Date: Sat, 29 Jan 2005 01:25:39 +0000
From: Douglas DD DD <thehakaanen@hotmail.com>
Subject: The Boys of Lady Lex Chapter 39

Welcome back once again loyal readers. Sorry for the long delay, but the
vacation was great.  :-)   We left off with Trevor the Hawke going off on an
adventure, without a great deal of thought or planning. Sorry to keep you
hanging there, but now it's time to see if our Hawke learned his lessons
from his failures during the "Orion" intrusion. Enjoy and please write us at
TheHakaanen@hotmail.com   <Ben and Douglas>

Boys of the Lady Lex
Chapter 39
"Lady Luck"
Written By Douglas DD and Benjamin TC

Lady Luck can be a difficult woman to figure out. She can be on your side
one moment, then lure you into a sense of euphoria-a feeling that all is
right with the world and everything is going the way you always knew it was
destined to go. Or she can suddenly turn on a you and slap you in the face.
How Lady Luck treats you can be a matter of timing, of location, of
planning. Good planning can sometimes keep her at bay, but Lady Luck can be
a bitch and ruin the best plans. And sometimes, even the worst of plans can
work as the fickle lady shows her sense of humor and lets you stumble to
success.

*****

"Well," Spencer said. "Now what?"

"What do you mean now what?" Trev asked. "We go in and rescue the kid.
That's what!"

"We don't have a plan. I mean we were just going to watch the mission and
kind of take pride in doing it without being caught. Now suddenly we're
doing the mission. At least with the `Orion' we had a planned even if it
didn't work."

Kyle had put the "Wonder Boy"  into orbit above the coordinates of the
compound. Trevor silently thanked Ian's thoroughness in copying the plans
left on Colonel Stone's desk.

"What can be so hard about it? We land on their runway. We go in and find
the kid. We take him back out. We take off. End of story," Trev said with an
air of cockiness he didn't really feel.
"But what if they have weapons and guards?" Spencer said.

"The probably have guards. And weapons. But they won't be expecting us," Ian
said.

"So we just drop into their landing field unannounced, and then walk in and
out?" Spencer said.

"You're supposed to be the commander. Make some plans," Trevor said.

"He's the commander. You're the leader of the Birds of Prey," Dylan said to
Trevor. "YOU make some plans."

"How about, WE make some plans," Ian said. "We are supposed to be a team,
after all." Brian shook his head wondering how this group ever got anything
accomplished. All they ever seemed to do was argue.

Spencer was about to tell Ian to shut up, when he remembered who had stolen
the plans and maps, and who had told them about the location of the "Wonder
Boy". Instead he unrolled the maps Ian had copied.

"We don't know what room he's in," Chandler said.

"It's not that big a building," Trevor said as he looked over the maps and
plans, not realizing the scale drawings made the building appear much
smaller than it really was.  After a few minutes he said, "Look, I have some
ideas. Tell me what you think." Trevor proceeded to outline his plan. Each
of the other Birds of Prey gave some input, even Ian, who suddenly was being
looked upon with more respect by the group. Brian now saw that underneath
the arguing and posturing there was a growing sense of teamwork among the
boys. And not for the last time he couldn't help but be almost turned on by
the make-up and skimpy garb of the gang. He almost wanted to take a look up
each T-shirt, knowing none of the boys wore anything underneath them.

"Okay," Kyle said, "the plans are all cool except for one problem."

"What's that?" Chandler asked.

"I've only landed a shuttle on a planet a couple of times, and that's been
in the daytime with a crew member sitting where Brian is. I've never landed
at night. And you want me to land on a field with no lights."

"How do you know it has no lights?" Ian asked.

"Why would they leave them on? Who is going to land there?" Chandler asked.

"No, we want you to do a vertical landing in the desert, like the plans
say," Trevor said.

"I don't know how," Kyle said.

"What do you mean you don't know how? Kalon taught you right? Didn't you pay
attention?" Spencer asked somewhat angrily.

"Well, I did. But, you see, I've never done it, except in a simulator. And
now you guys want me to do it for the first time and do it in the dark? I
don't think so."

"Just try to land it," Spencer said. "If it's dark we'll wait until
daylight."

"This is all so lame," Kyle said. "We're going to get killed or all captured
or something."

"If we wait until then they might have the `Raptor' fixed then we won't have
a chance to do the rescue," Trevor said.

"So we take the chance," Dylan said. "I say land it."

"Okay," Kyle said. "It's your funeral."

"No, it's OUR funeral," Ian retorted. All Brian could do was shake his head.

*****

Jake Masters looked out of his bedroom window into the night. The horizon
was lit up. Connie was coming sometime tonight. He had sent his ship to pick
her up. He needed somebody other than the boy Matt. He needed somebody
adult. Somebody female. He loved Matt, and that was becoming a problem. Matt
could never be Kalon. He'd gone too far with him sexually. He knew Matt
could never be returned; he knew too much. He would either keep him, sell
him to the slavers, or have him killed. Keeping him was the least likely,
because he knew once the boy found his fate he wouldn't be nearly as
pliable.

The compound had six of his men remaining. The rest were crewing the
"Mephisto".  They had been running on radio silence since leaving Hawking's
Planet, which was Connie's home world. How fitting the Olympics would be
there. She could get off looking at all the teen boys in tights.

He didn't know when the "Mephisto" would be returning. He estimated within
the next four to five hours. For now, it was time to get some sleep to
prepare himself for Connie. The woman had a way of sapping one's energy. But
then, so did the boy Matt.

Jake crawled into his bed, wondering if he could wake Matt for a romp.
You're getting too old for such things, Jake, he said to himself. Connie
will give you all you can handle. But in a few days he would have a session
with the boy and Connie together. He knew the young boy considered himself
gay, but Connie had a way of getting almost anybody turned on. Besides, Jake
thought, just before he fell asleep, he always has me to turn him on.

*****

Kyle was relieved to get a homing beacon. Having the coordinates and
actually finding a place in the dark were two different things. Chandler,
the navigator, was relieved, too. At least he could find the place now, even
if he couldn't see it. Without it, he would never have been able to
precisely zero in on the compound. Lady Luck gave a twitch of a grin as the
boys listened to the beep of the homing beacon.

The boys looked down as the "Wonder Boy" approached the surface.

"Look. it's all lit up!" Trevor exclaimed. "That is so amazing."

"I can see the runway," Kyle said. "We're in luck."

"So let's land," Spencer said.

"They're going to hear us and see us," Ian said.

"By the time they do we'll have out plan going. Let's everything ready,
because as soon as we land we're on the ground," Trevor said.

In spite of his nervousness, Kyle placed the "Wonder Boy" perfectly on the
runway. The only person awake in the compound heard the landing and figured
it was the "Mephisto" returning. He thought about waking Jake, then decided
he'd find out soon enough.

