Date: Mon, 23 May 2016 14:00:36 -0700
From: Douglas DD <thehakaanen@hotmail.com>
Subject: The Survivors (Revised) Chapter 17

CHAPTER 17
THE VOYAGE HOME

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.

Welcome back. In this chapter, Scooter and Douglas learn that they weren't
heroes.

Please give generously to the Nifty archive to keep the flow of stories
coming.

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

It was Friday morning and the ship's routine was starting to return to
normal. School would be in session, but that afternoon the teenagers would
help with cleaning up and reorganizing the upper grade classroom and
helping the lower grade teacher and students to do the same. The boys
headed for breakfast. All of the dining rooms were up and running
again. The boys at breakfast wanted to hear Scooter and Douglas retell
their role in helping the ship weather the storm. While the rest of the
boys didn't tire of hearing the story, Scooter and Douglas were tired of
talking about it.  They said they did what they did only because there was
nobody in Engineering in condition to work.

"So when is the Captain giving you your medals?" Mike asked.

"I heard he's not real happy about what we did," Douglas said.

"Why? You saved the ship and everybody's life. What is there not to be
happy about?"

"I don't know, he just isn't."

"Well, if he needs any help figuring out you guys are heroes, I'll go to
the bridge and let him know."

They were interrupted by the Captain's voice coming over the public address
system.  They stopped talking to listen.

"This is Captain Fuller speaking. As you all know we've had a rough couple
of days.  Warp storms are usually a bit bouncy, but nothing like what
happened to us. It is possible that because the warp enhancer was operating
it may have increased the effects of the storm. We didn't shut it down
going into the storm because leaving warp during a storm has had
catastrophic results in the past. We didn't know what suddenly changing
speeds in warp would do. We apologize for the rough ride and appreciate the
gumption and courage displayed by the crew and passengers.

"Before I talk about that, I am sad to report that we lost three lives
during the storm: Crewman Richards who worked in the Life Support section,
passenger David Smith, and Crewman Gray, from Engineering. Let's have a
moment of silence for them."

The whole ship became quiet and after a minute the Captain continued. "Next
I want to praise those who helped so much during and after the storm." He
mentioned some crewmen and a couple of passengers. Then he announced the
names that got all the boys' attention.

"I want to thank the upper school students. The girls, led by Lisa, helped
so much in getting the dining areas ready to serve meals again." None of
the boys knew that and thought that was very cool news. "I also want to
thank Robert Charles, the upper class president, for organizing the boys in
cleaning up the ship and helping with injured passengers. Robert Charles
showed great leadership and responsibility and courage through the crisis
and inspired all of the students in his class."

The Captain went on to say something else but the boys weren't listening.

"What a bunch of bullshit," Alex said. "He never did a thing. Marie told us
where to go and then we did our jobs without him even being around. If it
was up to him we'd still be cleaning that fucking office while he sat on
his lazy butt.

"Shhhh," Douglas admonished, "he's saying something else."

"Lastly, I have something you all need to know. We got sent off course at
speeds we didn't think were possible. Right now, according to our
calculations, to get to Alpha Orion IV will take us a year at full warp."

Noise broke out all over the dining hall, but the Captain went on. "We
don't know how we got sent so far in two days. It would be nice if we could
duplicate the effects to return us to our original course just as quickly,
but we honestly don't know how.

"However, if we can restart the warp enhancer it can take almost two months
off of our return trip.  This afternoon I hope to give you more details
regarding our trip home, after I talk with all of my senior staff.

"I need you all to be brave. The ship is in one piece. Our warp drive
works. The environmental system works. We have adequate food and fuel. We
will make it back. I'm going to need all your help to insure that it is a
smooth trip.  It is my goal to keep things as normal as possible. This
includes school, which will start again on Monday. Thank you."

The boys all looked at each other.

"He never said a word about Scooter and Douglas. Nothing. You saved this
ship and the hero is penis head for doing nothing but sit on his fat ass,"
Alex said. "I can't believe this ship. The crew sucks, the ship is a year
away from anywhere, and for that whole time we're going to be stuck with
Robert Charles. Maybe it's time for me to go kick the shit out of him. I'm
tired of him."

"Well, Scooter and I didn't go up to Engineering so that the Captain could
tell us what big heroes we are. We just did it because we had to do
it. Scooter's dad told us what we had to do and we did it. If his leg
hadn't been broken it would have been him doing it."

Mike said, "Douglas...Scooter...we all know better. To us you guys are
heroes. End of conversation." Douglas and Scooter blushed, but didn't make
any reply.

Just as the table was finishing breakfast, Robert Charles came into the
dining room with Jordan, Matthew, Lisa, and Carmen. He walked up to the
table and eyed the eight boys seated there.  While Robert Charles and his
minions were busy looking important, Matthew placed a note on Mike's lap.
Mike quickly picked it up and put it into his pocket.

"I don't remember hearing Scooter and Douglas on the list of heroes,"
Robert Charles smirked. "Too bad. I guess running around trying to destroy
the ship isn't the way to go.  Time to take lessons from me again." He
laughed and walked away.

The boys got up after he left. Alex wanted to follow Robert Charles and
finally kick his ass the way he deserved to have it kicked, but Mike guided
him into the same direction the group was going. Mike, Brandon, Scooter,
and Douglas were going with Alex and Stevie to their room. Ryan and Travis
said they wanted to be alone for a while. The games room was closed until
the next day and school wasn't starting until Monday so everybody was
trying to find things to do.

On the way they ran into Warren and Jeremy who were heading for
breakfast. They said they slept in, but all the boys figured more happened
than sleeping in.

When they got to Alex's room, Alex asked Mike about the note.

"Oh, you saw him leave it."

"Yeah, I just hope Robert Charles didn't. What does it say, Mike?"

