Chapter 22
Desert Planet
This story contains sex between minor boys and teen-agers. 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 some day it will be.
Alex sat in his seat shaking. He looked over at Robert Charles, who was white. The nose of the "Moonduster" was buried in sand. The shuttle was tilted down and to the right. Mike stumbled into the cockpit.
"Are you guys okay?"
"I think so," Alex said. Robert Charles didn't say anything. He just sat there.
"Well, I think you need some retraining in the landing part," Mike said with a smile.
"Any landing you can walk away from is a good landing," Alex said. "How is everything back there?"
"Everybody is shook up. Some bruises. Matthew banged is head, I think he's..."
Ryan came up to the door. "I think Matthew is hurt pretty bad."
Mike turned, went out and Alex got up and followed him. Robert Charles sat there. Not knowing what to expect, the boys had put their clothes on before the landing. Now Robert Charles was looking down at a pair of wet pants.
In the cabin Matthew was lying between seats. He was unconscious. His head was bleeding and his leg looked strange. Scooter had a towel on his head pressuring the wound. Alex looked sick. The last thing he wanted was somebody hurt.
"What happened? How did he get hurt so bad?" Alex asked.
"He unhooked his seat belt when we started over the mountains and was looking out the window," Jeremy said.
"The ship lurched and he went flying," Mike continued. "I had him and lost him. Jeremy grabbed him and held him."
"When we started falling I started losing him," Jeremy said. "When we hit the ground he flew up to the front."
"Why did he unbuckle?" Travis asked. "What a dumb thing to do. He keeps buckled and in spite of everything nobody gets hurt."
"Well, it happened," Douglas said. "Now we need to see how bad it is."
Scooter had a lot of first aid training. He was always thinking between medicine and astronomy as careers, but as much as he liked astronomy his heart was really into medicine. He loved his first aid courses, he loved health class and now suddenly he had to use what he learned. Matthew had shorts on and Scooter could see that he had a broken bone in his lower leg. The bone wasn't pushing out of the skin, but he could see it was way off. It was the tibia, the shin bone. He wondered if the fibula, the smaller bone was broken too. There was no way he could tell. He sent Ryan and Travis to the galley to get splints from the first aid closet.
The walk to the galley wasn't easy since the shuttle was sitting at a bit of a down angle. The galley was a mess, the back part open where the tail section broke off. They could look right out into the desert and feel the heat coming in. In fact the whole shuttle was starting to heat up. They found the splints and brought them back.
Scooter worked to get the splints on. Matthew moaned. Mike was up on the seats above him. "It's okay little bro, just hang on."
With help from Ryan, Scooter got the splint on the leg. He didn't know if it would help. It needed a cast. All the splint was going to do was keep it from getting worse. He bandaged Mathhew's head. He did about all he could do.
"You did great, Scooter," Douglas said. "Or is it Doctor Scooter now?"
"I don't know if I helped everything. I don't know how bad his head is. I don't know if he has internal injuries. I just don't know. I did the best I could."
"You were awesome."
Matthew moaned and opened his eyes.
"He's awake," Mike said.
Matthew looked at Mike. "Green," he moaned.
"What?" Mike asked.
"Green...green...horsey...green..."
"What did he say?" Jim asked.
"It sounded like green horsey," Mike said.
Matthew pointed to the back of the ship, toward the mountains. "Green," he whispered. "Green....horsey..green...it hurts." He passed out.
"There are pain killers in that kit," Scooter said. "We need to get him some."
"It's starting to get hot in here," Travis said. They could all feel the temperature rising. The climate control system was off. The desert heat was heating up the ship. They all looked around at each other. They suddenly realized they were all alone on an empty desert planet, millions of miles from where they had left the "Starkeeper" and that their chances of being rescued were close to nothing. They had no idea of how well their supplies survived the crash, since they were all down below in the hold. But even if they did, it wasn't enough to live on for more than a year or so, no matter how careful they were. If they were going to survive, they would have to find a way to do it on what the planet had. And it looked like the planet had nothing.
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Travis and Jeremy opened the airlock doors. The heat outside was terrible. It had to be way over a hundred degrees. But at least the air was fresh and the heat was rising in the cabin. Travis and Jeremy took of their clothes and set them on a seat. If they didn't need them, why wear them out. They would need them at some time. The outer door of the airlock was about ten feet off the ground. Travis knew he had seen a rope ladder in a locker in the galley. He went in there, looking again at the opening in the back. He wondered how far the drop from there would be. He went to the opening and looked through the jagged metal. Because the ship was nosed down it was a long drop. Travis decided it would be easier to get out through the airlock. He got the ladder and went back into the cabin.
They hooked the ladder up and let it drop to the ground. Now the question was, who would be the first one to step on the planet. After all, whoever it was would probably be the first human to ever set foot on it. They said because of what happened on his space walk it should be Douglas. But Douglas said no, the first person to set foot on it should be Alex. He was the one who brought them all down safely. They all agreed to that. Alex blushed but didn't say anything.
