Chapter Four: "The Final Battle of Primus and Denebria"
"Our forces are terribly outmatched in the Oasis. I have diverted all available forces to the landing point of the Mothership," Sebrian reported.
"What's the status on the fleet?" He-Man asked.
"Nocturna and Eton is reporting that most of the Mutant fleet is being wiped out. All of the war cruisers have been destroyed and the remaining Terror Pods and Dreadwings are on the run," Vizar responded.
He-Man looked to Sebrian and Hydron. "I think we need the Colossus down here to counter the firepower of the Mothership."
"I concur," Sebrian agreed and turned to Drissi. "Send a message to Nocturna. Have him come to Onnar at once."
"Flipshot, I want you to recall all Galactic Guardians. Have them meet me one mile away from the battle site. Vizar, that means you too."
"I'm there," Vizar answered.
He-Man turned to Alcon, Gepple, Meloc, and Krex. "You four. Fix the Starship Eternia immediately. Weapons and shields are the priority. Engines don't have to be at full capacity."
"Is that really a priority right now?" asked Alcon.
"Yes. Hydron and Flipshot, you two will remain here until the Starship Eternia is ready. When it is, contact me."
"What are you planning, He-Man?" asked Sebrian.
He-Man looked to all of them – Gepple, Meloc, Krex, Alcon, Hydron, Flipshot, Vizar, Mara, Drissi, Caz, and Master Sebrian. He took in a deep breath. "Nearly five years ago, I left my home world to come here. I vowed to fight for your planet's safety and for peace in the Tri-Solar System. Today, I look to fulfill that goal vow. Today, this war ends once and for all."
As everyone went to work this and that, He-Man took a few minutes for himself. He walked to a small area outside headquarters. Off on the horizon, the triple suns of Primus were shining their last light of the day across this portion of the world. He came here to fight the war. He meant what he had said earlier about this being the end.
Had it really been almost five years? Five years since he last saw his parents, his sister, his friends? And was all the work that he had put into the past five years really going to end tonight? Could it possibly be that he would home next week? Or next month?
He had dreamed about it since that day so very long ago when he left Eternia. Since he last stood in the heart of Castle Grayskull after saying his many good byes and was teleported to the Starship Eternia.
"Sorceress," he called out.
The Sword of Power lit up briefly. He-Man, she replied.
"I believe the war here is ending, but I fear that I may not be strong enough."
Her telepathic voice was lyrical and familiar; his only connection to home. Your time will come, He-Man. Your destiny shall be fulfilled.
"Then Primus can still be saved?"
Your destiny is to be in the battle. Whether or not you win is in your hands.
He-Man sighed and nodded. "That sounds good enough for me. Hopefully, I'll pull out of this. If I do, I'll see you soon."
XXXX
About an hour later, He-Man and Vizar stood a mile away from the battle site. Primian soldiers and Mites reinforced the already entrenched forces and they engaged the massive army that poured out from the Mothership. The Mothership sat behind the Mutant and Gleanon units in all its ugly glory. Every now and then, weapons would fire out from the Mothership that would take out heavy Primian artillery.
"He-Man," said Artilla, joining the champion of Grayskull. "The battle goes badly, but with the reinforcements arriving, it may just turn us."
"So I see. I'm waiting for the others to arrive."
At that moment, two Astrosubs arrived, one carrying Tuskador and Sagitar and the other carrying Spinwit and Kayo.
"Well done, all of you. Without you, this invasion would be a victory for the Mutants."
"We did what we always have, He-Man," said Spinwit. "What you taught you. We turned defeat into a fighting chance."
There was a sudden roar from above as the Starship Colossus hovered and then landed. The Galactic Guardians walked over as the gangway came open.
"How are things going topside?" asked Tuskador.
"Okay, for now. We've lost a lot of good people."
He-Man nodded. "Their sacrifices will secure victory for us today. Now, Nocturna, I want you to keep the Starship Colossus at the back of the lines as much as possible. Keep away from the fire power and just try and take out the Mothership's big guns."
"Easier said than done, He-Man."
"I understand, but you're one of our best pilots. Vizar, help him out. What is your shield status?"
"Low, but with Vizar working with me, I can have the 'bots work on the shields constantly. Plus, now that we're on the planet, the ship won't need life-support or as much engine power."
"Good. Move into the battle as soon as you can. The rest us will enter the fray right now. Galactic Guardians . . . saddle up and move out."
XXXX
In the region of the Oasis known as Mida, some fifty miles from the battle, Skeletor had made his way into an underground and previously unknown (in the modern era) chamber. Within this chamber he found what he was looking for.
