Final Fantasy VIII [2nd Instalment]
Grace Barton
Chapter Seven
"C'mon!" shouted Selphie. "To the Missile Base!"
Selphie dived into the driver's seat. Throwing the vehicle into gear, they set off in search of the missile base. It was a long drive to the base, and she wanted to get there before the army could launch its attack on Balamb Garden. With that thought in mind, she pushed down on the accelerator.
As the vehicle ploughed its way across the Dingo Desert, Selphie did her best not to think about Trabia Garden. She tried to keep her mind focused on her mission: to stop the missiles and destroy the base.
Inevitably, her thoughts were drawn to Trabia Garden. It was the last of the three Gardens to be built in the world, and it had been Selphie's home for as long as she could remember. Its students were trained to become SeeDs, like the students of Balamb Garden. However, Trabia Garden had a much more informal air, and its students were almost like a family. At least, that was what it felt like to Selphie. She had been torn to leave it for Balamb, but in order to become a fully-fledged SeeD, she had no other choice. But now Trabia was…
Selphie shook her head. Just thinking about what might befall Trabia Garden made her heart clench tight in her chest. This was not the time to think of Trabia Garden. Right now she had to do everything in her power to stop the Galbadians from destroying Balamb Garden, too.
The Galbadian Missile Base was located in the southern part of the Great Plains of Galbadia. A wide, rushing river split the desert from the plains, meaning they could not take a direct route to the base. They were forced to go the long way around, following the railroad towards Deling City. Once they were on the plains they veered away from the railroad and headed south.
They reached the base within a couple of hours. Selphie stopped the car on a sloping hill and they all got out. There was no doubt in their minds that this was the base. It was just how they pictured it would be: a number of buildings with metal bunkers and hangers, and a large, clear platform that was the launch area. A thick concrete wall about five metres high surrounded the base, and inside a voice boomed over a speaker, announcing the preparations for the next launch.
Selphie looked at the wall. It ran all the way around the base and from what she could see it was pretty solid and unbreakable. The only entrance into the base was from the main gate, so Selphie and the others got back into the vehicle and drove towards it.
They stopped at the barrier. A single soldier stood guard outside the gate. When the vehicle approached the soldier sighed, put down the cards he was playing with, and came out to meet them. He had a very bored look to him as he noted down the vehicle's registration number and checked it off on his list. Then he came to the window and glanced inside.
"Right, he said, barely able to suppress a yawn, "go ahead."
Selphie blinked in surprise. Really? she thought. Phew…
The soldier returned to his post and pushed a button. The barrier dropped and the metal gate dropped down. Selphie drove the vehicle through. Once they were inside, the soldier yawned and returned to his card game.
Selphie smirked as she drove the car through the parking lot. The Galbadian Army really needed to increase the quality of its security checks. If the soldier had taken the time to look properly at the three people sitting in the car, he would have noticed that something was a bit amiss. If the rest of the army was as lax as this, then completing this mission would be child's play.
She parked the car next to a fence. Then she, Zell and Irvine got out and gathered around the car. As they got out, a voice boomed over the speakers.
"Following the launch on Trabia Garden, prepare for the launch on Balamb Garden. All personnel, take your positions."
Selphie wrinkled her nose. Ewwww… she thought, tugging at her sleeve. This uniform is so itchy and smelly!
She, along with Zell and Irvine, was dressed in the uniform of a Galbadian soldier. Irvine had found them at the back of the vehicle, stuffed into a crate. They smelt terrible and were so unbelievably uncomfortable—it was no wonder most Galbadian soldiers were short-tempered, Selphie thought. They managed to find enough uniforms to fit all of them, although Selphie's was a little baggy. The girl fiddled with her helmet and tried to stuff her hair behind her ears. Irvine, unable to hide his hat beneath the uniform, stuffed it into the back of the car.
Zell looked around at the base. He put his hands on his hips. "When the hell is launch time!" he demanded.
Selphie finished sorting out her hair. "It doesn't matter!" she replied. Zell and Irvine turned to face her. "We have to stop the missiles! That's all there is to it, right! If there's a door, we go in! If there's anything we can break, we break! And in the end, we blow this place to smithereens!"
"Hey, Selphie," said Irvine with a grin. "I like your attitude! Let's do it up!"