Robert Charles walked out. He was happy that everybody was naked. Now he could walk out and nobody would see that he had wet his pants. He had used the dry part of his pants to wipe himself off. He saw Scooter by Matthew and that Matthew was hurt. He went to where most of the boys were hanging at the open door.
"What's going on, guys?" he asked.
"Well, it's about time you came out," Alex said. "You finally get your bladder under control?" Robert Charles glared at him and wondered how much Alex knew. Well, it didn't make much difference because the first time Alex was alone he was going to establish who would be running the whole show on this planet.
"We're deciding who gets to make history and be the first person to set foot on the planet. We all wanted Douglas, but he said it should be Alex. We all thought that was a great idea."
"Why wasn't I asked about this?" Robert Charles asked.
"Well, we didn't see you around."
"I think as the leader of this group I should be the first one to set foot on this fucking planet."
"I think as the asshole of this group you shouldn't set foot on it at all," Alex said.
Robert Charles looked at Alex. "You know something? Most people would go kick the shit out of you right now. But I have to lead and set and example, so I am just going to let that thing slide. Now, maybe you should just chill out, little boy and let someone who has earned it be the first one down."
Once again Alex stood up and looked up at Robert Charles. "You might be a big lump of clay, but I'm older than you. And I think it shows just about every minute of the day."
Robert Charles shook his head and walked to the open airlock. "So who is going to argue with me being first. Other than little Mr. Bigmouth. Mr. I Can Fly but I Can't Land, who would love being the first one."
Alex moved in on Robert Charles but Mike grabbed him.
"Alex did an awesome job getting us down here and you know it, RC," Douglas said.
"Whatever you say, Dougie. Now, I'm going to walk down the ladder and set foot on the planet." He walked to the opening and nobody stopped him. He got on the ladder and climbed down. His foot touched the sand, and he screeched and pulled it back up.
"Looks like Mr. Brightboy forgot to wear shoes. It would seem that the sand is a little hot," Alex told Mike laughing. "Hey, RC!" he yelled, "does that count as setting foot on the planet?"
"Get my shoes!" he bellowed.
"Get them yourself, big boy," Alex yelled back.
Robert Charles knew Alex was goading him into losing it. And he wasn't going to let him. But he wasn't going to forget either. This was all going to be dealt with soon. Robert Charles looked the situation on the ground over. The shadow of the wing wasn't very far away. He stepped down again, held his squeal in and took four steps to under the wing. The sand was still hot there, but it didn't burn. "The water's great, guys. Come on in."
"Boy, are those words going to go down in history," Alex said.
Robert Charles hopped quickly back to the ladder and climbed back up to the "Moonduster". "And now it's time to get ourselves organized," he said.
"That would be a good idea," Alex said. "What do you suggest first?"
"I don't know. We need to get power first I suppose."
"Stevie is already working on it," Alex said. "And Jordan and Jim are helping him."
"I never said anything about starting," Robert Charles said. "And who put Stevie in charge?"
"We needed to get started," Douglas said. "We need the climate control working or we're in deep shit. And we need it fast."
"Look, Dougie. I think we better establish that I'm in charge."
"I haven't challenged that. I just thought we better quit playing around and get things started. And Stevie knows electronics inside and out. Jordan has been taught a lot about how the systems work by his dad. And we've seen what Jim can do. And the temperature is climbing quickly in here in case you haven't noticed."
Douglas knew in his heart just like everyone else that Robert Charles was a lousy leader. But he knew that he still didn't want to be in charge and to be responsible. And he knew they all had to work together and if he challenged Robert Charles it could tear their group up. They didn't need fights right now. What was going on between Alex and Robert Charles was bad enough.
"Well, I think Jordan should be in charge," Robert Charles said.
"Yeah, like he was during the spacewalk," Alex said. "RC, he's 12 and is having some problems. Stevie is a whiz at making things work. Jordan can give him all the help he needs."
"You're saying that because he is your brother," Robert Charles said.
"Robert Charles, just let Stevie do it, okay?" Douglas pleaded, stepping in for Alex. "Let him try."
"What...ever."
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Stevie was doing what he loved. He had handled a lot of electronics for their band, even when he was smaller. Now he was 13 and knew more about electronics than a lot of college graduates. Jordan wasn't near the expert working on things as Stevie, but he did know a lot about how the systems of a ship or shuttle were set up. His dad had shown him a lot about Engineering systems. Jim had a liking for science. He also knew a lot about planets and astronomybecause of his mother.
"There should be a power chip under the control panel. It should work when the engines are shut' down," Jordan said. "That's how we get power when we're drifting. The chips can be recharged if they run down."
"How?"
"Solar power. There is a solar panel on the top and bottom of a shuttle."
"But what if no sun is around?" Jim asked. "How does it get charged then?"
