Clan Short Pacific Rim Division

Oneula Beach, Taylor Residence

Monday, November 8, 2004, 2:52PM HTZ

Robbie Taylor raced out the kitchen sliding door with Billy Whitmore only a step or two behind him. After closing the sliding screen door, Ralphie turned to Pat, giggling, "I guess Robbie talked Billy through some worries."

"It might be a Taylor trait," Pat grinned.

Carrol joked, "So, who's going to talk Robbie through his new worries?"

"Mr. Fuzzy can do it!" Trevor giggled, not realizing the implications. Carrol, Ronnie, Richie, Ralphie and Pat evilly snickered.

Out in the open, Robbie had the freedom to really stretch his legs and run. He went around his new house, periodically looking back to make sure Billy was still behind him. Robbie playfully sent, 'Fuzzy Mr. Billy?' and waited for a reply.

'Munchie, munchie, munchie!'

'Yeah, there's gonna be lots of mouth exercise, later, after my mom and dad get home.'

'Butterscotch coated Crispy Cream cruller, yum, yum, yum!'

'That too! Swear to God!'

'Eat 'em all up! Eat 'em all up!'

'Yes, we'll eat 'em all up, holding each other close, like boyfriends do.'

'Holding... you holding me?'

'We'll never ever be apart, I promise.'

'Hungry. Deprived.'

'Me too. Starving.'

'Make it better?'

'Easily.'

'Slow?'

'Very slowly. Believe me?'

'Believe you.'

At the front of the house, Robbie slowed and soon stopped running. He faced his rapidly approaching ravenous boyfriend. Opening his arms, Robbie willingly waited for his boyfriend's onslaught. Billy stepped right into Robbie's arms and held on with all his strength. Knowing what Billy needed most, Robbie tenderly kissed every inch of Billy's face.

As the son of two teachers, Robbie knew a little something about transference. Billy's deepest demons had just made their presence clearly known through Mr. Fuzzy. From all the talks and mind-talking they had done since that morning, Robbie understood perfectly where Billy was at. Before being rescued, Billy had plenty of sex, but very little real love. In the many kisses he was planting, Robbie accepted the task of correcting those problems, beginning with assurances that he had every intention of being exactly what Billy needed at all times. Billy would get a lot of love, primarily from Robbie, from Billy's new family, and also from the entire Taylor family.

With each kiss, Billy's strength escaped a little more. Soon, Billy was withering and softly cooing. Holding Billy tight against him, Robbie planted the final deep kiss. Swooning, Billy had to hold on to Robbie a little tighter for a moment.

Ralphie and Pat came out of the house, only going as far as the top step and sat on the porch. When the kiss broke, Ralphie grinned, "You ain't a perv, Billy." Looking over at Robbie's longer-haired mirror image, Billy then checked with Robbie. Robbie smiled and nodded.

Pat giggled, "Me and Ralphie played show-and-tell a couple o' times since Saturday. That's step one."

Gesturing to himself and Pat, Ralphie smirked, "We're what you think of as 'those normal kids', ones that didn't have perv adults messin' with them. Robbie's thinking just like me and Pat. I swear it's true."

Pat firmly stated, "We're gay, just like you, Billy. Me and Ralphie took step two yesterday."

Ralphie sniggered, "Talk to Ronnie about Garrett. What you're thinking and so worried about, we're thinking too. If you still want more proof, ask Richie how he wants it to be with a boyfriend, once he gets one. It'll be the same story, man. Will he hold me close? Will he want me to hold him close? What's he got hangin'?"

Grinning and blushing, Pat continued, "What's he got hard? How does it feel to touch another guy's bone, or have him touch mine? Will he want me to feel it? Will he want to touch me that way too? They took what they wanted from you, bro. I didn't take from Ralphie, I gave him what he asked for. He gave me what I asked for. Giving is way different from taking."

Ralphie nodded, "Getting there is nerve wracking, like Christmas, birthdays and amusement park thrill rides all rolled into one, but it's all worth it. We're hoping for step three and some oral fun soon, but ya know, step two was so much fun too. It wouldn't bother me if we stayed on step two a while."

"Won't bug me either," Pat confirmed. "There's something that happens when two guys hold each other close and kiss, then just add a slow stroke. All that stuff you had to do changes when it's something you both want to do. You'll keep checking with him, is this okay; am I doing you good?"

"The real trip is realizing you can't even be separated to take a dump without feeling like someone's missing here," Ralphie giggled.

Shaking his head, Pat sniggered, "It's really sad, but so awesome. Five minutes apart and we're getting jittery, swear to God."

Ralphie turned slightly then leaned over to rest his head on Pat's lap. It was as much for closeness and sharing as it was to show Billy how easy and comfortable things get. Pat ran his fingers through Ralphie's hair. Ralphie looked down the porch steps at his bro's new boyfriend, giggling, "Pat reads while on the bowl. He disappeared for almost fifteen minutes, reading one of our mom's magazines, believe it or not, and I about had some kind o' breakdown." Innocently smiling, Pat looked up for his stack of brightly shining halos.

Billy giggled and again checked with Robbie. "It's true," Robbie chortled. "Me, Richie and Ronnie were like, let the dude have a healthy shit and relax. He won't fall in and drown!"

Stepping outside with one of Trevor's blow-up pool arm-floats, Ronnie lay it on top of Pat's red head, sniggering, "There ya go, Pat. It almost looks like a halo." Ronnie smirked, "All you guys have it easy compared to me and Garrett." Taking a seat on the other side of Pat, Ronnie sighed, "We're separated by five time zones. He's got family to be with there, and I've got family to be with here too. I'm getting used to going from daytime to nighttime to daytime, in the seconds it takes to walk through a door."

Robbie grinned at his boyfriend, assuring, "I've never lied to you and never will. We're the same. Everything you want, I want too."

Pat asked, "Do you know what testosterone is, Billy?"

After mulling it over, Billy reluctantly admitted, "I'm not sure."

"It's a hormone," Ralphie stated, and cupped his crotch, adding, "from right here, in our jewels. What we ain't pumpin' out yet is swimming in our blood, making each of us a little crazy. It's what's pushing us to hookup with boyfriends."

Pat grinned, "Of course, if we were straight, then we'd be chasing tits instead of dicks, but you get the idea."

Ronnie grumbled, "Those pricks in St. Joe took advantage of us, Billy. Me and Garrett have lots of dirty laundry to clean. Every chance we get, the piles get just little smaller." Forcing himself to calm down, Ronnie sighed, "My bros helped me, and got me hooked up with Garrett. Robbie's falling for you, so it's time to return the favor. We'll get together with Adam and his bros to help you too, Billy."

Stepping outside, Richie grinned, "Sorry I took so long. Trevor wants to learn to read, like now, before school starts, so me and Carrol got Alden to get some books and videos." He briefly locked eyes with Billy and then with Robbie. Richie scowled, "You all covered just about everything except one thing. As soon as we can, when Billy's more ready, we have got to find out what the deal is with his telepathy. I wanna know why we can hear him, when we can't hear hundreds of other adults and kids when we're looking right at them, here and in Des Moines."

"It's a little less important than Billy's worries," Ralphie softly reminded.

Walking around Ronnie and heading down the steps, Richie grinned, "I know, bro. So, Billy, Carrol's been my foster brother for years. Because I missed him so much the first few days here, I thought I was falling in love with him. He wasn't so sure if he was falling for me. Kisses proved that ain't the case. French kissing Carrol was fun and funny, like a silly joke, so we're brothers, which is plenty. Somewhere out there is a dude made just for me. God help him when I find him." Robbie, Ronnie, Ralphie, Billy and Pat cracked up. Richie giggled, "It's so true. He won't be able to stand still without me attaching myself to him. You're not a freak, Billy. You're an adolescent gay dude, just like the rest of us." Spinning around to face Ralphie, Richie laughed, "Yes, I will, daily!"

Grinning madly, Ronnie and Robbie sadly shook their heads. Covering his face and hair with both arms, Pat suddenly went into a giggling fit. Robbie checked with Ralphie. Shrugging, Ralphie giggled, "Go ahead."

Robbie told Billy, "My bros have long hair, and so did I, about a month ago. My hair's been cut to support a friend with cancer. Ralphie and Richie take their love of hair just a tiny bit too far, which is why Pat's embarrassed. Pat raced over here to shower with Ralphie this morning. Ralphie shampooed Pat's hair and then started licking it."

Ralphie giggled, "It's a game! I swear, it's just fun!"

Wrapping an arm around Pat before he imploded, Ronnie focused on Billy, sniggering, "If you still think you're weird, take it from Ralphie and Richie, you're not quite so weird after all."

Richie sniggered, "You're thinking the same things too, Ronnie! You just ain't gotten to shower with Garrett yet."

Widely grinning, Billy asked Robbie, "Will you want to lick my hair too?"

"I really don't know!" Robbie laughed. "This morning it was just too funny and weird, but now... yeah, I can almost see me tasting every part of you, including your hair."

Billy thoughtfully hummed then grinned, "I can see it too. I'll bet that licking your buzz-cut hair would feel wicked kewl." Blushing and softly sniggering, Robbie gave Billy a few more tender kisses. Ralphie, Richie and Ronnie roared laughing.

Still covered behind his arms, Pat giggled, "Oh my God, we're all certifiable."

---

Ewa Beach Base, C.S.P.R.D. School

Monday, November 8, 2004 3:00PM HTZ

Working on his placement test, Prez listened to Vivaldi's Four Seasons, the Winter movement. Questions were popping up on his screen almost as fast as he answered them. In Prez's sub-vocal, Alden confirmed, "This is your last question, Prez."

"This was too easy," Prez grinned. "The strategy game was at least challenging."

"You and Derrick did very well there too," Alden confirmed. He then giggled, "I had to wake up Mike twice during this Vivaldi series of questions."

Marking the final answer to the test, Prez stretched and chuckled, "I'm not surprised."

"Go get your deceased chicken hat, boss," Alden prompted.

Standing and looking over Keith's shoulder at his test, Prez smirked, "All this to learn I'm a poulterer?"

"I am not goin' there," Keith cheekily grinned.

Leaning down, Prez placed a kiss on Keith's cheek, softly promising, "Then I will; as soon as you're done, I'll finish off your chicken."

Into all the Core Rimmers' sub-vocals, Alden giggled, "Um... guys, I really hate to tell you, but there's work to be done first." A chorus of groans rang around the school's computer lab.

Slouching, Prez softly bitched, "A rescue, three days after Battle Of Earth? You've gotta be..."

"No," Alden quickly corrected. "We received a phone call just before you started your afternoon session. It's from the Southwest regional FBI Director, wanting to talk to you, Prez."

Knowing bits and pieces about the strained relationship between the Clan and the FBI, Prez groused, "Wonderful, I can barely wait."

Alden said, "Although I don't know the purpose of his call, I'd doubt the task will take too long. The better, more enjoyable task is what King Aalona asked me to pass along. He'd like at least Prez and Keith to join him at Kaho'olawe this afternoon, before dinner."

From the sub-vocal in his left ear and from his right ear, several workstations down, Prez heard Kaleo cheering, "I'd have no problem going there again. It's beautiful, Prez." Completing his test, Keith stood, wrapped an arm around Prez and pulled him close, so they were hip-to-hip. Mike, Derrick, Drew and Corey finished their tests. They all joined Keith and Prez.

"King Aalona took a tour of that island this morning," Alden informed the team. "I believe our King was as impressed as Kaleo, which is why he'd like to go again, with as many Core Rimmers as are able."

Lines of kids that had already finished their tests were before the teachers. Troy, Sean, Kaleo, Tory, AJ and Jerry joined their teammates gathering around Prez. Drew softly shared, "Me and Corey still need to talk to Leo. We haven't even decided when, never mind how we're going to tell him."

Laying his right palm out flat, Prez asked, "My PADD, please Alden?"

Alden giggled, "I played a few games of Pissed-off-Chickens, since I have your PADD as much as you," and transported the device into Prez's hand.

Prez grinned, "How'd you do, Alden?"

"I'm sorry, boss," Alden giggled, "but it's way too easy for me. Maybe when I have fingers I'll try again."

Looking at his PADD's calendar and planning to also check e-mails, Prez softly asked, "Does everyone want to go with the King?"

Around Prez, heads nodded or vocally confirmed they wanted to check out the Island. Troy stipulated, "We need to check on our boys, Prez. Billy's hookin' up with Robbie Taylor, so we'll take some time to talk with them and the rest of the Taylors." 

Prez nodded, "Do what you need to do. Kaho'olawe will be there another day."

Preoccupied with another matter, Drew instead wondered, "Prez, when do you think it would be good to talk to Leo?"

Prez shrugged, "It's not like my situation was at all. Since he already knows, I don't think I'd ruin a dinner with thoughts like that. I'd shoot for a time well after he's digested dinner, and at least an hour or so before bed. Give him time to cry it out, don't you think?"

Catching something in Prez's tone and stance, Corey softly asked, "You don't think we should tell him?"

The remaining Core Rimmers gathered around. Prez gently prodded, "Tell him what? The only things I would tell him are that his parents are being cared for, and their murderers will also be taken care of." Looking back at his PADD, Prez checked e-mails and softly shared, "Leo doesn't need to know they stayed where he found them for two days, does he? One big nightmare of mine, and I'll bet of Bruce too, is that we knew our parents were missing. Neither Bruce nor I needed to see our parents' remains to understand they couldn't have been pretty. Save Leo from that nightmare. As for the murderers, when you mention them, you'll have to tell him our plans too. How do you think he'll take that?"

So no other kids would overhear, John sent to the team, 'Leo was raised like us. I know he'd react the same way we're reacting.'

Looking up, Prez said, "Jerry and AJ, your phaser training is tomorrow from three until six, and on Wednesday from one until four, at the Rapid Response Base. Details are on your PADDs. Attend a half-day of school on Wednesday morning, if you feel like it. If I were you, I'd spend the time with my kids." He paused and then grinned, "Keith's research into bonding and marriages says that Lieutenant Vorik is fully qualified to perform the Vulcan bonding. The real kick is that, because of my Starfleet rank, I'm supposedly qualified to perform marriages." 

Stephen went into a giggling fit and all eyes turned to him and John. "It's not me," John grinned, "it's what you dudes are thinking."

Tory teased, "Okay, who's been nuptializing before their nuptials?" Smiling and backing up, Kaleo pulled Tory out from between Sean and Jerry. Kaleo guided Tory closer to the other married Rimmers. The remainder of the team sniggered and side-stepped away from AJ, Jerry, Sean and Troy.

Mike giggled, "Aww, they're blushing."

"Too cute," Corey and Kaleo sang.

Sadly shaking his head, Troy grinned, "I wish I could believe Archnania made you all this evil, but I can't."

Sean smirked, "Like you dudes are so innocent and never did more than kiss."

"That's our story and we're stickin' to it!" Kaleo, Tory, Drew, Corey, John and Stephen giggled.

Prez chuckled, "So, decide on a date and whether you'd like a formal, semi-formal, or boardies and T-shirts informal wedding."

Keith sniggered, "Think about your sons too. Unless there happens to be a nest, seven boys will need to sleep-over at friends homes..."

"So their dads can nuptialize themselves into wheelchairs," Derrick joked.

Almost as red in the cheeks as his hair, Jerry tapped AJ and giggled, "We should find our boys."

Beginning to restore his normal skin tone, Troy nodded, "We know where Billy is. We'll have to find our other three."

"For the meeting with the fumbling FBI dude, I think we should all be together," Prez suggested.

Nodding agreement, Keith said, "Let's get that boring little task out of the way first."