Kyle taxied the "Wonder Boy" to the compound's edge. It was time for action

*****

The nocturnal beasts pawing the sand by the runway growled at the noise and
the lights of the incoming shuttle. The planet had once been rich with life,
but now only a few species  of flora and fauna remained. The planet had been
heating up and drying out for centuries. For it to be habitable by humans
full time it would need a great deal of terraforming. Because if its
remoteness, terraforming the planet was not worth the expense. Some day its
free oxygen would be gone and all indigenous life would disappear. For now,
the hardiest species still survived, and the animals known as desert rats
were among the hardiest and meanest of the species on the planet.

*****

"Okay, how long before we get shot at?" Spencer asked.

"Probably any second," Trevor said, looking at the well lit compound. His
plans had called for the runway being lit and visible. It was more than
visible, it was lit like they were expecting somebody. His plans had also
called for the compound being dark for the night. That wasn't the case at
all.

"Maybe we should have done a vertical landing," Trevor said. "I don't like
being here in the all these lights."

"I could try a hop," Kyle said.

"A what?"

"A hop. I just go straight up, travel into the dark, turn on the landing
lights, and land it in the desert. We're so close to the ground it's
different than trying to do it from up in space. I mean, I could try. Kalon
showed me how."

Trevor looked out at the lights again, then looked at Spencer. "Fuck, go for
it," Spencer said.

Kyle cranked up the vertical thrusters. He raised the shuttle to about 100
feet in altitude, then moved it into the darkness. He turned on his landing
lights. He knew anybody in the compound could see where he was landing, but
he was not about to put the shuttle down in the dark. He set the shuttle
down rather roughly then quickly killed the lights. They were still close to
the compound, but were protected by darkness.

"Great," Dylan said. "So now instead of being shot on the runway we'll get
shot here in the desert. You know they had to hear and see us move."

The boys watched the compound with anticipation. After fifteen minutes they
lost patience. Nobody was coming out. Somehow, they'd escaped detection.

******
Jake Masters was awakened by the sound of rocket engines. He walked to his
balcony window and looked out at the runway. It was empty. Damn, I must be
dreaming some pretty vivid dreams.

He called downstairs. A sleepy guard answered the phone.

"Did you just hear anything?"

"Nothing."

Jake hung up and looked out the window. Maybe I should have called for a
twenty-four hour security watch until the "Mephisto" got back. But then, who
knows we're here? He went back to his bed. I need to get more sleep. That
boy was keeping him awake much too often. Not that Connie will help that
problem.

*****

The desert rats growled as the shuttle flew over them and came back down to
the other side of them. While the shuttle had sat on the runway it didn't
interest them. The had all too often felt the sting of the electric wires
strung around the runway. But now, the flying thing was in their territory.
It was time to see if it had anything of interest, like food.

*****

"Okay, then, it's settled," Trevor said. "Once we get into the compound, we
split up until one of us finds the boy. Then we radio we found him and we
all meet up."

"How will we know where to meet?" Spencer asked. In the rather complicated
arrangement the Birds of Prey had, Spencer was the shuttle commander, as
appointed by the officers of the Lady Lex, while Trevor was the nominal
leader of the Birds of Prey. What Brian didn't always realize was that while
the boys argued and griped at each other, they all had a mutual respect for
each other and were friends. They had learned how to make the arrangement
work in their own way, but they didn't always pick the smoothest way to get
something accomplished.

Ian picked an electronic device off the table. "Simple, we set this down at
the spot we left from. Our radios pick it up and points us home. Just like
we've talked about."

"I'm not stupid, Ian. I figured that out. I was asking how we picked the
spot."

Ian blanched some at Spencer's comeback, but said nothing. Trevor was too
busy concentrating on their plans too notice the condescending tone in
Spencer's voice.

"I has to be like Ian said. It's the place we split up."

The boys talked and argued a while longer. Finally, Trevor said, "Okay,
let's go. No offense, Brian, but you're going to slow us down, so you stay
here and guard the shuttle."

"Yeah, sure. Guard it from what? Rats?" Brian had no idea how prophetic that
question would be.

The boys left the shuttle, taking only a back pack with supplies which
Spencer carried. Brian watched them run into the hot, dark night. He watched
as their black clad torso disappeared, followed by their white bare legs.

Brian left the shuttle's hatch open to the hot desert night, a move he would
soon regret.

*****

"Can you fix it?" Ensign Anderson asked Kalon Masters, who knew much more
about engineering than Anderson did, even though Anderson was assigned to
engineering. Kalon had made many modifications to shuttles, a lot of them
not exactly following the specs of the manufacturer or the rules of the SFA.
Kalon wanted to get the "Raptor" spaceworthy as quickly as possible, not
only to rescue the kidnapped boy, or to get whomever had taken the "Wonder
Boy" out of trouble, but to have a showdown with his long "dead" foster
father.

"Something is connected to the engineering computer," Kalon said. "It could
be some kind of explosive. I don't want to remove it without some help from
the `Lexington', and communications are down. We can't radio out."

"So, we just sit?" Sergeant Flint asked.

"Unless the Colonel has a better idea," Kalon said, looking at Colonel
Stone. "Removing the device from the computer would be his decision."

"I have a feeling those boys will be returning within the hour. If they
haven't, I will make a decision. By that time we will be overdue at the
`Lexington' as well, and they should come searching for us."

"And if we're all lucky, they might even find us," Kalon said cynically.

*****

Captain Hatcher sat in his ready room holding his prized hockey puck. He
knew it was the same puck he had given Ambassador Ka. He could tell by the
markings. He tossed it around in his hand. Yet, why did it sometimes feel so
different?

I'm imagining things, he thought. I better get back to the bridge. We should
be hearing from the "Raptor" soon.

He set the hockey puck back on its shelf and left for the bridge.

"Captain on the bridge," Ben said. It was Ben's duty day, and he was at the
con, working on reading instruments with the crew officer of the day.

Captain Hatcher was about to sit down when Ryan entered the bridge.

"Captain, sir," he said, somewhat out of breath.

"What is it cadet?"

"Sir, the `Wonder Boy' is gone.

"What do you mean gone?" Ben and Hatcher asked simultaneously.

"Gone. As in not in the hangar."

Hatcher glared at Ben. "Mr. Collins, do you know anything about this?"

"No, sir. Nothing. I swear!" He didn't bother mentioning that the first name
to pop into his head belonged to one of his brothers.

Hatcher got on the intercom and called for Commander Creevey. "Commander, I
need to find out who wasn't in their assigned class or at their assigned
station this morning. Now!"

