Logic prevails

[Lone-Wolf]

My old story...

Botany Bay, September 1st, 3070

The old woman opened her eyes. It took some time to become accustomed to the low light, but she took her time. As long as she had time to spare.

There was not a spot on her body that did not show its age with an ache or two, but still she kept or better tried to keep in shape.

As she looked to the wall she saw that she still had one hour before she had to appear on duty.

She snorted. Duty!  Once she had been a Mechpilot. But those days were gone. Now she was nothing more than a glorified paper pusher.

She checked the commsystem. Nothing. Why she had woken, she didn`t know, but she suspected something.

She left the cot, washed her body and donned a fresh uniform. As she left her quarters a young commtech nearly punched her in the belly.

"Sorry" he stammered. Then he straightened up. "My Khan, Star Colonel Oriega sent me. He wishes to talk to you."

Wordlessly she punched the button to close the door to her quarters and left for COMMAND.

After a few steps, she turned around and asked the tech: "Where are you? You are still on duty!"


As she entered COMMAND, a voice announced: "Khan on deck!"

Before the soldiers or techs on duty could move she said: "As you were."

COMMAND was a square room with enough room for 40 people. In the middle was a holotank with about 4 by 4 yards. But now only ten of the places were occupied.

Star Colonel Oriega bowed his head and showed to a seat. She just sat down.

"The message that we feared has arrived my Khan." He punched a few buttons and the hologram opened before her eyes:

TO: Khan Marthe Pride, Clan Jade Falcon

Khan Pryde, the time has come. I know that you laughed at me, as you heard of my rise. I do not hold a grudge at you for this as this would hinder me in my duties toward the Commonwealth.
My first communication was clear and precise: Return all Prisoners of War- military or civilians drafted into your military, return all civilians - including the population of Somerset, pack your belongings and forces into your ships and leave the territory of the Lyran Commonwealth. If you do this, i will just ask that one galaxy of your troops stays as collateral till all conditions have been met. Then this galaxy will be free to leave the Commonwealth and join you in your travel back home.

You laughed into my face and told me to either assemble a big enough force or take my demand and stuff it into a dark place. Of course you used then a different kind of language as i do today.

I thought that after we liberated Winfield and killed SaKhan Clees that you would take my demand seriously. You did not.
Only after we pushed you back again and again did you finally sent the message and ordered that all people of Inner Sphere descent were sent back.
But as one of your officers went beserk and we demanded that he be turned over to us and that his genetic legacy would be exterminated you said no. We did not ask that his descendants be killed, just that his genetic line would die out.

If it is any consolation to you, i hold nothing against you.
We will come and liberate Botany Bay. Then we will eradicate the presence of the Wolf Clan from Commonwealth soil. And this means all planets taken away from the Commonwealth since the beginning of the First Succession War. And I don`t care about Clan Ghost Bear or the Remnants of the Republic of Rasalhague. I fullfill my duty to the Commonwealth as they fullfill their duty to their respective nations/Clans.

Signed:
Bertram von Woellner, Duke of Westfalen,
Archon of the Lyran Commonwealth
December 12th, 3052
Westfalen, Muenster continent, Wernher-von-Braun Proving Grounds, Prof. Oberth Building

Ten scientists stood araound a egg-shaped construction of metal and ablative shielding. From their talk it was clear that this was a construct that was designed to be dropped from orbit and make a safe landing. But it was bigger than a drop cocoon normally used for a Mech.

Behind them the door opened and a group of people entered the hall.

"Does it work?" the man in the middle of the group said loud enough that the scientists stopped in their conversation.

They turned around and a minor shock registered in their eyes.

"My Duke, your visit is ah, unexpected."

"Mr Schlesinger, as my head scientist you should be accustomed for my special visits. But where are my manners? This is my son Bertram. He will be my successor. So I would say, you should brief us two - and my bodyguards - in the conference room. Shall we go?"

After a few minutes the duke, his son, the scientist were all seated in a conference room.

Dietrich Schlesinger, headscientist stood at the blackboard and made a lot of white chalkmarks when he was interupted.

"Would you please cut the chatter? My father, as the duke has no time for this unlogical, timewasting procedure. Come to the point!"

Dietrich Schlesinger turned red and bowed his head.

"Yes my duke-DESIGNATE. The VDS-S Vehicular Deployment System Space is finished. After the last errors in the design were corrected, the system works flawlessly."

One of the scientists blanched. Nobody seemed to notice this, except for a minor reaction at the eyes of the duke.

"And how did you achieve this?" Bertram wanted to know.

"As you are aware, when we dropped a tank from orbit the first crews died all of broken neck. While the body is secured by various straps the head is free. And for keeping the tank or any vehicle combat ready the head has to be free to move. We therefore used a halfround piece of plastic where the head fits in and one strap to keep the head in one position. This HSS Head Securing System is attached to the seat by three metal rods and can be removed after the drop. According to the demands set by you my lord the crews will have this time."

"Mr Forter, you seem to disagree." the duke said as he looked to the white in the face scientist.

The body of the scientist jerked as if he stepped on a live powerline and then he turned red.

"You - you MADMAN! You use human guinea pigs. You are an abomination!"

While the other scientists showed some shock the duke`s bodyguards shifted positions and one took up position behind Mr Forter.

"You refer to the volunteers?" the duke asked with a small but easily heard voice. Dietrich Schlesinger blanched while the rest of the scientists began showing symptoms of wanting to run away. The duke`s son looked directly into the eyes of Mr Forter.

""Yes. You are entrusted to keep them in prison but instead let them volunteer, no you force them to volunteer for this. You.."

"STOP" this time everybody froze.

"Now, Mr Forter, I will explain it to you. Westfalen is a minor planet of the Lyran Commonwealth. We are at the end of the line. There is only one way to reach us. And that is by jumpship from New Capetown. There is no other planetary system in a 30 lightyear radius. Point. And my ancester took this chance to make money. He turned the third continent Hessen into the greatest prison in this region of space.

But you should look at this from another point of view. As one from the well situated people you have no knowledge of prison. So let me enlighten you.

Prison is like a basin for sharks and piranhas. Plain and simple. In prison you find everything. Careercriminals, innocents who were at the wrong time at the wrong place, people who annoyed more powerful people and were removed, people who commited crimes while drunk / out of mind, and those that overstepped self-defence. You know what happens when you put them into one place? Yes, the real criminals prey on those that aren`t. Some say that this is right, because if criminals hurt or kill other criminals they will not hurt innocents. But everybody can end up in jail.

