[Author's Note: I would like to extend 'Thanks' to Ilúvantír for contributing some of the Spock-Speak in this chapter. Nobody could write Spock better! Also, The Story Lover, who has graciously allowed me to 'borrow' Commander Kyle Esparar.]
Brent awoke and looked at his boy as he slept. Moments later, Lance opened his eyes and said, "I was so worried I'd lost you yesterday. I tried to stay up so I could give you a piece of my mind and tell you something that happened, but I couldn't stay up."
Brent gave Lance a deep kiss, once that was done he replied, "Well, that was the most important thing, what did you have to tell me?"
"Um, it's about the boys..." Lance said, hesitantly.
Brent immediately got concerned and asked, "Did something happen to one of the four boys? Are they okay?"
Lance sniggered and replied, "Well... that's the thing... Um..."
But before he could continue, the door burst open and not only did Brent's four naked sons run into the room, they were followed by not one, not two, not three, but six equally naked boys. Within less time than it would take for a Mikyvis to jump three universes, Brent and Lance were buried under the mass of all ten boys, all trying to tickle the older pair.
During the melee that ensued, over the speakers in the room was heard several of the other Division Directors saying things like, "Wow, Brent's really got a bad case of AAKD!" and "Dude, look down, Brent's got an exposed vulnerable spot."
Then Cory was heard to say, "I hope Timmy's not watching... Uh Oh! Too late!" Cory's voice was then overpowered by the sounds of too many boys to count giggling as he and Sean were laughing so hard they couldn't even beg for it to stop.
Eventually, amid a gaggle of giggling gamin, Brent and Lance were able to end the onslaught. Brent looked at Lance and said, "It seems our brood is expanding."
Lance blushed as he answered, "When I went to the Medical Center to check on the Quintuplets, they kind of latched onto me. I was just going to bring them home for the night, but... when we were eating, Micah came over. The minute I gave him a hug, I felt that he needed us to protect him... Then he asked if I was gonna be his new daddy and..."
Brent laughed heartily and asked, "Doug, Greg, Angus, Ace? Do you want more brothers?"
Nothing was heard but four heads were bobbing up and down so Brent then asked, "Let's see," he pointed at each as he asked, "Raandi, Darien, Adrien, Micah, Andrei..."
"I'm Raiden, he's Andrei!" One of the quints responded indignantly.
"I'm sorry, ok... Raandi, Darien, Adrien, Micah, Raiden, and Andrei, do you want Lance and me to be your new parents?"
As the other five were nodding, Micah climbed into Brent's lap and gave him a kiss, good and wet and sloppy and said, "You're gonna be my bestest daddy everer."
Doug, happy with the ability to see, asked if they could all shower together. Lance looked at his boyfriend and said, "I'm not sure if the shower is big enough for all twelve of us."
Less than a second later, Luke appeared, just as naked as the rest and informed him, "I just expanded the shower for you and all thirty... um... oops... that doesn't happen for a few more days... ten of your kids to shower at the same time."
"We're gonna need a bigger house." Brent sighed.
Over the speaker in the ceiling, he heard, "I handled that a second ago."
Luke then proudly stated, "That's my daddy, Peter. He's the head of the Qikivis-Quick Qonstruction Qorps."
With an evil eye, Brent reached for the small Mikyvis intent on tickles. Seeing this, Luke ran off in the direction of the showers with the other twelve in hot pursuit."
On the way to the Cafeteria, Brent and Lance were trying to figure out how to split their horde into two tables since the Cafeteria's setup had tables for ten. When they arrived they noticed that all of the round tables for ten had been replaced with long rows of rectangular tables, each having room for 50. Brent then shook his head as he herded his family to the line to get their food. He was quite pleased when his older boys helped the younger ones make their selections and carry their trays back to the table in the center. Greg seemed happiest of all since, for the first time that Brent had seen, he was able to pick his own food based on what it looked like to him.
Lance was laughing once he noticed that the latest round of the Knocks-Downing Tickle War was playing on a repeating loop on the screens around the room. Brent noticed at one table all of the adults seemed to be deep in discussion. In addition to Dominic, Neal, Rick, Mr. and Mrs. Meyers, and the parents of the Triple T's, they saw two others. Brent knew who they were, even though they weren't facing him.
During the meal, there was the usual joking around that young boys are wont to do, but nothing really outlandish. He did notice that Raandi and Adrien were 'stealing' food from the other's plate... once the other noticed, both started giggling. At one point, Darien, whose plate was empty, switched it with Andrei's full one. When Andrei went to take a fork-full of more scrambled eggs, his eyes went wide as he saw his plate empty. Instead of making a scene, he turned to his brother and said, "Ya got me, but wait till I get you back!" He then got up and refilled his plate.
When breakfast was just about over, Brent got up and walked over to the 'Adult's Table' to greet their visitors. "Hi, Aunt Teri! Hi Kyle! Good to see you both."
