Twenty-Three
Castle Grayskull
Eternia
24 September 2017
Gabe and the Val-kyrie techs tore into the Servator and the larger machine they were tentatively calling a Shadowdemon. They quickly discerned the machines had not been boobytrapped with explosives to prevent them from being examined. Taking the Servator apart proved to be easy, given the design was identical to what the warrior women had faced a thousand years ago.
Probing the memory bank was more challenging due to updates in the software, but the Val-kyrie had updated programs of their own. Disabling the security locks had not taken more than a couple hours, during which time the group went to work on the large broken mech.
Taking it apart turned out to be not so easy. Its design did not match up to the Val-kyrie files, lending more weight to the theory that this was the rumored upgrade that never materialized during the war. With the help of War Wing in combat mode, the heavy armor plates protecting the chest, opened by Gabe days before, were unfastened from their mounting hinges and set aside. A team from Gabe's department took one back to Earth to perform experiments on and find the best ballistic ammunition to use in future battles. Other plates were recovered from the wreckage outside the castle before they were absorbed into the ground. With a selection of armor from different sections of the machines, Gabe had no doubts they would produce a good loadout for Colonel Markson's platoons.
For now, it was a waiting game.
Adrian met the Sorceress, at her request, in the command center. She waited for him up on the command platform, examining the main control panel.
Like Adrian, she felt she knew general information about the consoles in the chamber, but nothing specific beyond what they discovered days ago during the attack. Cirandar's memories only lent a little more weight to Adrian's theory that the equipment may have come from a warship. At present, she was familiarizing herself with the control configuration. Thanks to the earlier experiment, she and Adrian knew only the Sorceress could stand on the platform in front of the command platform and manipulate the holographic controls.
Adrian thought the primary command console could be used to control the castle defenses. It did have the controls to raise and lower the energy shield. However, the controls for the energy projectors failed to do anything. Hopefully, it was just a fault somewhere in the system the Val-kyrie techs could fix. Sorceress held the private opinion the panel may have been disabled to ensure only the castle's guardian could use them through the platform and holoprojection system.
"Discover anything interesting?" Adrian asked. He had walked up on her quiet as a cat stalking its prey.
Despite this, she had been well aware of his presence drawing closer. Sorceress did not know why she had such an affinity for his presence over others. She kept meaning to investigate it but was constantly sidetracked.
"Not since the battle," Sorceress replied, powering down the console. Shoving back the chair, Sorceress stood and stretched out her arms, working stiff muscles in her back.
Adrian and the Sorceress faced one another, an awkward silence settling between them. Neither had spoken about that night up on the east tower. Not having properly dealt with the loss of her husband until his spirit finally transcended, Adrian gave her time to sort out her feelings. He also felt the need to do a little soul searching of his own.
"We should talk," Adrian suggested, finally breaking the silence.
Sorceress nodded.
"I don't regret what happened," Adrian continued. "I enjoyed spending quiet time like that. No one shooting at us. No pressing engagements."
"I enjoyed it, too. I haven't spent a night like that in – I don't know how long," Sorceress admitted. "I had forgotten what it was like to just relax and do nothing. I always find something to do around here. Books to read. Far off worlds to explore with the magic mirror. Magical experiments to perform. Always doing something. I guess I filled my time in part to avoid facing reality. Dannon refusing to make the transition did not help. We knew it wasn't right. Wasn't healthy." The words poured out of her in a torrent. Once unleashed, she couldn't stop.
Adrian already knew Dannon had told her she would find love again. He never thought it might be with him. Sorceress was so much out of his league that she might as well be from another planet. Ironic, because she was from another planet.
Taking a step toward her, Adrian reached out, slid his hands down her arms and took hold of her hands. "I can't replace your husband. Nor would I ever try."
"I know."
"I have to be me."
"I know."
Adrian cracked a grin. "You have to admit your life is less boring being out of this castle."
"No, I don't," she countered. "My life in here is not boring. Lonely, maybe, but never boring." Sorceress wanted to say more, but her thoughts stalled. "I guess I'm just afraid."
"Afraid?" Adrian laughed. "Of what? Considering what we do with those battlesuits, I don't see what you could possibly be afraid of." Then it dawned on him what she meant. "You mean afraid of losing someone again. Being left alone again."
Reluctantly, Sorceress nodded.
"Well, look on the bright side. Given our close proximity to each other at any given moment, whatever happens to me will probably take you out, as well. So why worry?"
Why worry indeed.
Sorceress chuckled. Adrian certainly had a weird way of looking at things. He wasn't wrong, just had a skewed point of view.
