The doors to the communications room opened with a swish, and Kaladar entered with his usual air of authority.� �Have you located her position?� he asked of his subordinate.
Aratak nodded a salute to his captain.� �Yes, sir.� I have triangulated her position to be within a crater at the northern pole of the planet.� She is buried beneath the caldera, but we should be able to extract her from the crater with little or no difficulty.�
Kaladar nodded.� �Will there be any chance of her survival?� he asked.
Aratak contemplated a moment before replying.� �Unsure, sir.� It is possible, but very unlikely.� She has been buried for an undetermined period of time.�
�But will the data that she has extracted be salvageable?� Kaladar pressed.
Aratak sighed inwardly.� It was his commander�s constant concern for intelligence gathering for the military over the concern of his crew that irked him more than his overbearing presence.� �It should be,� was his simple answer.
Kaladar grunted an approval.� �Very well.� Our navigator indicates an ETA of seventy-two hours.� Be prepared.�� With that, he turned and departed the room.� Aratak shook his head and returned to his work.
Cloud heard the thump of heavy military boots on tiled floor.� He opened his eyes a fraction and peered through his lashes so as not to alert anyone to his conscious state.� He could make out the boots of several soldiers standing nearby, all of them facing away from him.� He took the risk of opening his eyes, and then lifted his head slightly in order to take in the full view of the men standing with their backs to him.
They were dressed shabbily.� Whatever military prestige their uniforms once held had long departed, but there was still no mistaking the blue of the Shinra Army uniform.� Cloud didn�t think these were the same ones that had come to his farm and attacked him.� These four weren�t dressed as well as the others.� That meant that there was more of the Shinra Corporation left intact than Cloud had hoped.
The attack on his farm.� The thought brought Cloud around to question
the whereabouts and the welfare of his companions.� I hope Thorn and Vincent are all right.
His thoughts were interrupted by a new set of footsteps entering the room.� �You have brought me the specimen?�� The new voice inquired.
The soldiers snapped to attention, and then stepped aside.� Cloud shut his eyes quickly as the new arrival walked past them and knelt beside him.
�Now, now, let�s not start off our new relationship on a dishonest note.�
I know that voice.� But how is it possible?
A sharp jolt surged through Cloud, and he cried out as his eyelids snapped open and his body jerked upward into a sitting position.
Professor Hojo chuckled, his body quivering as he examined Cloud.� �I have to say, I�m impressed.� The failed experiment turned out to be stronger than the one I considered my greatest achievement.�
Cloud�s voice was as raw and harsh as his emotions as he sneered back at Hojo.� �Never underestimate the human factor, Hojo.�
Hojo grinned, mirth running through his entire frame, making it tremble with glee.� �The human factor?� How quaint.� My dear Mr. Strife, the human factor is exactly what I�m counting on.�
A gentle breeze blew across the deck of the Highwind as Tifa looked around at those assembled.� Cid had brought Barret and Yuffie to aid in the search for Cloud.� Cid�s face was a mask of concern.� She could see the tension within him, from the furrow of his brow to the tautness of his jaw as he clenched his ever-present cigarette between his teeth.� Barret�s great bulk and brash appearance belied his inner fear for his vanished colleague.� Even the normally flippant Yuffie was quiet, lost in her own apparent contemplations of Cloud�s possible whereabouts.
Nanaki stood beside her, looking up at her with a visage that betrayed both his hope and fear.� Cait Sith and Reeve stood to her left.� Both had volunteered to join in the search.� She pondered the ridiculousness of that thought for a moment before she remembered that Reeve had rewired Cait to run independent of his control.� Technically, it was Cait�s decision after all.� Tifa smiled at Reeve�s selfless contribution of his time away from running Kalm.� Even though Reeve had acknowledged that he could do little to aid in the search on the ground, he could help Cid on board the Highwind by assisting with radar sweeps.
