To say that Grune was not a happy individual would be understatement of colossal proportions. In the months since he seized control of the mercenary - a word not far removed from criminal - gang, he had accompished exactly dick. Some travellers shaken down, their goods added to his meager war-chest. The captives he'd taken used for both the entertainment of his men and for the growing of foodstuffs to augment what had been taken. A gathering of ramshackle fortifictions in some forest in the middle of Bumfuck, Third Earth. Not an auspicious beginning to an emprire by any means.
He sat in the hut made of wooden supports and hides, its roof tightly woven thatch, and stared into the small fire over which he rotated a cut of meat. Aside from the stone-ringed pit, the floor was bare earth and mats. MATS! he raged as his cybernetic arm turned the spit. A bottle of local whiskey rested at his hip, and he considered another gulp. Fuck it, he thought before upending the bottle once more. The liquor burned down his throat, though with less intensity than the mounting anger. The Clutch who had followed him was quite happy with their current situation. All they thought about was plunder. Among other even less savory things. Perhaps it was a human weakness, he had thought some nights. Their minds were so small that they had to enlist their balls to help with the thinking.
They wanted plunder. He wanted conquest!
He took another slug as the cycle spun up again. Ratar-O had wanted him to keep the ThunderCats distracted. Grune had detected the distinct aroma of bovine fecal matter the moment those words had escaped the Mutant's lips. That bastard was up to something and was using him as a cat's paw (the irony of that thought did not escape him) to see it through. Whatever it was, it had to be bigger than anything that rat bastard thought him capable of.
Grune snarled as he took another slug, distantly grateful that they had such a wide supply. Corn, he huffed. Who knew that strange vegetable could be used to make this?
The ThunderCats, he thought. Their precious colony. He wished to smash it, grind it under his boot! Grune raised his eyes to the aged man in the black cloak, who sat across from him. The elder human's legs were crossed one atop the other, his flask barely touched. The human remained silent, letting Grune stew in his own growing rage. He wanted power, damnit! Rule, territory, a kingdom! His soul bore an insult that would never be washed clean while their city stood. Their self-righteousness, their hollow words about equality and inclusion. And the fuck of it was, people were believing it!
"I know it stings," the old human said as Grune took the meat from the fire and carved off a chunk.
"The weapons you found are an improvement," Grune said as he handed the plate over. The human took it calmly. He placed it in the crux of his legs before cutting a piece off with a knife. While not the equal to Thunderian weapons, they had been a step upward. "But it's not enough."
"I said as much when I first came to you," he said. "It's time for the next step. The Tuskas. The cost will be bloody, but we can take them off the board."
"Yes, yes the Tuskas." Grune bit a chunk off his own knife. This Agito had come through for him before with better weapons, that was true, but what was he really after? Seeing history made? My ass, Grune thought. Still, he had to admit that the human had a point. The Tuskas were the most advanced species on this planet, aside from Grune's own. Their weapons were formidable, and their training just as much. They were a power on Third Earth, no doubt about it. "And, the ThunderCats are farther away from the clan they made contact with."
"Exactly," Agito replied. "They cannot send help."
"But can we take them?"
"There is a way."
"Don't keep me in suspense."
"Send the slaves in."
"Have you lost it?" Grune shouted.
"It's an ancient tactic," Agito said before munching on a cube of meat. As Agito explained, Grune felt his jaw unhinge from sheer disbelief. He even remained speechless for several moments after the human had finished.
"You son of a bitch..." he eventually said before ripping off another bite and savoring the juices released. "So that's what that was?" Grune whistled softly at Agito's description of the strange relic he had found. "That still leaves Watershed."
"Yes, the home of the other Guyver," Agito said. "Best we avoid that place for now."
"Agreed." Despite himself, Grune felt a chill settle into his blood even with the warmth of the whiskey he socked back spreading from his stomach. "Why the hell are you doing this?" he asked again.
"It's not often one gets to see history made."
That line, Grune thought, again! He bit off another chunk. Agito had to die, that much was obvious, and the upcoming assault on the Tuskas was the perfect opportunity. Ratar-O was playing him, and this human was trying the same game. However, the only way forward was to play it for now. Whatever this human was after, the Tuskas had it. Agito wanted it, and so did he. If he was lucky, it could be something that would let him wipe that Mutant bastard out as well. And from there...?
Agito chewed his roasted meat in silence. He suffered no illusions about his position in this place. Grune was, he thought, even now plotting how to kill him and thinking it would be easy.
His plan had gone to hell in a handbasket. Sho's mind was closed to him now. Lisker simply lacked the knowledge he needed. The reveleation of the Tuska's stockpile from Second Earth had become his only hope. None of the other stocks of advanced weaponry had contained what he sought, though it had armed the Clutch with something approaching the Tuska's firepower. If not their numbers. Or training. Or anything else useful for that matter. With his appetite sated, he rose and excused himself.
The morning had dawned clear and sunlight dappled through the boughs above to reach the ground in irregular patterns. It served as a stark counterpoint to the sty he lived in for the moment. The ground had been beaten to bare earth with ramshackle huts, tents, and lean-tos dotting the spaces between the trees and the smell of offal that did its best to overpower the scents of nature. Sections of the wood had been cleared to be used as plots for the growing of food, not that the Clutch had done the work or the poor bastards who had got much of the bounty.
