Flight of the Destiny

Part 1

Kyle opened his eyes, against his better judgment. The last couple of days had really worn him out. The emotional roller coaster alone would have made a lesser boy give up. Then add in the fact that he and his husband Terry had spent the better part of yesterday running all over their new home, The Destiny. Kyle looked over where his husband should have been lying, and he saw nothing. Confused, he looked down to where the bed should be, yep, there it was, wait a second, Kyle thought. I don't remember leaving it ten feet below me! This thought, really got his brain woke up, and had it not been for the fact that he was floating, he would have fallen on the floor. He jumped, well at least as well as he could when he was suspended 10 feet in the air, and yelled for Terry.

Terry floated in from the bathroom with a huge grin on his face,

"Dude, you have got to try a zero grav shower! It's the coolest thing ever!"

"What the hell are we doing in zero grav?" Kyle asked, confused.

"Ahh, I wondered when you would wake up, Kyle," The voice of his father came across the COM, "We're experiencing some technical difficulties. Ajax had to take a few systems offline in order to make some repairs. We took a little more of a shelling than we thought, yesterday, but in a few hours, everything will be up and running at 100 percent. Don't worry, I told him not to take any of the important systems offline, so your life support systems are fully functioning. I convinced him they were important."

Kyle experimented a bit and realized he could move around with fairly little difficulty. He floated over to Terry and gave him a good morning kiss. About that time the door to their room slid open to admit a rather cranky spangler.

"What the heck did you two break, I don't know who's cleaning my room, but it sure as heck isn't me." Sepi's thoughts were translated across the COM system, "I woke up on the ceiling, and couldn't land on my feet! It scared the ... well it scared what one of you will be cleaning up later out of me." The boys both laughed as Sepi made his way over to him in a very un-feline way. Cats were defiantly not made for zero grav, " I'm hungry, tell me you two didn't break the food place too?"

"Hey dad, are the food synthesizers working?" Kyle didn't know what all systems were down, but he to was hoping they were working. His stomach was trying to eat itself.

"Actually they are down, while the repairs are going on, so you will either have to wait, or see if the building crews left anything in the galley."

"Alright, guys, lets head there and see, who knows, maybe I can whip us up some of my special spangler tail and eggs!" Terry said with a look to Sepi, "you wouldn't mind donating a few parts would you Sepi?"

"Not at all, I'll donate an ear from Kyle, and the rest of the leg I almost got from you yesterday." Apparently spanglers had developed sarcasm.

"Nobody is touching my ears, they make my face cute." Kyle added to the banter with a grin.

"Not as cute as a paper bag would," Sepi replied, "Honestly, I don't see what you hairless bipeds see in each other."

The look on Kyle's face made Terry loose it, "Dude, you just got zinged by a cat."

"Yeah I know, I don't know whether to cry or laugh." Kyle chose the latter and the boys held each other to keep from flying around the hall.

"Come along you two, the cat is hungry." The spangler spat the word cat out like an insult.

The boys made their way to the mess hall and then into the galley. Kyle flew through the door and strait into the pots and pans. Terry flew in behind him and scattered them around even more.

"Okay. So, how are we going to search everything from up here?" Kyle couldn't reach the handle on the preservation unit.

"Like this," Terry flipped upside down and pressed off from the ceiling, he grabbed the handle and held on tight. "Tada!"

"O.K. Genius, now open it." Kyle responded, trying to look unimpressed. Terry spun around and put his feet on the wall over the preservation unit. He pushed and the door flew open. Unfortunately he pushed to hard and flew across the room into the other wall. Kyle looked in amazement as his husband thumped into the wall, then he laughed his ass off.

"That ... I can't believe ... so funny ... sides hurt ..." Kyle managed between breaths and laughter.

"Shut up at least it worked!" Terry threw back, "Don't make me have your dad make me a recording of you flying into the pans." Terry threatened.

"Nope not working, that was much funnier." Kyle told his lover.

