DESERT
1.
The desert beyond the Mythril Mountains was known for its scorching heath during daytime and for its bitter, stingy cold when the moon took the place of the sun. It transitioned from a pool of lava to a frozen lake in a matter of hours, in short.
The shape of the Mythril range and the peculiar atmospheric features made this isolated and secluded land a haven for creatures nowhere else to be found and whose viciousness was matched by nothing else in the world. Ironically the lush and inviting Grassland Meadows lay right next to it, just on the opposite banks of the Sunflow Lake.
Yet, to the man measuring the great outdoors with his steady and fast pace, that meant nothing at all. Nor it meant anything much the heath that had seeped through the fabric of his uniform and the thick moisture growing on his skin as a result. They all were tangential to the nature of his presence in that godforsaken land, to the mission he was carrying out and that he was determined to accomplish. The twilight was painting the desert with eerie shades of orange and purple and soon the last flicker of light would have died out and left the man at the mercy of darkness. As he paced the terrain one footprint after the other, it quickly descended upon the desert, cloaking everything under a layer of thick darkness and blistering cold air.
The man stopped right there in the middle of nowhere. The moon was doing her best to provide a faint source of light through the curtain of the night, pierced by the astonishing beauty of the stars. Not a sound was to be heard miles around.
The man gazed upon the sky over him, allowing himself the taste of amazement. He had travelled long and wide e through the entire world, but the desert surely was a place with a unique and maybe unrivalled beauty. Maybe it was because it was the extreme opposite of what it used to be his hometown, or maybe it was because of the fact that the very beauty he was momentarily contemplating hid a stark reality of danger and risk. And, to an extent, he liked risky business. He was the kind of guy who liked to be thrown into a pack of wolves because he was sure to eventually emerge as the alpha male.
Thinking about business put him back on his feet again: he took off his helmet and combed his black, short hairs with his hand, giving relief to his itching scalp. The cold pierced his cheeks as soon as he pulled his scarf away from his mouth but he welcomed that stingy feeling. As a final touch, he loosened the straps of the uniform around the neck and it was as if he could feel the heat escaping through his clothes. He slowly and silently breathed out in relief.
The man was young, well into his twenties, but his calm and firm demeanour fitted someone at least ten to twenty years older than he actually was. He was the portrait of someone who had to face battles when he was the least prepared, but managed to come out mostly unscathed. That was probably the reason he was trusted to venture all alone in the desert. He was a resourceful guy, somebody who would have found a safe spot almost anywhere and a reliable element of a team of people striving towards a common mission, always ready to put everyone before himself
'Come on Cade, you are not that clever' he frowned, sternly thinking to himself. It always happened like that, the solitude would make him begin ponder over the course of his life, sometimes falling into the pitfall of self-overestimation. He was not that old either, and therefore not that wise or accustomed to the way of the world. Still, he had grown up being surrounded by people who had a lot to teach him and Cade was undoubtedly someone who learnt quickly.
'One thing is to learn, one thing is to put teachings into practice' he concluded with a slight grin on his face, reaching for the binoculars in the rucksack. His focus shifted once more back to his assignment. Normally he would have been sent into the operational theatre along with a well equipped team, but the mission at hand requested among other things, discretion. A massive searching party would have lured undesired attention. Cade had a reputation of being a good and surprisingly (for his age) skilled Scouter so his call into action was something expected. It was somehow a variation he welcomed, a chance to earn once more the respect of his colleagues and the admiration of his superiors.
He scanned the horizon. The night sky and the ground were almost impossible to tell apart. Nothing was really misplaced. He scanned the horizon back in the opposite direction.
'There you are!' he thought as he froze, eyes pointed towards a small, greenish globe of light on the horizon. Not too far, judging from the string of numbers at the bottom of the binoculars' holographic lenses. He reached for the radio receiver lodged into his right ear
"Advanced Base, come in, over…"
"Cade, is that you?" a grumpy, yet familiar and friendly voice replied at the other end of the receiver, right after a burst of static
"No, I'm a vicious Chocobo of the desert. I ate the human known as 'Cade' and I acquired the ability of mimicking his voice…" he sarcastically joked, bothered by the oblivious reply he got. Normally radio communications required a less informal language, but Cade knew too well who was there at the other end of the wire
"Of course it's me" he continued
"Whoops, sorry… who else could be out there walking in the desert at this time of the day?" the voice realized, just as sarcastically
"Me and some unseen critters, I suppose…"
"Do you have a positive contact?"
"Positive. Not with any critters, but with our target" Cade confirmed "Heading northeast. Less than four kilometres from my position"
"Got that" the voice replied "I'll have the recover team ready in less than a minute"
"Orders?" Cade asked
"Stand by. Close in with the target and report anything suspicious"
"Do I have to report that lunch nearly busted my bowels today?"
"That was not suspicious at all" the voice laughed again "We all get the short straw every now and then!"
"Well, what is surprising, though, is that not a soul is in sight. I though the desert would be bustling with insects, snakes and all the sort of night crawlers… not even a Cactuar" Cade observed
"Maybe you scared them off, that is all…" the voice guessed "Anyway, if you orders are clear, do not waste any more time. Boss is in a frenzy mood and wants the job done as soon as it can be done."
"Roger AB" Cade closed "Proceeding to the assigned point then. Out"
He took a deep breath, inhaling the cold, snarky air of the desert. He tightened the straps around the neck of the uniform and patted the stock of the rifle perched on his back, as to make sure it was there, ready to be deployed and, possibly, used. Not that he really wished for it…
He then set off towards the place where the green globe soared against the black sky.
Nearly a quarter of an hour had passed, and Cade had covered a good segment of the distance separating him from the target. As he approached, he could get a better picture of the scenery.
A string of dunes was concealing the source of a green, bright haze. Without being entirely sure of it, he could even sense a low hum buzzing through the air. It was not that intense, but yet it grew increasingly bothering, just as every noise gets after hearing it over and over.
He stopped atop of a sandy bump. The greenish light became denser as he was just a couple of hundred metres away from it. Now the hum was stronger and Cade had no doubts it was real and perhaps caused by the source of the light itself.
He knelt down and pulled a rectangular device from a pocket. He switched it on and connected to a transmitter lodged in his belt. He activated the radio device
"AB, come in!" Cade said
"Cade, we hear you! What's your status?" the same voice as before replied
"I'm probably less than five hundred metres from it. I'm activating the remote sensing probe"
"I see, I've got the readings streamed right here"
"What do you say?" Cade asked
A brief pause. The voice answered seconds later
"I think this is it. It definitely is…"
"You sound worried" Cade observed
"Well, the recovery team is on its way. I… We are not really sure what that thing means. We know it is a big chunk of Mako, but if it is true that it came from up here…"
"…we should worry, and a lot! Right?" Cade guessed
"I think so, unfortunately. The readings aren't lying and they match what the eggheads had told us" the voice sighed
"Right when the world seemed finally at peace" Cade said, with a saddened tone
"Hey, cheer up! At least we are here to do something about it…" the voice cheered "Isn't it what you want?"
"Guess you are right! So, what's the ETA of the recovery team?"
"Five to ten minutes"
"Orders?"
"Keep the premises safe. Oh, and keep the remote sensing probe active: the more data we collect, the sounder the pat on the shoulder"
"And I thought I could get a medal for this!" Cade jokingly complained
"Don't even try that. Some time off would be great! Hell with medals and ribbons"
"Guess you're right again" Cade laughed
"I'm over for now. Next time I hear from youI hope you will be on your way back on the chopper. Out"
The communication fell silent and Cade found himself alone again. He proceeded further closer to the object of his mission. The hum grew more aggressive and harsh as he got closer, forcing him to squint in response and to put his helmet on back again.
He was finally metres away from the source of the mysterious greenish haze. The surroundings were awkwardly bright and immersed in a pale green cloud but visibility was perfect. The hum had turned by then into a vibration resonating through the dunes and Cade's body as well. Thank the Maker it was at least less painful to hear. It was actually like going through a massage, or having a cat purring right on your chest. He found that feeling to be surprisingly pleasant.
