Desha's Reno of the Turks Fan Fiction

Chapter 11: To the Depths

Monday morning found Reno on a helicopter bound for Junon, alongside Ashland and Tseng. He felt like he’d gotten all of five minutes of sleep the previous night… which probably wasn’t that far from reality. He was nervous… and when he got nervous, his brain always seemed to refuse to shut up and let him sleep. He’d spent the night tossing and turning in a little cot in one of the office sleeping quarters until it was finally close enough to when he ought to have been getting up anyway to justify being awake.

Hell, he hadn’t even needed his usual half gallon of coffee this morning, he was so keyed up on his own adrenaline.

It wasn’t the dive itself that was worrying him. Not really. It was more just the thought of being completely isolated and on his own… which was a little odd, as that’s how he’d spent so much of his childhood. This was a different kind of isolation, though. It wasn’t the loneliness of being orphaned and left largely to his own devices. It was being dropped into a place where humans didn’t even really belong and told to get his job done done before his air ran out. There was something unrelentingly chilling about that thought.

He and Ashland had spent the last two days going over everything he’d been taught the previous week… and in between lessons, he’d spent his time in an ice water bath, which had quite suddenly replaced the company hot tub on the far end of the pool area, acclimating his body to the temperature of the water he was soon to be submerged in. The wetsuit had helped – it was nothing like when he’d fallen through the ice on the lake in Kalm – but he still emerged from the bath shivering every time.

Rude had helpfully informed him that it was probably because he had almost no fat on him. Nothing but a thin layer of rubber to keep him warm. And it certainly wasn’t the first time Reno’d cursed being so goddamned skinny.

He shut his eyes and took a breath, holding it for a moment, forcing himself to try and clear his mind. There was nothing to worry about. He could do this. It was a relatively short swim from the submarine to the opening into the underwater cave that sheltered the lab, then a reportedly tight squeeze through said opening, another short swim to the airlock, and he was golden.

Of course… then he had to find all the shit Shinra Company wanted him to get for them. And get it back to the sub. And not drown or get eaten by the shark or something equally deadly. Hang on… were there sharks around Junon? He hadn’t thought to ask anyone until now…

There was a sudden pressure on either side of his neck, and he jumped slightly in surprise. It took him a moment to realize it was Tseng’s hand, gently massaging the pressure point.

“Relax,” his mentor said, voice somewhat staticy over their headsets.

“Easy for you to say, boss. Tch… aren’t we there yet?” he groused, though his complaints were quickly forgotten as Tseng redoubled his efforts. His eyes drifted shut and he didn’t open them again until Ashland’s quiet electronic snickering filled his ears.

“Hmph… and I always thought Veld spoiled you,” he commented.

“I learned from the best,” Tseng quickly returned, drawing a laugh from the former Turk.

“Hmph… I see why Veld had his doubts about your choice of first rookie,” he commented… which caused the redhead’s attention to snap immediately back to the conversation. Ashland smirked. “You don’t seem the type, at first glance. Or second, for that matter. Bet you’ve spent a lot of time proving yourself…” His gaze shifted to Tseng. “You always did have masochistic streak… Had to make everything difficult.”

“There was no great difficultly in training Reno,” Tseng replied, more than a little defensively… at which point the aforementioned former rookie broke into laughter, despite his nervousness.

“Uh… you sure about that, boss? ‘Cause I very distinctly remember bein’ nothin’ but ‘great difficulty’ for awhile there…”

“You grew out of it,” the Turk lieutenant affirmed, before teasingly adding, “… For the most part.”

---

The drugs were wearing off again. Over the last couple of days she’d become very adept at telling when they were wearing off. It started as a painful tingling sensation in her fingertips and slowly progressed to pure agony that stretched all the way up to her shoulder.

And it certainly didn’t help that she couldn’t move. The contraption they’d secured her in saw to that. It immobilized her arms, her upper body, and her head. Really, all she could do was scowl up at the ceiling and wait from someone to come and give her the next dose of pain meds.

She was on, she was pretty sure, day four of this shit. Or at least day four of being awake enough to recognize that she was in the hospital. She growled faintly at the small crack in one of the ceiling tiles. She couldn’t recall offhand what said crack had ever done to her, but she was very displeased with it at the moment.

