Mapping The Stars

This story involves explicit sexual contact between males of varying ages. The usual disclaimers and warnings apply.

Hey everyone, if you're familiar with my writing you'll notice that his is not one of my usual works. That's because this story is a commission. Thank you very much to Chris for allowing me to bring his world to life. If you've got ideas that you'd like to see made into a story then please contact me at purplejubilee17@gmail.com or at patreon.com/purplejubilee.

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Thank you! <3 PurpleJubilee

Mapping the Stars Chapter 1

"T-minus fifteen minutes until docking with Hive 704." The digital voice spoke through the terminals.

Leo was practically jumping up and down with excitement as he watched the monitor bring up an image of the Hive they were fast approaching.

"Go make sure the reports are ready." Chase ordered from behind the controls of the ship.

"Whyy?" Leo whined in a baby-voice. "I wanna watch." He had always enjoyed seeing their ship link up with the Hives that orbited around friendly planets.

Chase reached over and gave Leo a swat on his bare backside. Not hard enough to hurt the small boy, but enough to make him squeak and give the big man a glare. "Because I said so." Chase commanded.

Leo's glare quickly melted away to a sultry smile. Nudism was common practice in space for most scouting crews unless specific protective equipment was necessary. Leo particularly enjoyed being naked because of the freedom of motion it allowed, and because of the way the cool air seemed to caress his skin. But he liked it even more for moments like this, when he felt Chase's hand on him and heard his `take-charge' voice. Something about the confidence and authority of it made Leo's boy bits twitch.

He left the cockpit to do as he was told but made sure put a subtle swing in his hips as he walked so Chase could enjoy watching him go. As he entered the main common-room of the ship, he found Blake tinkering with their VR gear.

"What are you doing?" Leo asked curiously.

Blake barely looked up from his work as he responded. "Improving the neural sensory connection. It's been a bit spotty."

Like Chase, Blake looked almost exactly like an older version of Leo, although not as much older. Being grown from the same DNA would do that of course.

"We're docking in 15." Leo informed his `brother'.

Setting down the equipment he was working on, Blake looked up, taking in Leo's nakedness. "So, Chase probably told you to get ready." The older boy worked out.

Leo nodded. The other reason he liked being naked was the way both Chase and Blake's heads turned when he entered the room. He enjoyed teasing them. But he also enjoyed when they decided to give him what a tease deserved.

"15 minutes huh?" Blake thought out loud. "Probably enough time. Get over here."

Leo's sultry smile returned, and he bit his lip innocently. Being the youngest, he was constantly being ordered around by the other two. But Leo preferred it that way. Chase and Blake were in charge. All he had to do was everything they said. His bare feet padded across the soft carpeting to where Blake sat.

The older boy put his hands around Leo's slender waist and pulled him in close to sit on his lap. Blake was almost a foot taller than Leo, with Chase almost another foot taller than him. It made Leo feel very tiny indeed. Especially when one of them felt like getting rough.

He settled into the other boy's lap and looked up into Blake's big green eyes, almost like mirrors of his own. Leo stretched his neck out as much as he could, indicating that he wanted a kiss.

Blake gave a soft chuckle before bending slightly to put his lips to Leo's tenderly. Leo whined happily, practically melting against Blake's body and feeling his well-toned abs. The skin-to-skin contact felt so good.

Blake slipped his tongue into the little boy's mouth as his hands caressed the smooth body in his lap. Leo moaned louder as he surrendered himself completely. The make-out session couldn't last however. They were on the clock.

Slowly, Blake pushed Leo off his lap and down to his knees on the floor in front of him. Leo quickly found the object of his desire between Blake's legs. In the time they had spent together aboard the ship, Leo had become very familiar with the cocks of his two older counterparts. So much so that he considered pleasuring them to be at least as important a part of his duties as his stated mission. They used him, sometimes from both ends at once, and Leo delighted in being used.

The small boy wasted no time. He knew that if he really wanted to, he could have Blake shooting in his mouth in a matter of just a few minutes, but he wanted to prolong it just a little bit, even though they did not have long. Few things gave Leo as much pleasure as staring into Blake's or Chase's eyes while he hungrily devoured their cocks and drank their seed.

"Mmm, good boy..." Blake moaned as Leo wrapped his lips around the tip of the head.

Blake was well-endowed, but Chase definitely had him beat. Leo didn't mind though, he loved tasting them both. His own much tinier dick would stand at full attention even at the thought of servicing the older two.

Leo felt the familiar warmth of it in his mouth as his head filled with the bliss that only came from doing what he loved. Blake's hands moved to the back of his head, pushing more of it into his eager mouth. Leo had to stretch his little mouth wide open to let the big cock in, but he had learned over time to relax his throat muscles so that he rarely gagged as much as he used to. He had even come to enjoy how it felt having the long member lodged deep in his throat, well past his tonsils. He also knew that Blake, and especially Chase, loved seeing the bulge of it moving inside him.

Obeying the pressure from Blake's hands in his hair, Leo opened his throat and allowed Blake to push him all the way down on the throbbing dick until Blake's balls rested against Leo's chin.

"Look at me." Blake ordered, tenderly stroking Leo's hair with one hand but keeping him pinned down on the long dick with the other. Leo complied, locking eyes with his older counterpart obediently. This was where he began to struggle. When Blake or Chase kept him in place on their cock for too long, he often began to choke or run out of breath.

"Good boy." Blake encouraged, finally letting Leo off the hook.

After getting a deep breath, Leo diligently went back to work on the drool-covered dick. Not forgetting to give gentle attention to Blake's balls as well. He licked from base to tip, already tasting the precum there that meant his reward was on its way.

The way that Blake lovingly and gently stroked and fondled him while at the same time being demanding and forceful with his orders made Leo's little head spin with ecstasy. It was the best of both worlds.

Taking control of Leo's head with one hand, Blake began to pump his mouth up and down, thrusting his hips gently in time. Leo swirled his tongue around the tip every time Blake pulled him back, then opened his throat when he shoved it all the way in. His own little dick was rock hard from the eroticism, but he resisted touching himself.

Gradually, Blake's thrusts became faster and more forceful as he grunted with desire. Leo could feel it building and could hardly wait for what he knew was coming. He locked eyes with his genetic twin and silently begged for it as Blake reached the point of no return.

The stiff cock pulsed and fired a warm load into Leo's waiting mouth as Blake shuddered and moaned. More and more shot out and Leo's eyes closed in ecstasy as he felt it coating his throat. He swallowed eagerly, and continually licked the tip for more.

Blake held in place for a while until he couldn't stand it anymore. He hooked his hands under Leo's arms and pulled him back up to his lap. Kissing Leo passionately, Blake pinched Leo's nipples and fondled his dick. The small boy whimpered, and his body contorted in pleasure. It didn't take long for his dry orgasm to rock over him like a wave. He convulsed in Blake's lap as Blake continued to stroke him gently, slowing gradually as the tremors stopped.

"Good job..." Blake spoke quietly with a mischievous smile. Leo returned the coy grin before looking away. Blake kissed him again gently and brushed his hair back for him before setting him on his feet once more. "Now go finish getting ready to dock."

The docking process was a very precise one that was almost like a dance between the smaller ships and the larger Hive. Chase guided their ship in expertly in time with the Hive's rotation until they were close enough for the Hive's magnetic arms to catch them. Although it was a very gentle catch, it was still a bit jarring from inside the ship as the heavy metal pads clamped shut on their hull. As the Hive did the rest of the work, an automated voice came through their speakers.

"Scout ship 381 docked with Hive 704. Crews please exit the bridge and prepare for decontamination."

Chase emerged from the cockpit and sealed the door behind him. When a ship docked with a Hive, the cockpit folded down to allow their common area and cabins to almost become part of the Hive. Once the decontamination finished, the door that used to lead to the cockpit would open, along with a portion of the wall, to create an open and inviting space with the rest of the larger station. The other scout ships were designed the same way, which meant that when the Hives were well-populated, there were several avenues lined with open and inviting common areas belonging to different scouting crews.

This was part of the reason why Leo enjoyed visiting the Hives so much. For him, it was basically like vacation time. He knew that for Chase there was important work to do sometimes, but even he got to take some much-needed time off while they were docked at a Hive.

It was always best when there were lots of other scouting crews aboard the Hives. That meant more new people to meet, and new `fun' to be had. Leo particularly liked participating in the wrestling events that were sometimes hosted. He usually lost, but that was ok. These sorts of wrestling events were the kind where the winner mounted the loser, and Leo was definitely alright with that.

Chase and Blake enjoyed watching Leo getting dominated by other boys his age almost as much as they enjoyed dominating him themselves.

Blake always received quite a lot of attention both from the younger crew members and the older ones. They had been very lucky in their DNA roll. Even though only the best genetics had been used when creating the scouting crews, their strain, number 91, had been a very good stock. This meant that Blake, a lean and confident teen, could only be described as stunningly handsome.

Sometimes, Leo couldn't help but be jealous. He knew that he was cute. Some might even say irresistible. But once in a while he found himself envying Blake's perfect abs and youthful yet strong muscles. Then of course there was Chase. Broad shouldered and powerful. He was everything a little boy like Leo could dream of. Blake exuded confidence, but Chase was never afraid to take him down a peg or two when he wanted to use him. Sometimes he even preferred to watch Leo fuck Blake for his amusement.

This power dynamic worked well for the three of them and helped them to be an effective team. On the Hive however, things were much more fluid. Poor Leo would often find himself instinctively following the orders of anyone attractive enough and dominant enough to give them. Blake had to keep half an eye on him sometimes to prevent him from getting hurt in an overenthusiastic gang bang.

This didn't mean Leo couldn't have his fun though. He would tease all the men and boys on the Hive to the breaking point. Sometimes Blake or Chase would be there to intervene, and sometimes they wouldn't. Those times, Leo would end up limping home, leaking from both ends, only to go and do the same thing when he had recovered.

Chase had warned them that they were only going to be there for two days. This announcement had come as a disappointment to Leo but also to Blake as well. Blake enjoyed a different kind of game from Leo. He preferred the game of slow seduction. He would pick one member of another scouting crew. Sometimes younger, sometimes older, and sometimes the middle like himself. When he found his target, he would start his mind games. One moment he would give them the sweetest attention, then the next he would be aloof and hard to get. The constant mystery would drive them wild and in a matter of days Blake would have them wrapped around his finger. The two day stay meant that he would have to play his game quickly for, in his mind, a lesser payout.

On the other hand, Chase was more practical about his needs. When he was in the mood, he would simply select one of the boys, usually Leo or Blake, and bend them over for his pleasure. Sometimes he took his pick from one of the other boys on the Hives too, but in generally he preferred the two he was familiar with. Leo always loved when Chase picked him. Blake was a little less enthusiastic but always got into it by the time Chase finished.

As their scout ship opened up, Leo read the flashing banner that announced what this particular Hive had to offer.

"They've got a full spa here!" He declared excitedly to Blake who nodded his appreciation. Each Hive had different assets, attractions, and shops. Although some were staples, like a fitness area and a pool, some Hives had a great many extras. Leo had heard rumors from other scouting crews that there was one Hive out there that had a built-in amusement park. He wasn't sure he believed that though.