"Hello, people?" Sepi interjected, "I'm still not eating! Get to work!"

"O.k. Geez, you would think he was the captain the way he talks, let's see what we have." Kyle began to search the preservation center, "There's not much here, we've got some eggs, some cheese, a few pickles, and not a whole lot else. Oh wait, there's some meat back here, I'm not even going to guess what kind." Kyle told the others.

"I'll take the meat!" The spangler told him, "You two can have the rest."

"O.K.," Kyle said as he floated the meat over to Sepi, " I guess it's scrambled eggs for us."

"Yup I can do that," Terry said, " Grab the eggs and cheese, and leave the pickles. Problem number two is how to cook in zero gravity."

"I can help with that." Hugh told them, a small silver sphere floated at them from the other end of the room, "Just crack the eggs into this and then push the blue button. Viola, instant no grav eggs."

"Hey cool thanks Hugh, this will work great." Terry got to work and soon they were trying to eat in the air. It was difficult but they managed it. As Kyle was eating his eggs he looked over at what the spangler was doing and instantly wished he hadn't. The unidentified meat was floating around with a rather uncommon green tint to it. The Spangler was batting it around the room, occasionally biting off a bit.

"Gross what kind of meat is that?" Kyle asked in disgust.

"I don't know," Sepi replied, "That's what makes it so good."

The boys and their furry friend finished their respective breakfasts, and decided to float around the ship for a while, not that they had much choice, and Kyle even took a zero grav shower like Terry suggested. It was o.k, but not as much fun as Terry made it out to be, you had to chase your water down to use it, and then all it did was break into smaller water beads, it never really got you wet! He had just put his uniform back on when an alert sounded.

"Gravity will return in ten seconds, please secure yourself and any belongings to avoid injury, 10 ... 9 ... 8 ... 7 ... 6 ... 5 ..." Kyle pulled himself down to the floor of the bathroom and waited, " 4 ... 3 ... 2 ...1 ... Gravity is now returning." Just as the computer said this Kyle looked up and realized a problem, a second later all the water on the roof fell, soaking him, his uniform, and the bathroom.

"Terry!!!!" Kyle yelled, "I'm gonna get you." Terry walked up to the door.

"What's wrong? I didn't," He looked in and saw Kyle soaked from head to toe, an evil glare on his face, "do anything. Oh my god that's hilarious you look like a drowned spangler!"

"I heard that." Sepi pitched in.

"You!" Kyle yelled, "This was your idea, I didn't even want to take a shower yet!"

"Well it looks like you got one, personally I would've taken the uniform off first but hey, whatever." With that Kyle grabbed Terry and pulled him down into the standing water on the floor. The two boys wrestled around for a bit, they both managed to loose their uniforms.

"O.K. Now we need a real shower, Hey dad can you evaporate the water on the floor?"

"Sure one second." The boys watched as everything in the room dried instantly, "There ya go as dry as can be."

"Thanks Mr. Barkley." Terry grabbed Kyle and pulled him into the shower. "Time to wash up lover boy."

When they finished in there Hugh had two new outfits standing by for them, they looked a little odd, both consisted of a loose fitting pair of pants, and a robe style shirt. A belt tied across the bottom of the shirt, holding it in place.

"Put those on boys, and then meet me in the virtual world generator. It's time to start combat training."

---

Part 2

The boys ran to the playroom and made their way over to the VWG. They entered and noticed that Hugh had a virtual spaceport set up. People were all over the place, but they were all frozen solid. Hugh was standing in the middle of it all.

"Welcome to training boys. I created this to be similar to what you may encounter at a real spaceport, there are a variety of different races and groups, some are good descent people, others will want to hurt you, rob you or kill you. You two are too young to go armed in most spaceports, so I am going to spend the next three days teaching you to defend yourselves."

Suddenly the virtual spaceport came to life. The people all began to move and go about their lives, well sort of. Hugh placed a hand on each boy's shoulder and guided them along.

