CHAPTER ONE: NEW BEGININGS
A small thin veil of plastic sheet animated by a light breeze was gently carried into the air where it lazily made a path across the track. The military rail platform of Sector One located on the outer ring of the upper city was as busy as one would expect it to be nearing midnight. The only movement would occasionally come from the two guards in the employment of Shinra Inc who sporadically walked the length of the platform in their endless boredom, their crimson trousers, tunic and cap emblazoned upon the dull surrounding stonework of the station. A steady red light overhead which had accompanied the guards throughout the night suddenly switched to green, a train was approaching. The air of the station changed and time seemed to hasten, the two men welcomed the respite from their thoughts.
Green light! The overhead light ahead switched from red to green shortly before the tracks ahead shifted, putting the train on a course for the Sector One military platform. The mercenary nodded to himself, the plan was going accordingly and there might even be a chance that it could succeed. Ahead he saw one his fellow conspirators, a red headed female, her head lifted above the two carriages she hid between, with a small nod their eyes met and she signalled him with her fist with her index finger extended. Be prepared. With a nod the mercenary pressed his spiky blonde haired head against the roof of the carriage and tightened his grip on the inadequate hand holds he had found on the sides.
The approaching train threw up a shower of sparks as its breaks were applied far too late which was followed by the whine of the metal upon metal friction as the engine ground to a halt on the platform. The two guards were immediately alert to a problem with the train, something was wrong. Sharing a quizzical look one of the men approached the cockpit at a jog, maybe the driver had had a heart attack, he had heard of such things before. He would never find out however, the guards progress was stopped by a young man, maybe in his late teens who was remarkable in only the way that his clothes so common in the slums below had no place in this military institution. The guard reacted instantly, the baton being brought from his side into the air to deliver the first blow against this scruffy intruder. His speed was outmatched however, the youths arm shot out to intercept his enemies holding the baton. The guard breathed a sigh of surprise at the iron grip of the assailant just before the youth pivoted in a left turn using the guard's weight to bring him down. Not a sound escaped the felled soldier in red before he lost consciousness. A battle cry escaped from the far end of the platform, looking around the youth saw the other guard with baton raised running to his fallen companion's aid. A red headed woman suddenly leapt from the roof of the train. The guard saw the flight of this figure in the corner of his eye, the dim light of the station glinting on the silver breastplate she wore. The shape grew bigger and bigger in his periphery until her foot connected with his face and then nothing mattered at all. The man's cheek collapsed inwards as the woman's kick shattered his jawbone, he fell limply to the side and out of the fight.
Silence once more descended onto the platform. The two fighters as if as one ran to the exit of the platform and out of sight. From the train there emerged an extremely large barrel like man, his plain shirt nothing remarkable but for the bandolier he wore from which hung grenades and other devices of death, following on from him came a giant of a man, his black skin giving off no shine in the dull light. The man's height would dwarf most men as would his physique which told a tale of a life spent in labour. His biceps would be a wonder for a body builder yet this still wasn't the most remarkable visible aspect of this truly remarkable man. Where there should have been a rock like fist to match his left hand, the man's right hand had been replaced with a 30mm chain gun, fed from an ammunition box which could be clipped to the underside of the gun-arm. Spare ammunition boxes were attached to a silver girdle that the giant of a man wore, a truly menacing sight. He followed the barrel man who was exiting the platform; he turned just before he reached the exit and waved with his left arm impatiently in the air. "C'mon newcomer, follow me!" The man ran out of sight as the blonde haired mercenary leapt from the train onto the now empty platform. In comparison to his huge companion the mercenary was nothing remarkable, standing at a normal height the figure was instantly recognisable by his mess of blonde spiked hair which defied reason. He was built like a runner, his thin frame ripped by muscle. His dark blue outfit, tailored for the purpose of combat and stealthy movement was adored by a girdle and various bangles. All of this almost ordinary appearance was overruled however by the giant sword which was clipped to the mercenaries back. The Buster Sword was a giant of a weapon, a broadsword of approximately five foot from end to end and over two foot wide, it was bladed on one side. The weapon would put fear into the hearts of those opposing it, if they could ever believe that the slight man could ever be strong enough to wield such an ungainly thing. The man followed the lead of his companions and away from the station platform where the two guards lay in ruin.
