Hidden Identity (Book Two)-Complete

Year Five, Day Forty-Two

Red XII POV

While we wait for the girls to finish getting ready, Cloud decides to talk to the innkeeper about the town,

"So, what's with the huge rocket?" he asks.

"You're better off asking the Captain about it and the town," the man behind the counter says tiredly. He smells like ink and paper.

"Captain?"

"The Captain was a pilot back when ShinRa still had their Space Program. He was going to be the first man in space, but there was an accident...ever since, he's been wasting his life away, dreaming of exploring the cosmos."

"Huh," Cloud mumbles. Then, his expression changes to one of seriousness. "Tell me, has a man in a black cloak passed through here at all?"

"Hmm, black cloak...nope, haven't seen such a man."

"Right, thanks."

Cloud comes back over to us. "So, either Sephiroth lied, or we got here ahead of him."

"Or, he didn't pass through here. He could've just kept heading north and not stopped here at all," Barret grumbles. He shifts restlessly on his feet. "What the hell's taking those girls so long?"

As if on queue, Tifa, Aerith, Yuffie, and Samantha, who has her black cloak back on, come down the stairs looking well-rested and smelling like shampoo. They must've bathed. No wonder they took so long.

"So, what's our next destination?" Tifa asks Cloud cheerfully.

He sighs and pulls out our map. "Well, according to this, the only way to go farther north is by crossing the sea. Maybe someone around here has a boat we can borrow."

"I don't think anyone around here has a boat big enough to fit all of us," Yuffie points out, laughing a little. "We might need two or three boats."

"Good point. Transportation is certainly an issue we need to figure out."

Sam coughs. "I think this might be the time for me to tell you all that ShinRa's going to be here soon. I overheard a couple of the cleaning ladies saying that they had to prepare a special room for the President. Rufus himself is coming. And so is some guy named 'Palmer'. If I remember correctly, he's the head of the Space and Aeronautics Division."

"Great. Just what we need," Barret mutters angrily. He really does have a temper problem.

"We just need to figure out where we're going next and how we're getting there before then," Aerith says. "We know Sephiroth is heading north. We know the only way to continue north is across the sea. We could use a boat or two. So, let's start with trying to find some boats. That sound okay, Cloud?"

"Yeah, let's split up and ask around town to see if anyone has a couple boats they'll lend us," he replies, nodding.

"Sam, could you come with me this time?" Aerith asks the silver-haired girl, smiling.

"Sure."

Our spiky-haired leader says, "Rocket Town isn't very big, we don't need to do pairs. Let's just do two groups of four."

"Alright! Girls vs Boys," Yuffie announces. "A competition for who can procure us transportation across the sea before ShinRa arrives."

Tifa seems all for it. "Sounds good to me!"

Cloud sighs and rubs his temples. "Fine..."

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Cloud POV

This is ridiculous. How is it possible that every single resident in a seaside town not own a single boat!? Maybe the girls had better look on their side of town...

And by the looks on their faces, my hopes are practically confirmed. When we meet back at the inn at midday, they all look very proud of themselves. I very much hope this actually does mean they have found us some boats.

"So, how'd you guys do?" Tifa asks us sweetly.

"Not a single goddamned resident had a single goddamned boat," Barret growls in response, looking away.

"Well, we didn't find any boats either, but we found something much better," Aerith says.

"What?" I inquire.

"A plane. Apparently, all we have to do is go talk to the owner who's up at the rocket," Sam answers. "Some guy called 'the Captain'."

"So, we don't know if we can actually use it."

"If he says no, we could always steal it," Yuffie suggests a little too eagerly.

"Let's save stealing as a last resort. For now, we'll try to talk to the Captain."

We leave the inn and hurry up to the huge rocket. It looks even older and rustier up close. I don't see anyone around. Maybe he's inside it? There's some stairs leading up the side to the hatch.

"Okay, Sam, Barret, you guys come with me to check the interior. The rest of you wait down here," I tell the group.

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Sam POV

Just inside the rocket's hatch, we come across a man with short graying blond hair and ragged-looking whiskers. He's got an unlit cigarette in his mouth and is wearing a blue flight jacket, dark shirt, green cargo pants, heavy work boots, leather gloves, a white pilot's scarf, and a pair of goggle around his forehead with a packet of cigarettes tucked under the strap.

"What're you guys doin' here?" he asks when he catches sight of us. He's got a gruff-sounding voice, like he's done a lot of yelling in his life.

"We were told the Captain was up here. Is that you?" Cloud asks him.

"Yep, I'm the Captain! Cid Highwind's my name, but everyone calls me 'the Captain'. What can I do for you?"

"Can you tell us more about this rocket?"

I see what he's doing. Getting the guy more comfortable with us and trusting us so that he's more likely to let us borrow his plane.

Cid laughs. "Not bad for a kid. I'll tell you all I know. 

"ShinRa developed a lot of technological gadgets during that meaningless war with Wutai. It's a Mako company now, but they used to be weapons manufacturers. One of the things they came up with was the rocket engine. There was so much excitement about the prospect of space exploration, and our dreams continued to grow.

"They put a lot of work, money, and time into it. Finally, after many failures, they completed this rocket: ShinRa No.26. And then they chose the best pilot in the world to fly it: me."

More of Cid's story next chapter!