Chapter 15 - The Admiral and the Captain

It was here in the sky over the sacred soil of Paradise Island that A-ko came to realize how much she'd missed a simple game of catch with her dad. She might have been a twenty-four-year-old woman, but it didn't stop her from enjoying herself like a twelve-year-old again, playing with her daddy.

Admiral Borna Chitai had no such fond memories of her father. He had mattered not; he had only served to plant his seed in the womb of the mother she had quickly grown to hate. She had some memory of her maternal parent once laughing about sending him back to the Prison Camp at Gonidesh, from which she'd paroled him for a six-hour period.

"Bastard wasn't even any good," the senior Chitai had commented to a Sister officer. "Hope they execute him."

Borna now winced at the unbidden memory. Conceived out of duty to the Empire and not out of love, young Borna had learned at an early age that the sole reason for her conception and birth was so that her mother could advance upward in the ranks of the Cygnan Space Fleet. No officer could hope to rise to command grade without producing daughters to follow her in service to Queen and Empire.

Realizing at a heartbreakingly young age that she was only a means to an end for her mother, Borna Chitai had been raised with indifference at best, and with cruelty at worst - cruelty that had bordered on the absurd, if not the downright sadistic.

For in spite of her heroic sacrifice, Bakkat Chitai never rose past the grade of master chief, and ultimately would fail to reach officer status even after twenty years of service. Sour of face and temperament, Bakkat had blamed the officers under whom she had served, along with those who sat in judgment of her on the promotion boards.

Borna's mother took her dead-end career out on her only child, both physically and mentally. The physical punishment was with her two hard fists, particularly after she had been on a bender; indeed, this was why Borna Chitai hated drunks. Bakkat's mental punishment consisted of pushing her daughter beyond endurance in her studies at the junior grades at the CygniCity Space Academy.

Borna tried hard, but was simply not bright enough to keep up with those whom nature and nurture had favored. She learned early in life that she was a loser, and that she would never please her demanding alcoholic mother.

Ultimately, Bakkat gave her only child the only gift of real value Borna would ever receive; this she did by having the good sense to die in battle with the Kirlians at the Battle of Shiguvort Nebula. By ridding the cosmos of her own depressingly ugly carcass, Bakkat Chitai had unwittingly assured the now-orphaned girl a guaranteed place in the Senior Space Academy in spite of her grades. As the only child of a Leptonian warrior who fell serving the Empire (more or less), she became automatically qualified for a "free ride" through graduation.

After that momentous event, Borna's rise up the ranks was nothing spectacular until she threw in her lot with the Council of Sisters. Although the ranks of the Shakanar were usually filled through conscription (by means of the so-called "transfers" from the regular military due to a soldier's incorrigibility and inability to respect life other than her own), on occasion a disgruntled Space Fleet grunt would petition for admission into the ranks of the Shakanar. At least, Borna reasoned, she would have a shot at advancement if her superiors weren't too choosy.

They were not, and her rise through the ranks after that was both spectacular and controversial. First a captain, then up the ranks to admiral, Borna Chitai had developed a reputation for getting the job done, no matter the cost. It bothered no one in the Shakanar High Command that such a cost included the lives of the troopers and officers under Chitai's command. In short, Borna never caught onto the fact that either a more careful planning or a slower series of accomplishment would have helped her reach a similar end in the regular military.

Borna Chitai's lateral transfer had also been ratified by the regular Space Command, but for another reason. Among themselves, and never on the record, the regular military reasoned that if Chitai cared so little for the lives of her troops, she might as well lead Shakanar troops into battle. Indeed (and never on the record), it was the general consensus that if Chitai was going to get Leptonian warriors killed at such a high rate, they might as well be Shakanar. No one in the Cygnan Space Command, to a woman, cared if those psychopaths died on the field of battle.

Her unique status had allowed her to keep Tarim, her own little girl, in the CygniCity Space Academy in spite of the child's failing the mandatory psychological scan all Cygnans underwent at the age of eight. Borna had given birth to her own daughter much as her own mother had, as a matter of duty to the Empire and of course to ensure a place on the promotion ranks.

