Camp Bam Bam

Ken was absolutely amazed with everything that he was seeing as Janet gave him a personal tour of the complex. He had already run into his boys, as well as Chris and Hulk Hogan. He still couldn't believe that the famous wrestling icon was here, and willing to show his boys around the place. They had met up when Janet was showing him the "pod" he was staying in. The "pods" themselves were remarkable. Each "pod" had ten bedrooms, which were set up to hold two boys each. Ken couldn't help but notice that every single one of the bedrooms there were bigger than the bedroom he had in his house. When he looked around the bedrooms, he saw that each one of them was set up to be as comfortable as possible, even though it housed two kids. There were two separate full sized beds, two different desks, both with laptop computers on them, two different dressers, and closets. He was then informed that one of the rooms would be his and his alone. That's when Janet started explaining the plan they have about "Pod Parents".

Basically, the whole idea was that there would be at least one adult in each pod, who would generally be responsible for keeping the peace in each of the "pods." Since his three boys would be in this one, as well as Chris, Janet had asked if he would be willing to be the "Pod Parent" for this pod. Everyone grabbed a seat, and the boys even found some cold soda in the refrigerator in the pod. While Ken was debating with himself, Janet got up and fixed them some coffee. He couldn't help but look around some more. In each pod, he saw that the "common room" as Janet had called it, held five different televisions, each one with hookups for game systems, there were five couches, many different chairs, and tables, plus a kitchen that was the size of the one he had at home, and he had always taken pride in his kitchen. It was big enough to handle an army. Everywhere he looked, he saw things that were there to make the place feel comfortable, yet at the same time, hold a large number of kids. Of course, that led to a few questions.

"Janet, I was just wondering. How many people can this place hold? I mean I heard the boys say there are seven levels, and this is only the third, and it's huge." Ken asked as he sipped his coffee. He nearly spit it out when she said that the facility could hold around three thousand people.

Janet just sat there with a smile, and then got down to business. She wasn't too concerned about the boys being there, and Hulk seemed to have them occupied swinging them around on his massive arms. "I don't know if you know this or not, but according to the Census Bureau, just last year, they totaled the number of homeless kids at somewhere around seven hundred and fifty thousand. These are not kids that are staying with relatives, or friends, these are kids that sleep out on the street each night." Ken just sat there with his mouth hanging open. He knew the number was high, but he never thought it was that high.

"We can hold three thousand here, but that doesn't even put a dent into the real problem. But that's neither here nor there. We can only help so many, and to be honest, I think that bothers my boys more than it does me." Ken raised an eyebrow in question, and Janet sighed before going on.

"It's really amazing what the boys have made here. I know you probably think that Joe and I did most of the work to get this together, but to be honest, we didn't. The boys did all the work. And, I really think it's because they don't know the meaning of the word impossible. I know what we can do, and it is a lot, but it's not going to be nearly enough for the boys. I am worried that they will get hurt because they can't help everyone out."

Ken just sat there trying to take in everything that she had said, when one of the boys came over and asked for another drink. This time, when Janet came back, she had coffee for Hulk as well, and they now all sat in a circle. Ken then had to ask the next thing that came to his mind.

"One other question, Janet, but.... could you tell me about the name of this place. I mean Camp Bam Bam sounds like a weird thing to name a military base, I mean it sounds like something from the 'Flintstones.'"

Janet's eyes got a little misty, "well, that's a story I guess you do need to hear, but I would ask that you wait for a bit on that. There's a few others that need to hear the full story as well... and I don't really think I could make it through more than one telling.

 

---

 

Koth was walking towards the room that Daileass had said that Juan was in. He had stayed with Amanda for a few minutes after they got to the base, just to make sure the little boy was going to be okay, so now, he went in search of his boyfriend. At least, he hoped Juan was his boyfriend. That slip earlier, although cute as hell, and it made Juan blush, was still bringing uncertainty up in the young Klingon. Who would want him? Riti and Victoria, although they loved him, loved each other far more, and so he had felt less than worthy for months now. Did Juan like him? Even if only a little?

When Koth opened up the door, he was struck with loud music, almost painfully loud. Then he heard Juan's voice start to sing along with the music. The music itself was very fast and angry sounding, Koth really wasn't sure what to make of it, but then the lyrics started, and he really wasn't sure how to take it.

Brothers I am calling from the valley of the kings with nothing to atone
A dark march lies ahead, together we will ride like thunder from the sky
May your sword stay wet like a young girl in her pride
Hold your hammers high

Blood and death are waiting like a raven in the sky
I was born to die
Hear me while I live
As I look into your eyes, None shall hear a lie
Power and dominion are taken by the will
By divine right hail and kill

Hail, Hail, Hail and Kill, Hail and Kill
Hail, Hail, Hail and Kill, Hail and Kill

My father was a wolf
I'm a kinsman of the slain
Sworn to rise again
I will bring salvation, punishment and pain
The hammer of hate is our faith
Power and dominion are taken by the will
By divine right hail and kill

Hail, Hail, Hail and Kill, Hail and Kill
Hail, Hail, Hail and Kill, Hail and Kill

Juan turned around as the guitar started playing a solo, and that's when Koth saw them, those big, bright yellow eyes staring right at him. Juan slowly reached over and turned off the music, never breaking eye contact with the other young boy.

A low growl started in Koth's throat and he began to look at Juan with a feral grin. There was something animalistic in Juan's eyes, and it struck a chord deep in the Klingon's psyche. As unexpected as the change in color was, it did stir Koth's growing attraction.

Also, the music: it stirred his warrior's blood.

Breathing deeply and raggedly, he moved over to the other boy, and his now heightened senses could smell Juan's blood.

It was then that Koth recognized the actions: his blood parents had acted this way often, before mating. He reigned in his emotions and stood there, fidgeting.

Juan shut his eyes, and for a moment he was the picture of concentration, but when he opened his eyes back up, they were back to the large dark brown pools they always were. Only this time, there was fear in them. "I'm...I'm sorry." He said, and then collapsed into the chair.

Koth was nonplussed. What was going on? Where did the young warrior that was just sitting there go and where was the boy who had blithely sat on that asshole's chest and called Koth his boyfriend while having his gun firmly wedged in Mr. Jacobson's mouth.

"Juan?" Koth's own voice trembled, had he scared him; his friend, hopefully his boyfriend? "Juan?"

Juan sat there crying for a few moments, and then looked up at his friend. "I'm sorry..." he mumbled. "I...I can't help it sometimes... HE... He just comes out at times."

Koth moved over and sat on the floor looking up at his friend. He leaned forwards, and gently drew the unresisting Juan down so that he had the slightly smaller boy cradled on his lap. Juan sat chest to chest with Koth and continued to cry softly while Koth barely held his own emotions in check.

"I thought I'd scared you, Juan!" he half whispered eventually. "I've never done that with anyone... your eyes, that look... it was Klingon... I'm sorry if I did, I really am..." he rushed out.

Juan looked up and then deep into his friends eyes. Finally he just sighed and looked away. "It wasn't your fault. It's... It's just that... well... I have a slight problem. See.... Well... really, there's two of me.. I guess. Oh... damn it... I'm not explaining this well." Juan said as the tears started flowing again, and he tried to figure out how to tell Koth the truth about himself.

Ever since Jeremy and Tyler explained to him that sex didn't have to be painful, he'd been trying to let that part of him heal. He'd been able to put a lot of it behind him, but... but he still had to deal with the "other" side of himself. And now, that "other" side may have cost him...

"Tell me, Qu'raki," Koth whispered, all his emotions showing in his eyes. "I cannot hate you, nor judge you, for something that you have no control over, but it is still who you are."

Juan looked up at Koth again, not really knowing what the word meant, but not really caring. Could this boy actually accept him for who he was? Could he reveal his secret to him, and not be hated by Koth. The only ones that knew about it were his family members, he could never tell anyone else. Maybe.... maybe now was the time. He took a deep breath, and then looked out over the room, his eyes seeing things from a long time ago.

