Survivors

 

 

 

The first thing Amahl noticed as he followed Captain Parrish, Commander Morse, the First Officer, Lieutenant Schrader, and Commander Nu, the Chief Astrogator, and his father onto the alien starship was the boys—they were naked. The teen hadn’t been asked to accompany the boarding party, but he didn’t care. He simply had to see the heroic survivors because they were boys his age. Naked or not, he was awed by their presence. 

 

Right away he saw the alien boys. His knees shook he was so overwhelmed by what he saw between the survivors and the aliens.  He was actually looking at Extraterrestrial Life Forms. He stared at them and couldn't take his eyes off them. He couldn't believe how human they looked. He wasn't sure what he expected, but not something so human looking. Maybe something like green reptiles. He loved the pointed ears and the golden manes. They gave the alien boys an exotic look that let him know they weren't from Earth. And to make things even more interesting, they were naked just like the Earth boys. He wondered if that was part of their culture. It didn’t take long before Douglas, the Captain of the alien ship, answered his question.

 

The last time Captain Parrish had felt the rush of awe that flowed through him when he spotted the Hakaanen boys was his first voyage into space as a twelve-year-old. But that experience didn’t touch what he was feeling just now as he stood in the same room with the kind of being Earthlings had speculated about for countless generations.

 

Throughout his whole life he had read books saying other intelligent life probably didn't exist in the galaxy or signs of them would have been discovered during Earth’s space explorations. Even though they had explored only a minute section of the galaxy, the number of livable planets discovered that contained nothing resembling intelligent life was considered a fair sample size for making that statement. Ever since Parrish learned over the radio how wrong that was, he couldn't wait to meet this intelligent life—and now it was standing right in front of him. He was taken aback by the fact that the aliens were a pair of boys. Well, when I really think about what I’ve learned over the past few days, I shouldn't be surprised, he thought.

 

Douglas started introducing everyone on the "Paxton". Captain Parrish introduced Dr. Rashad, Commander Nu, Commander Morse, and Lieutenant Schrader. It was then that he discovered Amahl trying to be inconspicuous against the wall and seamlessly introduced him as well. More than one of the “Paxton” crew thought the thirteen-year-old was sexy cute.

 

After all of the introductions were made, Douglas, Alex, Scooter, and Mike met with Captain Parrish's group in the ship’s conference room. Amahl stayed behind in order to get to know the Earth boys and the two Hakaanen boys.

 

Warren helped Mike serve yasho, a Hakaanen tea-like drink, to the people sitting around the table. The boys were used to drinking it, but the Captain's group all had to catch their breath because of the strong taste. But they did enjoy the taste of flandea, a pastry very much like a doughnut.

 

"Do you need sugar, Captain?" Mike asked, with a slight smirk on his face. Captain Parrish looked at him, wondering how serious he was.

 

"Well, it is different tasting. It looks like you boys are used to it." He paused for a moment, cleared his throat. "So the Hakaanen don’t wear clothes?"

 

"The adults generally do once they’ve passed their teens. But in many kinds of situations they are naked as well. Until they are out of their teens kids go naked most of the time. They often wear something to school, but it’s not required. It’s pretty much dress, or don’t dress, as you like," Scooter explained. "It's the Hakaanen way. You noticed that Dralkan and Trundall were naked. The Hakaanen children wear clothes to keep warm, for ceremonies, or, like I said, at school to avoid distractions. We've all grown to like it."

 

The Captain cleared his throat again. He knew, as he saw Douglas and Scooter as well as Mike and Alex holding hands, that there was more going on than just boys being naked. Douglas saw him staring at them and had a good idea of what was bothering the Captain. Holding hands with Scooter had become so natural, he hadn't even given it a thought. He kept Scooter's hand in his and waited for the Captain to say something.

 

"Is it the...um...Hakaanen way of life to ...well....for boys to...." It was obvious that Captain Parrish was embarrassed.

 

"Hakaanen boys do more than hold hands, Captain. Their way of life is much different from ours. And it is a way of life all of us have come to love." He didn't mention to the Captain that almost all of them had been attracted to the Hakaanen boy style of life before they had ever met any Hakaanen and knew it existed.

 

"Captain," Douglas explained, "one of the reasons we survived as we did is because we love each other. Each of us here has a friend. No, that's not right. He is more than a friend—he is someone we would die for." Douglas tried to answer as diplomatically as his adolescent brain knew how. He wanted to add that because of the love they did not become like the savage boys in the book “Lord of the Flies”, but he didn’t think that Captain Parrish would understand the reference.

