Thirteen

Guardian Command

Area 51

Nevada, Earth

28 August 2017

General Hammond called a meeting for later in the morning to go over the upcoming mission. A message from the Val-kyrie had been waiting for him when he returned to the base late Sunday night. Now, it was time to plan the objectives for the mission.

Captain Majourny arrived early with Gabe Burns and four of the six Guardians. Princess Anyssa arrived next and took her place in line with the captain and scientist. The Guardians rounded out the other seats with only the head of the table and two chairs to the head's immediate left and two on the right side empty. Hammond was still in the adjoining room he used for an office. Cobretti, Colonel Markson and the Sorceress were conspicuously late. Rare for them, especially the Sorceress.

The group did not have to wait long. Voices drifted in from the entrance opposite from Hammond's office. As the group drew closer, they could make out the voices of their missing compatriots. They were in deep discussion about a movie, but no one could readily identify it.

"The rules changed," Colonel Markson was explaining as he entered the conference room. Adrian and the Sorceress were right behind. "In this business they always do."

The three took their seats as Hammond emerged from his office in the adjacent room.

Sorceress frowned. "But if you throw the hammer in an elevator-"

"It would still go up," Adrian finished.

The Sorceress shook her head. "The elevator is not worthy."

Taking his seat, Hammond asked, "Am I missing something? A new weapon you have discovered?"

"Oh, we had a Marvel movie marathon in the theatre over the weekend," the colonel explained. "Sent you a memo about it."

"This was my weekend to spend with the grandkids," Hammond nodded. "That would explain the rather terse message I received regadirng your takeover." He sighed. "I trust this won't become a habit?"

"No, sir. I'll be sure to invite you in plenty of time to join us next round," Markson replied with a grin.

"Anyway, we've received word from the Val-kyrie. It looks like the mission will be a go by the end of the week," the general informed the group. He gestured to Princess Anyssa to take over.

"A battlestar will be on station for a rendezvous some time in the next seven days. It will be the Defiant under to command of Commander Mundu," Anyssa began.

"We're going to have a battlestar as backup for this one?" Captain Majourny asked.

Anyssa nodded. "Unless you would rather take on an unknown amount of Horde warships in the Etherian system. Which is probably at least a battle group."

"You're certain of that?" Jo-jo asked, paling at the thought.

The princess shook her head. "No one knows for sure because anyone foolish enough to fly deep into the system never returns. Boss Nash might be able to give us some numbers on smaller ships, but Hordak tends to hide his capital ships until they are needed for a worthier target. However, by the time we arrive, a scout ship should have a better picture of what we will face. Or rather, what the battlestar will face."

Markson looked skeptical. "One battlestar against a battle group?"

Anyssa smiled. "In the hands of the right commander, a single battlestar is a battle group."

The holographic projector in the center of the table came to life. The gathering went through a who's who of the current rollcall of villainy on Etheria.

Hordak looked like something out of the old Dracula movies, only much more vicious. After the fall of He-man and She-ra, Hordak decided to take back rule of his empire from the creature calling itself Horde Prime. The battle was short. Hordak nearly died, but Horde Prime spared him at the last moment to use as an abject lesson to all that to oppose Horde Prime's rule was to court certain death. The four-armed, two-headed creature known as Modulok saved his master using advanced technology and science. As Hordak's chief scientist, Modulok had access to all sorts of resources that even the most technologically advanced civilizations could scarcely dream of. Hordak's broken body had been remade using nanites into a veritable living suit of armor on par with a Guardian's combat mode power armor form. Already possessing the ability to transform his body into many forms from rockets to arms cannons, Hordak's new nanite body had made him even more incredibly dangerous than before. Gone was the sometimes-buffoonish figurehead of the Horde forces on Etheria. In his place was a demon the likes of which even H. P. Lovecraft couldn't conceive of.

Shadow Weaver, formerly known as Light Spinner, was Hordak's resident witch. She was as powerful as any that walked the face of Eternia, more ruthless than even Evil-lyn would have dared to be. After her fall to darkness, Shadow Weaver had clothed herself in red robes that covered her from head to toe. The current image displayed in the projector showed her still clothed in red, eyes still glowing with magical energies, but wearing a more form-fitting robe of leather panels that flattered her figure; it also left the upper chest and neck bare and revealed a hint of her angular features. Most striking was the color of her skin; like dark grey ash. She now carried a black staff over six feet long capped with the characteristic blood red batwings; symbol of the Horde Empire. Nestled in the base of the wings where the head of the bat would be lay a ruby imbued with magical energies.

