Brent had been in contact with Lance in the Division CIC. The aerial analysis of the compound they were going to raid showed over 700 live bodies in the compound. Based on movement, it was anticipated that there were approximately 150 guards... they estimated over 600 kids. They had provided Brent and the strike teams with an areal view of the layout of the compound.
Brent was meeting with Colonel Justin West and the commanders of all of the strike teams present. In addition to the 10 teams from Las Vegas, the Rapid Response base sent three additional teams. In addition to the 8 helicopter gunships assigned to the Las Vegas Garrison, there were four additional helicopters on-site. The gunships were standing by about 5 miles to the west, out of range of detection by anyone on the base.
Colonel West had brought a team of ferrets to do the initial penetration of the base undetected and do a final recon of the facility. Once that was done, they would report back and five minutes later, the strike teams would enter the compound with the support of all 12 of the helicopter gunships. Justin West described the tactic as a shock and awe campaign.
Brent was nervous. This was by far the largest mission to date for his division and quite frankly, he felt a bit out of his league. BB Baker was in constant telepathic contact with Clan Intel in Orlando and would be the point of contact with the rest of the clan for the operation.
The report came from the lead Ferret describing the distribution of the guards. The kids were being held in a central building. Inside the Ferrets estimated over 600 children ranging in age from infants and toddlers to teens up to about 16 years of age. Hearing that there were infants turned the stomach of more than a few of those preparing to breach the facility.
"We're about 2 minutes from commencing this operation. As you all now know, we have over 600 victims inside. Be very careful what you're shooting at! Make sure your men have their weapons set to stun. I'm sure none of us would want to accidentally kill a kid. Each of you has a bodycam attached to your uniform so we can watch what goes down. Team leaders will be in contact with Colonel West and myself at the C&C position here on-site as well as with the CIC in Las Vegas. I have no doubt that this is being watched by others within the Clan. Let's get in there and get this job done as quickly and safely as possible. Good Luck!" Brent didn't know where these words came from, they just seemed to flow out of his mouth, he was pretty sure that there was influence by some who have taken up residence in some of the 'rooms' in his head.
Brent took a deep breath before receiving a thumbs-up from Colonel West and BB Baker. "Attention all units... on my mark... MARK -- GO GO GO!"
For the next several minutes, Brent watched nervously as the teams did their job. There was surprisingly little resistance, primarily due to the teams taking a stun first, ask questions later approach to anyone carrying what appeared to be a weapon.
Over the next fifteen minutes, reports came in about hostiles neutralized. Icarus was teleporting them as quickly as they were subdued to secure locations in Las Vegas. After another tense ten minutes, the report came from the strike team leaders that they had secured the victims. The gunships were standing by and were disappointed that they hadn't had the need to fire.
Brent and Justin made their way to the compound with BB Baker and were taken to an office where a team of Clan Garrison Members were holding three individuals. They were the leaders of the facility. Brent had BB do an intensive scan of the three individuals. His report turned Brent's stomach.
"Director, this group was part of a human smuggling ring. They operated throughout the United States. The children abducted were all transported here to await transportation overseas to be sold into slavery, whether for labor or sex. We were able to get names and locations of their operatives in the United States and in several other countries along with similar holding facilities in Europe, England, and Asia. I have passed that information on to Clan Intelligence. We accidentally stumbled on to this organization and by our swift action, we may have saved nearly 5,000 kids worldwide."
Brent was floored by what he'd heard. "Transport these... entities... to Las Vegas where they are to be kept under heavy guard until we can figure out what to do with them. This is bigger than me, I will need to discuss how we deal with them with Clan Leadership."
Brent then went into the building where all of the kids were being held. He walked into a room that could only be described as a nursery. There he found 46 children under the age of 3. 28 boys and 18 girls.
"Brent to Desert Division Medical."
"Doctor Linda here, Brent. Give me the bad news."
"Actually, Doc, we can proudly state that we had zero casualties. I believe we only had six minor injuries of our forces. I am about to send you the first of the victims we're rescuing. Prepare yourself, but this group consists of 46 kids, boys, and girls, under the age of 3."