Chattering agreements, the Core Rimmers went to the next building, where tables were set up and the teachers had been waiting. AJ, Jerry, Sean, Troy, John and Stephen were the first to stop before the teachers.

Mr. Stevenson reached back into a box of baseball caps then handed one to John, smiling, "We'll be getting to know each other well, Doctor Hundser."

Seeing the DNA double-helix on his cap, John giggled, "Sweet!"

Drew softly teased, "Guess how he learned the thigh bone connects to the hip bone." Stephen turned red. Without warning, Drew flew to the high ceiling and hovered there. Drew cackled, "It was a joke, brat!"

"Which is why you didn't crack your empty skull on the ceiling," John grinned, and put his new cap on his head.

Mrs. Taylor handed Stephen a cap emblazoned with the Shakespeare bust. Stephen smiled "Literature?" 

Mrs. Taylor nodded and smiled, "You almost got the question mark of a philosopher, and could likely go either way."

Mrs. Diaz handed Troy a hat with a treble clef. Gleefully, she told Troy, "I was amazed and thrilled with your performances last night." She glanced back at her four former students, joking, "You had to go five thousand miles to find a boy as capable as yourselves." Concentrating on Troy again, Mrs. Diaz smiled, "You have a gift for language too. Merging the two, you could become the band's lyricist."

Mr. Taylor gave Sean a cap with Ohms law emblazoned on it and explained, "That equation describes the relationship between current, volts and resistance. As an electrician, you could someday repair the band's amplifiers or design computer circuits."

"Really?" Sean squealed. "I'm lucky I can flip on a light switch." Slowly, Drew wafted down toward the floor.

Mr. Taylor smiled, "You identified the tools of the trade and got ninety-five percent of the answers to electrical content correct. You may have guessed a few things and gotten lucky, but you have the ability, Sean."

Troy grinned at his Tiger, proudly proclaiming, "I told you."

Mr. Stevenson passed Kaleo a cap with a T-square and compass, smiling, "Architectural design is your dream career."

Miss Perez gave Tory a cap with Piccaso's self-portrait, cheering, "Abstract art. It's no wonder you and Kaleo teamed up. You're both creative thinkers." 

AJ received a hat with a pi symbol. Seeing the uncertainty on the teen boy's face, Mr. T smiled, "A third of two-hundred-twenty-five is?"

"Seventy-five," AJ quickly answered, and then smirked, "Big deal, its easy."

"To you," John, Stephen and Sean chorused.

Sean told AJ, "I figured that answer only after you already said it."

"We'll build on the knowledge you already have," Mr. T calmly assured.

Jerry looked at the hat given to him by Miss Perez. She offered, "It's a computer symbol for an IF-THEN-ELSE construct. You'll be studying software engineering with Drew. Not too surprisingly, your boyfriend will be able to help you with the math, and you'll be able to help AJ understand some theory."

Stepping forward, Corey took a look at his cap with an image of Da Vinci on it. Corey scowled, "Art?"

Shaking his head, Mr. Stevenson corrected, "Leonardo Da Vinci was an artist and an engineer. He designed automatic weapons, helicopters and tanks, three hundred years before they were feasible. He also sketched pictures of human anatomy from corpses for physicians, and of course, for his own use in paintings. Your curriculum will be diversified until we can narrow down your abilities further." He then passed Drew the same hat as Jerry, asking, "Do you have questions or comments?"

Drew wondered, "Who will be my teachers?"

"Primarily, Marc Furst and Cory Short," Mr. Stevenson replied.

Three hats with treble clefs were passed to Keith, Derrick and Mike. Mr T passed Prez his deceased chicken hat. Prez chortled, "There's a sword in my chicken!" The entire team and all six teachers cracked up.

In a few moments, when he had caught his breath, Mr. T chuckled, "That sword represents your strategic and tactical abilities, Admiral. Lieutenant Vorik will be a teacher, and your day-to-day activities will add to that education. Eventually, we'll get you to Starfleet headquarters for additional education."

Derrick sniggered, "Until then, he knocks on back doors and shakes his chicken." The room exploded in laughter, the loudest from Prez.

Mrs. Taylor giggled, "Have a good day, boys. We'll see you tomorrow morning."

Mr. Taylor chuckled, "To add to our day, we've been receiving some telepathic messages from four of our sons."

Spinning around, John hollered, "Really? Already?"

Nodding, Mr. Taylor said, "They informed us of their talent Friday night. It's been getting clearer with every passing day."

Returning to the table where the teachers were now standing, John cutely smiled, "I'd like them on my Intel team."

"We know," Mrs. Taylor grinned.

Mr. Taylor said, "We're concerned about it, naturally, but all four are looking forward to it."

John nodded, "With stuff already going on, tonight's not a kewl night to get them trained; maybe tomorrow."

"We'll be sure to let them know," Mrs. Taylor promised.

Waving and turning away to join his husband, brothers and teammates, John giggled, 'I'll contact Doc Andrews for your Valium prescription, Mrs. Taylor.'

---

Oneula Beach Indoor Rec Center

Monday, November 8, 2004 3:07PM HTZ

Jason Mullins and most of the kids entered the indoor rec center. The group found there was a huge gymnasium in the area where a bowling alley existed at Ewa Beach. The room had all the expected gymnastics equipment including beams, thick matting on the floor, uneven bars, parallel bars, pommel horses, rings hanging from the ceiling, trampolines and vaults. Most of the kids, including Jason, were clueless about the purpose of the room.

Luckily, Vaziik chose to accompany the group. The Vulcan tween had not only described the purpose of the equipment, but also demonstrated some exercises he had witnessed from the Olympics on television. After removing his shirt, Vaziik jumped up and grasped the hanging rings quite easily. He did a pull-up, raised his legs to form an L-shape and then rotated to stand on his hands. Smoothly and effortlessly, he spread the rings and his arms to form an upside down capital 'T'. He completed his little demonstration with a somersault and landed expertly on the padded floor. 

The kids cheered his performance. Typically, Vaziik waved off the applause, explaining that most of what he did was simple, by professional standards and for a Vulcan pre-teen. Still the kids wanted to know more and watched him demonstrate the beam and pommel horse. When Vaziik completed what he felt comfortable demonstrating, Jason warmly thanked the taller Vulcan boy.

Kids needed a break from exploring and wanted to play, so Jason simply said, "Go ahead." Unfortunately, they all scattered, leaving Jason alone with a PADD and only a few notes to actually enter into the device. Jason's younger brothers, Jimmy Carr and Scott Deaver led all the little kids to the playground. Jason sat at a patio table near the pool house, with teens at the diving well to his right, and pre-teens at the pool to his left. Vaziik was the one other kid not actively involved at either pool; he dove into the diving well once to cool off from his exercises, grabbed a towel and dried off.

Typing a few notes into his PADD, Jason sighed. Things just weren't turning out well, for some reason, he strongly believed. During the afternoon, many older kids had found other things to do, like Jay and Chris with the Mr. Fuzzy puppets. A bunch of teenagers had disappeared completely, like Fred Eckhart, Lance Kinchen, Scott Shetley, Travis McAuley and Erik Kendricks, to name a few. Breaking Jason's concentration, Vaziik asked, "May I join you?"

Looking up and seeing the shirtless Vulcan boy, Jason almost leered and drooled. He quickly wiped his mouth and giggled, "Sure, Vaziik. Thanks so much for that stuff in the gym. That was really kewl."

Vaziik nodded once, saying, "I found it agreeable to provide assistance. You are welcome, Jason."

Jason leaned back in the chair, glanced around and sighed. Vaziik said, "I have observed when other Terrans breathe as you have that they are either satisfied or dissatisfied. Which are you?"

Jason huffed, "I guess dissatisfied."

"May I inquire why you are feeling negative emotions?"

Shrugging, Jason groaned, "I just don't feel like I've done a good job, ya know? My big bro Billy is so soft spoken and shy, but he did great. He did such an awesome job that he scored a boyfriend without even trying. I haven't filled in a page in here, and I haven't found a boyfriend either. My dad and pop are gonna wonder what I did, and I'm just gonna have to say, nothin'."

"You are stressed, Jason."

"Prob'ly so," Jason smirked.

Vaziik asked, "May I see your PADD?"

"Why?"

"To determine if your stress is warranted," Vaziik answered. "I may not be able to help you score a boyfriend, however I can..." Kids at the pool and diving well overheard and broke into giggles. Wondering what was humorous, Vaziik glanced around. Jason rolled his eyes and uncontrollably blushed. Vaziik raised a curious eyebrow, then finished, "I can assist with your data."

Pushing the PADD across the table, Jason half-heartedly muttered, "Thanks," and then tried to shrink in his chair. Four teen boys, Carter Rackham, Doug Zimmerman, Neil Green and Tad Markell jogged from the diving well to the pool and jumped in. A moment later, a group of younger boys gathered around the four teens. Giggling erupted and a splash fight broke loose. Wanting to hide under the legs of the table he was sitting at, Jason thought, 'Fucking great! Now everybody knows I want a boyfriend. Here sits Jason Mullins, the loser, who talks to emotionless Vulcans about love. As soon as dad and pop show up, I'll gladly go home to face the rest of my ass reaming.'

Still reading the PADD, Vaziik stood and walked away. All Jason could ponder was that he had lost his eye candy too. To top everything off perfectly, boys in the pool were gathered in a huddle. Every ten or so seconds, they'd all bust up laughing and a few would back away, but continue to watch the other boys in the huddle. To save his life, Jason couldn't figure out what the heck they were doing. Vaziik returned, wearing his shirt and hiding that awesome torso. Stopped a meter before Jason, Vaziik prompted, "Join me in the rec center gymnasium, Jason."

Completely discouraged, Jason nodded, stood and followed Vaziik. "Much of the equipment in the rec center is potentially dangerous," Vaziik explained. "I have shaded those items red to mark them as harmful. Now we must ensure proper education for our children to use the equipment without hurting themselves. Agreed?" Jason only nodded and continued following Vaziik, barely hearing, understanding or caring about what he was being told. In or near every room, Vaziik ordered Alden to place appropriate computer displays and prepare video instruction for all the equipment and exercises. Walking back toward the rec center exit doors, Vaziik returned the PADD, offering, "I believe your stress was unwarranted, Jason. I have done very little to your data. Alden has provided what is required to limit possible injury to our children."

Jason nodded and glanced down at the PADD. Vaziik held the door open and they stepped outside. Still reading the PADD and scrolling through screens, Jason found his data completely reorganized by room and exercise. A page worth of data had miraculously turned into almost four pages. Jason looked up and saw Vaziik walking back to the diving well. Leaning against one of the transparent aluminum outer walls was Jimmy Matos, one of the boys rescued by Derrick late Friday night.

Jimmy called, "Got a couple o' minutes, Jase?"

Still absorbing how his weakly compiled raw data suddenly turned into valuable information that any kid who could read might understand, Jason absently nodded, "Sure." He looked up from his PADD and realized that Jimmy was amongst the group of huddled boys in the pool. Jimmy walked around the building. Jason quietly followed.

Neither boy said a word until they had rounded the corner of the rec center and were mostly out of sight from others at the pool. Jimmy nonchalantly asked, "How're ya doin', dude?"

Shrugging, Jason replied, "So-so, really." He gestured to the pool, softly wondering, "What was goin' on before?"

Jimmy grinned, "Ya mean with Carter, Doug, Neil and Tad?"

Slouching, Jason implored, "Com'on, Jimmy. Do I need to hide for a week, a month or a year?"

Rapidly blinking, Jimmy scowled, "Why would you hide?"

"Everyone knows, don't they?" Jason frowned.

"Hey! Chill, dude!" Jimmy firmly ordered. Jason remained silent, gagging on the sour rock that was lodged in his throat. Jimmy saw how upset Jason was becoming and sighed, "You didn't know Carter and Doug are gay?" Jason shook his head. "They are," Jimmy plainly said. "And so are Neil and Tad. Nobody was making fun of you, Jase. What really happened was a shoot off; paper, rock, scissors, to see which of us dudes would get the chance to be with you first. I won." Seeing only disbelief in Jason's expression, Jimmy sniggered, "Betchya Rafe Montigua, Harry Cohen, Les Freeman and Leroy Wheeler are all watching, hoping I strike out and they get a chance." Jason tried to peek through and around the corner of the building, but equipment was in the way or he was too far away to see. "Go ahead, check it out," Jimmy giggled. "Suddenly they'll all turn around to watch the fuckin' grass grow, guaranteed."

Jason evilly grinned and huffed, "You're mocking me now."

Shaking his head, Jimmy smirked, "I saw you with Leo yesterday and figured you're off the market. I wasn't the only one thinking that. No lie! Check it out; jump out fast and catch them, dude."

Jason suddenly tore to the building corner and jammed on the brakes, catching three of the four quickly scattering and looking for anything semi-interesting. Jason turned around and walked back to Jimmy.

Jimmy warmly smiled, "Did you see 'em?"

Still walking and trying to absorb everything, Jason nodded, "Rafe, Harry and Les. Leroy was already climbing out of the pool."

"Vaziik's little slip helped us all," Jimmy giggled. "How else could all the curious and gay dudes meet you or each other? We still had to have four gay teenagers shove us out of the closet. Course, they weren't expecting sixteen of us. So, out came paper, rock and scissors."

"Now you have to be lying, man."

"No way!" Jimmy laughed. "If Leo were here, and he was the prize, only the straightest dudes would've been completely disinterested."

"You like Leo too?"

"He's somewhere between a dream and a god," Jimmy giggled. "Actually, he's the reason I know I'm gay."

Jason sighed, "Leo told me and Kenny that he's not ready for a boyfriend."

"Leo's loss is my gain," Jimmy softly said, searching Jason for a facial reaction.

Jason thought, okay, he's hitting on me now. Slowly smiling and ready to play the game, Jason reminded, "I'm nothing like Leo. He lost kewl parents in the riots. My fosters were about to be arrested by the Clan, for filming and fondling me and my bros."

Leaning against the wall again in his practiced LA kewl posture, Jimmy grinned, "I'm not like Leo either. What you said only makes you different from Leo. This ain't a bad thing, dude."

Jason dropped his bomb, stating, "I know lots about sex, done the wrong way and for the wrong reasons."

Jimmy nodded, "I know a lot, but never did anything. I've had more than two days to imagine what being gay means. There's no doubt, I could do anything and like it a lot. Maybe we can learn stuff together." He paused then grinned, "You can try all you want to make me go away, Jase, but you'll fail."

Tilting his head, Jason wondered, "Why?"

Smiling, Jimmy shook his head and then giggled, "I had one chance in sixteen to get here with you. From my point of view, Leo's only real competition are you, Rafe and Kenny. I'm not giving up that easily."

"Cute," Jason smirked.

Pushing off the wall, Jimmy confidently checked, "You want the truth?"

"Please."

"I got here late Friday night," Jimmy began. "Our neighborhood was on fire and my parents never came home. Before roasting my nuts, I got out of there. I only care a tiny bit if they're alive or dead, I'd just like to know which. My mom was a cranky bitch and my dad was drunk most of the time. Home was hell. The streets were kewler. I knew the streets of my part of LA like the back of my hand. Ten Latin Kings chased me around on foot and in cars. They had to block me in an alley just to catch me. If it weren't for them telling me about the Clan and Derrick, I had my escape planned and ready to roll. I'm surprised about so many things here, not the least of which is discovering my dick was getting hard for Leo. So what do I do with this new knowledge? I start scopin' out every dick that presented itself all day Saturday and yesterday."

Jason grinned, "I was with my new dads and family both days."

