Flight of the Destiny

Part 1

A searing hot pain flashed through Kyle's arm. He landed on the ground with a hard impact and grabbed his arm with a scream. Terry shoved him over and tried to drag him out of the way before another burst of fire could hit him. Damien had a sadistic look in his eyes and was taking aim to finish them off.

People all over the station had heard the commotion and were either running away, or coming to see what was going on. Most, once they saw that the pirate boys were involved, simply turned tail and ran. Damien had all the time he needed to finish off these punks, or so he thought. He was just about to pull the trigger, when a blast took him in the chest. His eyes went wide as he flew backwards, slamming into the wall behind him. He looked down at his chest and noticed the blood. It hadn't been a stun bolt, like station security would use. He reached up and felt the hole, as the surprise and shock gave way to a cold, distant feeling. He looked up and saw the man from earlier that day, with his blaster aimed at him. Damien raised his blaster one last time, to kill the jerk that shot him. It wasn't supposed to end like this! He was the one in charge here! He ran this station! Before he could fire a shot, another blast took him to the ground. He didn't get up again.

Odey looked at the other boys in the group. Damien had brought a lot of the other boys with him, and Odey knew he couldn't take them all. The other Pirate boys watched as Damien flew backwards, they watched as he tried to fire again, and they watched as he fell. They didn't know what to do, Odey could see that, but it wouldn't take them long to get organized. They looked at Malachi for an answer.

Malachi didn't know what to do. His problem had been with his brother, not with these guys. That was over now, and he felt drained of all emotion. He watched Damien fall and really could care less. He had never liked him anyway. He only followed Damien because that was what the boss told him to do. He knew that they had to do something though, the boss wouldn't like hearing about Damien's death, especially if the ones responsible got away. He knew what he had to do.

"Kill them," he ordered the rest of the group. "They killed Damien, the boss will want them dead. Take them out."

Several of the boys drew blasters from their belts; the ones who weren't old enough to carry them drew whatever they could. Odey looked on, knowing there was nothing he could do to stop them. Just as he was about fire on the nearest one, a blast came out from the ground near him. Odey turned to see Zeke, lying on the floor with the sword still through his stomach, and a blaster in his hand. Odey heard a scream of rage and pain, and looked up to see Malachi grabbing a stump where his arm had been before. Despite the pain, Malachi ran towards his brother, determined to kill him with the one hand he had left if he had to. Just as he was almost near enough to stomp the sword deeper, he was flung backwards. He slammed into the ground with a surprised look on his face and looked up to see Terry, standing protectively over Zeke. Terry had moved in behind him and grabbed him by the neck, sweeping his legs out from under him as he threw Malachi backwards with all his might. Malachi got up, and ran for Terry, but just as he got there he was launched backwards once again. This time when he looked up, Kyle stood next to Terry. He looked down on Malachi and grinned.

"This is our gang your messing with now," Kyle spat at him, " You gave up your brother, so we claim him, he's part of our family now and no one messes with my family."

Odey stepped over next to the boys, his blaster aimed directly at Malachi. He was ready to fire if any of the other pirate boys moved. He looked around and noticed that most of them were gone. He looked behind him and saw why. A security detail stood behind him, holding a few of the pirate boys, the ones that had been too slow to get away. Odey breathed a sigh of relief and looked back at Malachi. The boy had obviously registered the fact that his backup was gone, and that he was in trouble. He looked at the three boys in front of him with hate in his eyes.

"If you want him so badly, take him, not that he's got long left. This isn't over; don't even begin to think it is. I will contact the boss, and we will hunt you down. No one interferes in our business, no one! Malachi turned to leave and saw the guards behind him. He suddenly grabbed his arm and collapsed, as if the wound to his arm had just happened. The guards went to collect him when a voice from behind told them to leave him there.

The same voice issued an order, "Medbots go!" Kyle looked up as an older man in a long brown coat that dusted the floor, threw 4 small silver balls. The man had wild looking white hair, and sharp blue eyes. The mustache over his mouth was long and as white as his hair. When he spoke, the two dangling ends floated on the current of his breath. He was, all in all, one of the strangest people Kyle had ever seen, and what were those ball things?

