Seventeen
Planet Eternia
Eternian Star System
10 June 2017
There were few events in Eternia's history that caused beings to sit up and take notice. The first had been Hordak's initial invasion that ended the reign of King Grayskull. The second had been the foretold coming of He-man. The third had been the return of He-man, and his subsequent fall to an overwhelming Horde force. This day would see another such event.
Dawn graced the lands of Eternia as it had every day since the solar system had cooled and given birth to life. This day, however, would not be like those previous.
Skeletor watched from his throne room in Snake Mountain. King Randor and Queen Marlena were also present, though the queen was less than thrilled. She chastised Skeletor for not sending a portion of his robot army to assist in the defense of Castle Grayskull. Skeletor flatly told her to keep quiet; otherwise she would not be allowed to watch the coming confrontation.
Granamyr and Kodec Ungor observed from Darksmoke Mountain. Kodec's coming and going was such that no one had noticed her conspicuous absence. Off to one side in the main hall lay Adrian Cobretti. When the time was right, Granamyr would awaken Adrian from the recuperative sleep healing his damaged brain. The armor had done a pretty effective job of reversing the damage; however, Adrian had been forced to fight before the repairs could cement themselves. Using his morphing abilities started the deterioration resulting from the mind sifter to re-ignite. Granamyr was amazed at how easy it had been to draw the man to his mountain to heal him. Kodec suggested Adrian must have known on some instinctive level. Soon, Adrian would awaken, and Granamyr would send him to Castle Grayskull when he was needed the most.
In the ruins of Zalesia, the Faceless One took note of events, and decided to watch. He did not care much for the world outside his domain after the Elders robbed him of his features and exiled him to this place. He was not an evil person like Skeletor, more misguided than anything else. Perhaps now was the time when he might find a way to redeem himself and end this punishment.
Moria Vadorian watched from her sanctuary, surprisingly anxious. She knew the Sorceress would not ask her for help unless there was no other alternative, and that suited Moria perfectly. While she was adamant that Castle Grayskull remain out of King Hiss' possession, she was equally concerned for her daughter, Evil-Lyn. There were several reasons preventing Moria from taking a direct part in the battle and protect her daughter from harm, despite her wishes otherwise. The first was that King Hiss would see such interference as allying herself with the Earth people. Second, Moria and Evil-Lyn vowed to stay out of one another's affairs. Thus, Evil-Lyn was forced to fend for herself.
The last group observing the coming battle was the Elders. Kodec Ungor's confidant, Corwin, watched the gathering of ancient beings as surreptitiously as possible. Most of the Elders appeared to be surprised by the near miraculous resurrection of the Sorceress of Grayskull. A few of them were not so surprised. Corwin suspected, as did Kodec, that some of the ancient beings knew how the Sorceress contracted the deadly degenerative disease. Corwin was beginning to think several may have even had a hand in engineering it before the plan was put into action to leave the starship Eternia and its lone passenger in orbit behind Earth's moon two years ago. All of which was mere speculation bordering on unthinkable flights of fantasy.
All eyes were on Castle Grayskull and its tiny knot of valiant defenders. The chessboard was set. The opponents – Elders and Horde Prime – were ready. All that remained was to make the opening move.
Very few soldiers of Colonel Markson's command remained inside Castle Grayskull. More had been deployed into the Evergreen Forest to hit the enemy from the flank or behind as the opportunities arose. Hit-and-run tactics was all that would really work against a force as big as the one grounded southeast of the Graylands. Scouts reported seeing serious firepower grinding its way across the barren lands toward the castle. Even with the formidable firepower of one APC, the War Machine, and two heavily armed dropships, any damage done to that army of Horde heavy weapons would be superfluous at best.
Only Frost, Anyssa, Dhalon, and Colonel Markson remained in the castle with the Sorceress, aside from Andre Wardman, Private Gomez, and Catherine O'Rourke stationed up on the east tower. O'Rourke's team would act as surveillance for what the enemy did, and use javelin missiles to keep the Horde fighters at bay. Jon did not like the Sorceress' plan for dealing directly with King Hiss, but he wasn't a creature of magic like her, so he had to have faith that she knew what she was doing.
All they could really do was hold out long enough for the Eternia to arrive with reinforcements. And hope the Horde didn't decide to level the castle after they discovered how costly it was going to be to take it intact.
With all preparations complete, the Guardian Force settled in to wait for King Hiss and his Horde allies to arrive.
King Hiss rode in a command carrier trundling along behind the lines of foot soldiers leading the way. Scout drones ranged ahead looking for enemy hiding places. Medium and heavy drones trudged along, backed up by scores of Mark One troopers and the black, humanoid-looking shocktroopers. Next came the assault carriers bringing more troopers and the three scores of Snake Men available for the attack. Command carriers, including Hiss' own, were at the center of the massive formation with the heavy artillery bringing up the rear.
The front lines were intended to clear the way for Hiss and his Snake Men to get to Castle Grayskull, where Hiss would use his powerful magic to bring down the jawbridge. The Snake Men would deal with any Earthers foolish enough to remain inside to defend the castle while King Hiss dealt with the Sorceress. Given the report by Evil-Lyn and Blade about the battle in the Quaedian village, Hiss began to suspect the Sorceress might just have survived her ailment and his deadly venom. If so, he would make short work of her.
Once the castle was firmly in his control, the robot forces would spread out to hunt down and destroy the remaining Earth people. Commander Franik would deal with the Eternia when it returned, and this foolish rebellion would come to an end.
So they think our time is over? King Hiss mused. We shall soon see whose time has come to an end.
