The Mission

End

Dark, swift chaos swirled around me. Sisters from the rest of the base rushed in all directions, converging on the fire. They would quickly have it out. Many of the large base floodlights were extinguished but the smaller lamps had their own internal batteries and would likely remain on at a diminished level. On foot would be too slow to get to the edge of the base. I'd have to get access to a vehicle. But they were typically stored at the other end.

Fortunately, I had that official document. I sighted a small jeep barreling down a nearby road. I hurried over, but it was too fast for me and out of sight before I could flag it down. Luckily, another jeep approached me from down the same road. I kept out of the light to make sure the new problems with my illusion wouldn't be obvious, as I cried out, "Fellow Sister!" to the jeep.

The jeep pulled to the side. Two short-haired sisters, Shieldmaidens, looked at me as I held my official paper in front and said, "Apologies, sisters. But it's an emergency. As you can already see, the situation is dire…" I turned towards the swollen flames. The two Shieldmaidens looked grimly to one another before nodding.

I was almost clear when one of them remembered a bit of protocol I'd forgotten. Even with an official order, any sister may ask to accompany another in an emergency situation. I could sit there and debate it, but it would just give more time for them to look skeptically at me. So, I went along. The sister with short hair almost the color of silver sat next to me in the passenger's seat. I kept calm with each glance she sent my way. The other sister waved and hustled along the road on foot.

I took the roads with urgency but also care. If it was a desperate extraction situation then there was an antiquated Skyhook balloon I had which I could inflate (I mostly kept it as a good luck charm). But I really wanted to get to a minimum safe distance for the helicopter which dropped me off in the first place. I'd never used the Skyhook and there were so many unknowns. Like whether the jolt might break one of my bones and definitely whether the aircraft would be able to get low enough with the nearby mountains to pick me up (plus the base had an effective anti-aircraft defense grid which I knew going in would be impossible to knock out).

I focused these thoughts as a look of intense worry for whatever task the Shieldmaiden probably figured I had to perform for Tsumiko. She didn't complain. She didn't gaze at me long. Her eyes were on the surroundings and ahead, especially with the limited lighting. She seemed like a diligent sister. I winced and promised myself I would do my best not to hurt her when we parted company.

Turning onto a straightaway, I slipped one hand into a pocket and carefully eased my tranquillizer gun so it aimed at the sister's side. I gave one last glance at her and fired a single shot. She only gave a slight flinch like she'd been bitten by an insect before she turned with a puzzled expression and slumped forward on the dash. I slowed and set her back in a position like she was resting before putting my gun away.

The guard post was coming up. I worked on the urgency in my expression and filled out a story about my "fellow sister viciously struck down". Since the order was vague, I could say I was in pursuit of a hostile party. But I could fall into the same trap which had forced me to take this sister along.

There were three Valkyries and a shadow of purple at the guard post. I should've turned around and tried for another, but I knew time was running short. I glanced over at my unconscious companion and checked her weapons. I smiled when I found two small, non-lethal grenades. The road I was on was cloaked in darkness. I was a ways away but still close enough I knew I could strike near the gate. I didn't like unknowns, but chaos might play in my favor.

I made a right into the coverage of some trees and stopped the jeep. I crept around and judged where I needed to throw. I would have to divert the guards away from the post. I threw one after the other in high arcs. From a distance, one couldn't tell what they were as they exploded with a blast of smoke and blinding light. I hopped back on the jeep and took a side route to the post. By the time I got there, the girls were rushing back and forth and I was relieved to see the purple was just a window curtain.

I spun my tale of assault and havoc. Against the background of still-burning flames, even Valkyries didn't question my story. They took the sister from my jeep and waved me on with my official business from Tsumiko. I gunned the jeep out into the desert, following a crudely-managed road over rocks that clanged against the underside of the vehicle.

For the first time in hours, I felt true relief as I roared up the edge of one hillside and over the crest. I looked back just once at the colorful patterns of chaos spreading over the base. According to the jeep's tank, I had enough gas for at least ten miles. That would be perfect. I flicked on my locator. The terrain was rough. I clipped a large sage and maneuvered around a Joshua tree.

Still, I knew the mission wasn't over. My drop team radioed me back to confirm. I gave them my pick-up location as I checked my GPS. I didn't turn around. I feared that sisters had wised to me and were right on my tail. I doubted it, but it was healthy to fear it.

I kicked up a large cloud of dust behind me and had to slow once I cleared the hills and got into the next valley, which had plenty of junipers and chaparrals standing in my way. I worried both that ten miles would be too far and not enough with the trails I was leaving. I had to make sure the team was safe, but I didn't want to give the Embracing Sisterhood long enough to piece together the situation.

There were no other sounds but the roar of the jeep and the crunch of the dust kicked up behind me. I slowed through some heavy scrub oaks and across a dry lake bed.

They were the longest ten miles of any mission. I avoided looking over my shoulder until I'd arrived at the location I'd set on my GPS. All was quiet. The quiet was oppressive, massive like a slumbering beast. Softly, a background of crickets filled the still air. I could hear the shiftings of small creatures. And, beyond the quiet, I could make out the whipping of helicopter blades.

I hopped off the jeep and hurried towards the highest spot. I wasn't ready to celebrate. I knew the Embracing Sisterhood had helicopters much like ours. I got out my signaling light but didn't flash it until I could make out the black, beetle-like presence of the chopper. I flashed my code twice.

I waited. It looked like the one I'd dropped from, but the darkness gave just enough doubt.