The mercenary rushed out of the train station and onto the quiet cobbled streets of the militarised zone of Midgar; in the distance he could hear the steady drone of traffic. He was surrounded by various buildings which would have held the curiosity of the millions of Midgar citizens for whom this area would always be out of bounds to. But for him it was all a distraction, he knew the way and a quick run brought him within sight of three of his team, they were hidden in the shadows of a heavily locked electronic door. The first youth off the train and the barrel like man: Biggs and Wedge kept watch either side of the t junction while the female, Jessie was busy working on the electronic lock mechanism. The three wore an assortment of odd military clothing which the mercenary could only conclude had been salvaged from a bygone era before Shinra domination came to the world. He moved over to the group at a signal from Biggs, keeping low to avoid the possibility of detection. With five metres to spare a door swung open to the spiky haired figures right and out walked two Shinra soldiers, their blue uniforms overlaid with body armour covering their vitals, their eyes covered by multiuse goggles. The two men didn't even register any danger, let alone reach for their rifles slung to their backs. In one swift movement the Buster Sword was in the mercenaries hand and he had closed with his enemies. The closest soldier was decapitated by a heavy downward arcing blow, while the second who barely had time to turn his head was dispatched when the fighter extended his open palm to the victim which emitted a small shockwave in the air which smashed the man into the solid wall with inhuman strength, breaking his body. The situation was resolved in seconds.
Both Biggs and Wedge allowed themselves fleeting glances at their new companion as he came to crouch down beside them. Biggs stared with eyes full of wonder. "Wow, you used to be in SOLDIER all right! Not every day you find one in a group like AVALANCHE!" He said this with a smile on his face and a shake of his head.
"SOLDIER huh" Came a whisper from Jessie who still was busy working on the lock. Her voice held a note of distaste for the use of SOLDIER, the elite military force of Shinra. "What's he doing with us?" She must have known the answer to this, but her distaste seemed to make this jibe necessary.
"Hey calm it Jessie" Biggs shot back in reply. "He's one of us now" The smile returned to the young man's lips. "Anyway, I didn't catch your name" He had turned back to the mercenary now, totally ignorant of looking out for the enemy.
"Cloud" Came the reply
"Alright! Cloud it is. I'm..."
"Listen" Cloud cut in with a low but firm voice which closed Biggs's mouth and made him listen "I really don't care who you people are. Once this job is finished I'm out of here, I really am just here for the pay off".
The tough looking figure of Biggs bristled with anger at the tone and language of the comments, Cloud noted the man's fingers twitching; he had two pistols holstered at his hips. The almost silent confrontation was interrupted by the arrival of the massive black figure of Barret, the leader of this operation and the AVALANCHE cell. He had been checking that the area was empty.
"What da hell do ya think you're all doin ere? How many times? Never move in concentrated groups, remember you're spacing's, keep your distances and be alert" The rough and scarred face of Barret looked around at his three people. "Jessie, how is the door coming" As he finished the last word the electronic consol beeped and the door rolled open. Biggs moved into the breach, followed by Wedge and then Jessie, the three kept their spacing's of five meters apart and constantly scanned all their arcs of vision. Barret moved into the doorway before turning on Cloud and staring him in his mysterious piercing green eyes. "Ex-SOLDIER huh, I'll be keeping a close eye on you" These words were answered with a cold impassive stare. Barret turned around and followed on after his colleagues. The mercenary remained impassive, looking ahead over the roofs of the houses and high-rise buildings which made up upper-Midgar there loomed the ominous majesty of Shinra tower, the pinnacle of the Midgar crown built upon the toil of all below. Again his gaze was impassive, he had a job to do and he meant to complete it, he followed the trail of the leader through the silent courtyard of Reactor No1, a brightly coloured garden of Mako measuring instruments among other industrial machines.
