Instruments of Wrath

by Hollowgear

In the aftermath of Operation Muromets, the Commander thinks about the cost of victory and the wrath that has been delivered to Paradeus's doorstep.

Instruments of Wrath

By HollowGear

The Commander stared at the camera feed of the smouldering remains of the Avernus towers. He pursed his lips and closed his fist around the crucifix in his palm. The symbol's edges bit into his palm. While Operation Muromets was a tactical success, Paradeus's headquarters was destroyed and their forces were driven back, the cost was heavy. Several dolls were damaged or destroyed in the fighting. But more than that, his personal objectives remained incomplete. The pneumatic mechanism of the door behind him interrupted his thoughts. Glancing back, he saw a giant, white-haired figure standing in the door, the top of her head nearly brushing the frame. It was AK-15, one of the autonomous android dolls under his command.

"The AR Team has boarded the Elmo," she reported matter of factly. "We're ready to leave." The commander nodded in response before returning his gaze to the screen showing the smouldering tower.

"Make sure that they get to the repair bay," he told her, his tone somewhere between an absentminded suggestion and a command. Instead of leaving, the woman stepped into the command room. Her violet eyes silently surveyed the commander.

"You seem distracted," the stoic doll observed. The commander cast her a sidelong glance before rubbing his eye.

"I'm just glad the mission is over," he replied, suppressing a yawn. "It's got me thinking," he cast a sidelong glance at AK-15. "About Belgrade, when Paradeus had us cornered in an old cathedral."

"AK-12 sent me the report," the doll replied. "She was impressed that you managed to survive. You were quite outnumbered."

"It was a Godsend, really. I don't think that we would have survived the Paradeus assault if we didn't hole up in that cathedral," the commander mused with a grateful smile. Then he waved his hand dismissively. "But that's not what I was thinking about. While we were there, RO and SOP II talked about God and forgiveness. They thought it was strange that He would forgive people regardless of their sins. They felt reassured by the idea that I'd never forgive those monsters, thinking that I would hunt them to the ends of the earth."

"Was she right?" AK-15 asked. The commander let the question hang in the air, opening his hand to reveal the cross in his palm.

"I don't know," he confessed. "At the time, I wanted to say that if Paradeus had repented, if they had stopped attacking and tried to rebuild what they had destroyed, I would have forgiven them," he squeezed his fist shut, the cross biting into his palm again. "I wanted to say that until they did, we were instruments of His wrath, that our actions were a way to secure justice. Now…" He started rubbing the cross between his thumb and forefinger. "Muromets might have been a success, William has been captured but his lieutenants are still out there to commit whatever atrocities he had planned. How long before justice is served… how much wrath is left to pour out?" He shook his head and tucked the cross back under his shirt. "But that's enough of my rambling. Tell Lyudmilla that we're ready to leave." Instead of moving, the massive doll silently scrutinized the commander, her purple-red eyes boring into his soul.

"Why?" she growled, her voice low. The question caught the commander off guard. He stared at her, dumbfounded. He had forgotten that while he was familiar with the concept, a doll may not even have considered it, much less worked through it to the point that it was simply a matter of course. "You send us out, resisting and opposing them at every opportunity," she continued a mix of restrained anger and confusion in her voice. "But now you tell me that you would forgive them if they had simply asked?"

Time seemed to slow as the commander digested her words, the beeping of machines and equipment in the command centre growing deafening. He mentally bit back a series of instinctive responses that he knew AK-15 wouldn't – no, couldn't accept.

"No, no, no, that wouldn't be enough. On its own, an apology is mere lip service. An attempt must be made to rectify your mistakes, to make up for your sins. Not as an attempt to 'earn' forgiveness but from remorse and gratitude. That is why," the commander licks his lips, mentally weighing the words in his mind. "That is why forgiveness is preceded by repentance, a proper regret and remorse for the things done. An apology without regret is pointless."

"Would that count for dolls?" AK-15 asked, her eyes piercing. "We are tools meant to carry out human orders."