Mike pulled the note out of his pocket and read it aloud. "Please meet me
as soon as you can. Don't tell anyone. Don't call me about it, tell me at
lunch. Your friend, Matthew."

"Your friend?" Alex asked. "Not bad from some kid you supposedly beat
up. When are you going to meet him?"

"After lunch I suppose. We can be late to the cleanup."

"Why can't you call him?" Brandon asked.

"Because I'm not allowed to see him or talk to him except in public. That
was part of my punishment," Mike answered. "His parents still believe I'm
the one who attacked him."

The boys talked a little more, then left to meet Marie. She was going to
take them down to the cargo hold to check on Alex and Stevie's
instruments. Marie was waiting for them at the elevator. When they arrived
at the cargo bay, they discovered it in shambles.  Straightening it up was
low on the damage control priority list. Crewmen were just starting on the
clean-up. Alex was the first to see the fate of their instruments. The
keyboard was smashed and Stevie's guitar was in pieces.

Mike gave Alex a big hug. "I'm so sorry, love. Now your music is gone."

"Well, it is and it isn't. Our best instruments are packed away in boxes
full of padding.  They are in a cargo hold somewhere. They should be in one
piece unless our crate was smashed by bigger ones. But at least it's not
hopeless. I doubt we can get to them until we get to AO IV, but if we can
get to them earlier I promise you the concert of the century."

"It might be our last concert," Stevie said glumly. "What if we can't make
it back?"

"And did you think about this? Do we have enough air?  Food? Fuel?" Brandon
asked.

"The captain said we did, right Marie?"

"Yes he did and we recycle our air and most of our water.  As far as I
know, we will go back to warp as soon as they have the warp drive
checked. I don't know how long that will take. Not being a senior officer,
I don't know much else."

Scooter and Douglas were still not completely sure how much they trusted
Marie after her failure to have their back when Robert Charles spouted off
his lies in the lounge.

"See, Alex. We don't have anything to worry about," Mike said.

"Not yet, anyway. But I think we will soon," Alex replied.

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

After the boys at the table left, Robert Charles watched Warren and Jeremy
come into the dining hall for breakfast. He decided to hang around and wait
for them to finish. Jordan left when Matthew left and the girls departed
soon after. Robert Charles said he would find them later.

When Warren and Jeremy finished eating, Robert Charles got up and followed
them out.  He caught up to them and asked if they could come to his room,
that he had something to tell them.  They didn't really want to, but
decided it couldn't hurt and it might help them since Robert Charles was
the class leader, so they said yes. After all, Jeremy at least, had
supported him during the election.

Robert Charles was polite and accommodating until they got to his room. He
had a whole separate cabin to himself. When they got to the room he told
the two boys he had a few things to say.

"Like what?" Jeremy asked.

"Who did you guys vote for?" Robert Charles asked in an intimidating voice.

"And what business is that of yours?" Jeremy asked. "And you said you had
something to say to us, not something to ask us."

"I just want to know how much I can count on you."

"Well, if you want to know the truth, I voted for you because of the Mike
stuff. But now I'm not so sure it was the right thing to do. You sure
aren't making many friends."

Robert Charles felt himself getting a little irate. He didn't like Jeremy's
attitude. He had a big mouth like that little fucker, Alex, and they both
would pay for it somewhere along the line.

"A real leader doesn't make a lot of friends," Robert Charles said, quoting
what his father had taught him. "Making friends isn't important. If you
lead you're going to have to make people mad sometimes."

"Douglas leads. And he makes friends."

"Douglas leads? Hahahahaha. Then why wasn't he elected? Douglas doesn't
know how to lead.  He was president of some school. Big deal. That just
means being popular doing what the teachers told him. It sure as fuck
doesn't mean knowing anything about leadership."

"And what makes you a good leader?"

"Power. I know how to get it and use it. Douglas knows nothing about
power. He thinks leading is being a nice guy. But in the end people with
power beat nice guys and everybody follows them." He turned to
Warren. "Well, Warren? How did you vote?"

Warren had voted for Douglas, and was glad of it. But he didn't want Robert
Charles to know and he didn't want to lie. He just stood there saying
nothing, wishing Jeremy hadn't agreed to come to RC's room.

Robert Charles walked up to Warren and pushed him up against the wall.

"Hey, leave my friend alone," Jeremy said. He started moving in on Robert
Charles.

"Stay right there punk!" Robert Charles said. "Let me teach you guys about
power. Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt him."

He let Warren go but stayed in his personal space so that Warren had to
remain pinned against the wall. "Your parents are on AO IV, right Jeremy?
They are poor and trying to make a farm work, right?"

Jeremy nodded his head.

"And to make it work they have to have everything okayed by the colonial
government, like having all the right papers and fees paid and all that
stuff, right?"

Jeremy didn't like where this was going. "I guess so."

"And of course you know who the colonial Governor is."

"Yeah."

"Enough said. I just might need a vote of yours in class sometime. And if I
do, just remember, my dad and I are close. Real close. He has taught me all
about leadership. He could make life miserable for your parents if he just
happened to want to."

"We live in a democracy. Even on AO IV. You can't do that."

"It's called power. And I wouldn't risk your parents by trying to find out
whether my father has it or not. Your parents are a long way from here
right now, but I have a long memory. When we get to AO IV, you might just
be real happy you have me as your friend."

Then he turned to back to Warren. "And I know all about your rich
daddy. But all his money doesn't give him power over my dad." He shoved
Warren back up against the wall. Warren felt tears coming on. "There is
another kind of power too. This kind!"  Robert Charles said, and he swung
his fist right at Warren's stomach. Warren flinched and closed his eyes,
but Robert Charles stopped just short of hitting him. Warren could feel the
fist touch him. He was shaking.

