Shera's Diary

Chapter 18

Complication

By Kristen Gupton-Williams

Dear Diary,

Pardon my French here, but holy fuck!

It's been quite a ride these last… days? Has it been days? I don't know, it's been a long time, but I haven't slept yet so it seems like just one incredibly long day.

Okay… Let me think for a moment.

It was early in the morning and I got up. I ran some final checks on the rocket and made sure that the autopilot was working one last time. That done, I went into the control room and told Palmer the news.

"Sir, all has checked out with the rocket."

That awful, corpulent man stepped right up to me. "Then I will have one of my engineers give that rocket one last once over, and then we shall launch it!"

The cloud of disgusting stink that clings to him made me want to gag. All I did was nod. Clearly, on some level, they didn't truly trust me.

I was ordered to stay in the control room at that point, and I did, just keeping a vigil close to the control room window, knowing that it would be the last time that I got to see the rocket.

I saw someone in a Shin Ra uniform emerge from the rocket and start toward the control room sometime later. When he entered, he flashed a glare over at me and then went straight to Palmer. "Sir, I have news."

"Well? Get on with it!" the fat man declared.

"I checked all the levels over in the rocket and it looks like Ms. Sakamoto there was trying to pull a fast one." His eyes once more turned to me.

I couldn't believe it! I'd done no such thing! I stood up. "Wait! I--"

I fell silent when a guard present suddenly came over and jabbed the barrel of his rifle against my neck.

"What did she do?" Palmer asked.

The Shin Ra engineer laughed. "She had one of the oxygen tanks under pressurized."

I tried to respond, but couldn't as the gun was pressed against my skin harder.

"The eight tank was supposed to be at 2100psi, but she had ordered it filled to only 1300psi. I've had that corrected, though," the man said, self-satisfied.

I couldn't believe it! It wouldn't have mattered if that tank had been empty all together since the rocket was supposed to go up unmanned. Obviously, this man didn't understand that it was just the life support tank and that it was, in fact, only supposed to be at 1500 or less.

Of all the things to come back and bite me in the ass!

Palmer congratulated the engineer and they started to speak amongst themselves. Since their attention was on one another, they didn't see what I did.

As I continued to look out the window, with the gun still to my throat, I couldn't help but see, to my horror, that the captain and two of his companions from AVALANCHE were sneaking onto the rocket!

Now, the stakes had just been raised. If I had said something to try and get them to stop the captain, he would have been killed. However, letting him get on that rocket with that damn tank over pressurized wasn't going to serve him any better. Not to mention, the autopilot was locked and he wouldn't be able to divert the rocket from a collision course with that meteor!

I had to get away and get onto that rocket myself to either fix that tank or to make sure that the escape pod on the rocket was all systems go, since I'd not bothered to look at it.

After all, it was supposed to be unmanned!

I threw caution to the wind and I…

I spun around and kicked the guard that was holding the rifle to my neck in the testicles.

He folded over like a rag doll and I bolted for the door. I heard some shouts behind me, but then Palmer's voice rang out above them all.

"Let her go! She'll be killed if she gets on that rocket now anyway! Prepare for launch!"

I sprinted across the field and made it all the way to the stairwell that would take me to the entry hatch on the rocket. Thanks to my adrenaline rush, I was able to take that staircase two steps at a time. I passed several unconscious guards on the way. Obviously, the captain had fought his way up, thus clearing the path for me. As I took the final few stairs up, the two Turks that had been casing me since arriving in town came running down.

"Get the fuck outta the way!" the red haired one shrieked as he and his partner forced their way by me. "It's gonna launch, yo!"

Relieved that they weren't concerned with me in the least, I made my way into the rocket. The hatch closed on its own behind me as the launch sequence was initiated. I had made it onboard, but just barely.

I continued to run until I got to the oxygen tanks. I went straight to the number eight one and cursed to myself under my breath.

The idiots had filled it all the way to 2100psi!

I reached out to open the relief valve like I had done the last time, hoping to bleed it to an acceptable pressure.

After five years of being unused, that valve was frozen shut.

Try as I may, I couldn't get it to turn.

I couldn't…

I suddenly felt hopeless, but my thoughts were cut off as I heard the engine fire up behind me and the rocket begin to lurch upward.

Now, I knew I had to get that escape pod working, since that tank was going to blow, either suffocating all of us or destroying the rocket outright.

With the heat already getting intense from the engine, I ran out and over toward the escape pod controls. I got the computer there initiated and started to enter codes like mad, trying to activate it. The rocket had now been pushing upward for several minutes by the time I finally remembered how to activate the escape pod.

That done, I prepared to run back through the engine room and up to the flight deck to get the captain and the others.

Before I got even one step, my worst fear was realized.

There was an ear splitting screech as the eight tank's outer shell failed, quickly followed by the blast of it exploding. The cacophony, along with the change in air pressure, left me stunned and deafened.

The rocket hadn't blown up completely, though. It did, however, mean that we had to get off of it quicker, since the atmospheric pressure inside the craft was now dropping. I crept along the wall, back toward the engine room as best I could. Although my ears were still ringing, I could make out the sound of the rocket's engine cutting off, indicating that we were out of the atmosphere.

To my horror, I heard the captain's voice. "Don't worry 'bout me… Hurry up and go! If you don't hurry, the rocket's gonna crash into the meteor!"

Then came Cloud's voice. "…I can't go without my friends."

I continued to try to get closer to them, still disoriented from the blast.

