Chapter One :: Call to Arms

[Reese]

Reese had been standing back against the wall, watching everyone who spoke, silently and expressionlessly listening. Watching Hadrian wear on Leonhart's patience was wearing on his own as well.

"If I may,"

He pushed himself away from the wall and straightened, his arms falling to his sides as he approached the table. His gaze settled on Hadrian. "I have a few guesses as to how they pulled it off. Just as you probably have guesses of your own." His voice was strong and level. "We could sit here together and guess at it all fucking night, but nobody will have concrete answers until we have more information to base them upon. Coincidentally, acquiring more information is exactly what this meeting and mission are about."

Reese stepped back from the table and returned to his wall.

"We need you to be mentally prepared for what you are about to attempt, so you should probably stop questioning everything you are being told and instead focus on the matter at hand."

[waterlily43]

Rayden's glance darted between the Headmaster and Hadrian, a tiny smirk twisting his mouth. He had to hand it to the hacker. Nobody else had the gall to give attitude to the Headmaster the way he did. What a way to use his priviledged status as the only hacker on the team.

/I also call it foolhardy. I hope you don't get influenced by him, Raydie./

Rayden then turned his attention on Reese Amaerick. He couldn't help thinking back to the little scene between him and Stardust, it was an unforgettable scene after all. But there were more important stuff nudging at his brain, and this guy could answer them.

"I have a few questions..." Rayden started clearing his throat, his smirk already wiped off his mouth when he had opened it. "Mostly for Reese Amaerick." He turned to look at Reese.

"Regarding the elevator that would take us into the compound, how often do they change the activation code? Can you be sure that they have not changed it from the last time you accessed the elevator? And if the code has indeed been changed, is there an alternative way that wouldn't require entry by brute force?" He paused, the shadow of the smirk returning. "Since I assume that would be the last thing we would want to do."

----------------

Jaime looked at her cookies. Nobody wanted them.

She sighed. Her fellow Opps had told her nobody in their right mind would have the appetite to eat them, but she insisted. Who knows, one bite and they would've known the joys of cookies and flung all their other worries away.


/MOOGILY EAT ALL OF THEM IF JAIME LET MOOGILY/

/Nooooo Moogily you'll get a tummyache if you eat those. And shhhhhhhh Jaime's trying to use her rusty brainnnnnn!!! Pinky and the brain! Da~~dada dadadadadada!!Jaime is Pinky and we da brain!!

Jaime tried to ignore the noisy GFs in her brain, and concentrate on the questions being flung to and fro, trying to look like she understood what everything was all about. She was sure that when the real mission came about she would able to rely on Reese Amaerick's lead and her own instinct to do her stuff but right now, she was a lost sheep.

She looked at Van with the same confused look on her face.

Maybe Van can tell me what's happening after this.

-----

Jun had to refrain from shooting glares at Hadrian when he started dissecting Balamb Garden's security and being smart mouthed to Headmaster Leonhart. But of course it would do no good seeing as not even the Headmaster's stony tone could dissuade him from keeping his mouth shut. The glares would probably just fly right above his head and bounce off the walls. She couldn't help thinking that if Trabia had been the one bombed how would he have reacted? (Of course she had no desire at all for that to happen, but it was a harmless rhetorical question). The man had no empathy for other people. It wasn't as if Balamb Garden was an unaffliated Garden, and yet here he was being disrespectful.

/You're just sore that he was right about Balamb Garden's shoddy defense./

It is not shoddy. If the Dotna wanted to hide a tiny bomb inside a massive ship like B-Garden, they'd make sure to hide it in some sneaky place where it's positively undetectible like the inside of a bidet. An abandoned bidet that were once inhabited by stalkers. Because Dotna is scum. And you all have short term memory loss and seemed to have forgotten Dotna's little infiltration during Adel's battle.

/A game of chest, Ramius?/ Sapphy asked his new companion, choosing to ignore her rant.

\If you wish./

She groaned inwardly. Just her luck to have landed two ancient men doddering about in her head.

She refused to dwell upon that image, instead choosing to focus on Deo's explanation about the bombings. She was impressed to the point of having her mouth slightly open without her noticing it. So underneath that slouch and unassuming demeanor was a brain as sharp as a katana...

She was sure that brain would be a nice bonus for their mission this time. Then made a little note to speak with Deo about it.

Jun cracked a little smile.

Thank Hyne for small favours. I'm probably with the most normal team amongst the three. She thought, her head turning a bit to look at Lawric. But the man seemed to be a little preoccupied, the expression on his face hovering on uneasiness. It wasn't the right time to ask what was wrong, she knew, but it didn't stop her from being concerned.

