Chapter 9: Backstabbing
Sea Hawk emerged from his cabin now wearing the special boots and ring given to him by his father The Falcon. If I'd only been wearing these earlier, I could have stopped Road Queen, he thought.
Both items increased his strength dramatically. The boots allowed him to run faster and leap tremendous heights and distances. The energy ring, likewise, would increase his physical strength intensifying the force of his blows ten-fold. In addition the ring could create a shield of pure energy capable of deflecting almost any attack.
The problem was they were controlled not only by thought, but also by reflex and would occasionally activate when Hawk didn't want them to. Once Hawk had meant to simply jump down from the helm to the deck and found himself in the crow's nest instead. He had also inadvertently crushed several items in his grasp thanks to the ring, including a few mugs of Saurian ale. Eventually he had decided to leave them off unless he knew he would be needing them. Hawk still carried his father's photon cutlass with him at all times and usually that proved to be enough.
That, of course, had not proven to be the case with Road Queen. Hawk had greatly underestimated her, not that he had been expecting an encounter with her in the first place. He was, therefore, determined to ensure that he would not make that mistake again. Better to overdo it than be defeated a second time.
The Solar Clipper came to a stop hovering over a small fuel station. Hawk jumped down from the ship to the ground, something that would have been impossible to walk away from had he not been wearing the boots, and entered the building.
"I'm looking for a woman on a hover bike," he said to the owner. "Has she been here?"
The man shot him a rude look and said, "You're going to have to be more descriptive than that."
Hawk huffed in impatience, though he realized the man was correct. "Young, purple hair, small build, wearing a leather coat and sunglasses. Goes by the name Road Queen."
The station owner drew back in shock. "What do you want with Road Queen?"
"So you do know her then?" Hawk asked. The man nodded and Hawk's spirits lifted. "Has she been here today?"
The man shook his head. "I've never encountered Road Queen."
"I thought you knew her," Sea Hawk growled. "Or did you mean by reputation only?"
"No I know the girl, or at least I thought I did."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Hawk shouted. He was beginning to think the old man had gone senile on him. "Do you know Road Queen or not?"
The old man put up his hands in a gesture begging for peace. "When I said I had never encountered Road Queen this was both true and misleading. I knew her years ago, before she became the Road Queen."
"I see," Sea Hawk said calming down some. "Can you tell me anything useful about her?"
"The most useful thing I can tell you is to stay away from her. Why do you want to find her anyway?"
"She kidnapped a friend of mine. I'm not going to let her get away with it!"
"I see," the old man nodded stroking his chin. "Let me guess, your friend had a bounty on his head?"
"It's a her, and I don't see where that's any of your business," Hawk snarled.
"I'll take that as a yes," he said sitting down on an old barrel. He sighed and shook his head. "Bounty hunting. Never thought little Reina would come to this."
"Reina?" Sea Hawk whispered. It was clear now that while this man wouldn't be able to help him find Road Queen and Adora, he could give him some valuable insight into his opponent. But was there time for this? Hawk didn't want to leave Adora in the bounty hunter's clutches too long but he knew all too well the value of knowing one's enemy.
Finally he glanced down at his locket. It had been glowing for a short time not too long ago but now was once again lying dormant. That would seem to indicate that Adora was in no immediate danger. Even if she were merely locked in a prison cell the locket would have had a faint light to it, but there was nothing. Perhaps Adora had escaped her captor. Much as he hatred to admit it, Hawk doubted that. More likely she simply had not been taken to the Fright Zone just yet.
"All right," he said sitting down, "tell me what you know."
The old man sighed remorsefully. "Anything I could tell you about Reina would give you little insight into Road Queen. The girl I remember was a sweet kind hearted soul. She'd had a rough life but she kept her spirits up. But that all changed in a day. Reina lost everything; her entire world was ripped apart. After that she turned bitter and cold."
"I can understand that," Sea Hawk said. "I can even sympathize, but that doesn't mean I'm going to go easy on her."
"Well see it's not quite like that," The station owner said. "I could understand her turning vengeful, but it make no sense for her to be taking jobs from the Horde."
"Why is that?"
"By all accounts Reina has every reason to utterly despise the Horde. They were the ones who wrecked her life!"
Adora lowered the canteen Road Queen had handed her into the cool clear water and let it fill. They had been lucky to find this hidden spring among the decrepit marshlands. A veritable oasis of fresh mineral water in an otherwise inhospitable area. Next to her Road Queen soaked a rag in the water then, wincing slightly, held it to the slashes in her side that Catra had given her.