Teela stood partially exposed through the top hatch, scanning the terrain ahead with electric binoculars. Nothing moved out there except their forces, and yet, she felt a trap was ready to be sprung at the proper moment. If these outlanders were nothing else, they had proven themselves to be very unpredictable. Maybe that was the predictable part about them. Evil-Lyn was certainly in a mood because of their failure in the Quaedian village. It pleased her to no end, though she was careful not to show it. Teela also wondered what had become of her mother. Despite still holding on to some residual anger over the Sorceress hiding Teela's true heritage from her, she had begun to understand the need for it of late. If Hiss had known of their blood relationship, he would have killed the Sorceress immediately. Teela would probably have been next because he would never be certain she wouldn't try to incite a rebellion against him.
If he only knew the truth.
General Rattlor was itching for a rematch with the changeling human. He needed to destroy the Earther lest any of Hiss' minions get ideas about challenging Rattlor to become the new general of King Hiss' army. Rattlor had already dispensed with four would-be idealist replacements, and more were starting to crop up. He had to prove he was still the strongest of the Snake Men next to King Hiss.
King Hiss began to think the enemy did not have any traps to spring before the robot forces drew within range of the castle when the world exploded amid the lines of troopers and drones.
"Frost," Colonel Markson called, gesturing to the computer terminals set up below the massive magical window.
Frost and Anyssa darted to the computers and waited for the colonel's signal. Anyssa nodded after a quick lesson on how to switch the eighteen remote sentry guns from SAFE to ARMED. In their last battle, the Guardian Force had only had about eight guns. Retrofits to the troop compartments in the dropships turned them into storage spaces, which were then crammed with gear, ammo, rations, and anything else they might need. One dozen more units had been transported to complement the six from the APC.
All the units had been set up in a skirmish line across the enemy's line of march. All were tucked into carefully disguised foxholes that were hard to spot until the guns began firing. They would be even harder to hit because Horde targeting software was not designed to deal with small targets. Horde Prime evidently considered small guns, soldiers, and one-man fighters to be of little threat. These forces were about to find out what a fatal error that rationale really was.
Frost and Anyssa set the computers so that, at the colonel's command, a tap of the ENTER key will switch the sentries from SAFE to ARMED, and unleash a firestorm into the teeth of the enemy force.
The Sorceress switched to a bird's eye view so Jon could better judge the distance between the sentries and the lead elements of King Hiss' army. Jon raised his left arm as the distance steadily shrank. Frost and Anyssa waited, anxiously anticipating the drop of that hand.
Finally, the distance closed to killing range, and Colonel Markson snapped his arm downward. Anyssa and Frost were halfway across their respective banks of terminals before that arm traveled half the distance down to the colonel's side.
Out on the battlefield, the result was much more spectacular. Scores of troopers blew apart before anyone knew the guns were there. The sounds of exploding robots warred with the staccato hammering from the remote sentries. Withering fire from eighteen guns equipped with dual five-hundred round canisters tracked back and forth in overlapping fields of fire. Textbook setup, but sometimes the simple things worked the best.
A full minute passed before the better protected drones located the source of the enemy barrage, and began answering in kind with their deadly railguns. White vapor trails lanced out at the unseen enemy only to strike solid rock. The guns had been carefully placed for maximum protection while still allowing for unobstructed fire lanes. Several open corridors appeared as ammo canisters ran dry. Smoke drifting off tracking barrels betrayed hidden emplacements, and converging drone fire blasted them into scrap.
Teela and several robot commanders scoured the terrain with binoculars, directing the return fire. Smoke drifting up from overheated gun barrels gave away those sentries still hammering the troopers. More colorful explosions dotted the landscape as the remaining sentries were taken out with ammo canisters still containing explosive rounds, adding fuel to the detonations.
Surviving troopers and drones scanned the area for more threats, but found none. King Hiss ordered the advance to resume. If there were more traps awaiting them, the only way to discover them would be to spring them. After all, robots were expendable. Snake Men were not. At least not until their numbers increased to the same level they were at centuries ago.
Colonel Markson stoically watched the advance resume. The Sorceress stood back, arms crossed, feather cape wrapped around her shapely form. She marveled at his calm demeanor and keen eye for controlling the battle, though this was nothing compared to what was to come. The modified control of the gigantic magical screen worked as she designed it to so that the colonel could instantly receive the view he wanted without waiting on her to provide it.
So far things were progressing pretty much the way they had expected. It would be tricky implementing the next part of the plan without blatantly showing the trap for what it was.
"Claymores," Colonel Markson ordered evenly.
Hidden troops mashed clappers, igniting the lethal shaped charges. Shrapnel exploded into the front lines as the shaped charges blasted ball bearings into deadly corridors. Only a few troopers fell to the new attack. Most were damaged to varying degrees. The drones caught in the blasts suffered nothing more than superficial damage to their thick armor.
"That's it. Everyone take cover until the next phase starts," Jon ordered. He turned to the Sorceress. "I sure hope you know what you're doing."
"So do I," she answered.
Jon waved Anyssa and Frost over to the spot of concealment previously picked out. Dhalon was already hidden somewhere near the passage to the jawbridge. The Sorceress turned and unhurriedly strode to the towering structure capped with the throne set in a skull-like face. There was plenty of time, so the Sorceress took her time climbing the steps. The act was as much a show of confidence to her companions as it was an attempt to soothe her nerves.
How did I let you talk me into this? Sorceress asked Falcon.
After showing you how powerful you've become, and how we can work together to defeat Hiss, Falcon responded with a touch of sarcasm, it took about ten seconds to talk you into this.
Falcon's suggestion had been in line with the Sorceress' reasoning. If Hiss wanted the castle so badly, let him in. Then show him the true power of a Guardian. It was a good plan. Bold. Unexpected. Hiss would expect her to be a quick defeat. The Leader of the Snake Men would soon find out just how much of a 'bad' influence her new friends have been.
