Chapter Two

Then

Elena knew the only reason she was being fast tracked, and not one of the other cadets, was because Rosalind was her sister, and not because she was actually better than the others. But as far as she was concerned, it was the first time that her glacial, do-gooder of a sister had actually done anything helpful for her, and she sure as hell wasn't going to argue with it.

Tseng had come to see her, and explained the situation. AVALANCHE was becoming a force to be reckoned with once again, and the three Turks that had been unscathed in the fight against Zirconiade were not enough. Added to that was the problem of Sephiroth and the Ancient, and the Turks were in desperate need of help.

'It's unusual for a cadet to be moved through before graduation,' Tseng told her. 'A lot of expectations will be placed upon you, do you understand that?'

She nodded, trying to appear far more confident than she felt. 'Of course, sir.'

He nodded, regarding her a little warily. 'Have you met Reno and Rude?'

'Very briefly,' she said.

Tseng bit his lip, nodding slightly. 'You'll meet Rude later today. I imagine you'll work with him for the time being.'

Elena frowned. 'I thought they were partners?'

The Turk commander seemed troubled. 'They are,' he said, finally. 'Reno has other orders for the time being.'

'You're too late. Once I push this button...'

Elena nodded, accepting this. She had no reason not to, after all. 'Of course, sir.' She licked her lips nervously. 'I start now?'

'Yes. You'll come with me now to HQ. The Turks are mainly based on the 59th floor of the building, though we also have dealings on the 66th and 69th floors. You will receive key cards to all the appropriate locations.'

She nodded. 'Okay.'

'I need to be somewhere later today, so Rude will be in charge of you until I return. Don't be put off by his... appearances. He's a very easy person.'

'Of course. You have a mission, sir?'

'Our orders were to find and capture the last remaining Ancient.'

He nodded briskly. 'Yes. Elena... Today is a very... busy day. You will not find it easy, but I hope it doesn't affect your performance...'

She got it. This was a test for her, seeing if she could remain level headed under even the most difficult circumstances. It was not a test she intended on failing.

'You can count on me,' she told him.

He smiled slightly. 'I hope so.'

They were both silent in the car on the way to HQ. Elena had never been in an armoured Shinra vehicle before, or at least, she didn't remember if she had. There were pictures of her as a child seated in the lap of her father, a former Shinran official, in a car similar to this. She had almost no memory of those days, before the war against Wutai and her father's death. She often wondered what her mother really thought about both her daughters going into Shinra, the company that had killed her husband...

She was forced out of the reverie when she saw that Tseng was trying to talk to her.

'Sorry, sir,' she mumbled.

He waved it off. 'Just don't lose concentration in the field,' he warned her. 'Anyway, I was just saying, you'll have to have some kind of face to face meeting with President Shinra sometime in the near future, as all new Turks do. Has Rosalind told you much about him?'

Elena swallowed. Her sister had told her that the President was a rude, sexist old fuck, but she doubted that was what Tseng wanted to hear, so she just mumbled something unintelligible.

Tseng smiled. 'He's a rude, sexist old fuck,' he told her, smile widening when he saw the recognition on her face. 'It's an opinion shared by all the Turks, both active and inactive, and I'm sure you'll agree when you meet him. In fact, if you don't agree, we may have to rethink your contract.'

Elena grinned. She was very relieved that Tseng was such an easy person to be near, as he was the first Turk she was having any kind of official dealings with, Rosalind excepted. She'd heard from some of the other cadets that he could be rather quick to lose his temper, but so far he seemed very calm, almost mellow.

As they made their way up in the elevator, having gotten through the security barrier with just a nod from Tseng, Elena began to panic about meeting those that she would be working in such close contact with. Who was it she would be meeting now... Rude? The tall, silent man, never without his sunglasses. All she remembered about him was thinking that he either had a very dry sense of humour, or none at all. He was always spoken of as a pair at the academy, when the cadets talked eagerly about the future colleagues they wanted to have. RenoandRude, RudeandReno. Reno's reputation at the academy was vast, though most of the cadets had never even seen the man, let alone met him. Reno was the fun one, the crazy one, the one the guys wanted to be and the girls wanted to fuck. He was highly regarded by all due to his absolute dedication to the job, and his absolute dedication to the fun stuff that came after the job. Rosalind was fond of him, and of Rude also, but Elena was rather scared of meeting them. What if they didn't like her, let alone her liking them?

They stepped out of the elevator onto the 59th floor, where the Turks were based, stopping in front of a door which had Reno's and Rude's names carved onto it.

'This is the office you'll share with them,' Tseng told her. He checked his watch and grimaced. 'I have to go,' he said. 'Rude should be inside, he knows you're coming. Reno and I will be here this evening at some point... I'd advise you stay in the housing we can provide you here within the building for the next couple of nights.'

'Think you can escape in time?'

Elena nodded. 'Of course sir.'

Tseng seemed as though he was going to say something else, but he stopped, and just watched Elena for a moment. She felt herself blushing under his scrutiny. Finally, he said 'Good luck, Elena,' before turning and heading back towards the elevator, without another glance at her. She watched him go, mouth dry, stomach churning. She lifted her hand to rap gently on the door. When it opened, her career as a Turk would officially begin.

A/N- The bits in italics are quotes from the game, mostly from the bit on the Sector 7 Plate. I used the name Rosalind because that seems to be the accepted name for Gun (female), a BC Turk and Elena's sister (and also cause my sister's name is Roslynd :-p). I'm trying to make it as canon as poss, but forgive me if some details don't ring true. Review puhleeaase XD