THIS OTHER EDEN

A Spectrum ‘Challenge of Five’ Story

By Marion Woods

From The Tragedy of King Richard II, by William Shakespeare

Rhapsody Angel was on duty in Angel One, with Harmony and Destiny on standby as Angel 2 and 3 respectively; but the Amber Room wasn’t the usual haven of tranquillity this particular morning. Besides Melody and Symphony, Captains Ochre and Magenta were also there, looking out from the floor-to-ceiling windows into the hazy blue expanse, watching for the approach of the expected SPJ plane.

Destiny glanced up from her magazine and asked casually, “Don’t you two have work to do? Waiting will not make it happen the quicker, you know?”

Symphony grinned and said, “We should be offended, girls, the Captains obviously think we’re ugly old has-beens from the way they’re slavering over the arrival of the Angelettes…“

“Sure, they’re hoping they’ll have a chance to make a move on the new girls, before we have a chance to warn them,” Melody teased, with a wink at the two officers.

“Hey,” Ochre protested good-naturedly, “If it’s no big deal, why are you two here? You don’t usually spend your off-duty hours in the Amber Room, Symphony…Oh, unless Blue’s off the base of course.” He finished the sentence with a grin at his blonde fellow American.

“It is no less than good manners to welcome new arrivals,” Harmony replied, before Symphony could respond. “We have not yet had the pleasure of meeting the Second Angel squadron.”

“Nor have we,” Ochre reasoned. “Blue and Grey are the only lucky so-and-sos who’ve had that pleasure - and getting the low-down and dirty from either of them is damn near impossible. You’d think they were doing it on purpose. Besides, we’re the very personification of politeness, aren’t we, Pat? We wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

Symphony roared with laughter as Magenta agreed solemnly, “Sure thing, Rick.”

“Angelettes?” Destiny queried, one elegant eyebrow raised over her dark eyes. “This word I do not know.”

“Well, I don’t know what else we can call them,” Symphony explained. “Adam - I mean, Captain Blue - said that of the nine hierarchies of the heavenly host, Angels were the lowest order. So calling them Cherubim or Seraphim would mean technically they’d outrank us – and we can’t allow that…”

“Blue knows too much and is far too literal for his own good,” Magenta said briskly. “Whatever these girls are like, they’ll never outrank OUR angels.”

“Too damn right,” Ochre agreed, adding for good measure, “on both counts.”

To everyone’s surprise, Magenta began, in a very learned tone: “Besides, St Augustine was of the opinion that ‘angelus est nomen officii ‘ – angel is the name of the office -” he translated for his puzzled friends, “and not one of the individual ranks of the hierarchy, and if there’s enough information to convince St Augustine, it’s sure enough to convince me. For instance, consider the fact that the Cherubim guarded Eden after the fall; to prevent Adam and Eve sneaking back in again, I guess...”

“Yeah, right,” Ochre interrupted. He gave Symphony a surreptitious glance and added, “You know it occurs to me – St Augustine notwithstanding - that that particular story is a perfect example of Adam’s susceptibility to young women… Personally, I get worried every time I see him eating an apple these days…” he concluded with a smirk.

Magenta gave him an amused glance but continued inexorably with his own line of reasoning, “The Cherubim also protected the Ark of the Covenant, where tradition has it they may have taken the form of winged bulls or even hawk-headed men. They’re synonymous with cherubs, by the way, which makes the image of Paradise being guarded by an army of tubby little mop-heads with tiny wings rather a cute one… if you like that sort of thing,” he qualified his statement in the face of the astonished stares he was getting, but then started on a fresh tack, undaunted by the audible groans from his audience. “The Seraphim only appear in Isaiah’s vision, so there’s not much known detail about them; but all of them are ‘Angels’. However, the so-called ‘mystic seven’, who stand before God…” Melody gave a theatrical whimper of distress, but Magenta was relentless, “are also known as archangels… but they are still part of the ‘angel host’.”

“Is there a point to all this?” Ochre demanded.

“I figure, if you imagine the colonel is the all-seeing deity for Spectrum, then you girls are the archangels…” Magenta concluded triumphantly.

When he finished, he saw Ochre was still staring at him in bewilderment, but the Angels, who couldn’t help feeling flattered by the analogy, were smirking at each other. It became even more obvious that Ochre was feeling less charitable towards his friend’s erudite compliments when he asked, “What exactly are you on these days? Because you may need Fawn to change your medication…”

“Hey, Blue’s not the only one on this base with brains, or -” Magenta protested.

“- A good Catholic upbringing -” Destiny suggested with a smile.

“- Or internet access,” Magenta concluded, with a grin at his partner.

Ochre chuckled. “Well, I just hope the ‘Angelettes’ are half as cute as the Angels, otherwise life around here’s going to be pretty dull for the next few weeks.”

“Captain Blue said they were all charming young women,” Harmony volunteered reassuringly.

“Oh, did he indeed?” Symphony growled. “He never said that to me.”

“If he had, you’d have gutted him with one swipe,” Ochre reasoned, “and Blue’s too bright to invite that kind of trouble.”

There was a ripple of laughter and Symphony blushed slightly.

“What are their codenames again? I’m sure I’ll never remember them,” Magenta complained.

Harmony replied, “Cantata, Calypso, Fantasia, Pavane, Sarabande and Sonata.”

“I reckon the colonel was still in musical mode when he dished out the codenames,” Melody said with a broad smile.

“And there are six of them – so you might stand a chance with at least one of them, Rick,” Symphony teased.

Ochre gave a wry grimace and decided to get his own back for that dig. “You’re forgetting one thing, Symph – they’ve had our very own glamour-boy as their training instructor and you know how few women can resist the overwhelming allure of the Svenson sex-appeal. I bet they’re all smitten already. The rest of us poor mortals won’t stand a chance.”

