The Boys of the Lady Lex

Welcome back loyal readers. Some of you have written with your opinions of Captain Hatcher. The next few chapters will reveal a lot about him. In this chapter, for maybe the first times in their lives, Mark and Jesse Hatcher unite against their father. But the way they do it makes for a tenuous relationship between two brothers who have never gotten along. The question will be..can it last? But then, as you get to the end of the chapter, you will see it might not even get a chance to last. Thanks again for reading, and for the e-mails. Douglas and Ben

The Boys of the Lady Lex Chapter 20 "Stealth" Written By Douglas DD and Benjamin TC

Captain Hatcher was stunned. "Mark? MARK? You're the one who got captured?" He was so flustered and flabbergasted he didn't even realize how dumb his question sounded. Mark stood quietly, staring at a bulkhead, afraid to face his dad.

"Mark, how did this happen? Do you realize what this means? DO YOU?" Mark Hatcher was Steven Hatcher's pride and joy. The next Hatcher to shine on an academy ship. Mark had started late at the SFA Space Academy only because Linda Hatcher wanted him to experience growing up normally. She didn't want academy life to dominate him from the time he started sixth grade as it did all too many boys. She saw the results too often in the behavior of grown academy graduates, and she didn't like it.

Jesse stood taking this all in. Even he didn't know it was his brother he had captured, though he suspected it. Mark was still standing silently, a sullen look on his face, not wanting, not daring, to face his father.

"Come with me to my ready room. We need to find a way out of this."

Mark stood, not moving a muscle, still staring vacantly the distant bulkhead. He held his head high, though his desire was to drop it in shame. He was ruined, both on the "Orion" and in his dad's eyes. He might as well resign from the Academy now and return to his old high school and finish it with his old friends who wouldn't know about his shame. Even if they did, they wouldn't care.

"Son, come with me. Now!"

Mark still didn't move. Jesse, tired of watching the scene walked up to his big brother and put his hand on his shoulder. Mark pushed it away.

"Get lost, Flea." Mark used the nickname he's used on Jesse for years. It wasn't meant to be complimentary.

"Leave him alone, Jesse. This isn't your affair," Captain Hatcher said coldly.

"You mean this isn't my family any more? He's not my brother any more? Just because I'm not your son doesn't mean he isn't my brother!" Jesse could feel the anger rising in him, and even worse, he could feel the tears starting to drip down his cheeks.

Hatcher looked at his son, wondering where the sudden feistiness had come from; wondering how all these years had gone by without him even seeming to know who he was, wondering why the fate of Johnny Cooper seemed to mean more to him than the fate of Jesse Hatcher.

"Come on, Mark, let's go to my ready room."

"Let me talk to him first," Jesse insisted.

"Leave me alone, Flea," Mark intoned again in a flat voice.

"Just give me two minutes, okay?"

Mark took a deep breath and looked into the concerned tear-stained face of his brother.

"Okay. Two minutes. And that's it. I don't have time for you. You've done your damage."

Jesse let the comment pass and went with Mark into the Captain's ready room. Mark glared at Jesse. "Okay. What do you want? You want to rub my nose it in? Want to brag how happy you are? You got me. You're going be the stud hero brother now." Mark was shaking, working to fight back tears, knowing his standing had dropped not only with his father but also with the cadets of the "Orion" and the entire SFA Junior Academy program. And now his little fagotty brother was in front of him ready to give him the final blow; to brag how he had captured him and ruined his life. The tears were starting. No, he thought, no tears. Tears are for wimps like Jesse, not for cadets like him. They can take it all away from him, but they wouldn't make him cry.

"That's not what this is about," Jesse said.

"Fuck you, Flea, you know this is what it's about. You know this is your big moment." Jesse flinched. Mark had screamed and yelled at his little brother before, but he had never cussed at him.

"Will you just listen to me for once?" Jesse yelled. This time Mark flinched. Jesse had always taken what Mark dished out. This was the first time he had ever yelled back at his older brother.

Mark looked at his brother with a new measure of respect. Not only had the Flea captured him almost single-handedly, he was even standing up to him.

"Okay. Tell me what you want. But make it quick so I can face the music and get my ass out of here."

Jesse started up with the same nonstop enthusiasm he always had when his brain started racing ahead of him, like when he tried to explain to his dad how he had captured the intruder. "Look, you heard dad when I tried to tell him I captured you. He didn't even listen, and he doesn't even care. And now that he knows it was you all he wants to do is find a way to get you out of trouble and save you."

"Yeah, so, what do they have to do with each other?"

"Look, what happened when you opened that door?"

"Just my life being ruined."

"So, who was behind it?"

"Well, you were. Unfortunately. Look, I don't see where this is going. Quit wasting my time and get to the point."

Getting to the point was not one of a Jesse's strong suits. "And you opened it really hard right?"

"Not hard enough."

"What are you talking about? Come on Flea. For once just say what's on your mind."

Jesse took a deep breath. At least on stage he always knew what the script was. "Well, if somebody gets hurt during an initiation, it is okay to stop to help right? And if you stop to help, anything that happens to you, like being captured doesn't count right? As long as the guy who got hurt and one other witness backs up the guy who stopped to help, right?"

"Yeah. We get told that before we leave. But how do you know all this? You're just a cadet on a loser of a ship And what does that have to do with me?."

Jesse felt his blood boil at that comment on the Lady Lex, but he fought down his reaction and went on. "We do learn stuff here, you know. Just because we're not official doesn't mean we're dumb." Jesse stared at Mark, but he got no response. "So, when the door opened hard it hit me in the face and knocked me out. That's when Scottie captured you, when you stopped to help me, because you thought I was hurt."

"But dad knows you weren't hurt in the room. He could see that. And he could see that you aren't hurt now."

"I've got that all figured out. You have to punch me in the face just like the door would. Hit me right in the nose."

"But what about your roommate?"

"Scottie will back us up."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure." But of course he wasn't sure. Scottie had no clue about his plan.

"Dad will know you weren't hurt when he saw you."

"No he won't. He won't have a clue. He probably already forgot I was there. Now come on, hit me. We don't have much time."

Mark raised his fist, the lowered it. "You know I can't hit you, Jesse. I mean I know we don't like each other much, but I can't hit you."

"Yes you can. You always wanted to. Hit the little brother faggot actor pain in the ass Flea. You know you've wanted to."

