Survivors

 

 

 

 

Scooter and Brandon hugged and cried as soon as they saw each other. It had been over two years since Brandon had moved away. Brandon's mom also gave Scooter a big hug. Douglas could see it was quite a happy reunion. He wasn't sure what it was all about, but he did know that he felt a lot of jealousy build up in him and he wasn't sure why. After all, these were obviously old friends, and he had only known Scooter for two days.

 

Scooter brought Brandon over to the group.  "This is my old friend Brandon. We grew up together in Florida until he moved away two years ago. I can't believe Brandon is going on this trip with us."

 

Scooter introduced the boys to Brandon, saving Douglas for last. "Brandon, this is Douglas. He is my special new friend." Douglas smiled when he heard that. Some of the hurt left him. "Douglas, meet Brandon."

 

As everybody headed for the shuttle, Scooter and Brandon talked, Douglas followed them, watching their interaction. He realized that Brandon was not only a really nice boy, he was also incredibly sexy. Oh man, he thought, I've got to stop having these thoughts.

 

Brandon, Douglas, and Scooter sat three abreast on the shuttle.  Douglas and Scooter learned that Brandon's mom had a lot to do with the new devices for creating an atmosphere for farming on Mars. She was a planetary biologist who was now going to be in charge of installing the new equipment on Alpha Orion IV.

 

So far a planet with life on it had never been found. Most planets were dry and waterless, like Mars. Alpha Orion IV was just about right for temperature, but it had no life except the farms that were being created on the colony and the animals brought from Earth. They were located in small isolated areas, protected by transparent domes. The new device would allow a planet-wide atmosphere to be created.

 

The shuttle soon arrived at the “Starkeeper” and docked in the shuttle bay. Crew members helped the passengers off, then prepared to unload the equipment that had been stowed in the hold. It would take four more shuttle flights to get it all on board the "Starkeeper".

 

The boys headed for their cabins.  Douglas and Scooter showed Brandon and his mother to their cabin.  On the way they ran into Alex and Stevie. Scooter introduced them to Brandon.

 

Brandon shook hands with Alex and then with Stevie. Their handshake took just an instant longer. Just long enough for both of them to feel electricity in their touch. Stevie was the first to let go, but their eyes stayed locked just a second longer. Alex and Stevie headed for their cabin and Douglas and Scooter dropped Brandon off at his. Douglas and Scooter walked to the elevator to get to the deck where their cabin was located. They had just enough time to wash up before dinner. When they got to Scooter's door they stopped.

 

"Let's see if we all can get the same table for dinner," Douglas said. He paused a second and then asked Scooter what was on his mind. “So, Brandon was your best friend?"

 

"We grew up together until he moved to Mars. Only I didn't know he moved there. He never wrote me."

 

"Why not, if you guys were such good friends?"

 

"I don't know, but I plan to find out. Brandon was like a brother to me. He was more than a friend."

 

"Like a brother?" Douglas asked.

 

"Yeah. We were really close. I loved him."

 

Douglas stared at Scooter. "Loved him? Like a brother you mean?"

 

"Yeah."

 

"Not like you guys were......"

 

"Were what?"

 

"Um...well not like you were...well...you know...best friends but more like you were brothers..." Douglas was stammering and trying hard to get out of it. He paused and then spit out, "Scooter?"

 

"Yes?"

 

"Instead of going to the games room tonight, do you think you could spend the night with me? School starts the day after tomorrow and I thought maybe we could just get to be friends more. If it's ok."

 

Scooter smiled that beautiful smile of his. "I'll ask dad. But I think he will say yes."

 

"Yesssss. Well, I gotta ask mom and dad too. See you at dinner."  Douglas took off down the hall to his cabin.

 

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

 

At dinner time the boys headed for their assigned dining halls. People could change halls, and often did so, but they needed to let the dining steward know to make sure there were enough places to sit.

 

Douglas, Scooter, and Travis sat together and talked about the exciting day on Mars. They all agreed that Mike couldn't have slugged Ryan, not after the way he helped him on the first night. But if it wasn't Mike, who was it?

 

Travis said it wasn't him. Jeremy could have. None of the three knew him that well yet, but they all thought Jeremy was a cool guy - too cool to do that. The only other person with a chance was Robert Charles. They all agreed he was kind of a butthead, and maybe was capable of doing it. But Jordan and Matthew seemed to agree that Robert Charles was too far behind Ryan to get around him and hit him in the gut. But what if they were lying? If he was directly behind Ryan, or maybe standing next to him, he could get around him easily, even in the dark.

