The Bonobo Experiments 7

THE BONOBO EXPERIMENTS - 7, Rev.

All rights reserved. Other than downloading one copy for strictly personal enjoyment, no part of this story may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, except for reviews, without the written permission of the author. However based on real events and places, "The Bonobo Experiments" is strictly fictional. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. Further, as in real life, sexual themes unfold gradually. Comments on the story are appreciated and may be addressed to the author at carl_mason@verizon.net

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This story contains descriptions of sexual contact between males, both adults and teenagers. As such, it is homoerotic fiction designed for the personal enjoyment of legal, hopefully mature, adults. If you are not of legal age to read such material, if those in power and/or those whom you trust treat it as illegal, or if it would create unresolvable moral dilemmas in your life, please leave. Finally, remember that maturity generally demands safe sex.

CHAPTER 7

(Revisiting Chapter 6)

Finally in place, the giant airship - in perfect trim - descended slowly towards the ground. Nine hundred seventy-eight feet of perfection, nearly 17 stories high, didn't stop until its landing gear gently kissed the ground like a fuckin' hovercraft! Lieutenant Commander Patterson and the Lakehurst commandant looked at each other with wide eyes and open mouths. "Holy shit!" they gasped simultaneously and then, together with everyone on the field, burst into cheers and tumultuous applause.

(Continuing Our Story: The Graf III)

A buzzer sounded, the Graf's double gangway slowly opened, and Captain Ernst Büchner and his senior officers jauntily disembarked from the great airship. Captain Miles Saunders (Commandant, NAS Lakehurst) and Admiral Lawson (a noted advocate of Naval Aviation) went forward to greet them. As they approached, Patterson heard Büchner say to Saunders that he suspected their feelings were not all that different from the mutual respect held by early German and American lighter-than-air officials. "Rosendahl and Lehmann," he asserted, "Giants of our profession..." [Author's Note: Charles Rosendahl, the Commandant of Lakehurst in 1937, went on to become an admiral and an outstanding advocate of lighter-than-air; Ernst Lehmann, a senior captain of the Zeppelin Company, died from injuries sustained in the Hindenburg disaster.] Reaching the rest of the party, the Siberians, now in dressed in the Navy Working Uniform, and Randy were introduced to Büchner. The German captain was most gracious. "I congratulate you, Lieutenant Commander. We know of your family's deep roots in lighter-than-air. You are the first member of the American team who will serve on the Graf Zeppelin as a liaison with our airship industry. You will have the full cooperation due a valued ally. German personnel will serve in a similar manner on your ships and installations. As a matter of fact, you will meet Captain Hans Reinhardt this evening. He joined us on this flight as the first German liaison officer at NAS Lakehurst. I also congratulate you on being joined on this flight by your four-man staff. We Germans have long understood the necessity of training new generations of young officers and men for service on the airships. If Americans had only done that in the 1920s and '30s, you might have avoided some of the tragedies that befell your airships. Well, enough of that. I look forward to seeing you at dinner." Randy came to strict attention, thanked the captain, and saluted. Büchner returned the salute, smiled, and passed on.

Supper in the officers' mess was a joyful occasion. Once again, a giant ship of the skies had landed at Lakehurst! Hans Reinhardt, the relatively young German liaison officer who would remain at Lakehurst, proved to be a delightful dinner companion. Hailing from Munich, he was married, had three children and, to hear him tell it, a supremely intelligent Alsatian (better known as the Deutsche Schäferhund, i.e., German Shepherd) by the name of Max. He said that Brückner was by and away the best officer under whom he had ever served and that the 40-man crew of the Graf III - operated by the Deutsche Marine [German Navy] - was filled with promising officers and the cream of German youth. "It's quite an honor, you know, for a young German to be accepted for service on an airship. They've never quite lost the mystique of the old Zeppelins."

