Endless Waltz

By: Daishi Prime

-07 – The Pursuit of Power-

Laura looked away from the ungainly collection of mechanical components when the door opened, then smiled at the twins. "Come on in, minions. Park yourselves over there," she waved to one side, "you're just here to watch, today."

Saeryn hesitated as Rhys closed the door, staring at the construct, "Is that...?"

"Yup. Don't touch, and Ruin, wipe that drool off your mouth, it's gross."

Rhys twitched, shifting from gazing at the construct to glaring at Laura, "I wasn't drooling!"

"Yes you were," Laura laughed, "now go wait over there. Observe, don't act. Show me you know how to be patient and what-not."

The door opened again before the twins could complain, and Allison almost ran into them. "Oi, what're you two doing here?"

"Moving," Laura told her, "off to the side, so they can quietly observe."

The twins moved reluctantly aside as Juliet followed Allison in. Allison moved over to Laura, "Is having them here wise? I mean, they're first-years, and they're Circle..."

Laura shrugged as Allison trailed off, "Wise? Never been accused of that before, but there's a first time for everything. They're pushing to build devices early, like Riko-chan, Yu-chan and I did. Better they have an idea what they're doing, if Hayate-sensei gives them permission, than they stumble into the same mistakes we made. So they're here to learn, by sitting quietly and watching!" The last was said in a much louder tone, accompanied by a glare aimed at Saeryn, who had been trying to sneak closer to the construct. Saeryn flinched, then grimaced and settled back to wait against the wall.

Luke, Toushiro and Ichigo were only a few seconds behind their classmates, and also gave the twins doubting looks. The boys kept their questions to themselves, though. Laura waited for Ichigo to close and lock the door before waving them all over, "Gather round, kids, while I dispense my unfathomable omnipotence." She arranged them in an arc in front of the construct, then asked, "Anyone know what you're looking at?"

Toushiro answered, "This is Paradox, isn't it?"

"Yup," Laura grunted, nodding, "this is my Paradox, my device. But that's not what I was looking for in an answer, Shiro-chan."

He grimaced, but stayed silent until Allison offered, "what were you looking for, then? I see a processor core, power channels, field generators, a cartridge chamber..."

"What you're looking at," Laura interrupted, still staring at Paradox, "is a weapon. All the fancy terms and grand ideals aside, that's what a Velka device is. Midchildan devices, Deva devices, variations on those types, they're all flexible in purpose, multi-function devices. A Velka device is not flexible, it is not multi-function, it exists solely for battle. It puts a great deal of power at your fingertips, but that power is wild and difficult to control, suitable only for combat, for attack over defense. That is what you all tell me you want to build, that is what I will help you build. But you have to understand that now, because down the line, it'll be very, very difficult to change your minds."

"You built one," Luke commented.

"Knowing full well what I was doing," Laura shot back. "Even now, I don't regret it. Paradox is a wonderful device, a reliable partner, and one of my proudest accomplishments. But I never thought for a second he was anything other than a weapon. I admit, that was not the reason I chose a Velka design. I wanted the power that went with the cartridges, I still want, need, the extra power. For a lot of my spells, a normal device can't provide the energy necessary in the time required."

"Schrodinger," Juliet muttered.

"Yeah, and Escher Step, Einstein's Prison, even Bolt From the Blue wouldn't work as well with a normal device," Laura added. "I've never made any secret of my goals, I aim to be the best battle-mage I can be. I'm going to show my brother, and the rest of the world, how it's done in the modern day, and a Velka device is the best to support me in that goal. But this is a weapon, guys, and I need to make sure you understand that before we go any further."

"We understand," Ichigo told her, "that's why we're here. The three of us, we're Myrmidon's, Laura. We 're Yussef's soldiers, and all three of us figure to continue in that role for a long time. We need the Velka devices to do that."

"Besides," Juliet said, "it's not like the Circles are going to leave us alone. You heard Tai-yu-sensei. When they come back, I want to be able to give a better showing than I managed last time. Like you said, a Velka device gives you more power."

Laura finally turned away from Paradox to look the five of them over, taking in their uniformly determined expressions. She stared them for a few seconds, then said, "Right, now that the boring stuff's over," she rested one hand on Paradox, "Lock and Load, you lazy bum, it's time to get some work done." The device flashed into white light, which then flowed over Laura, leaving her once again clad in black. "You kids asked me about how to build a Velka device, what you need to do, how to keep it all under control, what it's like. So, here's the first part. Sensei showed it to me last year, when I asked her if all the extra bits were necessary."