Destiny rose from her seat and walked to the window, effectively cutting off the embryonic spat brewing between the Americans. Symphony’s fiery jealousy was far too easy to trigger and very difficult to assuage, so it was really not something to be roused lightly and she was surprised Ochre hadn’t thought of that before he started tormenting her about her boyfriend; or maybe he just didn’t care – after all, Symphony provoked him often enough.

“The plane should be arriving very soon, now,” she said. “I wonder what the girls will think of their first sight of Cloudbase. I remember that for me, it made my breath to go away. Elle est magnifique.” 

“Yeah, she’s that all right,” Melody agreed. “It was a breath-taking moment. Mind you, landing on Cloudbase wasn’t so much fun – not the first time.”

“Look! The plane is here!” Harmony cried, pointing to the merest speck in the distance. “The new Angels are arriving!”

The SPJ adjusted its flight path and landed gracefully on the runway.

“Good landing,” Symphony conceded.

“So I should hope,” Ochre commented crisply. “Blue’s piloting the plane.”

“He didn’t tell me he was going to fetch them.” Symphony’s brows furrowed over her moody eyes.

“Colonel White sent him at the last minute,” Magenta explained, with a view to heading off the trouble he sensed was brewing. “Grey was going, but he’s still trying to get his report finished after that little adventure in Shanghai. Blue’d just come on duty as we were going off and Scarlet’s not out of sickbay yet.”

“He is better now, non?” Destiny asked in concern.

“Oh, he’s fit and well - according to Blue – but Doc Fawn has a few tests to run…” Magenta smiled in response.

“Pauvre Scarlet,” Destiny cooed. “He does not enjoy these tests of the doctor’s. I will go and visit him when I have made my welcome to the Angelettes.”

“I’m sure that’ll make his day…” said Ochre with a lopsided grin.

In the control room they heard the newcomers’ approach before they saw them, and Colonel White put down his pen and turned to the door as it slid open.

Captain Blue appeared, surrounded by a gaggle of excited young women, all wearing the standard Angel uniform, and all chattering like magpies. He stepped onto the moving walkway and the women followed suit, one of them staggering as she lost her footing on the sliding floor. There was a burst of hastily-suppressed nervous laughter.

“Angels,” Blue called above the babble of voices, “attention!”

The chatter stopped instantly and as Blue stepped off the walkway and saluted, the women also dismounted, came to attention and saluted their commander-in-chief, albeit with less assurance.

“At ease. Welcome to Cloudbase,” White said, returning their salute. The women fanned out around the console and he glanced along the line, recalling the names and faces of the crew of the second Angel flight; more informally known as ‘the Standby Angels’. “No doubt Captain Blue will have told you why you’re here? The Angel flight crew will be leaving Cloudbase for an intensive survival training course tomorrow, and you’ll provide the defence cover for the base until their return. You have the rest of the day to settle into the base, find your way around and familiarise yourselves with the base protocols. I’m certain everyone on board will give you all the help you need, and Captain Blue will, I’m sure, be happy to provide any additional information necessary. You’ll relieve the Angel crew at midnight and they will depart Cloudbase at 0600 tomorrow morning. A duty roster has been drawn up, and the first duty team will need to get some sleep before they start their shift. I suggest you all make time to see Doctor Fawn and get your log-ins for the Room of Sleep.”

There was a murmur of assent from the women.

“This is your first assignment for Spectrum in an operational capacity. I feel sure you’ll all rise to any occasion that presents itself. The regime on Cloudbase is a strict one but if you have any problems, I, or Captain Blue, will always be available to assist you.” He glanced along the line of eager, expectant faces and gave a slight smile. “I think it would be a good idea if you took them to the Amber Room now, Captain, where I’m sure the Angels are looking forward to meeting them all. Dismiss.”

“S.I.G., Colonel,” Blue saluted again. The young pilots did the same and trooped after him out of the control room – the excited chatter erupting again before the door had even closed.

Lieutenant Green grinned at his commander. “They’re a lively bunch, Colonel,” he commented, “and almost as pretty as the Angels themselves.”

“Their looks are unimportant, Lieutenant,” White said sourly. “What matters is their ability to carry out their duties effectively.”

“Yes, sir,” Green muttered, looking crestfallen.

The colonel took pity on the young man and said in a far more friendly tone, “But yes, they are all pretty as well.” He made a mental note to make sure that the arrival of six new women on the base didn’t lead to a general rut amongst the unattached males…

Sighing, he turned back to the files on his desk; whatever happened, life on Cloudbase was never dull.

Rhapsody Angel slipped the last item into her luggage and yanked the zip closed. She glanced at the clock and wondered if she’d have time to slip down to sickbay and say ‘goodbye’ to Captain Scarlet before the SPJ departed with her colleagues on board. Regretfully, she decided she did not.

The muffled sound of the door sliding closed in the next room jolted her out of her reverie, and she picked up the holdall and snapped the light off as her own door slid open. She stepped into the corridor and saw Symphony Angel walking away in the direction of the hangars.

“Hi, Symphony,” she called, and hastened after her friend.

The taller woman stopped and waited for her to catch up, but the greeting she gave in response to Rhapsody’s was half-hearted. “Hi, Rhapsody.”

The English Angel fell in alongside her best friend and they continued towards the hangar bay. As the silence grew heavier, Rhapsody felt obliged to make small talk.

“I was hoping to get a chance to say goodbye to Paul,” she confided. “But I overslept and it’s too late to slip down there now. I suppose I’ll have to make do with the fact that I did see him yesterday, after I came off duty.”

Symphony hefted her holdall from one shoulder to the other. “Adam was on late duty last night. He could only spare a few minutes on his break to drop by and say goodbye because he was busy helping the Angelettes get settled in - or so he said.”

