Title: Adrift
Chapter: Ten
Author: squeezynz@free.net.nz
Rating: PG

.....a get-together...and a getaway.....

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Valerie was finally returned to the apartment the day after Mark visited her. She tired easily but no longer needed Elish's close attention, although the giantess warned Mark not to allow Valerie to do too much as a relapse was always a possibility. The same day that Valerie and Mark were reunited, all the Little People were brought together at the artificial park, approved by Sherik after much urging from Elish that the Earthlings needed to socialise to keep up their morale. Dan, Barry and Fitzhugh were the first to arrive, not realising that the rest were to follow. Barry immediately let Chipper off the lead and the little dog romped through the long grass, barking excitedly, Barry in hot pursuit. Dan supported Fitzhugh, helping him to find a comfortable spot on a low mound, under an artificial tree. Fitzhugh had calmed considerably since his nightmare, but he still looked haggard and on edge. Dan hoped the visit to the park would help to bolster Fitzhughs depressed state, as well as give Dan a much needed break. They hadn't been there very long when the giant returned, with another box cage. Fitzhugh didn't take much notice, but Dan immediately jumped to his feet and waited expectantly. His patience was rewarded when Steve and Betty stepped cautiously out of their box, followed more slowly by Mark and Valerie. With a shout of joy, Dan ran to his friends, throwing his arms around Steve in a fierce hug, Steve returning the embrace with just as much emotion. After much back slapping Dan repeated the gesture with Mark, a trifle less exuberant, but no less heartfelt. Betty and Valerie both hugged Dan, laughing and crying, glad that they were together even if only for a short time. Barry ran over with Chipper and the hugs started again, then Fitzhugh, who until now had remained where he was, looking bemusedly at the noisy group, was drawn into the crowd and welcomed as well. Eventually they collapsed onto the soft grass, all of them eager to tell their stories, only Fitzhugh remaining uncharacteristically silent as the others brought each other up to date.

"So its true... the Spindrift is fully functional again ?" asked Dan, looking at Steve and Mark for confirmation. Both men exchanged a grin before turning back to Dan.

"It's true...Steve and I have been slaving on the ship all this week, with the help of the giants, they've provided the parts and machining while Steve and I have managed the replacements and system checks."

"Mark's right, all the systems are up and fully operational Dan, all the ship needs is some fuel... and her crew," said Steve, reaching over to punch Dan playfully on the arm.

"And a lot of luck," murmured Valerie quietly, the heat from the sun lamp was making her drowsy and she leaned against Mark, his arm coming around her shoulders so that her head came to rest in the crook of his neck. Betty watched the display of intimacy with interest, her expressive blue eyes flicking towards Steve to see if he'd noticed. A quick look, accompanied by a small nod told her he had, but Steve chose to ignore the couple, more interested in hearing Dan's opinion of the work they'd done on the ship. Fitzhugh had drawn away from the group and sat quietly under the tree again, his eyes shut and legs crossed as if meditating. Barry was once more capering about with Chipper, far enough away so as not to disturb the adults.

"Have they told you when they want to schedule a test flight ?" Asked Dan, pulling up a blade of grass.

"Not yet..I think the fuel is proving a problem...as we found out for ourselves, the isotope needed is in short supply on this planet, so Sherik will need some pretty deep pockets even for the small amount we need to replenish the hydrogen cells,"

"What about the radium ?"

"That was easy....came from the same source as the stuff on that giant clock, and the solar batteries are up to full charge as well," said Steve, shifting to lay on his side, propped up on his elbow. Dan sat crosslegged in front of him, one hand toying with the blade of grass.

"What if this is all just an elaborate hoax to get us to co-operate and repair the ship...how do you know we can trust these giants ?" asked Dan, twirling the grass between his fingers.

"We weren't given a choice Dan," said Steve, glancing over to Mark who acknowledged the look with a tight smile. "Anyway, from what little we've been told, the female giant, Elish, seems completely sincere, we have to take her word on good faith,"

"Let's hope that faith is justified," muttered Dan, throwing the grass blade away. " Our lives and our futures are all in her hands."

