Having choices meant that we needed to have a discussion. Dolan and Corey were not really good at combat. Haroon was good at everything. Larl and Alyas were not a pair that was good at anything. To be honest, they would probably be the ones sacrificed if the others were not busted for sodomy. With that being the case, it was very important that we chose a good mission. Since there was a very low risk of a hostile encounter, we decided to go explore one of the planets. The planet we were going to was judged to have a similar atmosphere to Earth. There was also the fact that it had 90% of the gravity. This meant we would be lighter and be able to jump higher. The equipment would be provided, and we would have our own ship and pilots. As new members of the order, it was a smaller craft than veterans would have access to. Our ship was a Rho-class 1t shuttle. A hyperdrive-equipped multi-purpose transport, the ship was developed by Jacaroi Systems for use in the Solarus Army. Measuring 20 meters in length, the Rho-class attained a max speed of 850 kph. It would get us around.
It had three wings on it: one tall, dorsal stabilizer that remained stationary, and two lower articulated flanking wings. While in flight, the wings folded outwards for greater stabilization, while during landing procedures the wings folded inward, reducing the vessel's silhouette. Although the ship could be flown by a single pilot, the presence of a copilot/navigator made it much easier, especially when traveling through hyperspace. Despite the elegance of the ship's outer design, the amenities were bare bones in my opinion. It had regular seats and no furniture. Moreover, bored troopers were known to scratch their operating numbers on every available surface. It was a well-armed vessel. Our new shuttle was equipped with two forward-facing double laser cannons, two forward-facing wing-mounted double blaster cannons, and a retractable rear-mounted double laser cannon. The pilots saluted us as we approached them. We then boarded the ship together. It had space for 20 passengers. Because that was the case, we could spread out. We had our exosuits in storage. They took us to the planet.
As soon as we touched down, we got on our exosuits. Haroon purposely went all the way to the back of the ship and got changed there. He looked at Corey and Dolan and pointedly said "Do not look at me." Corey just sucked his teeth and said "We don't even want to look at him. There is nothing that he has on him that we don't have in a much bigger size." It made me snort despite myself. Luckily, Haroon was already too far to hear us. Larl looked back and forth between them in confusion. "What's going on? Are you guys fighting?" he asked. I said "Just a bit of old drama. Nothing you need to worry about." It would not be good for us if Larl and Alyas turned on them in a murderous rage. Alyas just shrugged as he put the bodysuit on. "C'mon guys. We don't have time to mess around here." he said. We followed his lead and went over to the doors together. The pilots opened the door and wished us well over the radio. We filed out and had free reign on where to go and what to do. Since that was the case, I asked to split up in groups of 3. We could cover more ground, but still have support.
Jumping around was pretty fun. I teamed up with Corey and Dolan. Haroon did not want to have anything to do with them. They did not care about him at all. I asked the pair of them to shut off their radios so that we could have a frank conversation. They looked at me and then turned it off. It seemed they trusted me. Saving their lives seemed to do that. Once it was off, they asked why we were talking off the record. I really wanted to know why they were at the orgy when it was against the religion. It just did not make sense to me. Their faces told me that it was a going to be tough for them. It was a very long conversation, and I learned some things about them. All of their parents were very devout and Dolan's father was a veteran Ray of Osolario too. While they were believers, they obviously had some reservations. Being gay was a big problem. Both Dolan and Corey were tops and they wanted to blow off some steam with the others. They were not effeminate so it was easy for them to hide. Orin and Maison were both bottoms and the others were versatile. They had all fucked before.
