Freedom

by Maureen Toonkel

  “I want to organize all of the slaves into an army of sorts, so we can apprehend every one of the guards in Brisula City and the Tradians that are housed in a secret headquarters under the sewer.”

  “What good will that do?” asked a woman with long, dark, straggly hair. She was chained to the fence alongside Hom. “When we defeated the guards last time, everything went back to the way it was as soon as you left. In fact things have gotten worse. There’s been less to eat and some of us spend twenty-four hours a day locked in our cages. And in case you haven’t noticed many of us are dead or dying.”

  “I promise that this time I will not leave until I know that all of you have been freed. I will bring medical help. You have my word.” Josh surveyed the crowd. He was not sure what else he could say to gain their trust. “If you join with me now, at least you have a chance to be freed. If you stay in your cages things will only deteriorate further.” Josh’s stat phone rang, but he ignored it. He wanted the slaves to know that they had his full attention.

  “I believe him,” yelled Hom. “He is right. We have nothing to lose if we help him but everything to gain.” A cheer broke out from all four cages.

  “Fantastic,” shouted Captain Stoner. “You will not be sorry. I swear that. I am calling my ship right now to get the medical help I promised you.” He flipped open his stat phone and tried to call the Gladiator. The call would not go through. He redialed, this time calling the James K.

  “Officer Greene,” Josh said loudly so that Jackson could hear him over the static on the line. “Can you patch me into Sick Bay? I must speak with Dr. Berg.”

  “I will try to do that, sir. In fact the doctor was trying to reach you. I did call your phone, but you did not answer. I left you a message.”

  “Sorry that I did not take your call. Things are pretty tense down here.”

  “I understand, sir. Here is Dr. Berg, now.”

  “Captain? Is that you?” It was the doctor, and she sounded excited. She told the Captain about her suspicion of Legionnaires’ disease. She asked Josh to try and locate the source of the infected water. And she told him that before they could administer treatment to those on Brisula, the pharmacy needed to manufacture the antibiotics, as there was not enough in stock to treat the entire city.

  “How long will that take?” Josh asked.

  “Hours, perhaps a couple of days,” she answered. “But I would like to find the source so I can confirm my diagnosis.”

  “I trust your judgment, doctor. I am sure you are absolutely correct. However, I will try to locate the source, but in the meantime proceed with producing the antibiotic, and then begin administering treatment.” He hung up and walked over to his rescue team.

  The Captain instructed Neil Chase to use the key ring to locate the keys to open the cages. He also told Colin Evans to retrieve the leg-iron and hand chain keys from the duct taped guards. Neil and Colin, along with another team member, started unchaining the slaves while Stoner, Naper, and the rest of the team began gathering up the cattle prods and whips that were displayed on a lopsided shelf alongside the small guard station.

  Finally, turning to his team, he issued a set of orders. He put Commodore Naper in charge. Amanda Rugan was assigned to examine the slaves who were too ill to join the expedition. Those who were sick would remain behind in Cage D. Amanda was told to chart their symptoms using their slave numbers as identifiers. Then he told Seaman Chase and Lieutenant Evans to accompany him.

  “Stoner,” Josh said into his stat phone. Reception was still so fuzzy that the caller ID was blurred, making it impossible to tell who was calling.

  “Captain, I have some exciting news.” It was Keith Hampton. His voice was faint and hard to hear over the crackling in the background. Josh turned up the volume to the max.

  “Talk louder. I can barely hear you. Have you located Torgenson?”

  “Yes, sir,” shouted Hampton. “We have him under restraints.”

  “Well, that is exciting news. Good work,” said Josh. “Escort him to the Cages. That’s where we are holding all the guards we’ve been rounding up.”

  “Yes, sir, we will take him there,” answered Keith still shouting. “But that isn’t all the exciting news. You are not going to believe this. We found another elevator that goes to Tradian Central.”

  “Awesome. Where is it?”

  “It is in the Greenhouse. That’s also where Torgenson and his officers were bunking, including Wayne Shasta.” The crackles on the line were increasing in intensity.

