Major Darcy Malone saluted crisply as the general walked into the room, flanked by his aide. The lights were dimmed, and a projector beamed what was, at present, just a blank square of light onto the far wall. The right wall was taken up with a large mirror, and a few desk-chairs completed what looked like a fairly ordinary office setting. The two men returned the salute with perhaps a bit less enthusiasm, and sat down in their chairs. "Greetings, gentlemen," she said. "I'm glad you could make it today."
"Frankly," said General Dawson, "I don't think the same can be said for me. This isn't a friendly visit, Major. Let's get that out of the way right now. The Pentagon has some very serious concerns about the viability and cost-effectiveness of your 'Psychological Operations' department, and you are in here arguing for your project's life. Is that perfectly clear?"
Dawson saw a flash of fire in Malone's eyes, but she didn't even let her smile drop for a second as she said, "Naturally, sir." That fit in with her reputation. According to channels, she kept a very tight grip on herself, didn't let her composure drop even for a second. She made sure that she only showed what she wanted to see, and did her backstabbing quietly. What little backstabbing she did--Malone had a reputation for making more friends than enemies. Even today, on the most important presentation of her career, her uniform was perfectly pressed, not a single auburn hair was out of position, and her smile didn't drop for a second as she brought up the opening slide of her PowerPoint presentation.
'Sex As A Weapon', it read. 'The Future Of Modern Psychological Warfare'. Beneath it was a picture of a soldier on his knees, hands behind his head. Another soldier, this one female, stood next to him, looking down at him with a seductive smile on her face. Her uniform was...definitely non-standard issue, to say the least. It exposed plenty of skin, and even what it didn't expose, it certainly didn't leave to the imagination.
General Dawson snorted derisively. "This is what we came down here for? I can't believe I wasted my--"
"General, if you please." Major Malone's voice was calm and quiet, but she didn't hesitate even slightly about interrupting a two-star general. "I'm aware that my concepts are unorthodox, but every great military strategist was at one time considered unorthodox." She pressed a button on her hand-held remote, and the slide changed. 'Sex Is Powerful', it read. Beneath it, there were a list of bullet points.
Major Malone used the laser pointer in the remote to highlight each one. "Already, gentlemen, every sector of civilian commercial life uses sexual imagery to sell their products. The procreative drive is the most powerful and basic of all human instincts, and sexual pleasure is a strong and highly addictive psychological force. People use sex all the time to get what they want, and in general, what they want to get is more sex. However, in general the technique is used in a non-analytical, undifferentiated fashion."
She clicked on the next slide. "You can see here that the sex drive has the capability to cause extreme and aberrant behavior, even overriding concerns like pain and social mores. The gentleman pictured here would undoubtedly admit that the clamps on his nipples and testicles are very painful, and the ropes have him bound in a position that is both uncomfortable and undignified. And yet, he is clearly deriving great pleasure from the activity, and has entered into it voluntarily." Dawson did his best to look away from the picture, in no small part because the woman doing the binding and clamping was clearly Major Malone herself, and the man she was tying up was the now-retired general who had originally sponsored the program.
And she was nude, too...General Dawson tried not to think of his female subordinates as, well, female, but seeing Major Malone like this made it hard to ignore. Worse yet, when he looked away from the picture, Malone was standing in a way that brought the image of her naked body very clearly to mind...Dawson forced a cough, and stood up. His aide, looking more than a little shell-shocked, copied the gesture. "I think we've seen enough, Major. Whatever your personal interests are, we have no interest in indulging them at taxpayer's expense. Now, if you could--"
"Please, gentlemen," Major Malone said. "Just a few moments more, and I will give you a practical demonstration."
General Dawson glared at her, trying not to notice that she was standing right next to a life-size photo of her own naked body. "Practical demonstration? What, you intend to put on a sex show for your superior officers?"