 

"Are you guys coming to the games room after dinner?" Travis asked.

 

Scooter looked at Douglas. Douglas replied, "I think me and Scooter are going to spend some time together in my cabin. Kind of get to know each other."

 

Yesss, Scooter thought. "My dad said it was ok."  Scooter's father nodded. In fact, Scooter’s dad was happy about it. He was going to be back in Engineering as soon as dinner was over and would be there until he didn't know when. Since Douglas’s parents were sitting at the same table, it was obvious it was okay with them as well. Scooter was excited. There was something about Douglas he couldn't explain. He just knew they connected - connected big time.

 

In dining hall #2, Ryan, Warren, and Jeremy were talking about the tour too. Warren heard what had happened to Ryan and was sad about it. Warren's dad asked if Mike did it for sure. Jeremy said he didn't think so, just because Mike had been so nice to Ryan. But the way he remembered the room, Mike had been in the best position to do it. But he just didn't see Mike as the culprit.

 

Ryan agreed. The more he thought about it and the way Mike treated him that first night the more he couldn't see Mike attacking him. They talked about exactly what happened when the lights went out. Ryan thought he heard movement behind him, felt somebody rub him on his left side, then it was all a blur.  He kind of turned, then he got touched on the shoulder hard and punched in the stomach. He didn't remember much until after the lights came on.

 

"Are you sure you heard something behind you?" Jeremy asked.

 

"Pretty sure, yeah."

 

"Robert Charles was behind you. I don't like him one bit. I wouldn't be surprised if he was the one who hit you. And if you heard someone move behind you...it's gotta be him."

 

The boys all agreed to watch Robert Charles very carefully. Warren's dad warned Warren to be careful. He was worried. He didn't think he would need his security personnel on this trip. He wanted Warren to feel like he wasn't being watched all the time, and he figured the ship would be a safe place. Now he wasn't so sure.  He decided he was going to talk to the Purser, maybe even the Captain, about his son's safety. If there were kids like this Robert Charles on board, he wanted Warren watched.

 

In dining hall #3, Mike was sitting with Alex, Stevie, and Brad. Some other people were there too, but those four were having their own conversation. It was about what happened on the tour. Mike told Alex and Stevie all about the attack.

 

"I'm glad I didn't go. I think I would have found out who it was right then and got my licks in," Alex said. "That really really makes me mad. What a chicken shit thing to do."

 

"It's gotta be Robert Charles," Mike said. "The thing is, I'm the one getting blamed for hitting Ryan. He probably hates me now. If I could prove that it was Robert Charles, I would go kick some major ass."

 

Robert Charles and Jordan were in dining hall #4 at their own small table.

 

"That was pretty awesome what you did in that cave. Nobody has a clue. But why did you decide to hit Ryan?" Jordan asked Robert Charles.

 

"Because he is a wimp. He won't ever hit me back. And the rest will know who they are dealing with, even if they can’t prove anything. We got the finger pointed at Mike...and thanks for your help by the way. Mike won't be seen as so great, because maybe, just maybe he did do it. And maybe he didn't. And no matter what, Mike and Ryan will doubt each other. The idea is to make it so everybody will start to fear us, the real leaders of that group of fags.  Now, I have another plan. I've noticed some things between two guys.... it’s time to shake some more things up."

 

He whispered quietly to Jordan what he was thinking. Jordan smiled. He was liking Robert Charles more and more.

 

Brandon was in dining hall #5. He couldn't see any of the kids who were on the shuttle. He asked his mom if there was a way they could get another dining hall, maybe one with Scooter in it. He was feeling lonely already.

 

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

 

After dinner Scooter's father went back to the engineering section. Scooter knew his dad was stressed trying to install the new warp enhancer because it wasn't working the way it should. His father thought it would be all installed by the time they got to Mars. He and Jordan's father weren't seeing eye-to-eye on everything. He needed to get the enhancer into place.

 

There were two ways it would work. Scooter's father felt for the first trial the safest way should be used.  The ship would travel slower that way, but it would still be much faster than just using the standard warp drive. It would take a week off the two-month trip.

 

The Chief Engineer, Jordan's father, wanted to install it in the other, less safe, way.  That installation would take two weeks off the transit time. Scooter's father knew the warp enhancer better than anybody. He knew it needed to be installed in the slower mode for its first real usage.

 

It had worked fine both ways on short test trips, but this was the real thing. Testing was over. Now it was going to be used on an operating ship for a long trip. Scooter's dad sometimes noticed the enhancer running a little warmer than he liked. It never did when it was on the low, slower, hookup, but it happened occasionally on the higher hookup.

