Title: Mission Report
Author: Nopporn Wongrassamee aka the Evil Author
EMail Address: EvilAuthor@aol.com
Archive: Anywhere and everywhere. Just tell me if you do.
Spoilers: Anything goes, but my cable doesn't actually
carry the Cartoon Network so I'll have to rely on the
Internet for continuity info.
Summary: A Horde scouting mission to the 2002 series'
Eternia goes awry. Guess who was leading the mission?
Disclaimer: Characters and concepts belong to their
owners who I'm too lazy to bother looking up.
"Report!"
A young human woman marched into the room. She was in her
mid-teens perhaps, dressed in the red and white uniform
of a Horde officer. Neither her movements nor posture
gave any sense of what she was feeling. Her piercing blue
eyes were unreadable, her face a mask of professionalism.
Only her unruly not-long/not-short blonde hair and the
sword in the ill-fitting sheathe at her side marred the
image of the perfect officer.
She came before the board, stood at attention, and gave a
perfect salute.
"Lieutenant Adora, reporting as ordered, SIR!" she barked
crisply to her superiors.
For an eternally long moment, they studied the young
officer standing before them as if frozen in mid-salute,
left hand on the hilt of her sword, right hand at her
brow. Professional. Meanwhile, Adora studied them right
back.
Three figures - all superior officers - sat in front of
her behind an expansive table on a raised dais. They
looked, Adora thought, very much like a court martial
board.
In the center was Hordak, general, conquerer, and
governer of the entire Etheria sector. Not only was he
actually a member of the Horde's founding species, he was
brother to the ruler of the entire Horde.
On Hordak's right, Adora's left, was General Sunder. The
General was Hordak's right hand man, a human to boot, and
did the actual running of day to day military operations.
Rumor had it that Sunder was the real brains of Hordak's
branch of the Horde, but no one uttered that around
either man.
On Hordak's other side was the mysterious Shadow Weaver.
She was Hordak's foremost mage. Ordinarily, she wouldn't
involve herself in military matters, but Adora's recent
mission piqued her interest.
"At ease, Lieutenant," Hordak finally replied, returning
Adora's salute.
Adora lowered her arm and obeyed. She assumed the pose of
"at ease" just as stiff as her "attention": left hand
remaining on her sword hilt, right hand behind her back,
and feet set about shoulder width apart. She might have
been at parade rest except that she was now free to look
at the person speaking to her.
"Now, I believe you know all of us, Lieutenant," Hordak
continued, "so we will dispense with intrductions. Do you
know why you are here?"
"Sir! I am here to be debriefed on my scouting mission to
the planet Eternia, Sir!" Adora barked in reply.
"Yes, Lieutenant, and we are here to debrief you," Hordak
agreed. "This is not, however, a court martial, so please
lower your voice."
"Sir! Yes, Sir!" Adora replied, her volume not lowered at
all. Professional as always.
General Sunder developed a coughing fit. "It's nothing,"
he said at Hordak's annoyed glance. But the corners of
his lips twitched, belying his words. Hordak seemed to
decide to let it pass.
"Now, Lieutenant, we have all read your written report,"
Hordak continued, "and we have some questions. But before
we ask them, tell us in your own words what happened.
Start with your arrival on Eternia."
There was a brief pause as Adora ordered her thoughts.
"Sir," she began slowly, the volume of her voice finally
at something less than a shout but still no less formal.
"After going through the portal, my platoon and I were
immediately met by out local contact. We had arrived
right outside his headquarters as planned. At the
contact's request, I left the platoon outside to set up
camp while I and two guards entered his headquarters to
formally introduce myself..."
***
"YOU are the Horde's representative?" Adora's contact
asked, his voice dripping with scorn and disbelief.
"Yes," Adora confirmed, nodding curtly. "I am. My rank
and name are..."
"Bah!" the man interupted. "What does Hordak take me for?
Sending me toy soldiers commanded by children? I am a
conquerer, not a... a babysitter!"
"Sir, I am an officer of the Horde," Adora told him
coldly. "I will not be belittled or mocked. I was sent
because my superiors were convinced that I am fully
capable of completing my mission." She decided it would
be undiplomatic to also call him a "petty, local despot",
not to mention unprofessional.
"Oh, really?," the man sneered. "And how many 'missions'
have you completed, little girl? The truth now!"
"None," Adora admitted uncomfortably, but honesty
compelled truth. This man was an ally of the Horde after
all.
"And how many missions failed?" he pressed.
"None," Adora repeated.
Adora's contact paused, processing this unexpected bit of
information. "Wait a moment," he said slowly. "This is
your first mission?" His voice rose in fury. "HOW LONG
HAVE YOU BEEN AN OFFICER?"
"These," she indicated the butter brown lieutenant
stripes on her shoulders, "were pinned on last week."
"A WEEK?" came the shrieked reply.
"Five days ago actually," Adora said quietly. Then she
rallied herself and raised her head pridefully. "And
whether or not you think me fit for command is no concern
of mine. I am a representative of the Horde and you will
treat me as such, Kelidor!"
"Skeletor!" the man corrected angrily. "Kelidor is dead!
I am Skeletor now!"
***
"Skeletor?" Shadow Weaver interupted, speaking for the
first time. "Why the name change? Your report didn't
say."
"Ma'am, Skeletor had apparently suffered some mishap that
reduced his face to a bare skull," Adora answered. "Given
the already strained atmosphere I was operating in, I
judged it unwise to ask for the details."
"I see," Shadow Weaver mused. "Please, continue."
"Yes, ma'am. It was then that I got my first glimpse of
the local politics in that - if you'll pardon the pun,
sirs - snake pit..."
***
"So, Skeletor, this is the fabled 'Horde' you have told
us so much about," an amused woman in purple and black
interupted. "They don't look so very impressive, now, do
they?"
"Do not try my patience Evil-Lyn," Skeletor snarled.
"The Horde has conquered a thousand worlds," Adora told
Evil-Lyn coldly.
"So you say," Evil-Lyn replied skeptically. "Even if that
were true, little girl, how many of those worlds have YOU
conquered. Oh! That's right, this is your first mission."
She turned her back to face Skeletor. "Skeletor, you
really know how to pick them," she mocked.
"Evil-Lyn..." Skeletor began dangerously. He was
interupted by his guest.
"I am not 'a little girl'," Adora declared. The mission
seemed beyond recovery, but no way would she let these
locals besmirch the Horde's name. "I am Lieutenant Adora
of..."
"Adora?!" Skeletor interupted in surprise, his rage
instantly evaporating. "You are Adora?"
"Yes..." Adora confirmed, confused by the sudden mood
shift.
"Little Adora?" Skeletor laughed, bending over to hold
his hand below knee height for illustration. "My, you've
grown up! Oh, this is perfect!"
"Skeletor, what are you blathering about?" Evil-Lyn
asked, equally bewildered. "Who's this Adora supposed to
be?"
