The New Order Author: Eileen Thomson Email: indigotoast@yahoo.com Rating: NC-17 Summary: Nick in space… a different look at our hero! Author's notes: I felt very guilty, taking our beloved Nick and using him this way, but Suz and Linda tweaked and sorted out all the errors with no complaint. Are these guys real? Maybe just a figment of my fevered imagination! You both do great work and I'm so grateful for it. --+-- In the year 2203 the world is dying. Earth, the Old Mother, who has been through the worst times and survived, is now finished. The air is rank and the population, disease ridden. The people are starving. The farmers cannot grow enough food to keep the whole of the population fed. The riots turn to wars and more damage is inflicted on an already dire situation. Stations on the Moon and Mars are overcrowded, and the unrest threatens to engulf them also. ~*~ At first the scientists could not make up their minds where the images were coming from. They had started to receive the signals three months ago, when a new relay station had been put on Mars, and they showed a planet not unlike earth. The fresh green of the fields and the blue skies were like a sign from God to the leaders of the dying world. They finally came to realize that what they saw were the last images from the Hubble satellite, launched in 1990, before it plunged towards the planet and burned up in its atmosphere. Secret meetings take place and the world leaders decide to send a group of colonists to the planet. Everyone on board will sleep for the first twenty years. During these years the computers will turn and feed them, and send electric pulses to stimulate their muscles. The engineers will then be awakened by the computers for necessary maintenance to the ship and life support systems. Only the colonists will remain undisturbed. Engineers will take turns to sleep. Ten on duty, then the next ten will take over. There are forty engineers and each set will have two five year shifts to maintain the ship. Even with the new technology, the journey will take sixty years. It is not known whether the colonists will survive. The crews are told they will be given small doses of the new wonder-drug Zaphett. This drug inhibits emotions and will keep them on an even keel until the planet is reached. The governments of the world unite at last to find the right people to send to the new world. Everyone who is chosen is shipped to Mars. There they are controlled by the drug Zaphett and trained until the ships can be built. It will take ten long years before the ships can blast off from Mars. ~*~ Nicholas Fallin is one of the chosen. He has been trained to be an arbitrator. His fine mind will be a great asset to the colonists. There will be no wars, no fighting. The drug will control any who can not conform and the arbitrator will have the deciding vote in any dispute. He is just twenty-four when he is informed he is to travel into space. For the past ten years, since he was left without parents at fourteen, he has voluntarily been used as a guinea pig for scientists testing Zaphett and has been under the control of the drug since. He knows he was lucky to have been taken off the streets. He has no emotions at all. He cannot remember a time when he could not think logically. Two hundred and forty men and women will travel, asleep in the great ship along with the forty engineers, four doctors and two arbitrators. It will also carry the sperm from some of the greatest men from Earth. This was agreed by all the nations of the world, a last piece of vanity. The women aboard would be inseminated before they landed on the new world. The first children born on the new world would be the leader's offspring. Three drone ships will travel with them, controlled by the main ships computers. They carry supplies and equipment needed by the colonists. On the last day of July 2213 the massive convoy of space ships takes off heading towards a new and glorious future. ~*~ June 2270, three years from the New World. Arbitrator Nicholas Fallin feels consciousness crawl over him. He feels as if cold water is running over his thoughts, trickling over his brain and freezing his inner being. He feels discomfort… then searing pain. The tube is pulled from his throat. He gags and struggles to sit up. Cool hands push him down. His eyes are taped shut and he can see nothing. His muscles twitch uncontrollably. "Keep him still or he'll harm himself," a rough disembodied male voice says. "Drug him to calm him down." This time he hears a female voice, with other voices muttering in the background. "What's the point of bringing him round then drugging him again?" "Just give him enough to stabilize him until he recovers from the deep sleep. I think we should drug him down. We don't want to harm him." Nicholas feels the cold drug patch fixed to his neck and he drifts off into the blackness once more. The next time he wakes he is propped up in the recovery bed in the sick bay of the ship. He has tubes still attached to his chest and stomach and he has a fluid drip going into his arm. He is not alone. "Are we there?" he asks croaking with the unaccustomed use of his voice. The man, who has the name `Falconetti' on his breast pocket, stands up and reaches over Nicholas. He presses the intercom and says, "He's awake." Seeing that Falconetti has no intention of talking to him, Nicholas Fallin studies his surroundings. The place has changed since he last saw it. The newness has gone, replaced by a worn dingy look. The whole place is dark and Nicholas thinks there has been some sort of disaster here. There are signs massive repair work has been done, but parts of the wall are covered in old