Chapter 21 - Mystery Solved
The silence of the Amazon homeworld was broken early the next morning when the ENDY broke through its mystical shield and landed outside the Palace.
Since she had been so morose for the past several days, Benedycina went out to meet the craft and its single passenger.
Alana Napolipolita-Daitokuji disembarked, and looked as disheveled as she had when she left Themyscira. Usually, the older Napolipolita girls wore makeup – quite a bit of it, and in the Cygnan style of heavy eyeshadow and eyeliner. Today, however, Alana's pretty face was scrubbed clean. She figured that there was no sense putting on makeup if you were just going to cry it off.
"How are you, and how are the patients?" Benedycina asked, giving a tiger-claw salute.
"Not so good," the young soldier said, returning the salute. "Dee has an infection in her wound after all. After picking up her family, Stellamaris boarded a vessel heading to Beneshandra. And – "
Benedycina frowned, her nerves suddenly on edge. "And how is your mother?"
Alana burst into sobs. "She started to get worse when they wheeled her into the hospital. They say she has pneumonia. She wants Daddy, so I am going to fetch him and the girls right now. She has a fever and I am – so – worried – that – "
Breaking rank and every protocol in the book, Benedycina rushed over and put her arms around the crying young woman. "She'll be all right," she told her. "Your mother has survived worse. She'll perk up when she sees your father."
Alana nodded and looked up at her compatriot. Scrubbed of makeup, she looked quite different.
In fact, thought Benedycina in a frantic way, she looks a little like me –
"Alana. Do you know who your father was?"
The girl's slanted eyes widened. "That's an odd question. Well, here it is. General Atola. You've seen him before. About seven feet tall – long silver hair – pointed ears and slanted eyes. Just like me. Ma had me when she was only seventeen, and then he dumped her. They ran into each other here and there over the years but Ma wants nothing to do with him. He's still quite the lady-killer, as the Terrans say. Why?"
Benedycina sighed deeply and released her hold. "Well, my mother has never told me who my father was, and it's driven us apart for a long time. I see my expressions in your face. My eyes do not tilt but my ears – " Benedycina swept her orange-and-red braid away from her left ear. Sure enough, they bore the pointed feature common to those of Thessalonikan blood.
Alana was silent for a few moments. "Let me get my family ready," she said. "And why don't you pay your mother a visit. She's in the big tent with our Swan flag on it, right over there. Then we'll meet back up right here later."
Benedycina nodded, snapped the tiger-claw salute once again, and turned. "We're going to have it out, Madere Misua, " she thought. "Who knows? Maybe I will learn more about myself as well as you."
As yet unaware of her daughter's intentions, Eleos Benedycina of the Fifteenth Combined Arms Division, Seventh Army was about to confront one of the biggest challenges of her life.
Xxxxxxxxx
Alana was careful not to set off a panic among the members of the Napolipolita-Daitokuji family. She greeted each and told them to get packed and ready to go home. And that was all. Then she approached Hikaru Daitokuji, who was carrying his little son in his arms in an effort to play horsie.
"Daddy, may I speak to you?" she said, and she could not help the expression on her face.
He put Hikiri on the floor. "Go find Lois and Jon and play," he said, anxiety rising in his heart. Then he stood and faced Alana. "Let's have it."
"Ma has pneumonia. She wants you," was all the girl said. She looked around the room to make sure Aki, Shiiko and Mitsuko had left to gather their things, then collapsed in his arms.
He clutched her tightly. "Don't you worry, sugar." Hikaru Daitokuji almost never used terms of endearment. "She is in good hands and will be happy that we will all be home again. Let me say goodbye to our hosts and Her Highnesses, and then we will be on her way." He gave her one more hug and released her to clean out her own room.
With that, he activated his Cygnan-manufactured communicator (cell phones did not work on Paradise Island for obvious reasons) and contacted his personal physician, Dr. Agama. In his agitation he reverted back to Daitokuji of Old, and used a tone not heard by anyone in the NDFG for years.