Brent heard Linda take a deep breath before she replied, "Oh my GOD!"
"They should be arriving in about 3 minutes, Linda. I will let you know when we're ready to send you the next group."
Linda then replied, "Brent, we won't have facilities or staff here for that many."
"Linda, do you think I didn't anticipate that?" Brent asked with a grin on his face. "I have been in contact with Clan Headquarters. Additional staff will be arriving in a matter of minutes. I am told that Peter Lambert has built another wing onto your facility and you are now one of the largest hospitals in the Clan, next to St. Mikey's in Charleston."
"I shouldn't have doubted you, Brent. Keep me informed. If anything comes up that you need to know about, I will let you know."
"Very good, Doc. Brent out."
Once the youngest kids had been teleported to the hospital in Las Vegas, Brent went to the next batch of kids; those from three through nine years of age. In this group there were 136 boys and 56 girls. They all appeared to be in relatively good health. Once they were teleported to Las Vegas to be assessed, Brent and his team went to the last group. Those aged 10 to 16. This was by far the largest group. It consisted of 448 boys and 197 girls. Overall, the Desert Division had, at this location alone rescued 883 kids.
Brent received a report from Eric that the Cyclones, who had played such an instrumental role in aiding the refugees from the Battle of Earth, had organized the processing of these kids. Things were going to be very busy for the next few days in Las Vegas.
It took until almost 7:30 pm to get all of the kids back to Las Vegas. When the compound was empty, Brent gave an order he'd remember for the rest of his life as one of the most pleasurable he'd ever given. Once the compound was verified to be totally empty and all possible evidence had been collected, including holographic pictures of the interior of every room in every building, he tapped his communicator... "Attention, this is Director Brent Knocks-Downing to all gunships. Turn this place into a parking lot! I don't want a single structure left standing. Have fun, Boys!" The strike teams all teleported back to their respective bases as Brent, BB Baker, Justin West, and Brent's security contingent teleported to the CIC in Las Vegas.
After giving Lance a kiss and holding him for a minute or two, Brent sat in one of the chairs. He buried his head in his hands and cried. It had been such an emotional day... one where he had to bottle up his emotions and hold them in so he could keep his logical and rational mind making decisions.
Lance held his husband as their ten children sat in support of their Daddy. BB Baker came over to him and told Brent, "By order of our Patriarch, you are to go to your house to decompress. Leave those people in charge of their jobs until the morning. Cory said he'd be in contact with you around 8:00 am Pacific time tomorrow."
Brent stood and hugged BB. "Thanks BB, you do know that if it weren't for you, we wouldn't have known about these kids. You are a real hero."
"Thank you, Director, but all I did was what you told me to do. If anyone could be considered a hero, it was you for listening to those you work with and making the tough decisions. I am proud to be a part of this division."
Brent then made another decision, "Luke!" He called out loudly, "I think my family and I should take a break in Archnania." Moments later the family found themselves in the house they'd spent Brent and Lance's honeymoon in. Brent, Lance, and all ten of their children along with Ezraka were there. Prince Chance and other members of the Royal Court stopped by shortly after they arrived and offered their congratulations.
Over the next 6-weeks Brent and his family rested and recuperated in Archnania... when they finally left, they arrived less than 30-seconds after they'd left Las Vegas, but they were in much better frames of mind. Brent brought his family to 10 Knocks-Downing Street where they watched a movie before going to sleep.
Brent was now faced with the daunting task of what to do with the scumbags they captured. Just the sheer number of them meant he'd have to call in Intel resources from the entire clan.
Between the Von Schuyler 'Triple-Ts', BB Baker, and the telepaths in the Las Vegas Garrison he had 18 Vulcan certified telepaths. With nearly 350 detainees, he'd need at least triple that number. He needed to speak to someone at Headquarters.
He went to his office in his home and called the CIC.
"Clan Short CIC, Seth speaking."
"Seth, it's Brent."
"Brent! Congratulations! I understand you commanded one of the largest rescues in Clan history. You have no idea how proud everyone is of you. How can we help?"
