Voyagers: SS Robert Heinlein

 

 

 

CHAPTER 17

 

TAKING COMMAND

 

By Douglas DD

Assisted by Zarek Dragon

 

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2122.

 

<SS Robert Heinlein>

 

The morning was spent performing certain drills, in particular following proper protocols in the event of local or ship wide power failures. Operations Chief Steve Boyer and Information Chief Brad Kanye created the “incidents” that had to be dealt with as per the instructions in the Explorer Fleet Manual. Kyle, First Officer Devon French, Chief Engineer Ronnie Robinson, Security Chief Kage Enzan, and Assistant Operations Chief Lucias Hayes supervised the crew in their efforts to fix or get around the “problems”. The overall work was watched over by Kyle and Captain Ellis, who was still officially in command of the ship.

 

Don Nixon had little to do during the drills. Along with Everett, he was assigned to fire detail. Even though a fire on a starship was extremely unlikely, they were possible, especially in the event the ship underwent an attack. Therefore, it was important that the fire detail knew where the sprinklers and firefighting equipment were and how to handle their duties.

 

This wasn’t the first time the ship had undergone these drills, and it wouldn’t be the last. But Captain Ellis felt a last set of drills while the ship was in shakedown mode was a good idea since there were Space Fleet crewmen on board to evaluate the progress of the drills.

 

The drills ended at 1130 to allow the crew time to have lunch before the Heinlein’s 1330 scheduled Earth arrival. Ellis complimented Kyle, Devin, and the senior officers who weren’t holding watch on their efficient job. “The Heinlein is definitely ready for its official launch,” Ellis grinned. “Great job, gentlemen.”

 

Kyle made a ship wide announcement over the PA, praising the crew on their good work and letting them know he was proud of them.

 

“What a phony ass,” Don told Everett. “Anybody with half a brain knows everything went smooth because of Captain Ellis, who is still the REAL captain of this ship. Wait until numb nuts takes official command and see what happens.”

 

“It’s easy to look good when you’ve got an experienced captain making the decisions,” Everett said. 

 

What neither Don nor Everett made reference to was that while Captain Ellis spent the drill time sitting in the captain’s ready room observing the crew through the ship’s camera network, it was Kyle who walked the ship observing, making suggestions, and passing out the compliments.

 

The process of entering Earth orbit went flawlessly. Since a Space Fleet skeleton crew would man the watches until the Heinlein crew officially took over operation of the ship on Saturday, all members of the crew had the option of spending the next three nights Earthside or on board the ship with the understanding that everyone had to be at the afternoon crew meeting at Space Fleet headquarters on Thursday and in formal uniform for the Commissioning Banquet that evening. The only rule was that a crewmember going Earthside had to schedule a shuttle seat in advance. All returning crewmembers would be assigned shuttle times on Saturday.

 

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 22

 

<Space Fleet Headquarters, D Wing>

 

0800

 

Kyle met with his senior officers at 0800 to discuss the banquet that evening and revise the watch list which would take effect at 0900, Saturday, when Kyle took over full command of the Heinlein. Greg, Hal, and Admiral Crusoe met with them for the first phase of the meeting. After they confirmed the schedule and protocols that had been in the works over the last couple of weeks, the high command left the meeting and Kyle set to work revamping the watch schedule based on what he and his senior officers had observed during the final shakedown cruise.

 

When he finished the schedule he went over it with Hal, Devin, Brad, and Steve Boyer. Kyle explained the issues that had been discussed as well as how the officers felt the crew members assigned to each watch would mesh.

 

“Good job, gentlemen,” Hal said after the presentation was finished. “I liked the thought that went into it. I also liked how you were able to identify the necessary changes after observing the watches during the shakedown.” He then adjourned the meeting and dismissed the officers.

 

“I’m heading home to take a breather before the big feast,” Kyle said. 

 

“I can’t wait to put on my dress uniform and mingle with the Space Fleet Admiralty and the political type guys,” Devin said.

 

“For real?” Steve asked.

 

“No way is it for real. But I’m sure the banquet room has places for us to hide away from the crowd.”

 

“Like somebody could hide wearing one of those dress uniforms,” Steve commented.

 

“Hey, I said I was looking forward to it. When you think about it it’s just another test we have to deal with. It’s like parking the Heinlein in orbit around a space station the same time another ship is parked there.”

 

“I’d rather park the ship than dress to impress a bunch of mucky mucks whose only experience in space was on a luxury transport,” Brad said.

 

“If it was just the high command it would be okay, although I’ve been learning that a lot of them are totally full of themselves.”