Did you know that the police did not care if a person was hurt while in prison? The ancient terran director of movies Quentin Tarantino once made a movie where he in a fictional setting described true events. A woman in prison was turned into a slave of another inmate and she was marked with a tattoo.  During this movie these facts became knowledge of the police and do you know what one of the police officers told this victim? No, he told her to get over it.

For the sake of humanity. HE WAS A COP! And it was his duty to follow any crime and arrest the criminal. But he didn`t do it. And in a book written by a known criminal, whose nickname was The Negative Man or Minus Man this criminal wrote that this was commonplace in prisons. And if the victim went to the staff, they for the majority didn`t care or even informed the criminal about it. And then the victim was beaten up if lucky.

And do you know something even more hilarious? During the last decades of the 20th century and later the so called democratic countries told other less developed countries who did not follow the human rights that they were evil. In some instances the democratic countries even sent armies to occupy said country to protect the Right for bodily self determination. Do you get how hypocritical this is? In their own prisons the same right was trampled but they had the idea of telling other countries that they were evil because of the same thing.

My ancester build a system to correct this. Every criminal who ends up here is tested by the most advanced form of truthserum or brain analysis if he so desires to prove his innocence. While we are forbidden to change the original verdict we can put the truly innocent people into a country club prison. And there they only have to stay in their cells when we are visited. The rest of the time they live in a small city. We even invite their families to move to Westfalen. Do you know that the crime rate in this prison cities is lower than in comparable ordinary cities?

So we have a whole range of prisons  for nearly all type of inmates. Those that behave get easier conditions while the true sharks are put into real high security prisons where they are put into solitary for all time. Yes, they are pampered in a way but better the lower grade priisoners have more to do than we have to fill out forms in triplicate because the time of our prisoners goes up because of crimes they commit upon each other.

And this applies also to those prisoners on death row. Those who are innocent and prove it through good behaviour are transported down the line to country club. Bad apples are transported up the line.

And yes, the evil ones are asked to volunteer. If they do, their execution is stayed for a certain amount of time corresponding to the danger of the action they volunteer for. No, they will never be released but they can get a one way ticket to our moon. If they behave they will live out their lives in peace. Any unallowed aggression and its bullet time.

Yes, I know that death row inmates died during testing but they volunteered. Nobody had a gun at his head. They were all informed about this test, its danger and the stay of execution. It was their decision.

Now can we move on? Yes. Good.

I have seen the projections of how much material it will take to drop a full load of Savannah Master onto a planet. That is unacceptable. Please look into it, if it is possible to drop 10 Savannah Master while using only one VDS-S.

Please also look into the possibility of a Individual Infantry Deployment System Space.

Thank you."

The duke nodded and left the building.

[Lone-Wolf]

January 1st, 3053 Westfalen, Cologne Main Spaceport Facility

On a column of superheated hydrogen an Overlord class Dropship descended. In the old language of Germany it was called "Die gruene Minna" meaning the green minna. Since 1800 or so the prison transports were painted green in germany as the uniform of police officers had been green in colour. Why Minna, nobody knew. But the name had stuck.

The name of the dropship had been Dresden, but after vicious fighting in a Kurita offensive the Overlord had been so much damaged that it could no longer be used as combat dropship. The majority of the armor and weapons had been removed and the dropship had been refurbished as a prison transport.

Now it brought a few hundred prisoners to their final destination.

"Get up Prisoner AA-372. Be happy, your days in space are over. But for a scum like yourself they should never end. Now turn around that you can be shackled."

Prisoner AA-372, caucasian male, age 25 dutifully turned around and offered no resistance. He knew that some of the guards were more than happy to apply force. Guards were always the same. Give someone power and he abuses it.

"This is Captain Mahler speaking. All prisoners take notice. We will open the celldoors and you will step out on the green line in front of your door. Then my first mate will give the command and you will march in the direction the arrows along the green line show. Any disobidience will be severely punished as you hinder a police action according to civil authority code Chapter 6 article 45 subtext 6. The guards are authorized lethal force. On the tarmac you will follow the orders of the orange-vested guards. You will be arranged in rows and lines. Then you will be transported to your prison. That will be all."

With a screeching sound the celldoors opened.

Prisoner AA-372 stepped around and as soon as his neighbours saw him, he heard it .

"Childkiller! Bastard! They should have spaced you!"

"SILENCE!" the guard near him bellowed. Then he looked at him and whispered in his ears: "The Lord insisted you reached your destination alive and unspoiled. He likes trash like you! But I would have left it to your colleagues."

The loudspeakers began to blare: "All Prisoners turn right. Left - two - three - four. Left..." and did not stop.

On the tarmac the prisoners assembled and with the old and ancient routine of "345 Prisoners assembled and ready to be relieved" and "I relieve you of 345 prisoners, all accounted and inspected." they were herded into massive transportvehicles.

Before he stepped into this transport, Prisoner AA-372 filled his lungs with air and as he exhaled he gave up his hope for freedom.

What he did not see was a young man watching him through binoculars. After the transports left he stepped into a car. His four black-suited ghosts did say no word. Their presence was enough that nobody had dared to approach the man.

About an hour later the car entered Sanssouci Castle. There the young man went straight to the private rooms of the duke.

The duke heard him approach. But he was not alone. His wife Isabella, his son Bertram, his daughter Taylor and a middle aged woman awaited him.

The man did not talk but just nodded.

The middle aged woman hung her head and as tears began to stream down she covered her face by her hands. Isabella and Taylor took her by the arms and escorted her out.

The duke looked at Bertram and his son bowed and left.

When Prisoner AA-372 reached Death Row Prison he would be expected.

January 2nd, 3053 Westfalen, Hessen continent, Death Row Prison Facility (DRPF)

DRPF was an ugly building. It was not composed of stones but rocks of at least two tons weight. A wall of 20 m height surrounded an area of twenty by twenty kilometers.

The area inside was divided into squares of 300 by 300 meters. One rectangular building with three meter solid thick walls and fifty cm thick inside walls and 8 floors high. All connections, like water, electricity, toilets entered each cell from the outside. There was no connection between the individual cells inside the building or its walls. This added another three meters to the building. On chains dangling from the roof was the cage. A small room that could be brought before each and every cell to bring in or out a high security prison inmate.

