Survivors

 

 

 

The day after the Joining Ceremony and festival everybody rested.  The Joiners and spectators alike were exhausted, mentally, physically, and sexually.

 

Matthew and Enghar returned to Enghar’s home in Awanstor. That night, for the first time, they slept together as Meshannas. And while they cuddled lovingly together, there was no sex between them—they were both too exhausted. The sex would come the next night.

 

After breakfast Enghar asked Matthew to take a walk with him. They ended up walking to Mycroff's house. Mycroff answered the door.  He almost shut it on them, but decided to see what Enghar wanted.  He couldn't understand what Enghar saw in the smooth backed, round-eared boy he chose to be his Meshanna, but he still loved Enghar, so he let them in to find out what they had to say.

 

They went up to Mycroff’s room.  Mycroff sat in his desk chair and Enghar and Matthew sat on his bed.  Mycroff was naked, but Enghar and Matthew were wearing shorts and shirts. Enghar did the talking. Matthew understood Hakaanen well enough to follow most of it, and Enghar helped him when he needed something explained.

 

"Mycroff, I know you're really disappointed about me making Mattoo my Meshanna."

 

Mycroff lowered his head.  "Yeah," he said quietly.

 

"I love you, Mycroff.  I always will.  But Mattoo and I made a connection.  I knew we had something special between us the moment I met him. You know about Meshannas, and how it is with them, how when you find him you just know it."

 

"I know that.  It's how I felt about you.  I wanted you, and you know I wanted you."

 

"Why?"

 

"Huh?  What do you mean?"

 

"Why did you want me?"

 

"Because I liked you a lot when I first talked to you."

 

"Let me tell you this Mycroff.  That wouldn't pass the interview.  It wouldn't be enough.  I learned you gotta really get inside somebody, and you and I never did that. I know things happened fast between me and Mattoo, but we just kept connecting. With you and me, it was becoming friends, but not something more."  Enghar got off the bed and walked over to Mycroff.  He stood him up off the chair and hugged him. He could have told Mycroff that even though he had become his friend, Mycroff did things that annoyed him, and Meshannas didn’t annoy each other. But what he did tell Mycroff was the truth. "I love you, Mycroff."

 

Mycroff's hug was stiff at first, then he hugged Enghar tightly and started to cry.  "I...I....I wanted you to be my Meshanna so bad.  I thought you were it. I don't know where to start now.  But I still love you, Enghar, and I want to be your friend."  He looked over at Matthew.  "And Mattoo's,” he sniffed.  Mycroff sat next to Matthew on the bed and hugged him. He was surprised how natural that act felt even though the lack of a flowing mane seemed a little unnatural.

 

"My Meshanna is out there," Mycroff said.  "I will find him."  Deep in his heart, though, he still wished it was Enghar.

 

That night Enghar and Matthew had their first sex as Meshannas. It was sex that was private, naked, and in their own bed. It was Enghar making love to Matthew and Matthew making love to Enghar. It was both young boys having two powerful orgasms apiece that shook them body and soul.  And most importantly, it was two young boys of two different species lying wrapped up in each other as they came down from their sexual high, knowing without a doubt that their love was eternal—that they were meant to be Meshannas.

 

After the Ceremony of Life, the boys’ life settled into a routine. Enghar and Matthew returned to Awanstor to live with Enghar’s parents. Matthew was enrolled as a student at Awanstor School. He knew the language well enough to attend regular classes, with Enghar acting as his tutor.

 

After numerous meetings, the rest of the Hakaanen adults decided that for now the boys would remain in Orkyl. Scooter and Douglas remained with Kallama and Gorgio. Mike and Alex continued living with Shopara, the owner of the restaurant that had hosted some of the boys for a delicious meal. Warren and Jeremy, the twins, and Travis and Ryan stayed in the same households, while the rest of the boys were moved to new, permanent homes.

 

Douglas and Scooter spent their weekends in Awanstor at Mayor Andorn’s house so they could be with Bandar and Hajo. Travis and Ryan also went to Awanstor, staying over with Laryar. The two Earth boys were becoming friends with him and Perryska. 

 

Douglas and Alex had met with Mayor Andorn and explained that they wanted to look over the shuttles. The mayor told them he would look into getting them access to the hangars, but it probably would take a while to make it happen. For a number of reasons, it took him two months to arrange their excursion. For one, he was busy campaigning for governor. He also wanted to give the boys a chance to settle into a routine—something they hadn’t enjoyed since the day they’d been ejected from their starship. And, even with his status in the government of the valley, he had to wade through the bureaucracy, which could be just as stifling among the Hakaanen as it was for Earthlings.

 

Douglas and Scooter soon learned to enjoy sex Hakaanen style with Bandar, Hajo, and Prekar. In fact all of the older Earth boys had Hakaanen friends they were intimate with.  The only boys who had not had sex were the twins, but it wasn’t for lack of trying by some of the younger Hakaanen boys or the lack of encouragement from the twins’ Earth friends. One thing that was moving the twins in the right direction, however, was that they had become intimate with each other and enjoyed sexual contact almost every night. They were moving in the right direction, but still had to overcome their innate shyness.

 

The day to tour the hangars had finally arrived. Bandar and Hajo led Douglas's group to the airfield.  They walked to the two large hangars at the south end of the field.  Scooter, Mike, Alex, Stevie, Travis, and Brandon were with Douglas. Ryan had stayed behind to be with the twins while Warren and Jeremy wanted to spend the day with their hosts. 

