Survivors

 

 Everyone in the Big Valley was talking about the morning’s events. The launch of the shuttle had not been announced, so virtually everybody was surprised when it flew over the valley, then lifted into space.

 

For many of the younger Hakaanen, this was the first time they had ever seen the shuttle fly, and for others it brought back memories of the days when the shuttles flew two or three days a week to meet a starship.  A lot of the older ones didn't miss the noise, because, even though the rockets had noise suppressers for landing and taking off, they were still quite loud.

 

Even though the shuttles were over the desert when they launched themselves into space, they had to fly over most of the valley and then over the surrounding mountains.  Some of them wondered why the airport for the shuttles hadn't been built up on the plateau.  But those thoughts were gone now with the excitement of watching the big shuttle take off and land.

 

That night Alex and Stevie played at the packed music club again. Just before intermission they called Travis up to sing.  The brothers had spent a great deal of time convincing Travis to join them for a song. He had a beautiful singing voice and fit right in with the group. The crowd danced and clapped and cheered and went crazy. The Hakaanen had never seen a group go so wild with music as the round-eared band.  Some of the Hakaanen who played in their own bands or played music were hoping to learn from the round-ears.

 

The next day the boys returned to school. They were becoming quite proficient at the Hakaanen language and their studies were branching out to math and other areas of study. After the school day ended, they met in the school’s cafeteria to do some talking and planning.

 

"We don't know if the starship will even be able to go back to Hakaan," Mike lamented.

 

"Gloomy again, Mike?" Alex asked.

 

"No, but it's true, we don't know."  Then he paused and grinned at Alex. "Okay, maybe I am a wee bit gloomy," he laughed.

 

"The question now is, do we think it's worth it for Alex and our crew to go back into space and explore the starship?" Douglas asked.

 

After some discussion, it was decided that Alex and Stevie would take the shuttle on at least one more flight. It was decided they should pilot the shuttle back to the starship as soon as possible and that Mike, Douglas, and Travis should make up the rest of the crew.  If they could talk Roobine into going with them then Scooter would go too.  If not, he would stay on the ground and translate over the radio. While the boys had become conversant in basic Hakaanen, they did not yet have the skills required for a technical conversation.

 

The next day Alex, Scooter, and Stevie talked with Roobine on the phone. Roobine said he meant it when he said he wouldn't go into space again, but he would be happy to be in the control tower to guide and instruct them over the radio.

 

Next, they went to see the Chief Engineer at the Building of Life.  He said that while he did not want to travel into space either, he felt he did owe them for saving the building, and he would also be willing to talk to them over the radio.  His name was Quan. He had once been the Chief Engineer on a starship.  But now, just a couple of years away from retirement, he felt too old to go into space.

 

Quan warned them that the starship probably wouldn't be able to return to Hakaan.  Without a crew it had been lucky to make the trip to the Fire Planet, and it probably had carried only enough fuel for a one-way trip.  He couldn't understand how they could set up a starship to fly automatically, but whoever did it was a genius. 

 

“If it worked so great,” Douglas asked, “why didn't they send more of them?”

 

Quan pondered the question for a moment. “The fact that they sent only the one could mean that Hakaan did not survive the plague,” he speculated.

 

“Isn’t there a way to carry fuel from Inferno up to the starship?” Alex wondered.  

 

“We have never had warp fuel on the planet,” Quan told them. “Starships always carried enough fuel for a roundtrip.”

 

After finishing their chat with Quan, the boys talked to Petras, who said he could have the shuttle ready to go within a week. The boys started making their plans for the second trip to the starship.

 

That night Alex and Stevie didn’t play at the club.  They wouldn't perform there again until after their second journey.  Alex wanted to be totally rested for this trip.

 

The boys did have enough energy for sex, however.  The nights were spent with the boys making love to their lovers, not to mention some of their other friends. An incredible bond had formed between the boys of the “Starkeeper”, and sex was only a part of it.

 

The third night after their talks with Roobine and Quan was an example of the sexual part of their bonding. Douglas and Scooter made their usual sweet love.  They both loved having their boyfriend make love to them.  That night Douglas was able to feel his lover moving inside of him and pouring his sweet boy seed deep into his bowels.  He kissed Scooter and turned his lover over, returning the favor as soon as he recovered, which didn’t take long. They never said a word, because all of their communicating was mind to mind. Their mental contact made their love all the more beautiful and unique.

