Gardens of Destruction

General Patterson sat calmly in his office, awaiting the arrival of his important guests with a stoic demeanor. His dignity forbade him from personally greeting them; he wouldn’t grant them that satisfaction. After all, he had a premonition of the role he was to play in this orchestrated charade.

Footsteps echoed down the corridor, announcing their approach. Patterson had ordered their immediate entrance without delay.

“Sir, the guests have arrived!” announced a soldier standing rigidly at the door, saluting crisply.

Patterson rose and moved to greet them, adhering to the basic protocols of etiquette.

“Welcome, Mr. State Secretary. Please, take a seat. You must be weary from your journey. And you are?” he inquired with feigned surprise, though fully aware of his guest’s identity.

“General Schwarzer,” the man introduced himself with an air of arrogance.

“Please, have a seat,” Patterson invited them.

As they settled in, with the customary tea and coffee served, they engaged in small talk, skillfully avoiding the pressing matter at hand. However, it wasn’t long before the Secretary of State steered the conversation toward its inevitable direction.

“General Patterson, I suppose you’re wondering why all this is necessary.”

“Let’s pretend I don’t know, Sir.”

“I believe you’re putting too much personal emotion into this operation. As a military man, individual sacrifices should be immaterial to you.”

“What are you implying?”

“We’re talking about the child, Patterson! It’s clear you want to keep the prisoner, but rest assured, we can handle the interrogations far better than you!” interjected General Schwarzer.

Patterson shook his head with a light smirk.

“Do you truly believe you can handle this? You don’t even know the little girl’s name. I can’t see how you’ll persuade her to cooperate, especially since you have no idea if she’s even human. Don’t be so overconfident!”

“Patterson, your tone is offensive!” the State Secretary was visibly irked.

“I am calm, it seems you are not.”

The Secretary stood up, his face a portrait of silent fury.

“Patterson, enough of these verbal skirmishes. Do you intend to hand over the child willingly, or not?” General Schwarzer interjected.

Patterson regarded them with a slight smirk.

“For the sake of the entire operation, no! This child is our most valuable weapon, as she may provide unique and priceless information about the interior. I need her, and that’s final.”

“This is an order, General!” the State Secretary bristled.

“See, I understand your desire for the child, but I only take orders signed by the President! As long as I’m in charge of this operation, the child won’t leave this base without my permission.”

“Since that’s how you follow orders!” the State Secretary retorted sharply.

“From now on, you’re no longer in charge of this operation!” he continued. “You’re relieved of your post! Here’s the President’s order!”

Patterson took the letter and read it carefully. After a moment, he spoke in an icy tone.

“And the reasons for this?”

“Isn’t it obvious? A complete failure on your part! Zero scientific results, information leaks to the Russians, bringing a child into the base. Not only that, but she’s a kidnap victim. You sent a squad to certain death inside, two towns have been emptied by creatures you have no idea about! And to top it all, you refuse to follow orders from your superiors. I don’t think you should be surprised by your removal.”

“And now what? This peacock will take over?” Patterson disdainfully gestured toward General Schwarzer.

“Enough, you’ve gone too far!” the new base commander couldn’t contain himself and rose from his seat.

“Calm down!” the State Secretary intervened. “He’s trying to provoke you; don’t fall for it.”

Patterson had already summoned his secretary to the office.

“Announce throughout the base, I’m no longer in command. General Schwarzer takes over, expect orders from him.”

“Yes, Sir!” the subordinate replied, his voice quivering with the realization of the situation.

“Well,” the State Secretary looked expectantly at the new base chief, “what will be your first order?”

“For insubordination to a superior officer, I’m confining General Patterson to solitary confinement! He needs to learn how to follow orders, as he’s clearly forgotten!” Schwarzer declared with a smug smile.

“Don’t you think that’s a bit excessive?” the Secretary expressed concern.

“He fully deserves it for his behavior today!” Schwarzer asserted arrogantly. “You say you don’t have a solitary confinement cell? Well, you already have one prisoner, some Russian, right? Send him there, as an example to all! Maybe the Russian can teach him some manners!”

Patterson’s secretary, or rather former secretary, set about executing the new chief’s order.

“I’m sorry, Sir!” he looked apologetically at Patterson.

“Carry out the orders, please!” Patterson smiled encouragingly at his former subordinate.

“Well, let’s finally go see this... thing, for which Patterson earned himself solitary confinement!” the State Secretary requested, and with the new general, they left the office.

Professor Bernstein was meticulously analyzing the data acquired from the late Dr. Chu. In the isolation chamber, Jana sat on the bed, embracing her daughter with the protective ferocity of an eagle. She hadn’t left the chamber since her arrival, stubbornly refusing food.

The solemnity of the laboratory was abruptly shattered by the entrance of General Schwarzer and the State Secretary. Their arrival cast a heavy pall of silence over the room, as if a bomb of quiet had detonated amongst them. No one dared break the silence, and the new masters of the base paid no heed to the scientists present.

The newcomers studied Val, glued to the glass of the isolation chamber. They appeared rattled, remaining speechless for some time, seemingly mesmerized by her hair, shimmering with metallic threads and odd crystals.

Val, however, paid them no mind, as if they didn’t exist in her universe. Eventually, they ventured to question her. The new general’s team bombarded her with nonsensical queries from her perspective – questions about her intentions, her status as a spy, her orders, the weapons on the asteroid, the number of beings inside.

Their frustration grew as Val remained utterly indifferent to their interrogation. In desperation, they resorted to insults, calling her a traitor, uncaring towards her mother, a monster. They even threatened dissection to uncover her secrets. Throughout their tirade, Val seemed to not even hear them.

“Stop it, she hasn’t said anything since she’s been here, except ‘mama’!” Professor Bernstein attempted to defend her.

“Who are you to interfere?” General Schwarzer challenged him with a confrontational glare.

“Please, don’t torment her anymore, give her time!” the professor pleaded.

But his words had the opposite effect. They ordered Jana’s removal from the cell. After a brief struggle, marked by scratches and bites, the soldiers managed to extract Jana from the chamber. Only Valentina’s presence spared them Jana’s scathing curses. Bernstein couldn’t hold back.

“You wretches, what are you trying to do? Leave the child and her mother alone, have you no shame!” he erupted and tried to free her from the soldiers.

Jana managed to break free for a moment and spat in the State Secretary’s face.

“May you never see your children again!” she cursed them.

“Take this professor to the solitary cell with Patterson, and get her out of the room. It seems I have the daunting task of restoring discipline in this base!” General Schwarzer bellowed, flushed with rage.

At that moment, Valentina spoke, her gaze piercing the intruders.

“Are you Immortals?” - asked with low grinding voice.

The laboratory fell into stunned silence. For a moment, no one could comprehend her question, although they understood it perfectly.

“Pardon?” the high-ranking officials asked almost in unison.

Val, looking almost bored by their ignorance, stood up from the bed, elegantly holding her staff, and approached the glass.

“Are you from the Immortals?” she asked again, her gaze unblinking.

Her unreal crystal-blue eyes, intertwined with sparkling threads, sent shivers of fear through them.

The silence felt heavy.

“Not as far as I know,” the State Secretary finally replied, his voice barely above a whisper.

“Then, when the Garden blooms, all of you will die,” Valentina declared and turned her back on them, signaling this is the end of the conversation for her.