Securing the communicator had been relatively easy for the captured members of the Endeavour. Branson could hide under the trolley while Ricci had pushed him into place. Stealing their communicator and ensuring nothing looked out of place was also simple. Now they had their communicator, the ability to speak to the ship as they could. Though they had to undergo more torture of working for the mistress, the day had relatively gone by quite quickly. As a result, they had all assembled in the communal quarters to begin working on their next steps.

Not being of any help when it came to anything technical, Branson had gone on watch by the door to ensure if anyone came to pass, they had enough time to hide the device. Campbell and Ricci were working on the communicator in the far corner with no one else to disturb them. 

“Is the communicator okay?” Campbell asked in a quiet voice.

Ricci nodded after looking over the communicator. “Looks as though it’s just as it should be!”

“Well, at least the inhabitants haven’t tampered with it. I’m surprised the power cell hasn’t died on us, especially as it might be why we still understand their language,” Campbell summarised. “Can you get a signal out?”

Ricci looked with a solemn look and shook his head. “No, sir, it seems something is blocking communications from getting through. As I know little about the planet, I can’t say for sure what it is.”

Hearing that disappointing response, Campbell sighed heavily. “It must be the minerals in the rock that we detected earlier that were blocking our scans,” He looked around the room, noticing some of the walls showing bare brickwork. “The same minerals must be in the walls.”

Ricci looked around the room and nodded. “That seems to be the only possibility at this time.” He concluded.

“If we could get on the rooftop, we could get a signal out,” Campbell suggested.

Ricci thought for a moment, “That should give us a clear and straight signal to the ship in orbit. We just have to make sure no one sees us missing!” He said, trying to be quiet. 

Campbell called Branson over. “Ed, you’re going to have to make sure no one comes in here and sees us missing.”

The doctor looked confused at his superior. “Did I miss something?”

“The good lieutenant and I are going for a climb,” Campbell answered. He pointed towards one of the more oversized windows that had a balcony. “We’re going to climb onto the roof and see if we can get a signal out to Endeavour.”

“Well, okay,” Branson hesitantly said. “Just be careful. I would hate to explain to anyone why you are both dead for climbing something without harnesses and safety gear.” 

Campbell nodded in agreement, and he and Ricci prepared to climb up. After looking up at what lay before them from the balcony upwards, Campbell noted a few wooden ledges they could use to pull themselves onto the flat roof. Taking the lead, Campbell started by pulling himself up before turning around and pulling Ricci up. Slowly and carefully, they took a bit at a time. Eventually, they got onto the rooftop without any concern or worried.

“That was easy,”  Campbell muttered after a few deep breaths. “Try the communicator now.”

Ricci caught his breath struggling with the climb due to his apparent malnutrition. He smirked at Campbell and activated the communicator.

The signal was clear, so Campbell spoke up. “Campbell to Endeavour, come in Endeavour!”