For those of you who were wondering, I'm not dead and I haven't abandoned this fanfiction. The truth is I was just about done writing this chapter when school got very hairy. Then I got distracted by the "Battle for Middle-Earth" computer game series. However, it's all done now.
51 Hours Until The Firing Of The Gauntlet Of Zeus
What do you know…things are going right for a change.
This can't be good.
It wasn't just pessimism that made Ragnar think this. It was a new sensation. Something within his blood was beginning to chill as he watched the battle continue. He had a sinking feeling that Aerith was beginning to feel it as well. Therefore, he had a small audience with him of a different disposition as the rest of the crew on board grew enthusiastic, and Barret himself swung his fist in the air.
"Yeah! Take that!"
The Dyne itself was finally joining in the fray. Being one of the better-armed ships, it was moving out to join in with the destroyers as they made their push. Their own opening volley had disabled the guns on another New Shinra destroyer, rendering the enemy ship useless. Not giving up, Barret was leading the ship onward with the rest of them, continuing to push against the enemy units and force them closer and closer toward the shore, which was now a trap rather than their last protection.
The battle was going rather well. Maritza had come through for them after all. The Juggernaut was struggling to pull itself back from the Leviathan's barrage. The fleet was caught off guard by the attack of the Comets, and though they were all almost destroyed the damage was lasting. The newer ships, which were mostly unarmed guns, were nevertheless helping out in terms of sheer numbers as they moved in to overwhelm what enemy destroyers were left. The Defense Grid was nearly completely powered down, and the air force was keeping it that way. Within a half hour, they might already be able to land ships.
So why did Ragnar feel this was about to go wrong?
"General Ragnar?"
A blip of static had suddenly sounded from the radio, followed by that statement. Hearing it, Ragnar looked down to the source. He recognized the voice almost immediately as that of Red XIII. With that in mind, he took up the radio and held it to his head.
"Yes, Colonel?"
"The grid has been subjugated. Fighters are requesting permission to turn and keep up the fight on the navy."
"Permission granted."
Ragnar switched off the radio, and then looked out again. The enemy was still moving back. The shore might not have been a defense, but it was the only way to keep themselves from being surrounded now. The young general clenched his fist and waited.
"We've got them beat, kid." Cloud suddenly spoke up from his side.
"So it would seem…" Was all that Ragnar answered.
Unseen by Ragnar, Cloud turned his head toward him. "What do you mean?"
"This is too easy. Something's not right here. We're winning…but I've got the feeling that something darker is coming…"
Cloud paused for a moment himself after hearing this. "…You mean like Sephiroth?"
The youth inhaled again and exhaled. "Maybe I should run and check on Aerith. Maybe she's feeling it a bit more clear-"
Ragnar was cut off, and so was the revelry of the crew.
Abruptly, one of their destroyers near the front line exploded.
The intensity of the flash, the sound of the eruption, and the force of the blast itself shocked the crew and caused them to fall back away from the window. Even then, the power rocked the waters so violently that even from its distance the Dyne pitched a bit in response. Not only them, but every surrounding destroyer on both sides suddenly ceased fire as they saw the sudden explosion. Ragnar and Cloud themselves shrank back and covered their eyes, as if the firepower was meant for them. Chaos raged for a brief moment as the ship yawed and turned.
However, it stabilized relatively quickly. The crew members got back up and returned to their stations. Barret himself was one of the first up. Ragnar and Cloud soon followed, standing and staring out of the window once again. As they looked up over the battlefield once more, they now saw a towering pillar of flame and smoke on the horizon where one of the destroyers had been.
"What the &#!# was that!" Barret suddenly yelled.
"They just blew one of the destroyers away!" Cloud spoke in disbelief, as if to make it clear to himself, as he watched the burning mass of metal.
Ragnar, however, as he stood, didn't agree with that. In fact, he soon turned his head away from the ship and toward the shoreline, looking for what he believed to be the true source…and fearing what it was…
He didn't have to wait long. A moment later, he detected a brief flash of light from the shoreline that snaked out and connected with another destroyer. Again, another explosion resulted, and once more the crew was blinded, deafened, and shifted as the WGN destroyer went up in smoke. People shrank back again, shielding themselves, but recovered much quicker this time. Now most of their fleet was going dead as they marveled in shock at what was happening. Soon another pillar of flame was rising from the ocean.
"They didn't finish that damn cannon already, did they?" Barret yelled over the din.
"If they did that, this whole fleet would be dust." Ragnar grimly answered, knowing the true cause already. He pointed out at the shore a moment later, particularly toward a radio tower on the main pier. "Look up there."
Cloud did as he was told immediately. Barret followed a second later. The crew followed suit in time. They looked for a moment, but gradually made out a faint black object moving around the top of it. A moment later, however, it was confirmed as the source as a red ray of light shot out from it and again toward their fleet. This time…fortunate although in a dark sense…it only struck one of the modified tugboats. But the result was the same. Immediately, it ignited into a fireball as another explosion cut through the air.
"What the hell is that thing?" Barret yelled.
But Ragnar and Cloud already knew. They had seen this before. Now Cloud's look too became dark and grim.
"Aleron…" He voiced.
"She still has that fire materia…" Ragnar added.
Cloud wheeled around to Ragnar a moment later. "But why is she attacking us? I thought they didn't care about our war?"
"Who knows?" Ragnar answered. "All I know is we have to shoot at that thing and get her down before she does anything else. Which ship is the nearest in range?"
As if to answer Ragnar, another streak of light shot out…this time sailing for the next nearest destroyer. Again…it was obliterated. All other ships were not in clear range of it. Not only that…but they seemed to be slowing as well. None of them wanted to get too close to what was shooting now. If that wasn't enough, the New Shinra were starting to realize that the new weapon wasn't shooting at them, and it was coming from their Defense Grid. With that in mind, they were starting to target other ships and prepare to fire once again.
"Well hell…" Cloud announced as he began to see this.
"We have to take out that tower." Ragnar spoke up again. He immediately went for the radio.
"How?" Cloud asked, as the crew members began to snap out of it. After all, if the enemy was going to be shooting, they had to shoot back too. "She's going to blow up anything that gets close to her. We can't use our own materia from this far away."
Ragnar didn't answer. He was on the radio, and changed to a different channel. He held it to his mouth soon after.
"Phoenix Leader…we need a squadron to take out the radio tower right now."
A minute later…and three of the Phoenix fighters abruptly snapped around from their carpet bombing, did a practical U-turn in mid-air, and then tore off straight for the coast once again.
Without even turning, Aleron gave a snort. It was easy for her to detect the change on the wind and the slight modification in sound. However, she supposed it was the best that they could manage. After all, they obviously wanted to hit her with something fast to make sure she couldn't respond. And it was true. Even she needed to have some pause between blasts of this strength. That night on the coast had been overdoing it a bit. With as much energy as she was throwing around now, she had to pace herself a bit more. Even so, these things would be moving much faster than a destroyer. It wasn't likely she could hit them all anyway.
