I have a message from another time...

                     Eyrie Productions, Unlimited
                               presents

                UNDOCUMENTED FEATURES FUTURE IMPERFECT
                   - SYMPHONY OF THE SWORD No. 2 -

                           Fourth Movement:
                 Knights of the Tenth World Part One:
                          Opening Maneuvers

                         Benjamin D. Hutchins
                           Philip J. Moyer

                (c) 2002 Eyrie Productions, Unlimited


                        SUNDAY, MARCH 5, 2406
                                ASGARD

        The Inner Chamber of the Council of the Aesir, ruling body of
the High Celestial Worlds of Asgard, Vanaheim and Alfheim, is a place
few residents of those worlds, to say nothing of the other six, ever
see.  Most public Council business is conducted in the Great Hall of
the palace of Odin Winterbeard, chairman of the Council, leader of the
gods, ruler of Asgard, etc., etc.  If a minor god or common citizen of
the realms has ever seen the full Council assembled, it is there, in
that vast and vaulted hall, that the meeting has taken place.
        The Inner Chamber is a much smaller, more intimate room,
large enough for the nine gods of the Council and a few invited
(or, given that this is the Aesir Council we're talking about,
perhaps "summoned" is more appropriate) guests, and little else.
There is no observation gallery, no balcony seating, not even enough
room for Thor to dance a decent kazakhchok without getting up on the
table to do it, and Odin frowns upon that - it's a very old table and
he doesn't like it getting scuffed.
        Corwin Ravenhair had been in this room once before, and not
for any official purpose.  He had been four years old, and had
wandered from his grandfather's office through the mysterious
leather-padded door behind the old man's desk, curious as to where it
led.  He'd found himself here, in this intimate but opulent chamber,
with its great oblong table (edges polished bright by centuries on
centuries of being rubbed by the elbows of the greatest of gods), its
walls full of the tomes of ages, and its holographic briefing tank.
When his mother tracked him down, he had that tank about half apart;
it took the two of them the rest of the afternoon to repair it, after
which he'd been admonished that this was a special room into which he
should refrain from barging in the future.
        As such, never having been summoned to it, he'd never returned
until now; and it struck him, as he stood at attention in his Valkyrie
dress uniform with Nall, sleek and gleaming in his gold and white
Draconic finery, on his shoulder, that it seemed a great deal smaller
now than then.  Part of that was because it was crowded, of course,
with all the Aesir Council in their seats and another besides.  Also,
any room tended to seem smaller with Thor Ironhammer in it.
        Then, of course, there was that fact that Corwin was here for
the most important meeting of his life.
        Odin entered from the far end, through the door from his
office, and quieted the soft chatter of the other gods with his
entrance as he strode to the head of the table, opposite Corwin.
        "This is an official proceeding of the Council of the Aesir,"
he intoned in his business voice.  "Council chairman and Ruler of the
Gods Odin Winterbeard, presiding.  Those Councilors in attendance will
speak their names for the record."
        To Odin's left, a greying, heavily bearded, muscular man with
only one hand (his other arm ended in a brass cap) rose to his feet.
"Tyr Grimjaws, God of War, present."
        Opposite him, big, redheaded, barn-sized Thor stood up and
declared, "Thor Ironhammer, God of Thunder, present."
        Beside Thor sat a tall, blond, very handsome man who rose and
said, "Frey Lightwalker, God of Security, present."
        Seated opposite Frey was a woman who looked very much like
him; the reason for this was apparent as she stood: "Freyja
Lightwalker, Goddess of Medicine, present."
        The man next to Freyja was very similar in appearance to her
and her twin brother, and only a little older-looking.  Calmly, with a
faint smile, he rose and said, "Njord Seafarer, God of the Sea,
present."
        Across from Njord was a burly, weatherbeaten, and craggy man
with bright, bright eyes and the sky-blue uniform of the Air Force.
"Heimdall Farseeker, God of Vigilance, present."
        The woman next to Njord was distinctive, in this room of pale
Nordic types; her skin was the color of brown sugar, her hair pure
white, and her eyes a startling green.  She got to her feet with
a panther's grace, smiling lazily, and said, "Urthr Snowmane, Goddess
of Love, present."
        The last person at the table was another tall, blonde woman,
younger than Freyja and taller, dressed like Corwin in the black and
silver of the Valkyrior.  She rose and said, "Brunnhilde Silverspear,
Valkyrie deputy commander, present for Skuld Ravenhair, Goddess of
Technology."
        Odin nodded, satisfied.  "All Councilors are present or
accounted for," he noted.  "This proceeding may begin.  Be seated."
        They sat, the eight gods and one goddess's proxy, and Corwin
at the foot of the table.  Odin removed a file from his cloak and
spread it on the table before him.
        "Corwin Ravenhair," he said, turning his one remaining eye on
the uniformed young man.  "Son of Skuld Ravenhair, Norn and Valkyrie,
and of Benjamin Hutchins of Earth, the Midgard Knight, Slayer of
Fenris.  One year and two months ago, you placed before this Council
your petition to be considered for full membership in the Pantheon of
the Aesir, your Trial of Ascension to be administered when this
Council judged that you were of sufficient age and training to
undertake such a task.  Do you still wish this thing to be done?
Speak."
        Corwin hoped that his voice wouldn't crack and betray him as
he replied, "All-Father, I do."
        Odin nodded gravely.  "So be it, then," he said.  "This
Council has deliberated, and the place and manner of your Trial have
been decided.  Are you prepared to receive your instructions?"
        Corwin nodded.  "All-Father, I am."
        "A moment, All-Father, if I may," said Frey.
        Odin glanced at the blond god, commander of the Golden City's
home defense forces, with a mildly curious expression.  "Speak," he
said.
        "Why do you wish to be tested and Ascend, Corwin Ravenhair?"
asked Frey.  "I know this question was asked and answered when you
made your petition, but bear with me.  A man's motivations may change
greatly in more than a year."
        Corwin mastered his surprise at the unexpected question, not
showing it on his face; he hesitated only briefly before replying, "A
fair question, General Lightwalker.  In essence, you're asking me,
'Why do you seek power?'  Yes?"
        Frey nodded, smiling faintly.  "Yes."
        Urd looked faintly annoyed, but Corwin only nodded and
replied, "What does it really matter, General?  I could smile at you
and say, 'Because it is my birthright, as the marks on my face make
plain, and I will have it.'  Or I could tell you a long and rambling
story about a time when I was a small boy and, hearing of the brave
exploits of my ancestors, decided that my life's wish was to emulate
them."
        Corwin paused, a private little smile playing at his lips
despite the august nature of his interrogator, and continued, "Or I
could tell you the truth: that I want to be the kind of man who helps
the people he loves with all his strength, and in order to be able to
do as much for them as possible, I intend to gather to myself as much
strength as I can."
        Urd grinned and touched her nephew's booted foot under the
table.  Good answer, her laughing eyes seemed to say.
        Frey regarded him for a moment, frowning.
        "Noble intentions," said he at last, "but good intentions
are - "
        "Frey," said Odin, a little sharply, "the Council's
deliberations are over.  Your reservations have been noted.  What do
you intend with this line of inquiry?  To dissuade him from pursuing
his Trial?"
        Frey glanced at the All-Father, then nodded - not answering
the rhetorical question, but acknowledging the rebuke.
        "I am sorry, All-Father," he said.  "It is merely that I feel
so strongly about the... risks involved.  You are right; the time for
objecting is past.  I withdraw."
        Corwin glanced from one god to the other, puzzlement slipping
faintly out from under his official-occasion mask.  Now what the hell
was -that- all about?  Sure, he'd never been particularly pally with
Frey, but he'd never had any indication that the guy didn't want him
Ascending before.  And Freyja's clear eyes were worried, locked on her
brother's face - clearly she had the same reservations, whatever they
were.
        Odin got to his feet and moved aside.  "Very well.  The time
has come, Corwin Ravenhair, for you to learn what task awaits you.  As
you are a Valkyrie, your deputy commander will conduct the briefing.
Colonel Silverspear, if you please."
        Brunnhilde got up, straightened her uniform, and went to the
head of the table, nodding acknowledgement to the All-Father as she
stood where he had just been sitting.
        "Creation is made up of the Nine Worlds of legend," she said
in a businesslike tone.  "First, there are the High Celestial Worlds:
Asgard, where we Aesir dwell; Vanaheim, home of our cousins, the
Vanir; and Alfheim, land of the elves, the dwarves and the Great
Dragons.  Below us are the Lesser Celestial Worlds of Jotunheim, land
of giants, and Svartalfheim, where dwell the svartelves and
underdwarves.  Then comes Midgard, the Middle World, the realm of
mortal men; and below all are the Nether Worlds, Hel of the dead,
Niflheim of the dishonored and Muspelheim of the damned and forgotten,
the den of dread Surtur and his foul minions.  All these worlds are
maintained in their existence by the World-Engine which toils
endlessly in this very castle.
        "All this is known, and has been known, since the All-Father
and his brothers wrought it all from the bones of great dead Ymir,
uncounted eons ago.  All this has been accepted as the unblemished and
immovable truth since time immemorial... but as a model of all that is
known to be, it is incomplete."
        Corwin blinked.  Was this headed where he thought it was
headed?
        "Over one thousand Standard years ago," Brunnhilde went on, "a
routine debugging of the Celestial System revealed certain anomalies
in the structure of spacetime which could not be initially explained.
Investigations were made by the Department of Celestial Cartography,
who discovered that there is, in fact, a -tenth- plane, existing in
the dimensional interstice between Svartalfheim, the lowest of the
celestial realms, and the corporeal plane of Midgard.  Little is known
of the origins of this plane; it appears to have spontaneously
appeared, through some ill-understood interaction between the
sorcerous reality of the Celestial Worlds and the laws of Midgard's
nature.  What is known is this: -It is not part of Creation-."
        "What?!" blurted Nall.  This part of the briefing, Corwin
knew, was mainly for his benefit; Brunnhilde was aware that Corwin
already knew this much, though most of the Council didn't know that.
His Aunt Verthandi was not technically supposed to have told her
nephew about the Tenth World, but Verthandi Wishbringer Morisato kept
her own counsel on such matters.
        "The Tenth World," the Valkyrie repeated for the little
dragon, "is not part of Creation.  It was not wrought by Odin, Vili
and Ve out of the bones of Ymir.  It does not enjoy the World-Engine's
protection; it has its own existence.  It is literally a separate
realm - albeit a small one - complete unto itself in the gap between
the High and Middle Worlds.  What I've just told you is not common
knowledge," she added.  "Among the general populace of Asgard and
Vanaheim, and I'm sure Alfheim as well, the Tenth World is believed to
be a myth, a popular legend like the Midgardian story of Lost
Atlantis... but it's real, all too real."
        "Then... why the myth?  Why isn't it taught to children with
the Nine Worlds?" asked Nall.
        "Because," said Frey Lightwalker, "it is the key to
Armageddon."
        "You overstate the danger, Frey," Thor grumbled.  "You're too
damn cautious, that's always been your problem."
        Urd thought that "always" was a little rich, given that Frey's
recklessness had been all but legendary before a certain incident had
taught him the value of caution the hard way, but she held her peace;
the All-Father was already interjecting.
        "Enough!" Odin said.  "Colonel Silverspear, explain it, please."
