Twenty-Two
Val-kyrie Scout Ship
Deep Space
Anyssa's personal long-range shuttle sped through hyperspace faster than any starship in its class. These ships had been designed as couriers, covert operations craft, and personal shuttles. The technology used was almost more advanced than that of the mighty battlestars the Horde feared. The reason for the speed was because small, efficient hyperdrives had been easy to develop, but scaling that impressive speed up to the capital ships has proven problematic. Scientists estimated that the problems would be solved by the end of the year.
The warrior woman, alone in the cockpit, fired off an encrypted message before any of her passengers could inadvertently discover what she was doing and draw the wrong conclusion. Anyssa knew Commander Fontaine would be feeling conflicted right about now, especially if Captain Majourny was all but demanding to take off to rescue Adrian Cobretti and the Sorceress.
The long-range shuttle would arrive at the target planet in a few hours while the Eternia was still only a quarter of the way there. However, Anyssa theorized that Captain Majourny might keep the speed down in order for Colonel Markson's platoons to prepare for a serious combat drop.
Anyssa intended to be on site to offer intelligence support. She checked the present location in relation to the planet, and touched a control on the forward panel where the sensor displays were located. A small blip briefly appeared for several seconds and then went out.
Frost emerged from the rear compartment, a hot MRE pouch in hand, and having changed into his usual duty uniform. He dropped into the left rear seat and took in the shuttle layout with clinical interest.
The main cabin, like the rest of the ship, was long and narrow with a pilot's seat and two behind it in the cockpit area. Troop seats were folded up against the side bulkheads in the main cabin to make room for rows of more comfortable seats.
The aft compartment, normally used for cargo and supplies, was given over to sleeping spaces and a few crates of supplies. Frost had changed into his fatigues back there, checked his equipment, and wondered into the forward area with a meal in hand.
Anyssa turned her head, cocked an eyebrow, and stared pointedly at the food in his hands. In response, Frost reached into the deep cargo pocket on his right leg, withdrew a packaged meal, and handed it over.
"My mother taught me never to upset a host," Frost said, smiling.
"Or you have developed the capacity to read minds," Anyssa replied. She settled back in her seat, swiveled it around to face aft, and opened the container. Her stomach growled in response.
They ate in silence watching the kaleidoscope of color flickering about the cockpit. The dynamics of faster-than-light travel was way over Frost's head. He considered that the purview of the super-geeks to understand. He did admire the pretty light show, however.
General Hammond and Dhalon emerged from the back. The Quaedian sprawled out in a seat toward the back, pushed his battered helmet down over his eyes, and was sound asleep in seconds.
Hammond settled into the seat opposite Frost. "I realize this was a bit of a rush," the general said. "I hope you didn't forget anything you might need later on."
Frost shrugged his shoulders absently. "If I did, I'll improvise, adapt, and overcome."
"Sound advice," Anyssa commented, finishing her meal.
"Well, it worked for Clint Eastwood in Heartbreak Ridge," Frost admitted dryly.
Anyssa rolled her eyes. "Does everything remind you of some movie or television program?"
Frost thought about that for a moment. "Not everything."
Anyssa did not look convinced, but she let the matter drop for the moment.
"So, would somebody like to fill me in on what's been happening while I was away sharpening my skills at reaching out and touching people at over a mile away?" the corporal requested.
General Hammond started from the beginning when he proposed the daring plan to liberate He-man and his allies from exile to the Val-kyrie. Anyssa proved to be quite instrumental in getting the plan formed into a viable thing that wouldn't result in everyone getting killed, and without having to execute a major assault on the penal planet.
Instead of taking the Sorceress in as the latest captive to be exiled, the plan had been altered to send a reviled bounty hunter in for a visit. This gave the Val-kyrie the excuse to finally put an end to the real man, who had been a thorn in the sides of many people, and was nowhere near his legend in real life.
At first, Adrian Cobretti objected to being objected to being singled out as the one to play the part based on the fact that he had a similar build to the bounty hunter. When the Sorceress used the power of Castle Grayskull to assume her appearance before she took over guardianship of the castle, Adrian eventually agreed. Since the Sorceress was going to assume the role of the rumored magic-user in the Cobra's employ, Adrian couldn't very well let someone she did not fully trust go with her.