However, the woman hardly seemed worried as she turned and looked behind her. The fighters were still over the ground of the grid, although some of them were returning to join the battle now. However, three of them had broken off already, and were headed straight for her. No doubt, they were the ones who were coming to try and kill her. For now, they were just black flat shapes in the air. They were getting closer, but the sounds of their engines were now just beginning to roar as they neared.
Aleron swept some of her windblown hair out of her face, and began to raise her hand, the one without the materia, toward them…
No…that's too boring.
The woman hesitated, but then brought her hand down again. She had a better idea. Instead of attacking or moving to defend herself, Aleron stood still for a moment and simply watched the assaulting craft. She quickly judged their distance as they approached, reasoning how close they had to be to fire at her, and when she would have to react or dodge. Once she had this in mind, she let them come closer. She thought about what they had to be doing…readjusting their systems to target her…perhaps even to start deciphering the little black shape that she was on the tower…
But once she figured they were close enough, she flicked her free hand out.
Almost by magic, it seemed…Kokushibyou appeared in her palm.
Still smiling, the woman brought her arm back and snapped it forward, flinging the scythe out into the air.
Immediately, the weapon spun over itself so quickly that it turned into a giant cutter blade. The deadly disc shot out into the air and straight for the nearest fighter. The fighters were still a good half a mile away, if not more, but Aleron didn't seem to care. And at the speed her weapon went toward them, it didn't seem to matter. At first, it came straight for the lead craft. Aleron imagined the humans within looking at it coming, and thinking of a way to get around this strange obstacle.
Then, abruptly, the weapon shot to the side in a sharp arc, moving from going straight to cutting a circle in the air. How this happened seemed impossible. Was the woman controlling her weapon's path? Was it a trick as a result of her superhuman wrist snap? Or was it some sort of magical power? At any rate, the blade did circle around, and vanished from the view of the pilots. Yet it didn't stay gone long… Soon it circled back on its path, right as the fighters got into its range. One after another, cutting through them horizontally rather than straight for them, Kokushibyou sliced through each fighter, turning each one into a fireball. As they did so, Aleron made sure that her weapon cut through each one of the pilots' hearts along the way. She had intended that, after all.
Once the squadron was turned into burning metal and the scythe completed its circle, it moved backward, back for the woman. It was like some sort of cosmic deadly yo-yo in this sense, moving back along its original path. Aleron calmly held her arm out to it as it returned. Though it was moving at a blinding speed and had easily destroyed three metal fighters, she caught it without giving anymore noise than the light sound of metal impacting her glove. With another snap of her arm, the scythe appeared to disappear into thin air.
This done, Aleron turned back around, aimed her fire materia at the next closest ship, and turned it into ash.
"Damnit!" Cloud swore as another destroyer went up.
"That bitch is going to destroy the whole damn fleet!" Barret yelled in rage. After that, he snapped around to the helmsman. "Get us over there! I'll pump some lead up her ass myself!"
The crew member immediately looked uncertain about following that order. Ragnar couldn't blame him, and he didn't recommend that he follow it either. She'd blow up the ship long before it got in range. Then again, as it was…and as yet another ship went up (again, somewhat mercifully, not a destroyer)…the shots were working their way to the Dyne anyway. They couldn't do anything about her. If on shore, Ragnar would try and fight. But out in the ocean he would never get close enough before being blown to kingdom come. She had them stuck. And if that wasn't enough…the New Shinra were backed up fully and renewing their attack now, using their new advantage against them. If Aleron blew up many more ships, the battle would swing back into the NSN's favor.
"What now, kid?" Cloud asked.
Ragnar didn't know. In a moment, he was going to quickly ascertain which people on board were willing to try a suicide run toward the radio tower. He'd get on deck himself and release the boost of power Bahamut gave him. He hated to use it up now…but it was the only way he could possibly leap as close as he could to shore and then swim the rest of the way. They didn't have any other choice…
Fortunately, before Ragnar could do something he would regret…fate intervened.
Even with metal tipped boots, the figure was silent as he lifted over the end of the ladder and touched down on the metal platform on top. Short distance as it was, Aleron didn't appear to notice a thing as she continued to blow away one ship after another in the ocean. The figure slowly rose to full height, and let the tatters of a cape fall down behind him. His eyes burned in on Aleron. Yet despite how cold and merciless they were, a faint part of them was hesitating. Yet the man had long since learned that he who hesitates isn't lost…they're dead.
With that in mind, he lifted one hand to raise a massive cross-shaped barreled gun up and pointed it right behind the dark figure. As he squeezed the trigger, he finally put out a sound as the cocking mechanism clicked.
Aleron's ear raised slightly to this in the microseconds between firing and pulling the trigger.
A massive gunshot, sounding more like a cannon and with even more power, erupted from the end of the barrel. In the blink of an eye, it crossed the point blank range between the figure and the dark woman with her back to him.
Yet, in a movement so fast the naked eye could never perceive it, the woman spun around just in time. Even so, she had no chance to draw Kokushibyou. Instead, she was forced to cross the orb of materia in front of her. Though the substance was hard enough to shrug off most cannon fire…it immediately shattered when the shot hit it. The woman herself actually drew her arm back a little from the power. As she did, fragments of materia rained down from her palm. The glow within it died as the materia became useless.
Unmiffed, though slightly annoyed that her toy was broken, Aleron extended this arm to the side, and gently swept her fingers. The fragments of materia fell to the ground as she leveled her cold, green gaze at the new arrival.
"I was wondering when you'd finally show."
The figure lowered the massive gun to the ground. A moment later…he simply tossed it to the side. It was useless now. He had been saving one shot for something special, and now it was over. However, he had no sooner tossed that weapon aside than he drew his more familiar weapon, the Cerberus, and pointed it in between Aleron's eyes.
"I was waiting for the right moment…Krystea." Vincent Valentine coldly answered.
Aleron crossed her arms and snickered. "Again with that name. I'm not going to bother to explain myself to you this time. I suppose you're going to try and kill me now."
"I want Krystea." Vincent coldly answered. "Let her go."
Aleron smiled wider. "You mortal fool. There is no Krystea to let go. She's gone, and I improved what was left to suit my tastes. Even if I could 'let her go', as you put it…there's nowhere else for me to move. So that doesn't give me much incentive to leave. At the same time…what makes you think that I would listen to you in the first place?"
Vincent didn't answer.
He pulled the trigger instead.
Aleron, moving again in the blink of an eye, turned her head around to one side, letting the three bullets slide harmlessly past her and into the air. Vincent, even with his improved senses, didn't see her move. He almost let out a bit of a gasp as he saw her head leaning to one side of his barrel, grinning at him wickedly.
