Love In Its Essence

by Mendeia

Arc 4 of The Temple Steps Alight series. Over the last two years, SELF has been thriving, and so have the Sentinels and Guides proud to call it their home. But when Doctor Zin implements his ultimate plan, it will take everything the Sentinels and Guides have learned about themselves and more to survive and protect not only their tribe, but the very world.

1. Chapter 1

Love in its essence is spiritual fire.
-Emanuel Swedenborg

-==OOO==-

Jonny started to laugh.

This is Cascade. Why do they even plan to hold these things outside when they know it will end like this?

His neighbor elbowed him as the sound equipment up front gave a terrible squawk that sounded like it should have come from an injured turkey and not a microphone. The squawking subsided after a moment into an intermittent hissing garbled scratching noise occasionally accompanied by words.

"Ladies and gentlemen, it my pleasure to welcome you…hiss…this important day in the young lives…hisshisshiss…graduating class…hissSCRATCHhiss…"

Jonny turned down his hearing. He supposed he could have dialed his senses up to actually hear the speech, but he could tell from here that it was going to be boring. A cold trickle of water dripped from his cap's once-proud square crown, now somewhat saggy, and hit him in the back of the neck.

Jonny looked up balefully. The graduates had been seated under an awning built to keep off sun, not rain. It was vaguely helpful at least for a little while, but it meant more that water would gather through the soaking material in large drops that then fell like baseballs onto those sitting below. The chairs beneath them had been soaked long before they had filed into place in a miserable, undignified procession, their programs adhered to the chair-seats and smeared beyond legibility.

Jonny's phone pinged so softly almost no one else could have heard it, sounding a peculiar set of tones. It was one of his father's latest additions to the already over-engineered phones used by all the Quests and their friends – but this addition was specific to Sentinels. Any phone in the network could ping another with a unique combination of sounds. It told the receiver that the person indicated by the combination would be speaking shortly and for them to extend their senses if they could not take a call in a more conventional way. Jonny reacted to it almost instinctively, sharpening his hearing as he honed in on the person that had asked for his attention.

Fifty yards away, Hadji said softly, "Be grateful at least for the awning, my friend. We are making do with umbrellas and garbage bags."

Jonny snorted. He shifted a little in his chair, unerringly locating his family in the sea of dismal, poncho-wearing parents and friends. Their group had secured a spot on one end of the vast spread of folding chairs about mid-way back. On the end sat Jim with Race beside him, the protectors ready to bolt at a moment's notice. On Race's other side was Blair, then Hadji, then Doctor Quest. Jonny's eyes widened as he realized who was populating the row behind them. Daryl, Ngama, Kaimi, Eric, Lai, and even Dmitri and Ivanna. Simon and Joel had wanted to attend as well, but had begged off to take charge of the party happening afterwards up at SELF.

But, indeed, the whole crew was a mess of sodden coats and suits. Doctor Quest, Race, Eric, and Ngama all had umbrellas, but these were almost less than useless – not only did the rain blow in around them, but they created steady streams of water that ran down into their neighbors' laps or upon their heads. Blair and Hadji had forgone their umbrellas entirely, wrapping up in huge garbage bags Jonny guessed Blair had pilfered from a nearby building. It looked as if they had simply cut a hole for their faces and contented themselves with looking like black plastic Halloween ghosts. And from their matching, slightly delighted grins, they were very aware of how silly they looked, but they were also smugly dry.

Quite a turnout for me and Jess, Jonny thought with a smile. Not that he'd really expected anything less.

With the practice of several years, Jonny focused his hearing to narrow in on their group. Blair was right in the middle of relating a story. He wasn't even bothering to whisper because the rain and wind and bad audio tech was making it impossible to hear anything from the stage more than the slightest distance back into the crowd.

"…So, the students are all crammed together on the floor of the indoor courts and all around the track, with no chairs set up because nobody figured they'd need to use the backup because it was supposed to be nice. Typical, right? And the Chancellor is right in the middle of her speech, which, by the way, she gives every single year without varying it even a little bit and I think even I could recite it from memory by now and I've only been to a few graduations, after all – anyway, she's just getting to the part about 'continuing social responsibility' when there is this enormous BBBZZZZZZTTTT noise from the big clock on the wall for basketball games and stuff like that. And just as she's clearing her throat to continue, there's this thumping bass line and a voice comes over the loudspeaker, not the sound system but the big bullhorn-looking things in the rafters that goes, 'Let's get ready to ruuuuuuummmmmbbbbbblllleee!' and the techno beat starts up the way it does for every basketball game. And nobody knows how to turn it off because everybody on the stage are the administrators and none of them have ever really been part of what you'd call 'student life' around campus."

