Chapter 13
Sultan Ahmad of the Pahang state of Malaysia lived in an ornate white palace on the outskirts of the town of Pekan. Despite the fact the Sultan Ahmad also currently held the office of King of Malaysia, he preferred to remain in his 'country estate' in Pahang. The grounds around the Sultan's palace included lush parklands, extensive horse stables and a polo field. The current Sultan's predecessors had had an obsession with old-fashioned trains, and a renovated locomotive engine and passenger car sat on its own track, in the middle of the compound. All of these areas appeared to be heavily patrolled by Malaysian Military personnel.
Jinpei used the long-range scanners of the New God Phoenix to pinpoint the signal with more accuracy. It was actually emanating from the main Palace itself.
Despite the seemingly innocent exterior of the Palace Grounds, the mere existence of a Galactor signal in a populated area was cause for concern. Ken had determined that it was better to attempt a stealthy approach, rather than a full-on assault. Even the usually bloodthirsty Condor agreed with this tactic. And so it was, with Pimer piloting the New God Phoenix, that the five members of the Science Ninja Team leapt from their ship and out into the sky, gliding through the clouds that lingered over the Royal Compound. Within a few seconds, their target was in sight, and the five ninjas landed quietly on the roof of the Palace.
The Condor broke the lock on one of the upper storey windows, and the team crept silently into what appeared to be a meeting room.
"So, what now?" whispered Jinpei.
"Just a second!" hissed Jun, fiddling with a handheld device. "I'm working on it. There it is… below us, about one hundred meters." The Swan replaced the device in her belt pouch.
"So, how do we get down there?" Ryu asked.
Joe had been investigating the room while the others talked, and now he thumped on a portion of the wall. It emitted a hollow sound, and a panel slid back, revealing an open shaft.
"What's that?" Jinpei asked curiously.
"It looks like a dumbwaiter." Jun told him.
"What are you calling me?" the Swallow asked angrily.
"It's an old fashioned elevator to send food up and down stairs." Jun sighed.
"Oh."
"It looks like we could use it." Ken said, looking down the shaft. "Joe, you go first."
The Condor nodded, and leapt into the shaft, gliding down with his wings. There was silence for a few moments.
"It looks like I'm in the basement." Joe reported by means of his bracelet. "Everyone else can come on down."
"You next, Jinpei, then you, Ryu, and after that Jun and I will go." Ken ordered.
The Swallow, the Owl and the Swan nodded. Jinpei leapt into the shaft.
Muffled voices came through the wall.
"Who's that?" Ryu asked.
The Swan pressed her helmeted ear against the wall.
"It's Gel Sadra!" she hissed, jumping back.
"What is she saying?" Ken asked, pressing his ear against the wall as well.
"Something about their orders…" muttered Jun, resuming her eavesdropping position.
"Your turn, Ryu!" Jinpei's voice came through their bracelets.
The Owl grimaced, then slowly began to squeeze himself into the shaft.
Jun was finally able to focus on Gel Sadra's voice.
"…ensure that the troops are deployed to cover all appropriate areas. Leader X wants to move as soon as we have secured everything here…"
"Jun, we're ready for you!" Ryu's voice broke her concentration.
"I'll be there shortly." Ken told her as she left. He resumed listening at the wall while Jun got into the shaft. The Eagle shuddered as he was treated to a view of the Swan's bottom when she bent over.
Dragging his mind away from his physical attraction to his third, Ken resumed listening to the conversation on the other side of the wall. An unfamiliar voice was speaking.
"… It shall be done as you command, Gel Sadra. Our forces are ready for action. We are honored to join with Galactor in this endeavor…"
"All clear, Ken." Joe reported.
"I'm on my way." Ken replied, hearing footfalls on the other side of the wall. The Eagle dropped down into the shaft.
Ken fell for about a hundred feet, then landed gracefully in a dark, dusty room constructed from stone blocks.
"Glad you made it." Joe greeted him. "We think we've figured out which way to go next." Jinpei, Jun and Ryu were kneeling in the dirt a short distance away.
"How's that?" Ken asked, squinting as his eyes adjusted to the dim light.