The small silver balls rolled across the floor. They each rolled to a different person who had been injured. The boys looked on with interest as the one nearest to Zeke popped open like a jack in the box. It changed into a short bipedal robot, about three and a half feet tall. It went to work, gently removing the sword from the boy's stomach. Once it had that done it began looking after the wound. Within a matter of minutes, the bot turned to Terry and told him that this boy was stable enough to be transported, but that he would need several days in a medical pod. Kyle felt a slight itch on his arm and turned to see another of the medbots healing him. In half a second it felt as good as new. He worked the arm up and down as the bot informed him that he would be fine, but that he would need to get some rest.

All the boys turned and watched as the bot working on Damien, looked up and told the man next to him that the boy was too far gone and wouldn't make it. Then they turned and watched the bot working on Malachi, as it finished sealing the stump where his arm had been. Much to their displeasure, they heard the bot say that with some time in a med pod, and an androidal arm, this boy would be fine.

Kyle made arrangements for Zeke to be teleported immediately to a med pod on the Destiny. He talked with the guards and found out that he and his crew were not being held accountable for the incident. Several witnesses had told them what had happened, and they had come running. The guards told them they were sorry they had not been quick enough to help them, but they were glad that everyone was alright, well everyone except Damien.

After Kyle was finished with the guards, he went over to the man who was collecting the medbots. Each medbot, rolled itself up, back into the tiny balls and the man was putting them into a pouch on his belt. Kyle was amazed at the little robotic doctors.

"Where did you get those?" Kyle asked the man in astonishment.

"Well, actually, I invented them." The man said proudly. "Dr. Thomas J. Abernathy, at your service. Doctor by trade, inventor by passion! I love tinkering with stuff to make it work, I guess that's why I became a doctor, but when you tinker with machines, they don't die." The man said with a bemused grin.

"Wow! They're amazing," Kyle began, " Are you selling them, yet?"

"Well actually these are my prototypes, but they will be hitting the market soon, I hope. They are a great way for space crews to always have a doctor with them, no matter how small the confines of their ship. I have programmed them with the anatomy of every known space going species in the universe. They can operate on anyone."

" How many do you have? I'd love to buy a few from you, we need a doctor on our ship, and these guys seem perfect."

"Well, I'd hate to part with one, but if you have a ship, we just might be able to help each other. You see, I need to get off of this station in a bit of a hurry. I can't explain now, but some not so nice people want me in a not so nice place, to do some not so nice things to me. If you would be willing to take me to another space station, I could be convinced to give up one of my babies. That's all I could spare mind you, but you should be able to buy them everywhere within the next few years."

"Well Dr. Abernathy, you have yourself a deal. Meet us at our dock in a couple of hours and we should be ready to go. Tell Hugh that Kyle said to let you aboard. You should be safe there from whoever is after you."

"Thank you Master Kyle, I shall be eagerly awaiting our departure." With a bow and a sweep of his long coat, Dr. Abernathy turned to head for the Destiny's dock. Kyle still thought he was strange, but he had a friendly smile and disposition, and Kyle thought he would grow to like Dr. Abernathy.

As Kyle went to collect Terry, Odey and Sepi, he remembered Michael. He had forgotten all about him once the chaos started. Kyle went to the first security guard he could find, to ask if Michael had been one of the kids taken. The guard said he didn't think so, and once Kyle described him, the guard was pretty sure that he had been the boy who had chased them down and told them what was going on, but he hadn't seen him since then.

Kyle told the others what was going on and they all decided to check out Michael's mother's store. When they entered, they saw the place had been trashed. Kyle immediately went to the back room and there he found Michael, his mother, and his sister.

"Please don't hurt us," He heard Michael's mother say, " Just take what you want and go." She said through tears.

Kyle walked up beside them and reached out to comfort the poor woman.

"It's Okay, Ma'am, were not here to hurt you, we came to make sure Michael was alright."

