The Survivors

Chapter 56

"U.S.S. STARFINDER"

Welcome back. Contact has been made with an Earth starship. But, will that starship be able Please give to the Nifty Archive. It helps keep stories coming your way.

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

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

The sun was setting over the western hills of the Big Valley. Matthew and Enghar watched as it sank slowly out of sight. One of Inferno's two moons was in a crescent, hanging in the dark blue sky above the magenta sunset. As the sun disappeared, Matthew turned to Enghar, his lover and his Meshanna.

"I wonder if they made it," Matthew said not for the first time as twinkling stars started to appear in the darkening sky. "They should be there by now."

"I hope so," Enghar replied. "Because if they don't dad says we may not be able to survive on Inferno for more than a few more decades." He looked seriously at Matthew. "Does that make you sorry you stayed?" the young Hakaanen boy asked.

"Never. Never. Never. You're my Meshanna and I love you. I have more here than I would ever have anyplace else."

The two boys kissed deeply and lovingly.

"I think yesterday was my birthday. Or maybe it is today. It's hard to remember all the days." Matthew had been keeping a calendar based on the date Stevie had given him before he left, but he had forgotten to mark off a couple of days and he wasn't sure if he had done his make-ups properly.

"That makes you twelve then, my sweet Meshanna," Enghar said kissing Matthew again.

"Yeah. Big old twelve. I wonder if my parents remembered. I wonder if they remember me at all."

"You almost forgot," Enghar said with a smile.

"I know. I never would have forgotten at home...," Matthew caught himself, "...on Earth."

"This is your home forever, now," Enghar reminded him.

"I'm sorry. I know it is. It still takes getting used to. At least I'm not a round-ear anymore."

"No. You took care of the last one to call you that like a Shkah would have. I didn't know you could hit that hard. I was proud of you. You are Hakaanen through and through—a Meshanna and a citizen. Everybody here knows that for sure. You have proven yourself, and I have proven I knew what I was doing when I made you my Meshanna."

Another kiss passed between the two boys. The sunset was over. The valley and the yard were dark.

"Maybe we should head for bed and celebrate your birthday in proper Hakaan fashion," Enghar said with a lustful look in his eyes. "Plus I'm going to tell mom and dad a cake is in order for tomorrow."

Matthew smiled at the word cake. Earth and Hakaan had more in common than one would think, and birthday cakes was one of them.

"Maybe I should have mom and dad keep track of my birthdays," Matthew grinned. As far as anybody was concerned, Enghar's parents were his parents as well.

Before the boys left the patio, Matthew looked up at the bright twinkling stars. I hope you made it, Douglas, and big brother Mike, and all my friends. I love you all. He blew a kiss at the heavens, then took the hand of his Meshanna and entered the house.

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

Captain Ronald Parrish sat in the command chair looking around the bridge of the exploration ship "Starfinder." This was his second voyage of exploration as the "Starfinder" captain. His first one had lasted a little over a year. On his return to Earth he had well over a year off while a different captain took over the starship. On its return the starship was retrofitted. Now he was back in command of a ship that was faster than ever before.

The starship had the new warp enhancer installed, now known as the Starr Drive. He remembered when the drive was first put into regular service on the "Starkeeper", a colonial transport ship. Parrish could not figure out why a ship carrying passengers was chosen over an exploration ship as the first ship to operate the new enhancer in service.

Gordon Starr, the inventor, was on board the "Starkeeper." It had been tested and tested and retested until it was declared ready for a regular voyage. However, after "Starkeeper" had gone into warp it disappeared. When it failed to arrive at Alpha Orion IV the enhancer was blamed by many, even though there were no facts to back it up. Many blamed Star Command for using the "Starkeeper" to demonstrate the enhancer.

Gordon Starr was made into a villain and blamed for the disappearance of the "Starkeeper" because he had tried to get his enhancer into service too soon. Hundreds of lives were feared lost, including the new Governor of Alpha Orion IV, his teenage son, and Gordon Starr's own young son. Star Command issued an order that the warp enhancer was not to be used again.

Captain Parrish also knew that the Captain of the "Starkeeper" was a fool. Captain Fuller was undoubtedly the worst Captain in the fleet. Parrish knew the only reason the "Starkeeper" was chosen was because Fuller's brother-in-law was a fleet Admiral. That was the only reason Captain Fuller still had a command. He believed that Captain Fuller probably had more to do with the "Starkeeper" disappearing as the warp enhancer did.

Then months after being declared lost, the "Starkeeper" suddenly came out of warp near Earth. Captain Parrish was home when the announcement was made that radio contact had been made with the long missing ship. The news that they were back safe was stunning. No ship had ever returned after being lost that long in warp space.

What was even more stunning was the later news that every boy on the ship older than eleven had been lost in an unfortunate accident, and that two other boys, ten-year-old twins, had disappeared as well. That brought a note of sadness to the happiness of the starship's return. The Governor's son, Robert Charles, and Gordon Starr's son, Scott, were among the boys lost. They were all presumed dead.

During the trip home, Gordon Starr had taken over the engine room and tinkered with his Starr Drive. He fixed it so it would safely return them home faster, but at nowhere near the speed that had sent them spinning away during the warp storm. Yet, he managed to cut the six month return voyage down to less than three.

A day of mourning was held for the lost boys. Then an investigation was held. From what Captain Parrish could ascertain reading the reports of the voyage, the warp enhancer had worked fine. It came as no surprise to find out Captain Fuller had pretty much fucked everything up. If anything, the "Starkeeper's" miraculous return proved Gordon Starr's Starr Drive was faster, better, and more reliable than even he had imagined. Before the "Starfinder" was retro-fitted, the enhancer underwent more improvements to increase its speed and reliability. The colonies could now be reached in half the time as before.

