Date: Tue, 22 Jun 2004 04:26:02 +0000 From: Douglas DD DD Subject: The Boys of Lady Lex Chapter 11 Welcome back, loyal readers. Ben and I are a little behind answering e-mail, and may not get to it until next week, since Ben will be gone the rest of this week. This chapter takes us along a bit from the return of the "Lady Hawke" and into Ben's recovery. For you Jesse fans out there (and we've received e-mail from them) Jesse will have a tough decision to make in this chapter, one what will bring consequences down the line. Enjoy your read -Ben and Douglas The Boys of the Lady Lex Chapter 11 "Rosters, Crews and Homework" Written By Douglas DD and Benjamin TC Captain Hatcher sat at the head of the conference table in the war room. Sitting on his right was Commander Creevey and on his left was Captain Storm. Sitting next to Captain Storm was Dr. Daniels and then Major Zjan-Ren. On the other side of the table sitting next to Commander Creevey was Lieutenant Colonel Stone and then Ensign Masters. "Good morning everyone. First of all, welcome back Captain Storm and Ensign Masters. I wish your mission went smoother then it did, but at least everyone made it back alive. Ensign Masters, how is your wound?" asked Hatcher. "It's nothing. Doc over there patched me up in no time at all." "Good. Okay, let's get down to business. Captain Stone, your report." "We have the new gravity generator on board, but it's going to take some time to install it. The Lady Lex is fifty years old. It wasn't built to the standards that the generator we got needs. So I just have to get creative and make some adaptations and we should have her working on line within a week at the most. I will however, have to turn off the gravity periodically as I make the adjustments needed and again when I go ahead and permanently install it." "How long will these gravity outages last?" asked Commander Creevey. "It all depends on how long it takes to get done what I have to get done, but my estimate is that each outage shouldn't last any longer then an hour each. Except when we get ready to install the new generator. That outage will last probably a good four to six hours." "Very well. Just let us know when the outages are scheduled, so we can plan accordingly," said Creevey. "I will, Commander. On another note. Our dear friend Admiral Whitaker sent me a list of supplies and parts that were shipped out a few hours ago. We should be getting them in two days, unless of course Geldon Raiders attacks the vessel again. But if the parts do get here in two days, we should have the Lady Lex up to 85% space worthy in about three weeks. If that is the case, then we will be able to launch and test the waters by April 15th. The ship still won't be fully functional, but she will be functional enough to stretch her legs a bit." "Excellent, Ely. This is great." Hatcher was smiling with excitement. "Is there anything else?" "No Captain. Except Commander Creevey did an excellent job filling in for me during my absence." "Thank you Captain Storm, but believe me I am not you. I was a science officer before I took up a command position. But I fumbled myself through." laughed Creevey. "Let's move on. Dr. Daniels." "The good news is that Ben Collins is healing nicely. It's going to take some time, but he pulled through the surgery. He has woken up four times since his surgery, but it was only for a couple of minutes and then he went back to sleep. His body went under a lot of trauma. But it is my expert opinion that starting tonight he should be waking up for longer periods of time. For the next two weeks he will be very sore and tired. I have him on limited duty. He won't be doing any exercise or anything strenuous for at least the next two weeks where then I will evaluate him again and hopefully designate him as fit for full duty." "Good job Larry. I know my sister-in-law and brother-in-law were so relieved when you called them and told them that Ben was going to be all right. They will be coming out here for a few days to see Ben. They should arrive on the same ship as the supplies." "I will arrange quarters for them," said Creevey. "Thank you Amanda. Anything else Doctor?" "Yes I do. Effective immediately, I am setting up sick call hours. Sick call will be from 1800-2000 daily. All emergencies which will be bleeding, serious injuries, vomiting, high fever and other such symptoms will be seen anytime. I decided to have an evening sick call during the cadets off time, instead of a morning sick call, that way the cadets won't try to use medical as an excuse to get out work, school, or drills." "Excuse me Captain, but if a cadet requests to see the Doctor, I have to let him see him. They are your orders," said Stone very coldly. "Lieutenant Colonel Stone, I know what you have been doing. I won't handle this sick boy farce any longer," demanded Dr. Daniels. "If a boy claims he needs to go to medical and it isn't an emergency, he will come and see me at sick call hours." "But Doctor, it was you that demanded the Captain to order me to let any cadet who wishes to see you come see you. You did not want my men to hold the boys back like we did at first. You got a taste of what we have to go through." "Look Colonel Stone, bring in a half dozen boys every hour of the day for minor ailments that could wait..." "Wait? I am not allowed to wait!! Those are my orders." "Enough!!!" yelled Hatcher. "I am not going to have you two argue about this anymore. Now you two better settle your differences and agree on the cadets and sick call among yourselves, otherwise I will have to intervene. And trust me gentlemen, if I have to intervene, neither of you are going to like the results. Do I make myself clear?" "Yes Captain," said Dr. Daniels and Lieutenant Colonel Stone in unison. "Good. I'm glad to hear it. Is there anything else Doctor?" "No, Sir," replied Dr. Daniels who was a little steamed but trying not to let it seep out. "Very well, let's move on. Major Zjan-Ren." "Yes Sir. I have checked out the ship's security and weapons systems. It will take some time to get them online and working to their full potential, but I believe we