"Yes, sir." Creevey didn't know what the urgency was, but she checked into
it immediately and called Hatcher back, giving him the names.

"Captain, you might have noticed that the missing students belong to the
group known as the Birds of Prey. The group that made the foray to the
`Orion'."

"Yes, I do indeed. Thank you, Commander."

"Not a problem, sir. I take it this has to do with the disappearance of the
`Wonder Boy'."

"When did you find out about that?"

"Captain, when I ask questions, I ask more than just the ones I've been
instructed to ask."

Captain Hatcher smiled and looked back at Ben. "Well, Mr.Collins, it would
appear your brother and my nephew seems to have once again created a bit of
a stir."

Ben worked to fight off a smile. Yeah, he thought, that would be Trevor all
right.

Hatcher went to work to find out more about the missing shuttle and waited
for news from the "Raptor". What me missed for the tenth time since he took
command of the Lady Lex was a glowing blue light on his hockey puck,
accompanied by a light beeping sound. The light was supposed to stay on
until the puck was touched, at which time a message would be played.
However, a bug in the chip cut the light off after about a half  hour. Luck
is not only timing, but also so many other factors, including technology
working properly.

Light years away, a figure sat in the shadows of his opulent office,
wondering if Hatcher had ever thoroughly checked out his prized possession.
His messages had gone unanswered.

*****

Matt looked at the bottle and joint on his dresser. He was tempted. Very
tempted. Jake was in his penthouse room two stories up. He had never felt so
alone. So lost. He looked at the calendar on the wall. Each month had a
picture of a cute naked boy, this month a blonde posed on a black blanket,
sporting a hairless erection, and read.  "Jerry. June Boy of the Month. A
twelve year old demon." The calendar was a special treat from Jake. Is that
what he would be doing soon? Posing naked for some nude boy calendar to be
sold in the notorious markets of Lucifer? He'd heard you could get anything
there. He now knew it to be true.

It was Monday, June 11th. Maybe. If it was past midnight, anyway. He looked
at Thursday, June 14th. Circled in red. His birthday. Thirteen years old. A
teenager at last. Except nobody cared. Not even himself. He pulled the
calendar off the wall and flung it across the room.

Jake didn't care. All he wanted was his ass. He hated Jake. He loved Jake.
He wanted Jake up his ass. He wanted to kill Jake. He wanted to kill
himself. No way he was going to be somebody's slave. He wanted his dad. He
wanted his mom, his little brother. He wanted to go to a party at Tim's
house.

He grabbed the bottle and opened it, letting the hot, pungent contents sting
his mouth and warm his insides. Mokanna juice, his favorite alcoholic
beverage. Strong, spicy, sweet, powerful. He worked to drain it, feeling it
working on his brain and small body almost instantly. Feeling it make him
relax, feel euphoric, feel at ease. Feeling it mask the pain in his heart.
He set it down, already half empty, and grabbed the joint. Jake always left
something on his dresser. He rarely missed a chance to use the gift.

Matt lit the joint, inhaled, let the smoke circulate through his lungs
before he blew it out. He took another big swallow of Mokanna juice. The
room was already starting to spin, as if moving his problems around so they
would fling out of his brain and into some corner. He took another hit,
another swallow, another big hit, then drained the bottle. He wasn't looking
for the slow way to euphoria, he was looking to get there instantly. He
flopped on his bed, naked, and watched the room spin, watched his problems
spin out of his head, watched them go to the dark corner. He would stay out
of that corner. He didn't want any of those thoughts to return to his brain.
He giggled, watched the colors of the ceiling change, wished he had music
on, and let the numbness of weed and alcohol take over his brain and drive
the ugliness out.

*****

"Wires," Chandler said. "The whole place has electric wires around it."

"Why?" Kyle asked. "Who is going to try to break in here? Nobody lives here.
There's nothing alive here."

"I don't know. Maybe they're trying to keep boys from the Lady Lex out," Ian
said. Nobody reacted to his attempt at humor. But he noticed something else.
"The funny thing is, they're not very high. I mean, let somebody on your
back we can get right over them.:

The boys could see Ian was right. Spencer, who was the biggest boy, acted as
the ladder. Chandler, Ian, Trevor, Dylan, and then Kyle all scrambled over
the fence. "Why so short?" Ian asked. "Some adults could almost get over by
themselves."

Nobody was interested in coming up with an answer, especially since they had
just discovered the flaw in their plan. There was nobody to boost Spencer
over the fence. They were about to get into a shouting match to affix blame
for their mistake when Chandler said, "You can come over it on your own
Spencer. It's off."

"Are you sure?" Spencer said.

Chandler boldly grabbed the wire at the top of the fence. Nothing happened.
"I'm positive."

Trev never failed to be amazed at the things Chandler could do with
electronics and computers. "How did you do that?" he asked.

"I saw a wire leading from the fence to that box on the side of the
building. I went over and turned off the power."

"Wow. How did you figure out the code?"

"Code? I'm a genius. I didn't need no fucking code.

Okay. so how did you do it?" Kyle asked

"Simple," Chandler answered a bit smugly. "There's a switch that said, on
and off. I turned it from on to off."

The boys had to stifle giggles as they learned another lesson about luck.
Sometimes luck was just a matter of being in the right place and finding the
right switch box.

*****

"No word from the `Raptor'," said Lucas, who was the cadet manning
communications. Lucas was a fifteen year old sophomore, arrested of breaking
and entering as well as assault. He played on the varsity hockey team.
Hatcher liked his aggressiveness, which made up for a distinct lack of
talent.

"Then I think we may want to follow her planned route." Hatcher gave the
necessary coordinates and had Ben engage the engines. He also told the
cadets that they would have regular crew members shadowing them. There was
no telling what lay ahead.

*****

"Okay," Trevor said. "There are five of us. The building had seven floors
according to the Marines plan.  He probably isn't on the first floor, so
we'll skip it for now. Ian, you got the second floor, Dylan, the third,
Chandler the fourth, I'll take the fifth, Kyle you got the sixth, and
Spencer, you take the top floor. Make sure your radios are on. We gotta be
quick. It's 11:30, so coordinate." The watches were set to Lady Lex time,
where it was 11:30 in the morning. Trevor had no idea what time it was in
the fortress. He just knew it was some time in the middle of the night.

The boys walked up to what looked like the front door to the building.
Trevor pulled on the door and it opened. He wasn't surprised. Who was going
to break in? But that didn't explain the electric fence. Trevor let the
thought pass out of his head. He wasn't one to spend much time worrying
about details. He was a boy of action.

The boys entered a lighted lobby. "Where to now?" Spencer asked.

"Well, the marines plan had them running up the stairs with their weapons
searching each floor."

"Great. We don't have weapons. And where are the stairs?"