"I am going to need some help interrogating these assholes. From what I understand, there are several more facilities holding anywhere from 5,000 to 10,000 more kids worldwide. So, not only do we need to document SHA violations on them, we need to try to find out as much as we can about their operation."
"Well, between the other divisions and our own Intel guys, I think we got you covered. How many detainees do you have?"
"I'm not totally sure, but it's somewhere around 350 or so. Peter Lambert had to do a quick expansion of our detainment facility in addition to our medical facility, I guess having his son for our resident Mikyvis has its perks."
"Well, I assume that with as big as this one is, you'll probably have all the heavy hitters to help you out... but if I know Cory, he'll insist that you lead it..."
"Well, that will take second importance... right now I have over 800 new kids to get processed, they take priority."
"Get that done, I'm sure you'll hear from someone soon... maybe sooner than you think. Seth out."
Brent ended the communication then went in search of his family. What puzzled him was he didn't find anyone. "Icky, where is everyone?"
"Lance and the boys got up about an hour ago. They went to the cafeteria to eat then Lance brought the boys to school... you do remember that... after all it's now just after 8 in the morning on a Wednesday..."
Brent admonished himself for not thinking clearly then thanked Icky before getting himself ready to go eat something himself... then the daunting task of sorting out the rescues.
As he was leaving his house, Brent started to worry about whether there would be enough dorm space. As he crossed the quad, he realized that he shouldn't have worried. Literally overnight, the once two-story dorms had been enlarged to four stories each. Each and every facility he passed seemed to have been enlarged overnight.
He was utterly amazed when he arrived at the Cafeteria. The Cyclones, led by Eric, had organized the rescues and were in the process of doing the initial intake. Brent walked over to Eric and said, "Man, you take your job seriously. I'm very proud of what you're doing."
"During breakfast, some of the previous rescues got up and explained what we do here. Hearing it from them convinced the others we were being honest. From there, everything just fell into place."
Brent watched as the Cyclones processed some of the older kids when Doc Linda approached. "Things are happening pretty smoothly, Brent. I have to admit, when you told me that we had that many under 3 years of age, I was concerned, but a bunch of the clones have basically taken over their care in the new Pediatric Wing that miraculously appeared at the medical center."
Brent just shook his head thinking, 'I guess it's good to have a few Mikyvis around.' What surprised Brent, but probably shouldn't have, was hearing Kyle Richardson's voice in his head saying, 'You better believe it!'
***
Eric arranged for 50 of the Cyclones to handle registering the new rescues. Others would handle giving tours, taking the kids to the Division Store to get the essentials they'd need and arranging for housing.
Forth was working the registration tables when he suddenly felt a bit hungry. "Well, we're almost done here, when we finish, I'll go get some popcorn and a McCoy milkshake." Moments later a tub of popcorn and a Vanilla Shake appeared next to the Padd he was working on.
"Um, thanks Icky, but I probably would have gotten a Chocolate Shake." A moment later, a Chocolate Shake appeared.
Forth was just about to look up at his next rescue to process when he heard an unbroken voice say, "Gee, that shake looks good, I'm gonna have to get me one."
When he finally looked up, his eyes met the brown-haired boy's and he was literally mesmerized. "You... you can have this one if you like vanilla."
The boy smiled saying, "It's my favorite!" He took the shake. Forth had to clear his mind and get the job of registering the boy completed. He found out that the boy's name was Alex Night, and he was 11 years old. He got the rest of the pertinent data from the boy then said, "We're done here, but let me check one thing... don't leave. You can have some popcorn while you wait."
Alex smiled as Forth walked away from the table. When he returned, he said that he was going to give Alex a private tour. This pleased the new boy. When Eric watched them leave, he knew, beyond a doubt, that there was a spark between the two. On turning back to what he had been doing, he found a cookie. Looking all nice and delicious, just lying by his hand. It almost had a 'come hither and eat me' look to it. So, he did, wondering where it had come from. As the last morsel slipped down his throat, he saw a small olive-skinned hand reach out of liquid seeming air to deposit another, just as delicious and tempting, cookie-shaped treat for him.
"I need to seek help," he murmured. Yet he still ate the second cookie.