 

"What he's trying to say is," Alex said, "is that we each have a lover. We each have a boy we are in love with." Alex, on the other hand, was never the diplomat. Being blunt was his way.

 

Captain Parrish sat quietly for a few moments taking in all of the information he’d just heard. Then he said, "I congratulate you all. I congratulate you on surviving, on loving, on finding what it takes to live. I said earlier I was honored to be on your ship. What you just told me hasn't changed that. I respect each one of you for what you have and for who you are."

 

The boys let out a spontaneous sigh of relief. They would have to talk about the subject again when they returned to Earth, but for now, the fact that Captain Parrish accepted them, was important. They would take things one step at a time.

 

 Captain Parrish had drawn the same conclusion the boys had. They had not reverted to savagery and had been able to survive because of the strong love they had for each other. He thought it ironic that the two boys who didn't survive were the two who did not feel that love, or that the one boy who stayed behind was in love with a Hakaanen boy.

 

They spent some time discussing what was going to happen next. Douglas agreed the boys would return to Earth on the "Starfinder" and that they would leave the "Paxton" behind. It was the only operating starship the Hakaanen had left. There were others in a ship’s graveyard in orbit around the next planet out that they could eventually salvage. Captain Parrish told the boys they would get three cabins to share. Space was limited on the "Starfinder." It was built for exploration, not for carrying passengers. Douglas asked if they would be taking a room from Amahl. The Captain looked surprised.

 

"One of the rooms is empty. Two belong to a couple of scientists who can double up with somebody for the length of the trip. Amahl shares a cabin with his father. We will move some cots into the rooms. I don’t think you boys will have a problem being crowded in with each other," he added with a laugh. The boys laughed with him.

 

Next, they talked about the Hakaanen and about the making of the first official contact. Douglas, Urland, and Rikers had been having frequent radio conversations the past week and had devised a plan. Douglas was ready to present it to Captain Parrish.

 

He explained about the plague, and the Ancients, and how the Ancients had dismantled much of Hakaanen technology. He told how the machinery and electronics on Inferno were getting old, and how they were hoping for help from Hakaan before everything broke down and couldn’t be fixed. But that help wasn't going to come, because the Ancients forced the Hakaanen to abandon their technology.

 

Douglas explained how more and more people on Hakaan were unhappy with the rule of the Ancients. They were tired of being afraid and wanted their lives to move forward again.  He told about Rikers and Urland, the leaders of the resistance, and how they felt the coming of the Earthlings had created the opportunity for the Hakaanen to have a free election and bring a return to their old way of life.

 

"That's all very interesting, Douglas, but I don't think we should be interfering with their government.  We don't really have many rules about contact with alien cultures; it was felt the explorer starship Captains should be given a great deal of discretion in dealing with the situation—should it ever happen, which was deemed unlikely. So, since I am the Earth government’s representative in space, I am going to have to be the one to set the rules, as dictated by the Captain’s Code of Conduct," Captain Parrish said.

 

"But you won't have to get involved. That's what makes our plan so cool," Douglas said.

 

"What do you mean?"

 

"Well, you do plan on making contact, right?"

 

"Yes, of course—I’m just not sure how yet."

 

"Well, that's what the plan is about."

 

"You want me to make contact with your friend Roiker? I'm afraid I can't do that, it would...."

 

"It’s Rikers," Douglas interrupted, "and no that's not part of the plan," but he saw the glare coming from the Captain's eyes. "Sorry, sir, I didn't mean to interrupt." Douglas realized suddenly that this was the first time since leaving the "Starkeeper" that he had to defer to an Earth adult. He didn't care for the feeling.

 

"I'm afraid I can't make first contact with Rikers.” The Captain went on like nothing had happened. "One of the few rules we have is to make first contact with the legal government of the planet, no matter how much you might not like them."

 

"Captain, I'm sorry I interrupted." Damn, why did I apologize again? Douglas thought. I'm his equal, and I'm acting like a scared kid. "But, you have it all wrong. The plan is for you to make contact with the Ancients. We know it has to be done that way."

 

"I'm afraid I don't understand. Maybe I'm the one who should start listening."

