What's up, people? I'm back! Yes, the second chapter of this disasterpiece is finished and ready for your reading pleasure. C'mon, please, R&R this! I need some encouragement here!

Chapter Two

The Garden car wove through the road that led to Balamb, accompanied by the thunderous rumble of the engine, which for some absurd reason gave me that warm feeling. I'd only been in the car a couple of times before, but I knew from the experiences of others that it was safe enough. However, like most of the Garden's vehicles, the interior design needed some desperate attention. It was a drab, grey colour scheme with seats that looked as if they had been pinched from the back of a rubbish truck, and windows encrusted in slime and fingerprints.

My squad consisted of a bunch of waifs and strays that, like me, never seemed to leave the relative seclusion of the Garden. We had an electronics geek, Gus, who would probably end up doing the donkey work for this mission. He was responsible for hooking up to all the information networks to find out any classified data that was hidden from prying eyes. I had no idea how he managed to do most of this stuff, and to be honest, I didn't care. Our pointman, Firion, also happened to be the squad leader, and was to all intents and purposes a miserable prick. He was well known for his ineptness at organisation, and I had a feeling that the mission would be a hit-and-miss affair under his command (leaning more towards miss.) Finally, our gunner, Leon, rounded off the squad. He was currently posted on top of the car with a belt-fed heavy machine gun; apparently, he was "warding off unwanted attention." The fact that he hadn't fired a single shot justified my scepticism.

"Hey, Firion, I'm bored," Leon called out from the top deck. "Can't I come down now?"

"Let me take this opportunity to remind you that it was you who chose to go up there in the first place," Firion notified him. "We all think you're wasting your time."

"Well fuck you then!" he yelled. I was getting a good idea of those acquainting me on the assignment.

Firion diverted his attention across the car. "You ever been to Deling City before?" he grunted. I assumed he was referring to me.

"Oh yeah. I went to see the presidential parade with my parents a couple of years ago," I replied. "We left before anything untoward happened, though." Gus seemed amused.

"What's up?" I questioned.

"You missed the best bits," he smirked. "I ran a relay from the local television network into my palmtop computer, and recorded all the good stuff."

So he was THAT sort of computer geek. I muttered something indecipherable under my breath, which escaped everyone's attention. Except for Quistis, that is, who shot me a stony glare. Yes, I forgot to mention our dear instructor. I'm not sure why she was accompanying us, but I had a feeling she'd report her observations of our conduct when we got back. I'd have to be careful in my discretions, as anything inappropriate would result in solitary confinement.

By the time the car swung into Balamb Harbour, I was practically tearing my hair out. An argument had broken out on the way, over which of the "Pururun" books was the best. It was a conflict of words that I wanted no part in, and their inane comments grew increasingly wearing as the journey went on. I couldn't wait to get out of the car.

When I finally did, it wasn't for long, as I was herded straight into the vessel docked in the nearby water. We took our seats without discussion—although I half expected the juvenile idiots to quarrel over who got the seat next to the window. I had a deep-rooted love for Balamb, not just because it was my hometown, but because it had a nice, unrushed feel to life. From the distance of the Garden, Balamb was merely a smudge of blue-purple pastel on a blanket of rich green and gold. The cylindrical structure of the hotel rose above the rest of the down, and at nights the town was simply a dark contour punctuated with soft gold lights. Unfortunately though, I didn't spend nearly as much time there as I used to.

The vessel hatch clicked shut and I heard the fuel mechanism start up. Quistis chose not to sit down, and instead stood by the big interactive screen used for briefings. The journey was fairly short, as I already knew. We'd be able to disembark directly on the beach running around the perimeter of Deling City, although I wondered if we'd encounter some Esthar aggressors there.

Firion turned his glare on me. "You can go up to the top and man the weapon," he muttered. It wasn't a question, it was an order. Normally, I'd have put in my two gil on that matter, but as Quistis was watching, I made nothing of it. I sort of gave him a half salute and ascended the ladder.

At the top, I was greeted with a blast of cold night air. Being on the world's northern hemisphere, Deling experienced longer nights than many other cities, and the city was frequently overshadowed by a cloak of starlight. I extracted some binoculars from my pocket and scanned the shore. Just next to our vessel, the other ships embarking on the mission passed by in a flurry of water. Clearly, their assignment was more urgent than ours. I zoomed in on the outskirts of the city. I could see brief flashes of gunfire erupting from the streets, with the occasional shudder of an explosion.

Then I saw it, on the western peak. One of Esthar's trademark hi-tech constructions, which appeared to have a perfect view of any advancing ships. I increased the magnification to maximum, and sure enough, a soldier was monitoring the shoreline.

It was a guard tower.

"Hey, looks like we got company!" I called down the ladder.

"What sort?" Firion's gruff voice queried.

"Looks like an outpost, a manned one," I replied. I re-acquired the soldier in the centre of the binoculars, and activated night-vision. Worse was to come. The soldier on patrol seemed to notice the advancing craft, and bent down out of my line of sight. When he re-emerged, he had a large tube balancing on his right shoulder. Shit, he's got a Stinger!

I saw the puff of smoke which acknowledged the firing of a missile, and watched in horror as it darted between a gap in the front two vessels and ploughed into the one hanging just behind them. It erupted in a ball of incandescent flame, and pieces of scorched metal ricocheted in all directions. The blistered shell of the ship sizzled as it sunk into the water.

"Change direction!" I yelled down the ladder.

"Acknowledged," the pilot confirmed, and swung the vessel at a right angle. I could only just see the outline of the guard tower from my current distance, but I zeroed in on it with the mounted automatic weapon. The vessel was clearly taking a new course, but Esthar's advanced weapons systems had lock-on targeting. It was a risky manoeuvre.

"Destination ETA three minutes," the pilot called. From below, I could hear the loading of firearms and projectile weaponry. In the corner of my eye, I registered a small flash. The soldier wasn't done yet, that was for sure.

"Missile launched!" I yelled. Immediately, the pilot began taking evasive action, weaving through inlets and into a narrow river which ran through Galbadia. My attention was focused on the rocket, which was skimming the water as it headed toward us. Esthar's technology enabled missiles to travel below radar, thus avoiding any attempts to destroy them with defensive weaponry. I felt a huge sigh of relief as the rocket began to lose fuel, and it was unable to turn fast enough, colliding harmlessly with a rock. The vessel ran ashore at the nearest beach, signalling that we had to change our course of action. I descended the ladder as fast as I could, and heard the vessel's hatch unfolding.

"Squad A will lay down the suppressing fire at the city entrance," Quistis stated. "Once they've completed that, you move in and secure the area. Got it?" We all nodded without dispute.

"Then go!" Quistis shouted.

Well, there it is. Hope you liked the action parts, because they're going to be quite prevalent in the next chapter. Anyone notice the rather unsubtle FF2 references? All comments/insults/Booker prize nominations welcomed!