The Realm of Krotas.



Tuesday December 3rd 2069, Threshold headquarters. Langley Virginia. 1600 hrs.
They are all sitting in conference #1. Field agent and Alpha Team leader Samantha Bliss patiently listens while the two young men stand before her and the director of field operations. Arnold Winthrop and his deputy director William Strong. They have been rambling on about the steps that have been taken to decipher the map found in the cylinder . Other matters however have taken a greater importance in this meeting, and as the young men shuffle out the door they are replaced with another operative carrying a manila envelope. He hands it to Arnold Winthrop and turns to leave. He rises to face Samantha Bliss.
“Agent Bliss, we have it on good authority that one of the stones that you spoke of may be in possession of one of the Red generals, and he is at the southeast corner of Cape Nazareth in a place the reds have been calling Mordes Keep.”
He opens the envelope and takes out several photographs and lays them out on the table for her to inspect. She leans forward to look at them.
“One of our field operatives took these pictures from a distance of one mile, from him, these were taken on a beach head near the Cape, five days ago they are grainy images at best but we have been told that his name is Krotas, he wears the stone around his neck on a chain, our intel tells us that he is now in Mordes Keep and will remain there for several weeks.”
She eyes him suspiciously.
“And just how did we come by this information?”
“All we can tell you is that a second Red detainee from another facility, was close to Krotas, They told us that an attempt on Krotas’s life was made recently, and he hides in the Keep now because he is very fearful of assassination.”
She smiles and rolls her eyes at the prospect.
“And we go in and cap the General and swipe the stone that is no doubt procured under heavy guard.”
He nods to the affirmative and passes her the picture of Krotas.
“We have come to terms with a special operative that will show you how to get into the Keep undetected, they can take you right to Krotas without so much as a hitch.”
Her curiosity now aroused she draws a slow deep breath. As she watches the Director of Field operations motion to the guard to open the door.
And soon their young guest Priss enters the room with two armed guards at her side, she sits down beside Samantha Bliss who has a look of complete shock on her face.
“Agent.. Your team will Muster in the assignment room at 1900 hrs. You will leave first thing in the morning, and Operative Priss is going with you.”

Priss Revealed.




She sits listening to Priss explain the situation to her, she seems more confident and somewhat less innocent now, as she explains in painstaking detail about the routines of Krotas’s guardsmen. How they alternate Watch details, when they change shifts when they come, when they go, she knows the grounds, inside and out and she explains to Samantha and Klinger that she has been in and out of the keep several times, and she has traveled the route that they will be taking more than once. Suddenly things have become clear to Samantha Bliss, Priss is sounding less like an innocent little bed wench and more like a highly trained and skilled assassin, it has occurred to her, that Thresholds impeccable intelligence capabilities had learned of Priss’s existence some time ago. It has occurred to Samantha Bliss, that she and Team Alpha were sent into the Cape to retrieve someone that they themselves had sent there to begin with. Much has occurred to Samantha Bliss in the last twenty five minutes. It was not the first time that sweet Miss Priss was a guest of Threshold, and she was perhaps even more dangerous than any member of Team Alpha ever thought of being. Priss was Thresholds Mata Hari, and Samantha and her entire team had bought the act.
“So do you want to tell me Priss? Or am I going to have to continue guessing about how you became involved with Threshold?”
Priss smiles that smile and studies her and Klinger.
“Please Samantha. You mustn’t be angry with me, every thing that I told you on the boat that day was true, Ambala the Bitch and all, I was Krotas’s bed wench one and a half years ago, and I did run away, but they never caught me the first time, because I ran to Threshold, I told them everything that I knew about the inner workings of the red army, so we struck up a deal and they and sent me back to the Cape where I allowed myself to be captured again, I got close to Krotas again but when I tried to wax his sorry red ass, one of his guards got in the way and took my shot intended for him. I escaped and was captured again for real, they beat me and I escaped again, they caught me at the brim and started to take me back to the cape for execution, that’s when you showed up.”
Samantha Bliss studies her for a time.
“So.. You want to tell me why your picture was in that cylinder? Was that for real?”
“That particular outpost had my picture because I am a traitor, they want me disposed of, you finding the cylinder during the Jessica Bradley rescue was completely coincidental, I’m guessing that’s why Threshold sent you to get me, because they knew that the reds were looking for me, I’m a traitor to them Samantha.”
“And you had already told Threshold what you knew about the four stones?”
“Yes”
“So the only importance of the cylinder was the map that we accidentally found?”
“There are several maps that lead to the holy place Samantha, you found one of them.”
“Get some rest, if your going with us we leave tomorrow morning.”
Samantha watches her rise to leave the room, and looks over at Klinger,he returns the glance with a bit of confusion attached to it. Something tugged at her that there was more at work here that a field operative was privy to.. There was more to learn behind the scenes.