“Then I expect that’s what he was doing…”

Symphony’s tone changed to one of protest. “He could’ve made the time to stop by after his duty finished - I wouldn’t have minded him waking me up – but no, I expect he was too busy with the Angelettes!” She grimaced and added viciously, “Have you noticed how the men on this base trail after any new females like horny tomcats?”

“They’re men; they’ll trail after any female who doesn’t actually tell them to drop dead.” Rhapsody laughed. “But, Karen, you can’t imagine Adam was doing that?” He doesn’t have a death-wish for a start, she added to herself.

“I don’t know what he was doing – and I don’t really care.”

“Liar,” her friend retorted, adding, “I’m right, aren’t I?” when Symphony made no reply.

Symphony’s lower lip pouted in a determined stubborn silence. Rhapsody sighed. I hope Adam has the sense to get himself to the hangar deck before we leave – or it’ll be hell living with Karen for the next fortnight…

“I don’t understand why the colonel feels the need to send us away while the Angelettes are here; I mean we could teach them all they need to know,” Symphony complained, barging her way through a swing door with such force that it bounced off the wall and the crash echoed down the corridor.

“I think the idea is that he gets to assess how good they are, without them feeling cowed by our presence on base,” Rhapsody reasoned, although she knew logic wasn’t going to stop Karen sulking. “Besides, Destiny said that the colonel wants us to check out how effective the survival training centre is; he has some doubts, apparently, and thinks the place might need a shake up. I think we’re rather in the nature of an unexpected challenge to Major Fern - he doesn’t know we’re coming…”

“It doesn’t take five of us to put the fear of God into one back-sliding major. Why do we all have to go?”

“If we were men, it’d be called a team-building exercise, I expect; but to hear some of the guys talking, because it’s five women going - it’s a jolly: no more, no less.” Rhapsody brushed her long red hair back from her face and gave an irritated sniff. “Personally, I’m looking forward to wiping the floor with every cadet at the base and then coming back here, to do the same to a few of the more sceptical male members of staff; you know the kind, the ones who imagine we’re delicate creatures that need to be treated as if we’re made of glass. How about you, Karen, are you up to denting some masculine pride?”

Symphony gave her an ironic glance and there was a definite combative twinkle in her hazel-green eyes. “Ever known me resist the opportunity to kick some male ass? Whatever the testosterone squad can do, we can do just as well.”

Rhapsody grinned. “Right on, sister! Let’s go and whup some ass!”

Melody was waiting by the SPJ as the two friends walked into the hangar bay.

“Come on, you two,” she called, waving at Symphony and Rhapsody. “We’re gonna be late if you don’t get a move on.” She clambered aboard the plane leaving them to stow their gear.

Smiling, Rhapsody handed her holdall to a technician who packed it away for her, and waited until Symphony had done the same before she entered the plane.

“Now, who’s going to fly this bird?” Melody asked as she closed the fuselage door and glanced at her four companions. Unconsciously, every eye turned to Symphony, but she said nothing. With a wry shrug, Melody continued, “Well, I will then…”

“And I will help you, Melody,” Harmony said in her prim English, moving to the co-pilot seat as Symphony threw herself into a window seat and strapped herself in.

Destiny glanced at Rhapsody who shrugged and shook her head, warning that it was best to leave her alone. Destiny frowned; she had no desire to spend the next fourteen days closeted with a Symphony who was in a petulant sulk. In fairness to her colleague, she acknowledged that the American did – generally – get her priorities right and her competitive nature wouldn’t let her fail at any task she undertook. She hoped Symphony would snap out of it soon and concentrate on their mission. The orders the colonel had issued for them had been brief and wide-ranging: put the base through its paces, evaluate the effectiveness of the training regime and… survive.

They could hear Lieutenant Green’s voice over the radio giving Melody permission to begin the launch, and outside, the warning klaxons sounded as the hangar depressurised, whilst they strapped themselves into seats behind Symphony. The klaxons wailed into silence as the procedure completed and then, as the lift began to raise the plane to the runways, Rhapsody saw two figures hurry into the observation bay. One was wearing a bright-red uniform tunic, the other a pale-blue…

“Karen, look – there! It’s Paul and Adam; I knew they wouldn’t let us leave without saying goodbye.” Symphony squirmed in her seat to see the two men, waving affably at the departing plane. Rhapsody waved back and blew a kiss; beside her, Destiny was also waving goodbye but when she glanced at her friend, Symphony was staring fixedly out of the window, immobile. “He has come to say goodbye to you,” she repeated with a hint of censure, but Symphony shrugged and turned her back on the window.

Rhapsody spread her hands apologetically and gave a rueful look at the officers. She saw Captain Blue’s shoulders rise and fall in a monumental sigh, yet he smiled at her and returned her blown kiss. She kept waving until they were no longer visible.

“Adam must’ve gone to get Paul so they could both see us off,” Rhapsody reflected aloud for Symphony’s benefit as she settled down in her seat again. “Paul’s still not quite back to complete fitness, at least, he wasn’t last night. Doc Fawn said practically every bone in his body was broken by that explosion in Shanghai. My guess is he still isn’t moving as quickly as usual; so they nearly didn’t make it.”

“Ah, it is nice to know they will miss us, is it not?” Destiny said with a wink. “Even though they have the Angelettes to keep them company.” Rhapsody gave the Frenchwoman an anguished grimace at these words, nodding her head towards Symphony. Destiny rolled her eyes; she simply wasn’t prepared to indulge Symphony’s bad humour.

“I bet they won’t even notice we’ve gone,” Symphony said cynically and her friends grimaced to hear the temper in her voice.

