Oh well, he was forced to conclude. If it's my time, it's my time. Nothing I can do about that. At least we made it through the refuel and re-arm proc...ss.That had been a bit hairy in and of itself. The Martian artillery had been deliberately targeting the refuel points all day long, sometimes doing tremendous damage, causing nasty, messy death. It was during this process that troops were exposed, that fueling hoses were exposed, that live ammunition was out in the open just waiting to be. "Oh... laryngitis, huh?" He said, still angry. He had a good idea of what the person he knew as Sapphire Roulette must've been doing the previous night as he gave a dirty look down at her. "Well fine. I'll let it slide. But one more lateness and you're outta here."For the rest of the day, Brad was ordered to type reports, give coffee and other "treats" to the higher ups and other whatnots. As he was typing, he hated the constant mistakes he made due to his long, fake nails, but he coped with. Punishment was to be imposed.A small crane was brought over to the side of the pool. Cindi who already had her hands tied was also tied at the ankles and a hook placed on the ankle rope. The Toy was now going to be the object of wagers by the masters. She was then lifted up by her ankles to about five feet above the pool and left hanging head down for several minutes. She was yelling for them to put her down but everyone just sat there, enjoying her panic. The masters bet on the amount of time. A complex array of thin leather straps kept it on her, but didn't obscure the large tattoo on her back of a very naked Mother Nature. It was sleeveless, and left bare the fiery tattoo on her right shoulder as well. Below that, her hips were encased in a red pleated miniskirt which barely covered the tops of black fishnet thigh high stockings. Her top hat matched that of the ones worn by the groom, best man and "driver," except that hers was bright red and covered with crushed velvet. Blood red.