A full spa was a bit of a rare commodity on the Hives but presented them with a great way to pass a few hours and to spend some of their pay. Money was never a concern because they racked up a significant amount when they were out exploring with nothing to spend it on. They each had sizable bank accounts that they could access at any time, to the point where in the amount of time they spent on the Hives they wouldn't likely be able to spend all of it if they tried.

Immediately, Leo's eyes were drawn to all the people aboard. The information panel indicated that there were twenty-two other scout crews on the Hive at this time. That was quite a bit. Usually the numbers varied from ten to twenty, but each Hive could hold up to thirty crews at a time. The more the better in Leo's opinion.

"Two days." Chase reminded sternly before leaving them to their own devices. He would be back once he had finished registering them and got his work done, but a part of Leo wished they could all stay together. His mind was quickly drawn back however to the large number of attractive boys that were coming and going from other scout ships.

Right across from them was a ship with a very good-looking blonde and blue-eyed crew. The oldest of their three was relaxing in their common area reading a tablet. The middle was doing some sort of yoga or stretching on the carpeted floor. His flexibility drew more than a few eyes as people passed. The youngest was nowhere to be seen, probably out at the shops or the spa Leo imagined. He would have to keep his eye out though. If the pale slender body of the teen was anything to go by, his younger counterpart would be beautiful.

There was plenty of other eye candy, but this group definitely had Leo's attention. He boldly walked across the avenue and approached the boy practicing his poses.

"Hi! I'm Leo." He introduced himself bluntly.

The boy on the floor looked up at him, maybe a bit put off by his brash introduction, but his face softened as he took in Leo's cute features.

"Noah." The boy replied with a nod. His hair was silky blonde and parted in the center. He had a slim body with a little less definition than Blake, but still quite handsome. Since he was soft it was difficult to tell exactly how big he was, though he appeared to be more of a grower than a shower. That was fine with Leo, he appreciated all sizes.

"We just got here." Leo explained, pointing to their docked ship across the way. "We were exploring a system in the Sigma sector of the galaxy."

"Find anything?" Noah asked, stretching one last time before climbing to his feet. He was taller than he had looked on the ground.

Leo shrugged. "Not really. None of the planets were habitable."

Noah nodded. "Yeah, we've been here for a couple days waiting for orders. Before that we were checking out an asteroid belt in the Gamma sector. Found some minerals that mission control was interested in but nothing too crazy."

"Where's your younger?" Leo asked looking around curiously.

Noah snorted a laugh, seeing through Leo's question. "Harley. He's around somewhere. He'd probably be into you, you seem like his type."

"What about you?" Leo asked suggestively, making a point of looking Noah's body up and down.

A slight smile crossed the blonde boy's face. "I don't usually go for youngers besides Harley, but maybe I'd make an exception. Not now though, I've got some work to do on our jump drive."

Leo stuck his lip out in a pout.

"Don't be like that." Noah admonished. "Come back around when they start turning the lights down. Maybe Harley will be around. Maybe we both can play. Maybe even Jake too." He nodded with his head back at his older counterpart who looked up at the sound of his name. He appraised Leo and, apparently liking what he saw, gave him a sensual wink before returning to his reading.

Leo's stomach fluttered as he thought of spending the night with these three. He decided to mark that down as a definite possibility for some fun times that evening. However, it was too early to commit to anything. The Hive was a big place and he didn't want to make a choice only to find out later that there were even better options available.

"Maybe I will..." He teased as he turned away. "It was nice to meet you Noah."

"You too." The blonde teen watched Leo's hips move as he walked away in the direction Blake had gone.

It didn't take him long to catch up with his teen counterpart. Blake had already found a small group of about five teens to schmooze with. People rarely wasted time on the Hives. They didn't usually get to spend much time there so wasting it trying to gradually get to know people was uncommon. Most of the time people were fairly outgoing and eager to welcome new faces to their groups. Especially one as handsome as Blake's.

"Wow, your younger is cute." One of the teens said to Blake as Leo approached. It was of course quite obvious that they were from the same crew.

"Yeah, he's got some talent too." Blake bragged. For some reason, Leo enjoyed the way that they were talking about him like he wasn't even there.

"Maybe we should see firsthand." Another suggested. One of the boys fondled Leo's ass and Leo purred in appreciation.

"I wouldn't mind as long as he doesn't." Blake replied. "He likes being passed around sometimes."

That was true, Leo had to admit. The thought of being at the center of all these handsome boys with their hands on him as the center of attention was very arousing.

"Come back tonight." One of the boys enticed, leaning in close to Leo. "We could use some stress relief."

The others voiced their agreement with this, and Leo smiled sweetly at them, quietly imagining what this circle would look like with him on his knees in the middle of it.

It seemed like he was guaranteed some fun that night, but his options were starting to compound. On the one hand, Noah had seemed pretty keen on letting Leo share the evening with him and his crew, but on the other, a hungry pack of teen boys was sure to be a wild experience. Either way, Leo wanted to check out the spa before it got too late. He excused himself from the group, hinting that he might return without making any promises.

Leo was used to the looks he got as he walked. In fact, he loved it. It was just another way he received the attention he craved. More than a few people catcalled or wolf-whistled at him as he passed, and Leo was happy to let them stare.

The spa was a part of the large common wing of the Hive that held the fitness area, gymnasium, and pool. At the opposite end was the command deck. That would be where Chase had gone to receive their updated orders.

There were massage tables and saunas, but the first thing Leo wanted to do was take a dip in a hot tub. The spa had quite a few hot tubs that were enclosed on three sides and partially obscured on the fourth, leaving only a small gap that someone could look in from. They were small enough to be intimate, but big enough to have a group as well. Leo strolled through the rows of tubs looking for one that was not occupied. Some were being used simply for relaxing, others, Leo could tell by the sounds were being a little less innocent.

He finally found a bath that looked empty from the angle he was at. As he stepped through the divider though he saw that he had been mistaken. A single man sat in the far corner of the tub, obviously the older member of one of the crews. His hair was brown with a hint of red to it and his angular jaw had just a slight trace of stubble. Although only the top half of his chest was visible above the water, Leo could tell that he was quite fit.

"Oops..." Leo murmured awkwardly and turned to leave.

"Where are you going?" The man asked after him, causing him to stop. "There's plenty of room here for both of us."

Leo turned back and smiled. The man was definitely handsome, and the water looked inviting. With a shrug Leo slowly came forward and slipped into the water opposite the stranger.

"That's better." The man encouraged with a friendly grin. "What's your name? And what crew are you from? I don't think I've seen you around before."

"Leo. Crew 91." Leo answered shyly. It was strange, when he was with a group of new people, Leo had no trouble being a social butterfly. When it was just one on one with somebody new, he became less sure of himself.

"Nice to meet you Leo. I'm Marcus, Crew 138. Why don't you come a little closer? It's hard to hear you over the water jets."

He was right, the sound of the warm water bubbling made it so they almost had to shout across the hot tub. Slowly, like a skittish animal, Leo inched closer to Marcus until they were both on the same side of the tub.

"You're a rare one." Marcus commented, flashing a bright smile. "Probably the cutest younger I've seen."

Leo blushed but said nothing. Marcus lifted a big arm out of the water and set it along the edge of the tub so that it stretched out to its full length, just behind where Leo sat. Leo noticed the motion but didn't move one way or the other. Marcus apparently took this as the ok to continue because he lazily reached out two fingers and began slowly petting them down the nape of Leo's neck.

Leo shrunk into himself a little bit at the touch, but Marcus kept gently stroking his fingers on Leo's smooth skin. Gradually, Leo relaxed into it, feeling the slight tingles that the fingers caused as they traced the very top of his spine.

"That's it." Marcus softly encouraged as Leo's eyes closed. "Come closer, baby."

Propelled by some kind of instinctive magnetism, Leo felt his body move toward Marcus almost on its own. Marcus' big arm closed in around Leo's small body and he knew that he was locked in place until Marcus allowed him to leave.

Leo hadn't realized how tall and broad-shouldered Marcus was until he was sitting right next to him. Now, he felt incredibly tiny. His head barely came up to Marcus' chest.

"You're a cute little thing." Marcus leaned down to Leo's ear to compliment him. His strong hand slipped from around Leo's shoulder to gently tweak Leo's nipple. Leo gasped in sensation and felt himself melting into Marcus. Marcus' other hand moved over to trace its way down Leo's slim chest to his ribs, to his stomach, teasing his ticklish areas, then further to where his boy parts stood at full attention. Marcus' big hand easily engulfed the whole package, squeezing and fondling it gently and eliciting horny little squeals from Leo.

"Nice and small." Marcus growled seductively. He took his hand away from Leo's intimate areas and took hold of Leo's wrist. His grip was like iron, not tight enough to hurt, but utterly unbreakable. Marcus pulled Leo's hand towards him and down in the same path that his own hand had made seconds earlier. Leo felt Marcus' rippling abs and the perfect V' shape that guided him lower. The bush of trimmed hair that he found at the point of the V'. Then Leo felt it. Instinctively his hand tried to close around it, but his fingers couldn't touch around the other side. It was too thick.

Leo's eyes widened in surprise and he looked up at Marcus who had a wicked grin on his face. Marcus guided Leo's hand further, pushing it along the length. Inch by inch by inch by inch... Leo's expression changed from surprise to outright shock as it seemed to go on forever. And he could tell that it wasn't even fully hardened yet. Finally, Leo felt his hand slip over the thick tip. Marcus groaned softly, keeping seductive eye contact with Leo.

Leo could hardly believe it. He had never even seen one that big, let alone felt it in his hand. His brain was going wild with possibilities, half aroused half fearful.

"Do you like what you found, baby?" Marcus teased.

Swallowing heavily, Leo had to nod, his breath caught in his chest.

"Good." Abruptly, Marcus let go of Leo's hand and pushed himself off the wall. He stood up from the water facing away from Leo and Leo only had the briefest of glimpses of it dangling between Marcus' legs before Marcus wrapped a towel around himself and stepped out of the tub.

He looked over his shoulder and chuckled at the disappointed look on Leo's face. "Come find me tonight, cutie. Crew 138. The rest of my crew is going to be out, so I'll have you all to myself."

Marcus laughed again before shaking water droplets from his hair and disappearing around the corner. Leo's heart was still racing as he slowly recovered from the surprising encounter. His head spun. His options for the night just seemed to keep on growing.

Chapter 2

Leo took the walk back to his quarters still drying his hair with a towel. He had spent a while longer in the hot tub after Marcus left. Long enough to satisfy his immediate urges so he could make a better decision about how he wanted to spend his evening. By the time he neared the dock where their ship was attached, he was pretty sure he knew what choice he wanted to make.

As he approached, he saw with some excitement that the option he had decided on seemed to have chosen him as well. Noah sat in the common area of their ship with Jake, his elder, and Chase. Sitting cross-legged on the soft carpet was a cute little blonde boy that could only be Harley. The four of them were having a friendly conversation and Chase waved him over when he noticed him.

"Leo, come meet Crew 217." He instructed. "I've got our orders and we're going to be working together with them for this next mission."

