The Icicle transport swirled out of control. The blistering cold winds brought sleet and icy rain.

“Lily, how close are we to the chimney?!” Commander Brendan asked while gripping his swivel chair on the bridge of the Icicle.

“We are only a few feet away, but on our current vector, we will smack right into the roof next to the chimney. Engaging SLEIGH thrusters now to stabilize,” Lily, the Pilot and Communications Tailor, responded.

Four thrusters spouted from the top and bottom of the Icicle transport. They burned icy blue as they attempted to thrust the Icicle back to a stable flight pattern.

Another gust of wind spun the Icicle towards crashing into the roof. The SLEIGH thruster’s icy blue flames sputtered and gave out.

“Lily, take manual control now. Get us out of this spin!” Commander Brendan ordered.

“Roger that. Switching to manual control.” Lily put gloves on as the Icicle’s candy cane flight stick popped up from the center console.

The Icicle descended faster towards the roof. Lily pulled the flight stick towards her, attempting to position the Icicle upside down with its top facing the roof and the point of the Icicle to the sky. The Icicle buckled, then jerked into the position Lily so desired.

Commander Brendan still strapped into his swivel chair, held his hand over the booster bow and wrapped it around the left arm of his chair.

“Lily, you let me know when to unwrap the booster bow.” Commander Brendan turned his head towards the four other members of his team. “Tailors, hang on tight!”

The Icicle shook and almost went in to another spin. Lily gritted her teeth and held the stick tight. The collision alarm blared the first three notes of “Jingle Bells” repeatedly and more frequently the closer the Icicle approached the roof. Two inches from the icy roof, Lily yelled, “Unwrap the bow!”

Commander Brendan pulled on the starter ribbon of the booster bow. CHOOM! The booster bow ignited the secondary rocket thrusters on the domed end of the Icicle. The Icicle launched just an inch from suffering an icy crash on the roof. A bright blue and gold spark burned from the booster rockets as the Icicle, pointed end up, climbed to the top of the chimney away from the icy roof. The boost took them over the chimney opening.

“Stopping the burn in four, three, two…one,” Commander Brendan announced.

The boom from the thrusters ceased.

“We have control sir. Starting free fall into controlled descent now,” Lily said.

The Icicle now free fell and swung back to its vertical position, pointed end down. The Tailors were used to switching positions. Each Tailor sat on a swivel seat designed to shift with the vertical-hanging and horizontal-flying positions of the Icicle. Lily guided the Icicle into the chimney, down to the fireplace of their assigned home.

“Great job, pilot,” Commander Brendan said.

“Thank you, sir,” Lily replied.

“Everybody okay back there?”

A collective “ugh” resounded from his Tailor Team.

Commander Brendan laughed. “Okay! Lily. We have a Christmas tree to take care of! Set a course for this family’s tree!”

The Icicle was finally ready to hook up to the Christmas tree. Commander Brendan ordered the rest of his tiny Tailors to prepare the ramp. Lily initiated the vertical swing procedure in the proper place. The Tailor’s Icicle approached a branch of the beautiful Frasier fir near the back as to remain hidden. Lily elevated the hook-scope from the top of the Icicle. Commander Brendan surveyed a good strong spot on the branch to hook onto and an adjacent branch to lower the ramp and unload.

“Down hook-scope,” Commander Brendan said.

“Yes, sir,” Lily said confidently.

“All right, initiate hooking procedure.”

A hole opened at the top of the Icicle, the North-Pole, Elf-enforced steel hook rose up and latched on the branch. Lily, very methodical and dependable, always did a great job of making sure the Icicle hung safely.

“Team, lower the ramp. Unload! Let’s do this.”

“You got it, Commander,” Steve, the fire tailor, replied with his usual unenthusiastic voice.

“Tonto! What are you doing down there?” Commander Brendan yelled.

“Slow as usual sir,” Irene said.

“I am coming already. I couldn’t find my instruments.”

“You can never find them,” Irene pressed.

“Don’t get me started, little sister. How many bulbs did you go through last Christmas?”

“Oh shut it. I am older than you and am not your little sister!” Irene stormed out over the ramp and onto the tree.

Commander Brendan knew those two would never stop bickering, since they were brother and sister. The arguing may lessen with time, but never go away completely. Irene always takes care of Tonto, and he always looks out for her in his own way. They work together a lot since she services the lights, which lower the water levels of the tree Tonto tends to. They seem dysfunctional, but they always get the job done.

“C-Commander, we are all set here. Should I seal up the Icicle sir?” Billy asked.

“Yes Billy please do!” Brendan said. The ramp door shut but didn’t lock. BONK! He looked through the viewport of the slightly open ramp door and saw Billy sitting on the branch next to the Icicle, rubbing his head.

“I will seal it, Billy. You okay?” Commander Brendan yelled to Billy through the ramp door.

“I hit my head on the ramp as it was folding up! Ouch! I am good,” Billy said.

“Haha, as long as you are okay, your ornaments await!” Commander Brendan said. Billy is a perfectionist and very good at what he does. The ornaments always look perfect but his focus on his job, often, causes him to not pay attention to what is happening around him, hence his clumsiness.

“Carry on,” Commander Brendan replied.

“Lily, let’s get this command center up and running, right behind the star at the top of tree,” Commander Brendan said.

“Full equipment set up, sir?”

“Yes, make sure to double check the spirit levels in the house. That is always most important and yes, of course, the vitality, decoration, and lighting monitors as well. This is a big tree this year.”

“Roger that, sir.”

“I am heading to my crew observations and help where needed,” Commander Brendan said.