“Well… I was going to ask how you were feeling this morning, but I think you just answered my question,” a far too chipper voice commented from the direction of the door.

Kai scoffed.

“I’m starting to wish those Hades-be-damned science experiments had just finished the job, sir,” she muttered, annoyed. Veld settled into a nearby chair and patted her hand.

“You don’t mean that,” he declared, “But I’m sure you are getting more than a little tired of… all this.” He gestured to the device that kept her largely motionless. “How are you feeling otherwise?”

“Hmph… like something tried to rip an arm off,” she snapped. “And I want more drugs.” She sighed, shifted her eyes to one side, trying to get a better view of the Turk leader. It was only marginally successful. “Hey… do me a favor, would you, sir?”

“Of course,” Veld replied.

“I heard from the staff that Rude’s dropped by a couple of times since they stopped drugging me into a coma… but I always seem to be asleep when he’s here. Tell him thanks for saving my sorry ass, okay? He really pulled me out of the fire out there.”

“I’ll be sure to tell him. He’ll be glad when you’re finally released. Everyone misses you at headquarters.” He smirked slightly, “Well… except, perhaps, the rookies who are not being forced to run the gauntlet on a daily basis in your absence.”

“Ugh… You keep letting them slack off like that, I’m really going to have my work cut out for me when I get out of here…”

“I’m sure you’ll get them back up to speed in no time… Though I do wish you’d hurry up and heal. We’re quite busy. I’ve even had to summon a Turk out of retirement to replace you during your convalescence.”

“… What? Wait… Ashland’s back in Midgar?” she queried, somewhat shocked. It had to be him. He was, as far as she knew, the only living retiree from the team… “I thought he said he was dedicating himself to family life in Cosmo Canyon once he left. How the hell’d you convince him to come back?”

Ashland had been one of her earliest instructors as a rookie and he’d retired shortly after Tseng had been promoted to full Turk, so she hadn’t known him long… but she’d known him well enough to be curious about what might have drawn him back to Shinra after moving halfway across the world, and largely ceasing contact with anything related to his old life.

“I called in a favor. He’s not really… back… per se. It’s more of a consultancy. Your run-in with the zenenes came at a somewhat inconvenient time. I had an underwater assignment for you… before you nearly went and got yourself killed,” the Turk leader teased, “I brought Ashland in to train someone else to do it.”

“Hmph… this time of year? Well, unless they’re diving off the coast of Costa del Sol, I think I may have gotten the better end of this,” Kai snorted.

Veld chuckled softly.

“Something tells me Reno might agree with that sentiment after this… It’s near Junon.”

Kai tried to turn her head to look at him, only to be held firmly in place by the irritating medical restraint.

“You’re sending my baby Turkling?! On a cold water dive?! I don’t care who trained him, that’s not something you throw at a beginner!”

“Calm down, Kai,” Veld said, placatingly, “He’s in capable hands, and we’re taking all precautions. He’ll be fine.”

The scowl quickly returned to her face, and Veld snickered quietly.

“You know… he’s not a Turkling anymore. He hasn’t been for quite some time. Aren’t you ever going to stop calling him one?” he asked. Kai sneered at him… or did as best as she could manage from her present position, at any rate.

“He’s a Turkling until I say otherwise,” she proclaimed, stubbornly. She knew better, of course. The uncertain little redhead she’d met three – going on four – years ago had come a very long way in all that time. A part of her was reluctant to admit it, though. He still had so much wide-eyed innocence left in him, in spite of everything he’d been through. She didn’t want him to lose that quality.

But he would, one day. They all did. She just didn’t want him to end up cynical and jaded… the way she so often tended to be. But she knew, deep down, that continuing to refer to him as a baby Turkling wouldn’t protect him from that.

“If you say so,” Veld replied, humoring her in her declaration. Kai rolled her eyes.

“Dear Odin, I definitely need more drugs,” she finally sighed.

---

When they landed in Junon, they were greeted by a small contingent of base security… and one Lieutenant Commander Viridia Nacelle. Reno grinned at the sight of a familiar face.

“Hey, Vir,” he said, as he hopped out onto the snowy tarmac.

