Skipper kept a walkie-talkie under his pillow in case Marlene called. He wanted to be able to hear it. Marlene could handle things. She was tough. Tougher than Julian at least. And he caused most of the problems. Skipper had faith in Marlene. But one thing stuck in his mind. She asked if there had to be a problem for her to talk to them. She was going to just want to talk, she was going to want to make sure they were still alive.
In the middle of the night Skipper got up and checked the room. He looked for bugs, to see if someone could hear everything that was spoken in the room. He checked to see if the camera was working, which it was. There were three bugs in the room, so whatever was said inside was being recorded. The camera was working so he was being watched. But the vent alarm system hadn't been fixed yet. He could still use the vent, even if he was being watched and recorded.
He took the cap of the vent off and quietly placed it on the floor. The alarm system was still crashed from the explosion. It looked like scrap metal. Skipper jumped over it, avoiding the sharp edges. He crawled through the vents carefully and quietly, he knew he was on tape leaving his quarters, but he didn't want to wake anyone else up. He was going to regret it later, but he missed being able to look up at the sky. It helped him think and calm his nerves. He took the walkie-talkie with him just in case.
Unit Nine was located inside a big cave looking structure. It wasn't in a mountain or hill, it was just a big rock with a hole in the side. The roof was slightly slanted on both sides and came to a point in the middle. It was a strange looking rock, but no one paid much attention to it, so it still worked. There were little cameras near the tip of the point, and the end of the roof.
Skipper was well aware of this. He really didn't care. All he wanted to do is be outside, not cramped in that little room with nothing to do but sleep. He wanted to see some beauty in the world. Looking up at a cave looking ceiling wasn't exactly his vision of nature. He wanted to look up at the stars, it always helped him think and get his thoughts organized. But most of all, he found himself wanting to hear Marlene's voice. He wanted to know that there was still sanity at the zoo. He wanted to make sure Marlene still had her sanity, he still felt bad for giver her that responsibility. He just hoped that she could handle it.
He looked around, taking in his surroundings. Unit Nine, to outsiders, was a big rock formation in the middle of a dense forest. Since it was up north where temperatures were colder, the forest was made up of mainly evergreens. Although, there were many sycamore, maple, redwood, and dogwood tress too. He was surprised to see dogwoods, the seemed to be more of a park tree. He didn't expect to see them in a real forest. Even though it was late September, none of the leaves had changed in color. The forest was still green and full of life. There were lush littering the ground, a few had some type of berry on them, very few. Other's had flowers, some dead and others alive. Some new plants were probably out there, though he couldn't see them. It was a pretty normal Canadian forest.
It was inhabited by very few Canadians. There were only a few houses throughout the forest, most of them were abandoned. Skipper thought that everyone had packed up and left because of the Unit Nine's activities. Skipper was wondering if that was even possible, because of how stealthy Unit Nine was, when he heard Marlene.
His mind didn't compute what he heard at first. He had forgotten all about the walkie-talkie for a moment. Then he heard it again, she was calling his name. He looked down at the walkie-talkie, still not fully comprehending anything. It was weird. He knew it was Marlene talking through the device, he knew where it was coming from, but then he didn't. It was like knowing, but not knowing. He didn't think it was possible. It was just…weird.
After she called his name once more he shook his mind clear and brought the walkie-talkie up to his beak. "Marlene?" He asked.
"Skipper!" Her voice rang, happily, out of the device. "I know it's only been a few days but I really could, use some…advice." She lied.
Skipper could hear it in her voice. She might've needed some advice, but her voice was a little hesitant, she just thought up the excuse. "Are you sure Marlene?" He asked skeptically. "You really need advice?"
"Umm… yeah. I-"
"Penguin!" Julian's voice blasted out of the walkie-talkie.
Skipper got a mini headache. That was, well loud. "Ringtail?" He asked surprised. What was that crazy lemur doing in Marlene's habitat? Unless Marlene wasn't in her habitat… "Marlene? Where are you?" He asked curiously.
"I'm uh…" she replied hesitantly. "I might be in the zooveneer shop."
She didn't want him to know that. He could hear it. She really needed to work on hiding her voice. But that was a topic for a later date. "That's fine Marlene, I don't particularly care right now," he reassured casually.