"You silly ape." She cooed. "You actually knew the truth all along, and yet you still want her. You're more foolish than the Turks were. And there's nothing I hate more than stupid humans."
Moving again in a blur, Aleron drove her fist forward and delivered an iron palm to Vincent's stomach. She was most satisfied to hear a few ribs crack before the man went flying backward and off of the platform. Going limp in midair, he soon began to fall down for the ground. But Aleron saw no entertainment in that. And so, with another flick of her wrist, Kokushibyou was in her palm. Crossing it in front of her, she ran to the edge, leapt, and then dove after him as fast as she could.
Both people free fell for a few seconds…Aleron streamlining herself to catch up with Vincent and slice him before he hit the ground. Yet as she dove for him, she was surprised to see him suddenly spring to life again. He abruptly twisted in midair and put his gun away, just long enough to draw out a new weapon. This one was a much longer gun…like a rifle or shotgun. He raised it and aimed at her own falling body, and just before she was in range fired. The woman immediately crossed Kokushibyou in front of her and blocked it…but she soon realized, with some annoyance, that the human was smarter than he looked. Blocking it had forced her to move back and splay out once again, causing her to catch more air and slow her descent considerably. Soon, Vincent was rushing to the ground much faster than she was, and by the time she straightened again there was no way to catch him before he hit the earth.
Aleron frowned, but smoothed herself out again and kept diving. An instant later, Vincent touched down. He didn't land on his back…but rather spun around and righted himself at the last moment, dropping into a crouch against the pavement as he did. Aleron quickly moved in to attempt another slash. Yet as she came…she already saw something happening. A dark cloud with some sort of energy began to envelop the man. Some sort of sizzling light began to rise up in his flesh. As she neared…she started to see his body deform and warp.
Aleron reached him a moment later, and as she finished diving swung her scythe down to cut into the man…
She never managed it.
Two great clawed hands reached up and seized the staff of the scythe, and held her, facing downward, up in the sky.
Aleron's eyebrows raised again…and she cursed herself a bit for still not being as mighty as her mate. Yet that wasn't relevant now. As she stared on, she slowly saw Vincent's head raise and stare at her. But it was no longer black, smooth hair…but a rough white mane. Horns sprung from his head, and his skin had turned gray. His clothing had shredded and spread itself out around his waist as his new rippling muscles had burst forth. His eyes, blood red and hungry for flesh, gazed at her as he snarled through a toothy maw. Vincent was gone. What was in his place was a homicidal, raging beast. Specifically, it was the result of a rapid hormonal change that made his DNA shift expression levels similar to that of a humanoid creature theorized to have been described by the poet Galian in ancient literature, during an epic ballad of some knight.
Hence, the creature's name was Galian Beast.
Aleron could only smile.
"So you want to take it to the next level, eh?"
Without another word, Aleron twisted herself around, landed foot first on the ground, and then flung the monster, still holding onto her scythe, with all of her might over her body, through the air, and smashed him into the nearest brick wall.
"What happened?"
"She stopped…"
"Well, don't just stand here gawkin' at it!" Barret yelled in response to the two generals. Again, he turned to the helmsman. "Git up there and blow away that tower 'fore she comes back! Then get us back in battle!"
50 Hours Until The Firing Of The Gauntlet Of Zeus
The battle was going a bit more even now.
Thanks to the mysterious weapon's shots, the WGN was now hurting as well. Not only that, but many of the captains of the ships took some time to be confident in the weapon being destroyed before incoming any further. Even after the Dyne grew close enough to fire on the port, and an additional squadron turned it into a parking lot…the fleet held back. Unfortunately, that gave the enemy enough time to finish their retreat and park themselves in a "last stand" area. Now the next portion of the battle would be even more destructive.
The PPA was able to fully surround the enemy now. Most of their ships were the ramshackle boats now, but they still made an impact. Although the enemy targeted one of them whenever it could, and immediately sent them to the bottom of the sea with each shell, they weren't protecting themselves from the onslaught of the major destroyers or keeping them pinned down when they did this. As a result, the deadlier warships began to accrue more damage in more vital spots. It was very much back and forth…but through it all the PPA slowly began to gain the upper hand.
The fighters exhausted their bombs, and returned to the fleet to open up with their missiles and guns. As fighting continued, the number of Harbingers began to be depleted from the sky. The transports were able to pull closer and closer. However, as the day reached noon and still the naval battle was continuing…a snag was finally struck.
The NSN destroyers on the outskirts were quickly being put down. Those that were left were tightening up around their last remaining stronghold…the Juggernaut. Although the ship was injured, it was far from disabled. And now the captain had taken up a new strategy. The massive aircraft carrier had practically beached itself on shore. After that, it willingly took in some more water to weigh it down. Yet rather than sink it…the ship came to a rest on the shallows instead. From there, though immobile, it was no longer in danger of sinking, and was able to focus totally on battle. What more…the Leviathan could no longer strike it. The water was too shallow to safely bring a submarine in. Effectively…the Juggernaut was once again unstoppable.
Realizing this, the rest of the destroyers pulled in to make one last stronghold. The enemy had not yet been routed from the shore despite the bombings, and so every last soldier was piling up behind the craft. They were deploying their own mobile artillery and beginning to supplement that in with the guns of the ships. The Juggernaut itself turned all of its engines of destruction against one destroyer at a time, able to disable them one by one. Without a way to shoot back, soon the WGN destroyers had to keep their distance. With them, the transports and ramshackle warships had to pull back too. Here…the PPA reached an empasse. Though they could land their transports around this blockade, their own forces would be too divided and small to be able to effectively rout the field. And anything that tried to get close to the entrenched troops would be fodder for the Juggernaut.
Slowly, the PPA commanders began to realize this. And as they did…they realized they had another thorn in their sides.
48 Hours Until The Firing Of The Gauntlet Of Zeus
"…Damn."
"I told you not to swear, kid…but this is a good time for it."
Ragnar ignored this comment and continued to glare out the front window. Again, for all of his power and knowledge…he was altogether useless in this fight. At this point, the Dyne had sustained heavy damage. Tough as the oil tanker was, it simply wasn't a destroyer, and couldn't take that much of a pounding. Their own water pumps were on full power now. On the bridge, one of the consoles had exploded. Luckily it only ran weapons, and so the engineers had time to work in the scored, sizzling side of the control room while the other crewmen tried to keep the Dyne fighting. There were three large blackened craters in the ship now, though most of them had mercifully hit the topside rather than the hull. Those too were buckling, however. Currently, out of all the "new" warships, the Dyne looked the dirtiest. Yet this was only partially due to Barret's gung-ho attack strategy. It was also one of the only ramshackle ships that could take a beating.
