Before Crisis: The Beginning
By DarkAngel
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the FFVII Compilation, though I would very much like to. That particular honour belongs to Square-Enix. The only things I own are the names for the characters that don't have them in the first place... and about $35,000 in student debt. Sue at your own risk. :P
Author's Notes: BC character (Handgun) is up this time. I named her Rosalind years ago, and the name seems to have caught on with a few people here and there. I thought I would feel most comfortable writing from her point of view because I'd played as her in BC and because I translated all the game scripts from her POV. It turns out that wasn't necessarily the case. She's still one of my favourite BC Turks, though. :)
Chapter 3: The Beginning (Rosalind)
As spring slid into summer, Rosalind realized that the time had come. This was her last year at the Shin-Ra Military School.
It came as something of a revelation to the young woman, who had spent the majority of her time so immersed in school that the passing of the seasons were barely noticed. It had been her mother that had reminded her of her birthday last year, as Rosalind had been so busy with a project or something else she couldn't even remember now. All she could remember was feeling surprise that it was indeed that day.
"So what are you going to do after graduating?" Rosalind's friend, Leira asked. She, like Rosalind was in her final year.
Rosalind shook her head. "I guess I'll go into the military."
"That sounds kind of boring," Leira said. "I mean, I guess that's where most people go, but I want to do something different."
"Like what?" Rosalind asked, shifting the books in her grip. They'd just come out of history class, and they had an assignment on Eastern-Western conflicts that was due next week. The books she needed wouldn't all fit into her bag, so she had spent the day carrying them around.
"I don't know." Leira's ponytails bounced jauntily on her shoulders. Flip, flop. Flip, flop. "I figure I'll go and work for the company, but not in the military. The military smells."
At this, Rosalind laughed. Well, Leira's option was viable, too. Many of the kids that didn't go onto the army found some other kind of employment within the Shin-Ra Company.
"But I bet you want to follow your dad, huh?"
Rosalind shrugged. "I don't know. But I guess it's the most logical thing to do."
"Huh. That's unexpected."
"What is?"
"I thought you would have been sure of what you wanted to do."
At this, Rosalind sighed. That's what everybody thought, and that's what she wished, but the fact of the matter was, she was just as unsure as everybody else. Joining the military would just be a matter of convenience for her. Maybe she would think of something after the regular contracted stint in the army… hopefully.
The intercom crackled to life. Rosalind and the other kids ignored it. It was probably another announcement or motto from the headmaster.
"This is an announcement from the headmaster's office. Student number 8079918 please report to the headmaster's office immediately. I repeat: student number 8079918, report to the headmaster's office right away. That is all." The crackling died out.
Rosalind paused. "That's me."
Leira's eyebrows shot up. "I wonder what they want."
"I don't know." Rosalind looked troubled. She hadn't done anything to get called there.
Saying goodbye to Leira, Rosalind made her way to the office. She opened the door, telling the secretary what she was there for. The secretary, a middle aged woman with greying hair nodded at her and told her to take a seat. "The headmaster will be with you in just a moment."
Nodding, Rosalind placed her books on a seat beside her before sitting down herself, tucking her skirt neatly beneath her. When the headmaster came out, Rosalind jumped up, saluting smartly, if a little nervously.
"At ease, cadet."
"Yes sir."
"Come in. I won't keep you long. It looks as if you're quite busy yourself," the headmaster said, nodding to Rosalind's pile of books.
"Yes sir," Rosalind said again, scooping up her books before following him inside.
"Be seated."
Rosalind took a seat, laying the books on her lap.
"You must be wondering why I called you here."
"Yes sir."
The headmaster laughed. "Please, Miss Kraymer, there's no need to be so formal. Speak to me as you would normally speak."
Rosalind nodded. The headmaster was a strange man. He'd been a Shin-Ra Major General in the army before taking his current posting. He had distinguished himself in any number of conflicts, and yet he had chosen to come here. The more she thought about it, the stranger it was. Headmaster Saiin didn't look very much like her vision of a military genius. He was always smiling and joking and announcing the most random things over the school intercom, such as poetry he thought particularly inspiring or anecdotes. When it came right down to it, Rosalind thought he was weird and difficult to understand.
