. When he was ready he called out to Auron, who was moving in slow stretches with a towel around his neck.
"I found a couple staffs we can work with – they're on the floor inside the door." Braska moved into a series of fast jabs and blocks as Auron stepped into the conference room and picked up the makeshift bo's; two smooth poles of sturdy wood, about six feet long and a little more than an inch thick.
Balancing each for a moment on one hand, Auron grunted with approval. Stepping outside, he walked forward and suddenly lofted one bo to Braska, who spun and caught it gracefully and stepped sideways, spinning it into an overhead block to meet Auron's downward attack, sliding into a return strike smoothly.
They worked their way across the deck, blocking, swinging, spinning, and thrusting, all at blinding speed and full force. The movements like some lethal dance, with the shocks of bo meeting bo echoing across the deck.
"Damn!" Cid muttered in Al Bhed, watching them through the conference room window. "I never thought a stick could be a weapon like that…" He watched as Braska swept Auron's feet out from under him, and Auron repaid that move by foot sweeping Braska, both somersaulted back to their feet and resumed circling, each looking for another opening.
"Good thing they didn't resist the other night – we might have lost men," Aja muttered. "I wouldn't want to face those sticks." He winced as Braska landed a solid hit to Auron's thigh, taking him to one knee, than winced again as Auron retaliated by knocking Braska's bo sideways and clipping him in the side as he spun past, then dodging back as Braska counter attacked. "DAMN, they're fast!"
"You heard what Bruki said, about the Guardian's sword workout… said he did the entire thing with his eyes shut too. I'd like to take a look at that myself," Cid admitted, watching as they fought back and forth across the deck for several minutes, any number of moves potentially lethal. "Fool kid was scared spitless about that last strike, he thought the Ambassador was going to be killed." Cid watched as the two suddenly ended the battle, grounding the bo's on the deck with a low bow to each other.
"Show me that overhead block – strike combination you did," Auron requested as they walked back towards the building, rubbing a bruise on his shoulder with a grimace; Braska had slid a strike through his guard and connected solidly. "That's new."
Braska grinned, then moved slowly through the complicated move as they walked, showing Auron how he had gotten through by teasing his block out of position.
Auron shook his head ruefully, and put his arm across Braska's shoulder as they neared the doorway. "I'll be ready for it next time you know…" he grinned, ruffling Braska's hair as he reached to grab his towel off the deck.
"Sure you will! You think I won't have something new by the time you figure out the counter for that one?" Braska laughed, as he picked up his shirt, having enjoyed the workout – the first good one they'd had since Auron's ribs had been injured during the storm. Cid had returned Auron's sword yesterday, after breakfast, but they'd had no time to work out till now.
Standing up with his towel, Auron looked calmly over to where Cid was standing, just outside the door, Aja beside him. He bowed politely, picked up his sword, and walked over to lean the bo against the wall of the building
Braska leaned his staff beside Auron's, accepting another towel to dry his hair before he bowed politely to Cid. "We didn't disturb you with our workout, did we?" he asked politely, sliding his shirt back on. Cid saw that Braska had his share of scars, more than he'd expected a priest to have, and he wondered where Braska had gotten them. The young priest had obviously had extensive training in temple law, and was a good negotiator, not skills usually compatible with weapon's training – either one was a full time job.
"Not at all, although you apparently put on quite a show; enough to keep some people from their morning chores," Cid said, raising his voice at the end – and hiding a smile when he heard guilty gasps and a scrambling for the ladder. "You are welcome on the deck whenever you wish to use it." He looked over at the sticks the two had been fighting with, and picked up one to examine it, attempting a simple strike such as he'd seen the two perform so expertly. "Looks easier than it is, I guess," he admitted ruefully when all he accomplished was a bash in the shins.
"Braska is the expert with those," Auron admitted as he pulled a sleeveless shirt on. "I prefer swords, he runs me in circles when we spar with the bo." He pulled the sword belt on over his head and adjusted it into its accustomed position. Cid noted that Braska didn't disagree with that comment.
"How are your ribs?" Braska asked Auron as he finished pulling his hair into a neat tail. "I took it easy on you since you seemed to be moving a little stiffly." He turned at Cid's snort of disbelief. "Auron cracked three ribs during the storm on our way here from Bevelle; I don't think they're fully healed yet." Braska decided to try another healing spell when they got back to their room; he'd succeeded in gaining the aeons of Ifrit and Ixion during his short Journey, but he'd never gotten very good at spell casting, and he wished he could at least cast the healing spells reliably. Auron thought his lack of success was because he thought more like a fighter than a mage, and his magic would continue to be blocked until he could change his focus.
