A Spectrum Story by
Marion Woods
The escape dinghy rocked soothingly in the gentle swell of the open ocean; two of the three men in it were oblivious to their surroundings, lost in a deep and heedless sleep. The third occupant, never the most patient of men, had already gone through every degree of boredom and out the other side, and was now starting to drop off from the somnolent undulations. Suddenly jerking himself back to alertness, he sat up and, after scanning the empty horizon for any signs of impending rescue, regarded his sleeping companions with affectionate censure.
“You two better get what sleep you can,” he advised them, an amused grin on his handsome face. “If I’m any judge, Colonel White’s going to have you jumping through hoops for months after this and, what’s more, you could find yourself docked all pay and perks for the next decade or two…”
Neither man stirred, even given the startling import of these words. Captain Scarlet debated the value of aiming a kick at their outstretched feet in the hope one of them would wake, against the knowledge that every other Spectrum officer who had imbibed the, presumably, Mysteronised non-alcoholic champagne had eventually slept like the dead for hours…
The epaulettes on his uniform tunic flashed dark red and his cap mic swung down in response.
“Captain Scarlet, here,” he said.
“Lieutenant Claret, sir. I’m manning the comms desk for Lieutenant Green...”
“How is he, Claret?” Scarlet interjected before his colleague could continue.
“Oh, he – and the other… affected… personnel are fine, sir. Doctor Tan’s keeping a close eye on them.”
“Anyone waking up yet?”
“I couldn’t say, sir – not without checking.”
“Okay, don’t bother; but let Tan know that Captains Blue and Ochre are sleeping like babes, and no doubt dreaming the untroubled dreams of the innocent.” Scarlet sniggered. “Poor sods; that won’t last long once they do wake up…”
“S.I.G., sir. Colonel White’s asked me to inform you that a World Navy vessel – the Orinoco – should be rendezvousing with you in the next 40 minutes or so. Once you are aboard you will be collected by the Spectrum Medical Helijet which has just left to rendezvous with the Orinoco for transfer to Cloudbase.”
“S.I.G., Lieutenant.”
“Under the circumstances, Colonel White advises that you do not engage with the ship’s company more than is absolutely essential. At the present time, the colonel is in discussion with the World President and the Supreme Commander Earth Forces about the…incident at Atlantica.”
Scarlet’s amusement evaporated. “Was anyone hurt, Claret?”
“I have no information at this time, sir.”
“I assume that even if there were no casualties, Spectrum’s being held responsible for the damage?”
“I have no information at this time, sir.”
“What do you have information on, Lieutenant?”
“The details of your transfer to Cloudbase, Captain.”
Scarlet sighed and grimaced towards his insensible companions. “Okay, say no more; I completely understand, Zarek. Scarlet out.”
Captain Saravia ordered the Orinoco to slow down and all hands on deck to assist in the search for the escape dinghy. His orders were clear enough, if lacking in background detail: rendezvous with the Spectrum helijet – currently on his stern launch pad - find the escape dinghy, rescue the people aboard and hand them over to Spectrum without delay. He presumed Spectrum was acting on information about the perpetrators of the recent unprovoked attack on Atlantica, about which the details were still sparse. In which case he was more than happy to hand the saboteurs over to the World Government’s official anti-terrorist force.
“We have them, Captain,” his second-in-command alerted him, pointing to starboard with his free hand while offering his binoculars to his superior officer.
Saravia followed the direction and scanned until he found the dinghy. “Excellent. Have them brought aboard and taken to the Spectrum helijet at once.”
While the first officer barked orders into the ship-wide comms system and ratings began to rush to lower their own dinghies and grappling lines to bring the escape dinghy onboard, Saravia contacted the helijet and arranged for the transfer.
“You have the bridge, Number One,” he said, “I am going to supervise the transfer.”
Captain Scarlet scrambled aboard the Orinoco and turned back to watch the hoisting of Blue and Ochre in the medical slings provided by their rescuers.
