"Held To Ransom"

by Andrew Norris

The underground cavern deep beneath the surface seemed damper than 
anything known. Tommy was sat at his desk, revising some work from the 
last attempt made to bring equality to his sex on Alderbarren. The Male 
Resistance had attempted many plans to allow the Males of Alderbarren 
into the secrets of magic on their world. Every time they tried, 
nothing prevailed. Tommy opened up a bookmarked page in his copy of 
Alderbarren law, and gazed his desperate eyes down at what had been 
written.
"Males are inferior beings, and can only be used for breeding purposes. 
Nothing else. Any males born with magic should be killed at 
childbirth." The same rule swirled through Tommys head like a 
windmills' propeller in a strong gale. Once again he frantically 
searched through the paperwork which showered his desk, until he came 
to a piece of paper which was more of a data sheet, which read:
Jingtober 3225, Play area opened for children in training. Childs 
between the ages of 3-9 are permitted. Area open from 8:00am to 7:00pm, 
as an area for children to play while spells may be carried out by the 
parents. This gave Tommy an idea, which he could use to his advantage.

Meanwhile, in the desolate regions of the Lobster Nebula, the Mammalian 
Frigate, Righteous Indignation, was caught in a fierce battle with an 
invading Toad Patrol. There were only eight Double Bubbles, but their 
manoeuvres made them seem more like eighty. Deadeye fired his masers 
furiously across the void, frantically wishing that they would be 
destroyed eventually, but these tactics were unlike any he'd seen 
before. Even Bucky O' Hare, commander of the Righteous Indignation, had 
never seen such ingenious twists and turns. Deadeye was on the verge of 
exhaustion, when the Double Bubbles appeared to disintegrate before his 
very eyes. All that was left were the Toads, trapped in their pink 
container pods, hoping to be rescued by a passing Toad Cruiser. Bucky 
and his First Mate, Jenny, glanced over to their right, and saw an 
Alderbarren ship hovering nearby. The Videophone was activated, 
revealing its' pilot. An Alderbarren, with locks of waist-length purple 
hair and golden armour, similar to that of Jenny's.

"Greetings Captain O' Hare. I am Artificer Daphne. The Queen has 
ordered you to Alderbarren at once." She droned in a high-pitched 
voice.
"Roger that. And err...thanks for helping us out." Bucky replied. 
Daphnes' voice was high, but Buckys' was even higher. Daphnes' green 
eyes seemed to show that something inside was bugging her, as though 
something dear to her was missing. Daphne escorted them through the 
Asteroids until they finally; they had landed on the hospitable planet. 

Before them, the Queen and Chairman Warner, along with his bodyguard, 
Kadaf, stood with worried and anxious looks tattooed on their faces. 
Bruiser and Blinky were left on board, while Willy set about repairing 
the ship. Jenny, Deadeye and Bucky were confused, not only at the looks 
on Warners' face, but also why they were called here. Jenny had not 
been informed earlier that she was required. But looking at the 
depressing glows of Daphnes' silvery gems, something was definitely 
afoot.
"Jenny, thank goodness you're here." The Queen wheezed, looking more 
miserable than ever.
"Alright. What's the story?" Bucky put in. He wasn't someone who liked 
to play the role of gumshoe.
"Bucky, one of the Alderbarren Spiritual Siblings is missing." Fritz 
cut in. Daphne broke down crying, Kadaf helping her onto her feet. 
Jenny and Bucky were shocked.
"Who would want to kidnap a child?" Jenny gasped in horror.
"We are unsure," the Queen continued. "Crystal is the most powerful of 
all Spiritual Siblings. We've made no progress in contacting her, and 
poor Daphne here needs your help to find her."
"Well, we need to know as much as we can first." Bucky replied, seeing 
the state Daphne was in. Daphne, upon hearing this, leapt up in 
delight, shaking Buckys' hand vigorously. 
"Oh, thank you, Captain O' Hare! Thank you!" she then calmed herself. 
"Crystal is about 2ft something, she has white hair, bright blue eyes 
and silver gems. We left her at the new play-area for a while, and when 
we came back, she was gone!" 

Bucky was escorted to the play-area where the crime occurred. Here and 
there were more children playing and shouting, with sounds that were 
more of a schoolyard.
"Ah, lil' bugging' parasites!" Deadeye growled under his breath, he 
wasn't too keen on children. The group halted in front of a seesaw, now 
bent and twisted. A piece of metal that seemed as though it were a 
piece of chocolate bar wrapping. 
"Who in the name of Rigel 4 could've done this?" Bucky muttered under 
his breath.