Nevertheless, he was the headmaster, and Rosalind was obliged to give him her respect. She nodded. "I'll try, sir."
He sighed, but let the matter drop. "I wanted you to know that you currently stand as valedictorian for your year."
Rosalind felt a flush of pride at his remark. She had worked hard all through her time at the school, and it was gratifying hearing that her teachers had thought the same. "Thank you, sir."
"Don't thank me. This is purely the result of your own effort."
She nodded, then frowned. Something wasn't right. Surely the headmaster hadn't called her here just to tell her that.
"But I didn't call you here just to tell you that."
That much she could have guessed.
"Your instructors – and I – would also like to recommend you for a job immediately upon graduation. As a matter of fact, we've already spoken to the people at Shin-Ra headquarters, but we'd like to get your opinion before anything's finalized."
She stiffened. "Pardon, sir?"
"Tell me, cadet, how much do you know about the Shin-Ra Company's Turks?"
Her eyes widened. The Turks? Her father had mentioned them a couple of times, and she had read a couple things here and there about them, but as it stood, not much was known about them for sure.
"I hear they do a lot of classified work for the Shin-Ra Company," Rosalind began hesitantly. "And it's also said that they…"
"Yes?" Headmaster Saiin leaned forward.
"They… sometimes have to do things that the company wants hidden." It was vague, but Rosalind didn't feel comfortable mentioning this to the headmaster, no matter how much he may or may not know already.
The headmaster grunted. "Well, you seem to know more than the average person." For some reason, this seemed to displease him. Rosalind blinked up at him, unsure.
"Well, upon graduation, there's an offer outstanding if you're willing to take it for employment with the Turks."
It took several moments for his words to sink in. Then she started, her body snapping straight up in her seat. "Sir?"
"It's up to you, of course, but we believe you would make a fine candidate."
She tried to open her mouth to say something, but found she couldn't do more than gape at the headmaster.
"Of course you still have time to decide – there are a few weeks left before graduation." Saiin didn't seem bothered by Rosalind's inability to speak.
"Why me, sir?" Her voice was low, and the headmaster had to lean forward to catch her words.
Saiin leaned back. "Do you want me to be honest, Miss Kraymer?"
Rosalind nodded.
"You'd make a fine soldier. You take orders well, and you carry them out just as well, but we believe that the army isn't the place for you."
At this, Rosalind frowned. If she would make a good soldier, why wouldn't it be a good place for her?
"The Turks will give you room to grow and become your own person. It's not as easy to accomplish that in the military, especially not for someone like you."
What did he mean by that? The headmaster didn't offer any further explanation, save to stand up and gesture to Rosalind to do the same. Hurriedly, she scrambled up, almost forgetting about the books on her lap. Fumbling with them, she stood at attention.
"Think about what I've said. If you're interested, let me know. We'll take care of all the arrangements."
That night, she went over the proposal with her family. To her surprise, her father was quick to agree with the headmaster.
"He's right. You would be a good soldier, but you'd be better off doing something else."
Rosalind couldn't help but feel a little hurt at this. "Are you saying that I'm not good enough?"
"I didn't say that." Mr. Kraymer eyed his daughter speculatively. "I think your talents will serve you well in either field, but there's more to life than just the army. Come to that, there's more to life than the Turks, too. You have to decide what you want to do for yourself."
"…what do you think I should do?"
"If I told you, you would do just that." Mr. Kraymer shook his head. "You decide, Rosalind." It was clear he wasn't going to say anything more on the subject.
In the end, Rosalind did take up the offer. Both Saiin and her father had said it was her choice; in truth, she didn't know that this was the best decision she could have made, but they were right in saying that it would probably be better than a life in the army. She didn't know what it is the Turks could help her find that the military couldn't, but she swore that she would work hard at it until it became clear.
And even if she by chance couldn't find what the others could see, at least she was heading somewhere, and that was something.