June 14
"Hi."
Miranda started. She had been sitting in the Mimmett Avenue diner for about fifteen minutes, and had spent the last five or so poking the uneaten egg salad that theoretically was to be her breakfast.
"—Hi, Linnis," she replied. "Sorry; I'd completely spaced off. Have a seat."
"Thanks," said Linnis, sitting. She was wearing casual clothes — a loose button-up T-shirt in mottled browns over a pink tank top, and brown pants that went with the shirt — and had the casual demeanor that Miranda had observed in most SeeDs, all of which made her nearly indistinguishable from the diner's other patrons. Still, her expression easily gave away that something was weighing heavily on her, as it nearly mirrored Miranda's own.
"...Do you want this?" asked Miranda, gesturing at her uneaten salad. "They have terrific eggs here, and I ordered before I figured out I'm not really hungry."
Linnis shook her head politely. "Thanks, but I already ate."
Miranda nodded. "Well, then," she said, then trailed off. "...Hyne, I'm sorry. This never happens, but...I don't know what to say."
"You said you might want me as a source for a story," Linnis prodded.
"Yeah; that might not be happening." Miranda shook her head. "Did you get that file to Garden okay?"
"Yeah," Linnis confirmed. "Xu said to thank you for your help, and just say if you need anything."
Miranda smiled, intendedly polite but mostly wan. "...That's the problem. I definitely need something; I just don't know what. Or...maybe it's that I do, but there's no getting it."
"Are you under pressure from Galbadia?" asked Linnis.
"I can't even tell my editors where I got the file from," Miranda said. "We can't cite it in any story. And that's the only source we've got. To say nothing of the G-men would probably shut us down for a story like this no matter what or who our source was."
Linnis raised her eyebrows. "I've done investigations before," she said, "but that sounds pretty crazy."
"I'm just figuring that out myself," said Miranda. "'Why the hell should we let the government's threats make us muzzle ourselves?' That was me, a week ago. Drove my editor crazy. Now —" She spread her hands in resignation.
"What changed?" asked Linnis.
"It's different when you're sitting across the table from someone who threatens to destroy everyone you ever met," said Miranda. Then she laughed, weakly. "This is pathetic; I'd meant to be interviewing you right now. For a story they probably won't let me write."
The corner of Linnis' mouth twitched. "How long have you wanted to be a reporter?"
"Since I was nine," said Miranda. "I know exactly what did it, too. I mean, I grew up reading Annie Patton mysteries, that kind of thing; but there was this one story about Julia Caraway — you know, the singer who did 'Eyes On Me'?"
Linnis nodded. "She died, right? After marrying some general?"
"Yeah," said Miranda. "It was one of the ones right after she died, and it was, you know, a huge celebrity death deal. But what really got me about it was the story." Miranda's eyes started to drift, looking over Linnis' shoulder at nothing in particular. "Her story, I mean. I just...had no idea that real people actually had lives like that. And it really brought home, like..." She hesitated. "You see things every day, and you don't think about how they're connected; they're just...there. But everything has something to do with something. And I've always loved connecting the dots. Makes the world feel...more accessible, somehow." She shrugged. "Why'd you want to be as SeeD?"
"War orphan," Linnis said. "Don't remember too much of my childhood, but...Garden was everything I had. I wanted to help protect it. It's all I really know how to do."
Miranda placed her hands on the table in front of her, and rested her chin on them. "I know the feeling," she said exhaustedly.
It took them a second to notice the two men in Galbadian uniforms who had entered the diner. Both made a beeline for their table.
"Linnis Cochran?" asked one.
"Yes?" confirmed Linnis warily.
"Please come with us," he said.
Linnis frowned; she and Miranda glanced at each other. "Can I ask why?"
"Not authorized to tell you that, ma'am," said the soldier.
"Then I'm not going anywhere," said Linnis. "What is going on?"
"We said get up!" The second soldier grabbed for Linnis' shirt; Linnis caught and twisted his arm, sending him to the floor on his back. He crashed into the table on the way down; it flipped over, and Miranda's breakfast ended up splattered over his breastplate. Miranda yelped and jumped backwards, and many other patrons made for the exit.
A second later, the first soldier had his saber drawn; Linnis' hands were hovering by the twin revolvers at her waist; but she didn't draw.
"Surrender your weapons," said the still-standing soldier, as his counterpart disentangled himself from the overturned table. "You're to be taken into custody. Don't make this more difficult than it needs to be."
Miranda saw additional Galbadian soldiers outside, closing in. Linnis did, too. Slowly, she nodded. "...All right," she said, and slowly removed the holsters from her waist and handed them over.
"And your GF," said the soldier. The second one had regained his footing, and held out a metal cylinder about the size of his forearm. Its casing was in two halves, which split open to show its center was crystal. Miranda blinked; she hadn't realized the Galbadians had access to that sort of technology.
Linnis sighed, and closed her eyes; there was a brief flash of light, and the crystal began to glow. The soldier checked the display panel, nodded, and snapped the cylinder closed.
