Chapter Thirty

[owlmoose]

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Chapter ThirtyLater, after the bustle of greetings, reports and re-integration were complete, Squab took the opportunity to meet with Lucil alone in a little grove near the road.

"I hear you guys had a rough time of it." She settled down against a tree. "Three fights with not much of a break. Wish I'd been there."

"I'm glad you weren't," Squab answered seriously. "I would have been worried about you. If Nooj hadn't known what he was doing, we would have lost that fight with Sin and would have been wiped out."

"I always knew he would be a great commander when he got the chance. Is he still as sad as he always seemed to be?" She did not move away when Squab's shoulder came to touch hers.

"It's not so bad these days. He and Paine ... you know?"

"He's let somebody get close to him? Never thought it would happen. He's a great Warrior."

"I know; I served with him when he was fresh out of training. We were captains together for a little while. Back on the Mi'ihen Highroad." His hand crept over to hers and, spider-like, his fingers climbed her palm.

"You knew him when he was intact? Was he different then?" Without looking down, she laced her fingers into his.

Squab smiled happily. "He was pretty much the same. He always took things seriously, never laughed much. He's a deep thinker, you know."

"So are you." She whispered and turned to face him.

"And you are not only a warrior and a strategist, you are beautiful." Squab pulled her to him and kissed her, at first tentatively then, when she did not draw away, with greater passion. And then ...

-X-
The two remaining maesters were up with the sunrise the next morning, taking in the scene from the courtyard atop St. Bevelle.

"So this is the rebellion that was never going to come to anything." Grand Maester Mika buried his hands in the folds of his robe and glared at Kinoc. Kinoc did not reply; instead he turned his back and looked out over the entrenched army. His stomach had tied itself into a cold knot when the news of Macalania's fall arrived, and there had, as yet, been no reason for it to loosen. Seymour's advisor Baralai had told a harrowing tale -- the warrior monks routed after an ill-fated attack, Kinoc's closest ally within their ranks killed, Seymour murdered when the Lady Dona turned traitor and threw her lot in with the rebels, the former priest disguising himself as a nun to escape. A little suspicious, that. Kinoc had already set someone to the task of keeping an eye on Baralai at all times.

He pressed his hands into the railing and sighed. How had everything gone so terribly wrong?

"Orders, your grace?" Captain Logos, promoted since he had been the only member of Kinoc's guard to escape the battle at Mushroom Rock with him, stood at attention a few paces back, along with a small group of warrior monks.

Kinoc turned around and considered his men. Between the warrior monks stationed in Bevelle and the local Crusaders who had stayed loyal to Yevon -- about a third of the total, although the generals had all proved uncooperative; they had found themselves in the Via Purifico, and good riddance -- the temple had enough troops to defend itself against the army below, so long as the walls were not breached. The Al Bhed, whom Baralai had warned were almost certainly on the way, were a concern, but Kinoc had been keeping tabs on their military capabilities for nearly a decade now, and he thought it unlikely that they had enough battle machina to make a difference, especially considering the temple's own stash of the mechanical warriors. There were provisions to last several weeks, hidden ships prepared for an evacuation, and, as a last resort, the powerful weapon buried deep beneath the temple. Yes, he decided, this was far from over.

"We wait," he said, "as we discussed last night. If attacked, you have two top priorities: hold the walls, and dispatch sharpshooters to take out the leaders. Set your men into position, on short shifts; we want everyone as rested and ready as possible. Understood?"

"Aye sir." The captain saluted, then made a deep prayer bow to the Grand Maester, who acknowledged the fealty with a nod. He waved sharply to the others, who saluted their leader, then followed him down the steps and back into the heart of the temple.

Mika regarded the other maester, eyes cool and unreadable. "I am entrusting Bevelle to your hands," he said after a time. "Do not disappoint me."

"Your confidence is appreciated," Kinoc replied sourly.

"Your grace!" The shout came from Logos, who had paused halfway down the steps. He pointed a long arm out to sea. "Ships. Perhaps half a dozen. Al Bhed from the look of it."

Kinoc glanced at Mika, who nodded grimly. So, they were to face the ancient opponent after all. He took a mental inventory of the battle machina stored in the Via Inifinito and hoped they would be enough. Otherwise, an even older machina might have to be invoked in the defense of Bevelle.

-X-
Nooj glared at his half-empty breakfast plate. "Why does he have to know?"

Paine bit back a harsh retort and modulated her words into a semblance of rationality. "Because he cared enough to get a promise out of you and he's my closest living relative and I think he would like to believe that his niece is going to be happy."

