I was too astonished to say anything. I was speechless. I was in shock.
"Oh! Exporting guns illegally, huh?" said one of the officials. "We'll see what the court has to say about this!"
I stuttered. "But, but, but…"
He struck me in the face with a wrench. I could feel my cheekbones cracking and my nose started to bleed. "GO! GET IN!"
He kicked me, literally into the truck.
They started the engine and we were on the way. I felt so weak. Feeble. Pathetic. I had been beaten too many times. I hadn't even had a chance to eat. And all this anxiety took its toll on my body. I threw up in the back of the truck.
We stopped about half an hour later. They opened the doors and grabbed me by the arms and took me to a small UN plane that was waiting. There were hordes of people around us, angrily protesting and holding up signs.
One of them said, UN is a bunch of Modern-day Nazis! Another one said, UN=Dictators. And another one said, Down with human governments!
I was pushed into the plane and sat down near the front near the window seat. After they closed the doors, we started to take off.
I lay my head back against the headrest and closed my eyes. "HEY! STAY AWAKE, IF YOU KNOW WHAT'S BEST FOR YOU!"
Okay, I kept my eyes open.
I looked out the window as the plane accelerated on the runway. Finally we took to the air. I saw the city fly by. We headed north. The UN court is in the Netherlands.
When we reached flying altitude, I could see from Sauropolis all the way up to the Northern Plains. I looked to my side. The UN guy who had yelled at me to stay awake had fallen asleep. Hypocrites.
I was tired of being yelled at. I closed eyes and let my breathing slow down until I fell into a deep sleep.
(BACK THE PALACE.)
The whole Gang was in the living room, waiting anxiously for something to happen. It had been hours since Spiny left. Or to put it more accurately, since he'd been taking away. The image of his charming, warm, and friendly smile was on everyone's minds.
Patty walked in carrying a silver tray. Real silver. "I made some sandwiches for everyone." She set it down on the table in the living room.
"I'm not hungry," said Lilia.
"Me neither," said Darla.
"I'll take some," said Dimetroodon, grabbing four sandwiches and swallowing them whole. He belched loudly. "DIMETROODON!" everyone yelled.
"What? I can't help that I have natural digestive processes. Everyone has them, you know, even actresses and super models."
Darla rolled her eyes. "Oh, seriously!"
Greeny tugged on Kathy's blouse. "When will Spiny come back?"
She looked at him solemnly. "I…I don't know, Greeny."
"Tomorrow?"
"I don't know."
"I'm not sure. Listen, why don't you run up to your room and play?"
He sighed and looked down. "Okay." He jogged up the stairs to his room.
Roger said, "Look, it's not going to do Spiny any good if we just sit here and mope."
Kathy stood up. "Roger's right! This whole thing is unfair! It's unjust! Spiny doesn't deserve any of this! He's the most wonderful person on this earth!"
"But what can we do?" Rudy said.
"We're still the Royal Family! We have to prove that we're not going to let them get away with this!"
Larry stood up. "Yeah! So while you guys think of a plan, I'm going to rest in bed for a while." Before anyone could say anything, he sprinted upstairs. He locked the door behind him. He pulled out the radio from under the bed. "SA, this is Larry. SA this is Larry, come in SA." Only static. "Don't you dumbbells know what SA means? Space Armies!"
A tough sounding, accented voice answered. "We hear you Larry."
"King is on way to UN court. Start getting ready. Decision will most be likely be made by early evening."
"Roger that! Initiating initial phase of Hammerdown Protocol. Stay in touch and keep us informed."
"Will do. Over and out." He switched the radio off. He walked to the window and looked out. Tanks of the UN were now patrolling the streets. They'd taken over all government offices and major businesses.
But now they had a plan.
Even if they were going to be defeated, they weren't going to down in silence.
(THE HAGUE, NETHERLANDS.)
5:54 pm, local time
Peace Palace.
When we got to the airport, we took a 77-minute drive to the Peace Palace, where the UN Court is based. It was right near the coast. There was a flood of reporters there. They had come from many countries. The US, Germany, Netherlands, Australia, China, Japan, Russia, South Africa, Mexico, Argentina, France…everywhere!
We parked went through the gates and parked at the front entrance. Then we stepped in. Boy, was I surprised. It was really luxurious! Giant stairs, granite floors, everything! As we walked to the courtroom, we passed a section that had statues of famous peace-seekers, like Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, and others.
