Flight of the Destiny

Part 1

"Hey watch it! I need that ear right where it is, you buffoon. It does me no good lying on the floor." Kyle watched as a strange looking alien chastised the barber. He was waiting his turn as patiently as possible. They had been on the station for less than an hour and he couldn't take being shaggy one moment longer. It had been easy to find the barber's shop. As soon as they had cleared the ramp from the Destiny, they had immediately been bombarded with questions from the five different attendants that the station had assigned them. All of them were most emphatic that they wanted the ship's crew to have a nice stay and that if there was anything they could do, all they needed to do was ask. Before they came aboard, Hugh had told them all about tipping and what was expected, so Kyle generously tipped them all, asked for directions; which they programmed for him into his data pad. Then they made their way off to wander the massive station.

From the inside, it appeared to be even bigger than from the outside, if that was possible. There were stores of every sort. A huge banner hung over the door that led out of their docking port, read, "Welcome to the Sillerion Space Station, if you can't find it here, it doesn't exist!" and that appeared to be right. Kyle, Terry, Odey, and Sepi began to explore. Kyle made a beeline for the barber. He told the others to just drop him off there and then go do their own thing. He would call them when he was done. Terry almost never had his hair cut, because he loved it long and he could trim it himself. Odey really never needed his cut; it changed to whatever he wanted it to be. Sepi had outright laughed when Kyle invited him to join him. So here he was, waiting patiently for his turn. There were well over a hundred different barbershops on the station, and he had picked this one simply because it was the closest. He never realized how long the line would be. He had been here now for about half an hour and there were still 25 people or so in front of him. He was afraid he would be there all day.

Fortunately, the barber was amazingly fast. Kyle sat and watched him. He was one of the oddest creatures Kyle had ever seen. He had at least eight arms coming from all different places on his body. They were constantly a blur of motion so he couldn't be sure of the number. He had barber accessories of all sorts in the different hands. He would swoop down with one and cut while the other buzzed around with trimmers and he even had a precision laser that he deftly used for finishing touches. While he was working on the hair of one customer, he was washing the hair of the next in line, in a sink behind his back. It really was an interesting wait. As the time passed and he got closer to his turn, he wondered what the others were up to.

Terry and Odey had made their way all of about three stores down from the barbershop when they found their first stop. Hugh had already ordered all the fuel cells they would need for their entire journey, and was having them delivered and loaded into the Destiny's cargo bay. So the only things the boys really had to look for were the crew members they needed, and anything they wanted to buy, and they had found the latter. Right before them stood, quite possibly, the coolest thing either of them had ever seen. They felt themselves drawn in the door and they walked into the shop almost drooling. The shop specialized in hover bikes. None of the boys had ever been on one and the ones this shop carried were amazing. The one in the window was a souped up racing model. The sign in front of it said that it was the fastest ever built. It had a list of race victories from all across the galaxy that this model of bike had to its credit. As they stood there mesmerized, a salesman walked up behind them and watched them.

"What do ya think? She's cool isn't she?" the sales man asked. He began talking to Odey because he looked like an adult. "I have personally seen her break the sound barrier, I even took one for a test drive, but I didn't have the nerve to take it to full speed. But man is it an amazing machine."

"Ya I bet it would be a blast to ride," Odey began, "I've never been on one, but it looks like it would be cool."

"You bet it is, and if you're a beginner, we've got a lot of nice bikes that won't kill you quite so fast," The salesman said with a grin, "We've even got some that junior over there could handle."

"I bet I could handle this one fine," Terry replied with a grin. He had decided he wanted one, and it was time to put their unlimited resources to the test. "Hey dad," he said hamming up the salesman's assumption, "Can I get this one? Please? Pretty please? I'll be good all year I promise!!! It can be an early birthday present!"

Odey took his cue from Terry and played along, "I don't know son, It looks awfully expensive, and dangerous to boot, your mom would skin me alive if I got you something like that and you hurt yourself riding it."

The salesman perked up, sensing a possible sale, after all, the guy hadn't said no. "Hey these are great gifts for kids, I can throw in an accessory that will let you limit the speed on it, and just think how jealous all his friends will be. If your worried about him hurting himself, we have a full line of safety gear and you could always get one for you and your wife too. That way you can ride as a family." The salesman paused for a moment, as if considering some options. "I'll tell you what, we just got these in and I'm looking for some people to ride them around the station and show them off. How about you take a couple of them out for the day and try them out around the station. All you have to do is tell anyone who asks you where you got them, that you got them here. If you decide you want them at the end of the day, I'll cut you a really good deal on them."

"Hey that sounds like a great idea. How many of these do you have in stock?" asked Odey, he watched as the salesman's eyes lit up. He was going to have a very good day.

"Well, right now, I've got about 5 in stock, I am getting more in tomorrow though, and can order as many as you like. What have you got, a really big family?"

"Actually, I think we're interested in them for our ship, It says here that they can operate in space, is that right?"

"It sure is, they generate a shield around the bike that allows the user to ride in space, with no special equipment. The shield buffers the air and keeps fresh oxygen inside. It really is a blast to ride in zero grav."

"That sounds great. We could use them to move around quickly outside the ship if we ever need repairs. I think we will probably be ordering some from you. But we will take you up on the offer to try them out. Can we take out three for the day?" The salesman was quite happy to let them. He even gave them some helmets and pads in case they crashed. The bikes were almost indestructible, but the riders weren't.