"Whenever you are away from the ship, you must always be on your guard." Hugh began the lecture, "You never know who will do what to try and take your money, or your ship. It's a crazy universe, lots of people are on hard times and will do anything they can to survive, other people will do anything they can for power, and still other people only care about making people hurt as much as they do. It's the last group that can really cause trouble. Power hungry people can be dealt with, and those just trying to survive aren't to blame, but those who only want to hurt people, care for nothing. There is no dealing with them and it's these people you have to be on the look out for. What I am going to teach you can be used only to defend yourself, I never want you two boys using this for any other purpose. I know you're good boys, and bright as they come, but there may come a day when you are tempted to use your skills to avenge an insult or any number of minor things, when that time comes I want you to remember everything I teach you, not just how to fight. Never attack another being unless you or someone you can protect is in danger."

The gravity of Hugh's statements sank in with the boys and they were immediately all business. Each one wanted to learn so when the time came to save the other they would be there and able to do it.

"Dad, Why would someone insult us? We don't know anyone at any of these spaceports, we will only be there for supplies, what could we do to cause someone to hate us?" Kyle asked. He understood the part about the hurtful people who wanted everyone else to hurt, after all it was people like that who had destroyed his world, what he didn't get was what someone who just met him could hate anything about him.

"Well guys, there are some things about the universe, that, having never left Anderon, you, naturally, don't understand. The first is that not everyone is as accepting of other people as the people on Anderon were. There are people on other worlds that may hate you just for being you. They don't understand anything that is different from them, and many of them hate what they don't understand. The love you two boys have for each other is something special, it's something powerful, that no one can take away from you. Something like that can scare people who don't understand. There are also planets that believe boys who love other boys are wrong, and should be changed. These people have become so blinded by their fears and prejudices that they can't see something beautiful for what it is. Don't be angry with them if you meet them, pity them, because they will never know the love that two people like yourselves can share."

Terry took a minute to take this in, "So you mean there are entire planets where couples like us, homosexuals, are persecuted? Places where they have to hide who they are and wear a mask all the time, for fear that others will hate them? Can't we just avoid those places? I never want to be anywhere like that."

"I wish we could, Terry, and as a matter of fact, we will be avoiding most of them, but it's a well traveled galaxy and people from planets like that will be in every port we come to. That's why you need to be prepared, I don't foresee too many problems; security at most of these spaceports are pretty good, and the chances of anyone starting trouble are rare, but just in case, I want you to be prepared. So, from now on, you two will train, here with me, for a few hours a day. I'm going to teach you the basics of self defense, today, just enough to get you out of something really sticky, and we will move on from there. Are you boys ready to begin?"

"Yes sir." The boys shouted in unison.

The boys walked down a dark corridor on the space station, they were trying to find the machine shop that made the part they needed for the Destiny. The lights flickered and threatened to go dark all around them.

"I knew we should have gotten better directions, this place looks bad," Kyle said, the fear evident in his voice.

"Yeah, you're right, I don't like this place one bit." Terry replied.

From a corner in front of them, a shadow began to move, it rose and became a man with a nasty look on his face.

"What's a couple of kids like you doing down here? Trying to find mommy? Or maybe you're just looking for a place to suck each other's little dicks! Why don't you come over here? I've got something for ya." The man moved closer to the boys; he reeked of alcohol and a desperate need to shower. The boys backed away, but as they turned to run, they noticed two more men closing in behind them.

"Hey fellas, I saw them first, so I get first whack at them, but you can have what's left," The man began, with an evil chuckle, " You're going to be real good boys, aren't ya?"

The man placed his hand on Kyle's shoulder, and that was all it took. Kyle grabbed his hand, bent at the knees and hurled the son of a bitch across the corridor. He hit with a loud thud and a rather surprised look. Before he came to a rest on the floor, Terry spun around and connected with three kicks, one to his head, one to his gut, and one to his nuts. The man thudded to the floor, in pain and curled into a ball.

