Welcome back loyal readers. Lady Lex keeps running into roadblocks, but Ben and I overcome them. Ben got sick, and between that and life it's taken us time to get the Lady Lex moving. However, after a nice burst of creativity, another chapter is ready to post. Chapter 34 is mine again. Yes, I know I did three straight chapters, but Ben will get his turn after this one. No twists hear, Ben is the writer of twists and turns, just a straightforward look at the budding rivalry between the Lady Lex and the "Orion." Enjoy the chapter. Ben and I always look forward to mail You can contact us at TheHakaanen@hotmail.com
Boys of the Lady Lex Chapter 34 "Growing Up" Written By Douglas DD and Benjamin TC
THURSDAY, MAY 19th
The cadets of the "Orion" sat in stunned silence as the cadets of the now powering up Lady Lex shuttles cheered. The "Raptor" sped past the "Ramses" as Trev yelled into the radio, "SCREEEEEEEEEE!!!! THE PURPLE PEOPLE EATERS ARE HERE! EAT MY SHORTS LOSERS!!!"
Game one was over. It was time for lunch.
Despite capturing the "Orion's" flag the Lady Lex lost badly in the shuttle competition. The flags were worth fifty points apiece. Since each side captured a flag, that part of the scoring was a wash. The remaining one hundred points were based on hits and kills. The severity of the hit was also factored in. After all the information was fed into the "Bon Homme Richard's" computer the "Orion" came up with eighty-one points to nineteen for the Lady Lex. The "Orion" won the shuttle competition by a final score of 131-69. Without the "Raptor's" last minute capture of the flag it would have been far worse.
The Lady Lex fared better in the ground competition, which lasted all day. Even though most of the competition was held in the wild, the street smart boys of the Lady Lex totally understood the concept of hiding from somebody or finding somebody who was hiding from them. The Lady Lex boys won the competition 56-44.
The third competition was between the two junior academy starships. That competition consisted of an on-board inspection, including a test of all major systems, as well as the junior officers taking the starship through a series of maneuvers on command from the judges. The competition ended with a mock battle between the two starships, the object being to destroy the opponent. Because of her age, her hodge podge of equipment, much of it jury rigged, and her lack of adequate storage space (some areas of the ship were still not fit for habitation), the Lady Lex looked shabby compared to the ultra-modern "Orion". The judges tried to be fair, but human nature took over and the "Orion" won that part of the competition easily, 78-22. In the maneuvering contest, thanks to Ben's skills as a pilot as well as Kalon's patient teaching, the Lady Lex came out ahead of the "Orion" 51-49. The war game compassion between the two ships was over almost as quickly as it started. In its prime, the Lady Lex might have given the "Orion" a good run for its money, but now it was too slow and too slow, with too many pieces of equipment not working at full efficiency. Captain Hatcher, for reasons of his own, elected not to show off the full extent of the Kriton weapons system, but even that wouldn't have made much difference. The "Orion" won handily, 88-12. The "Orion" won the overall starship competition 215-85.
The big board at the end of the war games read:
FINAL WAR GAMES SCORE:
ORION 390 LADY LEX 125
TOTAL SCORING:
ORION 971 LADY LEX 343
A large number of boys who weren't involved in the competition elected to stay overnight on board the Lady Lex. There would be shuttle service back to the planet available in the morning using both the "Lady Hawke" and a larger shuttle from the "BHR"
"Shall we have a little private sex tonight?" Douglas asked Ben.
"I was planning on going back tonight," Ben replied.
"Say what! Why?"
"Kalon has to watch us bad boys down on the planet tonight. I wanted to talk to him about what happened when I did that double loop."
"Is that still bothering you? They got lucky and were in the right place at the right time. You did the double perfectly." Ben had been bothered by the whole thing from the moment the lights in the cabin had gone all red. The "Raptor's" success had cheered him up some, but he felt he needed to know where he went wrong, and he needed to know as soon as possible.
"Something went wrong. No way they should've been waiting there like that. I need to talk to Kalon and he's been busy. So I'm going back down so I can talk to him tonight."
Douglas knew better than to try dissuading his friend. He had learned once Ben got an idea in his head it was harder to change his direction than it was an out of control asteroid. "Do you mind if I stay here then? If nothing else just a private jack off would be nice."
Ben could see the disappointment in his boyfriend's eyes. He kissed him gently on the lips, a kiss that quickly turned into something hard and passionate. "I promise you can do whatever you want Saturday night. I'm all yours. But if I don't talk to Kalon tonight I might not get a chance until Monday when we have shuttle class again. I gotta know."
"Then maybe I should come too. I mean I'm the commander. I approved of the maneuver. I should find out what happened."
"I'll tell you everything I learned. I promise. I want this to be one on one. Pilot to pilot. I know you understand."
Douglas kissed Ben again. "I do. But I am disappointed. I really wanted you tonight."
"I'll give you everything you want and then some. It's just I have to know now."
The boys exchanged another kiss. "I'll be back in time for the varsity hockey game tomorrow," Douglas said. "We can go watch it together."
"Sounds like a plan to me," Ben said.
