"Wars are begun by frightened men."
~ Tom Clancy
Terrible Resolve
General Natalia Alexeyeva
Russian Ground Forces
Urzikstan
1999
They overdid it, Alexeyeva realized too late.
When she and her men arrived at the scene, seeing the bloody corpses of civilians, and rescue workers, littering the streets, she grabbed one of her colonels and demanded to know who was the asshole that authorized chemical weaponry. Seeing some of the bodies riddled with bullet holes only enraged her further. What the hell were her men doing?!
She was explicit, to put it mildly, when she told her commanders to not harm civilians. Focus on the real enemy, she told her men – her children – two nights prior to the invasion, do not touch anyone who doesn't fight. She saw their confusion. In their eyes, she had more reason to retaliate than any of them.
It wasn't too long ago, when Russians died at the hands of terrorists. Bombs and bullets taking men, women and children. Intelligence and investigations have led to their small former republic of Urzikstan, where terrorist groups were seen to be running free and a rouge government letting it be. No longer, starting today.
Her countrymen thirsted for blood. She will give it to them, but in her way.
They didn't listen, and here she was.
"My God, General!" Colonel Sergei Balashov grunted behind his gasmask, looking around at the dead. "What have we done?"
"What have those idiots done, Colonel." Alexeyeva took lead, her Kalashnikov at the ready. "I gave strict orders for precision attacks."
"But civilian casualties are to be expected, General!" One of the junior officers stated a-matter-of-factly behind her. "Collateral damage is unavoidable."
Alexeyeva looked over her shoulder at him. "Does this look like collateral damage to you?!"
The officer said nothing and the group continued through the green smoke.
It wasn't long before they reached the first platoon of soldiers, too in gasmasks.
"Keep sweeping the area, gentlemen!" the lieutenant of the platoon shouted. "These stupid terrorist dogs aren't going to kill themselves!"
"You there!" Alexeyeva shouted, pointing at the man. "Are you in charge?"
The lieutenant, and a few of his subordinates, quickly turned to her direction, and snapped to attention. "Yes, General!"
"I want your name!"
"Senior Lieutenant Mikhalkov, ninth platoon, General!" The man saluted.
Alexeyeva angrily returned the salute. "Did I hear you correctly, Lieutenant Mikhalkov?"
The officer said nothing, knowing what he said.
"You are to speak when spoken to, Lieutenant!"
"Ma'am, we are here to fight terrorists and make them pay fo-"
The man didn't finish his sentence before Alexeyeva butted his gut with her rifle, forcing him onto his knees.
"Look at these corpses, Lieutenant!" Alexeyeva shouted, gripping the top of the man's gasmask. "Do these look like terrorists?"
The man didn't answer, as he was too busy struggling to break the General's grip on his mask.
Alexeyeva took notice, and let out a faint grunt. "Frightening, isn't it," she remarked. "A piece of headgear the only thing between you and the gas." She gripped harder. "And these people? They didn't stand a chance."
"General?" Balashov tried to intervene.
Alexeyeva glanced at the man. "Silence, Colonel." She turned back to the lieutenant. "These people are not terrorists. Just. People."
The man continued to struggle.
"We do not harm civilians. All it will do it strengthen the enemy's resolve."
"General, you need to stop!" Balashov nearly shouted. "You're going to kill him!"
"No more out of you, Colonel!" The General finally let go.
The lieutenant fell further onto his knees, gripping his mask tightly as he quietly cried.
"You are relieved from your duties, lieutenant." Alexeyeva turned to another officer in her group. "Take this man into custody. I'll decide how best to discipline him."
One of the senior officers saluted, and took the lieutenant away.
Alexeyeva then turned to another of the men. "You the NCO?"
"Yes ma'am!"
"You're in charge now," Alexeyeva stated. "Your men find anything before we showed up?"
"No ma'am," the NCO replied. "But we have a man missing, callsign J-12."
"How the hell is he missing?" Balashov asked. "He's practically a truck!"
"That's exactly what I said, sir," another sergeant added.
"Have your men look for him," Alexeyeva stated. "And aid any civilian you come across."
"But what if they are the enemy, General?"
"If they fucking take up arms, then shoot them!" Alexeyeva shouted. "Otherwise you help the suffering!"
"Right away, ma'am!" The men went on, looking for their man.
Alexeyeva ordered her people to move forward.
They would spend an hour searching through the city before moving along the limits, bordering the countryside. The gas wasn't visible here.