        Brunnhilde nodded.  "When the Tenth World was first discovered, a
goodwill expedition was dispatched from Asgard, under the command of
Balder Goldenlight, to make contact with this world, gauge its level
of sophistication, and secure a peaceful alliance with its people if
possible.  What resulted was nearly the end of the world."
        Corwin suppressed a wholly inappropriate giggle, successfully
enough that only Nall (who nearly bit his ear in exasperation) knew
he'd had to.
        "What no one understood until it was nearly too late,"
Brunnhilde said, "was what the Tenth World's unique nature meant to
Asgard's most important prophecy.  The Tenth World was not part of
Creation.  _Nothing in it had sworn the Balder-oath._"
        Corwin couldn't quite prevent himself from gaping.  The
surprise was all the worse for him because, despite the prohibition,
he -knew- of the Tenth World already.  He had always wondered why the
subject was veiled in such mystery; now he knew.  If regular
communication, let alone trade, between the Nine Worlds and the Tenth
existed, then it would be impossible to guarantee the Shining One's
safety.  Tools, equipment, even outright -weapons- from the Tenth
World would flow into the Nine, and any one of them could be raised
against Balder, with all the ghastly consequences that carried with it
at the time.
        Nowadays, of course, it was probably not an issue.  Balder
-had- died, the Ragnarok had come, and Skuld Ravenhair, Corwin's
mother, had fouled up the prophecy by involving his father and a
number of other mortal heroes in the Final Battle.  In the end, the
forces of evil had been thrown back, Creation saved from its
prophesied end in fire.  Now opinion was divided as to what Balder's
significance was.
        Some, Skuld among them, believed that the prophecy was void,
overturned by the intervention of the Midgard Knight and his friends,
and that Balder's death now, though tragic, would trigger nothing,
herald nothing, but the mourning of his friends.  Others, like Frey,
believed that, Surtur having failed to destroy the Nine Worlds in
fire, the clash was not the true Ragnarok, and that Balder's death was
still the linchpin of Armageddon.  Balder himself was rather bemused
by the controversy and remarked that he would just as soon not find
out either way.
        Corwin forced himself to concentrate on what Brunnhilde was
saying.
        "There was a misunderstanding with the Tenth World's High
Priestess - you will hear more of the position, along with what little
else we know of the world, anon - and Balder was gravely wounded,
nearly killed.  The rest of the expedition was terror-stricken - if
Balder had died, the Ragnarok would have begun, and all Creation would
have been destroyed.  They conveyed him home forthwith, their
investigation into the Tenth World barely begun."
        "Tell him the rest, Brunnhilde, he has a right to know," said
Frey.  "-I- commanded that expedition with my Lord Balder
incapacitated.  I would hardly describe myself as 'terror-stricken',"
he added a bit archly, "but I was gravely concerned.  I still am.  I
won't mince words or apologize for it - when I returned home, I
implored the Aesir Council, of which I was not then a member, to make
war on the Tenth World and destroy it, because of the terrible menace
it poses to all Creation... but my words were not heeded."
        "Indeed not," Brunnhilde replied coolly.  "But under General
Lightwalker's prodding, and that of his sister and other followers,
the Council did decide that the Tenth World should be sealed, all
access to and knowledge of it forbidden to all but the highest of
officials.  Perhaps a dozen people in Asgard know that it exists at
all - and that's a few more than should," she added with what looked
paradoxically like a faint smile.  "Only four, the three members of
the original expedition still living and the Norn Verthandi, know how
to reach it."
        "We believe that there has been some leakage of information -
to the dragons of Alfheim," Frey said with a pointed look at Nall,
"and to the svartelves, in particular.  However, neither group is
believed to be so foolish that they would do anything with the
knowledge, and they have just as much of a vested interest in keeping
word of it from reaching the Pit, so - despite my objections - the
matter hasn't been given much priority."
        "Enough," said Brunnhilde.  "We must move on to what we know
of the Tenth World itself.  For that, I will turn the floor over to
one who has been there."  She went to the door leading to Odin's
office, opened it, and said, "Lord Balder?"
        Balder Goldenlight held the position of Sun God for a good
reason; he brightened everywhere he went, not just with his brilliant
good looks, but also his winning personality.  He had a kind word for
everyone, perpetually sunny.  Having died once and returned to life
hadn't done anything to hamper his optimistic attitude.
        Now he smiled benevolently at Corwin and said, "So you're the
one, eh?  Soon we'll be calling you the Cavalier of -Three- Worlds.
But I suppose I'm getting ahead of the game," he added.  "At any rate,
they want me to tell you what I learned of Cephiro before I managed to
get myself stabbed and Frey called the whole thing off."
        Corwin's heart jumped in his chest.  So he'd been -right-!
The mysterious, legendary Tenth World -was- Cephiro.  With his
unauthorized knowledge of the Tenth World, he'd been almost certain of
it since the first time Utena Tenjou told him about her homeworld in
detail, about the mystic forces there and the peculiar convergence in
familiar things - the way parts of Cephiro, filtered through Utena's
memory, reminded Corwin of Asgard, while others were eerie parallels
of Midgard.  To have his theory vindicated now, BEFORE his Trial
rather than after, in a manner with these implications... 
        He fought to keep his fists from clenching and sit still as
Balder spoke.
        "Cephiro is a mystic realm, similar in many ways to Alfheim,"
Balder said, his tone becoming a bit didactic as he put his hands
behind his back and paced slightly at the head of the table.  "The old
sorceries work there, as they do in any of the Nine Worlds - if
anything, they seem to be more powerful than in, say, Midgard.  When I
was there, there was a thriving wizardry tradition which seemed to be
based on mixed echoes of the elven shamanic, Aes, Van and mortal
hermetic traditions."
        "The Cephirean magisphere is extremely volatile," Frey put
in.  He might not like whatever plan was afoot, but he felt bound by
his oath as a Councilor to offer whatever help he could, and so, his
objections having been overruled, he did so.  "I was a young
warrior-mage at the time, and I found myself -considerably- more
powerful than I had been at home.  I didn't have time for many
experiments, but it seemed to me that a person's will was the defining
factor for almost -everything- in Cephiro.  Common people could become
mages if they only -wanted- it badly enough - we met a few in our
travels, before we reached the Temple City... "
        "You're getting ahead of things again, Frey," Balder chided
the younger god gently.  "But you make a valid point.  Magic in
Cephiro is recognizable, but manifestly different, and the differences
are plain to feel in execution.  At any rate, there are no gods in
Cephiro, or perhaps everyone is a god - the leveling factor of the
will-influenced, mutable magisphere makes for quite a different
situation than we have here.
        "Our first order of business when we arrived was to determine
how the Tenth World sustains itself if it's outside the World-Engine's
sphere of influence.  This turned out to be relatively easy," Balder
noted with a chuckle.  "Even the common people knew - in fact, at
first we thought what they were telling us couldn't be right, had to
be some kind of popular myth, just because it -was- so well-known.
        "It turns out that the power and responsibility for the
maintenance of Cephiro's unique pocket of existence vests in a single
mortal resident, the person with the strongest, most determined will.
That person is called the Pillar of Cephiro.  He - or she, I suppose,
but it was 'he' when we were there, man by the name of Viggen - spends
his every waking moment praying for the security and safety of the
world, like a living World-Engine."
        Corwin blinked.  "Like Aunt Bell did... " he murmured.
        "Exactly," said Balder, nodding.  "Just like your Aunt
Verthandi did, after Loki destroyed the World-Engine.  In Cephiro's
case, the world is so much smaller and the magisphere so much more
mutable that a single mortal's will can sustain it, without danger to
that mortal's life - but that's all he can do with himself.  It's
quite a lonely existence."
        "I can imagine," said Corwin quietly.
        "There are - or were, a thousand years ago - two other persons
of supreme importance in Cephiro," Balder went on.  "The first is the
Prince, who seems to serve as a sort of... roving error-corrector.
The Prince's role is to rescue people in danger, help people in need -
that sort of thing.  The Pillar's prayers make for a very tranquil
world, in which little rescuing is needed, but some things slip
through the cracks, and for those, the Prince is there.  The one we
met was named Altima.  Terribly nervous fellow... but then, we -had-
just invaded his world from beyond the crystal spheres.  Anyway, the
Prince.  Not much more to tell about that.
        "Third is the High Priestess, whose main function is as a
protector for the Pillar - and not a ceremonial one, as I found out to
my chagrin," he added, chuckling.  "When we were there, her name was
Sabra, and she didn't appreciate people trying to get in to see the
Pillar without an appointment."
        "It's all well to joke," Frey said.  "She nearly ended
-everything-."
        "Well, she had no way of knowing that, Frey," Balder pointed
out mildly.  "She thought I was attacking her sacred trust, so she
skewered me.  I'd have done the same in her position.  At any rate,"
he said, returning his eyes to Corwin, "these three people make up
Cephiro's Trinity - they embody the will, the heart, and the strength
of the Tenth World.  I wish I could tell you more about them - whether
the positions are inherited, or passed on through some sort of ritual,
or eternal, or what have you - but we weren't there long enough,
thanks to my unfortunate tangle with Sabra, and no one has been back
since."
        "The world does, or did, have some other titled
functionaries," Frey added.  "There was a Master Mage, who was
apparently responsible for the selection and training of the Tenth
World's top sorcerers, and a Master Smith, who maintained and passed
down the local traditions of mystic weaponscrafting.  There may have
been other masters for other trades, but we didn't see any."
        "It's not much to go on," said Balder, "but I'm afraid it's
all we have.  Good luck to you, Tomorrow's Son.  I pray I'll be
feasting your Ascension soon."  With a bow and a last kind smile, he
showed himself back out, leaving Brunnhilde to take over again.
        "Recently, the Celestial Monitoring Bureau has been noting
increased disturbances in the energy emissions of the Tenth World,"
said the Valkyrie.  "They believe, based on Balder's report as to the
world's magisphere and the centuries of observation data they've
collected, that the readings indicate a serious crisis within Cephiro,
one which threatens to topple its balance and possibly destroy it
altogether.  This has been going on for some time, it's hard to say
how long - at least, they think, 150 years - but until recently it was
put down to natural chaos factors.  Recently, though - within the past
two years - it has become much more violent.  The CMB's predictions
wing now believe that the Tenth World is rapidly nearing collapse,
possibly within the next month.  That's why your Trial has been moved
up; we were planning to send you in May, but by then it might be too
late."
        Odin stepped back to the head of the table, nodding.  "Your
Trial, Corwin Ravenhair," he said, "is to go to the Tenth World,
determine the cause of its crisis, and, if possible, gauge the impact
it will have on the Nine Worlds if it continues unchecked.  We don't
expect you to stop it - we don't expect you'll be -able- to stop it.
We just want to know what's going on, and whether it poses any
immediate danger to Creation.  Are you prepared to undertake this
task?"
        Corwin got to his feet, forcing himself not to -jump- to them,
nodded, and said firmly, "All-Father, I am."
        "Then prepare your equipment, and good luck to you," said
Odin.  "Colonel Silverspear will take charge of your preparations."