The most amazing thing was what happened to the "Starkeeper" during the warp storm. Nobody knew how the "Starkeeper" traveled as far and as fast as it did. But Gordon Starr and his researchers were working on finding out. The inventor was dedicating all of his work to his lost son, Scott.

The "Starfinder" was the first ship to have the Starr Drive installed permanently. The "Starfinder" was going to retrace the voyage of the "Starkeeper", hoping at very least, that the lost shuttles could be found.

The mission was just a few weeks old, and nothing much had happened except the sameness of heading through space. They didn't plan on coming out of warp until they reached the area where the shuttles had been lost. They didn't plan on spending a lot of time searching, but they would scan the area as thoroughly as possible in the brief amount of time they had to spend there. Even if they found the shuttles, there was no chance they would find any of the boys alive.

The computer logs of the "Starkeeper" showed there were some promising star systems in the area to explore, and looking into those systems was the primary goal of the voyage.

Captain Parrish got up to talk to Lieutenant Schrader, his communications officer, who was wearing headphones. Schrader took them off as soon as he saw the Captain standing next to him.

"I see you still have the radio on." Parrish could hear a hiss as Schrader switched the sound from the headphones to the external speakers at the communications console.

"Yes, sir. I'm recording the noises coming out of warp space. We're trying to find out if there is some kind of pattern in the noises that might help in inventing a warp radio. Otherwise, it would be a waste of time to keep it on. We figure one more day and we will have a pretty good sample, and then it will be turned off until we leave warp."

"Anything helpful so far?"

"No, sir. But we haven't spent much time studying the results yet. We're still accumulating data."

Schrader turned up the volume. The hissing sounds coming over the speakers made no sense to the Captain. He hoped that the experts would be able to make sense of it.

"Thank you, Lieutenant. You may put your headphones on now."

The officer reached for his headset when suddenly a scratchy noise came over the speakers that was much different than the background noise had been.

"What was that?" the Captain asked.

"I don't know. We'll analyze it when we check the tapes. I certainly haven't heard anything like it before. It was some kind of static, which I have never detected in warp space."

"Like there was a voice there that wasn't completely tuned right," Captain Parrish said.

"That's impossible," Lieutenant Schrader said. "There is no radio in warp space. Hang on a minute."

He got on the ship's intercom and paged somebody. In a few minutes, Abdul Rashad, Ph.D., was on the bridge. Dr. Rashad was the scientist who was at the forefront in the development of a warp radio. Lieutenant Schrader had been listening to the radio and recording warp noise patterns for Dr. Rashad to study. Rashad was one of the Earth's leading experts in astrophysics, astronomy, and warp physics. He was a renaissance man, a master of many disciplines—a true genius. Lieutenant Schrader, himself the holder of a doctorate in Space Communications, was the Space Fleet's foremost authority in the field, but Schrader felt like a schoolboy working alongside Rashad.

Following Dr. Rashad onto the bridge was his son, Amahl. Amahl was thirteen, dark haired with copper skin and beautiful brown eyes. He was a super genius like his father. Dr. Rashad had agreed go on this trip only if his son could accompany him. The trip would be a special part of his education.

Rashad asked for a replay of the noise. He told Lieutenant Schrader what he wanted. The Lieutenant punched some instructions into the radio control panel, then put on a set of headphones and listened intently to a replay of the radio noise.

"I need to filter that noise away from the background warp noise," Rashad told him. "We need to adjust the reception some. But this is not normal warp space noise. Something different is being sent here. It may be some kind of broadcast." Dr. Rashad was obviously very excited.

Schrader started pushing more buttons, trying to get an exact read on the static he heard. He compared the noises to what was on tape. He started tuning finer and finer, filtering out everything except the static. All the rest of them heard just the background noise and the static, but Rashad was picking up sounds that told him there was more than just static. He pushed another icon and instantly heard a new sound, but he wasn't sure what it was.

Rashad flicked on an oscilloscope and handed a set of headphones to Amahl, saying, "I need your young ears, son." While Amahl listened, Rashad played back the recording Schrader had made only moments before. Patterns danced across the oscilloscope. Rashad took over the radio from Schrader, since he was now certain what he was now looking for. He tuned the instrument to various degrees of response. Amahl responded with nods and shakes of his head.

"These radio patterns are not static," Amahl declared. Looking at his father, who nodded consent, Amahl lightly touched the tuning mechanism and made the slightest of adjustments. The listeners on the bridge stood stunned, their jaws dropping. For a moment they were speechless. Then Rashad asked, "You all heard that?" It wasn't really a question.

"It sounded like part of a voice," Schrader answered. "But that's impossible."

"It is not impossible," Rashad told him. "In theory radio communication is possible between two ships in warp. We just haven't figured out how to do it."

"Then, that means if we heard part of a voice, that voice probably wasn't human, since we haven't invented that kind of a radio," Captain Parrish said.

Dr. Rashad nodded. "Exactly, Captain. The voice you heard is without question our first ever contact with an alien species."

The bridge became very quiet. A momentous moment of history was happening right then. They had a lot of questions in their minds. Where did the voice come from? What was it asking? How could they answer it? What kind of being was broadcasting it? How could they communicate with it?

The silence was broken when Amahl said, "I don't think it was alien at all. It sounded human to me. Like boys. And I thought I could make out an English word."

