by Sid Kar
“You have it,” Raptor nodded.
“…then I can shake them off my tail,” Kartar finished.
Col. Maktar stepped up and said, “I have handpicked these four soldiers,” he pointed to them at the back wall, “all good friends of mine for a long time and I have briefed them on all the important details.”
“What will Cap. Alvina use to record her conversation with Segwyk?” Kartar asked.
“We can’t record,” Raptor said, “Segwyk will not talk private matters with her outside of the soundproof rooms equipped with scanners for micro-recorders. Unfortunately, since it’s our own ship, their scanners are the same as our scanners and can catch all of our devices.”
“Can’t our electronics department customize a special recording device for us?” Kartar asked.
“We asked them and it would take them quite a lot of time to make such a recorder,” VC Barryett chimed in.
“Time we don’t have,” Raptor said, “Realize why I am hurrying this mission so much: we are officially evading enemy ships in deep space and as long as Commander Carvyk doesn’t know our location, he can’t transmit orders to us. But if his orders reach us and we ignore them by proceeding apiece on our course, then we can be hauled up at a court martial for violating orders. Unless Carvyk is actually convicted by the army court, charges will stand against us.”
“Isn’t the mechanical evidence proof enough of Carvyk’s guilt?” Tollvyk asked.
“It is proof of someone’s guilt,” Barryett replied, “But the same collision avoidance system is built into every Starfirian warship. Army court will have to assume it could be any renegade Commander or Commodore across our empire.”
“And that’s why we need Alvina’s sworn testimony against Segwyk and indirectly against Carvyk,” Raptor said.
“But without a recording…” Kartar spoke.
“I understand it’s not enough for a conviction, but a sworn testimony of an officer is sufficient for and requires an investigation,” Raptor said, “Commander Carvyk is cunning and shrewd, he has friends in high ranks and knows the system inside out. If we leave him free to maneuver, he will rapidly move against us while the Army twiddles its thumbs trying to find the culprits. But if we lodge a formal accusation against him; then he and Segwyk and his entire staff will be under constant watch by the Army Detectives. That is what we need.”
“And they can’t even say that I had any vendetta against Segwyk,” Alvina added.
“Once we file the accusations, this is going to be the biggest scandal to blow across all our planets,” Barryett said, “Even aliens will be watching.”
“I can’t wait for the sparks to fly,” Tollvyk rubbed his hands in glee.
“Alright, any final comments or concerns?” Raptor asked.
“Com. Raptor,” Kartar said, “Since we will be rendezvousing with Starship Masterpiece in Nestor’s orbit, can I take Capitan Agnosis along?”
“Why not?” Raptor said, “Drop him off home. What will he do with us?”
“Right, but I am thinking he would make a better cover story for our mission,” Kartar said, “Com. Segwyk might get suspicious that you gave Alvina a furlough for a visit of a personal nature. On the other hand, a couple of low ranked shuttle pilots escorting the Nestorian back to his planet is the type of courtesy within standard operations.”
“I like that,” Raptor said, “Kartar, definitely take him along. Alright then. Off to your missions. Meanwhile me and Col. Maktar will hunt this bastard Stardjacker.”
Tollvyk, Alvina, Kartar and the four Strike Soldiers exited the room but Tollvyk stuck his head back in momentarily and said, “Announce on the whole starship that if Stardjacker doesn’t surrender before I return, I will thrash him blue.” Then he left.
Raptor, Barryett and Maktar looked at each other, grinned and shook their heads.
Chapter 3: Interrogation
Roofus Bolfus tied Aurus Janus to a tree using the belt of the dead gunman which he roped across the bark and tied to both of Aurus’ hands with a knot. Aurus was unconscious on the floor with his hands behind the back. Roofus did not have a lot of time. The dead gunman had called somebody. For all he knew, it could be that Cloaked Man. And he could send reinforcements.
Roofus slapped Aurus a few times across the face till he came to. Aurus shook his head, then looked at the dead gunman’s body lying a few feet away and it filled him with dread. He looked at Roofus who had taken out his laser pistol and was aiming it at Aurus’ forehead.
