Survivors

 

 

 

 

 

 

 "What does it all mean?" Scooter asked the others in the control tower. "Why is there a dead crew up there on the starship?"

 

There was a long silence as nobody seemed willing to answer the question.  Finally,Quan spoke up. "What it means is that we were lied to.  There never was an automatic system to bring the starship here.  There was no genius who figured out a way to automatically pilot a starship through warp space on its own.  The ship needed a crew, and the crew ended up with the plague.  When they arrived here, all of them or more likely some of them, were still alive.  They sent us an automated message to make us think there was no crew.  Then they probably were going to return to Hakaan, making us think the ship went back on auto-pilot, but they were all sick and they died before they could start the return voyage."

 

"But why did they want you to think there was no crew?"

 

"So nobody would attempt a rescue and bring the plague back to Inferno with them.  I think they thought when they came here that the message would be sent and then they would return home.  Instead they all died in orbit."

 

"So, if they actually planned a round trip, that means there must be enough fuel to go to Hakaan."

 

"Most likely there is.  But you will never be able to go.  You can't use that starship."

 

"Why not?"

 

"Because you could catch the plague, too."

 

"But we're not Hakaan, we're human.  How could we catch it?"

 

"I'm not a doctor.  I don't know if you can or can't.  But I do know this: the boys who went into the starship probably cannot come back down to this planet."

 

 

“I think it’s a good thing we decided to keep our spacesuits sealed,” Mike said as he, Travis, and Douglas checked out the rest of the crew area. They had taken atmospheric samples to bring back to Inferno. Roobine warned them that the atmosphere might be poisonous.

 

They had already counted twenty bodies.  The bodies had long ago decomposed, and all that was left were skeletons dressed in the remains of their uniforms.

 

Mike heard his radio click, followed by Scooter’s voice.

 

"They're saying you can't come back down," Scooter told the boys on the starship.

 

That brought a long silence.  "What do they mean, we can't come back down?" Mike asked finally.

 

"They are saying you were exposed to the plague.  That's probably what the crew died of.  They got sick on the way here and couldn't make it back."

 

"But they've been dead for twenty-five years.  It should be safe."

 

"They say they can't risk it."

 

"Who is they?"

 

"Mayor Andorn.  Roobine, Quan, Petras, and Governor Rebosh. Everybody here."

 

Mike wanted to ask what that asshole Rebosh was doing there, but thought the better of it. "What about Doctor Lokor? He knows our bodies as well as anybody. Maybe he can tell everybody we can’t carry the plague."

 

"He isn't here."

 

"Well, then," Mike barked, "maybe somebody should call him. Let's not have everybody panic, at least not yet."

 

Scooter agreed that calling the doctor was a good idea.  So did the Hakaanen men in the control room, wondering why they hadn’t thought of it first. They had become so frightened they were reacting instead of thinking.

 

Mayor Andorn told Scooter to tell the “Survivors” crew they were simply considering possibilities, but until they knew more, the boys really couldn't come back down.

 

Doctor Lokor got to the control tower about an hour later.  He was told what had been found on the starship.  The doctor looked worried and said he wanted to address the crew.  Once again, Scooter did the translating.

 

He asked the boys on board a few questions about where they had found the skeletons and asked them if they had breathed any outside air.  Then he talked to them about returning to the shuttle.

 

"When you got on the starship did the air between the shuttle and the starship get mixed?" the doctor asked Mike.

 

"No. We had the shuttle airlock hatch sealed before we opened the airlock to the starship.  But the air in the airlock is mixed."

 

"Head for the airlock,” the doctor ordered.

 

Mike, Douglas, and Travis returned to the airlock.  Mike radioed when they arrived. Then the doctor started talking to Alex and Mike.

 

"Get all of the air out of both airlocks.  Blow them totally out.”

