Date: Thu, 10 Jan 2013 22:04:27 -0800 (PST)
From: Eric Foster <efoster447@yahoo.com>
Subject: Starlit part 1

Disclaimer: this story contains sexual material. If you are not 18 or over,
or this is not legal in your country you should not read any further. This
material may offend if you find homosexual acts offensive or homosexual
acts between younger boys offensive. All similarities between this story's
plot line, characters, names, places, or any other item are purely
coincidence. Enjoy

Starlit

The screen in front of Elliot Rykov gave off its usual blue glow that
illuminated him and the bridge. It was a large U-shaped dashboard that
stretched the full length of the window and wrapped around the
bridge. There were no physical buttons; instead, the entire ship could be
controlled from the touch screen panel. The only exception was the joystick
on Elliot's seat, which was used to control the movement of the ship. Most
modern ships shared this feature, though some of the older ones still had
controls for throttle and reactor, while most of this was controlled by the
screen now as well.

Elliot pulled up the navigation screen, which projected itself onto the
window, and checked to ensure he was on course.

Crap, I'm 793 kilometers off course Elliot thought.

"Navigation, steer Port 15 degrees," Elliot commanded "Aye," replied the
computer voice.

Elliot began to feel the right engine increase thrust as the ship began to
turn back on course.

Elliot flipped through the screens to monitor the basic control
systems. The reactors read at their normal temperatures, all the controls
were functioning, all airlocks were sealed, and life support systems were
fully functioning.

"Ship."

"Aye captain," the computerized voice rang out.

"What is our current time in standard earth hours?"

"Relative to?"

"To our destination," Elliot replied "Current time in New Eve, on planet
Hosken, is 1 A.M in relative earth hours," the ship replied.

It's getting late, maybe it would be good to let one of the other captains
take over for now, Elliot thought.

He had been awake for the last 20 hours, and piloting the ship since 3 PM
relative to New Eve. It was easy for Elliot to lose track of time in space,
especially since the time on the ship was different depending on what it
was relative to. Some places or objects they went to would orbit at a
slower or faster pace in comparison to earth, so it was easy to think only
4 hours passed when actually 7 or 8 had gone by, and vice versa. Yet Hosken
was similar in size and orbital speed to earth, so he had actually been
captaining for the past 10 hours, and he was beginning to feel it.

His lack of rest was made even more blatant to him with the navigation
error he had just made.

Suddenly, he heard the door to the bridge slide sideways and a familiar
voice call out to him.

"Captain Rykov, the reactor team is requesting we dock at Gutlev space
station orbiting planet Rein before we proceed to the hyper jump
terminal. Reactor number three's brace is loose and needs to be replaced,"
the boy in front of him said.

This boy was Mason Siekstill. He really wasn't a boy, however, since he was
15, but it was easy to mistake him for 13, possibly even younger. He stood
at only 1.67 meters in height, but it was hard to miss him. His hair was a
light shade of brown and came down to right above his ears, where it then
formed a half curl at the bottom all the way around his earlobes
(basically, his hair was styled a lot like a bowl cut since the curls got
in the way of styling it any other way). His face had a very boyish look,
being completely void of facial hair and with several freckles underneath
his eyes. His cheeks were set far back and his nose came to a slight
point. His eyes were an extremely dark shade of blue and had slight
glimmers of green. His ears were also small and came to a point. All of the
features on his face were well proportioned, but small like the rest of his
body. Likewise, his arms and legs were the perfect length without being too
long or short for his body and the outfit he was wearing looked
exceptionally good on him. Though it was a standard officer's uniform, it
fit him perfectly.

The officer's uniform, which looked exactly the same as the captain's,
consisted of boots that came to a point and stopped 10 cm past the wearer's
ankles. The pants were tighter trousers with a belt that had a silver
buckle. On top was a button down shirt that was always covered by a jacket
with epaulets. The jacket's right flap wrapped 3/4 of the way over his
chest and was attached to two buttons. Finally, there was a full cloak that
had a large, stiff, popped collar that came half way to the top of the
officer's ear. The collar was a full 180 degrees around the back of the
officer's head. Gloves were worn as well. All of this, minus the cloak, was
made of a rubber material similar to that used for rain coats, which had a
reflective gloss and was lined with a silk-like material on the inside.

The color of the uniform also determined your status on the ship. The ranks
were divided up into the sections of Captain, First officer, Second
officer, Third officer, and private. Then all of these ranks went from 5th
up to 1st rank.

In Mason's case, his uniform was a solid white, indicating he was a Second
Officer. At the edge of his cloak was a light green boarder that was also
at the edge his popped collar, indicating he was a 1st rank. The epaulets
were also colored the same light green, designed to show his rank if he was
not wearing his cloak and collar. It was an exceptional rank to achieve,
especially at his age, though Elliot personally thought that Mason's
uniform was even better since the white was a beautiful contrast with his
olive skin tone and dark blue eyes.

"Mason, you can just call me Elliot," Elliot said lightheartedly "Well it's
out of formalities," Mason replied.

"You know my opinion about those."

"Yea, you can't live with them," Mason said teasingly, obviously a lot more
relaxed now that he knew Elliot was in a good mood and willing to not be so
formal.

"HAR HAR, I'm dying of laughter," Elliot replied with a snicker.

"Anyway, I'll let Captain Dalson know that when he takes over. I think it's
probably best I get some sleep. I've been on call for the last 10 hours,
and I made a navigation error a few minutes ago," Elliot replied a bit
sheepishly.