"I don't know how much you know about me, but. Well the first thing I need to say is that I'm really only six years old. I was born in a laboratory, and they used something to make me age faster, right after I was born. They... they trained me to kill. But, but I didn't want to. I couldn't handle some of the things they made me do, and some of the things they.. they did to me. I don't know when HE came, but at some point, someone else took over for me. I don't know everything that happened, cause... well... cause I don't really remember what happens when HE takes over." Juan paused for a second to wipe his tears and gather his thoughts. Koth simply held him, and waited for him to continue.

"HE took all the pain... everything they made me do that was bad... HE did it. The problem was HE LIKES it. The other part of me LIKES killing... HE likes to make others hurt, and... and HE likes to be hurt. HE always took over when... when the doctor... when the doctor raped me."

He was about to go on when they heard the alert siren going off, and Daileass's voice come over the speakers. "Red Alert... all personnel to your battle stations... all civilians on base please stay where you are. Again, this is a red alert. This is not a drill.

Koth sprang to his feet, Juan still in his arms. He quickly placed the boy down and together they ran from the room towards the Command Center. As they entered, they saw Jason, Nathan and Logan by the Intel boys, throwing questions at them.

"Orlando CIC under attack?" Nathan asked Alvin.

"Draco, report!" Jason called into his Comm.

Before anyone else could say anything, Daileass came back over the speakers in the room. "Red alert's been canceled, turns out it was just Saint Mikey with a rescued kid. He scared the shit out of everyone there."

Logan couldn't help but chuckle a little bit as he ordered, "cancel the red alert. Let's get everything back to normal."

Everyone nodded and turned back to their computers, when another voice came across. "Logan, its Adam, what's going on?"

"Just some confusion in Orlando. Nothing to worry about." Logan replied, still grinning a bit.

"Copy, Casey out."

Juan stood, still hugged mutely into Koth's side. The ten year old Klingon did not seem to feel the need to let him go any time soon. Koth nodded at his older brothers, who smiled back knowingly, before noticing Logan walking towards them. "Just the two boys I wanted to see," Logan said. "Can you report on your recent mission please, Juan?"

"Um, yeah," Juan said, forcing his other emotions down for a moment. "Let's go in the office, though," he stated as he went straight for the office in the back of the command center. Logan and Koth just followed him in, and once the door was shut, Juan turned to Koth and all he said was, "Okay.... why don't you give him the report, that way I don't get my ass chewed."

Koth started grinning, "But it's such a cute ass to chew!"

Juan started to blush heavily, and was trying to stammer out a response, but couldn't make anything come out. Finally Logan decided to have pity on the boy. "Okay... so what the hell did you do on this rescue?"

Koth wanted to reply with the part that stuck out most in his mind, that of Juan calling him his boyfriend, but instead he snapped to attention. "Commander Koth Evans, VSO Dragon Lead Seven, reporting on a summary judgment and execution of a Mr. Jacobson. Do you wish to hear the report, Sir?"

Logan's eyes about fell out of his head. "Execution?!?!" He breathed, his voice rising a bit at the end. "You executed someone?!?!" Logan was about to rant on, but then saw the look in Koth's eyes. He'd seen it in Adam's many times. This kid was military, and had offered to report. Logan knew that since he was in command, he couldn't let his emotions get in the way, rather he had to keep his cool and act with rational thoughts. He stood a bit straighter and squared his shoulders. "I apologize for my outburst; please... go ahead with your report."

Koth nodded his head. He was about to launch into Juan's and his prepared speech when he felt his own hand taken by another. He glanced quickly at his 'friend', and smiled.

It took less time than they had expected for Koth to replay the events of the extraction. This was helped as, unlike when he made reports to his mother, Koth did not have Logan acting like a concerned mother hen.

"Okay," Logan breathed out. "I accept the report. However... what the hell! You killed someone?!"

"Yes sir," Koth nodded. "And it is here that Juan has asked I explain your new position within a Vulcan Clan."

"Okay, so you're telling me that because we are now a part of Clan Short, we can execute someone?" Logan said, not really believing.

"Within limits," Koth said, as he gestured to the chairs. "I think we need to sit, Logan. I'm dropping titles now as the report is over. Now, you need to 'know', so... teacher Koth to the rescue!" he finished with a giggle, that was echoed by Juan.

All the boys took seats, and then Logan reached down and opened up a door on the desk. He then handed each of the boys a bottle of Jolt cola. Juan's eyes lit up, and he took his, opened it up, and downed half. Then looked over at Koth with a grin on his face, while Logan said "okay Koth, please teach us."

Koth looked curiously at the bottle, opened it and took a sip. "By Kahless!" he gasped and downed the bottle greedily. "That... I..." he trailed off, his eyes looking far away.

Juan just sat there, laughing.

"Where was I?" Koth asked a few seconds later.

Logan couldn't help but laugh. "You were going to tell me how we could get away with executing people?" he prompted.

"Yeah... oh yeah, I was... umm... can I have another?" Koth asked dreamily.

Juan shuffled his chair over towards Koth's and took his hand again, "After, Koth. I don't think a hyper Klingon would be a good idea when we we're trying to talk. I'll grab you one afterwards."

"Sweeeet... okay... First, I'll tell you about Vulcan Law."

Logan nodded and took a slow drink from his own bottle.

"It's all Tradition, really. Vulcans have very few laws, as such. Anyhow; as members of Clan Short, you are under the Authority of the House of Surak of Vulcan and a part of the same, as is my Clan, Clan Evans. In that position, and with the correct training, Clan Members can act to judge criminals. Vulcan Justice is very direct, and the logical punishment is always taken and tailored to fit the crime. Telepathy is usually used, but not always. When it is, then one trained telepath extracts the information that is relevant from all parties concerned, and then the recovered information is reviewed by a second trained telepath. For Vulcans, that would be by Mind Meld.

"Once there is consensus between the reviewers, the information is either acted on by the one who holds the highest rank, or it is transferred to a third person. Example, you know the Double J's? Jamie and Jacob?" Koth asked Logan.

"I've heard of them, but haven't met them yet..." Logan said, still trying to figure out where this was all going. This really sounded like too much for him to handle.

"Cool. Now, if Jamie was to take the information from the accused and the others involved, it would then be reviewed by Jacob. Once done, they would pass the complete information to Cory. Cory would then examine the evidence, and base his judgment on that. Guilt or innocence is known with complete certainty through telepathy, so there can, with three involved, be very little room for errors in judgment to creep in.

"If someone murdered another, and it was done deliberately, then Cory would likely find that person guilty and sentence them to death. He could then either carry out the judgment himself, as he has in the past, or appoint another in his place, again, as he has done in the past.

"I think that about covers what you are allowed to cover as Clan Short. If found guilty, then the logical judgment is taken, if you committed a crime, yet you were either emotional, a crime of passion, or did so unawares, then the judgment changes. The crime is still a crime, yet the intent changes. It's all down to what the facts are, and what the logical response should be."

Koth looked at Logan's face, and could see many emotions playing across his features. "I think it's best you ask me questions on this, bro. You look like you're trying to swallow a Targ sideways!"

Logan slammed his mouth shut, and then tried to think of what to say. "You mean... you mean that we act as judge, jury, AND executioner?!?!"

"Not alone, no. In what me and my Dragon bros call a Tribunal, yes. Like I said, Vulcan justice is direct, swift and to the point. If someone should go to a prison planet, they go. If they should be executed, they are. If castrated, again, they are. The punishment always fits the crime, and you are to always be fair." Koth answered with a slight tightening in his eyes at his last example. Juan cast a curious, even nervous look at his new friend at the same time.

"But.. but... how do you know what is fair?" Logan stammered.

Koth half smiled, yet it did not reach his eyes. "It takes training. Your Clan telepaths have been trained, as has Cory, Sean and many others. They know how to act and prepare their minds for such a task. You would not be expected to do so unprepared, bro; that wouldn't be fair on you," he finished gently.