A wide smile split Leo's face. He always loved the rare opportunities that they got to work with other crews. More people meant much less chance of boredom. And the fact that it was such a good-looking group was an added bonus.

"Hi! I'm Harley." The little boy's voice was peppy and almost as cute as his face.

Leo waved and introduced himself. "I already met Noah earlier, and Jake sort of."

"Have you seen Blake?" Chase asked. "He should be here to get the briefing."

"Not in a little bit." Leo replied with a shrug. "Must be a big mission if we're both going."

"Prepping for a colony!" Harley piped up excitedly.

Jake nodded. "Yeah, we found a habitable planet a few missions ago and command wants us to go in for a closer look and lay the groundwork for colonization."

"Wow!" Leo marveled. He had never been on a mission like that before.

As though on cue, Blake appeared at the end of the corridor walking with another teen. They stopped at the threshold of their common area, noticing all the extra people.

"Who's your friend, Blake?" Chase asked knowingly.

"Doesn't matter." Blake answered with disinterest. "I'll see you around, Marvin."

"It's... Martin..." The other boy sounded both confused and disheartened.

"Right. See you." Blake replied casually. Leo rolled his eyes as the dejected boy slunk away. No doubt he had been certain he was in for a fun night with Blake. And no doubt, Blake would go find him tomorrow with his usual flirtatious smile.

"Are you done?" Leo asked, exasperated. Blake swatted him on the head.

Chase relayed the information on their mission to Blake who seemed quite interested as well. They often explored uncharted territory but doing so in order to make way for new colonization was not common. Usually they were just searching for resources or unidentified life. This would be an entirely different project.

The other part that Leo was excited for was the combination of their two ships. The scout ships were designed to be quite versatile. In the same way they could dock with the Hives, and become part of the larger structure, two scout ships could dock together and become one larger ship. That would mean much more space and more rooms as well. Each ship had three bedrooms to it, although they rarely all got used at the same time. The inside was just as malleable as the outside however, and walls between rooms could be deactivated or shifted at will to created spaces of different sizes.

Leo usually preferred to share a room with Blake or Chase anyway, but some time ago, Chase had taken down the wall in Leo's room and revoked Leo's access to it as punishment for something neither one of them could remember. In that time though, Leo had gotten so used to bouncing back and forth between the beds of his two older counterparts that he had never asked for his own room back. He had become even more dependent on Chase and Blake, but he kind of liked it that way.

Adding three new people to the mix created a whole new power structure on their ship. A power structure that Leo fully expected to land at the very bottom of. He had already pretty much decided that Noah and Jake were in charge of him in the same way that Blake and Chase were. Only time would tell with Harley.

And speaking of, Leo noticed that Harley seemed to be in a very playful mood. He was doing his best to coax Noah into a wrestling match by grappling his legs or waist and giggling every time Noah shook him off.

"Not now, Harley." Noah told him, still invested in the conversation the older two were having. "Maybe Leo will play with you."

Harley's blonde hair whipped as he looked over his shoulder at Leo, who stared back innocently from where he sat on the floor. Without warning, Harley bounded over like an excited puppy and tackled Leo. Hard enough to take the other boy by surprise and knock him over backward, but not hard enough to hurt him.

Leo giggled and shrieked and tried to push the blonde boy off of him, but Harley was all over him, tickling, poking, and pinching. For as cute and slim as he was, Harley was surprisingly strong. Leo tried to crawl away, but Harley hauled him back into the fray with a delighted laugh. They rolled around on the floor for a while, Leo enjoying feeling Harley's smooth body under his fingertips. Eventually, they came to rest with Harley on top, pinning both of Leo's hands on either side of his head.

As their eyes met seriously for the first time, shining blue looked into radiant green. When Leo saw the slightly predatory look wrapped up in all of Harley's boyish innocence, he knew immediately where his place was on this totem pole. Almost instinctively, his legs opened slightly.

Noticing this change in mood, Harley pushed himself between Leo's knees and laid his entire body weight, as slight as it was on top of him as he began dry humping. Leo whined as he felt Harley's dick growing and hardening. The blonde boy was not big, but he was bigger than Leo.

Leo's horny little body twitched as he slowly wrapped his legs around Harley, fully accepting being pinned underneath him and knowing what was going to happen next. Harley's slender hips stopped thrusting but only for a short time as he searched for Leo's hole. When he finally found it, he wasted no time pushing his entire length inside.

Leo squealed as Harley entered him in one long push. He had taken far bigger but usually with a little bit of warning first. Almost immediately, Harley started to fuck him, pumping in and out like a horny little beast. His primal need drove Leo crazy and he eagerly allowed Harley to have his way with him.

The older four had stopped their conversation when the little ones' play fighting had turned sexual. They all looked on, obviously enjoying the scene as Harley quickly reached his first dry orgasm of the evening in only a matter of a few enthusiastic thrusts.

Leo shuddered as he felt Harley's body shake against him. Even though Harley couldn't actually breed him, Leo felt almost like he had. Before he knew it however, Noah had pushed the smaller blonde aside, unable to resist his urges any longer. Harley fell to one side with a whine of annoyance as Noah took his place between Leo's legs. Leo looked up into Noah's blue eyes which were filled with lust. It was obvious that Leo had no say in what was going to happen next, but that was exactly the way that Leo liked it.

Noah positioned himself with much more practice and patience than Harley had demonstrated. Leo moaned as the heat of Noah's cock rubbed against his hole, sending jolts of electricity through him. Noah was significantly bigger than Harley. As Leo had guessed during their first meeting, it had grown to more than twice its original size now that it was fully hardened.

Giving a slight push, Noah slipped the very tip of it inside Leo. Unlike Harley, Noah knew that, at his size, going too fast could hurt the small body underneath him. Leo had experience though, so he sucked in a breath and clenched his teeth to stifle the moan of pleasure that rolled through him after the initial twinge of pain.

To Leo's surprise, when he looked over, he saw that Harley was now lying next to him on his stomach, their faces less than a foot apart. Blake had come to join the party and was in the process of propping Harley up on his knees with his shoulders still to the ground so that his pale round ass was perfectly presented for his taking.

Leaning in instinctively, Leo kissed Harley on the lips just as Noah thrust another inch and a half into him and as Blake entered Harley for the first time. The two little boys moaned into each other's mouths as the older counterparts began to penetrate them.

Leo could feel Noah throbbing inside him, and it caused his own little dick to remain rock hard as the older boy pushed deeper. The blonde's strong hands felt up Leo's smooth thighs and stroked his hardness with one hand.

And then the elder two could stand it no longer. Chase and Jake had been coaxed into it watching the toned asses of the two teens flexing as they slowly penetrated the small boys beneath them. Chase took a firm hold on Noah's hips as Jake did the same with Blake's. The two teens shared a look of surprise but quickly accepted their fate as they continued to plow the squirming youngers.

Leo felt Noah stiffen up suddenly as the head of Chase's big cock entered him. The look on Noah's face made Leo smirk. He had probably made exactly that face the times when Chase had decided to use him for his pleasure.

The smirk was short lived, however. Noah took the shock of being suddenly penetrated out on Leo with a deep thrust that took him all the way to the base.

Leo shivered underneath Noah and his eyes screwed shut tight as he gasped. The other three were in the same position. Blake now had his full length planted inside Harley, but Jake was knelt behind him sliding his way inside of Blake as well, forcing Blake to bend over Harley's small form.

Harley had a blissfully dazed look on his face as Blake began to fuck him. Leo moved in again and the two boys kissed passionately as their tight holes were rammed again and again by teenage cock. The two teens gasped and moaned as they simultaneously fucked the younger boys and took a rough fucking from their elder counterparts.

Leo could feel Noah's thrusting becoming more erratic and he knew exactly what that meant. He wanted to feel the hot blonde boy finish inside him. He wrapped his legs around Noah's waist, and he could feel Chase begin pumping faster as well.

Harley let out a high-pitched squeal as Blake gave a powerful thrust and filled the tiny blonde with his seed. Noah was not far behind and grunted in animal lust as he pummeled Leo's hole. Leo felt him pulsing inside him, releasing rope after rope of his warm sticky cum.

The older two must have been getting close too. Almost at the same time, they roughly grabbed the teen boys' hips and rammed into them several times from tip to base. Blake's voice cracked as he moaned. Noah gasped in pleasure and pain as Chase's rough assault ended with the fit teenager being bred just like the young boys.

Leo's eyes rolled upward as Noah finally pulled out of him. He could feel Noah's seed leaking out of him, but he loved knowing that it was inside him, part of him now. Harley lay panting on his stomach, his little ass still elevated. Blake and Noah collapsed on either side, recovering from the wide range of sensations. Chase and Jake smirked down at them before wiping themselves down with a rag and heading for the showers.

Each ship had two shower stalls, though it was mostly common for people to shower together. Not because there was any shortage of water, but because usually they preferred each other's company. The older two each took their own stall to clean themselves up with. The teens, when they were able to find their feet again, opted to go across the hall to Crew 217's ship and shower on their own.

It took Leo a long while to clear his head enough to stand up. Chase and Jake had long since disappeared into the bathroom, and the two teens had been gone for several minutes already. With a groan, he forced himself up, still feeling Noah's seed running down the inside of his thigh.

Leo offered Harley a hand up, and the little blonde accepted it gratefully. When they were both on their feet, Leo stole a quick kiss while Harley was still disoriented. Leo giggled and Harley smiled coyly. Eventually they decided they would go across the hall and join the two teens in the shower.

When they entered the bathroom however, they saw that only one shower was running. They found Noah and Blake in the same stall together. Noah's back was to the wall as the two of them made out under the warm water passionately. Blake's back arched as Noah's hands traced the curve of his spine. Somehow both teens were rock hard once more.

As the young boys watched, Blake took a hold under one of Noah's legs and lifted it up. He maneuvered himself between the blonde teen's legs and angled his hard cock, lining up properly before giving a good forceful thrust. Noah grunted as the dick entered him, lips still locked with Blake, fingers twining in his hair.

Blake fucked Noah up against the wall until Noah lifted his other leg up as well. Supported only by the wall and Blake's thrusting cock, Noah moaned as Blake took no mercy on him.

The younger boys quickly stiffened up watching the two teens locked in their passion. Instinctively their hands began to explore each other's bodies.

Harley turned the other showerhead on, and the two youngers made out under the warm water while listening to the sounds of intense teenage sex coming from the other stall. As their smooth bodies were covered in water, they began to thrust their hips together, rubbing their hard dicks on one another as they kissed each other.

Noah's gasps got higher pitched as Blake started to get rough with him. Hearing the blonde teen's masculine voice turn to squeals only made the two little boys hump faster. Harley's hands grabbed tightly onto Leo's round ass.

They did not have to see what was going on in the stall next to them to know when Blake filled Noah with his cum. Blake's moan and Noah's whimper was more than enough to know that the blonde had just been filled with hot seed. In the excitement, the little ones pushed themselves over the edge as well and held each other tightly as their dry orgasms threatened to take them out at the knees.

Harley giggled breathlessly as he recovered and kissed Leo on the cheek. Leo smiled at his new friend. It looked like this trip was going to be even more fun than he had hoped.

