Post by sirxeko on Feb 6, 2010 20:15:02 GMT
ONE WEEK AGO
Sirxeko had stood in the middle of a large Midgar street, it was his first night in the big city, and he was staring up at the largest building around, the Shin-Ra headquarters. He had heard stories of the Shin-Ra, how they harnessed the souls of deceased to create electric power. Sirxeko scoffed at these rumors. They were immeasurably far-fetched, even if he DID believe in this life-stream mumbo jumbo. Still, looking up at that building then, Sirxeko felt certain that there was some truth to these rumors. It was obvious that Shin-Ra held many secrets. In fact, the first night in Midgar, the first he laid eyes on the building, he had even said that out loud. He said "Now that's a place that's brimming with secrets." And it was by the sheer chance of him saying that sentence when he did that he had gotten the job he was preparing to do now.
On that night, when he said that sentence, it just so happened that a man walking down the street heard him. And it just so happened that that man was opposed to the Shin-Ra corporation. And it just so happened that that man was a reporter preparing to do an expose on the world class power company. And it just so happened that that man was in need of some dirt on the company itself. And it just so happened that the man seemed to think Sirxeko perfect for the job, a nameless adventurer who no one would miss should he be caught, and who (more importantly) could not be linked back to the reporter, himself. And so, it just so happened that that man felt inclined to offer Sirxeko a drink...
At first, when the reporter made his offer to Sirxeko, Sirxeko was uninterested. One thing he knew to be true about Shin-Ra, and not rumor at all, was that they had a massive military force and were in fact providing nearly all the troops and weapons for the war. Their defenses were not rumored. They were fact. And Sirxeko doubted that any amount of gil would be worth that much risk. And Sirxeko had told the man as much, saying that he would rather find work that was a bit less life-threatening and a bit more legal. The reporter smiled confidently, placing a card on the table. "I will be at that spot at 8:00 PM one week from today, should you decide to change your mind." The man winked at Sirxeko, tossed a few gil onto the table, and left the little cafe. Sirxeko frowned and stared at the slip of paper for several long moments, before taking up the card tucking it inside his pocket and heading toward the door himself.
TONIGHT
Sirxeko stood in the dank ally, completely shrouded in his deep scarlet cloak. He blended surprisingly well with the dark surroundings, and looked a bit like an over-dressed assassin. It was down-right ominous, but it hid him well. It was for this very purpose that he bought the beautiful and overly extravagant cape in the first place; he was about to commit a break in.
Yes, ever since coming to the city of Midgar, his gil pouch had been significantly lighter than normal. The ticket from Dollet to Kalm was vastly more expensive than it should have been due to the war. And so Sirxeko found himself lacking the funds necessary to go from Midgar to Winhill, as Sirxeko had originally planned... A trip that was also outrageously overpriced due to war. Sirxeko was lucky to have run into the reporter man on his first night in this place.
He was lucky, though he didn't feel like it at the time. In fact, even after he had picked up the card, he didn't truly intend to go through with the job. In truth, he wasn't quite sure why he had picked it up at the time. But as the week progressed, and Sirxeko heard more rumors of the power company, each more far-fetched and darker than the last, Sirxeko felt a sort of evil chill in his spine at the sound of the name. As the week wore on, he became to see Shin-Ra not as an electric company, but as a totalitarian dictatorship. The way the citizens of this city talked of Shin-Ra... true, most citizens were simply grateful to have power, saying that Shin-Ra made all of their lives easier, but a substantial number of people seemed to think that Shin-Ra was pure evil. They were in the minority, yes, but it was a startling large minority. And it made Sirxeko think that maybe, for a moment, there was more truth to these rumors than he had initially believed.
And as the week wore on, Sirxeko found himself scoping out the Shin-Ra lobby from time to time, and thinking up possible escape routes in his head. At one point he even went so far as to buy supplies, like the marvelous cloak he was wearing now. Now, he did sort of over do it with the cloak; buying something so extravagant when he was already low on money, and if he were just going to use it to sneak around in than a black bed sheet would have worked just as well, but Sirxeko loved to live in luxury, and in truth, the beauty of the thing was more excuse for Sirxeko to buy it, seeing as he was not yet convinced to even do the job at the time. No, it wasn't until later into the week that he had finally made up his mind...
The same day he bought the cloak actually, he had run into a feline creature named Nanaki. Nanaki told him of how he was on the run from the Shin-Ra forces. Why? What would Shin-Ra want with such a majestic creature? Scientific research. Apparently, deep within the bowels of the Shin-Ra headquarters they conducted vile experiments on the poor creatures of the planet. Injecting them with Mako, splicing their genes, crossing their DNA, destroying them molecule by molecule. The story Nanaki shared with him didn't sit well with the nature loving botanist-turned-bodyguard-turned-butler-turned-adventurer and he refused to allow Shin-Ra to get away with such evil acts. Assuming of course they were true.
And that was why he was here now. He had decided to find out for himself just what evils the Shin-Ra Science Department indulged themselves in. As soon as he had met Nanaki, his decision was made for him. It was just good fortune that allowed him to meet the reporter and to actually get paid for this endeavor.
