Twenty
Starship Eternia
Planet Etheria
4 September 2017
Adrian and the Sorceress met in the galley used almost exclusively by the platoons just before local dawn. Delta and Beta Platoons were serving as the security force for Castle Brightmoon. That left Alpha and Charlie to keep the landing area secure. Colonel Markson had taken a small staff with him in an APC and headed out to the observation area somewhere southeast of the planetary cannon. There weren't many people in the galley, as both platoons were involved in their duties aboard ship.
Charlie continued to act as the security force for the landing site while the remains of Alpha prepped weapons and equipment for the coming battles with the Horde. No one had any doubts about Hordak eventually throwing something at them in response to returning Queen Angella to the throne of Castle Brightmoon.
No one knew that Beta had spirited Castaspella out of her prison cell in Mystacor, as yet. No doubt that news would be kept very quiet what with her cousin impersonating her on the throne. Castaspella was currently in Brightmoon with He-man and She-ra. Colonel Markson felt that was the best place for the group until he figured out his next course of action. The planetary cannon had to be neutralized. Once that was accomplished, the options opened up dramatically with a Val-kyrie and its air wing to back up his forces.
The Sorceress joined her friends at a table at the back end of the room where Adrian, the other Guardians, Dhalon, Anyssa, Corporal Frost and his fill-in spotter, Marin were all eating. She had her usual cup of tea, while the others had a hardy breakfast of something that passed for food. While Army and Marine dining facilities usually left something to be desired, the Eternia's menu seemed to have been lifted from Air Force dining halls. Even so, one had to wonder who had been brought in to prepare to food on some missions. Today was not terribly bad.
Frost took one look at what the sorceress was having, and advised," You may want to grab yourself a tray. It's likely to be a long day."
"You never knew when you'll get a chance to eat next," Adrian added.
"Or if," Frost added. He yelped suddenly, fork skittering away.
Anyssa, sitting across from him, had kicked the corporal in the shin. Hard. The other diners didn't try to stifle snickers as the Frost tried to retrieve his utensil and rub his wounded leg at the same time.
"I warned you that you should think about wearing the shin armor, if you keep making comments like that," Adrian remined him.
"Jinx a mission and you'll be taking your meals in his quarters," Dhalon growled.
While no one present was a superstitious lot, it did not do well to antagonize the Fates, who had left the ship and crew alone to this point in the mission.
Yielding to the logic of her companions, the Sorceress got up and went in search of something reasonably appetizing.
After nearly an hour of lollygagging, Adrian and the Sorceress could delay no longer. Colonel Markson would soon be on station. The Defiant would soon be dropping out of hyperspace to begin its mission to destroy Hordak's fleet. Adrian suspected that Commander Mundu had a secondary objective for that part of the overall operation. Anyssa claimed to have no knowledge about anything unusual about the Horde fleet in the Etherian system. But then she wasn't privy to her people's latest intelligence on Horde activities.
Well wishes were exchanged, among other pleasantries. Adrian gave final instructions to his Guardians… what a concept. Him leading a group of people operating the most technologically advanced weapon systems in the universe. Adrian still wasn't used to it. Or comfortable with it. Nevertheless, he told Jake to take charge of the group and coordinate a defense of Castle Brightmoon with Beta and Delta Platoons. While Adrian had nothing definitive, he had a feeling that Hordak was going to strike back after he and the Sorceress took down the planetary cannon. Any warship in orbit should have taken note of the groups of people beginning to flock to the castle. Evidently, word had gotten out via the villagers that had already been relocated to Brightmoon.
The kingdom of Brightmoon would be the perfect place to make a statement.
Captain Majourny was watching the departure of the Ladyhawke from her cabin. She and her crew had nothing to do at the moment, but Jo-jo knew that her ship and crew would be needed before the mission to Etheria was over.
The view on the monitor switched to an external view. Adrian and the Sorceress waved to the soldiers on duty as they made their way to the partially concealed Ladyhawke. The forward cargo hold opened, the loading platform lowering to the ground. Jo-jo zoomed in the image and took note of the six-pointed star medallions, mounted with gemstones in the center, pulsing with a life of their own as they hung from heavy silver chains around their necks. Jo-jo nodded to herself. It made sense that the pair would take their respective battlesuits along. Adrian really was starting to think tactically.
