by Dan Kelly
Pulsar rushes back into the conference room and tells the advisors what he’s found and surmised. “Way to go, Pulsar”, Chief Shandul exclaims.
Commander Caitlin jumps up, grabs his portable transceiver and calls his alert hangar. When the alert officer answers, he bellows, “This is Commander Caitlin. I’m calling to declare a full scale alert. Queen Quasar has been abducted. Scramble all warships and instruct the squadron commander to rendezvous above Castle Capella. When he’s airborne, patch him through to me on my transceiver. I’ll be in the Queen’s conference room at Castle Capella. I’ll give him further instructions then.”
The alert officer responds with, “Please enter your identification code, Commander.” The Commander complies and the alert officer comes back with, “The alert has been sounded, Sir! They should be overhead in six minutes.”
The Commander breaks the connection and addresses the other advisors and Pulsar. “The helicopter couldn’t have gotten far in this weather. These winds are way to strong for it not to be buffeted into the ground. I’ll have the squadron commander conduct a wagon wheel grid search with the helipad as the hub. Our warships can fly in any kind of weather.”
Six minutes later the warships are circling the castle and the voice of the squadron commander comes through the speakers in the conference room. Commander Caitlin has hooked his transceiver into the conference room’s speaker system, so all of the advisors can listen in. “Squadron Commander Loftus calling Commander Caitlin. Come in please.”
“This is Commander Caitlin. Thank you for your prompt response, Commander Loftus. How many ships have scrambled?”
“Ten, Sir”
“Ok, this is what I want you to do. Conduct a wagon wheel grid search using the Queen’s helipad as the hub. Conduct the search in stealth mode. When you spot the helicopter, maintain aerial surveillance and report back to me. Under no circumstances are you to land and attempt rescue. Understood?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Commence search, Commander, and may this weather remain lousy.”
Two hours go by with no sight of the helicopter. Commander Caitlin is not the type of person who is easily rattled, but he’s now beginning to think who ever abducted the Queen has somehow been able to camouflage the helicopter so it can’t be seen from the air. If this is what happened, the abductors may get away undetected when the weather clears. All that can be done for now is to continue the search and hope for the best. Another hour goes by and there’s still no sign of the helicopter. It has become very quiet in the conference room with everyone thinking about where the Queen might be and who could have taker her.
Suddenly, the silence is broken by Commander Loftus shouting, “Mission accomplished, Commander Caitlin. We’ve located the helicopter. The pilot set it down in the parking lot of a school adjacent to an athletic field of some kind. The field was covered with lots of tarpaulins to keep it dry. Several of the smaller ones were used to cover the helicopter and that’s why we didn’t see it on our first fly by. The only reason we’re seeing it now is the tarps weren’t secured properly and the wind blew off the one covering the tail section.”
“Just as I figured.”, thinks Commander Caitlin. “Excellent job, Commander. Stand by for further orders.” Commander Caitlin’s mind is racing a mile a minute. “The pilot must have accomplices. Tarps are very heavy when dry. Wet, they weigh a ton. One man couldn’t have covered that helicopter by himself.” “What kind of school is it, Commander?”
“It appears to be a university of some sort, sir. I see no kids, but there are a lot of grown ups running to and from buildings on the campus.”
“Ok, Commander, stay put and report any movement towards that helicopter.”
“Yes, sir.”
He then calls the leader of his assault forces, Captain Kardok, who answers on the first buzz. “I see you know what’s going on, Captain.”
“Yes, Commander. The alert officer called me immediately after you ordered the alert and told me that you might need me and my troops at a moment’s notice, so I’ve been monitoring the situation ever since.”
“Captain, where is this school located and how quickly do you think you can secure its perimeter to prevent any one from leaving the campus?”
“Commander, if the weather was clear you’d be able to see it from the Queen’s office. It’s only 15 miles from Castle Capella. I can have that campus smothered in less than an hour. I’ll use our new supersonic assault vehicles which will have us there in about twenty minutes. The rest of the time will be spent deploying the troops in the most effective manner.”
“Excellent. Let me know when your forces are in place.”
“Will do, Commander, but you know this might all be a waste of time. We don’t know for sure that the abductors and the Queen are still on the grounds of the university.”
“You’re absolutely right, Captain, but this storm is the worst we’ve had in some time. Traffic isn’t moving outside because of the gusting winds and poor visibility and you’d have to be crazy to try to walk somewhere in it. You’d be blown away. Yeah, you’re right. I don’t know for sure, but I’m betting that they’re hiding somewhere on that campus until the storm blows over. The hard part is going to be finding their hiding place.”
“We’re on our way, Commander.”