Yet now, most of the fleet that surrounded them looked rather sore and beaten too. Many of the destroyers had large dents in them. One of them was still on fire (though luckily one of the artificial warships was a fire ship, and was putting it out). Another one was sinking to the bottom, and the crew was evacuating to an adjacent destroyer. The naval part of the battle was mostly done with for the moment. The ships of the new "beach head" and the closest WGN ships were still trading blows, but mostly they were wasting ammunition at the moment. Overhead, the Phoenixes and Harbingers were still in full battle. The Highwind B and the Horizon were still up in the air too. They had shot down every enemy Gelinka at this point. But the Horizon was out of missiles and bombs, and the Highwind B was nearly dry too.
Ragnar didn't focus on this. He focused instead on the large problem that sat about a mile away next to the shore. Frowning, he began to reach for the radio.
"That thing is always a boil on the neck." Cait Sith mentioned from nearby. "Shouldn't it have run out of ammo by now?"
Ragnar didn't answer. He adjusted to a channel, and then brought it to his lips. "Palidor?"
"…"
"I'll answer for him, general. He's a little down in the mouth."
The youth frowned a bit at Maritza's voice, but this was the one he really wanted to talk to.
"What'd I tell you boys, eh?" She merrily threw in a moment later. "Sheer genius, ain't I?"
"Except that the Juggernaut halted its sinking prematurely." Ragnar called back. "And now it's blocking the way for our invasion."
"Just torpedo it again then."
"We can't. The Leviathan crew can't get close enough for another shot."
"Use long distance."
"We can't do that either. They're jamming those."
"Well darn it, why do I always have to think of everything?" Maritza abruptly whined, sounding like a pouting child. "Figure it out for yourselves for a change! Palidor out!"
With that, the radio clicked off.
Ragnar frowned. Cloud, who had been listening to this, turned to the radio and clenched his hand into a fist. "Damn woman…"
"Being angry at her isn't going to help out." Ragnar sighed in response. "We've got to find a way to sink that thing and hurry. Otherwise we aren't going to have enough time to carry out this invasion."
After saying this, Ragnar immediately adjusted to another station and brought it to his mouth. "Colonel Nanaki?"
"Yes sir?"
"How are you doing over there?"
"The water level got a bit too uncomfortably close for a moment…and I felt an instinctive compulsion to jump ship for a short while. But we're better now."
"Are there any Comets left?"
"Two are being repaired. The third is still so-so as to whether or not it will be salvageable. Why?"
"We have to finish the Juggernaut somehow. We can't land until we do. One Comet alone couldn't do anything, but maybe if we hit it in the same place with more than one."
"I follow. However, based on the lack of slag on the surface of the Juggernaut's hull after our first shot, it is likely we will need at least three operational if not more. The two being repaired won't be ready to fire for at least three hours. The third could take twelve, assuming it can be saved at all."
Ragnar sighed. "That's not good enough. What about materia?"
"It is unlikely that any destroyer could get within a hundred meters of minimum distance to use one, and even then it would probably require a focused attack from several sources to pierce the hull. Even then…if it was not in a vital spot, then it wouldn't matter."
The young general didn't even bother signing off. He simply turned off his radio and clenched his teeth.
"We get through Aleron somehow and the rest of this fleet…and once again we're stopped by that aircraft carrier."
Cloud likewise frowned. "…What now?"
Ragnar hesitated for a moment longer, but then sighed again. Once more, he turned on the radio and changed channels again.
"We'll have to try it without the Comets. We have longer range. I'm going to see what happens if we have all destroyers target the same spot at once."
47 Hours And 50 Minutes Until The Firing Of The Gauntlet Of Zeus
"Delta attack! Now!"
As Mack gave this order, Cid himself pitched the Highwind B around as sharply as he could, aiming it at the target point. Moments later…the gunner fired off another pair of rockets. As he did, a squadron of Phoenix fighters moved in and fired their own missiles, as well as opened fire with guns. About ten different deck guns fired at the same time, all headed for the same location. Moments later, the concentrated firepower all converged and struck the same place on the Juggernaut's hull.
Naturally…the aircraft carrier didn't take this idly. It immediately opened fire on the fighters and the Highwind B. The airship had already taken quite a pounding that day. One of the engines was only running at 50 percent, and one of the gun bays had been destroyed. The air bag was barely holding on at the moment, and could burst if too much trauma hit it. The crew themselves were rattled as Cid sharply dove at the aircraft carrier, and then attempted to pull up and out just as quickly. They grabbed handlebars around their consoles and struggled to hang on, although some still collapsed anyway. The engineers that were swarming the bridge to repair damage went flying everywhere, rolling all over the floor as they struggled to hang on.
Guns pounded around them. Cid, coughing up a storm, squinting so bad he could barely see or focus, struggled to make his way through it. But his senses were dulled. His brain was suffering from lack of oxygen. It was all he could do to keep from flipping the ship as he pulled himself out and away. He struggled to maneuver to avoid more shots, but it was no good. Soon the ride became more violent as shots landed against the hull and erupted. In a shower of flames, the communication's console exploded, sending the officer flying off…and probably killing hm in the process. Not only that, but Mack, somehow able to look through this chaos and confusion, was just in time to see another fighter blown out of the sky as it turned off too late.
Cid, looking like he was barely able to stay on his feet, leveled the airship off somehow, and flew away as fast as he could. As things on the bridge began to calm down relatively, everyone soon was back up and at their stations. The nearest engineer that was still able to move and stay conscious got up and went to the communication's console while another crewmember drug the communication's ensign out of the way. The engineer pulled up his fire extinguisher and put it to work…only to have it go dry a few seconds later. Frowning, the man threw the useless cylinder away, and turned back to the captain.
"I can't stop the fire, captain! We'll have to land this ship pretty soon to get it put out!"
Mack turned around to Cid to see his verdict. On doing so…he soon saw that Cid wasn't even able to curse at the moment. His pallor was deathly pale now. Blood dribbled from his lips from his latest coughing fit. His legs looked like they were jelly, and he wavered on them. He appeared to be using the steering wheel mostly for support at the moment. At this point, he had to be focusing everything he had to try and keep flying. He had no time for anything else. He attempted to gasp…but it was a wet, hollow sound…and soon was followed with another coughing fit. Cid's face tightened in agony as more blood came out of his mouth, and soon he forced himself to stop. After that, he held his breath. Bad as he was…breathing at this point was only making it worse.
Somehow, the man managed to pull the ship around, so that its side could face back and see what the result of their latest strike was. Mack himself was able to rise and look out intently for signs, as Cid at the moment was too ill to keep a lookout. It didn't take long for him to focus on the largest ship out there, and to see smoke and fire dying down from one particular point. Yet as it faded…he soon saw what he had feared yet expected the whole time.
Barely a dent.
This is hopeless. Mack thought. We've been shooting this thing for several battles now, and we've got nothing to show for it. Nothing can hurt its outside. We might as well have not even shot out its bottom at this point. Now it's just immobile. We can't land unless we sink that damn thing…but how are we supposed to do it?