"Are you gentlemen interested in viewing the excavation today?" Cid asked, knowing they would be after all the discussion yesterday. "We've set up the submersible, and we can take you down after breakfast." He gestured towards the barge beside theirs where a number of workers were hooking cables onto a large rounded object resting in a sort of cradle on the deck.
Braska nodded, "I would appreciate that – it would be nice to see what you are working on." They walked with Cid down a wide hallway towards the residential section of the headquarters building, Aja following behind, and stopped outside the door of their room. "Let us clean up a bit, and we will join you in the cafeteria?" Cid and Aja nodded assent and continued down the hall.
"…with his eyes closed!" Leyona heard as she set her tray on the table beside her brother. "And then they fought with sticks!" The group of excited children at the table next to them grew as more arrived for breakfast and heard of the story told by Bruki and his friends. Other older Al Bhed at nearby tables listened intently to the tale and watched as a boy stood up and demonstrated one of Auron's moves, nearly upsetting the trays full of food a couple late arrivals carried.
"What's that all about," Leyona gestured at the children, who were now plotting ways to get sticks or swords of their own.
"Our guests put on a little show this morning," Cid grunted, sipping his hot caff. "Apparently Aja was right, they are dangerous." He hadn't thought Auron's sword was for display, but he hadn't expected skill of that level, and he'd not had any expectations as to Braska's abilities – his previous experiences with priests of Yevon had left him unimpressed.
"We'll just have to make sure they're our friends, won't we?" Leyona murmured, watching as Braska entered the cafeteria, followed by Auron. A sudden silence fell over the youngsters as they turned to watch with awe.
"There they are, over near the window," Braska motioned with his free hand, as they searched the room for Cid and Aja. The other held a tray with a plate loaded with food, and a glass and cup for the juice and caff provided in carafes on each table. They moved carefully between the tables, stifling smiles as they passed the table full of wide eyed youngsters. Apparently, their morning workout was a hot topic at breakfast.
"Good morning. Please join us," Leyona murmured as Braska and Auron reached the table. They bowed, then sat and began to taste the unfamiliar offerings on their trays. "Do you like the beans? It is a traditional recipe among our people," she asked with a smile. "It may be a bit spicier than you are accustomed to," she warned belatedly, as they both suddenly reached for their juice with watering eyes.
"Not so tough now," Aja laughed, amused at their shocked expressions. He was finished with his meal and was sipping caff. Auron glanced at him, and lifted a second spoon full of the hot bean mixture with a look of determination. Braska merely lifted an eyebrow as he chewed another bite, wincing slightly at the burning in his mouth. Cid and Leyona chuckled, and turned their attention to their own food.
"Was breakfast to your liking?" Aja asked casually, as the diplomat finished eating.
"Yes, it was all quite tasty," Braska admitted. "The spice was just a little unexpected, however." He leaned back in his chair, enjoying the last of his caff, amused at the little joke his hosts had played on them.
The large metal submersible swayed slightly in the breeze as it was lifted into a cradle on the deck, the thick cable making ominous creaking sounds as it moved in the connecting pulleys. They turned as someone in a small group of Al Bhed walking across the deck towards them called a greeting, and they realized one was familiar.
"My friends, I am pleased you arrived safely! I was concerned for you; the news on Baaj was very distressing!" Rin cried out with relief, and reached out to grasp first Braska's then Auron's arms in enthusiastic greeting. "I was told at the temple you had disappeared, and were presumed lost at sea!"
Braska winced slightly, realizing their subterfuge of not understanding Al Bhed was over. "It was a difficult trip, but we thought it was necessary to leave the island – High Priest Balamus had sent men to prevent us from going when you returned and we thought it best to avoid conflict by leaving early." He looked aside at Cid as he responded, to catch his startled reaction. Cid narrowed his eyes as he considered which conversations Braska may have overheard in Al Bhed. Braska held his gaze and made a small bow of apology, stepping closer to Cid as Auron drew Rin to one side.
"So, you do understand Al Bhed," Cid growled. "Rin said he had taught you, but you spoke it so badly, I assumed he had overstated your fluency." He snorted, disgusted with himself for being outmaneuvered by a priest.