The party that night for the entire crew of the Graf was a smashing success - even though the availability of alcohol was limited given their departure on the morrow. The band and the refreshments were great; the German boys much appreciated the presence of local girls. They also went well out of their way to welcome their new crew members who would join them on the next leg of the first long cruise of the Graf III. If only he hadn't had to share some bad news with Evgeni Voronin.

From the time the sun greeted a new day over central New Jersey, Lakehurst came to life with a spirit not seen for nearly 140 years. Flags - American and German - fluttered everywhere! Bunting decorated temporary stands. Great helicopters disgorged enough brass to sink many a capital ship...the Joint Chiefs of Staff, officials of the Navy Department, members of the House and Senate Armed Forces committees, and officials of the German Embassy headed by the German ambassador to the United States, to name but a few of the distinguished guests. At the last moment, Marine One appeared, carrying the President and his party! A significant portion of the officers and men stationed at NAS Lakehurst stood at attention as their band greeted the Commander in Chief and then played various martial songs. Finally, as the engines of the great airship purred, the band broke into the national anthems of both countries. President Allen, taking the salute of Captain Büchner as he stood in the window of the Graf's gondola, accepted the unprecedented courtesy extended by the Germans and pronounced the famous words, "Up Ship!" At that point, the throbbing sound of the engines increased and the great ship slowly rose into the air without the slightest drama. As she majestically moved off to the southeast, the first leg of her two-day trip to Frankfurt am Main, a collective gasp rose from the throats of the spectators who had just witnessed the latest "giant leap for mankind".

After being shown to their quarters on the same deck as the Graf's crew, Büchner's XO suggested that they watch the departure from the airship's lounge, one deck above. The boys could scarcely believe their eyes as they were shown into an imposing compartment. Panoramic windows made of a glass with which they were totally unfamiliar took up perhaps half of the wall surface, running the length of the compartment. Sunlight illuminated comfortable furniture and tasteful decorations whose primary colors were a rich wine red and aluminum. As the Graf reached the ocean, the great airship turned north to follow the Jersey coast. As "their beach" came into view, Jiri elbowed the Lieutenant Commander and snickered lightly. Nothing was said, but the redhead did note the added pressure against his muscular buttocks. Only minutes later, a young Seekadet [Midshipman] arrived with Captain Büchner's invitation for Patterson to join him in the control car.

Following the lithe blond-haired youngster into the bowels of the ship, Randy quickly found himself in the control car. If the illustrations he had seen were accurate, it was a somewhat larger control car than had been constructed for the most advanced airships flown by either Germany or the United States in the pre-World War II years. Talking with a German officer, Büchner raised his eyes and smiled as he spotted the young American. As Randy waited quietly, his eyes drank in the marvelous sight...the towns and beaches of New Jersey...and in the distance, partially concealed by haze, that which he was sure was Manhattan. "You approve, Herr Korvettenkapitän?" Jumping, for Captain Büchner had moved close to his side before he spoke - and he had been in another world as he enjoyed the majesty of the view laid out before him - he stammered, "Oh, yes, sir. The German equivalent of my American rank..." (Catching himself, he continued.) "Please know how honored I am to be standing here at this moment...and how completely overcome I am by the incredible...beauty of the Graf."

"I had much the same impression of the airship when I first came on board, my young American," the Captain responded, "and it has never changed! It was your grandfather who served at Lakehurst in the time of the Hindenberg, Lehmann and Rosendahl, was it not?" he continued. "Yes, sir," Randy responded quietly. Continuing, the German captain said, "I dare say that the great dirigibles will never leave your blood - that is, if you are anything like one of my young officers whose grandfather served aboard the Graf Zeppelin on her flights to South America. Take pride, sir, in your honored heritage!" (Pause.) "We must discuss your mission. Please report to my cabin immediately following the evening meal. Now, I am sure you would like to continue enjoying our flight around New York City." (He motioned towards a young officer who approached.) "Korvettenkapitän Randolph Patterson, may I introduce Kapitänleutnant [Lieutenant] Werner von Bock. This is the young officer whom I mentioned a moment ago. Enjoy the flight together, gentlemen. You have something to share with each other." With that, the Captain returned to his duties.

