"Huh?" asked General Daly. "That hippy-dippy New Age bulls.h.i.t doesn"t work! Soldiers just need to man up. You"re in the Legion now!"
"Yes, sir," I replied. "How do you relieve stress, sir?"
"I sing marching tunes. Try it sometime."
"Yes, sir."
As I left General Daly"s office, I found myself humming an old Legion marching song: I"m in the Legion now, I"m not behind a plow. Son of a b.i.t.c.h, I"m digging a ditch, I"m in the Legion now! I"m in the Legion now, I"m not behind a plow. Son of a b.i.t.c.h, I"m digging a ditch, I"m in the Legion now! I felt better, but I was not giving up my floatation therapy. I felt better, but I was not giving up my floatation therapy.
Chapter 19.
I joined the Legion Honor Guard Company camped outside the spider governor"s mansion. Lieutenant Barker was being held at the mansion in a cell underground. Valerie brought her new kitten, Fuzzy. She guided Fuzzy in the right direction behind me as I walked. Fuzzy appeared to others to be a very well trained feline. Master Sergeant Green met me at the shuttle pad with Intelligentsia Officer #4.
"What"s with the cat?" asked Sergeant Green.
"Did you bring that for Spot?" asked Guido, approaching with his dragon. "Spot loves kittens."
"Keep that monster away from Fuzzy!" shouted Valerie, herding the kitten to my other side. Fuzzy arched his back and hissed. "Poor Fuzzy, he"s traumatized!"
"The cat will not be eaten," I ordered. "I couldn"t find a babysitter."
Guido pulled back on Spot"s leash as the dragon salivated and snapped his jaws. His sharp tongue whipped about in antic.i.p.ation.
"Welcome to the North Territory," said #4. "I am not sure if I should arrest you or treat you as an honored guest."
"I am carrying full diplomatic credentials," I said, waving my doc.u.mentation. "You could never take me alive anyway."
"Not a problem," said #4. "I am not a lawyer, but your so-called diplomatic immunity only covers your conduct during this visit. It does not protect you for past crimes."
"Whatever," I said. "I want to be present during all interrogations of Lieutenant Barker. He will not be abused. And, I have my own questions for Lieutenant Barker."
"Yes, yes, all this has been agreed to in advance," said #4. "Follow me, please."
"And I want transcripts and tapes of previous interrogations," I insisted.
I followed #4 to an interrogation room. Lieutenant Barker was totally naked, chained and cuffed to a metal chair and table.
"I demand Lieutenant Barker be clothed," I said. "This treatment is inhumane and calculated to remove his dignity!"
"Your request is denied," said #4. "Do not try my patience raising useless negotiating points. Lieutenant Barker is suffering from extreme depression, and has attempted suicide. Just yesterday he tried to saw through his wrists with a thread from blankets we thought were indestructible."
I turned to Lieutenant Barker, seated across the table. "Well?" I asked. "What do you have to say for yourself?"
"Viva la Revolution?" said Lieutenant Barker, meekly.
"How are the spiders treating you?" I asked.
"This place sucks," replied. Lieutenant Barker. "Like you, I"ve been in custody before, so I can handle it. I am no longer suicidal. That was just a reaction to the drugs they"ve been feeding me."
"Is there anything I can do for you?" I asked.
"Get me a tooth brush," said Lieutenant Barker. "Did you know spiders don"t brush their fangs? Toothbrushes and toothpaste are foreign concepts to them. Their breath is inhuman."
"Have you been tortured?" I asked.
"No," said Lieutenant Barker.
"We do not torture defenseless prisoners," said #4. "Besides, you human pestilence bleed so profusely, we fear the spread of all sorts of fluid-borne parasites you carry. The drugs we are using will make Lieutenant Barker want to give up all his secrets."
I turned my attention back to Lieutenant Barker. "Tell me who your co-conspirators are," I ordered. "Start at the top. Otherwise, I will let the spiders fry your brain with more drugs. You may not live through the process."
"Oh, joy," replied Lieutenant Barker. "And to think I thought you were on my side against the bugs. There is no big conspiracy. It"s just me and Desert Claw. I"ll freely tell you all about it. You don"t have to pry anything out of me."
"What about General Kalipetsis or the spider fleet commander?" I asked. "Did they help you?"
"No," said Lieutenant Barker. "No one helped us."
"Who helped you steal the nuke from the carrier Emperor"s Claw Emperor"s Claw?" I asked. "Someone provided codes to the logistics computer. Who did that? What was the pilot"s name? How did he get on the Emperor"s Claw Emperor"s Claw?"
"Drugs and payoffs to n.o.bodies is all it took," answered Lieutenant Barker. "There is no vast conspiracy. It was just me and Desert Claw."
"I do not believe anything you have told me," I said, backhanding Barker across the face. Blood trickled from his lip. "I am going to let the spiders fry your brain with drugs until you talk!"