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Elish finished her last entry with a flourish, putting her pen back in her breast pocket before closing the book with a decisive snap. Smiling, she reaching up both arms and stretched, automatically bending one arm at the elbow to reach behind her head and stretch the shoulder joint, repeating the move with her other arm before dropping both and relaxing. Getting off her stool, she gathered up the book and a couple of pages of scrawled notes before turning and heading for the door. She had finalised, as much as it was possible at least, their plans to aid the Little People in their escape. Tam had notified her when Sherik would take delivery of the isotope needed to provide the last piece of the jigsaw and make the Spindrift once more fully operational. Now it was just a matter of finding out the location and time of the first test flight. Sarn had been noticeably absent at all the most recent meetings and Elish felt certain that Sarn had something up his sleeve, but Tam insisted that everything had been taken into consideration and not to worry. Biting her lip, Elish decided that Tam was far too confident, either that or Elish was fast becoming as paranoid as Sherik.

As she reached for the door handle an alarm sounded, the noise warbling against her eardrums. Just as quickly the alarm stopped and a voice came over the intercom. Dropping her hand, Elish stood and listened.

"All personnel.....you are required to make your way to assembly area three.......your presence is required in assembly area three, please leave whatever you are doing and proceed to assembly area three immediately......All personnel......" the voice repeated the message twice more before, with a loud squawk, the speaker shut off. Elish waited a heartbeat before reaching for the door knob once more, her mind awash with speculation and dread.

In the hallway, technicians and laboratory staff hurried along the dimly lit corridor, their coats flapping, feet slapping the hard floor in a staccato rhythm. Elish acknowledged the nods of people she recognised, joining the flow that jostled and tramped its way inexorably forward. Ahead of them, the double doors leading to one of the bigger laboratories were wide open, light streaming out, people, little more than shapeless blurs, milling around under the harsh light. As she entered the room, Elish scanned the people, looking for Tam. She broke away from the crowd entering the doors and edged her way to the back of the room, her eyes constantly looking, checking faces, most of which looked as surprised as she felt. She could see Sherik and Sarn at the far end of the room, a spotlight glinting off Sherik's glasses as he absently rubbed them clean on the corner of his lab coat. Sarn was leaning forward and talking into Sherik's attentive ear, his eyes never leaving the crowd starting to pack the room. Behind both men were a rank of security personnel, their black uniforms in direct contrast with the white coated technicians gathering in front of them. The flood of people was turning into a trickle and the room was now uncomfortably crowded. Elish still couldn't spot Tam but a squawk from the front of the room drew all eyes to where Sherik was holding up a hand to quiet the hubbub of voices, his other hand holding a microphone. A movement drew her attention back to the doors in time to see four security men close the double doors behind the last hurrying staff member, the solid thunk of the lock unnaturally loud to Elish's sensitive nerves. The noise in the room dropped appreciably as everyone's attention focused on Sherik.

"Thank you for your prompt attention," said Sherik, his voice sounding metallic and echoey. "I'm sorry to pull you away from your current projects but I thought you should be informed straight away."

Elish tightened the grip on her book, her whole body tense.

"We are merely hours away from our first test flight of the Little People's spaceship...the Spindrift," announced Sherik, his face creasing into a broad grin as the room erupted with exclamations of surprise and a smattering of applause. Raising his hand for quiet, Sherik continued. "I know you have all worked hard to reach this point in our research and I'm sure you feel, as I do, that the sooner we start work on the full size model the better." Again Sherik paused for the chatter to die down. "Many of you are already working on aspects of the full size craft, and it is hoped that with the test flights completed, production will go ahead without delay. It is expected that, with help from the Little People, we can hope to launch our first experimental craft within fourteen yarun. Again, I want to thank you all for your hard work and to invite you to witness the first test flight at hanger sixteen tomorrow morning."

Without waiting to answer the many questions being fired from his audience, Sherik handed the microphone over to Sarn before turning and leaving the room, with only an airy wave, before the ranks of security personnel closed in behind him, effectively creating a barrier between Sherik and his staff. Sarn waited for the hubbub to die down before speaking, issuing instructions that Elish neither heard or acknowledged. When Sherik's speech had concluded, Elish had felt tension pinch the back of her neck. She turned blindly away and headed for the door, oblivious to whatever Sarn was spouting up on the podium. One of the security people opened the lab door, asking her if she was alright. Elish only nodded, flashing a wan smile, before slipping through the gap and away. As the door shut on Sarn's voice and the murmur of the crowd, Elish quickened her pace and all but ran back to the room containing the Little People. Tam's absence was worrying, but now she had a fixed timetable and it was time to plan how she was going to ensure that the Earthlings had their chance of escape.

