Chapter 3: Preparations for a Siege

Keirnan had walked away from Hordak's lab as though he had been sent to the gallows. Thoughts were racing through his head as he walked down the hallway.

"They're not even adults yet. How could he send them out so soon? What if something happens? What if they get captured? Or killed? Or-" His thoughts were interrupted as he heard a voice calling his name. Coming from the left junction of the hallway, Shadow Weaver appeared.

"Oh. Hello, Shadow Weaver." Said Keirnan. Shadow Weaver was Hordak's Second-in-Command. She was a domineering and manipulative woman, which is why she was in charge of training and raising most of the young cadets; to make sure that they served the Horde, unquestioningly. She had long and flowing black hair that flowed after her like a sinister shadow. She was cloaked in a red and dark maroon dress. The ends of her dress were cut into strands that seemed to move on their own, as if they were sentient. She had grey colored skin that could only be seen through her fingerless gloves and the profiles of her head.

"Ah.. Keirnan, I trust your talk with Lord Hordak went well?" Keirnan showed a bit of confusion and asked,

"H-how did you know about that?" Shadow Weaver gave a slight chuckle, then said rather boastfully,

"It is my duty as Second-in-Command of the Horde to know of all our operations. Lord Hordak has already given Octavia charge of the Twins' first mission." Keirnan gave a disapproving look to Shadow Weaver and exclaimed,

"Octavia? She's the one that's taking charge of the Twins?!" Although she was wearing a mask, Keirnan could see the annoyance in Shadow Weaver's face. She spoke up,

"Remember your place, Keirnan. These were orders given from Lord Hordak."

"I.. I'm sorry, Shadow Weaver. I just don't think her hot temper will be good for their mental well-being." Shadow Weaver gave a laugh of derision.

"Ha! You speak of their mental well-being? And what of your coddling? You treat them as if they were glass cups in a stone quarry. How are they supposed to grow if they don't face opposition?" She put her hand on his shoulder, then asked, "And how are they supposed to reach their full potential in an environment that doesn't test their limits? Only a combat scenario would allow them to understand the potential of their observational skills." Shadow Weaver made a fair point. Between Hordak and Shadow Weaver's lecture on Keirnan's attachment to the Twins, he started wondering if he truly had coddled them too much. Keirnan shuddered at what Shadow Weaver was saying. Neither spoke for a few seconds. Keirnan then took a deep breath and asked,

"Will they be safe?" Shadow Weaver took her hand off his shoulder and looked away. She put her hands together and started wriggling her fingers rhythmically. She put her hands together then slowly opened them. As she opened her hands a shadowy mirror shaped hologram was conjured from her hands. It looked as though it might be a portal. Keirnan took a step towards the shadowy construct, then looked closely. He saw two sets of armor. They both looked like typical horde soldier uniforms with the following components: A black bodysuit, a chest piece with pauldrons, a pair of bracers, greaves, and a helmet that covered the entire head. These two armors had distinct modifications, however. The one on the left had armor pieces that were colored white instead of the typical charcoal gray color. The chest piece had a red cross medical symbol, instead of the Horde's bat symbol. The helmet also had the medical red cross on the forehead. The one on the right was also a different color. The armor pieces were colored a dark navy blue. Like the medical armor, the chest piece had a symbol of a gear with a wrench protruding from it at a 45 degree angle. The helmet, likewise had the gear symbol. Keirnan was astonished by the armor. After studying the armors before him for a half a minute, he spoke up,

"So.. these are-"

"The Twins' new armor." Shadow Weaver completed the sentence for him. "I took the liberty of having Modulok modify the horde infantry armor to complement their individual abilities."

"Can't spell Modulok without, 'mod.'" Keirnan said, jokingly. This slightly amused Shadow Weaver. Not so much the joke, but that Keirnan was coming around. He continued, "so what kind of modifications did he make?"