"Good to see you too, Brent," Kyle replied.
"I see your family is enlarging faster than I can prepare the paperwork, I see it's going to be a good thing we've come to an agreement that Dominic will be the FYS Liaison for Desert Division. He can do it!" Teri said laughing.
Brent sniggered when he saw the color drain out of Dominic's face momentarily. "Yeah, looks like my crew decided that they needed a full baseball team, according to Peter Lambert, I'll have a whole league as my sons in a matter of a week."
All of the adults laughed except Neal and Rick. Teri then said, "I heard you had planned an assembly for right after breakfast. If I may, I'd like to make a few announcements during it."
"No problem, Aunt Teri. You can start it off after I introduce you." Brent replied.
After a few more moments, Brent said he'd see them in the auditorium, giggled as he saw that Neal was fanning Rick, trying to get him to snap out of his 'state.' Over Teri's commbadge, he heard Dr. Dan say, "Ok, Teri, prescriptions for Valium with unlimited refills for all of the Desert Division adults are on the way."
Back at his table, Brent called for everyone's attention. "As you can all see, our Division seems to be growing at a rapid rate? We have a lot of stuff we need to do, but I wanted to have a meeting with everyone right after breakfast. Once we finish here if everyone will please go over to the auditorium. Thank you."
Boys and girls began cleaning up their breakfast waste and heading out of the cafeteria. Brent and Lance's older boys helped the younger ones clear the table, including their parents' dishes then the group made their way to the auditorium.
When they arrived, Brent saw that the FYS Crest was hanging from the ceiling at the back left of the stage in the center was the Clan Crest and on the right was the newly designed and approved Desert Division Crest. In front of the crests were several chairs. Neal, Rick, and Brent were surprised to see Franklin and Johnnie Wells seated next to them. Dominic and Ronnie were seated next, with twelve empty chairs in the center. To the right of the empty chairs, Teri Short and Lt. Kyle Esparar were seated. Eric and Hadia were next with Mason Tecumseh on Hadia's right and Justin West was on the far end. Brent led his family up the stairs and had the boys take their seats, leaving one seat on either side of the ten boys. Lance sat on their left, next to Ronnie and Brent took his seat next to Teri.
Lance tapped his commbadge and asked Icarus if everyone was in the auditorium. Icarus replied that other than those in the CIC who were watching on video, everyone else was in the auditorium. Brent stood and looked out at the over 250 kids and adults present and it finally hit him how fast his division was growing. What Brent didn't know was that not only was it being broadcast for those in the CIC, but other divisions were also watching, including Cory, Sean, and Ambassador Sarek himself.
As Brent was about to start speaking, a transporter beam appeared and the form of Admiral Spock materialized. He nodded at his nephew and took a seat next to Teri Short... the seat that Brent had occupied moments earlier.
Brent cleared his throat and began, "Wow! I didn't realize until just now how fast we've grown. Just a few weeks ago, I was living in a group home. So much has happened since then it's hard to get my head around. I want to welcome you all to our first of these Division Meetings. I would like to have them at least twice a month to keep everyone up-to-date on what's happening, not only in the Division but with the Clan as a whole." Brent then heard in his head, 'Uncle Spock wants to speak, but he wants to be the last one to speak.' Brent nodded, then continued, "Today, we have some pretty impressive visitors with us." Brent turned and motioned for Teri, Spock and Kyle to stand before continuing, "On your left, is Admiral Spock of the USS Enterprise, next to him is Teri Short, Director of Federation Youth Services, and to her right is Lt. Kyle Esparar, Federation Liaison to Family Clan Short for the Western Region of the United States. At this time, I would like to introduce Teri Short, or as you will all probably call her, Aunt Teri."
As Teri took the podium, there was applause from those assembled. Brent went and sat in the seat she had been in, next to his Uncle Spock. Teri looked out at the newest division of the clan for a moment before she started speaking, "Thank you, Brent. As you were told, I'm Aunt Teri. Let me start off by saying how glad I am to be here with all of you today. What I do is to run the Federation's Youth Services which oversees the Safe Haven Act. Not just here, but on all of the Federation member worlds. That's a pretty big job, as you can probably guess. As a result, I have people around the galaxy who act on behalf of FYS. In the United States, that job falls to Commander Kyle Esparar who has his primary offices in San Francisco. Now, with so large an area, Kyle isn't able to do everything, so we have some people in various divisions who handle things for him locally. Today, I am pleased to announce that the new FYS Liaison to the Desert Division is Dominic Torricelli." Dominic stood and waved then resumed his seat as Teri continued, "I want you all to know that if you need to talk, you can do so to any of my people. You can even call me directly. Just ask Icarus, your AI, and he'll put you through to me. All of us are here for you first, never feel that you can't talk to any one of us."