“Captain Scarlet!”
He spun round at the sound of his name and was relieved to acknowledge the approach of Lieutenant Viridian.
“Hello, Lieutenant.”
“Hello, sir. Lieutenant Catawba’s bringing a gurney across for the… wounded.”
Scarlet nodded and then frowned as he saw Captain Saravia coming towards him. “Get Blue and Ochre onto the helijet as soon as they’re aboard, and make ready to depart,” he ordered Viridian, as he stepped forward to prevent Saravia’s access to his companions. He had no idea just how much of what had happened at Atlantica was common knowledge, but he wasn’t going to put his friends in any kind of jeopardy.
He saluted and then stretched out his hand towards Saravia.
“Captain Scarlet, Spectrum. I’m pleased to make your acquaintance, Captain, so that I can thank you in person for this timely rescue.”
Saravia shook Scarlet’s hand. “Welcome aboard the World Navy’s frigate Orinoco, Captain Scarlet. We’re always happy to assist Spectrum.” He looked quizzically at the taller man and asked, “Are you feeling all right?”
Scarlet gave a rueful smile. “Until you reminded me that I’m at sea, Captain, I would have said ‘yes’ – but, as I am probably the world’s worse sailor, I’m not so sure I won’t suddenly go green at the gills and disgrace myself. I can only assume adrenalin kept me from heaving while we were waiting for you.”
Saravia chuckled. “As long as that is all that’s wrong with you, Captain; I am sure you will survive. How, may I ask, are your companions?”
Scarlet glanced across the deck, relieved to see that Catawba was already wheeling one of them towards the helijet. “I am sure that once they’re on Cloudbase our medical personnel will have them as right as ninepence in no time.”
“They’re Spectrum officers?”
Scarlet nodded but gave no further information.
“I am rather surprised at that. Are they seriously hurt?”
“No…no I wouldn’t say they’re seriously hurt. They’re unconscious and I don’t really know what hit them – to use a phrase.” He prayed that neither officer would wake suddenly to complicate matters and consoled himself that his lie – if indeed it was a lie – was only a little white one; after all, Spectrum did not yet know for certain what had ‘hit’ any of them.
“They were fortunate then. Were they caught up in this terrible attack on Atlantica? Did the saboteurs shoot them down?”
“They were shot down,” Scarlet admitted. “Thankfully, they were able to eject before their plane hit the water.”
“Spectrum was pursuing the saboteurs?”
“Eh… yes. I was dropped off with the dinghy to rescue them…”
“I hope your colleagues catch the terrorists!” Saravia said vehemently.
“Yes… Please understand, Captain, that I am not at liberty to divulge any information…”
“Of course! Forgive me; I should not be interrogating you.”
“Have you heard… Atlantica… is it…?”
“Destroyed,” Saravia replied. “It will be many months – perhaps even years – before it is functional again.”
“Shiiit,” Scarlet breathed out in a hiss. “Casualties?”
Saravia shook his head. “I don’t know, but I cannot think that such a devastating and unexpected attack would not cause fatalities.”
Scarlet heaved a deep sigh. “I fear you may be right… Spectrum’s battles are all difficult ones and we can’t win them all, Captain; however hard we try.”
Viridian marched up and saluted. “We’re ready to go, Captain Scarlet,” he said.
“Then I will not detain you, Captain Scarlet,” Saravia said. “God’s speed to you and to your brave companions.”
“Thank you, Captain – for everything.” Scarlet saluted and then turned to Viridian. “Let’s go!”
Colonel White sat waiting in the Conference Room as the appointed hour for his meeting with three of his senior officers approached. In front of him he had a slim, buff-coloured folder, with a black stripe down the outside edge – signifying a disciplinary matter. He had spent the past few hours debating with himself whether to impose the recommended penalties it contained: penalties that could well have far-reaching consequences for Spectrum and, indeed, for the whole world.