“Who are you?” Aurus asked him. He could not see Roofus’ face in the darkness and could barely make out his figure although there was a small flashlight atop the laser pistol pointed at him.
“Who is this Cloaked Man you referred to earlier?” Roofus asked.
Aurus said nothing.
Roofus kicked him hard in the stomach, then again in the chest. Aurus doubled over with pain but he could not lean forward much as his hands were tied behind.
“Who is Cloaked Man?” Roofus asked again.
“Why do you want to know?” Aurus asked.
“I want to know who was behind the recent coup?” Roofus said, “and you are going to answer my questions or I will kick your teeth out next time.”
“Cloaked Man is very powerful. He will kill us both,” Aurus said.
“I am backed by General Bakus,” Roofus said, “He can handle this cloaked clown.”
“You are from Bakus’ staff?” Aurus asked.
“I ask the questions,” Roofus said and kicked Aurus once again in the chest and said, “I am just itching to kick your teeth out. Who the hell is Cloaked Man?”
“Then know it and die,” Aurus said coughing. Roofus let him recover his breath and kneeled down to face Aurus.
“Chancellor Solus Varus is the Cloaked Man,” Aurus said.
“What?” Roofus jumped up on his feet. He had half expected it to be Interior Minister Lemon Bree and for other half he had thought it would be some shadowy figure. But Solus? The man who had been the enemy of Republican Guard all his life? What the hell?
“You lie, you lose your teeth,” Roofus said.
“No lie,” Aurus smiled for the first time tonight, “Scared now, aren’t you?”
Roofus had to admit he was. But he couldn’t disclose it.
“Cloaked Man, Solus, is he the top conspirator?” Roofus asked.
“Him and Nolfus were together,” Aurus said, “But Solus guided and directed him.”
“Why did he have him whacked even before the coup had failed?” Roofus asked.
Aurus burst out laughing. Roofus got angry and kicked him again in the chest leaving him coughing hard this time.
“Just answer the questions, bastard,” Roofus said.
“You don’t get it, you are gullible,” Aurus said, “Coup was meant to fail. Even I did not see it then. Solus knew that Starfirian forces were coming and they would never tolerate a revolutionary government. Their protection treaty obliges them to help put down insurrections. Solus knew that then Chancellor Augus would have to resign in the aftermath and that Republican Guard would be hated across the republic. Rest of the planets associate the Guards with Nestor and Nestor with Remus. They would all vote for Solus after the coup attempt, especially after the public stunt he pulled and after Remus ran away like a coward.”
“Goodness! You people…unbelievable,” Roofus couldn’t find words to express his bewilderment at these revelations.
“But even Solus could not believe his luck,” Aurus managed a light chuckle, “Augus died and the foolish Starfirian commander installed Solus as the Chancellor. He expected Starfirians to not oppose him to show their neutrality in internal matters. That is why he had postured against them but even he did not dream that they themselves would fulfill his final goal.”
Roofus wasn’t listening now. He was thinking if Aurus was telling the truth and if the gunman had indeed called Solus…he might send troops, the ones he had brought over from his home planet.
“We have to get out of here,” Roofus said. He walked over to the back of the tree and shot the belt with his laser pistol. He lifted Aurus to his feet with one of his hands while holding the pistol with the other and motioned forward, “you try any tricks to escape and I shoot you and leave you for dead.”
“Where would I run? Solus controls the entire state apparatus,” Aurus said as they hurried out of the trees.
“What was your role in the coup?” Roofus asked as they walked out of the nature preserve.
“I was recruited for my access to Boutrous Golus company’s equipment and computers,” Aurus said, “Solus wanted to get rid of Remus because he is popular on Nestor but Lemon Bree would have been despised for not being able to control his Republican Guards or for being complicit with them.”
“And what did they offer you, some ancient coins?” Roofus chuckled nervously.
“Actually yes,” Aurus stopped suddenly and turned to him, “Solus had promised me all the museums’ collections of old and rare coins. Immeasurably valuable and a feast as collectibles.”