***
"Wait," Sunder interupted. "How did Skeletor know you?"
"I don't know, sir," Adora answered. "Skeletor wouldn't
say. He was too busy coming up with plans to attack his
neighbors."
"Did you know about this, Hordak?" Sunder asked his
superior. "Is this why you insisted on having her lead
this mission?"
"Let's just say I thought he might be more receptive to
her than other officers," Hordak said evasively. "Please
continue, Lieutenant."
"Sir," Adora acknowledged. "In any case, Skeletor came up
with a plan involving kidnapping the local crown prince.
I should have realized something was wrong when he didn't
provide so much as a guide - just a map - but I assumed
he was only testing our mettle. And since this was a
prince, I thought it a prime opportunity to get some
intelligence unbiased by our ally's politics.
"So, we set a trap..."
***
"Help! Oh, help! Will somebody, please save me?" Adora
called out from the trees in a stilted, unconvincing
voice. At least, it sounded that way to her own ears. On
the other hand, the prince and his companions seemed to
have fallen for it. They had set their personal air
vehicles down in a nearby clearing and were cautiously
approaching.
Adora studied them. The prince - Adam she thought
Skeletor said his name was - was a handsome man boy about
her age with blond hair. In fact, he looked alot like
Adora except for the hideous lavender and purple outfit
that Adora supposed passed for stylish among the locals.
Even though his motions were lackadaisical, his eyes
scanned the jungle purposefully.
That certainly wasn't true of his first companion. A
green and yellow feline followed in the Prince's wake.
Although it was built like a predator, the cat was acting
so skittish that Adora immediately dismissed it as any
kind of credible threat.
Not so for Adam's other companion. Bodyguard? Girlfriend?
Whatever she was, that girl was most definitely a warrior
of some kind. Her every movement practically screamed
"dangerous".
"Hello?" Adam called. "Somebody call for help?"
"Over here!" Adora called, stepping partially into view
so they could see her. They headed in her direction.
"I don't like this, Adam," the warrior girl muttered as
they neared. "This could be a trap."
"Aw, you worry too much, Teela," Adam replied lightly.
"It's just a damsel in distress." He turned to Adora. "So
what's wrong?"
"Well, actually," Adora began, drawing her sword from its
hiding spot in a nearby bush and smoothly bringing the
point to Adam's neck. "It is a trap."
Before Adora could continue, her sword was swept safely
aside by Teela's staff in an instant. Adora quickly
leaned back, her head barely avoiding the followup stroke
from the other end of Teela's staff. As she did so, Adora
lashed out with a foot, impacting with far less force
than it should have as Teela leapt back.
The two young women drew apart, staring each other down
in combat ready stances with weapons at the ready.
"Teela, I'll, um, go call for help," Adam said, backing
away from them. The big cat cowered behind him.
"Yeah, you do that," Teela replied disgustedly, her gaze
not wavering from Adora's.
Adora took note of the exchange. Some cultures prefered
to hustle their leaders to safety while the bodyquards
fought in their defense. From Teela's reaction, that
wasn't the case here. So, Prince Adam was a coward? That
was a useful bit of intel right there.
All thoughts of the cowardly prince were literally swept
aside in a sudden exchange of blows. Slash. Dodge. Kick.
Leap. Thrust. Parry. Finally, Adora's sword locked on the
snakehead on Teela's staff.
"You're good," Adora grunted in complement.
"Correction," Teela grunted in reply, a smirk creeping
onto her face. "I'm better." With a heave, she swept the
free end of her staff under Adora's legs, flipping her
onto her back. Adora suddenly found herself staring at
the sharp point of the staff's tail end. "Now, who are
you?" Teela demanded.
Adora began laughing.
"What are you...?" Teela began.
"Uh, Teela?" came Adam's voice. "Help?"
Startled, Teela's head turned from her opponent to catch
a glimpse of Adam surrounded by at least two dozen gray
armored figures. They all had guns pointed at the prince
at essentially point blank range.
And it was only a glimpse, because Adora took the
opportunity of Teela's distraction to knock the staff
aside, trip her forward, and have her fist rise up to
meet Teela's descending head.
Knocking anyone out had never been so satisfying.
***
"So, you managed to capture the Prince and his two
companions," Hordak observed. "Through treachery no
less."
"Sir, it was a well executed plan," Adora said stiffly.
"Oh, I'm not saying I disapprove," Hordak chuckled.
"Quite the opposite actually. You were always such a
straight arrow, I never would have thought you had it in
you."
"Sir? It was a well executed plan," Adora repeated, a
note of confusion in her voice.
"Yes, yes," Hordak said dismissively. "So what went
wrong?"
"It seems that Skeletor failed to mention a few details
in his plans to us..."
***
"We have the Prince," Adora told Skeletor. "Plus a big
cat and someone named Teela."
"You do?" The tinnyness of the communicator did nothing
to mute Skeletor's surprise. "That's...good. Yes, very
good. Stay right there. I'll send somebody to pick him
up."
Adora frowned. "Why don't we just bring them to you?" she
asked. "We'll save you the trip."
"Don't question me!" Skeletor snarled back. He switched
back to being nice, or what passed for him being nice.
"I wouldn't want to put you to any trouble, my dear. My
people will go get him. Skeletor out."
Adora stared at the now dead communicator. "Not put me to
any trouble?" she muttered. "I'm in the middle of a
jungle sitting on two prisoners and their pet." The
longer they remained out here, the better the chances
that something bad would happen, like stalking predators
munching on the prisoners.
On the other hand, Skeletor's minions didn't exactly
strike Adora as workaholics. This could be an excellent
chance to learn about Eternia without Skeletor filtering
the information.
Adora walked across the clearing to where the prisoners
were being held. The first squad of her platoon had them
covered with their guns even though the prisoners were
tied up; Adora was taking no chances. The second squad
was deployed in a defensive perimeter around the
clearing. The third and final squad was sweeping the
nearby jungle for any nasty surprises.
"Hey, you! Yeah, you!" Prince Adam called as Adora
approached. "Who are you? You work for Skeletor don't
you? What's he want this time?"
"You're quite the loudmouth, aren't you?" Adora returned.
She sat herself on one of the air vehicles the Prince and
his friends had arrived in. It was also serving double
duty as a table. "Let me tell you something, Princey. You
are my prisoner. As such, I don't have to answer any of
your questions. For you though, it's another story."
"I don't have to tell you anything," Adam said firmly.
"Well, in that case," Adora said slyly, "we can just go
straight to the part where we inflict alot of pain, maybe
some dismemberment, y'know, the standard deal."
"I still won't tell you anything," Adam said resolutely.
There was a flicker in his eye, but there wasn't a hint
of fear in his voice.
Adora's eyes rose in surprise. There was a surprising
amount of backbone in this prince. That didn't fit the
image of a fleeing coward she saw earlier. She might
actually have to resort to torture, something she found
extremely... distasteful.