 

"It's kind of like this. Hakaan is going backwards. The plague made the people afraid of their technology and knowledge, not to mention their own shadows. The Ancients derived their power from that fear. But things have improved—the plague was conquered long ago. A lot of people miss the old way of life. But the Ancients have control of just about all of the technology that works. Or they think they do. They use what they have to keep them in power. But Urland and Rikers have a lot of technology that the Ancients don’t know about." Douglas was beginning to feel like a college professor as he lectured the Captain on Hakaanen history and political life.

 

The Captain looked at Douglas with new respect. He still wanted to see the boy in front of him as some wild naked savage, but here was a boy speaking with intelligence about the government of an alien planet like he'd grown up there.

 

"Go on," Captain Parrish said.

 

"The way the plan works is simple. You contact the Hakaanen government. Arrange to land in their capital city where everybody can see you and everybody knows you arrived. The Ancients will have no choice but to greet you. On top of everything else you will bring Dralkan and Trundall back with you. We will let them know that the first shuttle to land, our shuttle, was a Hakaanen shuttle. Now they will know there has been contact even before yours."

 

The Captain nodded, listening carefully, waiting for Douglas to continue.

 

Douglas thought about his long talks over the radio with Rikers.  Rikers wanted the Earth shuttle to land at the village in which he was hiding.  Then he would use the landing to announce that it was time to overthrow the Ancients and have an election. But the boys had a different plan. They had seen enough space vids to have a pretty good idea that the rules would be for first contact to be made with the ruling government—but they didn’t know how few other rules there were. Douglas persuaded Rikers to go for his plan since it was probably the only one the Earth Captain would agree to.

 

"See, now the Ancients have a problem. Your shuttle lands on Hakaan, but it is not the first contact between our planets. First contact had already been made on Inferno. Earth has all this technology while Hakaan has lost its own. People are going to be afraid in a different way. They are going to want Hakaan to get back what it lost so it can be equal with the aliens from Earth who have landed on their planet."

 

"So you're saying that by us landing people will want an election to bring back the old way of life for their own protection and so they can be on an equal footing with us."

 

"Exactly. And you are doing just what you are supposed to, contacting the government. Whatever happens after that is what happens. It's not in your control. I mean, nothing might happen, but I don't think so. Rikers and Urland are going to use your landing as a reason to demand that elections be held."

 

"You've put a lot of thought into this, haven't you?"

 

"Yes, sir."

 

"And the whole idea might not work, you know,"

 

"I know that, sir. But it's about the only way to do it so that you don't get involved in Hakaanen politics, but we still have a chance to help my friends."

 

"Your friends? You're a remarkable young man. You've made friends with an alien culture on two different planets and have formulated a plan for first contact—well first contact between official representatives that is. I assume your first contact was not quite as complicated.”

 

“We were naked boys coming across some naked alien boys, so we decided to say hi,” Douglas giggled. “That’s the short version anyway.”

 

“You have represented Earth well, young man."

 

"Thank you, sir."

 

“What about weapons?” Commander Moses asked. “Are we going to have to worry about being shot at?”

 

“The Hakaanen have always been a peaceful people. They didn’t have major weapons on Inferno and Rikers says they still don’t have any here.”

 

Captain Parrish nodded, relieved that weaponry wouldn’t be a problem. "One other thing—since we’re both starship Captains, you should call me Captain, or Captain Parrish. But not sir. As far as I'm concerned we are equal in rank."

 

Douglas smiled. "Thank you, S...er, Captain."

 

"When are we going to make this landing?"

 

"You're asking me?"

 

"Yes, I'm asking you. This is your mission Captain Daniels."

 

Douglas remembered their first talk over the radio when he had to demand the Captain's respect. There was no doubt that he now had it.

 

"Let me talk to Rikers. But, I think tomorrow morning should work. I mean why wait, right?"

 

The Captain got up and ruffled Douglas's hair. "Exactly. Why wait."

 

Douglas cringed at the ruffled hair. One minute he was a respected Captain and equal, and the next he was a boy getting his hair ruffled. He wondered if Captain Parrish would ever get it figured out.

 

 

Rikers agreed with Douglas that the next morning would be great for the landing. He and his followers would be ready. They were connected into the broadcast radio system. In theory only the government could broadcast, but Rikers’ technicians had long ago found a way to break into the system. Now it was time to put that skill to work.

 

Captain Parrish said he was going to return to the "Starfinder" to prepare the "Columbia" for the landing. The “Atlantis” was roomier, but the “Columbia” was built for Vertical Take Off and Landing while the “Atlantis” was not. He said he would come by in the morning landing to pick up the two Hakaanen boys.

