Chapter 69. About to meet General Frigg
However, the man remained silent. It's really maddening. Didn't he understand what the inquisitor was talking about? He looked so different, so alien, although there were certainly stranger aliens out there. Instead of curved around his eyes, his eyebrows formed a wide V shape. His ears pointed upward and tucked sharply. These appear to be the only significant differences. But he gives off an almost devilish impression with his piercing gaze, calm demeanor and unique appearance.
"Do you understand what I'm talking about?" the judge asked again.
Still no reaction from him.
"You better cooperate. We control your friends. If you don't speak up, your friends will pay the price."
Like pressing a button, a woman's heart-rending scream came from outside the door.
"Talk to me," he said emphatically. "That way your friend won't have to suffer anymore."
However, the strange man remained silent. He didn't even blink.
Slowly, the Inquisitor began to feel anger swelling within him. Why give him such a hopeless case? If he fails, how will he face it? To make the victim more compliant, he gave him three more electric shocks, each time gradually increasing in intensity. But the man still didn't react. He didn't even make a sound during the shock. He must have a strong mind.
The Inquisitor took a deep breath, then stood up, walked around the table, and stood in front of the victim. He stared at him for a few moments before punching him in the face.
The corner of the man's mouth was split open by the blow, and blood gushed out. green blood. The Inquisitor frowned. To him, the color of the blood clearly indicated that the man must belong to a lower class of creatures.
He realized he couldn't go on here. For this man, tactics had to change. Maybe experts in direct torture would be better able to deal with him. Perhaps after that he would be more susceptible to psychological torture.
Without paying any further attention to the prisoner or the table, the Inquisitor walked to the door and left the room. Let others handle this.
When the door closed, the ceiling lights went out, once again completely shrouding Jeffrey in darkness.
Noah hung dazedly in the chair to which he was tied. He could no longer feel the pain in his hands and feet. He didn't know how long he had been imprisoned here. He has completely lost all sense of time. The darkness, the silence, and the interrogations took their toll. After the poison had taken its toll on his body, he sat down in a chair, exhausted. The stench in the room was disgusting. And they left him sitting there as if there was no end to time. This is an insult. Finally, the four of them came in together. They wore oxygen masks and protective suits. When they untied him, he collapsed. He was too exhausted to resist. So they stripped him naked and rinsed him roughly. The entire room is also cleaned and disinfected. Then they put him back on the chair and tied him up again. He could only hope that his officers would not go through the same ordeal.
Then the man came back. He sat on the chair and looked at Noah calmly. "Hello, Captain. I hope you had a nice night. Please forgive me for what just happened, but you are still withholding information we need. We have to get this information. If you finally tell us everything, we want to know Everything, everything will be over. And then you can leave. You won't be free, but you will get a better place to live. A place where you can even see the sun. It's all up to you."
Noah raised his head with difficulty and looked at the man. "If you..." he began in a broken voice, but soon couldn't continue. The poison caused him to vomit multiple times. His throat was now so raw that he couldn't speak.
The man seemed to notice, he picked up a small cup, tore off the lid, and walked over to Noah. He held the cup to Noah's throat, but Noah made no move to drink.
"Captain, you can drink it with confidence this time. Trust me. Why should we poison you again? You have told us all the information and there is no point in poisoning you again. There are minerals in it that your body needs very much right now. Like As I said before, we don't want to do anything bad to you. We just want information. And if you can't speak, how are you going to tell us the information? This glass of water will help you."
Noah didn't believe him. But if he had a chance to drink something now, he could hardly resist. And if this was a chance to do some good to his tortured throat, what's the problem? So he agreed to let the man give him a drink. It was just two bites, but Noah felt better immediately.
The man smiled with satisfaction, returned to the table, and sat down. "Look, it's not that hard," he said. "Now that it's going so well, tell me where you're from and what your plans are here."
Noah shook his head inwardly. All right. He will tell the man the truth, even if he believes the other man won't understand. So he described the encounter with Cindy Weapons and the events that followed.
The man listened carefully. His expression gave no idea of what he heard. When Noah finished speaking, the man carefully put down his pen and simply looked at the captain. He was silent for a few minutes, staring at Noah intently. "An interesting story," he finally said. "But that's it. I didn't expect you to be so naive as to think we would believe such a story. I will delete this recording. We want to hear your true origins. Where you come from and what your mission here is."
Noah couldn't believe it. Should he tell a lie that would be more appropriate for the person in charge here? This is absolutely impossible. He was about to speak, but the man interrupted him.