"You've got quite a mouth for a guy who ran away from a
fight," Adora muttered. Adam opened his mouth to say
something, but shut himself up. It wasn't from fear, it
looked like Adam was making himself not say anything. Was
there something he was hiding? "And left his girlfriend
in a lurch," she added. Yes, definitely something there.
As if on cue, Teela chose that moment to come to. "Ooh,"
she moaned. "Adam, what..." Teela trailed off as she
spotted Adora. Then she squeezed her eyes shut, looked at
Adora again, saw Adam, switched back to Adora, then Adam,
Adora, Adam, Adora... "I must be having a nightmare" she
muttered finally.
"Oh, good, you're awake!" Adora said, trying to force
herself to sound like she was going to relish what came
next. She picked up one of the captured weapons, the
prince's sword. "Nice weapon by the way," she told him,
admiring the odd, stretched pentagonal design. "Pity it's
wasted on a coward."
Adam gritted his teeth furiously, but didn't say anything
again. What was he hiding?
Adora waved the point of Adam's sword in front of his
face. "I guess we'll just have to get started, won't we?"
she sighed dramatically. She hoped she wasn't overdoing
this.
Adam looked at his sword, calculation and not fear
evident in his eyes. Then he glanced at Teela, also
measuring. He turned back to Adora and puffed himself up
as best he could while tied up. "Do your worst," he told
her.
"Adam! What are you doing?" Teela exclaimed.
"Trust me on this one," Adam hissed back.
Adora's face went completely slack in surprise. This...
this idiot prince actually wanted her to start cutting
into him!
***
"The Eternian Prince is a sado-masochist?" Sunder
exclaimed in surprise.
"I have no other explanation, sir," Adora replied.
"I like him already," Shadow Weaver said sarcastically.
She sounded bored. "Continue."
***
"Excuse me, but you do realize that this is going to hurt
alot, right?" Adora asked Adam, jumping off the air
vehicle so that she could prod him with his own sword.
"As in this'll be painful. Can you say pain-ful?" she
continued, as if speaking to an especially dull child.
"By...the...power...of..." Adam stammered a each word for
every time she poked him.
"What was that? What were you saying?" Adora demanded,
letting the sword drop away from Adam in frustration at
whatever gibberish he was spouting.
"...Greyskull?" Adam squeaked out finally. He paused as
if waiting for something to happen. When nothing did, he
deflated slightly and mumbled, "I have the power."
"What? You have what power? Are you crazy?" Adora turned
to Teela. "Is he crazy?"
A thoughtful look stole over Teela's face. "That would
explain alot..."
"Teela!" Adam protested indignantly.
"You know what? Skeletor can have you lunatics," Adora
told them. "I'll find someone sane that I can
interrogate." She turned away, tossed the sword back onto
the air vehicle disgustedly, and muttered, "'By the power
of Greyskull' indeed."
"Hey, won't you at least tell us your name?" Adam called
at her back.
"No!" Adora replied over her shoulder as she composed
herself. A blinking light in the air vehicle caught her
eye. "Sergeant!"
One of the gray armored soldiers appeared at her side.
"Ma'am?"
"Why is that blinking?" Adora growled, pointing at the
offending light.
"I don't know, ma'am," the sergeant replied. "It wasn't
there before."
Adora suddenly felt dread ice up her spine. Peering
closer at the light, she saw that it was labeled
"Emergency Distress Beacon".
***
"And just how was the beacon activated?" Hordak inquired
pointedly.
"At the time, sir, I didn't know, and I had no time to
figure it out," Adora replied. "I was much too busy."
***
"Sergeant! Inform everyone that we are bugging out! Now!"
Adora snapped.
"Ma'am!" the sergeant acknowledged as he began relaying
the order.
It was too late. A giant humanoid insect and another air
vehicle dove out of the sky, strafing their position.
They didn't actually hit anything, but they did distract
everyone from the surrounding jungle. Chaos erupted from
all sides as a colorful collection of warriors emerged to
do battle.
Then Adora became distracted, forced to concentrate on
her little slice of the action. A series of laser blasts
took out most of the soldiers guarding the prisoners. A
truly huge man charged out of the jungle and practically
trampled the rest. He almost trampled Adora, too, except
that she dodged aside at the last moment and extended a
leg. The enemy warrior went sprawling.
Adora whipped out her sword in time to deflect a laser
blast from a second attacker, snapping the sword in half.
This one wore some kind of bulky orange armor. Furious at
the loss of her weapon, Adora attacked.
It quickly became apparent that this man was far more
skilled than she was. In the flurry of exchanged blows,
he actually managed to catch one wrist, then the other,
in his hands.
"And now, young lady," the man said in a most annoyingly
patronizing way. "You will explain why you...you..." The
man took a good look at her face and his eyes widened in
shocked surprise. "You!"
It was only a momentary lapse; his surprise loosened his
hold. Adora took full advantage. Her forehead hit her
opponent's unarmored face, and they reeled away from each
other. Adora recovered first and a round house kick sent
the armored man sprawling to the ground.
"Father!" someone cried.
Adora shook her head clear and looked to see how the
battle at large was going. It was bad. The Eternian
warriors were making short work of her soldiers. There
was only one thing to be done.
"Hordesmen!" Adora shouted at the top of her lungs. "Fall
back to rendezvous point!" Hopefully, they heard her and
be able to extract themselves. She couldn't extract one
of the prisoners herself and get away. So there was
nothing more that she could do except for one thing.
Adora turned and sprinted into the jungle.
***
"You ran away." Hordak's tone was part accusing.
"Yes, sir," Adora replied, making no attempt at denial.
"I met up with the remainder of my platoon at the
rendezvous point. Most of them were from the squad I had
sent out to sweep the jungle. On the way, I formed a
tentative theory as to how we were found out so quickly."
"Oh? Please elaborate," Hordak invited.
"Skeletor set us up, sir," Adora told them. "We were just
a diversion to draw the Eternian defenders away from
Skeletor's true target: Castle Greyskull."
"How did you come to that conclusion?" Sunder inquired.
"When the Eternians made no move to pursue us, I lingered
in the area, sir," Adora explained. "I overheard them
recieve a call for help from Greyskull and that
Skeletor's forces were attacking it. That was when I
concluded what really happened.
"I also guessed that one of Skeletor's agents had been
with us all along under a cloak of invisibility," Adora
continued. "This agent activated the distress beacon that
brought the Eternians down on us.
"Once I learned this, I rendezvoused with the remainder
of my platoon. It was my conclusion that Skeletor was
much too untrustworthy to be an ally of the Horde. That
mission objective was for all intents and purposes a lost
cause."
"According to your report, that was when you sent your
troops back to Etheria," Sunder said thoughtfully
consulting his notes.
"Yes, sir."
"So, why did you remain behind?" Hordak prompted.