Others were covered in short order, though in less detail, from Scorpia with her deadly scorpion tail and pincers for hands. Catra, whom they were already familiar with. Octavia, Mantenna, Grizzlor and the currently known forms of Horde trooper robots.

The Fright Zone looked more frightening than any haunted house – real or made for Halloween – than anything on Earth. Just looking at it sent shivers down the spine. All black structures, the zone's central pile looked like a spider laying on its back. There was nothing comfortable or inviting about anything in the zone. It was as if all color had been leached away. What color did remain in the structures consisted of only one. Blood red.

Colonel Markson called it a blight on the face of Etheria in desperate need of removal.

"So," Jo-jo said after that part of the briefing concluded. "What is the objective?"

Hammond looked to the Sorceress seated to his immediate right. "Now that He-man and She-ra have been freed from the prison planet, they need to be restored to power," she answered.

"And how do we do that?" Brad asked.

"By recovering the source of that power." With a wave of her hand, the Sorceress changed the image in the holotank to that of two nearly identical, if plain-looking swords. One had an oval-shaped blue crystal set in the metal above the pommel. "The Sword of Power and the Sword of Protection."

"Which is which?" Jeromy inquired.

"The Sword of Protection is the one with the crystal."

Jake groaned. "Please, don't tell me this Hordak has them hanging in his throne room like trophies."

"Why, yes," Sorceress answered lightly, as if that was a forgone conclusion.

"I asked you not to tell me," Jake groused.

"What kind of defenses does this Fright Zone have?" Hammond asked, flipping through a few pages of the file in front of him.

"Nothing we can't handle as long we don't engage in any prolonged battles," Anyssa responded. "Hordak has overwhelming numbers of land, air and space forces. His one weakness is arrogance. King Hiss did not take the legend of the Guardians seriously. Hordak would not care either way. To him, the Guardians are simply one more obstacle in the path to galactic domination."

"Well, we'll just have to change that perception. King Hiss didn't take us seriously, either," Colonel Markson declared.

Adrian cleared his throat. "I'm all for teaching the Horde a lesson in our brand of warfare. However, Hordak has kept an iron grip on Etheria for a long time. He won't hesitate to bring out the heavy weapons we've only seen once before." He was referring to the battle on the planet in the neutral zone between the Horde Empire and Val-kyrie space. War Wing and Falcon had put up a good fight, but as powerful as the battlesuits were, even they could be defeated through overwhelming force. "I'm not in a hurry to repeat that battle no matter what support we have."

The colonel was reviewing the documents he had seen detailing the various tanks, missile carriers, mobile anti-aircraft guns, and a massive self-propelled cannon. Troopers and the three forms of the drone robots would act as protection and support for the heavy weapons. And then there was the hunter/killer machine designed for decimating enemy troops.

Much as Jonathan hated to admit it, Adrian did have a point. They didn't have the manpower go head-to-head with the Horde.

"So, you're saying we should do what we always do?" Markson said, carefully. Which meant making a general plan, go in, examine the situation and play it by ear after that. It had worked for them so far, but luck will only get one so far before it gets one dead.

Adrian nodded. "Hordak thinks he's invulnerable. We'll teach him otherwise."

Hammond turned to the Sorceress. "How important is recovering these swords?" While he had already decided to approve the mission, as the man responsible for the men and women under his command, he had to explore all options; including calling off the mission if it presented and unacceptable risk versus the reward of accomplishing the goal.

"Whether we go when the Val-kyrie are ready or wait for another time, the risk will be the same," she explained. "While freeing He-man, She-ra and their surviving allies from the prison planet was important, recovering the swords is critical to their restoration as a symbol for hope."

"So, it makes no difference when we go," Jo-jo said. "The risk will still be the same."

The Sorceress nodded.

"Then it's settled," Hammond said. "We go." He turned to Colonel Markson and Captain Majourny. "Wrap up whatever training programs you have going, get the vehicles, ordinance and whatever other supplies need to be replenished by no later than Wednesday. I have a feeling that by the weekend you will be launching." Both people nodded their assent. Hammond looked around and asked if there were any other questions. There were none, so he dismissed the group.