"My dad says having the power and knowing when not to use it is the biggest
power of all. Don't cross me and we will be really good friends. Cross me
or vote against me, and you will be very sorry.  I might not hold back next
time. Your friend here will be helpless to stop me and your dad won't be
able to do a thing about it, because my father outranks your father."

"You're the one who hit Ryan and Matthew, aren't you?"

Robert Charles smirked and told Jeremy and Warren they could go.  As they
left the room he said, "Remember who has the power."

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

The Captain started his meeting with his senior staff in the bridge
conference room. He had a lot to discuss. The meeting included him, the
First Officer, the Chief Engineer, the Environmental Engineer, the
Recreational Director, the Purser, both teachers, the Governor, Brandon's
mother, Scooter's father, and Douglas's father. Douglas's father was there
because he was an engineer and the Captain thought he might have some ideas
to add. Brandon's mom was there, too, because she knew so much about life
support and making clean air and water. Robert Charles's father was there
because he was an important person.

The Captain told them that he would report on how the ship was functioning,
and then they would talk about how they would get back home. He told them
that the warp engines checked out okay.  Chief Engineer Paxton said that
whatever sent them running through warp space like they had hadn't hurt the
engines.

"Gordon checked out the warp enhancer and it looks okay."

"Whatever those kids did to it didn't damage it then?" the Captain asked.

Scooter's dad looked at the Captain and said, "One of those kids happens to
be my son.  The other is Larry's. Those kids saved your ship Captain."

"How? By changing its line of flight by almost 90 degrees? By going up
there and punching in numbers, hoping something will happen. Not only were
they irresponsible, Mr. Starr, but so were you by sending them up there to
do it." Everyone could see Captain Fuller was angry.

Scooter's father pounded the table with his fist. "You know the story,
Captain. The phone went out when I was talking to Chief Paxton. I gave
Scooter the code I was sure would work to give to the Chief. There wasn't
time to get hold of you. Scooter went to Engineering to give the numbers to
the Chief. He wasn't sent up there to enter them. The Chief already agreed
to enter the code...."

"That's a lie," Chief Paxton said. "You never gave me any codes, and I
never said I would enter them." Chief Paxton knew that if he said he was
going to enter the codes into the Warp Enhancer without the Captain's
permission he would be subject to disciplinary action. As a result he lied
about what he told Scooter's father.

"Let's discuss this later, gentlemen. I have time set aside for that. Right
now we have to talk about getting home." Captain Fuller was letting
everybody know he was in charge.

He explained that they were a year away from Alpha Orion IV at full warp
speed and that they only had nine months of fuel left at that speed, as
well as nine months of food on restricted rations. While he hadn't exactly
lied to the passengers, he told the staff he had been overly
optimistic. The big issue was the life support. It would function for well
over a year, after nine to ten months the quality of the air and water
would start to deteriorate.  The Environmental Engineer was working with
Brandon's mother to improve the hydroponics and other parts of the system
to make life support more efficient. The ship had been supplied for more
than a single voyage. It had been supplied for a round trip with a cushion
in case of emergency. They might have to cut rations some, but they should
do okay, if they ran the warp enhancer on full to cut their running time
from a year to nine months.

Then he asked Dr. Starr, Scooter's father, how much time and fuel the Warp
Enhancer could save them.

"The warp enhancer uses very little extra fuel. If you use it the way it
was tested, it will save you a month. If you use it in the full setting
like you were when we hit the storm, then it will save you three months,
but you might be a week or two short on fuel."

"Well, each day counts for air and food and fuel. Chief Engineer Paxton
thinks he has found a way to make the enhancer work even better based on
what he learned getting the warp drive and the enhancer set up for this
voyage. Chief, you want to tell us?"

"I found out the Warp Enhancer can be coded to go even faster than we were
going when we hit the storm. Why weren't we ever told about that, Gordon?"

"It was never tested at all. When we had problems with it getting too hot
in the second setting, we decided to find out how it behaved in normal
operation first, before pushing it to higher levels. Our computer
simulations showed that there could be a problem with vibrations in the
warp drive in the third setting as well. There was a lot of pressure to
have the drive ready for use. We figured what had run in test flights was
safe and tested if it were used properly.

"We were going to do more tests at faster speeds when the "Starkeeper"
returned from this voyage and we could operate it for a month without
passengers on board. It's a shame some at fleet headquarters were in a
hurry and we weren't allowed to fully test the enhancer before installing
it on this ship"

"So if we went at the third setting," the Captain asked, "how long would it
take us to get back?"

"If we went at the top speed possible, it would take six months. But I
wouldn't recommend it."

"Why not? That would be the exact right time. Our air and water would still
be fresh and we wouldn't have to ration food. It's perfect."

"But it has never been tested is why I wouldn't recommend it. Also, our
simulations indicate it will use up extra fuel at that speed."

"How much extra?"

Dr. Starr had anticipated the captain's questions and was prepared with the
answers.  "Instead of nine months of fuel you will have six months."

"Exactly right again. I don't see a problem here," the Captain said. "We
had no problem at all with over-heating in the second setting. The
temperature gauge never moved the whole time we were in warp."

"Did you check that? Did you run the computer tapes every day like I
instructed? If you did, I never saw any of the data."

The Captain looked at Chief Paxton. "Well, Chief?"

"I saw them every day. Nothing happened."

"Why wasn't Gordon allowed to look at them? He is on board to make sure the
enhancer works properly."

"Everything was normal, so there was nothing to show. We checked the
printouts every day."

"Do you know the code for the top speed?" the Captain asked Gordon Starr.

"Yes."

"Then let me tell you this. We are going to set the enhancer for top
speed. Chief, you will show Gordon the tapes twice a day no matter how
perfect they look. Is that clear?"