"Come on, Crystal. Please don't cry." Ponce soothed, waving a half-
eaten bar of cherry nougat underneath Crystals' nose. Crystals' blue 
eyes were now leaking with tears of fright, as she clung to her chair 
in fear. Tommy stood at the far corner of the underground cavern, his 
head like a kettle coming on the boil.
"Can't you keep her quiet?" he spun around at last, rubbing his head.
"I'm not an expert on childcare." Ponce replied, still waving the 
nougat around.
"Oh, for goodness sake!" Tommy shoved Ponce aside and wiped Crystals 
tears away. She looked up at him. He was trying to smile, knowing she'd 
stopped crying.
"There, there," he soothed, trying to sound fatherly. He rubbed 
Crystals' shoulders, which were covered in her skin-tight suit of blue, 
and was waterlogged from her tears.
"If you be a good girl for Uncle Tommy, and we'll make sure you get 
back to your Mommy, Daphne." Crystal looked up, she may be six, but her 
vocabulary was far advanced, and knew exactly what Tommy was saying.
"Daphne's not my mommy. And you aren't my uncle." She snapped. Tommy 
seemed quite aback. He gazed into Crystals' eyes in curiosity, and 
mumbled, "Tell your Uncle Tommy who is your mother."

Up on the surface, Fritz and Bucky were examining the possibilities of 
who kidnapped Crystal and why. Daphne was forced to pour out the 
details of Crystals' friends, their families, and other obscure 
relatives. The Queen meanwhile, was in telepathic communication with 
her stubborn daughter, Cassie.
"Why should Captain O' Hare be allowed to assist, he's an outsider!" 
Cassie hissed.
"If he can save millions of lives, surely he can help to save one." The 
Queen snapped.
"I don't care if he saves every life in existence, he shouldn't 
interfere."
"Cassie, listen to me..."
"No! You listen! You're the Queen, and you won't obey Alderbarren law?"
"I obey the law, and it can only be broken in dire emergencies. This is 
one of them."
"I just hope for your sake that Crystal is OK."
"Gee, I didn't know you had enough kindness left in you to say that."
"I'm saying it for Daphne. The poor creature is in pieces!"
"Or perhaps its' a bluff." A male voice cut in between them.
"Who is that?" Cassie roared.
"I must go, I must see Chairman Warner about the current situation." 
With that, the Queen severed her link. She began her communication with 
the voice, unaware that Cassie was floating nearby.
"Tommy! I told you not to speak to me telepathically!" she bellowed.
"Sorry Mommy dearest. But I've something to say." The voice replied
"If this is another law concerning Males, I'm not interested."
"No, I wanted to say that Crystal is OK."
"Thank heavens! But why is Crystal with you?"
"It may be of interest that Daphne is NOT the mother."
"What?! Tell me more."

Cassie meanwhile, had made her presence known. Once again, she was 
trying in the politest way to move Bucky out of the picture.
"You must understand that we don't require your help." She sneered, 
staring icily at Bucky.
"We need all the help we can get. Crystal must be found." Fritz leaped 
in.
"Yes, but we are confident on our own."
"Cassie, a word please." Her majesty shouted. Cassie snarled under her 
breath, and walked away. 
"What?" Cassie growled, angry that her planet required help to find a 
single child.
"I know about Crystal. And that Daphne is bluffing." Cassie looked 
horrified. No one knew that Crystal was HER daughter, except for 
herself and Daphne.
"Who told you?" she roared, on the verge of a heart attack.
"A pretty little bird, now who is the father?"
"YOU'LL GET NOTHING FROM ME!" she ran from the grounds, startling the 
group. Daphne stood up, shouting at Cassie.
"Don't Cassie! They ought to know by now!" But it was no good. Cassie 
was now running down the maze of herb gardens that linked the Palace 
with the rural areas of Alderbarren.

All that was ahead was the vast countryside, stretching over part of 
the planet. Nothing to shelter her but the fields of Agriculture, and 
small farms dotted here and there, churning out produce for the 
Alderbarrens.  The small group, now including the Queen and Daphne, 
were in hot pursuit; Cassie tried to form a plan.
'If I find a farm or something, I could hide there until things die 
down' she thought, and began to run towards the fields of yellow 
stubble that lay before her. She was now in full sight of Buckys' maser 
pistol. Before Cassie had even reached the border of the silent 
farmland, she collapsed unconscious, as a short stun ray hit her back. 
The farmers nearby stopped and stared in confusion, with short snatches 
of Somerset slang echoing from all around, but none of the small group 
seemed to notice.
"I will take control now, Captain O' Hare. Daphne, help me take her to 
the Palace." The Queen smiled. The minute gang watched as the two 
dragged Cassie back to the Palace. Willy, who had seen Cassie run past, 
walked up in curiosity.
"What goes on?" he pondered. Bucky didn't reply. He too was trying to 
fit the pieces together in his head.


