a Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons short story
by Mary J. Rudy
Captain Scarlet exited through the Control Room door and stepped off the moving walkway. He nodded in greeting to another senior staff officer.
“’Morning, Captain Ochre,” he said pleasantly.
“Is he in a good mood?” Ochre asked.
Scarlet shook his head. “In a word, no. And he’s got a lot of paperwork in front of him. If you want to stay in his good books, you’d better make it quick.” He checked his watch. “Can’t stop, I’m on my way to London. See you in a few days.”
“Have a safe flight.” Ochre stepped on the belt, then pressed the intercom. “Captain Ochre to see Colonel White.”
A cheerful Caribbean voice answered him. “SIG, Captain. He’s been expecting you.” The door reopened as the walkway started up again, carrying the American captain through the Control Room to the colonel’s desk. “Good morning, Captain,” the same voice repeated, in person this time. It was the colonel’s aide, who was reading a printout at his own desk beside the walkway.
“Good morning, Lieutenant,” Ochre replied, nodding at the young black man, then looking ahead of him to his commanding officer. “Reporting as ordered, Colonel.”
“At ease, Captain.” The silver-haired Englishman seated before him pressed a button on his circular desk, and a stool rose from the floor. “It has come to my attention that we have not had a readiness drill here on Cloudbase for several months.”
“That’s right, sir. The Mysterons have kept us pretty busy.” He then frowned. “But why are you telling me? You usually spring these drills on us without warning.”
“Because you will be organizing this one. Captain Scarlet, who as you know normally organizes the readiness drills, has been called down to Spectrum Headquarters London.”
“Me, sir?”
White nodded. “A few days ago Lieutenant Green uncovered some minor information leaks that occurred during the latest Mysteron threat. I need your expertise in devising some complicated riddles for our personnel to solve with the cooperation of security agencies on the surface.”
“With all due respect, sir, wouldn’t Captain Blue be a better choice for a security drill? He was head of security at the World Aeronautic Society—”
“I didn’t have Blue in mind. The security breach involved the law enforcement authorities in a major American city, and that is right up your street.” White looked puzzled. “Is there a problem, Captain Ochre?”
“No, sir, it’s just that I’ve been planning a lot of activities on base for the next few days.”
“What sort of activities?”
“The day after tomorrow’s the Fourth of July, Colonel. Since it’s been so quiet, we American personnel have been making plans to celebrate our national holiday, and I’ve been coordinating their efforts.” Ochre paused and took a deep breath, anticipating the colonel’s answer before he even asked the question. “Could the drill possibly be delayed a few more days?”
He knew it wouldn’t sit too well with the Spectrum commander-in-chief, but he underestimated White’s reaction. The icy blue-eyed stare he gave Ochre spoke volumes, however, and it was a long moment before Colonel White spoke.
“May I remind you, Captain Ochre,” White said quietly but sharply, his displeasure evident, “that Spectrum is an international security organization. That is still our primary purpose, whether the Mysterons decide to rear their ugly heads or not, and we must remain vigilant at all times. The social activities of one group of people on this base do not take precedence over our operations.”
“Of course not, Colonel. I was merely suggesting—”
“Well, I’m not suggesting, Captain. I’m ordering you. Prepare a scenario for a security readiness drill to be conducted in 48 hours’ time. Is that clear?”
SIG, Colonel. Perfectly clear. I’ll prepare a good one for you.” He rose from the stool and stepped onto the conveyor belt. “Though it may not be what you expect,” he muttered under his breath as he turned toward the exit.
Later that day, an emergency meeting was taking place in one of Cloudbase’s small conference rooms. No Mysteron threat had been declared, nor was there a “situation” in one of the world’s still numerous hotspots. Nevertheless, the occupants were still preparing for battle.
“Rick, aren’t you taking this a little too seriously?” sighed Captain Blue. He looked just as tired as he sounded, having been roused from sleep for this meeting.
Captain Ochre shook his head of brown hair. “I’m just following orders. He ordered me to plan an exercise, so I’m planning one.”
“I’m sure this kind of ‘exercise’ isn’t what the colonel had in mind.”
“Well, having a drill on the Fourth of July isn’t what I had in mind, either.”
“You make a point,” Captain Magenta chimed in, “but remember if you go through with this he’ll have your head on a platter. If you’re lucky, he’ll just court-martial you.”
“Oh, come on,” Ochre retorted. “How can he court-martial me? I’m not disobeying orders.” He smiled. “You could even say I’m doing what he always tells us to do—”
“Using your initiative, you mean.”
The occupants of the conference room turned toward the doorway at the sound of the voice.
Captain Scarlet reached his cruising altitude and switched on the automatic pilot. He was alone in the SPJ; a copilot wasn’t necessary for the short trip from Cloudbase’s current location to Spectrum’s ground headquarters, and there weren’t any passengers on this particular trip. He didn’t mind the solitude, as it was something one rarely had on Cloudbase.