"Why are you doing this? Why don't you just tell dad the truth?"

"Because he wouldn't listen to it. He'll try to get you out of trouble, no matter what. He would have to lie, so I might as well be the liar, because it could hurt him and you. But lying won't hurt me. I'm caught you fair and square, but I'm wrong, you're right, no matter what. So I might as well make it official. And besides, you see, you...you..," Jesse good a deep breath, "you're my brother."

On a wild impulse Mark grabbed his brother and gave him a big tight hug. He wanted to tell him some things, but the word wouldn't come out. Things like, I love you brother, I've always loved you. Instead he realized what he was doing and quickly let go, saying, "And here I always thought you were a wussy little faggot actor."

"Hey, let me breathe will you," Jesse said. Mark let him go. Jesse had never seen Mark hug anybody like that, not even one of the seemingly endless girl friends he brought home. "I am a wussy little faggot actor," he grinned. "Okay, now, right in the nose. And don't break anything."

Mark raised his arm. "Please forgive me, Flea." For the first time, Flea was a term of affection. Mark's fist slammed into Jesse's nose, hard. Fortunately, Jesse still had a young boy's face and a young boy's nose, something he was increasingly self-conscious about. The blow knocked Jesse back against the wall, and blood started flowing our of his nose and onto his uniform tunic. Jesse tilted his head back trying to stem the flow.

"Oh, God, I'm so sorry, Jesse."

"Just get dad," Jesse said.

Mark ran out of the room and came back with his father who was being trailed by Scottie. Scottie had wanted desperately to tell Captain Hatcher how the capture had really happened, but the Captain put him off, calling his senior officers instead to arrange a meeting. A meeting he hoped would come up with a plan to get his older son off the hook.

Hatcher looked at the blood flowing from Jesse's nose. "What the hell happened to you?"

"I tried to tell you on the bridge dad, but you wouldn't listen."

"Tell me what?"

"That Mark hit me in the face with the door and knocked me out and gave me this bloody nose. That's why Scottie captured him, because he stopped to," Jesse tried to think of the proper term through the pain of his bruised face, "to render aid. He...he knocked me out and I was bloody and he rendered aid. So his capture isn't really a capture by the rules of the initiations. He thought I was badly hurt."

"Is this true, Mark?"

Mark took a deep breath. He could tell the truth right now. He could tell his dad how Jesse was the hero. How Jesse had captured him and put him on the brink of ruin. He looked at Jesse, who was trying to stem the flow of blood with his hand. The choice was to maintain his own high standing with his father, or to raise his brother's up from the basement. Jesse had taken it in the chops for him. He had said his dad would get him off one way or the other, even if he had to break his own code of conduct and lie for him. Well, it was he and Jesse who were going to do the lying. For the first time in his life he owed Jesse. But not today. Not right now.

"Yeah, dad. It's true."

Captain Hatcher turned to Scottie. "Is that true, Cadet Brothers?"

Scottie wasn't sure what to say. Seeing Jesse's bleeding nose had put him into shock. He knew Jesse had been okay before he and Mark had come into the ready room. Mark and Jesse had cooked up something, but he wasn't sure what. He was sure Mark had intimidated him into making the story up. Intimidated, hell, he thought. He beat him up and made him tell it. Even though he didn't know Mark, he knew he didn't like him. Jesse had told him too many stories of how he had been treated by his older brother.

Angered by what he perceived as Mark's bullying, he was about to tell the true story, when he saw Jesse mouth, "It's true," and wink at him.

Scottie, too, took a deep breath and said, "It's true."

"I know you weren't bleeding on the bridge, Jesse. And don't tell me you were."

"No, I wasn't. Mark stopped the bleeding but it started over again while we were talking in here."

"It's true," Scottie volunteered.

"Just what were you two boys talking about?"

Jesse answered. "The rules. Mark didn't know the rules. I did." Jesse was using all of his acting skills, only now his stage was real life.

Mark looked at Jesse. Okay, I guess he's allowed one free dig.

"He's free and off the hook," Jesse continued. "You got me who got hurt and you got Scottie as the witness. Mark rendered aid because I was knocked out and bleeding, so he wasn't really captured. All you have to do is fill out the paperwork."

"I will let Commander Creevey do that." Hatcher then ordered Scottie to take Jesse to sick bay. "There is one thing I still don't understand. Mark might have stemmed the bleeding in your room, but your face wasn't even bruised when you were on the bridge."

"How would you know, dad? You haven't looked at me since the day I was born. Come on Scottie, let's go."

The two boys left the ready room for sick bay. Hatcher looked at Mark and said, "You got lucky son."

"I know."

"What's the real story? You can tell me here in private?"

"I don't think you really want to know the real story. It wouldn't fit what you think your sons are like. So let's just say you heard the real story, because it's the one you really wanted to hear. Now, I need to get a ride back to my ship."

Steve Hatcher watched as his older son walked out of the ready room without even a good-bye. It was the first time Hatcher had ever seen that kind of defiance and attitude from him. The two of them had always been tight. I've already lost my younger son, the thought. Am I losing my older one too?

Mark wasn't sure where he was going. He didn't even know how to get to his ship. What he did know was he was angry with his father, maybe for the first time ever. Oh yeah, he'd been unhappy his dad was gone so much, but the times they had when he was home were always good times, sometimes made better in his mind because it was at the expense of Jesse. Today he saw everything in a new light. His little brother was twice the person he ever thought he was, and his father had treated Jesse miserably and unfairly his entire life, and he had been too dumb and self-centered to see it.

Then he thought of what Jesse had told him. "I am a wussy little faggot actor." Yeah, I always thought so, Mark thought. Well, little faggot brother, I didn't stand up for you today. But I owe you, because little faggot or not, you're my brother."

Because it was Sunday, there were no classes or duties, except for standing watch. Of course the big topic at breakfast was the raid by the junior academy ships and the capture of one of their cadets by Jesse Hatcher. Everyone who knew Jesse wondered if this would help him in the eyes of his father. Jesse was well-liked by the other cadets. They didn't trust him at first because he was the Captain's son, but Jesse soon proved to them that he wanted to be part of the cadet crew. Once they learned he was going to be no pet of the regular crew, and that he was certainly no pet of the captain he was readily accepted by the crew, especially those in his wing group.