"So what happened?" Race asked.

"Well, the Chancellor gets really flustered and tries to talk over it for a little while, but the first time the voice becomes a bunch of girls yelling 'Action, Action, we want action – A C T – I O N, action boys, action men!' she just about choked. And most of the student body as well as the professors are laughing at this point. So suddenly the Dean of the Masters program just stands up and stomps straight to the podium and yells into the mic, 'Somebody stop those cheerleaders or all these diplomas are going back out in the rain!' And finally a couple of students get up, the ones who work tech around campus as a job and know every building inside and out, and they walk right up to the panel on the wall directly behind the stage. Like, in reach of everybody on their special chairs. And they look at the panel really seriously for a minute, then hit the giant red button that says 'On/Off' and the sound goes away. And the Chancellor pulls them up on stage that minute and awards their diplomas on the spot."

"And where were you while all this was going on, Chief?" Jim asked.

"Oh, I was sitting off to the side with some of the other TAs since I wasn't graduating but we had showed up to send off some friends. And we were all laughing ourselves sick but trying to keep it in because we didn't want to get booted from the program. So we were in perfect position to see that it was the Chancellor herself who bumped into the control panel when she got out of her chair to make her speech."

"So you didn't help and let the poor woman be mortified," Hadji said, but his face was twisted with amusement.

"Have you met that woman? She made my life miserable for more than a decade! If that's the only revenge I ever get, at least I have that memory," Blair laughed.

Jonny's phone pinged again, this time a different pattern and he swiveled his head to look forward. Jessie was turning around. She'd kept her phone hidden in her robes – it was rude to be visibly ignoring things when you were in the second row and right in front of the person giving the unsuccessful speech – but she knew its controls by feel. Jonny tipped his head to show he was listening.

"They're having a lot more fun back there than we are, rain notwithstanding, aren't they?" she said in a whisper.

Jonny grinned and nodded sharply so she could see it.

Jessie gave an aggrieved sigh and turned back around muttering about the unfairness of not being able to listen in.

Jonny rolled his shoulders, glancing back at his family long enough to fix their position in his mind before he turned to face front, his hearing still concentrated on the bedraggled group suffering boredom under the deluge for his and Jessie's sake. His father was launching into a story now, one Jonny knew from his childhood but the surprise and stifled laughter from the rest of the Chancery residents was enough to spice up the tale on repeated hearing.

At least if I'm stuck here for however long, I'm not alone. He smiled to himself. Not that I ever was.

-==OOO==-

By the time Jonny and Jessie found one another in the soaking crowd of graduates and managed to squeeze through them, their hats were floppy and curling, their robes were sticking to them everywhere, and they were freezing. Jonny had followed his Guide throughout the ceremony with his senses, had listened to Hadji's particular clapping when his name was called and he accepted his degree, and now it was just a matter of honing in on him.

"Looks like Race is using the keys-of-which-we-never-speak," Jonny said wryly to Jessie.

"Why do we keep it such a big secret? Is there anybody who doesn't know that he has a copy of every key to any building we might ever conceivably be in around here? Including the police station?" Jessie asked.

"Especially the police station," Jonny grinned. "Jim knows. All the Sentinels know. I don't think Simon does, though. And he'd pitch a fit if he found out Race could get down into the evidence lockers or the holding cells."

"Which is why we didn't tell him," Jessie nodded. "I see. Better for everybody."

Jonny opened the door he knew was the one his family had used – they were only a few yards into the computer center and this was the nearest entrance – and ducked out of the rain at last. Inside, he and Jessie were met with a burst of applause.

Jessie smiled broadly and swept off her mushy graduation cap, flinging it into the air and bowing with a swish of wet robes. The hat hit the ground with an audible splat.

"Could have been a better day for it, but I'm still just as proud of you, Ponchita," Race said, striding over and giving his daughter a hug regardless of the water.

"We're all very proud of you," Benton nodded. "Top marks in both your chosen degrees, and already accepted into the Masters program. I could not ask for more from any of you," he included Hadji in the smile, as the Guide had accidentally acquired his first BA degree after only a year at Rainier and had spent the last year and a half pursuing an additional BA and the beginnings of a Masters as well.