 

 “Anyway, Steverino, let’s go to the hotel and meet with my parents so my mother can have the pleasure of dressing us up.”

 

“I think a swim in the hotel pool would a good idea before setting your mother loose on us, as much as I love her,” Steve said.

 

Brad’s mother, Mercy, was Steve’s mother-in-law and she treated him like she’d cared for him since he was a baby, even though Steve was born in New Haven, Connecticut and Brad in Nairobi, Kenya. “Steven is simply a son of a different color from a different mother, but it’s still as if he’s my son, and that’s how I see him and love him,” Mercy liked to say to justify her feelings about the young teens being married.

 

<The Robinson Residence>

 

Kyle arrived home in a Star Fleet transport vehicle. Danny, who had held a meeting with all of his qualified pilots as well as the shuttle bay crew, rode in the back seat with him. The boys sat silently as the auto pilot brought the car to a stop in front of the Robinson’s house.

 

Danny and Kyle quickly stripped naked and jumped into the pool, joining Koji, Duskin, and Tommy, who were also skinny dipping. Kyle enjoyed being able to be totally relaxed, a sensation that had been close to non-existent lately.

 

Alicia had laid out a light lunch of sandwiches and cookies. She knew from experience that the banquet would be serving enough food to satisfy even a shipload of growing adolescent boys.

 

The boys had been told that they would have to clear the pool to shower and dress at 1530. Alicia and Greg would both give them a thorough inspection after they had their dress uniforms on. Koji and Duskin had dress shirts to wear since they were technically Academy cadets, although theirs weren’t as formal as the full dress uniforms Tommy, Danny, Kyle, and Ronnie would be wearing.

 

Ronnie had spent the afternoon with Linn Cheng. They had set up the tryst as soon as they’d learned the Sally Ride would be in Earth orbit to deal with some teething issues. For the next couple of days it would be under the command of Space Fleet officials. Ronnie and Linn shared Linn’s bed at the temporary quarters where Linn was staying.

 

“You look exhausted, bro,” Danny commented as he helped Ronnie straighten out his dress uni.

 

“That’s because I am exhausted. That girl seems to be able to go on forever. She’s amazing.”

 

“It sounds like her pussy doesn’t wear out like our butts do.”

 

“It sure seemed that way. And just so you don’t have to ask, I won’t give you the number of orgasms we had. Oh, and s   he got herself an invite to the banquet. And to answer your next question we won’t be sleeping overnight together. The rules at the temporary quarters are strict about that and the rules here under mama Alicia are even tighter.”

 

“Too bad. But you can join Kyle and me tonight if you get horny.”

 

“I never thought I’d ever say this, but I don’t think I’ll be getting horny tonight,” Ronnie said.

 

“If you do, you know where to go.”

 

<Constellation Queen Casino Banquet Hall>

 

Between the crew of the Heinlein, the senior Space Fleet officers, the family of the crew, the political bigwigs, and others with invitations, there were 305 attendees at the formal launch party of the Heinlein. There were two head tables on the front stage with a space between them. Kyle sat in his assigned seat which was the second seat from the gap at east table. Fleet Admiral William Mirah, Admiral Greg Robinson, Admiral Robert Crusoe, Commodore Hal Tietokone, Admiral David Bowman, Captain Michael Ellis, and Secretary of Space Operations Charles Monteux also occupied the table on the stage. Peter Beckham, an entertainer at the casino, would be the Master of Ceremonies.

 

The four-course meal included two choices from the selection of salads and appetizers, a choice of one of five different entrees, and one of a half dozen dessert choices. Kyle ordered a garden salad with Italian dressing, shrimp skewers, a New York steak (medium rare) with baked potato and steamed broccoli, and a slice of apple pie al a mode. The servings were generous, which suited the adolescent crew members just fine. Kyle had no problem stuffing his slender thirteen-year-old body, but after eating his last piece of pie he knew he couldn’t stuff another crumb into his stomach even if somebody paid him.

 

Kyle sat between Hal and Dave, two of his former captains on the Sooloo. Both were now senior staff officers for the Explorer Program. Kyle loved and respected both of them as they had played a big role in turning a sullen young adolescent into the person he was today, the captain of a starship. He enjoyed his dinner conversation with the two who treated him as they always had; a young but highly competent and courageous officer who had proven himself more than once in difficult situations and had two distinguished service stars along with other tributes as proof.

 

He looked out over the front tables which was where his crew sat. He soaked in the contagious excitement and anticipation emanating from the tables. Even the likes of Ben Kennedy, Don Nixon, and Everett Belmont were showing interest.