Adrian took a tentative step closer. Sorceress moved with him, both having reached an understanding.
"Adrian!" Gabe called out joyously, stumping across the floor toward the command platform. "Great news!"
Instantly, the spell shattered like a glass crashing to the floor.
Sorceress snapped her left hand up to her mouth, stifling a snicker.
"It had better be," Adrian growled menacingly. This elicited another snicker.
By the time Gabe climbed the stairs to the platform, the pair had separated, Sorceress turning her back until she got her case of the snickers under control.
Panting from his rush to bring whatever news he carried, Gabe paused to take a few breaths to lower his heart rate. "We have confirmation. Well, the Val-kyrie techs did. They really know their work."
Adrian glared, willing the man to get to the point.
"It's confirmed. The big machines are Shadowdemons. An upgraded version, to be sure. The techs found the unit identification number. It's Shadowdemon 0ne-one-three-six."
That sobered the Sorceress in a heartbeat. "And this to you is great news?"
"We gotta talk about your idea of 'great news,'" Adrian added.
"Well, there's no doubt anymore," Gabe said. Something dawned on him. "Did I disturb something?"
Having been around her friends from Earth for over two years, and this group especially, Sorceress had developed a wicked sense of humor. "Recently? Or in general?"
Uncertain how to answer that, Gabe wisely changed the subject. He pulled a data pad from a pocket in his lab coat and handed it to Adrian. "The techs also found this in the memory download."
Adrian took the pad and read the displayed text. Included was a set of numbers that would have been gibberish to someone not versed in space navigation. Since he and the Sorceress bore the memories of their predecessors, he recognized the significance right away. He handed the pad to the Sorceress, who quickly scanned the text, and came to the same conclusion.
"They didn't tell me what those numbers mean," Gabe added, dejected that the techs did not reveal everything they had found.
"Spatial coordinates," Sorceress supplied.
That Gabe understood. "Of course!" Gabe exclaimed, kicking himself mentally. "Why didn't I see that?"
"Because you don't have the collected memories of a person a thousand years dead rattling around in your head. Soon as I saw that, I knew," Adrian said. "And I might know the planet those relate to."
"As do I," Sorceress added.
"Well, Captain Majourny is calling for a conference on the Eternia. This information, along with other developments, is going to be discussed. She would like both of you there."
"Lead on, McDuff." Adrian bowed and gestured down the stairs.
Walking through the main area with the ring of statues representing the Elders, the trio heard a commotion over at the large magic screen and portal generator. Personnel on rotation from the base in Area 51 were coming through the portal. Last to arrive was a four-foot-tall ball of angry fur and teeth seething with undisguised rage.
Upon seeing Princess Anyssa and Corporal Frost, Dhalon unloaded on them. "You got into a fight and had the audacity not to invite me? And here I thought we were fellow warriors fighting a common enemy."
Both knew the feisty Quadian was not really angry, though he was miffed at missing a good fight. "It wasn't a fight you could engage in, Dhalon," Anyssa said calmly.
Frost explained about the Servators hiding weapons in their forearms and how even armored soldiers had to stay clear of their deadly fire. Dhalon scoffed, as he always did, thinking his short stature would work in his favor. Maybe it would in the forest, but not in the open.
"Don't worry, buddy. We haven't seen that last of these things," Frost assured his feisty friend. "They'll be back, and you'll get your chance to get on the scoreboard." He referred to the Val-kyrie game that essentially counted coup as a way of flaunting one's prowess on the battlefield. This game had caused the untimely deaths of many Val-kyrie warriors who lost sight of the objective in favor of padding their score, however.
Anyssa made sure none of those who engaged in it lost that sight.
With the replacements through the portal, it closed down. Sorceress activated the massive screen again to take Gabe, Adrian, and herself directly to the Eternia rather than walk across the moat outside, though it was a nice day for walking.
The conference room was cramped even when empty. Attendees were going to be kept to a bare minimum. Captain Majourny, Colonel Markson, Gabe Burns, the Sorceress and Adrian were physically present. Concealed holoprojectors would project images of General Rongar, Queen Silvara, and Commander Harana in the remaining seats. Screens at each position around the table would display the image of General Hammond from his office on Earth. The setup was a bit on the complicated side, but the Val-kyrie techs assured Captain Majourny the transmissions would be secure and stable.
Once everyone was in place, the emitters activated. Real-time images of the general and the two Val-kyrie flicked into being and stabilized. General Hammond appeared on the displays in front of the people physically in the room, while the others had him appear on a screen in their respective locations.