She reached mentally for the room controls, triggering the first display to come live. A screen flickered to life, then filled with a still image of a young man holding a spear-shaped device. "This, boys and girls, is what happens when you fail to take proper precautions when constructing your Velka device. This young twit took a Midchildan device, slapped on a cartridge system that is the heart of the Velka system, and went to town. Watch close, this is a single cartridge."

There was no sound, thankfully, but that was unnecessary. The base of the device racked back, a cartridge was ejected as steam blasted out of vents on the back of the blade... and the device detonated, shrapnel and fire blasting out of the central gem with terrible fury. "He survived," Laura explained, "barely. Took him a year to regain the use of his magic, another three to bind a device again, and the scars never faded. Admittedly, he was unlucky. It's technically possible to do what he did, it's just extremely dangerous. Takamichi-sensei, Testarossa-san, they managed it for a month or so, in combat no less. But if you aren't at their level, any flaw at all, any failure of a device component, and the energy of the cartridge, instead of being channeled into a spell, is liberated within the device. Then you get a lovely little boom, and nothing between it and you but what you're wearing."

"Damn," Allison muttered, "how much energy was that?"

"About what I put into a Positron Buster," Laura answered. "Imagine that going off in your face, inside your shields."

"More to the point," Luke said, "how do you prevent it?"

"Ridiculous amounts of redundant parts and reinforced conduits," Laura replied. "Remember how complicated Paradox looked? Half of that was redundant systems, reinforcements, and heavy-duty conduits. Your devices have to be similarly reinforced. On top of that, there's the programming to integrate and monitor all those reinforcements. Most devices have a lot of self-monitoring and self-repair built in for convenience, Velka devices require a mountain of such programming. Then there's the control you have to have in order to channel the energy when a cartridge releases. Like Lotte-sensei kept harping on last year, it's all a matter of control.

"As far as actually building one goes, it's just like a regular device, only more so. Lots more parts, extra connections, extra programming, all together 'more'."

"I thought Noriko's Deva device was more complicated," Ichigo protested.

Laura laughed, "Nah, Riko-chan doesn't have a Deva device, she's got a Midchildan device with delusions of grandeur."

"So says the campus queen of delusions," Ichigo countered.

"You know what a Deva device is?" Ichigo shook his head, so Laura continued, "it's the mage. Hayate-sensei, you remember her, right? She doesn't wield the Sword of Light and Reinforce, she is the Sword and Staff. Yeah, that's right. Riko-chan's been walking around for a year now, telling anyone who'll listen that she wants to turn herself into a Borg, and you all think I'm the crazy one."

"You are crazy," Allison muttered. "Noriko's lunacy doesn't make you sane."

Laura laughed, "Why thank you, Allison, I think that's the nicest thing anyone's said to me in ages!"

"Back on subject," Luke said, "building the device is fairly straight-forward, then? Just including the extra components?"

"No, but we'll get to that once your designs are finalized. I'm not asking for those, by the way, and won't. If you want me to look your design over, fine, but I'd suggest asking the teachers, they're more trustworthy than I am. Whatever you do, don't let Allina or Niranjana see your design. Don't let the twins, either, for that matter. For now, there are some specifics about designing your devices that you should know. Getting down to cases..."

00000

Noriko was only a little surprised when the other girls accosted her for help with their devices. She had talked with Laura about those she was helping, and knew that most of the boys would be asking for Yussef's help as well. That left Megan, Niranjana, Allina, Cid-chan, and Natalia with no other student to ask for help. Cid-chan could and probably would get help from Shamal, but she still wanted to talk things over with Noriko. The rest just wanted someone in their own age-group to talk to.

What did surprise Noriko was the sheer variety of the requests and, even stranger, the necessities. Allina and Niranjana were not particularly surprising, but their insistence that, whatever other people considered normal, they wanted their devices to be able to communicate with each other, was unsettling. Cid-chan, of course, need her device to amplify her strength and to give her the precision and power to handle more complicated injuries, but she also insisted that her device be able to 'coordinate' with Rafiq in controlling her still-hard-to-handle healing abilities. Niranjana needed her device to be operate on the older, more complicated, harder-to-predict Al Hazred runes. Megan needed a device that could stay with her through her shape-shifts and still function.

Best of all, each of them expected Noriko to tell them how to go about doing it.

