Hoplites, Thralls & Prizes Ch. 03

The Grim Reaper knew he had his job cut out for him. He sat on a bench in what appeared to be a combination locker room and exercise area. It was empty and quiet, except for him. His was a hard life, as was his first life on Earth. The Caretakers had seen he had a talent for combat. When he crossed-over, he had been inducted to the ranks of the Hoplite - those who fought in this world's version of gladiatorial games. Where some had perished on the blood-soaked surface of the game grid, he had thrived and succeeded. His record of kills was unmatched and he had earned the masters many credits.

When you looked closely at his muscular blue form, one could see a vast road map of scars. Some large and long, while others were slight. These were the reminders he had of a life of battle. Now it seemed, the Caretakers had other plans. New groups of Hoplites were being formed and trainers were needed, so they wouldn't get killed in their first taste of the games.

Athurius had met him on the way to the barracks this morning. It was not surprising the see the imposing Caretaker walking among his servants. He was very gregarious for an alien, but he could also be very stern. Obviously, his lover had gotten some news as well during the night. Thralls had delivered an unconscious Prize to the room next to theirs. When she had awakened this morning, she had interrupted a passionate moment. He wanted to continue until he climaxed, but being Russian he knew Svetlana could be forceful at times and told him to stop, so she could tend to the new arrival. That new arrival had been quite fetching! He caught a glimpse of her statuesque form as he headed to the shower.

He tore his thoughts from the lovely new arrival and returned to the matter currently in his hands. It was a data pad that Arturius had given him. On the screen were a list of six men and four women. He chuckled to himself when he thought, "There will enough boys to go around for Hoplite massages. It ought to keep the girls happy and the boys suitably entertained." Remembering the many danties he had sampled in the showers, locker rooms and bunk areas during his long career.

He scrolled through the names and glanced at their records:

•Jorge Hernandez, 24, Law Enforcement - Special Weapons and Tactics

•Dennis Foster, 25, US Army Captain

•Thomas Mitchell, 27, Construction Worker

•Patricia Adams, 28, Law Enforcement - Patrol Officer

•Cynthia Matthews, 30, Mechanical Engineer

•Bruce White, 32, Heavy Equipment Operator

•Vincent Lange, 32, Law Enforcement - Detective

•Michael Peterson, 34, US Navy - Petty Officer

•Bethany Richards, 36, Flight Attendant

•Dana Erickson, 42, Flight Attendant

"Quite a spread of ages," he thought. Flipping through their profiles, he checked-out their before crossing and after crossing photographs and memorized their features, so he could recognize them. He then examined their experiences and saw that they all had combat training in one form or another - from weapons to hand-to-hand. If would have them up to fighting par in no time.

Previously, he had been a fighter and it was obvious he thought, "Arturius wants to now cultivate my leadership." Well, it looked like several of these shit bags had seen the elephant before and experienced some hard training. Let's see if they could survive Hoplite training. He had trained troops before. As he set the pad down and got down to the business of training himself he concluded, "I'm going to do the old mates in the Irish Brigade AND Colonel Meagher proud. Yes indeed!"

- - - -

As they walked through 'Central Park' as Erin thought of it, she peppered Svetlana with questions. With each one Svetlana, would say, "All will be revealed in due time, Erin. Be patient." After the 15th time Erin called out her name and pointed at something of interest to her, she said, "Erin, you may call me Lana. All my friends do. Svetlana is too formal."

Erin nodded and said okay and launched into, "Lana, Lana what's that?"

All Lana could do was shake her head and say under her breath, "Boishi Moi."

Soon it was apparent to Erin, Lana wouldn't answer anything so she just walked looking at everything. She also noticed that people were looking at them - her in particular - as they walked. Erin said to Lana conspiratorially, "Why is everyone looking at me?"

"It is because you are obviously beautiful or ..." Lana trailed off in her sultry Russian English.

"Or what?" Erin replied. She continued by saying, "I think it's obvious to you that EVERYONE here is beautiful. Hell, anyone one of us could be Miss or Mr. Universe. It's has to be something else."

