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Some important events in Jude Lee's life happened during the time frame this chapter covers, and were told from Joel's perspective in Sa'ren chapters eight and nine. A significant part of this chapter retells those events from Jude's perspective; be forewarned if you dislike re-reading scenes you have already read much of. Our gratitude for Iluvantir's kindness in allowing the reuse of those scenes, suitably changed, here
The boys were jubilant as they beamed back from Antipaxos, laughing and happy. Stass insisted on seeing what had happened as a transcendent religious experience, blending together the legends he had grown up hearing about with the Greek Orthodox worldview the old priest at the village school had insisted on. The idea that his 'rescuers' were just boys like himself, using modern Starfleet technology and the authority Sarek had equipped them with, was not something his sheltered upbringing had equipped him to deal with. To be sure, he'd seen tourists with cellphones and iPods; he was not totally naive about 21st-century life. But the concept they would be accessible to someone like him, and the entire panoply of restricted Starfleet technology that the Clan boys took in stride – this was as magical to him as the myths of gods and heroes he had grown up hearing. When Alec had poured John a plastic tumbler of cola, for example, he'd interpreted this as Ganymede being a cupbearer to Zeus.
Galen sensed most of this, not so much the actual thoughts as the awed feelings behind them, and thought to himself, 'This is going to take some work.' But Stass seemed content to cuddle up to Scott, a happy eromenos who had found his erastes. And that was, thought Galen, a foundation to build on.
As they beamed in, Kurt looked at them and laughed. "Didn't you forget something?" he asked between chuckles.
Scott looked down, then at the other boys. "No, actually this was intentional. Stass came to the island naked, so we all stripped down to join him, make him feel comfortable and not out of place."
Marky, standing next to Kurt, was giggling. Galen grinned. "We don't need no steenkin' clothes," he said. The change in his self-assurance level surprised and pleased Kurt; his insecure little nephew seemed to have found something he'd been missing in the Clan, and in particular in having been Scott's right-hand man for the intervention. And Scotty himself was showing a new self-assurance and even leadership, as he wrapped an arm protectively around Stass.
"Unk, this is our friend Stass, whom we went to bring back with us. Anastasios Petrides, my uncle, Kurt son of Joseph, who is our guardian and father, as Michalis was for you."
Stass shyly shook Kurt's outstretched hand, then, on hearing Scott describe the relationship, quickly kissed Kurt on each cheek, saying, "I am honored, kyrios Kurt" in halting English.
Jake, pulling on his clothes, looked up at the introductions. "T'hy'la, please give Stass the language dump," he said to Xain. Flashing his boyfriend a quick, gentle smile, the Vulcan boy stepped over and touched Stass's head, equipping him with the Earth languages the Clan knew plus conversational Vulcan.
"I'm hungry, Unk!" Marky said.
"Now there's a surprise!" Scotty said, with a grin at his little brother. "Actually, I am too. We had a picnic meal a few hours ago, but...."
"You've used a lot of energy since then," Galen finished with a devilish grin, glancing at Scotty's and Stass's crotches. Scott blushed.
"Well, come on with me, you three," Kurt said. "Let's see if Helen has anything we can throw together."
Andy came walking over with a loose white shirt and a pair of cutoffs. "Here's something Stass can wear, for right now, until we take him shopping," he said, holding out the clothes to the Greek boy.
"What do you plan on doing with him?" Kurt asked.
"He's coming home with us, of course," Scott replied.
Kurt turned, startled. "I can't...."
"Just a minute, Unk!" Scott said with some heat. "When we ended up here in the CSU, you undertook to become our father out of a sense of responsibility for us, but that was something you did out of love, right?"
"Well, yeah, but...."
"Wait. And you were proud when we joined Clan Short for real, right?"
"Yes. But that doesn't...."
"Give me a minute, Unk, OK? When I learned what Stass was doing and why, I knew I had to act, and that was OK, because I loved him. Just like you. And, because we're Clan, we don't need to worry about money stuff – whatever we need will be provided. The Safe Haven Act has a levy against Federation member governments, to support what Teri and the Clan do. If there was a logical reason why Cory needed a life-size solid-gold statue of a Brachiosaurus on the Short Compound lawn, the Clan could afford it."
"Scotty's right," Carrie Michaels said. "It took me a while to realize it, too, but money is never the issue here. What matters is kids having a place where they can get the loving care and acceptance they need. That's what this place is for."
"But what I came out here for," she continued, "is to give you this." She handed Kurt a credit card. "Use it for what you and your boys need. From what I know of you already, you'll feel like you need to pay it back, and that's fine. But be concerned for them, first, and don't skimp. Kayla said to make sure to impress on you to spend what you need, and we'll worry about how much later – the money's there, and helping situations like this is what it's there for."
"I couldn't..." Kurt began to say.
"No, you not only can, but you will," Carrie said with a firm smile. "Your responsibility is to take care of these boys, right?"
"Well, yes, but..."
"And ours is to make sure you have the resources to do it," she finished. She smiled. "Want a little advice?" He nodded, now thoroughly off balance. "Roll with the punches. Think of it as one enormous family, with unlimited resources and the welfare of the family members as its main concern. You're part of that family now, and you'd do the same thing if the roles were reversed and we'd shown up with Gabe and Ricky, right?"
"Think of it as one big family," Galen said pensively. "Because it is: Family Clan Short."
"Exactly," Carrie said. "Now, a bit more unasked-for advice: In your shoes, right now, I'd take my boys out of the Compound for a meal and some family time, where they can tell you all about their first mission, and you can get to know this young man." She ruffled Stass's hair. "Here's a restaurant Austin and I went to last week that should make him feel right at home." She handed Kurt a brochure. "You've got some special boys there; take some time with them, and let us worry about the expense."
Jude was feeling a little bummed out, and feeling guilty about feeling bummed out. Here he was, actually and physically a part of the stories he'd read about, the guys he'd dreamed of being a part of, and yet... After the visit to the Lafayette yesterday, he'd been something of a spare part, a leftover, or that's how it felt. When Kurt and his nephews went to have dinner with Allen's family, Jude had been left behind. Though to be strictly fair, they were used, from a habit of years back home, to doing what they did together as a one-man/three-boy group, and they'd just plain forgotten to ask him along, and he, excited to meet so many of the boys he'd read about, had not realized they were going until after they'd left. Then this morning, volunteering to help Tommy had led to meeting Billy Joe, and while Scott and Galen were in Greece on the intervention for Stass, he'd been with Tommy, Kelly, and Billy Joe. At first, he thought he'd found the boy of his dreams in Scott, but Kurt's pouring cold water on that, and then meeting and feeling the intense, well, need, to help Billy Joe, his feelings had vanished as quickly as they came. But it still hurt a bit that the boys he'd come to the Compound with, the ones he'd bonded with in the car, weren't including him in what they did.
He shrugged off the feeling and turned his attention to the Starfleet Engineering manual Cory had loaned him – forgetting that at the Short Compound, nobody's emotional state goes completely unnoticed.
Kurt took Carrie's suggestion and loaded his nephews and Stass in his car, though he felt out of place in depending on Clan/FYS largesse. He drove west and stopped in a restaurant complex, looking around briefly and then leading the boys to the place Carrie had suggested, Taverna Opa, which claimed to have authentic Greek cuisine.
They were seated at a table for five, and Scott read Stass the English-language menu descriptions, since of course after Xain's download he could understand spoken but not written English. That and the Greek names of the dishes was all he needed; he took pleasure in making recommendations, though some of the dishes were not familiar to him, either, being from other regions of Greece.
Kurt's questions were all it took to get his two older nephews, and Stass, talking at length about their afternoon, regaling him with the visit to Antipaxos. Marky of course had to try, then be grossed out by, octopus and feta cheese.
Two men took a neighboring table; Kurt and the boys paid them no attention until Galen heard his own name. Perking up his ears, he overheard, "It feels so good to be able to have a serious conversation where you know you'll be understood. But I can't help worrying how he'll take it, Marc. He's my son, after all, and when I went back, it felt like we were finally reconnecting. I don't want to lose that."
"Well, you know I won't come between you and your son. He's flying down for Christmas, you said?"
"Yeah, that was part of the custody and visitation agreement. But what if he doesn't understand?"
"Then I'll make myself scarce, Galen. You need time with him."