"They killed my parents and family!" responded Lieutenant Barker. "Believe that! I will fight the bugs with my last ounce of energy. I will spit in their ugly faces with my last breath!"
#4 injected serum into Lieutenant Barker"s arm. Barker seemed to calm down, but still resisted and complained of headaches. At first, he refused to answer questions.
"The serum will not allow you to lie," said #4. "It is too early to force you to talk, but I warn you. I will not stop this questioning, nor will I feed you until you give up your secrets."
Lieutenant Barker remained silent. He just glared at me and #4.
"You hate us?" asked #4. "You think you have grievances against the Emperor? I will enlighten you about your real enemies."
"The Emperor ordered my family and other innocent colonists burned out and killed when they refused to leave their land!" shouted Lieutenant Barker, defiantly. "Your Emperor is guilty of genocide and crimes against humanity. He deserves to be a.s.sa.s.sinated."
"What were your family and the other trespa.s.sers doing claiming homesteads that far north of the DMZ?" asked #4. "You knew you were trespa.s.sing. You knew you had crossed into the Arthropodan Empire. The border was clearly marked. Why were you so reckless? Why did your family take such a risk?"
"We were late," explained Lieutenant Barker. "The best land was already taken. My family had no choice."
"The New Gobi Desert is a huge place," said #4. "Surely there was more than enough room for you and the others to find a home on the human pestilence side of the border."
"No!" responded Lieutenant Barker. "Only land along the proposed ca.n.a.l routes can be farmed or ranched. I tell you, all the good land was claimed! My family had to press north during the land rush."
"I believe you," said #4. "I sympathize with your plight. You are telling the truth. The best land was indeed already claimed. But what you do not know is that in fact the best land had been stolen before the land rush even started. The best land had already been legally claimed before it even became public knowledge that there was precious water under the New Gobi."
"What do you mean by that?" asked Lieutenant Barker. "The land rush was a fair race. At noon, cannons fired, and the race was on. The first on the land staked squatters" rights claims to free land."
"You are so naive," said #4, tossing copies of land claims filed before the discovery of water was announced. The deeds belonged to Legion geologists, Legion engineers, Major Lopez, and me. "Legion land speculators led by Colonel Czerinski filed these claims long before your family had a chance to claim decent land. They took the best land near water, and left your family to die in the desert. They forced you to trespa.s.s north of the DMZ, and did not even think to offer you protection. Oh, they might have flown over in their jets and helicopters, and given you the one-fingered salute, but they left your poor family to fend for yourself. Eventually we offered human pestilence living in the North Imperial citizenship because the Emperor values his human pestilence subjects. Your family met tragedy, and for that, I am truly sorry. But it was Colonel Czerinski who caused that initial inevitable confrontation that killed your family. Our marines were just doing their job and following orders when tempers flared on both sides, and things got out of control. But what Colonel Czerinski and the other land speculators did was coldblooded, calculated murder."
Lieutenant Barker lunged at me, but was restrained to the table and floor by the cuffs and chains. "I"ll kill you, if it"s the last thing I do!" yelled Lieutenant Barker. "I should have done it earlier!"
"What I do not understand is why Colonel Czerinski bought a cemetery in New Memphis," said #4. "Perhaps he intends to fill it with all those bodies from unmarked graves in the New Gobi Desert. If he thinks that is taking responsibility for his actions, I think it falls short. Don"t you?"
"A cemetery is a good investment," I replied, defensively. "It"s like water and coffee. Humanity needs both."
"I do not believe anything you say," said #4.
"This has gone on long enough," I said, s.n.a.t.c.hing the deed copies and tearing them to pieces. "I want your a.s.surance Lieutenant Barker will be kept safe, and his sanity monitored. I do not want him given any more drugs. We will continue this tomorrow."
"I am seeing another side of you," added Valerie. She had been listening silently. "I don"t like what I see."
"I had no way of knowing that would happen," I said. "You wanted to come along. If you can"t handle it, I"ll put you back into your bottle."
"We are splitting up," announced Valerie. "I don"t think I want to have anything to do with you anymore."
"Fine," I said. "Just remember we are still business partners."
"You only need to keep Laika Barker alive for ten more days," said Valerie. "Good luck with that."
"It can be done," I responded. "Then we both cash in."
"Maybe I will take all the money for myself," said Valerie. "It would be easy. The money will already be in my account. I could hide the millions so many places. I could even destroy it. How would you like that?"
"Just because you are dead doesn"t mean I can"t kill you," I warned. "Do not cross me, or you will be sorry."
"I am not so easy to kill the second time," warned Valerie. "My spirit is elusive, and I am tougher."
"I"ll hunt your silicon memory to the ends of the galaxy," I said, picking up the kitten and examining it with new interest. "Cross me and Fuzzy dies!"
"No!" screamed Valerie. "You wouldn"t!"
Sergeant Green and the others stared at me as I pet the cat. I disconnected from Valerie.
"What?" I asked. "You have to be firm with these cats. They"ll scratch your eyes out if you are lax!"