"I don't think you even know what the term relax means do you Captain
Elliot?" Mason said teasingly, adding on the Captain part to poke at
Elliot.

"I probably don't, but that's what it means to be a captain."

"Well being only 19, it's a stressful job," Mason said.

That's an understatement Elliot thought to himself privately.

Elliot's father, Yuri Rykov, had started Rykov Joint Stock Company
("RJSC"), which was designed to explore other planets and establish human
colonies. RJSC also provided military services to protect these colonies
from bandits and hostile governments. As a result, Elliot became involved
in the company at the very young age of 12, and had finished his schooling
at 15 while rapidly ascending the ranks. It was quickly discovered that he
was an exceptional pilot, and had the essential leadership skills of a
Captain. At age 18, Elliot had been promoted to 1st rank Captain. His
father then purchased his current ship, the RJSC Kosmicheskiye molnii,
which translated to "Space Lightning" in English.

The Kosmicheskiye molnii was the company's flagship, being not only the
largest, but also the most modern and best equipped. It had been
constructed at one of the "dry docks" orbiting mars, and rightfully so
because construction on earth would have been impossible due to its
size. It was 3.22 kilometers in length, .8 kilometers high (not including
the tail which made it1.61 kilometers high), and had a wingspan of 5.6
kilometers, which served when it went into a planet's orbit to land. The
ship's wings swooped back in a large delta shape and the body was narrow,
coming to a sharp point at the nose. It had 4 reactors, 8 of the largest
engines, and was armed with several missile systems and a high energy beam
that would incinerate anything it touched. It also had an advanced cloaking
system that not only made it invisible, but nearly impossible to detect
before coming into contact with it. It was designed as an advanced research
ship, and mainly did experiments pertaining to quantum physics, hyper jump
tests, and biological research. As a result, the ship needed weapons to
protect the equipment and data collected. As a whole, it was a very
impressive ship, and it required a lot of Elliot in order to keep
everything in working order.

"Well anyway, I'm going to call up Captain Dalson and have him take charge,
thank you for informing me," Elliot said as he brought up the ship's call
system.

"You're welcome Elliot," Mason said as he turned to walk out.

Just before he began to move, Elliot got up and placed his hand lightly on
Mason's right shoulder.

"By the way, why didn't the reactor team just call me up to let me know?"
Elliot asked in an inquisitive tone.

"Well, they were going to, but I said I would just tell you since I was
coming up here anyway. I was going to make sure you hadn't died or
anything," Mason said.

"Well I'm happy to have you to do that for me," Elliot replied.

On a whim, Mason decided he wanted to try something. He tugged on Mason's
shoulder a bit and pulled him close enough so he could embrace him from
behind, Mason's collar hitting the center of his chest.

"You're welcome Elliot," Mason said as he scooted back a bit more into
Elliot's embrace.

Elliot reluctantly moved out of the embrace to keep it from seeming awkward
or making Mason suspicious.

"I'll head back to my sector," Mason said "Ok, see ya"

"Bye!" And with that, Mason walked out of the door and left Elliot alone
again on the bridge.

Elliot had known Mason for eight years, and had loved him for four. Mason
wasn't from Earth like Elliot was. His family was from a mining colony on
the planet Neisk. It was easy to identify a person from this planet by
their eye color - dark blue with hints of green - since they experienced a
mutation caused by the chemical composition of the water that they were
exposed to while still in the womb.

Mason's family didn't have very much in terms of money, since both his
parents were miners, which initially was to be Mason's fate as
well. Luckily, his parents refused to have him doomed to a life of poverty
on the backwater planet. So, with assistance from other family members,
using most of their life savings, and working lots of over time, they
managed to afford to send Mason to Earth when he was 7 so that he could
attend a prestigious academy. There, he could receive an education that
would set him up for a great job and life.

It was at school that he met Elliot, and quickly the two became
friends. Despite their age difference, the two boys immediately "clicked"
as friends, and soon Mason was spending copious amounts of time at Elliot's
house. In fact, he was there more often than he was at his Uncle's house,
which was where he was living while on earth. Mason quickly took an
interest in the ships that Elliot showed him, and was even quicker to catch
on regarding their operation.

Meanwhile, Yuri had noticed Masons' potential and watched carefully as he
progressed in his studies.

By the time Mason was 9, Elliot was only 13 and already working on a ship
as a 3rd rank private.

Mason, on the other hand, had started focusing his studies more towards
science and math, to prepare himself for a position on a ship. It was then
that Mason had confessed his desire to become an officer like Elliot was to
become, and that's when Yuri stepped in.

He agreed to take on the cost of his schooling, housing, and everything
else, and even guaranteed Mason that he could start off as a private at 10,
which was unheard of at the time. In exchange, Mason would work for
RJSC. It wasn't like he would work without pay, but he had to be employed
by them until he was 18 years of age. Mason and his family quickly agreed
to Yuri's proposal, and that was how his career had begun.

Suddenly, Elliot heard the bridge door open and saw Captain Dalson standing
there.

"Captain Rykov, I'm here to relieve you of duty," Captain Dalson said in a
formal manner.

"Dalson, I'll need you to take the ship to Gutlev before we go to the hyper
jump terminal. The reactor team needs to replace reactor number three's
brace before we can make the jump. Ask them if we are going to be required
for a full stop, or if we can pick up the part there and they can replace
it on the go."

"Aye Captain. Any further instructions?"