Scratch. ABT Copyright © 2006

Grhee's Mistake.



Wednesday November 26th 2069. 0900
He is sitting in the exact posture that she’d seen him in last, his right leg bent at the knee, ankle resting and draped over the other knee, his shirt unbuttoned to reveal his massive red colored chest. he hasn’t at all been put off by still being a detainee here at the Threshold compound, and he continues to give his interviewers the run around. The red monster known as Grhee seems to be in his element and has no problem with being the center of attention, he in fact seems gleeful at times, that is until he sees the familiar form of Samantha Bliss enter the room. She looks down at him as she passes by on her way to the other side of the table, in her hands she holds the metallic cylinder that was recovered from the Battery Park bunker, she sees it in his eyes that he immediately recognizes it, and his whole demeanor changes instantly. He lunges towards her swiping his hands at it.
“That doesn’t belong to you wench! Give it here!!”
She side steps him easily and he falls, and as he regains his footing she slams the cylinder into his mouth knocking him back to the floor and jarring several rotting teeth loose. the guards come in and take him back to his holding cell and she follows them. She knows that the sight of the metal cylinder has struck a nerve in him, and now she must push him further if she is going to figure out the significance of the documents that were locked inside of it along with the picture of Priss. She stands outside of his cell and watches him closely.
“ So Grhee.. Do you want to share with me why this cylinder is so damn important?”
“Go fuck yourself chicky.”
“Well.. I guess we don’t need you anymore anyways, with Priss helping us and all, maybe she can tell me why its so special to your kind.”
“Fuck that whore traitor bitch Priss too! It don’t matter what you do Chicky! It doesn’t matter what you know- see? Its like this.. Once the Demon league of nations are all together in the holy place, we march on humanity, we take this precious earth of yours for ourselves, and for our Queen. Fuck you chicky! Once we take power I’m gonna fuck you and make you my whore.”
She smiles and leans forward, rubbing her breasts up against the bars slightly.
“Grhee?”
He looks at her up and down but doesn’t answer.
“Your ignorant, dumb red ass, couldn’t handle me if I was naked and sitting on the end of your nose.”
As she is walking down the hall she can hear Grhee’s angry voice echoing along behind her, now she must talk with Priss.

Up From Below.



She walks into the room and right away the lady red called Priss’s eyes light up. Samantha Bliss!! The guards watch her closely as she warmly jumps up and gives agent Bliss a hug. Samantha nods to them and they relax a bit, and the two sit down together and Samantha asks the guards to stand outside the door so she and Priss can talk.
“Priss ? Do you know a male red called Grhee?”
She blinks, and pauses to think of the name before answering.
“I don’t think so, is he the one who says he can smell me, and calls me names like whore and bitch?”
“He is a detainee here who tried to attack me a little while ago.”
“Are you okay Samantha?”
“Yes Priss, but I’m afraid I need your help if possible.”
Her posture changes immediately and she becomes very excited at the possibility of helping whom she considers her one and only friend Samantha Bliss. She places the cylinder on the table, while Priss watches her every move.
“Sweetie, can you tell me what this is?”
She smiles and looks at Samantha and then without the slightest bit of hesitation.
“It belongs to a military courier Samantha, they carry important documents in them, usually of military importance.”
“Could you translate such documents Priss?”
She removes some rolled up papers from the cylinder and places them on the table across from Priss. She reads them carefully and looks up sadly at Samantha Bliss.
“It speaks of the Demon League of Nations, uniting at the holy place and Marching on Humankind. It speaks of the four orbs of Kallos, and bringing them together to open one large gate at the holy place so that the whole red army may pass through it all at once.”
“What are the four orbs of Kallos?”
“They were once one stone that was created by the hand of the dark sorcerer Kallos for his god Lucifer, it was supposed to be used as a key to the gateway to hell, but it was lost here on earth, and when the humans discovered the stone and its purpose they tried to destroy it. The stone was damaged and broken into four parts but not destroyed, the humans sent the four stones to different parts of the world to keep it separated, Ambala’s army has recovered two parts of the stone, and two of her generals wear them around their necks.”
“But how do you get here if there isn’t already a gate open somewhere?”
Priss seems more concerned now and is eager to explain.
Small portals allow us mere seconds to pass through them.. Only a few at one time though. And only naked.”
Samantha tells her that she will return and that she must talk with her superiors about this. The two exchange hugs again and Agent Samantha Bliss leaves the room.

