Nine

Guardian Command

Area 51, Nevada

United States, Earth

14 August 2017

The conference room screen was split into two sections. The right side displayed a view of the Ladyhawke's flight deck. The left side showed the environment outside the starship, the view of the docking port receding as Adrian backed the starship out of the berth. He merged smoothly into the traffic being guided by port control either into berths or out of the docking hub. Minutes passed in silence as the station's computers went about guiding the traffic.

Finally, the exit loomed ahead. Ladyhawke soared out the large rectangular opening and into open space. Adrian maintained speed until they crossed the defense perimeter, then throttled up to maximum sublight speed. The outside view switched aft to show the rapidly receding space station. When the station had dwindled to a tiny point, the view snapped back forward, not that there was much to see except lots and lots of nothing.

"Sensors are picking up a lot of traffic around the system," Teelana reported. She frowned at her displace. "It looks like there is a small group moving parallel to our course."

"Confirmed," Miriam said. "They are slowly adjusting vectors. Now changing to an intercept course." The AI projected the trajectories of all the starships involved and the projected point of intersection.

Adrian nodded. "That's where it'll happen." The lighting lowered and turned blue; red used to be the preferred color until it was discovered that blue was easier on the eyes for combat conditions. Power transferred to weapons and defensive systems. "Power down the torpedoes and set plasma blasters to forty percent power."

Miriam was aghast. "At that power setting the best we can do is damage them unless you hit them in the right spot. Let me take them out. Scans show they can barely scratch my paint let along do any kind of serious damage to me."

"NO!" Adrian barked. "I don't want them to know what capabilities we have. They are coming out of the woodwork because we took out Cardas. If they find out how powerful this ship really is, we'll never be able to go anywhere without everyone wanting to make a name for themselves popping up and picking a fight with us. Now do as I tell you or I'll shut you down."

There was a long pregnant pause as the AI considered Adrian's explanation. Teelana's hand drifted to the emergency shutdown control for the computer's higher brain functions. Finally, Miriam answered, "Very well. I shall follow your orders."

Adrian sighed with relief.

"But you owe me a fight. A really good one."

"First chance we get," Adrian promised. "I find the Val-kyrie tech who thought a bloodthirsty AI was a smoking hot idea…"

Teelana said over her shoulder, "Fight now, complain to the front office later."

"Yes. Mommy," Adrian scoffed blithely. It was a good thing her sitting in front of him meant she couldn't see his grin.

Not that it mattered. "Wipe that smile off your face and get serious," she advised. "We're being hailed."

A rectangular block on the forward port side of the wraparound screen opened. A weasel-faced man who appeared to be having a permanent bad hair day stared out at them. "Fancy meeting you here, Cobra. You're made quite a name for yourself lately. What's the matter? Your reputation not enough for you as is?"

"I've already been over this with Lazar. Apparently I needed a better translator," Cobra growled.

"We don't work for Lazar," Weasel-face snapped.

"Then by all means, enlighten us as to whose rock you crawled out from under," Teelana said.

"While some would like to see you added to their stable of bounty hunters, there are those who see you as a threat. Boss Braxus, for instance."

"And he sees taking me out as a way to move up a level or two in the pecking order? Fat chance. He's number seven on the list for a reason."

"They are fanning out," Teelana said, quietly. "They're trying to surround us."

Cobra shook his head. "You've got nothing for us. Stick to your small-time scams. You don't have what it takes to run around with the big dogs."

Miriam reported, "They are powering up weapons. Simple laser blasters and rockets."

Ladyhawke continued course and speed with a slight trajectory adjustment, Cobra aiming for a close pass to Weasel-face's ship. As the starship passed within, the other craft opened fire, but their systems were not up to the task of tracking the Val-kyrie starship. All of the enemy ships were converted freighters of various sizes, with extensive modifications and repairs.

Cobra shot past the command ship in a flash. Throttling back the main engines, he used the banks of attitude thrusters mounted in groups of four nozzles around the nose to flip the ship over onto her back. While there was no designated up or down in space, it was still a strange sight to see the enemy freighter upside down. Physics took over as the Ladyhawke continued in the same direction it had been traveling while bringing her weapons to bear on target.

