U.N. Spacy First Lieutenant Roy Fokker is dry now.
The one hundred watt incandescent lamp directly above him had dried off his uniform and hair that had been soaking wet from the heavy downpour outside. The light is reflected brightly off the steel table.
"Let's begin this, Fokker," says Detective Bruno Fantone. "Where is Sally Mayfield?"
"I don't know," says Roy. "I last saw her at the ball last week."
"So you say," says the detective. "How long have you known Miss Mayfield?"
"Since I was assigned to the U.N. base in Macross City. She was one of the technical officers."
"When did you first meet Miss Mayfield that Saturday night?"
"I picked her up at her quarters and I took her to the ball," answers Roy. "We were there, and then I left."
"You left?" asks Fantone.
"She wasn't the date I was expecting. I ended the date there and then I went back to my quarters."
"Could anyone vouch for you?"
"My roommate, Lieutenant Eddie Marsden, came in a few hours later."
"So there were a few hours that no one else could account for," says Detective Fantone. "So you left early, and she was still at the ball when you left."
"Yes, that's right."
"Witnesses say that you left with Sally Mayfield."
"What witnesses?" asks Roy.
"I'm asking the questions here, Fokker," says the detective. "What did you do with Sally Mayfield?"
"Nothing."
Fantone slams a flyer onto the table. "What about Sadako Kakizaki?" asks the detective. "Where is she?"
"Who?" asks Roy, looking at the picture of the dark-haired girl that is on the flyer.
"The girl you took from Space the night she was last seen. Where is she?"
Roy stands up. "I'm not answering any of your questions, Detective."
Fantone pushes Roy back in the chair. "This isn't America, pal. You do not have the right to remain silent. Refusal to answer my questions constitutes a criminal offense."
"I don't know where Sadako Kakizaki is."
"What about Abigail McGee?" asks the detective. He slams another flyer on the table. "She was only sixteen. What did you do to her, you pervert? What did you do with the others? Did you bury them? Eat them? Are you keeping them in some dungeon so that you can do them at will?"
"No," says Roy.
Fantone slams down another flyer. "What about Ivina Govich? She was a young tourist who went missing Thursday. Is she part of your collection?"
"No. I did not do anything with them. I did not kill them!"
"So you're just holding them in a dungeon."
"No, I am not. I want a lawyer"
"You'll get a lawyer when you're charged with murder. Is anyone else working with you, Roy Fokker. Name names!"
"I did not kill those girls, nor am I keeping them somewhere."
"I don't believe you, Fokker. Lying to the police is also a criminal offense, although the extra sentence is minor compared to what you're facing."
Roy hears the door slam.
"So that's the guy," says Police Chief Scott Bernard, standing in an adjacent room.
"Yeah, we identified him from security camera footage and witness statements," replies Detective Fantone.
"I hope it was worth it having to wake up and drive through this pouring rain. Any more leads? Any partners?"
"We're checking all of his communications. His land and cell lines are already tapped."
Bernard looks at Fokker through the window. "Detective, how long do you have him?"
"We can keep him until the next business day, when we have to present him before a judicial authority to charge him with something or else we gotta let him go," answers the detective. "The next business day is Monday, so he's ours for the weekend."
"And he's in the military, right? So his CO would act as a judicial authority."
"Of course."
"I'd better get some sleep," says the chief, yawning. "I promised the wife and kids to take them to Haha-jima Island this morning. What is this world coming to?"
"See you later, Chief," says Bruno Fantone.
Ooooooooo
The gym at the Macross City U.N. Spacy Base is popular with the personnel stationed at the base. The gym includes treadmills, weightlifting equipment, dumbbells, and free weights. Several smaller rooms are for classroom instruction or racquetball practice. Upbeat music plays throughout the gym.
Lieutenant Claudia Grant runs on one of the treadmills, clad in a gray T-shirt reading "SPACY" and gym shorts, which is the typical exercise outfit for a servicewoman. She hears her cell phone ring, and answers it.
"Lieutenant Grant speaking," she says.
"Claudia, it's Vince," says Vince. "The police are here, and they want to see you. I hope you're not in any trouble."
"I'll be right there, Vince."
Claudia jogs out of the gym and along the streets of the base, towards the base family housing where she is billeted. It is not that hard of a workout. She is briefly reminded of her initial physical training when she was a raw recruit in the Spacy.
I wore out after four minutes.
