A/N: Sorry I've been MIA for a while. I had bronchitis and then a bad sinus infection. I'm finally all better.

A/N2: This story will be 5 or 6 parts long. I hope to finish it in the next two weeks.

Warnings (for the story): Anti-Republican, political

Captain Brian Kinney strode down the corridor toward the mess hall. He smiled. This mess hall was as different from other mess halls as the starship Babylon was from other starships. And as its captain was from other captains. You see, Captain Kinney had selected only reputedly gay men and women for his crew. His 12 years as golden boy of the military, kissing ass and pretending to be something he wasn't, were finally going to pay off. He and his crew were about to 'go rogue' (to borrow a phrase from an election hopeful who'd run two centuries ago).

In order to understand this revolt, you had to understand the trend politics, that of the United States in particular and the Earth in general, had taken two centuries before. Back in 2010, President Barack Obama had begun to do what he had promised while campaigning. He'd pushed the health reform bill through, finally, and, at the behest of the top military brass, in 2012, he had pushed through a constitutional amendment allowing gays to serve openly in the military. That had taken two years of meetings with various committees, countless televised speeches, and a great deal of chastising his party members. But he had done it. Everyone believed that that step forward would lead to gay marriage being legalized in every state. Unfortunately, that was not to be. The conservative backlash was substantial. Jeb Bush and Sarah Palin had run on one ticket against Obama and Biden that same year and won in a landslide.

One might wonder how, given G.W. Bush's abysmally low approval rating toward the end of his second term, 22% (and Obama's 55% approval rating toward the end of his first) The answer was simple. Conservatives all over the country, urged on by pundits at a conservative 'news' organization, had taken it upon themselves to excise the diseased portion of the country they loved so much. They had gone to the polling places armed, had seized the voter registration lists, and had refused to allow Democrats, Independents, and undecided voters inside. The voter turnout was the lowest it had ever been that year, but Bush and Palin had won, almost unanimously. To make matters worse, all the Senate and House races that year were won by Republicans. With a majority in the Senate and the House and a Republican in the white house, Republicans made short work of undoing all the changes Obama had implemented. Another constitutional amendment was passed, voiding the one allowing gays to serve in the military, and one defining marriage as the union of a man and a woman was quickly drafted and passed.

Was there a public outcry? Of course. People rioted in the streets. Did it make any difference? Nope. Under the leadership of Jeb Bush, the United States withdrew from the UN and all other global organizations of which it was part, ramped up its defense budget, enacted martial law stateside, and created another Coalition of the Willing. This time, the Coalition had little to do with counterterrorism. It was simply a group of countries unable or unwilling to challenge the United States, politically or militarily. Then World War III had begun. Most of Asia, Africa, and South America sided with the United States. With the rest of the world against it, Europe was easily conquered and, in an ironic turn of events, colonized. So the Earth had entered its darkest age, ruled as it was by military dictatorships.

The only possible silver lining was that with their increased defense budgets, the United States and other countries all over the world had revitalized their space programs. So 100 years after Black January, as January 2013, the month Jeb Bush and Palin took office, was called by those who suffered as a result, the United States and its Coalition had developed technology allowing space ships to travel faster than the speed of light. And 100 years after that, they had firmly established a military presence in space. There were no countries on Earth anymore. Not even nominally. There was one Earth 'president,' though 'dictator' was a more accurate term. All Earth presidents were from the Bush line. Jeb Bush had ruled unchecked until his death, at which time he passed the torch to one of his grand nephews. There were no vice-presidents after Sarah Palin. She'd merely been a figurehead. And there weren't elections anymore anyway.

Minorities of all kinds (non-Christians, non-heterosexuals, non-Republicans, and women) suffered greatly in this new political worldscape. Anyone who didn't tow the party line might be imprisoned, tortured, or killed. Or all three. In the first six months alone, the U.S. military eradicated one-eighth of the U.S. population. After that, protesters went underground. It was all about passing, trying to obtain positions of relative power so that they could continue working against the government. The resistance proceeded more slowly, more carefully and over generations. Those who were less enthusiastically towing the party line formed a kind of underclass. They were forced to work in factories and on farms for little money. So little that they could barely survive. Government officials believed that such conditions would dim whatever fire the underclass still had, fight as they must just to stay alive.