Soon they were loaded up with three bikes and equipment for the day. They hooked the extra bike up behind Odey's bike so Kyle could use it when he was done. Terry jumped on a bright yellow one and when he looked down he noticed that the computer panel was asking him questions, it allowed him to customize almost every aspect of the bike. He felt the seat adjust to his height and felt the bike lower until his feet comfortably reached the ground. He flipped through the colors and selected a flaming orange color and design. The yellow was instantly replaced. These bikes were really cool. He looked over at Odey grinning and saw that he was adjusting his to. When they were ready, the bikes began to give them an operations tutorial right on the screens. Within a few minuets they were ready to go and they began blasting around the station.

The station had special lanes off to the side for the bikes. They had speed limits so they had to keep the throttle down. Terry linked his data pad to the bikes computer screen and pulled up the station map. He started planning out some of the stuff for them to do when Kyle called them to pick him up. There were several amusement parks, Lots of hover bike tracks, he noted one had no speed restrictions, so they could try these out at full speed, and a ton of shops to hit. He was actually kind of sad they would only be here for another two days. There was so much cool stuff to do.

Terry looked over to Odey to ask where he wanted to go and he saw a huge grin on Odey's face. He had that kind of far off look he got when he was talking to someone telepathically.

"Sepi says the station isn't all as clean as it looks," Odey yelled over at Terry with a grin, "He says he's found some very yummy mice in the gravitational control center. He also says he's stuffed and is heading back to the ship and for us bipeds to stay out of trouble cause he won't be here to save us this time."

Terry laughed, "Tell him to have fun and not to puke on my bed."

The boys rode all over the station; they checked out some of the shops and had killed about two hours. They didn't expect to hear from Kyle until the afternoon because of the line they had seen at the barbershop, so it surprised them when he called at around eleven. Terry told him they had a surprise for him and that they would be there shortly. They turned around and blasted back to the shop as fast as they could. They got stopped several times by people asking where they got the awesome bikes. They had gotten used to that over the last few hours, and even though they were in a hurry to get to Kyle, they still stopped and told them. They wanted to make good on their word to the salesman.

As they pulled up outside the barbershop, Terry watched Kyle's jaw hit the floor. Terry jumped off his bike and ran up to his husband, who no longer looked shaggy, and gave him a big kiss. Then he remembered where they were and looked around. No one seemed to care.

"Surprise!" Terry said, as he took Kyle's hand and led him to the bikes.

"Did you buy these?" Kyle asked, amazed at the awesomeness of the bikes. "They must've cost a fortune!"

"Well, actually we're doing a salesman a favor," Odey began, with a huge grin, "It's called advertising. But if we like them, which we really, really do, then we were thinking about buying like five for the ship. If it's okay with the real captain of course."

"Well, I'll have to think about it, Just because we have a lot of money now doesn't mean we need to throw it around," Kyle began, all the while, he was ogling the bike, "but there's no sense in not trying them." He hopped on his bike with a giggle and a grin and proceeded to customize it.

The first place the three of them went was to the bike tracks. They tried their bikes out as fast as they were brave enough to go. None of them made it to full speed, but they had a blast anyway. There were lots of things for them to do tricks on, and they went all over the place until their stomachs began to cry out for food. The crowd that had gathered to watch them was disappointed as they left. They made their way off in search of food. Terry led them to this big buffet place, and by the time they were done eating, the owners were in tears.

"O.K. Terry, what do you have planned for us next?" Asked Kyle.

"Well, there are still a lot of things to do, so we can either go to the water park, the amusement park, the laser sniper course, or we can go shopping."

"What's a laser sniper course?" Odey asked, both Kyle and Terry looked at him like he was nuts.

"Laser sniper is awesome, I forgot you have never played it! O.K. that's solved let's head to the laser sniper courts!"

Kyle and Terry both cheered, and Odey just looked at them like they were strange. They all made their way to a huge laser sniper complex. As they got off the bikes, Terry noticed a question pop up on the view screen. It asked if he would like to put the bike in stow and go mode. He read it a few times and decided it was worth a shot so he pushed yes. The bike dropped out from under him, dropping him on the ground as it folded itself up. He watched in amazement as a full size hover bike collapsed into something no bigger than a backpack. It even had straps. Figuring it must be heavy he went and lifted a lot harder than he needed to and fell back on his butt again. As he stood up, he looked in wonder at the backpack bike. He slipped the straps over his shoulder and it felt like he was barely carrying anything! He yelled over to the others and they did the same with their bikes. He did, however, warn them to get off them first, against his better judgment.

Terry and Kyle explained the rules of laser sniper to Odey. Basically, it was a simulated combat game, where all the players had low power lasers. When you shoot an opponent, their suit froze up and they couldn't move. The object of the game was to capture the flag of the other team. Odey said it seemed cool, so they went in to buy tickets. There were lots of other kids there, and even some adults waiting to play. They were given the option of a regular game, or a zero grav game. Since none of the boys had ever played in zero grav, they decided that that was the way to go. They headed to the anti-grav chamber and met their team. There were about twenty other kids on their team, and they figured there would be as many on the other team. Kyle had never played in a game that big before, but the boy next to him said this was a small game for this station, he told them that normally there were well over a hundred kids to a team, especially on the weekends. Most of the other kids had played before, so the boys from the Destiny seemed to be at a disadvantage. All the kids were talking and joking until a loud buzzer sounded. They all jumped to line up as a countdown began. When it reached one, the huge doors slid open, sucking them all into the void of the anti-grav chamber.

