Before Crisis: The Beginning
By DarkAngel
Disclaimer: The characters, places and other indicia of Final Fantasy VII are property of Square-Enix. I don't own the characters – I'm just borrowing them for my own perverse ends. 8DChapter 5: The Sector 8 Disturbance (Rosalind)
The first assignment as a Turk that Rosalind carried out took place in Midgar's Sector 8. It was the newest sector, and as a result, was the beneficiary of the newest building methods, the newest architecture and a large concentration of high end shops. It was generally seen as the best sector in which to live and do business, and consequently one of the easiest ones to patrol.
It was partly for this reason that the majority of first time Turks stationed in Midgar were given this assignment. The other reason, as Tseng had pointed out, was ritual. "Your seniors Rude and Reno, and even I started off with this work," Tseng continued, telling her to treat the patrol as she would any other mission. His voice came clearly through her phone, as if he was standing beside her. Rosalind nodded, then realizing that Tseng couldn't possibly see her, acknowledged his suggestion with a crisp "Yes sir".
Tseng gave her some more advice, mostly things that she had learned while in military school, but she didn't tell him this; he was only trying to be helpful, she reasoned. Besides, he must have run through this with all the other new Turk recruits, so it was quite possible that he said this automatically. When she finally got off the phone, she took a look around.
The streetlights illuminated the immaculately kept streets. The further out from headquarters one headed, the less well-preserved things became. The same ran for even Sector 8. As it was, where she was right now, there wasn't even a stray leaf on the ground. Putting away her mobile phone, she decided to make a systematic round of the streets, starting from the inner areas to the peripheries of the sector. Glancing at a reflection of herself in a shop window glass, Rosalind nodded to herself. Everything was good. She was ready to go.
Just as she was turning into a side alley that would work its way to the industrial complex that housed the reactors, Rosalind stopped. There were hushed voices coming from just around the corner. She didn't know why she stopped to listen: the area in question wasn't restricted to the public for another few kilometres yet, but the tone of the voices gave her pause.
"The downfall of the Shin-Ra's finally in sight," a male voice breathed harshly. "Don't go messing things up now. Down with the Shin-Ra!"
Down with the Shin-Ra…? That didn't sound good. Instinctively, Rosalind reached for her gun. Her hand brushed against the cool metal when a loud chirruping sound sliced through the air, startling her. She grimaced, berating herself for the slip up. Her PHS - She should have put it in silent mode!
The sound had got the attention of the men around the corner too. "Who's there?!"
Pulling out her gun, Rosalind wondered briefly if she ought not to answer the phone first – then, realizing the ridiculousness of the thought she rounded the corner, weapon at the ready.
The men – two of them – in front of her were dressed in drab brown uniforms. Their faces were hidden by visors, their heads covered with hoods. This was no ordinary group of miscreants; that much she could identify at a glance. One of them, obviously the leader of the pair, stepped forward.
"That uniform… The Shin-Ra Company's Turks?!"
There was another ridiculous second in which Rosalind quickly looked down at her suit. It was a nondescript black one, without distinguishing features. How could he possibly tell who she was?
The second of the men whimpered, his comrade's pronouncement obviously something he hadn't wanted to hear. He was unarmed and trembling pretty badly. The first man didn't seem to have the same problem. Already he was drawing a length of pipe from behind him advancing on Rosalind.
"What do you think you're doing?!" Rosalind demanded, raising her gun. She hadn't even had a chance to find out who these people were. They were advancing on her. They had anti-Shin-Ra sentiments. Clearly something bigger was going on, but it looked as if she wouldn't find out unless she took care of this first. Her phone was still ringing. Irritably, she flipped it open, dodging a swipe from the first man. Taking aim with her gun, she fired off a shot. The bullet ricocheted off her attacker's weapon. Damn.
"Rosalind?!" Tseng's voice came sharply down the line, edged with... was it panic? "Why are you engaging?"
"I've encountered hostile elements in Sector 8, sir. They're –" She rolled when the second man lunged at her. Somehow she managed to keep a hold on her phone and her weapon. Scrambling back again, she held her gun out to keep them from getting closer. The one that had been shaking at being confronted by a Turk was hanging back, clearly still unsettled, and the leader, though advancing forward warily was still a fair distance back. Good.
"-fighting me as we speak," Rosalind finished. "Sir, I'll call you back." Flipping the PHS closed, she tucked it away before turning her attention to her attackers. Firing off a shot, she hit the younger man. He stumbled back, clutching his chest before falling. The leader lunged at her, screaming something about his fallen comrade. Without hesitation Rosalind shot him cleanly through the throat. With a gurgle, he collapsed, blood spattering onto the ground. Rosalind bent over, catching her breath. What had that been about?
The PHS rang again. "Give me a report," Tseng said. "What happened?"
"I was attacked by two men," Rosalind replied. "They seemed to be up to something. They said something like, 'Down with the Shin-Ra'."
"'Down with the Shin-Ra'…?" Tseng repeated.
"Yes sir. It was just two men but they seemed organized." She looked down at the fallen leader. Bending down, she searched his pockets, cocking her head so that her PHS rested in the crook between her neck and shoulder.
"Who could they be…?" Tseng mused aloud. "We need to know more. Go see if there are any more of those men around."
"Understood." Rosalind hung up, standing up at the same time. The man hadn't been carrying anything that could identify him. After doing a brief search of the second man, she carried on down the road to the reactor.
To be continued…
Author's Notes: First off, thanks to people that have been reviewing. It's encouraging to get some sort of feedback on this project, especially as I'm still struggling to find that balance between just narrating the events of the game and adding depth to it. Second, I've started with Rosalind. Not so much because she's my favourite or anything, but because I flipped a coin to see which POV I should start from first. I'm dead serious. xD
Anyway, give me feedback. Let me know if throughout the story I'm starting to go far too into narrative (just repeating events as they happen in the game "...and then, and then…") or straying too far from the point. The problem with not having a beta reader is that I don't have that constant second voice steering me right.