This chapter was actually done a little while ago, but I've been delayed in getting it out. Here you are.
52 Hours And 30 Minutes Until The Firing Of The Gauntlet Of Zeus
The envoy was rather nervous this morning, to say the least. Luckily for him, he wasn't expected to do any frontline fighting…and the infantry wouldn't even be landing for hours. Yet that didn't change the fact that it was only thirty minutes until time…and the main battle was about to begin.
It didn't matter that it was still dark out. It was always dark now, what with the sky always overcast. He still knew daylight was coming, even if it wouldn't show itself for another few hours yet. Still…it seemed even colder than before now. Perhaps it was because they were going further north…although the envoy thought it was a bit too cold even for that. He was wearing his issue overcoat, and yet still he had to struggle not to chatter in the breeze that blew over the deck of the Dyne. His collar was turned up, but still the wind soaked in and pierced him.
The fleet, though still silently making its way forward, was coming to life. The divisions were waking. The guns were being warmed up. The engineering crews were coming to life. The first row of ships was already on red alert status in case the New Shinra launched a pre-emptive strike before they hit. A chill not caused by cold was going through the entire army as the final campaign drew nearer and nearer toward beginning. And here, on board the Dyne, some of the newest secret weapons of the PPA were beginning to be switched on deep within its hull. The man could already hear them making strange hums as they came to life. What exactly they would do was still a mystery to most everyone.
However, in the midst of all of this, four people were still missing. Three were high officers within the PPA, and they should have been on deck thirty minutes ago. The captain was now getting rather irate. In the end, he had called him to go and wake them up and get them on deck. Time was quickly running out, and even if they weren't going to be doing direct battle they had to be up. The envoy himself knew that two of them were generals of the PPA. He had a feeling they had their reasons for not being up yet, but apparently Captain Barret didn't care. And so, off he had gone with instructions to go in four different doors and tell them what time it was.
Windy and cold as it was, the envoy finally made it to the first door. He had no idea what order that the doors came in, but he knew that three of them had officers and one of them had a friend of the general's. Since he had to wake them all up, it didn't really matter. Once he stood at the first doorway, he turned around, straightened himself out, and then knocked on the door. Without waiting for a reply, he turned the knob and opened it up.
"Begging your pardon, sir…" He started out as he opened it. "But the captain has requested your-"
The envoy cut himself off as he looked around the corner. To his puzzlement, the room was empty. The bed looked unslept in. A duffel bag was in the corner and had been opened, but it was hardly unpacked. It was as if someone had dumped it in there and then left. The envoy's face became puzzled, and he pulled his head back and shut the door. He was sure that the captain had directed him to this room…but no one had been in there all night…
Frowning a bit, wondering if he was remembering wrong, the envoy leaned away, turned, and began to make for the next door instead. Within a moment he reached it, and gave a shrug as he decided to try this. Once again, he gave a knock on the door, and then without waiting for a reply again grabbed the knob and opened it.
"Begging your pardon, sir…but-"
"What the hell-?!"
"ACK!"
The envoy's head turned the corner momentarily…and saw that there was more than one person in the room…and they were both in the same bed. He also noticed several other things that immediately made him turn white as the sound of a woman screaming and immediately trying to hide herself in the bed's blanket pierced his ears. Turning from white to red, he immediately ducked back out and slammed the door shut again.
There was the sound of commotion within, before the furious voice of General Cloud sounded through the door.
"Don't you know how to wait for an answer before barging into someone's room?!"
The envoy swallowed.
"Sorry, sir! Very sorry, sir!" He yelled back through the door as he heard scrambling for clothes on the other side. "But the door wasn't locked, and I was afraid you were still asleep, and-"
"Wait for an answer next time! That's an order!"
"Yes sir!" The envoy answered with a gulp. He hesitated a moment as he began to hear a woman cursing in a low voice, soon joined in by a man muttering. But after a second, he managed to speak up again. "Um…sir?"
"What?" Cloud snapped back in an irritated voice.
"C-C-Captain Barret requests that you both come to the bridge along with General Ragnar…as we are less than thirty minutes before beginning the attack."
"Huh?" He heard in response. There was a pause, which was probably the man checking his watch. "Oh hell…" He heard a moment later. When he spoke up again, his voice was less angry and more appreciative. "Thanks for the alert, private…although I wish you would have simply said that through the door like you're doing now."
The man swallowed again, but then nodded. "You're welcome, sir. I'll be off now."
Still nervous at having barged in on such a scene, the envoy turned and readily walked away from the room as fast as he could, not wanting to see General Cloud or…was that Commander Tifa? At any rate, not wanting to see either of them again for a long time and hoping they didn't recognize his face if they were still angry later. Soon he had rounded the deck of the ship and was on the opposite side, now moving alongside the row of doors on that side of the ship. Here were the next two doors he was supposed to knock on.
Trying to steady himself, the envoy walked on a short distance until he came to another doorway. He swallowed here and composed his nerves a bit more. Once he was calm enough, he reached up and knocked. He nearly reached for the doorknob again…but this time stopped himself. At any rate, there was no answer.
The man paused a bit longer, but then knocked again. He tried a bit louder this time. Yet there was still no reply.
"Um…General Ragnar?" He called through the door. "Are you in there?"
No response.
The envoy began to think this room was deserted…which led him to think that General Ragnar and his "friend" might actually be in a similar situation to the one he just witnessed. However, this particular room seemed clean. Still, he realized he had to make sure, in case the person was sleeping. Fearing the worst, the envoy called out through the door again.
"…I'm going to open the door and see if you're still asleep now…"
No answer. Nervously clutching his fist once, the envoy took the doorknob, turned it, and opened the door wide. His head peeked in afterward…
…And immediately pulled back. He slammed the door shut behind him as he turned red again, and began to think of himself as an idiot. Soon after, he heard a woman moan as she began to stir on the other side of the doorway. The person…or rather people…inside had indeed still been asleep…but they were still in the same situation as General Cloud. The man couldn't help but get a fleeting thought as he stood there.