"Oh good," She sighed, relieved.
"How… how have things been at the zoo?" Skipper asked concerned. He hoped nothing bad had happened.
"Oh, nothing big, Julian blew up the toaster again, and was asking for Kowalski all day yesterday to fix his smoothie blender. Which also blew up, somehow." Marlene informed.
She sounded slightly confused to Skipper. Then again, some of the things that Ringtail was able to do confused him to, so he couldn't really blame her.
"Oh and I did need advice, by the way, I know what you're thinking. You think I just called to say hi and make sure you were still alive."
"Well, I would think, you being you, Marlene, that it would be one of the reasons you'd call." Skipper replied.
"If you weren't so far away…" Marlene warned.
"I'd probably have a bruise somewhere, yes I am fully aware of this." Skipper replied smugly.
Marlene growled. "Skipper I swear." She commented, "Sometimes you can be worse than Julian." She paused. "And he's pretty bad."
They both laughed. Skipper was quite though, he didn't laugh as much as give a short chuckle.
"That is not very nice, otter." Julian pouted.
"It's the truth." Marlene replied.
"Marlene," Skipper said trying to get her attention, "What advice were you looking for?" He asked.
"Oh! Right! Um, I need to know how to stop Roy and Joey from killing each other." Marlene informed. "They're um… a little big, and I'm not as intimidating as you are Skipper. They don't… respect me like they do you."
"Respect?" Skipper shot back. "You actually think they respect me? Ha! They might, I won't doubt the entire idea. But I think they see me as persuasive. As for stopping Joey and Roy. Get a big stick and wack them with it a few times. Yelling might help too." Skipper suggested.
"Ey! I can 'aer you mate!" Joey growled in the background.
"Good." Skipper replied with authority, he had missed that. Authority. He wasn't able to possess that here. Not that he needed it, it was the idea of being listened to that he liked. "Then while you can hear me, give Marlene a brake Joey," He ordered. "She's not very good with larger animals."
"Hey!" Marlene snapped defensively. "I can tell larger animals what to do."
"Ok then. You aren't brave enough to tell dangerous mammals what to do." Skipper corrected, impatiently.
Marlene sighed. "I hope you get your tail feathers kicked. Not death, just for someone to down you. Just once, would make up for that comment." Marlene stated.
"What?" Skipper asked confused. "It's a war sister. If I get downed I'm dead."
"No. I don't exactly believe that. You'll be downed and the odds will be against you but you'll still win. Because you always do. Because you, are unpredictable. Your best and worst trait." Marlene replied.
"Well it's always been said that a man is only as strong as his weakest link." Skipper said relaxed. Marlene was ok, nothing had gone severely wrong yet, so there was nothing to worry about. Yet. 'Yet' was the key word here.
"So silly penguin." Julian interrupted. "Have you had any fun yet? You know at that party place you're at."
Party place? What was he talking about? He wasn't in any party place. He was at a training camp preparing for war, or sabotage. Unit Nine wasn't exactly the place he'd go to if he wanted to party. "Party place? Ringtail party isn't even a word here," He replied.
"I think you are lying penguin." Julian slyly.
"Julian, it's a training camp." Skipper said with little patience.
"No. I will not accept that. You are to be telling your king truths! You are partying penguin. I know you are, you're just hiding it to keep your reputation." Julian shot back.
Skipper took a deep breath. He was losing his patience with Julian. "Julian, listen closely. One, I couldn't care less about reputation. Two I am not lying to you. And three, how many times do I have to tell you that you are not a king?"
Julian gasped, "I am so, a king!" He shouted. "You are jealous! Yes, that's it! You are jealous of my superior ranking, so you are trying to convince me that I am not of royalty. Well guess what Skipper, I will not be falling for it!"
"Julian, I don't care if you have a superior rank, I wouldn't listen to you anyway. You may be the king of the lemurs, but that's where your royal status ends." Skipper replied, holding on to his patience.
"No! You are wrong Skipper! I am the king of all, not just the lemurs." Julian argued.
"Give it a rest Julian," Marlene said impatiently.
Apparently she was getting annoyed with him too.
"A rest? I will not be taking orders from you, or the silly penguin." Julian replied defiantly.