 

Alex hit the proper controls and cleared out the shuttle airlock. Mike, Douglas, and Travis entered the starship airlock.  They closed the hatch. Mike pulled the air lever and the air wooshed out of the airlock.  Then he opened the outer hatch and entered the small sealed area between the two airlocks.  The hatch to the shuttle was closed and Mike punched the button to open that hatch.  As soon as it opened they stepped inside the shuttle's airlock and Mike closed the hatch.

 

"Okay, we're in the shuttle airlock.  Now what?" Mike radioed.

 

The doctor spoke next, but what they heard was the translation by Scooter.

 

"Now you wait in the airlock."

 

"Huh? Don’t we fill it with air and go into the shuttle?" Mike asked incredulously.

 

"You stay there until the shuttle returns to the planet."

 

"Without seats?  Or seat belts?  Or air?"

 

"Yes.  Your suits should have another three hours of air. Alex should get the shuttle landed in less than two hours.  That gives you plenty of extra time.  The suits are padded in case you get bounced around some."  It seemed strange to Mike, hearing the orders come so unemotionally from Scooter's high pitched voice, even though he knew he was translating what the doctor was telling him.  Then Scooter added something on his own. "You have handholds in the airlock, right?"

 

Mike said they did.

 

"And you have rope and clips.  You can tie yourselves in tightly so you don't get bounced around as much."

 

It was then that Mike realized how frightened he was, probably how frightened they all were.  He should have figured that out himself.  He was right there in the airlock and Scooter was down on the planet, but Scooter was seeing things better than any of the three of them did.

 

"Scooter?"  Douglas asked.

 

"Yes?"

 

"Why does the doctor want us to stay in here?"

 

Douglas could hear loud voices in the background.

 

"Wait a minute, Douglas…I'll be right back."

 

Then the radio went dead.

 

 

"You can't have them come back down here!" the governor screamed.  "I forbid it!"

 

"Just listen to what he has to say, Governor," Mayor Andorn said reasonably.

 

"The two who were only in the shuttle, maybe they can come back. But not the other three.  Not now!  Not ever!"

 

"Governor, listen to the doctor.  See what his plan is.  We can't just abandon them up there."

 

The Governor glared at Mayor Andorn.  "You won't be the Governor for another week, Mayor!  Until then I'm still the boss here.  And I won't risk the lives of everybody on this planet to save three round-ears.  They went up into that starship to save themselves and go back to their home.  Well, let them go!  But they're not coming back down here!"

 

"They will run out of air in less than three hours.  And we don't know if the air in the starship is breathable. And even if it is breathable, we don't know if they are immune to the plague or not. So, they can’t go back into the starship.  If they don't come back down, then they will die up there before the day is over!"

 

"And you know what, Mayor?"  The governor spat out mayor like it was a dirty word.  "I really don't give a damn if they live or die!  But I do give a damn for the people of my planet.  What will all those poor voters who elected you think when they find out you care more for three round-eared boys than you do for your own people!  Those three don't come back and that is final!"

 

The governor stomped out of the room, his face red with anger.

 

The doctor and the Mayor looked at Scooter.  Scoooter's face was white with fright, and they understood why.  One of the boys in the airlock was his lover.

 

 

Douglas, Travis, and Mike stood in the airlock wondering what was going to happen next. They had heard arguing on the radio before the radio was cut off.  Mike decided to radio Alex.

 

"I guess you can't let us in, captain," he said.

 

"I can if I want—like you just said, I am the captain,” Alex radioed back.  “What are they going to do, flap their wings and fly up here to stop me?  Shoot us down with a missile if we decide to land?  We have the power up here!"

 

"So, are you going to let us in then?" Mike asked with a chuckle.

 

"No."

 

"But you just said...."

 

"I know what I said.  I said they can't stop me from letting you in.  But before I do anything I want to know what their plan is"

 

"Well, we have less than two hours air left and it’s going down by the minute," Mike reminded him.

 

"I know.  Don't worry, I’m not going to let you suffocate in the airlock.  I'll let you in if I have to."

 

"But I'm hungry," Mike protested.