Agito knew that taking the Tuskas force-on-force was just left of impossible. Victory would require sacrifice, but then it always had. Agito continued his walk, letting the memories of the past play before his mind's eye.
He'd had power. He'd gained the Gigantic Dark on that day when he'd raided Celestial Hall and seized the first Relic's giant control medal. But, they had been a step ahead. He recalled the last battle, as Alkanphel laughed and the world burned. Life would one day return in the image of Chronos, he'd said. And in many ways, it had.
Alkanphel and Valkus had put one last plan in place as events had spiralled down to doomsday. The myraid chemicals and genetic tonics used in the creation of Zoanoids had spilled into the soil, the ground water, the oceans. Even after the final battle, even after Fukamachi had done with the Guyver what even Agito could not. they still had victory. New life had emerged much in the image of the monsters of Chronos. Civilization had been annihilated. Humanity nearly wiped out. New creatures rising far faster than evolutionary science said they should. The ground water nurtured the plants, the herbivores ate the plants, and the predators ate them. The pollution had spread on multiple levels.
The most galling thing to Agito was that his actions had helped create this world. He had been poised to sit atop humanity as Zeus from the ancient stories. After the battle, all he would have ruled was a burning wasteland with mutations rising up to claim what had once belonged to man. And then there had been Mumm-Ra.
A figure out of Egyptian myth, emerging as though from the Stargate of that movie he had seen once before the world had fallen. Agito had long wondered about him, and the source of his power. He believed in magic about as much as he believed in Santa Claus, yet what else could have explained that thing's power? He'd applied his mind to it on seeing Mumm-Ra move throughout the years, and had once thought that the rituals and incantations were merely activation codes for genetically programmed abilities. Perhaps that had been true, since Guyver One had obliterated him with the MegaSmasher. Agito had to admit that there was far more to the universe than he understood, but magic and spells? That belonged in the realm of tabletop role-playing games. Even so, he'd never had the chance to find out and had felt no desire to rule over the morass that the world had become. He'd turned men into manufactured super weapons with a very limited shelf life. He'd turned the one person he might have loved into a manufactured goddess to dominate them and used her love for him to enforce his will. All he'd wanted was to take the world from Chronos. Instead, they had destroyed it.
Agito took a seat on a flat rock well outside the gathering of the Clutch. It's smooth surface allowed him to rest his legs and back as the trip down memory lane continued.
He'd pinned his hopes on Sho, and that had not been a mistake. His handling of the situation, however, had been. Agito had retreated after the last battle, simply wandering the world he had helped to create. Ruling those creatures would have been pointless. He'd wanted what legends had called Second Earth. He'd wanted Japan, NATO, all of the nations kneeling before his throne. What he'd gotten had been little more than a rapidly evolving primordial soup and the presence of Mumm-Ra, a creature he still could not understand. Who or what had created him? Magic or not, he'd still had power, and Agito could never figure out from whence it came. He'd wondered if the Uranus had created him, but the power he'd held bore few similarities to that of a Zoalord. He'd recalled the Zoalord that had been made from a sentient forest, another abandoned experiment of the Uranus, but that line of investigation had borne no fruit.
And so, he was stuck. Out of time and out of options. Sho had not heeded him. He had fully sided with the ThunderCats, even haven taken a lover among them, the damned fool.
Well, if this pans out, he will pay for that misjudgment, Agito thought.
Ceres Mandora sat at the main console in the control center of Cat's Lair, situated just before the main viewscreen. From the curved main console she was able to access all the functions of the Lair's sensor and security apparatus as well as communications. Though the entire facility was set up for one person to run, it had been fully staffed since the news of Lisker's location and Grune still being on the mortal coil had reached them. With the lack of a military and better weapons still in development, constant vigilance was crucial even if it was draining for the ThunderCats - and human allies - who took turns manning the systems. With the birth of Prince Leoran, Twelfth of his Name (though no one bothered with the last bit), Lion-O and Cheetara were both unavailable. Her current crew consisted of WilyKit on the communications section and Kyranna manning tactical, which involved the Lair's weapons arrays. As such, Mandora was left with the sensors. Though she would have preferred to be at tactical, it was this rotation she had drawn. It would have angered her if the rotations were not at random. Besides, she could easily have the other two stations routed to hers. This day most of the others had been deployed. Tygra's second-to-last Annontment Trial was about to begin, and outside interference could not be allowed.
"We have company," she said as the viewscreen focused to a point just beyond Third Earth's moon. Her eyes narrowed as the small ship emerged from the glow generated by x ray and gamma ray generation emitted by a ship travelling via spatial shear. Spatial shear and the still-not-entirely-understood hyperspatial realm made space travel possible, the actual size of the Pan-Galactic Federation was vanishingly small on the cosmic scale. The failures to develop true FTL had hindered its growth. Mandora allowed herself a smile as the small delta-shaped ship came into view. If Panthro's work succeeded...
Her eyes narrowed as she took a closer look. It was a CONTROL Corsair-class ship. Meant for one occupant, and headed toward Third Earth. She informed WilyKit and Kyranna of such.
"Wonder what they want?" Kit asked. "The Corsair's hailing us. Putting it on."
