Fort Tamblin had been destroyed, ruined in every sense of the word. All that remained there now was blackened rubble, a shattered shrine to Leviathan, the hallowed ground of Wutai desecrated by the ShinRa troops and ultimately defeated by the two operatives sent by SOLDIER. Names had been discovered, and vendettas had been set against them. Zack, the Second Class who had defeated the Crescent Unit leader, and Angeal, a First Class who had been the one to surpass the rest of the troops and set the bombs that had led to Tamblin's destruction.
Evacuation had been a lengthy process, the dead far outweighing the living and most of the dead were identified as Civilians. Godo had locked himself in his chamber for many nights when he awoke, still wounded from his encounter with the Second Class in the courtyard. It had been a great blow to his pride, being defeated by a mere Second, when he had proved himself time and again against many Firsts. As if to add insult to injury, his daughter, Yuffie, had disappeared, and none of the units guarding the evacuees had reported her as being in the camp. Still, three more reports had not yet been received so hope remained, if only faint. The only person Godo would allow in his chamber was the Healer, an expert in healing potions, stronger than the ShinRa brand ones that seemed to be sold everywhere. Godo often believed it was because Wutai's healers were closer to nature, more attuned to the lifestream and therefore more able to heal the children on the Planet. The Healer would bring the reports to Godo, reading him the replies to the search for his daughter, the news from the evacuees and messages from the Capital city past the mountains.
It was on the fifth day that Godo finally emerged, looking frail, from his chambers. He assembled the Crescent Unit, gave orders and left them to prepare for their journey overseas. While this went on around him, he wrote orders to the evacuation camps to send Yuffie to the Cave where his unit were hiding immediately, so that upon his return he could be reunited with her. Limping around the chamber he sighed, he was still a young man, but already he could feel himself draining away, the pressures of leadership, the shame of defeat and the fear of his daughter's loss. All of these sucked away at his energy daily, and his Healer often warned him of the perils of over exertion. Godo felt obliged to ignore these warnings, the greater good took prevalence over his personal health and feelings, and it was for this reason he would travel with 2 thirds of his forces across the sea, at first to Junon where a contact there would supply them with information and the things they needed to stay hidden, and then onto Midgar, the centre of the evil that was ShinRa. It was the last place on Gaia that Godo had ever wanted to go; it was the symbol of ShinRa's power, a small town that had grown to become the power centre of the World because of one company's phenomenal success. Despite this however, it had become clear that infiltrating this power centre was the only way the ShinRa Electric Power Company could ever be brought down.
The next morning Godo, his healer and the Crescent Unit contingent he was sending into Midgar departed, a large ShinRa transport barge, stolen and sent over by the men he had stationed in Junon, it had been made to look like a theft from another Rebel force, AVALANCHE, and in response to this they had redoubled their efforts to find the leaders of the "Terrorist Organisation". Godo was confident that because of this, the security in Junon and Midgar would be lax and make Godo's plan all that much easier.
The barge left early, while the sun was still rising low over Wutai, its deep reddish rays obstructed by the mountains that guarded the southern area of the Wutai continent. Godo stared long at the image, one of the most beautiful things he had ever seen, and he felt proud to be from Wutai, confident in the fact he would do anything to protect Wutai's spirit, protect it from destruction at the hands of the ShinRa. Staniv, the Healer, stood next to Godo, a healthy supply of potions in his pack, muttering softly to Chekhov, one of the Crescent Unit members who had been chosen to spy on the ShinRa and obtain secret documents from various resources, Shake was another, a young child, but a skilled fighter, who had proven his worth in the Tamblin siege. These and 4 others were to be placed in Midgar, to retrieve and forward information through a network of Crescent Unit members to Godo who would return home when the setup was complete.
To add to this, the rest of the Crescent Unit had been chosen to cause trouble in the city, drawing the attention of the ShinRa away from the 6 spies, and if possible, eliminate the two SOLDIERs who had humiliated them at Fort Tamblin. Godo watched Chekhov as she left Staniv, drawn to her beauty and easy flirtatious nature, reminding him of his departed wife, a good friend of Chekhov's and Staniv's before she was murdered.
"My lord…." Staniv started, unsure of how he should phrase his question, "Do you truly believe this will work…?"
Godo smiled softly, Staniv had never steered him wrong before, he had a good eye for trouble and Godo trusted his instincts, "What is bothering you my friend?"
"We could be sending this entire unit into a suicide mission my lord. You know this; I've seen it haunting you while you give the orders. What if the ShinRa catch them, what if they are killed or tortured and our base is given away?"
"It will not fail, they will not die. I believe that if they are captured, they will withstand the torture." Godo replied softly, attempting to calm his friend's worries, but in truth all of this had been plaguing him too. He would never be able to forgive himself if Shake died. He was too young to be involved in the affairs of war, but he had proved himself capable, and Wutai needed all the help it could get. AVALANCHE had refused to send aid many times, despite the pleas that Godo and the other leaders of Wutai had sent. It seemed they were alone in their struggle against the behemoth that was ShinRa.
Staniv sighed and closed his eyes, "Very well my lord, if that is your belief. I shall depart now; there is much to prepare for."
Godo nodded and looked back to where the sun had been setting over Wutai, but the land had disappeared over the horizon. Soon they would reach Junon, the domain of Rufus ShinRa, Vice President and Son of the President ShinRa. It was reputed that he was one of the ShinRa Executives that had pushed for the attack on Tamblin, the first open attack on Wutai. Before this, it had been small raids, all initiated after the peace talks between ShinRa and Wutai had been a failure. Rufus was not a man to be trifled with, a fear monger, who believed force, was a more effective way of dealing with problems than espionage and bribery, the tactic his father employed ruthlessly.
Godo took one last look at the sea and headed into his cabin, smiling encouragingly at the Crescent troops on deck who were sparring with each other, dressed in ShinRa uniforms, constantly testing their own limits, as Godo had taught them too. Closing the door behind him he sighed, "We'll cross the ocean…to a new continent…Even if it is in ShinRa uniforms."