"I couldn't let you do that!"
Galen had heard enough. Sure, now, that one of the men at the other table shared his rather uncommon name, he reached out with his new gifts. It would not do to interfere too much, but calming the worst of their worries would be a gift within his new powers. And he was intrigued to find that the two men had fallen in love with each other. He used that to tweak their concerns away from this mysterious son, and toward each other, and was gratified to see them smiling at each other, lost in mutual affection. He turned his attention back to the keftedes that Stass had recommended.
Scott and Stass emerged from the private room they had taken for the night with an interesting mix of emotions written across their faces. Galen and Marky waved merrily to them, and they walked over. Embarrassment, written large in Scotty's blush and showing a bit on Stass as well, was there of course, but failed to mask the happiness they clearly both felt. But there was another element present as well: the 'Don't wake me up; this dream is too good to be true' look that often shows up when someone finds true love.
"It is much as though I have stepped into a myth or legend, and found it to be real," Stass said in his new, as yet unfamiliar English. With affection and just a hint of desire, he pressed up against Scott's side, caressing his hip. Scott wrapped an arm around him and hugged back, blushing even more as part of him reacted to the caress predictably.
Galen and Scott nodded. "We know just how you feel," he said.
"I thought this kind of feeling only happened in stories, like the Clan Short stuff we read," Scott said to Galen, blushing all the while.
"Where do you think you are?" Galen asked with a knowing grin.
"Outside the apartments by the pool, heading for the C.I.C. building for breakfast," Scott answered.
"No, silly, think about what you just said before that!"
"Huh?" a mystified Scott replied. Stass was looking confused as well.
"You said the kind of feeling you're feeling only happens in stuff like Clan Short stories," Galen patiently explained. "And just what happened to us Monday morning?"
"We ended up in... Oh!" Scott said, and began to grin.
But it was Marky, who the evening before had amused himself by teaching one of the G-cats "The Lion Sleeps Tonight", which he knew from "The Lion King," who delved into his repertoire of 'things I can show off with' for another song, this time from "Shrek," and nailed down the feeling they were all having with the perfect choice.
I thought love was only true in fairy tales
Meant for someone else but not for me.
Love was out to get me
That's the way it seemed.
Disappointment haunted all my dreams.
Galen and Scott joined him for the chorus, with smiles ear to ear
Then I saw his face, now I'm a believer
Not a trace of doubt in my mind.
I'm in love, I'm a believer!
I couldn't leave him if I tried.
With a spring in their step, the boys who had found their way into their dreams joined arms and headed for breakfast.
The mood of the Compound was totally different in the morning than it had been the night before. Where Tuesday had celebrated life, Wednesday was going to commemorate death. Seth had worked with Adam Casey to determine the marching order for the Orlando contingent, and the G-Cats, and everyone else from the UNIT or the Dragon assigned to watch over the Compound organized the boys. Remarkably, they were ready to start transporting to Charleston on time, and the first group de-materialized exactly at 7:00.
Admiral Morrow had assigned two Starfleet security squadrons to watch the compound so that as many Clan boys as possible could participate. Still, with the rescued and the injured that were still camped out in the Rec Center and the CIC, a few Clan boys needed to remain behind.
Kurt and his nephews were beamed up together. Just after they arrived, Scott and Galen were being coached on how to march in formation by Sean Patrick. The blond, green-eyed 14-year-old was really doing his best to impress the importance of military tradition and ceremonial on a group of boys who had little or no interest in it, and feeling the loss of the people he'd come to know as brothers and sisters who had been killed on Saturday. The resulting irritation in him was a pretty good summing-up of the friction between Unit and Clan that Galen could now sense, and it concerned him.
Then Mikey, Davey, and Pablito popped into existence, and Mikey let out a sharp whistle that drew everyone's attention. Davey escorted the younger kids out, and Mikey drew a deep breath and began, "Okay, everyone, I know that everyone here knows who I am, and most of you know who Pablito is. What most of you don't know is why we're here." He took another deep breath, knowing that this could be good, or bad, and even he didn't know which way it would go, but his gut was telling him this would work.
"The greatest strength that you all have is family; however, right now, there are two different families here, not one. Until you become one family, you will all be weaker." At this, Kurt and the boys almost simultaneously reached out and took each other's hands. Gus and Marjorie's attitudes, Sonja's indifference, had underscored for them how important family was, and now they didn't even have that – just each other, to depend on, to cling to. Kurt wrapped his arm around Galen; Scotty copied him, holding Marky close.
Some grumbling could be heard, and Mikey let it go on for a few seconds, before he started talking again. "Adam Casey, Adam Short... front and center."
Both boys walked up to where Mikey was standing, looking at each other, not knowing what was going on. When they got up to where Mikey and the surprisingly silent Pablito were standing, at Mikey's gesture they stopped and turned around to face the crowd. He walked up behind both boys, and raised their arms. Pablito then came up in front of them, and started to undo their shirts, while Mikey looked out and began talking to everyone.
"Both the Clan and the Unit still hold onto their own individuality, and that needs to change. Both of these boys represent their families, and if one was to look at them from the outside, they would see two very different boys, but they are very much the same, when you look closer."
As Pablito removed the two Adams' shirts, their scars were evident to the eye, and the inner self-consciousness about them was like a shrill whistle in Galen's empathy. He wanted, more than anything, to do something to comfort them. He felt Logan, Will, Jory, and the rest of Adam Casey's brothers reaching out to give him strength across their bond. And he felt Tyler shaping the love that Sean, Cory, Jamie, and Jacob were pouring out to lend the same strength to Adam Short, and contributed his own efforts. Tyler flashed him a brief "Thanks," too busy to say more.
Then Jimmy and Joel stepped out, and Galen sensed that it would be okay, that Mikey was healing the breach between the two groups in his own way.
Still feeling a bit of a down mood from the previous evening, Jude held himself and Billy Joe back until the next group after Kurt and his nephews. He brought along Cory's manual, which he was thrilled to discover had been mostly the work of Cdr. Montgomery Scott, "Scotty" both to his friends in Starfleet and to fans of Star Trek like Jude.
At the Firehall, he found a quiet spot, drew Billy Joe to sit beside him, and began studying the manual where he'd left off last night, realizing with a gasp that Starfleet, CSU 2004 version, was only up to T.O.S. technology to a true Trek fan, and that the things he'd studied up on as a fan from T.N.G., Voyager, etc., were both, first, actually possible here in Alpha Prime, and second, more advanced than what they knew how to do yet. It was heady knowledge for a 14-year-old. He started telling Billy Joe about Slipstream technology and how it hadn't been developed here yet.
Engrossed in the book, he did not see Joel looking around the Firehall, then zero in on the two boys. Joel stopped fairly near to them both and fidgeted slightly in nerves before trembling out, "Uh... hi."
"Oh, hi," Jude answered, immediately recognizing the small Vulcan boy, while Billy Joe just blushed and nervously waved.
Joel noticed the blush, and felt a little less threatened. "Why you blushing?" he asked Billy Joe, cocking his head slightly as he felt a nervous tension build in the air between the three of them.
"Um, you're Joel, aren't you?" Jude said. "I'm Jude; we got here the same time as you. This's Billy Joe, and he's kind of shy about, you know..." He let his last words trail off as Billy Joe looked panicked.
Joel raised an eyebrow, then nodded. "I... I think I understand," he whispered as he sat down next to Billy. "I... where I was, you died if you were... if you liked boys. And... but don't worry. I was beaten so much to stop me ever doing... sex stuff..." he whispered more, "but Kev and I... we, ah... played with each other and it was cool and everything! If I can do sex stuff and everyone be brilliant about it, then you two can be together... and stuff..." He smiled nervously and glanced about. "Oh, ummm... Kev said I shouldn't talk 'bout it 'cos it's embarrassing or something... sorry..."
"But, uh, it's a sin – they told me it is!" Billy Joe said uncertainly.
"No," Joel shook his head with a small smile, "it's a sin to hate. It's a sin to hurt. The Bible don't say anything about two men nor two women in a committed relationship being a sin. I'd know. I've memorized the entire Bible."
"See, I keep telling you," Jude said to Billy Joe with a warm smile.
Billy Joe frantically grabbed at the first thing that came to mind to change the subject. "So you were telling me about the modulator for the warp core, Jude...?" he asked.