 

Their hosts had an eleven-year-old boy named Yordier. The two Earth boys and the young Hakaanen had become close friends. That friendship included sex with the boy and his friends, but it was not the main reason they were friends. Simply put, they liked one another. Bandar and Hajo were going to get them into some of their sex groups.

 

The door to the hangar was unlocked, just like all the doors in the valley were.  Bandar and Douglas pulled it open, turned on the lights, catching their breath at what they saw.

 

The aircraft in the hangar was almost the same size as the "Moonduster" and the "Sundancer", but was a bit narrower and a bit shorter.  Its wings folded inward, like those on the shuttle, which kept the hangar from being too crowded.  Even though it hadn't been used for twenty-five years, the boys could see it was being cared for. The metal was shiny and polished and the hangar was spotlessly clean.

 

"Who takes care of it?" Scooter asked.

 

"The same workers who did it when it actually flew," Bandar said.  " I always thought they were just sitting in the hangar covered with dust and cobwebs,  but the workers have made taking care of the shuttle their hobby. Everybody keeps hoping some time we will have the chance to return to space.  They hope a ship will come once again from our home planet."

 

"And the other hangar has a shuttle in it, too?" Douglas asked.

 

"Yes, but it's missing a lot of parts," Bandar told him.  "We need parts for our other machines and electronics.  It's a source for them. Some of them have to be retooled, but we make it all work.  I think they're going to have to use this one for parts soon.  Everything is wearing out."

 

“It’s called cannibalization,” Stevie told them.

 

Alex was already climbing up the stairs that led to the hatch behind the cockpit.  He went inside the open door and looked around the inside of the shuttle.  Although the air smelled stale, the inside was clean.  To his right was a long row of seats and to his left was the door leading into the cockpit.  He opened the cockpit door and went inside.  The other boys started coming up the stairs and into the shuttle.

 

"This is cool," Scooter said.  "It looks in perfect shape, but will it fly?"

 

Stevie joined Alex in the cockpit.  The rest of the boys walked along the rows of seats.  Each row had four seats, two on each side of the aisle.

 

"Well?" Douglas said, repeating Scooter's question.  "Will it fly?"

 

"I don't know," Bandar said.  "It hasn't been out of this hangar in twenty-five years.  That's longer then I've been around," the fourteen-year-old boy said.

 

"Why didn't they ever fly back to the starship?" Brandon asked. “I mean it’s been up there in orbit the whole time.”

 

"I guess from what I heard the starship had fuel to just go one way, from Hakaan to here.  And besides, only one person knows anything about flying a starship.  The Chief Engineer of the Building of Life worked on Engineering on a starship, but decided to stay on Inferno after a trip.  And it takes a lot of people to fly a starship."

 

"Yeah, but they flew that one here with nobody on it at all.  It came all the way from Hakaan and got into orbit, all automatically.  So one person should be able to go back on it.  I wonder if the program can be reversed, so it could fly back to Hakaan.  As long as there is fuel, you just use reverse coordinates."  Stevie was doing the thinking now.  He had just come out from the cockpit.  "We should be able to do it easily."

 

"Two things," Alex said.  "First, is there enough fuel, or did they really fuel it for just a one way trip?  And second, do we really want to do it?"

 

 

Later that day some of the boys were hanging around together at Kallama’s house, which was becoming a favorite gathering place.  They were trying to figure out what the date was.

 

"Sometime in June from what I can figure," Travis said. "It's hard to say."

 

"No it's not," Stevie argued.  "I think the laser guns have an ongoing date readout inside of their works.  Let's take a look."

 

The boys went up to the room Douglas and Scooter used and pulled a laser gun out of its storage box.  Stevie took a cover off, then unscrewed another cover.  He could see an LED readout.  He squinted to look at the date on the readout.  It was June tenth.  He told the group what the date was.

 

"Guess what guys," Stevie said with a bit of a wistful look on his face. "My birthday was the sixth. That means I’m fourteen now.

 

"No shit?" Ryan said.  "So was mine. I’m fifteen."  Ryan could feel tears starting up. The idea that he missed his birthday was making him incredibly homesick. Stevie could feel the same emotions inside of himself.

 

"Happy Birthday guys," Douglas said.  How many more birthdays would be forgotten? he thought to himself.  Maybe not as many as had been, now that they knew how to track the date.  Stevie always seemed to have a way of coming up with some electronic answer to a problem. It was too bad they hadn’t come up with the idea earlier.

 

They soon learned that the twins were ten, Alex was sixteen, and Warren was fourteen.

 

Ryan and Stevie, the birthday boys, didn't have to worry about being forgotten that night.  They each had sex with their boyfriend and fell asleep exhausted but fully satisfied.

 

 

 The next day the trial of Robert Charles and the Shkah men began. The local police were still searching for the two Shkah boys who had escaped capture the day of putting down the Shkah attack. Lots had been drawn to determine that Robert Charles would be tried first. It was biggest news in the valley since the Hakaanen first colonized the valley.  The courtroom was full.  The Earth boys were excused from school for the duration of RC’s trial.

 

On the first day a jury was picked.  In Hakaanen culture, if someone had a Meshanna they had the full right of citizenship. They could vote as well as serve on juries, no matter what their age. They might not have jobs and careers until they were out of school, but that was because jobs needed an education.  Some Hakaanen became full citizens when they were twelve, and others not until they were older, like the two eighteen-year old girls at The Joining.  Enghar's mother didn't find her Meshanna until she was 24, a lady she met at a new job. Enghar was already a year old at her Joining.