 

The Chief Engineer wanted the high level now. He argued it was his ship, that it worked perfectly in every test and if they noticed it warming up they could shut it down. He saw no reason to wait until the return trip. The passengers would love cutting two weeks off the trip.

 

There was a problem fitting the enhancer into the warp drive and that was holding things up. Scooter’s father knew that if the enhancer had been installed as per his instructions it would have been ready to operate on schedule. Scooter's father was getting ready to check on the installation when the Chief Engineer walked into the engineering section.

 

"The enhancer is hooked up and ready,” the Chief Engineer announced.

 

"How?” Scooter’s dad asked. “You needed to move that whole section of pipes and wires."

 

"We routed everything through a secondary shaft. It let us put the enhancer in at its highest operating level."

 

"But you can't do that. It hasn't worked completely right in every test yet. It has a problem with heating up."

 

"It heats up slowly, and the temperature change was minuscule when the hook up was reversed for faster running. We will watch it carefully. And it will work. It worked in all the tests except for the heating problem, and that was so slight it was barely detectable. It certainly was nowhere near any kind of danger zone. I’d say it was more a part of normal operation than an anomaly. I seem to know your invention better than you do."

 

"Look," Scooter's father said, "let's install it in the safer slower way. That is how headquarters suggested it be done, and, as I’ve tried to explain, for good reason. We aren't leaving orbit until the morning anyway. We have over 1500 passengers on this ship. The enhancer passed every test in the low setting, without even a hint of a temperature change. We can change it on the return trip when the ship has hardly any passengers. If we have to shut it down because the part heats up hardly anyone will be bothered by it. And it's the safest way to go."

 

The Chief Engineer glared at him. "My son is on board this ship—don't get on me about safety!!!!"

 

"My son is here too. And I wouldn't have brought him with me if I thought there was going to be any danger to him. I'm in charge of this project and I'm saying we turn the enhancer the other way."

 

"I'm the Chief Engineer and the work is done. We've spent two extra days on this already. To turn it around means moving more pipes and wires. The Captain agrees with me. You don't like it, take it up with him. I have to get this ship ready to go into warp tomorrow. I'll run this department; you make sure your invention is running properly."

 

Dr. Starr was furious. He knew the enhancer would run properly for the entire voyage if it had been connected the way it should be. Not only that, it wouldn’t have taken two extra days to install it. Right now he had to be sure it was doing what it was supposed to do before warp.

 

But tomorrow, after they left orbit, he planned on talking to the Captain. He knew his invention better than anybody, including the Chief Engineer. And he knew it wasn't ready for the high hook up yet, no matter what the tests said.

 

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

 

Most of the kids headed for the games room. Ryan and Jeremy showed up together, walking up from their room. Warren decided it was time for him to check out the games room. He was hoping to see more of Jeremy. He hadn't been able to stop thinking of him all day. Robert Charles stopped to pick up Lisa and walk her to the room. He wanted to be sure everybody saw him with her.  Stevie and Alex weren't going to go, but Stevie talked Alex into going for a little while. Alex didn't care one way or the other. Travis walked there by himself. Along the way he ran into Mike. Brandon was going the games room as well. He hoped Scooter would be there. He entered the games room with Jordan and Matthew.

 

Scooter and Douglas were sitting in Douglas's room talking, sharing things, and finding out about each other. Scooter told Douglas all about his friend Brandon. Almost all anyway. There were some things he couldn't share.

 

"Scooter, look, I know we planned to overnight together. But...well....you haven't seen Brandon in two years...and well...," Doug looked at Scooter.

 

When Douglas made that selfless offer, Scooter knew one thing for sure—he was falling in love. Somebody who would make an offer like that had to be somebody to fall in love with.

 

"Why don't we do this," Scooter said, "let's go to the games room. If Brandon is there I will talk to him for a while and you can play games or something. Then when it's time to leave, you and I will both come back here."

 

Douglas looked at Scooter again.  He also knew one thing for sure—he was in love. No question about it.  He was in love with the blonde boy in his room.

 

Meanwhile, Brandon walked into the games room with Jordan.

 

"I guess you heard what happened today down on Mars,” Jordan told Brandon.

 

"Yeah. I guess there are some tough kids on this trip."

 

"Watch out for the big kid Mike,” Jordan warned. “Don't get too friendly with him.  He slugged Ryan. He is a bully and a coward. Be real careful around him and don't be fooled by his smile."

 

Brandon looked at Jordan. He liked the boy’s innocent face and trusting face. What Brandon missed though was the coldness in Jordan's eyes.

