Alice was angry. The world that existed outside of that piece of cowhide stuffed with cotton was non-existent, a blur at the best. Sweat rolled down her lithe curves, her neck gleaming and the tight tanktop sticking to her back from her perspiration.The knuckles on her left hand were bruised almost, throbbing and red from boxing the damn thing without gloves, determined to match the impossible strength in her right arm.<br/><br/>Each blow was met with a feminine , though rough grunt of exertion, her right hand always falling just ever so harder, stuffing showing on one spot where she brutalized the bag for the lack of a better word.The rhythmic thuds of the punches, the droning voice of the male newscaster, all of it rendered Alice unable to hear the man who had broke into her small apartment. As soon as the muted 'pfft' was made by the gas of the canister charged weapon color exploded behind her eyes, the woman stopping in her exercise and almost instantly in reflex her metal arm slapped at the back of her neck,delicate clockwork fingers wrapping around the shaft of the projectile .<br/><br/>All the woman saw next was blackness, her world a  desolate void , lacking all color and depth. the sleep was dreamless and so deep the local medical authorities pronounced her dead and her body was removed from the morgue via a few cunning agents and deep pockets..<br/><br/>Life came slowly back to Alice , though she had no way of knowing how long she was out. But as she blinked her eyes open, her one good eye tried to take stock of it all. She raised her hands to wipe the sleep from her eyes, only to see an IV in her pale wrist and a cardiac monitor around her pinkie. The young woman shook her head, , running her metal hand through her short cut black hair and  slowly turned her head to take stock.<br/><br/>She had awakened in a dark room, all kinds of miscellanea and medical equipment around her in the dark, some she knew the function of and others she didn't want to hazard a guess in her mild paranoia and fear It appeared she was dressed in little better than a cloth medical gown, the blue fabric providing enough modest to cover her mid thigh but still made her painfully self aware when she felt the familiar cold creeping down her spine, the feeling of being watched of being observed.<br/><br/>Just as the marine made to move a man came out of the dark, making Alice start and place her metallic hand over her chest, her heart hammering her ribcage from the unexpected appearance. He was a tall, dour man in a black suit, his voice soft though there was a steel behind it.<br/><br/>"Welcome. Leftenant Greenfield."<br/><br/>Her eyes widened and she quirked an eyebrow at the man, shaking her head. "Who are you? How the hell do you know my name, were you the one who assaulted me?"<br/><br/>He let her go on, looking amused as the angry flush rose to her face, actually phrasing his next line with some joviality . " It is my duty to inform you that you are dead."<br/><br/>The fight seemed to fade from the woman, tilting her head she looked at the man, her one good eye intently focused on his face as he continued to drone on. " You have two choices, one must be yours. YOu can go back to your life, your war, your soldiers, you can join us and forever live in the shadows of society."<br/><br/>Now she had some idea... some cladestine something come to solicit her ... but what... " What are you talking about? You took me from my life.. without a choice at all! Who has that power?" Her chest rose, the small swell of her breasts visible against the thin gown but the  man seemed unswayed, the same dour look back on his face from before and suddently a few  more men and women joined him from the shadows as if they were there the whole damn time unseen.At once they all spoke like a chorus, their voices filling the air. "We are the watchers in the night. We are those without name, without love, without fear. We are the first and last line. We are the agents of the Emperor, silent and faithful. We are the SS."<br/><br/>After a brief pause the man spoke again, Alice still reeling in the shock of it all, trying to process what was going on.<br/>"If you join us, you will never again see those you love. You will be a ghost, living in a world with no memory of you. You will do great things, but no one will ever know. And if you die, you will die in obscurity. Only the Emperor will know what you do for Tyrend."<br/><br/>He simply crossed his hands in front of himself and waited for her reply curtly, the men and woman's eyes on her as she llooked, wild eyed at all of them , mouthing what they had said , a grin coming to her face. This was it, this was what she'd always wanted, to earn the chance to serve her Empire on a higher level, what she had yearned for...no EXISTED for since her high school years. it wasn't long before she confidently answered back with a cocksure grin on her pale face. " Where do I sign?". . .<div class="messageTextEndMarker"> </div>