At the sound of Kyle's voice, Michael looked up. It was clear he had been crying, but when he saw Kyle he jumped up and hugged him.

"Are you Okay?" Michael asked, clearly concerned.

"Ya, we're fine, thanks for getting security, they got there just in time."

"Zeke! He's dead and it's my fault! If I had been quicker to warn him! Or if I had never joined them, this wouldn't have happened!"

"Whoa, slow down," Terry stepped forward and said, "first off, Zeke is going to be fine, we have him stable and in a Medpod. Second, Damien shouldn't be a problem for you any more. He's dead. Malachi may cause some trouble, but I have a feeling most of the pirates will be vacating this area soon. The guards stood up to them for once, and I think they will continue to, now that Damien is gone. Malachi only cares about killing Zeke, so I doubt he'll be much trouble to you. We're leaving in a couple of hours, Last chance to come along," Terry's eyes took in Michael's mother and sister, "That goes for all of you."

Michael's mother looked up for the first time since the boys had arrived. "Thank you for the offer, but our place is here. Michael says he's found a way to save the store, and that it doesn't require him to work for those terrible pirates. So we'll stay here as long as we can."

Kyle and Odey stayed around and helped Michael and his family straighten up their store. Terry went out with a small security detail and quickly finished up the grocery shopping he needed to do. Within a couple of hours, everything was back the way it should be and the boys were saying goodbye to Michael and his family. Kyle gave Michael a datapad with an uplink to the Destiny and told him that he could keep in touch with them through it. They loaded all of their things on the Destiny, paid their bill and tipped their attendants and were soon on their way to Earth once more.

---

Part 2

"Dr. Abernathy has an amazing talent for pediatrics, his bedside manner with the children in his care leaves the children and their families with a feeling of calm and hope. I recommend him whole heartedly for the position as..."

"Dr. Abernathy comes highly recommended to anyone with a child who is suffering serious and terminal diseases, he really understands what his patients need..."

"System renowned pediatrician arrested after fleeing police in a drunken stupor..."

"Former pediatrician bankrupted in attempt to create life...."

Hugh and the Destiny were tapped into every major data storage center in the galaxy; hiding information from them was almost impossible. Hugh had been spending a bit of time reading up on their newest companion, and the information he was finding had started out quite nicely, Dr. Thomas J. Abernathy had graduated at the head of his class from a prestigious medical school, had won multiple prizes for his ideas and treatment plans, and had a galactic class resume with letters of recommendation from some of the brightest minds in the galaxy. Some even considered him to be one of the greatest minds in the galaxy. He was amazing with children, had a great way with their parents, and was, all in all, an amazing doctor. Until ten years ago.

Records from that time were somehow hard to come by. Hugh wasn't sure what had happened to Dr. Abernathy to cause him to change, but whatever it was, it was major. Within a year the Doctor had gone from a well-respected man in line to be counselor of medicine on one of the larger planets, to being a drunk, bankrupt quack. Hugh was trying his hardest to find out what had caused this man to fall.

As Kyle came in his office, he saw the articles flashing across his screen. He took time to sit and read a lot of what was there. He, like Hugh, was wondering what had caused such a drastic change in this man. The doc had mentioned troubles, but he had seemed like a nice, intelligent man. Kyle was sure that the man was no harm, but with his crew to look after he knew he had to do the one thing he could. He had to ask Dr. A what had happened.

Terry was in the sick bay, looking in on Zeke and the doc. Zeke was secured in his med pod, and the doc had told Terry that his chances were pretty good. The blade that Malachi had stuck through Zeke was exceptionally sharp. The wound was clean, and had somehow managed to miss anything important. The doc assured Terry that with a few days to a week in stasis in the med pod, Zeke should be ready to get up and with a little bit of help, would be good as new in a month or so. Terry chatted with the Doc about a lot of things, they discussed the fight and what had happened. Doc was a little upset at how bold the punks had been. He told Terry about how when he was a young man, piracy was controlled in the galaxy, not in control of it. Terry really took a liking to the doc. He didn't know if it was because he reminded him of Kyle's mom, what with they both being doctors and all, or if he reminded him of his own parents, whatever it was, he liked him immediately. He hoped Hugh and Kyle were finding good things.

