Modern Warrior Princess
By Littlesilverstar, silverstar222b@yahoo.com
A modern-day princess becomes involved in a political struggle

INTRODUCTION: The tiny landlocked European nation of Zetuvia covers 200 
square miles and has a population of 100,000.  Zetuvia is a monarchy and 
nineteen-year-old Princess Irina is the heiress to the throne.  She will 
officially take power when she comes of age on her 20th birthday.  The
current regent and head of state is Duke Engleford.  Duke Engleford is a 
weak and foolish old man who is not much more than a puppet.  The real 
power in Zetuvia is the commander of the army, General Strosser, a cruel, 
ambitious, and power-hungry man.  The general, knowing that Irina is a 
strong and intelligent woman who will not be content to be a puppet, has 
been busy making plans to deal with the upcoming transfer of power...

Princess Irina climbed out of bed and stretched her arms and legs.  She
then walked over to the window, enjoying the view of Zetuvia City from her
third-story bedroom window.  After that, she started her daily early-
morning exercise routine.

In some ways, Irina would remind one of a typical princess.  At 5'9" and
140 pounds, she was tall, strong, and athletic.  She had long blonde hair
that went down to the middle of her back, brown eyes, and a deep tan.  Her
figure, aided by her firm C-cup breasts, remained distinctly feminine
despite her powerful muscles.  She had long, muscular legs, large, strong
biceps, thick, powerful forearms, and hard six-pack abs. She was confident
and a natural leader.

In other ways, however, she was quite different from your stereotypical
princess.  Irina preferred jeans and T-shirts over fancy dresses, and she
was very low-maintenance. In addition to traditional rich-girl activities
such as tennis and horseback riding, she also enjoyed camping in the 
forest and fishing on the river.  Also, at the insistence of her 
bodyguards, she was highly trained in the use of firearms and in hand-to-
hand combat.

After doing some warmup stretches and loosening up her body, Irina began
her routine.  She pressed her powerful body into a handstand and held it
for about thirty seconds.  She then began walking across the room on her
hands.  When she had reached the far side of the bedroom, she did several
handstand pushups, the muscles in her arms rippling as she moved her body.
She got back to her feet by doing a back handspring from her handstand.

Irina smiled, energized.  She then launched herself into a tumbling pass
(one of the perks of being a princess was having a bedroom large enough
for this sort of thing).  She did a front handspring, roundoff, whipback,
two back handsprings, and finished with a back tuck.  Reaching the other
end of the room, she turned around and did another pass in the opposite
direction. This one began with a front tuck, then a roundoff and a series
of one-arm back handsprings (alternating arms as she flipped), and 
finished with a pretty back layout.  She turned around again, then did a
one-arm cartwheel into the splits.

A sudden knocking came on the door. "Princess, it's me," came the voice 
of Maria Valentine, the head of Irina's security team and a captain in 
the Zetuvian army.  Valentine, although she was ten years older than 
Irina, was her best friend, since with the girls her own age Irina could
never tell who was a true friend and who was just buttering her up 
because she was the princess.

Irina opened the door and greeted her friend with a smile. "Maria, I've
told you many times that you don't have to call me Princess.  Just call
me Irina."

Valentine stepped into the room.  She was an attractive woman with dark
brown eyes and shoulder-length brown hair.  Although at 5'5" and 120
pounds she was fairly small, her body was muscular and athletic just 
like Irina's.

"Sorry, Pr- I mean Irina," said Valentine. "Military training does have
a way of making a girl act in a formal manner." She paused, then said,
"Duke Engleford asked me to remind you that today is your breakfast
meeting with the Internal Affairs committee of the Senate."

Irina laughed. "What, he thought I'd forget?" she said. "I may be blonde,
but he's the one who's a senile old fool who lets General Strosser walk
all over him.  Oh, and speaking of the devil, will the general be there
too?"

"Thankfully, no," answered Valentine.  

Irina sighed in relief. "Good," she said. "That man is up to something, I
can tell.  He knows that he won't be able to push me around the way he 
does Duke Engleford.  Well, maybe this meeting will help me get some more
of the senators on my side.  Give me a minute to get ready."

She quickly changed out of her nightgown and into a black knee-length
skirt and a red blouse. After washing her face and combing her long blonde
hair, she slipped on a pair of black high-heeled shoes and headed towards
the meeting room, Valentine at her side.

The meeting took place on the first floor of the royal palace.  Irina sat
at one end of the large table, with Valentine seated on her right.  Duke
Engleford was at the other end of the table.  The other seats were filled
by various senators.

