A Review of Kid Stuff By Matthew White This story was very bittersweet; it hit on two things that I have always held near and dear, honor and courage, standing up and doing the right thing simply because it’s the right thing to do. Chapter 1: When the story first opened I thought that it was intertwined with the episode “A Question of Priorities” until I realized that John was in Ed’s HQ office. Ed thinks that it’s only John that is here until Keith calls him and tells him of the other children. Ed walks out into the control room and finds that it has been turned into a day care center, what a shock that must have been. I loved how Keith’s brother wanted to play with the controls on the communications console. Virginia with her baby girl, this brought me to tears. I always felt that she would make a good mom one day. And Ed’s comment to her was very sweet and telling. Lt. White was cool, hey that’s me; I made it into one of Denise’s stories! Yea! Chapter 2: Ed makes a quick decision for a short term solution to the problem. And I get to help, what an honor! Here come the bad guys, they find out that everything is alright on Moonbase and Skydiver seems to be unaffected as well. I loved Ed’s bluff with security; he’s one hell of a poker player. Some of Ed’s humanity shows hear as well, as he tries to arrange for all the staff to have quality time with their loved ones. Chapter 3: I loved the conversation Ed and Ayshea had regarding the children. An attack in disguise? Heaven forbid. The chess game was a very nice touch, and the conversation John has with his father is telling indeed. Surly all is not as it appears to be. Very nice hint. Ed handles Henderson with classic Straker smoothness buying them a little more time. The conversation between Virginia and Ed was very touching and under it all I saw them having a new understanding of each other. And they both realize the price that they may have to pay for being human. This was a powerful moment in the story. Straker faces off with Major Cartwright, who is totally shocked by the turn of events. Chapter 4: Jackson is obviously the villain here, but to his credit he sends Alec in first to try to defuse the situation. Alec arrives down in HQ and Ed gives him a firsthand look as to what is going on. And his final orders to his friend are telling. Both men know what sacrifice might have to be made today. Jackson arrives with the goon squad, and Cartwright isn’t with them. I knew I liked him for some reason! Ed has a shining moment here defending his principles and what he believes in. His argument to Jackson would have swayed just about anyone else. Way to go Ed! And Ayshea get her licks in too. You go girl! At this point I’m thinking that this is going to go very badly, and then the door slides open… When you posted this I had to wait for the next installment, dang cliffhangers! Chapter 5: Virginia walks out and informs them that the children are gone, but not the way that was planned. I loved Ed’s comments to Jackson; he spelled it out just as it was. When Ed went with security to detention I had a bad feeling that things were not going to go well. My fears were confirmed when he sat with Alec in the cell. I would have been just as ticked off as Alec was. Hell these were very extenuating circumstances. But Ed knew that someone would have to pay the price. And finally Ed is free. Was this as hard to write as it was for us to read? Ed taught us all a lesson here; there are some principles that are worth dying for. Epilogue: I felt so bad for Alec here, but I did like the way he squeezed money out of Henderson. Good for Him! And then the shock, Ed Straker, alive and well! And of course he didn’t attend the funeral. His admission of his love for Ginny, very nice! (I know that was for my benefit) Ed Straker as the ambassador for mankind, it has a nice ring to it! This was a great story Denise, very thought provoking and bittersweet. It brought me to tears at several points. Bravo!
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