The General's equipment man, Major Mikhail Volkov, had a machine searching for elements of the gas. He raised his fist to stop the group.
"Sensors aren't picking up the gas," he said, removing his mask. He turned to the others. "We're clear."
Everyone removed their masks, breathing not particularly fresh air.
"How long before the gas dissipates?" Alexeyeva asked.
Volkov checked his watch. "Should be two hours from now."
Alexeyeva shook her head. "Bastards."
"We can't help it now, General." Balashov placed his hand on her shoulder.
Alexeyeva said nothing, only checking her weapon.
Suddenly loud pop sounds were heard up the hill before them.
"Gunshots!" Balashov shouted.
"Move, move, move!" Alexeyeva ordered. "Sergeant Banin, take point!"
The General's point man, Sergeant Gregory Banin nodded, rushing ahead.
Her team sprinted up the road behind him, fearing the worst.
At the top of the hill, they saw a truck near poppy fields, abandoned except for two silhouettes on the vehicle.
"It's just a couple of kids, General!" Gregory reported. "What the hell are they doing with the truck?"
"What does it look like, genius?" Senior Sergeant Vasili Ivashov replied. "They're trying to escape!"
Alexeyeva pointed forward. "Stop them!"
Her men rushed forward, the General now taking lead. They ran across the field, with Balashov nearly tripping over something, before Alexeyeva managed to grab the girl. She heard a soft clank of metal striking the ground.
"Let me go!" the child shouted, trying to throw punches at Alexeyeva's face.
"Hey, easy, easy!" Alexeyeva replied, dodging the hits. She set the girl down, grabbing her by the wrists. "You're safe now. We're not going to hurt you!" She turned over her shoulder. "Doctor!"
Captain Roman Antipov ran up, First Aid Kit in hand, and knelt down next to the two before examining the girl. "Possible gas exposure, no symptoms," he coldly remarked. "She and the boy will need medical attention, just to be safe."
Alexeyeva looked at Roman and nodded. "We'll see to that." She turned her head back to the girl. "You'll be okay."
"Colonel!" they heard Gregory shout.
Balashov joined the man a few feet away from the others, seeing what the sergeant saw. "General!"
Alexeyeva stood up, taking the girl's hand, and joined the colonel and sergeant. Laying before them were two of their men, dead. From high-caliber gunshot wounds.
"It's Luka and Vanya," Balashov grunted. "My God."
"Oh wow!" Vasili said behind them. "Look what I found!"
The turned around to see the man picking up a large caliber revolver that was on the ground, next to the truck.
"This is an American Smith and Wesson," Vasili commented. "Fancy gun to be in these parts."
Alexeyeva remembered hearing something hitting the ground near there when she grabbed the child, and put the two and two together. She only wished she hadn't, feeling the rage inside. "Did you do this?" She asked the girl.
The child looked at her, tears forming. "T-they were killing all thos-"
"DID YOU DO THIS?!
The girl began quivering.
"You stupid child!" Alexeyeva screamed. She violently dragged the young girl to the bodies, shoving her at them. "Take a good look at the mess you have done!"
The girl, on her hands and knees, was far too frightened to move.
Alexeyeva grabbed the girl by the head, and forced her to look at the corpses of her men, her children, gunned down by a seven-year-old girl. "Look!"
The girl did, and broke down into tears. She cried, and cried, and cried, as the woman stood over her, looked on by her soldiers.
Hearing her cries suddenly made Alexeyeva relent. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She knelt down in front of the child, placing her hands on her shoulders. "Look at me." She now spoke softly.
The girl, still bruised and bleeding, slowly locked gazes with the woman.
"Why?" Alexeyeva asked, doing everything to keep back her rage, and instead channeling motherly concern. "Why did you shoot these men?"
The girl whimpered. She slowly raised her hand and pointed at the bodies. "They were killing everybody!" Farah cried out, pointing out to the barn in the distance. "They were going to hurt my brother and me, too," she continued through her weeping. "They killed my baba."
Alexeyeva embraced the girl, gently brushing her hair. She looked over her shoulder, seeing her man watching. She signaled them to go forward to the barn, with Balashov taking lead.
"They killed my baba," the girl repeated, her tears being felt on the General's shoulder.
Alexeyeva tried to comfort her. "You're going to be okay." She let go, and looked at the child, making a gentle smile. "What's your name?"
"Farah."
Alexeyeva nodded. "A beautiful name." Her smile died. "A shame it was tarnished by what has happened today."
The child, Farah, said nothing.