Teri paused amid the applause from the audience. Once things had quieted down she continued, "The most pleasurable duty that can be performed by someone in my position is to put kids together with parents who will care for them in a way that not only that they desire, but as they deserve. From this point forward, FYS adoptions for the Las Vegas Division will be handled by Dominic. But before I fully turn that over to him, would Neal and Rick Knocks-Downing step forward."
Neal and Rick stood and approached Teri who turned to them and said, "You were actually the first of the adults in the division, having adopted three of the new division's officers, Brent, Lance and Eric. Earlier today, I was pleased to hear that you have been chosen by two more who wish to join your family."
Neal and Rick nodded as Franklin and Johnnie Wells stood and joined them, each holding the hand of one of the adults. Teri continued, "Frankie? Johnnie? Do you both choose Neal and Rick to be your parents, and by the same token Brent, Lance and Eric as your brothers?"
Both boys simultaneously said, "Yes!" Teri then turned to Neal and Rick, "Do you both agree to nurture and care for Frankie and Johnnie until such time as they are able to branch off on their own?"
Neal looked at his husband and replied for both, "Teri, not only do we agree, but we sincerely look forward to it. As far as 'until they are able to branch off on their own' is concerned, that doesn't relieve us of that same responsibility, only our own deaths would do so."
Teri smiled at the words and then asked, "Frankie and Johnnie, did you wish to change your last names?"
Frankie replied for himself and his brother, "We want our last name to be Knocks-Downing, just like our dad and brothers."
Again Teri smiled, made a note on the PADD she was holding and said, "As of this moment, Neal and Rick Knocks-Downing are officially the parents of Franklin and Johnnie Knocks-Downing."
She then paused for the hugs she got from the new family. Brent and Lance approached and hugged their new brothers. After a few moments, everyone resumed their seat except Teri who turned to Dominic and said, "You've seen it done... now it's your turn, Dominic!"
Dominic and Ronnie stood and approached the podium as Teri walked over to her seat. Everyone was about to shift to the seat next to them when they felt everything blur for a fraction of a second when they could see clearly again, there was a vacant seat that had been added between Kyle and Brent.
Dominic stood at the podium frozen at the sight of so many in front of him. Only Ronnie wrapping his arm around Dominic's waist brought him back to the here and now. He smiled down at his young friend then turned back to those assembled. "For those of you who don't know me, my name is Dominic Torricelli. Next to me is my ward, Ronnie DeGarren. I am here to help any of you in any way I can. But I guess at this point I need to do something sorta official. Would Director and Assistant-Director Knocks-Downing please join me?"
Brent and Lance got up and walked to the podium. Once there, Dominic asked for Doug, Angus, Ace, and Greg to join them. Once they were all there, Dominic started, "It was only two days ago that Brent and Lance adopted these four." Dominic had to pause a moment over the murmurs from some of the new kids. "They can't adopt, they're only kids!" was heard from one so Dominic explained, "In the Clan since we follow Vulcan Law, not Earth Law, the definition of what makes an adult is different. Anyone, at any age, that they can demonstrate the requirements of adulthood are eligible to be declared as such. As a result, they have the right to adopt, if that adoption is logical."
Everyone's attention turned to Admiral Spock who nodded and said, "What he has said is the truth."
Dominic then continued, "Also, parents don't choose who they adopt, the child in question has that right. As such, we have been informed that such a choice was made yesterday by six boys who were all rescued yesterday, or the day before. Would Micah Crisp, Adrien, Andrei, Darien, Raiden and Raandi Polk please step forward."
The new group joined the rest of their family. Dominic then went through the same questions that Teri had started. Having getting affirmative responses he turned to the new boys, "Ok... let's see if I can do this right, Adrien, Darien, Raandi, Andrei, and Raiden... did I get the names right?"
All five of the identical quintuplets nodded then Micah said, "What about me?"
Dominic smiled, "I was saving the best for last, Micah," Dominic paused to appreciate the ear-to-ear smile on the eleven-year-olds face before continuing, "and Micah, do you all choose to have Brent and Lance as your parents and Doug, Greg, Ace, and Angus as your brothers?"
They all nodded and Adrien spoke, "And we all want our last names to be the same as theirs."
"Very good! Then by the power just vested in me by the Federation's Youth Services, I hereby pronounce this adoption official!"
Dominic and Ronnie went back to their seats as Teri returned to the podium. Once she had everyone's attention, she started, "One thing that all of the Clan divisions have is a group of caring adults there, should they be needed. In addition, one of those adults usually winds up taking on the role of Division Mom. So, would Emily Meyers please join me?"
Emily stood and walked over to Teri. "Emily Meyers is the natural mother of Steve and Kenny Meyers. She and her husband, Desmond, have just moved in across from Brent and Lance's home on Knocks-Downing Street. As of now, they will be the official, on-site designated surrogate Mom, and Dad for any of you who need them for whatever reason."
