II


"Good morning, Garden! Here are the day's announcements...."

Nemo sat sprawled on a bench outside the Library, eye skipping over the people in the halls as they passed. No one gave him too much notice--he was bulky enough to pass for one of the Garden's non-SeeD military students, and he was quiet enough not to annoy anyone. He had gone largely unnoticed for the last three hours, waiting for the Garden to wake up. Now, Oh Six Hundred on the mark, anyone not awake was being roused by the voice calling out the day's useless news over the PA system.

"Instructor number 132, Jame Danels, will be holding a Survival Techniques exercise at noon. Anyone signed up is expected to meet in the Training Center commons fifteen minutes before the exercise. The Garden Festival Committee is looking for volunteers to decorate for the Winter Festival, 'Centran Lights.'"

There was a pause, one that Nemo interpreted as the announcer wondering what idiot had come up with the theme.

"Also, today we'll be welcoming our new Headmaster to Garden. She'll be giving a speech at Ten Hundred Hours; all planning to attend should meet in the Quad at least fifteen minutes before hand. Thank you, and have a nice day."

"Hey."

A voice floated over to him, and Nemo glanced to one side to see a woman, brown hair falling to her chin, leaning on the railing nearby and not facing him. Light glinted off a ring twined around her right index finger, flashing silver.

"You kept me waiting," the woman said, to all outward appearances speaking to the water.

Nemo stood up, moving over to stand next to her. Comparatively she was very slight, but he had a realistic idea of who would win in a fight between the two. This woman had a deal more than empty beauty. "Sorry, baby," he whispered.

"You've got what you need?" the woman asked, not even glancing up.

"I got everything handled, Lialla."

"Time and place?"

"...except for a time and place."

The woman sighed. "You can't keep me waiting forever, you know," she remarked, turning to face him. "This whole business is distasteful. I want to get it over with as fast as I can."

"I thought you said it was a great opportunity."

"I still think that."

"You nervous?"

The woman straightened up. "Hell, I'm not afraid for any of my girls. I just think you're in over your head."

"That's the way I like it, baby," Nemo reassured with a crooked grin. The woman shook her head.

"All right. We're helping you out, remember that. But this is coming off'a my account, so don't take too long figuring out what's going on. I want us both to be safe at home in the Desert again. I'm worried for you with all these SeeD characters around."

Nemo bent forward to whisper something in her ear. She listened for a moment, then nodded. Nemo straightened up.

"I got it," she said. "Lie low, now. Get on peoples' good sides. I'll miss you 'til the time comes."

"G'bye, baby," Nemo whispered as the woman silently moved off.

--- - - - ---


"Headmaster on the Bridge," Nida called out smoothly as the doors slid open to admit Squall and their newest official. The senior SeeDs rose to their feet, each offering a salute that was returned curtly by ValHalla.

"Mr. Nida, that's really not necessary," ValHalla said. "To the best of my knowledge this is a Garden, not a ship."

"That's a debatable point," Nida said. "Have a seat, Headmaster. Welcome to your new office."

ValHalla looked around the room. There was a desk facing a semicircular meeting table on one side, an overstuffed chair placed behind it. "Thank you," she said, motioning the representatives to take seats in the slightly less comfortably rolling office chairs lining the meeting table. Glancing over the group, she made herself comfortable in her seat. "Why don't we start introducing ourselves?" she asked. "Nida I know, as well as Commander Leonhart. I'm Denalek ValHalla, newly assigned from the Tribunal. You can call me Den here, but in public I'll expect to be addressed as Headmaster." Glancing at Nida, she flashed a grin. "I run a tight ship," she said, "but I'm usually not terrible to get along with. Who are all of you?"

Nida glanced along the table, then cleared his throat. "I guess I'll be making the introductions." Motioning to each of the SeeDs in turn, he said "This is Miranda Xu, SeeD Rank A. She and I are the representatives for the Instructors. Those two--" he waved a hand at the next two in line, "--are Quistis Trepe and Haily Grimjaw. They're here as voices for the Student Council. Finally, we come to Iohan Mesmer--" he indicated a tall man in a long red robe and a hat that should have made it impossible to see anything except through peripheral vision, "--our resident Chief of Faculty. You might know him--the Tribunal just sent him down a few months ago. The man in black you already know--our esteemed Military Commander, Squall Leonhart."

Squall frowned.

"We six form the Administrative Committee," Nida explained. "You can come to us with anything you need help with."

"I'll need to," Valhalla said. "So... What's first on the agenda today? Any vitally important issues?"

"Just one," Nida said, unable to suppress both a grin and a shudder. "The chairman of the Garden Festival Committee, Selphie Tilmett, SeeD Rank Twenty-Six, wants to talk to you about the upcoming Winter Festival. It seems like she needs express approval for some of the more... extravagant... decorations."

ValHalla stared at him for a moment. Nida tried not to let any emotion show on his face, but a small smile escaped anyway.

"I swear that by the time you're finished telling me, I won't want to know anymore," Valhalla said.