 

The jury had eleven members.  A Hakaanen jury only needed a majority vote, not a unanimous vote.  The jury had seven males and four females.  The males were all in their twenties except for a boy named Gregonni, who was thirteen, and a boy named Nordio, who was fourteen  The females were fourteen, seventeen, thirty-eight, and fifty. 

 

Douglas couldn't believe "young ones'" were being trusted to be on a jury, especially when he thought of the governor's attitude towards young people. Ironically, a large number of young people between twelve and sixteen had the right of full citizenship, even though their parents remained their legal guardians until they turned sixteen.

 

Robert Charles made it a point to ignore the presence of his former shipmates. He emanated an air of arrogance that said, “You got me now, but I’m not done with you yet.” But it was an arrogance he didn’t feel—deep down the fifteen-year-old was a frightened little boy.

 

After court was adjourned for the day, the Earth boys met in the community room of the courthouse.

 

"Sure is different from an Earth trial.  At least the ones on the vids," Jeremy observed.

 

"I like it," Scooter said.  "I like seeing kids on the jury."

 

"Tomorrow Matthew meets with a judge," Douglas reminded them.

 

“Yep. He gets to find out if he will be the first Earthling to become a Hakaanen citizen,” Travis mused.

 

"Enghar is his Meshanna,” Scooter told them, “but he isn't Hakaanen.  So, Doctor Lokor, Enghar's dad, is wondering if he has the right to vote in the upcoming election and has asked for a judge’s ruling.  It could be interesting."

 

Alex told them that sometime after the trial was over he, Mike, Douglas, and Scooter were going to visit the guy who took care of the shuttle .  They would report on what they found when they returned.

 

After that, they all went back to the homes where they were staying. 

 

 

 After the lunch break of Robert Charles’s trial, Matthew, Enghar, and Doctor Lokor went to a downstairs courtroom to meet with Judge Orsen. Enghar was able to vote, because he now had a Meshanna, but the question was whether Matthew could. Because the Hakaanen never had contact with alien beings, they’d never had to face this question. 

 

Nobody was surprised that Governor Rebosh was opposed to Matthew being given citizenship. A lawyer from the Valley State Government represented the Governor.

 

After listening to the arguments from both sides, the judge took only a few minutes to make his ruling. He ruled that the only requirement for voting and the rights of citizenship was one must have experienced the Joining with their Meshanna.  Because Matthew met this requirement, he was entitled to the full rights of citizenship, including the right to vote.

 

The trial was over before lunch of the third day.  The judge told the jury that it was time to decide on whether Robert Charles was guilty or innocent of inciting rebellion, assault, attempted murder, and murder. The eleven jurors retired to the jury room. Each juror had five minutes to say how they felt, although no one was required to speak.  The deliberation was short and the ballots were cast. Robert Charles was found guilty by a unanimous vote.

 

When the judge read the verdict Robert Charles didn't flinch or say anything.  The judge said he would pronounce his sentence after the trial of the two Shkah raiders was over.

 

The boys left the courtroom thinking about how far downhill Robert Charles had slipped.  On the "Starkeeper" he had everything. He had a lot of what it took to be a good leader, but pride and arrogance had brought him down.  Now he had nothing. 

 

Robert Charles knew was he wasn't going to die, since the Hakaanen didn't have the death penalty.  He also knew that his life was ruined. He was never going to have the power and leadership he had so desired.

 

Matthew, for one, didn't care what happened to Robert Charles.  He remembered the forced sex on the "Starkeeper".  He remembered the tent pole being yanked out in the wind storm.  He remembered the fears Logan had to battle after RC threatened him with a knife.  As far as Matthew was concerned, whatever RC got, he deserved.

 

 

A couple of days after the trial ended, Douglas, Scooter, Mike, and Alex went to the airfield after school and entered the big hangar.  A man was waiting for them inside.  He introduced himself to the boys, telling them his name was Petras.  Douglas thought he was probably in his late thirties or early forties, but it was hard to tell with the Hakaanen because they often looked younger than they actually were.  Douglas knew that he was the manager of the airfield as well as the caretaker of the shuttles.

 

Petras took the boys up the stairs and on board the shuttle.  He told them how he kept the shuttle in perfect flying condition, but that it hadn't been out of the hangar in twenty-five years.

 

"Is there enough fuel for it?" Alex asked.

 

"Yes. There is enough for probably in an underground tank for ten trips into space and back."

 

"Why hasn't anybody flown it in all of these years?"

 

"No reason to.  What is there to fly up to?  The two moons?"

 

"The starship," Mike pointed out.

 

"No reason to do that either.  We got a broadcast from the starship—an automatic signal.  It reported the epidemic on Hakaan.  It said no other ships would come until a cure was found, and we should never try boarding the ship or we could get the disease and spread it on our own planet.  So we never have gone to it."

 

"Not even to fly up and look at it from the outside?"

 

"No."  Petras thought a bit and then said, "You should have seen this place twenty-five years ago.  A freighter would come from Hakaan and land its shuttles for two or three straight days bringing in freight.  Sometimes two would arrive at almost the same time, and there would be constant landings and takeoffs. 

