Corel. There was less to see on the way to Corel Township than she expected. Disappointing but not wholly unexpected, Yuffie realized. The uncreatively named North Corel County was barely occupied by enough residents to actually operate the transit station and the gondolas to the Gold Saucer, but they had made good use of the last three years since Shinra's fall; the wreckage of the neighborhoods that had existed before the attack on the Corel Reactor and the military's razing of most of Corel was well hidden, if not removed entirely. In its place, a mixture of the same prefabricated boxy homes and workplaces found in Edge, though painted a more sensible color for Corel's sparse grasslands, and newly-built wooden cottages. No doubt Barret could explain the significance of this style of cottages. Thank god he's not here.
All in all, it was a very livable place, in contrast to before and during the Jenova War. I wonder why they waited to rebuild. Were they afraid Shinra would come back and ruin their lives a second time? Well, she had said they were fools to have trusted the corporation the first time, hadn't she?
"I suppose I did," she mumbled to herself as the Shinra Motors-manufactured bus pulled into North Corel Transit and its passengers began to disembark.
But they did come back, didn't they? After the end of the Jenova War, they came back. Not for the expected nefarious purpose. Half of the New Midgar Army, those men apportioned to provide offensive air support to the Great Sephiroth Plan, who operated and occupied Rocket Town. The motley army, that would in the subsequent two years become the Polaris Air Force, came to North Corel not after blood, but trash, to scrounge through the remains of people's lives in a moment of desperation. And even in that regard, they failed; the few hardy residents of North Corel made themselves scarce and left little of worth for the ex-army to pick through. They did so anyway, then left. As usual, the real problems only appeared in the months that followed.
"In a way, we were lucky that Junon got their crap together so quickly. There was someone for Polaris to pledge their loyalty too. If there hadn't been, I mean, who knows? They could've become a bunch of bandits, but with guns, helicopters and the world's largest missile launch site."
Staring at the row of seats in front of her, she frowned. This is some good stuff, I should really be recording this.
"Uh, ma'am?" The uniformed driver at the front of the bus was staring at her. "This is the last stop."
"I know that!" she blustered, picking up her luggage and swinging it over a shoulder. People don't appreciate good journalism.
The reversion back to the sleeping mining and shipping town Corel had been before Shinra's massacre meant there was little for someone like her to do next to a metropolis like Junon or an espionage hub like Kalm. Even looking for interviews didn't seem worth missing the earliest train out, and so she went directly from the bus to the seating on the departing train platform at North Corel Transit.
"In foreign news, the new mission of weapons inspectors from the World Regenesis Organization, under Mr. Reeve Tuesti, arrived in Junon this morning, to a chilly reception from the Junon Foreign Ministry under Admiral Taira. When asked for comment, the spokesperson for the W.R.O.'s main office said that they hope for a smooth execution of their mission…"
"Can someone turn that crap off," she muttered under her breath as she turned in the opposite direction of the radio loudspeaker hanging from the platform covering. The train couldn't come soon enough. On the row nearest the entrance to the platform, a young couple in working class clothing were in close embrace, the woman sitting in the larger man's lap, whispering something to one another and laughing occasionally. Yuffie rolled her eyes; still, she'd take their public display of affection over the staccato report of the newsreader's voice over the radio. She checked her PHS for any messages: nothing.
Sighing, she opened the buckle on her luggage and dragged out the TC-5500 reel-to-reel, resting it on the plastic seat next to her and fumbling with the metal microphone on its stand.
[START]
Kisaragi: I'm…uh, I'm north of Corel Township waiting for the Corel-Nibelheim line to arrive. That's not actually the name of the train obviously, it's something cryptic sounding probably. From what I can see, life's pretty normal here, not that I'm complaining. After the end of mako energy, Corel's coal industry and natural gas refineries became a lot more important and a lot of money supposedly flowed into the region. [PAUSE] Not that you can tell just by looking at it, but I guess it's not the worse life.
Announcement: [GARBLED] …train to Nibelheim is arriving early. Please be ready to board and have ticket ready to show. Customs and immigration will be boarding at the Sunset Mountains security checkpoint, please have your immigration documents at hand as well. A visa stamp from Costal del Sol is accepted by the local government in Nibelheim.
K: [SIGHING] So yeah, that's what we're calling the situation with the Polaris Air Force, because I guess "local government" sounds better than "paramilitary regime" or something. Reminds me of when dad…I mean, my father Godo Kisaragi, sighed and instrument of surrender for the New Wutai Government after the war ended when I was a kid. In other words, a completely meaningless formality done at the behest of the victors, that let him keep what power he maintained. [PAUSE] Though it's not really that clear what that means in Nibelheim, is it?