It didn't take long for the pair to truly get into their new roles despite the uncertainty in the high command. Memories and skills inherited from the former operators of the Guardian battle suits allowed them to train quickly. That was particularly important when the bounty hunters ship was delivered to the moon base by the Val-kyrie, complete with a few modifications and upgrades.
Captain Majourny had been sent off to escort some dignitaries back to the moon base for a conference with General Hammond. This served two purposes. The first was that no one on the ship would see the bounty hunter ship, now called the Ladyhawke, around the base, and second, the Horde spies Hammond knew where lurking about on Earth would not get wind of the operation. Only the people present on Anyssa's ship and Lieutenant Feril actually saw the Ladyhawke leave.
Hammond then went into the meeting with Queen Elmora, Skeletor, and King Randor and his wife, Marlena. The frustration he had felt during the several days of near useless briefings and attempts to bring them in as allies came out in his voice. Frost quietly took it all in. He was a diplomat of a different sort. The general's arena was one Frost wanted no part of.
The general admitted some nagging doubt had begun to set in the longer the operation continued without any sign from the target area. Thanks to the limited access to the sensor net the Val-kyrie employed, which had existed for over a thousand years, Guardian Command had been able to track Ladyhawke's movements in real time.
Frost felt the joy right along with the general as he described the emotion of the moment when the event they had been waiting for was finally detected. The corporal had no doubt that his friends could pull it off. While there were those who doubted the ability of a former aircraft mechanic, an Army infantryman, three civilians, and an alien woman to be up to the challenges presented by the secret war against the Evil Horde, no one in the Guardian Command close to them had harbored any such doubts.
News of the Ladyhawke's attack run against two Horde battlecruisers did not sit well with Frost. It wasn't like Adrian to be so rash, especially with the Sorceress alone for the ride. However, the Sorceress was showing she had a more daring side to her personality than she had first let on. The woman was as brave as any soldier Frost had ever worked with. He found it hard to believe she would go along with attacking two battlecruisers head-on. Frost would just have to ask them when he saw them.
Time passed at a snail's pace; at least it seemed that way to Frost. But pass time did until the warning chime on the navigation console went off. Everyone became alert as Anyssa prepared to jump back into normal space. If the shuttle appeared on Horde sensors, it was only for a split second. Once back below light speed, the ship's cloaking device engaged immediately.
"We are just full of surprises today," Frost commented after Anyssa explained what happened. "Are you sure the Horde can't detect us?"
"They have never captured a model of our cloaking technology. Our self-destruct systems are quite good," Anyssa declared confidently.
Frost nodded and leaned back, saying, "Good enough for me."
Anyssa took the most direct to the planet, confident that her cloaking field would protect them from Horde detection. To prove her point, Anyssa came perilously close to the battleship in orbit. They cruised right on by without tickling its sensors, and headed for a re-entry point on the far side of the planet. While the cloak hid the scout ship from detection, it could not hide a ship entering the atmosphere. The next best thing was to make re-entry where the Horde was not deployed to detect it.
The tracking beacon took them on a circumnavigation course of the southern hemisphere ending on the trailing edge of a massive storm slowly blowing itself out. The area was a barren desert except for a basin lush with vegetation. A river running down from the north flowed into a large lake surrounded by a green field of grass and thick ring of trees, and continued further south to the more temperate regions of the southern continent.
"He couldn't have picked a better place to land," Anyssa said approvingly. "I'm having trouble detecting the ship even though the beacon pinpoints the location." She studied the readings as the scout ship slowed to a hover over the lake. "The water of the lake is drinkable. The surrounding rock has a high concentration of iron that is throwing off my scans. I don't think there is a better place on the planet he could have set down."
"Provided this location was Adrian's intended landing point," General Hammond said.
"Are you suggesting that it was blind luck the Ladyhawke came down here?" Frost asked.
"After analyzing the attack run against the battlecruisers, it is a possible explanation."
"The ship is intact, although there are several broken trees lying on top of it," Anyssa observed.
"Can you tell if there is anyone alive in there?" Frost asked.
Anyssa shook her head. "Must be the interference. The only indication I have that the ship is there is the beacon and physically seeing it."
Dhalon grumbled, "So what do we do?"
