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    FF7: J I H A D
        By Winter Weil
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        CHAPTER FOUR
        Fech Dorman'etesh
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Disclaimer:
    All rights to Final Fantasy VII and its characters belong to
SquareSoft.  The characters of this series are used without permission
only for the purpose of entertainment.  This fanfiction is not meant
for sale or profit.
    All original characters are copyright to the author.  Don't use
these characters without contacting the author first.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Text Conventions
   /  / are character thoughts

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 

F F 7 : J I H A D
Chapter Four

The Highwind. A magnificent creation made of gears, switches, and
electricity. This machine was Cid's oldest brainchild, and he kept great
care of it. So much care, in fact, that Shera often times kidded she was
being neglected.

/It's been so long..../ Tifa climbed up the rope ladder to the deck of the
Highwind, a procedure that, four years ago, had been an everyday occurance.

Just doing it now brought an involuntary rush of adrenaline. She was pumped

for action, and felt more alive than she had in years.

"Welcome aboard the RTS Highwind, ladies and gents," Cid said as she
climbed onto the deck. "Please store all luggage in the compartments over
your heads, and remember your seatbelts."

"It's been forever, Cid," Tifa said as she hugged him. He smelled like
nicotine. /Good old Cid/ she thought happily.

"Good to see you again too, Tifa," he replied with a smile. Behind his legs

peeped a little boy, looking up sleepily at his father's visitors.

Tifa bent down to so she could look him in the face. "Hello, Kiel," The
little boy responded by burying his face in his father's legs. Cid
chuckled.

"The knucklhead just woke up. Shera was hoping Elmyra would watch over him
and Milysa while all this blows over. Doesn't want them in Rocket Town
'cause of the airstrip. She thinks it's gonna head to war," he admitted.
Shera appeated behind him with a sleeping Milysa on her hip.

"You know well enough it will," she said, and shot her husband a glare. She

then moved over to the rope ladder, waiting for Cloud, Barrett, and Reeve
to finish their climb. "Please keep him from taking off," she asked Tifa.
"He seems to think I can't handle myself in these situations." She sniffed
haughtily.

She stole away Reeve as soon as he appeared on deck, to help her take the
children down to Elmyra. As soon as Shera was gone, Cid lit up a cigarette.

Cloud laughed at the motion and shook his old friends hand. "I had heard
Shera made you quit," he said.

Cid inhaled deeply and blew out a smoke ring. "Almost," he replied.
"Almost. Old habits die hard."

"So who are we pickin' up after this?" Barrett asked. He had taken off his
prosthetic hand and replaced it with his old gun arm. Briefly he glanced
over the railing and then back at Cid.

"Hmmm.....Red, Vincent, then Yuffie, unless Reeve wants to pick up Cait
Sith from the Gold Saucer." The pilot snubbed out his quickly-consumed
cigarette and reached from another.

"Yeah, he want's Cait," Cloud replied, "but we also have to stop by Costa
del Sol."

"Who for?"

"The Turks."

Cid choked on his cancer stick before he could light it. "The Turks?!" he
sputtered. "What the hell for?!"

"They're working for Reeve now," Tifa explained. "They'd taken a week's
vacation just before Heideegar took over."

"So? How the hell does he know it wasn't planned?"

"He doesn't. Reeve contacted them just an hour ago and they were just as
surprised as you about Heideggar. But if they're faking...." Cloud trailed
off, the malice in his voice apparent.

Cid growled. "Hmph."

Barrett placed a hand on the pilots shoulder. "Don't worry, man, I'll give
you a piece. Maybe." He went back over to the railing and leaned over.

"Yo, Kari!" he roared. "Quit pickin' daisies and get your ass up here!"

Cid looked at him quizically. "Kari?"

"Some girl who's tagging along for the ride," replied Barrett. "I'm not too

hot about her, but Reeve insisted. They tell me she's quick with a gun."

Cid just grunted. "So long's she don't get in the way."

Down below, Reeve and Shera approached the airship again, minus the
children. Cid had hovered the Highwind in a field just south of Kalm, a
field of waist high grass. Reeve saw Kari kneeling in the frasses a few
feet from the rope ladder, distinguishable only by the black shirt she
wore. Up above he could barely hear Barrett shout out something, but the
words were carried away by the wind.

