Memories Part 2: Spreading The Hope

Austin walked into the waiting room with Conner snuggled tightly to one side and Leo to the other, Brandon following close behind. "Do you see him, Leo?" Austin asked softly as his stomach began to turn at the severity of the injuries in the packed room.

"I'm looking, Dad," Leo replied, the sights he was seeing obviously affecting him as well.

"Dad? Can you hold these?" Conner asked in a pained voice as he took his glasses off and pulled the brim of his hat down to shield his eyes from the light. "I can't look."

Austin looked down to see tears freely rolling down Conner's face. "I understand," Austin replied, as he took the glasses and put them safely in his shirt pocket. "I wish I could do the same thing," he added as he pulled Conner into a one-armed hug.

"I found him," Leo said softly as he released Austin's hand. "Bran? Will help me go get him? I think Dad and Conner need to stay here."

Brandon nodded as he reached up and gave Austin's shoulder a squeeze. "Take care of Conner, bro; we'll be right back."

"Thanks, bro," Austin replied as he put his now free second arm around Conner. "We'll be out in the hall."

Brandon took Leo's hand and nodded. "Let's get him and get outta this room."

Leo took the lead and pulled Brandon along until they reached one of the construction workers who had just finished bandaging multiple injuries on a young teen. "Jake?" Leo asked softly.

Jake turned to see Leo standing there holding the hand of a kid he'd never seen before. "Leo! What's wrong, kiddo? Where is Conner?"

Brandon squeezed Leo's hand as Leo replied. "Conner's with Bran's big brother, Austin. Ummm...this is Brandon Short, his Dad is the Patriarch. Could you come with us? Austin wants to talk to you."

Jake looked at the two boys in front of him in thought. "Just a second." he replied. He turned to the man next to him. "Mr Owens?..."

Jon interrupted him. "Go. If it wasn't important, my grandson wouldn't have let these two come in here. This wave seems to be slowing down; you need to take a break anyways."

Jake nodded. "I'll be right back; thanks."

Leo used his free hand to take Jake's hand and the two boys led him out to the hallway. As they made their way through the door, Jake immediately noticed Conner sitting with his face buried in the chest of a redheaded early teen that appeared to be painted in Indian warpaint. "Conner! What's wrong?" Jake asked with evident concern.

Austin answered for Conner as he massaged the boy's shoulder to relax him. "Conner saw what it's like in there; the suffering is too much."

Jake nodded as he unconsciously pulled Leo and Brandon in front of him protectively. "I was afraid of that; that's why I asked them to stay someplace where they wouldn't see all of this. You must be the Austin that Leo mentioned?"

Austin nodded. "I'm sorry; this is getting to me too. I am Austin Short, Son of Cory Short, Patriarch of Clan Short of the House of Sarek of the Family of Surak of the planet Vulcan."

Jake involuntarily stiffened as the full impact of Austin's introduction hit him. He now realized why Jon had been so quick to let him follow Leo out of the waiting room; Jon's 'grandson' carried the credentials to make Starfleet jump at his words. "It is an honor to meet you, Austin," Jake stuttered, as he attempted to wrap his mind around who was holding one of the boys he was entrusted with for the day.

Austin gave Jake a small smile. "Relax, Jake; the boys have told me about you and you're not in any trouble." He paused in thought, then added, "They brought up some things I'm pretty sure you don't want to discuss in front of them, though; before we get into why I asked you to come out here, I'd like to know about them. I'm a telepath; I won't use it though without either the person's approval or orders from someone above me. Could I have your permission to look into your head? I promise it will be just between the two of us as long as you've never done something to hurt a kid on purpose."

Jake looked at Leo and Conner, then replied, "A month ago, I would have said no; but after seeing everything that has been done here by your Clan, I'll take the chance and say yes."

Austin nodded. "Thanks; it will take just a minute."

After two minutes, Austin spoke again with an edge to his voice. "I understand your reasons now. Would you please consider seeing Doc Richardson at FYS? He'll understand and help you. I'll handle making sure the cause of your distress is dealt with. You gave these two some hope; I'm going to make sure you are paid back for your kindness."

Jake thought over what was not said in what Austin said. As a pre-teen he had been repeatedly molested by a neighbor and shamed into keeping quiet about it. When he was fifteen the neighbor moved away with a warning that if word ever got out about what was done, Jake would be hunted down and slowly killed. Those events shaped Jake's life; he was never able to engage in a stable relationship due to a subconscious fear of becoming the same as the man who had molested him. To compensate, he pushed himself into his work and became involved in Big Brothers so that he could have the sons he yearned for without the fear of being alone with them and doing the same things to them that were done to him. While consciously he had no intent on doing such a thing, unconsciously he did not trust himself to not repeat the only sexual interaction he had ever known.

"Don't worry about it; you did what was right in the end," Austin said softly, breaking Jake's train of thought.

"I just wish I could give these guys what they really need," Jake responded.

Austin smiled. "You have, in a way. Talk to Dan; he'll help you be ready to be part of these guy's lives as they grow up. I'll make sure it happens too. Thanks to you, they have a family now; Ambassador Sarek made me their father about thirty minutes ago. I know more about you than they do; I'm going to make sure you stay in their lives as their unofficial 'uncle' for as long as you're alive."

Jake gave Austin a puzzled look. "I know I've heard some of the kids around here calling other kids their parents. How old are you, Austin?"

Austin quietly hoped his impression of Jake was accurate. "I'm programmed to be thirteen, but I've been online for thirty-five years."

Jake thought before responding. "I'm not about to argue with a Vulcan Ambassador over the legality of an android adopting kids. After seeing you with Conner, I don't care about the legalities; it is obvious that you have what these two need to grow up into fine young men. As soon as I can find out how to reach Dr. Richardson, I'll set it up to start seeing him."

"That's easy," Austin replied. "Just ask Grandpa Owens to help you. He knows how to set it up; and FYS is gonna cover transportation for you just as soon as I tell Grandma. I've already talked to their old home and their caseworker, but I didn't think it would be right to just take them without you understanding why. Besides, once this is all done, we'll see you in Orlando anyways; Grandma Teri will insist."

"Teri?...Teri Short?...As in the Federation Youth Services Director?" Jake asked as his face started going pale.

"Yeah, that's my grandma." Austin said.

"After what she did earlier, I'm NOT going to argue with HER!" Jake moaned. "Boys, take care of Austin; it looks like I'm going to see you at your new home. I need to get back out there in case more injured come in."

Brandon came over and helped guide Conner over to join Leo in giving Jake a hug. As the hug broke, Jake leaned over to Conner. "Hey, lil' buddy; I know a few things about androids," Jake whispered. "Let him help you; you'll feel much better if you do. Okay?"

Conner nodded and gave Jake one of his rare smiles. "Okay, Jake. You gotta do what he said too, though."

"It's a deal," Jake replied as he gave Conner a parting hug. "Just remember, your new dad needs you as much as you need him. Androids are like that."

"Okay, Jake."

Austin got up and stood with a hand on each of his boys' shoulders as they watched Jake go back to work. Once he was gone, they turned around and started back towards the cafeteria, Brandon immediately taking Leo's hand before the first step was taken. Austin looked down the hall after stealing glances at his new sons and noticed Sammy, Jamie, and Jacob just turning the corner further down the hall.

'What you up to?' Austin thought towards the twins. He had not mentioned it to Jake, but it had become an unspoken rule that the telepath corps used their skills when communicating whenever possible between each other.

'Just showin' Sammy that his Dad was gonna be okay,' Jacob thought back. 'We'll let Sammy tell ya 'bout it later.'

'Good deal!' Austin thought back.

 

Later that evening:

Cory sat on Sean's lap, unconsciously pulling Sean's arms tightly over his belly. As Cory looked around he finally began to relax. Off to one side Sammy and his family were all once again together, quietly reassuring each other that they were really all okay. Cory shifted his gaze and it fell on Kyle, Colin, Tyler, Miah, Xedyan, and Z in quiet conversation amongst themselves; it appeared Kyle and Colin were doing most of the talking.

Cory's eyes next fell on Austin. A small smile crossed his face as he saw the two boys squeezed onto Austin's lap. He noticed that Brandon was still glued to Leo's side, and a man he recognized from the ER triage team was sitting there talking with them. No more than a couple of feet away, Joey, Timmy, and Ricky sat watching Jamie and Jacob talking to some little twins that had been running around trying to help for part of the evening. Another man Cory did not recognize was sitting there watching over them.

Cory's smile faded quickly as his eyes fell on the group isolated in the corner. Marc, Danny, and everyone else who had been actively repairing the injured incoming in the ER had grouped together in the one area. Even from a distance, it was obvious that the members of Nickleback were working hard trying to keep the group from losing it.