He ran through his schedule for the day. Mostly routine stuff, and with any luck he’d have the evening to himself. What to do? There was that West End show Dianne had suggested he might enjoy, but he’d prefer to go with her, and she was on duty. Nor was there any point in going out to Winchester; his parents were on holiday in the South of France for their wedding anniversary. No doubt his father had assigned some poor aircraftman to look in on the dog whilst they were away. Maybe he’d visit one of his other relatives, who often complained that they hadn’t seen him for donkey’s years…
The microphone swinging down from his cap and his epaulets flashing brought him out of his reverie. He immediately answered.
“Shouldn’t you be in the Control Room, Lieutenant?” Captain Ochre snapped. “I have a lot of work to do.”
“That’s why I’m here,” he replied.
Ochre looked at him suspiciously. “You can report back to the colonel that yes, I am working on the drill.”
Green shook his head. “The colonel didn’t send me. I heard what you said as you left Control.” There was a gleam in his eye as he continued, “I thought you could use some help—”
“I don’t need any help planning the drill—”
“—planning your rebellion.” He smiled at the other faces in the room. “I know it’s not going to be the usual ‘readiness drill,’ since Colonel White’s going to cancel your holiday celebrations.”
Now Blue was wide awake. “He’s what?”
Ochre nodded. “This drill is to ‘take priority over our social activities,’” he said sarcastically.
“Isn’t he going to let us still have the festivities, like we’ve always done in the past, just scaled down?”
“Well, he didn’t officially ‘cancel’ them, Captain, at least not yet,” Green pointed out, “but I’ve just sent communiqués to all the regional headquarters that we’ll be on full red alert drill on 4th July. If does the same as he’s done the other times we’ve been on alert, he’s going to cancel everything but the athletic events.”
“So in other words,” added Ochre, “just about all the plans we made last week were for naught.”
Blue sighed. “Well, it sounds like Colonel White needs a little lesson in American history. Count me in, and I’m sure Symphony will go along.”
“I may not have been born in America,” Captain Magenta said, putting on his best Irish brogue, “but it’s been my home since I was a wee lad. Besides, did you ever know an Irishman to pass up a chance to get back at the Brits? Of course I’m in.”
Green smiled. “As long as you promise not to jettison my tea ration, I’ll help any way I can.” They all laughed.
“Who else do you think can we count on?” asked Ochre.
“I’m sure Destiny will be all for it,” Magenta said, a bit too quickly.
Blue and Ochre exchanged glances. There had been rumors going around about those two… “How do you know that?” Blue asked.
Magenta was ready with a comeback, however. “Well—you know, the French have always hated the Brits and vice-versa. And you know how Destiny loves a conspiracy.”
“Don’t remind me,” said Blue, rolling his eyes. “That last ‘conspiracy’ was enough excitement for me for a while.”
The others nodded silently. Captain Blue had had enough trouble in the Nevada desert to last a lifetime.
“Let’s stick with the Americans for a minute,” Blue said by way of changing the subject. “Grey’s on duty in the Information Center. When his shift’s over I’ll check with him.”
“And I’ll check with Melody,” Ochre added. “That’s it for the Americans, now for the others. Magenta, go ahead and talk to Destiny. I think you can trust her.” He smiled knowingly at Blue and continued, “Rhapsody, of course, is in the enemy column. What about Harmony?”
“Wild card,” noted Green. “She could go either way. I’d say keep her in the dark until the actual exercise.”
“Agreed. I suggest we spread the word around to the rest of the Americans on base. But be very careful; we don’t want the others finding out.”
“Especially Captain Scarlet,” Magenta pointed out. “He’s the one who normally runs the drills. Surely he’s got a response prepared for just about any scenario.”
“Yeah, what about him?” asked Blue. “He’ll smell this one a mile away and react before you can distribute the paintball guns.”
“Don’t worry about Scarlet,” Green said with a smile. “He’s down at Spectrum London, and won’t be back here until it’s all over. I’d be more worried about Grey.”
“Why Grey?”
“Don’t you remember when you all first met, while you were on that little jaunt through the Outback? Grey had a ‘bug’ planted on him so Captain Black could monitor his—your actions.”
“You’re right!” Blue interrupted. “And any time we have a discussion, Grey inevitably takes the colonel’s side.” He paused, thinking. “Do you think we should consider Grey a Tory sympathizer?”
“Now who’s taking the ‘rebellion’ seriously?” laughed Ochre. “I’d advise telling Grey as little as possible. Keep him on a need-to-know basis.”
“SIG, Captain Ochre,” replied Blue smartly. “Right now, I think all he ‘needs to know’ is the usual rumor about an upcoming drill.”
“OK, then, that’s Grey taken care of. Let’s divvy up the task of informing the support personnel, and then we’ll plan our strategy.”
