Twenty-four
Castle Mystacor
Planet Etheria
4-5 September 2017
Colonel Markson reviewed the after-action reports for the tenth time. He sighed, dropped the data pad and pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. Every time he closed his eyes, Jon saw the fifteen-foot battlesuit turning around, optical ports in the head a bloody red color and thought this was the moment he was going to die. The callsign 'berserker' radiated across the tactical net. Captain Takamora and Gunny Sergeant could be heard over the net ordering anyone in sight of War Wing to lower their weapons.
"Lower your weapon or you'll kill us all!" Apone was heard snarling at a young kid petrified with fear at the sight of the towering suit stalking toward them.
Then Falcon executed a power leap and came down in front War Wing. The suits clasped hands, fingers interlaced, and the contest of wills began. Etherium alloy creaked and groaned from the evenly matched suits testing their strength on one another. The real battle was going on inside the operator's compartments.
While the spectators couldn't see it, the colonel and his officers knew about the backdoor that had been built into the AI subsystems in order to shut down a suit gone rogue. It had been deemed essential that the Sorceress and Falcon be the ones to perform the shutdown of suit and operator. While she was not immune to the temptation to abuse the abilities of the powerful battlesuit, she was the best equipped to resist the temptation by virtue of the years spent in Castle Grayskull surrounded by the knowledge and power stored within.
Just when the colonel thought he would have to go through with a futile attack on a Guardian, War Wing suddenly straightened up and powered down. Falcon stepped several paces back, ready to renew the fight. It was over. Wing was shut down.
The hush that had fallen like a shroud over the battlefield was slowly filled with the activity of recovery. The Eternia swooped in after abandoning the chase after the lone Monstroid to survive the fight and prepared to pick up the Guardians and dropships.
A hoist system had been designed for lifting a battlesuit up into the drop bay in the event one had run too low on power and needed recovery. It was used now to lift the deactivated War Wing up into the bay through the Number Two drop bay. Falcon follow suit, walking in halting, jerky movements. The AI was in sole control of movement. Although it took longer than it would have with the Sorceress at the helm, Falcon boosted herself up through the open drop bay doors, make an awkward landing on the deck and moved into position next to War Wing.
One by one, the dropships moved into position as Ace took the starship up to a height of one thousand feet and rose up into their assigned bay. The process was the reverse of releasing the ships on a combat drop. Lifting struts locked into contact points. Powerful hydraulic systems easily brought the ships up into the bay. Sensors automatically tripped when all the dropships had been safely lifted into the bay and closed the inner and outer doors.
Colonel Markson brought his command back on board through the aft loading ramp once the starship had settled to the ground on its landing struts. He didn't understand the sudden commotion once the medic got the Sorceress out of Falcon. All he knew was that a brief examination with a portable medical scanner sent Doctor Emilio Carter, the ship's chief surgeon, into a frenzy. He sent a nurse on ahead to clear the way for the gurney bearing the Sorceress to sick bay.
Hours later, Colonel Markson and Captain Majourny were in the conference room piecing together the status of ship and crew. The news was not good. But, then, it could have been a whole lot worse.
One APC had been knocked out, but the crew had escaped unscathed. Commander Mundu had sent out a recovery team to retrieve the carrier and drop off a replacement. The transport would also pick up her pilots shot down in the process of knocking out Hordak's mobile cannons. All of them had suffered only minor injuries mainly from parachuting into the surrounding forest.
Almost an entire platoon was out of action. Thirteen people had been killed in action. Another fifteen were wounded. Two were in critical condition with one of those not expected to survive the night.
The colonel still had an effective battle force. What he had in mind next would require more stealth and sneaking around. Jon preferred a straight fight to sneaking around, but the next mission they had in mind did not involve fighting. He hoped.
What he had in mind went against their standing orders to not interfere with local politics, but Jon was considering just that. He would use Charlie Platoon and Hawke because they had already been inside Castle Mystacor. He wanted to have the Sorceress along; however, there was still no word from Doctor Carter on her condition. Until there was, all the colonel could do was put together a tentative plan for the moment.
"What a fuster cluck," the colonel sighed, dropping the pad back on the table after picking it up again for the third time.
"Please," Jo-jo begged him. "Go easy on my virgin ears."
"Yeah, I'm going to believe that. Not."
