Advantages gained

                            By:

                         Fox Cutter

7/05/96:

Mornings are arguably the worst time for me to wake up,
mainly because I'm a night person. Though going to bed 5
hours before usual has something to do with it as well.

This morning was no exception, I was half awake, wondering
into the kitchen. The twin suns shining though the slider
that led to the deck.

I pulled out the tea kettle, and proceeded to make some of my
Rithen tea. As I was waiting for the water to boil, I saw a
small jar of something on the counter. Picking it up I
looked it over.

It was a normal looking jar, filled with a slightly brownish
fluid. Labeled on the top, in Oria's clean writing,
something was written in what I guessed was her language.

"Ah, I see, this must have been what she went after last
night." I said, referring to the fact she had left last night
for some reason, and did show back up until just before I
went to sleep.

With a shrug I undid the lid just a bit. Instantly the smell
of it was in my nose. I closed the lid tight as a I could,
and took a few deep breaths to clear the smell from my mind.

The smell had been intense, and hard to explain. It was like
someone shoving a three week dead elephant into your nose,
and that was an understatement. It was a distinctive smell,
there was only one thing that could ever produce it, though
I had never actually seen it.

"Why the hell would she have Ornathopter?" I asked myself.
It was something used only in certain types of magic, and was
hard to get. It was only good for one thing, and that was
putting the essence of someone, or something, into a spell.

Setting the jar down, I rubbed my hand a bit. I had heard
Ken, a friend of mine who specializes in that kind of magic,
mention once that Ornathopter had other uses then magic, but
I didn't know what.

"I'll ask her about it." I muttered to myself, as I finished
making up my tea.

* * *

About on hour later I was about to head out to work on the
ship when the phone rang. This brought me up short, if
anyone wanted to talk to me they ether sent it though the
e-mail, faxed it, or came over themselves. The phone got so
little use, I wasn't even sure how to use it to call out.

I picked it up on the third ring. "Hello." I said.

"Fox, get your butt to the Council chambers, now." Rathal
said on the other side of the line.

"Why?"

"You'll find out, but the session starts in twenty minutes.
You should be there." 

"Ok, sure. I'll be right over."

"Good." He said, then hung up the phone.

Setting the receiver down on the cradle, I wondered what he
wanted me there for in such a rush.

I shrugged, and headed off the the cambers.

* * *

I walked into the waiting room for the Marble Hall proper. I
was about to head over to the secretary, when Page popped
out of the main door.

"Fox," she said, grabbing my arm. "Come with me."

I looked at her, "what's going on?"

"You'll see," she said, and pulled me though the main door,
and into the hall ways beyond. After dragging me around a
few corners, and up some stairs, he pushed me though an
unlabeled door.

Inside I found myself in a small room, about ten feet by ten
feet. There was no lights inside, but plenty of illumination
came though the large glass window that looked down on the
Council cambers.

I looked back at Page, who, after closing the door, had sat
down in one of three chairs in the room. I tipped my head at
the glass. "One one?"

She nodded. "That's why there isn't any lights in here."

I nodded, sitting down in another chair. "So, what's going
on?"

She gave me a slight grin. "Well, you again actually."

I shook my head. "Do I get talked about allot during the
sessions?"

"No. The reason there interested in you is because of your
actions on Gratin."

"I did what they asked though."

She shook her head. "No, you did what the Council head
asked, and that is the problem. An official objection has been
filed against bringing Gratin into the Council because your
actions where key to that, and you where not an agent or
member of the Council at the time."

I thought that over for a bit. "But outside help has been
brought in before, and I don't think any of them where
agents of the Council."

She nodded, "Exactly. It was part of the original laws of the
Council. It's been forgotten and ignored for the past four
hundred years."

I looked back out the window to the Council room below me.
"Until this is resolved, what will Gratin's status be?"

"Well... they would not be an official part of the Council,
and would there for not vote. Though there representative will
still sit on the Council, and be able to be involved in any
committees."

I rubbed my beard a bit, "Why would they want to do that?"

"That's the question of the hour."

I leaned back in the chair a bit. "We need to talk to the
Rachel and Thal, they may have some idea."

She nodded. "Yes, we do."

* * *

Two hours later the Council broke up for the day, and ten
minutes after that, Rathal and Rachel where in the room.

