And you guys thought that I would forget to update…wrong! Anyway, here we are and remember this littler ditty is my response to Tito-Mosquito's 'For the Pride of Lowardia', so to read that first is really a must. Even though RL gets in the way I wanted to make sure that there was no hold ups in getting this tale out because I promised Tito….I mean he waited a year.
Also, I want to thank CajunBear73 for all the work he's done with me over the years.
I also want to thank everyone who has read, faved, alerted, followed and or reviewed this story. Anyway, I think it's time to go over the reviews so here we go: Jimmy1201, I still think of Ron as 'reluctant' he didn't want glamor, all he wanted to do was take care of Kim. Oh Ron has a neato plan for the corpses, I hope you like it; Invader Johnny, yeah Ron said good bye; CB73, yeah off to the stars.
Tito-Mosquito, yup Ron's serious….I wanna leave the girls sorta like it is or this might go up to 'M'.
One chapter left so let's get this show on the road,
ST-103
Dead Man Switch
Chapter 9
Aboard the freighter 'Minus Beta':
After he received the go-ahead from a member of the current crew, the pilot unlocked the hatch and plugged his comm cable to the receptacle on the outside of it. Once he passed through and pressurized the outside hatch he undid the clamp and opened the inside door.
"Hey Ron.", Jim Possible reached over and gave his 'older brother' a warm hug.
His brother Tim came over and did the same thing, "How was the flight up?"
"Not bad, but I have some extra cargo that I haveta unload off the shuttle before we can let it and you go back. One of you guys wanna suit up and give me a hand, it's gonna take about an hour.", Ron asked.
"The shuttle is only going to leave when we go back, so what do you have? This thing already has a bonus cargo.", Jim told Ron.
Ron didn't want to elaborate to the former Tweebs so, "We ran into some trouble and I have some things to stash, some more of Dementor's little toys, you know just to make sure this whole thing works."
"We have extra.", Tim looked uncomfortable before he continued, "I sorta figured while you were at it you could leave them laying around in their star system you know, as a way of giving them something a little extra."
"You know guys this really isn't something we need to discuss.", Ron told them seeing the older of the twin men to be a bit unhappy about this part of the conversation.
Tim raised his hand, wanting to speak with the former sidekick alone, "I can help Ron."
X
Tim hit the switch that opened one of the smaller cargo holds and through his intercom asked, "What do you have in the shuttle Ron?"
"You'll see in a minute after I open the cargo hold door of the shuttle."
He had already set the intercom frequency to one that wouldn't be picked up by the robot shuttle's communications system. This far along, Kim Possible's boyfriend didn't want to jeopardize the mission.
As Ron opened the hold, which was expected by the surveillance systems (since he had to get it onto the freighter), he pointed to the sealed cargo containers. "That's them Tim, tie the rope onto the first and second, we'll come back for the other two."
"Do you want to secure them first in the freighter?"
"Yup, we don't want to lose these bad boys."
X
"Well did you get that cargo aboard.", Jim asked his brother and Ron.
Even though ashen Tim replied, "Yeah, everything is where it's supposed to be, let's show Ron how to arm the PDVIs."
"I guess we should, that's the whole reason for this, isn't it?", Jim asked.
"Guys once I know how to do this and you give me the codes to break the auto sequencing, engage both the hyper drive and the cloaking device, we can part ways.", Ron told them.
A little hesitant, Tim frowned, "You're in a hurry Ron?"
"Yeah, more than a little. My recovery ran long and if I don't get a move on, a lot of the biggies will be off in space for another year. I want them all to enjoy my little surprise."
Jim Possible frowned, "So you aren't going to save those girls…"
"I can't save them, we're too far behind now. All I can do is clean up the mess and make sure it doesn't ever happen again."
"You know Stoppable, you're a jerk. I'm glad Kim didn't live long enough to see how much of a coward you are.", and Jim hauled off and punched Ron in the face.
(Gasp)
Tim stepped between them as Ron said, "Don't worry Tim I won't hit him 'cause it won't make anything better. Now I want to see how to activate these devices."
X
"That's all there is?", Ron inquired.
"Yeah.", Jim explained, "And this is a onetime deal, there is no shutoff. If someone tampers with them they arm and go off automatically. And once they are active they are waiting for the command signal and Drakken already showed you how that works."
"Yep he did. Why don't we get something to eat and then you can show me how the engines operate and how the cloaking device works."
"Sure I'll open the panel on the computer, all you have to do is plug it into the receptacle here and type in this phrase which is written on this paper. Whatever you do don't do this before you get to the Kuiper belt and have made your last delivery.", Jim warned.