"Yes, sir." Chief Paxton was not happy. He had little use for Gordon Starr,
PhD, and his interference with his job.

Scooter's father spoke up. "Captain, I just want to say that I disagree
with you again.  Tapes or no tapes the Warp Enhancer has never been tested
at that speed. We have enough food, water, fuel, and air to make it in the
second position if we are careful. Why risk everybody's life for this?"

"Because it cuts our time in half. Because we are where nobody has been
before. Because I plan on getting everybody back quickly and safely. And I
mean safely. We won't have to take a year—we won't even have to take
nine months. That's all for now. Dr. Starr, Dr.  Daniels, I want you to be
back here at fourteen hundred hours with your sons. Number One, I want you
here too."

Captain Fuller got up and left the room and everybody else followed.

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

Ryan and Travis lay in Ryan's bed together. Travis had just made love to
Ryan and they were both still glowing from the sex.

"I love you, Ryan. You are so sweet and so special."

"I love you, Travis. I'm so glad you will be with me when we get back. I'll
tell you this.  I'm almost not sorry this trip will take a year. I'm in no
hurry to see my parents. I don't like them and they don't like me."

Travis kissed Ryan and stroked him gently. "I'm sorry my love. I will
always be here for you.  You know that."

The boys hugged tightly on the bed and fell asleep.

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

The usual group of eight sat together at lunch. Ryan and Travis were fully
awake and hungry. When Warren and Jeremy came in, Alex invited them to sit
at the table next to them, but they went to another table. They talked
about the two meetings planned for after lunch. Mike was going to meet with
Matthew, and Scooter and Douglas were going to be meeting with the
Captain. One meeting was a mystery and the other could be trouble.

"At least some of us will be helping to clean the classrooms," Alex
snickered.

Matthew came into the room alone. He walked over to the table and stood
next to Mike.

"Jordan and Robert Charles and the girls are in dining room two. I told
them I wasn't feeling good.  Did you get my note?"

"Yes, I did," Mike said. "Want to meet in my cabin in fifteen minutes?"

"Alone?"

"Well, yeah. Unless you want somebody else there with you?"

"No. It's okay." Matthew teetered back and forth on his two feet; he was
his usual quiet and shy self . "I'll see you then." He turned and walked
away.

In a few minutes, everybody except Jeremy and Warren, was finished with
lunch and left the dining room.

Matthew walked back to the other dining hall and room with Robert Charles
and Jordan.  Jordan asked him if he was feeling better.

"Not really. I'm going to go lie down."

"You know you're supposed to be helping clean the classroom," Jordan said
in a surprisingly calm voice.

Matthew shrugged and left. Jordan looked at Robert Charles who nodded, and
then got up and followed Matthew.

Matthew headed straight to Mike's cabin. Jordan waited for Matthew to turn
corners and then he would follow him to the next corner until he finally
lost him. He knew Matthew had gone to a cabin located in that corridor. He
decided he would look at the chart in his dad's room and find out whose
cabin was there.

Matthew was scared when Mike let him into the cabin. Brad was gone to a
lounge so Matthew would be alone with Mike. Matthew was still somewhat
leery of Mike, but he had to tell somebody what he knew, and Mike had kept
saying he would be there for him.

Mike told Matthew to sit down and asked him if he wanted something to
drink. Matthew was so nervous his mouth was dry. He ended up asking for a
soda and Mike got one for each of them. Matthew sat the couch with Mike
sitting on a chair across from him.

"Okay buddy, what's on your mind?" Mike smiled.

Matthew was shaking. He felt like he wanted to cry. He knew for sure from
how Mike was acting that Mike wasn't the person who attacked him. He knew
he could trust him, but he was afraid of Jordan and Robert Charles finding
out he was talking to Mike.

"You know...," he started, but he couldn't finish as he started
bawling. Mike got up and sat next to the little boy on the couch, put his
arm around him and hugged him tightly.

"Don't worry, Matthew. You're safe here with me. Nobody is going to hurt
you. I'm your friend and I will protect you, I promise."

Matthew just laid his head against Mike and sobbed. Mike could feel his
shirt get damp from the young boy's tears. Matthew let out all the hurt he
had inside since the voyage began.  He lay against Mike and shook. Mike
just hugged him and stroked his back and face and hair and told him it was
all okay. When Matthew finally calmed down and could breathe normally, Mike
gently asked him to tell him what was bothering him.

"I'm sorry," Matthew said instead of answering Mike's request.

"For what?" Mike asked gently.

"For being such a baby and crying all the time. My mom and dad hate me for
it and Lisa calls me a baby and everybody tells me to grow up. I'm sorry,
I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."  Matthew felt himself ready to break down again.

"It's okay. Everybody cries sometimes, even if they won't admit it." Mike
didn't know if that was true, but it sounded good.

Matthew finally managed to gain some control of himself. He took a deep
breath and started to tell Mike what he wanted to talk about." You know
how...how RC is like our leader?"

"Yes, unfortunately."

"Well...he...he...he didn't really win the election."

Mike stared at Matthew, not sure if he heard him right. "You want to say
that again?"

"The votes. They were fake."

"But I marked a ballot. Mr. Z collected all of them. How could they be
fake? And how do you know this?"

Matthew was getting nervous. He was feeling like Mike wasn't believing him.

"They switched them. I heard Robert Charles and Jordan and Lisa talk about
it."

"Who switched them?"

Matthew sat there quietly. He felt tears coming again. This wasn't working
at all; Mike wasn't believing him.

Mike hugged him again. He knew what Matthew was thinking. "Hey, little bro,
don't cry.  I believe you. I just have to make sure I have all of the
facts. This is very weird news."  Matthew battled a couple of sobs. He
couldn't stop his tears, but he was able to control his sobbing. Without
thinking, Mike kissed the young boy's wet cheek. Matthew leaned against
Mike again and smiled. Every minute he knew that the big kid next to him
who called him little bro would never hurt him

"Little bro." Matthew liked that. Suddenly he wasn't feeling so lonely.