Up to that point, fear was something Cade had taken into account but never actually kicked in into his mind, hindered by the rush of adrenaline brought about by being immersed into action in a challenging scenario. But as he approached the ascent of the last sandy hill hiding the source of that haze, a thought rang inside him: what if standing close to the object was actually dangerous, or harmful? What if the haze was harmful itself?
Those where legitimate doubts but they were slowly being pushed away by an ancestral instinct labelled as 'curiosity'. Cade was weighing the pros and cons of getting even closer, maybe right on top of the hill so as to see with his own eyes what had caused so much hysteria at the headquarters of the World Regenesis Organisation. But as his thoughts trailed in his mind, he did not realise that he was inadvertently climbing the dune. He caught wind of his own actions only when he finally reached the margin of what appeared to be a crater, and stared at the bottom of the underlying pit.
The depression was relatively small, but it was soaked in daylight and therefore it appeared much bigger than it actually was. The noise had mysteriously subsided, and now it felt like a distant whisper. At the centre of the crater lied a cubic mass of the dimensions of a mid-sized crate. The surface was a dark shade of green and bright green lines ran from corner to corner. Cade took a better look and he could now see that the lines appeared and disappeared, as if the black cube was pulsating, living and breathing on his own. He stared down and marvelled at the sight
"Cade… where you…at?"
The transmitter activated but the voice came in disturbed. Cade reached for it
"AB repeat last message. There's a disturbance!"
"We've lost… transponder… emergency beacon… ah, fuck!" the voice barked, but Cade could not understand the request. He guessed that the dark green cube could be the source of the trouble with the radio. He backed off, hiding behind the ridge of the dune.
"AB come in again!"
"Cade, where are you?" the voice was still disturbed but at least it was audible
"I'm right in the crater. I can see the stuff we're after"
"It's probably messing up with the airwaves. I'm picking up enormous spikes of energy on the remote probe"
"That's what I thought" Cade nodded
"Look, Cade… I don't want to sound pedantic but I advise you to back off from that thing"
"Why?"
"Let's say that Mako interactions with human bodies are currently a subject of research. We don't know if it's good for you, or for everyone else breathing next to that stuff. Or standing next to it, as far as I'm concerned"
"I see… things seem to be quite smooth down here so there's probably no need to…"
Cade's reply was cut short. The ground began to tremble. He naively thought it was just an impression, just like the hum he heard before. He did not probably recalled that the hum turned out to be real, just as much as the tremors that were now growing in intensity, to the point of becoming powerful jolts that made him hopping up and down
"Cade! What's going on?" the voice asked, without getting any reply. A column of sand erupted right before Cade. He was thrown in the pit, his body describing an arc which landed right near the green light-emitting cube, missing a corner by inches. The transmitter flew away.
Cade cried in pain when the force of the impact got upon his back through the rifle and the rucksack. He could not move for an instant but still he was conscious, albeit unaware of what was going on. Dust and sand from the eruption filled the air rendering almost everything invisible. An inhuman and frankly otherworldly shriek wiped the dust away. Cade could feel his eyes exploding upon seeing the being behind all that commotion.
'I've complained about the absence of monsters a few minutes ago. Guess I've called it!' he thought
A worm-like creature had risen from the desert, twisting and turning his body. It was covered in what seemed to be a brownish fur but as it got rid of the sand, Cade speculated they where actually talons. But the most dreadful anatomical part was his head. It was simple in it design but enough disgusting to made Cade churn and fight off a dry heave: an opening surrounded by crests of pleated skin, opening and closing rhythmically.
'That thing has a fucking anus on his head' Cade thought, petrified by the sight.
The worm opened its 'mouth', emitting a loud and deafening shriek. Specks of organic matter of some sort flew from the gap, blended with what could be described as a fluid akin to a mixture of saliva and catarrh. The expelled matter landed right where Cade was standing. Enough to wake him up and drag him away from the catatonic state he currently was into.
'Somebody just did not chuck down supper properly'
The worm arched its body and tried to reach for the human lying defenceless before him. Cade avoided to be sucked by barrel-rolling to his right. He swiftly reached for his rifle, took the safe away and fired. A salvo of bullets pierced into the skin but the giant critter grew only more angry. He arched his body again and made another try at eating the human in a single gulp. Cade ran away and climbed toward the margin of the crater trying not to lose his equilibrium as the worm's movements made the ground crumble under his feet. He took hold of a grenade from his belt.
'Red is for ugly, fucking disgusting creatures, if I'm not mistaken' he recalled, as his right hand simultaneously lodged the grenade in the launcher fitted under the barrel of the gun and cocked it.
Cade turned towards the worm, which was standing upright trying to anticipate the next move of the human. Instead of running, Cade this time lifted the rifle, aimed at what he thought was the torso and fired.
The grenade flew out of launcher with a thud. It described and arc in the air but the worm dug into the ground again, this time to run away from what he sensed to be a rather alarming threat. The projectile bounced where the cylinder-shaped body curved and exploded meters away. It was enough for the blast to plow away chucks of skins from the worm though, which shrieked once again while sinking into the ground.
The whole crater was the epicentre of an earthquake as the critter made its way back to the surface. Cade frantically reloaded a second blast grenade into the launcher.
The worm emerged feet away from where he stood. As soon as the grenade clicked into the launcher he was thrown up in the air again. He clinched at his rifle as it was his most prized possession. Right there, it was indeed.
He landed violently on his belly. Cade sprouted sand from his mouth as he tried to catch breath. A feral cry came from the worm as he descended on his prey, its surreal gap in the head on a collision course towards the human. Cade aimed with his rifle lifting just his right arm. Without any concern for the side effects of a grenade exploding inches away from his flesh, he fired.
Only metres separated Cade from the mouth of the critter. The explosion engulfed both of them. Cade stood there, watching the head of the critter catching fire as rags of skin and organic matter separated from the main body. Although in evident distress, the worm was far from giving up. It cried again, and then again.
Cade could not hear it, tough.
The explosion felt like a hammer swung against his eardrum. It was like someone had stuffed his skull with dabs of cotton. Just a feeble whistle made its way through the temporary deafness. Moreover Cade felt his brain was spinning around like a compass gone mad. But all it took to regain the sense of when and where was to take a look at his arm.
Cade cried again in pain and, honestly, terror.
The rifle had opened up, the outer half away from the trigger melted and twisted beyond recognition. The stock was smoked and it seemed like it had permanently melted with the hand. The latter itself was clad in red and black, with blood and gushing wounds running from the palm to the forearm. By some fortunate stroke of good luck Cade felt he could still sense and move his fingers but the wrist was stiff and bloated. His right upper limb was a kind of a mess but it was eventually intact.
But now he was utterly defenceless.
And the effect of the adrenaline was wearing down.
Salvos of pain began to make their way up to the shoulder, more and more intense.
He was about to pass out.
The worm felt like he could not let go of the miserable, tiny human who had dared to make a stand against it. So it raised itself like an enchanted reptile dancing to the tune of a snake charmer and prepared to deal the final blow, flames on his skin slowly dying out.
For some kind of reason Cade did not experience the things he was told would have happened right before the departure. No clips about his past life were playing before his eyes. He felt a burst of sadness
'Damn it. That's not how I meant it to be…'
Well, then tell me how you meant it to be
'I don't know' Cade replied, without even questioning to whom. Or why he was hearing that voice in the first place
Then don't question it. Life is strange, you should know that…
'That's too much of a strange life'
Don't be such a wuss. I bet you're having the time of your life.
'I actually had fun… That's what I deserved, after all, don't I?'
You still have lost of things to do.
Keep up the good work, Cade.
Oh… I'm proud of you by the way.
I thought you might appreciate that…
'She's right' Cade thought. But who was it? And why 'she'?
And why had not the worm swallowed him already?
Maybe because it was lying next to him, slashed in half?
And what was the sound he was hearing? A loud, flapping, vibrating sound, rhythmically beating against the air?
