Captivity

by Maureen Toonkel

  “OK,” whispered Ben. He bent over, cupped his hand and spoke very softly into Diane’s ear. “Rumor has it that your husband and Commander Andrews are battling each other over the command of the ship. They are accusing each other of being spies in hopes that UGC will have one of them arrested.”

  Diane looked horrified. “I don’t believe that for one second. No wonder Andrews wants these rumors stopped.” She turned away from Ensign Rubin and began attending to her duties.

  Ben and Diane worked silently for the next hour. All at once a series of faint noises filled Diane’s headset. She had set her computer to record all transmissions no matter how insignificant. She spun back the recording, turned up the volume, and played it over her computer’s speaker. The noises did not appear to be random. Instead there seemed to be a pattern. But Diane could not identify it.

  “Is that coming from the planet’s surface?” questioned Ben.

  “I think so.”

  “Maybe it’s gunshots,” suggested Bonnie Shea. She had spun around to listen to the rhythmic noises.

  “No,” said Diane. “There is definitely a pattern.” She played the recording again. This time even louder.

  “It’s probably just rain,” inserted Ensign Saad.

  “Or just static,” said Ben.

  “No. I really think this could be important,” replied Diane. “The committee is in session right now. I am going to take this to them.” She commanded the computer to translate the sounds into a written form. Diane printed out the translation and then pulled a thumb drive out of the back of her computer. She got up to leave.

  “Diane, wait!” shouted Ben Rubin. “I think there’s another transmission coming in. I’ll put it on the speaker.”

  “ATTENTION ALL GUARDS. AN OFFICER HAS BEEN WOUNDED AT H-4. ACTIVATE BLUE. SUSPECTS ARE TWO ESCAPED SLAVES.”

  Amanda Rugan was affixing a third blank page to the wall alongside the doorway when the door slammed opened, and Diane Pearson rushed in. She was waving a sheet of paper over her head. Around her neck a small silver stick dangled from a blue lanyard imprinted with the words U.S.S. Gladiator.

  “Sir, sir,” Diane gasped. Her heart was racing. She placed her hands on her knees and bent over trying to catch her breath. She had ran the entire way taking the staircase down three flights from the Bridge and then speeding down the length of the hallway to the Conference Room.

  “Diane!” exclaimed Dennis Pearson jumping to his feet. “Are you all right?” He quickly went to her aid, but she waved him off.

  “I’m OK,” she finally said as she slowly moved her body back into an upright position.

  “What is the meaning of this outburst?” demanded Dave Andrews, clearly irritated.

  “Sir, I am sorry for the interruption, but I have just received two transmissions that I think are very important.”

  “Fine,” responded Andrews. “Let’s hear them.”

  “Dave,” shouted Paul Loring. “I thought we all just agreed that there is no life on Brisula, and that the transmissions are coming from elsewhere. Let’s not waste time listening to irrelevant interceptions.”

  Andrews looked at Paul and then at Diane. He was not sure what his answer should be. Paul’s supposition was the first solid theory that they had. His idea that the Captain and the others had been transported off Brisula was very plausible. Yet Dave did not want to leave any stone unturned in their search for the truth. He was saved from making a decision by Dennis Pearson.

  “I never agreed that your theory was the correct one,” said Dennis. “I think we should hear what Diane has brought to us.”

  “Very well,” said Dave Andrews turning to face Diane. “Proceed.”

  “Thank you, sir,” began Diane. “First I will play the most recent loudspeaker transmission. It was just intercepted less than fifteen minutes ago.” She removed the lanyard from around her neck. Walking over to Jackson Greene she said, “May I?” and then plugged the thumb drive into Greene’s laptop. After pressing a few keys, the deep voice they had come to recognize erupted from the speaker.

  “ATTENTION ALL GUARDS. AN OFFICER HAS BEEN WOUNDED AT H-4. ACTIVATE BLUE. SUSPECTS ARE TWO ESCAPED SLAVES.”

  “We can’t assume that those escaped slaves are from the Gladiator or that this message has anything to do with Brisula,” insisted Paul Loring.

