This chapter marks the beginning of the third and last part of the first book of the story. Also, this chapter and the few after it will be a little different than usual because it's more military-based, as this is the introduction to the SeeD field exam. I haven't written much military-style action, so you'll have to correct me if something is glaringly wrong. That being said, on to the chapter itself.

Book I, Part III: Mortal Conflict - Element of Treachery

Chapter I—Opposing Viewpoints

[June 30, 2152 | Galbadia City, Galbadian Central Military Command | 3:14 PM]

General Hibrom Caraway, the current Galbadian Army Chief of Staff, was a very unhappy man at present - not that he didn't have an extremely good reason to be displeased.

Standing in the middle of the main operations room at GCMC, as it was often abbreviated to, he watched and listened intently as radio transmissions and transcripts flowed into the room like water, dozens of technicians and officers moving around in the large room. Even with such a large workspace, Caraway was beginning to feel a bit cramped. Maybe it was the stifling feel of command, he reasoned.

"Status report!" he barked suddenly, causing several officers, a single-starred general chief among them, to turn his way. The general quickly stepped over to where he was standing, the nameplate on his uniform identifying him as General Alex Rustov.

"Sir!" the Galbadian general said, saluting crisply to his superior. "We're still working on distribution of the received transmissions to the remainder of the command staff. No new transmissions have come in since 1430 hours." Caraway nodded to Rustov; he had expected that. They'd already been notified once with demands, so why give the enemy a chance to pin down their position through communications, now that they were ready to do so? Sighing, Caraway began to run through the events that had happened just barely a half-hour ago in his mind.

–Flashback–

The Galbadian Presidential Palace, while not quite as extravagant as the one in Esthar, was still leagues above the general quality of housing in Galbadia City. Originally Deling City, the city had been renamed when Vinzer Deling's son took office, but many people still called it by the old name out of habit. One of the rare exceptions to the city's atmosphere of nighttime activity, dozens of people could be seen entering and leaving the elegant building. There was to be a meeting of several province heads on the Galbadian continent very soon in the day, and every foreseeable countermeasure and preparation was being taken. All around the perimeter, highly-trained Galbadian soldiers could be seen patrolling, each carrying standard issue M4 Carbine assault rifles, produced by the Galbadian company of Videlic Arms, as well as a sidearm and backup knives in the event of disarming. On the roof, several figures could faintly be seen, each carrying a long rifle in their hands - the PSG-1 sniper rifle, also a Videlic Arms manufactured weapon. The Presidential Palace was, rightfully, the most well-guarded complex in Galbadia.

No one in that building ever expected those same defenses to turn against them.

Snipers on the roof suddenly abandoning their routes, soldiers leaving their posts without permission. It was well-orchestrated, clean, and covert. No one knew what was going to happen, past those involved, until it was too late.

In the span of a single hour, the Presidential Palace of Galbadia had been taken over by the very soldiers that had protected the building.

Caraway grimaced, despite himself. Everyone had been caught off guard by the takeover, civilian and military alike.

Caraway had been out of his house and to the operations center in minutes, his car weaving and flying through the minimal traffic on the city streets with the greatest of ease. When he arrived at the command post for the Galbadian military, he had entered to find the scene one of utter chaos. It had taken him a few minutes to accurately get an idea of what was going on, but some facts were clear. The Presidential Palace had been compromised, with the status of any personnel in the area unknown, as well as the status of the politicians and leaders inside. No one was claiming responsibility, but Caraway figured it was only a matter of time. No one did something like this without desiring to be known for it, he mused.

"Sir! We've got a transmission coming through! It's from the Palace!" a young major, no more than twenty-five, had said to him, sending the older man moving quickly to a communications console, where a transmission was slowly breaking through. As the image resolved, General Caraway found himself staring at a middle-aged man, likely near his forties, with short-cropped black hair, brown eyes set into an impassive stare, and a Galbadian uniform of red, placing him as a commanding officer - and, judging from the ranking pips on his shoulders, a Lieutenant General at that. Caraway waited for the omnipresent Galbadian salute from the man, but it never came...the beginnings of the first sign that Caraway saw as something being wrong with the situation. Galbadian soldiers were known for being extremely loyal to their commanding officers, saluting and retaining discipline in even the harshest of situations. For someone of such a high rank to not salute the Chief of Staff was not only unthinkable, but it was eerily out of place.