 

Within minutes after the wait staff cleared the tables, Peter Beckham stepped over to the podium that had been rolled into the space between the tables and greeted the crew of the Heinlein, the Space Fleet admiralty officers, and the invited guests. “Today is a big day in the lives of 120 young men from the Explorer Program as well as the admiralty officers from the program, for today the starship Robert Heinlein will become their official home as they become the official crew of that beautiful ship.”

 

He went on to introduce the officers at the head table, finishing with Captain Ellis and Kyle. He then called on each of the admiralty officers to make comments about the ceremony and what it meant. When he introduced Greg as the Commander in Chief of the Explorer Program, he mentioned that Greg happened to be Kyle’s father.

 

“Admiral Robinson has confided in me that he will be maintaining a list of the number of serious errors Captain Robinson makes that will require consequences from daddy,” Peter said. “And what would those consequences be, you wonder. Well, all I can say is, Kyle might want to have some thick cushioning in the seat of his pants. But I also can say from what those I’ve talked to, including Admiral Robinson, have said is that Captain Robinson is very unlikely to give his dad a reason to blow the dust off his paddle. The young man is more than ready to become the commander of the newest and largest ship in the fleet.”

 

Down in the front section of seats, Don Nixon had to work hard not to upchuck his dinner. He had a feeling the launch banquet would be loaded with gallons of bullshit about the great Captain Kyle Robinson, but, to him, this was going way over the top.

 

“Is that a crock of BS or what?” he whispered to Ben Kennedy.

 

“Absolute and total BS and it’s making me want to puke,” Ben agreed.

 

“Ditto.”

 

After all the introductions, MC humor, and speeches were completed, the big moment was finally upon the group; Space Fleet officially turning the Heinlein over to the Explorer Program. After Fleet Admiral William Mirah went through all of the official verbiage for the ceremony, he called up Admiral Robinson and officially assigned the Heinlein to the Explorer Program and the command of Admiral Robinson, the program’s Commander in Chief.

 

Greg, who had been standing next to Mirah, exchanged a handshake and a crisp salute with the Fleet Admiral. Greg then addressed the audience.

 

“As you know from his introduction, Captain Michael Ellis had command of the Heinlein during the fitting of the ship, its testing under a Space Fleet crew, and the shakedown cruises by the incoming Explorer Crew. As is the custom when a new captain takes command of a ship, whenever possible the outgoing captain officially turns over command of the ship to the incoming captain. I would like to call Captain Michael Ellis and Captain Kyle Robinson to the podium.”

 

Ellis and Kyle stepped in front of the podium and faced each other. There was a ripple of laughter as the buff six-foot one frame of Captain Michael Ellis stood over the slender five-foot seven frame of Captain Kyle Robinson. A glare from Admiral Mirah cut the chuckling short.

 

Ellis gave Kyle the standard speech for the occasion. “Captain Kyle Robinson, I am informing you that I am turning Command of SS Heinlein over to you at oh nine hundred hours on 24 October, 2122.” The reason for the two-day delay was so Kyle could take care of all his last-minute business making his final move. Michael’s Space Fleet crew would continue to stand watch under his command while the crew completed their move onto the ship.

 

“Captain Michael Ellis, I am honored to accept the command and pledge to maintain the high standards you set. My crew and I will assume control of the Heinlein at oh nine hundred hours on 24 October, 2122, which is the start of the Heinlein’s fourth watch,” Kyle answered, putting surprising authority into his young voice.

 

The two captains shook hands and Michael took his seat. Kyle stood next to the podium as Peter Beckham informed the audience that the new captain of the Heinlein would now share his thoughts. He handed a portable microphone to Kyle, but before he could say anything, the crew of the Heinlein rose from their seats and cheered for their new captain. The seven Guardians stood since they had no doubt they would be in very deep shit if they didn’t, but they all remained silent. While their behavior was noted by the crew members close to them, nobody seated outside of the crew area and the head table noticed.

 

What was noticed was the rest of the audience standing and giving their salutes to the boy who was now the youngest ship’s captain in Space Fleet, which included the Explorer Program. Kyle looked on proudly for a few seconds before signaling his crew to take their seats, which they quickly did. The rest of the audience followed suit.

 

Everyone quickly quieted, eager to hear what the new captain had to say. Knowing everybody was as ready as he was to end the program, Kyle’s comments were very brief. “I am now the captain of the newest, largest, and fastest star ship in the fleet. Our goal is to add the word best to that description by racking up the best scores possible on our evaluations. When our scores are tallied we will be able to stand up and cheer for the Heinlein as the newest, largest, fastest, and, I promise, the ABSOLUTE BEST ship in the Explorer Fleet.”

