Boys grow into men. A quarter of a century after they went their own way as boys, The Survivors reunite as men. What happens over the next quarter century is up to your imagination.
Thanks to reader Bruno, who gave me the idea of how to deal with Robert Charles's father and his desire to redress the death of his son in Chapters 60 and 61.
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EPILOGUE
The quickly arranged gathering before many of the "Starkeeper" boys had left Earth was the last time The Survivors ever met as a group for a quarter of a century. However, through the years they all managed to stay in touch with each other. They met up with members of their select group whenever they could. Many of them remained lasting friends, and two pairs of them became Meshannas. All of them became successful men.
There were those who felt the "Starkeeper" survivors were given an undeserved privileged status. But as they worked their ways through school and their professions, they proved to the doubters that they didn't feel they were owed anything. Those who went to the Space Academy were grateful for the fact that they were guaranteed entrance.
They didn't take their scholarships for granted, however. Every grade, every promotion, every position they held was earned by their intelligence and hard work. Their detractors began to see that The Survivors were exactly what they appeared to be—heroes who refused to rest on their laurels.
Twenty-five years after Robert Charles launched the "Moonduster" in an act of panic, the boys met again as mature men who were prosperous and respected in their professions. While the story of their survival was the stuff of legend, it no longer followed them. They were their own men who worked to create a new legacy for themselves daily.
This is where the boys of the "Starkeeper" found themselves as they prepared for their reunion.
Ethan never returned to space. He and his twin brother, Logan, remained lovers into their early college years. But long before they went their own ways, Ethan had more than one relationship with a girl. In fact, he lost his virginity at the age of fourteen in the bedroom of thirteen-year-old Melissa. He attended the University of Maryland as a pre-med student. He earned his M.D. and works as a pediatric surgeon. He is married and has two sons, Dwight, thirteen, and Tyson, eleven.
Logan, did return to space. He accepted his appointment to the Space Academy. Like his twin, he went into medicine. He is divorced with no children and now has a male partner to whom he is totally dedicated. Logan is currently assigned to the starship "Galaxy Explorer" as the ship's surgeon.
Matthew/Mattoo and Enghar stayed together as partners, as Meshannas generally do. Inferno was their home, and they had no desire to go elsewhere. They learned the workings of terraforming from Brandon's mother and at the university. They are now the chief engineers of the atmosphere station in a new settlement in the southern hemisphere of Shakaman Prol (Inferno). Enghar mated with Audan, a twenty-two-year old woman, when he was twenty-five. She gave birth to a girl and took over as her guardian. Two years later the two of them produced a son, who now lived with Enghar and Mattoo. He became the first Hakaanen boy to receive an Earth name. Michael is ten and totally loves his papas, as well as his big, loveable Uncle Mike.
Jeremy became a farmer on Alpha Omega IV. He decided that being gay wasn't working well for him and convinced himself he was bisexual. The decision netted him a childless marriage to a wonderful woman who helped make the farm a thriving enterprise. He did his best to maintain his distance from his fellow Survivors. His life was prosperous and he loved his wife, but he kept having the feeling that something was missing.
Warren was disappointed when Jeremy started dating a girl just after he turned sixteen. He worshiped Jeremy and was crushed when their relationship fell apart. As a result, he applied to colleges on Earth. As much as he hated leaving his father, he realized that he had no future on AO IV. He graduated from Georgetown University with a degree in government. While earning his masters at Georgetown, he met Alan, who would become his partner. Warren is the Governor of Mountain Air, an Earth colony. Alan serves as Secretary of Agriculture. They are the proud fathers two boys, nine-year-old Bryce and seven-year-old Evan, who were borne for them by a surrogate mother before they left Earth.
Travis stunned everyone, including himself, by falling in love with his young cousin, Nathan. He attended Columbia University and became a teacher. He accepted a teaching position at the Earth diplomatic school on Hakaan. He took his then sixteen-year-old cousin with him, where he was enrolled in the high school on Hakaan. Within a year, Nathan and Travis became the fourth Earth pair to Join as Meshannas, following Douglas and Scooter as well as Ryan and Mike. It took Travis a few years to do so, but he found his true Meshanna.
Nathan became enamored with the Hakaanen culture and language. While After graduating from high school he attended the University of Kana, majoring in cultural studies. He and Travis made Hakaan their home. Travis is now the headmaster of the high school, while Nathan teaches cultural studies at the University of Kana. They have a five-year-old son whom they'd adopted as an orphan.
Alex and Stevie graduated from the Space Academy and entered into Space Fleet service. Even though they were brothers, they registered as partners so they could serve together. While their action raised a few eyebrows, it was not unheard of. There were no regulations prohibiting relationships between same-sex siblings and their request was honored by Space Fleet. They served as officers on exploration ships, with Alex as a navigator and Stevie in communications. They loved the hazardous work of exploring new worlds, even if it often seemed tame compared to their adventures on Inferno.