"Jon, the damage could have been a lot worse, but it wasn't. Yes, we are down two Guardians. Until we hear from the Sorceress, we have no idea how well the safety measure worked."
"I wasn't supposed to harm anyone," Jon protested.
The duty officer on the bridge called with a request from Commander Mundu. Jo-jo told the officer to put it through.
The conference table had a holo-projector dome built into its center. In addition, each of the people – ten total – seated around the table had a smaller screen in front of them to better view any data. All the smaller screens came alive and displayed an image of the ebony-skinned battlestar commander. Judging from what little of the background they could see, Jo-jo and Jon figured she was seated either in her quarters or the conference room aboard her starship.
"An eventful day," Mundu commented. "First of all, I would like to thank you for recovering my pilots. I'm glad they all survived considering how many were lost engaging Hordak's fleet." She paused for moment to collect her thoughts. "I just heard about what happened between War Wing and Falcon. We all hoped something like this would never happen, but it was inevitable, I suppose. With the kind of power those people command, I'd have been surprised if something like this didn't happen."
"The Sorceress warned us enough times about it. And still something happens," Jo-jo said, more to herself.
"There are always possibilities in war. I just hope they can weather the storm and come out all the better for it. Is there…any word on what happened and how?"
The captain and colonel exchanged glances. "Near as we can figure, the trigger was the deaths of a group of refugees skirting the edge of the battlefield in an attempt to make it to the castle. As for what happened inside War Wing, well, the battlesuit is completely inert. The techs have had absolutely no success in powering War Wing up. Unfortunately, Adrian Cobretti is in a similar state. Our chief medical officer hasn't submitted a report, as yet," Jo-jo explained at length. "The Sorceress and Falcon were able to stop Adrian and War Wing; however, she appears to have been injured in the process. We're still waiting for a report on her condition, but early indications are that it was something serious. Possibly life-threatening."
Mundu nodded. "So, what are you planning to do next, colonel?"
The main mission to recover the Power Swords was still incomplete. While they had firepower on their side in the form of the orbiting battlestar, the Val-kyrie did not indiscriminately engage in planetary bombardments. Hordak had hundreds of slaves in the Fright Zone. Many of them would be killed in any bombardment. Targeted attacks against fixed defenses and military structures could be accomplished using laser painters and smart munitions launched from atmospheric craft. Even with the death of his space fleet and the decimation of a substantial portion of his ground and air forces, Hordak still had a massive army of robots and equipment to throw against the Guardian Force.
"Our standard policy is to not get involved in local politics," Markson began. He looked the Valk-kyrie commander in the eye. "I plan to break that policy. I'm going to put Queen Castaspella – the real one – back on her throne. That plus He-man and She-ra making a public appearance should be enough to draw Hordak out with a large part of his army. If that happens, I can then send a small strike team into the Fright Zone after the swords."
Mundu nodded. "A bold move. What do you need from me?"
"I have an entire platoon out of action due to injuries and fatalities."
"Major Oran can have a platoon on site with the hour. The platoon lieutenant will be under orders to attach herself to your command. A new APC should arrive at about the same time. What else?"
"We need to safeguard Castle Brightmoon against further attacks. Queen Angella is going to put out a call for any of her forces in hiding to return, but it could take days before that happens," Jo-jo put in. "The castle was in a pretty sorry state before the last battle."
The commander turned to someone off screen, having a brief discussion before turning back. "We're putting in a call for a construction unit to be dispatched. We can get the castle back into shape in less than a month. With a battlestar escort, I doubt the Horde will challenge us," Mundu said, smiling.
"Aside from aerial support, I think that about covers it," the colonel replied.
"When will you leave for Mystacor?"
"Tonight. Hordak will be off balance. I want to keep it that way for another day."
"Bold. And dangerous. Hordak is not to be underestimated," Mundu cautioned.
"Neither are we. Besides, we have matching bookends in Horde generals," the colonel boasted, grinning.
The commander nodded and broke the connection. Before either could say a word, another call came in, this time from the guard at the forward ramp. Two children were asking to come on board to see someone whose description loosely matched Adrian Cobretti.
Jo-jo frowned. This was the last thing she needed right now, but they needed good local relations; she asked for the names of the children. "Why do they sound familiar?" Jo-jo muttered when the guard relayed the information.
Jon snapped his fingers. "The two from that village we saved."