Dr. Rashad smiled at his imaginative son, "Now that, my lad, is impossible." He and Schrader worked to program the acoustic computer that was on board for the warp radio research. They wanted it to sort through the static and enhance the part that was most likely a voice. It was a sound that Amahl had been able to distinguish better than the adults. But the static had been muted and now there was no question they had heard a voice, even though they weren't able to make out any of the words. Rashad and Schrader assumed it was because they were hearing the voice of an alien species, but Amahl still swore he made out an English word.

"Now that we've isolated the voice," Schrader said, "I'm instructing the computer to eliminate every sound except the sound of the voice. Let's see what we get."

What he got was silence. "I guess the alien voice range is different from ours. I'll widen it."

There was a little more static, and then, a clear, high-pithced voice came over the speaker. "......survivors of the 'U.S.S Starkeeper'. Please reply on this frequency."

The message repeated itself, but nobody on the bridge could hear it. The officers on the bridge had burst out into a cacophony of disbelief. What they were hearing wasn't an alien voice—it was the voice of a human boy. They turned and stared at Amahl, who shrugged and said, "I told you I heard some boys."

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

Mike could feel tears dripping down his cheek when he heard the reply from the "Starfinder." He didn't think hearing an adult human voice would affect him like that.

Douglas ran to the bridge with Scooter right behind him. They heard the voice repeating, and like Mike, they burst into tears. Suddenly they weren't alone any more.

Douglas radioed back. "This is Douglas Daniels on the 'Jordan M. Paxton' replying to the 'Starfinder'." He got an immediate reply.

"This is Captain Ronald Parrish speaking. Are you really from the 'Starkeeper'? This is incredible."

"Well, it's true," Douglas answered.

"Then you must be the lost boys. I can't believe you are still alive. How many of you are left? And how did you get a radio that works in warp space? How did you survive in space this long? Where are you?" Captain Parrish ran off the questions in rapid order.

Douglas finally managed to get through to Captain Parrish. He told him there were twelve survivors. He wondered how to explain the rest. How to explain about how they got launched off the ship. How they found their way to Inferno. How to explain the crash landing and the trek through the desert. How they found the Big Valley. How Matthew was found buried in the desert. About defeating the Shkah. About Robert Charles and Jordan and how they died. How they left Matthew behind and flew a starship to Hakaan. And finally, how they got the warp radio and were able to contact the "Starfinder.". It was a lot to tell. And who would ever believe it? A bunch of young adolescents set adrift in space and not only surviving, but in some ways thriving. Some of them were not even adolescents yet.

"How we survived and ended up on a starship is a long story. Right now we are operating a starship belonging to the Hakaanen Federation. We need to arrange for your help. There will be plenty of time to catch you up."

"To whom am I speaking?" Captain Parrish asked.

"I am Douglas Daniels," Douglas said. "I'm the lead...," he paused, thought for a moment, and then went on. "I am the Captain of the starship `Jordan M. Paxton'."

The communications officer had opened a screen on the computer that had information about the lost boys from the "Starkeeper". "And your group consists of the boys who were on the 'Moonduster'?"

"And two from the 'Sundancer'," Douglas added.

Lieutenant Schrader checked the information on the screen. "Interesting. Two boys and some crew members were on that shuttle. The `Moonduster' had only boys. And one of the boys was Jordan M. Paxton. Isn't that the name of their starship?"

"It is," the Captain said. Parrish spoke into the radio. "I need to speak to a surviving crew member of the `Sundancer'."

"There are none," Douglas replied. "Only the twin boys, Ethan and Logan, survived."

"I have to say I'm totally amazed, Douglas. You have control of a starship? You and a group of Earth boys have somehow gotten control of an alien starship and are now in space?"

"That is correct, sir."

"I find it impossible to believe that a group of boys lead by a fourteen-year-old can survive in space on a small shuttle and turn up as the crew of an alien starship. It's just a bit unbelievable. I have a feeling you have played one too many video games. I think it is time for the truth so we can proceed to rescue you boys from wherever you are."

Amahl looked over at his father and asked, "Why is it so hard to believe that kids can do things?" His father shushed him.

"Maybe it is, sir," Douglas said calmly. "But as you can tell, here we are talking to you on a radio capable of broadcasting and receiving in warp space."

"Obviously, you are. But it is still hard to comprehend. We're receiving your broadcast, but we're not receiving the truth. The big question now is, how will we be able to find you? We don't know where you are, and you certainly don't have the ability to tell us."

"You underestimate us, sir. I'm going to let you talk to Brandon. He can tell you where we are."

There was a short pause and Brandon came on the air. While the shuttle had been down on the surface of Hakaan, Brandon spent much of his time on the "Paxton" studying the star charts. He couldn't read Hakaanen well enough to decipher some of the detail, but Stevie was better reading Hakaanen and helped him interpret the symbols. Brandon used the computer to match up stars with the chart. After the shuttle returned, Scooter helped his old boyfriend. He could read Hakaanen better than any of them. With the assistance he received from Stevie and Scooter, Brandon was able to pinpoint where they were.

"Hello, sir. This is Brandon. I have some information for you, but I probably should talk to your astrogator."

"Son, I think whatever information you have I can take care of just fine. Tell me what you have." That was followed by a pause. Captain Parrish turned to Dr. Rashad. "What a child possibly know that would be that complicated?" Amahl glared at him. Parrish knew that his comment could be heard by the boys, and he didn't care. He wanted them to know exactly what his position was.

But Brandon wouldn't budge. "I really need to talk to the astrogator. I have a lot of technical information for him on how to find us."

"Son, there is no way you can give us enough information to find you. Maybe we can analyze what you have, but there is no way you can get that kind of star information. How would you have access to star charts, and even if you had them, you're just kids. There is no way in the galaxy that you could interpret them." Captain Parrish didn't realize that they not only had to read the charts, they had to interpret the Hakaanen writing and symbols.