Man…couldn't they have waited until after the operation?
Then again…if we all die on this…
"Mmm…Ragnar…"
The envoy immediately went rigid as he heard a soft voice on the other side of the door.
"Uh…yeah?"
"I think someone's at the door for you…"
"Oh…" He heard in a sleepy reply. However, a moment later he heard a much more alert one. "Oh! What time is it?" A pause. "Damnit! It's less than thirty 'til! I gotta-" Another pause. "Oh no…I fell asleep in here! I meant to go back before dawn!"
Another pause on the other end. "Oh boy…" A nervous-sounding woman answered.
Immediately, the voice dropped lower. "Just don't say anything… I don't think he knows you're here."
"Technically…you're in my room" The woman answered in a whisper, which was still quite clear through the door.
"Hopefully he doesn't know that." Ragnar whispered back. Finally, he spoke out again, this time clearly in his more "official" tone. "Um…yes…yes, private. What is it?"
The envoy, who had heard every word, decided to go along with his general's "ruse". "Um…uh…sir, Captain Barret requests you and General Cloud on deck immediately. We are currently less than thirty minutes from the Operation commencement site."
"Yes…very good…" Ragnar hurridly answered. "I'll…I'll be right out, as soon as I…have my tunic buttoned. Thank you, private."
The envoy tried to forget what he saw as he gave a nod, and then turned to try and get back as fast as possible. He had a feeling he didn't have to bother knocking on the last door. But as he began to leave…he suddenly heard a call behind him.
"No…wait a minute!"
Immediately, the envoy froze in his step, and turned his head back to the doorway.
A pause came on the other side, as if whoever was there was thinking of something. An idea seemed to come to the general, and he spoke out again.
"Give this message to Captain Barret…"
52 Hours And 15 Minutes Until The Firing Of The Gauntlet Of Zeus
The fleet was really coming to life now.
With only fifteen minutes until the point of conflict, everyone was being prepared. The fighters were getting ready to deploy, and the pilots were headed out. The gunners began to run the final checkups on their targetting arrays. The destroyers began to move around to make a better firing regime. Those on board the transports woke up and began to prepare themselves. Many of them prayed. After all…they wouldn't be able to defend themselves from instant annihilation until they reached the shore. It was still dark outside at the moment, but now a bit of darker gray began to show up on the horizon. And even farther away…the illuminated coast of the Northern Continent began to grow visible. They too were beginning to warm up for the invaders they saw on their radar.
And within the hold of the Dyne…certain individuals began to prepare as well.
Reno finally got his first good look at this "secret weapon". Although they had decided on Rude being the one to fly it, he and Elena had come down to see them off. Personally, he thought that Rude would be a lot safer than him over the next few hours. He didn't trust this pile of metal as far as he could throw it. Then again…he wasn't sure he could trust this machine either.
The "launch bay" of the Dyne was really nothing more than a space for receiving cargo. It was metallic, grated, full of exposed machinery, and stank of crude oil. It seemed like a fire hazard to Reno. He also didn't like the few patches of rust he noticed. Maritza had moved most of her "toys" to this area. They were mostly still covered with canvas too, save for the one they would be using.
The fighter in question was called the Palidor. General Ragnar named it after another esper, seeing as he had some sort of thing for them. Yet it looked mostly like a Phoenix. It was a bit longer, and appeared to be able to hold more missiles and bombs. Most conspicuous, however, was the second cockpit. Apparently, another seat was right behind the pilot's chair, facing back-to-back with it. This really confused the Turk. What good was that supposed to do?
He didn't know, but Maritza seemed rather pleased with it. She had been up all night taking components from her luggage and putting it into the Palidor. Apparently, she didn't want it to be operational until she was ready to use it. Now she was fixing one last plate of circuitry into the controls in the back seat. Apparently, she was going to be using that. She soon finished this, and began to rise to get out from the cockpit, turn onto the ladder, and lower herself back to the floor of the cargo area.
While she did, the clicking of footsteps was heard nearby. Reno and Elena turned to look and see who it was, and saw a familiar face soon after.
Frowning a bit, and looking displeased with his appearance, Rude came forward. Although he still had his sunglasses, his black suit had been swapped out for an insulated flight suit, PPA issue. He seemed to not be comfortable wearing it over his usual clothes. Despite him being silent, he continued to show this message as he nervously held his helmet in one arm.
Elena, seeming to read his mind, merely shook her head. "You've got to, Rude. What if you get shot down and you go into the ocean? You'd freeze before anyone could pick you up."
Rude merely kept his frown and said nothing.
"Alright boys and girls, we're all set." Maritza merrily spoke as she got off the ladder and turned to face the others.
Reno kept his arms crossed. "You seem pretty happy about this whole operation. Guess you don't expect to die on it."
"Well, I shouldn't unless Rude here plans on being suicidal in his flying." Maritza simply answered as she gestured to him.
"What exactly are you going to do anyway?" Elena asked.
"I'm afraid that's still my little secret until it's time." The woman innocently answered.
"Less than fifteen minutes until launch, and it's still not time?" Reno asked incredulously.
Maritza shrugged. "What can I say? I'm a woman who likes to wait until the last minute."
52 Hours And 10 Minutes Until The Firing Of The Gauntlet Of Zeus
"I…uh…I really don't know 'bout this."
"Oh, come on, Barret." Aerith answered in her old "teasing" voice.
"Are you sure that now's the time for this?" Barret protested, still looking rather uneasy. Normally he might have been more aggressive about this, but seeing as he was the person who was needed to carry this out, he was more nervous.