Irina knew that the typical Zetuvian senator was greedy, ambitious, and
willing to switch allegiances at the drop of a wad of cash.  Still, they
had a considerable amount of influence in the country, so their help was
important.  During the meeting, she tried to convince them that supporting
General Strosser was a bad idea, since he would dump them as soon as he
didn't need them anymore.  Valentine added that she had heard rumors that
Strosser wanted to dissolve the Senate.

Unfortunately, Duke Engleford, in his ignorant manner, insisted that the
general was a good man who only wanted the best for his country.  After
the meal was over, Irina turned to Valentine. "How do you think it went?"
she asked.

"I think they listened to you about as much as they listened to the duke,"
the bodyguard answered. "You're a better speaker, but he has a much longer
political history with them."

As they left the room, servants entered to clear the dishes.  What no one
noticed, however, was the small listening device that was attached to the
underside of the table.

General Strosser grinned as he sat in his office, listening to the 
recording of the breakfast coversation.  The bug that one of his men had
planted in the room was working just fine.  He rubbed his hands together
in an evil manner, going over a plan in his head.

Strosser was a big, middle-aged man, balding and overweight. He came from
an aristocratic family and had always enjoyed wealth and power.  However,
his ambition was constantly leading him to seek ever more power for
himself.  When the former king (Irina's father) had died five years ago,
Strosser had been the biggest supporter of putting in Duke Engleford as
regent, knowing that the duke was a weak man who would be easy to
manipulate.  He had hoped that Irina would turn out to be weak also, so 
that he could push her around too.  However, to his anger and disgust,
she had grown up to be a strong-willed, independent woman.

"No matter," he said to himself. "Soon, she won't be in my way anymore."
He got up and left the office, heading for a meeting of his own.

In a small room on the top floor of army headquarters, General Strosser
presided over a meeting of his most trusted officers.  He felt confident
that most of the army would back him if the situation came to an open
struggle. (The country's entire army consisted of 1,000 soldiers, 70 of
whom were officers).  However, he would only tell his plans to his most 
trustworthy subordinates, for now.

The general explained about listening to the talk at the breakfast
meeting. "The princess is getting suspicious," he said. "We'll have to
move up our schedule.  Here's what we're going to do.  I have procured
several kilos of cocaine.  These will be planted in the princess's room.
A 'witness' will come forward and say that the princess is involved in
drug dealing, and that will be used as a pretext to search her room and
find the drugs.  Once they're found, she'll be arrested in disgrace.  Our
allies in the Senate will introduce a motion to have her removed from the
throne permanently, and Duke Engleford, who we can easily control, will
remain as regent.  We will be the real rulers of this country."  

"That's right," said Colonel Claythorne, the second-in-command of the 
army.  She was a tall woman in her early forties with short, dark brown 
hair. "Nothing's going to stop us after this plan is completed."

"Why bother with so much cocaine?" asked one of the other officers. 
"Wouldn't it be easier to just put a little of the stuff in her room and
say she's a coke addict?"

"Because, Major Nichols," said Colonel Claythorne in an irritated voice, 
"if we did that, people would say, 'Oh, she's an addict! She's a victim! 
Poor little rich girl! Let's get her cleaned up and then we can crown her
Queen!' We have to make her look like a dealer so she looks like a real
slimeball and we can be rid of her."

"That's right," said General Strosser. "Now, the princess is supposed to
give a speech to the Senate tomorrow afternoon.  Her guards will be 
focused on her there.  A trusted soldier of the Zetuvian army should have
no trouble getting into her empty room and planting the drugs. Then, that
evening, the 'witness' will come forward and our strike team will search
the room and 'find' the coke.  I will lead the strike team personally.
Are there any questions? No? Good.  Soldiers, you are dismissed."

The soldiers filed out of the room.  Strosser and Claythorne remained 
behind.  When the others had left, Claythorne said, "Major Nichols, are 
you sure he's loyal to our cause?"

"Him? That business about the coke?" said Strosser. "Sure he's loyal.  He
was just saying that because he's kind of slow.  Kind of like Duke 
Engleford, actually." At that, both officers shared a laugh.

"Oh, Colonel, I have a special task for you," said the general. "I was
listening to the bug this morning and it seems that a certain Captain
Maria Valentine is much too close to our princess.  When we go to arrest
the princess tomorrow, I want you to arrest the captain.  I'll have our
'witness' say that she was also involved in the drug dealing."

The colonel grinned wickedly. "With pleasure, sir," she said. "I never
liked that girl.  Always too insubordinate." (Valentine, being a bit of a
rebel chick, had a way of seeming like she was giving attitude to superior
officers even when she was saying "Yes, sir," or "Yes, ma'am.")