"Hello, General Caraway," the man began, his voice a low and deathly tone. "I doubt you recognize my face - you high-ranking brass never do - so I'll begin by introducing myself. My name is Marcus Duran, Lieutenant General of the Galbadian Republic Army..."

The camera that was casting the transmission panned out suddenly as Duran spoke, allowing Caraway to see the full background behind the man. What he saw appalled him. Blood splatters laced the ornately-designed and decorated room, with bodies of several Galbadian soldiers and even a civilian or two lying in various positions around the room, blood pooling around their bodies and staining their clothing.

"...and you are going to listen to what I have to say, or else your country will lose fourteen of its most brilliant leaders."

"What the hell do you think you're doing, Duran?!" Caraway exclaimed, disgusted by the actions of one of his own. "Does the oath of loyalty you took mean nothing to you?!"

"Not when the Hyne-damned government has no loyalty of its own!" Duran retorted, his voice raising to a yell. "You know firsthand that the government doesn't give a rat's ass about anything but lining their own wallets! Think back, Caraway, back to all the dealings that Vinzer Deling made with the Sorceress. All for the sake of more power, more glory, more money...and at what cost? Thousands of our young men and women died fighting battles that they had no business fighting in the first place! It started at Dollet, but where will it end? Will his son throw our armies against Esthar just to prove a point?!" the Lieutenant General raged, eyes filling with malice and hate as he continued to rant.

Caraway's eyes narrowed to slits. "You know perfectly well that Deling wouldn't be that much of a fool."

"Do I? Hell, his father let the Sorceress throw our military against SeeD, of all organizations! Do you know just how many of our brave men and women we lost that day, Caraway? Do you?"

"Two thousand, seven hundred and eighty four." Caraway's eyes were impassive. "Not all of us are as uncaring as you seem to believe. I lost good friends that day...I won't ever forget just what happened the day that our military took on SeeD. But is that an excuse for murder, Duran? Is it?"

"It doesn't matter. If this is the only way to make the government stand up and pay attention, then so be it," Duran replied, the voice of a man committed to his course no matter the cost. "My demands are simple. Within the next two hours, I demand the public resignation of Vinzer Deling Jr., as well as his entire advisory staff. If two hours go by, and this demand is not met, then I will begin executing the hostages I have here, one per hour."

"You're crazy," Caraway breathed, looking at the viewscreen. "Deling will never agree to that!"

"If he values the lives of his fellow leaders, then he will resign. Two hours, Caraway...no more, no less."

The transmission cut off abruptly with those words, the Lieutenant General's face disappearing from the screen and causing Caraway to yell angrily. The President needed to hear of this, and quickly.

–End Flashback–

Caraway's thoughts returned to the present as more pieces of data began to come into the command center, reports on the amount and composition of the troops that composed the guard for the Palace. Just over two hundred soldiers, all in all, split into many different specializations. Snipers, demolitions teams, basic infantry, even a few special operations soldiers and Galbadian paratroopers. Whatever kind of force Duran had managed to wrangle together, it was diverse as well as large - approaching the upper limit of a company's size, in fact. And in a single building, sending in forces of his own would be like leading lambs to the slaughter.

The General pushed the immediate thoughts of the troop strength out of his mind as he sat down to one of the communications console. A direct line was set up between the President's residence and Galbadian Central Command for use in times of emergency, and Caraway thought that this qualified. It took a minute, but the familiar face of their leader, Vinzer Deling Jr. appeared on the screen, his short black hair looking a tiny bit disheveled but still very neat.

"General, I trust you've a good reason for disturbing me?" Deling asked, to which Caraway's expression became impassive.

"Sir, we have...a situation. At approximately 1430 hours, the security of the Presidential Palace was compromised. We received a transmission at 1446 hours from one Lieutenant General Marcus Duran, claiming responsibility for the actions. He informed us that he and his men have taken fourteen of the province leaders hostage, and are holding them inside. He is demanding that by less than two hours from now, you and your entire advisory board are to resign your positions, else he will begin executing the hostages that he has inside," Caraway explained, giving the President the facts as concisely and quickly as he could.