Gay men and lesbians had wives and husbands, went to church every Sunday, and praised the government in public. If they were lucky, gay men found lesbians to marry, and vice versa. Only then could they have some semblance of a happy life. Don't get me wrong. There had always been closeted men and women in the Republican party. But now, trysts with strangers were more dangerous. Once the Republicans had eliminated all other parties (and elections), they could be more selective in their leadership. Just one slip up (a tryst with a member of the same sex that was witnessed by others or with an informant) could ruin not only an official's career but also his or her life. This bred a number of phenomena. One was a phenomenon that wasn't so much strange as it just became more widespread, that is, the sexual exploitation of others by people in power. Officials, especially those at the highest rungs of power, engaged in sexual relations with people of the same sex who had been imprisoned or were otherwise disenfranchised. This was still dangerous, but less so, as people were less likely to believe prisoners or the lowest of the lower class. Most would assume they were angling for their freedom, money, or power.

The other two phenomena cropped up among the underclass and the lower rungs of government. The first was akin to the 'key parties' of the 1960s and 1970s. Men who'd married lesbians would host parties with other men who'd married lesbians. Then the men and women would engage in separate orgies. That worked well. No one could inform on anyone else without implicating themselves and their spouses. The second was a moving masquerade. It was held in abandoned warehouses. No one knew where it would be until an hour before it started. You had to call a certain number, and the number changed every week. It was coded into radio broadcasts on a certain day at a certain time. This reduced busts, but did not prevent them. However, the fact that no one knew who would be there (not even after arriving because everyone was masked and cloaked in darkness) made busts relatively ineffectual. The rare occasions when the military was able to locate a masquerade, they caught few people, and those people had no information to give, assuming they were willing, which most were not.

Transgendered individuals had a harder lot. They could only be themselves in their homes, and only if their spouses were accepting (or transgendered themselves). They dared not assemble. It was too easy to get caught, and people who dressed in 'gender-inappropriate' clothing, especially men, were usually beaten and often killed. Sex reassignment surgery was a thing of the past. There were always rumors floating around that some doctors still performed these surgeries, but who could say whether they were true.

For two centuries, this was how life had been for gay men, lesbians, and transgendered individuals. Those who were able to 'pass' and attained positions in the military only engaged in homosexual sex, etc. on Earth. Doing so on space ships or settlements on other planets was just too dangerous. That is, until Captain Brian Kinney had decided he'd had enough. Brian Kinney was gorgeous, charming, and intelligent. Gay men and straight women all wanted him to fuck them and straight men were in awe of him. So he 'passed' straight to the top, to the highest rungs of the military. At 29, he'd been given command of his own space ship. That's when he'd 'gone rogue.' But wait, I'm getting ahead of myself. Let me back up.

The night before Brian was to take command of his ship, he'd gone to a masquerade. But he never set foot in the door. A twink with blond hair and light, light blue eyes who couldn't have been older than 16 had caught his attention. He was wearing a blue and white plaid shirt (underneath an open grey wool jacket), jeans, and filthy sneakers. He kept brushing his hands against his legs nervously and then walking purposely toward the door, but kept stopping halfway and running back to the side of the building opposite. Each time, he threw his back against the wall and closed his eyes, breathing as heavily as though he'd run a 100m race. Brian had watched the kid do this five times. Finally, he took pity on the kid and approached him. The kid opened his eyes and sighed, until he saw Brian walking toward him. He froze and his eyes widened. His breath made small grey puffs in the cold winter air, but he was sweating.

Brian, who was ballsy enough to wear his captain's uniform to the masquerade, slipped his hands behind his back and barked, "Name and ID number."

For a moment, Justin just stared at the man's red and black uniform, signifying a military man, and the four stars (indicating that he was a starship captain, just below admiral) shining brightly on the man's shoulder in the dim light of the moon. Then he replied, in as firm a voice as he could manage, "Justin Taylor, 63254673."

Brian blinked and waited. Then he pulled his right hand from behind his back, gesturing impatiently for the boy to continue. Justin's eyes widened until they were as big as saucers. "Umm…"

He jumped a little when he realized what he had forgotten. "Justin Taylor, 63254673, sir."

Brian nodded in approval. "Damn right. I'm Captain Brian Kinney. Just got commission of a starship."

Justin's eyes widened. A flicker of a smile crossed his lips. He repeated softly, "Captain Brian Kinney."

But it disappeared when Brian snapped, "What are you doing in the Warehouse District so late? You don't look more than 16. Shouldn't you be home in bed?"

"I…I…"

"You what?"

Justin swallowed hard. Then he squared his jaw and declared, "I'm gay, sir. I heard that there was a gay orgy in that building over there."

Brian slammed the kid against the wall. Then he hissed, "That admission could fucking end you. Land you in prison or on some farm shoveling pig shit from now until the day you die. Or I could beat you to death right here. No one would even blink if I say you hit on me. And…you do want me, don't you?"