Douglas sat at the breakfast table with Ben, Nipper, and Andrew. They were babbling where they were and what they had done the previous night. Andrew and Nipper both blushed when praised for their roles, and blushed even more when Douglas asked him how it was they were in a shuttle bay naked. He made them blush even harder when he mentioned that the "Lady Hawke" seemed to be quite the place to have a sexual rendezvous. They wondered where Scottie and Jesse were. Probably getting medals for capturing one of the intruders. They talked about how it felt to be hit by the stun guns.

Ben looked over at the table where the crew of the "Buford" sat. The entire crew was there. He tried to catch Trev's attention. Trevor studiously ignored him, however. I really do need to give him more of my attention, Ben thought. But it's hard when we're not on the same shuttle crew. Andrew seems to be getting all of my attention, and I know Trev resents it.

A lot of the time before breakfast had been spent cleaning up the mess left by the intruders. There was still a lot of work to be done. None of the boys were happy about that.

Trev was wolfing down his breakfast. He saw Ben looking at him, trying to get his attention. Well, if he wants my attention so badly, Trev thought, he can just get up and come over here. Trev shoveled in the last of his pancakes and got up from the table.

"Where are you going?" Ian asked.

"I have business to take care of."

"Oh."

"Meet me in our cabin in a half hour."

Trev left the dining hall and headed for his cabin. Ben noticed he was wearing a long plain black T-shirt and sweats. Since it was Sunday, uniforms weren't required, unless an inspection was called. One had been called for today, but it had been canceled, with a meeting scheduled instead for right after lunch. The cadets all knew the meeting was going to be about last night's intrusion.

Ben watched Trev disappear through the door, admiring his ass. Even though Trevor and Andrew were identical twins, and even though Andrew was incredibly sexy and was the twin Ben kept having sex with, he found Trevor to be erotic. He wasn't sure why. Maybe it was his haughty arrogance; the fact that he wasn't unattainable, but wanted to make people think he was.

As Trevor walked quickly down the hall he thought of Ben. Ben always did stuff with Andrew. Why can't he do stuff with me? he thought. Why doesn't he like me? I'll do anything with Ben. Anything. Even sex stuff. Especially sex stuff. Why doesn't he like me like he does Andrew?

By the time Trevor got to his cabin he cleared his head of those thoughts. He admired the picture on the wall. It was a picture of a hawk, drawn by Ian. Ian was a very talented artist, and even though it was only a pencil drawing, the picture was detailed and realistic. That's me, Trev thought. I'm a hawk. A predator. Only I'm not a hawk, I'm Hawke. I'm going to learn the ways of stealth from Mr. Wolfe, and become like a hawk. A silent hunter.

He pulled off his shoes, socks , pants and underwear. He was clad only in his long black T-shirt. This was his Hawke out fit. The shirt was his hunting feathers. It was all he needed to wear. Now he just needed one more thing, and he knew what it was and where to get it. Once again he made his way up the vent and into the duct system.

Ben and Douglas were about to leave the breakfast table when Jesse and Scottie came in. Jesse had a bandage on his nose and a bruised face. When the rest of the cadets who left in the dining hall saw them enter they stood up and cheered. Both boys gave little acknowledgment to the cheer. They grabbed trays, plates, and silverware and grabbed what was left on the breakfast buffet. They sat at their crew's table with Ben, Andrew, Nipper, and Douglas.

"What happened to your face, Jesse?" Andrew asked.

"I got hit by a door."

"A door? How did you get hit by a door?"

Jesse told the story of being hit by the door as Mark invaded his cabin. He told of how Mark helped him, and how, because he was captured rendering aid, it didn't count as a capture.

"So, Mark gets off totally free?" Ben asked.

"Yes," Jesse said quietly. He hated lying to his new friends. He knew the entire ship had been excited about capturing one of the intruders, and he knew he was letting not only his friend down, but the entire ship. But there was no way he could let his brother receive the same treatment from their dad that he had received his entire life. The Lady Lex would go on without the capture. The goal was winning the Olympics, not getting a lucky capture. And nothing or nobody, not even Mark, would get the way of his working to attain that goal.

"So, what happens to him now?"

"I guess he goes back to his ship," Scottie said.

"How's your nose?" Ben asked with concern.

"It's felt better. I'll be okay. Douglas's dad fixed me all up. He said it's not even broken."

"Yeah. You got lucky. Those doors are hard," Ben said.

After some more chat, Ben and Douglas excused themselves. They had been looking forward to after breakfast. With inspection canceled, it was time for them to show their love for each other. And they had all morning to do it.

As they headed down to the corridor they discussed Jesse's story.

"Do you believe it?" Ben asked.

"Not really. I don't know what really happened, but it wasn't that. All I know is until they found out they captured Mark's brother everybody said it was a capture. Then all of a sudden it becomes rendering aid."

"Jesse's face looked pretty beat up. What happened there?"

"I don't know, but I don't think it was a door. Whatever it was isn't any of our business, unless it affects how our crew works, or unless it affects the Lady Lex. But that doesn't mean I don't want to know what the real story is."

The boys entered their cabin, and no other words were spoken. Instead, they started kissing wildly and were madly tearing off each other's clothes.

Trev looked through the vent into the room. It was empty. She was probably going to church services like he'd hoped. He put on his gloves and pulled off the vent and lowered himself down the shaft into Tina Hatcher's room. He opened some drawers until he found what he was looking for. He was in luck. The bottles and tubes were randomly scattered throughout the drawer. He could take what he needed and not have to worry about leaving things in their place. His other piece of luck was that there were a large number of the same items. He could take one of each and it would never be missed. Making sure all the drawers were closed, Trev climbed back up the shaft and into the duct system. He place the vent pack into place and crawled back to his own room.

Mark Hatcher stood before Commander Creevey . He had just finished breakfast. He was no longer hungry, but he was very tired. He wanted to get back to the "Orion". He was feeling very lonely without his friends. And he was angry. Angry with himself for being captured. Suddenly angry with Jesse for getting him out of trouble and putting him into his younger brother's debt. Angry with his father for expecting him to be perfect and making him sign the devil's pact with Jesse.

"Here are your papers, signed by me, declaring you were captured while rendering aid to an injured cadet. I hope you understand that while this clears you with your CO and exempts you from punishment or being dropped in rank, it doesn't necessarily get you off the hook with your fellow cadets. In their eyes, you were captured, regardless of the reason. You may have to work on regaining their respect."