The image resolved in a second, and Mandora resisted the urge to audibly growl. His green hair was coiffed as ever, eyes of the same shade radiating cheer over a sharp nose and pouty lips. He had kept up with the fitness regimen, she noted, yet that did nothing to improve her opinion of him.
"Mandy!" he crowed with what she could only call a shit-eating grin. "How're things?"
"I've told you never to call me that!" Mandora could feel the eyes on her back.
"Sorry, sorry!" the man aboard the ship exclaimed with hands raised before him. "I officially request permission to land."
"We'll need to get back to you, Corman," Mandora replied coldly. "Out." On cue, Kit terminated the connection. Mandora leaned back in her seat and ran a hand over her face.
"So, we're making him stay in orbit... why?" Kyranna asked. Mandora swivelled her chair and looked at the other two women.
"He's a CONTROL recruiter," Mandora explained, "and about as slimy as you can get."
"Did he recruit you?" Kyranna asked with a smirk.
"Actually, he did," Mandora replied. Two pairs of eyes went wide that that. "While I don't regret my service to CONTROL, I do resent the lies he told me."
"Um... what?" Kit asked.
"He'll promise all kinds of things to meet a quota," Mandora explained. "Travel to exotic worlds, a life of adventure, fighting the good fight, and rah rah rah. He just doesn't mention the rest."
"So, that still doesn't explain the cold shoulder," Kyranna said.
"You know who he's after." WilyKit and Kyranna blinked hard at that.
"Oh."
"We should've seen this coming," Kit added.
"Right," Mandora replied. "And we all know what Sho's gonna say."
"Something about where to go, how to get there, and what to do on arrival," Kyranna replied.
"What's the big deal?" Kit asked "Sho tells him to bugger off, and that's it."
"I don't like this at all," Mandora said, her sapphire eyes hard. "Mitchell Corman was sent here for Sho, that much is obvious. If he gets a few others to join up, so much the better, but Sho is his main objective. He has to be."
"And Sho will tell him to piss off, and that's that," Kyranna said. "What's the big deal?"
"I'm not worried about Corman seducing Sho," Mandora said, "but what will happen when he fails?"
"Um... mind telling the rest of us?"
"Kit, it's like this. We don't exactly get PGNN out here," by which Mandora meant Pan-Galactic News Network. "Even if we did, I highly doubt we'd get much truth about the current state of CONTROL. My former organization," And that thought sitll hurt, "has lost a lot of prestige and power. I have no idea who's in charge now and what their agenda might be."
"This seems to be an interesting discussion," said Claudis as he emerged from the lift at the rear of the control chamber. All three women stood and saluted, knowing the former king would not see it. "What have I missed?" Mandora explained at length.
"Corman is hailing again," Kit said.
"He can wait," Claudis answered, his voice firm. "Mandora, I find myself in agreement with you. What seems obvious may not be true. But we very well cannot deny our guest a berth."
"Mandora! That was rude you know..."
"Proceed to forty-seven by eighty," Mandora said. "Tansmitting local coordinates now."
"That puts me outside your city. Not a friendly gesture, Mandora."
"Save it. We don't have dedicated air lanes nor do we have docking facilities. Land and proceed to the gate to your west. The guards will be told to expect you. New Thundera out."
Tygra emerged into the clearing of the waterfall to see Panthro standing at the edge of the rippling pool. The air was clean, redolent of growing trees and grasses and filled with the roar of water cascading down a cliff into the pool. He looked about, finding two posts standing upright just under the cascade of water. Tygra was immediately confused, knowing that this was his Trial of Strength. Panthro stood before him, serene and calm, and that worried Tygra even more. A martial contest was something he had been preparing for, but that obviously was not in the cards. Panthro was stripped to the waist, and Tygra began to remove the top of his uniform to do the same.
"If the trip was this easy," Tygra began, "then this has to be a doozy." He took a second look at the posts standing up from the waters of the lake, and it suddenly occurred to him.
"There are a lot of ways to test strength," Panthro said as they neared the lake's edge. "I tested Lion-O's one way. I'll test yours another." With that they leapt to the upright poles. The falling water was cold as ice as it hit Tygra's skin and his only comfort was knowing that it affected Panthro the same way.
"So we wait?"
"We wait." Tygra didn't have to ask what they were waiting for. He erected blocks in his mind against the cold, knowing how dangerous it was to do so. The body had ways of telling the mind that things were getting too rough. By choosing to ignore those, both Panthro and Tygra put themselves at potentially grave risk.
I couldn't expect this to be easy, Tygra thought. The icy shower rained down, and both participants readied themselves for the wait.
"What was that local saying you brought up?" Torr asked Sho as they beheld the sepectacle from the top of the waterfall. "Watching paint dry?"
"That was it," Sho replied as he peered through the binoculars.
"I think we found something even more boring."
"Hey, what's that?" Sho asked as he extended an arm down. Torr looked down only to find his forefinger and thumb in a circle with the other fingers extended.
"Damnit!" Torr exclaimed while Sho laughed.
"You said this was boring," the human said.
"One of these days, I'm gonna learn not to fall for that shit," Torr replied with a mock growl. Sho had introduced Bengali to the game first, and the white Tyger had done the same with Torr. "And, I stand by what I said. This is boring."