It always came as a surprise to Rhapsody every time she saw just how possessive her friend could be. Those close enough to know Blue and Symphony well had no doubt of the genuine affection between the two Americans; yet Symphony seemed incapable of believing that Blue’s devotion to her was real, and she continued to view almost every unmarried woman as a potential rival. When she’d met the standby Angel pilots yesterday, Symphony had not been pleased to realise they were as young, attractive and lively as the Cloudbase Angels themselves. She’d watched with increasing moodiness as the girls naturally clustered around Captain Blue – who’d been their commanding officer during their specialist training at Koala Base – and, although they had gradually dispersed to talk to the other staff officers as they came in to say ‘hello’, Symphony had been off-hand with her lover when he’d finally made his way over to her side. Her colleagues had recognised the signs of an acute attack of jealousy with trepidation, and this little episode confirmed their fears that Captain Blue hadn’t been able – or disposed - to reassure his temperamental lover of his undying devotion in the interim.

“Eh bien! And now we go to face the rigours of surviving in a tropical paradise,” Destiny said, deliberately changing the subject. “What could be nicer than two weeks of sunshine?”

Rhapsody laughed. “I don’t think it’s meant to be a holiday, Juliette. It is a serious survival course.”

“But of course; still I have brought my sun cream and a petit bikini… I wish to make my tan completely all over.”

“Well, there’ll be no one around to object to you getting a tan with no strap lines at all, if you want one,” Rhapsody teased. “But I hope you remembered to pack bug repellent, as well. I’ve never been on a tropical beach that didn’t have its share of winged beasties with a penchant for human flesh.” Destiny shook her head in amusement at this and, grinning, Rhapsody leant back in the passenger seat and closed her eyes. “Wake me when we reach paradise…” she murmured.

Rhapsody woke with a jolt as the plane bucked and swerved suddenly. She’d managed to doze off and was disorientated by her rude awakening. She glanced across the cabin and saw Destiny and Symphony clustered around the cockpit door. She undid her seat belt and went to join them.

“That last bolt of lightning came worryingly close,” Melody was saying. “The storm is sending the instruments haywire. I’m not even sure if we’re on the right course anymore.”

Harmony was repeating, ‘come in Cloudbase; please respond’ over and over. She stopped and turned her head towards her companions. “There is too much interference for the radio; I cannot contact Cloudbase any longer.”

Ahead of them a jagged flash of lightning illuminated the tumbling grey clouds and made the driving rain sparkle with a bright silver light for a brief moment. Rhapsody blinked and could still see the shape of it like a scar behind her eyelids. “I thought the weather forecast was clear,” she muttered.

Destiny glanced at her. “It is the season for tropical storms and they can appear very quickly, but they can finish also as quickly. Let us hope this one will also go soon.”

Rhapsody nodded and grabbed the back of a chair in support as the plane hit an air pocket and lurched downwards.

“Maybe we’d be wise to get the parachutes on?” Symphony suggested wryly. “Just in case.”

Rhapsody agreed with her and went to the storage locker to unload the parachutes – not an easy task in itself with the plane bucking like a fairground ride. She threw one across to Destiny, who caught it cleanly and slipped it on, and then to Symphony who fumbled the catch and had to scramble to get the ‘chute back. It rolled away from her as the plane lurched and she stumbled, losing her balance and banging her head hard on a passenger seat as she sprawled onto the floor.

Destiny stooped to help her stunned colleague, and Rhapsody, having put on her own chute, made her way to the cockpit with equipment for Harmony and Melody. The Angels were both struggling to put the parachutes on when a fierce bolt of lightning hit the plane and sparks flew from the control panels.

“Holy cow!” Melody screamed, jumping back from the instrumentation in alarm as the sparks caught at her flying suit.

“That is it,” Harmony said sadly, “every instrument is out now; it has blown the circuitry. We have no radio, no radar and no landing gear.”

Rhapsody doused the fire with a fire blanket and Melody resumed her seat. The plane was falling rapidly through the clouds and rain and beneath them they could see the rolling waves of the dark, storm-lashed ocean.

“An emergency landing at sea?” Rhapsody surmised, looking at the damage.

“I don’t wanna ditch her in the sea; not if I can help it. Hold on there, Rhapsody,” Melody said through gritted teeth and she pulled the steering column back, struggling to raise the nose.

“Over there,” Symphony said groggily. “I can see land…”

Everyone turned to glance in the direction of her pointing finger. Miraculously the clouds had parted and in the distance, illuminated by the recurring flashes of lightning lay a small, rocky island, its slopes a blanket of lush vegetation.

“Can you reach it, Melody?” Destiny asked, as the clouds hid the horizon again. “Will there be anywhere for us to land, if we do make it?”

“I think so; I can try. It’s a better option than what I see anywhere else and if I can’t make land, it’s still better we ditch in shallow water rather than out at sea in this storm.”

“D’accord; we shall take emergency landing positions.”

“Pull her round, Harmony; let’s aim for that terra firma,” Melody gasped as she struggled with the controls.

“S.I.G.”

“The rest of you do as Destiny says and strap yourselves in!” Melody shouted over the engine’s protesting whine. “And hang on for dear life…”

Almost by the sheer force of her personality alone, Melody managed to get the SPJ to respond to her demands and the plane turned towards the east and, still descending, struggled towards what they hoped was land - although, once the clouds closed up again, it looked simply like a greyer mass in the monochrome of the storm around them. Melody coaxed the SPJ towards their goal and as they approached, they saw the flecks of white where the storm was whipping the turbulent waves against a submerged reef. Beyond that there was a solid stretch of land.

There was a collective exhale of held breath as the women realised they had reached some sort of landfall. Melody did her level best to bring the plane down smoothly and when the SPJ buried its nose in the narrow strip of sloping sandy beach and juddered to a halt with a grating slide and some ominous flashes of sparks from the engines, she immediately closed off the fuel intake to reduce the risk of an explosion.

The Angels were bruised and shaken but, by and large, unhurt by the incident. They glanced across at each other, the relief at having managed a landing on solid ground clearly visible on every face.

“Well done!” Rhapsody shouted to Melody as they all scrambled from the plane and raced across the damp sand to the inadequate cover offered by the vegetation that fringed the beach. The winds were so powerful that they hesitated to seek shelter amongst the trees.

