Monsters Win Wars: A Novella

by Edward Punales

  “But things aren’t that simple. The only truth is that while legions of soldiers scour the stars for me, you sit in a hole on some godforsaken rock, waiting to rot. Your lizard men can’t save you. Nothing can. This is the only thing your idealism has gotten you.”

  Henry punched him again, and Sallis laughed as he fell to the ground. Emily then dragged him out to the door. Sallis continued to laugh as they closed the door behind him.

  “Is everything alright?” Aric asked as they exited the cell.

  “Yeah, I just...” Henry trailed off, feeling shame and anger well-up inside him. He’d let himself lose control. He knew that he might have to get physical, but he didn’t want to act like a madman. He turned to Emily, and said, “Thanks.”

  “No problem.” She said, patting him on the back.

  “Why did you stop?” Rand asked. The two humans looked at him. “You were just starting to do it right.”

  “I…I didn’t want to risk hurting him anymore than I needed to.”

  “It doesn’t matter what you want boy. The fact is we need that information, and we need it fast.”

  “I know that!” Henry shouted. He stopped and took a deep breath before saying, “We’ll wait another few minutes, then I’ll go-”

  “No it won’t work.” Aric said. “He knows that he can get to you.”

  “I won’t blow my top this time. I know now to be careful with him.”

  “That’s not what I mean. He’s seen you with your guard down. Your threats won’t work as easily.”

  “I don’t need to threaten. I just need to emphasize that we have the upper hand.”

  “But he won’t see that. I heard the way he talked to you. In his mind, you can never have the upper hand.”

  “Commander!” said a voice coming down the hall. They all turned to see another Saurian troop running up to them. He wore a pair of headphones around his neck, and held a clump of papers in his hand.

  “Sir.” The troop stopped, and slammed his right claw against his left shoulder. Henry had learned that this was the Saurian salute. Aric returned the salute, and asked the troop what he wanted.

  “There is a human military dreadnought about to enter Saturnian space.” He said, handing the paper in his hand to Aric. Emily walked over, and they both looked over the printout.

  “Shit.” She said, taking the paper from Aric’s hands.

  “Have they found us yet?” Aric asked.

  “No.” The communications trooper said. “We’re still too far away for their scanners to break through our jamming signals. But they are getting close. We estimate they’ll be over Titan within the next four hours.”

  Aric turned to Emily and asked, “Can your jamming signals work if they’re right over us?”

  “I don’t know.” She said. “They’re going to be using the latest military-grade equipment.”

  “Is there any way to increase the signal strength?”

  “Maybe, I do have a few ideas.” She looked up at the trooper with the headphones around his neck. “Let’s go.”

  The trooper nodded, and they took off back to the communications room. As soon as they left, Rand swore in his Saurian tongue.

  “We’re running out of time. We need that information from him now.” Rand said.

  “We have other things to worry about besides the interrogation.” Henry said.

  “Don’t you see, if we interrogate him right now, we could get that dreadnought off our backs.”

  “He’s right.” Aric said. “If he can tell us the exact frequency codes for the sensors on the dreadnoughts, it’ll be easier to jam their signals.” Henry bit at his lower lip.

  “But we don’t have enough time.” The rebel leader said.

  “Yes we do.” Aric said. “Rand is one the best interrogators you’ll ever meet.”

  “It won’t take long at all.” Rand said. Henry looked at those dark yellow eyes, and saw a pinch of a smile at the corner of his reptilian lips.

  He remembered the brutality with which he’d dispatched the soldiers in the villa, and said, “No.”

  “Senator, we don’t have a choice.” Aric said.

  “I know, but I don’t want him doing it.”

  “Why not?” Rand asked. Henry stopped to pick his words carefully.

  “I want you to….”

  “To what?”

  “Senator,” Aric said. “I know you place human rights and dignity in very high esteem, but this is war.”

  “I won’t hurt him.” Rand said. The other two stared at him. “I will get the information without giving him a scratch, or breaking any bones.”