While he might rail against being the duly designated leader of the six Guardians, as voted by said Guardians, Adrian really did have a natural ability to lead them. With the help of the Sorceress, maybe he would come to realize it, in time.
Minutes after the pair entered the ship, the drives powered up, lifting it off the ground. The dorsal cloak dissolved, but the MASC system kept the ship from registering on sensors. In moments, the warship was gone, and the waiting began again.
Thirty minutes after the Ladyhawke's departure, the computer chimed. Frowning Jo-jo touched a key to accept the incoming notice. A file opened on the screen. She read through it, curious. Her features turned from incredulous, to shock, surprise, and settled on anger. It was the complete operational plan Adrian and the Ladyhawke's AI, Mirriam, devised for the attack run on the planetary cannon. What she read was definitely not the battleplan that Adrian had first presented.
Jo-jo jumped out her chair, slammed a fist on the comm console, and grabbed for her uniform jacket. "Majourny to bridge."
"Bridge, Lieutenant Denton."
"Contact the Ladyhawke. Call them back."
"We can't. Ladyhawke went radio silent the moment she lifted."
"Then get Hohiro's people back on board and get ready to take off. Once we're up, head due south."
"What's wrong?"
"I'll tell you let. Just get us in the air. Now!" And prey we arrive in time.
Eternia lifted off within three minutes of Jo-jo's order, after letting Jake Rockwell and the other Guardians off to follow Adrian's instructions to protect Castle Brightmoon. The starship roared off to the south, on course for a rendezvous point south of a mountain on the southern coast of the Fright Zone known on the map as Horror Hall.
Fright Zone
"She was here," Shadow Weaver hissed.
She and her liege were reviewing the report from the planetary cannon control bunker. Four troopers terminated. The bunker control officer stunned unconscious. No obvious signs of intrusion into the computer systems. A deeper analysis was underway, but the witch knew there would be nothing to find.
"Who?" Hordak rumbled.
"The Sorceress. She either led the penetration into the bunker or was a part to the group who did."
Hordak frowned. "They did not cross the surface of the wasteland from the border of the Fright Zone to the cannon. How could they have achieved it? They didn't use a magic portal."
Shadow agreed. While Hordak's sensitivity to the proximity and power of creatures of magic had apparently diminished somewhat with his nanotech upgrades, even he would have still felt the Sorceress' use of magic. Shadow Weaver did have a momentary sense of something powerful on two occasions the night before.
Mantenna, another of Hordak's loyal lieutenants spoke up. "What about the caverns? They are extensive in that area."
Modulok scoffed at the mere idea of such a possibility. "Impossible. If someone doesn't get hopelessly lost in those caverns, my creations will take care of anyone foolish enough to get close to the exits in our territory."
As if the Fates had heard him, another report flashed across his computer terminal. He scanned the brief report quickly and scowled.
"What is it, Modulok?" Hordak demanded.
Mollified, Modulok said, "Mantenna may be right. A patrol just found one of my creations terminated and stuffed into a crevasse. It appeared to have been crushed by some terrific force."
"All right. So, a small group penetrated our territory, and somehow made it and from the planetary cannon control bunker undetected," Hordak said. "Why? There has to be a reason for the intrusion."
"If it was sabotage, my technicians would have found it by now," Modulok stated. "They could find no intrusion in the computer banks, either."
"If these battlesuits are as advanced as we have heard, would they be so foolish as to leave any evidence of an intrusion?" Shadow Weaver countered.
A trooper turned from its monitor station. "My Lord," Deep space sensors report a hyperspace disturbance. An unidentified spacecraft has just entered the Etherian solar system. One of the frigates in orbit is breaking off from the search for the intruder starship to investigate."
Hordak waited impatiently for the update on the identity of the invading starship. No one in their right mind would dare approach the planet because of the cannon. Even the formidable Val-kyrie respected the cannon's power because it was capable of disabling or destroying their fearsome battlestars with one shot. There was a reason for the intrusion. And it had everything to do with the planetary cannon, But what?
