Checkmate

By Jeroen Verhoog

Philip Stamma is given a life prison sentence for a murder he did commit. He serves his time on the barren prison planet of Gholkar. His situation is hopeless until he meets two fellow inmates, alien Ahn-nè who serve long prison sentences as well. Hij learns one of them to play chess. After some time they put their trust in him. As a matter of fact: they have a plan...

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jeroen Verhoog
• Release date: Sep 7, 2016
• ISBN: 9781370086085

Jeroen Verhoog

Jeroen Verhoog is een Nederlandse schrijver van sciencefiction en fantasy verhalen. Enkele van zijn verhalen zijn gepubliceerd in het tijdschrift Pure Fantasy en de verhalenbundel Millennium (2010).Jeroen Verhoog is a dutch writer of sciencefiction and fantasy stories. Some of his stories have been published in the magazine Pure Fantasy and the anthology Millennium (2010).

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Checkmate

By Jeroen M. Verhoog

Copyright  2011 Jeroen M. Verhoog

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The transport sped across the plain, leaving a tail of whirling dust. Apart from the two drivers, locked in their cabin, there were three passengers: Philip Stamma and the two guards seated either of him.

Stamma stared through slits in the side of the vehicle as the red landscape rolled by. Occasionally a cone shaped mountain came into view, stark under a pitch-black sky. He wondered if the two guards, their faces hidden behind masks, took the same enjoyment he did in the endless plains of Golkhar. Strange to think that the first time he had cast his eyes on the surface of this planet he had been horrified at the thought of spending the rest of his life here.

Every now and then Philip wiped away a tear from his right eye that felt swollen and painful. As did his lower lip. The medics had skilfully restored the damage to his teeth, but the memory of his broken teeth was still present and palpable. In comparison, the bruises and scratches that covered his body were less of a nuisance, but even the slightest movement he made reminded him of his last meeting with his fellow prisoners in DetDome 1. What bothered him most though was that he hadn’t seen it coming. Morons. Without knowing it, they had saved him. Philip smiled thinking about what had happened two days ago.

‘What am I supposed to do with you?’ the governor of DetDome 1 cried out quasi-desperately at Philip Stamma who stood before him leaning on two crutches. ‘You’re like a mouse thrown in a snake pit.’ He threw his head back, stretched his arms behind him and carefully rested his head in his stapled fingers. ‘I cannot send you back like that; sooner or later they get to you again. And all the other wards are full to capacity. And let’s be honest, you’re not safe there either. The governor glanced at his deputy, a tall lean man in uniform. "What idiot sends such a dork like him to Gholkar, major Spinther? He doesn’t belong here.’

‘He did kill a guy,’ said the major, as he combed with his fingers through his thinning grey hair.

‘Yes, hard to believe, but it’s all in his file." The warden drummed with his fingers on a portable screen on his desk.

All this time, Philip had listened to the governor in silence, leaning on his crutches.

‘Why are you not like the rest of that scum?’ the governor asked in a mocking tone. ‘Cruel, tough. What am I supposed to do with you? Too arrogant to make friends, too proud to seek protection.’ Again he looked to his deputy who shrugged his shoulders.