can do it in a good timely manner. But the problem we are running into is the one Captain Storm pointed out earlier, this ship is fifty years old. Parts for her are no longer made or available on the market. And we can't cannibalize another ship in her class, because she is the only one who is still intact. We will have to outfit her with a whole new weapons system. That will take more time then we have. I was on the comms with SFA earlier this morning and with everything we need to do; it will take over three months to do. Plus it would require us in dry dock." "Three months? We don't have that amount of time," said Hatcher. "With all due respect, Captain, it is my impression that Admiral Whitaker is willing to give us the parts we need, but not necessarily in a timely manner. I am surprised we are getting the other parts so soon." "Major, what do you recommend to speed up this process?" asked Creevey. "I can have a team of Kriton Ship Builders here within two weeks to install the weapons and security systems we need. The only thing is, we will be installing Kriton technology instead of SFA technology." "Kriton's weapon's system on a SFA Starship? Now I've heard everything," blurted out Ely. "And how long would it take for them to install it?" asked Hatcher. "According to my calculations and giving us some leeway, I say we will be ready for weapons and security tests by May first." "That would give us two and a half months to work out any bugs and get the Lady Lex and the cadets ready for the Olympics. How much will this cost us?" "The only thing my government asks for is when your new semester starts in September, that we will be allowed to send 200 of our juvenile delinquents boys here for schooling and rehab," replied Zjan-Ren. Hatcher thought for a minute. He had some reservations about this deal, for one thing he knew that juvenile delinquent Kritons were far worse then juvenile delinquents Earth boys. Plus, he wasn't even sure they would still be in business come September. But without a weapons and security system there would be no chance for them to be in business next term. "Deal. Make it happen Major." "Consider it done, Captain. Thank you." "Okay, Ensign Masters, what do you have?" "Okay, Boss. Between the shuttles we can savage out of Mothball junction and a few local planetary governments loaning us some shuttles from now to the Olympics, we've been able to come up with twelve shuttles. With the optimum crew being six, that's enough for 72 boys. I know academy ships have enough shuttles so every boy is on a crew. We will just have to make do with what we have. Twelve still beats zero. "Lieutenant Colonel Stone and I worked out a crew roster together. We tried to pick the most athletic and coordinated of the boys as we saw them, not to mention intelligent. The problem with intelligence is that the smart ones are also the hardest to control. It could be interesting. "We have enough living quarters on deck 12 and 13 that have 3 bedrooms and a common room and one bathroom with two shower stalls. Each bedroom has two racks in it. We can fit one shuttle crew into one living quarter's section, so the shuttle crews can live together. The rest of the boys will be in the area that has single cabin groupings. We went ahead and made up the crews." Kalon handed Captain Hatcher a computer note pad. Captain Hatcher looked at it intensely. "I see you don't have Trevor Collins with his brothers and the Daniels's boys and my son. Why?" "Well Boss, it was mainly because of the ages. We didn't want too many munchkins in the same shuttle." "Makes sense. I have no problem with one of the cadets being in the same shuttle crew as my son. Do you Dr. Daniels?" "No Captain. It's not like Douglas and Nipper will be living with them in the living quarters. They will still be living with me in my living quarters. I have no problem." "Very well. When do you plan on getting the shuttles?" "This afternoon I will start assembling one crew at a time and going out and getting their shuttle and bring it back. I will also give the designated pilots, which is noted on that list I gave you, instructions on how to fly." "Remember Ensign, these are young boys who are highly impressionable. A shuttle is not a toy. Safety first." "Roger that boss," said Kalon more out of routine then anything else. "Lieutenant Colonel Stone. Your report, please" "With the help of Commander Creevey, we put together a duty roster. Each cadet will be assigned to a certain officer and to a certain task. We assigned some cadets to work in the galley, some to work in engineering, some with security, some as teacher's aides, and some in medical and other stations about the ship." "And what plan do you have to alternate duty rosters with academics?" asked Hatcher. "Well, Captain, we will work on a six day schedule. Half the cadets will attend their academic classes on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 0800 to 1800. During this time the other half of the cadets will be performing their designated tasks. Then on Tuesdays, Thursday and Saturdays, the other half of cadets will attend their classes while the first half does their assigned duty tasks. Doing it like this will help us keep our classes to a minimum size and able to let all the teachers able to teach all grades." Captain Hatcher looked at the schedule and roster that Lieutenant Colonel Stone gave to him. "This looks good. And I see that taps is at 2200 every time and reveille is 0600. Between 0600 and 0800 they will PT, eat breakfast and practice their marching and drill maneuvers. And I see on Sundays, they get to sleep in until 0800. They will PT, have breakfast and then free time until 1300. Then they will be given mandatory study time, uniform and living quarters maintenance, extra lessons and practice, and music lessons if the cadets desire it. Who will do the duty tasks on Sundays?" "It will be a minimum duty section. Sir on a rotating basis." "Very well. I like it. Keep me abreast on how this works out." "Will do, Captain." "I know since we first set off on this crazy adventure, Murphy has been riding our back all the