"Forgive me Cid, it was necessary to know your intentions towards us before we told you - I believed it would be safer if you did not know the extent of our knowledge until we knew each other better." Braska bowed deeply to the Al Bhed leader. He had planned on telling Cid later in the day, when the discussions with the other council members began again, but it was no longer a secret now. Cid waved the apology away, since he would have done the same in Braska's place.
"Will you tell me the truth concerning your reasons for leaving the island now?" Cid asked, admitting he knew there was more to the story than they'd told him. "I'm sure it was not quite as uneventful as you described." Braska nodded glumly, not looking forward to it.
Rin had been talking to Auron during Braska and Cid's conversation, and they turned back to the others in time to hear Rin deliver good news.
"I was able to bring your belongings, with the help of a friend of yours, an elderly man named Tomi," Rin announced happily. "He was able to tell me what had happened to you, when the High Priest denied all knowledge of your whereabouts. He assured me you were in good health, and asked me to pass on a message; I will try to say this as he did." Rin switched to common for a moment. "The lady no longer walks the halls; I look forward to hearing what she had to say when you return." He looked at Braska, and asked, "The gentleman also asked me to give you a book, and said it was what you needed to know. Does this make sense to you, sir?"
Braska bowed his gratitude to Rin and admitted that it did indeed make sense. "I will look at the book later, please leave it with our luggage?" Rin agreed happily and left to oversee the unloading of the supply ship.
"Tomi passed on some news about what Balamus is up to," Auron told Braska a few minutes later, while they waited to board the submersible. Cid had stepped away to speak with the crew. "Balamus had his men searching the island the rest of the night after we left, and they did indeed find our 'gift', apparently highly upset by the time they got him down. Balamus has to have assumed we reached here, and will have begun an effort to discredit us with the Council of Maesters. We will need to send a report of our own as soon as possible, to offset his."
"Maester Mica knows the truth concerning High Priest Balamus and his version will not likely be believed." Braska nodded though, understanding Auron's point, "It's troubling that he felt certain enough of his power to attack us as openly as he did. I think we need to go back for another talk with Tomi, soon."
"We are ready to board – be careful on the ladder and watch your heads," Cid announced, directing Braska and Auron onto the submersible, which was now cradled in a frame on the deck. Auron frowned, not liking the idea of riding in a machina, but Braska frowned back at him and he subsided. They climbed carefully in and found themselves in a surprisingly roomy space. Rows of seats were fixed to the floor, one on each side of a narrow aisle, enough to seat six passengers, with two more seats up front for the pilots. A large portal in front of the craft, and a smaller one beside each seat, would allow a view outside once they entered the water. A pilot was already in place in one of the front seats, and Cid went up to join him. "Seat yourselves, and put on the belts," he advised. "Things can get a little rough when we're dropped into the water."
Braska and Auron strapped into the seats behind the pilots and the launch crew began to close the hatch, but it reopened to allow Leyona to scramble in. Leyona leaned forward past Auron to hiss at Cid, "The supplies we received didn't match the invoices - that bastard priest pulled a switch on us!" She then settled back into a seat behind Auron. She turned to smile at Braska and switched to common. "We had a problem with the supplies, and it delayed me. Sorry to keep you waiting!"
Cid frowned at his sister, and began his guided tour of the operation as the submersible was placed into the water and the cable was released. The craft lowered is nose and began to sink towards the ocean floor, a small motor driving a propeller on each side. "You see the lights below us?" he asked, pointing out the front portal. "Those portables are set up around the area we are currently working on. If you look over to the left, you'll see something truly amazing," Cid said smugly, proud of his crew's accomplishments. The submersible swung obediently to the left to reveal a large transparent dome, nearly a hundred feet in diameter, filled with air. Temporary living quarters for the divers had been set up on one side, and a large pool of water, open to the outer ocean, was located in the center of the floor; several divers exited the dome and swam to the excavation as they watched. "It took us nearly a month to seal the dome and fill it with air, but it lets us keep a crew down here working twenty four hours a day without having to shuttle them back and forth." The submersible turned to glide slowly over the area being worked, allowing the fascinated passengers a view of what was apparently a huge ocean going vessel, lying on its side on the ocean floor, its hull broken across a ridge of rocks. A large cone, a duplicate of the one already brought up, was in the process of being tied into a webbing of heavy cables in preparation for lifting it to the surface. "We've also found a number of smaller items which we store in the dome until we can bring them up in a cargo net connected to this submersible. We'll be going to the dome now, and I will show you some of them." Cid told the pilot to take them in, and Braska watched with fascination as they dove under the edge of the dome and rose towards the surface of the pool.
