General Garek rifled through the papers on his desk,
looking for something that would break the tedium of the rest of
the morning. So many reports, containing mounds of useless
information... Mounds of things he already knew, that is. That
was one problem with being head of Intelligence. Once you
knew practically everything, things could get a little boring. He
stood with a sigh, and straightened his jacket. Garek rarely wore
the standard Imperial uniform, preferring to dress for the day.
Not that there was anything wrong with the uniforms. He'd
designed them himself (a hobby). But wearing the same thing
every day got on his nerves after a while. 

     He turned to his right, checking his reflection in the
nearby mirror. "Not bad, but getting a bit frazzled..." Garek
decided it was time for a break. He'd take a stroll around the
castle, catch up on Imperial gossip, maybe actually learn
something *new*... He pushed his chair back, and strode out the
door.

     As he walked down the hallway towards the soldiers'
barracks (Soldiers, as everyone knows, gossip more than
Kohlingen housewives...) he contemplated the Imperial situation.
Their leaders certainly seemed confident, but Garek wondered if
they really *understood* the facts. Reports indicated that the
one-time Returner leader, Banon, was headed towards Albrook,
possibly bringing some of his followers. The recent deployment
of the reprogrammed BMB to the town would complicate
matters further... Captain Rakhar was so protective of that little
burg, who knew where his loyalties lay anymore. Garek had
often wondered how a man with such an aversion to violence
had gone so far in the Empire, but then he remembered Jessad's
brilliant tactics, some of which were even taught in training
camps... 
 
     In any case, Garek had advised against the BMB action,
but his protests had been largely ignored by Akfek. Sascha did
not even know of the robot's mission... He wondered if it was a
good idea to keep the Empress in the dark like this. He frowned.
She seemed more stable than her counterpart, who seemed to be
getting a little, well, loopy these days... Treating her as a mere
figurehead was *not* a good idea. She wouldn't abide it for long,
once she figured it out. Garek suspected that wouldn't take long.
He winced as he recalled the Brokengulf incident. Ouch...

     He stopped in mid-thought, as he came upon a most peculiar
sight. A little dark-haired girl was sitting on the corridor
floor, drawing on the stone wall with a piece of charcoal. 
Twisted figures emerged from her hands, writhing in agony on
the cold wall. When she heard him approach, she turned, and
stared at him with huge violet eyes.

     "Interesting," said Garek aloud, arching an eyebrow.
Perhaps the stroll would prove more profitable than he'd thought.
There weren't supposed to be any children at Doma.

     "Hello," she said simply, staring at him intently with
those purple cat-eyes.

     "Where are your parents, little girl?" His voice oozed
charm.

     "They're at Vector." Her voice was soft and musical,
tinged with a slight accent.

     "Ah, I see!" His mind was already processing the
information he had gained. "And who are your parents?"

     "My mother's name is Encata. My father's name is
Duklath. I'm drawing their pictures." She turned back to her
work.

     Garek nodded, understanding. He remembered Duklath... the
man had been a good soldier... Until he was killed during the
attack on Vector. The teams had found the bodies of Duklath and
his wife, burned to a crisp... and their little girl sitting
beside them, sitting in an autistic trance. Her name had been
Lenore... She'd disappeared shortly afterwards, when Cid had
wanted to take her in to live with his other 'grandchildren'.
Garek shook his head. Vicious, really. But this was a fact he
could catalogue, and possibly use later... Especially whereas her
brother was currently serving under Sascha and Akfek. He patted
the little girl's head, and turned back the way he had come, back
to his office.

     He sat back down, his mind racing faster than a chocobo
on the Veldt. This information wasn't as important as, say, the
location of a new Returner base, but was stimulating
nonetheless. Apparently, the child's brother had had some idea of
what would happen to her... An orphan girl, with leanings
towards mental imbalance, practically screamed 'Infusion test
subject' in the Old Empire. And now, he continued to shield her
from the world. How noble. Garek smirked. After witnessing the
experiments performed on that Priestess, and the BMB, he could
certainly see the logic behind that...

     "But what have we here?" A new sheaf of papers had
appeared on his desk while he had been out. He picked it up,
giving it a cursory glance. It was a mission report, written in
crisp, clear handwriting. "Commander Varalis," he said to
himself, and sat down to read it with a smile. 

     About a half an hour later, he put it down, a ponderous
expression on his face. This had indeed been an informative
morning. "Enygma..." he said, tugging at a piece of hair behind
his ear. "So it wasn't *just* the wild boy, after all..." He steepled
his fingers over the desk. "It would appear we have a new player
in the game... Well, I hope that this Enygma knows that I've been
playing a very, very long time..." He smiled again.