Joel giggled. He gave Billy a brief hug, then looked at the page Jude's book was open to. "Oh, the possibility of Slipstream?" he asked Jude.
"Yeah, they don't have that here yet! They had it in your world?" Jude asked excitedly.
Joel giggled again, "This is my world. The one I was lost in was without space stuff, and Star Trek was an old show. Slipstream won't work with the current Warp engines, though. You need a completely new type of engine. And without increasing the SIF beyond even TNG time frame tolerance, the starship would rip itself to shreds."
"Oh, like they did in Voyager?" Jude asked, revealing to Joel that he was from a 'Star Trek TV show' universe.
"Uh huh," Joel nodded, then glanced at Billy's now very confused and lost-looking face. "Slipstream is a fast way of getting places, Billy. You could get from here to Vulcan in an hour or so rather than two to three days!"
"Except that they haven't developed it here, yet!" Jude added, giggling.
"So how do you guys know about it?" Billy Joe asked.
"Well," the little Vulcan started with a broad smile, "the Universe I was lost in was post-apocalyptic, but before the War, there was this show called Star Trek. It was about the United Federation of Planets, Starfleet, and the crew of the Enterprise. The shows covered more than 180 years and started in the late 22nd, early 23rd centuries. It looks like the stuff that people thought they were making up was really happening in other Universes. Jude must come from a Universe where they also had Star Trek; right, Jude?"
"Right!" Jude said with a conspiratorial smile at Joel. He then asked, "How many series did you see, Joel?"
Joel started to list them off, "'Enterprise', 'Original Series', 'Next Generation', 'Deep Space Nine', 'Voyager', 'Animated Series', 'Original Series Redux', 'Federation Wars', 16 films, 8,347 stand-alone novels, and so many additional 'tech' books that I never bothered counting them."
"Omigosh!" Jude said, excitedly. "We only had through Enterprise, or through Voyager if you're looking at it chronologically, and ten movies. I really enjoyed Enterprise, the best, after the original series – seeing Earth's first steps into space, with Jonathan Archer and T'Pol and all, was great!"
Two boys from the Unit walked by in full uniform, on their way to get their ceremonial rifles. Billy Joe asked, "Who are they?"
Kevin walked up just in time to hear the question. He answered as he sat down and pulled Joel into his arms, "They're from The Unit. They are the ones who came and saved Sammy and Cory and the guys on Saturday, Billy. They are all military-trained soldiers, and some have been genetically enhanced." Once finished, he kissed the back of Joel's head, and relaxed back with Joel's back firmly against his chest.
"Genetically enhanced? You mean, like what Dr. Sara Kingsley was doing in the 'Unnatural Selection' episode?" Jude asked excitedly. "That's for real?"
"I think so," Joel nodded, "I don't know much about these 'Unit' kids yet, so I can't be sure who did it."
"Genetic enhancement has been going on for thousands and thousands of years, Jude," Kevin explained with a small smile. "The human race is a lot older than most alive now think. Over 65 thousand years older."
"What?!" Jude asked in utter surprise. "Who? How? When? Was it aliens?"
Kevin started to giggle, "Nope. No aliens. We're just a far older race than most realize... we've killed ourselves off time and time again, though."
"Not as old as the sons of T'Khasi," came that sonorous voice from Joel that meant his mother was speaking again. Kevin recognized it, but Jude and Billy looked startled at the change in tone in Joel's voice. "Our blood is the oldest in the Federation."
"Um, what do you mean by that, Joel?" Jude asked.
Joel's face turned to regard Jude emotionlessly, and the voice came again, "Vulcan blood reaches back over five hundred thousand years. Such is the age of the oldest ruins on our World." Joel then shook his head slightly and blinked at the two boys in front of him. He turned his head to look into Kevin's eyes, "My Mother."
"Yeah, I know. She didn't say anything bad, Jo'. Don't worry," Kevin kissed his friend's nose softly.
"'Kay," Joel whispered as he snuggled back and pulled Kevin's arms in tighter about himself.
"Um ... what the heck?" Jude exclaimed. "Joel's eyes just suddenly changed shade, and he started talking in a strange voice... what's going on?"
"My mother's Katra," Joel explained with a small smile. "She's in my mind."
"And you've no idea how nervous that makes me feel after... uh, never mind," Kevin trailed off with a blush.
"You mean, she's watching you, everything you say and do?!" Billy Joe said. "That's really gotta suck!"
Joel's face fell slightly. "No, she said she withdrew and didn't see nor feel anything when Kev and I masturbated each other, but..." Kevin's face went bright red but before he could say anything Joel's soft sobs pulled his attention away from being embarrassed. "... But, I wish she had been there... before... sh...she could have h...helped when I w...was getting hurt..."
Joel finished, tears running down his face. "I'd tr..trade my privacy to kn...know she's there forever... watching o...out for me..."
Without thinking, Jude reached over and pulled the smaller boy from Kevin's cuddle and into his arms, holding him as he cried. Kevin moved over with his best friend and Billy took him into his own lap so that the two small boys could still be together. "Why wasn't she there before, Kevin?" Jude asked softly as Joel wept.
"You saw the pictures of Joel when he arrived," Kevin sighed. "That chip in his neck kept Joel's mind acting and seeming human; sort of. It meant that his Mom's Katra was completely blocked off. She had no idea her baby would live and grow up a tortured, abused slave."
Jude was shocked at what Kevin had said. "Where'd they do that to you, dude?" he asked.
Joel trembled, so Kevin answered, "He was an orphan in the place he was lost. All orphans there were slaves. They were worth nothing, and so..." He shook his head, unable to say anymore. Jude got the picture, as did Billy Joe.
They sat quiet for a few minutes, and Billy Joe's mind started to go over what Joel had let slip about having engaged in mutual masturbation with Kevin. "Aren't you two kinda young for messing around with sex?" he asked eventually as he increased his hug on the brown-haired boy on his lap.
"I'm eleven, twelve in December," Kevin whispered as he kissed Joel's cheek. "And he's thirteen tomorrow."
"Wow, you're both... sorry, I shouldn't..." Billy Joe started to say, but trailed off with a blush.
"It's okay," Kevin smiled sadly. "We were both starved. We're getting better now."
Jude tried to lift the mood then, "I turn fourteen tomorrow: we've got the same birthday, Joel!"
Joel trembled. "I don't like birthdays," he whispered as he wiped the tears from his face. He shuffled over until Kevin had him in his arms again.
Jude was confused. "Why?" he asked. "Didn't you have parties with your friends to celebrate people's birthdays?"
"I was a slave," Joel explained sickly, "I had no friends. I never had friends. Kevin is my first, my Best Friend, and my brothers are my first brothers. I... I was always beaten bad on my birthday; just 'cos he could 'celebrate'."
Both Billy Joe and Jude were stunned at this. "But why?" Jude asked.
Kevin hugged Joel tighter. "Why'd my Mom hate me and never feed me? Why'd Adam Short's parents beat him? Why'd Jamie and Jacob's dad assault them? Why..." he stopped before he could get angry.
Kyle appeared and came up to Jude. He waved his hand and both Kevin and Joel went stock still while he explained, "You had great parents, Jude; they loved you a lot, but a lot of us guys have never had good parents until we were saved by the Clan or by our brothers before the Clan started. You heard what Sean told you on Monday, Jude. I know it's hard for you to understand, but for Joel, it was very real. He was abused, tortured, beaten and nearly raped before Mikey saved him. He lived through the type of things you read about in those CSU stories. It wasn't a story for him. Not to me either. I know your grandfather beat you some, but you had so much more love in your life than we had. It allowed you the strength to run away. I hope you never really understand what we went through, bro. Don't ask him anymore right now, not about what he went through. Every time he thinks about his past, he feels the pain as if it was happening right now. Get his mind off it, and talk about something to make him smile. Levi is in tears right now; it's his turn to help Joel's emotions stay in check, and this is making it harder. Tell him about your good birthdays that you've had, and tell him about how great your mom and dad were. That will help with tomorrow's surprise."
Kyle smiled at both Billy Joe and Jude, kissed them, and vanished. Joel and Kevin unfroze as if nothing had happened.