"Alright, I'll talk." Cassie whined. She had been strapped to a chair, 
with the Queen and Daphne in company with Felicia and Jane, the Duchess 
of Alderbarrens' moon, and the Queens half-sister.
"About eight years ago, I started dating one of the Males on 
Alderbarren. We got along very well. And one night, I finally managed 
to get him into my room, and you know what happened next. When I gave 
birth to Crystal two years later, he'd run off to join the Male 
Resistance. Daphne promised to pretend to always be the Mother, so as 
not to ruin my public image." Felicia smiled contentedly, Cassie had 
always been going on about her being such a Drama Queen, and now Cassie 
was the Drama Queen, bawling her eyes out in front of Royalty. 
"Thank you for that Cassie," the Queen blinked. "Is it true, Daphne?"
Daphne nodded, regretting the agreement she made with Cassie.
"Very good." The Queen sniggered; glad to have payback on Cassie.
"But who was the father?" Jane thought out loud, stroking locks of grey 
hair.

A cooing at the door made everyone jump. There in the doorway was 
Crystal, glad to see her mother again. And there, holding her hand was 
the father. The father that never wished for people to know that he was 
the parent of Cassies' child. Ponce smiled, with the light reflecting 
from his twinkling eyes. Everyone was gobsmacked.
"Yes," Ponce began. "I am Crystals' father. And I'm no longer ashamed 
to admit it."
Cassie sunk into her chair, as though she'd been disgraced. Ponce just 
smiled, and came out with the most sensible suggestion. "Daphne, you 
will be the carer of Crystal until Cassie can mend her ways, and when I 
can bring equality for Males on Alderbarren. And whatever you do," his 
eyes began to swell wit tears. "Please. Please take care of my dear 
Crystal" He gave Crystal a hug, a hug that seemed as though it never 
wanted to end. Crystal soon let go, and smiled at her father, who was 
now on the verge of crying his eyes out. He watched the child waddle up 
to Cassie.
"Mommy?" she squeaked. Cassie didn't reply. Her head was now in her 
lap, as she thought of what would happen if the rest of her followers 
found out about this.
"Crystal," Crystal gazed up at Daphne. "Its' time to leave. Mommy will 
come round later. I promise." Crystal allowed herself to be picked up 
and taken from the room. Being able to take one last glance at Ponce. 

"Well, what do we do now?" Felicia suggested, the moment Daphne and 
Crystal had left. They all gazed at Cassie, who was still crying her 
eyes out. They then stared at Ponce, who was on his way out. "Ponce." 
The feeble voice of the Queen shouted. Ponce stood dead in his tracks. 
Not only did he want to get back to Tommy and the underground, but also 
he knew the consequences if anyone else caught him here. 
"Ponce, I must thank you for Crystals return. Not only to settle the 
matter, but also to prove that you still care for your child." She 
continued.
"And also to show Tommy that holding people to ransom is just plain 
wrong," Ponce echoed her sentiment. "I think its best Bucky and his 
crew knew nothing of this, and I'd appreciate this if it were never 
spoken of again."
"That is understandable. Captain O' Hare will remain in the dark."
"But what of Jenny?" came the dry voice of the Duchess.
"I have an alternative." The Queen smiled.


A while later, the Righteous Indignation was once more trekking the 
depths of space. Bucky and Jenny at the controls once more, and due to 
complete their patrol quite soon. Fritz and Kadaf had returned to Genus 
long ago, with the Righteous now not far behind. Bucky gazed around the 
gaseous planets that surrounded them, staring at the beautiful colours 
that they gave off, scarlet, violet. Trying to think of something else, 
he turned to Jenny. 
"Say, Jenny. What happened with Cassie, anyway?" he yawned.
"Guilty Conscience. Made her panic slightly." Came the reply.
"Hm. Find out who kidnapped Crystal?"
"Nope. She said that she broke the seesaw herself when practicing 
magic."
"That must've been some magic! Anyway, at least she's safe."
"Yeah. If you'll excuse me, I have to tidy up my quarters."

Jenny got up from her seat and walked into her quarters. On the far 
wall was a photograph of Crystal, Ponce and Cassie before they were 
separated. Ponce and Cassie were much younger in the photo. Both seemed 
to be about 18 or 19 years old. It seemed like an early Victorian photo 
that Willy kept of his great-grandparents. Ponce stood on the left, 
looking like a businessman. Cassie stood beside him, cradling baby 
Crystal in her arms. A thought came into Jennys' mind. Perhaps one day, 
herself and Bucky would echo this. Wife and Husband together, settling 
down once the Toad Wars had ceased. But for now, Jenny had to dream the 
dream, and to croak the Toads that blocked the barrier between dreams 
and reality. 
"Someday," she said to herself, gazing at the photo. "Someday..."

THE END