“I am death, Destroyer of worlds.” – Robert Oppenheimer, Father of the atomic bomb

In 2021 a separatist army that had been slowly building up in secret for ten years in both Canada and America launched a violent and bloody coup. Later that year it was declared that the second civil war on North American soil had begun. Upon hearing the news Carrington Institute’s top field agent Joanna Dark has decided to come back and help with the fighting, starting with the Canadian front.

Prologue: Death Dealer

Rain poured down from the dark, grey storm clouds that blanketed the skies over the once proud city of Toronto. Miniature rivers of water flowed through the rubble filled streets that had seen days and hours of combat between Canadian loyalist soldiers and separatist insurgents. In the background the thunderous echoes of exploding bombs and the spasmodic crackling of small arms fire rattled across the city.

As the rain continued to pour and the classic sounds of war continued to emanate from far away the ground began shake, softly at first but as the separatist tanks heavy separatist tanks rolled slowly down the street their long 105-mm L7A3 guns swaying back and forth vigilantly searching for enemy activity but every time they swung back and forth they missed one of the Separatist armies greatest threats, Joanna Dark.

The young, beautiful red haired assassin sat cross- legged in an abandoned two storied home shouldering a Fac-16 assault rifle with a 10x scope, the rate of fire set to semi- auto. Slowly and steadily she traced the separatist Colonel who stood dominantly in the tanks port hole scanning the area with his own two eyes a pair of the best equipment a soldier could ever ask for.

Joanna traced the colonel’s head with the scopes crosshairs steadily leading her target. As the column of tanks came to a stop in front of the house Joanna was stationed in the colonel climbed out of the hatch and met with s foot soldiers who had been walking along side the convoy.

“Jo what are you waiting for? Take the bastard out already!”

Joanna took her hand off the trigger and pressed a small button on it to talk back.

“Roger, first of all shut the fuck up. Second I will shoot him when I’m ready.”

Jo flicked the headset off and put her finger back on the trigger. As the bombs continued to explode Joanna picked her first target, a private who was leaning against one of the dormant tanks. Closely she examined the man’s uniform; it reminded her of the kind of uniform a German soldier from world war two.

Patiently she waited for some sound cover and was rewarded with the whizzing scream of an incoming bomb and as it crashed and exploded into its target Joanna fired a shot from her rifle and made clean hole in the private’s head. In the three minutes that followed Joanna was able to take out three more enemy soldiers: two more privates and one corporal. Now she aimed for the colonel who was out of sight from the soldiers Joanna hadn’t killed. As Joanna’s finger slowly slid down the curved metal trigger the colonel reached into his breast pocket and began to pull something out. Intrigued Joanna steadied her hand and waited to see what he had. Unfortunately it turned out just to be a pack of cigarettes. Jo restarted the slow descent on the trigger and waited for another explosion, but now her luck was running out. As the Colonel took a pull on his cigarette He noticed something behind one of the tanks, a foot. Joanna felt her heart start to beat faster. Her cover was about to be blown and she had no sound cover but she had no time to think she could only act.

Just as the colonel realized that it was one of his men lying in a pool of blood Joanna put two bullets in his back and one in his head. This time she was heard and seen. Another private hastily hopped up onto a tank, yelled into the porthole and pointed to where Joanna was positioned.

“Son of a bitch!” Jo yelled as the tank turret pun to face her.

The next few seconds were always remembered as nothing more than a blur of heat and flying debris when a tank shell hit the house. Luckily Joanna had been able to run into the next room before the shell had hit which saved her from being blown to smithereens although it still hurt like hell.

While the dust settled Joanna’s eyes flutters open and with every part of her brain she forced herself onto her feet. After quickly brushing the dust off her black cat suit she began looking around for her rifle, but couldn’t find it. Her search was cut short when she heard voiced coming from the first floor and she knew she didn’t have much time. First she pulled out her magsec pistol which hung at her thigh and then primed and tossed a fragmentation grenade down the staircase that was in front of her.

“Holy Shit!” One of the enemy soldiers yelled as he tried to get away, but it was to late the grenade exploded.

With the first threat out of the way Joanna ran back into the first room which was now barely more than a few wooden planks covered with scattered debris. As Jo neared the edge of the room she could see the enemy tanks and the remaining soldiers positioned on the street and before they could fire she leaped out of the building firing her magsec with deadly accuracy. As she gracefully arced through the air she pumped out five bullets and put down five enemy soldiers. Finally when the five dead soldiers hit the ground and Joanna was nearly finished her jump the ‘seps started firing.

Bullets whizzed around Joanna’s head and pinged off the side of the tank but she flipped backwards off the tank before any of them could hit her.

“Sergeant, take two around the left with you and I’ll take two around the right.”

The separatist soldiers spun around both sides of the tank expecting to find the girl on the other side but when they got there she was gone. Boldly through the rain Joanna sprang in from the left firing the remaining four rounds in her weapon into the heads of another four unfortunate separatists.

Jo landed in a puddle, spun around and whipped her pistol at the soldier who was coming out of the tank cockpit to man the machinegun behind Joanna and with a sound thud the pistol hit him hard in the head and sent him back inside the tank. With now weapon and still at least two more enemy soldiers after her Joanna tried to take a moment to think but was interrupted when the last two threats came around from both sides pointing their rifles her in contempt.

“Shame we have to kill something so sexy.” Said the soldier on Joanna’s right.

“Well maybe if she offered to do us some favours, we might let her leave in one piece.”

Joanna stood up with her arms raised and sighed.

“Yep looks like you got me.” Jo started as she dropped her arms and walked over to the first soldier seductively.

“And I have to say you are going to get you asked for…”

Joanna was nearly pressed up against him now.

“You horny son of a BITCH!” Jo yelled as she punched him in the stomach, ripped his rifle out of his hands and smacked him in the face with the stock.

“You fucking bitch…” the second soldier yelled just before Joanna fired a burst of lead into his chest and silenced him for good.

Joanna stood tall as the rain continued to pour on her and the dead bodies that lay strewn on the concrete, her heart beating fast and she liked it…

A talent for War