"Yeah, I'm not much into watching two guys getting soaked," Sho agreed. "How's Layla?"
"Fat an' happy," Torr said. "Sleeping through the night, too." His and Kyranna's child had been born partway through the previous winter, the first Thunderian female to be so on Third Earth. "I really thought that would take longer. Say, when're you and Myrlha gonna take the plunge?"
"After the Annointment Trials," Sho replied. "Just this one and one more to go." Sho scanned the area with his binoculars again, and found nothing.
Myrlha knelt down on the floor of the classroom as the little girl looked up at her. She hadn't told Sho about the preparations she'd made. The young girl's blonde hair was spotted with black, her tunic and boots as pink as the markings over her eyes. She was of Cheetah Clan, and especially young since her markings had yet to color in.
"I'd like to ask you something," Myrlha said with a soft smile. They were alone in the classroom. Leah looked up at her, her eyes wide and curious.
"Ask me what, Miss Myrlha?"
"How would you like to live in Cat's Lair?" Leah gaped up at her for several seconds. "With me."
"I..." Leah's lower lip began to quiver, her eyes beginning to swim. Myrlha had been considering this for months with Sho. Their efforts to concieve a cub had proven fruitless despite their numerous attempts. Their DNA was simply incompatable. Myrlha kept her hands on Leah's shoulders and a smile on her face. Leah was among the last of the orphans to be adopted, for a reason that she did not know.
"I'd like you to live with me. If you want to." Leah had come from the captives held of the Vertis, her parents lost with Thundera. It had been Etain who had first placed the bug in Myrlha's ear about the little girl. "You miss them. Your mom and dad."
"Uh-Huh," Leah replied. Myrlha smiled as she carressed Leah's face and hooked a strand of hair behind her ear.
"Don't you ever forget them," Myrlha said. "Keep them in your heart, always."
"Uh-huh," Leah said again. "Are you sure?"
"About you living with me?"
"Uh-huh."
"Absolutely." Leah looked up at her with brigthening eyes. "Come on, Leah. Let's go home. Leah placed her hand in Myrlha's and looked up at her with a smile. They exited the school and into the busy streets of the Colony.
"If you ever want to talk," Myrlha said, "I'm here. And so is Sho." Myrlha realized that her short career in teaching was now at an end, which suited her. As she and Sho had talked of adoption, she had spoken with Etain about a charge of the Vanguard and a ThunderCat being in public education. Yes, they could give this girl a better life. However, with two such public figures as her guardians... The political concerns simply eliminated her future as a teacher. Myrlha could not mourn that. Avril seemed terrified of her - more properly, her soon-to-be hunsband. Myrlha knew her own continued presence in the education system in her current role would not end well.
"I'd... I'd like that, Miss Myrlha," Leah said with a tentative smile.
"But, don't call me 'Miss', okay?"
"Okay," Leah giggled.
They finally stood before him. Four adult men and one adult Torvid, their bodies mostly replaced with cybernetics. Their faces were still visible, which bothered him to no end, along with their right forearms. Their bodies gleamed blue save for the Torvid who was encased in bronze colored alloy. Sven Thorson looked upon these cybernetic soldiers standing before him and uncharachteristally questioned himself. A soldier from front to back, he had participated in some quetionable activities. He recalled a small sermon a commanding officer had given once, about how the military became one's mother and father, sister and brother.
"Squad Silverhawks, ready for action, sir!" their leader, who had been known as Jonathan Quick, said. His new name was Quicksilver.
"At ease," Thorson said. For the first time he found himself having doubts that he wrote off to pre-mission jitters. No one was immune to those. He marched before them, studying the former humans who had been converted into mechanistic soldiers. Quicksilver, whose coloration was true to his name. Steelheart and Steelwill, a willowy female and a burly male who looked as though he had eaten barbells in his former life. Oddly, his chin had also been replaced with metal in the shape of a thin beard. Tall and lanky, Bluegrass stood to with a kerchief about his neck and a large Stetson hat atop his head. Lastly, the Torvid stood at the height of an average thirteen-year-old human. Unlik the others, his frame was colored bright copper with a pair of detatchable discs on each hip.
The cybernetic TallyHawk flew toward Quicksilver, who immediately extended his arm for the bird to land on. There was something perverse about seeing human faces on machines. Thorson shook the feeling off.
"Very good," he said simply. "Dismissed." The SilverHawks turned as one and filed out, leaving him with Sif and Doctor Banes. He turned on the doctor.
"They do have personalities of a sort," Banes replied to the unasked question. "As for the question of control, TallyHawk manages that along with data coordination."
"And how does Polly do that?" she asked in an acid voice.
"Their brains are encased in a nanofiber mesh that allows their organics to interact with their cybernetics," Banes explained. He marched back and forth before Thorson's desk and his body became more animated with each moment of explanation. Banes, it was clear, felt truly in his element when describing his own genius. "An integral part of that system monitors chemical levels in what's left of their brains and regulates them for desired behaviors. This system is dual-layered, working with software that determines what they should be thinking and feeling at the time. The true masterstroke is TallyHawk."
"Explain" Thorson ordered.