Mack looked overhead, as if the answer would somehow magically come to him if he thought about it. When he did, he noticed something else. The top of the cockpit area was beginning to get hazy. Noticing this, he looked back down and to the fire area. He realized that it was producing smoke. Maybe it was from the wiring or insulation…but at any rate it was making smoke. Probably highly toxic smoke at that. Pretty soon, it was going to get rather nasty in here if that was the case… Like the engineer said, they were going to have to land this thing…
Might as well… Mack thought angrily. We only have two missiles left anyway…
However, as the man thought this…he looked back down and saw something else. His eyes were resting on the Juggernaut at the moment, and to the surrounding area. To a bit of his surprise, one of the destroyers that was nearby was moving again. He wasn't that worried though. This one had its guns destroyed, and even if it didn't there was no way it could take the WGN. Nevertheless, it was moving up and out, looking to move in front of the aircraft carrier.
Yet what was really surprising was the massive flagship itself.
The front of its hull…seemed to be splitting.
Mack stared at this for a brief moment. As far as he knew, he was the only one who noticed it. Cid was struggling to keep flying. The crew members were either focusing on their stations or thinking about getting out of there while they could. The engineers were doing what they could. But Mack saw the Juggernaut…and he saw the front of it was not only splitting, but getting wider.
Suddenly, the radio in front of him blared that a message was incoming. Mack looked down to it, distracted from his view. For a moment, he nearly ignored it, relying on someone else to get it. But then…he remembered that the communication's console had just been destroyed. Obviously he still had function, and was probably the only one that did. With that in mind, he switched his on.
"This is Highwind B…"
"I've got it!" An excited female voice called.
Mack looked confused at this, but Cid turned and looked as well on hearing the voice. It took the former a moment to realize who had spoken…but then he recognized the voice. "…Maritza?"
"That's how you can stop it! Look at what it's doing right now!"
Mack already knew what it was doing. However, Cid had not seen this yet, and since he was flying fairly steadily he raised his head to look out the window. Nearby officers were starting to overhear the radio as well, and were looking out too.
"The Juggernaut was built to be able to house three destroyers within itself. It's letting in that one destroyer because it can't fight on its own, but it can use its ammunition. The inside of the aircraft carrier isn't armored like the outside! If you can shoot straight back into it, you'll blow up the area right underneath the bridge!"
Both Cid and Mack paused on hearing this…seeing a sudden ray of hope. They forgot about Maritza being the one telling them this, and instead looked up and out again to the Juggernaut. Sure enough, it was almost wide enough to let the first destroyer in. Not only that, but the remaining Harbingers and other destroyers were beginning to move out in front of it. They must have realized how weak they were at this stage, and were protecting it from deck gun fire.
"Bitch…cough…may be on to somethin'…" Cid remarked aloud.
Mack agreed with that. However…if they made an attempt to get it now and failed, then they definitely wouldn't risk it with another destroyer next time they ran low. This might be their only shot. The split stopped enlarging at this point. It was now big enough to let a destroyer in. The one that had moved initially began to adjust itself in front of it, so that it could slide back.
"But that was the last Phoenix Squadron with any missiles left." Mack answered.
Cid coughed once again, and forced himself to not exhale again. "We've got two more…" He inhaled in a raspy voice.
"We're in bad shape…" Mack reminded him. After saying that, he looked again to the ceiling. Now he could barely see the top due to smoke. "And we can't keep this thing up much longer."
"We can for one last run…" Cid grunted. With that, and without alerting the rest of the crew, he suddenly pitched the ship around and gunned it up to full throttle…aiming it straight for the wide-open Juggernaut.
Naturally, the people who weren't close enough to hear the message panicked, wondering what in the world was going on. As those nearby explained, Mack himself held on as hard as he could, and kept his eyes forward. He noticed that Maritza had to have given this message to more than one person. Perhaps she wasn't speaking in response to him earlier, but was just continuing in telling everyone that the ship was vulnerable. Other destroyers began to move forward, trying to target the area between the open Juggernaut. However, from this distance, and shooting an uncertain target, it wasn't much good. A few shots impacted on the sides before other destroyers began to get in the way. Most weren't in range of fire, but they did serve as shields. Even then, however, one shot made it through. Mack saw it slip past the open sides and go into the actual Juggernaut…before detonating far too close to the front. It figured. A ship the size of the Juggernaut, even if unarmored, could take a few hits easily. Only a direct hit was going to do any good. As it was, a bit of smoke and flame belched from the inside of the craft. They might have even closed it then…if it wasn't for the fact that the other destroyer was already backing in.
Yet soon, the aircraft carrier became aware that the Highwind B was diving for it. Immediately, it switched all of the guns that it could over in its direction. Most of the missile launchers were out now in the enemy fleet, forcing any other destroyers to rely on flak guns. Together, both of them soon began to surround the Highwind B with fire. Blasts of light and black debris soon outlined the area around the airship as it dove in, and soon the ship was shaking hard as it was pounded. Yet the crew knew what was going on now. And so, they braced themselves and kept on with Cid, focusing on the target. The weapon's console's officer began to fire up the last two missiles and lock on target.
Cid looked paler than ever. It seemed as if merely flying the ship was killing him, despite as low effort as it outwardly appeared. Mack himself began to rise at this, and look to him. Though he had a feeling he would hold on to fire…he didn't know if he could do anymore than that. Ahead of them, the last few destroyers zoomed by underneath…until there was blank ocean separating him and the Juggernaut. The pilot leveled the ship up to skim over the ocean, and sent it sailing straight for the gap. The aircraft carrier itself continued to fire at the airship, knowing what it was about to do. But the shots merely skimmed it or missed completely. Nothing was going to stop it now. And Cid just continued to put on more speed…making it look as if he would crash into it…
At last, the officer yelled.
"Locked on!"
"Fire already!"
A moment later, and two plumes of smoke shot out from the sides of the Highwind B, straight for the gap. Giving a mighty pull and gritting his teeth, Cid pulled up on the wheel. The force of the sudden pullup was so strong that people were pulled wildly away from their stations again. Mack himself had to grab the handles on the console. His stomach felt like it would sink into his feet. He gasped…and that only made it worse. He inhaled smoke on doing so, and soon his own lungs were burning and making him hack. Somehow, he looked forward and looked out the window in those few moments…and watched.
For what seemed like a few minutes and not just fractions of a second…the rockets sailed right for the opening. The lock had been true, and they were headed right for their target. Both of them narrowed enough to clear the doors, and headed straight back for a clean shot…
When, abruptly, what looked like giant foil balls suddenly exploded from the doors for the rockets. Mack realized immediately that the New Shinra weren't that dumb. They had countermeasures. And sure enough…the two missiles veered off and impacted uselessly on the sides of the hull a moment later.