Each building was surrounded by a ditch 5m deep. The ditch was covered in stakes. The building itself was positioned on stilts so if a prisoner decided to dig down he would be in a deep surprise - if the motion detectors didn`t betray him before that. There was no connection between the ditch and the room below the building.

The rest of the area was divided in squares of 10 by 10 meters. Everything was fenced in. And in 5 meters height there was a gangway. So every prisoner had its own play area. Never were two prisoners in the same area. And if a prisoner was disobeying orders - Zeus and Hercules were just two of the Rottweilers eager for some entertainment.

Each of this units was itself divided from the other units by a seperate ditch.

And each unit could only be accessed by the main walkway on 9th floor. And the main walkway was connected to the building via drawbridge.

Two buildings were not part of this security arrangement. One was the administration building and the other the kitchen/ laundry/ repair building. This building had very spartan quarters for its prisoners. They were volunteers of the good variety. They had either proven their innocence or that they were non-violent. They did the work for the Death Row Prison Inmates to avoid fights among them. In return their time at the DRPF was counted as double time served. In some instances even tripled or more.

Prison Warden Michael Dorden sighed. Last night Prisoner Franklin Des Portes had assaulted and nearly murdered Volunteer James Fadyen. As he was given his food he grabbed the hand of the volunteer and broke it. Then i had used his body wastes to infect him.

With a metallic clang the cage was brought into his anteroom and then a stream of obscenities erupted.

After some time he spoke.
"Prisoner Des Portes, after your action I hereby set your date for execution for tomorrow. Except, do you wish to volunteer?"

"How long?"

"After your action yesterday, ah i would say one week."

"What?" two evaluating eyes looked at him.

"Orbital insertion.
 
"Yes."

"Take him away." He motioned the guards and the cage moved away.


Medium Prison Facility for females

Courtney Smith lay on her cot and tears were flowing down her face. Since four weeks she was on Westfalen and in this prison. Abused and desperate she had told her boyfriend that she wished that her tormentor should die. He had taken a basebal bat and did it.

Life without parole. With 16. Conspiracy to commit 1st degree murder.

After two years in prison on her homeplanet she had been deported to Westfalen. She had been lucky. As her dropship reached the jumpship the parliament had decided to punish people like her with a bullet.

The last week had been hell. A new prisoner, named Tanya had arrived with her gang. And she had prison experience. So her life had turned to hell. In her old prison she had learned to have a secret food supply if another prisoner decided to cut you off from prison food through making you fall down, spitting in your food and so on.

So did Tanya and her gang. Her secret stores of food had run out two days ago. And the guards didn`t care. She was hungry and for the thousands time wish she could turn back time.

A metal clanking made her look up. Oh, no, the cage was moving towards her cell.

Terrified she dropped on her knees, back to the entrance and hands behind her head. Maybe that would save her. The guards in her old prison had used everything as an excuse to say that the prisoner had not obeyed or even resisted. Luckily the guards here were not like that. But their inaction was even worse. She choked down her tears and tried to prepare what was coming.

She heard two of the guards  attach the cage to the rings outside her cell and then two doors were opened. Her cell door and the cage door.

She smelled oil and then ... SCRAMBLED EGGS?

"Come on Courtney. Get up and help me." a soft female voice said.

Courtney turned around and saw a young woman, some years older than her leave the cage carrying a tray. She put the tray on the desk and moved back.

"Hello, I am Alicia Moonspell. After the hell you have been through you should be very hungry. Come on, it stays not hot forever. Eat."

Courtney moved toward the desk, and on the tray was a lot of food, scrambled eggs with bacon, bread, butter, marmalade, and a big cup of hot chocolade.

She ate and while eating she savoured every bite.
Then she saw Alicia move some packages into her cell. She swallowed. Cookies, chocolade, sugar - a real stash of non-perishable food.

"You don`t think that the guards here are sloppy, do you? Welcome to Westfalen." And in the next ten minutes Alicia explained the prison system to Courtney.

Wide-eyed Courtney listened. And as Alicia told her that she too was sentenced to life without parole Courtneys jaw dropped down.

"How?" she could only stammer.

"Listen, stay clear of Tanya, do not initiate violence. Got it? Ok, if they attack you, defend yourself. And if the guards ask, tell them the truth. Here you have a chance, compared to our homeplanets. And if you are truly willing to make a difference, you will be given a chance, like me."

"But we are both lifers!"

"Yes, in a manner of speaking. We may never leave Westfalen, but I spoke to a woman who is also a lifer. She took the chance that is offered to people like us and now she lifes outside the prison. You see? There is hope and i intend to go this way. What about you?"

Before Courtney could answer someone banged on the outside of the cage.

Alicia looked into Courtneys eyes "Think about it." Then she took the tray and stepped into the cage, closed the door and then the celldoor was closed, the cage removed and as the last smell of scrambled eggs evaporated, the cage moved away, a guard smiled for a second into her direction. And Courtney Smith was alone with her thoughts.

January 3rd, 3053 Westfalen, Hessen continent, Death Row Prison Facility

It was early morning as a convoy of transports arrived at DRPF. In some of those transports the guards were wearing gas masks. The stench was unbelievable.

A prison transport was a long truck with individual holding cells, size 1yard by 1 yard. The chair where the prisoner was sitting on was also the toilet. And some of those prisoners had decided to play communist terrorists just like their 20th century counterparts of the german Red Army Fraction, who also had used their body wastes to "paint" their cells with.

Now, one by one those cells were opened and the prisoners were brought into DRPF. There they were processed and brought to their "homes" aka cells till they were executed. Some prisoners tried to run, but the only opening in the prison transport opened into the prison and so they had no choice.

Those prisoners who obeyed, were processed without much ado. While the prison guards knew their jobs it didnt mean they were heartless individuals. Their experience allowed them to find those prisoners who really behaved and those were brought to their cells and at noon they found their cooperation rewarded. What they found out later was that their executions were scheduled to happen at a later date. The files were also updated for possible truth serum interrogation.

The "painters" were the last prisoners to be processed.

Prisoner AA-372 belonged to the first group of prisoners. He was brought to his new cell and even though he tried to be without emotion he liked the fact that after this long time he was breathing fresh air.

Prison Warden Michael Dorden was covered in sweat. Not because the prison received new prisoners or that he had to keep twice as many books as prisons on other planets. No, because Bertram von Woellner, the duke´s son was visiting his prison.

Before him on a big desk were two books lying side by side. The left book was the official book showing which prisoner entered the facility and when he was executed. The right book showed the same data, but some prisoners where not executed but instead send to the moon or living somewhere on Hessen.