"Andre? The one always on the hunt for a 'good' monster? She knows about Adrian's ability, doesn't she?"
Jon nodded. "And now everyone who was in the Brightmoon throne room knows."
Jo-jo decided that it couldn't hurt to have the children see Adrian. He was basically in the same state as his battlesuit. Who knew? Maybe the children could reach him where the adults could not. Sometime reality turned out to be stranger than fiction.
Captain Majourny personally escorted the kids through the corridors to the sick bay. The pair stared about in wonderment; they'd never been on board a starship before. What a tale they would be able to tell their friends later!
The trio entered the quiet sick bay. Andre and her friend took in the sights, settling on the familiar pair laying on beds off to the left.
"What happened to the Sorceress?" Andre asked, timidly. "Is she sick?"
"She's going to be fine," Doctor Carter said, walking over. "The Sorceress just needs to rest from the battle. Don't worry."
Andre searched the older man's face. He had a fatherly air about him that reminded her of some the men in her village. And of one of the elders in particular who was full of stories to tell. The girl nodded and went over to Adrian's bed. "What happened to him?"
"We're not sure. He appears to be in a sort of coma, but we can't bring him out of it," Doctor Carter answered. "Maybe you can reach him where we cannot."
The children walked over to Adrian's bed. A nurse brought out chairs for them to perch themselves on.
Jo-jo and Doctor Carter stepped away to talk in private.
"What happened to the Sorceress?" Jo-jo asked, getting right to the point. "Colonel Markson wants her on his team when they penetrate Castle Mystacor."
Emilio shook his head. "Not going to happen. When we pulled her out of Falcon, I ran a medical scan to make sure she was all right. I found a developing brain aneurysm and rushed her here for immediate surgery."
"Do you know the cause?"
Emilio drew in a deep breath, blew it out. "I can't be curtain, but it may have something to do with shutting down Adrian and War Wing. Until they wake up, all I can do is speculate. Gabe's team will have to figure out what happened to War Wing."
This whole experience was so far beyond their experience it defied logic. There was still so much to learn about the sentient weapons. The AIs did not like being poked and prodded, so learning everything there was to know about how the suits worked was slow going. The Val-kyrie had shared much of the data compiled when they upgraded the suits, but even they had been mystified at some the things the suits could do.
Like changing their size and shape. That little feature had not been a part of the original plan. A lot of technology had gone into their design that appeared to require not only a self-aware artificial intelligence, but an organic operator, as well. The abilities seemed to be limited only to the design schematics stored in the onboard computer banks and the imaginations of the operators.
"The Sorceress needs rest. Her healing magic has picked up where I left off. I doubt she will wake before tomorrow," Emilio went on. "And I won't entertain any thought of waking her up."
"I wouldn't worry about any such request. Jon's already planning around that."
The doctor frowned. "Why have the Sorceress along, anyway?"
Jo-jo raised a surprised eyebrow. "You really need to ask? We are outsiders here. The only person anyone around here is likely to believe would be the Sorceress. While we have He-man and She-ra on board, they have been out of circulation long enough to have credibility issues of their own."
"I'm sure the colonel will find a way. He usually does."
"I hope you're right," Jo-jo said. "Will they be okay in your care?"
Emilio looked over at the children keeping vigil. "They'll be fine. Go mind the ship. I'll handle things here." His features turned dark and brooding for a moment. "Oh, inform the colonel that we lost Private Dobbs just before you arrived. I'm sorry."
"Damn," Jo-jo hissed. Another one lost to the cause. Sometimes she wondered if it was all worth the pain and loss. She glanced at the children watching over Adrian and the Sorceress and had her answer.
Captain Majourny left without a doubt.
Castle Mystacor
Armored figures crept silently through the foliage east of the target. The only place the dropship could land was a clearing almost three klicks away. A long haul to be sure, but a necessary one. No one would expect an infiltration in the dead of night.
Colonel Markson figured someone would know of the real queen's disappearance by now. He only hoped no one was advertising that fact. They would be finding out in due time.
It was slow going. He-man, She-ra and Castaspella were in the center of the line of soldiers and one Guardian heading the direction of Mystacor. All of them had the compass direction in which to head in case they got split up. The scout cut a minimal path through the undergrowth to lessen the chance that any patrols lurking in the area might find their trail. Three hours after setting out from the landing site, Colonel Markson's command finally drew within sight of the castle.