Justin flushed. The man was so close, his lithe, but strong body pressed so tightly against Justin's. He smelled like cigarettes, bourbon, and musk. Justin's dick hardened to a painful extent. Then he admitted softly, almost whispering in his ear, "Yes."

Brian slammed him against the wall even harder. "You're a fucking moron."

"Yes, but not too much of one to notice that your dick is hard. You want me, too."

Brian shoved Justin one last time and then stepped back. He smirked.

"So what are you suggesting? You suck me off, and I don't report you?"

Justin swallowed hard. Then he purred, though his trembling belied the smoothness of his response, "Sure. I'd love to have your dick in my mouth." He licked his lips.

Brian unconsciously licked his lips, too. Then he stood up straighter and cleared his throat. "Nope. It's going to take more than a blow job to save you, Mr. Taylor. A lot more."

Justin's eyes fluttered, almost closing. "I'll do whatever you want."

"Yes, yes, you will."

A minute later, they were speeding through the air in Brian's hover car, and, ten minutes after that, they were entering his apartment. Justin jumped at the whoosh of the door opening. But he froze when Brian called out, "Honey, I'm home." And he gaped when a blonde woman walked into the front room, carrying a baby. He started backing away. This must be a trap. Brian kissed his wife and then his baby on the cheek and was turning around to introduce Justin when the door re-opened, with another whoosh. Brian chuckled and grabbed Justin's hand. He pulled the boy toward them until the door closed once more. "Justin, this is my wife Lindsay and our son Gus. Lindsay, Gus, this is Justin."

Lindsay frowned. "Brian…this is a bad idea. Anyone could have seen you together!"

Brian shrugged. "So I'll tell them that he's your long-lost cousin here to meet us and our son before our departure tomorrow. He's blond, too. Believable enough."

Lindsay sighed, but stopped arguing. Her husband could rarely be persuaded to be careful. He'd even gone to the masquerade in full dress regalia. Of course, he could charm himself out of anything. He could have his dick in some boy's ass, claiming to be deep undercover, and his superiors would believe him. He was the military's golden boy. He'd gotten command of his own ship at 29, 11 years sooner than most, despite the constant rumors swirling around about his taste for young men. But who was she to complain? It was Brian's charm that allowed her to have "a friend" staying with them without suffering repercussions. Mel, Lindsay's lover, had moved into Brian's apartment with Lindsay, on the day of the wedding, and most nights, they (she and Mel) slept in Mel's bed. Lindsay and Brian hadn't even fucked to make Gus. Instead, Mel had squirted Brian's semen inside Lindsay with a turkey baster (artificial insemination had been outlawed 200 hundred years ago, even for fertility challenged heterosexuals), though Lindsay would have fucked Brian (she was bisexual and almost as in love with Brian as she was in love with Mel), if Mel hadn't strictly forbidden it (Brian was curious enough to try it). But Mel was extremely jealous of Brian, simply because he and Lindsay married, so Lindsay had agreed to the turkey baster method. Lindsay sighed again, but this time in frustration at Mel. Brian and Mel fought like cats and dogs, but Brian was, when it came right down to it, generous with Mel. He had selected Mel as the E.S.S. (Earth starship) Babylon's chief medical officer (Mel was a doctor), which would allow Lindsay and Mel to continue their relationship. He'd even given Mel quarters next to his (well, theirs, though Lindsay would rarely be there), so the women could be together often without raising suspicion.

Unexpectedly, Justin asked Brian (this was the first time the boy had spoken since entering the apartment), "You're leaving tomorrow?"

"Yup. On the E.S.S Babylon. My new commission."

Justin replied with a disconsolate "Oh."

Brian smiled and, in an inexplicable moment of tenderness, kissed Justin's lips softly. "But I'm all yours until dawn."

Justin smiled brightly and followed Brian into his room.

Brian started undressing as soon as the door closed. But Justin just stood a foot from the door, as far away from Brian as he could get without opening it. "So that blonde woman…"

"Lindsay."

"Lindsay, she's your wife?"

"Yup."

"And the baby…"

"Gus."

"Gus is yours?"

"Yup."

"But you're gay, aren't you?"

"Yup." Brian had finished undressing and was now approaching Justin. Justin shivered. But Brian merely reached past Justin to lock the door. Then he sat on the bed and leaned back.

"I don't get it."

