Thwup thwup thwup thwup thwup thwup…
       The cold steel blades of a ventilation fan rotated, quietly, efficiently, performing their vital duty-moving the air of the upper Junon military base. Venting foul air to the outside to make room for the cleaner air one of its cousins was bringing in. Venting air stale with the contagion of human breath, or fumes from chemicals…or smoke.
       Presently, the fan was moving air contaminated with trace amounts of smoke. At that height in the ducts it was barely noticeable. However, farther down, passing by more fans and more ducts branching off into the dark, the smoke grew slightly thicker, condensing into wispy light grey tendrils that danced around each other. And yet farther down, past more fans and more ducts where there was a hint of light, the smoke continued to coalesce, the tendrils combining into a cloud.
       Where it entered the duct, wafting around the slightly-rusty grill like a river does rocks in its midst, the smoke was even thicker. It filled the top half of the small, dimly lit room, shifting at the whims of a small fan on the desk, and swirling around the heads of the room's two occupants. Its source was the burning cigarettes clamped between the lips of the two men; one of them, with short dirty blond hair partly covered with raised goggles, turned to the other.
       "You know, I'm glad you stopped by. I really needed someone to smoke with… it just ain't the same without someone else to share 'em with, ya know? Gets &#$% boring doing it by myself. And the other mechanics… well, let's just say they don't understand me. I needed someone intelligent to talk to." He put his arms behind his head and leaned back in the chair.
       His companion, a well-trimmed man with brown hair and a beard, dressed in a blue suit and red tie, took a drag on his own cigarette and then looked at it appreciatively. "Glad I stopped by myself… these are good! Not sure how healthy they are though," he said, chuckling. "Never knew such… interesting people such as yourself worked for the Company." He grinned over at the other who, at the end of his cigarette, snubbed it out and fished around in his flight vest for the rest of the pack.
       "Where'd that lighter run off to?"
       The suited man dug his hand into a pocket and brought out a small disposable lighter, which he handed to his friend. Flicking the sparker, the pilot convinced a small flame to appear, and lit himself another cigarette. He handed the lighter back to the suited man with a thanks and leaned back again, going over recent events in his mind…

*****

       Earlier that afternoon, the mechanic-cum-pilot Cid had been hard at work on the proud airship that bore his surname, the Shinra's Highwind. It was his baby; he had designed it, overseen its construction, given it its first trial run; and now, despite having sold it to the Shinra Electric Power Company, he still got to see it from time to time. This time around he was adding some modifications the Company had wanted, a new flight system he had come up with earlier, based around jet engines.
       He stood up, wiping sweat from his brow, just in time to see an unfamiliar man in a suit slowly walking across the flight platform. Cid watched the Shinra executive- or so he guessed- put his hand over his eyes as he gazed up at the magnificent airship. The pilot grinned- he loved it when people admired his creations- and sauntered out to where the suit was standing.
       "Whaddya think? Damn fine piece of machinery, eh?"
       "Yeah… sure is…" replied the other, still looking up at the Highwind. Then he lowered his hand and looked over at the pilot. "I'm sorry, and you are…?"
       Cid grinned and blew out a puff of smoke as he replied, "Cid Highwind."
       The executive's eyes widened a small bit. "The designer of this ship, then? Pleased to meet you." He held out his hand, which was promptly taken by the other man and shaken vigorously. The suit continued, "Reeve, head of Urban Development for Shinra. I was taking a cruise to Costa del Sol, but when I saw this," he gestured up at the airship, "I had to come over and see it up close for myself. Never been this close to it before." He continued to look at the airship for another few moments. "It truly is magnificent…"
       Cid chuckled and clapped Reeve on the shoulder. "It sure is! Damned if it's not the most advanced flying machine there is, and I'm adding even more to it as we speak. Putting some new jet engines on it, to be exact." Reeve cocked an eyebrow.
       "Jet engines?" He shook his head and sighed. "Not sure what the President needs those for…it's just a cruise ship."
       And think of how much work on Midgar's infrastructure could have been done with that money… he thought.
       Cid shrugged. "Yea, well, it's just a backup system." He chuckled. "Of course, the way this baby's designed, it'll never be needed- I don't make propulsion systems to need backups!" he said, grinning. Reeve laughed, and found himself liking the pilot's attitude.

       The two men continued to look up at the ship for a while longer, and then Cid finished his cigarette. Pulling his pack out, he held it out to Reeve. "Want a smoke?"

*****

       Cid's train of thought was interrupted by Reeve tapping him on the shoulder. "By the way, Cid… did you say you had something even better than this?"
       The pilot grinned. "*#$% yea! I've got some really special cigs back at Rocket Town, haven't smoked them in a while. We oughtta try them sometime. They're made from #$&@ Zeio leaves, if you can believe it… Strange stuff. You've never smoked anything like them, I can guarantee you that!"
       Reeve grinned back. "Well then, I'll have to try them sometime." He glanced at his watch, and stood up. "This has been a pleasant diversion, but I have to catch my cruise-it's leaving soon." Cid stood up as well, and the two men walked out the door of the room, still talking.
       As the door closed behind them, the room fell silent once more, except for the muffled sound of ventilation blades…

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Completed January 2002 | Copyright 2002, CyReeve Productions.

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