Unlike Laura and Yussef, she was not willing to assemble her own 'mini-class', preferring to work with each of them one at a time. That also made it easier for her work out time for each of them, since she only had to match two schedules at a time, though she wondered if that would last. This early in the school year, no one had yet run into any personal problems, but Noriko had no doubt they would once again be bringing them to her, which she was somewhat looking forward to.

Saturday was her first round of meetings, and as the afternoon rolled around, she allowed herself a modicum of quiet pride at how well that had gone. Cid-chan was easy, of course, just a matter of finding the right references and paring them down to what she could actually use. Megan as almost as easy, as shape-changing mages were uncommon, but not unheard of, though most forbore to use devices precisely because of the difficulty Megan was faced with. Niranjana and Allina were more difficult, if only because they had been completely unable to find any record of anyone attempting what they were, and were thus falling back on creating ideas on their own. Niranjana wanted to simply adapt Terran wireless networking technologies, while Allina preferred something more exotic. Noriko had left them quietly debating that subject, content that they would find her again when they had it sorted out.

She spotted Natalia sitting at a workstation in the Library common, apparently asleep, visible eye closed and head resting on the seat-back. As Noriko crossed the room, though, she felt a strange stirring of subtle energies, and realized that Natalia's tattoo, just visible beneath her eye-patch, was glowing slightly. What on Earth is she doing? "Natalia-chan?"

Natalia came out of her trance slowly, blinking rapidly for a second, "Ah, hello, Noriko-chan. Am I late? I'm sorry."

Noriko shook her head, "No, I'm a little early. What were you doing?"

"Meditating," Natalia answered.

"With magic? Meditating on what?"

"Yeah, a little magic." Natalia grimaced slightly, "I was thinking about my eye again. Thinking about death."

"Not the most pleasant of subjects," Noriko said with an unpleasant grimace of her own.

Natalia smiled wanly, "happens to all of us. Mother Morisovich said something like that, just before classes started. 'I've got a fatal disease, my little Natalia, it's called life.' She wants me to become a doctor, says with my eye, I can help those truly in danger first."

"That's not a bad idea, Natalia," Noriko said, "you really could make a huge difference."

The Russian shook her head slowly, "I looked up statistics. You know how long a cancer expert lasts? A few years, a decade if they're really detached. After that, they burn out, because too many of their patients die despite their best efforts. ER types are worse, they're lucky to last a year. I've got enough trouble with just the eye, when I'm not entirely positive it's right. If I had to see it come true, again and again..." Natalia trailed off, shaking her head, "no, not me. But, that's for later. You remember what I wanted to work on?"

"Altering the mage-runes, yup. We'll want to talk to Laura, actually, she's already working on that with Paradox, though she's completing the shift to Velka runes."

"I thought she started with those," Natalia half-said, half-asked.

"Iie," Noriko smiled at the memory, "she used Midchildan runes, simple and pre-packaged. All three of us did, we didn't know enough then to make any changes. Unlike you, no one taught us any runes until May and June."

"You wouldn't have wanted to learn this, anyhow," Natalia said. "Aria-sensei's warnings are proving far too true. You know what Tai-yu-sensei said? About how the runes are the same, like the magic? I've got a theory, that Midchilda and Earth share common runes not because they come from a common source, as because the runes themselves are fundamental to the magic. Every time I try a spell with the Midchildan runes Hayate-sensei started teaching us in May, there's some enhanced effect, more precise control, but with Al Hazred runes, the effect is so much greater."

"And you want to build that into your device? Have you spoken with Hayate-sensei? I know how unhappy she was with you last year, I don't want you getting in trouble again."

"She already said yes, though I don't think she was comfortable with it," Natalia answered, then brought out her PDA, paging through a few documents. "See? Written permission and everything." Sure enough, one short paragraph stated just that, with Hayate's digital signature on the bottom.

"Oh, good," Noriko sighed, "I was so not looking forward to arguing over that."

"I learned that lesson already," Natalia countered.

"Just making sure, we're all a bunch of stubborn prima-donnas, after all. So, any ideas how to do this, yet?"

"Unfortunately, no," Natalia said, shifting her seat closer to the terminal and resuming the programs that had paused while she meditated. "The runes a device uses are built into the core programming, and I don't see how to separate them."

"Hmmm, you can't, I don't think, but it is possible to replace them," Noriko said. "Laura's managing it, after all. She likened it to upgrading an operating system, changing underlying parts without replacing the whole. You're going to want to do something more complete than that, I think."