"I just hope it's not this gross next time. Who's next?" Jonny asked.

"Me, I think," Eric said. "I should be done around this time next year."

"And me too," Daryl put in. "It's all that studying with you three. It's rubbing off."

"Not on all of us," Lai grumbled good-naturedly. "Some of us have more than a year to go."

"That's your own fault!" Kaimi nudged her. "Nobody told you to take a double major in political science and history!"

"There is no shame in needing more time," Ngama said. "Kaimi and I will graduate from our enhanced programs in two years to go straight towards our own doctorates. We will all be bound in the world of academia for a great deal more time, I think."

"Good thing," Jessie smiled, moving from her father to hug first Daryl, then Lai. "That gives us more time in the Chancery together."

"And the lodge after that, I believe. For some of you, at least," Ivanna spoke up. "I do not think you need fear losing the chance to remain together."

Blair and Hadji exchanged a rapid smile, so quick only those who knew them the best might have spotted it – that, of course, included their Sentinels. The pair of Guides didn't need to guess that this group would remain together for a long while. They already Knew.

"Thank you for coming out today," Jessie said politely to the eldest Guide and Dmitri where they stood amidst the rest.

"We do not leave the lodge often enough," Dmitri shook his head. "There is too much to do, and it is too comfortable there. If we do not venture out into the world, we may lose all the lessons Professor Guide has worked so hard to teach us."

"What the mind has learned can never be unlearned," Hadji said. "It needs only be recalled and honed, but its general contours of wisdom do not fade even with time."

"Astute as always, Docent Guide," Ivanna said with a gracious smile.

"Does this make me Docent Sentinel?" Jonny asked suddenly. "Since I've graduated now, and you gave that title thing to Hadji when he got his degree."

"Don't count on it, kiddo," Jim swept in and caught Jonny unawares in a headlock where he began scruffing his head. "You're still just a punk kid Sentinel even with the degree."

Jonny laughed and fought his way out of the grip, accepting that what Jim said with laughter was actually true. And he was okay with that. There were close to 200 Sentinels and family and allies up at the lodge these days, and dozens more who had returned to their homes or settled into new ones in and around Cascade after mastering what the Guides could teach them. But there were still only the original handful of Guides, and every one of them was treasured specially. Jonny didn't much care if the Sentinels continued to view his Guide with respect and awe – as far as he was concerned, Hadji deserved it.

"We should probably think about departing. There are many waiting to greet us still," Hadji said as if picking up on Jonny's thoughts – and in a way Jonny thought he might be. What exactly Blair, Hadji, and Kaimi could do was still not entirely clear. Ivanna was a different sort of Guide, lacking in the Seventh sense. And Melly, Angie Rafe's Guide, while a full Guide with the Seventh, was a little young for it, having only just turned seventeen. She was taking to Guiding as if born to it – they all seemed to do that – but Hadji and Blair and Kaimi said there was something she had yet to grow into before she would tap her full potential, and until then she and Angie would not bond, either. Melly mostly rolled her eyes at them and called them old fogeys.

"The crowd will have thinned a bit by now," Blair said. "The cars are in the back lot, and we can go through most of the science complex from here to get there, so we'll get a little respite from the rain."

They began to meander through the hallways, Jonny and Jessie stripping out of their soaking robes and grateful they'd worn nothing nicer than jeans and sweatshirts underneath. There would be time to dress up at SELF – after drying off.

"Jonny?" Hadji said softly, sidling up to his brother and Sentinel. Jonny barely noticed Jessie pulling his own robe and ruin of a hat from him to free his hands. Of course, she promptly dumped the lot of it on Race who mockingly grumbled at her.

"Yeah, Hadj?"

"I do not mean to sound condescending, but I, too, am proud of you. Not only for this accomplishment, but for all you have done since our arrival in Cascade."

Jonny felt his face heat a little under the praise and slung an arm around Hadji. "Couldn't have done it without you, my brother. I mean that. I couldn't have done any of it without you."

Behind them, Jim and Blair trailed, watching the interaction fondly. Jim slipped a wordless arm around his own Guide's shoulders comfortably.

"Ditto, man," Blair said softly.

"Hmm?"

"I couldn't have done any of this without you, Jim. You…you really gave me a whole life, you know? And I'm not just talking about the fountain."

Jim suppressed a shiver and tightened his grip, ignoring the sense memory of Blair being cold and wet and dead. It was bad enough that he was cold and wet now. What he said was, "Two-way street, partner. I wouldn't be a Sentinel without you. And I wouldn't be…" He trailed off.