Kyle was flipped end over end, but he was able to right himself in time to dodge the first laser sent his way. He and Terry had gotten some practice in zero grav their second day onboard the Destiny. He looked over to where Terry was, and he had to laugh. Terry was trying to help Odey spin upright, and he was having a hard time with it. Kyle made his way over to them and helped spin Odey around. They turned and looked at the battle going on. It was almost total darkness, but the suits each gave off a glow according to your team. Kyle, Terry, and Odey were glowing a bright green, while the other team was all glowing purple. They began to pick off some of the purple team. Odey stayed close to the wall so he wouldn't loose control. Kyle and Terry moved in to the battle, picking off any enemies they saw. Kyle looked back to Odey to give him a thumbs up on a good shot, and saw Odey fire again, right at him. The bolt flew right passed him and hit a guy that was just about to shoot him from behind. Kyle had never even seen him. He was glad Odey was on their side.

As the battle progressed, their team had less and less people, and the other team were dwindling in numbers as well, Terry saw their flag, and decided to make a run for it. He had Kyle sling him towards it. Just as he was about to grab it, a bolt struck him and froze his suit; Kyle righted himself from tossing Terry and took out the guy who had shot him. He looked around and saw the only two left on his team were Odey and he. The purples had about four people left, and they were all homing in on him, apparently forgetting about Odey. Kyle called out to Odey with his mind and told him the plan. As the purples closed in on him, they began to fire, he was dodging left and right, and the purples still didn't notice Odey as he slid along the wall towards their flag. Two of the purples broke off from the fight with Kyle and headed for the Green flag. Odey took them both out without drawing attention towards himself, and kept heading for the flag. One of the two purples finally noticed him, and turned to fire, but Kyle brought up his blaster and took him out, but at last got shot in the process. That left a one on one match between the last purple and Odey. Odey fired off a shot at him, and then spun and pushed off the wall towards the flag. The purple tried to shoot him but he missed and Odey grabbed it, but he didn't know how to stop. As the alarm sounded the end of the game, everyone watched as he sailed into the wall on the other side. He made quite a thud.

Gravity slowly returned to the room, and everyone began to unfreeze. The greens ran over to Odey, the games hero, cheering and they picked him up carrying him from the anti-grav chamber. He had never felt better; Kyle and Terry both helped carry him out. Several of the boys laughed with him about his final thud, but they all told him that was completely normal for people their first game. As they all went out to the statistics screen, they saw that not only had he won the game for them, but that he also had the highest kill ratio of anyone on either team. They spent a while at the courts, trying to decide if they wanted to play again and they finally decided to take off. They had a lot of things to do, and only a few days to do them. The match had taken about an hour of their afternoon, so it was starting to head for evening. They opened the screen to their backpacks and pressed a few buttons, and their bikes unfolded. All of the boys who had been playing with them drooled over their bikes, and they told them where they got them. They said goodbye to their new friends and headed off. They decided to save the water and amusement parks for the next day, and they headed off to do some shopping.

Despite not wanting to throw money around, Kyle and the boys spent quite a bit out shopping. They bought all sorts of stuff that they missed from home, lots of clothes, including swimsuits for the next day. Kyle hit an electronics store hard, buying all sorts of games and computer stuff to keep him occupied during the trip. Odey had never had much in the past, so they bought him anything and everything he wanted. They all got a lot of books, because they each loved to read. They could pull up just about anything through the ships computer that they wanted, but it just wasn't the same as reading real books. Odey got lots of toys, stuff that he had seen other kids playing with, but had never been allowed to have. They loaded down their bikes before they realized that the stores would deliver stuff directly to their ship. They hit a lot of stores and finally quit when their stomachs were threatening to go on strike if they didn't get fed. They headed to another buffet. This time, when they finished, the owners walked over and turned off the all you can eat sign.

It was getting late, and Hugh had warned them not to stay onboard the station too late, because that was when the rougher people came out of the woodwork, so they headed back to the Destiny to call it a night. Kyle dragged Terry into the bathroom and scrubbed him from head to toe. They played in the shower for a while and only came out when they heard Odey calling them from their room.

"What's up Odey?" Terry asked.

"Oh nothing much, I just wanted to tell you guys thanks," He had changed back to his own form, and it was a lot more comfortable, " I had a lot of fun today, it was probably the best day of my life, and I owe it all to you guys. If you had just left me there on the last station, I don't know what would have happened to me, but I know it wouldn't have been good. I really love you guys." His eyes had filled with tears as he was talking and he grabbed them both in a hug.

"Hey, Odey, its no problem," Kyle told him, "Remember, It was Sepi's good judgment that made us bring you, It's him you should thank, but we're glad you're here with us."

"Ya, if you weren't here, I'd be stuck with no one to talk to but this goof here, and a sarcastic spangler." Terry added, and then ducked as Kyle tried to pop him.

"I know guys, but it was important for me to tell you, because you guys are the first family I've ever had, and you mean the universe to me." Odey added. They all talked for a while, making plans for the next day and eventually they all headed to bed. As Hugh turned out the lights, he watched as all the boys settle in, to sleep, amazed by how they were growing.

---

Part 2

The boys set out to explore more of the station, after devouring a huge breakfast. They had plans to depart the next day, so today Terry had to make rounds through some of the markets, and stock up on any food he wanted for the trip. Hugh had told them it would be a much longer trip to the next station, so they had to stock up on anything they needed, but all of that would come later. This morning was about fun. They had plans to hit all the amusement attractions they could today and nothing was going to stop them. Their first stop was the hover bike dealership.