"Direct approach always works," Frost said. "Walk up and knock on the hatch."
Everyone stared at the corporal as if he's suddenly gone insane. "You're kidding," Anyssa said. Frost just stared back at her. "You're not kidding." She turned back to her console mumbling something unkind about Earthers.
Teelana rolled over and slowly returned to the waking world. Although her sleep had been short, the nightmare did not come for the first time. She didn't know whether to be happy or frightened, so she decided to take it a day at a time.
She turned over, clutching the pillow, and looked toward the bed. The last thing she expected was to see it empty. Adrian was gone. After the brief stab of panic, she stretched out her telepathic senses and quickly located Adrian up in the cockpit. She threw off the blankets, sat up, and pulled on her boots lying discarded on the deck.
Adrian didn't turn from the pilot's console when Teelana entered the cockpit a few minutes later. She sat down in the co-pilot's seat and looked across to his display panel.
"Is there anybody out there?" Teelana asked innocently.
"You know that's a Duran Duran song, right?" Adrian asked back, smiling slightly.
"Yes, I am painfully aware of how you and Corporal Frost view life. Someday someone will turn off the television and the two of you will simply disappear," Teelana sighed. "Watching Dinozzo on that NCIS television show is bad enough. Enduring more than one in real life is almost too much to take."
"What a pity. I was thinking about trying the head slap out on Jake."
"One could say the same about you, at times."
"You won't do it because of the possibility I'd enjoy it too much," Adrian said, batting his eyes at her.
Teelana smacked him soundly on the back of the head. "Answer my original question."
Adrian shook his head. "I think you loosened a filling. Anyway, I'm trying to see if anyone is around. External sensors are spotty at best, and I don't dare use the active scan. That would be like sending up a flare."
"Do you really believe the Horde is still up there looking for us?"
"If I was in command of whatever was up there, and I had a choice between pursuing a Val-kyrie Battlestar and capturing several of those responsible for the destruction of a Horde outpost, I'd take the latter option," Adrian explained. "Less risk that way."
Teelana looked dubious. "Even if you suspected the people you were after might be Guardians?"
"Yes. The Horde still thinks overwhelming force will win. They have no idea just how powerful the battle suits are." Adrian shut down the displays to save power and lessen the chance of anyone in orbit locating their exact position.
"You really do have a feel for this sort of thing." At Adrian's sour look, she continued," We can never go back to being what we were when this all started. I know that sounds like a bad thing, and I used to think it was. But now I'm confident we are in the places we are supposed to be."
"There's more than meets the eye with me," was all Adrian could think to say. He had had enough debates about destiny and all that junk that he was not up to having another one. Teelana just looked at him. "Transformers. Optimus Prime. Megatron. Classic Good vs Evil giant robot fights."
"Yes, I know who and what they are. I am familiar with too many of your Earth cartoons," Teelana said, dryly. "And the less said about Pinky and the Brain, the better."
"What's wrong with Pinky and the Brain?" Adrian demanded.
Knowing there was no way out of this, Teelana answered, "Every time Brain asks Pinky if he's pondering what Brain is pondering, Pinky almost always says something – bizarre."
"That's funny!"
"I don't get it!" Teelana snapped.
"Not my problem," Adrian snapped back.
An uneasy silence fell between them. Normally, it wasn't an awkward silence because they had something to do, but this time Teelana really didn't have anything to occupy her mind. The silence quickly got to her.
"Has War Wing spoken to you at all since we crashed?" Teelana asked.
"No. Has Falcon said anything?"
Teelana shook her head. "No. Do you think they might have been damaged somehow in the crash?"
Adrian thought that over for a moment. "A plausible assumption, but not very likely. With the ship operating at extremely low power to stay off Horde sensors, I think it likely that they are staying at low power to avoid detection."
"The Horde could read their energy signatures?"
Adrian leaned back. "Why not? Gabe has recordings of each of the armor modes. The Horde should have salvaged enough sensor scans from our previous engagements to put together a profile of the battle-mode."
"You talk as though we are going to have third engagement soon," Teelana said, hating the idea of yet another battle. She just wanted to get to someplace relatively safe to unwind and recharge before the next mission.
"Unfortunately, I don't see a way around that, at the moment," Adrian admitted.