"It's really rather elegant," Banes said, his eyes alight with scientific fire. "TallyHawk not only coordinates their movements and provides advanced intel, it also serves as a regulatory measure on their thoughts and emotions. It's connected to the master control sytems in their neural mesh networks. Not only will they obey orders, they will think that they are doing so by their own will." Banes had given his spiel while pacing before Thorson's desk. "This will eliminate any chance of them suddenly resisting commands due to any lingering morality."
"Very well," Thorson said. "Dismissed." The scientist took his leave. Sven Thorson could not help but think the air was cleaner for his absence.
"Speaking of morality," Sif said softly.
"Concur," Thorson replied. Banes was a mad scientist straight out of an old sci-fi vid. "Christ, but he gives me the creeps."
"He is necessary for the project."
"I still want to flush him out of an airlock," Thorson said. "Status on Cormin?"
"He's there now."
The cascading water was freezing, yet Tygra remained standing beneath the falling stream. The log beneath him had barely enough circumference for his feet yet he stood firm.
"Remember that night at the Oasis?" he asked and was gratified to see Panthro's mein soften a little.
"I don't remember a lot of the nights we spent there," he said. "All the cheap beer you could drink."
"And Jaga, did we ever." Both chuckled at that. "I remember the Drunkard's Sandwich." Panthro laughed at that.
"And we ate a bunch of those when we got wasted," Panthro said. "Dr. Unk's Oasis. Man, I'd forgotten about that." Tygra remembered the sandwich well.
"About the most unhealthy thing you could eat," Tygra said, smiling at the, admittedly, fragmented memories of those heady days.
"Damn right," Panthro answered. "But damn it was good. Especially when we were hammered!"
Cheetara reclined in the bed she shared with Lion-O with Leoran resting in her arms. A silken robe covered her beneath the blankets as the scents of renewing greenery wafted through the open windows. Lion-O himself was in the kitchens. Leoran began to stir, which one of her nipples silenced. She took a last bite of buffalo roast. She found herself looking forward to the day the colony could harvest rice and fish Salmon from the Northwestern waters. That sushi concoction Sho had introduced her to had been incredible.
"Hungry again?" She asked with a smile as Leoran began to nurse again. Despite the pain, she cradled him even more closely. Her breasts were swollen, nearly every inch of her anatomy below herwaist hurt like hell, but it was more than worth it.
Lion-O eased into the bed from her right, his left arm sliding over her shoulders as his presence pressed in on her in a most welcome manner. The new parents reclined there for a while as Leoran satisfied his hunger.
"He's so beautiful," Lion-O said as he trailed a finger down Leoran's chubby face.
"I think we did a good job on this one," Cheetara said as her son nursed. He handed her a glass of apple juice as he beheld his son. "It's been one hell of a road to get here."
"You're telling me?" she laughed before leaning up for a kiss that he gladly gave. "Every step of the way was worth it." She leaned against him, feeling his hard musculature against her back. "I used to babysit you, and now I've had your baby."
"You never can tell where life will take you."
"But, by all that's sacred, I'm happy about where ours is now."
Lion-O looked down at Leoran in her arms, swaddled in a blanket. A tuft of lightly red hair peeked out from the blanket, faint markings over his eyes which mirrored Cheetara's own. Though his skin was tawny, it was of a paler shade than Lion-O's own. Leoran's mouth was firmly affixed, his eyes still closed. Lion-O smiled down at his son, who seemed to have his priorities properly lined up.
I swear to you, he said silently. I swear to you that you will have a kingdom. You will grow and become a man in a loving home. And you will inherit a better world. The blank spot in his mind regarding his time in the Core of the Book of Omens was far from his contemplation.
"Ceres!" Corman exclaimed as the guards escorted him in through the main gate of the colony. Mandora stood still as a statue as he approached, arms crossed severely and her face a cold mask. Thunderians, Wollos, and Bolkins alike crossed through the main square, some sparing glances at the green-haired human. "Quite a walk you put me through! I'd almost think I wasn't welcome here!" His voice was loud and boisterous, filled with brass and confidence.
"CONTROL physical standards are more stringent than a walk through the woods," Mandora said. "This way." She turned abruptly and heard him scampering to catch up.
"Say, I was wondering if there's a place to get a drink around here." They entered the colony square after a few minutes and Mandora pointed at the Bolkin Bar. "Oh, smells good!" The arcology of Cat's Lair was visible from the central space yet Mandora turned away from it. "Um where are we going?"
"There's an inn not far from here," Mandora said in clipped words. "A room has been prepared for you."
"You know, you're making me feel a little unwelcome here."
"Listen," Mandora replied, turning about to face him. "Our king is tending to his newborn son and will not accept an audience for some time yet. Your room and board is already arranged. Any tabs you rack up in restaurants will be paid by the ThunderCats. You will be extended every courtesy within reason."
"Now we're getting somewhere," Cormin said, his grin not having slipped an inch. "Now, I'm..."
"I know who you're here to see, and he is indisposed at the moment." Mandora took some small satisfaction at the slight crack in his demeanor.
"Okay, I admit," he said with his hands raised in a placating gesture, "I'm here to see him. But, Ceres, think about it. CONTROL is reforming, rooting out the corrption, and will rise from the ashes."