"Well, well, welcome back, guys." Greeted the sales man, "I owe you a great big thank you. My sales yesterday were through the roof. I think half the station came by wanting a hover bike! And how was your day? Did you enjoy yourselves?"

"Oh ya!" Exclaimed Terry, "We had a blast, these are the coolest things ever!"

"Ya they were a lot of fun," Odey added, "Actually, we decided we want to buy the three we took out, and two more if you still have them in stock."

The look on the salesman's face was priceless; you could almost see the dollar signs flash in his eyes. With a huge grin he told them, " Sure, no problem. I've got a new shipment coming in, in a few hours. So if you don't need the extra two right away, then I can have them delivered to your ship, and you can take the other three with you now."

"That sounds good," Odey replied. He told the salesman to charge it to the Destiny's account, and that they would pay for everything at departure tomorrow.

"Sure, that will be fine, I'll have the others delivered to your bay as soon as they arrive, and I'll cut you a great price on them. I always keep my word. You guys have fun, and enjoy the bikes.

"We will," Terry told him, as they went outside to meet Kyle, who had stayed out with the bikes.

"Well, do you think we made a good decision?" asked Kyle, as the other two came out to join him. "They are going to cost an awful lot."

"Ya, but he said he would cut us a deal, and besides, they're for the ship, it's a business expense." Replied Terry, with a smirk.

"Ya they're real professional," Added Odey.

"Nice try guys, but they will be a lot of fun, so which park do you have planned first Ter?"

"I was thinking we could hit the water park first, then we can dry off on the hyper acceleration rides in the other park."

"Sounds like a plan," Kyle told him, "lead the way!"

And the boys took off. They stopped really quickly for Odey to change back into his own form. They had decided they could hide the blaster in the bike's storage compartment, and that they probably wouldn't run into much trouble at the parks. Later on, when they were shopping, he could change back and work as security. He would have a lot more fun in his natural shape. They made their way to the water park and bought their tickets.

They spent most of the morning becoming thoroughly soaked. They had so many different rides that it would take a couple days to ride them all, so they hit the ones that looked the best and wore themselves out until lunchtime. They left the park in search of food, and they left yet another buffet in shambles and debt. Kyle went to jump on his bike, so that they could head to the next park, when something squished underneath him and he heard an angry scream.

"Watch it Biped!" Sepi yelled across the COM, making him jump even more, "Here I am cat napping, minding my own business and a big butt lands on me! Try to pay more attention!" Sepi appeared for a brief second, as he jumped from Kyle's seat, up to Odey's shoulder. Then he vanished from sight again. Terry chuckled as Kyle was checking his seat for claw marks. When he found that the spangler had left his butt in one piece, he sighed his relief and fired up his bike. The boys headed off to their next park, once again full of energy and ready to play. None of them noticed the three old beaten up hover bikes that followed them down the bike lane.

Kyle was the first one off, at the next park, he changed the bike over to backpack mode and watched, still amazed, as the great big bike folded itself up into a light weight carry on. The other two followed suit, and soon they were ready to have some fun. Sepi declined their invitation to tag along, something about cats and high G-force not mixing well. They bought their tickets and went into the park. Three boys arrived behind them, on older beaten up hover bikes. They walked up to the ticket booth, and all three lifted their sleeves to show off the tattoos there. The gatekeeper immediately let them in without a charge.

Kyle, Terry, and Odey grabbed a map and headed off in search of some rides. Odey wasn't sure if he wanted to ride the super fast rides. He had never been on anything like them before, and some of them looked a little to wild for his taste. He did, however, brave the first one with the other boys, and ended up loosing a portion of his lunch. After that, he decided that some of the calmer rides were more for him. A soft thump on his shoulder told him that Sepi had not gone back to the ship. They talked for a while and decided that Sepi would not mind some of the calmer rides himself. Odey talked it over with Kyle and Terry and they decided that, as long as they each had a partner, that splitting up would be okay. Odey and Sepi went off in search of some of the games and rides they had seen earlier, when they came in the park. They passed by three rough looking boys, but thought nothing of it. As they walked past them, the three boys seemed to be discussing something, and after Odey had turned the corner, one of them broke off to follow him. The other two kept their distance from Kyle and Terry, watching for a chance.

Kyle and Terry were getting off of one of the wickedest rides they had ever seen. Kyle wanted to go again, but Terry was still a little light headed from the first trip. They decided to find a place to sit down. They wandered off and found an area over by a closed down food court. There were lots of seats, and it was relatively quiet. They found a seat and sat down to catch their breaths.

"Wow, that ride was intense." Kyle had had a blast on the last ride, but then again he always was an adrenaline junky. "Do you think you're going to be okay? We can call Odey and Take off if your not up to anymore."

"Na, I'll be fine, I just need to rest for a bit, and let the world stop spinning around me so fast," Terry said with a grin, "I could use a drink though, you want to go see if those vending machines still work?"

"Sure, be right back." Kyle gave Terry a quick kiss, and jumped up to grab him a drink. He put his thumb to the pad on the machine and it immediately gave him a list of choices. He yelled over his shoulder to Terry, asking what he wanted. He waited but Terry never replied. He spun around, and He saw two bigger boys dragging Terry around the corner.

