Date: Wed, 4 May 2016 10:52:33 -0700
From: Douglas DD <thehakaanen@hotmail.com>
Subject: The Survivors (Revised) Chapter 12

This story contains sex between minor boys.  If such things offend you, or
you are not at least 18 years of age, then please don't read on.  This
story is not true, but who knows, maybe someday it will be.

Thanks for returning. In this chapter, Robert Charles continues to show
that he is rotten to the core, and some reasons why.

Please donate to Nifty to keep the stories rolling.

Emails are always appreciated. Douglas.
thehakaanen@homail.com

++++++++++++

CHAPTER 12
THE ELECTION

Travis walked angrily down the hall and into an elevator. He needed a
friend badly right now.  Douglas was great to talk to, but he knew where
Douglas was—in bed, and not alone. Every time he thought about a friend
he thought of Ryan. He went to his room to look up and call Ryan's number.

He dialed Ryan's intercom number. Nobody answered. Travis knew Jeremy was
still in the spa, which meant Ryan was probably not in the room
either. Maybe he ended up going to the spa, or he could even be in the
shower, Travis thought. He certainly isn't out eating, because the dining
halls are closed.  He could've gone to the games room. Travis decided to go
there first.

When he got to the games room, the only kids there were Matthew and some of
the littler ones. When Travis started to leave, Mike came in.

"Hey, Travis, how's it going?"

"Hey, Mike. It's going okay. You seen Ryan at all?"

"No. I thought he might have gone to the spa."

"I was there and I didn't see him. I called his cabin and he wasn't there
either."

"Maybe he is taking a shower or something."

"Maybe. I'm going to his cabin to see if he is there now."

"Do you want me to go with you?"

"Thanks. But if he's there, I gotta talk to him about something important."

"Okay, but if you need me you know I'm here for you."

"Thanks, Mike, I'll remember that."

Travis headed to Ryan's room. When he arrived he pushed the buzzer, but no
one answered. He listened for something, hoping Ryan was in there. He
pushed the buzzer one more time. There was still no answer, so he pushed
the buzzer a third time. When nothing happened he started walking away. He
stopped when he heard the door open. He turned around and saw Ryan's head
peek out.

"Travis?"

"Hey, Ryan. What's up? I came to visit and say hi."

The door was hiding most of Ryan's face. Travis tried to look through the
crack, but Ryan kept himself hidden.

"Thanks, but I'm busy right now. I thought maybe it was somebody from the
crew or something buzzing. Thanks for stopping by."

He started closing the door, but Travis stuck his foot in it. Something was
wrong and he had to find out if Ryan needed his help.

"Hey, get your foot out. I told you I was busy." Travis thought he could
hear a sob being fought, but he wasn't sure.

"Too busy for a friend?"

"Since when are you my friend?" Ryan was trying to act cool, but he was
shaking inside.  He wanted Travis to come in, but remembered Travis picking
Carmen over him. What he wanted from Travis he was never going to get.

Travis stood immobile with his foot in the door. Ryan's question made him
feel sick to his stomach.  He wanted to be friends with Ryan in the worst
way, in ways he couldn't even begin to explain.  He started to pull his
foot out when for some reason, he pushed on the door again.

"Since right now.  Let me in; we have to talk."

"I can't let you see me like this!"

"Like what? Never mind, I don't care. I'm your friend and I don't care what
you look like.  I want to see you. I care about you."

Ryan felt tears coming on. Shit, I can't let him see me like this. I just
can't. He'll hate me forever.

He started pushing the door against Travis's foot. But Travis was stronger
and he pushed harder the other way. Ryan lost his balance and the door flew
open.  Travis stumbled into the cabin. He looked at Ryan, who was wearing
nothing but a pair of briefs. He could tell Ryan had been crying.

Travis caught his balance, and Ryan came up to him and tried to push him
out of the door.  He pushed but Travis wouldn't move. Suddenly Ryan half
collapsed on Travis, put his arms around him and buried his head in his
chest. He started crying, soaking Travis's shirt. Travis reached back and
pushed the door shut, then put his arms around Ryan and held him close.

"It's okay, Ryan. It's okay." Ryan kept sobbing. "It's okay," Travis
whispered.

Ryan took a deep breath and tried to stop.

"Let's go into your bedroom and talk. Lock the door in case Jeremy comes
in."

"No! No! We can talk out here. It's a mess in there."

Travis turned and started to move, but Ryan stopped him again. "Please
don't."

Travis knew again that something was wrong. He stepped away from Ryan and
walked into the bedroom. Ryan's bed was covered with Kleenexes. It looked
like Ryan had been crying for a long time.

Travis sat Ryan on the bed and hugged him. "Tell me what's wrong. I'm a
good listener."

