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Rocket Town is a small village to the Southeast of Midgar created for the purpose of developing ShinRa's Space Program, and is home to the only known launch pad for extraterrestrial transport in the Magic Empire. Few people live here, save for the engineers who once worked on the now-defunct project, and its only distinguishing feature is the rusted ShinRa No. 26 rocket, which looms over the town like the a ghost of the prosperity it once brought.

Since the failure of the ShinRa No. 26 launch, the town has become stagnant and filled with gloom and shattered dreams. There is a growing anti-ShinRa sentiment in the area, which has been boosted by the appearance of Kongol, the ex-SOLDIER.

Rocket Town was also once home to the world's most famous airship captain, Cid Highwind, who was to be the first man in space before the failure of the No. 26 lead to the end of the ShinRa Space Program.

The buzz about town was unusually quiet, though the attitudes of the townsfolk might have given off the impression that it was always this way. A single man strolled through the central plaza of Rocket Town as Eckle and Santoro made their entrance, and that same man disappeared quickly into the Weapon's Shop moments later. The two MP's glanced around curiously, their weapons sitting ready on their hips.

"Man, this sucks. Heidegger's got us out in this shithole looking for a SOLDIER while he sits in his office and plays ******** footsie with Scarlet and Rufus," ShinRa Military Soldier Emilio Santoro cursed, his almond eyes scanning for possible townsfolk to speak with. He glanced sideways at his temporary partner, ShinRa Soldier Merton Eckle, who nodded silently to appease his volatile comrade. Santoro spat, "Where are all the ******** people, anyway? I'll drag their asses out into the square and pistol-whip these sons of bitches until one of them squeals like a pig if I have to!"

Eckle shook his head at the crude language of his partner, but instead continued his search for citizens. He was rewarded when they neared a household next to the square and saw an old man gazing in awe at the old Rocket that towered over the village. The silent soldier nudged his partner and then pointed with the barrel of his gun towards the man, before heading off in his direction.

Santoro smirked, calling out as they made their way over, "Hey Geezer! What're you lookin' at so intently? That crusty old rustbucket rocket up there?" The elderly man jumped slightly, before turning around and glancing at the two blue-clad soldiers with a small smile...as if he hadn't heard the scathing words of the strange newcomers.

"Oh, hello there..." he smiled, extending his hands. "You must be here to talk about the revitalization of ShinRa's Space Program. That big man yesterday told us all about it..."


(Meanwhile...at Karel's group)

The village near Karel was equally deserted, a few houses lining the empty dirt streets. The only notable object in the entire town, aside from the rocket, seemed to be a small pink airplane which was parked in the back of one of the largest houses in town. One might have guessed that whomever lived in this house must have been important now, or at least at some time.

The wind blew ominously through the empty streets of the town as the ShinRa SOLDIER and the two MP's moved further into the town, the rustling of a nearby sign startling the smallest in the group, ShinRa Soldier Yamato "Matt" Yoshi.

"What the..?!" he jumped, turning his gun towards the sign of the item shop towards the entrance of town. He let out a breath when he realized it was nothing more than a sign, but ShinRa Soldier Yenke Ronso wasn't about to let him off that easy.

"What'sa matter, ya' scared?" the hulking soldier mocked, chuckling to himself from beneath his large, blue helmet. He smirked, though he knew the smaller man couldn't see it, not caring in particular what they came across in this town. It was hard to tell whether his confidence was comforting or utterly foolish...

(At Santoro and Eckle...)

"Big man?" Eckle's eyebrow raised as the generally softspoken man noted the possible first break in their investigation. His eyes shifted to his partner, and the two exchanged an understanding glance. He motioned with his eyes towards the old man, prodding his more outspoken comrade to question him further. Santoro wasted no time in complying.

"What the hell are you talkin' about, Pops?" Santoro cracked, not in the mood for riddles. Either this old man was going to do some talking, or he was going to break his hip...

The old man smiled innocently, "A muscular man...must have been twice your size. He said he was takin' over ShinRa and he was gonna send our rocket into outer space if we helped him..." he explained, before turning back to look at the rocket. He paused, then motioned to the two soldiers. "Care to glance at the rocket with me? It's a bit of a hobby of mine..." Santoro snorted, chuckling a bit at the old man's strange attitude.

"No thanks, geezer, but tell me where we can find this "Big Guy" and we might not trash that piece of s**t," Santoro threatened, unashamed to be using scare tactics against a defenseless old fool. Eckle shook his head in disapproval, but the man seemed to fail to notice either of their comments at all. It was as if he was in a trance, staring at the old rocket...

"No good, this useless sack of skin ain't talkin, let's go..." the irritable soldier spat, turning away from the man and heading in the direction of the large house near Karel and his group.


(At Karel's Group...)


"Right...sir..." Yenke mumbled, pissed that he had to take orders from such a stick-looking soldier...but even he knew not to mess with a SOLDIER 1st Class. The humbled ShinRa grunt instead followed silently after his defacto leader, sparing his lesser colleague a scathing glare every now and then just to keep him jittery and amusing.

Meanwhile, as the trio continued towards town, Matt couldn't help but notice the large house with the pink plane as they passed, and nudged his commander with the butt of his rifle to get his attention. He pointed towards the house with teh barrel of his gun, hoping Karel would understand.