Pulsar, scared as he is for his Aunt Cue, can’t help but be impressed with the way Commander Caitlin and his troops are reacting to this emergency. Queen Quasar would be very proud of them. He’s been sitting quietly off in a corner of the conference room, trying not to get in the way. The Commander’s last statement, however, stirs him into action. “Commander, if the Queen and her abductors are on that campus, the Power Pack can find them.”
The Commander had forgotten all about the young man and wonders how he’s holding up under all this stress. He gently responds with, “Pulsar, this is a very dangerous situation, one that is best handled by troops specially trained to deal with them. I know you love your aunt very much and are brave enough to try to do what you have offered, but it is just too risky for someone untrained to attempt. I know, we’ve used the Power Pack in the past, but you weren’t exposed to this kind of danger then. Having our Queen at risk is bad enough. I don’t want to take any chances with a bunch of kids, especially when one of them is our future ruler.”
Pulsar responds with words much beyond his years. “I appreciate and understand your concern, Commander, but I believe the special powers the Pack possesses would make it a lot easier for you to locate the Queen and capture her abductors. We have been working very hard to perfect our skill in using our powers and I have been putting in many hours learning how to be a leader. The Pack and I have progressed to the point where we are becoming a real team. We have dedicated our lives to protect Proton and the Queen from all enemies. Please let us do what we are being trained to do. The Queen would want it this way. Besides, you’ll be there to make sure we don’t take any unnecessary risks.”
Commander Caitlin can’t believe his ears. He knows the Pack is an exceptional bunch of kids, but the maturity Pulsar just showed has left him speechless. Chief Shandul speaks up with, “I know how you feel, Commander, but these kids can do some amazing things. Under your supervision, they should be okay.”
With a long appreciative look at Pulsar the Commander says, “Alright, you’re in.”
The Commander calls Captain Kardok again and orders him to have one of the assault vehicles come to the castle to take him and an additional squad of specially trained troops to the university. Since the Commander is under orders not to reveal the existence of the Power Pack, he gives no further explanation. He then calls Headmaster Herby and instructs him to have the Pack ready to be picked up by a Castle Capella security helicopter and flown to Castle Capella, explanation to come later. He then turns to Chief Shandul and asks, “How long to get those kids here?”
“An hour tops. Our patrol helicopters are twice as fast as the Queen’s and are especially equipped
to fly in bad weather”
“Do it, Chief.”
Chapter 33
“What a morning this has been. One minute I’m in my office preparing for a meeting, the next I’m being kidnapped and shoved into my helicopter and the next I’m being bound, gagged and tied to a chair that’s tied to a post. This is definitely not a day to remember. Whew! Things have been happening too fast for me to think clearly. If they leave me alone for a while, I might be able to figure a way out of this mess.
Let me take this one step at a time. First, what do I know? There are six of them and one of me; not very good odds. There are the pilot and co-pilot, two to restrain me during transport and two to act as sentinels and extra muscle if needed. This storm has forced the pilot to land in the parking lot of a school not far from Castle Capella because we were in the air for only ten minutes or so. I’ve been immobilized in a large warehouse somewhere on the school grounds and am not being closely watched by my abductors. There are windows on all sides of the warehouse and its sliding doors also have windows. I don’t have a clue as to who my abductors are. They’re all wearing flight gear, including helmets with the darkened visors. Only one of them has talked to me and that was just to order me to be quiet in my office. He said if I did anything to cause my assistant to come into the office, he would kill her. The storm is still raging outside with no sign of letting up, but that could quickly change. Protonese weather is known for its quixotic behavior and rapid changes. By now a major search and rescue mission has been launched and every available body will be out looking for me. Ok, this is all I know.
Second, what can I do to help those looking for me? What kind of a signal can I give them? How can I put my abductors at greater risk of discovery? I sure hope someone spots the clue I left on my desk and will figure out what it means. If they have, chances are they’ve targeted the right area to search, but with the tarps covering the helicopter I probably shouldn’t count on any outside help.” She has never thought so hard about anything in her life, but no brilliant thoughts are coming to mind. She can’t think of a single thing she can do to help herself get out of this predicament. She’s never felt so helpless.
Queen Quasar isn’t a quitter though. She’s a lot stronger than her captors have given her credit for and with much twisting and wriggling she’s managed to loosen the binding around her wrists. If she wanted to, she could pull her hands free, but she wants to wait for the right opportunity. She’s no match for the six of them, so she’s going to have to surprise one of them and take his weapon. That will even things up considerably.
