Captivity

by Maureen Toonkel

  “Please describe the fence, if you can.”

  “It was very tall. So tall that I could not see the top. It was strung across the floor of the lake. I could not see the beginning or the end of it. I also noticed that attached to the inner side of the fence was metal meshing.”

  “Thank you, Ensign Ahn.” Dave looked around at the rest of the committee. “Does anyone have any other questions?” There were none. Dave turned to the divers. “Is there anything else you would like to add?”

  “Um, yes sir,” spoke up Lieutenant Robinson. “There were no fish in the lake.”

  Jackson Greene immediately shot his hand up. “I have a question,” he announced. “Ensign Ahn, did you notice any fish on the other side of the fence?”

  “Now that you mention it, I think I saw a large shark-like fish swimming away from the fence when the sparks started flying.”

  “Well,” said Dave Andrews. “I would like to thank the divers for their report. Again I am very sorry for the outcome of your mission. We did not foresee this type of danger. Diane, please show them out.”

  “Sir, may I ask something?” said Kyung Ahn.

  “Certainly,” answered Andrews. He gave his attention to the young diver.

  “We are not going to leave Paula down there, are we?”

  “Ensign, I assure you we will do everything we can to retrieve Seaman Scott’s body,” Dave answered. ”However, I cannot put anyone else’s life in danger.”

  And with that the divers exited the room.

  “If I may ask, what’s our next plan?” Dr. Loring inquired once the divers had left. “So much for Officer Greene’s theory that the lake is the entrance.”

  “Well, we needed to check it out. I guess we can cross that off our list,” responded Andrews.

  “Yes, at the expense of a young naval officer,” said Paul Loring.

  “Sir,” piped up Jackson Greene. “I am very sorry about what happened. But I really felt that the lake was the key to gaining access to the underground city. I was right that the fish are being corralled. Personally I still think the lake is our answer.”

  “Perhaps you are right,” stated Dave. “However, we cannot risk sending down any more divers. We need to think of another solution. Please review once again all of the data and let us reconvene at 2400 hours.”

  They spent the rest of the afternoon and evening resting in the abandoned Watch Repair Shop. The muscles in Josh’s forearms were stiff from the continuous motion of polishing the tunnel walls for most of the day. Eventually a bell sounded, and the officers could hear the mall emptying out, and they could see the lights dimming. After waiting for a time, they decided that the coast was clear, and they ventured out.

  “Why don’t we do some exploring?” suggested Josh as he headed off toward the right side of the market place. Keith headed left. Next door to the Watch Repair Shop was The Bakery. Josh turned to enter the store, and he hit an invisible force field. Ouch. That hurt. I guess that explains why there are no doors on the stores. He walked over to a kiosk with the sign Hat Boutique and tentatively reached out his hand. His middle finger felt a zap as he touched another force field. Darn, I was hoping I could do some shoplifting. Josh strolled aimlessly around the right side of the mall while his mind shifted to his predicament. Why hasn’t there been any rescue attempts made from the Gladiator? Was that Dave Andrews’ real body or another fake? Did Dave get killed trying to free me and the others? Or were the Tradians expecting Dave and were planning to place his phony body on the planet’s surface once they turned him into a slave? Josh was quite sure that the body in the medical lab was a fake, but of course, he didn’t know for sure. But if Andrews has not been back to the surface, then what has he been doing to rescue us? Over by the Candy Station kiosk, Josh saw something lying on the floor. He stooped over and picked it up. He then headed back to the Watch Repair Shop, arriving just as Keith came trotting across the mall.

  Keith was carrying a paper sack. He smiled at the Captain and went into the repair shop to put down his bundle. Josh followed him in.

  “Were you able to break into any stores?” Josh asked.

  “No,” said Keith shaking his head. “But I did do some Dumpster diving.” He reached into the paper sack and pulled out two tomatoes. “They have some rotten spots on them, but I can cut them off with my scissors.” Drawing out the scissors from his canvas bag, Keith carefully sliced up the tomatoes. He then took out some dented green peppers and some wilted lettuce leaves.