Mike kept his arm draped around Matthew. "Who switched them?" he said
quietly.

"The RD."

Mike remembered the RD coming in with a lot of papers after the election
that day. He wondered what happened to the original ballots if they were
switched.

"So that means Douglas actually won the election?"

"I dunno."

"Because nobody ever counted the original ballots?"

"I guess."

Mike kept holding on to Matthew, kneading his shoulder as Matthew continued
to lean against him. Mike was thinking what he should do next.

"Please don't tell anybody I told you. Robert Charles will kill me if he
found out and so will Jordan."

"Remember, I promised you nobody will hurt you. That means nobody. But I
think we should tell Douglas."

"Please....no."

"Listen. You can trust Douglas. Totally. You can trust my whole group.  At
least eight of us."

"Who?"

"Me. Douglas. Alex and Stevie. Brandon, Ryan, Travis, and Scooter."

"What about Jeremy and Warren?"

"We're not sure about them. They haven't really taken to our group. We
think they are tight with RC. But I think they should be there."

"Your group needs a name."

"You're right. Good idea. Do you have an idea for one?"

Matthew thought a second. "The eight balls?"

Mike started laughing. Matthew was hurt at first, then he could tell Mike
wasn't laughing at him, and he started laughing too. Pretty soon Mike was
tickling Matthew and he was laughing harder.  They both laughed until they
were crying.

"Hey, are you crying again?"

"Yeah," Matthew giggled. "But so are you." Mike tickled him some more until
they both got tired of it. Then they sat quietly on the couch. Matthew was
leaning his head against Mike, thinking how safe he felt.

"Okay, little bro, I think we just tell Douglas to start and go from
there."

"Okay," Matthew said. "I trust you." He turned and hugged Mike so tightly
he almost squeezed the air out of him. "Big bro," he whispered happily.

Mike squeezed Matthew back. "Let's go see if Douglas is finished with his
meeting."

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

 Douglas and Scooter sat at the table in the bridge conference room feeling
lost. Their fathers, the Chief, the Purser, and the Captain were also
sitting around the table in the conference room, with the Captain at the
bulkhead end of the table. They were waiting for the First Officer to
arrive. The Captain's communicator buzzed with a call from the First
Officer.

"Sorry I am late sir. I have to help solve a problem in Engineering. If you
could get Lt.  Jones to sit in I will get there as soon as I can."
Lt. Jones was one of the Second Officers.

"Is it a serious problem, Number One?" The Captain asked.

"No, just a something I need to check out and it's taking longer than I
thought. Tell the Chief it doesn't affect his equipment directly and is
nothing to worry about. I'll be right there."

"Acknowledged, Number One." The Captain radioed Lt. Jones, who arrived in
the conference room a few minutes later.

The Captain began the hearing. He told both boys and their fathers what
their rights were.  He was accusing Douglas and Scooter of putting the
ship, crew, and passengers in deadly danger.  He said that this was a very
serious charge and it could keep them locked up not only for the rest of
the voyage, but also after they reached Alpha Orion IV. He told them that
the three crew members would vote on whether they were guilty or innocent
of the charge after the hearing was over. The ship's rules said the First
Officer, the Purser, and the Chief Engineer were supposed to be the voters,
but an officer could have a proxy sit in for him.  Lt.  Jones was sitting
in for the First Officer.

Next the Captain read the specific charges. "Entering the crew only area
without permission. Entering a secure area (Engineering) without
permission. Endangering the ship by entering a code that caused the ship to
make a sudden change in direction, causing considerable damage to the ship,
injuring numerous passengers and crew, causing three fatalities, and
causing the `Starkeeper' to wind up light years off course".  He asked them
if they were guilty or not guilty.

Both boys said very loudly, "Not guilty."

The Second Engineer then testified how the boys got into Engineering. Then
he told the Captain and the panel how they entered the code into the warp
enhancer that resulted in sending the ship into an uncontrolled spin.

Scooter's father testified next. He related his talk with Chief Paxton and
how he knew the codes would work to slow the ship down in increments. He
said Chief Paxton agreed to enter the codes, but the phone went dead when
he started giving him the code and he had no crew communicator to restart a
connection. He also said that all the codes were six digits, and that he
wanted everybody to understand entering five digits or less wouldn't do
anything.

Then it was the boys' turn. They both told how the ship did the wild spin
before they put the sixth digit in, that they entered at the last second
before slipping down the landing.  They didn't testify that Scooter had no
idea what digit entered last. Since warp enhancer didn't explode, they
figured it must have been the right digit.

Next the Second Engineer gave his rebuttal. He said that the ship probably
slowed on its own because it was kicked out of the storm by the wild ride,
not because of the actions of the two boys. He offered his opinion that
there was no excuse for what the two boys did.  He said they definitely
weren't heroes and should be punished and that they were all lucky to be
alive. This brought an objection from Larry Daniels as being the officer's
opinion, and was not based on fact.

Douglas's father then talked about how both boys were good kids with
excellent records and backgrounds. He said they would never do anything to
endanger anyone and were doing what they were told to do to save the ship.

The Captain finished by saying there was no evidence the two boys slowed
them down and brought them out of danger. Every bit of evidence indicated
that the code numbers they put in got them into mortal danger.  He then
told the three officers to vote. They left to confer on their verdict. The
Captain followed them, saying he would return when they came back with
their verdict.

The officers were back in ten minutes and radioed the Captain that they had
a verdict.

"Have you reached a verdict?" he asked when he returned to his seat, even
though he already knew the answer.