Selphie nodded and turned towards the base. According to the announcement they had just heard, they were still making preparations for the launch on Balamb Garden. That meant they still had time to stop it. She pointed to a nearby building. "Let's get a move on!" she announced, and then ran towards the door.
The door was unlocked, and so the three headed straight inside the base. To their relief there were no guards inside, so they were able to enter unseen. In the room beyond there were two doors leading further into the base. Selphie tried to open them, but both doors were locked. The girl stood in front of the left-side door and slammed her hand against it.
"It's LOCKED!" she cried. Turning away, she examined a console positioned in between the two doors. It was a card-swipe system. Selphie looked at the instructions. "Insert ID card!" she read. "But… we don't have one!"
Behind her, Zell put his hands over his ears. "Selphie, stop yelling!" he told her.
Selphie stopped shouting, and instead stamped her foot. This wasn't right—they couldn't be at a dead end already!
Seeing Selphie's despair welling, Irvine came forward and tapped her on the shoulder. "So like… I found this in the car," he said. "Give it a try."
He held something over her shoulder. Selphie, uninterested, gave it only a quick glance. Irvine was holding an ID card—a Galbadian soldier's ID card. Selphie's eyes widened and she snatched the card from his hand. Her hands trembling, she swiped it through the console.
The console beeped. "Verifying… Access granted…"
"Whoo-hoo!" cried Selphie, throwing up her arms in triumph.
The left-side door slid open. Selphie slipped the ID card into her pocket and then ran through the now open door, with Zell and Irvine running along behind her.
They entered a long corridor. There were no soldiers about—they were all busy elsewhere, preparing for the launch. Even so the group kept an eye out as they ran along the corridor, heading deeper inside.
There was a lot going on inside the base. They could not see it, but they could hear it, somewhere deep below them. Much of the Galbadian Missile Base was built underground, out of sight and hidden from the world. Not that its existence was a secret. Galbadia was the only country to own a long-range missile base, with the exception of Esthar, though no one knew if this was anything more than a rumour. The existence of the missile base was a major security threat and cast a dark shadow over the world. This was the reason why Galbadia had held power for so long. No country wanted to risk the launching those missiles.
As they hurried along, Selphie tried to think of what they should do now that they were inside. She was coming up with a blank. Getting inside was the easy part. Now was the hard part: finding a way to delay the launch long enough for them to locate the control room and stop the launch completely. And then… BLOW THE PLACE TO SMITHEREENS!
They turned a corner to a short set of stairs. Here Selphie came to an abrupt stop, causing Zell and Irvine to almost crash into her. Selphie spread her arms to keep the two from coming forward.
On the path at the bottom of the stairs was a door. Standing guard in front of the door was a Galbadian soldier. This soldier was stood very stiffly and did not move at all, his attention fixed on the area in front of him.
Yikes! thought Selphie. There's someone there! What to do… What to do…
Her mind raced as she tried to come up with something. Her first instinct was to rush in and beat the soldier unconscious, but that would do them no good. If he escaped he would raise the alarm and then their plans to infiltrate and destroy the base would be ruined. On the other hand, if they did anything to draw suspicion to themselves by running around blind, then the same would happen. Selphie bit her lip. What to do…?
For now, the soldier had not noticed them. Selphie made up her mind and turned to the men behind her. "It might look suspicious if we run," she said in a low voice. "Let's just walk by here!"
Irvine and Zell nodded. They then followed Selphie as she walked down the stairs towards the door. They moved in single file, keeping quiet with their heads held high, trying to look as though they belonged here.
They reached the bottom of the stairs. They walked quietly past the soldier, careful not to look at him as they went. The soldier's head did not move, and he did not seem to acknowledge their presence. They passed him and headed towards the next set of stairs.
Selphie was about to let out a sigh of relief when the soldier's head suddenly snapped around to face them. "Hey! You!" he called. "Stop right there!"
The trio stopped at once. Yikes! thought Selphie. Do we look that suspicious!
The guard stepped away from his post. He looked them up and down. "Hah!" he chortled in a loud voice, making them almost jump out of their uniforms. The soldier folded his arms. "Walking in a single file… …Your parents must have raised you well. That's very good manners!" He nodded his head. "Always be thankful to your parents for bringing you up!"