Applause followed as the couple waved and resumed their seats. Teri then stated, "Another thing... none of you in the Clan will ever have to worry about not having someone to care for or about you. Admiral Spock wanted to say a few words."
Spock stood, nodded at Teri and approached the podium. He nodded at those assembled and started speaking, "As Teri has explained to you, All of you have many within the Family-Clan Short who are willing and able to give you guidance and support. The Patriarch of your Family-Clan is as a blood son to me, and, as such, all those in the clan are kin to me."
"I am now A'nirih to the entire Family-Clan. Many of you have fathers already, some more than one. Many others have no father. Now, you either have one, or another one. An A'nirih is a 'Caring and Nurturing Father', or in human terms a Foster father. I do not replace any that you may have; I just am another for you. Do not feel you need to call me 'Father', or any other variation of the name. I am Spock. If you wish to call me 'Uncle', or 'Pop', or 'Dad', you are free to do so."
Spock then nodded at all, turned to Teri and nodded again.
Moments later, Eric stood and approached the podium. Once everyone quieted down, he began, "After lunch today, we will be taking anyone who needs to go to the mall. Since there will be so many, we will be breaking up into groups of between 10 and 14 people. Many of you are probably wondering how you will all be able to pay for your purchases. One of the benefits of being with the Clan is that you will be given an allowance on a weekly basis. Those funds will be deposited to a debit card that each of you will be given. There will be an initial deposit on each card of $250.00. Weekly, by simply doing your school work to the best of your ability, and keeping your area neat and tidy, an additional $50 per week will be deposited. In addition, should you wish to supplement that amount, there will be tasks that you can perform to help out around the compound. The tasks will be relatively simple, and should not take too much of your time, just a couple hours a week. We will discuss that in more detail during the orientation sessions your guides told you about."
After allowing a moment for that information to 'sink in' Eric continued, "I should also stress that the money on your cards is for you to buy things you want. Anything you need will be provided for you and you won't have to pay for them. You can ask the person escorting you at the mall any specific questions you have as to what kinds of things will be provided by the clan. We provided each of you a week's worth of clothing from the Division Store when you arrived here. If there is anything special you wanted, like a special outfit, or an iPod, or stuff like that, those are the things you should buy with those funds. If anyone has any questions before we go to the mall, you can feel free to contact any of the Cyclones or Officers. I think Brent has a few more things to tell you. Thanks!"
As Eric finished, Brent and Lance stepped up to the podium.
Lance addressed the group, "For those of you who don't know me, my name is Lance Knocks-Downing and I'm the Assistant Director. I know that this has been a lot of information all at once, but don't worry, any questions you have can be easily answered. As you leave the auditorium, you will all be given one of these," Lance held up his commbadge. "The badges will attach to either your clothing or, if you're swimming, directly to your skin. Please make sure you have your commbadge with you at all times. All you need to do is to tap it once and say your name and who you need to talk to, or you can talk to Icarus, or Icky, our Artificial Intelligence who runs all of the systems at the compound. So, I don't know about you guys, but I'm kinda getting hungry, but, since we're distributing commbadges, we will be leaving the auditorium by rows. Please stay seated until your row is told that you can leave. Thanks for listening."
Lance stepped to the side and Brent said, "I wanted to thank all of you for your attention today. Most of our meetings won't be like this one, we had a lot to cover and we hope you all got something out of it. Let me just say to all of you, Welcome to Family-Clan Short and the Desert Division!"
Everyone applauded Brent and the rest of the team. The Cyclones were stationed at the doors leading out of the auditorium with commbadges for everyone and Brent was pleased at how everyone cooperated with the distribution.
Once the auditorium was pretty much empty, Brent, Lance, and his family walked to the Cafeteria with Teri, Kyle, and Uncle Spock for lunch. After everyone had gotten some food, Teri expressed how impressed she was with the way Brent and his team handled the meeting. It went very smoothly.
Brent was interrupted by his commbadge. "Cory to Brent."
"Hey, Cory. How are you doing?"
"I'm doing okay, but I wanted to tell you how impressed we all are at how you handled that assembly."
"Um, thanks, but how do you know how it went?" Brent was puzzled.
Cory sniggered as he replied, "The whole thing was broadcast to every division in the clan. We're actually going to make parts of it available for people to watch, you covered a lot of stuff in a very easy to understand way. I'm sorry I haven't been more in-touch, but..."
"Don't worry about it Cory, we understand. Thanks for calling!"
"You're doing a fantastic job, Brent. You and Lance and the rest of you. Keep it up and we'll talk soon."
Cory ended the call and Brent was all smiles. Cory told him what he needed to hear, and Brent knew that Cory wouldn't say something he didn't believe in. He then went to find Eric to go over the details of the upcoming trip to the mall.