Ryan sniffled. "Well, I'm a lousy talker. You've seen me in the games
room. I can hardly say hi. I can't make any friends. I've never had many
friends. Even Jeremy looks down at me I bet."

"Ryan, you're an awesome, sweet dude. I know one friend you can have just
for the asking, because I know for a fact that this person really really
likes you."

"Who is that?"

Travis smiled at Ryan. "It's me, silly."

"But you left me to go with Carmen. I mean you...well, you and I...well,
never mind I don't know what I mean."

"I know what you mean. You mean you want to be my friend, too."

Ryan looked at Travis. "Yeah, well, but Carmen...."

"Fuck Carmen. I went with her to help Douglas get some girls' votes. It
didn't work out very good."

Ryan tried to comprehend what Travis was saying. He wondered what it was
that didn't work out.

"All she did was embarrass me," Travis said. "And the whole time I was
there I was always thinking of somebody else."

"Your old girlfriend on Earth?"

Travis didn't know how to answer that.  He didn't know if he should tell
Ryan what he really thought of him. But if Scooter and Douglas could do the
things they did then maybe he could follow their lead.

"No. I was thinking about you, Ryan," he said shyly. Wow. He said it. Now
what was Ryan going to say?  Did he blow it?

Ryan started tearing up again, only this time it was from happiness. The
look on Travis's face told Ryan that Travis meant everything he said.

"Are you okay, Ryan? Did I say something wrong?"

"No. You said something exactly right." Ryan sat on the bed and wrapped his
arms around his knees. "I've never really had any friends. I wanted to be
yours right from the start."

"That's how I felt about you. I wanted to be your friend right from the
first day we met.  I'm sorry if I made you feel bad, Ryan.  I won't do that
again, ever."

He sat next to Ryan and hugged him. The two of them sat on the bed and
cuddled and talked quietly. They didn't know it, but they were starting to
fall in love.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Scooter and Douglas woke up just before lunch. They were both starving and
wished they hadn't missed breakfast. Douglas woke up first and started
untangling himself from his friend.  But to Douglas, Scooter seemed like
more than a friend. He wasn't sure in what way that was true. Douglas knew
he'd had lots of friends, but he'd never had feelings for them like he had
for Scooter.

He simply couldn't take his eyes off him, couldn't stop touching him. He
couldn't stop thinking of him, or dreaming of him. He wondered what was he
feeling? Is this what love is?

Scooter opened his eyes and saw Douglas eyeing him. He smiled and squeezed
his friend's naked body. They kissed and hugged, not wanting to get out of
the bed, but knowing they had to.

"Who's going to shower first?" Douglas asked.

"Why ask? Let's just shower together."

That sounded pretty good to Douglas. He pulled off the covers and the two
boys got up and walked into the bathroom. Scooter knew his dad wouldn't
mind them pairing up. The two of them in one shower would keep them from
going over their water ration.

Scooter got the temperature right and the boys got into the small stall
together. Showers on the ship had to be fast, and they set right to work
washing each other.  Both of them still had their morning boners getting
into the shower.

Since they hadn't pissed before getting in because they had morning
stiffies, they both needed to go badly. Douglas often peed in the shower in
the morning; it seemed to him to be an efficient way to start the
morning. It worked especially well when he was dealing with morning
wood. He let go, being careful not to hit Scooter, even though he really
wanted to.

"What are you doing?"

"Pissing, silly. I'm saving more water.  Don't have to flush." While the
ship had vacuum toilets and used virtually no water, it sounded good.

Scooter laughed and started pissing too, being careful not to hit Douglas,
even though he really wanted to as well. They really enjoyed the fountain
of piss rising out of their friend's boner and it made them even more
excited when they finished.

They tried to finish washing each other, but their hands kept going to the
other's boner.  Pretty soon they were facing each other kissing and rubbing
their boners together, and it didn't take them long to cum, Douglas
shooting all over Scooter's belly and dick. The water washed them off
quick. They cummed just in time, because the shower shut off seconds
after. They got out, dried each other off, kissed, and got dressed to go to
lunch.

+++++++++++++++++++++++


Robert Charles sat next to Lisa in the spa, making plans in his head. He
had two ideas.  The first one would require Lisa's help. The second one
would be needed only if the first one didn't work. Either way, Douglas and
his queer buddies were in big trouble. Jeremy decided he'd had enough and
got up to leave. Carmen followed him out.

That left Lisa and Robert Charles alone. Robert Charles stroked her legs,
kissed her, and massaged her breasts.  He tried reaching under her towel,
but she stopped him.  He tried putting her hand on his boner, but she said
she didn't want to. I'm gonna get her cherry, he thought, and it won't take
long.

