SIX

Alpha Moon Base

Earth Solar System

6 June 2017

Starship Eternia settled on its landing gear, and the engines powered down. The alien starship touched down on landing struts fifty feet away, facing its escort. The massive platform dropped smoothly into the ground when the gigantic hydraulic pistons retracted. The hangar doors soundlessly began to close as soon as the Eternia cleared the opening, since it was the larger of the two vessels. The gigantic doors slammed closed at the same moment the platform ground to a halt. While there was no sound reverberating in the vacuum, the vibrations could be felt in the surrounding structures, and the starships.

Jo-jo's crew secured all stations and prepared to disembark. The repair crews would soon be swarming over the ship to make final checks of all systems, refuel the fusion core, and re-arm both the starship, and the dropship arsenals. The weapons bays and lockers would soon be filled to overflowing, right along with the spare parts lockers, and the perishable goods. Jo-jo supposed the next phase of the mission would be one of two things; long and boring, or short and intense.

Based on past experience, Jo-jo was betting on the short, intense variety.

The guard at the exit ramp listened to a message coming through the earpiece of his tac net radio. He was tapped into the hangar bay comm network via the bridge. When the all clear was given that the massive bay was secure and re-pressurized, the soldier nodded to Captain Majourny.

At a gesture from her, the man tapped several keys on the control panel behind his right shoulder. The inner and outer hatches hissed open, and the ramp lowered, extending down to the floor. Jets of released gases jetting from bleed ports set into the hull on either side of the ramp as Jo-jo led the way out of the ship.

General Hammond, Gabriel Burns, Nick Jackson, Anyssa, Dhalon, and Colonel Simmons awaited her at the bottom of the ramp. All were dressed up, with the exception of Dhalon and Anyssa, although Anyssa wore a less revealing outfit than usual. Jo-jo was happy to see all of them, except for Simmons, whom she pointedly ignored.

The general explained that they were going to meet the occupants of the alien ship parked a short distance away, and he wanted Captain Majourny as part of the group. Jo-jo turned over securing and replenishing the Eternia to her tactical officer, Lieutenant Denton, and joined General Hammond's party.

General Hammond led to the group across the bay to the alien shuttle craft.

The spaceship had a very generic and basic design, one that would not draw a lot of attention. There were a few pits and scoring on the hull plates that was typical of space travel. The compact ship had roughly the same dimensions of a dropship, with stubby wings on the back quarter for stabilization in an atmosphere. There was no movement through the cockpit windows, so the passengers were likely in the aft section.

As the party halted at the craft's starboard air lock, the portal slid open with a hiss of equalizing pressures. The first person to exit was a tall, striking woman who wore the air of royalty as comfortably as she wore her blue gown and cape. Queen Elmora walked down the short ramp from the lock and stopped to await her companions. King Randor exited next, with his wife on his left arm. Queen Marlena wore her usual green gown complete with the proper accessories. King Randor had chosen to wear the armor outfit he had worn in the days when his armies fought the Snake Man army, and ultimately lost. His sheathed sword rattled slightly as he walked. Both king and queen proudly wore their crowns despite the fact that their kingdom was currently under the dominion of King Hiss. The last person to exit the shuttle wore an outfit as black as the shadows in the massive hanger bay's corners. It was the same outfit Colonel Markson reported seeing in his after-action report from the mission to Planet Eternia.

Skeletor joined his companions at the end of the ramp, the bottom end of his havoc staff clanging against the metal ramp and hanger floor as he walked. He surveyed the surrounding with apparent displeasure. Since he had no flesh and muscles on his head to display emotions, one had to observe his body language to gather an insight to his present mood. He presented the appearance of quiet tolerance, for he wished to be anywhere in the galaxy other than here.

General Hammond stepped forward and introduced himself. He then presented his companions. Queen Elmora rather blandly acknowledged Hammond's party, and then introduced her companions. Before proceeding, Hammond requested that King Randor and Skeletor relinquish their swords, promising to return the weapons when they left the base.

