Chapter 6 - Warrior Queen
Perhaps it had been the glare that distracted her. For whatever reason, however, the redhead failed to see the last surviving member of the Shakanar advanced scout force enter the Royal Palace from the opposite end.
Her name was Ratha Kodene, and she hailed from the Cygnan colony of Borish VI. She had been consigned to the Shakanar War College after killing a younger child who had annoyed her. As far as she had been concerned, the brat had deserved it. Her teachers at Mur Sejanus had grinned, and agreed.
Now eighteen years a Shakanar with fifty-two confirmed kills to her credit, Ratha Kodene and the rest of her party had run into Artemis and a band of her Bana-Mighdall Amazon sisters a little while ago. The result had been two dead Amazons and an even two dozen dead Shakanar shock troops.
The deaths of her Sister Shakanar meant little to Ratha Kodene. The prospect of a killing spree excited her far more. She now silently glided down the corridor that would take her directly to where C-ko, Biko and her sisters, and of course A-ko's own siblings had been left waiting.
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From her center of command on Her Majesty's Akrotiri-class ship Revenge, Admiral Chitai now prepared to unleash a little surprise she had prepared for the possible intervention of Diana's husband. Chitai had a personal vendetta to push during this attack. She believed that Captain Napolipolita had killed her daughter, Tarim, years ago. When both were at the CygniCity Space Academy, Tarim had nearly suffocated the child because she cried too much after her mother's death, but Admiral Chitai understood that her daughter's sadistic actions were entirely justified. Chitai only knew that this old enemy was here underneath her feet this day. Her hatred of the now-Ambassador and her friends unlocked an attack plan forbidden by the treaties of other armies. If the so-called Man of Steel came near her ship, he would regret it.
From the rear of the heavy battle cruiser, three satellites came rushing from the stern of the oversized warship and began to spiral down into Earth's atmosphere. At first, Superman was more than a bit surprised that the weapon wasn't meant for him, then quickly realized it was in fact a weapon meant for him, but indirectly. It was designed to stop his attack on the Revenge and get him out of the way.
As he started after the rapidly descending oblong weapons, he quickly realized that they had accomplished just what they were meant to do - namely, to end his attack on the Shakanar warship by creating a possible and even worse threat below to the Earth he loved so much.
He quickly caught up to the third satellite, cutting it in half with the surgical use of his heat vision.
"That was way too easy," he thought, now racing after the second target.
Once again, he tried using his heat vision to dispatch the missile. However, this example of Leptonian weapon technology was equipped with an attack avoidance system, which it used to duck the Man of Steel's attack. He increased his speed to catch up, only to have it streak away from him in response.
After nearly eighty-five years of experience with dealing with such threats, he wasn't about to let this one get away from him and leave it free to wreak some unknown havoc on his adopted world below. A sudden blast of heat vision above the object caused it to dive down into the Earth's upper atmosphere. He'd already factored in this reaction, and that is why he was there to grab hold and crush it in one swift movement.
"The third must be the one," he thought to himself as he streaked after it. When he was close enough to use his heat vision, he discovered that the last one was not only shielded, but was also pursuing its course directly for New York.
It wouldn't be the first time he walked (or - in this case - flew) into a trap to help others, and it wouldn't be the last. That was the reason he took hold of the last of the Cygnan weapons and streaked upward with a sudden burst of speed. This ensured that the Shakanar booby trap would explode in space instead over the skies of the Big Apple.
Then suddenly, the nuke hidden inside went off in his arms with the power of a twenty-megaton blast.
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As she bravely faced her descending death, Akana's one regret was that she had no weapon in her hand to offer her ancestors as proof of her worthiness to join them in the Summerland. Growing up with such beliefs had never mattered much to her. But now - here at the end of her still very-young life - they seemed strangely important.
All at once, a white blur seemed to come out of nowhere. Then - before the young woman's unbelieving eyes - a tall woman with hair as dark as a raven's wing stood with her back to her.
"By the Great Mother!" Akana whispered to herself as she watched the tall woman actually stop the descending leg of the armored walker. She heard her savior grunt with effort and watched the all-too-feminine muscles of her arms and back bulge. The green-haired girl also heard the protest of grinding gears and twisting metal as the Shakanar weapon of destruction began to give. Then suddenly, the leg tore away in a shower of sparks and flying metal.