"Hey what the hell do you think your doing? Get back here!" He took off after them, yelling for Odey to come with the blaster as he ran. Odey didn't reply. Oh shit, he thought, this is not good! Kyle ran around the corner and came to a door that said 'Authorized personnel only' He found it unlocked and threw it open, He ran through the door and turned just in time to see a pipe swinging at his head. He fell to the ground with a thud and a groan and the world went dark.

Odey was having a blast. These rides were great. He had never gotten to go to a fair, or anyplace, really. This was amazing. All of these rides and games. He and Sepi had stopped at this one row of games, and by the time they were at the other side, they had at least ten different prizes, even a robotic mouse for Sepi. They then went to some of the rides and they were having a lot of fun. Sepi clung to Odey's shoulder when they would spin, so he stuffed one of the smaller stuffed animals he had won in his shirt to keep the claws out.

They came off one of the smaller roller coasters, and Odey saw a fun house across the lane. They headed over there. It was a pretty good-sized building. Inside it boasted a mirror maze and all sorts of stuff to pop up and make you jump. They ran in and headed for the mirror maze. The kid who was tailing them followed them in.

Sepi Laughed as Odey looked in some of the mirrors, they would distort him and make him look funny, so Odey started playing along, He would shape shift until his image in the mirror looked normal. It was actually surprisingly difficult. They made their way through the maze and Odey stopped at another one of the funny mirrors. He began to shift, when a hand grabbed his shoulder and slung him around. Sepi flew off his other shoulder and the invisible spangler thudded into one of the mirrors making a loud noise. The thug who had spun him around whipped his head over to see what had made the noise, it distracted him just long enough for Odey to grab his arm and twist it behind his back. He slammed the boy into the glass and watched it shatter at the force of the contact.

"Who are you and what do you want?" Odey asked.

"Nothing, I was just going to ask you if you knew the time, I swear!" The boy blubbered, beginning to cry. Odey eased up on his arm a bit, and began to search the boy's mind. He didn't go in so deep that he would loose his attention here though. He saw that the boys had been outside the hover bike shop, they had over heard their purchase. So they had decided to follow them and see if they could find a way to get some cash off the man. They followed them and saw the bikes they had bought and knew they had to be loaded. Then they watched as the man went into the restrooms, leaving the boys alone by the bikes. They started to move on them then, but this kid here had hesitated. It seams he was new to their gang, and didn't want to hurt anyone. The oldest boy smacked him across the face and told him that if he was going to be a pussy he could go home to his mom and that they didn't need cowards in their gang. They had just started back over towards the boy, when a silver boy had come out of the bathroom, and jumped on the man's bike. They thought he was trying to steal it at first, but the other boys smiled and got on their bikes too and they all rode off together. They followed them until the reached the water park. It was fairly new and the man the boys worked for had yet to make his way down to pay a visit to the owner, so they couldn't go in. They planned on stealing the bikes when the boys went in, but as they watched the bikes folded up into backpacks and the boys took them with them. They had no choice but to wait for them to come out. They sat out there all morning and eventually the boys did come out. They followed them to the buffet, watched them eat more in a meal than they got in a week, and it was then the oldest boy decided he wanted to hurt them. He told the other boys that they were going to kidnap these boys and hold them for ransom, until that adult paid whatever he wanted. They followed them and found that their next stop was a park they knew well. The owner was terrified of the man they worked for, and all they had to do was show him their tattoos and he would let them in any time they wanted. They followed the boys into the park. They watched as they rode the first ride and then decided to split up. The older boy told the new kid to follow that silver boy, and to do whatever it took to grab him. He told him that if he didn't bring him the boy, that he would hunt him down and hurt him and his family. The new boy was scared, but he was a big kid, so taking the little silver boy should be pretty easy, he wouldn't have to hurt him, much.

Odey pulled back from his mind. He had scanned through and saw the rough upbringing the boy had had, he saw that his family was poor, and that his mother and sister were counting on him to bring them some money. He had tried to get another job, but no one would hire a kid who was only fourteen, none of the respectable businesses at least. He had tried all the shops on the station, and they all either had enough help, or didn't want to hire a kid who was dressed so scruffy, so eventually, his last hope was the pirates. He had found them a week ago, and had signed on with a local gang. This was his first trip out. Odey felt bad for the kid. They had seen nothing but the nice side of the station, but there was a different side as well. He wanted to do something to help him, but he couldn't think of what to do. He would have to bring it up with Kyle.

He realized he was still holding the boy in a very uncomfortable position, and he let him go. The boy spun around with tears in his eyes.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be so rough in asking you what time it was. I'll just be on my way."

"Wait." Commanded Odey. Even though he was quite a bit smaller than the boy, the tone of his voice told the other boy that he meant it. The boy spun back around. "I know what you were doing, and I know why. Don't lie to me. I know about your sister and your mother, I know they need your help, but this is not the way to help them. What are you going to do for them, if you end up dead or in jail? Nothing. You need help, and I might be able to help you, but you have to trust me, and you have to help me. Your partners will not be so nice, if they get a hold of my friends, but I can stop them if I can get there in time. I need your help. I'll trust you, if you trust me."

Odey stuck out his hand. He saw the thoughts running through the boys mind, and he gave a gentle push with his mind. Slowly the boy reached out and took his hand, and shook it.

"Okay, I'll help, I never wanted anyone to get hurt, but Damien doesn't care who he hurts, as long as he gets his way. He wants to kidnap them and hold them for ransom from that guy they were with earlier."

"Oh you mean this guy?" With that, Odey shifted into Hugh/Kyle. The look on the boy's face was great. He was totally floored.

"Wha...wha...what are you?" He stammered.