Tapping his nose to signal Jason was on target, Jimmy rambled, "It was a bummer that you, Kenny and Leo were gone. The only surprises are hiding in yours, Leo's and Kenny's pants. All the rest of the dudes were kewl though, even if they caught me spying. If I were older and could really cum instead of shakin' like a spaz, I'd be a dehydrated clump somewhere. I dunno, but I think I might like dick." Jason giggled and nodded. Jimmy grinned, "With no parents to fight, and being here, I could easily say, bein' gay is no problem. I can't even try to act shy, so my personal goal was to find a friend that might become a boyfriend. I've spent too much time alone and I'm fucking tired of it. It would be awesome to have just one really kewl dude on the same page as me to hang with. Rafe's nice, but we're not on the same wavelength. Taron's my roommate and he's really kewl, but he's got cousins here, so I'm sort o' on the outside looking in. Then there's you, Kenny and Leo, who weren't around over the weekend. All day long I've been scoping out dudes about our age. I want something real and someone to be real with. I'm already hoping that can happen with you, Jase."

"Why?"

Jimmy excitedly cheered, "You're a prize on so many levels!"

Rolling his eyes, Jason giggled and blushed, thinking, DIRECT HIT!

"See!" Jimmy laughed, "You're so cute! That's the kind of real I'm talkin' about! You led us here and there all day, even with Billy this morning. You're even cuter now, acting like you don't believe any of this, so-oo-oo hear this too; I choose you over Leo, Kenny, Rafe, Harry and Leroy. My heart's already set, dude. Everyone else our age is gone; they're just not the same. I've got the street smarts and you've got the sex smarts. What more could I ask? None of them other dudes have what you have. 

"Your past might be too much for them, but I'm seeing way more than your past and how cute you are. I'm also seeing a Core Rimmer son, someone who's already following in his dads' footsteps. All the Core Rimmers are so much in love, it almost hurts to watch them. Because of them, at dinner last night, I found myself daydreaming, wondering what it might be like to look at someone like that. Suddenly, my imagination went wild; every dude in the room was naked. Even the crescent rolls were dicks. Then I wondered how I would react with some dude looking at me like that."

"And your reaction might be?"

Jimmy warmly smiled and softly answered, "Kiss him quick and make his eyes close, hopefully before I pop a rod and quake in my seat. There's no doubt about it."

Jason giggled, "You're pretty intense."

Jimmy shrugged, "I had to be. The real me would just like to chill. Here, I could do that, with a little help from the right boyfriend."

Extending an arm, Jason asked, "Take a walk with me?"

"Where?"

Jason grinned, "Let's search for gorillas and G-Cats in the trees."

Taking Jason's hand, Jimmy giggled, "When Derrick's gorilla spoke, I almost shit in my shorts!"

"They're all really kewl," Jason assured.

"I know that now, but didn't then. Very little can cause me to jump like that. The fires made me jump too, right out the door."

"You're shaking."

"I know," Jimmy giggled.

"Are you afraid?"

"A little, yeah."

"Of me?"

"Omigod, no! I'm scared of screwing up and thrilled with your hand in mine. I did something right for a change."

"Do you want to know what you did right?"

"Yeah, that'd be kewl."

"You told me the truth," Jason revealed. "The first time was with the guys in the pool. I really thought I was being set up for some prank. Again, when you told me you wanted someone real. I'm real too, maybe too much for some guys."

Jimmy nodded, "I've been there too. It freaks out some dudes. Back in LA, no one really wanted to hang out with a street kid."

"Before I was even adopted, my dad and pop told us to always tell the truth. It's never been a problem for me. Those shit stains in St. Joe wanted me doin' stuff with my little brothers, so I'd have a fit, and so would Billy, until it was me and him. I told my dad and pop the way it used to be, and so did my brothers. It's real important that you always tell me the truth, Jimmy. Lying won't make anything last; it'll make it fall apart."

"I never could lie without getting caught, so I won't, I promise." Noticing that they weren't taking the shortest path to the nearest trees, Jimmy wondered, "Where are we going?"

"We're just gonna check my little brothers at the playground and keep on walking into the trees."

"Do your dad and pop have security gorillas too?"

"Yup, Gary and Leo; all the Core Rimmers have a gorilla. Reyes has a G-Cat too."

Jimmy wondered, "Is Troy your dad and Sean your pop?"

Shaking his head, Jason smiled, "Swap 'em around. Troy's pop and Sean's dad."

Seeing their big brother Jason approaching, hand-in-hand with another boy, Scott Deaver and Jimmy Carr paused near the top of the jungle gym, checked with one another and began giggling. Jimmy nodded at Scott and they began climbing down. One of Kaleo's and Tory's sons, Mark Fikes asked them, "Who's that with your bro?"

"I'm not sure," Jimmy giggled.

Scott laughed, "We'll find out and be right back."

Russ Pass giggled, "Jimmy, your Mr. Fuzzy jumped outta your pocket."

Cracking up, Jimmy slipped off the lowest bar and landed on his butt in the sand. He stood, brushed himself off and picked up his Mr. Fuzzy, then loudly cackled at his puppet, "I told you to wait for Richie!" Scott, Mark, Russ and other groups of kids at the playground broke down in giggles.

After Jimmy stuffed his Mr. Fuzzy into his back pocket, he ran off with Scott toward Jason.

Just reaching the outdoor rec area, Jason grinned to tell Jimmy, "Those are my bros, Jimmy Carr and Scott Deaver. Jimmy's the one with brown hair and Scott's the shaggy blond."

Jimmy Matos smirked, "Your kid brother's name is Jimmy too? We'll have to do something about that."

Jason scowled, "What do you mean?"

Jimmy explained, "When you holler 'Jimmy', I don't want to wonder if you're calling me or your bro. My middle name is David, so I just changed my handle to JD. Does that work for you?"

Jason beamed, "You'd do that?"

Shrugging, JD checked, "Only if you like it. David's pretty common too, so I figured JD is better all around. Besides, I figure with a bunch of changes happening already, a name change ain't a bad thing."

Jason smiled, "JD fits you real nice."

"Ya think?"

"Yep."

Only a few meters away, Jimmy yelled, "You gotta boyfriend too, Jase?"

Jason softly giggled to JD, "Oh man, that sounds really good."

JD sputtered then loudly laughed, "Yup, he does."

Jason turned and widely smiled at JD. Coming to a halt before the two older boys, Scott smiled, "We're Jase's bros. I'm Scott and that's Jimmy."

JD nodded, "I'm James David Matos. Call me JD"

Jimmy giggled, "You went swimming with your Mr. Fuzzy, JD. He's a soggy fuzzy!"

"Oh, God," Jason softly chuckled.

Pulling his puppet out of his back pocket, JD checked it out, sniggering, "He's not so fuzzy anymore, is he?"

"He'll dry out," Jimmy giggled.

Nodding, Scott wondered, "Where are you from, JD?"

"Los Angeles," JD answered.

"We're from St. Joseph, Michigan, real near the lake," Scott offered.

Jimmy added, "Right across the road."

Looking up at his big bro, Scott grinned, "Have you guys kissed yet?"

Flushing red, Jason giggled and shook his head. Only his little brothers would ask that question. JD warmly smiled, "I'm waiting for Jase to kiss me, actually."

"All this time I've been waiting for you to kiss me," Jason joked.

Slowly shaking his head, JD reminded Jason, "I won already. Now I need some proof that you like me." Jason felt JD squeeze his hand.

Jimmy giggled, "What are you waiting for, Jase? Me and Richie kissed twice already!"

Stunned, Scott squealed, "When did you kiss Richie?"

Jimmy giggled, "Under water at the beach house, and then before bed that night. I ain't no dummy!"

Scott grumbled, and then asked Jason, "What time is it, bro?"

Checking his new Clan watch, Jason sniggered, "Three-thirty. School's out by now."

Scott tapped his comm-badge, impatiently calling, "Dillon, where are you?"

"I just got into the Oneula dining room," Dillon giggled.

Jimmy quickly asked, "Is Richie with you, Dillon?"

"I'm right here," Richie giggled.

Pulling his Mr. Fuzzy onto his arm, Jimmy giggled, "Pucker up, hot stuff!" Richie and Dillon cracked up laughing. Undeterred, Jimmy ran across the outdoor rec area field toward the dining room.

"Hey!" Scott hollered, and ran after his brother, yelling, "Don't you kiss him again, Jimmy!"

JD sniggered, "What are you waiting for, Jase?"

Jason grinned, "You really want me to kiss you?"

Nodding, JD softly admitted, "I've never been kissed, and I really want you to be the first."

Surprised with himself for not jumping at the opportunity, Jason asked, "You're really serious?"

JD giggled, "There you go being too cute again. I won't kiss you until you kiss me first."

Jason sighed, "I really don't know why I'm not goin' for it. Me and all my bros knew we wanted and needed boyfriends, before we even got out of the store."

Frowning, JD softly wondered, "Is your heart that set on Leo?"

"No," Jason firmly replied. "Leo's real cute and super nice, but I know I can't wait for him. Friends is where we're at, and that's kewl. I've been keeping my eyes open all day, lookin' for someone. You and I have talked, we're more alike and everything's really kewl. You're even blond too. Why am I standing here yappin'? I really don't know what's going on with me. It's definitely me, cos it sure ain't you."

Slightly relieved, JD checked, "Is it Kenny or anyone else?"

Vigorously shaking his head, Jason scowled, "Kenny's like a brother, no sparks at all. Dee's super nice, but he's not ready either. There's really no one else or any reason at all."

"Now you're shaking," JD grinned.

Realizing it was true, Jason huffed, "I'm so fucked up."

Gesturing toward the trees, JD prompted, "Come on, the gorillas are waiting." They started walking. JD confirmed, "If I ask you something, will you tell me the truth?"

Nodding, Jason assured, "That's what I want from you, so yeah, I promise."

"Think about this real careful, okay?" JD prompted.

"Okay."

JD offered, "You were really strong when I first asked to talk to you. You thought we were goofin' on you, so it's understandable. Since then, you've been getting a little softer and less sure of yourself."

"I guess that's true."

"Which side of you did you show Leo and Dee?"

"The stronger, more sure side."

"Interesting," JD giggled.

Jason smiled, "What's so funny?"

"It's not funny, but it is very cute!"

Through his giggles, Jason moaned, "Oh God, what've I done?"

JD explained, "You're sure of yourself and comin' on strong with dudes, until they tell you they only wanna be friends. For the first time, you're seeing someone who wants to be with you." JD raised their clasped hands, grinning, "You haven't let go of me. That shows, at least a little, that you're kewl with me, and most of what I've said and done."

"I am."

"That's it then, Jase; you'll chase after dudes who're cute and nice, but you've never had the tables turned on you. Now you know sixteen dudes were interested in you. I'm still not giving up though. You're the boyfriend I want now. Everything you've done all day and the way you are now makes it a certainty, to me anyway. Now I get to drag you out of the funk to see the light."

"That'll be a neat trick," Jason giggled. "What're you thinking will do..."

Stopping short just beyond the tree line, JD firmly pulled Jason into his arms and kissed him hard, exactly how he had wanted to kiss Jason before they had ever said a word.

Wide-eyed, Jason whimpered beyond the tongue invading his mouth. It wasn't a huge adult tongue. It wasn't one of his brothers' tongues. It was a soft, sweet tasting tongue. Getting into it, Jason held on tight. JD's tongue retreated and Jason's tongue went searching for its playmate. JD helplessly chuckled into their kiss. Practically swooning, Jason had to stop and catch his breath. His head dropped onto JD's shoulder, dreamily sighing, "Nice, really nice."

JD softly giggled, "You're welcome."

"That was awesome!" Jason panted. "Why'd you want me to kiss you?"

"I figured, the confident Rimmer son I saw leading us around would prefer it that way," JD chuckled. "Come to find out, that same take control dude wants a take control boyfriend too. He hits on the dudes he knows deep down that he can't have. I can take control, Jase, but I do want you to take control too. I really wanted you to kiss me first. You gave me no other choice, so I took a chance."

Grinning madly, Jason held on tighter then dove into the crook of JD's neck. Attaching his mouth and sucking hard, Jason started to prove to his new boyfriend that he knew a few things. 

"Omigod!" JD gasped, and then began uncontrollably giggling. Feeling his knees buckling and his dick growing, JD held on tighter, laughing, "OMIGOD! JASON!" Over the next moments, JD cringed and collapsed, with Jason still attached, guiding and supporting both of them down to their knees. Periodically, JD bellowed for the almighty and Jason, hoping one or the other might reply.

JD's cries didn't go unnoticed for long. Sean's gorilla, Leo came out of the trees. Jason waved. Leo grinned, "Sorry, Jase. It sounded like a kid was in trouble." Jason uncertainly grunted. JD shivered and bellowed laughing louder, because the grunt felt as wicked kewl as the ravenous sucking Jason was doing. Leo offered, "I'll be close by if either of you need anything." Jason hummed affirmatively and flashed Leo a thumb-up.

Intensely shivering from two quick hums in a row, JD roared, "WAIT A MINUTE!"

Leo teased, "Jason hasn't gotten a drop to feed on yet. He did tell you that he's a vampire, didn't he? Day-walker is the correct term, but in this instance, all-day-sucker works too. I think playing with his food is a family trait."

Jason helplessly sniggered at Leo's jokes. Hysterical and wheezing, JD hiccuped. Withering, JD dropped his arms off of Jason's back. In small increments, JD lowered to the ground and Jason followed. JD teetered and Jason guided his boyfriend to the ground. Kneeling over JD, Jason evilly grinned, "How's it goin', Leo?"

Leo chuckled, "Good. You achieved your goal?"

Nodding, Jason giggled, "Giving a hickey is almost as fun as getting one."

"Learn something new every day," Leo grinned. "Who's your friend?"

Jason smiled, "James David Matos, or JD." Looking down, Jason giggled, "JD, this is Leo, my dad's gorilla." Still giggling and barely able to lift an arm, JD waved.

Leo chortled, "Do I need to keep quiet about this?"

"Nah, I'll introduce JD to my dad and pop later."

---

Ewa Beach FYS Building, Conference Room 1A

Monday, November 8, 2004 3:33PM HTZ

With his entire team, Prez went to the FYS Building, asking for his mom and dad to attend the teleconference call with the FBI Director. Having the Division's FYS Director and the Director of Family Clan Short Legal Services present, Prez believed would be prudent. The last things requested were for the entire teleconference to be recorded and to have someone of authority at Orlando Headquarters monitoring.

In his sub-vocal, Seth teased, "I'm not just anybody, but will I do, Prez?"

Widely smiling, Prez chuckled, "Don't you ever take time off, Seth? Right after this call, go find Harry and a bed, in that order."

"I'll take it under advisement," Seth chortled.

"Take it under Harry," Prez softly joked.

Seth evilly snickered, "Now I get to try to keep that image in my mind and deal with business. Let's see what this FBI doofus wants."

Prez called, "We're ready now, Alden."

"Standby for Director Smithfield," Alden replied over the speakers.

A moment later the large screen on the wall flashed to life. A middle aged man with slight gray at his temples, and wearing a charcoal pin-striped suit, white shirt and navy blue tie appeared. Already, Prez didn't like the man. His suit was ultra-conservative and he appeared to be a dweeb on his best days. This was the kind of man that would wear plaid shorts and a striped sport shirt on the weekends. Very likely, he had little hearts on his cheap boxer shorts. For all Prez knew, he probably completed his weekend wardrobe with nylon socks and cheap canvas sneakers too.

Struggling to maintain a straight face, John sent, 'Stop it, Prez! Cesar and Felipe just howled laughing at the poor man they were scanning in Aunt Anna's office. Your Intel Director is about to fall on the floor and crack up.'

"Good afternoon, Director O'Brian," Director Smithfield warmly greeted.