Scarlet noted that his epaulets were flashing white. That didn’t necessarily mean that Colonel White was contacting him, though. The color was widely used in Spectrum communications; messages from the Angels also caused white epaulet flashes, as did incoming messages from other Spectrum installations. He expected it was Spectrum London checking on his ETA.
“This is Captain Scarlet,” he barked authoritatively into the microphone.
“My, aren’t we official!”
“Rhapsody?!” he blurted, sitting bolt upright in the pilot’s seat. “You’re taking a risk, aren’t you? What if someone’s monitoring—”
“Don’t worry, I’m on the closed channel. The only one who can pick us up is Lieutenant Green, and he’s not in the Control Room.”
“How can you be sure?”
“The colonel told me. When I radioed to check in, he answered.” Her voice softened, to a tone she reserved only for her fiancé. “I’ve missed you.”
“I’ve missed you too, love. In fact, I was just thinking about you.”
“Good thoughts, I hope.” She paused. “Or were they naughty ones?”
He laughed softly. “All I was thinking about was that show in the West End you mentioned last week. Too bad I’m coming down to London and you’re going back up, or we could have gone to it tonight.”
“I know, awful, isn’t it? And the fact that you’re arriving on the same plane I’m departing on doesn’t help matters.” She sighed. Their working schedules allowed precious little time for them to be together at all, least of all alone. “When are you scheduled to return?”
“On the fifth of July. I won’t be away long, I’m just down there for some routine meetings with the London staff.”
“Maybe I’ll be in luck and see you before I depart from here.”
“Chance would be a fine thing. Unfortunately, I’ve got to hand-deliver something to the base commander.” He heard her sigh again in disappointment. “I’m sorry, love.”
“I’ll see you back up here then. I’d better end this transmission before Lieutenant Green comes back from his coffee break.” She puckered her lips and blew him a kiss over her communicator. “Love you, Paul.”
“I love you too, Dianne. Bye.” The cap microphone swung back up.
Captain Scarlet relaxed in his seat and sighed contentedly. It was great just to hear her voice again after so long. He hadn’t seen his fiancée for several weeks, and he hadn’t spoken to her for almost that length of time. He sat there with his eyes closed for a few moments, picturing her in his mind, until the onboard computer let him know he was approaching his destination.
The enlisted man in charge of the Cloudbase armory was surprised to see Captain Ochre early the next morning. He’d already been informed that a senior officer would be drawing practice weapons and ammunition for an upcoming exercise, and naturally he’d assumed it would be Captain Scarlet as usual. He wasn’t expecting anyone else.
“I have to see your orders, Captain,” the middle-aged sergeant insisted.
Ochre pulled a folded sheet of paper from his vest pocket. “I’m sure you’ll find it in order, Sarge.”
The balding man’s eyes widened as he read the requisition. “How much?” He stared at the senior officer. “You planning a war or something?”
“You could say that.” He smiled slightly, recognizing him. “DelVecchio, isn’t it?”
“Yes, sir,” the sergeant nodded. “I spoke to you a couple of days ago about the pie-eating contest. Did it get approved?”
Ochre sighed. “Sorry, but there’s been a change of plan.” He leaned forward, whispering, “I’m not supposed to tell you this, but the exercise is planned for tomorrow.”
“Aw, c’mon! Are you serious?”
“Yeah. Colonel’s orders. We’ll be on full red alert, so I don’t know if we’ll be doing any of that stuff anyway.”
“On the Fourth? But that’s our holiday!”
“You think I’m happy about it? I was the one organizing all the activities. Now, instead of scheduling a day of fun and games, I’ll be up all night setting up this stupid exercise!”
“You must not be too happy about that, Captain,” the sergeant noted.
“None of the senior staff is. We’re almost all Americans, remember, except for the colonel and Captain Scarlet. We were all looking forward to a little celebration, but now we feel as though the colonel’s declared war on us.” He grinned maliciously. “So—if he wants a war, he’s going to get one.”
A sly smile grew on DelVecchio’s face. “What do you have in mind?”
“Come to the base theater tonight at 2100 and find out. Spread the word to all the Americans you know, but nobody else.”
Sergeant DelVecchio snapped to attention and saluted. “SIG, Captain Ochre.”
“What seems to be the problem, Captain Magenta?”
“I—don’t know, Doctor.” Magenta staggered, then grabbed the back of a chair. “Must have been something I ate.”
Dr. Fawn motioned to an orderly. “Help him into Exam Three.” Then, to Magenta, “Sorry, Captain, but we’re a bit busy and I can’t tend to you myself at the moment. I’ll send in one of the other doctors to evaluate you.”
“SIG, Doc,” groaned Magenta, clutching his stomach.