"None at the moment, steer her well," Elliot said as he walked by and
grabbed his cloak and collar from the hanger by the door.

"Aye captain," Dalson said as the door shut behind Elliot.

Elliot walked down the halls, his cloak just barely floating above the
ground, until he reached one of the ships transportation terminals. There,
he boarded one of the cars, as they were called.

Because the ship was so large, it was far easier to have a transportation
system on board for efficiency. The cars were similar to elevators, the
difference being that they could go in all directions.

Elliot quickly started to type in the coordinates so he could get to the
Captain's section of the barracks, but then hesitated a moment. The image
of Mason from just a bit earlier suddenly flashed before his eyes, and
Elliot wondered if maybe he should stop by and see him. Though he wasn't
able to see Mason as much when they were younger, he was still glad he
could at least see him some of the time. Rykov had several hundred ships,
and Mason could have easily ended up on any one of them, but Yuri, because
of Elliot's request, made sure Mason ended up on Kosmicheskiye molnii.

Yet despite being on the same ship with Mason, Elliot still felt he didn't
get to see him enough, or maybe it was because he just wanted to see him as
much as possible. He did love him after all.

Elliot was about to type in the coordinates when the car's door shut and
started moving. He began to wonder where it was going and then the display
came up showing where they were heading.


Advanced Research Lab Y

Elliot felt his heart skip a beat, since that was Mason's lab. He was
hoping, no he was pleading that Mason would be getting on the car, and
waited feverishly as it quickly moved across the ship and eventually came
to a halt at its destination.

The doors opened and, to his disappointment, it was only a few scientists
from the labs.

"Hello Captain Rykov," one of them said.

"Hey, umm could you put in the coordinates for the Captain's hall?"

"Aye Captain," the one at the coordinate panel replied.

Just as the door was closing, a hand suddenly reached in, causing it to
open back up.

"Hold the car please!" Mason said as he quickly got in.

"Hello officer Siekstill."

"Hey, type me in for Storage M5...Captain Rykov! I thought you had already
gone to bed?"

Mason said curiously.

"I was going to, but I waited too long to type in the coordinates for the
Captain's hall" Elliot explained, hoping that Mason wouldn't catch on.

The car started moving and it quickly arrived at the scientists'
destination, leaving Elliot and Mason alone in the car.

"So, Dalson knows to get the part right?"

"Yea, I told him."

"So seriously, you waited too long to punch in the coordinates for the
car?" Mason said doubtingly.

"I just had something on my mind and spaced out, honestly."

"You've been spaced out a lot lately. Is something up?"

Yea actually since I visited Earth last week and visited all the places we
used to play, I can't stop thinking about us, but mostly you, Elliot
thought privately.

"Not really, just thinking," Elliot managed to say, though not in a very
convincing tone.

Mason looked at him for a few moments, studying him, until he heard an
electronic tone indicating they had arrived at the storage bay.

"Well, if you need to talk, you know I'm always here for you," Mason said.

He reached out and lightly touched Elliot's shoulder before he walked out
into the storage bay, leaving the young Captain alone in the car again. It
started to move and Elliot began to feel light headed, knowing that he
needed to get to bed soon before he passed out from exhaustion.

The car soon arrived at the Captain's hall, which was where all the
different quarters for the Captains were located. The elevator opened up to
a long hall that had a sitting area around the elevator doors. It was all
very well furnished, and the hallway itself had a fine blue carpet that
extended the length of the blue marble that lined the floor. The walls were
made of brushed steel that had a blue tint. At the very end of this hall
stood two grand doors that led to Elliot's quarters.

He quickly walked to the doors and opened them up into his room, which was,
to say the least, huge.

It was 15.24 meters long by 7.62 meters wide and was 7.62 meters high. 10
large roman styled columns extended the length of the room, 5 on each side,
each separated by 3 meters. The crown of each column had lights that
illuminated the room with a slight orange color, trying to replicate a
natural torch lit room. The floors were made of the same blue marble, and
the walls consisted of the same brushed steel. The most noticeable feature
was the glass ceiling, which could be controlled to turn completely black
so no one could see in, or to let in only certain colors of light in order
to create amazing ambiance. The glass ceiling also allowed Elliot to watch
the stars pass by, and the whole room could be lit by only starlight if he
chose. On left were two doors, one leading to his master bath, and the
other to his closet. To the right was a worktable with various papers and
his computer. At the very end of this room, opposite the main entrance, was
his bed.

It, like the room, was also huge, being about the size of two California
kings. The bed had a large overhang that could make it completely private
if he wished, though he usually kept it retracted so he could watch the
stars when he was resting. The final feature was that he could control the
gravity settings so that he could be in zero gravity if he desired.

Elliot walked into the closet on the left hand side to change into his
nightwear. It was a large walk in closet with a wall mirror on the right,
and several compartments on the left that had drawers with the clothing in
them. There were also hangers at the end of these compartments where all
his suits and formal wear hung neatly in a straight line.

Elliot looked himself over a bit in the mirror. His uniform looked exactly
like Mason's, the difference being that his was black, indicating he was a
Captain, with red edges and epaulets, indicating he was 1st rank.

He stood at 1.9 meters high and looked thin, somewhat like a swimmer, and
had broad shoulders that gave the impression of natural athleticism. His
face had high cheek bones and his jaw was well defined. He had straight
light blonde hair that went part way down his neck, which he styled in a
slight swoosh to the right so it didn't get in his eyes. He had sky blue
eyes that had a slight purple streak that ran under them, which made him
appear tired, though he looked that way even when he was well rested. His
face was void of facial hair, blemishes, or any freckles.