 

Jordan saw Robert Charles when he and Lisa entered the room and waved at them. Brandon searched for Scooter and was disappointed he didn’t see him.  Maybe he was with his friend Douglas, he thought.

 

Brandon then tried to find something to do. He walked over to a video game. He saw Mike walking up to him. Oh shit, he thought, not him.

 

"Hi," Mike said with a big smile, "welcome on board. I'm Mike."

 

Brandon remembered what Jordan had said about Mike. Don't be fooled by his smile. "Oh, hi. I'm just waiting for Scooter. I'll talk to you later." Brandon turned and walked away leaving Mike standing there wondering what was going on. Oh well, he thought, not everyone can be friendly. He decided he didn't care much for this new kid at all.

 

Just then Scooter and Douglas came into the room. Brandon saw Scooter and smiled. He came over to them and gave Scooter a quick hug.  Scooter and Brandon went to a couch to talk, leaving Douglas feeling a little alone and just a bit jealous.  Well, it was my idea, he thought, and he went over to where Travis and Ryan were playing ping pong. Mike wandered over and stood next to Douglas.

 

"Anybody for doubles?" Mike asked. Nobody said anything. Douglas, Ryan, and Travis just stood there.

 

Finally, Douglas said, "Sure, why not."

 

"You can play without me then," Ryan said and started walking off. Douglas grabbed him as he went by.

 

"I think doubles with Mike would be very cool, Ryan. And I have a feeling if you talked to Mike for a couple of minutes you would agree. Me and Travis will play a game to hold the table while you two talk." He looked straight at Ryan, his eyes saying, 'do it.'

 

Ryan was torn. Everybody said Mike was the person who hit him, yet Mike had been so nice to him. He decided Mike deserved a chance to explain.  Ryan nodded yes.

 

Mike had been holding his breath through all of that from the moment he asked about doubles.  He knew he was taking a chance, but he wasn't about to spend the whole trip being pushed away because of something he didn't do. Ryan and Mike went off to a couple of chairs in a corner while Travis and Douglas got a ping pong game started.

 

Alex and Stevie walked into the room. Alex saw Ryan and Mike talking. He nudged Stevie and smiled. That was a good sign. He liked Mike, and what he saw made him like him even more.  Brandon saw the brothers walk in, and couldn't help but look at Stevie. He wanted to know him better. Scooter saw where his eyes were going and smiled. He knew Brandon really well, and he knew Brandon saw something in Stevie and that was good. Brandon was his best friend, even after being separated for two years, but there was some connection happening between him Douglas he couldn't explain. He knew he would have to follow it. Having Brandon on board was one of the greatest things that could have happened to him, but there was something pulling on him in a different direction.

 

Robert Charles walked past Mike and Ryan and shook his head. He looked at Ryan and laughed. "The bastard has you right by the balls doesn't he?"

 

Mike stood up, fists ready to fly. "Go on asshole, hit me!" Robert Charles said. “Everybody here knows how good you are at it. At least this time you will be hitting somebody your own size and with the lights on. Loser." He laughed again and walked away, making sure Lisa had seen the whole thing.

 

Mike was fuming. "You did the right thing," Ryan said. "He will get his. I bet he's the one who hit me. He's the loser." He looked at Mike and smiled. "If I had any doubts that ended them."

 

Travis and Douglas got three ping pong games in by the time Mike and Ryan got back from their talk.  Both of them had eyes that were a little moist. "Let's play doubles," Ryan said. "I want Mike to be my partner."

 

The whole room noticed right away that Mike and Ryan were doubles partners. Jordan walked past Scooter and Brandon. "Ryan is going to be very sorry he did that." He grinned his sweet evil grin and walked off.

 

"Things seem to be pretty weird here," Brandon said.

 

"All I know is, Mike didn't hit Ryan,” Scooter told him. “He is just too nice to do it. And it looks like Ryan doesn't believe he did it either."

 

Brandon thought about how he had treated Mike when Mike walked up to him. He would have to make up for it soon.

 

As they had agreed, Scooter and Douglas left the games room early and went to Douglas's cabin and into his room.  They talked, played some on the computer, and got to know each other more. Scooter told Douglas that his parents were nudists and that they were naked around home all the time.  Douglas liked that because he liked being naked too. He wanted to suggest they take their clothes off, but he had an incredible hard on being this close to Scooter, so he decided to let it go.

