Suddenly the air between them begins to vibrate. Romi watches in wonder as the torchlight seems to bend. Small, dancing sparks condense into a human shape. Romi instinctively tenses her muscles, ready for a danger she doesn't recognize, but she stays firmly at Jeff's side. Her trust in him suppresses the urge to draw her blade.

Before her, a woman materializes out of blue white, pulsing light. She wears a garment that flows over her body like liquid mercury, in constant, gentle motion. Her face holds perfect symmetry, the features fine and noble as if carved from marble. Her hair seems to consist of the finest threads of light, drifting slowly around her shoulders.

"This is Cassandra," Jeff says. "I call her Kassi. She's my advisor, and the voice that's guided me since I arrived in this world."

Kassi's projection tilts her head slightly. "I'm not a spirit, Romi," Kassi says. "Imagine a lantern whose light is so clever it can remember images. I'm a likeness made of such light. I live in the great metal ship resting deep beneath this fortress, and I only send an image of myself here into this room."

Kassi turns directly to the girl. "Among your people, Navigators are a chosen group. Their minds are sharpened so finely that they can sense the currents of time and space. Only they carry this green. Jeff is a leader and a fighter. You, however, are the seer who looks beyond the horizon. Your eyes are the key to systems that remain locked to everyone else."