Logan nodded to himself, and then a thought struck him. "But... but you guys didn't have any telepaths..." he let the sentence die out, while looking at Koth.

"Correct. Under Safe Haven, any Starfleet or Clan Short personnel who witness the crime, or are there first hand to see the recent evidence do not need telepaths. However, I am not Clan Short, and the Safe Haven Act does not cover Clan Evans in that regard as yet. Therefore, I and Korris acted as VSO, Vulcan Special and Covert Ops, and that is a whole other ball game. The limits on standard Vulcan Justice do not apply to the Covert Ops. Instead, we have other safeguards; rather harsh ones, in fact, should we deliberately misuse our authority."

Koth half smiled again, "Sorry, but in a way, VSO authority outranks Clan Short's. Since I ain't Clan Short, I had to go with what I've been trained for. That, though, ain't something you need worry about. Once you are trained by the Clan in these issues, then you won't need to even think about VSO unless you want to."

Logan nodded to himself, and then just sat there starring off into space for a few seconds, before reaching down, and grabbing another bottle of soda. He handed it to Koth, just as a knock came at the door.

"Enter." Logan responded, while looking at the door. Alvin walked in just as Daileass came over the speaker. "Logan, Adam's on the line for you."

"Thanks, Daileass. What's up, Adam?" Logan spoke into the air, really glad the Daileass had both speakers and microphones in almost every room in the complex.

"Hey Log... I need you to do me a favor, and I'll explain when I get back. Can you send Hermes and Mercury to the Short Compound? Tell them to pack all their gear, as they'll be there for a bit. Tell them they are on bodyguard duty, and they'd better be fully equipped for it. They can meet up with Bast and Mont, who'll give them their full orders. There's no rush right now, but they need to be there as soon as they can." Adam finished up, and Logan could hear a lot of people behind him. He wondered for a second how things were going with the funeral preparations. But he had a job to do here.

"You got it, Adam; I'll let them know right away."

"Thanks, Log. I love you. Talk to you later."

Logan blushed slightly but then turned to business. "Daileass, please ask Herm and Merc to come up here as soon as they get back from their pick up."

"You got it, boss," was the reply.

Then Logan looked over to Alvin. "What's up, bro?"

Alvin walked in further, and hit a few buttons on the phone, while saying to his big brother, "You really need to take this call."

Logan just nodded, and Alvin hit one more button on the phone. "Mr. Stevens... I have Commander Logan Hayes on the line for you. Please explain your situation to him."

"Ummm... ok... Commander, are you there?" came the rather harried voice from the phone.

"Yes sir, I can hear you. What can I help you with?" Logan said, giving Alvin a bit of a strange look. He wasn't sure what kind of situation would cause his brother to hand the call off. Of all his brothers, Alvin was the one with the best head on his shoulders.

"Well, sir," came the voice from the other line. Logan still had to get comfortable with adults calling him sir. "I was calling to see if you could take my four children." Logan raised an eyebrow in question, but couldn't say anything as the man on the other end of the line rushed on. "See, I lost my job, and my wife can't work. We've lost everything, and have been living in a car..." He paused for a second, and Logan could hear the man trying hard to fight back tears.

"I... I just want my kids to have the best chance at a good life... and if that means giving them up to someone who can give them that..." He trailed off, this time not being able to stop the sob. Juan signaled for Logan to mute the call, which Logan did with a tap of a button.

"Oh, fuck that!" Juan said with more intensity than really needed. "If that man loves his kids, there ain't no way in hell he's gonna be separated from them. Let me go talk to him. I'm sure if he and his wife are as good as they seem, there are more than a few kids here that could be helped by having loving adults." Logan stared at Juan for a brief second. This was out of character for Juan, but Logan couldn't help but agree.

He hit the button on the phone, and spoke, "Mr. Stevens, please stay where you are, and I will have someone there to meet you within five minutes. They will discuss the options you have, and then, hopefully, we can all come to an understanding. Is that acceptable?" Logan was speaking as professionally as possible, hoping that it would cover up his nerves.

"Ummm... I guess so; you'll have someone here in five minutes? Are they that close?" The man asked, clearly sounding both confused, and a bit nervous.

"Yes sir, there will be someone there within five minutes; just please stay right where you are, so that we can find you. And please, do not worry; your children will be well taken care of." Logan said, trying to sound as reassuring as possible.

"O..okay. We'll see you in a bit." With that, the line went dead. Logan barely had time to nod before Juan and Koth were out the door.

 

---

 

Janet was walking with Ken out to the hanger bay, to see how things were going with the intake. Just as they entered the cavernous room, alarms started to blare throughout. "Attention in the Hanger bay!" Daileass's voice rang out over the speakers. "Please move to the back of the hanger bay, and past the large yellow line as quickly as possible. There are helicopters coming in to land. Again, please move behind the large yellow line as quickly as possible. All ground crew to stations. Thank you."

Ken looked at Janet who just shrugged, but moved to where everyone else was being herded to by the Unit personnel. Once everyone was behind the yellow line, one of the ground crew kids hit a big yellow button on the wall, and a wall started to rise up right at the yellow line. Janet was impressed to see it was about two foot thick and looked to be glass, or maybe hard plastic.

Everyone was staring at the wall as it rose the one hundred feet to the ceiling, while at the same time, on the other wall, another section was actually descending into the wall, making about a fifty foot opening in the top part of that wall, which showed the outside.

There was silence for about a minute, and then gasps could be heard as a helicopter, one of the Huey's, Janet noticed, came in, and maneuvered into position on top of one of the new hanger elevators that were there.

Once it was on the ground, a second one came in, another Huey, who repeated the same maneuvers, landing next to the first one. Then a third helicopter came in. this one drew gasps of shock from many of the kids, as helicopters this big aren't normally seen. The big MI-26 slowly came into the hanger bay, the opening barely being big enough for the huge rotors on its top. It then made a slow turn, and moved over to the largest of the hanger elevators.

Everyone watched as it touched down, and then the rotors slowly came to a stop. Everyone watched as the ground crews ran up, once the rotors stopped turning, and went to work on the helicopters. Janet watched Tony, Elena, and the rest of their family come out of the back of the MI-26. But the thing that got the most attention was the pilots of the two Hueys. Janet heard more than one gasp of shock when fifteen year old Sarah Martin came out of the pilot's compartment of the first Huey, followed by fourteen year old Chris Dempsey.

"Jesus, Janet." Ken said in shock. "I really thought you were kidding when you told me that kids flew the helicopters."

Janet chucked a bit. "Nope. That's Sarah and Chris. Two of our better pilots and both of them are non-augmented."

"Non-augmented?" Ken asked, not understanding.

"Remember when I said that some of the kids here had been genetically enhanced? Those two kids haven't been. They both busted their asses to learn how to fly, since we got here, almost a year ago. And both of them are damn good at it." Janet said as the pride was clearly evident in her voice.

Ken could do nothing but shake his head, and watch as the two kids embraced. They both had mile wide smiles, and could easily hear the chatter that broke out from the two hundred or so other kids waiting for the intake process. Ken thought that this was a good way to show the kids that what they were being told was true. If you wanna learn how to do something... no matter what it was, you could learn it here.

Janet waved over Tony and his family, once the glass wall came down, and when they got there, Janet gave Tony, and Elena both hugs. "Ken, I'd like to introduce you to some of our friends. This is Tony, and Elena Guilipo, and their children. First is Esteban, who's seventeen, then there's Marissa who's fourteen, the twins Miguel and Juanita, both nine, Antonio who's seven, Marco who's five, and finally their youngest, Jason, who's three."

Ken smiled and nodded to all of them as Janet introduced them. He was about to say something else, when suddenly there were a bunch more people appearing around them. Tony's smile got wide when he saw the man that appeared. "It's about fucking time, Mike. What'd you do, stop for ice cream on the way over?"