Odey and Sepi had gone to their room to relax and try to forget about the fight at the station. Odey was having a lot of trouble accepting what he had done. He knew Damien was crazy, and that given the chance he would've killed them all, but it was still hard. He had shot him, not with stun, but with full killing power. He had taken a life. He tried to talk it over with Sepi, but the spangler couldn't understand Odey's problem. He had done what needed doing, and in all honesty, the world would probably thank him for it. Odey could see that side too, but he still felt the weight of guilt on his shoulders. He knew he would have to talk to someone else. Maybe Hugh could help him. He had not had a lot of interaction with Hugh yet, other than training and the occasional conversation, but he seemed like a sensible, compassionate person, or computer, however you wanted to look at it. Odey knew he had been Kyle's father at one point, and he knew that Kyle loved him immensely. He hoped Hugh could help him too. He really needed someone to talk to.

Zeke was floating. It was neat. Nothing could touch him. He was invincible. Darkness everywhere, yet colors, bright and amazing flashed all around as well. There was nothing, yet there was everything. He relaxed and tried to enjoy the floating, the calm, the peace, but voices began to come from the dark. Voices he knew, but he didn't know how. He tried to go towards the voices, but discovered he had no control. He began to panic, but realized it would do no good. Besides, He didn't want to ruin the mood here.

"Is that Normal Doc?" asked Terry.

He had come further into the sickbay and was standing next to Zeke's pod. He and the Doc had been talking about this, that and the other, when Terry saw Zeke's heart rate jump. It climbed higher and then suddenly dropped back down, to the calm beat it had been before.

"Actually it is. People who are in comas, whether natural or chemically induced, do show signs of activity at times. It's stuff like that that lead me, and lots of others, to believe that, although they don't appear to be home, they can actually sense their surroundings. Zeke here was probably just listening to us talk and decided to join in. When he found he couldn't, it freaked him out a bit, that's all. Nothing to worry about."

"So he can hear us talk to him?"

"I believe so. Some people will argue and say that the mind is shutdown, and that there's no one home inside the shell, but I think that's a load of bull. People, who think like that, don't believe in much at all. I think they are mainly just afraid of things they don't understand. I believe, wherever the mind goes when it's in a situation like Zeke's, its still connected to the body, and all of the support it gets, helps it want to come home faster."

"That's a cool thought. Is it okay. if I talk with him for a while? I know I don't know him well, but we owe him a lot and I'd like to thank him."

"Sure, go ahead, I'll wander around here a bit and see what I can find in this office. Maybe I can get everything set up so that this place will be functional. No offense to your ship, but some of this stuff isn't even unpacked yet! Has anyone used this place?"

"Well we had to use it our first day on board, for Kyle's dad, Hugh, but we didn't know what to do, and the med pod wasn't enough to save him."

Dr. Abernathy saw the look on the kid's face; he recognized the loss the boy felt.

"Well, we'll get this bay in tip top shape before I ship off at the next port. With this bay and one of my bots, you boys should be in great condition."

A noise from the front of the bay told them someone else was there. Terry and the doc both went out to see who it was. Kyle came in, wearing his captains uniform, with a datapad under his arm.

"Uh-oh someone's been digging," Dr. Abernathy said. "I guess this is where we have a long talk, and I explain what happened ten years ago to the golden boy of pediatrics, huh?"

Kyle looked at him with a grin, "Only if you want to tell me about it. I do need some information about a few of the things we've found, and I won't lie and tell you I don't care about what happened, but if it's something you don't want to discuss, as long as it doesn't endanger my crew, you don't have to tell me."

"And how exactly, Captain Barkley, would you know if it endangers your crew? A crazy old crackpot like me is bound to have done something." The doc said with a grin and a chuckle. The Com answered for him.