Commander Brendan helped Steve set up various hydrants and hoses at key areas in the trunk of the tree at the bottom, middle, and top of the tree. Next on the checklist, Commander Brendan met with Irene and Tonto, who roam from tree branch to tree branch making sure all the lights and needles remain vibrant and strong. Tonto headed down to measure water levels in the tree stand, while Commander Brendan assisted Irene check the wiring and temperature of a bubble light.

“How’s he been lately?” Commander Brendan asked.

“He’s been pretty quiet but I just know he is really hurting inside. Tonto bottles things up,” Irene answered.

“Time heals all. How are you?”

“I am okay. It is just tough. They were the best, you know.”

“I understand if you guys want to take leave. Just so you know, you two are the best Tailors for the job as were your parents,” Commander Brendan said.

“Thanks, Commander, but Tonto and I will be okay. Work is good for us.”

“Whatever you think is best. I love you guys. Okay off to see how Billy’s doing.”

“Thanks again. See you later,” Irene ended.

Commander Brendan saw Billy on the end of a tree branch with his sparkle gun and polish making sure an old red ornament shined and wouldn’t crack.

A smile crossed Commander Brendan’s face as he ‘lifted back to his post. On the way, he felt the air push against him as he steadily zipped up the tree. Commander Brendan’s heart beat faster as he weaved in and out of the narrow spaces between the branches. The smell of pine refreshes with each ride, made possible by the grappling hook device that each Tailor wears on their belts.

With effortless momentum, Commander Brendan learned to master the Glimmerlift, the ultimate grappling hook, in the Tailor Academy and was number one in the class. Of course, Glimmerlift Training traditionally wins the most popular class in every Academy yearbook. The device looks like a tailoring needle attached to a high tension wire, but its locking mechanism provides the smoothest ride from branch to branch.

Commander Brendan’s joy ride ended abruptly.

“High marks again, Tailor team!” Captain Emery Mas congratulated them on their successful virtual training session, mandatory before each Icicle Launch every year.

The Tailors removed the virtual reality helmets, shaped like Santa hats, and stretched after being in their training capsule for over two hours.

“Excellent, Tailors. High marks again. We truly are the best team! For reals!” Commander Brendan yelled.

“If you ever say “for reals” again I am gonna punch you commander,” Steve grunted.

“Is that any way to talk to your boss, Steven?” Commander Brendan laughed.

“Enough already… Brendan we have to go. There is a graduation today, remember?” Captain Emery Mas said.

“Right. Okay everybody. Great job. See you tomorrow for another run maybe there will be another Icicle maneuvering challenge. Wouldn’t we all love that again?!” Commander Brendan said, smiling.

Once again, the Commander heard a collective “ugh” from his Tailor Team.

Being a Tailor officer means Commander Brendan is required to attend all Academy events. He stood in attendance as Captain Emery Mas congratulated the new recruits on their graduation day. The ceremony carried on in the usual joyous fashion in the North Pole’s Home Tree. All the new recruits’ families fawned with pride over their newly-named Tannenbaum Tailors.

Suddenly, every light in the vast Home Tree turned an eerie blue. The Blue Alarm sounded. It fills one’s ears like a screeching banshee hocked up on too many gingerbread men. Not only is the sound deafening; it chills everyone to the bone -a difficult thing to do to those who live in the North Pole.

The Blue Alarm was followed by a voice. “Fire reported, Lower Branches, Branch 18, Requesting Home Fire Battalion and Emergency Water and Needle Response Team.” The Captain calmed everyone on the assembly branch and assured them he would personally check the source of the emergency. Commander Brendan raced to catch up to him as he took off down to the elevator on the center trunk.

“Do you need help, sir?” Commander Brendan asked.

“Sure Brendan, I wouldn’t mind a veteran’s help.”

They hopped on the elevator together and shot down to the lower branches. Commander Brendan felt the heat from the fire in the elevator the further down they went. “So how bad do you think it is?” Commander Brendan asked to break the silence on the ride down.

“I hope not too bad. Launch is in three days, and the Big Man is counting on us,” Emery Mas jumped out of the elevator. Lower Branch 18 burned as brightly as an orange snake of fire wrapped around its needles. Commander Brendan could barely breathe as the heat forced sweat to bead and drip from his forehead.

The Home Fire Battalion was on scene. They hooked up to the center branch hydrant system and sprayed water on the flames, trying to push the fire out. The Emergency Water and Needle Response Team was spread over the adjacent branches trying to prevent the spread of the fire. The Sergeant ran up to Klark, the Fire Chief. “Can it be contained to this branch?”

“I hope so. One of the bulbs popped and the wire whipped around, knocking out Timmy, one of Light’s guys. We should be able to get this under control,” Klark said.

“Good, very good,” Emery responded as the flames grew higher. The fire erupted in a flash and knocked everyone down to their knees. As the Home Fire Battalion began to advance on the inferno again, the hook up for the hose blew off the trunk, spraying water everywhere but on the flames. Commander Brendan saw it, dragged himself up from the craggy hot bark and ran to the hose, but the Captain threw him down and ran for it himself.

POP! Another light broke. The shards sprayed, stunning the seasoned Captain. He managed to shake it off but was badly hurt. His initial run turned into a hopping limp as he grabbed the hose. Commander Brendan ran to the trunk hydrant, wiped the sweat from his brow and shut down the water. Then grabbing the hose with his injured Captain, the two hooked it back into the tree trunk hydrant. Emery turned the water back on and the Home Fire Battalion was back to doing what they do best.

“Captain! You okay?” Commander Brendan yelled, struggling to breathe. Captain Mas fell unconscious. The Fire Battalion was getting a handle on the fire and added a second hose line to clean it up. The flames were extinguished and the Medics immediately brought him to the hospital on the upper branches.

Commander Brendan thought about his Captain’s sacrifice and the burden of leadership. Sometimes self-sacrifice is the only option. He almost cried. It should have been Brendan who was hit by the bulb, not the Captain.