"Yes, m'am, I understand."

"Good. Now, all we have to do is get you home."

She pushed the comm button on the arm of her chair. "Ensign Masters, how would you like to take the `Lady Hawke' out for a spin?"

"Where am I taking her?"

"You will be returning Cadet Hatcher to the `Orion'."

"Well, then I don't think so."

"Excuse me?"

"I'd rather have one of my cadet shuttles take him."

"But your crews aren't flight ready yet. None of them have been out on a real flight. That wasn't scheduled until next week."

"Don't be too sure."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I have a fine young pilot, with a tad bit of experience, who would love to go out for a spin and show his crew what he can do."

"How can that be, Ensign. How can you have a pilot with experience?"

"Now, now, Commander. I thought the XO was supposed to know everything that went on."

Commander Creevey remembered the brief flight of what was now the "Wonder Boy" that had shown up in one her daily reports. It looks like it was more than Kalon just taking the shuttle out for a spin to impress the boys. Apparently a cadet had gotten some flying lessons. She smiled inwardly. Anyone else would probably get an ass chewing, but if Kalon wanted the boy to fly, then he did it for a reason. Rebel though he was, Kalon rarely did anything without a reason. And who better in the entire fleet to get a lesson from than Kalon Masters?

"Acknowledged, Ensign. And permission granted to use your cadet crew. I assume it will be the `Wonder Boy'." Creevey added that bit of information to remind Kalon that she indeed did know all that happened on the Lady Lex.

"Very good, Commander. The `Wonder Boy' it is ."

"Get the crew ready, Ensign. Cadet Hatcher will meet you at the shuttle bay. And Ensign, this is no solo crew flight. You will be accompanying them."

"Of course, Commander. I might be crazy, but I'm not stupid," Kalon said with a laugh.

"You want me to do what?" Ian asked.

"Paint my eyes. Like the feathered eyes of the hawk in your drawing."

"Why?"

"Because I'm the Hawke. And when I go soaring on a mission, I want my eyes painted."

Ian had been lying on his bed when Trevor came back down the shaft. Trevor's shirt had pulled up just enough for him to see his bare ass as he appeared. It was enough to give him a boner, which still hadn't gone away. Just knowing Trevor had nothing on beneath his long black T-shirt was keeping him hard. He desperately hoped Trevor didn't notice. Trevor did notice, just like he had the night before, but he said nothing.

Trevor showed Ian the make-up he had taken from Tina's room. "Use this to paint my eyes."

The tubes and bottles Trevor had were of various colors. Ian took one of the bottles and put some of the eyeliner on a thin pencil. He started painting lines out from each of Trevor's eyes. Then he took a different color and did more lines. He used eye-shadow from on of the tubes to darken under Trevor's eyes. When he finished his work he looked at his roommate. He looked incredible with the colored lines spreading out from his darkened eyes. He looked very hawk like. Drawing the lines on Trevor's face and putting the make-up on his eyes had made him even harder than he had been. And now looking at Trevor turned him on like he had never been before.

Trevor went into the head to look in the mirror. His T-shirt was tented out by his four inch boner. The 12 year old liked what he saw. He was The Hawke. He was ready for action. Ian had done it perfectly. Seeing himself like that and thinking of the boner he knew Ian had turned him on as much as Ian was. Trev fought the thoughts. Right now he needed to be ready for stealth. He needed all of his concentration on his mission. The rest could wait. Right now it was time to prove himself to Harrison Wolfe.

He went back out into the cabin and pulled a black T-shirt out of Ian's drawer. The black T-shirts had been handed out to all of the cadets. They were surplus items, all the same size, and so were quite long on the younger, smaller cadets like Trevor and Ian. Trevor's went almost to his knees. He told Ian to get undressed. Ian balked for a moment, then saw the intense look on Trev's face and relented. He knew Trev had something planned, and realized that despite earlier misgivings, he wanted to be a part of it. He just wasn't going to be led into big trouble like he had been by his brothers.

Ian pulled off his pants and T-shirt, standing before Trev in only his tight fitting white briefs, which were obviously tented out. He was afraid to take them off and have Trev see his boner, even though he knew he really wasn't hiding anything, that Trev could see the obviously bulge in the front of his briefs. Trevor fought off the confusing urge to see Ian naked and hard. He told him to put on the black T-shirt. Ian did, and it hung to his knees just as it did on Trevor.

"Now take off your underpants."

"Only if yours are off." Ian knew perfectly well that Trevor wasn't wearing underpants, having seen his exposed butt when his T-shirt had bunched up during his climb down the shaft.

"They are."

"Prove it," Ian said in a hoarse whisper, his body shaking with confusing jolts of energy. Trevor raised his T-shirt, quickly showing off his hard, hairless boner, then let it drop again. Ian saw the shirt bulging out in front. He pulled up his T-shirt, exposing the innie belly-button on his smooth abdomen, held the shirt up with his chin, and pulled down his briefs, letting Trevor catch a glimpse of his own three inch hard hairless dick. He let the T-shirt drop as he stepped out of his briefs. Like Trevor, he was now wearing nothing but a black T-shirt. Like Ian, Trevor knew he liked what he saw, and like Ian he was confused by his feelings.

"Come on, follow your Hawke."

"Where are we going?" Ian was torn between staying and keeping out of trouble and following his roommate to wherever he might be going.

"To get us that chocolate. We didn't get it yesterday, remember?" Trevor knew they were lucky that in the confusion nobody had asked them what they were doing out of their cabins in their underwear. He had an answer ready if they had.

"But it's morning, Trev. We can't go in broad daylight."

"Who says we can't? This is break time in the kitchen. We can do it if we go now. All it takes is stealth and cunning." Trevor was determined to show both Johnny Cooper and Harrison Wolfe what he had learned from his books.

Ian took a deep breath and told Trevor he better know what he was doing. He didn't want to steal, but he wanted badly to be accepted by Trevor. Ian wished he could have his face painted the way Trevor did. He thought Trev's feather markings were very sexy. He knew he'd done a good job of putting them on, and remembered how erotic it felt to be touching his roommate's face as he applied the make-up

Trevor told Ian to put his back pack on over his shoulder, and Trevor did the same.