 

"And that's supposed to be news?" Alex asked with a chuckle.

 

For the first time in a while, Mike smiled, even though nobody could see it through the visor of his space suit.

 

"Douglas, you're the leader here.  I think you need to talk some sense into him," Mike protested.

 

"Alex is the captain of this ship.  That makes him the boss," Douglas says. "And I did make you the leader of our little group. I say that for now, we stay here and see what happens."

 

"Well, then I guess we should at least sit down," Travis said as he slid down to the floor.  Sitting wasn't easy to do in the heavy spacesuit, and sliding down the wall was about the only way to sit down.

 

When the three of them were sitting they started talking and thinking.  They figured that now they had two hours and forty-five minutes of air left.  Their margin of error was going getting thinner and thinner. They expressed the hope that whoever was making the decisions  on Inferno would decide in a hurry.

 

 

The mayor went looking for the governor, and after finding him finally got him to listen to what the doctor had to say.

 

"I'll listen, but I won't change my mind.  They are not coming back down here, even if it means all five of them die up there.  I won't risk this planet for five strangers,” Governor Rebosh stated again.

 

"Strangers??  They were heroes in defeating the Shkah,” Dr. Lokor stated sternly.  “They are parts of our families.  One of them is the Meshanna of my son! That not only makes him part of my family, it makes him a citizen of this planet!"

 

“Not as far as I am concerned.”

 

The normally calm doctor was furious. “Then maybe you should resign and let Governor-elect Andorn take over—having a week left to serve gives you no credibility.”

 

“And maybe you should remove yourself from these proceedings,” Governor Rebosh shouted.

 

“Gentlemen, gentlemen,” Mayor Andorn intoned quietly. “Let’s think rationally. You are behaving like Shkah.” He took a deep breath and went on. “The doctor is correct about one thing—no matter what your feelings are, Governor, Mattoo is a Hakaanen citizen.”

 

The governor looked at the doctor.  "If those boys are parts of families and heroes and citizens, then why do they want to leave?" he asked quietly.

 

 Nobody answered.  Finally, Mayor Andorn replied. "Let's worry about right now and figure if there is a way to get those boys down."

 

"There is," the doctor said, "and I'll tell you how.  However, it depends how much of the other shuttle is useable."  The doctor told them about his plan.

 

When he finished the governor cleared his throat, "The plague has obviously wiped out much of the population of our home planet.  If you are wrong, it will attack us out here. Our valley and our way of life would be destroyed.  How do we know you're right?"

 

"You don't.  But I believe I am.  I have learned things that weren't known twenty-five years ago.  Hakaan was not prepared for what happened to them.  I know how to prevent it."

 

"But can you cure it if you're wrong?"

 

There was another long silence. “Well, we might find out some important information from the round-ears—they can be our guinea pigs,” Rebosh smirked.

 

"If I'm wrong, we will know before we ever open that airlock," the doctor said.  "And what important information would that be?"

 

"Whether the round-ears are immune to the plague. I don't think I should do this, but in some ways I guess I don't have a choice.  I am going to allow your plan because I trust you as a friend and as a doctor.  And may the God Jeswa forgive us all if you are wrong, doctor."  He looked at Petras.  "Bring them down."

 

Scooter couldn't help but break out a huge smile.

 

 

The boys were elated when the news was radioed up to them.  They were prepared to leave on a moment's notice.

 

"Is everybody tied in?" Alex asked.

 

"Take us down," Mike replied.  "We have just over two hours of air left." Mike knew it would take Alex just under two hours to make a safe landing.

 

"Gotcha."

 

Alex released the clamps holding the "Survivor" to the "Paxton", gave the side retro rockets a little thrust, and let the starship slowly drift away. Then he fired the main rockets and headed back towards the desert planet that dominated his view screen.

 

This was the third time Alex had flown a shuttle into Inferno's atmosphere. He entered it smoothly. He had learned a great deal since his first shaky flight to the planet’s surface.