Ken stopped listening as he noticed two of the "kids" that appeared. They looked a bit like the huge cat person he saw earlier, but these two were smaller, had light brown fur, and looked to be almost cougar like in their appearance. Ken couldn't help but think that they actually looked cute, that was until one of them opened his mouth, and Ken saw the line of very sharp teeth.

The next thing Ken knew, Janet was leading the whole group into one of the side conference rooms. A bunch of the kids went to find friends, but some of them stuck around, the woman that came with them, Samantha, went off with the kids.

Once everyone was seated around the table, Janet introduced Ken to the rest of the newcomers. "Ken, this is Eric Carlson, and Mike Reynolds, and one of his boys, Sam Sam. Then there are two more members of the Feline Assault Team, Vishnu and Kartik. Guys, this is Ken Savage, he's the new liaison between the press and all of us. Ken, I know you want to talk to Mike about everything that's happened, but please hold off till later." She said this because she saw the look of recognition in Ken's eyes, when she introduced Mike and Sammy. She then turned back to everyone else and continued. "He and his three boys have also decided to move in here. Right now, they're being shown around by none other than Terry Hogan, better known as "Hulk" Hogan.

"Hulk Hogan, wow! Can I meet him?"Sammy asked before anyone could say anything.

"That's all we need." Mike muttered as Sammy asked, "What?"

"I don't think professional wrestling is ready for you yet, Kiddo." Mike told him, which got more laughter.

Janet noticed something strange, while everyone was laughing. Vishnu and Kartik were quietly talking to each other. Kartik, it looked like, wanted Vishnu to say something. Finally Vishnu nodded, took a deep breath, and then turned to Janet.

"Ummm... Aunt Janet. Can I tell you something, without you getting mad?" Vishnu said, in a very small voice. Everyone could see how nervous he was, but Ken was really surprised at how human it sounded. It sounded almost just like an eight or nine year old boy.

Janet moved over to where Vishnu was curled up on Mike's lap, and knelt down in front of him, gently taking his hand. "Of course, Vishnu, you know you can tell me anything."

Vishnu took a few moments to gather himself and then looked up into Janet's eyes. "Well... see... I know you offered to adopt us, and well... KT and I are really happy that you did, but... well.. see.. we kinda asked Mike if he would adopt us. I.. I hope you don't mind." Fear clearly evident in his face, hoping that he didn't offend the woman who had helped take care of them.

"Of course I don't mind. If that's what makes you guys happy then that's all I care about. I just want you to have a good home where you're loved and while I'd have been very honored to have you for sons, if Mike wants to adopt you two and you want him to, then that's fine with me, just as long as you are happy and loved."

"We are." Both said and she could see the tears in their eyes.

Then she reached out to both boys and pulled them into her arms hugging them tightly and saying softly, "I'll always love you though; don't forget that."

"We won't and we will always love you too." Both responded hugging her again before she let them go, smiled up at Mike and said, "I just hope you can handle them."

Mike just laughed and said, "Hey, I can handle SamSam, so these two should be a breeze."

Sammy had been smiling at his newest brothers, but now turned to Mike with an indignant look and said, "HEY!"

"What?" Mike replied as he pulled both cat boys into his lap and gave them some snuggles and kisses.

"You mean, I handle you, old man," Sammy said with an evil grin.

"Old man?" Mike said, looking at him.

"Kill him later, Mike, so I can finish this meeting," Janet interjected

Sammy replied, "He'd have to catch me first," as Vish and KT just giggled.

Poor Ken looked almost lost.

"You'll get used to it." Janet said, laughing at the look on poor Ken's face.

Mike couldn't help but add, "You mean, you are?" In his best confused voice.

Janet mock glared at Mike and said, "Stop it, you're gonna scare him off and leave me to face those rabid vultures all by myself!"

"I bet I know who'd win," KT said, smiling, although with all those teeth it was more like a ferocious grin.

Ken was shaking his head smiling and finally got a word in edgewise to say, "I do have three boys of my own, so I have some small idea... but Janet, I hope you don't mind, but you said before you'd tell me why this place was named Camp Bam Bam?"

It felt as if cold water had been poured on everyone in the room, as the laughter died out while Ken just looked puzzled.

"It was because of what our brothers did for us." Vishnu said into the silence and everyone could hear the pain and loss filling his voice.

Janet wiped away the tears that suddenly found their way leaking out of her eyes. "Ken, everyone here but you knows the story. I'll give you the background, but then there's something everyone needs to hear.

"Bam Bam was the name of one of the helicopters, one of the Hueys. It had a crew of four. Dennis North, he was the pilot and sixteen years old. The co pilot was Seth Hopkins, age thirteen. Then there were the two gunners. Eric Maro, eleven, and Kieth Serty...he"She took a breath as a sob escaped her then finished "Hehe wasonlyten years old."

She had to stop for a minute to wipe the tears from her eyes and regain her composure a bit before she could continue but she finally managed, "You've heard about the battle Saturday, in Montana. Well, two of the bigger helicopters... the MI-26's... were carrying the bulk of the non combatants, the little ones. See, we were heading up there for some rest, and relaxation. Mike had invited us to go, and most of the kids needed it. On the way up there, we got the call that they were being attacked. When we got there, we pushed them back... or so we thought. When it was clear, Adam called for the first MI-26 to come in and land. The second one was right behind it. Suddenly Juan spotted someone as they launched a surface to air missile right at the first one." Janet broke down for a second, and Mike handed her his handkerchief.

When she could, she went on, "Nothing could be done about the first one. It got hit, and went down. However, when Dennis saw what happened, he brought his helicopter back down into the fight. He had gone high to try and give room to the big ones as they came in. As he was coming back in, a second SAM got launched, this time heading for the second MI-26. They... They couldn't let it happen. So they flew into the missile, saving over a hundred lives." She had to wipe her tears away again, but this time, instead of continuing with the story, she looked up and sadly said. "Daileass, could you play the tape again, please?"

As the tape began to play, they heard the boys, Ken and Seth, talking. As it went on, they couldn't help but smile at the back and forth banter that went on about sex but it was little Keith saying "If that's all I'm gonna think about in a couple of years, then I hope I never grow up," That broke hearts because they all knew that all too soon he wouldn't be, even as Dennis told him "Ah kid, it ain't that bad.

It was obvious that Ken didn't know anything about this from the look on his face as the recording continued and the end began.

Suddenly there was a scream over the radio of "SAM INCOMING!!!"and they listened as another crew fought desperately to stay alive and knew that so many wouldn't.

It was little Keith screaming, "They're hit, they're hit" that brought them back as if they'd been slapped, yet they couldn't stop listening as Seth cried, "Oh God", then the deathly silence that filled the speakers before a voice filled with cold and fury quietly uttered, "Viper 8 descending to one thousand and we're live!

It was almost like they were there as Dennis then told them, "Look alive, we're hot and it's payback time!" and they all felt the horror as if they were there when the next words came across.

"Shit! They got another SAM! Helena, break left!

They all held their breath as they listened to the boys beg Dennis to do something, anything, to save their family members.

Keith finally cried, "There's gotta be something,"and Eric added, "Dennis, ya gotta save em, you can't let them die too."

They listened as Dennis told them it would mean their deaths and then heard the younger boys both say, "Do it!" together.

Sobs filled the room by this time, and they only got worse as the boys resolutely confirmed the decision that would cost them their lives, and Will shouting, "Viper 8! Dennis! What the hell are you doing? Get outta there!!

A voice filled with peace and determination came back with four simple words that tore everyone to pieces, "What we have to.

The tape didn't play much more than that, as Dennis told his brothers softly for the last time, "I love you guys," and finally Will's strangled gasp of "NO!" as he desperately called for things not to be happening as they were.

Sammy joined the other two in Mike's lap, crying along with him, but it was the pitiful mewling of Mike's newest sons that Ken would remember the most from today.

