Escape from Altera Ch. 02

"To attack Volvograd," I said.

The Major nodded, and one of the guards struck me. I fell to the ground again. After a moment's pause, the guard kicked me. The pain was immense. These were no girl slaps.

"What was that for?" I cried.

"I did not give you permission to lie down," said the Major. "Now get up."

I slowly got to my feet.

"Again, what was your mission?"

I half looked at the guard and wet my lips. "I told you, to attack-"

"Unacceptable!" said the Major. "You are a spy. You must have had a hidden purpose in coming here."

"I am not-" Suddenly a punch in my back sent me sprawling.

"What was that for?" I said, struggling to get up.

"For contradicting me," said the Major.

This went on for a very long time. The Major wanted to know who I was spying for and what my mission was. As I was not a spy and had no mission, the interview turned out to be very long and painful.

After an indeterminable time the Major slammed her fist on the desktop. "Lies, lies, all lies!" Her expression changed. "Perhaps it would help if you had a more comfortable chair?"

A new chair was wheeled in. This one had metal armrests and all sorts of electrical devices attached to the headrest. The Major looked pleasantly at me for a reaction, and smiled when she got one.

I was lifted by two giant guards and carried, struggling, into the chair. They strapped me down and fitted some kind of helmet against my head. I felt the hum of power as one of the guards turned a knob. Suddenly the chair started to vibrate.

"Let us start with setting two," said the Major.

The guard operated a control and I felt/heard a funny kind of scratching sound in my head.

"Now, let us begin again," said the Major. "Your name."

I answered her questions, but the scratching sound/feeling grew distracting. As the interrogation continued, the Major turned up the intensity, so it was all I could do to concentrate.

"When did you graduate from the academy?" she asked, for the millionth time.

"Ah...." I said, trying to concentrate. The scratching feeling was very loud in my head now.

"Answer!" said the Major.

"How do you expect me to concentrate when you have that thing burning into my brain!" I snapped.

The Major slapped me. "It's meant to prevent your lies! Stop trying to formulate evasions and answer my questions! Admit you are a spy!"

"I am no spy."

"Liar!" she said, suddenly striking my face. Then she paused. "We know more about you than you think, Idaho J. Took. Does the name Clifford Croft mean anything to you?"

"Clifford Croft?"

"Do not pretend you do not know it," said the Major. "You have met him before, yes?"

"Once or twice, maybe," I said.

"So you admit it!" The Major shrieked.

"So?"

"He is a spy. You associate with him. You are a spy."

"I crossed paths with him during an investigation," I said. "He talks to a lot of people. That doesn't make them all spies. He probably even talks to Slurians; that doesn't make them spies either." Suddenly, my tired mind caught up with what I was saying. "Oh, ok, the Slurians he talks to probably are spies."

"What was your mission?" The Major demanded.

"I had no mission," I said, blinking rapidly. "I mean, no non-military mission. I'm a soldier, not a spy. Ask the Special Tasks guy who interrogated me at the-"

At the mention of the words Special Tasks, the Major became enraged. "We have nothing to do with them! Whatever happened between you and them was between you and them! Do not mention them again unless you wish to be disciplined!"

The interviewing process went on and on. The device didn't seem to prevent me from lying, but it did prevent me from thinking clearly. Answering a simple question became a struggle. Finally, when my answers totally stopped making sense, I was disconnected from the device.

"You are pitiful," said the Major, curling her lip. "Take him away."

I collapsed into a deep sleep the minute I was brought back to my cell. I was so exhausted that I never noticed the hardness of the wooden planks.

It seemed like only minutes had passed, however, before I was called back for another interrogation.

"Again?" I said wearily?

"What do you mean, Idaho Took?" said the Major.

"You just had me here five minutes ago."

"That was eight hours ago," said the Major, giving a small smile.

I think they were messing with my perspective of time to help disorient me. Now, in retrospect, I'm not sure how long those interrogations lasted or how many there were once they started using the chair. All I vaguely remember is saying the same things over and over. But I don't think the Major was satisfied, because she continued to slap me and accuse me of lying.

"Face it," I said wearily. "I'm not a spy."

"You are a spy! What are the battle plans of the Glory?"

"If I were a spy, I wouldn't know that," I said. "Only a military officer would know that. Are you now saying I'm a military officer and not a spy?" The buzzing in my head was intense as I tried to concentrate on what I was saying.

The Major gave a deep laugh. I sat there dully watching her.