His nose was roman in its style and his ears were blunt in their shape. He
had lips that were average - neither too fat nor too thin - and were
naturally a darker hue of red.

Elliot removed his uniform and boxers and went to one of the compartments
to take out black silk nightwear. This consisted of a pair of loose fitting
pants and a loose button down long sleeve shirt. Before Elliot put it on he
stopped and looked at himself in the mirror again.

Without the uniform it was clear that he was very active and well toned. He
had what looked to be a six pac, with well-defined chest and abdominal
muscles. His arms were also well-defined and only occasionally had some
moles here and there. His legs, like the rest of his body, were also
muscular, with large calf and thigh muscles. His skin as a whole was
tanned, but it wasn't as dark as Mason's. Elliot also had light blonde hair
that covered his arms and legs, and even a decent patch that had formed on
his chest.

His gaze then moved down to his genitals. Elliot had a thick patch of
blonde hairs that formed a neat triangle above his penis. He was 9cm long
when soft, and, owing to his father's Russian decent, his cock was uncut
with a foreskin that fully covered the glans. His scrotum was covered with
fine blonde hairs and hung low with his large balls. He knew that he was a
bit larger than average, but he didn't really care about size, he valued
personality far more.

Suddenly, a thought rushed into his head and would not fade. It was a
memory from when he and Mason were younger. Elliot was only 15 at the time,
and Mason was 11, but it felt as if it had happened yesterday. How could he
ever forget it? After all, it was when he came to realize that he loved
Mason.


"Wow, it looks so neat on you!" Mason said in excitement.

"Thanks Mason, I just got it today," Elliot replied.

He had just received his uniform after being promoted to 3rd rank Second
officer. It was all white, with an orange edge on his cloak.

"I wish my private uniform was as cool looking," Mason said longingly.

"Well don't worry, you'll get to the rank of officer soon enough. Dad
really likes you, so I'm sure he'll help you get the training you need."

"Yea, your dad's really nice for helping me out," Mason said "Well, he
wants to make sure a person who has potential doesn't let it go to
waste. You definitely have potential," Elliot said.

Privately, he knew that his compliment was an understatement. Mason had
proved not only to be quick to catch on to ship operation, but he also was
extremely intelligent. All of his test scores indicated he was gifted,
border-line genius, in some areas, and tested several grade levels above
his current one. It was actually predicted that he could finish his
schooling as early as 13, which was 5 years sooner than average. In fact,
Elliot was sure that Mason was one of the most intelligent people he knew.

Yet at the same time, Elliot wasn't sure if he was suited to be
Captain. Mason was more focused on sciences, in particular quantum
mechanics. He had already begun studying this field, only further proving
how gifted he was in academics. Yet, he lacked the needed leadership skills
to be captain of a large ship. Mason was more reserved, and was easily
caught up in his studies, reading, or solving problems. He seemed to be
more fitted as an officer who headed research for a lab. Without warning,
Elliot was pulled out of his trance when Mason suddenly spoke.

"Sorry what did you say?"

"I said it's a really pretty sunset," Mason said, a glimmer in his eye.

Elliot looked out over the setting sun and had to admit it was
beautiful. He lived on the coast in a state called North California in the
city of San Francisco. His house was a large modern home with an equally
large back yard that overlooked the Pacific Ocean with a view of the Golden
Gate Bridge.

He watched the sky turn an array of orange and pink, while the sun made the
ocean glimmer as if it were made of gold. Overhead, passenger aircraft
could be seen flying high above, off to destinations all over the world. On
occasion, larger spaceships could be heard heading for the heavenly bodies
far above. The ocean whispered words of rhythm as the waves came to shore
and crashed on the coast line.

"Yea, it really is pretty," Elliot agreed.

"I never could see the sunset on Neisk," Mason said "Really?"

"The atmosphere was too thick to ever see it clearly. Plus, with the smog
from the mining, it was even harder to see the sun."

"Wasn't there daylight?"

"Yea, but it was like a foggy day here, except it was like that all the
time," Mason explained.

"I see," Elliot said, not really sure how to respond.

"I'm really happy I can see it here."

Then Mason moved from his sitting position on the grass and sat even closer
to Elliot, so close that he was now leaning his head onto Elliot's
shoulder.

"But honestly, I'm even more happy that I get to see it here with you,"
Mason said quietly into Elliot's ear.

Elliot felt his heart skip a beat, and he suddenly decided that he wanted
to make a move. He took his hand that was currently wrapped around Mason's
shoulder and raised it so he could lightly move it across Mason's left
cheek. Mason reached up with his hands and pressed Elliot's hand to his
cheek. He then took a hold of Elliot's glove and removed it so that his
bare hand was pressing against his cheek.

"It's warm," Mason said quietly, his eyes closed as he tightly held
Elliot's hand to his cheek.

Elliot decided it was then he wanted to make his move. He lightly pulled
Mason's face so they were now looking each other in the eye. Mason,
initially surprised, opened his eyes and looked at Elliot somewhat
confused.

Elliot moved closer to him, closed his eyes, and finally brought his own
lips to Mason's. He felt the world had stopped; time didn't move as the
adrenaline hit his veins. Then it was abruptly stopped when Mason pulled
away and scooted back a bit.

"Mason...wait dude I'm sorry I..."

"No Elliot, just...I've got to go," Mason suddenly said as he got up and
ran into the house.