Such pain and loss in those cries that it would break anyone's heart as it was breaking his right then.

Janet finally asked into the tears and sobs, "Do you understand why, now?"

They all did.

 

---

 

Juan and Koth appeared outside of a shopping center in a small town outside of Sioux Falls, South Dakota. After looking around for a moment, Juan started to head over to a pair of adults who were sitting on a bench next to a pay phone. Both boys could see the tear stains on their faces and the rather ragged clothes that they both wore. The wife had a cane leaning up against her side, and Juan could see that her left leg was in some type of brace.

As they approached, the man got to his feet, and the woman tried to do the same. Juan put his hand up, "Don't bother getting up, Ms. Stevens." Juan stuck out his hand for Mr. Stevens, who shook it, and then he offered his hand to Ms. Stevens. Juan introduced both himself and Koth, and motioned for them to move over to one of the restaurants that were nearby. When Mr. Stevens started to protest, Juan insisted, informing the man that it was his treat.

Once they were all sat down, and had ordered some drinks, Juan took a deep breath and then began asking the questions he had, "Mr. Stevens, obviously we have some questions that need to be answered before anything can go forward."

"Of course, and please call me Geoff, and this is Lisa." The man said with a smile.

Juan smiled to both of them, and then began his questions. They sat there chatting and eating for almost a half hour, when Juan sat back, fully stuffed from his meal. "Okay, let me re-cap everything, just to make sure I have all the information right. Geoff, you were a construction engineer before the company you worked for went under, and since then you have been unable to find work."

Geoff nodded, while trying to hold back the tears. Juan was surprised that he could actually feel the sadness, but more importantly, the shame that the man was feeling. Juan sensed that Geoff was a proud man that he felt he should be able to provide for his family's needs. He couldn't help but respect the man for his beliefs. "Lisa, you had been going to college for teaching when you got pregnant the first time, and dropped out to take care of your kids. Then about two years ago, you were in an accident when a drunk driver ran a red light, and slammed into the driver's side of your vehicle, shattering your left leg. Since then you've had to have four surgeries, and should be getting more, but you can't afford it." Both adults nodded, Lisa not being able to hide the tears falling from her face, and Juan knew that these people needed help.

"Lastly, you have four children, eleven year old Geoff Jr., nine year old twins Dillon and Devon, and four year old Katie." Both adults nodded, and Juan sat back while taking another deep breath, and quietly consulting with Logan through the link that Logan recently tapped into. Everyone was silent for a few moments while Juan ran his ideas by his eldest brother's lover.

Finally Juan opened his eyes, and looked at the adults. "Okay, we can offer you two different options. The first one is this; we bring all six of you back to Camp Bam Bam, which is where we are bringing the children that need a place to go. It is a very large place, which can easily handle around three thousand people. But as I said, we would bring all of you. The place needs adults who care about the kids, which I can see that you do. While we may be able to provide a safe place for the kids to grow and learn, we can't replace their parents. You both have proved that you love your kids more than anything else. And as such, I cannot see splitting you up. So we would offer to have you guys live there as well. Of course there is a catch." Juan said the last part with a smile, and both adults, who were sitting there with the mouths opened, suddenly shut them, and were now looking at Juan with a bit of suspicion. Koth, who had been silent up until this point, looked at Juan, and told him to "hurry up, and don't keep them waiting."

"Okay, geeez... sorry. The catch would be this. Geoff, we would hire you to help get the place in shape. I'm not talking about cleaning up, or being a janitor. What I mean is helping with the maintenance. You would be in charge of the maintenance staff within the Camp." Geoff was silent for a second, before slowly nodding, a look of hope, and a tear coming into his eyes for the first time in a long time. Geoff was beginning to feel like he was worth something again and could contribute to his family and from the sounds of it even more, kids. Then Juan turned to his wife.

"Lisa, we would ask that you finish your teaching program, at our expense, and then help out once we have the school programs set up. School is a big thing, because every child that lives there will be going to school, along with some other types of educational programs. Dave, a teacher who is in charge of setting up the schooling program, will explain that more to you later, if you agree. You would both be paid a salary of no less than fifty thousand a year each." Juan trailed off to let that digest. He was hoping they would agree.

"And the second offer?" Geoff asked after a minute.

"Well, that one's much easier, basically, we buy you a house, and help you either get a new job, or get retrained. And until you can support yourself, we would support you. Nice and easy."

Geoff was shaking his head before Juan even finished. "I appreciate the offer, but I couldn't accept it."

"I wouldn't think you would accept it." Juan said with a smile. "So that means you'll accept the first offer?"

Geoff looked over at his wife, who nodded slowly, and then Geoff responded. "Yeah, I guess we will. Ummm... I hate to ask, but... well... can you really make that kind of offer." Geoff asked hesitantly, but then quickly went on. "No offense intended, but...."

Juan just giggled a bit. "No offense taken, and yes I can. Why don't you and Lisa go get your kids, and then we can get out of here! I'm sure they want to see their new home. Oh, and make sure to bring everything you want." Geoff nodded, and with that, everyone left. Juan and Koth waited by the shopping center while Geoff and Lisa went off to get their children.

Koth looked over at Juan with a goofy grin on his face. "You know... you didn't do too bad in there."

Juan grinned at his friend. "Hey, what can I say? When you're good... you're good."

Koth snickered his reply, "and so modest."

Juan's grin grew huge, and he started to sing. "Oh Lord, it's hard to be humble... when you're perfect in every way!"

Koth almost fell over laughing; however, Juan did, as soon as he was done singing.

When Juan was finally able to get himself back under control, he climbed to his feet with Koth's help, and hugged the young Klingon boy.

Koth melted into Juan's hug, and they held each other for a few moments, until something very strange happened.

Juan suddenly went very stiff, and Koth heard a low growl emerge from the boy he was holding. Koth quickly let go, and looked into Juan's eyes... his bright yellow eyes.

Juan's gaze was fixed on something in the distance, and Koth quickly turned to see what he was looking at. "What's going on, Juan?!"

Juan didn't say anything, but the growl continued. Koth finally figured out what got Juan's attention. Coming out of the grocery store across the street was a woman and a child about five.

"What... Who... Juan?" Koth asked while turning back to look at Juan. Juan suddenly reached into his pocket and pulled out his communicator. Without answering Koth, he hit the button on it. "Daileass, get me Emily right now. It's an emergency. Tell her I found Josh's little brother."

 

---

 

Ken looked through his tears around the room at everyone there. Every single one of them was crying, even the strange cat boys. When he first met the big one, when they were in Las Vegas, he could never have imagined these cat people could be as human as these two were. They didn't look human of course, but right now, Ken could only think of them as nothing but hurting little boys.

He was trying to figure out what to say when the intercom came to life. "Janet, there is an issue going on. Logan has requested your presence in the control room."

"Thanks Daileass. I'm on my way." Janet said while wiping her tears and getting up. Everyone else got up too, and headed for the door. Tony informed Mike that he was going to go find his family, and then explore the new place some.

"This place looks really cool, Dad... think we still got our old rooms?" Sammy said, while taking Mike's hand.

"Well, let's go look. Come on boys; let's see how much this place has changed." Mike responded, while holding his arm out, then draping it over both KT and Vishnu. Both boys still seemed down, but Ken could tell that the love Mike showed for them was starting to heal the wounds in their hearts. Ken watched them walk down the hall, Sammy saying something about Hulk Hogan, before he turned and followed Janet.

When they were almost to the door to the control room, they saw Emily and Donnie sprinting down the hall towards them. Ken couldn't help but gasp as he saw both of them were trying to get the last bits of the weaponry into place on their fatigues. Right behind them was little Josh, looking completely lost, and a little scared.

"Excuse us!" Donnie said hurriedly while they rushed past and into the control room. Once the three youths made their way past them, Janet and Ken walked into the room slowly behind them, as they both wondered what the hell was going on.

When they got in there, they heard Alvin cry out from his terminal, "I got satellite!"