Ian looked at the map that was with the plans. "Through that door. But we
could take the elevator over there."

"Sounds good to me," Chandler said, not realizing the Marines planned to use
the steps to avoid being stuck on the elevator.

The boys scrambled into the elevator, bushing buttons for each floor. "Hey,
there is no button for the seventh floor," Spencer said.

"Guess you use the stairs," Dylan answered. "Unless you're too out of
shape."

"Shut up."

Ian was dropped off at the second floor, Dylan the third, Chandler the
fourth, and Trevor stepped off at the fifth, leaving Kyle and Spencer to go
up to the next two floors. Trevor found himself in a dimly lit hall with no
idea where to go. The map said the floor had twenty bedrooms, which was why
Trevor picked it. He was quickly realizing the building was much bigger than
he originally thought.

The fourth, fifth, and sixth floors were mostly bedrooms, the fifth with the
most. Ian had the only copy of the map, so Trevor had to go by his memory.
Two of the bedrooms were bigger than the others, but he couldn't remember
how they related to the elevator. He decided to go to his right and explore.
He knew from the Marines plan that most of the bedrooms were empty. With the
exception of the one with the boy, he hoped all the ones he looked in were
empty.

He decided to go right, which turned out to be a mistake. The Marines map
only showed half of the floor, the half with the bedrooms. The other half
was offices, abandoned research rooms, and storage space. After making a
couple of turns, Trevor decided to head back. This was obviously not the way
to the bedrooms. When he got to the second junction of corridors, he
realized he must have missed his original corridor. In fact, he realized he
was hopelessly lost.

*****

Brian sat in the pilot chair of the "Wonder Boy", trying to imagine what
piloting the shuttle was like-how the power of it all would feel, how he
would feel, how he would love to control something big and fast and
powerful. I can't even control my own body, he thought bitterly. What makes
me think I can be in control of a space craft?

The only noise he heard was the soft hum of the life support system. The
instruments were all in sleep mode, their monitors and lights dark. Only the
engineering panel showed any signs of life. He sat back in the big seat,
built to be sat in for long periods of time at the highest level of comfort.
Why did I want to come? he thought. Did I think it was going to make me into
some brave hero or something? Yeah. like a cripple could do something
heroic. I'm so totally useless to the Birds of Prey. They barely acknowledge
my existence. I'm just in their way. And all they do is squabble and argue.
I can't figure out how they end up agreeing on anything, but they do.
They're going to be caught, when it gets light I'm going to be caught, and
we're going to be the prisoners of whoever is on the planet for the rest of
our lives. He could feel the tears start to well up. Fuck it, he thought,
I'm not going to cry. That's all I do is cry. I hate the Birds of Prey. I
hate me for wanting to go with them. I hate my parents for making me go with
them instead of letting me live with Uncle Barry and Aunt Rose. I hate the
doctors who said I can't be fixed. I hate the driver who did this to me. I
hate my body for being allergic to the drugs that could regenerate me. I
hate Zjan-Ren for not leaving me alone and embarrassing me at the games. I
hate everything and everybody. I hate the word luck, because all of the luck
I have is bad. I hate life, because life is ugly and unfair.

His thoughts were interrupted by what seemed like a change in sound. He
listened intently, but all he heard was life support. He decided it was his
imagination, and started to go back to his depressing thoughts, when he
heard something again-only this time it was much more obvious, a sound from
outside-a quiet gurgling growl. What could be outside? Isn't this a dead
planet? It had to be guards from the compound. They had to have seen the
shuttle land. How could they miss it? The runway had been lit up. The
landing lights had been on when they made their little hop. Somebody had to
have seen them-it would have been incredibly lucky if they had not.

He heard the sounds again, closer and louder, right outside the open hatch.
Not only could he hear the gurgling and growling, he heard what sounded like
feet crunching the desert sand.

Brian grabbed his cane and got out of the seat. Whatever was out there, he
was going to close the door and keep it out. He hobbled to the door, but the
sounds were gone. Once again, all he heard was the hum of life support, the
sound that made the shuttle seem alive. His feet and his cane squeaked some
on the floor. He stood at the door peering into the dark The door was turned
away from the compound, so all he could see was the inky black of night, and
above him the light of distant stars and galaxies. The desert was still. I'm
getting paranoid being all alone out here, he thought. I must be more afraid
than I thought. I'm hearing things.

The desert was quiet, frighteningly dark, incredibly lonely. Brian stuck his
head out the door and drank in the warm air. His mind said the quiet was too
quiet-a quiet that was almost unnatural. He got ready to turn into the cabin
when he thought he heard the sound of breathing. He listened. There was no
doubt. He heard what sounded like air being exhaled, and it wasn't his own.
More quiet and then a soft gurgle. Brian felt his heart pounding hard, he
felt the blood rushing through his head as fear built up inside him.

He listened. Quiet once again. I have to close the hatch, he thought. I have
to get completely in the cabin and close the hatch. He reached for the
handle when he heard a loud crunch followed by a horrific shriek, then saw
two shadows leap from the dark desert and crash into his chest knocking him
to the floor. Two creatures, the size of armadillos, but much sleeker,
scurried over him and into the cabin, gurgling and growling. He turned to
get a better look at them, when there was a thump on his chest as two more
creatures leaped through the door. One of them looked down at Brian,
flashing a mouth filled with two rows of thin, sharp teeth. It gurgled,
drooling on Brian's chest, then dropped to the floor and went to join the
other three creatures.

Brian felt the fear well up in him, turning to panic. What are they? What
are they going to do to me? There's nobody here to help me! Surprisingly,
the creatures didn't attack him. Instead they headed for the navigation
station, which was the one closest to the door. All four of the desert rats,
as the first inhabitants of the planet had dubbed them crawled under the
station. It wasn't human flesh they wanted, it was the insulation, the
computer circuits, the plastics, all items much tastier and more refreshing
than the tough plants of the desert. Brian looked on helplessly as one of
the rats bit into a wire under the control panel, ready to start his
scrumptious feast.

*****

Paco Cartwright woke from a sound sleep. He swore he heard something in the
hall. In fact, he plain swore. What a disaster this job turned out to be. A
chance to work for the legendary Jake Masters. A job full of high adventure.
Something to test the toughest of men. Yeah, right, Paco thought. I've been
here for two weeks and my adventure is keeping Jake's catamite in line after
he gets wasted and wanders around the compound. Life with the great Jake
Masters. Baby-sitting an alcoholic twelve year old.

He was promised big money for his job. Well, big fucking deal, thank you
very much. It was the thrill, the risk, the doing something wonderfully
illegal that appealed to his macho ego. Not being an overpaid baby sitter so
Jake Masters could have some tight ass that he picked up from some Lucifer
slaver in his bed.