"Wait Mason!" Elliot shouted after him.

By the time Elliot reached the house, Mason had already left. Initially,
Elliot was worried that he had messed up their friendship, and they would
never speak again, but instead Mason just acted as if it had never
happened. The very next day he came over and hung out again, not even
mentioning the kiss. Elliot tried to bring up the kiss but Mason would just
keep changing the subject.


Elliot eventually decided that Mason probably didn't like the kiss, but
because they were such good friends he was willing to let it go. Since then
his love for Mason continued to burn, and there was nothing to quench this
fire that continued to consume him on a daily basis.

It was even harder now since Mason had grown older and was becoming better
looking. He was cute as a kid, but now he was starting to become hot, and
Elliot just wanted him that much more.

Elliot looked at himself again in the mirror and, without even realizing
it, noticed that he had become fully erect. His cock was now at his full
length of 17 cm, with the foreskin fully retracted, and already some precum
was leaking out onto the tip of his exposed glans.

Well, I guess I should take care of it, it's been a few days since the last
time I did, Elliot thought to himself as he sat down in the closet. He
leaned back against one of the cabinets and pressed his feet up to the
mirror. He took his penis in his right hand and began to stroke it slowly,
twisting it a little as he moved the skin up and over the head in order to
increase the sensation.

He began to feel the adrenaline rush into his veins as he started to pant
and heave. His body warmed and sweat began to line his forehead and drip
from his armpits. In response, he increased the speed of his stroke and
gripped his cock tighter.

His mind raced as images of Mason flashed before him, and then his
imagination went wild as he began to wonder what he would look like with
only pants on. What about only in his underwear?

What if he was completely naked? Imagine him naked, with me naked, and then
the two of us started to mess around. Imagine Mason, kissing my neck,
touching me in all the places I want him to feel me. Oh my god, what if we
started having oral sex...better yet what if I could actually have anal sex
with him. Fucking Mason would be the most amazing thing ever.

Elliot felt his legs begin to tighten as the rest of his body began to
tense. He started moaning and making animalistic grunts as the approaching
orgasm drew near. His glands were going into overdrive and precum began
leaking even more from his penis. He could hear the sounds he was making
vocally accompanied by the beating sound of him jacking off. Finally, he
felt the orgasm rise within and hit him with a huge force.

Elliot let out one loud moan as cum flew from his cock and landed all over
his stomach and lower chest. The rest oozed out from the tip and began to
thicken in his pubes. His penis convulsed a few times in the aftershock of
orgasm and then slowly finally began to soften. Elliot reached behind him
and took a rag from one of the drawers and cleaned himself up.

He quickly put on the bed clothes and walked out of the closet and over to
his bed. He climbed onto it and crawled under the covers. His head rested
softly on the pillows and he allowed the softness to envelop him. His bed
felt amazingly plush, and he sensed that he was quickly fading away into
sleep.

"Lighting off," Elliot said aloud.

"Aye," a computer voice responded.

The lights then faded until they were off and then the room became dark,
except for the starlight shining in. Elliot looked up and watched the stars
pass by. It was so beautiful to watch the galaxies and stars that he almost
felt like he didn't want to go to sleep. Even after the years of being on
ships and working in space, he still found the stars amazingly beautiful.

He slowly let his eyes begin to close, and soon he found that he wasn't
able to keep them open.

Then he felt his consciousness go, and soon he was off to the world of
dreams where Mason occupied all of his thoughts and imagination.



For a moment he wasn't sure where he was. It was dark, and there weren't
any markings to tell him anything. Suddenly, he realized that there was a
light coming from somewhere to his right.

He turned sideways to see a boy balled up in the fetal position on the
ground. He was wearing the same officer's uniform as Mason and appeared to
be crying. Elliot quickly walked up to him and soon realized that it was
Mason, but he looked younger, maybe 11 or 12.

"Mason...are...are you ok?" Elliot asked in a worried tone.

He knelt down and put his hand on Mason's shoulder as he pulled him close
so that he could hold him.

"I....I...I just want to be with you," Mason said through his sobs. Tears
continued to rain down his face and his voice was quivering as he breathed
in a rapid and uneven pace.

"Mason, you are with me. I'm right here."

"No, that's not what I meant," Mason said again hardly audible through his
crying.

Elliot pulled him into a tighter embrace, trying to provide him with at
least some comfort.

"What do you mean then?" Elliot asked, a little confused.

"I meant this," Mason said.

He suddenly leaned up and pulled Elliot down so they were face to
face. They locked eyes for only a moment. Mason closed his eyes and began
to lean in. Elliot in response closed his eyes and leaned forward until he
felt Mason's lips on his own.



Suddenly, Elliot felt himself being enveloped by his sheets and opened his
eyes. He was lying in his bed, and had just now woken up. He rubbed his
eyes and let out a yawn as he got up.

"Lighting on."

"Aye," the computer responded The lights faded back on as Elliot got out of
his bed and stretched a bit. He walked over to his closet and then began to
wonder how long he had slept.

"Computer, what is our time relative to our destination in standard earth
hours?" Elliot said aloud.

"Current time in New Eve, on planet Hosken, is 11 A.M in relative earth
hours," the computer replied.


Well, I guess I needed the rest after all, Elliot thought as he walked to
the closet so he could get dressed into his proper uniform. He quickly
stripped his clothing and threw it in the hamper as he pulled on his
uniform. He looked himself one more time in the mirror to make sure that
nothing was out of line. He straightened his collar and made sure his
jacket was straight. Satisfied that he was indeed in line, he walked out of
the closet and to his door.