She reaches the townhouse where she is billeted, and enters the door.
"Are you Lieutenant Claudia Grant?" asks a man in a suit.
"Why yes," says Claudia. She looks around, and sees Spacy policemen inside the living room, including Lieutenant Commander Tariq Rantisi.
"I'm Detective Bruno Fantone, Macross City PD. I want to ask you a few questions."
"About what?" asks Claudia.
"Do you know a Lieutenant Sally Mayfield?"
"I've met her before, and I've been with her out to bars and clubs; I do not know her as I would a friend."
"Were you at the ball last week?"
"Yes, I was. And Sally Mayfield was there with Roy Fokker. I heard she's listed as AWOL. The Spacy Police asked me about her earlier this week."
"How long did you know Roy Fokker?" asks the detective.
"I've known him since I was stationed at the Laramie Spacy Air Station in Wyoming," replies the lieutenant.
"And describe you relationship with Roy Fokker."
"He was trying to charm me, as he always does. After Laramie, I was stationed aboard ARMD-01 and I went on a cruise, with shore leave on Mars. After my space duty was done, I was stationed here in Macross City, near Alien Star Ship One."
"Did you start a relationship with Roy Fokker?" asks Fantone.
"No, I did not."
"At midnight today, Roy Fokker spoke with you on the phone."
Claudia shows surprise that the detective knows that. "Yes, he did. He wanted to talk, so I went out to meet him."
"In the pouring rain?"
"Yes."
:"What did you talk about?"
"Personal stuff."
"What kind of personal stuff?" asks the detective.
"That is none of your business."
"You are required to answer his questions, Lieutenant," says Commander Rantisi. "Last time I checked, you're not a lawyer or chaplain."
"Roy spoke about his fears," says Claudia. "Test pilots do fly aircraft that hasn't been tested before."
"And he wanted to talk to you out in the pouring rain just to talk to you about that?" asks the detective. "You expect me to believe that, Grant?"
"It is the truth. Whether you want to believe it is up to you."
"What were you really talking about?"
"Like I said, Roy wanted to talk about all the fears and stress he goes through as a combat pilot."
"Okay then, Lieutenant Grant," says Detective Fantone. "We will search this place."
"You're searching my home?"
"It's part of a criminal investigation," says Commander Rantisi. "Don't interfere."
"Why? Did Sally Mayfield do something more than become AWOL?" asks Claudia.
And so the Spacy policemen and two of the Macross City police officers search the quarters of Claudia Grant, turning over couch cushions, looking through bookcases, opening drawers and cupboards, and even opening the refrigerator.
"We have a laptop here," says a Spacy police sergeant. "It might have something useful."
"It's mine," protests Claudia.
"We are going to impound it for evidence," says Fantone. "We will return it to you after we copy the data."
"There could be classified data in there," says Vince Grant, watching from the hallway.
"I'd have to arrest the lieutenant here if that's true," replies Commander Rantisi.
Oooooooo
The next day, Detective Bruno Fantone walks alongside Chief Scott Bernard in the Macross City Civic Center.
"Nothing turned up on that broad's computer so far, even though we copied the hard drive," says the detective. "We did plant a device which will allow us to monitor her wireless connections."
"And you tapped her land and cell lines too, right?" asks the chief.
"Of course."
"Do you think Claudia Grant worked with Fock-er?"
"I don't know, Chief. I've also spoken to his roommate Eddie Marsden. And of course, I've tapped his cell phone line."
Bernard faces a crowd of people. Some of them hold video cameras, while others take photographs. A news van is parked outside on the street that serves the civic center.
"Good morning," says the police chief. "As many of you know, at least four girls have been reported missing. We have a suspect in custody, a Spacy Lieutenant Roy Fock-er. We expect criminal charges to be filed tomorrow morning."
"Do you know where the missing girls are?" asks a reporter.
"No," answers Bernard. "Roy Fock-er refused to tell us where he has hidden them."
"Has he confessed?" asks another reporter.
"No, he has not."
"Did he work alone?"
"We are still too early in the investigation to determine one way or the other. We are getting assistance from Interpol, as well as the military's Office of Criminal Investigations."
Claudia sees the police chief's news conference from her living room. She sits down on the couch, knowing that she will not be able to stand much longer.