As much as he wanted to roll over and go back to sleep, Paco figured he'd
better get up. The boy was usually so wasted on his wanderings he could hurt
himself, or walk outside and walk into a desert rat fence. Twice he'd had to
turn him around back to his room. He was always naked, a fact that didn't
intrigue Paco at all. Naked boys weren't his idea of fun. Besides, even if
he was interested, he knew better than to touch the  property of Jake
Masters. If he didn't go out  to check on the boy, Jake would be pissed and
he not only wouldn't have any adventure, he wouldn't get paid either.

Paco put on a pair of sweats and a raggedy T-shirt and went into the hall,
trying to rub the sleep form his eyes.

*****

"I can't believe Trevor took the `Wonder Boy'," Douglas said for the fifth
time since he'd heard the news.  "I just can't believe it."

"He better bring it back on one piece, or he's dead," Ben said.

The two boys were sitting at the "Wonder Boy" lunch table with the shuttle's
crew. They all looked over at the empty Raptor table. They all had mixed
emotions over the theft of their shuttle. On the one hand they hoped the
Birds of Prey succeeded at what they were doing. On the other hand they were
angry because it was taken without their knowledge or permission.

"Trev just gets weirder and weirder," Ben said. "I thought the `Orion'
business would end that but it hasn't."

"He should have been on our crew," Andrew said. "All us Collins brothers
together."

"Then who would've been left out?" Jesse asked. "I mean, we are the best
shuttle crew on the Lady Lex."

"I just feel like Trev and me keep drifting farther and farther apart," Ben
said.

Andrew cuddled up next to Ben, giving him a big hug. "You have me, your
Otter. I'm Trev's twin."

"I know, Andrew. And you know how much I love you. But I want Trev the same
way, but he's so off on his own. And now he's going to be in such deep shit
when he gets back I don't know if anybody can save him."

"We can," Andrew said. "We're his brothers."

"I don't know if that will impress Uncle Steve at all."

"Or my dad," Jesse added.

"Same guy," Scottie said.

"Yeah. Don't remind me," Jesse said.

"I just have a feeling Trev is going to wish he stayed wherever he is. I
just hope he's not in trouble," Ben said.

"Knowing your brother, he's probably in major trouble right now," Douglas
said.

*****

Trevor turned a corner for what seemed like the hundredth time. The
corridors looked alike in the dim light and he was now totally lost.  He
wished he could find at least the stairs or the elevator. Forget finding the
boy. That was impossible. Even the Marines couldn't find him in this place.
Trev was ready to give up. If the rest of the Birds were as lost as he was,
they better start getting out of here so they could take off before
daybreak, whenever that was.

Another corridor popped up. This is like a maze, Trevor thought. Everything
leads to the same place and looks the same way. He wished he could find the
main lights to get the corridor brighter. It was time for another decision.
He figured last time he turned right, so this time he'd turn left. He made a
quick turn around the corner, hit something solid, and fell on his butt.

Trevor shook his head and looked up. Towering above him was a man with a
dark beard, long hair to his shoulders, and a muscular six foot four frame.
The man glared down at him, seeing an 11 year old boy wearing just shoes and
a T-shirt. He could follow his smooth, bare white legs up to a hairless
crotch which the pulled up shirt wasn't covering. His eyes followed the
boy's torso until he saw his face, which was made up to look almost like it
was feathered. Even in the dim light he could make out the lines coming from
the boy's eyes. Paco wondered why only the emergency lights were on.

He glared down at the boy lying in front of him in the dimly lit hall. "And
just what the fuck do you think you're doing here?"

*****

Brian saw what the creature was doing. He picked his cane off the floor and
crawled towards it. The creature ignored him, concentrating on gnawing at
the insulation of the wires under the navigation panel. Another creature was
starting to bite the plastic on a circuit board. Brian yelled at them,
trying to scare them off, but except for one which turned and bared its
teeth for a moment, they ignored him and kept munching as they emitted
little gurgling sounds of pleasure.

Realizing just yelling wasn't going to be enough, Brian raised his cane and
whacked the closest creature on his back. The creature next to it turned and
let out a horrific yowl, baring his teeth, and then hissing and growling,
like a cat, only much louder. It turned and made a sudden, powerful leap at
Brian. Brian swung his cane, hitting it in mid-air. The contact sent it
flying out the hatch, screeching and caterwauling.

YEAH, I should've turned out for the baseball team instead of being on the
fencing team.

But his burst of confidence was short lived. He could once again feel the
fear rise in his throat. He knew he couldn't let the creatures eat through
the wiring and circuit boards or they would never be able to leave the
planet.

The creature he had first caned, turned back to his meal with a determined
single-mindedness. Brian got on his knees, raised his cane over his head,
and brought it down on the creature's back with all his strength. This time
he got the rat's full attention. It backed out from under the console,
turned, and showed his full mouth of needle sharp teeth. Brian remembered
how quickly the creatures had leaped on him at the hatch as well as the
quick, powerful leap of the one he knocked through the hatch. He raised his
cane once again, knowing there was no way he could stop the same kind of
attack from close quarters.

*****

Trevor wasn't the only boy who was lost. Spencer and Kyle wandered the sixth
floor together. Spencer wearing only his sleeveless black shirt, Kyle
dressed similarly, but with his sleeves intact, both boys with their Birds
of Prey make-up on their faces. Spencer couldn't find stairs to the seventh
floor. The elevator only had buttons for the first six. There was a key slot
above the six. Both boys figured a key was needed to get to the top floor.
The map didn't show what was on the floor. It only said penthouse. Both
Spencer and Kyle were sure the kidnapped boy was in the penthouse. They just
needed to find the way up.

On the second floor Ian could see he wouldn't find the boy. The floor was
all empty offices and rooms. When the SFA left they had emptied the
compound. Jake and his gang of smugglers only used the bottom floor and the
upper three. The second, third, and fourth floors were empty. Dylan and
Chandler were running into the same problem as Ian. The floors were dark and
obviously in disuse.

The boys on the unused floor wanted to get on their radios for new
instructions, but their orders were to not use the radio until the boy was
found. A sudden voice was not what a searching boy would need. Spencer was
beginning to wonder if the boy even existed. Chandler saw the entire
operation as futile. They could never find the boy on their own. Ian knew
the boy was somewhere, and he knew his boyfriend would find him. He had
every confidence they would return to the Lady Lex triumphant.