scorch marks. A timid knock brings his attention back to the present. Twenty-four men and women now crowd into the room. Nicholas knows this is serious. There should only be ten at any given time. "You don't have to knock," Falconetti snarls. "He's just like us now, a man with no hope." Pulling himself upright, Arbitrator Fallin hauls his mind to order and asks, "What has happened here? Explain what has occurred. You..." he points, with a shaking finger at the man at the back of the room. "You talk. Everyone else be quiet. When he is done you can all have a say." "My name is Jared. I'm from America." "Get on with it. Who cares where you're from?" Falconetti interrupts again. "You speak out of turn again and I will have you drugged down. I can see that something terrible has taken place, but I can't begin to understand it if you won't let someone tell me the whole story. Now be still and let Jared speak." He turns to Jared and says, with kindness in his husky voice. "I, too, am from America." Jared begins again. "It is June 2270. We are still three years from the planet. We have sent out probes and everything is looking as we hoped it would. Our way is clear. In 2265 we were hit by a small meteor shower. The incubation room was demolished. There was also severe damage to this side of the ship, though we have repaired most of it now." His breath catches in his throat. "There is no sperm left. By the time the robots were able to mend the outer shell and let us into the room to mend the electrical system, it was too late. Everything is gone." "You have no back up system for power?" Arbitrator Fallin asks. "No. When the shower hit, it put out most the systems. We had to divert the power we did have to keep the colonists alive. I was one of the engineers on duty and I instigated the emergency procedure to wake the next set of engineers early. For the past five years we have been repairing the ship and trying to find how we are to survive on the new planet." "There are three hundred people on this ship. Why do you think we can't survive?" Nick asks with a logical tone. The man slides down the wall and putting his elbows on his knees he weeps inconsolably. A woman called Rose speaks quietly. "You don't know do you? We, the engineers and the doctors that is, were chosen because we have problems. We can't breed. The only people who can are the women." "We have one hundred and ten men in cryo-sleep" Fallin says. "The eggs were the last way of the old world perpetuating itself here, and the only hope of the new old surviving. They gave overly strong doses of the drug to the men. You have been under the drug so long that there is little reproductive hope for any of you. All the other men are the same. You were given too high doses. They did it deliberately to make sure *they* were the only breeders. Bastards! The vanity! The cruelty!" She too succumbs to tears. "We were doing this for a new civilization, now there is nothing." The steady weeping of Jared has Nicholas thinking. "Why is that man able to weep? Why are his emotions not under control? Why is Falconetti able to be angry? Did you stop taking your Zaphett.?" Seeing their downcast faces he continues. "I don't understand why you stopped taking your drugs, being emotional hasn't helped you. Why have you waited five years to wake someone? Has something else gone wrong?" His quiet voice echoes round the room. "Gone wrong? What else would you like? It's not enough that the end of our species is at hand, you ask if something else has gone wrong!" Falconetti growls at him. Nicholas is bone weary *So many problems, so soon!* He rakes his hand through his unruly hair. I must rest now. I'm sorry. Please give me time to get on top of this cryo-sleep and I'll put my mind to the problem." As the men and women leave the room Nicholas quietly signals the doctors to stay behind. "When did you get wakened from cryo-sleep?" "Five weeks ago. The engineers have taken five years to repair the damage. There was no great danger and things only became urgent when they had to space walk over to the drone ships for equipment. That was when they discovered the locked files over there and read them. They woke us up." "How are you coping with all the emotional upheaval?" "We are able to cope better than you because we have had to deal with our own emotional state for a life time. Doctors were the one area where drugging was not compulsory. We have made a room for you in the centre of the ship. You will need somewhere to be alone, to think how to solve this." The doctor rubs his hands together furiously. "What am I saying? We have looked into the files; there is no way to fix it." "Is it true? Can none of us be used to collect sperm?" One of the doctors, a Dr. Benson answers him. "We don't know that either." Benson shakes his head still puzzled at the inhumanity of the leaders of Earth. "We thought we were the only ones who were infertile. To think they would do this, to take a chance that nothing would go wrong, and to over-dose the men. We were just meant to be protectors for their sperm! When everything was destroyed, the engineers went into the records of the colonists and found that the men were put on higher doses of the drug to burn out their sperm. That was when the infighting started. The others came off the Zaphett and could no-one could get a decision from them. Eventually we four doctors decided to waken you. You are the arbitrator. You must decide what is to be done." "Was I infertile before the drug?" Arbitrator Fallin asks. "No, and we can't say for sure you are now. But the chances are very, very slim. That's why we woke you three years before landing. Something must be done