Chapter 18
Ken and Jun's hike on the other side of Humphrey's Peak was just as long, but they merely set out on their way. The heat from nearby lava flows was oppressive, and they found themselves wilting as they walked, lacking the strength to even talk to each other.
Due to the heat and the mountainous terrain, it took nearly ninety minutes for the two ninjas to reach the area that had been indicated by Agent Murfitt. Fortunately, the information the ISO had obtained appeared to be correct, as they easily located the entrance. It was a narrow shaft barely a meter wide and two meters high.
"I'll go first." Ken stated, and Jun merely nodded, wiping half-heartedly at her brow. The hike had taken a lot out of both of them.
However, once they were inside the tunnel and away from the sunlight and lava flows, the temperature immediately dropped to a comfortable fifteen degrees Celsius.
"Oh, that feels better." sighed Jun happily, some of her energy returning.
"I've never been so glad to get out of the sun." Ken said, leading his third down the passageway, which appeared to be a natural fissure in the rock.
As they walked, Ken tried to think about ways to open a conversation with Jun, about what had happened after their previous mission. Certainly this wasn't the ideal time to do so, but they were alone, and the opportunity was just too good to pass up.
"Ken, look out!" Jun cried, as the ground shook beneath their feet.
The Eagle looked up just in time to see a small rockslide coming straight toward him. Damn! He had been so distracted thinking about Jun that he hadn't been paying attention to his surroundings. Quickly, Ken dove out of the way, but in his haste his hand missed the rock it had reached for, and instead the Eagle cracked his helmet on the stone wall.
A soft hissing noise was the only sound for a moment, but it was quickly replaced with the Swan's voice.
"Ken?" Jun asked, "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine." Ken said, embarrassed. "I just banged my head, but my helmet took the worst of it."
"What was that hissing noise?" Jun asked him.
"I…" Ken looked around for a second, then realized what it had been.
"I think I just lost my oxygen." he said ruefully, pulling the cracked canister out of his helmet. "So much for that idea."
"Here." Jun said, "Take mine." The Swan pulled the canister from her own helmet and handed it to the Eagle.
"No." Ken shook his head. "You need it."
"Look, Ken, this is no time for false modesty." Jun lectured. "Gatchaman is a much bigger prize than the Swan, and you're more in need of it than I am."
"But, Jun, what if something happens to you?" Ken asked her.
"If that happens," the Swan said, looking the Eagle straight in the eye, "I trust you to get me out, if at all possible."
Ken's heart swelled at the confidence she placed in him, and he nodded as he took the canister from her slim fingers.
"Thank you." he said. But his words conveyed gratitude for much more than the tool she had just handed over to him.
"I wonder why that happened?" Jun mused, seemingly unaware of the Eagle's silent appreciation. "This area isn't supposed to be seismically active."
"These volcanoes are supposed to be extinct." Ken pointed out. "Seismic activity could explain why they are operational again."
"That's true." Jun replied. "I hope the others don't have any problems."
"They'll be fine." Ken assured her. "Joe is with them."
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"Come on, Ryu!" Joe snarled, frustrated with the Owl's slow pace. It had been two hours since they had been dropped off by Pimer, and the three ninjas still hadn't reached the Galactor base.
"Sorry, Joe." Ryu panted. The Owl was huffing and puffing his way across the rocky terrain.
"Just wave some sugar in front of him and I'm sure he'll speed up." the Swallow joked.
"That's not funny, Jinpei." the Condor snapped.
The Swallow had the grace to look ashamed.
"Hey, it looks like we're getting close!" he pointed out, in an attempt to change the subject.
Joe looked at the spot the Swallow was indicating. It certainly appeared that they had reached their destination.
Almost.
A large portion of the mountainside had fallen away. Even as the three ninjas realized this, the ground began to shake.
"Earthquake!" Ryu cried, throwing himself onto his stomach.
"Scaredy-cat!" Jinpei teased the Owl, before falling flat on his behind as another tremor unbalanced him.
The Condor merely rolled his eyes at his flailing teammates and maintained his balance as the earth beneath him rocked. The quake certainly explained why a portion of the mountain was missing.
The tremors diminished, allowing the Swallow and the Owl to regain their footing.
A dark spot that was obviously a small cave opening was clearly visible in the middle of the sheer cliff that was now the side of Humphrey's Peak. Not only was the mountainside steep and nearly impossible to climb, but it appeared to be the edge of a large volcanic crater. One thousand feet below the cave was a magma lake emitting noxious clouds of sulfuric gas.
"Ugh, it smells like that egg salad sandwich Ryu left in the Horned Tank!" Jinpei complained, holding his nose and waving his hand underneath.
"Don't you mean the sandwich you hid in the Horned Tank?" Ryu grumbled. "Some joke! It took me a week to get the smell out!"
