The White Sheep and the Black Wolf Part 34
Captain
Kablin stood at the front of the bridge, staring at
the
schematics of the planet called Mercury. The fleet was nearing
its
destination, Earth.
Back
in the Briefing Room, Kablin learned that it was an M-
Class
planet, quite habitable in most places except its poles, and
home
to a wide range of flora and fauna. Yet he felt there was more
to
it than that. A persistent nagging in the back of his mind
kept
telling
him that the planet was familiar. Kablin knew it was
impossible
of course. He had lived on the third planet of the
Hoon'tak
system called Hizuk for all of his life. Well his life as
far
back as he could remember. He didn't recall his past but just
the
present though. And that bothered him a lot.
"Captain?"
Startled
out of his reverie, Kablin turned to face
Zafirr.
"Yes, Admiral?"
"The
brig requires someone to aid them in...persuading a
certain
prisoner to speak. Our dear guest is a scientist, and good
one
at that. I want you to go easy on him if he cooperates and
helps
upgrade
our weapons systems."
Kablin
blinked. "And if he refuses?"
"Then
you may proceed to break him in until he yields,"
Zafirr
answered matter-of-factly in the same impassive tone.
Kablin
bowed and headed for the brig. Excitement was in his
step.
With the oncoming battle ahead, the Hoon'taks had provided
little
technology for their Allied Forces. Yet here in the Malaiki
itself
was the answer to that problem. This prisoner had the
knowledge
needed for their survival. All Kablin had to do is force
the
information out of him.
The
elevator slowed as it finished its descent into the
lower
levels. Finally, the doors hissed open.
Kablin
stepped out and nodded in greeting to the Head Warden.
Wordlessly,
the warden turned and led the way to the
prisoner.
They
quickly moved through the maze of cells, the warden
struck
the hands of the inmates reaching out, begging for food. As
they
proceeded deeper and deeper into the labyrinth, the cells got
dingier
and dingier, with more complex strains of space algae
growing
on the walls.
Finally
they arrived at Cell 267. Kablin noticed that this
cell
was not as heavily locked as the other cells and began to
wonder
what kind of prisoner would be allowed such a privilege.
The
warden smiled, revealing gaping hole in his teeth. "This
fellow's
sure a nutter, but he's harmless enough; entertained me and
the
boys with his jokes and stories."
Kablin
shook his head. "Nonetheless, you should not allow
such
lack of security. The Admiral would not have tolerated it."
Widening
his eyes, the warden stammered, "I ain't meant
harm,
jest don't report me this time sir. I'll make sure it won't
happen
gain."
The
captain nodded. "Very well. Now if you please." He
gestured
toward the cell door.
"Course,
Captain. My apologies." The warden whipped out an
enormous
ring of keys and fumbled through it. He jammed a dull
silver
key into the lock and unbolted the door. The door creaked
loudly
on its hinges.
Again
Kablin was taken back by the luxury that the prisoner
was
given. Whereas his fellow inmates had only a bench, a bucket
for
waste
products, and filthy water to drink and for personal use, he
had
a small cot complete with blankets and linen. A steel toilet sat
in
one corner and a porcelain sink was nearby with a towel hanging
by
it. Sitting on the cot, whistling as he was reading "Quantum
Physics
For Dummies," sat the prisoner, Dr. Zan'Dozz Zeeltor.
Zeeltor
stopped whistling and peered over the book. "Oh,"
he
exclaimed,
dropping the book unto the bed, and rushing to greet his
arrivals.
"Hello, welcome."
This
was the scientist that was supposed to help them with
defenses?
If Kablin didn't know otherwise, he would have thought the
admiral
had a sense of humor. Well, time to start.
"Er,
Doctor would you have a seat? There are some matters I
wish
to discuss with you."
The
interrogation began simple enough. First, Kablin got an
idea
of how much the doctor knew on shield generators. The
doctor
cooperated
well enough, almost eager in fact of sharing this
knowledge.