  “Calm down Paul. Let’s hear all the data before we jump to any conclusions. Lieutenant Pearson, I believe you said there were two transmissions.” Andrews gave his attention once again to Diane.

  “Yes sir. Here is the other one which was received about forty-five minutes ago.” She keyed in some commands and the rhythmic sounds filled the Conference Room air.

  “That’s just a bunch of static!” shouted Dr. Loring.

  “No, sir,” said Diane. “If you listen carefully there is definitely a pattern to it.”

  “We are wasting valuable time,” interjected Paul. “Remember we have less than seventy-two hours. We do not have time to be listening to this nonsense.”

  “May I say something?” asked Jackson Greene.

  “Yes, of course,” responded Dave.

  “I think Lieutenant Pearson is correct. There definitely is a pattern to the sounds. I am sure I’ve heard it before, but I can’t place it at the moment. I would need to study it.”

  “This may be of some help,” said Diane holding up the sheet of paper. “I had the computer translate the sounds into a written format.” She handed the sheet to Dave Andrews.

  Dave’s mouth hung open as he stared at the symbols on the piece of paper.

  ••• --- •••

  •-• • •--• • •- -

  ••• --- •••

  •--- --- ••• ••••

  •- -• -••

  -•- • •• - ••••

  - •-• •- •--• •--• • -••

  ••- -• -•• • •-•

  --• •-• --- ••- -• -••

  •--• •--•• --••

  ••• • -• -•• •••• •

  Dave passed the paper to his left. Diane was certainly correct he thought. This had to be some kind of code. But was it coming from Brisula or was it just a random transmission floating in space? Dave was puzzled by Paul Loring’s behavior. As a medical scientist, why would Paul refuse to look at all possibilities?

  As the sheet was passed around the table everyone’s reaction including Dr. Loring’s mimicked Dave’s. When the sheet of symbols reached Jackson Greene’s hands, he pulled out a small wand and used it to scan the entire sheet of paper. Through the wireless earbud in his ear, he heard his computer’s synthesized voice mechanically reading: dot dot dot, a pause, dash dash dash, a pause and dot dot dot. He immediately recognized the pattern.

  “SOS,” he yelled out. “It’s Morse Code.”

  “Can you translate it?” asked Dave.

  “I believe I can,” answered Jackson. He listened carefully to the message three more times while everyone in the room waited silently. “OK, I got it. Here it is.” Jackson then read the translated message out loud. “SOS Repeat SOS Josh and Keith trapped underground plz send he”

  Wayne Shasta turned over and glanced up at the barbed wire that ran across the top of his cage. He had been twisting and turning since the loudspeaker woke him up. He was sure that the announcement referring to the two escaped slaves had to be about Captain Stoner and Keith. I would think after digging continuously for sixteen hours I would be dead tired, he thought. But I just can’t stop thinking about the Captain. I am certain that the Captain had staged that scene with Keith. What however was his actual plan? Was Keith in on it? Am I supposed to follow suit? Wayne turned again this time on his side, so that he was looking at Ensign Glenna who was sleeping soundly. If he were to plan an escape he would have to take Beverly with him. She has been here longer than I, he thought to himself. Beverly was very tired and growing quite weak. It would be hard for her to keep up with
him if they went on the run. Wayne reflected on his conversation with Joban. He sensed that Joban had felt some excitement with the notion of escaping, but something was holding him back. Was it Fabiana? They appeared to be very close. What can I do to convince Joban and perhaps Fabiana to join with me and Beverly in planning an escape? He flipped his body completely around. He was now facing Joban. Staring at Joban, Wayne realized that the tall slave was also wide awake and looking up at the ceiling. Was he thinking about their conversation? Almost on cue, Joban turned his head toward Wayne and gave him a nod. Yes, thought Wayne, he is thinking about escaping.

  All activity had come to a halt, and the Conference Room became deadly silent until Dennis Pearson stood up and began clapping. Jackson Greene joined in followed by Amanda Rugan.