Just as he opened the door, Mason fell toppling towards him and knocked him
down to the ground. Both let out a small yell as they fell, and Elliot
ended up on his back with Mason on top of him.

"Sheesh what was that?" Elliot said as they lay there.

"Sorry, I was coming to get you. I was opening the door but I guessed you
opened it at the same time," Mason replied.

Mason was about to move off Elliot but was prevented from doing so. Elliot
reached up and wrapped his arm around Mason's shoulder.

"Well I forgive you," Elliot said quietly into Mason's ear.

He personally didn't mind the position, and didn't mind holding Mason on
top of him. In fact, he was enjoying it a lot, but knew that his few
moments of enjoyment had to end soon before things would become awkward.

Mason moved off of his chest and helped to pull Elliot back up as well. The
two quickly dusted themselves off and straightened their collars. They
began to walk down the Captain's hall towards the transportation hub when
Elliot spoke up.

"So why did you have to come and get me?"

"Well, we're about fifteen minutes from the hyper jump terminal. As you
know, it is standard procedure to have the Captain authorize us," Mason
said as the two got to the car.

"Yea I know. Well, I'm just glad I finally slept. Did you get any rest?"

"I woke up about an hour ago. I got nine hours, so I'm ready for our jump,"
Mason said as he typed in the coordinates for the general bridge.

Though the room that Elliot piloted from was called the bridge, the general
area around it was known as the general bridge. There, the communications,
navigation, and weapons systems controls could be found. It occupied
several floors and several rooms and required a full staff of officers and
privates to run it.

"That's good. So did they fix the brace on the reactor?"

"Yea, we called ahead and picked it up. They were able to replace it on the
go, so we'll just drop off the old one at New Eve. They said they can scrap
it there," Mason replied as he leaned against the car railing.

"Great, so after the hyper jump it's just 30 minutes to New Eve and then
we're good for the next 24 hours," Elliot said.

"Yup," Mason replied.

"So Mason, remember our last visit to earth?"

"Yea, that was pretty fun. Especially seeing all the places we hung out
when we were younger. I kind of miss it"

"Earth?"

"Well Earth, and us being young. When we were kids and had more time to
spend together. I just liked being able to hang out whenever we wanted,"
Mason said.

"Yea I miss it to," Elliot said quietly to himself.

Elliot then began to think about something. He wanted to test something
that he hadn't asked in a long time. He just needed to know if Mason was
still the same, or if maybe he had changed some over these past years.

"Hey Mason, I was wondering if you remember another thing about earth?"

"What?" Mason said as he turned to look Elliot in the eyes.

"Do you remember my backyard?"

Mason's face looked bemused and lit up a bit at the question. He had that
"do you think I'm stupid" look on his face, but it was in a playful way.

"Of course I remember your backyard! We played in it all the time. How
could I forget?"

"Do you remember anything in particular?" Elliot said in a serious tone.

"Just that it had a nice view and we played there all the time. Why?"

Elliot hesitated, but felt he had to ask. He just had to know if anything
was different now.

"Do you remember our kiss?"

Mason suddenly diverted his eyes to the ground and he turned his head so
that his collar hid most of his face. Elliot saw him blushing before he
turned though, and could tell that he definitely remembered the kiss. He
remained silent for several moments, and Elliot was about to ask him again,
but then an electronic tone sounded in the car indicating they had arrived
at their destination.

Mason quickly walked out of the car and headed down one of the halls to the
navigation rooms.

"Mason wait!" Elliot said as he scrambled to catch up to Mason.

"No!" Mason said speeding up his pace.

"I'm ordering you to as your Captain to wait!"

Mason stopped, but wouldn't face him. Instead, he kept his head tilted down
towards the ground and the cloak wrapped completely around him.

"It's not right to abuse your power like that," Mason said quietly.

"I just want to know if you remember," Elliot replied in a pleading tone.

Mason stood silent for several moments. Elliot knew he heard the question,
but it was obvious that he didn't want to discuss the subject any
further. His silence bothered Elliot, but at the same time he didn't want
Mason to come to hate him or anything.

"Never mind the question. I'm going to the bridge," Elliot said.

He turned around and walked down the hallway to the doorway where the
bridge was located.

He could hear from behind him as Mason walked into the door for the
navigation room, and again he wondered if it was the right choice to ask
him that question. He just wished he would quit avoiding it and answer
truthfully. He knew he remembered it, but how did he remember it?

What about it did he remember? Why did he remember it? Was it good, bad,
unsure, what? All these and more, were questions he wished he could ask
Mason. But now wasn't the time. He would have to wait.

Elliot walked into the bridge and there he saw Captain Gestlelev, a 3rd
rank captain, steering the ship.

"Captain Gestlelev, I'm here to relieve you of your duty," Elliot said.

"Aye Captain Rykov, steer her well," Gestlelev replied. He grabbed his
cloak and collar and walked out of the bridge.

Elliot took off his own cloak and collar and placed it on the hanger beside
the door. He quickly browsed through the systems to ensure that everything
was still in order, and found that all was functioning properly.

Up ahead he saw the hyper jump terminal. It was a long rectangular
structure that had 20 hexagonal shaped launch ports. Each of those varied
in size, depending on the class of ship they launched, and had blue
flashing lights extending from them to indicate the launch path for the
craft. Elliot watched as ships sped down the lit up path way and then
disappeared in a flash as they hit the needed speed to begin the hyper
jump.