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Interrogating Priss.



Sunday November 23rd 2069.
0700 interrogation one, subject is the female reds class demon, only she isn’t really all that red. Subject’s title is Prissy or maybe pussy, or maybe I’ll just call her Bitch… click- pause.. Priss lowers her head. The tears that roll down her cheeks are very real but he doesn’t care. She isn’t real to him, she doesn’t have a soul or heart, she is nothing more than an empty shell to agent Gerald Davies. Incapable of emotion or love, incapable of anything because of where she is from. She doesn’t feel. she’s nothing more than a monster with horns. But the tears in her eyes suggest something more. And the banging on the window that agent Gerald Davies hears surprisingly enough isn’t coming from Ethan Klinger who has been watching from the observation room. Its coming from a very angry Samantha Bliss who has thrown a chair against the glass. She enters the room with a forceful and open hostility towards Agent Davies. And he soon receives the brunt of her anger.
“Knock that shit off asshole.. Now!! Do you hear me Davies? She has done nothing but cooperate with us for the past four hours of interrogation, and you openly mock her for it."
“You’re out of line Bliss!! She’s a prisoner! And she ain’t even a human one at that. And I don’t need no sappy broad to tell me how to interrogate a prisoner!!”
“She’s not a prisoner dickhead!! She came with us of her own volition, we didn’t force her or take her prisoner, we freed her you dumb fuck! And as of now I’m taking over this interrogation, so what do you think of that?”
“Bliss you have over stepped your place here, and you don’t have the authority to remove me as interviewer, I think we need to take this to the watch commander !”
“You want to take it to the Watch commander? FINE!! Lets go see the watch Commander! But first he needs to see the video disc from the camera in interrogation one.”
Agent Davies looks confused now..
“Camera? What camera? There aren’t any camera’s allowed in interrogation, when did that happen?”
She walks out of the observation room adjacent to interrogation one putting the video disc in her breast pocket.
“Ask internal affairs.. They put them there six weeks ago, after two agents physically abused a detainee. Why… agent Davies.. you don‘t look so good, are we not feeling well suddenly?”
She motions to the door and then to Klinger.
“Klinger?”
“Yes Ma’am?”
“Would you be so kind as to sit with Miss Priss until I return?”
Her angry stare never leaves agent Davies
“Yes Ma’am.. I would be honored to.”

Revelations.



After the Watch Commander relieves agent Davies of duty after seeing the video disc of him striking Priss, he asks that Samantha Bliss remain for a few more questions. he is shaking his head at the video disc.
“Agent Bliss did you actually witness this assault on this detainee and do nothing to stop it?”
“No sir. Agent Klinger and I didn’t enter the observation room until after the assault on Priss sir.”
“Then how did you know that he had actually assaulted her?”
“Well sir.. Her cheek was beet red and a bit swollen, and she was crying and seemed terribly frightened.”
He sits back slowly in his chair.
“Aren’t they completely red? And I find it highly unusual that a demon could possibly know fear. How is this possible ?”
She begins to slowly walk back and forth.
“First of all Commander, Priss is her name. And she’s not actually red she’s more of a dark pink, and third I believe that there is more to her than meets the eye. I think we could learn a great deal about the reds if we just take it slow with her.. Sir.”
He is silent for a few minutes following her last statement, until he finally finds the right question.
“There is something else on your mind isn’t there agent Bliss?”
She hesitates to answer.
“Sam.. Tell me.. Just be honest I’ll try my best to understand-”
“I don’t think that Priss has always been a demon, in fact I don’t believe that that is what she is now.”
“Please.. Continue”
“Its just a gut feeling sir. On the transport boat, she said some things that I didn’t understand at the time, and through the whole time that she was jabbering on about how fucked up it was where she came from, I never got the feeling that she was at all being deceptive with anything that she was telling me.”
Now you can see it in his eyes his interest has peaked.
“Commander?”
“Yes?”
Do you promise not to call me crazy and lock me away in a rubber room if I tell you what I’m thinking?”
He smiles.
“Yes.. I promise.”
“I think..”
He leans forward.
“I think that at one time Priss was human.”

