Missions of the Retrieval Team - Kilts in a Cage

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Commercial Break


Grass covered hills


Several young children come running towards the audience from across the hills. As they run they keep looking behind themselves and calling out, “Come on Wompet! Come on boy!”

Following the children is a large shaggy dog, apparently having trouble keeping up with the children. As the children run out of the scene, the dog appears to give up the chase as he watches the children run away, still calling his name.

When the children are out of sight, he turns to the side and runs slowly to a small house.

The scene cuts to the kitchen inside the house and we see the dog enter through a dog door. He trots over to a cupboard and pushes the door open with his nose.

He pokes his head inside the cupboard, and then pulls out a large bag. On the bag is the label ‘X Chow’.

The dog rips open the top of the bag with his teeth and begins to eat the food inside. After taking several bites, the dog sits back. We see his eyes light up and he stands more alert.

The dog turns and leaves through the dog door.

The scene cuts back to the hills where we see the children running again. Suddenly, the same dog comes running up behind the children and quickly passes them, leaving them in a cloud of dust.

The children stop running and stare after the dog, their faces showing their astonishment.

The scene changes to show the dog sitting beside a bag of X Chow.

The announcer speaks, “X Chow, the secret of energetic dogs everywhere.”

The scene zooms in on the dogs face and he winks.

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Scene 11


Aboard the Cruise Ship Ceilidh


Murmurs of concerned conversation filled the dining room.

“Please, ladies and gentlemen, if I may continue to speak, please?” continued the Captain.

The noise in the room quieted and the Captain continued to speak. “There is no need for immediate alarm,” he said. “However, I want to be completely open and honest with you. We received notification from the authorities just minutes ago that someone has claimed to have put a bomb on board the ship and it will be detonated if we do not evacuate the ship in Cancun. No reason for this evacuation was given, but of course we want to see to the safety of our guests.”

“When we dock,” he continued, “I ask you all to please obey the directions of the crew. We have an evacuation plan and your cooperation will ensure we can all leave the ship as quickly as possible. I am afraid you will each need to take your own baggage with you off the ship. For those with disabilities, we are arranging for a crewmember to assist you.”

“We have made arrangements,” he went on, “to transport you to local resorts for what would have been the remainder of your cruise, as well as airline transportation for you to return to your homes. As you exit the ship, port authorities will direct you to busses, which will take you to your assigned resort. For those who are part of the Kilted Kruise, we have arranged for you all to be sent to the same resort. Others groups on board will receive the same courtesy.”

“I want to thank you in advance for your cooperation,” he said, “and I want to apologize for the change in your plans. I want you to know that the safety of our guests is our first priority.”

“Now, you must excuse me,” he finished. “I must return to the bridge to finalize these plans.”

The Captain then quickly left the dining room. The room again erupted in excited conversation. I could hear several common questions arising:

“Who could have set the bomb?”

“Do you really think we’re safe?”

“What’s going to happen to us?”

I noticed Jaime looking my why trying to get my attention. When he caught it, he motioned me over to his table.

When I got to his side he asked me, “Do you think you could help out with the bomb?”

“Possibly,” I told him, “but I’m far from an expert on explosives. Even if I found the bomb, I probably couldn’t safely disarm it, unless it was amazingly simple. Ms. Raven and Ms. Hawk are the explosives experts on the team.”

“I thought as much. I am going to offer our services to the Captain, but he will probably insist that we leave with everyone else. After all, we are counted as guests, and thus his responsibility.”

“I would agree with that. Why don’t you tell everyone to return to their cabins and get ready to evacuate? I think the Captain would prefer to have everyone in their cabins instead of wondering about the ship right now.”

He agreed with me and told the plan to the other Moderators. As they got up to spread the instructions through the crowd, I returned to my table and told everyone there.

When everyone started to leave the room, Ms. Stork and I made our way to our suite to prepare for evacuation.

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Scene 12

Port of Cancun

Jaime called me later that evening to inform me that the Captain did indeed prefer that we all remain in our cabins, so Ms. Stork and I readied our baggage and turned in for a good night’s sleep.

We felt the ship dock the next morning and the Captain’s voice came over the announcement speakers.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” he said, “please remain in your cabins. A member of the crew will be coming to each of you cabins to give you directions. Please follow these directions and we will have you off the ship quickly. Again, thank you for your cooperation.”

Soon there was a knock on our door. Opening it, I found a member of the crew outside. He directed Ms. Stork and I to take our bags and proceed down the hallway.

Ms. Stork and I stepped out into the hallway and walked in the direction indicated. Looking around, I saw that the crewmembers were stopping at each cabin in turn to direct its occupants down the hallway.

Other crewmembers were stationed at various spots to direct the line of people through doors and down stairs as we made our way to the gangway to the dock.

When we reached the end of the gangway, we found port authority employees who consulted a list and directed us to our busses. It turned out that the Kilted Kruise would be put onto three busses then taken to the resort. We loaded our baggage onto the bus and then boarded. Other members quickly filed onto the busses.

The entire evacuation took only about a half hour, so I give the crew credit for performing fairly efficiently. It just takes time to offload that many people.

When our busses were full, a crewmember from the social staff of the ship boarded each bus. Ours was a young man and he quickly addressed us.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” he said, “please sit back and enjoy the ride as much as you can. The Casa Maya Resort has graciously provided rooms for you all. The resort is a little over an hour’s drive from here, so you will have a bit of a ride. I am Ruiz and I have been assigned to accompany you to the resort and ensure that you all are taken care of. If you have any questions on the trip, please feel free to ask me. Your driver’s name is Manuel. Please, sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride”

Ruiz sat in the small seat in the front of the bus usually occupied by a tour guide. Manuel started the bus and I noticed that the other busses had done the same. Ours was the first bus to pull out and the other two followed us.