"It can be charged by starting up a rocket too. Even a retrorocket. And it keeps the charge for a month."
"Well, then we should be in good shape," Stevie said. "But this control panel is a mess. It really got smashed up in the crash landing." He crawled back under and did some looking around. He needed to get the computer going first thing, because the computer controlled everything else. He could see that the computer connections were knocked loose from the control panel. He worked to get them reconnected.
While he was working Robert Charles and Alex squeezed into the cockpit.
"You mean the miracle worker isn't done yet?" Robert Charles asked.
"Man, just shut up RC or I'll kick your ass right here," Alex said.
"Tell me about it, little man," Robert Charles laughed
Stevie hooked two wires into the bottom of the panel and the computer lit up. At the same time all the cabin lights went on. Still no fan hum though.
"Looks like the miracle worker is doing okay," Alex said with a smile. They could hear a cheer coming from the cabin and a "way to go Stevie!"
Stevie was checking the climate control system on the computer. The computer was telling him what was wrong. The problem was simple. It had come unhooked from the power chip. The only question was where. Stevie and Jim traced the circuits and found a broken circuit board. Stevie then checked to see if there were any spare circuit boards. The computer didn't show one of the kind he needed, just generic ones that had to be set up to work for the area they were used. It was something an expert crewman could do quickly, but it took Stevie almost three hours to figure it out and get it working. It was trial and error. While he was working the cabin and cockpit were becoming unbearably hot. Everybody was sweating rivers and some of the boys were outside in the shade of the shuttle. Even in the desert heat that was cooler than the hot stuffy shuttle.
Stevie had all kinds of wires and cables hooked up to the circuit board. The board was sitting on top of the instrument panel since it would never have to be used again. He touched the computer screen and suddenly they heard the hum of the fans coming on full. He touched another button so that the system would use outside air instead of the recycled air of the life support system. Pretty soon cool fresh air was blowing through the shuttle. The boys who were outside climbed back in and shut the air lock hatch, cheering for Stevie and hugging and kissing him.
Stevie's next job was going to be getting the radio going.
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While Stevie had been working on getting the climate control functioning the other boys were busy too. Scooter was trying to make Matthew comfortable. Matthew would go unconscious and then wake up. Scooter kept a wet cloth on his head and got his clothes off him.
"Water...thirsty....green green horsey green...horsey green..."
"What's he talking about?" Scooter asked Douglas.
"I have no clue. I just wish we could make him more comfortable. I hope Stevie gets that A/C going."
Mike and Ryan went down to check on supplies and see what damage the crash did there. When they got down the ladder they stepped into water.
"Shit," Mike said.
"What's going on?" Ryan asked.
"I think we have a water leak somewhere," Mike said. "There are three water tanks down here.
The water recycles through one of them. One has drinkable water that comes from it, and the other has water that we can't drink. I'm hoping that is the tank that is leaking. And I'm hoping the recycling system is working. It's part of life support, which isn't working right now."
Mike waded through the water to the tanks. The water was just over his ankles. The deck was bent and warped. He looked at the main water tank. He could see water flowing out of the bottom. They were losing their drinkable water.
Mike and Ryan got empty survival bottles and started filling them with the water leaking out. Mike was also looking for any kind of shut off valve. He thought he read the water tank was in sections like the fuel tank was for safety. There were no valves. Maybe they were on the life support control panel that was on the wall. The panel was dark. There had to be a way to close off the bottom part of the tank. The water wasn't leaking really fast, but if they didn't get it stopped they would lose all their water.
Travis, Brett, and Jeremy left the hot cabin and went out of the airlock and down the ladder. They walked around the shuttle, amazed that they survived the crash. They silently thanked Alex for getting them close enough to the ground before the fuel ran out that it wasn't worse. Jeremy and Travis saw where their patch blew out. They figured that probably is what caused the shuttle to start losing control. The "Moonduster" had gotten them this far. They wondered now where they would go from here.
As evening came they got more and more fixed. When Stevie got climate control and life support going, Jim was able to get the bottom part of the water tank shut off. They had lost a lot of water. Ryan and Mike saved some, but they knew much of their supply was gone. So was some of their food, which gotten soaked from the leaking water. Sleeping bags and survival gear that had been on the floor had gotten soaked as well. They carried it all up and took it out. They hung it all up on a broken wing to dry. Some they hung out the hole in the tail section.
Mike cooked up dinner. Single helpings only. Only one of the microwaves was damaged. It broke loose from its holder and was smashed. But there were plenty left to cook meals for the thirteen of them.
Matthew refused to eat, and fell asleep. The rest of the boys ate, and after dinner the whole day caught up with them. Before it even got dark they were all sound asleep.
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The sun was up before anybody woke up. They had all been exhausted. Scooter woke up with a start and looked at Matthew. He couldn't see him move and got scared. Matthew was lying between the seats. Scooter was lying across them. It was the first night since they got blasted from the "Starkeeper" that he and Douglas hadn't slept together.