Auron was beginning to look uncomfortable and Leyona turned to speak with him. "Are you alright, Sir Auron?"
"I don't like being under all this water," he mumbled, not happy with any part of the current situation. "What happens if fiends attack? We wouldn't be able to fight!" Auron flinched as the submersible reached the surface with a rush of displaced water, jarring them in their seats, and drifted slowly towards a dock on the side opposite the excavation. Leyona looked at him in astonishment, since he had answered in clear Al Bhed. She looked at Cid with raised eyebrows, but he responded by shaking his head – she was going to have to wait for her answer.
"Be careful climbing out, it is going to be wet, and the dock will be slick," Cid instructed his guests.
Braska and Auron climbed out and looked about with astonishment. Ocean life such as they had never seen before swam past them on the other side of the clear dome. Seaweeds waved in a slight current, bright fish flickered past in large schools and dove over colorful coral outcroppings. Their eyes followed a line of rocks outwards from the dome, a continuation of those the large ship lay broken across, and their eyes widened in shock; hundreds of wrecked ships of many sizes lay torn and in pieces scattered on the ocean floor, visible in the lights hung on lines off the bottoms of the barges floating high above.
"What happened here?" Braska breathed in shock, having trouble grasping the sheer scale of destruction the debris field represented. "What did this?" He spoke in common; his Al Bhed had failed him as he stared out at the wreckage.
"We found a record telling of one of the last big battles of the war, and we were able to narrow it down to this general area. It took months of searching with the submersible, but we finally found it. That is the Bevelle navy, or what is left of it. Sin did this."
It was early evening and the moon was rising invisibly somewhere above the glaring flood lights. Braska stood on the edge of the headquarters barge, leaning against the tall railing in the shadow of a crane, with Auron sitting in a patch of light on the nearby base sharpening his sword. The view of the black ocean matched his mood; he'd come out here to think, and had ended up brooding about the meeting that had lasted most of the afternoon instead. All those ships, and the lives lost, forgotten on the ocean floor until an Al Bhed scholar had found ancient records in a ruin.
Braska sighed and rested his forehead on his arms, weary after a full afternoon of discussions with the Al Bhed council. Cid had told of the discovery of the wreckage, and of finding and repairing the dome, left there by a previous salvage attempt nearly eight hundred years ago. He'd detailed the problems involved in underwater salvage - the risks the divers faced daily, the depth and chill of the water, the dangers from the frequent attacks by fiends, collapsing bulkheads, debris knocked loose…it was a wonder anything had been accomplished at all. Then he explained what they hoped to accomplish – the destruction of Sin. Braska wondered if their efforts were going to make any difference in the end – whatever weapons the ancient ships had once carried had been unable to destroy Sin, so why were the Al Bhed so convinced they would work now? He wasn't sure they would, but he'd agreed that the hope was worth working towards.
The problem was going to be how to implement the plan without starting open warfare between the different factions in the Temple and the Al Bhed. Braska had tried to explain the political situation in Bevelle, and the problems factions from the other temples presented, but he wasn't sure they had understood – there was so much he couldn't tell them... Braska thought this was probably Spira's last hope, since he'd learned of the deception about the final aeon, but he was beginning to believe that this wasn't going to work either. If the church was involved in the reconstruction of the machina weapons, the people would have their faith shaken; the Teachings forbid the use of these types of machina, for good reason he thought sadly.
"You were awfully quiet tonight at dinner," a soft alto voice spoke out of the darkness as Leyona walked up to lean on the rail beside him. She stood for a long minute staring out into the darkness, waiting for him to answer. "You might have told me you spoke my language," she continued in a slightly hurt tone of voice, turning to look at him.
"I am sorry; it seemed like the prudent thing to do at the time. We weren't sure of the situation here and felt it would be safer," Braska answered softly. "It was not my intention to deceive you."
"You seem disturbed. Is there anything I can do to help?" she said, laying one slender hand beside his on the rail.