He backed off, just keeping his arm around her and playing with her
breasts, which she didn't mind. He told her about his first plan. She
listened to him and didn't like it at first.  But he kept rubbing her tits
and her leg and he told her that he loved her. He kissed her deep and
repeated his declaration of love.  She told him that she loved him and they
kissed some more. And when they were finished, he finally convinced her to
touch his erection and stroke him. It only took her a couple of strokes and
he shot all over himself and her hand.

"Ewwwwwwwwwwwww...that's gross."

He told her what had happened and cleaned his spunk off of her. He told her
yet again that he loved her and asked if she would help him with his
plan. She said yes because she loved him and wanted him to win the
election. In her mind he was the best.

+++++++++++++++++++++++

At lunch everybody compared notes about the morning. Scooter, Douglas,
Ryan, Travis, Mike, Alex, Stevie, and Brandon all sat at one table. Jeremy,
Warren, Matthew, Jordan, Lisa, Robert Charles, Carmen, and Felicia at
another. The only upper grade student not there was Michelle. The two
tables were on the opposite side of the dining hall so they couldn't hear
each other.

Everybody at the first table noticed how Travis and Ryan were together. In
fact they were all noticing pairs and the happy smiling faces. Ryan, who
had looked so sad and down, was now all but sitting on Travis's lap and had
a look of contentment.

Alex sat close to Mike, Stevie was with Brandon, and of course Douglas and
Scooter were together.  They scanned the table and started to wonder about
what was going on.  Were each of them falling for another boy? No, that
couldn't be right. Not all eight of them. Or maybe even more, because there
seemed to be something between Jeremy and Warren too. The voyage of the
"Starkeeper" was becoming something special.

Everybody was wondering if the seating at the tables indicated who would be
voting for whom. If that was the case, then the vote was eight to eight,
with Michelle's vote in the unknown. It was going to be very interesting by
the time Wednesday's election arrived.

+++++++++++++++++++++++

The afternoon went by quickly. The kids spent most of their time in the
games room, playing games, becoming better friends, and learning more about
the boy they were falling for.  When dinner time arrived the boys left for
their respective dining rooms.

After dinner most of them skipped the games room. Mike and Brandon headed
for Alex and Stevie's room. Douglas was planning on another night with
Scooter. Ryan, Travis, Jeremy and Warren went to the games room. Ryan was
talking to Travis about spending the night together.

Robert Charles was meeting with Jordan, Lisa, and Felicia. Carmen really
didn't want to meet with Robert Charles and the other three, so she told
them her parents wanted her back in the cabin.

Carmen said her parents wouldn't let her join them, although she really
didn't want to.  Matthew wasn't invited since Robert Charles considered him
too young. Besides, they wouldn't know until Monday if he would be in the
upper grade class for the rest of the voyage. They were talking about the
election and about Robert Charles's plan to ensure more votes. When Felicia
left, Robert Charles told Lisa and Jordan his first plan. They loved his
idea and were ready to help. Robert Charles decided to keep his second plan
secret for now.

 ++++++++++++++++++++++++

In Alex's room, Mike and Brandon were getting lessons in boy sex from the
brothers.  Stevie showed Brandon the best ways to kiss and jerk off his
partner. He showed him how to rub dicks together, and how to make a sweet
spot feel good while fingering a butt.  Alex was showing Mike the same
things on the other bed.

After all four had a couple of hard hot cums, Alex and Stevie had Brandon
and Mike lay down on the beds. Then they both got between their partner's
legs and started licking under their balls.  They sucked their balls next,
and then licked their teen erection up the shaft.  Alex and Stevie brought
them farther and farther along until they shot in their partner's mouth.

"Oh, man," Mike said. "That was incredible. Totally awesome. Unbelievable."

"Next time you get to do us," Alex said. "Right now let's bed down together
and talk and learn about each other, and cuddle."

Mike hugged the smaller, skinnier Alex close and tight. Brandon and Stevie
were about the same size, and they cuddled and talked and kissed too. Mike
and Brandon ended up jerking their partners off. Even after three orgasms,
each of the boys couldn't get their boners to go down.

 +++++++++++++++++++++++

Scooter and Douglas cuddled naked on Scooter's bed. They were happy to hold
each other and kiss each other, and make each other feel good. They got a
thrill from just touching each other and being touched.

Douglas had his head on Scooter's stomach. He was looking at his smooth
uncut penis.  He let his hand rub slowly along it. He pulled the skin back
and looked at the shiny head, then rubbed his finger across it. He brought
his face closer. Douglas knew about oral sex even if he had never done
it. Douglas was just a couple of inches away from Scooter's erection
now. He knew that if he got closer and licked it Scooter wouldn't mind,
since Scooter had confessed to trading a few blow jobs with Brandon when
they had been together on Earth. And if Scooter didn't mind, then he might
as well do it.  Well, here goes nothing, he thought.