  “Keith, it is getting harder to hear you,” yelled the Captain. “I am at the Gravel Disposal. Let’s meet at the Communications Station before you go to the Cages.”

  “Fine, sir. We’re on our way.”

  Josh ended the call.

  The small group left the Gravel Disposal and walked to the next building on the H Lane. The Captain asked the two officers to look through the stacks of papers piled up on the table alongside the shredder. Any documents indicating the Tradians’ involvement in life on Brisula were to be retrieved. Interfering in the lifestyles and culture of any planet or ecosystem was contrary to the policies of the Amalgamation of United Planets and Solar Systems. Evidence would be needed to bring charges against the Tradians.

  Josh sat down at the computer desk. He turned on the system and logged in using the same commands he and Keith had employed to gain access and then send the Morse code message to the Gladiator. Now he was searching for additional proof of the Tradians meddling into the affairs of the Brisulans. A wave of yawns overtook him, and he got up and began pacing the length of the room. It had been a long day and an even longer night. Upon leaving Naper in charge at the Cages, he proceeded to the Guard House. There he, Chase, and Evans had easily rounded up all of the drowsy guards and marched them to the Cages. Naper, after freeing the slaves from their chains, had them organized into groups with one UGC officer in the lead. Josh told the slave group with Hom to join him. Returning to the Guard House, Josh let the slaves raid the food bins and shelves. Chase and Evans gathered up all the whips and cattle prods which were then distributed to the slaves. Along with the slave group, Josh and his officers advanced to the Gravel Pits. Stationed at the entrance were a couple of snoring guards who were quickly apprehended. Here they were able to seize dozens of the shovels that had made such powerful weapons at the previous uprising. Next they headed to the Silver Mines where a nighttime crew of slaves was at work. Using the shovels they had gotten from the Gravel Pits, the two large guards were quickly overtaken by the angry slaves. The guards were relieved of their key rings. Once all the slaves were unlocked from their leg-irons, Josh filled in the new group of slaves on the operation plans. All. except for a number of obviously very sick slaves, agreed to join in. The ill were escorted back to the Cages along with the captured guards. They had just been finishing up with the same scenario at the Gravel Disposal when Lieutenant Hampton had called.

  Josh was still pacing when Keith Hampton and his team arrived. He had to chuckle when he caught sight of Captain Torgenson in his pjs and slippers with his wrists bound behind his back.

  “Well, well. Who have we here?” asked Josh. “Is it the mighty Captain Torgenson? The one who abandoned me and my medical officer in a deserted construction site. Looks like the tables have turned. It’s my privilege now to imprison you.”

  Torgenson sneered at Josh. “My crew will never let that happen. You’ll see. They’ll be coming after you.”

  “Captain, you amuse me,” cut in Dennis Pearson. “As you can see one of your officers is right here with us. How do you think we knew where to find you? Even she admits that what you are doing is wrong. Oh, and your other officer, what’s his name?”

  “Danielli,” supplied Keith.

  “Oh, yes, thank you. Danielli. He’s not going to be of much help. Unfortunately for you, he’s tied up in the Dispatch office.”

  Josh could hear the resentment in Pearson’s voice, and he could see the anger on his face. T
he engineer was still bitter over the way Torgenson had treated him. Josh decided to jump in before the situation got out of hand.

  “Victor, I don’t think any of your crew is going to be rescuing you, so just relax and cooperate with us,” Josh told his fellow captain.

  “Ha! That’s what you think,” exclaimed Torgenson. “Wayne Shasta will not stand idly by. He’s devoted to me. Much more than he ever was to you.”

  The room went silent. Josh saw the stunned looks upon the faces of Dennis Pearson, Bonnie Shea, and Ben Rubin. But Keith Hampton’s expression was one of pure agony.

  “He’s dead, you idiot!” exclaimed Dennis.

  “What? How?” inquired Torgenson.

