Freedom

by Maureen Toonkel

  “What water? What are you talking about?”

  Dennis laughed and then filled the Captain and Lieutenant Hampton in on the finer aspects of Project Melt, i.e. those details which he had skipped over in his report the day before. “However, Captain, the liquid we are towing is actually not water; it is a toxic metal that has been liquefied. Before using it to flood the Headquarters we will need to turn it into real water. Luckily, there is an awesome product called Synthetical Hydro-Oxy that can do this. It is fairly new, but we do have a supply aboard the ship. It is an additive that converts any liquid into H2O by extracting the water from the liquid and isolating any toxins into a solid form. We can add this chemical to the liquid before we start the flooding. The toxins will become solid and thus will be left behind in the sanitation bags.”

  “So,“ he concluded, “we can use that water to flood this compound. We can allow the water to remain for several days before suctioning it back out. The computers should be destroyed by then. In fact, I can add in some Desolidify. It’s a chemical agent used to quickly dissolve sealants, such as rubber and silicone. It’s non-toxic to humanoids and most animals. I would just need to rig up a system to pump in the water.”

  “Great! Get on it, stat.” Josh patted Dennis on the back. “Come, Hampton. We still need to locate Platt and Monks.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  June 27, 1330 Hours

  It had been a very busy and productive morning. Josh was still not feeling all that well. Every muscle in his body ached along with a splitting headache and bouts of dizziness. At least the nausea seemed to have subsided for the time being. However, there was no time to be sick. He fought through the annoying discomforts and carried on, showing as little distress as he could to his peers.

  After Dennis Pearson left to return to the Gladiator, Keith and Josh, along with a team of slaves, searched the rest of the compound. Any occupants in the Headquarters were being evacuated and taken to the Cages. The team discovered a labyrinth of rooms, nooks, and crannies filled with more computers, electronic machines, and strange looking gadgets. Normal protocol would be to seize the equipment and have UGC scientists examine and study all of it. There was always valuable information and new concepts to discover. But under the present circumstances, Josh just couldn’t take the chance that the technology in the Tradian Headquarters could be accidentally activated. Or worse, fall into the possession of an evil-minded being. No, Josh was convinced that everything in this underground facility needed to be entirely eradicated.

  In a small janitorial maintenance closet, Josh was highly surprised to find both Chieftain Monks and General Platt hiding out with the mops and brooms. They were weaponless. It was with immense satisfaction that he watched Keith Hampton remove a roll of duct tape from his waist sack and use the tape to snuggly secure the two officials’ wrists. Josh couldn’t help smiling as he viewed the two head off with Hom.

  Using his shoulder, Josh shoved open a heavy glass door covered with a black film commonly used as a privacy blocker. There was a sign glued to the glass that read Authorized Personnel Only. A loud rattling sound rang out as the door smashed into a steel cabinet on the inside wall. They had located another medical lab similar to the one in Brisula City. Only this one was immense. All the plaster walls were lined with shiny stainless steel cabinets and green painted metal shelves filled with bottles of chemicals, both liquids and powders. Inside the cabinets were tools of all sorts: common medical tools like scalpels, stethoscopes, and tongs. In addition there were unusual tools to find in a medical lab, such as wire cutters, hammers, and screwdrivers. Over to one side were gurneys draped with white sheets. Keith pulled back one of the linen sheets to discover a body. It was headless. Protruding out of the body’s chest were some plastic-coated wires of multiple colors.

  “So this is where they manufactured our fake bodies,” said Josh as he peeked under another sheet. This body had a head but no face. I wonder if Paul Loring ever worked in this lab, Josh thought to himself. Did he create my body or Dave’s?