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Tam watched the viewscreen intently as the two Little People, Mark and Steve, supervised the re-fuelling of their spacecraft. She had remained in the control room, ignoring the call to go to assembly area three, preferring to watch the whole procedure and monitor progress. The two lab technicians in the sealed room watched and took notes while the two men on the workbench finished connecting the fuel cell. Mark stayed outside while Steve entered the ship to activate the pump. Within minutes Steve was outside again and slapping Mark on the back, announcing the transfer complete before helping Mark to disconnect the now exhausted isotope. Tam could see, even on the two dimensional black and white monitor that the two tiny men were having a hard time containing their jubilation. Now all that remained was the test firing of the engines before a fully-fledged test-flight. Steve had explained that he would need his co-pilot, Dan, to help him with the pre-flight checks and Tam was even now expecting Dan to be delivered, hopefully by Elish, to the laboratory.

Tam noticed one of the lab technicians signalling for her attention and she flipped the switch to allow the room's microphone to relay his request.

"Do you need the man Mark returned to his quarter's before the other one arrives ?"

As the man spoke the door opened and Elish arrived, bearing a box cage with Dan inside. She approached Tam and set the box down in front of the bank of monitors. Tam glanced briefly at Elish before turning back to address the technician waiting in the other room.

"Leave him there for the time-being...I have the co-pilot here now,"

Elish watched silently as one of the men walked over to the dividing glass wall and gestured to her. Picking up the box cage, Elish walked over to the wall and placed the box cage into a glass container that slid through a gap in the wall to be accessed from the other side. She watched as Dan was carried over to the Spindrift and put down on the bench to be reunited with his friends. Looking back, she queried Tam with a look but received a shaken head in reply, indicating that it wasn't safe to talk in the control room. Seeing a note pad, Elish picked it up and began to write. Tam ignored her for the moment, intent on maintaining the charade in front of the two lab techs. On the monitor, the three men were now making their way into the ship, quickly disappearing from the giants view. Realising that Steve and Dan would take some time to run through the pre-flight check list, Tam leaned back in her chair and swivelled around to see what Elish was doing.

"Everything going to plan ?" asked Elish, handing over the pad filled with her neat writing. Tam took a second before answering, her eyes flicking over the lines of text. Looking up she gave Elish a brief nod before answering.

"We're precisely on Sherik's timeline....tomorrow morning should see the first test-flight. How is the female ?" While she'd been talking Tam had been writing a reply to Elish, her pen scratching industriously on the notepad. Keeping up the charade for anybody recording the conversation Elish launched into a report about the relative health of all the Little People, only pausing when Tam lay down her pen and handed the pad over.

"I have more test's to perform before allowing the Little People back to their quarters for the night, I'll call you when I'm ready."

Hiding the pad inside the cover of her journal, Elish lifted her hand in a mock salute.

"I'll be in my room," said Elish, casting a glance over her shoulder at the two technicians in the other room before turning to leave.

"Fine, I'll be in touch."

As the door closed behind Elish, Tam turned back to continue watching the monitors, her eyes glazing over as she internalised her thoughts and started running down her own checklist of things to be arranged before the planned escape of the Little People.

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Because of Valerie's delicate health, she had been moved to Steve and Betty's apartment while the men worked on the Spindrift. Both women were overjoyed to be reunited, having had little time to catch up in the 'park'. They had understood the need for the men to analyse and discuss the ship and all that had happened, so they had bided their time, Valerie too tired still to raise a protest, and Betty just glad that they were all alive and together, if only for a short time.