Douglas walked Ben to the main shuttle bay. The "Ben Franklin" was ready to take its load of passengers planet side. Ben had signed both Douglas and himself up, but with Douglas not going, Cody was next as a stand-by. It was the last shuttle going down for the night. Ben gave Douglas a shy wave and walked through the airlock into the shuttle as Douglas blew his boyfriend a loving kiss.
Maybe I should have gone, Douglas said. He's probably mad at me for not going. For not being a good commander and insisting I go with him to find out why his double loop failed even though he did it perfectly. It had been a long time since he had slept without Ben either at his side in bed or close at hand. After a long day, though, the idea of sleeping in his own bed sounded good. It might be a small bed, but the beds on starships were among the best and most comfortable constructed. Even the Lady Lex had some perks to it.
Captain Hatcher looked at the split screen in front of him. He was on a three way conference call with Captains Watson and Hunter.
"Nice move, holding that extra shuttle in reserve," Captain Hunter noted.
"I wish I could take credit for it," Hatcher said. "I think they surprised their own shipmates. Everybody had forgotten about them."
"Still, a good piece of strategy, though they sure made it close," Watson said.
Hatcher paused, then smiled. "To tell you the truth, I think they got lost and just happen to stumble on the flag."
Watson laughed his big contagious laugh. Hunter and Hatcher joined in. "I still would call it a good piece of strategy," Watson said.
"I think we made a mistake, though, in doing the war games on Thursday instead of Saturday," Hatcher said. "At least the boys would have had that to look forward to. Now they are so far out of it, none of the remaining games have any meaning."
"Oh, you would be surprised," Hunter said. "My boys are upset the Lady Lex has any points at all. They are looking forward to slamming some more nails into your coffin."
"My boys are looking forward only until the end," Hatcher said.
"I thought you had a lot of hardened street kids," Watson said.
"Oh, I do, Orrin. But you'd be surprised how fragile their egos are, sometimes."
Watson looked thoughtful and then said quietly, "And I think you'd be surprised how strong they can be sometimes."
Douglas took of his uniform and hung it up carefully. He took his evening piss, brushed and flossed his teeth, washed his face, and padded naked to his bed. He was just turning out the lights when he heard a knock at his cabin door.
"Who is it?"
He heard a mumbled reply he couldn't make out. He was expecting it to be a ship's officer doing a bed check. Because only a couple dozen boys were still on board there would be no reveille or lights out command, but Douglas figured they'd get checked on anyway.
"I couldn't hear you. Who is it?"
"Trev."
Douglas got up out of his bed and opened the door, not caring if Trev saw him naked. He was Ben's brother after all he said to himself with what seemed like perfect logic to him.
Trev raised his eyebrows some when he saw his brother's boyfriend standing in front of him naked, but recovered quickly.
"Can I come in?" he asked. Douglas didn't fail to note Trev was carrying his cadet backpack with him.
"Sure."
Trev came in and shut the door. While Trev could not participate in baseball, he had not been restricted from going planet side. He spent some time with his mentor, Harrison Wolfe, hung with his friends, and schemed with his fellow Birds of Prey. He had even found time to trade blow jobs with Ian. The boy he wanted now, however, was Chandler, who Trev saw as the sexiest boy on the ship. That was an observation coming from a boy who didn't consider himself to be gay. Like Douglas he had decided to spend the night in his own bed. He found his room to be lonely, however. He was amazed to find out he missed Ian. He had seen that Douglas was on the list of boys staying on board, so he headed to his room to find some company.
Douglas sat cross-legged on his bed, unabashedly showing off his genitals to his boyfriend's younger brother. He wasn't hard, because at the moment he didn't consider this to be a sexual situation, yet he knew deep inside that it wouldn't take much to make it that way. Trev sat on Ben's bed. He was wearing a pair of sweats and a T-shirt.
"Nice work capturing that flag today," Douglas said.
"We planned it that way. It was all about cunning and stealth."
"I figured you had it planned to do right at the very last minute," Douglas said.
Trev didn't want to have Douglas push the conversation too far in the wrong direction and quickly changed the subject.
"Can I stay here tonight?" he asked.
"And sleep in your brother's bed?" Somehow, as dumb as the question may have sounded, it started to cause a stirring in Douglas's groin. Plus, the fact he had brought his backpack seemed to indicate he had some expectations. As to whether it was sexual or not would soon be revealed.
"Where else would I stay?" Trev asked. He started getting the same feeling in his 12 year old groin as Douglas was experiencing. He wasn't sure what the feeling were about. He knew they were similar but more intense than what he felt around Ian or even Chandler.
Douglas felt his breathing intensify, knowing he was rapidly crossing into uncharted territory, but the more he looked at Trevor the more he realized he was undeniably sexy. "You could sleep in my bed."
"Then where would you sleep?" Trev knew what he wanted, but was afraid to come out and say it. He knew in his heart he wanted sex. It seemed he was the only boy on the Lady Lex who hadn't had serious sex with somebody, even though he knew that wasn't true. He knew both Ian and Chandler hadn't gone farther than blow jobs, and he wasn't even sure if Chandler had gone ever that far.