"First, I'd like to welcome all of you to this meeting," Queen Silvara began. "I know time is valuable to everyone in attendance, so let's try to keep this as brief as possible. Yesterday, the battlestar Logoss was finishing its fitting out cruise and calibrating their new hyperdrive. They were near Sector 47 along the neutral zone between Val-kyrie and Horde space. Commander Fontaine received a distress call from a Horde squadron escorting a fleet of cargo transports. Being the only ship in the area, the commander, reluctantly, set course to intercept and help out the Horde commander."
General Rongar nodded as the Queen Mother continued to recite the events. He already had the report filed by the squadron commander, but hearing the other side of things filled in more pieces of the puzzle. That a Mark XX battlestar was able to take on three enemy battlecruisers and emerge victorious was heartening, to say the least. Thus far, the enemy appeared to be near invincible. Now they knew their adversary was simply more powerful, but not overwhelmingly so.
Commander Harana took over when the Queen Mother finished speaking. Her people had gone over the sensor data sent back by the Logoss. There was data on the power core of the ancient battlecruisers, which had been identified as belonging to a race no one seemed to know anything about. Hardly surprising since much of the records of who fought in the Great War besides the Horde and the Val-kyrie had been lost. Perhaps on purpose.
Another point was that manning warships with robots reduced the need for environmental control systems. Interiors had to be heated and sustained against the cold of space. The enhanced core, plus the reduction in environmental control and all that went with it, meant more power was available for systems like weapons and shields. The effect made a ship appear more powerful than they really were. If the ancient battlestar that had been sighted was similarly modified, it would be a formidable opponent, but not an unbeatable one. Just very, very tough to kill.
After Harana's presentation, General Rongar commented, "I agree with Commander Fontaine's assessment. She was lucky. Clearly, the enemy expected their own capital ship as backup and did not realize their mistake until it was too late. I doubt they will do that again."
"Agreed," Queen Silvara replied. "In addition to Defiant and Logoss, I have three more battlestars on standby. There is possibly another ship that will join the fleet if her commander can get back in time. What resources can you bring to the fight, General Rongar?"
Pursing his lips, Rongar thought for a moment. He had anticipated that question and took steps to be able to answer it. "I have called in a marker owed to me by Admiral Conlin."
"Conlin. Commanding admiral of the Third Fleet?" Harana asked.
"The same. Since Horde Prime is reluctant to get involved, I am taking steps to help in any way possible in combating our common enemy. I explained everything we know so far about this enemy, and he agreed that we have to take a stand. He will take his fleet wherever necessary and is even willing to place his fleet under operation command of your designated fleet commander."
"I believe we can trust him," Harana said. Whether she was referring to Rongar or Conlin was unknown.
"I am well aware of Admiral Conlin's history of occasionally working with us toward a common goal," Silvara reminded her friend gently. "He's a fine choice."
"At present, he is resupplying the fleet at its home base. He says he'll be ready in another day, or so," Rongar informed them. "It's a pity Commander Fontaine was unable to secure the disabled enemy battlecruiser."
"Our best theory is a self-destruct function either as a result of being incapacitated, a proximity sensor, or the crew set it off manually. Unfortunately, there wasn't much left but a cloud of atoms," Harana said.
"At least we know they are not unbeatable," Rongar said, sounding hopeful.
The private companies, independent traders, and even the syndicate had lost a lot in the attacks. The Horde had also lost several squadrons, transports and even a few small outposts. The head recovered by Adrian and the Sorceress had been the first evidence recovered of the enemy. Whoever commanded the enemy force planned out the attacks to exacting detail. They swooped in, hit the target hard, looted whatever they wanted, and swooped out again, taking any evidence with them before anyone showed up in response to the distress call.
The way the attacks were carried out bothered Rongar more than he let on. The tactics and execution reminded him of another general from another time. But that was impossible: Even having studied the man's methods, Rongar always injected his own alterations based on today's enemies. Someone must have labored to reproduce that general's tactics to mirror those a thousand years out of date. That had to be the answer. The alternative was too frightening to consider.
"Do we have a name to finally call this enemy?" Rongar inquired.
"I believe Doctor Burns has the answer to that question," General Hammond answered.
Clearing his throat, Gabe said, "The techs on loan from Commander Harana finished their work on the big machine. The smaller one is confirmed as a Servator." He paused to take a deep breath before pronouncing, "It has been confirmed: the big machine is a Shadowdemon. The techs found the machine identified as Shadowdemon Unit 1136."
Harana shook her head in disbelief. "Unit designations just like during the war."
"But where are they coming from?" Hammond asked.
"There is only one place. Origin Point," Silvara answered.
"Great! Let's go there and blow it up," Colonel Markson proclaimed. "Problem solved."