"On screen." Logan ordered, and on the main screen in front of the command center, a hazy image came up, looking like a shopping center.

"Daileass, can you clean that up, and magnify?" Logan asked while motioning for Ken and Janet to come up to where he was.

"Working on it, Boss." Came the reply, and everyone watched as the picture grew closer and clearer.

When the screen cleared up the final time, a few minutes later, they stood there looking at a boy around five or six years old, who was holding hands with an older woman.

Janet was about to ask what was going on, when they heard a high pitched wail from someone in the room. All eyes turned to Josh who was standing there, eyes intently focused on the screen. Emily quickly handed her rifle to Donnie, and then bent down in front of her new son.

"Josh, I need you to look at me. Is that Kevin? Is that your little brother?" She asked in a soothing voice, but all she got out of Josh was a small nod of his head.

"Okay little man, don't you worry, your momma and I will go make sure he's safe, and then bring him back here. Is that all right with you?" Donnie asked, also bending down to be on eye level with the nine year old boy.

"You... you guys would really do that?" Josh asked very quietly. Janet and Ken watched with breaking hearts as the little boy looked at the two older teens with a mixture of terror, and hope.

Emily pulled the boy into her with a tight hug. "Of course we will, Josh. He's your brother. We'll do everything we can for him."

Josh pulled back so he could look her in the eyes. "Does that mean... that... that you'll adopt him too?" He asked more hope radiating from his eyes.

"Of course we will," Both Donnie and Emily said at the same time.

Josh smiled, and then threw himself into their arms crying softly. Ken looked over at Janet, with a look that she knew well. Ken wasn't sure what was going on, but didn't want to ask right now. She pulled him off to the side so she could give him a quick answer to his question.

"About three months ago, two young teens were found brutally raped and murdered in a park in northern Illinois." Janet started, but Ken broke in.

I heard about that. They said they caught five older teens that not only admitted doing it, but actually bragged about it. Last I heard they were still being held in jail. Their lawyer is actually trying to claim freedom of religion to get them off." He paused for a second, and then his eyes shot to Josh. "There were two young boys... the younger brothers of one of the dead boys... they were kidnapped by their father, and hadn't been heard from or seen since. Are you saying that these kids are those two boys?"

Janet simply nodded, and Ken rubbed his hands through his hair. "Oh shit. What have they been through over these last three months?"

Janet shook her head, and quietly told him how they found Josh. "It was bad. Josh was found on Saturday, right in the middle of the battle. He had a bomb strapped to his chest and was forced to run right at us."

Ken gasped at the thought of that. "Thankfully, Adam saw what it was, and ordered Juan to drop him. Juan claims he missed, and only hit Josh in the leg. But, well. Juan doesn't miss. Jory was able to disarm the bomb, and we took Josh to the hospital. But..." Janet trailed off shaking her head.

Ken looked up when the door opened, and saw the boy that had met them when he and Chris first got here. Ray, he remembered his name was, ran up to Josh, and engulfed the older boy in his arms, and led him off to the side. Donnie and Emily immediately went back to get ready to go rescue their soon to be son.

 

---

 

Juan and Koth had followed the woman and the child as they made their way through the streets of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, making sure not to lose them. Geoff came with them, as their guide, after they sent his wife and four children off to Camp Bam Bam.

They finally made their way to a small shitty hotel and Juan watched as they went into the room on the end. He told Koth and Geoff to wait there, while he went and re-conned the area.

When Juan came back, Geoff gasped when he got a look at Juan's bright yellow eyes. Juan closed his eyes, and took a moment to take a few deep breaths. When he opened his eyes again, his normal deep pools of brown returned.

"Okay, here's the deal. There are three adults, and four kids in there. Two of the kids are tied to the beds in the adjourning room. The two younger ones are feeding them right now, while the woman and one of the men tend to the third adult who has at least one gunshot wound to the shoulder." Juan paused for a moment, trying to fight back the anger within him, the anger that would trigger "HIM" to take over.

"The wounded man... it's Josh's father. It's the fucker who strapped a bomb to his own child..." Juan said, in a very slow and measured voice, trying hard not to let his rage get out of hand. "...Then... they forced him to run towards my brothers... he was going to blow up his own son so he could kill my family." Finally the rage could not be held back any more, and those beautiful brown eyes of his, flared into the yellow eyes of his alter self.

"He tried to kill my family, and now... now I will show him..." Juan was interrupted when next to him, three shimmers of light appeared, and then a moment later they were gone, leaving Donnie, Emily, and Jory standing there.

Juan turned to look at Jory, who grinned and handed him a duffel bag. Juan grinned ferally, and opened that bag. Over the next few minutes, they stood there while Juan got his armor and weapons on, and told everyone what he found.

Finally, they decided what they were going to do. It would be nice and simple as Juan said. Bust in the front door, and take out anyone that resisted. It was actually Koth who was able to convince Juan that all the adults needed to be tried properly, and not simply executed like Juan would have wanted. It might have had something to do with Koth grabbing him and kissing him as he tried to object. Juan stepped back from the kiss, the yellow eyes gone, as he breathed heavily. "Okay..." he said, rather meekly, "we do it his way."

Jory fell over laughing, and the others couldn't help but grin a little bit. Donnie and Emily just shook their heads, and then Emily spoke up. "Okay, let's get this show on the road. Josh is standing by with Janet, to get beamed in when we have the place secure. Juan, you and Jory go first. If they have weapons, when the door busts open, they will aim chest high to an adult. So we'll let you two squirts go first."

Both Juan and Jory protested loudly, but with big grins. Once they quieted down, Emily went on. "Once we're in, Koth, you cut the boys loose on the beds, and get them into the bathroom. Try and get all four kids in there with you. Geoff, I want you to stay outside. If you start to hear cops coming in.. please warn us, so we can be prepared."

"Ummm... okay... this isn't like... illegal, is it?" Geoff asked sounding more than a little worried.

Donnie looked at Geoff, trying not to laugh. "No sir, this is not illegal, at least not by the laws of Vulcan, which we operate under. This is also clearly laid out in the Safe Haven Act, adopted by the United Federation of Planets in 2002. As it says in Section 3.1: To remove any and all children found in unsuitable environments and to place them with a person or persons in environments that are healthy, loving and nurturing. There are other sub sections that I could quote.. but, that one covers it the best.

Emily stood there stunned for a second, but then a smile crept onto her face. "Just a stupid guy... huh? Donnie.. I really do love you." She then stepped up to him, and gave him a kiss that made Juan and Koth both a little jealous.

"Okay guys, let's go." Emily said, and with that, they were off.

 

---

 

Juan looked to the others and got nods in return. They were all crowded around the front door of two hotel rooms. While Juan and Jory were going into the room holding the adults, with Donnie and Emily as back up. Koth was going in through the other door to make sure that the kids, who were tied to the beds, were covered and protected.

Juan took a deep breath, his yellow eyes glowing brightly from under his helmet. He always loved this time, the adrenaline pumping hard throughout his body. His senses elevated to a level that no normal squishy could ever hope to have. He's joked about the fact that when he was like this, he could hear a flea fart from a couple hundred feet away. He joked about it, but it was true. When he was in "the zone" everything was so clear.

Juan raised his foot, and with a mighty kick, the door split into three parts, one of which flew all the way to the back of the room, embedding into the wall right over top of the man sitting in the chair. Unfortunately, the crash of the door bursting in was suddenly over powered by the thunder like explosion of a shotgun going off.

The next thing Jory knew, Juan was lifted off his feet, and thrown right back out of the room, taking part of the wall with him. Jory immediately raised and fired. Triple tap, two to the chest, and one to the head. Then he was moving, as Donnie and Emily were right behind him.

