The trouble between "Top" and Sgt. James Tucker had been brewing for a long time. Top was the unit's First Sargent, but his was a brutal, bullying rule. Tucker was protective of his squad's welfare and he didn't like the way Top had it in for one of his best people, Nina LaForte. She couldn't seem to do anything right, as far as Top was concerned. Top had assigned LaForte so many punishment details that he had all but broken her spirit. Tucker had intervened repeatedly upon LaForte's behalf, usually to no avail and only to become the recipiant of Top's ire. As they say, no good deed goes unpunished. Top appeared to live for the moment when he could screw anybody beneath him. Nina was a good looking woman, too, and Top had been increasingly hitting upon her. Increasingly, it became clear that Top's intentions all along had been to wear Nina down to where she would be willing to trade sex for relief from Top's oppression. "Top's really pressing me on this," Nina told Tucker, breaking into tears. Nina wasn't one to cry easily about anything, so this told Tucker that something had to be done. Furious, he enlisted the help of his buddy, Sgt. Trevor McKain. McKain was also unhappy with how Top abused his troops. Together, they went looking for Top. They caught up with him on Level 17. Top was alone. Words were exchanged. Threats and posturing reverberated across the cavernous room. "You two are way outta line!" snarled Top. "Get outta my way!" he shouted. Shoving McKain aside, Top started to push his way past Tucker. Tucker slammed his fist into Top's jaw and the older man fell backward from the impact. Both men stared down at Top's unconscious form. "Don't worry," said McKain, looking pretty worried himself. "We've got good reps, while his is lousy. I can't think of anybody, who'd take his side and that includes the Lieutenant and the captain. He may outrank us, but not by that much. It's his word against ours, but there's two of us to his one." McKain glanced nervously around. "Let's get out of here before someone comes and finds us with him. Tucker shook his head. "Nope! That bastard's gonna listen to me, when he wakes up, or I'll punch him silly until he does." He nodded toward the door. "You go ahead, if you need to." "Now, Jim, you know I'm not about to leave you here with him. You'd never see daylight for years." "Suit yourself. All I know is that before either he or I leave this place, there's gonna be an understanding that his miserable rule is over. He's gonna know that if he ever bothers any of my troopers again, that I'll kill him." The fierceness in Tucker's eyes convinced McKain that James meant every word. "He's gonna know that if any of our guys screw up, it will be us who decides what's done about it; not him." ****************************************************** It's easy to make a good picture when one has great models and textures to work with. Such was the case with this picture, starting with the "Level 17 Door" by Stonemason. Also, the clothing which is "Marauders for M3" by by Lourdes Mercado (DAZ) and "Space Runner for Marauders M3" by motif (Renderosity). Decking was made by me in Bryce 5.5. All three figures are DAZ's M3 with morphs and textures by the following: "Unforgettable 9 Harry M3 - Revisited" by TamelaJ, "Wolfgang" by Arduino, and "Merlin" morphs with "DNA M3 Seasons." ****************************************************** Thanks for dropping by and taking a look. Hope you drop by again. Comments pro or con are always appreciated. Jeremy