  “Enough of this,” said Josh trying to diffuse the situation. “We have a lot of work that still needs to be accomplished.” He turned to face Colin Evans and Neil Chase, both of whom were still at the shredder. “Evans and Chase, please escort everyone including the prisoner to the Cages. Put the Captain into the A Cage. Then the two of you and a small group go to Dispatch and retrieve Danielli. Rubin, since you have been there you can go with and lead the way. Bring Danielli to the Cages and lock him up. Return here when you are done. Is that clear?” The three officers nodded. “Good. Denny, you and Keith stay here. We need to strategize our next move.”

  Once the room emptied, the three Galaxy crewmates discussed their options. To Josh the next move was simple. The most logical action to take was to storm Tradian Central. He was able to sway Dennis and Keith to his way of thinking. With that accomplished, they brainstormed ideas on how to attack. In the end it was mutually agreed that the most effective way would be to have groups descend via both elevators. The UGC officers would be armed with zip guns, while the slaves would carry shovels, whips, and cattle prods.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  June 27, 0800 Hours

  Captain Joshua Stoner took a deep breath and let the air out slowly. Then he turned the knob and pushed open the door to General Platt’s apartment. The thought had crossed his mind that after he and Keith Hampton had escaped Tradian Central via the elevator, the apartment would be heavily guarded. Maybe we should have all gone down using the elevator in the Greenhouse. The Tradians probably wouldn’t suspect that we discovered that one. Oh, well we’re here, so it’s really too late to secondguess myself. The other thought continually nagging him was the timing of their attack. It was now almost morning, and the Tradian Headquarters would be coming to life with personnel, probably armed. It would have been better to attack at night when they were all in their beds. But they had no choice. It was now or never. At least they would have the element of surprise on their side. The apartment appeared to be unoccupied. Josh motioned for his team to follow him, and he led them down the hallway to the master bedroom where the elevator was hidden.

  “Who’s there?” shouted someone from inside the bedroom. Josh had tugged on the door handle and opened it a crack, apparently alerting someone to their presence. Josh signaled his officers to draw their weapons, and then he kicked open the door with his foot. There was one guard in a Tradian uniform standing by the gold draped bed. Josh nodded to Seaman Chase, who then rushed into the room aiming his zip gun straight at the guard’s head. Hom and several other slaves followed right behind Chase; their shovels were raised high. Upon seeing the gang coming toward him, the guard began to back up until he tumbled backward unto the bed, hitting his head on the massive headboard. The Seaman and Hom managed to carry the half-conscious guard over to a chair, and they used duct tape to secure him.

  “Good work,” complimented the Captain. “I’m sure there is going to be a welcoming party for us when we step off the elevator so be prepared.” He reached over and pressed the down button.

  They had been able to squeeze six of themselves into the elevator. On the ride down, Josh instructed one the of the Architectural Engineering crew to man the elevator so that none of the guards could obstruct it from continuing to function. They needed the elevator to keep going up and down so the rest of the team, which was mostly the slaves, could descend into the Headquarters. As predicted several guards were stationed at the elevator. The guards turned to face their visitors as the door slid open. They looked surprised and stood motionless.

  Josh surveyed the surroundings. Most of the Tradians were sitting on the plush couches alongside the large aquarium in the center of the compound. They were munching on their morning refreshments and drinking from china mugs. Others were doing the same but sitting at their desks. Great, we’ve caught them off guard.

  “Proceed!” yelled Josh. Upon hearing the order, his team spread out. They began rounding up as many Tradians as they could without physically attacking. The personnel were all shoved into the center of the room and held at gunpoint while the slaves relieved them of any weapons. Most were unarmed. But then the back door swung open, and an onslaught of muscular soldiers equipped with electric cattle prods came bustling into the room. A fight broke out between these soldiers and the six members from the Gladiator team. It was hand-to-hand combat. As a soldier landed a powerful punch to Josh’s stomach along with an electric shock aimed at his neck, he wondered if he had made a colossal error. Storming the Headquarters was not as simple as he thought it would be. Just then the elevator doors opened, and several slaves emerged swinging their shovels and whips. There were at least ten of them. Hom tossed a shovel to the Captain, and he used it immediately to subdue the soldier who had punched him. A quick smack to the knee cap had brought the man to the ground.

