Part 34
The kraken, as Ms. Danoob had dubbed it, had been a war machine of an advanced aquatic race. It was equipped with all manner of weaponry to attack giant sharks and enemy ships. All that was gone now, stripped off when the weapon had been retired from service due to budget cuts. Even Atlanteans had to deal with politics.
It had been salvaged some time ago by the people of Crossroads facility, because Ms. Danoob saw its usefulness in keeping with their standard means of discipline and the sheer psychological factor. Its primitive computer brain had been reprogrammed, so that protocols on eliminating submarines were replaced with detailed human anatomy files. It had only one purpose now, and when it saw Lara, Starbuck, and Ms. Danoob, despite the fact that it was stuck on dry land, it knew its mission, and propelled itself forward.
The kraken had a hundred different tentacle arms, and in the room it was impossible to dodge them all. Mere seconds later all three were plucked up in its alloy limbs, and it went to work.
Starbuck was grabbed by her right wrist when she'd made a dash for it. She'd made the mistake of follow this up by trying to grab the tentacle and wrench it free. Instead the tentacle easily slipped around and pulled the other hand in as well, leaving her helpless. A second tentacle whipped out and wrapped around her legs, pulling them together as well. Starbuck was lifted off the floor and stretched out, unable to move even a little. Her top was ripped from her body, and a dozen tentacles descended on her exposed ribs. Immediately she was shrieking with laughter; the tentacles applying their tips with anatomical precision on every rib, wriggling their tips back and forth until she could hardly breath. She tried to curl up in a ball, but the strength of the tentacles was incredible, as if she were nailed into position. To her horror, another tentacle pushed at the small of her back, arching her back so that the ribs were outlined on her chest. She pleaded for it to stop, but instead more tentacles swooped onto her ribs, hitting every single one and even the little gaps in between. She could scarcely breathe at all, and yet with the tickling only intensifying her mouth was left hanging open in silent laughter.
Lara had tried her best to avoid capture, but even her acrobatics weren't up to it. A tentacle snagged her left ankle, and she was left dangling. In an instant three more reached out, each grabbing a limb and pulling in a different direction. Still upside down, she was stuck spread-eagle while her shirt and shorts were ripped off, and more tentacles came. Some of the tentacles’ tips split open, but instead of revealing laser cutters or hooks, the weaponry had been replaced with feathers. Some began trailing along her inner thighs while others danced across her nipples. More were teasingly drawn along the bottoms of her now bare feet, her soles exposed by a tentacle tip pinning her toes back and leaving the insteps oh so vulnerable. Lara laughed and laughed until tears run up her forehead, a most unusual sensation. As tentacles prodded lightly at her flanks she would yelp occasionally, but in that position and laughing as much as she was, Lara was sure she was going to black out if it didn’t' stop tickling her soon.
And then there was Ms. Danoob. She didn't try to run or struggle. She'd been looking forward to this for a while now, and the sounds of the other women laughing only enhanced the fantasy. Intellectually she knew the machine would automatically shut down in two hours, but she allowed herself to pretend that she was at its mercy, a helpless tickle victim. She took a deep sensual breath as her arms were pinned together by one tentacle and she was lifted off the ground. Her clothes, likewise, were ripped away, though she'd had the good sense to dress appropriately for that. Still, dangling with her feet off the floor, tentacles came in and prodded her armpits. She laughed as the tips wriggled about in her pits; there was nothing teasing or playful in its touches. The kraken went for the best tickle possible, and could obviously tell that with her build she wouldn't have the strength to lift herself and limit the effectiveness of the tentacles. She was allowed to hang, kicking her legs while more tentacles sought out her bare underarms.
"Turn it off!" Starbuck screamed when she'd finally found her voice. "WAHAHAHAHA TURN IT OFF!" The kraken had clearly discovered how ticklish poor Kara's ribcage was, and was even now devoting more tentacles to the writhing mass. They had now spread down to her sides, sticking their wiggling tips into her flesh and tickling her like mad. More had also been applied to her belly, stroking and prodding all over her abdomen when one applied its feather tip to her navel. She screamed and shook, her entire torso now engulfed by tentacles, still arched by the one behind her to make her all the more vulnerable. She was already beet red. "FOR FRAK'S SAKE TURN IT OFF!!! HAHAHAHA!!!"