Seeing that the Quaedian and Val-kyrie were present without weapons, although he seriously doubted Anyssa was truly unarmed, King Randor unbuckled the worn sword belt and handed it over to the security personnel standing unobtrusively off to the side. Skeletor made no move to unbuckle his sword belt, however. Randor tersely told the Overlord of Evil to comply or else he would spend the entire visit locked up in the shuttle. Rumbling something unintelligible, Skeletor switched the havoc staff to his left hand, and unbuckled the sword belt with his right. Randor took the sword from his former enemy and handed it over.

No one had any delusions about the magical abilities of Queen Elmora and Skeletor. Without the Sorceress around to counteract that threat, all General Hammond had to work with was good will, and mutual respect.

Gesturing to the nearest personnel hatch, Hammond suggested they take a tour of the base while explaining in general terms the overall capabilities of his command.

Val-kyrie/Horde Border

Val-kyrie Space

6 July 2017

As the Ladyhawke neared the asteroid belt of an uninhabitable star system along the Horde/Val-kyrie border, Teelana kept a careful sensor lock on a transport they had been tracking for the past several hours. They had stumbled across the ship quite by accident. After dropping out of hyperspace just inside the border of Val-kyrie space to double-check their position against the local stars, the passive sensors picked up the large transport drifting sedately along.

There were several life forms on board the transport, but they seemed to be unaware of the Ladyhawke's presence. Or didn't care. Either way, Cobra kept his distance. A close-up visual of the other vessel, distorted as it was, looked vaguely familiar. Unfortunately, Cobra could not interrogate the transport's transponder for an identification without going active themselves, thereby giving away their own position.

Teelana argued as to why they were wasting time tracking a transport when they should have been making their way through the asteroid field, and then on to the penal planet. Cobra confessed to a nagging suspicion about that vessel, but could not identify the source of his unease. Teelana demanded more of an explanation, but how could he describe that the transport's actions since discovery mirrored their own? It could simply be smugglers or some other disreputable people trying to cross the border into Horde space, Cobra supposed. But that nagging feeling refused to go away.

And then there was their shadow, which had finally caught up to them.

Seeing that they were going to waste more time she considered better spent getting through the asteroid field, Teelana left to cockpit to get something to eat, and then retire to her cabin to continue reading one of the musty old books she had brought along.

Cobra was having trouble trying to figure her out. Teelana was becoming more irritable every day since leaving Earth. He knew she was having trouble sleeping. He had overheard one of her more terrifying nights from the central corridor. Cobra asked about her bad dream the following morning, but she steadfastly refused to talk about it. So he let it be.

Last night, however, had been the worst yet. This time Cobra entered Teelana's cabin to find her thrashing about under the fur blankets as if she were being restrained in some way. A particularly scary moment came when she opened her eyes and stared fearfully at something only she could see. Cobra tried to rouse her from the nightmare, but nothing he did short of slapping her would work. He refrained from slapping, choosing instead to just watch and hope.

He slipped his hand under the blanket to grasp her right hand in an attempt to somehow tell her she was not alone. As soon as her fingers brushed his hand, she clamped down with a strength Cobra didn't know she possessed. He winced as whatever pain Teelana experienced only intensified. Her lips parted in a soundless scream, although he was fairly sure she screamed in her mind. Teelana arched her back almost to the breaking point. That lasted for another few seconds and she dropped flat on the bed limp like a puppet whose strings had been suddenly cut. She stared vacantly at the ceiling and then drifted off to sleep once more.

Cobra decided to confront Teelana about it once more when she returned to the cockpit almost two hours later. She noticed the direction they were heading, and nodded her approval. He had turned the ship toward the asteroid field. Coincidently, the transport was doing the same.

"Want to tell me about last night?"

"What about it?" Teelana countered, concentrating on her panel.

Cobra explained about the nightmare she appeared to be having, and what he had done.

Teelana grew suddenly indignant. "You came into my cabin without permission?"

"I could hear you from the corridor. You sounded like you were in trouble. When I saw you it looked as though you were tied down and being tortured," Cobra answered hotly. "I had hoped my presence would have helped."

"And did it?" Teelana demanded, her face flushed. Images from the night before flashed through her mind. Terrible, disjointed imagery of something she did not understand, but which terrified her deeply.

