"Apply the appropriate incentive and the desire for truth loses its luster." -General Veers
Violet couldn't sleep. She tried to convince herself that her sleeplessness was the result of the rough turbulence the plane was experiencing as it flew both her and the soldiers who accompanied her back to base after her first mission. This was a lie. She was exhausted but whenever she closed her eyes she found herself back in Sabonia looking down on a landscape of carnage at her feet...carnage she had caused. Violet sat against the plane's fuselage staring off at some unseen distant point. She held a teletype message she had received from General Veers upon completing the mission and boarding the plane. The now crumpled sheet of paper was held, all but forgotten, loosely in her hand. She had read it over and over, looking for something within the short message that would bring relief from the horror she was experiencing every time her eyes closed.
--- CCom message precedence :PRIORITY: Satcom images show primary mission target has been eliminated. Primary mission accomplished. Outstanding results. Congratulations on a job well done. Return to base for debriefing and the next mission assignment. -General Veers. ---
Violet looked to her left towards the plane's rear. The squad of soldiers lay sleeping soundly among their gear. Before the mission this group of men had been dismissive and gave Violet little attention or notice, they were on a glorified babysitting mission after all. When she stepped into the clearing of the extraction point at her normal size after she had completed her mission, Violet could see the stark change in the soldier's attitude and demeanor towards her. Consciously or not, the soldiers now kept their distance from Violet and would look away from her if she glanced in their direction. The few times she had caught their eyes they seemed filled with a mixture of fear and disbelief.
"Like I'm a monster," Violet muttered to herself. She wondered if everyone would now treat her like the soldiers were treating her now. The general had promised her a chance to be a hero...but at what cost. Violet's thoughts turned to James. "Oh god," her mind raced, "what will he think!" Up until now, Violet felt she could share everything with James. How could she share this? The notion of hiding both her actions on this mission and all the feelings that were rampaging through her mind at this moment threw Violet into an even deeper despair. It was then she heard that voice, her voice, speak once again.
"You are more than any of them could ever hope to be. Why hate what you are?"
"I killed thousands," Violet's mind replied.
"You saved millions," the voice fired back. "You did what no one else could do."
"But James..." Violet's mind insisted, "he will never understand."
"James doesn't matter." That voice, her voice, persisted. "Compared to you, he is just a speck...he is insignificant...he is nothing but a tiny bu..." Violet gritted her teeth and shut her eyes hard to quiet the voice. For now that voice, her voice, fell silent. Violet was shaken from her thoughts when she felt the transport plane bank hard to the left and straighten out onto a new course. Standing and steadying herself against the fuselage, Violet went forward to the cockpit.
"New orders ma'am," the pilot responded to Violet's query. "We are being diverted to a forward airstrip in Narinbi to receive further instructions." A part of Violet was relieved. For now, she would not have to face James, his questions, or his judgement. The other part of her was filled with apprehension as she looked out the cockpit windows towards an uncertain horizon.
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Two figures stood on the dirt strip in Narinbi that passed for a runway. Both watched as a glint of silver high above them slowly descended. One of the men was dressed in a fine suit and looked completely out of place in the parched desert landscape surrounding both men. The other figure wore the uniform of a general and was very familiar to the descending transport's most important cargo.
"Veers, how can you be so certain this will work?...The results in Sabonia were beyond our expectation but how long can you keep her in the dark?"
"Motivation, ‘Special Agent' Bernard. Apply the appropriate incentive and the desire for truth loses its luster." General Veers' annoyingly enigmatic words were spoken in that fatherly tone that Bernard found to be so arrogantly patronizing. Bernard was uncomfortable playing a role in General Veers' game but the thought of what would happen to all of them if Violet discovered the truth was enough to convince him to play along.
"And you have this incentive? What could you possibly offer her that would cause 'your weapon' to forgive the intricate web of lies you've woven around her?" Bernard stood looking at General Veers awaiting a response but the General's attention was now solely on the transport plane as it approached for landing.
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The transport sat idling on a dusty tarmac in what was for all intents and purposes the middle of nowhere. As Violet exited down the ramp at the plane's rear, she was immediately blinded by the glare of the sun as it reflected off the hardpan desert surface that stretched for miles in every direction. Shielding her eyes, she could make out two figures standing not far away. Violet could also see the small jet these two men must have arrived in sitting at the Runway's far end. She stood awkwardly, unsure if she was to walk to them or if they would come to her. Her question was answered as she saw the two men approaching her through the shimmer of the heat haze rising from the ground. As they got closer, she recognized first the uniform and then the face of General Veers. Violet had expected his face to be smiling at her or at least in some way congratulatory. Instead, the general's countenance was one of weariness or even pain.
"Good afternoon, Violet. I hope you are well." To Violet's ears these pleasantries from General Veers seemed forced and contrived.
"I've...been better." Violet's voice ended almost in a whisper. She watched the General's face, still filled with pain, become one of concern towards Violet. The General looked as if he was going to speak, perhaps try and comfort Violet, but he stopped himself. Instead, the general gestured towards the other man who stood next to him.