"Yes, Sir, we have," the Chief Engineer replied.

"What did you decide?"

"On the charges of endangering the ship we find both boys guilty. We
decided this charge is so serious that the rest of the charges should be
dropped since they mean nothing."

Scooter, Douglas, and their fathers sat there stunned. Both boys felt like
crying, but they sat there quietly and bravely. They felt like they had
been slugged.

The Captain told them that they had been found guilty of very serious
charges. The smaller charges were dropped, but they were old enough to get
the full punishment for the most serious one.  He asked both boys to stand
up.  He asked them if they understood that only luck had kept them from
destroying his ship.

They said they understood, although deep inside they knew better. Scooter's
father had gone through the entire scenario with them and he had no doubt
that the boys had saved the ship.

"Gentlemen, I am going to sentence you both to...," but before he could
finish the First Officer came in with the Second Engineer.

"Sir. I'm sorry for interrupting, but before you say anything else we think
you should see this."

Another crewman rolled in a monitor and a vid machine and First Officer
Benson inserted a disk.

"Number One, may I ask what is going on?"

"Sir, everybody is quick to blame these two young boys for the violent dip
the ship took and for us being light years off course. I understand these
boys were just found guilty of doing something that they never did."  As
soon as he said that everybody started talking at once and the Captain
barked for order.

"Do you mind explaining that, Number One?"

"Watch this vid. We put the read out of the warp enhancer next to the
readout of the ship's recorder. We had the computer synchronize them to a
ten-thousandth of a second.  Watch closely."

Scooter's father was fascinated. He had thought about this. He knew the
synchronization could be done, but the Captain and the Chief Engineer said
only a research ship like Scooter's father used to test the warp enhancer
had the capability.

The First Officer started playing the vid. All Scooter and Douglas saw were
shapes and numbers, but they meant something to the officers and to
Scooter's father. The First Officer explained it so the rest could
understand it.

"This shows the ship is going way beyond normal warp speed. It also shows
that it had left the storm a long time ago, only nobody knew it because the
ship was already out of control.  But the ride was still rough because of
the incredible speed at which we were traveling. Now, right here things
start getting worse.  Whatever kind of space we entered into is not a
smooth place like warp space is outside of a rare storm. Right here you see
the code numbers going in. 7 1 3. The ship shakes very hard at this
point. The energy emanating from the warp enhancer is incredible. Now in
goes 8, then 5. Those lines show the sudden dip the violent spinning
caused. We all know it takes six digits to enter a code, so the five digits
the boys entered had no effect so far. The ship dips and is totally out of
control and the sixth digit has not yet been entered. At this point the
"Starkeeper" is probably five to ten minutes from breaking apart.

"Check out the third column of numbers. The stress on the ship is already
more than it was built for. Now the 7 goes in. The code is entered, AFTER
the dip and after the spinning starts. The rest of this readout shows that
even though the ride is still very rough after the last digit of the code
is entered, the speed of the ship and the stress on the ship go down until
we finally can regain control. Entering the sixth digit started the ship
back to normal operation.

"Captain, these boys don't deserve punishment. They should be given a medal
for saving this ship and everybody on it." He sat down.

Captain Fuller didn't look happy. He didn't like having his First Officer
make him look like a fool, but there was nothing he could do.

"There will be no medals," he told the boys with a steely glare. "All the
charges are dropped, but I will not make heroes of you two. I don't ever
want somebody else thinking they can run around playing hero on my
ship. Number One, I want to see you in my office. You are all dismissed."

The Captain got up to leave, but Scooter's father stopped him. "Captain
Fuller I just want to say this. You didn't even have the courtesy to
apologize to those boys. They saved your ship and your life and you treat
them like little hoodlums. Those boys are heroes and you know it.

"I've served on research ships, exploration ships, science ships, and here
on a great passenger liner. I know that some ship has to have the worst
Captain in the entire fleet.  Well, Sir, with all due respect, I think I'm
talking to him right now." Scooter's father put his arm around Scooter's
shoulder. "I'm proud of my son. I'm proud of his friend Douglas." Douglas
was being hugged by his smiling father. "I'm proud of what they did.  It
took amazing courage for these two brave young boys to do what they did on
a ship that was ready to fly apart. I heard no apology and no thank you."

The Captain glared at him. "Do you have anything else, Dr. Starr?

"No, Sir. I think I've had my say."

"Very well. I want the new code given to the Chief. Dismissed."

The Captain stomped out angrily. First Officer Benson started to follow
him. Scooter stopped him and shook his hand, as did Gordon Starr. Douglas
and his father did the same thing.

"Thank you, Sir," Douglas said.

"I didn't do anything but make sure we found out the truth, son. I didn't
think this ship just slowed down on its own accord because the weather got
better. Scott's father is right.  You two are heroes. I'm honored to have
helped you. I'd be honored to have you serve on my ship when I receive a
command."  Then he walked out too.

The boys and their fathers left the room. "Boys," Larry Daniels said, "you
never heard this. Captain Fuller is an asshole. First Officer Benson is the
kind of man I'm used to seeing as captain. He will make a great commanding
officer. I hope this didn't get him into bad trouble. Captain Fuller wasn't
very happy with him."

When Douglas got to his cabin he received hugs from his mother and father,
who told him how proud they were of him and how proud they were of Scooter.

Douglas went into his room and saw the message light flashing. He had a
message from Mike telling Douglas to meet him right away.

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

A half hour later Douglas was in Mike's room meeting with him and
Matthew. First he told them the result of the hearing. Mike was amazed how
the First Officer, who had been so quick to punish him, worked so hard to
prove Douglas and Scooter's innocence.