*****

The desert rat tensed to spring. The rats were slow moving animals on the
ground, but were equipped with powerful haunches allowing them to take long
leaps. The quickness of their leap also served them well as weapon. Brian
sensed the upcoming motion and, still on his knees, had his cane in front
like his sword. The rat started its leap, but Brian timed it perfectly and
jabbed it in the face. The animal staggered back, blood spurting through its
nose. The other two rats, hearing its howl of pain stopped their munching
and turned around, baring their teeth and hissing. Their long, sharp, thin
teeth were built for tearing into the tough rubberized plants of the desert,
and were perfect for gnawing at the plastics used in computers and
electronics. The original SFA contingent quickly learned to find ways to
keep the desert rats away from their electronic devices.

Brian could tell, however, that other than some painful bites, the teeth, as
dangerous as they looked, didn't seem to present any kind of fatal danger.
He wasn't eager to test his theory, however.

The blow to the creature's head, while painful, didn't appear to be fatal.
It growled and gurgled, blood dripping out of its nose. The other two
creatures moved in on Brian. Once again he had his cane positioned like a
sword, instinctively using the lessons Zjan-Ren had so patiently taught him.
He was oblivious to the fact he was doing exactly what he had been trained
to do. His movements were almost automatic.  He went on the offensive before
they could make their powerful leaps, hitting them on the face and head. One
of them also started bleeding from its nose, but the third scooted out the
door. The creatures appeared to be not only stupid, but cowardly. They also
had a temper when hurt, however. They both moved in toward Brian, teeth
bared, ready to leap. Brian looked at the teeth thinking maybe they were
more dangerous than he had originally thought. He lifted his cane once
again, but his sweaty hand lost its grip and the cane slipped out of his
hand and flew out of the open door behind him. The rats saw the weapon fly
off and knew the two legged creature was now theirs.

*****

Matt was naked on his bed. The bed was huge, comfortable, soft. His room was
luxurious. Yet there was no doubt in his head it was still a prison. He
giggled. My fancy prison. Until Jake gets rid of me. He was stoned and
drunk. He looked at the colors coming off the ceiling. Colors that weren't
there, but were falling to him anyway. He has his hard dick in his hand,
jerking off, thinking he should find Jake, thinking he didn't need Jake,
thinking he didn't need anybody. I got my dick. That's all I need. Just me
and good old Little Matty. He pounded on his young boy cock, tripping on the
weed, until he was sure there were only two things in his existence, his
cock and the colors dripping from the ceiling.

*****

Trevor looked up at the big man in front of him. He was caught again. Trevor
the Hawke, master of stealth and deception, and on two missions he had been
caught twice. Only this time it was for real. This time he might become a
real prisoner, like the boy they were supposed to rescue. Or even worse, he
might be killed. His heart pounded with fear, but he kept his mouth shut,
kept his emotions under control. His instinct was to get up and run, but he
stayed on the floor, waiting to see what the man would do next.

Paco kept looking at Trev in the dim light. He didn't look quite right, but
it was probably the make-up and the bad light. His hair looked different,
but in the two weeks he'd had his job, the boy had done some strange things.

"I get tired of you're wandering around. You must be stoned again."

Wandering? Stoned? What was he talking about? Trevor thought. Then the light
bulb went on. Shit, he thinks I'm the boy. I might get out of this. Now how
did I act the time I got really stoned?

"Yeah. I feel so good," Trevor mumbled slowly. He wasn't sure what the other
boy's voice was like and he didn't want to use a clear sounding voice.

The big man reached out with his hand. "Come in, take my hand. Jake would
kill me, or worse yet, not pay me, if something happened to you."

Trevor took the big hairy hand and flinched at the strength of the grip, but
didn't say anything. He stood up, trying to be unsteady, trying to act high.

"Let me take you to your room. Jake should put a lock on it and keep you in
it. Not that you can escape from this place. That's impossible."

That's what you'd like to believe, Trevor thought, unable to believe his
luck. In not much time at all, your precious boy is going to be off this
planet. Trevor staggered some more and Paco lifted him off the floor in one
motion. He carried Trevor under his well-muscled arm. Trevor tried to keep
track of where they were going, but it was more difficult than he thought.
Paco stopped, opened a door and put Trevor on the floor. The room smelled of
marijuana.

I thought so, Paco thought. Got himself stoned and then dressed up like some
kind of little faggot freak. "Here you are. Don't leave. Paco will be
watching. You leave again I'll whip your ass." Paco thought of the pleasure
he would get whipping the bare white ass he had seen under the T-shirt. He
was getting to dislike this boy very much.

Paco pushed the boy into the room and shut the door. The boy had seemed
pretty far gone. Paco decided he would wait outside for a half-hour. By then
the boy would be passed out and he could go back to bed. Another crisis
averted, but he knew he had better keep his watch outside the room from now
on.

Trevor tried to see what was in the room. It was dark. It appeared to be a
living room. He found a switch and turned on a light. There was nobody in
the room, but he could see two doors. He walked to one of them, opened it,
and saw he was in a bedroom, lit only by a couple of dim lights. On the
center of the bed was a naked boy jerking off.  Beside the boy was a bong
and a bottle of alcohol. Oh great, Trevor thought, he's stoned and drunk,
and now we have to get him out of here. So much for good luck.

*****

The "Lexington" swept through normal space hoping to pick up a homing beacon
from the two missing shuttles. Captain Hatcher wasn't sure they would pick
up anything, but they would find nothing staying in one place. The "Lady
Hawke" stayed behind at the rendezvous point in case the shuttles returned.
Hatcher wanted to do the searching with the Lady Lex so he could help or
retrieve a shuttle in trouble.

"Captain, I have a homing beacon," Tyler Young, the cadet on communications
duty, said. He gave the coordinates as Hatcher ordered a course change.

Well, he thought, one down and one to go.

*****

Brian watched as the two rats poised to leap. This time he knew he was
helpless to stop them. He dropped on his back, his hands ready to protect
his face. But Lady Luck was still playing her games. It the rats had had any
intelligence at all, they would have attacked as a team. But life in desert
with no real enemies had made them incredibly dumb. Only one of them leaped.
Brian was able to get his good foot up and catch it in the gut, throwing it
against the side of a console. It screeched loudly and leaped out the open
door. Having watched two of its cowardly mates desert him, as well as a
third get sent flying, the last rat jumped out the door, leaving Brian
alone. Once again the only sound was the soft hum of the life support
system.

Brian looked at the blood on the floor. He needed to clean it up. He needed
to get his heart beating normally. He needed to make sure the creatures
hadn't damaged anything before the crew came back. He needed to close the
hatch. He needed to go home and be in his own bed and never do anything this
stupid again.

*****

Except for Trevor, the Birds of Prey had all returned to the first floor
lobby, realizing simultaneously, but independently, their search was futile.
They gathered around the corner from the elevator, not wanting to be exposed
to anybody suddenly coming out of it.

"Where's Trevor?" Chandler asked.