way. But maybe, just maybe Lady Luck finally turned on our side. I guarantee to you if she has, it won't last long, but lets take advantage of it as much as we can. Is there anything else?" No one said anything. "Good, I have a teacher's meeting I need to attend. Commander, I want you to attend it with me. Until we are able to get a science teacher on board, you will have to teach the subject." "Aye, Sir." "You're all dismissed." ***** Kalon looked to the door that lead to Harrison Wolfe's quarters. He rang the bell, but no one answered. He knew that Harrison would be at the teacher's meeting, but he just wanted to make sure. He was about to tap into the door computer to break in, when he saw a tiny wire down at the corner of the door and floor. He bent down and looked at it. The door was wired. Kalon could tell to that this was no ordinary booby trap set up by someone who claims to be just an English teacher. This was done by someone who knew what he was doing. Kalon started to work quickly on the door. After about twenty minutes he managed to open the door without setting off any alarms. He walked inside. The room was illuminated by the lifeless light that came from outside. The common room had a simple recliner and a reading light. There were several bookcases with very old hard cover books. Kalon walked over to one of the shelves. He pulled down a tattled old book marked Moby Dick. "This is an original copy," said Kalon to himself. He started to look at other books. Oliver Twist, The Count of Monte Cristo, Of Mice and Men, Jane Eyre, Ender's Game and Tom Sawyer. All of them were the original first print editions, very rare and very valuable. "I knew he was more then an English teacher. No ordinary teacher could afford books like these. These are literary classics." After spending five days with Harrison Wolfe and seeing how he knew what to do on Lucifer and where to go, he knew there was more than meets the eye with him. And Kalon had vowed to find it out. Kalon wanted to snoop around some more, but it took him longer to break in the quarters then he planned and he had to reset the alarm before he left. He didn't want to take any chances getting caught. That wouldn't be good. Kalon placed the books back on the shelves and reset the alarm and went about his way. ***** Tim stepped into the shower and let the steamy, hot water run over his toned and sweaty body. Droplets of water traced down his muscles and over his golden skin onto the floor and into the drain. He had a tough fencing match against the junior class number one ranked guy. He won, but only by one point. Tim showed a lot of skill and talent behind fencing. Most people thought that Tim learned his skill from some top fencing master, but actually his butler, Gibbs, a British born gentleman, taught him the art of fencing while Tim was growing up. Tim was relieved that he had beaten the junior because no other freshman was able to beat anyone in a higher grade then them since the Orion has been commissioned. He was the first in the Orion's short history to break the "Freshman Curse". "Hey Whitaker!" Tim turned and saw Mark and David standing in the entrance to the showers. Both of them were fully dressed. Tim was ready to catch grief from them as he usually does, even after he told him that he could help win the Olympics any way they see fit. "You think you can operate the weapons system on our shuttle like you can use your sword?" asked David. "I think I can, why?" "A couple of weeks ago we lost our weapons officer on our shuttle. We can talk to Lt. Capeland and have you assigned to our shuttle if you like." "Why me? I thought you guys didn't like me." "We don't," said Mark. "But you can really kick some serious ass with a weapon and since we lost Stan we need someone who can kick ass. So what do you say?" Tim thought for a moment. He really didn't like these guys, but he knew deep down that they were going to be the key for him to win the Olympics and he could chose what school he would attend in the future. "Sure, why the Hell the not?" After Tim finished showering and got dressed, him, David and Mark went to the Shuttle Bay. Unlike the Lady Lex, the Orion could house all the shuttles inside the skin of the ship. Because the ship was the latest and the greatest that technology had to offer, it had so much more room in it compared some of the older class ships. "Here she is Whiter. The "Ramses". Hull number 11. We chose the name and hull number only a couple of days ago," said David. "Ramses sounds like a cool name. How did you arrive with a name like that?" asked Tim. "Oh, I am just trying to push buttons, that's all. So come on board. The rest of the crew is already on it." David led Tim and Mark on board. "Whitaker, as you know I am the CO of the "Ramses" and Mark is the pilot. He is the best pilot that the freshman class has to offer. And truth be known he is better then most of the upper classes as well." David led Tim up towards the cockpit. There were three boys sitting at various stations. "Sitting at the navigation station is our trusty navigator, Brandon Ditamin." The short brown hair boy stood up and shook hands with Tim. Mark always thought that this 14 year old boy looked like his cousin, Ben's, long lost brother. They facial features were so similar. "Sitting at the engineer station is Parker Runningbear." Parker stood up and shook hands with Tim. He had jet black hair, brown eyes, golden red skin and high cheekbones. Cherokee Indian blood flowed deeply in Parker's veins. He was proud of his heritage and always shared it with anyone who was willing to listen to it. Parker was 13 but looked a couple years older then what he really was. "Sitting at the Science Station is Robert Russell. We call him Rabbit." Tim and Rabbit shook hands as well. Rabbit was a handsome boy. He has a hard body, but not muscular. However, he was well toned. It was a body found on statues and paintings. Rabbit was the youngest of the crew, by 2 months, but he had the most history then everyone else combined. Rabbit came from a rich family that got its wealth in illegal and underhanded ways. Rabbit's