"Let's cut the nonsense boys. Tell me what you have and I'll decide if the astrogator needs to see it." The Captain looked at Rashad and Schrader, clicked off the mike switch, and said, "Something is not right about this. I can tell you this: I won't be told what to do by a group of punk adolescents, I don't care how they survived."

Amahl continued to glare at the Captain. He liked Captain Parrish, who had always been friendly, helpful, and willing to answer his questions. However, the captain had also been reluctant to give him any responsibility or to acknowledge that he was more than just a kid who got in the way.

The only reason he was on the bridge was because of his father. The way the Captain had talked to the boys on the radio was wrong. The boys on the other end were obviously special boys. They weren't just a group of schoolboys on a field trip, he thought, they were boys had survived in space. He hoped they could find them so he could meet them. Amahl usually didn't say much, but the Captain was wrong here and he needed to know that.

"Captain...'," Amahl started, but Captain Parrish held up his hand. He obviously was not going to take any kind of challenge from any kids, especially one on his own bridge. Amahl was afraid of getting kicked off the bridge, so he decided to say nothing.

They men on the bridge realized that there had been a long silence at the other end. Had they lost communication with the boys? Rashad and Schrader started checking the readouts on the radio when Douglas came on instead of Brandon.

"Captain Parrish, with all due respect, sir, when my ASTROGATOR asks to speak with your astrogator, I expect you to respect that request and get your astrogator. Captain, you will not treat us like ignorant kids. Our shuttle was blasted from its starship (and it suddenly struck Douglas he hadn't asked yet if the fate of the "Starkeeper" was known) with just a group of KIDS on it. We got that shuttle to a planet. We crashed on the surface of that planet and then crossed the desert and the mountains and found a valley with a colony of aliens.

"It was us KIDS who made First Contact with an alien culture. It was us KIDS who won their respect so they would help us. It was us KIDS who flew a starship to the aliens' home planet and got help there and the use of their radio. We did all this with the loss of only two crew members. Captain, I'm proud of my crew and what they did. They are full of heart, they are the bravest crew in the galaxy, they are loyal, intelligent, and they are my friends and my family! They are SURVIVORS! I love them beyond what can ever be measured! I'm proud to be their leader and as the captain of the `Paxton' I expect the same level of respect from you.

Douglas paused to take a breath. All of the boys on the "Paxton" could hear the conversation—they burst into spontaneous cheers and applause. The crew of the "Starfinder" could hear the cheers coming from the "Paxton's" bridge.

The Captain of the "Paxton" then continued his impassioned speech. "We may be young in age, but we have done things no group of space explorers has ever done. We have survived in space when we all should have died. We have made First Contact with an alien civilization. So far as I'm concerned we aren't a group of kids for you to look down on. We are your equals. Captain Parrish, when my astrogator, one of my MEN, says he wants to talk to your astrogator, then I expect you to get your astrogator. Have I made myself clear, Captain?"

Now it was the "Starfinder's" turn to pause. Captain Parrish stood there stunned at the chewing out he had received from an adolescent whose voice had barely broken. His first reaction was to click off the radio and cut this insolent young brat off, but he took a deep breath before taking any action—after all their mission now was to rescue those same brats.

He thought for a moment about what he had just heard. The voice was one of a young adolescent barely into puberty, but the words were those of someone of authority. Captain Parrish looked at the men standing around him. He glanced at Amahl, who had a look of satisfaction on his face.

Captain Parrish had his opinions on how a spaceship should be operated, but he was also a good Captain and a fair man. It finally occurred to him that he wasn't talking to a group of lazy teenagers lounging around in the games room of a passenger liner. He had indeed just gotten a much deserved chewing out from a starship Captain. He nodded at Schrader to open the mike.

"Yes, Captain Daniels," he said in his best clear military voice. "You have made yourself perfectly clear, and I apologize for not honoring your request immediately. Please have your astrogator stand by and mine will be available to speak with him." Though I have no idea what can possibly be gained from such a meeting, he thought to himself. He was filled with ambivalent feelings regarding the lost "Starkeeper" boys.

Amahl broke out into a wide grin. Yesssss, he thought, now you're talking! Now I really do have to meet these boys—they are a group worth knowing. They had just stood up to a starship Captain. Anybody who could make Captain Parrish be the first to blink had balls of steel.

On the "Paxton" Douglas let out a sigh of relief. He was worried that he had gone too far and wrecked any chance of rescue. But there was no way he was going to be pushed around and have a member of his crew treated as an inferior. Not after what they had been through. He no longer was the boy who could hardly wait for an adult to take over his responsibilities. He was now a starship Captain. Nobody was ever going push him or his crew around again. Mike gave Douglas a big hug and Scooter gave him a big kiss.

Brandon grabbed his star charts and sat at the radio. Astrogator, he thought. Douglas called me his astrogator. He smiled to himself. Well, it was time for this astrogator to show what he knew.

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

Brandon spent two hours going over his data with Commander Nu, the Chief Astrogator of the "Starfinder." When they finished comparing all of their data, Commander Nu was impressed. "Young man that was an incredible job of research. You were using alien charts and interpreting them out in an area no human has ever visited. I have a feeling that when you return to Earth the Space Academy is going to have an opening for you."

Brandon flushed with pride. His heart had been thumping at the start. He was afraid the information he had would be wrong or incomplete and the astrogator would tell Captain Parrish he was wasting his time. Instead, he had impressed the Chief Astrogator of an exploration starship, meaning he was one of the best of the best in the fleet.

Nu punched some numbers into his computer. "I will be right back to you." He got up to talk to Captain Parrish.