Douglas said nothing. Trevor nodded his head, understanding what the silence meant. The erect condition of Douglas's cock said what he didn't.
"I think maybe I should take my clothes off," Trevor said, trying to sound matter-of-fact. The hoarseness of his voice gave away what he was feeling. He pulled off his shirt, then his sweats and underpants with one quick yank, revealing a rock hard, hairless three inch cock. Trevor had no qualms about showing off his body. He realized he was attracted to Douglas in some way and that he wanted him.
"Is this what you and Ben do?" Trevor asked.
"You mean sit around naked with boners?"
"Yeah, that and, you know, more."
"Come over to my bed and I'll show you."
Trevor got off the bed and walked the short distance across the cabin, his small, hard cock standing proudly up. He sat next to Douglas and put his hand on Douglas's cock. Douglas shuddered and Trev quickly withdrew his hand. "Was that wrong?"
"No. It felt good. Put your hand back. Can I touch yours?"
"Yeah."
Douglas placed his hand on Trev's boner, rubbing it and kneading his balls. This time it was Trevor who shuddered. "Ben will get mad," Trevor said, almost breathlessly.
"Ben and I agreed sex with our brothers was okay."
"Then why won't he have it with me?"
"I don't know. Ask him."
"He doesn't like me."
"Yes he does, Trev. He just thinks you don't want to do anything with him."
"He does everything with Andrew."
"He'd do it with you if you wanted it."
Trev said nothing more. He rubbed his hand along Douglas's cock. "It's big."
"I'm older. It should be."
Trev rubbed some more. "Do you and Ben suck each other?"
"Yeah. A lot."
"Do you go up his butt?"
Douglas was surprised as to how forward Trev was, but he decided to answer all his questions honestly. Trev, however, wanted more than answers. He wanted to find out what it was like. He needed to know. He wanted it with his Birds of Prey, but he didn't want to be inexperienced. He didn't want to be a virgin and try to show them how. He wanted Douglas to show him first.
"I do."
"Does it feel good?"
"Yes, it does."
"Does he go up yours?"
"He has." Douglas didn't mention his first time had just been a few days ago.
"Does that feel good, too?"
"Yeah, it does."
"Will you go up mine, Douglas?"
Once again Douglas was taken aback at Trevor's forwardness.
"Is that what you want?"
"Yeah. I want to see what it's like. Then I can have Ian do it. And have Ben do it. But you get to be the first. I just want to know."
"Just like that?"
"Yeah. Just like that."
"Too bad you can't play baseball this week," Douglas said.
"What does that have to do with trying sex?"
"Seems you like to try stuff."
"Huh?"
"Beer. Weed. Cigarettes."
"How do you know about the cigarettes."
"Trev, it's hard to keep things secret on a ship. I know."
"But what does that have to do with sex?"
"Do you plan to keep smoking?"
"Until we run out of cigarettes."
"And what if Johnny asks you to get wasted again?"
"I liked doing it."
"You didn't answer my question, Trev. Do you plan on doing it again and risk being kicked out of the Olympics?"
"I just won't get caught," Trev said cockily.
"You got caught the first time," Douglas pointed out.
"I won't this time. I will use what I learn about cunning and stealth. And now I'm a hero too. I got the flag."
"Trev, everybody is happy you captured the flag. But do you think Commander Creevey and Mike are going to let you get away with things because you captured a fucking flag?"
"Maybe. I'm the Hawke."
Damn, he's thick headed, Douglas thought. Okay, I'll change tactics. "Trev, you want to get fucked bad don't you?"
"Yeah."
"Why?"
"I want to know what it's like so I can show the Birds of Prey. It will like bond us together even more."
"That's it?"
"And I want to do it with Ben and I don't want to be a virgin for him. I want to be good so he will like me."
"I told you. He likes you. He loves you."
"I want to spend the night with him and sleep with him. I want to make it good for him."
Douglas decided to get off that tack and get back to what he wanted to say.
"I'll tell you what. I'll make a deal with you."
"What?"
"I'll fuck you and show you what sex is about if you promise not to smoke cigarettes, drink beer, or smoke weed."
Trev gave it a few seconds thought, then said, "Yes. I promise." Douglas saw the smile on his face, the saw his mistake.
"Not only beer, but any booze. No alcohol at all."
Trev smiled at him, then laughed, knowing he'd been caught. "Forever?"
"No, not forever. Just until after the Olympics."
"Deal. I promise."
"You're a man of your word?"
"I am the Hawke. The Hawke is a man of his word. Birds of Prey never break promises."
"Shake on it?"
Trev held out his hand. The boys shook on the promise. Douglas now went to work preparing Trevor. He petted his dick and balls, licked his nipples, getting the young boy even hornier. He played with Trevor's pink pucker with his finger, sliding one inside, two inside, finding his sweet spot, giving the pubescent boy a sample of what it would feel. Finally he got his lube and had Trevor expose his butt to him. He was going to do him doggy style, instinctively feeling this more impersonal position was the right one for the two of them.