Before he could think about it any more he went down and let Scooter's dick
slide into his mouth.  Scooter shivered with surprise. He looked down at
Douglas, and saw his dick disappearing into his lover's mouth. The feeling
he got was unbelievably incredible.  And for Douglas, having Scooter's
sweet boner in his mouth just felt right—he could tell it belonged
there. He started bobbing his head, sucking and licking like he had done it
his whole life. He let his tongue run circles around Scooter's head and
through his pee slit.  Scooter arched his back and tried to thrust his cock
deeper into Douglas's mouth.  Douglas played with Scooter's balls and ran
his finger up Scooter's crack. The pleasurable sensations had Scooter
moaning and crying out for more.  For Scooter the feeling was so amazing
his body wouldn't stop shaking. He tried holding back what was coming over
him, but he couldn't so he just let it go. He pumped his dick into
Douglas's mouth, shook and moaned, and had the most intense orgasm of his
life. He almost knocked Douglas's head off he pumped so hard.  Then he
collapsed on the bed.  Douglas was frightened by Scooter's collapse,
thinking he might have done too much. He kissed Scooter, who opened his
eyes, saw Douglas, and smiled. "I'm glowing," he said.

Douglas kissed him again. And it didn't take long for Scooter to try his
skill on Douglas.  And it didn't take long for Douglas to fill Scooter's
mouth with his sweet cum. He tried warning Scooter, but he was feeling so
good his orgasm just happened. Scooter didn't flinch though and he
swallowed it all.  It was the first time he'd had his partner shoot in his
mouth since Brandon had been dry when they messed around. He couldn't
believe how good it tasted. He kissed Douglas, allowing Douglas to taste
his own semen. The two boys lay next to each other on the bed holding each
other.

"Douglas..."

"Yes?"

Scooter's heart was thumping. He wanted to tell Douglas what he told him
last night when he was sleeping. He was afraid, but he knew it was the
right thing to do.

"I...I...um...I..."

Douglas knew what was coming.  He was quickly learning that he could almost
sense what his friend was thinking or feeling.

"Go ahead and say it...because I feel the same way."

Scooter knew deep in his heart what Douglas meant, so he said it. "Douglas,
I..I love you." Now, did Douglas really feel the same way?

"And I love you, too," he said, his heart singing.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The other boys hadn't gotten quite as far yet. Jeremy and Warren talked a
lot in the games room.  Once, Jeremy tried touching Warren's leg, but
Warren pushed his hand away. Right away Warren felt bad doing it. He just
couldn't understand why a big handsome boy like Jeremy would be interested
in somebody like him.  Finally he said he was tired and wanted to go to
bed. Jeremy walked him to his cabin.  Jeremy reached for Warren's hand, but
Warren wouldn't let him take it.

Ryan and Travis were in Ryan's room. They were watching a vid. They were
sitting close to each other on the couch. Travis let his hand touch Ryan's
leg and Ryan returned the touch.  Soon Ryan was leaning on Travis, his head
on his new friend's shoulder.

No, Travis thought, I'm supposed to do this with a girl, not with a guy. He
could feel Ryan's breath on his cheek. His pants were tented, and he could
see that Ryan's were as well.  Ryan's face was so close he could almost
lean over and kiss him, and if Ryan was a girl he would have. But Ryan was
a boy, and boys usually didn't kiss boys.

Ryan could feel Travis's breath. He wished he knew if it was okay to kiss
him, because that was what he wanted to do right then. Travis had him
excited beyond imagining. He wanted to kiss him so bad. He edged up closer
to Travis, and Travis moved a little closer to him. He turned his head and
peered into Travis's eyes.

Their lips were inches apart, they both were ready to kiss. But instead,
they heard the beep of the door code: Jeremy was returning. They scooted
away from each other, and went back to watching the vid. But they knew that
something awesome had almost happened, and they knew that they wanted to
get there again.

Jeremy had seen them quickly move apart on the couch. There was no doubt in
his mind what had been going on between them. He felt no jealousy. He liked
Ryan and he liked jacking off with him. But for whatever reason the
mega-cute, but elusive, Warren was the one he wanted.

In Jordan's room, Jordan found another bottle of whiskey and started
drinking. He wanted to get Matthew drunk with him and then fuck him over
and over. That would be so much fun. He took a big swallow out of the
bottle and felt himself get warm all over.

Matthew sat alone in his room. He felt very lonely. Jordan told him he
shouldn't be friends with anybody but him. Jordan said that the other boys
would pick on him and use him and only he could protect him.  He kept
saying that the real big kids like Mike and Jeremy and Travis would beat
him up for not doing things they wanted.

