Sixteen
Planet Phantos
9 June 2017
"Isn't this where we came in?" Hohiro complained.
The Eternia crew members had remained in the forest throughout the previous day. Jo-jo figured the ship had taken damage in their wild escape from the Horde fighter pursuit, so she elected to remain in hiding to give the crew time to make repairs and return. They tensed as the occasional Horde fighter scanned the forest for their quarry, knowing that it would only be a matter of time before their luck ran out.
Hohiro managed to hook their portable comlink into the aircar's communication equipment to boost the power output. While this gave them the advantage of more power and transmission range, it also increased the likelihood of the Horde triangulating in on their position.
A wing of fighters cruised from the forest and released a flight of missiles into the tree tops just as Jo-jo's group was finishing a meager breakfast of nuts, berries, and a few assorted native fruits. Since the aircar had already been packed for departure, all they had to do was dive in and race for their lives when the first detonations ripped the trees apart.
Private Corwitz frantically called the Eternia for help, praying the ship was close enough to pick up the transmission.
"Head south as best you can," Jo-jo ordered over the roaring wind whipping through the open cockpit. Hohiro was already doing just that, but the attacking fighters changed tactics and came at them from several directions due to his somewhat effective evasive maneuvers.
"They're trying to herd us," Hohiro replied, grimly.
"Yeah, but to where?" Jo-jo agreed, coming to the same conclusion.
It didn't take long to figure out the Horde strategy. The fighters had only one job: hold the enemy in place, or herd them north. From the north sped a powerful force of wheeled assault carriers and armored speeders. Despite Hohiro's elaborate evasive pattern, they were steadily being hemmed in. Very soon there would be no place to run.
After minutes of fruitless evasion, Hohiro slammed on the brakes in frustration. Assault carriers were closing the distance while the more agile speeders cut off the southern escape routes. Jo-jo's group had just run out of time.
Jo-jo motioned for everyone to stay put despite the repeated demands to exit the vehicle. Hohiro gripped his laser pistol so tightly the knuckles of his right hand had turned white. They couldn't shoot their way out of this, and the feisty oriental was not about to spend time as a Horde prisoner.
The speaker built into the dashboard suddenly crackled to life. "Sorry we're late," Ace McCloud replied. "We had a few difficulties to take care of."
The unmistakable sounds of a starship's engines on full burn drifted to Jo-jo and company on the slight breeze. It grew rapidly louder by the second as the starship closed on their position. A new sound pierced the air moments later when powerful laser bolts ripped across the sky to intersect with a Horde fighter wheeling about for another run at Jo-jo's location. One, two, and then three fighters were systematically blown apart before the enemy even knew the renegade starship was in the area.
Eternia roared over the plains from the south, crossed over the forest where Jo-jo's party had spent the past day and night, executed a hard, high-Gee bank, and came soaring back. Dorsal guns kept the fighters at bay as Ace brought the nimble starship into a hover. Ventral quad guns opened up on the ground forces, peppering them with a sustained volley fanning back and forth across the battle line.
There was something wrong about the quad guns, though. The power output of each burst was normal, but the reaction time appeared to be slower than normal, almost mechanized. Jo-jo realized the guns were under computer rather than human guidance. She didn't have time to ponder the evidence further as the Horde ground forces finally reached optimum range to return fire.
Powerful energy canons unleashed torrents of coherent light bursts, which splashed ineffectually against the starship's shields. Lieutenant Denton answered the enemy fire with everything the Eternia had.
The objective was not to eliminate the entire division of attackers. Rather, the fire pattern was designed to destroy only a large enough section of the encircling forces to allow Eternia to drop her forward shield arc, and retrieve the missing crewmembers.
Denton's voice crackled over the comlink Jo-jo pulled from the dashboard as she ordered her people to abandon the aircar. "Get ready, captain. We're going to drop the forward shields to get you on board," the lieutenant advised.
One more salvo from the ventral guns cleared the way. Eternia settled close the ground, as if to set down on the landing gear. Hovering at the same approximate height as if it were sitting on the landing gear, the forward shield arc died away as the boarding ramp lowered. Jo-jo ordered her people to move out. She and Hohiro brought up the rear as they sprinted for safety.