Jude glanced at Billy Joe, and decided to take Kyle's advice. "Mom and Dad were awesome," he told Joel. "Sure they scolded me to make me behave, but they were always there, always loving me. And they tried to make every one of my birthdays special. When I was six, there was a circus in Savannah, and they drove me up to it. When I turned twelve, we went to the beach for the day. Last year, Dad took me down to J'ville to watch the Jaguars play. Every birthday – every day – they tried to make me realize how special I was to them." He smiled, remembering.
Joel's face softened throughout all that Jude was relaying, and by the end, he had a gentle smile on his face. "They sound real nice, Jude," he whispered happily, and he could feel Kevin nodding his head behind him.
It was Jude's turn to look a little sad, then. "They were the best. I miss them a lot."
Joel worked out what wasn't said. "Jude?"
"Yeah?"
"If you help me have a... a nice birthday tomorrow, I'll be your family for your birthday tomorrow as well. And... and... if you want a Mama to give you 'Mammy-hugs', then... I... I don't think Cor and Sean'll mind if... if our Mama Teri would become your Mama Teri too..."
Jude's eyes went misty. "You'd share Teri with me?" he asked. "That's probably the kindest thing anybody's ever said to me. I used to read about her and how she loved Cory and Sean so much..."
Joel suddenly grinned, jumped up from Kevin's lap and yelled "Stay there!" as he zoomed off, calling out "MAMA!!!! MAMA!!!"
Kevin started to giggle as he looked at the priceless expression on Jude's face. Jude had thought that Joel meant, generously, that he'd share the warm, welcoming, motherly nature that Teri extended to every kid, as he knew from the stories, to the orphaned Jude. He was about to find out differently.
"Earth to Jude," Billy Joe giggled.
Jude blinked, and continued listening to the faint calls of 'MAMA' ringing out throughout the building.
It was less than three minutes later when Teri arrived, being led by an over-excited Joel, and being followed by all her other sons who had come running at their Lil'elf's cries and calls of 'MAMA'.
"Okay, Joel. What are you up to?" Teri laughed as she watched her tiny Vulcan son bounce around arranging all his brothers so that they could see. Jude was looking half terrified by now.
Joel started explaining, "Jude's got no Mama anymores, Mama. He had a brilliant Mam and Dad in his old Universe and they were cool and hugged him and did wonderful things for him and everything, but he don't have anyone any mores and he's upset 'cos it's his birthday tomorrow and his Daddy and Mammy won't be here so I offered..." *quick breath* "... offered to share my new Mama with him... will you? Will you be Jude's new Mama? Not replace his brilliant Mammy, but to be a new Mammy for him? Please?"
Cory looked over at Kyle. "You speak 'excited kid'; would you mind translating, bro?"
Kyle giggled. "Joel wants Mom to be a Mom for Jude, like Allen is a Pop for Xain. A M'aih, right, Joel?"
Joel nodded agreement from within the hug Teri had pulled him into.
"Is that what you want, Jude?" Teri asked calmly.
"Um, yes, ma'am," Jude said abashedly. "I used to read about you, and how wonderful you were with Sean and Cory and J.J. and Kyle and Aaron and all. I'd love to have you for a Mom - is M'aih Vulcan for mother?"
"It is Vulcan for 'Caring and Nurturing Mother', like a foster mother. It is not full adoption. That would be Ko'mekh," Teri explained.
"Well, um..." Jude paused, unsure how to say what he was feeling. "If I had my druthers, I'd love to be adopted – really adopted – like Tyler and Adam were. But..." he paused and looked embarrassed "...it'd be like disowning my Dad if I changed my name to Short, because we were Lees, and we were proud of being from the First Family of the South... even though we were only distant kin to Robert E. Please don't think I'm bad for that, ma'am, but I'm proud of being my poppa's son, and it's about all I have left of him, is his name." He looked ready to burst into tears.
Joel ran over and climbed into Jude's lap, and started hugging him. Jude did start crying then.
Teri smiled softly. "Tommy would disown me if I was to force you to do something like that. Aaron is my son, yet his name is still 'Carter' for professional reasons."
"Yer darn tootin' I'd be madder than a rabid 'coon!" Tommy piped up. "Ain't no-one gonna take your kinship to ole' Robert E. from ya!"
"There... you wanna be our brother? Our for real brother?" Joel asked from Jude's lap. "You can still be 'Lee', but you'd be our brother forever!"
"Would you?" Jude looked at Teri in hope through his tearful eyes.
"Whose turn is it to do the honors?" Teri asked with a grin.
Kevin giggled, "Under the authority of Article 200 of the Safe Haven Act, Jude McArthur Lee is hereby adopted by Teri Diana Short. He shall retain his name in honor of his father and mother, and as an eternal remembrance of their love for him."
"As your Patriarch, Kev, I ratify your decision," Cory giggled, and drew Jude into a warm, close hug: one that rapidly turned into a group hug.
As the older boys released Jude from the hug, Timmy and the assembled Tribe executed a group pounce on him, leaving him breathless and giggling.
Joel started laughing from the hug Kevin had pulled him back into. He started laughing harder when Timmy scooted out from the mass pile on the floor and ran off quickly.
Timmy walked slowly back and up to Jude, holding a little grey kitten with black 'socks' on all four paws. "Here ya go, Uncle Jude; her mommy says that you need a kitty to stay with you. Her name's Socks!"
"I guess I'd better not run for President, then," Jude laughed as he took the kitten from Timmy. At the other's strange expression, Jude giggled, "I'll explain later."
Teri rolled her eyes, "You are going to fit in well, Jude. Come here; my turn for some hugs."
Jude's eyes misted up slightly as he and his new kitten were pulled into her arms.
"Thanks... Mom," he whispered, a catch in his voice.
And over in the corner, giggling and singing just loud enough for Jude to hear, were three far-from-blind Mikyvis. First Tyler: "When you wish for C.S.U.", then Kyle: "And the love in your heart's true," then a hysterically giggling Levi, "With some help from Doctor Who," and finally, in an off-key 'harmonization': "Your dreams come true." Heart full to brimming and eyes wet with unshed tears of happiness, Jude looked over at them with a huge grin, laughed, and gave them a thumbs up.
As the boys began the march to Patriots Point, they constituted parts of two 'files', well back in the line-up of Clan and Unit members. As Jack and Dave, the couple who had helped form the Unit, called cadence, Scott found himself marching as honor guard to his little brother. Two things dawned on him. First, that he was now responsible for his little brother, along with Kurt. While he had always tried to be there for Marky, to be the big brother he needed, there had always been their parents to fall back on. Now he felt the burden descend on him, and with it, the strength to meet it.
But then the second insight hit. This was no longer the daydream of being a part of Clan Short, going out and enforcing the Safe Haven Act to trounce evil and defend truth, justice, and the Way of Surak – it was for real, in deadly earnest. Those phasers were not out of Star Trek; they were real, lethal weapons. Sixty-one kids from the Unit and fifty-three others had been killed, killed dead, while he and his family had been touring the Citadel, a few miles away from where they now were but in another universe. And he was committed to being a part of something that ACFan had been dropping hints in "Memories" was destined to change the universe. That thought hit him hard.
Then percolating back through the column of marchers came the sound of a marching tune, one he recognized from his father's war movies: Barry Sadler's "Ballad of the Green Berets." And, gulping, he realized the words included him, his little brother, and his (formerly) shy little cousin too. "The few, the proud, Clan Short," he thought to himself, and hid the smile that brought to his lips.
For Marky, it was a time of excitement, of being a part of something BIG. His moment of truth would come later. Galen was feeling overwhelmed by the raw emotions he felt around him. He used the training Kyle and Sammy had instilled in him to channel the feelings in a way he could cope with. But he knew he'd have to deal with it later.
They got to Patriots Point and stood at attention while the coffins and pictures were placed. Both Galen and Scott felt nearly overwhelmed at being, in reality, a part of this event. They watched their new brothers (and sisters) in the Clan march solemnly in, trying to match names to faces. An athletic-looking auburn-haired teenager filed in alongside a much younger towhead who looked like he wanted to hug and comfort everybody and was only restraining himself from doing so by a major effort of will, and with a start Galen recognized them as Jonas and Peter from "Jigsaw." The nervous expression on Jonas's face prompted Galen to Read his feelings, and he realized that Jonas, normally so self-confident in the stories, was suffering from severe stage fright. He dug up his own brand-new self-confidence and … reached out with it, offering to share it with Jonas. Peter caught what he was trying to do and … helped him channel it. He saw Jonas square up his shoulders as their combined efforts washed over him in a wave of warmth, compassion, and confidence that gave him strength for his part in the ceremony. In thanks, Galen locked eyes with Peter and smiled – and his world changed.