Douglas then listened to Matthew tell his story. This time Matthew told it
with a lot more confidence. His big brother was hugging him and telling him
it was safe. When he finished Douglas shook his head in disbelief.  The big
high he had been on after the hearing was tumbling down.

"What do you think we should do?" Mike asked him.

Douglas thought a bit and then said, "Whatever we do has to be with
Matthew's approval.  He took a big risk telling us this and we don't need
him hurt. He trusted us to do the right thing."

"I agree and I knew you would say that." He gave Matthew a squeeze.

"Matthew, I think we need to do two things, but only if you say yes."

"Okay," the young boy whispered.

"First, we tell the rest of the group, and by that I mean Alex, Stevie,
Scooter, Travis, Ryan, and Brandon. I trust them all totally. Is that okay
with you?" Douglas asked.

Matthew nodded yes.

Mike added that he thought Warren and Jeremy should be there even if they
didn't totally trust them. Douglas wasn't so willing to trust them, but
Matthew said he was okay with them being told. They all agreed they would
be real careful before saying anything.

"Second, we tell one of the only two crew members we can trust. We tell
Marie."

"No," Mike said forcefully. "She didn't back us in the lounge when RC took
credit for everything.

"Who was she going to tell?" Douglas asked. "Everybody thinks RC is like
God or something and never does anything wrong. We didn't know about First
Officer Benson, and I bet she didn't either."

Matthew agreed they could include Marie.

"I also think you shouldn't be at the meeting. Right now you have to watch
out for Robert Charles. Matthew, don't let them bully you. We're going to
meet tonight and we will stand behind you.  But you know you could be
attacked. It happened before and it could happen again, and it wasn't by
Mike.  But we are your friends. Don't forget that."

"I won't."

"You were really brave to tell us."

"You were brave to save the ship," Matthew said modestly.

"You might have been ever braver."

"And don't forget that I am your brother," Mike added, and he kissed
Matthew on his smooth cheek.

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

Just before dinner Robert Charles saw Matthew in a main corridor.

"I heard you went visiting today. And here I thought you weren't feeling
good. I heard you were visiting Mike, the kid who left you bloody on the
floor."

Matthew's heart started thumping. "Who told you?"

"A little birdie?"

"Mike?"

Robert Charles laughed. "That's for me to know and you to find out." He
pinned Matthew against the wall. "Just remember this, little boy. Don't
cross your friends or you will be very sorry. And don't trust any of those
guys. They will turn on you for no reason at all.  Offer those fags a nice
BJ and they will turn on their mothers." He laughed again and walked away.

Matthew fought off tears. Mike was his brother; he had told him so. Mike
would never turn on him.  But how did Robert Charles know he visited Mike?
Just when he thought he had everything figured out, he was all confused
again.

Robert Charles looked up Warren and Jeremy. "Where are you guys off to?" he
asked them.

"Um...the...the games room" Jeremy stuttered.

"Oh? Nobody else seems to be there. In fact you aren't even going in the
right direction."

"Well, some of us are meeting in a cabin to play games."

"A big meeting, huh? I don't seem to have been invited. Well, I want a full
report. And I mean full." He grabbed Warren's shirt. "Understand?"

Warren nodded yes. Then Robert Charles turned to Jeremy. "And don't forget
how much your parents love their farm." He walked away.

That night after dinner the boys all met in Alex and Stevie's cabin. Alex
and Stevie were both naked as usual when everybody arrived. Nobody but Mike
and Douglas knew what the meeting was about. They didn't want Robert
Charles and Jordan suspecting too much.

Alex and Stevie told everybody coming in they should undress; birthday
suits were the accepted clothing in their cabin. Everybody was happy to,
and nobody seemed to care when a couple of boners were popped. The last two
to get there were Warren and Jeremy.  They both stopped when they saw the
room full of naked boys, some of them with boners.

"Do we have to get undressed?" Warren asked.

"Only if you want to," Alex said. "But birthday suits are the preferred
clothing here."

Jeremy loved it and started unbuckling his pants. Warren didn't move, so
Jeremy stopped.  He buckled back up and sat on the floor with
Warren. Warren is coming along, he thought, but he has a long way to go.

"Douglas brought us here to discuss some news he heard today," Alex
said. "But first, I want to say with all of us here how glad we all are
that somebody on this ship from hell appreciates what Douglas and Scooter
did to save us. You know we thought you were heroes, and now everybody
knows it." Douglas and Scooter got cheers and applause from the rest of the
boys and both of them blushed with embarrassment. "I know some of us have
had run ins with Commander Benson, but all I can say is, the man rocks big
time."

"We did what we were told to do," Douglas said. "If that makes us heroes
then we're heroes."  Douglas looked at Scooter. "And I love my hero." He
gave his lover a big kiss.

"Well, Douglas. What is this all about?"

Douglas was one of the boys with a boner. But he started getting serious,
and everybody could see his dick get soft. Scooter loved watching it move.

"First, I have to ask Warren and Jeremy something."

"And what would that be?" Jeremy asked.

"What I have to say is not going to go over well with our leader, Mr. RC. I
know you're not a big fan of mine, Jeremy, but I think you and Warren
should know what I am going to say. What I need to know is, can we trust
you to keep everything that is said tonight completely secret?"

Now Jeremy had to think. If we stay, and tell Robert Charles, then we can
never be trusted by the boys I like most. If we leave, then they will know
that for some reason we might tell Robert Charles what is going on, but
maybe we can keep their trust. He tried to figure out the best way to say
it.

"Warren and I like all of you, even if we're still dressed. We want to stay
your friends, so I think we better leave."

"What? Why?" Warren asked.

"I'll tell you. Just get up and we'll go." He looked at the group of naked
boys. He was so hard and wanted to get naked with them so bad. He didn't
even try to hide his tent.

"We're sorry we have to go, but I think this is best." He grabbed Warren's
arm and led him out of the door.