Selphie and the others blinked. Then Selphie stiffened and saluted the soldier. "Yes, sir…" she replied, in as deep a voice as she could muster. It hurt her throat.
Wow, she thought, as the soldier turned and went back to his post outside the door. That was weird. What a strange man.
She and the others left the soldier and walked—in single file—down the corridor. A second set of stairs, heading up this time, were just ahead. They walked up quietly and, once they were out of sight of the soldier, they broke into a run.
The stairs ended and the group found themselves standing on a path overlooking a wide, open area. There were no soldiers in sight, but the loud drone of machinery filled the room. They stopped and peered over the rails. A large conveyor belt ran beneath them. On this belt were a number of enormous metal crates. The three watched as the crates passed by beneath them and through a large, dark doorway. They wondered what could be in a box that big.
Zell, bored of watching the crates, looked around the rest of the room. He then tugged on Irvine's sleeve. "Hey," he said, "what's that?"
He pointed across the room. Irvine and Selphie followed his gaze. At the far end of the room there was a large… something. Whatever it was, it was covered by a large tarpaulin. All they could see were a number of 'bumps', and a glimpse of something blue and silver underneath the edges of the tarpaulin.
Selphie tilted her head. "What is that?" she asked, repeating Zell's question.
Irvine shook his head. "Who knows?" he replied.
"Well, I guess it doesn't matter," said Selphie. "It's covered up, right? That means it's not being used." She turned from the rail. "Come on, let's hurry!"
They left the platform and headed down another staircase to a corridor on the lower levels of the base. There were two doors on this corridor, and each one was guarded by soldiers. As they did with the soldier above, Selphie and the others did their best to look casual and walked down the stairs. When they reached the bottom they turned away from the soldiers and headed down a side corridor.
The corridor came out in an open area at the bottom of the missile base. Here there was a wide, open platform overlooking what they assumed to be the storage bay. Here the conveyor belt rumbled past, carrying the large crates across the room and through the door. More crates were piled up against the walls. These ones were being checked by the soldiers, while others on forklifts carried more crates across the floor.
One forklift entered the room, carrying a crate on its prongs. Unlike the others, this crate was open and appeared to be empty. The inside of the crate appeared to have been blasted and was charred black, with smoke still rising from it. Selphie wrinkled her nose at the foul stench of burning metal.
The forklift headed on. Selphie, Zell and Irvine stood at the entrance, looking around them. The girl put her hands on her hips and shook her head. "Is this it…?" she asked. "Where's the control room?"
"It's probably one of those other rooms we saw," said Irvine.
"But—they're guarded by soldiers!" Selphie protested, raising her voice again.
Zell grunted and smacked his fists together. "Ah, to hell with it!" he said. "Let's just bust the place up and get out of here!"
Selphie found it hard to resist the temptation. She wanted to 'bust this place up' so bad… but unfortunately they had other things they had to do first. "No," she said to Zell, "we need to find a way to stop those missiles."
Zell sagged and he shook his head, deflated. Selphie turned from him and looked around the floor. Her gaze fell on the open crates, the ones that appeared to have been blasted. These crates had to be the missile containers, she realised. The 'blasting' must have occurred when the missiles were launched. The conveyor belt carried the new crates—the ones that would be used for the next launch.
Selphie mulled things over in her mind. From the look of it, they still weren't quite ready to launch just yet. They still had some time to stop the launch, but how…? "What would Squall do…?" she asked herself. Then an idea came to her. "Maybe we should try and gather some intelligence first," she said to Zell and Irvine. "Perhaps we'll come across something that will lead us to control room."
She looked at Zell and Irvine, seeking their approval. Irvine smiled at her and nodded. By talking to the right people, they could learn something invaluable. They were deep inside enemy territory, trying to infiltrate enemy lines. Without information, they could do nothing. Gathering intelligence was their top priority. Selphie had decided well. This was just the thing Squall would have suggested in this situation.
Zell, however, seemed to disagree. He groaned and scratched his neck. He did not argue, however, and eventually nodded his head, giving his approval.
Selphie turned to the platform. At the far end were two Galbadian soldiers. They were not working and appeared to be lounging about, leaning against the rails. Selphie grinned at Zell and Irvine before leaving them and heading over to the soldiers. She started to jog but then remembered where she was and slowed down. She stopped next to the nearest solder and tapped him on the shoulder.