The recovery team dispatched to the impact site was made up of three helicopters. They were flying at full speed in a three-ship delta formation. The one in the centre was bigger and was the one tasked with physically taking the object back to the Advanced Base.
The other two carried the support team and were also heavily armed in order to act as an armed escort.
The co-pilot in the helicopter at the right side of the formation dabbled with the head-up display
"There's a lot of commotion near our target"
"What do you mean?" the pilot asked with concern
"The infrared shows to elements near the impact site, one way bigger than the other… and moving"
The pilot relayed the information to the Advanced Base
"AB this is Talon 1. Do you copy our readings?"
"Roger Talon 1. Detach and take point, see what's happening and take action if necessary"
"Is it safe to fly into the cloud?" the pilot enquired
"I would not be that sure, Talon 1. Try to fly at an altitude high enough not to have your instruments jammed. And eventually, insert the team at a reasonable distance" the Advanced Base operator replied
"Roger" the pilot switched channel and contacted the other two choppers "Talon squadron stand by. Talon 1 detaches and scouts ahead. Wait form my clearance to proceed"
The two other choppers turned away and began flying in a circular stand-by pattern while Talon 1 engines roared as it increased its speed towards the target.
The co-pilot turned and shouted to the men behind him
"Situation is probably already hot down there. Get your boys ready sergeant, we are going to dance early than expected!"
"Got that" a man with a grey uniform and the sergeant chevrons stood up
"Ready to land in one minute" he shouted to the platoon of soldiers sharing the room of the passenger compartment of the helicopter "Check guns and stuff and prepare yourself for the worst!"
"YESSIR!" the platoon responded altogether. Every soldier was wearing a protective combat suit, purposefully designed to withstand, albeit for a short time, the effect of Mako radiation. They all proceeded to load and quickly inspect their weapon. A soldier assembled a portable rocket launcher
"Hudson, that thing will probably come in handy so treat it like a puppy!" the sergeant ordered the soldier
"I'll treat it like my girl, Sir!" the private replied, lodging a grenade inside the tube
"We have report that probably one of our men is already down there so watch out for collateral damages" the pilot warned in the intercom
"What about the environmental issues?" the sergeant asked
"We'll try to keep at a safe distance…"
"FUCKING HELL, WHAT IS THAT?" the co-pilot cried
The pilot did not even open his mouth as he turned onwards and saw the worm in the magnifying device on the head-up display. Training kicked in and in less than two second an air to ground missile was trailing smoke head on towards what looked like a trembling column in the distance. The impact occurred instants later and slashed in half the very worm Cade was trying to fend off.
"What happened? What did you see?" the sergeant frantically asked
"Sarg!" the pilot cold-bloodedly replied "Get your men down there and secure the area. Just pray we are not too late. I would hate to turn this chopper into a coffin hearse"
"Medic team, get off first!" the sergeant shouted "Martinez, take the machine gun, I want this bird to watch on us while we will be on the ground"
"Bear in mind that we won't able to come any closer than that to the target point, the cloud is a sort of no-fly zone for us"
"Do what you can do!"
The pilot nodded "Talon 1 to AB. We have contact with a hostile, but probably is just a critter"
"Is the recovery team on the ground yet?" the reply from the Advanced Base came
"Not yet, the area is not secure"
"Roger Talon 1. I'll leave this to your judgement. Once the drop point is safe call in the rest of the team and commence recovery operation"
"Talon 1, roger!" the pilot talked back as he cut communication
"Do you think we'll need the backup team?" the co-pilot asked him, after he closed the radio
"Don't think so" the pilot replied "I just hope I haven't hit our man down there…"
"Better smoked than eaten!" the co-pilot mused, much to the pilot approval
The chopper began to descend as the infantrymen picked up their rifles. Once on the ground, the sergeant exchanged a few words with his second-in-command, taking point towards the crater with the medics right after him. The platoon split into two sections, each taking one side of the trail towards the object. The helicopter took off and flew around over the pack of soldiers moving forward.
Cade woke up thinking he would have found himself in a meadow surrounded by a heavenly light. This was at least his personal impression of what the Lifestream must have looked like.
'It wouldn't be that bad to visit the hereafter' he thought to himself
His mind paused as he recollected the faces of the people he would have found waiting for him there
That last thought came with a shiver that made him open his eyes. A flash of light pierced through the opening eyelids
'Heaven at last' he concluded 'Strange, though. I've always felt like it would have been sadder…'
On the contrary, he found himself staring at a grey panel dotted with lights going on and off and with the same sound in the background he heard before passing out, only louder and more clear
'Passing out?'
The last thing he remembered now was that he was battling a giant worm in the middle of the desert and that a grenade from his rifle had nearly reduced his right upper limb to a meatball. He opened his eyes wide once and for all.
He felt a tip of motion sickness once he started checking the surroundings. He immediately recognised them as the interior of a UH-40 helicopter, standard aircraft inventory of the World Regenesis Organization.
So the recovery team had arrived, had somehow disposed the worm of and rescued him. Talking about good timing!
'No Lifestream eventually, eh?' he thought with a hint of relief 'Maybe next time…'
He tried to sit up but the back sent a shard of pain as a protest he groaned. The soldiers in the loading bay of the chopper lifted their head and stared at him
"He's alive" remarked one
"Thank the Gods!" another one sighed
"We could have kissed our asses goodbye if we had brought back a corpse!"
Cade took away the thick blanket the medic had placed upon him. Most of the clothes had been removed. Bruises covered his muscular torso here and there. They were fresh, unlike the scars of which he remembered position and the circumstances where and when he got them.
He rushed to his right arm. White bandages covered the forearm and the palm and back of the hand. An IV drip of some sort made its way into the layers of gauzes ending near the wrist. Stains of blood dotted the candid wrappings.
"What happened?" Cade asked, trying to be heard over the muffled sound of the helicopter rotor
A young soldier filling out a form turned down the ledger and swiftly took his place next to him
"Sir" he explained "We found you unconscious near the crater. You're safe now"
"Wait a second" Cade interrupted him "I was battling a freaking desert monster…"
"Oh, the worm, Sir" the medic recalled "The pilot took care of it with a well placed shot before it could do any more harm to you"
Upon those words, Cade finally claimed his spot in the world of the living ones
"What about my arm?" he enquired, lifting his wounded limb
"Let it rest Sir" the medic warned "It doesn't seem that anything is broken but I have made a request for further exams once we land"
"Wise choice" Cade pondered, sinking again in the gurney and pulling the blanket back on himself. The interiors of the chopper where chilling indeed
'My beloved rifle is gone, I suppose' he thought to himself 'Well, that stuff is replaceable'
"So" Cade continued "I'm alive, and safe. This can be considered good… I suppose!"
"Yes Sir" a voice behind him replied. Cade turned his head behind towards the sergeant, who rushed in front of him "Me and my men have supervised the recovery operation. Right now the object is being taken back at the base. The mission…" he paused, taking a fierce stance "… has been a success!"
"The only thing is" the medic continued with a grin "our scientific officer was shocked by the dimension of that thing" He laughed "We had to convince him that time was tight, otherwise he would have stayed there and appraise that abomination"
"Or begged 'til death to bring that fucking stinking carcass with us…" the sergeant cackled, only to regain composure immediately and produce a salute "Anyway, sergeant Inroy at orders, Lieutenant Tuesti!"
Upon hearing his surname and rank, Cade realized he had nearly forgot he was actually a Lieutenant in the powerful and respected World Regenesis Organization. Albeit a well-trained and disciplined soldier and officer, Cade always thought that protocols, honorifics and such had the adverse affect of hindering the effectiveness of a troop. That's why he preferred straight talks to some sense-less chatters. He also liked to act out of the textbooks at time. He thought that by doing so he could distance himself less from his subordinates. He also thought that by acting like a hothead would make people forget about his surname…
"Oh, at ease sergeant Inroy" Cade lazily ordered with a placid smile on his face "I really owe you my life, to you and your men. You did a great job out there"
The soldiers on their seat straightened up once they heard themselves being mentioned. The sergeant reverted back to a more relaxed pose and cleared his throat
"Lieutenant Cambers deserves to be thanked as well" Inroy explained , pointing at the pilot's seat "He fired the missile that physically saved you, Sir"
"I see" Cade arched his back and turned towards the cockpit, under the watchful eye of the medic "Thank you, Lieutenant. It wasn't an easy shot at all" he shouted
The cranked voice of the pilot blared from a loudspeaker in the loading bay
"That's what we are trained for" Cambers replied "I wish you a full and quick recovery, Sir"
"Speaking of which" the medic intervened "I must tell you that the doctors on the ground will not limit themselves to check your arm…"
Cade grew a confused expression on his face "What do you mean?"
