Date: Fri, 15 Oct 2021 20:59:00 +0100 From: Andrew Passey Subject: Andromeda Three Part Seven (Young Friends) (Science Fiction) Relief washed over me after Dix had left. At least for now I was safe. He'd also made a very good point that there wasn't much they could do to me now I was onboard but I did wonder if that was just his naivety. If the world on this ship worked anything like my world back on Earth then who knows what might happen. Maybe I'd be packed off to be some sex slave for an officer or sold off to a businessman or whatever, maybe even just set adrift on my own in space to slowly suffocate to death. I literally had no idea how things worked here apart from what I'd read and seen. I'd seen the worst of human nature and I didn't necessarily think that side of humanity would have just stayed behind on Earth. I looked around the pod. The first bedroom had a double bed and some belongings that made it obvious it was an adult's bedroom. The room over the other side then was Dix's. I looked in and it was surprisingly tidy but then again he'd only been on board for less than 24 hours. There wasn't much space but they were bigger rooms than I expected. I assumed you weren't allowed to bring many belongings with you anyway? What use would personal effects be when you're trying to start from scratch. Like his parents' room, in Dix's there was a double bed, some small built-in cupboards and a table and chair. My room back at the children's home was probably slightly bigger. Having said that this was nicely made and the mattress while thin looking felt comfortable to the touch. I guess keeping the weight down was important but they'd also not scrimped on comfort. Unlike what I was used to. I found a toilet cubicle and a separate self contained shower cubicle. There was no towel but I could see there was a "water" and a "dry" button so maybe you didn't need one. I stripped off my clothes and got in the shower, the door automatically closing behind me. I pressed the "water" button and hot water streamed out of the nozzle above me. A countdown started from two minutes which confused me until I realised it was probably a time limited one. I used the cleaning gel to clean everywhere important and washed my hair then rinsed before the timer ran out at which point the water cut off. I pressed the "dry" button and was bombarded with a fierce blast of hot air that blew all the water off me and almost dried me instantly. I got out and picked my clothes up walking the short distance to Dix's room where I picked up the space suit he mentioned. I wasn't sure if I was supposed to be naked to wear it? I decided to put my pants on but had a brain wave and washed them quickly in the shower before air blasting them dry. I went back to the suit, stuck my legs into it and pulled it over me before zipping it up. It was quite baggy until I realised I had to pull the toggle which then caused the air to suck out of it and it fit snugly. Thankfully not too snug and that might have been due to wearing pants. Otherwise it would be pretty clear what I was packing crotch wise! There was a data tablet on the table in the entrance room and I picked it up. I decided to do some research on the ship and the crew and all that sort of thing. It was fairly boring, crew numbers and policies apart from the technical side of things which I really enjoyed. I then read about the interstellar drive which worked on antimatter fuel which was incredibly interesting. I read all about it until my head hurt. After the stress and exhaustion of the past 24 hours, unsurprisingly I was overcome with tiredness so I put it down and closed my eyes, leaning back into the chair I was sitting on. I must have drifted off because the next thing I knew I was being gently shaken awake. "Who are you?" A woman asked me. With her blond hair and pretty face it was no doubt she was Dix's mum but I wasn't sure what to say. "Um....Dix said I could wait here. Are you his Mum?" I asked even though it was blatantly obvious she was. I just thought it might buy me some time to think of what to say. "Yes I am but you haven't answered my question. Who are you and why did Dixon allow you to wait here? Why aren't you at school? Where's your comms band?" The questions were coming quick and fast, too quick for me to talk my way out of it. This wasn't some boy I could buy off with my body, this was an intelligent adult who no doubt would be much trickier to persuade. The only options were to lie or to tell the truth. Any lie I told would be easily seen through and any leverage I had would be gone. So I went for the truth but I needed to talk fast. "My name is ...well I don't know what it is really but people call me Starboy. I'm a stowaway, I sneaked on board looking for a better life in another galaxy. Actually any sort of life. I'm running