"If you say so," replied Sergeant Green. "I"ve trusted you with my life all across the galaxy and most of New Colorado, and I will continue to do so. But, you really need to get your medications adjusted, sir."
"We are through here!" I said, leaving. "Who else are you holding?"
"In the adjacent cells we hold our fleet commander. Also we hold some insurgents captured along the s.p.a.ceport perimeter fence for plotting to shoot down the Emperor"s shuttle with SAMs."
"Has the fleet commander given a statement?" I asked.
"So far, he is denying any wrongdoing or involvement in the conspiracy," said #4. "I do not believe him. His interrogation will begin in earnest tomorrow."
The spider commander had been watching the interrogation on a closed-circuit TV monitor. He discussed the interrogation with #4 after I left. "What do you think of Colonel Czerinski"s behavior?" asked the spider commander. "He seemed unstable."
"I agree," said #4. "Czerinski may be approaching a mental breakdown. I think he hears voices. That is not normal, even for human pestilence."
"I have replayed that part of the video several times," said the spider commander. "I think he was actually talking to someone. a.s.sume that possibility and context, and his odd behavior might enlighten us. Find out why he bought a cemetery. I do not believe Czerinski is having a mental breakdown. There is method to his madness. These interrogations are progressing too slowly. Tomorrow, I want results."
"Good morning General Kalipetsis," said Major Lopez, speaking formally for the video feed. "Seated next to me is Arthropodan Intelligentsia State Security Officer #12. He is present strictly as an observer during this interview, per prior agreements. General, I respect your dedication, service, and sacrifice to the Legion. It is very distasteful for me to interrogate you under such rude conditions, but it appears your loyalties have strayed. I respectfully ask you to voluntarily tell us of the conspiracy of which you were a leader. Tell all, and I will do what I can to make your stay in prison more comfortable. Resist, and I will turn your world into a living h.e.l.l."
"I am innocent," insisted General Kalipetsis. "I did nothing wrong. My loyalty has never wavered. G.o.d bless America, humanity, and the Legion!"
A doctor administered the truth serum. It was an experimental drug developed by the spiders. The interrogation would last for hours.
"Why did you sponsor Laika Barker to attend Officer"s Candidate School?" asked Major Lopez. "You knew of his terrorist past."
"I told you before. He was just a juvenile then," explained General Kalipetsis. "I felt that part of his life was behind him. Barker had successful combat command experience against the spiders, and all the diagnostic tests showed him to have a high IQ and great potential."
"Do you support New Coloradan independence?" asked Major Lopez.
"Yes, but that does not affect my job performance or loyalties," said General Kalipetsis. "I do not support rebellion or treason. I believe in the democratic process."
"Did you order Lieutenant Barker"s release from custody after he was implicated in the plot to kidnap Colonel Czerinski?" asked Major Lopez. "And later you reinstated his rank?"
"Yes," answered General Kalipetsis. "There was no proof against Lieutenant Barker. Colonel Czerinski recommended reinstatement of rank after Barker conducted himself well in combat against insurgents at the Miranda homestead battle."
"Did you give the order for Lieutenant Barker to be in charge of the Legion Honor Guard providing security for the President and the Emperor?" asked Major Lopez. "And you did this against the wishes and advice of Colonel Czerinski?"
"Yes," said General Kalipetsis. "But I had no way to know Barker would go crazy."
"In fact, you and Lieutenant Barker were part of a conspiracy to a.s.sa.s.sinate the Emperor and the President," accused Major Barker. "Isn"t it true you planned to lead a revolt during the aftermath and confusion of those a.s.sa.s.sinations? You are a traitor!"
"I am not a traitor!" screamed General Kalipetsis, fighting the serum. The pain and pressure in his head was unbearable. "I have only acted in the best interests of New Colorado and humanity!"
"Does that include murdering the First Lady and Queen Rainbow?" asked Major Lopez, drawing his knife. He grabbed General Kalipetsis by the throat and shoved him up against the wall. "After all we have been through together, you would betray and use us like that? For what? Money? Ambition? Did you want to be the King of New Colorado?"
"But my plants died!" yelled General Kalipetsis. "All of them! What do you have to say to that? Czerinski killed them all! I still don"t know how, but Czerinski is responsible. He must have infiltrated saboteurs at Legion Headquarters. I am not the one who should be interrogated. Get Czerwinski in here!"
General Daly burst into the room. He had been watching on video from the next room. "That"s enough," said General Daly. "Let go of him."
"It was just getting interesting," said Major Lopez. "This bendaho bendaho is a traitor, and I will prove it! He was just spilling his guts. I need five more minutes with him." is a traitor, and I will prove it! He was just spilling his guts. I need five more minutes with him."
"His brain is cooked," said General Daly. "Give it a rest. Let the doctor check him. Only after the doctor pa.s.ses on his health will I allow the interrogation to continue. Take a break until tomorrow."