Operation Chameleon

Editor's note: this story contains scenes of non-consensual or reluctant sex.

*****

Introduction:

I was sitting at the Space Terminal in the Republics Capita. I was pondering on the circumstances that had brought me to this point as I thought about my first field assignment! Had my superiors lost their minds? Was I about to be suddenly recalled to my desk and told that it was all some sick joke or the failure of some assessment programme or even the result of an enemy computer virus that had infected the agency Central Brain?

I had never been out of the Capital before far less off planet and now I had been asked to go to the Anarchist hell holes of the Free Alliance Worlds. I had the urge to return to my safe apartment and my safe but interesting office job. I considered myself the last choice as being suitable for such an assignment.

However there was nowhere I could run to. I was being discreetly watched and I was also loaded with the latest agency tech hardware and software. In a way it was also a compliment as my superiors consider me a loyal citizen of the Republic. Still I would prefer to be going back to being the office mouse. Well one of the things I wanted to be at least.

I had just been a desk analyst at the Peoples Republic Intelligence Coordinating Kommand for 5 years since being recruited as a student from the Peoples Cosmos Institute.

The acronym made us sound comical and we were the butt of some pretty dire sick humour. Making jokes at the expense of the agency was one form of political humour that was allowed in the Revolutionary Republic.

It was a good front as the agency was not something you wanted scrutinising your affairs. Blackmail, extortion and physical violence were tools that it would use in the defense of the Republic without loosing any sleep. Nor would it stop with those measures mentioned above as murder and assassination were regularly sanctioned by the agency.

The agency though kept a very close eye on political opposition and possible free thinking radicals. It had eyes and ears in every corner of the Republics military and civilian sectors and two of each eye and two ears if not several in every govt front office and even backwater outposts.

Oh as an analyst I was first rate and the office tea and coffee maker and gofer as in go for this and go for that, well I was fine with that. I did wonder though as to why I was even recruited in the first place. I suppose I was a star student with top marks in Natural and Revolutionary Philosophy, my mother and father also being high ranking bureaucrats in the Republican Govt.

My mind swept back to the day when I was called into my superior's office. It was the day my world was turned upside down and inside out. I remember his words as he and the uniformed Major from the Alien Intelligence Kommando sat quietly scrutinising me. He gave me the creeps, nearly all men did. Not that my inclinations were for women as they gave me the creeps in equal measure. It was my superior's words that were ingrained on my memory though.

He smiled with his lopsided grin that had just a hint of menace as he spoke "Agent Griffin please be seated!"

He then made an introduction and there was an elongated pause before he spoke again. He spoke brusquely to me as was his usual way and it was clear he had called me for something more than just to make coffee for him and the brooding major.

He spoke "Agent Griffin I have been studying your file and your records! A most impressive record as an analyst! Your work has led to the arrest and conviction of no less than 27 enemies of the Republic!

You have a sharp mind and eye for detail that is most extraordinary! The Major here has noted in your assessment tests a remarkable score of 100% in identifying the faces and profiles of individuals that passed your senses! Even when they were in disguise!

In fact out of all the agents employed at the agency and as you know there are some 50,000! You and you alone scored 100%! You have a unique talent that the major here feels that the Republic can put to better use! For the moment though we will say nothing of what use you might be put to in the service of the Republic!

Your records and indeed your assessment and your overall profile raises questions agent Griffin! You are something of an enigma to us! Indeed it begs the question why it is you are not yet a field agent!"

I knew exactly why I was not a field agent. Well several reasons actually. I did not have the desire or any ambition to be one for starters. I could not shoot to save myself. I would have caused injury to anyone near by if I was asked to hit a barn door at point blank range.

A breeze of wind could knock me over and that was generally why I never ventured out of the safe environment domes. I was a dead loss at unarmed combat which for some mad reason they insisted all agents, even desk hogging analysts should do.

Worse yet I did what I could to get out of anything that involved any wild or what might be called natural environments. Nature meant dirt and I abhorred dirt of any kind. Fresh untreated air made me nauseous or giddy. It also smelled.

I was also normally an anxiety infected nervous wreck. I took several medications to control that. But then they knew that already. That might have been down to the work I also did though.

Also unlike the other female agents and specifically the field agents I was not what any man or woman for that matter could possibly perceive as attractive. Voluptuous, curvaceous, athletic, sexy or even cute were not synonyms that could be applied to me. I was the mammalian equivalent of a stick insect. I was tall at 6 foot but I was skin and bone. My chest was even struggling to make 34 A or was that 32 A as it was almost as flat as a proverbial pancake' I wore baggy clothes to hide the fact that I was almost nail like.

Physically I did not have the looks to be a field agent, nor the skills. The idea of being in a social situation with a man or a woman to even flirt, well the very idea made me twitchy. Any man who took an interest in me in that way I considered being insane and if not insane then very likely to be a criminal of some kind.

I was also aware that my father worked as head of the Republics immigration and emigration inspectorate! My one relationship if it can be called that was with a man who just wanted to use me to get some Visa protocols! It left me with no trust in men and the enduring notion that no man would be interested in me just for me!