But Matthew wasn't sure if everybody was leaving him alone because Jordan
was protecting him, or if maybe those big kids were as nice as they seemed
and weren't really after him. What he did know was he did like some of the
things Jordan was doing to him.  What he didn't like was Jordan telling him
he wanted to put his wiener inside his butt. He knew he wanted more
friends, but he didn't know how to get them without making Jordan mad at
him and telling everybody about how he liked sucking on Jordan's wiener.

 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Sunday was a quiet day. The boys spent most of the day with their families,
some of them going to morning church services in the chapel or in the
theater. Douglas left Scooter's cabin in the morning and returned to his
family's cabin.

Brandon left Alex and Stevie's cabin to be with his mother, but Mike stayed
a little longer. The brothers taught him what a three way daisy chain suck
was about. Mike liked it enough to do it twice. He finally left to have
Sunday brunch with his brother Brad.  Stevie and Alex showered together,
then went to brunch.

Just about everybody was at the games room later in the afternoon.  Jordan
hung with Matthew almost the entire time, whispering and talking to
him. Jordan had skipped breakfast and brunch because he felt sick. He
managed to make it to lunch with his father and was feeling better. Now it
was up to him to get the plan going for Robert Charles.

After dinner some of the boys went to the games room, some to their own
rooms, and some hung out with their friends. By nine o'clock (twenty-one
hundred hours, ship's time) everybody had gone to their own rooms except
for Matthew.

Matthew was in Jordan's room sucking his dick and letting Jordan finger
fuck him. But Jordan didn't return the blow job or do anything to make him
feel good except finger him. Matthew was very hard, and Jordan almost
didn't seem to care.

About the same time as Matthew finished sucking Jordan in another cabin,
Mike's phone buzzed.  He was surprised that the call was from Lisa, who
sounded like she was crying.

"Mike, I have to talk to you.  Please. It's about RC."

"What's wrong?"

"I can't say it on the phone.  Please. You've always seemed so nice and
easy to talk to. I need help."

Mike could tell she was really upset. He had only talked to her a couple of
times because she always seemed to be hanging on to Robert Charles. He knew
Robert Charles was a prick and now he seemed to be proving it. Lisa sounded
like she was in trouble—big trouble. He felt like he needed to help her.

"Where do you want to meet?"

"How about the observation lounge on deck 12? In fifteen minutes?"

"Okay. I'll be there."

"I'm so scared."

Mike hung up the phone and looked at the clock. He needed to tell Brad
where he was going, but not why.

The second call of the evening was for Jordan. Matthew heard a female voice
on it.

"It's time for you to go Matthew. Take elevator two, because number three
is down for the night."

Matthew recognized the voice as his mother's. While he dressed, Jordan told
Matthew how he owned him. He told him how bad the other boys would treat a
little cocksucker like him if it wasn't for Jordan protecting him and
keeping his secret for him.

Matthew headed for elevator two, even though he usually took elevator
three.

The next call was to Jeremy from Jordan.

"Somebody said Mike was pretty wild tonight. Really upset. I can't find
RC. You're the only guy even close in size who can stop him. I don't want
him in trouble. Maybe you can find him and calm him down. I heard he was on
deck 12 somewhere around the observation deck."

Jeremy said he would see what he could do. He told Ryan he would be right
back and headed toward deck 12.

Mike told Brad he would be right back and headed to deck 12.

Elevator 2 stopped at deck 12. Matthew stepped out and got slammed by a
punch in the gut. He doubled over in pain and tried to look up to see who
was hitting him when he got punched in the face twice and fell to the
floor, blood coming from his mouth. He couldn't tell who was hitting him,
only that it was somebody big. The hall was spinning and somebody was
standing over him. He looked up and saw Mike.

Jeremy came around a corner and saw Matthew on the floor and Mike kneeling
in front of him.  He walked up and saw that Matthew was holding his gut in
pain and he was bleeding from his mouth and already was getting a black
eye.

"Get away from him!!!!!!!!!" Jeremy screamed. "Get the FUCK way from
him!!!!!"

"I didn't do anything. I came around that corner and saw him on the floor."

"Like hell you didn't do it. Just like you didn't hit Ryan."

Mike stood up. He was getting angry. "I never touched him! Why should I?"

"Because you're pissed about something. And because some little kid got in
your way and now you can show what a tough asshole you are." Jeremy was so
mad he was ready to punch out Mike.  "What were you doing here anyway? This
isn't even your deck."

"Lisa called me to meet her in the observation lounge. She was having some
kind of trouble."

"Well, for your sake that better be a true story. Because if it isn't
you're going to have every boy on this ship ready to get you." He bent down
to help Matthew up.  "He's just a little kid. And tomorrow I'm going to
make sure somebody deals with this. I think your ass is fucked. It's not
Robert Charles who is the bully and the asshole on this ship, it's you."

