Chapter 41: Chapter 16.1

Aaron lifted his hand and Tawny stopped talking once more, looking down at her lap. He began to see why she was so hesitant in the beginning, why he hadn’t had her trust right away. He studied her for a moment, trying to figure out how to word what was running through his mind. A simple apology for how he had treated her when she first arrived probably wouldn’t cover it nor get her to trust him any more, but it was the only thing he could think of.

“I apologize for how we treated you before I entered the room,” he said. “I was unaware of your experience with similar methods. I understand why you are reluctant to speak with me. So, I am sorry.”

She blinked a few times, her face still expressionless. “You cooled the room and left me alone with my thoughts. If you think that even comes close to the things I have been through you are seriously underestimating the lengths your enemies will go to get information,” she said dryly.

What else has she gone through? Aaron wondered. “Could I ask a few questions specifically about Captain Otto?”

She nodded and fidgeted in the seat.

“What happened to him?”

“I didn’t find out until much later, but Otto was arrested and sent to an extermination camp for homosexuality. The information came from an anonymous source, but I believe that’s why he didn’t turn myself or Vicki in. She could have dragged him down with us.”

“So, Otto was perfectly content with killing off people like him?” Aaron asked.

“Otto was forced into military service just like myself and every other gay and Tzi in our--their--military. We pretend to hate them or just don’t care. We all just wanted to stay out of the camps, to survive this war. Hold out long enough for the Alliance to roll into the capital and liberate us all. The closer you lived to the front lines, the better.”

Aaron sat back in his seat and pursed his lips. He watched her as she sat in the chair, but that’s all she did. She made it across the front lines, she’s liberated, she should be happy, full of emotion but she’s not. She’s dead.

She didn’t survive this war, it killed her, he decided. She lived through the war, but she didn’t survive. How many more children are they doing this to?

“Tawny, how old were you when you were drafted?”

“Fifteen,” she said without hesitation. “Everyone is fifteen when they draft you, the age could be lower now, I don’t know. By the time you’re sixteen, you’re either on the front lines, a cripple or dead. There aren’t many good things about being a dead head, but less dangerous postings are one of them. Camps, detention centers, investigation, unless you manage to get picked for the special forces squadrons, which I did.”

“Isn’t it hard to convince children to pick up a rifle and shoot someone?”

“Not when you’ve brainwashed them into hating Ferals and Sympathisers,” she said. “Otto said it well, the civilians and soldiers have as much freedom as the prisoners, they may even have less. Look at your history, children are even easier to turn into killing machines than adults, because they’re moldable. Get them when they’re young and impressionable and you can do anything you want with them. Convince them that gays and Tzis are a plague, a blight on society that needs to be eradicated. Convince them that anyone who sympathises with them is infected with their sickness.”

“How come you weren’t brainwashed like the rest?”

“My neighbors, the Jamesons, they took me in after my parents arrest,” she said. “They had papers proclaiming me their granddaughter, and elderly couple alive long before the war started. Both knew my mother and father well, Ms. Jameson was bisexual and had her share of female partners. She knew the truth and always made sure that I knew it as well. They taught me how to act like I was brainwashed, taught me this language and your language. They made sure I remembered my heritage, my parents and everything it meant to be Tzi. Their son lived with them, he’d been crippled on the front lines and was my new father. He always protected me and made sure I never used the wrong language. I always liked him and he was very tolerant when he found out I was gay. He came to the hospital a few times after my accident, so did the Jamesons.”

“So, they’re still alive?”

“Only their son as far as I know. They died of old age a year or so ago.”

“What will become of him now?”

“Just because he was crippled doesn’t mean he didn’t have a purpose in the military anymore,” she said. “He became Chief Warden at The Pits after my acci-- after the attempt on my life. I don’t think he ever knew I was there.”

“What is his name?”

“Nicholas Jameson, General Nicholas Jameson, Chief Warden at Detention Center Six,” she said.