"You do not know, do you? We no longer need the Glory's plans," said the Major. "Your fleet is destroyed. The Glory is burning in space. Your precious Battle Admiral is dead."

I looked at her to try to gauge the truthfulness of her statement.

She nodded. "It was all because of you. You gave away their position. You caused the deaths of thousands of your fellow officers and crewmembers."

"No!" I shouted.

"Yes!" the Major cried. "Now our fleets are crashing through League space, liberating wide sectors of territory. And we have you to thank!"

"No!" I cried again.

"Admit your guilt!" said the Major. "Admit it!" She watched me as I melted down. In retrospect I could see that this was the climax she had been building towards, after all the days of wearing me down, all the torture, this was she had been building to; to try to break me with the knowledge that I had provided the vital information which had led to the destruction of my own fleet.

But something tough inside of me resisted. "No..." I said weakly.

The Major looked at me, obviously disappointed. She spat on me, and said, "Take this feeble creature back to its cage."

There were no interrogations for the next several days. I took that as a good sign and fell into exhausted sleep in my cell. The food was very simple, bread and water, neither of which was very tasty. But slowly I began to regain my strength.

Suddenly the guards came for me and put me into leg irons and manacles. What was this for? I was then taken to a different room in the complex. A courtroom.

A man speaking heavily accented English shook my hand. "You are Idaho Took, the spy?"

I nodded at the first part, then quickly shook my head when I heard the rest.

The man ignored the contradiction. "I am Suli Andrichev, your state appointed defense counsel."

"You're on my side, and you introduce yourself by calling me a spy?"

"I think the best legal strategy is to admit your guilt," said Andrichev.

The presiding judge, a stern looking man wearing the uniform of a Slurian Colonel, complete with shoulder to shoulder medals, banged the gavel to call for order. Great. A military show trial.

The judge spoke in Slurian, but a helpful translator at his side spoke in Standard English, a few seconds after the judge did.

"Case number 958089308, State versus the Idaho Took spy. Idaho Took, you have been convicted of espionage and spying against the Slurian Union. How do you plead?"

"Guilty, your honor," said Andrichev.

"Just a minute," I said. "I'm not pleading guilty."

The translator translated my remarks. The military judge looked pained. He said, through the translator, "What is this? You cannot plead one way while your lawyer pleads another."

"I reject my counsel, your honor, I wish to defend myself."

The judge consulted one of his assistants for a moment. He seemed unsure how to deal with this minor unscripted turn of events.

Finally, he said, "You may do so, but I warn you that you would benefit from experienced counsel," said the judge.

"It's a risk I'm willing to take," I said. It was actually no risk at all. What could be worse than this government appointed lawyer?

"You are relieved," said the judge.

Andrichev showed a pained look on his face and nodded. He turned to me one last time. "I don't advise this."

"Why do you care so much?" I asked. "Do you get a commission for every client who's convicted?"

"For every case I represent, yes," said Andrichev.

"I guess that means you won't be able to buy as much borsch this month," I said pityingly.

"Enough," said the judge, banging his gavel. Andrichev left the room.

"How do you plead?" The judge asked.

"Not guilty, your honor," I said.

"You will not address me as your honor; this is not the corrupt League justice system. You will address me as respected chairman or sir," said the judge through the interpreter.

"Yes sir," I said.

"Now, do you have anything to say before judgment is confirmed?"

"Yes," I said.

The judge waited. "Well?"

"Doesn't the prosecution present its side first, so I can understand the case against me?"

The judge sighed. "Haven't you been listening? You have already been convicted in absentia. It is up to you to prove your innocence."

"How can I prove my innocence when I haven't heard the case against me?"

The judge spoke as if he were explaining to a child. "The evidence is classified, you could not be present for it."

"I see," I said, and I really did. This really was a show trial.

"Now, do you have anything to say before your sentence is confirmed?"

I paused. Nothing I said would make any difference.

"I repeat, do you have anything to say?"

"Just one, sir," I said. I pointed to the judge's medals. "You got those out of a box of popcorn, right?"

The translator blanched but translated my remarks. The judge looked confused and spoke to the translator again. Then the judge looked enraged.

He slammed the gavel.

"Your guilt has been confirmed. You are hereby sentenced to 30 years in a labor reform camp for your espionage," said the judge. He stared at Took with hate in his eyes. "And one additional year for insolence."

The guards motioned for me to stand up.

31 years? In a Slurian labor camp? I was stunned.

"You can't do that!" I said, as the guards started to drag me away. "I'm a prisoner of war! I'm a prisoner of war!"

But to them, it didn't make any difference.