[b][i]Area 51[/i][/b]

[i]Even after all these years, I still can't believe it,[/i] were Shirley Maxwell's thoughts as she replayed the recordings over and over again, of telekinetics, of fire-starters/pyrokinetics, of people who combined high intelligence with strange powers, strange powers that were only just starting to come out to the open. [i]The next evolution of humanity - even though Science says Evolutionary Levels aren't a thing.[/i]

[i]An evolution that came too early; damn the L'mina,[/i] another part of her spoke in her head. Shirley gently shook herself; trying to dislodge the negative thinking. She had to, after all, look after the kids, just as her predecessor, Maria Eve, had done so. Both she and Maria had been maternal, even when the other members of Project:Indigo were not. Some had only thought of the children as commodities, weapons, or a threat to be destroyed.

They were not. As intelligent as they are, as powerful as they would be, the Star Children were just...people, as good or as bad as others. Was she being naive? Idealistic, sure, but idealists have won before. Besides, she can be ruthless when she wanted to; that came with being an FBI Agent who had joined this secret branch of the Government. And, well, she was going to have to tap into that ruthlessness sooner than expected.

She looked behind her, to where the other Agents, her [i]subordinates[/i], were waiting for the information to be reviewed, and for her to make the final decision. Said decision was obvious; it left a bitter taste in her mouth, but her conviction was that it had to be done. And so, the woman fully turned around, to the people that trusted her, and said in a solemn voice:

"We shall start the operations soon. Despite statistics saying that there's actually [i]less[/i] conflict in the world today, not more, what matters is that people [i]think[/i] the world is falling apart. We are divided, polarized, and because we are divided, the L'mina will conquer us; or rather, that is their plan. But enough lecturing from me. The point is, we need to capture the Star Children, fast."

No euphemisms; this was not an occasion that required them. Fact of the matter was, much as Shirley would have liked to say 'acquire', 'gather', or some other sugarcoating word, she won't, not this time, and not at present. They were [i]kidnapping kids to use as weapons,[/i] and Shirley had to be fine with that. [i]At least we're safeguarding them as well,[/i] she tried to justify herself.

"You guys have several options; my most preferred would be to stage an accident, then whisk them off to a black site, or privately offer them a mysterious job with high benefits, which is actually going to be a statement of truth." Shirley preferred the latter option, but knew not everyone would agree. "There's also blackmail, drugging them, framing them for crimes and ensuring that they disappear into the criminal justice system, stuff like that."

"Note, however, that we are not here to enslave them, even when kidnapping is an option. So play nice and don't rough up the Star Children." A few of the Agents felt rebellious, but that had to be worked with; not all of her department shared her view that the Star Children were people, which in turn, to be candid, was a dangerous view when practicalities are concerned.

And with that, Shirley stopped to give things some thought. She didn't like this, but it had to be done. Earth had to be saved, the US had to be saved. [I]Damn Driders[/i], she thought. One of said Driders was the one who tipped off the US in the first place; said Drider was a tentative friend. But they key word was tentative; she liked the guy personally, but his race had an horrible fate planned for Humanity, a fate that, once revealed, disgusted her. [i]Human Ranches, Forced Breeding, Bio-Augmentation to increase Psychic Potential...[/i] the list was disgusting. That was why she was doing what she was doing, why the Star Children were needed, but, at the same time, why she needed to maintain as much morality as possible, because she didn't want to be any better than [i]them[/i]...