The espionage service run by Marc, Litheroy and Zadkiel is, of course, dependent on humans - both living and blessed souls - to operate. The right mortal in the right place can make all the difference, after all. However, there's a problem: there are times when an operation needs someone with inherent abilities greater than those of even a Soldier, but still capable of acting in the Symphony without disturbance.

In short, they need a Saint. Unfortunately, Saints are rare, and most of them are already spoken for. Besides, most Saints are more interested in helping specific individuals than in being a generic troubleshooter, and their Archangels don't argue. If only there were a group of organized blessed souls, versed in a wide range of subjects, comfortable with technology and inherently predisposed towards shaking up the established order...

Oh, wait. There is one of those. The trick is prying them out of either the Library and/or the Halls of Progress.

"The Right Honorable St. Robert's Cadre of Malakim" is a bit of a misnomer: there's only one angelic member, and he's an Ofanite. St. Robert didn't start up the club, either: it got its start with St. Jules and St. Herbert (both of whom have since ascended the Ladder) as a sort of combination reading society and celestial writer's workshop. However, when St. Robert showed up in Heaven, he galvanized the group into something a little more - vigorous. The current name stuck after their first corporeal 'mission': apparently, the surviving demons are still convinced that they were dealing with the Virtues, not a bunch of former genre writers.

The Cadre doesn't precisely meet: it's more like that there's always a few around in the public stacks of the Library, a particular section of the Halls of Progress, or (most likely) the nearest bar convenient to either. They keep meaning to gather in one place, but, well... you know how science fiction writers can be (especially when every book ever written on Earth is inches from your trembling fingers).

The Cadre started out as a warehouse of information: while most celestials have a superior (pardon the pun) memory for data, mortals usually have a better idea about what's actually important - and, besides, angels are notoriously bad at fathoming human motivations. So, if anyone asks, the Cadre can make excellent consultants. Marc asks quite often. From there, it was a small step to consulting in the field. The Cadre enjoys that quite keenly.

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.

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 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. Robert's right hand man, St. Edward began as a Saint of Lightning, but eventually ended up serving Laurence. Laurence is very happy to have him, for St. Edward is honorable and gallant and pays his debts, even to spiders and worms. He still retains an interest in Engineering and R&D, however.

St. Edward is a fair hand with a sword and starkly dangerous with a gun, and often gets sent on missions for the Cadre when a cool head and keen eye are needed. His vessel has gray eyes and the look of eagles, and seems to have its head turned by red-haired nurses on more than one occasion. The rumors that he has a relic in the form of a jeweled bracelet, containing the Ethereal and Celestial Song of Tongues and a number of Talisman skills...

Well, rumors start so easily.

(Concept and original wording by Eric Alfred Burns and Chuckg)

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 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...

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 and as fast, plus 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 solely, 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.

Actually, 'Saint of Destiny' is just his current position: St. Linebarger's worked for Zadkiel, Jean and Michael at various times. They all liked his work, but the Saint enjoys a change of pace from time to time. He jumped at the chance to get involved with the Cadre: once he convinced St. Robert of the need for a psychological operations specialist (it wasn't too hard), getting the position was easy. St. Linebarger usually gets the missions where violence is a bad idea: give him a week, and he'll have the targets chasing their own tails and at war with each other.

He's also notable for his cheerful lobbying to change the Cadre's name. Using the legend of the Malakim is to promote fear is a useful tool, true: however, Hell is starting to realize what the Cadre really is, so that trick isn't as potent anymore. Renaming the group to, say, "The Instrumentality" would show a proper understanding of Heaven's ideals, and cut down the potential confusion. The rest of the Cadre smile, nod and ignore.

(Original concept by Prodigal)

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...

Dominic, once he heard that this group was starting up, immediately sent St. Ralph over. The Cadre was happy to have him: St. Ralph combines an unwavering devotion to justice with a keen eye for hypocrisy. He was also a crackerjack writer, which is really the best way to ensure fitting in with this group.

St. Ralph is an infiltrator. A very good one: he has the rare ability to be everywhere and see anything without it registering on anyone's mental radar. He's also extremely patient. St. Ralph and St. Randall often work together: the two can attend a party or social function and, by the end of the night, come out with a full picture of the personal relationships, feuds, gossip and rumors of everyone from the host to the busboys. When St. Ralph chooses to be discreet, he's so discreet that he becomes, for all practical purposes, invisible...

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...

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.

He's usually called "St. Jack" (at his own request), and until quite recently worked for Destiny. Thankfully, Khalid's more reasonable these days. St. Jack is considered one of the best human experts on Infernal psychology, which is why he spends so little time in the field. Frankly, he's more useful as St. John Ronald Ruell's research partner (Infernal Psychology is St. John's worst subject).

Interestingly enough, St. Jack also happens to be on very good terms with Nalsa, a Cherub Master of the Beast within and one of Jordi's senior Word-bounds. This means that the Cadre can sometimes draw on the Archangel of Animals' resources. Of course, this will depend on how important a mission might be for Jordi, how glib St. Jack can be, and - most importantly - what kind of mood Nalsa's in.

After all, he's not a tame lion.

(Original Concept by Earl Wajenberg)

St. Gordon and St. Lyon (see below) are the newest recruits to the Cadre, and haven't yet participated in any solo missions. They're both looking forward to fighting the War more directly. St. Gordon, like the Other St. Howard, is a Saint of War, but perhaps a little colder about it - his honor is that of the warrior, and he will make war out a sense of grim determination, rather than through exuberance.

However, the Saint must have a lighter side: as part of his training, St. Gordon worked in the Marches (temporarily assigned to Christopher, who promptly assigned him to Blandine). The self-revelatory nature of the ethereal plane can be very interesting: apparently, St. Gordon sees himself, at heart, as a sentient teddy bear.

(Original Concept by Eric Alfred Burns)

The other new recruit, St. Lyon found himself most comfortable with David as a patron. Possibly it was because the Archangel of Stone has always been associated with both the physical and the metaphysical constructions of societies. However, it might be because, like David, St. Lyon is determined to make sure that some of the societal trends he saw towards the end of his corporeal life be firmly reversed, lest Darkness Fall...