"Lindsay is a close friend. We met when I was at the Academy. She was in New York City trying to be an artist. My best friend Mikey and I used to go there on weekend passes, hoping that our visits would coincide with masquerades. Sometimes they did. Actually, I met her at one. The military busted it up, but the three of us managed to get away. Good thing, too. The military is crueler when one of its own is found to be a dirty homo. Mikey and I would have been fish food."

Justin gasped.

"You really are young, aren't you? How can you not know what happens to people found to be gay?"

"I'm not that young. I've heard stories. I just…I thought gay people were sent away."

"If they're lucky, they are, Sunshine."

Justin smiled nervously and moved closer to the bed. "Sunshine?"

"You told a captain in the military that you were gay and were hoping to attend a gay orgy. You're as clueless as Little Mary Sunshine." In a softer tone he added, "And as pretty…with the blond hair, blue eyes, and bright smile."

Justin flashed Brian his brightest smile yet.

Suddenly Brian grabbed Justin, throwing him down on the bed. "Now it's time to pay the piper. I could still report you."

Justin laughed. "You wouldn't. I know you wouldn't."

"I suppose not." Then Brian captured Justin's lips in a savage kiss.

********

Brian groaned when he heard his door beeping. He cracked an eye, but then closed it again. Despite the season, sunshine was pouring in through the window. And, Brian noted with even greater annoyance, someone was on the other side of the door pressing the button indicating that they wished to enter, over and over, with little pause. Must be Mikey. Brian untangled himself from Justin's arms and legs, nearly falling onto the floor in his haste to get to his feet (and to the door) to stop the infernal beeping. Brian sighed and pushed the button to unlock and open the door. Mikey started whining immediately. "Why are you still in bed? We have to be at the ceremony in an hour!" Mikey was to be the E.S.S. Babylon's assistant morale officer. He wasn't very smart, but he was good at cheering people up (and Brian's best friend). So he would help Emmett Honeycutt, the E.S.S. Babylon's chief morale officer and chief communications officer (as he was adept at both planning parties and learning and speaking foreign languages). Brian had even given Mikey special permission to be part of the bridge crew.

Brian looked over his shoulder. Justin was sprawled out wantonly, his dick nearly standing straight up. "Ummm…I'll meet you there. I have something to do first."

"What could be so important that you'd risk being late?" Brian stepped aside, giving Mikey the perfect view of Justin. "A twink? Brian, you're gonna get yourself killed! And me with you!" Brian smirked. "You're one to talk. You've been making goo-goo eyes at my new first officer since I selected him last month." Mikey paled. It was true. Since Mikey had first laid eyes on Ben Bruckner, with his kind smile, bright eyes, and linebacker's build, he had been lusting after him like crazy. Ben was the last thing Mikey thought of at night (usually while jerking off) and the first thing he thought of in the morning (usually while jerking off). Brian laughed and pressed the button to close and lock the door. Actually, Ben had been surprisingly amenable to Mikey's being part of the bridge crew. Brian suspected that Ben was as smitten with Mikey as Mikey was with Ben.

Brian had made it to the ceremony (where he was officially given his commission) moments before it began, had gotten his wife, her "friend," and his son settled onboard the ship, and had given his first speech as captain. Now he was, as mentioned at the very beginning, walking toward the mess hall, which doubled as a bar, when he caught sight of a blond boy turning a corner. He'd seen a flash of blond hair and blue and white plaid. He groaned and followed the interloper. Being 4 inches taller, Brian quickly caught up to the boy and slammed him against the corridor wall.

"If it isn't little Jared."

The boy frowned and corrected Brian, "Justin."

"Right, Justin. What are you, my stalker?"

Justin flushed and said softly, "No…I…I couldn't let you leave without me. I…I love you, Brian."

Brian closed his eyes and let his head fall.

"You'll let me stay with you, won't you? I'll do whatever you want."

"I don't have much choice, do I?"

Justin nearly giggled he was so happy. But the giggle died in his throat when Brian lifted his head, a scowl on his face. "But only until we reach Starbase 210. I'd turn this ship around if we weren't expected at Tau Ceti in three weeks." (Brian intended to 'play ball' for a few months, until the E.S.S. Babylon was far, far away from the farthest Earth military outpost).

"So I can stay with you until then?"

Brian sighed. "Yes. Come on." Then he guided Justin back the way he had come, to his quarters. He had no idea how he was going to explain this to Lindsay or his crew (the members of the crew that had no idea they were about to break off from the Earth military would be suspicious and critical, and those that did would be even more suspicious and critical. Any report of non-standard operations might lead to the E.S.S. Babylon's being called back to Earth. And that would ruin everything).

TBC...