EDGE
1.
The sprawling metropolis of Edge never ceased to amaze Yuffie, despite being deprived of its trademark illumination.
The Shera flew in wide circles over it, as Cid patiently waited for the permission to land, allowing her to marvel at the magnificence of a place raised and kept upright by the will of people who had survived through the disasters and the conflicts which had taken place there. Surely it had grown bigger and bigger since the last time she visited it.
In an instant, she realized she might just had the chance to pay a visit to some old friends she had not seen in quite a long time and who happened to lived right there. Friends whose lives were tangled with the history of that place, just like Yuffie's one. She wondered how they were doing and she resolved to take care of that business as soon as the chance would have appeared.
The only lights were coming from a few places where emergency illumination had been installed in the form of portable floodlights, mainly at crossroads and squares. The streets were surprisingly bright since the vehicles, with no automatic traffic regulations available, got stuck in the evening rush hour and gridlocked the whole city. Moreover, people had resorted to torches to light their way or to provide illumination inside their households. It seemed like the power shortage had forced the citizen of a modern metropolis to revert back to the tools of the Stone Age.
Some other folks had taken the chance to take it to their rooftop and behold at the somehow spectacular sight of the bustling city of Edge all cloaked in darkness or to stargaze at the mysterious phenomenon that took the sky. The two events combined could really have upset some of the most touchy individuals in town.
Luckily for the inhabitants, the brand new Edge General Hospital, in the distance, seemed to be working and still towered the surrounding building with its gleaming white façade. Several other buildings in the distance were still provided with electricity and they were probably the key ones that managed to keep at least the basic services still running.
It was not quite right to say that chaos reigned. But people sure were not having the time of their life. At least without exactly knowing the nature of the green streaks in the sky.
"Look! It's almost pitch black" Yuffie exclaimed, marvelling at the scenery
"Just like Reeve told us" Cid told her "If that in the sky was the aurora borealis it would be quite a romantic scenery"
"Reeve was also telling us that there's someone behind this blackout and our near-death experience with the airship suddenly blacking out as well" Cade observed
"If so it is" Cid though "things are going to get a shitload more complicated than they are at the moment!"
Yuffie turned to Cade "Could really be that there's someone behind it?"
"Well" Cade told her "According to our intelligence division, a paramilitary group has been targeting the WRO since we found out about the Singularity!"
"Who?" Yuffie asked
"The Meteor Purification Movement" Cade explained "They had conducted a sort of small-scale guerrilla war against the WRO in the past few weeks"
"A guerrilla war? But why? Who are these guys?"
"We don't know. It is better to say that we know little about them"
Yuffie paused
"You said… Meteor?" she asked again
"That's right" Cid intervened "That's exactly what you are thinking!"
"Oh, here comes the part of the story where I'm missing…" Cade sighed
"Hey, where were you those days? Hidden underground?" Cid asked, referring to the days when the Meteor summoned by the disgraced SOLDIER Sephirot lingered in the sky above the then-city of Midgar, threatening the whole planet. Yuffie had given her contribution to protect Gaia and her citizen back then, just like Cid, the first of an impressive row of achievements
"I perfectly knew what was going on these days. I was just not on the frontline. Just that!" Cade replied, smiling and opening his arms
"Didn't you say that the WRO had closed the intelligence division down? If so, who's running intelligence right now?" Yuffie pointed out
"Well, somebody must have picked that information, right? An intelligence division or a group of dark suited man smoking cigarettes and wearing sunglasses even during night time. Anyway you want to call them…" Cade answered
"Great answer" she responded, sarcastically. She grew worried when she turned to Cid
"Don't you think that…?" Yuffie tentatively asked
"No way!" Cid replied firmly, before whispering "At least, I hope…"
"What? What are you hoping?" Cade enquired
"Nothing" the mechanic steadfastly cut short "Besides, how many spins into the sky are those punks on the ground going to make us do? I'm running out of goddamn fuel" he complained
"Just fly towards the HQ. they'll pick us up eventually and tell us to land" Cade suggested
Cid toyed with the stick and the Shera glided towards the newly established WRO headquarters, a towering building resembling the old Mako reactors that were the unmistakeable landmark of the then-city of Midgar. It consisted of a main building, modelled like an upstanding artillery bullet surrounded by a ring of secondary buildings, which featured the landing sites, among many other things. It was built on the boundary between the ruins of Midgar and the suburbs of Edge.
"Airship Shera" a voice came through the radio "Cleared to land on pad 7-S. Follow the beacon at your 030 degrees"
"Oh, at last! Copy that!" Cid replied with signs of relief. He tilted the stick so as to turn the airship towards the assigned landing pad. Cid oriented the searchlight onboard the ship in order to illuminate the tarmac.
He gradually closed the throttle while the Shera gently descended almost vertically. Once the lskids touched the ground, the engines came to a complete halt.
A squad of WRO personnel surrounded the ship. Cid, Cade and Yuffie made their way to the hatch and descended among plumes of smoke from the exhausts of the hydraulic system of the ship cooling off.
A man with the customary grey WRO uniform came towards them running
"Greetings, Sirs! Cade, nice to see you back at the headquarters!" the man told them, hastily saluting and trying to catch his breath "Sorry if we may seem lacking of any regards to you, but we are in a frenzy. The situation had escalated in a short time …"
"I heard of and saw the blackout! And by the way, nice to see you too, Evan!" Cade exchange the greeting , patting the man on the shoulder
"I heard about the operation in the Mythril Desert, Cade. If anyone was capable of pulling that off, you had to be the only one crazy enough to do it all by yourself!" Evan laughed, then he turned to Cid "Cid, sorry for making you wait up in the air! Unfortunately, we had to run double checks on anything coming close to the HQ!"