 

“When a passenger starship arrived we would use the ship’s shuttles as well as our four shuttles to bring new colonists down to the Valley, plus some visitors and even tourists.  Sometimes we would get a couple hundred new colonists.  New farms would be started. The freighters would carry food back to Hakaan.  We were starting our own industries.  We even had plans to start a new colony in a valley across the great desert. 

 

“Now that's all over,” Petras went on. “Now, we just survive and use the parts of machines we don't need to fix the machines we do need.  Life is going backwards."

 

Everybody stood looking out of the windows after Petras finished his speech. Alex thought about the fact that there had been four shuttles belonging to the Big Valley, which meant that two of them had been totally cannibalized.  Finally Alex said quietly but firmly, "It looks like somebody needs to go back to Hakaan then."

 

"How?  The starship is out of fuel and nobody knows how to pilot it."

 

"Somebody here must know something about flying the shuttle and the starship."

 

“Well," Petras said, "Roobine used to fly this shuttle.  He owns a supply store in the west valley now.  And Quan, the Chief Engineer of the Building of Life, was a Chief Engineer on a star freighter.  He decided he wanted to settle down and live on our growing and thriving planet instead of traveling through space.  He knows starships, but I don't think he could fly one.  But he would know how to get the orbiting starship started if it had fuel.”

 

Alex got Petras to agree to arrange a meeting with Roobine and Quan soon. “I want to learn how to operate that big sucker,” Alex said dreamily.

 

"So, you plan to fly this shuttle back into space and board the starship. You boys are serious, aren't you?”

 

"Hell yes, we are," Alex said.

 

"But what do you have planned once you get into space?"

 

This time it was Douglas's turn to answer.  "I guess we'll find out when we get up there."

 

 

All of the boys met at Kallama's house that night.  Enghar and Bandar were also there. Douglas told them this may be their only chance to go home.

 

“We need to find out for ourselves if that starship is operational rather than just take somebody’s word for it. They’ve never actually boarded the ship, so they really don’t know what the fuel situation is.”

 

The boys continued to exchange ideas about the shuttle and the starship. They talked about who would be doing what, even though they didn’t really know when the shuttle would fly, if ever.

 

Finally, Douglas asked the question that was in the minds of each one of them. “Before we do anything, we have to decide if we really want to do this.”

 

“I guess we take a vote,” ever practical Mike said.

 

Which is what they did. The boys took a vote about whether to continue with the quest or to acknowledge that Inferno was going to be their home for the rest of their lives. The vote ended up being unanimous to continue. 

 

Enghar felt a sudden sadness when Matthew's hand went up with the yes voters. His Meshanna was thinking of home. He couldn’t help but wonder if he had made a mistake in picking his Meshanna.  He tried to shake that thought out of his head. After all it was impossible to make a mistake picking a Meshanna; he'd been taught that his whole life, but nobody had ever thought about an alien becoming a Meshanna.  Maybe in that case it was possible to make a mistake.

 

It was decided that Alex would be in charge of the project, and that they would start the next day.

 

 

The next day, Alex, Stevie, Mike, Douglas, Scooter, and Brandon went to the hangar where they met with Petras. 

 

“My, you boys are not only serious, but eager as well,” Petras laughed. “Giving me a phone call would have saved you a lot of effort. I was going to contact Dooglass after school would be out.” He gave the boys a big grin. “Of course I assumed you would be in school.”

 

Douglas apologized for the group. “We are pretty eager to get started. We want to see if everything works.”

 

“And if it doesn’t?” Petras asked.

 

“Then I guess we become Hakaanen through and through.”

 

“What I was going to tell you is that Roobine said he would meet with you the next time he had a day off on the same day school was off.”

 

“And when would that be?” Scooter asked.

 

“In two weeks.” Petras could read the disappointment on the faces of the boys. “That will give you some time to slow yourselves down and prepare to accomplish things slowly and properly. It is the only way of thinking that works as far as space travel is concerned.”

 

“Now, you boys all go back to school tomorrow. Call me in ten days and we will set up a meeting time.”

 

That night Enghar finally worked up the courage to talk to Matthew about his vote. “Do you really want to leave here, Mattoo?” he asked as the two boys lay together in bed after enjoying a round of oral sex together.

 

“I am from Earth,” Matthew answered quietly. “My best friends are from Earth. It is my home.”

 

“But your Meshanna is from here,” Enghar said plaintively.

 

“I know.” Matthew’s voice was barely audible. “I love you,” he croaked.

 

“But you still wish to leave.” Enghar’s tone was somewhat accusatory.

 

“You knew I could end up leaving.”

 

“But I thought it would happen because you got found by your people, not because you decided to go. I never thought it could happen.”

 

“I didn’t either,” Matthew confessed. He wrapped himself around the naked body of his lover and Meshanna. “I want to go home, but…but…” Matthew started fighting back sobs.

 

“But what?” Enghar asked.

 

“But, I don’t want to leave you.” That opened up the flood gates and his tears flowed down his cheeks and onto Enghar’s bare chest. Enghar held the shaking Earth boy and stroked his smooth, bare back.

 

 

Alex contacted Petras on the agreed upon day. Scooter was on an extension ready to translate if need be. Petras told them that Roobine would be at the hangar at eleven in the morning on their open day.

 

“Roobine and I will provide lunch. After all, we have found out that food is what fuels teenage Earth boys as much as it does Hakaanen boys,” Petras chuckled. “It is hard to conduct business over the noise of rumbling stomachs.”