Scratch.. ABT Copyright © 2006.

(Last Posting until next weekend.)

Something in the Eyes.



She sits crossed legged in front of them she’d still had on Klinger’s long sleeved shirt, she looked different now that Sam and Roxx took her to the waters edge to let her bathe. She was still in chains but Samantha felt it necessary to maintain the guise of prisoner so she didn’t become overly confident while they waited for another transport to come and pick them up almost a full day early. She studied Samantha Bliss for a time before speaking to her.
“My name is Priss. What is yours?”
“Samantha Bliss.”
“I would be more than delighted to tell you anything that you want to know, you won’t have to beat it out of me.”
“We don’t beat on our prisoners, and we aren’t allowed to interrogate you.”
“So I’m still a prisoner then?”
“Yes Priss. Until we know different it has to be that way.”
She lowered her eyes away from her and it seemed for almost a second that Priss was very sad.
“I know why you don’t trust me, it is because of what I am. Well Agent Bliss. I did not choose this form, I am stuck with it for better or worse, horns and all, I am female. Maybe not the same as you but still there is something familiar about all of this to me…”
Samantha leans forward and almost in a whisper.
“Well Priss there is one thing that I am curious about.”
She sits up strait abruptly so, and with a child like gleam in her eyes that makes Samantha Bliss want to smile.
“A Question? For Me? Really? Oh please agent Bliss! I will tell you anything about those Curs!”
She hesitates.
“Well Priss, its like this. We’ve been fighting the Demon class for nine years or so, and I don’t recall ever seeing a female before, what is up with That?”
“ It is Ambala’s will I’m afraid.”
“The Hell Queen?”
“Yes Samantha.”’
“Please Priss, tell me.”
“I am one of ten females that have been put here by Ambala, she grew tired of her soldiers having sex with the human women, so she made us take this form years ago. only now do we come here as slaves to service all of her soldiers. This is the only form that I have ever had”
“Sex slave?”
“Yes.. I started out as General Krotas’s bed wench, but he started beating on me so I ran away, his men that caught me to bring me back, they were the ones that you just killed. I have always dreamt of such freedom it has always been all consuming to me, even through my earliest teachings they told me I was wrong to feel this way. But I have always felt such strong ties with this place that you call Earth. ”
Suddenly things were becoming clear to Samantha, Threshold didn’t want Priss because she was any kind of threat. They wanted her for what she might possibly tell them about a certain General of the red army.

In Recent Memory.



They board the new Transport just after dark, and just for appearances sake she tells Priss that the Chains will have to stay on a bit longer. Her and Roxx sit and patiently listen to her regale them with why she thinks that the Red males suck so bad, and while the females were supposed to maintain a beautiful appearance the males were allowed to look like…. Well ..Hell. Rotting teeth, black as coal lips, “and don’t even get me started on their breath!” she tells them. As they move closer to Langley, Samantha Bliss begins to wonder what will become of Priss. She will do what ever she can in her defense she thinks to herself, because somewhere deep inside of her Samantha Bliss is actually starting to like her.
They pass several buildings that at night seem to have the warm glow of fires burning in them, she once again finds her mind returning to the past, this time a mere six years ago, when she’d heard the news that the reds had taken over Cape Nazareth by sheer strength of numbers. They had murdered those too old to run and Tortured those who simply couldn’t. the buildings that they had no use for were simply burnt to the ground and those left standing quickly fell into ruin, looking at the present condition of the Cape brought to her mind visions of what a nuclear holocaust must look like. Looking at the cape now, one might think that Ambala, Hell’s new ruler’s plans for making Earth her new private playground might be coming true, but Ambala doesn’t rule Earth. Humans do. They finally arrive in Langley at 2300 hours and the mood at the Threshold compound is quiet as usual, the powers that be here have elected a welcoming committee for Priss, and Samantha Bliss requests that they at least try to be cordial with her, the team members are all once again separately ushered into separate debriefing chambers, before they are released to quarters. Two hours later Samantha Bliss is in her bunk thinking about Priss. She wonders in the back of her mind if she will ever see her again.