While Gabe did not have much to contribute to the meeting, his department did have a lot to contribute to the training. He would push his people to wrap up the familiarization and training program on the new assault carriers the Val-kyrie had giving the Guardian Force. Gabe would also see to it that Jake Rockwell was as familiar with the operations of the new war machine in the time allotted as was possible.

Hammond gestured for Adrian to remain a moment. After the room had cleared, he asked, "How is the training going with the Guardians?"

Adrian knew the man well enough to know he already knew the answer. "Fine. We had a few issues, but we helped fix any damage done."

Hammond chuckled. "The dock hands enjoyed the floor show, but the major in charge isn't pleased with the work stoppage. He appreciates that you help repair any accidental damage but wonders if you can't use other parts of the base for your after-hours training."

Adrian shook his head. "I thought about the administration areas to simulate close-quarters combat, but that is impractical. The three corridors connecting the R&D hangar with the starship hangar are the only ones that work. The cross corridors and maintenance rooms add to the realism I'm trying to go for."

"I'm guessing you have another session scheduled for tonight?"

Adrian nodded. "Thinking about sticking around?"

"I might just take in a show," Hammond mused. "However, I want it to be the last. When the balloon goes up, we will have to move quickly to get the Eternia and Ladyhawke launched."

"Understood."

Jo-jo had to hustle to catch up to the Sorceress as she walked back to the R&D hangar at a determined pace. "You've been ducking me at every opportunity ever since your big date," Jo-jo said, a little out of breath from having to practically run to get within earshot.

"Really?" Sorceress replied, innocently. "That doesn't sound like me."

Jo-jo sighed. Adrian and the others were proving to be a bad influence on her. "I know. So why are you avoiding me?"

"Maybe it's because of all this interest in my personal life?" Sorceress mused. "Or maybe it's because people are compensating for a lack of a personal life of their own."

That gave the captain a moment of pause, and she hurried to keep up. "From what I have heard this is the happiest anyone has seen you in over two years. While you can now return to Eternia any time you want, you continue to stay here with us. You deserve some happiness in your life."

The Sorceress kept up her relentless pace. "I'm flattered by the concern, but I'm a grown woman. I think I can decide for myself what makes me happy."

"Dammit! Slow down!" Jo-jo exploded. "Of all the people on this base, I could at least count on you to act your age."

The Sorceress abruptly came to a dead stop and rounded on the breathless woman. "Act my age?" she laughed. "There is no one on this planet even remotely close to my age!"

Captain Majourny waited for people passing by in the corridor to get out of range before she resumed the confrontation. "Well, the least you could do is stop acting childish."

Cracking a lopsided smile, Sorceress replied, "There's no point in being an adult if you can't be childish sometimes."

Jo-jo rolled her eyes. I knew letting her watch those old episodes of Doctor Who was a mistake. She's becoming as eccentric as the rest of us! "Will you at least tell me how it went?"

"You didn't ask General Hammond?"

"I did. He said the two of you forbade him to take any pictures."

"Did we? Can't imagine why."

"So, how did it go?" Jo-jo demanded. "After helping you pick out a suitable dress, you could at least tell me that much."

I guess I have annoyed her long enough, Sorceress sighed. "It went fine. We had a nice dinner not far from the hotel. Afterward, we returned to the hotel."

Jo-jo had a sinking feeling. "Please, don't say it."

"We bade each other good night and returned to our separate rooms," Sorceress continued. "Adrian was a perfect gentleman."

Jo-jo let out a strangled cry that briefly drew the attention of several people at the end of the corridor. "Separate rooms! No night cap? No private meeting after hours?"

Sorceress shook her head. "If we had, something might have happened."

"That was the point!" Jo-jo practically shouted.

"We know!"

Stunned, Jo-jo said, contritely, "You did?"

"Of course. Did you really think Adrian and I wouldn't figure out what you were up to? I told you I am old enough to decide for myself what level of happiness to enjoy. So is Adrian. After we voted Adrian to lead the Guardian team, complicating our friendship would be…inappropriate."

"I doubt anyone would complain. Both of you deserve some happiness."

Sorceress nodded in agreement. "But it will be on our own terms. And in our own time." She resumed walking toward the R&D hangar.

"Well, could you at least conjure up an image of you two dressed up?" Jo-jo resumed. "Inquiring minds want to know."

"And you complain that Colonel Markson has a one-track mind…" Sorceress grumbled.

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