"Mako" the medic simply replied. Cade understood
"So they will run tests and stuff all because I stood so close to that chunk, isn't it?"
"Well Sir, the effect of Mako radiation are not entirely known to us. The Geostigma scenario was somehow piloted so it was a one-off case. But, speaking frankly, we expect adverse effects as a side result from close exposure…"
"Well, that's not my case" Cade shrugged "I'm perfectly fine, apart from a few bumps and bruises. And besides, I stood there for… how long?"
"Fifteen to twenty minutes, sir" the medic explained
"What's your name and rank, medic?" Cade asked
"Oh, master sergeant Paulus, Sir!"
"Paulus what?"
The medic briefly paused "Harry"
"Listen Harry, I'm a very busy man" Cade explained "I'll get my forearm and wrist and whatever else checked, because a good look from a doctor is quite due, I think" he continued "But all that Mako stuff and adverse reaction and you go on, to me is quite just overkill…"
The medic stood there in silence
"I'll check in to a doctor if anything strange happens. I promise. But the last thing that I want is being leashed to a team of expert probing every recess of my body only to find that I have my blood pressure a bit higher than usual" Cade finished with a smile
"Oh, well" Paulus nervously replied, feeling himself between a rock and a hard place "You should explain your point of view to the doctors at the medical facility then. My only concern is that you get these words…"
"Harry, no bother. I'll handle this by myself. And yes, I will make my point clear " Cade assured him
The medic closed the ledger and made a gesture as to add something else but Cade cut him short
"Sergeant Paulus, ever fancied a slot at the Officer Examination Course?" he asked, raising an eyebrow
Paulus lowered his head and returned to his papers. He was keen on that prospect. Given Lieutenant Tuesti's connection, it would have been wiser to drop the matter at once, then
"We are about to land, prepare to disembark!" Sergeant Inroy shouted
While the helicopter was slowly descending towards the helipad,Cade began to conjure the speeches he would have given the medical team and his superiors. All he wanted was to get down that stretcher , being treated and get briefed on his following assignment.
In short, he wanted to get back in action.
Cade had to threaten the helpless Sergeant Paulus to personally demote him if he did not let him get off the helicopter by himself, instead of being spirited to the hospital tent on the stretcher. He grabbed some clothes and, with the help of a couple of soldiers, who enthusiastically volunteered for the effort, he got dressed as best as he could.
Once the choppers had treaded their landing gears on their respective helipads, a swarm of technicians and security personnel encroached on the area. Cade took the chance to sneak through the mass of men and women clad in the black and grey uniform of the WRO and headed straight to the tent marked by the red cross emblem. Nobody paid attention to him, save for the known faces he stumbled upon who gave him a quick salute and a surprised look once the bandages and the sling around his right arm caught visibility. Everyone was eventually rushing for the artefact retrieved from the desert.
The Advanced Base was a camp made up of several tents arranged inside a quadrangular perimeter. One of the corners hosted the landing zone and the storage and maintenance facilities for the helicopters. The hospital lied right at the centre of the base, next to the command post. Cade made his way out of the landing area and turned into an alley between two tents.
The base was bustling with activity and members of the WRO were running to and fro. Yet in the intricate mess of people carrying out their task, someone raised his hand once he caught vision of Cade
"Over here! I know a shortcut to the hospital"
Cade turned towards the voice, the same he had heard in the radio while out there in the desert. His eyes encountered a mountain-like man, with large shoulder and short blonde hair. He was wearing a fatigue that broke every rule in the WRO manual about uniform. That and the cigarette in his mouth.
Cade shook his head, smiling in amazement.
"You know" he exclaimed "I would not believe it if I didn't see it with my own eyes…!"
The man known by the name of Cid Highwind laughed deep and loud
"Oh, boy, Cade" he said "Sure people like you are welcomed here. It's all nerds and officers with broomsticks in their asses…"
Cid hugged Cade, who groaned as his wounded arm slid between them
"Watch out, Cid" he warned "I'm tough, but an almost broken arm is an almost broken arm!"
"Jeez, don't wine already" Cid protested "It's just a scratch. People with broken arms would be crying and pissing in their pants by now. And you are not doing either of them…"
"Back to the Cid-esque register I see" Cade observed
"And it feel so damn good!" Cid replied
"Honestly" Cade said, changing the subject of their conversation "I didn't expect you to be here at all, actually. The retrieval of that thing must be really important then"
Cid took a breath from his cigarette. Although resembling an extra-large version of a workshop owner, Cid Highwind was nonetheless the chief technician officer of the WRO, personally appointed by its figurehead to take care of all the aspects relative to the newest and oldest technologies which aided the organization and its personnel. Behind the ever grumpy attitude, an extraordinary crafty brain had its gears in semi-permanent motion
"It was a last minute call" he confirmed "I came here when you were already out in the desert. But at last I managed to have the chance to hear from you on the radio: I thought a familiar voice could help you fend off homesickness out there in that frigging sandbox"
Cade laughed
"That's so nice of you, Cid"
"Don't thank me" Cid shook his head "Your old man was not too enthusiast of having you all alone out there. He nearly passed out when he heard of the accident…" he laughed
Cade felt a strange fit upon those words
"I guess I should pay him a visit after my check-up…" he pondered
"Sure you'll have to" Cid told him "Besides Reeve told me a briefing is about to start in a few minutes. If you care to join us…"
"Do I have any alternatives?" Cade asked
"I hope that was a… what's called? Rethrical question?"
"Rhetorical" Cade corrected him
Cid grumped, throwing his half smoked cigarette away
"Things seemed to be quite alright… first Jenova, then the Geostigma Crisis and finally the Deepground incident. Yesterday the goddamn world seemed to be a safe place, more or less but now this screw-up!" the blonde-haired man sighed, shaking his head
"What do you mean?" Cade questioned. Seldom Cid sounded so quietly worried about the happenings of the world
"What I meant, that's all" Cid replied "Be at the briefing and you'll know better"
"Guess I really don't have options, then…" Cade sighed
"Look, it may sound strange, that being said by me but… do things by the book, every now and then. Maybe it will be easier to find your place in the world!"
Cade bowed his head, as Cid's word were being processed in his mind. Surely the technician meant to express something deep. In his own way, at least
"Did it worked for you?" he asked
"It sure worked" Cid told him smiling, making him way inside the medical facility "That's why it is strange!"
Cade giggled as he stepped through the door leading into the medical facility.
The staff did extraordinarily quick examining his forearm. They found out that none of the bones were shattered. The wounds had pretty much closed but the wrist had suffered quite a concussion. They resolved to get a mobile stiff bandage, as Cade was pressing to have something that would not give him too much constraint. Eventually, the doctor gave in to the young officer begging and a compromise was reached.