Captain Parrish was in his office going over the computer files on the missing boys. He was surprised at who had ended up becoming the leader of the group. Douglas Daniels had been a student body officer at a middle school. He knew from his own school days that the position was a fluff job. Douglas was a boy from a soft middle class background, active in school and sports, a good student, but nothing spectacular. Yet the teen had dressed him down like a pro and spoken with authority and confidence. He had kept a group of boys alive and together and brought them to the brink of rescue.

The boy who should have been the leader was Robert Charles Grant. His father was a Colonial Governor and had been prominent politician on Earth. Robert Charles had attended leadership training schools and camps. The boy had been raised to lead. However, it was somebody totally different who had taken over. Usually training and the ability to lead win out. He wondered what occurrence had made Douglas the leader of the group. He heard his door buzz.

"Enter" he said. Commander Nu entered the office. "My apologies, Commander. That took much longer than I had anticipated. I hope it wasn't a total waste of time."

"No sir, it wasn't. The boy was very well prepared. He said he had a lot of help from his peers, but he knew exactly what he was talking about. They seem to be a remarkable group of boys, sir."

"I am beginning to ascertain that. I underestimated them at first, Charles. I thought of them as children. Maybe they were when they were ejected from the "Starkeeper", but not any longer. I didn't respect them and was rightfully put into my place by their Captain. I was angry at first that some fourteen-year-old was reading me out in front of members of my crew, but it appears I deserved his anger. They have all of my respect now."

"It was an easy mistake to make, sir. But believe me, this is no ordinary group of boys."

"So, what did you find out?"

"Sir, using the Starr Drive to the fullest, we are just under two weeks away from the planet Hakaan. It wasn't easy to figure out where they are. Hakaan's solar system is hidden from us by the Gamma Epsilon double star system and has never been detected by any of our instruments. Their starship's path took them just past that point where the Hakaan system was blocked or we would never have heard their radio broadcast. I am one hundred percent certain that we will find them behind the double star system."

"Not long ago we would have been months away. Gordon Starr doesn't know it, but his Starr Drive is about to save the life of his son. It's too bad he couldn't have come on this voyage to see his drive run properly. I know the supposed death of his son had been very hard on him, but he still managed to put in the work to upgrade his warp enhancer."

"I hope his son isn't one of the two who didn't make it. We still haven't learned who they are, although from the name they gave their starship, I assume Jordan Paxton was one of the two. His father was the Chief Engineer on the `Starkeeper'. We have a lot to learn during the next week or so while we head to our rendezvous, starting with how a group of Earth teenagers end up procuring an alien starship and taking it into warp space. If I saw that happening on a vid I would have turned it off and dismissed it as total nonsense."

"Unfortunately, sir, getting to them in time will be difficult."

"Oh? Why is that?"

"They are low on fuel. They have a couple of days' worth left. They need to return to Hakaan's orbit and run off of solar power until we can get there. Since Hakaan is behind the double star system, we will have no radio contact with them until maybe three days before we reach them."

"Well, let's do this much then. Tell them first, that the "Starkeeper" made it safely back to Earth. We haven't had time to communicate that. And find out what boys didn't make it. There is no way we can tell Earth anything, but we still should like to know. We will catch up on the details when we find them. Set course for the planet Hakaan, Commander Nu."

"Yes, sir!" Nu said with a smile. He left the office and gave the order. Then he got back on the radio and told the news to the boys on the "Paxton". Rescue was less than two weeks away.

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

The "Paxton" slipped behind the double star system and out of radio contact. Douglas had told Captain Parrish about how Jordan and Robert Charles died, and why they rechristened the starship the "Jordan M. Paxton". He also told him about Matthew staying on Inferno, but he skirted around the real reason why. With the "Paxton" behind the double star system, the two starships would be out of contact again until the "Starfinder" came out of warp.

The really great news being exchanged was that the "Starkeeper" had made it back to Earth. There had been some casualties from the explosion in the engine room, but it was all crew members. All of the passengers survived, as did Scooter and Jordan's fathers. And again, because time was short, all the information couldn't be given, such as what it was that caused the explosion on the starship. The news was a huge load off of the shoulders of the boys as they found out that their families were safe. They all cried upon hearing the news.

The twins cried the hardest. They were the youngest of the boys and had been the most homesick. They left the group and went to their cabin. After hugging and kissing and crying and laughing they found their little bodies rubbing and hard and excited. It didn't take long for them to rub their hard little boners together and enjoy the tremors of a dry cum. After recovering and kissing, they got into the 69 position and took each other to another hard dry cum, their dicks throbbing in their twin brother's mouth. They agreed that they wouldn't stop having sex fun together when they returned home.

They weren't the only boys to make love that night. It was a time of happiness and joy for the "lost" boys of the "Starkeeper".

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

Alex put the "Paxton" into orbit around Hakaan. He knew more about the computer system and was able to make orbit much more efficiently. He knew it wasn't a real stable orbit and he would have to do some adjusting

"It might even stay here for a couple of weeks...Captain," he told Douglas with a grin.

They radioed Rikers on the planet's surface. Dralkan talked to his two fathers and to his brother, Shamene. Trundall got a chance to talk to his father who was in hiding with Rikers and Urland.

Rikers was excited to hear that the warp radio worked and they were able to make contact. He was even more excited to find out that a starship was only two weeks away. And he was ecstatic to learn that Dralkan and Trundall were safe and healthy.

When he learned about the warp enhancer, the Starr Drive, he also knew that things would change some for Hakaan. Earth was now six weeks away, and Earth would know they existed and where they were. No matter what happened in regards to the Ancients, Hakaan would no longer be able to remain isolated. He could only hope that the humans from the planet Earth were as wonderful as the boys orbiting his home world in their starship.