"My mission objective of alliance was a failure," Adora
replied. "But there was still my other mission objective:
gathering intelligence. The soldiers would have been more
hindrance than help in this case. I intended to observe
from stealth how Skelitor's and Eternian warriors fought,
what tactics they used, and aquire a more detatched and
objective assessment of their abilities."
For the first time during the debriefing, a less than
professional emotion crept into Adora's voice. It came as
a sort of low growl. "Besides, he owed me a sword."
***
The battle between the locals had actually penetrated
GreySkull's walls. Several combatants from both sides had
retired from the field and gone home by the time Adora
arrived. There was no one outside, but definite sounds of
a battle raging inside. From what Adora could hear, there
weren't many combatants left, but at least one was
Skeletor.
Adora strolled unchallenged through the castle's front
gate.
The castle interior was a mess. Given that a battle had
just passed through here, Adora supposed it was only to
be expected. Still, there was no one in sight. There were
no bodies in sight either. As inexperienced in real
combat as she was (a lack this mission was rapidly making
good), Adora knew that there should have been at least
some casualties. Didn't this place have any full time
guards at all?
A glint drew Adora's attention. An untouched display hung
on a nearby wall. The object being displayed was a sword
that looked very much like Prince Adam's. It had the same
stretched, pentagonal design except for the ornamental
gem in its center.
It was a good thing the sword wasn't booby trapped,
because Adora completely forgot to check for any. Adora
took the sword in hand. It felt so natural there, that it
was like it had been made for her. It also had a superb
edge. There was a momentary glow of enchantment, but
nothing seemed to happen.
"Congratulations," a feminine voice said behind Adora.
Startled that anyone could sneak up on her, Adora whirled
around, bringing her new weapon to bear, ready to defend
or attack. The woman who had surprised Adora was
obviously no warrior. She wore a headpiece that resembled
a bird of prey's head. On her back was a set of wings.
"Who are you?" Adora demanded, grateful for the training
that kept her voice steady.
"I am the Sorceress of Castle Greyskull, young warrior,"
the woman replied. She seemed to not be intimidated at
all by the sword in Adora's hands. In fact, she appeared
to be down right amused. "I guard the secrets of this
place from all that would misuse them."
"Yeah?" Adora replied with more bravado than she felt.
This Sorceress wasn't afraid of Adora, which didn't say
much for her chances. But maybe Adora could milk some
information out of the Sorceress. She cocked her head,
indicating the surrounding mess and the sounds of distant
battle. "Well, you don't seem to be doing a very good
job."
"That is why I have allies," the Sorceress replied. "I
have every confidence in their victory."
As if on cue, Skeletor's voice echoed through the halls.
"Curse you, He-Man! I'll get you next time!"
"I would suggest you leave this place, young warrior,"
the Sorceress suggested. "I doubt you would wish to be
found by the victors. You may keep the sword."
"Hey, I'm not going any..." Adora began.
"I said BEGONE!" The Sorceress' last word was more felt
than heard. The castle interior vanished, and Adora found
herself in the middle of the jungle again.
***
"After that, I called for a portal and returned to
Etheria," Adora concluded, ending her report. "I did not
think it wise to confront our so-called allies alone
without consulting higher authority first."
"I have heard rumors of this Castle Greyskull," Shadow
Weaver mused. "This sword, it is the one at your side?"
"Yes, ma'am," Adora confirmed.
"Ah, good. Show us."
Without hesitation, Adora unsheathed the sword and set it
on the table for her superiors to examine, then resumed
her previous stance.
"Well, Shadow Weaver?" Hordak prompted after a time.
"Yes, definitely enchanted," Shadow Weaver murmured as
she examined the sword. She looked up at Adora. "Have you
discovered what powers it holds?"
"Ma'am, there appears to be no other enchantments other
than those making it a better sword," Adora replied
crisply. "If there was more, I doubt the Sorceress would
have let me leave with it."
"Hmm, the sword appears to be a receptacle of power,"
Shadow Weaver said thoughtfully. "Bah. If there were any
great magics in this sword, they were removed long ago.
I believe you are correct, Lieutenant Adora. This is but
a bauble."
"But a well crafted bauble, nonetheless," Sunder added,
admiring the sword's workmanship.
"But a bauble nonetheless," Hordak said irritably. "You
may retrieve your prize, Lieutenant."
Adora did so without a word.
"Lieutenant, what is your evaluation of Eternia's
military forces?" Sunder asked.
"Sir, my knowledge of Eternian military forces is very
limited," Adora told him. "I have only limited first hand
observations and unreliable speculations based on them."
"So speculate," the General commanded.
"Sir, there are no military forces on Eternia," Adora
declared. "Not any as we know them. Eternia is a feudal
culture. As such, war is waged by a few champions from
both sides and heads of state personally lead those
champions into battle."
"So Eternia is an easy conquest, then?"
"Yes, sir," Adora agreed, "except that those few
champions could prove troublesome. We can swamp the
defenders with sheer numbers of troops, and only control
whatever ground these champions are not standing on."
"You're saying Eternia might be difficult to garrison?"
Sunder asked archly. "Are you suggesting that the Horde
might not be ultimately victorious?"
"No, sir," Adora replied. If she was intimidated by her
superior officer's apparent ire, she didn't show it. "I
am saying that we must study Eternia extensively before
committing any forces lest we waste our soldiers for
nothing. There are simply too many unknowns."
***
"She was...impressive for such a young officer," Sunder
said thoughtfully after Adora had been dismissed.
"Ha! Didn't I tell you so?" Hordak chided.
"You are biased, Hordak," Shadow Weaver interjected. "She
is your adopted daughter after all." She turned to
Sunder. "You might recall that she failed her mission."
"To be fair, we gave her a fairly impossible task to
begin with, not the milk run we thought we did," Sunder
retorted. "I know of too many officers her senior who
wouldn't have done as well. In fact, they wouldn't have
come back at all. Lieutenant Adora has brains,
discipline, and initiative, traits that are getting
harder and harder to find these days among young Horde
officers."
"And what do you think of her assessment of Eternia?"
Hordak asked.
"The Lieutenant was right," Sunder replied. "We need to
learn more first. If anything, there is one piece of
vital intelligence she brought back with her. It's the
most valuable thing all by itself."
"What's that?" Shadow Weaver asked suspiciously.
"She's told us how much we don't know," Sunder answered.
"We need to know more before the conquest of Eternia can
begin."
"Yes, I wish to know what this Castle Greyskull holds,"
Shadow Weaver admitted reluctantly.
"Ah, we are agreed then," Hordak mused happily. "There is
justification not to press charges for failure."
"You mean aside from nepotism?" Sunder asked pointedly.
"Oh, General, you wound me!" Hordak mocked. "So, do you
have any other observations about the young Adora?"
"Well, I think she could use a little more seasoning
before being handed another independent command," Sunder
said thoughtfully. "I'm thinking of assigning her to
Counter-Insurgency."
"Splendid idea," Hordak agreed. "These Etherians are
getting uppity again anyway. I imagine she may even make
Force Captain in a few years..."