"So you want me to march up to him and tell him I have changed my mind about the most central part of my existence?"

"Yes -- unless you've changed it back. Have you?" She raised an eyebrow as her heart lost a beat.

"No, you know I haven't. Why don't you tell him? He's your uncle."

"It'll come better from you. Of course, if you're too scared to tell him, I suppose I can do it." She started to push her stool back from the table.

"No, no. I'll do it. You think it's really necessary? Woman, I must love you or you couldn't talk me into these things." He took a final deep swallow of his tea and, choking on the draught, lurched to his feet. "By all the aeons on Spira, I must love you."

-X-
"Sir Auron," Nooj spoke from the entrance to the tent. He was glad to find the older man alone. "May I have a short word with you?"

The guardian looked up and nodded. "Of course, I was just having another cup of tea. Will you join me?"

After a moment's hesitation when he realized he had better have something to occupy his hands, Nooj took the offered chair and reached for the cup the other was pushing across the table. "Thank you, sir."

There was an awkward silence broken by the two speaking together.

"Well,..."

"Sir ..."

Auron smiled and gestured. "Please."

"Sir, I have something to tell you which you may want to know. About the ... the ... matter we discussed earlier ..."

"Your legacy to Paine?" Auron tried to help.

"No, sir. Earlier than that. Back when you told me about your particular condition."

"Are you still troubled by that? What can I tell you to ease your mind?"

"No. No, sir. Not that. About my particular condition. The ... the Deathseeking." The words came out in an explosion of air and Nooj sank back in the chair, satisfied that he had explained things to perfection.

Auron looked at his protege with a puzzled expression. "You want to be released from your promise? Can you wait until after the battle tomorrow? I confess I am sorry to hear this. I had hoped you might reconsider and when I saw how things were between you and Paine, I had convinced myself that you had done so. I shall regret losing you, my friend."

Nooj, astonished at the response, leaned over the table, almost knocking over his tea. "But, but I have. Reconsidered, I mean. I have promised Paine that I won't try to die so long as she is alive. I thought I had lost her to Sin and it made me ..."

Auron smiled sympathetically as the meaning of the words sank in. "Made you see how much a loved one's death could hurt those left behind. You had never thought of that before?"

"I never really loved before." Nooj stared into a distant corner, unable to meet the eyes of the older man.

"Well, I must say I am delighted to hear your decision. It is a wise one, you know. You are a valuable asset to the world as you are and would do nothing to better things by your death. Not to mention the grief you would leave not only to Paine but to me and many others. Nooj, I am very glad you told me this. I know how hard it is for you to let other people into your privacy. I am grateful." He leaned forward to clap the Commander on his shoulder.

Nooj smiled somewhat shame-facedly. "Paine persuaded me you should know, sir."

Auron threw back his head in a howl of laughter. "So it was her idea! I should have known. You must really love her!"

Nooj nodded ruefully and echoed his elder's laughter, albeit with somewhat less enthusiasm.

-X-
When he left the tent of Sir Auron, Nooj felt his spirit considerably lightened by having the unwelcome duty done. He was on his way back to Paine and his interrupted breakfast when he became aware of an excited stir around him like the hum of a disturbed bee hive.

"Are you sure?" an archer queried a soldier.

"Yeah, I recognize the ship. It's flying the Al Bhed flag."

"Could you see who's on board?"

"Not so clear. Looked like a lot of people crowding toward the land'ard side." The soldier was in a hurry to return to the overlook point. He had only left in order to relieve himself and was buttoning up his pants as he trotted back.

"I hear Gippal's come back," the exuberant voice of a healer cut through the hubbub.

"Gippal? That gorgeous pirate of a man?" The other woman clutched herself in mock delirium.

"That one and I saw him first!" The two embraced one another and chortled.

One warrior monk from the Macalania Temple turned to his counterpart from Djose and grumbled. "What do we need with a bunch of the Al Bhed heretics? They'll bring us bad luck."

"You still buying the Yevonite lies? Nothing wrong with Al Bhed. They're fierce fighters, scared of nothing and singing as they kill. If you're hanging on to temple teachings, you got no place in this army and Commander Nooj'll kick you out -- if Commander Kal doesn't do it first."

The first man hastened to explain. "No, I didn't mean that. I've never fought alongside that race and just thought they were famous cowards. Sorry, don't tell anyone."

"I won't if you straighten up." The Djose monk looked sharply at the other.

The murmur from the crowd was resolving into a steady repetition of Gippal's name. Nooj thought he had better check out the situation and turned toward the elevated bluff overlooking the landing site.