Steve and Mark had been gone for hours and the two girls had brought each other up to date from the time Betty had been snatched onwards. Valerie still coughed spasmodically, her lungs slowly recovering from her near drowning, but despite that she insisted that Betty was the true heroine and they argued the point companionably for most of the afternoon. By the time the evening meal was placed on the table Valerie was asleep in a corner of the main room, on a bed made up of several bedcovers folded over and some pillows. Betty had tried to insist she use the bed but Valerie was too afraid of missing the return of the men and only promised to rest if Betty promised to wake her when they finally arrived. Betty was dozing herself, her head on her arms where they rested on the table, when a noise from above alerted her to the return of Steve, Mark and surprisingly, Dan. All three were unceremoniously dumped on the floor by the lab tech, one of Elish's helpers. Before any of them could voice a complaint at the rough handling, the ceiling was replaced and the giant gone. Rubbing his hip, Dan got to his feet and looked around the room. Steve and Mark both got to their feet more slowly, weary from the long day. Steve rolled his shoulders to loosen the tight muscles, tense from long hours hunched over and under the cockpit controls during the repeated flight checks. Mark, once on his feet, immediately went to check on Valerie, dropping to one knee to allow him to use the back of his hand against her forehead to check her temperature. Betty softly padded over and lay a hand on his shoulder.

"She's just tired Mark, there's no sign of the infection returning, she just needed to rest," whispered Betty, smiling at Mark's concerned face when he looked up. "She wanted me to wake her when you got back, that's why she's out here," Betty explained, stepping back to allow Mark to get to his feet again.

"Don't....she'll need all her energy tomorrow, if everything goes according to plan," he replied, "right now, I need to eat,"

They joined Steve and Dan, already seated and tucking into the food, Betty pouring out the water as the men ate their fill. She filled a plate to put something aside for Valerie, then sat down and waited for the men to finish.

"God I need a shower...that engine room doesn't get any cleaner," announced Dan, getting to his feet and leaning back to stretch his spine.

"You go first Dan, just don't use all the hot water....old man," said Steve, leaning back in his chair, replete. Dan grimaced and scowled at Steve in mock anger before turning and heading for the bathroom.

"Less of the 'old man' thank you...there's only a few months between us.....junior," said Dan as a parting shot, before he shut the door.

"So what's the plan for tomorrow ?" Asked Betty, looking at Steve and Mark expectantly. Mark waved a hand to indicate that Steve could have the pleasure of filling Betty in with the details, before getting to his feet and wandering over to sit near to where Valerie still slept unaware.

"Okay..well, the ship is now fully operational. We've test fired the engines and got a green light on all the systems. The first test-flight is scheduled for dawn tomorrow. Elish couldn't tell us much except to be ready to leave before first light. She and another tech are planning to get everyone except Mark, Dan and myself onto the ship. There will be guards on duty tonight, but Elish will create a distraction to draw them away so her friend can get you, Val, Fitz and Barry aboard. Then, when the official test time arrives, Dan, Mark and I will be put on board as arranged. Sherik and everyone else will assume that you are all still captive and won't suspect that we would try to escape without you. Elish has arranged to have dummies put into your beds in case anyone checks beforehand."

"Is the test flight going to be outside ?"

"No..they're planning the big demonstration to be held inside a hanger, but Elish assures me that there will be a window left open in the roof for us to escape. Then its just a matter of flying up, up and away,"

"It sounds so......simple....will it really work ?"

"No reason why not....as long as you are all aboard, and can remain quiet and out of sight.....and as long as no-one inspects the dummies too closely...and as long as the window is open....piece of cake!"

"What about provisions......what about...?"

"Betty...we have to trust that the giants that are helping us think of that....besides...if need be, we'll start from scratch again," Steve could see that Betty was still unconvinced and he lay his hand over hers, giving it a squeeze of confidence. "We'll survive this, just as we have everything else this crazy planet has thrown at us. This time we'll have a Spindrift that could actually take us home," Steve smiled, glad to see the sparkle come back into Betty's eyes as the idea of the possibility of going home sank in.

"Oh Steve......really go home ?" Betty breathed, her hand, under his, trembling slightly.

"Well first....lets get ourselves out of this jam...then we can explore the rest later,"

The door to the bathroom opened and Dan appeared, dressed in fresh clothes, curls of steam escaping briefly into the room. "Next man in....the water's still hot, but the towels are a bit damp," he grinned, padding over to the table. Steve hooked his thumb at Mark to indicate he should go next.

