Victoria Xiang's office:
The office which Miss X had occupied for almost a year was decorated in a somewhat Spartan (compared to Kit Piper's office) but elegant Asian style. A large painting of a dragon given her by an artist she had grown up with in her native Hong Kong adorned one wall, several large fans painted with symbols adorned the other wall, and between them was her large desk, behind which was a large bay window.
Victoria Xiang stood there now, dressed in a black silk dress, as she watched the gathering figures outside, outwardly calm and collected as always. Inwardly, however, she was in turmoil. She did not want to place her faithful assistant in any unnecessary danger; nor did she wish to see the team which she had grown accustomed to in her own detached way destroyed as Kristofer Schanz had been. Too much was at stake, however, and each player added to the game could be the crucial player needed to win this risky gambit. The fate of the world depended on victory. Though she had spent a lifetime perfecting control over her physical, mental, and emotional self, it was difficult to help but worry at a time like this.
Breep-breep-breep
A single eyebrow shot up from the timelessly-beautiful Miss X as she recognized the signal, her face betraying emotion despite herself. She sat down at her desk and held her palm on the green sensor-panel that had been a fixture of the desk for more than half a year now.
"[[Shi-Gong!]] she spoke in Cantonese in a respectful but excited tone as the holographic image of the ancient man stood before her with a smile. He was impressive despite his shorter-than-average height, a couple of inches over five feet tall. His scalp was completely without hair, while his thick, bony brows -- hiding eyes that spoke of a keen and knowing intelligence -- currently held the only hair upon his head. The last time she had seen him he had grown a beard as befit his ancient name of Myrddin, but he was currently clean-shaven. His face was thus all the more fascinating because of it. It was powerful, primal, and held great strength within it despite the lack of the prominent chin so common in Homo Sapiens. His head was larger than a normal man's despite the much-lower forehead, and his neck was very thick. His body was thickly-muscled and trim, and he was dressed in modest dark clothing unbefitting (in Xiang's opinion) his honorable elder stature.
He was the last of his kind, the last Neanderthal on Earth. And legends were spawned in his wake: the wizard of King Arthur, Merlin; the bringer of fire and knowledge to humanity, Prometheus; and under many names the companion of the Eternal Champion throughout the ages. He had been as hated as he had been loved and followed, his name becoming the reviled word merde by those who sought to destroy him. He was the one man throughout history who had been dedicated to keeping the balance between the Hoods and the Capes, between mankind and the gods, between the angels and the demons:
MYRDDIN.
"[[You honour me with your presence, grandfather]]" Miss X continued as she rose and bowed, the "grandfather" meant as an honorific, not an actual blood relation.
Myrddin's hologram returned the bow and said, "[[There is no need to stand on formality, Vickie. You have ever been my most worthy of graduates.]]"
"[[I thank you, Shi-Gong. And I wish that the circumstances for this meeting were... different.]]"
"[[As do I, granddaughter.]]"
"[[Is it not possible for Ameristar, or even Crasher to assist in this perilous mission?]]"
The ancient man sighed. "[[Crasher will never return to this world which had treated her so roughly, I fear. And Ameristar is unwilling to leave her side in her sister's pain even should I ask her to, something I cannot do.]]"
Victoria Xiang considered this and said, "[[Then they must rely upon the resources that have already been allocated to them.]]"
"[[You underestimate my own not-inconsiderable resources, Vickie. Ameristar and Crasher were two among my best agents in this world, along with Nadia, it is correct, but my organisation is larger than you may realise. I have found one agent who can be spared from the wars on the other Earths to lend her assistance to the battle.]]"
"[[I thank you, Shi-Gong. Can one agent possibly be enough aid for so great a task, though?]]"
"[[Trinity is one, yet she is also three. One soul in three bodies. Her assistance will be invaluable to the mission.]]"
"[[You have been most generous, grandfather. However, at the risk of seeming ungrateful, is it not possible to grant our side more help?]]"
"[[Do not worry about what will happen tomorrow, granddaughter. The warriors who have gathered for the coming storm will be... enough. My errant son may even prove to be the hero he portrays himself to be in this task, though I fear what he will do when the play is over. Your team is at risk, I fear.]]"
"[[I know it, Shi-Gong. I spend my days and nights picking up the pieces left behind after Vanguard's sometimes-foolhardy actions, while none of them truly realize the volume of work I and the rest of the staff put into ironing out all those wrinkles they cause while simultaneously keeping them in the government's favour. With this business in Mandelovia being so well-publicised, the team is barely hanging on by a thread to this island as its headquarters. All of my efforts to professionalise this company are going down the drain as we speak, though it scarcely seems to matter at such a harrowing time for the world as this. I wonder, sometimes, Shi-Gong, whether it is all worth it. Can Vanguard International possibly become the world's protectors as you believe they can?]]"
"[[Surely you must see how the team is advancing from adolescence towards adulthood. Such is never a simple process. There will be bumps along the road.]]"
"[[I think, grandfather, that my idea of 'bumps' may differ from yours somewhat...]]"
The hologram of Myrddin chuckled. "[[You will succeed in your task as always, my dear Vickie. After all, I have entrusted to you my own small financial investment in your company, and I would not see that go to waste.]]" The old Neanderthal winked at her as the hologram faded out of sight.
Victoria Xiang slumped into her chair and allowed herself a tear, though for what emotion she did not herself know. Reaching into a desk drawer, she pulled out a photograph of two people: a young, strong-looking man wearing a security uniform with a Malvan-X, Inc tag that said the name "Bibowski" beneath it. He had one arm around the slim waist of the other figure, an exotically-beautiful Asian woman of indeterminate age who was smiling happily as she held her lover in a caressing pose, and wearing a bright green silk dress -- herself two years ago. She was a stranger to her now even her lover was long gone to parts unknown. That part of Victoria Xiang had left with him...
**************
In the Communications Room, Grissom Montag took a swig of brandy and kept a watchful eye for any changes on all the monitors he had installed. In an hour or two he would be too busy to be able to take a break such as this one. And to keep Shirley's mind off of her fiancee, he had asked her to prepare a meal for him. He even kept a bucket next to his chair just in case he couldn't reach the toilet in time before the action began.
One of the regular computer screens made a ding!, and Montag glanced over as the screen said: "You've got mail."
A few clicks on the mouse, and Montag was reading an e-mail that said a single word.
"Agreed."