"No, not disturbed, not exactly anyway, more discouraged I guess." Braska turned to face her, still leaning against the rail, gazing out across the gap between the headquarters barge and the barge where a crew of mechanics were servicing the submersible. "I just can't believe that the machina weapons are going to make a difference. All my life I have dreamed of a permanent 'calm', and I had hoped the things you were finding here would make it possible. But now…" he sighed, shaking his head. "I just don't know…"
Leyona leaned closer and put her hand on his shoulder; looking into his eyes, bothered at seeing him so gloomy. "I believe what we are doing will make a difference. We want Sin destroyed as much as anyone in Spira, and we are willing to work to achieve this. We have pledged to destroy Sin, and will keep trying until we do." Braska looked at her as she spoke, hearing the conviction in her voice, but didn't answer. He was reaching up to touch her hand as the screams began.
Auron jerked his head up and turned towards the other barge where the submersible sat. A huge tentacle was reaching towards it, a second held one of the Al Bhed crew; his screams were what they'd heard. Gunfire erupted as guards ran onto the deck and began firing, but the bullets went right through the rubbery flesh without causing much damage. Another tentacle reached out of the water and wrapped itself around the leg of a nearby light tower and the metal bent with a sharp sound. A fourth, then a fifth tentacle came out of the darkness, sweeping several men into the water and slamming one into the side of the submersible, where he lay unmoving, then plucked a man out of the water and thrust him screaming into its jaws before he could be saved.
The tower leg bent further as another suckered tentacle shot up to grab it, and the leg snapped under the weight of the monster with a terrible crash, making the tower lean dangerously towards the submersible. Two more arms arose out of the water, and the fiend heaved again, the main body of the creature sliding onto the deck, its tentacles stretching out to grab whatever was within its reach. It looked vaguely like an armored squid, if squids were fifty feet long, with over half that length eight thick tentacles; heavily armored scales protected the body. Large jaws snapped as the Al Bhed sent bullet after bullet into its deadly arms and ricocheting off the scales. More men ran up, and they positioned themselves around it and began firing continuously, trying to drive it away from the submersible. Sharp explosions split the night as the Al Bhed finally began to throw grenades at the fiend, shaking the submersible, but having almost no effect on the monster.
"Leyona, get inside," Braska ordered abruptly. "Call your people off - your weapons aren't working! Auron and I are going to have to try – move everyone back, we need room to fight!"
She looked at him in confusion, but he pushed her towards the door into the building and moved towards the fiend, crossing the bridge linking the barges at a run with Auron beside him. Almost immediately, Cid's voice rang out over a loud speaker, telling everyone to pull back. The firing died out as the men reluctantly obeyed.
"You're sure about this?" Auron asked as they ran towards the monster. They had intended to keep Braska's summoning abilities a secret, but the submersible was essential to the operation, and people were dying as they tried to save it. The cable holding the submersible was beginning to pull loose from the crane, and the fiend had just wrapped another tentacle around the tower, making it lean even further. If the tower came down, the submersible was finished.
Auron ran forward, bringing his sword down across one of the tentacles holding the tower, cutting a long gash in it and forcing the monster to pull it back. He swung again at a second tentacle as it reached towards him, and the fiend released the tower, thrashing its tentacles in an attempt to grab Auron. He ducked, slashed, and backed up, staying just out of reach, dashing forward whenever he had an opportunity to slash another tentacle, but always working to lure the monster away from the submersible. Finally, he had drawn the creature far enough away and he took up a position slightly behind Braska.
Braska stood with his eyes closed, legs slightly spread, his right hand held out shoulder height in front of him as if holding an invisible staff. He opened his eyes, and swept his arm outwards like he was brushing something aside. "Ifrit, I summon you – your strength is needed." A huge red glyph suddenly glowed around Braska's feet, and a loud rumble shook the barge as a tremendous explosion of fire burst forth. A sphere of blinding flame appeared in front of him, making everyone cover their eyes; when they were able to see, an incredible sight awaited them. Ifrit stood on the deck, with Braska facing him, one hand raised to greet the aeon. "Save the machina," Braska asked softly, and backed up to stand near Auron.