Sirxeko looked up and down the dank alley, there was still no sign of his employer. He wrapped his deep scarlet cloak around him a bit more tightly as a chill breeze blew by, and he thought of what it was he was about to do. He knew the lobby and the Museum display area of the building inside and out, he had memorized the floor directory, and even taken a guided tour through the building, visiting the first 59 floors. Nothing but paperwork and telephones and a few floors of power equipment. It looked just like any other electric company would have looked like. But this was the public face of Shin-Ra. The floors that they wanted you to see. Beyond the 59th floor was something else. Something darker. Something unknown. Secrets. The very secrets that Sirxeko was getting paid to uncover. As soon as the man with the money, arrived that is.
word count 1308
Sirxeko had stood in the middle of a large Midgar street, it was his first night in the big city, and he was staring up at the largest building around, the Shin-Ra headquarters. He had heard stories of the Shin-Ra, how they harnessed the souls of deceased to create electric power. Sirxeko scoffed at these rumors. They were immeasurably far-fetched, even if he DID believe in this life-stream mumbo jumbo. Still, looking up at that building then, Sirxeko felt certain that there was some truth to these rumors. It was obvious that Shin-Ra held many secrets. In fact, the first night in Midgar, the first he laid eyes on the building, he had even said that out loud. He said "Now that's a place that's brimming with secrets." And it was by the sheer chance of him saying that sentence when he did that he had gotten the job he was preparing to do now.
On that night, when he said that sentence, it just so happened that a man walking down the street heard him. And it just so happened that that man was opposed to the Shin-Ra corporation. And it just so happened that that man was a reporter preparing to do an expose on the world class power company. And it just so happened that that man was in need of some dirt on the company itself. And it just so happened that the man seemed to think Sirxeko perfect for the job, a nameless adventurer who no one would miss should he be caught, and who (more importantly) could not be linked back to the reporter, himself. And so, it just so happened that that man felt inclined to offer Sirxeko a drink...
At first, when the reporter made his offer to Sirxeko, Sirxeko was uninterested. One thing he knew to be true about Shin-Ra, and not rumor at all, was that they had a massive military force and were in fact providing nearly all the troops and weapons for the war. Their defenses were not rumored. They were fact. And Sirxeko doubted that any amount of gil would be worth that much risk. And Sirxeko had told the man as much, saying that he would rather find work that was a bit less life-threatening and a bit more legal. The reporter smiled confidently, placing a card on the table. "I will be at that spot at 8:00 PM one week from today, should you decide to change your mind." The man winked at Sirxeko, tossed a few gil onto the table, and left the little cafe. Sirxeko frowned and stared at the slip of paper for several long moments, before taking up the card tucking it inside his pocket and heading toward the door himself.
TONIGHT
Sirxeko stood in the dank ally, completely shrouded in his deep scarlet cloak. He blended surprisingly well with the dark surroundings, and looked a bit like an over-dressed assassin. It was down-right ominous, but it hid him well. It was for this very purpose that he bought the beautiful and overly extravagant cape in the first place; he was about to commit a break in.
Yes, ever since coming to the city of Midgar, his gil pouch had been significantly lighter than normal. The ticket from Dollet to Kalm was vastly more expensive than it should have been due to the war. And so Sirxeko found himself lacking the funds necessary to go from Midgar to Winhill, as Sirxeko had originally planned... A trip that was also outrageously overpriced due to war. Sirxeko was lucky to have run into the reporter man on his first night in this place.
He was lucky, though he didn't feel like it at the time. In fact, even after he had picked up the card, he didn't truly intend to go through with the job. In truth, he wasn't quite sure why he had picked it up at the time. But as the week progressed, and Sirxeko heard more rumors of the power company, each more far-fetched and darker than the last, Sirxeko felt a sort of evil chill in his spine at the sound of the name. As the week wore on, he became to see Shin-Ra not as an electric company, but as a totalitarian dictatorship. The way the citizens of this city talked of Shin-Ra... true, most citizens were simply grateful to have power, saying that Shin-Ra made all of their lives easier, but a substantial number of people seemed to think that Shin-Ra was pure evil. They were in the minority, yes, but it was a startling large minority. And it made Sirxeko think that maybe, for a moment, there was more truth to these rumors than he had initially believed.
And as the week wore on, Sirxeko found himself scoping out the Shin-Ra lobby from time to time, and thinking up possible escape routes in his head. At one point he even went so far as to buy supplies, like the marvelous cloak he was wearing now. Now, he did sort of over do it with the cloak; buying something so extravagant when he was already low on money, and if he were just going to use it to sneak around in than a black bed sheet would have worked just as well, but Sirxeko loved to live in luxury, and in truth, the beauty of the thing was more excuse for Sirxeko to buy it, seeing as he was not yet convinced to even do the job at the time. No, it wasn't until later into the week that he had finally made up his mind...
The same day he bought the cloak actually, he had run into a feline creature named Nanaki. Nanaki told him of how he was on the run from the Shin-Ra forces. Why? What would Shin-Ra want with such a majestic creature? Scientific research. Apparently, deep within the bowels of the Shin-Ra headquarters they conducted vile experiments on the poor creatures of the planet. Injecting them with Mako, splicing their genes, crossing their DNA, destroying them molecule by molecule. The story Nanaki shared with him didn't sit well with the nature loving botanist-turned-bodyguard-turned-butler-turned-adventurer and he refused to allow Shin-Ra to get away with such evil acts. Assuming of course they were true.
And that was why he was here now. He had decided to find out for himself just what evils the Shin-Ra Science Department indulged themselves in. As soon as he had met Nanaki, his decision was made for him. It was just good fortune that allowed him to meet the reporter and to actually get paid for this endeavor.
Sirxeko looked up and down the dank alley, there was still no sign of his employer. He wrapped his deep scarlet cloak around him a bit more tightly as a chill breeze blew by, and he thought of what it was he was about to do. He knew the lobby and the Museum display area of the building inside and out, he had memorized the floor directory, and even taken a guided tour through the building, visiting the first 59 floors. Nothing but paperwork and telephones and a few floors of power equipment. It looked just like any other electric company would have looked like. But this was the public face of Shin-Ra. The floors that they wanted you to see. Beyond the 59th floor was something else. Something darker. Something unknown. Secrets. The very secrets that Sirxeko was getting paid to uncover. As soon as the man with the money, arrived that is.
word count 1308