And yet - and so unlike her own mother - Borna had actually cared for her oversized child. She had loved her, spoiled her, and had ignored all the warning signs pointing to her only child's deviant behavior. Borna Chitai chose not to see Tarim's mean streak, her incessant bullying, or her sinister enjoyment of setting fires and inflicting pain first upon animals, and then upon almost anyone who was smaller and weaker than herself - which included almost everybody in her daughter's young life. But then, Tarim had overstepped the mark of ordinary decency, calling unwanted attention to herself when she had all but killed the fourteen-year-old daughter of the martyred Commander Alia Napolipolita in the Space Academy barracks.

This more than called attention to Tarim's sociopathic bent, and her history came out with a vengeance. Even then, Borna might have used her influence to keep her daughter out of "Psycho School" if it hadn't been for the long and unbelievably vicious fight in which she had engaged with that overgrown farm girl Deesha Dakina. It had been sad, really, since Dakina had been little Napolipolita's friend and the attack had been motivated by her urge to protect the badly traumatized girl.

Dakina's own mother couldn't convince the High Command to reverse their decision to consign poor Deesha to Mur Sejanus, home of the Shakanar War College. Of both girls sent into the ranks of the Shakanar, however, it had been only Tarim who'd been sent to go where, according to Cygnan custom and law, she had really belonged.

In her mother's eye, Tarim had been an innocent girl who had only played a harmless childhood prank. The fact that she had all but smothered to death the only daughter of a dead Leptonian hero had meant nothing to her.

The fact that Napolipolita had subsequently turned to the bottle to battle her own demons had only infuriated Borna more. Borna had hated drunks because her mother had been one; since her own fear-based relationship with her mother had compelled her to deny hating her, Borna Chitai had simply transferred the hatred of her drunken mother to the drunk whom she believed had destroyed her daughter's future.

Even that outrage hadn't been enough. Later, Borna had heard that it had been that drunken waste Napolipolita who had killed her beloved Tarim in the rescue of that dimwitted Princess C-ko during the Cygnan Civil War. To be sure, Chitai herself had been on the rebel side of that brief but bloody insurrection. Luckily for her, however, Queen Zazen'lda's general amnesty allowed all who had originally sworn their allegiance to the Empire to regain their former ranks and stations. Borna herself had sworn the oath with the best of them after the Civil War, even if she had never meant a word of it. She was no fool.

It was more fuel on the fire of hatred that burned in Chitai's breast when she had later learned that Napolipolita had regained her children after putting down the booze for good. And blast her eyes, she had even taken one of Earth's billionaires as her lifemate! She lived a life of luxury, with diamonds on her fingers and a place in the heart of Queen Zazen'lda because it had been Napolipolita, and Dee under her command, who had finally recovered that stupid Lost Princess.

Now - all but surrounded - she saw her chance at revenge slipping through her fingers. The object of her hatred was so tantalizingly close! Indeed, just over there - standing in front of her in the rocks below a good-sized hill - Admiral Borna Chitai spied the long green hair of the woman she blamed for her child's death. So near, and yet so far!

Surrounded by her most loyal and fanatical Shakanar shocktroopers, Admiral Borna Chitai now charged forward, eager to have her broadsword slake its thirst upon the blood of the now-Ambassador Napolipolita-Daitokuji. She was no fool, realizing that this sole act would cost her, and that price would be her life. But she would be happy to pay it if only she could send Napolipolita to Avernus. Indeed, all this bloodshed - including her own - would make it all worthwhile.

Using all her military cunning and experience, Admiral Chitai quickly organized an attack by her own personal bodyguard. Her tactics and strategy were as simple and brutal as ever. In keeping with her prior history, she neither cared for, nor counted the lives of the troops she planned to toss into the lion's mouth. Her plan was both simple and straightforward. Together with her guard, she would attack the single point of the Amazon battle line where the hated Napolipolita now made her stand.

The Amazons she planned to attack were – as always – outnumbered, but each one of them was worth any three Shakanar. Further, each of them was spoiling for a fight. Their homeland had been attacked without warning or provocation. They had seen too many of their Sisters, friends, companions, and even lovers die this wanted blood, and Chitai's personal bodyguard was about to supply it. Chitai stayed in the rear as her Shakanar attacked the point where the Cygnan ambassador to Themiscyra fought.