"Don't trouble me with the political spiel," Mandora said. "You will first see King Lion-O, and you will do so at his pleasure. Until then, enjoy your stay in New Thundera."
"You've really bought into this," Cormin noted. Mandora simply nodded.
"You will be contacted soon. Again, enjoy your stay." With that, she turned on her heel and left.
Cormin shook his head before entering the two story stone edifice that was the inn. The inside was decorated with stained wood and sturdy furniture with rugs dotted on the floor. Behind a long walnut desk was a Wollo woman who greeted him warmly and led him to his top floor room. The space was simple, with a single bed, a stuffed chair, a dresser and a table. Cormin thanked her and after she left, he placed his bag on the dresser and removed a data recorder.
Despite his outward demanor, Cormin was a realist. He knew that his mission was merely a formality. If Sho agreed to his sales pitch, then that was all well and good, but he knew it would never happen. Third Earth was not an affilliated world, and as such Cormin's own presence on the planet was precarious at best. His presence in this colony - he could not call it a nation - was at the sufferage of a fucking backwoods monarch. Even so, he had his mission though it was understood that he was expected to fail.
Cormin left the inn and made a beeline to the Bolkin Bar that Mandora had pointed out to him. Weeks of subsisting on rations left him craving real food and, he hoped, some beer.
"Hey," Panthro said as the water rained down. "You remember that girl who was so interested in you?" It was Panthro's turn to steer their concentration away from the freezing water raining down on them.
"There was more than one," Tygra replied, indignant. He kept the shivers at bay with pure will power, which Panthro was matching every step of the way.
"She was a Tabbess," Panthro said, which recalled the memories.
"I was drunk!" Tygra shouted.
"And you didn't listen to your wingman," Panthro laughed. "I tried to warn you, man, but you were all full speed ahead!" He laughed at the recollection. "You cannot handle your booze."
"Why do you think I cut back on the drinking?" Tygra asked. He paused then. "Nice try, Panthro."
"I was wondering if you'd catch that," he said as the water rained down.
"As I recall, Grune was my wingman on that one," Tygra said mildly. He saw Panthro's demeanor crack at that. "You're right, I did ignore him."
"Fucking shame how he turned out," Panthro said.
A stalemate, Tygra thought. He returned his focus inward. If he were to win this challenge, then conversation was not truly an option.
"Test Zero Zero Four," Pumyra began for the recorders. "G-Cell samples in cell cultures from a native Third Earth lifeform. Lifeform is called a deer. Beginning insertion." She peered through the scanning electron microscope at the cell culture as the G-Cells were introduced. Again, she thought as the G-Cells dissolved, nothing. She leaned back and rubbed her eyes. None, absoultely none, of the samples introduced to the G-Cells had produced a single result. She had tried everything, yet there was no response.
I'm going about this wrong, she told herself. Perhaps G-Cells were as individual as their hosts? Something has to program them to perform miracles of healing...
Is that what I'm missing?
It all fit. All her G-Cells had come from Sho. If the Control Medal truly regulated them, then her samples would only respond to his genetic code. In fact, the only samples which had even responded at all had come from him. And they had stopped at their preprogrammed points! Pumyra looked through her data. Even trying to use the G-Cells as Stem cells hadn't worked!
Somenthing in them records the host's DNA! she thought. If that's not present, and the Control Medal is absent... It all worked! A Guyver's restorative powers were tailored to its host! She leaned back in her chair and crossed her ankles on her desk. She then reached for the pot of coffee she always kept handy for times of thought. While the kitchen staff ground it, she preferred her own brew; on the strong side of mild.
I wonder, she thought as she engaged in what she had always called a Mind Experiment. If it were possible to isolate the host DNA in the G-Cell nucleus, remove it, and replace it with that of another...
There were myrid problems with that approach. A full understanding of the Bio-Booster Armor would require harvesting a fresh unit and that was just not in the cards. Pumyra did not trouble herself with the so called Prophecy. Such things had no place in the realm of science. On the other hand, finding a fresh unit was impossible unless Sho's memories were wrong or still incomplete. He had warned them against trusting the written words of that Agito, another Guyver who had lived on this world outside of suspension.
She drained her coffee before saving her data and powering down her systems. Bengali was waiting with Darin, and it was high time she changed hats from doctor to mother. This problem would wait for now.
Agito slipped into the hut which held the leaders among the slaves. He had befriended them over the weeks and months, pretending to be a captive himself. The stink of unwashed bodies washed over his nose as the wretches stared up at him. He had befriended them, and misled them. Fortunately, they would not know how badly.
"The time is now," he said to the humans, Wollos, and Bolkins assembled. "They're passed out drunk. Now is your time."
"They will follow us!" a Bolkin piped up.
"They will not," Agito said. "I slipped a powder into their drink. By the time they awake, you will be long gone. You must go. Quickly!"
It was so easy. They emerged from the hut to find the Clutch sleeping all about. From there, they went to other pens to arouse other slave. Agito watched it happen and enjoyed the irony. If such a tactic could work for Lisker, then it could work for him. They raided the supply depot, taking food and, among the humans, weapons. He spied one troop of Wollos who recovered the artifact he had instructed them to find and take to the Tuskas along with a warning about the Clutch.
