AN:/ Thank you for your review Phoenix!
People outside ShinRa – and, if Cloud was honest, most people who were part of ShinRa too – saw the SOLDIERs as part hero and part monster. Forget the horrors of the war with Wutai, or the ever present rumours of strange disappearances and twisted experimentation; almost everyone in Midgar could tell of an up close and personal experience with the SOLDIER troops that had been much closer to home.
The Midgar slums bred many strange monsters in their bowels, nests cropping up as frequently and as fast as they were cleared out. Most were discovered by unfortunate slum dwellers either when they were unlucky and unwary enough to stumble into the middle of one, or when the monsters emerged to hunt. So, naturally, when the nests were too dense or the monsters too strong – or too strange – for the regularly patrolling infantry of the Public Safety Division to handle, a SOLDIER or two would be assigned.
They would come in, save the day by brutally exterminating whatever had set up its lair, and at the same time remind the restless and unsatisfied of precisely how fast, strong and ruthless they were. Cloud never knew if the SOLDIERs themselves understood the dual purpose of their visits under the Plate. He hoped Zack hadn't. From what he remembered, Zack had purely wanted to be a hero, not a nightmare or a physical reminder of the metaphorical boot pressing down on the inhabitants of Midgar, and of the Planet.
And yet, people were drawn to that power and strength. Cloud himself was too, once upon a time.
That draw meant that when he got to the sixth floor, there were at least a hundred new SOLDIER hopefuls waiting to be herded into the hall. It was one of the rooms usually reserved for grand public announcements and company photo-ops, and one that most of the recruits would only ever see this once.
At least I can follow the crowd if I get lost, he thought wryly, even if I am one of the shortest guys here and the most likely to be trampled underfoot.
The last time Cloud had gone through this he had just stood in a corner behind one of the potted plants to avoid the threat of small talk, or so he assumed; there was a tall green leafy one that looked perfect for hiding behind that would have appealed to his younger self.
Now, though – well, he still hated small talk but he was no longer the scared kid in the corner. Instead, he was a grown adult in a teenager's body looking at a group of teens who had no real idea what their life would look like from this point on. SOLDIER was no longer a dream he fought for, and he'd already lived through the devastation of losing it.
As he looked out at the crowd, he could see the divisions being drawn. The majority of the candidates were from Midgar, clumping themselves together in friend groups and cliques with those from above the Plate staying far away from those who came from the slums. There was a decent representation from Junon, perhaps fifteen, who banded together and seemed comfortable enough with each other to be chattering away while they waited. The remainder looked to be from the smaller settlements, pairing off if they came with a friend or standing awkwardly alone if they didn't.
Cloud was neither a social butterfly nor a calculating schemer, but he knew that first impressions counted here. Staying in the background wouldn't keep him out of the petty politics in the program; it would paint him as a friendless loner incapable of functioning in a team in the future.
He pinned his name tag to his sweater, and made his way into the room.
The first person he tried to speak to was hiding behind what would have been Cloud's second choice of potted plant, and looked like he was going to have a heart attack at the thought of talking to someone.
"Hey, I've just arrived. Have they made any announcements yet?" Cloud tried.
His name tag read "Marcel – Costa del Sol", and he was about a foot taller than Cloud and twice as broad. It was a little funny and a little sad to see him flinch at being spoken to.
"Um – I don't think so? I haven't heard anything. I think," he trailed off. "I've only been here about fifteen minutes."
Okay, that's a starting point.
"I'm Cloud," he introduced himself.
"Marcel, but I guess you can figure that from the –" he gestured to the name tag.
"So," Cloud pressed on after a couple of seconds. "Can you point out someone who was here before you? We can figure out if they said anything before you got here."
"Oh, right," Marcel ducked out from behind the plant and scanned the area faster than Cloud was expecting, rapidly pointing people out and rattling off what he knew. "Those guys, the ones from Junon, all got here before me. I think they were first, they talked about having a guide collect them from their hotel. Out of the others, it was that group and that one with the Midgar guys, and that guy over there, the one with the red jacket. There were others, but those stood out."
From awkwardness to eloquence, Cloud thought. Who knew?
"Huh. That was thorough," he said instead.
"Oh, um, sorry," came the reply as Marcel visibly retreated back into himself. "Costa del Sol's a tourist town, but we get hit by sea monsters more than you'd think. You've got to be paying attention or someone'll end up in trouble."
"Don't be sorry, I'm sure it's a talent SOLDIER's going to appreciate," Cloud reassured.
"Thanks," he grinned back shyly.
"Let's go ask the red jacket guy if he knows anything. Come on."
Cloud pulled Marcel from his corner with a grip on his arm, ignoring the stuttered protests from behind him. As the larger, stronger young man didn't pull away and instead followed obediently behind him, Cloud figured his objection was just for the sake of appearances.
The 'red jacket guy', as he'd been creatively dubbed, was a wiry young man leaning against a wall who looked up as they approached.
"Hey! I'm Cloud from Nibelheim, this is from Costa del Sol, and we're trying to figure out if anyone knows what's happening next," Cloud said as they drew near.
"Thom from Kalm, myself. I got here early, but nobody but the lady down in the lobby gave me any info," he replied with a wave. "Nice to meet some more guys willing to say hi."