before the colonists are wakened. Imagine how they will feel when they find out. You can't force them to take Zaphett when they discover what their governments have done. It would be better to let them die in space than to have them live their barren lives out in a strange environment." "Stop giving me Zaphett at once and we will see what happens." Nicholas orders with a flat, unemotional voice. "It could kill you! You have been on this drug for over most of your life. All the time you were in stasis you were given a dose of Zaphett. You have never felt emotions. They could drive you crazy." "As long as you can tie me down and take my sperm -- if it is viable then -- the problem is solved. We won't allow our species to die." His lack of emotionality has the doctors jumpy. "Then you will know that it will possibly work for every man. There is one other thing you have not considered." He pauses now, wondering if they can deal with the next piece of news. "What if the people living on the planet won't let us land?" "There are people?" The Doctors now sit in silence, pondering the lies their respective governments had fed them. "The last images showed that there had been some sort of structure built just beneath where Hubble took its last photograph. Close scrutiny of the image could not determine, however, if it was an ancient settlement or if there are people living there. It is reasonable that there is life on the planet. God would not leave such a paradise empty." The doctors are astounded that the Arbitrator feels for a God, but say nothing. The whole situation is too weird for them to handle and for them just to get by is enough. ~*~ The first time Fallin had left the room Benson had taken him to the special place in the centre of the ship. It was thickly padded with rough cloth and was reminiscent of a room made in the early twentieth century for the insane. Seeing the look on Nicholas' face, Benson explains. "When the drug starts to come out of your system it will trigger a range of emotions. We don't know how this will affect you. What will happen first? We just don't know. You have to have some place where you can be and not harm yourself," the doctor insisted. "When you feel overwhelmed, this is where you come. It is monitored at all times with a movement sensor and we will be alerted if you enter." Next door is the exercise room. The computers kept your muscles intone while you were in stasis, but now you must follow a strict regime of exercise daily. Most of the crew enjoy the challenge of keeping fit, and its here you will mix and get to know the crew. All the social needs of the crew are centered in the middle part of the ship. Three weeks into the drug removal and Nicholas Fallin is climbing the walls. He feels that every nerve in his body is screaming for mercy. The drug, which has let him sleep unfettered by the events of the day for most of his life, is now missing and sleep has become something of a hit and miss event. He paces the floor, his moods swinging from exaltation to abysmal depression. The machines which remove the waste from his body are still plugged in at night and the pain is intolerable. The feelings of revulsion have him retching nightly. His emotional state is in constant flux. One moment he feels all is well with the world, then he sinks into a deep well of sorrow he can barely climb out of. He is learning already to shut down and let things wash over him. He already knows how to disguise his displeasure and hurt. He is amazed by the callousness of his fellow men and is saddened that he too will be like that. *This new world is in need of a great big shake up.* Walking through the main deck early one morning, Nicholas is gripped by a sudden feeling of falling. Hanging on to the walls, his breathing becomes rasping and irregular. Writhing on the floor, he thinks he can see the solid mass of the ship fall away and he is going to tip into space. Gagging, he begins to choke on his own vomit. Arms lift him and, as gently as a baby, they clear his mouth. "Come on, Nick, you can't let us down. Come to the safe room." A mask is placed over his mouth and the speaker whispers softly. "One breath at a time. It's just a panic attack. We all had them when we were brought out of stasis. Just breathe, Nick, just breathe." Pushing the mask to one side, he gasps, "Not Nick… Nicholas." "Nick you are and Nick you will stay." Falconetti laughs at Nick's outrage. "Can't breathe but wants to fight. Now that is a bad sign in an arbitrator!" Nick looks at him hatefully and, in a stunning show of temper, growls, "Falco." "So be it! Falco I am." Benson hurries into the room and sees Nick lying curled in a ball. Irrational fear and anger rise up in Nick's throat and he shouts, "Where were you? I could have died!" He leaps up and grabs the doctor by his tunic front, quivering in fear and terror of the unknown. "You are supposed to be taking care of me!" "Get control of yourself. Arbitrator, you must get control." "My name is Nick… there is no arbitrator on the ship. You have no need for one. Don't you understand? We are done. Nothing is working. " Nick starts to weep in frustration and resentment. The pulsing horror screams through his body. He throws himself down and returns to the fetal position, his hands clenched and every muscle tight. "We no longer dream," he whimpers. "We will dream again," Benson says soothingly. "Listen, Nick, listen to this." Benson reaches over and pushes a blue button on the wall. Music streams from the speakers. Through his fear and pain, Nick hears the voices of angels, beautiful voices singing in harmony. His hands relax and then he slowly unwinds to lie flat on his back. Legs