cousin, who was 10, recruited Rabbit to help him sell stolen items to kids. Rabbit's attempt to sell some jet skis to a high school kid finally did him in. The kid turned Robert in to the police. Because Rabbit's father was not only very wealthy, but was a Senator in the SFA Congress, he managed to influence the jury, a judge and certain SFA high ranking officials, to let Rabbit attend the Junior Sol Force Academy for his sentence. The only person on the Orion that knew how he truly became a cadet on the Orion, was Rabbit himself. The Commanding Officer didn't even know. His official SFA records made no mention of his arrest. Tim walked over to his station and sat down at it. He ran his fingers over the controls. He missed his friends and parties back home, but he knew from this chair he would be able to kick some ass and that made him hard just thinking about it. He was indeed ready for some action. ***** Dr. Daniels walked into the room where Ben was recovering. Douglas was sitting there just waiting for him to wake up again. For some unknown reason, Douglas felt it was important for him to be there each time Ben woke up. "Douglas, it's lunch time. Mrs. Hatcher is making us some sandwiches. Why don't you go get them? I'll keep an eye on him." "But what if he wakes up dad?" "Then you can talk to him when you get back. It's not good just hanging here. Ben will be okay. His body is just repairing itself. Trust me, son." "Dad, thanks for staying." "It's my job to stay with Ben. Plus you know how I like healing people." "That's not what I mean Dad. Thanks for staying on the Lady Lex." "You're welcome son. Would you mind telling me now what changed your mind?" "Well, Ok. The other day when I took the pills to Mrs. Hatcher, she was talking to her son, Mark who is on the Orion." Douglas paused. "David was on the comm monitor, too." "David? The boy who beat you out of the election for freshman president, but you ended up getting it because he left for JSFA?" "Yeah that's him." "How did he change your mind?" "He said I was afraid of facing him again because he beat my butt in the election plus he always beats me out in the number one starting pitcher position. I wanted to prove to him that I was no chicken." "Douglas, my son. I know you aren't a chicken. Staying onboard the Lady Lex because of ego isn't a good reason to stay onboard." "I know that dad. But he just made me so mad. But now its different." "Different? How?" "Before we came here, I told Nipper that maybe we could help the boys here. Once we got here, I had my doubts. But when you operated on Ben and I sat with him until he woke up, no one else was in the room but me. I was there for him. I know when mom was alive and I would wake up from a bad dream, she was always there and it made me feel so much better. Then when Nipper was missing and I had a nightmare, I woke up and no one was there. I wanted mom, but she was gone. I didn't like that feeling waking up alone. And when they brought Ben in from the shuttle all wounded and stuff, I know he must have gone through some hard times and my heart went out for him. I didn't want him to wake up alone like I did. I felt the need to be there for him like Mom was always there for me." Douglas voice then trailed off and his head bent in grief. The memory of his mom was making her death all too familiar to him again. Dr. Daniels didn't know what to say. He wanted to cry knowing how much his wife done for their son or if he should hug his son and tell him that his mother would be proud of him for being there for someone in need. Even if it was something as simple as just being in a room when they woke up. So he did both. "Let me go!!!" demanded Nipper as Lieutenant Colonel Stone dragged him in by his collarbone. "What's the meaning of this?" insisted Dr. Daniels getting defensive. Nipper finally broke himself loose and ran behind his dad and Douglas for protection. "Dr. Daniels. I must insist you keep your son from sneaking down to the cadet's living spaces. He does not belong down there." "Nipper, were you down in the cadet's living spaces?" "Yeah, but I just wanted to see Andrew." "Colonel Stone, isn't there a way we can let Andrew and Nipper see each other? They became close friends during their isolated time together." "No Doctor. My men can't handle the cadets properly with civilians running around. If your son wishes to see any of the cadets he will just have to wait for classes to start." "But surely you can make an exception." "No civilians allowed in the cadet's living spaces. Captain Hatcher doesn't allow his son and daughter go down there and they have relatives down below. So I ask you Doctor, keep a better eye on your son. It seems he keeps getting into places where he doesn't belong. And if you can't keep a close watch on him, I suggest you find someone that can." "Wait right there, Colonel Stone. Are you questioning my parenting methods?" "Not at all Doctor. Because you have no parenting methods to question. Now keep your son out of my territory. Good day." Colonel Stone turned and walked out saying hi to Mrs. Hatcher who came in with a tray full of sandwiches. "Larry, you okay?" asked Mrs. Hatcher. "I swear Linda, I am going to kill that man." "Don't let him get to you. You know he is a Marine and they love to push buttons." "But God help him if he pushes the wrong button." "Look, I brought some sandwiches and some lemonade. Sit and eat and enjoy your lunch with your three sons. I am going to go check in on my nephew." "Douglas, you and nipper stay here and eat lunch. I will be back in a few." Dr. Daniels then exited medical. Douglas knew that his dad was going to let Stone Face have it. He wish he could be there to see it. But his stomach was starting to growl and Nipper had already begun to pick at the sandwiches that Mrs. Hatcher made for them. "So Douglas, Jesse tells me that you are the CO of the shuttle that he's been assigned." "Yes Mrs. Hatcher. Me, Nipper, Jesse, two of your nephews, Ben and Andrew, and some other cadet are on the same shuttle." "I'm gonna be the science officer," said Nipper proudly. "Well, good for you