By a common consensus, that place had been reserved for the leaders of the force. Kal was there, together with Squab and Lucil. Auron was striding rapidly to the scene, trailed by Paine who was carrying a bag of something.

"Nooj," Kal called out. "I was about to send for you. It looks like the Al Bhed have arrived."

"So I've heard." Nooj beckoned Paine to his side. "What are you carrying? A gift for Gippal?"

"No. You didn't finish your breakfast so I brought you some fruit and a couple of buns."

He smiled at her fondly. "Thank you. I am a little hungry and we have time before the ship docks or even until we can see who's aboard."

She handed him the bag of food and spoke softly for his ears alone, "My uncle was just telling me how happy he is with the news -- the news about you, not Gippal. You must have done a good job telling him."

Nooj only just managed not to blush when he thought back to the incident itself and the awkwardness involved.

-X-
When the ship nosed into the landing strip and the gangplank was finally lowered, the first voyagers off were fairly mobbed by the enthusiastic army. Nooj had held Paine back from the first wave of welcomers, not wanting to get caught up in the crowd. He knew his height would serve to mark them out and that his old Crimson Squad teammate would make his way to them.

Paine was the quicker to see Gippal pushing through the thinning edges of the throng and broke from Nooj's grip to run to him, her arms outstretched. Then she noticed the short pony-tailed blonde just a step behind and stopped with an abrupt halt. A girl? With Gippal? Had he forgotten Baralai so soon?

Gippal was confused. He and Paine had been on easy terms with one another for weeks now and he fully expected her to throw herself into his arms. Maybe she was wary of irritating Nooj who was standing not far off, his arms folded like a statue.

"Hey, Paine. I'm back! Glad to see me?" He called out, trying to re-establish their old comradeship.

"Always. You're looking well. ... Going to introduce me to your little friend?"

Suddenly Gippal understood. Paine would be leery of strangers coming into her familiar circles. He should have told Rikku to stay back with the other Al Bhed. But she had followed him and for some reason he had permitted it.

"Sure." He forced himself to sound natural. "This is Rikku. She was visiting Home when I showed up and joined us. She's a really good fighter with the knives. Rikku, this is Paine; I told you about her. She's the one who recorded our try-out for the Crimson Squad. You remember?"

The girl came a few paces forward and bowed awkwardly. "Glad to meet you, Paine. Gippal's told me a lot about you."

"Hello, Rikku." Even trying, Paine could feel the stiffness in her voice. "It's good of you to come all this distance to fight the Yevonites."

"Oh, I'm gonna fight Sin too. Gippal says that's next, after we clean up the crazy temples." She twisted her toe in the sand and dropped her hands to the hilts of the knives she wore in her belt.

"Gippal! You've done a better job than I thought possible. I did not imagine you could recruit so many fighters for us. Wait 'til you hear what we've managed to do in the meantime." Nooj grasped his friend's outstretched hand with his right and squeezed the smaller man's biceps with his left.

"Ow! Noojster!" Gippal howled with exaggerated pain. "You don't know your own strength. This girl here's Rikku. She's a fighter and a pretty good thief as well."

"I am pleased to meet you, Rikku. All irregular armies can use a thief." He bowed over her hand and smiled before returning his attention to Gippal. "Now, I'm afraid I must get back to work. We'll meet in the main tent in a little while to see how things are looking for the battle -- to make some more concrete plans. We'll expect to hear your report then."

Paine moved back to her accustomed place at Nooj's side. "Yes, we'll have time for more talk later when you've had a chance to rest and meet all the newcomers." Ordinarily, she would have gone off with Gippal for a good gossip and to tell him the news from Baralai, but the presence of Rikku made her uncomfortable. She did not like the way the girl was staring at Nooj.

-X-
When they were a good distance from the other two and well out of earshot, Rikku broke out in a flurry of words, "Did you notice he's only half-human? That Nooj guy, I mean."

Gippal looked at her with astonishment. "Naturally, everybody knows he lost a leg and an arm to Sin some time ago. It's part of who he is."

"Well, you didn't bother to mention it when you were going on raving about how great he is. Why didn't you say something?"

"I guess I thought you'd pick it up from the gossip on board. If I thought about it at all." He flung back at her. "You usually ferret out everything there is to know."

Rikku stopped in the middle of the path, hunching up her shoulders and clenching her fists. "I don't mess with that stuff. It's hard enough just staying alive without having to mess around with all that other stuff. If you'd stayed home and helped out, you wouldn't have had the time to learn all that stuff either. Is that Al Bhed stuff he's using? It has to be; nobody else could do something like that. Why didn't you tell me? Can I have a better look at it?"