As Trevor scurried up the ventilator shaft, Ian strained to catch a glimpse of Trevor's butt and genitals from below him. It was too dark to see much. Ian climbed up after Trevor, and once again the boys made their way through the duct system to the kitchen area.

Trevor looked down through a vent and saw it was empty. He opened the vent to the ventilating shaft and once again climbed down into the kitchen. Ian followed him. Both boys now had their gloves on. Trevor opened the door to the huge supply room. All was well so far. Trevor saw the boxes of chocolate. He filled both his and Ian's back packs. They went back out into the kitchen, Trevor making sure he'd left the lights the way he had found them; off. He scurried half way up the shaft. He held onto the ledge and had Ian hand him the book bags. His legs and his one hand held him in place as he hoisted the bags up into the duct. He then climbed all the way into the duct and waited as Ian scampered up after him.

When Trevor started heading up a duct that went in a different direction from their cabin, Ian asked him where he was going.

"Just follow me," Trev said happily. "I have one more surprise stealth visit to make."

Ben and Douglas took up all of Ben's bed. The two of them were naked in each other's arms, covered with each other's sweat and cum. They had just had incredible sex, kissing until they thought they would never unlock their lips, rubbing their hard boners against each other until they had exploded over each other with adolescent fury. Now they were simply enjoying each other's company, the feel of each other, the breath of each other, every possible aspect of each other. Their post sex reverie was broken by a knock at the door.

"Oh, shit, who is that?" Ben asked.

Douglas got ready to scramble out of Ben's bed and into his own when the door opened and Mike stepped in, catching him half way off the bed, naked and embarrassed.

"Don't you believe in being invited?" Ben asked angrily.

Mike chuckled and said, "I knew where I'd find you two. I take that back, I had one chance in two of guessing the right bed."

"What do you mean you knew?" Douglas asked.

"I'm the Junior XO. It's my job to know."

"You know about this?"

"As a fellow gay cadet with a boyfriend, how could I miss it? I only wish my boyfriend was my roommate too. Look, I had to get here in a hurry, and I'm sorry for the intrusion. Just doing my job." Mike couldn't help but chuckle again. He was beginning to consider Ben and Douglas to be good friends, and he sincerely hoped they didn't mind him catching them in the act.

"So, do you know who is sleeping with whom all over the ship?" Douglas asked.

"No. Just the people who are important," Mike said with a grin.

Douglas and Ben were both sitting up now, both of them surprisingly comfortable being naked around Mike.

"So, what's the big emergency?" Douglas asked.

"I'm glad I caught you after you had your fun. And don't worry, if I had heard moaning and groaning, I wouldn't have opened the door. But all those sounds ended before I left the bridge."

"You could hear us all the way to the bridge?" Ben asked.

Mike laughed, and then told both boys to put their uniforms on. They were going for a ride.

"To where?"

"To the JFSA `Orion'. I guess you have a person to return."

"Mark Hatcher?" Douglas asked.

"Who else?"

"Why pick the `Wonder Boy'?" Ben asked. "Is it because Jesse Hatcher is a member of the crew?"

"Nope. I don't even know if that was even thought of. It happens to be because the `Wonder Boy' is the only shuttle with a pilot who has actually flown a shuttle, not just a simulator."

Ben blushed. His little sojourn of the week before had gained him a great deal of notoriety, most of it good.

"I guess we better get dressed," Ben said. He could already feel a rush of excitement. He was going to fly again.

Mike looked at their cum covered bodies and said with a slight leer, "I think you might want to shower first." This time both of the boys blushed. "Pre-flight check is in thirty minutes. You guys are lucky. Have fun."

"Thanks, Mike," Douglas said.

Ben stopped Mike before he could leave the cabin, and in his usual inquisitive manner asked, "Do you believe the story Mark and Jesse Hatcher told?"

"Not for me to say," Mike said. "Just funny how when somebody is hiding behind a door he expects to fly open he ends up getting hit in the nose with it. See you guys when you get back."

Mike left and Ben almost leaped off the ground. He hugged Douglas. "I get to fly again!"

"I know," Douglas said with pride. The "Wonder Boy" was already way ahead of the other shuttles.

"And this time you're going to be the commander. Oh, God, I love you Douglas. I'm so happy we got to have sex together. I'm so happy we get to fly my cousin Mark back. I'm just so happy!"

Douglas gave Ben a deep kiss and then said, "I suppose we can stay here and celebrate, or we can shower."

Ben pushed past Douglas and took his shower first. The boys would've liked to shower together, but the stall was too small for them to do a quickie. Too much maneuvering would have been required.

Ben and Douglas were both excited about their unexpected adventure. Little did they realize it would be more adventurous than they realized.

The timer under the control panel of the shuttle hit 0:00. A small computer clicked on, sensors started operating. A message went from the sensors to the master chip. "Target detected. Target too close. Systems currently down." The message would continue to be sent until the situation changed.

Trevor gently lay his backpack on the floor of the duct. He motioned Ian to stay where he was. Ian still had no idea what Trevor was up to. Trevor crawled a little further up, removed a vent cover, and quietly eased his way down a ventilator shaft. His bare feet alit on the floor with hardly a sound. He looked into the book filled room in front him. The large recliner in the middle of the room was occupied by a man whose back was to Trevor. The man was deeply engrossed in a book.

"Welcome, Master Trevor."

Trevor froze. How did Harrison Wolfe know he was there? He could not have been any quieter making his entrance. The man was uncanny.

Harrison Wolfe slowly closed his book and rose out of the chair. He turned and faced the half naked boy in his cabin.

"How did you know I was here? How did you know it was me? I was practicing perfect stealth," Trevor asked incredulously.

"Have you finished your books?"

"I'm almost done."

"Which is why your entrance was almost perfect. You still have much to learn. It was not a bad effort, though son, not a bad effort at all."

He looked at Trevor. The young boy in front of him was wearing a T-shirt, his longish, smooth preadolescent legs protruding from the bottom. He wore no socks or shoes. He wore make-up around his eyes, beautiful colored lines fanning out from his eyes up to his forehead and along the sides of his head. He had dark eye shadow around the eyes themselves. Some of it had become slightly smeared from the sweat of exertion. The boy had a very exotic look about him.

"Interesting look, Master Trevor. A bird of prey, I assume."