  “You swear?” Henry asked.

  “Interrogation is primary about intimidation anyway, and there are many ways to intimidate without causing serious physical injury.” Henry stared at him for a few moments, searching the reptilian face for any hint of his true intentions, but couldn’t find any.

  “Alright,” Henry said finally. “But remember, we’re soldiers, not monsters.”

  “Yes sir.” Rand said. He nodded to Aric, before entering the cell.

  “What is he going to do?” Henry asked as the saurian closed the door behind him.

  “He has his methods, and they almost always work.” Aric said. He turned to Henry, and saw the bags that hung under his eyes and the sunken-in cheeks on his face. “How long has it been since you’ve eaten?”

  Henry shrugged and said, “I don’t know. Me and Emily have been very busy. I think I’m going to go meet her in the communications room.”

  “I’ll go with you.” Aric said, and they left.

  Upon opening the cell door, the president stood up with a start.

  “You…your one of them.” He said. Rand didn’t look at him. He just closed the door behind him, and pressed his ear against it. He was listening for when Aric and Henry left. “You know you guys are making a mistake.”

  Rand turned around to Sallis. His yellow eyes stared at him with contempt.

  “I didn’t mean that you can’t win.” Sallis added quickly. “I just mean that, you’re wasting your time with this Patrick. Why not join up with me?”

  “I am loyal to Aric, who is in turn loyal to Senator Patrick.” Rand pulled himself from the door, and faced Sallis.

  “Oh c’mon, be reasonable.” Sallis said. He smiled nervously as the lizard man approached. “I am the most powerful man in the solar system. I can be an incredible ally to you.”

  “Not interested. Take off your clothes.”

  Sallis eyes went wide. He watched as Rand’s clawed hands undid the fabric belt around his torso. The red dress robe slid off his body, and fell the ground, revealing his skinny, scaly, naked form.

  “What are…?” Sallis began, his heart racing in his chest.

  “Take off your clothes.” Rand said, walking toward him.

  “Oh god.” Sallis muttered.

  “Do you need me to do it for you?” Rand asked. Sallis didn’t answer, and instead tried to make a run for the door.

  “Help! Help!” He said. Rand stuck out a foot, and tripped him. He then threw himself on top of the president. His scaly chest pressed against his back.

  “Scream if you wish.” Rand said.

  CHAPTER III

  Six months later, and the rebellion could finally say it had the upper hand.

  They were on Mars, on a stretch of uninhabited desert. They’d abandoned the Titan base, and had instead begun to use the saurian ship as a mobile base of operations. Using the frequency codes that President Sallis had given them, they’d been able to prevent themselves from being found, as they nomadically traversed the solar system.

  With Sallis as their prisoner, Rand was able to extract tons of vital information; security codes, and the locations of targets with strategic military value. Armed with this information, the rebellion was able to deal strategic blows against the government, crippling their armies, and weakening their leadership. Using pure guerrilla tactics, and the skill of the saurian soldier
s, the rebellion seemed well on its way to liberating the solar system. Henry himself had trouble at times believing their good fortune, and frequently suspected that something might be amiss. He didn’t have any concrete evidence, it was just a feeling.

  Rand and a few of the other troops were in the hold of the saurian ship sparing. Henry walked onto the balcony that overlooked the hold, and stood watching the training session. There were four of them, all circling around Rand. They were wearing the black commando suits they wore in combat, but they had forgone the helmets for the training. On their hands were black gloves that covered their claws. Henry had seen a few sparing sessions before, and he always found them impressive and disturbing.

  It was different from watching them fight with human soldiers, who were slower, and relied on rifles. The movements were quick and precise, the scaly limbs blurring past each other almost too fast for the human eye to detect them. They liked to get right up to their opponent, assault them head on. They pummeled, kicked, clawed, elbowed, and threw each other all about the hold. As he stood up there, watching the inhuman battle before him, he felt some of his conviction leave him. But he remembered the folder in his hand. Before he could leave, he forced himself to speak.