For a moment, the walker weaved and tottered like a drunken giant, then fell backward with a crash that shook the earth. With ax now in hand, Akana's savior leaped once, somersaulted in mid-air, and landed on the armored monster's chest just as the crew compartment opened and the three Shakanar inside were reaching for their weapons.
They never got the chance to use them as Death descended on them with ax in hand. All Akana could see was the sudden cloud of crimson spray that obscured her vision as the terrible weapon descended once, then twice. A third blow was not needed as the surviving Shakanar officer was lifted out of her seat by a hand around her throat.
"You dare make war on my land, kill my subjects, and threaten my own family!" she screamed. The Shakanar officer never got to answer; Akana heard the red-armored officer's throat being crushed by the woman's left hand. It was only after the woman released the body and turned around that Aki knew the identity of her savior.
"Queen Hippolyta!" she stammered in awe.
Jumping down from the now-destroyed walker, Hippolyta asked, "Are you all right, girl?"
"I'm all right."
The worried Amazon queen looked around and asked, "Where is your brother?"
Akana told A-ko's grandmother all about her flight with her brother, and her plan to sacrifice herself to save him.
Hippolyta placed her hand on the young Cygnan's shoulder and told her, "You would make a fine Amazon, girl. You already have all the courage you'll ever need, and the love for your brother proves your worth as well!"
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Diana - daughter of Queen Hippolyta, wife, mother, and legend - fell for over two thousand feet. Tumbling end over end, she was oblivious to the world around her or the ground that now seemed to be rushing up to greet her.
One hundred feet above the rich brown earth, her death-plunge was suddenly halted by the strong yet gentle arms of her first-born daughter.
Landing softly on the ground, A-ko held her mother close to her. Worried, she used her X-ray vision to scan her mother for any injuries she might have received in the recent battle.
As she was lowered onto the ground, Diana now woke up as A-ko knelt beside her. Shaking her bead to stop the bells from ringing, she looked up at her child. "What happened?"
"You dodged one rocket, but the one you ducked slammed into another one right behind you. The blast knocked you out cold!"
"I thought I told you to stay with your brother and sister, and to stay out of this!"
"Thank God C-ko convinced me to do otherwise!" A-ko added. "You can punish me by paddling my bottom later."
Her mother smiled up at her and gently stroked her face with her hand. "You're too big to spank," she replied, slapping her daughter playfully across the face.
The big redhead laughed once before her mother screamed, "BABY! LOOK OUT!"
Instead of dodging, A-ko threw herself across her mother as a fast moving Shakanar fighter strafed them by shooting energy bolts directly into A-ko's back, slamming her forward into her mother.
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Hippolyta and Akana had reached the spot where the girl had hidden her brother. Both jumped down into the depression where Kir had been hiding.
Kir - sometimes known as Hikiri, and sometimes as Kir Azenath of the House of Napolipolita - was overjoyed to see his sister. The constant noise of the streaking attack crafts and gunfire had terrified the young boy.
The sight of his sissy Akana and the queen lady did much to alleviate his fears. In a moment, he was out of his hiding place and into his sister's eager arms.
"I did just like you told me! I hid and kept quiet, especially when the big ugly ladies came looking in their red metal skin!"
Realizing her baby brother was talking about the Shakanar storm troopers, Akana told him, "You did very well, little brother. Now - how about coming along with me and Queen Hippolyta?"
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"Your orders, General Philippus?" asked Aysha Napolipolita-Daitokuji, snapping to attention.
"Take your place in the battle line. A battalion of invaders is advancing, and it is here where we'll put a stop to them."
The island was once again being rocked by bombardment from the Shakanar heavy battle cruiser. Free from the interference of A-ko's father, Admiral Chitai now ordered the ship's heavy weapons to fire another volley upon the island below.
Diana helped her firstborn back to her feet, cringing at the sight of her child's blistered and bleeding back. Seeing the expression on her mother's face, A-ko laughed weakly to hide her pain from her mother.
"Times like this, I wish I had Pop's full invulnerability."
"I guess you can blame me, little one. You're only half Kryptonian, and will need to cook in the Sun a few more years before you're fully charged up. But I'm happy to say you're already starting to heal. Now get back to the Palace and have C-ko look after your wounds."
A-ko shook her head no. "Not now, not yet. I have to teach some Shakanar nutcases that here on Earth, payback's a real bitch!"
Without another word, she rocketed up into the sky and rejoined the battle. Diana was about to call her back down, but the words died in her throat as they were quickly replaced by an Amazon mother's pride in her oldest child's courage and her warrior heart.