Author: Nopporn Wongrassamee aka the Evil Author
EMail Address: EvilAuthor@aol.com
Archive: Anywhere and everywhere. Just tell me if you do.
Spoilers: Anything goes, but my cable doesn't actually
carry the Cartoon Network so I'll have to rely on the
Internet for continuity info.
Summary: A Horde scouting mission to the 2002 series'
Eternia goes awry. Guess who was leading the mission?
Disclaimer: Characters and concepts belong to their
owners who I'm too lazy to bother looking up.
"Report!"
A young human woman marched into the room. She was in her
mid-teens perhaps, dressed in the red and white uniform
of a Horde officer. Neither her movements nor posture
gave any sense of what she was feeling. Her piercing blue
eyes were unreadable, her face a mask of professionalism.
Only her unruly not-long/not-short blonde hair and the
sword in the ill-fitting sheathe at her side marred the
image of the perfect officer.
She came before the board, stood at attention, and gave a
perfect salute.
"Lieutenant Adora, reporting as ordered, SIR!" she barked
crisply to her superiors.
For an eternally long moment, they studied the young
officer standing before them as if frozen in mid-salute,
left hand on the hilt of her sword, right hand at her
brow. Professional. Meanwhile, Adora studied them right
back.
Three figures - all superior officers - sat in front of
her behind an expansive table on a raised dais. They
looked, Adora thought, very much like a court martial
board.
In the center was Hordak, general, conquerer, and
governer of the entire Etheria sector. Not only was he
actually a member of the Horde's founding species, he was
brother to the ruler of the entire Horde.
On Hordak's right, Adora's left, was General Sunder. The
General was Hordak's right hand man, a human to boot, and
did the actual running of day to day military operations.
Rumor had it that Sunder was the real brains of Hordak's
branch of the Horde, but no one uttered that around
either man.
On Hordak's other side was the mysterious Shadow Weaver.
She was Hordak's foremost mage. Ordinarily, she wouldn't
involve herself in military matters, but Adora's recent
mission piqued her interest.
"At ease, Lieutenant," Hordak finally replied, returning
Adora's salute.
Adora lowered her arm and obeyed. She assumed the pose of
"at ease" just as stiff as her "attention": left hand
remaining on her sword hilt, right hand behind her back,
and feet set about shoulder width apart. She might have
been at parade rest except that she was now free to look
at the person speaking to her.
"Now, I believe you know all of us, Lieutenant," Hordak
continued, "so we will dispense with intrductions. Do you
know why you are here?"
"Sir! I am here to be debriefed on my scouting mission to
the planet Eternia, Sir!" Adora barked in reply.
"Yes, Lieutenant, and we are here to debrief you," Hordak
agreed. "This is not, however, a court martial, so please
lower your voice."
"Sir! Yes, Sir!" Adora replied, her volume not lowered at
all. Professional as always.
General Sunder developed a coughing fit. "It's nothing,"
he said at Hordak's annoyed glance. But the corners of
his lips twitched, belying his words. Hordak seemed to
decide to let it pass.
"Now, Lieutenant, we have all read your written report,"
Hordak continued, "and we have some questions. But before
we ask them, tell us in your own words what happened.
Start with your arrival on Eternia."
There was a brief pause as Adora ordered her thoughts.
"Sir," she began slowly, the volume of her voice finally
at something less than a shout but still no less formal.
"After going through the portal, my platoon and I were
immediately met by out local contact. We had arrived
right outside his headquarters as planned. At the
contact's request, I left the platoon outside to set up
camp while I and two guards entered his headquarters to
formally introduce myself..."
***
"YOU are the Horde's representative?" Adora's contact
asked, his voice dripping with scorn and disbelief.
"Yes," Adora confirmed, nodding curtly. "I am. My rank
and name are..."
"Bah!" the man interupted. "What does Hordak take me for?
Sending me toy soldiers commanded by children? I am a
conquerer, not a... a babysitter!"
"Sir, I am an officer of the Horde," Adora told him
coldly. "I will not be belittled or mocked. I was sent
because my superiors were convinced that I am fully
capable of completing my mission." She decided it would
be undiplomatic to also call him a "petty, local despot",
not to mention unprofessional.
"Oh, really?," the man sneered. "And how many 'missions'
have you completed, little girl? The truth now!"
"None," Adora admitted uncomfortably, but honesty
compelled truth. This man was an ally of the Horde after
all.
"And how many missions failed?" he pressed.
"None," Adora repeated.
Adora's contact paused, processing this unexpected bit of
information. "Wait a moment," he said slowly. "This is
your first mission?" His voice rose in fury. "HOW LONG
HAVE YOU BEEN AN OFFICER?"
"These," she indicated the butter brown lieutenant
stripes on her shoulders, "were pinned on last week."
"A WEEK?" came the shrieked reply.
"Five days ago actually," Adora said quietly. Then she
rallied herself and raised her head pridefully. "And
whether or not you think me fit for command is no concern
of mine. I am a representative of the Horde and you will
treat me as such, Kelidor!"
"Skeletor!" the man corrected angrily. "Kelidor is dead!
I am Skeletor now!"
***
"Skeletor?" Shadow Weaver interupted, speaking for the
first time. "Why the name change? Your report didn't
say."
"Ma'am, Skeletor had apparently suffered some mishap that
reduced his face to a bare skull," Adora answered. "Given
the already strained atmosphere I was operating in, I
judged it unwise to ask for the details."
"I see," Shadow Weaver mused. "Please, continue."
"Yes, ma'am. It was then that I got my first glimpse of
the local politics in that - if you'll pardon the pun,
sirs - snake pit..."
***
"So, Skeletor, this is the fabled 'Horde' you have told
us so much about," an amused woman in purple and black
interupted. "They don't look so very impressive, now, do
they?"
"Do not try my patience Evil-Lyn," Skeletor snarled.
"The Horde has conquered a thousand worlds," Adora told
Evil-Lyn coldly.
"So you say," Evil-Lyn replied skeptically. "Even if that
were true, little girl, how many of those worlds have YOU
conquered. Oh! That's right, this is your first mission."
She turned her back to face Skeletor. "Skeletor, you
really know how to pick them," she mocked.
"Evil-Lyn..." Skeletor began dangerously. He was
interupted by his guest.
"I am not 'a little girl'," Adora declared. The mission
seemed beyond recovery, but no way would she let these
locals besmirch the Horde's name. "I am Lieutenant Adora
of..."
"Adora?!" Skeletor interupted in surprise, his rage
instantly evaporating. "You are Adora?"
"Yes..." Adora confirmed, confused by the sudden mood
shift.
"Little Adora?" Skeletor laughed, bending over to hold
his hand below knee height for illustration. "My, you've
grown up! Oh, this is perfect!"
"Skeletor, what are you blathering about?" Evil-Lyn
asked, equally bewildered. "Who's this Adora supposed to
be?"