The Mako reactors of Midgar, all eight of them were located at the end of each partition which divided the great city into sectors. From upper Midgar, what could be seen of the Reactors rose up into the sky to the height of skyscrapers but this was only the tip of the iceberg. Below the upper city the superstructures which encased the machinery of Mako extraction descended fifty meters to the earth like giant pillars supporting the plate. Below the earth the machinery went deep, some said to the very core of the planet. Cloud entered through the courtyard to the entry walkways which led to Reactor superstructure. The narrow walkway was a T junction, ahead Cloud could see Wedge on the far side, the fat man crouched down keeping what was the entrance to Sector Eight clear of obstruction, above the man towered the great wall which marked the beginning of the Sector, this left the right hand path as the only option. From his vantage point Cloud could see the Superstructure towering into the sky and looking down to the slums below, could see the base of the Mako Reactor where somewhere deep it unendingly pumped and refined its fuel.
The inside of the upper superstructure was sealed with another security door which Jessie was busy unlocking, Biggs stood ready for any eventuality while Barret looked on waiting for the newcomer. "Right y'all" Came the low growl of Barret at the sight of Cloud. "Our mission is to destroy this Reactor yea, so far it's been easy but I'm thinking once that bombs set we'll be damn hard pressed to make it out" The giant looked around at the three "But once we have that explosion I don't think they'll be so interested in us for awhile" The man was nodding as he spoke and his voice rose steadily. This was a mannerism Cloud had noted; the man used his anger to drive him. "So Cloud, have you been in one of these holes before?"
"I know their layout, one main descent shaft which runs almost down to the base where the actual Reactor is located."
"You know Cloud, this planet's full of Mako energy. The people here use it every day" Barret spread his arms wide. The Shinra mine it and use it as fuel, it powers their control. But Cloud, Mako is the life blood of the planet. You ever heard of the Life stream man? These machines are like damn vampires."
"Listen, I've already told you're guys. I'm not interested in your preaching, I don't care about your cause and I really don't care about AVALANCHE. I'd hire my sword back to the Shinra if they had the Gil". Both Biggs and Barret scowled at the reply.
"You're sticking with me from now on"
At that moment the door rolled open with a beep, Biggs was ready and together with Jessie they echeloned through into the next room, their boots resounding on the grated floor. Cloud moved through after a minute of silence closely followed by Barret. They entered another large room with a lift entrance on the far side; Jessie had already disappeared into the lift while Biggs would hold position and keep the lift entrance secure. On the floor there lay the unconsciousness body of a Shinra soldier, by the looks of his face he wouldn't be awake for many an hour. And by that time this whole area would be in rubble. Cloud and Barret moved through into the open lift to find Jessie unscrewing a panel to expose a mess circuitry. The elevator was a large sturdy space which could be used to transport the necessary parts to the heart of the reactor when maintenance might be needed. The space about ten meters wide was lit only by the soft glow of an electric blue light. The lights of the lift controls also gave off a dim glow. Barret entered the space and nervously began to pace around the space, nodding his head every now and again as if to reassure himself of success. "How is it coming along Jessie? Are we nearly there?" The terminal beeped in response to Jessie's work and the lift control panel light flickered for a second.
The girl let out an audible sigh of relief. "That should do the trick, Cloud would you press the button over there. We should go all the way down" Cloud obliged and with a lurch the lift began its steady rumbling descent to the reactor. "That should be the last of the coded locks; we have about five minutes till we reach the bottom, just think of how many of our people risked their lives for this. It better be worth it"
Barret suddenly stopped his pacing and turned to Cloud once more. The huge imposing figure focused on the smaller man. Cloud was masked in shadows but his eyes, those green eyes gave off a light of their own. Barely perceptible but there, the only visible sign of the SOLDIER. "Cloud, you don't need to care about what you're doing but you've got to realise that the Shinra are killing the planet. Slowly these machines will suck the planet dry. They're killing the planet. And it's as much you're problem as it is mine"
"The only thing I care about is setting that charge and getting out of here before the Roboguards and security comes raining down on us. If SOLDIER turns up we're all dead"
The lift came to a halt with a slight screech and the door rolled open revealing a cavernous room filled with a low intensity red light. This room was housed the huge extraction machinery which made up another part of the process of Mako extraction. The lift let them out on top of this structure two stories high. They found a stairwell which allowed maintenance crews to work on the many levels of the huge facility. The three took the stairs all the way to the bottom where they found another door. A huge metal passage which slid open as they approached to reveal the ghostly green light of the Mako energy which filled the reactor chamber.