 

Alex, Douglas, Stevie, Scooter, Mike, and Brandon, the same boys as before, rode bicycles to the airfield. It seemed like every day their hosts were presenting them with items they needed to live the lives of ordinary Hakaanen boys.

 

Petras greeted them at the hangar door and told them Roobine would arrive soon. The boys climbed up into the shuttle.  Alex sat in the pilot's seat and looked at the instrument panel.  He felt excited, he was ready to fly again, ready to take his friends back home.

 

They heard somebody enter the shuttle.  It was a man who looked around fifty. He introduced himself as Roobine. He told them he used to be a shuttle pilot, with a heavy emphasis on the words “used to be.” Petras had told the boys Roobine would answer questions and help, but that he didn't want to fly any more.

 

Right away Alex started hitting him up with questions about the shuttle’s controls and operation. Alex, Stevie, and Scooter sat in the cockpit learning about the instruments and about the shuttle.  Alex posted English notes on the instrument panel since everything was in Hakaanen letters and numerals.  He took exhaustive notes.  They stopped for lunch and then continued the intense session.

 

When they were finished, Alex asked Roobine, "Do you want to fly it?"  He wanted to hear the answer from Roobine himself.

 

"No.  I'm too old and slow now."

 

"But you have the experience.  You have flown this and you know how it behaves."  Alex wanted to fly, but even more he wanted to be sure everybody got into space safely.  He remembered his landing, which was a lot like landing an airplane, if it was done correctly.  But a shuttle took off much differently than an airplane. The one time he’d been on a shuttle that took off from the ground he had been just another passenger.

 

"No.  It's been twenty-five years.  And I don't want to go back into space." Roobine looked directly at Alex. “I have heard the story of how you flew your space shuttle to the Fire Planet and landed it here. That was an amazing job of flying from one so inexperienced. And now I am impressed by the intelligence of your questions and your knowledge of flight. You don’t need me along.”

 

"You could at least ride with us the first time we fly.  Sit in the cockpit and help us."

 

Roobine shook his head no.  He had promised himself he would never return to space. He no longer had a reason to assume the risks. "I cannot do it.  I am very sorry."

 

"Please," Alex pleaded.  "We need to take a test trip into space before we try to dock on the starship.  Just go with us on the first trip.  I won't ask again, I promise."

 

Roobine looked at Alex and the other boys.  He knew what the round ears had done for the Big Valley. They were heroes, not only because they defeated the Shkah, but because they had somehow survived their ordeal in the desert—both landing their spacecraft and trekking into the mountains. He sensed how badly they wanted to get back home to their own kind. He also knew that stubborn promises were made to be broken.  He took a deep breath.

 

"Okay, but just the first trip.  But I won't fly it."

 

"Yessssssss," Alex said.  "Thank you.  Thank you very much!  When do we go?"

 

“Roobine and I must do a thorough test of the shuttle to make sure it is flyable, That will take time because of Roobine’s work schedule," Petras said.

 

“We can use the volunteers as well,” Roobine pointed out. “Most of them know the workings of this craft as well as Petras and I do. That should help speed things up.” Once again he looked directly at Alex. “We will contact you when we are ready for the final tests. As the pilot, you will need to be there. I can get you excused from school.”

 

Alex’s face lit up at being given real pilot’s responsibility. “Stevie is going to be my co-pilot…can he be there, too?” This time Stevie’s face lit up.

 

“Absolutely,” Roobine answered. “Wouldn’t have it any other way.”

 

All of the boys smiled.  They were at least going to have a chance to see if they could go home.

 

The first day of the next week was Election Day, which was a school holiday. Matthew and Enghar went to the Awanstor polling place at the school. Matthew was very nervous—after all, here he was, just eleven years old, and he was about to vote like he was an adult. But, he thought, to the Hakaanen, I am almost an adult. He suddenly felt very grown up and very important.

 

Matthew and Enghar both voted for Mayor Andorn for governor. Enghar and Matthew’s teachers had helped him with the other races and issues on the ballot, including voting for the successor to Mayor Andorn, who could only run for one office. That vote was easy, since Enghar’s mother was one of the candidates.

 

Enghar had studied all the issues and was pleased with how hard Matthew had studied the issues. But, he wondered, with fear in his heart, if there would be a next election for Matthew.  What if the round-ears were able to find a way to get back to their own planet? What would happen to his Mattoo then?

 

At the end of the day the election results were broadcast. The campaign for governor had been one of the most contested elections in recent memory.

 

The incumbent governor had made a point of saying that the big problems with the Shkah were mostly the fault of the round-ears, not the Shkah.  The alien boys were too reckless to be trusted, yet Mayor Andorn had trusted them and aided them against the wishes of the government.  He thanked the round-ears for helping to bring an end to the Shkah rebellion, but he also said without them there never would have been a rebellion. Governor Rebosh said he could have found a responsible solution with nobody getting killed if Mayor Andorn had stayed out of affairs that didn’t concern him. He accused the mayor of allowing the flier to be stolen and flown against his wishes.

 

Mayor Andorn said that lives had been at stake.  The kidnapping of the two round-eared boys and the attack on Scooter and Douglas showed that the Shkah were stepping things up on their own.  When strong decisions needed to be made, Governor Rebosh waffled and showed his incompetence to lead. Instead, a group of boys who had just arrived in their community revealed their leadership and got things done.  Mayor Andorn said he just helped to make sure that two young boys would be rescued instead of being left to what might have been their death.