Nipper. Jesse told me he is the Engineering Officer." "Yeah, and my new best friend Andrew is the Weapon's officer. And his brother Ben will be the pilot." "That's what I heard. You definitely have a good crew, that's for sure. Now you boys enjoy lunch while I go check in on Ben." Linda then gave each boy a motherly smile and went into see her nephew. I can see why mom liked her so much," said Nipper. "Mom and Mrs. Hatcher were best friends when dad and Captain Hatcher were stationed on the same ship together. Now, why would you go down to the cadet's living quarters? You know you're not allowed down there." "I wanted to see Andrew. I haven't seen him since I was brought here injured. I miss him." "You hardly know him Nipper." "Douglas, can I ask you something?" "Sure. You can always ask me whatever you want." "How can you tell if you love someone or not?" "I don't know. You just know. Why?" "Because I think I love Andrew." "You probably love him like a friend or a brother. That's cool and perfectly normal." "No Douglas, I think I love him more then that. I think I love him like a boyfriend." Douglas didn't know what to say to his brother. He didn't want to crush his heart and tell him it is probably only puppy love and would be gone in a matter of a few weeks, but he didn't want Nipper to get his hopes up either. "Nipper, just be patient and let nature takes its course. If you truly love Andrew the way you say you think you do, when the time comes, you will know for sure." "When will the time come?" "That I don't know." "Hey Douglas, there is somebody in here who is asking for you," said Mrs. Hatcher from Ben's room. Douglas quickly got up and he couldn't get to Ben's room fast enough. There laying on the bed still very pale, but awake was Ben. When he saw Douglas enter the room, Ben took what energy he had to force a smile. "Hi Ben." "Hi Douglas." "How are you feeling?" "Better, now that I know you're here." "I didn't go far. I have been staying with you the entire time." "That's what Aunt Linda said. She told me that you and I are on the same shuttle crew together." "Yeah, I am the CO and you're my pilot." "I never flew a shuttle craft before." "That's okay. Ensign Masters will teach you. I bet you're a natural." "Does that mean you're going to be my roommate?" This question caught Douglas off guard. He never thought of that. "What?" was all he managed to say. "Aunt Linda said that all the shuttle crews will berth together. So does that mean you and I get to be roommates? I hope so." "Ummm, I don't know. I haven't given it much thought. But I bet we will." "Good. I'm gonna go back to sleep. I'm tired." "You get some rest Ben," smiled Mrs. Hatcher as she kissed him on the forehead. She then exited the room. Douglas walked up closer to Ben and held his hand. "Rest up roomie. When you wake up and get your strength up, we have to move into our new quarters," promised Douglas. Ben smiled and then drifted back to sleep. "Douglas, how are you going to be his roommate? We're not allowed down in the cadet's living spaces. Remember? And if you do become Ben's roommate, then I want to be Andrew's roommate." "We will talk to dad, I am sure he will be able to find away." Douglas and Nipper went back out front to finish their lunch. Their dad came in fuming. "You give that Stone Face a piece of your mind?" asked Nipper. "No, boys, I went and saw Captain Hatcher to talk him into letting you be able to see the cadets from time to time, but he is very adamant about letting civilians see them. He won't even let his own son go down and see his cousins. Jesse had tried several times, but no go. Captain Hatcher said the only boys allowed down in the cadet living spaces are cadets.." "Dad, do you like Captain Hatcher? I don't," said Nipper. "Of course I like him. I might not agree with everything he does, but Captain Hatcher is a good man. He is just doing what he feels is best for the cadets. He has a lot to prove so this project doesn't fail and he doesn't want anything jeopardizing it. If I know Steve, he will ease down once things start running smoothly." " Well, maybe you're right, dad, though I can't see how us being good kids could jeopardize anything a bunch of delinquent are doing. I mean, come on, we're gonna mess things up because we're a good influence. Give me a break. Come on Nipper, let's go grab our mitts and play catch in the hangars." "I don't want to play catch." "Then we will play Yahtzee." "I don't want to play Yahtzee." Douglas was getting irritated with his little brother. He had a plan and making an excuse to leave medical with Nipper, but Nipper wasn't catching the hint. "Then we will go watch a movie chip." "I don't want to watch a movie chip. I want to stay here with Dad." "Come on Nipper. I want to spend some time with you. Let's go." Before Nipper could object, Douglas dragged Nipper out of medical. "Come on, I have an idea how we can be roommates with Ben and Andrew." "How?" "First we have to get Jesse." Both boys scurried down the passageway. ***** "Enter," bellowed Captain Hatcher who was sitting behind his desk in his ready room looking over his notes and resumes for possible cre wmembers and teachers. The door opened and in walked Douglas, Nipper and Jesse. "Hello, boys. What brings you here?" "Captain Hatcher, as the commander for one of the shuttle crews is it my request that my entire crew allow to bunk and eat together like the other shuttle crews. I feel keeping us apart like this will only weaken our crew rather then strengthen it, especially since all the other crews will be rooming and eating together," said Douglas in a very authoritative and professional tone. "I must say Douglas, you already sound like a good commander and you have a good point. But as I told your dad earlier, cadets and civilians can't be together unless it is in a training environment." "Then Captain Hatcher, Sir, we want to become cadets." "What?" "You heard him Dad. We want to be cadets like all the other boys on this ship," Jesse said. "I can't and won't allow that." "Why not, Sir?" asked Douglas "Because you boys have done nothing wrong. All of the cadets