Hey, everybody. Back with another chapter.

Let's get to it.

Chapter 20- Captive

(October 10, 1998)

As the sun rises high over the Indian Ocean, Adams, along with Mace, make their way quietly into one of the several detention buildings in at Camp Zulu. Camp Zulu was a brand new facility that had begun construction during the Clone Wars, with its main intent to serve as a military prison. The camp had not been completed until after the Clone Wars. At first, the construction had stalled in late 1994, but resumed and been completed after the TLM came into the open. Since then, the only prisoners held at Camp Zulu were a few high ranking TLM members and international terrorist Ramzi Youssef. And it was here that Carl Altmark had been imprisoned.

It had been three days since the climactic raid on the TLM leadership hideout in Texas. Since then, the units involved had dispersed back to their bases, and the hideout had been destroyed by two dozen 2000 pound bombs dropped by a B-1 bomber operating from Dyess AFB the day following the raid.

The raid had been a complete success. Eight prisoners, including Altmark, had been taken, and the rest of the compound's inhabitants killed. In addition, vast amounts of intelligence had been retrieved from the compound, intelligence that would be vital to dismantling the TLM. Already, the intelligence gathered from the raid had led to the deaths or imprisonment of over a hundred TLM members, with more commando raids and air strikes scheduled within the next few days to hit more targets.

After the raid, Altmark had been taken to Fort Bliss, where he was put on a C-17 that flew him, under armed guard the whole way, to Diego Garcia, where he had been imprisoned. He was to remain here for the next two weeks while preparations were made for his trial. Given the scope of his crimes, Altmark was going to be tried before a specially convened international tribunal to be held in The Hague.

However, Adams and Mace, both of whom had flown to Diego Garcia as part of Altmark's escort, wanted to have a brief talk with Altmark, just to see what they could get out of Altmark, and get a better understanding of the man's mindset.

The two men walk up to the door leading onto the cell block where Altmark is being held. The guards confirm their identities before opening the door. One of them says, "You have 5 minutes."

As the two men enter, they see Altmark standing near the bars of his cell. Adams and Mace walk quietly up to the cell and stand there, a few feet from the bars.

"Samuel Adams and Mace Windu. Welcome to my new abode," Altmark says.

"Get used to seeing us like this, Altmark. Any time you see us now is either gonna be through bars or across a courtroom," Adams says.

Altmark gives them an evil smile and says, "You're such a fool, Adams. You really think this world is better off with aliens? They're no different than all the Mexicans that come into America. They're gonna overrun us and overtake our way of life. This world is for us. Humans of Earth. Aliens don't belong here!"

"Okay, first of all, America was founded on immigration. Immigration done legally is no problem, and if people from Mexico or anywhere else wanna move to America, they are free to do so. Also, why should Earth just be for us? How long have governments been talking about colonizing the Moon or Mars, or speculating about one day sending out colonizers out of the solar system? We can colonize other worlds but aliens can't immigrate to Earth?" Adams shoots back.

Altmark growls a bit before he says, "You're dumber than I thought, Adams. This planet has been ours since humanity began! We shouldn't have to share it with alien races!"

"And why not?" Adams demands.

"Because Earth was created for humans, and only humans deserve to live here. We are the superior species. And we will reign supreme on this planet!" Altmark rants.

Mace now speaks up. "Earth is not the center of the universe. There are millions of planets, each with their own species. One species is not worth more than any other."

Altmark spits through the bars at Mace and says, "Of course you'd say that. You may be human, but you're not from Earth. You are as much filth as any non-human who came to this planet."

Adams scowls at him. "You're out of your mind, Altmark. You have let hate run your life. If anyone is a lesser being, it's you. You let your rage envelop the world, and countless human lives have been lost because of you. Humans, not the aliens you hate so much. Humans, the ones you said you wanted to protect!"

"Collateral damage," Altmark snarls.

Adams is quiet for a moment before he says, "Your ass is going before court in the Netherlands in a few weeks. And I can't wait to see you get the justice you deserve." Adams and Mace then turn away and leave the cell block, leaving Altmark stewing behind them.