Battle drones and Mark I troopers fanned out to secure the perimeter while the Snake Men dismounted from the assault carriers and cautiously approached the stone ramp leading up to the closed jawbridge. King Hiss and Evil-Lyn passed under the twin stone arches, keeping a weary eye out for sudden ambush.
General Rattlor, Kobra Khan, and Tung Lasher stood guard at the base of the ramp scanning the tree line. They shifted about, ill at ease waiting for the hammer to fall. The enemy lay in wait for the right moment to strike in force. Rattlor knew it. Felt it.
King Hiss, Evil-Lyn at his side, raised his staff and called forth his considerable power to pull down the jawbridge. Hiss felt the resistance almost immediately. Someone with considerable magical power was keeping the bridge closed. The jawbridge creaked and groaned as opposing magical forces acted upon it in powerful game of tug-o-war. King Hiss managed to ply the barrier open several feet before an unexpected surge of energy from within the castle slammed it shut.
Evil-Lyn looked uncomfortable at the thought of someone as powerful as King Hiss waiting inside the castle resisting them. She thought of offering her assistance in pulling the bridge down, and then thought better of it. If King Hiss wanted her help, he would say so. Her job was to keep any defenders within at bay while King Hiss sought out the awesome power residing deep within the castle's ancient walls.
Snarling, King Hiss launched a renewed attack. Five dark green wisps exploded from the staff clutched in his left hand. The rope-like wisps solidified somewhat into snakes with glowing yellow eyes. Three tendrils sank fangs deep into the wooden barrier. Two wound themselves around the iron cross bar. King Hiss curled his fist toward his body. The action translated to the energy ropes attached to the jawbridge. The bridge creaked and groaned once more only louder as King Hiss poured his might into the tendrils.
Sitting upon her throne, the Sorceress leaned back with her eyes closed and right hand raised palm up. The fingers of that hand curled as if intending to form a fist. The action translated the power at her command into the action of keeping the jawbridge shut. Curling the fingers caused the bridge to bang shut from time to time. Relaxing the fingers let the bridge open. She was amazed at how effortless this really was. In the past, the Sorceress would have been hard pressed to keep the bridge closed for a minute or two against Skeletor's magical might. King Hiss should have had the bridge down in seconds, and yet, augmented by the Falcon armor, the Sorceress could have kept it closed indefinitely.
Evil-Lyn was pleased to see the bridge finally come down. It struck the ramp solidly vibrating the entire structure. King Hiss was content to let Evil-Lyn lead the way. If an ambush awaited them, she would be the first target. Nothing of the sort waited, however, as the pair strode through the short passage emerging in the throne chamber. It did not take them long to spot the slumped figure up on the throne.
King Hiss sensed someone behind him, and turned his head to regard Colonel Markson and his companions. Evil-Lyn slipped away, giving the Snake Man room to fight, if he was pressed.
Everyone's attention was drawn back to the throne when the Sorceress spoke. "They are present to ensure a fair fight, King Hiss."
"So, you survived after all," the reptile stated flatly.
"No. I didn't. But I do have you to thank for my present condition. My rebirth, as it were," the Sorceress said in the same quiet tone she had used earlier. She must have been using magic to cast her voice clearly without having to enunciate. "It's because of you we are at this crossroad. Because of you I was finally struckstuck down."
The staff in King Hiss' left hand elongated to a full five feet, the snake carving curled around it lengthened to match. "Then you shall be struckstuck down again!"
The globe of raw magical power formed and launched instantly from the end of the snake staff. It crossed the distance to the throne in the blink of an eye and exploded in a blinding flash of light and concussive sound. Smoke billowed and radiated outward from the impact point obscuring the upper one-third of the platform.
Colonel Markson, Frost, and Anyssa tensed as the smoke roiled around the top of the platform. Their initial reaction was to attack King Hiss, but the Sorceress had specifically warned against such foolhardiness.
The Sorceress' voice drifted out of the slowly dissipating smoke cloud. "Castle Grayskull shall not be yours this day, King Hiss." The woman walked leisurely out of the cloud down the steps, wispy tails clinging futilely to her clothes.
King Hiss did not show his surprise at the apparent power she possessed. A lesser being would have perished in the attack. "And how do you propose to stop me from taking the castle's secrets?"
"Thanks to you, I have become more powerful than you can possibly imagine," the Sorceress replied. Sorceress continued down the stairs, her costume transformed into the black and gray 'uniform' for the Guardians. That lasted but a moment when the armor began to take shape, first as the segmented body armor similar to that worn by Colonel Markson, then fully becoming the eight foot tall suit of power armor as she reached the flagstone floor.
Every living creature of magic possessed a second sight – sometimes called 'magic sight' - which allowed one to see the pale white aura surrounding wizards, sorcerers, sorceresses, witches, and the like. King Hiss switched to that sight to verify the truth of the Sorceress' proclamation. He saw only the brightness he had seen many times in the past, a formidable power level to be sure, but not one that could match his. Evil-Lyn's shone about as brightly the only time King Hiss had used his magic sight on her.
Some of the more powerful creatures could alter that glow so another would see only what their adversary was meant to see. King Hiss discounted this possibility because he had seen nothing to suggest she was doing anything more than boasting. That in and of itself was interesting since the Sorceress was never prone to boasting.
A panel on the Sorceress' left forearm dropped in and slid back revealing a compact white cylinder. She plucked the devised from the storage compartment, which closed up, and activated it. Rods extended out from either end to an overall length of five feet. The top end tapped outward beneath a globe that expanded until it sprouted wings and a head reminiscent of a falcon.
"Then I shall see to it your demise becomes more permanent," the ruler of the Snake Men hissed, and launched himself at his foe.