 

Mayor Andorn beat the Governor Rebosh in a landslide, garnering 65% of the vote.  It was obvious what the citizens of the Big Valley thought about how the Shkah rebellion had been handled.

 

The next week, Alex and Stevie played at a club in the center of Orkyl.  The club was packed with Hakaanen both young and old eager to hear the kind of music they had played at the Joining Ceremony. For most, it was a new experience and all of them kept cheering for more.

 

The Hakaanen loved the new beats and sounds the round-ears played.  The club had been sold out almost from the day the concert had been announced. Alex and Stevie were at their best, playing and singing and entertaining. Their Hakaanen was fluent enough that they could do their own intros and present a bit of a spiel to the audience. Of course, all of their “Starkeeper” shipmates were there. While the Hakaanen didn't understand the words to the songs, they didn’t care—they loved the music.

 

It was late when Alex and Stevie got home. They cuddled up in bed together—the brothers wanted a night alone for some brotherly love. Yes, they loved their boyfriends, but since they’d been much younger, their sexual relationship had been something special, and there were times they needed each other’s company and touch. This was one of those times.

 

After sex with Stevie, the younger brother fell quickly to sleep. Alex smiled, thinking of the success of the evening. He had been back to doing what he loved most. But, he was also thinking of his second love—flying. He would soon be getting the chance to fly again—he couldn’t wait.

 

 

The next morning the first news the boys heard was that the two Shkah boys who had been with Robert Charles and had run from the shooting had been found.  They were locked up at the jail in Orkyl and awaiting charges while the Hakaanen tried to figure out what to do with them. They were placed in a cell next to Robert Charles. The adult Shkah, who had been found guilty of their crimes, had been moved to the only other prison in the Big Valley to keep them separated from Robert Charles.

 

The day after that, Alex and Stevie were at school when they received a call from Petras to report to the shuttle hangar the next day. They were excited about the news—it meant their test flight into space was just a few days away.

 

The day arrived quickly. All of the boys went to the airport, but only Scooter, Alex and Stevie were going to fly.  Stevie was Alex's copilot, but for this flight he would ride in the jump seat behind Alex and Roobine.  Scooter was on board in case he needed to translate something between the pilots and Roobine.  Douglas wanted to go, but knew he was needed more on the planet. This was only a test trip, and it would be his job to coordinate things down here.  He was going to miss Scooter terribly, even for the short trip.   He was also worried about the flight.  Even with an experienced pilot with them, the shuttle hadn't flown for twenty-five years and Alex had never flown one like it. He was thankful that Roobine agreed to go on the flight.

 

From a distance the boys could see the great tail of the shuttle towering up above the old terminal building.  They hadn't realized how large the spacecraft was in comparison to the building—its size had been masked by the immensity of the hanger. They turned the corner of the terminal and saw the great wings were unfolded, making the shuttle look even larger.

 

Alex and Stevie saw Roobine waiting for them.  They started toward the steps leading up to the shuttle's door.  Mike grabbed Alex and stopped him.

 

"You aren't going without me, love," he said with a smile.

 

"Mike, we've been through this.  You can't do a thing to help and it's going to be dangerous."

 

"I don't care.  I can sit in a passenger seat.  I want to be with you when you make the galaxy's smoothest landing."

 

Alex smiled at his friend and his love.  "Well, be sure your seat belt is buckled."

 

Mike smiled and followed the crew up the stairs.  Brandon came running up after them.

 

"If you are going to stowaway, I better do it, too.  No use you sitting alone in the passenger cabin."

 

Douglas understood why the two extra boys wanted to ride along—he wished he could do the same. When Travis and Ryan made noises about boarding the shuttle as well, Douglas told them it wasn’t going to happen.

 

“I don’t notice a boyfriend of yours being on board,” he told them matter-of-factly.

 

“Yours is on board,” Ryan pointed out.

 

“Yes he is, and I am here.”

 

Ryan and Travis couldn’t dispute that.

 

Mike sat by a window and Brandon sat at a window seat across the aisle from him. Alex, Stevie, Scooter, and Roobine were in the cockpit.  Petras was also on board to help with any technical problems that might come up. The shuttle had been towed to the terminal, but Petras knew the rocket engines worked because he started them once a month and taxied the shuttle up and down the runway. Over the last two weeks, those engines had undergone extensive testing.  He had kept the ship in excellent condition. For what he wasn't quite sure, since he knew some day it would have to be cannibalized just like the other three shuttles had been.

 

Alex started the engines, and for the first time in twenty-five years, the shuttle was going to take off into space.  He was in the pilot's seat, Stevie was in the copilot's seat, and Roobine and Scooter were sitting in the jump seats behind them.  The engines purred smoothly.  Alex released the brakes and the shuttle jerked forward.

 

"Watch the throttle.  Ease up," Roobine said.

 

Alex eased up some, getting a feel for them. He had taxied the shuttle during the tests and had handled the spacecraft smoothly the last two days of testing. But, this was the real thing and he was more nervous than he’d thought.  When he got to the end of the taxiway, he carefully turned the shuttle on to the runway until it was facing south.

 

Alex went over the takeoff checklist with Stevie and Roobine.  That took them almost fifteen minutes, even though they’d been through the routine more than once during testing.  Alex wished the simulator was still working so they could have practiced takeoff and landing in it, but the machine had been dismantled for parts years ago.