The roar of the idling main engines and the blast from the hovering jets drowned out all other noises. None of the sprinting humans could hear or feel the laser bolts searing the air as they streaked by. The heated wash from the hovering engines masked the superheated passage of coherent energy shafts.
Jo-jo pounded up the ramp, the last one to board. Hohiro slapped a hand to control, panel causing the pressure hatch to slam shut, and the ramp to rise. Jo-jo could hear the faint sounds of shield emitters powering up. Although inertia dampers made faster-than-light travel possible while masking the feeling of acceleration, Jo-jo swore she could feel the starship wheel about and accelerate rapidly.
Under Ace's guiding hand, the ship raced for the stars, breaking free of the planet's gravity well in mere minutes at full sub-light power. Horde fighters continued pursuit despite the clear fact that the Earth ship was simply trying to disengage from the fight.
Explosions flashed outside the bridge canopy as Jo-jo settled into the captain's chair. Hohiro stumbled through the lift doors as the ship shuddered violently from a volley of direct hits. More enemy fire intersected the starship's flight path as Ace roared for the solar system's outer edge.
Upon her terse command, Lieutenant Denton and Ace brought Jo-jo up to speed on what happened since the breakout from the city spaceport. News of the injuries resulting from the sabotaged quad gun power couplings infuriated her. Jo-jo irrationally jumped to conclusions as to who was guilty of such a heinous act, but kept her lips tightly pressed together. Jo-jo listened impassively to the rest of the report, her face an emotionless mask.
Once the report was complete, Ace officially returned command of the Eternia to Captain Majourny. "Sergeant Cox. Captain Takamora," she said, addressing the pair who had silently entered the bridge. "Find Harris and his friends and detain them. If they resist, shoot them."
Shocking as that order was, no one argued. Captain Takamora and Sergeant Cox left the bridge after saluting smartly.
"Meet me at the armory in ten minutes," Hohiro said. "I need to change into something more comfortable."
Sergeant Cox nodded, and left with the Oriental's added permission to head to Beta Squad's barracks to round up volunteers.
"Captain!" Lieutenant Satori practically shouted. Her sensor equipment began beeping and lit up like a Christmas tree. After taking a calming breath, she continued in a lower tone, "Hyperspace disturbance. Massive. Something big is getting ready to drop back into normal space."
"Confirmed," Lieutenant Denton added.
Through the transparent canopy they could see the gray/white cloud that formed just prior to a starship reverting back to normal space. The moment of reversion arrived in a massive streak of metal and running lights that coalesced in a gigantic warship.
Jo-jo had that sick feeling in the pit of her stomach when she saw the enhanced image on the right-hand control panel. The design was unmistakably a Horde battleship, but she waited for the identification, and the confirmation of her feelings of misgivings.
"Transponder identification confirmed," Satori said. "Horde battleship Hoscar."
"General Rongar," Jo-jo muttered.
"Great," Ace hissed, sourly. "And us with a possibly sabotaged hyperdrive."
"We could try a micro-jump just to put some distance between us and them," Ensign Comorov suggested.
"No," Jo-jo said flatly, shaking her head. "For all we know that would be enough to cripple the hyperdrive." After a momentary pause, she issued orders. "Ace. Veer away from that ship. Forget about the fighters, and open up the sub-light engines for all they are worth." Jo-jo turned swiveled to face the science officer. "Novina. Keep your sensors glued to that warship. If it so much as grazes us with a targeting sensor, I want to know about it."
Aye, captain," Novina replied, bending to her task.
Jo-jo let the chair rotate back to the forward position, crossed her legs, and folded her arms beneath her breasts. C'mon, Hohiro, she thought angrily. Give me my answers soon.
General Rongar stood on the Hoscar's bridge. From here he could direct fleet actions, devise tactics, and direct the battle toward victory. Today, however, there would be no battles. The Fifth Fleet was elsewhere in the galaxy on training maneuvers and undergoing needed repairs.
Today, General Rongar would be forced into the distasteful role of diplomat. He would have to attempt to repair the damage caused by Commander Xandran's irresponsibility. Rongar hoped he could salvage something. The Horde needed the garrison as a cover to continue the attempts to find out if Queen Elmora really was building a private army. The known spies in her court were a diversion to allow the real ones to move more freely. All that could be undone, if Rongar couldn't appease the Phantosian queen.
