“I can’t find my mommy…”

  Mazzy was confused. He stared at her in disbelief.

  “Uh, hey there… little one, where…” he glared at her. “Where did you come from?”

  “I don’t know,” She sniffled. “I’m lost…”

  “What the fuck is a little girl doing here?” He thought to himself. “This isn’t right, she’ll be killed if she stays here.”

  The girl continued to weep, she was clutching her teddy bear backpack in her arms, and squeezed it tight. Mazzy gave a sympathetic pat to her head, and squared down to her level. She looked so innocent and adorable. How could this girl not make anyone’s heart melt? He gave in to her sorrow and stoked her long black hair.

  “Hey-hey-hey… come on now, it’s okay. Don’t worry, I’ll keep you safe until we can find them.” He glanced about with worry and continued to console her. “Look, once we’re out of here, and back safely at the base, I’ll help you look for your mom and dad, okay?”

  “You’re a nice man…” She sniffed, turning to look at him. Her big blue eyes quivered slightly as she wiped her tears away. “Are there anymore with you? Are they close by?”

  “No, darlin…” He sighed. “It’s just us… well… now just me,” He snickered for a moment. “So it seems.”

  “No more dolls to play with?” She glared up at him.

  “Dolls? What dolls?” He glanced down at her with puzzlement. “Uh… okay, I take it you mean the soldiers, right? No, they’re all gone. But I can take you back to a place that’s full of them. Soldiers, I mean, not dolls. Though we might have some toys for you to play with. We’ll keep you safe there.”

  “I doubt it.” She pouted her lip.

  Mazzy was startled by a noise in the distance. He stood up quickly and aimed his weapon in the direction. The time for this distraction was over. He had to leave—now.

  “Come on, let’s get you out of here, little girl.”

  The girl looked over to where he was keeping his attention and pointed.

  “Why are you so scared? Maybe it’s one of your friends? Maybe, one you forgot about?”

  “I told you, there’s nobody else. Just an assassin we were sent out here to kill.” He gritted his teeth. “It’s time to go, little one, come with me if you want to live.”

  She stood up, with her bear backpack in hand and cocked her head at him.

  “Thank you,” She smiled.

  “Your welcome…” He glanced down at her briefly. “It’s my job to protect the innocent. Now let’s go.”

  “Not for that, silly…” She giggled. “For being so honest with me…”

  “Huh?” He scowled at her.

  The girl flipped up her backpack, holding the bear’s arms together, and then gripping the back legs. She aimed the stuffed animal backpack at him. The head of the bear cocked upward and opened his mouth. From out of it, came a short metallic weapon muzzle. The teddy’s eyes turned red, as two lasers focused on Mazzy’s forehead. A hum of power surged from within, and the little girl poised her finger under the bear’s fluffy belly.

  Mazzy gawked at the girl with alarm. “What the…”

  “Final target acquired…” She stated. The girl then used the trigger, as it popped out of the bear’s belly button.

  There was a quick flash of blue, and his head recoiled from the laser’s impact. The man dropped dead instantly, his body thumped onto the floor, as smouldering cauterized hole was now in place of where his brain had been. The little girl stood over his corpse and fired again, removing his head entirely.

  “Mission completed…” She said, holding the bear-weapon at rest.

  A small hovering black metal orb descended from above, the shadows no longer concealed it as it faced the girl looking up at it. The red eye in the centre shifted, projecting a beam of light that scanned the lifeless body.

  * * *

  Thousands of miles away, far from the planetary military base, in a deep remote bunker underground, a group of men and women observe the orb’s visuals. A holographic screen hangs in the air as it slowly spins in place, giving all the chance to view the image. The room is darkly lit, with metallic black furnishings, and a long glass table. The group of six are seated all around, in varied attire of business casuals, with the exception of two, who are in military uniforms. The holo-viewer continues to project the image over the table, the group watch as the camera moves in to inspect the assassin and her victim.

  “Magnificent…” One of the male patrons states. “An excellent execution if I ever saw one.”

  “When have you ever seen one, Jared?” The woman seated to his right bemoans. “You live a sheltered life in your abysmal colony…”

  “I have seen a few in my day, Gertrude.” He glared over at her.

  “Using your military men for entertainment?” She snickered. “How utterly contemptible and cowardly of you, Jarod…” She pointed to the screen, “Those poor souls had no idea this was a fake order, that they were just being used as test subjects for this experiment.”

  Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  Jarod mocked a yawn at her. “Well, that’s their fault for enlisting. They should have known we can do whatever we want with them once they signed up.”

  “And who made that colonial military mandate by the way?” She cocked a brow, mocking him back.

  He calmly groomed his expansive dark blue suit, and grinned at her while slicking his back his thinning dark hair. Everything about him screamed , from his mannerisms to his cocky attitude. Gertrude rolled her eyes and turned to the others.

  “So––now that we have this weapon, what do we do with it?”

  “I would think that is obvious,” The military officer man replied, as he leaned in and casually folded his hands onto the table. “We use her for the next phase of the plan.”

  “Earth…” He cocked a brow at him. “You want to use this thing… her… to target the Earth’s president?”

  “She’s the perfect little weapon to slip in and out…” The military man nodded.

  “Oh, right…” Gertrude scoffed at him. “Just in and out… no problem. Oh, but wait… the president doesn’t just doesn’t casually hang out with children… or have any of his own, for that matter.” She stood up and walked around the table. “We are talking about infiltrating one of the most secure and well-protected presidential offices. This is people! We are the struggling colonies under its rule, his rule, to be exact. We can’t just have some little girl show up at his doorstep, bat her eyes and say, …”

  “Why not?” Jarod shrugged. “From what I’ve heard, the man might have thing for that type…”

  “That’s just sick…” Gertrude peered at him. She sat back down into her chair and shook her head. “And thank you for showing your true perverted self to everyone here.”