The next afternoon, Princess Irina was in her room, sitting at her desk.
She leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes, thinking.  She wondered
if the speech she had just given to the Senate had been effective.

"Hey, Pr- I mean Irina," said Captain Valentine, appearing in the doorway.
Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and she had a basketball under
her arm. "Want to play a little one-on-one down at the hoop in the back
garden?"

"Sure, Maria," said Irina. "That sounds like just the thing to take my 
mind off of all this stressful political business.  I'll just get out of
this skirt and put on some shorts." She walked across the room and opened
a drawer. "Hmm...my favorite blue shorts, where are they," she murmured as
she rummaged through the clothes in the drawer, digging to the bottom. "Ah,
here they are.  Wait a minute, what's this?" She lifted a tightly wrapped
package of something from the bottom of the drawer, then lifted out three
more identical packages.  She and Valentine both looked at the packages,
puzzled.

"What's in here?" wondered Irina.  She picked up a letter opener and cut 
open one of the packages.  A white powder spilled out. "Oh, shit, it looks
like cocaine! What the hell is going on here? Who could have put this...
ooh, General Strosser, you bastard!"

"He's making his move already!" said Valentine.  She hurried out into the 
hall and looked up and down it to make sure that no one was there.  She 
then went back into the bedroom, locking the door behind her. "Do you want
me to call for backup?"

"We don't know which of the other guards we can trust," replied Irina. 
"For all we know, Strosser might have bribed one of them to put the stuff
in my room."

"You're right," said Valentine. "Let's think about this.  If we just take
the stuff to the Duke and the Senate, we can expose Strosser and his gang.
Real drug dealers wouldn't just walk in and give up their coke.  We can 
make ourselves look more credible, and we can launch an investigation on
Strosser and whoever's close to him.  Eventually, someone will crack and
confess."

Irina thought for a moment, then nodded. "Strosser will come up with
another story of his own, but at least that way we'll have at least a
fifty-fifty chance," she said. "And that's also true that someone will
have to confess eventually.  Now, we should..." She stopped suddenly.
Heavy footsteps were hurrying down the hall.  A few seconds later, there
came sounds at the door.  The knob was tried, then someone began pounding
on the door.  A voice that was recognizable as General Strosser's yelled,
"Open in the name of the law!"

"Oh, shit!" said the two women at exactly the same time.  The pounding on
the door continued, then was suddenly replaced by the distinctive sound of
an ax being used. "Oh, SHIT!" the women said again, once again at exactly
the same time. They laughed briefly in spite of the situation, then turned
serious again.

"We can make ropes from your bedsheets and go out the window," Valentine
said.  They hurried to the bed and began yanking out the sheets.  Irina
glanced out the window and frowned. "Uh-oh," she said.

"What is it?" asked Valentine.

Irina pointed outside.  On the ground directly beneath the window, half a
dozen soldiers carrying automatic rifles stood waiting. "What do we do 
now?" sighed the captain.

The princess had a sudden inspiration. "Up there, on the ceiling!" she 
said, pointing. "There's a trapdoor that leads to the fourth floor.  We 
can go up there and slip out somewhere else unnoticed!"

Valentine immediately moved the desk chair to the spot directly underneath 
the trapdoor.  Standing on the chair, she quickly opened the door.  Irina,
meanwhile, scooped up the bricks of cocaine and put them into a bag.  She
then opened a drawer near her bed.  Taking out a pistol and a spare
magazine of ammunition, she put them into the bag too.

The pounding of the ax grew louder.  A small crack appeared in the door.
"Come on!" said Valentine.  Still standing on the chair, she gripped the
surface that was the floor of the palace's fourth story and hoisted 
herself up.  Irina followed immediately afterward.  Luckily, both women
had enough upper body strength to lift their body weights up.  Irina 
kicked over the chair as she went up, then closed the trapdoor behind her
when they were both safely on the fourth floor.  From the floor below,
they could hear the sounds of the ax and a man's voice shouting, "Almost
there!"

The women began walking quickly. "Now what?" said Valentine. "Find other
guards and ask them for help?"

"We still don't know who we can trust," said Irina.

"If we can get to the army base, I know the soldiers in my company can be
trusted," Valentine said. "Of course, they're outnumbered by the soldiers
from all those companies that can't be trusted."

"The base...that's it," said Irina. "Follow me, I'll explain on the way.
There's a back staircase on this palace that no one uses, so we can get 
out of here that way.  We'll have to dump the cocaine in the river now. By
now, Strosser's already spread the news of his 'bust,' and our story won't
be believable anymore."