However, Ragnar was positive that this was what he wanted. Bahamut's half only gave him support for it. He had been in a situation like this over a thousand years ago, and still regretted that he had not had time for this before. Coupled to Ragnar's latest thoughts, he had already decided. And he didn't care if anyone else was watching on the bridge. He wanted this done.
"You're the captain on board the Dyne." Ragnar reminded him.
"Yeah, but…"
"According to international maritime law, that makes you legally eligible to conduct a marriage."
Barret flustered a moment, especially on hearing that word. The rest of the crew members, going about their business, frequently looked back to this but said nothing. Although they thought it was unusual, they also had their own work to worry about and didn't try and interrupt.
"But…come on, man." Barret finally protested. "Ya' want me to do this on board some ol' rust bucket? Don't ya' want somethin' nice?"
"We can do that later." Aerith answered. "But in case something happens we want to go through this now."
The large man hesitated again. He helplessly looked from one side to another, but saw no support from anything or anyone. He looked not only nervous about this…but embarrassed. Ragnar supposed that Barret had never thought about having to do something like this before. However, Aerith and the young general continued to stare at him and wait for him to answer in the affirmative, neither of them moving or looking to back down soon. The man flustered again, but then finally scowled.
"Oh fine…if it'll get you two off thinkin' 'bout sh't like this and back onto trashin' the Shinra." He reluctantly grumbled.
Aerith smiled wider. Ragnar himself felt a bit more of a grin coming on. Both of them looked to each other, and then after a moment longer of hesitating shifted themselves in such a way so that both of them were standing in front of Barret side by side. Ragnar noticed he was on the wrong side, however, and quickly shifted. Once they were both there, they stood still and looked up to Barret.
"Hey! Got room for two more?"
Ragnar, Aerith, and Barret all spun around at that, and looked behind them to the source of the voice. Moments later…Cloud and Tifa ran up to them, and immediately stood next to Ragnar and Aerith in the same positions that the former couple stood. Barret, on seeing this and realizing the truth, immediately blushed and began to look more anxious.
"Aw hell…I gotta do Tifa and Spiky too?"
Ragnar and Aerith, on their part, stayed staring at the two of them. Once they were there, Tifa turned to the others, and after a moment shrugged.
"I said we could go ahead and do something informal now…but that's not getting out of us having a bigger one later." She explained.
"Looks like you two already had the same idea." Cloud commented. "Well, like hell am I going to let you get married before me, kid."
Tifa looked back to the man in front of them. "You don't mind, do you Barret?"
The large man blushed again and flustered a bit more. He huffed a few times, but there was no way he was going to say no to Tifa. He clenched his hands into fists and grumbled again.
"One more and I might as well be a preacher…" He muttered. "Aw right…but where the hell am I supposed to begin anyway?"
"Just ask me and Cloud if we agree to take Tifa and Aerith as our lawfully wedded wives and love, cherish, serve, obey, etc., then ask them the same thing." Ragnar answered.
Barret sighed, but then looked down to Cloud. "Yo Spiky…I mean…Cloud Strife or whatever…you agree to take Tifa to be…I mean…" The man caught himself here, not remembering what Ragnar had just said. "Like…your lawful wife…love her and hold her and…no…well…what the hell he just said!" Here, he pointed to Ragnar.
Cloud cracked a grin but gave a nod. "I do."
Barret turned to Ragnar next. "What about you, Scrawny?"
Ragnar actually chuckled a bit, but also nodded. "I do."
"Ladies, what about you two?"
"I do."
"I do."
"Alright then." Barret said, a bit more relaxed now. "Either of you got any rings?"
Ragnar froze here, and his smile temporarily faded. Technically, you still needed those…or at least some sign of union between the two parties. The others soon followed suit. Both blushing a bit, Cloud and Ragnar alike turned to their uniform pockets and dipped inside them, trying to find something that could fit in for a ring. They scrambled for a few moments, but weren't turning up anything…
"Here! Take these!"
Suddenly, large moogle paws were thrust in front of the faces of the two couples, one to either group. The five people looked up to the source. Cait Sith was nearby, astride his giant mount. Apparently, he had decided to interject himself into this moment, and was now presenting them with something. Ragnar looked back down to the palm in front of him, and saw two bands of metal with rolls of paper inside them. After hesitating a moment, he reached out and took one. He pulled the paper out, and revealed the metal within. The others soon did the same.
On seeing his, Cloud turned to the robot cat. "…Mood rings?"
"They come free with the fortunes." The robot answered.
"They'll do fine." Aerith immediately stated, before anyone else could protest. She pulled the fortune out from her own, and moved to unroll it to read it.
"Um…if it's all the same, can we pass on the fortunes this time?" Cait Sith asked nervously.
"Sure." Cloud answered for Aerith, immediately tearing his own in two.
Soon, the others had obtained their own rings. They were metal at least…although they felt like pewter. At any rate, soon getting back into the moment, the couples exchanged rings and placed them on the others' fingers. When that was done, they turned back to Barret.
"Good. You're both married then." Barret flatly stated. "I mean…'I pronounce you husband and wife', or somethin'. Jus' kiss her."
Although it wasn't the neatest of ceremonies, both couples took this last bit rather seriously. They both took their time in turning to each other, putting their arms around each other, and then having a rather long kiss. Barret blushed again and looked away, while Cait Sith, whether in mockery or serious through its artificial intelligence, began to sob at the sight. Ragnar himself didn't care. He considered this perfectly valid. Although a wedding would have given him something to try and stay alive for…after what happened with Bahamut he felt much better for having done this now. It gave him peace that, no matter what happened, he'd be united with Aerith forever.
After a few moments, Barret finally grumbled and spoke up.
"Alright now…knock it off. They'll be time for more of this sh't later, once we're done with the New Shinra."