The rest of the shower proceeded uneventfully. Harley and Leo helped each other wash but even though they both enjoyed running their hands along the other's soapy body they did not succumb to the temptation to start their activities all over again.

Blake and Noah reappeared from their shower acting like nothing had happened and the two little ones had not just seen them fucking like rabbits. When they returned to the common area, they found Chase and Jake already waiting for them.

"Took you long enough." Chase commented knowingly. "Having a little too much fun?"

Leo blushed and smiled. He came over to sit on his elder counterpart's lap and snuggled against his chest lovingly. Chase put a strong protective arm around him.

"Probably should get some sleep." Jake advised. "We've got a busy day tomorrow getting ready for departure."

Chase nodded his agreement and signaled for Blake to shut the lights down and close their ship off for the night.

Noah gave Blake a kiss on the cheek before departing, but Blake acted totally disinterested and gave the blonde boy a half-hearted wave. Leo smiled to himself. He didn't know how anyone could fall for Blake's games, but boys always did without fail.

Leo decided he would spend the night with Chase. It had been a while since he had been cuddled closely by someone as big and strong as Chase and he knew that after the activities of that evening Chase would be more interested in a sleeping companion than anything else. He let Chase carry him to the bedroom while Blake shut the ship down for the night.

There were few feelings more comforting to Leo than when Chase pulled the blankets up over him and lay next to him, wrapping him tightly with one arm. Just like every other time, Leo was fast asleep almost before Chase had settled in.

The next day was, as Jake had predicted, quite busy. The six of them had to report for a formal briefing on their new mission. Leo had a hard time standing still during the briefing. It was all too exciting.

The planet they were heading to had been under investigation for a long time now, but no one had done any extensive exploration from the ground. Their expedition would be the first in a long series of missions that would eventually lead to the colonization of the planet.

They were shown pictures of the planet, called Ephria, both from orbit and taken by drones that had scouted the planet's surface from the air. There were large forests of fungus-like trees and lakes so saturated with iron and minerals that the water looked red.

Command confirmed that there was animal life on Ephria as well, although they had not seen any signs of intelligent life yet. They caught a glimpse in one of the sweeping overhead shots of a flock of large birds or maybe bats. It was hard to tell from such a quick glance, but they almost appeared to have fur.

Harley watched the pictures and videos with wide eyes, obviously just as excited as Leo. When the briefing finally ended, he turned to Leo with a huge grin on his face.

"That place looks so cool! The way the trees glow at night? This is gonna be awesome!"

Leo agreed and enthused about other interesting features of the planet before Chase interrupted their conversation.

"We've got a lot to do to get ready still." He reminded. "Why don't you two help Blake and Noah load the supplies?"

It took them most of the day to load up everything they would need. The food was the only part that Leo was not totally looking forward to. The prepackaged meals that were the staple of rations among the scout crews when they were out on missions were okay, but they certainly grew dull and plain after a while. Leo made sure to enjoy the fresh-cooked, fried, greasy, delicious food sold on the Hive as much as he could that day.

He supposed he shouldn't complain. Blake was surprisingly good at taking the simple filling meals and turning them into something actually pretty appealing. He would break open several of the single-serving meals and combine the ingredients and add spices and seasonings to create a semblance of a `family dinner'. It always made Leo happy when he and Chase and Blake would sit down together in their dining area for a meal.

Chase would sometimes put quiet music on in the background. Blake would tell stories that they had both heard before. For a moment it would feel to Leo like they were real family.

Leo knew about families of course. He had watched his share of shows from Earth where people had mothers and fathers and siblings. Some days he wished he had what those people had. Some days he wondered if, because he was grown rather than born, that made him somehow less human than those people with their happy families. These thoughts would trouble him for a time, but soon Blake or Chase would lift him out of it with a joke or a smile and he would remember that he had everything that he needed to be happy.

When the food was all loaded, they needed to store all the equipment that they would need as well. They were going to be building a comm tower on Ephria that would serve as a relay for all other future expeditions. This required a great deal of tools and hardware.

Even though it was confirmed that the atmosphere on Ephria was safe for humans, they packed suits that were fitted with air filters just in case. It was a good thing that they were taking both ships, Leo decided, because otherwise they would have barely had room to move once everything they needed was packed.

Chase was meticulous about his checklist of necessary items. He went over it at least three times, making sure that every single detail was accounted for. Leo was always impressed with his ability to focus in on the little things without getting distracted.

Finally, after hours of packing and moving, they were ready to set out. Harley invited Leo to spend the night in his room and Leo happily agreed. Since they were going to be traveling together, they may as well become comfortable with one another.

Even though Leo kind of wanted to spend some time fooling around with Harley, he knew that he needed to get his sleep. Before he knew it, it would be morning, and they would be setting off on the biggest adventure of his young life.

Chapter 3

It took some time for them to dock the two scout ships together after detaching from the Hive. Leo and Blake both watched from the window with great interest as Chase and Jake delicately maneuvered their two ships into position. If they moved even a little bit too fast, they could cause serious damage to the hulls of their ships. It was a procedure that they had both been trained in, but they rarely had opportunity to use the skill.

Almost an hour later however, the two ships connected. When the pressure equalized, a long hatch opened and a tucked away staircase folded down, and their living space doubled in size, now with a second floor.

Leo was practically bouncing off the walls with energy. He could never say exactly why, but the expansion of their space always got him riled up. Maybe it was because there was more room to run around, or maybe it was because it inevitably meant that a new adventure was underway. Harley was only a little bit more reserved but was the only one able to keep up with Leo's hype.

They two youngers chased each other up and down the new staircase and all throughout their living quarters, hooting and shrieking with excitement. Aside from daily chores around the ship, they did not have much responsibility until they landed. The older two were expected to pilot in shifts, and the two teens did all the maintenance work and made sure the engines and life support were running smoothly.

It was about a week's journey to Ephria. That meant that by the end of it they would likely be starting to get a little bit stir-crazy, but for now, the newness of their connected ships and living together kept them all entertained.

New people meant new stories to listen to and new jokes to hear. Leo was thrilled to discover that Crew 217 was just as tightly knit as he and his counterparts were.

There was of course no night or day in the void of space, but Chase was always careful to keep them on a regular cycle of days, so they had a relatively normal sleeping schedule. On their first night' Harley took Leo into his bedroom where they built a fort out of blankets and chairs. Once the structure was finished, they turned the lights out and crawled inside and told scary stories with a flashlight for added effect. Naturally, these scary' stories proved to be more ridiculous than actually frightening and only proceeded to get more absurd as they progressed, leading to both boys rolling on the floor in fits of giggles until Jake had to come give them a stern warning about keeping quiet during the sleeping hours.

Harley apologized meekly but there was a catch in his voice. As soon as Jake closed the door, the two youngers looked at each other and immediately burst into laughter once more. They ended up sleeping inside their fort that night, cuddled up against one another.

Leo awoke in the morning to find that, although most of Harley was still fast asleep, certain parts of the little blonde boy were very much awake. He grinned wickedly at his sleeping friend before sliding himself down slowly, tracing the slender curves of the other boy's body with his hand.

His hand brushed the hairless mound that preceded his ultimate goal. Sometimes he liked the way the well-groomed hairs that older people had down there felt on his fingertips and tickling his nose when he went down on them. However, right now, he loved Harley's smooth milky-white body. Taking one more look at the sleeping blonde boy, who looked positively angelic, Leo bent his head down and licked all of Harley's stiff four inches.

Harley groaned in his sleep, obviously appreciating what just happened but still not waking. Leo thought back on all the times he had been awoken in the opposite fashion. The sudden flash of panic in returning to consciousness to find himself being abruptly penetrated. The panic only ever lasted long enough to get one good squeal out of him before he submissively relaxed and accepted the cock from whomever had decided to give it to him. Usually it was either Chase or Blake, but once in a while it could be other boys if he fell asleep in public on one of the Hives.

Leo considered it a fair punishment for not being more careful. He knew his cute butt was virtually irresistible to the older boys. Fortunately, the scouting crews consisted almost exclusively of attractive people, so the times that Leo had woken up with a stranger's dick inside him, he simply chalked it up to getting what he deserved. Besides, once the boy on top had started fucking him, it would be rude to interrupt. So, Leo would let whoever it was use his little butt and fill him with a load. Sometimes they would trade names afterwards, sometimes not. Either way Leo would just vow to be more aware next time. Yet somehow, he never seemed to learn.

Leo decided that this might be a little bit of a nicer way for Harley to wake up than by suddenly feeling a dick inside him. He leaned in again and wrapped his lips around Harley's tip, swirling his tongue around it like a lollipop.

This got Harley's attention. He gasped and his cute blue eyes fluttered lazily as the pleasure rolled through him. His hands instinctively came to rest on the back of Leo's head.

Leo easily took all of Harley's small dick down his throat. He knew that other boys, especially Blake, loved when he could take the whole thing, so he wanted all the practice he could get. Harley whined and bucked his hips up, pushing himself even deeper in to Leo's hot mouth.

Pulling back after a few seconds, Leo wasted no time diving hungrily back down. He could feel his nose pressed up against the smooth skin he had been admiring only a few seconds before.

Harley's scent was intoxicating. The boy musk filled Leo's mind, driving him crazy and making him want more. His hands stroked Harley's writhing body as the young blonde neared his inevitable dry climax.

Leo was one of the lucky boys who could very frequently become so aroused and excite himself so much with just his own imagination that he could finish himself off without ever being touched, using only the power of his thoughts. This of course combined with the intense eroticism of having Harley's warm dick inside his mouth made it almost certain to happen.

Naturally, Leo liked best when his dry orgasms synched up with the climax of whomever he was servicing. Whether theirs was dry like his own, or whether his mouth was flooded with seed did not matter in the end. It was the close connection he felt from finishing at the same time as the person he was pleasing.

As he felt Harley begin to squirm underneath him, Leo could simultaneously feel it building inside him as Harley's writhing pleasure turned him on more and more.

The throbbing dick in Leo's mouth spasmed and pulsed. Nothing came out but Leo recognized the feeling of Harley hitting his climax. The little blonde gasped and whined as he struggled to keep still. The sensual sounds and the feeling of it twitching inside his mouth was more than enough for Leo. A shiver ran through his whole slim body as his own pre-pubescent orgasm rolled over him.

Leo continued to lap at Harley's dick until the blonde boy whimpered and pulled Leo's head away from his overstimulated tip. Crawling up to lay next to Harley, Leo giggled and nestled his head on Harley's shoulder. Harley smiled sleepily at Leo then yawned. After dozing for a few more minutes, the two boys finally got up to get their chores done.

The week-long journey proceeded in pretty much the same way. The two younger boys would get up to mischief while the teens and the men would work on their tasks. Leo knew that once they reached the planet, he and Harley would have work to do too, but to him that was all the more reason to enjoy the down time.

Of course, almost every day was punctuated by sexual escapades similar to the exchange between Leo and Harley. Often multiple times in a day, Leo would find himself being grabbed by Chase or Jake or either of the teens. Sometimes for a quick release, and other times for some passionate love making. Leo enjoyed both and by the time they reached Ephria he had been fucked at least twice by all five other people on the ship.