Noriko had half expected Natalia to be as reticent and strange as she had been for the second half of the previous year. But, aside from conjuring Sasha to retrieve books, Natalia proved to be both discerning and focused. The two of them plowed through several books and essays on device designs, gleaning information on how to alter the runic programing, in the process coming up with several potential routes to accomplish Natalia's goal.

Despite Natalia's apparent equanimity, when they wrapped it up for the day, Noriko was still somewhat uncomfortable with the idea. She just could not shake the feeling of strangeness that was such a part of Natalia, now.

00000

Setting up a conference call among twenty mages, across four timezones, on a Saturday morning was difficult, but that was what Hughes saddled himself with an aide for, after all. So at the time noted in his calendar, he was sitting at his desk, picking up call after call, until the entire team was waiting. "All right, Rodriguez, Heller, everyone's here. Give them the bad news."

"I'm not so sure it is bad news, Grand Master," Heller replied, "just not particularly good news."

"It came out of Washington," Hughes told him, "by definition, any news out of Washington is bad news."

"Joking aside," one of the guests interrupted, "can we please get to the point? I've got too much else to do today to waste time."

"Relax, Senator Thomas," Heller told him, "we're getting there. Rick, would you care to give them your side first?"

"Thanks, David," Rodriguez said, then paused for a second. "As you all know, I've been working with the US Defense Department to work out how they will handle Circle mages in their ranks. It hasn't been easy, they are very insistent on knowing who every mage in uniform is, and that enlistment papers and service oaths take priority over Circle loyalty. On the other hand, the brass have been very willing to allow our military members to remain in their current posts, and to understand the non-use rules all Circle-trained officers work under. The good news is, I think we'll end up with policies about where we projected them to be, back in April. We'll have to tell them who our people are, but our people won't be segregated or forced to choose between their uniforms and their families.

"The bad news is, that decision may be taken away by legislative fiat. David knows more than I do, but suffice to say a bill is being presented in the Senate to require anyone capable of using magic to register with the government."

"Senator Thomas should have heard already," Heller began, "but good old Senator Kennedy has introduced a bill to create a national registry of all mages, and to require that all mages resident in or traveling through the United States and associated territories submit their name, skill level, and associated identifying information, to said registry, which would be 'made available to all applicable government agencies'. Officially, he claims it's because magic is more dangerous than any firearm, but magic can't be licensed like a firearm."

"I've heard of it," Thomas admitted, "that bill's going to die in committee, to two words – Jim Crow."

"It's not Ted's bill that worries us," Heller said, "so much as the underlying shift it represents. The gun-control analogy Kennedy is pushing is unfortunately a good one, especially with the damn Revenants tearing up the landscape. The explosion in Atlanta was unfortunately well-publicized, especially since the Sims girl showed up afterward. Senator Kennedy's bill is an over-reaction to that, but it's the tip of the iceberg."

"You don't think he's just scoring points with the voters?"

"No, Adept Marterosian, he's not," Thomas told him, "at least not entirely. Heller is right that Kennedy is just the start. I've heard some comments from other Senators, a few Congressmen, along the lines of 'doing something' about magic. Our old allies are playing ball, counseling caution to all and sundry, but I'm not sure how long they can hold back the tide. Over in Europe, in Asia, things are better, politically. We've had our connections in place for far too long for this to break their strength. But we never expected any sort of public revelation, and too many of our contacts are unwilling to speak in our support, without knowing public opinion on the matter. Public opinion has been mostly disbelief, but with the escalating violence from the Revenants, it's turning against us. If we aren't careful, if we delay too long, we could wind up with something not as bad as Kennedy's bill, but bad enough."

"What's the worst we can expect," Hughes asked? "Heller?"

"Some kind of registration law," was the immediate reply. "Kennedy's bill is closer to feasible than many of us would like to believe. It would be challenged in court, of course, and probably be struck down, but the damage would be done by then."

"The best we can hope for?"

Heller laughed cynically, "status quo, a bunch of reporters gingerly investigating suspected mages, and the occasional witch-hunt when someone thinks magic is a reasonable explanation for whatever is annoying them at the moment. Most likely, we'll get something in between, some sort of voluntary 'licensing act', and harsh penalties if you break the law with magic while not licensed."

"Thomas?"