"What are you doing, Kari?" Reeve asked when they reached her. She turned
slowly to look at him, her eyes half open and a sleepy look in them. She
twirled a dandelion slowly in her fingers. "Just waiting," she replied.

"Ah. Well, as soon as we get up there, we should be leaving."

Karit turned her back to them again. "I'll be up in a second."

Reeve and Shera looked at each other. She gave him a funny look. He just
shrugged. Then they hurried up into the Highwind.

Kari still remained keeling. She dropped the dandelion she had been holding

and reached out for a puff, picking it gently so that none of the soft
seeds would scatter. She knelt there for a few more seconds, the puff held
level with her face. Then, with quiet deliberation, she blew the puff away,

and scattered the seeds. A light breeze carried them away to the north.
Kari smiled, stood up, and proceeded to the ship. She was satisfied with
the answers she had recieved.
 

***********************************************************************
 
 

A petite, blond haired woman paced nervously by the window, five steps one
way, five steps the other. Glanced out the window. Five steps one way, five

steps the other. Glanced out the window. Five steps one way, five steps the

other. Glanced out the window. Five steps-

"Damnit Elena, would you *please* stop pacing?" growled another.

The woman identified as Elena shook her head and stopped for a moment. "I'm

sorry if it's annoying, Reno," she replied, "but i can't help but be
nervous about this. As much as I was proud about being a Turk, I don't want

to go back to Shinra." She started pacing again.

The Turks, once the mercenaries of the supre-company Shinra, sat in the
hotel room they were sharing in Costa del Sol. Though people still referred

to them as the Turks, and they did as well, they had fallen far fromt he
image they had once held.

After Reeve had offered them jobs in Junon, they had gone their seperate
ways....almost. They still performed something along the same lines as
their old jobs. Elena, the newest and youngest of them, was promoted
quickly to her position before the Turks: surveilence security. As a matter

of fact, she was in the highest postion that could be held in that area.

Rude, who had also worked in security before he became a Turk, was now the
head of the active security personnel, the guards themselves. He was still
his silent, stoic self, with the same reflective sunglasses hiding his
eyes.

Reno was a little more enigmatic about his job; he never really told Rude
or Elena straight out where he was working, but he did give hints about
security and computers. Elena still pestered him occasionally, but she
pretty much had given up. Rude, where he knew or not, was about as quiet
about the details of his job. Of course, he was quiet to begin with, so it
didn't make much of a difference.

Reno sighed, and readjusted the sunglasses perched on his forehead. "Look,
Elena," he started, "I don't want to go back to Heideggar either. I know he

was a nasty sonofabitch, and I know he took potshots at you. We've all
taken the brunt of that, sooner or later. And I know that he probably knows

where we are, 'cause he's got ahold of Junon's files. But how do we know he

even cares about us?"

She turned on him, angry. "You can't be so stupid as to think he wouldn't
want our hides!" she cried. "We deserted in the middle of a war!"

"War for them, Elena, not for us. They had already lost by then. The war
was over. We were just being realistic."

Elena obviously wasn't satisfied, but she stopped arguing. With Reno, she
knew she would get nowhere. She turned back to the window.

Behind her, Reno stood and stretched lazily. Their Turk uniforms were long
gone now, but the distinctive blue outfits were still hidden somewhere in
the back of their closets. After to many years, it was hard to get rid of
something like that. At the moment, Reno wore a white t-shirt and black
jeans. Rude, lounging in the corner silently, wore a long-sleeve button-up
shirt and blue jeans, and Elena, by the window, wore a dark green sundress.

They fit in the crowd much better in these outfits.

"Well," Reno said, "I'm gonna go outside for a smoke."

"Don't take too long," Elena said absently. She was still staring out the
window.

"Yes, mother," he replied sarcasitcally, and walked out of the room. Elena
and Rude sat and stood in silence for a moment.

"He didn't take his gun. Or his nightstick," Elena said softly.

"Reno doesn't need a weapon to take care of himself," Rude replied.