"I'm a Mishi, well actually, I guess I'm a Mirnov, because I don't believe as the Mishi do, to be more precise, I'm a shape shifter. I can also read people's minds. That's how I know what you've been through. I know you're a good kid, but right now, we have to go, do you know where they would take them? I can't seem to get into their minds."

A weight on his shoulder told him Sepi was ok, he had forgotten about him in the confusion.

"If he doesn't, I do," Sepi said, across the COM on his collar. He talked this way more for the benefit of the other boy, than for Odey, "Kyle tried to call you right after I got flung across the room. I've been tracking them ever since."

The other boy looked up and stared as a spangler kitten materialized on Odey's shoulder. It was his second shock of the day, and he wasn't sure he could take much more. This was getting weird.

Odey realized he had never gotten the boys name, so he looked really quick and turned to the boy, "Listen Michael, we really need to go. Sepi, where are they?"

"They are on the other side of the park, I can hear machinery through the COM."

"I know where they are!" Exclaimed Michael. "They must have taken them to the back area. They hang out back there sometimes. It's actually where I met them. Come on!" With that, Michael took off at a sprint. Odey took a second to get the blaster out and strap it on and then he took off after him.

Kyle woke up on a cold rough floor. His head was killing him, and he looked over to see Terry still unconscious. He heard movement off to the right and he saw that one of the boys who had taken Terry was there, shuffling a deck of cards. He tried to look around and find the other one, but moving his eyes hurt his head, so he decided to listen and see if he could figure out a way out of here.

"So, how are we going to get our money?" The boy who was sitting there shuffling asked. Kyle heard a voice from behind the pipe he was tied to respond.

"Patience Malachi, patience. I've already sent a note to the captain of their ship. I told him that if I had one million credits in my account by tonight, that I would let them go, and if I didn't, then they would be shipped to him in pieces." An evil little chuckle came from the owner of the voice.

"What are we really going to do if they don't pay us, Damien?"

"Just what I said."

"We can't actually kill them!"

"Of course we can, we run this place, or at least we work for the guy who does. Since he's never here, it's ours. There's nothing they can do about it. If they try to do anything to me, I'll just call him, and he'll bring the pirate crews back around and the station certainly doesn't want that. If their captain doesn't pay, these spoiled little brats will."

"That's crazy D you can't just go around killing people." A loud slap sounded. Kyle opened his Eyes and saw the kid who had hit him, Malachi, fall out of his chair and hit the ground. He watched as the other boy jumped on him and hit him again and again.

"Never call me crazy," He spat at Malachi, "I'm not crazy."

"I'm sorry, I know you're not! Let me up, D."

"Good, get your ass up and go check the hostages," Damien got off of him and gave him a hand, getting up.

Malachi came over and checked them out. He made sure they were still tied up tight and then he checked their pulse. Satisfied that they were still alive, he went back to the table and began shuffling as if nothing had happened.

Kyle heard a noise off to the left and opened his eyes just a bit, to look. He saw another boy, one he hadn't seen before; stick his head up through a vent in the floor. Kyle was confused for a moment. Who was this kid? He watched as the boy quietly pulled himself up, out of the vent, and crouched low. The boy saw that his eyes were open and he put his finger over his mouth to tell Kyle to be quiet. Just as the boy started to creep towards them, Terry groaned and began to try and sit up. The other boy froze, and with a quick move he was hidden. Malachi came back over and checked Terry.

"Hey Damien, one of them is waking up."

"Well, make sure he's gagged and then get back over here and let's play cards."

"O.K." He checked the ropes and the gags once again, and went back over to the table.

Kyle looked over at Terry, His eyes were open and he appeared to be in a lot less pain than Kyle was in. Kyle realized they must have knocked him out with a stun ray or something, because he didn't have a noticeable head wound. That was good. At least they hadn't hurt Terry. Kyle looked back to the left and saw the new boy move back out of the shadows. He looked a bit older than them, he had spiked hair similar to Kyle's, only it was all gray. From behind his head, Kyle saw something sticking out of his jacket. The boy reached behind his head and pulled it out. It was the longest knife Kyle had ever seen. It looked like it must run the entire length of his back! Kyle started to panic, but the boy once again held up a finger to his lips, trying to tell him to be quiet. The boy approached them without a noise and he bent down with his huge knife and cut the ropes on Kyle's hands. The he moved to his feet. When Kyle was free, the boy signaled to him to keep a look out and he began to cut Terry free. Kyle looked around the corner, and saw Malachi and Damien were still playing cards. He backed up to tell the boy and that's when he tripped over a discarded pipe, probably the one that had it him in the head. It clattered across the floor, causing Damien and Malachi to jump and spin around. The table went flying, as they knocked it over, and Damien drew a blaster from is belt. Kyle looked for help, but the other boy had vanished. Kyle turned and helped Terry to his feet, but it was too late, and the two bigger boys were right there.

"Ahh, so you're up and at 'em hey boys? Just where do you think your going?" asked Damien in an angry voice.

"And how the hell did you get loose?" Malachi added.

"I cut them loose oh brother dear," a voice from behind them replied.

Malachi spun around, but Damien didn't move. There behind him stood the boy who had cut them free, with a blaster to the back of Damien's head.

"You little shit! Where the hell have you been hiding, we looked all over for you after that little incident with security. You're in serious trouble when the boss gets back! Why do you want to make it worse on yourself EZ? You don't even know these guys." Malachi yelled.