It was time for the people of Hakaan to get their way of life back. It was time for the Ancients to retire and for Thraller and his minions to go back to their Shkah village. When the Earth starship finally reached them, nothing would be the same again. And when it got there, he was going to lead the rebuilding of his planet, and it would start with the election of a proper government. To make that happen he needed the arrival of the Earth ship to wake up the people of Hakaan.

When the "Survivor" had returned to the "Paxton" from Hakaan, it had been loaded with food. Enough to last a couple of months if needed. If that ran out they would have to bring the boys down, and it would have been on Thraller's terms, because they would have to land at the old spaceport. Now that was all changed. They could be brought down at any place on the planet because some of the Earth shuttles could land vertically.

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

The "Paxton" finished its tenth day in orbit. Alex wished he knew more about the physics of orbiting objects. The references they had were in Hakaanen and were too complicated to understand. Urland did know a retired astrophysicist who was part of the resistance. He had been "retired" by the Ancients because there really wasn't much for an astrophysicist to do under their regime.

With Scooter's help he managed to teach Alex some of the information he needed. One fact that fascinated Alex was that the farther away an orbiting object was from the body it was orbiting, the slower it traveled. With this and other information, Alex had placed the "Paxton" at its most efficient orbit five days after its return to Hakaan.

In another two or three days the "Starfinder" would be coming out of warp and they could communicate again. The boys met in the main lounge. They had planned the evening since their return—it was time for an orgy to break out. They sensed that this might be their last time alone together, and they quietly decided the love making would be long and hard and heavy. Each boy tried to touch as many other boys as they could in every way they could think of. Even the twins found themselves enjoying the sexual attention of the older boys. Nobody kept track of who their partners were since they changed rapidly. It was like the night was a giant wet dream, with the dozen naked, horny boys making up a single linked body. That night they couldn't get enough of feeling each other. They couldn't get enough of each other's love. They were indeed a family in every way.

The next day sped by with Stevie and Travis staying by the radio waiting to hear from the "Starfinder". Scooter had just spent some time talking with Mike and Alex about what was going to happen when the "Starfinder" showed up, not only to them, but to the Hakaanen. Scooter realized that he hadn't seen Douglas for a while and went looking for him. He found Douglas in the big lounge, sitting on a sofa looking out a window. Hakaan was floating below them, beautiful in its blues and greens and browns and whites.

Scooter sensed his lover's sadness. He walked over and sat next to him on the sofa and put his arm around him.

"What's wrong, Douglas?"

Douglas shrugged. "Nothing."

Scooter hugged him tighter. "You know that's not true. I can read you like a book. Something is bothering you."

"I can't sneak anything past you. My problem is a selfish one and I don't want you to be bothered by it."

"Douglas, Douglas, Douglas. I love you more than anything. Whatever bothers you we get through together. Now cut the crap, and tell me what's bothering you."

Douglas leaned his head against his lover's shoulder. "It's kind of funny, Scooter. When we were sitting there in the desert on our wrecked shuttle and you guys made me leader, I kept hoping some adult showing up and taking all the responsibility from me so I could be free of it. I didn't want to lead, or make the decisions. I wanted somebody doing it for me, just like my parents and my teachers did.

"Only it never happened and I ended up having to make decisions. No adults ever came to rescue us. Even when we were with the Hakaanen on Inferno, they really weren't our rescuers. We still were in charge of ourselves. We still had to make our own decisions. Hell, we ended up making some of their decisions. All of you guys helped me so much, Scooter. You more than anybody." He sat quietly leaning against the boy he loved so much.

"I think I know where you're going," Scooter said.

"By tomorrow an Earth starship will be here. Everything will be taken over by a starship Captain. A man trained to be a leader—a person who expects to be the leader. You saw how he talked to us when we first made contact; like we were little kids. When tomorrow comes, what I think will mean nothing. Right now I am the Captain of the 'Jordan M. Paxton'. Alex is the Chief Pilot, Brandon is the Chief Engineer and it looks like the Chief Astrogator, too. I mean everybody has some kind of title or role. We did things no group of kids have ever done. We survived when we should have all died. And tomorrow we'll just be kids again. I don't know if I can go back to just being a kid again, Scooter."

"It won't be that bad. Maybe it's what we really need. I know I want to see my dad in the worst way and I will give up being the chief translator to do that."

"Don't get me wrong. I want to see my parents badly, too. But when I get home, I can't go back to being their little Dougie again. I'm not the same boy who got blasted into space months ago. Maybe I didn't really want to lead us before, but now I like the huge responsibilities and I don't want to give them up. I don't want that Captain to come on board and say, 'Hi, kid', like I'm just some lame teenager. I want him to come respecting me for what I did. Hell, respecting US for what WE did!"

Scooter stroked Douglas's bare shoulder. His soothing thoughts flowed into his lover's mind, but he spoke aloud. "I love you, Douglas. I love your face. I love your body. I love your mind. I love your voice. I love your thoughts and your loyalty and your bravery. Nothing that happens can ever lessen my love. Nothing. My love and respect for you is infinite."

At the same time, Scooter's thoughts filled Douglas with a tremendous feeling of love and warmth. Douglas knew that no matter what happened he would always have Scooter beside him and inside him.

"I think you earned that Captain's respect" Scooter said. "You didn't let him treat us like we were kids. You forced him to treat us as equals. You stood up for Brandon and for all of us. And when he comes on board, remind him you are the Captain of this ship, the leader of this crew. Make sure he talks to you Captain to Captain, and not adult to kid."

"I do love you so much. You know what else I was thinking of?"

"What?"