Scooter got down and put his head on Matthew's chest. He could feel his heart thumping and feel Matthew's breath on his cheek. Scooter's heart slowed down. His fear left him, but not his worry. Matthew's head wasn't bleeding any more, his leg was splinted, but he just wouldn't really wake up. When he was awake he was delirious. He kept talking about the green horsey. Scooter wondered what he was seeing in his mind.
When everybody woke up Mike got breakfast for them. They ate in the galley and in the cabin. Scooter tried feeding Matthew, but Matthew wouldn't wake up to eat or drink.
After they ate Robert Charles called a meeting. It was time for them to talk things over about what to do next. They went into the galley. Scooter was worried about Matthew, and planned to go back to look him over often.
"I guess we better figure out what we're going to do," Robert Charles said. "It looks like we're going to be here for a while. We need to decide what to do to survive. This place is going to be our home for a long time."
Brett was sniffling a little. He was worried. His dad had put two weeks worth of allergy meds in his pack, which he had with him. They were about to run out and he was afraid of what was going to happen when they did. He didn't want to be on the floor next to Matthew. Plus he really was lonely and missed his dad.
All of them were feeling the sadness of being alone and lost. All of them wanted to feel safe again and knew it might not happen. They were all afraid they were going to die alone on this planet. Ryan called it Inferno, and that was what it was. The name was starting to stick. It was boiling hot in the day, and since they all slept through the night they had no idea what the night was like. And they were all afraid that Inferno would be the last place they would ever see, that they would die alone there.
"Why do we need to stay here?" Douglas asked.
"That's kind of a stupid question isn't it, Dougie?" Robert Charles asked.
"Come on, RC," Alex said. "Let's make this a meeting and get things done, not attack time."
"Thanks, Alex," Douglas said. "But I can stand up for myself. Let's just get things done and not argue."
"Gotcha, Douglas. Sorry." Alex smiled and Douglas and Douglas smiled back.
Douglas looked at Robert Charles. "Because, Robert Charles, we will never be rescued here. It will be just like when we drifted in space. We will stay in one place and die. We have only so much water here, only so much food, only..."
"We have climate control here. Temperatures we can live with. We know how hot it gets in the daytime. I bet it gets plenty cold at night. We have water here. Have you seen any water on this fucking planet? We have food here. Have you seen any farms anywhere? A supermarket? A McDonalds? A trace of life? Get real Douglas. There is nothing here.
"And we already listened to you about coming to this planet. That sure doesn't look like such a bright idea now, does it? We've gone from possible rescue, to no chance. And even you admit that."
"You want to tell him Scooter? You are the one who told me."
"Well," Scooter said. "It's the atmosphere."
"What does the atmosphere have to do with it?" Jeremy asked.
"Think about it. How do you get an atmosphere you can breathe?"
Jim slapped his head. "Of course. How could I be so stupid? I mean this is what my mom was an expert in." He paused and shook. "I mean IS an expert in. Sorry."
What Jim said hit everybody. Because as much as they worried about themselves on the planet they kept forgetting that they didn't know what had happened to the "Starkeeper."
"What the fuck are you talking about?" Robert Charles asked. "This hellhole has an atmosphere. So what?"
"It means there has to be life here," Scooter said. "You can't have an atmosphere like Earth does without life."
"There is no life on this planet. You saw it from space, there isn't even any water. Your thinking is fucked Scooter."
"Chill out, Robert Charles," Douglas said. "There are two ways this planet can get an atmosphere like this. One is a biosphere like Earth with lots of plant life to make oxygen and animals to use it and make carbon dioxide."
"Well, that sure isn't here," Ryan said.
"Exactly. And we all know the second. Because it is the reason we can go live on a planet like Alpha Orion IV. It was man-made," Douglas said.
"That's even bigger bullshit than the biosphere crap for two reasons," Robert Charles shot back. "First, we are light years from any planet we've put a colony on. Second, to make the whole planet like this you would need to cover most of it with farmland and get an ocean started. I mean even I know that. It can't be done."
"Let me answer the second one," Jim said. "Right now we need big domes on planets like AO IV to hold the atmosphere in until we get the planet terraformed. We've only got two planets we've settled where the domes are completely gone. My mom was working on Mars on a way to create an atmosphere years before the planet is terraformed. Mars never worked well for an atmosphere because it is small and far from the sun. It's always needed domes. But she got huge sections done where the domes weren't needed. And AO IV was going to be the big experiment. So it can be done."
Scooter thought, Wow, I've know Jim for years and that is the longest speech he has ever given. He was impressed and smiled at his friend.
"Which brings us right back to, your mom's system hasn't been used on a whole planet yet, and we haven't even explored this far out," Robert Charles said.
"You know something, Robert Charles, you're right," Douglas said.