“On a first name basis with base security, eh?” Ashland laughed, easily recognizing the uniforms, as he climbed out behind him. “Now why does that not surprise me?”

Viridia shook her head slightly. “Good morning, Reno,” she replied, before glancing over at Ashland, “And… I don’t believe I’d had the pleasure…”

“Parker. Ashland Parker. Investigation Sector of the General Affairs Department… retired,” he replied, offering a hand to her in greeting. Viridia snickered and shook it.

“They let you guys retire?”

“Only those of us too old and feeble to be of any further use to the Company,” Ash said, jokingly.

The security officer chuckled and then smiled widely as she spotted Tseng emerging from the aircraft as well… before quickly schooling her expression. “Tseng,” she greeted him with a nod.

“Good morning, Lieutenant Commander… Is everything ready?”

Reno snickered quietly. It always amused him when those two tried to act “professional” around one another when subordinates were watching. Like anyone around here didn’t know what the pair of them got up to when they were alone… Tseng sharply elbowed him – a not so subtle request that the redhead forgo his usual suggestive commentary – as he took the lead, following their welcome party towards the large tunnel entrance that would lead them down to the underwater reactor and submarine docks.

The were herded down a long ramp to a small elevator… which took them down to yet another ramp… which led to a door that turned a corner to still another ramp, and for a while, Reno began to wonder if it would ever end… but at last, they reached a large metal hatch. Two of their escort hauled it open, revealing… another damned elevator. Reno bit back a groan.

This one was different than the first, however. It was more similar to the large platform lift that carried soldiers and equipment onto the base from Lower Junon. He followed suit as the others all boarded, and soon was, once more, traveling downward.

At the bottom, they stepped out into what looked like a utility corridor of some sort. The redhead couldn’t help but be just a little disappointed. He’d never actually seenthe underwater reactor in person. He’d been scheduled to tour this very facility with Rufus once… but the day’s activities had been interrupted by Fuhito and Istev’s bombing. The opportunity hadn’t ever come up again before today. He didn’t see what all the fuss was about. This was basically just like the inside of any other mako reactor.

But then… he wasn’t here for a tour. He was here to do a job.

The little parade continued down the hallway until they reached another hatch, which was dutifully opened by the security personnel… and Reno’s jaw dropped.

He wasn’t sure what he’d been expecting, but it certainly wasn’t this. The drab, uninteresting tunnel gave way to a transparent, domed walkway that stretched out into the ocean. It was clear that they were already several meters down. He could only just make out a glimmer of morning sunlight filtering through the depths. As they moved forward, that meager light faded entirely, only to be replaced by bright spotlights shining out into the darkness, illuminating the seafloor around their enclosed path.

The redhead paused momentarily and watched as a large blue and silver fish lazily drifted by. As they went deeper, he was able to spot yet more sea life. Crabs scrabbled along among the rocks… The hinged shells of clams were strewn about the pebbly sand… Tiny silver fish flitted past in large schools. He even thought he might have caught sight of a dolphin very briefly in the distance, but it had been too far away and moving too quickly to really be sure.

“Reno… Keep up,” Tseng’s voice nudged him, and the redhead pulled his gaze away from their surroundings only to discover that he’d fallen a fair distance behind the rest of the group. He hurried to rejoin them.

It was like being in a giant fishbowl… only… kinda inside out. Reno couldn’t help but be a little intrigued by the strange sights surrounding him. He’d only ever seen the ocean from the surface. There was a whole other world down here… He shook his head and laughed softly to himself. He’d spent the last few years wanting to see the whole world… and hadn’t even considered the fact that about half of it was underwater.

By then, they were nearing the end of the walkway, and Reno could see the dark silhouette of the Junon reactor looming a little farther on. It was an impressive structure… and he vaguely wondered how the hell you went about building something that big so far down. He didn’t have much time to think about it, however, as the next thing he knew, he was being ushered through yet another large, metal hatch.

To his slight surprise, the doorway led directly into another elevator… though much different from the previous ones. The wall was lined with large, water-filled cylinders that bubbled violently when the button was pressed to set the car in motion. He supposed it had to do with equalizing the pressure… Ashland had mentioned something about that during training. The journey didn’t take long… and this time, they seemed to be going upwards.