When we stepped into the courtroom, there were a lot of people there. There were three rows on each side of the room for the public. Spectators. Audience. Whatever! On the far right, were some photographers and journalists. I guess they'd been given special permission to enter.
Up in the front, was a large rectangular table where the judges sat. I guess that sixteen judges can serve as the jury too. They hadn't come in yet. I sat at the defendant's table. Alone. I'd tried to get a lawyer, but he was threatened with death. So I'd have to do this alone.
On the other side was the prosecutor. Or the bailiff. Whatever.
There were three men there. They were dressed funny. Like from the late 18th century. Two of them even had those ridiculous hairdos that judges or lawyers wear. That ones that make them look like Wolfgang Mozart or something.
A while later, the judges all entered and everyone stood up.
Once they were all in place, the main judge, said, "Court is now in session! QUIET!"
The courtroom clerk, "Hear ye, hear ye! Please be…"
The judge said, "I SAID QUIET!" He slammed his hands on the table.
The courtroom clerk stared at him. He cleared his throat and sat down.
"Will the bailiff and defendant please rise?" said another of the judges.
I stood up along with…my bailiff.
Boy, was this going to be fun!
For time sake, let's skip on to where I was allowed to speak.
"Very well," said the main judge. "You may sit down," he said to the bailiff. Who happened to be a representative of the UN.
"What do you have to say for yourself," the judge said to me.
I stood up. Well, here we go. I took a deep breath. "Your Honor, it is true that I do not allow pro-abortion and pro-LGBT laws in my country. However, I have good reason to."
"I object!" said the UN guy.
"Quiet! You've had your turn. Objection sustained. You may continue, King Spiny."
"Thank you, your honor." Anyways, I went saying why I did what I did. Why I thought abortion was wrong and we consider it first-degree murder. And how we think that LGBT are all grossly immoral.
"But, I want to add that we do not persecute or mistreat those kinds of people. They are allowed jobs, education, and prosperity. However, they don't have certain privileges and cannot participate in government."
One of the judges said, "Those are personal decisions."
"It may be, Your Honor, but they are wrong decisions. And just because they are personal doesn't mean they won't affect others, for bad or good." I took another deep breath. "And that is why I believe in what I do. That's all I have to say for myself," I said, sitting down.
The main judge stood up and said, "The judges will know proceed to the jury room to decide the verdict. Court's adjourned until seven o'clock."
They left the room and sat back in the chair, staring at the ceiling. The UN representative gave me a dirty look as he exited.
(MEANWHILE.)
Location: 45 million miles from Earth. Secret location. Space Army Base
Aboard the SAF mother ship
The young page ran into the main operations room. He walked up to the general, who was looking out the window into the vast starry space outside. "Sir!"
He turned around. "Yes, Roger?"
"The King is now waiting for the verdict. We are now on standby. Our Earth contact has requested that we initiate next phase of Hammerdown Protocol."
He nodded. "So…they might need us. When was the last time?"
"About 300,000 years ago, sir."
"Ah, yes. When the Amarkian Civil War occurred and we had to save the King of then, his ancestor."
"But now things are quite different sir."
"Yes, I know. We'll have to use a lot more subtleness. Order all ships to launch towards Earth."
"Yes, sir." He ran to the dashboard and spoke into the microphone. "Attention all personnel and all ships. Initiating Phase 2 of Hammerdown Protocol. Please proceed to battle stations. All ships ready to launch and set course for Earth!"
(BACK IN AMARKIA.)
Larry had just given the request that the Space Armies start coming to Earth. He waited patiently in the living room with the others with the TV and radio turned on. The entire planet's population had turned to the nearest TV screen, radio, or newspaper station.
In New York and Tokyo, tens of thousands of people had congregated in the plazas and streets, watching and waiting.
Even in the poorer nations, people gathered around 10-inch TV screens or hand-operated radios to hear.
Tensions were mounting. A deadly feeling began to rest on the entire country of Amarkia. The country was ready to explode. The world waited and waited.
(UN COURT SESSION.)
Finally, the judges came back in and sat down. Then, the main judge stood up. "Will the bailiff and the defendant please rise? Thank you. The jury has come to its decision. The verdict is…"
He didn't say anything. Oh, please just say it! The suspense is killing me! He opened his mouth and moved his lips. Then he said, "….guilty!"