Just like in the pictures and videos they were shown, Ephria was a beautiful ball of blues and greens. Like most habitable planets it looked very much like Earth. Or at least very much like the pictures of Earth that Leo had seen before.

The plan was to orbit the planet for about twenty-four hours while the computers scanned for an appropriate place to set down. It was an important decision because that would be approximately where the colony ended up.

The vast sphere outside definitely provided a much nicer scenery than the dull black void of space. Two small moons orbited the planet as well. Blake explained that this meant the seas would likely have tides just like on Earth.

Leo knew that they couldn't just set down anywhere, but he was anxious to get off the ship and finally have a chance to see this new planet up close. He desperately hoped they would land somewhere close to one of the oceans. He had never seen such a large body of water up close before.

Even though they did not express it quite as much, Leo could tell that Jake and Chase were also excited to get down to the surface. Dinner that night was a buzz with conversation about where they thought the computer would pick to land them. Chase boosted Leo's hopes by saying that it would likely pick some place close to the water.

There was still a great deal of work to be done to get ready for setting their camp once they had landed.

"Blake, how's the scoutmaster bot coming along?" Chase asked as they were finishing their meal.

Blake's response to this was let out an audible sigh of clear disinterest. "It's uhh... broken?" His voice carried a note of sarcasm.

Chase gave him a look. "I know it WAS broken. That's why I asked you to fix it."

Blake shrugged and wouldn't make eye contact. "Leo never uses it anyway. It takes forever to fix then breaks down again in an hour."

"Maybe you just haven't found the problem yet." Chase replied with exaggerated patience.

Thumping his hand down on the table Blake glared at Chase. "I didn't find THE problem. I found all the problems. And it's every fucking thing on that robot. Everything on it is a problem. It's junk!"

Jake cleared his throat tactfully. "Actually, Noah has problems with our scoutmaster bot regularly as well."

"Thank you." Blake gestured toward the blonde side of the table. "See, they know. It's crappy outdated tech that should have been tossed a long time ago. Leo doesn't care, do you?"

Awkwardly, Leo shrugged, not wanting to get in the middle of the two of them.

"It's to keep him safe." Chase argued. "And Harley as well."

"We've never needed it before." Blake countered. "Why is it so important now?"

"This is a very important mission." Chase reminded him. "We should do it by the book. We can't afford any mistakes."

Blake rolled his eyes and huffed indignantly. "Fine. I'll run a diag AGAIN. And fix it up AGAIN. And then we'll watch it break down AGAIN when we're planetside."

"Thank you." Chase replied with infuriating calm, ignoring Blakes outburst entirely.

Blake stomped sulkily out of the room heading for the maintenance deck. Leo stared pointedly down at his mostly empty plate. He hated when Chase and Blake fought. They didn't do it often, but it always made him uncomfortable.

The robot in question was called the scoutmaster because its purpose was to help keep the young boys safe on their scouting missions. Every crew was equipped with one, but many of the models were sorely in need of replacement. Leo knew that their ship was running a model that was so old that even most of the Hives wouldn't service it anymore.

The old bot was held together by scrap metal, MIG welds, and electrical tape. When it ran at all, it sounded like a dial-up internet connection mixed with an industrial fan. All in all, it was rarely much use, and Leo had learned to get by without relying on it.

He had to admit that he felt a bit safer when the scoutmaster bot was operational. It warned him of anything approaching and, in the event of an emergency, was designed to help him escape any way possible. Fortunately, it had never come to that. With the amount of noise that the bot made, just about anything within a twenty-yard radius would scatter at its approach.

Even so, Leo had a soft spot for damaged and broken things as well as underdogs. He had grown a bit attached to the bucket of bolts. He affectionately named it Rusty. He wasn't allowed to keep animals so sometimes he imagined that Rusty was his pet. Leo understood how frustrating it must be for Blake to constantly have to patch the machine up, but he was always grateful when Rusty rumbled back to life after crashing yet again. He made sure to find ways to thank Blake for his efforts. Sometimes by bringing him back little gifts from his exploration, but usually he showed his gratitude during their nighttime intimacy.

"Maybe I can help." Noah offered, pushing in his chair and following after Blake. Harley and Leo exchanged a look, both wondering exactly what kind of help Noah was planning to offer.

They finished their meal quietly and Leo excused himself from the table to go and look out the viewport at the planet they now orbited. It was so big. He knew that their task was only to explore a small part of it, but still the sheer size of it was intimidating.

His thoughts wandered to what they might accomplish by completing their mission. Maybe in fifty or a hundred years, Ephria would be a bustling colony with cities and people. Art and music and tv shows all its own, and it would all be because of what they were about to do. Leo wondered if he would be alive to see it. He wondered if anyone would know about Crew 91 and Crew 217 or if the history of Ephria would erase them entirely.

Chase had explained to Leo before that artificially grown humans like them were looked at much differently than organically born ones. Many organic humans preferred to simply ignore the existence of artificial humans, while still enjoying the benefits of their deep-space discoveries of course. Still others thought of artificial humans as inferior. Nothing but workers to serve their needs.

Leo had never been to Earth, but he had always held it in his mind as a sort of mythical paradise. When Chase had told him what it was really like, it had hurt quite a lot. Yet still, Leo held out a young naïve hope that people would be able to look past the way he was born or created and see the good in him.

The main computer dinged loudly, drawing Leo from his thoughts. He knew what that sound meant.

"We've got our LZ." Chase confirmed Leo's thought a moment later. "Beachfront property." He said with a grin.

"Yes!" Harley pumped a fist in the air and smiled excitedly at Leo.

"How long will the descent take?" Jake asked, walking over to the computer as well.

"About 8 hours. Leo, Harley, why don't you try to get some rest." Chase suggested. "You'll need your energy. I'll wake you when we touch down."

Leo wanted to stay up and watch the descent, but he knew Chase was right. He was already beginning to feel tired, despite his excitement. Harley obviously was similarly indecisive, looking back and forth between the window and the door to his bedroom.

Eventually, with a little further encouragement from Jake, the two youngsters scampered off to bed, once again opting to cuddle up together. Even though they decided not to pursue any late-night activities that night, it took them a while to finally drift off. When Leo finally did, his head was filled with dreams of adventure and excitement on this new planet.

"Oh my god!" Leo exclaimed as he stepped off the ship for the first time. The surface of Ephria was even more beautiful than it had been from orbit. The sky overhead was a majestic purple blue even though it was the height of the day. He could smell salt from the ocean and hints of other minerals as well. As his feet hit the warm sand, they sunk in a little bit and he could feel the grains between his toes. He giggled as he looked back at Harley. "Come on!" He encouraged.

The little blonde was a bit more hesitant. For sure, he was as amazed as his friend, but unlike Leo, the new and unfamiliar landscape intimidated him as well as awed him. Eventually however, emboldened by Leo's encouragement, Harley set foot onto the sandy beach. Almost immediately a grin settled on his face.

"Pretty great, huh?" Leo giggled. He looked out over the massive blue-green expanse that disappeared into the horizon. The crashing of waves on the shore provided a backdrop that Leo had always wanted to experience.

"Be careful." Blake cautioned as Leo took off at a run across the sand. Leo scarcely heard him though. He was far too excited to be careful anyway. All the things he had seen in movies and videos were now right in front of him, sandcastles and splash fights and maybe even surfing. Leo wondered if he could teach himself how to surf.

It took Harley a moment or two to get comfortable on the sand, but soon he was darting around after Leo as the two laughed hysterically. Leo was the first one to get up the courage to dip his does into the water as the waves rolled in. He had always liked to swim but this was something totally new. An endless body of water stretching across hundreds of miles and uncountable fathoms deep.

Leo waded in up to his thighs, feeling the new sensation of the tide moving against him. Looking out at the dark water though, Leo decided against going any further for now. Harley, who had only just mustered the will to step in up to his ankles looked decidedly relieved when Leo began to trudge back towards shore.

"Alright." Chase drew everyone's attention in once Leo and Harley had finally reigned in their wild exuberance. He had called everyone back aboard the ship once he had given the youngsters enough time to wear themselves out a little bit. "The ship will serve as our base camp." Chase told them as Blake served up lunch. "We'll spend the rest of the afternoon familiarizing ourselves with the general area. Tomorrow the mission begins for real though. Leo, Harley, do you know what you're doing?"

Leo nodded but let Harley take the lead. "Tomorrow is the initial sweep." The blonde boy said using the official language all the youngers were taught. "We will maintain a one-mile radius from the base camp and move in a circle all the way around."

"Or part way around." Leo put in. "Cause of the ocean."

"Very good." Chase affirmed. "Then what?"

Harley continued. "The next day, we'll extend our radius another mile and continue scouting. We'll keep extending until we can't complete the whole circuit in one day, then we'll do it in chunks."

"Excellent." Chase commended. "What do you do if you see anything that looks like trouble?"

"Find safety, radio in, return to base." Leo recited the well-rehearsed mantra that had been hammered into his memory time after time.

"Good. Is the scoutmaster ready, Blake?"

"Ready as he'll ever be." Blake sighed. "I give it one day."

Leo gave Blake his most endearing look and Blake rolled his eyes at the obvious gimmick. There was a smile hidden under his air of indifference though, Leo could tell.

"What about our scoutmaster?" Harley asked Noah and Jake.

"Noah is still working on it." Jake answered. "Hopefully if this one breaks down, ours will be ready to take over. Don't worry, you'll be safe."

"I'm not worried." Harley insisted indignantly. "I can protect both of us."

Leo wanted to argue that he didn't need protection, but he found Harley's sentiment too sweet to dispute. If Harley wanted to protect him, that was ok with Leo.

Chase went on to walk Blake and Noah through their tasks for the upcoming days. They would be working on building the communications tower that would connect Ephria to the rest of Earth's colonies. He also told them that he and Jake would spend the first few days setting up security perimeters and making sure everything was safe.

Even after all that running around, Leo felt himself getting excited all over again. An adventure of this size was just too monumental for his young mind to handle without practically bursting with energy and motivation. The colonization of Ephria was under way.

Chapter 4

The first day's exploration proceeded mostly uneventfully. Leo and Harley practically sprinted the mile out from their landing site. Their excitement was so great that they barely felt the exertion. Rusty the scoutmaster bot hovered along after them, moving in bobbing uneven arcs that hinted at the condition of his stabilizers. The scoutmaster bots were very primitive artificial intelligences that could only respond to basic stimuli and only responded with about a dozen pre-recorded lines. This coupled with the fact that the robot's slap-dash mechanics perpetually sounded like a cross between a vacuum and dial-up internet made it, in most regards, a floating mess.

Nonetheless, Leo had grown fond of the obsolete little robot and always liked having it around. All the bugs and glitches somehow made it more endearing to him. Sometimes at random intervals, one or more of Rusty's dialog options would be triggered for no apparent reason and he would pipe up with a cheery "STAY SAFE." His voice had once sounded like an amiable and good-natured recording of a man but over the years had become garbled and distorted.