"But why the base?" asked Valentine, as the women began descending the 
stairs.

"We can't go to the Senate or to Duke Engleford anymore," said Irina. 
"What we need now is proof - proof of Strosser's plotting. And that proof
will be at the army base.  Of course, it'll be heavily guarded, but then
again, that'll be the last place they'll think of looking for us. They'll
think we're trying to get away."

By now, they had reached the bottom of the stairs.  As they approached the
door to the outside, Valentine drew her pistol from its holster. "Did you
bring your gun too?" she asked.

"Of course!" said Irina.

"How many spare magazines?" asked the captain.

"Just one," the princess replied.  Valentine tossed an object over at her.
Irina reached out and caught it. "I have three," said the captain. "Take
this one.  Lucky our guns are the same model.  And take this too," she 
added as she handed the princess her uniform overcoat. "You're still 
wearing the same clothes you had when you were making that speech.  This
way, people will be less likely to recognize you."

"Thanks," said Irina as she put on the overcoat.  She then put her long,
distinctive blonde hair up in a bun. "One more thing," said Valentine as
she handed her friend her officer's cap. "This'll hide your hair even
more." After Irina put the cap on, both women, guns at the ready, quietly 
opened the door and stepped outside, Valentine in the lead.  No one was 
waiting.  Silently, they moved through the palace gardens. When they 
reached the river, Irina heaved the bricks of cocaine into the current.

The women then turned north, towards the army base.  Zetuvia was a small
country and the base was only two miles from the palace, but they knew it
would be a dangerous trek, with potential enemies lurking everywhere. 
Irina had wondered about getting a car from the palace garage, but 
Valentine had pointed out that the garage would almost certainly be very
heavily guarded.

Suddenly, four soldiers appeared on the path ahead of them, each carrying
an AK-47 automatic rifle.  Irina and Valentine ducked behind the cover of
some thick garden bushes just in time.  After the soldiers had passed by,
Irina turned to her friend and whispered, "I feel kind of like King 
Charles II of England when he was hiding from Oliver Cromwell's gang."

Valentine smiled. "King Charles escaped safely, and so will you," she said
encouragingly.  Irina squeezed the captain's hand.

The women continued on their way to the army base.  Most of the people on
the streets paid them no attention.  A pair of soldiers passed by across
the street, paused, then saluted and moved on.  Irina and Valentine smiled 
as they saluted back.

They had almost reached the base when they ran into trouble.  An army 
officer, flanked by four enlisted soldiers, came into view. This time, the
soldiers were on their side of the street.  Irina, in the rear, had just
enough time to dive and hide behind a bush.  Valentine continued walking 
as calmly as she could.

The officer suddenly stopped and stared at her with a scowl on his face.
"Where is your cap?" he demanded.

Valentine took a deep breath. "Excuse me, Lieutenant?" she said in her
most confident voice. "Did I just hear what I think I heard? Do you see
this rank insignia here? What part of your empty head told you it was okay
to address a superior officer in that manner?"

The lieutenant began stuttering and stammering. "I...I...I'm s...sorry, 
Captain," he said. "I d...didn't s...see the...I'll just get out of your
hair now." With quick salutes, he and his comrades hurried away down the
street.

Irina emerged from the bushes and patted her friend on the back. "You go,
girl," she said, giving her a kiss on the cheek. "Here, you'd better take
this back," she continued, handing over the cap.

"No, you keep it," said Valentine. "If the bad guys recognize you out
here, it's all over."

Soon, they approached the outskirts of the army base. "Follow me," said
Valentine. "I know the patrol routines of the guards.  There's a part of
the back fence that we can slip under." The two women moved across an
empty field covered with tall grass.  When they reached the fence that
surrounded the base, Valentine began pulling up a part of the fence while
Irina kept a wary eye out for any enemy soldiers.  A guard tower was
visible far off to the right, and another one far to the left.  She hoped
that they were too far way to see them.

Thanks to the captain's knowledge, they were sucessfully able to slip
under the fence and onto the base. "We'll make our way to my unit's 
barracks," Valentine said. "They'll help us, and maybe if the other 
soldiers see what's happening, they'll join our side."

They made their way cautiously through the base.  From a distance, they
looked just like any two random soldiers, but they made sure to duck and
hide to avoid any close encounters, where they might be recognized.  They
had almost reached their destination when suddenly, Valentine, walking in
the front, rounded a corner and bumped smack into a large soldier.  They
both stared at each other in surprise.  Two more soldiers were with the 
one that the captain had bumped into.  When they recognized her, they
pointed their rifles at her chest.