52 Hours And 5 Minutes Until The Firing Of The Gauntlet Of Zeus
"All Phoenixes…prepare for launch."
Mack took his hand off the radio at this and frowned. He hated having to do this from the bridge of the Highwind B. He realized he was going into a firefight along with the rest of them…but still, with the ability to stand up, the personel surrounding him, and the relatively quiet interior of the airship, he somehow felt he was much safer. He still hated the fact he wasn't leading the charge himself.
However, all the commander had to do was look to his side to feel a bit better about being here.
Cid was still piloting the Highwind B for the moment…but it was obvious that he would be lucky to get it through this battle. He was paler than usual now. His goggles had been readjusted in order to try and cover up the sweat that was mounting on his brow. The meanest look he could muster painted his face, but even now it was weaker than usual. He was struggling to stay on his feet, it appeared. Luckily, a lot of that was hidden behind his console. Mack, on his part, was manning a "newly acquired" console that happened to be close to the main wheel of the ship. It had some communications and radar ability on it, which he was supposed to be able to coordinate the air portion of the attack from. But mostly, it was also to get him close to Cid if he needed to be.
Mack clenched his fist and looked ahead of him. The world was turning grayer quickly now, and he could start to see the outline of the Northern Continent ahead. He could already see the lights of the opposing fleet nearing. This part, at least, would still be exciting for him.
Finally heading back…
Abruptly, a beep went off from his console. Mack was distracted from the sight in front of him, and looked down to it. He noticed that the messages were going off. What did that mean again?
Luckily, the communication's officer beat him to it.
"Sir. Incoming transmission from Base."
"Static reply, ensign." Cid flatly stated, without even looking back.
The officer turned and looked to the captain with puzzlement. "Sir?"
"Just do it, ensign." Cid half-grouchily replied, although he didn't have the strength to be angry anymore.
The officer hesitated a moment, but then shrugged, sighed, and turned back to the console. "Aye sir."
Mack looked up to Cid for a moment, but the man didn't look back. The commander felt anxious. This might have been his last chance to say anything to Shera…but he gave it up. He guessed he didn't want their last words to be a begging match for him to turn around and come back. He knew that he better not interfere with this, and so he simply clenched his hands into fists and waited. Saying anything probably wouldn't help now.
It took only a few moments before Cid recovered from this. He coughed once to get himself ready, inhaled deeply one more time, and then called out in the loudest tone he could muster.
"This is it, ladies and gentlemen! Hold on to yer drawers and don't piss in them!"
"How many?"
"We count over a hundred more ships than last time. Most of them are of unknown class, but a large number of them are of similar shape and are holding back. It is more than likely that they are transports."
To think…I actually want the Admiral here for a change…
Without Admiral Ashiah there, command of the flagship Juggernaut had devolved to Captain Bridges, the current first officer. It changed so often, due to Ashiah's paranoia, that few of them were that well experienced anymore. Commanding the ship during a "lull" in the war wasn't that hard. Just keep on patrol…shoot anything down that looked hostile or intrusive. Unfortunately…this was the worst case scenario now.
The crew members on board the Juggernaut were now showing considerably higher levels of tension. Many of them were too new to this craft to be well versed in it. Yet they were soon going to be going into heavy combat. Long range radar had picked up a massive invasion headed this way. And it was a full fledged invasion this time, not just a strike. Strong as the Juggernaut was, there were more ways for a ship to go bust than to be shot up. And if the crew panicked, it still wouldn't be that good of a fighting force. Yet even worse was that this ship was supposed to coordinate the efforts of the rest of the fleet. Captain Bridges was now not only commanding the aircraft carrier, but the entire New Shinra Navy.
It was small wonder why he called in on General Leers.
The captain nervously sat in his chair, clenching and releasing the edge of it several times. He waited patiently for the speaker's reply, while the rest of the crew continued to warm up the weapons and nervously eye the radar and viewscreen. They could already see the black shapes on the horizon getting steadily larger. The rest of the fleet around them was mobilizing quickly to get into a defensive wave.
"Damn you, Ashiah…" The captain finally heard in a muttered curse. After that, he grew louder and commanding again. "Captain…you are to engage and drive off the invaders. I don't want anything landing on shore. You have the full go ahead to begin the assault."
The officer swallowed a bit, but then gave a ready nod to the unseeing general. "Aye, sir."
"And captain?"
"Yes sir?"
"If you blow this…I'd go down with the ship rather than come back to the Dome if I were you."
52 Hours Until The Firing Of The Gauntlet Of Zeus
As the last light of "dawn" began to break, and details of the world at last became visible, the second navy moved on the first.
The morning was especially icy as they two masses of metal moved on each other. It seemed as if the world was getting ready for the bloodshed to follow. Both fleets were in full formation now. The attacking fleet was beginning to spread out to avoid being flanked, although the transports stayed in a file formation behind them. The defensive fleet began to move out in a line as it had before, using the grid to help thicken it and avoid a breakthrough. Both sides began to scramble their fighters as their guns picked their first targets. The soldiers on each side began to ready themselves for the landing, whether to advance or repel.
Both sides knew well what was at stake here. For the attacking fleet, it was obvious. This last strike had to work. As for the defenders, they knew much the same. They knew that they were days from ending the war. The enemy was making a final strike. Had this been a year earlier, they might have laughed at it…calling it the last desperate act of a doomed force. But disheartened as they were, and beaten as they had been, they feared it much greater. If they failed now, they could all be dead…and the war would have been for nothing. There was a lot at stake for both sides now.
People on both sides began to sweat and tense up as they started to make out the guns on the other side. They began to trace out the details on the other ships and wonder if the first eruption that came from the guns would be headed toward them. They both began to probe for weaknesses. That ship appeared to have a wound from the last battle. That ship looked rather weak. The fighters spiraled around like flies over the rotting carcasses that were yet to come. Both waited for who was going to make the opening shot.