"Why?"
"Cause once you have made your rounds there will be less attention and you don't have to be anywhere for a couple of months."
Curious, Ron asked, "Why is that?"
"Ships go slower when they are Earthbound. It's a safety thing."
"Yeah I guess going real fast and heading towards Earth could be a bad thing…"
Tim clarified, "There's more traffic too, with a higher chance of a wreck, so you won't be coming in fast…They won't look for you to disappear and hit the hyper drive. The navigation is already locked in on both computers."
"I have ta go slow when I get close to my destination right?"
"Yeah and they shouldn't even know you are there if you are cloaked.", Tim responded.
"OK that works. Wanna have something to eat with me? Sorta a last meal."
Jim looked hard at Ron then sighed, "For old times, then Tim and I have to leave."
"Yeah thanks guys."
(Sob)
X
"Well thanks again. The shuttle, I think, is ready to take you back down. I'll see ya when I see ya.", Ron offered his hand as he wished his friends a good life.
Ten minutes later he watched his monitor and saw the shuttle disconnect from the freighter's hatch and slowly open up the distance between the craft.
Ron kept watching the distance between the two vessels grow, and once the shuttle was a mere spec in the distance, he turned his attention to his own ship and put the Minus Beta on automatic after strapping himself into his commander's station.
Finally, he felt a shudder as the very large ship began to move. 'Well.', Ron thought to himself, 'Now we get to see if I have the balls to pull this off.'
X
Three months later:
The large space ship began to slow as it approached the Pluto system. The dwarf planet had a tiny colony while a larger group was on the moon Ceres where the mining operations were located. For R&Rs (Rest and Recuperation periods) most went to the resort moon of Nix since, for safety reasons, there was no drinking on the site of the mining operations.
Once the freighter slowed around the small main world at one of the last outposts in the solar system, Ron looked up the frequency and hit the transmit button on the medium wave radio, "Pluto Base, this is the ore freighter Minus Beta, in orbit."
"Minus Beta this is Pluto Base Charley, we have been trying to contact your vessel. We have had production delays because of accidents. You could have diverted before you came all the way out here."
"Are you sure there is nothing to transport back to Earth?", Ron asked having been warned that this may be a possibility.
"We will not have enough ore to ship for four months. We will reschedule for that time. Is that acceptable?"
"It is with me. I have other ports of call on this trip as well, but you will have to make the head office aware of this. I will stand by if you wish to contact them."
XXX
Earth Base:
"Here it is; the message from Pluto. Do you have the return message ready to go?", the younger twin asked the older.
"Yeah, but let's wait about an hour, that way the powers that be will think it's natural.", Jim told Tim. Then added, "Let's go get lunch. Then we can send it before we go see Dad. He should be getting out of isolation this week."
XXX
"Pluto Base Charley to Ore Freighter Minus Beta."
"Minus Beta, Pluto Base."
"According to your headquarters you are to make your other collections in the Kuiper Belt and pick up our shipment in six months. Do you copy that?"
"Roger, I copy. This is Minus Beta making preparations to depart orbit.", Ron replied.
The blond man then scrolled down to his next destination and settled in to his chair and then engaged the engines slowly.
X
Ten hours later he pulled up a menu from the other computer and entered the password to get into the cloaking program.
Four hours later he engaged the star drive.
XXX
Back on Earth:
Tim Possible began to type in email addresses for the messages, since this part the mission was now on Automatic, 'Ron just has to get to Lowardia now, but we won't know until they have an emergency.'
XXX
On board the cloaked ore freighter as it blasted out of the solar system:
With a glowing blue knife, he opened the large and very dead alien. He reached in and grabbed a handful of innards and with the knife removed most of what was in the abdomen. Then he placed a device inside and stitched up the opening after he pulled the antenna out so that some was exposed. Then he put the cadaver back in the box he had previously removed it from and got another one out to repeat the procedure.
'Gonna be a while doing this, but I have to get done. Nothin' like leavin' some special surprises.', the former hero thought to himself.
XXX
"Hey Dad, Mom. How are you guys?", the younger of the twins asked (James was in isolation and Anne wasn't).
"It looks like your Father is in perfect health, there are no surprises.", Anne replied.
James Possible (from the other side of the isolation chamber) said, "I should be out of here this time next week boys. Now what have you been up to?"
"Oh we've started another business Dad.", Tim smiled while Jim kept a neutral expression.
"And what is that?"
"Well you know that me and Jim have always been interested in space travel sort of like you are and we're building a company to refit older space ships. There is a ton of money in it."
