"So that's basically what happened," said Sinamoi, looking at his phone screen. "Not exactly what we had planned, but that's how it happened."

Colonel Squall's face took up the screen, slowly nodding. "I see," he said. "So, this spec op team attacked you and the fight spilled over into the studio. Then they essentially dragged you in for that interview I saw?"

"Yes, sir," said Sinamoi, "and now myself, my team, and the Black Fin Squad are out in the open. I kept the Army's involvement out of it, but any hope of secrecy is gone."

"Under the circumstances, I'd say you did what you had to do," said Squall. "Besides, thanks to that interview, the description of Black Fin Squad is out in the public. They've had their cover completely blown after what happened. That limits their operations at least somewhat."

"Yes, that's true," said Sinamoi. "So how do we proceed from here on out?"

"We're moving ahead as scheduled," said Squall. "We're setting up a temporary settlement camp where your fellow Sharklings can lay their heads while we get them sorted and processed. Might even be able to give them a crash course in Inkling culture and society. We're still not entirely sure how we're going to get them all out of there, though."

"I have a few ideas about that," said Sinamoi. "Aside from the network of smaller tunnels, there is one large underground tunnel. It's designed for convoys and troop carriers to move supplies and soldiers, and it has an outlet that leads to the surface. We could use that to move them out of there."

"That certainly helps out," said Squall. "But, do you think the facility has enough vehicles to move them all out of there?"

"Not entirely sure, the facility itself isn't too large," said Sinamoi. "It's not even too heavily guarded, probably due to 90% of its occupants being popsicles."

"I can secure some large transports for use," said Squall. "Is there anything else that we need to worry about in there?"

"Well there is one thing," said Sinamoi, "the MEG units."

Squall's eyebrows went up and he asked, "What in Cod's name is a MEG unit?"

"MEG unit, or Mechanized Exo Guardian, is basically a powerful exosuit designed for use by Sharkling forces," said Sinamoi. "They're primarily intended for frontline combat. However, they can be used by Octolings and even Inklings. They're tough, they're fast, and in fully trained hands they're a nightmare."

Squall let out a low whistle. "The Octolings are nothing if not technical geniuses," he said. "About how many of these suits do they have there?"

"I can't rightly recall, unfortunately," said Sinamoi. "It could be anywhere from a few dozen to a couple hundred units."

"In that case, we'd better secure those suits when we hit that place," said Squall. "Recover as many of them as we can and destroy the rest so they can't be used against us."

"That was my thinking exactly," said Sinamoi. "If you can get a big enough team, we should be able to take a fair number of them."

"We've got just about a blank check on this operation," said Squall. "I can get you whatever you need for this."

"That's a relief," said Sinamoi. "Still, I'll try to keep it as inexpensive as possible."

"Good to hear," said Squall. "I better go now, still have more preparations to go over. Good luck out there, son. And this time, try to stay out of trouble."

"Will do, Colonel," said Sinamoi. "Goodbye, sir." He ended the call. "Well, that went better than expected. I half expected him to bite my head off after what happened."

"I guess even military Inklings are a laid-back bunch," said Keket, walking by as she drank a can of Ink Cola. "How are things looking for the rescue operation?"

"We're almost good to go," said Sinamoi. "Listen, do you still remember your exosuit training?"

"Yeah, even though it made me sick to my stomach whenever I flew in the thing," said Keket. She was about to take a sip when she stopped, the can just shy of her lips. "What are you thinking about?" she asked, turning to him slowly.

"We're going to be hijacking some of their MEG suits to bring back," said Sinamoi. "One final middle finger to our former masters, so to say."

"Oh that's great, that's just great," groaned Keket. "What's next, I'm going to have to eat a vegetable omelet ration kit?"

"Oh don't bring those up, please," said Sinamoi, shaking his head. "I want to forget those things ever even existed."

"Well, if that's what we're doing, then that's what we're doing," said Keket. "Nothing much we can do about it."

Before Sinamoi could respond, there was a knock at the door. He blinked and looked in the direction of the knocking, then looked at Keket. "Were you expecting someone?" he asked.
"Not me," said Keket, shaking her head.

They both carefully approached the door and Sinamoi glanced through the peephole. He half expected to see Black Fin Squadron standing outside, eyes practically glowing with a burning desire for revenge. Instead, he saw Zuni and her younger siblings. He turned to look at Keket with a confused face, then opened the door. "Zuni? What are you doing here?" he asked.

"Good, you guys were home tonight," said Zuni, rushing in almost immediately, followed by her siblings. "I saw that interview you guys did today, that was so cool! You guys just tend to attract a lot of trouble, don't you?"