Outside, Reno waked across the courtyard of the beach community, taking
appriciative glances at the women in bikinis, and made his way slowly to
the catwalk the led to the dock. There he seated himself with his feet
dangling over the edge, and reached for his pack of cigarettes. /I thought
I'd quit a long time ago,/ he reflected as he lit one up. /Looks like I was

wrong./

He watched the scenic view of the beach and women while he slowly puffed
away. Very little escaped his attention. So the moment the three blue-blad
men appeared beneath his dangling feet, he paued very close attention
indeed.

/Adrian.../ he thought to himself as he identified the blond leader. /I see

we cross paths again./ He flicked his butt away, stood up, and melted into
the crowd.
 

***********************************************************************
 

Elena had finally settled down from her pacing when someone knocked on the
door. She frowned at Rude.

"Why would Reno knock....?" she asked softly. Rude shook his head and
placed a finder to her lips. She nodded understanding, and reached under
the pillow of the bed she was sitting on, and pulled out her gun. Together,

they advanced on the door.

"Hello, there." A blond man in a painfully familiar suit stood inthe
hallway, a smirking smile on his face. "I see I've found the people I've
been looking for." He frowned slightly. "Or at least one of them."

Rude stood impassively, blocking the way into the room and not allowing him

to see very far in. "What do you want?" he asked softly.

The blond man peered up athim and smiled. "You're Rude, aren't you? A
pleasure to meet you, Head of Security." He held out his right hand, but
Rude didn't take it. He lowered his hand and shrugged. His left hand never
left it's pocket. "Ah well, can't say I didn't try. So tell me, Rude, where

are you little friends, Reno and Elena?"

Rude felt a msile want to tug at his lips, but he let nothing show. He knew

they wouldn't have spotted Reno. "What do you want?" he asked again.

The stranger sighed. "I see you are an implaccable man, Rude." He shrugged
again. "But I don't see any reason not to tell you. Heideggar sent us. He
says to offer you three your old positions as Turks in the Shinra empire.
If you accept, fine and dandy. If not....."

Rude waited patiently. Down the hallway, he heard someone grunt softly. The

stranger didn't seem to notice, and continued.

"If you refuse, you are to be executed."

"The charges?" Rude heard another soft grunt.

"Teason and desertion." The blond man smiled. "I rather hope you'd choose
execution, because I don't much like competition. Or Reno, for that
matter."

"Gee, I never knew you cared, Adrian."

Adrian whirled around in surprise, and never had a chance to react. His
face made contact his Reno's fist. He stagger backward, and then to the
floor after a little help of Rude and a pressure point. Elena appeared from

behind the door with her gun at the ready.

"We'd better move," Reno commanded. "I don't know how long the other two
will stay down."

"Three of them?" Elena asked as she put away her gun and grabbed her bag of

stuff.

"Yeah. The typical number. Looks like youwere right, Ellis." Elena smiled
when Reno looked away to get his stuff. That was as close to an apology as
she would get from him. /Good enough,/ she thought.

Over by the door Adrian groaned. "Enough time wasted," Reno said. "Out the
window."

Rude went out first to help with the bags and with the others in case they
fell. After him went Reno and Elena. Reno grinned wickedly at Elena, and
she threatened to slap him, but other wise no time was lost.

"So where do we wait?" puffed Elena as they exited the city. Rude checked
the horizon. There was no Highwaind in sight.

"If it wasn't for those damn wanna-be's, we could wait out in the field.
But we need some cover," Reno replied. They all looked for some, but there
was none in sight.

"What about the cliffs by the shoreline?" asked Rude. Elena shook her head.

"Too *much* cover."

"Then where?"

"Damned if I knew."

Reno snapped his fingers. "The sand dunes!"

They looked at him funny. He rolled his eyes and started running south.
"Come *on*!" They looked at each other, shrugged, and follows.
 

***********************************************************************
 
 

"Well, here we are folks. Now who's gonna get 'em?"

Cid and his team had arrived at Costa del Sol, and after quite a bit of
in-fighting, had finally decided on who would get what piece of which Turk
if they ended up being false.

"Reeve," Barrett volunteered. "They're his rats."

Reeve glared at him, but said s=nothing.

"I'll go," Kari spoke. They all turned to look at her. She fidgeted for a
second, and spoke again. "I have some friends here who can help."

Cid looked from her to Cloud. "Well, who'll man the ship?"

"You stay, Cid," replied Cloud. "I can take care of Turks or any ambushes."

Cid nodded. "Good luck."

