SIX

As we drove further south, the trees and grasslands eventually gave way to more dry badlands like what we'd seen around Midgar. We also saw more Shinra traffic, so we got off the road as soon as we could and continued driving south through the barren ridges and ravines toward Fort Condor. Behind me on the Hardy, Yuffie was quiet, but from how tightly she held onto me, I figured her motion sickness had been acting up again. Although I did what I could to smooth out the ride for her, it wasn't easy in the dusty and bumpy terrain.

As I'd thought, it was early afternoon by the time we finally saw the fort ahead of us. It sat at the base of a low, rocky hillside at the end of a winding ravine, and just a short distance above it was the mako reactor it had been built to guard. And we saw right away where the place had gotten its name. Right on top of the reactor's main tower was a condor, a huge bird bigger than any we'd ever seen before. Its feathers were rich and brown as it sat quietly on its nest, and I figured it had to be at least thirty feet tall with a wingspan twice that size.

"Whoa…" Wedge breathed.

Lena let out a low whistle as she gazed up at it from her seat in the Gust's sidecar. "Would you look at that…"

Biggs blinked. "Damn…"

"Wow, that's huge!" Yuffie gaped from behind me.

"Definitely impressive," I agreed.

We slowed down and drove carefully through the ravine as we got closer to the fort. There were a few boulders and clumps of rock laying here and there in the ravine, some with thick pipes in them that curved into the ground while more of them ran along the jagged, sloping walls on either side of us. Mako pipes. And I knew they must've stretched all the way past the fortress to the reactor.

Biggs was already looking around intently at the ravine, getting an idea of what the battlefield would be like as we drove on up to the fort. I knew we had to have been spotted by the lookouts by now, and I was right. As we pulled up in front of the main gate, we heard some shouts from the top of the wall, and when I looked up, I saw several men with rifles gazing warily at us. I nodded to the others, and we all relaxed and kept our hands away from our weapons.

One of the men called down to us. "Who goes there?"

"Friends," I answered. "We're here to help."

He thought for a moment, then said something we couldn't hear to one of the other soldiers. Just a few seconds later, the thick, heavy iron gate slowly slid open. It was a lot like the one at the 7-6 Annex back in Midgar. Then we drove on inside, and the gate closed again behind us. We rode slowly into a large courtyard full of small buildings and a few dirt lanes along with a collection of generators, pipes, crates, and other machinery and materials. The fortress itself stood ahead of us at the far end, and further up the hill was the reactor.

The front wall we'd just come through was several feet thick, made of metal like the gate, and spanned the entire width of the ravine. Stairs ran up to a pair of long ledges on either side of a small enclosed area in the middle right above the gate. The ledges were set four feet below the top of the wall so the lookouts could see above it out into the ravine as they paced back and forth, rifles in hand.

A dozen large turrets had also been set up along the wall at regular intervals, but they were old and bulky. I could see people working on a few of them, and I made a mental note to inspect them all myself later. They'd definitely be useful if I could get them running and tweak them a bit, and I decided to check out the weapons the men here had and see what I could do to improve them. From what I could see, though, I was definitely gonna have my work cut out for me.

There were a bunch of people moving about the area as we parked the bikes near the outer wall, but it was mostly men. And they looked a lot more like workers, engineers, and maintenance techs than soldiers. A lot of them wore gray coveralls spattered with black streaks of grease from working on machinery, and too many carried their weapons as if they didn't have much experience using them.

One of the men hurried over to meet us. "Hello, there! This is a bit of a surprise. We don't get many newcomers here, after all. But anyone who can help us is definitely welcome."

I held out my hand. "Yep! That's why we're here. Name's Jessie, and that's Yuffie, Lena, Biggs, and Wedge."

He shook it. "Edwyn. Good to meet you."

"Likewise!" I smiled. "We've also got a few more friends that are on their way here as well. They oughta arrive in another day or two. But in the meantime, we'll do what we can."

"Thank you," Edwyn said. "We've been fighting Shinra for months now. They send small sorties here and there, and so far we've been able to push them back, but this upcoming battle's gonna be bigger than any we've fought yet. We don't wanna push you, but we'd really appreciate it if you could stand with us and fight."

"We will," I assured him.

He slid a hand across his bald scalp. "Thanks. You'll wanna talk to my father for the details. He's inside the fortress, in his office above the main hall. I can take you there if you want."

I nodded. "Lead the way!"

