Captivity

by Maureen Toonkel

  “Good luck,” said Salton.

  “Why not come with us?” asked Josh taking Salton’s hand.

  “No,” Salton answered firmly, pulling his hand back. “My life with Colonel Flax is not that bad. I spend my days caring for my Master, his wife, and their two children. I do not have to wear leg chains or sleep on hay. My Master does not treat me badly as long as I obey him.” He looked at the two officers and smiled. “And I do not have to eat raw fish.” He turned and headed west. After only a few feet he turned his head and said. “Remember to give my regards to Joban if you see him again.” Then he hurried down the tunnel.

  The four remaining members of the landing party returned safely to the ship. They brought Dave Andrews’ body with them. Dennis Pearson met the crewmen in the Conveyor Port. He asked them not to reveal the Commander’s death. He knew that the incident would not remain secret for very long, but he hoped to gain some time before panic struck. Dennis was hoping the body was another fake. Once the combat team was dismissed, Dennis summoned Amanda Rugan and Jackson Greene to join him in the port.

  The pair arrived quickly, and then the three officers removed Dave Andrews’ body from the spacecraft and lifted it onto a gurney that Amanda had brought along. The body, dressed in the green camouflage U.S.S. Gladiator uniform was then covered with a white blanket.

  “Amanda,” said Pearson, “would you be able to conduct an autopsy on your own? We just need to know if this is really Andrews or a replica.”

  “I can do that, sir,” replied Nurse Rugan. Greene and Pearson assisted her in getting the wheeled stretcher into the elevator. They escorted the gurney to Sick Bay and sat in the waiting room while Amanda began the autopsy in the medical lab.

  “Sir?” asked Jackson Greene. “What about Dr. Loring? If this body is a fake then why wasn’t there a body for the doctor as well? Could that mean that the doctor is really dead? Or were the Tradians not expecting Dr. Loring?”

  “Those are all really good questions, Officer Greene,” responded Dennis Pearson. “Determining the answers, however may prove difficult.”

  The satellite phone attached to Dennis’ belt sounded. It was Diane.

  “Yes, dear,” Dennis said into the phone.

  “I just intercepted another loudspeaker message from Brisula,” Diane said excitedly. Dennis asked her to print out the message and bring it down to Sick Bay.

  Diane arrived shortly. Her red curls bounced on her shoulders as she flew into the room. For a split second Dennis forgot where he was. He stood up and reached out to touch her hair. His fingers became entangled in the red tresses.

  “Denny!” admonished Diane. Pearson was startled for a moment and then realized what he had done.

  “Sorry,” he murmured. “Read the message out loud.”

  Jackson was not sure what had happened, but he sensed that Dennis Pearson was embarrassed. It has got to be hard working alongside your wife, he thought. He actually admired Pearson’s ability to restrain himself. I don’t think I could do it. If my fiancée, Elizabeth was here aboard the ship, I’d never be able to concentrate on my work. He didn’t realize how much he was going to miss Liz. While he was enjoying the excitement and adventure of being on a spacecraft he was also longing to be back in Michigan. But it would be a full year before he could go home. Meanwhile Liz continued to work at the guide dog school. At least she has Zappy to keep her company, he chuckled to himself. Yeah I even miss that old golden retriever.

  “What do you make of that message, Officer Greene?” Dennis was asking.

  “I’m sorry sir. Could I hear it again?” Now it was Jackson’s turn to be embarrassed.

  “Daydreaming? Eh. Please read it again, Diane.”

  “ACTIVATE BLUE IMMEDIATELY! ALL FROM CAGE C HAVE ESCAPED.”

  “I don’t know for sure, sir,” answered Jackson. “Blue must be some sort of security system.”

  “I bet the Captain is leading the escape,” inserted Diane.

  “I’m not sure about that,” said Jackson. “Remember there was an earlier message that two slaves had escaped. So this escape is either another group of slaves, or the first two escapees returned to free the ones from Cage C. Either way I am sure that the Captain is somehow involved.”