 

For Travis and Ryan it was doing a sixty-nine outside under the stars, rolling in the grass until they squirted their teen cum into each other's mouths.  They ended up falling asleep cuddled in the grass, waking up when a light rain started falling on them.  As the rain started getting heavier, Travis mounted his lover and made love to him in the wet grass as the warm rain washed over them.  When they finished, they went inside, showered, and cuddled warmly in their soft bed.

 

Warren lay on his back for Jeremy, letting his big strong lover take him twice in a row, covering himself with cum three times during their love making. None of the times did he or Jeremy touch his penis.  The feelings that shot through him were indescribable—sensations beyond anything he had ever experienced before.

 

Enghar's love making to Matthew was harder and wilder than ever.  They were rubbing cocks, kissing, hugging, and rolling over each other.  Every day Enghar fought the fear of losing his lover, his Meshanna, the beautiful boy with the round ears and smooth back who meant more to him than anything or anybody in the galaxy.

 

He was determined to show his Meshanna the best lovemaking in the universe.  He wondered if Matthew knew how he was feeling, and if Matthew was feeling the same fears.  Going home seemed to be the main thing on the minds of the round-ears and Matthew seemed to feel the same way.  He never talked much about his family, but Enghar thought that Matthew must have loved them in the same way he loved his own family. If he was in Matthew's place and had a chance to go back to his own family, he probably would do it; but that didn’t make the idea of losing his Mattoo any easier to take.

 

The boys shot their sweet light immature boy cum at the same time, shooting it over each other, and not wanting to wipe it off.  Matthew cuddled up close to Enghar, happy with his beautiful sweet lover, not knowing how afraid Enghar was of losing him.

 

The twins, Logan and Ethan, were sleeping naked together almost every night. They would soon be back in with Honnig in Awanstor.  Then they would have to share the same bed and decided they might as well get used to it. Sleeping naked with brothers and cousins and just plain friends was the Hakaanen way. 

 

Logan was restless and couldn't sleep. "Ethan," he whispered.  "Ethan, are you awake?"

 

"Yeah," came the whispered answer.  "What's wrong?"

 

"I can't sleep."

 

"I'm sorry."

 

"I’ve got a boner."

 

Logan was horny. He knew why he couldn't sleep.  He wanted to touch Ethan in a sexual way.  It wasn't like they hadn't masturbated together, but this was different—he didn’t want to bring himself off, he wanted to bring Ethan off.  He reached between his legs and touched himself.  He was rock hard and his little cock was quivering.

 

"What do you want to do?"  Ethan was quickly getting hard himself.

 

"I just want to.  I dunno. I want to jerk you off like the big boys do it."

 

Ethan hesitated then said, "Okay, I guess it’s okay."  Ethan felt his breathing get faster and felt his small penis jolt into a full erection.

 

He rolled over and touched his twin brother’s hard cock. Logan moaned and shuddered from the touch. Sure, they’d touched each other’s genitals before, but this felt different.

 

Ethan pulled the blanket and sheet that was covering them back, exposing his brother’s naked body. He could see his twin's cocklet sticking straight out. Ethan put his arms around his brother and held him tightly to his body. It felt so good feeling his naked body touching him like that.

 

"I'm so scared and lonely," Logan said.  "I want to be home so bad.  I hope that ship works.  I miss mom and dad and Jason and everybody."

 

"Me, too," Ethan said.  Then for some reason he couldn't explain he kissed Logan on the lips.  Logan shivered.  He kissed his brother back. The ten-year-olds pressed closer together, their hard little dicks touching, their lips open, their tongues battling in each other’s mouth.

 

Neither boy had had sexual feelings this strong before.  Their only sex had been watching each other masturbate, and sometimes touching each other’s boners.  But this was different.  They'd never hugged and kissed like this before.  Never with this incredible passion. 

 

The ten-year-old twins grabbed each other and hugged tightly and kissed wetly and deep.  They humped their hard little cocks against each other, sending jolts of fire through them with each thrust. Their bodies shook and shivered and they gave out high pitched squeaks and moans as their groins filled with incredible feelings. Their cocks sent signals to their brains to hump harder, which they did, making them even feel better.  The brothers pressed hard against each other, humping and kissing and holding—their smooth bodies wet with sweat.

 

Ethan squealed and shook with an incredible dry orgasm, followed within seconds by Logan doing the same.  The boys almost drilled their hard young penises through each other as they came with the most intense orgasms of their young lives.

 

After their bodies quieted down, they remained cuddled.

 

"That was awesome," Logan whispered.