 

Douglas was ready to ask if some of his crew could go.  But he caught himself. Instead he said, "Captain, I would like to have some of my crew members go on the mission. I think they can help you a lot.  Scooter knows the language almost perfectly, and we all have a basic understanding of Hakaanen culture."

 

Captain Parrish was ready to say the mission was too dangerous to take kids, but he caught himself. Once again, he almost forgot that these weren't ordinary kids. These kids had done more than most starship crews ever had or ever would. Besides, he was taking the two Hakaanen boys. "I should have room for four of your crew, Captain Daniels. Have them prepared to join us tomorrow."

 

When they got to the airlock, Amahl was waiting for them along with his father and Lieutenant Schrader.

 

"Father, can I spend the night here?" Amahl asked. He hadn't seen anybody his own age for six weeks. While the meeting in the conference room was going on, he had gotten a tour of the ship and heard some of the boys' stories. He had been so looking forward to meeting the boys since they had been discovered. They had seemed so special to him and he was not disappointed after meeting them. Now, he wanted to spend some more time with them.

 

Douglas heard how Amahl addressed his dad as father. Pretty formal, he thought. It was so formal he had no doubt as to what Amahl’s father would say.

 

Amahl's father stared at his son.

 

"Please?" Amahl begged.

 

Dr. Rashad thought about the naked boys on the "Paxton", and thought about the sexual habits the boys had learned from the alien culture. He called Amahl aside.

 

"Son, I think you know what these boys have been doing with each other."

 

"Yes. Having an adventure. Surviving."

 

"No, I meant something different." The topic was starting to embarrass Dr. Rashad. Especially since he could remember doing some of the same things when he was his son's age. He wasn't sure if he wanted his son having the same experiences.

 

"If you mean the sex," Amahl said, boldly, "I know what it is they do. And I don't care. But if you let me stay, I promise I won't do that if it displeases you, father. I just want to be with them. I've already started making friends. Please, father. I won't do anything you don't want me to, I promise."

 

Dr. Rashad gave his son a warm smile. Thoughts of Khalil entered his head. Of those four wonderful years between twelve and sixteen when almost anything was fair game to do in bed. He shook his head to clear it. "Have fun, son. Do whatever you like. I'll see you in the morning."

 

Amahl smiled back. If he heard his father right, and he was sure he did, he was just told that it was okay for him to mess around. And he sure didn't plan on asking his father what he meant. All he knew was, his father hadn't said no. Which was as good as a yes.

 

 

Douglas had set his alarm early. He wished he didn’t have to; he hadn’t gotten much sleep. His arm was wrapped around Amahl, who yawned, looked at Douglas, and smiled. Douglas smiled back and groped the young teen’s four-inch piece of morning wood.  Amahl had found out a lot about sex the night before. He had been inexperienced, but willing to learn. Douglas and Scooter had taught Amahl as much as they could in one night. Considering the boy’s sexual inexperience, everything beyond solo masturbation was an adventure.

 

Amahl still had the taste of cum in his mouth, and his butt was a little sore. All three boys had stayed up very late and were tired. Amahl was amazed that his sexual education had come from the Captain of the crew and his boyfriend. He had had his first sexual experiences with two genuine heroes. There was only room for two boys on the bed in the Captain’s cabin. With apologies to Scooter, Amahl said he wanted to sleep with the Captain himself, Douglas. Scooter understood and slept on a cot they had set up in the cabin.

 

“Last night was way awesome,” Amahl said. “Thanks for helping me learn about sex.”

 

“It was our pleasure, in more ways than one,” Douglas grinned.

 

“I like your hand on my cock. I wish we had time to do more. I think I got addicted to sex last night.”

 

“It’s about time,” Scooter said from the cot.

 

“My father is very strict with me,” Amahl said, not for the first time.

 

“He kind of let go of the reins last night,” Douglas pointed out.

 

“I know, and I don’t know why. But I was sure hoping I could take advantage of it.”

 

“You certainly did that.”

 

“I wish I had time to do more.”

 

Douglas answered by pulling back the bedding and going down on the hard teen cock. Amahl was uncut, with a sprinkling of dark pubic hairs and low hanging balls. Even after his “lessons” from the night before, it didn’t take Amahl long to have his fifth orgasm since Douglas and Scooter invited him into their cabin.

 

“Oh, fuck, that was way too good.”