As soon as they got into the examination room, all traces of Captain Magenta’s “illness” disappeared. He smiled broadly at the orderly. “O’Brien, my fellow New Yorker! Just the man I wanted to see…”
Major Kramer, the commander of Spectrum Headquarters London, thanked Captain Scarlet for the lecture he had just finished. “I’m glad to see we are still making progress against threats to world security in general.”
“Yes, Major,” agreed Scarlet, adjusting his uniform tunic as he left the podium. “We still have a long way to go in this fight with the Mysterons, but we’ve also come a long way overall.”
As the assembly dispersed, the pair left the conference room chatting amiably.
“Speaking of the Mysterons, any word on the electrode ray pistol yet?”
Scarlet shook his head. “The engineers are still having trouble calibrating the beam. I do have some good news on the rifle though; Research are developing a collapsible shoulder stock for it.”
“And about time!” stated Kramer. “Who the hell ever thought of that bulky shoulder harness in the first place?”
Just then a beeping sound made itself heard. “If you’ll excuse me, Major,” said Scarlet, digging into his pocket. He pulled out his personal communicator; the light on top was flashing green.
“Cloudbase?” Kramer asked. Scarlet nodded. “Right, I’ll leave you to it. Don’t forget tonight’s meeting with Wade and Conners in Intelligence headquarters.”
“I can hardly wait,” hissed Scarlet through clenched teeth. Kramer smiled as he departed, remembering that there was no love lost between the junior Intelligence agent and the Cloudbase senior staff.
Scarlet entered the empty officers’ lounge and poured himself a cup of coffee, then pressed a button on the communicator. “Yes, Lieutenant?”
“Stand by for Colonel White’s quarters.” There was a click as Green opened the channel. “Go ahead, sir.”
“Thank you, Lieutenant. That will be all.” After the audio clicked again, the Spectrum commander-in-chief spoke. “Good afternoon, Captain Scarlet. I trust all is going well down there.”
“Quite smoothly, sir. Major Kramer sends his regards.” Scarlet took a sip of coffee, then smiled. “Shall I give yours to Agent Conners? I’m meeting with him and Senior Agent Wade later tonight.”
“You may give Wade my regards, Captain. And I’ll thank you not to mention Agent Conners’ name to me unless it’s in regard to official business. I have no time for that horrid little man.”
“Don’t worry, Colonel, we all feel the same way about him as you do.”
“Thank you, Captain. Now, the reason I’m contacting you.”
“Yes, sir?”
“There’s been a change of plans. “You are to return to Cloudbase by 1200 hours tomorrow.”
“Are we on alert? I wasn’t notified of any Mysteron threat—”
“There isn’t one. I need you to escort a time-sensitive delivery to Cloudbase. It must arrive by noon tomorrow.”
“SIG, Colonel.” He paused and sipped again at the coffee. “Any special instructions, sir?”
“Yes. Be advised that I have scheduled a security readiness drill for tomorrow. You’ll be arriving in the midst of it.”
“A readiness drill? Tomorrow?”
“Yes, tomorrow. It’s in response to that security breach I informed you about before you left.” White sighed. “Don’t tell me you have a problem with that as well.”
“No, sir, of course not. I’m just surprised that I’m not involved this time.”
“Since the breach involved a major American law enforcement authority, I’ve given Captain Ochre the responsibility of organizing the exercise.”
Scarlet frowned at the mention of his fellow officer’s name. “Colonel, you do know what day tomorrow is, don’t you?”
“Of course I do, Captain. It’s 4th July. Why are you asking such a question?”
“Sir, it’s the Americans’ Independence Day. Don’t be surprised if Captain Ochre’s drill doesn’t go exactly the way you hope it to.”
White paused. “What are you saying, Captain Scarlet?”
“Simple, Colonel. Watch your back.” He drained the last of the coffee in his cup. “I’ll see you tomorrow at noon. Scarlet out.”
Colonel White closed the transmission with his top field agent and poured himself another cup of tea. Scarlet has a point, he mused as he added his sugar and stirred. Captain Ochre was the base’s most notorious prankster. The colonel himself hadn’t yet been the victim of any of his practical jokes – he did have one close call, though, during his recent recuperation following the Sir Francis Drake incident. Ochre had suggested the insufferable Nurse Lang as his personal caregiver, but fortunately White had heard someone else complain about her level of “care” just in time…
So White certainly knew what Ochre was capable of. And here he’d ordered Ochre to organize a drill, on just about the last day he wanted to do it… and White himself had often emphasized that besides the rule of no “live” weapons, the only other rule for the Cloudbase drills was that there were no rules…
The Spectrum commander punched the intercom. “Lieutenant Green, have Captain Grey report to my quarters.”
It took less than a minute for the requested officer to appear, as he was only down the corridor from White’s quarters at the time. “Reporting as ord—”
“At ease, Grey, at ease,” interrupted White, waving him to a chair. “I just wanted to have a chat.”
“It sounded important, sir.”
“Not exactly.” He gestured to the teapot. “Would you like some?”