"I don't know," Spencer replied. "You don't think he got captured again do
you?"

"Not my Hawke," Ian said. "He'd never let that happen."

As the boys speculated as to his fate, Trevor tried to think his way out of
his dilemma. He was on the fifth floor. He was sure he had found the boy he
was looking for. The boy was obviously wasted. The big guard was now manning
his post outside the door. He was never going to get the boy out of the
compound without help. Calling the rest of the Birds of Prey could put them
at risk if they were quietly moving about the building, but he knew in order
to complete the rescue he would have to take the risk.

He switched his handset on, setting it to all call.  "Hawke to raptors.
Hawke to raptors. Hawke needs fly over." This was their code for an
assistance call to everyone.

Spencer turned on his handset, answering Trevor's call. "Condor here."

"I found him, Condor. I need help getting him out. You need to try to get
everybody together. "

"You're in luck. Everybody is here. Tell us what you need."

Trev didn't know how they all had gotten together, but he wasn't going to
turn down yet another lucky break. He quickly explained the situation and
his plan for getting the two of them out of the room.

"Kind of like the `Orion' rescue," Spencer observed after Trevor finished.
"Only this time it's just us pulling it off."

"That's right, just us, The Birds of Prey," Dylan said with a hint of pride.

"I have an idea," Ian said.

"What?" Spencer asked.

"Stop on the second floor first."

"Shit, now what? Did you forget your pacifier?"

"Dammit, Spencer," Chandler piped up. "Not now. And maybe not ever. Ian has
been right on with his ideas since we started. What are you getting, Ian?"

"If the boy is in the shape Trevor says he is he sure isn't going to be
walking out of here. I have just the thing to help us."

Except for Spencer, the rest of the boys were slowly learning to trust Ian's
intelligence. He might not be the one they would want in a fight, but his
brainstorms seemed to always come right when they needed them. Ian, for his
part, was gaining more and more confidence in his ideas and as a result was
more and more willing to express his ideas.

They got on the elevator and stopped on the second floor. Ian told them he'd
be right back. The boys held the door open as they watched his black T-shirt
flop over his bare white ass. It only took him a couple of minutes to return
pushing a wheel chair.

"I saw this in one of the store rooms. We can roll him right out of here."

"What about when we hit the desert?" Kyle asked.

"Then we drag him if we have to."

Chandler hit the button for the fifth floor. Trevor told them he would have
his homing beacon on so they would be able to find the room. The boys now
knew the biggest problem with the plan was even though they had the homing
beacon to follow, they didn't know the layout or even the distance between
the elevator and the room.

The elevator stopped on the fifth floor and they quietly exited. The lessons
on stealth were now going to be more important than ever. They clung to the
sides of the corridors, following Trevor's homing signal. Ian was a distant
last, pushing the wheel chair as quietly as he could.

Spencer got to a corner and stopped. The corridors were still dimly lit, the
guard apparently not thinking he would need any extra light. This would work
to their advantage.

"He's there. Right in front of that door. And that's where Trev's signal is
coming from," Spencer whispered. "Time to put the plan into effect."

Chandler, who was the closest to Trevor in size, stepped into the corridor.
"Hey dufus!" he yelled. Paco, who was sitting on a chair outside Matt's
room, looked up. Even in the dim light he could see a boy with a black
T-shirt, bare legs, and a face covered with make-up. What the hell, he
thought. No way that boy got by me, I was awake the whole time.

The lessons of the "Orion" fiasco were well-learned. Paco got up out of his
chair and started down the corridor. Their version of the rescue of Trevor
was ready to be put in motion.

"Come and get me, dumb shit," Chandler challenged as he danced in the
corridor.

Paco could feel his temper rising. "You little fucker, this time I'm tying
you up!" he yelled. How the fuck did that little whore get by me? Paco
wondered once again as he moved up the hall with surprising quickness for
such a big man. Chandler didn't bother moving fast. He wanted to stay in the
man's sight. He did a little dance again, then edged around the corner of
the adjoining corridor. As Paco turned the corridor he was jumped by
Chandler, Dylan, and Spencer. Even with Spencer's bulk, they had a hard time
bringing Paco to the floor. The big man was almost able to get himself off
the floor with the three boys hanging from him, but they were finally able
to keep him down long enough for Kyle to hobble him with the rope they had
pulled out of their supply backpack.

The boy rushed the wheelchair to the room and barged in. Trevor had managed
to get Matt sitting up on the bed. Matt was confused at seeing the half
naked boy come in. He was certain it was a hallucination. The weed Jake had
given him was extra powerful and produced beautiful, sexy, half naked boys
for him to jerk off to. Even with Trevor pulling him up off the bed he
wasn't convinced the boy in his room was real. But he was willing to follow
him anywhere.

"Want to toke some weed?" Matt asked.

"No. Not now. We gotta get you out of here. I'm Trev the Hawke."

"Hey," Matt slurred. "I'm Matt the whore. Are you Jake's new boyfriend?"

"I don't know who Jake is," Trevor said impatiently. He looked at his watch,
hoping his Birds were close. Moving Matt was going to be harder than he
imagined. Matt was out of it. He stood by the bed and watched as Matt
started to masturbate again. "Let's get high and have sex," Matt said.
"You're better than Jake who is ugly and hairy and you're not."

Matt reached back on the bed trying to find his pipe, but Trevor knocked it
away. He admittedly found Matt to be cute and sexy, but this wasn't the time
for any of that. This was the time to be the master of the situation in
every way. This was the time to be The Hawke. But there wasn't much else he
could do until his Birds got there.

"Hey. You lost my weed. That sucks. You're a bad boy."

"Yep. But I'm going to rescue you."

"I hate Jake."

"Sorry. I hope you like me."

"I hate you. You lost my weed."

Trevor was getting exasperated. He was checking the time again when he heard
a commotion outside. The Birds had arrived! Now if only they could subdue
that Paco dude they'd be home free. The first person coming through the door
was Spencer. Trevor almost wanted to kiss him he was so happy to see his
face. The other Birds followed him in. When Trevor saw Ian his heart leaped,
especially when he saw the wheelchair.

"So this is our kidnapped boy," Spencer said. "Interesting."

"Yep, and stoned out of his mind," Trevor said. "His name is Matt."

Spencer put Matt on the chair and strapped him in. The boys quickly pushed
him out the door. Matt tripped out, losing all awareness of where he was or
where he was going, but still furiously masturbating himself.  They side
stepped Paco, who was trying to free his wrists and was trying to pull his
tied heels apart. Dylan, the boy form the Australian outback, had had plenty
of practice tying animals. Keeping Paco hobbled had been easy once they got
him subdued.