Was nothing secret from this man? "A hawk. I am Trevor, the Hawke, master of stealth and cunning."

"A fine choice. The hawk is a stealthy hunter, gliding silently on the wind searching for its prey, making sure its shadow doesn't give it away. And the reason for having nothing under the shirt?"

Nope, nothing was secret from this man. "I need nothing else. This is my stealth shirt. Anything else is extra and not necessary."

"Did Master Ian paint your face?"

"Yes."

"I thought so. A very talented artist is our Master Ian. Is he going to come down?"

Trevor blushed again.

"That was a good guess on my part. Be careful not to give yourself away my young pupil. Maybe you need to take up poker. Learn to keep your face a mask. And is he guarding the stolen chocolates?"

"How do you know all this?"

"You wouldn't have tried sneaking into my humble cabin had you not had news to share. And what other kind of news could it be? And now it needs to be returned, of course."

Trevor tried changing the subject. "Where were you last night? We banged on your door looking for you."

"I know. I was here. You didn't have to try breaking down the door, you know."

"Then why didn't you answer it?"

"I figured you boys would do just fine without me. I wasn't needed."

"Wasn't needed? We got shot!" Wolfe ignored the outburst. "

Tell me, how were the intruders detected?"

"By making a lot of noise."

"Exactly. And how was one of them captured?"

"The same reason. Too much noise. They didn't practice the secrets of stealth."

"Perhaps. You didn't need me. They were amateurs. They were like donkeys at a tea party. When I am finished teaching you, you will be on top of them before they even know it. You will truly be Hawke, the Master of Stealth. Now, you need to return that chocolate."

"But why? I thought you wanted me to practice stealth."

"Yes, Master Trevor. Practice stealth, not thievery. Return them today. Return them now. Return them so nobody will ever know they were missing."

"But, Mr. Wolfe. Their break is over. Everybody is back in the kitchen. There is no way I can break back in there!"

"Oh? What is one thing you know about stealth in a crowd? What is one word that tells you how to get though that crowd undetected? To glide through like a hawk?"

Trevor thought for a moment searching for the word. He knew what Harrison Wolfe was getting at, he just needed to come up with the right word. Then it hit him. "Deception!" he said triumphantly.

"Exactly. Now, replace the chocolate. Just as you found it."

"But I need to show Johnny."

"I have a feeling Johnny won't be as interested in the chocolate as he was. What he will be interested in is the fact you were able to get it. Something I will substantiate for you if need be. It will be stealth and cunning Johnny will be interested in now, not mere sweets. Return it now, Master Trevor."

Trevor reluctantly agreed. He climbed back up the shaft to meet Ian, not caring this time how much noise he made. Now all he would need to do is come up with a diversion to clear out the kitchen. As he crawled back to Ian, he knew exactly what it would be. He told Ian what he wanted him to do.

Douglas put his crew through the pre-flight check. The entire team responded well. Kalon's training was already showing itself. Andrew was in charge of weapons. Since there were no weapons on board, he helped Jesse and Nipper with their duties. Douglas couldn't help but notice a slight strain between Jesse and Mark. Just what did happen between them? he wondered. Jesse's nose was bandaged, and he now had bruises around his face and around one eye. That was not done by any door, Douglas thought. How could a door bruise one side of his face like that? He could tell the difference between a door bruise and a fist bruise. Mark has to be a real asshole to beat up his little brother just to get off the hook for being captured. He found he had no respect for Mark, and he was bound and determined to find out what had really happened to Jesse.

The "Wonder Boy" had been moved into a hanger instead of being docked at its shuttle bay. There was little clearance at the hangar door, and a pilot had to be careful. Ben wondered if Kalon was going to fly the shuttle out, but then figured he let Ben do it when he thought he was piloting a simulated shuttle, so he will probably allow him to pilot it out when he knew it was for real. He was right. Ben put on his dark shades, ala Kalon. He started the music. He was ready to fly.

"Start the engines and take her out," Douglas told Ben. While the commander of the shuttle had to know how to pilot, he rarely took the controls. Which in this case suited Douglas fine. His piloting experience consisted entirely of a couple of hours on the simulator. Ben at least had his few minutes of glory out in space.

Ben started the engines. Under his control panel, the sensor changed its message to the small computer. "Target still too close. Status change. Ship active." The message would keep looping until another status change. Ben started to ease the "Wonder Boy" through the open hangar door as Kalon watched carefully, his hands relaxed, but ready to take over the controls if need be.

Admiral Whitaker paced his office. The assassination of the SFA Ambassador to Kriton was done. Jake Masters had come through. Now he needed to use his influence to get the assistant Ambassador appointed Ambassador. He was sure the new Ambassador would do anything Whitaker asked. After all, he had his son.

The other thing on his mind was the elimination of Captain Steven Hatcher as a factor in his life. Hatcher knew too much of his past, including a tactical error he had made that had placed Hatcher's ship and crew in danger. The other issue was more current. He had received a mysterious e-mail message from Kriton Government House that Hatcher had been sent a secret message regarding the huge upcoming Peace and Trade conference. It contained facts that could get in the way of his plan to sabotage the conference. He figured Hatcher didn't yet know what he had, or he would have acted on it. While eliminating Hatcher would be nice, totally discrediting him would be better. That way no matter what Hatcher said, he would not be believed. And what better way to discredit the good Captain than to destroy his newest pet project. At first he had held back helping the Lady Lex because he resented being outmaneuvered by Hatcher, and it was personal. That and the fact the funding for the Lady Lex came from his own private fund made the whole thing even more bitter. But now it was professional, and nothing would get into his way. If everything Hatcher said was discredited, then nobody would believe anything he said, no matter who backed it up. That way if whomever had given Hatcher the information gave it to somebody else, it would already be discredited. In that way Hatcher was better alive than dead, but having him dead would be no big loss either.

What better way was there to discredit the good captain than to make it look as if he couldn't command a crew of adolescents? To do that he had arranged for numerous small accidents. Soon there would be a major one. Yes, there would be casualties, but they would be casualties of war. Besides, most of them would be boys who were the dregs of society anyway. Boys with nothing to offer. He chuckled at the idea that some people actually thought they could succeed in the Olympics. Finishing higher than last would be a miracle. But it was never going to get that far. His little computer would kick in on some random day in the next three weeks. And when it did, one shuttle would be doomed and the damage to the Lady Lex would be irreparable, both physically, spiritually, and monetarily. The Lady Lex project would be over, Hatcher would be discredited, and a few mostly useless lives would be lost. Even any SFA men lost would be men at the bottom of the heap.