Evan Kallstrom, a WRO Major, was acquainted with Cid and Cade, having worked on several mission with them. He was a spirited guy not much older than Cade, a down-tuned version of Cade himself, as Cid once portrayed him. Now he was a liaison officer within the headquarters, with the task of coordinating the field activities of the WRO
"Pardoned" Cid conceded "…this time!"
"Good! I won't pull my luck, then" Evan nodded "And you must be Lady Yuffie Kissaragi!"
"Please call me just Yuffie!" the ninja implored "It's good to be back in Edge. This headquarters is brand new, though!"
"Precisely" Evan confirmed "We built it at record time after the Deepground Conflict. I personally think it serves better the dual mission of our organization"
"Like what?" Yuffie asked
"Supervising infrastructures and services like healthcare and public order. Take this blackout: we had to deploy 8 battalions of the Peace Force to look after the townspeople of Edge. The blackout somehow came along with those things in the sky!" he said, pointing upwards
"Where there any accidents?" Yuffie asked
"Surprisingly not" the WRO officer shook his head "Our call centre was flooded with calls from scared citizen but, apart from a few episodes of burglary, the situation in town is stable. Anyway, we are pleased to have you back, Yuffie"
Yuffie smiled
"So, what's our plan now, Evan?" Cade asked
"What? Reeve did not tell you already?" Evan replied
Cade shook his head "We are not that intimate, unfortunately!"
"Guess I've underestimated how tight-lipped he can be. Then wait for a minute or two and you'll have all the answers you need"
"All the answers?" Cade questioned
Evan sighed "Please Cade, have I ever let you down?"
"At all, Evan" Cade replied "At all!"
"Then relax. Things are going to be hectic from now on. Better cut some slack when you have the chance"
The trio was escorted outside the landing area. They were brought in front of an indoor security checkpoint after passing through a hangar door.
"Now everyone" the WRO officer explained "The blackout isn't our only concern. As I told you before, we had to step up our security measures. I hope you don't mind that… Lady Kissaragi, I mean Yuffie" the man pointed at the shuriken fastened to Yuffie's back "I think you have to give that thing in…"
"What? No way I'm going to separate from it. What if someone mishandles it?" Yuffie protested
Cade stepped forward, before the argument regarding the feasibility of carrying around a weapon like that in a place where people were already quite concerned about strangers carrying unconcealed weapons escalated into a brawl
"Evan, I vouch for her. Let her keep her toy" he finally offered
Evan stood there thinking for a while
"Well then. If you say so, Cade…" he made a gesture to the guards next to an array of body scanners and metal detectors. The guards stepped aside
"Yuffie, you should thank your friend here. Normally only security personnel is allowed to retain their weapons. But Cade here is quite the man…"
"Oh, I don't think she'll do that soon" Cid laughed
Yuffie rolled her eyes upwards "Just don't call this a toy, won't you?"
Evan made a confused look on his face. Cade shook his head.
The WRO officer took them to a security booth. He made a gesture to the men inside it. Three badges came out from a slot beneath a bullet-proof window
"These are your personal badges" he explained holding three plasticized cards in front of them "Be sure to have them with you every second you spend inside here. Otherwise I think things are not going to turn out nice, no matter if your uncle is the master of puppets!"
"I reckon that" Cade said, as he looked around the quarter leading to the lift shaft. At every corner stood at least two WRO soldiers, all well-armed.
"You were not joking when you said that security is tight here inside" Cid noted "I bet even the vending machines are guarded"
"Somebody is bothered by the disappearance of the Sangaria cans!" Evan joked, then he turned stern again "Seriously, when you will hear the briefing, you may want to think that they still are inadequate"
"Is the situation so desperate?" Cade asked, alarmed
"A blackout in the middle of a planetary emergency is enough worrying to deploy an army just to guard a block party, if that would be of help!"
The group proceeded towards the elevators. They went through a curtain of guards and other security checkpoints before entering the lift and riding towards the very last level of the main tower.
"Are we going to be briefed straight away?" Yuffie asked
"Well, it's just a matter of minutes" Evan explained "I'll be speaking myself so as you can tell, allow yourself a couple of minutes"
"If you had to speak why did you come to pick us up, then?" Cade asked
"Somebody told me to"
"Who?" Cid asked
"Reeve thought that if I had taken you to the briefing room, that would have made you save some time" Evan explained "Passing through the security checks and all"
"And I thought I was still a trusted figure inside here" Cade sighed
"Looks like being uncle's little boy on our side doesn't pay that much…" Yuffie poked him
"Ah, bite me!" he scoffed
Yuffie frowned upon his reply. The lift came to a halt
"We're here" Evan announced
"What? No voice on the PA announcing the floor?" Cade asked, seemingly surprised "Can't we get enough funds to fit our escalators with that kind of hardware?"
Evan rolled his eyes
"Is he always like that?" Yuffie asked
"Sometimes he's even worse" Evan explained "but somehow most of us still love him. And not just because we're afraid he could spy on us on behalf of his uncle!"
"I would lie about a murder if that meant I could still look my beloved colleagues in the face!" Cade chuckled, as he followed Evan to the entrance to the briefing room.