The other two men had stopped advancing for a second, but they soon gathered their courage and came on. One reached for Terry, but he ducked and took the man's legs out from under him. Kyle easily dealt with the other one. As he lunged at him, Kyle sidestepped and brought his hands down on the back of the guy's neck in an axe handle chop. He also brought his knee up into the surprised man's gut. The three fallen men lay on the ground, and the boys were still standing. They tied the men up securely, and stood back to look at their handy work. Hugh's training had paid off; they knew they could handle themselves in a real spaceport. Hugh's voice came from nowhere, "End simulation."

The boys blinked as the lights came up in the VWG. They turned to Hugh with huge grins on their faces.

"How was that, Dad? Did we do good?"

"Well, I'll tell you one thing, for a first day, it was amazingly well done. You two work together so naturally. Remember though, that that was an easy test, in real life you will be faced with a lot more choices, and the danger will be real. My only criticism is that you stayed to long, as soon as they are immobilized, you run for security. Never stick around; you never know how they might escape, or who might come along looking for them. That's enough self defense training today, we'll go more in depth tomorrow, and by the next day, we should be at our first stop."

"Okay Dad, Thanks a lot; we really did learn a lot today, can we run some of the training programs for ship operations?"

"Sure boys, but first, come and eat, I've got lunch made for you in the mess hall."

Never ones to turn down food, the boys ran flat out for the hall. On their way they nearly tripped over an equally hungry spangler. They ran to keep up with him, knowing his appetite.

"Excuse me boys, coming through, I've got first dibs on the mouse flambé!"

The boys turned into the mess hall and saw that Hugh had made them a huge lunch, sure enough, in the corner of the room was a selection of spangler food, including mouse flambé.

"Dad, I thought he was joking that's just gross!"

"Yeah Mr. Barkley, don't encourage him, He'll expect it everyday!"

"Watch it pinky, I know a certain leg I can gnaw on."

They boys watched as Sepi blew out the synthesized mouse, and began eating. Both almost lost their appetites. I said almost! They dug in to their lunch. Hugh had made sure to give them lots of energy food to help them build back up from their workout. As they made their way through the mountain of food, they began to think about all they had learned.

"Kyle, do you think it's true, that some planets hate people like us?"

"I don't see why dad would lie, there must be some, I feel sorry for anyone born there, and if we ever get the chance to help them, then we should. Everyone should be able to live and be themselves, without worry that others will hate them for it."

"I agree, but let's not go looking for trouble, if it finds us we'll deal with it, if not, then we will keep our eyes and ears open. I won't tolerate someone causing someone pain, just because their different."

With that decided, the boys finished lunch and headed back to the Virtual world generator. They pulled up the training programs and learned all they could about their ship. They trained until almost bedtime; Kyle was really picking up on everything quickly. A captain has to be knowledgeable about the entire ship, in order to give orders. As they trained with all the different systems, he tried his best to memorize them all. Terry too, had a natural aptitude for leadership. He tried as hard as Kyle. When they had a crew, he wanted to be the best commander he could possibly be! He also felt drawn to the sensor readings, they all made sense to him; he could see how all the different variables affected the ship and picked up on the science quickly. He had always loved science class in school and decided that he would man that station on the bridge when Kyle was there.

The boys eventually left the training sims and made their way to their respective offices to enter the data in their logs. Kyle asked Hugh if he would still provide him with the information on Earth that he had promised.

"Of course, one second while I bring it up on your terminal. There you go."

Kyle began to look through all the information. He was surprised to see the picture, the small blue planet looked almost identical to Anderon. He studied the planet's history and politics among other things. Several things in the histories worried him. Earth had a history of war, for one; wars were one thing he wanted to avoid at all cost. He noticed the planet had been relatively peaceful for the last while. A new governmental system had taken over as the planet had learned about faster than light travel. This system had kept the world fairly stable for their reign. Kyle looked forward to learning more, but the planet was just too far away and sufficient information had not been gathered yet. He would have to wait until they reached Earth to figure out if it would be the place for them. Kyle began scanning through the data streams coming off the planet and he got some good surprises and some bad ones. He found an immense stream of information called the Internet. People here could speak freely, however they felt, without worrying about people knowing who they were and judging them. People could be themselves. Some of these people were the kind his dad had mentioned. They hated people like he and Terry, they posted hate filled messages that showed their ignorance. He agreed with his father, he pitied them. These people were not the majority however. There were people on there, full of love, who understood that love is a beautiful thing no matter what. He began reading some of the stories and poems he found, stories of caring and compassion, of daring rescues from hate filled people and of bonds that could not be broken.