Colonel Markson ignored the blinding flash from the collision of power staffs. Whoever was in command outside sent a score of shocktroopers storming the castle's entrance. Robots rounded the corner as they emerged from the corridor before the trio could get into position to repel the invaders. A torrent of laser fire drove them back into cover among the half-moon shaped structure and support columns adjacent to the grand staircase. While the structure was suitable for cover, it left them with nowhere to run.
"We're pinned down," Anyssa observed dryly.
"We can't shoot around corners," Colonel Markson replied.
"I can," Anyssa declared, snatching an arrow from the quiver slung across her back. A small red light began flashing at the touch of a concealed stud.
Anyssa pulled the compact bow from its carry case, a squeeze of the control lever built into the handle started the amazing unfolding. Colonel Markson whistled at the sight, impressed. Frost handed his pulse rifle to the colonel, drew the pistol in a shoulder rig under his right arm, and yanked a flash/bang grenade from a D ring on his chest plate with the right hand. The safety pin and attachment ring pulled out of the arming lever Frost maintained a death grip on. Ready for action, Frost looked up and winked at Anyssa, who nodded curtly.
While flash/bang grenades were designed simply to temporarily blind and deafen living beings, no one was sure how they would work against a robot's audio and visual sensors. They were about to find out as Frost dove from cover hurling the grenade as close to the entry corridor as he could. He landed hard on his right side, bracing the pistol with both hands, and snapped off rounds at the shocktroopers to hold them in place.
The grenade exploded with the desired effects. The robots paused while their systems adjusted to the new tactic. Anyssa stepped out, drew back the bowstring, and took aim at the first shocktrooper, who was recovering and zeroing in on Frost. The bowstring sang with its release, firing the arrow across the chamber. The balance of the arrowhead was such that it lazily spun counter-clockwise. This in turn allowed Anyssa to ricochet the Etherium arrow off the lead trooper's chest to impale another in the passage.
The surprised shocktrooper plucked the offensive shaft from its chest and stared at it curiously. The blinking light quickened as the sensor head counted down to zero. The explosion flung the lead robot Frost had been shooting at more than a dozen feet to land in a smoking, sparking ruin. Several more, including the one holding the arrow, were blown into the robot equivalent of oblivion.
Anyssa stowed the bow while Frost scrambled to his feet; holstering the pistol and taking back his rifle. He and Colonel Markson chased after the warrior woman as she dashed to assist Dhalon, who had emerged from his hiding place to cut down shocktroopers with a war cry on his lips and a single-bladed axe in each fist. Anyssa reached for the curved short swords sheathed behind her shoulders. Together, she and the pint-sized Quaedian tore into the center of the charging mass of robots. Frost and Markson arrived to begin firing into the flanks. Each person had a designated corridor of responsibility to hold off the invaders.
The tactic was simple and worked better than Jon hoped, even when he and Frost had to pause long enough to eject a spent magazine and replace it with a fresh one. Both men performed the reload from feel alone due to many years of training. Never once did they divert their eyes from the invading shocktroopers, or allow the barrel of their rifles to dip.
It didn't take long to clear the corridor and jawbridge. Just a few minutes, though the four would have sworn it had taken longer. The remaining shock troops pulled back to defensive positions on and around the ramp. Colonel Markson called a ceasefire to take stock of their new situation.
"What are they waiting for?" Dhalon growled eager to get back into the fight.
Anyssa pointed, declaring, "That."
Heavy battle drones – models equipped with a weapons pod on each arm – took up positions from which they could fire on the castle's entrance. They were backed up by medium-class drones and their single weapons pods. Shocktroopers and Mark I troopers took aim with their laser rifles. The total firepower was much more then the few defenders in the castle could hope to return in kind.
"Oh, hell!" Colonel Markson hissed.
The group reflexively ducked as railguns and laser rifles opened fire. Nothing got through, however. To Colonel Markson's astonishment, some kind of force field had been erected across the opening. The energy field rippled with each impact like a stone being thrown into the calm waters of a pond.
"Get to the sides," Jon ordered unnecessarily, as his companions already did so.
Frost retrieved his sniper rifle and precious limited supply of Etherium rounds from the nook Dhalon had hidden in. "That shield won't last long under such a heavy bombardment," he replied, loading the sniper rifle.
"What do we do now?" Anyssa asked. "The Sorceress told us to stay out of her fight with King Hiss."
Colonel Markson spoke urgently into his boom mike. Since there was nothing else to do but fight, Jon released his remaining forces to engage the enemy. If nothing else, they could take as many robots with them before the end.
Jake Rockwell sat impatiently in the aft seat of the War Machine. Waiting was not something Jake could endure for very long when there was a battle to be fought. The closer the enemy ground force drew to the castle, the worst Jake's itch became.
War Machine was powered down to minimize detection. The wings were deployed with the first salvo of plasma-tipped Hellfire missiles ready to fly on both wing mounts.
The faint sounds of battle could be heard without the TAC net as waves of shocktroopers stormed the castle. While Jake couldn't see much, the noise over the TAC net coupled with the deployment of the drones, troopers and other vehicles hinted to a very grim fight ahead.
What the defenders in and on the castle could not see was the second force slowly closing in from the southeast. Jake couldn't get an accurate read of numbers or types because of his armor's limited sensors, but what he could see wasn't encouraging.
Suddenly, Colonel Markson's voice cut through the chatter. He released the platoons and Guardians to pick their targets and attack at will.
Jake wasted no time powering up. A squeeze of the red trigger on the joystick sent all sixteen missiles roaring into the sky. War Machine's targeting system could only track and fire on ten independent targets. Since the power armor easily interfaced with Earth technology, Gatling Arm had no such limitations, took over fire control and made sure all sixteen missiles hit their assigned targets.
