Turks: New Recruit.
A/N: Hi. This is my first story on here. I've been holding onto it for a while now so let me know what you think. It's no where near completed so any suggestions are welcome. Thanks + Read on.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For seven years, Mea wondered what it would feel like to ride the elevator up to the 53rd floor. She had fantasized about this moment almost every night after training. Now that she was finally here, she had mixed emotions. She was happy and excited, and at the same time scared and curious about what she was to face in the next few days.
Mea Culpa had decided very early on what her future career would be. When she was 14 years old she witnessed an assassination by accident. She had been walking to school, and decided half way there that she really didn't feel like going that day. Instead she cut through a back alley and wandered through a poor, slummy area of Sector 8. She ended up crouching behind a broken table, peering through cracks and holes and watching a young Turk from Shinra killing a man.
It was from that moment on that she had decided she wanted to be a Turk. Something in the swift, professional way that Turk had handled himself had appealed to her that day. She wanted to sneak around and work undercover. She had grown to love the idea of spying and prying and protecting ones assets. Her father was not exactly thrilled with her ambition; actually, he tried everything in his power to change her mind. But nothing could be done, her mind was set. When she was 18 and out of high school she went immediately to the upper plate and suck out the Shinra training center. For two years she trained and worked as a Shinra soldier, then when the time came for her to choose her Shinra path she finally was on her way to her real dream.
She could remember her superior presenting her with her choices for her future.
"Well, let's see," he said, when she had shut his office door and she had taken her seat across from him, "You have done exceptionally well in the Soldier program, Now, could be the turning point in your future with Shinra."
She nodded patiently.
"There is the obviously option of continuing in Soldier, moving to third class, then second, then first," he looked up at her.
She shook her head, "No thank you sir, I'm ready to move on now."
He nodded, "Well, there is the not so fitting option of secretarial duties in the Shinra building, I here you can work your way all the way up to the presidential office," he said, looking up at her again.
"No, that's not what I had in mind either," she said.
"Before I bother to continue listing your options, is there a particular place you wish to go?" he asked.
She sat up a little straighter, "Actually, sir, it has always been my ambition to become a Turk."
"A Turk?" he asked with slight surprise, "Well, I never really considered it, but that might be fitting," he paused for a moment, "The requirements to enrol the Turk training program are quite high though."
"I'll do anything," she said eagerly.
"Well, you need to completely Soldier training to Second or First Class, you need recommendation for 3 superiors, and you have to have at least 85 on a reading, writing, eye sight, dexterity, and agility test," he listed off, "Then of course you need to complete the Turk training course with at least 90. The Turk training alone is a two year program. It would take two or three years to get the proper Soldier training."
She nodded, "I understand sir, and I'd like to start right away."
"Very well then, I'll mark down in your record your end goal and I will give you your first recommendation," he said, pulling out some papers, "You have lots of promise, I see you going far."
It had taken her 5 years after that. She reached Soldier First Class and scored a 93 in her exam. Her grading in the Turk training program had been 96. A record for someone only 25 years old. The youngest known was only 28. She had excelled beyond anyone's expectations and was the first new Turk this year. She had already memorized the current Turks, their ages, and the ages they had started.
She knew of Elena, the newest before her. She was currently 29 and had started last year. The there was Reno was 28, who had started 2 years previous. Then was Rude who was 31 and had been a Turk for 4 years and the top Turk, the leader of them, was Tseng, who was currently 36 and had been a Turk for 8 years.
Mea was scheduled to meet Tseng at 3:00 today. It was only 2:30 but she wanted to be early to give off a good impression. She had been ready since 11:00 that morning. She'd received her uniform and a short briefing the previous day, and spent half the night looking at the 4 piece, navy blue suit. When she dressed that morning she made sure the wrinkles were smoothed and her tie was tucked properly in her jacket. She couldn't quite bring herself to fully tuck the white shirt into the pants, so she settled for tucking in the front so it looked somewhat presentable.
She had been told her would receive another briefing from Tseng, she would be equipped with her starter weapons and armour, and even a tour and run-down of her job and work placed in more detail.
---------------------------------------------------------------
She was shaken from her thoughts when the elevator dinged. She pushed off from leaning against the wall and stood a little straighter, just in case. She glanced up to see the elevator was on floor 45, before the doors opened and a red haired man stepped onto the elevator.
She was shocked to see Reno in real life. She had spent most of her downtime reading up on Turks and previous Turks, for background history. But randomly seeing one was different. It was unexpected, she had glimpsed Tseng during her training, but for some reason she felt unprepared for a Turk to just step onto the elevator. She mentally shook herself for being stupid. It was an elevator after all; the Turk had every right to use it. It shouldn't be that surprising.
She watched as Reno reached over to push 53 on the elevator pad, only to see that it was already lit up. He turned to look behind him to see who he had missed upon entering the elevator.
"Who're you?" he demanded, "And why're you going to 53?"
"I'm the newest Turk recruit, sir," she said, not bothering to stand too straight or be too formal, he wasn't her new boss after all, "I'm reporting to Tseng's office for my first meeting."