"I think earth will be okay for us." Kyle said to himself, "If people really believe the way that they write, it will be a descent place to live. There are some ignorant people who we will have to change, but the planet certainly has potential."

Kyle got up to go get his husband and take him to bed; He rubbed the spangler's ears as he entered the office.

"Come on, we need some sleep, tomorrow will be a long day, if dad has anything to say about it."

"I heard that," Hugh replied, " And just for that comment, extra push ups!"

"Aww, come on Mr. B we'll be good, we promise."

"Yeah, I'll believe that when I see it, but really, Kyle is right, you have another long day tomorrow, so off to bed, both of you. I love you boys."

"Night Dad"

"Night Mr. B"

"I'm hungry," Sepi added, sending the whole room into a fit of giggles, "What? I wasn't kidding."

---

Part 3

The boys woke up to proper gravity, as they rolled over and kissed each other good morning. Kyle wanted to lie there all day and cuddle, but Hugh would have none of that.

"Up and at 'em boys, Breakfast is in half an hour, so get ready and be there."

Kyle opened one eye and looked disdainfully at the monitor with Hugh's face on it, he stretched and rolled out of bed, as he landed on his feet, he looked down and noticed a certain part of his body was a morning person. He glanced up at the monitor and saw Hugh had his eyes covered.

"Okay." Hugh said, with a cough to clear his nonexistent throat, "Make that one hour."

"Dad!" Kyle replied, as his dad's face faded to just a Cheshire grin and then, with a pop, even that disappeared.

Terry giggled from under the covers, "You heard him, we've got an hour, now get back up here! That's an order."

"But I'm the superior officer." Kyle said with a smirk. "What happened to me being the boss?"

"Not in this bed, mister." Terry told him, as he dragged Kyle back under the covers.

An hour later, they were showered and dressed and they made their way to breakfast. The two boys walked in as Sepi was walking out.

"Did you leave anything for us?" Terry yelled over his shoulder.

"Sure, guys, there's half a mouse in both of your seats, bon apitite."

"Eww, I hope he's kidding," Kyle looked carefully in his seat before sitting down.

"Of course he is," Terry replied confidently, "Have you ever seen him waste half a mouse?"

The boys ate breakfast and prepared themselves for the day ahead. Kyle finished first and got up to get himself another glass of juice. As he headed to the synthesizer, Ajax's face appeared on the monitor in front of him.

"Good morning captain, I have your morning report for you."

"My morning report? What's that?"

"It is a report I give you in the morning, Captain." A small smile crept onto Ajax's face.

"Ajax did you just make a joke?" Kyle asked, in wonder.

"I tried, sir, how did I do."

"Nice, keep it up and you'll be as sarcastic as the fur ball."

"I heard that pinky."

"Should I continue with the report sir?"

"Yes Ajax, please continue, when you're ready."

"All systems are functioning within normal parameters, the repairs to several systems yesterday appear to be solid and we can expect optimal speed and function. We are on route to Tournian Space station, with an ETA of thirteen standard hours."

"Thank you, Ajax. Log a copy of your report and have it on my monitor along with ships statistics within the hour."

"As you wish sir, good day" With that, Ajax's face faded from the monitor.

"That was well done, Kyle, you sounded every ounce the captain I know you will be." Terry said, as he reached around to hug his husband. "Lets get to the VWG before your dad blows a fuse."