***
"Wait," Sunder interupted. "How did Skeletor know you?"
"I don't know, sir," Adora answered. "Skeletor wouldn't
say. He was too busy coming up with plans to attack his
neighbors."
"Did you know about this, Hordak?" Sunder asked his
superior. "Is this why you insisted on having her lead
this mission?"
"Let's just say I thought he might be more receptive to
her than other officers," Hordak said evasively. "Please
continue, Lieutenant."
"Sir," Adora acknowledged. "In any case, Skeletor came up
with a plan involving kidnapping the local crown prince.
I should have realized something was wrong when he didn't
provide so much as a guide - just a map - but I assumed
he was only testing our mettle. And since this was a
prince, I thought it a prime opportunity to get some
intelligence unbiased by our ally's politics.
"So, we set a trap..."
***
"Help! Oh, help! Will somebody, please save me?" Adora
called out from the trees in a stilted, unconvincing
voice. At least, it sounded that way to her own ears. On
the other hand, the prince and his companions seemed to
have fallen for it. They had set their personal air
vehicles down in a nearby clearing and were cautiously
approaching.
Adora studied them. The prince - Adam she thought
Skeletor said his name was - was a handsome man boy about
her age with blond hair. In fact, he looked alot like
Adora except for the hideous lavender and purple outfit
that Adora supposed passed for stylish among the locals.
Even though his motions were lackadaisical, his eyes
scanned the jungle purposefully.
That certainly wasn't true of his first companion. A
green and yellow feline followed in the Prince's wake.
Although it was built like a predator, the cat was acting
so skittish that Adora immediately dismissed it as any
kind of credible threat.
Not so for Adam's other companion. Bodyguard? Girlfriend?
Whatever she was, that girl was most definitely a warrior
of some kind. Her every movement practically screamed
"dangerous".
"Hello?" Adam called. "Somebody call for help?"
"Over here!" Adora called, stepping partially into view
so they could see her. They headed in her direction.
"I don't like this, Adam," the warrior girl muttered as
they neared. "This could be a trap."
"Aw, you worry too much, Teela," Adam replied lightly.
"It's just a damsel in distress." He turned to Adora. "So
what's wrong?"
"Well, actually," Adora began, drawing her sword from its
hiding spot in a nearby bush and smoothly bringing the
point to Adam's neck. "It is a trap."
Before Adora could continue, her sword was swept safely
aside by Teela's staff in an instant. Adora quickly
leaned back, her head barely avoiding the followup stroke
from the other end of Teela's staff. As she did so, Adora
lashed out with a foot, impacting with far less force
than it should have as Teela leapt back.
The two young women drew apart, staring each other down
in combat ready stances with weapons at the ready.
"Teela, I'll, um, go call for help," Adam said, backing
away from them. The big cat cowered behind him.
"Yeah, you do that," Teela replied disgustedly, her gaze
not wavering from Adora's.
Adora took note of the exchange. Some cultures prefered
to hustle their leaders to safety while the bodyquards
fought in their defense. From Teela's reaction, that
wasn't the case here. So, Prince Adam was a coward? That
was a useful bit of intel right there.
All thoughts of the cowardly prince were literally swept
aside in a sudden exchange of blows. Slash. Dodge. Kick.
Leap. Thrust. Parry. Finally, Adora's sword locked on the
snakehead on Teela's staff.
"You're good," Adora grunted in complement.
"Correction," Teela grunted in reply, a smirk creeping
onto her face. "I'm better." With a heave, she swept the
free end of her staff under Adora's legs, flipping her
onto her back. Adora suddenly found herself staring at
the sharp point of the staff's tail end. "Now, who are
you?" Teela demanded.
Adora began laughing.
"What are you...?" Teela began.
"Uh, Teela?" came Adam's voice. "Help?"
Startled, Teela's head turned from her opponent to catch
a glimpse of Adam surrounded by at least two dozen gray
armored figures. They all had guns pointed at the prince
at essentially point blank range.
And it was only a glimpse, because Adora took the
opportunity of Teela's distraction to knock the staff
aside, trip her forward, and have her fist rise up to
meet Teela's descending head.
Knocking anyone out had never been so satisfying.
***
"So, you managed to capture the Prince and his two
companions," Hordak observed. "Through treachery no
less."
"Sir, it was a well executed plan," Adora said stiffly.
"Oh, I'm not saying I disapprove," Hordak chuckled.
"Quite the opposite actually. You were always such a
straight arrow, I never would have thought you had it in
you."
"Sir? It was a well executed plan," Adora repeated, a
note of confusion in her voice.
"Yes, yes," Hordak said dismissively. "So what went
wrong?"
"It seems that Skeletor failed to mention a few details
in his plans to us..."
***
"We have the Prince," Adora told Skeletor. "Plus a big
cat and someone named Teela."
"You do?" The tinnyness of the communicator did nothing
to mute Skeletor's surprise. "That's...good. Yes, very
good. Stay right there. I'll send somebody to pick him
up."
Adora frowned. "Why don't we just bring them to you?" she
asked. "We'll save you the trip."
"Don't question me!" Skeletor snarled back. He switched
back to being nice, or what passed for him being nice.
"I wouldn't want to put you to any trouble, my dear. My
people will go get him. Skeletor out."
Adora stared at the now dead communicator. "Not put me to
any trouble?" she muttered. "I'm in the middle of a
jungle sitting on two prisoners and their pet." The
longer they remained out here, the better the chances
that something bad would happen, like stalking predators
munching on the prisoners.
On the other hand, Skeletor's minions didn't exactly
strike Adora as workaholics. This could be an excellent
chance to learn about Eternia without Skeletor filtering
the information.
Adora walked across the clearing to where the prisoners
were being held. The first squad of her platoon had them
covered with their guns even though the prisoners were
tied up; Adora was taking no chances. The second squad
was deployed in a defensive perimeter around the
clearing. The third and final squad was sweeping the
nearby jungle for any nasty surprises.
"Hey, you! Yeah, you!" Prince Adam called as Adora
approached. "Who are you? You work for Skeletor don't
you? What's he want this time?"
"You're quite the loudmouth, aren't you?" Adora returned.
She sat herself on one of the air vehicles the Prince and
his friends had arrived in. It was also serving double
duty as a table. "Let me tell you something, Princey. You
are my prisoner. As such, I don't have to answer any of
your questions. For you though, it's another story."
"I don't have to tell you anything," Adam said firmly.
"Well, in that case," Adora said slyly, "we can just go
straight to the part where we inflict alot of pain, maybe
some dismemberment, y'know, the standard deal."
"I still won't tell you anything," Adam said resolutely.
There was a flicker in his eye, but there wasn't a hint
of fear in his voice.
Adora's eyes rose in surprise. There was a surprising
amount of backbone in this prince. That didn't fit the
image of a fleeing coward she saw earlier. She might
actually have to resort to torture, something she found
extremely... distasteful.