After all the time it took for him and Ben to do it, it seemed strange that less than an hour after having Trev come into his cabin he was lubing his sexy, athletic ass. It seemed strange to be putting his dick into the young boy's tight virgin ass. It seemed strange to bring instant sighs of pleasure, like the boy had experienced it all before. Douglas sank his cock into Trev's butt, pushing in deeper and deeper, waiting for Trevor to give a yelp of pain, but that didn't happen. Trevor begged him to get it in deeper. And as Douglas started humping him, he begged for it to be deep. He wanted Douglas to go faster. He wanted it harder.
Trev knew almost instantly that he liked this. He felt no pain, he experienced only pleasure. He liked the feeling of Douglas in him. He loved it as Douglas did what he asked, putting it in hard, pushing it in deep, doing it faster and faster. When the moment came he loved the intense orgasm, producing a precious clear drop as he moaned from the incredible pleasure of it all. Douglas came deep inside the younger boy and collapsed on him, marveling at the intensity of his cum. He had an incredible urge to kiss him, but resisted it. It didn't seem right to him. Trev was too much the macho boy.
"That was great," Trev said. "It was awesome. I loved it."
"Yeah, it was. You gonna do it again sometime?"
"With Ben and with the Birds of Prey."
"What about Andrew?" Douglas was intrigued by the idea of Trevor doing it with his twin brother.
Trevor smiled. "I'm going up his butt. Hard." Sibling rivalry bubbled to the surface.
"You're a good kid, Trev." Douglas hadn't had much contact with Trev. He'd seen him as a loner, aloof and full of himself. Yet Ben had told him of the tender moment he'd had with Trev after the anomaly had appeared. Trev hadn't shown tenderness in bed just now. He had shown the horniness of a boy. Douglas wondered if that would be different if Trev actually had the sex with his older brother he wanted so badly.
Trev snuggled up to Douglas and fell asleep. Douglas pulled the young boy tightly to him, just now beginning to realize how needy the boy was, how even as he tried to be the loner, he needed and wanted his older brother in the worst way. Douglas knew it was now up to him to help them come together.
Ben sat in the makeshift lounge in their makeshift accommodation. Kalon Masters was seated across from him. He and his mentor talked about the "Ramses" chasing the "Wonder Boy" and how Ben had successfully evaded up to three opposing shuttles. For some reason Ben was now afraid to bring up the topic he really wanted to talk about, the topic of the Double Quinlan Loop that should have given him the advantage, but instead it ended up being lights out. But Ben also knew Kalon was depending on him to broach the topic.
"How did it go wrong?"
"They were faster, more maneuverable, more experienced."
"No, I mean how did the `Ramses' know exactly where I was coming out. Douglas said they were lucky, but I know they weren't lucky. I gotta know what I did wrong on my loop so it doesn't happen again."
Kalon smiled, enjoying Ben's spunkiness and his desire to rise to a challenge. "You did do the loop perfectly. I couldn't have done it better. But you forgot one important lesson from our training."
"What was that? You said I did it perfect."
"What is it your brother, Trevor, is learning from Wolfe?"
"English. Like all of us, but what...oh...you mean the stealth stuff."
"Yep. Ben, every cadet assigned to a shuttle can do a the Quinlan Loop, and every shuttle cadet knows about the Double Quinlan Loop, though not many of them can actually pull it off. You pulled it off, but they saw it coming. There was no sense of surprise."
"Wait, wait. You said not many cadets could pull it off, so they should've been surprised I did it. I should have come in behind them."
"As soon as you didn't pull out of the single loop, about the only thing you could be doing it the double loop. Their computer tracked it all. A Kriton or a Geldon Raider or some other alien ship might have been fooled. You didn't fool them because they knew what was coming next. You would have been better off failing at the loop."
"So what if I tried a triple loop?"
"No such thing. Cutting it that tight pushes the structure of one of those shuttle beyond its design limits. Maybe one of the new ones like the Ramses' could pull it off, but a double loop pretty much pushes the old Wonder Boy' about as far as it can go." Kalon chuckled to himself.
"What's so funny?" Ben asked.
"It sure would be a hell of a thing to pull off though. One hell of a thing to pull off."
FRIDAY, MAY 20th
From the Big Board: TODAY'S SCHEDULE
- Basketball Game 3 2. Cross Country Finals 3. Rowing Finals 4. Wrestling Finals.
As much as the capture of the "Orion's" flag by the "Raptor" had been a boost for the morale of the Lady Lex cadets, the scores on the Big Board deflated it. The boys were tough, street wise, used to fighting against failure, but knowing in the end that each of them had failed, or they wouldn't be on the Lady Lex. Instead, they would still be out doing what it was that had gotten them arrested. Each of them had been caught, and in the deepest, darkest part of their hearts and minds, they knew the graffiti left behind by the cadets of the "Orion" had been right; they were losers and they didn't belong.
The scores of the say reflected that. The boys of the Lady Lex, who had hoped at least for some moments of glory even as they got their asses kicked woke up Friday not giving a shit what happened. They just wanted the games to end, to get out of their ugly prison on the outskirts of Ghent, and to get back to the routine of life on the "Lexington." For the first time through all their trials, the Lady Lex cadets were content to mail their performances in. The 128-4 score of the day let them all know they were indeed as bad as they thought they were.