On the main monitor, real space reasserted itself as the enormous warship exited hyperspace. Hoscar drifted for almost a full minute as the residual static energies of hyperspace dissipated. Once the energies cleared up powerful sensors probed the immediate area.
"Contact off the starboard bow," the trooper manning the sensor station reported.
"Show me," Rongar ordered.
The image of a compact starship appeared on the main monitor. General Rongar recognized it immediately, though he waited on the trooper's confirmation. The man nodded when the robot issue its report. It was indeed the starship Eternia, and four Batmech fighters were pursuing it.
"Why doesn't she jump into hyperspace?" Rongar mused.
"Sensors show their hyperdrive is functional," the trooper reported.
Rongar continued to watch as the Eternia fled out of the system. She did return fire, taking out two of the four pursuing fighters. It was at that point the general issued a recall order to the surviving ships. Hoscar's presence in the Phantosian system was not to capture Captain Majourny and her ship, although Rongar admitted to wanting to pit himself against so resourceful a captain. Hoscar was here to keep the peace with Queen Elmora.
General Rongar was quite capable of starting a war any time or place he chose. Good hunting, captain, he thought as the Eternia disappeared from the screen. We'll meet again soon.
Lieutenant Denton stared at his targeting board, amazement etched on his face. "They broke off. Somehow I don't think it was because of us."
"They had us," Ace added, perplexed.
"Off hand I would say General Rongar isn't here for us," Jo-jo replied. "It doesn't matter either way. What does matter is finding out if there is more sabotage before we light off the hyperdrive."
Long minutes passed in silence as the starship sped further out of the Phantos system as fast as the sub-light drives could push it. Every minute spent in normal space was a minute lost getting to planet Eternia in time to help the people deployed there. Jo-jo knew she had to get back, though she had yet to examine what was on the data chip Rashir had given her. She wanted nothing more than to retreat to her quarters and view it, but ship and crew had to come first, for the moment.
Lieutenant Denton's security board beeped. "Captain. We have them," he replied curtly.
Captain Majourny left the bridge in Ace's capable hands while she went to deal with the troublemakers. Personally.
Planet Eternia
Commander Franik watched the main status boards with grudging approval. The robot forces under his command prepared for battle with a speed and efficiency few flesh and blood races could match. The firepower being readied for drop was enough to lay waste to any one kingdom on the face of Eternia with ridiculous ease. And yet, based on the reports recently submitted by General Rongar, Commander Franik thought it wasn't enough. Even with the heavy weapons being readied on the newly arrived corvettes, he just did not think it was enough.
One thing Franik knew was that the Earth starship would be returning, and so he began deploying his fleet as the warships finished launching their ground forces. Losses would be the heaviest among the destroyer-class warships, as well as the light and medium ground units, but overwhelming through strength of sheer numbers had always been the key to Horde victory in the past. After all, that's how He-man and She-ra had eventually fallen.
The communications panel chimed, indicating an incoming transmission. A moment later, the grim visage of King Hiss resolved in the holographic projector set into the panel.
"What is your progress, commander?" the leader of the Snake Men demanded.
"We are on schedule. The fleet will be deployed to trap the Earth starship, and the ground forces will be in place as promised," Commander Franik answered, biting down on his revulsion for this foul creature that was neither man nor reptile. "You will be able to launch your assault on Castle Grayskull tomorrow morning as planned."
"Very well," King Hiss replied. The image abruptly vanished.
Franik returned his attention to the main view screen depicting the massive drop operation of war machines into Eternia's atmosphere. He passed the time with tantalizing images of a pitched battle against the Earth people. A battle they would ultimately lose, but not before ending the reign of King Hiss.
That would be a real tragedy, Franik thought, amused.
Snake Mountain
The shocktroopers detailed to search Snake Mountain from top to bottom entered the throne room to deliver their report.
"My Lord, we have conducted an extensive search of the complex and have found nothing. No one left through any of the exits, and no one can remember seeing the Earth people since yesterday afternoon."