We followed Edwyn across the courtyard and into the fort. Just like outside, the place was bustling with activity as people prepared for the coming battle. Edwyn led us into the main hall, and as I looked around the room, I realized the fortress must've once held a garrison of Shinra troops, most likely to guard the reactor.

The main hall was a large, long open room with two floors and an open doorway at the far end that led deeper into the fortress. It was all tiled metal floors, concrete walls, and bright lights. The second level, at least in here, was a wide walkway that went all around the room, had a low glass and steel wall along the edge that was about four feet tall, and overlooked the first floor. A few smaller hallways and doors led from it on both sides and levels to other parts of the fort.

Edwyn led us over to the far end under the walkway to an elevator tucked into one corner. Across from it on the opposite side was a door leading to a set of stairs. After riding the lift up to the second floor, we followed him over to a large office at this end. It had tall windows that looked out over the main hall, and when we went inside, we saw a man sitting behind a wide black desk.

He was older, maybe in his late forties or early fifties, and his dark hair was shot through with streaks of gray. A wide-brimmed brown hat sat on one side of his desk, and he was busy reading through a sheaf of papers when we came into the office. On the opposite end of the room stood a large conference table covered with maps of the ravine and the nearby region. Biggs gazed at it intently.

"Dad, we've got visitors," Edwyn told him.

The man looked up at us. "Hmm, now this is something. We don't get many people coming out this way. You all look capable enough, but this place is becoming a battlefield against Shinra. Sure you want to get involved? It might better to keep your heads down."

I folded my arms in front of me. "We didn't come here to hide. We came here to fight. Shinra's not gonna win."

"Damn right!" Biggs agreed.

"Just let me at 'em!" Yuffie added, throwing a few punches into the air. "They'll never know what hit 'em!"

Lena pumped her fist. "Yeah! What she said!"

"We just wanna help," Wedge added.

"Your eyes, miss… they're different," the man murmured, gazing at me. "Well, it seems you folks all have your own issues with Shinra. You must've heard about us and traveled a long way to get here, after all. So why don't you have a seat and I'll fill you in?"

I nodded. "Sure."

After we all sat down in the chairs around the conference table, he got started. "Firstly, my name's Samuel. It looks like you've already met my son, Edwyn. Anyway, before the revolt a few months ago, I was the chief maintenance engineer for this reactor."

"Revolt?" I wondered.

"I take it you've seen what's nesting on top of it now," Samuel went on. "Pretty hard to miss with how big it is."

Biggs looked thoughtfully at him. "The condor."

"It's really beautiful," Lena smiled.

"That it is, miss," Samuel agreed. "It first came here just over three months ago and built its nest on top of the reactor. Because of the heat, you see. The condor's up there warming its eggs, and from what we can tell, they only hatch once every few years."

She giggled. "Awww… that's so cute! Baby condors!"

"And Shinra's trying to kill them?" Biggs frowned. "Seriously? Like hell they will! We've gotta protect 'em!"

"Count on it," I swore.

Wedge blinked in confusion. "But, uh… why would Shinra wanna wipe out the condors? It doesn't make sense…"

I wasn't sure at first, but then I remembered. "There's some kind of special materia inside the reactor, Wedge. Cloud and the others told us about it back in Midgar, remember? How they snuck inside the Shinra Building that night to rescue Aerith and eavesdropped as the president and the other directors planned the whole thing."

"Right…" Biggs said.

"Special materia?" Yuffie's eyes lit right up.

I rolled mine. "Not now, Yuffie."

Samuel continued. "We found it just before the condor arrived. It's deep in the heart of the reactor. Never seen anything like it. Of course, Shinra tried to confiscate it right away. But… they also didn't want any witnesses. So that's what led to the revolt."

"The soldiers that were stationed here tried to kill you and the rest of the workers, didn't they?" I grimaced.

He nodded. "Some of them, yes. Under orders from the director of Peace Preservation at Shinra, General Heidegger. But at the prospect of slaughtering unarmed civilians, over half of them defected rather than obey, leading to a battle between the two sides."

I frowned, adding another reason to hate my father to the long list of ones I already had. "That son of a bitch… another thing he'll have to answer for. The soldiers trying to protect you guys obviously won. But I didn't see any on our way to meet you."

"They took heavy losses, unfortunately," he explained. "As for those that survived, they threw away their uniforms after the battle and wear civilian clothes now that they've rejected Shinra. Edwyn's one of them. He's the only officer left and has been doing what he can to help fortify this place. But our numbers aren't good."