spread apart and arms thrown wide, he allows the music to wash over him and wind itself into his soul soothing it with velvet fingers. "What is this?" he murmurs dreamily. "These are the Flower Duets, music taken from many years ago. The women, who sang this, did so in 1965. Such a long time ago, and still so beautiful, reputedly it's able to sooth the savage beast." Benson reaches out and touches his arm. "Look Nick, its here for you, just press the blue button." Benson presses the button and leaves Nick awash in glorious sounds to fight his demons alone. ~*~ It has been decided to waken one more person and Nick has told the doctors to waken the female arbitrator. "There is no point in me trying to see if I can supply sperm if there is no-one to supply eggs." When she is awake enough to understand they are not near the planet, and not taking their Zaphett, Arbitrator Roo Chen is aghast. "What will happen to us? All the wars will begin again and we will have gone through this for nothing!" Nicholas talks with her into the night, explaining how they have been duped by the corrupt governments on Earth. He explains the need to test whether they can learn how to inseminate again. "If there had been any other way to solve the problem, I would have reported it to you. The problem is deep-seated in our use of Zaphett. What we thought a safe drug has been slowly eroding the very being of our species." He leans forward to take her hands to comfort her. "If we can't do this, then we are lost. The drug is coming out of my system and I feel things now I have never felt before. I have to keep everything buttoned and closed down. If I show emotions, the crew will crack. While we are trying to get something done we must show no feelings. He looks at her from under his thick lashes. Lifting his hand, he rubs his lips and says hesitantly, "I *laughed* this morning. Once I started I couldn't stop. It was a wonderful feeling! My ribs hurt and my jaw ached, but I felt… liberated. I lay in my room and could not lift myself off the floor. I can't explain really, it's something you will just have to experience yourself." As he rises to leave the room, he turns and smiles at her. "It was a truly amazing thing." "What were you laughing at?" Pulling at his eyebrow, Nick shrugs. "I don't know." Morning comes, and he has to meet with Roo to see how she is faring. He has slept this one night and is grateful for it. He has to meet with the doctor soon for a catheter to be re-fitted. He is again filled with dread. His body is uncomfortable today, and he finds he cannot sit or even stand. The pain started in his lower stomach and is now a raging churning. *What is happening? This can't go on! I'm going to die trying to do this.* As he hurries to the speaker to call Dr Benson he thinks aloud, "I need to urinate!" Hurrying to the room, he pulls at his night wear in his haste to rid himself of the intense need. Nothing happens. By now it is driving him crazy. Hopping round, he almost cries in frustration. His bladder bursting, he leans into the wall and holding himself up with one hand, he pushes hard and lets out a long, hot golden stream. His body trembles with relief. He leans forward and puts his fevered brow on the cold metal. His knees tremble and he shouts with joy. "Everything is going to work!" --+-- The New Order Part 2 *Six months after re-awakening* Nick sits in the main hall in front of the two warring couples. Their complaint is trivial and is driving Nick insane. He needs to find some real work to burn off the terrible energy which drives him to distraction each day. He listens to their complaints while pulling at his bottom lip, frustrated at the trivia he must endure. The vertical furrow on his brow becomes more pronounced each day. Falco and his wife, Drinda, work silently in the far corner, watching the proceedings and talking quietly. "He's good. He has them both thinking that they are right. They will do whatever he says and be thankful. I just wish he had more to occupy him," Falco murmurs to Drinda. "Give him something. Take him on inspection with you." "He knows nothing about the overheads. What can he do?" "Oh, Falco, teach him. He is so desperate to be needed, and he feels bad most days with the drug still in his system. He must be feeling unwanted. This is not what he trained for." She stops what she is doing and looks at her man. Reaching out, she touches his face. "He can learn anything. Teach him. When all the crew and colonists are wakened, he won't have time to think, but just now… he is lost. He's your friend, help him." ~*~ Nick enters the padded room; it is now a place of sanctuary for him. The music has become tantamount to his healing. A remote voice calls to him. "Okay, Nick?" "I'm just going to relax, turn off the monitors." Nick chooses Mussorgsky, and lets the music rinse the troubles of the day from him. Madama Butterfly by Puccini follows. By then he is almost sleeping. Verdi's Requiem has just begun when the door is thrown open. Startled, Nick eyes jump open. "What wrong?" Roo stands in front of him. "How could they have done this? They made no allowances for anything going wrong! They wanted all the women to be inseminated before we landed. How would we have coped with all these pregnant females? Bastards!" Tears streak down her face and she shudders with pent up emotion. "It didn't happen," Nick says soothingly. "Roo, we will beat this. Have faith." He stands, and is about to reach to her to give comfort, when he looks at her, seeing for the first time the beautiful woman she is. Her long blonde hair reaches down her back and shows her Scandinavian ancestry, but her eyes are almost black and almond shaped. She is stunning. Nick pauses, but just momentarily. He holds her round the shoulders, patting her to pacify her tears. As quickly as she has entered, Roo turns and runs weeping from the room. *Something must be done about her.