Suddenly, Elliot heard an electronic warning tone go off and read the
message that appeared on his screen.


Your ship is in proximity to a hyper jump terminal. Please forward your ISP
to the control terminal and await further instructions before proceeding to
or through the hyper jump terminal area.


ISP stood for International Space Plan which included the ship, its flight
plan, the crew on board, and other related information. Elliot quickly had
the ship's computer forward the needed information and brought the ship
into a holding pattern.

"Captain Rykov, please sign the document to authorize your ship for using
this hyper jump terminal. It will appear on your screen shortly," the
control tower director said.

The document appeared on the screen. It was a basic liability waiver that
stated they weren't responsible if the ship was attacked during or after
the hyper jump or if the ship was damaged in any way during the
jump. Elliot quickly signed it on the touch screen and submitted it to the
tower.

"Thank you Captain Rykov. I'm going to have you proceeded to launch port 17
please, do you copy?"

"Yes I copy, moving to launch port 17" Elliot said.

He maneuvered the ship so that he would go behind the launch port. He then
slowly moved so that he was now directly above the launch path. Next he
carefully moved the ship down and backed into the launch port. He felt the
ship come into contact with the launch system and heard it attach to the
ship.

"All personnel, the ship is preparing for the hyper jump to sector NB7,
please prepare for launch,"

came the computerized voice over the intercom.

"Captain Rykov, please power up your engines to maximum throttle. Do you
copy?"

"I copy, powering up the engines" Elliot said.

He then brought up the throttle controls and moved the on screen slider up
to its full position. He heard the engines increase their thrust and felt
the ship rattle. The high pitched whine could be heard throughout the ship
as the engines finally reached full thrust.

"Prepare for launch in 5...4...3...2...1" and with that the ship sped down
the flight path as Elliot was pushed back into his seat. Then everything
became a blur and the stars began passing by in streaks of white light.

It was a crucial moment during flight. If something went wrong during hyper
jump, Elliot would have to slow it back down immediately, or risk the
ship's destruction. He carefully monitored all the systems as the ship
dashed across the universe to the far away planet of Hosken.

Moments later the ship began to slow as it reached the end of the hyper
jump pathway. He started to watch the blurs turn into finite points as he
began to throttle down the engines. Finally, the ship came out of hyper
jump and ahead he saw planet Hosken. With some smart pre-planning on
Elliot's part, and good timing, they managed to end up on the side of the
planet where New Eve was located.

"All personnel, we should arrive at New Eve within 30 minutes," Elliot said
over the ship's loudspeakers.

He began piloting the ship towards the planet, and was happy that soon he
would be on solid ground, for a little while at least.



Elliot brought the ship into hover mode as he approached the landing
pad. Since the ship was so large, a runway landing was nearly impossible,
with only a few exceptions at some of the larger ports. To compensate for
this, the ship had a hover mode that allowed it to act like a helicopter so
that it could land with minimal room. Though this method was much harder,
Elliot was experienced, and with it being morning ample light was available
allowing for a solid landing.

He began shutting down the engines and systems, but was the interrupted by
Captain Dalson.

"Captain Rykov, it's time for the mission review," Dalson said.

"I understand that Captain Dalson. As soon as the engines are shut down I
will be there for the review," Elliot replied as he looked over the last of
the controls.

"Aye Captain," Dalson said as he walked out.

With a last brief check over, Elliot was confident that everything was
order and quickly got up and grabbed his cloak and collar. He then walked
down the hall to a stairwell that was opposite the transportation hub and
ascended one flight. Directly in front of him was a set of large doors that
he opened and quickly walked into the adjoining room.

Inside was a large conference room that was long and narrow with a very
high ceiling. The wall opposite the entrance way was solid glass and also
served as a window. The other two walls were decorated with various screens
and artwork. There sat 4 other men, two on each side of the conference
table, leaving Eliot the head seat. They were the captains 5th through 2nd
rank.

"Captain," the others said in unison as they stood up.

"At ease," Elliot replied as he sat down.

"Captain Rykov, the new accelerator and time flux device are being brought
onboard as we speak and should be fully installed later tonight. We expect
to have them fully operational within the next 72 hours."

"Great, what about the colony supplies and machinery?"

"It's being unloaded and dropped off to the colonists as we speak."

"Good. So is there anything further to report regarding the mission?"
Elliot asked the table.

"Umm...Captain Rykov, there is one item we need to report."

"Then speak, what is it?" Elliot said calmly.

"Well sir, we received a message from your father just after our departure
from the Gutlev station. He stated that there is going to be a formal
company get-together. It's to be hosted on planet Arc, and you are to bring
with you a guest. The two of you will be representing the company's
research fleet, so you will need to make sure you do so with class and
honor."

"I would like to invite 1st rank Second Officer Mason Siekstill along to
accompany me," Elliot replied without hesitation.

"Understood sir. We are also to bring the ship, to show off to our
investors and the executives.

When would you like to depart?"

"In 24 hours. I want to give everyone some time to rest," Elliot said,
knowing he wanted to spend some time on land as well.

"Understood."

"Ok. Well, I shall be off to change into my street wear," Elliot said as he
started to walk out the door.

"Umm...Captain Rykov, one question."

"Hmm?" Elliot said as he stopped and turned around.

"Well, it's somewhat on a personal note, but we noticed that officer
Siekstill was acting oddly after we had sent him to get you. Has something
happened between you two? We hope that he has not displeased you in any
way."