 

He set the microphone on the podium and sat in his seat as he received another round of standing cheers. He noted the silence and lack of animation from the crew members calling themselves the Guardians. He understood that unless he could turn that group around, or get them transferred out, it would be a long time before his promise would be fulfilled, if it ever happened.

 

Peter Beckham then thanked the parents and guests for attending the banquet and saluting the new crew and closed the meeting. He looked out over the crowd as they rose from their chairs and started working their way out. From what he had read and heard about the Explorer Program, he had thought it was an amazing idea. Now, as he looked at the young adolescents in front of him, he had his doubts. With boys that age, how could a starship be anything more than a glorified playground? he thought. Surviving is going to be tough enough for those youngsters, let alone accomplishing anything worthwhile. He decided all of the so-called accomplishments of the Explorer Program had to be exaggerations or out-and-out-lies, especially when they put the little boy on display who somehow became their captain. Nevertheless, he liked the kids he’d talked to, and he liked Kyle just because he was a cute kid who was all boy and who obviously was well-liked by his crew. I wish them all Godspeed and safe travels and that all of you step up to the level your captain expects.

Kyle was escorted out of a side door and into a corridor by a member of the casino staff. He knew he was going to have to mingle and dreaded it. But with the support of Devin, who stood to his left, and Hal, who stood to his right, he took the accolades he’d received in stride. The crew had been instructed to remain in the banquet room until the rest of the audience had left.

 

The seemingly endless line went by quickly and, in what seemed like minutes later, he found himself in his bedroom with Danny as they stripped off their dress uniforms. Danny gave Kyle a sly grin. Kyle nodded and off came their underwear and Kyle was soon getting the therapy he needed as his husband topped him and they blew their loads within seconds of each other.

 

“Whew, thanks Danny. That was great mind blowing, and now relaxing medicine,” Kyle rasped.

 

“Anything for my captain,” Danny grinned.

 

“I love you, Danny.”

 

“And I love you back and then some.”

 

A long kiss was followed by two exhausted young teens falling quickly to sleep as soon as they turned the lights off.

 

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2122

 

<Earthbound>

 

Sleeping in seemed to be the order of the day, not just for those at the Robinson residence but for all of the Heinlein crew members. This would be the last free day the starship’s crew would enjoy as a whole. Kyle had told them the day before that they were to take the day off from the ship. They weren’t to board it before 1900. He knew some of the crew would have to board that evening because they would have morning duties.

 

Kyle, Danny, Tommy, Koji, Duskin, and three invited guests enjoyed the pool, the hot tub, the sauna, and playing whatever games suited them. The dress code of the day was birthday suits. Ronnie had left after breakfast to meet with Linn Chang, the Chief Engineer of the Sally Ride, which was secured in a space dock located in distant orbit. The ship was manned by a Space Fleet Maintenance and Repair crew which consisted of engineering officers and civilian contractors. Even the ship’s captain was told to stay away until the repair crew figured out what was wrong with the ship’s life support system.

 

Linn and Ronnie had become close before Linn left on the Sally Ride’s first official voyage. She was back much sooner than expected when life support started running at seventy percent efficiency, which was unacceptable. Working with Space Fleet engineers by radio didn’t help and the ship had to return to Earth. On its return the ship was taken over by Space Fleet engineers.

Linn and Ronnie booked a room at a Vegas “no tell, Motel” to enjoy each other. Although they were minors as far as age went, their rank in the Explorer Fleet meant they were emancipated minors and had most of the legal rights of adults. Booking a motel room was one of those.

 

Even though Ronnie could have booked the room without telling Greg and Alicia, his parents, Ronnie told Greg what his plans were. He didn’t like keeping secrets from his parents. He felt having a relationship with them that was based on trust, especially considering his standing as an officer, was important. Linn was certain her parents knew about their relationship, but they didn’t talk about it. They were both liberal when it came to teen sex and had some talks with their daughter regarding sex and her (and the boy’s) responsibilities. But nobody ever got into specifics.

 

Being close had included having sexual intercourse, which is what happened three times that afternoon. They rested at the poolside between romps and checked out after their third go around. Ronnie had paid the posted day rate for the room.

 

At the Robinson house, Logan Wilson had been invited by Kyle to spend the day along with Matthew and Mark, his nine-year old twin brothers. Logan gravitated to Tommy, who had become a close friend to the point that they considered themselves to be boyfriends. This, in spite of the fact that Logan was Tommy’s supervisor. It was an issue that Kyle was aware of and the proper steps had been taken to deal with the fact that Tommy reported to Logan. The simple solution was that Tommy now reported to Devin. At one point during the afternoon, more went on between Logan and Tommy in the pool house than taking showers.

