~~~~~~~~~~
Will was taken to the back of the rear hangar and through an airlock. Once through, the guards removed their helmets and gestured for Will to do the same. He wasn’t unhappy to do so. Even though he had worked in space a long time, he had always felt that spacesuits were more a necessary evil than a pleasant experience and he always tried to be fully suited for as little time as possible. As he removed his helmet, he took a deep breath. Although the smell wasn’t unpleasant, the air recyclers were clearly not fully coping with the various odours brought about by human habitation in a closed environment.
Helmets removed and clipped below the power pack on their backs, the guards moved him down a corridor towards a large, imposing door.
One knocked on the door and waited patiently. Eventually, a loud shout was heard from within and one of the guards opened the door and they all entered. Behind a large desk stood a stern-looking individual. The man had a shaved head and a thick, grey beard. Two circular gold earrings were inserted into his left earlobe. He wore a dark grey military uniform, with no markings other than the insignia the others had on their shoulders. He didn’t look like someone to be messed with.
Two of his guards stood, weapons ready, just behind Will. The other guard moved in front and to one side of him, saluted, then said to the man "La spiono, Ĝenerale, kiel ordonis.
The man moved from behind the desk and stood in front of Will, looking him up and down . Apparently satisfied, he suddenly punched Will in the stomach and shouted "KLU VI ESTAS? KIEL VI RICEVIS EN MIA BAZO?
Will doubled up in agony. It took him a few seconds to recover his breath before looking blankly back at the man, not having understood the question.
The man moved towards him, staring menacingly. "MI DEMANDIS AL VI DEMANDON. RESPONDU AL MI. NUN!" he shrieked, grabbing Will by his spacesuit collar and moving his head to within a few inches of Will’s face. He was so close, that Will could smell the man’s last meal.
"I have no idea what you’re saying. I don’t speak your language" replied Will, trying desperately not to appear intimidated.
The man stepped back, away from Will. Addressing the room he said "Ha! The spy CAN speak, after all! Now, I asked you how you got here. Now you can understand the question, perhaps you can answer it. Start by telling me your name. You will call me Sir. Before you answer, you should know that I am Exalted General Willem Gott." Despite the man’s English being excellent, he had a distinct accent that Will couldn’t quite place.
"My name’s Will Hunt. I don’t entirely know how I got here. I was on Astraeus 5, looking for minerals, when I found a building I didn’t expect to find. Somehow, I found myself being chased by one of your men and was captured" Will lied.
Will was taken by complete surprise when a guard hit the back of his head with the butt of his rifle, sending him forward.
"What was that for?" asked Will, rubbing the point of impact, trying to regain his composure.
"You will always address me as Sir. Failure to do so will mean further blows to your head. Is that understood?" answered the General, who continued "Your suit has the name Galacticomm on the sleeve. That doesn’t sound like the sort of company name I would have expected on any kind of mining or survey company uniform. I think you’re lying. Trust me on this, I don’t like people lying to me" came the menacing response
"OK. I’m a radio communications engineer and Billy and I found a signal being transmitted from a nearby communications centre to here and were intrigued as to why. Sir." There was an edge to the way Will said ‘Sir’. It sounded almost insulting, like you might get from a fawning shop assistant, who somehow made the word sound more like they had said ‘Cur’.
The General didn’t seem to notice. Although his English was good, he was clearly not experienced enough with the language to detect nuances in the way words had been used. In his noticeable accent, he continued "Now, that wasn’t so difficult. The truth is so much simpler. As you can see, ignoring me leads to pain and suffering. So, only you and this Billy came here?"
"Yes, Sir. But we haven’t found out where the data was being sent, or why."
"I assume that you have managed to work out that you are in a different reality. The explanation for the datastream is very simple. We wanted intelligence on what was happening in your reality and our techs found that this was a simple way of doing so. We have been monitoring your transmissions for some time. Your free press even seems happy to provide details of naval movements within the system. Most obliging of them. Now tell me, what happened to your friend, this Billy."
"I don’t know what happened to him, Sir. One moment he was behind me, then he wasn’t" replied Will, truthfully.
"Was it just the two of you?"
"Yes, Sir."
"And what might this Billy be doing now?"
"If I were him, I would panic at first then think about jumping back to this reality to see if I could be found. I would be very nervous about doing so, because of all your military personnel about and the risk of getting caught myself, Sir."
"So he could be watching us now?
"I doubt it, Sir. He wouldn't be able to find us in your office. He's probably getting worried by now, though.
At this, the General moved away and stared at a large map on the wall. After a few minutes, he turned back to the room and addressed the senior guard. "Prenu tiun personon al la ĉeloj kaj petu Lieŭtenanto Wilds vidi.
The guard saluted and turned around to face Will. He then raised his weapon and gestured for Will to leave the room. Will could only assume that the General had decided that there was nothing to be gained by interrogating him further and probably had more productive things to do.
The guards took him back towards the airlock they had entered a short while before but continued on past it towards a plain grey door that Will hadn’t previously noticed. This time, his guards didn’t hesitate and went straight through the door. Beyond, there was another guard seated at a small desk. One of his guards spoke and the new guard went to a nearby door and opened it. Will was shoved towards it and pushed inside. The new guard then shouted "Suit. Off" but it was said with a very strong accent and seemed to be a struggle for the man to say.
Unfortunately, Will didn’t fully understand what had been said, so didn’t respond immediately. One of the guards behind him slammed the butt of his weapon into the back of his head and sent him reeling. The guard repeated the instruction "Suit. Off." This time, Will did understand and slowly removed his suit and handed it to the guards, who hung it up across the corridor outside his new home. With that, the guards left and the door slammed shut behind them.
Will looked around his cell and suddenly felt dejected. Sitting on the shelf that doubled as both a bed and a seat, he looked around. The cell was about four metres square, with a toilet in a slightly closed-off area in one corner. The light was dim but sufficient for him to see the worn and well-used look it had. It looked, and smelled, like a prison cell.
Fortunately, it wasn’t cold. If anything, he felt quite warm, although he found himself doing an involuntary shudder.
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