Avenging angel

Avenging angel


"Prime Minister, the film crew are ready for you
now."


"Thank you General. And the transmission
times?"


"The entire broadcast will be up-linked in fifty four and
fifty nine minutes respectively. Receipt is to be acknowledged once the
message has been viewed and understood."


"Excellent."


*****


The final red warning light, indicating an incoming video
transmission, sent me into uncontrolled spasms of shivering. Never
before in all my years in orbit had this light flashed. Yes I knew what
it meant, and yes I had trained for this very eventuality, but all the
same, I never actually believed that I'd see this harbinger of doom
light up my cabin with its steady, pulsing ruddy glow. The first
warning light, with its audio confirmation, came about ten minutes ago.
Then every 30 seconds or so, the same electronic voice blurted out,
'Missile launch detected, missile launch detected'. But now, with this
last light, the possibility that this was still just a drill,
evaporated. The unthinkable has indeed finally happened: war, nuclear
war; a modern holocaust that my being up here in space was supposed to
have prevented. How many billions have we spent in trying to deter this
very situation, and all for what? Nothing! I need to view the message
again before acknowledging it.


"Soldier, this is your Prime Minister speaking. Like my
predecessors before me, prudence dictated that I pre-record this
message for just such an eventuality. We have little time, so I shall
be brief. Your viewing of this transmission means I am now almost
certainly dead, and our great nation once more lies in ruin. I had
hoped that I would never have to broadcast this message, and that you
would never have to view it. In a wanton, and totally unprovoked act of
aggression, our so-called allies have brutally attacked, and I fear,
ultimately destroyed us. As the last act of my Administration, I now
call upon you, our nations finest astronaut, to carry out the task for
which you were so thoroughly trained. This is the hardest order I have
ever had to give, and its burden sits heavy on my
soul?"


Hard? How could I find it hard, now, of all times? Surely now
it should be easy: easy since all I ever cared about is gone; all I
ever knew, or will ever know, is now lying under ruined cities of
rubble, and mountains of ash. My hopes and dreams are now meaningless
memories, burned, smashed and irradiated in the name of politics. Now,
in a few short moments, I will in the name of retaliation, rain death
and destruction down upon the young, the old, the innocent and the
guilty alike, and become my shattered country's avenging angel.
Glancing from my central pod at the four banks of missiles, I can't
help thinking about the total devastation they will cause; but then I
think of everything I have lost. The bright red warheads are a constant
reminder of my lover's cherry-red lips. The only kiss these monsters
will be delivering however, is the kiss of death.


"Soldier, you know full well the history behind your
deployment: a deterrent that should have been sufficient to strike
fear, but above all, reason, into the hearts and minds of our potential
antagonists. After your much-publicised launch, you still remain
undetectable in your heavenly orbit. You were our one great hope for
peace and stability, for who could be so foolish as to risk the
counter-strike you possess? Even though our terrestrial arsenal is now
destroyed, you still have the means to strike?"


Yes, I have watched as my tactical map's lights, indicating
our primary and secondary sites, blinked one by one before being
extinguished forever. If I were in a different quadrant, how many
flashes and mushrooms would I see covering our glorious country? And
with each flash, a key missile site, a communications installation, a
munitions complex, or a city even, would be destroyed. I know those
poor souls will have done their duty, for what better honour is there
for a soldier than to die fighting bravely for his country. Regardless
of what enemies have survived our limited counter-strike, they will
soon be ashes and dust from the blow I am set to deliver them. At first
I feared I would be unable to fulfil my destiny: I was forever debating
with myself the morality of what my duty entailed. I always came to the
same conclusion though; it will never happen. But now I have no such
fears about where my duty lies, and the consequences of my actions.
Conscience is a virtue I can easily put aside, for it has been ripped
out of me, leaving a gaping black hole that is eerily mirrored by the
infinite void of space surrounding me. Conscience is now the sole
concern of those who'll survive me, and of course the victors.



"Soldier, it is difficult to fathom this act of folly by our
aggressors. It must surely be the actions of a madman to adopt this
course, knowing full well what our response would, and must now be. As
such, be advised that all safety protocols and fail-safes have been
removed; launch capabilities now lie with you, and you alone. Here then
is the great paradox of the nuclear age; for having trusted our country
to this inherently dangerous strategy, we have gambled with the lives
of our countrymen, and ultimately failed?"


Have we failed? Yes I believe we have. Failed for having been
taken in by the age-old platitudes of our enemies, trusting their
promises, and believing their guarantees. For how long have they been
secretly plotting and planning our destruction? Glancing out into the
blackness of space, I wonder if that is where our future lies? The
myriad of distant planets constantly wink their eternal greetings at
me, and for a while I'm mesmerised, trying to find some code, some
hidden meaning in their pulses. Perhaps they are calling out to me:
'Don't do it, don't do it!' Or could they be the dead souls of my
countrymen, reaching out to me from beyond the grave, crying for
vengeance? I will soon be in a position to launch. It's now only a
matter of minutes before I have to engage the targeting computers: all
twenty locations are already safely locked in, and only require a
simple six-digit verification code. I will be ready to fulfil my
destiny five minutes after I start this input process.


"Soldier, it is my karma that I, and millions like me, should
have to die before our time. Your karma was decided for you the day you
were appointed to safeguard our nation's future. It is Nippon's karma
that she should once again be brought to her knees by a decadent West.
Do not fail us?"


I have done it! Though, I admit, my finger wavered over the
buttons for the briefest of moments. I have done my duty to my
countrymen. In mere seconds my charges were all gone from their
stations, each one arcing away on its separate, preordained trajectory
of annihilation. The white trails left by spent exhaust vapours slowly
dissipated, and returned my view once more to the black solitude of
space. My constant companions are now gone, having finally flown away
in anger, leaving me feeling quite empty, and utterly alone inside.
Farewell my lovelies, farewell my love.


*****


"Prime Minister, we have a confirmed multiple missile launch
from Musashi. All twenty rockets are now inbound to their targets. It
seems that the first half of our subterfuge has gone entirely according
to plan. Our ground control engineers have indeed successfully
manipulated the onboard warning sensors, and simulated a surface
missile launch against us."


"Excellent General. And the flight-times?"


"The first five warheads will impact on the major cities of
America's Eastern seaboard in a little under ten minutes time. The
Mid-West and Western seaboard warheads will impact between ten and
fourteen minutes later."


"Excellent."


"Prime Minister, we now have a confirmed multiple missile
launch from Yamato. All twenty rockets are also inbound to their
targets."


"Proceed General."


"Due to Yamato's slightly lower orbit, all warheads will hit
their Pacific and European targets almost simultaneously, in a little
under five minutes. Both self-destruct sequences have now been
activated."


"Excellent, excellent! Now, at long last, after almost 80
years of planning, we shall have total retribution for the atrocities
of Hiroshima and Nagasaki."