"One problem, colonel," the Queen Mother cautioned. "The Great War raged for a hundred years before finally ending. In all that time, my people scoured the galaxy from one end to the other looking for Origin Point. It was never found. We have no idea if it's on a planet, a facility out in space or a combination. All anyone knows is that it was a massive complex that churned out thousands of units a day. Supplying an operation like that leaves a huge supply chain footprint. Yet, no one ever found the location."
"And there is the location of the ghost fleet to consider," Harana interjected. "Our records account for all hulls left over from the war. Yet, there would appear to be a collection of equipment from us, the Horde, and a third unidentified race being taken out of storage, refurbished, upgraded, and sent out in short order."
"Sagan and I went to Horde World to conduct a thorough search of the archives. I was even granted an audience with Horde Prime himself," Rongar said.
"Oh? How did that go?" Colonel Markson asked, not quite mockingly.
Rongar frowned, refusing to be baited. "Not well. Horde Prime displayed complete indifference to the threat despite our losses over the past several months."
Hoping someone else will solve his problem so he doesn't have to get his claws dirty," the colonel translated.
How did he know Horde Prime has claws? Rongar thought. Probably just a lucky guess. "I am taking action regardless of what Horde Prime thinks. If he intended to stop me, he would have by now. Which gives validity to your statement, colonel."
"Funny how that transcends civilizations," Markson commented.
"Yes. Was there anything else recovered from the robot's memory core?" Rongar asked, getting the meeting back on track.
Gabe manipulated his data pad, transmitting the special coordinates to the assembly. "This is the only other thing of consequence, so far."
Rongar and the Val-kyrie studied the sequence for several seconds.
Already knowing what the data was, General Hammond asked, "Is it possible that is the location of this Origin Point?"
Rongar shook his head. "No. Although…"
"I agree," Harana added. "This is not Origin Point. But there is something familiar about this." She began a computer search of the coordinates.
"I, too, feel a familiarity with this," Silvara muttered.
Adrian and the Sorceress, courtesy of their inherited memories, also felt like they should know what the coordinates related to. All they could come up with is an annoying familiarity like they should know the significance of what they had seen.
"Orellia," Harana hissed.
"Excuse me?" Hammond prompted.
"The Battle of Orellia," Rongar supplied. "Largest battle of the war."
"How large?" Markson asked.
"The battle on and around the sanctuary moon where the Guardian battlesuits were interred lasted for three to five days," the Queen Mother answered. "The Battle of Orellia lasted almost fifteen."
"Wow. Who won?" the colonel inquired.
"No one. It was a meat grinder of people and material," Harana said, dismayed. "Two armies throwing everything they had at one another in a useless display of might." Sounds like Verdun in WWI.
Of course, that observation was a thousand years removed from the battle. They had their reasons for fighting the battle at the time, but on reflection, there was viable purpose to the expenditure of people and material. Both sides lost heavily in the battle. There was some debate that one side or the other had been significantly weakened, resulting in the internment of the battlesuits several years later, but no historian could mount enough evidence to support their theories. Fact was both side suffered greatly. It wasn't until the decision had been made to hide away the battlesuits for the future that Val-kyrie and their allies showed how weakened they had become. Although that part of the historical record was suspect, too.
"Well, that sounds like a waste," Markson commented.
Silvara nodded. "Remember we have the benefit of a thousand years of hindsight. I'm sure they had their reasons for fighting the battle that we would find bizarre or stupid."
"Did the locals have anything to say about it?" the colonel countered.
Silvara shook her head. "No indigenous life. Probably why it was chosen for the battle."
"Back to the main point," Rongar suggested, getting things back on track. "Why Orellia? Other than its historical significance, there is nothing of value there." He studied the map with all the red dots indicating known attacks. Pulling up the location of Orellia, Rongar compared its location in relation to the attacks, Val-kyrie and Horde space. Something about the location nagged at his tactical mind.
Orellia now sat inside Horde space. A thousand years ago, it had lain far outside the boundaries of Horde Prime's empire. It was along the outermost edge of the empire, but sat within striking distance of several outposts and two major military bases.
That had to be it.
"It could be a staging base," Rongar mused.
Silvara and Harana saw it, too.
"Speculation," the Queen Mother said. She turned to her friend. "Have a-"
"Already on it," Harana replied, tapping out instructions on the touch pad set in the table surface. She was sending orders to the nearest scout ship to Orellia. "Redirecting the nearest scout ship to have a look."
Adrian spoke up. "Commander, if I may, tell them to exercise extreme caution. I'm not sure we have the potential cloaking problem solved."
"Understood," Harana acknowledged.