Now for the big question.
"Now
Dr. Zeeltor. You're aware of the condition this ship is
in.
Therefore we require your expertise in setting up our
weapons
systems.
Now we..."
As
he was saying this, Zeeltor was shaking his head
vigorously.
"I'm sorry, Captain but I refuse to play a part in your
massacre
in the battle ahead. However, I could tell you how to
upgrade
your defense but," the Zekklom stared at the
warden
apprehensively.
Kablin
understood. "Lieutenant, report back to your station.
I'll
handle it from here."
The
warden nodded and exited the cell, locking the door
behind
him. Once the captain had finished the interrogation, he
could
simply signal to the camera in the cell and be let out. The
warden
felt there was no harm in leaving Kablin in there with such a
weak
prisoner.
Seeing
the warden gone, Zeeltor sighed. He had only
approximately
6o seconds. "Agent Kay, you don't belong here."
What
the hell, Kablin thought. Only Alpha knew about his
other
name. And what was the doctor babbling about?
"Your
home is Earth, the same planet you're about to
annihilate,"
Zeeltor said quickly. "The Hoon'taks had deleted your
previous
memories and implanted fake ones."
"Okay,
I let the warden leave so you could tell me about the
defenses,
so stop making up wild..."
"Don't
you ever wonder why you can't recall your past?
Please,"
Zeeltor pleaded, coming uncomfortably close to
Kablin.
"You've go to remember. The Hoon'taks they're using
you.
They've..."
Kablin
stood up. "I refuse to listen to your lies, now tell
me
the defense plans."
"But
you can't..."
Now
Kablin lost his temper. His training at the Allied
Forces
Academy came into play. "Tell me the plans dan it."
He
pulled
out the whip from its holster. He uncoiled and activated it.
Not
really wanting to hurt the doctor unless necessary, he put the
whip
at its lowest setting.
Zeeltor
backed up quickly on seeing the weapon; his eyes had
the
frantic look of a corner mouse. He raised his arm to defend
himself,
least the whip came down upon him. "Please, don't..."
"Then
tell me." Kablin hissed, menacingly brandishing the
whip.
On the ground, cackling with blue-white electricity, it laid
there
like a venomous snake.
Zeeltor
nodded and swallowed. "Fine I will. The plans are on
this."
He reached out slowly so as to not make an alarming move to
his
captor. From the book he pulled out a disk, and offered it
toward
Kablin.
Kablin
glared at him suspiciously but took it and slipped it
inside
his vest pocket. "For your sake, this better not be a trick."
He
deactivated the whip and restored it back to its place by
his
side.
Zeeltor
tensed, as Kablin left. He worried that the warden
would
have caught wind of his plan. Zeeltor prayed to his ancestors
for
luck.
Alpha
sneered in disgust and anger, distorting his already
gruesome
feature. The fool Hutak had just told him through mind-link
that
he had been captured and now sits rotting in MiB's prison. To
make
matters worse the JeeDangian forces had the headquarters under
lock
and key, armed with Krematin Psychic Field Generators, more
than
enough to nullify his psychic potential. The agents had made it
to
MiB safely.
He
dug his claws into the Corinthian leather armchair,
ripping
out its entrails. Dan Zulian. Alpha promised himself that
if
he ever met up with Hutak again, he'll disembowel the alien like
he
did to the chair.
It
was most fortunate that Koo'lah had not ended their deal
due
to the lack of the two agents on Alpha's part. Only by
suggesting
the idea of using MiB against their own home world did
Koo'lah
let the mishap slip.
Alpha,
on the other hand, would not let the matter past. He
knew
that those two agents would do everything in their power to
stop
his plans. Using their own fellow agents against them was a
clever
twist on his part, yet he'd seen situations in which Kay and
Jay
had slipped from unscathed. All he could do now was set a trap
for
them, and then he would corral them into his grasp. And he will
not
fail.