"C'mon," Cory said softly as he tried to stand up.

"Where we going?" Sean asked as he tried to keep Cory steady.

"Over there," Cory replied, tilting his head towards Marc and Danny.

Sean stood and placed his arm around Cory's waist as Cory put an arm over Sean's shoulder to keep himself steady.

As they reached the table, Noah looked up and quickly vacated his chair so they would have a place to sit.

"Hey, guys," Danny said with a weak smile before sliding over in his chair to make a little room and waving to Noah to sit back down. "Plant it, Barnes, you're off duty."

"Slave driver," Noah grinned as he walked around the table and plopped down, instantly finding an arm wrapped around his shoulder.

"Better watch it, bro. I'll have KC give you another black eye." Danny grinned before looking back over to Sean and Cory as they sat down. "How are you feeling, Cor? You haven't had much recovery time and really should be taking it easy."

"I'm okay, I guess; Sarek put Sean in charge until I recover," Cory replied. "I'm more worried about you guys though; I'm really sorry I dragged you into this mess."

"Dragged us into this?" Danny questioned, as Marc tilted his head and scowled. "No one dragged anyone into anything; family sticks together through the good and bad times."

"Thanks, bro," Cory replied softly. "It just hurts knowing that people I love are going to have nightmares for a long time because I didn't realize how bad it was until it was too late."

"There was no way any of us could have known what was going to happen, Cor," Sean said softly. "I talked to Justy and Seth while you were in conference with Sarek about the D'Kyr; none of our intelligence picked up anything that could have warned us."

"They were going after Sammy publicly," Cory replied while shaking his head weakly. "We should have expected them to try something else, since that was not working."

"Should have, could have... You know, Cory, life is full of those," Marc said as he rubbed his eyes. "If I had only known how hard things could get when you guys first showed up at our house, I might have refused your help and missed out on making new family. I made that choice, just like everyone else in your family that is standing at your side and refusing to stand anywhere else. No matter how bad it could get."

"You're not even being fair to yourself, Cory," Noah said in barely above a whisper. "Or to us by saying this was some kinda mistake."

Cory sighed. "You're right; I'm sorry, bros. Ever since I came down here, I've been going over everything that happened, trying to find a way I could have done something different so nobody died. No matter how hard I try, I can't do it though. The Federation has declared a worldwide Red Alert and has taken command of all Terran Armed Forces; then they gave command of those forces to Adam and his group. Last I heard at least four states have declared themselves 'Safe Haven' states and are doing everything they can to help us. Right now, the Lafayette, the Hood, and the D'Kyr are orbiting Earth at full Red Alert. Even with all of that, things still went bad."

"So stop blaming yourself. Stop thinking there was a better way," Noah said as a child in a sling ran past the table toward a small group of kids that were playing on one of the mattresses on the floor. "Next time you do, look at one of those kids. If we ALL weren't willing to sacrifice for this, where would they be right now?"

Sean gave Cory a squeeze. "Remember what Timmy taught us, babe? Sometimes bad things gotta happen ...."

Cory looked around the table at the tired faces staring back at him. "... so good things can happen," he whispered.

"He was right," Marc smiled before scanning the room. "I think we all have something to be really proud about here. Just think about how much good can actually come of this."

"Or already has," Danny smiled. "Care for a report, Patriarch?"

"That's Sean's job; I'm on the sick list," Cory replied, his mood slightly improved with finally admitting he was not to blame. "This might qualify though. Did Austin tell you that you're a grandpa now, Marc?"

"Excuse me?" Marc almost choked. "No!"

"You are old enough." Noah jabbed in quickly, earning a laugh from everyone at the table, except Marc.

Cory tilted his head towards Austin. "He adopted those two angels sitting on his lap."

"No kidding," Marc said as he looked at the three who were obviously enjoying some needed quiet cuddle time. "The fair skinned one almost looks as if he could be diagnosed with Albinism," Marc said tilting his head.

"Give it a rest, Doctor," Noah laughed. "Danny, can we take his batteries out or something?"

"What, he does. Look at him," Marc almost whined.

"I'll save you the trouble; Conner's a full-scale albino," Cory replied. "If I understood Austin right, there's some surgery he needs done for his eyes. That's between you two; I'm not getting near another operating table for a long time."

"I can talk to him about it," Marc replied. "I hope he doesn't intend to perform the procedure himself. He may have the programming, but his emotions get in the way."

"So that's why he was down here," Sean stated. "He changed the subject when I asked."

"Speaking of androids not in the ER, you have relation that came in on the D'Kyr, Marc," Cory said, as he turned to look at the three boys who were supervising the cuddle party on their pet. "They brought their pet Sehlat 'Marju' down about an hour ago; Timmy already asked for one."

"Why doesn't that surprise me?" Marc laughed. "Are they M.A.R.C. series?"

"If you want, I can go get them so you can ask them yourself," Joe said as he walked up to the table. "You're starting to look better, Cory."

Cory quickly twisted his head. "Hi, Joe! If you don't mind, that'd be great. We could do introductions all at once then."

"Definitely," Marc smiled as everyone at the table nodded in agreement.

"Danny." Chad spoke up as the rest of the band members began to stand up. "We're going to skip out on you for a few. Have a couple of calls to make and would really like to check up on a few of the kids we met today."

"Oh, sure," Danny said with a smile. "You guys aren't taking off soon, are you?"

"Not for a while," Daniel said with a grin. "I was actually hoping to get a look at this drum set you mentioned."

"Oh, great," Noah moaned. "No one'll be sleeping tonight."

"Wah," Danny laughed. "Sweet, I'll look for you later."

"You got it," Daniel replied as the group made their way toward the door.

"Those guys are awesome in real life," Marc said as he watched them leave. "You should have seen them jump in and just start helping. It was unreal."

"They are cool," Noah nodded. "Even if they did bring in another Danny who likes to pound on things."

"So you've got a lotion shortage at your place too?" Sean giggled.

"What Danny does in private is his business," Cory added.

"Perverts," Danny laughed.

Just then Joe returned with the three boys. "You wished to see us, Patriarch?" Sipek asked.

Cory nodded. "I'd like you guys to meet some more of your family. First let me give Joe a proper introduction. Guys, this is Judge Joe Lewis; he's the one that made it so I was able to live with Mom and my teddy bear again. The new blond here is Skirk. His black-haired brother is Syzik and his brown haired brother is Sipek. You guys already know me and Sean; the rest of the guys here are Marc, Danny, and Noah."

"Great to meet you," Noah said with a smile.

"Welcome to the family." Danny added before turning and looking at Marc, who appeared to be lost in thought. "Dr. Furst. Helloooo." He said with a giggle. "The mute says hi."

"I'm sorry," Marc said with a grin. "It's great to meet you. I just can't remember any of our kind being transported to Vulcan. Were you adopted?"

"It is an honor to meet you too," Sipek replied for all of them. "Our original owners ordered us to star in an off-Terra entertainment series. Upon termination of the series, we were sold to another person who intended to use us for illegal films. Due to a mishap on the ship, we were ejected in an escape pod and picked up by the D'Kyr. Our performance on the D'Kyr brought about the logical inclusion of the three of us into the ship's crew. The exact location escapes me at the moment, but you appear familiar, Marc."

Cory smiled. "I bet I know why. He's Marc Furst; the entire M.A.R.C. series is named after him. He's also the R&D director of the Clan AI Division. Danny there predates even him; he's the AI Division Head. Noah's the oddball; he's human but he's also Danny's second-in-command."

"I can see I've got a few months of catching up to do!" Joe chuckled. "Do you offer a speed course for remembering all of this, Cory?"

Cory grinned. "Just talk to Kyle, Joe; he'll get you up-to-date in about ten seconds."

Sipek tilted his head. "That would explain my recollection; I had an internal component failure twenty-seven years ago and was returned to Vision Industries for repair. At that time I overheard a conversation which stated the original M.A.R.C. was on the premises."

"Too bad our paths didn't cross." Marc smiled warmly. "I do remember reading about three of our own ordered for off planet entertainment; never thought I'd ever get to meet them, though."

Skirk gave a small smile. "It is nothing like meeting the two people who made us possible. Patriarch Short has told us that we should attempt to be less formal with family; due to our immersion in Vulcan culture for over a decade, it will take some time to reacquire our dormant emotional responses fully. I wish to apologize in advance if we seem detached for a while."

Cory giggled. "That reminds me, Marc; is there any way you can reprogram them to call me 'Cory'? Some of the munchkins are trying to be like their new 'space heroes' and are addressing me as 'Patriarch' now!"