"Because you are on one of the most advanced starships in the galaxy, and I happen to be good at my job," Hugh answered as his image appeared in the sick bay via hologram. "Don't worry Kyle, I finally cracked the encryptions on those files, I know what happened, Doctor Abernathy, and I will keep it to myself. All I will say is the crew is in no danger from this man. In fact, he comes highly recommended. I leave your story to you, Doc."

"Well, well, what a polite computer you have, and just how did you get so smart?"

Kyle looked kind of upset for a moment, but it passed quickly, he turned to the doctor and only told him, " You tell me your story, and I'll tell you ours."

"Well if we're going to go into it all, then we had better make ourselves comfortable." The Doctor walked over to the computer terminal and with a few quick keystrokes, had materialized a table and some comfortable looking chairs.

The boys sat down and looked at the Doctor as he settled himself in.

"Well, I suppose that what you want to know began ten years ago, but I think I need to start farther back than that. When I was a younger man, a lot younger than I am now, I did what most young men are expected to do, I fell in love."

Kyle and Terry listened as the man in front of them told his tale. He had been fresh out of Medical school when he met the woman who became his wife, Sara. They were married and began trying for a family soon after. The good doctor and his wife had a lot of trouble in that area. For years they tried, and as they both got older, with no luck from any of the treatments they had tried, they eventually gave up and adopted three young boys. Both parents were still relatively young and they loved their boys with all of their hearts. The boys grew up, as boys tend to do, and eventually, moved away, and began their own lives. When the doctor and his wife had the home to themselves again, it felt empty and lonely. The doctor's career had moved on and he decided one day to stop practicing at the hospital he had worked at for the last several years and opened a private pediatric facility out of his home. The day they finished the addition to the house, Sara told him the news.

She was pregnant, against all odds. By this time, they were both well into middle age, and no one expected them to get pregnant **, not after everything they had tried, but his wife simply told him that miracles happened, and that's exactly what it was, a miracle. Nine months later they brought home their newest son, Nathan, two months after that, their first grandchild was born to the oldest of their boys. Life was good and the babies multiplied as the years went by. In the blink of an eye, their youngest son was five and Thomas was never so proud as the day he took him for his first day of school. They had missed moments like that with their adopted three, because they got them when they were a bit older. He loved every moment with his son, and his family was his life. He had everything.

One day, a letter came, from the head seat of the governing council of their home planet. It seemed that a position was available, for the Counselor of Medicine for the entire planet. It would be a big change, but it was something he had wanted his whole life. The chance to fix the things he saw as wrong in the field, to really help his planet. He talked it over for a long time with Sara. He knew it would mean closing his private practice, and he hated that, but the potential for good was too much to overlook. He decided to go, and at least talk with them about the job.

Dr. Abernathy flew out to the Capitol. He met with the men in charge. They told him no one else had his qualifications, recommendations, or skill. They wanted him for the job, no matter what. It took a lot of convincing, but by the end of his week long stay, he was ready to take the job, he only needed one thing. He got on the phone with Sara. It was a conversation he regretted for the rest of his life.

Sara was happy, she thought it was a great idea. All of his questions had been answered, and they were even going to allow him his own private practice, in the capitol. He could have the life he wanted, and the life he loved, both together. Sara told him she would be there the next day. She wanted to celebrate, and she was bringing a surprise. Dr. Abernathy went to the shuttle docks to meet his wife and son, a part of him never left there. He was watching as their shuttle came in, he watched as the pilot brought them in too fast and too low, he saw the shuttle explode.

Dr. Abernathy's mind snapped that day. He ran for the flaming shuttle, not caring about the fire. He grabbed open the red-hot door and jerked it off the hinges as if it were nothing but cardboard. Another explosion threw him back from the shuttle. He got up and ran for the shuttle a second time, not caring about the pain in his hands and face. He looked inside what was left of the shuttle, and saw a small hand sticking out. Dr. Abernathy grabbed the boy, what was left of him, and pulled Nathan from the burning hell. The boy was alive, barely. The doc, dragged the boy out just as a final explosion ripped the remaining bits of the shuttle to shreds.