* Nick is about to sit down when the door opens again. "Damn! Can't I get any peace?" Falco stands looking at his new friend. "Want to help with the de- burring of the overheads tomorrow?" "Sure, if I can help, I will." Nick is grateful for the offer. The days onboard are becoming more and more tedious. "Get some sleep then, it's a tough job." ~*~ Nick wakens and instinctively knows something is different. He turns over in bed and, lying on his back he slips in and out of sleep. He suddenly wakes with a start. He was dreaming about Roo. He is overjoyed. He dreamt! This is a good sign. He holds his breath, scared to move in case he's wrong. Hesitantly he reaches down and lifts the cover to look underneath. He lets out a whoop of joy. "I have an erection!" Jumping out of bed, he reaches to call the doctor but hesitates. Speaking out loud he says, "Oh God! I have to pee, how do I get rid of this?" Tentatively he puts his hand down and touches himself. A wave of intense pleasure rushes through him, and he is startled by how exquisite the feeling is. He strokes himself again, feeling the powerful emotion only a sexual experience can bring. "Nick? You up yet?" Falco's voice makes Nick jump guiltily, he pulls his hand away. "Yes, I'm here," he replies in a shaky voice. "You sound odd, you all right?" Nick laughs and looks down. His erection has gone and now his need to pee has overtaken all else. "I'm fine. I'll see you in the mess." ~*~ De-burring the over heads turns out to be taxing and heavy. The massive nuts have to be removed with a two-handed wrench and then the robot is inserted. Moving sixty metres down, the next nut is removed and the robot is taken out, cleaned, and then put back in. It is mindless and backbreaking; it is also tedious and warm. The overheads stretch the whole length and breadth of the spaceship and there are over one hundred miles of pipe to be cleaned in order. This is scut work and everyone takes a turn doing it for a week. Falco and Drinda have been working on this particular length for three days. Drinda is the first to see Roo enter the room. She sits and watches her with quiet amusement. Roo has one hand to her mouth the other holding her heart. Drinda moves to see what Roo is watching. *Well, well. So that's how your mind is working.* Drinda laughs to herself and tries to get Falco's attention. Nick is reaching up to undo the huge nut. Falco has provided him with work clothes, but it is so hot that both the men have pulled the top half down and tied the arms round their middles. Nick reaches up to undo the nut, both hands raised, his lean body tensed and the muscles rippling. As he strains to remove the stubborn nut, his work gear starts to slip, moving down to reveal a lithe body with strong hips bones and a flat stomach. Peeping out the top of his coverall is the suggestion of pale strawberry blond pubic hair. Roo stands perfectly still, entranced by the sight. Falco winks at Drinda. He wishes Nick would look up and see Roo watch him, but he carries on working oblivious to the enfolding situation. ~*~ Falco and Nick are in the music room as Nick now calls it. "Falco? You and Drinda? Do you… ahh… do you?" "Nick, you're not asking about sex now, are you?" Falco is laughing at him, and takes it in good part. "Go read a book!" "I wasn't trying to pry!" Nick says huffily. "I just wondered, since the engineers are infertile, whether it was still common practice. You know, since you can't procreate." "Pleasure Nick, it's purely for pleasure!" Falco looks at him and seems about to say something but he holds back, leaving Nick unsure of what just transpired. Falco looks guilty but Nick hasn't a clue what it is. * Hiding a secret Falco? I'm sure you'll tell me in good time* "Falco?" "It's nothing!" Nick changes the subject to spare his friend from the embarrassment he feels. *Now what is that all about?* he ponders. "Do you ever wonder whether we will survive? We have just six months and they will begin testing on Roo and me. I dread to think what I will feel if it has been in vain. Roo has had a bad time." "Maybe she just needs a shoulder to cry on," Falco suggests craftily. "Why would she need that? She is friends with Drinda and Reva, they give her all the support she should need. I use you to bounce ideas off. That's more than enough. Isn't it?" "Women… I can't tell you about women. Just to keep your head down when they're mad, and love them a lot when they want to be loved." "Maybe I should have chosen someone else to bounce my ideas. You are too good at saying go read a book and learn it yourself." Nick chuckles and gives Falco a push. "I'm going to bed. See you in the mess tomorrow." ~*~ The bathing tube is ringed with protruding hoops, measured to accommodate every possible height. Nick prefers to bathe in the suctioned air flow with his legs apart, feet on the bottom rungs, and his arms up holding on to the rungs just above his head. His hair is long now and reaches down past the back of his neck. During the day he ties it up with twine, but now it blows in the strong air. The air motion suctions and dispels all debris from the skin and hair. It is then sucked up into the funnel at the top of the tube. His curly hair blowing and with the feeling of intense enjoyment he feels at bathing, he stands with his eyes closed, basking in the comfort of the warm air. He doesn't see Roo enter the room and stand, looking at him. A draft alerts him to someone opening the door and he looks quickly over his shoulder to see her standing naked. *I'm not ready!