"Have you ever heard of a book called "The Lord of the Flies"? It was written back in the 20th century."

"Yeah, why?" Scooter asked. Then he smiled and answered his own question. "They were like us. Stranded and cut off from adults. Only they came apart. They became savages. They killed one of their own. We didn't go that route. We survived. We came through. We could have become savages and died. Robert Charles was heading us in that direction, only we had a leader we could all follow. And that was you."

"God, I love you, Scooter. The galaxy isn't big enough to hold all the love I feel for you. But it wasn't just me. We all had something the boys in that book didn't. We had love and respect for each other before we ever got lost out in space. We had already been together. I don't think we ever would have become savages. But it was close. Robert Charles and Jordan were going that way, but we were stronger than them. Our love and respect for each other gave us strength."

"It was you. You were strong—stronger than anything that came against us."

Douglas kissed Scooter hard and deep, holding him close, letting his love flow into his blond lover's body and soul. `I can't imagine my life without you in it. I want you to be mine forever,' he thought as they held their long, passionate kiss.

And with that thought, they were reminded of something else. That when they returned home, they probably would be separated. Scooter would return to Earth, and Douglas would be sent to his parents on Alpha Orion IV.

The boys were wrapped around each other, kissing and hugging. Their teen cocks were hard and excited. Douglas knew what Scooter wanted; he felt it in his being. "Let's go to our cabin," Douglas whispered.

Within minutes they were on their shared bed. Douglas spit on his hand, rubbed his saliva over his hard cock. He slowly slid it into Scooter's tight rectum, letting his lover get used to the feel of him. Then he started humping him, setting up a slow rhythm, slowly riding along his sweet spot, making him moan from the pleasure.

The boys became lost in each other. Their thoughts of love flowing between them, their feelings of love making them one mind, one love, one body, one soul. Having Douglas's hardness inside him made Scooter feel like all of Douglas was filling him. And for Douglas, it wasn't that he was filling his lover's insides. It was more like he was filling Scooter's entire body. For the boys their souls met in their bodies and in their minds. As Douglas humped them closer to climax their souls became united.

I'm cumming...I'm cummmmming....their minds said together. Their bodies shook, Douglas humped, Scooter's back arched and his ass muscles squeezed on Douglas's ramming cock. Douglas felt Scooter's thoughts rushing through him, Scooter felt Douglas's doing the same. The boys couldn't remember who they were. Douglas was Scooter, Scooter was Douglas, they were both, they were themselves, they were each other. As they came to their climax their minds truly became one, their orgasms almost doubling as Douglas filled Scooter with his boy cum and Scooter sprayed wad after wad of light teen crude over himself, his first wad hitting his face, then his chest, and down until his cum dribbled onto his light dusting of pubic hair. The orgasms brought screams of ecstasy, as they became overwhelmed by feelings more intense than their young bodies had ever felt before.

Douglas collapsed on top of Scooter, his hardness still inside him. They rolled over side by side, their bodies stuck together by Scooter's cum. Their minds were glowing from the intense love between them. They fell asleep on the bed wrapped in each other's arms, their overloaded minds slowly unwinding as they slept peacefully into the night.

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

The "Starfinder" dropped out of warp the next morning. Lieutenant Schrader contacted the "Paxton" as soon as they were out of warp space. The "Starfinder" was a little less than a day out. A lot of the day was spent with Scooter on the radio telling the story of the "lost" boys. The entire crew of the "Starfinder" listened raptly, even those who were off watch. Through it all the crew of the "Starfinder" sat amazed as Captain Parrish had the radio conversation sent through the ship's PA system.

After Scooter's talk was over, Captain Parrish listened to a recording of the entire conversation again. His respect for the boys and for Douglas had grown tremendously. He thought of them in a shuttle floating in space, alone and abandoned, hoping help would come to them, but getting none. He thought how they found a planet and managed to navigate there against all odds. He thought of their daring space walk, and of the crash landing. The change in leadership fascinated him. He found it strange, but interesting, that the boy who was trained and raised to lead failed at it, and it was a boy who had it easy growing up who led them out of the desert, onto a starship, and now within hours of rescue.

He thought about his first talk with Douglas and how he treated the boy. He also thought of how the boy reacted. It took a lot of balls to talk to a starship Captain like that. It took a lot of balls to do the leadership job he did. A lot of veteran Starship Captains and crews would have had a hard time surviving what those boys had gone through.

Then he thought about a book he had read when he was in high school. "The Lord of the Flies". It was a book about a group of boys who had become stranded on an island after a plane crash. They ended up becoming savages, and in the end killed one of the survivors. He thought again about how the two boys who died were killed, and wondered how close those boys had come to the same kind of savagery. Any group of boys that could pilot a starship between planets certainly weren't savages, he thought. They were an extraordinary group of survivors.

He wondered what it was going to be like meeting those boys. He sat back in his chair thinking about how he should handle it.

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

It was very early morning when the "Starfinder" entered orbit around Hakaan. It eased to within a few miles of the "Paxton". For the first time ever an Earth starship was in orbit around an alien world with sentient life on it. The crew that was awake looked at it in awe. It was a truly beautiful planet. When the rest of the crew awoke, they too looked at it awestruck.

They waited until the boys on the "Paxton" were all awake and arranged to come over by shuttle.

Douglas and Scooter were in their cabin. They both had their Hakaanen shoulder belts strapped to them. Everything they needed to carry was in their belts. Other than a pair of sandals, they were naked. They were dressed like Hakaanen boys, naked except for the sandals and the belts. They knew the image they would present might be one of savages, but this was how they were. The only clothes they had with them were the usual Hakaanen boy clothing: loin cloths or shorts and a loose shirt. Each boy had also received a thick Hakaanen robe from the family they had resided with on Inferno. They had debated whether they should wear the robes, then decided to save the robes for another, more important occasion. Nudity had been their uniform, and they would meet the crew of the "Starfinder" in uniform.

