The Adventures of Admiral Frost and the Guardian Fleet
A/N:
A short story inspired by Star Wars. Do you want more tales set in this universe? Tell me how I'm doing!
Datalog ID: No. 5938
Status: Admiral
Name: Frost, Jack
Star Date: 13 – 2 – 2853
Entry:
Still no sight of Lieutenant Hiccup. Of the 3 scouting ships we sent out, only 2 came back. The third ship, Wing Commander Astrid's, cannot be traced anywhere. This is extremely odd, as the pilots were in no danger of capture during a routine search-and-reconnaissance mission. Hence Chief Guardian North ordered me to investigate her disappearance. I set off for Berk in a day's time, to the place where she was last spotted in. Hopefully her missing has something to do with Hiccup.
Star Date: 14 – 2 – 2853
Entry:
Spending Valentine's Day on board my starship, looking at a picture of Hiccup on the dashboard. 3 months have passed since he was captured on his way back from Bog-Burgal. As Berk is nearby, logically it would be the first place his captors would take him to. Yet no demands were issued from the captors to the guardians of the fleet, which makes me suspicious of their motives. I have a nagging feeling in my stomach that something much more sinister than ransom is at hand.
Star Date: 16 – 2 – 2853
Entry:
Happy Birthday to me! I'm sitting in a nice bar in Berk enjoying a local delicacy called "Yaknog". Too bad Hiccup isn't with me here to share, like we did for the first time. It was our first mission (or "date") together, right after our visit to the Sultans of Snoggletog. The talks went sour and shots were fired, so we retreated to its Moon and prepared to leave. As I was assigned to protect Hiccup, I followed him into to a restaurant to grab a bite while the ship was warming up. He excused himself to go to the toilet, and as I had to uphold my duty (and also because I fancied the pants off him) I accompanied him to the restroom. He was in the process of relieving himself when he caught me staring (peeping, I was only peeping! I'm not such a pervert!) Not at all embarrassed, he turned around and said to me, "Tell me Jack, do you like what you see?"
That was all it took to confirm my fantasies, and I leapt forwards and wrapped him in my arms with a heartfelt hug. Staring deep into his eyes, I asked, "But how did you know?" "I may be quiet most of the time, but I see things Jack." My hands reached down -
*clang* A Sagiri walked into the bar. From his shiny, polished scales and perfectly manicured horns I could tell he was important. But the thing that caught my eye was the blade at his side. The handle was wrapped in neon yellow, with a talisman tied to the end of the pommel – Astrid's signature weapon, a gift from the Master of Pujong. He must have had something to do with her disappearance. This would require some trickery on my part. Let's hope it doesn't come down to violence.
Star Date: 20 – 2 – 2853
Entry:
I knew I shouldn't have listened to him. "Trust a Sagiri, lose your integrity" is a common phrase. But the man was drunk! Surely he wouldn't be able to conjure up a lie, especially since I spiked his drink with a truth serum. No matter, it was the only lead I had on Astrid. Now for 4 days I have wandered through the Berkian desert, following a beaten path to the "Den of Dranor". I knew the existence of that family, ousted from Bog-Burgal royalty, but never expected them to meddle with the guardian's affairs. They were now just a band of criminals claiming to overtake the throne, and no one paid heed to them. Could this be part of their "grand scheme" of retribution? I must walk to the end and find out.
Star Date: 21 – 2 – 2853
Entry:
The Den is too highly guarded to break in by force. After considering all angles of entry, I conclude the only way to get in is to allow myself to be captured. Good thing I brought with me 2 bargaining chips – Astrid's sword and the Sagiri's name-chain. Hopefully they will believe that their king's son was defeated by me and has been captured.
Star Date: 24 – 2 – 2853
Entry:
Trust Hiccup to save my life! The Sagiris didn't take to me chaining their leader's son too kindly, and only resisted from attacking because their leader told them so. I was forced to kneel before him, and he asked me, "Why did you take my son?"
I replied, "In exchange for something I want." "And what may that be?" "The owner of this blade." He laughed without restraint, and said, "I have too many sons to care for. However, the girl is too important to lose. Take him to the pits!"
I was manhandled down the den and led to a pitch-black crater. It walls were so steep that escape was impossible. Just when I was about to be pushed in, a girl's voice rang out, "Leave him. He holds part of the key."
The guards turned around in surprise, thinking the other prisoner had escaped. But there she was, Astrid chained to 3 guards. By her bruises you could tell she had put up quite a fight, but other than that she was unharmed. I had no idea what she was talking about, but was led away from my prison to followed her.
She pretended she didn't know me, but I sense she had a plan going on. We were ushered into a room lit by a single shaft of light from an opening above. As my eyes adjusted to the brightness, I saw something on the ground, barely standing with two hands chained up to the wall. Hiccup! I wanted to scream his name out loud, but Astrid shot me one of her stares and I knew to shut up.
"Noble King of Dranor, to unlock the power of the Burghal spirit the bearer must be in the presence of the 2 keys – love and honour. I present to you my unbridled passion, and the honour of my comrade which has led him to rescue me."
The King was trembling with excitement, "Finally, what was mine will be rightfully restored! Get on with the summoning, and I may spare your life when I'm king again."
"Let the glorious light bear witness to the ascension of the righteous. Let the spirit, trapped inside the flesh, be released and eaten by the great one. Let the real king rise!"
She started mumbling words, but my mind was oblivious to everything. Hiccup was unchained for the ritual, and I had eyes only for him, my friend, my lover, my Hiccup. I reached out and clasped his weak hands in mine, no doubt because of prolonged torture. He looked up, but instead of boundless joy he whispered urgently to me, "Astrid's buying us time. When she finishes talking, take her hand and get ready to fly."
Right after that her chanting broke, and without thinking I grabbed hold of her. Hiccup sprang up from the ground, but before any of the guards could reach us a burst of fire erupted from his leg. Hiccup's prosthesis! The three of us were propelled up and through the portal of light into the Berkian desert, where Astrid's craft was waiting. We hopped in and sped off, leaving the dastardly Sarges behind.
We held hands all the way home, with Astrid taking her ship and us sharing mine. Turns out she had planned this all along, fooling the Sarges into thinking they captured her by going off the map. They thought somehow that as messenger, the Bog-Burgals entrusted Hiccup with a spirit of the king in an act of goodwill. In the wrong hands anyone with that "spirit" would hold authority over the Burghal people. Such a spirit did in fact exist, but it was the "spirit of friendship", the whole "magical key" was just an old Burghalian legend.
Astrid then pretended she was a priestess from Burghal, able to unlock the key. She ordered Hiccup to be placed under the "eye of the sun", anticipating the use of his rocket prosthesis to escape through the opening. But it took quite some time for her to spin such a story, long enough for the fleet to worry and send me looking for her. But all's well that ends well, and now here we are, safe and sound. I snuggled up to Hiccup's warm body, and he gripped my hands tightly, our fingers intertwined like the vines of trees, its interwovenness a testament to the strength of our love.