The reactor room dwarfed the other rooms which made up this whole plant. Buried deep beneath the earth where Mako had been found in abundance the machinery of Shinra had built to extract this potent energy. This cavern which was lit somewhat by bright halogen bulbs glowed from the radiance of the Mako below. One hundred meters down was a sea of the green flowing substance. Cloud had seen this sight before but that didn't make it any less spectacular. Some twenty meters below was the main reactor consol, the huge array of control and measuring equipment which could only be reached by a wide grate walkway. The route down was one of following ladders and girders where ones footsteps were always precarious. At one point Jessie stopped on one of the girders "I'll wait here and make sure this way is still clear. Hurry up" The young woman's voice was quick with adrenaline and excitement.
A few more minutes of climbing and Cloud and Barret had reached the main walkway, ahead loomed the target, below through the grate was the Mako; to fall would mean instant death from Mako poisoning. Immediately above the walkway Cloud noticed a strange configuration of machinery which was held suspended by a metal rod attached to the ceiling. Barret noticed this strange object as well. "What do you recon?" He loudly whispered over the continuous churning of machinery with a gesture. "Not just here for decoration"
"It must be some sort of defence if the intruder alarm is tripped, maybe a roboguard"
"Damn big, whatever it is. Anyway, it's all yours now Cloud" The leader gestured to the target which loomed ahead. Cloud nodded and moved forward; removing the explosive belt he wore beneath his clothes as he went.
Suddenly the mercenary stopped on the walkway, his mind frozen to a point in the past, a hazy memory at best where only the briefest of fragments resurfaced. WATCH OUT! THIS ISN'T JUST A REACTOR! All of the man's actions ceased as if the memory had struck him dumb. All he could later liken it to was the feeling immediately upon waking where one struggles to remember a rapidly fading dream.
"What's wrong?" The voice was distant and meaningless. "Hey! What's wrong Cloud? Hurry it up"
And that was the end of that moment; the mercenary shook his head as if to forcibly remove the thought and carried on to the target. The array of equipment which made the core of the Reactor was the only truly sensitive spot in the whole structure. It was the giant Mako extraction pipe which ran vertically behind the main consol that was sensitive; if an explosion could be triggered here the resulting chain explosions which would follow the ignition of the extracted Mako being pumped up the pipe would explode the whole refining centre in the chamber above. After that all of the fail-safe's and fire crews in the world wouldn't be able to stop the destruction of Reactor No1. Cloud crouched low by the consol; he had removed the belt which had eight packages of plastic explosives looped onto it. He now placed this under the consol and pierced one of the packages with a detonator. The detonator was operated by a timer which Cloud set to ten minutes. He clicked the button which operated the time and marked it. It began to tick. 10:00, 09:59. When it reached 00:00 this would not be the ideal place to be.
Cloud stood up and turned no triumph in his gaze, just the grim acceptance of his work, Barret smiled. And then the alarm sounded a deep booming sound which cut through the din of the reactor. Above Cloud could easily imagine that a flashing red light would be illuminating squads of bleary eyed soldiers, slinging rifles and preparing to find the cause of alarm. What had gone wrong? At that same instance, as Barret, his grin transformed into a look of horror looked at Cloud in shock the large unusual object which had hung suspended over the walkway was released. The Guard Scorpion was a state of the art robot designed to protect the reactor core in the eventuality that the instillation was breached. That eventuality had now come to pass. The machine dropped onto the walkway, landing on its five sturdy legs. It stood over fifteen feet high, its large body was armed with two heavy machine guns and a large scorpion like tail arced from its back into the air revealing a terrible sharp blade. Instantly the scanning equipment of the scorpion began to assess the area, its sensors searching for bionic life, the legs began navigating the barely wide enough walkway, bringing its firepower to bear on the intruders.