                        NEKOMIKOKA, TOMODACHI

        Utena Tenjou had to hand it to Skuld Ravenhair.  She didn't
present the appearance of a woman whose only son was far, far away,
beginning an ordeal which, by design, would either leave him greater
than he was, or... well, dead.  She didn't look anywhere near as
nervous as, say, Utena herself, and Corwin was Skuld's -son-, her only
child.
        And it certainly wasn't because she didn't care whether he
lived or died.  Utena knew well the strong bond between mother and
son.  There were times when it made her a little envious, since she
barely remembered her own parents - they'd died when she was very
small.
        Only a little, though, and never for very long - she suspected
mainly because Corwin and his mother didn't often have a traditional
mother-son dynamic.  Perhaps because Skuld was so close in apparent
age to her son (and getting closer all the time as he grew up and she
remained agelessly seventeenish), she was usually more like his pal
than his mother.  Over the summer, when she'd lived with them, Utena
had had plenty of opportunity to observe the Ravenhairs in their
natural habitat, and it had been an illuminating and amusing
experience.
        She'd also become fairly close to Skuld herself, which was
another thing that muted her envy.  It is, after all, difficult to
envy that which one has oneself.
        Skuld finished pouring milk on her cereal (a grown woman, a
goddess no less, eating Lucky Charms for dessert after supper - it
made Utena, who reminded herself primly that she -was- after all only
a girl of sixteen, feel justified taking them too), then grinned
across the table at her.
        "I've got to hand it to you," said Skuld.  "You don't look
anywhere near as tense as I feel."
        Utena laughed.  "I was just thinking the same thing about
-you-!  On the inside, I'm a wreck.  I don't know how I'm going to
make it through the next... however long this takes," she added with a
nervous chuckle.
        Skuld smiled, reached across the little table in her compact
house's kitchen-cum-dining room, and patted Utena's arm.  "You'll make
it, same as me.  That's why we're here together, right?  To keep each
other sane.  We've done a pretty good job so far today."
        Utena grinned.  "Yeah, I guess we have.  What's on the agenda
for tonight?"
        "Well," said Skuld, becoming serious, "I thought maybe we'd
look into the disappearance of Corwin's schoolmate."
        Utena blinked.  "Um... the New Avalon cops are already - "
        "Yes, I know," said Skuld, "but there's something about the
situation that bothers me."  She tapped her chin thoughtfully.  "Three
girls don't just disappear from the observation deck at the Entire
State Building.  Not without some trace of their having gone.  You
can't beam somebody into or out of the building - the security system
sees to that.  And the physical security is quite good.  One girl, I
could see possibly being snatched without anyone noticing, in the
crowds, but three?  All at the same time?  One of them a Kumbari
Salusian?  No, I don't think so."
        "You think it was... what?  Something sorcerous?"
        Skuld nodded.  "I'd bet on it.  And after we're through here,
if you're game, we'll go and find out."
        "Well... sure, but how are we going to get in?  The top O-deck
is still sealed for investigation, and I don't know if that NAPD
sergeant who took over for Hammer would appreciate us tromping around
his crime scene."
        "Mm, that was a stroke of bad luck, Marty getting reassigned,"
said Skuld, nodding.  "Big Fire would pick this week to start making
trouble on the docks.  If he hadn't been pulled to work that case, we
could just ask him and go on in.  As it is... "  Skuld finished her
cereal, drank the milk, then used her napkin and stood up decisively.
"We'll have to use the fountain."

        "I'll be nice," said Nall, "and not say 'I told you so.'"
        "Good," Corwin grumbled.  He finished tying his left boot,
stepped down from the bench, and went to examine himself in the
mirror.
        He didn't look particularly threatening, or even all that
impressive, which was more or less the point.  A medium-height young
man with a light fighter's build (broad shoulders, narrow waist, limbs
well-balanced and finely muscled), his big, powerful hands still
slightly disproportionate, he was dressed in sturdy, plain traveling
clothes: blue jeans, matching denim shirt, and heavy hiking boots.  He
wore his Valkyrie sidearm, a gleaming black .30-caliber Mauser
"broomhandle" pistol, in a shoulder holster, and had a nondescript
gray tunic to pull over it.
        His facial markings had passed muster; facial tattoos were not
uncommon in some parts of Cephiro, according to Balder's report and
Utena's own descriptions.  Some people might think him a mage, but
that would only be to the good - sorcerers were respected in the Tenth
World, not hated and usually not feared.  The only pieces of jewelry
he wore were a chunky Midgard-rated wristwatch - Utena's descriptions
indicated that Cephiro's time and Midgard's were the same - and his
silver Institute Duelist's rose seal.
        Corwin surveyed himself, then pulled the tunic on over his
shirt.  It was full enough to hide his weapon, but the V neck was deep
enough that he could draw the Mauser without difficulty or delay; he
practiced the maneuver a couple of times, just to make sure.  Then he
pulled a multipaneled Mycean hunter's cloak - the garment of a
thousand uses - over his head,  topped himself with a brown leather
outback hat, and examined himself again with a thoughtful "something's
missing" look.
        Then he smiled, folded back one of the cloak's front
panels, and pinned the silver rose Utena had given him for their first
Christmas to the inside of his tunic - where it wouldn't show, but
would be near his heart.
        "OK," he said, shaking down his cloak and picking up the
battered brown leather satchel which sat on the bench next to the
nearest row of lockers.  "Let's get this show on the road."
        Nall, divested of his finery and looking more or less like an
ordinary cat again, jumped from the shelf of Corwin's Valkyrie locker
to his shoulder.  The young man slammed the locker shut, then turned
to take his leave -
        - and jumped back in surprise to see Vigdis Brightblade
standing there beaming at him.
        "(Sh!)" she whispered, finger to her lips, grinning.  "(I know
I'm not supposed to be in here, but I had to wish you good luck.
Hildy told me where they're sending you.)"
        Corwin still hadn't quite gotten used to the gorgeous redhead
the formerly-annoying formerly-little Valkyrie had turned herself into
since the holidays, when (before yesterday) he'd last seen her.  He
blinked at her, didn't even think of remonstrating with her for
breaking his petitioner's isolation, and said, "Uh... thanks."
        Vigdis grinned at his discomfiture - she'd been enjoying the
effect her new form had on him ever since she'd reintroduced herself
the day before.  She draped her arms around his neck (Nall moved
obligingly out of the way), put her forehead to his, and murmured
playfully,
        "Before you go, are you -sure- you don't want to be my
boyfriend?"
        Corwin blinked, searching his mind for an appropriate
response, and finally said softly,
        "... ask me again later."
        Vigdis grinned and gave him a quick, playful kiss.  "I might
do that," she said.  Then she took a step back, reached into the
bodice of her duty uniform, and said, "Which reminds me, I have
something in here for you."
        A moment later, she pulled out a small object on a cord,
ducked out of the cord's loop, pulled it gently free of her cascade of
fiery curls, and handed it to him.  He held it, still warm from her
body, in his hand and looked at it.
        It was a small plaque of silvery metal, cut into a rough
rectangle about an inch long, with a single character embossed on it -
a diamond shape, wider than tall, bisected by a vertical line.  Corwin
knew the symbol well, of course - it was a Norse rune, Jera, the
symbol of a successful endeavor or the rewards of hard work.
        He looked from the amulet to the smiling Valkyrie and back,
then slipped the black cord over his head and let the rune fall
into his shirt, against his own chest.  Several different
interpretations for the rune rattled through his head, all of them
good, all of them heartening indications of just how well-recovered
Vigdis was from the raging jealousy that had characterized her before
the Draught of Years had changed her.
        "Thank you," he said softly.
        Vigdis nodded.  "Success to you, Lord Corwin," she told him -
prematurely, since he was yet unAscended - and she bowed to show that
she really meant it; then she straightened and added quietly, "In all
things."
        Corwin would have stayed to try and make it plain how many
thanks he felt that gesture was owed, but there was no time, and she
understood that better, perhaps, than he.  With a hand on his shoulder
and a kiss on his cheek, she ushered him out of the Valkyrie locker
room and into the corridor that led to the Hall.
        The Valkyries' Hall was fully repaired from the trauma it had
suffered in Vigdis's battle with Utena Tenjou, some weeks before.
Only a faintly-noticeable patch of slightly darker stone betrayed the
place where a large crater in the floor had been repaired.  No other
damage was visually apparent.
        Someone was waiting for him there, next to an ancient, ornate,
silver-framed, full-length, freestanding mirror, and Corwin smiled to
see her.  Of course it would be her, he thought, feeling her serenity
wash away even the nervousness that roiled within him.  Nall relaxed
palpably on his shoulder, soothed by the same quieting presence.
        Belldandy didn't say a word; she merely stepped up to him, her
full-dress Norn's court robes rustling softly, and touched his face
with both hands, running her fingers down from his brow to his cheeks
as if blind and trying to read his face.  Then she smiled ever so
slightly and touched Nall on the end of his nose before turning to the
mirror and placing her palm against its cool, smooth surface.
        At her touch, the glass rippled and sang like water, its
surface shimmering with coruscant light that matched the light shining
from her needle-thin forehead brand.  After a moment, it stabilized,
glowing softly and very gently undulating, and she turned again to
Corwin.
        Still silent, she smiled her most calming smile, the one that
spoke of her utter conviction that the person at whom she smiled would
prevail in whatever endeavor.  Then she leaned forward and very softly
kissed her nephew, widening his eyes in surprise.  The Norn slipped
artfully around him, propelling him to and through the mirror so
subtly and gently that he didn't have the sensation of being guided at
all.
        When the glow collapsed, Belldandy stood alone in the
Valkyries' Hall.  She remained there for a long time, silently
regarding the mirror; then, with a wave of her hand, she banished it
to whence it came and left the soundless vastness of the Hall.

        Skuld and Utena emerged from the decorative fountain in the
middle of the Entire State Building's 275th-floor observation deck,
alighted soundlessly on the tiled floor of the central gallery, and
looked furtively around.  Utena, as she always did when she tried to
do stealthy things, felt vaguely comical, dressed all in black with
her hair hidden under a watch cap.  Skuld looked a little more
comfortable, though the black cycling leathers she'd donned for the
occasion did creak a little more than she'd have liked.
        Quickly they took stock of their situation.  The deck was
still closed, as they had expected, its shops darkened, the elevator
bank shut down.  There were no guards posted in the area itself,
though; they would be posted at the access points.  The technicians
had finished their fruitless work for the day, leaving behind only
yellow tape cordons and the occasional piece of deactivated scanning
equipment to indicate that their job was not yet done.
        "OK," said Skuld softly.  "This is perfect.  If my theory is
right, it won't take me long to prove it... "
        "What do I do?" Utena wondered.
        "Nothing," Skuld replied.  "You're just here for moral
support."
        "Oh."
        "C'mon - the closer I am to the center, the easier this'll
be... "
        They went to the big mosaic compass rose that was built into
the floor in the center of the observation deck.  Skuld smiled - it
was already a pretty decent magic circle - then switched in the
marker tip on the handle of Bjarnnil, her all-purpose mallet and began
adding a few embellishments to it.
        "Won't the crime scene guys notice that tomorrow?" Utena
wondered.
        "It disappears when energized," Skuld replied.  "It's only
necessary to start the reaction."
        "Oh.  ... What was that?"
        "What was what?"
        "I thought I heard something."
        Skuld paused in her marking and listened.  "I don't hear
anything."
        "I could -swear- I heard something over by the Cinnabon,"
Utena said.  "You keep working, I'll go check it out.  That's the last
thing we need is for some beat cop to wander up here... "
        Skuld nodded and returned to her calculating and mapping.
Utena prowled off through the shadows into the observation deck's food
court, her right hand holding the Thorn of the Rose's rigging quiet
and steady, left hand held open in front of her, ready to draw or
defend or grab depending on the circumstances.  Nothing here... maybe
it had just been her imagination?  This place was a little creepy at
night, with everything shut down like this.
        She returned to the compass and was about to tell Skuld that
it had been a false alarm when she heard it again - a very faint
rustling noise, like cloth in a light breeze.  She looked around, saw
nothing, and then had the notion to look up.
        A shadowy shape flickered behind one of the support beams of
the deck's dome skylight.
        "Hey!" she hissed to Skuld.  "There's somebody up in the dome
rigging."
        Skuld paused again, looked up, and said in a quietly urgent
tone, "Are you sure?"
        "I just saw him," said Utena.  "Hiding behind that beam," she
added, pointing.  "OK, pal, c'mon out," she declared in a louder
voice.  "You're not a cop or you wouldn't be hiding."
        For a moment, nothing happened.
        Then, a voice - a familiar one? - said "Curses!" and a tall,
slim figure dropped down from the beam.  Skuld switched on her hand
beacon and illuminated him.
        He was not just tall but -very- tall, and dressed mostly in
purple.  In fact, his costume looked suspiciously like Martin Rose's
Hammer togs, except that this fellow wore neither hat nor scarf.
Instead, he had a colorful sash belted around the waist of his jacket
and a domino mask covering his eyes, and his ruff of medium-brown hair
jutted up heroically.
        Skuld's shoulders slumped in mingled relief and exasperation.
"Marty, what the hell are you doing here?!" she demanded in a stage
whisper.  "I thought you were -off- this case."
        The masked man looked taken aback.  "'Marty'?" he asked with
an air of exaggerated innocence.  "I'm afraid you're mistaken.  Chief
Inspector Rose is down at the docks chasing leads on Big Fire, just as
his lawful orders bind him to do!"
        Utena put her hands on her hips and cocked her head in an
attractively dubious fashion.  "Uh-huh," she said.  "And that makes
you... ?"
        The masked "stranger" drew himself up grandly and announced,
"You may call me... Mystere!"
        Skuld threw up her hands.  "Oh, this is just twenty shades of
-wrong-," she said, and went back to work on the magic circle.
        Martin Rose glanced from one woman to the other and back again
with a vainly hopeful bombing-comedian's grin, then whipped off the
mask, put on his hat (where'd he get it? Utena wondered) and said in
his normal voice,
        "Well, I had to -try-.  Can I ask what brings the two of you
to break into this sealed crime scene I was breaking into?"
        "I'm trying to find out what happened to those three girls, of
course," Skuld replied.  "Abducted by a Hutt syndicate, indeed."
        Rose nodded.  "Mm," he said.  "Does seem a bit far-fetched.
But then, Sergeant Hannemann would probably think what you're doing is
fetched a bit farther."
        Skuld grinned, finished her circle, and went to the center.
"Probably," she agreed.  "That's the trouble with cops," she added
impishly.  "No imagination."
        Then she closed her eyes, her brand glowed, and she began to
chant.