Cobra admitted, "No. It ended a few minutes after I entered, and you went back to sleep. At one point you stiffened up so badly I was afraid you were going to break your back."

"Well, I'm fine now," Teelana bit out through clenched teeth.

Cobra studied her profile for a few moments. "My entry your cabin isn't the problem. What is it? What's wrong?"

"Nothing is wrong. They are just dreams," Teelana said, voice strained more than it should have been if what she claimed was actually true.

"Did you have these dreams before we left?" When Teelana didn't answer, Cobra brought the Ladyhawke to a halt and locked out the controls. "Talk to me. What is going on? We're going to jump into a viper's nest and I need to be sure I can count on you. Because if I can't, I'm transmitting the abort code, and heading for home."

Teelana took a deep breath and let it out in a huff. "They started soon after we departed. I sometimes see visions of the future. Things that may or may not happen. I have never experienced anything this profound before, but I will not let it affect the mission." Cobra did not looked convinced, so she whispered, "Please. Don't abort the mission. We can't afford it. This is our only chance. Please."

Cobra stared at her a moment longer, saying, "Once we cross that asteroid field we're committed. You better be right."

"I promise," Teelana said, wondering how was going to keep it based on the events of last night.

Laser blasts suddenly pummeled the shields breaking off further conversation. Cobra and Teelana turned to their respective control panels. Cobra's screen displayed more incoming fire, so he took a firm grip on the control yoke, slammed the sub-light engine throttles all the way to their forward stops, and began evasive maneuvers. Teelana intently studied her sensor board looking for the enemy.

"What have you got?" Cobra demanded grimly. He barely managed to evade the next barrage of laser bolts.

"It's a capital ship," Teelana answered. "Snuck up from behind."

"We're close to the border between Val-kyrie space and Horde space. Probably stumbled across a regular patrol," Cobra surmised. Or it could be our mysterious shadow.

The ship bucked violently from more proximity explosions. Cobra launched into another series of evasive maneuvers, but the enemy tracking system followed his every move.

"That's not a destroyer or cruiser out there," Cobra growled. "Probably a battlecruiser or a corvette."

"Don't be so negative," Teelana shot back, finally getting a lock and identification on the enemy starship. "It's only a battleship."

"Don't tell me…"

Teelana nodded. "Battlestar-class. Transponder ID is the Logoss."

Cobra rolled his eye. "Of all the commanders we had to run into, why did it have to be Fontaine?"

"Your karma strikes again," Teelana quipped.

"Well, you certainly haven't been a geyser of good fortune lately," Cobra snapped.

Another blast rocked the ship. Something exploded in the rear of the ship as a result. Soon acrid smoke drifted in through the ventilation system. A flashing ruby light on the center panel indicated a damaged hyperdrive. Growling obscenities, Cobra flung himself out of the pilot's seat, and rushed aft. Teelana had to jump up and swing around the center console to grab the control yoke. She sank into the seat while trying to keep the starship out of the battlestar's gun sights.

Cobra stumbled into the engine room, yanked open a tool locker, and rooted around inside for the right kit. After a few tense moments, and a few heaves of the deck, he found the kit he wanted. Setting the tools aside near the back of the room, Cobra slid his fingers through a grate and heaved it out of the way. He pulled the other panel out of the way, grabbed the kit, and dropped into the equipment bay.

Components sparked and sputtered, but the systems were not critical. He located the hyperdrive unit at the bottom of the bay near the back. On the surface, everything appeared to be fine. The diagnostic lights ready all green, so whatever blew out, it wasn't the hyperdrive unit. A control crystal or two would be a better bet.

Cobra set to work while Teelana continued her fruitless struggle at the controls. He had to climb out of the bay and retrieve tools from the locker several times, cursing about not having a proper mobile box all the time. Not being able to find the damage circuits and components didn't help his mood any, either.

The ship lurched suddenly from a solid impact, jumping a tray of tools over the bay's edge. Cobra cursed loudly, and poked his head out, rubbing the impact point. The ship lurched again from another impact, forcing him to grab for the edge or be thrown back into the bay.

