Dynamic Patrol: Gel Squad! Episode II

Chapter 31: Gaurdian

Cal and Tommy were in the briefing room, trying to put the pieces of the multi-tool back together like a puzzle. Of course, they didn't have Kipp to look it over— so they made do with their combined limited engineering knowledge. But together, they hoped to achieve something, "This isn't working." Tommy growled. He stretched his cheeks out and let them go, his stretchy body snapping back to its original perfect form without distortion. Tommy was annoyed, to say the least. "Hey... I don't think we're getting anywhere with this. Maybe we should ask them again?" Cal suggested. Tommy shook his head, rejecting the idea quickly. "You're sure you got the same answers from the other one?"

"Almost word for word." Cal answered, "Have you considered..? Never mind." Tommy's ear twitched at that, "What?" He continued to probe; once someone put something up into the air, he didn't particularly enjoy it when they attempted to suck it back in. One way or the other, he would get the question. "Letting them go? I mean, they've been honest. At least as far as we can tell, they haven't done anything wrong."

"They've been spying on us, Cal; I think that's more than 'wrong,' wouldn't you say?" Cal didn't respond immediately; before he'd gotten the chance, a pair of familiar faces entered: Russell and Maxion. They lacked their plus ones, having dropped them off in a holding cell before entering the briefing room. "Russell!" Tommy shouted. Unsurprisingly, he quickly pulled him into a very tight hug, including the coiling of his tail around his playmate's leg, as a show of affection. "Yes, I've returned," Russell boasted triumphantly. He returned Tommy's hug, and after about five minutes of straight bonding, he tried gently to weave his way out of Tommy's arms, but Tommy kept him close. "Okay... you can let me go. I wasn't dead."

Tommy rubbed his cheek against Russell's affectionately, and when he decided that he'd had enough, he released his playmate. "That's what you get for leaving me for almost five days," Tommy said. Maxion felt slightly left out and cleared his throat to ensure the other room occupants didn't forget his presence. Tommy did not forget Maxion; he'd gotten his 'snuggle tax' too, but it was not as intimate with him as it was with Russell. Cal chose to admire from afar, having yet to integrate fully into the Gel-Squad. He offered a basic, standard issue wave toward Maxion and Russell before rescinding into the corner. Russell approached and addressed him. "Well, that means I can be the security chief again. So you're the deck chief again."

"Actually?" Cal pointed out, "I'm not the deck chief anymore. I'm a school teacher now. I could benefit the population more if I give the youth more productive things to do." Maxion excitedly shuffled toward the conversation, "Finally, someone else is trying to improve the quality of life around here. As the concierge for the station, my primary concern is the emotional welfare of everyone on board. So I'd be thrilled to combine our ideas." Maxion smiled, his tail moving fluidly as he spoke to Cal. He stuck his hand out for Cal to shake, but Cal did not respond to the gesture. "I'll keep that in mind," Cal said brashly; this was coupled with an unexpected glare, which appeared unjustified in Maxion's eyes. Had he done something to offend Cal? Surely not. They'd only spoken for a few seconds. He retracted his hand and laughed nervously at that. But Cal was not laughing. "Anyway," Russell changed the subject, his eyebrow raised at the strange interaction between his mate and Cal... but he thought nothing of it, "Speaking of children, I found that guy who's been vandalizing the station. You won't believe it. It's one of those people from that group of 40. I locked him and his buddy up in a holding cell."

"You put kids in jail?" Tommy chortled, amused by the thought; he continued his lighthearted smile, "Well, yeah? They're criminals, Tommy; of course, I put them in jail." Russell shrugged, "But that's not what's important. Cal raises an excellent point: these juveniles are going around causing trouble for some of the shop owners, stealing stuff, and doing graffiti, and as a future father, I don't want my child to grow up in an unsafe place. These kids have no legal guardians, no proper guidance; you want to adopt?" Tommy laughed, but Cal perked up, pounced over, and twiddled his thumbs. "Are you being serious..?"

Russell came into eye contact with Cal, "Yes. There are 60 Omeocoons between the ages of four and 16, and 31 of them don't have a legal guardian because they lost them to the charges. These... children might be tall like us, but their minds are still developing, and they need to have a strong role model. You just have to take care of them long enough so that they reach the age of ascension and can fend for themselves. I'm making an official proclamation this afternoon at 1300 hours, searching for any volunteers willing to parent little ones."

Tommy scoffed, "What if no one wants to be a parent? What, then? Are you planning to put them off the station?" Russell shook his head, "Of course not, I'm not a monster. D1 will generate an algorithm randomly assigning a child to a parent based on a study of personality traits, common interests, and things that will make the child and a prospective parent as compatible as possible. I adopted Kipp; he was living in the woods... alone; if not for him, Kallum would've assimilated us. It's not fair for him to have a home, and those other children don't just because their parents and siblings are dead."

"I'll do it!" Cal shouted; he didn't hesitate; how quickly he volunteered was frightening. Tommy yelped and shook his head fiercely, grabbing Cal by the wrist. "Uh... Cal, we should talk about this later. I don't think we've formalized our coupling enough to discuss starting a family... you literally live with three other people; our quarters are crowded enough. We should talk to Kai and Bodi."

"Oh, by the way, we'll have a little one soon, won't we?" Maxion nudged Russell with his elbow, and Russell agreed with a silent nod. That was the end of it; with more things to discuss, the topic of the conversation swayed once again. Tommy informed Russell of the other duo occupying the other cells. Now that Russell was back, he could provide insight into what to do with those peepers. "That's the last time I leave for four days. Maybe I should talk to them?" Russell suggested. Tommy nodded and told Russell it was good to have him back before the bunny turned and left, presumably on the way to talk with the other prisoners.