"Problem?" the voice of Sagan issued from somewhere close to General Rongar. "What problem?"
Adrian met the Queen Mother's gaze. After a moment, she nodded ever so slightly. "While investigating Transfer Nexis 321, we received the distress call from Transfer Station 437. We went in under cloak from the outside the ecliptic and cautiously made our way in," Adrian explained. "Just as we were getting close enough for the passive sensors to start getting some general readings, the enemy moved in our direction. It was as if they could detect us through the cloak."
"Where there any modifications to the starship you were piloting?" Sagan asked.
"No. There only difference we could come up with," Adrian answered with a side glance to the Sorceress, "was that we had two battlesuits on board."
"Of, course," Rongar mused.
Sagan added, "The battlesuit energy core emits a unique power signature. Despite all six having identical cores, something about how they were activated produced an entirely unique signature in all of them. According to some of the surviving records I have read, the Shadowdemons hunted by scanning for specific energy signatures. Did you come up with a fix?"
Again, the Queen Mother nodded before Adrian continued. "Commander Harana's people loaded the MASC system into two of the suits. Took some tinkering to get to work. We tested it out when the demons attacked Grayskull. It worked."
Sagan grunted. "Tell me, did they resort to silhouette recognition? That was supposed to be the backup measure if they couldn't detect the power core."
Sorceress answered, "That appeared to be the case. They were confused for a few moments before re-engaging."
That revelation only reinforced the information at hand about the nature of the machines. They were indeed fighting a resurrected army of Shadowdemons. Sagan's voice drifted away muttering something about further applications for a Horde version of the Val-kyrie MASC system.
"There is one more piece of information we retrieved from one of the attack sites," Silvara said, punching up the brief footage of the mystery machine.
The projector in the center of the table came to life and threw up the seconds of surviving footage from the attack. Everyone, save the Val-kyrie, gasped in surprise when the bigger machine appeared. It repeated several times before freezing on the giant robot.
Leaning forward, Adrian hissed, "What the hell is that?"
"That is the problem," Harana said. "The modified Shadowdemons are scary enough. Despite the poor quality of the footage, we have been able to extrapolate the approximate size and power of this thing. It appears to be the size of the pre-upgraded Guardians, thirteen feet tall, with a similar build and firepower on the level between Gatling Arm and War Wing."
"If Orellia is being used as some sort of staging base for the next stage in their attack, this thing might be there," Silvara said. "If the demons are upgraded on this scale, we will be in serious trouble."
A frightening prospect.
There wasn't much else to discuss until the scout ship reported the goings on at Orellia. Rongar left the meeting to coordinate the Third Fleet provisioning and positioning for the looming battle. The Queen Mother and Commander Harana left to continue preparations on their end.
"You did not have much to say, Sorceress," General Hammond said.
"I do not have much to offer at the moment," she answered.
"You have to admit this is all a little too convenient," Markson said. "Sending an attack force to Eternia with data of something we probably should not know about is a bit much."
"You believe this is a setup?" Hammond asked.
The colonel sighed heavily. "General, if you wanted to plant misinformation, the best way to make it believable is to fight to protect it like it was real."
"It could be a trap," Jo-jo added.
Adrian grunted. "But it may also be an opportunity, and we may not get another."
"There may not be an alternative. Going to Orellia is likely our next mission," Jo-jo said. "In the meantime, we should prepare our defenses here."
"On Eternia? May I ask why?" Hammond asked.
"During the war, Eternia and Etheria were not a factor in galactic history," Sorceress replied. "As far as I have been able to determine, there were no bases on either world. Castle Grayskull was not the repository of knowledge and power that it is today. If the enemy has been gathering information from their constant attacks, there one thing that would become immediately clear. The secrets hidden away in Castle Grayskull will be the key upgrading their army and continuing in their conquest of the galaxy. Ultimately, this is where the next big battle will be fought."
"If that's the case, general, sending out a little disinformation of our own would be a good thing," Markson added.
"Or to make sure the enemy comes here, if this is where we want to be to take them out," Adrian said.
"Make them come to us on our terms," Hammond said. "I can't help wondering, however, if that could backfire on us. Once the report comes in from Orellia, we will decide our next step. In the meantime, I'll authorize a continued buildup of defenses for the castle. King Randor could be of assistance in bringing in another ally or two to help."
The colonel promised to ask. The meeting broke up after that with everyone trying not to ponder what would happen if the enemy captured Grayskull and utilized the store of knowledge and power in future battles. One bit of history did play in their favor; capturing Grayskull was easy. Holding onto it, however, tended to prove extremely difficult.
Just ask Skeletor.
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