 

"You know, Stevie, I'm almost beginning to think I know what I'm doing,” Alex grinned.

 

"It's not you at all, Alex," Stevie giggled, "it's your expert copilot."

 

Alex went into deep concentration as he flew the shuttle deeper and deeper into the atmosphere. The spacecraft shuddered as it hit some turbulence.

 

"Hey," Mike radioed, "watch out for the bumps.  That was hard on the butt."

 

"Well, in your case it has plenty of cushion," Stevie radioed back.

 

"Speak for yourself, Stevie."

 

Alex ignored the banter and kept his mind totally on his task. They hit more turbulence and the shuttle shuddered harder.  He wondered if maybe this was more than regular turbulence.  The shuttle shook and bounced again.

 

"What's going on up there?" Mike demanded.

 

"I'll get back to you," Alex said.  "I think I need some help from the ground."

 

Alex radioed the control tower.  "We have a lot of turbulence all of a sudden."

 

"A sudden storm seems to have come up in that area," Roobine said.  "You know that Inferno can come up with them in a hurry and with no warning."

 

"Is it safe to land?" Alex asked.

 

"The worst parts hardly ever get down into the Big Valley since we can control the weather there,” Roobine told him. “You will be fine once you slip through the weather control force field.  It will get a little windy until then, but nothing too dangerous for an experienced pilot."

 

"Well, I'm not experienced," Alex protested.  "And I've only gotten the landing right half the time.  Last time it got tough I didn't quite land in one piece."

 

"Well, everybody walked away," Scooter reminded Alex.

 

Scooter’s comment caused Alex to smile and took away some of his nervousness. Neither of them mentioned the boy who broke his leg on the first landing and couldn’t walk away. Then the shuttle bounced hard from the turbulence and the butterflies returned to Alex’s stomach has he struggled with the controls.

 

"Don't you guys forecast the weather?" Alex asked.  He was getting irritated and the winds seemed to be getting stronger.  "I mean you used to land shuttles there all the time."

 

"We did,” Roobine replies. “But, the weather stations went down a long time ago.  We only know the weather we create in the Big Valley.  The rest of it usually surprises us now."

 

Alex wanted to say more but the shuttle took a sudden dip and he had to pull up hard to straighten the aircraft out.

 

"Hey, you're shaking up my bones!" Mike screamed into his microphone.

 

"Shut up and let me pilot!" Alex yelled back.

 

The shuttle bounced again, knocking the boys in the airlock around even though they were tied in.  The ropes weren't very tight and they could still be knocked around some.

 

Roobine had Alex come in over the north end of the valley, because it was the only way to land over the hills.  Roobine noticed the wind picking up outside.  That was strange, because it usually blew over the valley, kept out by the weather control field.  Only now it was blowing down through the valley, which meant the winds had to be extra strong above the plateau and was forcing itself through the field.  It took a very strong wind to do that.  Roobine was worried and told everyone in the room that this could be a rough landing for the shuttle.

 

"Then he can't land," the Governor said.

 

"We have no choice," Roobine said.  "He doesn't have enough fuel to fly around and do it again.  Plus the boys in the airlock don’t have enough air for a second attempt."

 

"But if he crashes, we could all be exposed to whatever caused the plague on Hakaan."

 

"That's why we have the three boys in a vacuum in the airlock," the doctor said, forgetting that a crash would break the seal of that vacuum.

 

Roobine quit listening to them and went back to instructing Alex.  "You need to keep the nose level," he told Alex.  "You will fly smoother."

 

"No, it needs to stay up," Alex replied.  "We've hit some wind shears."

 

"It's a standard thing with the shuttle, it flies best level when it's attacking a wind and landing.  You won't be shaking everybody up."

 

"Not with this wind.  When I lower the nose the shuttle shakes and drops. Hitting the ground nose first shakes people up."

 

"That is correct. Land with the nose up, but until then keep it lower,” Roobine insisted. The last thing he wanted was an argument from an inexperienced teen pilot with two landings to his credit.