"it is," Lana replied, "You are something very special AND you will find out very soon what that is." Holding up a hand and pointing to the right.

Across an open glade in the park, a large glass fronted building stood. It reminded Erin of an auditorium. Many blue-skinned people were entering through several doors that stood open. They began walking in that direction to join the crowd. She turned to Lana and said, "Will we see Brad and my mom?"

Lana replied, "We shall see."

When they arrived in front of the building, Erin noticed many belt-wearing Smurfs (as she thought of them) directing people to various locations within the structure. Lana said, "Join the others inside. I will be waiting here when you're finished."

As Erin walked away, a man stepped-up to Lana and said, "My, my! She is quite lovely indeed."

Lana turned and smiled pleasantly. The man came to the height of Lana chin. She hugged him and he hugged her and rubbed her back. "Marcus, it is so good to see you, again, "she said as she kissed each of his cheeks and then the lips.

He was of medium build and had a receding blue-silver hair line and his sharp eyes continued to follow Erin's sweetly swaying hips and graceful steps, as she entered the auditorium. He put his hand on Lana's hip and said, "I spoke with Arturius and the Caretaker is allowing me to assist you. I will take our pretty little apprentice there and you can help with the others. Much work is waiting for us."

"Very good," Lana replied and playfully smiled, "Just don't take advantage of her, you old lecher."

Marcus appeared visibly offended, but understood her joke. "How dare you say such a thing! I am not old, I will have you know."

- - - -

Erin stepped through the doors and mixture of excitement and nervousness began coursing through her body. She asked a tall, male Smurf where she needed to go. He smiled and directed her to enter a set of inner doors to the auditorium. When she stepped through these doors, she observed many people milling about. It appeared several reunions were taking place, as people recognized each other. They hugged and posed to show the changes that had taken place in them. Some walked around asking people if they had seen someone, while still others just stood motionless, taking everything in.

Toward the front of the room was a large, raised platform that currently stood empty and lit from above. Dark blue curtains ran along the walls on each side of the space and a thick carpet cushioned the floor.

She wanted to walk around to find Brad and mom, but she was interrupted when she was approached by petite young lady with short, frizzy blue-silver hair and a young man of moderate build with very short hair of the same color. The girl's lovely facial features showed she was of African-American descent. She had small, but quite lovely and perky breasts and a slim, athletic frame. She was also bubbly and energetic. While the young man had classic oriental features, and was a little more reserved.

"Excuse me," said the girl while she was waving a hand in greeting, "I think we're alike."

Erin was quite a bit taller than the pair and didn't catch on, until she saw the hair and bracelets like hers on their right forearms. Then it clicked. "You're right," she said.

While offering her hand to Erin, the younger girl said, "I'm Clarice Lebron Jackson, but my friends call me Clare. Pleased to meet you."

The young man offered his hand as well, slightly bowed and said, "I'm Michael Yoon," with a slight Korean accent.

Erin shook both of their hands and introduced herself. She then asked, "Do either of you know what's going on?"

"Not a damn thing," said Clare deadpan. "Last thing I knew I was on that plane, something happened and WHAM," she exclaimed, "Here I am, in a Smurf nudist colony."

Erin had to stifle a laugh at this, because in many ways, she had thought almost the exact same thing!

They were standing about 50-feet from the stage when just then a loud voice announced, "Please come forward, toward the stage" As people turned to look in that direction, the curtain parted and two very tall aliens stepped onto the stage. Both wore flowing robes. An audible gasp ran through the crowd that was forming around the stage and some people even took a step or two back. Both had two, large black almond-shaped eyes and small mouths. One had bluish-grey skin. The other had reddish skin and it seemed slight softer features and lines. Their hands had long delicate fingers and they walked together hand-in-hand, to the center of the stage.

The bluish-gray alien lifted his free hand to the audience and said in a loud and strong voice, "Greetings people of Earth. I am Athurius and I welcome you to your new home, Eden and this is my Courtesan, Belthain," motioning to the alien beside him. He continued, "I welcome you here in the name of the Caretakers. We have brought you here to enjoy a near perfect existence. We will show you kindness and generosity beyond measure. In return we ask you to serve us."