The boys and their noisy companion began their first arc at a one-mile radius around the landing zone. They used advanced wrist monitors to map the area, make record of notable landmarks, and also keep in touch with the others. In this arc they did not encounter much that was worth mentioning in their reports. They found several shallow pools as they moved off of the beach. Harley smartly noted that this could mean there was some kind of cave system underneath them since the pools were all saltwater.

"I don't like caves." Leo shook his head with a shiver at the thought of crawling through dark musty tunnels.

"Come on." Harley chided. "It'd be fun. Exploring places no one has ever gone!"

"No person has ever gone." Leo corrected. "Who knows what else could be in a cave around here."

"Well, that's what Rusty is for." Harley giggled.

Although Leo liked having Rusty around, he wasn't sure just how useful the bot would be in the event of a real emergency.

They made note of the different types of trees and plants they encountered and collected samples of water, soil, and leaves to bring back to the ship. That was the boring part. Leo knew that Chase expected him to catalogue almost everything. Leo wanted to just bound ahead and see the sights, but the missions had to come first.

As they moved farther from the beach, the pools got wider. The boys dove into them enthusiastically, splashing each other and laughing as they waded through.

Scouting was sometimes messy work so the pools were a nice way to clean some of the mud and grime off that they would accumulate from gathering samples. Leo was a little bit uncomfortable not knowing if there might be some kind of slimy creatures under the water or something, but Harley's enthusiasm swayed him.

By a little after midday they completed their first arc. Harley wanted to go on and do the second one at two miles, but Leo insisted they go back. He knew that the next one would take even longer and did not want to risk it getting dark while they were out.

When they returned to the camp, they found that the others had been busy as well. An invisible perimeter fence had been set up by Jake and Chase. The younger boys were able to pass through because of their wrist links, but nothing else would be able to get near the boundary without getting a gentle shock. The strength of the shock would intensify if anything unidentified continued to get closer. The pain of it would be enough to turn back even the largest beasts.

Just outside the ship, Blake and Noah were tinkering with the foundation of the communication tower they were building. As they worked, the two kept up a steady stream of arguments about the best ways to assemble the tower. They bickered back and forth consistently, like they had been married for fifty years.

"How did it go?" Chase asked when he saw Leo and Harley returning.

Leo gave him a wide grin. "Great! We got lots of samples. We only did one arc though. I didn't think we should risk doing another one today."

Chase nodded his approval. "Good choice. I wouldn't want to come out looking for you. Did you find anything worth noting?"

Leo and Harley told Chase about everything they had seen. Harley proudly described his theory about underground caves and Chase considered it with interest. He then collected the samples to be brought on board and studied.

"Before dinner help Blake give the robot a tune-up." Chase instructed. "Just check him over and make sure he's running properly."

Leo promised that he would. Taking this as the indication that they were dismissed for the afternoon, Leo gave Harley a look before dashing off towards the ocean.

Harley shouted after him, immediately accepting the unspoken challenge of a race. With his head start, Leo dove headfirst into the waves just before Harley did, and came up spluttering and grinning and wiping hair from his face.

The two boys spent their afternoon romping and playing on the beach. Leo was grateful that Chase allowed them free time. Blake and Noah worked tirelessly on the communications array while the older two checked samples and studied data and maps. Leo knew that they were allowed this chance for play because of their age, so he always vowed to work extra hard when it was expected of him so that he could feel like he earned his play time.

Dinner was simple that night. Blake did not have time to cook them a fancy meal the way he sometimes did. They ate basic ration meals, but Leo didn't mind. The day's activity had left him hungry enough to eat just about anything put in front of him.

They discussed the plan for the next day. Leo and Harley would try to complete two arcs, starting out as soon as the sun was up. Since they had taken so many samples that day, they likely wouldn't have to stop as often to collect them. That would mean they could make progress faster.

With their plan decided, Jake, Chase, and the younger boys retired to bed. Blake and Noah stayed up to work on the scoutmaster bot. Neither of them was thrilled with this task but they agreed to it with minimal grumbling.

Leo clambered into their blanket fort with Harley following after. It had been Leo's plan have a little fun with Harley before they fell asleep, but as soon as he lay himself down a wave of exhaustion hit him. It had been a long time since he had spent a day exploring like that and he wasn't ready for just how much energy it required.

It seemed like Harley felt the same way because he climbed into the blanket and pillow fort with Leo and immediately snuggled up close next to him.

Leo decided that he didn't mind. There would be plenty of time for nocturnal playtime while they were here on Ephria.

"Do you like it better here, or on the Hives?" Harley asked suddenly, wrapping his arm gently around Leo's waist.

The question caught Leo by surprise, and he thought about it for a moment as he lay his head back against Harley. "Umm... I like a lot of stuff about the Hives, but this is pretty cool. And it's way better since you're here."

Harley squeezed him gently and giggled.

"What about you?" Leo asked. "What do you like more?"

"I like the Hives because there's more people and more fun stuff to do. But I like it here because we're like... doing big stuff. And because you're here too." He added the last part with a touch of embarrassment.

Leo blushed and put his hand over Harley's. "What kinda things do you do when you go to a Hive?"

"Well..." Harley giggled coyly. "Besides the normal stuff like eating good food and swimming and meeting new people... everyone always wants to... be together..." He spoke with a knowing wink and Leo had no doubt of his meaning.

"Who do you like `being with' the most?" Leo asked shyly, leaving the air-quotes hanging.

This one stumped Harley for a moment or two. "I guess it depends." He eventually replied. "I really like doing it with you because you like taking it more than giving."

Leo blushed again. "It's that easy to tell?"

With a little laugh, Harley hugged Leo tight. "It's good!" He assured. "Some people don't know what they want to do but you know what you like."

That was a perspective Leo hadn't considered. He smiled to himself.

"But..." Harley continued. "Sometimes I like being with other people too."

For a moment, Leo was hurt by this, but then he considered the fact that he liked being with Blake and Chase very much and was definitely looking forward to getting the chance to spend a night with Noah or Jake as well. He giggled at his own irrational jealousy. "I guess I do too."

"Have you ever met Crew 138?" Harley asked. "I spend the night with their two younger ones on the last Hive."

The number rang a bell for Leo, but he had to think for a moment. Finally, it clicked. "Marcus." He said out loud as the memory came back to him.

"What?" Harley's confused tone brought him back to the present.

"I met the older member from 138. In the baths on the Hive." Leo explained.

"The older member?" Harley repeated with something akin to awe. "And... you're still in one piece?"

Leo frowned in confusion, then he thought back to the brief interaction with Marcus. Reaching down into the water, feeling the almost impossible length of him, even before being fully aroused. Leo once again thought of what such enormous manhood would feel like while penetrating him.

"We never..." Leo answered almost regretfully.

"Oh..." Harley understood. "Well even the youngest one is like as big as Jake. And their teen mechanic is the biggest I've ever been with. The older one must be..."

Leo nodded in the darkness. His boy parts trembled as he remembered Marcus's straight red-brown hair and almost predatory blue eyes. "Big..." Was all he could say. "Very big..."

Harley laughed quietly. "I bet you wish you stayed there that night, huh?"

Thinking back to the actual events of the night when he had met Marcus, Leo shrugged. "Maybe a little. But that was the night I met you."

Harley made a sound that was something like an affectionate giggle. He squeezed Leo tightly and lay his head on his shoulder.

Yawning wide, Leo tried to force his thoughts away from Marcus and Crew 138 and their incredible endowment. The conversation had certain got him thinking, but his exhaustion was more powerful yet. The warmth of Harley cuddling him and the comfort of their lovingly constructed blanket fort soon convinced his mind to follow his body, slowing down until he drifted gently off in the embrace of the small blonde boy.

"Piece of SHIT!"

Leo awoke with a yawn to the sound of something metal clanging off the walls of the ship and Blake's voice ranting angrily in the other room. Next to him, Harley stirred slowly, also roused by the commotion.

Noah's calmer voice could be heard saying something to Blake, but the words were difficult to make out.

"No!" Blake answered. "It's bullshit. There's no reason it shouldn't work!"

Curious, Leo rolled himself out of the fort to investigate Blake's meltdown. With a groan, Harley crawled after him.

A wrench lay on the floor outside their door. It had obviously been thrown at the wall in the midst of a temper tantrum. Blake was pacing angrily around the cabin with Noah looking on.

"Why don't we work on the comm tower for a bit and come back to it later?" Noah suggested, obviously keeping a much leveler head.

"Because Chase doesn't want them going out without that stupid robot!" Blake gestured towards where Leo and Harley were emerging from their room.

"So, they don't go out." Noah said. "It's not like missing one day will be the end of the world."

The wind seemed to leave Blakes sails as he let out a powerful exhale. Obviously, that had not occurred to him. He said nothing for a few seconds as he recovered his temper.

"Fine..." Blake eventually answered quietly. "But if Chase gets angry..." He shrugged and sighed, not knowing how to finish his sentence. "I can't work on that thing any more right now. I'm going to get breakfast."

Leo turned to look at Harley with a grin forming. Harley, still partially asleep was only just beginning to grasp the meaning of the conversation. It meant that they had the day off. Seeing Leo's excited reaction, Harley's brain kicked into gear. He returned Leo's grin.

"So..." Leo spoke quietly to Noah. He didn't want to pose his question to Blake with him in his current mood. "Does this mean we're not exploring today?"

Noah gave him a slight smile and rolled his eyes. "Probably not at least until later. If we can get one of the scoutmasters up and running by lunchtime, then maybe you'll have time to do one loop in the afternoon."

Leo's grin widened and he turned back to Harley. "Let's go!" He declared excitedly, grabbing his friend's wrist and practically hauling him outside.

Harley, still rubbing the sleep from his eyes was a little bit less enthusiastic to be dragged out into the sunlight. He groaned and shielded his face but did not resist. By the time they reached the shore, Harley had found his stride once again and tackled Leo into the surf as the two celebrated their good luck.

Not far away, in the tent that had been set up as something like a command center, Chase sat heavily down on the simple cot that he had slept in. Noah had sent him a quick update as soon as he and Blake had decided the scoutmaster bot was a long-term project. There was so much to do but Chase knew that if they rushed things it would only put his team in danger.

"We got a lot done already." Jake pointed out. "Yesterday was more productive than we expected, and we can still do some things around camp while we wait for the exploration to continue."

Chase nodded his agreement. He knew that Jake was right, but just sitting and doing nothing was not Chase's style.

"Maybe you could use a little free time." Jake suggested. "Or a little... relaxation." There was a change in his tone and Chase looked up to see Jake step closer.

Normally, Chase preferred the company of younger and smaller team members. Once in a while though, the older member of a team would catch his eye. Jake with his sharp jaw, sculpted abs, and handsome smile fit nicely into that category. More importantly, there had been from time to time in their voyage, some doubt about who was actually in charge. Maybe it was time for Chase to assert his dominance.

Not waiting for an invitation, Chase stood abruptly and kissed Jake on his full lips. Jake was obviously a bit taken aback but quickly leaned into it and kissed back intensely. Without warning, Chase quickly executed a takedown move he had practiced dozens of times, bringing Jake around and driving him to his knees, bent over the cot that Chase had just been sitting on.

