Below is a list of some of the most prominent members
of the Cadre, with their interests and in what arenas
they might be encountered. Note that most Cadre
operations will have only one member (if that)
actually on Earth: there's been only three occasions
where more than two were involved in the same mission
and on the corporeal plane at the same time, and only
one of those occasions had more than three.
Incidentally, a group of three or more Cadre members
is called a Convention.
St. Robert (Saint of Lightning):
Not the best engineer, not the best author (although
every Cadre member is secretly convinced that he or
she is the best author in the bunch) and not the best
combatant, St. Robert still runs the Cadre. As much
as anyone can be considered to run this bunch of
anarchists, of course. Anyway, the reason why is
simple: most of the younger members decline to argue
with Bob. It's practically blasphemous. Besides, he
does have a flair for leadership, and an unending font
of ideas. Jean finds that having him around for his
younger angels (who also decline to argue with St.
Robert) to bounce ideas off of is efficient: when he
can get away, St. Robert acts as a coordinator - and
tries his best to get on an Earth missions himself.
So far, he's been unsuccessful. There's always
something coming up at the last second to keep him
from going.
He'll do it one day, though. Just see if he doesn't.
'St.' Isaac (Ofanite of Creation IST Lightning):
The others just knew it, once they got up to Heaven.
There was no way that any human could have written
that many books on that many topics for that many
years unless they didn't have to either eat or sleep.
More than one Cadre member felt posthumous vindication
for their good-natured envy of the bastard. Anyway,
since his 'retirement', Isaac naturally drifted into
the company of the Cadre (they've declared him an
honorary Saint). His typical Cadre missions involve
... well, there isn't a common theme, actually. Isaac
goes in mostly as a scout for Marc's Collation
Department. He's good at doing a quick and dirty
analysis of the situation, then calling for the right
Cadre specialist (assuming that one is needed at all).
Also, he apparently also takes the time to drop off
book ideas to some of his posthumous collaborators,
much to the good-natured disgust of his peers.
Doesn't the angel know when to quit?
St. Howard (Saint of Flowers):
St. Howard has been in Heaven for quite some time for
a Cadre member. His allegiance to Flowers makes
sense: when you've spent your life single-handedly
redefining the horror genre, you want some peace in
your soul afterwards. However, St. Howard's knowledge
of esoteric matters has taken a sharp curve upwards
since he died, thanks to the opportunity to read the
really forbidden tomes. His Cadre missions usually
involve Sorcery and/or the Undead, as he's the Cadre's
recognized expert on both.
Interestingly enough, St. Howard has a bit of an issue
with Saminga. Apparently, the arrogant poseur was the
one responsible for him dying of cancer (the fact that
St. Howard could create fictional characters that were
scarier than Saminga could ever hope to be apparently
rankled). St. Howard would like to return the favor.
After all, it's certainly a strange enough aeon these
days: who knows? Maybe Death can die...
The Other St. Howard (Saint of War):
Well, it's that or call him the Other St. Robert.
That would be even more confusing. The Other St.
Howard quite enjoys being a Saint of War: for one
thing, he's got a really, really good vessel now (just
as strong, fast and with all the iron thews one could
hope for). For another, Michael lets him go down to
Earth even when there isn't a Cadre mission going on.
The Other St. Howard exists, purely and surely, to
kick ass and take names, and his Cadre missions
reflect that. Wielding a sword that could gut an
elephant is optional, but deeply appreciated on the
rare occasions when it's germane.
And, yes, he does wear sandals, and always keeps an
eye out for a jeweled throne to crush with them.
Hollywood will do: the movies weren't too bad, but the
casual rip-offs were a bit insulting.
St. Randall (Saint of the Sword):
Often called 'St. Randy', for reasons that become
obvious very quickly. Frankly, Laurence is happy that
St. Randy has other interests: he doesn't fit the
Archangel's conception of a proper Saint (which drives
Laurence quietly mad, because St. Randall has a faith
that you could bounce rocks off). St. Randall is the
Cadre member most often picked for missions that don't
involve much combat, but do require a certain flair
for the dramatic. He also works with Litheroy's
Consultants in their investigations: few mysteries can
stand up to their nose for the Truth and his ability
to explain incomprehensible human behaviors in terms
that angels can understand.
St. Randall also has a certain facility for disguise -
and an even better one for improvisation. He may need
both when his wife shows up and starts demanding to
know why he's got three Bright Lilim of Flowers living
in his residence...
St. Phillip (Saint of Divine Fire):
Madness is a slippery concept. A shame that no one
realized that he was a Prophet until he came to
Heaven: it would have made things much easier all
around. St. Phillip is certainly happier now that
people aren't looking at him oddly whenever he comes
up with an insight at ninety degrees to established
reality. The Cadre finds this insight useful: he's
been in many multiple-member missions (although he
rarely, if ever, goes solo on Earth duty), and his
musings have invariably been crucial to the mission's
success. He also apparently has Gabriel's private
phone number, which is a potent weapon, indeed.
However, it's only reliable when the alternative is to
have St. Phillip end up dead, alas...
St. John Ronald Ruell (Saint of Dreams IST Destiny -
or is it the only way around?):
He's the Ethereal expert of the Cadre (heck, he's
directly responsible for a lot of the most modern
ones, after all), and his natural facility with
languages has only increased with exposure to the
Library. St. John Ronald Ruell doesn't participate in
missions directly, but he could; he's the only one of
the top Cadre members who was an honest-to-God Soldier
(Destiny) in life, and he hasn't forgotten the moves.
However, he's a much better resource when he's firmly
in the stacks, with a cell phone at his ear and
several Servitors of Archives and Destiny ready to
fetch him whatever he needs for his emergency
research. The pen _is_ mightier than the sword, when
it's in St. John Ronald Ruell's hand.
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