"Agama? My wife had better be monitored around the clock and every bat of her eyes and her every breath had better be recorded and you people had better give her every helpful medication known to humankind and there had better not be a single unwanted microbe in her lungs or anywhere else that you have not identified, medicated, and blotted from human existence. I own that hospital, which means I own the ICU – hell, I own the CITY – and that means if you people treasure your JOBS you will put yourselves on the LINE to make sure my Dollface is CURED, and PRONTO – "
A hoarse female voice interjected. "Oh, Hiki. Will you just relax and take a breath? I'm not dead, you know. I feel lousy but – "
Daitokuji was apoplectic out of fear and anxiety. "Get back in that bed, Ayshalita, you – "
"I am in bed, my little samurai. I have an IV line pumping all sorts of good things into me and as you can tell I am not on a ventilator."
"You sound like you're gasping for air! Aren't they supplying you with oxygen?"
"Of course. Some little thingy under my nose. I don't need you coming back here and having a stroke out of worry. Now, give my love and my best regards to Her Majesties and take your time about it. I intend to take a nap, and when I wake up I will see your handsome face once again, and that will do me more good than a bucket of pills."
He nodded, tears running down his face.
"Yes?" Dr. Agama asked.
"Yes," Hikaru replied. "Agama?"
"Yes?"
"Um, sorry about that."
"No problem. See you soon."
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"There it is," said Buyabah, leading Wonder Woman and three other Cygnans behind her. "Still standing upright as well." She pointed at the blood-red painted hulk of metal that was once a fully operational Shakanar "walker". Thick legs upheld the massive bulk, ugly and brutal as were its dead operators.
"Many more nearby," added Benya. "Some intact, some exploded. Enough iron and steel for you to break up and melt down into more useful things."
"If we have any blacksmiths left," Diana sighed. "Those things would be better as plows and pruning hooks rather than death machines."
"Or horseshoes for your poor beasts," Sempra said. "Enough to last a lifetime, I guess."
"If we have any horses left, but we'll see."
"Or maybe a water wheel to power a grain grinder," said Eleos, chuckling to herself. "Great. Speaking in alliteration at my age. It is a wonder that I can even speak after all that embarrassment yesterday."
"Embarrassment?"
"Indeed," she said, fiercely rubbing her arms. "Two queens in front of me while setting up all the hospitals, one of them your mother. And I called them 'Your Highnesses' rather than 'Your Majesties'. I should have been shot for such impudence – "
Diana shook her head. "Did you get any sleep lately? They'd understand verbal slip-ups coming from lack of it."
"Not since my Queen put me in charge of all this."
"Don't end up like Stellamaris," warned Sempra. "Self care is as essential as care for others. You of all people should know this. I read your service record last night. Astonishing that you haven't died yet from pulling out injured soldiers on every battlefield assigned to you."
"Old habits die hard, Your Clemency. Been like this ever since the last Xram attack on the Outer Rim all those years ago." She wiped her face, rubbing her palms on her cheeks. "Especially...on the Outer Rim...with him..."
Diana raised an eyebrow as she unwound her Golden Lasso.
"What parts should we concentrate on, Doctor?" Buyabah asked.
"Main computer and weapons control," Eleos said. "Power generators after that. If it has beam weapons, that's the next thing to tackle. We can fix the beams to heal rather than kill. Easy to prove this. The beams will be a shade of purple rather than red."
"Purple?" Diana said. "Sounds like the purple healing ray we had until now."
"From what I was told, your type of ray is similar to ours. Only it's full body coverage, not just concentrated like ours." She rubbed her hands again, blew into them. "Maybe we can find a way to build a substitute for what you lost."
"We'd be grateful for that, trust me." She made a face. "Are you sure you're all right?"
"Been this way for years. The battlefield changes things in a soul. You're a warrior yourself. You know that better than I could express it."
"I take it we can pull this thing down with your rope?" asked Sempra, looking at Diana's golden lasso with curiosity.
"It's much more than a rope, I assure you. Where can we safely catch this?"
