HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT
Chapter 14: Welcome to Caledor
The next morning, Razor returned and joined them for breakfast. It was a somber meal and no one had much to say. Finished, they trooped into the Professor's lab and sat down.
"No seems very happy this morning so I'm guessing no new ideas?" T-Bone asked glumly.
"I have one but it's more of a suicide mission rather than a rescue one, to my mind." Aurora said grimly.
"Well we won't know until you tell us." Razor said reasonably.
Aurora grimaced down at her paws for a long moment. No one pressed her, waiting patiently.
Sighing, she finally looked up and stared at each face before speaking. "The only option I've been able to come up with is opening a portal at the site that used to be the home of the Greenway Sect ." She said, knowing no one would be happy about that.
She was right. T-Bone was the first to loudly object.
"You can't do that! You told us the Red Force Leader had destroyed your sect's home." He said growling.
"Yes, but that was over twenty years ago. Fortunately time runs the same in both places. I firmly believe we will find a destroyed ruin which should be safe to occupy while we take a look around. It's the only option I've been able to come up with that allows us to slip in unseen." She said firmly.
"Wait!" Razor raised a paw to halt T-Bone from another outburst. "Wouldn't the Red Force Leader sense the portal?"
Aurora sighed. "Yes but we won't have it up long enough for him to pinpoint where it was because I don't intend to leave it open any longer than it takes for us to cross over." She told him.
Razor rubbed his chin in thought. T-Bone looked blatantly unhappy.
"I still don't like you endangering yourself." He grumbled.
"There's no choice. You can't go there without me since none of you use magic. Also, none of the other factions we want to talk to will give you the time of day." She said. "Additional, I am the only one who can open the portal and allow us to return.
When no one voiced another objection Aurora continued.
"This is the plan I've come up with. I open a portal, we shove crates of negators through quickly. Your robots can help us with that Professor, then T-Bone, Razor and I slip through and hope we find the other factions quickly. We'll have to play it by ear from then on until we can get a lay of the land." She finished.
There was silence then the Professor spoke up. "I have an additional idea that might tip the balance in your favor. Have a robot team go with you. There's not much time to make more than twenty but they could act as your shield for as long as they can. Your people would not be familiar with them and it could cause some confusion and fear." He said thoughtfully.
The other three stared at him in shock!
Hackle shrugged. "I may not like war and refuse to create weapons of mass destruction but I had been a weapons maker for decades and know about strategies." He said easily.
"Wow! Glad you are on our side." T-Bone said, admiringly.
"Your idea could work. It certainly will give us an edge." Razor said.
"You're right! My people have never seen anything like a robot and would be startled by them. It could work. Well that makes me feel a little more confident. Shall we get our act together and prepare to leave?" She asked getting to her feet.
"Yeah, you're right. Time is of the essence." Razor agreed then turned to Hackle. "Okay, Professor, you get on with making robots and more negators while we prepare to go to war."
Hackle nodded grimly and went off into another of his labs while T-Bone and Razor prepared to leave.
"We'll go back to the hangar and stocked up on weaponry we can carry besides ensuring we each have a negator as well. Meanwhile, you should make up survival packs for us to take Aurora." T-Bone told her.
"Agreed. See you guys later." She said as she saw them off.
While the Turbokat returned to its hangar, the Commander took the robot servant in the kitchen aside and told it what she needed. It nodded its understanding and got busy putting food packs together, while Aurora went to the Professor's well stocked supply area to put together survival packs filled with first aid, compass, matches, paper and pen, and other miscellaneous she thought they would need.
She carried everything back to the hangar and dropped them on a nearby table where she could see the kitchen robot had already deposited the food packs. She returned to the room she was using and pulled out of the closet her kit bag. Returning to the hangar, she laid out what she needed to open the portal.
At their secret hangar, Razor was loading each of them up with all the munitions they could carry without hampering themselves.
"I hope Aurora's fears that the negators won't work in her world are groundless." He said worriedly.
"So do I buddy." T-Bone grunted as he loaded up his glovetrix.