"Well, well, well," said the large man who had been bumped into. "Look
what we caught.  The traitorous captain.  Now, girlie, tell me, where is
the princess?"

Valentine merely stared at him coldly.  Irina, hiding just around the
corner, prepared to make her move.

"In the name of the Duke and Regent, I place you under arrest," said the
large soldier.  Valentine snorted.

"The Duke? I think you mean in the name of that wannabe usurper General 
Strosser," she smirked.

An enraged look appeared on the soldier's face. "You are an officer in 
the Zetuvian army!" he said. "How dare you speak of your commanding
general in that manner! For your arrogance, and for helping the princess,
you will be charged with treason."

"Yeah," snickered one of the other soldiers. "You're a dead woman no
matter what.  But if you tell us where the princess is, you might get a
quick death by firing squad instead of a slow death in -"

At that moment, Irina calmly stepped around the corner, seized the man
who was speaking, and swiftly and brutally snapped his neck with a loud
CRACK.  As she released his corpse to fall to the ground, she said with
a smile, "Here I am."

The large soldier tried to draw his sidearm, but Irina performed a high
kick to his face.  Her strong and sexy leg sent him stumbling backwards,
stunned.  She winked and gave him a punch in the jaw, followed by a 
powerful spin kick to the side of his head that sent him to the ground, 
out cold.

Meanwhile, the third soldier prepared to shoot Valentine, but she kicked
his rifle out of his hands.  He swung a punch at her, which she blocked 
with her arm.  She then roundhouse kicked him, her boot slamming hard into
his head and knocking him to the ground.  He tried to get up, but was
knocked back down when she brutally smashed her knee right into his face.
A vicious kick to the man's head from the female officer's boot knocked
him out.

The two women looked at each other and nodded.  One by one, they picked 
up the fallen soldiers and tossed them behind some bushes.  A playful grin
suddenly appeared on Irina's face. She took the large soldier's right hand
and placed it on the butt of the soldier that Valentine had knocked out.
"They'll have a surprise when they wake up," she chuckled.

Valentine sighed. "This is what I get for having a best friend who's ten
years younger than me," she said.

"Oh, lighten up, Maria," said Irina.  The captain finally managed a smile.

The two female warriors each helped themselves to an automatic rifle and
some ammunition.  After that, they continued on their way to their 
destination.

"Here we are," said Valentine finally.  A young lieutenant and several
soldiers hurried out to meet her.  Some of them stared at Irina, 
recognizing the princess and wondering what she was doing.

After explaining the situation to the others and seeing their reactions,
Valentine turned to Irina with a smile. "We now have eighty soldiers on 
our side," she said. "Now we'll have to see about the other 920."

"Together, we'll convert 'em," replied Irina, smiling back.

Heavy footsteps were heard.  Two officers and about twenty enlisted 
soldiers approached the two women. "You two are under arrest," growled the
senior officer, a tall man with the rank of captain. "Now drop your 
weapons!"

Irina and Valentine continued to hold their rifles.  The soldiers from
Valentine's company began forming up to support the princess and her
friend.  The tall officer, a nervous look on his face, ordered, "Shoot
them!"

A shot rang out...but it was the tall captain who fell dead to the ground,
shot in the back by one of his own soldiers.  The second officer tried to
draw his pistol, but before he could get it several shots were heard and 
he too slumped dead.  

One of the soldiers spoke up. "We stand with our princess, our rightful
ruler!" he said.  The others shouted their approval.  Irina smiled and
blew a kiss.  The soldiers around her cheered.

They began marching towards the other barracks, singing an old patriotic
tune that had been well-known in Zetuvia for hundreds of years.  Princess
Irina walked at the head of the troops, with Captain Valentine right 
beside her.

As they reached the next barracks, the loud singing brought the occupants
outside, stares on their faces.  The captain of the unit, a thin man of
medium height, stepped out in front.  Another officer, a tanned, petite
blonde woman with the rank of lieutenant, stood right beside him.

Irina explained the situation and urged the soldiers to join her cause.
The thin captain, however, was not in a cooperative mood. "What you are
doing is completely unaccep-" he began.

He was suddenly interrupted by the blonde lieutenant's boot, which crashed
right into his face as she performed a high kick. The thin man was knocked
to the ground. "What he meant to say was, we'll join you, Princess," said
the woman with a sexy smile.  The soldiers behind her shouted their
agreement.  She drew her pistol and pointed it at the thin captain's head.
Turning to two of the soldiers near her, she said, "Escort this man to a
jail cell."