"Have I ever treated you or any of the other dolls under my command like you were nothing more than tools?" The commander growled. "If that was all that you were, why did we try to make you so human? And yet…" The commander clenched and unclenched his fist. "You aren't human. Most dolls can't make any decisions outside their basic programming if a human doesn't give them orders. Only exceptional ones can operate independently." He raised his finger, a thought lancing into his mind like a bolt of lightning. "Paradeus are more different still. Their footsoldiers are made up of the dead and dying, fighting in some kind of twisted half-life. Their Nyto commanders are clones or kidnapped children, brainwashed beyond the ability to reason…" His mind raced toward the conclusion. "Without the ability to choose, all responsibility falls on their commanders. It'd be like talking about forgiving a hammer or a young child. It simply doesn't make sense."

"This is a waste of your time, Commander," she objected sternly. "If it doesn't make sense, there is no point thinking about it. Your time would be better spent planning our next operation."

"No, 15, this is important," the Commander countered. "Some dolls can choose differently, you know that."

"RPK…" AK-15 growled through clenched teeth.

"And M4, and Ouroboros, and Architect," the Commander counted them off on his fingers. "Even Nimogen's madness suggests that Nytos can choose independently from their conditioning under the right circumstances. And if they can choose," he paused, eyes locked with AK-15. "They may be able to repent and seek forgiveness. As for whether they'd ever seek redemption," Morridow's face invaded the commander's mind. He would never forget the bewitchingly sadistic smile she wore the moment she ran her sister-clone through the heart. "If they did, it would be a miracle beyond human understanding."

"So what difference does it make?" AK-15 frowned. "Whether they are unwilling or unable, they'll still be destroyed in the end."

"And what happens when someone surrenders? Will you simply execute them on the spot? Is that what you plan to do when you find RPK?" The Commander knew he was gambling

Without warning, AK-15's fist shot out, grabbing the Commander by the collar. Instinctively, he grabbed her wrist. Though she did not intend it, her massive frame resulted in the Commander being lifted off of the ground when she grabbed him.

"She won't get the chance," she growled, red eyes glowing with anger. "She doesn't deserve it."

"Who does?" he countered, grunting as he tried to keep balancing on the tips of his toes. "The entire concept of forgiveness is premised on the fact that someone is guilty. What would there be to forgive if there was no guilt? I don't know about dolls but if we humans all got what we deserved, I doubt we'd live to tell the tale." He could see the tense synthetic muscles in AK-15's jaw as he kept his eyes locked with hers. "Mercy tempers the blade of justice, providing an opportunity to start again. Otherwise, we'd be trapped in a cycle of violence and revenge, never escaping from it." He tightened his grip on her arm, turning his knuckles white. "It may be necessary to hunt Paradeus down as long as they oppose us but without the willingness to give them another chance, there can be no growth. That is ultimately Griffin's mistake. Rules do not in and of themselves make men good, nor does rigidly enforcing them. He would unite humanity through fear. It will only result in festering resentment. We'll be driven apart again in time." The commander felt his free hand clench into a fist. "Nor is there any justice in his rules when he would sacrifice others for the sake of his 'order'."

"Human sentimentality has never made sense to me," AK-15 admitted as she released the Commander. "That was always 12's hobby." Absentmindedly, she rubbed her left thumb on the ring she wore on her left hand. "You've been sentimental in ways I find hard to understand as well." For a moment, the Commander thought he could see a nearly imperceptible smile on the stoic doll's lips. "What I do understand," she continued. "Is that you have led us this far. I have said this before, you have never given me a reason to question your orders. I am sure the others feel the same. Where you lead, we will follow."

Her declaration eased some of the commander's worries. The road ahead may be long but he had reliable support.

"We'll find RPK," the Commander tried to return the reassurance. "Justice will be served, one way or another." With that, he playfully tapped her on the chest. "Come on, let's give Lyudmilla the order to leave. Then we should go see the AR Team. They'll need to be debriefed. Maybe they found some workable intel."