Predictably, Hippolyta's Amazons cut her troops to ribbons. Even their internal nanobots couldn't repair such massive and sudden damage. This failed to upset Chitai. She would walk, as it were, over the dead bodies of her personal guard to reach her prey.

xxxxxx

Napolipolita-Daitokuji was facing down a Shakanar who bore a broadsword in her huge hands. Blasters and pulse rifles were useless in hand-to-hand combat; the oldest weapons known to humankind worked much better in close quarters. Circling one another, each stared into the other's eyes, looking for weaknesses and waiting for an opening.

Napolipolita kept her labrys constantly moving in tight graceful circles. It was surprising how fast she had picked up the proper use of this simple yet useful weapon. This might be attributed to the fact that the ancient Leptonian colonists had brought this fearsome double ax with them to Earth in the first place, as well as to the great amount of practice Napolipolita was acquiring in its use today.

The big Shakanar brought her broadsword down in a devastating overhand strike aimed at Aysha Napolipolita's head. The alien warrior had seen her Sisters fall in order for Chitai to reach the former starship captain and did not care for her leader's orders to keep Napolipolita alive for Chitai to kill. Napolipolita slid her left hand down near the ax head, keeping her right down near the weighted end of the reinforced ax handle. She was able to raise the handle just in time to catch the descending blow of the Shakanar sword stroke. Still, her knees buckled at the force of the blow. Even this did not stop Napolipolita-Daitokuji from counterattacking by sending the weighted end crashing into the face of her unnamed foe.

Stunned, the shocktrooper returned back to the attack by unleashing a clumsy sidestroke aimed at the Cygnan's head. Ducking quickly, Napolipolita spun on her heels, bringing the labrys head smashing into the Shakanar's now-exposed armpit.

The double-headed ax struck home, biting deep into the huge warrior's side. The blow had been so hard and so deep that Napolipolita had to use her foot as leverage to free it. Not even the nanobots infesting the soldier could repair this amount of damage. The shocktrooper dropped her sword, managed a step or two, and then fell face first into the dirt, dead.

Napolipolita-Daitokuji had no time to savor her victory because a nearby explosion knocked her off her feet. On her hands and knees, Aysha shook her green head and breathed deeply in an attempt to clear the cobwebs from her mind. While trying to will her thin frame to stand, the ambassador caught a Shakanar boot in the face, knocking her onto her back and into oblivion.

The owner of the big red boot began to crow in triumph, but never heard her own victory cry as it left her throat. A well-aimed shot from Deesha Dakina's pulse gun curtailed the victory demonstration by blasting off her head.

If anyone knew how tough Shakanar soldiers could be, it was Dee. She also knew the best and surest way to take out a former Shakanar Sister was, and always would be, a well-placed head shot.

xxxxxxxxxx

But even Leptonian weapons cannot fire forever.

Admiral Borna Chitai and her retinue (what was left of them) now made their way to where Aysha Napolipolita-Daitokuji struggled to right herself. Dee was also weakened, using her sword as a cane on which to lean as she limped her way down the hill to meet them. She meant to stand by her captain and friend, as she always had, no matter the cost. The big woman had sworn an oath long ago that if her friend fell in battle, Dee would meet the same end by defending her.

Chitai and the remaining members of her bodyguard arrived first. Opening a path for their leader, they stood guard as Borna Chitai finally found herself standing over the woman she blamed for her only child's death. Unfortunately, Aysha's struggle with trying to stand up had only resulted in her passing out on the hill; the blow to her face had been more than she had anticipated.

"Is she alive?" Chitai asked a nearby trooper.

"She yet lives, Admiral!"

"The Mother has been good to me this day," Chitai murmured to herself.

Napolipolita had just regained consciousness and now looked up to see Borna Chitai standing over her.

"You're going to wish that explosion killed you, Ambassador. Your end will be slow and painful. I promise you – before you die screaming at my hands, you will wish you had died with your mother on board the Pana Gaia!"

Napolipolita sent her foot crashing into Chitai's belly, knocking her down. Chitai's guards stood helplessly by, knowing that if they interfered in this two-woman battle they would be put in a pain booth until they died. The former captain looked into the face of her attacker, her jaw set. "I did wish for that, and for many years. My lifemate and people on this planet helped me put down the alcohol that had ruined my life. I am strong, I am from the House of Napolipolita, and I do not fear you, kakamatandula!"

Getting back on her feet, Chitai spat, "You can take that happy thought to your grave, bitch, but only after I take my revenge on you for killing my beautiful Tarim!"