As the thin man was hauled away, Irina gave the blonde lieutenant a hug.
"Welcome aboard," she said.

"Thank you, Princess," the young officer replied.  She turned and glanced
at the thin man being carted off, gripped firmly by his two soldier 
escorts. "I always thought he was a moron anyway.  I never liked taking
orders from him." This comment elicited loud laughter from the assembled
group.

They continued moving through the base.  The enlisted soldiers gladly
joined the princess's cause.  Some of the officers stubbornly placed 
loyalty to General Strosser ahead of loyalty to the princess.  They were
rewarded with a trip to a jail cell (often preceded by an ass-kicking).
Finally, the group, now numbering almost 500, reached the central
headquarters building.  There, they found a "welcoming committee" waiting
to greet them.

The "welcoming committee" consisted of 200 soldiers of General Strosser's
elite guard, hand-picked to be specifically loyal to him.  The general
himself was nowhere in sight at the moment. Instead, commanding the group
was a smirking Major Nichols.

"You're outnumbered," said Irina. "Surrender, and your lives will be 
spared.  Well, you grunts anyway.  Someone of your rank-" (she pointed at
the major) "will probably be charged with treason."

"ARRRRRR!" growled Major Nichols. "Commence firing!" A massive gun battle
erupted as the forces loyal to the general and the forces loyal to the
princess began shooting at each other.  The major began drawing his 
sidearm, intending to shoot the princess, but before he could take aim
Irina had fired off half a dozen rounds from her rifle into his chest. He
slumped dead to the ground, a large pool of blood forming around him. 

The princess stepped over his body, taking care not to get any blood on 
her boots. "Maria, come with me," she said. "We have a special job to do."
Irina then turned to the blonde lieutenant. "Hold on here and beat these
backstabbing slimeballs," she instructed.

"Yes, ma'am!" said the lieutenant.  Irina and Valentine started off 
towards the back entrance of army headquarters. "I think it's time we 
paid our friend the general a little visit," said the princess.

They rounded a corner and reached the back door.  Five of Strosser's men,
armed with assault rifles, were on guard near the entrance.  The guards
and the two women saw each other at exactly the same time.  Rifles were
raised and shots were fired.  When the shootout was over, the excellent
training of the women showed its usefulness.  Irina and Valentine were
unharmed, while the five guards were lying on the ground full of holes,
all dead or dying.

The two women entered the building, weapons at the ready and on the alert
for any kind of danger.  The halls were eerily quiet.  They took the 
stairs up to the top floor, where the general's office was.

"AUUUGGGGHHHHH!" As the women reached the top of the stairwell, a pair of
arms seized each of them.  Two guards had been waiting in ambush.  Irina
jerked her head backwards, slamming it into her opponent's head. She broke
free as he howled in pain, then, without looking, drove her elbow 
backwards.  A second howl of pain told her that her attack had found its
mark.  Turning around and drawing her pistol as she did so, she finished
him with a single shot to the head.

Valentine gave her opponent a hard stomp on his foot.  His grip loosened
and she broke free.  She whirled to face him and greeted him with a hard
punch to his face.  She then delivered a powerful kick to his chest.  The
force of her kick sent the man sailing over the guardrail.  He screamed
like a girl as he plunged five stories to his death.

The two women grinned and gave each other high-fives before continuing on
their way down the hall.  At the end, they came to the closed door of the

general's office.  They took positions on either side of the door.  At a
prearranged signal, Irina kicked the door open and both women charged
inside, sweeping the room with their guns.  There was no one else there.

"I guess we'll have to try the other rooms," said Irina.

"I hope they haven't slipped away," Valentine added in a low voice.

"Don't worry, we're still here," came a sudden voice from behind them.
Both women groaned aloud as they recognized the voice as that of General
Strosser.

"You're covered, so don't try anything funny," added another voice, this
one female.  Valentine recognized it as that of Colonel Claythorne and
let out an extra groan. "Now drop your rifles, one by one, slowly.  Then
take out your sidearms and drop them too."

Seeing that they had no choice, the princess and her friend complied.
"Now turn around, slowly," came the general's voice.  They turned around.

Strosser and Claythorne both had pistols in their hands and arrogant 
smirks on their faces. "Look what we caught," sneered Strosser. "Not so
hot now, are you?"

"You're finished," said Irina. "Most of your army has joined our side,
and the ones that haven't are getting their butts kicked out there." The
faint sound of gunfire was audible from the room. "Nothing you do can
save you now."

