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2593-32

"You know," William said, getting out of the shuttle, "I could really get used to traveling in luxury like this."

Eric chuckled. They'd taken an Orr shuttle; the first Eric had taken since his teens. Elliot had insisted, and since he now knew about Eric's aversion to seeing the open sky, he'd had the windows made opaque.

The floor was thick carpet, the bench pulled out into a bed, on which they had sex. There had been an alcohol dispenser and even a few mind alteration bands.

"My family's gotten used to traveling in style over the centuries."

"You have the money, so enjoy it?"

"Something like that." He linked with the parking control, and got a private spot for it. He watched the shuttle rise in the air and vanish among the other parked shuttles. "You can always rent one, you can afford it."

"Not if I'm going to travel alone. It's a waste of a good bed."

"Why do you think I asked you to come up with me? Elli wasn't going to let me rent an outside shuttle." Eric connected to the travel board as they walked, and posted an ad for between two and four male Orr citizens traveling back to Earth, Departure between twenty-four to forty-eight hours of posting.

"When do you think we'll have an array? You said you were back to normal, so I figure it won't be long before we leave."

"Shouldn't be too long. Edie said the next free one would be good. Two days at the max." He fell silent. By reflex he connected to the ship to look at what needed to be done, but none of that was accessible. Elliot hadn't wasted any time removing him as captain.

"The others are already there," he said after a check of the airlock confirmed it.

"Why have everyone there is we're not leaving for a few days?"

"There's something we need to discuss, and it's best if we're all there."

William didn't say anything, but Eric felt his gaze on him for a time. He checked the board, he already had two responses, At least he wouldn't be traveling back alone.

* * * * *

The airlock opened at his command. And he slowed his pace as he entered. Taking in the stale air of the cargo level. The ceiling hatch was already open, and as soon as he stepped under it if felt the gravity disappear. His heart sped up, but he forced his breathing to remain steady as he pushed up, and then out of the field.

He ran a hand on the wall as he headed to the lounge, memorizing the texture against his fingers. It would be at least a year before he could step back in it after this.

"Are you okay?" William asked.

Eric nodded and messaged the others to meet him in the lounge. Robert and Marc were already there. Eric made himself a scotch and sat on the couch.

The last one to enter was Jeff. "What's up boss?" he asked, sitting.

"Well, for starter, I'm not longer your boss."

"What happened?" Gerald asked.

"William's been promoted to captain."

The wolf had been about to sip his beer and stared at him. "Is this a joke?"

Eric shook his head. "Elli convinced me that with the kidnapping, it's safer for me and my sons to remain on Earth. I'm back to pack my stuff, remove personal files off the ship's systems, give you guys a quick checkup, which I plan on giving you each time you get back. You won't need to get a doctor if you don't want one, the med table can handle anything short of brain surgery by itself."

William had sat down and disbelief was still showing on his face. "Why me?"

"Leaving aside you've been here the longest, you took command when I was gone, and handled yourself very well. These guys followed your lead even without all the information. And you did what you had to save me. Unless you don't want the position."

"He better take it, cause I sure don't want it," Jeff said. "No way I want to be responsible for this bunch."

"I'm taking it, you don't have to worry. I'd be worried about what you'd do to this thing if you were in charge. But for how long? Are you grounded permanently?"

"No, just until my sons are old enough to decide if they want to come to space with me or not. Nine or ten years at the most."

"What are you going to do during that time?" Marc asked.

"I'm going to focus on my children. My dad is getting the house next to his ready, even though he said over and over he wasn't helping me with them. As I've discovered, raising them is a full-time job in and of itself."

"You taking the nannys with you?" Robert asked

"No, you can box them as well as the cribs and the nursery station. Keep them in case one of you decides to raise a family up here, or sell them. I'm going to use the ones my dad got for me and by brothers."

"This place is going to be different without you here," Brack said.

"Yeah," Brick agreed, "Who are we going to fuck all the time?"

They chuckled at that.

"Speaking of sex," Gerald said, "with you gone, does that mean I'm losing the jacked-up sex drive?"

"What do you mean?" Eric asked, worry bubbling up.

"Come on Captain, I'm a married man, my wife knows what I'm like in bed. She could tell I was different that first night I got back. Even conceiving our first kid wasn't as energetic. She isn't a doctor, but she has access to gene typing for her work."

"Ah," was all Eric could say. He looked around, and except for Robert, everyone nodded knowingly. "So, you knew."

"Know what?" Robert asked.

"The Captain retyped us to have a higher sex drive," Marc answered.

"Among other things," Gerald said.

"Wait, I thought I got hornier because of all the sex I had."

"Nah," Brick said, "We said that so you wouldn't freak out."

"None of your regular partners noticed?" Jeff asked.

"I went from one ship to another all my working life. I never formed anything close to tight bonds until I got here."

"Well, he's responsible," Brack said.

"So, does that mean that you're going to lowering now that you're leaving?" the hyena asked.

Eric sighed. "I was planning on it, but that was when I thought none of you knew. I have your original gene sequences, I was going to set you back to that...more or less."

"That was pretty underhanded of you, you know that, right?" Marc said, but his tone was light.

"I was going to have sex with everyone who worked for me. I wanted you to be able to keep up."

"Well," Jeff said. "I have no complaint, it isn't like you ever let me get blue balls."

"Yeah, but without him here, if we keep this level of horniness, we're going to have to figure out a new arrangement," William said. "I'm not taking on the responsibility of making sure the lot of you are satisfied."

"I'll be happy to figure something out," Robert said. "I like being able to have sex whenever I want."

"What happens if I need to hire someone new?" William asked.

"I'll be happy to be your station medic and retype anyone you want to fit with the crew."

The wolf nodded. "I'm not doing it behind their back, though."

"Your ship, your decisions."

"Yeah, it is. Which means I get to set the traditions, don't I."

"Sure, you have something in mind?"

"Yeah," William grinned. "Departing crew membered need to get thoroughly fucked before they leave."

Eric smiled back. "I think that's a great idea."