Mystacor's design was radically different from anything else they had ever seen. The main structure appeared to be several overlapping domes covering a circumference of approximately a half square mile surrounded by a thick wall standing over sixty feet in height -too high to climb effectively even if they had the proper equipment to do so. An impressive feat of engineering to be sure. Even more impressive was the series of towers stabbing up into the night sky. Six of them stood about one hundred feet tall. Three soared to an impressive four hundred feet. The western most tower was shaped into a crescent shape at the top, one hundred feet. All three were connected through structural bridges, allowing all three towers to support one another. A no-man's land stretched one hundred yards out from the barrier wall. Nothing crossed it without being noticed. Normally.
The only entrance to the amazing castle lay to the south. But Captain Takamora had discovered a secret tunnel along the northeast side the led to catacombs that had been forgotten about long ago. Castaspella admitted to having forgotten about even the rumors of such an entrance until the day when Catra and her cousin had penetrated the castle defenses, captured her and put her cousin on throne while the real queen languished in the dungeon.
The entrance to the tunnel leading into the catacombs was in an innocuous little stone structure about a quarter kilometer into the tree line. The group found it in short order thanks to Hawke's sensors and night vision equipment. At a hand signal from the colonel, the Guardian proceeded inside. The rest of the group followed in close order in the same order as they had trekked through the dense forest.
Sonya walked slowly down the flight of worn stone steps. Sensors probed the darkness for unseen traps or enemy troops. There were none of either. At the bottom, nearly three stories underground, Sonya switched on the infrared light mounted on her left shoulder. It didn't produce any visible light, but what it did do was allow the starlight setting to pick up the light and paint an eerie green and black picture of her surroundings.
The troops followed, each equipped with IR goggles that picked up the light from their own shoulder-mounted lights. Darkness turned into gloom and enabled the soldiers and their charges to move about in relative safety.
Colonel Markson marveled at how silently the Hawke battlesuit in combat mode could move about. His soldiers were making more noise than Sonya, and they were walking in steady heel-to-toe movements to minimize stray sounds.
The tension rose as they closed in on the catacombs. The IR lights banished many of the shadows that might otherwise spook a person or hide an enemy. The exit into the catacombs finally loomed ahead. Hawke paused at the archway, looking about, scanning with passive and visual sensors. She waved them forward after thirty seconds.
Sonya had a map active on the heads-up display inside her helmet; a flashing red dot indicated her position relative to the castle. The catacombs were a maze of corridors and changes that Hawke had mapped up on the earlier trip using sonar pulses. While the map wasn't complete, it was complete enough to enter the dungeon level two stories underground. Sonya wondered why there were no guards on station anywhere in the lower levels. By now, Casta's cousin had to know that the true queen had escaped. Why no alert? Allepsatsac could spin a tale any way she liked to get the royal guard to do her bidding.
So far, the infiltration had been uneventful. Casta had indicated that her castle was not equipped with elaborated scanner and sensors like the core of the Fright Zone. The defenses still relied upon sentries posted at regular intervals around the castle's grounds and along the wall. No one expected an intrusion through the catacombs, which would be Allepsatsac's undoing.
A shadow emerged in the half-light of Sonya's display at the far end of the cellblock and up a flight of worn steps. The first real opposition encountered thus far. The guard was dressed in full armor and carried what appeared to be a halberd. Sonya crept up the right side of the stairs. A soldier armed with a laser rifle crept up opposite her. He stopped at a point where he could see just of the lip of the top step. The rifle came up and he took careful aim while Sonya continued toward the unsuspecting target.
Sonya slowly approached her target, left hand raised. She judged the distance at about five meters when she paused. Any closer and the guard might hear her. Sonya steeled herself for the next move. She had to use all the power and maneuverability in the power armor form to keep any errant noise from alerting anyone else who might be posted on the other side of the heavy wood door just beyond the guard's position.
The raised hand chopped downward. The soldier on the stairs fired instantly. His aim was true, striking the guard in the chest. Sonya sprang forward and caught the crumpling form. More importantly, she prevented the halberd from clattering to the stones. The racket would likely bring more unwanted company.
Colonel Markson moved up the group to the door to the dungeon. He sent the scout ahead to see what awaited them and the verify Casta's information about the guard patrols. Of course, her information was a bit on the dated side, but if her cousin was keeping up appearances, there shouldn't be too much deviation.