She shifted her hand from her lap and rested on his, giving it a little squeeze, then deposited her hand back in her lap..

[Gemma Ridean]

Hearing that she was placed in the Dotna security team. Gemma felt a little out of place. Frankly, she was surprised that she was picked for the role of "human punching bag no. 4". Honestly, working with Blaze, Rayden, and Zacke? Who was she but a skinny girl with a stick?

/Does our master suffer with confidence problems?\

\We usually try to refrain from mentioning that./

Thank you guys, for being so supportive.

/Was that sarcasm? Aracroix does not know.\

\Someone talks too much./

Both of you stop!

Gemma brushed a wild strand of hair from her face and let out a small sigh. If anything, she was more useful going to the Dotna laboratories...she could have helped with the chemical analysis of those biological weapons..what if someone accidentally sets one off on their way out? A part of her wanted to yell out and insist that she be transferred to a different party. At the same time...she couldn't help but wonder that maybe Squall just had that much faith in her fighting abilities?

Shaking her head, she tried to clear her mind of that, and instead, focused her attention on what Rayden was now saying.


"Regarding the elevator that would take us into the compound, how often do they change the activation code? Can you be sure that they have not changed it from the last time you accessed the elevator? And if the code has indeed been changed, is there an alternative way that wouldn't require entry by brute force? Since I assume that would be the last thing we would want to do."

Gemma raised an eyebrow, impressed by the thoroughness of his thinking, for she would have said the same thing."

However, another idea compelled her to speak up as well.
She directed her question back to the Commander.

"So, our objective is to retrieve the all files and data from their database. Would it also help, once we're in lockdown, if we bug the place for future surveillance? After all, we're going to need further information on a future, but inevitable, Dotna counterstrike."

[ST]

At Gemma's suggestion, Squall's eyebrows raised -- not greatly so -- but sufficiently enough to convey that he was impressed by her thinking. He glanced at Seifer briefly, before looking back at her and nodding his head slightly. "Yes, Ms. Ridean, you are following a clever train of thought. And if you're not personally capable of accomplishing something that technical," His gaze flicked to Hadrian. "I assume D'Arcell is?"

It was a rhetorical question, and he began speaking again before any response could be made.

"Just let me know exactly what equipment you need, and it will be provided." He looked back at Gemma. "Once again -- good thinking."

[Reese]

Reese allowed Squall time to address Gemma before pushing away from the wall again, this time facing Rayden.

"And to answer your question; yes, if the elevator's activation code is different, there is another way. There's a pub in Timber controlled by DotNA. Literally -- the employees are all members of DotNA. There is a staircase in the back of the pub that leads down into the compound. But obviously in order to reach this staircase and make a quiet entrance down there, we'd have to... well, 'silence' everyone working the pub."

He shrugged. "And even if we manage to pull that off without drawing much attention, the staircase will have us emerging somewhere down in the middle of the compound, at a wide corridor intersection. It's a high-traffic area and we'll be spotted immediately. There aren't any security rooms very close where D'Arcell can use computers to lock us away from them or cut alarms. It'd be like parachuting into a war zone instead of skirting the fringes. We'd likely become trapped in there and never accomplish anything.

"So anyway, yeah, we have a second option. But it's not a very great one."

[Zacke]

It had been sitting there for a while, but Zacke had strangely managed not to noticed the heaping plate of cookies sitting in the middle of the table. And although reaching out for one might have made him seem distracted from the discussion going on around him, he was still listening intently. He just wanted a cookie.

He brought it to his mouth and took a bite, chewing and looking up at Reese while he answered Rayden's question. And then he realized that not only had he managed not to notice the cookies all this time, but he had also managed not to notice something else that was incredibly sweet.

Blaze hadn't said one word yet about Reese being their guide.

His gaze traveled over to her immediately at the thought. Surely she would be the one to have problems following him around -- she never trusted Reese. Hated him, even. Had something changed her mind about him? Awww. Probably not, actually, but the thought was amusing for Zacke. Ultimately he decided to dismiss it, though, and continued eating his cookie. If she really had no problem with Reese's involvement, then cool. No drama.

As Reese neared the end of his lengthy answer, Zacke mulled over things in his mind to see if he could think of anything he felt he needed to know. The overall idea seemed solid enough. It had been a fairly vague briefing, though.

/They are leaving you all room to work with./ Iris' voice was a serene echo amidst his thoughts.

Like always, she made sense to him.