"Ah, cool it, Rikku." Gippal turned aside and began to walk around her when she grabbed his arm.

"Don't you ignore me. I'm talking to you. You should have warned me. Now I've gone and made them mad."

"Naw. Nooj is above that sort of thing. He's had people stare at him since he lost his limbs. He's used to it. Yes, his replacements are Al Bhed -- and no, you can't play around with them. I've done some maintenance but he's a little touchy about being touched. And you better watch out for Paine; she'll tear your heart out if she thinks you're disrespecting him." Gippal grinned at the memories from the past. He wondered if Paine had come to terms with her lover's less lovable traits.

"She his wife?" Rikku had recovered her good nature, curiosity trumping anger as usual.

Gippal laughed aloud. "Not yet so far as I know. But they are a couple, have been since our Crimson Squad days."

The girl squinched her face and shuddered dramatically. "Huh! I wonder what it feels like to sleep with that? Wonder what he does that's different. You think I could find out? He doesn't have any other replacement parts, does he?"

"I warned you, Rikku." Gippal was deathly serious as she could tell from his tone.

"Just kidding, really, just kidding." She skipped out of reach and continued up the trail to the main gathering place.

-X-
Tidus looked up to see two blond heads bobbing toward him through a sea of black, red, and brown. He jumped up from the low rise where he sat and lifted his hand in a wave. "Hey! Gippal!" he called out excitedly.

"Hey!" the other man called back, returning the gesture and smiling.

Tidus took a few steps forward and clasped Gippal's hand. "Welcome back. How was..." His words trailed off as his attention was caught by the petite girl standing a few steps behind Gippal, his hand falling free to flop lamely at his side. "Rikku! Is that really you?"

"Yeah. Oh, hi!" Rikku bounded forward with a big smile. "Long time no see." Tidus grinned back at the girl, the first friend he had made in Spira. It couldn't have been much more than a month ago that he'd last seen her, and yet it seemed like ages.

Gippal looked back and forth between the pair, astonished. "You guys know each other?"

"Yeah." Tidus nodded. "You remember I told you about the Al Bhed ship that saved me, back when I first arrrr-- after Sin's toxin got me? Well, Rikku was on it."

Rikku looked at him quizzically as Gippal nodded his understanding. "Say. You ever figure out where you came from?"

"Um." Tidus scratched the back of his neck as he considered what, if anything, he could say. On Auron's orders, he had continued to keep his Zanarkand origins a secret from most people. After a moment's thought, he decided on evasiveness. "It's kind of a long story," he said. "I'll explain later. So you escaped?"

"Yeah, we got away fine, but Sin pushed us pretty far out to sea. I was really worried when you washed off the boat like that. As soon as it was safe, we came back to search, but it was no use. Really thought you were a goner there. What happened?"

"I'm not really sure," Tidus admitted. "I think I was out of it for awhile. Maybe I got knocked out, or it could've been the toxin again. Anyway, next thing I knew, it was morning, and I was washing up on Besaid."

"Besaid?" Rikku's eyes lit up, and she glanced at Gippal, then back to Tidus. "Wait. So then you know Yuna?"

"Sure." Tidus stood a little straighter. "I'm one of her guardians. You want to meet her?"

Gippal shoved Rikku with his shoulder. "See?" he said. "Told you finding her would be easy enough."

Her face glowing with eagerness, Rikku bounced closer to Tidus. "Can you show me where?"

"No problem. " Tidus gestured toward the middle of the encampment, where the tent for today's council was being set into place. "She's over that way, waiting for..." but before he could finish the sentence, Rikku had taken off, sprinting and squirming through the crowd.

Next to him, Gippal chuckled. "Good old Rikku," he said. "No keeping her in one place for long."

"Guess not," Tidus agreed. "S'pose I'd better go catch up with her. Want to come along?"

"Nah." Gippal shook his head casually. "I'd better get back to Nooj, make my full report to him. " He clapped the blitzer on the back. "Good to see you again, man." With a cocky salute, he sauntered off in the direction of the docks, and Tidus started walking the other way, curious about what kind of scene might meet him at the council tent.

-X-
Paine approached Nooj with determination. "So, what do you think?"

"About what?" He roused himself from his planning the battle ahead and gave her question his full attention.

She sighed an elaborate sigh. "About Gippal of course. I thought he and Baralai ... you know and now he turns up with some Al Bhed girl in tow."