“Uh, sure.” White poured milk in the cup, then the tea. “I’ll put my own sugar in, thanks.”
White handed him the sugar bowl. “I’m sure you’re wondering why I asked you here.”
Grey smiled. “I know it wasn’t for tea… Would it have to do with a rumor I heard this afternoon?”
Now we’re getting somewhere… “It may indeed. Exactly what did you hear?”
He added a small amount of sugar to his teacup and stirred, then nestled into the chair and crossed his ankle over his knee. “Only that there’s going to be another readiness drill, probably later this month after Captain Scarlet gets back from Spectrum London.”
White looked directly at his junior officer. “Is that all you’ve heard? Off the record, one Navy man to another?”
“Yes, sir, that’s all.” Grey shrugged and sipped the tea. “Then again, I’ve been too busy to notice much else, with all that’s happening tomorrow.”
White looked at him. “What do you mean?”
“We’ve got a lot going on tomorrow for the Fourth of July, sir. Every community in America, from the biggest cities on down, has a celebration of some kind. So we’ve planned a few of the favorites for tomorrow, and I’m in charge of two of ’em.” He smiled and pointed his thumb at his chest. “I’m officiating at the swim meet tomorrow morning, and then I’m calling the square dance tomorrow night if it’s still on the schedule.”
“All that? I assumed your ‘celebrations’ would be small, and of the patriotic variety.”
“Oh, we’ll have those, sir, of course. The biggest ones of all are in Washington and Philadelphia, where the Declaration of Independence was signed. But that’s just the beginning.” He took another sip of tea. “You have to understand, Colonel, that the Fourth of July is a big holiday for us. No offense to the British, of course.”
White smiled thinly. “Understood. Go on, please.”
“All the banks and offices are closed, of course, and anyone who is able to takes the day off work, because there are events all day long. It’s not just in the big cities; many communities have parades, picnics with contests and games, and just about every small town has a fireworks display after sunset.” He grinned. “That’s about the only thing we didn’t plan up here, by the way.”
“Thank Heaven for that,” muttered White.
“They’re not just for the Americans, of course,” Grey continued. “Anyone else who wants to can join in…”
White barely heard the last part of Captain Grey’s description. It was clear enough that Grey hadn’t been told of the upcoming exercise.
That in itself warranted suspicion.
Officially, the only ones who were supposed to know about the readiness drills were White, Lieutenant Green and the one in charge of the drill – usually Captain Scarlet, this time of course it was Ochre – but the senior staff always seemed to know ahead of time as well. Sometimes the officers were informed, of course, because their special skills were required, but other times it was just word of mouth… Lieutenant Green’s mouth, most likely, but that was beside the point.
There had to be a reason Grey wasn’t let in on the
secret this time… Ochre must not want Grey to know…
Of course! He doesn’t want ME to know! He knows that Grey and I often discuss things. If there IS something going on, he would deliberately NOT tell Grey!
As the thought entered his mind, Colonel White suddenly smacked his hand on the table between them, causing his teacup and saucer to clink together. His action stopped Captain Grey in mid-sentence.
“Did I say something wrong, sir?”
White realized he’d startled him. “No, no, Captain. I’m sorry, I was miles away. What you said earlier made me think of something just now.”
“Something I said?”
White waved him off. “Never mind. It’s getting late, and you’ve got a busy day tomorrow, haven’t you?” He looked up at the wall clock. “I won’t take up any more of your free time. Just let me know if you hear any more rumors about the upcoming drill.”
“Y-Yes, sir, of course.” A now thoroughly confused Grey stood and put his cup and saucer on the table, bade his commanding officer good night and left.
Colonel White swirled the teapot, seeing if there was
any more left, and poured out the remainder into his cup. The tea was still just hot enough to
drink. He sat there for a few moments,
stirring absentmindedly as he thought about his conversation with Captain
Grey. But now Grey has a point as well…
The Spectrum commander already knew that the Americans took their fight
for independence from Britain very seriously, and that every year they
commemorated the anniversary of the day they declared their independence in
grand style. But he hadn’t realized the
extent of the Yanks’ celebrations. No
wonder the American members of staff had seemed so enthusiastic about the
upcoming holiday, with all that Captain Grey had just told him… and how upset Captain Ochre seemed when we
met in private yesterday afternoon and I informed him that I wanted to cancel
most of the Americans’ activities, he thought. Perhaps I should have postponed this damned exercise another day or two…
Perhaps I’ve been too hasty with Ochre as well. The man’s a fine officer, and a damned hard worker. Ochre sometimes thinks himself inferior to the better-educated officers, and as a result often tries a bit too hard to prove himself – but at least not as annoyingly as Captain Magenta.
He’s probably just trying to keep the whole thing secret from me so that he will show me how capable he is… But I KNOW how capable he is! He doesn’t need to prove it to me; if anything, I just haven’t given the man the credit he deserves…
He pressed the intercom again. “Lieutenant, get me Spectrum Headquarters London.”
