Crisis Core: The Female SOLDIER

23

Tseng was explaining to Sera and Zack about the mission that would be taking place in Modeoheim, where it was constantly snowing and where another Mako excavation site was at. He was giving them a brief summary of the area when there was a sudden explosion.

The helicopter was shot down.

The whole crew braced themselves as the transport spun around wildly before crashing into a snowy mountain away from Modeoheim, sending everyone flying out of the now burning transport, into the freezing, snow-covered ground.

"Ugh... well, that's a fine how-do-you-do!" Zack groaned as he pushed himself up, dusting away any snow on his clothes as he stood up and look around.

"Sera! Tseng!" Zack hollered, trying to look for the others. "Hey guys!"

"We're behind you, Zack. We're fine." Zack heard a female voice from the back and turned around to see the Tseng, Sera, and the two infantrymen that would also be taking part in this operation, slowly getting up. Zack walked towards them as Tseng was checking his phone.

"No signal out here," Tseng said as he kept his phone away.

"Well, at least we're all in one piece. We'll be alright," Zack replied, trying to raise everyone's spirits as always.

"We're not far from Modeoheim when we crashed," Sera added. "We should reach there soon enough if we walk the rest of the way."

Tseng nodded. "Thankfully, we have someone used to this kind of terrain." He looked to Zack as he said this.

"Yeah yeah, I'm a country boy," Zack shrugged as he shook his head.

"All right, then," Tseng started to lead the way. "We would have reached Modeoheim by now if we hadn't crashed. So we're going to need to make up for lost time."

Zack took over from there. "All right, follow me, then!" he told them, starting the trek through the snowy mountain.

It was apparent that among the five of them, Zack and one of the infantrymen was more adapted to the mountain terrain compared to the other three, the two of them walking much further than the rest with the other infantryman being the slowest out of all of them, and Sera and Tseng being somewhere in the middle.

"Yo! Don't fall too far behind!" Zack hollered as he turned to look at the rest of the crew. "Sera! Why're you so slow? Aren't you a SOLDIER?"

"What makes you think I'm not purposely slowing down my steps so that I could walk with Tseng instead, country boy?" Was Sera's response as Tseng chuckled beside her.

Zack made to retort but realized he didn't really know what to say to that so he just shrugged and look forward once again, continuing to trek together with the other infantryman who was snickering at the exchange between the two SOLDIERs.

Tseng chuckled again. "Are you really slowing down your steps? Or did you say that so he would keep his mouth shut?" He asked Sera.

She just shrugged, not stopping her trek. "It was half and half," She smirked, but then she turned serious. "I needed to confirm something with you anyway."

"Back at the church, you mean?"

Sera nodded. "Aerith... she's an ancient, isn't she?"

"Not quite," Sera turned to Tseng for an explanation. "She's half Cetra. Her mother was a pure Cetra and her father was a human, which makes her only half. Since we are still unsure of your own lineage as to whether you're a Cetra or not, Shinra states she is the last of the Cetra, therefore we of the Turks were to keep track of her movements."

Sera didn't like the sound of that. "What does Shinra want with her?"

"That's classified information."

"Tseng-" He cut her off before she could protest.

"I've already divulged on information that you originally should not have been privy about. Should you discover any more, I would be forced to report on that knowledge, which would cause you to be surveilled from a distance like her as well. Please, Sera, for your own sake as well as the sake of those you care about, do not ask any further."

Sera bit her lip but decided not to press any further as she nodded stiffly, ending the conversation and she began to trek past Tseng to reach the other two that was ahead of her. She obliged to Tseng's request on not to get any more information from, knowing he would keep to his word and report on her should she try to find out more from him.

But that did not mean she wouldn't try to find out more period. Just from other sources. 'I'll need to be discreet, though,' Sera thought.

"Good news, Tseng, Sera!" Zack hollered and Sera looked up towards the two ahead. "Me and..." Zack trailed off as he turned to the infantryman he was chatting with and the soldier removed his helmet, revealing spiky blond hair and light blue eyes on a teenage boy's face. "Cloud," the blond soldier introduced himself, smiling lightly.

"Me and Cloud here are both backwater experts. Oh yeah!" Zack smiled.

"Good. Carry on then." Tseng called from behind.

Sera chuckled at Zack's proclamation and shook her head in amusement as she continued to trek onwards.

'Just like Zack to make friends with anyone he meets. Maybe that's why I trust him so quickly,' Sera thought to herself.