Reeling a bit from what had happened, Galen then sat and began listening to the speeches. In the back of his mind, the sensation was germinating: Why am I here? Why did I end up an empath, feeling so strongly what others feel? What am I supposed to do?
Then as Queen Elizabeth was speaking, he sat up alert. "Even our brothers, the Vulcans, show the 'heart of God' and, dare I say it, the 'heart of Christ' in a far more true fashion than these so-called 'believers' do. 'True religion is this, that you care for the widow and the orphan,' said Jesus, and he was and is and will ever be right. You should love, not hate. Care, not destroy. Do not dare to claim holy orders when you commit such acts. I am now against you, F.C.C.. My Empire stands against you. We are at War."
The elderly, erect, dignified and compassionate Queen looked now upon those children from Clan Short who stood before her. "Children," she said, now completely blocking everyone and everything else, "what I have said when quoting Jesus and about love is true, and you have shown this. Over and over again, you have loved. Never, ever stop. You are needed in this world."
And suddenly Galen realized his destiny. Not in detail, not the future course of his life. But in broad principles, he knew what he had to do. The Queen of England had looked straight at him and told him. And he'd been given a piece of his future – Peter had shown him how.
Marky's wake-up call came at the end of Sarek's speech. At a sleepover the previous winter, he had inveigled Uncle Kurt into letting him stay up with himself and Scott, both, of course, inveterate Star Trek fans, to watch an interview with Mark Lenard on Letterman. And that was the point at which it had dawned on his seven-year-old mind that those guys were actors playing parts, that they took off the make-up and went home to Bel Air or Tarzana or Malibu. Now here was the Vulcan whose part Lenard had played, for real, in the flesh, talking about equipping human kids, kids like him, with the authority and power to act where the grown-ups had failed to. A series of feelings swept over him. First, It's real. It's really real. I'm really IN Clan Short. Then, It's not like playing Star Trek, where you can make up shooting the Klingons with your phaser, then go home and have dinner. There's real Klingons, and they might just be shooting back! And then, I'm just a kid. How can I do anything?
With tears starting to form in his eyes, he looked up at Kurt. "Unk? I wanna go home."
Speechless, Kurt drew him close. "I know, Marky," he said. "I'm scared too. We'll just have to deal with things as they come – together."
It went on like that. The other speeches were meaningful, to be sure, but nothing pushed one of the boys' buttons like those two had. As SamSam – the intense, fun-loving SamSam they'd come to know and love as a character in "Out of the Past", now real and standing up in front of them, dead serious – talked about Mark Little, Scott realized with a start that this was a kid no older than his own little brother, who had given his life for other kids.
As John Little finished his impromptu speech, however, Scott heard sniffling coming from next to him. He looked down at his little brother, who was struggling to keep from breaking down completely. "That kid was the same age as me, and all he did wrong was to like to fool around, just like me, and now he's dead," Marky whimpered. "Are bad guys gonna kill me? Why'd we come here for, anyway?"
Scott reached out to give Marky what comfort he could. And found an arm reaching back from two rows forward. It was Alec McCarthy, as always ready to lend comfort to a hurting kid. He took Marky's hand and squeezed it wordlessly, and his dark brown eyes offered silent comfort to the weeping boy.
Kurt reached out and took Marky's other hand. "When I was about Scotty's age," he began, "I heard a song. It talked about how we are all instruments playing in a common band, playing songs of hope and peace, and how God is watching over us from a distance, whether it's in York, Pennsylvania, or Orlando, Florida in another universe. I think He loves us, Marky, and I believe with all my heart that he will watch over you too, whatever you end up doing with your life."
Marky raised tearful eyes to Kurt. "Make it stop being scary, Unk."
"I wish I could," Kurt said.
All along, Kurt had been lending one ear to the funeral, but was preoccupied with his own worries: how to take care of himself and three or four boys in a place where he couldn't prove his training and had little or no idea how he might fit in. As the funeral unfolded, he began to get a sense of how he might fit in, how his desire to work with kids might be useful here. But any concrete ways to make that happen were elusive. He resolved to talk to Kayla or somebody later, and find out what he could do.
It was, however, Sammy's speech that galvanized them all. Finally, it all came clear, and all too real, to them – the kids they'd read about and loved, now real people they had talked to and hung out with, had been attacked. People they knew and cared about had been killed or injured, some critically. It wasn't just stories anymore.
And in a very real way, they were just like their heroes from the stories. They'd been cast adrift from their home and stuck somewhere they knew about only from stories. And true to those stories, the kids they'd dreamed of meeting, even while grieving for their losses only four days before, had reached out and made a place for them. Could they do anything less? Be careful what you ask for – you might actually be given it, and find out it's not at all what you dreamed of.
Jude wandered aimlessly into C.I.C., and spotted his new brother Joel, who was reading up on "species" – Mikyvis, Ferox, telepaths, and all the related not-quite-humanity as his old world had known it phenomena of Alpha Prime. Seth motioned him to go ahead and use a terminal, and he started to read up on Starship Engines.
"Seems to be all the same," Jude muttered to himself, as what he was now seeing in real-life technical specs matched his memories of what fans had created in his home universe.
Joel nodded, recognizing the feeling. "Yeah. Want to try designing the 1701-E?"
"Well, I know the layout and some of the technical stuff, from books I've read," Jude pondered. "I'll give it a go."
"Then I'll come along after and add in the parts you miss. I'm gonna try doing something else, first," Joel added.
The small Vulcan still felt low in spirit, but maybe focusing on this task would take his mind off it. Both boys began simply chatting about various episodes of Star Trek that they had seen as they both worked on their own projects.
"What about that telekinesis stuff the Vulcans did in Search for Spock?" Jude asked at one point.
Joel shrugged, "Kolinahr, I think. I don't think I could do that yet."
From the other side of the room, Seth sat quietly and watched. After ten minutes of watching, he decided to indulge his curiosity. "What are you working on, Joel?" he asked as he rolled in next to the boy. Jude was oblivious at his own console, engrossed in designing a more advanced starship from his memories of fan speculations, and seemed to not have heard the older boy.
"Tricorder," was Joel's one-word, clipped response. Anything more, and he'd break down; he just knew it.
"That's some tricorder!" Seth commented as he looked at the plans quickly appearing on the screen. "You're gonna blow Cory's mind with that! He'll love it!"
< I agree, this is definitely impressive. Where did you get this design specification from, Joel; if I may ask? >
Ark asked curiously from the interface Nyo had installed the previous week.
"Ark?" Joel asked quickly. "That you? The one from Monday?"
< Yes. Hello, Joel. I am glad to see that you are okay. >
Joel smiled briefly. "Depends what you mean by okay. Thank you for helping me. You were right, and I didn't get hurt or die or nuffin'. Thanks."
< My pleasure, Joel. Now, about this tricorder. Where did you get this design from? >
"From Star Trek," Joel replied as he continued to type, focusing his mind on the equations again.
"The television show you watched in that other Universe?" Seth asked.
"Yeah," the boy nodded. He then had an idea. "Ark?"
< Yes? >
"Can you fabricate these pieces, if I put the plans in order for you?"
< Yes. I can see that the materials required are common to Earth. >
"Cool. Here's the first. Can you make that for me please?" Joel asked politely as he pressed a button.
< Certainly. >
Joel returned to his work, but a minute later the piece he had requested appeared on the desk. "That was quick," he murmured.
< Thank you. Next? >
Seth and Jude watched in awe as Joel's fingers literally became a blur as he started designing more and more screen pages of information, and slowly, piece by piece, a tricorder was taking shape.
< Is that the final one? > Ark asked after half an hour.
"Yuppers!" Joel bubbled happily. "Thanks a heap, Ark! You're the greatest!"
< Thank you. That is very nice of you to say, Joel. I think you are remarkable, as well. Would it be okay for me to give the plans for this scanning device to Javyk? >
"Yeah, but who's he?" Joel asked curiously as he picked up the tricorder he had just assembled.
