Chapter 3Commanded To Kneel By My Ex Husband

In the comms, Elias’s voice was suddenly there, trembling faintly with excitement.

“Good.”

“Start. Captain Reed. I’ve been looking forward to this.”

I silently switched the radio to public broadcast volume.

I knew what was coming. The civilians would be bewildered, then disgusted. My teammates would be shocked and humiliated. My name would be ruined, and the dignity I cherished would be annihilated by my own hands, in the full light of the war-torn landscape.

But none of it mattered anymore. Any personal honor was dust compared to one hundred-thirty-one lives.

I stood before the crowd, facing the bewildered, fear-filled, dependent faces.

The noise and crying subsided. All eyes, confused, were fixed on me.

“Fellow citizens,” my voice, amplified through the comms, was clear and steady. “I am the mission commander, Nova Reed.”

After a brief pause, I spoke the words that would end my life as I knew it.

“Five years ago, I betrayed my husband.”

“At our wedding, in front of all our family and friends, I abandoned him, unilaterally breaking our vows and leaving.”

“This was all my fault. I formally apologize for my actions.”

The second the words were out, the silence broke into gasps and an audible wave of confusion and outrage.

I didn’t look up. I didn’t look at a single face. I slowly, deliberately, bent my knees.

Thud.

The first kowtow. My forehead slammed against the hard, cold earth, the dull sound briefly louder than the distant cannon fire.

Thud.

The second. Dust mingled with the pain searing my brow bone.

Thud. The third, the fourth, the fifth… My movements became faster, more mechanical, as if my body was no longer mine, but simply executing a brutal, cold program.

The murmuring faded into silence. Perhaps they were too stunned by the desperate, self-destructive spectacle, or maybe they simply couldn’t grasp the meaning behind this madness.

The only sounds were the distant artillery, the whine of incoming bullets, and the monotonous, sickening thudding of my head hitting the ground.

Warm blood streamed from my forehead, blurring my vision and running into the corners of my eyes, tasting like rust.

I didn’t stop.

Thirty, forty, fifty… The world faded to muted color and sound, leaving only the bone-jarring impact that traveled through my skull, and the cold, numb heart in my chest.

A century passed. Or maybe just a few moments.

Finally, Elias’s voice returned to the comms.

It was a voice of utter, languid satisfaction, with a strange, fleeting softness.

“That’s enough.”

“Considering your sincerity… I grant you permission to withdraw.”