They huddled together and watched out the storm, praying the SPJ would stay where it was and not be lifted from its precarious landing place by the ferocious wind and waves.

As Destiny had predicted, the storm blew itself out in a relatively short time and the women were able to venture back to the SPJ and inspect the damage. Harmony and Melody clambered into the cockpit to determine the exact extent of the systems failure, and Destiny threw down luggage and emergency supplies to Rhapsody and Symphony, who stacked them higher up the beach, away from the incoming surf.

Rhapsody unpacked a primus stove and measured out enough water from a plastic bottle to make everyone a hot drink; they were damp and shocked and it seemed like a good idea. While they waited for the water to boil they took the opportunity to change out of their wet uniforms into the far more practical Spectrum fatigues and trainers they’d have used at the training centre. Once the beverage was ready, Harmony and Melody joined them sitting on a groundsheet and reported back.

“I ought to warn you before you taste it, that this is coffee in name only; it’s in the same league as that stuff Captain Blue makes,” Rhapsody said with a wryly apologetic smile. The others grinned in response.

“It’s going to take some time to repair the damage,” Melody said, between sips of the hot, sweet liquid. “There’s an emergency repair kit onboard, so we should be able to get the thing airborne again - eventually.”

“Or at least fix the radio well enough to send a distress signal to Cloudbase,” Harmony amended in her quiet voice. “Of course, Melody is the expert when it comes to mechanical repairs; but I’m not inexperienced in it myself.”

“Well, I don’t know much about repairs,” Rhapsody admitted, “but I’ll do what I can to help, if you show me what to do.”

“We all will,” Destiny asserted.

“That’s great, girls; I knew I could count on you.” Melody smiled at them all. “But for now, I think we’d better concentrate on setting up a camp, exploring our island home, and especially looking for water. We might as well make ourselves something to eat too; we ain’t gonna be getting’ off here in a hurry - always exceptin’ Cloudbase had us on its radar and has sent a rescue ship after us, of course.”

Symphony, usually a bundle of energy and not one to hold her tongue in a discussion, was looking pale and tired. Across the right side of her forehead was a large discoloured contusion. She asked in a melancholy voice, “Do you think they’ll have sent someone?”

“Sure, honey. I bet they’re winging their way towards us as we speak,” Melody reassured her cheerfully. “But that’s no reason to sit around just waiting to be rescued; I - for one - would like them to see how well we’ve coped when they turn up all superior and making wisecracks about ‘women pilots’, if I know them.” There was a murmur of agreement from the others, although Symphony still looked unhappy. The rivalry between the Angels and the male officers, on the subject of just who were the best pilots, was a friendly one but it existed, nevertheless.

Melody shared a concerned glance with the other girls. “You sure gave your head one major crack, Karen. Are you okay?”

“My head aches,” Symphony admitted with a wan smile, “but I’m fine otherwise.”

“Then I suggest Symphony stays here and makes the meal, whilst the rest of us fan out and explore the island,” Rhapsody said. “It doesn’t look that big – we were lucky we spotted it, and that our pilot had the skill to land us safely on it.” She grinned at Melody in approval.

There was a general murmur of consent, but Harmony announced, “I will stay here; it does not take all four of us to explore. I can begin to assess what the damage has been to the communications relays and how it might be repaired.”

Melody looked to be about to argue, but a glance at Harmony’s face told her it was pointless. The words may have been softly-spoken but the expression was resolute and catching her colleague’s eyes on her, Harmony gave a quick glance towards the drooping Symphony, which was eloquent enough to explain to Melody that she was concerned about their injured friend.

“Okay, Chan,” Melody said in response. “That’s a neat idea. Rhapsody, go along the beach that way; Destiny, you go that way. I’ll go inland a way and see if I can’t find out how big this place is. Number one priority is finding water–- but I don’t need to tell you that.”

The others nodded. Destiny stood up and gathered her long, blonde hair into a ponytail. “Alors, it looks as if we shall be having our survival training for real, mes enfants.”

“Pity we couldn’t have crashed on the way back,” Rhapsody responded with a cheerful grin as she scrambled to her feet.

Determined to keep upbeat, everyone laughed.

Rhapsody and Destiny were the first explorers to arrive back and they had plenty of information to exchange and consider.

Rhapsody had found a small stream, trickling from the interior across the beach. “I followed it a short way in, and it seems to come from a freshwater source,” she explained as she handed the sample bottle she’d taken over to Symphony so it could be purified and tasted. Symphony dropped a purification tablet in and set it to one side.

Destiny had gone as far as she could in the other direction along the beach but she’d found no water on her trek. “Once I got to the promontory I could see another small island – smaller than this one, I think, and not with mountains on. I thought we might try to find water there, if necessary.”

“And how would we get to this island? Swim?” Rhapsody asked. “I bet there are sharks around here, Juliette.”

“Tcha! I do not suggest we swim with sharks, but the water is not so deep; there is a reef between the islands. Maybe we could fashion a raft or a boat from a palm tree?”

“What with? Penknives?”

“I do not think this attitude is of help, Dianne,” Destiny said, taking offence at this scoffing.

“It will not help if we squabble amongst ourselves,” Harmony said firmly. “Until we know where we are and what this island can offer us, any idea has to be a considered as a possibility.”

Rhapsody nodded. “You’re right, Chan, as ever. I’m sorry, Juliette. I’m hungry and it’s making me short-tempered, I guess.”

“The food is almost ready; but we ought to wait for Melody,” Symphony said.

“Non, if she is not here when it is ready, we should eat anyway,” Destiny reasoned. “If we have to search for her, we will need sustenance.”

They did wait for another ten minutes and were ready to divide up the rations when Melody re-appeared. She clambered down from the overgrown bank behind the beach and sprinted across to the others.