***
Speaking aloud, but not talking to anyone specifically, Brent said, "I have no idea of how many telepaths I'm going to need to scan 350 prisoners. I have the Triple-Ts, BB Baker, and the garrison telepaths, but I don't think that will be enough. But we need to find out where the other kids are. BB said that there were kids all over the world."
What Brent failed to realize was by speaking out loud, Icky heard what he'd said, and as Icky heard, so did every other AI in the clan.
The next thing Brent heard was a voice that sounded like an 11 or 12-year-old coming over his comm-badge. "Director, my name is Draco. I am the AI for the Dragon Division. We're sending a Task Force over to you. They'll be there in a less than three minutes. They're all fully trained Melders or Telepaths and part of our Psy-Ops groups. Captains Sken and T'Prel are heading them."
Brent was a bit taken aback when he realized Draco mentioned the Dragon Division. He knew about what role they played in the Battle of Earth, but here they were offering help to Desert Division. He was actually a bit worried that he would somehow mess up, but eventually realized that if he messed up, someone would help him understand how not to mess up in the future.
Draco voice suddenly came back over the comm. 'Patriarch Cory Short and Director Samuel Reynolds have been informed of the situation. Division Commander Jason Evans has been given pertinent information that may have bearing on the issue you have stumbled over, Director Brent. Alert status Yellow has been called for the entire Dragon Division; all Psi-Ops corps are going to full readiness; and the Task Force assigned to you are emergency transporting now. Arriving in your CIC in ten seconds."
The next thing that happened, after Brent messed in his undies was that Icky teleported him to the CIC... unfortunately, Icky did as Icky does and teleported him to the wrong CIC. Before he actually wound up in his own, 2 seconds before the Dragon Division contingent arrived, he'd been teleported to every CIC in the clan. Thankfully, Icky thought to make sure that Brent's undies were unsoiled.
'Icky?' Draco giggled as ten Vulcan transporter beams started to take shape in the room.
'Yes, Pop?'
'You need to calm down, son. You've left a trail of Brent's crap in every Division of the Clan. And Marc is really annoyed as he had just dropped his favourite T-Shirt on the floor when Brent stood on it... with a present...'
'S...sorry, Pops! I get nervous.
Brent wiped his sweaty heads on the legs of his pants before smiling uncertainly at the by-play. Then he looked at the ten VSO members who had arrived in his CIC. "Welcome to Desert Division," he said softly yet clearly, holding his fear back from his voice.
Two of the newcomers had gold-bars running from shoulder to wrist on their uniforms. "Greetings, Director. I am Captain Sken, Lead One of Desert Wind Task Force. I and my wife, T'Prel, Lead Two, are here to assist you. Please explain the situation and we shall proceed."
Switching into his newly acquired 'Vulcan Mode,' Brent replied, "It is agreeable to meet the two of you. Allow me to introduce my Assistant Director, and Husband, Lance Knocks-Downing and our N-Gen Security Chief, BB Baker, who will continue the briefing."
"A pleasure," the female Vulcan Captain said with a brief nod of her head. She looked at BB and asked, "As you are N-Gen, can you send all information directly to the ten of us, please? It will enable us to deal with this situation for you as quickly as possible."
"Oh, yeah. No problems," the young N-Gen smiled as his eyes lit up blue. Two seconds later it had been done. "There," he grinned with pride. "Getting good at that," he giggled to Brent, who also grinned at him.
"Thank you," Sken nodded. "I shall take my team to where you're holding the perpetrators."
One of the other eight Task-Force members walked forward. A young human teen of about thirteen. "Sir, we should get a Company of Mind-Healers here for the children. At least as a help for this Division. That's a lot of scared kids."
"Agreed, with your permission, Director?" T'Prel added, looking at Brent.
"That would be most agreeable, Captain. BB, please accompany the task force to the detention center."
With that, the Dragon Division representatives and BB Baker disappeared from the CIC.
As they left, a lightning-shaped being took form next to the door. "Don't be scared, it's just cute, lovable me!" Draco giggled as the lightning body brightened for a moment before resolving into a young-looking Vulcan boy of about ten or twelve. Nude. With a grin plastered over his face.