The chamber was average sized, but quite ancient. In the center of the chamber was an altar. Sitting suspended from the ceiling was a massive crystal similar to those that power the shield that served as Primus' protection, Trithuseum Crystals. To the immediate left and right of the altar, two more Trithuseum Crystal shards were perched on the walls.
Skeletor had studied how to use this chamber thanks the scroll found in the small ruins on moon Nordor. He pulled out the Sword of Darkness and laid upon the altar. Skeletor then stepped back and retrieve his Havoc Staff.
Power flew out from the Havoc Staff and struck the right crystal shard. It lit up with energy. He then unleashed a beam at the right crystal shard and it too lit up with energy. Both crystals reflected and refracted the energy beams within themselves until at least firing up into the massive crystal that hung above the Sword of Darkness and the altar.
Skeletor watched with delight and the massive crystal unleashed a beam at the Sword of Darkness. The Sword of Darkness vibrated as its energy matrix was re-engerized after nearly 10 years of being drained. It would several more hours for the Sword of Darkness to be completely returned to normal, but Skeletor had long since learned that greatness required patience.
XXXX
As He-Man and the Galactic Guardians entered the fray, He-Man stopped suddenly. The Sword of Power was glowing a little and he could sense something wrong. He wanted to reach out to the Sorceress, but he knew that this battle was far more important. Whatever was wrong with the Sword of Power could wait.
He-Man was quickly rushed to the front lines, where the combat was heavy. His Sword of Power was soon dripping with genetic goo from the Mutant Troopers. Between them and the Gleanons, the battle was rough. He had never found on such a massive scale, with so many bodies around him in violent motion.
Above, the roar of the Starship Colossus' engines thundered as Vizar and Nocturna moved against the mighty Mothership. Weapons blazed from both vessels, the Mothership squatting on the ground as the Colossus moved fluidly above the raging war below. Occasionally, the Mothership would fire at on-coming forces, but the Colossus kept it pretty distracted.
The Mutants vehicles moved ever forward, including Doomcopters, Dreadtreads, and Terror Claws. They were met with Battle Birds and Bolajets, which hung low in the sky and picked off as many Mutant and Gleanon vehicles as possible. Huge explosions were nothing new to the battle as vehicles on both sides were destroyed.
Mutants and Gleanons both used various weapons, including the massive Turbo Tormenter, which could take out a number of enemies at once. The Primians as well used their various advanced weapons, the most common one being the Rocket Disk Power Pack, the issued laser beams and rocket disks that exploded upon impact. The tools of war were never finer in this conflict.
He-Man moved as fast as he could, fighting the best he could against so many opponents. The Galactic Guardians did the same, using their powers and strengths to every advantage possible. Whether this include the tower strength that was at Sagitar's disposal (used best against the stacked up Gleanons) or Kayo's amazing fighting abilities, the team had never fought fiercer.
XXXX
"The ship is working, but barely," reported Gepple.
"It won't break orbit. Or really make it much higher than ¾ Telks above the surface," Alcon stated.
"And the sensors are at half-capacity," added Meloc.
"Not to mention it has absolutely no life-support," Krex said.
"But the weapons work? And the engines and shields?" asked Flipshot.
"Yeah."
"Sure."
"Yep."
"Affirmative."
Hydron nodded. "Good enough for me. Let's move it."
"Wait!" Sebrian suddenly yelled out. "I'm coming with you."
"You're joking, right?" asked Flipshot. "This really isn't the place for you."
"He-Man was serious about this being the final battle. And if it is, I'm going to try my best to make sure it ends peacefully." He pulled out from his cloak the peace treaty that had been presented to the Galactic Council years earlier. "This may just help things."
"Okay," Hydron agreed after a second or two of thought.
"I'm coming too, then," said Mara, following them up the gangway. "Those are my people down there and I need to be there."
"Okay, all right, but that's it!" Hydron said harshly, looking at both Caz and Drissi who stood nearby. The scientists, of course, weren't going to go even if they were forced.
"Good luck, then," Drissi said. "I'll be in contact from here."
"Thank you."
"Give 'em hell, Hydron and Flipshot!" Caz added.
XXXX
Flogg stood not in the bridge of the Mothership, but instead on a hill near it. Below, the battle exploded and raged on. The firefight between the Mothership and the Starship Colossus had been going in favor of the Mothership, as it received far less damage that the Starship Colossus.
Flogg wondered just how many people below him were dying because of his actions. He tried to hide that thought away, but couldn't help it.
The massive cannon next to him fired a few rounds, striking down obnoxious Bolajets. The debris crashed down onto a small section of Gleanons, but their armor protected them.
"We just got word, sir," reported Crita nearby. "The Starship Eternia is on its way."