"I'll look into it, Patriarch," Marc giggled.

Cory shook his head. "Thanks a lot, bro. Danny, since your R&D department head has went senile, do you have any good news?"

"Nothin' new," Danny replied, after a brief stretch. "With all the external help we are receiving, we should be able to have this location shut back down by morning so we can get back to renovating this place."

"Thanks to Rylan, that's not going to take long," Noah added. "Dude, they cleared the asbestos and then just started going crazy on the wiring up there." Noah directed toward Cory. "Phil is havin' a blast just watching them."

"They who?" Cory asked, tilting his head. "How can you remove asbestos with people here?"

"Oh, sorry," Noah laughed. "Ark sent four Techbots here when we found out there was a small amount of airborne asbestos in the areas we were hoping to use. They scanned the entire building and teleported it all out, then just started fixing stuff on their own. You should see them work!"

"Ahhh!" Cory giggled. "Maybe I should talk to Ark about borrowing one after you guys have finished with them; when Austin starts wrestling with his brothers, things get messed up quick!"

"I don't know," Noah laughed. "Three of them are playing up on the 6th floor right now."

"Playing?" Danny turned and asked, tilting his head.

"Yeah," Noah said as he sat back in his seat. "They started ripping out the walls and the old wiring. It looks like a bunch of kids in a playground. Seriously."

"Kinda like you and Caleb going through Microsoft code?" Cory asked with a giggle.

"Yeah, kinda," Noah answered with a grin. "We stopped when we were finished though. One is still finishing up in the brig area and the other three just started goin' house upstairs. They even stole the blueprints right out of Phil's hands. It was seriously funny."

Cory nodded. "That actually is good; from the sounds of it, that is one less thing you guys need to worry about." He glanced over at Danny, who appeared to be on the edge of nodding off. "Tell you what; why don't you guys get Sleeping Beauty here to a bed; we'll start getting everyone outta here so you can close this place back up. We'll talk tomorrow sometime; right now I think the only reason I ain't passed out for the night is Ty trying to give my head a chance to sort all of this out. I'm gonna have to pin down Kyle and have him teach me how he does it."

"A bed?" Danny asked opening his eyes wide. "I don't look that tired, do I?"

"All of us do, Danny; and from the looks of it, I'd say you're pulling a Cory and trying to take it all on yourself." Sean giggled. "Seriously, bro, we all need to recover; don't push yourself to the point that it's gonna take a biobed to do it. Cory's already been relieved of duty; we don't need anyone else on that list."

"Yeah, right." Danny smiled. "Like he doesn't?" He said pointing at Noah. "I mean, look at the bag under his eye," he got out as Noah covered his black eye and tried not to laugh.

Cory shook his head. "Y'all are nuts. Sean and I are gonna formally introduce Skirk and his brothers to a few people, then we'll get everyone we can outta your hair. If y'all need anything get ahold of Sean; Tommy found out that Grandfather Sarek took me off duty so he refuses to even give me a chance to do any work."

Sean grinned. "That's our little brother for ya, hard headed as ever!"

"Yeah, it's back to work, I guess," Danny replied as the group got to their feet and stretched. "I'll report in as soon as we have some kind of a time table figured out here."

Sean giggled, "Report in tomorrow when the rest of us can think without Ty messing with our heads to keep us sane. That's an order!"

"SIR! YES SIR!" Danny and Noah chorused seconds before Marc playfully slapped them both in the back of the head and pushed them toward the door. "Sean," Marc said with a smile. "Make sure Cory gets rest, okay?"

"You got it, Doc!" Sean replied.

"It was nice meeting you guys," Marc said, turning to the newest additions to the family. "We need to get together sometime and trade some stories."

"It is an honor, Sir; we look forward to sharing the experience," Syzik replied.

Marc shook his head and grinned. "The proper response would be more like 'Sounds cool, can't wait' or something like that. You guys really need to recover your original protocols."

"Look who's talking," Danny giggled before running for the door.

"Oh, I'll recover your protocols, dork!" Marc yelled before breaking out in a chase.

"Wouldn't they make a cute couple?" Noah said in just over a whisper to Cory.

"They're not a couple?" Skirk commented, overhearing Noah's whisper.

Noah snickered as he wrapped his arm around Skirk's shoulder. "No, they aren't, but we're working on that."

Skirk grinned. "If android Elders are like Vulcan Elders, you will be required to work very hard; they are very much set in their ways at times."

"Nah." Noah laughed. "I'll explain it to you sometime."

 

Cory took one last glance around the cafeteria as Ark started teleporting everyone to their destinations. Kyle walked up to him and Sean, a serious look on his face.

"Ty and me are gonna make SURE you two get home," Kyle stated. "I trust Ark, but I don't wanna take any chances, not after the way today went."

"How do you plan on...doing.......that....?" Cory asked as the four of them suddenly appeared in the middle of CIC. "On second thought, don't answer that." Cory added as he quickly found a seat.

Cory looked around and noticed Nyo standing by Tyne, both looking worn out. He returned Nyo's wave weakly, still trying to figure out what just happened. "Hi Nyo, hi Tyne," Cory said, loud enough for them to hear over the large group that Ark had deposited in the CIC building.

Cory watched as Tyne stood up and gave Rusty a quick kiss before he headed towards Cory.

"I'm glad to see that all of you made it through all that was happening. As Ark just reminded me, though, I think we should hold a Council meeting, due to all that HAS happened; do you feel up to it?" Tyne asked.

"I can try," Cory replied. "As long as I'm sitting down, I guess. Sean's been sticking with me to make sure I'm okay; I think I'll be fine by myself long enough for that though."

"I'm sorry if I'm poking where I shouldn't," Brant asked as he came over to see how they were doing. "Is there a reason Sean can't be in there with you?" He then turned to Tyne. "Thank you from the bottom of my heart for saving my brother's life, Tyne; Kelly means a lot to me."

Tyne looked at Brant and stared for a few seconds before replying, "It wasn't really my decision to make, although I probably would have chosen to do the same thing if it was my choice to make. As to Sean staying with Cory, normally I would say no, he can't be with him for the meeting, as outsiders would want to add their own opinion to the meeting. But if Cory wants Sean there, with the state of things being the way they are, then Sean can join us." Tyne paused for a few more seconds, staring deep into Brant's eyes before he continued, "Do you mind if the two of us speak for a few minutes, though?"

As Brant nodded his approval, Kyle yelled from the other side of the room. "I'll get everyone together, Seer."

"Where do you want to talk at?" Brant asked Tyne.

As Tyne headed off to the briefing room with Brant, Cory took the chance to look around him. Adam, Kelly, and Dean were all three latched tightly to their respective partners, each obviously not intending to do anything other than to hold on tightly.

Off to one side, Christian and his boys, Joe, Austin, Brandon, Leo, and Conner were in deep discussion as Austin explained the inner workings of Headquarters. A few feet away, DJ and Tanner were explaining the same to the Carr family, all of which, other than Teddy, were present. The members of Bon Jovi were all making the rounds of the room making sure everyone was comfortable, all of their clothes still bearing stains from their work at the hospital.

 

Tyne nodded at Kyle and then looked around the room, quickly noticing the Debriefing room door that was right behind Brant. "I think this room right over here will work just fine," said Tyne as he swiftly made his way into the Debriefing room, motioning for Brant to follow him. Once Brant was inside, Tyne closed the door and turned to Brant, staring silently at him for a moment before finally speaking.

"I'm not really sure where to begin with this one," Tyne said softly. "I know you know that I'm not very fond of what you are, and I'm sorry that I hold that against you. See, it's not that my prejudice isn't for a good reason...well no, see that's just it actually, what I was holding against you wasn't for a good reason and I realized that today. There is so much in this world that I don't understand anymore, or ever did for that matter; I'm only familiar with what was told to me or what I've seen with my own eyes. But just because a person or a group of people commit a horrible act doesn't mean that everyone I run into from that species is like that. One person or group doesn't define a species...although it only takes one person to change my mind about that. I've been very used to hating any Moroi that I've ever met, so used to it, in fact, that the first time I met you I was willing to try and kill you because of that hate. But how I treated you wasn't right, and I did apologize, but I feel like, as a person, I owe you more than that. You're just as much a part of Cory's family as anyone else is, no matter what differences you have, and if he trusts you, then so do I." Tyne paused to think for a second, still staring at Brant, wanting to say more but wanting to gather his thoughts first.

Brant gave Tyne a small smile. "Take your time; I don't hold anything you've said so far against you, but I understand that it still needs to be said."