“Captain Scarlet again, sir?”
“No, Lieutenant. Get me the supply officer. I have to add something to tomorrow’s delivery.”
Captain Ochre adjusted his clothing and headgear one last time. This was it.
He’d spent the past two days planning strategy and requisitioning sufficient practice gear and paintballs to arm all the American personnel on Cloudbase. Those same personnel had attended the meeting last night at the theater, received their equipment and assignments, and hopefully were now in position, awaiting the pre-arranged signal.
It was H-hour.
He buzzed the Control Room three times. Lieutenant Green opened the door but didn’t start the conveyor. Captain Ochre instead strode up the walkway under his own power, followed by a trio of security guards. The center guard carried an American flag on a pole, while the guards on either side of him brandished paintball guns.
Colonel White looked up from his paperwork and stared at the quartet before him. “Captain Ochre, what is the meaning of this?”
Ochre unrolled a “parchment” scroll and proceeded to read from it. “On this fourth day of the month of July in the year two thousand seventy, we, the American members of the Spectrum organization, hereby declare our independence from British rule.”
“You what?!”
The flag bearer approached the colonel’s desk, on the side of the Control Room where the Spectrum roundel was displayed on the wall. He removed the flag from the pole and pushed clips into four of the holes in the wall panel, then hung the flag from the clips, over the roundel.
“Ten-HUT!” barked Captain Ochre. The three guards and he saluted the flag.
Colonel White noted out of the corner of his eye that Lieutenant Green was standing, also saluting the flag. I should have known he’d be in on this too…
The other two security guards then approached the desk and leveled their guns at Colonel White. “If you’ll please come with us, sir,” one of them said.
“Coleman? Diaz? Have you both gone mad?”
“Colonel,” Ochre said, stepping forward, “they’re only following the procedure I specified when I submitted my amended scenario.” He smiled. “You did read it, didn’t you?”
No, White hadn’t. He’d read and agreed to Ochre’s original submission, which listed several possible scenarios if high-level security had sufficiently been compromised, but it had made no mention of actual infiltration by an armed enemy. So he took his thought process one step further, White realized. He’d had no time to read the amendments Ochre had delivered to him this morning and had been caught totally off-guard.
The colonel’s silence was answer enough. “Take him to the brig, men.”
“Roger, Captain Ochre.” The “rebels” had agreed that they would not use the Spectrum acknowledgement during the drill; this was another way to differentiate between friend and foe. The officers’ code names, however, remained unchanged. Not everyone on Cloudbase had high enough clearance to learn the real names of the senior staff.
“And don’t forget, Colonel White is to be treated with respect—” Ochre grinned wickedly. “—The same that you would give any deposed tyrant, that is…”
“I’ll have your commission for this, Ochre!” White yelled over his shoulder as he was escorted from the Control Room.
“For what, sir? Obeying your orders and running an exercise you approved? Following the rules I laid down on paper and properly delivered to you before the start of the exercise? When you yourself have gone on record saying that not you, but whoever organizes the exercise, sets the rules?” He laughed mockingly. “I’d like to see that hold up at a court-martial, sir.”
He couldn’t quite make out what White was grumbling as he exited through the doorway, but he was sure it was something the colonel would never dare say in front of the Angels. Colonel White was a Navy man, after all, and like most sailors he possessed an extensive vocabulary…
Captain Ochre tossed his cap nonchalantly on top of the colonel’s desk and relaxed in his chair, first fidgeting around to find the most comfortable position. Then he called out, “Lieutenant Green, activate Phase Two.”
“Roger that, sir.” Green pressed several buttons on his console.
The Cloudbase public address system crackled to life. Those cabins that had viewscreens showed a video transmission of the Control Room, with Captain Ochre seated in the command chair, the Great Seal of the United States projected on the screen behind him, and the American flag hanging on the wall to the side.
“Attention, members of Spectrum!” cried Ochre in the most imposing voice he could muster. “This is your new commanding officer speaking!”
“What the devil is he playing at?” muttered Dr. Fawn, straightening up from examining Captain Magenta, who’d come in this morning for a follow-up exam. He flipped up the reflector from in front of his face and stared at the monitor.
“We, the American members of your organization, have declared our independence from Colonel White and removed him from authority. We are currently replacing all British Commonwealth support personnel on base with members loyal to our cause…”
Senior Orderly Sean O’Brien reached under his scrubs and pulled out his paintball gun, training it on the Spectrum chief medical officer. To Fawn’s amazement, his “patient” did the same.
“Swimmers, take your marks!”
Captain Grey put his whistle to his lips and was about to signal the start of the 100-meter freestyle when the pool’s video screen transmitted Captain Ochre’s message. All those present turned toward the sound and listened intently.