"Allow me to explain. Come to the armory." Shadow Weaver's shadowy hologram dissipated, and they both made their way to the armory. The armory was filled with all sorts of armor and weapons, it was well guarded, and only accessible through the iron barred wall that separated the weapons and armor from the rest of the Fright Zone. Inside the barred wall was a robotic-looking quartermaster. The robot-looking being was completely covered in metal plates. On the chest piece, there were buttons and knobs. Even the head was covered in plates that had two slits for the eyes and four slits where a mouth should be. Keirnan had never been to the armory, or had seen the quartermaster. He wondered if the quartermaster was a robot, or a person in robotic armor. Either way, the quartermaster stood there, motionless. Shadow Weaver approached him and said,

"Dylamug, we are here to requisition the armor that Modulok had produced for us." There was no response from Dylamug, but he pressed a button which made a whoosh sound. To the left of Shadow Weaver, the whoosh sound was a wall that protruded from the ground. Fog emitted from the wall. As it dissipated, Keirnan saw the two armors, affixed to the protruding wall. Shadow Weaver moved towards the armor, and stood beside them. Keirnan walked towards them, impressed at their appearance. Shadow Weaver moved to the right of the medical armor and began describing the modifications that were made.

"Each uniform has been modified for each twin." She started with Brittni's. "Brittni's armor has been stocked with basic first aid, gauze pads, hydrogen peroxide, occlusive dressings, saline, antiseptic solution, etc. She has a more advanced kit that have supplies for more traumatic wounds." She named a few other pieces of advanced medical equipment.

"How is she supposed to carry all this?" Keirnan thought to himself. Almost as if Shadow Weaver read his mind, she said,

"You may be wondering how she's supposed to carry all of this. Her armor has a powered exoskeleton to take the majority of the weight off." Keirnan was getting more and more impressed with the armor. Shadow Weaver continued the explanation of the armor,

"In addition to the supplies, the left bracer is filled with a few gadgets such as a cauterizing tool and projectile adrenaline shots. On the right bracer there is a defibrillator." Shadow Weaver then moved over to the left of the tech armor, and introduced it. "Brett's armor has been outfitted for combat and field repair. His armor has been stocked with all the tools necessary to repair our tanks and field robots. His left bracer has a built in welder that doubles as a flamethrower. His right bracer has a saw for practical use and hand-to-hand combat. Keirnan was disturbed at the thought of this.

"Hand-to-Hand combat... With a saw? They're just supposed to be support units, not fighters." Shadow Weaver interrupted his thoughts,

"Is there a problem, Keirnan?"

"No, no, ma'am. Please continue." She stared for a second, then continued,

"Again, just as Brittni's armor has a powered exoskeleton, so does Brett's. Now, there is a feature that may put your mind at ease. Their armor has been reinforced with an iridium polymer composite. Lightweight and strong, it will protect the Twins against the Rebellion's magic and weaponry while simultaneously allowing them the maneuverability needed to perform their tasks." Keirnan was indeed impressed. Both at the armor and how articulate Shadow Weaver was. As much as he didn't want the Twins to go out and fight, he did take comfort in the fact that they would be prepared with personalized armor.

"This is quite impressive. Really impressive, actually." Keirnan began. "If you don't mind me asking, milady, what is your interest in this? I thought you only cared for magic, not technology." Shadow Weaver chuckled a bit, then said,

"Technology and magic are not as much of an antithesis as people like to believe. On the contrary, they work together well. What do you think is powering the exoskeletons? Portions of the black garnet." Keirnan was shocked.