 

As for the twins, they had quickly become friends with Koji and Duskin. They enjoyed grab ass, fondling cocks and balls, and naked wrestling. Koji and Duskin were much more experienced and sophisticated when it came to sex and didn’t try to push the twins too hard, especially with their opsolas, Danny and Kyle, looking on.

 

There was a lot of sexual contact between the boys of the Heinlein on their day off. A lot of it was first time sexual contact between two (or more) of the boys. For a couple of boys, it was their first sexual contact with someone else, which was surprising considering what a sexual hotbed the Academy was. In all, a little over sixty percent of the crew got off with somebody, and around twenty-five percent of the remainder of the boys masturbated to orgasm. It was a busy day. Anyone familiar with the habits of boys at the Academy and in the Explorer Program would probably find the fact that forty per cent of the boys didn’t have sex with another boy (or girl for that matter) a surprisingly large number.  The fact that fifteen percent got through the day without an orgasm would have been an even bigger surprise.

 

There wasn’t a boy on the Heinlein crew who had gone his entire life without an orgasm and all but ten had enjoyed mutual masturbation or more at some time in his young life. Being celibate was not going to be a way of life on the Heinlein as long days out in space rolled by.

 

The vacation day seemed to fly by. “Why couldn’t it have been a week off?” Tommy asked after the guests left and Ronnie returned. “Then Logan and I could have slept together.”

 

“Yeah, and Duskin and me could have slept with those twinsie guys who are very nice and sexy and special friends. But on the ship, there’s no room for that,” Koji chimed in.

 

“The proper wording is Duskin and I could have…,” Alicia pointed out to Koji.

 

“That’s why you have to let me say Koji instead of me and I, then I could say Duskin and Koji could have. Then I’m never wrong because English doesn’t make sense half the time and Darastixian makes sense all the time.”

 

“Be patient, autgabin (grandson) and work on the language. That’s how you learn it.”

 

“Duskin and Koji are going to bed and learn how to sleep,” Koji said without a hint of sarcasm in his voice. He mentioned himself in the third person like that was the way he was supposed to do it. He and Duskin traded hugs with Alicia, Greg, Kyle, and Tommy. Koji pointed to Ronnie and then pointed upstairs, which Ronnie knew meant it was his turn to tuck his two nephews in.

 

After the three cleared the room, Alicia looked at Kyle and grinned. “You do have your work cut out with Koji. He can be a force unto himself.”

 

“But you and Danny are doing wonderful work with Koji and Duskin,” Greg added.

 

“I concur. Koji has changed his behavior a lot since I’ve known him, but he still can be a stubborn SOB.”

 

“Which isn’t always a bad thing,” Kyle said. “He just has to learn when it’s good to go into SOB mode.”

 

“And this is coming from the one-time champion of SOB mode,” Greg chuckled.

 

“Except when Admiral Daddy put me in my place.”

 

“Which, for a long time, seemed to be daily.”

 

“Now being an SOB is professional. It’s called command SOB mode. And with that bit of wisdom, I’m heading to bed. I want to board the ship early. The entire crew has to report on board by 1400.”

 

“Why didn’t you sleep there tonight?” Alicia asked.

 

“What and miss all this interesting chat with my family? No way. It’s going to be a long time before I see you again. I love you both.”

 

“So do I,” Danny said as he spoke for the first time in a while. “And, 1400 isn’t early in the morning, so I think the Robinson clan will survive.”

 

The boys traded hugs with Greg and Alicia and left the room. Alicia made no effort to hold back her tears. “How did I become so lucky to get this wonderful second family?” she asked.

 

“There wasn’t all that much luck involved,” Greg replied. “It was all you and your amazing personality. And, yeah, I’m sad too. At least I’ll have occasional virtual contact with Kyle on official business.”

 

“The house will be so empty I won’t know how to handle the silence.”

 

“You’ll do fine, dear. Your teaching will keep you occupied.”

 

“But I’ll still come home to an empty house,” Alicia said. “But I’m so proud of our three officers and what they’ve accomplished, it will make the silence worthwhile. And, I’ll always have you, my dear sweet husband.”

 

It wasn’t just the youngsters who enjoyed sex that day. The action in the adult bedroom was as good as any the Heinlein youngsters could conjure up and maybe better than most.

 

Next: First Stop-Mars