War Machine was on the move the moment the missile racks emptied. Plasma globes rippled along the enemy's right flank as Jake slid into the next predetermined firing position. A second salvo roared into the sky, raining down on the ravaged right flank less than sixty seconds after the first bombardment struck.
Jake closed the distance while Gatling Arm took charge of the nose cannon, and deployed the laser guns from the compartments above the wings, the top-mounted unit. The arrangement had been simple: Jake operated the wing armaments and drove the vehicle, and Gatling Arm did the targeting and firing of the laser weaponry.
Lieutenant Garber added to the enemy's confusion with a blistering attack from among the twisted, knurled trees of the Evergreen Forest. The platoons had been broken up into four-man fire teams to hit the enemy and fade away to a new position.
When rocket-propelled grenades soared out of the forest into the enemy's left flank, Teela decided it was time to break up the massive clump of targets the assault force presented. She dispatched fifteen tanks to find and destroy the wheeled machine attacking from the north. Several of the smaller artillery pieces were within range, so Teela added them to the hunt.
Blade protested Teela's order to evacuate all transport, command, and assault carriers and assault the castle on foot, if necessary. That is, until the carrier immediately to their left exploded from multiple grenade hits spraying lethal shrapnel everywhere. Their vehicle caught fire from the fiery deaths of other vehicles around them. Blade and Beast Man beat a hasty exit from the command carrier, nearly running Teela over in the process. Teela was the last to clear the vehicle, flinging herself to the ground and covering her head with her arms as the command carrier's overheated magazines detonated.
Guardians Hawk and Blitzkrieg stepped boldly from the forest, followed closely by Claw. And several fire teams. Blitzkrieg tossed one of his laser rifles to Hawk, who had no ranged weapon of her own. Deftly, she caught the weapon and slapped it to her right thigh where a magnetic field held it in place.
A surviving assault carrier disgorged its cargo of robots troops and Snake Men, then tore off in a spray of rubble straight at Hawk. Reaching over her right shoulder, Hawk pulled the beam staff from its mount set between the shoulders and activated it. A brilliant, curved, green blade sprang from the far end.
Hawk stood her ground as the wheeled vehicle churned up loose rock, trying to run the Guardian down. At the last possible moment, the Hawk dove to her right into a shoulder roll and came up in a kneeling position; beam staff braced to rip into the side of the charging Horde machine. As the massive vehicle roared past, its momentum did all the work of letting the green energy blade tearing through wheel rims and hull. Shattered and melted chunks of armor flew outward from the point of attack.
The wounded carrier slewed sideways as the robot pilot fought the controls, keeping the mangled left side toward the warrior who had stood her ground. Hawk stood, dropped her right hand to grip the rifle, and spun to track the skidding Horde machine. Ravaged wheel rims dug into the loose shale, kicked the twenty-ton vehicle into a rollover. Hawk lined up on the carrier's vulnerable belly without the aid of the rifle's built-in laser sight as it crashed onto its right side. A flip of the selector switch to rapid fire and a steady squeeze of the hair-trigger sent a lethal hail of red darts stabbing through thin belly armor into the vulnerable power plant.
Laser bolts chewed away armor plate beneath the power core before blasting into the core itself. The doomed carrier erupted in a spectacular, roiling, flames-laced smoke cloud and sizzling shrapnel. Hawk turned away from the destruction to face the oncoming enemy force, unmindful of the fragments bouncing off her exterior.
Teela huddled as close to the ground as she could without becoming a part of it. She tried to keep as low a profile as possible, and furiously thought about how she was going to get a handle on the situation. A short distance away, Blade rose from the cover of a rock outcropping to fire ineffectually on Guardian Hawk. Pulse rifle-fire drove him back into hiding.
The Guardians regrouped and renewed their attack. Jake provided strafing fire from the enemy's right while Alpha and Beta platoons continued to strike from the left.
Horde fighters finally got into the fight by dropping bombs into the forest and riddling the tree line with laser bursts. None of it came close to hitting the elusive Earth warriors, but bomb runs did give them something to think about.
Like releasing their dropships for fighter suppression.
Air-to-air missiles exploded three Horde fighters before the robot pilots had a clue that they were in danger. Javelin missiles launched by O'Rourke and Wardman from atop Castle Grayskull's eastern tower downed two more fighters.
As bizarre as it was, the Guardian Force had the overwhelming Horde army confused and off balance. The odds were still against them, however, for it would only take one resourceful commander to take charge of the situation, pull the scattered elements together, and counterattack.
Teela was one such person.
Despite the fact that Teela was human, and a female, even the Snake Men heeded her rallying cries. Tanks closed in on the lone attacker to the north, under cover of intense artillery bombardment. Although several more tanks were lost, the enemy was forced to break off his attack and run for safety. Leaving that one to the Horde, Teela turned her attention to the ravaged left flank.
Pulse rifle bursts from the forest had slackened considerably without any visible cause. That changed when triumphant Snake Men began herding captured Earth warriors from the Evergreen Forest in groups. Some looked to have suffered considerable punishment at the hands of the reptiles. However, while the humans were being rounded up, the defenders atop the castle's eastern tower continued to shoot down Batmech fighters. The alien craft still prowled the skies, and the Guardians were certainly not about to surrender.
Rising from cover, Teela, Blade, and Tung Lasher cautiously approached the three Guardians, who were struckstuck with indecision.
Jake ran for his life as explosions rippled around him. Several lucky shots from the pursuing tanks struck glancing blows to the War Machine's armor, but they were starting to get the range despite his evasive maneuvers. A concentrated volley from the closest tanks and mobile artillery guns blasted the War Machine off it wheels and sent it rolling across the arid ground. It finally came to rest on its wheels facing east, battered and badly damaged.