Cloud shouldered his sword and left for the deck. "Then let's go."

"So tell me," Cloud asked as they reached the deck, "Who are you friends?"

"Old band members," replied Kari. "There are three of them here in Costa
del Sol, one in Corel, and another two in Rocket Twon. They have some good
talents."

"Other than singing or banging on drums?"

She shot Cloud a look. "Yes, other than banging on drums. If you don't mind

bringing them, of course."

"We'll see."

The band of three made their way across the sandy dunes that surrounded the

coastal city of Costa del Sol. It was semi-rough going, and they all
grumbled, at least a little, about the sand in their shoes, but they made
it to the town without incident.

When they reached the road into Costa del Sol, they stopped.

"So now where?" Cloud asked.

"Reno said they were at the Bar 'n Inn, room 213," replied Reeve. They
squinted through the throng of beach-goers to see if the could spot it.
Kari pointed.

"I think I see it," she said, and movedinto the crowd. Cloud turned and
looked at Reeve as if to say, well, you brought her here, you watch her.
Reeve shrugged uncomfortably under his friends gaze, and went to follow
after the girl. Cloud came quickly behind.

Kari led them straight to the Bar 'n Inn. It was a half-way decent looking
place, with hanging plants danfling from the rafters, a righ cream-colored
brink for the walls, and dark red slats of wood for shingles. They went
inside.

Most of the room was dominated by a bar, nearly as well stocked as Tifa's,
and bar tables. To the side of the bar was a wide flight of steps leading
up to the second floor. The room wasn't too crowded at the moment, being as

it was just past lunch and not quite ready for the dinner rush hour.

"Over there." Cloud pointed to a man behind the counter by the stairs, and
headed off to see him. Reeve followed, shotting glances behind him at Kari,

who moved for the bar instead.

"Yes, can I help you sirs? Interest you in a room ofor the night?" asked
the man when they approached. Even with the sickly smile on his face, the
speel feemed well rehearsed and the man bored.

"Yes. You can help us," said Reeve in his best political voice. "We're
looking for three people, two men and a woman, who checked out room 213 a
few nights ago? We were hoping they'd still be here."

The man took a good look at them. He took in Reeve's semi-clean cut
appearence, and Cloud's sword and his obvious ability to use it. And he
made a choice; it was the wrong one.

"Oh, you don't have to worry, sir," he replied. "They've already been taken

care of."

"Taken care of?" Reeve asked cautiously. This did not sound good.

"Why, yes sir," the inn-keeper said earnestly. "Those three men that were
sent in earlier took care of them."

Cloud looked around carefully at the mention of three men. He could tell
what was coming next. Down futher at the bar, Kari spoke into the ear of
another young woman, standing behind the bar.

"They did? Good, good." Reeve changed tones quickly. "Just for my sake,
would you remind me of what they looked like? I've such a terrible memory."

"Why, there were three of them, like I told you. One was tall, with short
blond hair. The other was a tad shorter, with dark brown hair. And the last

was around five feet I think, with black hair. From the clothes they wore,
I would have sworn they were Turks...."

Reeve's smile was false. "Thank you kindly sir. My memory has been
refreshed."

"Come back anytime, sirs."

As Cloud and Reeve walked away, Cloud leaned over to talk to the ex-Mayor.
"Apparently Heideggar wants them after all."

Reeve nodded. "The question now is, where did they go?"

They went to where Kari was standing bythe bar. She turned to them and
introduced them to the girl she was talking to.

"Cloud, Reeve, this is Jennica mathews, a former band member. She says she
saw the people you were looking for."

Jennica, who was just a little shorter than Cloud, paused briefly to brush
the hair out of her eyes. She was a slender woman, slightly muscular i the
way barmaids tended to be, with black hair and lipid brown eyes. She was
dark-skinned, a shade lighter than Barrett, and a scar ran from between the

ring and pinky finger of her right hand to about half-way to her elbow.

"They checked in three days ago into room 213. They didn't really do
anything outstanding, except that the biggest one got into a barfight when
some drunk began feeling up the girl. Anyways, about an hour ago three men
came in asking for them. Claimed they were here to pick them up and take
them back to Junon. It was a half-lie, I could see that right away. But
Jessup-" she indicated the innkeeper "-didn't care after they flashed a
couple hundred gil under his nose.