"I don't need your answer now. Think about this question. And consider these words: Cooperation means truth. And truth makes people free. Freedom is humanity's most precious asset. We want to protect it. And for that, we need your support."
Then he packed his things. Before leaving the room, he turned again and looked at Noah. "So that you may not forget these words, I will make them be repeated."
At this moment, a monotonous and loud voice came from a speaker at the top of the room. "Cooperation means truth. And truth makes people free. Freedom is humanity's most precious asset. We want to protect it. To do this, we need your support. Cooperation means truth. And truth makes people free. Freedom is humanity's most precious asset. wealth. We want to protect it. To do this, we need your support. Cooperation means the truth..." These words are repeated.
The intensity of light increases significantly and the room becomes bright and dazzling. Then the man left, leaving Noah here.
Noah tried to ignore the voice, but he couldn't. He was too weak and too loud. So he was baptized by this sound while in a coma. He couldn't even try to get some sleep to regain his strength. For both the light and the sound prevented him from resting. Sleep deprivation. This is exactly what they are trying to achieve. An old but proven method. Noah was sure that the voice and its words would leave an imprint on his mind and that he would continue to hear it even if it was long gone.
Ingmar sat on the bed and stared out the window. His eyes were lost among the stars and he didn't even notice them. The sheets were in a mess and spread across the bed. He turned off the lights and the only source of light in the room was the screen of a small tablet he had just glanced at his personal inbox. However, there was nothing that interested him.
The computer was a monitor approximately the size of a DIN A 5 through which all commands were entered. Users can enter via a virtual keyboard or by writing directly on the screen, and the computer processes it. The first such devices appeared as early as the beginning of the 21st century and continued to evolve over the subsequent years, eventually replacing laptops. The performance of these devices continues to improve. Through this touch-screen computer, people can easily connect to all computers on the spacecraft to obtain data and control commands. Engineers especially like to use this equipment when out on missions. They are light and portable and can be connected to alien computers through some simple emergency measures to quickly obtain the data information to be checked.
In personal life, people also like to use them to quickly record some information, save appointments or handle correspondence. They are connected to the ship's main computer and can be easily taken with you when changing ships or on vacation.
During today's shift, Ingmar could barely concentrate on solving the problem. His thoughts drifted away again and again, returning to Shu Ran. He shouldn't have kissed her. Now he knows it was a mistake. The time is not ripe yet. He should have impressed her more first. He should have reassured her that he was the one she needed. If she doesn't realize it, that's better than being a good friend around her. Now, even this may not be possible.
She avoided him. He didn't see her once today. She didn't send a message either. This made him feel helpless and sad. Almost no woman had ever rejected him before. Even if you get rejected sometimes, it's not a big deal. After all, there are many other women. But this time he didn't want to find anyone else. He just wanted Shu Ran. It just looks like he might not be able to get her. Nothing like this has ever happened.
Perhaps the best thing to do is to put her out of your mind. He just needs to forget her and live his life as before. But to do that, he had to remove the thought of her from his brain.
The screen of the small device flickered, indicating that Ingmar had received a new email. He looked only briefly, then turned back to the stars. His thoughts still revolved around Shu Ran and that controversial night. Ingemar turned out to be like this. He collapsed on the bed, not knowing what to do. His eyes turned dark. No, he had to do something. After all, he couldn't let a woman disrupt his rhythm like this. She had cast a spell and he had to break it. He must forget her. She really didn't feel good about him. Of course, everything would be fine, as long as he kept his contact with her to a minimum, and over time, the feelings would definitely fade away, and everything would be the same as before.
Determined, he picked up the tablet and decided to scan the incoming mail. Just to change the focus. After all, there's no point in looking sad here.
The latest news is from Shu Ran. His heart immediately trembled. His trembling fingers clicked on the icon to open the letter. Then he read the following:
"Hi Ingmar, I'm sorry to bother you so late, but I want to clarify something about last night, it can't just be forgotten. Your kiss took me by surprise. I wasn't prepared for it. In fact, I never thought about anything like that. You were just Ingmar, a good friend, and I thought you could become my best friend. I never thought more about it. I feel so comfortable around you , because I don’t feel the need to prove anything to you. In front of you, I can be myself. I don’t need to pretend or show anything to you. To me, you are a neutral person, like an androgynous creature. You know I've been through hard times. And there's nothing about our current situation that helps calm my mind. I'm not ready for a new relationship right now. Please don't be angry with me. Now I know how you feel, I feel very uneasy and not sure what to do with you. Maybe we should carry on as if nothing happened. What do you think? Hope you reply. Best regards, Shu Ran."