And when they did arrive, Reno had to do a double take as he found himself standing in an enormous underwater dock.

“Holy shit…” he breathed and Ashland chuckled in amusement.

“Quite a sight, eh? Hmph… been a hell of a long time since I’ve been down here…” he commented.

They were standing on a long catwalk that looked out over large bays containing Shinra Company’s submarines.

“Uh… Boss? Any chance in hell I can try drivin’ one of those?” Reno queried, eyeing the the truly unique looking vehicles.

“Hmph… not on my watch. Tseng’s told me all about your so-called ‘driving’,” Viridia hurriedly replied, “Besides which… Our naval soldiers train for months just to qualify for a chance to crew them.”

“Tch… Anyone ever tell ya that you’re almost as much fun as the boss is, Vir?” the redhead shot back, smirking teasingly.

---

“Sato… you’re on monthly reactor check-ins,” Veld said, and the Mideelian Turk groaned loudly. Liam glanced over at Sykes and Petra, somewhat curious, wondering what business the Turks had at the reactors.

“We do random spot-checks once a month,” Petra explained in a whisper, “Just to keep normal reactor security on their toes.”

“Bloody pain in the arse waste ‘o time. And anyway… it’s Remy’s turn, inn’it?” Sato groused, arms folded over his chest. Veld looked over at him disapprovingly.

“Actually, it’s Kai’s turn. But for obvious reasons, she is unable to see to it at present. Take our newest rookie. I don’t believe Liam has been introduced to reactor security yet.”

“… Aye, sir…” Sato replied, somewhat chastened.

“Speaking of our missing teammate,” the Turk leader continued, “I checked in on her earlier this morning. She’s awake and alert… and I’m sure would appreciate visitors, but try not to all turn up at once, please. Kai has also voiced her concern that the rookies aren’t getting enough time on the gauntlet in her absence. Cissnei, see to it, if you would.”

“Yes, sir,” she replied, giggling as the other two rookies echoed Sato’s earlier groan in unison. Liam grinned slightly. He’d definitely gotten the better assignment today… though he was glad to hear that the diminutive senior Turk was well enough to be concerning herself with their training. Maybe he’d take Veld’s suggestion and stop by after work tonight.

“Dismissed,” Veld said with a nod, ending the morning briefing. The team gathered themselves and most set off to see to the orders they’d been given. Notably absent from this morning’s briefing had been Tseng, Reno, and Ashland. In fact, the trio hadn’t even been mentioned. Liam could only surmise that whatever mission they’d been training for was currently underway.

The rookie still had no idea what it was they were doing. His suspicion was that his security clearance simply wasn’t high enough to be told… but it didn’t do anything to stem his curiosity. He’d even asked Petra if she had any idea, given that she and Ashland hailed from the same hometown and their families had known one another for years. She’d replied with a shake of her head and the explanation that Ashland had never talked much about his life before Cosmo Canyon.

“Well? No use delayin’ the inevitable. Let’s get ta it, eh rookie?” Sato said, placing a hand on his shoulder and guiding him towards the door. Liam gave his fellow rookies a quick wave and put the thought of the mysterious top secret mission out of his mind for the time being. He had to admit… the reactors had always interested him. Getting to see the inside of one sounded… intriguing. Even if it was just for a routine security check.

---

Reno was all suited up and ready to go. Vir and her security detail had left them once they’d boarded the submarine, and as the vessel had gotten underway, reality had started to set in with a vengeance.

He was seriously going to do this. The redhead checked his air tank for the fourth time and wondered what in the nine hells had ever possessed him to agree to something this nuts. He was on a goddamned submarine, out in the middle of the goddamned ocean getting ready to jump into freezing cold water in a goddamned rubber suit.

He was out of his goddamned mind… but it wasn’t like he could back out now.

“Relax, kid,” Ash said, taking a seat beside the young Turk. “You keep stressin’ yourself out like this and you’ll blow through your oxygen in no time flat.”

Reno looked up at him, an expression of irritation on his face. “Oh yeah… that thought’s really gonna calm me down.”

Ashland chuckled softly. “Just don’t overthink it.”