"They wen't up stairs to 'get them', and a few seconds afterwards that
red-headed guy they were after walked in and up after them. There were a
coupla thumps, and a bigger one after, and I saw the two guys and a
womanmaybe a minute later running down the street and out of town. Thye
probably climbed out a window. Well, the three that were after them came
back downstairs about twenty minutes later, loking banged up and bruised,
and said they'd taken care of the situation. Another lie."

Reeve nodded appreciatively at Jennica. Some of his apprehension was gone,
but not all of it. "Thank you, Mrs. Matthews," he said. "That information
was greatly appriciated."

"Not a problem. Just jelping out a friend."

Kari turned back to Jennica. "So where is your brother at?"

The barmaid motioned outside the door. "He's probably at Smithies right
now."

"And Berkley?"

"Slacking, I'm sure. If he *is* working, he's probably repairing the lifts
at the docks. I heard that the circuts had been fried when some kid spilled

his drink on the control board." She began wiping at the counter with a
cloth she pulled from under the counter.

Kari frowned. "Is there any chance that Orlando is here?"

For one second, the dark-eyed girl appeared to be hesitant for a moment to
tell her, glancing nervously at Reeve and Cloud.

"Lamma is coming up," she said finally. "Orlando was thinking about
traveling with us to Seth to celebrate it."

"So is he here?"

Jennica shook her head. "No. But he might be soon."

Kari growled something under her breath. "I need to call him, then..."

"Will you need help?"

Kari glanced at her companions briefly, then turned back to her friend.
"No, Jennica, I can handle it."

When they were back outside, Reeve looked at the grey-eyed girl curiously.
"What was that about."

Kari shook her head. "I'm just deciding who I'll need."

"Need?"

"The best people I have. If I want to help you guys, I don't want to pick
anyone who won't pull their weight."

Cloud eyed her. "What was that about Seth and Lammas?"

"Lammas is a festival held in Seth in about a week. Seth is a town somewhat

north and east of Cosmo Canyon."

"In the mountains?"

"Yes. It's a small town."

Cloud stopped. They had reached the crosswalk to the exit of Costa del Sol
and the docks. He looked one way briefly, then the other. "So...what are we

doing?"

Kari frowned. "Berkley and Orlando will be of incredible help." She rubbed
her throat for a second. "Jennica may be in, too."

Cloud nodded. "You figure it out. Me and Reeve will look around town for a
while, and then head back to the Highwind, in case they spotted it and are
there. Be there in an hour." Kari nodded understanding, and disappeared
towards the docks.

"So now what do we do?" Reeve asked him after she left.

Cloud sighed. "We search for needles in the haystack," he replied softly.
 

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"Where the hell are Cloud and the others?!" roared Barrett.

Reno, Rude, and Elena had spotted the Highwind when it had landed and
headed for it as soon as it had. Reno, irritated at the sand he'd had to
slug through for a half-hour, placed his hands on his hips and glared back.

"Do I look like his nanny?" he growled. "Like some fortune-teller's crystal

ball? How the hell should *I* know? We've just been chased out of town by
some wanna-be Turks, and sat out in the sand for over an hour. I never even

*saw* the spikey-headed freak, and if I did, why the hell would grab him by

the ear and tell him momma's callin'!?"

Cid put a hand on Barrett's gun-arm. "You fire this thing off, and you
might hit the gas tanks. You let me take care of this." Barrett growled,
but lowered his arm.

The pilot turned to Reno. "Wanna-be Turks, eh? One of 'em blond?"

Reno made a face and spat over the railing. "Adrian. Fucking asshole and
back-stabbing bootlicker. I'm not surprised he's working for Heideggar now.

Still as incompetant, too. We could have taken them out, but I didn't want
to take the chance."

"Look who's talking about back-stabbing," Barrett sneered. "And I bet you
just chickened out on them Turks." Reno turned a glare on the man that
would have fried him if his eyes were lasers.

Elena stepped forward and shook an angry fist at Barrett. "We did *not*
chicken out!" she cried. "Reno took out the other two, and Rude took out
Adrian. We didn't know how long they'd stay down, and we couldn't risk
fighting there!"

Barrett crossed his arms and just snorted. "Better keep a better grip on
your women, Reno, or she might end up on the wrong side of a bullet!"