"Since time in antiquity, we have brought members of other races here, to share our near perfect world. When we discovered Earth over 2,000 years-ago, we have enjoyed a very fruitful relationship with your kind. At certain times, when the stars have aligned properly, we have saved many from the natural and unnatural disasters that have afflicted your world. We used our technology to heal your wound and diseases, given you bodies that have been fully adapted for this world and are able to function at optimal levels."

"Although there are some similarities to your previous home, many things about Eden are different and give you super human abilities. There is a clear dome that contains our atmosphere and prevents harm coming to us from the ultra-violet rays of the star at the center of this system. This shield also helps colors to be seen in greater clarity. It took a little while for your bodies to acclimate to the two atmospheres of pressure, but the 20-percent oxygen in the air we breathe coupled with a slightly lower gravity, gives you more energy. You are now stronger than you could EVER be on your previous home world."

When Athurius said, "You have probably noticed that you are all naked." This caused chuckles to ripple through the assembled crowd. Erin who was transfixed in wonder missed the joke. Michael chuckled as did others, but Clare guffawed loudly at the remark.

He continued saying, "We have made you beautiful, because we love beauty." With that he reached up with his hands and removed his robes. Everyone gasped when that saw his tall form was well-muscled and at his crotch angled two large penises. Clare audibly said what Erin thought, "Holy shit!"

With that Belthain disrobed as well revealing that she had three ample breasts. There were no discernable areolas, but nipples clearly stood out rock hard. She had a supple flat abdomen that angle down to two vaginas between her hips. In addition to this she had three sets of two tentacles that extended from her sides. They waved about silently and at the end of each one was an opening like a mouth.

Athurius continued by saying, "Some of you may have noticed that you are missing one piece of your old anatomy. Your anus has been removed and in its place a small fusion reactor has replaced it, to better help your bodies function. No longer will you need to urinate or defecate. Additionally, your sexual organs have been enhanced to provide you with maximum pleasure."

At this Erin and many others in the crowd slid a hand behind them between the lobes of their posteriors. An amazed look came over their (and Erin's) face when it was discovered their small puckered opening had been replaced. The metal surface was seamless to the skin, much like the bracelet she wore.

"On a more somber note," Athurius said, "I am sad to say only 250 of you crossed over to Eden. The very old and the very young were not able to make this journey." Audible cries rippled through the audience and Erin felt her heart sink.

As tear welled-up in her eyes, she moaned, "Oh no! Mother!"

The alien continued by saying, "Be comforted in the fact your loved ones did not suffer. As you grieve your losses, we grieve with you." He paused for a moment of silence in respect of those who lost loved ones.

The alien couple reached down and picked-up their robes. They then draped them across their arms. Athurius then said, "In a moment you will learn how you will serve us. Some of you will assist in the daily operation of this society as Thralls. The Caretakers provide entertainment to the entire quadrant. Some of your will serve as Hoplites, gaining recognition and rewards. Lastly, a few of you will occupy the high status of Prize. You are the counselors and spiritual healers and are held in high regard."

"Before the inceptions begin; however, justice must be passed. When you were brought here the record of all your memories were examined and catalogued. When we discover serious crimes have been committed, we feel it is our duty to defend the victims of those crimes. Any form of unrepentant grievous offense MUST be dealt with. The Caretakers are benevolent, but we cannot allow wolves among the lambs we have brought here, to enjoy our green pastures."

Athurius paused and then said, "Would Bradley Goldsmith come forward. If you do not come forward now, you will be enticed to come before this court."

When Erin heard that name, she couldn't breathe. "What could my dear Brad have done? He's not a criminal," she thought.

Faces in the audience turned left and right. Finally, a figure began to come forward. Although he was now blue-skinned and hairless, Erin clearly recognized his features. Erin gasped, "Oh my God, Brad. No!"

Brad walked up a set of stairs to the stage. He had the body of a weight lifter. Erin yearned for him, when she saw his tightly muscled body. Brad walked toward the center of the stage, in front of the Caretakers. He has a gold belt around his waist.