"You're going to need stitches for those," Adora said.
Road Queen shook her head. "No I won't. It's not as bad as it looks. I've had much worse."
"Let me take a look at it."
"Road Queen drew away slightly. "It's just a few scratches."
"Scratches like that can get infected very quickly," Adora said firmly. "Quit acting so tough and let me help you. Just think of it as part of the whole building of trust between us."
Road Queen hesitated but then sighed, "All right." In order to give Adora a better view of the wound she took off her coat and laid it over her bike. Adora was surprised by how much less threatening she looked without it. It had been clear that Reina had a small build but the coat had apparently hidden it more than Adora had realized. Pushing the thought aside she began examining the cuts but the torn fabric of Road Queen's outfit kept interfering.
"You're going to have to lift up your shirt a little," she said. Road Queen shot her a glance of reluctance but there was something else there. Adora couldn't say for certain, since she was unable to see Reina's eyes through the sunglasses, but it was almost a look of fear.
"You don't have to take it off," Adora said. "Just lift it out of the way so I can clean the wound.
Still Road Queen hesitated but finally complied. It was then that Adora saw what she had been hiding. Road Queen's back was laden with old scars and marks from bruises that had not properly healed.
"By the Ancients! Reina, how did this happen?"
"I don't want to talk about it."
But these scars!" Adora pressed. "It looks like you were beaten and lashed! Who did this to you?"
"I said I don't want to talk about it," Road Queen snapped. "Now are you going to help me with this wound or are you just going to reopen old ones?"
Adora stared at her a moment then went back to cleaning the cuts in silence.
"I'm sorry," Road Queen sighed. "I shouldn't have yelled at you like that. Look, the scars are remnants of a very unpleasant period in my life. A time I'd rather leave buried in the past."
Adora nodded, "I understand." She finished cleaning and patching up the slashes then went back to the spring and began washing the blood off her hands.
"Adora, just so we're clear, I don't want you telling anyone about those scars."
"My lips are sealed," Adora said without turning to face her. "I won't mention it to a soul."
"Yes," Road Queen said. "I know you won't."
Adora nodded then suddenly gasped in shock as she caught sight of the reflection in the water. Road Queen was standing over her with her gun drawn and pointed down. Adora turned but before she could move Road Queen fired two shots. However the shots went past Adora and into the water and instead of firing again, Road Queen holstered her gun. Adora remained still, momentarily startled by this action until a bubbling sound caught her attention. Slowly two large fish floated to the surface of the spring dead, or perhaps merely stunned. Road Queen reached over Adora and pulled them out of the water.
"Finish cleaning up," she said. "I'll start cooking dinner."
Adora laughed softly, despite her heart, which was still pounding as though it might burst from her chest.
"This is our research and development section," Hordak said in a completely fake tone of civility. "Here we are constantly devising new weapons and devices to aid in out conflict with the rebellion."
Inspector Caries was not the least bit taken in by Hordak's tone. "From what I've seen Hordak, you need all the help you can get."
Mock me while you can you wench, Hordak thought. If everything goes as planned your sharp tongue will soon be silenced forever. Hordak was taking a risk and it was going to cost him whether or not he succeeded, but it would be a small price to pay compared to what Caries could do to him.
"What are they working on?" Caries asked, gesturing to a pair of robot troopers who were engaged in some kind of chemical experiment.
That's it, Hordak grinned to himself. Walk right into my trap. Aloud he said, "During one of our raids a while back, we acquired a sample of a rather unique super fuel mixture. Unfortunately, we haven't been able to find the creator so we're trying to duplicate the formula ourselves."
"You trust such a delicate operation to these idiotic robots?" Caries questioned and jotted down a note on her clipboard.
She's catching on, I'll have to make my move. "Well Inspector, I thought it best to devote our Horde scientists to more mind challenging tasks."
Caries gave him a look that clearly indicated that she didn't totally believe him. She was right in this of course. The real reason Hordak had robot troopers working on the formula is he knew all too well that getting it wrong would have explosive results and the robots were expendable. Hordak only hoped that Caries wouldn't figure this out until it was too late.
Stealthily Hordak touched a button on his belt sending the necessary signal to put his plan into action. A moment later there was a rush of wind that raced past the troopers. The beakers of chemicals in front of them shook slightly in the gust, causing Caries to take an instinctive step back, but then they settled with no effect.
The gust of wind turned out, once again, to be Dragstor running in. Caries glared at the cybernetic warrior in anger.
"You idiot! You nearly upset those chemicals! Who knows how dangerous they are!"