I wouldn't be happy. I wouldn't have a tribe and friends and a family. I wouldn't know what it meant to love someone. To really love someone. To be connected with every part of myself for all time now and always.

But Blair heard it anyway. "I know. Me too."

-==OOO==-

The lodge was bright and warm, a welcome change for the still-dripping crew that had attended the graduation ceremony. Because the party was to start soon, they all bolted upstairs to change and dry off. Daryl almost careened into his father as he shot into the little apartment they now shared next to Jim and Blair, and only a lifetime of being tall and gangly saved them both from disaster; Simon slammed his way out of the room to find somewhere safer to be – such as a warzone. On the other side of the wall, Ngama laughed at the stuttered apology he overheard from his friend while Kaimi dug out towels for them both. At the Chancery they had separate rooms, though she was ever more taking over space in his tiny single. But here, as a bonded Sentinel and Guide, they shared an apartment though they maintained separate bedrooms for now. A floor down were the little singles Lai and Eric each had, not far from the big suite Brian and Henri shared with Angie and Melly whenever they stayed over.

The whole lodge, not just the main building but all the other little bungalows and the new expansion for family living off of one wing of the main building, was filled with light and laughter today. As tended to happen at SELF, one celebration encompassed many individual accomplishments. Even birthdays got lumped together in a big party held once a month for everyone born within it just to save on time.

Today there stood two proud cakes side-by-side. They read:

Congratulations on Your Graduation Jessie & Jonny
Happy Retirement Joel and Welcome to SELF

"You know," Simon said as he finished straightening the picture of Joel from his own graduation from the Academy that he had found via mysterious means and now added to the mantle, "most cops who get to their 20 just get a night at the bar. This makes it, what, three parties now?"

"I suppose," Joel demurred. "But I wanted to celebrate with the department, and not everybody is in on SELF, so we had to do that one. And I didn't know the bomb team was going to surprise me."

Simon chuckled. "Face it, Taggart. You're just one of those guys everybody likes having around." Then, more seriously, "And we're lucky to have you here full time."

Joel grinned. The last two years balancing "helping out" at SELF with his job as a police captain, member of Major Crimes, and still a leader with the bomb squad tactical team had been exhausting, and when Joel had hit his 20 years of service for the Cascade PD, he had decided to take the pension that was waiting for him. This allowed him to move into the SELF lodge full-time where he was paid a stipend as well as having his room and board covered in exchange for helping manage the property's security. The Sentinel Council had offered him a seat at the same time they opened membership to a few others – Hasna, Galina, and a unique woman named Julia who was a Sentinel without the Seventh sense – which had kept the ratio of the advisory body at 7 Sentinels/Guides to 4 who were neither. Joel would also be taking over some of the introductory classes now that he'd been around long enough to serve as a passable sensory assistant in spite of not being a Guide himself. This would free up Blair and Hadji to focus on the more difficult cases and the finer points of control.

"You know, I have no idea how Blair does it," Joel said. "Less than three years I tried to do SELF and the PD and some weeks I don't think I slept more than a few hours total. But he's still working as Jim's partner and he never shirks the stuff around here, and he never seems tired."

"Neither do the kids," Simon looked upwards to where he could hear some loud conversation on the top level. "And they keep just as busy – if not moreso."

"Yeah, but for a while there Blair was also teaching multiple classes on top of everything," Joel pointed out. "If we could figure out how to bottle that whatever-it-is, we could make a fortune."

"And if we were able to uncover your secret to your kindness and patience and understanding, my friend," Ivanna broke into their conversation, looking regal and resplendent in a long dress of dark green, "we could persuade Benton to implement it on a global scale and peace would reign forevermore."

Joel was getting ready to reply, fighting his embarrassment, when two small blurs rushed through the room. He stepped into their path and opened his arms, scooping up the two little whirlwinds, heedless of the inevitable wrinkling of his suit jacket.

"Careful, ducks," he said to the pair of two-year-old girls who giggled against his broad chest. They both wore frilly skirts but they were barefoot and already JJ had yanked the matching bow out of her hair – if history was any indication, she'd be back in her shorts within minutes. "You don't want to crash into somebody, do you?"

"There's cake!" shouted Yasmin. Then she repeated the sentiment in every language in which she knew the word.

"And balloons!" added JJ. She added her own repetitions of the word, but a few of them sounded like a language of her invention rather than one of the many she had been taught.