I was the office oddball, well amongst the females at least. In that I was a virgin in every way. I had no sexual experience with either sex. The full extent of my sexual experience was to have a cynical passport hunter stick his tongue in my mouth. Even the idea of kissing repelled me. Mouths contained germs! Germs were everywhere. I suppose dating him had made the others think I was half way normal.

My superior's words floated into my consciousness again "Agent Griffin you are an enigma!"

I gave him a blank look. What did he mean by that? I had the overpowering urges to bite my fingernails or fiddle or tug on my long hair pleats. My superior continued with his exposition as he let his words sink in "Agent Griffin! Your file reveals two different women! Now let's see!

Dedicated to your work! Indeed never late and often stay late! Work is always turned in on time or more often than not early! Never drunk at office Party's! I worry that you have no social life! Social lives are considered to be healthy for our workers in the Republic!

However when anyone is being considered for any special assignment we check them out thoroughly! Indeed you have conducted such background checks yourself on individuals being considered for promotion to sensitive positions within the govt, media, and intelligentsia and more importantly within the military!

So it stands to reason that you would yourself be screened and more than once and that process reveals a different personality from the one that hides behind a Console and a screen! Let's see what surprises we turned up!

A girl with a remarkable range of esoteric and eclectic interests! Regular attendance at Classical concerts, proficient in several dance styles, an active interest in Art, skilled in several musical instruments, active in your housing commune! I will not bore you with the rest!

In every way a good citizen and a good neighbour! Well I suppose we are neighbours and nobody has complained about you!

Oh and very decisive and ruthless when the need arises! Qualities a good field agent needs! The manner in which you dispensed with and indeed the speed you displayed in dealing with your criminal ex boyfriend, well that was done in the best traditions of the agency!"

I blurted out of the spot "Me! A field agent! I would be a disaster Sir!"

I wanted to dig a hole on that very spot and bury myself. My anxieties rose to the surface. I did not know at the time that was what he wanted as they set me up for what was to follow.

He let the growing turmoil in me spread as I had the urge to run off to a toilet cubicle and lock myself in it. My medications were still in my office desk. I must have I thought looked a comical sight to both of them and to whoever who would be watching as I fidgeted and looked for an escape.

He continued his attack as it now felt to me at that time as he sighed "Contrast that with the psyche profile! This makes for inexplicable reading when you consider other aspects of your profile! However it has been assessed that perhaps this might make you ideal for the operation that the major here wishes to conduct!"

He let those words sink in slowly as my mind went into overdrive with worry. I tried not to look at the Major who was now staring at me with eyes that looked as if they were boring into my skull. Then my superior changed tack on me.

His next words further unbalancing me not that I needed anymore to unsettle me as I was now having cold sweats and my stomach was churning! I had probably already been biting my lower lip for several minutes when he uttered "Agent Griffin! Frances! I and your father are old comrades! We passed through university together! Then through the military academy together!

We also served side by side in the victorious War against the Anglic Federation and its corrupt vile allies! Indeed our unit was the first to breach the defences of New London! Your father is a hero of the Republic! Not that he ever speaks about it I suppose!

Oh and I don't want you to think that you are here for reasons of nepotism! Or because your parents are part of the Party elite! This is a meritocracy in its purest form Frances! You are here because you attained the qualifications to be here!

Anyway how is your mother and father these days! Work and our career paths took us in different directions! How I miss the old days though! How is you're your younger sister! Will she follow in your steps into the agency?"

I was being slowly manipulated and my guards and defences were being breached one by one. It was part of the agencies classical interrogation techniques. A subtle and implied threat was always better than a direct one. The bastards had found my weak spot. If there was anyone in this galaxy that I adored it was my little sis Lisbeth.

My stomach began to churn more violently and I felt as if I wanted to be sick. I had used such interrogation techniques in my stints as an interrogator. I had a five for five success rate in that. I had learned from masters who had been perfecting their skills and techniques for several centuries.

My superior had let me stew on his previous words as he paused for am apparent breath before continuing "Well let me get to the point as the Major is a very busy man and the reason why you have been summoned! In fact it relates to work that you carried several months ago! The Major is heading up a project called Operation Chameleon! Does the name ring any bells Agent Griffin?"

I sat there as my hackles rose at the mention of the word and I blurted out "Indeed it does! How could I forget! I was chewed out by you in this very office over that Chameleon! You asked me to analyse reports relating to seven enemy agents thought to be operating in Free Alliance Space!

I reached conclusions and suppositions that you did not agree with! Namely that it was not seven agents but only one! You called it a nonsensical piece of work and screamed we are looking for seven agents not a fucking chameleon!"

I began to sweat as I remembered how at the time I took a weeks holiday time after that and even considering resigning from the agency but no one ever resigned from the agency and lived a healthy long life. Such a move normally resulted in a one way ticket to the Penal Mines on the outer edges of the galaxy.

My superior smiled in a crooked fashion as he spoke "Another one of your talents is to hit the nail on the head! Indeed I must unreservedly apologise for my behaviour that day! I also apologise for calling it a work of cheap science fiction and worse! The neurotic fantasy fiction of a woman in need of a fuck!