are juvenile delinquents. They are fulfilling a sentence that was given to them in a court of law. I can't go letting civilian kids seep their way into the cadet's routine, weakening it." "Dad, you don't let us become cadets, then we will do something to have the courts send us here as a cadet." "You shut up Jesse. You know better then to talk to your father like that." "I don't have a father. I never did." "That's enough out of you young man. Now go to your room." "Only if my room is down with my other shuttle crew mates." "You get out of my office now and I will deal with you later." "It's always later with you, Dad. And the problem is that later never comes. I've had enough of it. Look, you never pay attention to me in the past and you never cared about me so why does it bother you if I go live with a bunch of delinquents? Is it because you are afraid you will have to pay attention to me since you give the cadets more attention then your own son." Captain Hatcher was ready to lose his temper, not because Jesse was mouthing off to him and being disrespectful, but because what Jesse was speaking was the truth and the truth wasn't always easy to swallow. He was not ready, however, to admit that to his son. "All right, you boys want to be cadets?" "Yes, sir," said all there in unison. The captain turned on the loud speaker and asked Colonel Stone and Dr. Daniels to come to his ready room immediately. Within a few minutes both men stood in front of the Captain's desk with the three boys standing along side to them. "Gentlemen, these three young boys requested that they become cadets, so that their shuttle crew mates can all bunk together and become a real team and not be separated by the law. What are your feelings on this?" Lieutenant Colonel Stone jumped in first. "Captain, I cannot allow civilian boys among my cadets. We have discussed this earlier. How can I make the other cadets do push ups, drills, and other disciplinary actions and hold them up to high standards when the civilian boys don't have to follow the same rules. It won't work." "That's why Nipper, Jesse and I are willing to become full cadets and we want to be treated like all the other cadets. We wish to throw away our titles of civilians and be labeled as cadets like the rest. We want to be treated no different than the others. If the cadets do push ups because their racks weren't made right, then we do pushups too. If the cadets have to stand watch in the middle of the night, then we stand watch in the middle of the night. There will no longer be civilian boys onboard anymore, only cadets." Spoke Douglas so professional and political like. "If the boys are willing to be treated like the rest fine. However, I will agree to this on the following conditions. If it gets rough for them, they can't quit and claim their civilian rights back. They have to ride this out until the Olympics are over. In addition, there will be no special treatment because the boys are your son Captain and yours, Doctor. They will be treated completely like the rest. They will not stand out as officer's sons." "That's sounds reasonable enough, Colonel. Dr. Daniels?" Dr. Daniels turned to his sons. "Are you sure this is what you want to do?" "Yes, Dad. We're sure," said Douglas. "There is no backing out once I tell the captain I agree to allow this. You have to be absolutely sure." "We are," said Nipper and Douglas in unison. "Captain, I agree on one condition. As you know, Colonel Stone and I have our disagreements. And quite frankly I don't trust him. I can see him using my sons to get to me. If he treats Douglas and Nipper any differently to get to me, then I request he be court-martialed and stripped of his rank." "That's a good point Dr. Daniels. Colonel Stone, if I find out that you do anything to Douglas or Nipper just to get even with Dr. Daniels, you will be hung out to dry quicker then a the life span of a Depression house fly. Do I make myself clear?" "Yes, Captain. I won't treat them any differently then the others. But I won't be soft on them either," said Colonel Stone. He meant what he said too. He would not use the boys to get at Dr. Daniels. He would treat them no more and no less then the rest of the cadets. "Understood. I think that's reasonable. Jesse, Douglas, Nipper. You heard the conditions. Is this what you want? Think before you answer me. Because once you say yes, you are cadets until the end of the Olympics." "Yes Captain, this is what I want," said Douglas. "Dad, I want this." "Yes Captain Hatcher, I want to be a cadet," said Nipper. "Very well. As of today, you three are now cadets on board JSFA Lexington. You will be treated like the other cadets and expected to follow the rules and regulations of the Lexington's Regulations. Fail in doing so will result in disciplinary action. Do you three understand?" "Yes," said the three boys in unison. "Yes what?" "Yes Sir!!!" "Colonel, you may take the new cadets to the others." "Very well, captain. Come on ladies. Get in line. First stop, the barber." Dr. Daniels and Captain Hatcher watched Colonel Stone march the boys out of the ready room. Dr. Daniels still didn't trust Colonel Stone He knew he would be keeping a very close eye on him. "Larry, you should be very proud of your son. He handled himself well today." "Thank, Steve. And about earlier today." "Don't worry about it. I would have probably done the same thing in your shoes." "If you excuse me, sir, I need to get back to sickbay." "Very well." ***** Kalon was in the shuttle bay looking over his notes. One of the Marines should be escorting his first crew to go get the first shuttle. He looked up and saw Harrison Wolfe standing in front of him. "Wolfie. I never heard you come in." "Mr. Masters. There is a certain matter I wish to discuss it you." Kalon stayed calm and cool. He put on his best poker face which was pretty damn good. He was pretty damn sure what Wolfe wanted to talked to him about. "What's that?" "Tomorrow my English classes start. I want to give the boys their first homework assignment." "What does that have to do with me?" "Over the next few weeks, we will be discussing