The soldier turned his head. "Huh?" he grunted. Seeing her, he scowled and turned to her. "I'm busy now," he snapped. "Whaddaya want?"
Taken aback by his harsh tone of voice, Selphie fell silent. She shut her mouth and put her hands behind her back, twiddling her fingers. Well, that was cold, she thought. The soldier, seeing her go quiet, sighed in annoyance and turned away from her. Selphie continued to knot her fingers. What should she say to draw the soldier's attention?
While she was trying to figure this out, the other soldier—who was busy playing with a pack of game cards (did all soldiers play that game?)—raised his head and turned to his companion.
"Oh yeah… Aren't we suppos'ta inspect the circuit room soon?" he asked.
The first soldier raised his head and looked at the ceiling. "Oh, it's that time already?" he asked in mild surprise. "We're doing the real thing today, so there's no way we have time for it."
The soldiers paused. Then the soldier with the playing cards pushed himself away from the rails. He approached Selphie, who was still standing next to them.
"Sorry to trouble you," he said to her, "but could you deliver a message for us? Tell the guys by the missile launcher to go on ahead, and that we'll catch up with 'em later." He saluted her. "Thanks a lot. We really appreciate it."
"Thanks," said the first soldier, giving Selphie a sparing glance over his shoulder.
Selphie blinked, confused, and then saluted. Somehow, she had suddenly been saddled with the task of delivering a message for these two soldiers. Messages… why did that task make her feel so tense? Selphie clenched her fists. Well, she decided, she might have no idea what they were talking about, but if they wanted her to deliver a message then she would deliver it. If she was lucky, she might find out something else along the way.
Leaving the soldiers to their 'work', Selphie returned to the others. "Did you find anything out?" Zell asked her at once.
Selphie hesitated and then sagged. "I, um… We have to go deliver a message," she confessed, "to the guys by the missile launcher."
Zell smacked his forehead. "Selphie…!" he began.
"No, wait," interrupted Irvine. He pushed Zell to one side and stood in front of Selphie. "This could actually be really good. Didn't he say 'deliver a message to the guys by the missile launcher?"
Selphie looked at him, confused. "Yeah…?" she asked. She frowned, and then her eyes brightened. "Yeah!" she said, excited. "We can gain access to the launch room and sabotage the missiles!"
"See?" said Irvine. "Being a messenger can have advantages over direct assault. It can gain you access to places you wouldn't have before. Wouldn't you agree?" he asked, turning to Zell.
The fighter scowled and turned away, folding his arms across his chest. "Hmph!" he grunted. "Pretty boring, if you ask me."
Selphie giggled. Then they moved on, heading back into the corridor where the two soldiers guarded the doors. One of these doors had to be the one for the missile launchers, Selphie assumed. She approached the nearest soldier. When she explained her mission, the soldier turned to the door behind him.
"The missile launchers are through this door," he told her.
He stepped aside, allowing them to enter. Giving her thanks, Selphie and the others passed through the door and entered the room. As the door closed behind them, Selphie, Zell and Irvine came to a stop and looked around in awe.
The room was not large, but it was filled with more of the missile containers. They lined the walls of the room, standing on platforms and clamped into place. The conveyor belt they had seen earlier ended here, depositing the crates it carried. These were then removed by yet more machinery and guided into place against the walls, ready to be launched. So far only one platform was empty.
Seeing those crates, knowing what they contained, made Selphie's face burn. Her mouth went dry. She clenched her fists. Under no circumstances could she allow the Galbadians to launch these at Balamb Garden.
A hand touched her shoulder. Selphie turned to see Irvine standing behind her. He shook his head, and patted her shoulder. Selphie only realised then that she was trembling. She took a breath to calm herself, and the trembling stopped.
There were two soldiers in the room. One was doing nothing in particular and appeared to be monitoring the goings on in the room. The other, however, was walking around the missile launchers. He had a clipboard in his hand and he was writing things down as he moved around the containers, tapping them and tugging at the clamps, checking that everything was secure. Selphie motioned for Zell and Irvine to stay by the door, and then she went over to the soldier.
"S'cuse me, sir…" she said, in her deep voice. "I have a message for you…"
The soldier glanced at her, but said nothing. He finished jotting something down on his clipboard before he put down his pencil and turned to her. "Well, what is it?" he asked.