"Sh't…"
Mack heard this one word croaked, and turned to the source. Cid, white as a sheet, looking frail as paper, glared at what had happened and uttered that one word.
Then, all at once, his hands fell off the controls as he collapsed to the ground.
Mack immediately shot to him. For a moment…his concern was only Cid. Did he push himself too far? Were his lungs finally going out? Yet rationality soon grabbed him…as the Highwind B suddenly began to roll in the air. Then the more immediate threat hit him. The ship had no pilot.
Without even thinking of asking for someone else to take over, Mack found himself rush forward and grab the wheel. Initially he just kept it steady, trying to level the airship off. But it continued to pitch and roll, and it picked up speed as it did so. The man panicked. All of his hours of lessons were instantly forgotten as he fumbled about at the control panel for a brief moment. He felt like all thumbs as his quivering grasp went over the controls, trying to think of what to do.
"Portside…retros…you idiot…"
Mack turned his head to the sound of a croak from the man fallen on the ground. He looked just long enough to see Cid was still conscious, but also on the ground. Yet that one word made him remember. The stabilizing rockets for when the ship was caught in a roll. Immediately, he turned back to the console and fired them off. He fired too much at first, and the ship jerked for a moment. He couldn't hear clearly…but he thought he heard Cid mutter an obscenity. However, he began to remember his training now, and quickly toned it down. The ship's roll leveled off soon after. He thought a moment, and then hit the other controls. After a few more micro-adjustments, the ship began to level off. Soon, it was back under control, and Mack was in his element. The world became a war simulation to him, and he understood what to do. Soon, he dropped speed, turned the ship away at a proper angle, rose to a safe altitude, and backed away from the fleet once again.
Mack sighed in relief as he activated autopilot…but then immediately coughed. Not only that, but he began to realize his eyes were burning. He looked up…and suddenly remembered what was going on. The cockpit was still on fire…and the smoke was filling up everything quickly. There was a crack in the windshield, but it wasn't enough to suck it all out. The rest of the crew was starting to hack and choke. Those that were able were getting the unconscious members out of there. The bridge was rapidly starting to clear. After what had just happened, the people weren't bothering to check in. They were simply getting out while they could.
Mack soon realized he had to do the same. He turned back to Cid. With the ship on autopilot, he quickly bent down next to the man, and moved to put his arms to get him up.
"That's it, captain." He told him regretfully. "I got to get you out of here, and then I've got to get the ship down. We won't be able to keep this up much longer."
Cid hacked again…and Mack grimaced a bit when some of the blood splashed on him. However, he began to get under the pilot's arms anyway. As he did, the man croaked again. "See…? I knew…you should have…come along…"
"Come on, Cid. Don't talk. I-"
"No, no, no…that will never do."
Both pilots looked up at the sound of this mechanical voice. Mack recognized it as his radio console…and as the voice of Maritza.
"Use your heads. You think two little rockets would have done it? You need something big. Look at the size of it, for crying out loud!"
"Oh shut up!" Mack yelled back, despite how much it burned his throat and the fact that she couldn't hear him anyway. "How the heck are we supposed to get a shot through anyway?"
"Mack…"
The pilot turned again at this, and looked back to Cid. He forgot about Maritza for the moment. What he hadn't noticed, however, was that Cid had looked up a bit more when Maritza had called in again. Mack didn't really care right now as it was.
"Cid…stay quiet."
"Don't tell me…what to do…" The man grumbled before hacking again. The smoke was getting to him where the strain hadn't. "Turn this girl around…and fly her straight down…that ship's throat again…"
Mack paused here, and looked a bit incredulous. Was Cid getting delirious? Did he realize what had just happened?
"Cid…we're out of rockets. And even if we weren't, there's no-"
"Got…one more…"
Mack stopped again here, and once more looked surprised. "Huh?"
"Loaded…my baby up… Never fly again on her own… Go out…with a bang…"
The younger man's brow furrowed. "I…don't understand…"
"Just do it, you SOB!" Cid managed to yell in a croaked, pained call. His face turned red as his skin tightened on yelling this. "Hurts…to talk! Can't fly it myself! You steer…I'll fire!"
Mack hesitated. The mere act of Cid yelling was enough to stop him, although he stared uneasily at the man as he did so. He knew how much it was hurting him. He held for a moment regardless. He looked up again, and now realized he couldn't see the upper half of the cockpit anymore. It was getting hazy even this low to the ground. It would soon be poisonous to even be in this room, regardless of whether your lungs were shot or not. His instincts told him to get Cid out of here and land. Let someone else try and stop the Juggernaut. He had never even flown this thing on the field…
However…Mack saw real sincerity in Cid's eyes through the pain. Even if he was agonized, he genuinely believed that he could make this one last strike, and that it would work. Mack had no idea what exactly he could use to try and cause this strike…and based on all other attempts it probably wouldn't work. Yet if Cid believed it could…that was something in his favor as far as he was concerned. He realized that the enemy wouldn't open the Juggernaut again, not after how viciously they were attacked. Once it was shut again, it was shut for good. This was their only chance to blow it up, and it was rapidly disappearing.
Hoping he wasn't doing something incredibly stupid, Mack swallowed at last. He inhaled a deep breath, trying to get as much pure air as possible, and then shifted underneath Cid. As best as he could, he slowly dragged the man up and to his feet. It took a bit of work, but finally he got him up. Once he was there, the man weakly reached out and grabbed the handles on the console. He could barely hold on, so Mack had to somewhat lean him against the console and hope he didn't fly off. After that, and after giving one last uneasy look to him, he turned back to the wheel and grabbed it. The pilot switched off the autopilot…and began to turn the ship around.
The bridge was almost clear at this point. The last few people were going out the door. Those that were left were Cid and Mack, and they assumed they were going to land the craft. None of them saw the Highwind B spin around and once again aim itself at the enemy fleet. Once there, Mack inhaled deeply once again, out of anxiety and forgetting about the smoke. This wasn't going to be easy. For now he was still far away from the fleet, but soon he'd be diving at them like Cid was before. He wasn't sure of the maneuvering and size factors of the ship. He wasn't used to it. Yet there was little time to worry now. The destroyer was almost within the aircraft carrier now…and once it was the doors would shut. There was no time for second guessing. Exhaling again, Mack grabbed the controls and dove the Highwind B straight for the aircraft carrier.
The response was almost instantaneous. They had been expecting another pass, and now once again pounded away at the Highwind B for all they were worth. Mack, at first, found himself taking some shrapnel and hits. The force of the explosions alone against the wide surface of the airship threw it around violently. For a moment, Mack nearly fishtailed.
"Damnit!" Cid croaked with a hack. "Don't just fly in! She can maneuver more than you think!"