* screams through his head. Her hair whips round him, and where it touches him, it sears as if he has been burned. It curls about his waist and rests on his penis. Roo ducks under his arms and stands facing him. She reaches out and touches his chest, running her fingers down, pausing at his belly button. She reaches further and runs her fingers into his curly blond pubic hair. He rises up to meet her hand. She encircles his penis and her soft hands begin to caress him, to stroke him, Nick throws his head back as the pleasure overwhelms him. His breath comes in short gasps. He is losing control. *Stop! Hold on! Pull back!* He takes her hand from him and steps back. Words cannot form in his mind. He gently gathers her hair and puts it over her shoulders to hang down her back again. He hooks it over her ears noticing for the first time how small and delicately shaped they are. Running his hands down her front, he delights in the feeling of her hard nipples brushing the palms of his hands. He smells the sharp aroma of lust in the small room and is wildly attracted by it. Putting his hand between her legs, he feels the wet warmth of her and puts his fingers gently inside. He cannot breathe, her aroma is all around him and he is bewitched. "Is this a test?" Nick asks huskily, his voice breaking with emotion. "No. This is for me. I want to do this. Don't you?" "I don't know if I can. I want to, though." They reach to one another and their lips touch. Electricity sizzles between them. Suddenly their bodies are demanding satisfaction, needing the pleasure of being with another human being. Nick pushes Roo gently against the rungs to get some kind of purchase. She hooks her feet up on the second rung and guides Nick into her. "Will I hurt you?" Nick whispers. "No, just don't change your mind. Please, Nick, I want you. Now… do it now!" Nick slides into her and the waves of gratification tumble over him. He feels the extreme bliss of raw sex. The emotional satisfaction of moving inside Roo is ripping him apart. Joy liberates his soul and pounds at his heart with the steady onslaught of desire. At first he thinks he needs to pee then it turns to a pain. A pain so exquisite, and rare beyond explanation. He stands now with his toes curled, trying to gain some sort of control but failing. The pain spreads from his scrotum to his pelvic region. Then it falls down into his legs. The depth of the experience renders him incapable of anything but bringing this to climax. The only thought in his head is fulfillment. When he thinks the pain cannot get any more wondrous, he feels it explode back into his testicles. Just for an instant he feels he will implode with the pressure. Then he lets go emotionally and physically. Pounding furiously, he ejaculates his sperm into her. Nick kneels on the floor of the bathing tube, his breath coming in gasps. Roo hangs on to him, unwilling to let him go just yet. She snuggles into his neck. "They do this for pleasure," she says in short gasps. "Drinda, and Reva… with their husbands. Did you know?" "Will we do this for pleasure?" Nick asks, praying that the answer will be yes. "I want to do it again," Roo whispers and squirms in his lap. "Now!" Nick laughs and hugs her. "I think you may have to give me a minute or sixty!" He clasps her to him, feeling himself go flaccid, but wanting to stay inside her. He breathes a sigh of contentment, and tilting her back, he sees a single drop of sweat run down the side of her face. He leans forward and catches it with his tongue and follows it back to her temple and kisses her there. ~*~ "I'm telling you they do." "You women, you see someone being kind and you go overboard. He's too naive to even get to first base. I know the man." Falco scorns Drinda playfully. "Just wait, time will tell." "Look how they ignore each other," he says pointing to Roo who has just passed Nick in the work area. Nick carries on with the maintenance, but later when Roo comes back the other way; she playfully runs her sharp nails over his belly, making him cringe and jump. Nick leans back and tilts his head down, his full lips resting on his own arm. He peeks round and watches Roo with lust in his hooded blue-green eyes as she moves out of sight. "Well, I'll be damned!" Falco is stunned. "I'm glad I never put a bet on that happening!" ~*~ *One year after reawakening* Roo talks quietly to Nick. "I'm so scared; what if there is no hope? What if the drug has done too much damage?" "Stop, Roo, just let things take there proper course and let it happen. Don't make yourself ill. It's going to be all right." Nick talks to her to give her confidence. Inside he is not so sure. This is the big day. Both he and Roo are to be tested to see if she is producing eggs and he is producing live sperm. The doctors now believe the drug is fully removed from their systems. Dr. Benson comes for Roo first. The whole of the crew is on tenterhooks. This is the single hope for the future. If the men cannot produce eggs, the women will not be wakened until they land. Nick can't even think what he will do to ease their pain if they have come all this way just to die. The crew waits on tenderhooks, all of them working near Nick. Keeping in touch and whispering to each other. They are making him nervous, but he carries on working seemingly oblivious to them. He fights his inner demons and keeps calm. Nick is reaching up with the two handed wrench to undo a tough nut when Benson comes back into the room. "Arbitrator Fallin, may I have a word with you in private?" Nick feels tears well in his eyes. The use of his title after