Jeremy took Matthew and walked him to his cabin while Mike stood there
wanting to help. He was confused, lost, wondering what was happening to him
and why. He turned and walked to the observation lounge to meet Lisa,
trying hard not to cry.

He sat in the lounge for over an hour, but Lisa never showed. He knew why
he was sitting in the lounge alone. He knew he had been set up. And unless
he could prove it he might have cost Douglas the election by being
stupid. And to make it worse, nobody would believe his story. After all,
who would believe that Lisa would set up her own little brother.

He walked back to his cabin and woke up Brad. He told him exactly what
happened going back to the cavern on Mars. When he was finished, Brad
hugged him and sent him off to bed. Then he sat down and wondered how much
trouble Mike was in. He knew Mike was a great kid, but things did not look
good for him at the moment. Brad had no idea why somebody would have it in
for his brother.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Mike sat alone at a table at Monday's breakfast. Ryan came a couple of
minutes later and stared at him. Mike didn't want to look back at him, but
knew he had to. After all, he had no reason not to. Ryan sat down next to
him.

"Jeremy told me about last night. He says you hurt Matthew pretty bad.  He
says you're going to be in big trouble when you show up for class today."

Mike looked down at the table.

"You're the one who really hit me, aren't you? And you hit Matthew. I
believed you Mike. I believed in you. I believed you were who I thought you
were. And all the time you were probably laughing at me." Ryan was near
tears.

Mike took a deep breath. If he didn't say anything right now, Ryan would
leave believing he was the one who hit him and Matthew. He gazed right into
Ryan's eyes. "Ryan. I never hit you. I never hit Matthew. I was set up last
night. I swear, I never hit anybody.  And I mean here or on Earth or Mars
or anywhere, well except maybe in a hockey game."  Mike went on to tell
about the strange call from Lisa and how she never showed up for their
meeting.

"Yeah, Jeremy told me what you said. Jeremy was ready to kill you last
night. He is so pissed right now. He called Lisa this morning and she said
she didn't know what he was talking about. I have to believe her, Mike. Why
would she set up her own little brother?"

That was exactly what he thought everybody would be thinking. Robert
Charles had planned things out perfectly. Everybody had seen how Lisa clung
to Robert Charles, but Mike seemed to be the only one who could see that
Lisa's infatuation with RC was more important to her than the welfare of
her little brother.

"Ryan, she's lying. She called me and was crying.  She begged me to meet
her, saying she was having problems with RC. I was set up. And I bet it was
by RC who planned all of this. He wants to force Douglas to quit taking my
side and to split up our votes. He's evil, Ryan. Totally evil. And he needs
to be stopped."

Ryan looked at Mike trying to decide whom to believe. He was about to say
something when Douglas and Scooter showed up and sat at the table. They
hadn't heard about last night's incident, but Mike and Ryan quickly filled
them in, their stories clashing.

When they finished, Douglas had no idea what to think. He liked Mike
lot. He just couldn't believe Mike was the one who attacked Matthew, unless
he was fooling everybody with his likeable personality. But he did believe
that Robert Charles was capable of attacking the small boy and was capable
of hatching an evil plan to blame Mike for it.  He also knew that backing
up Mike would be a sure way for him to lose the election, because as much
as nobody really liked Robert Charles, the evidence that Mike was a
cowardly bully was hard to refute. Douglas had a decision to make. Would he
back up Mike and stick by his friend and lose the election for sure, or
would he turn his back on Mike to give him a chance of winning?

Finally he made up his mind. There really was only one decision to make and
that was the right one. "I believe you Mike. I'm behind you all the way."

Mike was stunned. That wasn't what he expected to hear. If Douglas stood
behind him he stood a good chance of losing the election, and that simply
couldn't happen. Robert Charles could not be allowed to win.

"Thanks, Douglas. That means a lot to me. I couldn't ask for a better
friend. But supporting me would keep you from winning the election, and we
can't let that happen."

"You don't know that, Mike. And if I won because I couldn't stand up for a
friend...well, then I am not any better than Robert Charles. This trip is
only a couple of months long.  And I sure wouldn't turn my back on a friend
even if it was for two years. We can put up with Robert Charles for two
months. I bet he will turn out to be such an asshole of a leader that
nobody would vote for him for anything on AO IV. "

Mike felt tears starting up. He tried to pull out a hanky to wipe them away
but it was too late.  By the time he got to them and started wiping,
everybody saw the tears, and nobody cared.

Right then Alex and Stevie showed up. When he found out what happened, Alex
was ready to explode he was so mad. But he felt a little better when he
found out what Douglas had decided.  It made him feel they had done an
excellent job picking their candidate for leader.