"I'll be damned," Grune said from his right. "It's working like a fucking charm." Agito nodded as one of the humans hefted the pack which he had planted among the supplies. This one had argured for contacting the Tuskas, and therefore the ThunderCats.
"Just a matter of time, now," Agito said.
"When will you depart?"
"Just behind him," Grune said. "I have to make sure he reaches them alive. It would not do for him to die now."
"I don't believe it," Torr said as the latest intercepts from Tygra's and Panthro's conversations came to them. "Panthro and Tygra back-to-back in a bar fight?!"
Tygra laughed at the memories at the same moment he realized what was happening. Panthro was using his own tactic. Bringing up old memories to distract him. The water rained down yet more, growing ever colder as Tygra renewed his defenses. The tactic of bringing up old memories had worked after a fashion, but Panthro had seen through it.
This is it, then, Tygra told himself. His path to victory was open yet utterly repugnant. However, the Annointment Trials were not about fair play.
I am truly sorry, my friend, Tygra thought as he readied his final assault. His limbs were numb from cold, and would develop frostbite before long. This had to end soon, and Tygra knew just how to do it.
I only pray you can forgive me, my friend, he thought.
"Dasheera," Tygra said with a dreamy tone in his voice that was not entirely feigned.
"What about her?" Panthro replied, not seeing the trap.
I remember when she used to follow us around like a little lost kitten."
"Yeah. So do I. I remember she had a crush on you."
"And you told me about it." Jaga's beard, Panthro, forgive me. Beisdes, it was the truth. Tygra was not proud of it.
"Yeah?" I am really gonna hate myself for this, Tygra thought.
"I was her first."
"I'm sorry, what?" Panthro exclaimed.
"Before she left for Medical School," Tygra said in a measured voice, all the more so for the fact that this was true, "she and I met."
"And?"
"Well, one thing led to another and..."
"No..."
"We were young, one thing led to another..." Tygra could see that it was working. Now, he just had to survive it.
"You... and her..."
"Yes. We did."
"YOU SON OF A..." All at once, Panthro realized his mistake. He fought to maintain his balance yet failed and fell into the crystal clear pool. Panthro erupted from the surface sputtering and panting.
"Oh, I can't believe that got you!" Tygra crowed as Panthro resurfaced. Panthro sputtered in the pool and looked up at him.
"You son of a bitch," Panthro said. "I never thought you'd go there. Well done!" With that, Panthro took the insignia from his belt and tossed it to Tygra. "I'd always suspected, but... DAMN!"
"What?" Tygra asked as he leapt down from his own pole.
"To think you got me with the Bro Code!" Panthro crowed.
"What?"
"I knew," Panthro said as he clapped hands on Tygra's shoulder. "At least, I always thought so."
"So why did you..."
"I never knew for sure," Panthro said. "Deflowering my sister? I gotta admit, that got me. And for that, you got me to fall first. Congratulations, you passed."
"But..."
"Save it. I was her brother, not her keeper," Panthro said. "You took a pretty big chance," Panthro added.
"I know." Panthro's sister, like the rest of his family, had been lost with Thundera.
"You win, Tygra. You win. And, I'm glad she at least found some love."
"Thank you," Tygra replied, otherwise at a loss for what to say.
"Well, damn," Torr said. He rose from his perch next to Sho. "Time to pack it in, I guess."
"Yeah," Sho replied. He was forced to realize that, no matter what he learned of the ThunderCats, he was still an alien to their culture and their shared experiences. He shrugged as he rose to gather the supplies he and Torr had brought.
"Hey, Sho, how about a beer tonight?" Torr asked.
"Don't you have to get home?" Sho retorted.
"I got some at home. Besides, the wife invited Mrylha over. Why not?"
"Okay, then. I'll see you there."
His meal at the Bolkin Bar had been equisite if not overly productive. Cormin leaned back on his bed and pondered that fact. It constantly amused him that no one guessed his true role in events, that of an intelligence officer. Often, his recruiting missions served as an excellent cover for his true aims. No one in New Thundera, however, was yet willing to speak to him. Establishing contacts would take some time.
He knew full well for whom he worked and what his task was. The new military command of CONTROL obviously wanted eyes and ears on Third Earth. Establishing that would take time. Perhaps even more than his employers wished to spend.
Even Ceres Mandora had no clue as to his true role, but even so, he had enjoyed no luck in recruiting. This time, at least. However, his orders did leave him slightly puzzled. Yes, he had been instructed to try and recruit the Guyver. Yes, he had been instructed to recruit any others who had shown interest. All of that had made sense. Even if this world chose not to join or affiliate with the PGF, his goal was to establish at least some kind of beachhead here. The problem had been the timing. The mission clock had been set far too short.
Cormin was no fool. His true goal was to get Sho Fukamachi to enlist. Anything else was secondary, but to what? That's above my pay grade, he thought as he lay back on the simple bed. Whatever the new military command of CONTROL had in mind for this planet was not his concern. His orders were to try to recruit, and not to establish diplomatic relations. Now, what the hell could that mean? Cormin took a last slug of what Bundan of the Bolkin Bar had called vodka before calling it a night. Who could have thought that lowly potatoes could make booze this smooth?