"Violet, this is Special Agent Bernard. He is from Central Intelligence. He has brought news to me of the gravest sort. So grave, in fact, that I felt it necessary to divert your plane here and give it to you in person." Veers gave a half hearted gesture pointing out the desolate surroundings. Special Agent Bernard stared at the General and then back at Violet. Violet could see from his nervous face that this was very serious. The General spoke again. "Violet, around 0200 base time an unidentified group or persons entered your family's home. There was no sign of a struggle but your family, Violet...your family is missing."
It was as if time stopped for Violet. She was aware that she was breathing but it seemed the world around her was now a distant and unfocused thing. As if through water, Violet could hear the General continue to speak. She focused on him, his voice acted as a life line in the stormy sea of her mind.
"We believe they were taken, if they wished to do your family harm they would have done that at your home. We are confident that the forces behind this are the same forces that attempted to kill you and Mr. Dicker earlier...the same forces that would have benefited greatly from a Northern Alliance victory in Sabonia...a victory you single handedly prevented." The General's words were bringing the world back into focus for Violet. She felt like she was starting to piece together what was happening.
"So they took my family as revenge?" Violet asked hesitantly.
"Revenge is too hot a word for these people, Violet. This is a chess game and they have now put your family on the board." The general watched Violet's face to see if she understood. "They have seen that against a conventional army you are unstoppable. Faced with such an opponent, this force is hoping your family will be a chink in your armor...a way they can get to you or even control you!" General Veers paused, he could see the wheels turning in Violet's mind. Outwardly, the general still displayed a face full of sorrow and grief, but inwardly he was smiling. Seeing that Violet was deep in thought, Veers glanced at Bernard and nodded.
Bernard's eyes were wide with disbelief. He knew the general was ruthless...but to kidnap this girl's family? General Veer's eyes continued to drill into Bernard insistently. Understanding what part the general wished him to play, 'Special Agent' Bernard began the performance of his life.
"Our agency is currently searching for any clues as to your family's whereabouts. We do have leads, but I cannot give you any firm information as to where they are being held." Bernard swallowed hard, glanced at the general, and continued, "We are, however, sure who is responsible...they could best be described as a cabal of industrialists, politicians, and even military personnel whose goal is to enrich themselves at the expense of anyone and anything they can exploit. My agency has only recently discovered that this cabal controls the vast oil reserves of this area."
General Veers interjected, "Violet, their control of oil in Narinbi allows this cabal to practically print their own money. Crippling this facility would cripple the cabal's primary source of revenue."
Violet furrowed her brow, "how does this help find my family?"
This time, to his own surprise, it was Bernard who spoke. "Removing their sources of money will make the cabal both more easily compromised by our agency along with making the cabal's decision-making more desperate. Desperation will cause them to make mistakes...mistakes we can and will exploit." Understanding was now dawning on Violet, understanding of what these two men were about to ask her to do.
"And you want me to 'cripple' this refinery?" Violet frowned. "General, could I speak with you privately please?" General Veers nodded and both he and Violet began walking along the edge of the airstrip. "General, I can't! I can't stop thinking about what I did in Sabonia. I can't sleep, everytime I close my eyes I see them by the thousand as I..." General Veers held up his hand to stop Violet's stream of consciousness.
"Violet," Veers mustered a slight smile as he placed his hand on her shoulder. "What you are feeling is universal in my line of work and you are not the first to come to me with these thoughts. Soldiers are not robots; they are feeling and breathing human beings...just like you. Pulling a trigger, pushing a button, or signing an order, we all have to deal with our actions and their consequences. As commander, the actions of my subordinates are ultimately mine. How many thousands are on my conscience: the enemy, my own men, my daughter." Veers grip on Violet's shoulder tightened. "Focus on the good, Violet, focus on who you have saved. Otherwise, you will be lost, your family will be lost, we will all be lost."
Violet looked up at the General's face. He wasn't looking at her but instead staring off at some unseen distant point. She saw all of her pain being mirrored in his face. Violet felt a new connection between herself and the general. She also found the strength she would need to do what must be done.
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Chem-logistics had built the refinery in order to further exploit the vast oil wealth it was pumping from beneath the sands of the underdeveloped nation of Narinbi. The corporation had an ‘understanding' with the government of Narinbi; Chem-logistics could extract as much oil as they wanted so long monetary ‘donations' were made to the then leader of the country. After the first democratic elections in the country, supervised by the UN, the new government was not so friendly to Chem-logistics and did not find the corporation's lavish monetary ‘donations' to the new president to be appropriate. Within two years, the facility and its surrounding oil fields had been nationalized by the Narinbi central government to act as a source of funds for the modernization of the country. The vast revenue Chem-logistics' shareholders had expected was, instead, filling the coffers of the progressive and steadfastly democratic government of Narinbi. Chem-logistics had not taken this loss quietly. The government was forced to deploy detachments from the army to protect the refinery after numerous attempts of industrial sabotage had occurred. It was suspected Chem-logistics was behind the attempted sabotage but there was no proof that could hold up in any court.