Edwyn took over. "Shortly after the revolt, we sent our families to a small town on the southern edge of the badlands for their safety. We're committed to this fight, even if it is hopeless. We've only got about fifty men here, and Shinra's cut off our access to their network, so there's no way for us to communicate with anybody on the outside. At last report, they're gonna bring a thousand men and machines against us. We can't win against that. We're too badly outnumbered."

"Wrong," I insisted. "We can win. And we will."

"How?" he wondered.

I went on, knowing where to start. "First off, we won't be facing an entire legion. My friends and I saw to that on the way here. Collapsed the tunnel Shinra was using to move their troops south from Midgar. It won't be open again anytime soon."

Edwyn's jaw dropped. "Really? That's impressive! But we still need to find out what numbers the enemy does have. I'd send scouts, but all my men are busy preparing for the attack."

"Yuffie, Lena, you two just volunteered," I told them.

Yuffie blinked. "We did?"

I nodded. "Right. Both of you are good at not being seen when you don't wanna be. So I need you guys to find Shinra's staging area and get us information about what we're up against and exactly when they plan to attack. Oughta be three days according to what my sources in Shinra told me, but we need to know the exact time."

"Will do!" Lena promised.

"Well, why not?" Yuffie grinned. "It'll be fun!"

Lena rubbed her chin. "Say, once we do find the staging area, what about doing a few hit-and-run attacks during the night? Trash as many of their mechs and supplies as we can and then get the hell outta there before the soldiers even know what hit 'em!"

"Good idea!" I grinned.

"Definitely makes sense to weaken them as much as we can before the battle," Biggs agreed. "But we've gotta plan it all out carefully along with everything else or we're dead."

I smirked. "And that's where you come in, Biggs."

"Don't mind if I do," he quipped.

"What about reinforcements?" I asked Edwyn.

He sighed. "Before Shinra cut us off their network, we sent word to members of another garrison in the town we sent our families to. Men we knew we could trust. We asked for help, whatever forces they could spare, but haven't heard back in some time and have no way to know if they're sending anyone or if they even can."

"Sounds like a job for you, Wedge," I told him.

He gave me a thumbs up. "Just leave it to me, Jessie! I'll head out in a little bit on the Gust and bring as many guys here as I can as soon as I can. With luck, we'll be back by morning."

Edwyn nodded. "Thank you. I can show you here on the map how to get there whenever you're ready. And I'll let you know who you need to talk to once you get to town. Some of them might need a bit of gil to persuade them to fight, however. And that could be a problem since we don't have hardly any. I'm sorry to put this on you."

"It's fine, Edwyn," I assured him. "We can cover the cost. And trust me, I know just how good mercs can be."

Wedge grinned. "Yeah! Can't wait to see Cloud again!"

I smiled. "Me either, Wedge. Me either."

"'Course, he was also a SOLDIER, so he's way above the rest," Biggs chuckled. "Gonna be good to have him again. Tifa and rest, too. Got us a whole team of professional ass-kickers."

"Definitely!" Lena agreed.

Then I took my goggles out of my belt pouch and gave them to her. "Here, Lena. Take these with you, alright? They oughta come in handy while you and Yuffie are out there scouting."

She carefully put them on, settling them in place above her eyes for now. "Thanks, Jessie. We won't let you down."

"I know," I assured her.

"So what'll you be doing?" Edwyn asked me.

I already knew. "I wanna inspect those turrets out on the front wall for starters. I've got experience in this kinda thing, and half of them are barely functional and need a lot of work."

"Of course," he said.

"They're a bit beat up, but I know I can get them up and running," I continued. "I also wanna see all the other weapons you have, Edwyn. Guns, ammo, grenades—anything we can use. And I should be able to upgrade them so they pack more of a punch."

Edwyn nodded. "Anything you can do would be appreciated. We'll make sure you have everything you need."

Lena grinned. "Trust me, Jessie's the best at this!"

"Thanks, Lena," I chuckled. "Anyway, I've also got some ideas for a few traps we can set up in the ravine to slow down the enemy advance. As big and powerful as Shinra is, there's one thing they don't have, and that's a real air force. Just some choppers and cargo planes. So the bulk of their assault'll have to be on the ground."

"And they've only got one way to go," Biggs added.

Samuel shared a satisfied glance with Edywn. "I believe I see where our friends are going, son. And if we can put everything into place and get those reinforcements, we may have a chance."

"We just might at that," Edwyn agreed. Then he looked at me again as he went on. "You should know that we do have a pair of anti-aircraft cannons in storage along with four automated sentry guns. They're old, but they do work. Shinra brought them here when they built the place, but they were never actually installed."