"Maybe she's his sister or some other relative." Nooj raised a mocking eyebrow.

"He would have said so!" Paine burst out in exasperation. "He would have said, 'This is my sister' or ... or..." She spluttered.

"Or wife?" Nooj suggested helpfully.

Paine slapped him on his broad chest and tried to scowl before collapsing into helpless laughter. "You idiot!" She gasped for breath. "No, seriously, I'm wondering if Baralai took the relationship more to heart than Gippal. When I saw him at the temple ..."

Nooj pulled her close and blew gently across her pewter spikes. "You can't order other peoples' lives, Paine. Just be patient, watch and be ready to pick up the pieces if you need to."

She leaned into his solid body. "Where did you learn that sort of wisdom? It's not like you to care about such things."

He spoke softly, "Ah, my love, how much we have to discover about each other. I've led troops since I was a senior cadet. Any commander worth his pay has to know how to deal with problems in the ranks, personal as well as military."

"You'll always be a surprise to me." She nodded against him. "OK, I won't try to pry. I just hope ..." Her words trailed off.

"So do I." He cupped her head in his hand, holding her firmly to him and she drew comfort from the steady throb of his heart.

-X-
A distant droning sound began to be heard in the encampment. There was no obvious source and it was sensed through the skin more than the ears. A not unpleasant vibration against the soles of the feet passing up through the body like a very gentle electrical current.

With his metal and ceramic limbs, Nooj was more sensitive to this sensation than the others. He had felt the tingling for some time but had ignored it in his preoccupation with his other duties. Now, the remainder of the camp was becoming restless and oddly unsettled.

"What is it?" Xaq asked edgily. "Bevelle trying out some new weapon?"

"Naw, just a storm coming, I think." His friend, Marp, has always been the skeptic.

"Never felt like this ahead of a storm before. I think they got some new weapon, something they're warming up."

The third monk, Tepil, scoffed. "Without Al Bhed help? You gotta be kidding. And the Al Bhed would rather die than work with Yevon."

Marp drawled, "You're right. Look up there." He pointed toward the horizon.

Proceeding in a slow, stately fashion, a graceful flying machina was emerging from the haze of the distance. With each passing minute, the details became clearer as the sun reflected off the smooth skin and the sound of the engines became louder.

"What's that? The new weapon?" Xaq was still persuaded his first thought had been the right one.

"Damn fool, you never heard of Cid's airship? He's Al Bhed so he has to be on our side. Everybody knows about his ship. I've known for ... for a long time." Tepil concluded lamely. Actually he had only heard the rumors earlier that day, from the Al Bhed streaming through the camp. But no need for the others to know that.

"Who's Cid and what's an airship?" Marp asked blankly.

Tepil spluttered, "Cid's an Al Bhed engineer and that big machine flying toward us is an airship. It's a ship that sails through the air instead of the water. That's the only one there is and we got it!"

"I just wondered," Marp muttered meekly.

The itch in the skin became a hum in the head then a thrumming in the bones as the shadow of the vehicle passed over the mass of upturned faces. The crew which had sailed with Gippal cheered the arrival of their air-borne brothers and this fresh reminder of their race's engineering genius.

"See?" Gippal shouted in Nooj's ear. "I told you we could do anything."

"I'm almost convinced of that. Paine, did you know about this?" The commander turned to his companion.

"I'd heard rumors but ... Oh! I want to ride that thing!" Paine's eyes glowed with wondering delight. "Gippal, you're the one who mentioned it! Do you know who owns that ship?"

The Al Bhed laughed with excitement. "Yeah. An Al Bhed named Cid. He's Rikku's dad and Yuna's uncle. You'll meet him soon. He's our leader so he'll be sitting in on the councils."

"Yuna? She's Al Bhed?" Nooj was clearly astonished.

"Only half. You never noticed her eyes?"

Paine interrupted, "I saw they were different colors but I never thought that meant anything in particular. Not everybody's the same."

"Well, she's Rikku's cousin and half Al Bhed. That bother you?"

"No." In fact Paine was relieved to have so simple an explanation for Rikku's presence. "But why does Yuna bother to hide it?"

Gippal grinned. "She doesn't hide it. She just doesn't publicize it. Not all people are so tolerant of my race."

"Silly people." Paine, her suspicions of Rikku and Gippal's relationship lulled, turned her attention back to the air-ship. "You think Cid'll take me up in that?" She watched, entranced, as the great ship settled lightly near the dock and the motors cut off, leaving a suddenly stunning silence.

( Next chapter)