The horizontal bar under Cobra's left hand controlled the engine output, sliding it forward to increase thrust, pulling it back to reduce it. The thumb button on the inside engaged the boosters. Buttons under each curled finger controlled the offensive weapons. First and middle fingers snapped out bursts from the plasma blasters in whatever combinations the pilot chose. The default setting was for the first finger firing the inner blaster port and starboard blaster in tandem while the middle finger fired the outer weapons. The ring finger launched weapons from the starboard torpedo tube. And the pinky discharged the port side tube.

The middle display on Cobra's console lit with a targeting reticle. Using the right-hand joystick, he adjusted the ship's angle until the reticle settled on the enemy ship's engines. He squeezed off a quick two-second burst. Plasma bolts lanced along their backtrack and ripped viciously into the thrust nozzles. In seconds, the modified freighter was disabled.

The remaining five starships tried to maneuver to go after their prey, but their systems were no match for a starship designed for combat. Missiles chased after the speeding bounty hunter ship. Blue panels amidships on either side snapped open and launched counter missiles forward and away at a forty-five-degree angle. Incoming missiles were intercepted well short of their target.

Cobra finished the fight in under two minutes. Five modified freights drifted dead in space. Frantic calls to their home port for assistance went out unhindered. Ladyhawke had the capability to jam those calls for help, but Cobra did not want them to know about that capability, either.

The last freighter must have had an issue with its power distribution system. A terminal feedback tore through the ship seconds after the engines were destroyed, the energy surge hitting the main reactor, causing a fatal overload. Freighter and crew were vaporized in an instant.

Ladyhawke soared around in a leisurely turn and slowed to a halt in front of Weasel-face's ship. People could be seen through the bridge windows milling around in a frantic attempt to do something useful.

"Listen, Weasel-face, because I'm only going to say this once," Cobra demanded over an open channel. When no one on the other ship paid any attention, he dialed back the power on the blasters and snapped off a quick burst at the hull along their port side. All activity through the window ceased instantly. "Do I have your attention now?"

The comm window popped up on the wraparound display. "This isn't over, Cobra."

"You're in no position to dictate terms. I, on the other hand, am," Cobra snarled acidly. "Spread the word to your boss and anyone else looking to make a name for themselves. This is lesson number one. From here on out, lesson number two will be fatal for all comers." Cobra leaned toward the window knowing that the camera on his end had a tight shot of his face, and it was now filling the screen on the other side. "Tell them that if they want to stay a step ahead of me-" he pushed the eyepatch up to reveal the blind left eye and diagonal scar crossing it- "they need to keep both eyes open." Cobra broke the connection and brought the Ladyhawke up and over the stricken freighter, slamming the throttle forward, they blasted way.

The screen darkened as the record ended. The lights increased in intensity automatically. General Hammond let his gaze travel around the conference table, making eye contact with each person in turn. To his left were Colonel Markson, Captain Majourny and Gabriel Burns. On the right were the Sorceress, Adrian Cobretti and Princess Anyssa. Hammond still found it hard getting used to the fact that this young woman was the second in line for the throne of race of warrior women. Yet, she showed a maturity rarely seen in young adults.

He glanced down at the open file folder before him containing the reports submitted by Adrian and Anyssa. Composing his thoughts, Hammond looked at Cobretti. "Well, you certainly have a way with people."

Adrian shrugged absently. "What can I say?"

"You can start by assuring me that the colonel's bad habits are not rubbing off on you," Hammond said. A few chuckles issued around the table while the colonel in question tried to look offended.

"He hardly needs any pointers from the colonel with regards to making enemies," the Sorceress replied.

"That's right. "I'm quite capable of irritating people all on my own."

"Your report on the encounter with this Boss Lazar would seem to confirm that. Whether it is due more to you or the legend surrounding the bounty hunter you impersonated remains to be seen."

"Which is exactly why the new ship should be used sparingly," Adrian pointed out. "If we use it too much and word gets out that the bounty hunter has been seen in places where he normally shouldn't be, it'll limit what I can do when the hunter is required."

Sorceress nodded in agreement. "It would make it harder to travel about if the starship were seen too often."

Evidently, Colonel Markson had been arguing in favor of using the replacement starship in situations other than continuing the ruse that the bounty hunter known as Cobra was still very much alive and on the prowl. Flying around with a figurative bull's eye painted on the hull was no way to operate.

"Eventually, people are going to get wise to what's going on," the colonel pointed out.