[STOP]
The loud rumble of a diesel locomotive pulling into the station caused her to stop the tape and began repacking her luggage. Couldn't Shinra build these things any quieter? A locomotive conductor in a civilian uniform that still smacked of the company's prewar influences stepped out and gestured to an unseen platform official with precise hand signals, then gestured more generally for the small population waiting on the platform to begin boarding themselves. As usual, their clothing told Yuffie more than she would've asked for: mostly miners working in the mountains. Related personnel, surveyors, geologists, semiologists, etc. A number of young people, more male than female, in plain civilian traveling clothes. The relaxed-looking woman behind the counter at Costal del Sol had said the Polaris Air Force was using passenger routes, like this one, to move their new personnel in and out of their territory; were these examples of them?
"Ma'am?"
"Yeah, I'm coming!" she snapped at the conductor. God, can't be left alone with your own thoughts for a single minute, can you?
The train ride that followed was an anachronism in its own right, a reminder of the time where Shinra's continental railroad ran the length of the east, converging in its hub in the city of Midgar. This particular line had only been repurposed for passenger, rather than resource, transport after Meteorfall, but it was a good enough facsimile for Yuffie. The convincing illusion lasted up to the point where the train passed the inactive Mt. Corel Reactor, situated in the caldera of a volcano extinct since around the time of the end of the Cretaceous Period. The Corel-Nibelheim line made use of some of the tracks that had served the mako reactor, the most reliable means transporting limited cargo in the form of spare parts, laborers, and refined liquid mako; that branching track was now shut off, along with the rest of the tall, old-style mako reactor, three years ago. A tall, dead cylinder of concrete and steel, with a fading S.E.P.C. diamond logo over the main entrance, red and white paint visibly chipped even from a distance. Officially, the only people who ever visited the old-style reactor were pre-agreed upon safety inspectors from both the W.R.O. and the Polaris Air Force, one of the few consistent points of agreement between the two parties.
This time, she decided to set the tape player.
[START]
Kisaragi: [QUIETLY] Eighth of May, 2003. Bloody Thursday. A battalion of Shinra marines, technically naval infantry from the Junon High Seas Fleet, were dispatched by helicopter to Corel Township in the North Corel County.
Nearby Passengers: [LAUGHTER, FOLLOWED BY WHISPERING]
K: [ANNOYED] Shinra's explanation: a local conspiracy to sabotage the newly-completed reactor, coinciding with an armed uprising against the compliant local authorities. Corel's explanation: an industrial malfunction from the rushed construction, at Shinra's direction, caused a fire, coinciding with a massacre to cover up the technological causes. Of course, our position is that the second explanation is true.
Announcement: [VERY LOUDLY] All attentions, please take notice: this train will next stop at the security checkpoint past Mt. Corel. An inspection will be conducted of your tickets and paperwork as you enter the Nibelheim Autonomous Region.
K: Is that what we're calling it now? [SMIRKING] No, that must be what the military's calling it. Reeve and the others would never approve that name, anything that implies some kid of political autonomy courtesy of local…malefactors, or somethin'. [LAUGHTER] So I guess the Polaris have been busy, haven't they? So where was I? Right, Corel, almost wiped off the map by Shinra because of their reactor. I was still in Wutai, but even if I wasn't…well, it's not like I don't know at least one firsthand witness. [PAUSE] I give Barret a lot of crap, we all should be so diligent, but it's not like I could refute his account. But the thing is, even under the best circumstances, Barret's not what you'd call an ideal witness. What kind of testimony can you reasonably get from someone who got their arm shot off that day and woke up a week later in a field hospital? What you want…what you want for something like this…is someone like Victor Io: a smart-aleck who's old enough or dead enough inside to approach everything with a…necessarily dispassionate eye. At least that way, if he's wrong, or he's lying, or he's hiding something, it's coherent. [SIGH] So I guess Barret isn't the most coherent character when it comes to this topic.
A: [LOUDLY] Attention all passengers, please…
[STOP]
Letting the annoyance manifest on her face, she stopped the TC-5500 during the second announcement and hastily jammed the microphone into her luggage. By the time the train had come to a halt, the spartan surroundings of a continental railway checkpoint platform visible through her window.