"BARRET! BEHIND YOU!" The giant of a man was already in mid turn; going to one knee he extended his right arm, steadying the weapon grafted to his body. A second later the 30mm canon roared to life, devastating the scorpion. Seconds later the ammunition of the gun was spent, leaving the gun arm smoking and a vast cluster of spent brass at the man's feet. The machine swayed unmoving for a moment, its right machine gun almost severed from a body which looked like the victim of a bad surgeon. But then it came forward, as if revived. Its left turret sending fire down the narrow walkway and its tail flailing. Immediately Cloud joined the fray, leaping in the way of the robot and his vulnerable ally he reflected bullets using his sword in a display which any normal man would be unable to comprehend. It wasn't enough however; the robot saw an opening and the tail delivered a blow over the mercenaries head wounding Barret in the stomach who staggered back with a cry. Suddenly the machine stopped firing, overheated from use, it was designed to be backed up by the now destroyed right arm. Cloud saw an opening and extended his palm forward. From it a bolt of lightning seared toward the robot, striking in the bullet rented body. Its innards caught fire and all the machines movements ceased at the electrical shock. With a run and jump Cloud closed with the machine and his blade severed its left weapon. As he landed from his assault the machine jerked back to life, its heavy front leg kicking the mercenary to the ground. Looking up he saw that deadly tail of the Scorpion poised to strike, he wouldn't have time to move. But then it didn't matter, the 30mm cannon, now reloaded roared back to life tearing through the upper half of the beast. The tail of the Guard Scorpion became limp and the machine toppled off the walkway and fell into the abyss of Mako.
Cloud was on his feet, he had faced death before and he knew it wasn't a thing to dwell on, especially now. Barret was also on his feet, the wound at his side going unnoticed. "Let's get outta ere" He snarled. "Less than ten minutes before detonation!"
Barret took the lead at a furious pace, passing Jessie where she stood on the girder well above the walkway covering their escape. "Cloud!" she cried as the mercenary reached the same point, expecting the girl to follow on behind. "My foot is jammed in the girder, please don't leave me" There was desperation in the tough woman's voice. Cloud doubled back and freed the trapped foot at once. "Come on" replied Cloud Together they climbed the rest of the way up the chamber and out into the next room. Cloud had expected to meet the Shinra here but was surprised to find it empty, Biggs must still been alive then. They found Barret at the lift panting for breath. "Get in, and be prepared for trouble upstairs".
The guard commander of No1 Reactor was down on one knee in the secondary security room of the facility. In the room ahead was the maintenance elevator which was being held by the terrorists. No, one terrorist that was. He hadn't been dislodged yet but that was about to change, around the commander was gathered the thirty soldiers of the guard who were about to assault and kill the bastard. They were armed with rifles and had swords at their sides, they were armoured and wore goggles which could allow night sight. Ideally he would have cut the power and attacked in the pitch dark. No time. "Prepare to breach the door!" He screamed, all the soldiers braced themselves. "BREACH!" A dull explosion rocked the room as the heavy door was blown into the adjacent room. His men entered the smoke filled room in squads of five. Fifteen men entered the room before the firing began, a deafening rolling thunder which was alien to the Shinra rifles. Seconds later two men staggered back through the door, their clothes stained in blood and terror on their faces. "PREPARE TO DEFEND THE POSITION" The well drilled men retreated into positions of cover and prepared to follow their command. Moments later a man rushed through the breach, his blonde haired figure framed in the light. The soldiers unleashed a withering barrage against the target, he deflected the fire yet was still forced backwards a couple of steps. The commander thought fast, the rifles were ineffective against this fighter in the confined space. "CEASE FIRE! DRAW SWORDS-CHARGE!" The men obliged with a deafening battle cry they gave as one.
A minute of parries and counter blows later the guard of No1 Reactor lay dead or maimed on the floor, their lame cries falling on merciless ears. For the feat Cloud had received many cuts, one deep into his hip which for now went unnoticed with the adrenaline. He turned back to the lift room and signalled, there was no time to spare. Sprinting the four fighters reached the dividing walkways spanning Sectors 1 and 8. In the distance a great sound of commotion could be heard. The alarm was still being sounded and soon the full might of Shinra would be brought down upon the Reactor. Jessie who ran before Cloud fell forward; she panicked and let out a slight cry. The mercenary squatted over her prone figure and hauled her onto his back. Ahead Wedge was nowhere to be seen but reaching the Sector 8 entrance they found it unlocked. Wedge had done his job. Barret let out a sigh of relief. All the four struggled to keep their breathing under control. The intense mix of adrenaline and tiredness gave the impression that the four were hyperventilating. As the door to Sector 8 rolled open a great tremor ran through the walkway, from some deep place beneath the planet there came the sound of thunder. The mission had been successful but AVALANCHE still had a way to run.