"Around the 'nose' of that thing," said Benya, aiming at the protuberance below the walker's cockpit. A pair of curved tubes stuck out from it like the mandibles of a praying mantis.
"Maybe a little further back. Help me bring it down when I tell you." The Amazon princess swung the lasso over her head several times and let it fly at the Cygnan war machine. It hooked over the 'nose' and slid itself fast behind its neck.
"Now get behind me and ready yourselves." The four Cygnans each grabbed their part of the lasso and planted their feet firmly on the ground. Eleos looked up, spying a flash of light from one of the mandibles.
"I wonder," the Doctor murmured. "Could it be..."
"On my mark, Sisters. One...two...three!"
The quintet pulled with all their might as if in a tug-of-war match. A cascade of creaks invaded the air around them as the war beast leaned towards them.
The mandible flashed red again and again, this time in a deep ominous shade. A loud whine kept time with the flashes, melding with the noise of the metallic monster above them.
Eleos took in a deep breath as the women pulled again. She let her right arm hang loose, palm skyward as she whispered a prayer. The walker now fell onto the ground with a sickening crash. Its mandible fired a pulsed series of beams above their heads, colliding with the ground below them.
The Doctor drew her arm back as if pulling back a bow. She thrust it out toward the walker's head, a thin bolt of ice flying from her palm. It collided with the mandible, shattering it into a thousand pieces.
"Oh thou...Truth Eternal...glorify Thy name..." she groaned, falling fast toward the ground. Diana spun part of the lasso around Eleos, catching her fall. Benya and Buyabah kicked away the shield window from the walker, diving in to gut its controls.
The Doctor shook her head, gulping down air as if finishing a marathon."What's all this then?"
"You were about to fall on your face...hard," Diana said. She slowly lifted the Doctor onto her feet, her arms bound tightly to her side. The lasso glowed in its bright golden hue.
Eleos shivered, her breath coming out in fog-gray puffs. Diana's eyes widened in shock. Eleos's eyes widened as well when she beheld the daughter she had not seen in years.
"Ben - ya - ree," she whispered.
"Mama's still got it," Benya murmured as she removed the walker's computers. She glanced at her mother, old hurt feelings preventing her from running over to her and covering her face with kisses.
"Got what?" Buyabah blurted. "What was that?"
"An ice dagger," Eleos groaned. "It freezes things...instantly so they...don't move or explode."
"I saw no weapon on you," said Diana, grasping the lasso in her fist. "Where are you hiding it?"
"In...my...very...being...my Princess," she said, spitting out the words as she bowed her head. "This is...part of an...ancient martial...art learned...from my...ancestors. In your many...tongues you Earthers have...it's called...the Way of the Northern Sun. It grants...the ability to shoot out ice from one's...hands at high speed. But not just any...type of ice."
"What other kind is there?" Buyabah asked.
"An ice...that...kills...on contact...with a...cold that is...beyond cold..."
"How cold are we talking about?"
"You Terrans have three ways of measuring heat and cold," said Benya. She popped the dashboard out of its frame, passing it to Buyabah. "So if I have it right, it is minus two hundred twelve degrees Fahrenheit, minus one hundred degrees Celsius and zero degrees Kelvin."
Diana's jaw dropped, while Sempra covered her face with her hands.
"You know it better as Absolute Zero," she went on. "Cold enough to stop anything moving for good. It's lethal to all life. Ruins and wrecks machinery. Many a gas giant would have temperatures as low as that."
Eleos nodded, grasping her hands. "I'm the thirty-sixth...generation in...my family line...to practice the Way. Benya...is the...thirty-seventh. Those who...do this...pay a hefty price...for it, though."
"In Mama's case," Benya said, searching for the beam computer. "For her, it's always being cold when on duty for too long. I'm not telling any stories. I've seen this happen to her since my childhood."
Sempra folded her hands before her, clearing her throat. "Is this art widespread in practice, or not?"
"Few know of it...Revenger. Fewer still...practice it. Last time...I did this was...on the Outer Rim...years ago...saving him...from a Xram attack...with such daggers..."
