Freedom

by Maureen Toonkel

  “Doctor, can you tell me where aboard the Gladiator you planted the explosive?” Josh asked.

  “I suppose I can tell you that. It looks like I am a dead man anyway. Either the UGC will execute me for treason, or the Tradian Army will send me to my death for desertion.” Paul let out a heavy sigh. “The bomb is planted in a very discreet place. It is inside the piano that’s stationed in the Leisure Deck.”

  “Thank you. Now let’s talk about the fake bodies. How many more—” Josh stopped speaking in mid-sentence. He was surprised to hear a stat phone ringing. It was Neil Chase’s. “Go ahead and answer it, Seaman.”

  Chase turned on his phone. They could all here Jackson Greene’s voice. “Please tell the Captain, that Dennis Pearson said he should come quickly to the Greenhouse and bring a doctor.” Then the line went dead.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

  June 28, 0400 Hours

  The sense of urgency that Josh had been consumed with all day, had now surfaced, and he felt the need to get to the Greenhouse posthaste. There was no time to retrieve another doctor. He told Paul Loring and Neil Chase to come with him. They hurried up the 7 Passageway to the D Lane and then headed north on the 11 Passageway.

  “What do you think the emergency is?” asked Paul, huffing and puffing, as he tried to keep pace with the Captain. No doubt his legs had atrophied after lying around for so long. He wondered how Josh was able to muster so much energy, considering how exhausted he appeared to be. He’s going on pure adrenalin, concluded Paul.

  “Probably one of the divers is injured. I wondered what was taking them so long,” gasped Josh. “It must be serious if Dennis is calling for a doctor.”

  They raced past the Blue Zone, pausing when they came to the H Lane, where the fence was lying across the intersection. Beyond the fence, they flew by the Construction Site and then paced themselves going up the hill leading to the Greenhouses. Finally they were at their destination. Josh pulled out his flashlight and illuminated the path to the elevator.

  Dennis Pearson stood in the doorway to the elevator foyer. “Brace yourself, sir. You are in for a shock.” Josh gave Dennis a puzzled look, wondering what his engineer could possibly mean. Then he stepped by Dennis. Lying on the floor were two seemingly lifeless bodies. One was Keith Hampton and the other was Wayne Shasta.

  “They’re alive, sir,” said Shalonna Robinson. “Barely, but they are alive.”

  “What?” murmured a stunned Captain Stoner. “How is this possible?” Before the diver could answer, Josh summoned Dr. Loring who was still out in the entry way. “Quick, you must revive them.” Then he turned back to Shalonna. “How did they survive the flooding? Was the facility not submerged as we had hoped?”

  “Captain, the Headquarters is filled with water up to the ceiling and even beyond, as the elevator shaft itself is knee-deep. Unbelievably, we found the two officers in the aquarium.”

  “The aquarium, uh? But how did Shasta get there? He was killed, and his body was placed in Victor Torgenson’s quarters.”

  “Maybe he didn’t die. It could be that he got up and then fell down the elevator shaft,” suggested Kyung Ahn who was on his knees alongside Hampton.

  “That is not possible. I sealed the elevator doors myself,” interjected Dennis. “Perhaps one of them is a fake body.”

  “A living breathing fake body?” asked Josh. “The Shasta who got killed in the computer lab was definitely alive and apparently so is this one.” Josh shook his head. “Chase, check Torgenson’s quarters. Is Shasta’s body still there?”

  The Captain shifted his attention to Dr. Loring and watched in amazement, as the doctor worked fervently to bring the two men back around. He had removed their wet clothing and had repeatedly performed CPR on the blue-skinned bodies. He was now vigorously rubbing their arms and legs, and gently tapping their cheeks. Then it happened; a slight moan emerged from Hampton’s limp body, followed by a twitch in one of Shasta’s legs.

  “They’re coming around, Captain,” said Dr. Loring. “I could use my medical kit. They need a shot of benzodiazepine to relax their muscles and sultrinessoxide to counteract the extreme loss of body heat. Also they need warm clothing and blankets.” After adjusting the settings on the divers’ oxygen tanks, he placed the breathing masks on the two bodies, which were now shivering.