"If they don't we are up shit creek because with their magical abilities, we don't stand a chance." Razor said grimly.
"Don't borrow trouble, Razor. Like I told Aurora last night, we've lived a charmed live don't jinx it. Also, I know very well this could turn our really bad but we're still going to do it so why worry about it?" T-Bone said pragmatically.
"You're right. We plunge headlong into everything, why should this be any different." His partner sighed in agreement. "Well that's it. Let's get going."
"Roger."
They climbed back aboard the Turbokat and were soon racing back to Hackle's place. They arrived back in time to see Aurora doing some strange things in one corner of the hangar.
Strange, sweet smelling smoke was filling the area from a burner at her side where she knelt on the floor on a beautiful cloth of some kind. She had some strange artifacts laid out in front of her and she seemed to be chanting with her arms raised before her.
"She must be preparing the way for the portal." Razor whispered not daring to disturb her.
"Yeah..." T-Bone breathed out softly as he watched his lover while she worked.
She seemed to finish just as Professor Hackle came to join them. He watched silently as well. Aurora sat silent for a moment longer than lowered her arms. She quickly gathered up the things she had before her and stuffed them into a cloth bag, blowing out the incense, dumping the ash in a nearby can then putting the burner with her other things. Getting up she picked up the cloth and added it to the rest, cinching the bag. She turned to walk toward them.
"The robots are ready and each is carrying a case of negators." The Professor said.
"Perfect. I've the survival packs ready and the portal spell is set waiting for my final cast to open it." Aurora said.
"We're armed to the teeth so we're ready too. Are you going to dress commando style?" Razor asked, eyeing her inappropriate sweatsuit.
"Yes! Just give me a moment to change then we'll be off." She said lightly, racing away.
The Professor signaled his robot squadron to come to the room and stand beside where the portal would open. The SWAT Kats stared at the twenty robots the Professor had the foresight to paint black so they would blend in more easily.
"So how do we control them, Professor?" Razor asked with a frown.
"They have been already programmed to accept commands from all three of you." Hackle told him.
"Perfect. Let's hope they will be able to help us before magic takes them out of the picture." Razor sighed.
"Then the moment we arrive, we ensure each of them has a negator." T-Bone said gruffly.
"No need, T-Bone. Each robot is already equipped with an internal negator so they won't be disarmed easily unless totally destroyed." Hackle said proudly.
"Wow. You do think of everything, Professor." T-Bone said in amazement.
"I do try, my boy...I do try."
Suddenly Aurora reappeared dressed in camos, her spell casting bag already tied to her belt. She headed for the table with their gear. The SWAT Kats joined her and loaded up. In minutes they were ready, each with a backpack and a negator in paw. T-Bone and Razor stood behind Aurora as she raised her paws and readied herself to cast the last spell.
Before she did, the Professor offered a brief prayer then said, "Good luck and a safe return."
Nodding, they turned back to where the portal would appear and waited tensely for Aurora to complete her spell. She spat out a long string of odd syllables. In the air before her a ghostly mist began to appear.
After several long moments, the mist cleared and they saw what looked like part of a wooden building covered in plant life and surrounded by towering trees. The sounds of animals and birds calling back and forth could be heard.
Aurora sighed. "Just as I hoped, it appears overgrown and abandoned. Let's go!" She ordered.
"Wait! Let the robots go in first then we follow. They can take damage...we can't." Razor warned.
Aurora nodded at the sound stratagem and stepped to the side to allow the robots to lead the way.
"Robots, enter the portal and make a protective circle for our arrival." Razor ordered.
The robots moved without a word into the hole in the air. Nothing happened as they poured through and set up the protective circle as ordered. The living group heaved a sigh of relief as no one jumped out and attacked the strange creatures.
Without looking back Razor stepped through first followed by Aurora with T-Bone in the rear. As soon as they cleared the portal, Aurora turned around and spat out the spell to close it. It took her a few moments but the opening closed with a barely audible pop.
She turned back around and looked at the place that had once been her home.
"Welcome to Caledor!" She said, spreading her arms out.