Hawke was posted at the entrance to the dungeon to guard their backtrail. Sonya naturally protested. The colonel pointed out that the mission was to put the real queen back on the Mystacor throne. Not rack up a body count or blow the place up. That's why everyone had been outfitted with laser rifles and pistols locked on the stun setting. Having a Guardian along would not help convince the Mystacorans that the Earth people had the real queen with them. That's why He-man and She-ra were along. The Sorceress would have been preferable, but the twins would have to suffice, even though they had been exiled to a penal planet until recently.
Sonya yielded to the logic of the plan, though she wasn't happy about it; focusing on the mission gave her a convenient excuse to keep her mind off Adrian and the Sorceress. Colonel Markson promised her they would be all right and that she shouldn't worry. She couldn't help it. From the beginning, all six of the Guardians knew a day might come when one – maybe all of them – might fall into the darkness of abusing the power the battlesuits offered. They had to be used responsibly. The sentient AIs were like children despite evolving from the memory engrams installed in their computer cores ten centuries ago. They required guidance, which is why they had used the mystical wards set in place at the time of their interment to search the galaxy for six souls who would be best suited to be those guides.
So far, the pairing of organic and artificial intelligences had worked. It was not perfect, but, then, what pairing was? During the upgrades on Val-kyre, they put into place a way of penetrating a suit's defenses in order to shut down an AI and operator in the event of what General Hammond and Colonel Markson codenamed Berserker, or a Guardian gone rogue.
At the time it had seemed an unlikely occurrence. The Sorceress had been living in Castle Grayskull for a long time, resisting the temptation to abuse the knowledge and power stored within its ancient walls. She never answered the question of whether or not a guardian of the castle had ever succumbed to the temptation. The other Guardians suspected that that had been an incident and that successors were forbidden to speak of it. With the Sorceress as the team's conscience, the likelihood of one of the six going rogue appeared remote.
And then yesterday happened.
Despite his reservations about the near symbiotic relationship between operator and AI, Adrian had been the first to truly begin the process of two acting one, showing the way for the others. Even the Sorceress had had a difficult time separating the inherited memories of the previous operators and her own experiences. Eventually, all them were able to get the memories sorted out – the human brain being the mysterious and wonderous creation it is – and slowly began the journey toward becoming the weapons envisioned a thousand years ago, capable of ending the rule of the Evil Horde.
If Adrian or the Sorceress could fall to the darkness, what chance did the rest of them have of resisting temptation? Until the timeline of yesterday's battle was examined under a proverbial microscope, no one would truly know what happened and what they could do to prevent another occurrence in the future.
Sonya shuddered to think what would happen if all six of them fell to darkness and ruthlessly shoved the thought from her mind.
While Sonya grappled with the events of yesterday and the possible consequences of a repeat performance, Colonel Markson led his team deeper into the bowels of Castle Mystacor. Queen Casta – as the colonel had started calling her – guided the group toward her private chambers where her cousin would be holed up for the night.
Even with the queen pointing out probable patrol routes, the invaders were still required to stun several more guards before getting close to the queen's private chambers. One level away from said chambers, however, the op when a little sideways.
The scout came upon a soldier who was more elaborately dressed than any they had encountered so far. Casta moved forward in the line to have a look. Despite the glow globes spaced evenly throughout the corridors, the queen had to squint to see the man. The light intensity had been turned down for the nighttime hours, but gradually her memory kicked in. The group had come upon a restless Andor, Captain of the Royal Guard, wandering the corridors as he often did when sleep eluded him. After a quick discussion, Colonel Markson decided they needed to make contact. Before he could step out, Castaspella beat him to it.
The queen made her presence known by calmly rounding the corner and clicking her boot heels against the stone floor. The captain didn't turn, at first. As far as he knew, this was simply a guard on patron. Or maybe someone suffering from insomnia just like him.
"Captain," Casta spoke quietly when she drew within earshot.
Startled, the captain of the guard whirled around, slack jawed. "M-My Queen."
"You seem surprised to see me."
"Well, yes. We were informed you would not be back for a while yet," Andor answered, confused.
The man wasn't as confused as the queen. "I'm not sure what you mean."
"Perhaps you should start at the beginning," Colonel Markson suggested, moving up with the rest of the group.