"You know, Scooter, I'm not even bothered about greeting the crew naked. This is our uniform now. I am proud to look like a Hakaanen boy. I am proud of who we are."

Scooter kissed Douglas and they went to the air locks. All of the Earth boys stood in line, facing the locks. They stood proudly at attention, naked except for their Hakaanen belts and their sandals. Standing with them were Dralkan and Trundall, ready to see their first Earth adults. Like the Hakaanen they were, the boys were properly dressed for the occasion.

The boys were clean, excited, and even a little scared. Their hair was long, but neatly combed. The Earth boys felt like Douglas felt; they weren't kids any longer. They were survivors, and being rescued and taken back to Earth wouldn't change that.

The shuttle "Atlantis", named for an ancient Earth shuttle, docked against the Hakaanen starship. The airlock seals were different, but using the information they received from Brandon and Travis, they manufactured an adapter that made an airtight seal.

Captain Parrish, Dr. Rashad, Lieutenant Schrader, and Amahl were the boarding party. Amahl wanted to come badly, and Captain Parrish saw no reason to refuse the boy. In fact, he thought it was an excellent idea.

The airlock was opened. Captain Parrish was the first to step on board the Hakaanen starship. As arranged, Douglas was at the entry way to greet him, Captain to Captain.

Captain Parrish came through the outer door and saw a naked boy wearing two leather belts, one around his shoulder, and another around his waist. The only other thing he was wearing was a pair of sandals. For one brief moment, the thought raced through Captain Parrish's mind that this skinny, deeply tanned, naked boy in front of him could not be the same boy who he had talked to over the radio. He looked like an uncivilized savage. He then saw the naked boys lined up behind him and thought that they were a group of savages after all. He was so stunned by what he saw that he missed Dralkan and Trundall entirely.

When Douglas saw the starship Captain in full uniform come out of the airlock, he became more aware of his nakedness than he had been at any time since crashing on Inferno. He was standing naked in front of the Captain of a deep space exploration ship—a man of power and prestige whose impressive uniform made Douglas feel his nakedness all the more. Douglas barely had any pubic hairs, and here he was facing a man of power. Suddenly he went from feeling the confident leader of a group of survivors, to being nothing but a skinny, naked, undersized, teenaged boy, who had barely reached puberty. How he wished he'd decided to have everybody wear their robes. He was ready for the Captain to say to him, "Hey kid, we're taking over now."

Captain Parrish walked up to Douglas. His muscular six foot three frame made Douglas seem even smaller and less important, if that were possible. The boys all stood holding their breath waiting to see how Douglas would be treated. They were certain they were doomed. Earth boys were not supposed to express Hakaanen pride by standing naked in front of a man of authority. Once again adults would look down at them. They were all ready to be humiliated.

Captain Parrish stood in front of Douglas and looked into the boy's eyes. Douglas took a deep breath as he attempted to acquire at least a moment of courage. He looked right back into the eyes of the Captain and didn't flinch. What the starship Captain saw was the look of an intelligent, alert boy as well as a disciplined line of boys standing at attention, showing pride in themselves. There was a reason for their nakedness and he would find out what it was—but he saw too much that was good to humiliate this extraordinary group of boys.

Captain Parrish put out his hand and Douglas followed suit. They shook hands; Captain Parrish was impressed by the firm grip of the slender teenager who stood almost a foot shorter than him.

"Captain Daniels, I am Captain Ronald Parrish. I am honored to meet you and your crew. I am honored to be invited on board your ship. The crew of the U.S.S Starfinder' is ready to be of service to the crew of the starship Jordan M. Paxton'".

A loud cheer went up from the boys behind Douglas. Douglas took a deep breath and fought back tears. "Captain Parrish, welcome aboard the 'U.S.S Paxton'," he said proudly. "My crew and I are honored to have you on board our ship." He then gave the starship captain his rehearsed speech. "Please excuse our choice of uniform—we stand before you as a boy of the planet Hakaan would. We mean you and the crew no offense—rather we mean to honor the traditions of the culture that saved our lives." The boys waited in silence for Captain Parrish's reply.

"I admit to being surprised to see a line of naked boys standing at attention. But I now understand, and trust me when I say my crew and I take no offense at you and your crew displaying your pride in the culture of our new friends." Douglas didn't fail to catch the use of the word "our".

What Captain Parrish saw in front of him was not a group of naked, savage boys, but a crew. A crew of survivors. As he carefully scanned the line of boys he stopped in the middle of the group and observed two boys with pointed ears and golden manes running down their backs. Seeing members of a sentient alien species for the first time literally took his breath away. They told him more about what Douglas and his crew of boys had accomplished than anything else he had heard or encountered.

"I see you have some friends here," the Captain stated, surprised that his voice was quaking.

Douglas introduced Dralkan and Trundall. Captain Parrish gave them a nod and a quick salute and the two boys bowed their heads in greeting. Forces had now been set in motion that could never be turned back.

Amahl had seen Dralkan and Trundall right away. He was standing unobtrusively behind two of the "Starfinder's" officers and kept silent. Douglas saw Amahl for the first time and smiled at the exotically cute boy. Amahl, smiling back, cocked his head toward Captain Parrish standing in his full dress uniform. And then Amahl turned to look back at the naked Earth boys, and with the barest hint of a mischievous smile crossing his lips, asked, "Are those your dress uniforms, too?"

NEXT: KANA