Trev stopped at the ventilator above the kitchen. The light lit up his eyes. They were the intense eyes of a raptor, cold, hunting, circled by darkness and highlighted by the drawn feather lines crossing his face and forehead. He had a backpack strapped to his back, and one to his front. As soon as Ian came through he would be climbing back down the shaft. He didn't really want to return the stolen chocolate. He wanted to show it to Johnny. But Mr. Wolfe was right. It was time to think of the Lady Lex. To use everything he learned of stealth, cunning, and deception to help his crew mates. He still needed to finish his books and learn more from Mr. Wolfe, but as soon as Ian threw the switch and the kitchen emptied out he would show what he knew about deception. He was the Hawke, and he soon would be the master bird of prey, the master of stealth, cunning, and deception. His eyes burned brightly, highlighted by the make-up around them. He was hard with excitement. He was ready. He was the Hawke.

Ben eased the "Wonder Boy" through the open hangar doors. Kalon looked on proudly. Ben was indeed going to be a talented pilot. The shuttle was now in open space and moving away from the Lady Lex. Under the control panel the sensor sent the computer a new message. "Change of status. Ship moving away from target. Target too close." Ben touched the throttle lightly and the "Wonder Boy" jumped forward. Like his brother Trevor, Ben was hard from excitement. He was the master of the huge machine. It was his to control.

Captain Hatcher sat at his desk, contemplating the happenings of the last few hours. The cadet intruders had caught the Lady Lex flat footed. They still had a lot to learn, both in terms of book knowledge, but also in terms of discipline, something most of the boys had no experience with. He thought about Mark being captured, about his shock at finding out the hooded prisoner was his son. He thought about Jesse and Mark coming into this office.

What had happened in here? He wondered. Was their story true? Was Jesse actually hit by the door, or had Mark intimidated Jesse into telling his seemingly far-fetched story? The two brothers had never gotten along well, but he couldn't fathom Mark getting physical with Jesse to get his way. Was Mark that desperate to please him? He wondered if he was losing both of his sons now. He never had been able to establish a relationship with Jesse. He knew some of it was his fault, but a lot of it was because Jesse was, well. Jesse. He wasn't a "manly" boy. Jesse's love in theater and acting had never interested him. Jesse was 13 but never had girls around, which sometimes made him wonder as well. And now Mark almost blatantly lies to him. Mark, his pride and joy. The boy he had told could share anything with him. Was this the same boy who not only had allowed himself be captured by a younger boy, but who had physically assaulted his younger, very much smaller, brother so he would not have to face what was coming to him.

He looked at his hockey puck, sitting on its stand on the small table next to the couch. This was what he wanted for Mark, something special...something he could prize for the rest of his life. He had wanted Mark to start on a JFSA academy ship as soon as he was old enough, but Linda disagreed and because he was gone from home so much he gave in. Had that been the right decision. Sure, Mark had ended up on the brand new "Orion", but had the fact he was new to the academy left him unprepared for his mission? And for that matter, what was a new inexperienced cadet doing on such a mission anyway? Hatcher had half a mind to contact the CO of the "Orion" and ask, but he knew that would be improper and unprofessional.

Why, he thought, can't I be as good a father as I am a starship captain? Aren't the two jobs almost alike? What can I do to keep from losing Mark? And what to I do about Jesse?

He had given the hockey puck to the Kriton Ambassador during his visit to the "Excalibur" as per Kriton tradition and culture. The Ambassador was supposed to return it when his visit was over, but hadn't, which Hatcher had found disturbing. All he had been told was the Ambassador wanted to keep it a bit longer while he thought over the changing Earth-Kriton relationship, an act that went against Kriton culture and tradition. The puck was returned by Zjan-Ren, who was now his chief security officer of all things. Why had Ambassador Ka kept the puck? And why return it with the request the bearer become part of the crew.

Hatcher got up off his chair and walked over to the table. He lifted the glass cover that protected his prize possession and turned it over carefully. Once again he asked himself, why did Ambassador Ka keep the puck? He flipped it. There was something that didn't seem right about it, but he couldn't peg what it was. He set it back on its pedestal, replaced the cover and walked out of the ready room. He needed to see Linda. He needed to talk about the boys.

As he closed the door he didn't see the small blue light flickering on the far side of the puck.

Ian crawled along the duct and stopped just short of his goal. He knew what he had to do first wouldn't take long, but he had to do it. He took off his black T-shirt and was now completely naked. He had been grabbing and playing with his dick during his crawl through the dark passageway. He lay on his back and started jerking off in earnest. His thoughts were of Trevor. Why couldn't Trevor notice him? Why couldn't Trevor like him? Why couldn't he be cool and distant and athletic like Trevor? He thought of Trevor with his make-up painted eyes, of the intense look they gave him, of how they made him look wild and incredibly sexy, of how he wanted to be a bird of prey like Trevor and have eyes like that and have the confidence Trevor had. Oh, Kiss me Hawke. Touch me Hawke. Grab me Hawke. He came with hard body shaking cry cum, hoarsely whispering, "I love you, Trevor," not sure what it meant, but knowing it was true.

Ian has to be there by now, Trevor thought. Come on, Ian. Just flick the switch. Create my distraction. Be my partner and help me. Don't become cowardly now. Become a bird of prey like I am and pounce.

With Kalon looking on silently, Ben piloted the "Wonder Boy" along the easiest passage through the wrecks of the mothball yard. It was straight, but narrow. The wider passage required more turns, but Ben knew he had helped pilot the Lady Lex through this one, so as narrow as it seemed, it was plenty wide for the small shuttle. Front, back, up, down, or to the side, there was some piece of flotsam to watch for. When the Lady Lex had returned from its brief shakedown cruise, Captain Hatcher hadn't taken her as deep into the graveyard as she had been previously, but there were still hazards to be avoided.

"Clear of debris and ships," Scottie, the navigator announced. "We are in open space."

"Very well," Douglas said. "Pilot, three quarters speed," he commanded in a professional manner.

Ben acknowledged the order and upped the speed. As he did so, the sensor under the control panel once again changed its message. "Status change. Speed increased. Distance increased. Target too close."