"You let them down, Johnny. You built them up, you got them to believe, and you let them down," Steve Hatcher told them as they walked along the beach. Hatcher had called for the private meeting and driven Johnny to the beach to insure they would be alone and undisturbed. The sun was starting to set, but it still reflected brightly off the water to the west of them.
"So, it's my fault we're getting our asses kicked. You're telling me if I don't get wasted and play some half-assed sport I'm going to lead us to victory. That is so lame. Take a look at the scores again. Most of us have never played organized sports."
"That's not what I mean, and you know it. Everybody knows you're not much of an athlete, but they also know you can be a very inspiring leader. Right when your crew is looking for leadership, you spent your week getting drunk, then sulking and hiding the rest of the time."
"So fire me."
"I've had my moments when I've wanted to. Commander Creevey wanted you gone after you took my nephew and got him drunk and high."
"Why didn't you? You said you would next time I fucked up. You've got Donkey Mike to take my place. "
"On this ship Mike is better suited to be an XO. This ship needs him working behind the scenes...um...hoofing people, just like it needs you at the front pushing them and inspiring them."
"Why me? I'm nobody. I'm going to just end up a drunk and a druggie like my brother. It's what he was good at and it's what I'm good at."
Hatcher sighed, wondering if working with hard headed teen boys was what he really wanted to do. Even his Mark had turned into a teen without him being aware of it. "Johnny, you know why you got caught. You know how you felt when the intruders violated our ship. You know how you felt the day you ordered the Lady Lex to leave the graveyard for the first time. You know how you felt last week when you had the entire crew ready to kick ass. You felt loyalty. You felt anger. And last week you felt like you owned the world.
"Yes, I wanted to fire you after what you did with Trevor. I wanted to bust you down to kitchen help. But all too many boys have too much riding on how this crew does in less than three months. For a lot of them, you included, winning means freedom, the end of their sentences. To earn that reward they need somebody not only who wants it as badly as they do, but who has the charisma, and yes, the BALLS, to lead them to that goal, whether they want it or not. Mike is solid, he unquestionably has the balls, but he doesn't have your charisma. Your time is now Johnny. To be crude about it, it's time to shit or get off the pot."
"Then maybe I'm getting off the pot. I just want to be me and to be left alone."
Hatcher stopped, turned, and looked at the setting sun as it touched the horizon. "You saw your brother that day we visited the dead, didn't you?"
"Yeah."
"What did he tell you?"
"To not be afraid to fall on my face. To not be afraid to fail like he was. To kick ass."
"Is that why you got drunk? Because you were afraid? Afraid you'd fail like he did?"
"I dunno. I just wanted to get drunk."
"You're not your brother, Johnny. You don't have to follow him. Listen to what he told you. It's time to quit being afraid. Suck it up and have some balls, Johnny."
Johnny watched the sun sink lower into the water. "It's pretty much my last chance isn't it?"
"It's beyond your last chance. You're getting this because I still believe your the best choice to lead this rag-tag group. I just wish you realized it."
"Craig told me to get off my lazy fuckin' ass, to quit feeling sorry for myself, and to trust the people around me to help pick me up. I guess you must be picking me up right now."
"Are you up to the challenge?" Hatcher asked. "The Lady Lex either starts picking itself off the ground right now, tonight, or she never will. Your crew quit today, Johnny. What are you going to do about it?"
"Let's go back," Johnny said. "I need to talk to Mike."
The captain and the boy watched the sun finish its dip into the ocean. "Captain Hatcher?"
"Yes, Johnny?"
"What were you told by the dead?"
Hatcher sighed. "You're right Johnny. It's time to go back."
SATURDAY, MAY 21st
On the Big Board:
ORION 1099 LEXINGTON 347
SCHEDULE FOR TODAY:
Baseball game 3 Hockey game 3 Sword fighting finals Weapons finals Tennis finals
Johnny Cooper had spent the evening and morning talking with people, most of whom didn't want to talk to him. They heard him, but they didn't listen. Mike had told him he had to re-earn their respect, but he didn't know how. He tried to communicate the message that today they started over, but he wasn't sure anyone was listening. He'd hardly begun his attempt to turn things around for the crew, and already he was failing.
Johnny was sitting in the stands watching the varsity baseball game. After an easy 1-2-3 first inning, David was in trouble in the bottom of the second. He walked Travis and then hung a breaking ball that Ben walloped over the left field wall. That would be the high point of the game for the Lady Lex. Dusty held the "Orion" players in check through the fourth. Travis came in to pitch, and while he threw hard that was all he did-throw hard. Between control lapses and the "Orion" hitters timing his fast ball he gave up four runs. Going into the bottom of the seventh the Lady Lex was down 4-2. Donyell Fletcher, started off the inning with a single. David was still pitching for the "Orion" team, but he had thrown few pitches. Douglas was up and David fanned him on four pitches.
"Once again you can't beat me Douglas," David yelled out. "You were what, oh for three today? Nice hitting."
Douglas, ignoring the taunts, went back to the dugout fuming.