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As the senior operator looked at his pressure readout on the bank of monitors in the central control room, he saw all the needles jump in unison only to immediately fall back to nominal. He stood up, focusing on the monitor, perplexed by this odd excursion. The excursion happened again, only this time accompanied by a slight ground tremor. Assuming a failure and possible explosions occurring somewhere in the refinery, the operator's mind raced as he began the complex shutdown procedures. The next tremor was much more intense and now the operator's radio was screeching and squealing as dozens of the refinery's employees began screaming into their walkie-talkies simultaneously. Still perplexed, the senior operator looked out the control room window for signs of an explosion. What he saw, striding above the refinery, caused him to have a heart attack. Collapsing, the senior operator was dead before his body hit the floor.
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Pandemonium: the capital of hell. This word best described the scene at the former Chem-logistics refinery. Violet's long shadow stretched out before her, casting the facility in a false twilight as she approached. Real explosions began to rock the refinery as her legs began tearing through hundreds of pipes as if they were nothing more than cobwebs. Fire began to spread and flow like water as fuel poured from damaged storage tanks and immediately caught fire. Everyone was running for their lives, most only partially aware of the true nature of the disaster unfolding around them. The men of the refinery finally came to the horrific truth of what was happening when, out of the smoke, a gigantic boot emerged and a dozen of their fellow workmen disappeared under its sole in an instant.
Violet stood at a height of just over 450ft and weighed just over 29,000 tons, a veritable walking battleship. She simply strolled up to the lilliputian refining facility as if she happened upon it while out for an afternoon walk. Her feelings were mixed; it was exhilarating to look down at, from her point of view, a perfectly detailed miniature world of toys. Seeing the shadows of the scurrying refinery workers reminded her of the lethal reality of the situation. This gave her a thrill she hadn't expected. In parallel to these feelings, the horrific memory of how she massacred the soldiers in Sabonia and its aftermath was elbowing its way to her mind's forefront. Violet pushed that thought away.
"This is different!" She told herself. "These people have taken my family and I will do whatever it takes to free them." Her conscience, in moral desperation, brought forward the thought of James. This thought caused Violet to pause, for a moment becoming a colossal statue in the midst of the explosions and flames. It was strange, but at that moment she could not picture James' face no matter how hard she tried. Unperturbed, Violet took another step.
She found the steel structures of the refinery as delicate as tissue. Almost any movement on her part caused pipes or tanks to rupture, creating a sea of fire at her feet. Stepping onto the main road that cut through the center of the refinery, Violet looked down and saw dozens of tiny shadows fleeing before her towards one of the facility's gates. The distance between her and the gate was several hundred yards, a distance Violet could and would cover in only a few steps. Another explosion caused her to glance down at her heel. It was then that she noticed a dozen or so red splotches dotting the rubble-filled boot print she had just made with her right foot. Once again, any revulsion or shame Violet might have felt was overshadowed by her desire to punish these insects for having a hand in her family's abduction. Violet smirked at the sight of the tiny panicking workmen, scattering like ants as if they had any hope to escape her punishment. She began to slowly and nonchalantly walk forward, savoring the mayhem each of her effortless steps created. Each thundering footfall spelled the doom for any unfortunate men who found themselves under her massive boot's shadows. Violet watched, captivated, as human beings became nothing more than red smears with each step she took.
Her attention was soon drawn back to the gate in front of her as she watched a military vehicle, a humvee, skid to a halt just outside the fence. Two toy-like soldiers climbed out, the third manned a machine gun on the humvee's roof. Twinkling flashes told Violet that she was being fired upon by these insignificant soldiers. In three steps she was standing directly over these foolhardy combatants. With her hands on her hips, Violet allowed these soldiers to continue with their impotent attacks as she silently looked down at them.
"My turn." Violet's voice rumbled out like thunder across the desert. The three soldiers stopped firing as the shadow of Violet's massive boot hovered above them. She paused and watched amused as the troopers scrambled back into their humvee and began reversing at speed in an attempt to escape. Bringing her foot down next to the speeding vehicle, Violet couldn't help but laugh as the impact of her foot caused the driver to lose control and flip the humvee upside down. Whether these soldiers survived was irrelevant. A moment later the toe of her boot came crashing down onto the stricken wreck. Violet twisted her foot back and forth, grinding the attackers and their vehicle into nothing. Over the next few minutes, Violet hunted down and finished off all the refinery survivors who had fled into the surrounding desert. The barren terrain made them easy for her to find. Turning back to the burning refinery, Violet then systematically trampled and crushed every structure so that all that remained in the end was unrecognizable burning rubble.
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As Violet walked back to the airstrip, still a titan striding across the desert, she found the remorse and pain she had felt after her first mission completely absent. Instead she felt in total control. In less than an hour Violet had covered the 200 miles back to the dirt airstrip. She had bypassed the extraction point, stepping directly over her escorting squad of soldiers as if they weren't even there. Violet no longer cared what they thought of her.
"Let them think of you as a monster if they wish, they don't matter...none of them matter anymore." That voice, her voice, spoke as Violet glanced back and saw her escort standing awestruck and still trembling at her passing. Violet felt no need to silence that voice...after all, it was her voice and it spoke the truth.