After returning the Lieutenant's salute, Randy extended his hand, saying, "Captain Büchner has just mentioned that both of our grandfathers were involved in lighter-than-air, yours on the Graf Zeppelin, mine at NAS Lakehurst when the Hindenburg blew. I'd be honored if you would call me 'Randy'." "The honor is mine, sir," the German youth replied. "Thank you...and, please, use my first name as well. Your grandfather was really at Lakehurst when the Hindenburg exploded?" (He continued excitedly.) "And you will serve as my guide as we fly over New York City?" "Consider it done!" Randy replied, at which point he joined the German lad in wedging himself into a corner of the control car from which they could still see while being a bit more out of the way.

The approach to the greatest metropolis of the Americas was spectacular. Captain Büchner decision to give his officers and men a little tour of the city was received with great excitement. More excitement was in the air! As they approached Manhattan, it seemed as if every horn on every ship in the harbor sounded great blasts that almost shook the airship. The fireboats of the Fire Department of New York were out in full force, their water cannons spewing great streams of colored water in greeting. At that point, Büchner walked by. Pointing out that most of his crew had never enjoyed New York, he asked if Randy would allow his "travelogue" to be piped throughout the ship. Given permission, the Graf's Communications officer pinned a small button on the shirt of Randy's service khakis. Immediately, his voice could be heard in the lounge and dining areas on "A Deck," the crew's quarters on "B Deck" (where there were also windows for those not on duty), as well as in the Control Car. For a few minutes, Randy was barely able to keep up with the sensational display that rolled out before their eyes. The five boroughs of New York City...Battery Park...the Lower East Side...the Freedom Tower (the rather uninspired replacement for the World Trade Center's Twin Towers) and its memorial to those who died in the terrorist attack of 2001...

As they reached 34th Street, the young American officer pointed to a beautiful example of Art Deco. "Can anyone tell me what that great spire on the Empire State Building was used for?" he asked. A sharp looking junior officer hesitated, but then took a chance. "A radio or TV transmission tower, sir?" "Not bad, Lieutenant," Randy replied, "but we're talking about 1931. The broadcast/TV antenna wasn't added until the early 1950s. Anyone else? Yes, Midshipman. The young Seekadet grinned, snickered, and then offered his "humor of the day": "The tower that Hollywood built for King Kong to swing on." Most of the officers had some difficulty controlling their laughter and snickers. "Not bad, Wilhelm!", Randy responded, surprising some of the Midshipman's superiors. Something big was sure going to swing on it...but, unfortunately, not King Kong. Anyone else? No? Well, gentlemen, that spire was built to be a mooring mast and depot for dirigibles! The 102nd floor would serve as a landing platform with a dirigible gangplank. After passengers checked in on the observation deck on the 86th floor, a dedicated elevator would transport them up to the platform. It didn't work. No one was happy about venturing out on a gangplank at that altitude nor climbing down ladders. Further, the violent updrafts caused by the size of the building could have destroyed a large airship!"

And so it continued the length of Manhattan...Times Square, Central Park, the great museums, the George Washington Bridge. As the Graf finally sailed majestically over the Bronx, into Long Island Sound, and east, the officers and men returned to their duties. Many of the wide-eyed company still managed glances as she sailed over Block Island, south of Martha's Vineyard, across the southern edge of Nantucket, and then out into the Atlantic and Europe.

After gulping down a working lunch, Patterson and his four Siberians were gathered together by the Graf's XO for an organizational meeting. There were, he said, a variety of "work parties" generally commanded by lieutenants. The Siberians would rotate among these work parties, dealing with such aspects of the new airship as frame and outer skin maintenance, new materials, fuel, engines, automation, crew and passenger accommodations, passenger intake and discharge, and communications. The Lieutenant Commander, he added, was free to join any of these work parties and, occasionally, upon request, to work directly with the Captain or himself. This process would begin immediately and would continue throughout the flight to Frankfurt, Russia, and Tokyo.