"Thanks," Tyne said as he pulled something out of his pocket and handed it to Brant, "But you see there is more I could be doing to help you, though, and this is part of that. You're family, and I can't think of anyone else of your kind I would rather give this to."

Brant took the device from Tyne with a smile. "Thanks .... ummm....I don't want to sound rude, but what is it?"

Tyne grinned, "I was expecting you to ask. It's a device that was designed to allow Moroi to be out in the sun without getting killed. It also reverses your sleep schedule to keep you awake during the day and allow you to sleep at night. From what we can tell, it gets it's energy from the person wearing it."

"Whoa ... wow, that's awesome!" Brant replied. "Do I wear it like a bracelet? This means I can spend time with my new family! I'd like to give you a hug, Tyne .. that is if you think it would be okay. I understand if you ain't comfortable with that, though."

"You can wear it as a bracelet or an arm band," Tyne said softly. "I suppose it would be okay for you to hug me, I...I've never been hugged by a Moroi before. As long as you don't bite you can hug me all you want."

"I won't ever bite anyone I consider a brother; I'll die first." Brant replied as he gave Tyne a hug in gratitude. As the hug broke, Brant stepped back, then said, "Thanks again, bro. After what happened while I was asleep today, I'd kinda like your opinion on something."

"Okay," said Tyne. "Fire away."

Brant fidgeted a little as he replied. "If it wasn't for what my family went through today, I wouldn't have even considered this, not after learning what I have from you. I've ran into a few of the local Moroi as I was getting familiar with Orlando. What I've found out is they pretty much have taken it upon themselves to try to assist the Clan; those who don't want to help were either killed or kicked out of the state. The Moroi that pretty much 'oversees' this area has offered to have his people act as intelligence for us; he promised they would not act on anything unless it was an immediate threat or we asked them to. I told him I would have to get the okay from somewhere higher than me. He's not able to read me; even if his Extra is a reader, Kyle taught me some blocking stuff. I'm sure he don't know about the Council."

Tyne was quiet for a moment, "I'm not...well...okay, that's fine, but they report directly to you then. If they cause any problems, I'll be asking you what happened. That doesn't mean you are responsible for what they do, just the in between; I wouldn't hold you accountable for their actions. We can talk more about it in the Council meeting; I'll ask you to bring it up for the rest of the Council to vote on it."

"That's fine..." Brant replied, "Umm...does that mean you want me to attend the meeting even though I'm not on the Council?"

"As the new Head of Council Human and Environment Affairs, I kind of expect you to be there," Tyne said with a grin. "We can't have a Council meeting without the Council Ingenium there to bring those kind of things to our attention."

Brant had to pick his jaw up off of his chest to reply. "Ahhhh....wow! I...I...Thanks, Tyne!"

"I'm sure you'll do a good job as Ingenium," replied Tyne. "We should join the rest of the Council now, unless you had anything else to add."

"Not right now...I'm still trying to grasp being on the Council!" Brant replied. "Let's go before Cory passes out; he don't look good at all."

"I don't think saying he's had a bad day would quite cover it," said Tyne as they left the Debriefing room and headed for the Conference Room. As they made it there, they found that Kyle was standing guard at the door. "Okay Kyle, we're ready. Brant will be joining us."

"Congratulations, Brant!" Kyle said with a knowing grin. "Tyler will be guarding the entrance, Seer," he added as he closed the door behind them.

"It's only one door; I'm sure he can handle it," said Tyne. "Although we'll be calling people in throughout this meeting so if he can control the traffic flow that would be awesome."

"That will not be an issue, Seer; he's just like me now, he's a Mikyvis," Kyle said as he moved towards his seat. "He won't even need to bother with the door, and I can let him know who is next from in here."

Tyne glared at Kyle for a second but then took his seat, shaking his head, "I'm not sure I want to know right now. So, is everyone here? Are we missing anyone?"

Kyle looked around. "Oops; I forgot Danny." He paused for a second, then added, "Keep it quiet; he's sleeping." A few seconds later, Danny appeared in his chair, legs crossed and head comfortably on the back of the chair. It was obvious he was sound asleep.

Kyle grinned at Cory, who just shook his head while trying not to laugh.

"Ah Danny, what's your opinion?" Tyne said loudly, acting like he was talking about something.

Cyna, who was floating above a console that was set up just for him, grinned, "Yes, yes, I think it's very important. What do you think, Danny? Should we do it?"

"Huh? What the..." Danny gasped as he nearly fell out of his chair. After rubbing his bloodshot eyes and blinking several times to try to focus, he looked around at the group at the table and simply shook his head. "Did I miss something here?"

"Oh, don't tell me you were sleeping!?" Tyne said, trying to sound like he was offended.

Kyle fought off giggles as he waved at Danny.

Danny mumbled as he looked around the table, "I was asleep, at the hospital..." He began as Kyle lost the battle and began laughing. "Yeah, you'll pay, leech." He smiled before looking back toward Tyne. "Seer, I believe the answer to your question is, yes. We should definitely not take naps with leeches around."

"So that's yes to wild sex in the pool, but only when the leeches are not around," Cyna said, purposely ignoring half of the comment. "I'll have the papers drawn up, thanks, Danny."

"Oh..." Danny said with a yawn and a stretch before attempting to straighten out his shirt. "Glad to help." He giggled. "Any chance we could have a coffee break now?"

"We're just starting, Danny, no breaks I'm afraid," replied Tyne. "But I'm sure we can get you a caffeine injection."

"Whatever works." Danny smiled as he pulled his chair closer to the table. "So, why are we meeting?"

"Now that a certain SOMEONE is done messing with people....." Cory stated, while looking directly at Kyle.

Kyle tried to appear innocent. "Tyne SAID we needed everyone here!"

"Right, so now that we're all here, what should we begin with?" said Tyne.

"Well, we've got a list," Cyna said as a clipboard appeared in his hands. "We should probably start with the recent events, which will start with the attacks on the Clan, then move to the attacks on the Ark."

"Do we have any more information on this FCC other than the basics we've already got?" asked Tyne.

"Ark has been complaining about the amount of bodies it dumped," said Nyo. "If that counts."

"Um... That's my fault, I think," Danny said as he lowered his eyes.

"They had to go somewhere," Cory replied. "I haven't had a chance to see what Clan Intelligence has found out yet, so I can't give any more information."

"We're still putting the data together," Kyle added. "The Clan Special Forces team is following up on some leads to get more information, and once everyone has recovered from the shock of today's events, we'll be able to put together a detailed report."

"That's pretty much what I figured, but I thought I'd ask anyway," said Tyne.

"Actually, I have something to add," Nyo said, as he placed the camera he had been carrying with him onto the table. "I have reason to believe the attacks on the Clan and the attacks on the Ark were connected. This camera was found in CIC about an hour ago; it was phase shifted so it wouldn't be detected. It belongs, or rather belonged, to Axon. From what else we found that led us to this camera, we believe he has been watching the Clan as well as the Ark compound for some time. While he may not be directly involved with the FCC, Ark thinks he might have been pushing them towards more extreme actions through his contacts."

"Have those cameras been found anywhere else, Nyo?" Danny asked, now finally appearing to be more awake.

"Some of the connections we found were dead, meaning something happened to the camera, but most of the ones we found were still active," said Nyo. "Ark is working on tracing the dead ones. While the others link to different locations where we have either visited often or have people stationed. Three of the active ones were in the Ark compound itself; two were here in CIC; two of the dead ones were found to link to the AI hospital, though we have only traced it and have not found the cameras yet. With the state of the building, though, I'm sure it wasn't hard to damage the cameras there. Another one of the live ones was watching a house in Montana. Three more go to different locations inside of Camp Little Eagle, which I'll be deactivating soon. The rest of the active cameras go to locations around the world, watching leaders here and there. We still have two more dead links to trace, so I don't know where those are yet."

"I bet I know which house in Montana..." Cory muttered.

"I do too," Kyle replied. "Nyo, you might want to check with Xedyan and Miah to see if either of them can help you with locating them and spotting them if they get replaced. I'd like to get with you to check out how he did it, so I can try to think of something too."

"We actually have scanners that can find them; we just don't normally install them in our locations," said Nyo. "I'll be looking into anything I can, though, for fixing this problem. Thank you for the suggestions."

"Hopefully that'll take care of any planned attacks, but what are we doing about security in general?" asked Tyne.

"I've been working with one of the new security teams at the Ark Compound for the last few hours," replied Rusty. "While they still need more training, they had some good ideas for keeping the compounds more secure. Ark also had some suggestions for equipment we could be using to detect anything that comes near any of the compounds within a hundred mile radius. While the hundred miles might be a bit much here, it wouldn't hurt to have it. If nothing else, Ark can keep an eye on it if we set up the grids."