  At the very rear of the area housing the elevator that Keith Hampton had discovered, stood a very thick metal wall with a small door in the center. Thinking it was a storage facility, they tried bashing in the door but it would not budge. It was too thick. Keith set to work picking the lock. It was a much more sturdier lock than the others they had come across around the city. This lock was quite different than the ones matching the keys on the key ring they had lifted from Lieutenant Shasta. After several futile attempts, the lock clicked and Keith swung the door open. Captain Stoner could not believe his eyes. The room was not a storage area for supplies; it was a warehouse for slaves. Skinny, dirty slaves were crowded into the center of the large space behind a mesh fence similar to the ones in the Cages area above. Many of the slaves appeared to be sick. Keith tried the ring of keys that the Captain handed him. One worked. Josh ordered Keith to separate the slaves into two groups: those who were ill and those who were still somewhat healthy. The sick ones were to be taken to Cage D to await medical help. The others were to be taken to the Construction Site. He asked Hom to explain to these slaves what was occurring.

  Josh himself returned to the main area in the compound and contacted the Gladiator. The stat phone reception was quite poor and he had to redial several times to continue his conversations. He spoke with Dennis Pearson who told him that he had devised a way to pump the water from the bags attached to the Gladiator into the Headquarters. The bags would be lowered down to the planet’s surface using the John Glenn space pod. Long glass-fiber reinforced plastic piping would be connected to the germicide sprayer that Dennis had reconfigured for Project Melt. He had disconnected it from the Gladiator’s system and hooked it up to the Glenn. The piping would be cast down the hole alongside the Boulder and then threaded through the back elevator. Pearson was ready to return to Brisula and begin preparing the piping.

  The Captain also talked with Dr. Berg. He learned that Dave Andrews was resting comfortably and appeared to be on the mend. The Legionnaires’ antibiotic was being produced in mass quantities. Dr. Berg was prepared to begin inoculating those on Brisula. She and Tobias Carter were ordered to return to Brisula with Lieutenant Commander Pearson. Dr. Carter and Amanda Rugan would work together in the Cages. Marlana Berg was assigned to find Colonel Flax and persuade him to go with her to the Hospital in order to urge the Brisulan doctors to assist in administrating antibiotics to their citizens. He instructed the members of the Architectural Engineering Team to begin preparing the compound for the flooding. This consisted of physically removing all the doors from their hinges including the ones on cabinets and closets. All drawers were to be opened, removed, and the contents dumped out. Josh wanted to guarantee that every piece of equipment was thoroughly soaked and thereby destroyed. He did not want to take a chance that a closed door or drawer could block the water from entering, and in so doing could prevent an evil device from being eliminated. The team was to be careful not to touch or disturb any of the computers other than unplugging them from the wall sockets.

  Things were progressing better than Josh could have hoped for. It often scared him when all went too well. It just seemed like things should be unpredictable with many bumps and detours in the road. If everything was going smoothly, he usually was on the alert for something to go wrong. It was almost inevitable. So it was with great trepidation, that he announced to the group still in the Tradian Headquarters, that their work was done. It was time to retreat to Brisula City.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  June 27, 1500 Hours

  Dennis Pearson was back on Brisula. Working with Colin Evans and some of the other Architectural Engineering crew, he finished setting up the germicide sprayer, turned water pumper. Now they were busy getting the piping installed down the freight elevator, thereby disabling that elevator from transporting people up to Brisula City. Captain Stoner and Lieutenant Hampton were standing at the main elevator in Tradian Central, assisting the last of the
slaves to be evacuated. Unfortunately this elevator was on the fritz again. The call buttons in the Headquarters had gone dead. Luckily the ones in Platt’s apartment were still active, so the Captain had assigned Bonnie Shea to ride up and down with the evacuees. Everyone needed to be out within the next thirty minutes, as Stoner had ordered Pearson to begin pumping in the water at exactly 1530.

  Josh leaned into the elevator cage. “This will be the last bunch,” he told Bonnie. “You will need to make one more run to pick up Dennis Pearson and his crew.” He turned back to the group of slaves waiting to board. At the end of the line, there was a small, young female slave talking to Keith Hampton. She appeared to be very shy and uneasy, talking in barely a whisper. Josh walked over to listen in.