"A private company to do that? Hummmm that is a decent idea boys, I'm proud of you."
"Yeah we just finished our first one a few months ago and we are working on our second.", Tim beamed, "This one is an old warship from the Lowardian Empire."
James Possible frowned, "You know how I feel about them son."
"Yeah Dad, but we decommissioned the blasters and it's a runabout now.", Tim lied.
XXX
The Lowardian star system:
The cloaked freighter had slowed to sub-light speed as it closed on a large hunk of space rock. A hatch on the ore freighter opened and a slight puff of nitrogen was expelled, which took the frozen package towards the rock. 'I'll put a couple dozen out here before I move to some of the larger planets.', the blond man thought to himself as he reengaged the sub-light speed drive
X
Two weeks later as the ore freighter finished deploying its little surprises:
'Well now…I have to make sure I get their attention once and for all.', Ron mused as he made sure the last of the traps were active in what was a place similar to the Kuiper Belt.
Ron Stoppable still had other presents for some of the other worlds in this star system and he was determined that all were handed out so that everyone at the party could completely enjoy the results.
It took a whole other week more before the Minus Beta entered into orbit around the sun of the Lowardian system. The former sidekick energized the massive PDVI, the size of four football fields, and placed it into the star's orbit. Although it was large and dangerous, it was tiny compared to the giant furnace it circumnavigated. As with the others, he also set the anti-tampering devices that the Possible twins had devised. These devices would activate the humongous PVDI and open up a black hole in the center of the Lowardian star system and would suck all the hydrogen from that solar furnace before eating it completely.
XXX
Back in Earth orbit:
Tim Possible glanced at the two older men who were seated nearby, "I don't need help to do this, you know…"
"Does your Father know you are doing this, Possible?", Drakken asked. Seeing the frown, "I thought so, this will kill Annie."
"He and Mom think I'm just taking this old warship out for a shakedown…I can do this myself."
"You pilot this rust bucket and I will man the weapons systems while Hans here handles the navigation. This ship needs to have a one-hundred-man crew, but we can make it work with some of those improvements that you have installed.", Drew Lipsky told the much younger man.
Tim argued, "You may end up dead…"
"We all die sooner or later kid, now did you file for a departure from orbit?"
"Yes and it has been granted all we have to do is tell control when we are leaving and what our destination is.", Tim informed the two.
"Und vue have cloaking too?", the former Dementor asked.
"Yes it's the same model Ron Stoppable used."
"And the mission?", Drakken asked.
"To hunt down all Lowardians in their spacecraft near us and kill them all.", Tim Possible ground out.
The former Dementor chuckled, "Das es a noble cause much like Stoppible'z. With all the other azzasins waiting ve may succeed."
The former blue villain laughed hoarsely, "We'll surely diminish their numbers. We may not get them all but they'll know they're in a real war this time."
Tim Possible nodded, "I have gotten permission to leave Earth orbit, we have to follow rules for a day or two before we cloak."
XXX
Lowardian system:
'Well one last meal and then I can take the little shuttle and land, I hope I have enough of my toys to screw with them permanently.' Ron thought to himself as he loaded as many of his little toys on the craft as he could.
He had already checked the cloaking device on the shuttle and the only problem with the system was that the shuttle didn't have enough power to stay cloaked for more than a week. Which was why he didn't want to leave any of the devices on it. If any Lowardian scientists ran any tests on it they might end of finding a PVDI. So taking that into consideration he made sure there wouldn't be one onboard when he began to make his presence known.
X
The former sidekick brewed his tea knowing that he was entering the last part of his journey through life. With a small smile he took out an old photo which had the images of two pre-teens. One with blond hair and freckles the other with red hair and braces on her teeth.
After gazing at it for a few moments Ron sighed, "You were always the better one KP…Zorpox turned me into a genius/asshole…if I had just matured before they came for you."
He paused then continued, "I'm not worth your spit, but I hope you are at peace."
XXX
Lowardian home world (on the surface):
(Warmonga, the heads of the Earth girls have been sent to the preparers so that you can present them to this yarn's heroes at the celebration.), Warhok announced as he entered the royal throne room, not bothering to bow.
(That is good my battle mate. Are the preparations for the banquet complete as well?)
(If you remember it takes time to marinate humans properly, your majesty. A little patience is in order…)
(We should demand more of the females next time!)
(I agree, I will make this happen. I will have my second in command send out the directives for the next session.)