Elena immediately went white with rage, and a snarl of anger crossed Reno's

lips. Rude steped forward and caught his partner's arm. "He's not worth it,

Reno," he said quietly. "We have more important things to worry about."

"At least someone else in here has some sense," Cid spoke up, shooting
Barrett and stern look. The black man just snorted and walked away. He
shook his head and turned back to the Turks.

"What about Cloud, Reeve, and Kari?" Tifa asked? She and Shera had stayed
in the background, but it was obvious from the strained look on her face
she was only a second behind Barrett. "Where are they?"

Cid shook his head and leaned on the butt of his spear. "No way to know.
We'll wait an hour, an hour and a half. If they aren't back then, we'll
look for them."

Despite the confidence in his voice, it didn't reach his face.
 

***********************************************************************
 

Kari made her way down the dock, skirting the sailors and crates littering
the planks. Down near the end, where the incoming and outgoing ships were
unloaded and loaded, there were four crane like machines that lifted the
goods on and off the ships. At the moment, three were in use, and one was
cordoned off. This was the one she headed for.

She completely disregarded the yellow caution tape surrounding the machine,

ducking under it and heading for it's cockpit. Inside, as she expected, was

a man buried in a landslide of wires and differnet gadgets. He was busily
sautering away at a group of disfunctient wires, molding them to an equally

dysfunctient circut board.

The electrician looked close to thrity, maybe alittle younger. He had light

brown hair, tinged with rusty red, cut short and hanging in his eyes. His
nimble fingers moved quickly amoung the wires.

"Sai ne no po, Berkley," she said softly.

Berkley looke dup, his blue eyes open wide in surprise. He smiled,
recognition plain on his face.

"Sai ne no po to you as well, Kari. It's been too long." He disengaged
himself from the tangle of wires and shared a long hug with Kari. They
didn't entirely let go when they were done.

Kari laughed softly. "Only two years."

"Two yeras is a long enough. So tell me, luv, why are you here to see me?"

"I have a favor to ask you."

"Anything," was his quick replied.

"Estech e kei'd mec; Fech Dorman'etesh e rer metae'd."

Berkley frowned. "Your dream came true?"

Kari nodded and stepped away from him, crossing her arms protectively
across her stomach. "Only in part, so far. The Shinra company has taken
over Junon. I was holding a meeting with the Mayor when some Turks came to
try and capture him. They would have, if some other soldier hadn't come in
and attacked as well. They were not tainted, but I could taste the stench
of fech Dorman'etsh all over them."

The man whistled softly. "This is very bad. We have to send word to
Mec'sch'd."

"I know," sighed Kari. "The question is how."

"We'll find a way," the electrician assured her.

"But it won't be easy," she replied. "If we send out a Call, It will be
sure to sense it. We'll be open for attack .And there is no way to know if
a message we send might not be intercepted and altered. Or followed. Seth
cannot be found, not yet."

"I never *said* it would be easy," soothed Berkley, "or safe. But it must
be chanced. What about Orlando? He could send the message via Gaea."

"You're right....." She paused. "It would take longer to reach him, but it
would also be less dectable. But we have to have Orlando, first."

"Not a problem, me luv," he replied, and patted her head. "Orlando
contacted me twenty minutes 'fore you arrived. He says he'll be here within

the hour. Didn't want to miss Lammas, you see."

"Well he'd better gt here quick," Kari said. "I only have forty five
minutes."

"What's up?"

"I'm traveling with warriors, the very same who defested fech Dorman'etesh
and It's offspring four years ago."

Berkley frowned, confused. "But if it was defeated-"

"Remember It is a parasite, Berkley. If even one shred of it remains after
battle, it can reconstructe itself bigger and stronger than before. We also

lost a lot of history. We don't know if fech Morain eh fech skieh's was the

only one."

Berkley didn't reply, and mearly frowned deeper, lines forming on his brow.

He was silent for a moment. "Who else will you need?" he finally asked.

"Other than you and Orlando, probably Jennica and Meridian. I would prefer
a full coebesh, but the Five will serve for now."

"Well, hopefully Orlando will get here soon."

She sighed. "Hopefully."
 

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Thursday, July 12, 2001
4:18:20 PM