"We've got the last one," the Galbadian said into his radio; and they escorted Linnis out. As she was leaving, she flashed Miranda a look, and her otherwise neutral expression for a second spoke to layers of worry and fear that made Miranda's stomach knot.
As soon as the Galbadians were gone, Miranda grabbed her shoulder-bag and retrieved her radiophone, dialing reflexively. "Blake?" she asked. "I know I'm supposed to be at home and taking it easy or whatever, but...I think I've got a new story for you."
- - - — — - - -
Though she hadn't gotten to sleep until well after midnight, Quistis had awakened before dawn. Even so, Seifer, Fujin and Raijin were gone when she did. She hadn't expected anything different, really.
Zell and Paige had been standing watch, with everyone else still asleep. A good deal of pacing and brooding on her part had dominated the following hours, until the rest of the team had awakened and consumed the Galbadian ration packages that now constituted their breakfasts, lunches and dinners. Then she had gathered everyone together.
"All right," she said. "We need to make a choice. Right now, we don't know where Squall and Rinoa are, or which way they're headed. And now we're on the run from the Galbadians ourselves."
"Wasn't that the plan?" asked Irvine.
Quistis nodded. "Well, now it seems like we have another situation," she said. "A war between Galbadia and Esthar can only be devastating. Given that Galbadia is clearly distrustful of SeeD — and by our own actions, we've given them more reason to be — it's doubtful that Garden would survive such a conflict for long."
"What are we supposed to do about it, though?" asked Karenna. "I mean, if this is some huge operation...there's only eight of us."
"Obviously we can't stop the attack from happening," said Quistis. "Not entirely. But I've been reading over the outline of the Galbadian attack plan. They don't have enough forces to defeat Esthar head-on, so they're depending on the element of surprise. In addition, they're going to use long-range missiles to soften up Esthar's defenses."
"That sounds familiar," said Nida.
"Wait a minute," said Selphie. "I kinda remember blowing up that missile base."
"Yes," Quistis agreed. "And they haven't rebuilt it yet, although the plan calls for its use. But apparently the Galbadians have been developing a system to let them launch missiles from ships."
That news caught everyone by surprise. "Ships?" asked Jeck.
"Man," said Zell. "That's...pretty cool."
"It's gonna be way harder to blow up a bunch of ships," said Selphie.
"We might have a chance," said Quistis. "The outline includes which port the ships are based at. They might still be there." She took a breath. "There's no guarantee, of course; and even if the ships are there, we may not be able to do anything. And if we try, we'll probably lose any chance of catching up with Squall."
Everyone was silent for a time, looking as if they were waiting for someone else to speak up. "...I think we should do it," Nida said hesitantly. Still, no one else spoke; Nida looked around for any sign that someone had heard him.
"We should make the decision now," Quistis said. "Since neither option is sanctioned by Garden, I won't make it an order. I want us all to be in agreement."
"It doesn't really feel right to abandon Squall and Rinoa," said Selphie. "I mean, I know Squall ran away from us, but we've never given up on him before."
"Well, maybe bringing Galbadia down a peg or two could help too," said Irvine. "If we get them off Garden's back, he'd at least have a place to go."
"I don't like the idea of Galbadia shootin' up Esthar," said Zell. "An' suppose they're doin' it because of us? Like, 'cause they know we've got connections with Laguna or something. We kinda owe it to Esthar to help."
Jeck groaned. "Okay, running after Squall was pretty crazy, but this is like a whole new level."
"Figures you'd say that," muttered Zell.
"Hey, shut up!" snapped Jeck. "Even assuming we can actually do anything, this is like declaring war on Galbadia on behalf of Garden. That's gonna help?"
"He's got a point," said Karenna, less confrontationally. "Even if we can stop Galbadia from beating Esthar, they could still retaliate against Garden."
"I think they'll do that anyway," said Quistis. "I'd be amazed if they allowed an institution as powerful as Garden to stand in the midst of an open war."
"That still doesn't answer the question of how we're supposed to stop all the missiles from firing," said Jeck. "I mean —"
"Hang on," said Karenna; she was looking at the one SeeD who hadn't spoken yet, and who now had a somewhat distant look. "Paige, what do you think?"
"What?" Paige shook her head. "I...I mean..."
"It's all right," said Quistis. "Just say what's on your mind."
Paige sighed. "...Well, I guess it's what you said just now. I mean, this is just my first mission, and besides that all I know is from hearing you guys talk, or people back at Garden...but lately, Garden doesn't seem like it's powerful at all. It's always how our contract prevents this, or our finances make things a certain way. And it's always how we can't do anything Galbadia wouldn't like. Like they've taken over Garden, and we didn't even fight. So...I guess I don't want to let them get away with it."
Most of the others were nodding. "...Well," said Karenna, "when you put it that way...I guess I'm with you."
"Maybe it's a question of do we go down with a bang or a whisper," said Irvine. "I'd go for the bang."
"Me too," said Selphie.
"Yeah!" Zell exclaimed; his enthusiasm seemed just a tad bit forced, but Quistis welcomed it anyway. "Let's show these Galbadian bastards why you don't mess with SeeD!"
