[ALLIED SUPREME COMMAND - AFTER ACTION REVIEW]

  [72 HOURS POST-SECTOR 4 INCIDENT]

  [1300 HOURS - EMERGENCY COMMAND COUNCIL]

  The report lay on the command center table like a loaded weapon: fifteen thousand, eight hundred and forty-three German soldiers dead in thirty minutes. General Harrison read the number three times before his fist slammed into Colonel Richards' jaw.

  "You brought those weapons from Sector 7." Harrison's voice carried the deadly calm before a storm. "Where she killed three thousand of your men last month."

  "The tactical gains-" Richards started from the floor, blood trickling from his lip.

  "THOSE WEAPONS WERE NEVER MEANT TO LEAVE AMERICAN DEPOTS!!!" Harrison lunged against the officers restraining him. "THIS WASN'T ABOUT TACTICAL GAINS! This was REVENGE! You watched her break your division in Sector 7, so you brought CHEMICAL WEAPONS to her front!"

  Air Marshal Whitworth's grip on Harrison's shoulder tightened. "The authorization protocols-"

  "FIFTEEN THOUSAND MEN!!!" Harrison's laugh held no humor. "Because Sector 7 couldn't handle losing to a better tactician!"

  [1305 HOURS - DIPLOMATIC CRISIS]

  "The Swiss government's formal protest, sir." Montgomery's hands shook as he read. "They're calling it a crime against humanity. The Swedes have suspended diplomatic relations."

  "Of course they have." Harrison's voice dropped to a whisper. "Because we didn't just kill Germans, did we? We brought chemical warfare back to European soil. And for what?"

  "SHE BUTCHERED US!!!" A Sector 7 officer suddenly erupted. "Three thousand men in six hours! Perfect mathematical precision! Every counter-move predicted, EVERY ESCAPE ROUTE BLOCKED!!!"

  "So you brought CK gas to her front." Montgomery's words fell like stones. "How many other commands helped smuggle those weapons across sectors?"

  "AS MANY AS IT TOOK!!!" The officer's face contorted with remembered pain. "YOU WEREN'T THERE! You didn't watch her tear our division apart with those perfect calculations!"

  [1310 HOURS - CASUALTY ASSESSMENT]

  "Final death toll still climbing." Medical Officer Matthews stared at his reports with hollow eyes. "The gas... it did something to the local soil conditions. Created effects we've never seen before. The survivors-"

  "How many?" The question came from Marshall himself, newly arrived.

  "Eight hundred and twelve still alive from their forward units." Matthews' voice cracked. "Most won't... the tissue damage... their blood itself became a weapon..."

  "WORTH IT!" The shout came from the Sector 7 corner. "After what she did to us... WORTH EVERY DROP OF BLOOD!!!"

  The sound of multiple sidearms being drawn filled the command center.

  [1315 HOURS - COMMAND CHAOS]

  "Her command structure survived." Intelligence Major Williams' face had gone grey. "Monitoring stations confirm radio traffic from their rear bunkers. She watched us kill her entire defensive line, and now..."

  "Now she'll show us what real vengeance looks like." Montgomery's whisper carried more dread than any shout. "Everything we've justified, every line we've crossed - she'll turn it all back on us tenfold."

  "SHE DESERVES WORSE!!!" Another Sector 7 officer stood. "After what she did to our men-"

  "YOUR MEN DIED IN COMBAT!!!" Harrison broke free of his restrainers. "Not to gas! Not to chemical weapons that turn blood to poison! You didn't just kill her soldiers - you've given her JUSTIFICATION FOR EVERYTHING THAT COMES NEXT!!!"

  [1320 HOURS - INTELLIGENCE NIGHTMARE]

  "Sir..." Williams' hands trembled on new intercepts. "The requisition orders she's sending... it's not just defensive preparations. She's requesting EVERY CHEMICAL AGENT IN THE REICH. Industrial toxins, agricultural pesticides, biological research equipment..."

  "Of course she is." Montgomery's laugh held no mirth. "We've shown her that such weapons are acceptable now. That vengeance justifies everything."

  The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  "LET HER TRY!!!" The Sector 7 officer's voice shook with emotion. "We've still got more CK gas! We can-"

  The sound of Harrison's pistol being cocked silenced the room. "One more word about using those weapons again, and I'll execute you where you stand."

  [1325 HOURS - MEDICAL HORROR]

  "The survivors we captured..." Matthews fought to maintain professional detachment. "They're begging for death. The gas... it didn't just kill them. It..."

  "TELL THEM!" Harrison's voice carried infinite sadness. "TELL THEM what their vengeance really bought!"

  "Their blood literally dissolves in their veins. Their own bodies become poison factories. Nothing in our medical literature even comes close..."

  "Because those weapons were NEVER MEANT FOR EUROPEAN SOIL!!!" Montgomery's fist hit the table. "They were Pacific theater deterrents! But Sector 7 had to have their revenge, had to make her pay..."

  "And now she'll show us what real payment looks like." The words came from Marshall himself, silencing the room. "Everything we've justified, every weapon we've made acceptable - she'll turn it all against us with that mathematical precision you hate so much."