The investigation team told the doctor that, not only his wife and son had been on the plane, but also his three oldest boys, and their wives and children. They had all been coming to have a huge family celebration for his new job. They had all died on impact. The investigators also found the shuttle pilot had not been at fault. He had a heart attack as they were coming in, and he had died before the wreck. There was nothing he could have done. All the doctor had left was Nathan.

Nathan had lost an arm and a leg to the wreck. The emergency response team had declared him brain dead, but Dr. Abernathy refused to accept it. He shut himself and Nathan off from the world, and would allow no one to treat him but himself. The doctor had suffered some major burns as a result of his attempted rescue, but he took care of them himself as well. They found him 3 months later. Nathan had died sometime in the last week, but the doctor insisted he was still alive. They had to pull him out of his home so that they could remove his son. The good doctor had gone mad.

A year passed, the doctor had begun drinking constantly. He also kept himself prescribed with lots of drugs. They were the only things he could find to numb the pain. One night, he was coming home from the bar, drunk when the cops tried to pull him over. Instead of stopping Dr. Abernathy took off and tried to leave them behind. Eventually it came to an end, and doc was put in a place where he could get help for his problems, and help it did. With the drugs and alcohol out of his system, he could think again, and think he did. Hours of every day, he did nothing but think, until an idea so grand came to him he jumped out of his chair and yelled with joy. He could have his family back; he could bring them all back. He began making plans for his most brilliant idea ever.

Not many would listen to him. They all knew about the mental breakdown the good doctor had suffered, but a few did, listen, enough to provide what he needed to get started. Dr. Abernathy had thought up a way to create the ultimate form of life. He had thought up a way to create androids, robotic life forms. They would look like humans, act like humans, but best of all they wouldn't die like humans. In the past, men had tried and failed. The AI technology was there, but the actual creation of a perfect robotic human being always fell through. The central nervous system and brain core were simply too complex to create artificially. Dr. Abernathy could think up a way to do it, he had to. For six years he worked day and night and at last he had created a perfect brain. He showed it to all those who said it couldn't be done, he worked hard to load it, care for it, love it, much like you would a child, and at last he could show his work to the world. On the morning of the debut, disaster struck Dr. Abernathy again.

They were on stage he and his android. He had rebuilt his son Nathan, exactly as he had been before the accident. He had loaded Nathan with everything he could think of that he remembered about his child. He wasn't quite the same, but the doc could work on that. So far everything had gone smoothly. There was life behind its eyes; it really was amazing. People everywhere were inspired, for the first hour. After that, Nathan began to complain of a headache. Dr. Abernathy took a look inside and his spirits crashed. The central nervous system was deteriorating. Within a matter of hours, the entire brain had suffered failure and the doc had lost his son once more. Nathan was no more. Dr. Abernathy was ruined. The investors pulled out. He tried to tell them it was something he could fix, but no one believed him. He tried for the next year to fix it, but he eventually ran out of money and lost everything.

He had been drifting from space station to space station for the next few years. Paying for passage by tinkering with the ships and fixing little problems. It was on one of the first ships, he had thought up his med bots. He had borrowed some parts from the captain and within a year he had a working prototype. At last, he had made something that hadn't failed. Over the next few months he made more of them, hoping to sell them eventually to help pay back the debts that had him fleeing across the galaxy, and that is when their paths crossed.

The boys looked at this man with sadness. He too, had suffered a great deal. The loss he felt was something they could relate to.

"Wow," Kyle said, "That is an amazing story. I don't think I can tell you how sorry I feel for your loss."

"It's okay, I've dealt with my loss in the last few years. Something about being alone, traveling the galaxy on barter, and never staying anywhere too long, makes you face your demons. I promise you, I am not the man I was a few years ago. I've made my peace, and I am of no danger to your crew." Abernathy told Kyle, while wiping the tears from his face, "Just having people to talk about it with, feels really good."

