Chapter 1: One Arabian Night
"I am Captain Cheryl Dankiewicz of the US Marine Raider Regiment."
*WHI-PSSH!*
"YUUH!"
"I... I hereby surrender to General Muhammad of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan."
*WHI-PSSH!*
"HAAH!"
"He has defeated the godless American invaders under my command and rightfully taken control of this base in the name of Allah."
*WHI-PSSH!*
"YUUH!"
"General Muhammad is disciplining my sinful body for the evils I have committed in this country."
*WHI-PSSH!*
"HAAH!"
"T-Thank you master for whipping my lustful body and giving it the punishment it deserves."
*WHI-PSSH!*
"YUUH!"
"Please lash my decadent flesh and teach me the glories of submitting to the Lord, Allah."
*WHI-PSSH!*
"HAAH!"
The captured Marine captain was a sight to behold. Her head and hands were locked into a wooden pillory and she was bent 90 degrees at the waist with her ass sticking up. She stood on her tip toes, as ordered by the man whipping her. A metal spreader bar forced her to keep her long, toned legs spread wide apart. She was stripped completely naked, causing a sheen of sweat to appear on her pale, alabaster skin under the heat of the Registan sun. Angry red welts marked her athletic body where her tormentor had struck her remorselessly. She couldn't believe how much had changed in just the last 24 hours.
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One day ago...
Cheryl sat in her office staring at her orders in disbelief. The decorated US Marine officer was leading a special operations team deployed discreetly in southern Afghanistan, between the Helmand and Kandahar provinces. She was working with a local warlord, 'Colonel' Ahmad, that was in theory friendly to US interests and the Afghan National Army. Her team's mission was to cooperate with and train his militia to fight Taliban forces in the area. She never liked Ahmad, but she understood that her team's mission had major effects on the wider conflict in the country. Nevertheless, her latest orders were asking too much of her.
Her superiors wanted her to attend a party with Ahmad this evening as his guest--or date, as the subtext implied. Moreover, they expected her to use it as an opportunity to get close to him and gain his trust. Apparently they wanted her to ingratiate herself with the warlord in order to gain more access to his local intelligence network and assets. The brass wanted her to cozy up to the man, do whatever he asked, and win his confidence.
Cheryl hated Ahmad. He treated the local population poorly and was merely the lesser evil among the many would-be tyrants vying for control in this part of the nation. Furthermore, she wasn't some kind of spy or covert agent. This wasn't the kind of work she signed up for. She was a Marine, and she joined the Corps to fight her country's battles, not go on playdates with de facto war criminals.
She wasn't just any Marine either. Captain Cheryl Dankiewicz was extremely accomplished for her age. She was an honor graduate of the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, as well amongst the first female Marine officers to enter the infantry occupational field upon commissioning. She served admirably in her Platoon Commander billet as a lieutenant and was selected into the Marine Raider Regiment, MARSOC, a component of US Special Operations Command. At 28, she was now a captain and a special operations team leader in charge of a 14-man team of elite Marine Raiders.
Nevertheless, the whole reason she left the conventional forces and joined the special operations community was to have a greater effect on the big picture. She knew this sometimes meant dirty work that wasn't as simple as just shooting the bad guys (something she excelled in). And so, after some further reflection, she decided to comply with her orders and began to get ready for this party. Her superiors hadn't given her much time to prepare. Probably not their fault, she realized, as the communication systems here were so spotty, and often their messages would be delayed for days. In fact, this was the first message she had received in weeks.
Just then, someone knocked on her door.
"It's Colonel Ahmad, my dear. I hear you will be joining me tonight?" came the warlord's smarmy voice from outside.
"I... Yes, please come in sir," Cheryl said begrudgingly. She hated having to address the man as 'sir', but military decorum dictated she respect his rank, even if ranks were practically made up here. "I was just thinking I probably don't have any decent evening attire. I hope you weren't expect-"
The Marine captain balked as she saw what Ahmad was holding in his hand. The warlord walked in carrying an audaciously revealing belly dancing outfit. It was in an opulent shade of purple with gold accents. The way the man was holding it up made it clear the outfit left very little to the imagination. The fabric was virtually translucent, not that there was even much fabric to begin with.
"You can't be serious sir!" Cheryl said in thinly veiled disgust.
"Apologies my dear Captain, it can't be helped," Ahmad said in mock remorse. "All the females in attendance will be in a similar state of dress. I know you are a woman of power and respect where you come from, but as you know that's not common around here. Wearing anything else would be a sign of great disrespect in my culture. Unless, do you not want to go anymore?"