Ms. Danoob didn't answer of course; she was too busy laughing, and anyway, it drew her out of her little fantasy. But there was no way she could shut it down; it was too great a temptation when she'd be in the throes of ticklish agony. The equipment used to have an override built in - part of her forward planning was to anticipate her own downfall and needing a way out. But in the end, she'd had to remove it, because she'd kept using the code and wind up denying herself the very experience she'd gone in to have. It was, she knew, a flaw, but she'd finally accepted that even she would have to be flawed. So no matter how much Starbuck yelled at her, Ms. Danoob was just as helpless. The tickling would continue until the two-hour time period was up, or until someone in control detected a biowarning light and shut it down remotely. But it was all beyond her now. She was only going to get tickled, without any control at all.
Which was exactly what she wanted.
Lara was offering her shrieking laughter also, but hadn’t reached the point yet where she’d start screaming for it to stop. Some tentacles were now working over her armpits as well, and more were running over her feet than before. Her face was nearly purple between her position and the intense tickling, and she began shaking her head so hard her long ponytail was whipping about like a tentacle of her own.
Ms. Danoob was soon given even more attention from the kraken. It began feathering the backs of her knees, an effective spot on her. She began kicking her legs frantically, but two tentacles snatched her ankles and yanked her legs straight, leaving her without room to avoid the strokes. Her butt got it next, with feathery tips and little wriggling tentacles massing around her cheeks until she started hiccupping with laughter. They also zeroed in on her full breasts, feathering all around them while they bounced with every energetic laugh. Lastly, her own feet were targeted, and targeted for the worst she could get. The entire sole was covered in wriggling tentacles, hitting all her worst spots, and even spots she didn’t know she had. She held her head back and the laughter poured out of her mouth like a fountain, literally tickled pink by the entire affair.
Minute after long minute passed, while the three of them were subjected to the worst tickling the kraken had to offer. But it didn’t push them to far to be dangerous, so there was no shutting it down, just more and more of the teasing all over their helpless bodies. Finally, after two hours, the kraken stopped, the time was up. The trio was set back down on the floor and it slithered back into its side of the room, the door closing after it. The three stood there, panting and wiping the sweat from their faces.
"I needed that," Ms. Danoob commented finally, and Lara and Starbuck looked over to her with the expected expressions. "Now, about your problems... I think I know just what is needed..."
--------------------------------------------------------------
Mr. Barrister awoke when he heard a strange tearing sound. Before he could figure out what was happening, a strip of duct tape covered his mouth. He offered a muffled protest, but even as he did two people dressed in black yanked him from the bed and likewise bound his wrists together. He was half dragged out of the room and up the hall; he noticed his bodyguards lying in the hall - breathing, he could see, though clearly knocked out. He was led down the stairs roughly and into the study. His eyes widened at the sight.
"Greetings," Ms. Danoob said, holding a half-emptied glass of wine as she sat in his chair. "I hope you don't mind, but I needed a little something to help settle the stomach.”
Lara pulled her mask off. "An ’82 Pomerol," she said. "But you were storing it standing up, you lout, so it would have spoiled anyway." Starbuck likewise pulled off her own mask.
Ms. Danoob swirled the wine in the cup a little. "Crossroads Facility will be making a raid in exactly fifty-two hours," she said quietly. "It will see a nice bit of profit, if it succeeds. Do you think it will succeed?" she asked the two women.
"Yes," Lara said. "It's a perfect plan, and an easy target."
Starbuck stuck her lips up to Mr. Barrister's ear. "And it was all planned by our boss. Without her, it'd never happen."
"She's indispensable," Lara said, then grabbed the duct tape and ripped it off his face; he offered a yelp of pain.
"No one," Ms. Danoob said, "is going to take Crossroads away from me," she said coldly. "Do you understand, Mr. Barrister. I will keep it by whatever means are necessary."
Lara pulled out a hunting knife, and Mr. Barrister gasped and trembled with fright. "Kill me," he stammered, "and the whole thing falls apart. I kn-know people-"
"I'm not going to kill you, Mr. Barrister," Ms. Danoob said, putting down the glass and getting up.
"Yet," Starbuck added.
"I just want you to understand. “ She stood face to face with him. "You know people? So do I. Oh, they may not be big and powerful as you understand the term, but... they are very good at what they do."
In one fluid motion Lara slashed the knife; Mr. Barrister's trembling hands fell to his sides, the duct tape severed; there wasn't a scratch on him.
Ms. Danoob offered him a smile. "Just sign the checks and collect your money, and leave the day to day operations to me, all right? I have matters well in hand." She nodded to Lara and Starbuck, who quickly re-donned their masks. "No one died tonight," she added. "Don't make me come back, or that may change." Kara opened the door for her, and Ms. Danoob stepped out. She and Lara followed, leaving only the shaking Mr. Barrister behind.