Emily came through, having to put the sight of Juan flying backwards from the shotgun blast, out of her head. 'No matter what happens, you must stay focused on the mission. You can deal with everything else afterwards.' Adam's words came back to her, and she pushed her concern aside and did her job. Juan had been taken out of the action. He was supposed to sweep to the left. Jory did what he needed to, and went right. Emily was supposed to go straight into the room, but no Juan meant no one went left. So she had to. Donnie, coming in right behind her, went with the change seamlessly, and headed right into the middle of the room. She had to go left.

She saw a woman screaming, and trying to hide in the corner, no threat there, but she still kept an eye on her. A little boy was screaming and trying to hide behind the woman. A man was lying on the bed, bandages on his side, left shoulder, and right leg. He tried to scramble off the bed, but Emily put a bullet in his other leg. Non fatal, but he stopped reaching for the gun that was on the night stand. Emily looked around as she heard Jory yell through the comm, "CLEAR!" Then there was Donnie's echo of "CLEAR!" and then she started to relax. "Clear, two adults subdued, third adult down. Juan's been injured, Logan, send in Josh and Janet, as well as a med team for Juan." She said.

"Understood" came Logan's response over the comm. They had been monitoring the situation back at base, in case things went bad. Emily pulled off her helmet, and went over to where the little boy and the woman were still cowering in the corner. She motioned with her gun while talking to the woman. "Get up, and sit on the bed next to him." As she pointed towards the man that was lying on the bed, clutching his left leg, and screaming at them.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing. Do you have any idea who I...." He never finished as Donnie dug his thumb into the bullet wound that Emily just gave him, while picking up the gun on the nightstand and throwing it over next to Jory. His words died in a scream. "If you know what's good for you, you'll keep your fucking mouth shut. If you don't, I'd be more than happy to shut it for you... permanently.

Emily squatted down, and looked at the little boy. "Kevin?" She asked.

The little boy nodded through his tears... "yeah...but.. how do you know... my name?"

"Because your brother Josh told me." Emily spoke, and it had the effect she wanted. The boy immediately brightened up.

"Josh... you know Joshy... is he otay?"

"Yeah little dude. He's doing great. He'll be here in a few..." Donnie's words were cut off as group of people started to materialize in the room. Donnie was kinda of confused, he had only expected a few, but there were a bunch coming in.

Janet, Josh, Ray.. he knew about. Three of the others, okay, they were medical, but the other four he didn't understand why. Vishnu and Kartik, in full armor, and weapons, looking around for any threats, then Sammy and Mike Reynolds. He wasn't sure why they were there. The medical personnel went right outside to check on Juan. Donnie knew Juan was alive still, as the steady stream of curse words they came through the comm, definitely made it apparent he could talk.

Josh saw his little brother, and gave a short cry, "KEVIN!" and rushed over to grab the little boy into a hug. The two boys dissolved in tears, as Ray stood nearby, eyes on the two adults in the room, and hand on the pistol he wore at his side. He may only be seven, but he wasn't going to let anything happen to his new brothers.

Emily watched the two boys hug as she moved over to stand next to Mike and Sammy. "Hey, not that I mind, but why'd you guys come?" Saying this, she looked out to see Janet taking the armor off of Juan who was still using some very colorful language. He spit out some blood, and Janet was having a hell of a time trying to keep him still. Juan clearly stated; "I want a piece of the mother fucker that shot me."

"Sorry bro... I already took him out." Jory laughed through the comm.

"Asshole, he was mine!" Juan retorted before wincing in pain.

"Juan got shot..." was the reply Emily heard before Juan started on his rant!

"Ummm.. guys... you may want to come in here." They heard from the other room where Koth was.

"I got these guys." Donnie said as he motioned for the others to go.

Emily gasped as she got into the room, and heard Jory curse under his breath. The two boys on the beds were strapped down, backs in the air, with something large and black protruding from their butts. Both boys also had very large, red and angry looking welts all over their backs, butts, and thighs. Someone really went to town on them with the whip that was coiled on the desk. When Emily looked closer, she could see they had some type of gag strapped to their heads, making it so they could only whimper softly.

"Janet, we need you in here NOW!" Emily called, as she rushed over, and started to untie the boy closer to her. Sammy helped her, while Jory went over to help Koth untie the other one. Mike moved to the young girl, maybe five years old that was curled up in the corner crying, muttering "oh sweet Jesus," as he bent down and pulled her into his chest.

"What's up.... oh my God!" Janet gasped as she walked into the room. She quickly moved in between the two beds, and pulled out her tricorder. She scanned both boys, as the others finished up untying them, and then started working on the gags. Emily's face burned red with anger, as she gently pulled out the rather large ball gag that the boy she was tending to had in his mouth. Emily knew the boy couldn't be much older than eleven or twelve, and looking closer she could see that the other boy had to be his brother... twin brother.

"Okay... can I kill these fuckers now?" Juan said as he walked into the room. He had the chest plate of the armor removed, and his shirt had been cut open. There was a very large red welt on his chest, and Emily could easily see that at least two ribs had been broken.

"No Juan, they need to be tried... Clan style." Koth said with a very sardonic grin. Juan narrowed his eyes for a moment, and then grinned evilly as well.

"Right... so all we need is a couple of telepaths to try them, and THEN we can kill them." Juan reached down and grabbed his comm link. "Hey Logan, think you can rustle up some of those Dragon guys that are telepaths. We need to have a trial."

"I'll see what I can do. Who's gonna act as Judge?" Logan asked.

Emily looked up and said. "Not me. No way could I be impartial." That sentiment was quickly echoed by Donnie and Jory. As much as Juan hated to agree, he had to as well.

"I will be," Juan heard Sammy say, as all eyes darted to the boy.

"You?"Emily asked.

"Yes. I am a division head and it's my responsibility as well as duty. What was done here.well, someone has to pay if they are still alive to do it." Everyone nodded except for Mike who was looking at Sammy worriedly.

"It's something I have to do, Dad." He said before Mike could say anything.

They held eyes for a moment, before Mike gave a small nod, still clearly not liking it, but knowing it was to be.

"Okay Logan. Sammy's gonna be Judge. Which is just as well seemings as I guess he runs all of North America. You got the telepaths yet?" Juan spoke into his comm, but before Logan could answer, two shimmering beams of light appeared in the room. Two small figures in robes appeared, hoods down, and Juan could see it was Viccy and Ollie.

Before anyone else could say anything, Janet spoke up. "Okay, whatever you need to do, do it in the other room. And send the medics in here, I'm gonna need some help before they can be transported."

No one dared to argue with her, so the kids all filed out of the room, Mike following with the crying girl still wrapped in his arms. As they were walking out, Logan came across the communicators. "Just to let you know, I've taken care of the swat team that was coming in due to the gun fire. The cops won't be bugging you."

"Thanks, Logan," Emily said, as Juan started to explain the situation to the two Dragon division members. Viccy held up her hand for him to stop. "Don't tell us anything, we'll get the information we need. For now, if you could move all non essential persons outside, it would help immensely.

Everyone nodded, and Emily led Ray, Josh and Kevin outside. Mike went out with them, but quickly returned, minus the little girl. That left only Juan, Jory, Donnie, Sammy, Mike, Viccy and Ollie in there with the two adults.

"Okay, let's get going then." Sammy said. Viccy and Ollie nodded, and then both closed their eyes as Viccy said, "This will take a few moments as we get the information. It's the boring bit for those that are watching, sorry."

And she wasn't kidding. They all stood around looking from one to another for almost five full minutes. The only thing that interrupted the silence was a sharp snap, and Juan sighing. His ribs had just snapped back into place.

When Ollie and Viccy opened their eyes, they both seemed completely emotionless. Viccy turned to Sammy, rather formally addressing him. "Director, we have completed the scans of both the adults in here, as well as the four involved children outside. Would you like a verbal report, or shall we transfer the details directly into your mind?"

Sammy took a deep breath and said softly, "My mind.

"As you wish, Director." She said, and the two young kids both closed their eyes again. This was when the man, who was still lying on the bed, decided to make his presence known. "I don't know what's going on here, but..." That was all he said, as another scream ripped from his throat. Juan had taken a small throwing dagger, and hit him directly in the wound that Emily had made earlier. Thankfully the screaming didn't last long, as he passed out from the pain.