XXX
Ron Stoppable rigged the massive nuclear device in the cloaked freighter to engage and also to send the activation signal to all the other 'toys' the former sidekick had strewn around the star system. If tampered with, they would set the automatic controls of the freighter to enter into orbit above the sunbaked home world of the beings who had wreaked such havoc on Earth and much of the galaxy.
The blond Earthling then entered the shuttle, an old Lowardian model, and sealed the hatches. Having studied the language of Lowardia, he then energized the engines and undocked from the large freighter. Slowly he decelerated the craft and began to deorbit.
Unseen by him, the freighter turned on its engines and accelerated to gain more altitude as the devices set themselves for what they had been designed by the former villain, Professor Dementor, to do…create a huge and devastating explosion which would destroy anything close.
With all the devices now armed, all they needed was a command signal and all would 'detonate', to not even leave a burnt-out cinder as a trace of one of the greatest warrior civilizations to ever torment the galaxy.
An hour later he landed his personal shuttle at the first spaceport he had spotted on his sensors and opened the hatch to the parched hot air. In moments he almost began to rasp, 'Kim put up with this till they executed her…and Tara too? This gives me more reason to murder these bastards. There, I'll stash my little toy under this washed out drainage ditch and drop it in the pipe.'
Five minutes later he closed the hatch and powered up the engine.
X
After nearly twenty 'Earth' hours the former sidekick planted the last one after making sure it was armed and had its anti-tampering devices armed as well. With all the practice that he had, the blond man had become highly efficient in dealing out his traps for his sworn enemies.
Ron sighed to himself as he set his personal shuttle down. And, making sure the craft had plenty of power left in the cloaking circuit, he exited and walked to the nearby large 'city'.
XXX
Space near Earth:
"There's one and it's a doozy.", the former blue villain got their attention as he adjusted the sensor he was reading, "A full sized Lowardian battlecruiser, standard complement is twenty officers and crew and over one hundred autonomous robot fighters of the kind that attacked Earth the last time."
Tim replied, "We have the firepower to take it out completely, Drakken."
Demez frowned, "But ve vill receive damage…"
"You didn't have to come on this excursion Dementor! We know that they are orbiting Neptune so that when we make our way back here we should be left alone. Anyway let's announce ourselves and make nice to them. The next time we have anything to do with them it will be to kill them.", Tim suggested.
Drew Lipsky nodded, "Remember, they are our overlords, they'll probably want to check us out to make sure the weaponry is safe."
"I expected that guys. OK Drakken, hail them, let's get this over with."
X
After the Lowardian shuttle left Tim put his finger to his lips and took out a hand sized device from behind his flight station and pushed a large red button on it causing the red button to glow. After a few seconds there was a popping sound along with the smell of frying electronics. The Tweeb then motioned for the two former villains to follow him as he began to walk through all the compartments that the Lowardians had been interested in. The exercise took over an hour, and finally Tim said, "I think that's all of them except for the one under the master panel in the engine room…we want to leave that one."
"Why do we want to do that?", Drakken inquired.
"So we can feed them a line of bull when we want to, make up a sign to remind us to talk up Lowardia…you still write yourself notes don't you Doctor D?"
"I do Possible…it drove Shego bananas."
"Good, make a big sign to remind us not to talk bad about the A-holes in there, then."
XXX
On Lowardia:
In the deep dusk of the late evening, a lone figure flitted from large stone to large stone as he got closer to the three tall muscular men who were walking confidently on the pedestrian walkway in the rock strewn 'park'. One of the young warriors turned to one of the other two, (Begeon, you are of Clan War…what was it like taking the head of one of the Earth females. It is an honor that most of us yearn for.)
The wide shouldered young man announced proudly, (The kill of the human female was my rite of passage after my month in the desert on Plathaw to prove that I am a first class warrior. Later this yarn they will give me the title of 'War' to make me a leader of warriors.)
The third young warrior inquired, (Do you get the trophy then?)
(Of course and the hero's portion of the kill. Along with that, I received my bracers.), Begeon informed both young Lowardians, also telling them he was soon to be their leader, when a glowing blue blade appeared in his abdomen and quickly sliced up to the top of his head, nearly bisecting him.
(Just what I wanted to do…kill a bastard.), a voice hissed in Lowardian from behind the now very dead and once proud alien…
XXXXX
Well we got through that one, remember climax is next week so stay tuned.
Ron Stoppable, Anne Possible, Jim, Tim, Brick and all the rest of the 'canon' characters of the show 'Kim Possible' belong to Bob, Mark and the Disney Corporation and not myself nor CajunBear73. We just do this hobby to annoy people and make them take their meds.
We'll see ya down the road,
ST-103