Rachel was dressed in some casual clothing, jeans and a
shirt. Though Rathal was still in his formal clothing, with
all the bright colours and the billowing robes. Thal took
the free seat, and I gave mine up for Rachel.

As she sat down, she looked over all of us. "Did Page tell
you what was going on?"

I nodded. "Do you have any idea why?"

"Backup plan." Rathal said.

I looked over at the Elf, "What do you mean?"

"They couldn't get the Gratin representative onto there side,
so there keeping her from voting. The frightening part is
that could mean she is all that they need to tip the
balance against them."

Rachel nodded. "But if they have all they need, why did they
want her in the first place, or why haven't they acted yet?"

"I don't think they have all the people the need yet." I
said, walked over to the window, and looking down at the
chambers, about half of the Counselors where still there,
talking with each other.

"What makes you think that?"

"Well, if they did, they would have acted when they could.
At least I think so. So they where trying to get Sothia on
there side, maybe they only need one more."

"So they keep her out so they only need one more still, not
two." Rathal said.

I nodded. "Or two instead of three, or five instead of six,
there is a lot of things that it can be."

"Where are they going to get the last one they need?"

"Why do they need one more?" I asked, thinking out loud. "We
saw by there actions last month that they can't wait any
more. What was on Catarn that by have to destroy it, they
have to act now?"

I heard Rachel sigh, "I wish we knew, that seams to be the
key to it all."

Glancing down at the Council members below, I keep on
thinking with my mouth. "How did they get so many in the
first place. I mean, how many do you need for the 75 percent
margin."

"Seventy people." Page said.

I turned to look at them. "How do you get at most 69 people
on your side when they all come from such diverse cultures?"

"It would be hard." Rachel said.

I nodded. "Would it not be easier to have maybe 10 or 15 like
minded people on the Council, and control the rest that you
need?"

Thal grinned. "Yes, and if whatever we being made on Catarn
was that control, they may be starting to run out."

"So they need to move now." Rachel said. "So they need the
last few before it's to late. There where going to kill
Sothia to get one in. I wonder what else they would do."

"I don't want to find out." Page said.

I turned back to the window, and listened as Page said, "I
wish we knew anyone we where going against, then we could
follow them, or something"

"We talked about this when we first meet." Rachel said. "But
the odds of that are low."

I scanned over the floor of the room, looking at over all the
different people there. In one corner, talking to someone I
saw the first-level member who got me out of full exile,
and the chaperoned access to the multi-verse.

Page spoke again. "It's to bad the one we did know hadn't
retired last year."

In fact, if it hadn't been for him, I would never would
have been in a position to get myself fully out of exile, or
into this conspiracy.

Suddenly I remember something Natarn had said back on Gratin
hit me right between the eyes. 'That little ass is the only
reason why your here. If he hadn't spoken up about letting
you stay you would still be back on your little planet, not
ever knowing.'

"Well, he did. The chance of finding anyone else, especially if
there getting ready to move. It's impossible." Rachel said.

I looked back down at him, kicking myself for being to
distracted by his threat of taking everything I love from me
(now taken care of, thanks to a fold blocker on my end, only
I can use it now) I had forgotten about what else he said.

"That's it!" I said, smashing the flat of my hand against a
wall.

"What?" All three ask in unison.

I turned around. "You remember what Natarn said about the
reason I was still here?"

Rachel nodded. "Someone had initiative, that's how come your
here."

I nodded, grinning. "Right, now, who is fully responsible for
me being here?"

She though for a second, then closed her eyes. "Tran, he was
the one who pointed out you where out of practice, and could
lose your ability to open the folds."

"Right, which means his a bad guy."

She grinned at me. "Damn it Fox, that's perfect! We have an
advantage, for once we have an advantage!"

She turned to Page. "I want his file, and everything else
that has his name on it." She looked at Rathal. "You get
someone you can trust following him. I want to know who he
meets with, where, and if anything at all gets pasted
along."

She looked back at me. "Fox, keep doing what ever you're
doing. The more you do it, the closer we get to winning!"

I put my head in my hands and sighed. For someone who has
been describe as 'a side-kick looking for a hero' I sure had
been playing the hero a lot of late.

I just hoped that it would be enough.