"No time like the present!" I laughed.

Samuel smiled. "Indeed. While you're here, my friends, feel free to make yourselves at home. There are barracks in the back of the fortress and in the underground caves for when you want to rest, and I'll make sure our supplies are made available to you if you need anything. Meals are served downstairs in the mess hall throughout the day, and you can stop by whenever you're feeling hungry."

Wedge rubbed his hands together. "Thanks!"

"You really like your food, don'tcha Wedge?" Yuffie teased.

"Well, uh, yeah…" he replied. "I mean, you don't want me to do an important job on an empty stomach, do ya?"

I chuckled. "Don't you worry! I think we'll all refuel first before we do anything else. It was a long drive to get here, after all, and you're not the only one who's ready to get topped off."

"Thanks!" Wedge grinned.

"Sure," I told him. "But once we're done, we'll need to get started as soon as we can. We've got work to do."

He nodded. "I know. I'll head out once I'm finished."

"Be careful, Wedge," Lena urged him.

"You too, Lena," he answered, gently taking her hand.

She kissed him. "I will."

With our meeting over, my friends and I headed downstairs to get a bite to eat before setting out on our different tasks. We'd finally made it to Fort Condor, and now we had to find a way to win a battle against overwhelming odds. It wouldn't be easy, of course, but I knew we could do it. And what excited me the most and made me so hopeful was that soon enough, Cloud would be here, too.


Two days after our fight with the archdragon, we rounded a corner in the tunnel we were following and finally saw the southern exit of the mines. Bright afternoon daylight shone inside a short distance ahead of us where the floor sloped gently up to a low platform near the opening to South Argen, and all of us sighed in relief when we saw it. We'd been underground for days, and it'd be good to see and feel the sun again. As we all looked at each other, the girls giggled.

"Almost there!" Aerith beamed.

Tifa smiled. "Finally. I'll be glad to see the sky again."

"You ain't kiddin', Tifa," Barret agreed, gazing apprehensively up at the ceiling. "Thinkin' 'bout all that rock over our heads has been givin' me the chills the whole time we been here."

Red swished his flaming tail. "There was no need for you to worry, Barret. These mines are structurally quite sound."

He snorted. "Yeah, I know. Still gonna be real glad to be outta here, though. Been too long since I was last underground. A lotta years. Not as comfortable with it as I used to be."

"Still got us through," I reminded him.

"Sure as hell did, merc!" Barret grinned. "Guess I musta done a real good job to get a compliment from your cold ass, eh?"

I shrugged. "Whatever. Let's just go."

"I think that's a yes, Barret," Aerith laughed.

We'd made it here without any real problems. With the archdragon dead, most of the other monsters had fled back into the depths, and we hadn't had any trouble with the few stragglers we had come across. The trip here from the trading post had been pretty quiet as a result, and it would make things easier for the miners later. We were just starting to get underway again when someone stepped out in front of us from out of the shadows to our right, blocking our path.

"Hey. Remember me?" Rude said.

My eyes narrowed. "As if I could forget."

Aerith tightened her grip on her staff. "Why are you here?"

"You know what the Turks do," he answered.

"Kidnapping, right?" I frowned.

He nodded. "To put it negatively. But there's more to it now. It's not as easy to explain as you'd think…"

"It's alright, Rude," another voice said.

It belonged to a woman, a Turk we'd never seen before. She walked out from a passageway on the other side of the tunnel and joined Rude, wearing a crisp navy blue suit, pressed white shirt, and a black tie with matching shoes. Her blond hair was cut short with long bangs swept to one side, and her brown eyes were hard as rock.

"Elena," Rude glanced at her from behind his sunglasses.

She stood next to him. "I know you're not big on making speeches, so don't push yourself. I'll take care of it."

He gestured toward us. "Then explain it to them."

"Right!" Elena said. Then she put her hands on her hips and glared darkly at us. "You're looking at Elena, the newest of the Turks! Thanks to what you did to Reno back in Midgar that night, we're shorthanded. Although I did get promoted because of that…"

"You're welcome," I quipped.

She frowned. "Shut up! In any case, we're looking for Sephiroth to find out where he's going and take him down."

I snorted. "Good luck with that."

"Hang on a minute…" Elena blinked and scratched her head. "Isn't it the other way around? You guys are the ones always messing with us and getting in our way. Aren't you?"

"Little clueless, ain't she?" Barret chuckled.

Aerith smirked. "I'll say!"

Elena brandished her fist. "Want this in your face, bitch?"