Rhapsody suggested they dish out the food and eat whilst Melody reported back and everyone agreed. They all ate hungrily except for Symphony who, after a couple of mouthfuls, declared herself not hungry and pushed the bowl away.

In between mouthfuls, Melody gave her report.

“Well, it’s a real jungle in there, girls. Took me a time to make my way through it; but once I got to higher ground okay I could see that this island isn’t very big, and it’s part of a small archipelago of what I guess are coral islands. I don’t think this place is inhabited, not as far as I could see, anyway; but guess what I did see?”

“Manhattan,” Symphony suggested quietly, with a little smile. It was at least a glimmer of her usual wit and Melody grinned at her.

“Nice idea, Karen, but not quite right! There is a larger island and I think there are people on it. I swear I saw smoke rising from one part. Where there are people, there are radios and where there are radios, there is rescue!”

“You are assuming a great deal,” Harmony said with a warning glance. “The natives - assuming it is a native population - may not have radios or even be friendly to outsiders...”

“Who else would it be?” Rhapsody interjected. “Are you suggesting it might be some kind of holiday resort, Chan?”

Harmony shook her head. “Even in this day and age there are pirates on the seas, Rhapsody; such an island might be a perfect base for them, so any native people might be fearful of intruders. I merely say we should be cautious. Besides, I do not think we should place too much hope on this; if we cannot get to the small island Destiny saw, how can we get to the larger one? Is it very close, Melody?”

“Who says we can’t get to any other islands?” Melody asked, licking her fingers and wiping them on her trousers. “You sure you don’t want that, Karen? Waste not, want not, as my momma always told me…” she said, reaching for the bowl.

“Well, Destiny suggested we fashion a canoe from a palm tree,” Rhapsody explained by way of an apology to the Frenchwoman.

“Hell, no! What’s wrong with using the inflatable life rafts from the SPJ…?” Melody looked up from her seconds and grinned.

The other Angels gave sheepish grins in return and Destiny gave an embarrassed giggle.

“I guess we’re all getting far too deep into Robinson Crusoe mode,” Rhapsody said as the silence lengthened. “Good job you’re here to keep our feet on the ground, Nolie.”

“The name of the game is survival,” Melody said sombrely, “so you use what you have and you take your chances –at least in my experience you have to.”

“Of course, you were stranded on just such an island as this, were you not?” Destiny exclaimed. “It seems we shall all have to bow to your experience, Magnolia.”

“Well, I got off there eventually, but I sure have no intention of being here for that long!”

Catching sight of the misery on Symphony’s face, Destiny remembered that Melody had spent the best part of a year marooned, and she exclaimed, “Goodness, we shall not be here for very long. There are too many brave capitaines who would not allow for that to happen!”

“Too right,” Rhapsody asserted. “I can think of at least two who’ll be champing at the bit to rescue us,” she added, reaching to place hand on her friend’s shoulder. Symphony gave her a brave smile, but the expression in her eyes was one of exhausted confusion. I think she’s got concussion, Rhapsody thought with concern. “Anyway,” she continued brightly, “we need to be seen to be able to take care of ourselves, as Melody said; I don’t want the colonel thinking we’re weak and feeble women, either. Right now, I think we could all do with some rest. Maybe we should fix up a shelter of some kind?”

“Yeah,” Melody agreed. “Let’s see what the SPJ has in the way of ground sheets and tents etc… The sun can get pretty intense in these latitudes; we’ll need daytime shade as much as night time.”

They quickly rigged up two shelters for them all to take a siesta beneath, as the late afternoon sun beat relentlessly on the sandy beach, making it almost too hot to walk on. Rhapsody shared a sunshade with Symphony, who was far too quiet and pale for it to be healthy. When her friend complained of thirst, she insisted the American remain in the shade and crawled over the burning sand to fetch her some water.

Harmony was sitting closest to the SPJ where the water bottles were stored and she asked, “Is Karen all right? She has complained of a headache and she did not eat much.”

Rhapsody shrugged. “I hope so; she’s still rather confused. It was an almighty bump on the head she got.”

“With good fortune she will be better tomorrow, but for today she should not be left alone or allowed to do too much,” Harmony insisted in her phlegmatic way. “There is nothing in the first aid kit that will take care of a concussion.”

“By tomorrow, I hope we’ll be rescued,” Rhapsody said.

Harmony looked slightly shifty and lowered her voice, “I am not sure, Rhapsody. We were blown many miles off course by the storm and our equipment was not functioning. Neither Melody or I know exactly where we are.”

“But Cloudbase will find us,” Rhapsody asserted. “They have the best equipment on the planet, Chan; it can pinpoint a needle in a haystack from across the other side of the world, according to Lieutenant Green. They’re not going to lose an SPJ.”

“The lieutenant exaggerates a little,” Harmony said with a kindly smile. “There was a lot of interference, Dianne; it will depend on when Cloudbase lost track of us as to how close their last position for us is to where we actually are.”

“They’ll come looking.”

Harmony nodded. “Most assuredly they will; once they realise we have not made the journey to the training base without incident. But remember, Major Fern did not expect us and even Captain Blue will not worry unduly if he has no message from… one of us - given the situation when we left. If there happens to be a Mysteron threat, or if Cloudbase is busy, they might not think to check we arrived - not immediately. Then they would have to start up a search and they only have the standby Angels to assist them. They will find us, I do not question that; but how soon, is open for debate.”

“You worry too much,” Rhapsody said with a smile; she’d little doubt that, even if Blue wasn’t expecting a message from Symphony, Captain Scarlet would be waiting for a message from her – he wasn’t known for his patience either and he’d start asking questions when she did not get in touch. She took a bottle of water and started to crawl back towards Symphony.

“Perhaps,” Harmony murmured to herself, “but also, perhaps not.”