"My apologies Inspector," Dragstor said. "I was looking for Lord Hordak."
"What is it Dragstor?" Hordak asked, though he already knew.
"Master, forgive the interruption, but an urgent matter has arisen that requires your immediate attention."
"I see," Hordak said. "Please excuse me for a moment Inspector. I'll only be a moment. By all means continue your investigation without me."
Before Caries could object Hordak departed followed closely by Dragstor. Once they had moved a safe distance away from the research lab Hordak whispered to his warrior.
"Did you do as I asked?"
Dragstor nodded. "I sabotaged the formula just as you requested master. With my speed no one noticed. The chemical reaction should take place any second now."
"Excellent!" Hordak grinned. "I knew I could count on you Dragstor."
"You do realize master, that this will wreak the lab, destroy the troopers, and set back our research several months."
Hordak nodded. "Yes, but it's a necessary sacrifice. Caries must be eliminated before she can make her report to Horde Prime."
Half a second later the hallway was rocked by a gigantic explosion. Hordak laughed as he slowly walked back to what remained of the lab. It may have seemed like overkill just to get rid of one person but Hordak had decided that Caries' death needed to look like an accident.
"Inspector?" he called out with mock concern. "Can you hear me Inspector?"
"Doubtful," Dragstor said. "The odds of anyone surviving such an explosion are astronomical."
"Well then," Hordak chuckled slightly, "I'd better call Horde Prime and let him know there's been a dreadful accident."
"Or you could help get this thing off me!"
No! Hordak thought with alarm. It can't be. Tell me it's not true!
But it was, the ruthless leader turned to see a pile of rubble moving and then what remained of a large metal cabinet fell aside to reveal a very much alive Inspector Caries. Her uniform was in tatters, her skin was blackened from smoke and dust, and her mouth was dripping blood but she was alive.
"Inspector!" Hordak shouted in surprise and alarm. "What happened? How did you…"
"Lucky for me," Caries growled, "That cabinet shielded me and absorbed most of the blast. Lucky for me but not for you. This will not look good in my report Hordak, even if I give you the benefit of the doubt that this was an actual accident!"
"Please Inspector," Hordak stuttered. "I assure you I…"
"You have exactly thirty seconds to improve my mood!" Caries shouted.
Just then a trooper appeared behind them and saluted. "Pardon me Lord Hordak but we're receiving a call for you on a secure channel."
"Can't you see I'm busy here?" Hordak shouted. "Take a message or tell them to call back later."
"I think you might want to take this sir," the robot said. "It's about the rebel leader Adora.
Hordak's eyes shot open. "Adora?"
"For your sake Hordak," Caries said spitting out a mouthful of blood. "This had better be good news."
Adora stooped down and lifted another small log into her arms. The sun had set but the full moons gave off enough light that she was able to find her way. Still she was careful not to stray too far from the glow of the campfire.
It had taken her by surprise when Road Queen had requested that she gather some more firewood for them. Although Adora now trusted the bounty hunter, she had still not expected Road Queen to let her out of her sight. But all Road Queen had said was to stay close enough so she could hear her if there was any trouble.
Granted it was not a good idea to try and slip away into the marshlands at night. Aside form the quickmarsh pits, there were undoubtedly several hungry predators lurking about that wouldn't think twice about making a meal of her. Adora would be defenseless against an attack as Road Queen still had her sword. Which was another reason Adora couldn't just leave in and of itself.
Nevertheless, it was still a surprise to see such a gesture of trust. But definitely a welcome one. Reina wasn't a bad person after all. Shifty yes. Mysterious absolutely. Perhaps even greedy, but not truly evil. Adora could tell she had managed to break through to Road Queen's inner self. She still wasn't exactly sure what her plan was, but she now was confident that Road Queen was out to strike at Hordak and not her.
Maybe with a little prying, Road Queen would now be willing to share her scheme with Adora. It was worth a shot. Perhaps once this was over she could even be persuaded to join the rebellion. Her skills would prove to be a great asset. But even if they went their separate ways and never met again, Adora was confident they would part as friends.
Deciding she had gathered enough wood Adora headed back towards the campsite. As she drew near though she could hear voices. She could tell one of them was Road Queen, and she sounded like she was angry with whoever she was speaking to. Had they been discovered? The young princess slowed her pace and crept closer in order to see without being seen. Once she was close enough she hid behind a tree and peaked out.
Adora gasped in shock at what she saw. Luckily the conversation taking place was loud enough that she went unheard. Road Queen was standing in front of her bike, which was producing a holographic image of Hordak. It was hard to tell who was more upset.