"Oh… yeah…" Jinpei grinned sheepishly.
"How are we going to get over there?" Ryu asked Joe.
"I'm going to climb over." the Condor shrugged.
"What?" Ryu exclaimed. "That cliff goes straight down! It's almost completely sheer! What the hell makes you think you can climb that?"
"I climbed K3, didn't I?" Joe asked bluntly.
"Yeah, but…"
"I'm going." Joe stated firmly. "If you want to stay behind, go ahead, but I'm continuing on with the mission."
"I'm going too." the Owl replied, changing his tune immediately.
"Me too!" piped the Swallow.
"Okay, follow me, and pay attention to where I place my hands." the Condor instructed them, before moving out to the edge of the cliff.
Ryu and Jinpei followed, determined expressions on their faces.
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Ken and Jun had been walking for some time before they began to see signs of Galactor activity. At first it was just some electric lighting, then it was a wider passageway that had obviously been carved out of the rock, and finally the Eagle and the Swan came across a patrol. The two goons had obviously not been expecting to encounter any intruders, and their surprise was their undoing. The guards were quickly taken down by the Bird Saucer and the Aurora Ribbon, before they could raise any alarm.
After that, the Swan and the Eagle stayed in the shadows, moving as quietly as they were capable of and concentrating on being as unobtrusive as possible. Soon they reached a doorway, and after some electrical wizardry on the Swan's part they managed to unlock it.
At this point, there was no question that they were inside an active Galactor base. Green-uniformed soldiers were everywhere, and the two ninjas even spotted one or two strangely-garbed captains.
"This is obviously a large installation." whispered Ken. "No wonder Galactor's making a stand here!"
"Let's try that direction." Jun pointed to a wide corridor. "It looks like there's a lot of traffic that way, so there's got to be something interesting down the hallway."
But of course, the disadvantage to using a heavily traveled corridor was that they encountered a number of goons. The Swan and the Eagle were able to take care of most of them quickly and quietly, but eventually one soldier got away, and it was immediately obvious that he had raised the alarm.
"In here!" Ken said, grabbing Jun's hand and pulling her through a nearby doorway.
It was obvious that the chamber in which they had taken refuge was some kind of warehouse, filled with supplies, spare uniforms and weaponry. The Eagle and the Swan ran quickly to the other side, before locating another exit. The next room was apparently a storage chamber, although it was currently empty.
"Dead end!" said Jun. "Let's go back!"
"Too late!" came Gel Sadra's voice, and the two ninjas looked up to see the Galactor Leader's image on a nearby communications monitor. "You are mine now, Gatchaman!"
Predictably, a white cloud of gas began to fill the small room. The Swan began to cough.
"Get out of here, Ken!" she choked, covering her mouth and falling to the floor, where the air was a little more clear. The Eagle turned back to the door through which they had entered the room, only to discover that it was now locked.
"Use your helmet!" he reminded Jun, before remembering that she didn't have access to that resource any more. She had given her oxygen to him.
Activating his canister, the Eagle slumped to the ground, pretending to be overcome by the gas, but instead surreptitiously breathing the clean air provided by his helmet.
After about five minutes, the flow of gas stopped. Ken's flow of oxygen had kept him safe for much of the time, but he was still feeling slightly woozy. When the air cleared, the Swan lay in a comatose state on the floor while the Eagle sprawled next to her, feigning unconsciousness.
The door to the chamber opened and Gel Sadra entered, accompanied by a number of soldiers. At her orders, the guards placed restraints around both ninjas, although when they were distracted by the Swan's shapely legs, the Eagle shifted just enough to ensure that the bonds around his wrist did not latch. Once he was certain that he was not being observed, Ken began surreptitiously working on his leg restraints, under cover of his wings.
"Looks like we caught ourselves some birdies." the Galactor Leader sang, obviously delighted. "Which one of them should we question first?"
"How about Gatchaman?" one of the goons suggested, looking askance at the apparently sleeping Eagle.
"No…" Gel Sadra replied, chewing a fingernail thoughtfully. "He's been trained to resist torture. Who knows if he would even give in to the serum? But, if we threatened the Swan…" She leered at Jun's inert form, "I'll bet he would be more than willing to co-operate."
"Should we wake her up, then?" asked another soldier.
"Yes, but we'll administer the serum first." Gel Sadra decided. "Just in case she gives us any trouble. I'll give her the same dose we used to incapacitate the Condor."
Ken fought his lethargy to keep working on unlocking his leg restraints, but his head was proving difficult to clear.
Jun was counting on him to keep her safe. He couldn't let Gel Sadra give her whatever drug they had used on Joe.
Unfortunately, right now there wasn't much he could do about it.