"You fuckin' moron! No time to worry 'bout other people!" Captain Highwind called out, indicating to me that there was something profoundly wrong.

I shook my head, trying to clear my senses, hearing Cloud's voice one more time, then followed by the captain.

"You're stupid! You're really fuckin' stupid! Tank number eight blew up…" the captain trailed off, his voice then getting quieter as he thought aloud. "So tank number eight… really was malfunctionin'… Shera, you were right… But, this is the end for me."

I managed around the corner and into the engine room, now cooler since the rocket's last stage had been cut. I looked right at the captain, seeing that he was on the floor, crushed beneath a large chunk of the tank. I went right to his side, and spoke, calling him something other than Captain for the first time since we'd met. "Don't say that, Cid."

His eyes, confused and in pain, turned up to me. "Huh? Shera?!"

I smiled down at him, terrified that he might have life threatening injuries. "I tagged along. I came to help you."

In his frustration, he lashed out. "You stupid bitch!"

I just let it slide. I knew he was only upset because I was now in danger as well. His two companions and I grabbed the metal that was laying on him and managed to free him.

The second he was out from under the tank fragment, he looked over at me, looking ashamed. "…sorry."

I just offered him a smile and examined him briefly, seeing that his injuries weren't that severe. Assured that he was not going to die, I got up and motioned for them to follow me. "Hurry, I'm going to detach the escape pod."

They came along behind me and stood there as I put in the final codes to deploy the pod.

Cid stood directly beside me. "Hey, Shera? Does this pod really fly?"

I glanced over my shoulder and offered him a smile. "It'll be okay. I've been checking it until now."

One of those rare, genuine smiles came to the captain's face. "Then I'm relieved."

I felt tears in my eyes. "Thanks."

At that, the entry hatch to the escape pod slid open and we all climbed in, and were jettisoned into space. The captain kept his face right to the window, looking out, talking to himself quietly.

I didn't dare say a word. This was his dream, to be in space, and I didn't wish to interrupt him.

In the distance, the rocket collided with the meteor, but failed to destroy it. The mission had been in vain.

The captain would have lost his life for nothing had I not done what I needed to do.

Several minutes passed, and the escape pod began to reenter the atmosphere. I couldn't help but be afraid in that moment. We just seemed so helpless.

I leaned forward in my seat and covered my face with my hands, just wanting the ride to be over. Before long, though, I felt Captain Highwind's arms around me, holding me to him as we continued our decent.

He whispered reassurance to me as the pod shook violently. I buried my face into his flight jacket and tuned out all that was happening. I decided that as long as I was with him, I was all right with whatever happened.

Not long after, the pod's parachute deployed and our plummet was slowed until we finally splashed into the ocean.

Finally down and feeling safe, I sat up and looked into the captain's eyes.

He looked back at me, offering me a smile. "Shera… really, thanks."

"I'd do anything for you, like I've always said," I replied quietly.

Cloud took it upon himself to open the hatch to the escape pod and radio for the Highwind to come and pick us up.

In the two hours that we had to wait for our rescue, the captain never let go of me. We didn't say anything else to one another.

We didn't need to.

All doubts about the past had just been righted.

When the airship arrived, we were taken onboard. Captain Highwind went straight to the bridge, taking me along with him.

"Shera, I'm gonna get you back to Rocket, okay?" he said to me as he placed his hands on the controls.

I nodded. As much as I didn't want to be separated from him, I knew that he still had things that he and the others needed to do. "All right."

"Hey…" he said to me after several minutes.

I turned away from the view window and looked over my shoulder at him. "Yes, Sir?"

He laughed a little to himself. "For one, don't you feel like you gotta call me Sir or Captain anymore. I… I kinda liked it back there when y'all called me Cid."

I blushed openly and had to smile. "All right then, Cid."

"Good deal," he said back, before looking down that the controls for a moment. "You know what? When this is all done, Shera… I uh…"

I stepped a little closer. "Yes?"

He looked over at me, locking me into his gaze. "I'm gonna teach ya… how to fly."

There was something in his tone in that moment… something that… I couldn't help but wonder if that had just been a metaphor for something else?

Whatever the case, I felt tears in my eyes. "I would love that, Cid."

He seemed to blush then and turned his attention back to flying.

An hour later, we were back close to the house in Rocket. To our relief, everyone involved with Shin Ra seemed to have already abandoned the town.

The captain… or should I just say Cid, landed the ship and walked me to the door. "I wish I could stay a while, Shera, but…"

I nodded. "You've got to go and save the world, it's all right."

His mouth opened as though he wanted to say something further, but then he rethought it and reached out, pulling me to him quickly.

I was caught off guard and gasped in surprise as he placed his lips against mine, his hands gripping tightly at my back. I closed my eyes and melted against him.

This was my first real kiss and I submitted to him fully, my breath caught in my throat as he invaded my mouth for a few moments.

When he finally pulled away, I was literally weak at the knees and I stood there, speechless.

"I'll be back as soon as I can, all right?" he said, his own face marked with color.

"Y…yes, C…Cid…" I stuttered back, feeling like I could die happy at the time.

Cid then gave me one more smile before turning and running back toward the airship. Before he boarded, he waved at me one last time. Shortly thereafter, the Highwind was back in the air.

I wonder, now, if perhaps Cid actually does feel something for me? Maybe he was just caught up in the moment after all we'd just been through.

Maybe, but I don't think so.