"You've got quite a mouth for a guy who ran away from a
fight," Adora muttered. Adam opened his mouth to say
something, but shut himself up. It wasn't from fear, it
looked like Adam was making himself not say anything. Was
there something he was hiding? "And left his girlfriend
in a lurch," she added. Yes, definitely something there.
As if on cue, Teela chose that moment to come to. "Ooh,"
she moaned. "Adam, what..." Teela trailed off as she
spotted Adora. Then she squeezed her eyes shut, looked at
Adora again, saw Adam, switched back to Adora, then Adam,
Adora, Adam, Adora... "I must be having a nightmare" she
muttered finally.
"Oh, good, you're awake!" Adora said, trying to force
herself to sound like she was going to relish what came
next. She picked up one of the captured weapons, the
prince's sword. "Nice weapon by the way," she told him,
admiring the odd, stretched pentagonal design. "Pity it's
wasted on a coward."
Adam gritted his teeth furiously, but didn't say anything
again. What was he hiding?
Adora waved the point of Adam's sword in front of his
face. "I guess we'll just have to get started, won't we?"
she sighed dramatically. She hoped she wasn't overdoing
this.
Adam looked at his sword, calculation and not fear
evident in his eyes. Then he glanced at Teela, also
measuring. He turned back to Adora and puffed himself up
as best he could while tied up. "Do your worst," he told
her.
"Adam! What are you doing?" Teela exclaimed.
"Trust me on this one," Adam hissed back.
Adora's face went completely slack in surprise. This...
this idiot prince actually wanted her to start cutting
into him!
***
"The Eternian Prince is a sado-masochist?" Sunder
exclaimed in surprise.
"I have no other explanation, sir," Adora replied.
"I like him already," Shadow Weaver said sarcastically.
She sounded bored. "Continue."
***
"Excuse me, but you do realize that this is going to hurt
alot, right?" Adora asked Adam, jumping off the air
vehicle so that she could prod him with his own sword.
"As in this'll be painful. Can you say pain-ful?" she
continued, as if speaking to an especially dull child.
"By...the...power...of..." Adam stammered a each word for
every time she poked him.
"What was that? What were you saying?" Adora demanded,
letting the sword drop away from Adam in frustration at
whatever gibberish he was spouting.
"...Greyskull?" Adam squeaked out finally. He paused as
if waiting for something to happen. When nothing did, he
deflated slightly and mumbled, "I have the power."
"What? You have what power? Are you crazy?" Adora turned
to Teela. "Is he crazy?"
A thoughtful look stole over Teela's face. "That would
explain alot..."
"Teela!" Adam protested indignantly.
"You know what? Skeletor can have you lunatics," Adora
told them. "I'll find someone sane that I can
interrogate." She turned away, tossed the sword back onto
the air vehicle disgustedly, and muttered, "'By the power
of Greyskull' indeed."
"Hey, won't you at least tell us your name?" Adam called
at her back.
"No!" Adora replied over her shoulder as she composed
herself. A blinking light in the air vehicle caught her
eye. "Sergeant!"
One of the gray armored soldiers appeared at her side.
"Ma'am?"
"Why is that blinking?" Adora growled, pointing at the
offending light.
"I don't know, ma'am," the sergeant replied. "It wasn't
there before."
Adora suddenly felt dread ice up her spine. Peering
closer at the light, she saw that it was labeled
"Emergency Distress Beacon".
***
"And just how was the beacon activated?" Hordak inquired
pointedly.
"At the time, sir, I didn't know, and I had no time to
figure it out," Adora replied. "I was much too busy."
***
"Sergeant! Inform everyone that we are bugging out! Now!"
Adora snapped.
"Ma'am!" the sergeant acknowledged as he began relaying
the order.
It was too late. A giant humanoid insect and another air
vehicle dove out of the sky, strafing their position.
They didn't actually hit anything, but they did distract
everyone from the surrounding jungle. Chaos erupted from
all sides as a colorful collection of warriors emerged to
do battle.
Then Adora became distracted, forced to concentrate on
her little slice of the action. A series of laser blasts
took out most of the soldiers guarding the prisoners. A
truly huge man charged out of the jungle and practically
trampled the rest. He almost trampled Adora, too, except
that she dodged aside at the last moment and extended a
leg. The enemy warrior went sprawling.
Adora whipped out her sword in time to deflect a laser
blast from a second attacker, snapping the sword in half.
This one wore some kind of bulky orange armor. Furious at
the loss of her weapon, Adora attacked.
It quickly became apparent that this man was far more
skilled than she was. In the flurry of exchanged blows,
he actually managed to catch one wrist, then the other,
in his hands.
"And now, young lady," the man said in a most annoyingly
patronizing way. "You will explain why you...you..." The
man took a good look at her face and his eyes widened in
shocked surprise. "You!"
It was only a momentary lapse; his surprise loosened his
hold. Adora took full advantage. Her forehead hit her
opponent's unarmored face, and they reeled away from each
other. Adora recovered first and a round house kick sent
the armored man sprawling to the ground.
"Father!" someone cried.
Adora shook her head clear and looked to see how the
battle at large was going. It was bad. The Eternian
warriors were making short work of her soldiers. There
was only one thing to be done.
"Hordesmen!" Adora shouted at the top of her lungs. "Fall
back to rendezvous point!" Hopefully, they heard her and
be able to extract themselves. She couldn't extract one
of the prisoners herself and get away. So there was
nothing more that she could do except for one thing.
Adora turned and sprinted into the jungle.
***
"You ran away." Hordak's tone was part accusing.
"Yes, sir," Adora replied, making no attempt at denial.
"I met up with the remainder of my platoon at the
rendezvous point. Most of them were from the squad I had
sent out to sweep the jungle. On the way, I formed a
tentative theory as to how we were found out so quickly."
"Oh? Please elaborate," Hordak invited.
"Skeletor set us up, sir," Adora told them. "We were just
a diversion to draw the Eternian defenders away from
Skeletor's true target: Castle Greyskull."
"How did you come to that conclusion?" Sunder inquired.
"When the Eternians made no move to pursue us, I lingered
in the area, sir," Adora explained. "I overheard them
recieve a call for help from Greyskull and that
Skeletor's forces were attacking it. That was when I
concluded what really happened.
"I also guessed that one of Skeletor's agents had been
with us all along under a cloak of invisibility," Adora
continued. "This agent activated the distress beacon that
brought the Eternians down on us.
"Once I learned this, I rendezvoused with the remainder
of my platoon. It was my conclusion that Skeletor was
much too untrustworthy to be an ally of the Horde. That
mission objective was for all intents and purposes a lost
cause."
"According to your report, that was when you sent your
troops back to Etheria," Sunder said thoughtfully
consulting his notes.
"Yes, sir."
"So, why did you remain behind?" Hordak prompted.
"My mission objective of alliance was a failure," Adora
replied. "But there was still my other mission objective:
gathering intelligence. The soldiers would have been more
hindrance than help in this case. I intended to observe
from stealth how Skelitor's and Eternian warriors fought,
what tactics they used, and aquire a more detatched and
objective assessment of their abilities."