'Pop, you're showing your dingle to everyone!' Icky giggled.
"I don't need clothes. Not like I can catch cold!"
'But they can see your DINGLE!' Icky hissed, almost feeling embarrassed for his Pop.
"If you've got it, flaunt it!" Lance grinned, then he got slapped by Brent. "Ouch! I wasn't gonna do anything!"
"I guess, it shouldn't matter where you get your appetite, as long as you only eat at home."
Draco smiled before moving over to the nearest monitor to check on Icky. A swirl of electricity covered him for a moment, then he was 'dressed' in shorts and t-shirt. "Better, oh prudish son of mine?"
'Much... will I get a dingle like yours when I get my body?'
"Another size queen..." Draco sighed.
Alex and Forth got to know about each other while Forth was giving Alex a tour of the compound. Each felt something that was rather new to them. They felt attracted to one another.
"Well, Alex, all that we have left to do is to get your housing assignment taken care of and go to the division store to get you some essentials."
"Um, ok. Will I have a roommate?"
Forth hesitated before replying, "Most of the boys do." He hesitated once again before continuing, "Actually, I don't have a roommate yet... do you want to stay with me?"
Alex's smile threatened to split his face as he happily agreed.
The pair went off to the division store and got Alex the clothing and other essentials needed. Icky teleported the items to Alex and Forth's room and the two started heading for the cafeteria for an early lunch.
The Desert Wind Task Force completed their first round of scans and were in the process of sharing their findings with each other and BB Baker. Sken then added, "I have told Voice about what we have found. He will be joining us presently."
BB then sent to Brent, 'You and Lance need to come to the Detention Center.'
They both popped in seconds later, with Icky giggling, 'Hey! Thanks, Pops! It's working soooo much better now!'
'Didn't I tell you NOT to port people until I'd CLOSED this UI window?'
'OOPS!'
"Wh...what's wrong?" Brent asked, looking around at BB and the VSO operatives.
"VOICE is coming. Here. As in right now, I think," BB hissed.
"Voice? What, Jason himself?! Here? Do we need to have an honor guard, or something?" Lance mumbled.
"Huh?"
"He's a Prince of Britain, Brent!"
"Oh yeah.... ummm..."
"I'll take a hug each by way of formality," a soft voice said with amusement from behind them. They turned to see a brown-haired boy in a black robe and jumpsuit standing there, smiling at them. "Don't get so worked up, guys. We're all brothers, okay? I know I'm devilishly attractive and you're both just DYING to get me naked and into a warm, comfy bed, but really?.... well, yeah, I'm that hot!" he finished with a laugh.
Once hugs were passed around, Brent asked what information Jason needed.
"I've got it all already, bro. I'll just need a quick word with young BB here, then we'll get what Sken needs together."
BB squeaked nervously. Voice of the Dragon was going to be working with him. 'The First N-Gen?! THE N-Gen,' BB thought to himself. 'With me? Mixed up and.... what if I screw this up?! What if...?'
"Calm down, kiddo," Voice smiled before nodding at Sken. "You're doing just fine."
Sken moved his Task Force away from the cells and they waited. They knew this just wouldn't take long, even with the number of perps to go through. An N-Gen and the Prince of the Ka'Inri together would have what they needed in very, VERY short order.
"Brent, I'll need to mind-talk with young BB for a moment. You're his Director. You okay with that?" Voice asked seriously.
Brent was actually surprised that Jason, of all people, asked for his permission, "Um, sure... anything you need."
"I'm a polite sexy devil, Brent," came the answering laugh to the unsaid thought. Then he winked at them and moved over to BB. "As for you, I've received a very interesting tit-bit of information about you from the Double Js. Just need to confirm something, then we'll have some fun playing. Okay with that, big man?"
BB simply, mutely nodded.
Rolling his eyes, Jason started poking BB in all his most ticklish spots until the boy squirmed with laughter. "Okay. Better. Now, just follow my lead. This will take just seconds out here, but like the wacky weirdos of wonderful wonkiness told you, it'll seem longer for us."