 

The wind hit the shuttle hard, shaking it, bouncing the boys in the airlock around yet again.  Alex was able to hold the shuttle steadier by keeping the nose up higher, but the wind still rocked it.  He could see the big dark green hole that was the big valley in the distance.

 

"What's the wind like in the valley?" Alex asked.

 

"It's strong enough to penetrate the weather field.  You’re going to have a rough landing,” Roobine replied. “How's your fuel?  You might have to go back into space to wait for it to die down."

 

"Too late now.  Not much fuel.  We're burning it up fast." Alex wished he could communicate directly with Roobine. Talking through Scooter’s translations made communication too slow.

 

Roobine was wishing Alex would listen to him and follow his instructions. He would bounce around less if he kept the nose more level and raised it when he got over the end of the valley. Roobine had never actually landed in a strong wind.  Twenty-five years ago they had weather predictions and could avoid strong winds.  He was basing his instructions on his own flight training.

 

A gust hit the shuttle, pushing it down, and Alex fought for control.  "If we'd been level it would have pushed us toward the ground," Alex told Stevie.

 

"You're shaking the donkey up back here," Mike said.

 

"Shut up and bounce!" Alex yelled.  "Let me land this bastard!"

 

The "Survivor" was approaching the north end of the valley.  Alex kept his nose up, fighting the strong wind.  Another gust hit, sending him close to the hills.

 

"Keep it level, he says," Alex grumbled.  "That would've put us into the hills if we had."

 

Roobine watched the shuttle through his binoculars.  "Keep it level," he said to himself.  "Level out until you're halfway down the valley," he told Alex.  "The wind is going to hit you from everywhere now."

 

Mayor Andorn gave Scooter his binoculars.  Scooter could see the shuttle in the distance, but it was hard to hold the binoculars steady.  The "Survivor" was too far off and his hands were shaking too badly because he was so nervous.  He kept losing the shuttle and then trying to find it again through the glasses.

 

Alex saw that they were over the valley now.  The wind was blowing him up and down and side to side and he was having a hard time keeping it flying steady and straight.  He could see the runway at the other end of the valley.

 

Every Hakaanen who could was out watching the shuttle come in to land.  They were all talking about the wind. None of them could remember such a strong wind blowing though the valley. They could hear the engines of the "Survivor" strain as Alex worked hard to keep it steady.  He tilted his nose up higher for the landing.

 

Roobine watched Alex struggle.  Now get the nose up, he said to himself, just as Alex worked to raise it up higher.  The shuttle was close enough for Scooter to keep it in sight through his binoculars even with his shaky hands.  Then it got close enough that he could lower the glasses and look at it through the control tower window.  Come on, Alex, I know you can do it this time, he thought.

 

Scooter sent a mental message to his lover.  "I love you, Douglas".  Douglas heard it and felt it and sent it back.  Scooter smiled inside as he watched the shuttle struggle against the strong wind.

 

Alex lowered the landing gear as the wind blew him up and down and caused the shuttle to crab to the side as it descended.  The three boys in the airlock held on to keep themselves from bouncing around too much.

 

The shuttle flew over the end of the runway.  Alex knew he was close to touching the ground.

 

Way to go Alex, you're almost there, Roobine said to himself.

 

A gust hit the shuttle, pushing it down.  The back wheels hit the ground hard, and the shuttle bounced up, then landed hard again.  Travis was twisted and slammed against the wall. He screamed inside his helmet from pain.  After another bounce the wheels hugged the ground and Alex got the nose wheel down, then hit the reverse thrusters and slammed on the brakes.

 

Scooter watched as the shuttle raced past the control tower with its jets roaring.  Alex got it slowed down, turned and taxied to the hangar.  The other shuttle was now parked outside in front of the hangar.  Alex folded the wings and brought the "Survivor" up close to the second shuttle.  He aligned the airlock with the airlock on the other shuttle and taxied as close as he could.