Two reports came in simultaneously. Hordak left the command and control chamber and entered the throne room. Mounting the steps of the tower dais, he sat down on the stone throne. Hordak demanded a report on what was happening.
"The intruder starship has been identified. Val-kyrie battlestar. Transponder ID code lists it as the Defiant. Mundu commanding," the trooper responsible for outer space tracking reported.
The robot monitoring planetary activity chimed in. "Orbiting frigate reports picking up light reflections of an object traveling at a high rate of speed traveling east to west across the continent."
"Have the sensors identified this new contact?" Hordak said, starting to assemble the pieces to the puzzle in his mind.
"No, sire. Sensors are unable to lock onto the target ship."
"A sensor cloak," Modulok said, impressed. Only the Val-kyrie had that kind of technology.
"Get me a visual of the intruder craft," Hordak ordered.
Within moments, a rectangular holographic field materialized in the air before the ruler of the Fright Zone, the image transmitted from the orbiting frigate. The picture zoomed in several times to get a better look at the speeding object. Unfortunately, the best they could get was a general shape of the craft. Extrapolations based on the size of surface objects placed the length of the craft at about one hundred meters. It was hurdling through the air at just over the speed of sound at an approximate altitude between one to two thousand feet. The heading put it on a direct course for the planetary cannon.
Meanwhile, the battlestar appeared to be heading out system in the general direction of the orbit of the sixth planet. It was not heading for Etheria despite exiting hyperspace within easy strike range for the ship's fighter wings.
"The game's afoot," Hordak murmured.
The holo-display pulled back to show a vast section of the planet's surface. Two flashing white lights, one moving and one stationary, indicated the position of the craft in relation to the planetary cannon.
"No way can they destroy my cannon," Modulok scoffed. He, Shadow Weaver and Mantenna had left the command and control chamber to observe events on the overhead display in the throne room. "Mundu doesn't dare come close to planet for fear of getting hit by the cannon. Battlestars cannot enter the atmosphere, anyway, they can't get a viable attack angle. And she would have to commit a large portion of her air wing to make attack runs against it. Since Bladewings only mount external weapons for space combat, this makes no sense."
"It makes perfect sense," Hordak countered. "Evidently our Val-kyrie friends have a new weapon they have been itching to field. One they hope has the firepower to destroy your cannon. Now the penetration of the control bunker makes sense. They copied data on the cannon and found something that they can use. And now they are making a run at the weapon in an attempt to destroy it." Hordak jabbed a button on the right-hand arm of his throne with a nano-shod finger. "Get the bat mechs in the air," he ordered. "The frigate can vector them in to the target."
Even as the trooper moved to execute the order, the robot pointed out, "My Lord, sensors can not lock onto the target."
"I know that, moron! Instruct the pilots to set their missiles for proximity detonations. In fact, pass the order to all anti-aircraft batteries along the craft's flight path. We will use proximity bursts to force that ship up into the firing arc and vaporize it with the planetary cannon."
The crew of that craft would need a stable flightpath in the run up the cannon. Hordak intended to deny it to them and annihilate them with the very weapon they sought to destroy. While the attempt was brave, it was foolish and doomed to failure. Hordak saw no real threat, no matter what information the intruders had uncovered.
Starship Ladyhawke
The starship lifted into the sky, shedding the visual cloak like a majestic bird taking wing. The ship's MASC – Multi-spectrum Active Sensor Cloak - would be sufficient for this op. The weapon systems could not be used with the visual cloak engaged, anyway. Despite the power cost being offset by the vacuum energy generator, there was interference in the power distribution system inherent in the design that prevented firing weapons while cloaked.
It didn't matter. Horde sensor systems would be blinded by the MASC system forcing them to rely on visual sensors. Anything fired at the starship would have to be missiles and flak shells set for proximity burst. The ablative armor would be more than a match for anything that impacted the hull. It was the planetary cannon what was of greatest concern.
Val-kyrie starships were fitted with a layered defensive shell. The outer layer was a force shield called a force wall. The second layer was a targeted shielding system called a pinpoint barrier that formed a hardened energy barrier on any part of the hull wherever it was needed to block a missile, torpedo, or energy weapon strike. The final layer was the hull itself, with the skin of ablative armor. This system allowed Val-kyrie starships to remain in the fight longer than those of other races. In past battles, it made the difference between victory and defeat.