The kraken, as Ms. Danoob had dubbed it, had been a war machine of an advanced aquatic race. It was equipped with all manner of weaponry to attack giant sharks and enemy ships. All that was gone now, stripped off when the weapon had been retired from service due to budget cuts. Even Atlanteans had to deal with politics.
It had been salvaged some time ago by the people of Crossroads facility, because Ms. Danoob saw its usefulness in keeping with their standard means of discipline and the sheer psychological factor. Its primitive computer brain had been reprogrammed, so that protocols on eliminating submarines were replaced with detailed human anatomy files. It had only one purpose now, and when it saw Lara, Starbuck, and Ms. Danoob, despite the fact that it was stuck on dry land, it knew its mission, and propelled itself forward.
The kraken had a hundred different tentacle arms, and in the room it was impossible to dodge them all. Mere seconds later all three were plucked up in its alloy limbs, and it went to work.
Starbuck was grabbed by her right wrist when she'd made a dash for it. She'd made the mistake of follow this up by trying to grab the tentacle and wrench it free. Instead the tentacle easily slipped around and pulled the other hand in as well, leaving her helpless. A second tentacle whipped out and wrapped around her legs, pulling them together as well. Starbuck was lifted off the floor and stretched out, unable to move even a little. Her top was ripped from her body, and a dozen tentacles descended on her exposed ribs. Immediately she was shrieking with laughter; the tentacles applying their tips with anatomical precision on every rib, wriggling their tips back and forth until she could hardly breath. She tried to curl up in a ball, but the strength of the tentacles was incredible, as if she were nailed into position. To her horror, another tentacle pushed at the small of her back, arching her back so that the ribs were outlined on her chest. She pleaded for it to stop, but instead more tentacles swooped onto her ribs, hitting every single one and even the little gaps in between. She could scarcely breathe at all, and yet with the tickling only intensifying her mouth was left hanging open in silent laughter.
Lara had tried her best to avoid capture, but even her acrobatics weren't up to it. A tentacle snagged her left ankle, and she was left dangling. In an instant three more reached out, each grabbing a limb and pulling in a different direction. Still upside down, she was stuck spread-eagle while her shirt and shorts were ripped off, and more tentacles came. Some of the tentacles’ tips split open, but instead of revealing laser cutters or hooks, the weaponry had been replaced with feathers. Some began trailing along her inner thighs while others danced across her nipples. More were teasingly drawn along the bottoms of her now bare feet, her soles exposed by a tentacle tip pinning her toes back and leaving the insteps oh so vulnerable. Lara laughed and laughed until tears run up her forehead, a most unusual sensation. As tentacles prodded lightly at her flanks she would yelp occasionally, but in that position and laughing as much as she was, Lara was sure she was going to black out if it didn’t' stop tickling her soon.
And then there was Ms. Danoob. She didn't try to run or struggle. She'd been looking forward to this for a while now, and the sounds of the other women laughing only enhanced the fantasy. Intellectually she knew the machine would automatically shut down in two hours, but she allowed herself to pretend that she was at its mercy, a helpless tickle victim. She took a deep sensual breath as her arms were pinned together by one tentacle and she was lifted off the ground. Her clothes, likewise, were ripped away, though she'd had the good sense to dress appropriately for that. Still, dangling with her feet off the floor, tentacles came in and prodded her armpits. She laughed as the tips wriggled about in her pits; there was nothing teasing or playful in its touches. The kraken went for the best tickle possible, and could obviously tell that with her build she wouldn't have the strength to lift herself and limit the effectiveness of the tentacles. She was allowed to hang, kicking her legs while more tentacles sought out her bare underarms.
"Turn it off!" Starbuck screamed when she'd finally found her voice. "WAHAHAHAHA TURN IT OFF!" The kraken had clearly discovered how ticklish poor Kara's ribcage was, and was even now devoting more tentacles to the writhing mass. They had now spread down to her sides, sticking their wiggling tips into her flesh and tickling her like mad. More had also been applied to her belly, stroking and prodding all over her abdomen when one applied its feather tip to her navel. She screamed and shook, her entire torso now engulfed by tentacles, still arched by the one behind her to make her all the more vulnerable. She was already beet red. "FOR FRAK'S SAKE TURN IT OFF!!! HAHAHAHA!!!"