  At that moment Amanda Rugan entered the waiting room. She was wearing a green surgical gown, mask, and latex gloves. She slowly removed her gloves and mask.

  “The body is definitely a fake,” she announced. “Thank God for that.”

  “Amanda, this is going to sound like a strange question,” said Dennis, “but I need to know. What color skivvies was the body wearing?”

  Diane and Jackson stared at Dennis unbelievably. What sort of question is that? they both thought. And what difference would it make?

  “It’s interesting that you should ask,” said Amanda. “It is the oddest thing. The body is clad in pink underwear.”

  “Oh my goodness gracious!” exclaimed Dennis. “I know who the spy is.”

  “ACTIVATE BLUE IMMEDIATELY! ALL FROM CAGE C HAVE ESCAPED,” blasted the loudspeakers posted in the hallway.

  The slaves reached the intersection leading back to the Cages. They could hear voices and running feet coming from straight ahead. With Wayne, Joban, Beverly, and Fabiana at the front of the pack, they took their hold and waited for the oncoming rush of guards to approach. The onslaught of guards came to a sudden halt when they saw the mass of slaves armed with shovels, whips, and cattle prods.

  “Lay down your weapons,” shouted a guard who appeared to be in charge. “Please turn around and return to the Gravel Pits.”

  The slaves did not move.

  “Come now,” continued the head guard. “This is stupidity. There is no where for you to go. You must surrender your weapons immediately.”

  The slaves held their ground.

  “Even if you should get past us you will not get very far,” yelled the one in charge. “Beyond this lane the tunnels are filled with a deadly gas. You will all be racing to your death.”

  “We are willing to take that chance,” answered Wayne Shasta. “Let us pass peacefully. If what you say is true, then you can easily gather up our bodies once the gas has overtaken us. Why try to fight us?”

  “Do you really want to commit suicide?” asked the guard.

  “Death would be better than being in captivity,” shouted Wayne, his voice rising to a shrill pitch.

  The slaves behind him all screamed out in agreement, “Yes, yes, yes.”

  “You are fools. Even with your weapons you are no match for us. You are weaklings. We are strong and we wear suits of armor.” As he spoke the guards behind him began to move forward. Then they charged ahead.

  The slaves however were ready. With their shovels held high they formed a wall. The guards crashed into the wall of slaves, and shovels slammed down upon them. While the guards wore metal chest plates their heads were bare except for the sunglasses perched upon their skulls. An old-time hand to hand combat ensued.

  Wayne was caught up in a battle with a stout heavily armored Brisulan guard. He had swatted the guard a couple of times across the chest but to no avail. The guard raised his arm ready to slash the officer with a long leather whip. Wayne struck the guard’s shoulder with his shovel. It cracked in half leaving jagged wooden spikes. Wayne grabbed the splintered end of the shovel and swung as hard as he could, hitting the guard across the face. The guard fell to the ground. Wayne’s fingers felt like they had been pierced. He looked down at his hands and realized they were covered in splinters. Using his teeth he pulled out as many of the slivers that he could. The rest were deep under his skin. Joban rushed over and handed Wayne a new shovel.

  The skirmish continued for a while, but the guards were outnumbered. The few that hadn’t been felled by the shovels retreated.

  Wayne called for order. “Is anyone hurt?” he asked the crowd. There were a few cuts and scraps but no major injuries. He suggested that they drag the fallen guards into the Gravel Pits. The slaves
removed any weapons that the guards might have had on them which were mostly prods and whips.

  “What is our plan now?” inquired Fabiana.

  “We move forward,” answered Wayne.

  “But what about the deadly gas?” gasped Beverly.

  “Hopefully the gas will subside after a while, and we can make our escape,” responded Wayne. “They will have to shut off the gas eventually otherwise their own citizens will suffer.” He looked over at Joban who was standing with his arms wrapped around Fabiana’s waist. “Joban, you’ve been in the tunnels. Once we get into the silver corridors which way do you think we should head?”