"The hallway in this direction appears to have been constructed from newer stone than the one in the other direction." Jun remarked, brushing off the knees of her boots as she stood.
"Sounds like a good analysis to me." Ken grinned. "Let's go with it."
"Anything we should know about Gel Sadra?" Ryu asked.
"What? She's here?" Joe growled.
"We heard her, upstairs, in the next room." Ken told the Condor. "Apparently she's convinced someone else to add their resources to Galactor's."
"And given that we're standing in the Sultan's Palace," Joe finished the Eagle's thought, "you think it might be Sultan Ahmad?"
"It's certainly possible." Ken admitted, a worried look on his face.
"It's not like we haven't encountered governments selling out to Galactor before." Jun pointed out. "We've always been able to deal with it."
"Yes, but Malaysia owns mines that are the world's primary source of Hypernium 600." Ken noted. "If Galactor has access to those resources…"
The entire team fell silent for a long moment.
"So we have to make sure they don't get access to the Hypernium 600." Joe stated.
"But first, we have to search for Agent Murfitt." Jun reminded them.
"Let's move out." Ken ordered.
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After a few hundred meters the corridor built of newer stone became one constructed from Sigma-Lightray strengthened steel. Another fifty meters further on there was a junction. The Swan pulled out the device from her belt pouch.
"The signal transmission came from that direction." she noted, pointing down one of the corridors.
"Since this appears to be a Galactor base, that would suggest that there's a main control room in that direction." Ken said thoughtfully. "Usually Galactor doesn't place detention areas near their control rooms, in case of escape…"
"Which means that Agent Murfitt is likely in the other direction." Joe said.
"Our mission is to rescue Agent Murfitt." Ryu pointed out.
"But we can't let Galactor get their hands on that Hypernium 600!" Jinpei cried.
The Eagle appeared thoughtful for a moment, before he spoke.
"Jun and Jinpei, I want you to track down where that transmission originated. Set some explosives, timed for detonation thirty minutes from now."
Jun and Jinpei nodded.
"Joe, and Ryu, you'll come with me down this other corridor, so we can locate Agent Murfitt. We will all rendezvous at the New God Phoenix in half an hour."
"Roger!" said four voices in unison.
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Jun and Jinpei crept down the corridors of the Galactor base. Jinpei scouted ahead while Jun checked the direction to the source of the communication.
After a few minutes, she told Jinpei to stop.
"The signal is coming from in here." she whispered, indicating a door next to the spot where she stood.
"Okay, Onechan, I'm ready."
They silently counted to three, then opened the door. They had the advantage of surprise over the six guards inside, and the threat posed by these goons was easily nullified by the Swan and Swallow's attack.
"This is the place!" Jinpei whispered excitedly. "Where should we place the explosives?"
"Here, I think." smiled Jun, pulling open a large panel in the center of the main console. With nimble fingers she quickly set the charge and the detonation timer, then closed up the panel.
"Uh, Onechan…" Jinpei said nervously, "I think we've got company!" The Swallow pointed to a platoon of guards that appeared on the security monitors, approaching their position.
"Then let's go!" Jun hissed, pulling open the door to the room. The two ninjas slipped into the corridor and rounded the corner, only to be met by another squadron of guards, headed by Gel Sadra herself.
"Throw the gas bombs, you idiots!" the Galactor Leader screeched at her men. The Swan and the Swallow ran in the opposite direction, but were blocked by the other platoon of troops.
The Swallow saw a small opening in the group of soldiers and pushed through it, only realizing too late that the Swan had been unable to follow.
A cloud of white gas filled the air, and despite herself, Jun found herself breathing some of it in.
"Run, Jinpei…" she cried, as she sank to the floor, overcome by the noxious substance.
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"This looks like the Detention Area." Joe remarked as he, Ken and Ryu approached the door to what was obviously a high security area. Three green-uniformed soldiers were standing in front of the door, and a nearby Guard Room off the side of the corridor held at least four more.
"We're going to have to take them all out at once," Ken said, "before they can raise an alarm."
"Not a problem." grinned Joe viciously. The Condor was chewing on a feather shuriken, and held another six in his hands. "I'll take the Guard Room."
His dark form slipped through the shadows, then turned and waited for a signal from the Eagle. Ken unholstered his Bird Saucer, while Ryu got out his Gripper.