"Am I to understand you attacked one of my patrols?" Hordak growled.
"No, they attacked me," Road Queen snarled back. "I defended myself and Adora. If I hadn't she'd be lying in a pool of her own blood right now!"
You tell him Reina! Adora thought. But then she found herself wondering why Road Queen was talking to Hordak in the first place. Had Hordak contacted her, or had she called him?
"Of course I never should have had to," Road Queen went on. "I thought you said you wanted me to bring Adora in alive!"
"Catra exceeded her authority and she will be punished for it," Hordak said. "However you should realize that she would not have been moved to kill her if you had cooperated and turned her over like she ordered."
"I'm not one of your lackeys! I take orders from no one! This had better not happen again."
"My solders are under orders to find Adora and bring her to me. They are not going to ignore those orders for your sake."
"Well then I suggest you get the word out and rescind those orders!" Road Queen shouted.
"You dare tell me what to do?" Hordak snorted.
"You'd better if you expect to get Adora alive."
"Now you're threatening me?"
A sinister grin spread across Road Queen's face. "No, I'm threatening her."
Adora drew back in shock. What?
Road Queen seethed through clenched teeth. "We had a deal remember? How dare you try to cheat me like that?"
"I will do as I please to ensure Adora's capture," Hordak snarled.
"Not anymore. Now you'll do what I please or you'll get nothing! Adora's in my hands now, asshole. So you keep your drones off my back, or else I'll blow her damn brains out and you can collect her body piece by piece!"
No! Adora thought. This can't be happening!
There was a long pause before Hordak spoke again. "What's to stop me from doing the same thing to your bounty?"
Road Queen crossed her arms and the sinister grin returned to her face. "Because you can't afford to risk it. You know I won't hesitate to slaughter Adora if you do. And you need her too much. That's right. I know your little secret. I know why you want Adora alive. If she's dead your whole plan goes down the drain. And there's no plan B that'll work either."
Hordak's jaw dropped like a stone. "I don't know how you found this out but if you breathe a word of it to anyone…"
"I think we understand one another," Road Queen smirked. "So, I'll be at the Fright Zone to deliver Adora tomorrow and you'd better be ready to complete our deal. Any funny business and you can personally watch as I rip her heart out with my bare hands! This conversation is over!" With that Road Queen shut off her holo-projector
Adora slid down behind the tree as her eyes filled with tears. It had all been a lie. She cursed herself for ever having believed the bounty hunter's words. What hurt more though was the feeling of betrayal. Adora had trusted this woman and she had stabbed her in the back. Sorrow soon gave way to anger and hatred. Glancing around the tree she saw that Road Queen had turned her attention to stoking the fire. She was bent over with her back to Adora completely unaware of her presence.
Adora made her move. Gripping a thick log like a club she charged straight at the bounty hunter with all her fury. Road Queen was so caught off guard that she only had time to half draw her gun before Adora slammed the log into her chest. Road Queen groaned in pain, dropped her gun and staggered away slightly. Adora swung again this time catching her across the head. Road Queen's sunglasses shattered and fell from her face as she collapsed to the ground.
"You bitch!" Adora shouted scooping up Road Queen's gun and pointing it down at her. "You traitor! I can't believe I ever trusted you!"
"Adora wait. You don't understand." Road Queen coughed.
"No, I understand everything!" Adora shouted. "I heard it all Reina, if that even is your real name! You lied to me. And like a fool I believed you!"
Road Queen was still lying face down and hadn't turned to look at her. "Adora listen to me…"
"No you listen! I actually was willing to be your prisoner because I trusted you! Well now you're my prisoner! I'm still not sure if I should turn you over to Bright Moon for trial or if I should just kill you myself right here. You can help make up my mind by telling me one thing. What did Hordak promise you? I've never done anything to you so what is so important that you'd do this to me for?"
Road Queen finally turned her head and looked up at Adora. The young princess was momentarily startled by the bounty hunter's face. This was the first time she had seen Road Queen without her glasses on and somehow without them she looked very different. She appeared years younger, perhaps even younger than Adora herself was. Her eyes, which had begun to fill with tears, were a bright blue and had a soft innocent look that made Adora forget for a moment how dangerous the woman really was.
"You really want to know?" she said, sniffing slightly.
All of Adora's hate and anger flooded back into her at this question. "Yes damn it! Tell me! What is it that you value more than my life?"
Road Queen swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat and answered.
"The life of my brother!"