Adrian and the Sorceress were counting on this defensive system to help them survive the attack run on the cannon. If it didn't, well, they would at least live up to the Val-kyrie warrior ideals. Live fast, fight hard, and go out in a blaze of glory. While going out in blaze of glory was not in the plan, seeing the cannon go that way was.
On the left side of the panoramic flight deck display screen, a map of the Etherian continent was projected. A glowing green dot southwest of their flight path indicated Colonel Markson's position. He had taken an APC with minimal crew to a location about one hundred miles away from the planetary cannon to observe the attack run and record the event to that their Val-kyrie allies could evaluate and develop their own attack plans for future battles involving destruction of such a weapon.
Etheria was hardly the only Horde planet protected by such a beast.
"So far, the Horde hasn't reacted," Sorceress reported, keeping one eye on the sensor display on her left-hand console and the other on the range to target.
"If there is still a warship in orbit, that's where the warning will come from."
Another green icon appeared on the map, but Adrian didn't have time to contemplate it. A spatter of red dots began popping up like a rash in direct line of their flight path. Mirriam reported multiple missile launches a moment later.
At his order, the blue panels amidships on both sides snapped open. Missiles roared out of the launch racks and streaked away at forty-five degrees angles from the starship. The tracking computer guided the lethal weapons until they flew within range, where the weapon's own onboard computer took over. Missiles collided in a spectacular chain of explosions across the sky miles ahead of the onrushing starship.
More missiles streaked in from behind, homing in on the cones of flame pouring from the exhaust nozzles of the ship's powerful engines. Dorsal and ventral ejectors kicked out a chain of flares. There was always a chance that heat-seeking missiles won't be fooled by flares. On Earth, countries were working on improving missile computers to discriminate between a brightly burning flare and the heat radiation of an aircraft's engine.
Horde technology, while very advanced, tended toward the cheap and easy to mass produce side of the spectrum. Even so, some models of Horde missiles did have a nasty habit of ignoring flares and homing in on the primary target. But on this day, the Horde was no so fortunate. All the heat-seekers fired at the Ladyhawke exploded on contact with the waves of ejected flares burning hotter than the starship's engines. Evidently, the Horde had figured out that the only possible way to get a shot at the starship was by using visual sensors and remotely guiding the weapons to the target, or fire of salvos of heat-seeking missiles and hope for a lucky strike.
After the failure of the initial wave of missiles to hit home, Hordak change tactics. Mirriam reported bat mech launches from the heart of the Fright Zone. While the flight of twenty-four fighters maneuvered into position to the north and south for an attack run, any and all anti-aircraft battery and artillery emplacement, mobile and otherwise, began filling the air with an incredible amount of flak bursts and shells programmed to detonate at a specific height rather than on contact with the ground.
Normally, Adrian could simply change altitude and take evasive maneuvers to avoid the enemy fire. However, just like the bombing raids of Earth's World War Two, Adrian had to streak in on a specific course and at a specific altitude in order to strike at the thick armor belt protecting the massive base of the cannon, where the enormous mount and the conduits that fed the weapon its power were housed.
Despite the inertial dampers, dialed up to the maximum setting, the ride soon became very bumping. Both Adrian and the Sorceress were regretting having had even a small breakfast, and thankful they did have strong stomachs. For the moment. Unfortunately, they were still well outside the maximum range of the starship's weapons, and they had to get inside the maximum effective range before unleashing the compact warship's deadly firepower. Exploding missiles from the airborne fighters were quickly added to the clouds of lethal shrapnel filling the skies.
A graphic opened up on the wall display on the starboard side, forward, where both could easily keep an eye on it. It was a horizontal wire drawing of the planetary cannon and the lowest possible depression it was capable of achieving. A red cone indicated the danger zone Adrian had to avoid at all costs or the horde could fire that monster cannon at them.
"The explosions are forcing us off course," Mirriam reported. Was that a touch of concern Adrian heard in the AI's voice? "The Horde is trying to push us up into the cannon's firing arc."
"As expected," Adrian muttered. He was finding increasing hard to stay on course. It was rapidly becoming impossible to the required altitude. "Time to max range?" he called out.