        >Eddies in spacetime,
        Disturbances in the Ether,
        Be ye revealed to the gaze of Tomorrow!
        Let the path which the missing took
        Be shown to My eyes:
        PORTAL TRACE!<

        The circle glowed, hummed, then sizzled out of existence,
leaving no trace that there had ever been markings on the floor.
        Other than that, nothing much appeared to happen.
        "That's very odd," said Skuld, opening her eyes.
        "Did you see anything?" Utena asked.
        "Yes," Skuld replied pensively, "but I'm not sure what it
-was-.  It was a magical signature unlike anything I've ever detected
before.  Alien enough that I couldn't tell -where- they were taken...
only that they -were -taken magically."
        Utena hmm'd thoughtfully and looked down at the shinily
polished marble floor.
        For a moment, in the reflection of one of the dim night-shift
lights shining down from the dome beams, she saw the very worried,
not-at-all-puzzled face of Dios.  He didn't have to manifest more
fully than that, or speak, or make any gesture - the look on his face
told her everything she needed to know.
        "Oh my," she said softly.
        "Hm?" asked Hammer.
        "They're in Cephiro," Utena murmured.
        
        Uum'y R'yuu-z'ky had always had a sneaking suspicion that she
would go mad someday.  That sort of thing, she had been told, ran in
families, and her parents were quite insane, so Umi (as humans
insisted on mispronouncing her name) had expected that her time would
come.  She had hoped that she might get the chance to at least reach
adulthood before her grasp on reality snapped, but it appeared that
was not to be.
        In fact it seemed, to her consternation, that the form her
madness took was very different from that suffered by her parents.
They had only been possessed by a bizarre desire to leave Hyeruul and
settle in teeming, bustling New Avalon, hurling themselves and
their hapless only daughter headlong into the fast-paced life of the
Inner Galaxy.  They lived in that strange city, parsecs from home, and
thrived there, her father reveling in the high-pressure world of
investment banking, her mother the very picture of the modern
cosmopolitan housewife - acting more human than the humans.
        Umi had often thought, when she caught herself enjoying life
in New Avalon, that she was looking down the barrel of the same
derangement, but to her dismay, she seemed instead to have become
downright delusional.  That was, paradoxically, the only rational
explanation for the situation she now found herself in - wearing
peculiar armor over her Fontainebleu Academy uniform, trekking
through a world far stranger than New Avalon in the company of two
girls from other schools.  Weirder still, the girls were strangers to
her, complete unknowns, and the world, though very strange, was
actually in some ways curiously like -home-; more like Hyeruul,
certainly, than New Avalon.  Hyeruul didn't have islands floating in
the sky, admittedly, but...
        She sat down on a rock and surveyed her traveling companions
glumly.  The human girl seemed decent enough - level-headed, anyway,
and smart enough to pronounce Uum'y's name correctly, which was rare
in a human.  Most of them not only said it wrong, but didn't realize
they were doing so.  She was entirely too phlegmatic about the
situation, though, taking everything she saw with a practical air and
trying to work within the constraints of the hallucination rather than
find a way out of it.
        The little redheaded Salusian, on the other hand, was really
starting to get on Umi's nerves.  Not only couldn't she pronounce
Hyelian -or- hear that she was pronouncing it wrong, she was taking
everything around them at -face value-, too naive or too dumb to
realize that the whole thing -had- to be some kind of delusion.  She
seemed positively sanguine about the whole mess, gleefully accepting
the holographic midget's pronouncement that they had to become "magic
knights" and save the world, whatever world it happened to be.
        Also, the redhead liked the useless little fuzzy thing that
had been foisted on them by that crazy blonde woman in the creepy
forest.  The thing drove Umi crazy, with its constantly chipper
attitude, its chirpy voice, and its habit of blundering mindlessly
into trouble.  It was a perfect companion for redheaded Hikaru Shidou,
who had all the same habits.  Umi wanted to strangle them both on at
least an hourly basis, a desire made more complicated by the fact that
Mokona didn't have a neck.
        Now Hikaru turned around and said, "C'mon, Umi!  We've still
got an hour or two of daylight left.  Let's keep moving - the sooner
we get to Shalhara, the sooner we can save the world and go home!"
        Umi glared at the little redhead, but that didn't seem to faze
Hikaru any; and now Mokona was hopping around, chanting its repetitive
syllable in enthusiastic if inarticulate agreement with her.
        "Miss Hikaru does have a point, Miss Uum'y," said Fuu Hououji
diplomatically.  "Given the noticeable instability of this world, I do
think it behooves us to lay on all practical speed."
        Umi shifted her glare to the honey-blonde human, but couldn't
sustain it; Fuu was just too gentle for Umi to feel justified in
giving her a harsh look.  Besides, she was -right-.  That was the
damnable thing about Fuu.  She was always right.  Her "play along with
the delusion" strategy seemed to be working for her.
        The Hyelian sighed and got back to her feet.
        "Fine," she said.  "But we're stopping at dark.  I'm NOT
trying to fight my way through another swarm of those... -bug-
things."
        "I agree completely," Fuu assured her.

        "We'd better find someplace to make camp," said Nall.  "I'm
NOT trying to fight my way through another swarm of those...  -bug-
things."
        Corwin nodded.  "There's a town up ahead, I saw it from the
last ridge.  We should make it there before dark."  He shifted his
satchel's shoulder strap and muttered, "I just hope this one's got
someone who -knows- something in it... "
        "Yeah," Nall mused.  "I've been thinking about that.  Doesn't
seem like the way Balder said it was, does it?  This world has magic,
that's obvious just being here, but the people don't seem to believe
in it the way Balder said they did."
        "Mm," said Corwin thoughtfully.  "It does seem that way,
doesn't it?  Balder and Frey both said this place had a thriving
sorcerous tradition, but it seems to me that the common people are
living in a weird mix of medieval ignorance and modern denial."
        "Yeah," repeated Nall.  "Did you see the way those guys in the
pub reacted to your markings?  I'd say they still -respect- sorcerers,
all right, but most of 'em -fear- them, too."
        Corwin scratched at his chin, pensive.  "It's as if the
world's evolved to keep vaguely in step with Midgard - telephones,
trains, and so on - and the modern people don't know how to deal with
the fact that magic still exists.  You see it in Midgard sometimes
too, but not nearly on this scale.  Makes me wonder... "
        "... if maybe the people losing their faith in magic is what's
making the world fall apart?"
        "Partly," Corwin replied.  "I think I -know- what the main
cause is," he continued darkly.
        "Stay focused, Rocket Boy," Nall cautioned him.  "Remember
what we talked about."
        "Relax, Nall.  I'm not going to go dashing off on a search for
Ohtori Academy.  Not yet.  I -know- the order I have to do these
things in."
        "Just so long as you -keep- knowing it," Nall replied.  "You
go off half-cocked trying to keep your promise to Utena first, you'll
screw everything up for yourself -and- her."
        "I -know-," Corwin said, sighing.  "You don't have to convince
me of this, Nall, I'm already aware of it.  Besides, knowing what I
know about Ohtori, I'm not convinced I could -handle- him before
finishing my Trial.  Relax.  I've got it under control.  Get the
evidence I need to satisfy the Council, Ascend, -then- go after the
bastard."  He shifted his pack again.  "Anyway, with any luck we'll
run across Anthy out here someplace along the way.  Then we won't
-have- to deal with the Academy.  I mean, it's a sure bet she didn't
go back there anyway... "
        "Not willingly," Nall agreed.
        "You're a sweet little sunbeam today," Corwin grumbled.
"Anyway, I'm still trying to fit what Balder and Frey told us into
what I already knew, and I don't much like the picture I'm getting."
        "Me neither," Nall admitted, sighing.  "I hope the hell I'm
wrong, but I'm starting to get the feeling we'll be dealing with him
whether we want to or not."