Emily, the Division Security chief and Marissa Cooper, one of the strike team members were going to escort the two groups of girls that would be going to the mall. In addition, Eric had arranged for seven others to 'chaperone' groups of boys at the mall. Justin West also arranged for members of the strike teams to accompany each group to provide security. All would be in plain clothing, not in uniform, and all were N-Gens or genetically enhanced. They would all be armed, but to look at them, nobody would have been able to tell this. Brent and Lance's security teams would also be with the two groups that the Director and Assistant Director would be accompanying.
The groups separated slightly in preparation for being teleported to the mall at the Malaya Hotel. The leaders of the groups distributed the debit cards and one group at a time vanished from the compound and reappeared at the entrance to the mall.
The shopping trip seemed to be going well. Brent had received reports from every one of the groups and the kids were getting what they wanted to be able to get. As he was finishing reception of the last report, two men and two boys walked up to him. One of the men asked, "You're from Clan Short, aren't you?"
Brent's security immediately moved into positions to intervene if necessary as Brent looked over at the two men, then at the two boys. The boys seemed happy enough. Hesitantly, Brent replied, "Yes, I'm Brent Knocks-Downing, the Director of the Desert Division of Family-Clan Short."
"See Daddy, I told you Papa was right, that it was him!" The older boy, who looked to be about twelve stated excitedly."
Brent smiled at the boy before turning his attention back to the young men. They were obviously a couple. They looked to be in their mid to late thirties. Brent had to admit, they were a handsome couple. Just as Brent was about to ask, one of the men began speaking.
"I'm sorry, I'm being rude. My name is Stephen Jackson. This is my husband Roger, and these two are our sons, David who is twelve and Logan who is ten. We have been following the actions of Clan Short for a while now, and, we were really happy when you guys started up here in Las Vegas. How would we go about volunteering as a family to help you guys out?"
To say that Brent was surprised would have been an understatement. To him, these guys seemed on the level, but, he couldn't afford to be too trusting. "Well, what I think we'd need to do first off is to get you guys evaluated. We fall under Vulcan Law so we use deep scanning by a Vulcan Certified Telepath to get a good read on who a person is not who they say they are. Would all four of you be willing to undergo one of those scans?" Looking at the two boys, "I promise you, that nothing you don't want others to know will be divulged." He could see David visibly relax.
Roger looked at his husband before replying, "Honestly, we want to help, and if that's what is needed, we're all for it." This sentiment was confirmed by the nods of the other three. Brent thought fast as he decided, "Ok, why don't we meet in the food park in about fifteen minutes. My Assistant-Director and I will meet with you. He will have a telepath with him."
"Sounds good, thank you, Director," Stephen stated formally.
"Just call me Brent at this point. We'll see you in a couple of minutes." The family then turned and headed in the direction of the food park.
After arranging for the two groups Lance and Brent had been leading to being combined, and have someone to chaperone and provide security, Brent, and his family, along with both Brent's and Lance's personal security, proceeded to the Food Park.
Roger, Stephen, David, and Logan were kind of surprised when the group of 18, including two tall, hooded figures approached. Brent smiled then said, "Guys, let me introduce you to my brood here. Behind us are our Security guys, being Director and Assistant Director, we can't be too careful. Next to me is my life-partner and the Assistant Director of the Division, Lance Knocks-Downing." Lance shook hands with the group as Brent continued, "This brood are Lance and my sons. We have Angus, Doug, Adrien, Greg, Ace, Micah, Darien, Raiden, Raandi," Brent was again interrupted.
"I'm Andrei, he's Raandi!"
Sniggering, Brent said, "It's difficult to get identical quintuplets straight sometimes, I'm sorry... Andrei, and Raandi."
Roger and Stephen's eyes were bugging out, it was Roger who spoke first, "You can't be much older than thirteen, and you have ten kids?"
"As I told you, we follow Vulcan Law, and under Vulcan Law Lance and I have shown that we act as adults, so as such, we have the rights of an adult, and that means the right to adopt."
Everyone took seats with Lance and Brent seated with Joshua Flint from his security across from the four Jacksons. Brent began, "Joshua is a registered and certified Telepath. He will be performing the scans on you four. Do you have any questions?"
Roger asked, "Is there anything we need to do?"
Joshua replied, "No, Sir. All you have to do, each of you, personally, is to give me verbal permission to perform the scans. You won't feel anything. I will report my findings telepathically to the Director and Assistant-Director. I should warn you, that if I find any violations of the Safe Haven Act that would be prosecutable by Family-Clan Short, you would be subject to prosecution."
Roger said, "I give you permission to scan me, I have nothing to hide." The other three responded in the same manner.
Joshua focused on each of the four. He paused after scanning David for a moment, then moved on to his little brother. He then turned to Brent and Lance and said, "I have completed the scans, are you both ready to receive what I found?"