Jake had not expected this. In fact, from the look he gave over his shoulder as Chase closed in on him pinning his arms down, it was clear that he had planned on being on top in this scenario. Chase held the blonde down pointedly as he knelt behind him. Jake struggled at first, but Chase felt his resistance weaken as the will to fight left him. Of course, Jake still pushed back a bit. Chase knew that Jake's pride wouldn't let him surrender outright. He had to pretend that he hadn't been completely dominated in a matter of seconds.

Lining himself up, Chase heard an involuntary gasp escape Jake's lips, indicating that Chase's victory was complete. One of the advantages to being with older crew members was that Chase did not need to be nearly as gentle or hold back at all the way that he did with Leo and less so with Blake.

Placing both hands on Jake's shoulders and pressing him into the cot, Chase rammed his full length into the warm hole. Jake's deep voice cracked in a gasping moan as he bucked his hips in surprise.

Chase barely heard it though. Already he was lost in the thrill of conquering Jake and the need to breed him and claim the territory for his own. Still holding Jake down, he began to thrust forcefully, earning the moans and whimpers that the blonde was desperately trying to suppress. There was no doubt any more who ran this mission.

Jake had stopped pretending that he wasn't loving every second. His moans came more freely, and he even lifted his ass up to meet Chase's powerful thrusts. This was what Chase had craved from the start and it only made him more wild and rough.

Suddenly, as Chase was building towards a powerful climax, a shrill whistling siren erupted from within the camp. A blaring alarm accompanied it soon after and the slightly distorted amplified voice of Rusty the scoutmaster bot rang out clearly.

"DANGER! DANGER!"

Less than a second later, an ear-piercing scream of terror split the air. Chase immediately recognized it as Leo.

Throwing himself off of Jake, Chase sprinted out of the tent, almost tearing the structure down in his haste.

"DANGER! DANGER!" The alarm continued. The scoutmaster bot sat dormant next to the ship, but its warning lights were flashing rapidly.

Jake caught up with him. "What the fuck is going on!?"

Again, Leo's scream came from down at the shore. Chase didn't answer Jake's question but bolted in the direction of the ocean with Jake hot on his heels.

As Chase came around the other side of the ship, he saw Leo running away from the water. Chase's heart surged with relief as he dashed forward, wrapping the small boy in his arms.

"Where's Harley?" Jake's voice split through Chase's momentary calm. "Leo, where's Harley!?"

Blake and Noah came running from the ship, having heard the commotion as well.

"What the hell is going on!?" Blake demanded, scanning the area for threats.

Leo pulled partly away from Chase's tight hug. He was sobbing and trembling. He pointed out toward the ocean. "Monster!" He wailed. "It took him!" He buried his face in Chase's shoulder.

"Harley!" Jake screamed, sprinting toward the ocean. "Harley!"

Noah took off after Jake as well, Blake tried to catch the blonde boy's wrist, but Noah wrenched free and ran, desperation etched into his face.

"Wait!" Chase cried, standing up and jogging towards the beach. "We don't know what's out there!"

No sooner had Jake's feet touched the ocean water when a massive tentacle-like appendage shot out from deeper water. It wrapped around Jake in an instant and with a lightning fast jerk, hauled him from his feet. Jake screamed and Chase began running towards him.

The scream was silenced suddenly as the tentacle arm dragged him abruptly down, under the waves. Blake held Leo back and watched in horror. Noah had reached the water by the time Jake had been snatched. He turned back to look at Blake and Leo with an expression of confused terror. Only for a moment though. Another arm whipped forward and swept him back out to sea as well. He barely had time to let out a cry of surprise and fear before he too disappeared beneath the dark water.

"Don't go in the water!" Blake screamed to Chase who had reached the edge of the shore.

Chase dug his heels into the sand so quickly that he fell over backwards, only inches from the edge.

Leo wailed in despair, having witnessed the whole thing. "We need to get them!" He screamed. "We need to save them!"

Blake wrapped him tightly in a hug, feeling the tears streaming down his own face. Chase crawled backward away from the water until he could find his feet again and ran back to join them.

"No, no, no!" Leo wailed. "We need to... Harley! We have to save Harley!" He screamed hysterically before breaking away from Blake's embrace and making a dash for the water.

Chase snagged him around the waist and picked him up, holding him tightly to his chest.

"Put me down!" Leo cried. "Do something! Please, Chase do something!"

"What do we do??" Blake almost shouted, close to breaking down as well.

Chase looked over his shoulder at the water. "Inside, now!" He ordered, running toward the ship.

"Noo!" Leo screamed, struggling in Chase's arms. "No! We can't!"

Chase held the squirming boy tightly though as he and Blake ascended the ramp to board the ship. Taking one more look out at the dark ocean and setting his face in a mask of stone, Chase punched the button to close the ramp.

Chapter 5

"Well gentlemen," General Vekker pushed his chair back. "We've all had the chance to review the report from Ephria. I'd like to hear from all of you about your thoughts on the mission."

Karl Goring the CEO of REPLICorp was the first to speak up. REPLICorp was the private company that had invented and now serviced and supplied all the military's cloning and genetic modification technology. Goring now sat on the General's cabinet, as the company exclusively contracted with the United Earth Military.

"If I may, General, I see this as an absolute win. We were able to establish the beginnings of a colony with a communication link and a security perimeter, and only at the cost of one team of our artificial scouts."

The General scratched his chin thoughtfully as Commander Frans, the first in charge of the HIVE project spoke as well.

"I tend to agree with Mr. Goring, Sir." The Commander said. "Perhaps we did not get as much exploring done as we would have liked, and we will need to employ stricter security protocol for further manned missions to Ephria, but we have our foundation. And imagine the backlash if we had encountered this snare during a mission with genuine humans."

General Vekker nodded. "True. I'd have press banging down my door. Some people already think we're reaching too far with Ephria."

There were nods from the shimmering holograms around the room. Earth was divided on the cause of colonizing other worlds. Some believed that it was the only way to ensure the continuation of humanity, but others considered it a waste of resources that could be put to better use serving the people of Earth. If genuine humans had died for the expedition, then there may have been enough public outcry to cancel the mission entirely.

"Speaking of which," The General continued. "How is our other little experiment going? Commander Provis?"

Another of the holograms at the table cleared his throat. "We are proceeding on schedule, Sir. The newest batch of twins is en route to the Satellite for training."

The General smiled. It seemed like everything was beginning to take shape. "And that woman, the one mother that was making threats?"

The Commander nodded assurance. "No need to worry, General. She will no longer be a problem. Accidents happen all the time."

"Very good." Vekker approved. "I trust that you can make sure things are kept discreet. I don't need to remind you of the delicacy of this project. Years of work would go to waste if the wrong people were to get wind of it."

"Of course, Sir." The Commander promised. "You have my word. We are working tirelessly to ensure that there are no loose ends that could be followed back to us."

A smirk curled the General's lip. "Excellent. Proceed with the training."

"Sir has there been any update on the strange happenings within the Gemin..." Commander Provis was cut off abruptly as General Vekker pressed the mute button on the Commander's hologram.

"Nothing to be concerned about." Vekker stated calmly. "Rumor and conjecture mixed with wishful thinking. There is nothing going on there that we cannot handle. You would do well to remember that, Commander."

The Commander averted his eyes in embarrassment before the General unmuted his communication. "Of course, General."

Three weeks had passed since the tragedy on Ephria and Leo was still despondent. He spent almost all of his time shut away in the little room that he and Harley had shared together. Their blanket fort still stood in one corner, but he couldn't bring himself to use it. He had tried once, but the raw emotion forced him out once more. Instead he would curl up on one edge of the bed and try not to look at it. Even though it was painful to see, he also couldn't bear to take it down. Taking apart the fort would be acknowledging that Harley was not coming back. And that was not yet something that Leo was ready to do.

In the week and a half after the horrible incident, Blake had finished the communications tower. He had worked only in short shifts, well away from the water, and only with Chase watching closely, armed with a heavy rifle. Leo was not permitted off the ship during this time, not that he would have gone even if he could.

As soon as the comm tower was up, they had left Ephria as far behind as possible. The memories followed though, especially for Leo.

After reporting the completion of the tower, Chase had immediately received new orders from command and new coordinates for the Hive where they would dock for refuel and resupply. That was all. There was no consolation, no offer of a break to recover from the trauma. It was simply on to the next thing, with Crew 217 almost forgotten entirely.

Even Leo's normal enthusiasm at returning to a Hive could not penetrate the gloom that hung over him. He didn't know if anything could. Blake and Chase had both tried to pull him out of it. Blake had done his best to cook only Leo's favorite meals from the simple travel rations they were supplied with. But even so, Leo did not eat much and only picked at the food on the rare times he left his room.

Chase was much less strict than usual, allowing Leo to do almost anything he wanted. Sleeping at odd hours, using the virtual reality in the middle of the night, not helping with household chores. Chase let it all happen, even though mostly Leo just kept to himself.

Eventually it dawned on Leo that he was partially being selfish. Chase and Blake had to be upset too, but they were still doing their work and picking up the slack from Leo. This spike of self-awareness however did not come with a motivation to do anything about it. It seemed like Leo couldn't help but mope and hide away, even in the moments that he wished he could go and greet his crewmates with a smile or help them with the cleaning.

As they neared the new Hive however, Chase came knocking on his door. Chase could of course open the door whenever he wanted, the knocking was just a courtesy.

"Come in..." Leo managed. His voice was hoarse, those were the first two words he had spoken in over twelve hours.

"You should come out with us. We're going to be docking soon." Chase told him quietly from the doorway.

Leo shook his head slightly from where he lay on the bed. "I'd rather stay here."

Chase approached and sat down on the edge of the bed. He placed a hand gently on Leo's leg and stroked up and down. "I know you're still hurting. I think we all are."

"Doesn't seem like it." Leo responded curtly and then immediately regretted it. He knew that Chase and Blake were grieving in their own way.

If Chase felt the sting of Leo's words, he didn't show it. He just continued to softly stroke Leo's leg. "It's natural to feel that way. When someone that you're close to dies, it takes a part of you with them."

Leo felt the tears stinging his eyes. Even after weeks, the emotion seemed to flow freely with even the slightest push. He wished the wound wasn't still so tender. "How long?" He asked with a sniffle.

"How long, what?" Chase just continued the gentle comforting contact.

Sitting partially up so that he could look at Chase with tears beginning to leak from the corners of his eyes he asked, "How long does it hurt this bad?"

Chase's stern face softened, and he held out his arms toward Leo. Sniffling, Leo crawled across the bed and Chase drew him in and cuddled him tightly. "It's different for everyone." Chase spoke in a low voice in Leo's ear. "It never totally goes away. But time does make it easier."

Leo didn't like to let Chase or Blake see him cry but wrapped in Chase's strong arms he couldn't help but break down. Chase just held on to him, letting him cry his heart out while whispering soft comfort to him.

As the minutes passed, Leo's sobs diminished into silent tremors that wracked his small body periodically. Chase kept him in a firm grip, where Leo knew that he was not alone.

"Come and stay with me tonight." Chase told him. "You shouldn't be alone all this time. When we dock, this part of the ship will be detached."