 

"Yeah. We’re going to have to do it again, like really soon."

 

Logan suddenly changed the subject and the mood. "I can't wait to go home.”

 

There was a long, quiet pause. "Me either,” Ethan finally sniffled.

 

"I love you, brother.” Logan kissed his brother on the lips. Their faces remained locked until they finally had to come up for air.

 

"I love you, too,” Ethan was finally able to get out.

 

Ethan felt wetness on him.  It was Logan's tears.  Then he dropped a few tears of his own on his twin brother’s chest and the naked little boys fell asleep, cuddling as if they never wanted to let each other go.

 

 

The next day the talk all over the big valley was about the shuttle taking off again.  People were planning on watching, including the kids at the school the Earth boys attended. The only thing that was needed was Petras announcing that the shuttle was ready to fly.

 

Just before lunch, Petras went to the school and talked to Douglas. “The day after tomorrow, the shuttle will be ready,” the technician told Douglas. Douglas nodded, fighting back tears.

 

Douglas met with his group in an empty classroom after they finished eating their lunch. "The day after tomorrow is going to tell our future,” he told them. “If the starship can't make it back to Hakaan, then Inferno becomes our home for life. If there is a chance for it to go, we will be able to see our moms and dads and friends and our homes again."  Douglas almost felt ready to cry saying it, and he heard some snuffling right after he finished.

 

When Douglas took over as leader back on the "Moonduster" his goal was to get everybody home.  He didn't know how, but it was what he promised.  When he thought he’d lost Matthew, that goal became even more important.  He was now even more determined to get everybody home alive.

 

Well, Jordan wasn't going to make it, except maybe for a lock of hair, and Robert Charles probably wouldn't either.  They would know the answer soon, because he and the Shkah were going to get their sentences that afternoon. The Earth boys were surprised that after the quickness of the trial, how long it had taken to pronounce the sentences.

 

They talked some more about heading home.  Douglas noticed that Stevie, Alex, and Ryan didn't say much during the discussion. Matthew wasn’t at the meeting since he was living in Awanstor. He wondered what they were thinking.

 

 

That afternoon they went to the courthouse.  They had heard the judge was ready to give Robert Charles and the Shkah men their sentences.  Now they had gathered to learn what was going to be handed down.

 

The Shkah boys had been caught, but were now in Vorkan’s uncle’s custody awaiting their trials.

 

Robert Charles and the four Shkah were lead in.  Court was one of the few places where everybody had to be dressed.  The judge wore a blue robe, but most people were dressed in loin cloths and shirts.  All of the Earth boys sat together, except Scooter, who was called up to translate.  Scooter couldn't wait until everyone learned Hakaanen better; he was getting tired of the translating gig.

 

"I have decided on your sentence," the judge said.  "The crimes you committed were the worst ever in the history of this planet.  None of you deserve to be a part of our society any longer."

 

Douglas looked at the five of them.  The Shkah men didn't have any emotion, but he could see that Robert Charles was white and shaking with fear.  He watched Robert Charles bury his face in his hands, obviously fighting back tears. 

 

For a brief moment Douglas felt sorry for his former shipmate.  Robert Charles had what it took to be somebody special, and now he was a nobody. Douglas remembered a line from an ancient book he had read, “A Wrinkle in Time”.  "Beware of pride and arrogance, for they may betray you."  That was exactly what had happened to Robert Charles.  His pride and arrogance had betrayed him, and now he had nothing left but tears.

 

"I sentence you all to exile for life in the Valley of the Bisham."  Scooter couldn't quite translate the word, but he received the thought of heat and loneliness.  "It has arable soil, water, and a working atmosphere station.  It was going to be a new colony until the epidemic hit Hakaan.  There is a small outpost there that is sometimes manned. Now it will serve a purpose.  We will send you food until you can grow it.  We will give you a radio for emergencies.  You are never to leave it and even if you did, the desert will kill you before you can get far.  You will be sent there next week.  Do any of you wish to say something?"

 

The courtroom was quiet, except for the sniffling of Robert Charles. Vordkan had pulled himself together and taken the same stoic pose as the two men. Nobody said anything.  They were led out.  Robert Charles hung his head and never looked at any of the boys sitting in the courtroom.

 

 

That night they met again, this time at Kallama’s house. Mayor Andorn brought Enghar, Matthew, and Bandar to Orkyl for the meeting. They talked again about the upcoming flight. Alex, Stevie, Mike, Travis, Scooter, and Douglas would spend the next day with Chief Engineer Roobine talking about what to look for on the starship.  The rest of the boys would spend the day in school.