 

A couple of workers had installed an airtight coupler on the airlock of the partially cannibalized shuttle.  They were working to hook it up to the airlock on the "Survivor".  Petras had been radioing instructions, but he was now directing things from the ground. When the airlocks were joined they started doing leakage tests.

 

Inside the airlock on the "Survivor", Mike, Douglas, and Travis boys were badly shaken. Travis was moaning with pain and holding his arm. 

 

Mike radioed him. "Are you okay, T?"

 

"It's my arm," he moaned.  "I think I broke it.  It hurts."

 

Mike radioed Alex giving him the news.  Alex radioed the tower and was told they could do nothing until the plan was completed.  He gave Mike and Travis the news. All Travis did was moan again.

 

"No leaks," the workers announced.

 

The air was pumped out of the second shuttle's airlock and out of the coupler.  They were lucky it still had the pump.  A lot of parts had long ago been salvaged for other uses.

 

"You guys have to hurry," Mike said.  "T is hurt and we only have fifteen minutes of air left."

 

"We're going as fast as we can," Petras said.  "Just be patient."

 

"Shit, I haven't been patient since we got locked up in this thing!" Mike yelled.

 

"Okay, you can open the outer door to the airlock," Petras told them.

 

Mike punched the numbers in, turned the handle and the hatch opened.  He went out the door and into the coupler. He turned the lever on the hatch.  The outer hatch to the other shuttle's airlock opened and they entered it.  It was time to listen to the doctor's instructions.

 

The doctor told Mike to pick up the device that was on the floor, which Mike did. It looked like it was some kind of a gun. The doctor had him close the sunscreen on his visor and instructed him to run the light coming from the gun across the entire coupler.  Then he had him take an array of lights and set it up in the airlock on the "Survivor".  Mike did everything he was told to do and returned to the airlock on the second shuttle.

 

The doctor told them to stand in the middle of the airlock.  All three boys did so.  There was an array of lights set up in there that were same as the ones Mike had set up in the "Survivor" airlock. 

 

Doctor Lokor explained that they were ultra-violet microbe killers.  After they received word of the plague on Hakaan, doctors tried to find a way to protect the people of Inferno, with little success.  Enghar's father and another doctor had been working on an array using a combination of ultra-violet and other light to kill microbes. The hard part was, they didn't know what caused the plague on Hakaan.  They had to find a combination that would destroy every known microbe without harming the Hakaanen host.

 

After many attempts they had come up with an array that seemed to work.  It was an array that would decontaminate shipments coming from Hakaan and prevent the plague from spreading to Inferno, but no other ships had ever come. Even with no ships coming, creating the anti-microbe array had been a priority, because there was always the hope that a ship would appear.  This would be the first real test of the array.

 

"This is all very interesting, Sir," Mike said, "but we're running out of air fast."

 

The doctor apologized and told them to close their sunscreens and their eyes. Douglas helped Travis lower his visor and told the doctor they were ready.

 

The entire airlock lit up, and even with their visors and their eyes closed they could tell it had become very bright.  The doctor was sitting in a seat on the second shuttle looking at a readout from his computer.  Any microbe the three boys might have brought into the airlock on the "Survivor" was being eradicated.  Ten minutes went by when the lights shut off automatically. The doctor's readout showed that both airlocks and the coupler were sterile.  The boys could now leave the airlock and enter the “Survivor”.

 

Because the air on the "Survivor" had never mixed with the air that was pumped out of the airlock, it didn't have to be sterilized.

 

Suddenly, the boys could hear the hiss of air coming into the airlock.  It was being pumped in from the second shuttle.  Even though it couldn't fly, the existence of the second shuttle allowed them to land on Inferno and had saved their lives.

 

Douglas and Mike started removing their space suits.  Dr. Lokor and Dr. Kallama, who had been helping him, helped Travis out of his suit. No matter how they removed it, he would feel some pain, but they finally got it off.  Then the doctor took Travis down the steps to the ground and to a waiting ambulance.