"Want me to finish 'em off now, boss?" asked Claythorne, her finger
tightening on the trigger of her gun.

The general looked worriedly out the window. "No," he said. "We'll take
the princess downstairs as a hostage.  That should stop those slimy
rebels.  When we've subdued them, then we can execute the princess and
the rebel officers.  The grunts, we'll put to work as slave laborers."

The colonel nodded, a look of disappointment on her attractive but
scowling face.  Then, her face brightened as her eyes focused on
Valentine. "How about I do her now? We don't really need her as a 
hostage."

Strosser nodded. "Okay, do it," he said.  Claythorne grinned evilly as 
she aimed her pistol right at Valentine's head.

Suddenly, a large explosion came from outside the window.  Strosser and
Claythorne both turned their heads briefly to look.  That was all that
the princess and her friend needed.

A high kick by Irina sent Strosser's gun flying out of his hand.  At the
same time, a fast crescent kick from Valentine launched Claythorne's gun
away and sent it sailing down the hall. "It's showtime," said Irina in a
cheesy but sexy voice.

"It's time that you got put in your place, you wannabe usurper," went on
Irina as she faced off against the general.  At six feet tall and 215
pounds, he was considerably bigger than her, but years of expensive food
and sitting behind a desk had made him fat and out of shape.  She ducked 
under his first punch attempt and easily blocked his second with her thick 
forearm.  She then slammed her left fist into his nose and followed it up 
with a vicious high kick that plowed into his jaw.  As Strosser stumbled 
dizzily, she fired off a brutal roundhouse kick, her boot connecting with 
the side of his head.  The strength of her kick slammed the general into a 
wall.  Pinning him against the wall, the princess began using her strong 
arms to deliver powerful punches into his face.

Meanwhile, Valentine and Claythorne were circling each other, fists 
raised. "I'm going to teach you a lesson in pain before I kill you, you 
insubordinate little twit," snarled the colonel.  At 5'10" and 145 pounds,
she had a good advantage in height and weight over the captain.  At 41, 
she also had a bit of a disadvantage in age.

"Bring it on, skanky bitch," responded Valentine, suddenly kicking her
opponent hard in the stomach.  As Claythorne doubled over with an "oof,"
the captain nailed her with a fierce low kick to the shin, followed by a
knee to her midsection.  Valentine, staring coldly into the older woman's
eyes, smashed her fist into Claythorne's jaw, then headbutted her.  She
began firing another punch, but the colonel suddenly grabbed her arm and
twisted it hard.  

After giving the general a good pummeling, Irina knocked him backwards 
and on his ass with a kick to his chest.  Strosser climbed back to his
feet, swearing angrily.  He charged her, thinking that he could tackle
her to the ground and use his greater size and strength to wrestle her
into submission.  Unfortunately for him, the princess was too fast and
smart for him.  When he got close enough in his charge, she used a judo
throw to send him flying through the air.  He landed in a heap, a string
of additional swear words accompanying his landing.

Claythorne, laughing wickedly, punched Valentine in the eye, then kicked
her right in the sweet spot. "The Achilles heel, or Achilles crotch, on
both men and women," she chuckled.  As the captain moaned in pain, the
colonel sent her to the ground with a high kick that impacted the smaller
woman's face.  Claythorne advanced on her opponent confidently, an
arrogant look on her face.  Just when she had reached the captain and was
about to kick her, Valentine suddenly nailed the colonel with a kick right
between the legs.  As Claythorne howled and grabbed her wounded womanhood,
the captain leapt to her feet, snickering, "Achilles crotch indeed."

"Is that all you've got, wimp?" Irina taunted Strosser as he stood back
up slowly.  He growled and kicked out at her.  She dodged his attack
with a graceful and fluid motion.  He then swung a punch at her stomach.
Seeing it coming, the princess tensed her abs.  The general howled in
pain as his fist struck her hard, ultra-toned midriff.  Irina smiled
sexily and punched her opponent right in his gut.  Strosser let out
another howl of pain and doubled over. "Looks (punch) like (punch) your
(punch) abs (punch) are (punch) pretty (punch) weak," she smirked as she
pummeled his stomach repeatedly.  She then performed a cheerleader-style
high kick to his head, sending him flying backwards.

"ARRRRRRR!" Colonel Claythorne charged her opponent at top speed, her
anger controlling her.  Captain Valentine calmly pivoted and fired off a
brutal side kick that impacted the colonel's chest and abruptly ended 
her charge. "Looks like that charge was even less successful than the
Charge of the Light Brigade," laughed the younger woman, not being able 
to resist making a military joke.  Claythorne charged again.  This time,
Valentine stepped to the side at the last second and smashed her elbow
into the older woman's head. "Slow learner, I see," said the captain with
a smirk. "I'm surprised they let you graduate from the military academy."
Her voice became suddenly colder. "Now, it's time to finish you," she 
said.