Meanwhile, Captain Kardok’s assault troops have surrounded the school grounds and are awaiting further orders. Commander Caitlin and the Power Pack have arrived at the main
entrance to the school campus and are discussing the next course of action with Captain Kardok. “Captain, have some of your assault troops do a reconnaissance of the buildings closest to the helicopter. In this weather, I think the kidnappers would have headed for the closest shelter available. I want them to note the number, size and type of buildings and look for anything unusual that might point us to where they might be hiding. Under no circumstances are they to allow themselves to be seen. If they’re spotted, we’ll lose one of our major weapons, the element of surprise. Without that, the Queen’s situation will be a lot more precarious. Most certainly, they will threaten to harm her or even kill her if we prevent them from leaving with her. As you know, threats or not, the Queen has standing orders never to deal with ilk such as this no matter whose life is at risk. Make sure your troops understand the importance of not being seen.”
“Yes, sir. I have contacted the dean of the university, apprised him of the situation and have asked that he notify the faculty and student body to remain indoors where they are until told by him to do otherwise. The fewer bodies moving around, the easier it will be to identify and deal with the Queen’s kidnappers.”
“Very good, Captain. Let’s get this operation underway.”
Turning to Pulsar the Commander says, “Pulsar, I’ll communicate directly with you and you with the rest of the Pack. We’ll wait here until we get some input from the assault troops scouting the area around the Queen’s helicopter.”
“Yes, Commander.”
Queen Quasar is racking her brain trying to come up with a way to signal a search party of her whereabouts. Looking around the warehouse for what must be the hundredth time, she notices that one of the windows has a dark shade that is partially drawn. If she could attach something of hers that would be easily recognizable as hers to the outside of the shade, it might get the attention of someone in the search party. Her abductors wouldn’t be able to see it from inside the warehouse. “My signet ring! I could use the packing tape over on that table by the window to attach it to the shade.
“The trick will be to untie myself, get over there and attach the ring and get back to the chair and tie myself up again without them seeing me. It shouldn’t take me more than two minutes to do it. We’ve been in this warehouse for hours now and the kidnappers haven’t checked on me since they bound, gagged and stashed me in the back of this warehouse. They’re all up front where they can monitor all the roads leading to the warehouse through the windows in the sliding doors. Ok. The time for thinking is over. I better go for it now before I lose the opportunity.”
She jerks her hand free of the ropes binding her wrists behind the back of the chair, unties the ropes stretched across her chest securing her to the back of the chair and those binding her ankles to the legs of the chair and scoots over to the table to get the tape. This takes about a minute. She tears a piece of tape off the role and almost has a heart attack because the sound of the tape tearing is something she hadn’t thought about. She quickly fastens the ring to the shade, scoots back to the chair, loosely ties herself back up and none too soon.
“They must have heard the sound of the tape tearing because one of them has come back to see what it was. He stops about 15 feet from her, glances her way, scans the area around her, walks over to the window with the shade partially drawn, pulls the side of it back to look out the window and her heart skips a few beats. “Oh no! He’s going to see the ring! No, he’s let go of the shade. I hope the ring doesn’t fall off. He’s turning and going back to the front of the warehouse. He’s so confident that I’m tightly secured to the chair and can’t get loose that he’s not going to bother with checking my bindings. Good.”
When he gets back up front, the Queen hears him say, “Everything’s ok. It must have been some kind of rodent we heard.”
“Sheesh! That was close. Now all I can do is hope that someone other than these yo-yos spots the ring.”
Chapter 34
The scouting party has fanned out in the immediate area surrounding the Queen’s helicopter and so far has spotted nothing unusual. There are five building in the vicinity of the helicopter, but no sign of the Queen or her abductors. They’re going to have to take a closer look yet avoid being seen. This shouldn’t be too much of a problem as these assault troops are experts at camouflage and will blend in with the surroundings.
The first four buildings, a library, a medical clinic, a science lab, and a sports equipment storage facility all check out negative. The only occupants are students and faculty. Checking out the fifth building is going to be much more difficult. It is some kind of warehouse with nothing but concrete from the building’s foundation out for a distance of fifty yards. The assault personnel approach it with extreme caution, making sure to stay out of sight, but they can’t get close enough to see anything. They’re stymied as to what to do next and their leader is about to call Captain Kardock for his input when one of the troops, using his high powered binoculars to get a closer look, spots Queen Quasar’s ring. The leader quickly reports back to Captain Kardok with a slightly better feeling in the pit of his stomach.
Captain Kardok loudly whispers, “Commander, we’ve located the Queen. She’s being held in a warehouse close to wh
ere the helicopter was forced to land. Somehow she managed to tape her signet ring to the outside of a shade on one of the windows to let us know where she is.”