“What the hell is he doing?” began Grey—
Just then several of the “swimmers” flung off their bathrobes and pool towels, revealing that they were in full uniform and armed with paintball guns. “All right,” announced Captain Blue, motioning to the men and women under his “command.” “Round up the British subjects on your preprinted list and take them down to the brig.” He pointed his gun up the ladder to the starter’s chair. “You too, Grey. Let’s go.”
“But I’m not British!” Grey protested. “I’m from Chicago, remember? Wrigley Field, the Loop, Al Capone—”
“Yeah, but you’re on my list as a Tory sympathizer. That makes you just as much of an enemy as the colonel himself.”
“WHAT?!” Grey rose from his seat, almost falling off the elevated chair as he lost his balance on the footrest.
“Remember that drill, the one I said was ‘coming up’? Well, if you haven’t figured it out yet, pal, this is it.” He waved the gun at him. “Now, are you coming along quietly?”
Grey folded his arms and stood firm. “Come and get me.” As Captain Blue reached for the ladder, Grey balled up his towel and threw it down at him.
“Threatening me, are you? Thanks, that means I can use deadly force now.” Blue aimed the gun at Grey’s chest and fired. The “Tory sympathizer” was splattered in light blue paint, the impact knocking him into the deep end of the pool.
As a spluttering Captain Grey reached the water’s edge, Blue offered him a helping hand out of the pool. “You always did make a positive impact on these drills,” he laughed, then turned serious again. “’Casualties’ report to Sickbay.”
Grey wrapped himself up in his towel, put on his sandals and padded off to the medical deck with one of the others who had also chosen to put up a fight. Captain Blue grinned and activated his radio. “Grey threat neutralized.”
The same thing happened simultaneously all over Cloudbase. Armed American personnel surprised their British, Australian, Canadian and other Commonwealth colleagues. They manned essential positions with a skeleton crew and took their “prisoners” off to the brig, or more accurately the auditorium since there were too many of them for the real brig to hold. No part of the hovering Spectrum headquarters was immune to infiltration; off-duty personnel were even rousted from their bunks and the recreational facilities.
Rhapsody Angel had just finished her duty shift and was in her quarters changing out of her uniform when Ochre’s announcement came on the PA system. She listened incredulously, then snatched her personal communicator and switched the setting to the emergency channel.
“Spectrum London, Captain Scarlet, Code Purple! Repeat, Code—” A screech of feedback emanated from the device, causing her to drop it and cover her ears.
“Nice try, Rhapsody,” taunted Lieutenant Green over the tiny microphone. “Did you really think we’d leave Communications unmanned?”
She grabbed the communicator off the floor and shouted into it. “Lieutenant, I’m ashamed of you! Where’s your sense of loyalty to the Crown?”
“Huh? Trinidad hasn’t been part of the Commonwealth for a hundred years! You could say I’m another one of the Colonials who’s declared his independence…”
Rhapsody snorted in disgust and threw the communicator on her bed, then flopped herself down next to it. It must be another of those bloody drills, she realized. So the Yanks are revolting… She smiled to herself at the play on words; that part was true enough, wasn’t it? That means I can’t trust either Symphony or Melody… but whom can I trust?
Just then, there was a knock on the door. “Who is it?” Rhapsody asked suspiciously.
A nervous-sounding voice responded. “It’s all right, Rhapsody, it’s me, Destiny…”
Destiny, of course! She’s not American! “…We’ll be safer together. Can I come in?”
“Yes, please do, Juliette. I’m worried about—”
Rhapsody’s words trailed off as the door slid open and Destiny Angel appeared – along with Symphony and Melody, the three of them holding paintball guns.
The English Angel raised her hands. No, you idiot, she’s not American, but she is French, and you know how they feel about the English…
Captain Scarlet was in the middle of a meeting with the Spectrum London field officers when his communicator beeped. He pulled it out and activated it, but there was no one there to speak to him. “Wrong number,” he quipped as he shrugged and tucked the pen-shaped device back into his pocket. He returned to the discussion of security protocols and was answering a question from Captain Russet when the conference room’s intercom buzzed.
“Captain Scarlet?”
He pressed the speaker button. “Yes?”
“Lieutenant Lennox, Communications. We’ve just intercepted a partial message from Cloudbase, sir, on the emergency channel. It sounded urgent.”
“SIG, Lieutenant. I’m on my way.” Scarlet rose from the chair. “Russet, you’re with me. The rest of you, go to your posts and await further instructions. We may have a situation on Cloudbase.”
A chorus of “SIGs” echoed through the room as the group dispersed and the two senior officers left for the communications office.
“Me, sir?” asked Russet as the pair half-ran down the corridor.
“Yes, Captain. As the most experienced senior ground officer, I value your input.”
“Danke.” Russet nodded his thanks.