Erin was sobbing and Clare whispered to her, "Do you know him?"

Erin looked at her and said, "Yes! He's my fiancé'. We were supposed to be getting married in Hawaii. What in the world could he have done?"

Clare and Michael were both mortified. Both put their arms around her in support and Erin embraced them in return. Those around them wondered what had upset this trio so much.

On the stage Athurius said, "Bradley Goldsmith, your memories have convicted you of the crime of first-degree murder. You married a wife and killed her for her wealth and belongings. Additionally, your thoughts prove you intended to kill a woman you were betrothed to and her mother."

With that Erin's knees nearly buckled. Clare and Michael were hugging her tightly as she continued to cry.

On the stage, Brad was practically livid. "How dare you accuse me of this bullshit," he said, "where's your proof?"

With that the curtains at the rear of the stage parted to reveal a huge, high resolution projector screen. The first-person images of Brad's life were revealed. He had married a moderately attractive. Late middle-aged woman. They lived a very enjoyable life together, until they began arguing about the amount of money being spent to support Brad's extravagant lifestyle. The images of Brad's memories showed him carrying out his wife's murder and making it look like suicide. Everyone in the audience heard the words of his thoughts and his hatred for the woman he had married.

Erin couldn't believe what she was seeing. The images then showed that Brad as he collected a large sum of insurance money and began to live an extravagant new life, in another state. She almost fainted when she saw on the screen how they met, their dating - everything that had occurred in their relationship, accompanied by the words of Brad's thoughts stating how he longed to take advantage of this witless bitch. He intended to kill the mother and make it look like a heart attack, soon after they got back from the wedding in Hawaii. Additionally, Brad intended to dup Erin and string her along, until she collected her mother's estate and then do her in, some time later.

Erin's legs felt like rubber and she could barely stand. She was horrified, seeing the images of her former self and the thoughts that had run through Brad's head. Contrary to the wonderful relationship she thought they had.

Brad stood aghast at everything he saw on the screen. He then began saying, "This is bullshit! This is all doctored. I never knew Helen or this Erin bitch and her hag of a mother." He continued to protest and finished by demanding a lawyer.

Athurius held up a long-fingered hand and said, "We have no need for a lawyer in this situation. These are your memories and they do not lie." He paused for a moment and said, "You thought you could escape punishment for your crimes and live a life of relative ease on Eden, as a Thrall, managing the affairs of the Caretakers. This will not occur."

"Human cultures speak of a place of suffering and it goes by many names. Hell, being one of them. Bradley Goldsmith, this is your hell. You have been brought to near-paradise, given a near-perfect form and you will never be allowed to use either!"

At that moment, a barrier of energy rose from the stage, entrapping Brad inside it. A look of horror crossed his handsome face and he began to beat on the force field. He began screaming obscenities and demanding to be released.

Athurius turned to the assembled audience and said, "The Caretakers are kind and benevolent, but we are also just. Bradley Goldsmith murdered a fellow human and plotted to do the same to others. For these acts, he will be immediately executed."

At that moment, Brad stopped protesting and his hands went to his abdomen. The skin began to glow. Going from dull red to bright white. His body began to smoke, then suddenly, there was a bright flash and a dull thud could be heard.

A murmur ran through the audience. Erin who hadn't looked was continuing to sob, hugging Clare and Michael.

Athurius said, "it is sad that our gathering has to end on this dower note. You now have access to information panels that will tell you how you will live your new lives among us."

As if on cue, the curtains along the side walls receded to reveal many information panels. The Caretaker instructed, "Simply place your hand on the pane and it will give you information concerning who you are and how you will serve us. Thralls will be outside of the auditorium to assist you in finding where you need to go. Please forgive us for these unfortunate proceedings. in spite of Mr. Goldsmith, the Caretakers welcome you to Eden."

With that Athurius and Belthain turned and walked together of stage. At the same time the curtains were drawn back to revealed numerous illuminated information panels along the walls. The audience spread out and formed lines, as people were anxious to learn where they were going and what they would be doing. All except Michael and Clare. They remained where they were embracing Erin, as she continued to cry.