"Well yeah, it wasn't exactly how we planned to do our first day in Splatsville," said Sinamoi. "We were going to do some Turf Wars originally, but after what happened we- Wait, what did you bring over here?"

Zuni looked at the sleeping bag under her arm and said, "Oh this? It's a sleeping bag! We all brought them over. We figured after what happened, you'd need something fun to do to wind down. So we're going to introduce you to a staple of young Inkling society: the sleepover!"

Sinamoi and Keket just looked at each other, clearly confused. Hector and Jabb came out of their rooms to see what was going on. "What's a sleepover?" asked Hector.

"Oh you're gonna love it!" said Zuni. "Basically, you and a bunch of friends get together, pig out on junk good, stay up late, and do all kinds of fun stuff!"

"Well that does sound fun," said Jabb, "and admittedly we have a bunch of this 'junk food' we need to burn through."

"Wait, is this even okay to do?" asked Keket. "What do your parents think about this? Or your older siblings?"

"Don't worry, they already gave us permission," said Maki. "Besides, you guys have been having it rough since you came here. You deserve some more fun."

"Well, I guess it couldn't hurt," said Sinamoi. "What do we do first?"

"First things first, you guys need to get into your pajamas," said Zuni.

"You mean our sleep wear?" asked Keket. "Why do we need to-"

"No questions, just get to it!" said Zuni, clapping her hands. "Come on, all of you!"

"Well, you heard the lady, let's do this," said Sinamoi, heading to his room. The other three just shrugged and went to their rooms to change. The boys emerged from their rooms wearing briefs and t-shirts, and Keket emerged wearing a t-shirt and black panties. Zuni and her siblings had already changed into their own sleep wear, but Zuni's was by far the most bizarre. It was basically a yellow and blue leotard with a cut-away black hoodie and mismatched socks; one blue and one black with a yellow band.

"You certainly are a colorful individual," said Keket, stepping aside to avoid being bumped into by Hector, who was giving Yasmin a piggyback ride.

"Aww thanks, I try," said Zuni. "I'd love to make something for you guys if you'd like" she added, unrolling her sleeping bag.

"I'll…I'll think about it," said Keket.

"I wouldn't mind if you did," said Jabb, playing with little Kenta.

"I suppose it wouldn't hurt," said Sinamoi. "But, what do we do next?"

"First, we need junk food," said Zuni. "Then, we can watch movies, TV shows, or play video games to our heart's content."

"Video games? What are those like?" asked Hector, putting Yasmin down.

"Oh you guys are in for a treat," said Maki with a grin.

"I'll get the chips!" said Hector eagerly, heading for the kitchen.

"I'll get the drinks," said Jabb, following him.

"Here, I'll show you guys how to hook up the game system to your TV," said Zuni, unzipping her younger brother's overnight bag and taking out a strange device.

"Okay, show us," said Sinamoi as he followed her.

Keket sat down on the floor in front of the sofa, watching the younger children run around and laugh. It was so strange to see, and yet…she felt almost envious. Much like the other Sharklings, she'd never really had a childhood of any kind. After being hatched from their growth chambers, they had immediately been put into training for warfare. It was the only life they had ever known. Now here she was, only able to watch from the outside and wonder what could have been.

"Hey, are you okay?"

Keket blinked and saw Yasmin looking at her, head tilted. "Oh, hi there. Sorry, I was…lost in thought," she said, shaking her head. "Don't worry, I'm okay," she added.

Yasmin just continued to look at her, then she came right up to the Sharkling and gave her a hug.
Keket froze, not sure what was going on. She'd never been held before, especially like this. But…it felt nice. It was a comforting feeling, one that made her feel safe.

"There you go, feel better?" asked Yasmin, smiling as she broke the hug.

"I…yes, thank you," said Keket quietly. "What…what was that?" she asked.

"It's a hug," said Yasmin. "Didn't your mom ever give you hugs when you were little?"

"I…I don't really have a mother like you do," said Keket. "And I never even knew what a hug was. I don't think any of my brothers and sisters ever have."

"That's…that's really sad," said Yasmin. "Everyone needs a hug sometimes."

"I can see why," said Keket, smiling slightly before looking at the child. "Thank you…it really helped me."

"Anytime," said Yasmin, giving her a big beaming smile. "Wanna play?"

"Well…yeah, if you'll show me how," said Keket.

For the next several hours, Sinamoi, Keket, Hector and Jabb had fun with Zuni and her family, scarfing down chips and soda, watching movies, and playing games. For the first time in their lives, they were experiencing what it was like to be part of a family, a loving family, having fun. It was an eye-opening experience, one that made them truly happy, and all the more determined to give their kin the chance to experience it for themselves.