Selphie started to speak, and then hesitated. Ah… What was it again…? Then she remembered. "It's about inspecting the circuit room," she said. "The maintenance team said they were too busy, so that you should go on ahead."
"Oh, ok. But I'm still not done here, you know…" The soldier drummed his fingers on the clipboard. "Hmmm… could you tell them I can't go just yet?" Selphie nodded. "Thanks, I appreciate it."
Selphie rejoined the others and informed them of what the soldier had asked her to do. They nodded and then walked out of the room. Before going after them, Selphie took one more look at the crates. She wanted to sabotage these missile launchers, but as long as there were soldiers around she could not do anything. She would have to wait for a more convenient time. Sighing, she left the room.
They hurried back to where the two maintenance soldiers were waiting. "They said they were too busy to go, too," Selphie informed them.
The first soldier glanced at her. Then he groaned and dropped his head. "Geez… What do we do?" he asked his companion.
The other soldier—who was still playing with that pack of cards—turned to him. "Guess we have no choice but to go…" he said.
The first soldier frowned. "Aahhh, alright…" he said. He turned to Selphie. "Can we ask you to go?"
"What!" The other soldier pushed himself off the rail, almost dropping his cards. "Hey, that's not cool! What if the base commander finds out!"
The first soldier waved his hand. "Ahh, it'll be fine," he assured his friend. "All we do is go and make sure everything's up and running anyway."
The other soldier did not seem convinced. "… Well, I hope you're right…" he said finally, giving in.
"So, that's that," the first soldier said to Selphie. "We're counting on you."
Selphie saluted. "Yes, sir!" she said. …Whoo-hoo! she thought with a chuckle. Blow the place to smithereens!
She left the soldiers to whatever they were doing and once again returned to Zell and Irvine. When she told them what she had been asked to do, they cheered and clapped her on the shoulder. Now they were getting somewhere!
Selphie had a good idea where the circuit room was. They ran back through the base, along the corridor and up the stairs, to the first corridor where they had encountered the strange soldier standing guard outside a door.
As she expected the soldier was still there, standing stiffly at attention. The group resumed their single file position as they lined up in front of him.
Selphie saluted him. "The maintenance team asked us to take their place with the inspection," she said.
"Oh, really?" the soldier asked. "Then I guess my shift is over… I'm gonna call in my relief. Go ahead with the inspection." With that he left the door and ran off, leaving the three SeeDs alone.
They went inside the circuit room. It was unmanned, for the base's control systems were so advanced it pretty much ran itself. There were a number of complicated-looking consoles covered with buttons, dials, knobs, switches, and flashing lights. A low hum echoed throughout the room, coming from the machinery. It was all very high-tech, and Selphie did not have even the vaguest idea what any of it was for.
She approached what she assumed to be was the main console. It was the largest of them and spanned almost the whole length of the room. The girl looked down at it and folded her arms.
This must be the control panel, she thought, but I'm not sure what to do…
She examined the console. Nothing was labelled. Why did everything have to be so complicated, she asked herself. Was it really necessary to have all these dials and switches? Selphie had a good mind when it came to figuring out technical stuff, but she did not even know where to begin with this console. Where to start…?
Hit a few buttons here and there… she decided. "I'm not sure what to do," she said aloud, for the benefit of Zell and Irvine, "so, I'll just press whatever!"
She started to press random buttons on the console. She flicked a few switches and turned a few dials. Each one seemed to click, beep or flash as she pressed them, but nothing seemed to happen. Selphie stopped what she was doing and folded her arms.
That's strange… Nothing happened. …Maybe I should try again.
Selphie tried again, pushing more buttons randomly across the console. Still nothing happened. At last Selphie, losing her patience and determined to break something in this base, raised her fist.
"Here goes nothing!"
She brought her fist down on the console. Nothing happened, so she raised her hand and struck it again. A few buttons broke loose. Selphie hit the console again and again. Buttons went flying and the dials were broken off. A screen monitoring the energy levels in the base was smashed, sending glass scattering over the console. Then she stepped back and gave the console a harsh kick in the side.
Finally something happened. The low hum dulled and came to a stop. The lights flickered and then went out, leaving the room in darkness.
Selphie looked up. "Huh? Heeey… The lights went out…"