Seeing that the queen's companions were heavily armed, Andor wisely did not make any sudden moves. "Who are these people?" he asked. That's when he caught sight of He-man and She-ra. "Hey. Aren't the two of you supposed to be exiled to the penal planet Hel?"
"We were," She-ra confirmed, plucking irritably at the green jumpsuit that replaced her normal costume. "There was a jailbreak recently." She did not explain any further.
"What exactly did you mean when you said I wasn't due back for a while?"
Andor was confused, but answered, "Your cousin said you had left the castle on a covert mission, but that we shouldn't worry about your safety."
Casta frowned. "My cousin sits openly on the throne?"
"Of course. It was at your request."
"This makes no sense," Colonel Markson said. This has all been a little too easy."
"Andor, I was not away on a secret mission. I have spent the past several months locked away in the dungeon."
Andor shook he head. "Impossible. We saw your personal transport leave."
"But did you actually see your queen in it?" Jon asked, pointedly.
Andor opened his mouth to make a quick answer, but hesitated. He hadn't seen Castaspella enter the transport. He had only seen it depart when the queen was ready. Someone else could have been at the controls. Which meant that there were several traitors among the Royal Guard in league with Casta's cousin.
Jon took the man's silence as an answer. "There is one way to solve this."
"I'll save you the trouble," another voice proposed from further down the corridor.
Everyone turned to regard the woman standing at the far end. Her outfit was a spitting image of the queen's own except for the color reversal. The queen's outfit had yellow armbands, boots, short skirt and a lightning double lightning bolt effect on the bodice. The bodice and leggings were royal blue. Her cousin's outfit was identical except that the blue and yellows had been swapped. Allepsatsac had even adopted her cousin's hairdo.
"How original," the colonel muttered.
"It's a pity you outworlders had to interfere in my affairs. Sorry, dear Andor, but I simply can't leave you alive with the knowledge that your beloved queen was deposed." At a wave of her hand, four spindly machines stepped forward.
"Crap," Jon hissed. They were armed with lasers locked on stun because he wanted to avoid casualties on this op. Now it looked like that oversite was going to cast them their lives. "Sonya, it's hit the fan. I could use a little help here. Sonya?" No response. Not a good sign.
"Capture my dear cousin and the twins. Kill everyone else," Allepsatsac ordered the robots.
Jon raised his rifle and fired off several shots. The blue bolts splashed ineffectively against the chest plates of two robots. "Worth a shot," he groused, tossing the weapon aside. He drew the only other weapon he had allowed on the mission. A razor-sharp fighting knife.
The four droids sprang at the group, mowing them down like bowling pins. He-man and She-ra each grappled with a machine attempting to disable them. While the twins did not have the full power of their swords at their command, they did have considerable strength and agility to bring to bear. The twins repeatedly slammed their opponents into the tick stone walls before hurling them away down the other end of the corridor. Horde assassin droids were not so easily bested, however.
Jon's four soldiers were easily disabled before one droid turned its optics on him. Queen Casta had her own problems with the fourth droid. Apparently, they had been shielded against magic attacks; the energy missiles hurled at it did no more damage to the machine than the stun bolts the colonel had fired earlier. Both were quickly subdued. Casta found herself being choked into unconsciousness while the colonel's opponent was trying to make that condition more permanent.
Jon's vision began closing down to pinpoints from a lack of oxygen. Metal fingers locked around his throat squeezed off his airway. The armored body deflected the knife blade, and with his strength failing due to a lack of oxygen, finding a seam to wedge it into got increasingly difficult. He had seconds left before he lost consciousness. Casta's cousin wanted this drawn out, evidently, otherwise the droids should have simply broken a few necks and been done with them.
A metal-shod hand suddenly clamped down on the neck of the colonel's attacker and squeezed with all the power in the artificial muscles. Support rods bent and buckled under the relentless pressure. With a cracking of snapped supports and a squeal of tearing metal, the droids head was ripped away at the neck. Sonya tossed it aside and set about ripping the machines arms away and peeling its hands off the colonel's throat. Jon collapsed to the floor, gasping like a fish out of water.
Hawke turned her attention to Castaspella. She slumped in the machine's embrace, unconscious. The droid dropped her unceremoniously to the floor and turned to face the Guardian. Its brain calculated that this armored intruder was now the most dangerous opponent of the field and communicated that information wirelessly to its mates. The other two flung the twins aside, having pummeled them enough to take them out of the fight, and faced the Guardians.