"Huh?" The ship was quiet except for the hum of the climate control. Robert Charles just stood there and then said, "Shit."
"Yeppers," Douglas said.
"I don't get it," Jordan said.
"Think about it," Douglas said. "If there is no biosphere like Earth, and humans haven't come this far, and this atmosphere was created, well, who made it?"
"Well, um, um.....oh shit," Jordan said.
"Do we all get the picture?" Douglas asked. "Do we see that maybe there really is other intelligent life? And do we understand that they could be our only way home? We have to find them."
"How do we know they aren't dangerous?" Travis asked.
"We don't. But we don't have any choice."
"We have the radio," Jeremy said. "The locator. It's pretty powerful. And we can send messages. We're safe here. Like Robert Charles said, we have food, water, and air conditioning. And besides, it's a big planet. And we saw nothing from out in space. We don't even know where to begin looking."
"I've been thinking about that too," Douglas said.
"God save us all from thinkers," Robert Charles said. "They are dangerous. You just happen to have a place figured out?"
"I kind of do, yes."
"Where, up in those mountains? Aliens sitting up there staring at us right now?"
"Maybe, but there is something to the other side of those twin peaks we flew through."
"I suppose you saw it," Robert Charles sneered.
"No, but Matthew did."
"Fuck, I've had enough of this bullshit. Matthew has been delirious since we landed."
"Hear him out," Alex said. "What he says makes sense."
"Scooter and I talked about it during breakfast. It's the green. Mike, how did Matthew come unstrapped from his seat belt?"
"He was looking out the window just as we were coming close to the mountains," Mike said. "He saw something and unbuckled to get a better look. He was looking out the window when we lurched and he got thrown across the aisle.
Douglas went on. "I think he saw something green. Farm land. Through breaks in the clouds and dust."
"What about the horsey?" Jeremy asked. "He keeps saying green horsey.":
"I don't know. I mean we were too high up to see any horses. We haven't figured it out yet."
"Well, if horsey is from his imagination, then so is green. But let's say he did see something, Dougie, what do you say we should do?"
"Simple. Head over the mountains and find the green. If it is green then there is water. And we lost over a third of our water yesterday. It might be nice and cool here with the climate control going, but no matter what, we can't live here without water."
"But don't forget the radio. They have to send some kind of signals. And we can radio them," Jeremy said. "We can't leave here because of the locator."
"Tell them, Stevie," Alex said.
"Tell us what?" Travis asked.
"The radio is in good shape", Stevie said. "And even if it wasn't I could rebuild it. But the transmitting equipment is in the nose of the shuttle. The nose is smashed. So is the transmitter. What we have can broadcast maybe 20 miles up and around. We can be located only of somebody is right above us. I can build a transmitter, but it would take me weeks, if I can even find and make the parts to do it."
The galley was quiet again. Scooter got up and went back to check on Matthew. The boys sat there quiet and teary eyed.
"What should we do, Robert Charles?" Jordan asked.
"Sit here until something happens, I guess. I suppose Douglas could go find Matthew's imaginary green patch. Anybody volunteer for a suicide mission?"
"We can't split up," Douglas said. "We gotta be together on this no matter what we decide. We split up and we may never find each other again."
"What about Matthew?" Travis asked.
"We find a way to take him with us. But we can't stay here. We will end up dying here doing nothing," Douglas said.
"So if we vote ten to two to leave, it means we stay?" Jeremy asked.
"What it means is, we don't go unless everybody goes, not matter what the vote."
"Then let's vote," Robert Charles said. "Then we stay here."
Scooter came into the galley. "He ate a little bit."
"Did he say anything?" Alex asked.
"Same thing as always."
"See. A kid who is out if it talks about a fucking green horse, and Dougie here wants to go trekking across the desert and mountains in 110 degree heat. What a brilliant idea. Let's vote now," Robert Charles said again.
"I think we should vote tomorrow," Scooter said. "We need a night to think about it. Whatever we decide it won't be easy."
"And if we decide to stay," Travis said, "we can always change out minds."
"Well, there is one more thing," Scooter said.
"What's that, my love?" Douglas looked at him with love in his heart.
"All I did was bandage up Matthew. If we don't do something for him, I don't know if he will live much longer."
And one more time there was no noise but the fans. None of them wanted to think of somebody dying.
"Guys, what it comes down to is this," Douglas said. "We sit here in 72 degree temperatures with nice microwaved food and fairly fresh water, and wait for it all to run out hoping somebody will find our ship in the middle of a desert planet. Or, we take a risk, we fight, we do something to help ourselves, and find the farms across those mountains."
"Right," Jeremy said. "The farms that might be there. And every time we've moved to supposedly help ourselves, we've just gotten farther and farther away from our..our..home." Jeremy fought back the tears that he saw were flowing down Brett's face. "I vote we stay here. If we die, we die being comfortable, not dying of thirst and hunger and from the heat and being miserable."