Viccy murmured under her breath as she completed the transfer, "Thank God; hope the prick stays quiet!"

Sammy was silent for a few seconds before he looked over at Juan, "Damn, Juan, did you have to do that? Now I have to wake him up so I can kill him."

Mike stiffened in shock as he knew Sammy wasn't kidding.

"Oh please... allow me, Director." Juan grinned as he walked over to the guy, and started to slap his face, none to gently. "Wakey Wakey, Asshole."

Finally the guy started to come around, and Juan stepped back. "There you go, Sir. Happy to help."

"Do keep him quiet for poor Viccy's sake if nothing else, please."Sammy said, but quickly added as he saw the look that came to Juan's face, "Conscious and alive for now, just quiet."

"Aww man." He mumbled but moved back over to the man's side.

"Shhhh,"he said menacingly to him as Sammy turned and walked over to the woman.

She looked up at him and Sammy took a deep breath before beginning.

"You are the mother to the two boys and little girl in the other room. You are supposed to protect them above anything else in this world, and yet you did not do that," he said.

"I" she started to say but he interrupted her.

"You didn't do that! You went along with everything that was planned for them and everything that was done to them. You stood by and let it happen. Yes, I'm aware that you were abused and beaten, but you didn't protect your children, not once. You didn't even try. They were beaten and had things done to them that even adults shouldn't suffer through. But the worst is, that you helped in what was done. Scared or not, you had a higher duty to which you failed," he said as he paused, she could only look at him in shock.

Sammy shook his head and continued. "The one person who they were supposed to be able to count on wasn't there for them and actually hurt them. As of this moment, they are removed permanently from your custody and placed under Clan protection."

He turned to look at Juan. "Will the Unit accept custody of those children and place them at Camp Bam Bam?" He already knew the answer, but had to ask anyways.

Juan stood and replied just as formally, "yes, Director, we will.

"Then the three children are hereby placed at Camp Bam Bam."

"Youyou can't do that. They're my babies!" The woman cried.

"I not only can, I already have." Sammy told her coldly.

"How do I get them back?" She asked then, apparently not listening to what he had said earlier.

"You don't. It's a permanent placement unless other parents are found for them there, and then they will be adopted by those people." Sammy told her.

"No..." She moaned.

"As for you, I sentence you to a Federation prison planet for your actions... or lack thereof." Sammy told her, then pulled his communicator out and opening it called, "Reynolds to Lafayette."

"Lafayette here, go ahead." He heard in reply.

"This is Samuel Reynolds, Director of Operations Clan Short North America Division. I have one female for transport to a Federation Penal Colony."

"Security and transporter control standing by, Director Reynolds." The voice said.

"The woman is directly in front of me, transport when ready, Reynolds out." Sammy said before closing his communicator.

Before it was completely closed, the woman was no longer there and he turned his attention back to the man, who thankfully had remained quiet.

"Sammy?" Mike said, and Sammy stopped and slowly turned to face his father, the pain clearly evident on his face.

"Dad, please!" He almost begged before turning back to the man and walking the rest of the way over.

"You, I don't know where to begin with you." He said with nothing but total disgust.

"Fuck you!" the man snarled up at Sammy.

Juan gave one of his gunshot wounds a smack which got a howl out of him as he said, "What? Don't you understand English?"

"I don't know where to begin. What you did to Mark while he was alive, along with Zach, or your complicity in their deaths would be cause enough to sentence you to death. Your murder of their mother and what you put your two remaining sons through, or maybe the bomb you strapped to Josh's back when you attacked my family also deserve a sentence of death. The torture you put those two boys in the other room through, once again would be a capital offence. There is just so much, I don't even have a starting place. You sicken me and disgust me, and the only thing I'm sorry about is that I can't make you suffer one tenth of what you've put others through."

He just glared at Sammy.

"Do you have anything to say, before I pass sentence on you?"Sammy asked reluctantly.

"Who do you think you are? You can't pass nothing but gas, you little shit!" He screamed at Sammy.

Sammy just shook his head and said, "I'll make this simple enough for even you to understand, Asshole, I sentence you to death for your crimes. You're evil and I hope you rot in hell.

"I'm not afraid to die, you little pissant, my Lord will be there to greet me and comfort me for battling His enemies." He told Sammy defiantly.

"Not the Lord you think," was Sammy's reply, then without saying anything else, he pulled the gun from his side and aiming it, pulled the trigger.

Juan jumped in shock, as Jory muttered "Holy Fuck."

Sammy's hand slowly fell as the tears he had been holding in, finally started to fall. Mike was right there to catch him before he fell, and Sammy buried his face into his father's shoulder as the gun slipped from his hand. It was over.

 

---

 

"This is Ken Savage reporting to you, directly from what has come to be called Camp Bam Bam, in the Utah Mountains. This is an update on what members of Clan Short have been calling "the Intake." Since this morning, they have received approximately 4,673 phone calls requesting aid. They have responded to 657 of those calls, the rest were determined to be less the critical, there by not needing direct intervention. 296 of those that were responded to, the children needed to be taken out of their current situation. 212 of those children were living on the streets.

Of the one hundred and forty seven intake centers set up around the country, they have processed 6214 children asking for help; 4573 of those were able to be handled on the local level. 1324 of the remaining have been transferred to adjacent counties to be handled there. The rest were processed and brought here to Camp Bam Bam. That brings the one day total of children being brought into Camp Bam Bam to five hundred and twenty nine. Again, that is just today's numbers.

However, it has not just been children that have come into the Camp today. Twenty nine pediatricians have volunteered to come in and help with any and all medical needs. Fourteen of them have agreed to become permanent residents. One hundred and two nurses have shown up, with sixty eight of them agreeing to stay. There are also twelve psychiatrists who are here to help with the children's emotional needs.

There are also three hundred and nine other adults, ranging from school teachers, to celebrities, and even two chefs, all of them coming to try and help the children that have had to come here to be residents.

These numbers are very high, but after touring the place, and speaking with Janet Hayes, the director of Medical, here within the Camp, I can assure everyone that this place can hold three thousand people comfortably and more if they need to. However, they are looking for more areas to help hold the children that need it. Also, they are running low on supplies, and ask that anyone that would be willing to help out, please contact their local law enforcement agency, who can pass everything along to Clan Short. I was informed that there is no shortage of necessities, but if people would be willing to donate items like children's toys, etc., it would help immensely.

Any requests for information will now be handled through the Camp Bam Bam public relations department.

Thank you, and from all the residents of Camp Bam Bam... Thank you very much for everyone's help.

Editors Notes:

Well, this has been another exciting chapter! Roland you are awesome! I know we owe some thanks to DarkStar as well as he helped with some of his characters and scenes. Personally, I am happy that Sammy got to Judge over this last situation and I think it was a bitter sweet job for him.

Roland has really got us going now, what on earth is going to happen next. I mean this has been a fast few days since the Camp was named. These boys definitely do not waste any time! So will, Juan ever become Koth's boyfriend? Hmmm, they do make a cute couple! What about Geoff? He and his family will have a lot to deal with when they get started on their new life and jobs. There is so much happening that I just am at a loss for words. I just cannot get enough of this story! There are a lot of kid's being helped here and they just got started! Day one and they have 529 new brothers and sisters. Roland, keep us guessing and we look forward to more!!

David

AKA: Boxerdude

Next Editor's Notes: Let me add my congratulations here on this chapter of book two of the U.N.I.T. 'saga'.

This darn program that I am using seems to want to capitalize any word that appears after a period. The only way I could convince it to go lie down was to put those marks around the word saga.

Anyway, I am really enjoying this new story. I too want to know what will happen next, but I guess I will just have to wait like all the rest. Thank you Roland, great job as always.

Darryl AKA The Radio Rancher