Skeletor waved a hand at them, and the robots departed. He quickly dismissed the idea that these armored warriors – calling themselves Guardians – had the ability to generate time/space portals. The Sorceress could have opened one, if she still lived, but that would require her knowing where Colonel Markson and his people had gone. Skeletor went so far as to interrogate King Randor, but it was a waste of time. While the king admitted to promising to help the colonel get back to Castle Grayskull in return for freeing Queen Marlena, Randor had never gotten the chance to plan anything.
Skeletor ruled out that arrogant, ancient recluse of a dragon hiding in Darksmoke Mountain. While Granamyr had once again taken an interest in the affairs of humans, thanks to He-man, he had withdrawn to his domain after He-man's fall over two years ago.
Likewise, the being known as the Faceless One living in seclusion in the ruins of Zalesia had not been heard from in the years since King Hiss conquered the planet. His power did not extend beyond the limits of his domain, anyway. The Faceless One could not physically leave his subterranean lair because of the curse placed upon him by the Elders.
That left only one likely suspect.
Lady Moria Vadorian, last of the Dereskian Queens.
The ruler of Snake Mountain rose from his throne and activated the magical dome set into the table top several paces away. An image of the Sands of Time appeared, and the viewpoint scrolled across the dome's interior surface. After a few moments, the view settled on an unremarkable patch of sand as desolate as the next. The magic eye suddenly plunged into the ground at Skeletor's command. A new view appeared slightly out of focus, as if one was looking at the underground chamber from the viewpoint of a fish.
"Moria!" No answer. "Moria!" Skeletor growled angrily.
More silence.
A bored telepathic voice invaded Skeletor's mind. Really. Do you honestly expect an answer without so much as a 'please?'
"Spare me your annoying civility and tell me what you have done with them," Skeletor demanded.
Moria sighed, and stepped up to the pool. "It is such a pity your mother never taught you any manners, Keldor. You might have turned out differently."
Skeletor was in no mood for Moria's sharp tongue. "Answer the question."
"Perhaps if you were more specific, I might consider granting you the answer."
Struggling to maintain his calm, Skeletor snarled, "Where are the outlanders who were in my care?"
Moria snorted, "Care? You have never cared for anyone, or anything, for that matter. I believe you once owned a fish that lasted for all of what– a week, if that."
Skeletor's image glowered from the pool. Despite the lack of skin, muscles, and eyes, it was clear he was not amused.
Dispensing with her usual mind games, Moria at last answered, "You did seem disinclined to aid them in returning to their compatriots."
"So you thought you would help them out. Why?"
"My motives are none of your concern," Moria said, evenly.
"Where you are involved, Moria Vadorian, people should always be on alert," Skeletor sneered. "Bad things tend to happen to people when you are around."
"Then it would be in your best interest to keep your distance, like you always do," Moria replied. "And as such, you would do well to keep your distance, Keldor. Just as you always do. The Winds of change are fast approaching, and if you live among these Sands as long as I have done, you quickly learn that this leaves you with two alternatives, Keldor. You can either flow with the winds, or be dispersed by them."
Skeletor grumbled at Moria's continued use of his given name. "What's so important about that backwater planet and its people? They don't have a prayer of surviving a massive Horde invasion. If he so chooses, Horde Prime can crush them effortlessly."
Moria sighed. Skeletor's lack of vision was always vexing. A whimsical smile crept across Dereskian Queen's lips. "If anyone were to be well acquainted with the path of least resistance, Keldor, it would be you." She lifted a hand to still Skeletor's retort. "Change is nearing whether it suits you or not. What choice you make is entirely up to you, but be aware: Should you interfere with what I have planned, you may regret it, if I allow you to live that long."
The pool darkened abruptly at Moria's command, severing the magical link. The time had arrived for her guests to leave. Rising like a specter through the floor of the chamber where she had left them, Moria caught Guardian Hawk in the last stages of photographing the history depicted on the pillars.
Colonel Markson stepped forward to hear what she had to say.
"Colonel. It's time for you to return to your companions," Moria said, turning away to begin constructing the time/space portal.
As the portal began to form, Colonel Markson commented, wryly, "And I was just starting to enjoy your generous hospitality."
Moria arched an eyebrow as she finished the portal and then turned back to Markson. "All good things come to an end."
