The Secret Lives of Turks

By: Jason Tandro

Chapter III: Reno

Reno stood outside the door of his companion Rude. He knocked on the door and inside heard the gasp of Rude awakening. He waited patiently as he heard Rude shuffle to his feet and answer the door.

"Hey man, are you awake?" Reno asked.

"Um, yeah. What time is it?" Rude asked.

"It is currently 8:30 AM and you and I are due at Junon airport at 9:00 so I wanted to make sure that you were prepared," Reno looked him over. "Take a shower man, you look like hell. I brought your clothes."

Reno handed Rude his suit, which had been freshly ironed. Rude set it on his dresser and then walked into his bathroom. Reno sat down in Rude's recliner. He heard the shower turn on. This didn't stop the two from having a conversation, though.

"So how have you been spending so much time on laundry detail?" Rude asked.

Reno chuckled. "What do you mean?"

"Well, I heard that you did the same thing with Elena's suit yesterday," Rude noted.

Reno smiled. He stood up and began to pace the room. "Well, let's just say that I have a lady friend who works there."

Rude burst out laughing. "Oh man, you got a girl in every port Reno. Is she a soldier?"

"No, she's actually a nurse," Reno replied. "She's been working in the laundry room because she's taking clothing donations for the underworlders."

"That's nice. Does she know you're leaving tonight?" Rude asked.

"Yeah, she's torn up about it. I'm gonna grab her something special," Reno nodded.

Rude chuckled. "I know what you meant, but that's not how it sounded to these ears."

The shower turned off, and a few moments later, Rude stepped out fully dressed. Reno nodded. "Okay, let's get to work then."

They walked out of the barracks, and headed up a small flight of stairs to the airport of Junon where a massive crowd of soldiers had assembled. Now that the storm was over, they were going to begin recalling all the soldiers from Midgar. The Turks and SOLDIER would stick around until the very end, and leave later that night.

There was a large man wearing dark black armor. He was obviously a SOLDIER 1st Class. He held in his hand a large blade, a signature of an elite unit. This was a man Reno had only heard rumors about. His name was Taro.

"Alright," he shouted in gruff old voice. "Midgar Aerial Divisions 2 through 5 are going to be the first ones out of here. Their pilots will be sending back the Gelnika's for Divisons 6 and 7. After the aerial support is out of here infantry units will fall out behind them. Company A through C will go with the first, and D through G in the second. After that SOLDIER will fall out followed by the Turks. It's gonna be a long day for gentlemen. "

Tseng walked up from behind Taro. "As soon as you arrive back in Midgar you are to report to your barracks for debriefing. It is then the decision of the individual XO's whether or not you will take the remainder of the day off."

There was a "hu-ah" from the soldiers. Reno just laughed. "These guys are so easy to please. Just give them a day off or a small pay raise and they're all smiles."

"So am I to understand you don't like days off and raises?" Rude asked.

"Well I like them, but there are better ways to be happy," Reno replied.

"And those are?" Rude humored.

"Wine, women, and song my friend," Reno replied.

The morning slowly faded into the afternoon, and only the planes were just returning to make the second trip. It was a five-hour plane ride both ways to get to Midgar. It was still better than the 16 hour boat ride and the 4 hour hike afterwards. Reno felt a twinge of sympathy for the soldiers who had to remain at parade rest for most of the day.

"Ah for the days when I had to do that," Reno noted sarcastically.

"You were a soldier? I thought you came in straight from the intelligence agency," Rude inquired.

"Yeah, but I was in the army before that. I served for five years of my life, starting at 16. They then said I wasn't cut out for combat, that I should be a paper-pusher. I re-upped, but got dishonorably discharged after my first year back. If it weren't for a letter of recommendation from my company commander I wouldn't have gotten a job anywhere in Shinra. I end up working for the intelligence agency for about eight years and then, they send me to the Turks. And here I am now," Reno explained.

Rude nodded. "Yeah. Frankly I think these soldiers don't know what they're talking about half of the time."

Reno leaned back against the wall. "Yeah well they were certainly wrong about me."

"Corporal, this is unacceptable behavior for a soldier," Reno's sergeant drilled him. "This army is about honor and integrity, and your actions reflect poorly upon it."

Reno stood in his uniform, visor off just so that the sergeant could burn his hatred directly into Reno's eyes. The sergeant was a man to be taken seriously, and Reno believed that he was the only person he had ever feared.

"So I sleep around with women, what's the big deal?" Reno asked. "What I do on my own time is my own business."

"You're in the army, Corporal! Every minute you're alive is my time!" The sergeant shouted. "Now as it happens I can't do much about it, since tomorrow is your last day in the army, but I want you to know that you will receive the poorest recommendation that I can muster."

"Actually, Sergeant, I intend to renew my contract," Reno said coyly.

"Oh, is that the case then. Unfortunately you need the approval of both the Senior Officer of the company and your Squad Leader. That's me," the sergeant grinned. "And as it happens, I don't intend to grant you that signature."

"Then I'll make a transfer request to a squad that will," Reno retorted.

"Oh yeah, and those bureaucrats at the Shinra Tower will definitely process it within a day. Give it up Reno. You're not cut out for combat and your certainly not cut out for a government job. Go manage a pub or a carwash but get the hell out of my army," the sergeant ordered.

Reno put his visor back on and stormed out of the room. His mind reeled with intense hatred. He wouldn't be refused his chance, and he wouldn't let that asshole win.

He would have to take drastic steps.

The night was silent. The base was almost empty except for the night watchmen. And Reno sat waiting next to a jeep. Out of the main compound came the sergeant, holding a bottle of whiskey in one hand and a woman on the other.

That damned hypocrite, Reno thought. Reno followed them down the road, sneaking past the sentry as they got into the sergeants car. Reno was afraid that he was going to lose them, but the sergeant didn't seem interested in driving. The car began to shake, and Reno knew that he had found an easy target.

Using the perfect form that had been taught to him by his dear sergeant, Reno threw a grenade directly beneath the car's gas line, and two hellish seconds later the entire car went up in a massive ball of fire.

"Corporal, I have some bad news," the Senior Officer said to Reno the next morning. "It turns out you sergeant has been killed. It's unclear what happened, but we believe that the sergeant was drinking and smoking and ended up igniting the gas line in his car."

Reno did his best to look distracted. "Oh, that's horrible. "

"Well, it was his own fault. Let's just put this behind us. And onto better news, I understand you wanted to renew your contract? Well I am happy to announce that you have been approved, and furthermore to show appreciation for your continued faithful service, you have been promoted to Sergeant effective immediately."

Reno saluted. The victory was his. Nothing stood in the way of Reno, and nothing ever would.