�So,� Tifa began, brushing a stray lock of hair from her face.� �This is the situation.� We�re looking at two different escapes from Cloud�s farm.� One set of Chocobo prints headed back toward Midgar or Kalm.� The other led toward the mythrill mines.� That one appears to be a mountain Chocobo, so it�s not likely that they went through the mine.
�It seems as though Vincent had visited Cloud last night, and he is one of the three people missing.� The third is a farm hand, apparently.� This farm hand could be with Vincent, or with Cloud.�
�One other thing,� Nanaki added.� �The people who took Cloud are likely military or ex-military.� Be on your guard if you find them.�
�What about these lights in the sky?� Reeve asked.
Nanaki nodded.� �It is possible that there may be a connection with the lights in the sky and those who abducted Cloud.� We�ll need for someone to investigate those locations.�
�Reeve and I should do that,� Cid offered.� �We can cover that ground faster.�
Tifa nodded.� �Agreed.� So, let�s split up from here.� Cait and Barret, head back to Kalm and see if you can find anything there.� Nanaki and I will search the Midgar ruins for any sign of Cloud.� Yuffie, Cid and Reeve will drop you off on the other side of the mines.� See if you can track down this other Chocobo rider, and maybe find Vincent.�
They all nodded their agreement.� Tifa, Barret, Cait, and Nanaki all disembarked as Cid landed near Kalm, and then waved a quick salute as the Highwind took off again, bound for the Junon area.
�Something tells me we have our work cut out for us,� Barret grumbled.
�You�re not the only one with that feeling,� Tifa assured him.� �We mustn�t give up, though.�� She straightened her shoulders.� �Cloud wouldn�t.�
Barret nodded, and the four of them headed off.
Thorn looked over his shoulder at the man he held in a fireman�s carry as he crept through Junon village.� �Sorry about the rough treatment,� he muttered, �but we�ll soon be someplace where we can get you some help.�
He made his way carefully to the elevator doors that led to the City of Junon and pulled the lever beside the doors.� There was a ding as the elevator reached the ground, and the doors slid open.� Thorn looked around as he jumped inside.
The streets of Junon were awash with people walking in every direction.� Thorn tried to keep to the shadows of the alleyways as he made his way through the city.� Finally, he arrived at his destination.� He knocked three times in quick succession, and then rapped with one knuckle twice.
The door creaked open, and Thorn shoved his way in.
�Whoa,� the man inside greeted him.� �Long time no see, Thorn.� We thought the MP�s had picked you up.� They�ve been cracking down on us pickpockets lately.� I guess they�re trying to bring in the tourists or something.� I say, bring �em on.� Good business for us.�
Thorn clamped a hand down on his friend�s mouth.� �Seth, shut up.� You talk too much.�� He went to the cot in the corner of the room and set Vincent down gently.
�Hey,� Seth piped up again.� �Who�s the vampire-looking guy?�
�His name is Vincent,� Thorn replied.� �He�s one of my boss�s friends.�
�Boss?� Seth echoed.� �Since when did you have a boss?�
�Since a few weeks ago,� Thorn shot back, his head throbbing from the stress of his clandestine journey and the incessant nattering of his colleague.� �You remember when I went to Gold Saucer to bet on those Chocobo races?�
Seth nodded.� �Yeah.�
�Well, I met this guy there who raised chocobos.� He gave me a job as a hand on his ranch.�
Seth laughed out loud.� �So you dropped out of sight and worried your old pal to death to become a ranch hand?� Thorn I don�t know whether to deck you or laugh my damn head off.�
�I�m voting for the second choice,� Thorn smirked humorlessly, peering out the window.� �If you laughed it off, at least it�d be a little quieter in here.�
Seth was silent, unable to think up a retort.
Thorn turned around to face him.� �I�ll be back soon.� Keep an eye on Vincent.� I�m going to get us a few potions and some traveling money.�
�Traveling money?� Seth repeated blankly.� �For what?�
Thorn leaned back into the small dwelling through the half-open door.� �Just watch him, all right?�� He shut the door and headed off.
�O�K�� Seth replied meekly.� He sat down on the opposite side of the room and watched the dormant Vincent with a wary eye.