In full Vulcan mode, Prez flatly returned the greeting then purposefully took the time to introduce his parents and all the Core Rimmers along with their formal titles. Dreading actually speaking the words, but having no other choice, Prez asked, "What can we do for the FBI?"

Director Smithfield said, "I have heard through the grapevine that your Division has decided to assist local authorities in maintaining the peace. Despite various actions of my predecessor, which caused much friction between Clan Short and our Department, I would like to extend an olive branch, in the hope that by pooling resources, we can assist each other with apprehending individuals and groups which are using the recent invasion attempt to upset a fragile situation worldwide. I have at my disposal a classified amount of Special Forces teams, which I would feel quite comfortable in deploying, based on information that you provide, to assist your members in performing their duties. In return, I will release information that we receive which might prevent abusive situations before they occur."

Prez briefly turned to his dad, and then his mom, all the while receiving confirmation from John that the man was being earnest and did want to correct existing poor relations. In his sub-vocal, Seth said, "You have Headquarters approval if you wish to accept."

Prez noticed the FBI Director's hands nervously fidgeting on his desk. John told Prez, 'He's really hoping that we accept, Prez. I can't focus on his intentions and motives through the TV's refresh rate and across three-thousand miles. I'm good, but not that good.'

"We have much to discuss, Director Smithfield," Prez stated. "I have read many reports of citizens upholding the law in their cities and towns, during Friday and into Saturday. There were also reports of organized crime working with police in Chicago and Las Vegas. Los Angeles was not amongst those cities. We have a nine-year-old boy here who was the only person under eighteen to escape his Central Los Angeles neighborhood alive. His parents died because of members of the Crips playing with their automatic weapons."

"I am aware of Walter Daniel Scott, Nadine Scott and Leo Daniel Scott," Director Smithfield said. He checked his notes, adding, "I am also aware that another gang started a fire, that got out of control and destroyed the home of... Carlos and Lois Matos. The Bloods were not directly responsible for the deaths of the Matos family. Every family you've investigated, so has the FBI. The FBI supports your decision and is prepared to assist."

"New York City was another riot zone," Prez categorically stated. "A dozen kids are here that used to live there. Children and parents of children are dying in the streets, Director." He then quickly asked, "Are you prepared to cut through the red tape and dispense with the bull?"

"Yes, I am. My orders originated with the President Of The United States."

Prez nodded, "Then you know the Crips took a stance of friend or foe with no safe middle ground?"

"I do."

Prez growled, "I intend to shove that decision right down their throats! The corpses of the Scotts' murderers will land directly on the porches of their families, with the same ultimatum." Jen Hundser looked at her adopted son almost like she didn't recognize him. 

"If need be," Prez continued, "Clan Short Special Forces are prepared to make stands in every major city where the Crips exist, from Miami to Seattle and from Chicago to Houston. Somehow or another, these assholes have gotten away with drug trafficking, extortion and murder. We'll hit them a city at a time or in groups, to protect our children. Our telepaths will scan them and determine who is guilty of what. We'll take away their ability to make a buck and take a breath. Are you still willing to assist?"

"I have thirty Seal teams standing by for your orders, Director. The same amount of Green Berets are also at your disposal."

Prez said, "The families of four men will be preparing funerals this weekend, Director. I have contacted our Special Forces commander to prepare to raid all the funeral homes. Since Las Vegas, Phoenix and Tuscon are within a day's drive of Los Angeles, Colonel Wilkins suggested that we prepare simultaneous raids in those cities. We estimate two-hundred-fifty armored personnel and ten helicopter gunships per city."

"Give me four hours. There are other organizations which have pledged clandestine support for your group that would be more than happy to provide maid service in this situation."

Typing madly on his PADD, Prez said, "I am transferring Command of this operation to Colonel Wilkins, so that he can designate authority figures and prepare his troops. Family Clan Short is here primarily for the children. We will be gaining innocent children from these operations; they are my primary concern."

"Please tell Colonel Wilkins that anything he needs is available to him. If I can't get it directly, I know who to call to get it. Legality is not a concern."

"You are carbon copied on this e-mail, Sir. Colonel Wilkins will contact you."

"How did you obtain my e-mail address?"

"Alden, say hello to the nice man."

Over the speakers, Alden giggled, "Hello to the nice man."

A chorus of groans and boos erupted around the table, even from Jen and Jim Hundser.

"I should have known," Director Smithfield smirked. "I'm going to start sending agents to you guys for Intel training."

Prez grinned, "From here on, I'll make policy in this operation, but will otherwise be an observer. My husband, two brothers and a brother-in-law will be performing executions later this week. My nephew, my family and every kid in this division are my concern. If there's nothing more to cover now, I suggest we adjourn."

"I agree. Good evening, Sir."

"You too. Goodbye, Director."

The screen went blank and the audio connection popped.

Dropping his head onto his arms on the table, Keith chuckled, "Crawl through the screen and get in his face, baby."

Corey giggled, "Prez, he called you 'Sir'."

"Most of us came from that country," Prez sadly groaned. "It took another war for folks to wake up and smell the coffee, once again." He turned to John, asking, "Remember what we talked about Saturday night?"

"Fine," John giggled, "ya wanna help in the bear cave?"

"We'll have about fifty little kids who'll want teddy bears," Stephen prompted.

Cocking an eye-brow, Prez nodded, "That sounds like a plan. That'll give me time to chill before getting with the King."

Jennifer softly asked, "Are you all right, Preston?"

Brightly smiling, Prez assured, "I'm fine, mom. I thought he was going to warn me against fighting with the Crips. When I heard his intentions, and that Uncle Colin had heard more than I expected to give him the order, I gave him chances to back down or prove his support. All I want to do now is chill for a few extra minutes with some little tikes. Then the team can get with our King and take a trip to Kaho'olawe. I expect the rest of the night to be easy, relatively speaking."

---

Ewa Beach Dormitory #3

Monday, November 8, 2004 3:38PM HTZ

Lance Kinchen sat on his desk chair running blues scales up and down the neck of his Les Paul. Although he had amps that he wanted to use, and an acoustic guitar, Lance was keeping as quiet as he possibly could. His roommate and new boyfriend, Scott Shetley was sound asleep on the bed they now shared. In one of those incredibly awesome moods that can only happen to teen boys after having their first sexual experiences, Lance was wide awake. Finding himself playing intricate licks only made Lance more enthused.

In a matter of three days, Lance's life had changed drastically and completely spun around. He wondered where the thirteen-year-old high school freshman had gone. Only four days prior, Lance had gone to school wearing a black Iron Maiden T-shirt, a dark navy blue long-sleeve shirt, blue jeans and a wool lined Levi jacket. His new normal attire consisted of sandals, board shorts and T-shirts. In Manhattan, he didn't even own a single pair of boardies; they were worn by dorks, preppies and the elite of the upper East side. Lance used to wear cut-offs and muscle tees during the prior summer. At that very moment, he was naked. Lance had never before sat around in the buff; he always took his clothes off in the bathroom, took a shower and was right back in clothes again as soon as he had dried off. For two days now, he routinely walked naked down the dorm hall to the mob showers.

He had been to beaches on Long Island and New Jersey no more than six times in his life, as best as he could recall. His parents weren't beach people; they would get sunburned and so would Lance. Now he was living on a Clan base not much more than five hundred yards from the shore and the Pacific Ocean. His milky white skin was getting tanned again; it was visible and obvious on his lower legs and on his arms.

Lance would easily get naked at the diving well, but couldn't stay that way for long without worrying about sunburns. Saturday, when other guys wondered if Lance was shy, he proved them wrong with a quick exposure and explanations that he would bake in the sun if naked too long. When Lance first exposed his ass, and then spun around to show off his floppy cut dick, Scott sputtered and giggled. Pulling Lance aside, Scott roared laughing, "What the hell do you think you are; an old fashioned record album? Your ass is NOT the 'A' side, and your dick is NOT the 'B' side." 

Lance shrugged and giggled, "It proved I'm not shy though. You're tanning real nice, but I just fry."

Also absent was the city tough guy demeanor. It was one of the first things he had observed from the teen Latin King boys and the ex-prostitutes. Lance and Scott had talked about all the changes starting in the Hundsers' basement Friday night. The same subject came up again a few times Saturday, but not since. Always a good student in school and in life, Lance absorbed, learned and executed the new material.

His normal routine had changed due to the New York City riots. Friday morning, he hadn't even showered before flying into clothes, grabbing his guitar and getting out of the apartment. Morning showers and quick soapy wanks had been normal for over two years. Instead, he had gone without a shower until Friday evening Hawaiian Time. He had gone without his daily release two entire days; a feat he didn't believe was possible. When he finally did take care of himself during the pre-dawn hours Sunday, it felt like he had shot for a longer time. And then, when he stealthily watched Scott beating off Sunday night, it seemed he had literally emptied his balls.

Hearing his Les Paul wail lead lines and licks, like he had in the Oneula Beach auditorium only hours earlier, he silently remarked, 'not too shabby for a queer boy, not too shabby at all'. Thinking of Scott, the quick blues he was playing shifted to chord arpeggios. Lance spent about twenty minutes loosening another guy's ass and enjoyed it every bit as much as Scott obviously did. Twice Scott mooed and twice he had gasped at the new sensations Lance carefully administered. As nervous as Lance was, the butterflies and shakes got even worse when Scott had shot his first load and was ready to reverse their roles and get even. Where Scott had been quietly accepting for the most part, Lance couldn't stop groaning, moaning, whimpering and shouting. Lance had only needed to ask Scott if he were all right four times in that first twenty minutes. It seemed that Scott had to ask the same question at least once a minute while Lance was flat on his back with his legs spread.

Making love with Scott was so completely Earth shattering and mind boggling, Lance couldn't restrain himself after losing his first dildo elicited load. He attacked Scott with kisses and pushed his older and larger friend flat down on the bed. Scott loved it too, as his giggles and laughter clearly proved. Only when Lance straddled Scott's hips to make his intention known did Scott get serious and repeatedly warn his new lover to go slow. Although Lance had assured Scott he would go slow, and was fully aware that a real cock was not a little dildo, Scott continued his pleas. It took some time and repositioning for Lance to get Scott's thick tool only partially inside him. The most amazing and thrilling part for Lance was that Scott purposefully remained flat and motionless most of the time. Scott's giggles and laughter resumed when Lance uncontrollably notified the entire dorm how good he felt. Only after Scott had gotten Lance off did he thrust up a few times, just to make Lance bounce and gasp through giggles.

As if all that wasn't wonderful enough, Scott then went for his own ride on Lance. Looking up at his older and more defined guitar playing buddy, Lance did some comparisons. Jay Montigua was taller and had a hunky, more muscular body than Scott. Chris Stokley was simply a sexy blond who was too perfectly proportioned in every way to be a genuine human. Derrick Seibert was so undeniably cute that it was apparent when he was fully dressed and doing his Core Rimmer duties. Keith Hundser was another stud muffin with incredible abs and arms for a fourteen-year-old. All of those boys had admirable qualities, but Scott was the one for Lance. Scott didn't have cut abs, big biceps, blond hair, or dreamy hazel eyes, but he was the one enjoying his ride and incoherently growling through giggles that Lance was the very best lover and friend in the world.

Afterward, Scott rested with Lance cuddled up close. Lance admitted that he loved being called 'sexy lover boy' by Scott and wanted to hear it often, but perhaps they needed less provocative pet names for each other. Naturally, they got silly and found more suggestive names before getting serious. They were softly discussing possibilities and silently considering Scott's pet names when Lance realized Scott was falling asleep. Lance remained there, snuggled up close and silently inspecting Scott's face. Judging by the soft hairs found, Scott would one day have a nice beard and mustache. For now, this was the perfect face of Lance's partner and lover; the hottest teen boy on base, as far as Lance was concerned, and no one else's opinion mattered. Carefully and reluctantly, Lance got out of bed to let his boyfriend sleep.

Waking up, but still drowsy, Scott croaked, "Lance?" He quickly cleared his throat.

"Right here," Lance smiled, and completed the section he had been playing.

"I'm really sorry, man," Scott yawned. He shook off the yawn, and then offered, "Remember me saying that I was thinking about how to talk with you about last night?"

Standing with his guitar and turning to face his partner, Lance giggled, "Yep."

Propping himself up on his arms, Scott watched Lance put his guitar in its case, smirking, "That was between midnight and almost five in the morning. I guess three hours sleep didn't cut it."

Walking to the bed, Lance sighed, "You stayed awake thinking of that?"

Nodding, Scott said, "I had to consider both of us. There's no way I could've said a word without being sure I could follow through. How long was I out?"

Crawling onto the bed, Lance stole a tender kiss then whispered, "About an hour. You followed through, all right. All the questions are answered now."

Scott stole a kiss of his own, then grinned, "You were awesome in every way."

"You are fantastic, Scott. I'm seriously hooked on you."

"Ditto, sexy lover boy," Scott smiled. "What were you doing while I slept?"

"First I took the dildos to the bathroom and cleaned them up. I fully expected someone to walk in and embarrass me again, but no one did. Then I went on an Internet search to find out why what initially hurt suddenly felt really great."

Scott sniggered, "And the survey says?"

Lance giggled, "The prostate gland is right there, about three or four inches inside and behind our balls. Even the little dildos we've got were pressing right against it. Since we're both longer than five inches, we were probably pressing it most of the time. According to the page I was reading, that's why even the dildos felt so good, and why we shot so far."

Scott chuckled, "No wonder we got really loud."

Lance giggled, "You're being too nice, man. You're the groaner-moaner and I'm the screamer."

Scott smirked, "I distinctly recall encouraging you and jacking your cock to make it happen faster. I will never complain about our volume, man. We were probably alone anyway. I only heard a door close; prob'ly Chris and Jay returning to their room."

"I couldn't figure out which way to move," Lance laughed. "Hips forward, no back and down, get that fat bone deeper, no, forward again." Rapidly nodding, Scott warmly smiled, like he had just received the compliment of a lifetime. Lance playfully sang, "We could do it all again?"

Scott grinned then checked, "Are you feeling okay enough to try? I probably could, but I think my butt would regret it. Then we're walking funny in the kitchen chow line and getting those twinge reminders."

After thoughtfully humming a few moments, Lance whined, "I know you're right, but I'm so fucking hot for you. All the stuff I was worried about has my heart racing now."

Gently rubbing Lance's arm, Scott warmly smiled, "Intercourse before we crash tonight, in different positions this time. Right now, how about we go everywhere except there?"

Taking his place laying on top of Scott, Lance softly grinned, "First, a few dozen kisses are in order. I really missed you."

Stealing the first kiss and then lowering down flat again, Scott smiled, "Are you as surprised as I am?"

After stealing a deeper kiss, Lance giggled, "I've had about a hundred surprises with you today. Which specific surprise do you mean?"

"It was all completely natural, easy and fun, entirely instinctual."

Nodding, Lance asked, "Did it seem to you the dildos were a little more difficult than the real thing?"

"Yep. I think our Core Rimmers knew that, which is why dildos were mentioned Friday night. Since they were so young when they started, I'll bet they used their fingers like we did."

Two more deep kisses were shared then Lance admitted, "It was never as painful as I thought it might be. On a scale of one-to-ten, I don't think it ever reached five. I expected far worse."

"We can thank Chris and Jay later," Scott softly acknowledged, "but mostly I think it was that knowledge mixed with the affection and love we already had, before I said a word this morning. I still see you exactly as you were and still are, as all male, Lance. I could easily get stupid and wrestle in the diving well, like we did over the weekend, but now I could just as easily spend hours gently touching you. I want everything with you, from rough playtime and normal guitar jams to the softer, more loving times."