"So, what's the surprise?" Sho asked as he and Myrlha entered their quarters. The lights came up on their own, and he saw the pink-marked Cheetah child standing in their foyer. His heart froze at the sight of her. She looked up at him with palpable fear, another survivor of the Vertis who had either seen or heard of his powers as a Guyver.
"Mister Sho," she said in a halting voice. "Miss Myrlha said I could live here. Is that okay?" His heart instantly melted.
"I would like to know your name," he said, kneeling before her.
"I'm Leah." She tugged down at her tunic, her eyes downcast.
"I understand you want to live with us?" He replied with a grin.
"I'd like that very much." Sho shot a glance over his shoulder at Myrlha before placing his hands on Leah's shoulders.
"We'd be happy to have you," Sho said. "Welcome home."
"Thank you," she said, still downcast.
"Hey, c'mon, no tears here," Sho said. "You miss your mom and dad, huh?"
"Yes..." The poor girl was reacting almost like a robot, he saw. Sho cupped a hand under her chin and lifted her gaze up to his.
"I'm sorry, Leah. I'm so sorry."
"What for?"
"Your parents are gone, aren't they?" Leah's eyes filled with tears, though she simply nodded. "I'm sorry I couldn't save them. I truly wish I could have."
"I know," Leah said.
"Please, Leah, stay with us. I'd love to have you here."
"So would I," Myrlha said.
"I promise you," Sho said as he cupped Leah's hands in his. "You are safe now. I will do everything in my power to protect you. We're not your mom and dad, and we can't ever replace them." Sho felt a stab of pain from the loss of his own mother, and from the circumstances of how he lost his own father. "But, I promise you this. You are our child now. We will love you, raise you, and be there for everything." Leah's eyes began to shine with tears. Sho pressed on. "No matter what. You are our daughter from here on out. And we will love you for all the days of your life." The tears in Leah's eyes began to spill, and Sho wrapped her in a hug, the kind his own father would give him during childhood. "This is a strange world, but you have us. Now and forever." He felt Myrlha's arms around him and Leah. The young Cheetah's tears soaked his shirt and he felt her chest hitching from the sobs. Sho pulled her more tightly against himself, thinking all the warm and reassuring thoughts he could. This child had lost her only famlily and found herself thrust into an entirely new world. He briefly wondered how she had not been adopted before discarding the thought. Wollos, Bolkins, and Berbils had not adopted Thunderian children, and the reason was obvious. It wasn't that there were laws against it, but that there were no laws even considering it. Any of them would have been happy to have Leah in their lives.
But...
As a Vanguard, and with Myrlha as a ThunderCat, they had status. Leah becoming their daughter could happen far more easily. It made sense. The laws in place were simple, and said nothing about this. All it would take was for Lion-O to nod his head and it would be official. And, Sho could see, Leah needed that. She needed a family and he swore that he would give her the family she deserved.
"You can call me Sho, if you want." With that, her face broke into a tentative smile.
"Papa," she said before wrapping her arms around him. Sho returned the gesture, moved nearly to tears as this child, this promise for the future, accepted him.
"I've never been a dad before," Sho said, "and I'm going to mess up from time to time. But, I will do my best for you. My..." the word stuck in his throat briefly, a word that he never thought he would ever say. "My daughter." Those two words rang out as he held Leah in his arms. Yes, he thought, she is my daughter now. "Now, I think it's time for bed."
"Okay," Leah said before yawning mightily. Sho felt his heart melt. "Mama made me a room." Tears stung his eyes then, and he heard Myrlha take a sniffling breath. "G'night." As she crossed the foyer toward the door that had to be her room, Sho rose and walked silently through the connecting hallway to their room and into the shower. He heard Myrlha behind him the entire time and heard the sounds of her clothes slipping off as he doffed his.
"Thank you," he said as he removed his shirt. "Tonight... this was... Myrlha, that was one of the best moments of my life."
"She was just so alone," Myrlha said as she slid up behind him and began to run her hands over the muscles of his chest and abdomen. "I... I couldn't just let that stand."
"I know," Sho replied as he relaxed beneath her hands. "She needs a home." The other races had not exactly lined up to adopt Thunderian orphans, mostly because other Thunderian families had stepped up. However, several children had been lost in the shuffle. He'd heard about Wollo families adopting Thunderian children, but Leah seemed to have been lost in the shuffle. Well, now she had been found.
"How's it feel to be a daddy?" Myrlha asked playfully.
"Can I get back to you on that?" Sho asked as she massaged his shoulders and dug her claws in the way he liked. "I've only been a dad for five minutes." They stepped into the shower and Sho activated the heated stream. The droplets fell on both of them, soaking them instantly. "Myrlha, nothing in what I remember of my life has ever matched this. Thank you." She slid her arms around him, pressing her breasts into his hard chest as she kissed him. Breathless, they parted and Sho got a wicked gleam in his eyes.
"What are you thinking?" she asked as he kissed he wrist, that spot which drove her crazy.
"We're not gonna be overheard in here," he said as he move up her arm, to her collarbone, and down to her breasts. His lips traced down her abdomen, and she knew what was coming before his mouth touched her sex.
The power was fading. The food was gone. Still, he did not worry. The ship was drifting now, its power consumed due to conventional travel. It was only a matter of time. Mon-Starr re-entered hibernation. More food would come soon. The distress beacon he'd found would ensure that.