 

Alex finished calling out the checklist and looked back at Roobine.  "Thanks for being with us.  You know we couldn't do it without you.  Why did you change your mind?"

 

"For the reason you stated.  Because you could not do it without me.  But after this flight, you will be without me and you will do just fine.  I think you will find nothing up there worth exploring, but I think you need to find that out for yourselves or you will never be happy on our planet.  We want you to be totally happy with your home.  You never will be if you never were allowed to make your best effort to return to your own home."

 

"So you did this for us?  Not just because you wanted to back into space at all?"

 

Roobine said nothing.  He looked straight ahead through the windshield, his face impassive. But Scooter thought he could see the slight twitch of a smile on the usually stoic face of the former pilot.

 

Then Roobine told them again what was going to happen on takeoff.  It was going to be fast, and while Alex had lots of room flying south, he needed to gain altitude fast to get over the hills at the south end of the valley.  Alex could feel his heart starting to beat hard, sweat dripping down his face.  Up to this point he had felt really confident. Now the runway was looking too short and the hills and mountains to the south were too close and too tall.  His hands started sweating—he wished he was back in the club playing music.

 

"Well, are you going to move, or are you going to just stare out of the window?" Stevie asked.

 

"Sorry," Alex said.  Leave it to Stevie to wake me up, he thought.  I couldn't have a better brother.  The control tower had been closed for years, but the volunteers had restarted some of the electronics—mainly the radar and the radio.  Since there were only three fliers in the valley and they were all on the ground, the air was clear.  Alex could go whenever he was ready.

 

He listened as Roobine gave him instructions one more time.  He pushed the throttle forward and the shuttle started down the runway as the purr of the engines built up to a loud roar.  Roobine had told him to push the throttles all the way forward hard, which was what he did.  The shuttle picked up speed in a hurry. The throttle was all of the way forward and they were pushed against their seats.  The runway went flying by underneath them. The engines roared, the spacecraft shook, and for the first time in twenty-five years the shuttle left the ground. The shuttle climbed quickly and cleared the mountains with plenty of room to spare.

 

Douglas felt his heart pounding as he watched the shuttle start down the runway with a loud roar.  The boys cheered as the wheels left the ground. They watched as the impressive spacecraft climbed over the mountains; climbing high into the bright blue sky. Even Enghar found himself yelling.

 

Alex was working hard keeping the shuttle flying straight and level.  The sweat was pouring down his face. His entire body was damp with sweat.

 

"You're doing great," Roobine said.  "Keep your climb steady.  We're getting close to the launch point."

 

Mike and Brandon were both looking out their windows watching the ground drop away fast.  They knew if this shuttle flew like the Earth shuttles it would soon be pointing straight up and the main rockets would kick in, shooting it up into space.

 

Alex's face was soaked with sweat. His flight path was not very far from the path the “Moonduster” had taken. He was concentrating hard, looking at the instruments, making sure they were at the proper altitude and watching for the launch point time.  He knew that Stevie and Roobine were keeping a close watch, as well. 

 

He kept fighting off memories of the "Moonduster."  Memories of a damaged ship flying around mountains, barely missing the higher peaks, almost out of control, and then falling with a crash into the desert.  He felt fear as he wondered if he was really a good enough pilot to fly a ship like this. How can a sixteen-year-old boy expect to fly and safely land a machine like this?  He shook the ideas out of his head, and wiped the sweat off his face.

 

"Watch the second gauge.  When the arrow hits the green mark it's time," Roobine reminded him.  Alex knew that and wished Roobine didn't tell him everything.  But he knew it was better than missing things because of his inexperience.

 

The arrow hit the green mark.  "LAUNCH TIME!" Stevie and Roobine yelled together.  Roobine said it in English.  Scooter had taught him the words before they got on board.

 

Alex pushed the throttle all the way forward again and pulled back on the yoke, while Stevie hit the switch igniting the main rockets.  For having only talked about it and dummied it, their timing was pretty good.  Everybody was thrust back in their seats by the massive acceleration of the shuttle. 

 

The shuttle was pointing straight up in the air.  It hovered for a moment, and then the rockets roared sending the vibrating ship shooting up into the outer atmosphere.  Alex had been amazed the Hakaanen had come up with almost the same launch system the Earth shuttles had.  The first shuttles had needed booster rockets, but more efficient fuel and engines now allowed a shuttle to launch itself into space and still have fuel to land.

 

This was the scariest part of the operation. Roobine said that the launch moment held the biggest danger, and that would be magnified by the fact they could not test the rockets on the ground.

 

“If the rockets should fail, you’ve had experience at landing a crippled ship. The jets will still be functioning, so it should be easier than what you had to do with your doomed craft,” Roobine had told Alex during the tests.

 

Smoke and flame poured out of the back as the shuttle kept climbing.  Even though it was a long way from them, the boys on the ground could see the trail of smoke rising up into the air and hear the crackling roar of the rockets.  Soon the shuttle was completely out of their sight, and all they could do was wait for it to return.

 

Mike and Brandon saw the sky darkening outside their windows, and then they saw the stars shining brighter than in any sky.  They were in space.

 

In the cockpit Alex finally relaxed.  He cut the main rockets while Roobine helped him put the shuttle into an orbit.  They worked to locate the starship.  Stevie did some calculating, with Scooter double checking him. They had received the figures from the observatory on a mountain at the North end of the valley.  Stevie put the figures into the computer and soon Alex had the shuttle moving in the right direction.