the importance of names in novels. The symbolism and meaning behind them. Names are very important to a story. You just can't give any character any plane name. There has to be a special name for each character. Look at Ebenezer Scrooge. Would his character be any different if his name was oh, I don't know, Bruce Sabinski?" "I see what you're saying, Wolfie. But again what does this have to do with me?" "Since you are in charge of the shuttles and their crews, with your permission, I would like the boys first English assignment to write an essay on what they want to name their shuttle and why. But the name has to be literary characters whether it is a person like Captain Ahab, or a creature like the Cyclops. It could even be a name of a ship like the Jolly Roger from Peter Pan or a name of a distant far off land like Mordor. The possibilities are endless. Once each boy writes his essay, he will present it to his crew mates. The crew mates will decide which name out of the six choices bestowed upon them they will choose as the name their shuttle craft." "Sure, I have no problem with that. Sounds good to me." "Thank you Mr. Masters. Good day." Harrison Wolfe turned and headed out of the door. Once he got in the doorway and stopped and turned and faced Kalon. "By the way Mr. Masters. Ender's Game belongs on the left side of The Count of Monte Cristo, not the right side." He then turned and exited without waiting to see what Kalon's reaction was. A few minutes later Corporal Danzig brought in six boys. "Ensign Masters," "Call me Kalon. This is my first crew?" "Yes Sir." "What's your name?" "Corporal Danzig, Sir." "What's your first name?" "Pardon Sir?" "What is your first name? I am sure you have a first name." "My first name is Brock, Sir." "Brock, my name is Kalon. I want you to call me Kalon." "But you are an officer and I am just an enlisted man." "I see no rank Brock. Plus I know how you Marines think. It is an order you call me Kalon. Now you know how to fly a shuttle?" "Yes Si...I mean Kalon." "Good. You will pilot the Lady Hawke and take me and these six lucky individuals to our first shuttle and then drop us off. We will then meet you back here once we get her running." "I can do that." "Okay, who is my CO out of this crew?" asked Kalon as he looked at the boys. "I am Kalon," said Johnny Cooper. "Oh yes, I remember you from our last flight together. Tell me, did you clean your shorts?" All the boys laughed, but Johnny gave them an evil scowl and they shut up. "My shorts were fine." "Ok, sure they were. Now introduce me to the remainder of your crew and tell me what positions they hold." "This is TJ the Hamster. You already met him. He will be my pilot. My navigator is this freak name Jeff Cotterberry. Then my engineer officer is Ian Brothers. My weapons Officer is Trevor Collins. And finally the faggot over there is my Science Officer, Scooter Starr." "You guys seem like a good crew. After we retrieve the shuttle you will then move your gear and personal belongings from your current living quarters to your new living quarters. Did my man Brock tell you the sleeping arrangements?" "Yeah he did. I will be stuck with that idiot, Jeff. My new best little buddy, Trevor, will be rooming with Ian. The Hamster and the faggot will be roommates." Kalon ignored Johnny's remark. "As you guys are aware, the three bedrooms are attached to one common area and one bathroom. You are now a crew. You will share that living space and you will share the responsibilities of retrieving your shuttle and keeping her in tip top condition. So are you guys ready?" The boys cheered and they all boarded the Lady Hawke to go get their shuttle. ***** Douglas stood in his new quarters. He looked in the mirror and couldn't believe he was bald. He never thought he would lose his hair. Colonel Stone told Nipper that he didn't have to get a hair cut. Nipper already has stubble growing on top. Colonel Stone did tell the three newest cadets that they will keep their hair trimmed around the ears and tapered in the back and off the collar. Then after the haircut they spent the rest of the afternoon being cycled. Douglas didn't like the Marines yelling at him and calling him lower than shit, but he knew if he was going to be a good CO for his shuttle, he had to endure the same treatment that his crew does. Plus he promised Ben that they were going to be roommates and he wasn't about to break that promise regardless what it took. The door opened and in walked his father pushing a wheel chair with Ben sitting in it. "Doug...Cadet Daniels, I bring you your knew roommate. He insisted that he move to his new quarters. He is still weak and sore, but I trust you will take care of him." Douglas smiled with excitement. "I'll take good care of him." "Ok, Ben. Are you sure you want to stay in this rack instead of the nice comfortable bed in medical?" "I'm sure Dr. Daniels. I want to be here." Ben looked over to Douglas when he made that comment. "Very well. Now remember, you are on limited duty for two weeks. You don't have to stand watch, do exercises or anything like that. Your body needs time to heal." "Yes Sir." Douglas and Dr. Daniels helped Ben out of the wheelchair and over to his rack. Once Ben was all settled in, Dr. Daniels looked over to his son. I'm fine, Sir." "I knew you would be. But your hair." "It will grow back." Dr. Daniels felt so proud of his son at that moment. He then turned and headed on his way. ***** Kalon checked the seals to make sure that the shuttle they just brought back and attached to the Lady Lex were secured. Getting the first shuttle was very chaotic and there was a lot of fighting among the Johnny and his crew. The only one who didn't fight was Scooter. He just hid in the corner and did as he was told. "Kalon, here is your next crew," said Corporal Danzig. "Hi boys. I'm Kalon and I will be your shuttle craft instructor. I know it's going to be a long day, but we need to get one more shuttle craft before we call it quits. Who is the CO?" "That will be me Kalon," said Mike the Donkey. "Oh yes, Donkey. I remember you. Introduce me to your crew and state