  Neil Chase returned and announced that Wayne Shasta’s body was lying on Torgenson’s bed. Chase had checked for vital signs. There was no sign of life. Shasta was definitely dead.

  “Seaman, hurry to the Construction Site and bring back Dr. Carter’s medical kit,” ordered Josh. “Denny, you and Rubin check Torgenson's quarters for some clothes and blankets.” When they left, Josh asked Paul what the chances were for a full recovery.

  “That is hard to say. There are many repercussions from cold water submersion and near drowning, not to mention oxygen deprivation. They do have some factors in their favor. The chances for survival are better when the victim is young, the water is cold and clean, and treatment is admitted quickly. Reduced fear, panic, and struggle also can improve the odds. But there is a high risk for brain injury, seizures, respiratory failure, coma, and death. The long period of time that they were submerged is against their making a full recovery. However, Captain, we have come a long way with medication and treatment. If we can keep them breathing and get them up to the Gladiator, we can place them in an oxygenated heat chamber.”

  Josh stared at the two dying men. Is this really happening? The odds are certainly stacked against their survival. And if they were to survive, what kind of life is in store for them? They could be severely brain injured or comatose. And there’s nothing I can do to change the outcome. Gosh almighty, I have never in my life felt this helpless.

  Trying to be useful, in an attempt to keep his mind from imaging the worse scenario, Captain Stoner began tidying up the small foyer, which had become littered with wet clothing, shoes, and diving equipment. He made a pile of all the diving gear and set it to the side of the elevator. He picked up the wet clothing that Dr. Loring had tossed aimlessly when he removed them from the two officers. Something heavy fell out of a pair of pants and hit the floor with a dull thud. Josh bent over and picked up the object. It was the ring of keys that had originally been Wayne Shasta’s. Josh pocketed the keys and placed the wet clothing alongside the diving stuff.

  Pearson and Rubin returned with some dry clothing and a pile of blankets that they had scrounged up from several of the officer quarters that lined the hallway around the corner from the elevator corridor. Josh and Dennis assisted Dr. Loring in dressing the two limp officers and then covered both in blankets.

  A couple of minutes later, Tobias Carter came storming in. “What is this nonsense?” he said, pointing a finger at Seaman Chase who had preceded him into the crowded room. “This officer asked for my medical kit. He said you had sent him. That is a highly unusual request. No one touches my medical bag. So I have refused to honor that behest.”

  “Well, doctor, this is a highly unusual situation,” snapped Josh, acutely annoyed at Carter’s attitude. “Now, kindly hand your medical kit over to Dr. Loring and please assist him.”

  “What?” replied Dr. Carter. “Why should I do that?” With growing impatience the Captain reached over and jerked the black leather bag out of the doctor’s hands. It was then, as Stoner was handing the kit to Loring, that Dr. Carter noticed the men on the floor, covered up to their chins with blue UGC issued blankets, and diving masks across their mouths. “Oh.”

  The two physicians worked together, preparing the injured officers for transport. Carrying them was going to be difficult. We need stretchers, thought Josh. Something on wheels would be even better. Like a gurney? Yes, a gurney! There are gurneys in the Hospital, but there is also one at the Lake; the one that Dave Andrews had been shackled to. And if Salton hasn’t yet retrieved his master’s desk chair, it will still be near the Construction Site. Both of those locations are much closer then the Hospital.

 
Josh instructed Dennis to follow the 11 Passageway north past Deliveries. “You will come to the Lake. There should be a gurney near the edge of the Lake. Bring it back. Oh, and Denny, stay clear of the wooden pier. It may still be electrified.”

  “Yes, sir, on my way.”

  Josh watched as Dennis bolted out the doorway. Then he turned his attention to Neil Chase. “Follow me.”