"Well" the doctor exclaimed, a middle-aged yet energetic guy, with a well-shaped figure and grey buzz-cut hair "that is not an extraordinary case. I've treated lost of ailments due to discharging weapons but the most amazing thing is that the explosion left the arm pretty much intact. And all the wounds have healed in virtually no time"
"Guess I've got a though skin…" Cade smiled
"I wouldn't be too much sure of that" the doctor shook his head . From his swift and straightforward manners, Cade could tell that doctor had had a past as a battlefield medic, seeing everything war reserved for the human body "There's a more direct explanation for that"
Cade looked right into the doctor's eyes
"And that would be…" the doctor continued
"Mako" Cade finished, as he felt a lump lodging in his throat
"Right, and that would bring us to the second part of our examination… if you don't mind"
Cade paused
"By the book" he whispered, as he recalled Cid's words
"Excuse me?" the doctor asked
"Nothing" Cade shook his head "Do your job" he invited
"Good" the doctor smiled "So we will need a blood sample, first. Plus I'm going to ask you some questions…"
"And?" Cade probed
"And for now that is all" the doctor simply answered "The blood test will do. Maybe a follow up in Edge, at the Central Headquarter Clinic will tell us whether are risking your life or not…"
"What?" Cade sprung up from his seat
"Calm down" the doctor assured him "Five or six years ago people would accidentally came across a small sample of Mako and develop a radiation sickness syndrome, or something closely resembling it. But now, for some reason, we grew more tolerant of it…"
"I heard it must have been because of the Meteor and the fact that now Mako is still floating in the atmosphere" Cade guessed, picking up the information from the scientific papers he had stumbled upon in the past. Yet he could not wipe away from his head the thought that he was a potential victim of Mako poisoning. He had met people who were on the terminal stage of the sickness, and they did not look good. But those people he saw belonged to a place where visiting a doctor wasn't as easy as anywhere else in the civilized world
"That's the most accredited hypothesis" the doctor confirmed "A natural tolerance, they call it" He began set up a small syringe. He thrust it into Cade's left arm and his blood came squirming into the cylinder. Cade squinted as he twice felt a pinch, when the syringe stung him and when it left his body. He took a diversionary look around at the surroundings: the medical facility was a white, pristine and clean environment. Furniture was basic but it was crammed with loads of instruments, neatly disposed. Everything was in its place and not a spot on a single square inch of the surface
The doctor strapped a dab of cotton over the hole in the elbow pit
"Anyway, Mako poisoning effects can be different from person to person. I may say, albeit with all necessary caution, that Mako is behind your astounding recovery, and maybe even behind the fact that a worm usually one metre long was as big as a hover-bus…"
Cade felt anxiety growing inside him. Maybe getting so close to the object was not a good idea
"Well, I admit it was strange at first sight, but I did not really thought about the Mako connection when I saw that thing…" he said, concealing his state of mind
"It was not really the case, I suppose. At least when a giant man-eating creature is chasing you down. I'd warmly suggest to stay away from anything green in the future, vegetables excluded, of course" the doctor smiled
"Guess you are right!" Cade laughed, appreciating the doctor's sense of humour. At least his attempt at it
"But, wait a second! Does that mean that I'm dismissed?" he rushed to ask
"I'm not withholding you any longer" the doctor explained "We need all our best men in action and, even if it's not really my line of thought, if someone seems healthy, he's good to go"
"I see…" Cade said, barely hiding his relief at the thought of not having to waste any more time, forgetting all the qualms about the Mako issue
"All I can tell you, as my final note, is to report to a medical officer or to a doctor in general anything suspicious. And by that, I mean everything"
Cade felt a load on his stomach "I'll do!" he assured, before stepping out of the clinic.
The excitement Cade felt before trespassing the threshold of the field hospital was overshadowed by the words of the doctor as he took his clothes back and greeted him. He rushed to chase away the bad feelings emerging in his mind and stepped finally outside, assuring himself that if he was still able to walk and talk as usual after all he had gone through in the past hours he was probably better than ever.
Cid and Cade were on their way to the command post, a two story container housing the commander of the expeditionary task force and the briefing rooms, as well as the main communications facility.
As they reached for the entrance Cid spoke up
"How was the visit?"
"Everything good, I suppose" Cade answered
Cid grumped
"Something wrong?" Cade asked
"Some time ago" Cid told him "A friend of mine plunged in the Lifestream. He got poisoned through to through. When we recovered him, he was more dead than alive"
Cade stopped in the middle of the opening in front of the command post "What do you mean?"
"Nothing" Cid shook his head "Just… be careful"
"Listen to that" Cade smiled, alarmed and amazed by Cid's concern "Anyway, I'm always careful"
"I know" Cid put a hand on his shoulder "Then keep being careful"
"What's your point, Cid?" Cade poked him
"You got that already" Cid reached for a cigarette, as to cut the conversation short
"Well, whatever…"
A thunderous voice broke through their conversation
"Tuesti! Prancing around with your personal bodyguard now?"
The voice was neither friendly nor joking. Cade sighed as he turned towards the man who had caught his attention, even if he already knew who it was
"Brad!" Cade shouted back "I'm glad the WRO Special Allocation Program is still effective as of today!"
The man by the name of Brad, Brad Clawbourne for the records, a tall, bulky man, almost a foot taller than Cade but two feet shorter than Cid, sporting a regular WRO uniform, frowned upon Cade's reply
"Oh no!" Cid quietly protested "Not again…"
"What do you mean, Tuesti?" Brad angrily asked
"I mean" Cade stood towards him, stepping forward "That normally people like you would be still in the nursery. But, surprise surprise, there you are…"
One of the soldiers behind Brad laughed. Brad turned towards him and gave him a menacing look. The laughter died as the man re-focused his attention to Cade just as the rest of the gang trailing behind him
"And what about you Cade?" Brad asked "Nice move you pulled out there in the desert. Guess you would do fine even without being the boss' kid"
"You've got issues Brad" Cade said, trying to dismiss his provocation "Why don't you just do your job, just like everyone else?"
Brad made a step forward. And then another one.
"Oh, you know Tuesti? Saving the world from weird people and stuff like that is quite exhausting. We need to take the piss out of each other every now and then. Hope you don't mind that" Brad grinned.
Meanwhile a cluster of people had momentarily forgot their duties and stopped by to witness the confrontation. Brad Clawbourne sure was what a teacher would have labelled as a troublesome element of the classroom. He was the son of a WRO high-ranking official who had used his charisma to attract an ensemble of people as troublesome as he was. When Brad began taunting someone, it meant trouble
"I see" Cade responded, pretending to sound sympathetic "But why me, out of all the thousands of souls in our beloved Organization?"
"Oh, come on… what's a better prey than the beloved puppy of our boss?" Brad laughed "The one who sleeps right next to him when everyone else freezes his ass out here?"
Cade clinched his fists. A muffled laughter came from Brad's posse
"Don't do that, kid!" Cid warned him
"Aren't you a puppy yourself, Brad?" Cade retorted, angrily
Brad stopped, almost seemingly being caught wrong-footed
"And besides" Brad carried on his tirade, seemingly untouched by Cade's line "I have a thing for tortured guys picked up by wealthy men who have to make up for the destruction of their own hometowns… tear jerking as fuck I'd say… or should we mention that poor girl of yours…"
Brad laughed, without even finishing his own words. His laughter resonated with the laughs of his gang. If he hadn't, he would have noticed Cid swearing and failing to hold reins of Cade, which was now running towards him. And would have noticed the fact that the people that were moments ago beside him and laughing were now staring in awe and had now stepped aside to avoid being caught in the confrontation, which was just about to turn physical.
Cade's body forgot about the wounds in his right arm. He swung a jab right into Brad groins. The motor-mouthed jock bent forward as the punch in his genitalia sucked the air outside his lungs. As he touched the ground on his knees Cade followed with a straight punch on his face, throwing him back feet in the air. He jumped on his chest as to pin him down
"Not bad for an orphan, right Brad?" he shouted
Brad spit on his opponent's uniform and slapped him down with an open hand. Cade was hurled on the ground, and Brad jumped back on his feet.
"You're going to pay for this, Tuesti!" he angrily shouted "Fuck you and whoever shares your fucking blood with you!"
Even more people had clustered around the fight. Cid was ready to intervene had the brawl further escalated. He still had some faith in the good sense of the boy. But, unfortunately, that Brad was a first class brawler and a professional provocateur. And, most seriously of it all, he was currently holding the advantage of the higher ground.