He checked the data, made notes and nearly died of a heart attack as he was touched on the shoulder.

"Ahh."

"At ease, Mr Dorden, at ease. The books are correct, I assume?" Betram said.

Michael Dorden swallowed and lowered his head. "There are some errors and punishment entries missing. I will tell my people to correct them."

He did not lie to the duke. This was the golden rule. While the intelligence service checked the books minor errors were left to the prison warden to correct and overlooked. So he assumed that Betram knew already of the errors he had found. Still he did not take chances.

Bertram smiled (what the majority of the people believed was not possible) and then got back to business.

"Prisoner AA-372, aka..."

"Friedrich Meier" continued the warden, "Sergeant in the 234th Infantry regiment under Lt Franz von Nagel. The unit was destroyed in a fight with Clan Jade Falcon. He was the only survivor and returned to his homeplanet of Sargasso. After four weeks he wiped out his family, his wife and three kids. According to the court assigned psychiatrist he did not suffer from post traumatic stress disorder even though his behaviour onboard the ship carrying him home suggests otherwise. He was sentenced to death and according to the treaty sent here."

"Do you have access to the bugging files of the transports?" Betram inquired. "Oh sorry they have not been typed. According to them the duke of the area were Meier lived and under which jurisdiction he was sentenced did order him to suffer."

"What interest can a duke have in such a case? Such a man is considered beneath his notice" Dorden asked.

"You are right, except" his grin reappeared "if his last name is von Nagel..."

Warden Dorden looked at him and finally understood. "You mean blood vengeance?"

"Franz was his only son and the duke is known for his adherence towards the old code. And besides, he is known as a womanizer and Constance Meier, Friedrichs wife, was according to this picture a real beauty."

"And what interest has your father?"

Bertram looked into his eyes. "An old lady begged my father to help her. And as he also adheres to some code he will help her."

"Begging your pardon, but what about the conflict that can emerge?" Dorden asked.

"Thats what I fear and I am here to find out." Bertram stated.

[Lone-Wolf]

January 15th, 3053 Westfalen orbit, Union class dropship BAYERN

The Bayern looked like an old and battered Union class dropship. And it was one. The dropship had carried countless passengers from New Capetown into space and from space down to Westfalen. After about a 100 years a civilian type dropship with more comfortable rooms and more capacity had replaced her. And Duke von Woellner had bought her.

A lot of the armor and weapons were gone. A pair of large lasers per heading (nose, sides, aft) were all that was left. As her duty required her only to fly into orbit or to the moon she needed not more. The interior was also rearranged.

Four ejection chutes were still there. The two fighter cubicles had been removed. Now about twenty objects, mechs or vehicles in a drop cocoon could be stored in the three levels. And because of a very ingenious system of wheels and cranes even the failure of two ejection chutes would not slow the process of dropping very much down.

In cell number two, Prisoner Franklin Des Portes and his three "friends" Michael "Gun Bunny" Kelley, Gerald "Thompson" Jones and Friedrich "Dr Mabuse" Heller, were playing poker.  Each of them was convicted to death. While Des Portes had been an expert poisoner, Kelley and Jones had been part of the MP Gang. And Heller had been a professor for criminology at a respected university, at least till he was discovered to be responsible for a quarter of all murder cases in the last 10 years. When those four were alone they confessed that they were responsible for more than the numbers they were convicted for.

Normally every prisoner had his own cell. Not those four. It was funny. On solid earth they were the most dangerous criminals on Westfalen. And if ordinary prisoners were guarded by four guards they were guarded by ten guards - each. But in space there were totally professionals. Even giving them access to a gun did not change that. All were good mathematicians. And thats what made them very good poker players - and very dangerous.

"Did you look at the aerodynamics?" Heller asked.
"Sure. They suck. I take an unpressurized droppod." Jones answered.
"I say the same" Des Portes and Kelley said at the same time.
A short laughter and they went back to playing poker.

"Are you ready to die?" a voice asked from the outside.
Without looking up all four responded "Yep. Diapers are on and we want an unpressurized pod."
"All of you?"
"Yes."
"Okay" the guard moved away and then the door opened.

The four moved away from the table and sailed slowly to the main area. They looked at the chalkboard and searched for the information. Today three type of drop pods were tested. Type one with 8 Savannah Master, Type two with 9 and Type three with 10. The second difference was if the interior of the drop pod was filled with air or not. For the first there were blow away panels so that the air could escape if it got to hot while plummeting through the atmosphere. For comparison purposes each drop pod type would be dropped twice.

They drifted to their destination and strapped themselves into their Savannah Masters. On the inside each drop pod looked like the Atomium in Bruxelles. One Savannah Master in the middle and a framework where the other Savanna Masters were attached. Acording to mathematics and physics the VDS-S should land them that one Savannah Master could leave and then the others would be one after another rotated into release position. Theoretically, at least.

They parted. Heller took an Type one pod and the top position. Des Portes Type one and middle position. Kelley and Jones took a type two middle and a type three low position.

A short time later the rest of the prisoners were brought to their Savannah Masters.

As there was always the posibility that a prisoner would step back there were more prisoners than places.

The inmates of cell 6 and 18 did so.

"Prisoner Sven Duchevsky. You volunteered for this. Do you step back? If you do, be advised that we are empowered to execute you now."
A stream of obscenities emerged, followed by body wastes. "He gave me the duty to kill them. You are evil, denying me me right."
"Judge Mueller and Guard Haarmann have witnessed your opinion." he activated his microphone. "Seal cell 6"
Slowly a thick metal plate covered the cell door.

The inmate of cell 18, Hamid al Rashid, did not even answer. After three tries the guard ordered this cell to be sealed too.

After all places in the VDS-S were filled, ten prisoners were left.

"Prisoners, I am Judge Mueller. You have volunteered for a vehicle insertion. As all places are filled you are given a choice. You can stay in your cells and be brought down to the planet. This decision will have no negative consequence. Your execution will be stayed till the next chance for volunteering comes. Or you can volunteer for individual insertion.Unfortunately we have only rudimentary knowledge. I will not lie. Death is nearly guaranteed. If you survive your stay of execution will be raised to at least triple time. And it will be entered in your files as positive decision. You have five minutes for your decision."

