The one wherein the writers remember the continuity of previous episodes

The Captain of my ELINT boat once walked with me into the big university library on Persephone.  IAV Saule Silencieuse was in port for refueling and supplies and he'd asked me to join him there to "show me something."

When we reached the balcony overlook on the third floor of the cavernous seven level building, he paused and asked "What do you see around you, Colonel?"

The library was one of the largest hard-copy repositories in the 'Verse.  Row upon row of physical books, backed by an even vaster repository of stored information in the data-stores in the well protected basement. Not to mention the 'antiques' collection that dated back to Earth that Was, kept in an environmentally controlled vault that was even more secure than the data-store.

"Books, Captain.  I see books.  Many, many, thousands of them."

He looked at me thoughtfully a moment, then smiled faintly and looked back out over the sea of books before going on in his soft, ever-so-formal, voice - "Yes.  Books.  Fiction.  Fact.  History.  Fantasy.  Over two thousand years of Human literature.  In these racks you could find the perfect quote to describe every situation.  Would you not agree, Colonel?"

I had to wonder where he was going, but I nodded.  He was right.

"Now, my Colonel, I present a situation: A Tiger has proposed marriage to a Dragon.  The Dragon has not yet decided whether to accept, but somewhere on these shelves is the perfect quote to describe what she feels at the proposition.  My challenge to you now is to find that quote."

I looked at him for a long moment, then laughed softly at the obvious reference to my situation with Simon.  "I could find a quote easily, I'm sure.  But the perfect one?  I don't know.  I'm not sure I'd know where to start."

"Yes," he replied quietly, matter of factly.  "This what we have created, Colonel.  Your network.  My ship.  The knowledge we have gathered is like this library.  Vast.  Deep.  A growing collection of facts and information.  But there is more in it than any of us can possibly digest.  The analysts and Expert Systems can dive into the depths of the sea of knowledge we are filling, but it is growing increasingly difficult to find that one perfect quote.  If you will excuse the metaphor, Colonel."

"I know, Captain.  I know.  But unlike looking for the perfect quote, I know what I am looking for in this sea we're filling, and I know how to follow the threads when I come across them.  I appreciate the metaphor though, and your point.  And . . . thank you, Hawke.  I appreciate the sentiment."  He nodded curtly after a brief pause, then motioned towards the art gallery, continuing the 'tour'.

Whether we were actually 'friends' was hard to judge.  Since taking command of Saule Silencieuse, Captain Hawke had proven to be a reliable and superbly competent commander.  We hadn't grown exactly close, but we had grown to trust one another professionally.  His little tour of the library here was a gentle reminder of the scope of information we'd gathered and an unspoken question as to whether I still had sight of my goals in that vast sea.

I did.  He even knew what I was looking for out there.  What I was watching.  Who I was watching, and why.  But as the ocean got broader and deeper, it was becoming more difficult to keep sight of my targets.

Which all came back to me when one of my 'targets' came home - with three beautifully crafted wedding gowns, each in a different style, but all quite flattering and perfectly cut for my rather petite size.  After far too long away, again, Simon had decided to come home.

I'd known what he was up to.  At least superficially.  I knew what all the people I cared about were up to, even if only with the vaguest details.  I didn't want to pry into their lives, mostly anyway, but I cared about them.  Which meant knowing enough about their situations to assist if they needed it.  Sometimes, with Buddha's grace, before they knew they needed it.

Simon had been keeping more direct tabs on my girls than I had.  Where I'd been sifting through the vast data streams to see what they were doing, he'd had boots on the ground.  More detail, at the expense of less scope.  Something I couldn't fault him for.  But he'd come home, bringing the gowns and a serious discussion about our actually following through with the statement he'd made at that town hall meeting what seemed like an age ago.

Our 'real world' concerns, about the girls and everything else our lives as Spooks brought us into contact with, were often all-consuming.  The interactions between various factions at individual levels, or regional, or even planetary, scaling up to grand "issues" - like the nearly inevitable conflict coming between organic and artificial life.

That was what kept me awake at night.  What gave me nightmares when I slept.  I'd seen the first inklings of it when I'd recognized Krenshar as a fully sentient artificial system.  It had only grown with Blue, and when Imrhien and the secret society she'd been associated with brought to light the von Neumann machines under Hale's and Blackburne.  Weaponized versions of a peaceful project, but now fully AI and unequivocally hostile to Organic life.

Simon knew about all of that, even though his focus was on more personal matters.  A level of focus I'd let slip in the fast flow of data that had come to surround me.  I knew what he was tracking, but I wasn't involved beyond watching from the darkness.

That would change.  It would have to.

But the greater surprise was Simon finally asking me to share his bed.  It was sincere and seemed to be something he was right needful of. While he promised nothing "improper" would happen, I was actually happy he'd finally come around to at least that.  Even if it was just to cuddle for a night - I could live with 'nothing improper.'  At least once.  It had been a silent sticking point all along.  I knew he'd been very proper about such things, where I was anything but.  Hell, there were still pictures of Immy and me together on the dance pole at the old Fook Yoo's in circulation.  To me sex was something to be done for fun, as well as intimacy and bonding and everything else.  But fun was the starting point, and until I knew whether he was any good in bed, or at least could be taught to be good in bed, well. . . I doubted he'd be comfortable with me spending nights with my favored Companion after we were married.  At least if the marriage was for anything but our covers.

I'd been waiting though.  Even if nothing more than some extensive cuddling happened the first night, it was what I'd been waiting for.  One thing, at least.  When, exactly, it led to more, was another question.  But at least we'd taken that step.

Bodies sharing warmth
A bed far too big for one
About freaking time