"…produce your paperwork. We will now be inspecting all cars for the required documentation and…"
"Oh, shut up already and get it over with!" Yuffie shouted, louder than she had intended. The other passengers turned in her direction; rather than shy away, she doubled down on her outburst, crossed her hands and frowned at the back of the seat in front of her as the inspection began, in the form of a uniformed conductor in civilian clothing followed by the familiar sight of military office in a burgundy red greatcoat, matching kepi cap, and brown leather riding boots. A 1st lieutenant in the Polaris Air Force, a woman in her twenties with auburn hair in a bun just under her cap, and with sleeve patches giving a clear look of the military insignia: a five-pointed white starburst against a dark blue field, underneath a four-bladed propeller and a pattern of wings. Do they think they're being subtle?
"Ticket please," the conductor droned on, sounding almost as bored as the woman following him. She handed her documents over, her eyes locked on the lieutenant's under her cap's plastic visor. In spite of that, she said nothing until turning to follow the conductor down the rows.
"Nice cassette deck."
"It's a reel-to-reel!" she barked back before thinking. The lieutenant turned away, obviously smirking. Pouting, she sank into her seat and stared back out the window at a large metal sign featuring the same insignia and declaring Polaris authority in two languages. Then a thought occurred to her, one that she was embarrassed that she hadn't considered before: what if it wasn't necessarily Shinra who the Corelians blamed for their slaughter? What if it was, more literally, the armed forces of the Midgar Confederation they blamed? What might've been obvious to Barret Wallace, the self-appointed leader of the Second AVALANCHE Insurrection, might not have been so apparent to people simply trying to live their lives after a ruinous event like that.
What if we've been sitting on a powder keg for the last three years, without realizing it? As much as the W.R.O. insisted the Polaris paramilitary faction was a threat to world peace, their interactions with the Corel Region thus far had been heavily monitored and apparently peaceful. Notably, with Reeve's reluctant approval the Corel Township had signed 10 Year Agreement to purchase Polaris crude oil and natural gas at heavily discounted rates in return for payment made in finished steel, copper and other metal, which Polaris had a bottomless demand for but comparatively little liquid cash. This would last until the W.R.O. completed the technique they'd taken from Shinra for so-called ersatz fuel, a process to convert limited-use coal into synthetic diesel which was the industrial lifeblood of the W.R.O. and its greatest weakness vis-à-vis Junon; the corporation has apparently developed a working model towards the end of the First Wutai War, but abandoned it after moving to mako energy.
I should really be recording this. Or at least writing it down. Except for the part about synthetic fuel, which was still a highest state secret.
"Thank you for your patience. The final stop on this line will be Camp Helwitt, gateway to the Nibelheim Autonomous Region. Estimated arrival time is…" She tuned out the distorted voice over the speakers and watched as the train plunged into the darkness of the long tunnel that would exit in the shadow of Mt. Nibel before reaching one of military towns hastily put up by the Polaris Air Force. Despite what she called the line, there was no actual train to the town of Nibelheim; the military's transport needs were met by airlift, a more convenient solution than the rough and monster-plagued roads that reached up Mt. Nibel. Camp Helwitt was one of the closer locations, a stop for military arrivals, traveling merchants hoping to leverage variable prices, and extreme tourists stupid enough to make the hike up the mountain. According to their intelligence gathering, most of the passengers onboard belonged to one of those three groups.
She'd once asked Reeve why Nibelheim didn't qualify for official status as a township, the smallest administrative subdivision; Reeve responded that it was just too small, but that didn't prevent Polaris from referring to the whole area by the deceptive title of 'autonomous region'. You almost want to ask, why do they even want this place to start with? A fake town, full of fake actors, in the middle of nowhere. The reasons were all the worst possible ones:
Shinra's first operational mako reactor, at Mt. Nibel.
Inside it, the original and presumably empty containment system for the alien specimen Jenova.
Shinra's manor house, the research repository for said Jenova Project.
And that mansion's basement, where the hero of the Wutai World War, Sephiroth, had gone insane, turned on the military, slaughtered the inhabitants and burned the town to the ground.
A series of interrelated horror shows and their associated tragedies passed through her mind, none of which she had witnessed firsthand thankfully. Now I know why Reeve never wanted to pursue the issue. A political prisoner from a bygone era is the least of our problems there. For years, as far as Yuffie was concerned, nothing good had ever come out of Nibelheim.
Author's Notes:
Quite a long delay before this chapter, and probably still a longer delay before the next one, since I've fallen far behind in my other works. The slow-burning mysteries of the western continent continue; even in the game, I don't think anyone ever came to Nibelheim without learning something horrifying, so you may see where this is going. If anyone's still reading this, please let me know!