But unknown to one of the sides, the opening shot was coming from something neither of them could see.
"Captain…the enemy appears to have some sort of new weapon on board some of the destroyers."
"They're powering up."
Captain Bridges swallowed again. Why did this have to be his responsibility? "Target those weapons as the opening shot." He instructed, struggling to stay at ease in his chair.
The main gunners nodded, and immediately sent the message onto the others. The large deck guns began to turn to face them. The captain inhaled afterward, and looked out again. The two fleets continued to get nearer and nearer. The NSN was not yet in firing range, however. Unfortunately, the WGN was. The Wutai guns had longer barrels. They would have to take a few shots before moving in. That's what many in the NSN were fearing at the moment.
However…what was strange is that none of them were firing. They were prepared to, but even after coming in range none of them attacked. This was hardly noticeable at first…but as the seconds went by and the NSN continued to get closer and closer into their own firing range, it puzzled the captain more. He knew how accurate their guns were. Fear of missing couldn't be an issue… Yet he soon received yet another surprise besides that.
"…Enemy fleet slowing." The tactical officer suddenly announced. "They're increasing the time it takes for us to get in range."
The captain looked to the officer incredulously at that, but then turned back to the screen. If they were shooting, he would simply rule this as a case of trying to maximize more shots. However…no one was firing. The fighters weren't advancing either. Even the big airships kept their distance. The man leaned forward a bit more, and balanced his head on his hand. He looked to the enemy with growing confusion. This didn't make any sense. Were they trying to draw them out? Away from the shore? They had to be planning something. They had come with the intent to invade. They weren't going to back away now.
"This is weird…" He murmured aloud. He thought a moment longer, and then finally reached a decision. "Send a message to the main gunners. Fire a warning shot at-"
Captain Bridges was cut off, as was most of the rest of the Juggernaut from their duties…by an earth shaking explosion.
The captain was nearly thrown from his chair as the ground lurched violently, and the sound of a deafened eruption went off. Most of the other officers received the alien sensation of trauma to the ship as they dove for the sides of their consoles and seized them. The foreign sound of the alarm sirens, never before used on board the ship, abruptly went off full blast, and filled the bridge and the rest of the vessel with a chilling note. If that wasn't enough…the gigantic vessel lurched one way, and the crew, not used to this, suddenly slid in one direction. Chaos broke out aboard the vessel for a few brief moments as everyone flew into panic from the sudden blast.
At length, the officers began to scramble back into their seats. The captain gripped the edge of his chair firmly until he was able to drag himself up and back into it. Even then, the ground beneath him pitched and wobbled. He wheeled around to the rest of the bridge as the sirens continued to blare and the lights continued to go off. The man was shocked. He had never seen this happen on board this ship before. There was never a need for an emergency, strong as it was.
"What the hell just happened?" He yelled over the din.
The tactical officer drug himself back into his own chair and looked over his display. "We've been hit sir!" He yelled back over the noise. A moment later, however, as he looked on at his display…his eyes widened in shock.
"We've…we've taken damage!"
Everyone on the bridge froze at that. All consoles and stations were completely forgotten as every last officer turned to face the tactical officer. Captain Bridges himself leaned out of his chair. The communication's console began to blare a moment later, joining in with the sirens. That caused the officer at that station to turn away reluctantly, but everyone else kept their eyes on the tactical station.
"What did you say?"
"Deck 25 has suffered a hull breach!"
"That's impossible!"
"Sir…engineering confirms it!" The communication's officer suddenly announced, causing everyone to wheel around to him next. "Deck 25 has suffered an explosion! One dead, two injured! We're taking on water!"
The captain couldn't believe it. He again rued his horrible fate. The enemy had done the impossible. Shocked as they all were, he realized that they finally found a way to breach their hull. Maybe one of those new weapons had done it… But even then…how? Assuming they had found a way to get through their hull, then when did they shoot them? He didn't even see them fire…
Wait a minute…Deck 25 is on the bottom…
"…Tactical!"
"Yes sir!"
"Switch to sonar-"
The captain was cut off again as another blast sent the Juggernaut into another lurch. Another deafened eruption went out from underneath the ship, and once again the aircraft carrier buckled. Yet that wasn't all now. Though the crew members were shocked and in disarray, the enemy wasn't holding back anymore. Outside of the viewscreen, the guns went off in the enemy fleet, and artillery shots soon smashed into the enemy. Not only that…but something new happened. The new weapons that they had seen coming in suddenly glowed bright red for a moment…just before firing out a red beam of light at their targets in the NSN. The moment they hit, anything combustible that was close to the shot detonated, including their ammunition that had been locked away, supposedly clear of any collateral damage. However, as the ships erupted into fireballs moments later, and as crews and commanders recoiled in shock and awe from the sight…they found the reason. As the fire and smoke cleared, revealing smoldering wreckage underneath, they saw that a great hole had been melted into the midst of where the red light had been aimed. It had been hot enough to ignite anything in its path. The enemy had developed some sort of laser projector.
The fleet was soon in as much confusion as the crew of the Juggernaut. As they struggled to get back to their stations and open fire as well, more calls poured in on the communication's network as the engineers went wild, trying to contain the first and second leaks pounded into the aircraft carrier's hull. They were still out of range, however, and the PPA was taking advantage of that. The rest of the fleet began to try and put in the chase, targeting the enemy's new guns before they fired again. But the Juggernaut itself was forced to stay put. Other than scrambling Harbingers and Gelinkas to attack, it couldn't move until they knew for sure they weren't in danger of exacerbating damage.
The captain was sweating considerably now as he tried to keep his cool and got back into his seat.