"How is it you girls know how to say 'cake' fifteen different ways, but you can't tell me what this is?" Simon asked, smiling, as he held up a piece of broccoli from the veggie tray.

Yasmin stuck out her tongue and made a face, and JJ said something in another of her languages.

"Anybody catch that?" Joel asked.

"That," Jim appeared in a turtleneck and slacks, "was almost perfect Chopec for, loosely translated, 'yucky green sticks,' I think," he smiled. "They must have learned it from Jonny."

"Not me," Jonny was just catching up to Jim, their Guides trailing a little behind, all dry at last and dressed for the occasion. Bandit circled their feet, happily herding them and not realizing his intent was being largely ignored. "Must be one of the others."

"I believe it was Lai," Hadji offered. "She spends time with them, and her grasp of Chopec is better than Kaimi's."

"How many languages have you kids had floating around in that house all these years?" Simon asked.

"Well, English, obviously," Jonny started counting on his fingers. "Chopec because Jim taught it to me and it was useful since nobody else speaks it so we all got into it a little. Lai speaks Mandarin Chinese, Eric speaks Spanish when he's mad because that's the language he first learned to curse people out in, and Ngama speaks French and two or three dialects from home, though he's only really taught us words in the main one he grew up with. We tend to swap around a lot, jumping from one into the next as a game."

"That is not counting our already extensive language exposure," Hadji added. "Myself and Jonny and Jessie were all well-versed in Russian, Spanish, French, Italian, and a smattering of words in other tongues as well. And I was raised speaking Bengali and Hindi, of course."

Simon eyed his son, who had appeared, fingers interwoven with Jessie's like always. "How did you keep up?" he asked. "You weren't fluent in anything but English a few years ago."

Daryl laughed. "Live with seven people who all know three languages minimum and you'll start to pick things up. Or else you'll find out you've just agreed to stand on your head in the bathtub or something."

"Hey, I only spoke English at first, too," Kaimi said as the stream of people moving into the greatroom continued. Her sky-blue wrap skirt matched Ngama's shirt perfectly. "I knew a few words of Hawaiian, but nothing like this. And I think Eric only spoke Spanish."

"By which you mean 'locker room Spanish,' really," Eric put in. "But, yeah. I'm still probably the worst of all of us at anything other than English, but it's a lot easier than it used to be. They have immersion houses on campus where you can live and only speak a foreign language to help you learn it. I think we were the only polyglot immersion house in Cascade!"

"But it helps," Daryl said. "With all the people here from all over the world, a lot of them don't really speak English. They've got enough to do with the sensory stuff. The least we could do was figure out how to talk to them in their own language."

"Well, maybe you can give me a few pointers," Joel said, casually dangling both giggling toddlers upside-down from his arms. "I'm still pretty rusty in everything."

"You speak with your heart and your actions," Ivanna said.

"And that's what we're here to celebrate!" Benton and Race finally joined the growing crowd. "The end of one phase of life and the beginning of another for all three of you. Though, I suspect you may find that there are many aspects which will not change at all between them."

Joel squeezed the little girls in his arms fondly. "And some that improve a lot." The girls hugged him back, not entirely understanding why he was both a little sad and happy, but they had been told that their Joel would be around all the time now and they liked that.

Many more Sentinels gathered in the greatroom now, cycling through to congratulate the three being honored and to chat with the others who had been scarce the last few weeks – particularly the students dealing with finals. When the dull roar of the place stilled, Dmitri appeared from the vicinity of the kitchen and cleared his throat loudly for attention.

"I don't give speeches," he said, and a few of his oldest friends agreed heartily, "but I want to give these out today."

He produced a long, narrow box, which he set on the table near the cakes.

"It is military tradition to award medals for acts of honor or valor or courage," he said. "And it is Sentinel tradition to recognize the best of us and hold them up to lead and protect us. So, with some help from those who have gone before, I present you with these."

He opened the lid of the box and everybody in the room tried to cram near enough to see what was in it – made easier for all the Sentinels who needed only a clear view for an instant of enhanced sight. Lining the box was thick, black velvet, which made for a stark background against which eight bright, silver seven-pointed stars shone. At the centers of the stars were deeply colored opals, predominately blue but with all colors flowing through them in unique patterns.