"Newest recruit?" he looked puzzled, "Since when?"
"Since, a couple days ago," she said with some uncertainty, shouldn't he know if a new Turk was coming?
"Oh, must not have read that memo," he said.
She wasn't sure if she should say anything so she remained silent.
"Are you one of them snotty, suck-ups? Or are you real?" he asked, looking at her sceptically, he checked her up and down twice.
"I'm not sure what you mean," she said.
"You know, are you gonna suck up to Tseng all the time or are you gonna relax and do the job?" he said.
"Well, I plan on do my job, but I see no need to suck up if I'm good enough," she said.
"Oh," he paused, then gave a cheeky grin, "If you're good enough, I like that. I have to remember that next time I get in shit."
She was slightly confused, but had no time to question it. The elevator dinged again, this time signalling they had reached floor 53. All the butterflies she had forgotten she had when Reno started talking had just come back in a flood of nervousness.
Reno stepped out of the elevator and immediately headed off to the right. Mea stepped off after him and paused in front of the elevator. She took a moment to take in her surroundings. To her immediate left was a security gate, thick blue lasers running vertically. Beyond she could see a few closed doors. Directly in front of her was a receptionist's desk, with a young woman and an old lady seated behind it, going through papers. To her right was a long corridor, two closed door were on the right hand side and some windows were on the left. At the end of the hall was another security gate, beyond it she could make out a large, open space, but that was it.
She quietly approached the receptionist's desk. "Excuse me?" she said. The older lady jumped ever so slightly.
"Oh, bless you, usually its just Reno barging through here at this hour, I wasn't expecting anyone else," she said, with a warm smile, "How may I help you?"
"My name is Mea Culpa, I have an appointment with Mr. Tseng at 3," she said.
The lady turned to her computer and punched some things into it. She nodded once, "go on ahead down the hallway dear, he's waiting for you"
The lady gave her one more encouraging smile then turned to her phones. Mea nodded and said thanks before heading down the long hallway. She flashed her new I.D. badge at the security gate and punched in her 3 digit code. The lights faded and she stepped through. She paused on the other side.
Here there was a medium sized room, on the wall across from her was two doors, the one on the left was shut and a sign read 'Tseng'. The other was open and it was clear that it was a washroom. To her right was an opening that lead to a room of cubicles, she could see 2 or 3 peoples heads together at one of the far ones. On the wall beside her there was another door that was half open and another closed door, there was no sign on either.
She took a few deep breaths and checked her watch, 2:45. She made her way across the room and knocked three times on Tseng's door.
"Come in," came a tired voice.
She opened the door and slowly entered the room.
"Can I help you?" hunched over the desk, was Tseng. He had black hair that fell just below his shoulders and it was tied loosely with a band. She could tell his uniform was properly worn and in perfect condition. She mentally cursed herself for not tucking in the back of her shirt. He didn't even bother to look up until she was halfway across the room.
"Sir, my name is Mea Culpa, I have an appointment with you," she said.
"Yes, yes," he motioned to the chair in front of his desk, "Take a seat."
She nodded and sat down. It was a long, unbearable 4 minutes of watching Tseng writing before he fully took notice to her.
"And, what can I help you with?" he asked, putting his pen down and folding his hands together on his desk.
"I'm here to see you for my briefing and such," she said, "I'm the newest Turk recruit"
He paused for a moment, "Oh yes, that was today"
She nodded.
He cleared his throat, "Well, congratulations. I read through your scores and your record, we haven't seen many scores like this for a while," he flipped through some papers, "I see you have an excellent speed record"
"Yes, sir," she said.
"How long do you think it would take you to run down and back up the stairs?" he asked.
She was uncertain for a moment, she wasn't aware there would be more testing today, "All the way to the 1st floor, sir?"
"Yes," he said.
"Well, taking into account traffic and the security measures I'd have to go through," she though for a moment.
"I'm not actually going to make you do it," he interrupted, with an amused look.
"Oh, that's good, my answer would have been unacceptable," she said with a sigh.
"Really? For curiosities sake, what was it?" he asked, looking genuinely curious.
"Around 12 minutes, but that would be no good, if there was an attack up here, I'd be too late in 12 minutes," she said, "something I should work on"
"12," he trailed off looking somewhat impressed, "I don't even think, well, 12 is still impressive, though you are right, an attack would be over and done in 12 minutes," he checked her records again.
She sat silently, waiting for him to speak.
"Well, I am a busy man, you understand," he said, "I'm going to pass you off to the other Turks for the day, Rude with deal weapons, Elena will brief you on the job and its requirements, perks and other assets, and Reno can give you a full tour. Later, I will take you to meet the president as he is our job, and it is our sole purpose to protect him. Am I understood?"
"Yes, sir," she said, "Thank you, sir"
"You thank me now," he picked up his phone. "Elena? I need to see you in my office now"
Not a minute later, a blond woman stepped into Tseng's office, "Sir," she greeted.
"This is our new rookie, you're job is to brief her on our job, then hand her over to Reno for a tour, then Rude for weaponry," he instructed.