The boys made their way back to the Virtual World Generator to begin another day of training. Both boys picked up everything Hugh had to teach them. By the end pf their training, they were both feeling tired and quite well prepared. They drifted off for an afternoon nap.

"Boys, it's time for food, I hate to wake you, but you need to eat." Hugh's voice announced over the COMM, as he calmly woke the boys up, for the second time today. "I tell you what, after lunch, no training, I've got a movie loaded up in the play room and you two can snuggle up and watch it, you've earned it."

"Thanks Mr. B. I'm feeling wiped out after the last few days. I really think we need to rest up before we reach the space station."

"I agree, I've never been so tired in my life." Kyle added.

The boys headed down to the mess hall for a late lunch, after eating they both felt a lot better. They headed over to the playroom to watch a movie on the jumbo screen. A few minutes into it, an invisible weight landed on Kyle's lap.

"You know it's hard to pet you when I can't see you." Kyle told Sepi.

"Yeah, I know. That's what makes it fun." A second later the kitten sized spangler appeared in Kyle's lap. "Right behind the ears if you don't mind, and not too rough or your leg gets it."

Kyle began to scratch the spangler and Terry, Sepi and he watched the movie in peace as they relaxed. As the movie ended, Kyle decided to ask Terry if he wanted to go swimming.

"Sure Kyle, sounds like fun. Do you want to see if spanglers float?" Terry asked, "Ouch! Hey let go I was only kidding, fur ball!" The boys went in to the gym and stripped down, Sepi went off to amuse himself. Kyle and Terry jumped in and enjoyed just being boys for a while. They swam laps and raced each other and wrestled around. Terry worked on his dives. One of his favorite things back home had been the diving team. Kyle and his parents had loved going to watch him when they had meets. Terry was very graceful and he could pull off some of the more difficult dives with ease. Kyle had always been more rough and tumble; he was a huskier boy and always enjoyed anything outdoors. He loved nature and enjoyed hiking through any park he could find. One thing he was going to miss on the ship was nature. He could always use the VWG but it wasn't the same. He was going to miss the outdoors.

Terry noticed the far off look in Kyle's eyes and asked him what was up. Kyle told him and they decided to try to find some plants and stuff when they were at one of their many stops. Terry was sure they could find a room to turn into a nature preserve. Heck they could even stock it with stuff for the spangler, not that he wanted to know about it. The two boys sat in the pool a while longer before they decided to get out and get some dinner.

Terry hadn't really cooked in a long time so he decided to whip something up. While Kyle stood by and watched him, Terry synthesized the stuff he would need to make Kyle's favorite dinner. He made dough from the stuff he had. He rolled it out then and tossed it until it was just right. Then he spread it out and began to add the sauce he had made. A little cheese and some of Kyle's favorite meat and all he had to do was heat it up.

The smell of the pizza in the oven made Kyle remember home, and all the times Terry and Kyle's mom had made this for him. He thought back to all the happy times they had and couldn't help but smile. Terry noticed this and hugged his love.

"I miss her so much sometimes." Terry told Kyle. "I know she was your mom, but I loved her like she was mine."

"She was yours, from the moment we brought you home. You loved her and she loved you, which is what family is all about. You two were always making something in the kitchen, you guys were so happy. I remember I sometimes felt a little jealous because you two were so close. You and Mom were like Dad and me. We just click."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. I dedicate this pizza to your parents."

"Awesome! Let's eat it!"

"Alright, calm down. You always think with your stomach!"

"That's because it's my smartest part!"

"That's probably true." Terry added with a grin.

"Hey Terry." Kyle had thought of an interesting question. " Do you think they have anything like pizza on Earth?"

"Well, if they don't, I'll always be there to make it for you."

The two boys kissed and then dug in to their dinner. It was some of the best pizza Kyle had ever eaten. As they finished up, they decided to go watch another movie. The missing fur ball decided to join them.

"O.K. Terry's turn to pet me. Sorry Kyle, I know it breaks your heart, but it's only fair."