Mack snapped his gaze to Cid for a moment, but then back to the battlefield. Other destroyers were joining in now, and creating a hairier mess for the pilot. However, he did as Cid commanded. He began to treat the massive ship like a fighter, and moved it around as it closed in. He executed the standard drills for surviving a full frontal attack. As he coughed and hacked himself, he began to more nimbly move the ship. Soon he was dodging shots and adjusting for what eruptions did hit nearby.
"You'd think…you never…did those sims…way you handle her…" Cid grumbled…which Mack knew was his way of saying, Good, you've got the hang of her now.
Mack's eyes began to water. As sweat came from his brow from trying to keep the ship up, the smoke clouded his vision. It pierced his eyes and made them itch. The sweat rolled into his eyes, making it worse. His lungs began to burn, and he gave out a painful hack himself. Yet it only got worse. Mack could only fear what Cid was going through, but he couldn't focus on it. He had to keep the ship going. Somehow, through the growing haze, he saw the destroyer was in. The doors were shutting…
A blast suddenly impacted on Mack's left. In response, the ship gave a massive lurch, and rocked so violently that Mack was nearly thrown to the ground. It was only because he had the wheel that he managed to stay on his feet. Cid wasn't so lucky, and was thrown by the violence to the floor. Mack snapped his eyes away from the cockpit window and to him.
"Don't look at me, you dumbass!" Cid croaked so horribly that it sounded like pieces of his lungs were coming out with the words. "Worry about my ship!"
Mack turned back at this to the situation at hand. He was over halfway to the boat now. The guns weren't letting up, but he was slipping out of range of some of them. Yet now…he noticed that the world was tilting. A horrible rattling sound echoed so loudly from the left that it made his brain ache. The lack of oxygen didn't help. What more…the ship seemed to be progressively lowering faster than he wanted it too. As he coughed again himself, he realized something was wrong. He had been hit bad. The ship was beginning to go down.
Mack nearly panicked, but then smoothed himself out.
Ok…stay calm. Emergency simulations… Rattling…that sounds like busted pistons… Airship is tilting… The main left engine is gone. Alright…what do I do? I…adjust stabilizers… No, that's not it… Auxillary! Where is that again? Here!
Mack hesitated a moment, but then went to work. His hands shot out and flicked a few switches, readjusting the stabilizers and switching on the left auxillary engine. After that, he pulled back on the wheel. After a few more adjustments, and dodging a few more shots, the airship leveled off.
"Looks like…you learned something…" He heard from the side.
Great work, commander. In Cidese.
Mack wanted to help Cid…but he couldn't. He was nearly there. The remaining destroyers were firing at point blank range. He had to try and avoid them or get smacked out of the sky. The Juggernaut was closing. It still had a wide enough window for a salvo of missiles…but they didn't have any left. What were they going to do? And could they do it if Cid was out? The smoke was burning his lungs and eyes so much he could barely hold on himself… He was losing sight of the goal…
Suddenly, a gloved hand shot up and slammed on the console. Mack risked a look, and saw Cid give another mighty grunt as, using what strength was left in his body, he pulled himself up to the controls again. His teeth were clenched and stained with his blood, but his eyes burned with a fire of sudden vibrance and life. For a brief moment…the sickness he had seemed to leave him as he gave everything he had into this gesture. His spirit seemed to blaze like the engines of the airships he loved.
Ahead of them…the last of the destroyers had to cut off. Only the Juggernaut still fired. But it was forced to cut off some as well as Mack flew right for its throat. Dead ahead of him, the doors were closing. They only had about sixteen feet left to go. Mack flew on. He was still at full speed, and still had no weapons or idea of what was going to happen. Against that hull, the ship would obliterate itself in a futile kamikaze attack if he didn't break off. But Cid hadn't told him to yet. And so, he kept going. He was three hundred feet from the hull…then two hundred… He could actually look in and see the destroyers inside, even with the smoke in the way.
Mack wasn't sure if he heard Cid say this…or if he imagined it. But somehow, in a clear voice without any strain or agony, a dark statement went out as Cid's hand moved to a black and yellow striped lever on the console.
"You wanted to take her from me so bad… Here she is, Shinra."
Cid yanked the lever.
Mack pulled back as sharply as he could.
Captain Bridges and his crew only saw it for a moment.
The airship veered off so suddenly that as it shot up and tore over the top of the Juggernaut, it was low enough to tear a gash into itself when it hit one of the gun barrels, and then knock off an antenna on the bridge before it was up and clear. The radar didn't register that any missiles had been fired. None of those laser beams fired out and fried anything. But the sonar did pick up one object…though it hardly mattered that it did so. The officer was never able to figure out what it was, let alone say anything about it.
The crew did, however. Bridges saw it clearly. As the airship went up…he had caught a glimpse of the bottom of it opening. When it did, something rolled out. It wasn't until the airship was up and away that he managed to see it. Some pink-colored object sailed from the opening and straight for the Juggernaut. The vague recollection he had was that it was some sort of glider…
The workers in the dock saw better. They saw it for a few moments. It was an airplane…but it wasn't moving. The momentum of the strike had thrown it forward, and now the aerodynamics were making it glide. It was a small pink, one-man craft. It didn't look that remarkable. None of them ever got a good enough look at it to see the words "Tiny Bronco" painted on the side.
What they did see were large black crates, barrels, and containers strapped all over the craft, which was why it could only glide so far even at that speed. Only a few of them caught a glimpse of the red and yellow warning labels on them as it came. Miraculously, the craft was just small enough to slip through the opening even as it was shutting, and continue to glide within the innards of the Juggernaut. Instinctively responding with marvel, the people froze and looked as the graceful aircraft slipped into the inner dock and literally flew within it. The unusual sight was enough to make anyone pause and stare.
When it had crossed through half of the dock…the thought that it might be a weapon began to register in people's heads.
Right before it touched the back wall, one of them realized what those containers were…and the impulse within him began to signal his muscles to take cover.
A heartbeat later, the plane touched the back of the craft…the impact immediately making the nitro, along with a dozen other of the world's most hazardous and powerful explosives in large quantities, on board ignite.
There was no protective hull inside the craft. Within, it was as vulnerable as any other ship's innards. As a result…the huge blast of specially prepared explosives had no trouble liquefying the back wall within a split second. Fire rushed into the tender workings and corridors beyond, and shrapnel blasted out and indented a few dozen feet inward. Burning shards of metal flew out and pierced things both in the docks and within the ship. One of them was a fuel tank, which despite being armored was powerless to keep the burning steel from impaling it. Immediately, they went up and began to bathe the inner dock with flame.
As for the blast, within one second it had pounded itself fifty feet within the ship. The flames licked out and continued to cut through conduits and pipelines…eventually finding its way toward one of the lines coming from the mako engine that ran the aircraft carrier. Something that big could run on nothing less. On piercing the delicate piping, liquid mako waste burst out and began to flood the surrounding area, dissolving the metal around it as it did. The inner mako engine, on sensing this, immediately began to engage the shutdown procedure. Unfortunately, the cooling water was leaking, having been ruptured in some valves by the blast as well.