  Once the applause died down and everyone was taking their seats, Paul Loring got up and went over to the coffee pot. He stood facing the wall as he poured some hot coffee and slowly stirred cream into his cup.

  “Is this a joke of some sort?” gasped Diane Pearson. “The Captain and Keith Hampton are dead!”

  Paul turned around. “I agree with Diane,” he said. “How do we know this isn’t a joke? It could be another fake transmission from the spy.”

  “If it was from the spy, why would it be in an obscure code?” asked Dennis. “Wouldn’t the spy want to make sure we got the message?”

  “I think Dennis makes a very good point,” agreed Dave Andrews. “My feeling is that this message is legit.”

  “But, I thought the Captain was dead,” repeated Diane. “I saw his body.”

  “Um, Diane, honey,” said Dennis. He walked over to where Diane was still standing alongside Jackson Greene’s laptop. He placed his hands on her shoulders and then turned his head to glance at Dave Andrews.

  “Go ahead,” said Andrews.

  “Honey, all the bodies were fakes,” Dennis gently told Diane.

  “Fakes?” Diane whispered. “Oh my gosh! You mean the Captain is alive?”

  “Yes, it would appear that this coded message confirms our hopes that the Captain and the others are still alive,” answered Dave. Diane’s face lit up in a huge smile. “Lieutenant Pearson, I am inviting you to join our committee. Please understand that everything you hear in this room is strictly confidential. Is that clear?”

  “Yes, sir,” answered Diane. “Thank you for your confidence in me.”

  “OK. We need to move on. Amanda, please take down the notes on Dr. Loring’s theory. Let’s start a new page.” He then addressed the rest of the committee. “Any ideas on where to start?”

  Jackson Greene’s hand shot up. Without waiting to be called on, he began speaking. “Sir, if I may, I would like to continue to present my theory. I had not completed my presentation when we switched to Dr. Loring’s ideas.”

  Paul began to object, but Dave Andrews cut him off. “Paul, it is only fair that we hear the rest of Officer Greene’s theory. If you or anyone else has some other ideas we can hear those next. Officer Greene you have the floor.”

  “As I stated previously,” began Jackson, “my conclusion is that the inhabitants of Brisula are living underground. I think the key is the lake. It is my belief that the entrance to the underground city is through the lake.” Jackson paused to let this concept sink in before continuing. “The lake is deceiving. It appears to be a small lake on the surface of the planet. However, I am convinced that the floor of this lake forms a passageway that extends underground to form a subterranean lake. It most likely is a man-made passageway which serves as the opening to the city and a corral for the fish.”

  “Ridiculous!” blurted out Dr. Loring.

  “What about the forest animals?” asked Dennis Pearson.

  “I would guess that the animals are hunted or poisoned,” concluded Jackson.

  “How awful!” gasped Amanda. “Does that mean that the Captain and the others were forced underwater when they were captured? And how did the fake bodies get there?”

  “Very good questions, Amanda,” said Paul. “I think that illustrates how silly Officer Greene’s theory is.”

  “I don’t think we should dismiss this theory so quickly,” said Dennis.

  “I agree with Dennis,” piped in Diane.

  “Well, I am with Dr. Loring,” said Amanda. “An underwater entrance seems far-fetched.”

  “This theory is not that unbelievable. It explains where all the fish are,” said Jackson defending his theory.

  While the five officers argued back and forth, Dave Andrews sat mute pondering the feasibility of an underground lake entrance. It certainly was possible. They now knew for sure that there was an underground city and that the Captain was enslaved there. They needed to explore all avenues and that would include the lake. The other thing that was going through Dave’s mind was Keith Hampton. The committee had decided that Lieutenant Hampton was the spy. However, it appeared that Keith was trapped with the Captain. Is Josh being duped by Hampton? Or are we wrong about Keith being the spy? If we are wrong, then who is the traitor?

  “Commander Andrews, what is your impression?” Dennis was asking.

  “Um,” said Dave shaking his head to clear his mind. “I am going to put together a team of divers. I will send the divers down to explore the lake. This will be taking a chance as I do not want to lose any more crew members. We will need to equip the divers with underwater firearms and spears. Dennis, please have the Conveyor ready to transport the divers to Brisula at sunrise.”

