The sun-glare was giving her a headache. She hated the desert, she really did. Beastly hot during the day and freezing at night. And sand! Her scalp itched. The sand was even worse than the heat. It seemed to creep everywhere, no matter how much care was taken. Sand in her clothes, sand in her boots, and sand in her hair. She removed the clip from her hair and shook it out, scratching her scalp furiously.

At least this mission is over. No more sand after today. Never again, if I have anything to say about it. I can't wait to see something green again. Grass. She put the clip back in her hair and dusted off her hands, looking around. "All right everyone. We're done here. Let's pack up and get to the rendezvous point. If we hurry we can drop these prisoners off at Deling City and be back by dinner."

Her SeeD team flowed into action. Twenty of the finest soldiers in the world assumed various tasks, some guarding the prisoner line, others watching for monsters. Quistis took rear point. She knew they were as glad to be going as she was. Two weeks hunting down desert brigands was enough for anybody. These idiots had been waylaying cargo trains commuting between Deling City and Winhill, putting obstacles on the tracks and making off with the valuables when the trains stopped. They must have been crazy to think for a second that Deling City would put up with it. Or Winhill, she supposed. It had been a small monster-infested town before Time Compression, but was quickly growing into a real city. They had chosen the desert as their base. Not the Desert Prison, which was now empty, but the entire desert. She wished they had picked the prison; it would have made the mission much shorter. Instead, they had been forced to track down six small groups of bandits, each group fairly portable. But not as portable as SeeD. She smiled at the thought.

An hour later they were at the rendezvous point where a skimmer awaited them. Ten or so SeeDs guarded the prisoners in the cargo bay, and the rest hurried to queue up at the skimmer's only shower. It was meant for accidental chemical burns, and quite public, but Quistis wasn't about to chide them for non-regulation use. God knew she'd like to be queuing up with them, but she knew that she had duties more important than ridding herself of the blasted sand. She looked wistfully after them for another moment, then made her way to the bridge and filed her report.

She sighed as she swiped her card in the door lock to her quarters. She itched atrociously and her face was so sunburned that she was sure her nose was going to peel. She anticipated a shower and some liniment for her sunburn with pleasure. She sat down on the floor and started to remove her clothing. She didn't dare sit on the bed; it would be full of sand instantly if she did. She had just removed her boots when she heard the announcement: "Quistis Trepe, please report to the Headmaster's office." She sighed again wearily. She had been in the Headmaster's office less then an hour ago, making her report to Cid and getting her debriefing. As commander, she was also responsible for debriefing her team, which she had done in a second floor classroom immediately after her meeting with Cid. She hadn't had time to shower before dinner ended, so she had gone straight to the cafeteria after dismissing her team. She put her boots back on irritably. God, she wanted that shower. But duty first. She stepped out of her quarters and headed for the elevator.

"Ah, Miss Trepe," Cid smiled at her. "We are in need of you. Please sit." Xu smiled as well, and gestured to a fat leather chair. Quistis sat down, thinking, this expensive chair is going to be covered in sand. Well, that's what you get for keeping me from my shower. She grinned inwardly at herself. See everyone? Quistis isn't perfect. She can think rude things as well as anyone. She noticed that Cid looked somewhat uncomfortable. Not sheepish, as he often did, but more worried.

"What is it, Cid? Nothing about the mission we just finished, is it?" His eyebrows lifted out of their concerned slant, and he looked confused.

"Oh, no. No. Nothing like that. Job well done, in fact. Deling City's very pleased..." he trailed off for a moment. "No, this is somewhat less serious and somewhat more serious. I mean, not serious in a professional way, nothing to do with our performance or the satisfaction of our clients. But more of a solidarity issue. Internal Garden issue, if you will." He stopped, and Quistis looked at him searchingly.

"Seifer Almasy was your student, correct?"

"Yes, he was." Now it was her turn to be confused.

"Well, I don't know if you know this, but he survived his participation in Ultimecia's...ah, campaign, I suppose you might call it." She nodded. She hadn't known, but the news didn't shock her. Cid hesitated a moment more. "He's asked to be readmitted to SeeD training." She drew her eyebrows down, thinking. Such high potential. But marred by incredible anger and ambition. If he could just let go of some of that anger, he could easily succeed. He'd be one of the best SeeDs anywhere. She looked up. Cid had visibly relaxed, probably at realizing that she was not going to get up and shout at him.

"And?" she asked. He smiled.

"Edea has interviewed him several times in Balamb and believes that he can succeed where he failed so many times before. She insists that some subtle change has happened to him. Not much to notice, but perhaps enough to allow him to live up to his potential. He..." Cid paused. "For all his faults, he was our child for many years, as you were. We both want to give him this chance. " She nodded. She understood.

"But what does this have to do with me?" she asked. "You don't need my permission to go ahead with this or even my opinion on Seifer. You've got all my files, every word I've ever written about him. This is your choice, although I can see why you would be worried. There will be some outrage if you do give him another chance. Especially among..." She paused. The Team. Squall. What would he think if he heard this?

"Yes, exactly. I called you here to talk about that. I know as well as you do that there will be bad feelings about this. I'm specifically worried about your old team. The 'Heroes'. Did you know that's what the underclassmen and most of the SeeDs are calling you?" He smiled.

So did she. "We prefer 'the Team'."

"Yes. Well, the entire Garden looks to the Team as examples. Role models. If they can accept Seifer, the rest will follow."

"And you want me to convince them."

"In part. We feel you would be the best choice for that because many in the Team were your students."

She frowned. "As I recall, only Squall was in my class. Selphie transferred here immediately before her SeeD trial, Zell was under another instructor, and Rinoa and Irvine didn't even start their SeeD training until after Time Compression." She stopped. "Of course. Squall is the most important. Everyone looks to him, even more than they do to the rest of us. If he can be convinced, the Team will be convinced. And where the Team goes, the Garden follows," she mused.

"I see you understand the situation. We'd like to make one more request. If you can convince the others to accept Seifer's presence, we'd like you to resume your position as instructor. Actually," he said with a smile, "we'd like you to resume that position anyway. You're one of the very best, you know." Maybe, she thought. When I don't fall in love with my students. Although that wasn't why I was stripped of my license. No leadership skills. Well, I've got them now. Any one of us could lead an army after Ultimecia. She didn't call him on it, though. No point. "And this way," he continued, "Seifer will have someone in authority who is willing to give him a chance." He looked at Xu, who pointedly ignored his gaze. Well, there's certainly no fear of me falling in love with Seifer. I don't hate him, but I think he's the last person I'd ever fall in love with. She smiled.

"Cid, I think that this could work. Just give me a chance to take a rest. Then I'll try to get Squall on our side, and set up a meeting with the others if that succeeds."

Cid smiled again. "Certainly. We won't announce anything until the Team is convinced. Actually, we probably won't announce anything at all. Less attention that way. It'll get around soon enough. I want regular updates on how things are going with your in-Garden mission." She nodded. "Go get some rest. And for heaven's sake, put some salve on that nose."

Quistis stood up. "I'll let you know what's going on tomorrow. I won't be doing anything tonight, believe me."

Cid laughed and waved her out cheerfully. Quistis headed for the elevator, scratching her itchy head and wondering how she had found herself on Seifer's side.