  “Rand!” he said. Almost immediately, the sparing stopped. Some of them lay pinned on their backs, some were crouched, and preparing to pounce. Rand and one other were standing. They all slowly turned and looked up to face Henry. The rebel leader picked out Rand’s scarred face. A line of blood ran from the temple to the chin, and another ran just under the right eye. A few of the others had blood on their faces. In the last few months, Henry had seen these commandos in countless combat situations, but the only time they bled was during training.

  They didn’t pant, or sweat, but just stared up at him as their tense, combat ready bodies began to relax. Without their helmets, Henry could see the trails of tears that glistened on their cheeks. But these were not tears of anguish at the pain they’d endured. According to Aric, it was quite natural for saurians to cry during combat.

  Henry didn’t want to ask anymore. He’d resolved to spend as little time around them as possible during training sessions. But what he found out couldn’t wait. He needed to know what was going on.

  “What is it?” Rand asked, his voice irritable. “I told you never to disturb us while we’re sparing.”

  Henry held up the medical report in his hand and said, “It’s about Sallis.” Rand’s eye’s narrowed into slits.

  “Leave us.” Rand said to the others. The others left through a door along the wall, as Henry descended the stairway, to meet Rand on the ground.

  “We did a physical on him this morning.” Henry said.

  “I ordered that you were not to do any such thing.” Rand said. During the six months that they’d kept Sallis as their prisoner, Rand had insisted that he be the only one to have contact with him. The logic was that for continued interrogations to work, that Sallis needed to feel trapped, and only having contact with the one who interrogated him would help. Aric agreed, again appealing to the fact that Rand was an expert interrogator who knew what he was saying, but Henry protested. He felt that at the very least, Sallis should be allowed an occasional visit to the ship doctor to see if he had any health problems.

  “It’s only the humane thing to do.” Henry had said. But they ignored him.

  That morning, against their wishes, Henry decided to visit Sallis. The president lay in his bed, staring up at the ceiling.

  “Mr. President?” Henry had said. The president didn’t say anything. He didn’t speak or acknowledge Henry’s presence. The rebel leader immediately called Emily, and together they carried Sallis to the infirmary, where they performed some tests, the results of which Henry had brought to the hold where Rand had been training.

  “Well we did it anyway.” Henry said, holding up the medical file on Sallis’ physical.

  “You defied my orders?” Rand said, more annoyed than offended.

  “Do you know what we found?”

  “I don’t care. I am the second-in-command of this army, and the chief interrogator. Do you have any-”

  “Shut the fuck up!” Henry interrupted. His breathing had become hard. His arms were shaking, and his eyes seemed to bore into Rand. The saurian didn’t say anything. Henry held up the file, and asked, “Do you know what we found when we did the physical?”

  Rand stared at the file silently for a few moments, before looking back at Henry. His thin lizard lips spread in a small smile.

  “Is he pregnant?” Rand said. Henry dropped the folder, and punched the lizard man in the face. The force of the punch made Rand stumble back. Henry began to nurse his fist. He could see the diamond shape indentations on his knuckles, where they’d collided with the scaly face.

  Once the shock of the punch had worn off, the saurian ran up to Henry and grabbed him by the arm. He pulled him close, and wrapped his hand around his neck.

  “Don’t ever strike me again!” Rand said, his lizard face had become livid. He bared his dagger-like teeth, in a menacing scowl. His eyes seemed to glow with hatred, and his claws pressed into Henry’s skin. “If you ever strike me again, I will slit your throat!”

  “And what would Aric say about that?!” Henry said. The long scaly fingers around his throat began to tighten their grip, and the claws began to sink deeper into his skin. For a few seconds, Henry thought he was going to suffocate, or that the lizard claws at his throat would find their way to a major artery. Instead, the Saurian Commando gave an angry grunt, before throwing Henry to the ground.