 

The other boys rushed up to welcome Travis, waited for Mike and Douglas come down the stairs.  Scooter rushed to Douglas as soon as he hit the ground. Douglas picked him up, kissed and hugged him, and they both started crying with happiness.

 

‘I was so worried, my love’, Scooter thought at him.

 

‘I love you,’ Douglas thought back. ‘Always and forever.’

 

The front hatch to the shuttle opened and Alex and Stevie exited. Mike waited for them to get to the ground and then he hugged Alex.

 

"Awesome landing job, captain," Mike said.

 

"It could have been smoother.  It looks like I left another broken bone."

 

"Only because he wasn't smart enough to stay in his seat.  You'd think Matthew would have taught him a thing or two," Mike laughed.  “At least he walked away.” Then he hugged Alex again.  "And I'm so sorry for the way I acted while you were landing. I didn't make your job any easier."

 

Alex gave Mike a quick kiss.  "You were locked in a box and scared.  I was scared.  It came out all right."  Then he flashed a grin at Mike.  "Just don't let it happen again."  They gave each other another hug and a longer kiss.

 

Mayor Andorn welcomed them back.  Bandar and Enghar joined them as well.  The whole group walked back to the terminal together. A meal had been brought in for them. They ate and shared their thoughts about the day until they finally broke up and headed for their own homes.

 

 

The next night there was a big party at Kallama's house.  All of the boys were there, along with Bandar, Enghar, Hajo, Prekan, and Mycroff and his new friend Gowlin.  Mayor Andorn and his Meshanna, Doctor Lokor, Roobine, Petras, Quan also attended, Even the soon to be ex-Governor was there for a while.

 

Bottles of Pahkah were opened for the adults.  There was also a drink called Shangra, which was a fruit alcohol drink that was not as strong as Pahkah.  It was a drink that was used to teach Hakaanen children how to drink alcohol. It was like the training wheels on a bicycle.  Some of the Earth boys quickly became fond of it.

 

Some of the boys drank Crysta, a nonalcoholic fruit drink. Travis wanted to drink, but he was on painkillers for his arm.  Alex and Stevie had never touched alcohol and weren’t about to start.  The twins were considered to be too young to consume an alcoholic drink, and they also drank Crysta. 

 

The rest of the boys found themselves getting quite drunk on Shangra.  It only took a couple of drinks to get their heads spinning, especially the smaller boys like Scooter and Matthew. The Hakaanen boys were used to drinking Shangra and it took longer for them to feel it.

 

Roobine went over to talk to Alex.  Scooter translated the best he could. He was feeling the drinks in him and it was hard for him to concentrate. It didn’t matter a great deal since Alex was able to follow most of what Roobine said.

 

"Great job of landing, Alex."

 

"I bounced too much.  The wind hit hard right before touchdown.  I caused my second broken bone."  He pointed to Travis, who had his arm in a sling and a cast.  "Landing with me is getting to be pretty dangerous," he laughed, but he didn't really think it was funny.

 

"Well, everybody walked away."  If Roobine had stopped there Alex would have been cool with him.  But he went on.  "You should have stayed more level coming in though.  And you had your nose too high when you landed.  If I was flying I would have tried keeping it smoother."

 

Alex swallowed hard while thinking of a response. He would have liked to have replied sarcastically, “Well, you weren’t flying!” He remained silent while his mind continued to think of what he’d like to say: “And if I’d had it level in those wind shears there would have been more than an arm broken.  You would have been picking up the pieces on some mountain top.  And if I had the nose lower during the landing the front landing gear could've hit first and I don't have to tell you what would have happened then.  I'm sure you can figure it out."

 

Instead of saying those harsh words, Alex replied softly, "Look, Roobine, I appreciate what you did to help.  But you always landed when the weather was perfect here.  I didn't always have that choice on Earth when I was flying small planes.  In other words I don’t think you had any experience landing in a windstorm, so I did the best I could following your instructions."  Alex walked away leaving him standing there. Scooter shrugged his shoulders.  Roobine rubbed his hair and smiled back, then went back to join the rest of the party.