  While Josh and his team continued the fight, another group of slaves arrived via the elevator and joined the melee. It was then that Josh heard some whooping and cheering coming from the other side of the large room. Bursting forth via a grey-tinted metal door on the opposite end of the back wall, Keith Hampton and Dennis Pearson led a large shovel carrying contingent. It didn’t take long before all of the Tradians were apprehended. The captives were arranged into groups and were escorted by the slaves, up the elevators, and to the Cages. As the Headquarters slowly began to empty out, Josh ordered his crew to search the rest of the compound. Chief Monks and General Platt were nowhere to be seen. They had to be hiding somewhere.

  Going through the back door to the area where they had been imprisoned, Captain Stoner and Lieutenant Hampton searched that part of the premises. It was hard to believe how massive the facility actually was. There was a spacious cafeteria, a dormitory with dozens of rooms, a Laundromat, and a recreational center. The room they had been locked up in was empty except for Wayne Shasta’s body, which was still lying on the floor exactly where he landed when Keith had shot him. Josh summoned Hom and asked him to have Wayne’s body moved to the Greenhouses.

  Except for the one that Keith had unplugged, the rest of the computers were still whirring and buzzing, alive and kicking. They have to be destroyed, Josh thought. They are programmed to blow up innocent people around the galaxy and beyond. The universe as we know it can be exterminated for all eternity if these computers fall into the wrong hands.

  “Come,” the Captain said to Keith. “We need to talk to Denny about how to destroy these instruments of death.”

  They found Lieutenant Commander Pearson at the elevator that went up to Platt’s apartment. The elevator had stalled, probably from overloading, and Pearson was trying to repair it.

  Talking while Pearson continued to work on the malfunctioning elevator, Josh explained the dilemma of the computers. “Those computers are dangerous and need to be destroyed. There is no time right now to figure out how they actually function. I just know that they are remotely connected to areas around the universe. We cannot take a chance on inadvertently setting them off. Obviously we cannot dismantle them without spending a lot of time understanding how they work. There’s too many of them to bring up to the surface. Besides, if we take them on board, leaving them intact, I am worried that they may be programmed to carry out their evil tasks upon being moved or under threat of destruction. Same with blowin
g them up or setting them on fire. Anyway, we can’t do that. Since the rest of Brisula is above us, we cannot take a chance on the explosives or fires spreading. We need to find a more unique and safe way to eliminate these monstrous contraptions. Perhaps—”

  “Got it!” shouted Dennis Pearson.

  “You have a way to demolish the computers?” asked Josh excitedly.

  “Um, no,” stammered Dennis. “I got the elevator fixed.”

  “Oh, that’s good. Now can you fix the computer problem?”

  “Sure, sir.” Dennis turned away from the elevator, and gave his full attention to the Captain. “So, you were saying that we need to destroy some computers but we cannot reprogram them, dismantle them, set them on fire, or use explosives. That doesn’t leave much else.”

  “It is not only the computers; we really need to obliterate this entire facility without harming Brisula City.”

  “Hmm, what would destroy a computer? We can’t burn them, explode them, smash them, or mess with the controls.”

  “Would changing the environment make a difference?” broke in Keith Hampton. “I noticed it was cooler in the computer area.”

  “Well,” responded Pearson. “Most computers these days are both waterproof and made to withstand extreme conditions such as heat, humidity, moisture, cold, and so on.” He stopped speaking but Josh could see that his mind was fast at work.

  “What are you thinking, Denny?” asked Josh.

  “Most computers are waterproof to a certain extent. However, if a computer is submerged for a period of time, even the most water-resistant one would eventually be destroyed.”

  “You are suggesting that we drown the computers? How?”

  “We can flood the entire compound.”

  “Interesting idea but the only place to get that much water would be to drain the Lake.”

  “No, that wouldn’t be necessary. We can use the water that we are towing to the sanitation facility.”