"Breaches now on Sectors 11 and 28 of Deck 25!" The communication's officer yelled. "Engineering reports those Sectors are now already in a foot of water!"
"Tactical! Where's the damn sonar?" The captain yelled over the growing panic and alarms.
"Right here sir!"
A moment later, and the viewscreen vanished temporarily, removing the sight of the battle that was rapidly heating up. In its place, a digital grid overlaying the ocean was put up, with the large bulk of the Juggernaut right in the center. A series of circles began to be emitted from this ship, and expanded as they moved along the field. In short order, they touched on every ship in both their fleet and the enemy's, and relayed the information back to the display.
However…a louder beeping went off soon after to confirm a new presence. When that happened, the view of the grid spontaneously spiraled so that it went from flat to horizontal, now showing the area above and below the Juggernaut instead of around it. When it did this, the rings expanded outward and struck a new object. This one was rapidly imaged on the grid, and showed a cylindrical form with a few fins and a propeller array coming out from the back of it.
The captain and tactical officer stared at this…and understood.
Submarines had been a late development for the Shinra. What few submarines they had constructed were destroyed by a rogue vessel during the crisis with Meteor. The one that was remaining was apparently destroyed by the party who stole it once Meteor was eliminated. There were a few hulls and workings of submarines remaining afterward, most of which the New Shinra had recovered. However, none of them were far enough along for the engineers to make operational with their own knowledge. Some said that Colonel Maritza had found one that was near completion, and that she had nearly got it working. But with her death, the whereabouts of the submarine and the person who could have finished it were both gone. Now, it seemed the PPA had found it. Not only that…but they had found out that the Juggernaut itself literally had a "soft underbelly".
That's what they were using against them.
"Orders, captain?"
The officer paused a moment longer. He might have been in a bad spot…but he realized there was nothing for it. He had to try and get through this battle. There was too much at stake here. With that in mind, he calmed himself down as much as possible, and raised his head.
"Have the depth charges dragged out and prepare to respond to the submarine. All other guns, begin the attack on the enemy fleet."
The officer nodded, and quickly went back to his task. The other officers were soon busy about theirs. Moments later, the first of the Juggernaut's own guns began to go off. The Harbingers engaged the enemy Phoenixes, and Captain Bridges was left to sit in his chair as the sonar screen went down, watch the battle, and prepare himself for the next impact.
But as he did…he couldn't help but notice something.
The fighters made a strike last time… How come they're just hanging around?
"Fly us straight into the grid!"
Rude turned his head slightly behind him at that, staring incredulously. Of course, that mattered little. Over the roar of the Palidor's engines, Rude could only hear Maritza when she spoke through the radio as she had a moment ago. Nevertheless, he felt better checking on her. He wanted to make sure she wasn't doing anything behind his back. However, with the cockpit as cramped as it was, he wouldn't really be able to see one way or another. Frowning, he turned back and focused himself on flying.
Guns were thundering below and above him. The two fleets were locked into heavy combat now. He abruptly had to raise the front of his craft as one shell obliterated one of the PPA Comets. Most of the NSN were struggling to destroy them before they shot again. Every target that one of them had managed to land on was obliterated or disabled. Rude could say this for him…Rufus still knew his stuff. Rude had never even seen a prototype of this design back when he was still working for Shinra. It must have really been cutting edge. He couldn't imagine how they could have gotten it to run on something besides mako…but that really wasn't his concern right now. His was doing the rather suicidal maneuver of going to the coast.
It didn't take long for the Palidor to cross over into the area between fleets. There was a hailstorm of fire going off for a moment there. The NSA, correctly assuming that if one fighter was breaking off for them it meant something bad, were training their flak guns at him and unloading. Yet it was nothing for Rude to guide a ship this fast and maneuverable through the storm. The gunners on board the boat could barely keep up with him. And soon, they were ignoring him in favor of the sea forces, because what Comets were left abruptly fired off their second shot, disabling four more destroyers in their wake. One, he noticed, was aimed at the Juggernaut…but even after firing all it made was a glowing red spot on the hull. That thing was sure tough…but Maritza had been right about it underneath. The ship was now spewing out water from pumps on the side hull, and it was rolling somewhat unsteady in the water.
Yet as the Palidor passed over this fleet, all shots whatsoever ceased against it. Rude could guess why immediately. They were headed for the grid now, and they counted on it to take care of them. Sure enough, his own radar soon began to alarm as the shoreline in front of him neared. As he passed over the last of the NSN, he detected the nearest guns and missile launchers beginning to power up. He looked out the window to see it in real life. The shore was still about twenty seconds away, but he could already see the weapons moving to take aim at him.
Rude had a feeling that if Reno were here, he would say something like: "Now would be a good time to unveil your master plan." Quiet as he was, he said something a bit milder.
"Um…"
"I know, I know…" Maritza sounded from behind him. In response, he heard the tapping of keys on one of the control panels she had put in. "Alright…that should just about do it…there!"
As Maritza typed the last key…something suddenly deployed right in Rude's face, completely blocking off the view of the shore. A large black rectangle came down and moved in front of his vision. The man reacted in surprise for a moment, and soon began to grow a bit nervous. He tried to look around the sides of it to see where he was going as he once again voiced his unease.
"What…?"
"Hold your horses. Watch."
Moments later, however, the black rectangle revealed what it was. A power blip went through it, and suddenly a green grid splashed into view. Rude stopped looking at the sides, and turned his attention to the new device. He soon realized that it was some sort of display. As he watched, the grid deformed and twisted itself while subdividing into smaller pieces. It swung down on the world, and began to form more contours and shapes. Along with it, trails of green light began to move into the air from the ground. As it kept forming, Rude finally realized what he was looking at. It was a digital view of what he was seeing…the ocean, the coastline, and the Defense Grid. What more, it was also showing each weapon and what their firing path was going to be.