"While I will have to publicly deny agreeing with a lobbyist," Thomas said in an amused tone, "he's right. A bill that created some sort of federal license would be the best compromise we can expect, again similarly to federal and state weapon licenses. Those of us who wish to remain anonymous may do so, while those who do not can do so relatively safely. The licenses will also help cut down on the frauds that have begun to pop up."

Previously silent, Gerard DeSang asked, "Have we considered how the Native Americans would react to such a law? Those who still practice their traditions would be covered by any federal laws."

"Their agents haven't said a thing, not a peep. Except..." Heller paused, then continued in a curious tone, "A couple months ago the Navajo had someone out here. He was real cagey, didn't actually talk to anyone in Congress, but did talk to a few experts and advisors, like myself. Even talked to one of my journeymen. He didn't actually say anything, you understand, but... he made it abundantly clear that the Navajo would accept no outside interference with their mages. No threats or accusations or anything, he just... made it clear."

"Did you ID him?"

"His granddaughter is one of Yagami's students, from last year. Whatever their concerns about us, they patently don't have any about her."

"Unless they're doing with her what Jessica thinks we're doing with my girls," Marterosian said darkly.

Hughes slumped in his seat at that, resting his face in his hand for a moment as the conference fell silent. It was Thomas who found his voice first, "What was that?"

"Tell me something, Marterosian," Hughes asked, "Do you have any concept of what 'need to know' means?"

"I thought everyone here..."

"You and I were the only ones cleared for that, Marterosian," Hughes reminded him.

Thomas interrupted, "Well are you going to explain it now?"

"No," Hughes answered, "because none of you are cleared for it. Suffice to say, the Marterosian family is paying dearly for the information we need about one of our most dangerous enemies. This conference is not about that, it is about how to respond to political developments here in the US. Now, my staff here has come up with several courses of action we can take. I'll run down them, I want opinions on pros and cons, and how to carry through to achieve the general objectives.

"The first course is purely political. We use those connections we have built up over our thousands of years of history to push for laws favorable to us. At best, we would like to maintain our current anonymity and freedom of action. The worst we can afford is something like the licensing idea Heller mentioned, but I'd like specifics. Political action is non-negotiable, at this point, it's just a question of strategies to pursue.

"The second course is private diplomacy. We expand what contacts we have with other magical traditions, such as the Native Americans, and see if we can establish common ground or common purposes. Our relations with such groups have been rocky in the past, at best, but given our current situation and the aliens now aware of our world, we need to establish some sort of peaceful contact, to generate a united front. Also, that should help with our political situation, if we can establish common goals there.

"The third point is the most controversial, and it concerns publicity. Do we want to try and remain a completely covert organization, and if so, how? If not, how do we want to go public? I've had suggestions for everything from severing all contact with the outside world, to a Free Mason style exclusive club, to a public corporation. What I need from all of you are reasons for and against any of those, and any ideas you might have. Thomas, get us rolling."

The meeting continued for hours, but Hughes was quietly content with that. While the debate was spirited and wide-ranging, it was also polite and on-topic. He had selected the men and women on this call when he first formed the Moderns as his command staff. They had been chosen for their skills, for their varied view-points, and for their willingness to express those views. As much as possible, he had chosen people who would represent the factions he knew existed in the Circles, and they proved that wide variance here.

They did not come up with answers to the questions he had raised, but five hours and several notebooks later, Hughes finally called it a day. He had enough of a feel for his people to start some work, and they had enough to think on to come up with more plans and information for him, which was all he had expected from the call. He dismissed the others, hung up the line, then immediately dialed a new number.

It picked up almost instantly, "I'm sorry, Grand Master, it just slipped out."

"You have to be more careful, Shiraz," Hughes said. "No one but you and I knew where your girls were, and now half the Circles will know by Monday. The rest will know by Tuesday. So long as no one knew, you and they were safe. Now, we're going to have to convince everyone that Jessica's right, that you're using your daughters to gather intelligence on Hayate."

"That's what you were doing anyway," Shiraz accused.

Hughes pinched his nose, silently praying for patience. "Marterosian, do you have any idea how complicated our current situation is? Hayate, her Bureau friends, the Revenants, there are some forty factions in the Circles, plus the national politics. I've got people in half the countries in the world, the more populous half, looking to me for anything and everything. Hayate is the focus of it, the origin of the change, and the because of that, she's the focus of everyone with a gripe right now. If we don't go after her, half the Moderns will go over the Revenants. If we do, she'll destroy us all.

