Ace gave a disappointed sigh as she watched the small cluster of Dollet soldiers bolt out of the tower as fast as their legs could carry them. She was aware that the Dollet Dukedom's army weren't exactly up to scratch, but it was hard to believe that these 'soldiers' were even military trained...

No wonder Galbadia was slowly taking over the political powers of the world, with this little resistance.

"Sir?" One of her men had returned from his patrol around the tower with a self-satisfied expression. "I can confirm that there are no other enemies within the current vicinity."

"Good," Ace responded with a small nod. "That makes things simpler. Now, if my estimations are correct, the generator should be at the summit of this tower."

"So we need to take this lift up, right?" Fett motioned to the slightly rusted panel on the floor. "Doesn't look like the safest method though..."

"You just fell off a cliff. I'm sure you can handle it, Fett," Ace replied with dry humour. "Now, I'll be taking three soldiers with me for cover, in case we get any unexpected monster attacks up there. As for the rest of you, you're all on guard patrol. Don't let any soldier or monster come near this tower, all right? I don't want [i]any[/i] interruptions whilst I work, got it?" Her tone was cold and harsh, sending a chill through the soldiers like a Trabia wind.

"Y-Yessir! You got it, sir! No intruders on the perimeter, sir!" A nervous-sounding soldier piped up with a squeak before clearing his throat and turning to his comrades. "You heard Lieutenant Fiore! Let's move!"

"Tch." Ace shook her head wryly. "Fett, Branon, Treidum. You're with me. Get on board." She reached over to the control panel and activated the lift, watching warily as the panel creaked precariously into action. "No time to waste." She quickly stepped on, gesturing for the named soldiers to follow as they all crammed onto the tiny lift. Fett instantly grabbed onto Asa's arm as soon as the lift began to move upwards, eliciting an annoyed growl from the lieutenant as she shook him off aggressively. "No touching."

"Sorry! I ahh...got a bit panicky there." Fett looked truly sheepish as he stared at the moving floor with a pasty expression. "There's nothing to hold onto, you know?"

Asa merely scowled, wrapping her arms around herself protectively. She really shouldn't react so defensively to being touched by people, but she couldn't help it. She'd worked too hard to conceal her secret for some clumsy soldier with wandering hands to figure something out...

The lift came to a stop with a painful squeak, the warm glow of the setting sun greeting them as they finally reached the summit. "Now...the generator should be here somewhere..." Ace pursed her lips as she scanned her surroundings carefully. Of course, she was going to be the one to repair it. Her commanding officer had said as much at the mission debriefing.

[i]"Wouldn't it make more sense to deploy a mechanic for this task, sir?"
"You serious? This is war, Fiore. A mechanic wouldn't last five minutes out there. They'd be a liability, and this is too important to screw up. Besides, I've read your profile. You're more than qualified for this. Now stop complainin'."[/i]

In other words...they couldn't be assed to supply the funds or manpower for a real mechanic. The decision of the gil-pinching higher-ups, no doubt. So, here she was.

"This is it." Ace gave a low whistle as she approached the run down generator, noting the various frayed wires and loose bolts. "Well, let's get to work."