  Joban removed his arms from Fabiana’s waist and cleared his throat. “It has been a few years since I was in the silver tunnels. I am sure new tunnels have been added since then. But when I lived with Colonel Flax I heard talk of the Boulder Entrance. Apparently it is a place where people on the outside can enter the city. If they can enter, I would think that one could exit also.”

  “Yes, you are right,” said Wayne. “That is how I entered. The Captain and I came through a boulder on the planet’s surface.”

  “Me, too,” inserted Beverly. “Keith and I were taken through a large boulder.”

  “However,” continued Wayne, “we tried to get back out, but we could not locate the exit. Once we came in the entrance was gone.”

  “Well, there must be a way out if there was a way in,” said Joban. “I think we should find the Boulder Entrance and search for the exit. I believe we need to travel north.”

  The slaves formed a line. With Joban and Wayne leading the way they headed east until coming to the next intersection. The road turned north. The earthen walls ended and were replaced by shiny silver that reached from floor to ceiling. A blue mist floated down from the roof of the tunnel.

  “We will need to wait here until the gas subsides,” announced Wayne. Everyone dropped their weapons and took seats along the muddy walls. Chatter filled the corridor.

  Fabiana looked upset. “What is it?” asked Joban sliding down to sit next to her.

  “Your friends apparently have been lying,” she said.

  “What do you mean?” he asked with surprise in his voice.

  “All the slaves I have ever talked to cannot remember how they entered the city,” said Fabiana. “I believe we were all drugged. Why were they not drugged?” Fabiana leaned over Joban’s lap. She reached out and tapped Wayne Shasta on the back. “May I inquire as to why you have told us lies?” she asked when Wayne turned around to face her.

  “What lies are you referring to?” he asked.

  “The ones about you being on a picnic,” she spat. “You told us that the four of you had been captured while you were picnicking on Earth. Then you were separated once you were brought into the city. Now, it sounds like you came in separately.”

  Wayne was quiet for a moment. Then he said. “Joban and Fabiana, please forgive me. It is true that we have not been completely honest with you. It is a fact that we were on a ship and that Joshua Stoner is the Captain of our ship. However, we were not picnicking. We had come to Brisula to explore. While we were looking around, Keith and Beverly disappeared. We thought that they had been killed. The Captain and I left Brisula in our ship. Days later we came to believe that Keith and Beverly might still be alive, so we returned to the planet and began searching for them. We came upon the boulder and the Captain and I were able to enter. As I said we were not able to get back out. Eventually we were captured, tortured, and brought to the Cages. That is when we discovered that our fellow shipmates were still alive.”

  “But, why lie about it?” asked Joban.

  “Our mission was confidential. We were under orders not to reveal the circumstances of our visit to Brisula. Perhaps some day I can tell you more about our mission. But for now that is all that I can say. I truly am sorry for the deception.”

  “I sense that there is more to your story, and yes I hope that some day you can tell us the rest. So at this moment in time I thank you for being as forthcoming as you can be. You are becoming a good friend,” said Joban. He reached over and squeezed Fabiana’s hand. “Right, Fabiana?” She slowly nodded.

  “Who’s the spy?” asked Diane.

  “I prefer not to say,” answered Dennis. “I want to be absolutely sure before I reveal who it is.”

  “What does underwear have to do with anything?” asked Jackson Greene.

  “Everything,” said Dennis. “But that’s all I’ll say for now.” He stood up. “Let’s reconvene in the Conference Room.”

  They left Sick Bay and took the elevator to the Conference Room level. Once in the room Dennis Pearson suggested that they review all that has occurred so far. He had to chuckle to himself. I hated every time Andrews said we needed to review the facts, and here I am ordering us to do the same thing.

  “I want to review all the information we have pertaining to the identity of the traitor,” he announced. “Let us begin with all the transmissions that were recovered. Diane can you bring those up on the computer and print out copies for all of us?”

  Diane went over to the laptop that Jackson Greene had brought along and began keying in some commands. Shortly she sent four copies to the printer. She retrieved the copies and handed them out.