"I agree with Scooter," Jim said. "Let's vote tomorrow."
"I don't think it will change a thing," Robert Charles said. "I'll agree though. Now you guys go wipe off the tears. For now this is home, and we don't need to all feel sorry for ourselves. I'm going to assign jobs to keep you babies from thinking too much. We have a long time to be here."
While he didn't agree with how Robert Charles said it, he agreed that they needed to be kept busy. They even talked about having a guard at night, but Stevie said since they would be keeping the airlock closed he could rig up an alarm so nobody would have to stay awake all night. So that was his newest job.
Douglas wasn't surprised when he was assigned to cleaning up the "Moonduster". In fact he liked it, because he could move around the ship dusting and picking up garbage while he talked to people about their votes. He was totally convinced that they would have to leave their comfortable ship and walk to the other side of the mountains. They had to fight in order to live.
The boys spent the day quiet and busy and sad. Douglas talked to everybody making a joke or telling them what a great job they were doing while he went about cleaning.
Everybody worked except Matthew, who was hurt and sick, and Robert Charles who sat in the galley writing things down and giving orders.
As soon as Douglas got his clean up job he decided he needed to find out how everybody felt about their future plans. And he was realizing that who was going to lead them was more important on Inferno than it was on the "Moonduster". On the shuttle Alex was really the leader because he was the pilot. All Robert Charles was on board was a big mouth who thought he was leading. Now he was a big mouth pushing people around when they needed to make some hard decisions. He was thinking maybe he was the one to do it, but they didn't need a mutiny. They needed to be united, even if it was behind Robert Charles.
Scooter said he agreed with Douglas. Staying here where it was comfortable probably meant dying here. They would run out of stuff. And splitting up the group would probably mean never finding each other again. He told Douglas he would follow him anywhere.
Brett said he couldn't make a trip like that. He told Douglas about his medication and that he would be too weak and sick to travel in the heat and dust. And he said they needed a strong leader, and right now it seemed Douglas didn't want to be it.
Jeremy said he couldn't see trekking across the desert and the mountains to try to find something that probably wasn't there. Who knew what it was Matthew saw. Douglas pointed out that the mountains were not that tall, more like bare hills with tall rocky peaks. Jeremy said it still meant climbing. He agreed they needed to stick behind one leader, and as much as he didn't like Robert Charles, he was at least making decisions.
Mike, Alex, and Stevie were behind Douglas all the way. They needed to get out of there. Douglas discussed a few ideas with Stevie. Stevie liked them and said he would talk it over with Travis.
Jim was more and more sure there was some kind of life on the planet. And life meant water. He thought Matthew did see something and they had to trace their flight back and investigate.
Jordan said he just wanted to be left alone. And that meant staying here. And he was behind Robert Charles all the way.
Travis wanted Douglas as leader, but wasn't sure yet what he thought about leaving the shuttle. Ryan said he felt the same way.
Douglas already knew what Robert Charles thought. And Matthew wasn't saying anything now, not even about green horseys.
Right now things were pretty much up in the air. Douglas called for another meeting after dinner. Robert Charles said he was the leader and called meetings. Douglas said then they would have a party instead.
At the "party" Douglas asked if they could put the vote off another day. It wasn't like they were in a hurry, and he wanted to check some things out and he needed another day for that. Robert Charles, Jordan, and Matthew weren't there. The ten who were there voted 10-0 to put the vote off. Robert Charles was furious when he found out what was decided. He said it was a party, not a meeting and the vote would be tomorrow. Jim pointed out it was hard to have a vote if nobody voted. The mutiny was starting whether Douglas wanted it or not.
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The next morning Robert Charles started assigning jobs. One of the jobs they had done the day before was get the water out of the lower deck. It was pretty much dry now, and Robert Charles assigned Jordan, Ryan, Douglas, and Travis to making an area for him. He said as leader he needed his own private area to plan in. He told them what he wanted, then watched as they cleared out an aisle area for him.
When Robert Charles talked to Alex, Stevie, Jim, and Travis, they said they already had things planned. What they didn't say was that it was things Douglas had asked them to do. Scooter was watching over Matthew, who would sometimes wake up and drink some water, but still wasn't eating. Scooter was getting very worried. Plus Brett's meds were gone and he was sitting on a seat waiting to get sick.
Douglas did the job Robert Charles gave him because right now wasn't the time to stand up to him. He needed Robert Charles to lay off the others, so he went along with him - for now.
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That evening Douglas met with his group outside. After the sun went down it was still pretty warm but much better than during the day. They sat on a tarp that they laid out on the sand.
Stevie, Alex, Scooter, Travis, Douglas, Jim, and Mike sat and talked. They went over the things they found out. Stevie was able to figure out their route back a ways. They knew they had come out between the twin peaks. He used the computer to trace them back to the middle of the mountains. From there all he knew was they had entered from the west side. Where it was Matthew thought he might have seen the green fields he couldn't tell. But at least they had a direction in which to go.