When Alex turned thirty, he and Stevie entered agreements with two surrogate mothers. Alex impregnated his surrogate the old fashioned way, while Stevie went the artificial insemination route. Alex became the father of a son, Marco, and Stevie of a daughter, Katlin. They were born two weeks apart and are now ten.
In order to continue working in space while they raised their children, they transferred to the Space Transport wing of Space Fleet. Alex now serves as Captain of the "Gordon Starr" with Stevie serving as his Communications Chief. Like Jordan had been, Marco and Katlin were being raised on a starship, only with better results. Even though they were only ten, the two children were talented participants in the musical jam sessions Alex, Stevie, and some other crew members put on for the passengers.
Alex and Stevie were joined as Meshannas. A year after the Joinings of Scooter and Douglas as well as Mike and Ryan, Alex and Stevie visited Inferno in the hopes of becoming Meshannas. While rare, there were brothers who were Meshannas, and the precedent had been set for round ears to become Meshannas. Once Alex and Stevie passed their interviews and tests, there was no reason to refuse them.
When Brandon turned sixteen he returned to Earth from Inferno to continue with his higher education. He brought thirteen-year-old Reshada with him. He and Reshada had Joined and become Meshannas six months before leaving. Reshada became the first Hakaanen youth to attend an Earth school. His outgoing personality helped make him very popular with his classmates. He was a bright boy and had learned English before leaving Inferno. As a result, he was a successful student. The biggest thing for him to get used to was wearing clothes. While Hakaanen youth often wore loose fitting clothes to school, especially on test days, he was now required to dress every day.
Brandon and Reshada eventually earned advanced degrees in terraforming and returned to space to help newly settled planets set up atmospheric stations. They are currently working as Chief Atmosphere Engineers on the planet Makon Saum, the newly settled fourth colony of the Hakaanen.
Mike and Ryan avoided school for as long as they could. They finally returned to Earth for their senior year in high school and then attended the Space Academy. After fulfilling their six-year active duty obligation they returned to Inferno continuing where they left off—helping to build a viable, planet-wide ecosphere. They often worked closely with Enghar and Mattoo. Mike and Ryan loved playing doting uncle for their "nephew" Michael (Mickeel to the Hakannen). Michael loved it when he could spend overnight time with Mike and Ryan, who felt it was their duty to spoil the boy. Enghar and Mattoo made sure Michael's head didn't swell too much and his feet stayed planted firmly to the floor as with any good Hakaanen boy.
When Scooter and Douglas returned to Earth as Meshannas, nobody, outside of the "Starkeeper" boys, their parents, and a couple of select individuals, such as Captain Parrish, knew about the ceremony that had Joined the boys. That was mostly because Scooter and Douglas saw no reason to inform anyone. The boys had earned enough credits on the "Starblazer" that they were able to enter the Space Academy a year early. They worked, studied, and played hard, graduating with honors.
Since they'd listed themselves as partners, they were able to serve their assignments together and quickly rose through the ranks. Twelve years later, Douglas received his first command in Space Fleet: the "Galaxy Pioneer". Scooter was his Chief Engineer.
The only way Scooter could rise to the position of First Officer or Captain would be to serve on a separate ship from Douglas. He had no aspiration to attain a command position. Douglas was the commander and leader of the pair, which suited Scooter just fine.
Like their peers from the "Starkeeper", Douglas and Scooter successfully proved themselves with their current accomplishments, not on what they had achieved in the past when they became celebrity teens. It was the "Galaxy Pioneer", with Douglas in command, that discovered another sentient race. They were a warlike species, who appeared to have just begun sending rockets into space. Abiding by the First Contact Manual that was written after the discovery of the Hakaanen, Douglas made no attempt to contact the new species. The ship gathered a great deal of information from a distance.
"We probably wouldn't have contacted the Hakaanen if these rules had been in effect," Douglas mused while dining with Scooter and Commander Nguyen, his First Officer, one evening. Upon returning to Earth, Douglas once again found himself a bit of a celebrity because of the discovery.
And so, The Survivors, as they called themselves, would be meeting in the same lodge that housed their last gathering. The reunion took over a year to plan. Space Fleet, knowing the publicity value involved, did everything they could to cooperate and lend their help. All of The Survivors attended, including Jeremy, who took some extra persuading. They brought their partners, their wives, and their children. The men spent a wonderful five days together in ways only they could understand. Even Jeremy enjoyed erotic encounters with his fellow Survivors.
Their children learned a great deal from each other as well. Hakaanen culture and eroticism made itself felt among the children, something the adults did not discourage.
Between them all of the men understood that even if they never had another reunion there was a bond between them that could never be broken. No matter what they were accomplishing today, or where they would find themselves in the future, they would always be The Survivors.
Please email me your feelings about this epic story. Douglas. thehakaanen@homail.com