        "This is a waste of time," said Kyouichi Saionji testily.  He
adjusted his grip on the shinai he held, shuffled his feet slightly on
the bare wood floor of the Ohtori Academy kendo dojo, and glared at
the smirking face of Touga Kiryuu.
        "Oh, come, Kyouichi," Touga replied.  "We haven't done this in
-ages-."  He moved the tip of his own shinai in little circles,
waiting.
        "That's because it's a waste of time," Saionji told him.
        Touga tsked.  "Our public is watching," he said, indicating
the horde of underclass girls who had gathered around the edges of the
dojo to watch.  "They haven't had a chance to see either of us in
months.  You can't disappoint them now."
        Saionji scowled.  "We have more important things to do than
play children's games."
        "Oh, yes," said Touga with a sardonic gesture.  "I forgot -
you're the one true guardian of the Rose Bride now.  Give it a -rest-,
already.  She's not going anywhere with Nanami to look after her.  Now
come on - humor your oldest friend.  Hm?  After all," the redhead said
with a mocking smile, "I have to see if you've really got what it
-takes- to guard Himemiya.  Who knows what happened to your skills,
wandering around out there in the wasteland?"
        Saionji's violet eyes narrowed; then, slowly, dangerously, he
smiled.
        "All right," he said, "fine."
        Then he raised his shinai into the ready position... 
        ... and waited.
        Touga smirked a little bit and waited himself.  Saionji always
broke and struck first when they sparred according to strict kendo
rules.  Always.  He didn't have the patience, the mental equilibrium.
Just being smirked at by Touga was enough to goad him into making the
first move - and when that happened, he always, always lost.
        So... 
        ... why wasn't he moving?
        He was just standing there with that cold little smile on his
face.
        Silent.
        Unmoving.
        His eyes steady on Touga's, boring into the redheaded Duelist
like drills.
        Not wavering.  Not even blinking.
        Then, suddenly, his pupils contracted, shrinking in a
heartbeat to the tiny points of madness that so often characterized
him at his moments of greatest stupidity.
        Touga sneered internally - that was more like it - and moved
to counterstrike.
        Only a half-second later, hearing the audience gasp, did he
realize that Saionji hadn't -moved- yet.
        "Dammit!" he snarled, backpedaling.  Saionji's strike barely
missed his head.  Touga dug in his heel and advanced again.
Apparently this wouldn't be over in seconds like most of their
clashes.  Saionji had gotten wilier, or perhaps his madness had just
taken a new direction, one Touga hadn't been prepared to anticipate.
        They went back and forth for some time, the cheers of their
audience getting louder and more partisan as the battle went on.
Touga's consternation grew as he and Saionji fenced back and forth
across the dojo floor.  The green-haired Duelist's technique was
different - familiar, but changed - and it was more difficult for
Touga to adapt than he had anticipated.  Saionji's control problems
were conspicuously absent - he moved with an economy of motion that
Touga found quite unnerving - and his face was completely placid as he
and his erstwhile friend traded blows.  He still didn't seem to be
good enough to get the advantage of Touga, but neither did he throw
the fight away like he always used to.  It was going to take work to
wear him down.
        Touga settled into the rhythm, biding his time, waiting for an
opening.  His confidence was unshaken by this odd change in Saionji;
he was still completely certain that he could beat his old friend.  It
would just take an adjustment to his tactics.
        Then, just as Touga had anticipated, Saionji slipped up.  He
got a little bit impatient, left himself too far to the outside on a
parry, and Touga, with contemptuous ease, disarmed him, sending his
bamboo practice sword clattering into the corner of the dojo.  Then he
leveled the leather-padded tip of his own shinai at Saionji's throat
and grinned.
        "Looks like I win again," he said.  "Your form is still slop - "
        Saionji exploded.  His pupils vanished again, and with a
battlecry that almost shook the rafters, the green-haired young man
seemed almost to disappear, so fast did he move.  He lunged forward,
seizing the blade of Touga's shinai in his left hand (a maneuver that
would have earned him a painful cut, but not a fatal one, had it been
a real sword) and hauling it toward him, across his chest.  Touga,
startled, kept his grip on the weapon, at the expense of being pulled
forward a half-step - straight into Saionji's upthrust right elbow.
        The gasp of the onlookers merged with the smack of Saionji's
elbow into Touga's nose, and then the redheaded Duelist was falling
backward, sprawling on his back, blood staining his white gi jacket.
Saionji whirled Touga's lost shinai into his hand, took a lunging
step, and whacked Touga stingingly in the forehead with its leather
tip before the former Student Council President could fully hit the
floor.
        Touga stared up at his ex-best-friend in utter disbelief for
several seconds before he managed to sputter,
        "That - that was an illegal move, you bastard!"
        Saionji discarded the shinai with a negligent gesture and
replied contemptuously, "Idiot.  This isn't a fucking game any more,
Touga.  There -are- no illegal moves in war."
        "Well said, Kyouichi," said a calm, mildly sarcastic voice
from the doorway.  The observers - some of whom were hovering in an
agony of indecision, not knowing whether to rush to President Kiryuu's
aid or wait and see his (sure to be magnificent) revenge for this
slight - gasped and drew back to admit Deputy Chairman Akio Ohtori to
the dojo.
        "Get yourself cleaned up, Touga," said Akio with an easy
grin, apparently unfazed by his chief minion's condition.  "You'll be
replacing Kyouichi as Nanami's relief."
        Touga got to his feet, dabbing experimentally at his nose.
"Why?" he asked suspiciously.
        "Because I have another job for him," Akio replied breezily.
"I'll tell you all about it later.  For now you'd best go get cleaned
up and then send your dear sister off to bed.  She's been on duty for
almost twenty hours."
        Touga looked for a moment like he might protest; then he
squared himself up, bowed to the Deputy Chairman, and left the dojo,
too preoccupied to respond to the squeals and coos of his admirers as
he pushed his way through them.
        Saionji gave Akio a suspicious look of his own.  "Another
'job'?" he said caustically.  "I'm not your lackey, Ohtori.  I'm here
for -her-, and -only- her."
        Akio smiled.  "Well, all right, then," he said.  "-She- has
another job for you.  Walk with me for a moment and I'll tell you
about it."
        Still looking suspicious - it was his job, after all, mustn't
make the bastard think it was too easy - Saionji collected his walking
stick from its place by the door, then fell into step, following the
Deputy Chairman's lead out the side door of the dojo and into the
Academy's apple orchard.
        "Three girls have just arrived in Cephiro from another world,"
Akio told him conversationally, once they were out of earshot of the
now-dispersing crowd around the dojo.
        Saionji raised an eyebrow.  "Another world?" he inquired,
careful to keep his voice as dubious as possible.
        "Mm," said Akio, nodding.  "They've been summoned according to
an ancient prophecy.  Their mission is to revive the ancient Rune Gods
and bring them here to participate in the final culmination of the
Grand Tournament - but there are forces trying to stop them."
        "What 'forces'?" asked Saionji.
        "The Rose Knight," Akio replied gravely.  "Oh, not personally.
She's still hiding, marshaling her power for her next attempt at
wresting my sister away from me - but she has agents scattered
throughout Cephiro, pawns and patsies who will do her bidding and
attempt to stop the other Rune Knights from accomplishing their holy
mission.  If those pawns aren't stopped - if they succeed in thwarting
the Rune Knights - then Anthy will never be free of the Rose Knight's
curse.  You wouldn't want that to happen, would you, Kyouichi?"
        Saionji clenched his fists on the black-stained wood of his
walking stick.  "No," he said, his face ashen.  "I wouldn't, I
certainly wouldn't, no.  What can I do to stop them?"
        "My sources tell me," Akio replied, "that the fledgling Rune
Knights are in Transvaar.  If they know anything about what they're
doing, odds are they'll make for Shalhara first - that's where the
Rune God of the Storm makes his lair.  I want you - "
        Saionji narrowed his eyes.
        " - ANTHY wants you," Akio corrected himself smoothly, "on the
next train to Vaaria.  See if you can find the Knights, then keep an
eye on them.  Don't help them too much - they're supposed to have a
hard time of it, it'll temper them so that they can awaken the Rune
Gods - but make sure they don't get in over their heads."
        Saionji considered this, then scowled at the Chairman.
        "I want to hear this from her," he said.
        "Why, Kyouichi, don't you trust me?" asked Akio with a broad
smile.
        The green-haired Duelist felt very proud of himself for his
self-restraint as he replied only, "No."

        Two days later, Saionji got off the train in Vaaria, feeling
extremely dissatisfied.  He hated to leave Anthy alone in that
bastard's hands - he'd sooner have left his right arm - but in the
maddeningly vague dialogue they'd been able to have, she'd managed to
relate to him that she felt the mission Akio was sending him on -was-
important, for different -reasons-.  She couldn't relate what those
reasons -were-, so Saionji just had to trust her; but trusting her
came much more easily to him than trusting Akio.
        And so, hating every moment of it, here he was in Vaaria.
Discreet enquiries indicated that the Rune Knights had passed through
only the day before, headed west toward Shalhara.  He shouldered his
duffel bag and, walking stick in hand (remembering with dark amusement
Akio's mocking, rather pitying look when he'd insisted that the stick
was the only weapon he needed anymore), made for the city's west gate
himself.  Perhaps he could catch up to them, if they dallied along the
way or paused for dinner.

        The Knights hadn't paused for dinner, and what they were doing
instead certainly couldn't be called "dallying", but they -had-
stopped along the track to Shalhara, all the same.  What had stopped
them was not laziness, fatigue or hunger, but rather a pack of what
appeared to be wild boars.
        "What is WITH all the j'ttaten MONSTERS in this place?!"
Uum'y R'yuu-z'ky complained as she dodged one of them and chopped at
it with the long, ornate rapier that the Master Smith had claimed
would be the only weapon she'd ever need.
        "Must be an indicator that the Pillar is in trouble," replied
Hikaru.  "Her prayers can't keep the monsters in check anymore."
        "Well, it's damned sloppy of her!" Umi snarled.  "If she can't
pay better attention than this to her job, maybe she should be
replaced."
        "Miss Uum'y," Fuu objected gently as she neatly decapitated a
lunging boar, "it's really not wise to joke about such things."
        "Heads up, Rune Knights!" Hikaru cried.  "More of them coming
in!"
        This happened two or three times a day, the Knights had
noticed, and they were getting pretty tired of it - the monstrous
animals coming out of the woodwork and attacking them for no reason.
And not always animals, either - before Vaaria, they'd run afoul of
what seemed to be a carnivorous -fig tree-, of all things, that Hikaru
had ended up burning down with her fire magic.
        As usual, Mokona abandoned them as soon as the battle began,
hiding under a nearby bush and trembling.  Disgustingly useless
creature - its only function, as far as Umi could determine, was to
summon the weird egg-like building they "camped" in every night, then
banish it again in the morning.  And surely one of -them- could have
been trained to do that, if the Magic Midget had cared enough to even
show up in -person- to brief them on their 'mission'.
        What a disappointingly stupid delusion this was turning out to
be.  Umi was a little disgusted with herself - she couldn't even go
-insane- entertainingly.  You would think a deranged fantasy world
would at least be -fun-.
        She blasted another of the boars with the water-dragon spell
she'd learned, then turned to check on Fuu.  The golden-haired girl
hadn't received any offensive magic yet, and though her healing
abilities were always useful after these fights, her lack of mystic
striking power meant that she always had to work the hardest in combat
just to stay alive.  It was therefore probably fortunate that she had
the largest sword of the group, and that, before they'd acquired these
blades, she'd had a magic bow which she could still summon if the need
arose.  Her two weapons to the other Knights' one apiece gave her more
flexibility in battle, and for all her bookish, polite exterior, she
certainly wasn't lacking in courage.
        The chaos of combat - how many of these things -were- there? -
left Umi no more time to observe her fellows.  She could only hope
they were doing all right as she battled to keep herself in one piece
against the onslaught of the horde of boars.  Hikaru Shidou's bellowed
battle cries rang in her ears, but from Fuu there was always very
little chatter in a fight.
        Truth be told, Fuu was just considering yelling for help - not
that, with her teammates fully engaged as well, she expected it to do
any good - when a white and green shape suddenly came out of the trees
near her and laid out one of the charging boars with a heavy wooden
THWACK!  The figure, tall and lean, twisted with great agility away
from his first victim and crashed his weapon - which appeared to be
little more than a length of dark-stained wood - across a second
boar's skull, smashing it.  Then he whirled to face Fuu, and she
gasped - because she knew him!
        "Mr. Sai - " she began to blurt, but Kyouichi Saionji's eyes
flashed warning at her, and he placed a finger to his lips for a
moment before turning and helping her deal with another of her
attackers.  A moment later, they were back to back, and he murmured
over his shoulder,
        "(It's absolutely critical that you don't recognize me.  I've
no time to explain.  Do you understand?)"
        "(Right,)" Fuu replied, and they sprang apart, renewing
attacks in different directions.  She didn't really understand, but
given what he'd just said, she didn't really need to.  He was Kaitlyn
Hutchins's student, Corwin's friend Utena's classmate - if he said it
was important that she didn't recognize him, then she wouldn't.  But
where in the world had he come from?!  How had he come to be here in
Cephiro?  Was he also a Rune Knight?  Neither the Master Mage nor the
Master Smith had mentioned more than three in this particular
prophecy.  What would he be the Knight -of-?  Fuu didn't know enough
about Cephirean mythology to know how many more sorcerous elements the
local traditions contained.  There were so many things she wished Clef
had had the time to tell them... 
        Whichever; Saionji's presence in the center gave the Knights a
point to converge around, and they regrouped, handily dealing with
their remaining adversaries; in a few more moments, it was all over.
        Then, without a word, he smiled at them, turned, and vanished
into the woods.
        "Hey!" Hikaru cried.  "Come back here!  Who are - "  She ran
after him, but when she rounded the tree he'd stepped behind, he
wasn't  there.  " - you?"
        "Wonderful," grumbled Umi, plopping herself down on a tree
stump.  "-More- bizarre, mysterious figures."