  With Seaman Chase behind him, Captain Stoner sprinted down the hill to where the 11 Passageway intersected with the Traffic Corridor. Sure enough, on the other side of the fence that ran across the intersection, was a green colored desk chair. Josh quickly tried the keys he still had in his pocket. None of them worked. He got down on the ground and crawled under the fence. Chase was directed to follow suit. The two men lifted the heavy chair up above their heads and tried pushing the chair over the top of the fence. A barb, sticking up from the fence top, caught on to the seat cushion, and the chair tottered back and forth. It was stuck. Josh got down on his knees. Following the Captain’s order, Neil Chase climbed onto Josh’s shoulders. He was then able to undo the chair, and he let it gently drop to the other side of the fence. Jumping down from Josh’s shoulders, he heard the Captain murmur, “Being a ladder seems to have become my plight.”

  “What, sir?” asked Neil Chase.

  Josh smiled and just said, “Never mind.”

  They got back to the elevator room just as the crew was loading Wayne Shasta onto the gurney that Pearson had brought back from the Lake. They then sat Keith Hampton in the desk chair that had once carried an unconscious Dr. Loring. Dennis secured Hampton and an oxygen tank to the chair with some rope from his backpack. The crew left the Greenhouse and headed west on the L Lane. Coming to the dangling ropes near the Boulder Entrance, Josh looked up into the deep hole. How are we going to get them to the surface? he wondered. The answer came quickly.

  “Sir, we can use our netting to secure the officers to the ropes and then pull them up,” said Lieutenant Robinson.

  “Fantastic! Get to it.”

  The two divers unpacked their netting and wrapped it snuggly around Keith Hampton, keeping both the oxygen tank and mask intact. Then they used their carabiners to attach the net to the rope. While the divers prepared Hampton for transport, Josh took the opportunity to pull Dennis Pearson aside and have a brief private conversation with him. Then Josh told Pearson and Neil Chase to climb up the other ropes. Once they were on the ground, they began slowly hauling Keith up. His body swayed, and his feet hit the wall a few times, but he was safely lifted out of Brisula City. Dennis unwrapped him and then tossed the rope and netting down the hole. The procedure was repeated for Wayne Shasta.

  “Dr. Carter, proceed back to the Construction Site and continue treating the slaves,” commanded the Captain. “Dr. Loring, I need you to return to the Gladiator with Shasta and Hampton. Seaman Chase and Dennis Pearson will accompany you.”

  “But, sir,” cried out Dr. Carter. “Shouldn’t I be the physician in charge of these men? After all Dr. Loring is under arrest.”

  “He still has a valid UGC medical license,” answered the Captain.

  “But, sir, that is highly unethical,” protested Tobias.

  “I will not stand here arguing with you while two officers' lives are at stake. It is my call.”

  “But, sir—”

  “You have your orders, doctor. I suggest you carry them out.” The Captain turned to the others. “Hurry, let’s go.”

  Tobias Carter watched as the Captain, Dr. Loring and the two divers pulled themselves up the ropes. Then shaking his head in disgust, he picked up his medical kit, which Paul had left on the ground, and he walked slowly back down the L Lane.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

  June 28, 0800 Hours

  Diane Pearson rapped her knuckles aimlessly on the Conveyor Port console as she anxiously waited for the John Glenn to arrive. Jackson Greene’s message had unnerved her. All she heard before they lost contact was, “Captain Stoner says to have Mr. Saad prepare for the Glenn’s return. Have two medical gurneys standing by. Mr. Pearson and Dr. Loring are en route. They—” She had been unable to reestablish contact. Who is injured? she asked herself. Is it Dennis? Please don’t let it be Denny. I don’t think I could survive out here without him. She remembered the endless conversations she and Dennis had engaged in while they attended classes at the University of North Carolina and later the Naval Academy. Dennis was set on entering the Space Program. His lifelong dream was to explore the universe from a spacecraft. She was more geared to keeping her feet firmly planted on the ground, the ground on Earth that is. Her goal was to work at the U.S. Naval Academy in Maryland or United Galaxy Command’s Headquarters in Texas. Diane loved language. She was fluent in six languages plus American Sign Language. She also had a passion for the field of communications and media. Originally her ambition was to be a translator, but with the advent of the universal spoken language translator microchips, there was very little need for interpreters. So instead she had been concentrating on a career as a communications specialist. Eventually, Dennis won out, and she followed him into the Space Program and right into space itself. It turned out that she loved her job, but deep down inside, she still yearned to have her feet back on Earth.

