On the Way to a Smile, Episode: Shin-Ra [Revised]
In Sector Five was the residential area, originally built to house Shin-Ra employees, in the vicinity of the Mako reactor and warehouses. Only those with a pass could enter this area. It was surrounded by a high fence, and there was only one entrance. The large robust gate could only be opened with a numeric code. In addition, in a state of emergency, the system automatically switched to an emergency code known only to those with security clearance.
Rude and Reno made their way to the gate, constantly repeating the code Tseng had given them. When they reached the gate, they discovered it was already open.
“The army did this?”
“Possibly.”
They made their way to warehouse number 8, where the weapons were stored, cautiously looking in every direction. On their way they came to warehouse number four. They noticed the delivery entrance was left open. Reno and Rude looked for a hiding place where they could observe what was going on.
“Hey, they’re just average civilians.”
In the warehouse, they saw men and women of all ages, even children.
“Warehouse Four holds the construction tools and machinery.”
Just as Rude said, the people were carrying out construction equipment ranging from small to medium in size. The children were carrying smaller tools such as drills.
“What are they going to do with it all?”
Reno had barely finished speaking when they heard cheers from the direction of Warehouse Five. It seems they had managed to gain access to that one too.
“This is bad, Reno. The emergency fuel supplies are in Warehouse Five.”
“Mako?”
“No. Oil, gasoline, alternative fuels for emergencies. We’ll need it.”
“Well, this is great.”
Wanting to settle the situation as peacefully as possible, Rude and Reno stood before the crowd and spoke in a friendly tone,
“We’re personnel from Shin-Ra Company — Who’s in charge here?”
“I am,”
A beautiful young woman stepped forward. Actually, she was still just a girl.
“Oh?”
Reno looked at her.
“What are you doing here?”
Rude continued with a low voice. The woman suddenly looked anxious.
“We were told to collect the machinery we needed to build a town from—”
“By who?”
“A Mr. Kylegate from the army.”
“So it’s this Kylegate that told you the passkey to open the gate and warehouse door?”
“Yes, that’s right. Sorry, did we do something wrong? We heard that the Shin-Ra Army are now independent and were starting to rebuild the town so we came here as volunteers.”
She looked anxiously at Reno and Rude, who in turn briefly exchanged glances. They were curious what the army was up to, but the girl and the rest of the people really did seem to simply be volunteers.
“Well, if you’re just taking those tools then there won’t be any problems,”said Reno nodding at Rude slightly.
Quickly Rude added, “But only take the fuel you need for the time being. It must be rationed.”
“Yes, sir.”
The girl went back to work. Rude and Reno stood watching over them until they had finished gathering everything they needed. They watched the last of them loaded a small generator onto a trolley and pushed it out of the gates. The volunteers were all friendly and polite.They even thanked Reno and Rude as they left.
“Midgar has a bright future.”
“We can’t say that yet. Come on.”
“What?”
“We must secure transport, weapons and fuel. Then we have to change all the passkeys. The doors and gates – everything.”
By late night, Tseng and Elena had joined Reno and Rude, but even with their help, they didn’t finish up until the early hours of the morning. When the four finally got home, they decided to catch up on some sleep, but just before noon, they were suddenly awoken by Veld, who barged in out of the blue.
“You gave me quite a surprise for an old man who’s supposed to be dead.”
“I should be the one surprised that Turks are sleeping for this long.”
“You’re just happy to see us again, right?”
“—” Veld replied to Reno’s playful remark with silence, before beginning his report on Junon’s Liutenant Kylegate.
“The lieutenant was supposed to be on leave, but he has ordered his troops to Midgar. This morning he organized a meeting at the east of Midgar and made a speech. It was about the construction of a new town. He managed to get his hands on construction machinery belonging to Shin-Ra—”
“Veld… Sir,” Tseng began unsure how to address his former superior.
“Your information conforms to what we have gathered, but please tell me. On what grounds do you come to us with this information?”
Rude and Reno looked at each other, unsure of what Tseng was getting at. Veld was founder of the Turks.
“A reason—” Veld’s eyes narrowed. “Retribution, or perhaps paying back a favor?”
“—I thank you for your information, but there is no need for retribution, and you don’t owe any favors.”
“What the hell? ” Reno interrupted, “What’s all this about needing a reason for information and retribution? Who cares about that? I’m just simply—”
“Simply what?”
Tseng invited him to continue, but Reno quietened down. Veld gazed back and forth at the two of them.
“Reno. You Turks are like my—”
Veld couldn’t finish and swallowed his words, and the room fell silent. A moment later, Reno eagerly nodded and opened his mouth again.
“The tools were taken away by volunteers from the warehouse yesterday,”
He spoke in a formal tone, almost as if he was ashamed of his little outburst earlier.
“But a lieutenant shouldn’t know the passkey,” mused Rude.
“That’s exactly my point. While on vacation the lieutenant stayed in Kalm. And he knows the emergency code, which he really shouldn’t. Who gave it to him? And where exactly did the President disappear to?”
Hearing Veld’s words, they all suddenly stood up, but Tseng calmed them down and asked, “What kind of man is Kylegate?”
Veld shared all the information he had regarding Kylegate. He was born into a wealthy family, but after losing both his parents, he became head of the family. He really had no need to work for the military, but he applied, stating that he wanted to contribute to world peace by destroying the Shin-Ra’s enemies. As a soldier he was very competent, but his character left a lot to be desired.
“He is known to be sadistic and cruel. Whether it’s training or on the battlefield, he always goes one step too far. There are rumors that he joined the army just so he could legally indulge those sadistic desires.”
“I see—Then do you have any idea where the President may be?”
“—In Kalm. At Kylegate’s mansion.”
Before Veld could finish, Rude, Reno and Elena rushed out of the room, but Reno paused to look back—
“Where are the rest of the Turks? With the full group we’d be a hell of a lot more powerful”
“They are spread out around the world gathering information— But they’re also leading their own lives now. We all gathered together under Meteor because we all felt the same way that day. But we can’t force any of them to come along with us now.”
Hearing Veld’s words, Reno looked for a moment as if he wanted to object, but eventually left without saying a word.
“What do you plan to do now, Sir?”
Tseng as he made his way to the door to follow his subordinates.
“I’ll head back to Junon. Reeve should be on his way there now. ”
“That is curious.”
“Yes. And Reeve is not the only one you should keep in mind.”
“The Turks are different. Perhaps the same could be said of everyone that gathered that night. They are all loyal to your teachings.”
“In other words— They’re not exactly predictable,”
Tseng stood by the door, letting Veld go first.
“Get the President out of there.”
Tseng looked at Veld and muttered softly,
“I would have welcomed it after all this time, if you had come with us…”