Brad closed in to Cade and kicked him sideway. The man on the ground cried as the kick got hit his wounded forearm as well
"You dare to fuck with me, Tuesti? Well, that's what's going to happen… "Brad shouted as he repeatedly kicked Cade in the ribs
"Maybe you should stick to your place…" Brad continued as he repeatedly kicked the boy on the ground
"And by that I mean the place where you came from…" he further shouted
'That asshole is going to split open his rib cage' Cid though as he resolved to step in and separate the two. He had just leapt towards them and something happened.
Cade collected as much oxygen as he could in the gap between one kick and the next one. When Brad's foot descended yet again upon him, he grasped it with both hands, and twisted it.
Cid was sure he heard a cracking sound as Brad's feet turned into and unnatural angle.
Brad screamed and collapsed to the ground. All his haughtiness had gone away and now he looked like a child who had been beaten up by a high school bully. He grinned his teeth in suffering and disbelief as he managed to hold the cry of pain. Some of the people who had gathered to watch the confrontation rushed to help him. He fended them away but afterward he surrendered to their concern.
Cade stood up, brushing off the dirt from his sleeves.
Cid walked up to him
"My god, kid" he exclaimed "what have you done?"
"Nice one, uh?" Cade grinned
"You're not going to get away so easily this time, Tuesti!" Brad shouted, trying to pull himself up, aided by some colleagues.
"Why don't you ask for a rematch, dick-head?" Cade replied
"How about no?" a thunderous voice penetrated the atmosphere. Everyone turned around and stood to attention. Except Brad of course.
"Colonel Zansteid!" Cid exclaimed, standing to attention
"Colonel!" Cade meekly followed suit
"At ease, people!" Colonel Hawk Zansteid replied "Except you Tuesti! We've got some talk to do!"
Hawk Zansteid, a man in his forties, quite tall and heavily muscular, but with the gleaming and assuring light of the leader and true wise old man in his eyes, turned to the mass of WRO personnel on the square. Everyone marvelled at the presence right there of the aide-de-camp of the WRO director.
"Everyone not scheduled to take part in the meeting at the Command Centre, back to your assignments. NOW!" he shouted. The crowd partly dispersed. He stood right in front of Cade
"Lieutenant Tuesti! As I told you, we're going to talk"
"Yes, sir!" Cade replied, deadpan
"Right after the briefing!" Zansteid continued
"Yes, sir!" Cade replied again
Zansteid walked inside the command centre
"You really fucked it up this time, kid…" Cid sighed
"Who cares?" Cade shrugged
"Seriously?" Cid exclaimed "The second big head of WRO is going to lit your ass on fire and you think your life is going to be the same as yesterday?"
Cade shrugged again "What am I supposed to do?"
"Behave yourself every now and then… play by the book" Cid remarked
"Go tell him…" Cade pointed to the limping Brad, who was slowly walking away, leaning over an improvised rescuer. Brad was quietly laughing.
"Look Cade" Cid sighed "I respect you, and for real. Not everyone in this world has endured so much as you did, and not everyone managed to get away with it as you did. But sometimes in this world, it's not just about ourselves…"
"What do you mean with that?" Cade asked, walking towards the command centre entrance with Cid right along him "I have taken as much as I'm willing to take from retards like that one"
"Hey, I like to punch up a bunch of morons every now and the too, believe me" Cid exclaimed "But we live in a world where we have to think of the people who had helped us, even the ones who did something that we did not even notice because we were too busy dealing with the shit we were swimming into. And you have been helped a lot, Cade… like it or not. And now who do you think is going to pay for what you pulled off right now?"
Cade took a deep breath. Cid words sounded like the ones of a father scolding a bratty kid but he realized that the big, blonde, grumpy man was right. All of a sudden the foolishness of his actions came to him like a tidal wave
"I'm sorry" he sighed, as a part of himself realized the consequences of his faux-pas
Cid gave him a pat on the back "Don't worry. It's all right, for now. Let's not make your old man worry any longer, instead"
"You sounded like he was talking through you, you know?" Cade observed
"I just happen to know him quite a lot" Cid cut short "By the way, didn't it hurt punching his face with that written-off arm?"
"Not at all" Cade replied, marvelling just now at the fact that his limb was not hurting at all. It was actually feeling brand new "Guess I'll take the plaster off completely… after the briefing!"
"Well then" Cid smiled "Guess you really have a hard skin"
"At least I won't have to look trashed in front of him"
Cade chuckled at his own words .
He looked upon and noticed a figure standing at one of the windows of the upper store of the command post. It was tall and wearing a blue suit. The figure looked down on Cade before returning inside.
A shadow briefly passed on Cade's face
"I'm sorry" he whispered again to himself as he stepped in.
The interior of the command centre resembled the one of the medical facility, the only difference being the white was replaced by a hue of green olive drab. It was just as neat, though, with rows and rows of desks and computers and perfectly bundled up wires running on the walls in perfectly aligned encasements. White neon lights hanged on steel beams shed radiance in the rooms.
The buzzing of the machines was tangled with the clicking sound of the keyboards and the beeps from the processing units, as well as the chattering voices of the operators sitting at their respective stations.
An aide showed the way to the officers and personnel summoned to the briefing, leading them to the quarter where meetings were held sneaking through the passages provided around the workstations.
Once in the briefing room, everyone sat as Colonel Zansteid took a stand next to a screen, showing a daunting picture of an object apparently freefalling downwards and leaving a stark, bright trail behind it
"Now we'll know what you almost got yourself killed for" Cid said, taking a seat next to Cade
"That's something interesting indeed…" he agreed
"At ease, people!" Zansteid began his speech "I'm not going to waste words because I don't want to waste time. Major Groundham, our scientific advisor, is going to detail you over our most recent discovery and what it means for the world, and for us. Major!"
A young man from the back of the room walked towards the front. He exchanged a brief salute and traded places with Zansteid
"This picture was taken by the WRO Stellar Observatory at Cosmo Canyon. Although in black and white, the spectrographic analysis of the falling object revealed an active wavelength comparable to the one emitted by the sources of Mako energy here on Gaia. The question is: why has a solid body of Mako, because that's what it is gentlemen, fallen from the sky?"
The picture on the screen was replaced by a diagram of Mako readings
"According to the surveys carried out by the WRO during the last years, the Mako levels in the atmosphere after the Meteorfall events have subsided. Then someone came up with a very bright idea: why don't we probe the upper levels of the atmosphere as well? We did it, and well… the result revealed that for a couple of years we had Mako reaching the exosphere without being noticed. It wasn't entirely our fault if we didn't discover it first, of course, since the Deepground Conflict forced us to focus our attention elsewhere"
The diagram was replaced by a plot of orbits around the sun, with some points marked out clearly. Cade kept paying attention at Groundham's words in strict silence, much like anyone else in the room
"With the world apparently calming down again, we were able to resume our surveys. And we have discovered something peculiar. All the Mako that has left the atmosphere is slowly but inevitably converging in a precise point somewhere beyond the Moon's orbit. We have already lost contact with a great number of geostationary satellites placed in that sector. That means that the Mako cloud in outer space is rapidly expanding and is active and…"
The plot was replaced by some sort of reading Cade couldn't decipher
"…it's reaching the point at which it will reach something resembling a critical mass. This phenomenon has been theorized by our scientist but still they can't understand why it is happening. Maybe we are oblivious to its nature because our knowledge of the Mako energy is pretty much the same as thirty years ago. In other word the cloud, as we may call it, will solidify into a big chunk of Mako, like the one that we have retrieved just hours ag,o and collapse opening a black hole right next to our beloved planet"
The audience murmured
"Fuck, this is serious" Cade quietly exclaimed "albeit I've managed to understand only half of it"
"That explains how serious it is" Cid poked fun at him
"Yeah, yeah" Cade scoffed "fuck you too"
"Quit it now" Cid silenced him, not without a grin
"This is what we know at the moment" the advisor continued "It's not much but further analysis are being conducted on the specimen retrieved in the desert. We have already assayed its potential in terms of side effects on animals…"
Cade felt as if he was about to catch fire. The idea that his name could pop up right in the middle of the briefing, telling the tale on how he had been so close to the Mako fragment, haunted him. In a matter of seconds everyone would have thought that Cade Tuesti was plagued by Mako radiation and therefore he had to be treated as a pariah, isolated and quarantined. But, thank the Creator, the medical staff and the retrieval team had ignored or were ordered to silence that detail. Cade didn't have to think too hard to imagine who was behind the concealment of that information.