As the afternoon slipped into evening, the heat became less intense and so the Angels started to build a more substantial camp, erecting the emergency tents and methodically checking over the emergency stores. Rhapsody and Melody went to fetch more water from the stream, which had proven to be safe to drink, whilst Destiny and Harmony collected driftwood to make a fire. They had decided to make two fires –- one for cooking and warmth overnight, the other for a beacon to attract the attention of passing planes or shipping; at least, should the chance arise before they’d mended their communications equipment. Once they had done that, they decided to lay out an SOS signal in the sand using rocks and branches to reinforce their message.

Once more Harmony stayed with Symphony under the pretence of working on the equipment, and the American Angel slowly went through the motions of dividing up the emergency rations for an evening ‘meal’, but when they sat down to eat, Symphony ate very little and reassuring her concerned friends that she was merely tired, she was the first to crawl into her sleeping bag and close her eyes against the tribulations of the day.

The others sat on in companionable conversation until the sky was studded with stars. Each of them had some knowledge of navigating by the stars and they spent some time trying to pinpoint their position. When they had rough co-ordinates they could agree on, Harmony noted them down.

“We shall transmit them when the radio is repaired,” she said.

“And when will that be?” Rhapsody asked as casually as she could.

“As soon as I can fix it,” was Harmony’s calm answer; her gentle voice successfully disguised the anxiety she felt about the amount of work needed to get the equipment working again.

Reassured, Rhapsody yawned. “I’m going to turn in too, girls; tomorrow will be a busy day.”

There was general agreement with this, and the Angels all prepared to get what sleep they could.

Melody was the last to go. She banked the fire to ensure it didn’t go out, or pose a threat to their precious stores overnight. Then she stood and surveyed the island, the dark, restless sea with the luminescent white spume of the breakers rolling over the reef, and the impassive star-spangled sky above them.

She sighed. “What’re the odds of being marooned on a desert island twice in one lifetime?” she murmured into the night. “Well, you won’t keep me here this time. If I have to walk off this island, I’m not stopping long…” she vowed.

The night passed uneventfully, and Symphony felt a lot brighter when she woke in the early morning sunshine. Careful not to wake Rhapsody, who shared the tent, she scrambled from her sleeping bag and wandered away along the beach in the direction of the stream, with the intention of washing.

Harmony was never sure if it was Symphony’s movements that woke her – the American was as quiet as she could be – but once she was awake, the Oriental Angel was not one to lie about, and she slithered from her sleeping bag and crawled from the shelter to stretch herself in the warm sunshine. She glanced around the camp and then along the beach in both directions; in the distance she saw Symphony and a frown formed on her face. Harmony set great store on preserving her own privacy and, as a consequence, she afforded the same consideration to everyone else that she wished them to afford her. But she was fearful that something might happen to Symphony given her recent concussion and so, although she was wary of intruding on her friend’s privacy, she followed at a distance, keeping a careful eye on the invalid.

It was some time later that Melody woke and busied herself filling the saucepan to boil water for morning drinks. The others gradually emerged from their tents and shook off their lingering tiredness by watching her make some tea.

She handed it around, and said, “I’ll take this to Symphony.”

Rhapsody glanced up and swallowed her mouthful. “She’s not there. She must have woken earlier and gone for a walk.”

“We cannot be sure she’s fit to wander off alone,” Destiny said, a frown between her almond-shaped eyes.

“Well, she didn’t wake me, or I would have gone with her,” Rhapsody explained.

Melody downed her tea in a gulp and sprang to her feet. “I doubt she’s gone alone; Harmony wasn’t in our tent when I woke. I just didn’t realise she’d gone with Symphony.” She walked a short way from the churned up sand around the camp and called back, “There are two sets of footprints… looks like they were heading for the stream. I’ll follow them; you girls make some breakfast.”

Without waiting for further discussion, Melody strode off after the trail of footprints.

Rhapsody and Destiny were already eating their rations when they saw Melody returning at a run.

“What has happen?” Destiny called, as they both got to their feet in alarm.

Melody panted, “I can’t find either of them. The footprints lead to the stream, all right and then vanish. I followed them into the interior, but there’s no sign of the girls. What’s worse, the vegetation was all trampled - like there’d been a struggle? - and if I didn’t know this place was deserted, I’d say they’ve been abducted.”

“That’s a dire conclusion from such inconclusive evidence,” Rhapsody said. “Or is there more?”

Melody extended her clenched hand and opened her fingers. Lying in her palm was a silver necklace. “Yeah, I found this.”

Rhapsody gave a gasp of alarm. “Karen would never have taken that off voluntarily,” she said, lifting the object from Melody’s hand. “It’s the St. Christopher medallion Adam gave her.”

“So what has happen to her?” Destiny exclaimed again. “We should search the island.”

“I don’t think either of them’s here,” Melody said firmly. “I think who ever took Symphony, took Harmony too -”

“- we do not know that anyone has taken them anywhere,” Destiny insisted. “Do not leap to conclusions, Melody. They might have strayed away and perhaps have injured themselves in a fall.”

“Let’s search the island,” Rhapsody said, anxious to stop the disagreement between the other two deteriorating into a full-blown argument. “Only let’s do it quickly. We don’t know what they might be suffering if they’re both injured.”

“It’s possible that you’re right, Destiny, but I still think it’s more likely they’ve been taken. You haven’t seen the trampled ground by the stream: I have. It don’t look like anyone left there willingly. If someone on the big island saw our smoke last night, they may’ve come over and grabbed the first people they found.” Melody was not going to be easily swayed from her deduction.

“Perhaps we’ve unwittingly trespassed on sacred ground?” Destiny mused.

“If Melody’s right, they’ll have taken them to their island,” Rhapsody said. She’d swept away the breakfast things and was obviously anxious to start the search.

Melody glanced in the direction of their larger neighbour. “Then that’s where we’ll have to go to look for them,” she said firmly.

“D’accord; but after we have made sure they are not on this island,” Destiny insisted.