"Napolipolita had nothing to do with your pig-faced daughter's death, Admiral!"

All turned to face the new arrival. So intense had been her concentration that neither had noticed the large form of Deesha Dakina shuffling toward them.

"What is that supposed to mean, traitor?" Chitai snapped.

"Dee! As your commanding officer, I order you to hold your tongue!" the ex-captain screamed, knowing what was coming.

"Sorry, once Mikvikti Ayshiu, my sad little friend. That is one order I cannot obey, especially since it means your life!" Making her way to stand before the mad admiral, Deesha looked her in the face.

"My captain did not kill your daughter," Dee said. "I did."

"Liar!"

"No lie, but truth, Admiral! We had rescued Princess C-ko and were making our escape when a squad of Shakanar deathheads led by your daughter attacked us. Our redheaded Terran friend, child of the woman you call The Demon, dealt with the lot of them; however, she didn't kill any of them as any seasoned warrior would have. She was taught differently than all of us. Your daughter showed her gratitude by trying to shoot her in the back. And because Tarim Chitai then proceeded to gut-shoot my captain, I shot her with my pistol!"

"Lying dog! Everyone knows that Shakanar never kill Shakanar!" Chitai sneered. "This is just a ploy to save your cowardly commanding officer from a well-earned execution!"

"That is just what Tarim said – right before I crushed her skull by grinding my boot into her ugly face!"

Borna Chitai shook with rage. "Seize her and that pathetic drunk on the ground! Dakina – I will so enjoy watching your dissection so we can find out what killed the nanobots, particularly because you will still be alive when we do it!" She then turned to Napolipolita, who was now being held by two Shakanar soldiers. "I'm feeling extra happy today!" Chitai said. "I think I will celebrate by holding off on your execution until we capture your children. Then they can watch your torture and death before dying themselves!"

"We have a saying here on Earth – talk is cheap!" Dee responded as she watched the Shakanar guard prepare to drag them both away.

Chitai grinned and turned to her guard. "Don't kill Napolipolita. She is mine. And don't kill Dakina. We need her alive for the dissection!"

"You're right about one thing – your killing days are over," remarked a new - yet familiar - voice filled with strength and power.

Turning toward the newcomer's voice, Borna Chitai saw the Amazon Queen land fifty feet from the small group; it seemed as if her daughter – The Demon Diana – was helping her in this regard. A moment later, A-ko (otherwise known as Martha Kent) joined them from the sky. Three generations of Amazon Royalty stood proudly and regally, side by side.

"Kill them!" Admiral Chitai screamed. The Shakanar shocktroopers opened fire upon the trio.

Hippolyta and Diana deflected the energy bursts with their Amazon bracers in a futuristic game of bullets and bracelets. A-ko herself blocked a few bursts, then let the rest of the weapons fire bounce off her own chest. She grunted in pain; however, she was yet to become as invulnerable as her father and would have the black and blue marks to show for her bravado the next morning.

Her mother turned to her and said in a half-proud, half-scolding voice, "Show off!"

"I still have an army!" Chitai shrieked.

"Most of whom are trapped in your ship," A-ko fired back.

"And the rest are dying off, minute by minute, even as we speak," Hippolyta said.

Diana added. "You're beaten! Time to put an end to this senseless killing! Do you actually think we will allow you to take and kill our friends? Surrender now!"

"Never! We will never surrender to you freaks! My Shakanar will fight to the end, and then with my last breath I will order the destruction of my ship the Revenge. Its self-destruct capability should take your so-called Paradise Island with it!"

"Can she do as she says?" Diana asked Aysha, still being held by the Shakanar.

"I'm afraid so."

Suddenly, a small scout bomber flew low overhead, buzzing the battlefield twice and then hovering above them.

"This is mine! This is me!" cried Diana, preparing to take to the sky to bring down the new arrival.

"Wait!" cried Napolipolita. "That isn't a Shakanar craft! It's an Imperial scout ship!"

"How can you tell?" asked A-ko.

"The color. Purple is a color traditionally used by royalty. I think your Phoenicians stole that little act, in fact."

"Is there nothing the Terrans have accomplished that the Cygnans hadn't invented first?" A-ko joshed, trying to figure out a way to liberate her friends from the grips of several beefy Shakanar troopers.