"Ya, we figured the first part out," Terry threw in, "I can see the pain in your eyes, but there isn't any crazy. As for talking, all of us are here to listen anytime you need to, Hugh can be a big help too."

"So who is Hugh? Is that the man that was with you on the station? I haven't seen him around yet."

Kyle giggled a bit at this, "Well yes, and no. Hugh is my dad."

Dr. Abernathy's eyes got a bit big at that, " Oh, I'm sorry, Terry here told me about your father, how could he have been on the station if he died when you got to the ship?"

"Well, it's a long story, but I can keep it short by saying that this is a very special ship. We're from the planet of Anderon, At least Terry and I are, and this ship was made for the emperor, right before our planet was destroyed. My father was one of the people who helped build this ship, he told us to take it. We're heading for a planet called Earth."

Kyle and Terry told the Doc all about their adventures since the fall of Anderon. The Doctor was amazed to hear about the A.I. Generation machine that could take a person's mind and make an A.I. that would act just like them. His eyes lit up as they discussed it, despite the fact that the boys weren't up to date on the technical aspects of it. Kyle promised to make the data available to him on the computer. They sorted out sleeping arrangements and decided to give Doc the doctor's quarters just down from sickbay. They would work well for him while Zeke was recovering, and he could stay on in them until they reached their next station. Hugh said they had one more station stop to make before they launched into deep space, and that was where they would drop off the good Doctor.

The darkness around Zeke suddenly turned lots and lots of happy colors. He had been playing in this place where he was trapped and had learned some neat things that he could do, such as making the colors change to fit his emotions, and right now he was really happy. He had also been practicing how to listen to the outside world, and what he had heard had caused his happiness. They were headed for Earth! Home!

** (the Spanish Impregnation You knew I had to say that.) {That's the Spanish Inquisition! No more Monty Python for you two! - T.W.}

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Part 3

The next day dawned early for all of the crew. No one seemed to be able to sleep. Terry and Kyle were both busy trying to get everything squared away from their shopping trip on the station. Odey was having his own problems. He had hardly slept all night. He hadn't had a chance to talk to Hugh the night before. Everyone had been so busy with the new guys that he didn't want to interrupt, but Hugh had noticed his absence.

"Hey Odey, what's up?" came a voice from the com. Odey looked up to see Hugh dressed as a classic psychologist, the image on the screen gestured towards a couch behind him. "Would you care to talk about it?"

"Yeah actually," Odey began. " I can't help but feel guilty about yesterday. I know Damien was a bad guy, and I know he would have hurt or killed us all, but I shot him, I killed him." Odey began to cry as he told Hugh about how he felt.

"That's what makes you a better person than Damien. You care. Even if he deserved what he got, it still hurts you to have done it. That's remarkable for someone who was brought up the way you were. Most people would crumble under that kind of pressure, but you survived it, and you will survive this. All it takes is time."

Hugh and Odey talked for a long time after that, it really helped Odey out. They decided to go down to the Virtual World Generator. The exercise did Odey a lot of good, and they loaded some simulations that helped him deal with the shooting. Even though they weren't real, they still seemed real enough. By the end of the day, Odey felt that he had come a lot closer to putting his guilt behind him, and both he and Hugh felt closer to one another.

Kyle and Terry were Finishing up their reports from the station incident. Kyle didn't know why, but Hugh insisted they run the ship professionally. They had to make reports for everything! Terry seemed to actually enjoy the work and he said making the reports helped clear his mind of the things that happened, as if simply getting it out on paper made them dissolve from his mind. Kyle didn't get it but then again his husband was a little odd.

They had finished up all their reports and decided to get together with Odey and Sepi for some games in the playroom. They invited Doc to come along, but the man politely told them he was otherwise engaged and that the games were for the whippersnappers. He chased them out of the sickbay with a grin and, after checking on his patient, went back to reading the information on the A.I generation system on board the Destiny. He had long since given up on getting his family back, but his interest in his first robotics project had never left him.