Silence fell between them once more. While Adrian continued to formulate a plan – she knew him well enough to know he was working on something – Teelana listened to the sounds of the ship.
Branches scrapped against the hull. Wind whipped and pressed uselessly against the hull. The rain had finally ceased as the storm continued traveling across the continent. Teelana felt the life force of nature all around them, vibrant and alive.
In the midst of all that, Teelana thought she heard something in the aft part of the ship. Only the doors to the cabins were closed, so she could in theory hear something as far back as the engine room.
"Did you hear that?" Teelana asked, suddenly.
"I hear a lot of things. Can you be a little more specific?"
Teelana listened for a moment, and then nearly shouted, "There! Did you hear that?"
Adrian listened, dubious. "That's branches against the hull. There are two trees lying on top of us, you know."
Teelana shook her head. "That isn't branches scrapping the hull. I know that sound and what I hear is different."
"Different how?"
"More rhythmic. A definite pattern. There it is again."
Adrian just stared at her.
"I'm telling you it isn't random. It almost sounds like a message."
"Spidey Sense tingling? Or the Feminine Intuition Network?" Adrian teased. It was always risky antagonizing someone with the ability to turn one into something disgusting on a whim, but Adrian felt confident Teelana wouldn't do any such thing. He hoped.
Teelana ignored him, got up from her seat, and left the cockpit. Adrian followed her down the steps, past the cabins, and stopped in the intersection between the airlocks, the cargohold, and the central corridor. It wasn't long before the sounds Teelana heard came again.
"See? I'm not insane," Teelana declared triumphantly.
"Give it time," Adrian said, stepping into the cargohold. He emerged moments later with his trusty P90 in hand.
Teelana frowned, "Is that really necessary?"
"After the past several days, you really need to ask?"
"Good point," she sighed, opening herself to the flow of magic on this world. Both of Teelana's hands began to glow blue/white with energy.
The tapping on the outer airlock hatch came again while Adrian took up station at the control panel. He listened to the beats as they were repeated every minute, or so. It sounded strangely familiar for some reason. It finally dawned on Adrian what the tune was. Sighing and shaking his head, Adrian dropped the P90 to his side and punched the control to open the hatch. There was a hiss of equalizing pressures as the hatch slid aside.
A grinning Antone Frost declared, "So, what'd I miss?"
Seeing Dhalon standing behind Frost, Adrian said, "Gentlemen, don't be shy. Come in." He walked away, adding, "We've been expecting you."
Seeing that there was no danger, Teelana dispersed the magic energies she had gathered. "I thought you were in training."
"We're all in training at some point," Frost pointed out. "In Jake's case some more than others."
"So how did you –" Teelana started. She broke off when Anyssa stepped through the hatch after General Hammond. "Nevermind. General, it's good to see you out and about, but it isn't exactly safe out here."
"It's a Patton thing," Adrian supplied. He perched himself on the edge of a crate and looked pointedly at Anyssa. "So, what's waiting for us out there?"
Anyssa stepped forward, removed a device from a belt pouch, and set in down in the middle of the deck. She touched the top and it blazed to life. A large holographic image was projected into the air. The group observed the Horde ships in orbit and the activities currently taking place.
"One Horde carrier with six squadrons of aircraft onboard comprised of two each torpedo, fighter, and fighter/bomber squadrons, and one battleship capable of deploying the equivalent firepower of an army ready to be dropped onto a planet's surface with sufficient aerial support. Both starships are capably of planetary bombardment, though the larger threat of that will be from the battleship," Anyssa explained.
Small blips in the projection separated from the parent craft – the carrier – and spread out through the local space. More vessels began leaving the battleship and headed for atmospheric entry under fighter escort.
"What's the name of the battleship?" Adrian asked, eyes never leaving the holo-image.
"I think you already know, or you wouldn't have asked," Anyssa answered. "Question is, how did you know General Rongar would be the one following you?"
Adrian snorted. "An educated guess. Who else would have the time, resources, and freedom to figure out who the Sorceress and I really are, and then come after us in a vain attempt at capture?"
"It's not a vain attempt yet," Teelana pointed out. "What kind of a battle force can Rongar throw at us?"
"Well, General Rongar has access to all types of weaponry including experimental units," Anyssa said. "It's possible he will field the latest weapons here, since it's likely that he knows who you really are. Why else come here after you instead of chasing after a battlestar?"