"Bah. Have Mothership guns trained on it."
"Uh, but won't that mean they won't be trained on the Starship Colossus?" Slushead asked.
"Both ships are heavily damaged. It doesn't matter," Flogg responded.
"We've always got reports of Serus and Leviton forces on their way to the Oasis," Crita added. "And I just got word from Optikk that another wave of Mite fighters from Nekron is arriving in Primus orbit."
"We will win out this day, Crita," Flogg said, trying to assure him more than her.
"Um, it's night though," pointed out Slushead.
"Are you losing faith in the power of the Denebrian Mutants? Have we not evolved above these creatures?" he asked.
"Oh, I was suggesting nothing of the sort," she replied smiling and she meant it. The higher the odds stacked against her, the fiercer Crita became.
"Continue to press onward, then. And have contact Optikk. Have him pull up all reserves back on Denebria to report to duty."
XXXX
He-Man stepped back as soon as Hydron contacted him that the Starship Eternia was in-coming. "Teleport me up as soon as you're in range," He-Man said to him over the comm-line.
"Gotcha. We'll be in range in about one minute."
"I'll be ready," He-Man replied, deflecting a stray laser beam. He turned to the two commanding officers – Mite Vice President Etor and Commander Nathan Briggs of the Militia. "I'm pulling out when the Starship Eternia gets here, but maintain your current strategies. Your goal is that!" he pointed to Mothership. "Break the lines. Do everything you can! Hopefully, this won't have to last much longer."
And with that, He-Man was teleported out of the battle.
He reappeared in the Teleporter Chamber of the Starship Eternia, Mara at the controls. "What are you doing here?"
"You really going to question me about that?"
"No. I'm glad you're here. What's our ETA from the battle?"
"Three miles, but we're running slow."
"That's fine."
He-Man entered the bridge and approached Hydron and Flipshot. "Connect me with Nocturna."
A second later, the comm-line was open. "Nocturna here. We've take out some of the Mothership's gun, but it's touch and go."
"We're on our way with the Starship Eternia," He-Man responded. "When we get there, we'll lay down fire against the Mothership. I want you to use our opening to take out as much as the Mothership as possible."
"We're going to destroy it?"
"No, the explosion would take out all of our forces. No, we're just giving you a chance to do some damage, then we've got bigger things in plan."
"Such as?"
"Ending this damn war. Eternia out."
Within two minutes time, the Starship Eternia entered the battle zone. Below, the soldiers seemed to perk up at the side of such an icon passing over them. The Mothership turned its attention the Starship Eternia and fired a few blasts. Flipshot dodged all but one, which merely skimmed the shields. For all his boost and bluster, Flipshot really was the best pilot on Primus.
Lasers and missiles of all varieties flew out from the Starship Eternia and struck hard against the Mothership. As they did, the Starship Colossus moved alongside the Starship Eternia and joined in, all the weapons moving in concert. A massive series of explosions roared across the entire left section of the Mothership.
The soldiers of Primus and the Mites roared in joy as such a victory was delivered. The two starships then separated, the Colossus resuming their attack on Mothership. The Starship Eternia diverted up, flipped around and headed towards the hill.
"There's Flogg," He-Man said smiling. "Hydron, the cannon."
"Done."
Flogg's cannon exploded with a few laser blasts from the Starship Eternia. They zoomed closer the hill.
"What is he doing?" asked Crita, stunned.
"Uh . . . Flogg . . ."
"He-Man! He-Man! Will I never be rid of him!?" shouted Flogg, infuriated.
"Flogg! They're headed towards us! What are we going to do?" asked Slushead, panicking.
"We fight to the end!" Flogg exclaimed, pulling out his harpoon.
The Starship Eternia suddenly blasted right in front of the trio, sending them flying backwards. It then hovered above the ground and a side-hatch opened. He-Man, Flipshot, Hydron and Mara leapt out and towards the nasty trio.
Slushead sent his robotic arms towards Hydron and Flipshot, as well as firing off a few rounds of his laser. They blocked the laser blasts, then Flipshot took high and Hydron took low. Slushead was down.
Crita fired a few rounds of laser beams at Mara. Mara dodged each one, then pulled out her whip (a gift from President Pell) and sent it flying forward. It wrapped around the wrists of Crita and pulled them together, causing her to drop the laser pistol.
He-Man went after Flogg.
The harpoon fired, catching He-Man in the side. It cut open a nasty wound, but He-Man ignored the pain. He jumped high up, slashed the harpoon gun in two and cleaved the laser in half with two fast swipes of the Sword of Power.
He-Man then brought the blade of the Power Sword of Flogg's neck.
"All right, Flogg, let's chat."