 

Petras told them during the party that the landing gear was damaged by the hard landing.  They would have to use some parts from the old shuttle to repair it and it would take at least a week.

 

"Can the starship fly back to Hakaan?" Brandon asked.

 

"We won't know until we look at the stuff Mike downloaded from their computer," Quan said.  "We should find out in a couple of days."

 

Scooter walked away drinking some more Shangra.  He was getting too drunk to translate. Besides, he wanted to be with Douglas. Scooter found Douglas on a couch and sat next to him, cuddling close.

 

‘I'm so glad you're back and safe. I was so worried’, he told Douglas mind to mind.

 

‘I love you, Scooter.’ He pointed to his empty glass.  ‘I'm not having any more.  I think I'm a little drunk on this stuff.  Let's go upstairs and make love as soon as everybody leaves.’

 

They sat on the couch kissing and making out, loving that they could do it in the middle of a big party knowing that nobody cared if two boys made out with each other.  They certainly weren't the only boys who were horny and had hard-ons.

 

Soon the party started to break up.  Douglas gave Alex an extra tight squeeze, thanking him for once again landing them safely in tough conditions.  Alex thanked Douglas for being the one to lead them to this point.  They kissed each other deeply and with love, and Alex, Stevie, and Brandon helped a very drunk Mike out the door and to a carriage.

 

When everybody was gone Scooter led Douglas up to their bedroom, happy his lover was alive and safe.  There they made long, sweet, delicious love until the Shangra put them to sleep.

 

 

The sun was streaming through the bedroom curtains when Douglas heard the phone ring downstairs.  He looked at the clock.  It was almost noon.  He had a little headache, but didn't feel too badly.  He had heard Pahkah gave bad hangovers, but that Shangra hangovers were much milder.  Well, I didn't have that much to drink anyway, he thought, although he couldn't be totally sure since he had never been drunk before.

 

Then he heard Kallama call Scooter's name.  Douglas woke up the naked boy cuddled up close to him.

 

"W...w...what?"

 

God, he had been so loving last night, Douglas thought.  Sometimes I think I could just stay here on this planet and be with him forever and I'd be as happy as I could ever be.  But, it's not what I promised when I became leader.  I promised to get everybody home.

 

"Telephone, I think."

 

Scooter blinked his eyes sleepily.  "For me?"

 

"No, for your teddy bear, but since he was left behind in the 'Starkeeper' you're going to have to answer it."  He gave his lover a quick peck on his lips.

 

Scooter answered the phone.  It was Matthew, who, after Scooter, was the best speaker of Hakaanen.

 

"What's up, Matthew?"

 

"We got some bad news this morning, and I got picked to tell it to you."

 

Scooter felt his heart race, afraid that one of them had become hurt during the night.

 

"What is it?" he said, holding his breath.

 

Matthew told him.  Kallama, who already had been told what the news was, saw Scooter go white.

 

"T…thanks, Matthew.  I gotta tell Douglas."  He set the phone down and bolted up the stairs.

 

"Who was it?" Douglas asked.

 

"Matthew," Scooter said.

 

Douglas became worried when he saw the look on Scooter’s face. “Did something happen to him?"

 

 Scooter walked past the rays of the sunlight streaming through the gap between the two curtains and Douglas could clearly see the frightened look on his face.

 

"Scooter, what's wrong?"  Douglas jumped out of bed and grabbed hold of Scooter, hugging him close.  He could feel the fear emanating from him, and it filled up Douglas too.

 

"It's Robert Charles," Scooter whispered.

 

Douglas looked into Scooter's eyes, while he held him.

 

"What about Robert Charles?"

 

"He's gone.  He escaped from the prison last night."

 

NEXT CHAPTER 48- Robert Charles

 

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