The German had been one of the original Spectrum captains, assigned to London as a ground agent from the organization’s inception. He often assisted the Cloudbase officers during European missions, and in fact was the officer responsible for uncovering several major terrorist plots in the pre-Mysteron days. Colonel White had recognized his abilities and offered him a promotion and transfer to Cloudbase to serve on the senior staff, but he declined, saying his contributions to Spectrum’s counter-terrorist operations were more valuable on the ground. The truth was he preferred to be in the middle of the action, often even going out with the team members, much to White’s displeasure.
Captain Scarlet was the first one inside the communications office. “What do you have, Lieutenant?”
“Just this little bit, sir. It appears to have been deliberately cut off.” Lennox replayed Rhapsody’s abbreviated message. Scarlet frowned at the sound of her distressed voice, realizing that her calling out his name had activated his communicator as well as London Headquarters’.
“‘Code Purple’?” asked Captain Russet, interrupting Scarlet’s train of thought. “That’s not one of our codes.”
“No, Captain,” Scarlet replied, frowning deeper as he thought more about what Rhapsody said. “It’s one of mine.”
“Yours, sir?” asked Lennox.
Scarlet nodded. “It’s from one of the readiness drills I devised for the Cloudbase staff. I assigned color codes to each possible scenario.”
“Which one is Purple?” asked Captain Russet.
“Mutiny.”
Russet and Lennox’s jaws both dropped.
“Mutiny?! Mein Gott!” Russet exclaimed, his face suddenly becoming the color of a storm cloud. He reached for the switch for the public address system. “I’ll get a strike team ready—”
Scarlet covered the switch with his hand and smiled at his junior officer. “You’re slipping, Captain. Don’t you remember what today is?”
Russet hesitated. “Friday?”
“No, what’s scheduled for today?”
His gray eyes lit up. “Of course! The drill!”
Lennox relaxed as well. “So it’s not a real mutiny then.”
“You’re forgetting what day it is, Lieutenant. The colonel ordered Ochre to schedule a security drill on 4th July, which as you probably know is the Americans’ Independence Day. What you may not know, being from another country, is that the Yanks take this holiday very seriously. If my days in the States taught me anything, it’s that you don’t muck about with trivialities such as nonessential ‘work’ on the Fourth.” He paused and smiled. “Knowing Captain Ochre’s penchant for practical jokes, I didn’t put it past him to have a little ‘Yankee uprising’ on this of all days. In fact, I was rather expecting something like this.” He laughed half to himself. “I wonder what he’s done to Colonel White…”
Captain Russet still wasn’t sure how to take the news. “So we do nothing?”
“On the contrary. Your gut reaction was the correct one.” Scarlet smiled again, wider this time. “Don’t you think it’s time your people had a drill of their own?”
Captain Russet’s face broke into a broad grin. He snapped to attention and executed a sharp salute. “Yes, sir!”
The Angels handed Rhapsody off to one of the enlisted men who was gathering “prisoners” from the Hangar Deck. He marched them off below decks, but pulled Rhapsody to the side before the group entered the Cloudbase auditorium. He instead shoved her unceremoniously into a smaller room.
Rhapsody started pounding on the door even before it had slid completely shut. “That won’t do any good,” a familiar voice behind her said.
“Colonel!” She spun around, and started as she saw the other occupant of the room. “Doctor Fawn! You too?”
Fawn nodded. “Sickbay apparently wasn’t off limits this time. I reckon they’ve got enough Yank doctors and nurses to handle the situation, and the robots of course have no nationality.”
“Unlike us, unfortunately,” grumbled White. “This is preposterous! Whatever gave Captain Ochre the idea to turn this exercise into the next American Revolution?”
“With all due respect, Colonel, apparently you did.”
White whirled around and stared at Dr. Fawn. “Explain yourself, Doctor.”
The Spectrum medical chief shrugged. “When Captain Magenta—er, captured me, he explained their reasons a bit. He said that you refused to consider any of Captain Ochre’s recommendations regarding the exercise, and then you cancelled nearly all of the recreational activities without notifying him, or for that matter any of the base personnel. That’s why they’re doing this; Magenta compared your actions to ‘taxation without representation.’”
“But I’m commander of this base, and I have the final say in all operational matters! Ochre has no right to do this!”
“Actually, sir, he does,” said Rhapsody, very hesitantly. She knew what the colonel was like when he was in a bad mood. “If for the only reason that he’s doing this as part of the exercise. Remember, Colonel, you’ve always said these exercises have no rules, because there are no rules in war.”
White sighed, nodding slowly. Rhapsody was right, of course. And Fawn as well, at least to a point.
Rhapsody exhaled slowly, thankful for the colonel’s calm reaction. “So, what do we do now?” she continued. “Do we just stay here and wait for the scheduled ending time of the exercise?”
“I hope not,” grumbled Fawn. “Magenta said that was midnight, and it’s not even noon now.”
“We may not have to,” replied Colonel White. “We have Captain Grey on our side.”