It felt like centuries ago that it had happened. The woman stood beside the woman she had been forced to protect since her mid twenties. She was nearing her fifties now and the damage she had done to the world was irreversible.
That thought made her smile, but soon it would all be over. She had no issue with that.
"My loyal citizens." Her voice, despite her age, still rang across the massive ground before them, although it was helped with speakers. She automatically tuned her out as she stood there, hands behind her back despite the sword on her hip.
She smiled faintly to herself as she remembered how she came to make a deal with the devil.
Flashback
She was resting on her knees, arms bound tightly to the limbs of bowed wood. Her ankles were tied to her thighs to make it near impossible for her to move.
She had fucked up big time, her first mission and her shute had malfunctioned, causing her to slam into trees, her fall broken by branches and her ribs along with them.
She was wheezing currently, the bowed position she was half forced into made it absolute agony to breathe. Her head hung and she had no hair to hang over her face as she'd shaved it off for selection and kept it off.
"Oh my, what's this?" She half growled half groaned as she lifted her head to send her best glare at the gloating woman. "A little POW for me to interrogate."
Her eyes flicked to her hand which was holding her non-issued, heavily frowned upon sword.
"Ah, yes. What an interesting weapon for a western modern soldier." She held it up, slowly drawing the short sword out of its scabbard. "It's very sharp too."
She pointed it at her and her lips twitched up ever so slightly. She didn't say a word as she ran the sharp metal across her cheek, a thin line left behind that instantly unleashed a curtain of blood. Her eyes slid to look at the wound but flicked back to her, waiting.
"What is your name?"
"TFX99875132. Sergeant Blake Belladonna." She wheezed, listing the only information she was allowed to give. She tried to be firm with how she spoke, but considering how feeble she sounded, she'd failed dismally.
"Blake Belladonna." She tapped the flat of the sword against her leg, looking down at her as her head fell forward and she let out a hiss of pain. It might have been a show of submission, but it was a pain and she was in more than enough of that already.