Three prisoners took the chance. They talked to the scientists and then made their decisions. Prisoner Harald Baade decided to fill the inside with asbestos sheets. Prisoner Frank Reising wanted to fill the inside with water and have a pressure valve on top of the pod. And Prisoner Fridolin Wurst desided to fill the inside with ice and a sheet of asbestos between him and the ice. The outer 3 inches of the ice should be cooled by liquid oxygen. A pressure valve was also installed.

"Judge Mueller, this is Captain Gassner speaking. Are you ready?"
"Yes, we are. Prepare for execution."

Captain Gassner looked at his helmsman "Mr Hofstadt, prepare for small air leakage between the main engines."
"Aye, aye captain" was the answer.

Judge Mueller nodded to one of the guards and two channels were opened.
Behind the cells two guards connected the airducts of two cells to another duct.
"This is Judge Mueller. Are the two cells, identified as cell six and one eight attached to the execution duct?"
One of the two guards took a long look and his companion did the same. After triple checking one of them spoke into his microphone.
"This is Guard Klopp. Cells six and one eight are identified and attached to execution duct. No other cell is connected."
Judge Mueller spoke into the second channel.
"Prisoner Sven Duchevsky and Prisoner Hamid al Rashid, you will now be executed in accordance with the law. May God have mercy on your souls."
Sven Duchevsky began hammering on the steel plate.
Judge Mueller pushed a button and a small stream of air emerged between the massive engines of the dropship.
After a few seconds the hammering stopped.
Before entering atmosphere the opening would be closed.

A few movements by Mr Hofstadt and the dropship stayed at its position.

Captain Gassner looked at his first officer who gave him the thumps up.
"Mr Schildknecht. Execute drop."
"Aye, aye captain. Drop commencing in five - four - three - two one DROP DROP DROP"
With a loud bang one drop pod after the other were dropped. After the twelve VDS-S were deployed the three IIDS-S Experimental were dropped.

Twelve great pods and three small pods fell towards Westfalen.
"Mr Schildknecht, report."

"Fifteen are green. Entering atmosphere in 4 seconds. Hot air blow out in 10 seconds."
 Fifteen objects entered the atmosphere.
On six of those the hot air inside blew panels on the outside away.
"Type three air is.. " one of the fiery points expanded and then another.
"Both type three air are gone. One type two..." and then four other points become fast expanding clouds.
"All air types are gone."
Then one of the smaller three expanded. Not a second later the second expanded.
"Two Infantry are gone."

"Mr Hofstadt, take us down." Captain Gassner ordered.
"Aye, aye."

The BAYERN descended down to the spaceport. There the prisoners were taken and brought back to prison.The two dead bodies were also brought to the prison, to be buried there.
January 16th, Hessen continent, Generalfeldmarschall (General Field Marshal) von Hindenberg Proving Grounds

Two Maxim Hovercraft were moving over a seemingly endless expanse of grass. Both were modified. They were long range Infantry transports with only a MG and 0,5 tons of ammo remaining. The second had no weapons and was configured as a prisoner transport.

The soldiers in the Maxim Hovercraft were mostly sleeping. As the Proving Grounds encompassed about something more of a third of the continent it took some time to travel. As their squad had lost the last competition they had the unpleasant duty to clean up. They had travelled to the landing sites and made sure that the volunteering prisoners were back in custody.

As the Savannah Masters had been rigged, the prisoners, that means the survivors, had been able to drive only a few klicks away from the landing site. That had been done only by those prisoners who did not think about it. So, the trouble some four, Franklin Des Portes, Michael "Gun Bunny" Kelley, Gerald "Thompson" Jones and Friedrich "Dr Mabuse" Heller, had driven their Savannah Masters only about 200 yards away.

While all pods without air had survived, not all prisoners had. And not all Savannah Masters had been deployed. It seemed that only the pod with nine Savannah Masters was able to deploy all Savannah Masters even if one or more could not be released. While the other pods had ceased to function after a non-deployment, the niner pod did continue to function.

While all 54 prisoners had died in the air pods, of the 54 prisoners in the non-air pods 44 had survived. And the inhabitant of the surviving infantry pod could not be described as having survived. It seemed that the shielded electronic black box was among the main reasons why the prisoner was nothing more than a piece of coal.

Now the soldiers were on their way back to base. They did not envy those that had to drive the Savannah Masters back to base or those that had been injured in their battle of putting the surviving prisoners into their cells in the second Maxim following their own.

As one looked up, he saw a Karnov making its way to the landing site. They carried the equipment to dismantle the pod and repair the non-functioning Savannah Masters. The soldier smiled. As the temperature would be about 29 degrees Celsius they would sweat. But he and his squad would be at base enjoying a few cold beers. He licked his lips in anticipation and settled back into the comfortable seat.

For the troublesome four and the other prisoners the journey was not so comfortable, but when they were back in prison each was allowed to spend 45 minutes in the shower room alone. And if they wanted they could enter the recreation room were they could tie themselves to a couch and they would get a massage.



Low Security Prison for Females, Hessen continent
The main room was about 15 by 15 meters and near the toilets four beds had been put. They had been partitioned off by curtains and from time to time a moan came from them.

Two of the females were Alicia Moonspell and Courtney Smith. The other female prisoners spared them no glance, as each had gone through the same ordeal.

Advanced truth serum interrogation.

But the four were not without attention. The other prisoners took shifts helping them. And in a few days the four would have to face the Inquisitor. No, not the fire and brimstone inquisitor, but a friendly, elderly woman, who would make them face their inner thoughts and demons.



Cologne Main Spaceport Facility
As the Dropship BARBAROSSA descended the people in the control tower were astonished. Someone had sent a nearly brand new jumpship with dropship to Westfalen just for one passenger.

After settling down an arrogant voice told the controllers that Mr Friedrich von Kurzebrandt, personal envoy of Duke von Nagel, would leave the dropship and that the police should guide him towards Castle Sanssouci. And the voice added, that as personal envoy Mr von Kurzebarndt was not accustomed to waiting for peasants to fulfill his wishes. He wanted the police escort NOW. And the controllers should inform the best hotel on planet that a real member of nobility needed their best suite, even though he understands that the best he could expect was marginally clean linen sheets.

[Lone-Wolf]

January, 20th, Low Security Prison for Females, Hessen continent
Courtney Smith was nervous. For mor than one hour she had sat in a room. Alicia had been the third to enter the Room of Truth, as it was called. The rules were simple. You entered the waiting room, waited for your time and left. And between those who had already faced the music and those about to face the music no contact was allowed.