Still, he felt like they should have more. He didn't know what specific question to ask -- just more in general. The idea of so much weighing on Hadrian, Deo, and Reese didn't sit well with him at all. Hypothetically, if one of those three men were to die before completing their objective, their respective team was basically screwed. And Zacke didn't want it to be like that. He wanted to believe everyone had more of a safety net, some type of 'Plan B' course of action. He wanted to be optimistic, but he also wanted to be safe.

[Gemma Ridean]

After Gemma spoke, she held her breath, anxiously waiting to hear Squall's response to her suggestion. In fact, his immediate response was the singular movement of his eyebrow. His eyebrow. Finally--

"Yes, Ms. Ridean, you are following a clever train of thought. And if you're not personally capable of accomplishing something that technical," His gaze flicked to Hadrian. "I assume D'Arcell is?"

She exhaled, feeling a warm sense of relief flood throughout her body. However, the commander's inquiry about who was going to carry out the task must have been a rhetorical question because before she could add in another word, the commander quickly continued on to say, "Just let me know exactly what equipment you need, and it will be provided." He looked back at Gemma. "Once again -- good thinking."

Such praise from Squall was enough to make her blush. However,
not wanting to give the impression that she was so easily affected, she shrugged off her embarrassment, and abruptly interjected, "With all due respect, commander, I think that considering the time crunch we'll be facing once we reach the security center, I hardly think that D'arcell will be able to complete both tasks in time. I myself have received adequate training in reconnaissance and surveillance operations at Trabia Garden. Frankly, sir, I'm saying that I'd like to be given this assignment." Pausing for a second, she turned to face Hadrian. "Because D'arcell's experience with technical devices far exceeds my own, perhaps he would like to provide me with some additional training before the mission? "



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Btw, Reese's banner reminds me of a painting by Magritte. He had a thing for bowler hats. anyways, that little fact makes it even more awesome!!!

[ST]

^{Thanks. ^.^}

---

"If you feel that further training will be necessary, you and D'Arcell must work something out." Squall answered. "Otherwise, I place my trust in your abilities. The assignment is yours."

His gaze traveled between Zacke, Rayden, and Blaze. "D'Arcell is still your number one priority, but keeping an eye on Ms. Ridean as well wouldn't be a bad idea."

He paused for a moment, cleared his throat, and pulled from within the open briefcase a large and stiff sheet of folded poster board. "Now, I've got something here for the other group of you, the ones who aren't going down into the compound." With a subtle sigh, he slid the tray of cookies aside and unfolded it in the center of the table.

"This is a blueprint of the Timber broadcast tower. Using this, you'll be able to find your way around." He glanced at Seifer. "Commander Almasy can highlight and maybe describe for you exactly where each strut is located, that way you know how to find what you're destroying." He looked back at the rest of them. "You'll be able to take it with you, but I would still advise that at least one or two among you take the responsibility of familiarizing yourselves with it. A map will do you no good if it is somehow lost or destroyed in the fray of battle."

[Lawric]

Lawric felt himself distracted at Jun's touch, but only for the moment. He glanced at her briefly and looked away again, trying to muffle out his reeling thoughts and actually listen to the discussion taking place.

He couldn't help it, though. Images of their excursion to Dollet kept creeping into his mind -- Signe's flawed grand scheme to assassinate Governer Arland. Fragments of what happened flashed before him; memories of the little girl and the green mist, of everyone losing eachother. Everyone fell in that battle. It was the first time they really got themselves into something beyond their capabilities. They woke up in captivity. Only half of them were set free.

With this, there would be no captivity and no chance of freedom. There would be a slaughter.

"This is insane... " he hissed under his breath to Jun. He looked away, his expression grim and resolute. "This is insane." he repeated it again, firmly and at a volume everyone could hear, his gaze wavering from face to face. "We're going to die."

[Jax Ridean]

Leaning forward off the wall to get a closer inspection of the blue prints held in Seifer's hands, Jax tried to decipher the mass of dotted lines and squiggles that seemed sporadically sketched all over the blue sheet of canvas.

Man..and one of us is supposed to remember all this?

But before he had the chance to remove himself from recommendation, a jarring voice cut through the air.

"This is insane."

Jax wasn't the only one shocked. That single statement had brought the whole room to a stand still, and like the rest of them, he could only stare with bewilderment at a certain person sitting in the seat besides Jun.

His face was twisted into a grimace, his lips curled in bitterness and his eyes. They looked empty. Lifeless. It was as if Jax found himself staring into the face of defeat.

Now that it was apparent he had the floor, Lawric took his time, taking a second to glance at each every one of them.

"We're going to die."

Jax's eyebrows shot so far up that they could have kissed his hairline.