Kyle was playing against Odey in a game they had loaded on one of the game systems. He could tell the boy's spirits were a lot higher than before. Terry sat back and watched them. When they finished with that, they all decided some swimming was in order and they were quickly in the pool. After an hour or so of that they were famished and decided they needed dinner. They stopped by the sickbay to pick up Doc and check in on Zeke. Doc told them that he seemed remarkably well, and that he was strong and healing fast. He should be up and around in no time. They all left and headed for the mess hall. Terry went into the galley and tried out his skills with some real food for the first time since they left home. He whipped, and whapped, and mixed and sliced, and after a short time he had produced an amazing meal. Everyone was highly impressed, especially the doc. He hadn't had homemade food in a long time, and this dinner made it worth waiting for. Terry received compliments from all around as they all headed back to the playroom, even the doc, for a movie before bed.

The day ended almost as quickly as it had begun. Everyone was tired and still a bit drained from their time on the station, so they all headed to bed. Doc checked Zeke one more time before heading off to bed himself. They boy really was doing remarkably well. He should be up and around within a day or so. He would have to take it easy for a little while, but he would make it just fine. Hugh killed the lights all over the ship as the boys said their good nights and drifted off. Kyle and Terry were too tired to even play. Odey hopped onto the bed, and was quickly joined by the creature that had been taking over his bed for the last few days. Sepi curled up on Odey's stomach as they both drifted off. He may not have been good at seeing things from a human perspective, but he was still very caring, and cuddled extra closely to the little silver boy, hoping to keep his sadness away.

Kyle woke up in the morning, still a little tired. He wasn't sure what had awakened him, until he heard another crash from somewhere deeper in the ship. He jumped out of bed and grabbed a blaster out of his closet. Terry woke up too and quickly made his way out of the room, following Kyle. They met Odey and Sepi on the way to the mess hall, where the sounds had been emanating, before they had stopped. They ran into the doc in the hall, hair wild and eyes still sleepy. Another crash came from the mess hall. If they were all here what could be going on? Hugh had said nothing the entire time. Suddenly he appeared just outside the door of the mess hall as a hologram. Kyle had almost fired before he realized it was him.

"I tried to tell him not to get up, but he's almost as stubborn as a few other boys I know. He wouldn't listen," said Hugh, "Maybe he'll listen to the doc."

"Who?" Kyle asked, realizing as he did that it could only be one person. They all walked into the galley and there at the table sat Zeke, naked as the day he was born and holding a bowl in his hand. Kyle made a noise and the boy turned around and looked at the audience that had arrived.

Zeke looked at them all with an embarrassed grin and said,"Oh, sorry lads, didn't mean to wake you up, but I woke up starving to death and I couldn't find a bloody spoon in this place."

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To Be Continued...

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Author's Notes:

Chapter 7 yay!!! Well that was fun, I managed to squeeze it in between final presentations for like 3 of my classes, and studying for final exams the week after next. You probably won't see another until after that lol so I tried not to leave you in suspense. Zeke is okay. I didn't kill him Darryl see  I never had plans to, I like him and plan on keeping him around for a while. Sorry the last part is so short, I was shooting for a longer story, but that was where it ended. I guess a shorter one will have to do. Maybe next time the boys will listen when I say make it longer, but in their defense they were a bit tired after their adventures on the station. Dr. Abernathy was a bit of a surprise, I never planned him at all he just sort of sprung full form from nowhere, his story was a sad one, and I don't think I did it justice, maybe someday we'll hear it more in depth. Well I hope you all enjoy, and I will see you around next chapter. Until then, as always,

Thanks for playing
Taron

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Editor's Notes:

We had a good time editing this chapter. It was great to find out that Zeke is Okay, We can turn those bus tickets back in now instead of going to hurt Taron. We had to order extra commas ; and ' s and several cases of Os to change the to's to too you don't seem to have any problems with two's should I mention the of vs have problem? Nah I wouldn't want to embarrass you 2 much. Seriously Great chapter. We loved it. Now hurry with the next one.

Darryl AKA The Radio Rancher & Str8mayb