"At least he's not a fucking grape!" a voice yelled out from the stands. Douglas looked up and saw Johnny standing up in the bleachers, his hands cupped to his mouth. "Do you guys have pink panties to coordinate with your skin?"
David started walking in the direction of the bleachers as the "Orion" players started emptying the dugout. Captain Hunter and Doctor Daniels quickly restored order, but none of the Lady Lex boys had failed to notice Johnny had stood up for them.
Travis singled, putting the tying run on base. Captain Hunter took David out, bringing in Clayton Jones. After giving up a run scoring single to Gary Banks he struck out the next two batters killing the threat and ending the game. The Lady Lex had lost 4-3, but unlike the day before, her cadets and fought hard. As they walked to their bus they found out that on the auxiliary field the JV team had won by the score of 7-3. They all felt buoyed by the way they had played.
After the baseball games quite a few of the boys headed over to the hockey rink, where they could clean up in the locker room and watch the final hockey game. Johnny took a seat in the stands, close to, but not with the baseball players. Douglas and Ben got up from their seats and sat next to Johnny.
"Hey, Johnny," Ben said.
"Hey yourself," Johnny answered.
"Thanks for standing up for me with David. I didn't want to say something and get kicked out. We were coming back."
"He was pissing me off," Johnny said. He looked at Ben. "Speaking of pissed off, are you pissed off about what I did with your brother?"
"I'm only pissed you didn't invite me," Ben said with a smile.
"You serious?"
"Half serious. Just don't get him in trouble before the Olympics, okay?"
"I promise."
"So does Trev," Ben said. "And I know he's going to keep his." Douglas had told Ben what had happened the night before, including Trevor's promise. Ben had felt strong feeling of jealousy when he heard, but he fought them down knowing what they had agreed to. Douglas had been up front with him. There really was little he could say. The fact he said nothing was indicative of the growing maturity of their relationship. Ben did tell Douglas when Trevor made a solemn promise he could be totally trusted. "Can I ask you something kind of personal?"
"I suppose. What is it?" Johnny didn't like talking about personal things. He preferred keeping things in. His talk with Captain Hatcher had gone much deeper than he had intended.
"When we were on the Lady Hawke and, you know, met those dead people in our lives. Did talking to your brother change how you saw things any? I mean, like did it make you want to do better or be better?" A long silence followed Ben's question as Johnny thought about how to answer it, and whether he even wanted to answer it. He decided to do something he rarely did, he decided to trust Ben. But only because Ben and been through the same experience. "He made me mad. Made me mad at him, then made me mad at myself. Yeah, it made me want to be better. But I just, well, I just don't know how."
"I think you will find a way. You're brother will show you, like my grandpa Teddy is showing me."
"Remember what I told you this morning? About turning it around today?" Johnny asked.
"Yeah."
"I meant that. I'm tired of losing. I'm tired of being laughed at. I'm fucking sick of signs telling us we're losers. I might fall on my ass trying, but I'm gonna fucking try. We're gonna surprise some people in August."
"Does this mean you're actually going to be serious about being our CO?" Douglas asked.
"I don't plan on being serious. I AM fucking serious. I need to do something for somebody."
"Your brother?" Ben asked.
Johnny nodded.
"Well, if you fall on your ass, we're here to pick you up," Ben said.
That's exactly what Craig said, Johnny thought. That if I take chances my people will stand behind me, just like the old Mustangers.
Douglas and Ben invited Johnny to come sit with the team. The three of them got up and sat with the rest of the baseball team. Johnny congratulated the JV team on its win, and complimented the varsity on it's last inning comeback. The team thanked Johnny for shutting up David. Ben and Douglas weren't the only boys to note that the old Johnny would never have come over to sit with them. He seemed more interested in them then he was in himself. They all wondered however, how long the new Johnny would last.
They all sat back to watch the varsity hockey game.
Mike looked up at the scoreboard. This was third game and every player was determined to skate off the ice with a win. Their first game had been a slaughter, 10-0. Their second game had been a little better, but still lost 4-2. Now they had a chance of winning, The score was 2-1. They needed to tie it first, but the fact they had a chance had every Lady Lex boy skating a little harder. Mike hustled into action as the final seconds ticked away. Hatcher was yelling out instructions and directions as the team fought hard to tie the score. The clock showed less than ten seconds left.
The puck found its way to Jesse's stick. Jesse skated to the goal. He did his triple deke with a spin and then used a backhand shot. The puck flew forward and missed the goal entirely. The buzzer sounded and the game was over. The "Lexington" lost 2-1
Jesse skated back to his teammates. Hatcher just looked at him. "Where do you think you're going?"
"To the locker room."
"I don't think so. Get back on the ice and give me lines. Maybe that will teach you to listen to me. I told you time and time again not to do that crazy shot, but you are so determined not to listen to me. Well maybe doing thirty minutes of lines will make you realize you need to listen to me."
Jesse tried fighting back the tears, but it was another battle he was losing. He dropped his head and went back out on the ice. Mike saw this and went and joined Jesse.
"Mike, where you going?" asked Hatcher.
"My game was off today too. I deserve lines as well."