  [1330 HOURS - STRATEGIC IMPLICATIONS]

  "The gas is still spreading." Matthews' clinical tone finally broke. "Something about the soil chemistry, the groundwater... it's not dispersing like it should. The civilian casualties-"

  "DON'T!!!" Marshall's command cracked like a whip. "Don't tell me about the civilians. Not yet."

  "THEY KNEW THE RISKS!!!" A Sector 7 staff officer stood, trembling. "Living that close to her defensive line! After what she did to us in-"

  "ONE MORE WORD!!!" Harrison's pistol swung toward the speaker. "One more WORD justifying civilian deaths and I'll end you myself!"

  [1335 HOURS - INTELLIGENCE TERROR]

  "New intercepts, sir." Williams' voice shook as he read. "She's... she's requesting everything. EVERYTHING. Not just chemical agents. Medical testing facilities. Biological research equipment. And something about horse blood that..."

  "She's going to show us." Montgomery's whisper cut through the tension. "Show us EXACTLY what we've taught her is acceptable now."

  "GOOD!!!" The shout came from Sector 7's corner. "Let her try! We've got more weapons! More gas! We can-"

  Three different pistols cocked in response.

  [1340 HOURS - COMMAND FRACTURE]

  "I want everyone from Sector 7 under arrest." Harrison's voice had gone deadly quiet. "Everyone who helped transport those weapons. Everyone who knew and didn't stop it. Everyone who-"

  "YOU'LL HAVE TO ARREST HALF THE AMERICAN COMMAND!!!" Morrison's voice crackled through the radio. "We all knew! We all saw those weapons move! After what she did to our men, we ALL WANTED HER TO PAY!!!"

  The command center erupted:

  "TRAITORS!!!"

  "Court martial them ALL!!!"

  "I'll see you HANGED!!!"

  [1345 HOURS - STRATEGIC HORROR]

  A pistol shot brought silence. Colonel Richards stood trembling, his weapon smoking.

  "The gains..." his voice cracked. "The tactical gains had to justify it... HAD TO!!! Because if they didn't... if we brought chemical horror back to Europe for nothing but REVENGE..."

  MPs tackled him before he could turn the weapon on himself.

  [1350 HOURS - DIPLOMATIC MELTDOWN]

  "The Vatican's formal condemnation, sir." Whitworth's voice shook. "They're calling it 'an affront to God himself.' The Portuguese are mobilizing humanitarian aid. Even Franco's Spain is-"

  "OF COURSE THEY ARE!!!" Harrison's laugh bordered on madness. "We just showed the world that chemical warfare is back! That REVENGE justifies EVERYTHING!!!"

  "After what she did to us-" A Sector 7 officer began.

  "SHE BEAT YOU FAIRLY!!!" Montgomery's roar silenced the room. "Beat you with tactics! With strategy! With that mathematical precision you HATE SO MUCH! And now... now she'll show us what that precision looks like when applied to chemical warfare..."

  [1355 HOURS - MEDICAL NIGHTMARE]

  "The survivors keep asking..." Matthews struggled to maintain composure. "They keep asking WHY. Why their own blood turns against them. Why they can feel their organs dissolving. Why-"

  "TELL THEM!!!" Harrison's fury filled the room. "Tell them it was REVENGE! Tell them they died because Sector 7 couldn't handle losing to a better commander!"

  "You weren't there..." The Sector 7 officer's voice broke. "You didn't see what she did to us... how she predicted every move... calculated every response..."

  "And now she'll calculate THIS response." Montgomery's words fell like a death sentence. "Show us exactly what chemical warfare looks like in the hands of someone who treats war like a mathematical equation..."

  [1400 HOURS - FINAL HORROR]

  "Her latest transmissions, sir." Williams could barely read the intercepts. "The formulae she's requesting... the laboratory protocols... it's like she's not just adapting our weapons, she's... she's IMPROVING them..."

  "Of course she is." Harrison's laugh held no sanity. "We showed her that REVENGE justifies everything. That HATRED makes any weapon acceptable. Now she'll show us..."

  "WHAT TRUE HATRED LOOKS LIKE!!!" The Sector 7 officer's scream carried triumph and terror in equal measure. "What REAL VENGEANCE means!!!"

  "You fools." Marshall's quiet words cut through the chaos. "You absolute FOOLS. You didn't just give her weapons... you gave her PERMISSION. Permission to show us exactly what warfare looks like when you strip away every rule of civilization..."

  The command center fell silent as the full implications sank in. They had wanted revenge for Sector 7.

  They had unleashed something far worse:

  A tactical genius with no more moral constraints.

  A mathematical mind freed from all civilized limitations.

  A commander who would now show them exactly what REAL vengeance looked like.

  [1405 HOURS - FINAL ACKNOWLEDGMENT]

  "God help us all." Marshall surveyed his shattered command. "Because after what we've done... after what we've JUSTIFIED..."

  "She'll make Sector 7's losses look like a TRAINING EXERCISE!!!" Montgomery's voice shook. "Show us exactly what it means when you give a tactical genius permission to use EVERYTHING..."

  The bunker hummed with the sound of civilization crumbling, of military discipline dissolving in the face of what their quest for revenge had unleashed.

  They had wanted to make her pay.

  Instead, they had taught her that payment could be made in chemical horror and biological terror.

  And now she would teach them exactly what that lesson meant.