Then everyone looked at Jeck. "So, still no one's said how we're supposed to do this," he said.
"So we'll figure it out," said Karenna.
"Yeah," Irvine agreed. "Come on, man. Your chance to be the big hero."
Jeck didn't look remotely enthused, but eventually raised his hands in resignation. "All right," he said. "But I'm totally gonna say 'I told you so' if this whole thing blows up."
"Hey, 'when it blows up,' okay?" Zell corrected. "...Wait a minute." That prompted a quickly suppressed round of chuckling among the SeeDs.
"...The base in question is on the eastern Monterosa shore," Quistis said, trying to get things back on track. "The best way to reach it is probably to go through Dollet. Let's get ready to move out."
The SeeDs set about striking their campsite and collecting their gear. Nida hovered by Quistis for a moment longer. "You know, I kind of figured you'd want to keep after Squall," he said.
"I do want to," she said. Selphie and Irvine were still nearby as well; Selphie especially looked like she still wanted some assurance that they were making the right decision. "But there's a point when you have to let things go."
- - - — — - - -
Keri was usually up before dawn, but today light was already streaming through the blinds of her dorm window when she rolled out of bed. Feeling like she wouldn't mind just crawling back under the covers and sleeping for an indeterminate amount of additional time, she instead stumbled into the shower.
After she had changed into her Garden fatigues and brushed her hair, she flopped onto her couch with the copy of Relics Monthly that lay nearby, until she remembered that she'd already read this one from cover to cover. Sighing, she pulled on her shoes and headed out, hoping the cafeteria would still be serving breakfast.
The hall was completely empty, but since the spring term was over and people knew better than to loiter in the halls anyway, this wasn't too surprising. Keri couldn't shake the feeling, though, that there was something eerie about the silence that she couldn't quite place.
The intercom echoed through the hall as she was approaching the lift. "Blue team to the West Entrance!" commanded a harried-sounding voice. Keri blinked, but the intercom cut off without further explanation.
Keri reached the lift and pressed the down arrow, puzzling over the cryptic announcement. All students and graduates at the Garden were divided into teams, which were reorganized with each semester, whether they were taking classes or simply residing there. Students in the same team were usually put in classes together, particularly the combat courses. They also determined which side students were on in the wargames that ended each semester, but she couldn't think of any reason why...
Then she saw that the status light on the lift's call panel was flashing red, and everything fell into place. She turned and sprinted back toward her dorm room.
Even though she had just put away all her gear the previous night, it still took her a second to remember where she had stored it. First she retrieved the meter-long box that was mounted on her wall, which had her name engraved on its face along with the Garden logo. There was a dull booming noise outside, and she felt a reverberation that seemed to stop her heart for a second. Her throat had become very dry.
She removed the saber and pistol she had received upon graduation and never used so far, fumbling to fasten them onto her belt. As she was retrieving the two crystal-ribbed bracers that contained all the magic she'd been issued, she went over to the dorm window and adjusted the blinds to peer out. She already had a good idea what to expect, but that didn't prepare her to actually see it.
A group of G-SeeDs in full combat gear were charging out from the entrance, toward a mass of troops in blue and red, backed by armored personnel carriers, who were circling around from the south. Magic bolts were shooting towards the Galbadians, and she could see the telltale flashes of gunfire in return. Bodies were already starting to fall.
Remembering her gear, Keri adjusted her second junction sleeve, grabbed the waist-pouch that held what healing items she had plus extra ammunition for her pistol, and ran out the door, locking it this time. She ran in the opposite direction down the hall to the emergency stairs, and practically bounded down them to the ground floor.
She heard the shooting just in time to stop herself from bounding out the door as it slid open; instead she slammed her back against the wall and drew her pistol. A Galbadian Elite Soldier had been charging at someone who was lying against the wall just outside her range of vision, but now spun around to face her. Reflexively, Keri raised her pistol and fired three times – striking him twice in the stomach and once in the neck; he fell before he could get off a shot. It took her another second to consciously realize that this was the first man she had ever killed.
After a second of taking that in, she checked to make sure she was out of danger for the moment and stepped out of the stairwell to check the Galbadian's original target. It was Mara; she was swallowing a Potion and coughing, clutching the wound at her side as the blue glow surrounded it.
"You okay?" Keri offered her a hand, which she took.
"Oh, yeah," said Mara, shaking herself off and coughing again for good measure. "I had everything under control."
"What's going on?" Keri asked. "Why's Galbadia attacking?"
"Didn't say," said Mara. "But they seem pretty pissed off."
Keri was reasonably certain that their mission was at least partly the reason why. She was pretty sure Mara was thinking this too, but neither of them mentioned it. "Where should we go?" she asked.
"Athletic track," said Mara. "They've breached the main entrance, but we're trying to herd them in there, then divide them from the guys still outside." She frowned. "Why? Did you lose your radio?"
Keri winced, realizing she had left it in her dorm room. "—Sort of," she said. "Uh, let's go."
Mara drew her saber, and they set off down the hall.