Robert Charles, Jordan, Lisa, Jeremy, and Matthew came into the dining hall
together.  Matthew's lip was swollen and he had a black eye. Robert Charles
walked up to the table where the boys were sitting, pulling Matthew with
him. He glared at Mike.

"He looks real nice, doesn't he asshole? And I see your faggot friends are
still sitting here talking to you. I guess that says a lot about you
guys. I'm sure glad you won't be winning this election, Douglas, because it
would make us all real sick taking any orders from you.  Now you can see
who your friends really are, Matthew." He walked away with Matthew
following him looking forlorn, and joined his friends at another table. A
couple of minutes later, Warren walked in not knowing what had been going
on. He saw Jeremy and joined them.

The boys at Douglas's table counted and recounted potential votes. No
matter how they counted them, the vote was 9-8 in favor of Robert Charles.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

When they got to class, Mr. Z called Mike into his office. Matthew was
there and so were his parents, and the ship's First Officer. Like he
expected, Mike was accused of attacking Matthew.  Matthew said he wasn't
sure if it was Mike. He just knew it was somebody big and that Mike was
kneeling next to him when he opened his eyes. Mike told his side of the
story. Lisa was called in and said she never called Mike last night and
that she would never do anything to hurt her brother. When it all ended,
Mike was put on a two week cabin restriction, except for school and
meals. He was told if anything else happened he would be totally restricted
to his cabin for the rest of the trip. Matthew's parents said they couldn't
understand why a big kid like him had to assault a sweet little boy like
Matthew.

Mike was crushed. He tried telling Matthew as they left the office that he
didn't do it. But Matthew wouldn't even look at him. He went straight to
Jordan and ignored everybody else. He knew for sure now that Jordan was his
friend along with Robert Charles and that the rest of them were nowhere
near as nice as they claimed to be.

Just after break an alarm went off and yellow lights started flashing. It
was an abandon ship drill.  If the lights were flashing red it would mean
it was the real thing. If they had been in their cabins they would have
gone to one of the big shuttles. Since the school was toward the back of
the ship near the engineering section they would go to a small shuttle that
was attached to the hull of the ship near the school.

The students would board it directly from the classroom. If there was an
order to abandon ship, the pilot would launch the shuttle and it would meet
up with one of the big shuttles.  Mr. Z. was trained to fly the little
shuttle and would most likely be their pilot. The class had been shown how
to open the lock to the shuttle on the first day of school. Alex opened the
lock and the class took their seats.  Just after the upper class got
seated, the smaller kids from the lower class came through the lock and sat
in the empty seats. Mr. Z took a count and got on the radio to tell bridge
that everybody was accounted for. After about ten minutes the alarms
stopped and the students returned to class. This was the first drill staged
while they were in class, but they already had had two of them at other
times.

Douglas mentioned to Scooter that the drill was one of the few times he'd
seen the young twins. He had found out that the two nine-year-olds were
Michelle's brothers, which explained their lack of visibility; they never
saw Michelle very often either.

After class restarted, Mr. Z made no mention of the altercation between
Mike and Matthew the day before. He knew how the jungle telegraph worked
and knew that everybody knew about what had happened and about what Mike's
punishment was. He did announce, however, that Matthew had done very well
on his computer and oral exams and was being assigned to the upper class
for the rest of the voyage.

At the break Douglas went to talk to Jeremy and Warren. He tried telling
them that Mike didn't hit Matthew and that he was set up, but they wouldn't
listen to him. They told him that they had made up their minds. Jeremy told
Douglas about the call from Jordan, that Mike was threatening people, and
asked if he could try stopping him.

"Isn't that interesting," Douglas said. "Jordan just happened to know that
Mike was on deck 12.  Matthew just happened to leave Jordan's room at about
the same time Mike happened to get a call to meet Lisa on deck 12.  Think
about it Jeremy. You're being set up just like Mike was.  They're playing
you for a sucker." Douglas did not mention that nobody could account for
where Robert Charles was.

At lunch Jeremy and Warren sat with Robert Charles and his group. Douglas
had a chance to talk to Michelle about how she was planning to
vote. Michelle, reticent as usual, said she didn't know, and even if she
did she wasn't going to tell anybody.

That evening Jeremy was invited to Warren's room. Warren wanted to talk to
him about a lot of things. First, they talked about the election. Warren
told Jeremy he thought that maybe Mike was telling the truth. Jeremy said
he didn't think he was, but Douglas did say some things that made him
think.

He still thought Robert Charles was the better leader.  He was bigger and
more forceful.  He acted like a leader.  Douglas sometimes seemed too hung
up on himself and his problems. His reaction after the spa reservation
incident was not one of a good leader.  Besides, he was only running
because his friends talked him into it, not because he was interested in
being a leader, not in the way Robert Charles was. Warren and Jeremy agreed
not to make up their minds until Wednesday.