The rear ramp fell open. No sound came from within, and it was too dark to see inside. Predictably, two huge Shakanar rushed forward and bounded up the ramp, firing their weapons.

Diana at first thought she'd heard the familiar sounds of energy bolts bouncing off amazonium. But Amazons did not fly in starships! Next, she heard the sounds of low-pitched screams from inside, and then she watched as the two Shakanar flew out the back of the craft, bounced once off the ramp, and finally rolled down the hill and out of sight.

"Impressive," Diana said to her mother.

And then, a tall woman emerged from the craft. She did not wear the blood-red armor of the Shakanar; neither did she wear the uniform of the Cygnan Space Navy. This young redhead instead wore the protection of Amazon battle armor! It was Zoey Valcuria, daughter of Artemis and longtime friend of A-ko and her pals.

Two more Shakanar armed with swords this time made the mistake of trying to race up the ramp to attack her. Even as their sword strokes bounced off her bracelets, Zoey seized each by the throat and banged their heads together with a resounding "clang".

After tossing her adversaries away, Zoey shouted, "All loyal Leptonians, and those who wish to see their next sunrise, lay down your arms at once!"

"By whose order?" screamed the outraged Admiral Chitai.

"By the order of the Ruler of the Cygnan Empire herself!"

With that, Queen Zazen'lda emerged from the hull, decked out in festive battle array. She bore the Royal broadsword at her hip. Behind her appeared her loyal aides Buyabah and Benedicina, who had wished to come out first to guard their Queen, but she would not hear of it. For now, they stood with weapons drawn, eyes darting all around, searching for the smallest sign of danger to their ruler. A group of troopers in plum-colored armor appeared behind them, weapons also at the ready.

"Release Napolipolita and Dakina," ordered the Queen, with a nod of thanks and recognition toward Queen Hippolyta. "Refusal to comply will bring death, Chitai. And I am not joking. It's good to be the Queen!" Zazen'lda laughed.

With a nod, Chitai had her soldiers release the two prisoners. "I will only relinquish my position when I am dead in battle – fighting against you, False Queen, and all you stand for!"

Zazen'lda only smiled.

Zoey raced over and hugged her Amazon "cousin" A-ko.

"Why in the name of God are you letting Chitai and her troops remain alive?" A-ko hissed.

Zoey grinned and whispered in her ear. "We are decoys. The real liberation of Paradise Island is imminent," she said. "Wait and see!"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Still under the squirming pile of blankets, Akana pinched one of her young half-sister's legs. "Stop kicking me," Aki hissed.

"You kakamatandula!" cried Mitsuko.

"Quiet, poopface," Shiiko hissed.

Mindful as were all the Napolipolita-Daitokuji children of insults, both Japanese and Leptonian, little Hikiri frowned. "You said a bad word!" he huffed in his little-boy voice, not unlike what A-ko said to her pop only a while ago.

Mitsuko blinked in his direction, it being too dark to see which lump was who. "Sorry, baby, I was just – "

"Scared," Aki finished for her. "I know, you dumb rug rat. I feel – or hear – a very powerful force nearby."

"Shakanar?" whispered Biko.

"No," Princess C-ko solemnly added. "And you're not the only Cygnan with the 'sight' on this mission, Akana."

All present knew exactly what the Lost Princess meant; when Aki or C-ko had their feelings and visions, it was always best to respect them.

"Don't worry, little chickens," C-ko added. "This force is powerful and also very blessed. She has come to protect my own mother and is one of us."

Shiiko was quiet for a moment. "Be not afraid," the half-Japanese, half-Cygnan girl said. "Isn't that what one of the Terran holy books say?"

Akana nodded. "Whatever force will lead us to safety – and the Shakanar to their well-deserved seats around the campfire in Avernus – has already arrived."

"The liberation of Paradise Island is about to begin, then," Biko murmured.

"And so," C-ko continued, "we must all be absolutely still for the next few minutes, all right? This is essential for our survival. Hang on. Be quiet. You hear me, little ones?"

"Be brave like my Daddy," little Jon said in a whisper as he wrapped his arms around Lois. Both twins – mindful of little Hikiri's arm injury – rubbed noses with the green-headed child in comfort instead.

"And pray," Aki thought to herself, letting her head fall back as waves of pure power and pure goodness pulsed through her. "As she prays for us."