 

“You still had a little bit left to shoot, you stud you.”  Douglas heard Scooter moan. He and Amahl looked over at the cot as the fourteen-year-old shot a couple of squirts of semen across his torso. He had all but drained his testicles the night before, too.

 

“What about you, Douglas? Don’t you need to cum?” Amahl asked.

 

“I think I’ll live. I all but drained my reservoir last night. I’ll find time later. We gotta get going.”

As Amahl followed Douglas and Scooter to the shower, he thought, If father only knew what I learned and DID last night! The three boys quickly ran through the shower and then headed to the dining hall for breakfast. Douglas knew everybody would be up early to start the upcoming adventure.

 

After the "Columbia" docked with the "Paxton", Dralkan, Trundall, and the four Earth boys boarded the shuttle.  Amahl would wait for it to return. He was disappointed that he couldn’t go, but he knew the "Columbia" was not a large shuttle and only had limited room. It was built for the exploration of newly found planets.

 

Douglas thought about how he had chosen the four boys. First, while he knew it was selfish in some ways, he chose himself. He knew the Hakaanen and their culture as well as anybody. He knew Captain Parrish respected his opinions and listened to him. He wanted to be there to give advice against making what might be a dumb decision. He wasn't sure if the Captain would listen to anybody else as seriously.

 

The second boy was Scooter. That was an obvious choice, and not just because Scooter was his lover and soulmate. Scooter knew the Hakaanen language better than any of them because of his telepathic skills he had and he was going to be very important as a translator.

 

The third one was Mike. Mike was important to him. He was his second in command and his best friend. He was the one who stayed calm when it the shit started hitting the fan. Big, strong, quiet, calm, Mike. He had to go.

 

The fourth one he picked for a totally different reason. He was someone who got left behind most of the time because he so often couldn't keep up, but was someone who had often shown a unique insight into solving problems. He was someone who stayed in the background, but more than once had come up with a good idea or suggestion. As far as Douglas was concerned, Warren had earned the right to go on a mission.

 

The four Earth boys boarded the "Columbia" along with Dralkan and Trundall. The shuttle released itself from the "Paxton" and started towards Hakaan. The "Columbia" carried the four Earth boys, the two Hakaanen boys, Captain Parrish, and the pilots, Lieutenant Commander John Woods and Ensign Conrad Drabowski.

 

When the shuttle entered the atmosphere, Thraller noticed it on his scanner. So, he thought, the shuttle was returning. Rikers would no doubt be at the spaceport to meet it.  He was going to be there to meet the shuttle right along with the rebels.  He couldn't believe the rebels were so bold as to think they could just land the shuttle again and get away with it. But apparently they were—he had obviously given them too much credit for intelligence. He called for his flier. It was manned and ready to go at any time.

 

Thraller ran out of the building and to the flier. It quickly taxied down the short runway and took off, heading for the old spaceport.  Meanwhile, the shuttle was aiming for the capital city of Kana. Captain Parrish wanted to land right at the small runway in the city that the boys had seen on their landing, but had ignored because it was too short to land the Hakaanen shuttle on. Since the "Columbia" could land vertically, it didn't matter how long the runway was.

 

The flier landed at the spaceport. Thraller was certain the shuttle was about ten minutes away from landing. While he wasn't sure why it was now returning, he had a feeling it was going to come back. Nobody could stay up in space forever, and he was a very patient man. He had been ready to wait for however long it took for it to return and now that patience was being rewarded.

 

He had his radio scanning. It picked up a signal from the shuttle. It was once again the voice of a boy. Rikers answered the broadcast. He was going to leave wherever he was in his stolen flier and was going to land it right here at the spaceport.

 

 Thraller was ready to meet Rikers head on. Whatever plan Rikers had going was ending that day. Rikers is acting like I'm stupid, Thraller thought, and he's not going to get away with it. Today was going to be the end of Rikers and his silly resistance.

 

He no longer had his tracking scope; it was at the compound. But he had calculated very carefully the shuttle's point of entry and how long it would take for it to get to the spaceport. He stood out on the terminal's balcony, checking the skies. He wondered if the shuttle or Rikers would arrive first.

 

He heard a boom to the west. He knew it was a sonic boom from the shuttle and that it would be slowing soon to land at the spaceport. He wondered if Rikers, and whoever was on the shuttle, knew that he had control of the spaceport. Well, it didn't make any difference, he thought. There was no other place to land.