"I like that," said Tyne. "But as soon as we have more security personal able, I want to start or double our patrols."

"Oh that reminds me, we had a Phasenmorph die," Cyna added. "The poor thing did its job up until it ran out of energy; it was Adam's Phasenmorph."

Cory hung his head, and audibly sobbed before commenting, "I saw it happen. The idiot strapped a live grenade to his chest, then jumped on Adam. All I could do was watch as he tried to kill my brother."

"His phasenmorph saved his life," Danny said, as he looked around the table. "Without that protection, I know he would never have survived that blast."

Sean wrapped his arms tightly around Cory. "He didn't die, babe; our bro didn't die. Don't think about it right now; you'll hurt yourself if you do."

"I'm trying," Cory sobbed, as he pulled Sean's arms tighter around him.

"Cor, let Ty help you, bro," Kyle said softly. "Don't try to deal with your pain alone this time; we love you, bro, we're here to help."

Cory nodded his head, and a few seconds later looked up and over at Kyle. "Thanks, bro."

Danny watched silently before turning his attention toward Tyne. "I feel bad that the little guy was lost, I mean you guys may not look at them the same way some of the kids do, but we may need to address Adam's feelings towards receiving a replacement." He said with a sigh, "I'll also wait to get together with Marc and Nyo regarding the issues of an AI and a phasenmorph integrating. Now that I've seen what those little creatures are capable of, and now that we know just how bad bad can get, it would be irresponsible of us to not look deeper into it."

Xain nodded. "Your suggestion is logical, Danny. Considering the probable outcome if a Phasenmorph had not been present, I believe it would be logical for us to investigate the possibility of increasing the distribution of Phasenmorphs to those who have anything more than a minute possibility of becoming subject to the attention of the aggressors which have targeted us."

"I don't want anyone walking around with a Phasenmorph if they don't have any training," Tyne said slowly. "But I agree that more of us need to be carrying them. I'd also like to look into a way to increase the ability of the Phasenmorph for situations like what we ran into today."

"I'll have Javyk look into it," said Nyo. "After I give him a basic run-down of what not to try with a Phasenmorph; I think I'm the only one that really knows anything about how to modify them."

"Good, we can put his talents to use for what they were intended," replied Tyne. "Oh, speaking of talents, I'm not sure if any of you noticed, but we have a new Council member with us. I've asked Brant to be the Head of Council Human and Environment Affairs, making him Council Ingenium. And even before I gave him the title he already started working to help us out."

Brant blushed before responding. "Thanks, Tyne; I'm still kinda in awe here. I know we've been given a lot of help from people, but I've been approached with an offer from somewhere I didn't expect. The Moroi here in Florida have been silently backing us since the Clan moved here; in fact they've went so far as to deport or send to the next life any local Moroi that did not accept the responsibility. The 'Elder' Moroi for this area has offered to have the Moroi in Florida perform intelligence for the Clan. He did say they would not act on it unless there was immediate danger or we ask them to solve the issue. I'd been waiting to discuss it with Tyne before I gave him an answer; when I brought it up is when Tyne told me about my appointment here."

"I wanted to know if anyone had any objection before we tell Brant to give him the go-ahead," said Tyne as he looked around the table. "So...any objections or other views?"

"I believe the assistance would be beneficial," Xain stated.

"Well unless anyone has anything else to add, I believe you have the go-ahead, Brant," Tyne concluded. "Oh, that also reminds me, if any of you see Brant walking around in the day, don't freak. We recovered a device from the encounter we had with Larry Malvya that he was giving to his Moroi. It negates the problems that Moroi have with the sunlight and reverses their sleep schedule. It powers itself using energy from the host, so it won't fail on him either. But I just wanted to let you know that Brant has one of these devices, so don't panic if you see him up and about tomorrow."

Kyle smiled as he commented, "That's awesome!"

"Thanks, Tyne," Cory added.

"Um, Tyne?" Danny asked, as he scratched his head. "Is that device something that Brant can't easily lose? I mean, there's no danger of it coming off say, mid afternoon while he's in the sun out with his family or anything. Is there?" He asked, looking back toward Brant. "I just wanna make sure he's gonna be safe."

"While it has an arm band, if he puts it under his shirt on his actual skin, it seems to cling to the skin as long as the device is active," replied Tyne. "And it's not easy to deactivate since it's running off of the body. He should be safe. It also appears to be weatherproof. If you'd rather run more tests on it before allowing him to use it, though, I'll understand, but Javyk and I couldn't find any drawbacks."

"No, I'll trust you guys on this. I was just worried that we could put him in danger if it was easy to separate from the person wearing it. Just wanted to be sure," Danny replied as he sat back in his chair.

"Thanks for worrying though, Danny," Brant said, obviously overtaken by the concern shown towards him.

"No prob, bro." Danny smiled warmly.

"So, since we have that done...can I bring up something that's been worrying me?" asked Cyna.

"Go ahead," said Tyne.

"What the heck is up with Kyle?" Cyna began. "Am I out of the loop on something? I don't have any records of him being teleported anywhere yet here he is, I've got strange readings all over the sensors but no physical representation of that. Can someone clear this up for me?"

"Yeah, it's kinda freaky when he decides to take you somewhere but don't ask anyone to do it," Cory replied. "What's up with that, bro?"

Kyle giggled. "That's nothing; Ty can do that too."

Nyo frowned, "What do you mean, Tyler can do it too? What did you do to Tyler?"

Kyle got serious as he replied. "Miah is still figuring out the details; basically, when Ty and I took a nap, my brain decided that since I was the only Mikyvis in existence, it was logical that the person who means the most to me in the whole universe should join me in forming our species."

"I guess that means he's not asexual," Cyna mumbled with a grin. "He had to convert someone so they could continue the species."

Tyne glared at Cyna as he replied, "It won't happen every time you sleep next to someone, will it?"

Kyle shook his head. "No; I was really worried about losing Ty because of what I'm turning into. That kinda helped push it. I went back and checked out what happened; I can control it and actually can do it any time if I need to."

Tyne was quiet for a few seconds before finally speaking, "That's a power you need to be careful with, Kyle. That can cause a lot of unbalance if you use it too much. Don't convert anyone else without at least running it through us first, please. Tyler is fine since he's your partner, but that's something we need to be more careful with than even Vifer conversions."

Kyle nodded. "I agree; it would take a pretty extreme emergency before I'd consider it. If someone asks for it they need to ask everyone here; I ain't gonna take that responsibility."

"I'll be holding you to that," replied Tyne.

"Has Tyler been checked out by a Medbot?" asked Cyna.

"Okay, Tyne," Kyle replied. "Cyna, he's been checked out by the one Ferox who knows more about my new species than anyone else. I'm not sure if a Medbot could figure him or me out, Cuz."

"I'd still like him to be checked out by a Medbot," said Cyna. "They can determine whether or not he's stable. We don't want him walking around with a chance of blowing up."

"Since Kyle's never been stable, and Kyle made Ty what he is, chances are pretty good ...." Cory said with a small smile.

"I can see Ty's helping you, bro. By the way...bite me!" Kyle replied. He then turned to Cyna. "I actually agree, Cuz; I've been watchin him and he seems to be staying stable as far as this plane goes. I didn't know Medbots could do that though; it might not be a bad idea for them to check both of us out so they can set up a base reference for the future."

"That's a good idea," said Cyna. "I'll make sure you guys make it to the Medical Bay tomorrow."

Tyne grinned, "You'll make sure?"

"If they don't, I'll make sure they never forget again," replied Cyna. "They could wake up in some very strange places."

"Right, so do we need to cover anything else regarding Kyle and Tyler?" Nyo asked as he looked around the room.

"Yes actually, if Miah has a list of what Kyle knows how to do that would be a good thing to have around," added Tyne.

"One thing you need to be careful of with Miah." Kyle interjected. "He was Levis' Socius and is not taking it well at all. Be careful how you approach the subject; they were working together trying to figure me out."

"Thanks, Kyle," Cyna said with an understanding smile. "We'll keep that in mind when we talk to him."

"So, what else do we need to discuss?" asked Nyo.

"Wellllll," grinned Cyna. "Speaking of Socius we have a growing list of review requests."

"Yeah -- we could even start with the two couples that are already here!" Kyle said with a grin.

Xain looked between Kyle and Cyna. "By any chance is there a genetic tendency to plot in your bloodline, Cyna?"

"Yes, Xain, more than you'll ever know," Tyne said as he shifted in his seat uncomfortably, "This is going to be strange, I can't review myself and I'm not sure if Cyna is allowed to head the review. Regardless, I haven't done a Socius review in a long time. Are we going to be performing any marriages after the reviews?"