away from the shitty children's home I lived in on Earth. The adults there didn't care about us, they just left us to starve and get abused. I've had enough of being treated like I was worthless. People have forgotten us boys there. People like my parents who abandoned me over two years ago on an interplanetary shuttle and had my mind wiped so I can't remember anything before then. I can remember all the shit I've gone through to survive though. I've done things I'm not proud of and things I've hated just to survive. The older boys made us get on our knees or bend over and be their sex toys every time we wanted something as simple as food or medicine. So I'm done with that life. Hand me over to the guards, bang me up in jail, throw me out the airlock, whatever you are going to do just do it because I'm not going back there. I'd rather die than that!" My tone had risen as I'd spoken and I'd got progressively more high pitched as the words had tumbled out. When I was done, Dix's Mum looked at me calmly after my outburst. "Have you finished?" She asked. I nodded surprised at her neutral tone. She clearly had more she wanted to know. "How on earth did you get on board? The security was incredibly tight, unsurprisingly." "I had to make a deal with the devil who helped me through the people he owned. I'm not proud of it but as I said I do what I have to do to survive. I've had to do a lot of that over the last couple of years. Are you going to call the guards?" She didn't say anything at first, then she sat next to me and clasped my hand. "I'm Jess. Don't worry you can trust me. Unlike the people you dealt with back on Earth. No, I don't know what I'm going to do with you, I need to discuss it with my husband. But first, I'm going to give you a hug, I think you need one." She pulled me in and I found myself melting into her hug. It felt so good to be held like a mother comforts a child and I started to cry gently. Whether for forgotten memories of being hugged by my mother or for what I'd been through or just simply because it was nice to be held I didn't know. Jess held me until I decided I needed to stop. I wanted to trust her but being emotional was a weakness I couldn't afford until I knew where I stood. I think she understood as she just sighed sadly and then stood up. She used the comms band to punch something in and then said to her husband that they needed to chat urgently. While we waited she picked up the data tablet. "You were reading about antimatter fuel? Did you understand any of it?" I shrugged, "Apart from being used by other boys all I did at the home was study and research. We did at least have data tablets so I was able to read whatever I wanted. Spaceships and space fascinated me so I studied as much science as possible. I understand a bit of what I read, what I'm curious about is how you were able to produce enough antimatter fuel to keep the ship permanently fuelled without running out?" Jess looked at me in surprise, "You understand a lot, that was the most difficult thing to solve. Here, this should explain things in more detail for you." She handed me the data tablet and I read the article she'd brought up before she quizzed me on a few aspects of it. She was clearly testing my knowledge because she started jumping all over the scientific spectrum with all manner of questions. "You never went to school?" She asked as I answered another question to her satisfaction. "No as I said, we were just forgotten by society." "Well to be honest it might have been a close escape, you've learnt much more than you would there unless it was a really top school. You know a lot more than most boys your age, more than quite a few adults as well. Science is a world of wonder after all and it's also what is keeping this ship afloat. That knowledge you have will be very useful where we're going and you can build on that to learn even more." As she said that the door opened and a tall man walked in. "What so urgent Jess? Ah we have a visitor? Nice to meet you young man, I'm James". James extended his hand to me and I stood up and shook it nervously. "I'm um, sort of called Starboy," I said, feeling uncomfortable about the name. I caught a look between James and Jess and she shook her head slightly "What's going on then?" He asked Jess who gave an edited version of what had happened since she found me and what I'd said. She'd left out the bits where I'd said about doing stuff with other boys but I suspected she'd tell him that out of my earshot. Which was fine by me, I just didn't want to have to go through it all again. Ideally I'd never have to think or talk about it again in my life. "You got yourself up on this ship illegally? That's impressive. What I don't understand is why? Surely Earth wasn't all that bad?" He chuckled slightly at this but Jess intervened on