"Yeah sure, I'm all torn up inside." Kyle replied with a grin. "Now shut up and watch the movie."

The boys watched the film. It was a really good movie, it was about two boys who get caught in a time vortex and have to fight their way through time to get back home. The ending was the typical sappy happy ending that made Kyle cry. Terry hugged him and they got up to go get ready for bed. As they were about to reach their room, a ship wide announcement played.

"Captain Barkley, please report to the bridge." Ajax voice rang out.

The two boys looked at each other and then ran for the bridge. They slid through the door and skidded to a halt. There on the screen in front of them was the Tournian Space station. It was huge, but Kyle thought he had never seen a more pieced together looking hunk of junk.

"Dad, do you mean to tell us that we're going on that thing? It looks ready to fall apart!"

"Yes Kyle. I know it's pretty much useless, but it's just for a few hours; to gather some much needed supplies. When you're done you'll be back on the Destiny and I'll have her ready to go."

"If you're sure." Kyle began, but Ajax cut him off.

"Excuse me captain, but the space station is calling."

Kyle adjusted his uniform and his hair. He wanted to look professional. When he was ready, he told Ajax to put them through. A large balding alien appeared on the screen. He was defiantly not friendly looking. The Grey green skin color, combined with his weight and age made him look sick, and the assorted weapons on his desk made the boys question the safety of the station.

"What do you want?" The man stated curtly. Kyle never even looked flustered.

"I am Captain Kyle Barkley of the AES Destiny, We request permission to board the station and refill our supplies. It's been a long flight, so if you allow us; we will orbit here until morning once we board.

"I see no reason to deny you access, but our facilities may not be up to your standards, Captain," The man looked Kyle up and down, taking in his age and attitude, "Too few traders come this way, of late. And our supplies have dwindled considerably. The prices here are quite high. If you've got the credits to spend, then you have permission to board in the morning."

"Thank you, sir. I am sure we will reach a mutually beneficial trade. Barkley out."

The screen went blank and Kyle sat back with a sigh. That man was going to be trouble, Kyle could tell that right away. If they didn't need quite badly to refill their supplies, he would have passed this stop up.

One look at Terry showed that he was thinking the same thing. The man had seemed curt yet accommodating, but they could both tell he was hiding something.

"Come on Ter, let's go to bed. I want to be at the top of our game tomorrow. I have a feeling things won't go smoothly. Ajax, keep a close eye on them, Dad, if they so much as scan us wrong, I want to be woken up with the ship ready for battle."

"I agree with you Kyle. Something is not right here. Let's sleep on it and take things one step at a time in the morning."

The two boys made it to their room and fell into bed. The next day would be a true test of their newfound skills. Were they ready? Only the next day would tell.

---

To Be Continued...

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Author's Notes:

Well there ya go its chapter three! A bit of a transition chapter, but I wonder what's waiting for them on that space station? Who knows what evil lurks in the heart of aliens? The author knows muhahahahaha. :) Just kidding I really don't know yet but I'm working my way there. I love writing this so far, and I hope you all enjoy reading it as much. I'd like to say a big thanks to all of you who are supporting me and helping me along this journey. The e-mails and comments on www.jeffsfortboard.us are great and really keep me going. To my editor, Thanks yet again for all your time and effort, and to Jeff, thanks for the same. :) I think chapters four and five are going to be very interesting, so stick around and follow Kyle and Terry on their adventures.

Oh and I know it's somewhere on here but just so you know, you can e-mail me with questions, comments, or criticisms at taronw@jeffsfort.us

Thanks for playing

Taron

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Editor's Notes:

Well, this is truly going to be a wonderful story. It already is a wonderful story, and It keeps getting better. I really love it. I hope everything goes okay on that piece of junk space station. Somehow, I'm afraid that it won't be all that safe to be there. I hope the boys have done their homework in terms of their self defense training. Let's hope so.

I can't think of any more words to add, so I think I will just pack up and go lie down and wait for the next chapter.

Darryl

AKA The Radio Rancher