< Someone who will want a very long talk with you as soon as he knows about your technical knowledge. > Ark replied.
Seth took a look at the new tricorder that Joel was holding and breathed out in awe, "What else can you make?"
"Ark? Could you help me with something else?" Joel asked with a grin.
< If it is within my capabilities and authority, yes. >
Joel started quickly typing in Vulcan code the name of his next project.
< A phaser? >
Joel nodded, "Uh huh." Jude giggled a bit quietly, knowing what was going on in his new brother's mind as surely as if he'd suddenly turned telepathic.
< I will need clearance from a Council Member before doing so, but if the materials are as readily available, I certainly have the ability to do so. >
"Who's on the Council, and where are they so I can ask?" Joel bounced in his seat.
Seth giggled, "Kyle, Cory, Xain and Brant for starters."
"CORRRYYYYYYY!" Joel started yelling as he ran from the room.
< Seth? >
"Yes, Ark?"
< I am reducing the gain on the microphones in CIC. Joel is loud. >
"Yes, Ark."
Cory, his face drawn and pale from the emotional drain of the funeral, held the tricorder in his hands with wonder. Joel watched happily as more and more color returned to his big brother's cheeks due to Cory's building excitement.
"You said you wanted to make a new phaser?" he asked eventually, his voice barely able to contain his wonder.
Joel nodded quickly. "Anything from Star Trek, I know how to make!"
"Ark? I will have JJ here to make sure of the security issue, but you have clearance to make weapons for Joel," Cory stated, then took a seat next to Seth to watch.
< Thank you. If you will start, Joel, then I shall assist. >
Again, Joel started typing quickly, but this time he had a growing audience. Most of his brothers were now in CIC, and Kevin had come over and was seated next to him.
Slowly, piece by piece, a new item was taking shape as Ark delivered parts and Joel assembled them.
"Done!" he said, eventually, holding out a phaser for Cory to inspect.
"It's more powerful than the ones you have, can have a finer beam, more settings and lasts longer," Jude said as he continued to tap away at the console he was on. At Ian's questioning glance, he explained to him quietly, "I remember ACFan saying you liked to read about the technology behind the stories you liked, what the authors and fans thought might work." Ian nodded. "Well, imagine if you'd read up on what would happen in the 24th century, then got transported into the 23rd century of that universe for real. That's how we feel. We know how to do the stuff from Next Generation technology."
"Really?" Ian was amazed.
Jude grinned. "Yep – honest N-Gen!" he said with a laugh. Ian giggled.
JJ moved over to look at Cory, "Sweeeet! I gotta try that!"
"Here," Cory giggled as he passed the phaser to JJ, "have fun!"
JJ grinned and nodded at the other security guys there. They all ran from the room, for all the world as it if was Christmas and the best present in the world had been dropped in their laps.
Antonio was still drooling over the tricorder, "I gotta show this to Doc Austin... can I take it for a while, Joel?"
Once Main CIC was empty, Ark said, < Just when things were becoming interesting. The start of these plans for this 'Ent-E' look intriguing. >
"It's a starship design," Jude said after the shock of the recent events had worn off. He had sat there through all of the excitement oblivious until the very end.
< A Starship? I do not think I should help fabricate that, Jude .>
Jude agreed. "It would be like giving a tank to the Dark Ages. Not wise."
< This is true. At some time, you, Joel, and the boys you came with should provide me with what you remember of the history and technology of our future. I would suggest it be placed under a seal that only yourselves and the Council have authority to breach. >
Jude thought about that. "I will ask Cory, but that seems wise. Thanks, Ark. You remind me of my grandmother."
< I am not a woman. >
Jude giggled. "That was an ongoing gag in the stories," he told Ark, "you being called a woman by the boys, I mean. But what I meant is that you have the same feeling of wisdom and, uh, caring that she did."
< In that case, I shall feel honored by the comparison. >
Jude laughed.
As Scott and his brothers returned from Charleston, Stass was excited to see them, especially of course Scott. "I made an offering to Saint Eros for you," he told him, "and watched Kyrios Zeus's eagles fly guard watch over this place." Stass's speech, though much improved after the language dump, still had the occasional odd turn of phrase in it. Scott looked mystified about the 'offering to Saint Eros' until Galen, catching on, made a hand gesture, with thumb tip touching fingertips, that clued him in what Stass meant.
"You don't believe there's actually a supernatural figure living on top of the real Mount Olympus, do you?" Scott asked, puzzled.
"Oh, no," Stass answered. "Do you know of Euhemerus?" The boys nodded no; Kurt, who did, smilingly gestured Stass to explain. "Euhemerus was a scholar of my people," Stass said. "It was his theory that all the myths and legends were about real people, ones who actually lived, but with their deeds and character painted vividly and their everyday life left untold, so that they become..."
"Larger than life?" Kurt supplied.
"Yes," Stass said. "If you were the subject of a legendary story, beloved, it would tell of your heroic deeds, your wrath, your love, your justice and kindness. It would not mention that you lie asleep on your back and snore, nor that that" –he pointed – "remains partially stiff and beautiful as you sleep." Scott's face was doing an imitation of a tomato at that comment. "So, too, Dionysios who invented winemaking, and Heracles the great warrior, were turned into legendary heroes after their time. Do you know of Thermopylae?" Stass asked.
Seeing his nephews' puzzled looks, Kurt explained, "It's the mountain pass where the Spartan army defeated a far larger Persian army, but were nearly all killed in the battle."
Stass was nodding in agreement. "That is history; we know the day when it happened. But King Leonidas, who led the Spartans, traced his ancestry back eight generations to Heracles, who is considered legend."
"Just like we're descended from the Farnsworths who settled in Vermont before the Revolution," Kurt explained.
"Americans are said," Stass went on, "to believe that St. Nicholas of Myra, who was a real man who spoke at Nicaea and who visited my home island, comes to their homes with gifts on the Feast of Jesus's Birthday."
"Santa's not real!" Marky was emphatic that he 'didn't believe in little kid stuff.'
"No, but Saint Nicholas was a real man," Stass said. "That is what Euhemerus was saying. Legends and stories build up around real people. Perhaps someday people will read stories of Scott the Virile, hero of Clan Short!" He smiled; Scott blushed again.
"Or," Galen said pensively, "we are each safu T'Khasi, a son of T'Khasi, not because she was a real Vulcan woman, but because it is logical to see all Vulcans as members of one great over-house that includes all families and houses, true family to each other though distantly. And claiming descent from the planet itself, spoken of as an ancestress, shows that family connection."
"It is not," Stass said, "that they are seen as gods, but that they were people who legend elevated to godlike status. Zeus was probably an early king, but legend says that he and the Olympians fought the Titans, who were divided into factions among themselves, with godlike powers for 15,000 years."
The word 'factions' and the number triggered an association in Galen's mind. "Unk," he said, "remember what they said in Ark?"
"Huh? Explain what you mean, Little Bug."
"It was Nyo telling somebody about the Cycles," Galen said slowly. "The Third Cycle is when the telepaths and Vifers and everybody pretty much killed each other off. It was called the Faction War, and it lasted for 15,000 years." The expression on the others' faces was startled.
"So you're saying that some of the Greek myths were more or less true?" Scott asked.
"Um, in garbled form, yeah," Galen replied.
Marky, who had gotten bored with the conversation, was looking through a photo book of scenes from the Lord of the Rings movies. "Did they have hobbits?" he asked now.
"Hobbits were something Tolkien made up for the story," Scott told him. Marky looked crestfallen.
Kurt interjected, "I remember reading, in one of my science journals, though, when I was doing the overnight shift at the Center, that they'd discovered a race of very small human fossils in Indonesia. With the movies coming out right about then, they called them hobbits."
That got Scott thinking. "Unk, remember your book about folklore?" he asked.
"Yeah. Something specific from it come to mind?"
"Well," Scott went on, "they did an analysis of the historical data behind the King Arthur legends. But some chapters later they had other legends, ones that were obviously made up, or so they said. Stuff about elves."
"Elves are fairy tale stuff," Marky said, with all the authority of an 8-year-old who doesn't believe in little kid stuff anymore.