"Neither do you. What makes you think you can do with them as you please?"

"No one asked us if we wanted to leave our home! It's the way the universe works EZ, survival of the strongest! Why do you have such a problem with that?"

"I don't, I have a problem with people picking on others, just because they think they can. Especially people like this psycho you hang out with who likes to hurt others. I should shoot him right now, and make the world a better place, but that would make me to much like him."

Damien started to turn, but EZ pressed the blaster harder into his head, "Give me a reason to shoot, please."

"Let him go EZ, you know the boss put him in charge, just because you don't like it doesn't mean you can cross the boss."

"The Boss? He is not my Boss. He is nothing more than a cold-hearted slave trader. I will not serve a man like him; I don't care how much he paid for me. Malachi, there is a better universe out there, we have enough money to get a ship and get away from him, why do you insist on staying?"

"We can't get away from him, he's got too much power, you've seen what he does to escapees, and I didn't survive this long to die, now let Damien go." Malachi grabbed for the blaster he had hidden behind his back. Damien started to spin around and EZ fell back and fired at his brother with a stun bolt, as he brought the knife he had in his left hand across Damien's right arm. Damien dropped his blaster and grabbed his arm in pain. EZ's shot at his brother barely missed, and his brother returned a shot, but it was a live laser, not a stun bolt. EZ dove to the left and barely missed getting blasted.

"If you insist on being a hero, then you can die like one," Malachi yelled. He fired again and EZ dodged to the right and ran towards his brother, he brought the knife up and cut the blaster in two before his brother could get off another shot. Malachi dropped what was left of the blaster and reached under his long jacket. From his waist, he pulled out a knife almost identical to EZ's.

"So it comes down to this again, Malachi? You want to put our fathers blades against one another? So be it. I've tried to bring you back to the path of justice, but you insist on being the enemy of justice. I will bring you down, and restore the honor to our father's name that you took from it so very long ago." With that said EZ attacked. He brought his blade in tight and cut at the last second, deflecting Malachi's blade. A sharp ring of metal filled the room, as the combat accelerated. Damien had bandaged his arm and was watching the brothers fight with a smile on his face. He reached down for the blaster, but before he could pick it up, a shot rang out. Odey and Michael stood at the door. Odey had fired and melted the blaster at Damien's feet. Kyle and Terry ran around the embattled brothers and made their way to Odey. They grabbed Damien on their way past, and threw him to the ground. Odey tied him up and then stunned him for good measure. They all turned to watch the brothers fight. There was nothing they could do to stop them.

EZ spun to the left, and his brother's attack missed him, throwing him off balance. EZ saw his chance and took it. He brought the butt of his sword down on his brother's back, and kicked his feet out from under him. Malachi fell to the ground. He turned over, as EZ kicked his sword away from him.

"It's over, you've lost Malachi, don't make me kill you."

"Okay, you win. Leave the station, run away from the boss, but you won't get far, he will track you down, and he will bring you back, and when he does, I'll be here waiting."

EZ stepped back. "You acknowledge me the victor, and that our father's shame is yours?"

"Yes, okay, it was my fault, I'm the one who betrayed our soldiers to the enemy, I told them where to find us, and how many soldiers we had. I told them our defenses and how to beat them, I betrayed our people, not father. He never knew I was listening when they were planning for the crusade; I did what I did because they were going to win! Our village was going to be lost anyways and I tried to save our family! They promised they wouldn't hurt us, but they lied! I had to watch them rape and kill our mother and sister, I had to watch them hang our father, I've paid for my mistake, and now you've avenged father's good name, your little quest for justice is over. Get out of here. Do what ever you think is right with your life, but you won't escape."

"You are no longer my brother, Malachi, your shame is yours to bear alone. Your payment for your sin is far from over. If we meet again, I will not spare your life." With that said, EZ slid his blade back down the sheath behind his back. He walked over to where the other boys were. He kicked Damien in the stomach as he passed him. Despite him being stunned, EZ knelt down and whispered in his ear, "Justice will come for you as well, it will not be kind, and it will not be quick. I hope I'm there when you fall." With that said, he stood and led the other boys out of there.

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Part 3

The boys all sat eating. They had left the park as soon as they had come out of the back. They had all been through a lot, and they only had a couple of hours left before they needed to be back on the ship. They decided to go get some food, and it took some convincing, but they even talked EZ and Michael into joining them. They sat and ate in silence. The two local boys ate their fill, for the first time in years. Once everyone was finished eating, the talk began. It started out simple. Just trying to break the ice, but in the end, they learned a lot. Kyle told them all about him and Terry, where they came from, about the rebellion on their planet, and how they had ended up at the station. Odey told them the abbreviated version of his past, and how Kyle and Terry had saved him at Sepi's request. Then it was time to hear from the newcomers.

"So," Began Kyle, "What's your story, Michael? We've heard some of it from Odey, but why don't you start at the beginning."

"Okay, I doubt I can tell as good a tail as yours, but I'll try my best. Up until about four years ago, my life was great. I've always lived on this station. I was born here. My dad used to run a shop and my mom helped him out, but that was before he died. He died when I was 10. Mom ran the store herself for a while, but she didn't know what she was doing, really. She ended up not having enough money to cover expenses one month, and she had to borrow from the pirates. Now she owes them, and if I can't make enough money to pay them back soon, they will take my mom, my sister, and me, and sell us into slavery to cover the debt. I tried to find honest work, but none of the shopkeepers would hire me on. They either had plenty of help, or they wouldn't hire someone as raggedly dressed as I am. So I'm stuck working for the pirates. That's pretty much it. I hate working for them, but I can't let them take my mother and sister, I won't."