  “I’m only going by the rumours…” Jarod mockingly waved his hands. “Don’t get all huffy on me now, Gert…”

  “Fuck you, dirt bag!” She pointed back at him. “I’ve seen the files on you and those, college-aged girls you had at your private moon villa!”

  “A fake file by the media! Those were my nieces paying me a visit!” He scowled back. “But you’d know that if you weren’t busy tapping some young buck while your husband is laying in a coma in the outer rim hospital!”

  “Enough!” The military man slapped his hand onto the table. “We need to focus on this first. Then, once we’re out of the ECU, you can go to war with each other and solve the matter once and for all. Remember, we’re all here to break from Earth and declare independence for our own colonies. Isn’t that right… Mr. Pip?”

  Everyone glanced over to the back of the room. Standing in the shadows, a tall slim figure in a red and black uniform, slowly stepped out and revealed himself. The man was gaunt, older looking, and bald. He wore a small set of black sunglasses that perched on the end of his hooked nose. He came over to the end of the glass table and stood with his hands clasped behinds back.

  “That is the consensus, General…” He stated back. It was a dry response, borderlining on arrogance. “Of course, I will confer with my superior, not only of the results, but of this conversation.”

  “Is the fleet commander too busy to join with us today, Mr. Pip?” Gertrude mockingly stated.

  “Unfortunately, yes,” He replied, turning his head to her. “She does have other responsibilities, you understand, seeing how she is running the space force of the entire sector.”

  “Well,” The woman folded her arms in frustration. “You can convey to Fleet Admiral Meredith, that we require her presence at these meetings. Especially since it was her damn proposal in the first place.”

  “Ladies and gentlemen,” Mr. Pip glanced away from her, ignoring her attitude. “Admiral Meredith is committed wholeheartedly to this operation, she wished she could be here to attend, but, as I said, is currently occupied with other matters.”

  He unfolded his hands and reached into his uniform’s top pocket. The group flinched slightly, looking afraid by his actions. The man paused as he observed their fear. He cautiously removed the item from his pocket and showed it to them.

  “She has a message for you.” He stated.

  The item was a small thin metallic disk. He placed it onto the glass table and tapped onto it. A holographic image of the fleet commander appeared. The woman was dressed in the same red-black uniform, only decorated with more military metals, and a high collar that cradled her long, tight brown ponytail. She was a stunning woman to behold, yet stern in her demeanour. He tapped onto the disk again, and the message played.

  “Greetings to all of you, please forgive my lack of attendance, but I am currently engaged with overseeing the construction of the new ships as we prepare for the next phase of our plan.” The woman’s image flickered slightly, as the editing of the video shifted. “I know some of you are becoming squeamish, maybe even bickering about how or why we chose this model of assassin. This was my call, ladies and gentlemen. I approved this robot model, not because I feel it caters to the said rumours about the ECU president,” Gertrude momentarily glanced over at Jarod, he ignored her, and continued to listen to the admiral.”But because of the robot’s ability to mimic and adapt, she can infiltrate with ease, blend in with other citizens, and draw less attention than any other assassin might.”

  Gertrude scoffed at that notion. She wasn’t convinced of this. She turned her head away from the video, and shook her head in protest. Mr. Pip paused the message, seeing her reaction, and cleared his throat to get her attention. Gertrude refused to do so. The military man across from her thumped his fist onto the table, glaring at her intensely.

  “Don’t you dare back out of this now, Gert…”

  “Save it, General.” She rolled her eyes at him. “I’m not going to approve of this. My god…” She exhaled in frustration. “This is a child we’re sending in… okay, a robot one, at that, but still a kid. That’s just wrong in every level of morality…”

  “Morality?” Jarod mocked. “Look who’s talking? You’re conspiring to kill the president for your own gains, and now, you’re worried about the morality of it? Come on, stop being a stupid bitch…”

  She leapt out of her chair and tried to strangle the man. Jarod wasn’t fast enough to flee and found her hands around his throat. The general and others came to his rescue, and pried the woman off of him.

  “I told you!” She screamed at Jarod. “I told you I’d fucking kill you if you dared to push me!”

  “Wow..” He stated, trying to regain his breath. “There’s that morality kicking in? Huh, GertY?”

  “Everyone, stop!” A voice boomed out in the room. The group, still trying to hold Gertrude back, and tending to Jarod, glanced over to the main door on the other side. They gazed upon the person is surprise. Standing in the doorway, was the Fleet Admiral herself. “Sit down, now! Or I will end you all here.”

  Admiral Meredith held a weapon in hand. The pulse blaster was fairly large, yet she held it in her hand with little effort. She was a tall woman. Her outfit complimented her figure, which most men in the room seemed to be noticing. They, of course, retracted those long stares, and did as the woman commanded. Everyone took to their seats as she entered the room, still aiming the weapon at them.

  “So, this is the mighty rebellion I’m expected to lead, eh?” She mockingly snipped. “Pathetic!”

  She stood beside Mr. Pip, who faithfully bowed and resumed his rigid stance.

  “If only you were all as loyal as my first in command here,” She motioned her head toward Mr. Pip. “At least he knows when to follow instructions when I give them.”

  The admiral gave them one more long stare, aimed the blaster at each one, and then placed it back into her side holster strapped to her right leg. Meredith gave a disappointed exhale and folded her arms with a relaxed stance.

  “Okay, let’s try this meeting again… now that I’m here, as you wanted, right? Gertrude?”

  The woman nodded back, a silent response as she feared the imposing admiral before her.

  “Good, I’m so happy you are. Now then, here’s my plan for using that child assassin…”