  “Sir,” the girl was saying, “it was about two weeks ago that a disorderly slave was taken to the punishment room. No one has seen him since. However, the rumor going around is that he was killed or that he is being held in solitary confinement. They say there is a cell in the punishment room. Most of us believe he is still alive, as sometimes late at night we have heard moaning and cries for help.”

  “Where is this punishment room?” asked Keith.

  “It is along the rear wall of the room where us slaves were housed.”

  “We searched that whole area. We did not find any rooms connected to the cage area.”

  “You cannot always see this room,” responded the girl.

  “What do you mean?” asked Keith, starting to wonder if this quiet, young woman was pulling his leg. “How can that be?”

  “To enter the room, the wall needs to rise up.”

  “Oh. And this room is on the rear wall?” The girl nodded. “Where along the back wall?”

  “On the far left.”

  Keith did an about-face and began walking away from the elevator.

  “Hampton!” yelled Josh. “Where are you going?”

  “To get that slave.”

  “We don’t have much time.”

  “I know.”

  “OK, but hurry.”

  Josh loaded the last of the slaves onto the elevator and then stepped in with them.

  Marlana Berg walked quickly down the 7 Passageway accompanied by Seaman Neil Chase. They took a right turn on the J Lane and then another right down the hallway leading to the Flax apartment. Salton answered her knock.

  “Hello, Salton,” she greeted the tall slave. “I need to speak to Colonel Flax. Can you tell me if he is at the Zoo or the Deliveries area?” A soft meow filled the air, and Marlana looked down to find Penelope grazing against her leg. She gently lifted the feline up and rubbed noses with her pet.

  “You are in luck, madam,” said Salton. “Colonel Flax is here. He is in the kitchen having a late lunch. Follow me.”

  Carrying Penelope, Marlana followed Salton. Colonel Flax put down his sandwich and stood up when he saw her enter. Extending his hand, he said, “It is good to be in your presence again.” Noticing Penelope in her arms, he added. “I see you came for your cat. Can you also check on the children?”

  “It is good to see you again also, sir,” responded Marlana. “Actually, I didn’t come for Penelope. I’ve brought some antibiotic medication for you and the children. I have discovered what the disease is that has made your children ill.”

  “Disease?” questioned the Colonel with alarm in his voice.

  “Yes, it is called Legionnaires’ disease. Apparently the apples were infected with a type of bacteria that causes the condition.”

  “So, we were eating spoiled apples? They did not look rotten.”

  “It is my theory that the apples were deliberately injected with polluted water from some type of cooling system.”

  “But why?”

  “I do not know the answer to that question. But I must locate the source of the infected water, so we can eliminate the threat. Do you know where there might be a cooling system or hot tub large enough to produce an abundant amount of condensation?”

  “Well, we do not have air conditioning in Brisula. Nor are there any hot tubs. Hmm.” The Colonel scratched his head and paced around the tiny kitchen, as he tried to think of an answer to Dr. Berg’s question. Marlana stood absently stroking Penelope’s ears while she patiently waited for the Colonel to speak again. Finally he exclaimed, “Food Service! There’s several large freezer units housed in that facility. It’s where the fish that is fed to the slaves is stored.”

  “That’s got to be it,” said Marlana. “I will need to let Captain Stoner know. But first I want to inoculate the children.” While Neil Chase remained in the kitchen taking over the cat petting duties, Marlana went with Flax and Salton to the children’s bedroom. Tommie and Tossie were still lying in their beds under blankets. Marlana examined them both. Their status had remained stable. She injected each child with a syringe of a doxycycline derivative. Then she injected both Colonel Flax and Salton.

  “Now, I need to ask you for a huge favor,” said Marlana, as she zipped up her backpack.

  “You may ask anything of me. I will be forever in your debt for what you have done for my children.”