  Rand stood watching as Henry pushed himself off the ground. He stood up, and dragged his fingers around his neck, checking if the creature’s claws had broken the skin.

  Through gasps, he looked at Rand and asked, “What the fuck is wrong with you?”

  “I’m efficient.” Rand said. “We needed the information, and I got it.”

  “We’re freedom fighters,” Henry said. “We’re trying to stop the violence, not perpetuate it. We were supposed to be the better men. We aren’t monsters!”

  “But I am.” Rand said. “I’m a monster. This is war, and monsters win wars.”

  “I’m not waging that kind of war.”

  “Then what kind of war were you expecting?” Rand said.

  “I expected to be civilized.” Henry said. “I expected to not act like animals.”

  “Civilized?” Rand asked. “Where was this on the day I saved you in that villa?” Henry was silent. “When I sliced open their guts, and their lives flashed before their eyes, was that civilized?

  “Last week, my men and I sabotaged a fleet of dreadnoughts. We destroyed their life support systems, cutting them off from their oxygen supply. You helped to plan that mission. Where was this compassion when those men spent their last moments gasping for air, millions of miles from home?”

  “That was different.” Henry said. “They were soldiers; they knew the risks.”

  “And being the head-of-state for a totalitarian regime isn’t a risky position?”

  “What you did was pure evil.”

  “That’s his problem; not mine, not yours.”

  “It is my problem.”

  “I guess it is.” Rand said. “You humans are weak that way.”

  Henry didn’t know what to say. They stared at each other across the training ground. Contempt built up in both of them, and they shared an intense desire to destroy each. But neither could fulfill this desire; Henry knew Rand was too powerful for him, and Rand knew he couldn’t touch Henry without receiving the wrath of Aric. It was a stalemate.

  The cold silence was broken by an alarm that echoed through the ship. They heard hurried footsteps, and looked up to see a young saurian solider appear on the balcony above.

  “Sallis has escaped.” The young solider said.

  “Are you sure?” Rand asked.

  “Yes, we checked his cell and the infirmary. He’s nowhere to be found.”

 
; “You left him alone?!” Rand barked at Henry. The rebel leader didn’t say anything. He turned back to the young soldier. “Seal off all the exits. Handout portable radios to all personal, and put them into search parties. I want him found and captured within twenty-minutes.”

  “Yes sir.” The young solider said, and all three of them left the room.

  Henry was searching the cafeteria with Rand and two commandoes, when they got a call on the radio that Sallis had been spotted heading toward the communications room.

  “Where is he right now?” Rand asked into his radio.

  “He was seen passing the engine room on the security cameras.” said the voice on the radio.

  “Send as many people as possible down there right now!”

  “Yes sir.”

  Rand clipped the radio to his belt. Him, Henry and the others began to sprint toward the communications room.

  “If he gets there before us, he’ll be able to call for help.” Rand scowled, before shooting a dirty look at Henry. “This is your fault. You allowed your feelings to get in the way, and did something stupid. You humans cling to your emotions like children.”

  Henry didn’t say anything, and instead kept going down the hallway. It was another minute before they reached the door to the communications room. It was open, and there were no other saurian troops anywhere. They entered, and sitting at the control console was President Sallis.

  “Sallis?” Henry said, running up to him. Sallis didn’t say anything; he just looked blankly at Henry, before turning to Rand and the others who stood in the doorway.

  “What did you do?” Rand asked. The president’s body remained rigid.

  “Sallis,” Henry said. The president turned to him. “Mr. President, I am so sorry.”

  “Who did you call?” Rand asked. Sallis still did not acknowledge anything that anyone said. He just kept staring, with those wide, damaged eyes.

  “Mr. President, are you still there?” Asked a voice that came through the speakers mounted on the console. Rand cursed in his lizard tongue, as he and one of the commandoes walked over to the console. “Mr. President, we have received your coordinates and are sending help now. Do you copy?”