That thought had not occurred to Leo yet. They were still flying what was essentially two ships. When they reached the Hive, the ship that had belonged to Crew 217 would be removed. That made him want to start crying all over again.

"What will happen to this ship?" Leo asked.

"Well, it will be sent for routine maintenance and then given to a new crew or kept in storage until another crew needs it." Chase told him practically.

Leo shook with a particularly violent sniffle. "What'll happen to... everything inside?" He couldn't help looking over at the blanket fort.

Chase noticed where he was looking and squeezed Leo tight. "Take the blanket." He encouraged. "They won't notice that it's missing. We'll keep it in the closet. You can get it out when you want it."

Leo sucked in a deep breath and nodded against Chase's chest. Summoning all his willpower, he disentangled himself from Chase's grasp and stood up. Immediately he wanted nothing more than to jump back into those strong arms. Instead, Leo pushed himself to cross the room to the corner where the blanket fort sat. Reaching out a shaking hand, he took hold of the soft blanket that had been he and Harley's special clubhouse for their entire time together.

With a single tear running down his cheek, Leo pulled the blanket away, dismantling the fort. He clutched it tight to his chest. Chase moved up behind him and wrapped his arms around him once more.

"Come on." Chase spoke softly. "I think Blake has dinner just about ready."

That night before bed, Chase helped Leo fold the blanket neatly in a triangle, almost like a flag and place it on a shelf in the closet. Eating dinner with Blake and Chase had felt good. Leo had nearly even smiled at one of Blake's jokes. Now though, as Chase gently set the folded blanket on the shelf, Leo felt the emotion rushing to the surface once more.

Swallowing hard, he forced it down. It was time to be strong. The closet door closed with a click of finality, and Leo let out a deep breath he did not realize he had been holding. Chase put a strong hand on his shoulder and gave him a smile.

"I'm proud of you." He told him sincerely before leaning down to kiss Leo on the forehead. "Now, bedtime."

Leo did not argue. He padded over to Chase's large bed and slipped under the covers. Chase moved to the other side and climbed in as well. Leo gratefully let Chase pull him close, feeling the warmth of his body. For the first time since Ephria, Leo did not feel quite so alone.

Something big was going on. It became apparent as they neared Hive 451 and were informed that there was a waiting time for docking. That meant that the Hive was entirely full. Hives were almost never full, and this meant that serious events were underway. Leo wondered if it had anything to do with Ephria.

Fortunately, a series of seven crews were dispatched from the Hive not long after their arrival, making their wait time fairly short.

"What do you think is going on?" Leo asked Blake as they made their final approach.

Blake shrugged. "No idea. It's probably why we got called back in so quickly though."

Because their ship was still connected to the other, they had to proceed to a special docking bay where the ships would be disentangled. This took them a little longer than usual but soon Leo was greeted by the familiar sight of the doors sliding open on the main deck of a Hive. He did not think that he had been on this particular Hive before, but they all tended to run together as most of them looked very similar.

Almost as soon as the doors opened, their comm unit pinged.

"Chase of Crew 91 please proceed immediately to the command center to receive orders."

"Well that was fast." Chase commented. "Don't get too comfortable. I get the feeling we're going to be moving out again soon."

Something was definitely up. The speed with which they had been contacted meant that command had been waiting for them to arrive.

Leo wandered around the Hive with Blake. He wasn't in the mood to go off on his own and also wanted to stay close in case Chase came back with their new orders. The station was a buzz of activity but there seemed to be a strange tension in the air, as if everyone was feeling the same sort of urgency that they were.

Leo and Blake got some food and returned to their ship to wait for Chase. Normally they would want to put their time on the Hive to good use by finding someone, or multiple someones, to spend it with. This time however it didn't feel right. The loss of Crew 217 was still too near to think much about baser needs.

As it turned out, they made the right choice in staying back at the ship. Chase returned only a little over an hour after leaving, looking frustrated.

"Well?" Blake asked expectantly. He was lounged in one of the comfortable chairs in the common area nibbling on a slice of pizza.

"We have new orders." Chase confirmed what they had already suspected. "We're leaving in four hours."

"Four hours!?" Leo cried in disbelief. "We've never been on a Hive less than a day before."

"I know." Chase answered, his tone indicating that he was not thrilled with the situation either. "Those are the orders though. So finish up and help me with the resupply."

"Where are we going?" Blake picked up the pace with his lunch.

Chase sighed and eventually shrugged. "Some satellite near Earth."

"Near Earth?" Leo questioned excitedly.

"What satellite? Why?" Blake demanded.

"I don't know, Blake." Chase snapped but quickly softened his tone. "Sorry. They didn't give me a lot of information."

"They didn't tell you what the mission is?" Leo asked in confusion.

"Not yet." Chase confirmed. "They said they would transmit more information when we got close. Apparently it's top secret."

Leo exchanged a look with Blake. "Whoa... Must be important then."

Shaking his head, Blake scoffed. "I bet it's something stupid. They're always acting like everything is such a big deal."

"I don't know." Chase admitted. "But either way, we need to get through the resupply quickly so we don't fall behind."

It took the three of them almost the entire four hours to move the new supplies in. They did not need as much specialized equipment as they had for their mission to Ephria, so it did not take them quite as long. While they worked, their ship was detached from Crew 217's ship. Leo felt a pang of sadness as he saw the port between the two ships sealed off for the last time but was too busy to dwell on it. Soon enough, they were ready to depart.

"Crew 91 ready for launch." Chase spoke into the comm as they shut down the airlocks between the Hive and their ship.

"Copy, Crew 91. Stand by." The voice from the control tower had them wait so as not to interfere with other ships that were launching or docking at the Hive. "Crew 91 you are clear to launch." The voice finally informed them.

Chase carefully detached the ship from the Hive's docking port and in a matter of a few minutes they were once again moving through the void of space.

Despite the strange nature of their Hive visit, the ship quickly settled back into normalcy. Chase set a course for the Earth system. He did not have to exact coordinates of the satellite that was their destination. Command had told him that he would receive those upon arrival in the solar system.

"Updated orders!" Blake shouted not long after they had gotten underway. He had been monitoring the ship's computer and saw the message come through. Chase and Leo gathered around quickly.

"Looks like we're going to be meeting another crew at the satellite." Blake told them, scanning the document. "We'll be working with Crew 138."

Leo's eyes widened as Blake said the number. He moved forward to read for himself to make sure he was correct. Crew 138 was the crew that he and Harley had talked about. The crew belonging to Marcus, the man from the baths on their previous Hive.

Thinking back to that evening and the brief encounter he'd had with Marcus, Leo shivered both with anticipation and a bit of fright. If their experience with Crew 217 had been anything to go by, working together with another crew meant more than just accomplishing the mission as a team.

"Are you alright, Leo?" Blake asked, waving a hand in front of his face. "Do you know this crew?"

"Um... No..." Leo recovered awkwardly. "I think I just... maybe heard Harley talk about them once." The mention of Harley's name sent a pang of guilt through Leo. It had been only three weeks and here he was fanaticizing about his approaching encounter with a new crew. "I'm going to bed." He announced abruptly, not wanting to face any more questions.

Chase and Blake looked at one another but they did not comment or try to stop him.

The journey to the Earth system was unremarkable. Blake tried on several occasions to coax Leo into his bedroom for an evening but was unsuccessful. Leo opted to stay with Chase although their interactions were mostly innocent. Leo was still not totally ready for intimacy as the thought reminded him of Harley and his crew members.

Furthermore, the prospect of meeting Marcus again as well as the rest of his crew had Leo very confused about his feelings. A part of him eagerly recalled the confident aura that Marcus seemed to exude, but another part did not want to be subjected to it again because he knew he would be unable to resist.

Leo did his best to put it out of his mind and think about other things. This would be by far the closest he had ever been to Earth. He wondered if maybe during or after this secret mission they might be able to visit the planet where it all started. Despite Chase's assertion that Earth was not the wonderous and perfect place that Leo held in his imagination, his curiosity was still enormous. He wondered if he would be able to tell the difference between regular humans and genetically grown ones just by looking.

Once they entered the system their new orders came through. The space station they were heading to was orbiting the planet Mars, Earth's very first colony. Leo could hardly even express his excitement. Imagining being so close to the places he had heard so much about through media and history was almost too much to bear.

"It's no big deal." Blake told him, obviously slightly annoyed by Leo's exuberance. "They don't even like artificial humans."

"Shut up." Leo complained, irritated that Blake would try to dull his excitement. "You've never been there either."

"Yeah, but Chase has." Blake countered. "And he says it's nothing special."

Leo scowled but his good mood could not be soured that easily. "I don't care." He replied almost teasingly. "It'll be fun anyway."

"If we even get to go to the planet." Blake reminded.

They docked their ship at the space station and as they waited for the pressure to equalize, trepidation began to gnaw at Leo once more. What would it be like working with Marcus and Crew 138? And what even was this top-secret mission?

His heart hammered even faster as the three of them stepped out of the airlock and were greeted almost immediately by a tall, broad-shouldered man; muscular with reddish brown hair and sharp blue eyes.

Marcus gave them a confident grin which widened as his eyes found Leo, partially trying to hide behind Blake. It was obvious that Marcus recognized him, but thankfully he said nothing. Leo tried desperately not to ogle him but could not help himself. Marcus's chiseled body appeared flawless. What drew his eyes almost immediately though was the massive shaft hanging between Marcus's legs. Leo had not gotten a proper look at it before and now that he did, he could still hardly believe it was real. Even totally soft it came almost halfway down to his knee. Against his will, Leo immediately became hard as a rock.

"Welcome." Marcus greeted and then quickly introduced himself, shaking hands with Chase. "My crew arrived yesterday. We've been getting ready ever since."

"Getting ready for what?" Blake asked with a slight tremor in his voice. It seemed like even the cocky Blake was intimidated by Marcus. Leo looked down to see that Blake was partially aroused as well. Not as much as Leo, who's little dick stood at full attention as he tried to hide it by standing behind Blake, but it was nice to know that he wasn't the only one affected by Marcus's presence.

"Oh, right." Marcus laughed. "They probably haven't briefed you yet. We only just got looped in ourselves. This space station is the staging area for something called the Gemini project. Some of us are going to be helping with the project directly, and others will be running a bit of... shall we say an espionage mission."

"Espionage?" Chase questioned with a frown. "We're spying on our own side?"

"Not exactly." Marcus corrected. "According to my briefing there's some intel here that doesn't need to get out. That's going to be part of our job here."

"This isn't making a lot of sense." Chase remarked. "What exactly is this Gemini project?"

Marcus rolled his eyes. "You'll have to hear it from them. You wouldn't believe me if I told you. Earth brass playing god again. I was asked to bring you in for your briefing as soon as you arrived. Want to follow me?"

Without waiting for an answer, Marcus turned and led them down the corridor of the space station. Leo heaved a sigh of relief that Marcus either hadn't noticed how excited he had been or had chosen to ignore it. He blinked several times and shook his head trying to clear it. Now was the time to focus on their job. After that he would have time to figure out his feelings about Marcus and Crew 138. It seemed like they would be spending some quality time together after all.