For the first time during the debriefing, a less than
professional emotion crept into Adora's voice. It came as
a sort of low growl. "Besides, he owed me a sword."
***
The battle between the locals had actually penetrated
GreySkull's walls. Several combatants from both sides had
retired from the field and gone home by the time Adora
arrived. There was no one outside, but definite sounds of
a battle raging inside. From what Adora could hear, there
weren't many combatants left, but at least one was
Skeletor.
Adora strolled unchallenged through the castle's front
gate.
The castle interior was a mess. Given that a battle had
just passed through here, Adora supposed it was only to
be expected. Still, there was no one in sight. There were
no bodies in sight either. As inexperienced in real
combat as she was (a lack this mission was rapidly making
good), Adora knew that there should have been at least
some casualties. Didn't this place have any full time
guards at all?
A glint drew Adora's attention. An untouched display hung
on a nearby wall. The object being displayed was a sword
that looked very much like Prince Adam's. It had the same
stretched, pentagonal design except for the ornamental
gem in its center.
It was a good thing the sword wasn't booby trapped,
because Adora completely forgot to check for any. Adora
took the sword in hand. It felt so natural there, that it
was like it had been made for her. It also had a superb
edge. There was a momentary glow of enchantment, but
nothing seemed to happen.
"Congratulations," a feminine voice said behind Adora.
Startled that anyone could sneak up on her, Adora whirled
around, bringing her new weapon to bear, ready to defend
or attack. The woman who had surprised Adora was
obviously no warrior. She wore a headpiece that resembled
a bird of prey's head. On her back was a set of wings.
"Who are you?" Adora demanded, grateful for the training
that kept her voice steady.
"I am the Sorceress of Castle Greyskull, young warrior,"
the woman replied. She seemed to not be intimidated at
all by the sword in Adora's hands. In fact, she appeared
to be down right amused. "I guard the secrets of this
place from all that would misuse them."
"Yeah?" Adora replied with more bravado than she felt.
This Sorceress wasn't afraid of Adora, which didn't say
much for her chances. But maybe Adora could milk some
information out of the Sorceress. She cocked her head,
indicating the surrounding mess and the sounds of distant
battle. "Well, you don't seem to be doing a very good
job."
"That is why I have allies," the Sorceress replied. "I
have every confidence in their victory."
As if on cue, Skeletor's voice echoed through the halls.
"Curse you, He-Man! I'll get you next time!"
"I would suggest you leave this place, young warrior,"
the Sorceress suggested. "I doubt you would wish to be
found by the victors. You may keep the sword."
"Hey, I'm not going any..." Adora began.
"I said BEGONE!" The Sorceress' last word was more felt
than heard. The castle interior vanished, and Adora found
herself in the middle of the jungle again.
***
"After that, I called for a portal and returned to
Etheria," Adora concluded, ending her report. "I did not
think it wise to confront our so-called allies alone
without consulting higher authority first."
"I have heard rumors of this Castle Greyskull," Shadow
Weaver mused. "This sword, it is the one at your side?"
"Yes, ma'am," Adora confirmed.
"Ah, good. Show us."
Without hesitation, Adora unsheathed the sword and set it
on the table for her superiors to examine, then resumed
her previous stance.
"Well, Shadow Weaver?" Hordak prompted after a time.
"Yes, definitely enchanted," Shadow Weaver murmured as
she examined the sword. She looked up at Adora. "Have you
discovered what powers it holds?"
"Ma'am, there appears to be no other enchantments other
than those making it a better sword," Adora replied
crisply. "If there was more, I doubt the Sorceress would
have let me leave with it."
"Hmm, the sword appears to be a receptacle of power,"
Shadow Weaver said thoughtfully. "Bah. If there were any
great magics in this sword, they were removed long ago.
I believe you are correct, Lieutenant Adora. This is but
a bauble."
"But a well crafted bauble, nonetheless," Sunder added,
admiring the sword's workmanship.
"But a bauble nonetheless," Hordak said irritably. "You
may retrieve your prize, Lieutenant."
Adora did so without a word.
"Lieutenant, what is your evaluation of Eternia's
military forces?" Sunder asked.
"Sir, my knowledge of Eternian military forces is very
limited," Adora told him. "I have only limited first hand
observations and unreliable speculations based on them."
"So speculate," the General commanded.
"Sir, there are no military forces on Eternia," Adora
declared. "Not any as we know them. Eternia is a feudal
culture. As such, war is waged by a few champions from
both sides and heads of state personally lead those
champions into battle."
"So Eternia is an easy conquest, then?"
"Yes, sir," Adora agreed, "except that those few
champions could prove troublesome. We can swamp the
defenders with sheer numbers of troops, and only control
whatever ground these champions are not standing on."
"You're saying Eternia might be difficult to garrison?"
Sunder asked archly. "Are you suggesting that the Horde
might not be ultimately victorious?"
"No, sir," Adora replied. If she was intimidated by her
superior officer's apparent ire, she didn't show it. "I
am saying that we must study Eternia extensively before
committing any forces lest we waste our soldiers for
nothing. There are simply too many unknowns."
***
"She was...impressive for such a young officer," Sunder
said thoughtfully after Adora had been dismissed.
"Ha! Didn't I tell you so?" Hordak chided.
"You are biased, Hordak," Shadow Weaver interjected. "She
is your adopted daughter after all." She turned to
Sunder. "You might recall that she failed her mission."
"To be fair, we gave her a fairly impossible task to
begin with, not the milk run we thought we did," Sunder
retorted. "I know of too many officers her senior who
wouldn't have done as well. In fact, they wouldn't have
come back at all. Lieutenant Adora has brains,
discipline, and initiative, traits that are getting
harder and harder to find these days among young Horde
officers."
"And what do you think of her assessment of Eternia?"
Hordak asked.
"The Lieutenant was right," Sunder replied. "We need to
learn more first. If anything, there is one piece of
vital intelligence she brought back with her. It's the
most valuable thing all by itself."
"What's that?" Shadow Weaver asked suspiciously.
"She's told us how much we don't know," Sunder answered.
"We need to know more before the conquest of Eternia can
begin."
"Yes, I wish to know what this Castle Greyskull holds,"
Shadow Weaver admitted reluctantly.
"Ah, we are agreed then," Hordak mused happily. "There is
justification not to press charges for failure."
"You mean aside from nepotism?" Sunder asked pointedly.
"Oh, General, you wound me!" Hordak mocked. "So, do you
have any other observations about the young Adora?"
"Well, I think she could use a little more seasoning
before being handed another independent command," Sunder
said thoughtfully. "I'm thinking of assigning her to
Counter-Insurgency."
"Splendid idea," Hordak agreed. "These Etherians are
getting uppity again anyway. I imagine she may even make
Force Captain in a few years..."