"A toast. To country, prosperity, and undying allegiance."
Allen watched as the silver-haired man across the desk raised his glass. The younger man carefully raised his own drink, a bubbly dark liquid in a short crystal glass, and clinked it against his counterpart's. "To a job well done."
The two men raised their glasses to their lips and took deep drinks. Allen felt his throat burn but managed to maintain an even temper as Ivan, the older of the two, scrutinized him carefully. Allen met his gaze, staring into the man's broad brown eyes and tight, stern lips.
His expression broke, however, as an enormous laughing smile spread across Ivan's face. A hearty chuckle echoed through the office as he set down his drink. His deep, heavily accented voice bellowed through the room. "Such confidence, Ganymedian! Yes, yes, the first of many jobs well done!"
Allen's face contorted into a look of surprise. "*Many* jobs? We had a deal, Mr. Chubarov. I bring you all the dirt on our prime minister, you stage your coup, and I retire wealthy on a choice mountainside estate. No part of this arrangement involved 'many jobs.'"
Ivan's smile spread even wider, a devilish grin that chilled Allen's blood. "Our deal was struck while you were still a citizen of Ganymede, a republic which no longer exists. If you've kept up with the news, *former* representative, you are now a citizen of the great ISU." Allen's face drained of life as a sinking feeling swallowed his chest. "As a citizen, you will do exactly what your nation demands of you, or you will pay the price. Do you want to be hunted as a criminal of the state?"
Allen slowly shook his head, dropping his gaze in defeat. He knew never should have trusted his enemies like this, the reward was far too good to be true. Even so, Allen had always been impulsive. A bit overeager to make deals that appeared in his favor, at least in the short term. He was a man of few regrets, but this time... he wasn't so sure. "Fine, I'll do your jobs, but I still want that estate. What do you need me to do?"
"I'm glad we are on the same page, then, Mr. Thomas. As my subordinate, your loyalty must be unquestionable. To prove this, we have your next job already prepared."
Before getting the chance to open his mouth, Allen Thomas felt a sharp prick in his neck as a cold liquid pumped into his veins. Ivan's silent assistant removed the needle and stepped back as Allen began breathing heavily. "W-what... what did you..."
"An experiment, my dear. Our scientists have been hard at work on a way to guarantee loyalty by reshaping the mind and body. Our formula is only in its first stages, but results have been promising. You will be the first human test subject! Congratulations on this high honor."
Ivan nodded to his assistant and she quickly rounded the desk, pulling down a projector screen between the two and retrieving a small remote. With the click of a button, the lights in the room dimmed and bright camera footage projected onto the screen. Allen's attention was pulled into the images as a cassette clicked and a loud orchestral rendition of the ISU national anthem blared out of unseen speakers.
Whatever substance flowed through Allen's veins frayed at his mind as the cacophonous visual and auditory stimuli washed through him. His skin crawled and broke out in a sweat as the formula spread throughout his body. Hardly able to move or breathe through the sensations, Allen felt as though his entire being was both burning and frozen.
All the while, he stared forward, unable to look away from the barrage of on-screen images. Soldiers marched in rows, farmers grew crops, planes bombed cities, men and women hugged in the streets, trees withered and rot, cattle fed on a ranch. Dozens more images flashed in turn, each just as meaningless as the last to the man in his involuntary high. The editing was choppy and disorienting, holding on some images for longer than others, but never for more than a few seconds. In brief glimpses, he swore he saw words. Symbols. A language he couldn't understand. He tried hard to focus on it, but to no avail.
After an indeterminate amount of time, the music and images stopped. The room grew silent for a moment, and Allen could hear the distant echo of a man's voice. It took him a minute to realize it was Ivan speaking from merely a few feet away. Through his shallow breaths and blurry eyes, Allen struggled to make out the man's words. Eventually, despite his clouded mind, he understood: "State your name and station."
Processing the man's words carefully and slowly, Allen was barely able to determine their meaning and form something of a response. "N-name... A-allennn..." The words slowly dribbled from his mouth. Allen looked to the silver-haired man and watched his head shake back and forth in slow motion before the music and projections suddenly resumed in full force.
Once again his attention was drawn in, watching the images and listening to the sounds. This time the images seemed concentrated on the ISU military. Allen saw young men and women marching in line, carrying guns and driving tanks. They delivered food to needy villages and posed with excited children. The images felt so familiar.. nostalgic?
Suddenly, the images shifted to those of Ganymedian soldiers, ruthless and efficient in their tactics. They burned villages, destroyed homes, captured civilians, and terrorized neighborhoods. This was a far cry from the Ganymede Allen had grown to know, and if he'd been in his right mind, he may have questioned the authenticity of the footage. But in this moment, he felt nothing but contempt for the despicable acts and the soldiers committing them.
Meanwhile, the burning sensations in Allen's body spread and intensified. His skin glistened with sweat as it slowly softened and his hair fell away until his face and body appeared smooth and shaven. His body rapidly lost mass, shoulder bones cracking and shrinking as his rib cage tightened and his hips widened. He lost several inches without even realizing it as his hands and feet became slim and feminine.