Head ringing from bouncing off the hatch window several times, Jake somehow managed to pop the latches and forced the canopy hatch open. Releasing the safety harness, Jake awkwardly climbed out of the cockpit and tumbled unceremoniously to the ground.
Gatling Arm spoke urgently in Jake's mind, trying to get him to shake off the dizziness before the enemy arrived to capture or kill him. Still dazed, Jake dimly heard his armor's urgent, and sometimes indignant, commands to touch the six-pointed amulet and activate the transformation. Somehow he managed it through the fog of disorientation and pain.
Horde tanks ground to a halt at near point-blank range to finish off Jake and the War Machine. What they found was Gatling Arm. The Guardian forced himself to his feet; green eye lenses blazing as he turned to face the enemy. Support armatures unfolded from the back, swinging the twin cannon units into position. Jake reached out and took hold of the trigger handles. As the support arms retracted, Jake twisted his wrists so the barrels were horizontal, and locked targets on the nearest tanks. He could hardly miss at this range as he squeezed the firing levers.
Raw plasma energy exploded from the spinning barrels. Tanks commanders had no time to react as they and their machines were blown apart. Gatling Arm sidestepped to his right, trying to make his way to the castle and help.
Overhead, Feril and Gambini circled the battlefield, keeping enemy fighters at bay. A flight of plasma missiles rose up from the clearing where the APC was hidden. Feril tracked the salvo's flight to termination in the enemy's rear. For all the damage the attacks were causing, the enemy still had an overwhelming force out there. And there appeared to be even heavier elements moving ponderously closer from the southeast.
"Man with a problem, Feril," Gambini said, adding in the location.
Feril scanned the terrain until she found what Gambini was looking at. She spotted the battered War Machine and Jake Rockwell in his battle armor hammering away at the Horde forces swarming to overwhelm him. Claw and Hawk were already moving to assist, but there was a veritable sea of troopers and a few Snake Men to get through.
Jake spied Hawk and Claw trying to clear a path for him, but there were too many robots in the way. He had resigned himself to taking as many troopers with him as possible, and disabled the low power cutouts on the cannons. The cutouts were a safety measure designed to prevent draining gatling cannon power below fifteen percent. At fifteen percent and above there was sufficient power for the regenerating charger to work. Drain power below fifteen percent and the armor would have to be hooked into an external power source, or cross circuit a dangerous ram boost. Jake planned to take the power level all the way to zero and then go hand-to-hand, since this was likely his last battle.
Feril used Castle Grayskull as cover to approach undetected. She skillfully used the dropship's vertical take-off and landing – VTOL – capabilities to pop out from behind the ancient castle and take the Horde totally by surprise. Deployed weapons pods vomited missiles from the upper racks into the artillery units still harassing Gatling Arm. The gatling gun built in under the dropship's nose belched flame over two feet long. Thirty-millimeter shells ripped into rock and thick Horde armor plate. Although the attack only disabled a couple tanks, Alexis was going more for effect than statistics.
A few bursts into the troopers combined with unrelenting attacks from Hawk and Claw cleared a narrow path for Gatling Arm to sprint through to the relative safety of his own lines. Once the rogue warrior was back where he belonged, Feril deftly wheeled her ship about and dove back around Castle Grayskull before anyone could take a shot at her.
"Thanks, Feril," Jake said over the TAC net as he sprinted for safety. "I take back almost every bad thing I've ever said about Air Babies."
"I'm a Marine pilot, you goofball," Alexis shot back blithely.
"Hey, Feril!" Gambini broke in, interrupting any further sniping. "We got a serious problem."
"Yeah, Gambini. They're called the Horde."
"No. Look toward the forest across from the bridge."
Feril looked and felt her blood turn to ice. General Rattlor and his Snake Men herded captured members of Alpha and Beta platoons into groups. Armed troopers kept a careful watch on the prisoners while the surviving command vehicle cycled through transmission channels trying to locate an unsecured frequency the Earth defenders would pick up. Within seconds, General Rattlor's ultimatum was being broadcast to any Earth receiver within range.
"Surrender Castle Grayskull and your advanced armor at once," the Snake Man ordered. "If you do not, we will start killing the prisoners one by one until you do surrender, or we run out of captives."
"That didn't last as long as I had hoped," Colonel Markson muttered grimly.
Anyssa, Dhalon, and Frost looked to the colonel expectantly. The shield protecting the corridor was giving way. Shocktroopers were now physically pounding on the barrier, which flickered dangerously on the verge of dying altogether.
"Cobra, if you're out there, we could sure use your help," Jon said ominously. "Looks like the Eternia isn't going to make it, but let's say we gave it one hell of a shot."
When Adrian Cobretti first described the transfer of knowledge and experience from the battle suit memory core into his brain, few took it seriously except for Hohiro, Gabe, and the Sorceress.
Now, the Sorceress understood what it was all about. It turned out that her predecessor, Cirandar, was an accomplished warrior with a staff weapon. She did not have the time to dissect the flood of knowledge and skills in any great detail as King Hiss made the opening strike.
Falcon snapped the power staff up to block King Hiss' descending magic snake staff. The collision of magics blossomed into a blinding flash of light. Follow-up strikes were blocked or deflected harmlessly away. King Hiss obviously expected this to be a brief fight, and quickly discovered his error.
The pair engaged in a series of chops, blocks, which released a shower of sparks, stabs, and swipes that would have incapacitated a normal human being. Falcon slipped in under King Hiss' guard several times to deliver punishing blows. She received her fair share of blows in return. The Sorceress would definitely be sore in the morning.
Falcon slipped in under Hiss' guard again, swinging with all her might. The flat side of the ornament buried itself in her opponent's belly, lifted him off his feet, and flung him backward. King Hiss landed hard on the stairway up to the throne.