"Just give me the walkie-talkie," Marlene demanded.
"No." Julian replied.
"Julian…" Marlene warned.
"Julian, give it to her." Skipper ordered.
"You should be shutting up, skipper. You are not here, you are at a party." Julian snapped.
"I am not at a party Julian! It's a training camp!" Skipper growled. "And you should be the one who's shutting up. I know how to get back there, don't make me."
Everything went silent for a minute.
"Why would you leave the party? Aren't you having fun?" Julian asked.
Skipper could hear it in Julian's voice. He wasn't really curious, he was trying to annoy him now. "Julian give the walkie-talkie back to Marlene before I come down there and hurt you," Skipper warned.
"You wouldn't dare hurt your king." Julian replied boldly.
Julian wore down Skippers last bit of patience, "Julian you are not my king, nor will you ever be. You never were. Just shut up and give the walkie-talkie back to Marlene!" He growled. He was trying not to be loud. It was still night time, and everyone was still asleep. He didn't want to risk being caught, although he knew he already was. But the Colonel might not know yet.
Skipper heard Julian grunt, and the sound of the walkie-talkie hitting the floor. Marlene probably pushed him down. He could just see her doing so.
"Well," Marlene let out a sigh, "I think I'll leave now."
Skipper was confused at first. Then he realized that she wasn't talking to him.
A few minutes later she was back in her habitat.
"Where are you now?" Skipper asked curiously.
"Where do you think?" She replied still trying to regain patience.
"I wouldn't let him get to you." Skipper advised.
"Yeah," She sighed, "I don't know how you do it Skipper. I really don't"
Skipper wanted to help her, he felt terrible for just giving her that responsibility. He really felt awful.
"You know," She said changing the subject, "you never told me why you had to be there. You never told me why you couldn't stay at the zoo."
"Oh, yeah, well it's a long story." Was Skippers reply.
"Well, the night is still long." Marlene replied calmly.
Skipper sighed, he knew he wasn't getting out of this.
"Please?" Marlene said, tired.
Skipper could tell that she was tired, it was the middle of the night why wouldn't she be? But he also knew that when she wanted to know something, she'd stay awake for it. He really didn't have a choice.
He explained everything to her. Scythro, the units, the ranks, the colors, the third party, the truce; everything.
"So you've been there before?" She asked.
"Yes, it wasn't a very pleasant experience, but it wasn't a very bad one either. It still isn't all that bad." Skipper replied.
"So it's not torture?" Marlene asked.
She was obviously concerned. "No, I wouldn't call it torture. It's just, not home."
"That's good. I mean at least it's not too bad. So um… do you know who the other guy is?"
Skipper sighed, "No." He really wished he did. If he knew then he'd know what to expect. He didn't like operating in the dark. He could do it, it wasn't impossible for him. It was just, sometimes very difficult to look out for everything and anything.
There was a pause.
"Do you think he's dangerous?" Marlene asked concerned.
"I don't know. But he's smart, and that's never good." Skipper informed. "However dangerous he is, we'll be able to stop him. We're not alone this time." Skipper added quickly. Marlene was worried, least he could do was give her some type of reassurance that they'd be ok. "I made a promise Marlene. I won't break it," he reassured, remembering his promise to be back at the zoo on Christmas. Marlene was smart, she knew that wars lasted long. She knew that some missions would be deadly. She didn't care about Christmas, she cared about them coming home in one piece. Just coming home alive.
"I know. I just…" Marlene replied.
Skipper smiled, "Marlene, don't worry about us. We'll be fine. So we're going into an actual war. We're not alone, and we're not stupid. We'll survive it. You have my word." He said calmly.
"I really hope so." She replied, still concerned.
George was awoken late at night by the sound of knocking on his door. He growled to himself. Who would want him this early in the morning? Whatever it was it had to be pretty damn important. It better be.
He reluctantly got up and went to the door. He opened it to see Daniel, the surveillance captain. "What's the matter Dan?" He asked, confused.
"It's Skipper, he's up on the roof." Daniel informed.
George sighed. "I only told him not to leave the Unit. He's fine as long as they don't go off into the woods." He started to close the door.
"He's alone, sir. But he's talking to someone." Daniel said quickly.