Ifrit jumped into the air as the monster swung a tentacle at this new prey, and landed on the monsters back with a roar of rage. He dug his burning claws into the armor plating behind the head, peeling it off in strips like the skin of a fruit. The monster screamed and writhed with pain as fire ate deep into it. It reached back, grabbing at Ifrit, and he jumped again, landing on the deck in front of the creature. It slapped at him with a tentacle, and Ifrit grabbed it in one giant claw, then roared as he threw the ball of fire that appeared in his other hand straight into the monster's gaping jaws. The monster screamed piercingly and thrashed, trying to escape now, but Ifrit took another tentacle in his claws and tore it off near the head, then waded forward through the flailing tentacles, shredding them with his burning claws. Tentacles taken care of, Ifrit jumped onto the fiend's back and thrust one massive fist deep into the body of the monster, pulling steaming guts out and flinging them aside as he dug deeper, seeking the heart. Suddenly, the monster went still, the tentacles settling to the deck with a last shudder of life. A cloud of pyreflys rose from the deck as the fiend disintegrated around Ifrit.
Ifrit turned and Braska walked up to him, fearlessly reaching through the flaming aura surrounding the aeon to stroke his jaw gently. "I thank you my friend. Return to your dreams, I will call if I need you again," Braska murmured softly. Ifrit gave a last roar and leapt into the air, bursting into flame and disappearing in a ball of fire.
Silence, then the sound of an agonized moan as the man lying against the side of the submersible stirred slightly. Braska moved quickly to him and knelt. The man was badly injured, an arm broken with a shard of bone poking through, his spine twisted and broken, and a bloody gash in his side where the white of ribs showed. Braska laid him straight as his friends ran up, frantic to help, but unwilling to approach Braska. "All right, if this is ever going to work, let it be now," he pleaded silently, and held his hands out over the man, speaking the words to cast the strongest healing spell he knew. To his surprise, a green glow appeared and flowed down over the man, sinking into him as his face smoothed, all pain gone, his wounds healed.
"So…" Cid looked down into the cup of caff he held, not drinking it, as he sat across from Braska at the conference table. "What other surprises can I expect from you?" Cid had been severely shaken when Braska had summoned Ifrit. Summoners were rare, and most Al Bhed had never met one. Cid had never seen an aeon summoned to battle, and to see Braska call one with such apparent ease had been a shock; the aeon had destroyed a fiend of a type they'd fought before, but never beaten without many lives lost. Then Braska had walked up to the aeon afterwards and stroked it like one would a pet chocobo, seemingly unafraid of its power. Finally, Cid thought, to cap it all off, the young man sitting across the table from him had casually healed a man of fatal injuries.
Braska was aware of Cid's apprehension, and he sat his cup of caff down gently on the table. "No, you've seen everything," he assured the man wearily.
Auron stirred restlessly from his position near the door as Braska spoke; he didn't like to see his friend this way, defeated, even though the battle had been won. He knew there was a lot at stake at this moment, but didn't see a way to help. He looked at Cid; it hurt to see the fear in Cid's eyes, and he wished there'd been another way to kill the fiend, but there hadn't.
Braska sighed and picked his cup back up, only to find it was empty. He rose to refill it, and stopped as Cid spoke again.
"Why are you really here?" Cid asked, as if curiosity were fighting with dread. "Were you supposed to destroy us if we wouldn't cooperate with the Temple?"
Braska turned back to look at Cid, horrified he could have thought that of him, then realized that from Cid's point of view it was a reasonable question. The Temple thought the Al Bhed were heretics, unbelievers who used forbidden machines; Bevelle had attacked the Al Bhed before, and nearly destroyed them as a people – what was to stop them from doing it again?
Braska returned to his seat, caff forgotten. He looked at Cid, studying the older man's features, trying to see into his soul as he silently reached a decision. "Auron," he said softly, turning to look at his friend. "Please, wait outside? I need to speak with Cid in private."
Auron nodded slowly, and stepped out, turning to look back with a puzzled expression as he shut the door softly behind him.
"What I am going to tell you goes no further, not to your councilors, not to your best friend, not even to your wife, do you understand?" Braska said softly, his eyes intent on Cid's. "It would be a death sentence for both of us, if the Temple ever found out I spoke of this." Cid's eyes widened, totally baffled by Braska's words.
"I can keep silence if I am asked," Cid said finally. "You have my word."
"The church lies; it has lied to all of us for a thousand years," Braska said, looking down at his hands as he set them on the table and intertwined his fingers, somehow relieved to be sharing his terrible secret. "The Teachings have been changed to suit the church leaders; it's all a matter of power - the church uses the threat of Sin to control the masses," Braska explained wearily. "It's all a lie, the church doesn't want Sin defeated. They would loose too much power if Sin was gone."
Cid drew in his breath, "But what about the Summoners – the Calm?"
"What do you know about the final summoning, Cid?" Braska looked up at the man across the table.