Dan plopped himself down on a chair and picked at the remains of food on the platter. He looked at Betty's shining face and smiled.

"You told her then ?"

"Yeah....Mark can fill Valerie in on the details when she wakes up,"

"Oh Dan..to really be able to go home....its been so long, I'd almost given up..." said Betty, still hardly daring to give in to the hope bubbling up inside her. Dan only grinned wider.

"There's alot of if, buts and maybe's to be overcome, but if we manage to break out of here tomorrow....then home is certainly top priority for our next destination!"

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Tam checked the corridor both ways before slipping out of her room and closing the door quietly behind her. It was a couple of hours before dawn, no-one was about, the morning shift not scheduled to awake for another hour. Shifting the small torch in her hand, Tam started down the darkened hallway, her slippered feet noiseless. There were guards, but these were usually positioned at the exit doors, not in the labs themselves, so her movements would go unnoticed. Reaching the door leading to the Little People's quarters, she checked again before slipping through. The room was in darkness, only the lights from the equipment on standby shedding any illumination. Flicking on her torch, she searched for and found one of the box cages; which she proceeded to line with soft material to help cushion the Little People's ride. Tam padded over to the dark shapes that were the elaborate prisons holding the Earthlings. With exquisite care, she lifted off the roof of the centre block and flashed the torchlight inside. She could see three figures in the main room, and two in the bedroom. She saw movement and shone the light over to the far wall, the dark skinned man already sitting up, his hand shielding his eyes from the beam.

"Wake up your friends, it's time for them to go," said Tam, keeping her voice barely above a whisper. Pushing off his blanket, Dan scuttled over to the two other's in the room, shaking the mans shoulder to wake him.

"Mark....wake Val, its time...the giant is here for her and Betty,"

While Mark took care of Valerie, Dan made his way to the bedroom and woke Steve. They quickly entered the main room and joined Mark and Valerie beside the box cage that Tam had lowered into the room.

Both women entered the box, their faces reflecting both fear and hope.

"We'll see you again in a couple of hours," Steve assured them, watching with the other men as the box cage was lifted out of the room and the roof replaced. Tam had left behind figurines to replace the two girls and Mark and Steve set about arranging the bed covers to appear as realistic as possible. Finding that they were too wired to try to sleep again, the three men settled around the table and talked quietly, the minutes stretching into hours as freedom crept closer while they waited in the dark.

It took longer to get Fitzhugh and Barry, as well as Chipper on board. No sooner had Tam lowered the box cage into the main living room, when Fitzhugh started to wail and screech, his panic overwhelming him. Betty had to stuff a wad of bedding into his mouth to muffle him, while Valerie quickly brought Barry up to date, then together they soothed and calmed Fitzhugh enough to explain what was happening. Eventually the sweating man quieted and they removed the gag, talking to him all the time and explaining the plan to escape. They took extra bedding as a precaution, in case Fitzhugh panicked again, his trembling hands and rolling eyes a clear indications of his delicate mental state. Getting him into the box cage proved difficult but not impossible so that at last Tam was able to swing the cage away, after leaving two more mannequins in the beds as substitutes.

With a last glance at the empty room, Tam opened the door and crept out, closing it quietly behind her. A hand dropping onto her shoulder made her nearly jump out of her skin and she yelped, spinning around to find herself face to face with Sarn, her hand coming up to shield her eyes from his torch beam.

"What have we here ?" purred Sarn, the torchlight gleaming on his teeth as he swung the beam down to catch Tam in the act of hiding the box cage behind her back.

"Why are you creeping around the labs ?" said Tam, glad that her voice sounded firm in direct contrast with her trembling limbs. Without answering, Sarn snaked out a hand and grabber her wrist, bringing the box cage up into plain view. Inside he could only see a wad of fabric that filled up half of the box. Keeping a hold on Tam's arm, he rotated the cage, keeping the torch shining on it, but there was nothing to see except cloth.

"I couldn't sleep so I decided to check on the Little People," said Tam, twisting her hand from his grasp and lowering the cage.

"Funny..I had the same idea...I suspected you would try something before tomorrow, nice to know my suspicions were correct...but where is your accomplice ?" said Sarn, his eyes flicking to left and right. Swallowing hard, Tam lifted her chin and glared at Sarn.