George froze. Skipper was contacting someone? "Shoe me." He replied.
Daniel nodded and led him to the surveillance room.
That's why Skipper went back. He was giving someone back at that little zoo a communication device. But why? Was he working with them to plan an escape? Or worse, did he want to sabotage Unit Nine? It seemed too evil for the kid. But he could've turned evil. Anyone can.
"Who is he talking to?" George asked.
"So far we only have four people, One named, Joey. Another named Roy, A lemur named Julian or Ringtail, and the main one he's talking to is an otter named Marlene. Sir" Daniel replied.
"What are the first two?" George asked.
"We don't have a species for them. But Skipper called Julian the king of lemurs, and this Julian called Marlene an otter. We don't know if it's true. We're just assuming." Daniel informed.
George tried to figure out why Skipper would contact these people. "What was he talking about? Do you know?" He asked. If he was talking about the Unit, then there'd be trouble.
"Well, sir, he told the otter everything about the unit and its activities, Scythro, the third party, The Global General, everything. He even told Marlene about the colors." Daniel responded.
"What!" George shouted. What was wrong with him? Didn't he know it was against the rules?
"Sir, I don't think he meant any harm. He didn't say anything about destroying Unit Nine, or sabotage, or even wanting to leave. He just told her about Unit Nine. Well that and your punishments. He knows he's in trouble too. He ended it with explaining how what he did was against the rules and he'd have to pay for it, but he'd live." Daniel explained.
"So he's not calling for help?" George asked confused.
"No sir. I think he is the help. It seems to me, that he's being called for home problems. I think he went back before to give the communication device to the otter. He's telling her how to make people listen to her. My guess is, sir, that he went back to give his responsibility to the otter, and explain where they were. He wants her to know that they're still alive, and help her when and if she needs it." Daniel replied.
"So he went back to the zoo… to establish communications with it?" George asked, trying to understand everything.
"It seems that way, sir." Daniel replied.
George thought for a minute. Skipper said they were going to return. He set up a communication with the zoo. He really was going to come back. But he was still going to have to be punished. It was against the rules to tell outsiders about the Units. "I'll have to see that for myself."
Daniel led George to the surveillance room. It was a light gray room with computer screens, monitors, and key boards lined up against the walls. There was a center beam in the middle of the room that held supported the roof, it was also the highway for all of the computer wires that connected to the roofs cameras. Along one wall was a giant computer screen. And likewise under it was a long key board. There were ten men at the computers, four typing hastily into the main (giant) computer.
"Pull it up." Daniel instructed.
"Yes sir." Someone replied.
The screen flashed and a picture of Skipper appeared. He was sitting on the edge of the roof looking out at the woods with a walkie-talkie in his hands. He looked relaxed.
"Rewind and play," Daniel ordered.
The picture jumped, but then it began to play. Skipper didn't move at all, but it was clear that he was talking to someone.
"Well, no not exactly," Skipper said.
"So, the colors are a symbol of what the unit is then?" a voice, female, asked curiously.
"That is the one he calls Marlene." Daniel informed.
George didn't reply. He nodded, but continued to watch the screen.
"Sort of. They should symbolize the unit. Sometimes colors lie. But it's rare." Skipper replied.
"How do know so much?" Marlene asked.
"Well, I know this place, I experienced things here and learned its secrets I guess," Skipper explained calmly.
"So you've been there before?" Marlene asked.
"Yes, it wasn't a very pleasant experience, but it wasn't a very bad one either. It still isn't all that bad." Skipper replied.
"So it's not torture?" Marlene asked.
"No, I wouldn't call it torture. It's just, not home."
"That's good. I mean at least it's not too bad. So um… do you know who the other guy is?"
Skipper sighed, "No."
"Pause," Daniel said.
The screen froze.
Daniel looked over at George. "I don't think he's dangerous sir."
George didn't know what to say to that. It was obvious that Skipper didn't mean any harm to the Unit. He trusted this girl, whoever she was. He talked to her so calmly it seemed natural to him. But the Colonel still didn't like it.
"Marlene, go to sleep. You'll need to get some rest if you're planning on not killing Ringtail tomorrow. Take a break from worrying about us every once in a while ok? If not for you, for us." Skipper instructed calmly. He was worried about her. She needed some rest at night if she was going to keep her head through the day. But more than that, he didn't want her to worry all the time. He wanted her to find some peace at some point in each day, while they were at this place. He didn't want her to lose her mind.