Sonya eyed a particular icon on her heads-up display to activate one of the new weapon schematics copied from the treasure trove War Wing had made available to the others. Small, unobtrusive boxes formed on her forearms with emitters on the front ends. She turned sideways to present a smaller target profile, snapped up her arms and took aim. A split targeting display popped up in front of her face. Red crosshairs glowed with a target lock. Yellow plasma bolts spit from the emitters in bursts. Bolts slammed into armored chest plates, blasting smoking craters in the metal. The targeted machines staggered backward from the assault. Sonya did not let up. With Hawke's help, the targeting reticles settled on the heads, shredding them with a sustained burst. Both machines dropped headless to the deck, wisps of acrid smoke rising from the blast points and neck stumps.
The last droid lunged and took out Hawke's legs before she could shift her attack. The machine railed against her in a seemly random frenzy of punches and jabs. It had the Guardian pinned to the floor, unable to achieve any kind of leverage to throw the assassin off her. Warnings flagging inside her helmet indicating system stress. While the Etherium plates could withstand the blows the assassin droid rained upon Hawke, the systems and operator protected by those plates were still susceptible to hydrostatic shock from the impacts. It was the same effect someone wearing a bulletproof vest suffered in the from of broken ribs or bruising at impact sites.
Sonya had only one recourse. She slipped her left arm inside, aimed for the chest and launched a steady stream of plasma bolts into her attacker's chest. The machine jerked and jiggled from the assault, pausing in its flailing attack. Sonya lashed out with her right arm, punching straight into the savaged chest plate. Her Etherium-shod fist penetrated the breached armor and crushed the delicate inner workings. Sparks showered the prone Guardian from the cascade failure ravaging the droid. She got her feet up and hurled the dying machine away down the corridor. It made quite a racket clattering and sliding across the flagstones.
Seeing that her plan had unraveled, Allepsatsac turned to flee. A plasma bolt smacked the wall close to her face, showering her in molting stone chips. "Do not even think it," Sonya growled over the external speaker, climbing to her feet. Allepsatsac considered her options and decided it wasn't worth it, seeing as the invaders had one person who could fire lethal energy bolts; she raised her hands in capitulation.
"Took you long enough," Colonel Markson croaked, accepting Sonya's proffered arm and pulled himself to his feet.
The steampunk-like feathers on the sides of Hawke's head rippled in irritation. "Adrian is not only one who can make an entrance." Her right arm never wavered from Allepsatsac's chest.
"How did you know we were here?" Queen Casta demanded of her cousin.
The woman shrugged absently. "You aren't the only one in the family with magical skills."
"Traps the Sorceress could have found," Markson said, frowning.
Andor, with his queen's permission, rushed off to gather those he knew was loyal to the queen, and begin rounding up those who knew about Castaspella's incarceration in the dungeon.
The queen led the way through the maze of corridors, eventually entering the throne room. She rounded suddenly on her cousin. "How soon until Catra returns?"
A prod from Hawke's fist in her back prompted Allepsatsac to speak. "Not until some time later in the morning."
"We could lock her up. Take Catra, too," the colonel suggested.
Casta shook her head. "I have a better idea."
Thirty minutes later, the group was gathered back in the throne room. Castaspella, after a brief pause, mounted the steps, turned, and sat upon her rightful throne.
Mystacor's throne room resembled Eternia's in that the dais and throne was at the back wall instead on in the center as with Brightmoon. The globes, both mounted on the walls and hanging in chandeliers high above, had been turned up in intensity, but they did little to dispel the shadows around the walls. Much of the light was provided through skylights, so it was hard to see the various statues, paintings and drapes scattered about the chamber.
"My cousin has been sent on her way to meet Catra and return to her Horde master. I hope this part of your plan works. If Horde sends Monstroids, we do not have the defenses to repel that kind of attack," Castaspella explained.
"We do. With your permission?" At a nod from the queen, Colonel Markson began calling in the other platoons.
The dropships were packed with gear for the defense of Mystacor. Jon hoped Hordak took the bait they were dangling in front of him. They couldn't withstand another battle like the last one. Hopefully, they would have two Guardians back on the line by nightfall.
Hopefully.
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