"Sir, yes, sir," she said, she motioned for Mea to follow her out of Tseng's office.
She led her over to a dark grey couch that was between the bathroom and the unmarked door. The two sat down.
"Well, our jobs," she started, "Is the most important, in this whole building"
-------------------------------------------------------
45 minutes later Mea was finally freed from Elena's clutches by a tale, bald man in dark sunglasses.
"If you don't understand or have any questions, come and find me," Elena said before leaving her.
Mea nodded to Elena.
"Follow me," the bald man said.
He led Mea past the security gate, down the hall, passed the receptionists, and through the other security gate. He stopped in front of the second door on the left.
He cleared his throat, "I'm Rude, 4th year Turk, if you have any questions I can answer them for you," he said, she found herself wondering if he was even looking at her, "In this room is the weapons, most of us take our assigned weapons everywhere with us, because it pays to be prepared, and you always have to be prepared. But in emergencies or on special missions we come to this room for added equipment and gear."
He unlocked the door and led her inside. To the left, front and right were glass cases, and on each wall there were guns, swords, and various machine weapons of various sizes. Rude went first to the left. He opened the case which appeared to hold armour. Rude handed her two wrist guards, a bullet proof vest, and an ankle strap. He then pointed to a hidden door, "go put this stuff on," he said.
She did just that. When she stepped back out, she barely felt like she had put anything on at all, and it certainly didn't look like she had either. He led her to the case on the right next, where different weapons were kept. He handed her a small 9mm and 2 clips, which fit nicely into her ankle strap. He searched through the weapons and came up holding piece of medal about the size of a ruler, only thicker.
"Boss said your reports say this is your best weapon," he handed it to her, "Place your dominant hand's thumb on the very top"
She did so and out flipped a 4 point shuriken. She smiled and nodded.
"The scanner now has your print and it will only open for you," he said, "Safety caution, of course, just push twice with your thumb and it close."
She did so again and it flipped shut. She slipped it in a spot on her belt, made to hold such a weapon. He handed her a tazer as well, which she placed in the other side of her belt.
"It has two settings, one to shock and one to paralyze," he informed her.
Finally, he led her to the middle cabinet, which was filled with materia.
"In time, you will be able to upgrade all your weapons, armour and materia," he said, "The 9 and the shuriken are strong, but not our strongest. As for materia, you will only get lightning, ice, fire, cure and a barrier, maxed to top levels. We can't give you lower because if something happens you need to be able to defend. If you want other materias you'll have to wait till you're granted permission to have it or take it up with Tseng. Its recommended you put one of either lightning, fire or ice into your weapon and the other four into the slots on your wrist guards."
He handed each materia to her. She placed lightning in her shuriken, ice and cure in her left wrist and fire and barrier in her right. When she was done she stepped back to take it all in. She was really starting to feel like a Turk.
"It is important that you do not forget any of this equipment, its even a good idea to keep it near you when you sleep, assassination is not irregular when you're a Turk," he said, "It is also important that it stays under your clothing, the exception being your main weapon, in your case, the shuriken, as we are obviously Turks. The point being, they don't need to see everything you've got. Understand?"
"Completely," she said.
He nodded, "I have to take you to Reno now," he said. She nodded.
Rude headed into the cubicle area and left when the red head approached Mea.
"So, we meet again," he said, "I guess I have to give you the tour of the floor."
She nodded, "Apparently."
He nodded, "Right, so this is our office area," in the center of the room were four cubicles in a square setting, all which were empty. On the left, right, and back walls were two cubicles each. The two on the right were taken, one by Rude and, she assumed, one by Reno. And one on the left was taken by Elena. "I would recommend, using on of the back ones, Elena's pretty anal. But, anyways, this is where everyone does their reports and such. And you sit in here and wait for your assignments."
He lead her out into the small space with the couch, "That's Tsengs office, washroom beside. One this wall is storage closet and this door, leads to stairs which lead to the presidents floor, you need keys though," he explained. He pointed down the hall, "Down there's washrooms and emergency exit, reception, Mrs. Notty is the old one and Ms. Yu is the young one. The other side is weapon room, another door up to the president, another emergency exit and a meeting room."
He turned around to face her, "Any questions?"
"You're not a very good tour guide," she said simply.
"Who asked you?" he retorted, with his hands in his hips.
"No one, I'm just saying, it's a good thing I wasn't looking forward to that," she said.
Before Reno could reply again, Tseng stepped out of his office, "Oh good, you're right here, did you get everything done?"
"Yes, sir," she said.
"Excellent, I need to take you to meet the president now," he said, "So, if you'll just follow me, you too Reno"
Reno nodded and fell into step behind Mea, who was behind Tseng. Tseng looked around at her, "Safety precaution, can't have you trying anything on the president"
"Of course, sir," she said.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Well, that's chapter one. I know it's a bit boring but the plan is for it to get funny/somewhat amusing. It's basically gonna be a rewrite of the game only from the Turks POV and with a brand new spin/story because of the new Turk. Please let me know what you thought.