Ingmar stared at the monitor. Now he understood that she was not interested in him. Another new experience. This new experience was becoming a little too much, and he was willing to give up. In her eyes, he is just a friend. This realization really depressed him. Yes, she was older than him, but did that make him a less masculine person? Apparently so, because he was clearly not a man in her eyes. She mentally weakened him. There could hardly have been a greater blow to his pride.
What should he do now? She had taken the first step, now it was his turn. Is this the opportunity he wants? He could continue to stay by her side, and maybe she would eventually fall in love with him. On the other hand, he did want to forget her. Keep your distance and buy time to let these feelings subside. Based on her letter, this seemed like the wisest choice.
He just didn't know if he was willing to make the wise choice. His feelings are very contradictory and confusing as never before. On the one hand, he wanted nothing to do with her ever again, and on the other, he could barely resist the urge to reply to her. What he wanted most was to ask her to meet immediately.
He walked around the dormitory excitedly. It feels like there are angels and devils sitting on your shoulders, constantly giving them new arguments for what should be done. His thoughts only revolved around Shu Ran. Whenever he makes a decision, he reverses it. It's so frustrating. In this case, he envied Vulcan's ruthlessness.
He couldn't remember how much time had passed afterwards. At some point, he finally realizes that he can no longer make decisions. And it was already late, and tomorrow's work would require his full attention. No, he couldn't think any further. He was just spinning in circles. It's time to go to bed now. Tomorrow everything could be completely different. Maybe there would be some solution that he hadn't thought of today. Maybe this will solve some problems, or even all problems.
In a semi-conscious state, Noah vaguely noticed that the man in black appeared in the room again. As he entered, the lights returned to normal and the sound finally stopped. He felt as if the voice had been lecturing him for hours. In the process, he never found peace. And the lack of sleep was beginning to bother him. He could barely think straight.
The man in black seemed satisfied with his condition. He sat down and started asking questions again, but Noah saw no point in continuing to answer. It seemed certain to him now that he would die in this strange world. No matter how many questions he answered, they would never let him go.
Despite his poor condition, he was unwilling to provide any information. He would never give in to his tormentors. Therefore, he remained silent. Finally, the man in black left, but did not forget to remind him again that only a satisfactory answer can be exchanged for life.
There is a sense of irony. He had sworn to protect the Federation and Earth. He has already experienced several battles against foreign invaders. And now he will die here. On Earth, killed by humans. He never thought it would end like this, but he liked the irony. Death was no longer a problem for him. Well, at least here it all ends. The only thing that really bothered him was that he could no longer figure out what was going on here. He could speculate, but whether he truly knew the truth, he would never know. This bothered him.
The door opened again and the man in black walked in. He stood there silently, looking down at Noah. He didn't notice at first that two other men had entered the room. They stood behind him, motionless.
"You're lucky, Captain," said the man in black. Then he motioned to the two men.
Noah didn't react quickly enough, so he wasn't able to hide his surprise when the two men approached his chair. They untied him and then supported him to prevent him from sliding off the chair. They lifted him roughly and dragged him out of the room. Noah struggled to stay standing and keep up with them. He barely managed it, except once when he tripped, but they continued to pull him mercilessly.
Finally, they came to a room with bright tiles and bright lighting. The light stung Noah's eyes. Tears blurred his vision so much that he couldn't see clearly what was going on around him at first. The two men let him go. Noah stood unsteadily, but quickly regained his footing. He turned slowly. The two men stepped back to make room for the man in black.
"Take off all your clothes," the man ordered, his voice emotionless.
"Why?" Noah asked, his voice firmer than he expected.
"Take off all your clothes," the man repeated simply.
Noah hugged his chest, "No."
"Resistance is in vain," replied the man. "Hurry or you'll die."
"Then kill me." Noah looked at him challengingly. When there was no response, he continued, "If you were useless, I would have done that. But you can't. Because I'm still useful."
A humorless smile flashed across the face of this man who always had a straight face. "Captain, please don't overestimate yourself. There are many more in your crew."
"You can't reach them," Noah interjected.
"Each of them can provide us with information," he continued, unmoved. "But yes. If we wanted to kill you, we would have done it a long time ago. You are more interesting to us alive. And you will eventually give us the information we need."
"We'll see."
"Yeah, we'll see." He looked at Noah thoughtfully. "Now, take off your clothes." Before Noah could respond, he raised his hand. "You will also be given a bar of soap and take a shower here. With all due respect, you smell bad. Then you will be redressed. You will also be given a meal. General Frigg wants to talk to You talk, but your current state is not suitable."
Noah looked at him hesitantly. "What if I don't cooperate?"