The Eagle nodded, and the three ninjas leapt into action. A series of dull thuds came from the Guard Room, accompanied by a few soft gurgles as the Condor's shuriken found their marks. The Bird Saucer whistled through the air, neatly slicing the throats of two of the guards outside the Detention Area, while Ryu's Gripper plastered itself over the face of the third. This last goon floundered helplessly as Ryu pounded his fists into the soldier's soft stomach. The guard quickly suffocated from the green substance covering his nose and mouth.
"Very nice, gentlemen." Joe complimented, as he emerged from the Guard Room. "Barely a sound."
"So, uh… one question." Ryu said. "How do we get in there? Did you see any kind of keys in the Guard Room, Joe?"
"I don't think there are any." Ken said, looking at the closed door to the Detention Area. "That appears to be a hand reader over there." The Eagle pointed at a small square on the wall, with the imprint of a palm-down hand on it.
"Let's try it." Joe shrugged, pulling at the hand of the goon with the Gripper still on his face. A portion of the gooey green weapon stuck to the Condor's arm, and Joe peeled it off with a revolted look.
"This is disgusting." he muttered. "How do you stand it, Ryu?"
"There's a knack to it." Ryu replied loftily, his nose in the air as he expertly snapped his weapon off of the soldier and back into shape. The Owl grabbed the goon's hand and smacked it into the center of the handprint plate on the wall.
"Private Robinson: Peter J." a bored computerized voice announced, before the door slid open with a soft whooshing noise.
"Hey, this guy's pretty handy!" Ryu snickered.
"I have to hand it to you for figuring that out, Ryu." Joe joked. There was a challenging note to his voice.
"I guess he got us the five finger discount." Ryu replied, upping the ante.
"He's hands down the most helpful goon I've ever met." Joe smirked.
"As long as he's not looking for a handout"
"He doesn't look like he's living hand to mouth."
"And he certainly doesn't have a handicap."
"He wrote the handbook on door-opening procedures."
"Yeah, he's got a handle on it."
"Pretty handsome too, if you ask me."
"He seems like a hands-on kind of guy."
"I like his handiwork."
"You guys are giving me a headache." Ken complained. "Let's just get on with the job, shall we?"
"Spoilsport." Joe rolled his eyes at Ken as he winked at Ryu. The Owl grinned back. It was good to see Joe back to his old self, even if it was in the middle of a mission.
Ryu dragged Private Robinson's body inside the Detention Area before closing the door, then left it behind as the three ninjas moved into the facility.
Most of the cells were empty, but after a couple of minutes they came across one that was occupied by a man with an unkempt, haggard appearance.
"Can it really be?" the prisoner whispered in a quavering voice. "Gatchaman?"
"Yes." Ken replied quietly. Despite his disheveled state, the man looked vaguely familiar. His voice sounded very familiar. Suddenly, the Eagle had a flash of memory.
"Sultan Ahmad?" he asked incredulously.
"Yes!" the man whispered excitedly. "Thank Heaven you came! I've been down here for some time… I don't even know how long it has been… there is no day or night down here. You have to rescue me! Allah only knows what that terrible woman is doing to my poor people!"
"Gel Sadra?" asked the Owl.
"Yes." Sultan Ahmad replied. "She came to me and demanded that I allow the Galactor organization access to our Hypernium 600 mines. I, of course, refused." The Sultan's chest puffed out with pride, before his face fell.
"The next day, I woke up to find myself here." he gestured to his filthy cell. "I can only imagine what those Galactor scum have been getting away with in my absence!" The Sultan spat on the floor for emphasis.
"We're getting you out of here, your Highness." Ken said. "But we're also here to recover another prisoner. The Owl will remain with you while the Condor and I find the other man."
"Thank you." the Sultan whispered gratefully, as Ken and Joe slipped away to continue the search for Agent Murfitt.
"So, how do you open this thing?" Ryu asked Ahmad casually, as he tugged at the barred door to the cell.
"There is a handprint access panel on the wall." the Sultan offered, "But you would need a Galactor guard to activate it."
"Not a problem!" grinned the Owl. "I'll be right back."