Jim had grabbed Jeremy from building Robert Charles's "castle", saying he needed a pair of strong arms. He kept him for an hour emptying out some cases. They found three sleds that Mr. Benson had said were in a case toward the back. Since the cases were where the tail section broke they were damaged and so were two of the sleds. One of them Jeremy and Jim thought they could fix using parts from the third one. It meant they had two sleds which could carry water and food as well as Matthew strapped to a stretcher. They had one of those. The sleds were powered by electric motors run by power chips. With the amount of sun on the planet they shouldn't run out of power for the sleds. Each sled had two seats and they could take turns driving and riding on them.
They also found packs and more water bottles. Mike had saved a lot of the leaking water in bottles, and now they had more. They found boxes to put food in, more first aid stuff, a compass, radios to communicate with each other and the sleds. The sleds had runners that could run through the sand. The runners could be raised and then the sled would sit on tracks for harder ground. Whoever invented the sleds seemed to think of everything. The question was, how would they get the sleds out of the lower hold. There had to be a cargo airlock somewhere. But they had never come back this far and had never looked for it. The broken tail section didn't have a big enough opening to get anything through.
After a lot of exploring and moving crashed containers and cases they found the cargo lock. It was on the side tilted toward the sand. They weren't going to be able to get it open.
Later in the day it was Travis who came up with the idea of using the space welder to open a wider whole at the tail section. Then they could get the sleds out that way. Problem solved.
They also found tents. There were twenty small four man tents. They wouldn't need all of them, but they had shelter. They found adjustable hats, winter gear, which they didn't need, sunscreen, which they did need, and cooking gear, including four small microwaves that could run off of the power chips in the sleds. The sleds were each about eight feet long and built to be as light weight as possible. They had storage boxes on the side and a flat bed. One sled could carry most of the gear the thirteen of them would need and the other would carry Matthew and whatever else they needed. Taking the trip wouldn't be fast, but it wouldn't be as hard as it seemed when Douglas first came up with the idea. Even Jeremy admitted later in the day that the idea didn't seem as crazy as it did when Douglas first came up with it.
Scooter worried a lot about Matthew, but he knew they couldn't just let him lie on the floor of the shuttle and die. They would have to try something. They were all trying to convince Douglas that if needed, they should split up the group. And they were trying to convince Douglas that he should be the one to lead them. He was the one coming up with the ideas and giving them important things to do that might help them survive. All Robert Charles was doing was giving out busy work, most of it was for his own comfort. He was already talking about having an outdoor shelter built for him and whomever he wanted with him.
They sat there quietly saying they were ready to make a good argument for going before the vote took place. And then they drifted to their boy friends, Douglas making love to Scooter, Mike to Alex, and Jim to Stevie. Before they finished Travis had brought Ryan down and joined them, giving Ryan pleasure too. They thought about sleeping out there on the tarp, but the eight naked boys were starting to get a little chilly. It might be scorching hot in the daytime, but the air in the desert got cold at night.
The boys folded up the tarp and shoved it under the fuselage. It was too heavy to carry back up the ladder. They climbed up, found a place with their partner and fell asleep.
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The next morning Matthew woke up Scooter saying he was hungry. Scooter smiled and woke up Mike to cook up some food. Mike microwaved pancakes figuring they would digest easily. He hoped he was right. Matthew ate and drank with help, but didn't say anything. Scooter asked him once what the green horsey was after he finished eating, but Matthew drifted off to sleep and didn't say anything.
Douglas went down to find Robert Charles. It was time to get things done. He found him in his little "castle". Jordan was asleep next to him. Douglas woke them up and Robert Charles complained, but he got up, telling Jordan what a great girl he made. When they got up to the galley, Robert Charles made a big deal of rubbing and kissing Jordan, who seemed to be embarrassed by it, but didn't say anything.
After eating, Robert Charles called a meeting. It was time to vote, and it was agreed that a secret ballot would be used. Mike had already cut up some ballots. Twelve of them. Douglas and Robert Charles each gave their arguments about whether they should stay or leave. Douglas reminded them that he felt it should be everybody or nobody going. And he said that just because they voted to go didn't mean they had to go right away. It meant they could get ready to go, that they could be prepared. He thought Matthew, who used to be a Boy Scout on Earth, would like that idea. Then they voted, writing either yes, no, or abstain on the ballot. After they voted they would drop their ballot into a box on the microwave counter. Once again the group voted, only this election was way more important than the one on the "Starkeeper". And there would be no cheating on this one. Yes, meant go. No meant stay.
Scooter Yes Douglas Yes Mike Yes Robert Charles No Jordan No Jeremy Yes Travis Yes Ryan Yes Alex Yes Brett No Stevie Yes Jim Yes
It was nine yes and three no. When the results were read Robert Charles said it was bullshit. That they weren't going anywhere as long as he was leader.