"Arguably, we are just as deadly, if not more so," Adrian proposed.
"Which is beside the point," General Hammond said. "He can't really believe that he has a chance of capturing two of the battle suits relatively intact, does he?" He made no attempt had hiding his doubts.
Anyssa scowled. "All Horde officers are trained to believe that nothing in unattainable when enough force is used. He will use every robot soldier at his disposal, if that is what it takes to achieve the goal."
"Then we should prepare proper reception for our guests," Adrian said, smiling ominously.
Anyssa manipulated the holographic image with a remote control. The image changed to display an aerial view of the lake valley and the river valleys feeding and draining the lake.
There were only two real options for assault open to the Horde. Since there was an open field between the tree ring and the valley walls, dropship landings in that field would the best place with the most room for a proper deployment. The only other option would be to land in the wide open area just outside the northern river valley and march down into the target zone. Since the Horde would have no idea what the enemy's limited capabilities were, that would be the better option.
Scans of the surrounding rock formations in the river valley indicated that properly placed explosive charges could initiate a landslide. It wouldn't be enough to stop the Horde, but it would delay them. The landslide might even damage a few units in the process.
General Hammond had been poking around among some crates. Prying open one, he declared, "This should do nicely."
Everyone gathered around his find. Adrian and Frost looked at the holographic map, then and each other, and grinned like fiends.
"Are you pondering what I'm pondering, Pinky?" Adrian said, examining the contents of the crate carefully.
"I think so Brain," Frost answered, "but if Jimmy cracks corn and no one cares, why does he keep doing it?"
Teelana made strangling noises and stormed away.
Frost observed, "She really doesn't like Pinky and the Brain."
"No," Adrian confirmed.
"I'll notify your next of kin."
Anyssa opened her mouth to ask what that was all about, but General Hammond cut her off. "Don't ask," he advised. "Just let it go."
Adrian, Frost, and Dhalon assembled the explosive charges while Anyssa and General Hammond looked at the holograms and sensor data for likely placement points.
"So, how was she?" Frost asked Adrian pointedly.
Adrian didn't need to be psychic to figure what his friend was asking about. "She's good."
"You rat! Gimme details," Frost demanded.
Adrian made a pained expression. "No! Not like that. Geez, get your mind out of the gutter. She did very well considering she's never been on a mission like this. Neither have I, for that matter."
Frost stared hard at Adrian. "You mean to tell me you have had the Sorceress all to yourself for several days – alone – and you are telling me nothing happened? If that's true, why are you walking around like you're hurt?"
"After we made the attack run on the battlecruisers, the shockwaves from the explosions flung us into the atmosphere on a heading that brought us down here. My harness buckle popped open on impact and I caught the control yoke in my chest," Adrian explained. "So I haven't been feeling up to any extracurricular activities."
Frost still looked unconvinced. "And you expect us to believe that? Aside from your respect for her, that doesn't seem in character for you."
"The Sorceress is a very lovely woman," Dhalon said. Seeing the looks from his companions, he added, "For a human female."
"This from a bipedal walking fur coat," Frost said dryly.
"As I recall, you were eying several Quaedian females with interest, buddy," Adrian reminded Frost.
"Oh, why fight it," Teelana said from behind them. She had snuck up unnoticed after Anyssa and General Hammond had finished their evaluation. She stepped up right behind Frost and whispered in his right ear, "You don't really believe Adrian got those bruises from the crash, do you? Since the rumor mill will be running into overtime-"
"Overdrive," Adrian corrected.
"Yes, that. Your language is so confusing at times," Teelana muttered. "Anyway, since the rumors of our sleeping together will be circulating, why should we fight it?"
"Even if it's unfounded? Where's the fun in that?"
Teelana switched to Frost's left ear and whispered, "Exactly."
Smiling seductively, Teelana winked at Adrian, wheeled about and walked out of the cargohold. Adrian wasn't far behind, since all the explosive charges were now assembled and ready for planting. The pair waited for the hold doors to close automatically behind them before bumping fists in victory.
"I still owe you for that cartoon reference you and Frost made," she warned, walking away.
Smiling, Adrian said, "Looking forward to it."
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