Finally, it flashed back the answer code and began to descend. I barely remembered hooking into the line they extended. I had only faint memories of pulling myself into the cargo bay as it sealed behind me. I do remember pats on the back and offers of water. I slept most of the trip.

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I surrendered all my equipment back at base and then took a long shower. I'd have some days to write up my final report on the mission, fill in the gaps of what my recordings had missed.

Toweling off, I stared into the mirror. I looked to be in my late twenties. Long hair with a perpetual shine and the color of a dry meadow at sunset. A face which looked shaped by a sculptor's hand but really had been hacked down to trim, narrow lines. Splintered gray eyes highlighted by the calligraphy streak of strange eyebrows. Arms and shoulders which I'd wrapped in lean, diligent layers of muscles. The curve at the chest, just enough to prevent any questions of physical sex. And the lack of curve at the hips, just enough for those questions to be pondered.

Not my body by birth. But I'd made it enough of a refuge.

My report didn't take long. It went around command several times until it settled on the right people. I got my call three days later. I was to take a private meeting with General Trescott. Basically a debrief session.

What made this special was that General Trescott was easily one of the most paranoid among us. Always watching for double agents and sleepers. He never let anyone see him alone.

His office was at the far end of the base with the heaviest reinforcements to the structure. I nodded my head to his personal secretary. He gave me a careful scan with a portable nano-detector. Then he smiled back and nodded before letting me in.

The General's office was decorated with plenty of photographs of the wars and enough phallic symbols to raise eyebrows. He sat tall in his big chair with lines along his face, some of them from age, some clearly scars he'd kept. His hair was sparse and graying and he wore a shaped rectangle of a mustache joining with a goatee. One of the few men on base with facial hair.

He gestured for me to sit and went straight to business.

"I've gone over your report and the data recovered from the recording. Unfortunate that there isn't more video. We might be able to reproduce and better counter some of the ES technology you describe. Those old men sleepers especially…terrifying. More evidence we need to hit these goddamn bitches harder than ever before." He set his fist on his table with a firm thud.

I dipped my head and noted, "My apologies, General."

He folded his lip and looked back to some documents. "You did good work, Captain Barrett. More missions like this and we might actually win this war."

I cast my eyes down. The General cleared his throat and noted, "Again…great work. But I did find things which might be inconsistencies. I'm sure you can resolve them for me."

I gave a slight smile and reached into my side pocket. The General eyed me but relaxed when I pulled out a bright-red piece of old candy. I held it out and he quickly answered, "No. Shall we begin?"

The General listed a myriad of little things. Stuff which didn't sound right to him. Improbable outcomes. Fist fighting a Durga. The looks which sisters gave me. And then there was the matter of the control nanites.

"Most important of all, you mention being able to use them, but I don't see them in deployment listing as one of your weapons and I don't see anything about the control mechanism. I mean…if we could control the mythic Tsumiko…"

I leaned forward and asked him, "What if you could?"

He clenched his teeth and sighed to himself. "…Let's just get right to it. You're a very successful operative, Captain Barrett….Kallista…too successful sometimes. I'm quite certain you're a double agent for the ES. And I'm going to find out all the details. You see, as soon as you sat down I made sure nanites were pumped into the room. One of my own special batches. And I am going to have the truth from you…one way or another…"

I crossed my legs, looked right at the General, and gave a calm smile as I said, "I know."

His expression went blank immediately as I continued, "….it won't matter. With the help of a friend, I brought along a few nanites of my own. They're similar to the ones Tsumiko got, only they can float around in the air."

The General flexed his arm and tried to reach for an alarm off to his side. His muscles twitched, fighting the action until both arms settled into his lap. He was able to snarl and ask, "Why? What do you want? Who do you work for?!"

I settled back into the chair. I'd envisioned this moment for a while. I told him clearly and decisively, "I am here because of the Lost Ones. The quiet soldiers who have had their minds blurred and destroyed by deleted and rewritten identities. The ones you and Tsumiko have left behind in your bitter…endless war. I'm one of them. One of the luckier ones. I've been on your side and her side so many times. Back and forth and back again. Played a good foot soldier and then a diligent young Shieldmaiden. A grizzled special ops guy and a clever Valkyrie. Been in command of so many terrified young men and been a Durga, feared by all. Written and rewritten over and over until there is nothing left to write. I am empty, a husk. Immune. I live for those who cannot cry out against this conflict and I comfort them." I raised the piece of candy once again and thought about the dolly I'd given to Reena, which had brought comfort to others before.

I stared into the General's angry gaze and continued, "We want an end to this. And a Haven for those that seek peace, away from the horrors both sides have unleashed and what you might bring into the world in the future. You and Tsumiko are going to work together to help us forge a better tomorrow. And neither of you will even know you're doing it."

So many furious words seemed ready to burst from his mouth. But his muscles relaxed, and he calmly said, "You're probably right. There's nothing good to come from further conflict and peaceful resolution means less of our resources are expended." His hands still flinched like he could just cast away the notion. He looked at me. I knew what he wanted to say but instead, he told me, "I have nothing else to discuss. You are dismissed."

I saluted, and he returned an automatic salute. On the way out, I passed the small nanite release device I'd hidden on my person to the General's secretary. We nodded to one another but said nothing.

I walked through the hallway. Soon, there would be odd failures of experiments and projects in R&D on this side. Data hacking and the loss of encryption keys would follow. At the same time, the leaders of both sides would discover that maybe their differences weren't so great.

It would take effort and many little struggles, but eventually, there would be peace and justice. I would make sure of it. For the Lost Ones and for all who came after me.