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retrieve the bodies of Imperial troopers slaughtered in an unsuspecting ambush, or see the result of a human IED on some lonely roadside.  It was no wonder few troops wanted to do convoy duty, or house to house searches.  The chances of returning from such a mission were slim to none.
     
    From his vantage point on the fourth floor of the new Imperial HQ building, it was the perfect day to display the Empires might, and power to the local neo-barbs, not that they were invited.  A few of the more trusted ones, mostly slaves, turncoats, and a few lackeys crowded along the electrified perimeter fence.  Most of Earth's population could watch by beam cast, transmitted to the giant view screens located throughout what remained of the human cities.  It became apparent later, why so many people in those cities stood in the streets in the middle of the night, or the pouring rain, watching those monitors. They knew what was about to happen, and yet he, the Commanding General of IMPSEC never heard so much as a whisper.  The last person to mount the stand was the Planetary Governor with his wife, and three young children.  Beside him stood his senior administration staff with their wives and children, smiling and waving to the crowd of Imperial citizens, and colonial bureaucrats.  They were too far to see if they waved back, or just spat on the ground at the gesture.  Just then, seemingly, out of nowhere a beautiful young human girl in a bright summer dress suddenly materializes, smiling and waving to the crowd, a bouquet of colorful flowers clutched in her hand.  She walked slowly to the center of the parade ground and the reviewing stand, as if to formally present the flowers to the Governor.  It didn't occur to him at that moment to wonder why any human would offer such a gesture.  She was like any number of beautiful young girls he'd had the pleasure of 'interrogating', and for a moment he toyed with the idea of making her his next self-appointed interrogation assignment.
     
    Then came that awful moment he so desperately wanted to forget, the moment when she reached the center of the parade ground and stopped, turning to face the troops.  As if in slow motion, he watched her smile, then wave to the dignitaries before ripping off her dress.  At that moment, time as he understood it slowed, and it seemed as if he had zoom vision, seeing every detail her lovely young body.  The long slim legs, high proud breast just blossoming into snowy, pink tipped mounds, her golden hair shining in the early morning sun.  It was then, that he saw the clear plastic cylinders filled with shiny ball bearing strapped to the front and back, of her upper torso.  The whistles and catcalls die away as they all saw what she was wearing.  He remembered thinking at that moment, that he wished she'd take the harness off so he could see her lovely body better, but like some magician’s trick her beauty distracted him from the true significance of the cylinder.  Not that he or anyone could stop what was about to happen.  Even shooting her would trigger the suicide vest.
     
    How she got there, or why no one stopped her walking out onto the parade ground in the first place, he never knew.  He remembered the blissful smile on her beautiful face.  The tears on her fresh young cheeks as she looked up at the bright blue sky, one last time.  It was as if she were saying goodbye as she offered up her beautiful young body on the altar of freedom.  Closing her eyes one last time, she triggered the device hidden in the flowers.
     
    The horror of the carnage was almost impossible to assimilate.  So many dead, so many horrible wounds, and the blood.  It was everywhere, coating the ground and walls of buildings as if some mad painter was at work.  As stunned as he was by the blast and carnage, it was nothing in comparison to the despair he felt when he later discovered that she was one of twenty-seven other young girls, who'd sacrificed themselves