Her hands were clammy and beads of sweat were on her skin. She looked at the window but the feeling of dread was like a stone in her stomach.

With a click the door opened. Courtney looked and then she saw the room was empty. She slowly made her way into the room and looked around.

Two chairs, a desk and an open window. A fresh breeze caught some of her hair and she walked to the open window. As she looked out she saw that the window opened to the streets and no fence was there.

She closed her eyes, lifted her head and filled her lungs with one long breath. Freedom she thought. The smell of live.

Without thinking she grabbed the windowframe, put her foot up and lifted herself up. Then a breeze caught her from behind.

She dropped her head and let herself down.

"Remarkable. Even though I serve in this capacity for these many years all do the same as you. One chance at freedom and witzhout thinking they try to run."

Courtney turned around. "so I failed. Do you send me back to the old prison?"

The woman mentioned her to take her seat.

"Your action will be entered into my report. Sent you back? Depends. By the way, I am Mariella Goelzer."

"Courtney Smith"

"I know." Mariella chuckled. She waved her hand over the file in front of her. "I know the official data. But why dont you tell me your side?"

Courtney exhaled and looked Mariella into her eyes. "You mean, why I am in prison and if I deserve to be there?"

"Why not?"

"Ok, I am Courtney Smith, born April, 23th 3035 in Jormandstown on St. Georg in the Federation of Sky..."

Slowly Courtney began to tell Mariella about her life, her time in school and about the abuse. Finally she came to the events surrounding the death of her tormentor.

"You never thought about going to the police?"

Courtney shaked her head. "He descended from one of the first settlers and was considered aristocracy. And the police touched them only in cases among their own. If a member of the aristocracy did something to a later family the police only acted in severe crimes like murder. But not abuse."

"So, do you really wanted him to die?"

Courtney looked up and her eyes were shining more. "Yes." She began to sob. And water began to flow from her eyes.

"You are honest. And understandable." She stood up and offered Courtney her handkerchief.

After a few minutes the tears stopped. Courtney looked up and Mariella looked at her.

"Why dont you go back to Alicia? She is waiting?"

"Did I fail?"

"Pass, fail - where is the difference and in what context? I dont know. But whatever happens, never betray yourself or your friends."

With these words Mariella brought Courtney to the door and ushered her into the main room of the prison.

After the door had closed, Mariella looked at a spot above the door where Courtney had entered.

"Subject: Smith, Courtney. Age 18. Life without parole for Conspiracy to commit 1st degree murder. Report forthcoming."


Courtney entered the main room and found Alicia standing a few feet away from the door. The two women walked towards each other, embraced and walked to Alicias bed. Then they began to talk about their experiences with Mariella.

The other prisoners spared them no glance as each was lost in her thoughts.



Sanssouci Castle

A car approached the castle and the guards went to attention. A small fat man emerged and walked to the entrance. He did not pay attention to any of the people but they brought him to the dukes official room.

Duke von Woellner stood ramrodstraight and greeted the man with all courtesy.

Mr Friedrich von Kurzebrandt, personal envoy of Duke von Nagel, please allow me to welcome you to Westfalen..."

"Cut the chatter." he was interrupted. "I am not here to waste time on senseless chatter. Your planet is populated by peasents with no knowledge about how to treat ambassadors. Calling it a backwater is an insult to other backwater planets..."

This time the duke interrupted him. "You will not talk about my people in this way. I expect you to behave or you can leave."

"Very well. I am here to take Prisoner AA-372 aka Friedrich Meier back to Sargasso. He was sent here by mistake. Please prepare him for immediate departure."

"I am sorry, but you know the treaty. He is mine. And if Duke von Nagel wants him back he should go through the official routes."

Friedrich von Kurzebrandt produced a sheaf of paper. "Here, all documents you need. So when will he be given to me?"

"When everything is done according to regulations. As you know this will take about a month as written down in the Treaty Regulation 23, third sentence. The he is yours. Till then he is mine."

Friedrich von Kurzebrandt turned red. "As you will. The duke will be very unhappy."

"Quote him the treaty." responded Duke von Woellner cold.

Friedrich von Kurzebrandt bowed and left.

Bertram entered the room and looked at his father. The duke shaked his head and held his finger against his lips.

The door opened and a couple of guards entered. They had instruments in their hands and went through the entire room. Five times they went to a spot and took a closer look. One of those spots was on the dukes uniform. The duke frowned but did not stop the guards.

Bertrams face was cold, but his eyes had a dangerous light.

Then his father adressed him. "So what do you think?"

"There is something wrong. I do not like it."

"I concur. But to find the truth we have to find a needle in a haystack. Talk to our guests, both of them."


The BARBAROSSA left Westfalen two hours later. She left the system and over New Capetown a small transmission was sent to the planet. The receiver smiled and thought about the stack of C-Bills given to him by a COMSTAR adept. Yes, business in war was good, but cash was better.


Sunday, January 23rd 3053 Westfalen, Hessen continent, Death Row Prison Facility

It was noon. Five guards entered Facility 17 on order of warden Dorden. Each of them wore a red uniform. And nobody stood in their way. While the prisons normally had a certain background of sound, every cell they passed fell silent.

Before cell 23 a metal wheel chair stood and a cage had been erected around the door with one opening left. Four of them entered the cage while the fifth stayed outside and closed the cage.

"Prisoner Desmond Wallace Shawn, the time has come to pay for your crimes. Turn around and present your hands to be manacled."

Inside a growl was heard. "Come and get me, you miserable pieces of ..."

"Open the cell."

One of the normal prison guards pushed a button and the celldoor swung open. With an inhuman scream of rage the prisoner emerged and attacked the four guards. In both hands he held pieces of metal rods and slashed. In the first seconds the guards could only defend themselves. But even their armor could not protect them. The prisoner slashed at the weak spots. Soon a red liquid was on the floor.

The guards outside the door ripped of the opening key and with this only the warden itself could now open the door. Anti-hostage policy.

The medics rushed into the prison, followed by the members of the Uprising squad carrying bulky tanks looking like flame throwers.

After a furious battle the prisoner was covered in cuts and bruises as he tossed away the last guard. Before he could say anything, one of the Uprising squad showered him with ... water. The second team member fired some gas at him, that turned the water to ice. And then the other team members fired their weapons too. After the prisoner had been subdued, the door was opened and he was chained to a desk. Then heat was applied and his health was checked. Meanwhile the majority of the medic team had taken care of the red guards. One of them was close to death while the rest was covered in cuts and bruises.