"I'll try Skipper. For you guys. But I don't think I'll stop worrying until I see you again." She replied calmly.
Skipper smiled. "I didn't expect you to." He really hadn't expected Marlene to quit worrying about them. She was a good friend. Her worrying only proved the fact. He wasn't going to try to stop her from worrying either. He knew he wouldn't be able to.
"Good-night Skipper," She said softly, falling asleep.
"Good-night. Marlene," Skipper replied calmly.
"What's going on now?" George asked, curious about what he was telling her now.
"Play, present time." Daniel ordered.
The screen went blank, then it reappeared. The picture was the same as before. Skipper hadn't moved at all.
"Marlene, go to sleep. You'll need to get some rest if you're planning on not killing Ringtail tomorrow. Take a break from worrying about us every once in a while ok? If not for you, for us." Skipper instructed calmly.
"I'll try Skipper. For you guys. But I don't think I'll stop worrying until I see you again." She replied calmly.
"I didn't expect you to." Skipper replied.
"Good-night Skipper," She said softly.
"Good-night. Marlene," Skipper replied calmly.
The Skipper got up and walked back to the vent, closing it as he entered.
"Sir?" Daniel asked calmly.
"What Dan?" George asked, still staring at the screen. He was attached to her. He was concerned about her, more than just how well she was holding the zoo together. She was a close friend of his. He cared about her we being. And she cared about his. They weren't in love, no then they would be talking with more concern and lust in their voices. They were just close friends.
"What is your take on this?" he asked.
"I think he is just concerned about a friend," The General responded, calmly.
George didn't even know the General was there. "You keep popping up out of nowhere General." He stated. "But I would have to agree."
"Well, at least we know why he left now," Sara said. "I didn't think he would be leaving something so important behind."
"So important?" One of the surveillance men asked.
"Yes. He left a responsibility and a friend behind. It is clear from their conversation. They went back to the zoo to tell their friend to keep things in order while they were away. They gave her the walkie-talkie so she could talk to them if needed. Or if she just wanted to talk," Sara explained. "Isn't it obvious? He stayed here because it was the right thing to do. That doesn't mean he didn't want to. If everything was to suddenly even out and things were to return to normal, he would be back at that zoo in a heartbeat."
"So he hates it here?" he asked.
"No, he doesn't hate it here, nor does he hate anyone here. Like he said to his friend. It's just not home," George replied. Everything was starting to make sense now.
Skipper crawled back through the vents to room twelve, twelve, carefully. He didn't make a lot of noise. But he was still concerned about Marlene. He knew she head went to bed, she sounded too tired to stay up any longer. But it didn't help much.
When he got to the vent opening in the room, he stepped back over the broken alarm system, but he wasn't concentrating on stepping over all of the sharp edges. He thought he had lifted his legs high enough, but he didn't. He scratched his left leg and fell out of the vent when he jumped at the slight pain of the sharp edge slicing his leg. It wasn't enough to make him scream, and it wasn't big enough to be noticed, so he just had to wipe away the small amount of blood in the morning and he'd be safe. Not totally. If George hadn't been called then he would be completely safe. He placed the vent's cover back on and crawled silently back into his bunk.
But he couldn't fall asleep.
The Colonel didn't say anything the morning, or the rest of the week for that matter.
Skipper didn't tell the guys about talking to Marlene. He went back up on the roof two more times that week, and coincidently, those were the nights that Marlene called again.
They talked about the problems at the zoo. Skipper gave her more advice on what to say to certain people in certain situations. He told her nothing really. Just that it was still work and sleep and work some more. He tried to calm her nerves, to no avail. Her response to his attempts always was that she would stop worrying when she saw them again. He believed her, but he had to try.
It wasn't until the day before the General's meeting with Scythro, that George pulled Skipper aside to talk.
And hell almost broke lose.
Sorry that most of the chapter was dialogue. I've been told by many people (teachers especially) that chapters with too much dialogue get very annoying. But that might not be for this chapter. I do not know. If that does apply to this chapt, I apologize.