Deling chuckled quietly. "The Galbadian Republic does not negotiate with terrorists, General. Why haven't you sent our own soldiers in yet?"

"Sir, with all due respect, sending our own forces in there would be a slaughter. We designed that building to stand up to tremendous assault from without - sending even a battalion of forces might not be enough. Even if we send our forces in, we may simply end up helping Duran if the soldiers are secretly loyal to him. Plus, there is the risk that if we do anything overt, Duran will begin executing hostages ahead of schedule. I don't think either of us wants that."

"Then what do you propose?" Deling asked. "I've no intention of vacating the Presidency."

Caraway paused momentarily, the creases in his face deepening as he thought. Finally, he turned his attention back to the President, and said a single word. "SeeD."

"What?!" Deling's voice raised from calm to uncontrolled without warning, as if the mere mention of the organization had set his temper flaring.

"If anyone can get the job done in the short amount of time we have, it's SeeD. You know how that organization is run, and things have only been refined further with Leonhart in charge. I'm prepared to say that this is our best bet of resolving the situation as quickly as possible."

There was a pause, substantial enough for Caraway to know his President's displeasure.

"Call them."

"Yes sir." The transmission ended with that, leaving Caraway to turn to one of the nearby communications technicians in the room. "I need a direct line to Balamb Garden, immediately."

[June 30, 2152 | Balamb Garden, Third Floor, Operations Center | 3:29 PM]

Balamb Garden's operations center was the picture of peace, afternoon rays of sunlight streaming in through the large glass windows that surrounded most of the room. Several SeeD officers sat at various consoles, talking with the people next to them and laughing as jokes and stories were exchanged. It wasn't often that the Garden was peaceful, so everyone was taking advantage of the moment while it lasted.

"Uh...ma'am?" one of the officers suddenly said, sitting up straight at his console. "We've got a transmission coming in... it looks like it's from Galbadian Military Command." The one he was addressing, a young woman just barely in her twenties wearing the uniform of a member of Balamb's command staff, walked over towards the console as the officer spoke, wondering what the Galbadian military could be calling the Garden for.

"Patch it through," Xu said, her face a mixture of professional calm and slight curiosity. Moments later, the aged face of General Caraway appeared on the computer screen, only serving to increase the young girl's curiosity. "General Caraway...to what do I owe the pleasure of this call?"

"I wish I was making this call under better circumstances, but we have an issue here that we feel only SeeD can help resolve," Caraway explained. As quickly and clearly as he could, he gave Xu the same rundown of the situation that he had given President Deling, waiting for a response from the brown-haired woman.

Xu nodded, checking the notepad she'd used to take notes while Caraway had spoken. "So you are looking to hire SeeD, then," she asked, to confirm what she thought he was asking for.

"Yes," he replied, his tone diplomatic. "Our country deserves no less. However, we will need the best that your organization has to offer. Our intelligence is limited, and we know next to nothing about the total number of troops that Duran may have inside, nor of any additional hostages past the province leaders. This must be quick and flawlessly executed if we are to maintain control of the situation."

"Very well. Normally, I would send our own special operations team for a mission such as this, but they are currently away on another mission. I can, however, connect you to the Trabian SeeD Commander, Katanas DeValle."

Caraway inwardly cursed – Trabia was much further away than Balamb, but it looked like he had no choice in the matter at the present time. "Go ahead, then."

Xu nodded, as she started to press a few buttons below the display. "I apologize, I would normally recommend the Special Operations from Galbadia, but they too are on mission. Stand by."

Within a minute, the youthful face of Katanas DeValle appeared on the screen.

"Katanas DeValle. How can I assist you, General?"

Caraway got straight to the point. "Our country has need of your special operations division, Commander DeValle. Both Balamb and Galbadia Garden special operations are on missions, and we were informed that you may be able to assist us."

There was a pause on the line for several seconds as Katanas pulled up records on the terminal he was sitting at, before he finally looked back towards the screen with a nod.