After an emergency operation the guards were rushed to hospital while the prisoner was wheeled to the warden. That was, what he thought.

As his wheelchair was pushed around a corner a cloaked man appeared behind him, leveled a gun at his head and fired. He checked the life signs and then turned around and left. The guards moved the wheelchair to the medical building where the documentation was made before the body was buried in the cemetary.

All red guards would survive but next time they swore they would not be surprised.

[Lone-Wolf]

Low Security Prison for Females, Hessen continent

Six young women were sitting on two benches seperated by a desk. All of them were covered in sweat and trying to catch their breaths. If it were not for the razor-topped fence and the identical clothes nobody could have thought that this was a prison playground.

Courtney, Alicia, Denise van Klahm, Jennifer McDonald, Florentine deMulder and Sabrina Jansen were the six women. All were in the age range of 17 till 23. All of them were lifers. And each one of them had behaved.

After some time the young women looked at each other and began to talk. In no time they talked about the latest make up tips, clothes and men. While no one of them had access to clothes (which was very hard for Florentine, as she was a glamour girl to the core) they could still see the people on the other side of the fence.

After some time a whistle was blown and the women packed their things and marched to the dorm. As it was customary they had their replacement clothes already laid out before the communal shower. They knew that in their absence their room would be searched.

Inside the shower room the talking and giggling continued, followed by splashes of ice cold water thrown around.

After getting dry they dressed and walked into the dorm. And stopped dead in their tracks.

While each one had a bed and a locker now a second locker had been added.

"Come on girls. Take a look." the guard inside the officeroom said.

Slowly they made their way towards the new locker. And then shouts of joy were heard. In no time at all the women had undressed and were showing the civilian clothes they found in the new locker. Including shoes and make up.
Courtney locked at all the clothes and tears begin streaming down her face. Was this some kind of joke? Then she was hugged from behind and saw that Alicia had embraced her.

"Dinner in one hour. And be presentable" the guard told them.

The women looked at each other and the clothes and shoes found in each ones locker. If the size was right some exchanges were made and after one hour the women marched into the lunchroom.

While some wore no make up and decent clothes like Courtney some wore full warpaint like Florentine.

They were expected by Mariella.

"Nice to see you. Enjoy the food."

After the dinner was finished Mariella looked around and smiled.

"Does anybody of you looked into the side drawer?"

All were looking at her. Only Courtney nodded.

"I found schoolbooks." she said.

"Yes. You will be given an education. We do not want talent to go to waste. School begins at 0800, so be ready to leave at 0720." with this she handed out plans to the women.
"these are the classes you will have to attend. Pack your bags accordingly. We have put you into classes where you will be evaluated and later transferred. Any questions? No, to bed then."



Low Security Prison for Females, Hessen continent Monday 24th January 3053

Slowly the darkness of the night gave way to light. As the sound of getting up was send over the loudspeakers, Courtney thought she had not slept at all. The women went about the business of washing and eating as ordinary. But the mood was subdued. They donned their prison dress and assembled near their beds.
"Prepare for school" the female guard announced. Then she stopped and took a closer look at the prisoners. "OK, have you forgotten? You are going to school, so change into last evenings clothes."
The girls looked at each other and slowly at first but getting faster they changed their clothes. So they had not dreamed. After changing clothes the guards opened the door and th girls took their backpacks and left the building.
"Stop. Where do you think you are going?" the male guard accompanying them asked.
Wordlessly the girls they pointed at the next building.
He shook his head, mumbled something like "Always the same." and said then "Follow me."
Courtney and Alicia exchanged looks. They were heading for the prison entrance. Could this be right?
With mounting trepidation the girls came closer to the gates. And the distance between them was involuntarily reduced.
Then the first set of the great gate opened. They were marched into the area between the gates and then the gate behind them closed.
The girls looked around and the guard had to clear his throat a few times before the girls reacted.
"OK, lets get down to basics. You have shown to be nice people. So we trust you. But we know that freedom is a great  lure to run away. Please dont do it. It is not worth it."
Then the second gate opened and the girls were seeing he street before the prison.

Without another word the guard left the prison and crossed the street

In the middle of the street he waited, turned around and sighed.

"Come on girls. The bus is coming."

As if struck by lightning the girls run towards the guard who had reached the other side of the street. They clustered around him and there was fear in their eyes. And hope.

The bus came,, stopped and opened the door.

"Hello Tom" the guard said." Here are six girls. And dont forget to bring them back" he added with a smile.

He turned to the girls: "OK, remember what I said. Be nice and come back."
Then talking to himself "OK, how many times did I say this? Before the week is over five of you will try to run."
He shook his head and showed the girls to enter the bus.

As Courtney entered the bus she saw that all eyes were on them and there were only single seats left.
So she sat beside a little girl who looked at her with great eyes.

"Are you evil?" she began.
All around her the sound of "Shhhh" was heard. And one hand came up behind here and gave the little girl a little whack.

Courtney swallowed. Great. What was she supposed to say?

Behind her she heard Florentine trying to impress the normal girls and succeding.
Why could she not be like her?

"I am Nadine. And you?" the little girl continued.

"Courtney"

"Do you hate school?"
Before Courtney could answer Nadine continued by telling her all about the various teachers and how nice or evil they were.

As the bus stopped at the school Courtney was happy because the little girl made her nervous.

They left the bus and were met by a teacher who brought them to a room where the first tests were made. 