Ian pulled his shirt back on, not realizing it was backwards and inside out. He crawled the last few feet to the location Trev had given him. It was on the other side of the kitchen where Trev was waiting. Once again, Trev had been correct. He had studied the plans of the ventilating passage on this deck carefully. Ian could see the lighted control panel. He was ready to create the diversion.

The "Wonder Boy" was gliding through open space at three-quarters speed, its usual cruising speed. Douglas checked his readings, and turned to his brother, Nipper, who was the shuttle's science officer. "Are conditions right for warp speed?"

"Yes, sir." Brother or not, Douglas had insisted that everything be kept professional. Kalon looked on with pride. He knew he had done a good job of training, and it was showing, after even this short time in class. This was going to be a great crew.

He next asked Jesse, the engineer, if the shuttle was ready for warp drive. Jesse acknowledged it was. The small student shuttles had limited warp drive capacity, with a range of six hours. The "Orion" was two hours away by warp drive. It was days away by impulse. To shift into warp drive the shuttle would have to be accelerating, with the warp engine being cut in just short of its full impulse speed. It was a tricky maneuver, but the shuttle's computer handles most of it once the proper orders had been given. Douglas gave the order to accelerate into warp. Ben complied and Jesse brought the warp engine online, as Mark looked on, feeling a sense of pride in the brother he had looked down on just a few short hours before. Once again the shuttle accelerated.

The sensor once again changed its message to the computer. "Ship accelerating. Warp drive online. Target at proper distance." The message triggered a response from the small computer and it sent a message to the shuttle's master computer. It was time.

The weight of the two backpacks was making Trevor ache. Come on Ian, what is taking you so long? Did you chicken out? Are you....but before he could complete the thought alarms started clanging, echoing through the passage, hurting his ears, and telling him it was time to go down the shaft.

Ian took his hand off the alarm test switch he had just tripped. He scrambled to get away. He had done is job. The sound of the alarm was deafening.

Beneath him the kitchen crew and kitchen duty workers left the kitchen at the sound of the alarms, just as they had been trained to do in drills. The kitchen was empty.

Douglas looked at his instruments. Everyone had done their jobs. In just a few moments warp drive would kick in. Douglas geared himself for the small lurch he knew would accompany the occurrence. Instead he experienced a big lurch as the "Wonder Boy" took a hard turn to right, banking through a 180 degree turn, still accelerating.

"Ben, what's going on? What are you doing?" Douglas shouted out.

"Nothing! I didn't touch a thing! I don't know what's going on."

The shuttle was now heading back towards the Lady Lex, accelerating to full warp speed.

"Cut the speed. Get us back on course," Douglas ordered, not sure of what orders he really should be giving.

Ben touched the pads on the control panel. "I can't. The controls aren't responding."

Trev made it down the shaft with both back packs hanging from him. His muscles ached, but he was almost finished. The alarms kept clanging. He knew it wouldn't take long for them to find out it was a false alarm. He had to move fast. He entered the storage room, took the boxes of chocolate out of the two backpacks and placed them on the shelves exactly as he had found them.

He opened the pantry door ready to make his escape back up the shaft. As the door opened he saw someone standing outside. The kitchen was no longer empty. Donkey Mike had returned, probably trying to find the reason for the alarm. Trev closed the door. Until Mike left, he was trapped.

Kalon sat in the co-pilot's seat and took over the controls. "No offense, Ben, but we seem to have an emergency here, and you're still a rookie." Kalon slipped on his sunglasses and punched some pads. He got the same results as Ben had, nothing.

"Jesse, cut the engines from the engineering panel." Jesse hit the proper pads, but got no response. The shuttle continued to accelerate in the direction of the Lady Lex.

"Kalon," Scottie chimed in, "I get strange readings on the computer panel. The computer acts like its frozen but its giving out orders. It's taken control of the shuttle from us."

Kalon grunted an acknowledgment, trying a new combination of commands.

Mark looked at Jesse's calm, bruised face as his younger brother tried vainly to cut the still accelerating impulse engines. Nothing worked. The shuttle continued on its deadly path.

I don't deserve you, Mark thought. You're better than me, and if we're going to die in the next few minutes I will be sure to tell you that, even if dad never knows it.

On an academy ship, day watches are stood by the regular crew, except on Sundays. The watch is then stood by a cadets under the careful eye of a ship's officer. The Lady Lex was no exception. Scooter, Eric, and Carson were the 10am to noon bridge watch. Scooter was the watch commander. Scooter wasn't originally suppose to stand this watch, but because he had fallen asleep on watch a few hours before, Sergeant Murdock made him stand an extra watch to teach him a lesson. Of course this was after Sergeant Murdock made Scooter do push ups and sit ups.

Carson was having fun watching the shape of the "Wonder Boy" on his screen as it left the Lady Lex on its mission.

"Hey. They're done already," he said enthusiastically. The 10 year old was standing his first bridge watch and loving every moment of it.

"They can't be," Scooter said. "They have to go into warp to get Mark Hatcher back to his ship." He got out of the command chair and looked at Carson's view screen. The shuttle's form was facing the Lady Lex, and the readout indicated it was traveling at a high speed.

Sergeant Murdock had drilled into Scooter to be alert at all times and to make quick decisions. Well, here goes nothing, he thought, but I'd rather get killed for doing the wrong thing than for doing nothing. He bypassed Ensign Bond, the duty officer, and hit the emergency comm button that connected directly to Captain Hatcher, Commander Creevey , and Eli Storm, the Chief Engineer.

"We have a problem on the bridge," he said in a shaky voice that he tried unsuccessfully to keep calm. "We need help, now." He looked back at the view screen. The shuttle had moved much closer. He may have already been too late.

"Nothing is responding," Douglas said to the crew as he watched Kalon futilely work the control panel.

Scottie looked at the numbers on his navigation panel. The shuttle was aimed for the straight narrow passage it had left through. "We're heading straight for the Lady Lex. In less than ten minutes we're going to collide with her."

"Will somebody shut off those damned kitchen alarms!" Hatcher yelled as his comm beeped and the high pitched voice of a cadet came over it. We have a problem on the bridge," came a shaky voice. "We need help, now."

That's all I need on this miserable day, Hatcher thought angrily. Two false alarms!

To Be Continued....