"Yes," Adrian agreed. "And when that happens, I'd like to be ready to take down a boss or two at the end of it."

"Oh," Markson replied. "Looking to add a few notches to the pistol butt, are we?"

"Well, since I don't carry a lipstick case…" Sorceress answered with a smile, a reference to a famous Pat Benatar song.

Markson grumbled something about creating a monster. Most Earth references went over the woman's head, but lately she had shown a remarkable knowledge of things to fight back with. With surprising results.

"What?" Sorceress asked, suddenly uncertain. "Did I get it wrong?"

"Oh, no," Jo-jo answered, grinning "You got it right. Unexpected, but right."

"We'll table the discussion on the new starship for now," General Hammond said, getting the conference back on track before it really went off the rails. "With He-man and the surviving Masters liberated from the penal planet-"

"Unwillingly, it would seem," the colonel grumbled.

"-we need to plan our next operation," Hammond finished, ignoring the colonel.

"Our course of action is clear. In order to return He-man and She-ra to prominence as the symbols of hope in the galaxy, we have to return their power to them," Sorceress replied.

Hammond nodded. "How do we do that?"

"We must recover the Sword of Power and Sword of Protection."

Adrian asked, "Magic swords?" Sorceress nodded. "Cool, he grinned.

"I don't suppose these swords are in a convenient hiding place that can be accessed without getting into a fight?" Colonel Markson asked. His sardonic tone indicated that he was not expecting a simple solution.

"Of course not. After the Masters were captured on Eternia and shipped off to Hel, the swords were taken to another place as trophies," Sorceress explained. She unconsciously adopted a motherly teaching tone of voice that often reminded people of a specific teacher they once had. "The swords can be recovered, but it will be difficult."

Colonel Markson sometimes acted clueless on occasion, but he was in reality a lot brighter than he let on. "And since Adrian asked Boss Nash for intel on Etheria, I'm guessing someone on that planet is a collector."

"Etheria," Gabe mused, racking his brain for something he should remember. "Isn't that the domain of…"

"Yup," Adrian answered.

"No!" Gabe hissed, a look of horror slowly crossed his features.

Jo-jo shook her head. "Dhalon's going to love this." Their representative from the Quaedian race been sulking because he never got to kill anything during the brief Val-kyrie civil unrest. It couldn't quite be called a war because no wide scale shooting took place.

"Yup!" Adrian said, disgustingly cheerful.

Realization finally dawned on Markson. "Are you saying that Hordak is in possession of these swords?" Sorceress nodded. The colonel sat back heavily in his chair. "Oh, that's just great. If he's even half as bad as the stories we've heard indicate, he won't part with them willingly."

Grinning, Adrian declared, "All the better."

The colonel's eyes shifted from Adrian to the Sorceress and back again. Clearly, he was trying to decide who was worse.

General Hammond looked down the table at Princess Anyssa. "I realize there hasn't been enough time yet, but are your people preparing to send a recon ship to Etheria?"

Anyssa nodded. "One should be leaving in the next day or so. We have operatives hiding out on various Horde-controlled planets to keep tabs on what they are doing. Hordak's dominion is the hardest to infiltrate without incurring great peril." She shifted her gaze to Colonel Markson. "Although I have not been on your world for very long, I know enough to say that Hordak makes the vilest despots and rulers from your history look like amateurs in comparison."

Gabe frowned. "Which ones?"

"All of them."

The effect was like a bucket of ice water to the face.

Hammond turned to the Sorceress. "Is there any other way to get to these swords?"

Sorceress shook her head. "We will have to go there and take them back."

"By force?"

"Regrettably, there is no other way. Hordak will fight to keep us from restoring He-man and She-ra to power."

Markson shrugged absently. "We beat King Hiss. How hard can Hordak be?"

Sorceress fixed him with an icy stare. "Do not let arrogance cloud your judgment, colonel. King Hiss cares nothing for anything beyond his realm. The Snakemen once ruled Eternia, but that time has passed. Hordak formed the Horde long before Horde Prime came along to claim it and use it to continue what Hordak began. He is a formidable adversary."

The tension in the room ratcheted upwards as the contest of wills ensued. Before the first mission undertaken to retrieve the Guardian battlesuits, Markson and the Sorceress butted heads on more than one occasion. While she a seemingly bottomless well of patience and understanding, Colonel Markson had a way about him that would turn Buddha into an irrational chain-smoker. They had patched things up as they got to know each other, but there were still times when the colonel appeared unduly reckless.