Oooooooo
On Monday at around 1100, Lieutenant Roy Fokker is brought into the Macross City Spacy Base's brig, escorted by Detective Bruno Fantone and five Macross City police officers. They enter through the prisoner processing area, accessed by a side entrance. Two Spacy policemen bearing Remington shotguns stand guard, while a Spacy lieutenant in charge of the brig sits at a table.
Detective Fantone signs a paper, which is countersigned by the brig officer, recording the transfer of custody. Major General Ahmadu Sako then turns in a form, authorizing confinement on charges of murder.
A Spacy police sergeant and a corporal escort Fokker into the brig.
Ooooooooo
"I can't grant you leave, Major Beckett," says General Sako, sitting behind his desk inside his office.
"My wife just left with the kids, sir," protests Major Angus Beckett. "I have to go see her."
"I sympathize with your situation, Major," says the general. "But we have very few experienced pilots. We need you to test the next generation of fighter aircraft, especially those that will be useful if those giants come to bring war to Earth. We can't spare anymore; I already threw Lieutenant Fokker into the brig on murder charges."
"I don't think I can fly with these distractions going on, sir. It's family business."
"I have to refuse your request for emergency leave. Your wife might have gone to her mother's house, but she and the kids are still alive, as far as I know."
"With all due respect, sir, I must disagree with your decision," says another voice.
General Sako looks and sees Space Marine Lieutenant Colonel Victor Maistroff standing at the door.
"I'd better like what you have to hear, Colonel," grumbles the general.
"You've been a combat pilot just like the rest of us, sir," says the colonel. "So you know as well as I do how important it is to have someone to fly home to. We go up there risking our lives, and our motivation to return to the ground safely is our family, our friends, our loved ones. And just as important is a clear emotional state. If a pilot is distracted by family issues, he's a danger to himself and to us. So let me fly this next test flight in his stead."
Silence reigns for about ten minutes. "I agree with you, Colonel Maistroff," says General Sako. "Major Beckett, you are dismissed."
"Aye aye, sir," replies Beckett, standing at attention before turning around and leaving the large office.
"And Maistroff," continues the general, "interrupt me like this again and you can spend the evening inside a nice warm brig. Now get in your flight suit."
"Yes, sir," replies the colonel.
About an hour later, Colonel Maistroff is inside a prototype veritech. This time, he will be taking the plane into low orbit under its own power.
You owe me one, Angus, he thinks as he pushes the throttle forward, taking the experimental aircraft into the air.
Ooooooooo
It's roomier than the junior officers' quarters on ARMD-13.
While the cell is ten feet by eight feet, Roy does have the whole thing to himself, while he shared a room on ARMD-13 with six other men, with only a shelf to sleep in. There is some freedom of movement in the brig. An exercise yard is outside for the prisoners, and prisoners can use a small library. Some of the prisoners who were sent here for minor offenses and disciplinary infractions only spend the night here, released to their commanding officers during the day for a work-release program.
I doubt murder suspects can participate.
"Lieutenant Fokker," calls out a voice. The owner of the voice is revealed when the door opens. "your lawyer is here to see you."
"My lawyer?" asks Roy. This means that a court-martial had been convened.
Three mountains shaped like men in Spacy Police outfits escort him to a small room. The room is barely furnished with a table and two foldaway chairs. Sitting in one of the chairs is a man wearing service khakis.
"Commander Elliot," says the man. "I'm your attorney."
"So I'm being court-martialed, sir," says Fokker. "You wouldn't be here if I wasn't."
"Yes, you are being court-martialed for three counts of murder," says Elliot. "There's not enough evidence to charge you with Ivina Govich's murder."
"That's good."
"Being convicted of three murders is almost the same as being convicted of four," says Elliot. "I want you to tell me everything. And tell the truth. What you say here stays between us, so don't hold back. Have you ever met Abigail McGee?"
"No," says Roy.
"Did you hear anything about her prior to your arrest?"
"I might have. She was listed as missing, and I might have read about it in the paper or saw it on the news."
"And Sadako Kakizaki?"
"Same here. If she was a regular at Space, I might have seen her there. I never spoke to her."
"Now about Sally Mayfield," says Commander Elliot. "You do know her."
"Yes, I did. I hung around her circle; she's a technical officer for Project Valkyrie and she examines the prototype airplanes we're testing."
"How did you feel about Lieutenant Mayfield."
"Well, she was kinda fun, sir. But I just can't talk to her. I just can't relate to her."
"You took her to the ball, correct?"