"Two minutes," Sorceress replied calmly, though she was anything but inside. While the attack run was unfolding as Adrian and Mirriam had predicted, it was still unnerving being in the thick of it where absolutely anything could go wrong, ending in disaster.
Two long minutes and another minute after that to reach max effective range. At the rate the starship was being forced upward, they would be within the danger zone long before Adrian could unleash the Ladyhawke's formidable weaponry.
Then, Mirriam reported the news Adrian did not want to hear. A pronouncement that turned his blood into ice water. "Detecting power buildup in the target. They are energizing the cannon. We are thirty seconds from the danger zone!"
It was a good thing Adrian and the Sorceress were strapped into their seats as the ride got even rougher. Incredible that was even possible considering the firepower already being thrown at them. Adrian was finding it impossible to maintain any altitude for more than a few seconds. The next wave of impacts struck the armored hull. None of the explosions and shrapnel slamming into the ship could do more than maybe scratch the paint, but the assault was having the desired effect of shoving the starship higher. If the racket reverberating inside the hollow spaces of the starship were any indication, the noise outside made a heavy thunderstorm seem like an insignificant outburst in comparison. People and AI had to practically shout to be heard despite the noise dampening insulation.
The Sorceress' left hand hovered over a particular control on her left-hand console. "Now?"
"Wait for it," Adrian advised through clenched teeth.
"Energy spike!" Mirriam reported. "They are preparing to fire!"
A small display window popped up in the air above Adrian's forward console. It was a countdown to discharge of the planetary cannon. The numbers had been steadily falling in Adrian's mind, but the counter caused a reset when it showed he had been off by more than ten seconds. Hardly surprising when one considered that no one had even attempted something as insane as an attack run against the weapon protected by an array three times more powerful than that which had protected Hanoi during the Vietnam War and Bagdad during Desert Storm – combined!
The numbers dropped below fifteen seconds as alarms screamed for attention. Ladyhawke had crossed into the cannon's firing arc.
When the counter ticked under five seconds, Adrian screamed, "NOW!"
One hundred miles south and east of the massive cannon, Colonel Markson and his small troop watched the attack run in the APC's computer center. Small drones had been deployed to observe the attack from different angles, heights and locations to gather as much information as possible.
Markson had always marveled at the beauty of explosions when seen from a distance. That fascination only increased when the MythBusters starting using high-speed cameras to record their explosive experiments.
Bat mechs and missiles swarmed through the skies as they sought to knock down the starship streaking through the air at just above Mach 1. Black puffs like cotton candy filled the air from flak bursts in further attempts to disable or kill the attacking starship. Echoes of the cacophony reached the APC and even penetrated the armored hull. If it was loud enough to reach them in such an enclosed space, the colonel didn't even want to guess how deafening it would be anywhere near the Ladyhawke.
Sensors registered the energy buildup in the cannon and they knew the Horde was getting ready to fire. The objective of the Horde defense had suddenly become crystal clear. And there was absolutely nothing the colonel could do about except watch and pray.
Suddenly, the screens whited out. Thunder rolled across the landscape moments later. To the occupants of the APC it sounded like an avalanche of boulders pouring down on them pounding on the hull and their eardrums. Mercifully, it only lasted around five seconds. The images gradually came back including the drones. Colonel Markson blinked away tears that formed as a result of the discharge and stared at the primary screen. Despite scrutinizing the real-time image for almost a full minute, the conclusion was clear.
Ladyhawke was gone.
In the throne room deep in the heart of the Fright Zone, a satisfied Hordak leaned back. A slight smirk was as close to a display of emotion as he would ever come. His minions stared at the holographic image showing clear skies where shortly before had been the chaotic and frantic assault to stop the starship roaring in their direction in an obvious effort to take out the one weapon the Val-kyrie both feared and respected. Repeated sensor sweeps yielded the same result every time. There was no sign of the attacking starship. As far as the troopers in the command center could tell, it had been vaporized in the cannon's discharge.
"So much for the element of chance," Hordak said to himself. He dismissed the failed attack and immediately turned his thoughts to the battlestar that had dared to invade his domain.
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