  The school was a one story structure with glistening silver walls both inside and outside. The front entranceway opened into a large foyer. The high dome ceiling was strung with dozens of lanterns, none of which were lit. One lone burning torch stood on a pedestal in the center of the rotunda. There were several hallways that led off of the foyer. Each hallway was labeled with a unique name: Silvershine Lane, Silverlight Path, Silversmith Way, Silvergate Tunnel, and Silverlake Corridor.

  Josh and Keith circled around glancing down each of the hallways. Which one should we go down, thought Josh? They needed to find a place to hide out for a while, at least until the search squads got tired of looking for them. Eeny, meeny, miny, moe.

  “Any thoughts on which way to go?” Josh asked Keith.

  “Not really, sir,” answered Keith.

  “Well, the name Silvergate sounds nice. Should we head that way?” said Josh. “We need to find another closet to hide in.”

  They entered Silvergate Tunnel. Many small classrooms lined both sides of the corridor. They kept walking until they reached a large silver door that extended across both sides of the tunnel. They slowly opened the door and realized it was a gymnasium. Josh and Keith entered the room and waited for their eyes to adjust to the darkness. They could make out two basketball hoops on tall poles and a volleyball net. Along one wall they saw a water cooler with a five gallon plastic bottle of water attached. There were some cups stacked up on a small shelf above the cooler. The two officers drank heartily surprised at how thirsty they were. Surveying their surroundings, Josh pulled open a wooden door built into the silver wall. It was the equipment supply closet. The small chamber was filled with balls of all sizes, rackets, clubs, bats, and best of all mats. They went into the closet being careful to close the door tightly behind them, and they stretched out on the tan vinyl covered mats. Both were exhausted and hungry.

  “I can’t believe that I am actually looking forward to eating some fish,” remarked Josh sitting up and digging into his canvas bag. The frozen fish were now completely defrosted. He unwrapped a piece and bit into it. “Yum,” he said.

  Keith reached into his bag and his hand came upon the bloody scissors. He reached over and grabbed the soggy wet medical gown that Josh’s fish had been wrapped in, and he wiped the scissors clean. Keith then cut off the bloody stained part of the white gown, balled it up, and stuck it back into his canvas bag. Next he took out his bundle of fish.

  After eating their fish, the two officers settled down again on t
he mats. Even though they were quite tired, the excitement of the last few hours wouldn’t abate, and they could not sleep. Both lay on their backs using their arms as pillows and stared up at the ceiling.

  “I talked to your parents,” said Josh breaking the silence. He was still looking up at the ceiling.

  “You talked to my parents?” questioned Keith. “Why, sir?”

  “I called to tell them you were dead.”

  “Oh,” said Keith relieved. His first thought was that Captain Stoner had contacted his parents to tell them he was a traitor.

  “You have very fine parents. They were quite devastated,” said Josh turning his head to look over at Keith. “Your parents love you very much. They are so proud of your accomplishments. Having to tell them you had died was one of the toughest things I have ever had to do.”

  “So, they still don’t know I am alive?” asked Keith.

  “No. Unfortunately, I did not call them back to say that your dead body was a fake. I didn’t know for sure if you were actually still alive,” responded Josh sadly. “I am sorry. I should have contacted them, so they would have had some hope that you didn’t die.”

  “I understand, sir,” said Keith who was still looking up. “It is probably better that they think I am dead than not knowing what happened to me if we never get out of here.”

  “We will get out of here,” Josh said sternly. “I have no doubt about that and you shouldn’t either, Lieutenant.”

  “OK, sir,” agreed Keith meekly. He closed his eyes and pictured his parents back home in Pittsburgh. His mother was sitting at the kitchen table with tears streaming down her cheeks. Dad was standing at the kitchen window staring mindlessly into space with his fists clenched at his sides. I had been so worried about bringing shame to them if I was found guilty of treason, but this is worse, Keith thought. I have caused them grief, pain, and heartache.