Past is Prologue
Scene: A non-descript African village just north of the Egyptian border. An Amazon war party surrounds the predominantly Christian town. The warriors await their next instructions from Queen Mariah.
The area is a rare oasis, its foliage thick and dense, ancient Cycad trees line a well-worn dusty and sandy path. Queen Gabrielle and her second in command, Linai, check the thicket for any Egyptian rebels. The insurrection had been a success, and the Egyptian government is on the verge of collapse.
The cutthroat Amazons had just completed bringing Cairo to its knees. A multinational force had been called in to broker a cease fire, but the Amazon – African war was far from over. A fringe group of Western Civilization allies had split from their commanders to support the Amazon fighters.
Throughout the region, Queen Mariah's battle for the hearts and minds of Africa was impressive, yet the painstaking assault on Cairo had stalled the rebellion's momentum. The Egyptian army had been formidable, but fractured. Elements within the ranks had begun to fight each other.
The Amazons controlled fully a third of the massive continent of Africa. Mariah's plan had been executed flawlessly. The time for peace talks was drawing near. Under the spectacular guidance of the youngest of all Amazon queens, the world once again feared the name Amazon. No more were the female warriors referred to as a myth, or a dirty joke told by old men in taverns.
The forgotten race had made its statement, leaving their mark on history. The world would have to bargain with the Amazons for everything. The bloody Cairo offensive had left a trail of dead bodies clear to the feet of the Sphinx at Giza. Casualties had been high on both sides.
The American ambassador to Egypt was on her way to what was left of Cairo, with explicit instructions from Vice President Hannah Anders, to conduct peace talks with Queen Mariah herself.
Meanwhile, Queen Gabrielle stalked through the village, trying to scrounge up supplies, and bandages for the wounded. She slowed to a stop near the broken down fencing of a Christian church. Many Christians had been beaten, shot, or beheaded and hung by the evil warlords dispatched from the Ibanan National Guardsmen. Only a partially blinded pastor remained on the church premises.
Gabrielle glanced at the wreckage that was once a beautiful Christian church, shaking her head in disgust. She briefly bent over, trying to catch her breath. She was certain that she had a few fractured ribs. Even the mightiest of warrior queens could become seriously injured at times.
"Linai!" Gabrielle called. The Asian Amazon hustled to her leader's side. "Yes, my queen?" The fierce young warrior asked. Gabrielle looked up at her second in command. Her formerly beige and light brown tunic was colored burgundy, drenched with dried blood, her raven black hair matted down with blood and dusty debris.
Gabrielle removed her black helmet, a gift from Mariah. The helmet was a riot gear type, with a state of the art, night vision visor. Mariah had upgraded all of the Amazon weaponry into the 21st century.
Gabrielle let her golden blonde hair fall limply towards her shoulders, as it curled down her back. She rested her black and gold shield, also state of the art, against her thigh.
"LInai. See to the troops." Gabrielle ordered. "Make sure that they rest, and seek medical attention in shifts. We dare not let our guard down. The Ibanan Fighters could still be around." She took a ragged breath. "Yes my queen. I pity any Ibanans that I run across. I would gut them like a fish, and roast their innards over my campfire tonight." Linai snarled. "That's lovely." Gabrielle wisecracked.
"The wounded must be tended to first. Make certain that Dylan and Myra fan out from the rest of the battalion." Gabrielle continued. "We don't want any surprises on our flanks." Linai nodded. "By your command." The young Asian Amazon placed her right hand over her left breast in the traditional salute.
"I'm going inside the church to check on Pastor Romjin." Gabrielle explained, letting out a loud wheeze as she straightened up. Linai left to tend to her duties. Gabrielle approached the church's colorful archway entrance. Though heavily damaged, the church still stood. Some of the local sympathizers had helped to reinforce the main beams of the structure, after the Ibanan fighters had been driven out.
Gabrielle quietly entered the church and noted that all of its formerly pristine stained glass windows had been broken out. The religious statues were all shattered, their remains littering the blood and moisture soaked carpeting, which had been torn to shreds.
Only seven or so rows of pews still sat in the middle of the church's main access area. The rest of the mahogany wood benches had been splintered to sticks, or burnt in the great stone fireplace for warmth, not that Gabrielle blamed the few survivors that were left. They still had to keep warm, or use the fires to sanitize and cauterize the wounds the Ibanan Army had inflicted upon them.
In the pew nearest to the hastily rebuilt altar, Pastor Nathan Romjin sat, hunched over, and he appeared to be in a deep meditation. Gabrielle faced him. "Pastor Romjin? Are you well?" She asked worriedly, her voice echoing through the empty, cavernous church. "What? Who's there?" He asked in a startled tone. "Queen Gabrielle of the Amazon Imperial Army." She responded.
Back in America, Vice President Hannah Anders was in conference with President William Ocampo. "Hannah, be reasonable! America has changed." He pleaded in an irritated tone. "There is no stomach for involving American forces in another conflict across the world. I have no political support."
"Politics is irrelevant, Will. Peoples' lives are at stake." Hannah argued. "We have righteousness on our side. We will free oppressed women all over the globe." Ocampo gawked at his second in command. "We? You mean you are a part of those bloodthirsty Amazons?" The shock was evident on his face.