Castle Grayskull
The Sorceress watched from the shadows of the window in her private chambers high in the east tower as one Horde dropship after another dropped from the skies to ground somewhere in the plains southeast of the Graylands. Where ever Moria had gotten her information, it was proving to be correct. The attack would come tomorrow.
Lieutenant Garber was already seeing to the defense of the castle, actively setting up what the two of them had discussed the precious evening. Both hoped Colonel Markson would somehow find a way back to them, but they could not rely on that fleeting hope. Even with the colonel's platoon added to the defense, the situation was disturbingly similar to the assault on the ancient pyramid where the power armor was recovered months ago on some nameless moon.
While the warships would likely be dispersed to deal with the Eternia – the Sorceress was certain Captain Majourny would return as fast as humanly possible – the ground force was easily one-third stronger than what they faced months ago. And the dropships were still coming!
The ghostly image the Falcon armor adopted, that of her former owner, appeared next to the Sorceress. "Stop worrying about the battle. Events will unfold as they should."
Sorceress turned from the window to face the lifelike image she now knew was a hologram. "How can you be so certain? Even I cannot see into the future."
"Have faith in your friends. They will make it here to defend the castle," Falcon replied, confidently. "Why are you so gloomy all of a sudden? Is it because Antone returned from the Quaedian kingdom without Adrian?" The Sorceress' lack on reply was answer enough. "Don't worry. He will be here. You know he will."
Sorceress nodded. "I know. I just wish I knew what it is we are supposed to do. Why were we chosen to recover the armor? What are we supposed to do with it? What place does it have in this galaxy?" She had posed these questions to the Spirit of Grayskull; the manifestation of the living force which had evolved slowly within the castle's ancient walls since the time of the first guardian, Veena. She received an answer that did nothing to answer any of her questions.
Of course, Falcon had no answers. Her knowledge did not extend beyond that which had been stored in her memory core at the time of entombment a thousand years ago. If nothing else, she was a sounding board for ideas and speculation. All of which was a moot point, if they were not successful in defending the castle against the coming assault.
A commotion deeper in the castle drew Sorceress' attention to the far side of the bottomless mote. A time/space portal had formed a short distance from the bridge leading up to the castle's jawbridge. She sensed soldiers setting up in the skull's eyes and nose, weapons trained on the shimmering portal.
Up on the top of the east tower, Lieutenant Garber stared at the portal through binoculars. The motorized lenses refocused as he scanned the area for hostiles. "No one pulls a trigger without my explicit orders," he said tersely into his helmet mic.
Eternity dragged on as the portal shimmered away, oblivious to the tense soldiers watching from the castle. Garber snapped his binoculars to the west face of the portal as something finally pushed through from the portal's other side. A soldier in very familiar combat armor stepped through. He was quickly followed by another. And another. And another. Soon, a cordon of soldiers surrounded the immediate area around the portal as the stream of armed and armored soldiers passing through continued. The last person stepped through, and the portal dissolved. He looked around for moment, then up at the imposing sight of Castle Grayskull.
Keeping his weapon pointed down, the man reached up to his helmet. In an instant, Colonel Markson's voice echoed across the tactical net. "You boys and girls going to roll out the welcome mat, or just stare at us from on high?"
Grinning, Lieutenant Garber replied, "Damn good to see you sir. We'll be down in a minute."
The Sorceress met him on the way down the spiral stairs to the grand staircase that branched off to the castle's skull face, the main floor, and the other residential quarters on the other side of the wall behind the throne pedestal. The Sorceress made a slight wave with one hand, and the jawbridge began to lower. Beta platoon assembled at the bridge while Alpha platoon, lead by Colonel Markson, came across.
Colonel Markson looked the Sorceress over from head to toe. "Well, you look pretty healthy for a dead woman," he said, grinning.
"The rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated, although not by much," she replied, smiling slightly.
"So, what did we miss?" the colonel inquired, as Sergeant Apone ordered Alpha platoon inside.
As the jawbridge rose behind them, Lieutenant Garber brought the colonel up to speed on what had happened since they got separated rescuing not only the Sorceress and Adrian Cobretti, but the slaves as well. He and the Sorceress elaborated on the events of the past few days as if they were in one of General Hammond's debriefings. Nothing was left out except the more person side of the Sorceress' 'resurrection.' A side she still had to come to terms with.