such a long time chills him to the bone *All in vain,* he thinks. "Tell the crew this concerns all of us." "I would rather speak to you privately." "Damn it man, speak!" Benson hesitates, but when he sees that Nick is not going to move, he shrugs and delivers the message. "Arbitrator Fallin… Arbitrator Chen is pregnant." The wrench falls to the floor with a loud clang. No other sound is heard, the silence is absolute. Suddenly Falco is there, lifting him up and hugging him. "We will live! Nick… Nick, are you okay?" Forcing himself to think, Nick questions Benson. "Do you know if the baby will be healthy? Do you know if there are any genetic defects? What do you know?" "One question at a time. We have no equipment to tell us how the baby is. That all went down with the meteor hit. We do things the old way. All I can tell you is the rabbit died." Seeing Nick quizzical expression he explains the old earth expression. Turning to the crew Nick announces, "There will be a full meeting on this and other matters at 1900 hours. Please all attend." Neither his voice nor his demeanor reveal the turmoil he feels. Walking away, he fears his legs will crumble and give him up for the fraud he is. --+-- The New Order Part 3 Nick sits on the floor of the music room, his elbows on his knees, lost in the gentle lilt of Brahms. There is a knock and Nick looks up in surprise at Falco standing just inside the door. "That's a new trick. When did you learn to knock?" Falco sidles into the room, fear hanging like a shroud over his shoulders. "Ah… Nick." He rubs his face and paces the small room as he tries again. "Nick, did you read the agreements we made with the governments before we were allowed to be chosen for this mission?" Nick is worried for his friend. He has never seen Falco look down or troubled. "I didn't look into it at all. Was there something I should have seen?" "We had to be infertile." He sinks in misery down the wall of the room. "We had to agree for the couple to be infertile. Drinda had to be sterilized. So did another four of the women that I know of." Nick is stunned and horrified by this piece of news. "Falco, that is barbaric. I can't think how I can respond to that without hurting you more." "Nick, we forged the papers. Don't look at me like that! We thought we would be so invaluable to them that they would let Drinda have a child. Nick, I so want a family. We are going to a world where there is room for a man to have many children. It's my dream." Standing up, Nick streaches his hand toward Falco, "How many children do you want? Just ask Drinda how many she will have. Falco… this is the greatest news! How could you have kept it from us?" He puts his hand on Falcos neck and squeezes him fondly. "It's all right?" Falco stutters. "You don't mind?" "Come to the meeting tonight and we will get this sorted out. I'll put it on the agenda." "No, Nick, you don't understand. Roo was going to be inseminated with your sperm. I'm asking you now as a friend to give your sperm to Drinda." Tears drip down his face. "Give us a child, Nick." ~*~ The noise in the mess is too loud and Nick must call it to order. *This will be the hardest yet. What will the others think of Falco and Drinda's news? This could cause really bad feelings.* Nick stands. "Come to order," he says and the room slowly turns silent. "I have several things which must be brought to the attention of everyone. The first thing is that Roo will deliver the baby in approximately twenty weeks." A cheer goes up at this and Nick allows himself a small smile. "We again must ask the engineers to work out our problems. The doctors have agreed to allow twenty men and twenty women to be wakened. All of you must come up with where they will be put. You will have to walk over to the supply ships and collect the things needed to keep them alive and healthy. We will work together on this, and I will be under the thumb of Falco on all work related matters." Again the cheers rally round the mess. Nick has stolen a place in their hearts with his willingness to do the menial work alongside them. "This is now a more serious matter. It only came to my attention today that some of the women were made to be sterilized. I can't say to any of you who fall into that category, how sad I am." Taking a deep breath Nick continues. "Falco has informed me that some of the women had papers forged and were not actually sterilized." Feet shuffled, and seeing the downcast eyes, Nick realizes that this is not news to them. "Will you please give your names to the doctors? They will examine you and check your health." "Are you going to have the operations done now?" The timid voice from the shadows surprises Nick. "Are you crazy? It's a case of how many children you want. How many would you be willing to have? Would you be willing to have a child and give it to one of the crew who cannot have any? Will you be willing to be inseminated with different seed? We have to widen the gene pool as much as possible." Seeing the stunned looks Nick explains. "Roo and I will set up house together when we get to the new planet. We will have other children. Roo will have children from other men. I will give my seed to other women so there will be no dominant breed; it's the only way to make sure there will be no birth defects with inbreeding. A close account will be kept of the parentage of our children. All the children born for the next few generations will belong to the people. It will be our responsibility to nurture them." Falco stands up and says with more emotion than Nick thought possible, "Drinda is in sick bay being inseminated with Nick's sperm. We're going to have a baby." Nick sees the joy spread