my behalf. "James, he's been through some really terrible times. I didn't want to tell you in front of him because I'm sure he doesn't want to be reminded of it but I'll tell you later. But Starboy...sorry I'm finding that name difficult, Starboy is an intelligent young man with a very broad knowledge of science and tech, he could be very useful for the expedition. We need to do what we can to help him. You're best friends with the Admiral, I am sure something can be sorted out. He needs a comms bracelet and somewhere to stay." James looked thoughtful after Jess told him this and fired random questions at me. There seemed no rhyme or reason to them, they jumped around but he smiled after I answered them one by one. "Clearly whatever you've been through on Earth hasn't rotted your brain, you know more than some of the people I work with. As for whether I can speak to the admiral....." At that moment the door opened and Dix walked through the door "I'm back Starb....Oh..." he said as he saw his parents were there. I tried to smile reassuringly at him to let him know things seemed okay but I'm not sure it worked. "You can't hand him over! He's been through too much!" Dix protested before anyone had a chance to say anything. "Sorry Dix, the rules are clear. I have to flush him out the airlock," James said, looking very serious. No!" Dix said running to stand in front of me. I smiled at his act of bravery and defiance but knew it wasn't needed. "Don't worry Dixon, your father is just being an idiot and making a rubbish joke. No one is going to be flushed out of an airlock. We need to sort things out though. Your father can speak to the admiral and I'm sure we can make sure Starboy isn't in too much trouble. I'm not sure I can keep saying Starboy with a straight face but I suppose it'll do for now. However we don't have a spare room for him here. The entire ship is full, it's highly inefficient to leave rooms unused but we can check with logistics to see if anyone has space. There's a good chance there is a spare room somewhere." "I can tell you're lying about there being space elsewhere but it doesn't matter anyway. He can sleep with me." "There's no room for another bed nor are there spare beds on board!" James said. I guess that made sense but it did make me hope for everyone's sake the beds were well made and wouldn't break! "He can share my bed. It'll be a challenge but I'd rather that then see him sleeping in a toilet cubicle like last night." James and Jess looked at me for affirmation that's what happened and I just nodded. "I'm a scientist. I don't like decisions taken in haste. However for now I guess it's a solution even if it might be temporary. Two teenage boys sharing that room though? Rather you than me boys," James said with a slight smile. "I agree. It's not ideal but it's workable assuming it gets agreed higher up. I can't see a problem with it as I'm sure they'll just be happy not to have to find a bed elsewhere. So welcome to the family Starboy. Hmm shall we shorten it to Star? Change it to Stan?" Jess suggested although I wasn't sure if she was serious. Dix though was having none of it! "Mum! You can't make him change his name. Don't you understand?! His name is all he has. Everything else has been taken from him. His memories, his history, his original name, everything! Even if you tell me to call him Stan or whatever he's Starboy to me until he wants to be called something else!" I looked at Dix in surprise. How was someone I'd just met so perceptive about me? He was right. That name was all I had and I made a decision there and then that I'd use it until maybe one day I'd learn my birth name. Jess smiled at her son and pulled him into a cuddle which he fought slightly to avoid. "You're such a good hearted boy, Dix. Thank you for sticking up for Starboy. Now your father and I will go and start sorting things out. We won't be long and then hopefully we can go and get some dinner together. Both of you stay here until we return." We nodded and I watched them leave the room leaving the two of us alone. "Well that went better than expected!" Dix said to me with a smile. "Yeah, thanks for letting me stay in your room. I'll try not to snore or anything like that!" I replied with a smile feeling very grateful and pleased that Dix was making this sacrifice. "Good! No farting either. And no trying to suck my cock in the middle of the night! Not unless I say you can anyway!" Dix must have seen my shocked expression as he giggled, "Oh come on Starboy, you're not the only one who can make jokes about that sort of thing!" This set me off and we both fell about laughing. I felt the happiest I'd felt for ages, probably forever in fact. I was onboard the ship, I'd met a new friend, I'd got a new family and hopefully I was about to be legitimately and legally here.