Chapter 20: Rokeg Kromm ----------------------- A man was sitting at the table inside; a half-eaten piece of fish sat on a plate in front of him. He had curly sand-colored hair, and blue eyes. When Akfek and Sascha came in, he jumped up, knocking over a glass of water. This agitated him further still. "Hey! Who're you?" he exclaimed, his sunburned face indignant. "What are you doing here?" 'This can't be the Cid person we're looking for,' Sascha decided. 'He's much too young.' In fact, the man looked to be a couple years younger than herself... but if he wasn't Cid, then what was he doing here? "We are looking for the great scientist, Cid," said Akfek smoothly. The man looked somewhat appeased. He sat down and poked forlornly at his food. "He's not here." "What do you mean?" asked Akfek. By all reports, this _was_ the island where Cid had last been seen. "I am, or, I _was_ a student of his," the man said unhappily. "I heard rumors that he was still alive, here on this island. But when I got here it was deserted. Then, a storm came up, and destroyed my raft. I've been stranded here for days. Boy, what a rotten week..." "That's _awful_!" exclaimed Sascha, trying to sound as though she gave a rat's ass about his petty problems. What really mattered was, would they be able to use him? Akfek stepped forward and shook the man's hand. "I am Akfek, and my companion is Sascha. I worked with your mentor, under the Emperor." The man smiled broadly at this. "I'm Kromm," he said, "Rokeg Kromm. Pleased to meet you! What _were_ you looking for Cid for, anyway?" "Well, there is an important project that we need his help to finish. It was kind of a pet of his, and we thought he'd want to see it to completion..." said Akfek, sounding rather sorrowful. "Oh..." said Kromm, seemingly at a loss for words. "Wonder what happened to him, anyway..." "Wait a minute!" interrupted Sascha eagerly. "Could _you_ help us?" she asked hopefully, as if the idea had just occurred to her. "Surely a student of _Cid_ would have the necessary skills!" "Hmmm. I don't know..." said Kromm hesitantly, looking from Sascha to Akfek. "I'm sure," put in the latter reassuringly, that he would be proud to have you continue his work." "Ah, what the heck!" Kromm stood up abruptly. "I haven't done a decent experiment in ages! My scientific method might get rusty if I just sit around moping! Besides, Cid _would_ want his project to be finished... What _is_ the project anyway?" Sascha lowered her voice and said with an air of great secrecy: "Come back to the boat. We can't talk herre; you never know what some unscrupulous scientists will do to get their hands on someone else's ideas..." 'Nothing piques someone's curiosity like a little intrigue,' she thought to herself. She was right. Kromm took the bait. "Ah yes," he whispered knowingly, "of course. Let's go now; there might even be spies in this house!" He darted his eyed from left to right to emphasize his point. Akfek smiled. 'For a scientist,' thought Sascha, 'he sure is gullible!' They left the house and headed back to the boat. There, Kromm was introduced as an 'associate'. The crew were told to treat him well, and the vessel got underway. * - * - * Shortly after, Sascha accosted Kromm as he was lecturing a somewhat dazed-looking Pukcus on the physics of aquadynamics. The old sailor looked distinctly relieved as she led the talkative scientist away. "Come with me to the cargo hold," she whispered. That was where the shipment had been moved to, and it was time for Mr. Kromm to learn what he would be working on. Sascha was confident he'd go along with the plan; he didn't seem like the suspicious type. Actually, it didn't really matter, since it had already been decided that he would work for them whether he wanted to or not. 'But still,' thought Sascha, 'it will be easier if he is willing...' Akfek was waiting in the hold. "Good, you're here," he said in a businesslike fashion as Sascha led Kromm in. "Now, come take a look." He lifted a corner of the material that covered the precious cargo. "Magitek Armor!" gasped Kromm. "Yes," replied Sascha. "We need _you_ to find a way to re-infuse it with magic. Won't you _please_ help us?" she continued sweetly, pouting just a bit. "But," be began, more than a little muddled, "there _is_ no more magic!" "Ah, but suppose there _were_..." Akfek said. The newcomer took the cryptic statement at face value. "Well, hmm." he began, calming himself. "Originally, the magic was 'built in'. These things weren't meant to be rechargeable... but," he continued, tapping his chin thoughtfully, "I just _might_ be able to, if I..." Kromm began to talk in what to Sascha and Akfek was gibberish. He talked faster and faster as he picked up enthusiasm. Then, all of a sudden, he stopped in mid-sentence. "Hey, wait a second! What is all this _for_?" 'Ah, the inevitable question,' thought Sascha. Good thing they'd been prepared for it. "We're rebulding the Empire," said Akfek, "for a bigger and better purpose!" "Yes!" agreed Sascha. "We're going to overthrow the Figaran oppression that is crushing our world, and restore peace and harmony!" She clapped her hand patriotically over her heart, and appeared to fight back tears. Actually, what she was fighting back was an attack of nausea. Kromm looked at Sascha, then at Akfek, and smiled, thoroughly convinced. 'Another satisfied customer,' she thought to herself. "Well then," he was saying, "I'll be _proud_ to help you! Just leave it to me!" Sascha smiled gratefully. Another sucker... * - * - * Later, she and Akfek were standing on the quarterdeck. "Where are we headed now?" she asked. Everything was proceeding so well; she was eager to know what was next. "To the coliseum," he replied. "The 'rally' is in just a few days, and it will probably take almost that long to get there." "Yes," added Sascha with a devilish grin, "and we must prepare for your landslide victory!" she laughed. No one would dare to oppose Akfek, not after that display back at the old man's house. "But of course!" he said, and smiled maliciously. Sascha reflected once more on how lucky she was to have met him.