"I am a sympathizer to the Amazon cause. Yes Will that is correct." Hannah said coolly. "What do we in America stand for, if not freedom from tyranny?" She continued with heated rhetoric. "Will, either you play along or I will out your playmates to your wife, Elena, and the entire world." Hannah threatened. "I am the President of the United States!" He exclaimed with indignity.
"Fine, then start acting like it!" Hannah snarled. "Should I also tell the world about your connections to the NSA, as well, Will?" She threw down the gauntlet. "Hannah, I will not commit U.S. troops to the Amazon insurrection." Ocampo stated. "Certainly, not publicly." He added a second later.
That was the out that Hannah was looking for. She smiled thinly, knowing that she'd won the argument. "Okay then, Will, I am going to send my Special Ops group to aid the Amazons in any way that I can. I'll call it Operation Blue Freedom." Hannah concluded. "I can do this within my powers as Vice President, and Chief of Domestic Security. I won't need a vote on it, so I won't have to go public."
Ocampo breathed a loud sigh of relief, and wiped the sweat from his brow. "People will notice your reassignment of personnel, and reallocation of resources, Hannah." The President warned. "True." She admitted. "You won't comment on the operation at all." The Vice president directed.
"You will state America's official position as to be a peace broker. You will announce that any nation not following the Amazon's directives will face tough sanctions, both financially and economically." Hannah added. "The Amazons have no official home, so you can avoid calling it a matter of state versus state. That is all the political cover I can offer you, Will, and don't test my resolve!"
"Hannah, I hope you know what you are doing." President Ocampo whined. "This conversation never took place." He added. Hannah smiled broadly. "Of course it didn't, Will." She agreed, and stalked out of the Oval Office. Merely a few minutes later, Hannah's cell phone buzzed.
It was an incoming call from General Jack Hargrove at the Pentagon. "Hannah, it sounds like the Amazons are making peace overtures." He informed her. "Yes, that is part of Mariah's overall plan." She countered. "Jack, Will is going to let Operation Blue Freedom run, but he can't be seen to be supporting the Amazon cause." Jack sighed loudly. "Hannah, does this mean that we are go?"
"Yes, Jack, authorization Tango Tango Three Seven Four." Hannah stated officially. That authorization code would set the Vice President's plan to help Mariah into motion. "Got it, Hannah. We'll get the party started." Hargrove scoffed. "How did the old man take it?" He asked cynically.
"I had to give him a huge blanket of political cover, and then he ripped me a new one." Hannah exaggerated, knowing full well that she'd had the upper hand over Ocampo the whole time.
Back in Egypt, Pastor Romjin spoke slowly. "Queen Gabrielle? I have heard of you. I believe you to be an honorable leader, though you don't worship the same God as I do." His gravelly voice seemed weak, as he fought to focus his good eye on her. "Come and sit beside me, child." He asked tenderly.
Gabrielle faced the Pastor directly. His features seemed worn and old, and she noted that his left eye had been gouged out, and someone had hastily stitched the wound up. The clergyman was also partially deaf, as an Ibanan rocket had landed close to him at some point and exploded.
The priest was emaciated and weak, and unable to stand. He propped himself up with a splintered sideboard from one of the damaged pews. "Can I get you anything, Father?" The young queen offered.
"We still have plenty of food rations, water, and medication." She continued. "No thank you, child, but your kindness is appreciated." Pastor Romjin croaked. "I have all that I need, now. God will provide for me. I have nearly completed His plan." Gabrielle flashed him a puzzled glance.
At that moment, a blood curdling scream echoed through the cavernous church. Gabrielle's head snapped in the noise's direction. She assumed that it was only the desert wind whipping through the holes in the church's ceiling and walls, blown apart by Ibanan rockets.
She returned her gaze to the quickly fading Pastor, who smiled thinly, and leaned back against the remnant of the pew. "Did you hear that?" Gabrielle asked him, hoping to keep the clergyman from passing out, and in his present condition, he would be unlikely to survive much longer.
"Yes my child. That is the sound of salvation." Pastor Romjin said cryptically. "What do you mean?" Gabrielle questioned, but it was too late. The Man of God took a last breath and keeled over onto the pew seat. She attempted to revive him, but he'd been too weak. After a while, sadly, she gave up.
Pastor Nathan Romjin was dead. He expired peacefully, and with a strange grin of satisfaction on his grizzled face. It was then that Linai, and two of her Amazon subordinates burst into the ruined church's doors. "My Queen! Come quickly! We have found some Christian survivors just outside the village proper." The Asian warrior shouted. Instantly, Gabrielle leapt to her feet.
That bizarre scream again was heard as the young Amazons exited the church. Gabrielle was not used to fear, but the scream chilled her very blood. They vaulted over the partially destroyed stone wall which had once lined the road to the church.
Sure enough, three women lay motionless at the ditch near the end of the access way to the village. One black haired woman, about twenty years old, was taking ragged breaths. Her eyes remained closed, as the young Amazons treated her with their meager medical supplies.
The other two injured women would need more sophisticated medical attention. The question was 'Would the American envoy from Vice President Anders arrive in time to either treat them, or evacuate them to a neutral site hospital?' Gabrielle turned the black-haired woman to face her, giving the still dazed young woman a large sip of water, as Linai bandaged her wounds.
The woman's eyes fluttered open. "Gabrielle?" She asked, her voice barely above a whisper. "What? How do you know me, woman?" The young queen demanded.