Kyle's grin got bigger. "Tyne, do you remember what you told me earlier? I think I can cover for you, unless the start of the meeting automatically cancelled it. Am I thinking that right, Ark?"

<Your 'Voice' authority technically ended at the beginning of the meeting as that is what was stated for the limits. But in this case any of the other Council members can volunteer to head a Socius review in Tyne's place. Cyna would not be able to, since in life he was Tyne's last Socius. If you wish to volunteer to head that review, and no one objects, then you are welcome to.>

To everyone's shock, Kyle's reply was serious. "Thank you, Ark. I actually would like the honor of paying Tyne back in a little way for saving me from destroying my own head."

"Awesome, the job's yours, then," Cyna replied with a large grin.

Tyne blushed and looked down at the table, "I'd rather not go first, though."

Cyna rolled his eyes, "You said the same thing when we did it."

Kyle smiled once again. "This time you can be second, Tyne; I'd like to see how it's done with another couple so I get it right."

"I didn't think of that," said Tyne. "I suppose that works."

"Great!" Cyna said excitedly as he bounced around in his chair. "So, who's first then?"

"I think Cory and Sean should be first," Brant replied seriously. "They're the reason we all ended up being here."

"I agree with your logic," Xain told Brant. "Those-who-are-my-brothers would have never become known to me without Cory and Sean."

"I agree too," added Rusty. "None of us would be here if it wasn't for them. They're the reason we all found each other, the reason we were rescued, and the reason, in some cases, why we strive to be better than we are. They're the foundation of the family they started; I think it's only right that they be the first."

Danny nodded. "Rusty's got it right."

"Very well," Tyne said as he stood up, "Cory, Sean, are the two of you ready?"

Sean gave Cory a reassuring squeeze. "I'm ready, Tyne."

"So am I," Cory said with a blush. "And Kyle, tell your boyfriend to get his mind out of the gutter. This is serious."

Kyle nodded. "Already taken care of, Bro. He promises to wait until your honeymoon for any more comments like that."

Cyna giggled, causing Tyne to glare at him. "What? It's funny!" Cyna said, not even trying to stop himself from laughing.

Tyne just grinned and shook his head, "Alright, let's begin then."

"Do you remember where to start?" asked Cyna.

"As difficult as our review was, yes, I remember," replied Tyne as he straightened up and looked over at Sean and Cory. After clearing his throat he began, "Socius, a form of marriage, but there's more than that to it. Socius isn't just marriage but a kind of permanent relationship between two people and it's considered just as permanent if not more permanent than marriage. As laid out by Jyris Oraculum, founder of the Founder Council, this bond is never considered broken. Nothing, not even the Seer of the Council, can grant the termination of a Socius once entered into. It is because of this the Council itself regulates and controls who is fit to be bonded, requiring that those involved be completely reviewed by the Council. If for any reason the Council finds either of the people involved to be incompatible in any way, then the request for Socius is not granted. But this is not just a simple question and answer session; there are no right questions that can determine if we should grant Socius, so we use another method, telepathy. Those wishing to be reviewed must willingly open their minds to the one heading the review and then the one heading the review will pass their findings to the rest of the Council after the scan is complete. But it's not just memories that we scan; in fact memories have very little to do with it. Rather, scenarios are projected into the minds of those being reviewed and how their mind reacts to those scenarios is what is looked at. This isn't an easy thing to go through; your mind will believe what it's told until the scan is complete, but it's for a good reason. For it's not who you are underneath but what you do that defines who you really are, and as such your reactions state your true feelings. That being said, do you still wish to continue?"

"I do," Cory and Sean expressed in unison.

"Tyne?" Kyle interrupted. "Ty said to tell you he's putting a temporary block on Cory's emotional reactions to recent events. He's backed out of Cory's head until you are done; then he'll go back in, remove the block, and resume feeding it to Cory in small doses so it does not mess up his head."

Tyne frowned, "I don't think you understand then, Kyle. What do you think I'll be projecting for scenarios? They are meant to tax you, stress you, and see how you deal with life at your low points as well as your high points. This isn't something easy or simple; there's a reason I remember mine and cringe. I know today has been hellish and to add to that wouldn't be wanted, but it's emotional responses I'm looking for."

Kyle held up his hand for a few seconds then replied, "I just asked Ty what he did exactly. Cory, you're using all of your head except the one particular thing that happened that your brain is overloading on." He turned to Tyne and added, "Ty says all of Cory's reactions will be normal for him; until he has had time to talk with the three new Vifers, that particular memory of what happened is causing stability problems."

"All right, I suppose that's good enough," mumbled Tyne.

"Cory, are you sure you're ready for this?" Cyna asked, looking very concerned. "Tyne's going to be rather rough."

Cory closed his eyes for a minute then opened them and replied. "I trust Tyne with my life, Cyna. If I can't handle it now, what's saying I could later? I'm ready, Tyne."

"Just remember that it's okay to cry, I did," Cyna added as he turned to Tyne. "The review is yours, Seer."

Tyne nodded his head and then focused on Sean and Cory, throwing all of his attention at them. Over the next few minutes he proceeded to project visions of loss, anger, joy, sadness, guilt, and depression into their minds. Each one was evident on Sean and Cory's faces as the situations they were seeing changed. Tyne kept at it until he couldn't stand to throw any more scenarios at them without breaking down himself. After stopping, Tyne quickly gathered the resulting data in his mind and then finally he released Sean and Cory from his projected attention. Tyne sat back down, feeling exhausted and sighed, "Give me a few minutes to review what I gathered, and then I'll give it to the rest of you to do the same. Cory, Sean, the two of you can relax for a few minutes."

Cory and Sean held each other tightly as they both recovered from the stress they had just gone through, each drawing strength from the presence of the other. Kyle closed his eyes as he silently went back and reviewed what Tyne had done, all the time making sure that Tyler did not get wind of the process. Danny and Brant watched as everyone prepared for the next part.

Tyne closed his eyes for a few minutes, thinking silently to himself, before he finally opened his eyes and looked around the table, "I'm done reviewing what I've found; I am pushing the results towards everyone else. To receive it just open your mind and the information will appear there."

"That's rough!" Danny muttered as he reviewed the information.

"Woah, you didn't miss anything." Brant added.

Kyle tilted his head as he reviewed Tyne's condensed version of what Cory and Sean had 'seen'. He quietly did some internal projections based on that information, then straightened his head. "I've decided my vote."

"Does anyone have anything they would like to add or any questions they would like to ask of Cory and Sean?" asked Tyne.

Brant nodded. "I have one thing I didn't see which I know from experience is a possibility. If both of you were to be given extended lives, to the point that each of you appears not to change, can you still live with the commitment you are making. Think about it really good before you reply."

Both Cory and Sean were quiet as they mulled over their thoughts on the subject. Sean replied first. "I told Cory I'll love him forever, long before I learned how long forever can turn into. I still stand by my promise to him."

Cory smiled before adding his reply. "I've lived with Sean most of my life; we argue a little, have fun a lot, and know what little things each of us does that the other has learned to ignore. After my stay in the home, I learned that even being apart, Sean did not change. Everything good AND bad about him is what makes him the one I want to spend my life with, no matter how long it is."

Tyne nodded and then looked around the room, "Is anyone opposed to granting Socius to Cory and Sean?"

"My projections match their responses; I approve," Kyle replied seriously.

"I approve," Brant replied with a nod to Sean and Cory.

"Add me to the approve list," Danny said.

"I believe the union is logical," Xain stated.

"Me too," added Rusty.

"I see no reason not to grant it," said Nyo.

"I approve," Cyna grinned.

Tyne nodded, "After having put you through a very difficult and taxing review, this Council finds you both to be fit to be bonded. I approve and as Seer of the Founder Council, I grant Socius to Cory and Sean Short. You may be joined at any time; just let me know when you want the ceremony to be performed."

"Thank you, Seer," Cory and Sean replied.

"I think after the Council meeting; something good to end the day," Sean added.

"Do the two of you know what vows you'll be speaking to each other?" asked Cyna.

Cory blushed as he responded. "We've discussed that a million times since we found out it was possible. We'd like to do something traditional; the problem is we don't know what traditional Socius vows are."

"Get with me after the meeting and I'll help you out with that," said Cyna. "I can tell all about both traditional Founder vows as well as non-traditional."

"We had very traditional vows for ours," added Tyne.

"Speaking of that, you're next to be reviewed," Nyo said as he started to look through a list of people they still had to review before the end of the meeting. "Are you ready?"

"I...I suppose so," Tyne replied as he looked over at Rusty. "Are you ready for this, Rusty?"