Dylan, Kyle and Spencer headed out to the lines and joined Mike and Jesse. Hatcher stood there as one by one the entire varsity team joined Jesse in doing lines.
As the varsity started their lines they heard a stomping from the stands. Mike saw what it was first. Johnny was leading the baseball team up the stairs of the stands. "Guess they can't handle watching people work." Mike yelled out to the hockey players. It was Jesse who caught what was happening. The baseball players didn't stop at the exit breezeway. They ran up the next level, then turned, came back down, and turned back up the steps.
Captain Hatcher watched speechless. It had been one thing for the boys to chant and yell at a meeting. It was something altogether different for them taking a punishment for each other, especially when it involved a boy who wasn't really one of them; a boy who in their eyes was the captain's son.
Hatcher finally ended the grueling drill. The hockey players stopped and skated over to where the baseball players were. Both teams were totally exhausted. The members of the two teams exchanged hugs and headed to the locker room together. Yesterday the boys of the Lady Lex had been on the scrap heap, the losers everybody thought they were. Today, while it didn't show on the big board, they had picked up a big win. They had picked up their self-respect. They had started becoming one. And, they had found a leader who was ready to shuck off his self-pity and become what others had seen in him.
The leader walked over to the side of the rink. He and Captain Hatcher were almost the same height. Johnny looked Hatcher in the eye. "You know, if you treated your son like you treat me you'd be one hell of a father."
He turned and walked away, leaving Hatcher to wonder what it was he had created on the beach the night before.
Of course not everything turned around that day. While most of the boys were picking themselves up off the ground, some of them were still struggling to discover themselves. Brian McDowell, the only boy not living in the cadet's quarters had isolated himself. The fact he was in a room, on the sword fighting team, amazed him. He kept wanting to be back in his own room, away from the other boys. Boys who were strong-willed and physically able. Not cripples like himself.
Brian took a deep breath as he entered the imagemaker chamber. His was the last duel. He was the only chance that "Lexington" had to keep from being shut out. Both the JV team and varsity had lost all their matches. All seven matches were close. It was anybody's match all the way to the end. The four JV team member and the three varsity members that had played all went down fighting hard and not giving up.
An image of a purple stained Tim Whitaker appeared. He looked feisty and determined . Brian stood with palms sweating, his heart pounding so hard that he was certain his relatives back on Earth could hear it.
The signal sounded and the match started. Tim came running towards Brian with intense, controlled rage. Brian cried out. He dropped his sword and scrunched down on the ground, feeling a small trickle of urine leak into his pants. Tim brought his sword down ending the match . Brian sat in the imagemaker chamber alone. Tears were flowing down his cheeks. He was beginning to wonder why he ever told Zjan-Ren that he wanted to fight again. He couldn't fight anymore. He was handicapped.
Brian's teammates left the fencing arena upset they had lost, but they were more upset that the person who had been named captain didn't even put up a fight. They knew the same thing about Brian McDowell that he knew about himself. He was a coward.
Brian still had two more matches against Tim. He got up off the floor. He didn't want to fight either of them. He wanted to walk out of the room. Instead he picked up his sword and waited for the inevitable.
Brian stood along the cliff at the edge of the grounds. It has been a hell of week. The sword fighting team had lost all its matches. Not only had he lost his three matches, he had also lost his dignity and self respect. He turned coward in the first match. In the second his sword was knocked out of his hands on Tim's first swipe. In the third game he had managed to get in a swing in.. But his blind eye kept him from seeing Tim at one point and he stumbled and fell. He slowly got back to his feet.. This time he wasn't going to quit, but his leg, weak arm, and blind eye failed him. He couldn't move. He dropped his sword.
He wanted quit. He had to quit, now, before the Olympics, when things would only be worse. He took his sword and threw it over the cliff. He was finished. He hated the Lady Lex and every boy in it. He hated Major Zjan-Re.. He picked up his cane, which he hadn't used for weeks, and headed back to his room. Major Zjan-Ren watched silently from a distance.
SUNDAY, MAY 22nd
From the BIG BOARD
YESTERDAY'S SCORES:
ORION 87 LEXINGTON 48
FINAL SCORE
ORION 1186 LEXINGTON 435
TODAY'S SCHEDULE:
Marching drills and closing ceremonies.
The marching drills were for show. No points were assigned, but if there had been, the "Orion" would have run away with the scoring. It was not that the "Lexington" was bad, it was just the "Orion" was that good. Their uniforms alone gave them a more polished look.
After the closing ceremonies and the closing speeches thanking everybody who needed to be thanked and the awarding of awards and trophies, the boys prepared to go back to their ships. The "Orion" had the commercial shuttles to take them back. Captain Watson of the "BHR" once again offered his shuttles to help the Lady Lex boys get home quickly.
By early evening most of the boys were back in their rooms. Regular classes and duties would start again tomorrow, but for tonight everyone relaxed. All watches were still being stood by the regular crew. All the boys needed the evening off.
Douglas wandered up to the bridge of the Lady Lex. He saw on the duty roster that Kalon Masters was scheduled for bridge watch. Only one watch was needed while the ship was in orbit. Ben had told him what Kalon had said about the surpass factor. He wanted to find out from Kalon what he could do as a commander to help his pilot. He was surprised to see Scooter alone on the bridge in the science officer's seat.