What the hell...?

"Ahahaha..." he chuckled nervously, hoping that this would break some of the awful tension that was currently suffocating the room.

"Hey steady on now...I know it's a complicated map, but let's not let that get in our way. I mean, the mission hasn't even started yet. Actually...." he whirled around to face the two commanders. "When exactly are we leaving?"

[stardust]

Stardust pretended not to hear Lawric's complaint. It wasn't that she was interested with this mission, there was just something about wimpy guys that didn't sit well on her good side. She stood up from her seat to get a good look of the map Squall unfolded on the table.

"If noone in my team wants to familiarize with the map, I'll do the honors," she said, staring at the spot where the broadcast tower was. It was in the heart of Timber commercial area. With only five people, she wondered how they could evacuate all of the civillian in the area.

/Uh...Proclaim that Armageddon is nigh?/ Diwata suggested. /You can scream it out. Everyone will hear, that's for sure./

She wanted to get more help, but she really didn't want any of those people to be added with them. This would be fine.

"Commander, I would like to have a request once we start the mission," the pinkhead seriously stated. "Would it be possible to provide us a vehicle equipped with multi-stereo and amplication devices? And I'm not talking about a karaoke microphone. But...Something used for a mass broadcast."

/Hey! Did your head got broken since your "bestfriend" dumped you? What are you talking about? Your Garden just blew up. How could they have that??/

Stardust waited for a reply.

They better provide us.

[Hadrian D'arcell]

Hadrian yawned and absentmindedly chewed on one of the cookies in front of him.

Whose cookies are these? he wondered.

Great, now Gemma, the famous rich girl of Trabia, wanted to learn the ways of hacking. Or bugging, whatever. It could work, though he doubted the DoTNAs would still want to use that HQ once they were done with it.

Once Squall presented the map for the other group, Lawric's little moment caught his attention. He looked so...frantic. For someone who was brought up from the dead, he sure was pretty scared of death. Nice guy Jax already went and comforted the guy. He bet Jun would say some comforting words just about now.

Swallowing the cookie, he added, "Lawric, eat your cookie. You're out of sugar." He smirked to annoy him. The cookie was oozing with happiness. It was weird in a way, but that was the only way to describe it. The hotel's service was competent. "And...I'm with Jax. I'm ready to leave when everyone is." He looked at the two commanders. "No need to worry about my equipments."

[ST]

Squall sighed and looked away from Stardust to first address Jax's question.

"Those of you who accept this mission will stay at this hotel tonight and leave tomorrow. The replacement ship will be serviced, full of fuel, and waiting at the Balamb Airpad at o'five-hundred hours. I've arranged for the morning transit bus to act as a private chauffeur for this occasion. It will arrive here at four-hundred thirty and leave at five, so please be ready.

"If there is anything you think you will need that you have not brought with you -- weapons, equipment, clothing... please let me know immediately after the meeting and I will have it over-nighted."

His gaze settled on Stardust. "Unfortunately, I cannot provide you with anything in Timber -- vehicle or otherwise. Perhaps I could if this were a mission in Deling or Esthar, but Timber is a different story entirely. Garden has no sway there, so neither do I. You'll have to figure out what you need and how to get it once you are there. Which is why I've chosen you all. You're resourceful and efficient. You'll manage."

[Zacke]

Zacke couldn't possibly contain the little quirk at the corner of his lips brought on by Stardust's suggestion. 'Would it be possible to provide us a vehicle equipped with multi-stereo and amplication devices?' The twitch grew into a smirk. When the hell did you start needing an amplifier, Sergeant?

It was a comment he might have actually made out loud, if not for the presence of Squall and Seifer. The show Stardust put on at the Ball was quite enough. He had no desire for them all to witness her throw herself at him like a wild animal yet another time.

With that thought on his mind, he realized he did have one question. He looked at Squall.

"Headmaster Leonhart, are you going to appoint leaders?" he asked. "Or is there to be any chain of command among the teams?" He gave a very brief and covert glance Stardust's way, before locking eyes with the Headmaster again. "I'm just bringing this up because... well within this particular group, there are a few people who are good leaders and a few people who think they are good leaders, but they're really just self-absorbed headcases that make it harder on the good leaders to be good leaders. So... ?"

[ST]

Squall raised an eyebrow at Zacke.

"No."

He glanced at Seifer briefly, before looking back at Zacke and continuing.

"We're not placing any of you in a position of authority over others. I really don't think it would make a difference. As pathetic as it is, there will still be fighting." He paused for a moment, letting the weight of those words settle.

"If there are no more questions, this meeting is adjourned."