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  Intro B
They had improved the finger tips on the suit since the last time that I had worn one. But the gauntlets were still too clumsy to make the delicate work that I was doing very easy. The access cover screws were safely in the bag at my waist and the communications relay/control unit was poised over the plug in socket when the Trump contact began. My last Trump contact from anyone except Victoria, had been close to five years ago. Then all of the 'cousins' had been found, dragged to Amber, given the 'Lecture' and shortly there after been turned loose to go where they wanted to go. Few, if any of them had made any sort of impression on me, (nor I upon them) so there was little or no reason for me to contact them or vice versa.Whoever it was would be getting one hell of a view. I was working on the E.S.A.'s (European Space Agency) ESA-1 space station, five hundred miles above the equator in a geosynchronus orbit. From my perspective, it was the moon below and the earth above in a breath taking scene. The measured sound of my breathing in the space suit's helmet sounded like some special effects sequence from a sci/fi film. "Bide a moment" I thought at the contact as I made the final adjustment to the unit and then pushed it home into the receptacle. There was a satisfying thud and I relaxed, drifting free of the station to the end of my tether. Working in zero g isn't as easy as it sounds! Opening my mind to the Trump, the contact firmed enough to become visual and I beheld my caller. It was a man with blue black hair and mustache, with piercing blue eyes and a passive countence. He was wearing scale armour enamaled white, as usual. "Hello uncle Julian." "Brion. We have need of you back in Amber. Now." he said. The scene behind him was of the Forest Arden, or a shadow so close that it didn't matter one way or another. "As you can see, I'm in hard vaccum. Let me get back inside first before calling you back" "There are more calls to make, the others here are all, ... occuppied. Hellride back as fast as you can or Trump into Amber outside of the castle." "O.k., anything I can bring you or anyone there from shadow as I come Uncle?" "Just your sword Brion, and your wits." As Julian moved to break the contact, I suddenly said,"Wait one!" "Yes?" he replied coolly. "Ask Uncle Caine or Gerrad to have a ship out near Cabra for me, I'll be coming in near there." "Very well, good bye." "Bye." I said as I pulled myself back to the station and then made my way to the nearest airlock. 'Something's up' I thought as I made my way back to my quarters. There wasn't much to pack, but I did want my sword handy if I should need it quickly. While I could always call Balingore to me in shadow, there wasn't always time to. Taking my blade from the wall, I laid it down on the bed as I gathered up the few things that weren't easily replaced in shadow. My picture album and a couple of holo cubes of 'tori and myself or just her and my journal. Throwing them into a carry all, I picked up Balingore and went to check out a shuttle down. I had been working on this project almost the entire time since the gathering of the clan in Amber. Establishing my position and 'history' as they call it in spy thrillers, to be a part of the construction of this shadow's third space station. So when I walked into the control centre to check out a shuttle, it wasn't too unusual of an action. There was one due to go down for scheduled maintance, so I took it and began my own novel form of hellride to Amber. "ESA shuttle 'Aquataine' requesting clearance to clear station and de-orbit to the Madrid terminal." "ESA shuttle Aquataine, Flight Control Central, permission granted to clear station and de-orbit to the Madrid terminal. Use traffic pattern theta. Good flying!" "Roger that, Aquataine out." I said as I started the flight out and down. However the Madrid maintence terminal wasn't my destination. Hitting the docking release, I felt the clamps give me a gentle nudge into space and I deftly manuevered the shuttle into the traffic pattern before commencing my shadow shifting. Hitting the throttles a tad, I eased the delta vee up and changed the traffic around me. Half an orbit latter and the shuttle shimmered briefly and any maintence problems were history as she became brand new around me. Around and into the sunlight once more and she changed around me again, becoming larger and simpler to fly. Another orbit and the stars begin to change, running together in a blur then fading out all together. The moon becomes a huge ball of silver and closer to me as the space around me clears of all manmade objects. Firing the rockects and feeling the acceleration pushing me back into the chair, I hurtle myself around the globe below me. With each pass around, I change one item or another, bringing my personal reality of Amber over the shadows around me. Harder I push, trying to achieve one aspect of Amber with which to work the rest. The shuttle changes some more, accomodating the shadows I pass through, taking on a cargo of various items that I know will sell well in and around Amber. There, the moon is that of Amber as the last of the cargo fills the hold behind me. Here I stop for awhile to rest and eat. The closer to Amber I come now, the more careful I must be. As far as I know, no one has ever attempted to do what I am about to attempt. The idea came from a chance conversation recalled from dusty memory about King Random's favourite way of negotiating shadow. Bright sunlight wakes me from a brief nap and I begin to make the most careful of shadow shifts. Each one thought out clearly and precisely before it is made then re checked against what I perceive. The forests below take on the hue of emerald greeen of the Forest Arden. All signs of cities but one great one in a mountian range by the sea fade from the surface of the planet. I bring our relative speed down to almost a crawl and recheck all of my instraments before beginning the de-orbitting burn. Now as we begin our fiery fall planetward, I change the systems of the shuttle to all mechanical then reach once more into the stuff of shadow. Taking a firm grip of it with my mind I change the texture of shadow around me, bringing it closer to the pattern that I wish to achieve. The waters of the ocean deepen and become the deep sapphire blue of the waters above Rebma where the reflection of the Pattern resides beneath the waves. As we streak downward in a howling trail of tortured air, I change the skies to that infinte blue of the sky above the peak of Kolvir as seen at dawn. The buffetting of the atmostphere is shaking the shuttle with hammer blows and I fire the thrusters making my final turn high in the sky over Amber. A brillant lance of light, a falling star, a god's finger tip tracing the curve of the sky my craft and I. Thunder booms as we enter the lower atmostphere at hyper sonic speed then again as we slow to super sonic speed. I am nearly blind in the falling shuttle now, the remaining instraments little more than those in an early bi plane. I am in the hands of Fate and the strength of my abilities to move accurately through shadow. With a last boom, I drop through the sound barrier and level out on my final approach. Pulling a lever, deploys a small propeller to pump the hydralics for my control surfaces. Right on the glide path I wanted, the light house at Cabra is fast approaching and there are few ships out in these waters. Banking gently I ease the big craft down into the proper attitude for landing and prepare to ride out my long run in. We hit alittle harder than I had expected, sending a great plume of water up and drenching the shuttle, but within the safety parameters of this craft. I guide the shuttle toward Cabra with the last of the manueverability left from the descent. It should put us fairly close to the island without fear of blocking the shipping lanes or of running aground. The ship I saw off of Cabra must be the one Julian asked be sent here or else just plain curious, for it put over to rendevous with me. A short time later and I am on the deck of a cutter from the Fleet and on my way back to the castle by more mundane means. I leave orders with the captain for my shuttle to be towed into an off shore anchorage and unloaded. The cargo should turn me some small profit and please some of the elders here. Just hope that I didn't cause Llewella any problems when I set the shuttle down. I did try to make sure that I wasn't landing on top of Rebma.... The rest of my trip to the castle is uneventful and I arrive at the main entrance without any fuss or muss.
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