Frost, Jake, and Anyssa talked of their encounter with Blade, and the battle in the Quaedian village. The Sorceress and Colonel Markson were disappointed to hear of King Carnivus' reluctance to join the fight once more despite the battle in his kingdom. Colonel Markson basically wrote off any help from the felines, though the Sorceress appeared to have a different opinion.
The roar of more Horde dropships passing by on their way to the rally point punctuated the need for more help. The news of Adrian Cobretti not returning with Frost's group did not go over well.
"What does he think he's doing? Making up his own orders as he goes along?" the colonel snarled.
"He felt he had to go through that portal. He did promise to be here when we need him," Frost defended.
The Sorceress painted the overall picture more clearly. "Jon, we do not have the forces necessary to repel what the Horde is deploying. They will either take this castle, or destroy it. I can stop King Hiss, but the army the Horde is fielding will be too great even for the Guardian armor."
"Well, it's a safe bet Skeletor won't help us," Jonathon sighed. That grabbed his audience's attention.
"You saw him?" Garber asked, somewhat surprised the colonel had lived to tell about the encounter.
"Oh, yeah. Helluva guy. He's arrogant, stuck-up, self-centered, and totally self-absorbed in keeping a low profile," Jon replied. Sorceress nodded agreement. "Now King Randor, there was a guy who could have helped, if he had the means."
The Sorceress could not hide her shock. "You saw him?"
Jonathon nodded. "He and Skeletor seemed to have formed an alliance, of a sort. The only time that robot army Skeletor is hiding out there obeys Randor is when Skeletor wills it."
"But you think he could be an ally when the time is right," Sorceress stated. "Why?"
Jon took a deep breath, saying, "Well, it seems the Queen is not as dead as the Horde thinks. She was one of those captives we liberated. We didn't know this until the day after we arrived at Snake Mountain, but once it became known she was still alive, I think King Randor would have done just about anything we asked. Now we'll never know."
"Why is that? I presume Skeletor allowed you to return," Sorceress replied, brow furrowed in confusion.
Jon shook his head. "No. Someone else got us out of Snake Mountain. She hid us in her domain, wherever that is, until it was time for us to return here to the castle."
"Her?" Sorceress asked cautiously, dreading the answer.
"She claims to be an acquaintance of yours. Moria Vadorian, something or other," Jon replied, waving a hand. He never did care for fancy names or titles. In his opinion, the more lofty the title, the more insignificant you really were. Although, in Moria's case, Jon grudgingly made an exception.
"She and I have had…dealings," Sorceress said, unable to hide her displeasure.
Sonya stepped forward and told of the pillars covered with pictograph histories. Sorceress was amazed Moria let Sonya leave with those images, especially after being caught in the act. Moria Vadorian never did anything that did not serve in her best interest. And going to the trouble of pointing out particular histories was even more out of character for her.
"She may serve her own interests," Jon was saying, interrupting the Sorceress' thoughts, "but she seemed quit interested in getting us here in time to defend the castle. Even if we can't win without help. Who knows, maybe Moria will show up and lend us a hand." Jon excused himself to go examine Lieutenant Garber's preparations.
Moria help us? Not likely, Sorceress thought, darkly. She told Sonya she would look at the images when the battle was over, and they had time to go into the castle's main library to correlate what Sonya discovered.
Seeing she would rather be alone because of the revelation of Moria Vadorian's assistance, Sonya rounded up Brad and Jeromy and went off in search of Jake Rockwell. Frost lingered around for a few seconds, and then went to see how Ensign Wardman and Catherine O'Rourke were coming with cracking the encrypted files stolen from Palace Eternia's computer core.
Why must I always have ulterior motives in your mind, Teela'Na? Moria's telepathic voice invaded the Sorceress' mind, with a touch of a whimsical edge.
Because you always have ulterior motives, Sorceress replied, strolling aimlessly about without looking like that's what she was doing. And why are you listening in on my thoughts?