"Try it and I'll have you flat on your ass before you can blink!" Tifa countered, hefting her mythril claws.

She didn't back down. "Anytime! I—"

"Elena, that's enough," another voice ordered. It was Tseng, and he strode out from a corridor near the exit to join her and Rude. "You talk too much sometimes. Save it for later."

"Y-Yes, sir," she stammered.

He continued. "I believe you've told them more than enough about our orders. Don't forget to file your report."

"Understood," she nodded.

Tseng looked at us. "So then… it's been a while, Aerith. Seems you managed to escape from Shinra thanks to Sephiroth's return. Well… at least for a little while. How fortunate."

Aerith didn't flinch from his piercing gaze. "So I should be grateful to him? Is that what you're trying to tell me?"

"No," he said. "You misunderstand. Be that as it may, we're not here for a fight. We were merely investigating reports we'd received that our mutual enemy had come through here."

"And now he's on his way to Junon," Elena added. "But we won't let Sephiroth escape. We'll catch him for sure!"

I exchanged an amused glance with Aerith and the others at Elena's little blunder. We'd suspected that Sephiroth would eventually head for Junon, but it was still good to get some confirmation. Elena was a rook, alright. Didn't know when to keep her mouth shut. Worked out for us, though. Tseng was already shaking his head.

He sighed. "Elena, you're missing the point…"

"Oh!" her eyes widened. "I'm sorry, sir! I just forgot!"

"Thanks for the tip," Aerith snickered.

Tseng looked back at her as Elena stood there fuming. "Well, then, take care. I'd advise you to stay out of Shinra's way, but somehow I don't think you'll listen. You've always been stubborn."

"Like a bad chocobo," she agreed.

"Indeed," Tseng replied. Then he turned to Rude and Elena. "You'd best be going. We have much to do."

Elena saluted. "Yes, sir! We'll take off in the chopper just as soon as you're ready. Fort Condor won't stand a chance against us despite what Jessie and her little group did to the tunnel."

"Elena!" he snapped.

Her hands flew to her mouth. "Shit! Not again!"

I blinked in surprise as the others and I all looked at each other for a moment. The last we'd heard from Jessie had been some time ago, not since she'd left Midgar. We'd been in the marshlands and mines for over a week now, so there'd been no way for her to contact us. But I was glad to hear she was doing well and pissing off Shinra.

"Oh, don't mind us, Elena," Aerith quipped. "Good to know Jessie's been giving you guys plenty of trouble."

Barret grinned. "Yeah, baby! Knew she'd kick some ass!"

"No surprise given what Shinra did to Sector 7," Tifa agreed. "And what we know about her. I hope her father's getting a big headache just thinking about it. After all he's done…"

"If he's not, I'll give him one," I growled.

Tseng frowned. "As if that scar wasn't enough. In any event, he will deal with his daughter when the time comes."

Aerith's eyes narrowed. "Like he did with her mom?"

"You had a hand in that, Tseng," I added. "She told us. Everything. You had your men plant those bombs."

"Sir?" Rude glanced over at him in surprise.

Elena blinked and did the same. "What? You don't mean that train accident from a few years ago, do you?"

Tifa didn't let up. "Guess he never told you guys, huh?"

Tseng folded his hands behind his back. "Enough. We've wasted far too much time here. Rude, Elena… go. Now."

"Yes, sir," Elena said.

While she hurried outside, Rude gazed at us for a moment. "Reno's really looking forward to seeing you again once he's healed. He'd like to show you his affection… with a new weapon."

Tifa glared at him. "I was about to thank you for not going through with dropping the plate yourselves back in Sector 7, but after what you just said, I think I'll pass. Tell Reno we're more than ready to pound his ass right back into the ground again."

"He'll get the message," Rude answered.

Then he left, and it was just Tseng. He gazed at Aerith. "Well, then, take care, Aerith. And if you're still set on going to Fort Condor, then I suggest you watch yourself. It'll be dangerous."

She sighed. "Odd, hearing that from you of all people."

"Just stay out of Shinra's way," he told her.

With that, Tseng walked outside, and as we all got underway again and approached the exit ourselves, we could hear the sound of a Shinra chopper taking off somewhere in the distance. From what we'd learned through Elena's blabbing, the Turks were gonna be personally involved in the battle for Fort Condor. I'd suspected it but hadn't known for sure until now. Jessie, Biggs, and the others were on their way there and had done some damage to Shinra's plans in the process. And Sephiroth was bound for Junon. With luck, we'd find him there.

But first, we had a fortress to defend.