Cheekily grinning, Lance admitted, "I can see myself going from one stage to the next without instigation or warning too. My whole attitude has changed, from what I could get and take to what I can give."

They locked eyes for a few moments, scanning the faces they knew very well, but as if they were undiscovered territory. Their smiles faded. Scott guided Lance's head and face down then they passionately kissed. Another slow, forceful grind began. Chins slid over shoulders. Soft groans and whimpers were heard clearly, seemingly creating a harmonious melody. Feeling a rising orgasm, Lance warned Scott.

"Do it, lover boy," Scott softly prompted, "we've gotta shower before dinner any how."

"I wanna make you feel good too though."

Scott breathed, "You always do. I'm so close too. Keep the rhythm goin'."

Lifting his head and planting another deep kiss, Lance moaned into Scott's mouth. Moments later it was all over except the chuckling, giggling and promises of never ending love. Tapping out a little rhythm on Lance's butt cheeks, Scott grinned, "We need to shower."

Lance giggled, "Is that 'Kashmir' you're playing on my ass?"

Nodding, Scott sniggered, "Your left cheek is my hi-hat and the right is my snare."

Throwing his head back, Lance roared laughing.

Scott giggled, "We really need to motivate before we get stuck together again."

Pushing up, Lance laughed, "This time, I'm washing your foreskin. I don't give a damn who walks in and sees me. That's a job we share from now on. Be glad if I let you wash your own dick once a day." He stepped off the bed and turned to Scott for a reaction or remark.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, Scott reached and pulled Lance closer. He landed a kiss over Lance's diaphragm, then smiled up, asking, "Are you as ready to commit as I am?" Lance's almost constant smile vanished. Scott nervously assured, "We can wait. It's kewl, man."

Shaking his head, Lance reached under Scott's armpits and guided him up onto his feet. With happy tears burning in his eyes, Lance sobbed, "Yes, Scott. There is no one else and there never will be."

Huffing a huge sigh of relief, Scott wrapped Lance in his arms, whispering, "You're really that happy?" Lance only nodded and tried to stop crying. Scott assured, "It's okay, cos I'm just as happy too now. For a moment there, I thought I rushed you and scared myself. All I'll ever need or want is you, I swear."

Trying to control himself enough to speak, Lance croaked, "While you slept, I thought of us, and compared you to every other teenaged guy on this base. None are even close, Scott. Seriously, wrap up all the best features of every other guy into one body, and I see you. I can barely believe it's me you want to stay with."

"Then I'll prove it to you, each and every day," Scott promised, and held Lance tighter, waiting for his lover's tears to dry. When Lance smiled up, Scott reached to wipe Lance's tear stained face dry then prompted, "Close your eyes." Mooing through giggles, Lance did as he was told. As he had forewarned, Scott tenderly kissed each eyelid then went for the deep, passionate kiss he had wanted to give since Lance agreed to commit. Rather than breathe through their noses, they each swapped a few breaths.

Breaking the kiss, they simultaneously gasped, "Whoa!"

Dizzily stepping back, Lance shook his head to clear it, giggling, "That was fucking incredible!"

Rapidly blinking, Scott grinned, "Another something to be repeated, often."

"Shower?"

"Shower."

They left the room, unconcerned they were nude. Watching Lance gleefully bouncing with every step, Scott grinned, "A little light on your feet there, Lance?"

"Hell yeah!" Lance giggled. Only two doors down on the same side of the hall, Lance stopped and knocked on Chris' and Jay's door, then turned an ear to listen.

Scott chuckled, "What do you want them for?"

"I gotta tell somebody!" Lance giggled.

Taking Lance's hand, Scott smiled, "I know the feeling. I wanna tell everybody," and led his giddy lover the remainder of the way to the lavatory. Hearing shower water running, they grimaced, certain their shower activities would need to be curtailed. Stepping into the mob shower changing area, Scott and Lance found Chris hanging off of Jay. All four began chuckling.

"This is becoming habitual," Scott grinned. Lance led the way into the shower.

Watching the other couple enter the shower, Jay grinned, "Can't be helped."

"It's all Lance's fault," Chris sniggered.

Lance giggled, "How is it my fault?" Scott turned on the shower across from Chris and Jay.

Jay explained, "You two transported out of the auditorium. We wanted to thank you and tell you that you did a really good job, so we walked over here."

Stepping back from Jay to clear his throat, exposing his own and Jay's hooded erections, Chris locked eyes with Lance, desperately crying, "Holy fucking hell! Scott! That feels so-oo-oo good!" Jay and Scott softly sniggered.

Quickly covering his blush with both hands, Lance helplessly laughed, "And that was from the dildo. I'm pathetic."

All four cracked up laughing. When they had quieted to mere chortling, Scott beamed, "What started this morning as experiments is now real love. I asked Lance if he was ready to make it permanent, and he said yes." Shivering with excitement because Scott had shared their new status, Lance brightly beamed.

"Awesome!" Chris cheered.

Noticing Lance stuck in the moment and smiling at Scott, Jay nodded and smiled, "We're very happy because both of you obviously are."

Coming to his senses, Lance wondered, "Is it that obvious?" and loaded a palm full of soap. He went directly for Scott's dick and washed it before washing any part of himself.

Jay grinned, "It was pretty clear this morning. You didn't separate and played the same silly shower games we were. This building and our rooms are very well insulated, but we occasionally heard both of you." He pointed up at the air conditioning vent above the bench in the changing area.

Chris smiled, "If you weren't so into the first time bliss, you might have heard us too. Knowing what we talked about before and during lunch, and seeing this result, this is the second happiest day of my life."

With his hands resting on Lance's shoulders, and knowing that his new partner was getting carried away with washing his dick, Scott wondered, "What was your happiest day?"

Seeing Chris was searching for words, Jay answered, "Chris and Rafe thought I was dead Friday. Saturday they learned I wasn't, and went to Walter Reed, with Corey and Drew, to pick me up and bring me here. Chris told me a half-dozen times it was the happiest day of his life."

Stepping back from Scott to allow him to rinse off, Lance muttered, "Now it makes sense."

Seeing only confusion across from him, Scott explained, "Friday night in the Hundsers' basement, you were just barely functioning, Chris. At the time, we thought you were tired. After Rafe went to bed, you'd get the deep introspective look, ya know?" Nodding, Chris turned into the shower and wiped his face.

Holding up an index finger to signal a pause, Jay turned Chris to face him, firmly stating, "No, baby. It never happened, I was alive under that mess, just unconscious. As soon as I could, when they asked for next of kin, you and Rafe were before my parents. Once I knew you guys were alive and safe, the rest was cake. I can't live without you either. You know that, right?" Nodding, Chris stepped closer to Jay, held on with all his might and uncontrollably sobbed. Glancing across the shower, Jay confirmed, "Don't even worry about it, guys. It's gonna take Chris some time."

Unexpectedly, Lance flung himself against Scott. Wrapping his arms around his lover, Scott loudly asked, "What's wrong with you?"

"I can feel it," Lance cried, "like it was me without you, like the whole world ended and there's nothing left to live for." Looking up into Scott's eyes, Lance sobbed, "Not again; after these last few days with you, I won't live my life alone. Without you, I'd throw my guitar into a fire. I couldn't even listen to music ever again."

"I'd rather be a hermit," all four boys simultaneously admitted. Each of them scowled and glanced at the other three.

"Okay, that was weird," Jay softly shared. He checked with Chris, "Are you feeling better?"

Sniffling and still upset, Chris sighed, "Not very much."

Leaning back to try and look in his partner's eyes, Scott softly asked Lance, "How do you feel?"

Without looking up, Lance sobbed, "Like there's a huge void in my chest."

Soothing their freaked out partners, Jay and Scott occasionally glanced at each other, wordlessly trying to understand what was happening.

Also stark naked, Erik and Travis ran into the changing room. Erik loudly asked, "What's wrong?"

Entering the shower with Erik at his side, Travis hollered, "Everything was fine, then suddenly seemed very wrong."

Scowling, Jay muttered, "You guys are way down the other hall."

Travis nodded, "Yeah. Why are Chris and Lance crying? What's going on?"

Before anyone could answer, Troy and Sean transported into the adjacent changing area. Troy scanned the six naked teens for injuries, wondering, "Are you guys okay?"

Suspiciously, Scott asked, "What makes you think anything's wrong?"

Sean slouched and smirked, "Jay's holding Chris the same way you're holding Lance, like you guys are consoling them."

"Yeah," Erik added, "and since I don't see four bones, I know something is very wrong."

"A perfectly clear, sunny day suddenly seemed very dark," Troy grumbled.

Chris held one hand up, admitting, "It was me, guys. Just the reminder of Friday, thinking Jay was dead, I kind o' lost it a little bit."

Erik, Travis, Sean and Troy incredulously shouted, "A little bit?"

Blushing slightly, Chris meekly offered, "Okay, a lot."

Clutching his chest, Troy impatiently huffed, "Give me a heart attack, why don't ya?"

Sean nodded, "We were over at Oneula, checking on our sons. We had just left the Taylors' house. Troy wanted to come visit Lance and Scott, cos he's from New Jersey and they're from New York City, and the whole guitar music thing. Then it's like a total fucking eclipse and we're running."

Troy explained, "Realizing we didn't need to run, and feeling like it was an emergency, I had Alden transport us to wherever Lance and Scott were."

Erik grinned, "Ya think that's bad?" He gestured to Travis, saying, "We were getting started up again, for the third time today. I'm just about to stuff my mouth when I see and smell smoke, like the fires all around LA on Friday."

"I saw and smelled it too," Travis admitted. "We jumped out of bed and raced out of the room looking for fire, only to find you four, in the shower, and there's not even steam!"

All eight teenagers heard a younger boy's loud laughter. Troy and Sean, the only two wearing clothes and standing in the changing room, turned and looked out toward the lavatory door. In moments, John walked in the lavatory, pulling a hysterical Stephen in with him. Troy and Sean rolled their eyes and smirked. Entering the changing room, John sniggered, "Havin' a good time, dudes?"

Troy chuckled, "I might've known."

"It really wasn't me, bro," John giggled. "I don't freak people out. I try and make them stop freaking." Seeing only disbelief on most of the teenagers' faces, John laughed, "My brothers are a completely different deal!" Stephen sputtered and lost it, laughing his little butt off again. Facing the group in the shower, John sniggered, "If any of you had listened to your orientations, you'd know this is kind o' normal, considering." Stephen roared laughing and released John's hand to sit on the bench, before his knees buckled and he collapsed. John took his T-shirt off and draped it over Stephen's face. Clutching at John's shirt, Stephen tried to mute his laughter.

John kicked his sandals off, smiling up at the older boys, "Chill. Since we're here anyway, let's all grab a pre-dinner shower and I'll explain it to you." Pushing his shorts down and off, John sent to Troy and Sean, 'All will be perfectly clear in a few minutes.' Erik and Travis went to a shower beside Scott and Lance and turned the water on. While Sean and Troy got undressed, John went inside the shower, turned the water on the nearest tap and stepped underneath the spray. When Troy and Sean walked in, John pointed at the shower head between his and the one Chris and Jay were under. Sean and Troy went there and were soon getting wet.

Nonchalantly soaping up, John grinned, "Couple one are Sean and Troy, simply because they were here and a couple first. Couple two are Chris and Jay, who were a couple long before Troy and Sean, but we didn't know that until Chris showed up, and then Jay was found. Couple three are Erik and Travis. Before they went to lunch on Saturday, they had admitted how they felt. Scott and Lance, you're couple number four. Couples two, three and four arrived here the same day and for the same reason – the Battle Of Earth.

"Only so there are no misunderstandings, let me remind you that we're all gay, in solid relationships and everything's kewl between us. Nothing said here goes out of here; it all stays in my phenomenally cosmic N-Gen mind..." In the adjacent changing area, Stephen howled laughing and stuffed John's shirt back in his mouth. John finished by giggling, "Never to be spoke of again, unless any of you specifically ask me. Kewl?"

When everyone agreed, John grinned, "Chris and Jay, who are your best friends at the moment?"

Jay answered, "Lance and Scott, with Trav and Erik moving up fast."

John prompted, "Travis and Erik, your best friends are?"

"Chris, Jay, Scott and Lance," Travis answered.

Before being asked, Scott smiled, "Chris, Jay, Trav and Erik."

Rinsing soap out from under his nads, John explained, "Everybody everywhere is slightly empathic or telepathic, whether they choose to believe it or not." He shut off the water and moved to stand between the four couples. John asked, "Sean, tell the other guys where you're from?"

Sean replied, "Frederick, Maryland."

Erik gasped, "I was born in Middletown, Maryland. We moved to LA before I turned two."

When John locked eyes with him, Travis smiled, "Philadelphia."

Swinging his arm around, John said, "When I saw all eight of you last night at dinner, I had this goofy thought and shrugged it off, because you were at three separate tables. At lunch today, six of the eight of you were together." He faced Troy and prompted, "What might've happened if Billy and Robbie didn't hook up this morning?"

Troy chuckled, "I had already told Sean that I wanted to get to know Lance and Scott a little better. We were going to have lunch with them."

"Plans change and stuff happens," John smiled. "For now, you all look at Prez, Keith, Mike, Derrick, Drew and Corey like they're something special. You might as well get used to it now, soon newbies will be watching all eight of you and thinking the exact same things. 

"Chris got upset, Jay felt his lover's pain, which got Lance upset, which set off Scott, all of which Erik and Trav experienced. Since Troy was thinking of two guitar players that he wanted to get to know better, he and Sean got in the loop and came running. We are brothers and always will be. It's almost always the first thing we say to every newbie, but you didn't get it. We don't just say it to make newbies feel good; it's real. This is only one example of what happens in Clan Divisions all around the world. Troy, your sense of urgency was felt by Prez, who was about ready to put us at yellow alert, because Keith confirmed the feelings when he felt Sean freaking out. I have mental connections to all the Core Rimmers. First, I had to calm down Keith and Prez, by which time you had Alden transport you here. Right now, Prez and Keith are at Kaho'olawe, watching Richie and Jimmy, five-year-olds trying to be like their teenaged fathers. Because Prez and Keith are relieved, two little dudes being cute has them laughing their butts off.

"You each did this without my help, just by following your hearts," John grinned. "Oh, and Stephen is hyperventilating over there because he knows what I do; couples two and four had just finished making love before coming in here, couple three was starting another round, and couple one was hoping to get in some afternoon delight of their own before dinner. Now, when weird stuff happens, each of you can explain it easily with two words – we're family." Waving, John said, "I'll see you in the dining room in a little while." He went out to the changing room to finish drying off.

Grabbing a towel from the stack, Stephen stood and began drying off his hubby. 

The first to say anything was Erik. He softly wondered, "I didn't get here until late Saturday morning, but you dudes think that much of me?" The other seven boys in the mob shower smiled. Sean and Troy softly chortled. Erik giggled, "What? It's an honest question."

Troy sniggered, "I know of all of you, but don't really know any of you. All I was doing was thinking of meeting two guitar players, from the same area of the country that I'm from, and look how that worked out."

"The last we heard, from Mike at school, was that Scott and Lance were working on becoming a couple," Sean giggled. He waved an arm at Lance and Scott, who hadn't moved out of arms' reach of each other the entire time, and giggled, "It looks pretty much done to me!"

Chris teased, "Two couples took the fast track."

"At least Scott and Lance knew each other three days before ravaging each other," Jay joked, and then winked at Erik and Travis. Jay playfully wondered, "Did it take two, three or four whole hours?" 