Valentine's fist slammed into Claythorne's eye with brutal force. "Let's
give you a matching pair," said the captain.  Another fist slammed into
the colonel's other eye. Valentine then did a high kick to her opponent's
face that knocked her backwards, followed by a cartwheel kick that sent
Claythorne to the floor.  The captain leapt on top of her and wrapped her
slender but lethal thighs around her neck. "We're taught that a woman's
hips are well-shaped for snapping a neck between them," she said in an 
icy voice. "Let's test that out in real life." With that, Valentine gave
her sexy hips a strong twist, breaking the colonel's neck with a loud
CRACK.  She stood up, looking at the corpse coolly. "Too bad no one had a
video camera handy," she remarked. "That would have been a great thing to
show the next generation of cadets."

Irina did a perfect front tuck somersault to bring her directly in front
of the general.  Drawing back her right leg, she fired a powerful soccer
kick right into his groin.  Strosser let out a high-pitched squeal at the
injury to his family jewels. POW! His crotch was hammered again as the
princess drove her knee into his nuts.  Next, a beautiful spin kick from 
the blonde Amazon smashed into the side of the general's head, sending 
him face first into a wall.  Stumbling dizzily, he turned to face Irina 
for the final time.  She smiled calmly and performed a powerful standing
back handspring.  Her feet plowed into the underside of Strosser's jaw as 
she flipped.  At the moment of impact, a loud CRACK was heard.  The 
general fell to the floor, his neck broken by the amazing strength of the
woman's gymnastic kick.  The princess landed perfectly on her feet and
examined Strosser's corpse with a satisfied look on her pretty face.

"You all right, Pr- I mean Irina?" asked Valentine.

"I'm fine," said the princess. "How about you, Maria?"

"I'm good," answered the captain. "Bitch gave me a black eye, though."

"Well, looks like you paid her back with interest," said Irina with a 
laugh as she observed Colonel Claythorne's body, with its two black eyes
and its broken neck.

"You paid out some good stuff too," Valentine said. "Loved that back
handspring."

"Thanks, babe," Irina replied.  She listened carefully for a moment.  The
gunfire outside had stopped. "Let's get back down there," she said.  The 
two women picked up their assualt rifles and sidearms from the floor, 
then hurried down the stairs and out of the headquarters building.  

Down at the courtyard, the battle was over.  The forces loyal to Strosser
had been thoroughly defeated, and the survivors among them had been taken
prisoner.  The little blonde lieutenant greeted Irina and Valentine with
a smile and a salute.

"Princess, Captain," she said. "The rebels have received a large dosage 
of whoop-ass." Suddenly blushing at the use of her informal language in
the presence of the princess, she started to correct herself, but Irina
shushed her.

"It's okay, Lieutenant," she said. "I admire your spunk.  Good work.  I
see a promotion to captain for you very soon." Turning to Valentine, she
added, "And for you, I see a promotion to major."

"Thank you, Irina," said Valentine.

"Thank you, Princess," said the little blonde.  Irina smiled. "It's okay
for you to call me Irina," she said.

The situation in Zetuvia was quickly cleared up.  The commanders of the
outlying military bases, after hearing what had happened, quickly pledged
loyalty to the princess. The officers who had supported General Strosser's
attempted treason were executed by firing squad.  The grunts of Strosser's
guard who had participated in the rebellion were given long sentences of
hard labor. The two soldiers that had been found with hand-on-butt contact
in the bushes (remember them?) were given additional years on their labor
sentences for homosexual behavior in the army. (The anti-homosexual order
had come from General Strosser. Irina, disagreeing with it, had overturned
the order - thirty seconds after the two soldiers had been sentenced).
Duke Engleford, who was already rather unpopular, became even more 
unpopular when it became known that Strosser had managed to pull the wool
over his eyes, despite his closeness to the general.  He was glad that
Irina would take over soon - anything to get him out of the spotlight's
glare.  The senators who had been kissing up to Strosser quickly began
kissing the princess's ass instead.  In the general's office, documents 
were discovered that proved that he had bought the bricks of cocaine and 
ordered them planted in Irina's room.

By the time of Irina's coronation as Queen on her 20th birthday, peace and 
quiet had returned to the small and sleepy nation of Zetuvia.

THE END

Comments, compliments, and constructive criticism encouraged.

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