  Marlana informed the Colonel about the history of Legionnaires’ disease and how deadly it could be. She told him that everyone who had eaten any of the apples was in danger of developing the disease. “Our pharmacy is producing a mass amount of antibiotic. We need to immediately begin inoculating all the citizens of Brisula. The Gladiator medical staff is at your disposal. We have already begun distributing the medication to the slaves. What I need from you, is help to convince the doctors and nurses in your hospital to assist with the inoculations. They need to explain the inherent danger to all the citizens, and encourage everyone to come to the hospital every day for the next several days to receive their antibiotic shots. We don’t want to create panic leading to chaos, so we need to devise an orderly system for handling the injections. And we will need volunteers to go door-to-door so everyone is informed. There may be citizens too sick to leave their beds, and in that case we will need to deliver the medication in person.”

  “Let’s go,” said the Colonel. “Dr. Ottman is an acquaintance of mine. He is the primary medical director. I am sure he will listen to reason.”

  Leaving Penelope behind once again, Marlana, along with Seaman Chase left the apartment and set off with Colonel Flax down the 7 Passageway.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  June 27, 1515 Hours

  Keith Hampton raced through the hallway, running past the elevator, and slipping by Dennis Pearson who was fast at work with his crew making the final adjustments to the pipes. He came to the back wall. Looking up at the ceiling, he could see the indentations where a wall could ascend into the cement. Using the bolt cutter, he banged frantically on the wall. He was hoping to be able to knock a hole in the structure, but it appeared that the back wall was also constructed of metal. It was when he stopped swinging the bolt cutter, that he heard the muffled shout coming from behind the wall. There is someone locked inside. I have to find the controls that operate this wall. Keith searched the length of the back wall and then the other four walls. There was nothing that looked like a control panel. Suddenly he had a hunch. Racing again down the hallway, he passed the elevator with its door propped open and two large fiberglass pipes sticking out into the hallway. The crew working on the piping was gone. Keith hopped over the pipes and continued down the hall stopping at the elevator control box. About two feet to the left of the box was a tiny unmarked latched door. Keith used the bolt cutter that was still in his hand, to break through the latch. Inside were two push-button switches. One switch had an up arrow on it and the other had a down arrow. He depressed the up one and rushed back to the slave area, getting there just in time to see the wall rising up.

  Once the wall had completely disappeared into the ceiling, Keith entered the room that had been hidden behind the barrier. He could see a figure sitting on the floor with straggly, brown hair covering a bowed head and face buried in the occupant’s
chest. There were prison bars blocking Keith’s path.

  “Hello,” Keith shouted out. “I’m going to try and get you out of here.” He started to turn around when he heard something that was impossible. It can’t be, he muttered out loud to himself.

  “Keith,” repeated the voice he had just heard. “It’s me.”

  “Wayne?” asked a shocked Keith Hampton, looking down at the slumping slave. Slowly the slave raised his head, and now Keith could see his face. “But I killed you.”

  “Well, as you can see, I am quite weak but definitely alive.”

  Keith fumbled with the key ring. He tried every key twice but none of them would make the lock on the bars spring open. Abandoning the keys, he used the lock pick. He had trouble getting his fingers to cooperate. Calm down and concentrate, he told himself. Finally the cylinder inside the lock turned over and clicked open.

  “Let’s go. We have to be quick.” Keith grabbed Lieutenant Wayne Shasta by the waist and hoisted him up into a standing position. “Hurry.”

  Half dragging and half carrying Wayne, Keith led them back down the hall. A trickle of water was now flowing out from one of the pipes. Pushing the up button on the elevator, Keith suddenly remembered that the buttons were out of order. He spent a couple of minutes fiddling with the elevator buttons and then another couple with the control box on the wall. It was all to no avail. He could hear the water flow speeding up and see it slowly creeping down the hall and into the central main Headquarters area. Snatching his stat phone from the bag on his waist, Keith frantically started dialing numbers. He tried calling the Captain. Then he tried Jackson Greene. And Dennis Pearson. And Diane Pearson. He even tried Beverly. Then he tried them all again. It was useless. The reception was nil.