Rusty grinned, "I'm ready when you are, babe."

Tyne nodded and looked over at Kyle. "Kyle, do you have any questions or do you understand what you need to do from watching me?"

Kyle nodded seriously. "I went back and followed what you did; I believe I understand it now. Let me know when you are both ready."

Tyne slipped his hand into Rusty's and gripped it tightly as he nodded his head, indicating that he was ready. Rusty smiled, squeezed Tyne's hand, and nodded as well.

Kyle closed his eyes, more to keep from being distracted than anything else. He followed the procedure Tyne had used on Cory and Sean, filing the reactions in a separate part of his brain to be combined once done. After he was sure of their possible reactions, Kyle opened his eyes. "Ok, Tyne and Rusty; you guys can relax now. It'll take me a minute to break this all down for everyone."

Tyne pulled himself into a ball and nodded as he started to mumble to himself. Rusty wrapped his arms around Tyne and kissed his forehead. "Okay Kyle. Thank you."

"You're welcome, Rusty," Kyle replied. "Is everyone else ready?"

"Fire away, Kyle," said Nyo.

"This should be interesting," added Cyna. "Judging by Tyne's reaction, though, I'm afraid to know what you projected."

Once everyone had indicated their readiness, Kyle pushed the results out to the rest of the members. "Let me know when you have a decision."

Cyna grinned as he went over the data, "Not bad for your first review. Somehow I feel bad for those being reviewed though. You definitely were not easy on them. But regardless, I vote to grant their request for Socius."

"I agree with Cyna," Nyo said looking somewhat shocked. "On all of it."

"We really need to talk, Leech," Danny commented. "I vote to grant it too."

Xain and Brant both signaled their approval too, both wearing expressions that made it obvious they did not expect what they got.

"Jeeze, Kyle!" Cory said as he shook his head. "I approve of the granting of Socius."

Kyle turned to Tyne and Rusty. "After having put you through a very difficult and taxing review, this Council finds you both to be fit to be bonded. I approve and as Voice of the Seer of the Founder Council I grant Socius to Tyne Oraculum and Rusty Timberlake."

Rusty finally got Tyne to relax and un-ball himself and return his hug. Feeling Tyne relax against him, Rusty sighed contently, "Thank you Kyle. Tyne thanks you too."

"I'm surprised you got him out of his ball that fast," said Cyna. "It took me two hours after our review. I guess you're just good like that."

"So let's see who's next on the list, shall we?" Nyo said as he picked up his handheld again. "Adam and JJ are next."

"By the time we find them, Tyne should be fine," Rusty added.

"I've got them standing by," Kyle stated. "Before I bring them in, I think we need to discuss something. Cory, Ty is gonna let you discuss this without him stepping in unless he sees that you're losing control. I think there might be a new issue; Adam is now a Vifer while JJ is not. What should our response be if that is brought up as an issue by them?"

"I can't very well say no to JJ," Tyne said as he straightened up in his seat and blinked a few times. "I went Vifer so I could be with the one I loved."

"I'm with Tyne on this one," said Rusty. "For the same reason."

Nyo frowned, "It's not an easy thing being Vifer though. When they say a long time in regards to living they really do mean a long time. I'm over fifty thousand years old myself. I know JJ is going to want to do it so that he can be with Adam, but he needs to understand that it can't be undone and forever really is a long time."

Kyle nodded. "I think Tyne will be able to determine if they really can handle that; his scenarios can be adjusted to take it into account."

Cory tilted his head as he silently used Sean's presence to keep control. "In their case I think they can do it. We also need to think about Tommy and Justy though; if we allow it for one this time the others might expect it."

"Cory's logic matches my conclusions," Xain added. "My projections using the data I have available show a high probability that if allowed all concerned would handle the duration acceptably."

Brant grinned. "Shrink the big words and Xain just spoke my thoughts too."

"They've got the personalities for making it," Danny added.

"I say we grant it; it's their choice to make," said Tyne. "I'd just prefer them to either be in or mostly through puberty."

"If it can be added to their Socius review like Kyle suggested and they get approved, with that in there, then I approve," Nyo replied.

"I agree with Nyo and Kyle," said Rusty.

"I think that's everyone; unless you need an official vote I'm ready to bring them in on your command, Seer," Kyle stated.

"Go ahead," replied Tyne. "We still have a lot of people to go, each just as important, so let's get rolling."

Kyle nodded, and a few seconds later Adam and JJ appeared in the room.

Cory stood up, and as everyone watched, he made his way over to them, silently pulling both into a hug. "I'm sorry..." Cory began to whisper.

Adam cut him off gently. "Shhh .... there's nothing to be sorry for. If you and JJ hadn't forced me to get a Phasenmorph I wouldn't be here now. That's twice you've saved me, bro; stop beating yourself up."

JJ gave Cory a squeeze. "Adam's right, bro. I know what can happen when you start blaming yourself; I had Ark run over the entire event for me to see it for myself, and I promise you that you did everything you could do. Get that brain cell of yours back on track; all of us hurt when you are hurting yourself."

"I'll try," Cory whispered. "Since you don't hate me like I was afraid you guys would, I feel a little better now."

"Get back to your cuddlebear," Adam said with a smile. "We both still love you as much as ever, bro; we can talk about it more later."

Cory gave them both one last squeeze, then made his way back to Sean.

Tyne slowly stood up, doing his best to keep his balance, and addressed Adam and JJ, "Welcome, Adam, it's good to see you up and about again. But let me begin; you've been brought before this Council because one of you put in a request to be reviewed for Socius, the Founder form of marriage. Do either of you feel that you are not ready for this kind of review?"

"Does my being Vifer now have any bearing on it?" Adam asked quickly.

"Don't worry about that, Babe." JJ replied just as fast. "I've already thought it over. Seer, I wish to petition the Council for permission to be made a Vifer."

Adam was speechless, which gave Tyne time to reply.

"It has already been brought to our attention that you would ask such a thing," replied Tyne. "As such, we have agreed to integrate a few extra things into your review that would also test whether or not you could handle being Vifer. You won't know the difference, but it will be in there. If you pass the review, then your Vifer request is approved."

Both boys nodded. "I'm ready," they replied in chorus.

Over the next few minutes, Tyne projected different scenarios into their minds, testing them and pushing them. Afterwards he gathered and shared with everyone else what he found. Having found them ready for Socius, everyone was then asked to go over another set of data to determine if JJ should be allowed to become Vifer. No one objected in the least bit, especially since the data proved that both of them would be happier and healthier together through the years rather than apart. After telling JJ that he could report to the Ark Medical bay at any point to have the Vifer procedure done, Tyne had Kyle bring in Kelly and Tommy, as well as Justy and Dean, to have them reviewed for Vifer approval for Tommy and Justy. The Vifer approval went faster than the Socius review and a few minutes later they were sent back out with approval to have the procedure done. Tyne then had Kyle bring in the next couple, Travis and Gabriel. The Council quickly reviewed them, as well as Clint and Crystal, Gavin and Josiah, and Nyo and Stepan, finding all the couples ready for Socius before they came to their last couple.

Tyne sighed and looked over at Kyle, "Kyle, you and Tyler are the last couple that we need to review today. You can go ahead and bring him in so we can start."

Kyle smiled. "One cute Mikyvis coming up!" Kyle scooted back, and two seconds later Tyler appeared directly in front of him. Kyle immediately reached out and pulled Ty back onto his lap. "Yummmm ... You smell GOOOD!" Kyle giggled.

Ty blushed and giggled as he replied, "I'm in charge of making cookies! Helen's lettin' me do it all myself!"

Kyle turned Ty's head to give him a kiss. "You're my favorite cookie," he whispered as he leaned in.

"Hey, save that for later," shouted Cyna. "If I can't have any, then while you're here neither can you."

Tyne grinned, "Cookies? Weren't you supposed to be guarding the door?"

Tyler smiled as he replied, "That's easy - CD and Calen are helping me. I'm popping back and forth, and I'm listening in their heads when I'm away from the door. They're feeling really good about helping guard their parents and Uncles. I'm still watching through them even though I'm in here." Tyler paused, then a plate of still-hot cookies appeared on the table. "Helen sent these; she says don't work so hard."

"I can't have those either," mumbled Cyna.

Nyo rolled his eyes, "I'm sure you'll get over it. We aren't going to give up a snack for you; sex maybe but a snack? I don't think so."

Tyne shook his head and grinned, "Right... so Tyler, we had Kyle bring you here because he put in a request while you guys were on the moon to have a Socius review the next time the Council met. So here we are and we've come to the two of you in our list. Do you feel up to a review?"