"… and we are elaborating and planning a contingency plan. And this is the scientific side of the matter. I surmise every one of you knows what a black hole is. If not read a book or browse the network, gentlemen. Now let me please take your attention on the side of the issue that perhaps affects you the most…"
The image on the screen changed again. Now it showed what Cade thought it was the charred remnants of a truck with the WRO badge still recognisable on its side. The apparition of the image struck a responsive chord in the audience
"This picture was taken on the road linking Fort Corel to Junon, just yesterday. It is the last assault on a WRO convoy in a series of similar episode that begun just last week. As you can tell we have, as WRO leadership, withheld as much info as possible about these attacks so as not to spread rumours before we could verify who was behind those aggressions. Our contingency plans require materiel being shuttled and gathered at specific locations around the globe. Any attack or subtraction of said materiel hampers our efforts towards the containment of the situation at hand"
Colonel Zansteid took the place of the scientific advisor as the image was swiped. A logo made up of a slanted, down-pointing arrow crossed with a lightening appeared. The picture was again in black and white and appeared to have been drabbled with a spray painter over a wall
"The MPM: Meteor Purification Movement. A semi-religious sect still anchored to the events of the Meteorfall. We still don't know who are their leaders or where they are headquartered. We don't even know what is their manifesto, provided they have one. We have only been able to witness their recent spat of attacks on WRO proprieties and installations, which up to now have caused, fortunately for us, little damage. Yet if said attacks should grow in intensity, you realize we'll have to face two sides of the same problem: a black hole literally next door and a group of fanatics which will use brute force to make it happen, apparently. And the Creator only knows the reason behind it"
Cade focused on the logo. It was simple yet haunting. It would have been easy to mistake it for the kind of graffiti one would have had the chance to see sprayed on the trains in Edge
"So, as a final note, I urge each and every one of you to be extremely vigilant, and to report anything suspicious to you supervisor. We have trusted you with our confidence and faith for this challenge the world is going to face yet again. The people of Gaia are counting on us. Don't let them down!"
"I'm moved" Cid sarcastically remarked.
Cade poked him in the ribs with the elbow.
The audience stood silent
"Questions?" Zansteid asked
Nobody raised his or her arm
"Good. You are all dismissed. We are ready to scrap this base in the desert once instructed to do so. Go back to your bunks and wait for your next assignment to be sent to your PHS. Gentlemen, dismissed!"
The officers stood up and saluted before breaking their ranks
"Tuesti!" Zansteid shouted "Up there in one minute!" he said pointing to the second story of the building
"Yes, sir" Cade replied
Someone pushed him from behind. It was Brad.
"I'm going to sleep well tonight, Tuesti" he grinned, negotiating with his aching feet. Oddly enough, the harmed appendage was without any kind of orthopaedic garment, only the crutch to aid his walk. Brad was equally as tough, Cade considered
"I hope you're going to get bustled up there. Even if people like you wouldn't go to jail even if they had killed their parents… Ops!" he put his hand on his mouth, as to pretend to regret he had just said something upsetting.
Cade launched a reassuring look at Cid as if to say 'I'm not going to put up a fight here in front of the Colonel. I'm impulsive, but not dumb'
"Too bad I won't sleep so soundly tonight, Brad" Cade replied instead "You gave me a pretty hard-on being so close to me! I'll have to jack-off all night long to quash my longing for you"
Brad lost his haughty expression on his face. A laughter came from behind. Cade turned, as Brad walked away grumping helping himself with the crutch.
"I don't care if he is the son of the regent of Wutai, as far what I care" the girl who had just laughed told Cade "Some things have to be done. And I'm glad you did it, Cade"
Cade smiled to the girl. He knew her. Kayla was a biologistclosely following the works of the team of experts researching the Mako anomalies in the atmosphere. She was a year older than Cade and her face had firm yet harmonious lineaments. Cade had fell for her quite a few times but had resolved not to push his feelings too far. They were on good terms. His worst fear, though, was that Kayla had kept harbouring a crush on him and the last thing Cade wanted was a relationship on the workplace. Or perhaps, a relationship at all.
"You're most definitely right, Kayla" Cade replied "but I can assure you I came to regret my actions quite immediately"
Kayla smiled "I can easily understand why" She put a hand on Cade shoulder "Don't worry. Everything will be fine eventually"
"Thank you!" Cade said
"Well" Kayla sighed, after a brief pause "Guess I have to move. As far as I've heard we are getting some time off after this nice trip in the desert. Maybe, if you want, we can catch up in Edge…" she timidly offered
"Oh, well" Cade blushed "I'd like to really. But I have things to settle down on my own so I don't think I'll have time to spare…"
Kayla lowered her head. "Oh, I see… maybe next time"
"Sure" Cade replied
"I'll go then. Be strong Cade" Kayla smiled, before turning away swinging her blonde braided hairs behind her
"Fucking pitiful!" Cid sadly commented
"What?" Cade protested
"We just came to know he world is about to end and you allow yourself to turn down a chick like that? That practically throws herself at your feet?"
"I'm not in a mood for relationships" Cade explained
"Well, it doesn't need to be a fully-committed relationship you know?" Cid offered
"Sorry? I heard the married guy talking…" Cade joked, as he proceeded towards the stairs to the second floor of the building
"Ah, damn it, Cade. What's wrong with you? Hey, are you not… you know… kicking with the other foot?"
"What? Are you serious?" Cade exclaimed, baffled "I mean, nothing against it and all the rest, but I can tell you it's not the case"
"Then I don't know what's the matter with you, jeez! Everyone I know is engaged except you…"
"Hey!" Cade protested "It doesn't have to be a goddamn race!"
"I know, I know… just saying" Cid surrendered
Cade reached the bottom of the stairs. He looked up in anticipation of what he would have heard in the secluded office on the second floor.
"Well" he sighed "Let's do this"
"I'm packing the stuff onto the Highwind" Cid explained "If you need a ride anywhere they tell you to go, count on me"
Cade gratefully smiled "Thank you Cid"
The bulky pilot waived his hand and walked outside, lighting his next cigarette.
Cade had reached the second floor of the building. Two guards stood next to a bullet-proof door. A third guard, with the ranks of a captain and a fourragiere denoting his appointment as a member of the staff of the aide-de-camp of the chief of the WRO stood up from his desk. Cade saluted
"At ease, Lieutenant" he greeted "As far as I've been instructed you are here on invitation from both the boss and Colonel Zansteid"
"Yes, Sir" Cade confirmed
"Well" the captain pointed to the door "You are cleared to proceed then. Take your time"
"Thank you" Cade replied, as the guards stood aside and a click from the door told him that it had been unlocked from the inside. The door slid open, and Cade made its way inside.
The room was faintly illuminated by a lamplight hanged on the roof. An additional source of light was provided by the screen of the computer of the desk where Reeve Tuesti was sitting. That Reeve Tuesti, the very head of the WRO, and uncle to the young Cade. "Cade" Reeve greeted him as the door behind him closed again "I'm happy to see you! And I'm even more happy to see that you are fine!"
"Sir!" Cade saluted standing at attention
Reeve laughed and stood up form his chair. A tall man, slim but not too thin, he shared with his nephew the same black hairs and the same sharp jaw, only with the addition of a goatee
"C'mon Cade" he said "You know I despise formalities even more than you!"
Cade breathed, in relief. His uncle was in a good mood, apparently. Albeit a man known by his firm but kind demeanour, Reeve was once a man who dared to stand against the once-mighty Shinra Corporation by himself and from the inside, a man who just recently managed to quell the threat of the Deepground organisation. An angered Reeve Tuesti was able to grow claws in an instant.