Ms. Danoob didn't answer of course; she was too busy laughing, and anyway, it drew her out of her little fantasy. But there was no way she could shut it down; it was too great a temptation when she'd be in the throes of ticklish agony. The equipment used to have an override built in - part of her forward planning was to anticipate her own downfall and needing a way out. But in the end, she'd had to remove it, because she'd kept using the code and wind up denying herself the very experience she'd gone in to have. It was, she knew, a flaw, but she'd finally accepted that even she would have to be flawed. So no matter how much Starbuck yelled at her, Ms. Danoob was just as helpless. The tickling would continue until the two-hour time period was up, or until someone in control detected a biowarning light and shut it down remotely. But it was all beyond her now. She was only going to get tickled, without any control at all.
Which was exactly what she wanted.
Lara was offering her shrieking laughter also, but hadn’t reached the point yet where she’d start screaming for it to stop. Some tentacles were now working over her armpits as well, and more were running over her feet than before. Her face was nearly purple between her position and the intense tickling, and she began shaking her head so hard her long ponytail was whipping about like a tentacle of her own.
Ms. Danoob was soon given even more attention from the kraken. It began feathering the backs of her knees, an effective spot on her. She began kicking her legs frantically, but two tentacles snatched her ankles and yanked her legs straight, leaving her without room to avoid the strokes. Her butt got it next, with feathery tips and little wriggling tentacles massing around her cheeks until she started hiccupping with laughter. They also zeroed in on her full breasts, feathering all around them while they bounced with every energetic laugh. Lastly, her own feet were targeted, and targeted for the worst she could get. The entire sole was covered in wriggling tentacles, hitting all her worst spots, and even spots she didn’t know she had. She held her head back and the laughter poured out of her mouth like a fountain, literally tickled pink by the entire affair.
Minute after long minute passed, while the three of them were subjected to the worst tickling the kraken had to offer. But it didn’t push them to far to be dangerous, so there was no shutting it down, just more and more of the teasing all over their helpless bodies. Finally, after two hours, the kraken stopped, the time was up. The trio was set back down on the floor and it slithered back into its side of the room, the door closing after it. The three stood there, panting and wiping the sweat from their faces.
"I needed that," Ms. Danoob commented finally, and Lara and Starbuck looked over to her with the expected expressions. "Now, about your problems... I think I know just what is needed..."
--------------------------------------------------------------
Mr. Barrister awoke when he heard a strange tearing sound. Before he could figure out what was happening, a strip of duct tape covered his mouth. He offered a muffled protest, but even as he did two people dressed in black yanked him from the bed and likewise bound his wrists together. He was half dragged out of the room and up the hall; he noticed his bodyguards lying in the hall - breathing, he could see, though clearly knocked out. He was led down the stairs roughly and into the study. His eyes widened at the sight.
"Greetings," Ms. Danoob said, holding a half-emptied glass of wine as she sat in his chair. "I hope you don't mind, but I needed a little something to help settle the stomach.”
Lara pulled her mask off. "An ’82 Pomerol," she said. "But you were storing it standing up, you lout, so it would have spoiled anyway." Starbuck likewise pulled off her own mask.
Ms. Danoob swirled the wine in the cup a little. "Crossroads Facility will be making a raid in exactly fifty-two hours," she said quietly. "It will see a nice bit of profit, if it succeeds. Do you think it will succeed?" she asked the two women.
"Yes," Lara said. "It's a perfect plan, and an easy target."
Starbuck stuck her lips up to Mr. Barrister's ear. "And it was all planned by our boss. Without her, it'd never happen."
"She's indispensable," Lara said, then grabbed the duct tape and ripped it off his face; he offered a yelp of pain.
"No one," Ms. Danoob said, "is going to take Crossroads away from me," she said coldly. "Do you understand, Mr. Barrister. I will keep it by whatever means are necessary."
Lara pulled out a hunting knife, and Mr. Barrister gasped and trembled with fright. "Kill me," he stammered, "and the whole thing falls apart. I kn-know people-"
"I'm not going to kill you, Mr. Barrister," Ms. Danoob said, putting down the glass and getting up.
"Yet," Starbuck added.
"I just want you to understand. “ She stood face to face with him. "You know people? So do I. Oh, they may not be big and powerful as you understand the term, but... they are very good at what they do."
In one fluid motion Lara slashed the knife; Mr. Barrister's trembling hands fell to his sides, the duct tape severed; there wasn't a scratch on him.
Ms. Danoob offered him a smile. "Just sign the checks and collect your money, and leave the day to day operations to me, all right? I have matters well in hand." She nodded to Lara and Starbuck, who quickly re-donned their masks. "No one died tonight," she added. "Don't make me come back, or that may change." Kara opened the door for her, and Ms. Danoob stepped out. She and Lara followed, leaving only the shaking Mr. Barrister behind.