"Your girls are supposed to give us the inside information to convince our people we can leave her alone. They're supposed to provide the inside perspective we didn't have before Nimrod. They can't do that if everyone and their brother thinks they're spies. Hayate's already suspicious of me, justifiably. Do you really want her to be suspicious of your girls, as well? If she expels them, that's it. We won't get an inside agent again, which will cut our options in half. Your little slip of the tongue may very well have just done that."

"I'm sorry," Marterosian repeated somewhat defensively, "but I'm already worried about them! Justifiably! They're my little girls, Hughes, and wherever they go, they're in danger, just because of who their parents are. I sent them to Japan to keep them safe from the Revenants and to get them training since Jessica and I can't do it ourselves. But even there, who knows if some lunatic in the Revenants might find some way to attack the school? What if you decide you can't delay any longer, and attack the school to keep the barbarians in line? What if they come home and they really are what Jessica fears? Dammit, man, these are my little girls!"

"I'm well aware of that, Marterosian," Hughes sighed, "but do remember that I'm not Li. Also remember, I'm not the one who just trebled the risks they face with a slip of the tongue. If you had kept silent, we could have brought them back in May, found out what they'd learned, and used that information to build a solid case for sitting back and watching, a little longer or forever, any delay would be good. Now, we're going to have to convince everyone your little girls are willing spies, and there's every chance Hayate will evict them once she has proof of her suspicions. Look, here's how this plays out. Anyone, and I mean anyone, asks you about where your girls are, you tell them they're not cleared. No one is cleared for this operation, no one. They suggest things, you just look stubborn and repeat that they're not cleared. Anyone asks me, I'll tell them the same thing. They'll assume the worst, that we're using your girls as spies, which we are, so it won't even be lying. But for God's sake, don't ever slip like that again."

"I'll do my best," Marterosian agreed.

The handset was barely back in the cradle when a voice behind him said, "You know, if that man ever figures out what your puppies are really training for, he'll kill you."

Hughes felt his heart freeze in his chest for a second, but managed not to flinch. Turning, he glared at the black-clad figure behind him. "Dammit man, use the door!"

"But you keep warding it against me," Takashi countered, walking around the desk to settle in a chair, "I'm beginning to think you want out of our bargain."

"I do want out of our bargain," Hughes told him, "but I'm not willing to write off my friends and comrades."

"So you encourage some to think you'll unleash them on my musume when 'the time is right', while stringing others along on the hope of peace?" Takashi began clapping sarcastically, "Bravo, maestro, bravo."

Hughes ground his teeth for a moment, before closing his eyes and progressing through a calming mental exercise. He was not sure what it was, but something about Takashi just got to him. Takashi's puppet Akira was aggravating and loathsome, but lacked Takashi's innate ability to get under Hughes' skin and set him off. He would have suspected some sort of deliberate targeted psychological ploy, except everyone Hughes discussed it with reported the same reaction. Finally, without opening his eyes, he demanded, "What do you want this time, Takashi?"

"Your puppies. Tell me about them, and about their plan for Shanghai. My musume will be risking one of her knights, possibly one of her children, and I wish to be sure they will not be unduly endangered. It would upset her if anything happened to them. Which would upset me."

00000

While he normally preferred to eat at home, Chrono had more and more found himself having to stay late at his office, trying to keep a handle on running his sector. Part of it was simply dealing with the usual endless paperwork, but a large chunk of his work recently had been dedicated to the various problems on Earth. Hayate's problems with the Circles, containing the Egypt null and monitoring the Circle clean-up crew, and trying to track down Kriegsen, were all proving major headaches, even if they were not all, strictly speaking, the Bureau's concern or his.

So he once again found himself in one of the innumerable cafeterias scattered throughout the titanic bulk of Bureau HQ, looking for a table where he could spend some 'quiet' time away from his work. Naturally, that hope was dashed.

"Oi, Chrono! Pull up a chair."

Chrono almost decided to pretend he had not heard, but Samuel was a friend, if a distant one, and a fellow Admiral, if only recently. So he sighed mentally, and made his way to the table occupied by Samuel and two men he did not recognize. Introductions were passed around, and Chrono was once again confronted with his famous name, though it was at least for a different reason, this time.

"Oh, so you're the reason my office has been swamped under negligence complaints from the member worlds this last year," Gerasimov laughed.

Chrono started at the accusation, then glared, "Excuse me?"