Ty nodded. "I've been waiting! Besides; my cuddlebunny here needs to know I was serious when I told him I was keepin him no matter what."

With a snicker, Brant and Danny looked at each other and in the sappiest voice they both said; "Awww... Cuddlebunny, how cute," earning a few snickers from the room.

Kyle giggled. "You're just jealous cuz' I'm getting some and you ain't!"

"Oh no, I got some," Danny laughed as he held up his cookie and Brant snatched it out of his hand.

"You had some." Brant laughed as he picked a chocolate chip off of it and popped it in his mouth just before Danny was able to grab it back.

<Cuddlebunny, that is a new one. I shall add that to the list along with cuddlebear. I am noticing a trend in Clan naming conventions for significant others.>

Cyna rolled his eyes, "We'll have to work on their creativity then."

Tyne smiled and continued, "Do you know what is involved, Tyler, for this review?"

Tyler nodded. "Kyle filled me in already."

"Awesome, so do you think that you're ready then?" said Tyne as he looked back and forth between Kyle and Tyler. "And that question is for both of you."

"Yes." both boys chorused as Ty climbed off of Kyle and into a nearby chair.

Tyne sat up straight and focused on Kyle and Tyler as much as he could, throwing all of his attention on them. He proceeded to project scenario after scenario into their heads, using everything he had, knowing he didn't need to do this again and that he needed to give it more to make them believe it. He immediately found that he was right to do so because it felt harder to project into their heads, since he didn't use his projection skills all that often outside of the normal controlled situations and their heads were definitely different. Almost five minutes later Tyne collapsed back against his chair, holding his head and gasping for air as if he had been holding his breath.

"Ta...take a few...take a few minutes to rest while I gather the information and...and share it with the rest of the Council," Tyne said when he was able to calm down a little. "And Ark, can I get something for my head please? I think I hit my limit for the day."

"Are you okay, Tyne?" Tyler asked with concern in his voice as he rejoined Kyle.

Kyle looked over Ty's shoulder. "We didn't hurt you, did we?"

"I'll be fine; it was just a little harder than I thought it would be to project into your heads," replied Tyne as a glass of water and two pills suddenly appeared in front of him. "Are the two of you okay?"

Kyle and Tyler both nodded. "We're okay."

Tyne quickly took the pills and then sent the review data to the rest of the Council, "Despite it being taxing, on me that is, I think they did very well."

"I think they tested you more than you tested them, Tyne," Cyna added as he went over the data. "I approve."

Cory glanced over at the pair. "You guys barely broke a sweat over this?" he said in awe. "Tyne, I approve; but I really think we need to find out what all these two are capable of."

"Yeah we do; that batch is gonna give me nightmares!" Brant agreed. "Mark me as voting approved though."

"Makes me glad I'm not going through a review like this." Danny said as he rubbed his eyes. "Yeah, I approve and from what I just saw, you two are perfect for each other."

"I approve and I agree with Cory," said Rusty. "As well as Brant."

"I approve, but I wanna get with Miah and trade notes," replied Nyo. "You guys just be careful."

"We are," Kyle replied seriously. "It's actually easier now; Ty and I can run things back and forth between us and figure out what might happen without actually doing stuff."

"Make sure you let Miah know of anything you discover," said Tyne. "It might help him figure out if there is anything we should make sure you control, like your converting others."

"I will, Tyne." Tyler replied. "Thanks for doing this for us; I gotta run though, I need to check the cookies!" he added as he popped out of the room.

"So, is there anything else we need to cover with this meeting?" asked Cyna.

"I do have something I'd like to bring up." Danny said as he looked at Tyne and rested his elbows on the table. "We have a ton of assistance at the hospital from Ark right now. Medbots, Techbots and right now Rylan has been coordinating it all. My whole division really appreciates all the help. I mean, I have no idea how we would have managed everything without it. Our division is doing everything we can to get the Medbots back as soon as possible so we aren't tying up Ark's resources for too long, but I was wondering if a couple of the Techbots could remain behind for a little longer. In just a few hours they made the hospital safe to be in and could really help to get the entire site up and running, so we would be better prepared for situations like this in the future." He stated as he quickly scanned the group. "Hopefully, we'll never need it to this extent again, but I'd rather be prepared next time."

Tyne frowned, "Danny, you're not tying up any of Ark's resources. The help is given to you because you need it, you're family, and we want you to succeed. We don't really expect those bots back; please make use of them. Ark was created with over five hundred Techbots and two hundred Medbots to help it out, most of which Ark doesn't use. In fact Ark doesn't like the Techbots and hasn't used them in a very long time. The Techbots are itching to help you since they haven't done anything in fifty thousand years. They were designed to LOVE doing their job and they hate sitting there doing nothing. You should see the area that we had them stored in; it's the cleanest place on earth right now because they have nothing else to do but maintain their own systems and clean. So the bots are yours to keep if you need them, and if you need more than what you have now, just let us know and we'll give you more. We won't be running out anytime soon and it's not like you having a couple dozen Medbots and Techbots is going to slow us down any."

"I can just make more if we ever find ourselves low anyway," added Nyo.

"Please, make use of them and keep them," said Tyne. "If you don't I can't see anyone else using them."

"Well, we have more than enough problems in that building to keep them happy for a long time." Danny giggled. "Thanks, guys. Oh, and Ark," Danny said looking toward the ceiling for lack of a better place to look, "You seriously bailed us out a few times back there. For a being that doesn't really have a heart, you sure are good at emulating one." He finished with a grin.

<Having a heart is a state of mind, not a physical trait. I have known a good many people that physically have a heart but are evil. But thank you, Danny, I am glad I could help you. I think sending Rylan to you helped me realize what you needed as well.>

"Rylan has been awesome." Danny smiled. "Well, I still owe ya that hug, Ark, and someday I'll figure out how to deliver it."

<I shall look forward to it.>

"I can't wait to see that one!" Cory said with a smile. "You know, I think I might have an idea for some more of the Techbots. We have the D'Kyr in orbit right now; if I understand Sarek right, it's about to be turned over to us. I know we don't have the manpower to maintain something of that size; do you think they would be adaptable to something like that?"

"Turning a ship over to us?" Danny asked as he shook his head. "When did that happen?"

"This afternoon; they were not supposed to be here for a couple of days, but they somehow got it here today," Cory replied. "You've met the three androids that came in with it."

"I did, but no one ever said anything about a ship." Danny giggled. "Well, at least nothing about it being turned over. That's awesome."

"Yeah, if the Techbots are available, I won't be as worried about staffing; we're overloaded as it is. Sarek has plans for us to make more ships too," Cory replied.

"Wow!" Danny smiled. "We'll have to talk more later."

<Techbots can work on any system that you want them to; just make sure that I have access to the information they would need. I am their information database. Although they might need to be readapted to use the ship's systems instead of mine if we do not have instant communication.>

"We can have Javyk work on communication systems like that, Ark," said Tyne.

<If so, then they do not even need readapting.>

"Thanks," Cory replied. "I feel a lot better about accepting the ship now. Do we have anything else?"

"That's all we had on the list for this meeting," said Nyo. "Unless you have anything else to add, Seer?"

"No, I do not," Tyne said as he got up. "This was a good meeting, we got a lot accomplished; well done, everyone. This meeting is hereby concluded. Let's all relax a little now and maybe get some rest."

"Speaking of which," Kyle added with a smile, "I know a plane where time moves differently and you could get 8 hours sleep in about 15 seconds of real time if you are interested, Danny."

"No thanks." Danny said as he sat back. "That wouldn't be fair to the rest of the team back home. We'll all get some real sleep soon, though."

"Okay, but if anyone gets too run down, let me know; I'll hook them up." Kyle replied seriously. "You ready to go home?"

"Yeah," Danny said as he tilted his head. "Wait a minute. Did Ark bring me here or did you?"

"I did; Ark deserves a break," Kyle replied.

"Yes, it does," Danny replied as he glared at Kyle. "The rest of us deserve notice before you drop us into a meeting too, twerp." He got out before he started to laugh.

"I didn't want to interrupt your beauty sleep!" Kyle said innocently.

"Yeah, thanks for that." Danny giggled. "I'll talk to you all later."

Kyle smiled. "Give everyone our hugs!" he announced just before sending Danny back to the AI compound.

"I'm going to see if I can find those dead cameras in the hospital," Nyo said as he got up. "I think I need to stop and get a few things from the Ark Compound first though."

Tyne pulled Rusty up from his chair as Nyo headed towards the door. "Okay, Nyo, we'll catch you later. I think me and Rusty are going to go say good night to everyone here and then go get some rest." Nyo nodded and then left the room, with Tyne and Rusty following behind.