{Earth}

Lucas talked with Dolor—another Brethren member—looking thoroughly trapped. He waved for John to leave for the Shadow meeting without him. Sagan waited for him in the chateau’s kitchens after already sneaking off with Andrew. She preferred hiding in there rather than interacting with the governing body of the Two Worlds. As Tempest stepped up to John, he envied Sagan’s decision.

“John, you gave a wonderful presentation. When do you think we could get together to establish the global education system you proposed?” The female Icarus responsible for constructing the Arsenal and the Ecology swept one errant strand into her sleek, short-cut hair.

The Brethren always made him feel under-dressed in their formal business suits and chic hairstyles. John thought he looked positively well-traveled in his Enki-issued jumpsuit. Until he walked inside The Brethren’s fancy headquarters. Now he felt like a janitor.

He cleared his parched throat before answering, “Thank you for the kudos. Eminent Wiw is working directly with me on the distribution of Icarean communication units for global virtual classrooms. But as you’re aware, it, like all the comms, depends heavily on the Pil quantum machine in Nevada.”

One hand on her hip, she tapped her pointed shoe while biting her lip. Deep thinking. “Right. Okay. I’ll see if I can get a better estimation from the Dwarves on that project. Let me know the next chance you get to take another break from Enki. I’ll try to have it ready by then.”

John hid his wince as he quietly nodded and headed toward the kitchen.

“John.”

He stopped and Tempest closed the distance between them once more. With his back to her, she put a friendly hand on his shoulder. Gently, she assured, “They won’t keep you two in Enki forever. But I’ll try to keep you both in official reasons for returning.” She squeezed before taking off.

Good people surrounded them. Mostly good, anyway. Or maybe John was becoming an optimist. He pushed into the kitchens, where he caught Sagan stuffing her face with a tray of veggies and dip.

She smiled at him, pointed to the food, and called out, “Hey! This is pretty good. Have you had any? And do you think anyone would miss it? Cause, you know? We have mouths to feed.”

John grinned and shook his head.

Her defensive “what” came out more like “wot” with the food stuffed inside her mouth. Hidden behind her hand, of course. Manners.

“What the hell? Let’s take it. I’m sure the ancient nacres of the coalition members won’t mind if we chew in their presence.”

“Hell yea!” She pumped her fist in the air and transported both him and the nibbles into the most mind-blowing setting. And he lived in a Dyson’s Sphere.

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John openly gawked. This was his first time on Cinder. The star… It really swallowed them. He gripped his fingers in his hair, trying to fathom it.

A hand patted him on the shoulder. “Yup. Sure is something, ain’t it?” Kyle took another hit on his joint and offered it to John.

Another voice muttered from behind, also in awe, “I’ll take some of that, Kyle.”

John turned to see King Jack gaping at Li. His face reflected John’s wonder. Except the educator was Osage Native American, and the King Regent’s ancestors were from the Caucus mountains.

Kyle inhaled before croaking out, “No way, man.” He coughed and continued, “Your sister will kill me in her sleep. Hit me up when you’re eighteen.” Indicating to Andrew across the chamber, he added, “He’ll even get you some of that Aussie shit.”

Jack, the King Regent of Earth, grumbled as he sulked away with his tail between his legs. Until Sagan Seamswalked in with Ross. Rayne’s teenage brother kept his peripheral on Kyle’s teenage sister as she ran into her brother’s embrace.

John siphoned the secondhand family love. The reminder of his parents’ deaths hurt like a fresh wound. And it might never stop hurting. But seeing Ross and Kyle together soothed some of the ache.

Sagan grinned and snipped a glance at Jack, who looked away quickly. “Sorry for the late arrival. She begged me for more time to get ready.” She tossed a wink at John.

He chuckled and returned it. Everyone was a matchmaker.

Ross smiled unabashedly. “It’s been a while since we’ve all been together. I wanted to look nice.”

“Elden, you took two hours to get ready for school each day. Before you started wearing makeup…” Kyle reminisced until Ross thumped him in the arm. “Ow. Nacres hurt—”

“Look at us.”

The crowd stopped and turned to the top dais. Tameka stood there looking over them. It was a good turnout. Matt and Chris both stuffed some celery in their mouths next to the tray in front row. Pablo leaned against the sphere, looking bereft. Andrew glanced around, waiting for Lucas. Bones and Para flanked Kyle and Ross. Jack, Sagan, and John stood in the center.

The Shadow.

Minus some faces. Lucy took on some mission. Karter took on a strikeforce for Tumu. Said Tritan watched over Rayne. Colton stayed with Iron Hope. Six traveled North America with her husband in Molly. Caedes had to babysit Pax. Cypher had to babysit Silence. And Smith and Lynn apparently went through with their transfer. Thus explained the bereft Pablo.

At the sight of everyone together, John’s chest swelled. He may have lost his parents, but his family got so much bigger. Minus one important face.

“Rayne would be so proud to see us here. All of us doing such important work.” Tameka smiled brightly. “I know I am.”

Well, that warmed John’s heart and pulled his mouth into a smile to match hers. A cursory glance at all the smiles in the crowd said the feeling was mutual.

“But I know we carry our burdens. Things became complicated recently. We called this meeting so we could invent proactive measures to handle any resulting surprises.” She nodded to John in the back. “We’ll start with what we’ve learned from Enki so far. And then Andrew and Kyle will report. Chris next. And anyone else who wants a turn. We’ll be here as long as it takes.”

John headed to the front, limping a little as his prosthetic despised Cinder’s gravity. The entire walk, he received nudges, pats on the back, and shoulder squeezes. It made him miss Earth and lament the return to Enki’s clinical, icy formalities.

Once at the front, John stood on the tallest dais, and Tameka stepped down. Their lives came into a bizarre, surreal perspective. He stood in a crazy bubble blister made of unbreakable glass under a red giant on an alien planet. It was all so fucked up. The room listed a bit.

“You got this, John!” Was that Jack?

A few other people whistled. Some hollered encouraging words. And the room stopped spinning. John patted his brow and took a few deep breaths.

That’s when one voice bellowed across the entire crowd, “Just remember to imagine all of us naked! I’ll even strip if it makes you feel better!”

Thanks, Kyle. Now, John had this.