Moments later, however, something new appeared. A large red tunnel made of wire mesh suddenly formed within the moving trails of green light. Like a great cosmic snake, it began to swish back and forth slowly, shifting one way and another. It also contorted and expanded, growing wider and thinner all the time while it moved. But it stayed constant as Rude watched.
A snicker filled his ears from Maritza's radio.
"I built the Defense Grid protocol, but here's something I put into it that I knew would come in helpful one day. Many of the weapons operate on AI. The ones that don't have certain limits on them. It's nearly mathematically impossible to figure this out independently, but if you know the firing sequences, times for reloading and cooling, restrictions, and everything of the like…you can find the "blind spot" of the Defense Grid. You can even plot it onto a computer program, like I am. That red tunnel represents where the guns can never hit at a specific point in time. It's just wide enough for a skilled pilot to take a single fighter through. I planned it as an emergency escape route if I was every going to be shot down for whatever reason by the PPA. Now it has a new purpose. Mr. Rude…simply fly the ship through the tunnel, and you'll never get hit."
The Turk hesitated momentarily, but then turned and decided to do what the woman said. After all, it was her rear end too if she was wrong. Still, he didn't like this very much. He couldn't even directly see what was going to be shooting at him now. All he saw was an artificial world on an artificial grid. He felt himself gun up the engine a bit more as he saw himself get closer and closer to the coast, and kept his eyes on the red tunnel. Before he even got in range, he was already passing into it. It shifted and warped a bit with time, but he was good enough to keep himself inside. A few seconds later, and he knew he was in range of the guns. He knew because he began to hear them erupt to send shots his way. Hoping again that the woman was telling the truth, he held on as he continued to fly onward, expecting to be rocked by explosions at any moment.
Seconds later, explosions did go off around him, and he felt himself shoved a bit around from the impact. However, he held on tight and kept piloting the ship. He was still able to hold it steady, and keep it within the tunnel. More explosions followed, but they didn't fare any better against him. For a few seconds he did this, finally reaching the coast and passing over it. He got in thicker and thicker, and as it did more explosions went off around him. The tunnel on screen grew narrower and turned a bit more. However…nothing struck him. Bullets fired uselessly around him. Explosions were always too far out, in front, or behind. Even the heat seeking missiles that soon joined in were confused by the explosions and gunfire in such a way as to not hit him. He soon realized that Maritza was right. He wasn't being hit.
"Sheer brilliance, I know." Maritza cooed in false modesty. "Now for my next trick."
The tapping of more keys went out soon after. Rude kept flying through the virtual tunnel, but he also turned his head back slightly again. "What do I do now?"
"Your part is over, my good man." Maritza answered as she kept typing. "Just keep us flying through until you're clear to turn back. This next bit is all mine. Perhaps you've noticed that all weapons have been transferred to me."
Rude paused a moment, but then looked at his console. Sure enough…he realized that he didn't have any trigger buttons or functioning target equipment left.
Maritza finished tapping, and soon he heard servo joints adjusting as she seemed to shift her grasp around on some sort of controls. "Everywhere in the Defense Grid requires some source of landed power for at least one aspect of its operation. This was so it could all be automated." She explained. "But the one reactor in the Dome wasn't nearly enough. We had to build two more just to operate all of these defenses. The two reactors themselves are underground and armored against any bombardment. However…the distribution transformers are far less guarded and vulnerable to piercing missiles. If one knew where they were…and destroyed them in the right sequence…the amount of current that would be liberated in some areas or cut off in others would be great enough to cause massive shortouts that would not only temporarily take down the entire Defense Grid, but would have enough leftover damage to only be capable of returning to 60 percent capability within twelve hours. There are thirty key transformers located on this coast…"
A moment later, and a new sound suddenly went off from the Palidor. Rude, surprised at this, turned to the source, and found himself looking through the left side window of the cockpit. He could still see out this, and on doing so he saw that they had fired a missile. A plume of smoke was trailing through the air as one of the armor-piercing class missiles of Isuzu Industries went off from the craft at nearly a right angle. It trailed through the air for a few fateful moments, seeming to easily avoid the hailstorm of firepower as it gradually descended, before lowering to the ground and detonating on a certain unremarkable spot in the landscape of artillery.
Rude immediately saw the digital tunnel, in one area, substantially enlarge on the graphic he was following. Seconds later, all firepower ceased that was located to the immediate left of the Palidor.
"Now there are twenty-nine." Maritza chirped as she fired off another missile.
Another explosion struck the bottom of the Juggernaut, and again the crew lurched. Captain Bridges was ready at this point, and so he was able to stabilize himself. However…this was happening far too frequently. This was the fifth time now. The aircraft carrier had been built with the capability of being able to fight against submarines, but none of those systems had been used in the war yet. They were lucky that this was the Juggernaut being assaulted. Any other ship would have gone down after two torpedoes. As it was, the ship was still very much afloat. It was pumping out water furiously now, and many sectors on the lowest deck were being shut off. Yet still, the ship was far from able to defend itself against the onslaught, and had only fired half the amount of desired shots at the enemy.
"Depth charges ready sir!" The tactical officer suddenly yelled. "But until we have engine power, we can't risk using them!"
"Engineering reports we won't be ready to move for another ten minutes!" The communications' officer threw in.
"We don't have that time! We're a sitting duck as it is!" Bridges yelled back. "We need to move in three! Are we jamming them yet?"
By jamming, the captain was referring to a specific any-submarine defense device on board the Juggernaut. It was designed to obscure the targeting system of torpedoes, making them go too wide or shallow and detonate harmlessly. Of course, this system as well hadn't been activated yet, not expecting this kind of attack.
The tactical officer frowned. "That was the first thing they took out, sir!" He yelled back over the din. "The backup system won't be up for thirty minutes!"