"That wasn't a laser blast," he said to himself. "Something hit us."

The ship rocked again, and Teelana's strained voice blasted from the intercom. "Cobra! Get up here!"

"Now what?" he muttered, levering himself out of the bay, and dashing into a side corridor.

Teelana stood and moved to the co-pilot's seat as soon as Cobra appeared at the open hatch to the cockpit. "Asteroids," she said grimly.

"Perfect," Cobra replied, grinning slightly as he slid into the pilot's seat. "Set course two-one-five."

The woman did as requested, tapping controls and verifying the result. "You're not really going into the heart that asteroid field?"

Smiling grimly, Cobra answered, "The Val-kyrie would be crazy to follow us, wouldn't they?"

Her calm demeanor slipping a bit, Teelana spat, "This is not the Eternia, and you don't look anything like Ace McCloud."

"Nag, nag, nag" Cobra growled, throwing the ship on a collision course with flying rocks bigger than the Battlestar chasing them.

New tracks appeared on the sensor board. Four Bladewing fighters streaked from launch tubes in pursuit. Cobra ordered a complete scan of those ships while he ducked and dodged rocks bouncing around the field like pin balls. A chunk of killer rock/iron tumbling straight toward them exploded at the last possible moments by an errant blast from the fighters. Shards of razor-sharp boulders pounded the shields as Cobra dove through the debris.

"We have to deep enough into the field to discourage them from following," the one-eyed man reminded his companion.

Teelana gulped as the ship twisted into a stomach churning dive away from an asteroid as big as the pursuing Battlestar, and aimed for another one-third that size.

One of the blips representing a fighter suddenly winked out when it and a sizeable boulder merged. The three survivors pressed the attack despite the loss. Their mother ship began blasting away at the tumbling asteroids to clear a path for its massive space frame.

Ladyhawke fled deeper into the asteroid field, forcing the fighters to follow at their own peril. A second one struck a glancing blow against a flying chunk of rock, but it was enough. Tongues of uncontrolled energy flickered over the fighter's surface as it tumbled out of control toward a boulder the size of a medium-sized cargo transport. The crippled Bladewing exploded just before impact.

"We're going to get killed if we stay out here much longer," Teelana remarked, eying the sensor board nervously.

"Can't argue with that," Cobra agreed. Prying his eye from the asteroids whirling by outside long enough to glance at his sensor repeater display, Cobra spotted some enormous chunks of rock deeper in the field. "I'm going to get closer to one of the big ones."

"Is that wise?"

"You got a better idea?"

"Not at the moment."

Ladyhawke dove deeper into the mass of speeding rocks juking and diving around killer chunks that sometimes glanced off the shields. The two remaining fighters struggled to keep up with the seemingly reckless pilot of the cargo ship. They experienced even more close calls because the tiny fighters lacked shields powerful enough to deflect more than fist-sized chunks of debris.

Cobra led the pursuers on a merry chase closer and closer to the largest asteroid in the vicinity. It was a titanic chunk of starship-killing rock the size of Texas. Over the eons it had been tumbling about in the field, it had sustained many impacts, leaving the surface cratered and fractured.

The terrain-following radar worked perfectly as the Ladyhawke skimmed the asteroid's craggy surface. One misstep and the ship would splatter itself across the rock's face. The fighters trailed close behind at about five thousand yards. Blue laser bolts lanced across the distance, but the wild fire only blow up geysers of molten rock. The Val-kyrie followed their quarry into an impact crater five miles deep and over twenty miles across. At the speeds the starships were traveling, such distances flashed by in a matter of seconds.

Cobra spied a narrow fissure that had been opened as a result of two impacts close together. The fissure led from one crater to the other. Teelana stiffened and clutched the edge of her console with a death grip as Cobra stood the Ladyhawke up on the port wing, and blasted through the narrow channel at break-neck speed. The Val-kyrie attempted to match his maneuver, but failed the get their craft lined up correctly.

Brief fireballs marked their fiery passing from this life into the next.