"S-sir...that looks like it might be someone important's house. Do you think, maybe, we should talk to them?" He jumped as a blade on the plane behind the house moved, making a loud creak that was amplified by the near-silent village. "This place gives me the creeps..."

"Sir, there's nobody in the center of town except an old man," the voice of Eckle came from behind Karel as the two soldiers approached. Santoro was next to him, holding his gun tight against his abdomen and sighing, annoyed. Eckle paid him no heed. "The target has definitely been through here, as recently as yesterday. His location is still unknown, and the two of us thought it would be a good idea to check this place for answers. But if you've got it, we'll just stand watch outside."

The soft-spoken soldier offered to keep watch and turned, his back to the wall on one side of the large house's door, while Santoro begrudgingly took the other. Ronso nodded at Karel's command and began to move behind the house, his eyes falling on the small plane again, which he decided to go investigate. The final soldier, Yamato Yoshi, stood in line quietly behind his captain. As Karel knocked, the four of them tended to their business with watchful eyes.

None of them wished to be the first to encounter the runaway SOLDIER, so they all had to be on their guard to ensure that they found him before he found them...

"The 'ell you doing back here? Ain't you got no manners, get out of my yard!" The grizzly form of Cid Highwind suddenly appeared, having been working on the Tiny Bronco. As he came around the plane he had seen the soldier, and despite his hidden delight he was also upset at his rudeness.

"If you're here to talk about re-starting the Space Program, go back in the house and talk to Shera! I'll be back after I get this oil off me to talk to yer boss...AND DON'T TOUCH MY TINY BRONCO." He shouted the last part, memories of the last time Rufus had come bringing hopes to the people of Rocket Town.

"Oh, you're not...?" the scientist sighed, setting down a few cups of freshly brewed tea on the table, anyway. Years of enduring the captain's tirades had conditioned her to be as courteous as possible at all times, and this was no exception...even if they weren't here to reinstate the Space Program. Her disappointment was apparent, but she did not allow herself to miss the SOLDIER's mention of a fugitive in the area. She peeked up at him as she set down a cup from behind the lenses of her glasses.

"Fugitive...?" she asked with a hint of curiosity, "I can't say that I have...oh!" The scientist covered her mouth briefly, as if remembering some note of great importance. She took a seat across from the man and sipped a bit of tea. "Well, there was this one man...and please don't tell the captain, he just got back in town and I don't want to make him worry...but this man stopped by our home two days ago telling us something about how he planned to usurp ShinRa's management and reinstate the Space Program."

"I know that he must have been joking, or at the least, very foolish...because the captain and I have been involved with ShinRa for years and we know just how powerful they are..." she continued, sipping her drink again. Calloused fingers...the fingers of a skilled mechanic...pushed her spectacles back up her nose. "But like I said, this man offered to do this if we helped him in his quest...but I sent him away because I knew that he was bad news. Could...that have been him?"

Cid disliked everything about the big lug. The way he walked, the way he talked, and...well, everything. He was about to comment when he noticed the direction the soldier seemed to be pointing his gun. "You just made a mistake...*&@#%"

Quicker than anyone might have thought the old man could move, he had moved forward and gripped the barrel of the gun, turning and pulling the large soldier over his shoulder in a throwing maneuver. As soon as the soldier hit the ground, he pulled on the gun and dismantled it, having once been aquainted with ShinRa technology. In the same moment that this happened, he threw the useless scraps to the side and with a well placed punch the MP was knocked out cold.

"I told ya NOT to threaten my bronco. Well, I guess yer boss'll be looking for ya...he said SOLDIER? Could they be looking for Cloud?" Cid placed two hands on the man, hoisting the large man onto his back. Any strong man in his prime would have had a problem with the body, but Cid seemed to begin carrying the large thug into the house and up towards the front with minimal stress.

Once he entered the front, he saw a man in his house and frowned. 'Ain't wearing the normal uniform...means he's either a Turk, or a SOLDIER...' Cid thought, heaving the large body in front of him. "I found 'em out back, messing with my Tiny Bronco. He's yours, ain't he?" He questioned the youth, sizing him up.

Shera thought for a moment at the man's question, but shook her head side to side lightly. Though she had seen him, she had not allowed him to stick around long enough to discuss where he was making camp. She smiled weakly, doing her best to appear politely apologetic in spite of the fact she knew the captain would be upset to hear ShinRa was in town and not to reinstate the Space Program.

"I'm sorry, I can't say for sure...I only spoke with him for a moment, not at length...but maybe the captain would have an idea..." she spoke out loud, and not a moment later...as if on cue...the captain dropped a large man on the ground to announce his arrival. Instantly, the female scientist leaped from her chair and stood politely on the other side of the table.

"Captain! Can I get you anything...tea, maybe?" she offered, abnormally nervous about the task of making the man with whom she shared her home comfortable. She glanced from side-to-side at Karel and Cid, wondering what the two might say to one another, or if there would be any tensions between them. Before she could do anything else, however, she noticed the small soldier dragging his larger comrade outside and opened the door for them.

'Sometimes I wish I had a few more arms,' she thought with a sigh, shutting the door behind them. With that, her attention turned back to Cid and Karel, and doing anything she could to please the man who had been her captain.