Hiss rested there nursing his wounds and looked up at his deceptively powerful adversary with open bewilderment. His magic sight still showed no aura increase, and yet, he had bruises that would take a week to disappear.
"What shall it be now, Sorceress?" King Hiss said, still mystified by the woman's abilities. "Are we to battle until these walls are blasted down around us and we fall to the planet's core?"
"Or you can slither away in defeat," Sorceress answered without missing a beat.
King Hiss responded by blasting a huge, dark green, semi-translucent snake at the Guardian. Falcon leapt out of the way to her right, landed, and leaped away again as the magical serpent arced around to snap at her again. Hiss recalled the entity to his snake staff, clambered to his feet, and launched another serpent at his elusive quarry.
Single magic serpents were not getting close to the Sorceress, however, so King Hiss modified the attacks. Now the entity sprouted multiple heads, giving the Guardian more to worry about, but they did not come any closer than before.
Like a chess player, King Hiss was thinking several moves ahead. He figured that if the armor was half as powerful as it was rumored to be, they might have some type of flight capabilities, even limited ones. His theory was confirmed when he gave Falcon no option to evade a vicious attack on the ground, and was forced into the air. Falcon had to significantly reduce her mass from the battle-mode form to the combat-mode, which was nearly identical to the armor worn by the Colonel Markson's troops.
I have you now, King Hiss thought, venomously.
Hiss blasted a translucent green energy cone at Falcon, who hovered more than twenty feet over the grand staircase. She twirled her power staff, and a blue/white glow radiated outward, deflecting hiss' magical attack around her.
It was the feint for the real attack.
Several green serpents, identical to the ones he had used to bring down the jawbridge, soared up undetected on Falcon's unprotected flanks. The snakes coiled in wide arcs around the intended prey until they were positioned correctly, and then King Hiss sprang his trap.
Snake tendrils snapped tight around the hovering Guardian in an instant. Falcon lost her grip on the power staff and watched it tumble end over end to the flagstones below. The coils tightened, pinning her arms and legs, making her totally helpless in King Hiss' grip.
King Hiss contracted and stored the snake staff elsewhere. He maintained mental control of the tendrils trapping the Sorceress, and began to slowly reel her in like a fish hooked on a lure.
"Snake versus falcon. The result is inevitable," King Hiss gloated.
In moments, King Hiss had revealed his true form. The Snake Man's arms split in half forming into serpents; each one ending in a dangerous snake head. The torso tore itself apart as the humanoid face was swallowed by another snake head. The five snakes were attached to the human legs at the waist. All five pairs of eyes glowed bloody red.
Don't flair up yet, Falcon cautioned the Sorceress. Wait for the right moment to show him what you can really do.
King Hiss continued to draw the trapped Guardian into the waiting coils of the serpent arms. He intended to bite her again, multiple times, and leave her to die painfully and permanently.
When the distance closed to just over a meter, Falcon whispered, now show him the true power of a Guardian.
Evil-lyn had been hiding under the grand staircase since the battle between King Hiss and the Sorceress began. Invading shocktroopers diverted Anyssa's attention, leaving, the witch free to search out one of the many points of access to the magical power stored deep in the bowels of the castle. She should have been well on her way; however, the Sorceress' newfound abilities riveted Evil-lyn's attention.
The witch grinned darkly every time the Sorceress dealt King Hiss a punishing blow. Evil-lyn ventured out several times to make a break for the corridor of time/space portals, only to be driven back under cover by an errant magical fire from the raging battle. Seeing that she wasn't going to get anywhere until one of the combatants won, Evil-lyn used her magic sight to try and guess who would win, and when. She saw what King Hiss did, and make the same conclusions despite the abilities the Sorceress displayed.
Evil-lyn flinched when Falcon's staff hit the stairs and clattered to the flagstone floor. There was no way she would leave now. She had a morbid curiosity to see if the Sorceress was about to suffer the same fate as before. Evil-lyn relished the sight of the Sorceress being inexorably reeled in to meet her fate.
However, at just over a meter away from meeting her destiny, the Sorceress sprang her trap. Still using their magic sights, Evil-lyn and King Hiss were blinded when the Sorceress flared up to full power. The snake coil bindings vaporized instantly, and Falcon threw her arms out wide. A translucent cape of energy almost identical to that of the Sorceress' costume spread out behind her and the scream of Zoar the Falcon ripped through the chamber.
King Hiss stumbled backward in utter disbelief. Through his magic sight the Sorceress appeared as a blinding, white-hot sun. The power radiating from her was incredible. For the first time since King Hiss had been defeated by Hordak during the time of King Grayskull's reign, he felt a brief stab of fear. He had been effectively set up by an opponent he had taken for granted.
Guardian Falcon touched down lightly, called the staff back to her outstretched hand, and took full advantage of the Snake Man's brief vulnerability.
Colonel Markson exited the corridor to see if the fight was over, and to see if there was anything the Sorceress could do about the collapsing shield. He suspected she was the one who had raised it in the first place.
"I don't suppose you could – " Jon stopped in his tracks, the rest of his thoughts going unspoken.
Falcon jumped in close to the off balance King Hiss to engage in physical combat. The snake arms snapped and whipped at her. The Guardian brought the power staff up where the assailing snake heads clamped down on it. She slapped one of the free heads aside, and punched the other square in the snout. Placing both hands in the middle of the steel shaft, she whirled it clockwise. The snakes clamped on the shaft twisted about one another to the point where King Hiss had difficulty maintaining his regained balance. He hissed defiantly at the Sorceress as she spun the staff another rotation and flung the Lord of the Snake Men away like a rag doll.