        "Well, that wasn't a total bust," Corwin remarked to Nall as
the two adventurers headed past the west gate of Vaaria.  "Sounds sure
that the three mysterious girls were heading this way.  They must be
bound for Shalhara, you think?"
        "It's the only thing out this way," Nall replied.  "Unless
they're after something in the hills before the desert's edge."
        "Doesn't seem likely."
        "I hope this isn't a wild goose chase.  That old monk wasn't
very clear, and you know I never trust prophecies."
        Corwin's mouth quirked in a little smile as he replied, "Well,
me neither, but they're obviously important.  And if they're really
from another world, and summoned here because of something to do with
the Pillar, I don't see how we can -not- check it out."
        "No, me neither," Nall agreed.  "I just hope we're not wasting
our time, is all."
        "Well, we'll find out when we catch up, I suppose."
        "I suppose."

        The Rune Knights made good time the next couple of days.  Fuu
didn't let on to the others that she knew who the mysterious stranger
had been when he came up in their discussions.  They didn't see him
again; they had no way of knowing it, but he'd returned to Ohtori
Academy to report on his first encounter with them, and would be going
ahead to Shalhara to pick up their trail there, if he could.

        On Thursday the ninth, Utena and Skuld's "Daily Distraction",
as they'd taken to calling their efforts at getting out of the house
and keeping active through their semi-vigil, was a full-bore,
no-holds-barred, quite illegal road race to a seashore resort town on
motorcycles borrowed from Uncle Keiichi's collection.  Skuld had
selected a shining example of modern motorcycle technology, a GENOM
Dominator 1250 fusion tourer.  Utena, more of a traditionalist, chose
to test her skill at two-wheeling (with which she was less comfortable
yet than her automobile prowess) astride a classic
twenty-second-century Yamazaki Razor turboelectric racer.
        When they got back, it was nearly dark; laughing and talking,
they returned the well-used machines to their owner, thanked him
glowingly for the loan, and then went back to Skuld's cottage to
shower, change out of their thermosuits, and get ready for dinner.
        A knock at the door heralded the arrival of unexpected
company, which turned out to be the uniformed shape of Corwin's
father, IPO Space Force Captain Benjamin Hutchins, better known to his
friends (and certainly to his eldest daughter's roommate) as Gryphon.
        "Just passing through the sector on an extended patrol," he
said unconvincingly.  "Am I intruding?"
        "No, 'course not," said Skuld, welcoming her onetime lover and
close friend with open arms.  "You're just in time for dinner,
assuming you cook it," she added with an impish grin.
        Gryphon chuckled.  "Well, all right," he said.  "Got any
chicken?  I can do a passable bake-up with some cornflakes... "
        One quick trip to the corner store later, he made them
dinner.  Their dinner conversation was light, pleasant, and didn't
touch on the reasons for Utena and Skuld's vigil.  Afterward, as they
were getting ready to leave the kitchen, Skuld drew him aside.
        "While you're here," she said, nodding toward Utena as the
pink-haired Duelist, out of earshot, left through the archway to the
living room, "maybe you should ask Utena about your special project."
        Gryphon looked a bit dubious.  "Are you sure this is the
-time- for that?  I mean, she's got a lot on her mind... "
        "Exactly," said Skuld.  "It'll take her mind off it for a
bit.  And mine.  And yours."
        Gryphon weighed that for a second, then nodded thoughtfully.
"Yeah," he said, "I guess you might have a point there."  Then he got
up from the table and, followed by the smiling Norn, went into the
living room.
        Utena looked up from the book she was reading and smiled; it
was a little strained, but only a little.  She really was pleased to
see him tonight.  It was just that there was somebody else - well,
let's be honest, quite a number of somebody elses - she'd have been
more pleased to see.
        He knew the feeling and didn't grudge it to her.
        "How you holding up?" he asked, sitting down in the armchair
at right angles to her couch.  Skuld plumped down next to her,
opposite him.
        "Decent, so far," Utena replied, then smiled sheepishly.
"Waiting is one of the things I'm worst at.  Ask anybody who knows
me... "
        Gryphon nodded, grinning.  "I hear you.  Well, listen.  While
I'm here, there's something I've been meaning to ask you.  I was going
to bring it up after C-term finals, but that got kind of
discombobulated."
        Utena nodded.  "Shoot."
        "Well... "  Gryphon sat back, folded his hands, and said,
"You know the IPO Space Force is too small - needs to expand, and
fast."
        Utena nodded again.  "Uh-huh."
        "The Sovereign class is a great technological achievement and
a perfect symbol of all the IPO-SF is trying to stand for," the
commander allowed, "but it's not very practical as the basis for a
fleet.  At least, not with the support organization, manpower pool,
and operational timetable we're working with."
        "Right," said Utena.  "I've been thinking about this off and
on since the last time I was on Challenger.  She's a great flagship,
but for most of the Space Force operation types described in the
personnel manual, what we'd really need is a fleet of fast-building
ships with high automation and low crew requirements."
        Gryphon slapped his leg, grinning broadly.  "Yes!" he
declared.  "God, you're sharp.  I -knew- I didn't just make you a
captain because I thought you'd look cute in the uniform."
        Utena went a little red, grinned, and said, "So what's the
plan?"
        "The plan, Captain, is this: I've got two shipyards, the IPO
Fleet Yards at Zeta Cygni and the Kanzaki Heavy Industries yards at
Ishiyama, building prototypes for two classes of cutting-edge
fast-attack destroyers.  By May, both will be online and ready for
field trials."  Gryphon leaned back in his seat again and smiled, his
eyes twinkling like Corwin's did when he had what he thought was a
really good idea.  "Once school's done for the year, how'd you like to
take one of them out?"
        Utena blinked.
        "Me?" she said.
        "You've got a master's cert.  You're the only other captain in
the fleet, aside from Krontep, and I can't reassign him - he's
seconded in from the KDF, he has to stay with the HoSghaj.  Granted,
these ships have crew complements of about a dozen, so it's not really
a captain's command, but... "  He shrugged.  "Unless you already had
plans for the summer, of course... "
        "Well, no, not really, but... I don't know.  I mean, this
summer... I won't even be out of high school.  A sixteen-year-old
girl, in command of an experimental warship?  Isn't that a little...
weird?"
        Gryphon laughed.  "Weird?  Hell no!" he declared.  "It's
damned bizarre.  Totally irregular.  But we don't -do- things the
regular way in the International Police Organization," he added with a
grin.  "That's why I'm putting the field trials under the purview of a
new department, the Irregular Projects Group."
        "I'm not sure," Utena said, still looking dubiously
thoughtful.  "I mean, I got my master's cert so that I could fly
myself around, not command a starship.  Well, maybe someday, but... "
She trailed off.
        Gryphon leaned forward, putting his elbows on his knees, and
grinned.  He could read it in her azure eyes - she was thinking about
the day she'd spent in command of Krontep vathKesek's Klingon cruiser,
the HoSghaj.  Krontep had made a full report to his chief after that
grand outing, and it had been glowing and optimistic.  She'd enjoyed
herself and acquitted herself well.  Granted, it had only been a
routine patrol, not anything particularly taxing, but still...
        Something flickered across her face, and she smiled with less
dubiousness and more thoughtfulness.  Gryphon's grin widened.  He
could see it all in her face - his own face had worn the same look
once, long ago.  His original prediction to Krontep had been right.
        "Where would you find a crew that would take me seriously?"
she asked.  "I mean, I don't exactly look the part, and it takes time
to win respect.  I have to go back to school in the fall - I won't
have time to get to know a crew and make them know me."
        "I wouldn't find one," Gryphon replied, "you would.  Another
irregular thing about the Irregular Projects Group.  I name you
commanding officer, you pick your own crew."
        "I don't know any experienced spacers, except Corwin and
Amanda - and she's busy.  And Liza, I suppose."
        Gryphon nodded.  "That's part of the experiment.  We're trying
to build these new ships so that inexperienced but reasonably smart
people - like below-Expert-level IPO field officers - can jump in and
get operational with a minimum of screwing around.  A week or two of
familiarization, then on-the-job experience.  Like the Danube and
Kennebec classes on a larger scale, y'know?"
        Utena nodded; she did indeed.
        "I'm sure you know a dozen inexperienced but reasonably smart
people who might be up for a spot of space adventure this summer,"
Gryphon went on with a conspiratorial smile.  "The only really
highly-trained person these ships will need aboard, if we do our job
right building them, will be the engineer."  With a wink, Gryphon
added, "I think I know a qualified engineer who would volunteer to be
on your crew in a heartbeat."
        Utena smiled, feeling her cheeks get a little warm, and said,
"You think maybe?"  Then she pondered it for a few minutes and said,
"You know I still have business unfinished back home.  There's no
guarantee I'll -be- here this summer."
        Gryphon shrugged.  "We'll burn that bridge when we get to it,"
he said.  "Hell - you might consider taking your ship -with- you.  You
never know when a heavily armed and armored starship might come in
handy!" he told her, waggling an admonishing finger.
        "Say," she replied, "that's a thought," as she paused briefly
to imagine the Ohtori Academy belltower being relieved of Akio's
apartment by a photon torpedo.
        "You don't have to decide right now," Gryphon said.  "Like I
said, the prototypes won't be out of functional test and ready for
crew takeover until May.  But I think you ought to seriously consider
it," he added.  "It would give you some valuable space experience,
it'd help me test my new ships... "  He grinned and added, "... And I
think it'd be a hell of a lot of fun."
        Utena nodded.  "Mm," she mused.  "Well... let me think about
it for a bit, maybe talk it over with some of the others."  She
smiled.  "Maybe we can work something out... "
        Gryphon grinned.  "Absolutely no hurry," he assured her.  A
silence ensued - not an awkward one, but comfortable, as Utena thought
and Skuld and Gryphon left her to it.  Then the doorbell rang.
        "Oh, I'll get that," Skuld said, and she got up from her seat
to head for the front door.  While the goddess did that, Utena remained 
on the couch, her book resting against her thigh as she tapped her
fingers against its cover.  She did have to admit, privately, that
Gryphon's offer was attractive.  If she and her friends somehow
managed to rescue Anthy from the situation she'd been left in back in
Cephiro in a timely manner, Utena knew that a handful of her friends
in the Duelists and IBGF would would be all -over- some space action
like white on rice.
        B'Elanna, for one, would have to be -pried- away from the
engineering spaces, much like the end of her prior summer's internship
on Babylon 5.  Wakaba would certainly be interested, and where the
auburn-haired Duelist went, Saionji was sure to be close behind
(provided they managed to get -him- back as well - but if indeed he
had been hauled back to Cephiro, well, make it a double rescue... ).
Sky probably could be convinced to come along as well, to document
their grand adventure across the stars in paint - and if one wanted
experienced spacers, Liza Shustal would -have- to be on the list.
Adding Liza to her crew roster would most likely bring Azalynn along
if she didn't decide to go back to Dantrov for the summer...
        Gryphon was right, Utena thought with a smile; thinking of a
dozen people who might be interested in space adventure was not that
difficult at all.  The question remained, of course, of whether Anthy
would be interested; after all she'd been through, a just-rescued Rose
Bride might well want nothing to do with another Grand Adventure, at
least not so soon.  And of course there was what Kate would think
about it, but Utena could ask that of her roommate the next time they
talked.
        Which is why it was fortunate that Kaitlyn Hutchins was right
now stepping through the front door of the Ravenhair home, followed by
Juri Arisugawa and Miki Kaoru (the latter laden down with several
loop-handled shopping bags).
        "What the - ?" Utena exclaimed, blue eyes going wide as she
got a good view of the three, escorted by Skuld into the living room.
She dropped her book and shot to her feet from the couch.  "Juri?
Miki?  KATE?"
        "Well, hello, Tenjou," Juri said with her little Vulcan's
smile.  "Fancy meeting you here, of all places."
        "H-hi," Kate said with a matching smile (though this one
was a tad more impish), as she waved her fingers at her friend and
roommate.  "M-Miki would w-wave, b-but his h-hands are b-busy."
        Miki, ever the soul of courtesy, put his bags down before
waving.  "Now they're not," he replied pedantically.
        "Oh, by the way, Utena... " Gryphon said with a mock-
distracted expression and a twinkle in his blue eyes as he got
out of his chair, "before I forget, I just happened to be shuttling 
Kate, Juri, and Miki to their conference on Terpischore III when I 
decided to drop in to see how you and Skuld were doing.  I hope you 
don't mind that they decide to visit... "
        Utena looked at the elder Hutchins with equal measures of
surprise and disbelief.  "Do I mind?  Do I -mind-?  Like -hell-!" 
With a grin, she embraced her roommate, who returned the gesture
with a smile.
        "S-so... how're y-you holding up?" Kate inquired.
        Utena arched an eyebrow, smirking.  "That seems to be the
going question around here," she replied, glancing back at Gryphon,
who tried in vain to look innocent.  "As well as I can, given the
circumstances," Utena continued as she finally released her roommate
and escorted her to the living room couch.  "What are you three
-doing- here?"
        "I thought Captain Hutchins had already covered that," 
Juri commented with a slight smile on her lips as she helped 
herself to the chair that Gryphon had recently vacated.
        Kaitlyn tsked at the taller redhead.  "R-remember, c-call
h-him 'G-Gryphon', Juri," she mock-admonished her companion, which
brought a smile to the lips of the man in question.
        "I was just trying to be polite," Juri replied, bemused.
        "There's absolutely nothing wrong with being polite," Miki 
added, glancing at his stopwatch before stopping it.