 

Scooter was hoping Doug would say, let's get naked. He was hard too, but he didn't care if Douglas saw it. After all, boys got hard all the time, so who cared. It soon was time for bed.  The room had two beds in it.  Douglas wished he could have Scooter sleep in his, but was afraid to ask that as well. The boys both undressed until they were down to white briefs. Douglas could see a definite tent in Scooter's. His heart pounded when Scooter peeled off his briefs and his hard four-inch dick popped out and stuck straight up.

 

"Guess I'm excited about going to bed," Scooter giggled.

 

Douglas looked at Scooter and figured he could do the same thing. He slowly pulled his briefs off and a nearly five-inch hairless dick stuck proudly up as well. The boys looked at each other, admiring the beautiful body in front of them. They both wanted the same thing....to hug, to kiss, to hold, to touch, to feel.  They wanted each other so badly it hurt. But they both were afraid to follow what their hearts were telling them.

 

They said goodnight and Douglas turned out the lights. Both of them quietly took care of themselves, and at the same time they both knew what the other one was doing. Douglas tried hard not to moan, but his cum was so strong and intense he knew he made some noise.  Just after his orgasm he heard something from Scooter's bed...it sounded like a low moan. Both boys were satisfied, and both fell asleep knowing they wanted more; it was just a matter of how to get it started.

 

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

 

After Douglas and Scooter left the games room some of the other boys got to know each other better.  The ping pong game ended and Mike and Alex started talking.  Alex told him that even though he wasn't in that cavern, he just knew Mike didn't hit Ryan. And it looked like Ryan didn't think so either.

 

Ryan and Travis were playing ping pong and talking. Travis told Ryan he was happy he talked to Mike. The two boys were enjoying each other’s company a lot.

 

Stevie walked up to Brandon who was alone now and sat next to him. Pretty soon they were talking about Mars and music and life on Earth. They both liked each other right away.

 

Robert Charles and Jordan got together too.

 

"Did you see Ryan and Mike play ping pong together?" Jordan asked.

 

"Yeah. We have some guys who don't want to take us seriously. I think we need to let them know who is who and what is what."

 

Jordan agreed with him totally. He looked over to a corner and saw just where to start taking care of business.

 

Warren was talking with Jeremy. He wasn't even aware of Jordan looking at him. What he was aware of was that he was getting some strong feelings for Jeremy, who was so much his opposite. Opposite or not they found a lot to talk about. They both liked playing soccer, and found a good video soccer game to play together. Warren hadn't felt this good in a long time.

 

It was time for the games room to close. Alone or in groups, the boys headed back to their cabins.

 

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

 

Morning saw Scooter and Douglas rising early. Douglas let Scooter take the first shower. He loved looking at his smooth, tanned, naked body. He found himself getting hard again as Scooter headed for the shower.  When Scooter got back, Douglas got up and wasn't shy about his boner. After last night there was no reason to be. He could tell Scooter was checking it out, and that made him even hotter. He got into the shower, and took care of business, thinking of Scooter's naked body and his hard beautiful cock the whole time. Douglas came hard, shooting against the shower wall, his cum dripping down to the bottom.

 

Everyone was heading for the observation lounges. The ship was already out of orbit and was going to warp soon. When it happened it was supposed to be beautiful. A whole rainbow of colors and then nothing but small flashing lights.

 

In Engineering the Chief Engineer was waiting for the signal from the bridge. Captain Fuller was checking the distance from Mars. As soon as they passed a certain point they would be ready to go to warp. The navigator called out, "Mark!!" and the Captain called out to engage the warp drive.

 

The warp engines engaged with a loud whirring noise and a whine. Everybody felt dizzy and strange for a second as the ship headed into warp space.

 

In the observation lounges the spectators ohhhhhhhhhhhed over the rainbow of colors as the ship went into warp. Douglas fought his dizziness as he watched the display. It was amazing. The rainbow of colors started to die down and soon became little flashing pinpoints of light going by. The dizziness was gone.

 

Scooter's dad looked at the gauges. Everything was working perfectly, but he wondered for how long. He was going to meet with Captain Fuller in the afternoon. The warp enhancer had to be turned around the other way, even if it meant leaving warp. They would make up the time once the enhancer was properly installed.

 

Scooter’s father had done computer simulations the night before. They showed the enhancer heating up slightly just under ten percent of the time, which to him was too many times. His intuition that the reverse installation would not hold up over the long haul was stronger than ever. Installed in the slower setting the enhancer had performed perfectly. In the faster mode there had been the occasional rise in temperature, just like in the simulations. 

 

The "Starkeeper" was in space warp. The new warp enhancer sent the ship through warp faster the regular warp drive alone would have. The next stop would be Alpha Orion IV.