"Maybe," Scott said. "But consider this: elves were supposed to be really long-lived, and wise. The same elf lords would interact with human princes hundreds of years apart. But they weren't down-to-earth serious like elderly people are: they acted like kids, treating everything as a chance to have fun. And they weren't just the myths of one group – people from Hawaii to Ireland to Norway had elf stories. And here's the kicker: they liked to frolic at night, where they would shine silver in the moonlight." Scott looked his uncle in the eye. "Does that sound like anything you know of in the CSU?"
"I do not understand," Stass said.
"Let me explain," Scott said, drawing his new boyfriend close.
Jude, Kelly, and Billy Joe were hanging out in C.I.C. with Tommy while he waded through the assortment of non-urgent messages that had come in during the Funeral. Billy Joe seemed to be taking some comfort from being around his old friend. "Seems like every reporter on every country crossroads that has a weekly newspaper wants an interview with Cory," Tommy commented. "'N' I gotta be the one to fend 'em off. Y'all done saw what the service done to him; I'm not gonna be lettin' any reporter ask him dumb questions for no good reason."
"So how're you handling it?" Jude said.
"I'm just tellin' 'em like it is – buryin' kids that got killed tryin' to help him stressed him out mightily, and I don't want to put him through the hassle of interviews. Then I ask 'em if it was their kid, how'd they feel about it?"
"You always had a way of puttin' the other guy in his place and makin' him feel good about it," Billy Joe remembered. Kelly beamed at his boyfriend.
The terminal blared the alert for a high-priority call, from Terra Main. Tommy efficiently took the call. "Clan Short, Communications Officer Thomas Short speaking," he said without a touch of his Mississippi accent.
"I can't get over how he does that," Kelly said under his breath to Jude and Billy Joe.
"Terra Main Operations, Ensign Pavlov here. Can you advise me how to reach a Mr. Jude Lee?"
"He is sitting here with me; you may proceed with your message," Tommy said efficiently. Jude and Billy Joe's eyes were wide.
"Captain Sulu's compliments to Mr. Lee, and would he stand by for immediate transport to the Excelsior." Phrased as a request, it still had the tone of a command.
Jude's expression was serious, though his eyes were full of questions. "Standing by as requested." He stood up, motioning Billy Joe to join him.
"Acknowledged. Pavlov out." Moments later they were beamed out.
They beamed in, onto a transporter stage. A broadly smiling Senior Crewman was flanked by Calen and Toby. "C'mon, guys," Calen announced breathlessly. "We're gonna tour the Excelsior and I think go for a ride on it 'n' we gotta catch up with 'em!"
"Huh?" Jude asked. Billy Joe looked equally stunned.
"We got invited onto the Excelsior by Captain Sulu, and Joel asked him if you could come too!" Toby explained, dancing with impatience, too.
A smile on his face now, Jude ran off the transporter stage, dragging Billy Joe by the hand, and followed the two younger boys, his long legs making up the distance quickly.
They caught up on the gangway leading from Terra Main onto the Excelsior. At the other end of the gangway, a sturdily-built strawberry blond man advanced on Cory with a broad grin, which Cory returned. "Ah, the famous Cory Short!" he said.
"Take me to your engines, Commander Jamieson," Cory answered, a twinkle in his eye. Turning to Jude, he said, "I need you with me for this; come on!" and led him off. Billy Joe followed perforce, a stunned expression on his face.
As they arrived in Engineering, Jamieson motioned to the command consoles. "There they are, Cory. Work your magic for me, please!"
Cory grinned. "We're implementing the mods you and Joel designed earlier," he said to Jude. "That's your station," motioning to the one next to where he was standing.
"Really?" Jude exclaimed. At Cory's and Jamieson's nods, he fell to work. Billy Joe hovered, watching the boy he liked and the boy who had become a legend in two short months work their magic. Gentle rumbles indicated they were leaving spacedock.
A screen above their heads came on, showing the Bridge. Sean was at the helm, Adam and J.J. standing alongside the communications officer, and Joel and Kevin were squeezed together in the captain's chair.
"Bridge to Engineering. Acting Chief Engineer Short, are the warp engines ready?" Joel asked as he depressed the comm button on his side of the chair.
"Aye Captain; I just used the last roll of Duct Tape from the Ship's Store!" Cory replied, and Commander Jamieson started tickling him.
After Joel blew a raspberry, making Jude giggle, they heard him say, "All is ready, Acting Admiral. Permission to take full command."
Jude felt a surge of pride as Hikaru Sulu, not George Takei's character from the original TV series but the real thing, flesh and blood, who had shaken his hand, ordered the ship's computer to give interim command authority to his brand new brother and his brother's boyfriend (subject of course to Sulu's own override). Then Joel ordered Sean, at the helm, to take the ship out of Earth orbit on full impulse power.
For Jude, it was another dream come true. He'd watched Star Trek, he'd read the Clan Short stories, and now he was here, on Sulu's ship, standing next to Cory at the Engineering controls. The grin on his face was so wide that it seemed like Cheshire cats and Denebulans should be looking on in amazement. The hum of the engines increased and Jude could swear that he felt the 'light-pop' happening around the ship as it slammed into Warp.
What an adventure! – it was even better than his wildest daydream about Star Trek – and he was living it!
Since the comm lines were obviously still open, he heard Joel's question to Sean, "Mmm, Pluto is on the other side of the system; we going over the top?" and it brought him back to reality. He checked his own monitor to see the 3-D schematic of a shallow arc well above the plane of the ecliptic. They would be passing near the Sun's north pole, at several million miles' distance to be sure, but arcing above the plane of the planets to take the most direct path to Pluto. As they passed, he saw on his monitor the prominences of ionized gas arcing up from the solar pole, where its magnetic field curved outward.
From the comm he heard one of the bridge crew say to Sulu, "The USS Newton is approaching their target, Captain. They are updating all starships in the sector with five-minute mission reports."
"Good. That is the largest ion storm to come into our space in fifty years," Sulu replied. "Keep me updated."
"Ain't that dangerous?" Joel could be heard asking. "It's an Oberth Class - in a Class 8 Ion Storm?"
Sulu answered, "They are only taking readings from the edge, Joel. You're right, they wouldn't be safe going into that type of storm. I would need a very good reason to take this ship into one."
As they approached their destination, Jude was busy monitoring the engine readouts when Sean executed Joel's instruction to drop from warp in order to match orbit with the science station monitoring Pluto and its near-twin satellite Charon. Jude watched Cory deftly work the engineering controls in response to his brother and husband's working of the helm controls. It was all like a dream. Then...
An urgent sounding beeping coming from the Comm heralded a change in fortunes for the Newton. the Comm Officer on the bridge could be clearly heard relaying, "The Newton is in trouble and is broadcasting an urgent mayday, sir."
"What has happened?" Sulu responded urgently. Jude and Cory's eyes were glued to their respective monitors.
"The storm is a Class 10, sir. Only when they got within sensor distance did they notice the fluctuations. The tail edge of it has disrupted their anti-matter containment and they are fighting to stabilize it," the officer answered quickly.
"Red Alert, all hands to stations! Helm, set coordinates for the Newton and engage, maximum warp," came Sulu's barked command, and the Engine Room became a massive hive of activity.
"Aye, sir. Maximum warp. Intercept eight minutes at current speed." Sean was obviously still at the helm, Jude mused as he made to give his place to another officer due to the emergency.
"What's the top speed, Joel?" Kevin whispered in his friend's ear as Sulu made the announcement over the ship's comm about the rescue.
"Sir?" Joel could be heard asking, "How long do we have? Did the Newton give an estimate?"
"We've got five minutes to get to them. We're the closest ship, and it will take us seven minutes thirty seconds..." was the Comm Officer's responce.
Jude tuned out what else was going on then as he rushed to Cory's side. "Is he right?"
Cory nodded, "We're going to get there too late."
Then they heard Joel say. "Uncle Sulu, I need access to your systems." Remembering their conversation earlier about what could be improved on with only TOS-level technology available, Jude was thunderstruck. Was Joel really going to...?
"You and Kevin still have them. Use whatever you need," Sulu answered Joel. Sulu's tone spoke volumes in itself. He was taking his ship into danger on a rescue mission that boded to be too little and too late. And he had not served under Jim Kirk, with his willingness to take gambles to save lives, for nothing. Now, with his own ship and crew, along with a science vessel and its crew, at stake, he was going to take the same sort of gamble, and trust the young Vulcan boy whom he'd heard knew the most classified of Starfleet technology intimately.
