Excerpt From The End of Childhood

The first thing to greet me upon returning home was a golden furry missile, ankle high and forearm long. Mischief launched herself off the sofa, demanding attention. I picked her up and petted her for a moment, then tucked her under my arm before taking a seat on one of the couches. The English Cream longhair dachshund fancied herself queen of the household, and she wasn't far wrong when she was in "Miss Chief" mode. Her chocolate and tan shorthair partner in crime, Scarecrow, wasn't far behind, with his song of greeting, telling me of the neglect and starvation he'd endured in the two hours since I left.

Studious Alden, my youngest, interrupted his cosmology lesson to come get a hug. It was still a disconcerting the way he'd teleport next to me just to save a few steps and seconds, grab a hug, then teleport back to what he'd been doing. At ten Imperial - seven Earth - he'd decided he liked his skin lighter than most, with light brown hair as well, so that was the way he was keeping it for now. But he was a holy terror with a blade or in a hadul arena as well, to the point where Asto and I tried to get him to eat more to bulk up his slight frame, in order to have a reserve if he needed it.

Imtara, eleven with the same dark brown shade of skin and black hair her father and great-grandfather favored, smiled over at me from where she was working with the specialty converter, building a circuit for some project of hers. Hi mom! Did you get all the bad guys today?

I did get more than my share of criminal cases, because however weak I was compared to my husband's family, I was a stronger than average Guardian. No criminals today. Just four civil cases any Investigator could have handled. What are you building?

A sensor discrimination module. Trying to find a more sensitive configuration for remote identification that doesn't fry with interference. Ilras and Esteban are with Dad's splinter and grandfather's getting lessons.