        Gryphon laughed, and waved his hands. "That's all right,
you four, I can cope."  He hrm'd, and then looked at Skuld.  "I 
don't suppose you have some dishes that need doing?"
        Skuld considered this for a moment, and then grinned.  "As it
just so happens, Dish Cleaner Banpei RV-12 is in the shop for repairs,
so I could use the extra pair of hands.  C'mon."  She gestured to
Gryphon, and glanced at the four Duelists.  "Now, you four play nice,
okay?" she asked, to which the group replied in the affirmative.  Thus
reassured, Skuld and Gryphon retired to the kitchen to take care of
the dishes.
        Juri waited until the two adults were out of sight and 
presumably out of hearing, and then turned towards Utena.  "Skuld 
-built- a dish-cleaning robot?"
        "Yup," Utena replied, nonchalantly.  "He's a big help after 
big dinners.  How else do you think the dishes got cleaned after 
Christmas dinner at Castle Eyrie?"
        "For some reason, I entertained notions of the dishes becoming
magically animated when Aunt Bell was present and washing themselves,"
Juri dryly replied.
        "Y-you h-have an o-overa-active im-magination, J-Juri d-dear,"
Kate chided, though the sparkle in the brown eyes behind her glasses
belied her serious expression.
        Juri bowed her head in mock-shame, and answered, "Yes, Kate.
I will endeavour to try to be more boring and unimaginative in the
future," in such a perfect deadpan that Utena, reminded of Dorothy
when she had first met the robot in Corwin's labs, nearly broke,
managing not to only with a supreme effort of will.
        "An-nyw-way," Kate continued, as if none of the byplay between
herself and the taller redhead had happened, "D-Dad's shut-tling
J-Juri, Mik-ki, and I t-to Terp-psichore Th-three for the G-g-gee-Mac
confer-rence, an-nd since he was st-topping by here, I f-felt th-that
I might as w-well s-show them some of N-Neko-komikoka while th-three
of you t-talked."  She smiled slightly, and rested a hand atop
Utena's.  "F-figured you could use th-the t-time by y-yourselves
before w-we b-butted i-in."
        Utena chuckled, and squeezed Kate's hand before releasing
it.  "Believe me, Kate, I wouldn't have minded -any- of you dropping
by right now," she answered, looking at Kate, then Juri, then Miki
(who had taken the chair Skuld had been sitting in earlier).  "And I
could've shown you the sights myself, I could use the activity.  It's
just mostly been the wait that's been getting to me, and trying not
to worry too much about Corwin... "  
        Kate nodded, knowing both her roommate's concern for her half-
brother and Utena's general drive for action no matter the circumstances.  
Sitting by idle this way had to be the hardest thing for her to do in
a situation like this.
        "He's proven himself more than capable in the past, Utena -
I don't think you have anything to worry about," Miki commented.
        "Yeah, I know... but this is his -Trial-... and sure, he's got
Nall with him, but even so... "  She shrugged, running a hand through
her long pink hair.  "-Listen- to me, I'm sounding like some
overwrought house mother or something."
        (Or a girl whose sweetheart has gone off to war,) Juri thought, 
but she didn't say it.  Somewhat to her surprise, the thought didn't
carry the undercurrent of bitterness it once would have.  She smiled
an inscrutable smile at the realization, and made a note to mention
the phenomenon to Azalynn when next she saw the Dantrovian.  No doubt
it would please her.  Hopefully it wouldn't make her smug.
        "D-don't let Aunt Urd h-hear you say th-that," Kate commented 
with a smile, unaware of Juri's private realization.
        Utena laughed.  "Don't worry, I won't.  But, if I didn't get
out of the house enough, I -would- be going stir crazy - if only I
knew what his Trial -was-, then I could at least have -some-
reassurance... "
        "When do we find out what he was assigned to do?" Juri 
inquired, curious.
        "N-not unt-til he c-comes back... or d-doesn't," Kate replied
quietly.  "N-not even D-Dad and Aunt S-Skuld know, o-only the Council."
        "Mmm," Juri replied, lacing her hands in front of her face,
looking thoughtful.  Then she spoke, slowly, choosing her words
carefully: "Well, one way or another, we shall find out soon enough.
Until then, all we can do is wait and carry on, and wish for the best
for Corwin and Nall in their endeavor... "
        "Agreed," Miki acknowledged with a nod, and Kate joined in.
        Utena smiled, surprised and touched at this tacit support from
the normally-reserved Duelist, who had once been so disapproving of
her emotional tie to Corwin Ravenhair.  Juri wasn't known for
boosterism or wishfulness, and here she was advocating both on his
behalf.  "Thanks, you guys.  It means a lot."
        "You're welcome," Juri replied, smiling back.  She then
unlaced her fingers and sat back in the armchair. "So, what -have- you
been doing, Tenjou, since it's obvious from the state of the walls
that you haven't been climbing them?"
        "Well... "  Utena smiled slyly as she settled on the couch, 
"before you three got here, Kate's father made a very interesting 
offer... "
        And so she recounted Gryphon's offer to give Utena a ship to
test-fly over the summer.  Kate smiled, having heard some of this from
her father earlier, but she was pleased to see that her roommate was
considering it.  Whether or not Utena decided to go for it (contingent
on recovering Anthy, most likely), Kate would be behind her all the
way.  Perhaps, just maybe, she would go along as well - if Juri and
Miki shared her interest, of course.
        Kate's smile turned to a look of concern, however, when Utena's
narrative turned to the little nighttime visit she and Skuld had paid
to the observation deck of the Entire State Building on Sunday evening.
        "And you're certain that they were... transitioned somehow to
Cephiro as well?" Juri asked, her green eyes level and intent.
        "As certain as I can be," Utena replied, her fingers fiddling
slightly with her Institute Duelist's ring.  "The thing is, I can't 
figure out why -he- would have pulled three girls from three different
schools from New Avalon to Cephiro.  It just doesn't make sense... "
        "It's quite probable that the Deputy Chairman -didn't- take
them, Utena," Miki pointed out.  "After all, he isn't the only one
with the power to send people across the dimensions, as you and 
the Master Mage have demonstrated," he reminded her with a slight
smile.  "It's quite possible that others in Cephiro could have that
power."
        "That's true," Utena relucantly admitted.  "It's just
-nagging- at me that people keep appearing and disappearing from there
like that, and there's nothing I've really been able to do to keep
track of it."  She pursed her lips, tapping them with her extended
index fingers.  "And why would ANYBODY have pulled three schoolgirls
from New Avalon to Cephiro?  There's no -telling- what trouble Fuu and
those other two - Marty has their names, but I can't recall them right
now - might get into.  -Especially- if Akio gets wind of this.  Girls
from another world?  He doesn't have any of -those- in his collection," 
she added with a poorly-suppressed shiver.
        "Let's not go there," Miki suggested.
        "Agreed," said a troubled-looking Juri.
        "W-well, if we'r-re l-lucky, p-perhaps K-Kyouichi-kun will
r-run into th-them," Kate said.  "K-keep them from c-crossing p-paths
with him."
        "I don't know, Kaitlyn... Cephiro's a big place," Miki pointed
out.  "The three could have ended up anywhere, not necessarily at
Ohtori Academy, which would still be the Chairman's base of operations
and the most likely place Saionji would have ended up."
        "Arrgh," said Utena, sitting back and putting her fingertips
to her forehead as though she had a headache.  "Photon torpedoing the
bastard is looking more and more attractive all the time," Utena
muttered under her breath.
        "I agree," Juri replied.  "However, the collateral damage 
to the Academy... "
        "Humor me, Juri.  It's just an idle fantasy."
        "As you wish," Juri acquiesced.  "I apologize for having
turned the conversation to such... worrisome matters.  It wasn't my
intention to reopen old wounds... "
        Utena waved a dismissive hand.  "Don't worry 'bout it.  I'm
the one that brought it up."  She let out a deep breath, then managed
a smile.  "On a lighter note... how're you set for GMAC '06?"
        Kate looked thoughtful, then brightened, and glanced over at 
Miki with a smile.  "W-well, M-Miki and I've m-made our final
sel-lections... w-we're hoping th-that p-perhaps one of our p-piano 
d-duets will make the f-final c-cut... or m-maybe the f-f-fugue... "
        Utena settled back in the couch and glanced over at Juri
with a knowing smile, which the taller redhead returned.  The 
technical details of musical theory often went over their heads, but 
they couldn't help getting caught up in the Duelist's leader's 
enthusiasm for her work.
        Both of them had heard the overall gist of Miki and Kaitlyn's
plans for the conference in the weeks before Spring Break, but it
still didn't hurt to review the itinerary and musical choices.  Much
like IRCAM, the hosts of the musical symposium Kate and Juri had
attended last spring, GMA (the Galactic Musician's Association) held a
yearly conference on Terpsichore III.
        This aptly-named world was one of the galaxy's most renowned
musical centers, where the musical archives of over 500 worlds were
kept and studied for later interpretation.  The participants were 'The
Best And Brightest The Galactic Musical Community Has To Offer' (Kate
privately thought they had 'borrowed' that exact same tagline from
Aunt Skuld, so as not to sound like they were stealing from IRCAM),
and over the course of a week and a half, they could collaborate and
critique on their various works.  At the end of the conference, there
would be a concert program highlighting the best compositions selected
by the GMA's Board of Directors.
        "I-it'll es-ssential-ly be like IRc-c-CAM last y-year," Kate
said as she and Miki finished their explanations, "'cept it-t's
on an-nother p-planet.  A-and it's g-going t-to be a w-week and a 
h-half l-l-long."
        "Which actually works out quite well for us," Miki continued,
after checking his stopwatch.  "Since it falls within DSM's spring
break, all three of us can attend.  If classes were in session, we'd
have the same problem we had for IRCAM '05 - it would either have been
myself or Kaitlyn attending for the Institute while the other stayed
behind."
        "H-having last w-w-week off to g-get ready d-didn't hurt
either," Kate noted.
        "Huh.  Well, how about that," Utena chuckled.  "Guess 
that snowstorm did more good than just for me and Corwin."
        "Indeed," Juri agreed.  "Though we'll pay for it later.  Now
I'll have to spend most of the offtime studying for our delayed
finals.  I don't know -how- these two are going to manage it."
        "I'll h-have a b-b-battle on my h-hands," Kate admitted
ruefully.  Then she grinned at Miki and added, "B-but it w-won't be
any p-p-problem for the B-Boy Genius... "
        Miki smiled modestly.  "I'll have to put in some hard study
time of my own, the weekend of the 18th, I'm sure," he said.  "By the
way, Utena - you may be amused to know that G'Kron laments the lack of
your pitching arm in the daily snow battles.  Quite volubly, in fact."
        Utena laughed, able to imagine the scene all too well.  "He'll
just have to deal."  She then frowned, making a thoughtful noise.
"Dorothy's not going with you?"
        Miki shook his head.  "She's a performer, but hasn't much
interest in composing."
        "So?  Neither does Juri."
        "That's true," Juri agreed, "but she had another engagement,
anyway."
        Miki grinned, nodding.  "The IPO Psionics Academy's spring
dance is Saturday.  Apparently neither Amanda nor Rina Dragonaar can
make it, so Dorothy's going to be Devlin's date."
        Utena grinned.  "That ought to give his classmates something
to wonder about," she said.  "Hey, GMAC has the same sort of folks
coming to it that IRCAM did, right?"
        Kate nodded, and Juri elaborated for the composer, "Both are
international symposia, yes.  There will be attendees from Earth as
well as the other core systems."
        "Right.  So I don't suppose that Rag... Ragu, no, wait... "
She shook her head.  "Dammit, I can't remember his name.  The guy who
brought the recording of the jetliner playing the bagpipes in a sheet
metal factory."
        Kaitlyn giggled.  "I-if we're luck-ky, R-Ragulin sh-shouldn't
-show-," she said.  "T-though if h-he did, Miki and I w-would b-be
honor-b-bound to f-finally get h-him to listen t-to G-GOOD music... "
        "Unlikely, given GMAC '06 is scheduled this year at the same
time as IRCAM '06," Miki pointed out.
        "That's one good thing about not being able to go back to
Earth," Juri pointed out wryly.  "The Ecole Musico-Technologique's,
er, 'message' hasn't spread beyond the homeworld so far."
        "Mmm," Kate nodded.  "I-I'll miss s-seeing Mr. St-Statler 
again, th-though.  H-he doesn't g-get off-p-planet much.  I-I
think y-you'd-d've liked him, Mik-ki."
        "Indeed," Juri agreed, fondly remembering the heckling the 
conductor of the Boston Pops had given the younger composer from
the Ecole Musico-Technologique.  "But, at least you won't have 
to... "  At this, the redhead paused, searching for the right words, 
before pressing on, "... endure the architectual stylings of the 
Centre Georges Pompidou, Miki.  Consider yourself fortunate."
        "Is it really that bad?" Miki and Utena inquired in completely
accidental stereo.
        "-Yes,-" Kate and Juri replied in emphatic unison.  The
mutual synchronicity was sufficent to break Utena, who spent the 
next several moments giggling in Kate's arms.
        "Well, now that you've gotten -that- out of your system,"
Juri continued archly (though the gleam in her eyes belied her 
severe tone), "I suppose we had best be getting on our way, Tenjou."
        "Aw, leaving so soon?  And I haven't even been chastised
for being so worried yet," Utena replied with a similar tone in her
voice and a smile on her lips.
        "I can chastise you if you -really- want me to... "
        "No thanks, pass."
        "B-behave, you t-two," Kate chided them both as she stood 
up.  "Or it-t's no ice cream f-for either of you."
        "I think that's a crime in Skuld's house, no ice cream," Utena
observed.  "Or a sin, at least."
        "Did somebody mention my name in conjunction with ice cream?"
asked Skuld as she finally came back out of the kitchen, wiping off
her hands with a slightly stained towel.
        "Oh, I could go for some ice cream, if you happened to have
any," Utena said with a smile.  "And if the Chief doesn't have a 
strict schedule to keep," she continued, glancing over Skuld's 
shoulder as the IPO captain exited the kitchen as well.
        "I think we could stretch things a bit, just this once,"
Gryphon said with a wink.  "Just don't make a habit of it."
        "Perish the thought," Utena said with a grin as she got up 
out of the couch.