"Accomplice ? What are you accusing me of ?"

"Why freeing those alien creatures of course, I've been watching you for some time and I know you have something planned," said Sarn, his narrowed eyes once more focused on Tam's face, pale in the gloomy passage.

"Then you know more than me," Tam retorted, feeling penned, her back against the door of the lab. "Now move out of the way and I'll get back to my bed."

"Not so fast...I'm sure Sherik would like to know your reason for visiting the Little People at such an odd hour...and in such a singular get-up!" said Sarn, his thin lips curling into a sneer as his eyes swept over Tam's black sweater and slacks.

"I'm not..." started Tam only to let go a small shriek as Sarn's eyes rolled up and he slumped onto her chest, his head bowed, his weight almost pushing her to the ground. With her hands full of the box-cage and her own small torch, she tried to push ineffectually at the man leaning against her, looking up her eyes widened in shock as she took in the figure standing in front of her. Elish stared back at her, her arm still raised, her hand still gripping the heavy security torch.

"Elish!! What did you do ?"

"I hit him,"

"Help me to move him," gasped Tam, as Sarn's limp body continued to lean heavily against her. Between them, the two women lowered Sarn to the floor, then panting, they stood back.

"He would have taken you to Sherik and blown the whole plan," said Elish, still clutching the long and heavy, black torch.

"We have to hide him....but where ?" hissed Tam, tucking her small torch into the waistband of her trousers. "Let's get him into the lab for starters, in case someone comes along," she finally suggested, putting the box cage on the floor before helping Elish carry Sarn through the darkened doorway, back into the lab she'd only just left.

Switching on a desk lamp, Tam proceeded to check Sarn over, finding a large lump on the man's head but little blood. "Keep an eye on him, I'm going to find something to secure him."

Leaving Elish to guard Sarn, Tam rummaged through some drawers, finding enough rope to tie Sarn's hands and some material to use as a gag. Minutes later, the prostrate man was trussed up securely, his mouth covered, still unconscious.

"I'll have to leave you for a short time while I deliver the Little People to the ship, then we'll get him back to my room and hide him," said Tam, puffing from the exertion of man-handling Sarn.

"I'm sorry Tam, it was all I could think of to do,"

"Maybe its for the best....Sarn always was a potential problem. Stay here and keep quiet, I'll be back soon."

With extreme care, Tam once more left the lab, picking up the box cage as she slipped out of the room and walked briskly down the darkened hallway.

Within minutes she had reached the hanger and slipped through the metal door jogging across the cold floor to where the Spindrift sat on a raised platform, one spotlight illuminating the gleaming hull. Crouching down near the ship, Tam lifted up the cage and opened it, before holding the opening close to the hatchway of the ship.

"We're at the ship, you can come out now," she whispered, glancing around the empty expanse of the hanger. Inside the box, the fabric shifted and moved, revealing one by one, the hidden Little People.

"What happened to that man ?" asked Betty, turning to help Fitzhugh to his feet as Valerie, helped by Barry, pushed the loose material away and stepped towards the yawning opening.

"We've had to tie him up, he could destroy everything, but he'll be fine...we'll leave him to cool his heels in my room,"

Valerie had reached the hatchway and pressed the switch, the door sliding silently open. Before it had opened fully Fitzhugh had pushed Valerie out of the way and dived through. Betty managed to stop Valerie from crashing onto the floor of the cage and Barry had to gather Chipper into his arms to stop the little dog from lunging after Fitzhugh in excitement.

"Thank you for your help...." said Barry, looking up at the shadowed face of the giantess holding the box.

"I hope you get home, this planet is too dangerous for you,"

"That's for sure!" retorted Betty, "but now we have a real chance.. and its all due to you and your friend,"

"I can only wish you good luck... the rest is up to your Captain,"

"Goodbye," called Barry before entering the Spindrift, Chipper safely cradled in his arms.

"Goodbye and thank you," called Betty and Valerie, waving as they stepped out of the box and through the hatchway, the door sliding shut almost immediately.

Sitting back on her heels, Tam closed the catch on the box and stood up. With another quick glance at the deep shadows around the ship, she turned and left the hanger, her feet padding silently across the concrete floor.

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