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The Saga of Tanya the Merciless
Chapter 45: Selection Process

Chapter 45: Selection Process

[GERMAN FORWARD COMMAND - DAWN]

The Protocol clouds thinned like morning mist, revealing a coastline painted in victory's colors. Tanya watched as she breathed through her respirator. German forces pushed through the reclaimed territory, past writhing shapes that once flew Allied flags.

"Quarantine zones established in sectors 7 through 12," Major Olaf reported. "Recovery teams are separating survivors based on exposure levels."

A soldier burst in. "Sir! We found an Allied command bunker. Twenty-three still breathing."

Tanya's respirator clicked as she smiled. "Show me."

[FORWARD MEDICAL STATION THREE]

"Such brave men," Tanya told the Swiss observers, voice mechanical through her mask. "We're doing everything possible to save them."

The Red Cross team nodded approvingly as nurses tended to carefully selected survivors. Clean beds, fresh bandages, morphine for the pain. A picture of German mercy.

None of them saw the sealed train cars heading east.

[HAPPY MEADOWS PROCCESSING FACILITY]

"The subject's exposure level suggests prolonged Protocol contact," Tanya noted clinically. The Allied captain strapped to the examination table had been one of the first they'd found. His flesh showed interesting patterns where the chemicals had settled.

"Please..." he wheezed. "Just kill me."

"Soon," she promised, selecting a syringe. "But first, you're going to help us understand exactly how the Allied command deployed chemical weapons against our men."

His screams would support her narrative perfectly.

"Hold his jaw," Tanya instructed. The orderly's gloved hands forced the captain's mouth open as she loaded a fresh syringe. "Your men carry interesting specimens. They are wonderful experiment subjects."

The captain thrashed against leather straps. Veins bulged black beneath skin that had started peeling three days ago.

"Fascinating how it spread through your units," she continued, studying reaction patterns across his chest. "Almost like you'd been prepared for it. Pre-exposed, perhaps?" The needle slid home. "Tell me about the supply shipments to Sector 7."

The cruel irony was that every detail of those shipments was already meticulously documented in her files, but test subjects were "just so hard" to come by these days - she suppressed a smile at the thought of the dozens waiting in the cells below. It would be wasteful not to collect every... single... precious... data point - and if that meant prolonging his agony under the guise of interrogation, well... quality research demanded absolute thoroughness.

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His back arched as the compound took hold. Fresh tears carved paths through chemical burns.

[MEDICAL STATION TWO]

"Such dedication to saving lives," the Swedish observer remarked, watching German doctors treat their showcase prisoners.

Tanya nodded, respirator gleaming under hospital lights. These were the lucky ones - clean uniforms, proper medical care, carefully documented recovery. Their survival would prove German humanity to the world.

A nurse appeared with fresh bandages. Nobody noticed the bundle underneath was already stained.

[FORWARD COMMAND POST]

"Sir." Her chemical officer arrived with test results. "The captain's tissue samples confirm it. Their bodies were prepped for chemical warfare. The protein markers..."

"Excellent." Tanya studied recovery zone maps. "Document everything. Every detail that proves they planned this." She traced reclaimed coastline with scarred fingers. "The world will know exactly who brought gas to this front."

The sounds from Processing Facility B had changed. No more screaming - just wet, gurgling notes that would support her evidence perfectly.

[COASTLINE CHECKPOINT]

German forces pushed through foggy ruins, past things that still clutched Allied weapons with dissolving hands. Recovery teams in sealed suits collected specimens and separated the survivors.

Some would live to tell carefully crafted stories. Others would help write different kinds of truth.

In her command post, Tanya reviewed prisoner manifests. Each survivor categorized by usefulness - either as propaganda or test subjects. The world would believe her version of events, written in flesh and carefully documented suffering.

The Weber Protocol clouds continued lifting from reclaimed territory. Revealing a coastline of scattered remains and rotting corpses.

[HAPPY MEADOWS PROCCESSING FACILITY - DEEP CONTAINMENT]

In the lowest level, where even her most loyal officers rarely ventured, Tanya kept her most valuable specimens. Not the ones who screamed - screaming was common. These were the ones who'd started changing in ways that supported her narrative.

The Allied lieutenant's skin had begun sloughing off in sheets that still twitched. Perfect evidence. Each falling piece documented, preserved in solutions that would keep them reactive for future demonstrations.

"Tell me about the CK gas deployments," she urged him gently. His remaining eye rolled wildly. "Help me understand why your command chose this path."

His tongue had dissolved hours ago, but the sounds he made were more convincing than any confession.

[MEDICAL STATION TWO - ISOLATION WARD]

"Their recovery is remarkable," the Danish observer noted, watching selected prisoners through safety glass.

Tanya didn't mention how carefully they'd been chosen. How each visible wound, each documented injury had been crafted to tell the right story. Some of their scars were even real.

Behind sealed doors, the nurses methodically filled syringes with iridescent liquids that turned willing flesh into the most cooperative of test subjects. After all, agony was such an excellent motivator for compliance

[COASTLINE RECOVERY ZONE]

German forces found the Allied command bunker exactly where her intelligence suggested. The bodies were slumped over maps and radios, scattered syringes and torn chemical gear suggesting a desperate last stand. Each corpse displayed just enough telltale signs to support her carefully crafted narrative of pre-emptive chemical warfare - though she had to admit, getting some of them to collapse in such 'natural' positions had been rather amusing.

The three survivors they pulled out babbled about tests, about preparations begun months ago. About commands that came from their own high command.

[PROCESSING FACILITY B - SPECIMEN STORAGE]

The captain had finally stopped moving. His body would be found later by neutral observers, carefully positioned to suggest Allied experimentation. The protein markers in his tissue wouldn't lie - they'd show exactly what she needed them to show.

In her private laboratory, Tanya selected another syringe. The next phase required fresh specimens. The world would believe her version of events.

After all, the best evidence was the kind that grew itself. In carefully controlled conditions. One specimen at a time.