"I never take my adversaries for granted. If you have learned anything during our missions, you know this. I won't spend the lives of my troops needlessly in pointless battles. If you say these swords are important, we'll get them back. By whatever means necessary," Markson said, meeting the woman's gaze unflinchingly.

Sorceress softened her gaze. "Yes, I have noticed your people are rather unorthodox in their approach to fighting a superior enemy. That is why I believe that we will succeed where others have failed."

General Hammond stepped in. "We know where our next mission will take us. Colonel Markson, I want you to make all your people proficient in the use of the Shrike APCs. Develop a basic operational plan that will be modified as more intelligence comes in. Sorceress, if you would please provide a map of Etheria's landmarks? The Val-kyrie agents can refine it further later." Sorceress nodded in agreement. "Captain Majourny. The Eternia will likely see the most action to date, so make sure you have all departments up to speed as quickly as possible. I figure we'll have about two weeks at the outside before the balloon goes up. Any questions? Very well. I need to speak to Captain Majourny, Guardian Cobretti and the Sorceress. The rest of you are dismissed."

Colonel Markson considered saying something regarding being kept after class, but thought better of it. He reluctantly followed Anyssa and Gabe out of the room.

"You're just dying to crack the whip, aren't you?" he asked Jo-jo.

"No more than you," Jo-jo replied.

Once the door was closed, Hammond turned to his smaller audience. "A new development as arisen in our absence. It seems that the World President is putting together a committee to address the continued use and disposition of the Guardian battlesuits."

"What? Again?" Jo-jo scoffed. "Didn't he learn his lesson after that stunt he tried when we succeeded in recovering the suits?"

"Apparently not," Adrian said. "So, I guess you are being called on the carpet for this committee?"

Hammond shook his head. "No. You are."

"Say what?"

"President Alexander feels it would be best if the commander of the six Guardians spoke on their behalf. Who better to address who and what the AIs are than one who operates with them?" Hammond explained. "You can certainly do a better job of it than I could ever hope to do."

Adrian looked at the Sorceress. "I blame you for this."

Sorceress sighed. "I told you that nominating you to lead the six of us was Jake's idea. I did not put him up to it."

"Even though you thought it was a good idea."

"Of course," Sorceress said, carefully. "He just beat me to it."

Sighing, Adrian said, "I presume I have no choice in this?"

"Of course, you do, son," Hammons replied. "You always have a choice."

"It's just not one I necessarily like," Adrian finished for him. He had said that very thing to others often enough to know it by heart.

Jo-jo pointed out, "Look at this as an opportunity to present your side of the argument that the suits be left as is. Great Britain and Germany are on board with us as how they will be used. You can show the committee and the world's leader why they must remain where they are and employed as they are."

"Putin would love to get his hands on Hawk. He hasn't been subtle about wanting Sonya to return with the suit for study," Adrian reminded them.

"Then put the fear of the Guardians into them," Hammond said. "Show them why the AIs should be left alone and operating as a part of this command."

"And I do that how?"

"Be dramatic," Hammond said.

"Be daring," Sorceress suggested.

"Use force," Jo-jo proposed.

Adrian dared to ask, "If I take War Wing with me, can I shoot any of them?"

"No," the general said firmly.

"Um, what exactly is my part in this? I trust I am not delivering Adrian to New York on the Eternia," the captain said.

Hammond shook his head. "Since Adrian and the Sorceress work well together, I feel she should accompany me and Adrian to New York. I would like you to help the Sorceress with a conservative look so that no one will readily recognize her from the days after the Eternia was brought to Earth."

Jo-jo's eye lit up at the thought. The Sorceress opened her mouth to protest, but the captain waved her off. "Don't worry. I'll be gentle. And while we're at it, we'll pick something out for your big date," she grinned.

Both Adrian and the Sorceress groaned. They had wanted this to be a low-key affair, but it was increasingly clear that was not going to happen. One part of her looked forward to the dinner date she and Adrian had arranged before setting out on the mission to the penal planet. Another part dreaded a shopping trip with an exuberant Jo-jo Majourny.

I wonder if it's too late to fake some sort of illness, she thought. Already knowing the answer.

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