"I can't undo what I have done," Alexeyeva continued. "But I will do everything in my power to atone for it."
The child wanted to say more, but hesitated.
"Yes?"
The girl looked at her in the eye. "What will you do to me?"
Frankly, Alexeyeva didn't dare say, she'd rather beat this girl into submission for taking her men from her. God knows she deserves worse. However, this girl, Farah, reminded her too much of someone important. Someone who motivated her to come here, to this god-forsaken country, to bring back order to those who have lost it. This one requires discipline, but it won't be achieved through violence.
Instead, she stood up, taking the girl in her arms. She then turned to her men. "Take a good look at this child, comrades." Her voice now filled with anger.
Her men stood at attention.
"This one has killed two of your brothers, because your commanders were far too blinded by retaliation instead of liberation." She walked back to the truck with Farah still in her hands. The other child, a boy, who was with Farah earlier struggled to break free of the soldiers holding him.
"Let go of her you monster!" He shouted. "Give me back my sister!"
"I'll shut him up, General!" One of her soldiers said.
"You will do no such thing, Sergeant!" Alexeyeva barked. "Do so, and I will have you arrested."
The soldier quickly nodded, looking away sheepishly. "O-oh, of course, General, my, my mistake."
Alexeyeva set Farah down on the truck bed. The two siblings quickly reached for each other, holding themselves in fear.
Once one of her men finished securing the children and closed the back of the same truck they tried to use for escape, Alexeyeva leaned on the door, a look of pity on her face as she stared at the two.
"I want you to think long and hard of what you have done here," she said, being careful to be only patronizing, and not enraged. "You have lost your father, I understand." She looked over her shoulder, looking at her dead men being prepared to be moved. "But now someone else has lost a father today." She banged on the door, and the truck began to drive off. "We will meet again!"
As the truck disappeared down the hill, another commander, Colonel Viktor Glazkov was running up the hill.
"General," the man was out of breath.
"Viktor." The two exchanged salutes.
"It's worse than we thought, Natalia."
Alexeyeva tightened her fists. It was never good if someone under her addressed her by name.
"The bombings have nearly leveled the city, and the Nova gas damn well nearly finished the job. We killed a lot of civilians, and patrols are turning up nothing in terms of weapons or enemy men."
Balashov also returned with his men, with several more in tow. "Hey, Viktor," he said, shaking hands with the other Colonel. "You alright?"
Glazkov nodded.
Balashov then turned to the General. "The girl was right." He turned to the new soldiers they picked up. "We found these guys with a lot of dead civilians, all executed. We didn't find any evidence of weapons or anything of that nature."
Alexeyeva stared at the man for a few moments, then at the others who were suddenly looking away. She then unclipped her helmet before taking it off, revealing waving blood red hair with signs of graying at the roots. "Disarm these men, immediately!"
Balashov nodded, and relayed the order. The men were stripped of their weapons in seconds.
"I want the names of every officer and enlisted man responsible for this treachery." Her voice now cool and collected. Everyone knew she was just about ready to explode. No one could blame her.
"General!" One of the disarmed soldiers shouted. "My men were killed in the ambush, two days ago! Have you forgotten?!"
Alexeyeva glared at him as she approached. "And what did these 'terrorists' over there do to you to deserve execution without trial."
"These animals need to be taught a-"
Alexeyeva smashed her helmet into the man's face, forcing him onto his back where she continued beating him to a bloody pulp.
It took three men to pull her off.
"For God's sake, general!" Balashov shouted, holding his commander back. "Get a hold of yourself!"
"I taught you people better than that!" She shouted. "How the fuck are we supposed to win their hearts and minds when we are the animals!" She stopped struggling, hanging her head as she caught her breath.
She tapped on Balashov's arm, and was let go. She sniffed before brushing her hair back over her shoulder.
The downed man was slowly helped back up.
Alexeyeva then pointed to the accused parties. "You are all under arrest, pending court-martial." She turned to her men. "Take them away!"
Her officers and NCOs quickly grabbed hold of the men and took them back down the hill.
She turned around and walked a few steps towards the chaos and destruction laid wake in the city. She took in the scenery of green and white smoke and ruin. "Call Moscow," she said to Glazkov, now returned to her calm and cool self. "I want investigators here before the week is over."
Glazkov saluted. "Right away, General."
"You won't be stepping down?" Balashov asked. "A lot of people are going to blame you for this."
Alexeyeva turned away and back to her people. "Our resolve was a terrible one today," she said, putting her helmet back on. "We have a duty to these people now."