Young Writers Society

greenjay wrote:Footsteps echoed throughout the quiet halls, reverberating through open chambers and vast hollows. Nothing stirred, but one shape, a man flitting from shade to shadow. The figure went ever onward, working his way to the center of the maze of corridors where little light reached. Around the hallway a glow began to show, augmenting as he neared. He sped up [s]eagerly[/s].
A metallic door stood before the intruder, the light emanating from a small keypad on its surface. [s]Coolly[/s] I hate adverbs The man entered the code, the beeps echoing through the abandoned hallways, and the door groaned [s]slowly[/s] open. The hum of machinery flowed through the entry way as well as the smell of oil, [s]and the figure entered quickly[/s]. Past the glowing core and up the rickety stairs he went, finally stopping at his destination.
Retrieving a ring-like object from his pocket, he placed it in a small slot, turning slowly Turning the object? be more specific . The safe opened. Steam poured out of the cavity, and a hand reached out, taking hold of the small metallic box within Don't you mean the man's hand? Because the way you've phrased it made it seem like someone else's hand came out. . The door closed with a clang, and the man slipped back into the maze of corridors. The massive engines rumbled on.

“I would like to see you in my office, Captain Turner,” [s]came[/s] the Admiral’s voice said through my ear piece. I spoke into the mouthpiece, confirming that I was coming and turned from [s]gazing out [/s]the window.
“Keep it at an angle, Commander,” I ordered, glancing one more time out the massive, glass pane into the starry blackness.
The admiral’s office was at the very top of the bow, giving him a good view into space from the front of the Imperial Megaship, Orion. I made my way there Please try to find another word for there , entering a large elevator and placing my hand on the sensor for identification. It registered with a beep, and the floor surged upward. I waited with my hands behind my back, [s]impatiently[/s] watching the floor number rise. Why did these things have to take so long? This question should be in italics Finally insert comma the elevator reached the one hundred and sixtieth floor, and the doors opened [s]swiftly[/s], revealing a spacious office.
“At ease,” said Admiral Benet, raising his gray head to look at me. “Now, I do not know exactly what happened, and this is the reason I wanted to speak with you. The top security data base that we are taking to head quarters Headquarters is one word is gone.”
For a minute neither of us moved, my eyes widening in surprise [s]a shocked expression adorning my face[/s].
“How is this possible, sir? It was placed under high security.”
“That is what I want you to tell me,” he said softly, reaching for his ear. He pushed the button on his earpiece. My hand stretched toward my side.
“Bring him in.”
The door to my right opened, and two guards came in, followed by a ragged man. He had lank, black hair and needed a good shave. [s]and[/s] His eyes [s]were [/s]darkened with fury.
“Branson Whelk,” said the Admiral calmly, “where were you last night.”
“I was in my cell,” said the man angrily, “where else would I be?”
“Well, we have reason to believe that your cell was left open last night, and I would not assume it to be an accident.”
The guards shifted nervously.
“Tell me. Did you leave your cell?”
The man looked up, his eyes meeting the Admiral’s, and a [s]wry[/s] smile spread across his face.
“What if I did? You have that stinking camera. You know exactly what I did.”
“I do,” said the Admiral patiently, “but I want to here it fromyou [s]your mouth[/s]. Did you leave the cell last night?”
“Now you are just trying to incriminate me,” [s]said[/s] the obstinate criminal sneered [s]sneeringly[/s]. “If you have it from my mouth the death sentence will be that much easier to evoke.”
“Mr. Whelk, I am not,” started Admiral Benet once more, but I interrupted suddenly.
“Then you have nothing to loose!” I said, drawing a pistol from my hip. I leveled it with his dark eyes. They narrowed slowly.
“You give me such choice, Turner! Bullet now or capital punishment later; death and more death, can you think of nothing else?”
He turned cautiously toward the Admiral.
“Yes, I did leave my cell last night.”
The Admiral remained motionless, his countenance masked with the same stony expression that I had come to hate.
“What do you have to say for yourselves?” inquired the Admiral, addressing the guards who had relaxed during the questioning of Branson. Now they straightened up nervously, anxiety in their eyes, waiting for the other to speak. Finally one cleared his throat.
“We received an order, sir.”
“Please elaborate,” said the Admiral with raised eyebrows.
“Well,” he said nervously, glancing at the other guard, “at sixteen o’clock we were in the guard quarters, and Colman gave us a letter. It told us to take leave of our posts that night, and we obeyed, for it had your seal, sir.”
“My seal?” said the Admiral to himself, stroking his beard pensively. “Did Colman say from where he received this notice?”
“He said he found it on his desk.”
“Was there anything else with the letter?”
The guards shifted nervously, glancing at one another.
“Well…there were two notices of promotion. We thought we had gotten a raise.”
The Admiral leaned forward, stroking his beard even more fervently.
“Mr. Whelk,” I said menacingly, grasping the just recently holstered pistol, “it seems that if you do not speak up quickly you will be in even more trouble than you are now.”
The Admiral’s eyes went from Branson to me and then back. The prisoner smiled unexpectedly.
“I too received a letter, this one also containing a promotion of sorts. It said that all would be prepared, and if I left my cell and stole something, I would be released in due time.”
“Where is it?” said Admiral Benet, standing menacingly up.
“I left it in the prearranged spot, and I assume it is now gone.”
“Why did you do this?” I interjected. “What assurance do you have that this promise will be kept?”
“I have,” he said with an evil sneer, “a promise, sealed with this seal!”
He slammed down a slip of paper, the Admiral’s seal clearly visible on the white surface. No one spoke.
“I am afraid,” I said condescendingly after a long period of silence, “that the evidence is not in your favor, sir.”
Branson Whelk turned slowly, the evilest of smiles on his ragged face.
“I have not yet finished…You see, I lied earlier. When I stole the data base I did not place it in the prearranged location but kept it for myself. You shortsighted fools forget! I worked for the Empire before they betrayed me. I was one of their top engineers. I know how to destroy a data base and was prepared to bargain. I could have been rich! But no,” he said, his tortured eyes blazing, “I was the fool, for the object I had stolen was no more than an empty, metal box. I, or so I thought at the time, was as good as condemned. But why, I thought, would someone do this? Who would stand to gain? And then I remembered: a dark figure lurking in the shadows as I left my cell…Captain Turner.”
My eyes bulged, and I drew my pistol only to have a guard grab me from behind.
“Drop the gun, Turner,” said the Admiral with narrow eyes. “Now I see that one of my own captains was trying to frame me. Does my job mean that much to you?”
I glared at him without a word.
“My seal is gone, I noticed, and I assume I will find it somewhere in your possession, but first there is one more thing I must ask.” His eyes turned to Branson. “Why did you speak up?”
A slow smile spread across the prisoner’s face, this one more malicious than ever before.
“Simply to buy time, dear Admiral,” he said, and a sudden volley of shots rattled through the spaceship. The two prison guards raised their weapons and gunned down the Admiral, as well as the guard holding me. I felt red-hot pain seer through my chest, and I fell to my knees. Branson Whelk stepped forward smiling down on me.
“Welcome,” he said with a sneer, “to the new republic!”