"Well, we're all going to know each other soon enough, right Marcel?" Cloud said, and got a nod. "Are you the only one from Kalm?"
"There were a couple others, but they got spooked by the bit in the contract about them owning us for five years," Thom laughed. "I still wanted to do something that wasn't mining or running a shop, so here I am."
Naturally, this was when they were interrupted by three loud claps.
"Attention SOLDIER programme candidates!" trilled a cheerful young woman who had appeared by the doors. "If you could please make your way into the hall, and start taking seats from the front. No leaving gaps, please!"
The crowd began to turn as people shuffled towards the open double doors, filing in slowly to take their places.
"That's our cue," Cloud said wryly. "Come on, I don't want to be the last one in."
The middle's easier to stay unobserved in.
There was a little shoving as people tried to get to the front of the queue, but for the most part it was orderly. The few who tried ignoring instructions and sitting at the back were moved along quickly by a couple of SOLDIER Thirds who took note of their name tags, cementing Cloud's suspicion that this wasn't completely a tick-box exercise.
The hall had a high ceiling that Cloud was sure was only that height so it could carry off the large hanging banners emblazoned with the ShinRa logo that flanked the tall stage, a solid wooden podium with the ShinRa logo engraved into it, and far more chairs than they would realistically need. The chairs themselves were plush, highbacked and far more comfortable than infantrymen would usually warrant, SOLDIER candidates or not, but did their duty to convey the wealth and luxury on offer for successful ShinRa employees - complete with ShinRa logo on the back.
I guess it makes theft less likely if they plaster their name on everything. I'm sure Cid would make a comment about dogs and fenceposts if he could see it.
Grateful for the opportunity to just listen instead of having to carry a conversation, and fairly sure he'd filled his quota of 'chitchat' for the week, Cloud sat between the two and let his mind drift a little. The first speaker was a Third-class whose name completely escaped him, but whose job was to reiterate the itinerary for the day and tell them that the number on the back of their name tag was now their number for the duration of their time with ShinRa, and the letter after it was their squad designation. His was 06-02-88-D, which he was pretty sure was his number the last time.
"Hey, I got D too," Thom hissed in his ear, and after a nudge Marcel checked and showed his number also ended with a D.
"Either we're lucky or they're grouping all the ones from further off together," Cloud murmured back.
"Eh, probably the latter," Thom shrugged before turning back to the speaker.
Apparently done with his part, the Third announced it was now time for the guest speaker to talk to them about his experiences with SOLDIER and with ShinRa. With a flourish, he waved for someone to come out from behind one of the banners.
Angeal Hewley was a physically intimidating man, stoic and serious as he took centre stage to the sound of rustling and murmurs from the audience. Cloud's attention, years ago, would have been focused almost obsessively on him as one of the three Generals of ShinRa, personal friend of Sephiroth, and an embodiment of his dream. This time his eyes were drawn to the giant sword on his back.
Hello, old friend.
The Buster Sword was in better, newer condition than when he'd last held her, when he moved her from the lonely peak near Midgar to Aerith's church. It was unsurprising considering this version of the sword hadn't spent several years being used against what felt like every monster on the continent before being left to rust as a SOLDIER's tombstone, but it felt strange. She'd travelled with him for so long, been a representation of someone he owed everything to, that seeing her with someone who had more of a claim than he did was disconcerting.
If things went well, he'd never touch her again.
"So, you want to be in SOLDIER. Each of you has travelled far, whether in distance or in experience, to get here," General Hewley began, voice low and commanding. The hall fell silent.
Cloud had to hand it to him – General Hewley was good at giving speeches. Or lectures, perhaps. Part of the still silence from the audience was respect for his rank and achievements, but most were genuinely interested in what he had to say.
He ran through the usual spiel of how SOLDIER was a peace-keeping force, how they were the backbone of ShinRa's efforts to support locations struggling with terrorists or monsters, how proud he was to serve and to see so many bright young candidates who he hoped to see reach their potential under SOLDIER… Cloud listened with only half an ear. If he had paid full attention, he would have found it difficult to avoid calling bullshit.
Cloud had never really known Angeal Hewley as a person or as a general; there was a vague memory of the man knocking him unconscious when on a mission, but other than that their only connection was through Zack. It was difficult to think about the man who had saved him at the cost of his own life, and more difficult to think that right now he could be alive and well somewhere in this building; however, it was more comforting than distressing to see the origin of some of Zack's traits.
He must have truly admired him, to try to take on so much of him. If I can, for Zack, I'll try to keep him alive too.
But, Cloud had to supress a wry smile at his concluding remarks.
"One thing I have learned over my years as a SOLDIER, is that to become great, you must have a dream. Whether that dream is to have the strength to protect, to become a hero, or to make yourself the best you can be as part of SOLDIER, is irrelevant. What is important is that you cling to that dream as you move forward into a future where it can become reality, as every SOLDIER candidate has done. In order to do that, you must have honour.
"As you grow and learn, embrace your dreams, and whatever happens in the future, protect your honour, first as SOLDIER candidates and then, your strength and conviction willing, as a SOLDIER."
So, that's where Zack got that from! And that bit about honour makes just as little sense as it did when he said it.
