Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ The Celestial Rise ❯ The General ( Chapter 7 )

The day has arrived after one rainy night where a lot of different events have transpired, but none of them yet were interconnected. Each of the events occurred on their own accord--manifested by people for their own purpose. The innocent and the guilty, all unsuspecting, coexisted in a world of internal Imperial conflict. Emperor Gestahl, General Cristophe, Advisor Palazzo, Colonel Llurd, Professor del Norte Marguez, and First Lieutenant Chere--all on tipped scales that were about to be tipped some more. One hoping to maintain the balance. Another hoping to throw it off.

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Colonel Harold Llurd wore his military gala uniform with all the pins and medals that he had earned during his entire service in the Imperial Army. In his office were relics of battles he had fought and won--a tattered flag, broken swords, dented helms, and scorched earth. If it were only possible he would probably display his battle scars along with them. Frowning, Llurd had to content himself with numerous commendations from General Fencross, General Cristophe, and even Emperor Gestahl, all in frames hanging on the walls.

With a glass of red wine in hand, he approached each of them, and then read them out loud and proudly. He recalled each of the battles pertaining to each honor and his masterful strategies, bravery and ferocity that won them all. It brought tears to his eyes and a lump in his throat.

So long have I waited. So long have I walked and endured the tests. I have earned them all. In only a matter of minutes, my dream will come true. The battle was hard but I will prevail--I already have. Tomorrow morning, Imperial soldiers will be saluting me as a general!

Brigadier General Harold Llurd, Prime Servant of the Emperor Gestahl, Hero of Vector!

Then he came upon a particular medal. It was in the shape of a gold hand holding a hammer. The sight caught him off guard. He had wanted to forget all about it. It brought him to wonder why he had kept it at all. It was a medal that was not easy to receive. It was a special medal of bravery. One would only be so proud to have received such a great honor, but not Llurd. The memory that haunted the medal clawed at him like a ravenous bird of prey. It wasn't a ghost of a horrifying memory of a traumatic event. It was the ghost of guilt, attacking what was left of his conscience.

I did what I had to do, he rationalized in defense. I did what I could.

The door opened behind him, and a subordinate shuffled in quietly. It was Lt. Barnes, carrying his usual clipboard of reports.

"Colonel, your men have returned from their mission and are waiting for you in their quarters."

Llurd took in a deep breath and held it for as long as he could. It was time for him to snap out of his sentimental thoughts and get back to reality--the more rewarding realm.

"Casualties?" Llurd simply asked.

Barnes smiled before he answered, "Your men do not know the meaning of the word, sir. Casualties: zero."

Llurd smiled slyly. He walked out of his office with Barnes following behind him. It didn't take them long to reach the outside, on their way to his team's barrack. It was morning but the sun still had a few more hours to spend on the other side of the world.

"Have the ten reported to you yet?" he asked as he walked. There weren't anybody in sight besides them. Their path was illuminated by electric lamp posts.

"The initial ten council members have indeed reported in, sir. They have sent in their votes fifteen minutes ago. However, we have no word yet from Lemarr, Ardner, and Siroch. Should I attempt to contact them, sir?"

"Not yet. They must be making sure that my men have 'secured' my part of the deal. They will not be disappointed," Llurd answered without so much a hint of worry in his voice.

"Very well, sir. We have our comm device in the barracks. Should they contact us after their votes they can reach us directly from inside."

"Very good."

"And, sir?"

"What is it, Barnes?"

Barnes stopped dead in his tracks just a few feet from the barrack's entrance and waited for his commander to do the same. Llurd, puzzled, stopped and turned to his subordinate. "What is it, soldier?" he asked.

"May I be the first to have the honor of saluting the new general of Vector!" With that, he dropped his clipboard on the ground, stood smartly and stiffly under a lamppost's electric light, straightened his uniform, and saluted.

Llurd could not keep a straight and stern face any longer. It was time for him to admit it. It was time for him to stop being pessimistic. The title was his and no superstition was going to stop fate. With a rare bright smile on his face he faced his loyal lieutenant and acknowledged the honor. At about the same time, loud boisterous yells and shouts erupted from within the unadorned building.

Both Llurd and Barnes rushed inside to see what was going on. His men were all in high spirits, cheering and being as loud and rowdy as they could in their uniforms.

"What on Terrae is going on here?!" Llurd shouted, his voice booming and demanding order which was shortly given.

The barrack fell silent as the soldiers all stood in two lines facing each other, unmoving.

Llurd asked again, "What is going on? Weller!"

A soldier in line stepped forward and faced him.

"At ease, Weller. Answer the question."

"Sir, Mr. Lemarr, the council member, just made contact. Lt. Barnes was out to report to you so we had to answer."

"What did he have to say?" Llurd asked, barely able to contain his excitement. He already knew the answer but he wanted to hear it still.

Weller smiled. "He said that he, Mr. Siroch, and Mr. Ardner all submitted their votes at the same time. They all voted for you, sir!"

Barnes opened his mouth to let out a cheer but caught himself just in time. Llurd was in shock. He approached the soldier slowly and held him by the shoulders. Then Llurd whispered softly but clearly, "Are you sure, soldier?"