“That has to be the strangest bribe in history…” Roofus said then saw four airships land about half a mile ahead of them. They had their powerful floodlights on and were searching the area. Roofus’s own rented airship was parked about halfway between them and the new arrivals, in front of the Old Nestor coin shop.
“Walk fast but quietly,” Roofus whispered. He let go of Aurus and started trotting at a brisk pace hoping they weren’t spotted.
Roofus and Aurus were about to reach his airship when one of the floodlights fell upon them, a few soldiers jumped out of the airship and one of them yelled ‘there they are.’
Roofus opened fire at the soldiers from his laser pistol while running to his airship door. A couple of soldiers went down and the rest ran for cover behind their own airships. Roofus reached his airship and jumped right in. Then he turned around to extend his hand to Aurus and Aurus grabbed it. Right then the soldiers opened fire with their laser guns and riddled Aurus’ body with holes.
Roofus let him go, shut the door and flew the airship fast over the nature preserve and accelerated at top speed. He could see from his mirror that the four airships had also taken to sky in pursuit.
Roofus flew high and low and up and down and fast. He twisted and turned his airship and made dives and rolls. He had been a top fighter pilot and a spy pilot; these chumps weren’t going to catch him. The airships chasing him tried their best to keep up with his maneuvers and mostly failed. But they had an advantage: they had laser cannons on their airship. A couple of shots that shook Roofus’ airship hard reminded him of this fact.
His airship had no armor, just the strength of the hull that would not withstand too many laser hits. Roofus looked through his rear view mirror and saw more airships join in the pursuit. The first light of dawn came over the horizon and bathed them in it. Roofus was flying towards the sun. He could see the ‘Infantry Corps’ insignia on the airships in pursuit.
He hadn’t been certain if Aurus had been telling the truth earlier and even now was cautious in taking his word. But the fact that the infantry corps was coming after him bolstered Aurus’ testimony. Neither VC Remus nor Interior Minister Lemon Bree had direct command of infantry forces and neither did any battleship generals. It was headed by the Chancellor himself: Solus Varus.
A laser bolt struck his airship in the rear and an alarm started blaring and many indicators on the flight panel went haywire. He saw smoke billowing from his rear. Roofus dived down fast then yanked his airship straight up in the air and gained some distance. But where could he really escape?
Even Vice-Chancellor Remus, the second most powerful man in Nestorian Republic, could not save him from Solus. The Senate wasn’t in session and anyhow he would not be allowed to get anywhere close let alone speak to it. He could try to fly his airship to General Vegus’ battleship in the orbit but Vegus was no Bakus; he wasn’t going to stand up to Solus.
He looked out the side window and down below. He was still over the nature preserve. He could ditch the airship, flee into the forest and go underground. He was a trained and experienced spy after all. But that severely constrained his options and solved no problem.
Suddenly it flashed across his mind that Starfirian base was located on the outskirts of the city not far from here. He changed his course and set it towards that base on maximum speed.
There were over 20 airships of infantry corps now in pursuit of him. He was still dodging laser bolts from their cannons when a voice crackled over the radio, “Attention intruders! You are one minute from the airspace reserved for the Starfirian base under the agreement with your government. Return, land or get shot down.”
Wonderful! Roofus rubbed his hand in glee for a second then resumed control. He kept flying forward. Then just before he entered the reserved airspace, he dove his airship into the open ground in front of the base, almost crash landed and sprang out of the airship and took off running towards the outer wall surrounding the base.
The infantry corps airships’ ignored the warning and Starfirians responded by firing warning shots across their bow with anti-aircraft laser cannons.
Then they too landed.
Over a hundred troops poured out of them and they all started running after Roofus who had 20 meters lead ahead of them.