Melody shrugged; with their friends missing there wasn’t time for pointless further discussion; swiftly she co-ordinated a search pattern that covered the whole island. Each Angel was equipped with a short range personal communicator, water, emergency rations and rope. They set off, determined to find their colleagues.

When the search of the crash-site island was finally accomplished, there was still no sign of the missing Angels. The search party ended up on the beach across the island from the crash site and gazed at the larger island which suddenly seemed to loom menacingly across the cerulean-blue water of the strait.

Melody came back from an examination of the shoreline. “I think it’s possible that a boat was drawn up here,” she said, brushing sand from her hands. “And it can’t have come from anywhere but there…” She nodded towards the bigger island. “We need to get our dinghy from the camp and get over to that island –- and quick.”

“It does look as if the others must have been taken there,” Rhapsody agreed, “and the fact that whoever took them did not make themselves known suggests they don’t have friendly intentions towards us. I wonder why they didn’t come for the rest of us, though.”

“Perhaps it was a scouting party,” Destiny suggested. “It is possible our crash was seen and a small group came to look for survivors? They might come back with more of them.”

Melody nodded. “Better we use the element of surprise and get after them before they come after us – quite apart from finding Harmony and Symphony. If we make a concerted effort we can be over there before nightfall.”

The others nodded, despite the fact that they were suffering from the effects of the heat far more than Melody. The American came from Georgia and seemed better able to cope with the heat and humidity than the two Europeans. In an effort to keep cool, Destiny had divided her hair into two plaits and sported a somewhat incongruous floppy, wide-brimmed hat – more suited to St Tropez than a desert island - and Rhapsody wore a baseball cap with a ponytail of her long copper-coloured hair threaded through the back. Both of them were smeared in generous amounts of sun-block.

They set off back to the camp at a brisk walking pace. Once there they set about preparing for their mission. Destiny packed rucksacks with provisions and essential equipment, including two more of the short-range communication devices – which, however limited they were, were better then nothing - as well as the basic medications they had, while Melody unpacked the dinghy from the SPJ and Rhapsody wrote a note for their potential rescuers, saying where they were going -– and why.

It was getting late by the time they had manhandled the dinghy around the island to the point as close to the main island as the shoreline would allow them to get. Then, they loaded it with the supplies. Although a spine of coral reef that ran from the biggest island to the smallest one formed a breakwater, there were ominous signs of strong currents between the islands; the variations in the colour of the water indicating underlying reefs and the channels between them and all three of them knew the journey would not be an easy one.

Once they were beyond the breakers, they set to with the paddles and headed for the islands to rescue their friends.

Symphony woke from a disturbingly garbled dream - involving Captain Blue, the medical rooms on Cloudbase and a bathtub full of spaghetti - to a throbbing headache and a raging thirst. She had no idea where she was and stared in bewilderment at the unfamiliar walls and ceiling that surrounded her. Slowly her memory started to come back: the training mission, the plane crash, the night in the tent and the walk to the stream in the warm morning sunshine. She’d removed her shoes and bathed her feet in the cool water before bending down to splash some on her face and it had been then that she’d seen the dark shadow of a figure loom over her. She’d hardly had time to struggle before some evil-smelling cloth was clamped over her mouth and she’d fallen into unconsciousness.

She moved her hand to rub her aching head and was startled by the chink of metal when she moved. She glanced at her arm and saw the manacle that encircled her right wrist and the heavy chain that led back to the bed. It was probably a metre or so long, so she could sit and even move about the room within reason, but there was no way she could escape. She eased herself into a sitting position wincing at a stab of unexpected pain and discomfort around her hips and swung round to place her bare feet on the concrete floor, noticing that each of the metal bedposts, which were screwed to the floor, had shorter chains attached to them, which would not have permitted the occupant to even sit up.

She shook her befuddled head and glanced down at herself, noting with concern that her own clothes had been removed and she was now wearing a shapeless overall, rather like a hospital gown, that fastened with ties at the shoulder. She was not surprised to see when she glanced at her left wrist, that her chronometer was missing and with a gasp of dismay her hand went to her neck, searching for the comforting feel of her medallion. Her face crumpled in sadness as she realised it too was gone, and somehow that loss was worse than anything; the St Christopher was her amulet, her good luck charm and her permanent link with the man who had given it to her - Captain Blue.

Oh no! I bet the people who brought me here took it - she was more upset by its loss than she’d expected. Oh Adam, I kinda hope they did, ‘cause then I at least stand a chance of getting it back. She brushed her hair away from her face and fought the urge to cry; everything about her current circumstances suggested she was in a dangerous situation. I guess I should be pleased that I’ve still got something on, she consoled herself.

She stood up and walking as far as the chain would allow her, she found that she could reach neither the door nor the small, shutter-less window, which was covered with anti-mosquito mesh. There was a rickety table within reach and on that was a ewer of water, a tin bowl and a plastic drinking mug. She splashed water into her face, tasting the drops that dripped onto her tongue. It tasted fine, and so she risked pouring half a mug and sipping some of it to quench her thirst.

She still hadn’t found any clues as to where she was; although she presumed she was no longer on the original crash island, Melody’s reconnaissance had convinced her there was no sign of human occupation and Melody was unlikely to have missed something as substantial as a building that contained a room like this one.

The sun was low in the sky, but without knowing the orientation of the window, that did not tell her much. Her chronometer would have told her, but without that she had very little to go on; perhaps that was why it had been removed? She was hungry, but then, she’d been hungry when she’d woken before she walked to the stream so that was no help either.

She considered the option of shouting. It was a last resort in some ways, as it might bring the unwanted attention of her captors, but it might also bring the comfort of hearing a familiar voice raised in answer.

She cleared her throat and shouted, “Angels: Spectrum is red!” and then sat, straining to catch the faintest response. The silence grew oppressive and her chin dropped to her c