Then they heard their little elven brother say, "Joel to Cory; bring up screen 345.2 and check my design. I need you to re-modulate the warp field in-situ while I re-adapt the Inertial Dampeners and S.I.F. Get Jude to help you, he should recognise some of this from 'Deep Space Nine'."
Jude looked. He recognized it. At Cory's gesture, Jude retook his original post and his fingers flew across the keyboard as he implemented the designs that only he and Joel knew here and now. Alongside him, Cory was doing the same as Joel's design came to life on his screen. They worked at breakneck speed. Then... Cory told Joel, "Got it, bro. We're checking it now."
Jude spotted a problem. He set to work. Ten seconds later, he called out, "I'm modulating this section, segment 24, Joel. Check me, please?"
Joel did so, "You have it, bro. Good memory."
Cory then added. "Rework segment 43.72A – I've made modifications to the system that do not show on the schematics. Live view should give you the right information."
Joel did so. "Brilliant! That's great, Blondie. Run it now. You keep your eye on the dilithium, and let Jude do the modulation. He knows what to do." Then he whispered to himself, "Oh, Picard, you'd be proud..." Jude overheard him and giggled.
Jude set to work modulating the warp field characteristics, while Joel started working on both the Structural Integrity Field and Inertial Dampeners.
Jude lost all sense of time as he worked, back-to-back with Cory. He was applying the new modulations to the Warp Drive as fast as he could, and barely had the time to brush his hair off his forehead absently as he worked.
"Jude? How's the new warp field looking?" Joel called out.
"She's online. Speed now up to Warp 9.5," he called back.
"Sweet. Cory, don't let the Chief, down there, have a shit fit, but I'm gonna take what you and Jude're doing and... well, you'll see. Oh, and if you need a pee break, hold it. We ain't got the time."
"Gee, thanks," Cory muttered back.
"Fuck me!" Jude exclaimed from his controls. Cory looked over to see readouts from the Warp Field and the Deflector and Defence Shield - and they were merging into one.
"He's good... he's really good," Cory whispered, pride for his Vulcan brother in his voice.
"Dropping from Warp in 5... 4..." came Sean's countdown. The ship heaved suddenly and violently as they entered the Ion Storm. A number of people were thrown about in Engineering, and Jude and Cory both grabbed the edges of their consoles to keep their own footing.
"MARK!" Sean yelled as he brought the starship to an almost-dead stop in the middle of what Jude could only imagine as energized hell.
"Extending Warp field and shields to the Newton," Joel said as the systems around him screamed out warnings. The ship itself heaved continuously beneath his feet.
Kevin's voice came from the Bridge screen, "Medical to the bridge. Six with injuries, three serious. The Captain is down."
"Where's the XO?" Joel asked Sean.
Kevin answered for him, "She's on the floor too, Jo'. So's Commander Zarath. They and Sulu are out of it."
"Shit," Joel muttered. "Kevin, get the transporter guys working and take the chair. We have our own universe around both ships. They can beam those guys out now!"
Kevin just started issuing orders like a pro, and Jude whistled before getting back to frantically doing real-time stabilization of the warp fields while Cory worked the dilithium-crystals subsystem. Cdr. Jamieson was drawing all auxiliary power he could to power the transporters in what felt like the ship was sitting in the middle of an ongoing bolt of lightning.
"I hope the dilithium holds," Joel muttered, "this is going to fracture them soon!"
"I dunno how much more a' dis she ken take!" Cory giggled over the comm. "You worry about the ships, bro; I've got crystal babysitting under control. I modified the force container while Sean was taking his time getting us here."
"Good, but be aware; this storm has only just kicked up to level 10. The power going through those crystals will increase the longer we're here," Joel called back from where he was standing, as Sean steadied him after another violent tremor. "How long do you estimate we have left?" he asked Cory.
"Two minutes until it has an effect; critical in no more than five... twice the odds we would have had," Cory replied seriously.
"He's right, Joel," Jude added quickly, "the quicker we can get them beamed out, the better. The Warp field is hard to keep steady, especially with the shields mixed in with it." He was inwardly awed at having a vital part to play in a rescue, but held that back, knowing his full attention needed to be on the modifications he, Joel, and Cory had made to the Warp Core and the ship's systems.
"Acknowledged, guys. Just hold her together a little longer!" Joel turned to look at Kevin, "Kev, how are we on the transporters?"
"Half the crew is off. Another two minutes, but the engineers are saying they are staying. They cannot eject the core, and they are babysitting a breach over there. They cannot beam out or we'll both go boom!" Kevin called back, then, "Repair teams to Deck 12, section 6. Hull breach. Internal shields are holding," he ordered through the comm.
"Houston, we have a minor case of shit-storms," Joel murmured, facing the controls again. Remembering Apollo 13, Jude giggled.
Sean's voice sounded curious, "Houston?"
"Never mind. Wrong world," Joel answered, and Jude could swear that Joel was trying not to laugh. "Got it! Cory? Can you pass me phaser power control through the Helm station?"
"You got it... now."
"Commander Data, eat your positronic heart out! Engaging Tractor Beam!" Jude heard his Lil'Elf say, and then he twigged to what Joel was doing.
"Cory, you need to up the power a bit more, and set it to this frequency," he said as he quickly reached and tapped a number on Cory's control station.
Cory did as Jude had said, and then nodded to himself, understanding the equations and what they would do to the beam.
If anyone could have been outside to see it, they would have marveled when a beam of energy rippled down from the secondary hull of the Excelsior to impact over the engineering section of the Newton. How it was kept together within the chaotic powers of the storm would likely remain a mystery forever, but down it, energy was being funneled directly to the Newton's systems.
"Joel, the Newton's Chief Engineer's saying he can eject the core and anti-matter, but it'll explode seconds after leaving the Warp field. The storm..." Kevin called suddenly.
"Tell him to do it!"
After a few more seconds, Kevin came back with, "He's refusing. He's saying only a Captain can order that, and he won't accept we are captains!"
"Fucking hell!" Cory shouted. "As of October 27th, 2004 at 2134 hours, I, Fleet Commander Cory Patrick Short, grant both Joel Short and Kevin Charles David Thompson the full ranks of Captains in the Clan Short Fleet and Vulcan High Command. There! Starfleet jarheads be damned!"
Jude nearly wet himself laughing.
"Newton, did you copy that?" Kevin demanded.
"Aye, sir. Ejecting in five seconds. I hope you know what you're doing!" came the response from the other ship.
"Shields ready to compensate! Cory, you need to watch our core, this could be..." Joel never finished his sentence, for an almighty explosion had cut him off.
Jude had a split second to wonder what it could have been, but he knew what had caused whatever it was: the recently ejected core from the Newton had exploded, and the waves of added energy had slammed into both ships from below. The ship … lurched. Cory fell forward and hit his head on the console, stunning him. Jude was flung to the side, off balance, and fetched up against the mass of a large, unyielding auxiliary console. With a sickening snap and a wave of excruciating pain, his arm broke. He screamed – before passing out from the pain.
Billy Joe had been sitting at one of the unused auxiliary engineering stations, watching with wide eyes as the boy he was afraid to admit he was falling in love with worked his magic on the mighty starship engines. Then came the lurch. He watched aghast as the slender blond boy, losing his balance, was flung bodily across the room to impact with a sickening thud against the massive auxiliary control station opposite where he had been sitting. There was the sickening sound of a snapping bone and a shriek of pain.
He jumped to his feet and ran to Jude's side. Without thought, he dropped toTaylor's seat and held Jude's head in his lap.
Cdr. Jamieson had helped the stunned Cory to a station chair. Now Cory looked over at them. "Take care of him," he said to Billy Joe. "He needs you."
And as Jamieson called for a medic to tend to the two boys, Billy Joe realized it was not about him, his fears and his guilt. The beautiful, hurting boy who had befriended him needed him, needed someone who cared, to help him – and he, Billy Joe McAllister, was elected. Years of Southern pride straightened his backbone. If Jude needed help, Billy Joe would be there to give it, and to Heck with anyone who called it sinful!
We express our thanks to ACFan, Iluvantir, and Akeentia for the use of their characters. and to Iluvantir in particular for use of scenes from "Sar'en" and assistance in revising them from Jude's perspective.