Part 13 (1/2)
”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.”