  “Wow, this is a feast,” said Josh, slapping Keith on the back. “And I brought the dessert.” Josh opened up his hand to reveal two broken pieces of chocolate.

  They ate in silence savoring the taste of something other than fish. Keith pointed out that there was a water cooler in the far corner of the mall. As they drank several cups of the cool water, they heard voices coming from the front of the market. Dropping the paper cups they were drinking from, the two officers raced quickly back to the Watch Repair Shop.

  Josh peeked out from the shop and in the dim light he could make out a group of slaves wearing leg chains and carrying mops and brooms. They were the cleaning crew.

  Dennis Pearson sat in the Messdeck nibbling on his plate of turkey with gravy and mashed potatoes. Diane was seated across from him eating a tuna salad sandwich and sipping lemonade. It was quiet. Most of the crew had already eaten dinner. Dennis noticed Paul and Amanda at a table on the other side of the cafeteria. He wondered if Dr. Loring was avoiding him. The doctor had sure been a pain in the neck earlier that day when Dennis was working on the James K. He turned to Diane and told her about it.

  “Just like the rest of us, he was probably worried about the diving expedition,” said Diane. “We are all acting a bit strange these days.” She took a large swallow of the sugary lemonade.

  “I think there’s more to it than that,” said Dennis. “He seemed absent minded. He was really against sending the divers. Have you noticed that Dave and Paul seem to be at odds with each other?”

  “Tensions seem to be high all around,” answered Diane. She pushed away her half eaten sandwich and stood up. “I am going up to the Bridge to see if there have been any new transmissions. See you later.” She scooped up her dishes and headed for the trash area.

  “I love you,” shouted Dennis. He picked up his plate and his glass of milk and walked over to where Dr. Loring and Nurse Rugan were sitting. “Mind if I join you?” he asked putting his plate down on the table next to Amanda.

  “Have a seat,” answered Paul.

  Dennis sat down. “I guess you were right,” he said to Paul. “It turned out to be a bad move sending down the divers. How did you know?”

  “It was just a feeling,” responded Paul.

  “So what are you feeling now?” inquired Pearson.

  “I am feeling that we need to leave Brisula and assume that Josh and the others are dead.”

  “Are you serious?” said Dennis raising his voice. “I am not ready to assume that the Captain is dead. Especially now that we got that Morse Code message.”

  “I am not convinced that was a real message,” said Paul. “I think the spy is playing games with us.”

  “And who may I ask do you think the spy is?” Dennis put down his fork. “Do you still think it’s Hampton?”

  “I actually have never thought it was Lieutenant Hampton,” said Paul looking Pearson straight in the eye. “I think it is Dave Andrews.”

  Dennis stared at Paul. He could not believe what he just heard. “So you’re the one who voted for Andrews. Why?”

  “I have my reasons,” answered Paul. He stood up. “Amanda and I need to check on some patients in Sick Bay.” Paul took Amanda’s hand and led her away from the table leaving Dennis with all their dirty dishes.

  Upon leaving the Messdeck, Amanda was baffled, even as she and Paul boarded the elevator to the Sick Bay Deck. Presently there were no patients in Sick Bay. Why had Dr. Loring lied to Lieutenant Commander Pearson? And why would he
say that the Captain was dead? The committee had come to the conclusion that the Morse Code message was legitimate. So the Captain was definitely alive. How could Paul suggest that they abandon Josh Stoner and the others?

  They were just stepping off the elevator when the sudden ringing of Dr. Loring’s satellite phone startled Amanda and she jumped.

  “Dr. Paul,” said Loring holding his phone up to his ear. He listened to the person talking on the other end. “You’ve got to be kidding?” he finally said. “Thanks for the info.” He hung up.

  They got to Sick Bay and Paul rushed into his office, locking the door from the inside. He booted up his computer and began typing. After a few minutes Amanda Rugan knocked on the door. Paul closed down his computer and unlocked the door. Nurse Rugan appeared to be distressed. Her eyes were opened wide and her hands were clenched together.