"Hi, Scooter."
Scooter jumped, surprised by the intrusion.
"Sorry to scare you."
Scooter quickly minimized the window on his computer. Douglas wasn't able to make out what Scooter had been looking at, but he could tell it was a long set of calculations, and he was pretty certain he had seen the word "Kriton" on the screen more than once.
"Where's Kalon?"
"He went to get a snack. I told him I'd take his watch until he got back."
"What was it you were doing just now?"
"Nothing."
"Okay." Douglas didn't want to push the subject. He knew he would have to report what he saw to Commander Creevey. It was obvious Scooter had been doing something suspicious, but Douglas knew it wasn't his place to find out what it was. He still couldn't believe Scooter was the one behind the acts of sabotage, but the evidence seemed to be growing.
"Well, I better be going," Douglas said. "Tell Kalon I stopped to see him, okay?"
"Yeah, sure." Douglas left the bridge. As soon as Scooter knew he was alone he maximized his window and went back to work. Kriton to Earth, he thought. I'm pretty sure I'm right about this, and when I'm absolutely sure I'll tell them. I can't keep this a secret. They have to know.
***** "Get off my desk, Todd," Rich Zimmer said.
"Sure." Todd, who had been sitting on a corner of Rich's desk got up. He straightened his uniform. "Hell of a score we had. Broke a few records I hear. Everybody is pretty cocky."
"And they have every right to be," Rich said. "We broke their backs."
"Tell that to the teams that barely beat them Saturday. Or to the one that lost."
"We let down some."
"Sure, Richie. Did you notice them in the marching drills. They looked shabby. But they looked proud. Can you see our cadets looking that proud if they were wearing the same crap as they were?"
"Todd, you read too much into stuff."
"Richie, did you know that if the `Lexington' wins the Olympics almost all of their boys get their sentences commuted?"
"No, I didn't."
"It's true. Think about it Richie. There's more than pride at stake in those games. Their entire lives are at stake. Everybody in the junior academy fleet is going to look at our score and laugh. They're going to feel bold and cocky, just like we do. But you know what, Richie?"
"What?"
"I look at that score and it makes me quite fearful. If those kids get it together in the next few weeks they will be a force to reckon with."
"Todd, just leave will you? After awhile I get tired of your bullshit."
Todd got to the door of the office and gave a sly smile. In a whispery voice he said, "Be afraid, Richie. Be very afraid." He left, with a sinister, yet somewhat sarcastic laugh
Johnny Cooper sat in his CO office. The members of the Birds of Prey were crowded in with him. Mike sat in a corner, saying nothing but listening intently.
"You got any cigarettes, Johnny?" Chandler asked.
"Shut up. You're not getting any. That shit is all over." Johnny had already gotten a bottle of anti-nicotine pills from Doctor Daniels. "It's time we get serious and so some things we talked about."
"I liked you better before you got serious," Spencer said waiting for laughter from the rest of the Birds.
Ian, Dylan, Kyle, Spencer, Chandler, and Trevor were the Birds of Prey. The crew of the "Raptor". The boys who captured the flag of the "Orion". Chandler, Trevor, and Spencer were tough and cocky. Kyle, Dylan, and Ian were the quiet ones, the followers, but they added necessary skills to the group.
"All of you get serious now. Me and Trevor talked about something the other day. How would you birds like to take a little flight tonight?" The question instantly grabbed their attention.
"Where?"
Johnny told them where and why. He explained his plan. The boys loved it and were excited. It would be a way to leave their mark on the "Orion" before leaving orbit tomorrow.
Trevor had to be sure of one thing first. He was not about to risk his spot on the Olympic baseball squad. "How much trouble will we get for doing this?"
"A flight like ours won't get you in trouble if you follow the rules."
"Which are?" Ian asked. He liked the idea of adventure, but he wanted trouble even less than Trevor did.
"First, you need the permission of the CO and XO both. You got it. Donkey has already agreed. Second, you do nothing to permanently damage their ship. Now you can use that virus you wrote Chandler. Just remember, if what you do is on and off, it fits the rules. If it goes on and stays on, it doesn't. So does it fit the rules?"
Chandler blushed. "Well, I need an hour to fix it."
"Then do it. We have the time."
Mike spoke up for the first time. "One more thing."
"What's that?" Trevor asked.
"Don't get caught by them. Make it back here under your own power or you'll spend the Olympics cleaning outhouses. You will have four hours. You leave at oh one hundred hours. If you're not back by oh five hundred, or if you're caught on their ship...well I pretty much told you the result."
"So if say I get caught on the `Orion' I'm screwed?" Trev asked anxiously.
"You need to make it back here by oh five hundred under your own power. That means THEY don't bring you back like we did to Mark Hatcher," Mike answered.
"They won't get us," Trevor said. "I am the master of stealth and cunning. We block their close in sensors, we go in, Chandler gets our information from their computer, he leaves his virus, and we're back. Piece of cake."
"So it works like this," Johnny said. "The `Orion' scored the most points. But we get the last word."
To be continued.....