"Yes, sir. I picked her up and took her there."
"And you last saw her there, right?"
"Yes, sir."
"Did you take her home?"
"No, sir. I left without her."
"Lieutenant Fokker, there are police statements saying that you left with her," says Elliot, reading through papers. "Lieutenant Claudia Grant told the base provost marshal, Lieutenant Commander Rantisi, that you left with Lieutenant Mayfield, back when she was believed to be AWOL. That was the Monday after the ball. She re-iterated that statement to Detective Fantone."
"She's wrong."
"Did Claudia Grant have any problem with you at the time?" asks the lawyer.
"She did reject my earlier advances towards her- not that I blame her. I don't think she would lie about me, it's just that what she knows ain't so."
"When did you first make moves on her, Lieutenant Fokker?"
"When I was stationed at the Laramie Air Station in Wyoming. We didn't hit it off, though."
Commander Elliot asks Lieutenant Fokker more and more questions.
"Arraignment's tomorrow, Fokker. We'll meet with the trial counsel."
Oooooooo
The next morning, the guards escort Roy into a meeting room, different from the one where he met Commander Elliot. Commander Elliot is inside the room, as well as an auburn-haired woman in short-sleeve khakis. The pin on her collar indicates that she is a Space Marine.
"I am Lieutenant Colonel Bell, the trial counsel," says the woman. "You face three murder charges, possibly a fourth if the police connect you to the disappearance of Ivina Govich."
"I didn't kill them," says Fokker.
"We should listen to what she has to say, Lieutenant," says Elliot. "I've worked with her for five years, since the founding of the UN JAG."
"The U.N. does not have the death penalty in its territories, unlike places like China, Japan, and our homeland of America," says Colonel Bell. "What we have is the Grave. It is a maximum-security disciplinary barracks deep under the Ural Mountains in Russia, constructed inside an old Russian fallout shelter. Prisoners spend twenty-three hours a day in a cell as big as a closet, smaller than what a buck crewman gets inside a space cruiser. All meals are taken inside the cell. The cell has its own shower. Whenever you get to leave the cell, you will be fitted with a stun belt. If you so much as look at a guard the wrong way, you will be shocked. The electric shock is enough to cause a bowel release, requiring replacement of underwear, which will annoy the guards even more. As things look now, you can look forward to spend the rest of your life inside the Grave. If you plead guilty, I'll recommend a sentence of sixty years."
"But I'll be eighty by the time I get out," protests Roy.
"At least you have a better chance of leaving alive, to feel the sun again. But I can offer you a way to avoid the Grave and instead go to a disciplinary barracks in Korea where things are not as strict and you can actually get to feel the sun. If those three are still alive, tell us where they are and we will drop the murder charges and charge you with false imprisonment and anything else you did. If you don't want to tell us where they are, or any of them are dead, it's the Grave for you."
"No deal," says Roy.
"See you at the arraignment."
Ooooooo
One of the buildings in the Macross City Spacy Base functions as a courtroom, with pews in the front and the judge's bench in back. The room is packed, with both civilians and military. Lieutenant Roy Fokker stands at the defense table, clad in a Class "C" service uniform- a white pants, short-sleeve white shirt with a nametag on the left breast and decorations on the right breast and shoulder boards indicating the first lieutenant rank.
"Court-martial is now in session," says the bailiff, a Spacy police corporal. "The Honorable Captain Yu Shang presiding."
Captain Shang, wearing a black robe over his Class "C's", sits at the judge's seat. "Lieutenant Roy Fokker, you are charged with three counts of murder, as specified in the appendix." The appendix is a file containing the specifics of the charges, and sits on the defense and prosecution tables. "How do you plead?"
"I plead not guilty to all charges, your Honor," says Roy.
"The not guilty plea is entered into record," says Shang. "Defendant is remanded to custody of Spacy police."
"Your Honor," says Commander Elliot, "I file a motion for a change of venue. This case has generated a lot of publicity in Macross City. Perhaps moving the trial to a base in Korea or Japan?"
"Counselor, we have not even begun jury selection," says Captain Shang. "I will rule on the motion after depositions are done. Unless counselors wish to skip the depositions?"
"No, sir," both trial and defense counsel say.
"Depositions begin tomorrow morning," says Shang. "Make sure to submit your witness lists."
Sitting on a pew, Lieutenant Claudia Grant watches as two Spacy policemen escort Roy from the courtroom.
