The meeting was taking place at an undisclosed military location - Doctor Briar didn't even know where he was. He knew who would be there, though. A bunch of representatives from the World Union Headquarters, and more notably, the Secretary of Defense Melinda Viren, and General Gerald Thoth. Briar was lead scientist at the military's experimental weapons division, and it was his job to convince the room to put his latest project in the field.
The mechanical doors opened with a 'thunk', and Briar entered the meeting room, right on time. The room itself seemed rather spartan - there were no chairs or even overhead lights. In the centre of the room was a large raised console that displayed a 3D topographical map of a battlefield. The holographic map gave off a blue light that reflected off the metallic sheen of the equipment along the walls, illuminating the room well enough for one to be able to see after a few moments of letting the eyes adjust. It appeared that everyone was present except for General Thoth.
"Doctor Briar, nice to see you again." Viren stuck out her hand, and Briar nodded and shook it.
"Secretary Viren, ma'am. A pleasure as always," Briar said, forcing a smile. He loathed the bureaucracy and formality of such engagements, but knew he had to play along.
Viren nodded back. "General Thoth will be a few minutes late, but insisted we get started without him." She put out a hand, indicating Briar's spot around the central console. Briar took his place and got out the tablet on which he kept his notes.
"Okay, so I guess we all know why we're here," he started. "Let's just cut to the chase. The insurgent attacks are getting worse, and their leader Von Crone is still out there. We know where he is, we just can't get to him. We need to send in our secret project to take him out. Cut off the head, and the body will die."
"Yes, Doctor, I think we can all agree that Von Crone has to be eliminated," Viren said with her eyes closed, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "But the way we're going to get him is through strategic planning and perfect execution, not sending in some...genetically modified freak." She spat out the last words with clear disdain.
"Heh, some of the boys back at the lab called me a freak. Once." The voice was low, cold, and dry, and startled everyone except Briar.
"What? Who-..." Viren looked the most shocked of anyone, she knew that this room was completely classified and secure.
Then, the figure in the corner seemed to materialize out of the shadows. He was leaning against the wall, wearing a black suit that was obscured by the dim light. Over his mouth and nose was what appeared to be a respirator, though if so it was completely silent. The rest of his face was uncovered, and his shaved head was decorated with scars like crop circles, though they weren't from battle. His eyes were light grey, almost white; there was no soul within them.
"Ladies and gentlemen," Briar stood up tall as he could. "Let me introduce you to our first super-soldier, code-named Revenant." For a few moments the room was deathly quiet as Revenant's gaze cut through the governmental representatives.
"Yes, well," Viren managed to gather herself quickly. "As impressive as it supposedly is, I feel I should make it known that I have never supported this secret 'program'." She almost sneered at Revenant, but seemed to think better of it.
"Aw, ain't that a shame." Even through Revenant's dead voice, the sarcasm was palpable.
Just then, the doors to the room slid open, and General Thoth walked in. He was a man whose stature was as impressive as his service record. A veteran of five full-scale wars, he rose quickly through the ranks, and was now the most respected man in the military.
"Sorry all, hope I haven't missed too much," Thoth said, nodding and waving his hand as everyone stood to attention. Everyone save for one - Revenant remained leaning against the wall with his arms crossed.
"Not at all, sir," Viren said. She nodded her head towards the corner. "We were just meeting our new friend here."
"Oh, really. Is this the one I've heard so much about?" Thoth's inner drill sergeant started to come out. "Looks like they haven't enhanced your manners, soldier. Respect your superiors!"
Revenant simply turned his head towards the General and tilted it to the side. "Or what, sir?" he sneered.
Thoth stepped up to him. "Or you're going to find out what happens, son, super-soldier or not!"
Revenant uncrossed his arms and finally stood up straight. He stepped forward to meet Thoth face-to-face, though he was almost a full head taller than the General. "Is that right..." he uttered, seemingly challenging the grizzled veteran. Thoth looked him square in the eyes, but didn't venture anything more than that.
"Heh, alright Revenant, that's enough now," Briar said nervously. He breathed an inward sigh of relief when the super-soldier stepped back with a grunt and leaned back against the wall.
"Hrmph. Anyway," Thoth eyed Revenant for an extra little moment as he turned back to face the rest of the room. "I suppose Secretary Viren was just going over the reasons against putting our super-soldier in the field?"
"Well, yes sir." Viren replied. The whole situation seemed to have her uncharacteristically flustered. "In addition to the legal and ethical implications of this program, there's the unpredictability factor. We just can't send this thing into such a high-profile mission without it having any real battle experience."
Revenant suddenly jumped forward. "Wanna test me out now? Kill you with your own femur BITE OUT YOUR THROAT AND SPIT IT BACK IN YOUR MOUTH CUT YOU-..."
"Ngh..." Revenant shook his head slightly as he came back.
"...performed flawlessly in all our internal tests..." Briar stopped as he noticed Revenants slight movement. He was aware of the hallucinations, but didn't feel they were problematic enough to mention in the official report. They were rare as far as he knew, and had never caused any problems in field tests.
"Doctor...?" Thoth had an eyebrow raised, but apparently he nor anyone else in the room noticed anything amiss.
"Right, sorry." Briar focused back on his notes. His entire career was depending on the super-soldier program, and he wouldn't let anything hold it back. "He's performed flawlessly in every test. Exceeded expectations practically across the board. We at the lab are all extremely confident in Revenant's ability and dependability, I'm quite confident to say we'd all put our lives on it."
"Well let's hope you don't have to, Doctor," Viren said. Briar laughed it off, but deep down he felt the same thing.
Then, Revenant felt himself slipping away again. The room disappeared, and a bright light formed in front of him. It was her, just as beautiful as always. The light was so bright that it obscured her face, though, and he wished for nothing more than to see it again. If only he could remember...
"Come on, Jordy, you have to go back. They need you," she said. Her gentle, melodic voice felt almost like a drug, filling him with a sense of peace and serenity.
"But...I'm so.....tired...." he croaked. He wanted to give up so badly.
"Oh, I know," she crooned. "You've been through so much, and it will all be over soon, I promise. But you still have a job to do, remember?" She reached out a luminous hand to touch his face, but didn't quite reach him. It never did.
Revenant sighed as he felt her fading away again. Then, as suddenly as he had left, he was back in the meeting room with the others.
"...just not reliable enough. As much as I hate to admit it, the program may have promise, but without more real-world experience, I just don't think it's ready." Viren remained unconvinced, to Briar's disbelief. He didn't understand how she could just ignore all his data.
"Well, I've been considering this for some time now," Thoth said thoughtfully with a hand on his chin. "And I have to say that I agree with Secretary Viren. We'll put him in the field, to be sure, but not on such a high-profile mission. We've got way too much riding on this. Our strategists have been working on a plan of their own and they think they've got it this time. We'll send in an elite team and have him taken down the reliable way."
Well, General, with all due respect," Briar said, trying to hold back a grin, "your team may have a bit of competition."
"What?" Thoth replied. "What are you talking about, Doctor?"
Briar pointed a thumb to the corner. "He's already gone."
End..?
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