Brent and Lance nodded then Joshua sent the information to them. Once completed, both involuntarily glanced at David for a moment before turning to his parents.
"Nothing was found in your scans that would disqualify you from consideration for affiliating with the clan. There are a couple of ways that could happen. I see that Roger is a Child Psychologist and that Stephen is a teacher. Both of those skills could be very useful to the Division and the Clan. What I propose is to have your family come to visit us at our compound. Once you've seen what we have, we can discuss if or how you will become involved with what we're trying to accomplish."
"That sounds like a great idea. When would you like for us to come visit?" Stephen asked.
"Why don't you discuss that with Lance? I need to get a drink. David, why don't you go with me so we can bring back something for your brother and your parents?" Brent asked, hoping David would realize that he wanted to talk to him.
As they walked away, Brent, followed at a discreet distance by his security, turned his head to David and said, "What he was doing to you wasn't your fault. I know you feel like you kind of liked it, but, what he did was wrong."
David, who had a tear falling down his cheek as he turned to Brent and asked, "So you don't hate me? Can I still be part of the Clan?"
"David, regardless if your family joins us to work with us, you are part of the Clan, you and your brother. What we need to do now though, is to go see Mr. Kennedy and make sure he cannot do that to anyone else, ever again."
David looked down for a moment before nodding.
Brent tapped his communicator, "Brent to Carroll Von Schuyler."
"Go ahead, Brent. Carroll here."
"Carroll, I need you to be available in a moment for an immediate mission."
"I'm ready, Director. Whenever you need me, just have Icky teleport me."
"Brent to Justin West."
"Go ahead, Brent."
"I need a strike team immediately. They'll be teleported directly to a residence of a known child molester for apprehension, telepathic scan, and sentence."
"Strike Team Delta is on ready hold. I will inform them to be ready for rapid deployment in 60-seconds."
Brent then tapped his communicator again, "Icky, I need you to teleport me, the boy to my right, my security, Carroll Von Schuyler and strike team Delta to 10245 Apache in Las Vegas. All are ready so go on and teleport immediately."
At that moment, Roger had been looking over at Brent and his son when they vanished. Lance asked Joshua to take Logan and the kids to the play area then turned to Roger and Stephen.
Once the kids were out of hearing range, Lance explained what was happening.
Sean Kennedy, a teacher, was admiring the twelve-year-old boy he was 'tutoring' wearing just a pair of pink French-bikini underwear he'd coaxed the boy to wear. He was startled when within an instant he was surrounded by sixteen boys ranging from about eleven-years-old to fifteen, in addition to one... he wasn't sure what... that was nearly seven-foot tall. Normally, having such a smorgasbord of young boys would have been a welcome sight to him, other than at least ten of them were armed, with their weapons trained on him.
Within ten-seconds Carroll had fully scanned both man and boy. As he transmitted his findings to Brent who was visibly sickened by what he'd 'seen,' David yelled out, "Jamie? He got you too?"
The two boys wrapped each other in a hug as one of the strike team members found Jamie's clothing and brought them to him.
Brent was shaking at what he'd seen from this individual's head. He turned to the man and with a venom in his voice that nobody had ever heard from him before, not even himself said, "Sean Kennedy, over the past eighteen years as a middle-school teacher, you have violated the trust your students have placed in you no less than 130 times. By examination by a Vulcan Certified Telepath, under the authority of the Safe Haven Act of the United Federation of Planets, Family-Clan Short, of the House of Surak of Vulcan takes you into custody for adjudication and sentence. Based on this scan and supported by scans of both boys present, David Jackson and Jamie Ross, both aged twelve years, I find you guilty of 136 counts of violation of SHA Section 13.1 - Use of Minor Children to provide Sexual Gratification, 118 counts of violation of Section 13.3 - Forcing Children to perform sex acts on themselves or other minor children, and 72 counts of violating Section 13.4 - Acquiring and or distributing nude and indecent photos or holographs of nude minor children for financial or other gains. In accordance with Section 200 of the Safe Haven Act, I, on behalf of Family-Clan Short do hereby assume jurisdiction in this case and stand ready to pass sentence. Based on the numbers of cases involved and the fact that absolutely no remorse can be found in your mind, I hereby sentence you to death. I shall carry out the sentence immediately."
Dr. Linda was just finishing up her examination of Jamie Ross. Brent and Lance were in a conference room with the Jackson family waiting for Jamie's father to arrive. Roe Von Schuyler had been sent along with Eric and a few security people to vet Simon Ross. Roe had determined that Simon loved his son and had no idea that Mr. Kennedy had been grooming the boy.
Eric explained that Jamie had been rescued from his predicament and explained how he had been discovered. Simon was almost inconsolable. Eric explained that Jamie was currently at the Desert Division Medical Center for a check-up and invited him to return with their group.