  “Amanda, what’s wrong?” asked Paul obviously worried.

  “I am troubled by what you said to Dennis Pearson,” she answered. “Why do you think the Captain is dead? And do you really still think Dave Andrews is the spy?”

  “I am sorry if you are disturbed by my comments,” said Paul. He took her by the hand and led her out of his office and over to a couple of leather covered stools. “No, I do not think the Captain is dead.” He squeezed her hand trying to reassure her. She still looked quite upset. “Actually, it is Dennis Pearson that I don’t trust. I said those things to throw him off track. I am wondering if Dennis and his wife are working together to disrupt things.”

  “Why would you think that?”

  “Think about it, Amanda. Who is in the best position to plant phony transmissions in the ship’s computers? Diane certainly has the capacity to pull that off. And this morning I found Dennis tinkering with the James K. I think he may have been trying to sabotage the craft. Luckily I was there, so he couldn’t follow through on his plans. Also Dennis would certainly have the know how to alter the ship’s sensors.”

  Now Amanda was even more confused. So it wasn’t Andrews who was the spy. Instead it was Dennis and Diane. But she could not fathom Dennis Pearson trying to purposely damage the space pod.

  “Um, so what were you just doing in your office? You seemed to be in quite a hurry,” Amanda blurted out. She was surprised that she was even asking Dr. Loring such a bold question.

  “You know how organized I like to be. I am keeping a log of my thoughts and observations. I was in a hurry as I did not want to forget anything of my conversation with Pearson. Amanda, these ideas about Dennis and Diane are just possibilities that I think should be noted. Most likely there is no truth to any of it,” explained Paul. “I can print you out a copy of my log, if you would like.”

  “Oh, I would like that very much,” said Amanda blushing. She felt embarrassed. How could she think negatively about Paul? He was only theorizing. There’s no harm in that. She got up and went over to her own computer to bring up the information that Commander Andrews asked them to review.

  The cleaning crew swept and then mopped the entire market place floor. They emptied the trash bins that Keith had rummaged through. After polishing the walls, the guards rounded up the workers and marched them out. The lights were again muted.

  “Time to move on,” announced Josh. Keith swept the rotten parts of the vegetables into the paper sack along with the torn polishing rags and then smashed the bag down. He jogged across the mall and placed the sack into the trash bin. When he got back, Josh laughed. “We sure want to be neat fugitives.”

  Keith’s face reddened. “I didn’t think we should leave evidence of our whereabouts, sir.”

  “Good thinking,” grinned Josh. I forgot how sensitive Keith is to any perceived criticism from me, thought Josh. I wish he could see how much admiration I have for him and how competent he is. He is going to go far. “Should we head north?” he asked Keith.

  “That sounds good, sir.”

  The hallway in front of the mall was clear. They took a right returning to the area where earlier in the day they had been buffing the walls. At the intersection they took another right heading down the tunnel leading to the Traffic Corridor. When they reached the next intersection there was a large sign hanging from the ceiling.

  The corridor was blocked on both the left and right by a metal gate. They continued north and after a short walk through the Traffic Corridor and over to the J Lane, there was another sign.

  Taking a left they headed west. On the right were many doorways with apartment numbers. There were also small tunnels between some of the apartments which led to more apartments. The first small tunnel on the right contained a sign that said

  “This is where Salton must live,” whispered Josh pointing down the corridor.

  It was a long walk, but they eventually reached the end of the hallway. In front of them were very heavy swinging gates. An overwhelming stench floated out through the doors. It reminded Josh of the putrid smell in the sewer that he and Wayne had waded through. They had reached the Garbage area.

  “I don’t see any reason to investigate this area,” said Josh. “Let’s take a right.”