"Dark magic is powering these suits? That's.. Amazing and terrifying." He thought to himself. Shadow Weaver interrupted his thoughts,

"Now, I'll have their uniforms sent to your quarters tonight. I want you to help them get ready. Their mission will begin in a few days. I want them to be briefed with Octavia, tomorrow. Good day, Keirnan." Shadow Weaver then exited the armory. But on her way out, she mentioned without turning her head,

"They are among the best the Horde has to offer. You have nothing to worry about." She then continued walking away. Keirnan just stood there, staring at the armor. The armor that the Twins were going to wear into battle. The thought of them going into active duty was really registering into his mind. Despite all this preparation, he still didn't like it. Nevertheless, he knew better than to cross Hordak. He looked to the right to see Dylamug still standing there, motionless. Keirnan half-heartedly asked with a chuckle,

"So, what's your take in all this?" Dylamug continued to stand there, but slowly moved his head towards Keirnan. A high-pitched metal scraping sound followed his head. A low growl emanated from the 4 slits on the helmet. Keirnan backed away and said,

"Er.. okay, well, yeah, I'm just gonna go." Keirnan then hastily walked out of the armory and started toward the clinic.

"How can I tell them about this? Hordak and Shadow Weaver want them in live combat situations?" He sighed, but slowly started to accept the inevitable. Whatever Hordak wanted, he got, and that's all there was to it. Keirnan made it to the clinic and walked inside towards the patient rooms. Keirnan was relieved that it was relatively busy in the clinic. At least he could focus on working rather than having to tell Brittni about her mission. Brittni was in a room administering medicine to a patient, when Keirnan walked in. Brittni looked back and said with her usual bubbly tone,

"Keirnan! Glad you finally made it! What did Lord Hordak want?" Keirnan opened his mouth to speak, but Brittni cut him off. "Never mind! We're busy right now. You're needed in room 6. There's a 20 year old male with a third degree burn over 18% of the body. It was from an L-29 shot to his left upper leg.

"Oh, thank goodness!" Keirnan shouted with instant regret. Brittni and the patient stared at him, completely stunned at what he just said. Keirnan's face turned red, he coughed a little, then said, "Oh, uh, forgive me. I uh, I'm just so glad to help other- yeah, I gotta go wash my hands and take care of the patient, thank you, Nurse Brittni!" Keirnan then scurried away towards room 6. He was just very relieved to not have had that painful conversation he was going to have with Brittni; even though it was inevitable. Keirnan went to treating the patient while he contemplated how that conversation was going to go that night. Eventually, after the clinic was closing down, Keirnan and Brittni headed for home. As they were walking down the hallway, Brittni started telling Keirnan about her day.

"You really came at the right time. It was relatively quiet before you showed up, then bam. Right before you got there, we had 5 admits, and a few transfers. Glad you came when you did. We had to treat some crazy wounds…" She continued to speak, but Keirnan's mind kept trailing off.

"All those people that entered the clinic… What if Brittni and Brett are next?"

"KEIRNAN!" Brittni shouted. The yelling stunned Keirnan. And he gasped,

"Oh! Sorry, Brittni, I just… I just have a lot on my mind." He said with displeasure.

"I'll say!" Brittni exclaimed, "you've been weird ever since your little date with Hordak!" Keirnan shushed her,

"Shh, easy. You have to be respectful to Lord Hordak. He knows everything that goes on around here." Brittni interjected,

"Well, what happened? Something obviously shook you up." Keirnan sighed.

"It'd be better if I told you and Brett together." He said as calmly as he could muster. Brittni blinked a couple of times, nodded and said,

"Okay, that's fair." A minute later they had finally arrived home to see Brett sitting at the dinner table tinkering with a little robot.

"What'cha got there, Brett?" He looked up and said,

"Hey, guys. Check this out, I made this robot today!" He closed a metal plate and screwed it shut, then placed it on the table. It looked like a camera on treaded wheels.

"Ooo," Brittni said, admiring it. "What does it do?"

"He passes butter." Brett said, leaning back in the chair with his hands relaxed behind his head.

"Seriously? Yeah, that's practical." Brittni said sarcastically towards the robot. She then remembered the pancakes. "Although, it would have been useful this morning." Brett smiled, and said,

"Inspiration." Brittni chuckled. Then turned towards Keirnan.