        As could be expected in the Ravenhair household, the ice cream
available was only the best to be obtained on Tomadachi (or anywhere
else in the local system).  As the goddess, the IPO chief, and the
four Duelists ate ice cream around the kitchen table (which was a
little cramped with six people, but Skuld laughingly said she
preferred to think of it as "cozy"), Kate, Juri, and Miki filled in
how things had been going back on Jeraddo in the wake of the Blizzard
of Ought-Six.  Gryphon talked about current affairs with the IPO and
Skuld mentioned, with some regret, that after D-term on Jeraddo she
would have to come back to NIT, which was really a shame because she
had thoroughly enjoyed working with the high-school students.
        But, Utena noted with a smile, it was highly likely that 
Professor Ravenhair's appearance at DSM had probably guaranteed an 
increase in admissions for NIT for the next several years from a 
certain private school.  Skuld had to admit the pink-haired Duelist 
had a point, and gave her an extra helping of whipped cream as a 
reward for her skilled argument.
        However, to all gatherings there must come an end, and this
one was no different.  Ice cream bowls and spoons were piled in the
sink in the kitchen, and the group gathered together at the front 
door to say their mutual goodbyes.
        "Hey... " Utena said as she released Kate from their parting
hug.  "Where's Serge?"
        Kate blinked.  "Oh," she said.  "G-g-GMAC doesn't allow
p-pets," she said with a brief scowl, then smiled and added, "s-so
W-Wakaba's looking after h-h-him while I'm g-gone."
        "Or he's looking after Wakaba," said Miki, his eyes
twinkling.
        Kate chuckled and nodded.  "Or th-that."
        Utena laughed, and clapped Kate on the shoulder.  "Right.
Well, you three take care, okay, and one way or another I'll see you
again soon, all right?"
        "We will, Utena," Miki nodded, picking up the shopping bags
he had set aside on their entry.
        "Of course, Tenjou," Juri added, and then hesitatingly, said,
"Take care.  Whatever happens, Corwin will make his family proud."
        Utena nodded, unspoken words traveling between the two of them
before she glanced between Skuld, Gryphon and Kaitlyn.  "I'm sure he
already has," she said soberly.  She then made little shooing motions
with her hands, escorting the three Duelists and their 'ride' through
the door.  "Now g'wan, get outta here before we get -really- mushy,"
Utena said with a smile.
        "Of course," Juri replied with a confidential little smile of
her own.  "Goodnight, Tenjou, Skuld."
        Juri held the door for Kate, Miki, and Gryphon, and then let
it close behind her as she walked down the front steps.  Utena watched
them proceed down the sidewalk towards the black Impala waiting at the
curb, and then the four humans and one automobile vanished in a pair
of transporter shimmers, one personnel, one with the slightly coarser
pattern-lights of a cargo unit.
        With a slight smile on her lips and her spirits lifted,
Utena Tenjou turned from the window and headed further into the house
to prepare for bed.  Once that was taken care of, she lit a 
blackberry candle, slipped under the sheets, and drifted off to
sleep in Corwin Ravenhair's bed, hoping that its owner would have a 
good rest tonight, wherever he was.

        Corwin Ravenhair wanted to lie down.  Well, no.  He wanted to
go home, -then- lie down.  Lying down where he was would have been
suicidally stupid, and Corwin was neither suicidal nor, he liked to
think, particularly stupid, though admittedly most of his brain wasn't
really working right at this particular moment.  Still, some
instinctive part of him was still on the job, and it knew that
stopping would be, well, bad.
        So he kept walking, despite the fact that his right leg felt
like it was going to tear right off at the knee.  There was a nasty
stitch in his left side, and his vision kept blurring, probably
because of the blood running from the nasty cut on his forehead.  He
wished that would clot already, or just -freeze-, given that he was
slogging into the teeth of a fierce arctic gale, snow whipping all
around him as he forced his feet forward one at a time.  On the other
hand, what did it matter?  There wasn't anything to see anyway in a
whiteout.
        Where the hell, he wondered irritably (if half-coherently),
did this storm come from, anyway?  A few minutes ago it had been just
as nice as could be, except for all the giant, bloodthirsty monsters.
Then the temperature had dropped fifty degrees, the wind had started
howling, and this blizzard had kicked in like somebody threw a switch.
        "Oh, sure," he muttered under his breath, still slogging
mindlessly onward.  "Sure!" he yelled, gesturing angrily.  "Everybody
-else- has to slay a giant or survive a week in the Frozen Wastes or
some damn thing to pass -their- Trial, but not me.  Ohhh no.  Noooo.
-I- have to go play -impartial observer- on the most fucked-up plane
in the -whole of Creation- while it's in the middle of a -total
cataclysm cycle-!"
        He stopped walking momentarily, shook his fist at the sky, and
shouted, "Ohhh -yeah!-  I'm livin' -large- now!!  Child of Prophecy,
my -ass-!"
        A rumble of thunder rolled across the uncaring sky.
        "Yeah, you don't care," Corwin grumbled, digging one end of
his staff into the snow-covered ground and lurching onward.  "You
don't care about any of that stuff, you just want to see how far you
can -push- me.  You and your stupid rituals!  Well, you wait!" he
bellowed again, gesturing angrily.  "And Frey wants to -destroy- this
place when I get through?!  Well, I don't fucking THINK so, Charlie!
You wait!  I'll show you that I -"
        WHANG!
        He staggered back a half-step, blinking in fatigue-drugged
puzzlement at the object he'd run into, which had loomed up out of the
whiteout while he'd been looking up at the sky, so that he hadn't
noticed it until he ran into it.
        It was... well, he didn't know -what- it was, really.  What he
could see was a curved wall with a little porthole window, but he
couldn't see anything through the window thanks to the lighting, such
as it was.  He'd have stepped back to look at it a little better, but
it was right about then that the section of curved wall that had the
window on it swung out and clobbered him squarely across the forehead.
        "... ow," he said, and collapsed on his back in the snow.  The
howling storm ebbed away into a dull throbbing roar, and shadowy
figures loomed over him.  He tried to concentrate, pull himself
together.  With a supreme effort, he closed his hand around his staff,
raised his head about a quarter-inch... and then blacked out
completely.

   /*  Joe Satriani  "Lords of Karma"  _Surfing with the Alien_  */

                     Eyrie Productions, Unlimited
                              presented
                        UNDOCUMENTED FEATURES
                           FUTURE IMPERFECT
                   - Symphony of the Sword No. 2 -
                 Knights of the Tenth World Part One:
                          Opening Maneuvers

                               The Cast
                       (in order of appearance)
                           Corwin Ravenhair
                           Nall Silverclaw
                           Odin Winterbeard
                             Tyr Grimjaws
                           Thor Ironhammer
                           Frey Lightwalker
                          Freyja Lightwalker
                            Njord Seafarer
                          Heimdall Farseeker
                             Urd Snowmane
                        Brunnhilde Silverspear
                          Balder Goldenlight
                             Utena Tenjou
                           Skuld Ravenhair
                          Vigdis Brightblade
                    Verthandi Wishbringer Morisato
                             Martin Rose
                           Uum'y R'yuu-z'ky
                             Fuu Hououji
                            Hikaru Shidou
                                Mokona
                           Kyouichi Saionji
                             Touga Kiryuu
                             Akio Ohtori
                         Benjamin D. Hutchins
                           Kaitlyn Hutchins
                            Juri Arisugawa
                              Miki Kaoru

                             Verbimancer
                         Benjamin D. Hutchins

                         Editing Contributor
                           Philip J. Moyer

                         Contributing Editor
                              Anne Cross

                        Linguistics Department
                             Martin Rose

                        Arranger of Furniture
                            John Trussell

                         Innocent Bystanders
                          The Usual Suspects

   Knights of the Tenth World will return with "Pawns to Promotion"