  Another sign was hanging from the roof. This sign said

  Eventually the officers reached the Graveyard. It was a massive area. The floor was covered with artificial green grass. Wooden coffins were stacked one on top of each other until they touched the ceiling. Josh and Keith wandered around the area viewing the names on the foot of each casket. Some front ends of the coffins were decorated with colorful die-cut shapes. Over in the left hand corner was a fire pit. A dirty sign was tacked onto the bottom of the pit.

  “Let’s get out of here,” said Josh staring at the fire pit. They exited the Graveyard. There was a short wooden fence blocking the entrance to the next tunnel. Josh and Keith were able to easily jump it. Continuing straight up the silvery pathway they came to still another sign.

  “Zoo?” questioned Josh. He shook his head. The officers headed north.

  Wayne Shasta forced down as much water as he could before the bucket began its ascent to the roof of the cage. The talking bell sounded and the chatter erupted immediately. Wayne slid over to Joban pulling Beverly along with him.

  “Good evening,” greeted Wayne. “How are you doing today?”

  “Same as always,” responded Joban. “Tired.” He smiled over at Fabiana who was lying next to him.

  “Hi, Fabiana,” said Beverly. “I was wondering, how do you keep up your spirits? You’ve been here a long time, and I am just amazed that you can keep going.”

  “What choice do I have?” snapped Fabiana as she sat up. “You people are always full of questions. Can I ask you something?”

  “Of course,” said Wayne. “Ask away.”

  “Your so called Captain told us that the four of you were having a picnic when the Brisulans came. But the girl and the other young guy were here for ten days before you and your Captain got here.”

  Wayne paused for a few seconds before answering. This was not something he had discussed with Captain Stoner. He needed to be careful with what he said.

  “When the four of us arrived we were all together. But the Captain and I were able to break away. Keith and Beverly were taken to the Punishment Center before they were placed here in the cage. Captain Stoner and I escaped down a manhole and ended up in the sewer for a while. We were eventually apprehended and spent some time in the Punishment Center. Eventually we were brought here to the Cages.”

  “See, Fabiana, I told you there was a simple explanation,” Joban said looking over at his lady friend. “I really think that we can trust them.” He turned back to face Wayne and Beverly. “I have been thinking a lot about your proposal. I would like to join you, and I think Fabiana would too.”

  “Great!” gasped Wayne.

  “So, what should we do?” Joban asked.

  “I have an idea that could work,” said Wayne. “You know there is strength in numbers. Right?” Joban nodded. “If we can convince all or at least most of the slaves
in our cage to join us, I think we would be able to overtake the guards.”

  “Ay, mutiny,” sighed Joban.

  “Yeah, like a rebellion. What if we all at the same time refused to work? There are a lot more of us than there are guards. Surely we can overpower them.”

  “But the guards are armed with weapons while we have none,” protested Fabiana.

  “That is not completely true,” responded Wayne. “We do have shovels.”

  “I see where you are going,” said Joban. His eyes opened wide and his lips formed a wide smile. “Why, have I never thought of that?”

  “While we still have time to talk, let’s pass the word around the cage,” ordered Wayne. “Tomorrow morning we will all refuse to dig.”

  Wayne and Beverly returned to their hay laden mats. He told Beverly to proceed. She slid over to slave 1188 C and said, “Tomorrow morning we will all refuse to dig. Please pass the message on.” Slave 1188 C gave Bev a stunned look then turned and repeated the message to the slave chained to his right.

  Lieutenant Shasta looked over to his left. He saw Fabiana talking to the slave on her left. That woman then turned and spoke to the slave next to her.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  June 4

  Dave Andrews entered the Conference Room. It was about fifteen minutes before midnight. Dennis Pearson was already seated at the head of the oval table. Is he trying to take command? thought Dave. I bet he’d relish that.

  “Good evening, Lieutenant Commander,” said Dave trying to keep the annoyance out of his voice.

  Unfortunately Dennis picked up on Andrews’ apparent irritation. “You don’t need to be snide with me,” he shot back. “Here is your throne, your Excellency.” Dennis took an exaggerated bow and moved to another chair.