"Very well. Trabia Garden accepts. My assistant, Ein Beoulve, will be in contact with you in a few moments to transmit you the contract and to answer any questions you might have. We'll be in Galbadia ready to deploy in four hours time."

Caraway resisted the urge to grimace. Four hours was much longer than Duran had given them. Nevertheless, he nodded to Katanas politely. "The Galbadian government thanks your organization, Commander. We'll give a destination for your troops to arrive at once the contract is confirmed."

Katanas nodded his assent as well, noting the information. "Agreed. DeValle out." The transmission ended a moment later, and a smile began to creep over Katanas' face as he began to open several communications channels – one to Ein, his aide, another to Ellie Night, and a third to his father.

"The cadets have wanted their SeeD exam for some time now. Opportunity always presents itself at just the right time, it seems."

[June 30, 2152 | Trabia Garden, First Floor, Dormitories | 3:52 PM]

The door to my dorm room at Garden creaks open slowly as I enter, seeing the room much the way I left it. The room is small, with a bed, table, small television, and other amenities in the room, connecting to a small bathroom from the right side of the room. It's enough for cadets, though, which is really all that's needed. The jacket to my cadet uniform comes off as I walk in, leaving me in just a white shirt as I toss the jacket lightly onto the bed for the time being. Yesterday was a very interesting day, and I found it hard to get back into classes today after what happened in the Ethereal Plane.

After the whole mess with Fayt, I spent the rest of the day - thankful that time is more or less irrelevant in the Ethereal Plane - learning about the structure and history of the place. I learned things about how it was formed, major events in Ethereal history, things about who the Pillars are and what they do, many different things on many different topics. One thing that interested me more than most of the other things was on the topic of Planeswalkers. I didn't realize just how many of them there were, or had been. Freya didn't just choose them from Gaia, she chose them from many different places. There were hundreds of Planeswalkers throughout history for the Ethereal Plane alone, much less the other realms that I was told of.

All the explanations and information that I learned did make me wonder several things, though. Chief among them, why have Planeswalkers at all? The Pillars were also capable of the same things that Planeswalkers could do, and more - why not just send them instead? Angel explained that it was mostly because of one simple fact, that fact being numbers. There were only three Pillars, after all. What if something happened that needed more than the three of them? The answer, though simple, made sense enough to me.

Secondly, I had asked why the Ethereal Plane needed armed forces, so to speak. The first part of the response that I got told me about the war that had recently, by Ethereal standards, happened. That in itself would have satisfied me, but then Angel explained the second part. All of the realms had some sort of "military" forces, even if they were not explicitly labeled such. It served as sort of a literal system of checks and balances, helping to ensure that no one realm was left defenseless on the occasion that another Realm got power-hungry.

Sighing, I head over to the refrigerator in the kitchen and pull out a red drink can with an image of a bright yellow chocobo on the side, popping the top and quickly downing a portion of the contents. A momentary crackling seems to come from overhead, and I turn, glancing at another feature of the room - a small speaker inlaid into the ceiling of each dorms for announcement purposes. Once cadets become SeeDs, they get some sort of communications device for use both within and outside of Garden, but cadets themselves receive announcements primarily through the speaker system throughout Garden - the faculty says it helps cadets learn to pay attention at all times, as well as learn to listen carefully.

"Attention," a voice began, one that I quickly recognize as that of Ein Beoulve, "will all cadets taking this quarter's field exam please report immediately to the third floor briefing room? I repeat, will all cadets taking this quarter's field exam please report immediately to the third floor briefing room? Thank you."

Blinking in surprise, I down another sizable chunk of the can's contents before opening the fridge again, putting the rest of the drink back inside and letting the door shut on its own. That one announcement has just made my day, figuratively speaking. I've been eagerly waiting for the field exam, and I'm ready to go out and get it done. My jacket is back in my hands in an instant, and I loop the garment around my shoulders, still putting it on as I head out the door in a rush.

Galbadia had their share of trouble in the game, and I felt like after the game would be no exception, seeing as how they got their president murdered by Edea and most of their military and Garden staff ransacked by Balamb. Hopefully, this plays out as well on paper as it does in my mind, but we'll have to wait and see. As for who is participating in the field exam...you'll see that next chapter. As always, please read and review.