purple_alicorn (purple_alicorn) wrote in ironman7, @ 2007-10-03 20:34:00 |
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Entry tags: | final fantasy vii, purple_alicorn, week 7: prompt 5 |
Final Fantasy 7 (the Turks) [week 7 - prompt 5]
Title: Masks
Author: purple_alicorn
Rating: FR14
Warnings: possible AU
Word Count: 885
Author's Notes: I always liked the Turks (especially Reno), and this an exploration of my view of them. I only know them from the original game and AC, so I apologise for any factual errors, especially in their backgrounds which I made up.
All the Turks wear masks: Tseng has the ‘stigma’ of coming from Wutai and is therefore, to those living under Shinra, a barbarian who barely knows how to use modern technology; Rude is large and silent, and therefore is labelled as stupid; Reno’s attitude, appearance and dress foster the impression he is a lazy slacker; and Elena is an attractive, young blonde woman, and we all know how that stereotype goes. However, what is not obvious is that these masks are carefully and deliberately cultivated.
What most people didn’t realise was that the Turks were the real elite of Shinra. You couldn’t choose to be a Turk, you were chosen for it, and the numbers were small because it was almost impossible to find people with the right skill sets. As Turks indulged in espionage, they needed all the skills of a top level spy, including social skills and the ability to befriend targets, the ability to infiltrate without leaving any traces and cover stories.
Tseng was the product of a short lived liaison between the daughter of a Wutai ninja clan and a Midgar merchant, who left before it was known that he was on the way. While he was trained by his mother in the arts of the ninja, it was also clear that there was no future for him in Wutai, so he left to make his mark on the world. Tseng was recruited by the Turks when they both went after the same target – and Tseng got there first. While initially reluctant, he soon realised that this was a place in which his talents could be used, and later, that Rufus was a leader he could admire.
The official role of Turks was that of bodyguards to the elite of Shinra. While, at first, they guarded the President, when Hojo developed the Soldier program, they were assigned to the vice-president. While it was snickered that the Turks was a haven for wanna-be Soldiers, this was far from the truth. In fact, no-one who was, or had ever been, a candidate for the Soldier program would ever be a Turk. Being an experimental subject of the likes of Hojo was far too risky. They would follow his orders, as that was their duty, but never trust him.
Rude had been a bodyguard for a competitor of Shinra, whom the Turks were assigned to kill. He was only one who was both competent and incorruptible, factors which explained why his services were no longer needed. One bodyguard, however good, cannot stand alone against both his co-workers and the Turks. His achievement in holding them off, however, caused the Turks to make him an offer – one which he accepted and never regretted.
While the Soldiers and grunts are the visible killers of Shinra, the Turks are the invisible killers. When there is an uprising the Soldiers lead the grunts out, to fight in pitched battle against the other warriors on the battlefield. The Turks are also sent out, but not to fight on the battlefield. Their role is to take out the leadership, the symbol, the cause the others fight for. They are the assassins of Shinra.
Elena was the daughter of dancer, who had been, at one time, the favoured mistress of the President, before becoming entangled with an assassin who had the cover of gunsmith. She grew up with guns and, when she was older and proved to have a knack for them, he taught her the way of his trade – both of them. When he accepted and failed at job that was beyond his skills (namely the assassination of the President), she came to the attention of the Turks. She held no enmity against them for killing her mentor, as that was the way of the world, only a desire to learn from them and be the best. It was always useful for the Turks to have a female member, especially one that the President wouldn’t attempt to seduce.
The Turks need a certain mindset, one that is able to perform acts that most people would shudder and quail at. It is harder than realised to find intelligent killers, who could improvise when needed, but who could also follow orders and not be swayed by personal considerations such as emotions. Yet neither could they be psychopathic stone cold murderers, who couldn’t be trusted to be let out alone.
Reno grew up in the worst slums under the plate of Midgar, and there the law of survival reigns: you are either predator or prey. He chose to be a predator, and became a big enough predator that he came to the notice of Shinra. As he provided a useful conduit into the less legal side of things, they allowed him to continue – for a price. Over time he came to see that in order to get real power, he needed to be (at least semi-)legitimate, and when the opportunity came to join the Turks he accepted – and has never looked back.
The Turks are the elite of the elite, the best Shinra has to offer. They existed before the Soldiers, and will continue to exist past the demise of that program. They are the reason Shinra became the world power it was, and they are the reason it will become one again.