"What was that all about?" Travis asked.

"I think Jeremy was telling us that RC has some kind of hold over them, but
that we could trust them. In other words, he can't tell RC what he doesn't
know," Douglas replied.

They asked Douglas to start again.

He turned things over to Mike first. Mike told him about his meeting with
Matthew and how Matthew told him the election was rigged. Then Douglas told
them what he told Matthew, about telling the group and telling Marie.

"Okay, you told us," Alex said. "Now what?"

"We tell Marie. I think we can trust her. After that we wait and see. But
if RC did cheat, then I think we need to have a new election. We need to
have somebody neutral count the ballots. We're going to be together for
more than a few weeks now, and suddenly this election is very important. If
RC wins that one, at least we know we deserve to get pissed on."

Everybody laughed at that, because that was how they were beginning to
feel. But they agreed that the next step was for Douglas to tell
Marie. They also agreed they would protect Matthew at any cost. And they
agreed they were totally pissed off at Robert Charles and his group.

"Now, I have something to say," Alex said. "At the concert I did for Mike
we all gave our love for each other. I think we are a very special group, a
star cluster on this ship. If we all stick together, nobody can defeat
us. I love you all."

The boys traded kisses and hugs. They all had erections and were proud of
them."  .

"This room is so full of love I can't believe it," Mike gushed. "I love you
all."

Nobody argued.  When it was time to dress and leave they were all kind of
sad.

"Hey guys," Douglas said.  "Next time, let's spend the night here naked and
have, well, let's have an orgy.  If it's okay with Alex and Stevie that
is."

"Oh hell yeah.  Let's do it next week. It will be the first of many. Hell,
if we can get our instruments we can have a nude dance followed by an orgy
sometime. We're going to be together on this tub for a long time, so we
might as well party."

Once again, nobody argued.

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

The Engineering crew was getting the warp enhancer ready to engage.
Scooter's father was checking everything out before entering the super
speed code. This had nothing to do with what way the enhancer was
installed. It would be installed in the same direction that position two
was, but the entry of the code would push things to a new level.

One of the things he did was enter into the Engineering log that he was
against using position three, but had been ordered to.  While he was
getting the enhancer ready he noticed a broken connection.  He picked up
the frayed end and studied it.  It was the connection that fed the
temperature gauge readings to the computer.  No wonder all the readouts
looked so good, he thought, the temperature readouts were never recorded.
He showed it to Chief Paxton and said the Captain should be told.

The Chief agreed and called the Captain.  They talked awhile.  The Captain
decided that since they needed to get back as fast as possible and since
there was no evidence the temperature ever went up that they would go ahead
and enter the code.

Scooter's father argued that there was also no evidence that the
temperature hadn't gone up.  At the speed they had been going there was a
good chance it might have been overheating. He suggested they travel with
the warp enhancer in position two until they could gather more information.
The Captain asked Dr. Starr if he saw any evidence that indicated the
enhancer had overheated.  Dr. Starr said he didn't, but he would need to
take it apart to thoroughly check it out.

"How long will it take?" The Captain asked.

"Two to three weeks to be sure."

"We don't have two to three weeks.  It's worked fine.  Put the code in."

"At this point I have to refuse to do that, Captain."

"I'm giving you a direct order, Mr. Starr."

"I'm a consultant, sir, not a member of your crew.  You can't order me to
do something that is unsafe."

"Chief Paxton, has Dr. Starr given you the code yet."

"Not yet, Sir."  He picked up a notebook off of a work table.  "But I know
it is in here, and I know which page it's on."

"Fine, then put the code in.  We don't need our consultant.  If his
thirteen-year-old son can do the codes on that gadget, I think we can
handle it just fine.  You can leave engineering now, Mr. Starr.  If it
starts to overheat, we can back it out to the second position, correct
Chief?"

"Aye sir, we can do that."

"We will return your notebook when we're finished with it."

Scooter's father started to leave, then stopped to say something.  "Captain
Fuller, when I said you might just be the worst Captain in the fleet, I was
giving you a compliment.  You are without a doubt not only the worst
Captain in the fleet, you might just be the worst one in the history of the
fleet.  Putting that code in without giving the warp enhancer a thorough
check-up is totally irresponsible."

"I've heard enough.  You can leave.  Put the code in, Chief."

Gordon Starr left Engineering for the last time feeling a sense of doom. He
had the feeling that the warp storm was going to be nothing compared to
what could happen if the warp enhancer overheated. He had the distinct
feeling that would happen faster than they could enter the code to take it
out of position three.

The night found very few boys alone.  Matthew was one of them, even though
Jordan had invited him to his cabin.  Jordan was alone, drinking more of
his dad's booze, working to get drunk.

Robert Charles had talked Lisa into sleeping with him. Lisa's parents
thought she was at Carmen's spending the night. They had done everything
but intercourse, and now for the first time since he turned fourteen,
Robert Charles was sleeping naked with a girl.  They made out heavily and
he shot his load twice, but they didn't go all the way. His father was in
his own room. Robert Charles was certain his father was proud of him that
night.

Scooter and Douglas were in bed together at Scooter's. Warren and Jeremy
were sleeping in Warren's bed.  They had a good rub off after Jeremy told
Warren why they left Alex's room.  Brandon was in Stevie's bed with Stevie,
and Alex was in Mike's bed with Mike.  The boys were hungry for their
lovers.

They were all still asleep when they felt the ship slide into warp space.
Everybody but Gordon Starr was happy.  The feelings of entering warp meant
they were starting the long voyage home. Gordon Starr was very afraid that
they wouldn't arrive at their destination.

Next: Helpers and Leaders


Comments are welcomed.  E-mail me at TheHakaanen@Hotmail.com. Douglas DD