Unnamed Periphery System, Union class Dropship Demeter
Captain Cathy Jenkins stood in the extended observation bubble of the Demeter. Before the accident that had stranded them in the periphery she had barely knew this part of the dropship. But now after a mission she wanted to be alone. It was bad enough to misjump, but to see your jumpship scatter into a thousand parts...
She had inherited the jumpship "Ferryman" with the "Demeter" from her father. Her mother had been Lieutenant of the mercenary lance "Dark Ladies". After the two had found each other the "Dark Ladies" had expanded to a full company and she had inherited company command from her mother. While she was a full qualified jumpship pilot she had been injured on the planet after the last mission so her brother had prepared the jump. Her little baby brother who was at least two heads taller and forty pounds heavier. He liked space more and so he was first officer to her captain. But his duties included more than that of a first officer as she was normally occupied with her mech company. She missed him.
As footsteps approached Captain Jenkins knew that it was no member of her crew or company. The footsteps were not made by combatboots or spacerboots. No, they were made by the "benefactor", their saviour.
"Here you are my dear captain. I was looking for you to congratulate you for another successful accomplished mission."
A small stack of smoke emerged from a destroyed homestead.
"This you call successfull?" her voice was laced with acid, but still not as much acid as she wanted to inject into her voice.
"Ah, my dear captain. You were stranded in the middle of nowhere and we offered you our hospitality to bring you back into the fold of humanity for a small price. Surely destroying some heathens is a small price compared to slow suffocation . - But you are right."
The man took a datapad from his white robes and looked at it.
"It seems your unit is getting sloopy. During this mission you touched the grey areas of the Ares Conventions seven times. In the last missions it was always between twelve and fifteen times."
Before her anger could rise, the man continued.
"Not that I want to imply that your unit is going soft or developing morals, but my only concern is for your units will to win. The Inner Sphere is rife with strife and only winners stay alive and in business."
A false smile was forming on his face and he continued with an oily touch in his voice.
"But you should look into the future. Our next jump will end in the Lyran half of the Federated Commonwealth. And here is a message your agent on New Capetown sent you. A new mission. Hit and run. Someone needs to be punished. Just like with us. Do not worry. Your resume will be spotless and you have earned your bonus."
He handed her the datapad and left.
She looked at the datapad and had the urge to use cleaning solvent on her body. But she knew that the oily feeling stayed.
As she turned around and left the bubble, the stack of smoke dissolved into the sky.

[Lone-Wolf]

The Alexander von Humboldt School, Hessen continent Monday 24th January 3053 noon

The lessons were over. For now. Now it was time to eat but the girls had nothing, so they watched the other pupils entering the lunch room, envy in their eyes.

Courtney even saw the little girl from the bus leaving the lunch room, a cone filled with ice cream in her hand.

Denise hung her head. "Damn, if I knew they would be so bad to us, i would have stayed in prison. There we would get ice cream too."

The girl sitting a few yards away looked at them. "So, you are the new ones, right?"

The girls turned around and nodded.

"I am Taylor. And everybody gets something to eat. So go."

Alicia was the first to overcome her speechlessness. "You mean...just go in there, enter the line-up, get a tray and get food? But we have no money or cards or whatever we need."

"No, you need a card. It should have been given to you this morning. I think..." and then her voice trailed off, while looking over the girls.

"Here you are, sis. Mom told me to tell you that you are wanted at the hospital. It seems you impressed someone." A slightly older man then the girl who introduced herself as Taylor came closer. While Taylor seemed about 19 years old, the man was about 22.

Taylor packed her bag and rose. "Sorry girls, but I have to go. Bert, would you please be so kind? It seems it was forgotten to give these girls their cards."

"Bert" took his hand out of his pocket and with a smile produced a set of small plastic cards. "You mean these? Yes, i know." He handed the girls their respective cards and like a well oiled machine he explained to them what those cards were for and what food they could get.

Meanwhile Taylor left the building.

What the girls did not notice were many pairs of cold, hard eyes watching them - and Taylor.


Terra, Solar System, Nadir Jump point

The jumpship Wayfarer reeled her sail in. In the attached dropship Vipers Egg one person slowly exhaled. Only a few more jumps and his destiny would be reached. After travelling for one year through multiple identities, at least thirty-five in space disposed off bodies and he did not know how many times going through customs - the goal would be his.The viper would be destroyed with all of her slaves. No-one would escape and no-one would survive.   


Low Security Prison for Females, Hessen continent Friday 28th January 3053

Courtney was lying in her bed, too exhausted to move. It was no exhaustion from sports, but mental exhaustion, as they had been tested and put into certain classes. And they had been put back into prison. Yes, the guard had been right. Everybody had tried to run. Thinking of Florentine`s escape brought a smile to her face. Florentine`s escape had been discovered after 6 hours. But she had not run much. Just 600 meters to the main shopping center of the city. When the guards found her she had been surrounded by a fair number of people watching her trying out various shades of make-up, perfume, clothes, shoes and the like. The description of war-paint fitted her face like a tight fitting dress. And not to forget she was able to escape the guards for another three times just to try out "one last time" another perfume. The guards had seen the funny side and finally the store owner had given Florentine some test specimen for her journey back. Of course he had some products sold as he just pointed at Florentine and told the customers if they wanted to know how a certain colour looked at them they should just look at the girl`s (aka Florentine`s) face.

Returning to prison the other girls had been surprised that the guards were wearing NBC masks. They feared for the worst, but after smelling Florentine 30 meters against the wind they had insisted, no forced her, to take a shower. But a very long and extended shower. Still the smell had been in the room for the rest of the week.

Alicia had been found at the border of the city. She had just stared into the great wide open. She had her face painted with symbols and talked in an indian dialect only she understood. And she did not even want to talk about what she had done.

And she herself had been found wandering the streets without aim or goal.

But now she prepared for the worst part of the week. Staying in prison for the weekend. After tasting freedom it was painful.


Death Row Prison Facility, Hessen continent,

Friedrich Meier was chained to a chair and two guards were positioned on his sides.

A young man entered in the room from the door opposite his chair. He was escorted by four men. He wordlessly sat down and looked at him.

"Good morning Sergeant Meier. Why don`t you tell me, why the government of your planet is so desperate to get you back?"

Friedrich Meier gulped. Straight to the point. And there was something feral about this young man.

"I am no longer Sergeant. I am a disgrace to the FedCom Armed Forces and dishonourably discharged from duty."

"Yes, thats wat the file says. But there is something wrong and I want to know." The eyes of the young man were drilling at the prisoner.

"I do not know what you are talking about. I murdered my family and have to pay the price."

"So it says. And what you did to their dead bodys made even the CSI guys puke. Not to mention that it the people thought the death penalty in your case was too lenient."

"What do you want? I DID IT!"

"And what do you say to returning to your homeplanet?"

Friedrich Meier bowed his head.
"Then I have to go home to pay the piper."

"So it seems. So it seems. Excuse me for wasting your time." The man nodded and the guards brought Friedrich Meier to his cell.

Meanwhile the young man entered another room and looked at the technicians.

"And?"

"He lied about murdering his family. Thats 100% sure. And he is more than afraid of going back."

"But you don`t know why?"

"No, I am sorry."

"Thank you gentlemen."
The young man left the prison with the four bodyguards around him. It was a short ride to his father in Castle Sanssouci, but without information he felt he had wasted his time.