"Then maybe we need a new leader," Douglas said.
"Who? You?" Robert Charles asked. "The only solution you have to problems is tears. You couldn't hack it in space when it was easy. What makes you think you can do it now? I mean you're the guy who is cleaning the toilets right now. At least I found the right job for you."
"RC," Alex said. "You're so full of shit. Douglas was the one who organized the scavenger hunt. Who got Stevie to use the computer to back track a lot of our route. Douglas has led us since we landed here. You've been a bunch of hot air trying to see how your life could be easier. You know why you want to stay here? Because leaving would be hot dirty work. You'd rather die here with people kissing your ass then work up a sweat to live. I call for an election. Tomorrow."
"It has to be settled once and for all RC. I can live with any vote. Can you?" Douglas said.
Robert Charles told them they would all be sorry for this and went down the metal ladder to the lower deck. It was decided they would vote after breakfast tomorrow.
After they all split up Brett came up to Douglas.
"I voted no to going. I'm sorry."
"It's okay, Brett. You have to vote the way you feel is right."
"I just wanted to say that if we go it's okay. I'll go. I voted no because I'm afraid of being too weak and sick."
Douglas said, "I think you will be very strong. And don't worry, we will look out for you. How do you feel now?"
"I feel fine.. I haven't missed my meds yet."
Douglas kissed him on the lips and asked him if he could help sort out things they would need if they decided to go. Brett smiled and went downstairs.
It was now becoming not "if" they would leave the shuttle, but "when" they would. Douglas's being prepared changed the vote from what it would have been. The extra day to get prepared helped. Douglas was confident he would beat Robert Charles in tomorrow's election. He was not confident that he could do the job. But if he was elected he was prepared to do everything he could to somehow get them to the green area safely. He just hoped what he did was good enough.
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That evening the boys were all outside after the sun set. Inferno had three small moons. They could see two of them, one full and one a crescent. The sky was full of twinkling stars, and they even saw a few meteors streaking across the sky. They all were out there naked, all of them but Matthew who slept the whole day after having breakfast.
The boys started wandering in as it cooled down. After a while only Alex, Robert Charles, Douglas, Stevie, and Mike were left. Stevie motioned to Douglas and Mike to go up the ladder. They understood and climbed up, with Stevie following them. Now it was just Alex and Robert Charles. They both stood there looking up at the night sky. Finally Robert Charles looked at Alex.
"A little nervous because your friends went up and left you? Well, little boy, you're pretty quiet. You usually have some smart ass comment. A little nervous because your friends went up and left you all alone with me? Because let me tell you something, asshole. We're gonna settle things tonight. Tonight I'm going to make you pay for all the shit you've said to me. I've been waiting for this for a long time. After tonight there will be no doubt who has the power here and who will keep leading. Because you will end up doing everything I tell you to do. Don't expect your buddies to help, because they won't. They all went up that ladder scared and they aren't coming back." Robert Charles brought himself up close to Alex and looked down at him.
Alex looked back with a bored look. He was tired of Robert Charles's bullshit. He knew Robert Charles was looking at him wanting him to give him an answer. Well, here is your answer, RC, Alex thought. Alex cocked his arm and slugged Robert Charles hard in the gut.
"That was for me, asshole."
"You cheated," Robert Charles croaked. "I wasn't ready."
Before he could do anything else, Alex slammed him again, and Robert Charles doubled over from the pain. "That one is for Ryan on Mars."
Alex brought his foot up and kicked the doubled over Robert Charles in the gut. "That was for Matthew in the elevator."
Robert Charles was staggering. Alex pulled him up some and hammered him again. "That was for molesting Matthew."
Then Alex brought his fists up doubled and raised them hard hitting Robert Charles in the bottom of the jaw. Robert Charles stumbled backwards. "That was for Stevie."
That brought Robert Charles up enough that his belly was exposed again and Alex rammed his fist into it. "That is for cheating on the election and working to make Douglas and everybody else miserable, and for just being an asshole."
Robert Charles groaned and leaned over and puked into the sand. Alex got behind him and kicked him so he landed in his own puke. Then Alex rubbed his face in it. "That's another one for me and for thinking your shit doesn't stink."
Alex rolled Robert Charles on his back and kicked him in the balls. "That's for making guys build your fucking castle when you could've been making things better for everybody."
Then Alex stood over him and started peeing. He peed up Robert Charles's belly and to his chest, then with his full stream hit him in the face and hair. "That's just to remind you how I will vote tomorrow. Don't talk to me about your fucking power, because after tomorrow you won't have shit." Then he spit on Robert Charles and walked up the ladder into the cabin. Robert Charles watched Alex with hate filled eyes.
Next: Chapter 23 Into the Inferno
Constructive comments are welcome. E-mail me at TheHakaanen@Hotmail.com. Douglas DD