round the dingy mess. All will be well for a while, but he knows that some of the women will not like this. It's going to be a long fight. He sighs, weary already, knowing that he will draw back further from them the nearer they get to the planet. He is engulfed with sadness. Roo stands then, and looking to Reva, her friend she says softely. "This baby is mine. The next one I have, I will have it for you." The cheers ring the rafters and Nick laughs whilst trying to get them to come to order again. He acknowledges that that was a stroke of genius from Roo. "Last item. You will like this one." Silence greets him as he looks round the room. "The governments tried to tie us down and hinder us with their antiquated thoughts. We have now cut all contact with the old Earth. They will never know if we arrived at the new world. Though it would have taken years to get the message to them, we will not give them the satisfaction of knowing that we live!" Nick is amazed at the venom he feels for these unknown people. "While you are working to find a place to put the first lot of colonists, I would like you to discuss this matter. You, the engineers, are solely responsible for the continued safety of us all and as a reward for your dedication I hereby give you the added job of…" he looks at the faces of the men and women who had worked so hard and he smiles… "I want you to find an appropriate name for our new world. The one the old Earth gave us is not suitable now. I can think of no group who deserve this honor more than our engineers." ~*~ Nick and Falco sit in the music room. Roo and Drinda sit between their legs. They talk quietly about their day, and hopes for the future. Nick mimics Falco when he sees him gently rub Drinda's bump. Falco's joy at the impending birth of the children has Nick perplexed. Falco's preoccupation with Drinda's pregnancy has Nick at odds with his logical mind. He can feel no connection to his baby at all and it worries him. He must show that he too can be trusted to raise one of the new world's children. Soon Roo will give birth and then Drinda's child will be born four months later. Holding Roo, he listens with only half an ear to the conversation as it flows over him, while he sits and frets about his lack of emotional ties to his child. Nick has been surprised by the engineers more often than he cares to admit. Their choice of the name Terra for the new world surprised him. He thought it was just the same as calling it Earth, but they had argued that they had the right to the name. The fact that their governments had almost killed them did not seem to bother them now. Strong minded and strong in spirit, they had simply moved on. ~*~ The whole ship resounds with the sound of music. The forty-six people awake on the ship bicker daily about the choice. Archives are searched and more is downloaded. One of the engineers has made a whistle and the crew fight to see who can play it best. Like children, they learn daily to accommodate each other. Everyone is waiting outside the sick bay. Roo is inside giving birth. No one speaks. Everyone is silent until the sound of a baby cries trickle through the door. The people erupt in elation. A baby is born! Nick comes out and looks at he assembled crowd. "We have a son," he states simply, then turns and goes back into the room. Benson and the other doctors have been examining the baby now for over an hour and Roo is getting fretful. Nick enters the area where his son is lying in a metal basket made by Falco. The fret work on it is astounding. Such love has gone into its making that Nick takes great pleasure in looking at it every time he sees it. Bending over the crib he gazes at his son. He reaches in and traces down his legs and lifts his feet to look at them. He is amazed by the beauty of the little feet. Nick then traces down the inside of the tiny arm. He reaches the wrist and the baby moves, and grips Nick's finger. Time stops as evolution comes storming in on him. The desire to nurture and protect the child rushes rampant through him. He is stunned by the need to love this little boy. Nick leans into the crib and picks up his son. Cradling his bottom in one hand and putting the other round his tiny head, he whispers in his ear. "I helped make you; you are my pride and joy. I will love you all through your life, I promise." Tears run unchecked down his face as he feels the strongest emotion ever, the love for his own child. Benson looks up as Nick enters the room, carrying his son. "The results are in. The boy is perfect. What will you call him?" "I don't know. I think I had better ask Roo that," he jokes, rocking the baby in his arms. "I'm going to take him to his mother now. Are you done?" ~*~ "Our perfect son needs feeding, and I think he needs a name. I would like to announce it tonight at the meeting." "Adam, I would like to call him Adam." As Roo reaches for the baby. She sees Nick's loving gaze and is surprised at the depth. "Do you love him?" "More than you will ever imagine. Sweet Roo, I am so proud." ~*~ "This meeting is to come to order." Nick's eyes range over the crowded room. He can see that the woman called Sam is better tonight. She is having a hard time coming to terms with her governments' duplicity, and the drugs are not leaving her well. The doctors have now decided to give her a small dose each day to pacify her. Nick knows this will happen time and time again. He will be the one who must decide whether these women will be allowed to carry a child. This meeting will start the discussions. He stands, facing his toughest audience. Legs apart, head dipped, looking from under hooded eyes, he begins. "I am Arbitrator Fallin…" The End