Turning redder by the second, Travis smiled at Erik. Shrugging because he really wasn't certain what the correct answer was, Erik giggled, "Definitely more than two hours, and certainly less than four." Scott and Lance muted their laughter by covering their mouths with their lover's shoulder.

Swiftly turning around and into Travis' arms, Erik hid his blush and softly chortled. Holding his lover tight, Travis chuckled, "Enough time has been wasted, so we made some."

Since Troy and Sean weren't around most of Saturday, Jay gestured to Erik and Travis, playfully explaining, "After getting our room somewhat organized, Chris and I took an hour nap, and then we went back to the diving well, so I could meet folks. Chris wanted to introduce Travis in particular, but that didn't happen, because Trav was with Erik. Chris pointed out Travis at dinner, when he walked in with Erik, and they got a separate table. Suspicions were confirmed when neither were seen again until breakfast."

Erik giggled, "Saturday night, we went to the CIC dining room for a snack, around half-past eleven."

Chris smiled, "Erik, we like you plenty, partly because we got to know Trav, and he's head-over-heels for you." He helplessly sniggered, "Come out of your room for more than meals and bathroom breaks, and we'll probably like you more."

Grinning, Troy asked Sean, "We took the fast track?"

Shrugging, Sean giggled, "Compared to the orphanage, no. Compared to Chris and Jay, yeah, I guess we did."

Forcing a frown, Troy groused, "I thought we went pretty slow."

Scott asked, "How did you guys meet, Sean?"

Sean grinned, "From my perspective, a week ago today I saw Troy perform with Platinum Habits. I had tunnel vision from that moment. From Troy's point of view, it was the next morning, when I went to his condo to deliver ID and debit cards."

Troy giggled, "How's the view, Tiger?"

"Yeah," Sean evilly snickered, "I'll just have to go inside and check out your view." The other six cracked up. Sean turned Troy around, looked down at his Lover's meaty ass, violently shook his head and enthusiastically giggled, "Damn, that's an awesome view!" Seeing Troy roll his eyes and blush, the other six roared.

Certain that rising problems would soon become apparent, Troy laughed, "Why are we still here, Tiger? We haven't made love since we woke up."

Turning the shower off, Sean giggled, "We'll meet you dudes where?"

"Our room is mostly presentable," Jay offered.

"Kewl," Troy smiled. "We'll meet you there in thirty minutes or so. Then we'll have dinner together. Our sons are involved with their boyfriends, so it'll be kewl."

The other six chanted, "Kewl."

Waving, Sean called, "Alden, grab our clothes and take me and Troy to our bedroom, please?"

Troy and Sean vanished from the mob shower and their clothes disappeared from the changing area.

Jay slouched, "Damn! I completely forgot to tell them to bring their Mr. Fuzzies."

Scott sniggered, "There's at least a dozen in our room, so we'll bring extras."

---

Ewa Beach, FYS Building

Monday, November 8, 4:27PM HTZ

After leaving the teenagers in the mob shower, John and Stephen went to have a very serious discussion. Telepathically, John had learned a great deal about their Battle Of Earth kids from Damon and Ian Praefectus. Out of the forty-one kids rescued that day, twenty-nine didn't know exactly what had happened to their parents. Of the twenty-nine, only Travis McAuley had been living with his aunt and uncle. It was a gargantuan task for John to consider telling any of the kids what had happened to their parents. In this situation, John had to share the burden with his mom, dad, Aunt Anna and Uncle Bill. For the second time that afternoon, John and Stephen were back in the conference room.

Since Rob Gibbons had gone with the King, and the majority of Core Rimmers, to Kaho'olawe, John tapped his comm-badge calling, "Aunt Laura, are you very busy?"

Laura Gibbons answered, "Not at the moment. I just walked into my house, to have my kids wash up before dinner, John."

"Please transport to the FYS Building?" John asked, and briefly explained, "I have news that you need to know."

Laura told her kids that she would meet them at the CIC dining room, and then had Alden transport her to John's location. She appeared in the conference room and worried, "What's wrong?"

John forced a small smile and replied, "I have information about our Battle Of Earth rescued kids, including Albert and Charles."

Taking a seat at the table beside Anna Seibert, Laura sighed, "The boys only want to know why their parents never came home. They told me about several lucky breaks they had Thursday night and Friday morning."

John nodded and smiled, "Regarding Lance Kinchen and Scott Shetley, by any chance?"

Laura giggled, "Who told you?"

Stephen giggled. John sniggered, "No one told me, not directly, anyhow. When I met Al, Charles, Lance and Scott at Des Moines, I learned that Lance and Scott made sure the two little guys got on the same bus to the Meadowlands. I saw street surveillance video of Lance and Scott crossing The George Washington Bridge into Fort Lee, New Jersey, where they met Albert and Charles, walking alone."

Laura nodded and grinned, "The boys have raved for three days about Lance and Scott."

John smirked, "What gets me is I just spent a few minutes with Lance, Scott and some other teenagers. Since meeting them Friday, I scanned Lance and Scott several times, and neither thinks they did anything very special. They only kept an eye on Al and Charles, from Fort Lee and all the way here."

Laura sighed and smiled, "For two little ones to be watched by two teenagers was plenty. They wanted to come here because this is where their guardians would be. What do you know about their parents?"

"They were killed in a commuter train derailment, on their way home late Thursday night," John answered. "Initially, it wasn't suspected to be related to Battle Of Earth, but on Sunday it was determined that the tracks were tampered with. New Jersey Police have arrested the individuals responsible and charged them with murder, amongst other destruction of property charges."

Rapidly blinking tears away, Laura nodded. Reaching to take her friend's hand, Anna Seibert asked, "Is there anything else we can do to insure justice is served?"

John answered, "We've provided additional data to the authorities in New Jersey. Any chance of plea bargaining is lost. Two hundred and twenty-six died on that train, making those men some of the worst mass murderers in history. We could take custody, I guess, but I don't think it's logical, because of all the others that were killed."

At a pause, Stephen carefully said, "That's only two of the twenty-nine kids we have information for. We can't begin to figure out how to tell any of them what really happened."

"You won't have to do anything," Bill Seaver firmly said.

Jim Hundser agreed. "We'll take care of all of them."

John shared, "There are some that I think we might need to tell, dad. AJ and Jerry are the fathers of the Hunnicutt brothers. I've already shared what I know about the Hunnicutts with AJ and Jerry, and they'll have a chat with only Kenny. Jimmy Matos is now Jason Mullins' boyfriend, which indirectly makes him part of Sean's and Troy's family. There's just too many to give bad news to. Every one of the kids lost parents under the most gruesome, violent circumstances."

Focusing on Anna Seibert, John frowned, "How can I tell you what happened to the parents of the Steib brothers? Even if you chose to not tell them specifics, they could scan you and learn more than you'd like them to know. The same problem exists with Tanner and Toby Stoeher, who don't have a new family to lean on. I can hide it from them, but no one else could."

Closing his eyes so he couldn't telepathically read more from any of the adults, John scowled, "Do we tell Lance Kinchen that his dad died from electrocution, when an underground pipe bomb exploded and cut a live wire that fell on him? The dude plays electric guitar! His mother was shot at the diner where she worked, along with five other employees. Scott Shetley's father died in a sabotaged elevator. He dropped seventeen floors. His mother was accidentally pushed off a crowded subway platform in front of a train. The parents of the Hunnicutts were beat to death in the street riots at New York's Financial District, before they made it to their train Friday morning. The Oldcambus brothers and Taron were in the mens' room at LA International Spaceport, preparing to return home to Louisville, Kentucky, when a sabotaged passenger jet exploded at the gate, killing all four of their parents and dozens of others. The parents of the Nash brothers were killed by freeway shootings, in two separate cars on two different freeways. The most insane part of all of this is that the parents of only four kids died as a direct result of a Romulan; Chris Stokley, Pat O'Hara, and Jay and Rafe Montingua. Every other kid lost their parents due to crazed humans."

Opening his eyes again, John sighed, "None of these kids need to know specifics. Anything we told them would only make bad situations worse. So, who still wants to share any of this with any kid?"

Jennifer Hundser leaned back in her chair to think for a few moments. She then asked, "I'd like to see a show of hands from those who think it would be best to lock these records, until the children affected reach the age of twenty-one?" Around the table, everyone raised a hand. Jennifer called, "Alden, lock down the manner of death records for the parents of all fourty-one Battle Of Earth children. Only when the child reaches the age of twenty-one can he choose to review the records. Use the highest level of encryption and alter the key sequence daily at random times. The only other persons who may access these files are myself and Teri Short. Also, make the video of this meeting available to Teri Short for her review."

Alden answered, "Encryption is complete. The video is being transmitted to Teri Short, also encrypted and high priority, mom."

When his wife stopped speaking, Jim Hundser tapped his comm-badge. "Lieutenant Vorik," He called.

Vorik quickly responded, "Here, Sir."

Jim ordered, "Please contact VSO headquarters and arrange for two Vulcan mind healers; one for my son, John, and another for his husband, Stephen Marr. Have them transport directly to my location, where we will wait for their arrival."

"Aye, Sir," Vorik replied. "The request is being made as we speak. Estimated arrival in five minutes. Vorik out."

John grinned, "Is that really necessary, dad?"

Jim could barely believe the question and blinked at his N-Gen boy. Bill Seaver sadly shook his head and smirked, "I may have nightmares about what I learned in this room today. You might be able to compartmentalize your brain better, but you are still human, and empathic to boot. It's better to be safe than sorry."

Bill had only just stopped speaking when his comm-badge chirped. His wife, Lanna called, "Bill?"

He tapped his comm-badge, answering, "Yes, love?"

Lanna giggled, "Please tell me why Cesar and Felipe are laughing their tiny butts off. They only told me to ask daddy."

"There's no point in trying to keep secrets in our family any more," Bill sniggered. Across the comm-badge, Cesar and Felipe howled laughing. Bill chuckled, "I was thinking that we still have empty rooms in our home that need to be filled."

"By whom?" Lanna giggled.

"Tanner and Toby Stoeher could fill one," Bill smiled.

"Fine," Lanna laughed, "I guess we'll need a larger table for our family at dinner tonight, since Gayle Gibson hasn't left me all day."

Bill's adopted daughter, Rena Hawkin, giggled, "Daddy, I want a little sister. There's too many boys in our house."

"I wanna big sister, daddy!" the five-year-old level two orphanage girl squealed over the comm-badge.

Insanely giggling, Stephen faked tapping his comm-badge and called, "Lieutenant Vorik, better make that four mind healers." John cracked up.

---

Kaho'olawe Island

Monday, November 8, 2004 4:30PM HTZ

Other than John, Stephen, Sean and Troy, all the other Core Rimmers went with King Aalona to visit the now populated island. Only two of The King's security were fit enough to leave the hospital and return to duty. That morning, Rob Gibbons had joined The King with his own security team. They were among the group taking the afternoon trip, as well as all the Core Rimmers' security teams. Many of the Core Rimmers' sons and their boyfriends came along.

During the morning, King Aalona learned that people from China, Japan, the United States, the United Kingdom and Russia were peacefully coexisting on the island. Bored adults returned to their normal jobs and occupations, or had found new ways to contribute to the community. Development that had been done primarily by US Army Corps of Engineers was now being done by refugee construction professionals. Community services, like hospitals, fire and police departments were in operation. At the northern end of the island, air traffic controllers, fishermen and tourist cruise boats were beginning to do their jobs. Centrally located elementary, middle and high schools of the same design as the Ewa Beach school existed and were orienting kids. Herds of cattle and sheep were roaming on the mountain slopes. Farmlands for fruits, grain and vegetables were being sown. On the mono rail from the north end of the island and heading southwest, King Aalona and Rob Gibbons shared all this information with the Core Rimmers.

Mike asked his dad, "Have there been any problems?"

Rob shook his head, smiling, "Amazingly, the only problems have been communications frustrations. The majority speak English, but accents and slang usages have been forcing people to slow down and listen carefully. They're addressing that issue by preparing an office building for use as a college."

King Aalona smiled, "The first native Kaho'olowan was born Saturday afternoon, a girl. Shops are opening at Seibert Mall. Having homes, family and food provided, they did all this of their own accord. It started Saturday and continued into Sunday. Adjustments are still being made, however they are cooperating." The mono rail car slowed. King Aalona said, "We will exit at this stop. The Southwest end of the island is now a beachfront recreation area. I did not have the opportunity to visit here this morning."

The large tourist party followed the King and his security off the monorail. Patiently waiting for Prez and Keith to step onto the station platform, King Aalona observed, "You have been very quiet."

Keith smiled, "We're speechless, Majesty."

Prez nodded, "So many people were displaced. It's hard to believe all this. We were at our private beach house, on the Southeast side of the island, Saturday and until the next morning."

Derrick offered, "We knew the island was populated, but what I've seen reminds me of Honolulu and Waikiki. All day and night Saturday, we never heard sirens or any city sounds."

"Clan Short did this under your supervision," King Aalona reminded. "Materials were provided and the people went to work."

"I was in a hospital at the time, Highness," Prez chuckled.

Keith loudly joked, "That means it's all Kaleo's fault!"

With Tory and watching their five sons, Kaleo hollered from across the platform; "What am I being blamed for?"

"Turning a barren island into a populated city," Mike teased.

"It wasn't me!" Kaleo giggled, "Peter Lambert got it started and Nathan did the rest."

Peter popped in, distributed random hugs, and then handed Keith a miniature purple hardhat. "Just give this to Kaleo," Peter softly said, "and watch his reaction!" He giggled and vanished again. Scratching his head and grinning, Keith took the strange little cup to Kaleo.

Nathan smirked, "Yup, I built everything, all by myself. It's no wonder I'm still looking for a boyfriend, you slave drivers."

Prez sniggered, "You were invited Saturday. I'll get ya hitched, but you'll need to provide the hitching post." Rolling his eyes and mooing through giggles, Nathan returned to monitoring little kids going down the stairs.

Showing Kaleo the little purple hat, Keith softly asked, "Is this yours?"

Tory cracked up. "Nope," Kaleo sniggered, "Tory makes sure I wear mine."

Keith grinned, "What in the world is it?" Tory howled laughing.

Taking the little hardhat, Kaleo held it in front of Keith's crotch, giggling, "You'll need a purple jock to hold it place."

"Prez will hold it for you, Keith," Tory chuckled.

Walking down the platform steps to the street level, King Aalona smiled at the playful boys and young men, cheerfully telling them all, "Clan assistance has created a thriving community of diverse cultures. They were helped and are now helping each other. More often than not, goods and services are being bartered, without contract. I was told that the mother of the baby girl was in labor for ten hours. During those hours, the grandmother prepared meals and sent the other children to deliver meals to the families of the doctor and nurse. That is one example of what is happening here, and why I wanted to return with you."

Before the King, Rob Gibbons, Keith and Prez made it all the way down the steps, Joey hollered, "I smeww cookies!"

"YEAH!" cheered about twenty other young boys.

The boys ran across the road. Reyes giggled, "Oh, shit!" and ran after his brothers and the pack of rug rats. Paul, Ryan, Drew, Corey and Leo followed the kids. The personal security for Reyes, Drew and Corey hurried after them all.

Sadly shaking his head, Mike smiled, "Sorry, Majesty. Joey hasn't had food in three-and-a-half-hours."

"There's no need to apologize," King Aalona grinned, "Kaimi is among them."

The pack of cookie seekers followed their noses along the concrete path toward the beach, turned a corner and disjointedly screamed, "COOKIE ICE CREAM SAMICHES!"

Rounding the corner with the King, Derrick noticed Reyes, sandwiched between Paul and Ryan, a fair distance back from Kaleo, Tory, Drew, Corey and all the ravenous boys. Reyes giggled at his dad, "It's safer here."