'One thing about the Germans,' Randy thought, 'they don't waste much time!' The signal for the second work session had sounded about five minutes ago. Guided by the Seekadet, the Commander found himself on a brief inspection of the interior of the hull. Suddenly, in what appeared to be a partially curtained area off to his right, he heard the sound of something hitting metal followed by wild cursing and shouting. Coming a bit closer, but still concealed, he observed the commanding lieutenant, Kapitänleutnant Andreas Durr, still standing over Evgeni Voronin. Livid with anger he continued chewing him out in the "distinctive" language of the roughest Marine drill sergeant at Paris Island...with quite a few Kraut obscenities thrown in for good measure. Voronin was completely unstrung, trembling violently, keening in a high-pitched voice, apparently trying to show even greater submissiveness by sinking through the metal platform on which he was kneeling.

After the session had concluded, Randy asked if he might speak to the Lieutenant for a moment. He ascertained that the officer had been showing the men an emergency vibrations damper on one of the strangest looking engines he had ever seen. Rather than wait, Evgeni had reached out and touched the control. Something had broken and went shooting off until it hit a girder. Early in his commanding officer's tirade, Evgeni had broken down, begun trembling as if he were having a seizure, and then lowered his trousers and briefs before flinging himself on the deck and assuming an extreme "doggie" position.

Randy coughed before quietly asking the Lieutenant if he could share two things about Voronin on a strictly confidential basis. His curiosity aroused, Durr nodded his acceptance. "First, Lieutenant Durr, Voronin is an orphan, who was created in a test tube, and raised in a Russian gulag among apes by crazy people masquerading as scientists. His models were bonobos, the apes closest to us genetically, apes who walk upright most of the time, and even look somewhat more human than the Great Chimps. These apes try to avoid conflict whenever possible. For instance, if sufficiently stressed they may drop down and offer their ass or a cock to lower the tension level. Make love...not war, eh? Evidently, the plan was for one of their creations to eventually inseminate one of the female bonobos and create a Humanzee, or hybrid human-chimpanzee. Stalin always lusted after armies of ape-men who did what they were told and didn't raise "irrelevant" questions. Nothing genetic that we know about makes this impossible.

"Secondly," the American continued, "during the last few years, Voronin also had a part-time human family with whom he was close. Last night, I had to tell him that the 'FSB', the Gestapo-like successors to the dreaded Soviet 'KGB', had picked up his parents. We are still trying to find out what has happened to them without making their situation more desperate.

"I think Evgeni can become a productive and happy human being, Lieutenant," Randy added, "even though he's walking the edge right now. Any help you can give me will be deeply appreciated. I assure you that if you simply state the facts and what you want done, you will get quick results with him. In your report to your superiors, by the way, you may state that I saw much of what happened and did not feel that you were to blame for any damage to the engine. If that isn't enough to get you off the hook, I'll gladly speak with your officer personally...but only if requested."

"Thank you, sir," Lieutenant Durr said. "This is my first real command, and I want to do things right...by the Graf, by the officers...by everyone! You've given me a valuable lesson, and I shan't forget it. The men in my group are a good bunch, sir. I think I can stop the scuttlebutt without disclosing the information you've shared with me. And I'll clue the other lieutenants in. You'll let me know if I can help further?" "Absolutely, Lieutenant!" Randy snapped with a grin. "Now I've already caused you to lose your coffee break. Dismissed!" The Commander noted that he did leave - but only after he had helped Evgeni to rise, patted him on the back, and spoken briefly with his men.

Immediately after supper, Lieutenant Commander Patterson knocked on Captain Büchner cabin door. It would be difficult for him to hide details about their Siberian mission. And how far could he go in intelligence gathering? God knows, the Germans had lived up to their agreements...and more. Thus far, it had been a fantastic journey. A second knock resulted in a gruff command from the interior of the compartment. "Herein!" [Enter!]

(To Be Continued)