Teelana spotted a suitable cave to duck into, and pointed it out. Switching on the powerful spotlights, Cobra followed her lead and drove the ship through the opening. He flew deep into the cave where the Val-kyrie would not find them without coming in after them.

For the moment, they were safe.

Teelana grew bored watching the passive sensor display, so she set the alarm and wandered back to the engine room. She found Cobra in the open access bay working on the hyperdrive. Fortunately, the damage had been minimal, and easy to repair. The repairs were just time-consuming. With a Val-kyrie Battlestar still prowling their side of the asteroid field, time was abundant.

"Are you sure you can fix the hyperdrive?" Teelana teased. "It is a far cry from a jet engine."

Cobra muttered something unintelligible because he was so deep in the bay. Teelana did not have to hear it to know it was probably rude. He finally poked his head up long enough to locate another tool in the open kit near the edge. "I have a little help," Cobra answered, tapping the silver medallion with the tool he plucked from the kit. "Shouldn't you be watching the passive sensors?" He dropped back into the bay without waiting for a response.

Teelana stepped closer to the bay and sat cross-legged near the edge so she could converse with Cobra without having to shout. "I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"If we hadn't been arguing, we would have seen the Val-kyrie coming."

"True, but I suspect that Battlestar was our shadow," Cobra replied. "You wanna tell me about the nightmares?"

Teelana sighed. "I thought you were going to leave that alone."

Cobra glanced up from the burned out part that was giving him problems long enough to say, "No," and then returned to trying to remove the module. "They say confession is good for the soul," he added gently.

"Not in this case," Teelana said.

With a shout of triumph that made Teelana jump slightly, Cobra tossed the junk part out of the bay. He popped up, crossed his arms of the edge and stared his companion in the eyes.

"We are a day away from our objective and I have a partner who can't concentrate on the mission. This is a recipe for disaster," Cobra said, his gaze unwavering. "In case you hadn't noticed, we are the best there is. We get that way by working with the best. If you can't trust the people you work with, you are as good as dead. Let me help." It wasn't quite a plea, but it was very close.

He is correct, te Lynia, Moria injected.

"Shut-up," Teelana hissed.

"Excuse me?" Cobra asked, caught off guard.

"Not you. Someone else," she said, flustered.

"Well?"

Sighing, and seeing no way to avoid this, Teelana began her tale. Cobra slipped back into the bay while she talked. "I was continuously interrogated as to where I came from and how I and the Eternia can to be in orbit of Earth's moon. I have struggled to recall what happened, but always draw a blank. What I can remember is being a consciousness trapped within the starship's computer. All the vital systems had been automated so that the computer could fly it with only one person at the controls. That person was to be He-man. He and I were taking the starship back so that it could be used in the battles with our enemies."

Cobra tossed another damaged part out of the bay and across the deck to the pile of such parts. He replaced several tools in the tool kit, selected three others, and disappeared with a replacement part in hand.

"All was going well. The launch and climb out of Planet Primus' atmosphere went as it usually did," Teelana continued. "We were ready to make the passage through space and time back to Eternia, and He-man activated the controls." Teelana struggled with her next thoughts.

Disjointed images of an eerie place without substance or form sprang to mind. Faces floated before her slightly out of focus so that she could not identify them. There were two overwhelming feelings about the whole thing. One was that she had been tied down in some way. The second was unbelievable pain.

"There were unexpected gravitational forces when we closed on the temporal portal. The engines quit about twenty seconds from the event horizon. We drifted across on inertia alone. The next thing I remember after entering the portal was two men in bulky, white suits standing over me on the bridge of the Eternia," Teelana concluded.

"And the dreams are repressed memories of what happened immediately after entering the portal?" Cobra asked, fitting a new component into place.

"I don't know. They could be," Teelana answered confidently. The slight tremor in her voice said otherwise.

You might be right, te lynia. These memories may have been purposely repressed by someone... or something. Have you considered what might occur should you suddenly remember them? Moria pointed out.

Teelana snapped angrily, This does not concern you so stay out of my head.

Moria chuckled. Quite the contrary, my dear. It concerns me more than you can possibly know, considering that I have a vested interest in ensuring that the Guardians do not fall a second time.