Almost anything could happen in the next half-hour.
He glanced up as the minute hand of the clock clicked over to 0830 and there was a sharp rap on the door.
“Enter.”
Three men: tall, taller and tallest, entered the room. They stood to attention in a line before him, saluted in unison and removed their radio caps. One pair of brown eyes and two pair of blue eyes – ranging from sapphire blue to greyish-blue – stared over his head into the middle distance from three perfectly expressionless faces.
Colonel White had no intention of putting the men at their ease. He stared long and hard at each of them in turn before he spoke.
“This is a full disciplinary hearing. You have all received notice of the charges against you?”
“Yes, sir.” Three voices, as neutral and as correct as his own replied in unison.
“Good. They are all serious charges, but I am not going to repeat them here. Suffice to say that the World Navy is – understandably – irate at the outcome of the mission. The World President is aghast at the damage caused and the cost implications of repairing the facility. The Supreme Commander Earth Forces is furious that three senior officers of the newest organisation in the world’s defence forces could be responsible for such devastation. I am disappointed in you all.”
He could see from the slight muscle flicker in the cheeks of all three of the men that the last barb hurt them all the most. Despite himself, he felt a spasm of satisfaction that this was the case.
“You can thank your lucky stars that there were no fatalities and that the injured are now all out of immediate danger. If the situation had been different you can have no doubt that you could all be facing a firing squad.”
“Please, sir-” Captain Blue spoke out in defiance of protocol, “Captain Scarlet had nothing to do with it. He was-”
“Be quiet! I have not given you permission to speak. Captain Scarlet had everything to do with it. He – and you, Captain Blue – organised the illicit drinks party in the first place. You had every reason to believe that if you had asked permission it would have been refused, so you arranged it behind my back! Can any one of you explain to me why I should ever trust you again?”
Wisely taking the question as rhetorical, nobody replied.
“Captain Ochre-“
“Sir!”
“You were not involved with the organising the event and are, therefore, exempt from censure in relation to it. Captain Blue and Captain Scarlet-“
“Sir!” the two officers answered briskly.
“I find you both guilty of gross dereliction of duty. You will forfeit fourteen days’ leave and will undertake 500 hours’ unpaid additional duty. Captain Blue and Captain Ochre, I find you not guilty of attacking Atlantica, due to mitigating circumstances. However, I find you guilty of being drunk while in control of an aircraft. You will forfeit seven days’ leave and undertake 150 hours’ unpaid additional duty. “
“Sir, yes, sir!”
“Furthermore, Captain Scarlet, I find you guilty of insubordination and refusing to obey a direct order from a superior officer-“
“Sir?” Scarlet’s surprise was genuine.
Fighting the urge to smile, White explained, “I had to order you no less than four times to fire the missile at the V17 Blue and Ochre were in before you obeyed me. You will forfeit a further ten days’ leave and undertake 200 hours’ unpaid additional duty.”
Blue risked a glance at his friend and had to bite his lip at the expression of dumbfounded surprise on Scarlet’s face.
“You will all be docked six months’ salary, with the deductions being spread over the next 12 months.”
White glanced down at the folder, still unopen on the desk. “You are aware that there is no appeal against these sentences and, therefore, this case is now closed. But, before you go, I would like to add – off the record – that if any of you ever do anything this stupid again, I really will throw the book at you and you will find yourselves spending a long time staring at four very bare and lonely walls. Do I make myself understood?”
“Yes, sir!”
“Now get out of here before I change my mind…”
Author’s Notes
I was beginning to think I wouldn’t be able to write something for the ‘Missing Scene’ Challenge, and then, suddenly, this flowed from finger to keyboard.
My thanks go to my Beta Reader, Hazel Köhler, for sparing me enough of her valuable time (from her home decorating!) to check this over for me. Any mistakes still in the text are my responsibility.
Thanks also to Chris Bishop for the website, the inspiration and so much more!
Marion Woods
August 2018.