 

As the meeting wound down, Scooter asked if he could bring something up.

 

"Go for it," Douglas said.

 

"We need to name the shuttle and the starship," he said.

 

"An excellent idea.  Any suggestions?"

 

"I have one for the starship," Scooter said.

 

"Okay.  Tell us."

 

"I think it should be named for someone who felt left out and isolated because we let him down.  He was lonely and bitter and afraid, but when it came time to show what kind of guts he had, he chose to save his family—us..  His last act was one of love and unselfishness."  It wasn't the first time Scooter had talked about the group as a family. It had a nice sound to it.  Family.

 

"Do you mean we should name it for Jordan?" Ryan asked.

 

"Yeah.  The 'Jordan Paxton'."

 

"His middle name was Martin," Matthew reminded them.

 

"Then it will be the 'Jordan M. Paxton'."

 

Everybody agreed it was a great name.  Bandar said he would get a bottle of Pahkah for Alex to take.  They could break it somewhere inside the starship to give it its new name. The Earth boys were amused to learn that the Hakaanen had the same ritual for christening a ship that they had.

 

"What about the shuttle, then?" Douglas asked.

 

"I don't know," Scooter replied.  "My thoughts were on the starship."

 

"What about the 'Starduster’?" Travis suggested.

 

"I think there is a starship with that name already," Warren said.  Warren loved studying and learning about starships.

 

"I have it," Logan said.  "What about, the 'Survivor'?"

 

"Where did you come up with that?" Jeremy asked.

 

“I dunno. It just seems to sound good.”

 

Douglas smiled at the young boy. "I like it.  What we did to get here was amazing.  We are all survivors.  Think about everything that has happened since Robert Charles pushed that button.  I mean we're all just a bunch of boys who had never been in space, but we ended up flying safely to a planet.  Then we survived everything the planet has to throw at us and found civilization. We ended up becoming accepted by the people who live here.  We survived!  So, the 'Survivor'." What do you guys think?"

 

It didn’t take much thinking though. They  quickly agreed on the name.  Tomorrow they would christen two different ships with new names.

 

 

The next day the shuttle was christened by Scooter and Douglas.  They got up on the steps and broke a bottle of Pahkah against the side and named it the "Survivor". After that they went to the terminal with Alex, Mike, Travis, and Stevie to meet with Roobine. The meeting was informative and productive. Roobine reminded them that he would be on the radio to help them deal with whatever problems they ran into.

 

After the meeting, Petras gave Mike, Douglas, and Travis instructions on how to wear and use a Hakaan space suit.  They figured there would no longer be a useable atmosphere on the dead starship and the suits would be needed.  The Hakaan spacesuit functioned much like the space suits on the "Moonduster".

 

After they finished their lessons they traded ideas until lunch arrived.  All of the boys, even the ones who wouldn’t be going into space on the “Survivor”, were nervous. The next morning they would be taking off on their second trip into space to the starship. Alex wanted to come back the same day.

 

They all ended up at Kallama’s big house, packing the place with boys. Kallama and Gorgio made sure there was plenty of food and plenty of fruit juice to drink.  The Earth boys, along with Enghar, Bandar, Hajo, Mycroff, and a twelve-year-old Hakaan boy from Mycroff’s class named Gowlin, played games, listened to music, and sang and danced.

 

Enghar noticed Mycroff was looking at Gowlin in interesting ways.  They had always been friends, but Gowlin was a quiet boy, and often had a hard time getting a word in around the talkative Mycroff.  Enghar saw that now Mycroff was actually being quiet and listening to Gowlin.  He smiled.  Maybe Mycroff was going to learn that he has to be quiet and listen if he really wanted to make and keep friends.

 

That night they ended up sleeping in the room Douglas and Scooter shared, when they  lived with Kallama, the guest room, and in the family room. With a house full of thirteen Earth boys and five Hakaan boys a miracle happened.  There were good night kisses, but no sex.  They went to bed early because they all had to be up early for the launch of the "Survivor".

 

 

The "Survivor" sat at the end of the runway after Alex taxied it there from the hangar.  Alex and Stevie went through the checklist.  Alex was also talking with Scooter in the tower, who was doing the translating between him and Roobine.  Alex looked over at Stevie.  Stevie told them they were ready.  Alex pushed the throttle forward on the throttle and the "Survivor" lurched forward, raced down the runway, and lifted into the air.  All around Orkyl people cheered the take off.  The shuttle flew up over the valley, over the south hills, and then Alex maneuvered the “Survivor” so that it was vertical to the mesa below them and launched it into space. 

