“I am Base Commandant Jamie Sertes,” the short thin man wearing the gold stripes said. “I'd like to present my other two……”586Please respect copyright.PENANAa1afa3XIS6
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“Not interested,” I interrupted, not caring who these clowns were. They weren’t my problem. I then thrust a piece of paper in my outstretched hand under the short guy’s face. “Read this,” I told him. 586Please respect copyright.PENANAOQGg6VI4j2
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The Commandant looked about as pissed off at me as I was to be on this rock. He snatched the paper away and read it for about ten seconds before he stiffened ramrod straight. 586Please respect copyright.PENANAkVj6Z0Jr4t
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“These orders are from Administrator Dr Martins,” he squeaked. Still, it wasn’t every day you get a set of written orders from the third most powerful person on the planet. I was surprised myself when he gave me these documents personally, along with my briefing.586Please respect copyright.PENANAWBfM9aYFZs
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“Yes, and they say I have absolute authority over the prisoner listed. You will bring the prisoner to an isolation cell. Set up a small table and two chairs. After that everyone, including you, will leave us alone. No one will approach the cell until I say so. Are these orders understood?”586Please respect copyright.PENANA2CeufSTCO1
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I got a curt nod from the short Commandant. “Take my bag to my quarters, and then show me where I can freshen up. Finally, do not say a word to the prisoner that I am here.” 586Please respect copyright.PENANAmuWIhQwbrz
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They led me away without further ado.586Please respect copyright.PENANAmyLVmylWrF
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The cell door was old and rusty; no one had bothered to maintain it and iron and steel do not do well in the salt air. It was still sturdy enough to hold the prisoner inside. Not that it mattered; it was a 1500 kilometre swim to Hawaii. 586Please respect copyright.PENANAid9waVffKr
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The prisoner was about as nondescript as it gets. He was middle age, medium height, medium built, slight fattening around the waist. The kind of person you pass every day on the street and ignore. No one could tell from the outside that he was one of the best computer modellers of resource availability on the planet. The PPP did not just put anybody in control of such an important aspect of the coalition. 586Please respect copyright.PENANAGXWSnFYxes
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I walked in and sat down on one side of the table the guards placed in the room. The prisoner was sitting on the bed. He looked startled when I came in. “Please sit down in the other chair,” I said motioning him to sit.586Please respect copyright.PENANAOATfsAU7YG
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He walked over and sat down without a word. I could see several 2-cm circular red marks on his temples and one on each wrist. They had worked him over good before I got here. Not the local staff. More likely the marks came when Investigations Bureau questioned him after he was arrested.