Sempra gestured to the two guardswomen. Nodding, they climbed out of the walker. Buyabah and several others walked away with its innards in their arms.
The Revenger waited until they were out of sight. She then walked to the Doctor's other side, knelt beside her, and held her chilled hands. Diana stayed on her left side.
"We are alone now," said Diana, "so you may speak freely. Is he from my galaxy?"
"No...my Princess...from mine...he is from Thessalonika...from the capital city, to be precise, which is called Kuknimagni."
"Has he died?"
Eleos grinned. "No...but many...wish he had. Many a maiden or lady...and their families...dream of it. He's a brave...warrior and...good with a blade...but that's it. I pity his king...to have no better...sword arm as he. His royal family...deserves better."
"A-ha," she said, brushing a strand of hair from her face. "What of his soldiers' loyalty to him?"
"They're...simpletons...if they're not. He has a bad habit...of snatching...victory from defeat...if one were a Xram. However..."
"The interpersonal relationship with the opposite sex is another matter?" asked Sempra.
Eleos sighed. "Oh...Glory of Beneshandra...how diplomatic thou art."
"Just being charitable to you, nothing more. What rank or station does he hold?"
"Must I say so?"
"I hold the lasso myself," Diana added, lifting up the fist grasping it. "I can no more lie with it as you can wrapped in it."
"Alas...well...he...is is the general of the Thessalonikan forces...tall and fair of face...with well-kept...long silver hair."
"Elderly then?"
"More...middle aged for...his species. Keeps...himself well. Won't touch...any alcohol."
"Right. He's not Cygnan?"
"No...he is...from our ally...Thessalonika." She shivered again. "A loyal...servant of their...King...Sokar the Fourth." A loud groan erupted from her throat. "Oh...how I wish...that I...never...saw his...face...or felt his strong arms...around me."
She fell to her knees, hot tears streaming down her cheeks. She looked up at her daughter, who was gazing at her intently. Diana knelt down next to her, her free hand now behind the Doctor's neck.
"Sister," Sempra began, "I have an inkling I know who you speak of. But for the sake of our Amazon Sisters it is better if you tell us who he is. Then all will be forewarned of him and kept away from his guile."
"Many a Sister I know in Man's World who fight beside me would also benefit," added Diana.
"I never told...my little Benya...who her birth father was...still...can't...too...ashamed...and afraid..."
Sempra gently took Eleos' chin in her hand, lifted it to eye level. "I adjure thee," intoned Sempra."In the name of the All-Highest Being...who made all things from nothing...tell us the name of the one who broke thy heart."
Eleos trembled as she gazed into the Revenger's gold and silver eyes. "Hagio...Triado….Atola...of Thessalonika..."
She heard a gasp as her daughter approached her and fell to her knees. "I knew it, Mama, without you saying a word. I just saw Alana Napolipolita without all that makeup she wears. She looks like me, Mama. And she told me that she was born when her mother was but a teenager, as were you." She hugged her mother for the first time in many years as both women cried out their sore hearts in each other's embrace.
Diana unwound the lasso from the doctor's body. "Weep your fill, Sisters," she murmured. "You'll find no shame in your tears amongst us."
"Thank...you..." she groaned, stroking her daughter's red and orange hair. "My sweet baby girl."
Diana smirked, and in a most unpleasant way. "I know of this man from what Aysha has told me over the years. She made the mistake of running into him at some starbase or another when she was but sixteen. It seems that he likes them young and if they are vulnerable it's all the better. She was young and already a slave to the wine by that time."
"I am glad I know for sure, Mama," Benya sighed, helping her mother to her feet. "I need to return to Her Majesty. Please have supper with me tonight. I've missed you so terribly."
The Doctor nodded, kissing her forehead. "I am so proud of you, my darling lost child," she whispered. "And I will meet you – where?"
Diana nodded to the assembled women. "Join my mother and your Queen at what is left of our Royal Palace for one farewell dinner before Ambassador Napolipolita's family leaves."
"Men can be a pain in the tail," she growled as she walked away with the Revenger.