Dmitri coughed to regain the attention of the crowd. "There are many knighthoods and noble brotherhoods throughout the world, but ours is unique in that we were born into our tribe before we even came here to choose it for ourselves. SELF is the name Benton gave to his foundation to protect and guard and teach us, and it is led by the Council, but what we are to one another is not SELF. We are the Tribe of Seven, because even those who lack certain senses are guided and bound by the same power that inhabits those who have them. I hope you will forgive my presumption to award these to those who have served us well already."

"That's beautiful," Hasna said from nearby.

"Don't thank me," Dmitri shot her a quick smile. "Dominik and Luka came up with it for me."

"The speech or the medals themselves?" she asked teasingly.

"Both."

And he lifted each medal and called out a name. "For guardianship, leadership, integrity, and courage: Sentinel Jim Ellison and Professor Guide Doctor Blair Sandburg." Blair blushed at that, but he accepted the medal from Dmitri and allowed Ivanna to pin it on his chest.

"For protection and support and unwavering loyalty: Doctor Benton Quest and Councilor Race Bannon.

"For dedication and rare wisdom, courage, and spiritual powers: Sentinel Jonny Quest and Docent Guide Hadji Singh Quest."

He paused before lifting the last two. "For bravery, loyalty, and honor: Councilor Simon Banks. And finally, for kindness, wisdom, and tireless effort: our newest – Councilor Joel Taggart."

There was a roar of applause.

"What about you, Dmitri?" Blair asked quietly while the room voiced its approval.

"Ivan and I discussed it. We have guarded Sentinels for many years, but it is you, all of you, who have led us to where we stand today. You came to us and offered us sanctuary and insight. You and your Sentinel as well as the young ones engineered the rescue of dozens of our people from that facility. Benton and Race built this place brick-by-brick, have sought us out throughout the world in ever greater numbers, and Simon and Joel have shouldered the load admirably." He shook his head. "What Ivan and I have done is good. We know this. But we have not tread new ground nor created a future. That comes from you."

Blair was ready to wind up into an argument, but Jim, suspiciously blinking back a strange brightness in his eyes, put a hand on his shoulder. "Leave it, Sandburg. Let them do this for us."

Then Dmitri turned back to the crowd. "Enough speeches! We're here because Jessie and Jonny graduated and Joel retired. So let's get busy celebrating them!"

The cheering picked back up, as did the sudden surge towards the food as the party started in earnest.

Somewhat later, Simon wandered up to where Daryl and Jessie were sitting with Race one floor up, their feet dangling over the edge of the walkway.

"So, any new summer plans besides a little school work and hanging out here?" he asked.

Daryl shrugged. "Not really. I mean, we could always go back to Palm Key if we wanted to get away, right?"

"Or anywhere else," Race said, smiling. "I'm thinking about dragging Benton out of here, too. He's starting to get that crazy-genius-cooped-up-in-a-lab-too-long look."

Jessie laughed. "That's exactly what Jonny said yesterday!"

"Well, then maybe we should arrange something," Simon said. "Jim and Rafe and Brown and I will probably need to hang around – Cascade always gets more interesting in summertime. But I'm sure you kids could get out of here for a while."

"Well, who knows?" Daryl looked back over the room. "Maybe we will."

But Simon could see that his son was utterly taken by what surrounded him, and not just the girl at his side. He had developed a profound respect for Sentinels, like Joel had, and he loved being welcomed into their strange society. Plus, while Daryl Banks had yet to give up on his thought of going to the Academy and becoming a cop, he was learning more and more from those who had spent a lifetime guarding others.

"I think it's going to be a good summer," Race commented lightly. "Even if we don't get out of here, we've got more to do than ever before, and more help around here, too."

"You're right about that," Simon nodded. "I'd almost want to go Joel's way and take my pension early just to join in on the fun. But there will be time enough for that later. For now, somebody's got to keep the four terrors of Ellison, Sandburg, Brown, and Rafe under control at the station."

"Maybe they'll all leave the PD and join SELF full-time someday," Jessie suggested.

"Maybe," Simon hedged. "But I think it'll be a long time before Ellison is ready to give up his badge. That man is going to be protecting his territory until the day he dies."

"I think we all will," Daryl said softly.

Simon looked out over the greatroom and all the people within it. His tribe. "I think you're right, son."

-==OOO==-

"This is Ice."

"Is Fire prepared?"

"Yes, sir. All is ready."

"Then the time has come for the beginning of my ascendance and the end of the Quests and all their foolish allies. I leave things in your capable hands, Ice."

"Thank you, Doctor Zin. I won't let you down."