Elliot's face changed to a stone cold complexion. He knew it was his fault
that Mason was acting oddly, and it disturbed him to know he had possibly
hurt Mason and his standing with the officers.

"No, nothing happened," Elliot said flatly.

And without any further discussion he walked out of the conference room and
boarded the transportation car to get to the Captain's hall. He leaned
against the side rail and seriously wondered if the question, after all
these years, still bothered Mason so much to the point that he would begin
acting odd. He usually was a fairly cheerful individual who kept an
optimistic outlook on things and rarely deviated from this unless he was
really bothered by something.

As soon as he arrived at his room he quickly went into his closet and
changed into the street clothes he would wear whenever he was spending time
on a planet. The clothes were very informal in comparison to his usual
captain's uniform. He wore a blue t-shirt with white equations and science
symbols written all over it. It was actually a gift he had received from
Mason for his birthday, and in all honesty, it was his favorite t-shirt
just for that reason alone. He also had on a dark pair of jeans, and high
top sneakers. He put away his nicer aviator watch and replaced it with a
more casual one with a rubber strap and orange dial.

He quickly walked out of room so he could reach the transportation hub and
get on the ground.

He had been to New Eve once before, and had enjoyed it. It rested on the
planet's shore line, so it reminded him a lot of San Francisco. Plus, with
a diverse and colorful history, relaxed environment, and great restaurants,
it was a great place to visit.

Just as Elliot had reached the hub, he suddenly felt his phone vibrate and
saw a new message. It had been sent from Mason only a few moments before.


Want to meet at the Exit area so we can go to town together?


Well at least he seems to be back to normal Elliot thought as he boarded
the car.



"So anyway, what do you want to get for lunch?" Elliot asked as he walked
along the narrow market way with Mason.

"I'm up for anything. How about you?" Mason replied Elliot looked over at
him and immediately found himself staring again. He couldn't help it
though, since Mason was dressed particularly well. He was wearing a grey
graphics t-shirt that had a wing design on the front and back. It looked
similar to a trend that use to be popular a while back, but to Mason it was
still cool. He had on dark skinny jeans and blue high top sneakers that had
black lines running down the sides. He also had on a blue watch that
matched.

He looked amazing in Elliot's eyes.

"Why not that restaurant over there?" Elliot said pointing to one that
claimed to serve traditional Hosken food.

"Sure," Mason said.

The two entered the restaurant and were quickly seated. They looked over
the menu for a bit and each agreed to order a plate of fried Yenwor, an
aquatic fish native to the planet. Soon the two were wolfing down their
food, since both were pretty hungry. Neither had eaten for over 13 hours.

"Oh Mason, I wanted to tell you something."

"What's up?" Mason asked without looking up from his food.

He was still wolfing down the Yenwor, and had now moved on to the side dish
that looked similar to French fries. Elliot smiled lightly as he watched
Mason do this. He thought he was so cute, even when his face was filled
with grease and food. He just had that boyish charm that made it impossible
not to love him.

"Well, I was told that the company is going to have a formal dinner. I'm to
represent the research fleet. We will also be flying the Kosmicheskiye
molnii there to show off to the executives and investors," Elliot said.

"That sounds great. Are you nervous?" Mason asked, though his attention
still seemed to be on the food.

"Well a bit, but I also have something else to mention. I need to have
someone accompany me to it, and I wanted to invite you as my guest," Elliot
said.

Mason stopped eating and looked up at him with wide eyes, his mouth still
filled with food.

Mason pointed to himself and made a noise that sounded like he was trying
to say 'me'. Elliot couldn't help but start laughing at him, which
immediately caused Macon to take offense because he thought Elliot was
playing a joke on him.

"Hey! Don't joke about that. I was actually getting excited" Mason said
sounding disappointed.

"No, no, no I wasn't laughing because I wasn't serious. You just had a cute
reaction," Elliot said with a tender smile.

Mason began to blush as he looked down at the table. He couldn't help but
smile as well. His cheeks were colored light red, and the light shone down
to perfectly illuminate his hair. Cascades formed on his face and it made
him look like an angle for a few moments to Elliot.


Maybe he's a space angel. Maybe he's my space angel Elliot thought to
himself privately as he continued to watch Mason.

"So, are you going to come?" Elliot finally asked.

"Of course dude!" Mason replied back excitedly.

His face lit up and his eyes glimmered like that of a child on Christmas
morning.


I'm happy you're happy Mason. I'll do everything to ensure your happiness.



Authors Note: Hey everyone. So I'm new to the sci-fi genre, but I hope you
enjoy my first sci-fi story. So why do you think Mason acts the way he
does? Does he love Elliot, or is it something more complicated than that?
Do you think anything will happen at the dinner?

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this part of the story. If you have any questions,
comments, or suggestions feel free to send me an e-mail at
EFoster447@yahoo.com

I really do enjoy fan mail so I would love to get a line or two from you if
you feel the story deserves it. Also if you enjoyed this piece then look my
other stores "Restart" and "In Time series" in the gay male young friends
section on nifty.org. I also have to thank my editor Mike Archer for
reviewing this piece for me. I also have to thank my beta reader, and
fellow nifty author, Ricky, for reading over it post editing.


So I'll be posting two more parts to this story before its finished and I
hope that you will enjoy this part of the story and continue to enjoy it as
the other parts come out. Also please take a look at my other stories if
you enjoyed this one. Thanks for reading everyone.