Derrick smirked, "Take a break, big brother; dad and pop are here now." Locking eyes with Paul and then Ryan, Derrick instructed, "Silence your boyfriend."

Ryan's eyes danced. Paul evilly grinned. Ryan slid in front of Reyes and Paul slipped behind him. A moment later, Ryan was searching for Reyes tonsils and Paul was snacking on Reyes neck.

Kaleo asked the elderly shopkeeper, "Do you have enough chocolate ice cream for this gang?"

"Just enough, I believe," the shopkeeper replied.

Tapping his sub-vocal, Kaleo ordered, "Alden, get two five-gallon tubs of chocolate ice cream, twenty pounds of flour, ten pounds of brown sugar, ten pounds of sweet butter, five pounds of chocolate chips and ten dozen eggs. Deliver it all to the counter directly in front of me."

Carefully and politely, the shopkeeper said, "That is far more than necessary, Sir."

The items Kaleo ordered appeared on the counter. Kaleo shrugged, "This is how business is done here. Besides, this is less than a tenth of our family too. When I come back with the other three-hundred, you'll remember."

The shopkeeper chuckled, "Yes, Sir." A younger man came from the back of the shop to gather the tubs of ice cream and take them back to the storage freezer.

Certain that the shopkeeper didn't believe Kaleo, Tory called, "Mike, how many kids in our Clan?"

"Three-hundred-ninety-two and holding steady," Mike replied.

The shopkeeper stumbled and accidentally jammed his fist into the tub of ice cream he was scooping from. He glanced around, rapidly blinking. Taking hold of Tory, Kaleo sniggered, "Teenage endurance."

Scooping ice cream onto the next large chocolate chip cookie, the shopkeeper chuckled, "Yes Sir. I can still recall those days."

Reyes suddenly broke down laughing. Paul had reached both arms under Reyes shirt to tweak his nips. Ryan was tickling Reyes lower ribs. Paul evilly sniggered, "I can't find the station yet. Two on one is fun!"

Nodding, Ryan giggled, "This how we play in public too. Reyes has no idea what's in store for him when we're alone."

"He's got perky nips and a real nice crack, bro."

"The front's got a good bit more than I expected too."

"Wanna swap?"

"Sure!"

Paul and Ryan began to swap places, but they both went to Reyes right side, allowing him to escape to his left. Laughing his ass off, Reyes took steps three-at-a time, down to the beach. Chasing after their boyfriend, Paul and Ryan loudly bitched each other out. Reyes ran directly for the ocean, with Paul and Ryan only two paces behind him.

Taking seats on a nearby bench, Jimmy and Richie were feeding each other and their Mr. Fuzzies their cookie ice cream sandwiches. On the next bench, Scott and Dillon were using their Mr. Fuzzies to hold the ice cream sandwiches they were feeding each other. Between giggles, they'd make lip smacking kiss sounds and hum hungrily when they were ready for more Mr. Fuzzy cookie ice cream kisses.

AJ held Shaun Hunnicutt on his hip with one arm. Seeing Richie with Jimmy, Dillon with Scott, and Geoff walking to the benches with his big brother Mike, Shaun forgot to swallow. Softly giggling, AJ wiped Shaun's chin. "Daddy?" Shaun called.

AJ smiled, "Yeah, what's up, buddy?"

Shaun wondered, "Does Mike got a boyfrien'?"

"Maybe so," AJ chuckled.

"Will I gets a boyfrien' too?"

"There are lots of boys who may be your friend," AJ explained. "One day, maybe you'll find a really special friend. Then you and he can decide."

Shaun yelled, "Hey Kenny!" When Kenny turned away from the conversation he was having with Leo to see what his youngest brother wanted, Shaun hollered, "You gettin' a boyfrien' someday, bro?" In the middle ground between Leo, Kenny, AJ, Shaun and Jerry, were Drew and Corey, sharing a single cookie ice cream sandwich and pretending they weren't hearing what was going on.

Instantly turning crimson red, Kenny smirked, "I dunno."

Shaun impatiently screamed, "Whadaya mean ya don' know?"

Leo nudged Kenny and whispered, "Just say yes, Kenny."

"But I really don't know," Kenny softly told Leo.

"Shaun's too young to understand 'I dunno'," Leo smiled.

"It's so embarrassing," Kenny softly huffed. He then corrected himself, telling Shaun, "Someday, bro."

"I gotta gets a boyfrien' too then, daddy," Shaun thoughtfully scowled.

AJ playfully explained, "Then you'll find a special boy soon. You'll want to talk with him like me and poppa talk. You'll want to play, like me and poppa play. And maybe you'll even want to kiss him, like me and poppa kiss." All this was said to Shaun, but AJ's real purpose was to get Jerry revved up. It worked like a charm. Soon, Jerry was blatantly hitting on AJ, all smartly disguised as fatherly advice to their four-year-old son.

Leo grinned, "See, all better."

"Yeah, I guess," Kenny giggled. "If I know Shaun, every morning and every night he'll ask, 'gotta boyfriend yet?' Then I'll say, no, he'll wonder, why not, and I'll go quietly kookie."

Leo giggled, "Never mind that. What were you saying about Jason and Jimmy Matos?"

Kenny teased, "Wishin' you hadn't gone to school now?"

Shaking his head, Leo giggled, "I wish I had been there to see it. We both know Jase wanted a boyfriend. I can't jump that fast, dude. Now that I think of it, what made you play the game?"

"Just because more than half the guys our age were playing," Kenny giggled. "Jase is real cute, and he's a nice guy, just way more blunt than me. If I had won, it wouldn't have worked for very long."

Dee bounced over to Kenny and Leo. Finished with his cookie ice cream sandwich, Dee had obviously worn about half of it. Kenny cracked up. Reaching a hand into his pocket for the stash of napkins he had swiped, Leo offered them to Dee, giggling, "You're a mess, cousin."

Taking the napkins, Dee giggled, "Thanks, Leo," and started wiping chocolate off his mouth. While Dee cleaned up, he asked, "Do you wanna go swimmin'? Daddy and poppa said it's kewl, cos there's lifeguards. That'll get all the chocolate ice cream cleaned up too." He stopped wiping his mouth and chin, asking, "Better?" Shaking his head and turning away, Kenny roared laughing. Shoving Kenny, Dee giggled, "If ya don't wear it, ya ain't enjoying it!"

Leo wrapped an arm around Dee and took him over to Drew and Corey. "We gotta get chocolate face cleaned up," Leo giggled.

"Dee!" Corey laughed, "How did you get chocolate near your ear?"

Dee tried to squint and be impatient, but caught Corey's laughter infection and cracked up.

Pointing to the beach, Drew sniggered, "Go ahead. Reyes is out there and we'll be along, once your brothers finish copying Dee's chocolate clown face." Watching Leo walk away with Dee, Drew had a thought that would likely embarrass his eldest son. He jogged over to Leo, paused him and whispered, "Cotton boxer-briefs and cotton shorts won't dry fast. Take them off or spend the next two days scratching your crotch."

Leo audibly gasped, and then giggled, "Good call, dad. I was considering it, but now it's definite."

Nodding, Drew smiled, "See ya in a few minutes."

Pointing at the ocean, Leo called, "Come on, Kenny. Hey, let's go, Stan." Once the four boys were jogging down to the beach, Kenny asked Leo what Drew was worried about, and Leo honestly answered.

Kenny chuckled, "Hawaiian rules are way more fun than New York City's. Skinny dippin' there won't happen."

Leo remembered, "You wore white cotton briefs over the weekend."

"And I'm wearing briefs now, but not for long," Kenny giggled. "Can you see me tomorrow, searching around for a boyfriend to shut up my brother, with one hand scratching my balls?"

Dee and Stan cracked up. Leo howled, "Great first impression!"

---

Ewa Beach Dormitory #3

Monday, November 8, 2004 5:07PM

Sean and Troy transported to the hallway outside of Chris' and Jay's room. Finding the door open and the same six boys they had showered with already dressed, Troy knocked on the door frame and Sean raised an arm. Kicked back on a bed with Jay, Chris smiled, "Come on in, guys." The stereo radio was on and softly playing classic rock.

Sean and Troy stepped inside the room. Obviously, Chris and Jay had moved the beds away from the far wall where the windows were to the two adjacent walls. Erik, Travis, Lance and Scott were sitting on the other bed, up by the headboard, across from Chris and Jay. Getting up off the bed, Chris gestured to where he had been sitting, inviting, "Right over here is kewl, guys. I'll kick back against Jay."

Jay grinned, "You're not gonna let me out of your sight the rest of the day, are you?"

Walking around the bed, Chris smiled, "You'll be behind me and out of my sight, but the answer is, no. Deal with it."

"I can easily deal," Jay chuckled. The tone of Jay's voice was clear to the other boys in the room. Although unhappy that Chris was still feeling fears from Friday, Jay was clearly thrilled Chris was attaching himself like never before. The damned cast on Jay's wrist was a constant reminder of Friday that was only delaying Chris' recovery. As soon as Jay was able, he had to make love to Chris in the missionary position, soothing his lover's shattered nerves face-to-face. It would still take more time, but the cast had to go.

Chris got settled between Jay's legs. Troy took the spot vacated by Chris. Turning to Troy, Jay nodded his head slightly toward Chris and then playfully wagged his tongue. Nodding his head and grinning, Troy signaled for Jay to go for it. Sean sat between his boyfriend's legs and leaned back. Troy took a soft chomp from Sean's shoulder. Widely smiling, Sean's face split open.

Scott shared, "We found out that Erik wanted to learn to play guitar, but sort o' gave up."

"Lessons and school homework was too much," Erik smirked. "About a year is all I could handle. My folks noticed my grades slipping, so guitar lessons stopped."

Locking eyes with Sean and Troy, Travis offered, "Earlier this afternoon, Scott and Lance jammed with Reyes and Joey."

"I'm nowhere near as good as Scott or Lance," Erik chortled. "There's no way in hell I could keep up with Troy and Mike."

Troy wondered, "What makes you think that, Erik?"

"Oh, it's a fact," Erik giggled. "On my best days, I might strum a few chords in time with a CD."

Sean grinned, "You can do anything you want, with just a little effort and a lot of caring. I've heard that dozens of times from Troy and all the other Core Rimmers. You might as well get used to it too, Erik."

 "You'll find out where your real interests are, next Monday when you take your placement tests," Troy offered.

Lance warned, "If I find out you're a musician too, you'll need to pick up a bass guitar, Erik."

"Or drum sticks," Scott added. Looking across the room, Scott smiled, "Reyes and Joey aren't our drummers. On stage today, Lance and I were outclassed by Joey, KC and Reyes."

Sean asked, "KC's here too?"

Nodding, Lance giggled, "The last we heard, he was going for a walk with Fred Eckhart. We might have another couple hooking up."

Troy chuckled, "This seems to be that sort of day. Our two oldest sons found boyfriends today. Add you and Scott, and KC and Fred, and it's been a very busy day." Sean and the other six boys softly sniggered.

Suddenly mooing and shifting uncomfortably, Lance blushed and giggled, "That's all it took for my butt to remind me what it wants." The others began laughing.

Holding his clenched fist out to Lance, Erik giggled, "It seems you and me have similar challenges, bro." Nodding and giggling, Lance knocked knuckles with Erik.

Scott squeezed Lance and softly checked, "Are you okay?"

"Fine," Lance assured, and then leaned his head back. Scott gave his lover a tender kiss. Lance dreamily sighed, "Whoever said a good kiss is like fireworks got it all wrong. It's more like a star going nova."

Slightly out of sync, the other seven smiled, "I know."

Jay sniggered, "This is just too weird."

Troy shrugged, "Not really, considering what John said earlier. If one of us didn't agree, there'd be trouble in paradise."

"We thought it was just a Core Rimmer thing until today," Sean shared. "It's one thing for Troy to look in my eyes and pretty much know what I'm thinking, and where I'm at, but they can all do that pretty easily."

Erik wondered, "What's it like to be a Clan Short leader?"

"Yeah," Chris interjected, "I have to admit, I've been wondering that too."

Leaning his head back, Sean checked with Troy. Both began giggling, wanting to tell Chris, "You'll find out soon enough!" but they restrained themselves and held it back.

Chauncey jogged past the open bedroom doorway with Rikko. Troy barked. Out in the hall, Chauncey giggled, "Okay, Rikko! Jeez!" Moments later, Rikko pulled Chauncey into the room. The Siberian Husky puppy jumped up to lick Troy's hand. Troy chuckled and gave Rikko some scratches behind the ear.

Sean giggled, "What you guys think you're imagining is real." Easily shifting through two languages, Sean told the others, "You can understand the animals. You can understand all our planet's languages, and some from other planets, especially Vulcan."

"There's a whole bunch of other stuff we learned without really studying or trying," Troy revealed. "Mostly, the jobs are easy and fun. The only exceptions have been the California Orphanages Wednesday night, and all the crap from Thursday night and through Friday."

"We occasionally have some small tasks to do," Sean explained, "like updating web pages, and orienting newbies, but mostly we're all big brothers. The best part is that we're officers in Starfleet, considered adults, able to marry and adopt kids. The adoptions were one of Saturday's highlights."

Scott grinned, "The last part must be scary."

"No, not really," Troy replied. "It's actually really kewl. In our case, we've got an eleven-year-old, a nine-year-old, a six-year-old and a five-year-old. Because of their foster-parents, they all know more than I did about sex, so they all know where their interests are. All our sons are gay, which makes it very easy for me and Sean. The two youngest were the first to find boyfriends, but we know they're mostly emulating us. Now that our two oldest are there too, we can advise them on what each step is like, emotionally and physically."

Sean added, "We fully expect to be asked about sleep-overs later. We'll approve, and then have chats with our older sons and their partners. Our boys aren't virgins, but their boyfriends likely are. Maybe they'll all want to do everything, all at once the first night, but that ain't reality."

Chauncey giggled, "I think I should leave now."

Troy smiled, "Do you know where you're interests are, Chauncey?"

Nodding, Chauncey seriously answered, "I think I'm straight, but I learned it's not the body so much as it is the person underneath. I could probably deal either way, easily enough."

"We'll see you at dinner," Sean grinned.

Waving, Chauncey whined and whimpered, telling Rikko they were going to their room and he was going to be fed dinner. Rikko raced for the door, dragging Chauncey along with him.

Picking up where they left off, Jay told the four across the room, "All the stuff we talked about over lunch, Sean and Troy will teach their sons."

Travis grinned, "All that's common sense though. Yesterday, when we went for intercourse, I was real slow with Erik and he was slow with me, methodically exploring. We didn't need explanations or instructions."

Sean said, "But you're..."

"No, Tiger," Troy quickly and loudly interrupted. He then gently reminded, "You need to forget as much as you possibly can, so I'll tell them." Sean nodded and sighed in relief. Glancing around the room, Troy said, "Our sons were fondled and filmed. Without them really saying it, we're certain each of the four of them fucked one another, on demand for a camera and perverted adults. What we know about caring and loving, Sean also knows, but from learning in the worst way. He treated me just as carefully as any other guy might, partly because he was fucked by an adult man at nine-years-old. A little spit was all that was used and he jammed it all in, held him down, and didn't give a damn that a boy was screaming and crying into a mattress.

"In California, Wednesday night, sixteen kids were treated just as cruelly, primarily by being starved. Some newbie fifteen-year-olds are shorter and thinner than any of us. We phasered those adult assholes in California to dust, for those sixteen kids, and for what Sean and many other kids go through. As satisfied as I was that two more cretins were dead and couldn't harm another kid, I still puked in a sink. Even now, after a Vulcan mind meld healing, I'm still fucking angry as hell about this shit. I was angry though when Sean told me what happened too, so I guess that's just the way it is... the way I am."