I felt entitled; since it was I you were thinking of. And you are quite right, Te lynïa. For the most part, my motives are my own. As I have mentioned to you before, I have no desire to see Castle Grayskull fall into King Hiss' possession. And you know, the least you could do is say 'thank you' for getting your little friends back to you. Unscathed, I might add. After all, Skeletor certainly was not going to do anything. He no longer cares for anything, if he ever did, Moria explained at length.
Thank you, Sorceress said, trying not to sound sour. She was grateful Colonel Markson's platoon was back to bolster their defenses, for whatever real good it would do.
Moria's parting thoughts echoed in the Sorceress' mind. You are welcome. I am certain you have much to do, so I shall leave you to your preparations. And…Te Lynia… If I were asked to help you, I might make an appearance, she said, sounding more serious, and even a little uncomfortable, than the Sorceress had ever known the woman to be.
She sounded sincere enough to me, Falcon replied.
Annoyance crept into the Sorceress' mental voice. Eavesdropping?
Falcon's tone turned whimsical. It's hard not to given our link. Besides, listening to the two of you has been entertaining, at times.
So that's all I am to you? Comedic relief?
Hardly, Falcon chastised. Without you I'd be an immobile pile of metal, circuits and gears.
That can be – Sorceress stopped herself before she really got going. Saying instead, I can't believe it. I'm arguing with a machine.
That's living machine, to you. Thank you, Falcon snorted. Her presence in the Sorceress's mind abruptly disappeared, mimicking walking off in a huff.
Smiling over her small victory, the Sorceress continued wandering about the castle trying to think of anything else that could be done to prevent the castle from falling to the Snake Men.
Starship Eternia
Harris and his friends stewed in the tiny brig while armed soldiers stood guard outside. Harris was the most boisterous of the bunch, shouting that their captors didn't have any evidence, it was all a set-up, or just spewing profanity. The soldiers Hohiro assigned to guard duty ignored the complaints and outright threats streaming through the hatch.
Captain Majourny took her time arriving, but when she did, the soldiers snapped to attention. She listened to Harris' drivel for a few moments then gestured for the guard nearest the hatch controls to open the cell door.
Harris stopped in mid-sentence and whirled as the hatch slid aside. He opened his mouth to start in on the captain directly, but Jo-jo cut him off.
"Shut up!" Jo-jo snarled. "You've had your say. Now it's my turn. What have you done to my ship?"
Harris snarled back, "Forget it, Majourny. You can't prove anything."
"Yes, I can," Jo-jo shot back. "After our first mission this ship needed a lot of repairs. A number of modifications were also made. Things there weren't time for before we launched. Sensors were installed on panels accessing critical systems components. The access panel removed to sabotage the quad gun power couplings is one of those."
"You can fabricate that easily enough," Harris grumbled.
"The base repairs logs can independently verify that. Now, answer my question."
The other members of Harris' group started in on the captain about wrongful prosecution, illegal detainment, and anything else they could think of. Jo-jo cut them off, saying they were at war and that 'accidents' sometimes happen. They could only be tried for sabotage, treason, and attempted murder if she brought them back to Earth. If Harris and company became casualties of battle against Horde forces, and the bodies were buried in space, who would argue?
As that possible reality set in, arguments broke out among the prisoners. Mainly, they believed Captain Majourny could, and would, do just that, and they tried to convince Harris to tell Jo-jo what she wanted to know. Shannon, the girl who had sabotaged the quad guns, was the most vocal to that end. Harris stubbornly stood firm in his refusal to give up any information.
"Enough of this," Jo-jo hissed.
Captain Majourny moved like lightning, stepping into the cell, grabbing Harris by the collar, and dragging him bodily outside. The soldier stationed by the hatch slammed it closed before the other prisoners could react. Sergeant Cox and Captain Takamora waited at the end of the short corridor. They fell in step behind the captain as she dragged Harris into the intersecting corridor and turned left. Another short march followed by a sharp right turn brought them to their destination. Sergeant Cox snaked past Jo-jo and her struggling charge to hit a switch on a control panel to the right of another sturdy hatch. The barrier snapped aside, Jo-jo threw Harris inside, and punched the button to close the hatch.
Lights came on immediately, and Jo-jo stared emotionlessly through the reinforced view port. Harris looked around his new cell and instantly realized it was not a cell at all. It was one of Eternia's numerous airlocks! Fear crept into the man's eyes as he turned his attention to the inner hatch.