Teelana's mind reeled. Fall a second time? You knew of the first one?

Moria chuckled again. I know many things, te lynỉa. Perhaps I will share some of them with you – in time. Farewell, for now. And good luck.

Cobra interrupted Teelana's thoughts. "I need to know if you can concentrate on the mission."

"Yes," Teelana answered emphatically, after a moment's thought.

Cobra stared deep into his companion's eyes. Teelana returned the stare pound for pound. It wasn't hearing the words Cobra was looking for. The eyes were considered the window to the soul in certain cultures, so he was looking for the truth in Teelana's. He found it, and was satisfied; much to Teelana's relief.

Cobra pointed to a coiled wiring harness lying on the deck near an electronics trunk. "if you want to feel useful, that wiring harness needs to be replaced. You'll find the bad one over in that electronics trunk. It's a pretty tight space so be careful."

Teelana unfolded her cramped legs and slowly got to her feet. She took a moment to stretch tight muscles and then walked over to the coil of wiring. A thought suddenly occurred to her. "You seem pretty light-hearted since leading four Val-kyrie pilots to their deaths pursuing us."

"Are you sure four Val-kyrie are dead?"

That was an odd question even from Cobra. "I know death when I see it. I've been there and done that. Remember?"

"Really? Then why don't you check the sensor logs," Cobra challenged.

Frowning, Teelana walked over to the nearest computer console and accessed the sensor logs from the chase through the asteroid field. She located the correct files after a brief search, and reviewed the recordings. Teelana's features transitioned from irritation to confusion to shock, and finally settled on disbelief. She turned back to Cobra.

"How did you know?"

"I didn't. It does make sense that a race as advanced as the Val-kyrie would employ unmanned vehicles, however," he explained. He reminded her that the sooner they completed their repairs, the sooner they could get on with the mission.

"You are so…odd," Teelana said to herself, disbelieving. She picked up the wiring harness, a small tool kit and squeezed herself into the electronics trunk to begin the repairs.

Several more hours of careful diagnostics and repairs, and the Ladyhawke was ready to continue. Cobra flew out of the asteroid cave and tore off into the field once more, at a pace only slightly less than the break-neck pace he used earlier.

Commander Fontaine watched the sensor display floating in the air above the bridge pit crew. Ladyhawke steadily made her way toward the Horde side of the asteroid field. Since the Logoss was drifting silently on the Val-kyrie side of the rock field, many of the bridge crew watched silently as the bounty hunter got away. After they initially lost contact, Commander Fontaine called had a meeting with her department heads to reveal what was going on, and to pass that information on to the people in their sections.

It was no secret they had been chasing Cobra once more, though no one knew just how he had managed to escape after being captured a month earlier. Fontaine had been left with little choice but to let her crew in on the mission lest some overly zealous crewmember take matters into her own hands, especially after the loss of four Bladewing fighters. Once her crew knew the fighters were from the compliment of unmanned drones carried for hazardous recon missions, and what this mission was really all about, they were eager to play there part in the continuing drama.

Fontaine's crew was more loyal than most capital ship crews in that she usually went out of her way to praise her crew's successes, and made sure command did not forget them. The result was that Fontaine's crew would do anything for her. So when it became known that she supported the Guardian Command's wild plan, naturally the crew did, too.

On the map display of the local sector of space, the point of light representing the Ladyhawke winked out. The first officer confirmed the bounty hunter's ship had just jumped into hyperspace.

Fontaine acknowledged the report. She let her ship drift through space for another ten minutes and then ordered her crew to secure from silent running. As the ship came alive around her, she ordered the navigator to lay in a course for a pre-arranged set of co-ordinates. The helmswoman engaged the hyperdrive as soon as it was powered up.

The floating screen above the pit crew dissolved as the warship jumped into hyperspace. There was nothing left outside to monitor so the tactical officer shut the display down.

Fontaine leaned back in her seat reflecting on the outrageous mission currently underway. It was so ludicrous, so completely out-of-the-box thinking that the Horde would never expect it, which was why it had a better then even odds of actually succeeding. Everything appeared to be going according to plan.

So far.