 

Lieutenant Commander Woods was slowing the shuttle down below the speed of sound. He could see the spaceport ahead and below. He glided right over it as he lowered its flaps and slowed the shuttle more.

 

Thraller watched as the shuttle zipped over the spaceport, slowing to land. It was not the shuttle that had landed a few weeks before. In fact it didn't look like any kind of shuttle he had ever seen before. It certainly wasn’t a Hakaanen space craft.

 

"Where is he going?" he asked the patrolman next to him. "The only place to land is here!" He didn't expect an answer, and he didn't get one.

 

Then Thraller saw a dot off on the horizon. He picked up his binoculars and trained them on the dot. It was a flier. It had to be Rikers. It wasn't heading to the spaceport; it was heading towards Kana. He trained the glasses on the shuttle and saw that it was heading for Kana as well.

 

In the capital compound in the middle of Kana, the Ancients were having a meeting. Thraller had radioed them that the shuttle was returning and he was going to meet it at the old spaceport. They wanted to get whatever colonists were on it captured and find out why they returned and why the colony sent boys and not men. They wanted to make sure no shuttle would ever return again.

 

 The coming of the shuttle had caused a lot of problems. People were restless. They were wondering why one of the colonies could go into space but they couldn’t. They were wondering why the Ancients still had technology while it was denied to them. They were wondering why their standard of living was getting worse and worse. The Ancients knew that the only way they could prove their power was to completely humiliate whoever was flying the shuttle. The best thing would be to shoot it down, but they didn't have the weapons to do it.  So they would just have to capture the crew and destroy the shuttle after it landed.

 

Thraller's voice came over the radio. "The shuttle went past the spaceport. It looks like it's heading for Kana."

 

"Why?" Marcoli, the leader of the Ancients asked.

 

"I don't know. But you should be seeing it now. There is one thing you should know."

 

"What is that?"

 

"The shuttle isn't from a Hakaanen colony."

 

"What do you mean? Where else could it come from? It certainly didn't come from here."

 

"That's right," was all Thraller said.  But the meaning of what Thraller had told him made the leader of the Ancients turn pale with fright.  He went through the large glass doors of the meeting room onto the balcony.  He watched the mysterious shuttle approach the city. It appeared to be heading right toward the compound. Well, it's just going to fly over us, he thought.  The runway wasn’t long enough to handle an aircraft that size.

 

The shuttle approached the small runway. Suddenly, the swept wings expanded and faced out. The shuttle almost stopped. Thrusters were holding it above the ground. The landing gear was lowered and the shuttle eased down towards the runway.

 

The leader turned to the other Ancients. "It is landing right here in the compound!" He felt his hands shake. He knew that the mystery shuttle could mean the end of their power over the Hakaanen civilization.

 

 

John Woods brought the "Columbia" down for a soft landing. Douglas barely felt it touch the ground. Douglas just got a demonstration of what a skilled, trained pilot could do with a shuttle.

 

Right away the shuttle was surrounded by guards. Captain Parrish had already decided that they would gamble and leave the shuttle unarmed. It was important that the Hakaanen saw them arrive in peace.

 

Scooter was on the radio talking to Rikers. Rikers' flier was approaching the compound and soon landed next to the shuttle. Scooter had figured out how to connect into the radio in The Ancients’ conference room.

 

Rikers was broadcasting the whole affair on radio and on vid. While only select stations could receive them, he knew that word would spread fast when people started seeing what was happening in the capital. Already the citizens of Kana were heading to the compound and gathering outside the walls. Everyone sensed that something big was happening.

 

Scooter stepped to the open door of the shuttle. He stood proudly in the doorway, naked, except for his Hakaanen shoulder and waist belts.  His blond hair and tan skin glowed in the sunlight. Douglas stepped out behind him. He had convinced Captain Parrish that he and Scooter should step out of the shuttle first.

 

Rikers trained the video camera on Scooter, who talked into a cordless microphone. He spoke nearly perfect Hakaanen with a distinct accent, and his words were heard and seen in the main conference room of the Ancients, as well as the select receivers scattered around the planet Hakaan—a broadcast that would soon go viral.  The citizens of Hakaan heard the voice of a young teen, but the words were spoken with the confidence of a man.

 

"This is Scott Starr of the Earth starship 'U.S.S Starfinder'. We come to Hakaan in peace,” he said in perfect Hakaanen.

 

And with those words the Ancients dark reign over the planet Hakaan started to crumble.

 

NEXT CHAPTER 58 EARTH