"Ah, sorry, sorry," Gerasimov said, holding up his hands in mock surrender, "that sounded funnier in my head. No offense meant."

Chrono shook his head, "Apology accepted, but what's this about complaints? I haven't heard anything!"

"No reason you should," Erahn, Samuel's other guest, told him. "It's a Diplomatic Corp issue, not Operations."

Chrono transferred the glare, "It's complaints about me and my officers. I should have been informed immediately!"

"No, no," Gerasimov said, "not really. It's... business as usual. You've had issues on Earth, issues that had to be dealt with, and you've done an exemplary job. But it's all been a little public – has to be, since Earth isn't a signatory world – and that's making various member worlds jealous, so they complain that they're being neglected. The same thing happens everywhere, whenever there's a crisis. Once it's over, whoever wasn't involved starts complaining. It's not so much about them actually being neglected, as making sure they aren't. Like I said, business as usual. I am sorry, Chrono-san, I was just trying to make a little joke. It backfired."

"You should have heard the screaming after Ti'arol," Erahn commented, shaking his head, "as if the Bureau's taking down the most wanted fugitive at the time wasn't bad enough, we had to go and do it outside Bureau space!"

"The Star Serpent Case," Chrono said slowly, "that was my ship, back when I was still commanding it."

Erahn nodded, "and I'm right glad of it. But it's politics and diplomacy. The member worlds don't really care what happens to each other, so long as nothing happens to them, but leave them feeling a little exposed or unappreciated, and they'll lodge protests and 'demand action'. It's all routine, though, no one really means it."

Chrono grimaced in distaste. "Routine nothing? Idiocy. I still don't see why I wasn't informed about member worlds complaining about my people."

"Yup, pretty idiotic," Samuel agreed, "but we're here to protect them, so we're sort of obliged to listen if they think they have a problem."

"It's not really serious unless someone comes in person to deliver the protests," Gerasimov told him, "though there are all sorts of ways to give warning before reaching that point. We didn't bother passing any of it on to you, because it's not at that stage yet. Believe me, if any of these were remotely serious, it would have been passed on to you, and you'd've had a say in the response. As it is, we have standard replies to these complaints, tailored for the world in question and the situation they're complaining about."

Chrono nodded, and allowed Samuel to change the topic of conversation, but he filed the information away for later investigation. Routine or not, he did not like having anyone suggest that he or his people were not fulfilling their duties, and he especially did not like not having been informed of those questions.

00000

"So you still can't find out what Yosho's hiding, Eri?"

"I'm sorry, Master Adept," Eri said, bowing his head, "The Lord Protector's people are very loyal."

"Hmmm, yes, admirable, generally speaking, but not particularly convenient at the moment," Szash mused. "You've had no luck with the monitoring crews?"

"Beyond identifying Journeyman Turo as the one to discover whatever it is that has Master Adept Yosho concerned, no." Anticipating the next question, Eri continued, "And Gali and I have had no luck in convincing Journeyman Turo to share his discovery."

"As well you shouldn't," Szash countered, then chuckled. "Again, admirable loyalty and commendable adherence to protocols, but personally vexing at the moment. Make note of Mister Turo, that sort of integrity should be rewarded. Maybe we can convince him to join us in the Guard. I can always use reliable people."

Kneeling next to Eri, Gali offered, "I have encountered some less admirable people over in the Communications area. The Lord Protector exercised some uncommon rights a few days ago, rights he should not have any reason to exercise."

Szash perked up at that, leaning forward in her chair, "Oh? What rights were those?"

"He sent an activation signal recovered from the Masters, a signal to the Seed of Leviathan. A general activation signal."

Szash actually flinched at that, reversing her posture. "Seed? You're certain?"

"Yes, Master Adept."

Giving his partner a quizzical look, Eri asked, "Why would he send that signal? There's nothing out there to respond to it."

"I don't know, Eri," Gali shook her head, "but he accessed the transmission codes from the monitoring hall, and had Journeyman Turo send the signal."

"Why doesn't really matter," Szash muttered distractedly, thinking through the implications and very much liking what she suspected Yosho was hiding. "What matters is, the Conclave is going to want to know why."

"He was within his rights as Lord Protector," Gali commented.

"Of course he was," Szash murmured, smiling openly now at the pleasure of putting one over on Yosho, "but the Conclave won't care. As Lord Protector, if he is aware of a danger worthy of the Seed, he should have informed us so that we might decide how to respond to it."