 

The starship came into view.  It was large, bulky piece of machinery, not as big as the "Starkeeper", but still pretty big. It was completely dark, a big black form orbiting Inferno.  In a few more months it would become a fiery ball streaking through Inferno's atmosphere and after that their last hope of returning home would be gone. Brandon and Mike were both sitting on the same side of the shuttle.  They saw the ship, then looked down at the planet trying to find the big valley.  As big as it was, it was hard to see from space.

 

Alex slowed the shuttle down as they looked over the huge dark ship.

 

"Well, we found it," Alex said.  “Let's dock this time while we have Roobine with us.  We just won't go in." They knew they would need space suits to go into the starship.

 

Even though a docking hadn’t been in the plan, the mechanics of the maneuver had been discussed. Since the shuttle still had plenty of fuel for a landing, Roobine agreed to the attempted docking.

 

Down on the ground, Douglas was seated in the control tower plugged into the radio as Scooter described finding the starship and told them they planned to do a practice docking. He felt a rush of happiness knowing that the starship appeared to be undamaged and whole.

 

Roobine reminded Alex on how to dock with the starship. When the former pilot finished, Alex maneuvered the shuttle close to the starship.  He folded the great wings, tucking them under the belly of the shuttle.  Alex moved the shuttle to the side of the starship, aligned it with the docking target, and eased it in closer and closer to the huge form moving beside him.

 

"Not too fast now," Roobine said calmly.  "Ease it in gently.  You don't want to damage either ship.  Nice and easy.  Nice and easy."

 

Alex hit the side rockets and slowed the shuttle even more.  Mike and Brandon watched as the starship filled the windows.  Alex was within a few feet of it when Roobine told him to stop.  Alex did.  He then gave two light taps to the side rockets, there was a gentle bump, and they were docked.

 

"Excellent," Roobine said.  "Excellent work Alex.  I flew shuttles for ten years and couldn't have done it better."

 

They stayed docked for an hour while they all used the bathroom, ate lunch, and rested.  Roobine showed the boys how to set the docking clamps to keep the shuttle connected to the starship.  After the hour they released the clamps and drifted away from the starship.  Next time they would go inside, but they wouldn't have Roobine with them, although he promised to be on the radio ready to help.

 

Alex started the shuttle back towards the atmosphere of Inferno.  He remembered starting the "Moonduster" in the same direction, not knowing what angle to take.  That time he had been the inexperienced pilot of a crippled ship, fighting to help his friends survive.  He was flying into the unknown and was frightened more than he would ever admit.  He knew that he had to be within four degrees of the proper entry angle; too steep, and they would incinerate in the atmosphere; too shallow, and they would skip helplessly off into space.

 

This time he had an expert pilot with him, he didn't have Robert Charles in the copilot's seat, he didn't have a shipload of unhappy, lost, lonely boys, and he had a shuttle in perfect condition. Plus, he had done this once before—he felt completely confident in his ability to land the shuttle.

 

The coordinates of the airstrip were put into the computer and the shuttle glided through the upper atmosphere.  The craft shook some, but Roobine told Alex his angle was perfect. Soon Alex caught the homing signal and followed it as it led him towards the big valley. How he would have loved to have had a signal like that when he’d landed the “Moonduster.”

 

 Stevie was reading the landing checklist.  Alex could see the valley ahead.  Their descent brought them over the mountains, the small valley, the north hills, then over the Big Valley. Alex lowered the wheels as they approached the airfield.  The wings dipped suddenly when a gust of wind hit them, but Alex quickly leveled the shuttle. Roobine looked at his protégé proudly.

 

 Alex remembered the wild crash-landing of the "Moonduster" He never realized how much that landing had affected him and how much he wanted a perfect landing this time. They glided over the tree tops, over a field, and over the end of the runway, the wheels touching and holding to the concrete as Alex hit the brakes and the reverse thrusters.  The shuttle quickly slowed down, and Alex taxied it to the terminal, stopped it, and shut down the engines.

 

Douglas watched the shuttle come over the mountains with a grin. Alex was coming into a perfect landing. As he listened to the sound of the spacecraft’s jets as it flew into the valley, he wondered why the Hakaanen had never heard the noise of the “Moonduster” as it flew over the mountains not far from the valley. 

 

Alex taxied his craft to the terminal. The stairs were rolled up to the shuttle as Alex shut down the engines.  Mike, Brandon, and Scooter got off first.  Next came Petras, followed by Stevie and Roobine.  Alex was last.  As he stepped through the hatch and started down the stairs all of the boys applauded and yelled and cheered for him.  When Alex got to the bottom of the steps, Matthew met him.  He had a wreath of flowers, which he put over Alex's head and around his neck.  Alex leaned down and kissed Matthew, the boy who had gotten so badly hurt in the crash of the "Moonduster"; the sweet boy whom they all loved so very much. 

 

Suddenly Alex felt as though a thousand pound weight had been lifted off of him.  His last landing had been more of a crash than a landing, but this one had been perfect. Now he was ready to fly all of them to the farthest corner of the galaxy and he had no doubt he could to it.

 

Mike walked up to him.  "Nice landing, love."

 

"Must have been," Alex said with a smile.  "Everybody walked away."

 

Next: The “Jordan M. Paxton” 

 

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