"Umm, never mind," Jon said to himself. He stood there in rapt fascination, hands resting on the butt of the rifle hanging from his neck.
King Hiss tried to mount a counterattack, but the Sorceress refused to stand still long enough. All those grueling sparring sessions with Hohiro in the months leading up to their first mission paid off now. Despite being nowhere near a martial arts expert, Hohiro's training coupled with Cirandar's knowledge and experience gave the Sorceress all the edge she needed to pummel King Hiss into submission.
Minutes after the renewed battle began; it ended with the Lord of the Snake Men lying unconscious at the foot of the staircase leading up to the throne.
"I guess you're fully healed," Jon commented lightly.
"Yes," Sorceress replied, contracting the power staff and placing against the left armband.
"He's gonna feel that in the morning."
"As will I, no doubt," Sorceress agreed, considering what to do with the Snake Man.
Well done, Te lynia, Moria whispered in the Sorceress' mind. I only wish I could have been there to enjoy the battle in person.
"Well, if you are finished here, there's the little matter of that shield…" Colonel Markson was saying.
The Sorceress felt the shield she had hastily thrown up collapsing, but a warning from the castle stayed her hand at shoring it up. There was danger somewhere deep in the castle. Someone was attempting to access the power of the Elders!
"Colonel, we have to go. No time to explain. The shield will last long enough," Sorceress explained abruptly.
"What's up?"
"We have to stop someone from making a terrible mistake."
Before he could brace himself, the Sorceress' magic flared up and the pair disappeared in a blizzard of orange/yellow sparkles. Reality resolved in a place deep in the heart of the castle. The pair now stood in a dreary gray corridor with only a magic glow light for illumination. The Sorceress strode off, heels clicking on the flagstones. Colonel Markson followed silently, hefting the pulse rifle.
Almost as soon as King Hiss' unconscious body hit the ground, Evil-Lyn took off for the winding staircase lined with time/space portals. She bounded down the steps at a breakneck pace. A magical light globe receded Evil-lyn as she dashed along, desperate to make it to an access point to the power of the Elders before the Sorceress or her allies caught up to her. Evil-lyn's only chance for defeating the castle's guardian was to acquire the power of the Elders. That would make her as powerful as the Sorceress now was, giving the witch the chance she would need. The only other problem was the hand-to-hand fighting skills the Sorceress used against King Hiss. Evil-lyn found such fighting to be distasteful. Why fight up close when you can strike someone down at a distance with magic?
Minutes of harrowing running through the gloom brought Evil-lyn to the one access point she knew of. A short passage ended in two doorways guarded by a carved stone face set between the closed doors. After making sure no one else was about, Evil-lyn boldly walked up to the inert face.
When she stepped within ten feet of the face, the eyes lit up and a deep bass voice declared, "Have you come for the power of the Elders?"
"Yes," Evil-lyn answered calmly, painfully aware that at this very moment the Sorceress was probably being warned.
"Then choose your passage," the guardian replied, and fell silent. The yellow glow left the eyes as it went inert once more.
Now came the tough part. Many rumors surrounded this portal. Some speculated one could never choose the correct door. Others thought the portal led nowhere, or to somewhere outside the castle. There was a speculation the doors led to another dimension from which no one could return. One rumor even stated that the doors were merely for show and that the real entry was so well concealed none but the Sorceress of Grayskull could access it. Evil-lyn thought that one might even have to know the exact location of the power of the Elders and then open a magic portal to get to it.
"STOP!" a female voice commanded as Evil-lyn took a step toward her chosen door.
Evil-lyn whirled to see the Sorceress clad in armor similar to the male at her side. The male was aiming a projectile weapon in her general direction.
"I've made my choice, Sorceress," Evil-lyn declared, taking a backward step. "Soon I will be as powerful as you." She dared not switch to her magic sight for fear of being blinded again.
"The power of the Elders shall not be yours any more than I would allow King Hiss to have it," Sorceress said, a warning tone in her voice.
"We both know there is only so much you will do to stop people," Evil-lyn said. It was a calculated risk to antagonize this woman after what she has seen the Sorceress do, but one Evil-lyn was willing to take. Her eyes darted to Colonel Markson.
"I will stop you by any means necessary," Sorceress declared. Her tone sent a shiver down Evil-lyn's spine.
Making her choice, Evil-lyn whirled and made a dive for the door she had chosen. She never made it beyond whirling about. The Sorceress had anticipated the witch's action, and readied a spell. When the woman made her move, the Sorceress released her spell and watched with undisguised satisfaction as Evil-lyn collapsed in a crumpled heap.
Colonel Markson relaxed a bit as the Sorceress moved to inspect the woman she had just struck down. "Did you kill her?"
"You know me better than that colonel," Sorceress replied, an odd tone creeping into her voice. Evidently, no one had ever asked her that question. Then again, no guardian of Castle Grayskull had even done what she had this day.
"So tell me again; why am I here?" Jon asked, taking the hint to divert this line of questioning.
"Back up in case I needed it," Sorceress replied, crouching and feeling for a pulse in Evil-lyn's neck just to assure herself she had not overdone the spell's power. She hadn't. Evil-lyn's pulse was strong and steady.
Back up? After what she just did to that slimy snake? Yeah…right, the colonel thought.
The Sorceress stood, stepped back, and waved a wand. Evil-lyn dissolved in a shower of sparkles.
Colonel Markson perked up immediately. "What did you do?"
"I sent her away. Far away to place from which she won't bother us for a long time."
"Oh, that's nice," Jon said, not quite believing the explanation.
The Sorceress' features changed abruptly before Jon could remind her of the failing shield. Surprise gave way to happiness, settling on relief. "He's here."
"Who?" the colonel asked, knowing it could not possibly be the Eternia.
"Adrian."