Within three seconds, the top of the deck suddenly began to do something strange. It began to warp. The adamantium that had been used to make the hull wasn't just strong…it was heavy. So heavy that it had taken a delicate and extensive system of supports to keep the ship from collapsing under its own weight. With many of those supports now melted or destroyed…the full weight of the upper deck began to beat down underneath the explosion. In four seconds, it began to collapse on itself rapidly. The initial drop provided a terrible pull on the surrounding area, dragging it down as well and exacerbating the damage. It continued to spread for a distance…consuming some guns and missiles launchers in the process. But then…it reached the bridge.
Abruptly, half of the command tower fractured. The collapsing underneath spread until it was beneath the front of it. The result caused one half to pull away from the other, making it tip forward and separate from the rest of the bridge. Now unbalanced, and heavy due to the armor on itself…the bridge soon swung downward. More weight was pushed below it, making this part completely collapse. More mako lines were cut, dousing the area below the bridge with more waste. What electronics weren't destroyed already in that section began to rapidly cut off or short out. The front of the bridge itself spilled forward into the growing hole, and on impact shattered partially. As it came to a rest, flames greedily began to surround it and lick it up.
Both navies halted and stared at what had happened. There sat the Juggernaut…the most feared ship in the entire battle. A large portion of it had collapsed in on itself now, leaving a gaping hole in the center. The unbalance made the ship lean slightly more to one side. Black smoke began to rise from the hole in the middle, and fire came after it. Most of the guns went dead and became lifeless, never to move again. A few more fired on for a few moments longer…before cutting off as well. Assuming the power was still intact to them, then the crews had to have abandoned them and fled or tried to stop the flames from consuming the rest of the ship. The great monolith of a ship slowly came to a rest, and the only motions on it after the next hour were people trying to stop the fires or the ravenous flames themselves. By then, however, most were fleeing in lifeboats before the reactor went off as well, finishing the rest of it.
However, it only took five minutes after this event for the first of several New Shinra destroyers to surrender to the WGN.
Mack wasn't sure how he managed to do this. He was coughing so much that he could barely keep control of the ship. His brain was becoming oxygen starved, and muddling his senses. Added to that fact that he could barely see out the window or the instruments in front of him, and it was a miracle that he managed to pull the ship around and away from the line of fire. Even then, it was more miraculous that he was able to lower the ship toward the water and have a landing on the ocean surface. Luckily, the airbag could keep the lower part buoyant enough to not sink. Mack realized he must have kicked fully into pilot mode, because he had only simulated this type of landing once, and it wasn't with smoke in his eyes. He didn't even know if the Juggernaut had been hit at this point, let alone if it was a critical enough hit to disable it.
By the time Mack finally finished the landing cycle, he was nearly ready to pass out. He quickly put all of the systems on automatic, and turned to his side. He could barely see in front of him at this point, but he made out a body on the ground. Cid had fell off again once Mack had banked the airship up sharply after firing, and he didn't try to get up again. Moving quickly and with fear and the threat of death surrounding him, Mack bent down and put his arms underneath Cid's armpits. Holding on tight and exerting his own dwindling strength, Mack began to yank back. The floor of the Highwind B was smooth, and so the body soon came. The pilot didn't bother to check for vitals. He hadn't time. He slammed his eyelids shut to keep himself from being blinded further, and then began to pull backward. He used his memory to guide him back away from the cockpit and toward the door out of it.
Mack feared he would have to open the door once he finally got to it. However, ten feet from it, he heard a hiss of hydraulics behind him. He recognized it as the cockpit opening up again. He continued to drag back, and soon saw bodies move past him. They were engineers with oxygen masks over their faces, and they were dragging in hoses. These hoses were connected to the ocean itself now that the ship was down, and brought in water through them with pumps. Only now could they disconnect the rest of the electronics and put out the fires. Before, they couldn't unless they wanted the control systems to be dead. And they hadn't been able to so long as someone was flying the ship. Yet now they went to work, and Mack dragged Cid back the way they had come and out the door.
There were already a half dozen people out here, who were being moved out one by one to sickbay. The smoke that poured out from the now-open doorway was quite potent and thick, but compared to being in the middle of the room with no ventilation, it was a tremendous relief for Mack. He soon began to inhale and hack out the foul air in his lungs for somewhat better air here. He continued to drag away from the door a bit farther, getting out of the path of the smoke coming from the door. No one seemed to notice him right away. After all…the violent ride had smacked them around quite a bit as well, and they were still stabilizing. Mack didn't care. He found a blank spot against the wall, and dragged Cid up to prop him against it. Once there, he went around in front, and looked the man over.
An icy chill went through him. Cid was nearly blue. A mixture of blood and spittle was around his mouth from how hard he had tried to breathe in the last few minutes. His eyes were closed, and he was almost completely still. Mack couldn't see him breathing.
"Cid!" Mack yelled out to him, calling out loud and in a panic, as if by doing so he would make him hear enough to answer. "Captain!" His hand went for Cid's neck next, checking for a pulse.
However, just as he put it on and began to detect a few weak beats…Cid's eyes cracked open. Mack forgot about the vitals and looked to his face. The man's eyes held for a moment. There was still life in them…but he was tired. It looked like he needed to cough badly, but he didn't have the strength left to do it. He had already put out everything he had. He tried to breathe in…but he didn't get far for his efforts. Yet after a second, his eyes shifted up and rested on Mack. A moment later, they recognized him. The edges of a smile formed on his face. He spoke, in a voice dry, quiet, and raspy…but still just enough for Mack to make out.
"Pretty good…commander. A minus. You passed…the course. Congrats. I'll let you…fly one of these ladies… But get one scratch on 'em…and I'll kick your ass so hard…you'll be talkin' out of yer rear…and crappin' out of yer mouth…"
Normally, Mack would have had some happiness from this. When it came to talking about his ships, Cid was always serious. And getting approval from him was nothing to sneeze at. However, right now Mack didn't care if he got command of the Juggernaut itself. And every word only made him wince more at knowing the price each syllable cost Cid.
"Captain, don't talk! Please don't-"
"Mack…"
Soft as this word was…it cut the pilot off completely. He stayed quiet and listened for a moment. Cid managed to smile a bit more.
"Thanks…for trusting me…"
Cid's eyes closed after this.
The beats that Mack felt ceased.
The reality sank into the commander's mind for a few moments…before he realized what had happened. No more breath or beats. When that happened, his arms shot out and grabbed Cid's shoulders, and with a violence and fury that would have put the fallen pilot himself to shame, he shook him so hard it was as if he wanted to shake the life back into him.
A single cry went out through the ship, so loud and anguished, that all who heard it immediately froze, and knew what had happened despite it only being a single word.
"CID!"
To be continued...