Captain Majourny thumbed the intercom switch. "No more games, Harris. I've been pursued, shot at, spent a cold night in an alien forest eating nuts and berries. My ship has been attacked, damaged, and sabotaged. On top of all that, it's that time of the month and I'm feeling really cranky. So stop screwing around and tell me what systems have been damaged by you and your people."
Hohiro and Sergeant Cox snickered at Jo-jo's comment about that time of the month despite their attempts to keep straight faces. They sobered up immediately when she punched the button initiating the cycle evacuating all the air from the lock. That had not been part of the plan.
"That hissing sound you hear is the air leaving the chamber. You have thirty seconds to tell me what you did to my ship, or make peace with your maker," Captain Majourny pronounced without a trace of remorse.
Harris continued to believe Jo-jo was bluffing, and said so. Jo-jo calmly informed him that if he chose to suffocate, she would go back to the brig to get the next person. She would continue throwing his cronies one by one into the airlock until she got what she wanted, or all of their bodies were jettisoned into space. Either way, Captain Majourny wins.
Harris tried to remain on his feet as the oxygen continued to be sucked away, but he grew light-headed and his knees eventually buckled. Lying on the deck gasping, Harris came to the sudden realization he wasn't all that he thought he was. Harris had only been kidding himself into believing how important he was in the grand scheme of life. In reality, he was nothing more than an expendable tool to use and then discard when that usefulness came to an end.
Jo-jo heard the faint tapping on the hatch near the bottom and glanced at the panel. She waited until the counter reached five seconds, stopped the cycle, and opened the hatch. Fresh oxygen blew like a cleansing freeze into the airlock. Harris had never tasted anything so good in all his miserable life.
Crouching by the panting man, Jo-jo growled, "Talk."
Almost three hours had passed since Harris laid out the details of the extensive sabotage. Chief Engineer Santana had teams running around the ship fixing the damage as quickly as possible. The most chilling aspect had been Santana's preliminary evaluation. All the damaged systems were unrelated, but the cascade power surge they had been triggered to initiate would have flowed to those systems with the highest power usage; weapons, shields, and engines. Lieutenant Santana said the hyperdrive would have taken the brunt of the surge and would have been irreparably damaged. This would have taken place minutes after going into hyperspace. The effect would have left the Eternia stranded lightyears from any civilized star system where they could replace a literally slagged hyperdrive.
After leaving the prisoners to Lieutenant Denton and the repairs to Lieutenant Santana, Jo-jo retreated to her quarters to update the ship's log, and to finally view the data chip Rashir had given her.
The personal log reflected her sole responsibility for the incident at the airlock to protect both Sergeant Cox and Captain Takamora, both of whom had no idea what she had intended to do as a last resort.
With the official and personal logs updated, Jo-jo turned her attention to the data chip. It wasn't very lengthy, but it did contain information as chilling as the extent of the sabotage had been. Her eyes kept drifting back to the confirmation of the Sorceress' death. The scene in Queen Elmora's throne room replayed once more in her mind. Despite the apparent validity of the data, Jo-jo sided with Hohiro in disbelieving it. At least not until she saw the Sorceress' lifeless body with her own eyes.
Queen Elmora's spies could be wrong. If Colonel Markson had found a way to save her, keeping it a secret would be a must. Therefore, the added warning of the impending assault against Castle Grayskull was nothing more than King Hiss' attempt to finally get inside that ancient building, now that the magical seals were down.
They had to get back to Eternia to help defend the castle. The Horde forces stationed there were one-third larger than what they faced when retrieving the armor. Only then the Guardian Force had been at half strength. Now, half of that full strength was lightyears away from doing any good. And they couldn't make a move without being sure the ship could make it there in one piece.
The intercom buzzed breaking Jo-jo's train of thought. She sat up in her chair and tapped a control panel set into the desktop.
"Captain Majourny," Jo-jo replied, tense.
"Ace, Captain. Report from Chief Engineer Santana. All repairs are complete. Eternia is now one-hundred percent ready," Ace reported.
Jo-jo's heart leapt at the news. Now she prayed they would arrive in time. She ordered, "Set course for Eternia. Maximum speed!"