A soft chuckle emanated from the other side of the room. The redhead glanced up as Tseng slipped through the doorway.

“Telling Reno not to overthink something is… rather futile, I’m afraid. It’s what he does best.”

The younger Turk rolled his eyes and pointedly flipped his mentor off, drawing a laugh from Ashland.

“Look… You’re not going to be doing anything you haven’t already done a dozen times or more in the pool. It’s just a… much bigger pool,” the retiree said.

Reno sighed and resisted the urge to check the tank one more time.

“In any event, we’re nearly in position,” Tseng stated, and passed a small case over to the redhead. “Are you ready?”

The younger Turk glared at the case.

“Ugh… I hate these things,” he muttered, ignoring the question and hesitantly opening it. As expected, it was one of R&D’s tiny in-ear receivers. He’d used them a few times… and they always drove him nuts. The worst had been a few months back when Sato had shoved it into his ear just a little too far and then couldn’t get it back out again. That incident had resulted in a a trip to see Dr. Ward and the use of a camera just to find the Ifrit-be-damned thing.

Tseng smirked faintly, and Reno had the distinct impression he was remembering that very incident. He’d been the one to order him down to Medical… after walking in on, not only Reno and Sato, but by then, most of the damn team, desperately trying to remove the device in the lounge.

“Tilt your head,” was his only reply. He reluctantly complied, eye twitching at the slightly unnerving feeling of a pair of long tweezers slipping into his ear canal. Thankfully, Tseng had acquired a certain level of expertise at this over the years and it was over quickly. It buzzed faintly for a moment as it activated itself. It was only then that he noticed something else in the case.

“What’s that?” he asked.

“Something new,” Tseng replied, “Which, had I known about it prior to leaving, I would have had you practice with first, but it was a rather last minute addition. It’s a sub-vocal microphone.”

“… Yeah. You say that like I should have any idea what that is,” Reno snickered. Tseng removed it from the case, and to the redhead, it just looked like an inch-wide band of latex with some sort of circuitry stuck to one side. It was dutifully fastened – much too tightly, for his taste – around his throat. “Fuck, boss… you tryin’ to choke me?”

“It needs to be skin tight to function,” the Turk lieutenant said by way of explanation, “It will work as a normal microphone in the open air. If you speak, we’ll hear you. But it will also work while you’re in the water when you sub-vocalize…”

“… How do I do that?” the redhead asked, confused. Tseng smiled slightly.

“I suspect you do it quite frequently without even realizing it. Most people do… when they read to themselves for instance. The sensors translate the very slight movements of your muscles, and electronically generates the words on our end.” He flipped a switch on a handheld receiver. “Try it, please.”

Reno blinked, not entirely sure he understood how the thing worked… but shrugged, and tried saying something without actually saying it. Nothing happened.

“You sure this thing’s on?” he queried, dubiously, and his voice was immediately echoed by the speaker.

“Quite sure,” Tseng laughed, and the younger man rolled his eyes and tried again. The receiver remained stubbornly silent. A sign over his mentor’s shoulder caught his eye, and he remembered that Tseng had said people did whatever it was when they were reading. He supposed it couldn’t hurt to try that…

“Caution… contents… under… pressure…” the receiver slowly spat out after a brief delay. Reno eyed the thing curiously. That definitely wasn’t his voice. It sounded like a computer. Ashland snickered at his response.

“Obviously there are some limitations,” his mentor added, “But… should you find yourself in trouble in the water, I think this is far preferable to silence.”

He slipped around behind the redhead, and rested his hands on the young Turk’s shoulders, squeezing gently… and Reno couldn’t help but smirk vaguely. Not psychic, he always claimed… and yet Tseng always seemed to know when his protege was worried about something.

To be fair, that hadn’t always been the case. But they’d known each other for over three years now. Tseng was a lot better at reading him these days than he’d been when he’d first recruited him, and Reno understood his mentor better, as well. He had to admit… it was nice to be comforted without having to even say anything was wrong.

He was pulled from his quiet contemplation by a sharp chime, followed by the sub commander’s voice informing them that they were in position near the dive site. Reno took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, glancing up at his mentor.

“Guess we better get started…” he said, nervously.

~end chapter 11~