 

The G-forces pulled everybody back into their seats as the shuttle rose up and left the atmosphere.  For Douglas and Travis, the thrill of being back in space again was more than they imagined.  Mike had gone up with Alex on the first trip, but that didn’t stop him from being excited this time.

 

Alex once again piloted the shuttle up to the starship.  Roobine reminded Alex what the docking procedures were as Scooter translated.  The docking was a bit rough, shaking up the shuttle, but nothing was damaged.  Mike and Douglas locked the airlocks together.  Now it was time for Mike, Douglas, and Travis to enter the starship.

 

First they opened the airlock door on the shuttle.  Then Douglas took the bottle of Pahkah they brought and broke it against the closed airlock door of the starship. Because of the zero gravity in the airlock, the bottle was wrapped in a clear plastic bag to keep the liquid from drifting around the lock,

 

"I christen you the 'Jordan M. Paxton'!" Douglas broadcast.

 

They all cheered.  Then Mike, Douglas, and Travis put on their spacesuits.  It was time to board the starship.

 

Douglas had put Mike in charge of exploring the starship.  Mike was talking to Roobine as they closed the airlock door to the shuttle.  They were now standing between the airlock doors.  Roobine reminded them how to open the airlock door to the "Paxton."  Mike pulled the twin levers and the door opened.  They went into the dark starship, flashlights in their hands, along with a lights shining from their helmets.

 

They were surprised that there was still atmosphere and gravity.  They took some samples of the air and went to the main corridor Roobine had shown them on his diagram of the standard layout of a Hakaanen starship, so they had a pretty good idea of where things were.  They wondered how this huge ship was sent across space on automatic pilot.  They remembered how much needed to be done on the "Starkeeper" and what a large crew it had not counting the crew members who just served the passengers.

 

The halls were dark.  Even emergency lighting wasn't working. They were heading for the bridge.  They needed to find out how much power there was, how much fuel was left, and whether certain things worked that were needed. The fact that there was air and gravity told them that something had been working for twenty-five years. They found it strange, however, that there was no electricity.

 

They worked their way forward.  Since the elevators weren't working they had to climb up the emergency ladders.  They finally made their way to the bridge. Roobine helped guide them, as did his map.   He remembered the layout of the ship even after all these years. 

 

When the boys got to the bridge it was completely dark like the rest of the ship.  Roobine had them hit some switches, and to their surprise the bridge started lighting up and the instruments started showing readouts. The dials and lights were obscured by layers of dust. 

 

Roobine had the boys read some of the meters and readouts.  They plugged a device into the ship's computer, which radioed data back to Inferno.  Roobine had them flick some more switches. Finally Roobine said he had all the information he needed.  Now he had to study it and see if the ship could make the trip back.

 

The boys started back to the shuttle.  They were surprised to see the lights were now on in the corridors.  They turned off their own flashlights.  They decided not check if the elevator was working and headed for a ladder.  They went down a different corridor, one that had crew cabins.  Douglas thought of how weird it was that this monster was able to go through space on its own, that all of those cabins had been empty.  If this starship could run on automatic pilot, why didn't the Hakaanen send more of them to Inferno to supply their colony?

 

They noticed an open door at one of the cabins.  Out of curiosity they went in.  What they saw stunned them when they saw what was on the bed in the cabin.

 

Douglas went across the hall and opened another cabin door.  He found the same thing there.  Two of them in fact.  He told Mike what he saw.

 

"Inferno and ‘Survivor’.  We have a weird situation here," Mike radioed.

 

"What is it?" came the voice of Roobine. They knew more than enough Hakaanen to understand his question.

 

"We just found three skeletons.  And that's just in two cabins—there may be more. I don't think this ship flew here on any autopilot.  It was flown here by a crew and that crew is dead.  They stayed up here in space and died. That’s why they kept an atmosphere on the ship.”

 

A question that went through everybody’s mind on Inferno, on the "Survivor", and on the "Paxton" was. Why the big secret?  Why did the crewmen just stay here in orbit and die?  And the answer that went through everybody's mind was too frightening to think about.

 

NEXT CHAPTER 47 Plague

 

Comments are welcomed.  E-mail me, Douglas DD, at TheHakaanen@Hotmail.com