their positions." "Stan the Man is my Weapons Man. My guy Ry is my Engineer guy. Then next in the line up is Cody O'Shea who is my navigator. My pilot is Eric Larsen and finally my Science Guy is Carson Brothers." Kalon looked at the crew. Cody was about 5 ½ feet. He was 14 and had broad shoulders with muscles starting to show. When his hair would grow back, it would be a beautiful blond that would be spiked. His eyes were the kind of blue that would mesmerize anybody. Eric was also 14. He too would have bleached blond hair and blue eyes. Eric is a very outgoing guy and Kalon could tell right away that Eric would be the best person in his crew to hold the position of pilot. Especially since one of the charges that sent him here to begin with was grand theft auto. "All right Guys. Let's load up on the Lady Lex and go get your shuttle." All the boys piled on. Kalon noticed that this group seemed to get along a lot better then the last group. Hopefully this would go much smoother. ***** Jesse lay in his rack tired. He knew the main reason he agreed to Douglas's plan was not so that Douglas and Nipper could be with his cousins, but for him to be spiteful to his father. He knew his father wouldn't like it, but would give in just so he didn't have to put up with him. He vowed to himself that he will prove to be just as good as Mark, not necessarily better, but just as good to deserve the love and attention that Mark gets from his father and he so much longed for. Jesse's head turned as his new roommate entered the room. The boy was tall and stood almost six feet. He was skinny like a string bean. From the stubble that was growing in, Jesse could tell that the boy had dirty blonde hair and brown eyes. "Hi, you must be my new roommate," said Jesse as he sat up and swung his legs over the edge of his rack. "I'm Jesse Hatcher." "Hi. I'm Scottie Brothers." "Nice to meet you. I hope it's okay that I took this rack." "Yeah, that's cool." "What shuttle position are you?" "I'm told that I am the navigator," said Scottie. "That's cool. I'm engineering. Two of the other crew members are my cousins and I already met the remainder two, Douglas and Nipper. All of them are pretty awesome. We're gonna have a good crew." "That's cool." Scottie sat on his bed and the two boys talked for a little bit. Jesse told Scottie how he ended up being a cadet and Scottie told Jesse that he was from a very religious family, but the rebel in him lead him to a life of drug dealing and he and his two other brothers, Ian and Carson, were all sentenced to the Lady Lex. ***** Nipper and Andrew got really excited when they saw each other for the first time in a week. They hugged each other and jumped up and down. "Andrew, I missed you so much. I was so worried when you were missing." "I missed you too. I was so scared at first of being caught naked on the shuttle then I was scared that Ben was going to die." "My dad said that Ben is going to be okay." "Yeah, I know. He is in the room next door with your brother now. I just spent the last 20 minutes with him before he fell asleep." "If I knew you were there, I would have come on over." "That's okay, Nipper. We are together now. Plus we are roomies." "Yeah. I am so happy for that." "Lights out in 20 minutes," boomed a stern voice over the loud speaker. "Hey Nipper, you want to get a shower with me before we have to go to bed?" "Yeah." Both boys ran fast to the shower room and tore off their clothes. Both of them already had boners protruding out. They stepped into the community dual shower stall together. Andrew had turned on his water. The feel of the water rushing over his naked little hairless body gave him the urge to go pee. He decided just to pee in the shower and let it go down the drain. He open up the spigot and a golden stream game flowing out of his 4 inch boner. "Andrew," Andrew was startled by Nipper calling his name. He turned around and accidentally squirted Nipper with his pee. Then his spigot froze. Nipper couldn't believe that Andrew peed on him. Nipper had to go pee too, so he let loose. He took his dick in his hands and aimed it at Andrew and shot him with his warm pee. Andrew fired up his dick again and the two boys were having a pee battle. Once both of them were empty, they started wrestling in the shower and ended up on the floor in each other arms. "Nipper, you want to feel something really neat?" "Sure." Andrew scooted down to Nipper boner and he kissed it, even though it was damp with his urine.. Then he licked his tongue up the short little shaft. Nipper let out a small groan. He never had anyone do that to him before. Andrew then took Nipper's dick into his mouth and started sucking it. Subconsciously, Nipper guided Andrew's torso around so that Andrew's dick dangled in front of his lips. Nipper opened his mouth and Andrew lowered his hard dick into Nipper's awaiting mouth. Nipper began sucking his first dick. "Careful with your teeth," mumbled Andrew with a full mouth. Both boys were humping each others faces as and bobbing their heads up and down on each others dicks. The warm water from the showers were beating upon them. With in a few minutes, electric chills shot through the both bodies of the preadolescent boys. They shuddered and gasped as both of them had a dry cum at the same time. Nipper who was on the bottom felt strange. He could no longer feel the floor below him. This was the most intense orgasm he had ever had. It made him feel like he was flying high. He opened his eyes and saw that he was floating. The water was no longer falling to the ground. It too was floating mid air. So was Andrew. "Andrew, what's happening? Why are we floating?" "I think the gravity generator died." ***** Ely grumbled and complained all the way as he floated down the corridor to the old gravity generator. He made it to the room and opened the door. There was the generator floating in pieces. Ely knew right away that the small explosion only noticeable to an ear that was trained to ship's noises, came form the gravity generator room. Ely took one look at the floating debris and knew right away it was sabotage. To Be Continued