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Way of The Assassin



Saturday Nov 22nd 2069 0400 hrs.
Atop the hillside overlooking the reds convoy lays Ethan John Klinger, former mercenary, hunter and political assassin for hire, an all around nice guy that is now under the employ of the government agency known as Threshold. He lays on his belly hidden from view on the mist and fog laden hillside above the unsuspecting reds, while feeding Intel to his teammates along with Milo Tripper, who is twenty five yards to the west of him atop the same hill. Below him Klinger watches Priss curiously, as she stretches her neck and throws her head back, both of her large breasts are in full view. He smiles to himself while thinking the unthinkable almost out loud.
“I do loves me a horny woman.”
His trained eyes follow every movement of the three guards standing over her, his rifle patiently awaiting the first tug at its trigger, in his earpiece he can hear the soothing voice of Samantha Bliss, offering him some helpful advice.
“Alright boys.. You up on the hill boys. Don’t be gawking at the cutey with the big boobs and horns! We have work to do here.”
As he glances in the direction of Klinger, Milo Tripper finds himself fighting back a smile of his own, his eyes too watching their pre selected targets. He hears Klinger’s voice in his earpiece.
“Don’t mind us boss lady, ol Milo an me are just waiting for you to get into position, soon as you make the call we chop their numbers in half at least.”
“How many targets do you have Klinger?”
“I have acquired three, but I got a clear shot at taken out two others right from here.”
“Mr. Tripper?”
“I got two rear gunners in my sights, possibly a third.”
Samantha Bliss surveys the scene that is now right in front of her, her and Roxx, Thump and Twitch, have made their way around to the blindside of the convoy while Cowboy has descended himself from the around hill and waits in the darkness off to the left in front of the convoy. Every way they move they will be covered, now the first move will be made by Klinger. Who can’t take his eyes off of Priss. With no more eye patch to restrain his vision he sees her very clearly, but his mind quickly returns to the matter at hand.
“Don’t you worry Doll, big daddy is here, and very soon he’s gonna take you away from alla this.”

Target Acquired



The good was being there for the birth of his first and only child a beautiful, baby girl who much to his delight was the spitting image of her beautiful mother, the bad came one year later when he arrived home to discover them both murdered at the hands of a sworn enemy. He’d lived through both, seen both Yin and Yang, battled demons both real and imagined , and through it all came to the conclusion that killing people was the one true gift that he possessed in life. He was good at it and whether Demon or human it didn’t matter anymore to Ethan Klinger. Even now as he looked through the scope of his rifle he felt a tingle of excitement at the prospect of a fresh kill.
“This little piggy went to the market-”
The first shot rings through the foggy morning air slicing into the skull of the red that is holding a chain around Priss’s neck. He falls..
“This little piggy stayed home-”
His second shot strikes the red at the left of her standing in shock as the second round strikes him in the neck half way severing his head from his spinal column, the rest of the team has engaged them and the reds are completely caught by surprise. Priss has managed to break free and much to the surprise of Samantha, has begun to strangle one of her guards with the very chain that she has been a prisoner of.
“This little piggy had roast beef-”
Klinger’s third shot rips through the back of a red that is about to strike down Priss with a closed fist, the shots tears open a cavity in his chest the size of a loaf of bread.
“This little piggy had none.”
The forth shot takes out another red behind them.. The morning air draws silent as the team makes its way through he remains of the convoy. Cowboy covers the front and Milo Tripper has taken out two rear gunners and now covers it from atop the hillside. Klinger has four kills to his credit but continues to scan for more upright reds. His voice seems less gruff now to Samantha Bliss, as she hears him in her ear piece. He is still feeding her Intel from the hillside.
“I think we got em all boss lady! There’s nothing moving from up here but our girl is hiding behind those bushes to your right. Be careful with her. I don‘t think she's as bad as alla that!”
Samantha Bliss, Thump and Twitch all slowly approach the bushes where Priss is hiding. But even with all of their coaxing she won’t come out. An aggravated Twitch raise’s his rifle slowly until Klinger’s massive hand stops it.
“Why don’t you let me give it a try.”
He disappears into the bushes where Priss is hiding and moments later emerges with her slowly walking by his side, he removes his coat and puts it around her.
“See little Miss, that’s wasn’t so bad now was it?”

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