However in other assessment we have also found that you have a 100% score in memorising faces, names, numbers and dates! In short you have a photographic memory and you were not fooled even when presented with faces of agents within this agency who were in disguise! It is not totally known how you did that but you did!"

He let his apology sink in and I was further unbalanced by what sounded like a compliment. I was unused to compliments. I did not trust them no matter the source of them.

My boss continued "I will let the Major take over from here!"

The till now silent Major opened up with a compliment of sorts "Indeed! That report found its way to my desk! In fact it was the first break in an ongoing operation that we had!

We almost apprehended that agent but he eluded us and escaped from the world where your report said he was likely to be! We followed the logic of your arguments but in trying to track him down again we have had no success! This is why I need you on operation Chameleon! It is and has the highest security rating! We consider this enemy agent a threat to the balance of power and thus to Galactic Peace!

Furthermore the Republic cant afford to fight another long war! Our military is not prepared for one and as hard as it is to admit this, we have fallen behind others in terms of military technology and science! We would in all likelihood lose any war fought now or in the near future!

Needless to say that none of this must go beyond these geodesic walls Agent Griffin! Naturally you will also have to sign these documents that I have in my possession!

The first is to acknowledge your full cooperation in keeping secret for the rest of your life; operations with security level 11 clearances!

The second is to your acceptance of a transfer from PRICK to Military Intelligence Directorate 11!"

I was being played of course. They were appealing not just to my patriotic side but also to my pragmatic side which had no desire to see the outbreak of a galactic war. They had done a number on me that was for sure. It was sign or be dragged to those Penal Mines or worse! Believe me there is worse.

I signed naturally being an out and out coward. The Major smiled like a crocodile that was about to get an easy meal before he spoke again. "As I said your report gave us a big break Agent Griffin! But thanks to our bungling the enemy agent eluded us and worse! I can now tell you that we sent our best female operatives after this enemy! No less than seven of them in fact! Four turned up dead! Three are presently missing and are assumed either dead or now in the hands of the enemy!"

Now I was worried. I hope they were not planning to send me to track this dangerous individual down. He was everything I hated in men He was everything that scared me in my life.

The Major continued blandly in that matter of fact tone that could grate "In addition two other of our agents went totally insane and turned into raving nymphomaniacs and had to be institutionalised for their own safety and well being!"

That was code for they are now servicing the Space Marines on one of the Rand R worlds set aside for heroes of the revolution. The Penal Mines were starting to sound attractive to me.

The Major let his last words sink in before continuing

"In our assessments of agents who might have a chance of success in tracking down this individual you scored 69% on those tests! Surprisingly you scored higher than the other agents that we had sent previously to track down this individual!

Indeed our assessment tests were based on the report you did! That report has been updated with information that you did not have access to at the time and with what we have discovered since your original submissions!

However what we cant replicate is some of your logic or indeed your instincts! Indeed your resistance as shown in your psyche reports to the advances of the opposite sex is one of the reasons we feel you can succeed where others have failed!"

I could not believe my ears. They were as I feared planning to do exactly what I feared the most. They were going to send me after this monster and into my worst nightmare and there was nothing I could do about it. Not if my little sis was to be safe. Indeed if I refused my parents might also be in trouble as it was one step from Party bigwig to the Uranium Mines.

If I refused I knew that before the end of this revolutionary year I would be dead, missing, imprisoned or just gaga. I hoped that I would wake up soon and find that this was just a bad dream.

The Major left me to stew on whatever was circulating in my brain before he continued with his pitch "It might be that if we are very lucky that the two agents we sent out this very day will be successful and that we can apprehend or even eliminate this agent but our mission profile assesses that they have only a 45% and a 34% chance of success!"

I groaned inwardly to myself and thought "Typical tactic hold out just a glimmer of hope to the condemned! Why me of all people what did I do to anybody?"

The Major continued in that monotone "Records indicate that you are due some leave time! Two weeks to be precise! It will be granted immediately! I suggest you take it! Thereafter you will be in a very intensive training and induction programme for three months at least!

You will also be part of the Operation Chameleon team from the moment you start at MID 11! Needless to say you say nothing to anyone! I will meet you two weeks to the day at the Space Military Institute here in the Capital!"

I was then promptly dismissed. I thought what nutter did this to me? Who did I upset? I went home and cried my eyes out. It was then my own loneliness struck home. There was really no one I could tell even if I wanted to. Nor could I sleep as then the nightmares began. The many faces of the Chameleon were invading my dreams as they did all those months before when I saw those first photographs. In the end it was my own entire fault.

I felt him borrowing into my soul. We were not meant to have such heretical and anti revolutionary thoughts. I woke several times in the night sweating. I could swear I already heard his voice in my head. He was mocking me with "Hello Rabbit! Hello Mouse! Hello little Robin! Hello kitty!"

A holiday indeed for two weeks. I went to visit my parents and my sister. In the back of my mind was the knowledge that I might never see them again or they me. There was nobody else in my life. It did not occur to me to leave any sort of message behind me that they could read. Should somebody in MID 11 pass on my particulars in the event of the worst? I swore silently to myself an oath that someday in the future I would get revenge on somebody for this.