"Seeking to question him before a panel in the Conclave will be difficult, ma'am," Eri warned. "They are well aware of your rivalry, and will not appreciate being used."

"Oh, but you two will make sure that rumors of all sorts are flying about what Yosho is hiding, and by the time I ask my questions, someone else will have called him before a panel. Yes, all sorts of rumors, including the most delicious one of them all..."

00000

Kell Shock: You're probably right on the first correction, but I don't think so on the first... Hughes is a name, but the 's or ' rule I learned is based on preceding letter, not type of noun – since his name ends w/ an s, it just gets the lone ' to denote possessive or plural. I could be wrong, though. I'm afraid Tai-yu won't be getting a device, mostly because I can't see it in her personality (wouldn't be consistent w/ her 'convict' status, either). I like your theories on the specifics of the Al Hazred/Atlantis connections, but won't confirm or deny... Atlantis' history will unfold as part of the background for the plot. The Cloak of Shades will make Laura more dangerous, but Mercedes has a few tricks up her sleeve (and more experienced backup in Yussef). As for Signum's comment, that was supposed to come across as sarcastic, but more on that next chapter:). I'm thinking I may do a Side Story regarding the Noodle Incident, just to get the Side Stories moving again. Thanks for the review!

TheWhiteMonk: I might do a Side Story on Didier, but I've got nothing planned at the moment. In all honesty, I've been stuck on two Side Stories on Juliet and Luke that I can't get to come out right. As for how to pronounce his names, it's French, and I believe it's supposed to be along the lines of Dee-Dee-ay, Dee-Dyay or Dee-Deyeh. Laura's learning, naturally, but so is everyone else. The kids are the focus, but the plot must progress, I'm afraid, and there are some questions that I'm trying to answer/clarify in-story. Thank you for reading!

Eternal-Longing: Tai-yu's speech was the part of last chapter I'm not entirely happy with. You're right to some extent, that if she was a 'loyal' Circle mage, she wouldn't be trying to further their explanation. But there are several overriding reasons for her to cooperate – most glaringly, the one she stated: the Circles will kill her if they ever get hold of her, and her best defense is to make Hayate's school as tough a nut as possible. The other reason has to do with what she showed them – the Circles' way, the Circles' methods, the first levels of why the Circles hold artificial enhancements in such abhorrence. Plus there's the fact that Hayate and her kids are just that likable:). I'm afraid Kaemon's surprise over Laura will have to remain a mystery, as I haven't really thought out such a scene, I just thought it was a fun way to end the scene. Sorry, but thank you for the review anyhow!

notcroaker: I disagree with your interpretation of Tai-yu's opinion of the US military, too:) I was originally going to say something about the Catch-22 Hughes is stuck in here, but thought up the above scene to hopefully clarify it. Hughes is 'The Enemy', and is very much aware of it. He's also very much aware that he can't win that war, but that he can't hold the Moderns together if he gives the war up, either. Sorry it seems like harping, but in a way, he is in a worse position than Tai-yu – she can at least let someone else worry about immediate attacks. Also, because of his position in both the world and the plot, he's really only showing up when either talking to Hayate, or planning how to get around her. Apologies, I'll try not to be so blatant in the future.

Advent000: Hughes is a dangerous opponent, but Hayate is prepared, much more so than last year. As for the American/British debate, everyone knows the British are just clean-up crew, right?:P In all seriousness, the only practical differences between the British military and American are scale and specific gear. In terms of level of training and discipline, the two nations are essentially even, though the US has a better edge in morale at present (despite popular media's desperate attempts to argue otherwise). Thanks for the review!

DKnight54: In all honesty, the wolfpack approach would not add much to a device-wielder's power, because the device already does most of what a wolfpack does. Both provide control and balance on drawing extra power out of the mage's linker core. A wolfpack does provide a little extra power that is not the focus-mage's, but not much. Mostly, it provides the support and redundant control necessary to use the focus-mage's linker core at maximum strength without burning out the focus-mage. Doing that requires a great deal of power from the support-mages, which is why wolfpacks are run with full circles, and why the focus-mage is always very careful of how many supporters he has left. Device-wielders using it would be essentially redundant. On the flip side, the skills and philosophy of the wolfpack would be extremely useful in other ways to device wielders, as it is, in essence, the method the Bureau uses to create their battle-containment fields. As for teaching the kids, it's mostly a 'this is another way to look at it' exercise, showing them a different take on how much difference the support a device or wolfpack provides can make.