Inside the base Starfirian soldiers poured out of their barracks and sprinted up the wall and took positions in a single file with their laser guns pointing forward. Col. Jarvyk had arrived on the scene carrying a pistol, binoculars and a megaphone. He was standing in a moat, looking out through his binoculars. He recognized Roofus and saw a few Nestorian soldiers kneeling down with their laser gun pointed at Roofus’ back. He quickly raised the megaphone and yelled, “Attention Nestorian soldiers. Do not fire on him or we will return fire.”
The Nestorian soldiers taking aim were now confused, looked at each other and decided to withhold firing. But most of the soldiers were still chasing after Roofus who was running for his life.
“Boys, if he makes the wall, grab him and pull him up,” Jarvyk spoke but not through the megaphone.
“What if he doesn’t?” one soldier asked.
“Then it’s just too bad for him,” Jarvyk replied, “We can’t get involved.”
The soldiers in green and gold ran towards the wall and soldiers in red and black stood behind the wall and watched. Roofus was alone. He sighted the gate from the side of his eye but he would have to run diagonally for it and the soldiers would catch up. He had to scale the wall straight ahead, but how?
Roofus ran on instinct. Just as he was about to run into the wall, a couple of Starfirian soldiers leaned down and extended their hands. Roofus grabbed one of them and the soldier and his friend started to pull him up. A particularly fast Nestorian soldier jumped forward and grabbed one of Roofus’ boots. Roofus turned around, kicked him in the face with his other boot and was then pulled up the wall and inside the compound.
Roofus fell down on the ground and just lay down with all his sweat on his brow and breathed heavily. Then he saw a multitude of laser guns pointing down at him.
Outside a standoff developed between the Nestorian soldiers and Starfirian soldiers as they aimed their laser guns at each other.
Roofus was escorted inside the cylindrical building at the center of the base where he had been before. Then he was taken to a floor and sat down in an enclosed room with just a table and two opposite chairs. He was left there for over an hour. He shouted questions every now and then but no one answered.
Finally, Col. Jarvyk walked in with two of his Strike Soldiers flanking him on either side and aiming their laser long guns straight at Roofus.
“What am I to make of this Mr. Roofus Bolfus?” Col. Jarvyk asked him, “You are running from your own army. If I hadn’t known you, I might have let them have you.”
“But thank you for saving me, Col. Jarvyk,” Roofus said.
“I was just talking to y
our Chancellor Solus, and he demands your immediate handover,” Jarvyk said, “Why shouldn’t I?”
“I formally request protection under the Emperor of Starfire,” Roofus said, “Starfire Empire does offer courtesy protection to persecuted individuals.”
“Persecuted,” Jarvyk emphasized.
“I will be,” Roofus said then told him about his investigation into the coup since after their last meeting and his interrogation of Aurus.
“Your allegations are explosive,” Jarvyk said, “But Chancellor Solus says you have gone crazy due to chemical experiments Mercurians did on you.”
“But your own Starship thoroughly decontaminated me, remember,” Roofus said then reached into his pocket. The two soldiers stepped forward.
“Just a recorder,” Roofus smiled. He took out a small voice recorder, placed it on the table in front and hit ‘play’. He had recorded the entire Aurus interrogation unbeknownst to that man.
Jarvyk was taken aback by the recording.
He grabbed the recorder off the table when it was finished playing and said, “We will verify the authenticity of this then we will talk further.”
“Take this with you too,” Roofus took out a laser pistol from his pocket to the consternation of the soldiers and then dropped it on the table.
“We trust you, you can keep it,” Jarvyk replied.
“Oh no, it’s not mine,” Roofus smiled, “This is Gormus 0.88, the same type of laser pistol you claimed shot Nolfus. I claim this one actually did.”
Jarvyk gawked at Roofus then hurriedly picked up the pistol and rushed out of the room. The two soldiers remained but they made no talk with him.
Jarvyk returned half an hour later but empty handed. His face twitched with worry when he said, “Mr. Roofus, I am afraid you have started a storm.”
“They check out, don’t they?” Roofus asked.
“Yes, at least our preliminary examination shows no evidence of tampering with the voice recorder,” Jarvyk said, “and the pistol’s laser beam’s intensity and structure matches the wound on Nolfus’s body.”