Then, they talked about each other. Warren wondered why Jeremy wanted to be
his friend. Jeremy didn't answer and instead told Warren he needed to come
out and join everybody in the games room more often. Once again, Warren
asked Jeremy why he wanted to be his friend.

Jeremy decided Warren deserved an answer. "Simple. I think you are a kind
and sweet boy with a big heart. I like you. You're special." Warren
smiled. Then Jeremy got up to leave because it was getting late. He got to
the bedroom door and turned and smiled.  "And besides, you're really hot."

He left quickly and Warren stood there stunned. Hot? Me? He looked in his
mirror and saw a short, skinny kid. No way I'm hot, he thought. But
thinking about Jeremy and their conversation made him get a nice sized
bulge in his pants.

While Jeremy was in Warren's room, Travis was in Ryan's. This time they
knew what they wanted and didn't wait to do it. They sat on Ryan's bed
kissing and hugging and groping each other's crotches. For Travis it
suddenly didn't make any difference that Ryan was a boy—in fact, somehow
it made things better.  For Ryan, he was getting exactly what he wanted. He
had no doubt that he was in love.

When Jeremy got back he saw them sitting on Ryan's bed, their shirts
untucked, their hair messed up, and bulges in their pants. They were both
breathing hard. He knew they had been making out and smiled.

Ryan and Travis had gone as far as kissing and heavy petting. They both
knew more was going to happen and they couldn't wait. They just had to
figure out a way to do it at a time they wouldn't be disturbed by Jeremy.

After the two boys appeared to get themselves together, Jeremy asked them
their opinions about what had happened to Matthew. Ryan said he believed
Mike's story. He didn't see how anybody as sweet as Mike could do the
things he did. Travis said he wasn't so sure.  He could see both sides. But
he agreed with Ryan that he couldn't see Mike being a bully, it was just
that all the evidence seemed to show that he was.

Travis finally left the cabin, but he didn't really want to. He wanted to
spend the whole night with Ryan, and he wasn't even feeling guilty for
wanting it. He was in love. So what that it was with a boy, he thought,
love is love.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++

At Tuesday breakfast was a lot of talk about the election. Mike was unhappy
about his restriction. He knew he had done nothing wrong.

Mr. Z was unhappy about Douglas backing up Mike. He saw Douglas as another
trouble maker. He was certain that Douglas's stand regarding Mike would
cost him the election.  He had no doubt that his candidate, Robert Charles,
would defeat the trouble maker and win the election.

That afternoon after school two interesting things happened. One was Robert
Charles's father visiting Mr. Z in his office.  He reminded the teacher how
he could get him a top position at an exclusive school on Earth or any
other planet he wanted, and how he could guarantee that if Robert Charles
won the election. He told Mr. Z that Robert Charles was a born leader and
had been raised and trained to lead, while the Douglas boy was just another
nobody kid—a wannabe leader. He emphasized that real leaders should
lead, especially among a group of adolescents. His closing line was that
truly great teachers knew that only the best should the best be picked to
lead; they knew how to make it happen.

Not long after Robert Charles's father left Mr. Z's office Robert Charles
came to see Mr.  Z. He didn't know his dad had been there. But he did know
he wanted to be totally sure he won the election and it was time for the
second part of his plan. He told Mr. Z. how cool he was as a teacher. And
how if he won the election he would be a good leader and keep things in
order. He pointed out how he could find ways to make things really good for
Mr. Z. Robert Charles left the office feeling confident that Mr. Z knew
exactly what he was talking about when it came to making things good for
the teacher.

That night, when the engineers on duty were checking the status of the main
warp drive, the temperature gauge on the warp enhancer jumped close to the
red mark and slipped back down. Alex and Stevie slept cuddled, both loving
each other and thinking of their new lovers. Jeremy and Ryan jacked each
other off, but were thinking of the boys they truly desired. Douglas,
Travis, and Scooter jacked off in their own rooms, thinking of who they
loved on the "Starkeeper". Robert Charles jacked off thinking that Lisa
really owed him big time and thought about what it would be like to fuck
her.

Matthew fell asleep feeling miserable. His face was still sore; his parents
had told him what a loser he was to let the bigger kids bully him, an
entirely different attitude than they had taken on Monday with Mr. Z and
the first officer. To top it off, his sister, Lisa, treated him even worse
than usual. Not for the first time he wished he was dead. He decided he was
ready to let Jordan do what he wanted with his butt. He didn't care what
Jordan threatened to tell the rest of the kids. They wouldn't care because
they didn't like him anyway. Jordan was the only person on the ship who
liked him, and he was ready to do anything for the older boy.

Suddenly it was Wednesday morning. It was school election day. Robert
Charles and Douglas woke up ready to see what was going to happen.

Next: The Show