When Eric and Simon arrived at the Medical Center, Eric led Simon to the conference room. Seeing the parents of his son's best friend put him at ease, almost immediately. Brent had just completed the introductions when Jamie and Dr. Linda entered the room.
Jamie ran over to his father, wrapped his arms around his dad's waist and cried. "I'm sorry, Daddy, I didn't know that he was gonna do nuffin." Simon had tears of his own falling down his face as his son cried into his chest.
Simon looked over at the woman who had just entered the room. He was ashamed of himself because his son was dealing with the issue he was dealing with, but he couldn't help but think how attractive this woman looked to him.
He finally spoke, "Thank you all for saving my son. If you hadn't shown up when you did..." The thought was too terrible for him to consider to actually voice it.
Brent had received the download from Roe about Simon and decided that he had another opportunity he needed to explore. "Simon, I understand you're a Medical Lab Technician?"
At first, Simon hadn't heard what was said, but when Brent sniggered and repeated himself. Simon blushed, but in a quiet voice answered, "Yeah, I was. I got laid off about a month ago. That's one of the reasons Jamie needed tutoring. His grades have slipped a little, but we had no idea that Mr. Kennedy was..."
You didn't have to be an empath to know that there was some attraction between Linda and Simon. Brent turned to Linda, "Dr. Linda, weren't we looking to staff our lab here?"
"We don't have..." Linda stopped herself before smiling and saying, "Actually, I have need of someone to manage the new lab that was just approved."
Brent then offered, "Simon Ross, I'd like you to meet Dr. Linda Wallace. She's the Medical Director here at Desert Division. Dr. Linda, Simon Ross, your new Lab Supervisor."
"We were just going to give everyone a tour, when we're done, Simon, why don't you come back and discuss things with Dr. Linda?" Brent suggested.
"Um... yeah, that sounds great," Simon said smiling.
The group then left the Medical Center, on the way out, Lance asked Brent, "We don't have a lab."
Brent sniggered and said, "He didn't know that, and I had to think of a good reason to offer him a job. It was the first thing that came to mind. Besides, the Clan isn't just about helping kids, it's about helping parents too if they're deserving."
The rest of the group met up with Brent and Lance and the new families were shown around the complex.
They arrived at Brent's home and found Forth watching over the boys. Everyone sat in the living room as Brent introduced Simon to his kids. Simon's eyes bugged out before saying, "You're only a year or so older than Jamie and you have ten kids?"
Lance volunteered, "Actually, Jamie is about two months older than me."
Simon's mouth opened, but no words came out. Brent explained about the differences in Clan/Vulcan law which pretty much explained things.
As they were seated around the room, Brent started off the discussions. "Well, what do you all think of our Compound?" He was happy to hear everyone speaking about how impressed they were with what they saw.
"Well, let me get right to it. One of the things we have found is that it's beneficial for employees of the Clan Divisions to actually reside in the Clan Compounds. Since we've just offered a job to Simon, we would like to offer him, and Jamie, the ability to move into one of the condo units we have here. Jamie would have the option of living with his dad or living in one of our dorms. Dr. Jackson, we could really use a good Child Psychologist here. The Clan has a couple of them, headed by Dr. Dan Richardson out of our main headquarters in Orlando. We would like to offer you a position here as a Psychologist. Also, since Stephen is a teacher, we'd like to offer him a job at one of our schools. There's an opening at either our school in Orlando or the one at our Pacific Rim Division in Hawaii."
Stephen looked at him and asked, "You mean I wouldn't live here?"
"Oh, I should have mentioned. You saw how you were brought here? You traveled from the mall here virtually instantly? When we get to the cafeteria, I will show you something else you will find really cool. We have technology not available to the general public. Rather than explaining, I'll show you soon. But, since you have the two boys, and from the scan of you two you might even consider taking on a couple more, I'd like to offer you one of our single-family homes."
Roger asked, "What about my current practice?"
"Well, that would be totally up to you. You will be compensated at levels at least twice what you were making in private practice, but if you wish to continue with them, I don't see that being a problem. It will be totally up to you. I should caution you though, we're going to keep you pretty busy. In the past two days we've grown by over 200 people and if the other divisions are any indication, that number will increase at an increasing rate. We currently have facilities for over 1,200 kids and the ability to grow almost instantly. One of our divisions has over 10,000."
"Of the patients I see, only two or three wouldn't do well seeing another Psychologist, I'm sure we can work things out."
David, Jamie and Logan were sitting outside with Brent and Lance's sons while the adults talked about 'boring' stuff. Micah kept looking over at Jamie and David and the pair started getting a little uncomfortable. Finally, David asked him, "Why do you keep looking at Jamie and me?"
Micah smiled and walked over. He took both of their hands in his own and his grin increased almost instantly. He said, "You guys like each other.., more than just best friends."
The two 12-year-olds faces turned redder than Timmy's hair and they both giggled shyly. Jamie then turned to David and said, fear clearly in his voice, "I was afraid to tell you."