As BB barked with laughter at the insult hurled at the absent Jamie and Jacob, he felt Jason's mind reaching out and into his. What made his eyes widen, however, wasn't the sensation, but the shock of seeing Jason himself become transparent. See-through. Gone. "What the..."
He was pulled into his own mind.
"What happened to your body, Voice?" BB trembled as he looked about, recognizing his mental 'quiet place' that the Double Js had shown him.
"Don't have one anymore. What most in the world don't know, and only a few in the Clan, is that me, my hubby, my sister and her two hubbies, became a new power-based race. We're Ka'Inri, now. Mind-Walkers. We only look like we have a form. We're pure thought," Jason grinned.
Or pure cobwebs," Kyle's voice giggled. "Nathan's a perfect example!"
"Remember, you sleep now..." Jason threatened, causing a pretend 'eeep!' to come from the mischievous Mikyvis.
Hearing this banter in his head, BB was holding his sides because he was laughing so hard.
"You two behave!" Cory's voice giggled.
Hearing Cory's voice, BB once again was dumbfounded... 'The Patriarch... in his head... WOW!'
"Guys, you're freaking out the newbie!" Jason giggled. Then added, "No, Elf. He doesn't want a mind-cookie. I said... never mind," he finished with a sigh as a cookie appeared in BB's hand, with pretty pink writing on it.
BB looked at it and giggled before eating it.
"What did it say?" Jason asked, monotone.
"That me and Elf are the only sane ones in the universe."
"Said the Snowman to Jack Frost..." Jason added, chuckling.
"So, what did you want to talk to me about?" BB asked, wiping the crumbs off his fingers and watching them fade into nothing before they hit the floor.
"You had an unusual change over to N-Gen, little bro, and it is always something I check up on in all N-Gens. It doesn't matter who does the transfer over, I always come along to check up with them anyway. You, however, are intriguing. You are more advanced than most who make this trip over."
"Huh? Me?! Advanced how?" BB spluttered.
Jason smiled and hugged him, "You're like me, Nath' and Viccy, and like Chang. If it wasn't for the last few biological issues that were outside of our control, we'd all have made the transition to N-Gen without help. And it means that if you feel this..." A probing sensation hit BB's mind gently. "... or this..." Another one came. "... then you need to just call out for either me, or Nathan, or Viccy, or Koth, or Riti. Okay?"
"And if you feel THIS," Kyle added in a serious voice as he gave BB a virtual 'goose', "Tell Nathan to keep his hands to himself!"
Nathan's voice then mocked, "Surprise! Surprise! Surprise! That ain't my finger!"
"We could tell - it was too small for a finger!" Cory giggled.
All of this clowning around had one major effect on BB... his nervousness was gone.
"So, what do these feelings mean, Jace?" he asked as he rubbed at his 'virtual sore spot' that Kyle's 'virtual goose' had given his 'virtual ass'.
Smiling, the Voice of the Dragon replied, "You have the potential - note, potential only - to naturally become what we did. Unbound Thought. Movement with Intent. A Mind-Walker. It could happen in five minutes. Or in a hundred years. Or never. I could 'make' you like me right now, easily... but you're definitely on the path all on your own. As Prince of all Mind-Walkers, all Ka'Inri, whether still N-Gen or already crossed over... it's my duty to let you know. It's also my pleasure to stand as your big bro should you need it if or when the time comes. Understand, Bruce Almighty?"
BB smiled and replied, "Thanks. You've made me feel a lot better... Bro."
"Good! Now then... I'll stay in here... you've a comfy brain!... while you go and scan ALL the perps... at once... trust me, I'll make sure you can. I'll collate the data here and then I'll pop out and you can stun your Director with your outstanding talents of N-Gen bad-assitude!"
BB closed his mouth, that had dropped open at hearing he'd be scanning all of them AT ONCE... and nodded, his throat now dry. Then he blinked...
... and was back in the real world.
"Where'd Jason go to?" Brent asked, looking around quickly.
"He's riding along for a bit... in here," BB managed to mumble, tapping his head as he moved off towards the cells. His eyes were now shining so brightly blue it almost seemed like pure white light was burning through the entire complex.