  Ensign Saad broke into her memories. “Preparing to open hangar doors.” His fingers flew rapidly across the console, pressing and releasing the controls needed to guide the Glenn and help her dock safely. Diane held her breath as the pod’s doors slid open. She let out a giant sigh of relief when she saw her husband emerge from the craft. He hurried over to the gurneys and pushed them both over to the open hatch. Then she saw Paul Loring stick his head out. So who is hurt? Paul came out of the pod, this time with his back turned. He was carrying someone by the shoulders, and Seaman Chase had the person’s legs. They laid the masked body on one of the gurneys. Both Diane and Mohammed Saad gasped. It was Keith Hampton. And then they gasped again, as Paul and Neil went back into the pod and came out with another masked body, Wayne Shasta.

  “Come on, let’s move it!” yelled Dennis Pearson.

  Diane raced over to Dennis. “What’s going on? We were informed that both those officers were dead.”

  “Well, they will be if we don’t get them into the heat chamber,” remarked Dr. Loring. The elevator arrived and the gurneys were loaded in.

  Upon arriving in Sick Bay, Dr. Loring and Nurse Mann prepared the two very still officers for treatment. The heat chamber was activated and set to accommodate their needs. Wayne and Keith were rolled into the chamber. Once they were transferred to the heat absorption tables, the portal was locked. Jill Mann was ordered to monitor their vital signs remotely and observe their behaviors by viewing them through the transparent panels.

  “What’s happening here?” Diane looked around and saw that it was Commander Andrews who had spoken. The activity in the heat chamber lab must have awoken him. He was dressed in his hospital gown.

  “Let’s get you back to bed,” said Dr. Loring. “I’ve been told that you are quite ill.”

  “Who told you that?” snapped Andrews.

  “Dr. Berg. Now come on, let’s make you comfortable.” Paul put his arm around Andrews’ waist.

  “Let go of me. I have a ship to command.”

  “You are in no condition to command,” interjected Diane. “Captain Stoner asked me to take the conn while you recuperate.”

  “I am not that sick,” insisted Andrews.

  “Yes, you are.”

  “OK, you two, now that I am here, I will take the conn,” interceded Dennis. He could see that Dave Andrews was going to object. “And if you don’t agree, you can take it up with the Captain when he returns. Meanwhile you get back to bed.”

  Paul Loring faced Commander Andrews and appeared to express genuine remorse, as he said, “Dave. I am truly sorry for my actions. As I told Josh, I have come to regret most of what I have done in the last several years of my life. I never intended to harm you. Despite our differences,
I have always considered you one of my friends. And I sincerely hope that someday we can restore that friendship.” He put his arm back around Dave’s waist and guided him out of the heat chamber lab.

  As soon as Dr. Loring left with Dave Andrews, Diane turned to her husband and gave him a firm bear hug. “Gosh, I’ve missed you,” she told him. “I was so scared that you were the one who had been injured.”

  “Why would you think that? You know I’m indestructible,” he teased her. “Now, I need you to make an announcement. Everyone is to clear out of the Leisure Deck immediately. The Deck will remain closed until I say otherwise. Is that clear?”

  “Yes, but why?”

  Dennis ignored her inquiry. “After you make that announcement, please have the bomb squad report to the Leisure Deck.”

  “Is there a bomb?”

  “We don’t know for sure. But I’m going to check it out,” answered Dennis. “And please Diane, do not say anything about a bomb to anyone. Understand?”

  “Yes, but—”

  “No buts. That is an order,” Dennis admonished. “Here.” He handed her a small sealed plastic bag containing test tubes. “Give this to Dr. Johns and have him analyze the contents. Tell him it is samples from the freezer units in Brisula City.” He reached over and buried his fingers in Diane’s thick red curls. He kissed her lightly on the forehead. “I’ll be in the Leisure Deck.” Diane watched him stroll out the Sick Bay doors. Then she walked over to the small communications console in the main examining room and switched on the shipwide intercom.