"So, Keirnan, tell us what's going on with Lord Hordak." Keirnan's heart sunk. He took a deep breath, then said,

"Why don't you two have a seat on the couch." They both nodded and went over to sit down. Keirnan joined them on a chair opposite to them. He put his head in his hands, rubbed his face and took another deep breath. The Twins stared at him, attentively. He began speaking,

"Well, as you know, I had a meeting with Lord Hordak. He…" Keirnan paused for a moment. He was about to continue when Brett interjected.

"He wants us assigned to active duty, doesn't he?" Brett said with a smile. Keirnan was stunned upon hearing what Brett had proclaimed. Brittni then chimed in,

"We were wondering when you were going to say something." She giggled. Keirnan's jaw dropped so hard, it probably ruptured the floor.

"How- but- you- wait-" Keirnan could not get more than a single word out. The Twins started laughing. Brett spoke up,

"Oh, come on Keirnan. How obvious can it get? Hordak summoned you, personally to his lab?"

"And then you were totally bizarre at the clinic." Brittni added.

"Not to mention how upset you were, and how reluctant you seemed to talk to us about this." said Brett. Keirnan stared at them in pure disbelief.

"...Alright, but how could all that point to you being called into active duty?" Brett chuckled and said,

"Simple. Hordak wants nothing more than for us to quell the Princess Rebellion. He values skill and power. Our skills of observation and quick learning would be useful to him on the battlefield." Brittni chimed in and said,

"He summoned you, our caretaker, to us lab to let you know of his decision. Because of how much you care about us, that caused some serious shock and anguish to you. Which we totally understand and love you, too!" Brittni's eyes sparkled as she said this. Keirnan still looked at them in pure disbelief.

"And then Modulok told me earlier this week he wouldn't be at the workshop for a while as he was working on some new armor. He then asked me for some ideas on how to improve the horde armor. I gave him a list of equipment and gadgets that would help combat engineers, so I told him. He said that my ideas would work for mass production. I knew that was a flat lie. We don't have the resources to mass produce my ideas implemented in armor. But we would have enough for at least a prototype to see if they would be practical in field situations." Brittni then scooted closer to the front of the couch, unable to contain her excitement.

"Ooo! And Modulok came and asked me the same thing, only with medical tools and equipment." Brittni said, gleefully.

"Put that all together, and Hordak had to be itching to put us out in the field." Brett concluded. Keirnan was completely dumbfounded at that point. The Twins were good. He sighed, took a deep breath then said, with a slight hint of dysphoria, but acceptance,

"Alright, it's true. You probably knew all this even before Hordak did. You're going on your first mission in just a few days. Tomorrow, you'll be reporting to Commander Octavia, and she'll give you further instructions." The Twins jumped up from the couch and cheered.

"Woo! Yeah! We're going on a miss-ion, we're going on a miss-ion!" They cheered, simultaneously. Brittni quickly noticed Keirnan faking a smile. She towards him and kneeled down next to him, then put her hand on his knee.

"Hey, we're going to be alright. We're doing this for the greater good. The Princesses are bringing chaos. We're gonna bring order to this planet." Brett walked over to him and chimed in,

"It's true, Keirnan. Besides, we've got the best training this planet has to offer. Not to mention our quick learning and observation skills. We'll take down a princess before she even knew we existed." Keirnan cracked a smile and held out his arms. The Twins embraced him. A tear fell down his cheek. He sniffled a bit.

"You are so crying, Keirnan." Brittni said with a giggle. He started laugh-crying as tears fell down his face.

"Oh, there's no point in lying. I totally am. But you know what, you both are totally prepared. I just hope that this really is for the greater good." They then heard a knock on the door. The Twins pulled away, and Brett went to answer the door. He opened it, and greeted a courier. The courier brought in two big briefcases, each marked with the Twins' names. They both gasped in amazement. They cleared the kitchen table and put the briefcases on it, completely covering the table. They opened the briefcases, and sure enough, to their amazement, their armor had arrived.

This was the real thing. Tomorrow, the Twins would prepare for something that would change their lives.