"Well, you are doing good yourself, eam Reeve" Cade replied, allowing himself to use the familiar nickname he would have normally used outside the WRO
"I'm doing good, indeed" Reeve nodded "Saving and protecting the world pulls your ends a bit but it's quite an entertaining job. Why don't you take a seat?"
Cade complied with the invitation and sat opposite the desk. Reeve briefly turned its attention back to the computer before taking back the seat himself
"So… are you hungry? Would you like something to drink?" he asked
Cade suppressed a laughter
"Did I say something wrong, Cade?" Reeve asked, surprised
"No, not at all" Cade smiled "It's just… never mind. I'm fine, really!"
"Good then. I heard some complaints from the canteen today, glad at least someone appreciated the meal today"
Cade blushed, as he recalled the run to the toilet he had made right after lunch
"Look, eam Reeve, I can tell we are all running on a strict schedule so why don't we cut straight to the point?"
Reeve looked at him
"Please?" Cade politely added
"Impatient as always, Cade, eh?" Reeve grew a small of approval "Well then, the head of the recovery team filed a pretty exhaustive report on the operation and I just wanted to see for myself if you were doing all right!"
"Just that?"
"Cade, for me it's not a matter of 'just that'!" he explained, bowing his head. Cade felt like a naked nerve had been touched "You are one of the most valuable elements in the WRO. Of course, sometimes you act on your own and the way you carry out your assignments brings about a hustle. But I tolerate that, because I know your temperament…"
"And" Reeve continued "I know the temperament of yours because, well, I'm your uncle. And because I know what you have gone through…" he stood up, walking towards the window. He stopped and stared outside "And, ultimately, I feel the obligation to protect you because deep in my heart I feel like it has been my fault as well"
Cade froze "Uncle Reeve" he exclaimed "it was not your fault. I thought we had gone past that thing!"
Reeve turned towards him "I know" he said "Maybe it wasn't my fault at all. But I'm not made of steel. Back then I didn't do a thing to stop the course of action that led you to lose everything you loved. Twice. That makes me guilty. Maybe not just as much as the ones who did it personally, but to me was enough…"
Cade felt a surge of warmth in his heart. Reeve had always taken good care of him since the accident and since Cade had decided to reunite with him after the Deepground conflict had broken out. Still, he was feeling like he had to do much more to make up for a crime he had not committed at all. Somehow he felt sorry for him.
"I'm sorry uncle Reeve" Cade shook his head "I don't think I can't understand you. Believe me, I wish I could"
'That would make things much easier' the young man thought
"Don't worry Cade" Reeve smiled "I would like you to understand a thing, though…"
"What?"
"I won't be able to protect you forever. At least here in the WRO. I'm quite in a good spot, perched here atop of the chain command but even a leader has to continuously prove that he is worthy as such. And sometimes people thinks that the mark of a great leader is taking decision he wouldn't like to take"
"What do you mean?" Cade worriedly asked
"What I mean is" Reeve explained "that I can perfectly see why you beat up the son of the officer heading the General Staff of the WRO. I know that dickhead, and his father is slimy as a sneaky bastard of his kind can be. And poking on your past is despicable and if the circumstances were different I would have done the same only ten times worst"
"But we are a organization that works for a greater good. We try to keep the people safe and to make the world a better place, and in today's times is the most difficult thing ever. But nonetheless is what we all wish the most. It is what everyone wishes the most"
"I may sound selfish and over-confident and all but I don't want to throw away all the good work we've done so far. I won't be able to justify your actions forever, and if the General Staff will impeach me because of you… well I pray it will never happen!"
"Why?" Cade asked
"Because the WRO will turn into the World's police force. That's the mood of the General Staff lately. I'm not giving away the WRO to a business of hawks and vultures. That's not what I meant it to be. And maybe you too, as well…"
Cade scratched his head "I joined the WRO because you, uncle Reeve, had put up an organization that solved problems trying every approach it could use, not just brute force. That's why I fit in here… You know, there's more than one way to skin a cat, no?"
"You found your place, here. Am I right?" Reeve asked
Cade nodded
"I can hardly imagine how you feel without a home to think about, with no one to turn to and all the rest…" Reeve mused
"Hey, eam! The WRO is my home now. And besides, I still got you. And maybe Cid…" Cade frowned, bemused at the idea of considering the technician as a surrogate paternal figure
Reeve smiled "So let's keep things as they are, until they won't get better. Shall we?"
"Thank you, uncle Reeve!" Cade said, spurred by a renewed sense of gratitude. Having a face-to-face straight talk with his uncle reminded him that Reeve Tuesti was still concerned about him even today, all while leading the World Regenesis Organization. Reeve's words were an invitation to shed the armour of selfishness that Cade had let the circumstance build on his skin. And it worked
"For what?"
"Do you even ask?" Cade chuckled "For everything, that's it!"
"Look" the young man continued "I admire you, uncle Reeve. You may have been part of an organization that nearly broke this planet apart but you did risk a lot to prevent it from actually happening. And then you did even more. I appreciate your position. And I appreciate the fact that you helped me. The least I can do is not to screw things up. But sometimes I derail. Guess I still have a lot to learn"
He paused. Waiting for a reply
"But I'll try and do my best. I have to do something. Something good for the world. You know I promised it…"
"That's what she would have wanted, right?" Reeve asked him
"Right" Cade nodded, his mind shifting back in time. He quickly raced back to the present
"I'll be someone you can count on, uncle Reeve. I promise"
Reeve said nothing. He just stepped toward the young man and hugged him. Cade hugged him back
"I don't want you to change, Cade. Just listen to your heart and do what you feel is the right thing. I trust you…"
"That was corny" Cade laughed, partly as a way to chase away the tear lingering in his eye. Reeve's words had the power to strike deep in his heart
"I heard you turned down Kayla once again" Reeve mocked him as they released each other
"Oh…" Cade lowered his head
"Just trying to make a laughter at your expense… don't take it!" Reeve explained
"That means that somebody told you…" Cade enquired
"I'm always the big boss here. I've got plenty of leads"
Cade laughed "I'll behave, uncle Reeve. I promise it" he said, sincerely. Genuinely sincerely as someone might have said, judging by his voice
"As I said: what you feel is the right thing is probably the right thing to do. That's the key. You're just as good as you are" Reeve advised him
"I thought the key was to play by the book…" Cade countered
"Uh! Glad to hear that Cid talks wisely, between a bad word and the other one"
Cade smiled "Dismissed?" he asked
"One last thing? Do you remember the last thing Zansteid told you at the briefing?"
"The MPM?"
Reeve nodded
"What I am going to tell you is strictly confidential. Only Zansteid and the being of me knows that, so consider yourself the leading man in this matter"
Cade stood to attention
"We have suspicion that a mole has infiltrated the WRO!"
Cade dropped his jaw
"Are you serious?" he asked
"Ninety-five percent sure" Reeve nodded "And it has already reached the high echelons of our organization"
"But that means that we are dealing with little more than street urchins?"
"Way much more" Reeve confirmed
"What are you going to do then?"
"I've taken my precautions" Reeve explained "As you have heard at the meeting we are drawing a response to the Mako Singularity threat"
"Mako Singularity?"
"We decided to give our enemy a name. It is less menacing this way. You fear less things that you can call with a name. Go figure with two…"
"Sounds legit" Cade thoughtfully said
"Anyway, our plan requires specific actions to be carried out. And we will need protection while we proceed. That's why I need you"
"Me?" Cade could smell the scent of a next assignment. All of a sudden he felt lit up with excitement
"You and your backup" Reeve added
"Backup?" Cade wondered, marvelling at that last word
"It's not that I'm not trusting you. I just feel like you need someone else with you"
"Well, I understand your concern" Cade sighed
"Don't worry. I'm not doubting you will do a good job. But saving the world is too much for just one man. As capable as can he be. And I decided to assign you a hell of a backup, believe me"
"So!" Cade exclaimed "What is my next assignment?"
Reeve picked up a small folder from the desk.
He passed him the folder "Wutai! That's where your assignment begins!"