(January 27, 1999, The Hague, Netherlands)

In a courtroom in The Hague, Netherlands, a massive crowd of witnesses, journalists, and onlookers are gathered to watch the end of one of the biggest trials since the Nuremberg War Tribunals.

For weeks now, the trial of Carl Altmark has been ongoing. A panel of seven international judges had been selected for this trial. The judges had been selected from the US, Canada, France, Poland, South Africa, Australia, and Brazil, the seven countries who had suffered the most terrorist activity from the TLM. In addition, the trial was being covered by just about every major news outlet around the world. It was estimated well over a billion people had tuned in to media coverage of the trial at one point or another.

Altmark had attempted to defend himself as best he could. But with the mountain of evidence against him, he couldn't mount much of a defense. His fate was sealed after one of his top lieutenants was persuaded to testify against him in exchange for a guarantee he would not face the death penalty.

The final arguments had wrapped up 36 hours ago. Now, on this morning, the judges are ready to deliver their verdict.

In the crowd, the four members of the ASAT team who had gone on the raid to capture Altmark are all sitting, waiting for the judges to return into the courtroom to delivery their verdict. Wilson and Mofaz are quietly whispering to each other, while Adams and Hall are both staring at the back of Altmark's head. Altmark, dressed in prison orange, is chained to the defendants' desk. His lawyer is sitting next to him, looking very sour. Adams can't help but feel bad for the lawyer, knowing people all over the world hate him for defending Altmark, even though he'd prefer not to be doing so.

Finally, the door opens and the judges panel enter the room, moving to their bench. After taking their seats, the chief judge, the one from America, stands up. "This panel has reached a verdict in the matter of the Terran Alliance vs Carl Altmark."

He pulls out the sheets of paper listing the charges and the verdict. The judge begins reading, "On the charge of terrorism, the defendant is found guilty."

Altmark begins growling and straining against his bonds, but everyone ignores him. The judge continues reading, "On the charges of mass murder and conspiracy to committ mass murder, the defendant is found guilty. On the charge of conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction, the defendant is found guilty. On the charge of mass destruction of public property, the defendant is found guilty. On the charge of destruction by explosives resulting in death, the defending is found guilty. On the charge of conspiracy of mass use of explosives against civilians, the defendant is found guilty. On the charge of conspiracy resulting in grievous injury on innocents, the defendant is found guilty. On the charge of violations of state borders, the defendant is found guilty. On the charge of conspiracy to destroy government property, the defendant is found guilty. On the charge of mass murder in violation of the laws of war, the defendant is found guilty. On the charge of false imprisonment, the defendant is found guilty. On the charge of destruction of property in violation of the laws of war, the defendant is found guilty. On the charge of conspiracy to commit arson, the defendant is found guilty. On the charge of attacking civilians, the defendant is found guilty. On the charge of drug trafficking, the defendant is found guilty. On the charge of hate crimes, the defendant is found guilty. And finally, on the charge of conspiracy to commit genocide, the defendant is found guilty."

Sighs of relief sweep through the crowd. The judge is quiet for a moment before he says, "Mr. Altmark, alone, each of these charges would bring about a life sentence. However, due to the number of magnitude of your crimes, each of us on the bench are in agreement: Mr. Altmark, you are hereby sentenced to death. May God have mercy on your soul."

Altmark gives a scream of fury and tries to lunge out of his seat towards the judges, but can't move more than a few inches due to his restraints. The judge looks at him with utter contempt and says, "Guards, remand him into custody. Mr. Altmark is to be returned to Camp Zulu, where he will be held until his execution date will be set."

The guards in the room move towards Altmark. They release him from the table and the floor and manhandle him out of the room as Altmark screams in fury. Soon enough, Altmark is out of the room, and the court is quiet again.

Adams breathes a sigh of relief. Privately, he'd been worried the court might just sentence him to multiple life sentences to avoid him becoming a martyr, but feels satisfied that he has received what he sees as the proper sentence. Hopefully, when Altmark dies, the TLM will die with him.

And, I'll end the chapter there.

The next chapter will wrap this story up. I hope you have enjoyed this story so far and are looking forward to its final chapter. Until it's up, please leave a review, and stay tuned!