Kyle saw how strongly he felt. He wanted to help him, so he decided to offer the only help he could think of. "You and your mother and sister are welcome aboard our ship. We have a long journey ahead of us, but it's a comfortable ship. I can't promise we won't have trouble with the pirates, but I can promise I will do anything in my power to keep you and your family safe." Kyle saw a gleam of hope in Michaels Eyes for a brief second, and then it faded.

"I can't. My mom will never leave this station. It has been her home her entire life. All of her memories with my father are here. I've brought up the idea before, she won't agree, and I can't leave her."

"I understand, and I promise that, before I leave, I will think of a way to help you."

"I may be able to help him," EZ said, everyone turned to look at him. "If you are willing to take me along with you Kyle, then I have enough money hidden away to help Michael. I've been robbing the boss for years, saving up to run away with my brother, when he finally came to his senses. It looks like that's never going to happen, so, if you will take me with you, then the money is his. It should be more than enough to pay off their debt, and keep them in business for a long time after."

Kyle thought this over and decided it was as good a plan as any. He had planned to offer EZ a lift anyways. After all he had done for them, it was the least he could do.

"Agreed, you're welcome aboard the Destiny, EZ. I'd still like to hear your story if you would be willing to tell it."

"Sure, I'd love to. It's been a long time since I could tell it to anyone besides my brother, and my name isn't EZ it's Ezekiel. EZ was a nickname Damien gave me, I never liked it, but he insisted on calling me that. Even my brother picked it up. You can call me Zeke. My father used to call me Zeke."

"Zeke it is, then." Terry said, "I haven't had a chance to thank you yet, for saving our lives, so thanks Zeke."

"No problem, I hated the things Damien did, and it was time someone stood up to him. I was the only one on his crew who would, but that's getting ahead of my story." Zeke looked at the time and realized it was getting too late to be out and about on the station. "Speaking of my story, it had best wait until we are safely aboard your ship. It's getting late, and we don't want to be around here. Damien will be looking for us. He hates to lose."

"Ya he's right," Michael said. "If you thought he was in a bad mood this afternoon, wait until he can gather the rest of the gang and come after you. You guys had better go."

Zeke grabbed Michael's hand and slipped a piece of paper into it. "That's a map to my money. Go there tomorrow, and take it for your mom. Good luck, Michael, if Damien gives you any trouble, run. He's Dangerous. You may yet have to leave the station."

"The offer still stands for you to come along with us," Kyle said, "We won't leave until morning."

"Thanks guys, it really means a lot, and thank you Zeke, you have no idea how much this money means to me. I have to stay here, I can tell it's where I belong." Michael grabbed Zeke in a hug. Zeke tensed up at first, but then he relaxed and hugged Michael back. Kyle, Terry, and Odey shook hands with Michael, and Odey told him that he would miss him. They all headed out of the restaurant to head home. Michael went to the left and the other boys headed to the right, where they could release their bikes and head back to the Destiny. As his bike unfolded Kyle looked back over his shoulder and yelled to Michael.

" Remember, if you change your mind, we won't be leaving until morning."

Michael looked back with a grin, but the look on his face quickly changed. The look of terror on his face only grew worse as he yelled, "Look out Zeke!!!"

Zeke spun around just in time to see his brother. Malachi stabbed forward with his blade, right through Zeke's stomach. The blade came clean through and stood out the other side.

"You forgot father's other sword brother." Malachi said with a grin. "It is yours by right of your victory, use it in good health." Malachi turned and began to walk away. Kyle looked up from Zeke in time to see Damien leveling his blaster at Terry. Kyle didn't think or hesitate; he threw himself at Terry and grabbed him, just as he heard the blaster fire.

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To Be Continued...

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Author's Notes:

Well, there is the long awaited chapter 6. It seemed a good time to see how these cliffhanger things worked. Don’t worry; I’ll get the next chapter out a lot faster than this one. I was actually going to write this one all the way out and not end it like this, but some people thought I was taking to long, so I left off here. Remember be careful what you wish for. I hope you enjoy and that you come and play with us next time. Until then, so long and as always,

Thanks for playing
Taron

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Editor's Notes:

Oh dear, You have been taking lessons from Str8mayb, haven't you? We must find you a suitable punishment. Why did you kill off Zeke. That was not nice. You are Evil.

Darryl
AKA The Radio Rancher

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Other Editor's Notes:

Oh, dream on. I can tell you right now they ain't buy'n any excuse for a Cliff Hanger. But you are learning well, Grasshopper.
Great chapter, but I'm in deep trouble, I'm now editing two stories with Malachis and Ezekiels. I'm so confused, how can I edit like that? Oh, yeah, I'm always confused, so...never mind.
So where is this quick chapter?

Str8mayb
AKA Evil Author & Master of Misdirection

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Author's Addendum:

Evil? Me? NO! He’s not quite dead yet, he might make it, LOL, well I’m going camping this weekend and we all know how well that worked last time, so we should see the next chapter in a few months! muhahahaha. Na I’m just kidding, I’m not QUITE as evil as Str8. Don’t worry your last precious brain cell str8, Ezekiel goes by Zeke and Malachi might just have something unpleasant planned for his future, you’ll have to come back next time and see. Or feel free to come by the board at www.jeffsfortboard.us and let me know what you think. Until next time, hang on tight!!!