Weller nodded saying, "We heard it crystal clear from the comm device, sir. They will be contacting again. But we all heard it crystal clear. The three of them voted for you!"

His heart rate increased in excitement. He wanted to shout and jump to release the welling energy within him but he dared not let his dignity be compromised. He felt dizzy. He felt sick to the stomach. He clung to Weller's shoulders to balance himself.

It was the happiest day of his life.

"Sir?" Weller said, his face wincing in pain. "Sir!"

Barnes stepped closer and held his commander by the arm. Barnes immediately saw what was going on. His commander was holding on so tightly to Weller that his grip hurt.

"Sir!" Barnes shouted to get his commander's attention. "Are you alright?" Lt. Barnes asked as he helped Weller pry Llurd's fingers off of his shoulders. Llurd released his grip suddenly as if snapping back to the waking world. Weller staggered backwards, rubbing both his shoulders. "Sir?" Barnes called again. "Congratulations, sir! You're a general! You did it. You're a general!"

Llurd's eyes were wide open. He was not laughing nor smiling. He was still in shock. The others smiled in line. They were happy for their commander. They were happy for themselves. Each of them would be greatly rewarded. Each of them would be serving a general in the morning. It was a prestige for the entire unit. It was a happy day for all of them.

The soldiers made themselves at ease. They began to cheer and fill the room with such positive energy, patting their commander on the back and congratulating him. They made so much noise that they woke up the other soldiers in other barracks closest to them. They didn't care. They were in the presence of a general. No other commanding officer could touch them now. They were protected. It was an unspoken promotion for each of them.

They served a general.

It took Barnes a full minute to regain composure. The blood that was drained from his face was now returning. It started with a silent laugh. The kind that was not apparent if it weren't for his shoulders that bobbed up and down. Then his laugh joined the audible cheers until it was the loudest of them all. He started to hug (the manly kind) everybody in sight and patted them in the back. The soldiers punched him in the shoulders as a congratulatory gesture. A few used the words 'General' and 'Llurd' in a sentence. Barnes ordered a couple of his comrades to bring out the drinks that they had prepared. The two obligingly obeyed and started to pass out glasses and filled them with cooled champagne. The mugs and bottles of whiskey was reserved for later.

They toasted and drank and then drank some more. A soldier yelled, "Speech! Speech!" but Llurd hushed him saying, "I don't have one ready yet!"

"Oh, come on!" yelled out his men. "Speech! Speech! Speech…!" they all chanted.

Llurd signaled them to stop, giving in to the request, with a proud smile on his face. "Fine! I will!" The soldiers all clapped and then hushed to silence, intent on hearing their commander's words.

Llurd took a deep breath and began.

"My friends--comrades! I… am… proud. I am proud of all of you, and your exceptional service under my command. I just want to say that I could not have done it without you--without your courage and strength, without your loyalty and integrity. I owe each of you a great deal! And I shall not disappoint. Tomorrow they shall announce in public of my promotion. The Council shall make the recognition solely to myself, but know that I share this prestige to all of you. Together we will reap the rewards! I, as general, will not forget all of you. All of you will compose my own team of Elites! I will share my spot in the pages of Vector's history with you!"

The cheers ensued as they raised their glasses into the air and drank to their health. Their spirits were all so high that they nearly didn't notice the comm device beep. Somebody was contacting them. Barnes was the first to notice. He hurried to pick up the receiver, and the others immediately around him hushed to a tolerable din. However, most were still oblivious to the call, including Llurd himself who was having a smoke with his men.

"Lt. Barnes here… Yes… Yes…? As a matter of fact, he is here… Do you want to--? Excuse me…? I'm sorry, I don't think I heard you right…" Barnes grabbed the comm device and took it with him to the farthest corner of the room, covering his other ear with his cupped hand. "Mr. Lemarr, please repeat that last thing you just said… No, before that…! What?! You're… you… you can't be serious…! How is this possible…?"

As Barnes listened to Mr. Lemarr over the comm device his hand began to shake. His face contorted to a look of puzzlement and fear. His heart raced and he began to perspire. He dropped the receiver of the comm device onto the floor and looked straight to his commander across the room.

Llurd was in a middle of telling a funny joke when he saw Barnes's ashen face. He looked like he had just seen a ghost. He stopped in mid-sentence and his smile disappeared completely. He sensed that something was wrong. The entire barrack sensed that something was horribly wrong… and it had something to do with the call.

"Lt. Barnes?" Llurd asked nervously. Barnes just stared back, his mouth slightly hanging open. He had no words ready to tell his commander the news. "Lieutenant? Who was it?"

"It… it was Lemarr," he replied, finding the strength to speak again.

"What is wrong, Lieutenant!" Llurd asked again, impatiently.

"The Council just tallied the votes…"

Llurd began to feel sick. He could almost hear the bad news. He didn't want to ask any more. But he had to know. He needed to know where he went wrong. "Who's the new general?" Llurd asked.

"It's… I… I--" Barnes struggled to say the name of the new general when it occurred to him that he did not know the answer to the question. "I don't know, sir."

"What do you mean you don't know?! Give me an answer, soldier! I want an answer!" Llurd was yelling. The soldiers near him distanced themselves.

Barnes gave him the only accurate answer that he could give at the time.

"Not you, sir. Not you."