David then looked at his friend and said, nervously, "I was too."
Neither did nor said anything more for a few moments, they just seemed to stare into the eyes of the other. Logan finally said, "Oh for heck's sake... kiss each other already!"
As the two shocked boys shared their first kiss, their parents came out into the backyard. The boys noticed and broke apart like their lips were on fire. Both started stammering incoherently when Logan laughed, "David's got a boner!" This effectively 'broke the spell' which caused the boys to cease their rambled attempt at explanation.
Roger went to his oldest son and Simon went to his as Stephen went to Logan. Roger and Simon said, almost at the same time to their son (in nearly the same words), "What you two just did was nothing bad. If you guys like each other like that, we're fine with it. What we want is for you to be happy with who you are, and be with someone who you can love and who will love you back. It doesn't matter one iota if that other person is a girl or another boy."
Stephen was explaining to Logan that it wasn't nice to point out things like that. David's body is changing and he can't help it.
"That's okay, Daddy, I get them too." He walked over to his brother and apologized, "I'm sorry Davie. I like Jamie, not the same way you do, but..." Logan felt badly about how he must have made his older brother feel and continued, "I'm just sorry I teased you."
David picked up his younger brother and hugged him. "You're forgiven squirt, I do love you." Brent and Lance were standing at the back door watching this display, happy for their new families, knowing they'd be perfect additions to the Desert Division family.
The three fathers had agreed who would tell their sons the news. Simon, elected by the other two announced, "Well boys, what do you guys think of living here?"
Instantly there were thirteen little boys cheering.
At that point, Brent offered, "I have an idea, why don't we all go to dinner here, you can meet some of the other kids."
The two new families were amazed at not only the size of the Cafeteria but the varied selections of the food. Once they'd made their choices, they were even more surprised at the quality. When they were shown the Dimensional Doors, they were truly amazed. The boys wanted to take a tour of a couple of the other divisions, but Brent told them they could do that on another day.
As they were enjoying their meal, several other boys stopped by and introduced themselves. It seemed that the three new boys would fit in well at the Division.
Across the room, on one of the smaller, more private tables, Eric and Chuck were discussing their futures. Chuck and Eric had already discussed the fact that there was a definite mutual attraction, Chuck explained about some of his background and Eric explained about being a clone. A silence developed at some point where each was deeply considering something they wanted to say. At almost the same time, they said to one another, "Do you want to be my boyfriend?"
Both boys giggled before blushing. Both had similar thoughts, they stood and started heading out of the cafeteria. Before they left, Chuck reached down and took Eric's hand. Once outside, Chuck pulled Eric close and gave him a chaste kiss.
Eric decided he enjoyed that kiss... he hoped their relationship would grow and flourish.
After seeing their guests home, Lance and Brent returned to find their boys sitting in the living room watching a movie. The quintuplets were fast asleep, cuddled up with one of their non-quint brothers. Lance and Brent cuddled together on one of the Love-seats and watched the end of the movie with the boys.
When it was over just as they were going to get ready for, and head to bed, all of a sudden every AI in the Clan announced:
"Stand By for an Urgent Message from the Clan Patriarch."
At that moment, apparently, every computer screen, monitor, and terminal throughout the Clan switched on and displayed the Family-Clan Crest.
A few moments later, Cory's face appeared on the screen, he did not look pleased.
"It has come to my attention that there is a situation that requires immediate attention and cannot be allowed to continue one moment longer. Every Director and Assistant-Director and their families must appear at the Orlando compound tomorrow, Sunday, November 14, 2004, for a MANDATORY meeting starting EXACTLY at noon Eastern Time. There will be no excuses for non-attendance. Don't even think of missing this. Clan Short Headquarters, Out."
Brent and Lance looked at one another wondering what could be wrong. When they tried to contact headquarters, in an uncharacteristically curt voice, Seth told them that they'd be informed when everyone else was... at noon tomorrow.
Brent reminded Lance that Noon Eastern Time was 9:00 am where they were. They told the boys that they'd have a light breakfast at the house before leaving by 8:00 am, so they should get right to bed and to sleep. Brent and Lance went to their bedroom once they'd tucked their boys in. They too went right to sleep, wondering what had Cory so upset.
Okay, where's Andy? Hmm, I don't like the way that Cliffhanger makes me feel! It looks like the Desert Division is firmly getting their feet on the ground and acquiring the staff they need even if a little deception was necessary. It looks like Lance and Brent have things under control or do they?
TSL
Andy... he's getting used to being 'free' and you can expect to hear more about him in the next chapter or two. Cliffhanger? I don't see any 'cliffhanger!' I do see a Dramatic Pause... and it's meant to make you worry a little.
As far as Brent and Lance having things 'under control' is concerned, can any Clan Division Director truly have everything 'under control'?
True