"What everyone knows; the Summoners journey on pilgrimage across Spira, praying to the fayth, and then finally they travel to Zanarkand, where they find the fayth of Lord Zaon, and gain the final aeon that allows them to defeat Sin and bring the Calm," Cid answered uncomfortably. He wasn't a true believer of Yevon, and speaking of it disturbed him.
"More or less," Braska said with a shrug, turning his eyes back to his hands. "Except for one thing: Lord Zaon is no more, there is no final aeon." Cid looked at him in surprise, but Braska continued without looking up. "Yunalesca changes someone into the fayth for the final summoning – the Summoner must sacrifice a friend…or someone they love, to become the fayth, then the summoner dies as well when he call's the final aeon." Braska looked at Cid to see if he understood. "Summoners sacrifice themselves to bring the calm, but Sin always comes back. I want to break that cycle – I want to destroy Sin, and I don't think the church does." He sighed and rubbed his hands over his face. "That is why I am not here to destroy the Al Bhed - I wouldn't even if the Temple ordered me to. You may be Spira's only hope; Summoners can't destroy Sin, we only gain a short time of peace. There has to be another way, the cycle can't continue."
"Why can't the other fayth stop Sin?" Cid demanded, "If they are so powerful, why can't they beat Sin?"
"I asked the fayth at Baaj that exact same question just a few days ago, and I don't really understand the answer myself," Braska's expression turned grim at the memory of the tortured woman he'd spoken to.
Cid looked startled. He'd heard there was a new fayth, but not that anyone had been able to communicate with it. The rumor's he'd heard spoke of an aura of madness hanging over it; no summoner had been able to win the aeon, and after the first few fled in terror, no more had come to try.
"She said that they are asleep; they have existed too long and now they dream of the Spira that was long ago, before the war." He stopped, trying to explain in a way Cid would understand. "Trying to defeat Sin using the aeons would be like throwing a sleepwalker into a fight against the fiend that attacked tonight."
Cid looked blankly at Braska as he considered what he'd been told. "You're right; we're both dead if we talk about this to anyone else." He focused his gaze on Braska, green eyes locked tightly to blue. "What do you want me to do?"
"I have been given that a lot of thought," Braska said, looking back at his empty cup. "As I see it we have only one choice - use the cannon to weaken Sin to a point where the aeon's can destroy it forever. This may be the only hope we have for success. How long will it take to restore the cannon so it could be used in conjunction with a Summoner?"
"There is the problem… with the complete cooperation of everyone involved it will still take years to rebuild the cannon. Then we will need a place to set it where we can get a shot at Sin, because it is not going to be mobile," Cid explained.
"How many years are we talking? This calm will only last eight or nine more years," Braska's expression turned grim as he figured the time frame involved. He sighed, and got up to refill his caff while he thought, then opened the door and beckoned Auron back in. Auron looked accusingly at him as he entered; angry at being excluded, but Braska just shook his head in apology. For Auron's sake, he couldn't know what had been discussed; but Braska knew he wasn't going to accept that explanation easily, and he would be furious if he ever did find out the truth.
"How many years for the cannon to be ready? Sixteen at the earliest, twenty on the outside," Cid stated flatly. "The cannon's in bad shape and the control system is decayed beyond recognition. It's better than starting from scratch, but we'll have to completely rebuild both, and we may have to build the tools for that first, not to mention that the power source has to be found, restored, and recharged. A battlement will be needed to install the cannon, so add the time needed for preparation and construction of that."
"The situation within the church is difficult at best," Braska said thoughtfully, knowing he greatly understated the situation. "Getting their cooperation to move this far was a battle, with one or two factions actively working to tear down any chance of an alliance," Braska explained as he returned to sit at the table. "Getting their cooperation for twenty years – I don't think it can be done. We need to figure a way to keep the church pacified and interested enough to fund this project and let them feel secure in their position of control, without having them in control, and that is not going to be easy," Braska admitted, his shoulders slumping in discouragement at the thought. Once again he was betraying the church, and if they found out about this discussion he would face serious censure, or worse; it looked as if his career with the church would be short lived, adding another entry to his father's growing list of his failures.
"What if we put the Crusaders in control of implementation," Auron offered quietly, putting a reassuring hand on Braska's shoulder. "The church is under the impression that they have control of the crusaders. I can write their Commander and get his position on this."
Braska and Cid exchanged brighter looks – it just might work!