They pushed the chair into the elevator and punched the one button. As the
elevator started down, Matt had an intense orgasm, sending flashes of light
through his brain, and thin boy cum over his chest, stomach, and pubic
regions.

"Oh wow, so good, so good, so good," Matt said with a dumb smile.

The Birds of Prey were too busy to react to Matt's orgasm. Matt got yet
another ride into the courtyard and to the edge of the compound. Now came
the hard party, getting Matt across the sand to the shuttle.

Spencer gave Chandler the backpack. He had Kyle and Dylan boost Matt on to
his back. "I don't think he even weights a hundred pounds," Spencer said.
The boys ignored the wet sticky cum covering Matt as the lifted him up.

Spencer staggered across the sand. Matt was pretty much a dead weight, and
Spencer frequently had to get help readjusting him. Ian had his radio locked
on the "Wonder Boy's" homing signal. They soon saw shadow of it in the
starlit desert. They were almost home free.

*****

Jake woke up with a start. He looked at his clock. It was a few minutes
after three. The "Mephisto" should have landed by now. He went to a window
and looked out at the lit landing field. It was empty. It was too late for
Connie tonight. He would leave instructions for her to stay in a downstairs
room. He was horny now. He wanted his boy Matt. It wouldn't be long and he
wouldn't be able to have his smooth soft skin any longer, or his gorgeous,
hairless dick.

He got up not bothering to get dressed. He grabbed a silk robe from the back
of a chair and headed to the elevator that directly served his penthouse
apartment, taking it down to the fifth floor. He stepped off, turned two
corners and came across Paco, who had just freed his wrists.

"What is going on? What happened?" Jake demanded.

"He's gone."

Jake grabbed Paco by his shirt and yanked him up. Jake was smaller and older
than Paco, but he was still a very strong man. "What do you mean GONE?" Jake
screamed.

"I mean I thought his friend was him, but his friend was somebody else and
his friends were somebody else and they were all wearing make-up and shirts
and shoes and nothing else and all those boys..."

""What boys? What are you talking about, all those boys?"

"The boys in the make-up with no pants. who...." Paco, the macho mountain of
a man was rapidly being turned into spineless jelly.

"Shut up! Just shut the fuck up, you big dumb ape. How can there be boys
here? Are you crazy? I can't believe I hired a fuck up like you! Boys in
make-up! And you expect me to believe it? First chance you get you are off
this planet."

"It was all these boys, I swear," Paco said meekly.

Jake dropped Paco back to the floor and left to roust the remainder of his
men. How Matt managed to tie up Paco was beyond him, but he did know one boy
was not going to get far. Besides there was nowhere to go. Jake shook his
head. Half naked boys indeed, the thought. What a crazy asshole.

*****

Spencer's back was ready to give out. He was a big kid, but carrying Matt
through the soft sand ended up being more work than he thought. For most of
the distance Matt had passively clung to him, but every now and then he had
jolted awake and tried to wrestle away. The other boys helped steady him
until Spencer could finally dump unceremoniously on the deck of the "Wonder
Boy".

Brian breathed a huge sigh of relief as the boys appeared out of the
darkness. He had never been happier to see anybody. He was even happier when
he saw the naked boy clinging to Spencer's back. After Spencer dropped him
to the deck, the boys dragged him to a seat and strapped him in. Brian
strapped himself in as the boys quickly went through their pre-flight
checklist. Ian introduced Brian to Matt and quickly told him the story,
explaining Matt's zoned out condition.

"Hey, is this blood on the floor?" Kyle asked.

"Where?" Spencer asked. "Here, on the side of this station."

Damn, I missed a spot, Brian thought. "It's mine," he said. "I got a sudden
nosebleed." Brian had no desire to tell the story of his confrontation with
the desert creatures

"Are you okay?" Kyle asked.

"I'm fine." They bought it, Brian thought. Now if the rats didn't bite
through anything important I won't have to say anything. They wouldn't
believe me anyway, forgetting the gnawed on wiring would serve as proof.

The "Wonder Boy" was about warmed up and ready for take-off. None of the
boys had any idea that just a half-mile away another space craft was coming
down on the lighted landing field. The "Mephisto" was returning.

"Ready to take off," Kyle said.

"Then go for it," came Spencer's order.

Kyle lifted the shuttle straight up, The boys felt the shuttle shake as
something touched the ground, but Kyle righted it quickly. He hovered
briefly, then engaged the rockets. The "Wonder Boy" shot out and them up,
roaring into space on a tail of fire.

*****

Jake Masters ran out to the landing field to meet the incoming "Mephisto".
He was followed by the five men he had on the planet at the time. The
"Mephisto" would not only have Connie, it would have more men to help find
the missing boy quickly.

Paco was still sitting in the corridor, wondering what had happened to him,
how he had been overwhelmed by mere boys. Or maybe he wasn't. Maybe Jake was
right, he had imagined half-naked boys wearing make-up. Maybe he'd been
smoking the same shit as Jake's boy.  He shook his head back and forth,
trying to get a grip on reality. He was afraid to move for fear of stirring
up another group of boys.

Jake heard the roar first, then turned and saw the blaze of fire streaking
to the sky. "Who is that?"

"I don't know," one of the men answered. "It's a some kind of space craft
taking off from the desert."

Jake stared at the rising line of fire. If Matt was on that space craft, a
huge pay day was going into space with him.

"Get the `Mephisto' after it, now!"

"We can't Jake. It needs to refuel. It can't leave the ground for at least
an hour."

The fire was disappearing into a point of light. Jake's anger rose even
higher as he watched. One thing for sure, he thought, Paco is totally
insane. There was no way some boys could have pulled off a rescue like this.
It had to have been a professional force, probably SFA, and Whitaker either
planned the rescue, or would be able to find out quickly who did. Whichever
way it was, somebody was going to pay.

*****

Chandler gave Kyle is coordinates to return them to the Lady Lex, which,
they hoped, would still be waiting at the same spot they left. It should be
since it was staying stationary to rendezvous with the "Raptor". Kyle
engaged the warp engines, and the shuttle quickly left the isolated desert
and its hot sun behind.

"I can't believe you guys got him," Brian said in an awe struck whisper.
Thinking of the botched up plans, the constant bickering, and his own
confrontation with the rats from the desert, he added, "We were so lucky."

"Luck, hell," Trevor said. "We're the Birds of Prey. It wasn't luck, it was
all skill!"

As the "Wonder Boy" raced back to the Lady Lex with the Birds of Prey and
the mysterious Matt, the boys couldn't help but wonder if they would be
returning as heroes, or as disobedient, delinquent boys who would be in more
trouble than they thought possible. Was the rescue luck? Was it skill?
Whichever it was, they knew they would need a ton of luck to survive Captain
Hatcher and Commander Creevey.

To be continued.....