  “Please read it out loud,” commanded Dennis.

  Diane faced the committee and read the following:

  1. To General Platt, Tradian

  2. Brisula is suitable for life.

  3. An anonymous transmission was received at UGC informing them that Captain Stoner has not been killed as was reported to UGC. The message indicated that Dave Andrews did not want UGC to know that the Captain was really still alive as he wanted to stall and sabotage attempts to locate Joshua Stoner in hopes that he could not be rescued, and Andrews would be able to permanently take over the running of the Gladiator.

  4. June 1, 0600 hours

  To: United Galaxy Command

  U.S.S. Gladiator Commander Andrews plans to send divers into the Brisula Lake. Earlier tests said lake was viable. New tests show water is poisonous. Andrews was made aware but is going ahead anyway.

  DP

  5. June 2, 0300 hours

  To: General Platt

  Beware. U.S.S. Gladiator plans to send divers down to explore the lake.

  DP

  6. June 2, 0400 hours

  To: UGC

  Commander Andrews is proposing to dispatch divers to explore lake.

  PL

  7. June 2, 0500 hours

  To: UGC

  Attempts to locate the Captain are futile. Suggest that we abandon further search plans.

  DA

  8. June 2, 0600 hours

  To: UGC

  Commander Dave Andrews has decided to ignore orders against searching the lake.

  DP

  9. June 2, AM

  Commander Dave Andrews received a message from UGC ordering him to cease all plans to explore the Brisula Lake.

  10. June 4, 0200 hours

  To: Admiral Alan Wilcox

  A search party will be dispatched to the planet’s surface today at 0600.

  Commander David Patrick Andrews

  11. Let’s rendezvous at 0700 hours at BE. DP

  12. New info on DA. Camo. Briefs are… DP

  “Any thoughts?” asked Dennis when Diane had finished reading the list.

  “Sir,” said Jackson Greene, “it seems to me that the nature of the messages is to point suspicion at Commander Andrews. Either he is the spy, or someone is trying to suggest that he is the spy.”

  “Let’s assume that Andrews is not the spy,” said Dennis. “That would mean that DP wants us and UGC to believe that Andrews is the spy. Why?”

  No one had an answer. So Dennis continued. “If we assume that Andrews is the spy, then why wouldn’t DP tell me?”

  “That’s assuming that you are not DP,” said Jackson.

  “Ah, good point,” said Dennis. “Let’s say that I
am not DP. Whether Andrews is or is not the spy, he would not send messages implicating himself. So we can eliminate him as DP.”

  “But,” broke in Diane Pearson, “what if Dave Andrews purposely threw suspicion onto himself as a way to throw us off track?”

  “I suppose that is possible, but would he really tell UGC that he is disobeying orders?” answered Dennis.

  “Sir, do we know for sure that all of these messages were sent by the same person?” asked Amanda Rugan.

  “Very good question. My feeling is that all of the messages were sent by one person with the exception of number ten on the list. I believe that Andrews actually sent that transmission.”

  Dennis picked up the list and read it again to himself. Now that he had a pretty solid idea as to who the informant was, everything seemed to make sense. But he needed the others to come to the same conclusion. If he told them what clinched it for him, they probably would think he staged it. They might even think that he was DP.

  “Something that stands out to me, is that all of the complete messages appear to mention Dave Andrews except for number five. Why? Could that message have been planted to throw suspicion off of Paul Loring?” said Dennis.

  “Uh?” replied Diane and Jackson simultaneously.

  “Most of the messages are from DP. But on June 2 there are messages from DA, DP, and PL that implicate Dave Andrews, Diane Pearson, Paul Loring, and myself. As I just said Dave would not compromise himself. so the DA message was meant to throw us off. Likewise the PL message is also meant to sidetrack us. That means we can assume that numbers six and seven are phony. So let us move on and examine the content of the messages.” Dennis paused for a moment as he and the others again reviewed the messages. “Obviously the message writer does not want us to explore the lake. Why?”