Brent looked at Lance, who looked right back at him. "Oh shi...."
They never got to finish. The light died in the room, and BB was storming back toward them. "Director. Commander Voice will be out in just a moment. He's... venting. We won't be needing many prison cells for those that'll be left alive, here," the young boy grated, the foundling he was showing in the rage in his face. "This is huge, guys! There are THOUSANDS MORE we need to save!"
Brent was confused, "BB, you already told me there were 5,000 to 10,000 more."
"Director, that number is only a fraction of the total. This thing is HUGE!"
Lance giggled and under his breath said, "In your dreams, BB."
BB then replied, "No, Lance... not in your worst nightmare."
There was an almost formless cloud that seemed to morph out of BB's head, a cloud that forced the eye to look at it and squint to try and discern its existence. Then the formless vapor shifted, and Voice was back before them. Only this time, his eyes were burning deep, malevolent red. "Bastardiaid ffycin!" he spat, his voice ethereal and haunting. "Byddaf yn eu lladd. I gyd! Byddaf yn eu rhoi i lawr yn fwyd Sehlat!"
Due to the fact that he'd had the language dump, he understood Jason's Welsh... Brent then walked over and put his arm around Jason. "We can handle these assholes together, Bro."
"I'll leave you the ones who live. I've enough blood on my hands. It is mine to take before thine, brother. Such is the VSO," Jason huffed. "If you really want to, though... you are the Director in charge of this fractal of shit you've discovered..." he said as he calmed down. He turned to Sken and T'Prel and downloaded all that he had found and put together. "Get all the rest of the Psi-Ops moving. You are the Lead for it all, Sken, unless Fire-Eagle needs to come in. I'll deal with those here, with Brent, Lance and BB if they insist on 'helping'..."
At that point, Cory's voice came over everyone's commbadge. "Patriarch Evans; You may assume full cooperation of all divisions of Family Clan Short. Unit troops and Divisional Personnel as needed shall be under your command. Family Clan Short hereby transfers all investigations which are intertwined with this operation to the VSO. End Transmission."
Nodding to himself, Jason turned to Brent, "While I'm in charge of this from a collect and trial standpoint, YOU are the one who found this. You're in charge of the rescued children as we bring them in. Funnel them to where they can be best helped, or help them here. Up to you. Do you think you can handle that, Brother?
It took a moment for Brent's jaw to make the return trip from the floor, "I've handled stuff I never expected I would be able to. So, with help, I will do my best."
"You're never alone," Voice said as he started to fade into formlessness. His 'voice' remained, however. "I'm always around. As are the others... always. Tell BB... always tell BB... every day... that he's cute..."
Then the 'voice' of Voice was gone. And BB was blushing to the roots of his hair.
Before anyone had a chance to comment on what just happened, The Don appeared, wearing a shiny suit of armor.
"On the Order of the Shiny Patriarch of the Shiny Family Clan Short, with the..." (sigh) "... 'blessing' of the Shiny High Priest Dave..." (sigh SIGH) "...and in the Name of the Shiny Warrior, Master of Cookies, all of the Ferret Infiltration Forces are under my command to find Shiny Family Jewels with our Shinyer Nutcrackers! All Hail the Great Shiny!" the small three-and-a-half-foot brother of High Priest Dave stated loudly, saluting Brent. "A magical, yet very shiny Voice did speak in my head. He said you wanted to kill some bad child-hurters... where are the ones who need the righteous vengeance of The Shiny brought on them?"
"Okay... the bars on those cells are TERRIBLE, you know... WEER! WEER! We're on standby until the good Director decides who dies! Get the others in here!" the Don said as he moved off down toward the cells. "We need to shine these bars... who are these scared-looking scum wetting the floors with their piss and MAKING THE BARS RUSTY! OH, GREAT SHINY, WEEEEEER!!"
Another ferret ran in, also in armor, and sighed an apology to Brent, then pointed to the Don. Thirty more ferrets all ran in, and started scaring the hell out of the most likely soon to be dead ass-holes in captivity.
Brent just shook his head, took Lance's hand and turned to leave. "BB, I leave this in your capable hands."