Calming himself and being calmed by Sean's gentle leg rubs, Troy sighed, "Yeah, we all know the details of how to go carefully and slowly, but assuming any boy, gay or straight, is going to know to curtail his instincts, probably isn't the wise move. Our attitude is, if you're adult enough to go beyond masturbation and oral sex to anal sex, then you'd better be grown up to listen to the facts. 

"Four of the fifteen Core Rimmers were abused kids; Sean, Kaleo, Tory and Reyes. We believe they're the exceptional ones that can act logically, using Vulcan laws, and perform duties like in California. Since there are those four, there's proof that there will be others just like them who will make themselves known. Another thought that should be considered is how many Core Rimmers will be needed for all five bases. There are nine here. There are six now at Oneula Beach. Eventually, we'll need at least six or eight at Hawaii, Maui and Kauai. That means we'll need a minimum of eighteen more Core Rimmers."

Turning to look back, Sean gasped, "Thirty-three total, Lover?"

"Minimum," Troy nodded. "It might be better to assume twelve at each base, so sixty is probably the more accurate number. We protect the west coast of America to the eastern shores of Asia. After the ZCC orphanages, is it safe to assume nothing like that will ever happen again?"

Eery silence enveloped the room. The classic rock tunes on the radio were only white noise that none of the boys noticed. Sean got up off the bed and gestured for Troy to also stand. Troy swung his legs off the bed and stood before his Tiger. "Thank you," Sean softly offered. Troy nodded and visibly shuddered. Sean wrapped his Lover up tight and gave him a few tender kisses and one deep one. Sean then took the spot, closest to the headboard and beside Jay, where Troy had been sitting. Troy moved into position, leaning back against Sean.

"I'm fucking pissed," Jay softly growled.

Travis nodded, "Me too."

Scott shared, "I was just about to fly off the bed, to hug the breath out of Troy and Sean."

"I really want to punch something before I hug either of them," Erik frowned.

Lance muttered, "There's a punching bag in the rec center we need to destroy, I think." Chris only nodded, but the four boys across the room could see fire in his eyes.

Sean grinned, "Each of us Core Rimmers watch new kids that might someday be new Core Rimmers, or maybe dorm leaders. All of you, as relatively normal guys from Battle Of Earth, are being closely watched. Maybe it's just me, but I think it's kind of weird that gay dudes like us make up the largest group of Clan leaders. I mean, as caring, gentle and loving as we can be with our boyfriends, we turn around and put on our Vulcan attitudes, carry phasers, and are completely prepared to murder for the sake of justice."

"That's not so weird, Sean," Chris softly offered. "I've only fought twice in my life, and both times were for Jay."

Jay sniggered, "You started one of those fights."

"He was being an asshole!" Chris loudly proclaimed. The rest of them roared laughing for longer than necessary, just to blow off steam. Showing Troy a little scar on his index finger, Chris sniggered, "I busted his tooth too, the fucking jack-off."

Lance asked, "What if we want to be Core Rimmers? Do we talk to Prez?"

Shaking his head, Troy smiled, "Any of the Core Rimmers might talk to you. Take it easy and just consider the possibility. You're all angry because of what I was telling you. It's completely understandable, but don't jump on emotions in this case."

"Jump your boyfriend to show some good emotions," Sean softly giggled.

"That works for me!" Lance cheered.

While the others chortled, Scott grinned, "Later, sexy lover boy. We're going to take Erik's and Trav's example and disappear after dinner."

Widely smiling, Erik softly checked with Lance, "Sexy lover boy?"

"I know," Lance giggled. "We're sifting through better pet names, but I can't help liking it. Talk about your massive ego boosts!"

"Know this too," Sean added. "Prez and Keith are completely supportive of relationships and families. In all circumstances, family and partnerships come first. All of us talk all the time, and John helps us share stuff too. Most of the Core Rimmers are off base, at Kaho'olawe now. We'd already been there and needed to check on our sons. Another good example is Troy's mom; who didn't learn we were fathers until the next morning. We knew we had to take care of that task before dealing with ninety-five newbies an hour or so later."

Troy shared, "Pet names become obvious. But there's one other thing I wanted to say about the Core Rimmer job." When everyone was paying attention, Troy shared, "The first orphanage was worse than the second. Logic dictated the first two adults be executed. My gut feeling was to execute the other two at the second orphanage, but Vulcan logic dictated otherwise, life imprisonment. That's frustrating, when you do one thing, but really want to do another. The training is valuable and useful, but we're humans, not Vulcans. As you just saw, my emotions surfaced from memories alone. When a job is actually being done, it's not the same. I didn't think of how I'd react after the fact when I was actually in the position of delivering justice."

"Organizing priorities," Jay muttered.

Nodding, Troy smiled, "Exactly. If you can't be your partner's best half, deal with family and be a Core Rimmer, then expect any of us to tell you, 'go take care of those other things first'. Again, it's frustrating when there are only fifteen of us for almost four hundred kids. That's why I'm thinking more like ten Core Rimmer's per base would be good. Saturday we had most of the day to ourselves, but when Prez wanted to have a team chat late that night, his first words were, 'go take care of each other first, we'll chat later'."

Sean helplessly giggled, "I ate dinner with Prez, Keith, Mike and Derrick the night before they were made leaders. At that time, they were members of a band, nothing more. They were and still are so kewl. To this day, they haven't changed much at all. That chat we had Saturday night was in the buff. All of us were naked, talking about ourselves, our kids, our histories, and plans for the next day, like we had clothes on and weren't gay. They just have this way that I can only hope to someday imitate. Honestly, I saw dicks, but paid very little attention to any of them."

Troy grinned, "If I were there, at the same place as any of them, Sean and I would've toweled off in our bathroom at home and transported here nude for this chat. For example, think of how John was in the shower earlier. Six of the eight of us were naked. He had something to share, so he got naked and told me and Sean to strip too. A ten-year-old is comfortable enough to talk to a bunch of teenagers, nude. He was the only one in that shower without a single hair on his dick, but he's that confident to talk to us as his equals." He paused to chuckle, "I don't know about you guys, but I had the worst case of butterflies in my gut when I had to change clothes for junior high gym class. I didn't want to see underwear, never mind who had how much hair, or how I measured up to the other guys."

Thankful that Troy was being so truthful, Erik grinned, "I remember that, but ya know, I didn't even think of John. I was still a little freaked from non-existent smoke and fire, and the fact we all tuned in on Chris and Lance."

Jay firmly implored, "Don't ever change, Erik. It was freaky then, but we understand it now. You guys being that concerned really mattered."

Chris nodded, "To put it bluntly, you'd have to go out of your way to purposefully piss us off."

Scott nodded, "It really was great. I think all of us in this room are going to spend a lot of time together." He quickly focused on Troy, chuckling, "Isn't that right, Mister Music Teacher?" Sean began giggling and squeezed his Lover tighter.

Slowly nodding, Troy chuckled, "You might not like me as a teacher." Sniggering denials flowed around the room. Troy grinned, "Okay, before you say anything more, answer this; in the key of C major, you're playing against an E minor seventh chord, so what mode would you play?"

Scott was thinking, but had only heard of modes and couldn't recall any names. Lance had never heard of them at all, and Erik only new names of the notes and a few simple chords. After a few moments, Lance and Erik turned to one another and shrugged. Jay sniggered. Lance looked back at Scott to find a thoughtful scowl. Trav and Erik looked across the room. Chris laughed, "Don't look at me. I forgot how to play with myself about three years ago!" Jay, Sean, Erik and Travis cracked up.

Pointing across the room at Troy, Scott joked, "I don't like him anymore!"

Softly sniggering, Sean slid sideways down the headboard onto Jay's shoulder. Troy chuckled, "That funny lookin' electronic thingamabob on your desks is a laptop computer. It can be opened and powered on. When your done searching for the biggest dicks in the world, look up music modes. 'E' is the third note of the scale in the key of 'C', therefore the mode is named phrygian. That was easy. What if the chord is E minor flat nine? Now you've gotta go searching for an E minor scale that has an F natural in it." He giggled, "I know the answer. Let me know when you think you do."

Lance grinned, "You wouldn't really be like that as a teacher, Troy."

"Course not," Troy smiled, "but the fact is, you've got an entire week to lookup and learn whatever you want." He helplessly sniggered, "As we all know, a wise man makes use of the tools available to him, at all times."

"Evil," Sean softly chortled, "just plain evil."

"Okay," Scott laughed, "you're back on my good side, Troy. At least in this respect, we're on the same page." The other seven boys nodded and evilly snickered. "Wait a minute!" Scott loudly ordered, and then chuckled, "E minor flat nine, it's still the phrygian mode in C, no matter what key the song is actually in. That was a trick question!" Warning moos erupted around the room.

Nodding, Troy sniggered, "Very good!"

Lance giggled, "We got new acoustic guitars from Mike today."

"I heard," Troy smiled.

Scott prodded, "Would you show us the modes, please."

"Sure, and then we'll go have dinner," Troy answered.

All eight boys started to get up. Troy, Sean, Lance and Scott walked out of the room and went two doors down the hall. Chris stopped at his already powered up laptop computer. Travis wondered, "What are you checking, Chris?"

Tapping away at keys, Chris grinned, "I've always wondered, and now, since Troy joked about it, I have to know, how big is the world's record largest dick." Erik, Jay and Travis cracked up.

Over the ceiling speakers, Alden giggled, "Thirteen-and-a-half inches long by six-and-a-quarter in circumference. He was stopped at San Francisco International Spaceport in 1999, for carrying a concealed weapon."

All four loudly laughed, "NO SHIT!" and staggered out of Chris' and Jay's room. They hurried down the hall and shared that information with Sean, Troy, Lance and Scott. Troy's guitar lesson was delayed several minutes while details were shared, remarks were made and partners assured each other they were perfectly satisfied with endowments.

Before sitting down with Lance's guitar, Troy hollered up at the ceiling, "I know you're listening, Alden!"

"Of course!" Alden and his brothers chorused.

Sean giggled, "That's more opinions to reference."

Travis asked, "Since you see everything, has any of us lied or even exaggerated?"

"No," Alden giggled.

Scott checked, "What's the average erect size?"

Alden giggled, "Between five and six inches long, and between three-point-five and four-point-two inches in circumference."

Erik smirked, "So all of us told the truth, even though we've only known each other a few hours. We're all a bit more than average in various ways. What does that tell you?"

The seven AI's giggled, "You're not shy and really horrible liars." All eight boys helplessly chuckled.

Jay playfully warned, "If I see one of you with a monster cock, I will chase after you with a carving knife." The AI's cracked up.

Sadly shaking his head and covering his eyes with one hand, Lance giggled, "I can't take this anymore."

Alden teased, "Scott is very sorry to hear that, I'm sure."

Only to change the subject, Scott asked, "Troy, would accompaniment work for what you want to show us?"

Troy nodded, "Sure. Just strum through the chords of the C major scale, one chord per measure, in four-four time. The primary modes are built off the major scale, just starting with different notes. In this case, we're in C, so the first measure, I'll play off of C. The next measure I'll play the very same notes, but start with D. It's not a D major scale, it's the D minor, the dorian mode; both the F and C are naturals, not sharps like they would be in D major. It's the same concept all the way through all eight notes; in the third bar I'll play E, in the fourth bar I'll play F, and so on."

Getting his acoustic out, Scott admitted, "I'm not sure how to play a B diminished chord, man."

Troy nodded, "Not a problem. Play the G dominant seventh chord instead."

Lance blinked, "Why does that work?"

"Because the important tones are 'B' and 'F'," Troy explained. Noticing that Lance was still lost, Troy smiled, "Blues in C major; the chords are C, F and G seventh. You almost always finish the progression with F, G seventh to C, because 'B' and 'F' resolve perfectly to 'C' and 'E'." Troy quickly played the B and F as a chord and then C and E as a chord. As soon as the others heard it, they understood. "It's called the tritone," Troy explained. "Three whole tones distance from one note to the next. It's the wicked kewl trick Tony Iommi used very often in Black Sabbath." Realizing that Troy knew stuff about one of his favorite bands, Lance's eyes widened. Troy checked with Scott, told him to count off a full four beats and then they would both play. As soon as they started, Troy called out the mode names with each new measure; "Ionian, dorian, phrygian, lydian, mixolydian, aeolian, locrian, and back to ionian." 

Listening to the notes ring from the guitars, Troy then muttered, "This is a damn nice axe; awesome tone, nice feel..." For another minute or so, Troy ran through a few chords, scales, lines and licks, causing Scott and Lance to whimper. Sean, Jay, Chris, Erik and Travis softly sniggered. Troy hollered, "Hey, Alden! Contact Taylor Guitar Company. Tell them we'll need about a hundred of these by the end of the week, and about three hundred by the end of the year. If they need money for the various resources required, ask how much they need and give them that amount as a down payment. Let Prez and Mike know what's happening too."

"Yes, Sir," Alden giggled.

Troy impatiently shouted, "Don't call me Sir!"

"Yes, Ma'am," Alden giggled. The other seven boys in the room helplessly sniggered. 

Standing, Troy gave Lance his guitar. Lance looked at it and then at Troy. Shaking his head sadly, Lance whined, "All the really kewl stuff I played before seems like garbage now."

Troy smirked, "Don't feel that way, Lance. With Scott, you two can learn a lot; what I had to do over years with a little cassette tape recorder. Guaranteed, you'll learn twice as fast."

Seeing Scott and Lance were still discouraged, Sean asked, "You know about incentive?" When they nodded, Sean smiled, "What's better incentive than impressing your lover?" Moving behind Sean, Troy made Sean's neck a pre-dinner appetizer. Cringing, Sean giggled, "Lesson mastered, sex break, start a new lesson and repeat." Widely smiling, Lance and Scott nodded then put their acoustic guitars back in the cases.

Chris grinned, "We'd better get Troy fed," and took hold of Sean's right hand. Jay took Sean's left hand then led the two attached lovers from the room. Each with arms on Troy's shoulders, Erik and Travis followed. Scott and Lance grabbed a quick kiss then hurried after their friends. Scott closed and locked their dorm room door.

Sean's comm-badge chirped. Billy called, "Dad?"

Still being snacked on and with both hands unavailable, Jay had to tap the comm-badge for Sean. "Yeah?" Sean cackled.

"Um... can I stay at the Taylors' house for supper? Mrs. Taylor invited me."

Across the comm-badge, about a half-dozen pre-teen male voices loudly corrected, "MOM!"

"Sure!" Sean loudly laughed.

Billy giggled, "Am I interrupting anything?"

Jay, Chris, Erik, Travis, Lance and Scott chuckled, "Not at all." Glancing at each other, all six wondered if they would ever stop thinking and saying the same stuff.

"Um... o-o-okay," Billy droned. He then asked, "Can Robbie spend the night at our house?"

"Yes," the same six voices sang.

Troy's head popped off Sean's neck to ask, "Have you heard from Jason and JD?" He dove face first back to his meal. Sean howled laughing.

Billy chuckled, "They went to the dining room at Ewa Beach, pop. I haven't seen Jimmy or Scott."

Jay pushed open the first exit door. Sean sniggered, "They're with Richie and Dillon and their fathers." Chris held the door open until their group of four passed.

"Kewl," Billy giggled. "See ya later."

"Kewl, pal," Sean cackled.

Pointing at the goofy way Troy and Sean were walking, Scott playfully told Erik, "They didn't walk into the room like that."

"I didn't notice," Erik innocently grinned.

Not knowing who had been doing half the speaking or what was going on, Billy quickly sniggered, "Over and out!"