The captain sighed. "Then can somebody please turn off these damn sirens! They're driving me nuts!" He yelled in exasperation.
For a brief few seconds, there was relative peace as everyone carried out their tasks. Both fleets were in full range of one another now, and letting the other have it. By now, the last of those laser projectors were destroyed, and the triple guns of the New Shinra were disabling some of the enemy too. But the wounds that had been left by the enemy were still there. The line of destroyers in their fleet had been fractured, and getting it tight again wouldn't be possible in a short period of time. Until it was, there was a chance that the enemy could pinch off other ships and take them down in sections…especially since the smaller vessels were starting to move forward… The only thing left to do now, and that was being done, was to order a slow retreat back to the coast, where the line was unbreakable thanks to the grid…
What happened next was yet another disaster for that day.
"Sir! Incoming message from Neo Junon!"
"Sir! I'm picking up strange readings from the coast!"
Both of these messages came practically at once. Captain Bridges was left befuddled for a moment, looking to both the communications and the tactical stations. At last, he sighed and turned to the communications. "What is it?"
"We have a single bogey over the shore! Their shots are hitting our power nodes! We're losing power to some areas, and the feedback and strain is shorting out even more! Neo Junon reports that 17 percent of the grid…no…now 23 percent has gone dead!"
Captain Bridges' eyes widened. "How the hell is that possible? There's hundreds of guns out there! How can one ship shoot them down?"
Of course, the captain knew the answer as soon as he had said it. There were vulnerable spots in the grid, just like the officer had just said. Taking out a power distribution node or transformer was enough to take out a whole suite of artillery. But with how they were buried and hidden, and all of their locations top secret, it would take a miracle to get a lucky shot to hit just one of them. But the communication's officer was in the plural… How did they know where to find them?
"Confirmed, sir!" The tactical officer responded, finally throwing in his two cents. "Large sections of the grid are going dead…and more are following!"
"Why the hell aren't they shooting them down?"
"Neo Junon reports they're firing every last weapon at it, but none of their shots are even landing close!" The communication's officer called back.
Bridges grit his teeth. "Send out a call to Harbinger squadrons! Bring them in to shoot it out of the sky!"
"It's too late sir! It's moving too fast to intercept!"
The captain clenched his fist. How were the PPA doing this? They never had more than one ace up their sleeve before… They had been beaten in a straight up fight last time. Now they seemed to know all their weaknesses. They were exploiting every flaw in their defense at once. How in the world did they know about all of this? Could they be that lucky? Weren't they supposed to have cracked down on most of the spies? How was this possible?
"Sir!"
Groaning almost at how much worse it could get, Captain Bridges turned back to tactical. "What is it now, ensign?"
"…The enemy navy is picking up speed! They're gathering into the breaks in our line that are nearest where the grid has gone dead! The fighters and airships have broken off from the fleet and are headed to the dead zones within the grid as well! The alleged transports are gathering in behind the fleet!"
The captain let out a long exhale, and raised his hand to wipe his brow. This wasn't luck. This was planned. The enemy had just knocked the NSN for a loop, and now it was closing in to make them hurt even more…if not finish them. Now they were between a rock and a hard place with nowhere to run. And the captain realized that the only bulwark with enough firepower left to hold off an invasion like theirs…was the Juggernaut itself.
Other than pray for a miracle, there was only one thing left to do.
"Helmsman…as soon as engines are online, take us as close to the shore as possible!"
A lone radio tower, the source of the frantic message that had been sent toward the Juggernaut from Neo Junon, stood on the shore. It was rather tall…taller than any building that had been put there, even than the loading cranes. It had to be. After all, it was a relay point for intercontinental messages as well as for communication to the fleet. It wasn't much…just a steeple of steel raising out from the roof of the tallest building with a few lights on it. There were some wires holding it balanced. A metal rung ladder about two hundred feet high extended up to a service platform near the top, which was scarcely large enough to hold a dozen people. But here was a good view of what was going on.
From here, one could feel the jet streams of the airships and fighters as they crossed onto shore and began carpet bombing the deactivated parts of the grid. This was to both ensure they couldn't be turned back on as well as to subjugate any ground troops. A rain of fire was still being sent through the sky from what was left of the grid, but it was only half as strong as it was initially, and that too was fading fast. Further ahead, the water lapped violently against the shore, growing more turbulent as the attacking fleet pushed the defenders back. Oil and debris began to mingle with what was hitting the sand. The sky was still gray, blocking out any colors of morning or dawn…but it would still be a red one. Fire filled up the coast as, in a panoramic view, one could see ships all up and down the coastline fighting each other furiously. Even the massive, aptly named Juggernaut was backing up now. It was clear that the victor had already been decided.
How surprising.
Aleron thought this to herself as she crossed her arms and stared out from the radio tower. In all honesty, she didn't believe that the attacking navy could do it. But apparently they had learned much more than they let on. They were using every opportunity and weakness, and now they were letting disarray and panic work for them as well.
"You've done well, Cetra." Aleron spoke out at the ocean. The one with the Cetra on it was still a mile away, and there was no possible way they could hear her even if she yelled. Yet she still spoke as if they were right in front of her. "You've surprised me. You've actually managed to trounce your enemies. You've used intelligence and resourcefulness, and you're carrying out a successful invasion even if it is early. If this keeps up, soon this navy will be gone, and the army will be routed. You'll have Neo Junon, and be one massive step closer toward taking the entire continent…all before the New Shinra have a chance to use their large toy against you."
She paused for a moment after saying this, almost waiting for an answer, it seemed. She received none save for the distant sound of guns blasting.
Slowly, the woman uncrossed her arms.
The fire materia was in one of her hands as it went down to her side, and began to glow as she smiled wickedly.
"This I cannot allow."
To be continued...